#and discovered that just working as a TL for target

[pinacoladamatata]

Target Solas may be saving my life actually

[crazymuffin1]

more or less the full tiktok situation

okay so im not tinfoil hatting because its pretty obvious when you think about it

2020 trump wants tiktok banned im pretty sure the people who overlooked the whole spiel thought that there wasnt anything wrong with it and it and continued on as normal

then for some curious reason the stupidest most tech incompetent people of the congress are part of the hearing with classics such as asking the ceo 10 different ways of "are you chinese" making the viewer think that the next question is going to be whether or not the CEO has ever eaten chinese food. there are of course the other classics (and these are all real questions) "does tiktok read your brainwaves when you put on headphones" "does it record your eyes dilating to figure out what videos to boost via the algorithm" "does tiktok access your home wi-fi network" "are you chinese" "if you turn on airplane mode while in a plane, can tiktok talk to the plane"

im not making this up. these are real actual questions. its not word for word but im not changing the meaning of the questions it really was that bad

then of course beause they took the dumbest people in the congress they made a rule that basically boils down to "apps from countries we dont like have to be owned by america" (so we can censor it) (this is while also being racist towards china and yknow being all 'china censorship bad!')

now there hasnt been an official announcement of tiktok having been bought, BUT!

while it was down for americans, these messages appeared

message 1 ID: Sorry, Tiktok isn't available right now A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned! End ID oh yeah the same trump that got it banned in the first place, right? about 15 hours later the app is up again

Message 2 ID: Welcome Back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok End ID.

heres the part where you gotta put the clues together! the tiktok page of the tiktok CEO no longer has "CEO of tiktok" on his profile

facebook/instagram is all of a sudden having popups of "link to tiktok" and an official tiktok page too. if youre on tiktok you get an add facebook friends promo (this hasnt happened to everyone yet, rolling out feature)

convicted felon donald trump is holding his inauguration indoors, probably because last time he got all pissy that the crowd size was small, but you cant take aerials indoors and indoors have limited seats anyway(maybe as a last fuck you, tiktok will once again reserve a bunch of seats that are left empty? oh please do that!). also its easier to check for weapons and not have snipers when indoors, which is important when first lady elon musk is going to be there, and his fellow oligarch mark zuckerberg is also going to be there. theyre reaaal scared of the snipers since their egos are so big they become an easy target!

but we all know the drill by now. "saving" tiktok is just a failed way to make the younger generation like him. even if he set it up and everyone on tiktok knows. its also a way to make people overlook whatever this weeks war crime is going to be. probably the mass deportation. forgot to add this thing but facebook recently removed fact checkers so tiktok is probably going to have even more (worse) misinformation

TL;DR facebook is going to announce they bought tiktok any day now and give the glory to trump even though he is the reason it was banned in the first place

also as a bonus on the last day, a lot of influencers and stuff like that were having the "since we're all getting banned anyway" moment so a lot of them said stuff like "i never used the products i promoted" "i hated collabing with this creator" "i was never xyz" people who did masked thirst traps (male presenting) were women all along. and then 15 hours later theyre unbanned and have to be like... yep...so that just happened.

anyway tiktok was one of the last few places people got news that werent completely filtered through the right wing lens of whoever owned the newspaper. even if there was a lot of misinfo. think of the ceo shooter and think of how the media portrayed it vs the people. "rich man is murdered in cold blood by some vile monster. he was very beloved" vs "this guy is a vile human being who is responsible for millions of deaths, and he was finally killed"

[poraphia]

alright so

The reader has been involved in the East L’manburg mafia since they were 17-19 years old (shortly before they met Wilbur). They work as a forger of signatures and documents, since they have a steady hand and artistic inclination (can’t draw that well though. Only can copy handwriting. Go figure.). maybe they were in juvie, maybe they were in a group home (thinking about the book “allegedly”), but whatever their situation was, the mafia helped them pay themselves out of it and land a steady part time career as a laboratory assistant (plus some money to enroll in university). they keep most of the details about their life hidden from everyone, even Wilbur. The only thing he knows is that they were in some sort of a group home, but the details are obscure— and they took a while to tell him that, too. They didn’t want the syndicate doing a background check on them and revealing some details they’d rather stay hidden. Tl;dr: lots of trust issues.

But Wilbur is so sweet, and Philza and Techno are great people, so they stick around. They learn to juggle their life with the mafia and their life with the Soots. The reader is convinced they’ll be fine, they can keep digging this hole for themselves without meeting any consequences. But consequences DO come, and they come in the form of a completely accidental car accident on the readers way to work. They are rushed to the hospital (Wilbur gets a phone call and is beside himself with worry), and are told that although their dominant hand will be fine in the long run, it will never be able to work properly again. So they can write— but they can no longer forge signatures and handwriting like they used to. Therefore, they are now a liability to the mafia. of course the mafia finds out, and has a little “chat” with them. The reader returns home with a black eye and a busted lip, but promises Wilbur that they just tripped and fell down the stairs. He almost believes them.

And then there’s the Actual Accident. Maybe a building collapses, maybe there’s a gas leak and the readers apartment explodes. Either way, charred bodies are found in the building, and the reader is presumed dead. they aren’t actually dead, having out on an errand when the accident occurs. They go back to the scene immediately, wanting to tell Wilbur that they’re okay—- but spot some mafia members digging around in the rubble. The reader overhears the mafia members pronounce them dead, and watches them leave. with this sight comes a few key realizations: first, they no longer have a bounty over their head. Normally, the mafia would wait a couple weeks before killing a target, just to get them to lower their guard. Now, though, the reader is truly safe. Second: if they asked protection from the syndicate, the Soots could be endangered. Wilbur and co. might be able to protect them physically, but the mafia would do anything to get to their target. Including doing extensive research on this protecting them. If the reader hid behind the Syndicate, the mafia could discover the Syndicates true identities and pawn the info off to the heroes. it wouldn’t be the first time that the mafia bribed and involved itself with the heroes committee.

So the reader doesn’t come back. They let Wilbur (and the mafia) think they have died.

then they probably sneakily kill off the mafia members during their “missing and presumed dead” period idk

anyway idk how the reader explains this to siren after he calms down. probably in a dark room, sitting with their backs together, facing opposite walls.

siren also probably asks something like “were you about to LET me kill you back there?”

angst haha

ALRIGHT CRACKING MY KNUCKLES AFTER SLAVING OVER SCHOOL WORK LETS DO THIS

btw OOOHH MY GOD this was such a juicy backstory literally love it the idea that reader has their own secret life (much like a lot of the characters in tcfsv) and its a whole gritty, not so fun, twisted story of its own just MWAH

---

It's been four hours since Siren used his honey-tone voice.

It's been four hours since Apollo found Siren hovering over the broken vigilante as blood dribbled from their lips and bruises brandished a fresh pink.

It's been four hours since Blade had to pin Siren down with Zehphyrus shielding (y/n) with his wings and Apollo healing various bruises scattered all over their body.

And most importantly, it's been four hours since Techno and Tommy threw them in Wil's rooms together and was told to talk it out, despite Wil's protest. He and (y/n) sat with their backs pressed together in the middle of his bedroom. (y/n) clutched what once was a rich hot chocolate, taking momentary sips between their words.

Wilbur sat there, rendered speechless as he listened to their pain-ridden words. It was a story not easily mumbled by them, and if anything, he was the first person to even hear what torture they had to go through.

Silent tears were streaming down (y/n)'s face, but they were determined to fight through their stutters and trembles.

"I-I know it was selfish." They whispered. Their hands wrapped tightly around the half empty mug. "T-That I should've called you to at least let you know I was safe but I--"

"Are they still alive?" Wilbur spoke gently, but his words, even without his siren voice, had so much power behind them. It sent a shiver up their spine.

"N-No. I killed them off before I even became a vigilante." They let out a dry chuckle, but nothing could soothe the thick tension in the room. It became quiet now. Only the humming of the a/c and the nocturnal crickets of the night filled the atmosphere.

Then, Wilbur spoke again.

"You," He paused as bit, almost as if registering his own words. "You almost let me kill you." He muttered almost breathlessly. (y/n) didn't speak. Instead, their silence said enough.

"Why?" He asked. "(y-y/n), don't you realize what I'm saying?!" Desperately he ran his fingers through his hair as attempt to soothe his own mania, but it was no use. (y/n) could feel his fidgeting as his back continued to brush against theirs. "Were you about to let me kill you back there?!"

Calmly, (y/n) placed their mug on the nearest surface, close enough where they could reach, before leaning back on Wil. His hyperventilating slowed, but his distressed fidgets maintained.

"Wil." They called out. He continued muttering to himself.

"Wil!" They exclaimed once again. Still, he ignored.

"WILBUR!"

his rocking stopped, but his head stayed buried between his knees. A moment of silence passed between them both, letting the crickets occupy their ears for just a few seconds.

Finally, (y/n) spoke up.

"I wouldn't have cared if you killed me." They said, leaning against his back. Their head rested against the back of his and they stared up at the ceiling.

"What..?" He muttered, his voice cracking.

"I wouldn't have cared. I wanted you to be happy-- not ruin your life. So if you saw that was the best judgement for me then.." They trailed off, letting their silence speak for themselves.

Carefully, Wilbur sat up before turning around to face them now. He placed a hand on their shoulder, making them turn around as well. Their features weren't exactly visible, but from how the moon defined little shadows on their face, he knew this was the lover he fell for long ago.

"I.." Looking at them as the moon shimmered in their eyes, his body was left breathless. His heart didn't have the courage to yell at them and prove his ego, but it also didn't have the strength to fight against their beauty either.

Gently, he placed a hand on their cheek, feeling the fresh tears but soft skin warming up his palm. (y/n), naturally, sunk into his touch, closing their eyes.

"Y-You've been through a lot." Wilbur softly muttered. (y/n) placed a hand over his, slightly nodding their head. "So I..-- and I mean-- it is pretty late." He was reluctant to his next choice of words, but nonetheless, he swallowed that huge lump in his throat.

"Why don't you stay over for the night?"

--

hi i do want to say that i worked on this four days ago and im really sorry for the delay and it may be a little rushed however @listenheresweaty literally did the carrying here im just kicking my feet and twirling my hair sooo YA ENJOY

[space-wizards]

Monster Hunter Wilds (Systems & Structure?) Review

I've played pretty much nothing but Monster Hunter Wilds since it released on Friday. It took me about two days to finish Low Rank, two-ish more for High Rank, and some postgame for good measure. I used Insect Glaive all the way through, to good effect. I think I'm ready to properly give my review of the game, and in particular, compare it to Monster Hunter World, the game it's obviously a sequel to (and the only other one I've finished High Rank in). TL;DR: Low Rank good, High Rank too thin. Full review and some spoilers under the cut.

First, Low Rank. Low Rank in World was generally hailed as "an actual story in a Monster Hunter game", in that you actually had a purpose you were working towards (explore the New World), instead of just completing random hunts until you got an Urgent Quest to unlock the next tier (repeat x5). Wilds completes that transformation: Low Rank is a straight, cinematic line that tells a solid story, and gives the player momentum to get them into High Rank.

For those who don't know, a common mistake for new Monster Hunter players is to spend too long grinding out a weapon or armor set in Low Rank, which takes a random amount of hunts, and LR gear is obsoleted by High Rank. I personally never finished LR in MH4 because I burned out farming Zamtrios and Gore Magala.

Wilds LR keeps you moving forward: there are zero hunting sidequests in LR, and every main quest ends with you in camp, right next to whoever starts the next main quest. At one point, the game even ambushes you with a back-to-back hunt! It was very easy, practically mandatory to follow the correct LR ethos of "finish a hunt, craft what you can, and move on." Oh, and there's no Zorah Magdaros or Rampage Quests to waste your time.

The ending was suitably climactic, I really dig the reintroduction of "lore" I'd only seen apocrypha of, and the player character having a voice and hints of backstory work quite well. I'll leave the memed-upon ethos of handlers giving authorization for every hunt for another post.

High Rank, and postgame, is where Wilds feels rather thin compared to World.

The sandbox opens up, and you're heavily encouraged to take whatever targets of opportunity happen to appear, because they attach 3-8 extra loot drops to anything that isn't the old-style "create a quest to hunt [monster]". This encourages greater gameplay variety because you're bouncing between different monsters, but can get annoying if you need just one more Rathalos scale to finish something.

The story continues in HR, but it's back to the familiar form of "increase your Hunter Rank to unlock the next main quest", which I'm totally fine with. However, World structured its HR story around discovering variant monsters (Pink Rathian), Tempered Monsters, and then finding/hunting five Elder Dragons. For postgame, there were difficult missions to unlock higher Hunter Rank or new Mantles, for example the double Tempered Bazelgeuse fight.

Wilds' HR has you first, uh, fight Yian Kut-Ku, then introduces Frenzied Monsters, which means Gore Magala's on the way, then Tempered Monsters. Then you refight the Apex Predators you fought in LR, then Gore Magala, then refight Arkveld. And that's it. I spent half a day cleaning out the sidequests, assuming they'd unlock an Elder Dragon as the true final boss, because I didn't want to believe the obvious "this is the end of the story" cutscenes after Arkveld went down.

To be clear, here's my main criticism: Wilds' High Rank only introduces one novel "challenging" monster (Gore Magala), and zero actually new monsters. Everything else is something you've already fought in this game, something you've fought in another game, or is named Guardian Fulgur Anjanath, which is somehow both.

My secondary criticism: Once you beat HR Arkveld, there's no real "ultimate challenge" quests to actually use your shiny new Arkveld gear on. It doesn't help that the game is tuned too easy, so something like Tempered Arkveld just feels like "Arkveld but longer".

Both of these will likely be addressed by post-release updates adding new monsters, but when the first update promises Mizutsune, a returning mid-tier monster, and multi-month gaps between Title Updates, I don't know if I'm going to be willing to show back up in 6 months, or even play weekly Event Quests.

Post-script: I didn't get the performance issues that seem to be plaguing the PC release. Only one crash in 40 hours, and that was in the Layered Armor menu. I upgraded my CPU, RAM, and motherboard specifically for this game, which probably helped.

Also, I realized when writing this that I'm likely way more systems- and structure-focused when it comes to game analysis than the average player. "are the new monsters cool" (they are) didn't even cross my mind until I was done writing, but I'll get mad if you say Borderlands and Destiny are the same genre.

[cielsosinfel]

FFXII has a lot of hidden OP items that are so extremely exhausting to get... and it's honestly making me nostalgic for when this was the norm in JRPGs, for there to be ultra-rare but extremely OP weapons and armor and whatever, or hidden bosses with quadruple the stats of any other in the game, that you need to jump through hoops to unlock.

I actually really miss these kinds of gameplay elements, because even though they're usually too tedious for me to go through, they add this like... mystery to the game? Some excitement over discovering something so gamebreaking and outside the bounds of the base game? The accomplished feeling of finally getting a rare item or beating a ultra-difficult boss after hours of life spent suffering through the steps and the Game Overs. Wondering at how the HELL anyone worked out the steps to unlock the damn things. IDK how to describe it lol it's the kind of thing I feel has been lost in the era of DLC.

Right now I am struggling through hoops to get a Nihopalaoa, an accessory that reverses effects of items used on a target. This leads to the potential to throw a Remedy (status condition cure-all) at an enemy, and inflict them with every single negative status they're susceptible to (so some enemies you can toss it on and they'll get Sap/Disease/Doom/Poison/etc all at once.)

this is TL;DR and absolutely uninteresting to anyone else probably

To get this item in the Zodiac Age remaster, you have several options:

-Play through the optional Trial Mode, where you defeat waves of enemies to get to the next Trial, and after every 10 trials you get a rewrd. This accessory is stealable from the mobs on Trial 70 (out of 100)

-A chest in Henne Mines Phase 2 Dig. The chest only has a 25% chest of spawning. To access Phase 2 Dig, you first collect 10 espers (basically optional bosses that you defeat to unlock summons), and defeat a VERY difficult Hunt quest. This is actually the location for Zodiark, the most difficult esper boss to defeat, and the area is packed with over-powered mobs.

-A chest with a 5% spawn chance at Subterra, which is basically near the very end of the game

-A Bazaar purchase. The Bazaar is a way of purchasing items that only unlock as you sell Loot; different combinations of loot will unlock different bazaar goods. Nihopalaoa is unlocked by selling: Blood-stained Necklace x3, Death's Head x2, Leo Gem x3.

Leo Gems are a rare loot drop that can only be stolen from Diresaurs (basically big T-rex mobs.) They have a 3% steal rate. For the other two, you can't get them as Steal loot until you unlock the Warmage Monograph, which requires opening the Hunt Board 30 times so you can purchase the monograph form the bazaar. Blood-stained Necklace can only be stolen from Shambling Corpses, which only spawn in the area where you find the esper/boss Adrammelech. They are also continuously spawning and you are easily overwhelmed fighting them, especially if you're unable to take down Adrammelech. Death's heads are a 10% steal loot from Dark Skeletons. Dark Skeletons are in two places: Paramine Rift, where they randomly spawn in a couple zones; and Golmore Jungle, where they spawn in one specific zone only if you destroy every other mob on the map and defeat the Rare Elite Mob that spawns.

So which one of these is the easiest, most accessible option? The fourth one that involves hours upon hours of grinding in the hopes of stealing some rare drops from mobs in very annoying locations????

Yes. Yes that's the easiest one.

Anyway it took me 2 hours across a couple days to steal 2 Death's Heads and I now must go and attempt to steal 3 Blood-Stained Necklaces (thankfully I have Thief's Cuffs so the drop rate is doubled to a whopping 6%.)

Wish me fucking luck. I don't even need this accessory. I just want boss fights to be as easy as possible without losing my mind getting the ultra ultra ultra OP but extremely tedious arms.

[codingnectars]

Level Up Your Coding Game with CodingNectar: A Digital Marketing Playbook for Tech Learners.

Hey tech fam! 👋 Let’s talk about how CodingNectar.com can become your ultimate coding sidekick. In a world where everyone’s hustling to learn Python, JavaScript, or web dev, standing out isn’t easy. But with some savvy digital marketing magic, CodingNectar can be the go-to spot for coders like YOU. Here’s the lowdown on how they can crush it online—and how you can benefit! 💻✨

🚀 SEO & Content: Get Discovered!

First rule of the internet: If Google can’t find you, neither can your audience. CodingNectar needs to hack the SEO game:

Keyword Ninja Moves: Target phrases like “learn Python for free” or “JavaScript basics” using tools like Ubersuggest. Think of long-tail keywords (e.g., “fix Python errors fast”)—they’re like cheat codes for ranking.

Blogs That Slay: Tutorials like “10 Coding Mistakes Every Newbie Makes” or “How to Build Your First App” = instant bookmarks. Bonus: Turn blogs into Reels or carousels for TikTok/Instagram.

Guest Posting: Collab with tech influencers or sites like Codecademy’s blog. Free backlinks + street cred? Yes, please.

📱 Social Media: Code, Post, Repeat

Devs live on Twitter, LinkedIn, and GitHub. CodingNectar should too:

Twitter: Daily coding hacks + memes (yes, devs love memes 🐍). Jump into #100DaysOfCode or #DevLife.

LinkedIn: Post “How I Landed My Tech Job Using CodingNectar” success stories. Tag companies—they might reshare!

GitHub: Share free code snippets or mini-projects. Open-source karma = good karma.

Pro move: Run a “Code & Win” contest. Best project gets a free course! 🏆

📧 Email: Your Inbox, But Cooler

No spam, just fire content:

Drip Campaigns: New subscriber? Send a “5-Day Python Crash Course” series.

Newsletters: Drop monthly updates like “New Courses Alert!” or “Coding Trends of 2024.”

RIP Ghosting: Send a funny “We Miss You” email with a meme to inactive users.

💰 Ads: Because Sometimes You Gotta Pay to Play

Target ads like a boss:

Google Ads: Bid on “best coding courses” or “learn to code fast.”

Instagram Reels: Tease a 10-second coding tutorial. Swipe up to enroll!

Retargeting: Show ads to folks who bounced off the site. “Hey, your cart’s lonely 👀”

👥 Community: Squad Goals

Coders stick together. CodingNectar should build a tribe:

Discord/Slack: Create a space for learners to rant about bugs or share wins.

Live Streams: Host weekly Q&As with mentors. “AMA about React.js!”

User Shoutouts: Repost student projects on Instagram. Tag them + add #CodingNectarCrew.

📊 Analytics: Data > Guesses

Track what works:

Google Analytics: See which courses are trending. Python > Ruby? Pivot!

A/B Tests: Try two email subject lines: “Fix Your Code” vs. “Debug Like a Pro.” Spoiler: The sassier one wins.

✨ TL;DR: Why CodingNectar Rocks

Free/paid courses for all skill levels.

Community-driven learning (no solo struggles!).

Updated content (no dusty PHP tutorials from 2010).

Ready to code smarter? Join the hive at CodingNectar.com. 🍯

[how2fit]

If you’re on FitTok or the weight-room side of the internet, there’s a good chance you see a lot of hot takes: Pilates isn’t strength training! HIIT is bad for you! The anabolic window isn’t real! Another popular and highly debated topic? Whether or not you should do cardio after leg day. Some people claim it helps you burn fat and reduce soreness, while others say it “kills” your gains or messes with your hormones. The truth is, honestly, far less climactic: Doing cardio after leg day is A-OK, but it’s not a magic bullet to any major benefits—and it may come with some minor risks, depending on your goals. So forget whatever you heard on TikTok. We’re breaking down the actual science below. Can you do cardio after leg day? If you typically follow up a lower-body strength workout with a light jog, stair climbing, or treadmill strut, the good news is that you’re doing nothing wrong. You can absolutely do cardio after leg day, says Dan Churchill, MS, trainer and performance chef with Centr. “I would recommend keeping the intensity on the low to moderate side and not aim to do an intense cardio session right after a brutal leg session, but because your muscles will be warmed up by this point, it’s safe and can even be helpful to work in cardio after strength.” Rumors that cardio will hurt your muscle gains or have other adverse effects don’t hold up. To be fair, though, the idea that doing cardio after strength is bad didn’t come out of nowhere. “We previously assumed that a bout of aerobic exercise that immediately followed a strength training workout would impair the mTOR signaling pathway (the metabolic pathway stimulated by strength training that stimulates muscle growth),” explains Luke Carlson, MS, CEP, certified exercise physiologist and CEO and founder of Discover Strength. “However, we have very little research to confirm this.” For example, a 2022 research review1 published in Sports Medicine found that combining aerobic and strength training doesn’t compromise muscle hypertrophy or maximal strength development, even when included in the same session. (The researchers did find that doing both in the same workout slightly affected explosive strength gains, which may be important to note if you’re training for a power sport or building a related skill.) TL;DR: if your goal with a leg-day workout is to maximize muscle strength or increase muscle size, it’s fine to do cardio afterward, Carlson says. Benefits of doing cardio after leg day Aerobic exercise, in general, comes with a lot of fantastic health perks that make it essential to include in your workout routine, even if you’re mainly focused on strength work. “All cardio has tremendous and varying benefits for your performance and recovery,” Churchill says. “If you can target two to three hours of zone 2 (i.e., moderate-intensity) cardio a week, and then some efforts at high intensity, it’s a good combination to build your speed, endurance, and improve longevity health.” Moderate-intensity aerobic training can boost heart health2, improve your mental health3 and brain function4, improve overall quality of life5, and reduce total early mortality risk6—and this is just scratching the surface of cardio’s health benefits. However, doing cardio after leg day, specifically, doesn’t dramatically change how it affects your body. “Beyond the customary cardiorespiratory adaptations and chronic disease protection benefits, there is probably no benefit of doing cardio immediately after a leg strength workout,” Carlson says. Some people say that doing light cardio after strength work can help with recovery or reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), but for now, we just don’t have evidence to back up that claim. “Cardio does not impact recovery, positively or negatively, following an intense strength workout,” Carlson says. Even if post-strength cardio doesn’t have a marked effect on soreness or recovery, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) still recommends

performing at least a few minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise after a workout as a way to cool down. This helps you gradually decrease your heart rate and blood pressure and circulate cellular waste products that accumulate in muscles during exercise, according to the ACSM. So, if you’re doing gentle cardio to wind down from an intense lifting session, there is some benefit there. Potential risks of doing cardio after leg day We repeat: In general, doing cardio after a leg strength workout is no problem, but there are some potential downsides to know about. For one, if your muscles are pretty fatigued after a lower-body lifting session, tacking on a high-intensity cardio workout like a sprint workout or aggressive indoor cycling class could put you at risk of injury. “If we train the legs hard and then transition into a run, we might be at a greater susceptibility to injury during the run,” Carlson says. Another downside of doing cardio after leg day is that it could hinder your cardio performance. If you’re hopping on a tread as a post-workout cooldown or just to meet your cardio quota, that might be fine—but if your main fitness goal is cardio-focused, prioritizing strength above cardio could have negative repercussions. “For example, if you’re a distance runner training for an upcoming half marathon, performing a strength-training workout immediately before your key running workout will compromise your ability to execute that run,” Carlson says. A 2016 study7 in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research shows that separating your workouts by at least six hours diminishes the potential interference effects, but doing them on separate days is even better. “Thus, if your goal is to prepare for an endurance event, either schedule the cardio before the strength workout or on a non-strength training day,” Carlson says. There’s one exception: If you’re training for a competition that requires both strength and cardio, such as Hyrox or an obstacle race, doing cardio post-strength is a great way to simulate running under fatigued legs, Churchill says. “But it is important to note that overdoing this can lead to injury,” he adds. “I would only recommend doing this if you are an advanced runner. If you’re just starting, I’d allow time for rest in between.” The best type of cardio to do after leg day As Churchill mentioned above, the most important thing to consider is your level of exertion. It doesn’t matter as much whether you’re hopping on the elliptical, walking or running on a tread, cycling, or stair climbing but it’s best to keep post-leg-day cardio to a low or moderate intensity to reduce any risk of injury. That entails working at an effort level of six (or less) out of 10, where zero is the level of effort required to sit and 10 is giving it your maximal effort, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You can also use the “talk test” to gauge your aerobic exercise intensity: If you can talk during your workout but not sing, that means you’re hovering around moderate intensity. If you can’t say more than a few words without pausing for a breath, you’re working at a vigorous intensity. How to recover after leg day It might be a bummer to hear that some post-leg day cardio doesn’t help reduce your DOMS. If it feels good to you to get blood pumping after you’ve torched your legs, that’s reason enough to keep doing it—just factor in these other recovery tips to help facilitate muscle growth and repair. “The biggest influences on recovery following intense strength training are adequate protein and adequate sleep,” Carlson says. Daily protein intake between 1.2 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight is generally enough to support post-workout recovery, according to a joint statement8 from the ACSM, American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Dietitians of Canada. As for sleep, the ACSM recommends getting at least eight hours a night for optimal recovery. Certain people may need even more sleep9 or protein, depending on their body, lifestyle, and goals.

Other research-backed recovery methods10 include massage, compression garments, contrast water therapy, cryotherapy, and active recovery (i.e., going for a walk). “I’m a big believer in contrast therapy, and getting in compression boots,” Churchill adds. Massage seems to be the most effective at reducing DOMS and perceived fatigue, and you can get the perks on your own with massage tools like a foam roller or lacrosse ball. If you have wildly, terribly sore muscles to the point where you can’t walk for days, it may be a sign you’re doing too much too fast. “If your goal is to mitigate DOMS, you can also avoid novelty and variety in the workout since soreness is largely caused by doing something new,” Carlson says. Honestly, that’s another perk of doing aerobic work right after your leg workout: If you know you’ll be sore in the days following a challenging leg workout, it might be wise to get your cardio done while you can still walk. Well+Good articles reference scientific, reliable, recent, robust studies to back up the information we share. You can trust us along your wellness journey. Schumann M, Feuerbacher JF, Sünkeler M, Freitag N, Rønnestad BR, Doma K, Lundberg TR. Compatibility of Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training for Skeletal Muscle Size and Function: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2022 Mar;52(3):601-612. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01587-7. Epub 2021 Nov 10. PMID: 34757594; PMCID: PMC8891239. Pinckard K, Baskin KK, Stanford KI. Effects of Exercise to Improve Cardiovascular Health. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2019 Jun 4;6:69. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2019.00069. PMID: 31214598; PMCID: PMC6557987. Gilani SRM, Feizabad AK. The effects of aerobic exercise training on mental health and self-esteem of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Health Psychol Res. 2019 Mar 11;7(1):6576. doi: 10.4081/hpr.2019.6576. PMID: 30997432; PMCID: PMC6441819. Guiney H, Machado L. Benefits of regular aerobic exercise for executive functioning in healthy populations. Psychon Bull Rev. 2013 Feb;20(1):73-86. doi: 10.3758/s13423-012-0345-4. PMID: 23229442. Adams V, Linke A. Impact of exercise training on cardiovascular disease and risk. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2019 Apr 1;1865(4):728-734. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2018.08.019. Epub 2018 Aug 28. PMID: 30837069. Millenaar D, Böhm M, Mahfoud F. Risk prediction with blood pressure during physical activity: A METter of exercise? Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2020 Jun;27(9):975-977. doi: 10.1177/2047487319885038. Epub 2019 Oct 26. PMID: 31657223. Robineau J, Babault N, Piscione J, Lacome M, Bigard AX. Specific Training Effects of Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Exercises Depend on Recovery Duration. J Strength Cond Res. 2016 Mar;30(3):672-83. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000798. PMID: 25546450. Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016 Mar;48(3):543-68. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852. Erratum in: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017 Jan;49(1):222. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001162. PMID: 26891166. Dupuy O, Douzi W, Theurot D, Bosquet L, Dugué B. An Evidence-Based Approach for Choosing Post-exercise Recovery Techniques to Reduce Markers of Muscle Damage, Soreness, Fatigue, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Front Physiol. 2018 Apr 26;9:403. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00403. PMID: 29755363; PMCID: PMC5932411. Doherty R, Madigan SM, Nevill A, Warrington G, Ellis JG.

The Sleep and Recovery Practices of Athletes. Nutrients. 2021 Apr 17;13(4):1330. doi: 10.3390/nu13041330. PMID: 33920560; PMCID: PMC8072992.

[xoxoendlessvibes]

My top ten self love tips.

#1

Invest in things that make yourself feel luxurious.

Candles, makeup, perfume, bags, shoes, whatever your cup of tea. No matter how big or small.

#2

Workout multiple times a week.

Working out always helps my confidence, it makes me feel rejuvenated, and proud of myself. It’s great for your health, body image, and mental health.

#3

Keep yourself fresh, and always smelling good.

You don’t gotta use expensive products to do this. Routine : scrub, wash, moisturize and fragrance.

#4

Don’t follow people who make you question yourself.

Not a temporary thing, and not for everyone. This is for the people who currently have low self asteem, and find themselves struggling everytime they see a baddie on the TL. I struggle with this, and I have to say, it will make you feel so much better to focus on yourself and not compare yourself to those who you don’t even know. Once your self image is better, I suggest refollowing these people, you could find them inspiring.

#5

Stay consistent.

On ANY and EVERYTHING. If there’s one thing to do, stay consistent. This could be for school, eating healthy, working out, skincare routine, anything. Staying consistent will help you feel accomplished, proud, and will make you want to keep doing it.

#6

Keep your room clean.

It’s your sanctuary.

#7

Get off your phone, find a hobby.

Quarantine has us all messed up, phone addiction to the max. I’m here to tell you right now, if you discover things you love to do outside of it, you’ve opened a whole new realm. For me, it’s baking, cooking, sketching, makeup, and selling clothes online.

#8

Wear cute pajamas, slippers, loungewear, etc.

It’ll boost your confidence, make you feel like a baddie, and make you feel like your shit is together.

#9

Find a signature scent that is NOT popular.

You do not want to be out here smelling like every other person. Find something unique, and unpopular that fits you well. Ulta, Sephora, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and target are some of the top places for these. Dig.

#10

Take care of yourself.

Simply, just take care of yourself. Take good care of your teeth. Floss, brush, daily. Practice good hygiene, keep a clean room, have a routine, work out, stay on your small goals. This will all be a foundation for bigger and better things for you.

xoxo found on Tumblr.

[neutrallyobsessed]

What's your opinion of Blackquill/Kay? I recently discovered esdithequeen's artwork and stories about the couple, and I love the dynamic the two have. (Samurai and Ninja, surly and optimistic)

YES YES WEON YOU HAVE ASKED ME THIS AND IT'S COMPLICATED

on one hand, i respect esdi's dedication, much like me she's carrying the ship by herself and afaik she really is alone on this one, tiping my hat from underrated ship artist to another

on the other hand, how can you make a ship that sounds so cool and sharp and dynamic and wild and epic into something so dull so overdone so muted so tumblr(derogatory) and flatlined

believe it or not, Simon is optimistic, funny even. For obvious reasons he has a very serious/blunt and depressing demeanor but this man is not serious AT ALLLL!!! this is the guy that requested to prosecute the orca case if i recall correctly THIS MAN IS FRIENDS WITH LITERAL CLOWNS AND COMEDIANS ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? AND YOUR BEST SHOT AT COMEDY IS mommy step on me WHATTT

and yeah, Kay doesnt have a lot of characterization so its free real state when it comes to 7yg BUT PLEASEEEE UNDERSTAND THAT SHE IS FUNNY!! SHE IS VERY FUNNY like imagine

Kay: imma do a crime :3

Simon: no Kay, crime is bad

Kay: but... what if its funny?

Simon: alright im listening

like- unlike Edgeworth, Simon is very easy to convince him to do shenanigans and tomfloolery and YOURE NOT EXPLOITING THAT?? WHY????

imma tell you why, cause her works reek of the fucking ooze, the NRMT shipper* ooze, which in my opinion is bitter, snarky and you dont end up understanding why the characters got togheter in the first place if they're going to be so unpleasent to each other. and it can get very angsty. and i dont like angst. like at all....... and that shit is very abundant on those places yknow?

*the NRMY shipper ooze also exists i just dont know how unpleasent it could taste to those who dont enjoy it cause yeah i do enjoy it xd

(sometimes Kay is like written as Franziska but with Kay traits and less violent, is the vibe that i got from one of the fics lel)

i will say that the wings au fic is looking pretty interesting and i wanna see what happens next. And i hope that includes a faryan arc lolol, yess kay x daryan thatd be so fucking funny like ya feel me??

All in all, i dont think im her target audience and thats ok, not a big fan of girlboss/malewife dynamic either, pls enjoy that very away from me thx

THE DRAWINGS ARE PRETTY THO, NOTHING TO COMPLAIN IN THE TECHNICAL DEPT BUT THE CONTENT CAN GET VERY UNDERWHELMING♥

tl;dr: i like it in theory, not very much in esdi's practice in particular. i wish to see faraquill interpreted by other creators but i cant be that change i want to see in this world. i dont know if shes carrying other ships by herself but i certainly am and even then i got v a r i e t y

ok ill stop the bragging heh-

[goddesschannel]

My top ten self love tips.

#1

Invest in things that make yourself feel luxurious.

Candles, makeup, perfume, bags, shoes, whatever your cup of tea. No matter how big or small.

#2

Workout multiple times a week.

Working out always helps my confidence, it makes me feel rejuvenated, and proud of myself. It’s great for your health, body image, and mental health.

#3

Keep yourself fresh, and always smelling good.

You don’t gotta use expensive products to do this. Routine : scrub, wash, moisturize and fragrance.

#4

Don’t follow people who make you question yourself.

Not a temporary thing, and not for everyone. This is for the people who currently have low self asteem, and find themselves struggling everytime they see a baddie on the TL. I struggle with this, and I have to say, it will make you feel so much better to focus on yourself and not compare yourself to those who you don’t even know. Once your self image is better, I suggest refollowing these people, you could find them inspiring.

#5

Stay consistent.

On ANY and EVERYTHING. If there’s one thing to do, stay consistent. This could be for school, eating healthy, working out, skincare routine, anything. Staying consistent will help you feel accomplished, proud, and will make you want to keep doing it.

#6

Keep your room clean. It’s your sanctuary.

#7

Get off your phone, find a hobby.

Quarantine has us all messed up, phone addiction to the max. I’m here to tell you right now, if you discover things you love to do outside of it, you’ve opened a whole new realm. For me, it’s baking, cooking, sketching, makeup, and selling clothes online.

#8

Wear cute pajamas, slippers, loungewear, etc.

It’ll boost your confidence, make you feel like so good. It makes you feel like your shit is together.

#9

Find a signature scent that is NOT popular.

You do not want to be out here smelling like every other person. Find something unique, and unpopular that fits you well. Ulta, Sephora, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and target are some of the top places for these. Dig.

#10

Take care of yourself.

Simply, just take care of yourself. Take good care of your teeth. Floss, brush, daily. Practice good hygiene, keep a clean room, have a routine, work out, stay on your small goals. This will all be a foundation for bigger and better things for you.

xoxo

[codenamesazanka]

video games + fantasy and magic + quirk society + League:

*

“—So they’re all quirkless… But Shuuichi-kun just said some of them can shoot fire or shadow blasts.”

“Those aren’t quirks. It’s magic.”

“Like what Mister does?”

“No, it’s real magic. Er, well, real magic inside the story.”

“Sounds incredible! What the heck is real magic.”

“Ah, that. Magic is the stuff of dreams, of wonders, and grasping it within the palms of—“

“That’s got nothing to do with Insignia of the Inferno: Emergence. Don’t listen to him. Magic is a skill. It’s a supernatural power that performs ranged attacks which affects the stats of the target. You know, their condition, their health points, them as a character!”

“That just sounds like a quirk…”

“Well it isn’t! It’s fantasy. That’s how fantasy games and stories worked back then. Classical fantasy, about ancient and feudal times.”

“Ehhhh. All the stories I read when I was little had quirks. Like, Beauty and the Beast? The Beast Prince is a heteromorph, and Belle could touch mirrors to see faraway things! Or! Or like Momotaro can talk to animals, and Usagi had a transformation quirk—“

“Those don’t count as classical fantasy—“

“All those stories have all been changed from the original ones, to suit this modern extraordinary age. Remember, Toga-chan, no one had quirks back then. For most of human history until relatively recently, we were quirkless. In those original tales, the folklores and myths, the characters instead had divine blessings or otherworldly gifts… Magic, as it were.”

“Hmm…”

“Yeah, what Mister said. In Insignia, which is classical fantasy, everyone is quirkless. But! Some people, called mages, could do magic. And magic can be learned. As you level up, you learn more spells, you can use different types of attack depending on the kind of enemy. Back to the story, Alouet discovers a magic tome that contains the three ancient spells to seal away the—”

“That sounds unfair. They can do magic, but also have multiple magics?”

“Toga-chan is right, that’s cheating! And also sorta like your teacher, Shigaraki.”

“…Heh.”

“I told you guys, magic. is. not. quirks. And all mages know multiple—”

“Okay, okay! I know, magic is magic. So what happens next? Keep going, Shuuichi-kun.”

“I am! Alouet discovers the tome, and realizes that to seal away the Seven-Eyed Beast, they must travel to the each of the Three Celestial Dragons’ realms. At each realm, Prince Rhod - who has the Grace of Dawn that’s passed through the royal bloodline - performs the ritual to summon—”

“The Prince is a mage?“

“No, he’s not. Remember? The royal family had sworn to forsake magic—”

“But then how can he have this dragon summon power?”

“It’s not magic. This is something only the royal family have—”

“So they’re the only ones with a dragon quirk. I get it! I’m completely lost.”

“How many times do I have to—”

“It’s all game mechanisms, none of it has to make sense. Magic is just an attack that deals damage. Think of it as different types of weapons. Bow and arrows, throwing daggers, swords. You can get any one of them. You can use each one. That’s what magic spells are. Weapons.”

“Ooh, gotcha. And Prince Rhod?”

“Demigod. He summons dragons because they recognize him as a descendant of their former masters.”

“And then?”

“He gets the dragons, they kill the Beast, they retrieve the crown, and he’s King. The End.”

“…That’s it?”

“There’s more than that! And Prince Rhod isn’t—“

“King Rhod, now that he has the crown. Great! Wonderful retelling. Only took up…three-fourths of the hour. Now, it’s getting late—”

“Mister, I’m not finished.”

“He’s sick of your stupid video game story, Spinner! I liked it! But not really.”

“…It’s more fun to play it.”

“You’re just also a big nerd, Tomura-kun. You and Shuuichi-kun both are, classic-magic-quirk-fairy-tale-fantasy-whatever video games otakus.”

“Magic isn’t— You’re doing this on purpose, Toga! Hey—!”

“But don’t worry, I’ll still hang out with you guys~~”

*

tl;dr: Imagine how much nerdier Shigaraki and Spinner might actually seem when they have to explain historical conceptualizations of magic on top of the game mechanisms itself. RIP

[mirai227]

How to go from beginner to intermediate in a language!

Hi! I recently reached an intermediate level in French, and I am on my way to reaching an intermediate level in Spanish too, so I thought I would try to offer some tips and ideas about how you could reach an intermediate level in your target language as well.

What does an intermediate level feel like?

So from what I can gather, the beginner level (about A1/A2 on the CEFR scale for languages) is where you can communicate on a very basic level, and can only really understand beginner learners' content. Native material is kind of a no go (except maybe for children’s content). You can understand about 30% of what natives say at natural speed, and can struggle through some basic articles with key vocabulary, as long as you are already familiar with the subject and the key vocabulary. You can express yourself in quite a limited way, and can speak about familiar subjects, while being able to provide some simple explanations why. This self-assessment grid can tell you more about what you can and can’t do at these levels.

At the intermediate level (about B1/B2), native material is slowly but surely becoming more easy for you to understand. For me, it usually means that I can understand enough words and phrases when native speakers speak to piece together what they are discussing, though I can’t really provide specifics. You can understand about 50/60% of what natives are saying about a relatively wide range of everyday subjects (though specialised language for complex adult discussions on things like science and philosophy is usually too difficult at this stage). You can express yourself quite well on a wide range of subjects, though in an often clumsy and simplistic manner. At this level, you should be able to survive in a country where the language is spoken, and operate fairly well in a professional setting (if the language required is not too complex). You will definitely make a lot of mistakes, but not too many, so you should be understood by natives. This self-assessment grid can tell you more about what you can and can’t do at these levels.

What should your goals generally be here?

Greatly expand your vocabulary.

Improve your grammar to a passable conversational level (watch this video clip to understand what I mean).

Get comfortable speaking with native speakers.

Make sure that most of your study time is spent consuming or using your target language. Minimise contact with the languages you already know, except maybe for grammar.

Spend a minimum of around 1-2 hours a day on your target language.

How should you reach intermediate level?

Use a textbook for around that level. For me, I used the higher tier textbooks for GCSEs, which is about the level that I wanted to reach. I went through the whole textbook, learnt all the vocabulary that I came across, and did all the practice questions that I could find. This helped me immensely. Textbooks are usually organised to provide the base of what you need to reach an intermediate level. However, they should not be used alone.

Find a native speaker to talk to! Seriously, this helped me so so much. Before, I was not comfortable speaking to natives in French at all, but I started to speak with a friend of mine twice a week, and I was absolutely stunned by how much more smooth and confident my speaking became. I looked up words that I needed to know while I was speaking with her, and this really helped me fill in the gaps of my knowledge. I also learnt a lot of the nuances in French and and discovered some really cool and useful phrases. Try making a habit of speaking either with someone, or by yourself every day. If you don’t know something, then google translate is your friend! That way you can learn really cool set phrases. You can usually find someone to talk to on discord servers if you join some language learning ones, though be very careful about revealing any personal details or your face. Arrange a fixed time a few times a week and stick to it!

Study every day. Seriously, I really dropped the ball with my Spanish and because of this, my progress has been really slow. I could be at the intermediate level in Spanish already, but because I’ve been so slow, I’m not. Figure out what time of day you are most productive at (for me this is the early morning) and set a fixed time for studying your target language. It’s okay to experiment a little, and for it to take some time to figure out your schedule. With languages, at this stage, it is very easy to forget things, so going a long time without studying (longer than a month) is really going to hinder your progress. Still, you should always be your first priority, so if things are too busy for your studies at the moment, then it is fine to put your studies on hold for a while, or even stop them altogether. Just make peace with the fact that your progress will be a little slower than you might like.

Do lots of practice questions for grammar. It is all well and good to hear about the rules and write notes down, but if you cannot use it in practice, then frankly, you do not know the rule. Find a grammar workbook, like this one, or this one, and work through it. You can use HiNative to find corrections if you do not know the answer. Then, try making sure that you actually use it in your writing or speaking. Experiment, and learn from the corrections that people make.

Keep a journal in the language, and post it on websites like Journaly. Write about subjects that you already know about, and make sure that you use as many grammar rules that you know as you can. Try to elaborate on your reasons and opinions on things. It will be difficult at first, and you will make absolutely loads of mistakes, but as time goes on, you will gradually start to improve. Look up words that you don’t know, and write them down so that you can learn them later.

Try listening to intermediate content. Yes, it will be difficult, and you won’t be able to understand much, but as time goes on, you will slowly become more accustomed to the vocabulary you need to reach that level. Make sure whatever podcast you are listening to has a transcript, and highlight and learn the new vocabulary that you have discovered using Anki, or any flashcard app. Listen whenever you have time to kill, like on the train or when you are doing the dishwasher - it’ll really help!

Text natives on apps like Tandem or HelloTalk. It’ll get you used to forming the written language more quickly, and will let you practice more conversational phrases.

Make sure that you have the basics of grammar down, like all the essential tenses and basic particles, before moving onto harder things. Find a list of grammar, or a textbook that specifically covers intermediate level, and do lots of practice questions on each one.

Watch some native content on YouTube on subjects that you are familiar with and really like. Again, this will be difficult, but helpful! Make sure the videos have subtitles in the target language so that you can follow what it is about. Do NOT use english subtitles. It is vital that you get used to understanding the language without the crutch of the languages you already know. Look up the words that you do not know, and learn them using whatever vocabulary learning method that you like.

Read children’s (like, young children) stories and books to practice reading. It will be surprisingly difficult, because the grammar used in children’s books is usually for around a certain degree of fluency. Learn the vocabulary you don’t know, and try to practice when you can.

Learner’s material and articles are usually quite good for reading as well, as they are frequently quite challenging. You can find some in your textbook, or online if you google “[language] intermediate reading exercises”. You can probably also find reading comprehension books online if you try hard enough.

Learn vocabulary in context instead of memorising lists of vocabulary. Find the vocabulary you don’t know in all the content you are consuming, or look up words that you want to use yourself, and write them down with example sentences. Then, learn them using flashcard apps or websites like memrise, quizlet and anki.

For your pronunciation, shadow native speakers. Listen to how they say words, and imitate them. Personally, I use Easy Languages videos for this, along with random YouTube videos with subtitles in the target language. If a certain sound is difficult for you, then be proactive! Look up YouTube videos and articles on how to pronounce the word, and keep on practicing until you eventually get it.

Engaging with people on social media can be a fun easy way of practicing your TL. You can read or listen to posts and leave comments.

That’s it! That’s all the advice I can possibly think of. I hope you found this post helpful!

Here are some articles that I have found useful in the past:

How You Can Become Fluent in a Language - In Just One Year By Ramsay Lewis

9 points about language learning and how I’m learning 20+ of them By @ravenclawhard

Language learning tips for beginner & intermediate learners 🌍 By Lindie Botes/ @rinkodesu

[lea-andres]

After a long stretch of nonstop shit posting and talking about my fiancé, here's some actual headcanoned lore (that I take seriously).

Espio's meditation is, to put it lightly, far more involved than just him clearing his mind and breathing deeply. (It has to be, if Vector and Charmy need a pepper grinder to get him to snap out of it.)

Part of Espio's ninja training was learning how to take his consciousness, and send it deep within himself to a plane of existence created by his subconscious. His "mind palace" as I will call it throughout the rest of this post.

The purpose of the mind palace is to mentally train and for self reflection, but Espio will also use it while working on cases to run through all the evidence and testimonies they've had so far to see if he notices anything they missed the first time.

Unless he's working on case stuff (where he will instead recreate the scene of the crime or any other point of interest), his mind palace looks like the ninja village he was born in. There's no one in it, but it's exactly the way Espio remembers it looking before Eggman attacked.

Espio also likes to go into his mind palace and meditate. THAT meditation is just the clearing the head and breathing deeply kind (no Inception shenanigans here, or at the very least Espio hasn't figured out how to go even further inside himself yet)

The one thing Espio's mind palace is lacking (which to be fair, Eggman attacked his village and killed his whole clan before Espio COULD learn this) is proper defenses.

Unfortunately, this never really occurred to Espio until Mephiles attempted to take control of his mind to extract revenge against Silver.

(Mephiles is going to be his own post at a later date, but TL;DR, he survived the events of 06, but lacks a corporeal form. He wants revenge on Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, but none of them remember him.)

So Mephiles found out Espio and Silver are close (I have an Espilver and a non-Espilver version of this particular event, because I'm multishipper trash, but in both of them Mephiles picks Espio to be his target. His plan in the non-Espilver route is just "keep your friends close and enemies closer" and quietly take out Silver first chance he gets. His plan in the Espilver route is A LOT DARKER. He plans to take advantage of the pair's closeness and Silver's insecurities to COMPLETELY SHATTER THE HEDGEHOG'S HEART AND MIND. Like, Prince Hans from Frozen, BUT WAY WAY WORSE.), and discovered upon further investigation that Espio's mind palace is VERY EASY to get into, so he just slips in and starts changing stuff.

Espio noticed this IMMEDIATELY the next time he meditated, and engaged in an hours long battle with Mephiles to keep control of his mind.

Vector and Charmy were also aware something was wrong. They attempted to pepper grinder Espio at one point, and for the first time ever it didn't work. Charmy pulled one of his eyelids open to discover HIS EYE HAD TURNED COMPLETELY BLACK, and he and Vector completely flipped out because THAT'S NOT NORMAL WHAT THE HELL-

They didn't really have a plan (not much they COULD do, to be fair) beyond "if Espio seems even remotely off when he wakes up, just start beating the crap out of him, it's probably not Espio anymore!", But Espio was fine when he eventually defeated Mephiles, booted him out of his mind, and woke up.

He just requested the two get word to Silver that Mephiles is coming for revenge, and passed out and slept for three days straight.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Yuugiroku 3 drama: Please teach me, Yamazaki-san! English translation

Special thanks to @nollatooru​ for extracting text again since there’s no way this would have been translated anytime soon since the majority of drama translations that I’ve found as videos only are near the very bottom of my to-do list.

This is my translation of the 薄桜鬼 遊戯録 隊士達の大宴会 店铺特典「教えてください山崎さん！」, the Yuugiroku 3 (too much of a hassle to look up the actual name) drama: Please teach me, Yamazaki-san!

Ended up doing a bit more research that I would have liked to translate this since the names of the positions in the Shinsengumi’s organization for spies didn’t translate well from Japanese into Chinese (huzzah for google translate and for biographies that list names in Chinese and Japanese so I was able to find the information I was looking for in English)... Also, i didn’t look up the gameplay for anything since I had to uninstall KW and EB for space when I was taking things off my damaged passport, not that it would have made much of a difference since I can’t recall a point when the “Watch” was actually voiced... so I might not really be consistent with a few things in this translation since I only did research during the latter half of this...? 

oh well. i don’t know Japanese and don’t do the editing for my subtitle videos until I compare everything to the audio later so I can claim ignorance. i suppose that’s an odd benefit of not understanding Japanese hahaha.   

Anyway, as always, my translation not be 100% accurate since I translate from Chinese. final edits will probably take a bit longer (in comparison to the other things i’m still sitting on) to do since im still debating about what im do with all the Watch-related words since I really don’t like it when the things I translate aren’t consistent....

PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION: I HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST READING THIS AND WAITING FOR MY SUBTITLE VIDEO.

Hakuoki Shinkai Yuugiroku, Please teach me, Yamazaki-san! Drama CD

Translation by KumoriYami

Yamazaki: (I think that since there haven't been any large manhunt operations lately [reword later? tl can also mean "to hunt and arrest"], things have been quiet.)

(However, what is that guy doing/is that guy's purpose?)

The one out there, I'm not going to run.

So come out and tell me why you're spying on me.

~wind blows~

(Not planning on coming out...?)

-grips sword-

Then, I'll take the imitative to attack.

(movement in bushes)

Souma: Ah, please wait a moment!

Yamazaki: Oh. You are... Souma-kun?

(movement in bushes again) Saito: Sure enough, I was immediately found/discovered/I was detected immediately. As expected of Yamazaki.

Yamazaki: Based on just the breathing, I thought there was only one person, yet Saito-san was also still here. Exactly what are you doing?

Souma: Sorry! I didn't mean to do anything strange.

It's just that I wanted to observe Yamazaki-san work.

Yamazaki: Observe me work?

Although it's fine if you want to watch, but aren't you the Chief's page?

Saito: I recommended that he try this,  But he was immediately found. Still it's better to ask the person himself directly.

Yamazaki: You two, what are you talking about?

Souma:...Um, Then, Yamazaki-san, please show me how to [/you] work! ----

Souma: Hakuoki Shinkai Yuugiroku, Store Bonus Drama CD, Please teach me, Yamazaki-san! ----

Yamazaki: In other words, you now understand the duties of a page, and still want to know what sort work the other warriors do, and want to try monitoring/surveillance/doing the Watch's work? 

Is that how it is? Souma-kun.

Souma: It's just as you said. As the chief's page, I work hard every day, but I still don't know a lot about the Shinsengumi.

That's why I went and asked Saito-san [about this].

Saito: I know that Souma is working very hard. Though that will naturally be [more/become] obvious as time goes by/Though as time goes by, that will naturally be understood/Although this has been said for a while, this will naturally be understood. [check audio]

Yamazaki: But you don't want to wait for/until then, and want to be of use as quickly as possible?

Souma: Yes. Can you help me with this, even if it's [for] just a little bit?

Yamazaki: Hm.

Souma: Yamazaki-san.

Yamazaki: No, I was just reminiscing the past/thinking about the past.

I used to be as anxious as you are.

Alright, if I can, permit me to teach you.

Souma: Thank you very much!

Saito: Then can I also accompany/join you?

Yamazaki: Saito-san also wants to? That won't be a problem.

Saito: I also have experience following people while on patrol

I'm very interested in how the Watch [im pretty sure it's the Watch here and in the earlier instance. tho i can't say for certain since CN doesn't exactly do capitalization and ive never played the game in Chinese] fulfills its duties.

Please allow me to learn again. [check audio]

Yamazaki: In that case then, I'll ask you to please look after me.

----

Yamazaki: Although it normally referred to as the Watch,

the Watch is actually divided into two sections.

Souma: In terms of how it organized, sorry but please review it for me again.

Saito: The part of the organization for spies which acts by itself to gather external intelligence is called Shoshi shirabeyaku ken kansatsu*, and within that, those who are responsible for investigating/monitoring the conduct of [the/our?] members/the investigators whose duty is to supervise the conduct of/our members are known as the Kansatsugata**

* Shinsengumi's organizational post for investigating movements of the opponents and keeping the Shinsengumi members under control. (source: https://japanese-wiki-corpus.github.io/person/Kuwajiro%20OISHI.html)

**  had to look this up on the Shinsengumi wiki.samurai-archives

Yamazaki, who holds both positions/is capable of accomplishing both duties, is at the core of the Kansatsugata.

Souma: Shoshi shirabeyaku and Kansatsugata...

After hearing this again, I really feel that Yamazaki-san is quite amazing.

Yamazaki: Uh, do-don't say that out loud. I'm not used to it.

Souma: But, monitoring/investigating/supervising the conduct of the other members...

Saito: It's to secretly investigate whether or not members are conducting themselves in a manner that is befitting as members of the the Shinsengumi, and whether or not they have done anything improper.

Souma: In other words/That is to say, that also includes my actions so far.

Yamazaki: At the moment, you have no problems [there are no problems with you?].

Souma: Is-Is that so...

Yamazaki: There are almost two hundred members. Among them, there will be people who do not abide by the regulations, and those who clearly show their dissatisfaction/obviously dissatisfied or are treasonous/or even rebellious.

Souma: I see. Indeed there are people who obviously show that.

Saito:  It these people incite trouble within the team, it would be very troublesome.

That's why the Kansatsugata are needed to investigate people like this.

Yamazaki: Having said that, the three of us have been quite noisy so it would be helpful if we quickly correct that here. Ah. The two of you, over there.

Saito: Say who is there [more like "name" i guess? probably more "identify who is over there" ]

Souma: That is... Nagakura-san? There are several other people [He's with some other people/several others].

Yamazaki: This is a rare opportunity to train one of the basic skills for spying/[needed] as a spy. I'll give you a demonstration. Afterwards, you'll eavesdrop on their conversation without being discovered.

Souma: Yes, I'll do my best.

--------

Saito: Almost 15 minutes have passed. But it's really bold for you to have come up with this practical training, Yamazaki.

Yamazaki: For his first time attempt at doing this, Nagakura-san is suitable [to practise with]. As long as one isn't murderous [being bloodthirsty? think of something later], he'll basically ignore you.

Saito: Nn. If it was Souji, he would immediately draw his sword for a harsh/ruthless interrogation.

Yamazaki: No, Saito-san would do the same thing, and immediately get rid of your pursuer [not sure if this is in the "dispose of" sense though the tl i have can be translated that way lol].

Saito: Well, it doesn't feel good to be tested when I obviously haven't been disloyal.

Yamazaki: It's as you say, but this is my job.

Souma: AAAHHHHHH!!!!

Saito: Uh. [That’s] Souma. Why is he being hunted down [chased/pursued]?

Yamazaki: By whom/Who is it? Ah, Okita-san, at this time?

(frantic steps) Souma: Sorry! I didn't mean to do anything else!

This was just training for surveillance work!

(sword swung) Souma: AAAHHH!!

Okita-san, please forgive me!

Saito: An unexpected situation.

Yamazaki: He needs help to get away/escape from that situation, he isn't his opponent at all/he's no match for him.

Saito: I'll figure out a way to deal with Souji. You escape with Souma/You take Souma and run away. --------

Souma: Truly thank you for just now. Okita-san was already behind me before I realized it I really thought that I was going to die/I was dead.

Saito: Dying is a bit of an exaggeration.

But I'm certain he would have stabbed your neck with his sword and left you half-dead.

Yamazaki: I didn't expect Okita-san to be nearby, but there was way of knowing that you'd encounter him/but nothing can be done about meeting him [check audio].

Well then, change your mood for the next training [reword later]. The target is that room. Remain quiet from this point onward.

Souma: What's next?

Yamazaki: Take this letter and swap it with the letter in that room. But, in the next room, there is someone you must not be detected by.

Saito: Training for intelligence work? If this goes well, then it's possible that the other party won't even notice you.

Souma: That would be good, so it's just this letter? Then, I'll be right back.

Yamazaki: Ah, be very careful.

---------

Yamazaki: He entered the room without any problems.

Saito: Ah. So, who is the person in the next room?

Yamazaki: Well, it shouldn't matter since that person is asleep during the day.

( door slides open, then frantic steps)

Souma: Saito-san, Yamazaki-san! I'm sorry! I couldn't do it!   As soon as I entered the room, I felt that someone was staring at me through the door of the next room! There was also this creepy laughter/ing!

Saito: Laughter? The eyes staring at you, were they red?  [i swear this is going to become fanart one day lol. for both the spying and souma talking about what happened]

Souma: Yes! they didn't look like human eyes at all!

(door slides open.... slow creaking footsteps)

Saito: Does that mean that one over there was...

Yamazaki: Ah, damn it! He's awake!

Saito: Yamazaki, you go first! I'll deal with this!

Yamazaki: Sorry! I'll leave the General Secretary [so... i don't really like the English localization translation of Sanan's position being  a "colonel" so i looked up what it said on wikipedia and used that] to you! Souma-kun, come here!

This training/Training ends here!

Souma: Eh, eeehhhhhhhh?!

Saito: I'm sorry that it was noisy while your rested [that this noise disturbed your rest?], this was as a result of... --------

Souma:  What the hell that just now...

Yamazaki + Saito: It was just your imagination.

Souma: Eh. But, "General Secretary" was clearly said...

Yamazaki + Saito: You imagined hearing it [tl is more "it was an illusion" and one that is heard... maybe "you're hearing things"?. kinda gave up on thinking about that right now. ]

Souma:  Is, is that so... uh. That being said...

Saito: What's wrong/What is it?

Souma: Although the Kansatsugata feels quite unremarkable, each individual/everyone posses outstanding abilities, and I've been made aware of that again. [However] I 'm incapable of doing this sort of work.

Yamazaki: Hm. It can be said that you're not talented at this.

Souma: Eh?

Yamazaki: In the first place, not everyone can do this.

All of us within the Kansatsugata are constantly working on improving our skills.

We're always fighting in the shadows for the Shinsengumi.

What you think of being outstanding abilities is the results of our hard work. [remarkable capabilities?]

Souma: Truly, Yamazaki-san is amazing. I understand why everyone trusts you!  

Yamazaki: Th-That's why you shouldn't look at me like that. But for you, I think that you're better suited to doing honest work [tl can basically mean "honourable," "not devious" or "out in the open" in the straightforward sense] and not this secret monitoring work/surveillance in the shadows [reword later].

Saito: Indeed, compared to secretly taking covert actions in the shadows, you are better suited at working in the open, Souma.

Souma: I-is that so...

Thank you very much for this/that. If it's possible, I hope to still learn some things from you.

Yamazaki: There will be opportunities for that. Then, we'll end today's training here. Souma-kun, is there/do you have anything else you want to ask?

Souma: [Something] I want to ask.... ah. then, Yamazaki-san, may I ask you one last question?

Yamazaki: Ah, if I can answer, I won't hold back [will/do so].

Souma: What sort of technique is the "Tatami flip"?

Yamazaki: Ta... Where did you hear that name from?

Souma: Just now during this investigator training/spy training, Nagakura-san mentioned it/Nagakura-san mentioned it while doing the operative training. It is said that it is Yamazaki-san's most powerful technique.

Yamazaki: That guy said something unnecessary! No, Souma-kun, that's.... It's not something amazing like a secret technique..

Saito: Why are you being modest? That move is indeed capable of being referred to as/called  a secret technique. If it's possible, I'll ask you to please teach me it. Perhaps I will be able to apply it to kenjutsu.

Yamazaki: Even Saito-san, what are you saying? [Even Saito-san is saying this? check audio]

Souma: Please, Yamazaki-san!

Saito: I'll be requesting the same of you, Yamazaki. [tl is more "i'm also requesting (you) to do so/asking"]

Yamazaki: Bo-Both of you, please raise your heads. I-I get it! I'll teach you.

Souma: Really?!  Thank you very much!

Yamazaki: But, you can't tell anyone else about this.

Saito: Nn. Understood.

Yamazaki: Then, please get behind me. Aoyi***, Tatami flip!

This is the literal Mandarin pronunciation of the tl without tones. CN tl can mean “profound argumentation” (in Chinese), tho it's also used to refer to some of the highest level of martial skills in JP (so says a baidu search on the term). 

The English google translate of that page puts this phrase as "Ogi," and after reading this page that mentions "ogi" (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-9948.html#:~:text=Yielding%20is%20called%20%22ju%22%20as,an%20open%20heart%20without%20ego.), so i will probably change this to either "Secret move" or "hidden technique" based on what it mentioned there

Souma: Uoh!

Yaamzaki: Ju-Just now, that was the Tatami flip.

Souma: Amazing, that was amazing, Yamazaki-san! How were you able to do that without any tools [check audio]? Please tell me how to do this!

Saito: This can be used indoors while fighting defensively/can be used as a defence when fighting indoors. It can also be used to hinder an enemy's movements.

Yamazaki: Yes. This requires focusing your strength into the centre of your palm, and within a single breath, smack/slap the edge of the tatami, and then lifting it up when the edge bounces.

Souma: So it's like that? Hoh.... tatami flip! Uh. Areh? It didn't bounce at all.

Yamazaki: Haha. It's not something you can master right away. It also took me a long time to do it. Concentrate/Focus a bit more strength into the palm of your hand.

Souma: Ha! Ah! Yah! It-It's not moving...

Saito: Practise makes perfect./Won't practise make perfect [check audio]? Alright, I will challenge this. Should the position of my hand be around here?

Yamazaki: Yes. [Though] It's better to have it moved a bit forward [moved up a bit]/ if the if the center of gravity is moved forward.

Saito: Understood. Then, I'll be going. Secret technique: Tatami flip!

Yamazaki: No way...

Souma: Uoh.

Saito: Nn. That happened naturally [reword later...? tl is is basically "letting nature take its course was achieved"] .

Souma: Sa-Saito-san, that was amazing! You actually succeeded in one go!

Saito: No, there's no guarantee that this will succeed every time. The accuracy and speed can be further improved upon.

Souma: Really, the Shinsengumi has assembled some amazing people. I can't fall behind and have to work even harder.

Saito: Ah , work hard. I am always willing to practise kenjutsu with you.

Yamazaki: Ah, but, to have it actually done it so easily, my confidence...

Saito: What is it, Yamazaki?

Yamazaki: No, I just feel that need to train a lot more. Let's improve together, Souma-kun.

Souma: Yes! Please look after me!

Souma Kazue, Kaji Yūki Saito Hajime, Toriumi Kōsuke Yamazaki Susumu, Suzuki Takayuki

-end-

sorry but this is the only souma thing i have scheduled for april. 

also i wanted some Yamazaki content translated, but i unfortunately don’t remember if i ever found Yamazaki’s route from Yuugiroku 2... so I settled on translating what I hope is a certain complete chapter (as viewed via the extras menu) of Souji’s route with him in it... sorta. scheduled for july!

--------

image from suruga-ya

[edwardsshinyvolvo]

Twilight timeline

*dates from twilight lexicon*

2005 –

January

March

17th (Mon) – Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington.  (SM-TL)

18th (Tue) – She meets Edward Cullen who is drawn to her blood.  Edward leaves Forks for Alaska for one week to avoid killing Bella. (TW1)

24th (Mon) – Edward returns to Forks (TW2) (SM-TL).

25th (Tue) – Car accident (TW3) (SM-TL)

26th  – March 1st  (Tue) – Edward avoids Bella ( TW4)(SM-TL)

2nd  (Wed.) – Bella is asked to the dance by Mike, Eric, and Tyler.  Edward spends the night in Bella’s room without her being aware of it.(TW4) (TW14)

3rd (Thurs.)  – Bella sits with Edward at lunch – Blood testing – Bella nearly passes out and Edward drives her home. (TW5)

4th (Fri) – Edward hunts with Emmett (TW5)

5th (Sat) – Bella goes to First Beach and meets Jacob Black – Jacob tells Bella about the cold ones being the enemy of the wolf – Bella has a horrible dream about Edward. (TW6–7)

6th  (Sun) – Bella searches the Internet for information about vampires – she walks in the wood to clear her head. (TW7)

7th  (Mon) – Very sunny – Edward does not attend school (TW7)

8th  (Tues) – Sunny again – Edward does not attend school – Bella shops in Port Angeles and is nearly attacked by thugs – Edward saves her and admits he is a vampire and that he can hear everyone’s thoughts but Bellas. (TW7–8–9)

9th  (Wed) – Edward and Bella let it be known they are a “couple” – Bella asks all the questions. (TW10)

10th (Thurs) – Edward’s turn to ask questions. (TW11)

11th  (Fri) – Edward leaves after lunch to hunt with Alice. (TW12)

12th (Sat) – Edward takes Bella to the Meadow. They spend the night together with Edward just holding Bella as she sleeps.(TW13–14)

13th (Sun) – Edward introduces Bella to his family – the baseball game – James targets Bella – Bella tells her father she is leaving Forks. (TW15–16–17–18–19)

14th (Mon) – Alice, Jasper, and Bella arrive in Phoenix (TW20)

16th  (Wed) James tricks Bella into running away and meeting him – Bella nearly dies and Edward is forced to drink her blood to save her from becoming a vampire. (TW21–22–23)

18th (Fri) – Bella awakens in the hospital with multiple injuries. (TW24)

May –Edward escorts Bella to the Prom  (TW Ep) (SM-TL)

September

13th (Tues) – Bella’s 18th birthday.  Party at the Cullen’s – Bella cuts her arm and causes a near riot – Edward takes her home and stays with her though the night. (NM1–2)

14th (Wed) – Edward is distant and refuses to stay will Bella at night. (NM2)

15th (Thurs) – Edward avoids Bella and Bella works on her scrapbook (NM2)

16th (Fri) – Edward tells Bella that he and his family are leaving Forks and Bella forever – Bella goes into some sort of shock – a tracking party finds Bella nearly comatose. (NM3)

October – December – Bella exists in a zombie-like state only doing the bare minimum needed to really survive.

2006

January

16th (Fri) – Bella goes out with friends to a movie to appease Charlie – Bella discovers that when she puts herself in danger, she seems to hear Edward’s voice. (NM4)

17th (Sat) – Bella buys two motorcycles to put herself in further danger – She enlists the help of Jacob Black to fix up the bikes – Bella sleeps without dreaming or screaming. (NM5–6)

18th (Sun) – Bella and Jacob buy parts for the bikes – they eat dinner with the Clearwater family. (NM6)

19th (Mon) – Bella talks to friends at school about the local bear sightings – it has been one year since Bella arrived in Forks – Bella visits the empty Cullen house – Jacob has finished Bella’s motorcycle.(NM6–7)

20th (Tue) – After work, Mike invites Bella to the movies.(NM7)

21st (Wed) – Jacob comes over to study and stays for dinner. (NM7)

23rd(Fri) – Bella and Jacob work in the garage to fix his bike. (NM7)

24th(Sat) – Bella worked at Newton’s and then did homework with Jacob again. (NM7)

25th (Sun) – Jacob finished both bikes – They see Sam and his gang cliff diving – Jacob teaches Bella how to ride a motorcycle – Bella wrecks and gets a cut on her head, but she doesn’t mind – Bella gets seven stitches in the ER and tells Charlie she got hurt in Jake’s garage. (NM7–8)

28th (Wed) – Bella again visits the ER but tells Charlie it came from a fall while hiking. (NM8)

30th (Fri) – Bella enlists Jacob’s help in finding the meadow. (NM8)

February

14th (Sat) – Jacob visits to do homework.  Bella invites him to the movies on Friday with her friends from school. (NM9)

16th (Mon) – Bella tells Mike about going to the movies as a group. (NM9)

20th (Fri)– Jacob finishes his Rabbit and brings it by to show Bella – Everyone but Mike cancels for the movie – Bella, Jacob, and Mike go to the movies – Mike gets sick – Bella notices that Jacob feels very hot – Jacob takes Bella home and admits that he isn’t feeling very well – Bella calls his house later that night and Billy tells her Jake is sick and she should stay away. (NM9)

21st (Sat) – Bella is sick and doesn’t go to work. (NM9)

22nd (Sun) – Bella talks to Jake on the phone and he tells her to stay away until he calls again. (NM9)

23rd-27th (Mon-Fri) – Bella keeps calling Jacob only to be told he can’t come to the phone. (NM10)

28th (Sat) – Harry Clearwater tells Charlie he has been having heart trouble – Harry explains that Jake has mono and that Bella needs to stay away – Bella is suspicious and decides to give it one more week. (NM10)

March

4th (Sat) – Billy tells Bella Jacob is feeling better and that he is out with his friends – Bella goes looking for the meadow on her own where she sees Laurent – Laurent explains that Victoria sent him to find Bella and that he intends to kill her – Five huge wolves appear and chase Laurent away from Bella. (NM10)

7th (Tue) – Bella calls Jacob, but gets no answer. (NM11)

8th (Wed) – Bella calls Jake’s house every half hour. (NM11)

9th (Thus) – Bella sits in her truck in front of Jake’s house. (NM11)

10th (Fri) – Bella figures out that Jake must be in Sam’s gang and talks to Charlie about it – Bella gives Quil a ride home and he confirms that Jake is now with Sam’s gang – Bella goes to see Jake and he says he can’t hang out with Bella anymore – Charlie confronts Billy about the situation – Jacob comes into Bella room at night and apologizes but says he still can’t tell Bella the truth – he reminds her of the scary stories he once told her and tells her to think about them. (NM11–12)

11th (Sat) – Bella has a nightmare and wakes up to realize that Jacob is a werewolf – Charlie tells Bella that the wolves have attacked someone and that they are going to shoot the wolves – Bella goes to warn Jacob – Jacob explains that they killed Laurent but there is still another vampire around – Bella tells him about Victoria – Jacob explains a few aspects of being a wolf – Paul and Jacob get into a fight – Bella visits with the pack at Emily’s house. (NM12–13–14)

12th (Sun) – Bella spends all day at La Push. (NM15)

13th (Mon) – First day of Spring Break. (NM15)

14th (Tue) – Bella works and then visits Jake – He explains more about being a werewolf and Bella explains more about the vampires. (NM15) 15th (Wed) – Bella hangs out at Emily’s house and then walks on the beach alone – Jake promises to take her cliff diving. (NM15)

16th  (Thurs) – Bella jumps off a cliff alone and Jacob rescues her – Harry Clearwater dies from a heart attack – Jake and Bella almost kiss – Alice returns. (NM15–16)

17th  (Fri) – Alice and Bella catch up. (NM17)

18th (Sat) – Charlie goes to Harry’s funeral – Edward is told that Bella is dead – Alice and Bella race to Italy to stop Edward from killing himself. (SMW) (NM17 – 18)

19th (Sun) – Alice and Bella make their plans while on the plane to Italy. (NM19)

20th (Mon) – Bella stops Edward from stepping into the sun – the Volturi meet with Edward, Alice,  and Bella – the Volturi agree to let them go so long as they promise to make Bella a vampire soon. (NM20–21)

21st (Tue) – Edward, Alice, and Bella fly back to Forks. (NM22)

22nd (Wed) – Edward explains why he left Bella and that he will never leave her again – Bella puts her mortality to a vote – Edward agrees to change Bella himself is she will marry him. (NM23–24)

April

7 (Sat) – Jacob confronts Edward and Bella about the treaty and gives Bella back her motorcycle. (NM Ep)

May

June

14th (Mon) – Bella reads in the paper about the trouble in Seattle.  She gets her acceptance to the University of Alaska.  (EC1)

15th (Tue) – Alice has a vision of Victoria.  Edward convinces Charlie to let him take Bella to Florida. (EC2)

18th (Fri) – Edward and Bella leave for Florida.

19th (Sat) – The wolves and the Cullens chase Victoria and get into a fight over crossing the boundary line. (EC4)

20th (Sun) – Bella has a chat with her mother about Edward.  They return home from Florida. Jacob calls Bella for the first time in weeks. (EC3)

21st (Mon) – Jacob confronts Edward in front of school.  Edward tells Bella that Victoria had been in Forks.  (EC3)

25th (Fri) – Edward goes hunting.  Bella runs off to LaPush to visit Jacob.  Jacob tells Bella in detail what happened over the weekend with Victoria. (EC4)  Bella learns about imprinting and that the wolves don’t age while they phase. (EC5) Bella avoids Edward and goes to Angela’s house to help her with graduation announcements.  Bella declares that she is “Switzerland.” (EC6)

31st (Thurs) – Bella is kidnapped by Alice after work.  Bella sees that Edward has purchased a bed. (EC6)  Rosalie tells Bella her story of how she became a vampire. (EC7)

1st (Fri) – Bella escapes from school with Jake. (EC7) Bella tells Jacob that she will be a vampire very soon and he gets angry.  Edward returns home and they come to an agreement.  Bella sleeps in his arms in his bed. (EC8)

2nd (Sat) – Bella can’t find certain personal items and Edward realizes that another vampire has been in Bella’s house.  The Cullens debate who it was. (EC9)

3rd (Sun) – Bella calls Jacob and he and Edward agree to let Jacob come over to investigate. (EC9)  Jacob learns that Bella will be changed at graduation and cuts his hand.  Edward explains more about what’s going on in Seattle.  He agrees to let Bella go to LaPush while he is hunting.  Bella sees Edward’s motorcycle.  He drives Bella to the boundary line where they meet Jacob. (EC10)  Bella attends the bonfire and learns all about the werewolf legends and the third wife.

4th (Mon) – Bella finds that Edward has read a part of Wuthering Heights.(EC11)  Alice tells Bella that she is having a graduation party.  Bella sees the graduation poster.  Bella and Edward talk about marriage. (EC12)

5th (Tue) – Bella reads the paper about the events in Seattle. (EC12)  Jasper tells his story.  The Denali vampires won’t help the Cullens because Irena was involved with Laurent. (EC13)

6th (Wed) – Alice insists on going ahead with the party.  Bella suggests that she could help if she were turned into a vampire now.  Renee cancels her trip to Forks on account of Phil’s broken leg. (EC14)

7th (Thurs) – The first day of finals.

8th (Fri) – Second day of finals.  Bella spends the afternoon in LaPush.  Bella invites Jacob to the party.  Jacob tells Bella he is in love with her.  (EC14)  Jacob kisses her and she punches him.  Edward threatens Jacob while Charlie is near by.  Bella learns that Emmett and Jasper have a wager on how many people she will kill. (EC15)

11th (Mon) – Alice gives Bella something to wear for graduation.  Bella figures out that everything is connected and that Victoria is behind it all.  Bella graduates and tells Edward what she discovered. (EC16)  The Cullens make plans during the party.  Jake and the wolves show up and make an alliance with the Cullens.  Jake gives Bella a wolf charm bracelet. (EC17)  The wolves meet with the Cullens in the woods for their first batch of training.  Edward and Jacob work together to plan a way to hide Bella’s scent during the fight. (EC18)  Bella asks Edward to sit out the fight.(EC19)

12th (Tue) – Bella sleeps for most of the day.  Edward goes hunting.  Alice makes arrangements with Charlie for Bella to be gone for a while.  The wolves and vampires meet for their second night of instruction. Bella learns that Leah Clearwater is a werewolf. (EC19)

13th (Wed) – Bella spends the night alone with Edward at his home.  He gives her a “crystal” charm for her bracelet.  He agrees to make love to her while she is human if she agrees to marry him first.  They are officially engaged.  He shows her the engagement ring. (EC20)

14th (Thurs) –  Bella leaves her scent all over the forest.  Edward explains how her blood no longer tempts him the way it used to.  Jacob carries Bella to the camp site. (EC21) Jacob sleeps next to Bella to keep her warm.  Edward and Jacob have an honest conversation while Bella sleeps. (EC22)

15th (Fri) – Jacob learns that Edward and Bella are engaged and runs off.  Edward brings him back.  Bella begs Jacob not to fight.  She asks Jacob to kiss her. (EC23) Feeling badly for it, Bella urges Edward for some intimacy and he insists on waiting.  The newborns attack the Cullens in the clearing.  Victoria and Riley attack Edward, Seth, and Bella at the camp site.  Edward rips off Riley’s arm and Seth finishes him off.  Edward rips off Victoria’s head. (EC24) Victoria and Riley’s remains are burned.  Jacob is wounded and both Seth and Edward “feel” it though the werewolf bond.  The Volturi arrive to clean up. They murder the newborns that are left behind. (EC25)  Bella goes to check on Jake and has to say goodbye to him for good. (EC26) Edward finds Bella crying in her truck and takes her home.  Bella spends the night crying in his arms. (EC27)

16th (Sat) Bella tells Edward she will survive so long as she has him.  They go to talk about the wedding with Alice.  Alice shows her the wedding dress.  Bella asks Alice to be her Maid of Honor. (EC27

(?)  Edward asked Charlie for Bella’s hand in marriage. (BD1) (Note – This date is not specified but this probably happens in the evening of the 16th.)

(?) Bella tells her mother that she is engaged. (BD1) (Note – This date is not specified but this probably happens a few days after Charlie learns of the engagement.)

(?) Bella truck breaks down and Edward buys Bella a Mercedes Guardian (BD1) (Note – this date is not specified but it takes place a few weeks after the 16th)

August

(?) Jacob receives an invitation to Bella and Edward’s wedding along with a note from Edward.  Grief stricken, Jacob phases and runs off.  The pack lets him go. (EC Ep) (Note – This happens sometime between June 16th and Aug 13th.)

(?) Charlie puts up posters in every major city along the Olympic Peninsula looking for Jacob. (BD1) (Note – this probably happened a week or so after Jacob left.)

12th (Sat.) Bella calls Seth to see if he has any news of Jacob.  Alice does the final fittings for Charlie and Bella.  Edward attends his bachelor party. (BD1)

13th (Sun) Edward and Bella are married. (BD3) Jacob attends the reception and nearly starts a fight. (BD4)  Edward and Bella leave for Isle Esme.

14th (Mon) Edward and Bella make love for the first time. (BD5)

15th – 20th Bella has strange dreams and her appetite changes. (BD6)

21st (Mon) Bella and Edward make love for the second time. (BD6)

31st (Thurs) Bella determines that she is pregnant.  Edward and Bella return to Forks. (BD7)

September

October – November

December

7 (Thurs) – Jacob learns that Bella has returned and is very sick. He assumes she has been changed into a vampire.  (BD8) He visits the Cullen home to find that Bella is pregnant.  Edward asks Jacob to kill him should Bella die in child birth. (BD9) Jacob explains to his pack what has happened and Sam orders Bella and the child to be killed.  (BD10) Opposing this decision, Jacob takes his place as an Alpha wolf. Seth follows him. (BD11)

8 (Fri) – Leah joins Jacob’s new pack.  (BD12) Bella drinks blood to sustain her pregnancy.  Jared talks to Jacob about returning to the pack.  Jacob refuses. (BD13)

9 (Sat) – Bella’s pregnancy worsens with another broken rib.  Carlisle determines that Bella will go into labor in four days. (BD15)

10 (Sun) – Jacob and Leah talk about the reasons for imprinting.  Edward hears the thoughts of the baby for the first time. (BD16) Edward asks Jake for permission to break the treaty by trying to save Bella by turning her into a vampire.  Jake agrees. (BD17) Bella goes into labor.  Renesmee is born.  Edward changes Bella into a vampire.  Jake imprints on Renesmee. (BD18)

13 (Wed) – Bella’s 19th birthday.  She awakens as a newborn vampire.  (BD19-20) Edward and Bella hunt.  (BD21) She finds out that Jacob has imprinted on “Nessie.”   (BD22) Alice and Edward show Bella the cottage on the Cullen property where Bella and Edward will live. (BD24)

14 (Thurs) – Jacob phases in front of Charlie.  Charlie sees Renesmee for the first time and realizes she is Bella and Edward’s child.  They all agree on the story that Renesmee is Edward’s niece. (BD25)

Leah becomes the Beta is Jacob’s pack. (BD27)

Bella decides to travel to Volterra to assure the Volturi that she is a vampire. (BD27)

Aro sends Bella an ornate necklace as a wedding gift. (BD27)

Edward and Carlisle continue to research people like Renessee. (BD27)

10th (Sun) – Renesmee’s 3 month birthday. (BD27)

11th ( Mon) – Irina sees Renesmee with Bella and Jacob and assumes Renesmee is an immortal child.  (BD27)

14th (Thurs) –  Alice has a vision that Irina has gone to the Volturi to report Renesmee’s existence and that the Volturi, including the guard and the wives, are coming after the Cullens.  They decide to gather friends to stand as witnesses to Renesmee’s uniqueness.  (BD28)

15th (Fri) The Cullens discover that Alice and Jasper have left them.  Bella finds clues from Alice to seek out a J Jenks.   All the Cullens except for Edward and Bella, head out to round up the witnesses.  (BD29)

16th (Sat) – Tanya, Kate, Eleazer, and Carmen arrive at the Cullens and after being briefly shocked and frightened by Renesmee, they are taken with her. (BD30)  Eleazer realizes that Bella is a shield.  The Denali Coven agree to be witnesses and fight if necessary.  Peter and Charlotte also arrive.  They were sent by Alice and Jasper.  They, too, agree to witness. (BD31)

18th (Mon) – 21st (Thurs) (?) – The Irish and the Egyptian covens arrive followed by as many nomads as Emmett and Rose could find.  The Amazon and Romanian covens arrive unexpectedly, but are welcomed.  Many people agree to be witnesses but not necessarily fight.  Bella works on projecting her shield in order to protect others. (BD32)

23rd (Sat) – Renesmee and Jacob spend time with Charlie while Bella goes to visit J Jenks. She learns he is a forger and she asks him to make documents for Jacob and Renesme in case they have to run.  (BD33)

25th (Mon) – Bella, Edward, Jacob, and Renesme spend Christmas at Charlie’s with the entire pack and Sue Clearwater.  Alistair leaves the Cullens before the Volturi arrive. (BD34)

27th (Wed) – Bella gets the forged documents from J. Jenks and plants them in a bag where Jacob will find them after the battle. (BD35)

Dec 29th  – 30th (Fri – Sat) – The Cullens, werewolves and assembled guests all sleep in the clearing waiting for the Volturi to arrive.

31st (Sun) – The Volturi arrive mid morning with the entire guard, the wives, and 40 witnesses of their own.  Aro at first believes that Nessie is an immortal child but sees through Edward that she isn’t.  Aro meets Nessie and lies to her about not hurting her family. (BD36) Caius brings Irina forward to testify again and then promptly kills her.  Aro tries to convince the Cullens’s witnesses that Renesemee is a danger and should be dealt with.  Garret speaks up and says the Volturi are reaching and are scared by the power of the Cullen family.  (BD37)  Bella uses her power to protect her family and friends from Alec and Chelsea’s powers.  Before the real battle begins, Nahuel the other half immortal half human arrives with Alice and Jasper to speak with the Volturi. (BD38)

2007

January  1st (Mon) –  The house guests leave one by one.  Bella allows Edward to read her mind for the first time. (BD39)

[firelxdykatara]

Reader anon here!

Hi it's been awhile, I hope you are doing well! I know I am! I have successfully bought more books and filled another shelf in my bookcase and it is just so satisfying to see! I have a shelf dedicated to each genre I like, so one shelf is just erotica and downright smut, while another is high fantasy/YA fantasy! Then at the bottom are my books on mythology and languages!

I am so proud of my collection 😩 and can't wait to get more books. That new book smell is just-🤌🏻

Do you like books that focus on romance or do you like books that focus on more mystery/conflict and have a good chuck of romance? For me, I like both!

Oh omg reader anon I am in awe at your organization skills akflgjhdkfjghdkjfgh

Right now my 'to be read' pile is a literal pile of books (well, multiple piles, but) scattered around my room and the living room and every once in a while I'll pick one up and actually start reading it (I recently started The Lunar Chronicles, in fact, and I'm already fully in love with Linh Cinder, best girl) and then sometimes I'll get halfway through and pick up another book and sdfklghdkfjhgkjdgh ANYWAY IT IS A WHOLE MESS IS WHAT I'M SAYING. I wish I could have an organized bookshelf but I ran out of space in mine ages ago and it is covered in yet more piles of books (though the ones on or around my shelves are mostly ones I've already read, although I've been eyeing Mistborn and The Wyrd Museum for a reread cause it's been so long, but I think if I started rereading old books right now my unread book piles would coalesce into an autonomous figure and beat me over the head with my own readerly ambition lmfao)

As for your question, honestly it really depends on the book! I absolutely love a good romance-focused narrative (emphasis on 'good', bodice rippers don't usually do it for me but sometimes when I'm in the mood I go to my mom's bookshelf and raid it for something cheap and tawdry (affectionate) that hits just the right button I need pressed at that moment, so y'know, it varies), but I also love books where the romance is incidental to the actual plot. In that case, though, I like it best when the romance and character arcs are woven into the plot rather than forcing the plot to conform to them, you know?

Like, I'll use the Grishaverse trilogy as an example here, because I've been rather hyperfixated on it and the extended world lately, but part of the problem I have with that series is that the romance the author clearly wants you to be invested in and root for at the end of the day is the most boring part of the entire story--and yet it quite literally warps the universe of the books around it to make it the most important part of the main character's journey.

You have a world on the brink of full-scale war where the main character has just discovered she is part of an oppressed minority group that are primed for literal annihilation--she is in the only country where her people can get even a pretense of agency and a fulfilling livelihood (Fjerda burns their witches, Shu-han vivisects them, Kerch sells them into slavery, and even in Ketterdam they aren't really safe unless they can make themselves useful enough to earn protection from one gang or another; the Wandering Isle and Novyi Zem may be the exceptions to the rule, but Fantasy Ireland and Fantasy Australia/Africa never matter enough to the story for any of the characters to find out), and yet even when she is suddenly a target for assassination purely because of what she is, there's never any real sense that she actually cares about Grisha as a whole.

Instead, the only thing she really cares about is her childhood romance. Getting back to Mal is the only thing that matters to her. The show tried to give her a little more agency (where in the books, she was pretty much just buffeted this way and that by the whims of the plot and very rarely made her own decisions about anything; and when she did, they were rarely based in any actual logic, and I say this as someone currently forcing my way through the books so that I can more accurately critique them.... it is intensely aggravating as a reader lmao), but they couldn't change the plot too much, so she winds up coming across as even more stupid than in the source material. And still, Mal and the meadow is a constant refrain, for reasons that, as far as I can tell, are never actually explained beyond 'these two kids traumabonded over their experiences growing up in an orphanage in a war-torn country, and they are dangerously codependent as a result'.

In order for the books to end as they do, Alina can't actually give a shit about the plot going on around her. The romance completely overrides the sense that anything else in this world matters, and when the romance is the most boring part of the plot, focusing on it to the exclusion of all else just makes the entire thing fall flatter than a house of cards in a stiff breeze. And that's the kind of romance I usually don't like--which gets thrown into much sharper relief when you go over to Six of Crows and find romances that actually work with the characters and the world and the plot surrounding them, rather than against it.

So that said, tl;dr: I like both too! But if the narrative is going to be romance-focused, then that romance needs to not be the least interesting part of the plot (traumabonded childhood friends to lovers working through that pain and coming out the other side healthier and happier for it can work really well, if you haven't plopped them in the middle of a world and plot that is much more interesting when they are apart), and if the romance is secondary to the plot, then it needs to take a proper back seat and work with the characters and their individual arcs as they move through the world, rather than attempting to force the plot into a different shape so the romance can work.