#and now here i am at 23 doing the exact same thing

[morganaspendragonss]

ever since i was a little girl i knew i wanted to make fictional characters suffer

[rottenpumpkin13]

Let’s reverse the question, AGSZC get stuck in a timeloop COLLECTIVELY, what’s the first thing they do?

The Nibelheim Time Loop (from hell)

Nibelheim Loop #1

Cloud: Man, I had the weirdest dream last night.

Zack: One where Sephiroth burns your village down?

Cloud: That's so creepy! How did you know?

Zack: I had the exact same dream.

*Sephiroth walks up to them*

Zack: Sephiroth, did you have any weird dreams last night?

Sephiroth: I had a dream where I turned into an infant kangaroo and was taken from my mother at birth, deprived of the comfort of her pouch, and forced to work for Shinra. Years later I discovered my mother was complicit in denying me the pouch. Seeking solace, I found an artificial pouch from a robotic alien kangaroo mother. I then rode contentedly in her pouch as she burned everything around us to keep me warm.

Zack: A simple yes would've sufficed.

-

Nibelheim Loop #5

Zack: You're living the same day over and over too, right? I'm not going crazy?

Sephiroth: Actually, I just noticed that we're in a time loop this morning.

Zack: You burned down Nibelheim four times.

Sephiroth, gaslighting him: What a touching story.

Zack: !?

-

Nibelheim Loop #8

*Nibelheim is burning*

Cloud: WHY!? WHY?? WHAT EVEN IS THE POINT ANYMORE!? WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?

Sephiroth, roasting marshmallows: Professor Hojo never let me roast marshmallows when I was a child. He claimed the sugar would provide excess dopamine, tricking my brain into thinking I could be happy and want more out of life.

Cloud: Shit man I had no idea

-

Nibelheim Loop #12

*Zack, Cloud and Genesis are holding Sephiroth down to keep him from entering the library*

Zack: QUIT IT! YOU ALREADY KNOW THE TRUTH!

Sephiroth: I YEARN.

Zack: FOR WHAT!?

Sephiroth: I YEARN.

-

Nibelheim Loop #16

*After tying Sephiroth up and sedating him*

Zack: There! Now he can't escape, and Jenova can't do mind control on him! Problem solved! No more Jenova cell people running around.

Zack:

Zack: *smells smoke*

Zack: That apple bastard.

-

Nibelheim Loop #23

Cloud: You know what!? This is a time loop! There are no consequences! I can go up to Sephiroth and kill him right now! Fuck it!

*Sephiroth walks up to him, Cloud punches his chest (nothing happens)*

Sephiroth: …..

*Cloud punches him again. He doesn't move*

Sephiroth: …..

*Cloud tries again. It's like punching a brick wall*

Sephiroth: Please stop fondling my chest.

Cloud: Oh my god.

-

Nibelheim Loop #36

Sephiroth: Am I….a human being?

Sephiroth: ….

*Sephiroth turns around*

Sephiroth: Where's Genesis?

Zack: He's not here, but he left this note. Here, let me read it—"Dear Sephiroth, I grew tired of flying from Banora to Nibelheim 35 times only to be met with disappointment, so I'm spending this loop in Costa Del Sol. Best Wishes, your friend, Genesis Rhapsodos."

Sephiroth: Wow. And he didn't even insult me this time.

Zack: "P.S.: No such luck kitty-boy you're a monster and yer mum's an alien. Get rekt."

Sephiroth:

-

Nibelheim Loop #???

*At the library*

Zack: Sephiroth! Stop!

Sephiroth: Each time I return here, my mind becomes clearer, more adept at absorbing information. This only fuels my bitterness and resentment, rather than allowing me to grow accustomed to it. I think this time I'll burn—

*Vincent appears and knocks him out with a pipe*

Zack: Woah! You got sick of the time loop too?

Vincent: What time loop?

Zack:

-

*The next day, after the time loop is broken*

Vincent: I'm glad I could be of assistance.

Cloud: Who would've thought that would end the time loop.

Vincent: Yes. It appears all Sephiroth needed was paternal discipline.

Cloud, gasping: You mean....? You're...?

Vincent: Yes. I'm Sephiroth's parent—

Cloud: !!

Vincent: —tal figure since I was in love with his real mother and his father is Professor Hojo, a role I've assigned myself purely due to the fact that I see myself as his primary caregiver during trying times, which is how an adequate father should act.

Cloud:

Vincent: Not that I would know.

[angelpuns]

50Au Part 23

“ You let him fall asleep!?” Donnie hissed. featuring with both hands at the current situation on the couch. Which was a possibly reset Leo and a guily-looking Raph. 

“ Raph didn't mean to-” Raph protested, but snapper his mouth shut when Leo stirred a little. 

Donnie tried not to groan, knowing that could wake Leo up. They needed a plan, Now. 

Even with all the data he collected, it was hard to say if sleeping caused the reset or if it was a time thing. So Leo could be a ticking time bomb for all they knew. Or he could wake up perfectly normal, since technically it was the same day. 

Either way, Donnie didn't want Leo waking up here in the TV room. He didn't want to take a chance on Leo panicking when he saw Raph and running again. Or trying to run. 

At least they had gotten the rest of the ingredients. Barry was cooking them up in his lab right now to make the potion or salve or whatever it was. Tomorrow he would prepare the memory spell and they��d be able to go into Leo's memories and get rid of the curse. 

They were so close to the end of this thing and yet Donnie felt as if he'd learned almost nothing about the actual curse. 

As much as he didn't want Leo to freak out and run…this could be a good moment to gather a bit more data. Just in case they needed it. 

Just in case, for some reason, they weren't able to break the curse in the next two days and they needed to know this. 

“ I'm going to wake him up,” He murmured, “ Raph, be ready to grab him if he tries to run.”

“What? Donnie, if we wake him up now, he'll run for sure!” Mikey whispered. He grabbed Donnie's arm, “ let's just put him.in his room and wait for him to wake up again”

“he’ll probably wake up if we move him anyway,” Donnie pointed out, wrenching his arm away with a huff, “besides, this way we'll know if he resets when he sleeps or if it's some kind of time based reaction. I'm just gathering data,” 

Mikey let out a frustrated huff, but didn't argue. 

The lair was locked down, Leo's swords were locked away, and Donnie had a hand on the tranq gun, still tucked away in his pocket. 

Donnie gave Leo's shoulder a little shake, watching with bated breath as his twin woke up.

He yawned and stretched a little, before sitting up. Not waking up in a total panic was good, at least. 

Leo blinked awake, glancing between the three of them with a confused expression. 

“ Um…why are you guys watching me nap?” He asked, frowning faintly, “ I asked Raph if it was okay if I napped on him, so-”

He glanced at Raph and shot him an apologetic smile,“ I guess you didn't actually answer, sorry about that man” 

Donnie kept his hand on the gun in his pocket. He gave Leo a once-over. He didn't seem any more suspicious of them than he had been this morning, not from what Donnie could tell anyway. 

“ what do you remember, Leo?”

Leo rolled his eyes, “ geez you guys are persistent. I woke up this morning and apparently spawned a family into existence, then we ate breakfast and then me and Raph sat down to watch Punch Chowder!” 

Well. This was a development. 

“Ha! New data!” Donnie quickly pulled out his phone and typed it into his notes, recording that Leo took a nap and still remembered the morning's events, “ so it's not triggered by sleeping! It must be a time-based curse, so you forget at midnight or 2 am or something,” 

He grabbed Leo's shoulders, “ tell me, about what time did you wake up last night? I might be able to figure out the exact time you're memory is being erased, if not I can at least estimate the hour-”

Leo grimaced and seemed to shrink away from the touch, Donnie remembering a moment too late that - montage or not - Leo still didn't exactly trust them. 

“Sorry- anyway, about what time would you say you woke up? Midnight? 3?” He pulled his hands away with what he hoped was an apologetic smile, “oh! Wait, I can just check the cameras. To the lab!” 

Donnie spun on his heel to run up to his lab and check, only to run directly into Splinter. 

“ Oh! Purple, please watch where you're going, you almost spilled my tea,” he scoffed, stepping around Donnie and into the TV room. 

Donnie spun on his heel and turned right back around. Data could wait. They'd forgotten a key component of their montage. And that was Splinter. 

“ Pops, you shouldn't-”

“Dad Now’s not really-”

“ What is with you boys? I just want to sit down and watch my show, I've had a long week!” Splinter huffed, stepping past them all and flopping into his chair, “ You all are acting very suspicious.” 

Donnie looked at Leo, who was staring at Splinter with huge eyes. 

“Um…I think you guys have a rat pr-” 

Raph slapped his hand over Leo's mouth, quickly shaking his head. 

“ Um, Pops, look, we kinda, sorta forgot to tell you about-” He started, but Splinter shushed him with a couple waves of his hand. 

“ shush shush, this is my favorite part. You can tell me after!” 

They all watched as Lou Jitsu slid of a building on a motorcycle, Splinter cheering giddily at the scene. 

“ yes! You know, I broke my leg in two places doing that stunt!” He chuckled, “ But we got the take and I won an award for it!” 

Leo pushed Raph’s hand away, mouth agape. 

“ I'm sorry, are you saying you’re Lou Jitsu?” He questioned, grimacing, “ Are we sure I'm the one with the memory curse here, because you don't look like him at all?”

Donnie sighed and ran a hand down his face. They really needed to add in a bit on the montage about Splinter’s whole…situation. 

Splinter turned to look at Leo with a frown, “I’m not that old, don't try and mess with me, Leonardo” 

Donnie cleared his throat. This was going to be both awkward and annoying, that was for sure. 

“ Papa, Leo was cursed to forget us, and we may have forgotten to tell you about it and also may have forgotten to tell him about you,” He explained, trying to keep it as simple as possible, “Leo, this is our dad. He is, in fact, Lou Jitsu.” 

Leo studied him for a moment before deflating with a sigh, “ I mean its not the weirdest thing I've been told today, and its not as if I have any choice but to believe it” 

“ Good! You better believe it!”  Splinter huffed, before he turned to Raph, “Now please explain what all of that means, because I am still a little confused. How long had he been cursed?”

Raph thought for a moment, “....4 days, five or take,” 

“ and you didn't think to tell your father because…?” Splinter sighed, setting his tea aside and standing up, “ I thought you boys were supposed to be relying on me more…” 

He walked over to Leo, who leaned back a little as Splinter stepped into his space. 

Splinter put out his hands, but Leo leaned back further. 

Donnie remembered after the invasion, when Leo couldn't leave the med bay. When he couldn't even move. 

Splinter would come in and check on him and hold his hand. And sometimes, even though Leo had been delirious with pain or so confused he didn't even know who he was, Splinter would hold out his hands and Leo would press his face into them. 

Papa used to do it for all of them when they were young. He'd hold out his hands and they'd press their faces into them with a giggle. And Splinter would lovingly squeeze their cheeks, or give their face a little pat, or he would thumb away tears. 

But Leo didn't know about that. He didn't think he had any of that right now. 

So Splinter held our his hands and Leo just looked at him. 

Papa pulled his hands away with a sigh, “ I see. You really have forgotten us, haven't you?” 

“Uh, yeah, that's like the whole point of the curse,” Leo muttered, frowning faintly. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but shut it when he saw whatever expression Splinter wore. 

“ Dad, how ‘bout me and Donnie fill you in on everything that's happened while I make lunch, okay?” Mikey suggested, already getting up. 

Splinter followed without question, glancing back at Leo with a growing frown. 

“ Don't worry. We're gonna fix everything, “ Donnie murmured, already starting for the kitchen himself.

---

forgot to write the author's note cause I was distracted! I do have thoughts on this. I actually wasn't sure if I was gonna go this route or not. I don't really like this part simply because it's really just me trying to get information out? Like I usually try for a bit more feeling, but this part feels..cold to me. Also I hate writing Splinter but this was too funny of a oppurtunity to pass up cause man how wild would it be if you woke up and suddenly had a dad who was famous BUT ALSO apparently a rat man? yeah that'd be wild.

also can you tell I posted this from my actual computer this time. It looks way better but I usually post from my phone cause I write it on google docs there without editing and then just throw it out here for ya'll lmao.

Part 1 | Part 22 | Part 24

[yuurei20]

For the radio station video with Vil, Rook, and Epel's VAs, would you possibly be willing to post a transcript/translation? I tried to watch it but it is not available in my country :( is there somewhere else I would be able to watch it? I am struggling to find it, very sorry if this is a bother!!

Hello hello!! Certainly! 🥳 Here is a summarized transcript!

0:00 - 2:18

Begins with the voice cast introducing themselves! Vil’s Aiba (👑), Epel’s Tsuchiya (🍎) and Rook’s Itokawa (🏹)  all say “Pom pom!” after their self introductions, confusing Deuce’s Kobayashi (♠️).

🍎 explains that himself and 👑 came up with "Pom pom" during their video together introducing the Twst Exhibition (since removed from YouTube) but 👑 says that 🍎 just suddenly started doing it. The group also did it together during Twst Fes, and decide it is basically official now (there is a hand gesture, too), encouraging others to do it as well.

2:19 - 3:34

♠️ points out that 👑 was on the show in February, appearing as a special guest in an episode hosted by Jack’s Ban, so this is his second time this year while it is 🍎 and 🏹's first time appearing.

♠️ asks if 🍎 and 🏹 have appeared together representing Twst since Twst Fes in 2023 and they say no, they haven’t met since Twst Fes. They say they don’t really overlap despite how all three Pomefiore members are active in musical theater, none of them meeting since Twst Fes.

(Left to right: Epel's Tsuchiya, Vil's Aiba, Rook's Itokawa at Twst Fes)

3:35 - 6:22

The “opening talk” segment of the show! This is a recurring segment where the host/guests of the episode answer a question that was asked by the host/guests of the previous episode.

This month’s question, set by Ruggie’s Ichikawa (🍩), Idia’s Uchiyama (💀) and Ortho’s Aoi (🤖), is: “Are you the type to plan out details in advance when you take a trip, or the type to just go with the flow once you arrive?” 🍩 said last month he is the type to make plans, while 💀and 🤖 both said they prefer going with someone else who has made plans.

👑 says he likes traveling, 🏹 says that 🍎 seems like he enjoys to travel and 🍎 says yes, he will shortly be taking a trip to Mt. Fuji.

🍎 says he makes plans, but just checking things off a list is boring, so after arriving in a place he will prioritize the things he is most interested in.

♠️ says he is the same: he will decide to travel to Osaka, for example, but not decide where he will have dinner in advance, preferring to set a vague plan involving places he wants to go and then going with the flow.

👑 says that if he is traveling with someone who wants to make the decisions of what to do on a trip, he will gladly follow along and leave it to them. 

🏹 says that he is the type that likes to make restaurant reservations in advance. He doesn’t like situations like arriving at a restaurant, being turned away because they're full, then going to another restaurant and getting turned away again, etc. He doesn’t like waiting in lines. He says he is willing to wait up to 9 minutes but that is his limit. 🍎 asks if he is never late anywhere and 🏹 says he can’t handle being late. If he is meeting a friend somewhere and his friend is running late, he’ll get annoyed.

🍎: “I’ll take note of that.”

6:23 - 10:48

Time for the letter segment! This is also a recurring segment for Twst radio, where they read aloud letters from fans and answer their questions. The first letter-writer says they are a Vil oshi, and they like how he is so unshakeable in his convictions and demands. They ask if the host/guests have anything like that.

 👑 says he might not have any. ♠️ rephrases the question, asking if maybe they have things that they absolutely must have with them when they stay overnight in hotels or go on trips, for example. 👑 says he is impressed by how Vil is so unmovable on certain things, but he is the exact opposite. He does not have any fixed routines and is flexible.

🍎 says that his biggest demand for himself might be to not make any demands, and that he wants to be flexible at all times. 

🏹 says that as a theater actor he has to be able to adapt to new situations and people all the time, so his only unshakeable point is time management. He and his manager were stressing today, getting stuck in traffic and thinking they might be late.

♠️ suspects there may be more if they dig deeper and asks if 🏹 is okay with people borrowing his things without asking, like in dressing rooms. 🏹 says that has happened to him before and it made him really mad.

10:49 - 14:40

🍎 reads the next letter, asking about memories that the cast have from culture fairs at school.

🏹 says he was a class leader in his third year of high school, and that is his strongest memory: getting his classmates all together and working out what they would do for the culture fair and what their strategies would be for the sports festival. He says he just thought of another memory: at his school the third-year students would hold what they called “pageants,” which were like skits, and his class did the theme of “What if Snow White and Cinderella switched places?,” and he played the role of Cinderella. ♠️ comments that he was predestined for Twst. 

👑 says at his school people would come together in the gym during the culture festival for something of a talent show, with each class showing what they could do. His class created a haunted house for the festival but their talent show entry was a dance, and he was both one of the four dancers and the choreographer. 🍎 calls him Vil-sama.

🍎 says his class also did a haunted house, but he’d thought it sounded boring to be one of the monsters or someone on the inside so he took the role that no one wanted: being in charge of the reception desk, making sure people lined up properly, etc. He would talk to people in line about where they came from, whose family they were, etc., and enjoyed the communication.

♠️ says he was in a band in high school, and they performed in the gym for the culture fair, with him on vocals and guitar. 

14:41 - 18:03

🏹 reads the last letter, where someone asks if there is a place they absolutely want to visit, or something they absolutely want to be able to experience at some point in their life.

♠️ says he wants to see the northern lights. He has a friend who was able to see them, and told him that if you go in Alaska you are able to ride a sled pulled by sled dogs.

🍎 says he wants to climb Mt. Fuji. 

🏹 says he loves basketball, so he would like to be able to watch a basketball match at the olympics where Japan is competing. That is his dream.

👑 says he wants to spend the New Year in Hawaii someday, like celebrities do. ♠️ says the three should all go to Hawaii together. 🏹says he’ll be the timekeeper.

18:04 - 37:28

Next segment is discussing Pomefiore.

1) Impressions of Vil

🍎 Vil-sama is beautiful. You have to do what he says.

♠️ That’s not Epel speaking, it’s you?

🍎 It is great how different he is from Aiba (Vil’s VA).

👑 Vil is very serious about beauty, has a high level of professionalism, there are a lot of things that can be learned from him, like lifestyle. 👑 says that he understands Vil’s seriousness about his job. He is strict to others, which his VA says he is not, but says he wants to learn from Vil’s good points and improve as an actor.

2) Impressions of Epel

🍎 says that Epel’s cuteness level has increased for him during the game, and he thinks he has become cuter, too, as a result. 

♠️ Don’t say that about yourself!

👑 says his initial impression was of how cute Epel is, and he is so small, and he likes the difference between his appearance and how he is inside. 

🏹 says that Epel is the Twst character with whom he empathizes the most, as he is also on the small side but wants to be viewed as strong.

3) Impressions of Rook

🍎 says he couldn’t figure Rook out at first, but now he sees him as a very deep character. And he finds it curious that Rook is voiced by Itokawa. ♠️ agrees, saying that he can see 🍎 and 👑 voicing Epel and Vil, but he can’t imagine 🏹 voicing Rook. 

👑 says he thinks Rook is odd, and his otaku side is interesting, and he has a lot of depth. We still do not know the true Rook, and it seems like there is more to see.

🏹 agrees that he is odd and difficult to read, you cannot tell what he is thinking, and that’s what makes him fun to voice, like a jack in the box. 

4) About voicing Vil

👑 says he is difficult to voice and he struggles every time. Despite how much voice work he’s done by now when he does new recordings for Vil it is always a storm of retakes. Vil has a lot of nuance, and 👑 says he hasn’t managed to pin down exactly what is the perfect Vil voice yet. And the character is always evolving so he is always practicing a lot, and it is very difficult.

⚠️Book 7 Spoilers⚠️

♠️ asks about the newest chapter of the main story.

👑 says he portrayed Vil with a worse personality and an even stronger attachment to beauty, increasing his desires.

⚠️Spoilers End⚠️

5) About voicing Epel

🍎 says that his approach for Epel has evolved as the character has grown in things like events. The foundation at the start was the awkwardness of Epel's situation with his being forced into a cute role that he didn’t fit and didn’t want. 🍎’s focus was on portraying Epel's discomfort. As the game progresses in events and things Epel's character is developing more depth. While cuteness is still his core trait it is becoming more nuanced with fewer instances of Epel breaking character. This gradual change involves 🍎 refining his portrayal, moving from having to emphasize Epel’s awkwardness to exploring more depth while still retaining his charm.

♠️ asks if 🍎 struggled with Epel’s accent at first and 🍎 says he didn’t, as he just went along with his own original dialect. There were some difficult parts sometimes but now he thinks he has gotten used to it.

⚠️Book 7 Spoilers⚠️

🏹 mentions Epel’s appearance in Book 7 and 🍎 says that that was a bit of a struggle to record. There is a line where Epel says one of Vil’s lines from Book 5, which has become a popular point with fans. 🍎says that at first he said it just naturally as Epel would, but staff asked him to say it like Vil does, and he realized how difficult it is to portray Vil. He said in that moment he realized he will never become Vil.

⚠️Spoilers End⚠️

6) About voicing Rook

🏹 says he has finally gotten used to voicing Rook. He struggled with Rook’s long monologues as he couldn’t figure out when to take breaths, but now he has finally come to think of Rook as 100% fun to voice.

⚠️Book 7 Spoilers⚠️

🏹 says the Book 7 recording was very fun. ♠️ asks if voicing Rook when he is speaking quickly isn’t difficult, and 🏹 says it was, and he kept overdoing it. He says he was able to hear the sound production staff laughing.

⚠️Spoilers End⚠️

7) About the Main Story

Book 5: 🍎 says he was uncertain how loud he was meant to go for Epel’s yelling scenes. The staff prepared a volume gauge for him as a guide for how loud he needed to go to match how loud ♠️ had gone, as they needed to be at the same level.

He had been worried that ♠️ would have had more power in his yelling. ♠️ says that they recorded separately, but there were instances where they were able to listen to recordings of each other’s voices as they recorded themselves. 

Book 6: On Vil becoming old at the end, ♠️ brings up how 👑 shared during Twst Fes that he recorded two versions for Vil, one with a female voice and one with a male voice. He says that everyone in the studio laughed at his female-voice version of Vil and he thought he’d done well, but then they used the male voice in the game.

⚠️Book 7 Spoilers⚠️

Book 7: 👑 says that dream Epel made him laugh. ♠️ says that 🍎 has gotten more muscled and 🍎 says that no, he has just gained weight. ♠️ says that since 🍎 has such a cute face, if he works out a lot he might turn into dream Epel.

⚠️Spoilers End⚠️

37:29 - 40:06

A recurring segment where they review a schedule of upcoming events. The announcements of the Nightmare Before Christmas event, Jack’s Birthday, Trey’s birthday.

40:07 - 44:34

Review of the episode: everyone says they had fun and thank you, etc.

They set the “opening talk” for the next episode as “Halloween memories.” 🍎 says he has one as an example: when he was in high school it was about 5 years before Halloween started to become popular in Japan, and he and his friends dressed up and went to Shibuya to hang out, a tradition that became so popular that it was banned in 2023 due to safety concerns. ♠️ says that 🍎 must have been the founder of the tradition.

[weaselbeaselpants]

Sometimes it's not just a vibe; the bigger thing is to not divide

((warning: loooooong post with lots of talking sorry))

So recently (like, this day) @starlit-soothsayer made a comment about Sai Scribbles that I was about to honestly agree with because it sounded right to me. But then I happen to see that one of Lily's most prominent victims is deeply against Starlit's reasoning. They (this victim) is adamant that pp:"they not compare a person they don't vibe with [Sai] to a literal PREDATOR/GROOMER [Orchard]".

I get the said victim's take here, both on it's own and especially in relation to the last month/weeks. Recently one of the Lorch critical blogs, Fennec, decided it was a good idea to make a document calling Courtney Peet, Lily's abused sibling, ALSO a groomergooner just like their sister. Fennec's reasoning was shaky at best, vindictive, and stunk of the same kind of narrative Zena and Poppy, also grifters, took about Lily Orchard drama: "Lily's critics are the same kind of awful as her". Keep in mind, the reason I AM invested in the Lorch-drama is I've been worried about Lily Orchard's fans and base for years now. I've been mad at and staying on Lily's case for awhile. Say for Patchworkhearts, Sparky and Poppy herself, I wouldn't exactly call the want to see Lily put away and the push by different types/sorts of people to see that happen as analogous to what I just called Lily - a predator and a deflecting one at that.

I will say that " we ", aka all of the combined critics of Lily Orchard, aren't a fandom of even an exact community and besty buddy-buds, even if we support each other. Courtney, Lily's sibling, got on a lot of different people's cases here on tumblr before she was ultimately mass blocked by Lily's base. I remember. I saw it. Courtney and her story and testimony is a smoking gun, I'd say, in the truth of what kind of a person Lily is, but she's in no way a leader or even liked by all of us. On a personal petty basic-level I disagreed w Courtney over how she violently overstanned Johnny Depp and then over how Courtney talked about their niece and nephews offhandedly. I can't do anything about that, but, I'm allowed to support Courtney as a person without stanning her outright for what I think are her own demons. Courtney is not as bad a person as Lily Orchard because she is not the same kind of person as Lily Orchard.

Courtney is her own kind of a mess. And frankly so is Sai.

Two days ago, following drama from a different Lorch-critical blogger skeleton-bat implicated Sai to be as bad as Lorch and a groomer (no. Sai isn't a groomer. sns also don't do your 'proshippers = groomers' dance on me, Bats), one of the blogs that talking down skeleton-bats unpromptedly said skeleton bats was a joke and a phony for reblogging Palestine-gofundmeblogs. Their words were literally "all Palestinian bloggers are bots and scammers". I disagreed with that, because I know from my sources, lived experiences and someone with Palestinian family that that's simply untrue, to which this person proceeded to splain to me how ebeggers must be scams -Sai agreed with this person.

I am pro-Palestinian justice and aid in getting these people away from Gaza. I've been that way ever since I saw an ISRAELI film strait up say that what Israel is doing is wrong, long before Oct 7th 23'. I don't want to dwell to long on it or the explanations and fact checking for yourself with nonEnglish-speaking fundraisers how legit they are beyond going "look at the way it's written; it looks like begging", but now's not the time. This was my breaking point. I had to block Sai.

Personally I think Sai is a recovering edgeduchess who likes to pick on people first and then can get into the weeds of 'taking down' people if and when it benefits her. That doesn't make her a grifter ala skeleton-bat, Poppy and Zena or Fennec...but I do think that means she's more into the attention of p0wning Lorch, another queer creator, than she is other concerns. I do think she cares about the harm done by Lorch now, but in the beginning and definitely with her own non-Lorch-stan detractors, Sai struck me as being into dunking on Lily for attention. What bugged me about Sai's and that other user's comments was not only that it was unneeded/not relevant to what skeleton-bat is doing; it was that she tried to splain to me, a person who knows gofundme bloggers irl how they 'must be' scams especially in times of crisis. That was insensitive and wrong of her to do even if she doesn't mean anything hurtful by it. There ARE ways to say "hey, don't believe/reblog every fundraiser that comes your way sum might be scams" and there are ways NOT to do that; Sai chose the later option and frankly I see her as pretty racist at the moment by the confidence she chose in it. But obviously, I know some ppl are going to still support Sai, stand by her and that includes the victims of Lorch who are just happy that someone is helping them spread news of Lorch's crimes.

Bigotry is a different problem and a different evil than predation. One can be committed without the other and I'm not interested in splitting hairs over which one is "worse". ALTHOUGH Lily has been caught doing a lot of bigotry of her own, including just now, ON TOP OF being a grooming-predator. For Sai's case I don't think she even compares to Lily Orchard's racism and antisemitism. Sai seems like the kind of person who could learn if she really had to what she said was wrong. Lorch, if she were in Sai's place, would probably demand for days on end that Palestinian donations are inherent scams, that she is the only TRUE ally for both Palestine and then in the next two months delete the post and gaslight her audience into believing she's never said anything about Palestine ever.

Still though, personally, I'm allowed to not like Sai. I can admire her will, I think she's genuinely wanting to help ((she's absolutely a better artist than you, Orchards, stop criticizing Sai's damn art)) but I'm sorry I really don't like her after what happened two days ago. I left the convo because clearly I was making the sitch worse and I'm just not gonna step on Sai's toes about this if that's really how set she and that other blog I was arguing with feel. I'm genuinely hurt; deeply offended. I left. If other people of any other demographic feels differently about Sai I'm not going to get on their case about it. And I think part of the problem is that a lot of people ARE WANTING others to do something about it.

People dislike Sai and the cut of her jib in a serious enough way that they just can't stomach her even when she's on the side of 'good'....that's a really fair thing to do. For comparison, I really love Lindsay Ellis's stuff and agree with much of her takes. This does not mean I think people who say Ellis virtually forgave herself over her canceling are " wrong ". I personally hate being told I only 'stan' Ellis cuz I -"hate poc and Ellis is white so I 'MUST' feel more comfortable with her as a white girl". Not only is that a VERY weighted thing to throw at someone casually for why they must like a reviewer they grew up watching but....wtf!! do you seriously presume everyone who likes Ellis is a white girl? What if I were asian or black and still liked Ellis? What then? Because, if you're at all the kind of person -the kind of Lily Orchard-ish person- to start saying 'you aren't actually bipoc'/'you're a BAD bipoc' over a damn youtube personality that's definitely on you, hon.

I think that was skeleton-bats' problem [one of them] with all this. They can't leave it at Sai being an edgeduchess who used her own disability terms to her advantage and liking- they had to make it a matter of " tolerating Sai = Sai grooming people ". Which was unnecessary, foolish, and deeply insulting.

That's why skeleton-bat, you're also blocked atm alongside Sai. Blocks are created equally on tumblr but you don't need to use them equally. I block serious things like neon@zis and scambots as much as I do people who I know aren't going to listen to me, seem toxic and/or want to fight. I guess that was a blessing since you've been spamming the lily orchard tags with shit on everyone else who so much likes Sai or doesn't agree with you???

Look here- we are a bunch of adult strangers who at most found some comradery with each other over our mutual hurt, pain and anger at what Lily Orchard has done to us or to other people. We are not a fan base or even an anti-fanbase. With those of us who have actually known and hurt by Orchard and her fans, maybe don't insinuate that they're ally is now their 'savior' or that their personal beefemy is the same thing as their abuser.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree on this after awhile and focus on the bigger picture. If someone is here because they honestly want to see Lily Orchard go down because of her predation/gaslighting/grooming/bigotry, that person is your ally in this fight whether you like it or not. Sai is. That's how this works.

If someone says they want to see Lorch go down but really is more preoccupied with her being trans or 'progressive'(phony or not doesn't matter to people who unironically use 'woke' in 2024), wants to see a dumpster fire or is playing devil's advocate for Lily because "her critics are just as bad!! 8U"...enjoy your block too, hon.

We have a serial groomer to catch and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone again.

[sgiandubh]

You know nothing, Jon Snow

It's been a short night and a hot summer day in here. But I just received the last of the goods in my secondary inbox and am still unpacking, pondering and putting the data into context.

Work with me:

To begin somewhere, this is the exact content of the (in)famous Shamrock Anon submission to this blog, as delivered almost 23 hours ago:

Put yourselves in my shoes and read with me: "the Irish based drinks company (not the one accessible to fans) is solely owned by him and DF".

An Irish company? "Not accessible to fans?" Owned only by these two people and not her, on her turf? Now that could have been a nuke, because hello, where is the logic in all this, and who does that, and yes, why?

By the time I wrote my brief Shamrock Anon post, in the hope of luring this person to share more, the same message had already been delivered to at least two other shipper blogs. That would make three of us: the controversial newbie (I am not blind, but I am not cantankerous either), the respected veteran sleuth and Super Dispatch, with what I believe to be the intent of pushing an agenda of sorts. I chose not to publish Anon, because: 1) I needed more and yes, I needed to check and 2) I felt there was something bizarre with all this.

@luhafraser published it and I am truly relieved they did. I posted an update that apparently got even more people confused, and carried on with it. It did not take off the pressure (Anons begging, pleading and taunting went straight to the bin), but it gave me time to start looking.

It took me exactly two minutes and a half to find the Irish company's name and registration number, as visible and published on the FMN gin webpage (https://www.forgetmenot.com/ and always, always read the small print).

So long for "not accessible to fans", BS Anon:

Next stop, the Irish Company Registration Office's website (https://core.cro.ie/), where things went impeccably smooth. FMN Drinks is an Irish company, registered as "Limited", which would translate as Public Limited Company (plc) in the UK:

Getting more data required a paid search and I stopped to ponder. Really did. Price was a trifle, but that was not really my problem. So I sat on it during the night: it is something I always do when I find myself uneasy or unsure about something.

By noon today, local time, I mumbled "oh, what the hell", crossed myself and pushed send:

It took 15 minutes to get five of the documents and two more hours and 45 minutes to get the Letter of Status, certified by a living, breathing Irish public servant in that inbox:

So (in)famous Shamrock Anon, here is my answer to you:

If you think a company specialized in the distilling and rectifying of spirits, with 100 (one hundred) issued shares, worth 1 euro each and with a zero euro declared account balance since last December is proof of capitalist world domination, you are an idiot, Anon. You lured me down that rabbit hole with the preposterous idea that C was not a part of this PO box company - which she is, as one of its four appointed Directors - to try and prove shippers are stupid. Which we aren't.

At face value, this is nothing to write home about. But I said yesterday the devil is in the details and was not disappointed, because you clearly are sloppy (again?) Anon and boy, you do have an untrained eye. It's almost like me when prompted to read somebody's blood test results, you know?

I am now faced with a dilemma: I either buy a cork board, thread and pins and start a trip to Cuckooland, trying to navigate my way across trademarks and trails of companies, and such other niceties that are boring as death. Or, I look at this completely uncalled for embarrassment of riches and let the dots connect themselves, in time.

I always steered my course according to this French proverb: dans le doute, s'abstenir. When in doubt, do nothing. Making sense of a document posted on a real estate company website is one thing. Publishing such documents, which are readily available for the private use of anyone with a credit card, and prematurely discussing them is a personal red line I am not willing to cross.

It would be pushing an agenda and, especially right now (*promo*), writing the script. Circus might be in town, but I am not one of the clowns.

Oh, and Anon: a company is an evolving entity people get into, then get out of and even maybe get back to, at some point in time. A business project is by no means any sort of evidence of relationship/marital status.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for wanting to find a different nail salon?

I (25f) don’t often go to nail salons anymore due to it being expensive, but also due to bad experiences as of late. Nothing major, just the annoying experience of trying and failing to get what I am paying for.

The Story: Most nail salons around here are Asian run and owned, and genuinely I do not have any problem with that! Idc who runs a business so long as the job is done well and they are nice and all. In the past I’ve not had many issues beyond maybe a language barrier, and ultimately have been very happy with the results! It was worth the money on the rare occasions I went.

Lately though every time I’ve gone to various salons in my area, I’ve struggled to get what I want. I never want any complicated art, which makes it worse that I’m paying $40 or more (plus tip bc I tip well regardless of result) and can’t even get the color I choose from the book. As in, pointing to the exact shade advertised and labeled with a number, confirming it 2-3 times, watching them either bring out a completely different color or one that is labeled right but still not the chosen shade, and trying to correct it before just having to give up bc the wrong color is now on my nails and I might as well accept my fate 😂 I’m really easy-going so I feel bad about getting mad, and after the 5th time trying to correct them, I feel like it’s too much of a bother. The nails will always look nice in the end, but not the exact thing I wanted.

Example being last time I went I chose a dark teal, and the color they brought out was like. Pastel blue. So… it looked fine, but it’s like they didn’t even care to notice the extreme color difference. At the same appointment, my cousin(15) was requesting white tips, and they told her “no, we can’t do that, because your nails aren’t the right color”….????? Like. I don’t even know how that matters. It’s paint. Paint it on the nails lol. It’s not hard! We’re paying for it aren’t we? Why would they refuse to paint a white tip on her nails because the natural color of her nails is “wrong” according to them?

Anyways: where the question comes in is that my mom(48) suggested finding a salon “not run by Asian people”, because she assumes the root of the problem is a language barrier. It could be, and she’s right I guess that it would be easier to communicate what I want to someone who speaks English more fluently. However, my sister(23) got mad at us and said we were being racist about it. To be extremely clear, neither of us said anything beyond mentioning the language barrier, and of course I’ve never treated any worker at any salon poorly no matter what. But, sister says that because we are white and wanting to find a salon not solely Asian-run, that’s racist. My sister is known for being very dramatic and kinda “Fake Woke” about things… but hey, it’s something I worry about too, even if I feel like my reasoning for this is solid.

I’ve been to every salon in the area that I’ve previously had good experiences with, and suddenly it’s a struggle to even get the correct color. I don’t know why this is a problem, or why even after mentioning that it’s wrong multiple times I’m just not listened to. I feel like it’s mostly an issue of just. Bad service. I don’t think it’s racist to want to get what I pay for, especially when it’s as basic as color choice, even if the core issue may be a language barrier. But, I want to open it up to others.

So, am I the asshole for wanting to find a different salon? Specifically one which is run by people who are more fluent in English, for communications sake?

What are these acronyms?

[artdcnaldson]

https://www.tumblr.com/artdcnaldson/759016621811646464/praying-for-it-to-happen-to-you-bc-im-too-nervous

I’m in the same boat as you, and I’m too scared to even try and catch up i’m 23 w no romantic / sexual experience and it makes me so upset , but I am too terrified to try cuz I don’t think I’m appealing to men (lol idk if I’m saying this right ) and I happen to be a straight girly

I need someone to approach me first cuz there’s no other way , and this feels impossible cuz everytime I bring this up to my friends they’re like ‘’it’s ur energy, the energy you put out is what you receive’’ i have no idea what they mean other than be extroverted and look a certain way.

I know for a fact there is nothing wrong w my energy, i hit it off w girls and guys in a platonic way constantly (I literally work in public relations I have to have good people skills!!). ALSO I refuse to believe straight men are these Intuitive creatures who can ‘read energy’ they’re literally the shallowest demographic on the planet , I have no idea and I keep hearing this advice from my friends who get male attention

And also I’ve been on dating apps, I’ve been set up and I’m not attracted to anyone (when I had to text this one man I wanted to throw up) it’s just so hard I’m so tired 😭

I love them but they don’t get it, and everytime I hear this it makes me want to tear my hair out ,, feels like I’ll never be seen in that light and I’ll be stuck wondering what’s wrong with me

Omg sorry I went on a tangential rant 😭😭😭😭

But anyway my point was that ur not alone in this and good things will happen for sure ❤️‍🩹

I’m 🔮anon at poppy’s blog and if it’s not taken can I be the same anon here also pleek 🙏

Ofc you can baby <3 welcome 🔮 anon <3

But it’s genuinely the fucking worst and it feels like no one gets it!!! It’s so fucking damaging to the psyche to make it THIS far without having romantic experience like. I’m sorry but I cannot take advice from anyone not in the same boat seriously. Like clearly we are living to drastically different lives!!!

And literally about not liking anyone and wanting to throw up messaging people…… you’re so real for that. I’m the exact same way and idk if it’s a defense mechanism or what at this point. I’m just so used to literally being completely overlooked and ignored that it’s like well… I’ll just do that first 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ it’s like u said, that feeling of something just being inherently wrong with u like…. Exactly!! Like if someone would just be honest and say what it was about me that wasn’t good I could just fix it yk?

I also feel like completely unsexy and unappealing, like I feel like I’m the type of person that someone will end up settling for once I’m like 35 and desperate but even then like probably not yk!! Who wants to date someone that no one else has wanted so it’s like !!?!?

Anyways now I went on a tangential depressing rant so we’re even <3

[mirai-e-jump]

Hero Vision Vol.55 (2015/Winter) Kamen Rider Blade 10th Anniversary Reunion Interviews Discussion on the Blade Drama CD (translations below)

Publication: February 23, 2015

Takayuki Tsubaki (Kazuma Kenzaki/Blade) Ryoji Morimoto (Hajime Aikawa/Chalice) Hironari Amano (Sakuya Tachibana/Garren) Takahiro Hojo (Mutsuki Kamijo/Leangle)

Tsubaki: I know that since Kamen Rider Blade is celebrating its 10th anniversary, the fans have been asking if we could do something for them. It reminded me that this show is still loved by so many people.

Amano: We talked about how it'd be nice if we could do something together. Kindof like how "Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger" celebrated its 10th anniversary, and released a new project.

Tsubaki: Yeah. Then, we were offered to do a Drama CD. It made me really happy. This is the first of its kind in Kamen Rider history, and I think the only reason such an offer was given, was because the fans, Toei, the sponsors, the staff, and the cast all came together to make it happen.

Amano: For me, at first, I honestly wondered how a 10 year old production would be revived, and whether anyone would buy it.

Morimoto: Yeah. For me, my first impression was that this was a new beginning. Honestly, I was happy, but I was also worried about whether I'd be able to portray the role I played 10 years ago in a convincing way.

Hojo: I felt the same way. However, when I first heard about it, I was more happy than worried. Blade was the work I was most attached to, and had the most vivid memories of during my acting career. Now, in a brand new drama written 10 years later, I was really looking forward to it.

Amano: But, I also thought it was a story that I couldn't accept if all four of us weren't here.

Morimoto: That's the minimum requirement. After all, "Blade" is only possible if we're all together.

Amano: That's why I thought the most important thing was whether Joe (Hojo-san's nickname), who had retired from acting and returned to his hometown Nagoya, would be able to appear in this work. If they said, "He's retired, so just drop it," then there's nothing we can do about it. But, when Joe said he was sure and wanted to continue to be involved with the Kamen Rider series, it was then that I realized for the first time that this story would actually be happening.

Tsubaki: In Joe's case, locating him was quick, but contacting him to finalize the deal was the hard part.

Hojo: Just as we were talking about it, my cell phone died......(laughs)

Tsubaki: It was the first time I saw him in awhile, but he suddenly brought me a box with his new smartphone in it and said, "Baki (Tsubaki-kun's nickname), set it up for me."

Amano: You're better off with a flip phone! (laughs). I sent you an e-mail the other day, but when I asked, "Why didn't you reply?," you said your screen had broke.

Tsubaki: Those kinds of things usually makes me nervous, but it's different when we're working on Blade. The other day, I asked him, "What would you do if you were offered an acting role for something other than Kamen Rider?" He said, "I won't do it. But, if it's Kamen Rider, I'll definitely do it." I'm so happy that Joe still feels that way even after 10 years.

-10 years later, the four of us are just as you imagined-

Morimoto: I was happy to see that the Drama CD was a continuation of the story up to episode 49, which we had performed over the course of a year, all while creating a new story.

Amano: I was happy to see the presence of Kenzaki (Kazuma), how Hajime (Aikawa) had grown as a human, and how Mutsuki (Kamijo) had become an adult.

Morimoto: And also, Tachibana-san is more like a gentleman.

Tsubaki: I think Kenzaki was as I expected. I was told by Director Ishida (Hidenori) in the film "Missing Ace," which takes place 4 years after the show, that, "Kenzaki will not change even after 4 years." I thought that even 10 years later, Kenzaki would still be the same.

Morimoto: It was the exact image I had in mind, or rather, what I wanted him to be like.

Amano: On the flip side, the most unexpected thing was the conversations between Tachibana and Hajime. After 10 years, It seems that Tachibana was now able to talk with Hajime.

Morimoto: That's for sure. At the time, Garren (who Tachibana transforms into) and Chalice (who Hajime transforms into) were enemies.

Amano: Now, Ryo-chan (Morimoto-san) and I are having deep conversations.

Morimoto: Just like me and Amano-kun, I was happy to see that after 10 years, Hajime and Tachibana had developed a strong relationship. That's why I felt that the scene had to be a condensed version of their 10 years together.

Hojo: There's a line from Mutsuki in the TV show, where he says, "I want to protect the smiles and tears of people."……Going along with that, Mutsuki's choice of an event company as a place of employment in order to make people smile had me thinking, "That makes sense." It also makes him happy having junior colleagues. In his mind, Mutsuki's senior is Tachibana-san, but it's not enough to just imitate him. Therefore, I think I was able to play the role of a senior in my own way, although not as strict as Tachibana-san.

Amano: By the way, how are Mutsuki and Nozomi-chan getting along 10 years later? In the Drama CD, it's only brought up alittle bit.

Morimoto: What's more, "Mutsuki," you slurred your words! (laughs)

Amano: I'm very curious. How about in Joe's mind? Do you go for it? Or…..

Hojo: Nozomi……I wonder if we're done.

Amano & Morimoto: What!!? You guys broke up?!

Tsubaki: Nozomi-chan...maybe she married someone else? (laughs) No, no, I'm just joking. What I left out just now, was foreshadowing for the next part.

Morimoto: You left it in!

Tsubaki: I'm sure that in the next part, Nozomi-chan will be in trouble, so Mutsuki, trying to save her, will finally transform into his Jack Form.

Amano: I don't think they (the scriptwriters) put that much though into it!!

-Because we understand each other's roles-

Morimoto: Hajime isn't the type to show his emotions, but during the recording, I was so emotional, that I actually started to cry.

Amano: It was the final scene. When we finished, I said, "This isn't it," and re-recorded it.

Morimoto: Yeah. If Hajime honestly expresses his feelings and becomes 100% human, that's where the story will end. But, after seeing Kenzaki for the first time in such a long time, the thought of never seeing him again made me so emotional. I though, "Hajime should act like this too," but then I realized, "maybe I'm being alittle too feminine." When I asked everyone about it, both Amano-kun and Hojo gave the advice of, "Definitely don't cry." The reason we can share our opinions like that is because we all understand our roles.

Amano: That's right. It's the same for me, I remember other people's roles more than my own.

Morimoto: In a way, it's like looking at it from the Director's point of view. A scene where I tell Amano-kun, "These are the only friends I can trust!," seems strange.

Amano: Now that you mention it, you were very quiet about it at first. But, that scene was also in the TV show, so when I asked Ryo-chan, "What were you doing before?," Ryo-chan remembered it well.

Morimoto: You said I was quite loud at that time

Amano: That's why we re-recorded it. Everyone remembers what Hajime was like, what Mutsuki was like, and what Kenzaki was like.

Tsubaki: When it comes to "that kind of thing" Kenzaki can only speak the "Ondul Language" right? (laughs).

(Everyone laughs)

Morimoto: For better or for worse, the image I have of Kenzaki has never changed. It was the same in the Drama CD. I remembered almost immediately that, "Kenzaki is just like this."

Tsubaki: "Like this," in a good way? (laughs).

Morimoto: Ofcourse. On the other hand, it would be strange if Kenzaki could speak as fluently as (Kenichi) Suzumura-san (laughs).

Tsubaki: Come to think of it, during the dub recording for "Super Hero Taisen," the staff members said, "We have high expectations" So when I asked them, "Which are you expecting?," they said, "Whichever!" Well, from the very beginning, I started chewing as I spoke, and they all started clapping……

Morimoto: You also chewed in the Drama CD (laughs).

Tsubaki: Yeah, I chewed on the first take. Then, a nerve struck in Amano-kun, and he said, "I can't take this anymore…."

Morimoto: Then he left (the recording room).

Hojo: When he came back, he kept laughing like this (he holds his hands over his mouth) (laughs).

Morimoto: It was insanity. I also laughed at the beginning exchange with Kenzaki. In the flashback scene of the main story, he says, "Hajime, you can continue to live among other humans!"

Tsubaki: It came out more, "You can continue to live among other humans….."* (laughs). It's because that scene once traumatized me. *(said slightly slurred towards the end)

Morimoto: Were you actually hurt or something?

Tsubaki: I don't know if it's because people think that my lines with Ondul elements are the correct ones. I was wondering which expectation I should meet, but in the end, I ended up going with Ondul.....

Amano: I was entertained by it though.

Hojo: Another new saying will be born (laughs).

Morimoto: That part of him is what Kenzaki's all about.

Tsubaki: Just so you know, I usually speak very normally. But Kenzaki, he's just different! (laughs)

-We're now eagerly awaiting to visualize it!-

Tsubaki: Thankfully, I heard that the number of pre-orders for the Drama CD exceeded expectations, and Blade, which was broadcast on "Nico Nico Douga" late last year, was also quite popular. So, if we can get a little more support from the fans, I think a video version may be possible.

Amano: I'm glad that we were able to do a Drama CD, and that we were able to appear in Super Hero Taisen with all four of us, but, we mainly did dubbing. Next time I want everyone to appear in a film. By the way, I've confirmed that all four suits of Blade, Chalice, Garren, and Leangle still exist (laughs).

(Everyone laughs)

Tsubaki: Leangle's Jack Form figure is also available!

Amano: No way! I never thought it would actually release….!

Hojo: Come to think of it, at the time of Missing Ace, Baki and Amano-kun lied to me by saying, "I heard Leangle gets his Jack Form……" (laughs)

Amano: Now that it's become a figure, the visualization will also become a reality! So, first of all, we need everyone to support the Drama CD and push for this visualization. It'll be difficult to do something like this in another 5 or 10 years!

Hojo: Kenzaki and Hajime will grow old (laughs).

Morimoto: I'll become a wrinkly Undead! (laughs)

Amano: The Undead don't age, which means we'd have to change the original setting……

Tsubaki: Then it should be within this year. The filming period will be from April to May, and the release will be around August.

Morimoto: That's way too specific! (laughs). If that's the case, we'll have to get a new cards made…..(laughs).

Tsubaki: Talking like this, there's no end to our desires. I still want to make it into a video!

Hojo: When that time comes, I'll come back from Nagoya!

Amano: That's good. I think an adaptation would be fine if Joe actually answered his phone (laughs).

Morimoto: I won't break my cell phone or say that the screen died (laughs). That much is important. But, this year is the anniversary of Blade……so I'd be happy if we could end this year on a good note.

[doctorjuvenile]

Things from WtA The Book of Hungry Names you should know pt. 2

pt. 1 here

I'm about to start my fourth playthrough lol

5. The coordinates Daphne sends you for investigating the Pattern Line are a real location in Northampton, Massachusetts.

> I’m willing to let you condescend to me if you’re willing to help me out CrestFolder180IQ Your terms are acceptable. CrestFolder180IQ Meet me at 42°25'50.3"N 72°40'49.3"W at 10:30 PM.

Right at the tip of this path. (sooo IRL Garou meetup when?)

6. By my best estimates, the game takes place over the course of 2022-2024.

Now, the game plays pretty loose with exact dates, and I'm sure the ambiguity is intended. What we know for sure though is that Book of Hungry Names takes place over two and a half years (from beginning to epilogue).

Nonetheless, because I'm obsessed, I'm basing my assumption off of some strong hints:

The game definitely takes place after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, since Stormcat literally refers to it once you're in the second half of the game (foreshadowing the Jigsaw Plague chapter)

Will Northampton be ground zero for the next pandemic? Even I do not know.

2) Honestly, my biggest clue here are the years Melodie and Harmonie graduated high school (2016 and 2013 respectively), and the fact that she is 23 when you retrieve her from Ashfield.

Harmonie Palys graduated Berkshire Regional High School in 2013. Her sister, Melodie, graduated in 2016.

Melodie, who is twenty-three, angrily sips her Kir Pamplemousse.

Going off of the North American education system (where I myself graduated high school in 2014, and am presently around 27 years old), and assuming no skipped or repeated years, Melodie should be about 25 by the game's epilogue, which must take place in 2024. Harmonie would be 28 if she were still alive today.

Working backwards, that means it's 2022 in the first half of the game (where Melodie is stated to be 23). The timeline just works perfectly.

3) In the second half of the game, Nin will "talk your ear off about the new Blood Ceremony album." The album (The Old Ways Remain) dropped in 2023, thus further perfectly fitting in with the 2022-2024 timeline.

7. Speaking of guessing character's ages, I have a good idea of the rest of them...

Elton: I tried guessing Elton's age and he's anywhere from 24-26 over the course of the game to 29-31. My clues here are how you can find a picture of him and Katherine in a newspaper after arriving in Northampton early on and researching in the library. The photo states he's 19, and the photo itself is "maybe five to ten years old."

...the picture is labeled "Linus Harrowman, 46, Elton Dey, 19, and Katherine Aslanian, 20, have opposed the Broad Brook expansion, which would--" Then it turns into a more randomized babble. The photo is in color, the newspaper maybe five or ten years old.

Player Character: I am certain your character starts the game at 20 years old. The ID Daphne gives you shows your real age, which is below the legal drinking age in the U.S. (i.e. 21), but by the time a year passes in-game, you are now able to drink legally.

[Early game:] To your considerable irritation, the birthdate on the ID is the same year as your real birthday, which means you can't get into most bars. [Second half of game, one year later:] Armed with your Massachusetts State ID that finally says you're 21...

You, Podge, and Nin: Regardless, the whole pack drinks together in the epilogue at the last Hog Throne show, implying your entire pack is now at least 21 (legal American drinking age). So by this point, I think PC is 22, and Podge and Nin are legally 21, meaning they would be about 19 or 20 at the start of the game.

8. Intelligence isn't just tied to your book-smarts or occult knowledge, it also influences whether you can catch pop cultural/musical references.

I mean, my first two characters (galliard/December and theurge/October) had good-to-excellent INT (3-5pts), so the text described Elton's Mezzanine shirt, Highlander halloween costume, Podge being dressed up as the girl from the "Everyday Is Like Sunday" music video, Nin's Sophie Scholl hoodie, etc all by name or direct reference.

But I noticed with my third ahroun (January) character, whom I deliberately kept at 1 INT the entire game, that she didn't catch ANY of that -- the Mezzanine t-shirt is a "white t-shirt with a black insect scrawled across half its surface," she thinks Elton is dressed as the Scarlet Pimpernel, that Nin is maybe wearing a hoodie with her own face on it, etc. (You can get some pretty funny extra dialogue out of being so clueless.)

This makes sense when you consider that your Academics and Intelligence tutor in this game is a badass art teacher who used to be in the '90s demoscene.

[trigun-manga-overhaul]

TRIGUN ULTIMATE OVERHAUL JULY UPDATE

OVERHAUL UPDATE 07/07/23 - The Japanese Scans.

Hey everyone and welcome to this month's update!

As has been customary the last half a year, work is still coming along slowly, all except for scanning. We do have our occasional spikes of productivity here and there, but the online presence is a constantly trickle of work, something I personally as the runner of the blog am enjoying a lot.

One of the main things currently being worked on right now are the Japanese scans, as we decided to use our scans to help out on that front as well. It comes with its own fair share of preparation, changing how we do our page cleaning and increasing the amount storage required since we'll now be having three versions of the manga lying around.

For those not interested in the technicalities, there's nice 2.0 pages below for you to check out! Beyond that, thank you so much for following and supporting our project!

~~

Read more about the process below:

In order for us to have Japanese scans ready as well, we need to firstly make that version before removing all text. That means it begins as usual; removing paper textures, balancing the tones, repairing page damage, making the two page spreads seamless, general page quality check, and lastly page resizing.

We save the Japanese pages as such and then start on another version where we remove the Japanese text, restoring art covered by text and the bubbles themselves. Then we save the fully cleaned pages in original size to keep the clean art for artist purposes and keep resized versions for typesetting for any language.

We'll still be doing page number typesetting for the Japanese versions, as we've used the Japanese Omnibuses for our scans and to reflect our singular volume release form, the page numbers have to match that of singular volumes.

~~

Below we want to show a few examples of how the Japanese scans that we will release will look like:

Right now the preparations for the Japanese scans is slow, as the idea to release them as well came later. That means that the raw scans were already deleted from personal storage, leaving us with only fully cleaned pages, and therefore we had to redownload the raws. They had to be balanced again but it was easy enough to add the repair work from the fully cleaned pages, as it was simply a matter of copying and pasting chunks of cleaned pages onto the new ones.

~~

Colored pages aren't as easy to work with, however, as it is harder to reach the exact same tone. Luckily there are few of those that require us to put old edits onto new scans. Many of them are like the page below:

Until now, only TriMax Vol 1 is ready in the Japanese version and TriMax Vol 2 is currently in works. Once we reach three chapters into TriMax Vol 3 we'll be able to follow the new cleaning plan and no extra restoration work will be required.

~~

Here's a few more examples of the new scans, take note of the readability of more messy text like scribbles and sound effects:

All the Japanese scans will be released only in PDF format in the future. We'll only share the PNGs of the pages on direct personal request.

~~

Anyway, that's all for today's update. Time for me to go back to blasting PetroDragonic Apocalypse on repeat for another few hours.

If there are any topics that you want to see for future updates, don't hesitate to let us know!

SEE YOU GUYS NEXT MONTH!

[midnightkolrath]

Pondering about Dante's ages throughout the series

Because I've been up til 7 AM thinking about all of this a few times.

This isn't the first post I've seen out there about this, and there's ones that are pretty good with mathing out stuff....I'm just doing added thinking because that's just what I do, lmao.

Disclaimer: All of this stuff is based on what’s been stated in the games and other media that I’ve gathered, but regardless…none should be taken as hard fact unless Capcom decides to SPECIFICALLY state things directly in any sort of official media. What I list as “canon” are things I see line up appropriately based on the timeline DMC5 has set. That’s why “pretty much” and “likely” canon are used.

Childhood: 7/8 years old (7 pre-birthday before he got his half of the amulet, 8 the very moment of) [Pretty much canon]

Okay, now as far as I've seen, these ages are pretty much canon with how things add up. Question is, I've been trying to find the EXACT source where it was stated the twins were 8 when they got their amulets. I see it on the wiki but with a lack of citation, so...if anyone can pinpoint it anywhere for me, that'd be great. I'm assuming these ages are just what we know because of how the timeline adds up.

DMC TAS Episode 8: Likely 10-11 years old [Guessed Estimate]

There's assumptions/implications (or downright even facts) that Dante was roaming around for some time completely alone after surviving the attempt on his life (which is tragic/sad to think about on its own), and based on how this episode shows "Tony" looking to be slightly older but not TOO old…so I assume he aged abit more, guessing to be around 10 years old. There's no exact estimate on how long he was there, before "disappearing"…but the episode also has Dante deny he's the same "Tony" being assumed, buuuut…there's layers, hah. Probably will go into it when I give this a deeper dive one day.

DMC1 Novel: Likely 18 [Guessed estimate; I'd say its p much canon]

Non-canon in some places but canon in others (I'd say DMC5 and Before the Nightmare realigned a good bit of it nicely), this originally took place as a direct segment into DMC1 before DMC3 came into existence.

If we realign it, it'd mean the events of this would take place before DMC3 and segment into the DMC3 novel instead. Which is funky to think about, but hey Tony Redgrave era is pretty nuts on its own.

Dante's a mercenary during this, drinking and hanging out around a bar…so its very safe to assume he's 18 here. Not digging a rabbit hole on other drinking ages here because then it gets messy (lmao). We'll see how the anime treats this era, but its looking to be a parallel universe sooo....who knows.

DMC3: 18 (Manga), 19 (Game)

According to how Dante says its been around a year since he and Vergil last met (Which is the Manga; Even if its basically incomplete, with a planned 3rd volume that was going to be about Lady being cancelled), Dante is pretty much solidified to have been 19 around the time of the game. Pretty much aligns with how he's easily in his late teens around this point.

DMC1: 23 (Early concept Sample script draft), 27/28 (Official(?)) [Non-canon (obviously for the draft); Pretty much Canon (For the final game version)]

According to Trish, its been around 20 years since the death of Eva (Well accurately the 'resurrection of mundus', but well…this is early DMC canon, I'll take that alignment). This misaligned easily with the sample script, but alights better with the assumed correct/final age, as Dante was around 7/8 when the tragedy occurred.

With the sample script stating him as 23, its a scary idea on a what if that the twins would've lost their mother at a MUCH younger age…or if we do the math and keep the other ages the same…Dante being 23 would've meant DMC3 took place around 5 years prior…and Dante being 7/8 when losing his mom would've meant that the incident took place around 15-16 years ago, and not 20. Not so much AROUND 20 years, but this was the sample script based on the game originally being RE4 in concept, so its not really connected to the final product or main canon.

I included the sample script age here just because its interesting to think about the original RE4 version of DMC1 that pre-dated what would end up becoming the start of the franchise we all know and love today. Its important history in the way RE4 itself is pretty important as it was as revolutionary as DMC would end up becoming for action games. Think of this as bonus for fun addition, heh.

DMC TAS (Anime): Early/Mid-30s [Guessed Estimate] DMC2 Novel/DMC2: Mid-30s [Guessed Estimate]

This estimate requires some math and shit am I bad at it. But based on other factors its not a terrible guess. Its also a safe guess. DMC TAS is obviously awhile after DMC1 and DMC2 is awhile after DMC TAS.

DMC4: Around 40 (3142 graphics book) [Likely Canon]

If going by the fact that Nero is stated to be around the same age Dante was in DMC3, then that'd mean Nero is 19. If Dante's around 40 (Note: The specification is AROUND, not EXACTLY 40), then that would make him atleast 38/39 years old.

As an added fun fact, the 3142 graphics book is named as such because it used to be the timeline order for the games. Of course, DMC5 changed this and the order became 3124. Also confirmed as a change by Producer Matt Walker here.

Of course, the full timeline order is like...

DMC1 Novel (Main events with a few adjustments/retcons) -> DMC3 Manga -> DMC3 -> DMC1 -> DMC TAS/DMC TAS Drama CDs -> DMC2 Novel -> DMC2 -> DMC4 Deadly Fortune novel (to a point; then it parallels to the game) -> DMC4 -> Visions of V (Prequel at first through V's PoV until it parallels the game) -> DMC5 Before the Nightmare (Prequel/Tease up to right before the game plot) -> DMC5

Probably missing a few things here, but eeeeuuuhhh pretty mush the gist.

...Got abit off topic there. Whoops.

DMC5: Early-40s [Guessed Estimate; Likely canon]

Before the Nightmare states DMC4 was 5 years earlier. In game confirms, due to Patty's age, that TAS was 10 years earlier, as Patty was 8 around the time the anime was occurring.

Based on calculations, 42 would be the mark as if Dante was 38 in 4, BTN’s statement would mark him as that. I don’t want to label it as the HARD canon (as I would like to see Capcom hard confirm these ages one day, even if the maths add up).

This is just my general thoughts with stuff we know/can obviously assume. There's many other posts out there, like I said, with several others putting more precise info and here is a good read of someone's timeline calculations along with this here, this one as well aaand a more accurate timeline placement here (Along with other lore goodies for those looking).

Also note this was all written originally when I was sleep deprived at like 7 AM while I was trying to clean up/revise things at the moment, but I may still have abit of things kinda mixed. Hopefully I'm tossing this out comprehensible enough, hah.

[xxrheaswifexx]

Meeting for the first time pt.1

Dabi x Reader

(no NSFW stuff because yall are just meeting)

your 21 by the way and dabi is 23 (his canon age)

its around 10:00pm your walking down the streets when you notice someone in a alleyway smoking so you walk up to them wondering who it is and your eyes widen as you see its one of the most powerful men in the LOV dabi you freeze in fear as you see him but then he notices you…

“whats a little girl doing walking the streets at this time at night?” dabi asks

“i was bored so i thought id go for a walk” you reply with calming down slightly as he seems more sweet and calm talking to you than you have heard him talk on the news

“you gotta be more careful a women like you could get hurt somehow like you could get kidnapped or murdered you gotta be careful” dabi says to you but in a concerned tone which makes you a bit confused why hes so concerned about you and you begin to ask yourself “why is he being so concerned and nice? i mean isnt he one of the most powerful people in the LOV?” in your head but then you just reply to him anyways

“yeah i know ive had that pep talk before from my mum also can i have some?” you ask pointing to the cigarette in his hand

“yeah here but i have one question for you quickly?” he asks handing you the lit cigarette

“thank you and you can ask i dont mind” you say taking a draw of the cigarette

“are you a hero or training to be a hero because you dont seem a villain?” he asks curiously

“yeah i am actually i go to UA!” you reply blowing out the smoke and giving him the cigarette back

“oh so you are a UA student mmmm” he says in a more creepy tone like but you brush it off not caring before he asks again “what year you in?”

“im actually in my final year!!” you say smiling

“ohhhh and if someone like me for example from the LOV was to ask if you would like to join them what would you say?” he says in a way that sends a shiver down your spine

“id say no” you say in a more demanding tone like you dont ever want to join the LOV

“oh right move topic what is ur quirk?” he asks just trying to change the topic because deep down he wanted you to join the LOV

“fire manipulation and throwing!!” you say to him and then when you say it he raises an eyebrow

“guess we are more alike than you think is ur fire blue or red?” he asks just wondering to see if you both are more alike than what he thinks

“its actually blue why?” you then ask curiously

“we are definitely alike because my quirk is the exact same as yours” he says but with a smile on his face

“oh is that a good thing or?” you ask confused if it is really a good thing or not

“yeah it is dont worry but yeah anyway i think you should head home its getting late for a young women to be out this late want me to walk you i dont mind?” he asks but more concerned again like he wants you to say yes

“i mean i dont mind yeah!” you say smiling and then the two of yous leave the alleyway you leading the way to your house walking home with him and after like 30 minutes of walking you arrive home and you turn to dabi

“thats me now ill see you around?” you say hoping you will see him again

“yeah sure i always smoke in that alleyway so you’ll most likely find me in there” he says happily that he gets to see you again

you smile at him before walking into your house going to bed as soon as you get into your house you realise both your parents are asleep so you creep around heading to your bed falling asleep fastly as your so tired…

[requincouche]

How old are you? What advice do you wish someone had given you ten years ago?

I'm 33... There's lots of things that I wish I did different when I was 23 xD

I can't talk about most things, as it's personal... I started working full time at a real job when I had just turned 24. In terms of what path I took, I think that the doctoral research that I did, which resulted in obtaining a PhD title, was the correct way to go. I often wonder how much easier it would have been, had I chosen a different career path. But honestly, since 'difficulty' is a relative thing; had I indeed chosen a different career, I'd have considered it to be the exact same level of difficulty, as I wouldn't have known any better. But overall I'm glad about my career route. In terms of finance I was kinda dumb, and thus far wasn't able to purchase a home. I didn't waste my money on frivolous things all these years, but I also didn't always put it aside into the stock market and I lost a lot of value due to the devaluation of the euro. It's kinda sad to consider that I probably lost years of unspent disposable income on that, but so be it.

In terms of who I am, and how I see myself. There's a lot of stuff that I should have done better, or at the very least done earlier. I'm not old right now, and my health is fine, though I feel like I didn't make the best of my 20s and I'll never be 20 again.

I begrudgingly claim that I don't like travelling, but I've said this all this time cus I just can't find the time to do it. The world around me is so beautiful, yet the one thing I see the most in life is my desk at home and my desk at work. I really don't want to see my "life flashing by in front of my eyes", and it just being the same scenes of the inside of my home and of my work over and over xD , that'd be so extremely sad.

Hm. I'm going to stop here. There's a lot more topics for me to write about, but I don't want to accidentally expose my whole life to you, and I don't want to focus too much on the negative. Time travel isn't possible, and I need to look forward to the future.

[bebepac]

Tornado Taylor 🌪

I am participating in @choicesflashfics  prompt  # 22  “I am at my wits end with you.”  which will be in bold

I am also participating in @choicesmonthlychallenge prompt:  Can I at least tell my side of the story, which will also be in bold.  

The Book:  TRR (no royals)  Series: Chapter 6:  School Dayz  (link posted if you need to catchup)  Pairings:  Liam x Riley Word Count: 1575 Warning and Ratings:  NONE!   Mood Music Monday Song Imspiration: The Call: Regina Spektor Summary:  Riley gets roped into shenanigans with her sister.

Original Post: 03/04/23 at 9:15PM  EST.

“TELL ME THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW RILEY ANTONIA BROOKS!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!!!”  My father’s voice boomed in anger.

 This was probably the most angry I had seen him in a long time.

‘I didn’t do it! I promise!”  

“I am at my wits’ end with you!”  

Taylor remained silent.

“Taylor!!!!”  I screamed at her. My sister had her look.  Her ‘She’s pleading the 5th look  where she stops answering questions.’  She wouldn’t leave me to hang out to dry like this in something I had no part of…. Would she? Her own sister  - - her identical twin at that.

“Taylor please….”  

“Dad, she said no. She didn't do anything wrong.”

“I don’t believe either of you right now.  We’re leaving.”  

“Dad, no, I already took the written test. I took it!”  Taylor insisted.  

Dad grabbed me by one arm and then Taylor by the other taking us up to the examiner.  

“Are you able to verify which one of these girls  took the written driver’s test?”

The examiner looked from Taylor to myself, and back again,  The both of us were dressed identically, We looked the exact same down to my sneakers.

“No…I can't tell the difference between the two of them.”  

“Didn’t think so, so we won’t be completing this driving test today.”  

You may be asking yourself how I got myself into this predicament.  I have two words for you.  Tornado Taylor.  

I love my sister, I really truly do.  She’s smart and not just another ditsy popular girl.  

If she put as much focus into hair-brained schemes as she put into school, she’d be on the dean’s list right now, like I am, instead of barely on  A / B honor Roll. School came pretty easy to Taylor and if she actually studied…. Like I have to study, she could be running circles around me.

But I’m getting sidetracked. Here’s how Tornado Taylor sucked me up into her vortex.

Three Hours Ago:

I woke up that morning without incident.  Since it was a teacher’s work day and we didn’t have school, my body is used to its routine of  getting up early. I decided to make myself a bowl of cereal  while the house was still quiet.  Afterwards I showered and dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.  

She peeked her head into my room.  

I lounged on my bed streaming the new series that had just debuted on the APP called The Vampires Live On.  I had to share my login with Taylor but at least we watched different things.  It was very rare that the two of us watched the same shows or had to restart a series.  

“Ri, Breakfast.”  

“I already ate.”  

“Oh. You’re already up and dressed?”   Taylor was still in pajamas.  

“Yeah, I’m laying low today.”

“After breakfast Dad’s taking me to the DMV to get my license.”  

“Good Luck!”  

“I don’t need luck, I have a plan.”

I should have taken it as a warning... but I didn’t.   

Two Hours Ago

Hungry from my binge watching I came into the kitchen for a snack finding Jaiden sitting on the couch about to turn on the TV.

He looked at me in an odd way.  

“Hey?”  

“What are you planning on watching?”

“Don’t know yet. What are you watching currently?”

“The Vampires Live On.”  

“Yeah  I heard that’s supposed to be good. You like it?”

“Yeah. You should check it out.  I’m on episode 2 it’s really good.”  

“Noted.”  

“Taylor and Dad are still at the DMV?”  

“Yep, Taylor had one job.  To make her appointment for her driving test and exam and she didn’t. Now they’re waiting to be seen. Of course she blamed the app and not herself.”  

“God… Dad is probably livid.  You know he just hates sitting somewhere waiting.”

“Yep.”

“I’ll be sure not to be around when they get back, he’s going to be grumpy.”  

“Yep.  I’m taking Bebe to the lake.”  

“Have fun.”  

“We will.”

One Hour Ago

I had dozed off binge watching the show and woke up when my phone buzzed.

Taylor: Riley help!

Riley: What’s wrong?

Taylor: Can you come to the DMV right now?

Riley:  Why?

Taylor:  I need you.

Riley:  Why?

Taylor:  I need a tampon. I’m in the bathroom. I’m embarrassed to come out.

Dad, even though he could be grumpy at times,  when it came to “womanly concerns”  as he called them, he had no problem going to buy what we needed and even coming back with our favorite chocolate candy in tow with him without us asking.  He knew I liked kit kats, Taylor, peanut butter cups, and mom likes a bag of bite size snickers. Dad tried to be sensitive to those things.  He had taught Jaiden to be sensitive too, and Jaiden was just like dad in that aspect.

When I didn’t respond Taylor texted again.  

Taylor:  Dad is mad at me because I didn’t make an appointment on the DMV app, and I don’t want to have to send him out to get something else, or he’ll go nuclear. Can you help me please?

Riley: I'll be there in a little bit.

I put on my shoes and  headed down the stairs.

Jaiden perked up when I walked in the room.

"Where are you going?"

"Taylor needs me."

"She's fine with Dad."

"It's a girl emergency.”  

“Oh. You should change though.”  

“No time. I won’t be gone long.”

Jaiden sighed.  Now I think my brother knew exactly what I was walking right into.  Tornado Taylor.

I ran out the door.  It didn’t take me long to get to the DMV,  I went immediately to the bathrooms.  

“Taye?”  

“Last stall.”  

“Well open the door.”  

I was surprised to see Taylor dressed identically to me.

“What are you doing?”

“I banked on the chance you wouldn’t change your clothes.  So funny story.. I need your help for something else.”

“I don’t like where this is going Taye…”  

“So I totally didn’t study for the written test, can you take it for me?”  

“What?   No!!!!”  

“I will totally ace the driving part.”

“Taylor no! This has to be illegal or something. NO! Or the very least identity theft.”

“Theft is a strong word, especially if I’m letting you borrow my identity.”

“That is not how it works Taylor!! Did you even need the tampons? Stupid me of course you didn’t!!!”

There was a knock on the door.  

“Taylor, they called your number, time to take your test.”  

“Okay Dad, I’ll be right out.”  

“Riley come on!!!”  

“No.”  I said in a forced whisper.

“Riley please!?!?!?!”

“NO!!!”

“Then you’re stuck in here until we can sneak you out.”  Taylor commented in a matter of fact way.     I couldn’t believe I got myself roped into Taylor’s shenanigans yet again.  

About thirty minutes later Taylor returned.  

“Dad went to the vending machine to get us drinks.  Let’s get you out before he sees you or your car.”  

I had almost made it to the door out of the DMV when I heard my father’s voice.

“What’s going on here?”

I turned around to face my father.

“Hey Dad.”  

“Riley, what are you doing here?”  

He took a moment to look at the two of us, his face turning bright red.

“Taylor Jeanine Brooks you have three seconds to tell me what’s going on.”  

Taylor smiled her megawatt smile, “So Dad, funny story….”  

“Nope, nevermind, that’s probably going to be a lie. Riley, tell me the truth.”

“Dad…..”

“TELL ME THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW RILEY ANTONIA BROOKS!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!!!”  My father’s voice boomed in anger. This was probably the most angry I had seen him in a long time.

Annnd… we’re back to where you guys came in.  Tornado Taylor got me again.   I could expect nothing less than World War  Brooks when we all got back home.  I was able to drive myself back home, and you know what?  I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for Taylor having to ride all the way home with our father who was as angry as a disturbed hornet’s nest.  

The moment we got home  Jaiden came into the living room when he heard all the commotion.  

“Riley, give me your car keys. You’re grounded.”

“But Dad…. I didn’t do anything.  Can I at least tell my side of the story?”  

“She had no clue what she was walking into Dad. Look at Riley’s phone.”  Jaiden spoke up for me.  

At that moment, I could have completely saved myself  and given my father the phone, but something was stirring in my stomach.  

“Riley, give me your phone.”  

“No.”  

Shocked, Taylor glared at me.  Even though Tornado Taylor was a mess at times, read all the time, I still loved her to the moon and back again.

“I am trustworthy, and if I say I didn’t take the test for her, you should believe me Dad.  Despite the overwhelming data that says we did something shady.  You should believe ME….I’ve never given you a reason not to trust me.  So, if not giving you my phone right now means I’m grounded too,  I guess I will be grounded too.”  

I dropped my car keys on the table and walked upstairs towards my room.  

In the distance I heard the equivalent of my sister falling on the sword for me.  

“Dad, please don’t ground Riley.  She did nothing wrong, this is all my fault.”

From that moment on, the relationship between us changed.  My sister never again saw me as someone she could manipulate to get what she wanted, but let’s be honest, she should have never been looking at me that way in the first place.

[eyes-of-rock]

Why does love have to change

Jack Blades x OC

Chapter One

Summary: Ren is the bassist of the successful Swedish Rock band Savage Seducion. She had it all, the great band and the fairytale romance with her guitarist and frontman Gunnar. That was until they broke up. Now Ren must navigate playing with her Ex as they tour America with Night Ranger. Along with new feelings for Night Rangers bassist Jack Blades.

A/N: yes I reused a band from another fic I abounded in order to write this one. Also, comments are welcomed and encouraged! Hope you enjoy!

Ren’s POV

I'm trying not to think about tomorrow. When I have to face my ex for the first time since we broke up a few months ago. He was the boy next door. I have known him my whole life, our parents were best friends and so we became friends. I started playing bass and he started playing guitar. We fell in love, or whatever love is to kids. We were thirteen. Then we decided at sixteen nothing was ever going to break us up so we might as well start a band together.

That was our first mistake. When you are sixteen we genuinely believe nothing is going to break up you and your boyfriend. You’re delusional and life hasn't kicked you down enough yet. We made it past school and our band grew. We got a record deal and still stuck together. We were 18 at this point. We'd been together all our teenage life and it was starting to break down. I had these feelings I needed to run. I needed to explore I needed to try something else. The love I once felt wasn't really romantic anymore. Yet I didn't want to fuck up our band. We had a massive following back in Sweden off our first album.

We were making it. I was living my dream of being a rockstar. So I kept hanging on to the relationship despite knowing I didn't love him anymore. I kept fighting it.

I mean he was the only love ever knew. What is wrong with me? My whole family wanted us together wanted us to get married wanted him to be my great love story. After all, it was looking like one of those stories you read about where the boy and girl next door live happily ever after. So I kept fighting it.

We made a decision to keep us being a couple as on the down low as possible. We didn't want that to be the identity of our band. Which looking back now should have been a sign.

Time went on, till last year. When I realized how unhappy I truly was. It all started when my mother started up her whole “why are you and Gunnar married” thing again. We're only 23 granted we have been together ten years. I realized how unnatural it was I really didn't want to marry him. I had no desire to spend the rest of my life with him. I didn't want to be his wife. I didn't see a future with us together. I wanted to run. I wanted to be free. How I was just holding on to this relationship to hold on to my band and make everyone around me happy. I didn't really love him anymore. I had to get out.

I remember thinking I'd have to start a new band. I can do that though. I can start over. I thought I'd shatter his heart. I thought he'd hate me and I was prepared for that.

I was shocked when It turned out he felt the exact same as me. We both knew this wasn't our forever love like we once thought and we had to cut ourselves free. We both knew it was what was best. So that's what we did. We decided since it was mutual and we really have no hate for one another to keep the band going. Why ruin a good thing?

So here I am months later. In San Francisco. Where our tour is going to start tomorrow with Night Ranger. They happen to be a band I really love. So I'm excited to your with them. I know it's going to be awkward but I also know I can work past it. I just need to focus on our music.

After all this the tour in support of our new album. The one we finished just before breaking up. It's really taken off here in America and I'm very proud of it. We've gone gold already and it's only been out a week! I'm excited to play the new stuff.

I decided to come a few days early so I could enjoy San Francisco a bit and relax before the awkwardness that was bound to happen. Right now I'm sitting in a nice convertible in an almost empty parking. I'm looking at the map to plan out my route to my next destination. I'm drinking some American soda, and just knowing the music and the nice weather.

Then I pop in my “Dawn Patrol” cassette into the cars cassette player. When I say I'm a fan of night ranger I mean it. I crank the radio and start singing along. Ex-boyfriends are tomorrow's problem.

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Jack’s POV

I stop dead for a second when I suddenly hear my own music fill the air. Someone somewhere is blasting “Don't Tell Me You Love Me”. I look around looking for the source. It has to be nearby I can hear it very clearly. I look head into the parking lot and notice a woman sitting in a red convertible. She's got long black hair cut in what I call I rock n roll style. She's wearing sunglasses and she's the one blasting my music. It always makes me happy to see people enjoying my music. Especially when it’s pretty women.

In her lap, I notice she's studying a map. There is a good chance she's lost. I should go see if she needs help.

I walk over to her car and smile as I reach the driver's side. She notices me and turns down her radio down.

“If I’m not allowed to park her I can move.” She says, probably because the parking lot is empty. She has a thick accent of some kind. I’d say it’s European. Though I can’t place the exact country.

She’s dressed very rock. With tight black ripped jeans,cowboy boots and a crop top of the Swedish Band “Savage Seduction”. The band were actually starting a tour with next week. Interesting. Maybe she’s here for the concert? She seems to be fans of both bands.

“No, I actually came over to ask if you’re lost.” I tell her, pointing to the map on her lap. Also in her car is a pack of cigarettes, her purse, and a few cassettes. One of cassettes is actually our Album midnight Madness, and I can see the case for Dawn Patrol as well. The one she’s currently got on her cassette player.

It’s kind of funny she appears to be such a big fan yet hasn’t recognized me. Especially when I’m sitting on the cassette player box right next her. I don’t blame her though. I probably look much different without the spandex.

“Oh! No I’m just planing my route.” She laughs, “but thank you.”

“No big deal.” I tell her,then I point to the tape in the player.

“Great band aren’t they?”

“Night Ranger?” She asks, “yes the best.”

“Are you going to the show tomorrow?” I ask her, curious.

“You could say that yes.” She laughs, “Are you a fan?”

“You could say I am yes.” I tell her. I don’t like being full of myself and going ‘I’m Jack Blades the bassist and singer of the band’. It’s okay not everyone needs to know who I am. I also don’t want to come off as full of myself. Especially not to someone as pretty as she is, that’s the last thing I’d want her thinking of me.

“Well I really should get going.” She tells me with a smile.

“It was nice meeting you.” I tell her and I mean that I’m hoping I can see her tomorrow so I can give her a backstage pass.

“I was nice meeting you too.” She smiles as she drives off. Well shes someone I’m not going to forget for a while.