#but another one I'll try next walkthrough

[alcowarlock]

so sweet, and yet, so sad

[originalaccountname]

I made some funny comics a little while ago about the potential effects of Fukuzawa's ability on Chuuya's, and how it perhaps could make it revert to a pre-Arahabaki state.

I realized later that some of you lack the context for where that came from, and that I might be creating confusion, so this is a (hopefully) comprehensive walkthrough of things we learned in Storm Bringer that lead to this conclusion.

tldr; The lab created "Arahabaki" by manipulating an ability into a destructive force. That ability existed before the lab, and the nature of that ability is heavily implied to be the power to enhance other abilities through touch.

Explanation and sources below (so you can judge yourself) ⬇

- spoiler warning for Storm Bringer, hopefully written in a way that you'd understand even if you haven't read it yet -

In Storm Bringer, Chuuya meets the scientist that was responsible for Project Arahabaki, Professor N.

Project Arahabaki, N explains, was the Japanese government's secret project to create an ability singularity they could have control over and freely use as a weapon.

What are singularities? Singularities are what happens when abilities clash in specific ways and create a new, unforeseen reaction. The easiest way to create a singularity is to pit two contradictory abilities against each other to create a paradox; examples included the ability to always deceive and the ability to always perceive the truth, and to have two ability users who can see into the future (*coughs* Oda and Gide) try to one-up each other. The result is usually much more powerful than the original abilities on their own.

Some singularities are said to have been explained as god-like interventions, because of their often destructive nature. This is what inspired the name "Arahabaki", after the mythical being (here's a post of the subject and I'll it link at the end too) These events are described as very rare.

Like mentioned in that passage, there is another way to create a singularity: to have a single ability user use their ability in a way that contradicts itself. This is what the lab was trying to do.

For that explanation, Professor N gives an example. He first shows a video of a child, whose face is hidden from the camera, holding a coin (described as having a certain melancoly to it), with a moon and a fox engraved on it. The video is from one of the lab's tests. The child is made to recite some activation lines, which are directly taken from one of Nakahara Chuuya's poems, Upon the Tainted Sorrow (which does mentions a fox, as a fun fact).

The coin then starts glowing, the glow turns into a black mass, and from there the experimentation goes bad: the coin starts attracting things and absorbing them, the space gets distorted, the child's vitals flatline, panic spreads and someone calls for an emergency stop, we hear a scream. The video ends.

N explains that the child in the video had the ability to enhance the ability of others. That child then used that ability on themselves, effectively enhancing the enhancement which enhanced the enhancing, in an infinite loop. That loop created a lot of energy; the surplus of energy was so intense its mass deformed space (physics!) and it created a black hole.

Here's where it gets tricky: N claims that child died during that accident, that the child was absorbed by the black hole created by their ability. We never actually learn their identity.

But N is a lying liar who lies; he said about one and a half truths the entire book. The only reason he was telling them any of this was that he thought he'd get rid of all of them within the next few minutes. His objective was always to regain control over Chuuya, his pet project.

Plus, during the epilogue, we learn that Chuuya was assumed to have died during the war. That's what his parents think. That's what is officially recorded.

Furthermore.

Project Arahabaki was based off French research papers; someone else had done this kind of experimentation before, and their result was Verlaine.

-

Verlaine's gravity-manipulation is a singularity. Better yet: Verlaine also has a Corruption state, named Brutalization. Their abilities are the same, because the lab copied the techniques that were used to create Verlaine when they worked on Chuuya.

Here's a passage of Dazai nullifying Corruption, at the very end of SB:

"The self-contradicting skill, which was supporting the energy of a singularity". This passage confirms that the source of Chuuya's ability is, in fact, like the child's and Verlaine's, if any doubts remained. "[...] weakening the singularity's output. It wasn't long before it returned to its normal state, and the Gate closed." The Gate refers to releasing Arahabaki, it's basically a limiter, just like the passage above when talking about Brutalization. When Dazai nullifies Corruption, he gives that limiter the opportunity to come back and seal Chuuya's power away again, but does not stop the singularity, only allows it to go back to its stable state.

From all that, we can say that Chuuya's ability wasn't always gravity manipulation, but that it was another, unconfirmed ability that was exploited in such a way that it became a permanent, stable singularity that allowed him to have control over gravity.

-

Bullet point recap:

Chuuya's gravity manipulation comes from a singularity, like Verlaine, like that child;

You need a self-referencing/self-contradicting ability to create that singularity;

Such an event is rare;

There is a substantial amount of time spent describing a "random" child that was experimented on during the war;

That child created a black hole through their singularity;

That singularity was activated using a passage from Nakahara Chuuya's poems, while holding a coin that references it;

That child supposedly died;

Chuuya's parents think he died during the war;

N is a pathological liar with an agenda.

So no, there is no "confirmation" that Chuuya's ability was ability enhancement before the lab took him. But an author writes a story with an intent, so I am asking what Asagiri's intent was when writing all this, and if perhaps we weren't indirectly given the answer already.

-

What is Arahabaki (Fifteen and Storm Bringer lore, with too many citations)

My own perceived timeline of the true events behind Storm Bringer (was originally gonna be part of this part, also with too many citations)

[putschki1969]

2024/07/10 Blog post by Wakana おしゃべりガーデン第11回目‼️〜とにかくたくさんお喋りしました〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Talk Garden Vol.11‼️〜I Talked a Lot〜

Vol 11 of Wakana' Chat's Talk Garden has been uploaded!! ＼(^o^)／This time, I asked you to submit all sorts of questions for me😊I wanted to read as many of your messages as possible so the episode turned out really long…😅💦I know it's probably a hassle to listen to the entire thing but please bear with me, take your time and listen to the podcast whenever you feel like it🤗✨

Here is the "Silk Nightcap" I mentioned in the podcast (looks surreal doesn't it?😂) I think it fits quite well *laughs* The back looks like this. You can tuck away and protect your long hair😆

And here's some info about my summer skin care! I didn't answer the question properly during the podcast so I thought it would be best to show you everything here😂In summer, I tend to prefer skin care products that are a little lighter than the ones I use in winter, but I don't want to change my routine completely.😊All these items are from Korean brands…🤣Aside from chaging the lotion I use for my facial device, the lineup is pretty much the same as in winter. However, since the UV rays are strong during this time of year, I use a lot more cosmetics with whitening agents. I use the same nighttime serums all year round, one with vitamin C, another one with retinol. I use the one with retinol on days when I've been exposed to too much air conditioning, and the one with vitamin C on days when I've been exposed to UV rays. I have various morning serums…not just the ones you see here, there are about four types that I use depending on my mood. One product that's different in summer is my cream, I use the tube in the back on the right side at night. In the morning, I use the tube in the back on the left side as a good base for my makeup. By the way, my tone-up serum is the tube next to my morning cream. I love the brand "Serendi Beauty", but unfortunately, their products have been sold out for a while and I can't buy them anywhere😭It's not featured here but their lotion in particular is seriously the best…!!

I also use face masks in the morning and at night, the same ones I use in winter 😊Here's my starting lineup for facial masks✨Once again, I've increased my stock of whitening products! And of course I also want something that is very moisturising! I aim to feel well hydrated from the inside. That way, even if I do my makeup with a matte finish, my face won't dry out all day 😊💓

Well, since I have some spare time… I'll briefly try to answer a few of the remaining questions! (^^)

Q. Do you mind spoilers? For shows, movies, novels, manga, games, setlists, anything? A. I don't like spoilers for weekly shows that I look forward to watching. I am very fascinated by anything horror-related but I think it's too scare so I can't really watch it. That's why I always read all the spoilers *laughs* Also, I'm such a beginner at games so I watch a lot of walkthrough videos of good players to help me get past difficult parts.

Q. Do you receive all of our letters and presents? A. Yes! I've received all of them, including every single letter😊 Thank you as always…✨ Speaking of which, I once received some hair oil which made my hair super smooth and silky so I bought some for myself!! !

Q. Are you okay with heights? A. I'm not that bad at heights but I feel like the glass floor of Tokyo Tower is pretty scary😇 Also, I've never been on one but the Ferris wheel carriages with glass floors look pretty scary too😇

Q. What are some recommended spots in Yokohama? A. The sea and the night view around the Red Brick Warehouse are beautiful!! !

Q. Have you ever had a pet before? A. When I still lived at home with my parents we had a dog🐕 When I started living alone, I had a goldfish🐟 (My little goldfish Buu-chan has passed away and gone to heaven a long time ago (;_;)🐟✨)

Q. Even though my message was read during the last episode, the present hasn't arrived yet. When will it arrive? A. Please forgive me, I'm always so slow at making my postcards for you. I will try my best to have them delivered by the beginning of the next month! I'm sorry for making you all anxious, wondering if the postcard got lost in the mail… 😱 Please wait patiently~ (I'm even more sorry that last month's presents were super late… 💦)

I want to answer even more of your questions but I'm going to stop here before it gets out of hand 😅If you have any other questions, please send them to me~

The next talk theme for the episode on August 10th will be "What kind of pillow do you use?/What is everyone's pillow situation?" Additionally, you can continue to send random questions you'd like to ask me! ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／The deadline is July 31st!! ! Please send in as many messages as you can!! ! 💌

Well then, everyone! This Saturday I am performing at the summer event “AirTrip presents Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024”! See you at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse~♪＼(^o^)／♪

Until next time~☆( '▽')/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

Wakana’s Talk Garden #11

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Episode #11 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——«« ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

One fan asked about Wakana's time as a gospel choir member and whether she remembered liking any particular songs or singers. While she doesn't have a lot of memories, she recalls three specific songs => "This Little Light of Mine", "Seasons of Love" and "It's Raining Men". Loved that we got a few snippets of her singing some lines of each song. I honestly wouldn't mind if she released another cover album with all sorts of Western/American music

For next month’s episode which is scheduled to air on August 10th, the following two topics have been chosen:

・ What kind of pillow do you use?/What's your pillow situation? ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

The submission deadline is 07/31.

Everyday’s Omatsuri Merchandise

Two original items have been revealed as live goods for Wakana's upcoming appearance at the summer event "Everyday's Omatsuri"! One is a t-shirt and the other is a muffler towel. You can order both in Wakana's Official Online Shop! Preorder period ends on July 12! Shipping is scheduled for the end of July. (Source) (Instagram post by Wakana)

Title: “AirTrip presents Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024” Date and time:July 13, 2024 Open 18:30 / Start 19:00 Venue: Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Performers: RYTHEM・Wakana Official site: http://omatsuridays.jp/

2024/07/11 Instagram post by Wakana

Today I had a rehearsal for the summer event “Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024”which will take place this Saturday 🤗✨ Here I am together with the two members of RYTHEM and Takebe-san! Say Cheese 📸YUI-san and YUKA-san were so cute and dazzling…😍💓I'm excited because I think it's going to be a fantastic peformance✨I hope everyone will come and have a great time~🧚💕(Source)

[wysiwyg-wizards]

Halfling Dale Interactive Fiction - Quick Route Guide

This is a quick guide to the main routes in Halfling Dale. It will tell you how to get on, and stay on, each character's special plot line - with as few spoilers as possible. As a general rule, most of the routes are decided at the end of Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival during the Bonfire fireworks display.

If you would like more help with each route (information on how to succeed in specific things, start romances, or how to get the 'good' endings), I'll be publishing more detailed walkthroughs for each character in the future.

Mum Route To begin the Mum Route you must choose the option "Mum and Ida. I know they're embarrassed, but they can't miss the fireworks! I go back home to fetch them." and then "I admired Hugo a lot." or "Hugo was my brother, that's how siblings are." In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival. To continue the Mum Route you must choose the option "Mum doesn't need to be in the WWA to do good in the Dale. Why don't we make our own group?" In Chapter 3: Autumn turns to Winter.

Hugo Route To begin the Hugo Route you must choose the option "Nobody. I feel very outside this celebration. I don't think anyone will notice if I'm missing. I'll go to the next hill and watch the fireworks from there." and then "Remain by yourself." and then "I can hold onto hope that he'll come back, and next time he won't slip away without me." In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival. To continue the Hugo Route you must have a good relationship with him by Chapter 7: Another Birthday Arrives (Hugo Guide will be published with more details).

Tom & Ida Miller Route To begin the Miller Route you must choose the option "Mum and Ida. I know they're embarrassed, but they can't miss the fireworks! I go back home to fetch them." and then "Tom was always kind to me, he was my friend." In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival.

Wilibald Fairburrow Route To begin the Wilibald Route you must choose the option "Wilibald Fairburrow. Though it wasn't me who stole his sword, an apology from my family would probably mean a lot to him." and then "Offer to help with the repairs." In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival. To continue the Wilibald Route you must choose the option "It was rather fun, I'd love to help more!" In Chapter 3: Autumn turns to Winter.

Garrance Prosper Route To begin the Garrance Route you must choose the option "Nobody. I feel very outside this celebration. I don't think anyone will notice if I'm missing. I'll go to the next hill and watch the fireworks from there." and then "Follow Garrance." In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival. To continue the Garrance Route you must choose the option "Yes! That sounds like fun." or "Maybe a little lesson would be interesting…" In Chapter 3: Autumn turns to Winter.

Lily & Mayor Goldworthy Route To begin the Goldworthy Route you must choose the option "The Goldworthys. Just because the contest is over doesn't mean I've stopped trying to reclaim my reputation! I'll ask the Mayor if there's anything I can do to help the night run smoothly." In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival. To continue the Goldworthy Route you must choose the option "I want to become important in the Dale." or "I'd like a more permanent position of importance… perhaps on the town council?" In Chapter 3: Autumn turns to Winter. (Goldworthy Guide will be published with more details if you wish to also romance Lily)

Benny Brownfoot Route To begin the Benny Route you must choose the option "A friend. One who doesn't mind if I'm respectable or not." and then "Benny Brownfoot; he's always good for a laugh." and then "Roll your eyes, typical Benny, always causing trouble!" or "Laugh along and sit down." In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival. To continue the Benny Route you must have a high 'mischievous' stat and good relationship with him by Chapter 7: Another Birthday Arrives (Benny Guide will be published with more details).

Patty Appleton Route To begin the Patty Route you must choose the option "A friend. One who doesn't mind if I'm respectable or not." and then "Patty Appleton; she's the only other halfling standing alone, maybe we could stand alone together?" In Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival. To continue the Patty Route you must have a good relationship with her by Chapter 7: Another Birthday Arrives (Patty Guide will be published with more details).

Cousin Sissy Route During Chapter 2: The Harvest Festival: if you knock Sissy's pie on the floor, or Swap your Pie with hers then tell her about it, the Sissy Route will be locked off. To begin the Cousin Sissy Route you must choose the option "I'll celebrate at home with family, and maybe a few close friends." and then "Maybe we could invite Cousin Sissy." and then choose ANY OPTION OTHER THAN "This is my chance! Take the money, then spurn Sissy and cement her embarrassment, and our rivalry, forever more!". You can then choose "Shift my focus to Sissy." (this option will not always appear) in Chapter 4: Yule Night. To continue the Sissy Route you must choose the option "What a great idea Sissy, you're so right." in Chapter 6: Summer begins to Bloom.

[shummashum]

Klaus Goldstein Ch5 [1~5]

Previously on Ch4! Liz, who uses the spell taught to her by Cae, continues to come into unintended contact with Klaus as a result… okay…… The next class is being taught by Zeus, how crazy can that be?!

oh… vulcanux that dorm on fire thing

I don't expect anything else let's just fulfill the class hours straight, okay? take this opportunity to prove to me that you are suitable as a Prefect I beg you!!

Just then, Liz overheard a female student mention Klaus' name.

a…………. let's not do this please…… our romanceable characters are not products,,, you shouldn't act like picking fruits and vegetables and you know, I really don't particularly like it when you extras praise romanceable characters like this let's not do this, yeah??

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of classes. okay! now it's the time to hear Zeus' lecture!

duh the sound of that door breaking down is not changing ~Zeus the door breaker~

huh and Klaus? maybe he felt uneasy leaving him alone but well let's ask him

are you asking me if she's dissatisfied hmm……

Shall we "allure"?

glance b-but the walkthrough says this is the right answer

good we're building up his intimacy point step by step

but really, what is he doing here

as expected he found him untrustworthy (nod) buuut there's no way he's just willing to accept this

erm… you're not really trying to assign self-study or something, are you? what I said about self-study or seatwork was just a joke yeah??

woah he never disappoints expectations from the beginning if I get angry here, I'll just become a narrow-minded person oi you if you try to fuck the class…

oh… he's about to teach summoning spells? but rather than teaching students, it seems like he's just throwing them off a cliff

of course practice is important, but if this is a "summoning magic subject" taught at the academy, it should be something like a theory that needs to be learned following the curriculum…? regardless of actual efficiency, I don't think teaching in this way fits the framework of an academy~...

damn~~~ what kind of report what are the grading criteria? do you grade it yourself? you're going to make Hiro do it again anyway

Anyway, she followed his request and decided to summon something cute and unremarkable like a carbuncle.

but what if someone draws the magic circle wrong and something dangerous comes out -- so everyone gets petrified or something. Klaus' sanity immediately decreases yippee

scribbles,,, there's no failure or right or wrong answers in magic, don't you know that?!

but wellll seriously, how can romance be added in this atmosphere? can't we just go with a mentor-mentee relationship like this? do we really need to add a romance scent

okay… it can't be helped… There's a saying: Friendship can exist between men and women, but only when neither of them has romantic feelings for the other

At that time, Zeus appeared in front of them.

in what way is it dull? is that also an evaluation based on your intuition

are you kidding me just say it already unless you're going to tell her why, don't say that in the first place ! ! !

So she raised her wand and recite the invocation, and…

aww cuuuuute

awww he's gone……

Zeus scoffed loudly and offered to teach her how to make the summon last longer.

how I mean, how? so how do you do it? if you don't make any explanation, it's just a magic exhibition, not a lecture

Anyway, she gave it another try, and it abruptly appeared again.

huh there's definitely no one who can surpass him in the field of summoning…

[tenaciouschronicler]

June 13 2024 2009

The glorious return!!

My wishes were granted so lets dive in.

On 6/09, a single page was uploaded of a future desert wasteland that someone is traversing. The sky is grey and building ruins are seen on the horizon.

A WAYWARD VAGABOND records a stuttering step in the sun-bleached dust.

This sentence links to more pages. Here we find our Vagabond as they stumble upon a familiar symbol.

Its unclear who they are or why these pages are seperate from the main story. Not part of the narrative at the moment but likely to be soon if SBURB has any say in the matter. Where the ruins found lie is also a mystery.

On 6/10 we officialy start Act 2 making the previous update more of an interlude. Here we see the GameFAQs webpage for SBURB.

Four walkthroughs are shown to us:

SanctuaryRemix on 4/10

winnie the poop 2 and ChaosDemon on 4/11

and our beloved tentacleTherapist on 4/13

Who knows how many more we Dont see.

Rose starts her walkthrough with the Wildest title of 'Caveats and Condolences'. A melodramatic piece of amazing writing that really highlights the best parts of her character.

I will "play the game", as much of it as there is to play, and record my findings here. If you want to live, you will do as I instruct.

My condolences.

~TT

What a way to set the mood, Rose.

6/11

The day we see John ALIVE!!!!

THE BEAUTIFUL BASTARD DID IT!!! HE ATE THE APPLE!!!

And as we pan around the home, the world goes dark as beings yet unknown peer from the void.

The craziest part of the flash however is the view of Johns home.

Everything Sburb touched is now here... wherever Here is. It begs the question, has it been transported elsewhere and now there is a massive crater in the neighborhood (and the neighbors yard for that matter since the PDA is present as well)? Or has everything except Johns home been destroyed in the meteor?

6/12s update gives us more idea of the scale of this harrowing precipice. Our beloathed Kernelsprite undergoes transformation, splitting in two. Half goes up, half goes down. There must be land down below the clouds but its not visible to us.

Conversely, above we see at least 2 spirographs that pulse and change. Many questions arise like how would you get up/down? What do the spirographs do? Theyre probably game mechanics but to what end? What was the purpose of the splitting?

What we have left is the Sprite portion of the Kernelsprite which looks like the ghost of the poor mutilated Harlequin.

Strangely, our next command is not a command at all simply the word 'BOY'. According to the text this is yet another new character/narrator.

For a moment you thought you heard someone say "BOY", as if whispered in the periphery of your awareness.

It was probably just your imagination though.

Not only that, this one is speaking TO John at least semi-directly. Unlike the commands which are more like thoughts John has that are (mostly) acted upon or the narrator that speaks about John and his machinations, this being is trying to communicate with John.

Its too early to tell what its motivations are or how its even able to do so.

In all theres a lot here that will likely be explored as we get further into the comic story. I just hope we havent lost communication with Johns friends in wherever he is.

Its looking like if we get another update it will be late tonight so I'll check the site again tomorrow.

[notsodailykanji]

I've Been Using MaruMori (Comprehensive Japanese Study Platform)

(Long post! Scroll down for pictures and see the link at the bottom if you want to check it out!)

My journey in learning Japanese has been a serious of fortunate accidents, stumbling upon one new tool/website after another. I spent about 18 months learning kanji on WaniKani from 2018-2020, and reached around level 26/60. Perhaps around 600 kanji and 2000 vocabulary words discovered, though not all learned. After taking a break for several years, I returned to Japanese study intermittently in 2022, but more consistently in 2023. WaniKani was useful for me in the sense that it finally provided a way to memorise kanji (through a spaced repetition system), and I am grateful for that. However, there was a problem: my grammar was stuck in beginner-intermediate, around mid N4. All the grammar I had learned in my entire Japanese learning journey up to that point was through two amazing mobile apps, Human Japanese, and Human Japanese Intermediate.

When I finished them both, I had a decent foundation in Japanese grammar, but my kanji and vocabulary knowledge was rapidly outpacing my command of Japanese grammar. I tried Bunpro for a time (a grammar SRS website), but I was already paying for a WK subscription, and I missed the tongue-in-cheek, entertaining walkthrough of Japanese grammar that I found in the Human Japanese series. HJ and HJI was relatable, fun, accessible, and made clear the passion the authors have for the language, which resonated with me as a learner. The HJ series was a beginning to a comprehensive Japanese tool. It taught kanji, vocabulary, and grammar all in one-place, with in-depth explanations, and even did quizzes at the end. Every chapter was concluded by introducing an element of Japanese culture (often food and scenic places).

When I returned to my old Japanese learning platforms, some of my friends told me about a new Japanese learning platform, Maru Mori. It aims to teach kanji, vocabulary and grammar all in one place. The grammar lessons are detailed, thorough, and interesting, having many of the same qualities of HJ and HJI. The website is leaving Beta soon, launching on August 12th, with grammar srs. As of now, N5 is complete, N4 is almost complete, and the site will eventually cover everything up to and including N1. The website will include mock JLPT tests, and eventually, pitch-accent drills as well. I've been using it since March this year, and seen it grow a lot in such a short space of time. See for yourself:

My cute little Maru panda on the Adventure Map, a journey around a scenic map interspersed with kanji, vocab, grammar lessons, reading exercises, and grammar conjugation drills.

The next reading lesson I'll have to complete tomorrow. Furigana toggle, audio, and English translations.

Kanji lesson pages showing mnemonics, and other supplementary information.

Part of the roadmap for Maru Mori (with much more on the way, but you can check the website for that).

What I've shown here in the screenshots is just a slice of what the site offers. Conjugation drills, crossword puzzles, and even wordle:

My Dashboard, showing some cool statistics. Right now I have about 70% of N5 material revised. Soon I'll reach the N4 region and start digging into new grammar. :D

If you made it to the end of this mammoth post, thank you for sticking with me and scrolling this far. I appreciate it. Let's take a moment to talk about why I made this post. My primary motivation is wanting Maru Mori to succeed and grow as a platform, because I truly believe in its potential. So much so, that I purchased a lifetime subscription back in March of this year. I want this website and company to succeed so that I can continue to study Japanese on it, all the way to N1 level. I want this to be the one and only platform I truly need, other than native exposure. In order for that to happen, I'm doing my part by trying to promote Maru Mori where I think it makes sense, when I can. So that it can grow as a company and continue to deliver just as it has in its launch so far. My secondary motivation is because I am passionate about Japanese language learning. I said I would come back to this blog when I found a method of studying Japanese that I could share with my followers (hello, if you're still around!), and for me, this is it. I want more people to try learning Japanese on this platform. I genuinely believe it is unique in its offering, in its potential, and in terms of user enjoyment while learning.

If any of this post has piqued your curiousity, MaruMori has a 14 day free trial, details are on the on-boarding page after you register for an account. You can register for Maru Mori here: https://marumori.io/register?rcode=komorebi

Yes, that is a referral code. Since I have a lifetime subscription already, I don't expect to get any remuneration from you signing up with my link, but I would appreciate it if you did :D

If you check out the site, let me know what you like and what you don't, I'll pass it on to the developer, he's very active in the Discord. (We have a great community which you should totally join!).

Until next time,

[deaneverafter]

Carrion Comfort

Episode thoughts dropping 2 days late because I was too busy having Emotions™️ and rewatching the episode? More likely than you'd think 💖🤣

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I am really, really loving the episode cases, and the vibes that come along with them. This episode especially was so creepy! Everyone say thank you, Jensen Ackles 🥂

The car scene.

The way Beau was looking at Jenny before asking her if she's okay says so much 🥺 He's so worried 😭 I can't wait for him to realize he's fallen for her 💕

Right after the walkthrough of the crime scene.

I love how Beau's clearly been working to help make the whole department run smoothly, make everyone feel useful and appreciated, he's such a good boss ✊🏻

Precinct scene.

Cassie Dewell, aka, the only Cass I know 😊 And she wouldn't leave her friends for dead because they didn't return her feelings 💛

I want to see Beau's 10 year old photo for the department website (and I want someone to acknowledge that it doesn't look 10 years older, because he looks the same) 💖

Cassie watching Beau and Jenny flirt and bicker like a married couple, like 👀😏 She ships it 💫 Love a supportive best friend, who just wants her two friends to have happiness and love in their lives 🥺

"Is that a werewolf? That's a first for me." Bestie- 🥺💖 Jensen bringing Dean with him everywhere he goes, and I'm on the floor in my feels, sobbing 😌💟

Ugh, Carla.

Carla divorced Beau which means that he's not obligated to tell her anything or practice his "communication skills" with her 🙄 The entitlement is real. Truly canNOT stand this woman, she's so mean and passive aggressive and dismissive towards Beau, as well as condescending and rude towards Jenny 😒 She really came in and insulted both my favourite people in the span of one and a half minute, oh, and yeah, remember when she broke Beau's whole heart? And continues to make him feel small and sad? Yeah, to say I don't like her is an understatement.

Jenny defending Beau against Carla was such a nice moment, and just another reason she's the best, and why her and Beau are the perfect match. She actually cares about him, respects and understands him. Next time Carla is being rude and mean, I hope she doesn't care about being polite and wipes the floor with Carla. Would also love to see her about to punch her, and then Beau holds her back, because he can't have his undersheriff getting charged and we get another unintentionally intimate moment, before he cheekily thanks her for defending his honour 💅🏻💖

Here's to hoping something dramatic happens before Emily comes to stay with Beau, to prevent it, I can't stomach even the thought of putting up with her insulting and dismissing Beau for a whole episode 😣😒 And him spending the whole episode looking heartbroken and sad and on the verge of tears 😭

Big Sky, Season 2, Episode 18, Catch a Few Fish

Jenny: and lemme guess, you're still in love with her

Beau: 😐😶

Big Sky, Deadly Trails, Season 3, Episode 4, Carrion Comfort

Jenny: you're still in love with her

Beau: No, I'm not. No. Stop it.

And I, for one, believe him. Especially since I'm still trying to understand what he saw in her in the first place. She's so mean!

Also, Jenny once again trying to gauge Beau's feelings for someone else by teasing him? Just for fun, no reason whatsoever? Just out of curiosity? 👀 Mm-mm, she wants to know if her heart will be safe with him if she lets herself fully fall (because deep down she's already fallen, all that's left to do is admit it) 😌

Glamping Shenanigans.

Full offense, but I'd much rather watch more about Luke and Paige and their past (criminal?) activities, than Emily whining and sticking her nose where it doesn't belong every episode. Paige and Luke aren't likable at all, but they ARE interesting. Emily is annoying AND boring. And she keeps getting exponentially more obnoxious every episode.

Cassie and Cormac.

They are my, er, second "one" true pairing (after Jenny/Beau, of course). I really wasn't expecting to ship someone with Cassie this soon after Lindor after they broke up right after getting together after a one and a half season long burn, but I am rooting for these two for sure 👌🏻

Donno and Tonya.

Am I finding myself shipping Tonya and Donno or......? I mean, I could definitely be okay with them just being friends and partners, but...... I don't know, it could be tipped over to romance very easily 👀

Sunny and Walt.

Wow, Walt really had me feeling bad for a minute there, I was like, damn, he did kill Mark, but maybe he didn't mean to......? But nah, this man is full-on Menace in the Woods 😱🔪 And I would not be surprised if Sunny and Walt became a full on killing team, they're both so unhinged! 💯

The Cutter House. Part I.

Beau patting Jenny on the shoulder entering the house had no tactical reason, so I just love that they're such a team, so concerned for each other, that he did it to reassure her he's there, he's okay, he's got her back 🥺💕

The Cutter House. Part II, aka, The Scene™️.

Them fighting the killer, Beau and Jenny are so badass and such a perfect team 💅🏻

Beau fighting to protect himself versus Beau after the creep attacked Jenny, he was much more intense during the latter, I love the increased intensity and drive. He really said no one touches my girl 😡 and I love that 💖💕💫

Every time she thinks Beau got hurt, Jenny gets so worried, everything else loses focus. She rushed to him, completely forgetting the suspect, and if that's not love... 💕 and how gentle she is checking his wound, touching it so gingerly 🥺 True loveism 💝💖

It's so perfect how in sync they are, Beau knew he could count on Jenny to know why he'd turned her around, and Jenny trusted him and instinctually knew why, she realized exactly what he was doing. And him, physically having her back, holding her steady 🥺💝 Plus, the way it ended with them holding on to each other 💯 They're so sexy for that 🔥💕

There's also a moment where it looks like Beau might've been reaching for Jenny's hand, so maybe one of the takes had them shooting together and I'd love to see that outtake, though I do love how it actually played out, with complete trust and them in sync 🥺

I also love how they just stay in this position just a minute longer than necessary, letting themselves be support for the other, letting themselves take comfort from the other, just breathing together for a moment 🥺💟

Also, is it just me or did Jenny just absolutely melt back into Beau once they both knew the danger was averted? 🥺💖 I love the trust they have. And the 💫 tension 💫

And this moment when they're both still breathless, and Beau feels the intimacy of the situation and Jenny just leans back into him, when he's finally looking at her, I think he's realizing he's fallen for her, irrevocably 🥺💕

I just, I love this scene a lot. And I really love that the scene is so warm and wholesome with their trust and teamwork, but also really hot and has a lot of tension! It's everything to me, and I just love how it was written and played so well, such a perfect balance of emotional vulnerability and display of feelings, and physical tension 🥺💖

The Hospital Scene.

Jenny reassuring Beau about how good of a dad he is 🥺 He deserves to be around people who appreciate and respect him so much 💛

The more episodes go by without Beau calling her "Jenny" and only "Hoyt", even though he called her Jenny during the premiere, the more I become convinced that he's already in love, but denying it to himself (until he just can't 👀). Although, he didn't call her Hoyt after the fight scene, might that be more evidence my man's catching on to how he feels about Jenny.....? 🥺👀

Beau, my beloved.

Beau really is the whole package. Kind, funny, handsome, caring & THIS good at his job? His instincts about the murder not being random were right, and when he was looking at the photos, his gut knew it was important, even when he didn't have all the pieces to know why 🏆💯🥰❤

He used to build houses in the summers? And knows about antiques? I love a multitalented and multifaceted king 🥺 I want to hear more about his backstory, his parents/siblings, his hobbies, what he likes to do in his free time. Just, more about him in general. I truly do love him with my whole heart 💖

"Wow, Beau was extra handsome and charming this episode 🥰❤" <- me after literally every single episode 🤣

[oveliagirlhaditright]

These last few days, I've been trying to think of what I want out of a Final Fantasy XVII. And I've definitely had some interesting thoughts there.

But one thing I definitely want--which I just know is a surprise to everyone, I say sarcastically--is a female protagonist... which I'm sure would go over really well with the people who hated Final Fantasy XIII. -shifty eyes- (However, people seemed excited about the idea of Agni's Philosophy, that would have no doubt had a female lead.)

However, enough time has passed since XIII, right? I'd like to try this idea again. Especially since, let's be honest, the real leads of Final Fantasy VII, X, and XII are Terra, Yuna, and Ashe respectively, even if you might not know it because you don't necessarily play as them... So obviously female Final Fantasy leads can be done and done well. Why, then, does suddenly making them the playable character make a difference? (I know it's just because people didn't like Lightning. So let's make a character that everyone likes, then.)

Although, if I'm being honest, I also mostly don't trust Square Enix when it comes to writing female characters anymore. Though I still don't want them to give up, of course. So who would I even want to attempt this?

Kazushige Nojima comes to mind, as he's penned a lot of our favorite Final Fantasy games, of course (and some of our favorite leading ladies in them, like in VII and X). So if he wasn't busy, he could surely be great for this... However, I'm also somewhat afraid of his work now, because of the Final Fantasy X-3 stuff, but hopefully that was the one time he really failed--and will ever fail--amidst all of his stellar work.

Yasumi Matsuno, who was responsible for Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story? I'll admit that I'm a terrible person who has never played Vagrant Story, though I did start watching a walkthrough for it years ago... and though I loved it, for whatever reason I never finished it. Back then I had started watching a million different playthroughs of games and couldn't commit to one (I think because I had a busy work schedule hen, and if I chose one, I wanted it to be worth it. Not that Vagrant Story wasn't. It most definitely was... I also was so overworked back then, I would sometimes fall asleep while watching the games, sadly, like with Final Fantasy VI--that had nothing to do with the games themselves, but how tired I was, which is why I inevitably gave up on this whole endeavor). But even so, I of course could tell how genius the game was, and I can definitely understand why so many people love it and are clamoring for a remake of it. As a whole, I feel both of these games are very well-done and greatly scripted. And, while I'll admit, that the Final Fantasy XII heroines don't grab me as much as some of the other ones in the series do, they're still extraordinary ones, nonetheless. And no one can argue how great Ashe was at directing the plot of XII. So if Matsuno wanted to direct a female led FFXVII, I would be all for it.

Naoki Yoshida. While I do think some of the stuff with Jill fell apart at the end of Final Fantasy XVI, I felt like she was a wonderful heroine for most of the game--and I like the girls in all of this installment--so I wouldn't mind giving him another chance. And another chance at the next FF installment in general, as there was so much about FFXVI that really hit the mark and that I loved: and I think that many people agree with that sentiment.

Yoko Taro. I'll admit that the only thing I know about Yoko Taro is the little bit of the first NieR I saw from a playthrough I watched (so I might not be the best person to talk about this). But he's always willing to bring crazy ideas to the table, it sounds like, and to experiment. So if he'd be up for trying such a thing, I'd most definitely let him try.

Motomu Toriyama. Yeah, this isn't going to happen with how much everyone hated his XIII trilogy. But all of his female characters in the XIII games were so great, imo (-shot-). And he's partly responsible for X and X-2, as well, and the ladies were wonderful there, as well (he's also helping out with the FFVIIR stuff, and we all love Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie). Oh well...

Akiko Ishibashi. She was a female writer on Neo TWEWY. And I loved how our ladies there were handled--and, of course, having a woman write other women (or to at least help out with that process) is most definitely a good thing--and now she's helping out with the Kingdom Hearts series... which is a godsend. And I don't really want to take her away from there, because Lord knows we need her when it comes to KH. But if she were to also help out a bit with FFXVI, I certainly wouldn't mind that.

[losingitinjersey]

Almost four weeks.

Four weeks from my cat, Saki, acting totally normal to the day we had to put him down. My 15 year old, grumpy man, best friend furrever. No one loved him like I did because he never let anyone get close to him. He was a crotchety old grump but was the absolute sweetest to me (he tolerated Kevin and the girls well enough).

From the day I picked him out at Miller's Feed Store as a kitten in 2006 , he was all mine. We went through a lot of shit together over the last 15 years. 7 homes and a cross-country traveler with me. It's weird being home alone now. I never was alone when he was around. I didn't realize it until he was no longer here and his absence is deafening. There was always a little buddy waiting for me somewhere. I still think I see him sometimes, out of the corner of my eye. Or I think I'll hear him walking around the room, or feel him jump up onto the bed to cuddle and purr on my chest as I fall asleep. My love for him was so deep and so fierce.

When he was a few years old he befriended an old bra of mine. It became his security blanket. Every day for the rest of his life I'd find that raggedy old black bra somewhere new around the house and I'd smile, knowing he could be found with it clamped in his mouth as it dragged in-between his legs with him mewing all the while.

The day he passed, this past Thursday, I didn't know it would be my last day with him. Kevin had that day and Friday off so I was calling to schedule something for the weekend or next. But they said they could come over within two hours. Fuck. When they arrived at my house the vet assessed him and said he was in a lot of pain. That it was time. That helped. It helped knowing I was doing the right thing and that this wasn't something he was going to recover from. I'm grateful I got to hold him as he passed. I'm grateful he's no longer in pain. It was a beautiful way to say goodbye. I miss the fuck out of him. Constantly. There will never be another little angry buddy like him. My ferocious feline friend.

Besides being consumed in the fast/slow decline of my friend, Erp was home for 12 straight days due to a close encounter exposure at daycare. Plus working full time, and taking care of Aug of course. It's all been a lot. Amazingly, Kevin was able to get Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off work last week. He stepped up in such a huge way, allowing me to both focus on work and grieving.

On Saturday I cleaned for four hours straight. It was a fresh start that I desperately needed. As much as I'd trade anything for more time with a healthy Saki, I tried to find silver linings in vacuuming the stairs knowing they won't collect fur on them again. Scrubbing the urine soaked carpets knowing they wouldn't just get peed on again. Airing out the house and trying to start to relearn life without a tiny sidekick.

On top of all of this, we're in the process of starting to put in offers on homes in Philadelphia. Today my realtor did a video walkthrough with me on a home I fell in love with. It's still early so I don't think we'll go far above asking price (we're not desperate yet), but it's exciting to get our feet wet and start dreaming about what this next chapter will bring.

[imkylotrash]

any chance you could do something fluffy cuddly with sam from the winx club? maybe something about waking up and making breakfast, just something sweet. if not it's okay! hope you're doing well! <3

It went in a little different direction, but it's still all fluff and sweet things 🥰

You'd forgotten how much you hate starting at a new school. Being the newbie made it that much harder to connect with anyone because everyone already did that last year. Which leaves you standing to the side pondering who looks nice enough for you to start up a conversation.

"You lost?" You spin around only to see probably the cutest guy you've ever seen stand there. He offers you this ridiculously charming half-smile that you just know must have the people swooning.

"I'm trying to find Mr. Silva's office but I have no idea which direction to go in."

"Specialist, huh?" he smirks as he walks past you, "follow me." He turns around so many corners that you completely lose any sense of direction, but he seems to know where he's going, which is good enough for you.

"I'm Sam by the way. Earth fairy," he informs you as you make your way through the wall of students trying to get from one class to the next.

"I'm Y/N. I just transferred here," you say trying desperately to keep up with him. No way an earth fairy will outrun a specialist.

"I figured when I saw your lost puppy eyes," he teases.

"They were not lost puppy eyes!" you argue but you can just tell that he doesn't believe you. When he finally does stop walking, you feel like you've run a marathon. He points to a door and says: "That concludes the tour. Please keep in mind that tips were not included in the original price and would be much appreciated."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." You maintain eye contact a little too long for it to be just innocent before you enter the office and leaving Sam standing on the other side of the door feeling slightly smitten already.

"Mr. Silva..." You get the whole walkthrough from Mr. Silva, but you find yourself thinking back to Sam all day. At dinner time, you still can't get him out of your head. Seeing him with another girl, however, breaks the illusion of your encounter ever going further. You're silly to have thought it meant anything more to him than just a way to get out of class, but you just can't get over how convincing he was this morning.

"Y/N, come sit!" he calls but you pretend not to hear him. He's just a distraction, and you can't have any of those while being here. You opt for eating outside away from the rest of the students. You never anticipated just how alone you'd feel standing in a crowded room.

"Are you okay?" You take a deep breath wondering if you might turn invisible if you just sit still long enough. Of course, that's not entirely how physics work.

"I'm fine. I just needed some air." He sits down next to you showing his hands down the pockets of his jacket.

"You decided to sit outside when it's 45 degrees out?" He shivers slightly but you feel fine. Your dad used to make you camp outside in weather worse than this.

"I don't mind the cold," you just say trying to shake off the feeling of betrayal. He doesn't owe you anything yet you still feel hurt to see him with his girlfriend.

"But if you're so bothered, you're welcome to go back inside. I'm sure your girlfriend is waiting for you." You try to keep the bitterness to a minimum. You've known the boy for less than 24 hours but somehow, you just felt drawn to him.

"My girlfriend?" he asks confused.

"The girl sitting next to you in there. You guys seemed awfully cozy." For some reason, he starts laughing.

"Oh, Y/N..." He has to stop talking because he's laughing so much and it's getting on your nerves.

"What?" you ask.

"That girl in there is my sister Terra. I don't have a girlfriend," he says between fits of laughter. You instantly blush, feeling stupid for jumping to conclusions.

"Do you honestly think I would've flirted with you this morning if I was already spoken for?" he asks once he's calmed down. He's still smiling though and this time you find it endearing.

"So, you were flirting with me?" You're still trying to recover from the embarrassment of thinking his sister was his girlfriend.

"Of course I was! And I'd very much like to continue doing it if you're good with that," he says reaching to pull you in. You feel a shiver go down your spine and it has nothing to do with the cold weather.

"I'm good with that."

------------------

Tagging: @grey-girl @intoanothermind @artsyle @baueoud @glowingatdawn @justafairygirl @bitchwhytho @music-of-melody @shadowhuntyi @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 Let me know if you want to be added/removed.

[ends-of-the-wayward-storm]

Rules: Post ten songs that not many people know you love, or that you don’t listen to as often as your favourites. I was tagged by @penelo14 in this so here we go!

1. First song up is "If You Love Me For Me" from Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper. It's super sweet and I really loved it as a kid. And I still do. 💖💖

2. Another one is "Noble Maiden Fair (A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal)" from Brave. This song really hit me when I saw the movie in theaters and it kinda captivated me. And made me tear up a bit. Younger me was set on memorizing the lyrics even if it was in a different language. (And my barely passable pronunciation was kinda funny. 😂)

3. I'm just picking random songs here so next is "Laval the Lion" from Legends of Chima. I, like many others, initially thought that the show was replacing Ninjago back when it was gonna premiere. I'm not sure whether I looked for the song before or after giving the show a chance, but either way I liked the tribal/jungle vibes it had.

4. Another song is "Chi" which is also from Chima. The flute near the end really captivated me, and younger me went nuts trying to find the song on YouTube but the soundtrack wasn't out yet (I think) so I was just hoping the videos I found wouldn't get taken down. But eventually I bought the album on iTunes when I got the chance.

5. "Touring the City" from Atlantis: The Lost Empire is another one I like. It's such a good song and it really captures exploring a city for the first time. (James Newton Howard is so good.👌🏻👌🏻)

6. Also from Atlantis is "The Crystal Chamber." It's so captivating and amazing and I just love Kida so much!

7. Yet another childhood favorite is "A La Nanita Nana" from The Cheetah Girls 2. I loved the Cheetah Girls as a kid and once again younger me was set on memorizing the lyrics even with my okay-ish Spanish 😂. The song also kind of reminded me of one of my grandmothers. It still does, actually.

8. Continuing to pick random songs, I'm gonna go with "Dragonsong" from Final Fantasy XIV, specifically Heavensward. The feels kinda hit me like a truck a bit late mainly because it didn't sink in until much later. BuT I CAN FEEL THE EMOTION AS WELL AS MY INCOMING TEARS BECAUSE IT'S SO DEEP. I love Heavensward. 😭😭💖💖 (Also the Distant Worlds version is AMAZING.)

9. I'm beginning to realize a lot of these are lyrical songs so I'll just fling another one into this. 😂 "Kiss Me Goodbye" from Final Fantasy XII was one that I was generally neutral towards 'cause my first thoughts had been "pop song here? After everything? Okay then." But after watching playthroughs of it about three times with @misstoodles and watching her play the game the feels finally hit me. T-T (Once again the Distant Worlds version is also nice.👌🏻👌🏻)

10. Aaand the last one for here is "A Song From Her Memory" from Final Fantasy IX. When I first heard this song while watching a walkthrough with Misstoodles I thought it was one of the prettiest songs I ever heard and it made me so relaxed. I love Garnet so much. 😭😭💖💖

BONUS (Because I keep thinking of other songs and I NEED TO EXPRESS MY LOVE FOR GARNET): "Dagger Cuts Her Hair" gets me EVERY TIME. I was literally tearing up at this part of the game AND I STILL DO. Garnet went through so much and I'm so proud of her overcoming all of it. I LOVE HER SO MUCH. 😭😭💖💖💖💖 (I reached the audio file limit but it's there on Spotify. T-T)

Sooo I'm tagging @misstoodles, @chirithy564, and anyone else who wants to do it! (I can't think of anyone else. 😐)

[jacksonsdrumstick]

Happy holidays everyone!

Currently I'm finishing the kingdom of Canopian. I finally got "Can't We All Get Along?" and "Big Finisher". It was hard. But I'm not sure if I can finish the "Peacemaker" ambition. I did end the war, but there are still a couple of war quests available; the ones about joining either side.

I'm having troubles with "Dread-Full Kingdom" (come on, getting five sims with the Legendary Traits in Herexen was already hard), "Noble Nuptials" and "Dread Pirate Romeo". Not even talking about "Pinkies in the Air" and "1-2-3-Floor". "Flip Flopper" would be nice too. Maybe I'll try to solve it in the next kingdom.

Yes, my picture walkthroughs are extremely late. It's still on Oldgame, and I didn't even mentioned a bunch of namesakes in the next kingdom (there were three Kylies!) or a set of Molly and Adam in Canopian (which already had their own Molly and Adam). There's a lot of fun stuff happening.

But that's not what I want to talk about. I wanted to share another set of the citizens of Waldoland.

Last time we had the ladies, and now it's the turn to introduce some of the gentlemen.

From left to right: Huntley the spy, Rikki the physician and Hig the Peteran priest.

I forgot their traits, I'm sorry about that. Let's pretend it's a surprise pack.

Huntley is probably a spy. At least, that's what people think. He's a pretty mysterious person. Nothing is confirmed about him. Absolutely nothing. Even what he made is unclear now.

But he's the local fashion icon, that's for sure. Somehow.

Still, he's sort of a friend to Rikki, the local physician. Rikki is active and creative. He likes jumping, climbing, hugging and tambourining around. Though he's a firm believer, that you would be happy, if you expect the worst.

Rikki's also not-so-secretly fanboying over Queen Keila. He has a signed copy of every edict she made.

Also, there's Hig. He's the man running the local monastery. Hig is extremely eccentric. He has a weird affection towards foxes, axes and foxes with axes. He plays very strange music. He dresses boiled eggs in shirts and ties. He's a master of saying something pretty rude in extremely polite way.

Actually, he's very warm, soft and huggable. But this information is classified.

That's all, folks. Feel free to share, if you decide to put these awesome guys in your game.

As usual, to get them, you need "Pirates and Nobles", but there's no need for custom content. And everything is in Russian. You have been warned.

[topsytervy]

Valentine's Day ~ Topper Thornton

Blurb: Valentines Day with Topper

Word Count: 1,291

Warnings: swearing, mentions of period and period symptoms(very small and does that need a warning?), spelling/grammar mistakes, i think thats it.

~~~~~~

Topper tied up your hair for you as you sniffled. 

"It hurts so bad." You mumbled.

"I know sweetheart." He kissed the top of your head.

This wasn’t exactly how Topper planned spending Valentines with you but it's not like you could exactly tell your period to wait a day. 

Technically, your period was supposed to come next week but it decided to bring the misery early and day one always seemed to be there worst with cramps that felt as if someone had one of those squeegee mops and they were trying to get as much water as possible out.

But make it 30 times worse and with spikes instead of a sponge.

You squeezed your eyes together as another cramp came on, making you curl even farther into your fetal position as a tear slid out.

Topper lightly ran his fingertips up and down your back slowly,  hoping to bring some comfort.

"I'm sorry, Top."

You felt horrible for this. Topper had planned out an entire day for the two of you and you were in too much pain to move.

"Hey, it's okay, beautiful. It's not your fault." He reassured you, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"I just- you had all these plans and everything and it was going to be perfect and now we can't do anything you wanted to do and-and-" you felt tears fall down your cheeks and Topper was quick to scoop you into his arms.

"Don't even worry about it. At least we still get to be with each other today, right? I'll doordash us some food and we'll just watch tv all day. It'll be just as good as what was planned." Topper wiped at the tears that were falling as he held you, still rubbing your back. "What do you want today to eat, gorgeous?" 

You thought about your options before speaking. "Italian sounds good." You sniffed.

"What do you want, baby?" He asked, pulling out his phone so he could start the order.

"Spaghetti and breadsticks." 

"Alright." Topper kissed the top of your head before starting the order.

He let you choose what to watch to some extent, telling you that anything sad was out of the question. You nodded and scrolled through Netflix, ultimately deciding to settle on The Great British Baking show so that way you didn't miss much plot if you ended up falling asleep.

Towards the end of the first episode, Topper was informed the food was here and excused himself to grab it before bringing it back to your room.

"You wanna try getting up and eating at your desk or do you want to stay where you are sweetheart?" Topper nodded to the desk that sat against the window.

You sat up, hands immediately going to your stomach at the pain that shot through your abdomen. "I'm going to sit at my desk. I'm not going to eat spaghetti on my bed."

You made your way over to your desk and Topper moved whatever study material was there onto your bed and then placed your food in front of you.

He handed you a fork and water that he snagged from the kitchen before coming upstairs and then sat on your floor, eating his own food as his eyes went back and forth from the tv to you.

"What's wrong?" You asked after a few minutes.

"Nothing, baby. I was just thinking about drawing you a nice, hot bath. Does that sound good?"

You nodded as you shoved a forkful of food into your mouth and Topper smiled. "Alright. Just let me know when to start the water."

You nodded again and continued eating, Topper and you exchanging comments about how good some recipes look and who you think was going to win and who you wanted to win.

Topper finished his food first and went out on a search for candles when you told him he could start filling the tub and set them in the bathroom before lighting them. He plugged in the little wax melter you had in there and turned it on to let the wax in there begin melting. He left the clothes and towels for you to pick out and turned on the water, adding your favorite bubble bath and making sure the water was hot enough to help you relax but not enough to burn your skin off.

"Alright, baby. Now you just relax in the tub for a while. I'll be right back." He told you as he finished your food. 

You nodded, not really bothering to ask where he was going but smiled when you saw the lit candles. You stripped from your clothes and slowly lowered yourself into the water, letting out a sigh as you felt your muscles relax. 

Meanwhile, Topper went up and down each and every aisle in the grocery store, grabbing every snack he knew you liked along with a tub of vanilla ice cream and a bottle of root beer for root beer floats. He stopped and grabbed some Tylenol and Tylenol PM for your pain before walking to where the store kept their flower bouquets and teddy bears for Valentine’s Day. He did one last walkthrough of the store before deciding he had grabbed everything and proceeding to checkout.

He snuck back into your room with a vase from the kitchen and everything he bought, minus the ice cream and root beer, and placed the vase on your desk. He took his water bottle and emptied it into the vase before putting the flowers in. He walked to your bed and layed out the snacks for you to see before sneaking off into the kitchen yet again.

You finally decided that it was time to get out of the tub. The water was getting cold and you had caught yourself nodding off once or twice and thought it was best to not fall asleep in the tub, especially when Topper had left and, as far as you knew, hadn't returned yet.

You pulled on your comfiest pajamas, including Topper's hoodie you were given one night when it had started to rain unexpectedly and you were wearing a white tee-shirt. That was before you two had started dating and you just kept forgetting to return it. When you and Topper officially started dating, you didn't really see any need to keep it stashed in your closet to return it to it's rightful owner. 

You walked out of your bathroom, tossing the dirty towel and clothes into the laundry hamper before looking at your bed. 

You smiled at the bear and snacks that were now on your bed and turned to grab your snack stash bin when you saw the flowers on your desk. You gasped slightly at the beautiful bouquet as your feet brought you over to where they sat, bringing your nose to the flowers to inhale their scent.

You hummed softly and looked up when you heard Topper enter your room.

"You didn't have to do all this, love." You told him woth a small smile.

Topper just shook his head. "I wanted to make this slightly more bearable for you." He walked over to you and handed you a cup. "Speaking of which, your root beer float, my love."

Your smile widened as you took the cup, bringing a hand up to cup Toppers cheek before placing your lips onto his for a short sweet kiss.

"I love you so much." You whispered to him.

"I love you just as much if not more." He told you before bringing his lips back to yours.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Y/N/N." He pulled away this time, placing a kiss to your forehead.

"Happy Valentines Day, Topper."

~~~~~

[rboooks]

Right but Draco?? Having a crush?? On Hadrian?? Because he's nice to him??? Is um perfect????? Can I please please please please see how that happened? I'll give you my firstborn as payment!

You’re first born sounds tempting but I’ll accept naming rights instead. Based on  C’est La Vie by the ever-talented @cywscross. So this is set before Orion found Dimmionsion Hoppers.  Also I took liberties with the Malfoy’s family background because I have problems with HC and impulse control.

Draco Malfoy is biracial.

His family is French on his father’s side and British on his mother’s. 

He hates it, not that he’s a mixed-race as his parents married for love as much as they married for political convenience and he’s proud to be mixed race, but he often feels like he’s pretending.

Pretending to be British.

Pretending to be French.

He speaks his father’s language but he doesn’t celebrate all of his father’s traditions.Some summers they go over to visit his father’s sister and her children. These trips are equal parts of joy and anxiety in the young Malfoy heir. 

When he goes over to visit his cousins, they turn their noses up at his accent, his word choice and his aunt always makes one or two comments about him “thinking he’s too good to be a proper Frenchmen” if he so much as fumbles with his words. 

It’s not that he means to stumble or forget a few words here or there. It’s just that sometimes his mind goes blank when trying to think of what something is called and she takes it as him not being proud of speaking french. 

He doesn’t. He loves that part of himself, but it’s hard to use it when he lives in England and raised in England and has an English mother.

 He celebrates his mother’s traditions, speaks her tongue and feels more comfortable as he is often surrounded by her side of the family, but he sometimes mentions something or says something that has his playmates (Politics start from a young age, allies must be formed) confuse until someone realizes “Oh that’s a French thing right?” and he’s left wondering if he would fit better in France instead.

He doesn’t show his uncertainty, he has a reputation to uphold after all, but it doesn’t stop the confusion and the worry that’s just pretending to be something he not. He’s ashamed that he fails both sides of his culture.

Yet he loves both sides as well. Draco some days loves one side a little more. Take, for example, his favorite sport.

He doesn’t support the English National Quidditch team, he supports the French one. He loves their plays, loves their team colors, loves the players and most of all loves that he can understand when they yell out instructions to each other as a sense of pride rushes his chest each and every time. 

There just something warming about knowing when one of the players screams “Pass! Pass! Watch your left!”. It means differently somehow. He’s tried to explain it once before to Theo and Blaise but it’s like trying to explain color to someone who can’t see the same shades as he can. 

The French National Quidditch Team is his favorite because it lets him celebrate a part of himself with the worry of failing, that’s all there is to it.

It’s downright impossible to find any of their merchandise unless he hopes over to that country himself, which is a shame. His father makes sure to always get him the newest merch but sometimes the family just doesn’t have time to go hunting for a new jersey on vacation. 

They have a schedule the noble families need to keep even when they should be relaxing. 

He’s a bloody hound dog when it comes anything he may not already have and his parents don’t mind getting it for him if he can find it. This is why the day Draco walks by a store he only needs to catch the pale blue out of the corner of his eyes before he’s nearly pressing his face against the store’s window.

He’s never actually seen this store before, but there is a section dedicated to Quidditch and more importantly, there is a snitch painted in the French flag hanging right in front of it!

Draco doesn’t stop to think as he rounds the window and is pushing the door open in one quick and fluid movement. Cheerful chimes echo through the building while he makes a beeline for the snitch, as he gets closer he realizes with a start that it’s not just the snitch. 

There is an entire shelf filled to the brim with his team’s merchandise. Sure he has most of it already, but this is Diagon Alley. It’s the first store he’s seen in this place with good taste!

If Draco was prone to such pathetic displays he would be bouncing up and down in joy. He settles for browsing with a please smile instead, making sure to not bend his neck too much least he embarrasses his upbringing. 

A box of rings catches his eyes, as they are shaped in the four balls of the game and the light blue and white Snitch ring is really calling out to his inner Seeker. Just as his fingers pull the metal out of it’s holding a throat is cleared behind his back.

“Excuse me, but we aren’t open for business quite yet.” 

Turning around Draco comes face to face with a small boy that could be around his age if he ignored how tiny he is. He’s wearing some horrid muggle clothes but his poster is perfect, with a dignified aura around him.  Besides his memorizing green eyes, however, the stranger is rather plain in the face. 

“I beg your pardon?” Draco all but sneers, raising a brow. He seems weak, like those first-year Hufflepuffs and the Malfoy plans on making him regret speaking to him. 

The green-eyed boy doesn’t even bat an eye. He even offers a polite smile, without an ounce of judgment or falsehood.

“I said we aren’t open for business yet. Our opening day isn’t until next month I’m afraid.”  He waves his hand, gesturing to the rest of the room. It’s at this moment that Draco realizes with a jolt that the store is half empty. The entire left side of the place doesn’t even have shelves yet. “We just had the front of the store visible so the magical inspectors could give us the Ministry permit to sell magical items in this building. After they finish their walkthrough, the store is going back to being Unnoticed until opening day.”

Draco’s cheeks burn with embarrassment. Of course, he’s never seen this store before, he should have been aware that he missed it’s grand opening. He just marched right in like a child from a lower class. 

He lets the ring go, attempting to retreat gracefully.  “I apologize for my trespassing.”

Green eyes smile widens turning less polite and more friendly. It’s quite startling. “No harm is done. Do you like the French Team?”

“Yes. They are the only team with any sort of talent.” He’s not going to lie now. It’s obvious with the way his hand is still curled around the ring. He expects the boy to get huffy but instead, he merely tilts his head.

“They are quite good. Their Chasers are one of the world’s best. Blitzen Ballet is one of my favorite moves.” 

Draco’s eyes light up. “It’s a brilliant move! The amount of control and teamwork required is why they are the best. ”

“It is. I’m Evans. Hadrian Evans” Then much to Draco’s shock the boy holds out his hand, making sure to have it lower slowly after extending his arm so that his fingertips match up to his stomach. 

This means he knows that Draco is of higher standing but respects him none the less. Hadrian knows proper Pureblood customs? 

Eyeing the hand for only a moment Draco takes it.  “I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Hadrian says shaking his hand twice before turning over his palm so Draco’s ends up on top. Another Pureblood custom, one that the only nobility uses. How odd.

“Indeed.”  He responds. After letting go, Draco attempts to get away least he embarrassed his family name even more. Moving around Evans he starts to mumble under his breath in French. “How utterly troll of me to not notice the store isn’t ready yet.”

“It happens to the best of us. Don’t worry about it.” Hadrian says following him. Draco actually stumbles forward, and a hand closes around his elbow to keep him steady so he doesn’t topple over.”

“You speak French!?” 

“Yes.”  Evans seems far too amuse causing Draco to scowl. “Here you forgot your ring.”

“What?” Evans gently takes his right hand and slips on the snitch ring he had been eyeing. Draco practically turns to stone until the other steps back smiling at him with that same magically damn smile. “Consider yourself our first sale.”

“I don’t need your...your...”  Draco's minds draw a blank, he can’t remember the word in french and shame quickly leaks into every inch of his body. Lamely he finished in English. “Charity. I don’t need it.”

“It’s not. It’s our first sale. That’ll be one sickle.” Evans says not batting an eye at his broken french. Draco likes him a little for it. 

“I thought you weren’t open for business yet. Surely you won’t twist your own words minutes after uttering them. Why what would the owners say?” 

“We aren’t but my brother won’t mind. Don’t worry I won’t get in trouble.” Evans says lightly and suddenly he smiling in odd fondness with a touch of bewilderment. 

The Malfoy doesn’t know what to say. This was the first time someone had been able to break apart his words to find their meaning and seeing his real emotions beneath them. Draco almost felt naked at that moment, vulnerable in a way he wasn’t used to and he wasn’t sure he enjoyed it.

Suddenly he wants to leave, to put as much space as he could between himself and this odd wizard.  Fishing out a sickle he all but thrust it into the other hand. 

“Your french is lovely by the way,”  Evans says pocketing the money. “I’m glad I meet someone who speaks it right away. I need to practice the language a little more.”

Draco can only blink at him.  “It’s not perfect.”

“No. But it’s still lovely.”  He’s not lying. Draco can’t find a single trace of a lie on Evans's face. There isn’t even an effort to get on his good side with empty flattery. This is....the first time someone has been so nice to him without having a secret agenda 

“Thank you, Evans.”  He manages after a while. 

“Call me Hadrian and you’re welcome.”

Wrinkling his nose Draco huffs “I think not. We are not acquainted enough for me to call you by your first name Evans.”

“If it makes you uncomfortable-”

“Malfoys don’t get uncomfortable.” 

Evans chuckles amusement edge into all of his body language. “Alright. How about we hang out sometime so we can be acquainted enough for first names?”

Draco considers the idea, tempted to say now but so far, he can admit that he’s interested. Besides...it would be nice to have someone he’s age speak his second language without any judgment.  “Do you have an owl?”

“Yes.”

“Then we can owl each other the next time we are free and determine the place of our outing.” Draco half expects him to pull a face like many others do. But he’s quickly finding out Evans isn’t like many others.

Instead, Evans actually looks at him with such fondness mixed with a longing that it makes a healthy blush bloom across Malfoy’s face.  “Strategizing our plan of attack then?”

“But of course. Only a fool rushes in without a plan. My family always has a schedule.” 

Evans smiles at him. “Then I believe you will be better at planning it out. I’m free this whole next week since my brother has to do all the bureaucracy stuff that I’m not a part of.”

Trading some contact information, Draco is quickly leaving the store, making sure his strides are long and confident. He doesn’t glance back once even if he has the impulse to do so. He can feel Evan’s eyes on his back and he straightens up just a bit. 

He twirls the snitch ring on his hand a little watching it spin while thinking of this very odd outing he somehow got roped into planning and the even odder wizard he may have just befriended. 

I’m going mad. He thinks after finding his father and showing off his new ring. I actually want to see him again.

For the rest of the month, he meets up with Evans five more times and each time the other wizard insists on being called Hadrian. Draco refuses to do it on principle alone. It’s humorous.  

The pleasantly surprising thing about Evans is that he doesn’t seem to mind any of the prejudice pre-concessions people have. 

He doesn’t care Draco’s a Malfoy (He wasn’t after anything the Malfoy name could offer be it riches or political power), or that his dad was an accused Death eater (According to Evans, a  father’s action weren’t a reflection or burden of a son’s) or that Draco was Slytherin (Which may have something to do with Evans missing out the first year).

According to Evans, Draco Malfoy was just Draco Malfoy. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Exactly one week before the store Dimmionsion Hoppers (A name Older Evans and Younger Evans agreed upon thought why they thought it ironic he wasn’t sure)  was to open officially, Draco’s father had announced they would be going over to France for the remainder of the summer.

For the first time, Draco was torn between being excited to go and throwing a tantrum on wanting to stay. He was really enjoying Evan’s company it seemed. A little too much if his mother’s teasing smirk was anything to go by. 

She was the one taking him so much to Diagon Alley, of course, she would notice why. 

 “We can still owl each other and we’ll be seeing each other at Hogwarts anyway,” Evans said pleasantly over his ice-cream cone. Draco hated how attractive this plain wizard is suddenly turning and he has to look away in order to breath properly. 

“Finally convinced your brother that a proper education could only be found at the best school hm?”

“Yeah, he thought homeschooling was the way to go but I finally broke him.” 

Draco twirls his ring while bitting back a goofy smile. Malfoys don’t smile like love-struck fools. At least not before marriage.  “I suppose I could agree to owling for the remainder of the summer if you want to so badly.”

Hadrian laughed.  “It’s a deal then. We’ll keep each other updated on what’s going on yeah?”

The ring that is still on his hand- he’s only taken it off to sleep and shower- feels warm all the way to France with him.

The first letter that arrived had Draco fuming however and his mother had to cover her mouth in an effort to shift a laugh while his father just fondly rolled his eyes.

The Malfoy Heir didn’t notice his parents' reaction as he paced his aunt’s guest sitting room in a huff.  “Who the heck is he working with to make Evans sound this happy?! He should be honored he knows me! Not some low-income commoner!” 

[lovemecharlie]

When Erik is away, the wives will play.

Ryley

"This villa is to die for. Don't you think, Ry? Living in the lap of luxury like we all deserve.. and on our sweet, sweet husband's dime." Angel peered out from the balcony at the night beach and moonlit Caribbean sea. "Panama," she sighed contentedly.

"Don't Angel sound like a legit southern belle from Gone with the Wind," Ryley smiled causing Angel to sit her hands on her hips with a pretend attitude. "No, Aly'sha the one sound country as hell," Hennessy yelled. Aly'sha shrugged with no comeback. As far as she was concerned, it was the truth.

"All y'all sound country to me to be honest," Ryley chuckled, "My geechie ass sound bout as country as anyone."

"Can't relate," Josie tossed her hair proudly edging closer to the rail. Both she and Bastion were representing the westside.

"And Homie!.. Homie just sound angry. She must be from New York 'cause she aggressive as HELL," Kimora stressed tossing her head back. "You must want me to chop you in yo throat," Homie lunged stopping the edge of her hand a centimeter away from Kimora's exposed neck. Kimora cackled, "I wish the fuck you would.."

"Chill. Out," Bastion groaned rolling her eyes. Her sisters always played like this.

"Call me Genie 'cause your wish is my command," Homie snapped gripping Kimora by the throat and shaking her briefly before letting go. Kimora simply stuck out her tongue. "Jokes on you, I like that."

"Jokes on you," Homie stressed, "I know."

CHARLIE," Ryley yelled down the hall. When Charlie appeared almost immediately with an face of confusion, Ryley snickered, "She out here roaming around. Guess we should check out the rest of this villa." The group agreed, casually splitting into smaller groups to walkthrough and admire the temporary home.

"Ryley Badass," Charlie called from her chosen bedroom's entrance, "Come look at this room. I'm claiming it now." She waited for Ryley to leave Angel, Kristina, and Josephine's side and walk into her trap.

"Yo--" Ryley started before Charlie's lips attacked hers, silencing her. The door closed and locked and Charlie backed Ryley up toward the bed until she fell onto it.. falling on top.

"Sneaky," Ryley chuckled when their lips detached. She looked up hazily as Charlie gripped her snugly by the throat, gold stacked rings pressing into her skin.

Pushing her tongue roughly into Ryley's willing mouth, Charlie's head tilted, getting closer as their tongues twisted with no regard.. until they heard the sound of the doorknob twisting. Charlie smirked. Phase two.

"I'm gonna christen this bed with your juices," she announced loudly, pulling off Ryley's black Nikes and biker shorts. She left the cut off red hoodie in place loving how it complimented Ryley's honey mixed with milk chocolate skin, but removed Ryley's lingerie bottoms. The doorknob continued to twist and Charlie laughed inwardly as she revealed the long and thick brown flesh-colored strap-on attached to her lower half, lubed and ready for action.

"Ryley," Angel called from outside of the door. Charlie almost doubled over from the laughter she was holding.

"You're mine now, Ry," she announced for Angel's benefit. "Don't try to run to Angel because this plastic dick is looong and you ain't getting off this ride until I let you off," she sputtered in attempt to hold it together. Ryley wasn't much better.

"This is what you've been up to in here," she mouthed listening to Angel knock on the door, calling out to her.

"Sit up, elbows and knees on the bed facing the door," Charlie whispered helping her into position. This was about to be hilarious. Charlie climbed on the bed behind Ryley, inching up and aligning the tip of the strap with her entrance. "Here it comes," Charlie warned slowly pressing an inch deep. The dildo held weight and rested much like a real dick. She slid in an inch at a time three more inches before pulling back and pushing in to the six inch mark. "I know Angel be all up in this, huh," Charlie yelled sliding in a bit deeper until Ryley jolted, reaching back. "Right there is my limit? I can work with that," Charlie grinned. Snatching Ryley's hair in her hand, she used the other to slap Ryley's ass loudly.

Throwing her hips, she dug into Ryley's guts enjoying the bounce back. "Uh oh, Angel! Ambitions of a rider in here!! She real ambitious!!" The faster Charlie went, the tighter she gripped Ryley's hair, waist, and ass.

"Charlie, what you in there doing to MY Ryley," Angel yelled from outside of the door.

"Nooothinn," Charlie yelled before whispering in Ryley's ear. "I'm not doing nothing am I?"

Ryley moaned deeply and Angel nearly knocked down the door. It sounded like a kick and though she looked dainty like a lily, she was very strong.

"OOOH! She coming," Charlie yelled pushing Ryley into the mattress with her strokes. "..Ryley cumming too.. you better hurry up!"

"CHARLIE," Angel yelled, humor in her voice. Charlie was nearly in hysterics. Meanwhile, Ryley's nut had already hit her like Kangaroo Jack. She was layed out, taking the dick in her smacking hole, checked out of reality. Charlie pulled Ryley's head back, "Your wife is out there going craaazy over you... Does that get you off? You got my bed a little damp.. It's getting me off." She stroked Ryley until Ryley's body responded on its own with another orgasm. Pulling out, she pulled Ryley up by the hood and grabbed her face, stuffing the wet end of the strap into her mouth. "Taste good huh."

Hennessy and Aly'sha's voices could be heard from the outside of the door now. If it were Ryley, the lock would've been picked and they'd be inside by now. "I wanted them to bust in," Charlie sighed, feigning disappointment. Josephine would've exploded the door just to do it, not caring what Charlie had done. She must've still been roaming the villa. Hopping off of the bed, Charlie walked to the door unlocking it. "Crybabies," she teased as they rushed into the room, passing her. Angel rushed straight to Ryley to set her straight before turning around.

"Hey y'all," Ryley greeted the others, completely relaxed on the bed.

"That is MY wife, Charlie. MINE! I'll cut a bitch over MY wife!"

"You are absolutely right. She's your wife," Charlie surrendered with her hands up, palms forward. "...When she's not bouncing on this strap," she added quickly, hiding behind Aly'sha.

"Don't hide behind me," Aly'sha scoffed and a chuckling Charlie sped off running through the halls from a possessive Angel.

"They just left you here. No aftercare," Hennessy shook her head sitting in a dry spot of the bed. "Next time, you'll know to let King Henny dom you."

"Next time, I'm hiding the straps," Ryley scoffed standing unsteadily to her feet. "Fucky'allmean."

@poosypoosy @bastioncarterstevens-udaku @hennessystevens-udaku @itsangeludaku @alyshastevens-udaku @itskimorafireudaku @allhailnjadaka @bidibidibombaclaat @blackpinup22 @destinio1 @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @leahnicole1219 @vikkidc @thehomierobbstark