#conclusion: tori's are still the best

[yume-fanfare]

though now that im looking at this more closely. there are a bunch of things shoe-wise that i didn't expect. tomoya's are orange

+ non height-accurate image i threw together of the guys missing here

[a-legacy-not-to-be-forgotten]

Undertale Yellow Car Headcanons 2

People liked the first one, so I figured I'd go do a few more to cover some folks I missed and add some extras for ones I already covered. Kudos to a friend on Discord who's a massive car nut and suggested quite a few of these. First one in case you haven't seen it. This one's a bit chonkier, so grab a snack or something.

Martlet: Electric Bike

Even if Martlet getting her hands on a driver's license is nigh impossible, we figured she should at least have something, even if she doesn't use it that much. Electric bikes seem to fit her style. Dunno if she'd use it often, but if the surface has no-fly laws or whatever, it'd probably help her out some.

Toriel: 2CV

...okay, Tori isn't really a UTY-exclusive character, but she has a minor role in the game, so does she count? Anyway, my friend had the idea of her using what they described as 'everybody's favorite little wine snail' and I think it fits her too well.

Chujin: Loud Ass 90s Tuner Car

If Chujin didn't inject raw Mountain Dew Voltage into his soul and survived to see the surface, he'd probably drive something like this. It ties in with the whole Ben 10 thing and it's a great way to express himself, as obnoxious as it may be. Usually, Ceroba makes him drive the family sedan.

Ceroba: If She Owned the Hummer (Semi-Joke one)

I meant for it as a shitpost, but we thought up an idea if she actually did own the car. Don't worry, she always looks before merging. Anyway, we figured she got it mainly because it's pretty cool. However, it is a massive waste of gas money, so she only uses it for camping or driving Kanako and Clover around on their birthdays. Otherwise, it mainly collects dust in her garage while she uses the more fuel-efficient sedan.

El Bailador: Lowrider

Kudos to @cheddarchandelure for suggesting this and it couldn't fit any better. Lowriders fit him like a glove. You know he just has this thing modded like crazy. It's nearly 20 feet of car, too. You don't get much more expressive than that.

Feisty Five: GMC Vandura

I gave the Feisty Five individual vehicles, but they also kinda need a car for the whole gang and what better vehicle for a group of crime fighting dinguses. Perfect for missions, lassons, or just hanging out as a group together. Starlo technically owns it, but usually Moray or Ace drive the thing.

Ace: Antique Mercedes

Okay, I know I technically already did Ace in the first part, but my friend suggested an Antique Mercedes, which I think fits a lot better than the Porche. I'll let you guys draw your own conclusions, tho.

Moray: SLK Roadster

Still a convertible, but I didn't like the image I used in the last one. So now we got a specific model for our favorite fish with no gender.

Mooch: Pretty Much Anything, but here's a Corolla

On the chance that Mooch somehow gets her license back, she'd be willing to drive whatever. Hopefully more responsibly this time around.

Dina: 5th Gen Mustang

My friend suggested that a classier style of muscle car would fit better than the more aggressive model I used in the first, and I think it suits her more laid-back nature well.

Blackjack: Antique Flatbed

It's been in his family for generations, and he's way too attached to the thing to get rid of it. Generally, he just fixes up anything that breaks down on him.

Starlo's Family: Uh...Trucks

The main workhorses for the Sunnyside Farm. Sure, they got a few dents and aren't the cleanest or most advanced, but hey, they get the job done. Mainly driven by Solomon and Orion, occasionally Starlo. The Cabover (bottom) is generally used for the big harvests and the pickup works for everything else.

Mo: C4 Corvette

The perfect car for a sleazy businessman! Well, not sleazy, but you get what I mean. He likes to act stylish with his choice of car, but his is constantly breaking down mechanically, since he doesn't really bother fixing the thing, just detailing it. Doesn't leave the best impressions for shoppers.

Honeydew Shopkeeper: Figaro

Why? Well, simple, it's small and cute, just like she is! Not much else to say beyond that.

Kanako: '70 Dodge Challenger

Kanako's still a bit too young to drive, but we settled on this for a dream car of hers, with both a road and track package. She got the idea from both the racing games she plays and Dina's own muscle car. Nobody understands why, But she really wants to visit San Francisco with it

Clover: Ford Galaxie Convertible

Figured we should do Clover's dream car as well. Not much a reasoning, we thought this just fit their style. Once they come of age, you know darn well they'll be racing Kanako.

Warned ya that would be a big one! Anyway, lemme know what y'all think!

[thetypedwriter]

Solitaire Book Review

Solitaire Book Review by Alice Oseman 

I’ve loved every book I’ve ever read by Alice Oseman. Granted, that’s only been Loveless and Radio Silence, but both of those books were fantastic. I never read Oseman’s infinitely popular graphic novel series Hearstopper, but I did watch the first season on Netflix and really enjoyed that too. 

So going into Oseman’s book Solitaire, had me filled with high expectations and eager anticipation. Unfortunately those expectations and excitement dwindled to something I’ve never experienced with Oseman before: disappointment. 

Apparently, Alice Oseman wrote Solitaire when she was seventeen-years-old. I’m a little confused on the history, but I’m assuming she wrote Heartstopper first and then Solitaire as a follow-up side novel.

Again, I didn’t look into the details. All I know is that she wrote this book twelve years ago, that it was her debut novel, and that it shows. 

Instead of focusing on Nick and Charlie, Solitaire focuses on Charlie’s sister, Victoria Spring. The best way I can describe Tori is that she is Wednesday Addams embodied, which is ironic seeing as Tori dresses up like Wednesday for Halloween in the novel (very on the nose, Alice). 

However, people seem to like Wednesday Addams’ despondent and cynical attitude (I don’t get it, for the record). I abhor Tori Spring. Maybe abhor is too strong of a word, but she was not a likable narrator. She’s pessimistic, apathetic, rude, judgmental, callous, and mean. 

Her whole schtick is that she thinks other people are “fake” and dislikes that people don’t act in the world, allowing the world to happen to them and only being bystanders to violence, hate, and toxicity. 

And yet…Tori does nothing? The entire novel? The person she supposedly hates the most describes the person Tori is herself.

Which I guess is fitting because Tori seems to despise herself more than anyone. You think as a reader that Tori will grow out of her depression by the end of the novel and come to some sort of understanding or epiphany. 

Spoiler alert: she doesn't. 

If anything, she spirals worse and worse, becoming increasingly sleep-deprived, paranoid, despondent, and obsessive. I get that Oseman wanted a more realistic portrayal of mental health perhaps, or maybe she didn’t think it was realistic for Tori to have a happy ending. 

However, she didn't really get any ending at all. 

Before I get to the conclusion of the story, I guess I should actually explain what the novel is about. 

Tori’s childhood best friend, Lucas, suddenly reappears in her life years later. Around the same time, mysterious pranks start occurring around Higgs, Tori’s school.

Harmless at first, the pranks pulled by the anonymous group Solitaire continuously grow in popularity and in danger, eventually leading to a boy getting beat up, Tori getting hurt by a firework exploding near her, and then, at the end of the novel, Higgs burning down. 

You might ask: why did the school burn down?

I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea. 

Apparently, Lucas was in charge of Solitaire and was doing it all to impress Tori and to bring some “joy” back into her life before the jokes spiraled out of control.

However, Lucas comes to understand that Tori is no longer the girl he knew back in primary school and that she’s drastically changed. He did it because he was in “love” with her, but then admits at the end that he was more in love with the idea of her. 

Okayyyyyy. 

Then, for some inexplicable reason, other people are at Higgs at 5am, including one Michael Holden, Tori’s new fiend and resident “weirdo.”

The ending of the novel then churns out nonsense after nonsense. Tori and her ex-best friend Becky confront Solitaire and persuade them to not burn down the school.

But then, inexplicably, Tori walks out of the room and a classroom is on fire. How? Why? I don’t know. 

I’m unsure if the insinuation is that Michael did it or if Lucas or Solitaire still managed to do it, but all I know is that I was confused. 

Instead of getting better it gets decidedly worse. 

Somehow, Tori thinks she’s going to put out a raging inferno with a single fire extinguisher and chooses now to act instead of evacating a burning building, is lead to believe that Michael is dead from the fire, and then decides to go up to the roof to contemplate suicide. 

Somehow, though, her brother Charlie, Nick, and some other people are outside telling her not to jump. Why are they out there? Some kind of reason.

Apparently Lucas tweeted about it or blogged about the fire so the whole student body is there at 5am to witness the school burning down and see Tori standing on the roof. 

But no fire trucks, police, or authority were there originally, because that would be too logical. 

Alas, Michael is not dead and shows up on the roof to tell Tori that she’s his best friend, they kiss out of left-field, and Tori is convinced not to kill herself. 

The novel ends with them driving to the hospital and with Tori realizing she’s not alone. 

….what? 

The ending was such a jumbled catastrophe that I don’t understand what really happened. It was too climactic and intense in a way that was completely at odds with the tone and plot of the story.

You don’t get any kind of meaningful resolution with Tori other than realizing that she needs a lot of help and care. 

This book was a mess. 

Tori was unlikeable, has no discernible growth as a character, and other people weren incomprehensibly drawn to her and wanted to be friends with her, despite her flat out ignoring them, blowing them off, or being uncommunicative. 

The plot involving Solitaire was ridiculous and uninteresting, culminating in an ending that made no discernible sense and lacked purpose and logic. 

I know people love Heartstopper and Alice Oseman (myself included), but this book is not it. If they decided to publish this novel written twelve years ago simply because the show is popular and they said, “Hey, why not?” they chose wrong. 

I know publishers these days have the mentality of milking a series for all its worth, but this book didn’t add anything of substance, purpose, or heart. 

If anything, it detracts from the Heartstopper universe and makes me appreciate how much Oseman has grown as a writer. The Heartstopper universe is doing just fine on its own. It doesn't need side novels about Tori or about any other character.

Leave it alone, please, I beg of you. 

Recommendation: Solitaire is a poor man’s crappy version of Catcher in the Rye—a book Alice Oseman herself mentions at the end of the novel, stating that none of her characters have read it. Well, they probably should have. It’s a much better story than Solitaire.

Score: 4/10

[terrence-silver]

Oh, I so agree with you about the lack of Terry in promos being... unsatisfying. So many things they're playing with this season were set in motion by Terry. Terry mentioned Kim Sung Young first, who they now have cast. Terry wanted to go to the Sekai Taikai. Terry introduced Kim Da Eun. If they can get Kreese out of prison with a box of Jell-o, no way can they keep Terry in jail for more than three hours. If he can spin heading Dynatox into being a green philantropist, he can doctor this. If Kenny still has a major part to play, well who mentored him?

I could have understood it if they wanted to shift away from the Terry storyline and focus on what the show started as, reclaiming your life through karate. But then, it would have made much more sense to keep Kreese in prison, send Chozen and Da Eun home, and not focus so much on Tang Soo Do. But if they're setting that legacy up as the überthreat, it makes no sense for Terry not to be involved. The Sekai Taikai was his baby, moreso than Cobra Kai, even. Maybe the CK brand has been compromised, but so what? Hearsay. Simply rebrand.

Terry completely revitalised a show that had milked everything out of Johnny-Kreese there was to milk, keeps shying away from consequences with Robby and Miguel and would never give Sam and Tory the gay awakening that drives them. To dump him and keep Chozen and Da Eun around makes no damn sense!

Exactly. Precisely.

Terry Silver is the lifeblood that keeps this show running.

Because what else is there to do with this plot?

A lot of storylines got tragically milked to completion seasons ago.

And I don't think for the life of me Da Eun, who quite literally got flown into the plot during the penultimate mid-season is a strong enough character to be the end all-be all final boss villain. She doesn't have the charisma to pull what Thomas Ian Griffith pulled in TKK3. She was just introduced pretty much last minute and our attachment to her is at best nonexistent to miniscule with her only connection to anything going on in the plot at all is through Kreese, Silver and their mutual history with the sport. In the plot itself, girl even seemed like she was begrudgingly in the States in the first place and had to be talked into staying by Terry. To carry the whole endgame conclusion of this show and well over forty years of lore between the characters as the ultimate bad guy? Yeah, nope. Don't see it. There's just no development there. No meat.

As you said. It makes no damn sense.

And I will be in the minority here, which is entirely alright for me, but I really have an abject allergy for fan concoctions like brining back Julie Pierce in Season 6 or having Chozen and Da Eun have a showdown to fill in plot gaps. Shoehorning in Julie Pierce for a random, out of nowhere cameo when the one attachment she had to the plot was vaguely through a character dead for well over forty years just so she could tutor female character x and y for a short period of time is unnecessary at this late stage and I don't think Chozen and Da Eun warrant enough stakes to suddenly become mortal foes that take up space like that in the last season, but hey, that's just me; like, where are these rivalries even coming from? They met like yesterday. Do you two even know each other's full names!? Like!?

Terry Silver, John Kreese and the Sekai Tekai are sole the points of interest left.

After all, show's called Cobra Kai and they are Cobra Kai.

[sillyguy99]

There is no fear in love

(Mafiafell Sans x Reader)

Chapter One: Rude Awakening

[Index | Next]

Notice:

(The reader has a nun name, meaning: a holy name given to be used by others in place of a real name, such as “Sister Magdalene” instead of just “(Y/N)”, in this specific case.)

(Also, if this work seems familiar, that is because this is the definitive version of Pray that you will not fall into temptation, since I merged various, similar plot ideas for a Mafiafell fic into one, in order to make the story more fleshed out + provide more consistent, weekly updates!)

• • • • •

       "Mom!"

       The watering can falls from your hand at the sound of that voice. It clatters and the little water left splashes your shoes as it hits the rocky floor, yet you can't care less about picking it up when you see Frisk running towards you, their arms outstretched, smile radiant, and eyes glossy. You push yourself off the ground, though with struggle as your legs shake and give in from anticipation. It takes a few more seconds of stumbling until you're finally able to stand up straight, and – by the time you do – they're already in your arms, their light weight barely making you budge regardless of your current, weak self. Everything around you: the garden, the fountain, the picnic table, and even your own body feel unearthly, and you're certain it'll all end the moment you take too long to blink.

       "Words can't describe how much I've missed you, dear," you state, almost in a whisper when you fail to raise your voice, sorrow making it difficult to do without breaking.

       You hug Frisk as tight as the knot on your chest. Tears rush down, staining your arms until you hide your face against their shoulder and squeeze all your distress away. They feel fragile in your grasp, and fleeting, too – like letting go will cause them to crumble, then disappear. As much as you don't want to, you still begin to loosen up bit by bit until your embrace is a gentler touch, almost ghostly. Then, you pull back and wipe your face with a handkerchief you retrieve from your pocket, and offer your child another when you notice they're in a similar state, although not as bad as your own. Even if it isn't real, the last thing you wish is to let them see you somber. That's about the least you can do to make up for how many faults you've found while analyzing the reasons they went missing under your care.

       "hey, kid. where'd ya run off to? ya can't just-"

       Your arms act instinctively at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, these wrapping firm around Frisk again, like a snake with a hamster, minus the intent to cause any harm.

       "oh."

       The person behind that voice stands at the entrance of the garden, and – while you try your best not to – your mind ends up jumping to negative conclusions when you see just what type of monster he is.

       "Stay back!" Fearing the dream has become a nightmare, you close your eyes and squeeze Frisk harder, yet you soon loosen when they gasp for a breath. "And state your reason for visiting first."

       "well…"

       You hear footsteps, but you refuse to look at him.

       "i'm sans, one of your kid's friends from the underground," he says. "frisk told us they couldn't stay with tori, since they've got another mom up here, and now here i am. they gave me your address, we gathered some info to make sure you were still around, and then i drove us here. the rest of the convent interrogated me before they told me to go straight to the garden, so you can ask 'em if you're suspicious." There's a brief spell of peace and quiet as you hear him debate about something with himself. "sorry if this's kinda nosy, but…" There's a long pause in his words. "how does that work, exactly? you havin' a kid, i mean. aren't nuns supposed to be married to, uh, god, and not, well… a husband?"

       You scoff and feel your face form a glower on its own. "I'm not married, and Frisk isn't my biological child, though… I don't really see that detail as relevant to my love for them." Your fingers bury into Frisk's hair as you stroke their bangs away and kiss their forehead. "It matters not whether they're biologically mine."

       They shift, kiss your cheek, and push you aside, then tug at your sleeve persistently, insisting without a word for you to address the elephant in the room.

       You sigh, breathe back in, and open your eyes.

       It's impossible not to flinch when you take a better look at the monster: far less daunting than you were expecting, but still the most unnatural thing you've witnessed since having to interfere with a violent human at the front of the orphanage. The skeleton wears a black suit with hints of red, and the grin he carries appears shielded with dishonesty, contrasting with his direct and unwavering stare. Though the feeling of uneasiness differs from peering into the eyes of someone who has no fear of taking a life away, gazing into his irises still brings about uncertainty. You can't digest how detailed his body is, and how what little bones are exposed from his suit move in sync with each step he takes. It's like watching the most realistic, computer-generated creature in the real world rather than in film. What makes it a chilling experience is that he's actively acknowledging your presence, and that his irises follow your movements as you dust your clothes and fix yourself up after the messy hug. 

       He's not much taller than you or even Frisk, and yet...

       You feel small, and how broad his body seems contributes to that.

"They had gone missing three months ago, and I…" You bring your hands together and bite back another tear, then face the ground to avoid meeting with what looks like Death, but formally dressed. "I can't express how much I grieved over their disappearance." Momentary courage allows you to look at him directly. "Who are you to my child? And… Who is this 'Tori' person?"

       A chilly breeze of awareness arrives when you unclasp your hands and stare at your palms to see traces of soil smeared on your skin, most of it you believe is now wiped off on Frisk's attire.

       "Frisk!" you exclaim, eyes broadening as you look next to you. "I forgot I-"

       They're already standing in front of the skeleton, with their arms fully extended as they wait while he searches through his suitcase.

       He retrieves a full set of clothes, a hair pin, and a stuffed teddy bear, then pats their head before they run off inside the church.

       If you were jumpy before – even with the company of Frisk – now being alone with the skeleton leads to your body turning awfully rigid, and for a stiffer silence to build up between you.

       "do ya have some time to spare, miss?" he asks, zipping the suitcase closed and throwing it over his shoulder. "i needa talk to ya 'bout Frisk."

       This has to be a dream, at least.

       There's no way you're staring at a breathing, moving, talking skeleton who'd somehow been left in charge of sending Frisk off towards you.

       You should've known today wasn't real since the local news announced that a large crowd of monsters of all shapes and kinds had emerged from the Underground, like some sort of Halloween Horror film.

       "It's my first time seeing them in months," you reply, narrowing your eyes at him. "Of course, I do!" You stare at your hands again. "But... Could you allow me a minute to wash up?" Then, you glance at your uniform. "I've been gardening since early morning."

       Whether this is all a dream or a nightmare, you should at least look presentable for either outcome.

       "sure." He shrugs. "take your time."

 • • • • •

       You throw half a strawberry at a bird in your garden, lured by the sweet scents of the food you've set up on the table.

       It flies off back into a tree when it picks up the treat, and – when you're positive there's no other hungry animal waiting nearby – you throw the other half on the flowers and watch as the leaves rustle and stop when reaching the spot.

       Your next chore is to wash your hands by the faucet near the garden and continue setting up the rest of the table when you return.

       "ya know," Sans says, sitting on the chair you gesture him over to. "from what frisk told me about you, i was kinda expectin' a lady older than tori herself."

       You finish pouring tea to look at him and lift an eyebrow. "Pardon?" 

       Although left without an answer, you push on by arranging some shortbread cookies and thinly sliced fruit on a pair of ceramic plates while you wait for him to say something.

       He's observing your every move, and there's a limit to how much of that you can tolerate, but fear causes you to keep your mouth shut and carry on.

       "and it makes a lotta sense."

       "...Care to elaborate, sir?"

       Still being out in the garden is what has kept you sane this whole time. Were you in an enclosed space with the skeleton, you wouldn't have lasted a second. There's just something wrong about looking at him and being aware he's a living creature – that he has a human's level of intelligence, and that he's judging you for acting like an old lady in spite of being in your twenties. You want this to end, yet if this is your punishment for not being a good enough mother, then you're bound to push on. You just have to be patient. And you just have to try not to… widen your eyes every occasion you figure out anything new about him. The basics – while covered – are already overwhelming on their own, but actually seeing him laugh and joke around like any other human drives you mad.

       "you're makin' me tea, servin' me cookies, insistin' ya do every little thin' yourself," he says, touching a finger from his right hand with his left index finger for each observation he lists, "you're good with birds – probably other animals, too, and you're wearin' a type of dress only someone over her sixties would wear," he remarks, unwinding with a breath out when he shows all those statements take up his entire hand, "that's already five things, and i'm barely just gettin' to know ya. when did ya start out as a nun, anyway?"

       Porcelain and ceramic clink as you set what's now unneeded away and leave only the cookies, fruit, tea, and communion items out on the table.

       "Since my eighteenth birthday. It's been thirteen years."

       You prepare the communion, first by setting aside a piece of sacramental bread, and then a small portion of grape wine in a paper cup.

       "whoa." He whistles. "since that early?"

       You ignore his comments while you finish setting everything else up, the last thing being to bless both the food and the communion. You then stand up, pick up the tray with the bread and wine, and offer it to him. How fast your heart races makes it so that your fingers shake as you grab the bread.

       "Open your, um…" You frown. "How does your skull work?"

       "you can touch, if you wanna."

       Your eyes glue to his face, and inordinate curiosity fights with basic decency. He's a stranger, and yet he's being as casual as you would expect an old friend to be. You want to ask him to stop – that his existence alone as a skeleton is still something you're barely getting adjusted to, but common sense and more than enough years of your work in the convent have taught you better than that. Just as you're adjusting to him, he's likely doing with you and Frisk. Expecting him to act all formal would be rude, as would be him asking you to be casual around him. That's for friends, not strangers. Though if this really isn't some sort of Telephone game version of the classic Alice in Wonderland tale, then you hope you can both get used to one another later on.

       "I shouldn't." Your gaze stays on his face. "But, then again…"

       He chuckles, and his irises lighten up, something you've now associated with him being either happy or amused.

       "Are you sure?"

       "go wild."

       You touch his cheekbone and press your thumb against it. The texture's similar to semi-hardened clay, and you leave a mark on his skull, though it fades after a few seconds. Worry stays at the thought of hurting him, so you brush your fingers at that spot again, softer this time. 

       "That's…" You pull back. "That's... interesting?"

       He winks. "and you're great at describing it."

       You stay quiet and shake your head, at a loss for words for what you feel to be the third occasion today – and it's still only one in the afternoon!

       His teeth part as you move on to what you were doing. Despite physical contact, your heart's calmed down more, and you can stare at him for longer without questioning reality and science. With a long and steady breath, plus the reminder to keep calm, you pick up the bread again and drop it on…

       …his tongue (?), then watch as he chews it and passes it down with the wine.

       This is normal.

       You're not delusional.

       And the news report is completely legitimate.

       What you have to do is convince yourself to believe all that.

       "thanks for sharing a part of your world with me." He grins. "and for the blessin', too."

       "It's not much, sir." You smile. "I'm... only thankful you've brought Frisk here, safe and sound."

       His expression glooms on par with his posture. 

       Meanwhile, you set the tray back down and sit on the bench across from him.

       The garden feels too calm now, as if nature itself has sensed the monster's shift in mood. You're tempted to ask him directly about what's brought about such a sudden change, yet you know you're in no place to do that. Frisk is sleeping off the exhaustion from their journey in the security of their bedroom, meaning that asking them to do it is completely out of the question – not to mention, you don't want them to do the work for you, nor impose anything as complicated as this on them. Growing restless, you pick up a cookie from your plate and munch on it during your wait. The amount of time that passes on is sufficient for you to eat two more, and even drink your first cup of tea.

       "uh, yeah…" he says, mumbling. "'bout that…"

       His gaze lifts from the grass to your eyes. 

       "frisk might've technically... died a few times during their journey through the underground. the only reason they're still alive is cuz of how things worked down there. didn't wanna pull that sorta bandage off so quickly, but i figured you should know this first before they tell ya about their experiences."

       "...Wh- What?" you snap, standing up. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

       "afraid it isn't."

       The last thing you can register as anger overcomes your heart is the sound of the tea cup hitting the ground with a crash, sending shards flying across the floor.

       You march off towards him, stand in front, and point at the door leading out of the garden.

       "Get the hell out of my church, you sick-minded beast!"

       "please, let me explai-"

       "Get. Out."

       All you see is red as you lunge at the monster and grab him by his shirt's collar, lifting him off the chair.

       Him weighing no more than Frisk allows you to take him to the nearest wall and slam him against it.

       "...A bandage?" You cackle, disbelief manifesting through the noise. He doesn't struggle, so you pick that up as a sign for you to tug at him harder. "My child died, and you call that ripping off a mere bandage?" You press yourself against him when he starts to shift.

       "there's more i-"

       You cut him off again by tugging his tie along with the rest of his shirt.

       "Shut up," you shout. "If this is a nightmare, you're more than welcome to disappear and let me go back to sleep. I... I want you out of my damn sight the second I release you!"

[Index | Next]

• • • • •

Tag List:

@itsberrydreemurstuff

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

KOTORI MIZUKI/TORI MEADOWS (YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL)

1.) first: ygo zexal is directed (and partially written) by known misogynist shin yoshida who is on record as saying that he would Never write female characters if he wasn’t being forced to by higher-ups. kotori’s voice actor signed a legal contract forcing him to include her character in Every Single Episode. she gets no duels that aren’t tag duels (2v2 duels), one of those is interrupted in the middle and all others she both loses, aren’t even shown in full, and all happen in the same episode. she is literally contractually required to be a major character and the dude in charge still point blank refuses to do anything with her despite the fact that she’s supposed to be the female lead of the series. please take pity on her for being handed to one of the worst people in the world and how despite the active attempts by other people to make her relevant in the story she was still denied that

2.) She only dueled once in the whole show and it was when she was brainwashed. Her main role is to only cheer the male protag on and say his name during his duels I guess.

IRIS SAGAN (AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES) (CW: Inappropriate Age Gaps)

1.) Listen I'm sure other ladies have it worse but Iris… and as an extension several other girls in AITSF… she deserves so much better. First of all she's a DANCER and she's wearing HEELS AND A TINY SKIRT character designer can you please go easy on her. She's suffering. Give her shorts at least. Second of all she's 18 and she has not one but TWO adult men who want to date her and constantly make comments about it!!!

This is… emblematic of a writing problem, because they KEEP MAKING MEN WHO WANT TO DATE 18 YEAR OLDS. This is partially a character trait thing for the two men, sure, but like. The game also makes jokes about her forcing the main character Date (who is 30) on dates even though she's later revealed to (unknowingly to either of them) be his relative slash daughter figure, kind of sort of. It's complicated. And like, part of the game is recovering his lost memories from amnesia and he gets these rapid heartbeats whenever he remembers, and because his past is tied to Iris I've had to reassure people playing the game the first time that his heart is NOT rapidly beating around her because he's attracted to her. I shouldn't HAVE to do that because the game should be NORMAL about her, but. no. The writing of the game is very clear that men in their mid-20s and later are attracted to this girl, so how should we expect Date be different? Astounding how shitty the writing is regarding that, especially because one of those men (Moma) isn't even creepy until the epilogue AND THEN IN THE SEQUEL HIS ENTIRE PERSONALITY IS THAT HE WANTS TO MARRY HER. SHE'S HALF HIS AGE.

As for her writing itself… She does get a lot of focus overall in the first game (she has an entire route of the game focused on her! Yippee!) but a lot of it is based on said forcing Date to date her, and she dies at the end of her route. I actually like her route but it IS the least conclusive of the route in the first game. In the SEQUEL though oh my god. I'm still bitter that they HEAVILY advertised her as being in the game and then she was BARELY IN IT she was just there to a) have her shitty father be relevant for 0.5 seconds and b) have men creep on her. Okay maybe that's an exaggeration but ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IS SOMEONE SHE SEES AS A SISTER. TWO OF THE OTHER MAJOR CHARACTERS ARE HER BEST FRIENDS. WHERE DID SHE GO. They barely show her with her friends too like her friends are hanging out ALSO with shitty adult men with romantic interest in them (see. writing problem.) BUT LIKE I'M SO PISSED OFF FOR IRIS ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I LOVE HER. The first game literally has her have delusions about a secret society Naix hunting her down. The second game has The Real Naix be a major organization and antagonistic force. It just feels wrong to not have her… be important… at all… when she's the only reason Naix was mentioned in the first game at all…….

But like. Mostly the issue is that JESUS CHRIST THESE ADULT MEN NEED TO LEAVE HER ALONE AND THE WRITERS WON'T LET HER TELL THEM OFF OR EVEN REALIZE THEY'RE INTERESTED IN HER HALF THE TIME. IRIS PLEASE GET BETTER PEOPLE TO HANG OUT AROUND, LIKE YOUR FRIENDS WHO YOU'RE ONLY SEEN ONSCREEN WITH FOR 5 MINUTES.

2.) (AITSF Spoilers) The male characters often make unnecessary and uncomfortable sexual remarks towards Iris, especially with her status as an 18-year-old internet idol. These men include her close friend (24), an ally yakuza boss (48), and the protagonist (42), who is later revealed to have been her surrogate father figure.

There are also smaller but baffling choices around her writing, such as her framing tagging along with the protagonist as a date, and her route centering conspiracy theories in contrast to the relatively grounded and emotional stories of the other characters. (The latter part is contextualized in-game but is still a jarring tonal shift for the first-time player).

3.) Iris, like almost all returning characters from AITSF, is a victim of the sequel - The Nirvana Initiative - being afraid of spoiling the first game and letting the characters keep their development from the first game and grow past that. It just so happens that the hit Iris' character takes makes elements of misogyny from the first game all the worse. So, Iris in the first game at first glance can be dismissed as a dumb internet idol. This is particularly reinforced by her belief in outlandish conspiracy theories. However, the game gives her depth by revealing that she has a brain tumor (which has caused delusions) and knows that her time is limited as well as delving into her backstory and the impact it has had on her. She gets the tumor healed at the end of the first game, there's a 6-year time skip in the second, and she… acts the complete same and has basically the same beliefs. And she has so few scenes that she really is reduced to a shallow, vapid character. I'm not even sure she had a chance to react to her father figure 'dying.' The first game had an issue with male characters being creepily into Iris the idol. Ota, who is 24, endears himself to the 18-year-old Iris by making sock puppet social media accounts that insult her only for him to swoop in with his main account and defend her. The main character does not think that it is important to tell her about this breach in trust. Moma, who is 48 years old, is also a big fan of hers. While it's mostly (mostly) an endearing character trait in the first game, in Nirvana Initiative, Moma has mainly been reduced to his interest in Iris (who he refers to once as his "future wife"). His only plot significant contribution is made by using a voice changer to sound like her. The implications of his original plan for that voice changer skeeves me out. The other characters, by the way, are pretty ambivalent about this.

[quillandrapier]

So this brilliant post by @thatgordongirl goes through each instance of where a piece of info ghosts' lives is revealed in season 1.

And it sent me sprialing where I came to an important conclusion about Julian (okay minor but kinda huge in a way) that Julian by the shows own lore must have not have been an MP during the years 1987-1991. Which I find weird but actually makes a lot of sense.

That's the important part, but I'm gonna delve a bit deeper on my reasoning and explain a little of the British political system. (I'm a touch rusty as I've not done British politics in 4 years but still) if you want to skip the preamble explaining British politics go to the line "Between elections".

So Britain is a parliamentary democracy. Unlike America, in our national elections we don't vote for our president or Prime Minster or even a party, we are only electing our local MP. Each election we elect one MP to a have a seat in our House of Commons to represent our concerns in Parliament.

While the MP may be a member of a Political Party and vote in line with how the larger political party wishes them to do, we actually are voting for an individual MP. However, in practice most people vote for the candidate that represents the party that best aligns with their political views and is most feesiable to win and don't really care WHO is running for each party.

Britain's two main parties are The Labour Party and The e Conservatives, which are nicknamed Tories. Julian was a member of the Conservatives, hence the term dead tory politian. We also have other Political parties such as the Liberal Democrats, SNP and the Green Party which was Julian's daughter, Rachel's, political party. The Green Party is basically the opposite of the Tory Party. (Which is why Julian is at first confused but goes, hey they all can't be perfect)

So when he ran for position of MP he would have been Julian Fawcett for the Conservative Party.

And the only way we get a new MP in a seat is through the position becoming vacant or through a general election. The general elections between 1980 and Julian's death took place in 1983, 1987 and 1992.

Between elections the only way we get a new MP is either when an MP dies in office or has to resign. The term used is when the seat is vacant.

So why would Julian run for a by-election if he already had a constituency? If he was already an MP he would not had been eligible to run in a by-election. While he could have resigned, then ran again the reason for a politian like Julian resigning would have been due to scandal. It would be politically crazy to run and win the same by-election and unlikely.

Also Julian was an MP in 1986 (as we see above having put the Bramptons through MPs expenses) so probably ran and won his election in 1983 (the one with the slogan "oh not him" from the episode, The hardest word in season 4)

The only way him contesting a by-election in 1991 makes sense is if he lost or did not stand in the 1987 General Election. This may be due to a mryiad of reasons but prehaps something about his image in 1987 made him lose.

Although he may have not have run in 87 take up a different office such as mayor of an area like Boris Johnson or Sadiq Khan for London. However if he didn't stand for this reason and then lost the mayor race then he'd be eligible to run in 1991.

But again the simplest explanation is that he lost in 87

So the Julian timeline is:

Wins in 1983 election and has a term that lasts until the 1987 General Election where he loses his seat. (Prehaps due to the expenses stuff from 1986)

He then runs for the contested seat in the 1991 by-election which he wins and maintains until the 1992 General Election. This is also where Julian solves the crisis by starting a war.

He then wins the 1992 election meaning upon his death he is the MP who dies in a sex scandal rather than a former MP who dies in a sex scandal. Which also means he's triggered another by election.

He may have also been re-elected in 1987, had to resign for some reason and then ran again in 1991. But that's quite convoluted for a backbencher. (@partywithponies pointed out to me he's mostly likely to be a backbencher rather than a prominent MP which... Fair enough)

Or this is all nonsense and was not meant to read into this much. I genuinely thought it was a mistake at first but if this is the timeline this makes sense.

So yeah Julian might not of been an MP during the years 1987-1991 which is strange to think since MP is like half his identity. Also what did Julian do for those years he weren't an MP, he certainly wasn't rasing his kid.

On that point, for a politian who often has to care about his image, having a child between the two elections make sense, to help rebrand his image into a "family" man. It's kinda cynical but makes sense.

Sidenote: MPs arent techincally allowed to resign, Tom Scott talks about it here. However when an MP is removed from a seat by a method that isn't death, most people call it resigning.

[pixiedust-poppers]

can you do an infodump about one of your jatnlp au’s or headcannons? Make it one of the dark ones!!

IM SOOO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO INFODUMP ABOUT I had an idea VERY MUCH typed out and i showed a friend and then they said some criticism back for a scene that made me stall and realize i need to work it out more and the more I thought this I realized it was dark but.... not entirely unhinged (and you asked for dark so. I will bring the unhinged factor to my aus) so I bring you one that is a bit shorter dark and unhinged.

To note: This takes place in alternative version of cdbazemore98's Jake and Tori Stories series but focused more on Izzy and she is SO mentally ill and has been for such a long time. So, the credit for the main series goes to her. (Please. DO NOT go after her)

note 2- This takes place in J&TS4 a week or so after chapter 25: Spouse betrayal and to give a short gist of the emotional side of this . Jake was overtaken by lust and forced himself (for a kiss) on Ally (an oc of the author) with her husband and his rival Blake (also an oc of the author) there and Izzy watched to whole thing go but didn't reveal herself until Blake and Ally left. She rightfully slapped him and when he revealed why he did what he did (he saw her mother in her; Tori (as is Victoria Vega)) and she screamed "oh so your still in love with tori?" and then proceed to dig into abt him probably wanting to fuck her (she is in her sixties) and her daughters and when Jake couldn't get a word in + very upset at these conclusions she came to he raises his fist at her and threatens to knock her out if she doesn't shut up. Both he and she are shocked at this, and when he tries to explain himself 5 secs later, she is not having it, so she leaves and tells him that her and their youngest daughter won't be at home when he gets there and that he is dead to her.

There is some ongoing mystery plot in the story itself but for this alternative time-line that doesn't matter, and you're going to see why💀

SO once again DISCLAIMER: I do not Own Jake and Tori stories series. I do not own Ally, Blake, Troy, Maia and Kari they belong to cdbazemore98. DO NOT harass or go after the author.

CW: suicidal ideation, suicide, OOC FOR SURE.

--

Isabella Green was a miserable woman; she has been for a loooong time and her week just got even worse. A few days after Jake forced himself onto ally and she leaves him to stay at tori's with their youngest daughter Hikari (kari for short). Tori being mostly team Jake although she "hears her out" for her side of things she talks to izzy in a way that makes it clear to her that she's moreso going to believe Jake's side of the story. She never liked her anyway, but she continues to stay because free rent is free rent.

The more kari whines about wanting to see her father and be kissed goodnight by him instead of her, she begins to reflect. "Does anyone really give a shit about her?" "How did her life turn out like this?" "Why didn't she do the deed sooner?", she's been unhappy for a looooooooooong while in her life, even from the age of 11. Depression and low self-esteem have had this girl in a chokehold for a long time, the choke is less or more depending on the day but it's always in the back of her mind. She thought that staying and marrying jake would help that; it does! ...depending on the day. She thought having children would make her happier; It does! though it was unconditional when they were younger... and sure she wasn't always the best mother, but she has noticed that Jake can do wrong in their eyes meanwhile, she isolated from immediately the moment she fucks up.

She doesn't have many friends, she hates the way she looks, any time she tries to do anything that will make her happy, everyone is suddenly a critic. what's the point of being here anymore if she can't be happy? She knows she can't convince Jake to go to couple therapy, everyone will tell her to get over it and what's the goddamn point??? Her kids will probably be smitten to just be with her dad, Jake can find a wife he actually wants to fuck and she can be happy in death.

So after kissing Kari goodnight, she answers Jake nightly call for once. Goes to the bathroom and basically trauma-dumps and chews him out, then after he gets his "I love you my fair maiden please" She traumatizes him for life by shooting herself in the head while he's on call.

Now because she married him, and bore his children, she does get into this Super pirate heaven. Homegirl is vibing, she LOVES it. Got her nice lil tiny home set up and everything and now she can start getting into hobbies she genuinely enjoys without anyone's judgement and she is safe

Meanwhile on earth, they're um ehhhh… Tori and the other's don't really give a shit, they're sad for Jake's sake(Cubby is genuinely sad though). Troy is more devastated than Maia over her death considering he was a momma's boy, Kari is traumatized as she was the first to find her mother's body and Jake is in Tatters, because he knows fucked up majorly to point where he actually doesn't date (he does the occasional prostitute) again despite others recommending he does, but he doessss get into drinking abit more, but he does like his job so.. not really.

Months pass and things have calm down, Jake obviously isn't over his wife's death so he's just semi-misrable and desires to see her again but then skylar so kindly reminds him "Hey what if u use super pirate powers? you can use those to see her like you did with me and maybe bring her back!" Eureka moment there. So he tries, but to no avail she doesn't want to connect with him. After complaining back and forth to the Og Super pirate spirit is like "Ok lemme talk to her... I'm sure we can come up with something." He goes to talk to her and she's like "No i don't want to see them, I doubt they give a real shit" and then trauma dump to him too and tells it about all the things she wished to have done with Jake and her life if not for the twins and having to settle down so early in their 20s. it's like "wow... hmmm you suffered alot.. I think i might have a deal for you." and she was like "??? I'm not a super pirate though?" And he's like "You wish for a new life and your husband wishes for a life with you in it, I can help with both." And he tells her of the plan if she agrees which is, for them to "start over" and take her back to the night where the twins are conceived but she can put a stop to that happening, and with changing that turning point in her life to possibly never or a later date, she can hopefully get the adult life that she truly wants. And while she personally wants it to be younger, she thinks about and realizes she can still do what she wants since she'll still be young with all of the amenities she’s grown accustomed to and agrees. And so with this Izzy is responsible, for the unbirth of her children, de-aging basically everyone and significantly pushing back time. She wakes back up again, as 19-20 year old izzy who is a nervous very uncomfortable wreck because Jake is about to walk in and they're going to have the sex they agreed to do earlier in the week (it was consensually dw) and this time instead of going along with said sex, she works up the courage in her to say no and actually explain to Jake why she isn't interested in sex as whole. She didn’t do so the first time mostly out of fear that it would significantly hurt their relationship or that Jake would leave her or that Jake would just snap and force himself on her, she was scared. And with this no twins are created so you have now a whole new sandbox of conversations that should be haved and therapy to fuck about with.

[acti-veg]

is the BBC unbiased

The BBC strive to be impartial because that is their mandate, the problem is that nobody seems to agree what impartiality actually means, and true unbiased coverage of all issues would be wildly offensive to most people.

It is generally agreed that some topics, like the climate crisis, like racism, like sexism, don’t require dissenting voices. When it comes to more contested movements though, like trans rights and animal rights, the BBC will still hold views from both sides as if they’re worth the same. There is also the fact that the BBC, as a taxpayer funded organisation, can be unduly influenced by the government, which we’ve seen many times, such as the blatantly biased coverage they have Jeremy Corbyn and his policies. They sometimes just choose not to report on some things, particularly anti-establishment protests and politics, for obvious reasons.

We shouldn’t forget that the BBC itself is often the subject of headline news itself, and is then expected to report impartially on its own existence, which is absurd. It’s no less silly that they’re expected to report on the issues created out of thin air by the tories culture war distractions, as if they don’t know full well why the tories have chosen to make sure the media focus on that rather than the failure of our economy or their own instability.

The BBC writers themselves obviously have bias, and more than that, I think that the idea that there is any such thing as an unbiased viewpoint is a bit of a fantasy. I think they mostly do their best to remain impartial within the political constraints of their role, but it is naive to think of any news organisation as the unbiased arbiter of truth.

You can generally rely on the facts of any given BBC story being accurate, but you should account for any vested interest and recognise that there may well be wider context that they’re not reporting, there may be cherry picking of what information is ‘relevant’ and what is not, and there are often alternate views they are not airing. We should always be willing to look at more than one source and draw our own conclusions.

[grandhotelabyss]

Favorite Yeats poem? I can't get enough of him.

"Easter, 1916." He does everything he could do there; it's the greatest political poem in English of the 20th century. First, simply from a "craft" perspective, there is the propulsive but unobtrusive accentual (but not syllabic) meter, the pulsing three-beat line. Then the deceptively simple abab rhyme scheme—except that the even lines only ever off-rhyme. Sound mimics sense in this mingling of the beautiful and the terrible: our march song is never quite in perfect rhythm. We can never quite get the steps right as we march toward our sublime deaths. This isn't "The Charge of the Light Brigade."

For one thing, it's not public rhetoric, or not just public rhetoric. There is the quiet, personal opening of the first stanza, the "I" in its humble self-deprecatory historical setting, when we know what modern life and all its calculating mediocrity meant for Yeats. Then, enacting in language the transformation it proposes of public life, the first appearance of the refrain lifts the poem into epic.

In the second stanza, we find an epic catalogue of the flawed vessels of historical force, made more poignant by a knowledge of what it probably took for Yeats to praise MacBride ("a drunken, vainglorious lout") who had, in his mind, robbed him of Maud Gonne. Small-nation politics lends itself to such gossip. "Great hatred, little room," as he had it elsewhere. But that farce is past. Comedy has turned to tragedy in the national epic of the uprising.

But this, again, is poetry: not propaganda. You don't write the best political poem of the 20th century by celebrating emancipatory violence without subtlety, without nuance, without irony. Here we have the irony of a conservative revolution—again, recall the etymology of Tory—revolution not as the forward movement of history, as the benighted progressive thinks, but rather as the obdurate force that blocks history from engulfing the whole of the lifeworld. He sounds oddly like Benjamin here, as well as like Eliot, showing how vain it is to explain the most serious art and thought by shallow labels like left and right. "Enchanted" as it is, though, the stone is also opposed to nature, to the "living stream" figured most vividly in the prospective mating of hen and cock. As in "Sailing to Byzantium," another favorite, Yeats is worried about the conflict between the art and the life, between raw life and the artifice of eternity. The refrain does not appear, the poem's own flow broken.

Our bard, who as a member of the Protestant upper class favored negotation with England rather than violent revolt, expresses misgivings. Homer didn't have misgivings, for all that Yeats would later want to model himself on Homer's "unchristened heart." He has misgivings about more than just resistance tactics. He identifies with women, he fears for the nation's children, for the nation's very soul. The trope of the stone becomes disenchanted, no longer the Arthurian romance's source of political power but the Old Testament's hardness of heart, inviting divine chastisement. The cause of the revolutionaries itself comes into question for a moment. Was their violence part of the vanity, part of the "motley," with which the poem began? Have we really ever left the comedy, the 18th-century farce? But the motive spiritualizes the event: "excess of love." We think of Antigone, we think of Lear. Tragic heroism is still heroism. And in conclusion, the epic catalogue proper, before the refrain comes around again for our cyclic poet, itself changed utterly: "terrible beauty" no longer a political slogan but the aesthetic credo that will guide the rest of the poet's work out of the bee-loud glade and the Celtic Twilight and into "the desolation of reality," "gaiety transfiguring all that dread," the gaiety that is the achievement of form in the midst of terror.

[a-kaash-me-outside]

tori i can’t you basically throw 3 chapters at me in 2 days? i’m both panting & crying bc too many emotions lol

twrt:

atsumu-

atsumu still hot but who are we kidding when is he not

the opening? with sweet realizations??? i’ll always love spicy fics but ones with tender moments like them waking up in each other’s arms & soft sex was everything

and the future-life-preview at the end was too much omg😭 happy endings are the best & i love the idea that they stay together, help each other through everything, still interact and hold relationships with each other’s friends, etc🥹

maki-

this was so adorable, i loved having the possibility of seeing how they’d potentially end up if reader chose the other path

gotta feel bad for atsumu tho, reader just being like “oopsies i like someone else, bye!” immediately after fucking him and he confessed his love

while i am still an atsumu simp (and lowkey didn’t remember who maki was until i read this fic oopsies) , this is just too cute, and i love the interactions between reader & him, the way he treats us, etc.

not fair:

GIRL THIS TOO MUCH

ngl i found it really funny that they did all that with yams then ditched his ass the next morning without him knowing 😂

obvi tsukki is the king of rough, spicy sex, but the scene at the end where he’s softer/kinder is super adorable. i always love when fics give tsukki character layers & you win 🥇

emotional that these are ending soon🥲 but they’ve been so good! i typically never read fics as they’re being posted live, but i’m so glad i did with these omg. looking forward to next week’s conclusions ❤️

**cough cough i’ve delayed saying this bc i wanted to read it all lol, but ngl twrt has such a movie script feel to it & coming from a student with film minor, it’s amazing. you should pull a 50 shades and get it converted, just change around character names lol. just sayin🤷🏼‍♀️**

GRACE BABE I KNOW. IVE literally posted so fucking much these past few days omfg. BUT AH. ok wow. all of ur thoughts and little mentions are AH TY AND YES. hehehe. and (so valid you didn’t know who maki was. canon timeskip maki is hot, fan maki is /: heartthrob man) and not fair last chapter is my fav not fair chapter ♡ gettin BACJ TO MY ROOTS.

and AH omg omg. that’s so sweet T-T im so glad you’ve followed along week by week too. your interactions have been so great and so looked forward to.

PAH okay but writing twrt was my first big realization that i really could write a book. i wrote it in like 2 weeks and barely edited it. if i edited it and took some time it could be like shelf worthy man. but seriously tysm that’s so sweet and >:U very NICE

[natsmagi]

(future au anon) thanks!! And yeaaah making this au is REALLY fun, making aus with friends is always so fun tbh! (Reminds me i also have a Wonderland AU that i love very much but it's more HiiKohaAi centered bc i love them very much)

ALSO TRUE NTGM COULD'VE SUCH COOL UNCLES..But we killed Tsumugi😭 amsorry

Anywayy time to tell u more about Kiiko Suou :) any pronouns but mostly uses he/they also made by me

First of all they're a producer!! Though deep inside he do want to be an idol it's just huuum let's say he doesn't think the best of himself and they think it's better for them to not "be in the spotlight" and be a "support role instead" but that ties with his backstory that I'll explain now

(*cough* and they created an illegal unit with other fanchildren anyway *cough*)

So!! Kiiko being the next Suou heir has well a lot of expectations put on them by the family ever since...he was born, honestly

But they mostly inherited of Sora eccentricity, energy, and even some of his speaking pattern + the synesthesia. Kiiko is way closer to Sora anyway and despite caring about his child a lot Tsukasa doesn't spend much time with them since he's VERY busy with looots of stuff (Family business + becoming new Pres of NewDi + being leader of Knights + protecting Kohaku's daughter from the Oukawa dirty work bad Kasa putting ur niece before ur own son)

Anywayy but hum the angst part (there always is one) of Kiiko's backstory is the Suous. Weren't very accepting of him. He acted way too energetically to their liking and it didn't help Kiiko actually have some sort of intrusive thoughts...so basically they would think and say very inappropriate things and give crazy and dangerous ideas without realizing (for example..uh well the illegal unit idea came from Kiiko and the others went along with it lol. Guess I'll try to elaborate on this unit later on huh)

Also didn't help that Tsukasa actually had a daughter with Tori beforehand (i also ship Torikasa) and well since it's Tori taking care of her now (Torikasa didn't last in this au sadly but it's fine theres Sorakasa) she's supposed to be the Himemiyas heir now but the Suous also want her to be their heir bc they consider her way more fitting for the role. And so they often compare Yui (Torikasa kid) and Kiiko like "you should take example on her and act more disciplined" and similar stuff

(and the synesthesia just made all of the Suous disappointment impact on Kiiko even worse,,)

SOO conclusion Kiiko thinks it would be bad for him to be an idol bc he'll be too much in the spotlight and will Very Probably mess up bc of their intrusive thoughts so they just choose to be a supporting role, aka producer (...and still messed up anyway but its fine Kiiko we luv u anyway)

And Kiiko suggested the illegal unit idea out of good will, too :) bc basically i have another fanchild, a MadaAnzu one (or whatever the ship name is), Yumeto, who's also a producer, but also dreams to be an idol. and he tried, he really did, he took the entry exam two times...but failed both times. So he just became a producer instead bc its the closest he can get to his dream

So ofc Kiiko and Yumeto become very close as both producers (*cough* they're a ship *cough*) and Yumeto end up venting to Kiiko about his dreams being crushed, and that's when Kiiko is like "Then just perform illegally! :D"

Yumeto ended up accepting and convincing Kiiko to perform illegally with him, except that their roommate, Setsuko (made by my friend, she's an Izuleo kid), kind of heard them on accident...and uh long story short she joins the illegal unit!

By illegal unit i mean that they're not registered on paper and just. Invade stages. To perform. Illegally (ofc they're disguised when they do)

GOD BEFORE I KNEW IT I ENDED UP RAMBLING SM IM SORRY AIVZVIPYGZ

HELP ITS OKAY THEYRE FUN READS!! i love the amnt of thought and care put into these lil guys....... and theyve got alot of really cool depth and character to them that makes everything tie together so nicely....... TBH I DONT REALLY HAVE MUCH LEFT TO SAY BUT I DO REALLY LIKE WHAT U HAVE GOING !! again while u dont have everything figured out rn what u DO have is enough to give it the feel of a complete story and thats super admirable!!

I HOPE THEY GET THEIR HAPPY ENDINGS THOUGH.......!!

[alphamamalioness]

Ah, it’s nothing with Asher or my AlphaTale bitties- actually no- it does involve them in some way but that’s because of how… well.. all others within household are rather effected by this development

Echidna(Gift Tori bitty from Shy Quiet Hopes shop) and my little Loki(a Javelin[killer] Utah Raptor bitty from Fantsy Fields) have been rather… persistent in trying to get to the second floor, which is starting to stress the entire household out, and in turn the resident bitties that are settling into the second floor that still need their time and space (like your AlphaTale Bitties) and the ones that reside in the nursery itself are rather growing irritant at the thought of the children being anywhere near the two because of their nature and the way that they can be- especially around the young ones… (I have been doing my best to try and ease their worries, I have even put the magic suppressants collars on both bitties it has gotten so bad, and I feel so terrible having to repress them like this but they just aren’t learning and I do not wish to isolate them) it doesn’t help that Prince, the single (nightmare) Utah Raptor and bitty that Loki will ever listen to is sick, temporarily being settled at a veterinary clinic so that he is away from all the positive energy in the household, and will be unable to return until fully recovered (Loki taking full advantage of this new found freedom)

Please also know that not all the children and babies go into this room and stay in it, if requested a small nursery is provided in a special box that is customized by the mother that is then placed next to or within the bitties territory, only accessible by the members granted it (i as a caretaker am an exception since I will need to interfere should anything go wrong) the nursery is more so like the open baby safe space/playground and a birthing room for parents to relax and not worry about other bitties of the household, Echidna is unconsciously targeting this place and area because she subconsciously knows she will be incapable of accessing any of the Nursery Boxes

Right now I’m tryin to appease to Echinas more maternal and possessive side by offering to get a Baby doll for her to look after as long as she behaves, this has indeed deterred more attempted ventures to get into the second floor and in turn the nursery but still she often loses herself into the unconscious desires of her code and nature,(I fear one day I or someone else will not be there in time to suppress her from harming others, I’m debating putting a tracker or something for her to wear to teleport her to a safe space to where she can calm down should she resort to anything like magic) Loki however, is a completely different problem He has been rather relentless and I think I know the reason why but still- letting him into the second floor and near the nursery or other rooms for any reason at all is not ideal (He has a very strict note that anything small he can fit in his jaws will go in and having baby bitties into that mix is not comfortable and no matter how much I love and trust him it is still within his nature) giving him access to the second floor isn’t really an option (granting such a high privilege to the upper floor will definitely cause conflict and more problems then solutions) (just so anyone who is curious that doesn’t know, knows, I rarely if ever, make an exception for a bitty to EVER go onto the second floor, Those that are on the second floor are either strictly the following; parents and their children in the nursery, the newer bitties that need to have a safe space to adjust and settle into, me and other caretakers, the bitties that are in my shop that need observing and special care/observation before entering my shop, and of course, helpers and residents like me,that have their bedroom up on the second floor)

I have come to the conclusion that I might just have to take him into a much more strict training program(he hates them and I know that he will hate me as well but it’s getting out of hand) or have to get a guardian for the second floor, each choice having a difficulty of its own right

It is a rather stressful event, but I know it will work out in the end, but maybe just maybe you could provide some advice for me?

What would you do in this situation AlphaMama?

AlphaMama: Well, that's a really tense situation dear, I believe I just have the right "device" to help you out on this: Bitty Catcher!

BittyShop Item // Bitty Catcher //

This restless guardian will look out for all the subjects you wish them to track, like a tracking camera of security, but with the advantage of actually catching the target with their stretchable red silk lines and/or creating a magic barrier to prevent trespassing.

It is a haunted "dream catcher", not having the need to be fed or anything.

Step 1:  Open the box inside the room you wish

them to protect (Only 1 Room by the catcher) and 

remove the sleeping catcher (closed eye)

//You will know he is working when the eye is OPEN and MOVING//

Step 2: Write down the name of the bitty you wish

to be restrained (You NEED to be thinking 

on them to work) in the papyrus paper inside the wooden box

//1-knot will appear on the golden lines of the catcher to each bitty name//

Step 3: Close the box and put the sleeping catcher up the closed box, 

will activate itself by opening the central eye and floating around, already tracking 

the targets and will see them even if they are hidden.

Note: The catcher won't let the targets leave the room, always enchanting them to forget their intentions and get back before their reach the barrier (which will make them instantly fall asleep) and the catcher will carry them back to their belongs.

//Each catcher have a limit of  5 targets, each target will appear like a golden knot with the bitty mana pearl on them//

ONLY WORKS WITH ALREADY "OWNED BITTY", not working to catch "wild bitties" or another creature.

AlphaMama: This should do it! ... oh! And I believe I have a good distraction for Loki and Echidna's motherly needs:

This one is a "Pinky", omega onion-san, but she is the "Beast" version of it and can't grow up to adult version, it is too big to get eaten by Loki, and she is poison enough only to make him a little dizzy(don't need to worry)… She can't leave the aquarium so if Echidna wishes to take care of her, she will be trapped around the aquarium, since the baby is really lovely and needy, don't will like to be alone and will "sing" to Echidna to stay close… IF the Pinky-baby sees Echidna as her mom, she won't let Echidna leave her but don't go to hurt her so no worry too ^w^ ... as a "untouchable prey" she should be enough distraction for Loki, at last until Prince's return.

[maijakoivula]

What’s going oohh-oonnn?

It’s February 2023 and I haven’t written here all that much in many years. Game development tends to be secretive and mysterious, and most of the time (99,9 % of it) I can’t talk about anything I work on with anyone from outside the company I work in. People who’d be interested in my semi-public life as a game writer usually are only interested in what I’m currently working on, so it leaves very little to communicate.

Interestingly, I have barely written game things in the last two years. I have been recovering from a massive burnout for a year in May, and I’ve delegated most of the writing to other Writing Team staff members.

Right now life feels very odd to me. I’ve spent a year in a strange limbo going over hard questions of what do I want to do with my life, do I want to change something, and what would I do instead? In the background there are all the constant nearby chaotic noises of war in Eastern Europe, an ever-worsening climate crisis, and general political cacophony of Finnish media across the entire field doing their best to get local version of Tories elected in parliamentary elections, and it’s laughable, utterly ridiculous -- the national coalition is offering the same kind of financial policy that has just in the past year driven the UK into chaos (this curiously seems to have evaded Finnish news media entirely, how delightful.) In all this context, my problems seem very small. But still, someone has to deal with them, and there’s no one around to do that but me.

My year of soul searching has led me to the conclusion that there is nothing right now I want to do except create more video games. There could also be the possibility of writing novels, but since Finland is a teeny tiny island of a small language (not even an island, just a rock jutting out of the ocean), I fear there is no feasible future in a novel writing career in the long term, unless I come up with a generous patron out of the blue.

In the end I think the best I can do for myself once I get back on my feet is try and find a project to become madly in love with next, and follow that love, and hope it loves me back enough to keep me in pasta and ballet lessons, and my cats fed and warm.

There were camellias blooming in the Helsinki University botanical gardens last week.

Recently one of my current favourite writers wrote in public about their feelings of failure as a writer and the career turn they had to take, and I was immensely grateful to read it, because I could identify with that feeling of failure. Most people keep up very sharp appearances, and this usually applies to successful writers as well (my term here means: being able to provide for yourself without having to do side hustles or having writing as a back-burner thing while most of your daylight hours waste away in a different job) and I took her open acknowledgment of her feelings as gift. I didn’t think she was a failure at all, and I still think she is a tremendous writer, and hope to read her new novel soon.

It might be a sensitive issue, but burnout is a very real, awful, and very common problem in video game development, and no one is immune to it.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016)

The Divergent Series: Allegiant makes it clear. The series has petered out. We’ll never get the fourth and final chapter. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Everyone could see this franchise was only green-lit because of the desperate appetite for more Hunger Games films. Still, it’s a bummer to see the poorly-conceived world, its uninteresting characters and lame twists go nowhere in the end. Well, not really.

The walls surrounding Chicago are opened, allowing the remnants of humanity to see the outside world -until new leader Evelyn (Naomi Watts) closes them again. As dissension brews within the city, Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James), Caleb (Ansel Elgort), Christina (Zoë Kravitz), Tori (Maggie Q) and Peter (Miles Teller) leave to find the ones who sent the message contained within the 5-sided box from the previous film. Hopefully, they will have answers and a way to restore peace.

Although the plot is new, we get the same beats as before. Tris realizes the government body she trusts is up to no good. She rounds up her friends - and Peter, whom she keeps bringing along despite having betrayed or bullied her at every opportunity beforehand - and sets off. Then, we learn Tris has some kind of special skill or quality she never knew she had until the big conclusion where, once again, she takes up arms and tells us all it’s time to fight back! Every time, these events made us raise an eyebrow at the world. It never seemed to make sense. Shockingly, Allegiant finds ways to make its flimsily-constructed setting seem even stupider. Tris stumbles upon the architects behind the 5 factions. What could’ve possibly prompted them to take Hogwart’s 4-House system to the extreme and build an entire society around it? Let me tell you.

Years ago, mankind went overboard with genetic manipulation. It resulted in most of humanity becoming mentally unbalanced and the world ruined. The few who didn’t buy into messing with their DNA opted to wipe everyone’s memories, throw them into these cities whose backward politics would keep them alive and hope for the best under the theory that people’s genetic codes would eventually fix themselves. They were right. Their plan worked. While everyone else's personalities are stilted, Tris is “pure”. She's the sign that the human race is back on track! It explains what we've seen before but seems needlessly convoluted.

At least Allegiant isn't boring. The teenage angst in the middle of much bigger things, guessing aloud how evil the obviously evil characters will be, pointing out the plot holes or the way these people’s jobs could’ve been made much easier, these things will keep you entertained during the film. Was this how director Robert Schwentke intended to keep us engaged? No, but I take my entertainment where I can get it.

The Divergent series began on shaky footing but it kinda-sorta showed some promise. With each subsequent chapter, some revelations hooked you in, we made some steps forward and the finish line seemed within eyesight. Then, the next chapter would begin, backpedal and make you wonder if those at the helm knew what they were doing. I know these films are based on a series of books, that "the whole story" was told over three novels but movie-wise, they could’ve easily stopped with Insurgent. They didn't, which means this franchise ends up going nowhere. There’s no need to watch Allegiant if you’re a fan of the series. All it does is leave you disappointed. If you were watching out of obligation/morbid curiosity, it's even more of a letdown. Come to think of it, the whole series leaves you unsatisfied. Just watch Hunger Games again. Heck, I’ll settle for The Maze Runner. (On Blu-ray, December 14, 2018)

[mainstoryarchive]

Ensemble - 129: Decisive Battle

Tori: But my opponent is the weakest guy in Trickstar, right?

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: Auditorium (LIVE)

Tori: But my opponent is the weakest guy in Trickstar, right?

That means he's the weakest of the weak, damn small fry… I can't even brag to the prez about defeating this kind of opponent.

Makoto: A-Aren't you being pretty cruel!? It's true that I'm the worst at both singing and dancing in Trickstar, but…!

(But to be honest, I'm glad…♪)

(Compared to the other members of fine or someone like Izumi-san or Koga-kun, he's not scary at all!)

(I'm really glad that my opponent is a cute and small kid…!)

Makoto: (With this, I can also bring out everything I have without freaking out!)

(Just watch me, kid! I'll prove that even I can do what I put my mind to, I'm gonna do my best! There's no way I would lose to a child after all ♪)

Tori: You over there, aren't you thinking something really rude? You're way too cheeky, I'll crush you beyond repair, you piece of trash!

Yuzuru: Young Master, we're on stage right now. Please refrain from using any inappropriate language. The people in the audience will be able to hear you, how embarrassing.

Tori: You're so annoying, even though you're just a slave. I'm in a great mood right now, so just shut up ☆

But well, even if the impossible happens and we lose, we've still got the prez.

Whatever happens, he'll be able to turn things in our favor for certain ☆

Those low-classed mountain monkeys won't be able to overthrow our student council's unshakable emperor!

Eichi: Fufu. It's exactly as you say, my cute Tori.

Well then. I'm still a little bit perplexed as of right now, gentlemen of Trickstar. About the fact that we are facing each other on this stage that is.

We might have been able to become friends, why did things turn to this?

Even though we're all students from the same school… or such. Keeping up a pretense like that seems forced I suppose.

To be honest, I've been thinking that this day would come soon.

From the first time I saw you… From the time I witnessed your show-off with AKATSUKI.

You are special, that's why you were able to climb up to this stage. This Eichi Tenshouin will give you his stamp of approval, you guys are the best!

If I were to have your dreams, your drive, I would be able to become even stronger…!

Wonderful! It's an incomparable tribute for the 'Emperor'! I'll make sure to have a good taste of them, of your dreams…♪

Subaru: You won't be able to take it easy for much longer, president. You can't consume all of our dreams! They're enormous, they're limitless!

We'll prove it to you, on this stage!

We're overthrowing you, no, it's a rebellion! From tomorrow onwards, Yumenosaki Academy will be filled with brilliant smiles ☆

Eichi: A rebellion, you say. What are politics, what is a regime? You're making some bold statements for someone who doesn't know of the loneliness of the ones standing at the peak.

Subaru: Ahaha, just saying it doesn't cost anything after all ☆

You really are amazing. You're a genius, the strongest, you're a top idol.

But. No matter how strong your light is, it won't reach down to the earth!

If everyone has the chance to shine, Yumenosaki Academy will become much brighter! No one will have to tremble and freeze due to the cold anymore, because it'll be like the sun has finally risen!

I will make Yumenosaki Academy into a place like that! With this live!

I will win against you and prove it! I've come this far just for that!

(That's right. We've finally made it this far.)

(Hokuto, Makoto, Mao, transfer student! We've made it this far!)

(All that's left is to sing, dance and make a miracle happen ☆)

Eichi: Fine, there's no need to talk any more. Whose ideals are more right… Whose beliefs are stronger? Only God knows.

Let's bring this to a conclusion, Trickstar.

Eichi: Let's begin it, our performance.

Let it resound, our ensemble.

[ ☆ ]

← prev ❖ all ❖ next →