#default mars costume

[firecodex]

Official artwork featuring the Sinnoh chapter of the Villain Arc

Art by katano shibire

[alevolpe]

Do yyour SilMil senshi of the same planet have the same costume or is it somewhat unique every time?

For example if Sailor Mars dies and a new Sailor Mars appears would she have the same costume as the previous one?

Sorta yes.

All the senshi who are extensively part of a team start with a pretty similar set that is inspired loosely by the wear and culture of their time periods and ethinicity (that’s also why I hc the senshi now to start with uniforms similar to their school uniforms).

From there, each senshi has minor variations to their uniforms to aid in their specific powers (kinda like Jupiter has her tiara in the manga). I hc their uniforms slowly changing over time, allowing the wear to “adapt” more to each senshi. The current Mars likes to wear earrings? The uniform will start integrating earrings! As long as those changes don't interfere much with ease of combat and don’t deviate the uniformity of the team too much. Those changes occur mostly in the first years of a senshi life 15-20 years~ after first awaking (remember, my hc senshi all have extended lives by default. A regular senshi can live up anywhere from 700 to 1000 years), after that they will not change anymore. (think of it almost like a “puberty phase” of a senshi, where the sentient, but soulless part of a senshi aka the 'sailor crystal' adapts itself around their current host)

So the base of the Mars uniform during silmil would start pretty similar, small changes from the past uniform could stick around to the new one (but if the current Mars doesn’t like it, they will fade out over time), but they could vary a lot after their “puberty period”, depending on each Mars’ personality, preferences, fighting style, climate, etch..

Although if Mars dies and reincarnates in a VERY different period than the previous Mars, her uniform is going to be in a bit of a “factory reset mode” and redefault back to a uniform design for the whole team with very small variations from senshi to senshi.

In my story I plan to have the girl’s current senshi form to have small touches that call back to their Silmil designs in small ways, the only one I have done tho is Mercury, where she shares her “small cape” as the sailor collar, similar to how Silmil mercury wore it. (Designs are still a WIP)

[six-costume-refs]

if the pandemic never happened, when do you think the broadway costumes and set would've been fully implemented as the standard/in the UK?

Honestly? No idea. At the time Gabriella Slade had said that the changes would be specific to Broadway and not become standardized across casts, but I don't think anyone believed that would be the case forever. Some of the casts had already partially changed over to Broadway, even at the time: many of the Bliss 2.0 costumes were relatively in line with Broadway changes, and some of the UK costumes had been changed over as well. So while the plan at the time may not have been to fully standardize, most details would have eventually come in line. However, to standardize like they have now required a lot of behind-the-scenes coordination. Right up until the Mar 2020 closures Six was going full speed at the wall, with a ton of cast changes and additional new productions planned. The pandemic gave the entire production team a second (or rather, nearly a year and a half's worth of seconds!) to slow down, and the space to work on some of those administrative and coordination details, as well as budgeting and marketing strategies to give themselves the funds to implement the standardization.

So...realistically, I think some costume changes may have been made by the originally-planned fall 2020 cast changes for WE + UKT. I'd expect we would have seen the Broadway Aragon and Howard designs (already in use in some UK and NCL productions by then, and Howard was also in use in Australia); the then-current UK Cleves (non-reveal with an open jacket, versions of which were in use in some of the UK/NCL/Aus productions); and for Boleyn/Seymour, I honestly have no idea what they may have decided on. For full standardization, Cleves reveal and all, I expect it probably would have been another few years - I think a fall 2021 cast change is probably the first time we would have seen that, which is exactly when it wound up being anyway.

It's also worth noting that Six was planning to move theaters, likely at the time of that 2020 cast change. By default they already needed a new, larger set to fit the new stage. Some or all of the set updates likely would have happened then. And the budget increase incurred from moving to a theater with a larger capacity would have influenced eventual costume updates, too.

[baronmpontmercy]

tagged by @asharaks love youuu sorry I procrastinated this for like five days 😭

Alexander time, purely because out of the clowncar of JulesTavs he's got the most actual answers lol

5 songs associated with your oc:

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Halfway - Amélie the Musical

Steer Your Way - Leonard Cohen

The Man With the Child In His Eyes - Kate Bush

Life on Mars? - David Bowie

3 outfits for your oc:

the default, the classic Les Mis Reject Chic. Usually a combination of a white/grey/cream puffy shirt, a black/bluegreen waistcoat, a grey/black sash, checked trousers, and calf length boots. comfy, familiar, fairly low effort, and with just enough of a touch of the slutty and disheveled to make it clear he is Bisexual

current camp clothes. form fitting but comfortable, a little ostentatious but stylish (he did not pick it out for himself he has pretty much no fashion sense), and a nice mix of purples and greenblue because those are His Colours

his magpie-themed masquerade costume, which I need to find an excuse to use in the Bisexual Game verse because I like it

[wordsandrobots]

Not me having to deal with Gjallarhorn’s uniform colour conventions once again.

For the morbidly fascinated:

Grey and white = Mars Branch.

Dark maroon and white = Venus Branch.

Teal and white = The Arianrhod Fleet.

White and teal = The Arianrhod Fleet dress uniform? It literally only shows up once and it’s on a Vidar-style costume so it might be unique.

Blue/green and white = The Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet under Carta.

Cobalt blue and white = The Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet under McGillis.

Light blue and white = default Gjallarhorn forces, appears for both Regulatory Bureau and Inspection Bureau staff.

White and navy = Inspectors; they also get snazzy capes (that might just be because Mackie and Gaelio are Seven Star-adjacent but it’s funnier to think all of the specialist officers in the Inspection Bureau rock up like that)

Navy and white = The Seven Stars; these uniforms are also cut differently

Red and white = oh my gods I don’t know. Literally the only people who wear it in the show are the heads of the Mars Branch but the CrossRays game put the Zalmforts in it, so I’m guessing it’s meant to be the colonial administration uniform? Or the general bureaucratic uniform, since the Zalmforts are in charge of the Ariadne Network at the time.

Divisions we do not have an official uniform for include:

The Jupiter Branch (I assume there is one?)

The pioneer camps on Saturn mentioned in Urdr Hunt (I have questions)

The Police Bureau (could just be blue again, given some of the montage shots we see)

The General Affairs Bureau (if it even has one, since this is basically the accounting division; could be this is what red means?

All of which is to say, I’m writing a scene where officers from all the divisions are meant to be present and I may be ad-libbing a couple of things.

[signalwatch]

Superman and Lois at 85

April 18th marks the 85th anniversary of the release of Action Comics #1.  This comic includes the first published story of Superman and Lois Lane.  

Originally, Superman was imagined as an unstoppable force for good and a champion of the oppressed.  This hasn't fundamentally changed, but the scope and scale at which Superman operates in comics and film has expanded to include liberating whole planets and more nuanced takes on what a man of steel can do and not be painted as a villain by the general public. 

In many ways, Superman is a combination of traits borrowed from existing popular fiction.  Doc Savage had a Fortress of Solitude, The Shadow had dual identities to fight crime, Zorro was out there swashbuckling and in a love triangle of which he was two sides.  John Carter of Mars was an alien on Mars whose origins on Earth made him super-human elsewhere.

In those first issues, by day, Clark Kent was hustling to cover the news and tell people what was up, and by night he was wearing a peculiar costume and righting wrongs despite the bullets, knives and large metal doors intended to stop a body from doing the thing that needed to be done.  

personal space, Clark

From the get-go, there was Lois - a colleague and firebrand unimpressed by Clark Kent and his nebbishy mannerisms, but swooning when this mysterious fellow leaped into action, often between Lois and someone threatened by whatever Lois was up to.  

It took some time for the science-fiction angle, beyond Superman's origin, to work it's way into the comics, but it did, and continues to do so.  Early stories were about slum lords, munitions manufacturers, gangsters and other threats ripped from the headlines.  Pre-WWII, Superman even famously dealt with Hitler.  His radio show took on the KKK.  

Eventually we replaced direct threats of our world with analogs and echoes of our problems.  Despots from nameless Central American nations became despots from distant planets.  Corrupt politicians and businessmen became rolled up in Lex Luthor.  

There's now 85 years worth of Action Comics.  Due to various publishing experiments, we're now on issue 1053 or so of the series instead of 1020.  That's a lot of Action Comics, but it's also just one of the many comics titles Superman has appeared in over the years, including his routinely re-numbered Superman main title.  I'd guess he's been in closer to 10,000 different comics, but that estimate is no doubt low.  That number doesn't include books, magazines, coloring books, etc...  

We've now had innumerable depictions in live-action and animation.  I'm currently a huge fan of Superman and Lois on the CW.  I look forward to James Gunn's coming Superman: Legacy.  My Adventures with Superman is a cartoon coming soon with Lois Lane's perspective as she encounters a young Superman.  DC Animation puts out a new animated Superman movie about every 18 months or so.  They're usually worth a watch on HBOmax.

I wasn't always a Superman guy.  I got into comics as I crossed into middle school, but I was in college before I *got* Superman.*  I've spent the past 25+ years or so collecting, studying and enjoying Superman as a lens into the past 85 years of media, consumerism, pop-culture and more newsworthy history.  But to say that I don't enjoy the visceral thrill of a man of steel who can fly and bend steel in his bare hands would be untrue.  I love all that stuff.  I love Lois Lane as the other central figure in the stories - a mere mortal who is all curiosity, energy and an unflagging sense of justice that both gets her into trouble and exposes the truth.

My own Lois, Jamie, has been incredibly understanding of me building my own Fortress of Solitude, and been, by default, along on this adventure since the beginning (we started dating around the time I was taking an interest in Superman).  I hesitate to think how much Superman trivia she has in her head at this point.  And so Superman has become an odd touchstone of our lives together.  

a recent art print by Julian Totino Tedesco

Over the few decades I've followed The Man of Steel, he's changed costumes, universes, marital status, and more.  But the writers who get him understand the core of who he is.  And who Lois is.  And sooner or later, we return to that baseline, married or pre-marriage.  

Here's to another 85.  May folks still be thrilled and inspired by The Man of Steel and World's Greatest Reporter for decades to come.

   *you can enjoy the edgy stuff, too, but don't write off the core characters of your favorite comics worlds

https://ift.tt/yqbsZfa

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/rxD0TZm

[fumrell]

I'm only on Storm blood and I have 6 glamor plates. The max is 20.

1. Whore (default)

2. Swashbuckler

3. Winter (or, whore with tits covered up)

4. Dancer/Halloween costume

5. The rootinest tootinest cowboy you've ever fucking seen

6. The forgotten member of MAR (my aetherial romance)

I love treating FFXIV like a dress-up game. Especially for RP purposes. Throwing together a waiter fit and I'm STILL slaying

[slythraco]

I love tour work sm! Please could you do a sfw alphabet for Tom?

Author’s note: yeees omg !!! I’ve been waiting for this one ! Turn in up ! 😂 (thank you for your compliment btw, means the world to me ❤️)

Masterlist 

_____________

A = Attraction (how do they show their attracted to you?)

Compliments, a lot of them, all the time. He wants you to feel like the most beautiful thing in the world and it started before you even started dating. He was just so pleased by your smile when he was complimenting you so he never stopped since then.

He also tease you a lot, but it’s never in a rude way, as a genuine funny men it’s really just in his nature to annoy the persons he likes so he always make a little fun of you before making himself apologise to you by complimenting you. It’s his way of having your intention.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/why not?)

It’s a big YES ! You actually talked about it really seriously and considered having a family in a close future. Partly because Tom is already 33 years old so he don’t want to wait to much but also just because he knows you would do an amazing mother at his side.

Not that he wants to put pressure on you but he does talks about it a lot and likes to give slight clues that he wants to make a baby with you really soon. It’s actually a matter of time before you start expanding the family.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

Tom’s favorite activity with you is probably it, he could spend his life cuddling with you. Something he loves to do is laying on the couch, his head on your lap as you play with his hair while you��re watching tv. He easily fall asleep in this position which can’t help but making your heart melt every time.

He also loves to lay in bed with you while you read your favorite book. You’ll have you head on his chest and it will be his turn to play with your hair or caress your skin, never failing to give you goosebumps.

D = Dates (What are dates like with them?)

Really cheesy and romantic, one thing he loves to do is prepare surprise meal so you’ll get back from work and discover the whole house decorated in a romantic ambiance. Candles, roses, warm light and Tom in his best costume. Than you’ll share the meal he either spent the whole day making and almost burn the house at least 3 times or pay someone to do it, but it’s always delicious anyway.

One day he brought you to a fairground and you both went back in childhood for a night it was magical ! One of your best date with Tom.

E = Emotions (Do they express their emotions? If so, how?)

Yes ! Tom is a very emotional person and you’re the only one that even if he wanted to, couldn’t hide they’re feeling. He’s also a really authentic person so if he’s happy he will smile and laugh with you but if he’s sad he won’t be scared to cry if front of you because he feels safe enough around you.

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love)

One day he was just looking at you while you were telling him about your day while cuddling on the couch like you both love to do, and it just hit him, he realised how he loves to just sit and look at your beautiful face. He could listen to your voice for the rest of his life.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

Yes, he’s the most gentle person in the world. Every time he touches you it’s always super soft and loving. He loves to caress your skin and never falling to give you chills down your spine.

He’s also super gentle in his words, he always careful of what he says to not hurt you or say something you could take wrongly.

H = Hands (Do they hold hands? If so, how?)

Yes, all the time, but literally ALL THE TIME. He just need to feel you hand in yours, so outside when you’re walking together he takes you hand, when you’re sitting on the couch, he takes your hand, even in public when there’s paparazzi following you around he takes your hand to make sure everyone knows you’re his.

Btw, Interlacing your fingers together is a must for him.

I = Impression (What was their first impression of you?)

The first thing he noticed about you is your smile, you directly seems like a sympathetic person which he loved. So he had a really good impression of you.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

A little bit, like every relationship there’s always a bit of jealous when a guy compliment you a little too much but he genuinely trust you so you are not the person to make him jealous.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who intiated the first kiss?)

Kissing Tom is always soft, passionate and just full of love. Also, you do it all the time, it’s like he can’t get enough of your lips, he could kiss them for hours if he didn’t need to breath to survive.

He’s the one who kissed you first, he just couldn’t control himself anymore that night so he kissed you in a passionate and hungry kiss and let me tell you, it was the best kiss of your two lives.

L = Love language (What are their love languages?)

Affection, Tom gives you a lot of affection, he wants you to feel loved and appreciated. He likes to cover you with kisses all over your skin, or hug you for hours. He’ll never get enough of feel your body against his.

M = Mornings (Are they a morning person? What are they like in the morning?)

Definitely not a morning person, it takes him ages to wake up, you usually have to return in your room a few times for him to actually wake up. And when he’s up, he’s really grumpy and slow in his movement, it’s funny and cute to see and you love to annoy him in the mornings.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil you? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Yes ! Your smile, is the most precious thing to him and he just love to see it when he buys you something. But, Tom offer gifts pretty rarely, one occasion like your birthday, Valentine’s Day, any important day in your couple and maybe a few times between them. But when he offers something it’s always full of meaning !

Like, one time he bought you a shelf necklace because one day, when you were at the beach without him, you took a shelf and brought it back to offer it to him.

O = Open (Do they say everything about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or overtime?)

Tom is a really open person, very talkative so even before you two were dating he already like to talk about his life considering the fact that he had a pretty crazy one. But it’s was mostly about his work and anecdotes on set etc. When he started catching feeling for you he felt comfortable enough to talk to you about more personal things like his past relationships or the problems he struggled with in the past and he just got you two even more close.

P = Patience (Do they have patience? Are they angered easily?)

Tom is the most patient guy on earth, You often wonder how he puts up with you. He needs a lot to get angry at you or anyone else, this is something you’re really wanting to learn from him.

Q = Quaint (What’s their favorite non modern thing to do?)

Take Polaroid pictures, he has that old camera that he carries everywhere and he takes photos of every moment he feels like to picture. He stock his photos in a little hidden box, sometimes you two like to open it again and just remember memories you made together. The pictures are mostly you and willow or him with you.

Your favorite picture is one you took the first night you slept at his house, you can see the naked man being the goofy Tom he is by walking out of the shower with a “hat” made of bubble from the bath you took together. It was hilarious and you two always laugh when you see the images.

R = Remember (What’s their favorite moment in the relationship?)

The first time you told him: “I love you” ! You said it without even realising it, it truly came from your heart and it surprised the both of us but it was such a important moment for Tom that he will never forget it.

S = Security (How protective are they?)

Tom is really protective, he cares about your security a lot and always gets worried when you’re about to do something dangerous and he only calms down when you’re safe again.

T = Talking (what do they like to talk about?)

Everything and anything as long as it means talking to you but the two subject he could talk for hours are dogs and music. You can sit in front of him and just nod a couple time without even responding and he would go on a full conversation about the different breeds of dogs and how they are amazing. And honestly it’s super cute to look at him all excited and passionate about these two subjects.

U = Ugly (Whats a bad habit of theirs?)

Does Tom even have defaults ? Oh yeah, He loves to devalue himself, for absolutely no reason. This breaks your heart every time and always comfort him so that he can love himself more. He’s so perfect to you that sometimes you don’t understand why he’s so hard on himself.

V = Vaunt (Do they like to show you off?

Yes...all the time, the little smile on his face every time he present you as his girlfriend is just too adorable. Then he would talk to everyone about amazing you are and how lucky he is to have you in his life. He’s just proud of himself and proud of your union.

W = Whole (Do they feel incomplete without you?)

Tom is a different person without you. When he has to leave to a set for a movie he looks a little sad. He misses you every time you’re not together and always count the days before retrieving you.

X = Xylophone (What’s a song that reminds of your guy’s relationship?)

It will rain - Bruno Mars

Z = Zzz (Are they a heavy or a light sleeper ?)

Heavy sleeper for sure, like said before you have to shake him up a few times before he actually make up so yeah. He loud snores can testify it !

[projektimpworld]

[Koikatsu] Azur Lane Crosswave Characters Card Series.

Name : Prinz Eugen

Origin : Azur Lane Crosswave

Allies : Iron Blood, Sakura Empire

Costume : Game Default

Birthday : Unknown, Height : Unknown

Character Build by : Projekt IMP

Build Version : 1.2

Mod by : GaryuX, Tansen

Profile : http://ideafintl.com/azurlane-crosswave/chara/?page=ch20

An Iron Blood elite who knows her way around the advanced technology that her nation has researched. Her aura is seen as mature and alluring. Outside of missions, she is very free willed, making it hard to predict what she may be thinking in any moment. As soon as she engages in battle, however, she annihilates without mercy. It's hard to know why she thinks the way she does. Her older sister, Admiral Hipper, is always on her case. She joins the Joint Military Exercise to oversee Z23 and to ensure that their place in the world will not be marred by whatever is to come.

---------- Card & Mod Pack ----------

►Download : https://projektimp.gumroad.com/l/wbauy

► Store : https://projektimp.gumroad.com/

►Install Note :

~Extract Zip to your game installation folder : X:\Game\Illusion\Koikatsu\(HERE)

► Gumroad download instruction : Put any amount inside "$ box" before check out. Ex : $.0 and click Check Out/I Want This. Fill the email section, and download will start. Click trolley notification and "View content" to get your card.

► Guide and tutorial to download and install : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ubmg-NUPaU

---------- Gameplay Instruction ---------- ► Play Character in story mode : MUST go to "Option" Mischellaneous - Graphic - Show Accessories - Click ALL. ► [Mod] Gamplay mode tested : School Roaming : Outfit  : ❌ Accessories : ✅ ► [Mod Gamplay mode tested : Conversation, H-Scene, Extras (Live & Free H) and Studio : Outfit  : ✅ Accessories : ✅ ► Please have a download Head and No Hair mod (free), all Projekt IMP character is mostly use both of this mod. Free Download : https://projektimp.gumroad.com/l/kopRP

If you have any question, feel free to contacts Projekt IMP social media.

Contact Support : projektimpworld@gmail.com

---------- Social Media ----------

► Pixiv : https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/74997946

► Twitter : https://twitter.com/Projekt_IMP

► FB Page : https://www.facebook.com/projektimp/

► Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/c/ProjektImpWorld

► Deviant Art : deviantart.com/syncvloid

► Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/ProjektIMPworld

Also Available at IG, Pinterest, Tumblr and Pawoo.

Best regards, Projekt IMP 世界

Disclaimer : All character model available at Projekt IMP store are both original or modification by Projekt IMP. Projekt IMP 世界 character card store is ONLY selling base character model, not the mod. Please keep your KK manager updated.

Mod creator will always mentioned at description box. Please do support Mod creator listed in the description for their awesome works. All character created in this channel is a work of  fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters,  businesses, places, events and incidents in this creation are either the  product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

Any  resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is  purely coincidental.

[the-himawari]

A3! Anniversary Event Translation - On the Trajectory to Full Bloom. [Summer] (4/4)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Muku: Uwah… Everyone in the Spring troupe is cool…

Kumon: They were sparkling, and looked like real idols!

Tenma: …

Kumon: Tenma-san? Do you perhaps have a stomachache?

Tenma: No, it’s not like tha—.

Yuki: …Could it be you’re nervous?

Tenma: I’m not!

Misumi: Tenma, you’re fidgeting around~?

Kazunari: Ahaha.

Izumi: —Summer troupe, are you ready?

Kazunari: It’s here! Come on Tenten, do that!

Tenma: I understand! You guys, huddle up!

Misumi: Ye~s!

Muku: Yeah!

Kumon: As expected, group huddles fire us up, huh~!

Tenma: …Ahem. —You guys, make noise and make them laugh with all your hearts!

Summer troupe: Ohh!

Tenma: Alright… Let’s go, Summer troupe! To our fired up summer—!

Summer troupe: OH—!!

-pause-

Izumi: (The Sakura High baseball club that unfortunately lost to a powerhouse school in the third round of the regional tournament… Are having a rematch as a practise match.)

Inoue [Tenma]: “Those guys still haven’t come?”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “They were saying the trains are running late but…”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Geez, at such an important time…”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Ah, they finally came—”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “What’s this? What’s that? What’s everyone doing???”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Kii-chan, an interesting thing is rolling~!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “It really is!”

Santa [Muku]: “Wait, this is strange! There shouldn’t be this kind of location in a place like this. It must be an enemy trap.”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Is what you say, but who’s the enemy?”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Right now we’re still suspended from work, and we’re off duty~.”

Santa [Muku]: “T-That is so but if you’ve noticed, us being in a place like this is strange no matter how you think of it!”

Izumi: (What appeared in the schoolyard, Were ninjas who looked like Uehara, Enomoto, and Ono.)

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Uehara? And that’s Enomoto and Ono, right?”

Inoue [Tenma]: “What’s with their get-up?”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Hurry up and change into your uniforms!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Huh!? Hyuga!?”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Sae and the young master are here~.”

Santa [Muku]: “No, those people are…”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “HURRY UP! The practise match is starting!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Y-yes!?”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “What’s a uniform~???”

-pause-

Izumi: (Kiichi, Yoshimaru and Santa, the three introduce themselves as ninjas of Iga.)

Akiyama [Kumon]: “N-ninjas…?”

Inoue [Tenma]: “Oi, what’s the meaning of this. This practise match isn’t a match we can win by joking around like that.”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “No but, Uehara and them really look like they don’t understand.”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Ha~. Whatever, even if it’s these ninjas, anything is fine. Appear in the practise match for now.”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Washimiya-san, seriously!?”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “It can’t be helped, right? Cause right now there’s no other members.”

Inoue [Tenma]: “That’s a joke, right? There’s no way we can play together with these guys who don’t understand what's going on.” “Our opponent is the regional championship winning school, aren’t they?”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “What are we supposed to do for a practise match?”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “For now, it’s fine if you catch the ball that comes flying.”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Heh~, doesn’t that seem interesting~.”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”

Santa [Muku]: “What are you accepting so quickly, you two!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “That’s right. Generally speaking, there’s no way you can do this so easil—.”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “IT’S FINE, JUST GO!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “—uuh.”

-pause-

Izumi: (So then being full of only anxiety, the practise match starts…)

Umpire: “Play ball!”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Keep your eye on the ball!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “What’s a ball?”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Isn’t it that round sphere~?”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Yosshi, you’re amazin’—!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “Are those guys going to be ok…”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “I-in the meantime, I have to pitch a shutout.”

Inoue [Tenma]: “Our last hope is only you. So I’m counting on you, Akiyama.”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Ughh, somehow this sudden pressure… is making me get a stomachache.”

Batter: “—."

*hits*

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Ah—!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “It came it came it came it came it came it came! Catching this is a good thing!?”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “IT’S FINE, JUST CATCH IT!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Okay~!”

*jumps*

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Woah, he jumped!?”

Inoue [Tenma]: “What was that height just now…”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Heh, he did it.”

Izumi: (Kiichi jumps up high and catches the ball effortlessly… Kazunari-kun’s body seems lighter than usual!)

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “I wanna do it too~! Next time over here, 'kay!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “It’s not that kind of game!”

Batter: “—!”

*hits*

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Ah, it was hit again—!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Yosshi!”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Leave it to me~!”

*jumps around*

Akiyama [Kumon]: “!?”

Inoue [Tenma]: “What was that!? He spun in the air!?”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Ninja…?”

Inoue [Tenma]: “For real…?”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Isn’t it great? Maybe they’ll be useful.”

Izumi: (The Sakura High baseball club blocks the opponent’s batting lineup one after another through the duo’s skills and jumps that surpasses those of human beings.)

-pause-

*jumps around*

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Hiyah!”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Hoi!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Yosshi, as expected!”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “We did it, Kii-chan!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “What was that movement!?”

Izumi: (The ninja group showed a well coordinated play. So now is Sakura High’s attack—)

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Next, it’ll be good if you hit the ball using this stick.”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Hmmm.”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Okay~.”

Santa [Muku]: “Or rather, why are we doing something like this…”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “YES, THERE IT GOES, THERE IT GOES!”

Santa [Muku]: “—.”

-pause-

Umpire: “Strike!”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “As expected, batting is no good after all, huh?”

Inoue [Tenma]: “Isn’t that obvious? Geez, these guys who don’t know baseball appearing in the practise game is too reckless.”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Hmmm, it’s better if I hit that thing?”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Good luck, Kii-chan!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Leave it to me, Yosshi!” “—Hiyah!”

*hits*

Akiyama [Kumon]: “—He hit it!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “What is that form…! It’s weird! Why the heck did he twirl around three times for no reason!”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “But he extended!”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “RUN!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Eh!? To where!?”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Over there! That place with the closest white mark!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “White mark? White mar—… Ah, it’s there!”

Washiyama [Yuki]: “Step there and stand by!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Acknowledged!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “This is nuts…”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Then, I’ll try my best too~.”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Yosshi, good luck—!”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Humhumhu—m!”

*hits*

Akiyama [Kumon]: “It’s a homerun!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? How does it get hit by him just spinning round and round like that!?”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Yosshi, you’re amazin’—!”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “I’ll also run~!”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “Before that, the guy before, step on the white marks in order and make your way back!”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Me? Make my way back while stepping on the marks?”

Washimiya [Yuki]: “THE GUY AFTER TOO, HURRY UP!”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “I don’t really understand this, but run, run~!”

Izumi: (Misumi-kun is in perfect form, and Muku-kun’s movements are good too!) The results of Kazunari-kun’s special training is coming out as well!)

-pause-

Izumi: (The ninja group explodes the batting lineup despite their absurd form, And piles up points by stealing bases with a speed that can’t be seen. And then—)

Umpire: “Game set!”

Inoue [Tenma]: “No way, we really won…”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “That’s a surprise, huh…”

Washiyama [Yuki]: “The ninjas are useful.”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “What, it’s over already?”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “I wanted to play more~.”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “Right! It was fun!”

Santa [Muku]: “How are you two are so easygoing!” “What should we do, going astray in a place that we don’t even understand, And if we’re not able to return home to the village…”

Kiichi [Kazunari]: “It’s fine, we can play baseball forever!”

Yoshimaru [Misumi]: “Yeah, yeah~.”

Washiyama [Yuki]: “If you have no place to go, our baseball club will take you in so don’t worry.”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “Washiyama-san, seriously!?”

Washiyama [Yuki]: “With their physical capabilities, they can aim to go pro too. Koshien is no different.”

Inoue [Tenma]: “You really will use any means necessary, huh?”

-pause-

Izumi: (Akiyama, Inoue and Washiyama suddenly wake up on the bench. The practise match that should’ve been finished hasn’t started yet…)

Enomoto [Kazunari]: “Sorry, I’m late!”

Ono [Muku]: “Huh? You three were sleeping???”

Uehara [Misumi]: “The practise match is already starting though.”

Inoue [Tenma]: “Enomoto, Ono, Uehara…”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “They reverted back…?”

Inoue [Tenma]: “The practise match is also starting now?”

Akiyama [Kumon]: “So everything was a dream…?”

Enomoto [Kazunari]: “What’s wrong, you three? Half asleep?

Washiyama [Yuki]: “What about the ninjas?”

Enomoto [Kazunari]: “Huh????”

Uehara [Misumi]: “Ninjas?”

Washiyama [Yuki]: “...As a punishment for being late, do ninja training.”

Ono [Muku]: “Why!?”

Izumi: (The curtain falls in the middle of this mysterious, half dream-like atmosphere—)

-pause-

Izumi: (Their movements were pretty and their tsukkomi was well executed…! From here on is the revue part where they change costumes!)

-pause-

Tenma: Thank you for coming today for our important fan meeting. In appreciation, us Summer troupe will deliver a new challenge!

Audience member A: Ehh, dance!? Yuki-kun and Muku-kun breakdancing is super unexpected~!

Audience member B: But it was really cool!

Izumi: (Those two, their dancing was in perfect form.) (Yuki-kun was also saying something like “that’s not his character”, But it started looking cool and like it suited him!)

Kazunari: YO! Is it summer?

Audience: Woohoo!

Kazunari: Is it summer?

Audience: Woohoo!

Izumi: (With Kazunari-kun’s call and response, The venue was united! As expected of him.) (This is the climax of the dances they’ve done one at a time in this place that’s become livened up!)

Audience member A: Uwah, Misumi-kun’s movements are too impressive!

Audience member B: As expected of Tenma-kun!

Audience member C: Kumon-kun’s cute as he’s having fun~!

Izumi: (Summer troupe’s breakdancing is lively and powerful…! It’s sharper than in rehearsal!)

Kazunari: Everyone, thank you~!

Yuki: …Thank you.

Misumi: Thank you~!

Muku: Thank you very much!

Kumon: Thanks!

Tenma: Thank you. Summer troupe that’s fired up all year round, from here on as well—.

Summer troupe: Please watch over us!

---

previous |

[mksc77]

Witchy Woman

Sorry this is so late!  I’m going to give it one last proofread/smoothing over tomorrow before I post it on ffnet and ao3, but here’s a preview.  Happy late Halloween, hope y’all like it!  💜

Eleanor is Rusty’s sister--she’s a few weeks away from turning 3 here.

"Here, honey, use the spoon." Sharon placed Eleanor's discarded spoon back in her hand and guided it back into the child-sized pumpkin. She gave Sharon a disbelieving look, dropped her spoon again, and dug back into the pumpkin with both hands. "Honey, no--oh, my god." Sharon gave up when Marie followed suit and started scooping out the pumpkin with her hands. "Hold on, let's get your clothes off so you don't make such a mess." After stripping Eleanor down to her panties and Marie to her diaper, Sharon stood back and let them go nuts.

"Don't worry about it, Mom, we'll just throw them in the bath when we're done," Emily spoke up. "This is probably the fastest way."

"You sure are calm..." Sharon turned around. "Ah, I see why." She took a glass from Emily and sat in one of the porch chairs. Now, this was her idea of a Friday afternoon. When Emily and Emmett didn't have plans, Emily usually showed up with fourteen-month-old Marie soon after her nap, and Emmett would come over after work.

Emily sat in the chair beside Sharon's. "Do you like that? I thought it would be fun to make it for your Halloween party tomorrow night."

Sharon took a long sip from her glass. "That is good. What's in it?"

"Vodka, ginger ale, pineapple juice, and some other stuff."  Emily took a sip of her drink.  "What are you guys going to be?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Andy and Provenza lost a bet with their commanding officer, so she got to pick their costumes. Which also means mine by default."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "It's Emmett's turn to get his way with costumes this year, so we have to do the couples thing. It's so lame."

"Oh, I'm sure Andy was quick to throw me under the bus to avoid something really bad. We have to be Gomez and Morticia Addams, and Louie's Uncle Fester."

"Oh, my god, that's perfect for Provenza!"

"I think that might've been why she chose that for us. Patrice is out of town, but she probably just would've said 'no' if she were given a costume assignment, anyway.  Are you guys taking Marie trick-or-treating?"

"Kind of," Emily answered.  "We're going to dress her up and walk around the neighborhood with our friends, but we're not taking her to houses for candy or anything."  

Sharon winced as Marie's pumpkin-glob-filled hand went over her face and through her hair. "This is tearing my nerves up."

"It was your idea," Emily retorted.

"I know...I just wish we could do it without the mess." Sharon looked up as Rusty stepped onto the back porch. "Hi, honey, did you get much studying done?"

"I wasn't studying, I was getting my outlines and everything ready to study," Rusty corrected her.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh good god. Nerdiness takes on a new dimension."

"The Friday before Halloween is the best day for the library," Rusty continued, ignoring Emily. "Our Halloween party was last night, and that's always the last hurrah before everyone starts to study for exams. There aren't usually many people there on Fridays since only the 1Ls have class, but even a lot of them skipped today. The library was like a ghost town."

"Wusty!" Eleanor exclaimed, reaching a pumpkin-covered hand toward him.

"Hey, Ellie girl!" Rusty kissed the top of her head. "That's all you're getting from me until you don't have pumpkin gunk all over you, sorry." He looked at Sharon. "I didn't think she'd be here yet."

"Your mom had some things to do before going out of town this weekend and asked me if she could drop her off early," Sharon explained.

"All done!" Eleanor announced.

Sharon handed Rusty the cat stencil Eleanor had picked out. "If you'll trace that onto the pumpkin, I'll carve it."

"Deal."

Once the pumpkin was carved, Sharon lit a small candle and placed it inside. Marie squealed and pointed to it. "Ca!"

"When did she start saying 'cat?'" Sharon asked.

"Earlier this week," Emily answered. "It seems like she's saying something new every day."

Andy came home as Sharon and Emily finished cleaning up the pumpkin mess from the porch and the kids. "You're home early," Sharon commented after she kissed him.

"Yeah, we didn't have much going on, and we're due for a case. Hernandez let us go early...I picked up our costumes," Andy grumbled. "I can't believe Provenza and I lost that bet."

"I can't believe you guys thought you could outwit your commanding officer, especially a woman," Sharon shot back.

Andy pulled their costumes out of the bag in his hand. His annoyed expression twisted into a grin as he held up Sharon's long, black, low-cut dress. "Huh, maybe this won't be so bad...I can't wait to see you in this."

Sharon reached for Andy's costume. "Yeah, mine's not bad, but this is terrible...”  She tilted her head up and kissed Andy again. “But I think you can pull it off."

"Ew, you guys, there are kids out here," Rusty whined.

The next afternoon, with the house ready for the party, Sharon sat on the back porch with a glass of wine. Andy joined her soon after, in his ugly striped suit with a scowl on his face. Sharon moved over to make room for him in the chair beside her and couldn't help but laugh. "You laugh, you die," Andy muttered. "She couldn't have at least let me wear the plain black one."

"I think I'll take my chances." Sharon curled up against him, as the late afternoon was starting to get cool. Rusty came outside with Eleanor in his arms, and she struggled to get down. "What an adorable little kitty!" Sharon cooed as Eleanor climbed up in the chair with her and Andy. "I'll do your whiskers and nose after I do Andy's makeup in a little bit."

"What?! I never agreed to makeup!" Andy protested.

"You're going to need a little powder to make your face more pale."

Andy shook his head. "No way."

Sharon shrugged.  "Well, if we're not going for realism, then I'll probably be more comfortable with a camisole under that dress. It's a little low-cut-"

"Okay, okay, do whatever you want to me," Andy quickly amended, leaning more closely to whisper in her ear. "Before and after the party."

"We'll see, Casanova."

A little while later, Sharon was dressed and putting the finishing touches on her makeup, humming along to her phone as she applied gray eye shadow and red lipstick.

She held me spellbound in the night Dancing shadows and firelight Crazy laughter in another room And she drove herself to madness with a silver spoon

Woo hoo, witchy woman See how high she flies Woo hoo, witchy woman She got the moon in her eye

Well, I know you want a lover Let me tell you, brother She's been sleeping in the devil's bed And there's some rumors going round, someone's underground

She can rock you in the night-time 'til your skin turns red...

"Tell me about it," Andy commented, nodding at Sharon's phone as he entered the dressing area right outside of their bathroom.

Sharon rolled her eyes and stood up. "Sit."

Andy gave her a suffering look as he sat down. "I can't believe I agreed to this." He eyed Sharon, liking how she looked in the fitted, low-cut black dress.  “Seeing you in that is the only thing getting me through tonight.”

"Relax, Andy, it's Halloween!" Sharon got a makeup brush and held her hand under his chin while she brushed powder over his face. Andy started to stand up when she closed the clasp, but she placed her hand against his chest and nudged him back down. "Hold on, I'm not finished."

"Not finished?! What else—"

"Just a minute." Sharon dipped an eye shadow brush into one of her palates and lightly brushed it under his eyes. "Now, a little lipstick—"

"Absolutely not. I draw the line there." Andy put his hand between his legs for a moment. "Just making sure my penis is still there."

"Oh, it is, I can assure you." Sharon put her hands on Andy's cheeks and kissed him before applying the mustache that had come with the costume. "For the love of god, don't ever grow a mustache."

Andy turned to look in the mirror. "I don't know, I think I could pull this off! What do the kids call it, 'no-shave November?' Maybe I'll try it next month."

"If you participate in 'no-shave November,' then so am I," Sharon cautioned.

"Never mind," Andy said hastily. "I mean, not that you have to—not that I expect you to—" he sputtered.

"I know, honey, I'm kidding. You're so cute when you stick your foot in your mouth." Sharon scooped up Eleanor as she scampered in, wearing a black leotard and leggings. "All right, kitty cat, let's get you fixed up." She held Eleanor's face still as she carefully applied whiskers and blackened in the tip of her nose with her eyeliner pen. "Try not to touch your face for a few minutes, okay?" Sharon lowered Eleanor to the floor and walked toward the kitchen when she heard the alarm system beep a couple of times, meaning that a door had been opened. "I bet Marie's here!" The sound of little feet answered her before she was even in the kitchen. "Hey, my little pumpkin! Where's your costume?"

"It would've been a nightmare in her car seat," Emmett answered.

Sharon wrinkled her nose as she lifted Marie into her arms. "Ugh, she's ripe, all right."

"Yeah, she was working on that in the car." Emmett got the diaper bag and took Marie from Sharon. "Let's go get you changed."

"No!" Marie protested as Emmett carried her out of the room.

"She's getting such an attitude," Emily commented. "When did my favorite word stop being 'no?'"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "I'll let you know when we get there."

"Ha, ha." Emily got a couple of martini glasses out of a cabinet. "Witches' Brew?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Eleanor ran up to Emily to show off her costume. "Look, Emmy!"

Emily smiled and picked her up. "You are the cutest little kitty I've ever seen!" She put Eleanor down and went back to making their drinks. "I brought some dry ice to make them steam later. They'll go perfectly with your costume."

Emmett came back in with Marie dressed in her pumpkin costume, and she grinned and reached for Sharon, who happily took her from him.  "Look at my sweet girl!  You're adorable," she cooed.

Provenza arrived not much later, huffing and grumbling in his Uncle Fester costume. "I can't believe I have to do this. Flynn, I blame you entirely."

Andy rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."

Captain Hernandez wasn't far behind him with her sons, and she broke into a laugh when she saw Andy and Provenza. "This is even better than I thought."

"I'm glad someone's enjoying this," Provenza muttered.

"This could've all been avoided if you had just admitted I was right to begin with," Elisa reminded him.

"Ye gods, we will never live this down," Provenza grumbled.

"No, you won't," Andrea agreed, as she had just arrived.  She snapped a photo of Andy and Provenza standing next to each other, looking equally disgruntled. "Perfect. I'm sure Elisa can find the perfect place to put this to remind you of your stupidity."

"Ahh, I like the way you think," Elisa replied. "I hadn't even thought of that."

"That's what I'm here for." Andrea looked around. "I heard something about Witches' Brew?"

Before long, the party was in full swing. It was an eclectic mix of personal and LAPD friends and some of their children. Sharon found herself watching Julio with the divorced daughter of one of her friends, and she didn't realize how obviously she was staring until Andrea appeared beside her. "Playing matchmaker?"

Sharon jumped. "What? No! I mean, they seemed to hit it off at our Labor Day party, so I didn't think it would hurt to give them another chance to meet."

"Uh-huh."

A little while later, Andy finished getting ready for bed and climbed in beside Sharon. She couldn't keep her eyes open and was falling asleep. "Nooooo, don't fall asleep! What happened to-"

"Mmm, Morticia's sleepy," Sharon murmured. "Rain check?"

"You drive a hard bargain, Morticia." Andy kissed her forehead and curled up beside her.

Early on Halloween evening, Sharon sat on the front porch with a few friends from her old neighborhood.  Andy had been rolled out on Sunday and would probably be late getting home, so she'd invited them over for the evening.

"Halloween with no kids. The best kind," Janet commented.

"I know, right? Who needs more wine?" Sharon asked. When their children were growing up, they'd had a tradition of pizza and cocktails before taking their kids trick-or-treating as a group. They would always reconvene at Sharon's afterward to keep the party going, and one by one the dads would take their children home for bed. That was always another tradition--Halloween was theirs, and they were recreating it tonight.  

The temperature dropped as the sun went down, so Sharon went inside for a thicker cardigan and another bottle of wine.  They talked and listened to music on the front porch, passing out candy as trick-or-treaters steadily arrived.  She watched as families walked around the neighborhood, some in groups, and some by themselves, but almost all with cups in their hands of beverages that were most likely of the alcoholic variety.  Some things never change.  

Sharon was surprised when Andy pulled into the driveway a couple of hours later.  She wasn't expecting him home until late, if even at all.  He went into the house from the garage, so she met him in the kitchen.  "You're home early."

"Yeah, we wrapped the case."  Andy looked through the refrigerator for something to warm up for dinner.  He just wanted to go to bed after a long week, but he had something else on his mind first.  "I was, uh, kind of hoping to phone in my rain check," he murmured, pressing his lips to her neck.  He started to pull away from her, but an intoxicating scent drew him back.  "New soap?"  He could also smell her perfume, so it wasn't that.  

"Yeah.  Rosewater.  You like it?"

"You have no idea..."  Andy inhaled again, unable to pull himself away from her.

Sharon leaned back and gently pushed his face away from her.  "They'll be gone soon, and then I'm all yours."

"I'm holding you to that."  Andy went outside to say hello before getting dinner for himself.  True to Sharon's word, her friends were gone soon, and he was quick to take advantage.  He was waiting for her at the door as soon as he heard them leaving.  "Trick or treat?" he mumbled into her neck.

Sharon took his hand and led him toward their bedroom.  "Surprise me."

[kmalexander]

My Reading List for 2019

The next decade looms. But for now, it’s time for reflection. It’s been an exciting year full of amazing experiences. Plus, I did a ton of reading! So, as I do every year, I’ve compiled a list of the books I’ve read over the last three hundred and sixty-five days, and I’m here to share them with you all.

Overall, I’m thrilled with my reading for the year. It contained several firsts for me. I read a plethora of great books—my most in a single year. (Forty-seven!) I Did-Not-Finish’d my first book ever. (It’ll remain nameless.) I quit listening to the news/sports during my commute and have now switched over to audiobooks one hundred percent of the time. (Those are labeled with the emoji.) I beta-read three upcoming novels—my most in a single year. And, on top of all of that, I managed to read a bunch of great short stories and got to spend more time reading graphic novels as well. So yeah—it’s been a great year of reading.

This list correlates with my Goodreads 2019 Reading Challenge but always includes a few extra since Goodreads doesn’t let me count beta reading and I don’t list comics or short stories over there. Remember, this is all strictly reading for pleasure—I typically forgo listing any research/history books. Since this list is always enormous, l skip reviews except for my top three in each category. However, I’d invite you to follow me on Goodreads, where I do occasionally leave other reviews.

As before, all links will go to Amazon through my affiliate account by default. If one of these books sounds interesting to you, I’d encourage you to skip Amazon and instead visit your local independent bookstore and purchase through them. It’s essential for your local economy to buy local whenever you’re able, and always good to build a relationship with your local indie bookshop.

Okay, to the list!

Novels

Tomorrow’s Shepherd (The Verdant Revival #2) by Michael Ripplinger

Beta Reading (Fantasy) by REDACTED

Promise of Blood (Powder Mage #1) …again  by Brian McClellan

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Authority: A Novel (The Southern Reach #2)   by Jeff VanderMeer

The Traitor Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade #1) by Seth Dickinson

‘Salem’s Lot   by Stephen King

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Nine Princes in Amber (The Chronicles of Amber #1)  by Roger Zelazny

The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1) by Bernard Cornwell

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark

Beta Reading (Sci-Fi) by REDACTED

The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote

Butcher Bird …again. by Richard Kadrey

House of Furies by Madeleine Roux

A. Grimsbro, Warlord of Mars (Futhermucking Classics #2) by Matt Youngmark

I Am Providence by Nick Mamatas

The Compleat Crow by Brian Lumley

Orconomics: A Satire (The Dark Profit Saga #1) by J. Zachary Pike

Beta Reading (Fantasy) by REDACTED

Four Roads Cross (The Craft Sequence #5) by Max Gladstone

The Reality Dysfunction (Night’s Dawn #1) …again  by Peter F. Hamilton

The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

Vermilion by Molly Tanzer

The Terror  by Dan Simmons

The City of Brass: A Novel (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) by S. A. Chakraborty

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

The Warehouse by Rob Hart

It: A Novel  by Stephen King

City of Blades (Divine Cities #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson

Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) …again by George R. R. Martin

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) by Seanan McGuire

Carry On (Simon Snow #1) by Rainbow Rowell

Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles #1)  by Anne Rice

Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse #3) by James S.A. Corey

Imago (Xenogenesis #3) by Octavia E. Butler

Punktown (Punktown) by Jeffrey Thomas

A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs

Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon #1) …again  by China Miéville

Uncanny Collateral (Valkyrie Collections #1) by Brian McClellan

United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) …again by George R. R. Martin

Grass (Arbai #1) by Sheri S. Tepper

 Favorite Novel of 2019

A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs

The Sea Dreams It Is The Sky was one of my favorite books last year, and when paired with its counterpart, My Heart Struck Sorrow, the two quickly merged to become my favorite book of the year. Connected via theme (and set in the same world), both novellas tell intense stories within stories unsettling accounts of humanity and history, obsession and turmoil. This is the new weird at its most exquisite. As unsettling throughout as it is enthralling. Phenomenal.

Favorite Novel Runners-up of 2019

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Jones is a modern master of horror and always approaches the genre in unique ways; Mapping the Interior is no exception. Told from 12-year old Junior’s perspective, the story is one part family-struggle and one part ghost-story all woven with a heartfelt earnestness that’s easy to believe and hard to shake. It’s a book about childhood, family, heritage, legacy, and the cost and ramifications of all four. The ending devastated me.

The Terror by Dan Simmons

At first glance, this would appear to be a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin’s lost 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage. But there is more to this than historical account—much of this book delves into the psyche of survival while interspersing elements of the thriller and horror genres to weave an extraordinary and sometimes supernatural tale—Darkly disturbing, severely bleak, and utterly unforgettable.

 Honorable Mentions of 2019

As I did last year, I wanted to highlight a few other books. These honorable mentions are books that resonated with me long after I had finished them, and they deserve a callout. In no particular order…

The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey A diesel-punk reflection on the ramifications of war. Kadrey’s best work.

Abaddon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey The 3rd entry in the incredible Expanse series.

Tomorrow’s Shepherd by Michael Ripplinger Giant machines and power armor continue the battle for Verge.

Punktown by Jeffrey Thomas New weird sci-fi anthology about the citizens living in a city on the frontier.

It: A Novel by Stephen King Um, it’s It. And It is so very, very good. Except for that one weird scene.

The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote Detailed history of military campaigns during the first third of the American Civil War.

Short Stories

Ours by Randy Ribay

The Farm by Charlie Jane Anders

A Catalog of Storms by Fran Wilde

Bull Riding by Richard Kadrey

13 Ways of Destroying a Painting by Amber Sparks

Hell is a Parade by Nathan Crowder

Artificials Should Be Allowed to Worship by Steven James

The Three Stigmata of Peter Thiel by Brendan C. Byrne

Space Angel (Denim Superheroes) by Lee French

Beta Reading (Horror) by REDACTED

A Study in Emerald …again by Neil Gaiman

Beneath Their Hooves by Katharine Duckett

Favorite Short Stories of 2019

The Farm by Charlie Jane Anders

A short yet striking tale of a terrifying future that cuts too close to home. A reporter named Roy struggles to maintain his journalistic integrity while trying to keep advertisers happy. Anders is a great writer, and her tight prose works wonders here. The best short stories can alter how one views the world and as I watched the news cycle play out throughout the year, The Farm was never far from my mind.

 Favorite Short Story Runners-up

Hell is a Parade by Nathan Crowder

A violent little story of a parade that quickly shifts into a scene of horror as one young woman allows obsession to send her down a dark path. The descriptions are wonderful, the emotions hot and raw, and the parade personified as a living beast whose glamor corrupts as much as it enthralls. A wickedly subversive warning on the dangers and ramifications inherent within vengeance.

Artificial Should Be Allowed to Worship by Steven James

My favorite short stories dress modern struggles in fictional costume—Star Trek excelled at this—and this piece continues that tradition. Written as an op-ed, the piece pleads with the reader to understand and empathize with artificial individuals seeking a place to worship. The set dressing might be different, the plight fictional, but one can’t miss the echoes from the modern efforts towards equality.

 Graphic Novels

Monstress Vol. 1 by Marjorie Liu (Author), Sana Takeda (Artist)

Saga Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan (Author), Fiona Staples (Artist)

Paper Girls: Book One by Brian K. Vaughan (Author), Cliff Chiang (Cover Art, Artist), Matthew Wilson (Artist)

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 1 by Kaiu Shirai (Author), Posuka Demizu (Illustrator)

Die, Vol 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen (Author), Stephanie Hans (Artist)

Blackbird Vol. 1 by Sam Humphries (Author), Jen Bartel (Artist)

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (Author & Artist)

Gideon Falls Vol. 1: The Black Barn by Jeff Lemire  (Author), Andrea Sorrentino (Artist), Dave Stewart (Artist)

Gideon Falls Vol. 2: Original Sin by Jeff Lemire  (Author), Andrea Sorrentino (Artist), Dave Stewart (Artist)

Uzumaki by Junji Ito (Author & Artist)

Trees Vol 2. by Warren Ellis (Author), Jason Howard (Artist)

Gideon Falls Vol. 3: Stations of the Cross by Jeff Lemire (Author), Andrea Sorrentino (Artist), Dave Stewart (Artist)

Death or Glory Vol. 1: She’s Got You by Rick Remender (Author), Bengal (Artist)

 Favorite Graphic Novel of 2017:

Uzumaki by Junji Ito

Kurôzu-cho is a coastal town haunted by uzumaki—spiral patterns that infest everything, distorting the village and its inhabitants. Everything starts simple enough, but as the chapters breeze past the effects of the uzumaki becomes more and more profound. With engaging characters and an incredible premise, this is quite easily one of the great horror comics ever written.

 Favorite Graphic Novel Runners-up of 2017:

Gideon Falls by Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, Dave Stewart

This nearly took the top spot from me, and for a good reason; it’s an amazingly told tale. A young man becomes obsessed with a conspiracy theory found in a city’s trash, and elsewhere a priest becomes entwined in the rural legend of The Black Barn—a strange building that appears at random throughout history, leaving death in its wake. And then things get really weird…

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

This creepy anthology horror collection was one of my favorites. It’s not “scary” in the traditional sense we Westerners expect; instead, there’s a folklorish creepiness to the tales therein. More Poe than Barker. Plus, the visuals that accompanied those spooky accounts only enhanced each tale. I read it cover to cover on a foggy October morning, and it remains a memorable and unforgettable read.

So, there is my list! A lot of reading in a variety of places I didn’t make time for last year. It was good to get back into comics and to start reading short stories. I’m considering adding a poetry section next year as well, but we’ll see. If anything suffered from this, it was my television and game systems, they’ve been lonely, but I’ve felt a lot more fulfilled with the fiction I’ve devoured. Fiction is the perfect way to step into the shoes of someone else and discover new points of view. So thanks, 2019—it’s been a fantastic year in reading. Here’s to more in 2020!

Are you looking for a good book? Want to see my reading lists from previous years? Check any of the links below and see what I was reading in the bygone halcyon days of old.

• 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 •

Next year, why not join me? Goodreads does a reading challenge every year, and I am an active participant. First, follow me on Goodreads (leave me a review while you’re there), and once the New Year arrives, participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2020.

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to make sure it’s not spammy and full of interesting and relevant information.  SIGN UP TODAY →

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2ZABFVO via IFTTT

[theonyxpath]

Next week, we’ll be starting our Kickstarter for the Contagion Chronicle, which is a crossover chronicle featuring all of the game lines for Chronicles of Darkness.

Like all of our Kickstarter campaigns, you’ll be hearing a lot about this in the weeks to come, so I figured that this week, I’ll just go a little into how we came up with the idea to begin with.

We have received, over the years, many requests for crossover rules for the Chronicles of Darkness. Which makes sense, as CofD, unlike its predecessor, the World of Darkness, was created with the idea that all the game lines would have a similar, if not the same, rules set.

I’m not talking about the Storyteller and Storytelling Systems which are the rules for rolling dice, but the individual game line rules sets, like Disciplines, Gifts, cosmology, those sorts of things.

Book of Oblivion illustrated by Drew Tucker

With folks asking for crossover rules and tips, I suggested to our crew here that a crossover book would be something that could also be really helpful in providing new content for game lines that we were putting out less projects for that year.

Pretty much the same thinking as the Dark Eras books.

I wound up talking with Matthew Dawkins at the Vampire convention in New Orleans – the same one where we agreed on the deal for They Came From Beneath the Sea! – and he made the point that a whoppin’ book of pure rules with a bit of advice wouldn’t necessarily be as much fun as a crossover book that featured a setting where those rules and that advice could be seen in action.

This tied in with my thinking on adding default Chronicles to each of the 2nd Edition CofD lines: provide an example that people could either use wholecloth or could take pieces of or just be inspired by for their own Chronicles.

Fun to read, and examples of how a Chronicle could work. So this crossover Chronicle would be the prime example of how to use all the various supernatural character types and their cultures in one big setting match up, usable as written and usable as examples and overall, no matter what, fun to read.

Shunned By The Moon illustration by Brian LeBlanc

Matthew went off and came up with an external threat; something not featured in any of our previous material, but which could be part of any of our CofD game lines. Something that threatened the supernatural world so much that the various denizens would have reasons to ally themselves – no matter how treacherously – to deal with it. And so the Contagion was born.

We’ll bring you more concrete info on the Contagion Chronicle next week; I’m hoping to sit down with Matthew and chat a bit on the highlights of the project, and share that info with you. Meanwhile, here’s the link to the character creation sessions he has been recording (this link is also in a couple of other places on the blog today so you don’t accidentally miss it): https://youtu.be/dFMjit-YTwQ

We’re all really excited by this project as we’ve never really done anything like this before. It’s a discrete Chronicle, but it’s appropriate for all of our CofD game lines, and as a way to illustrate how something can be built that encompasses all of a setting no matter how disjointed, I think it will be handy for other game settings as well.

Signs of Sorcery illustration by Michael Gaydos

I also want to call out last Friday’s Onyx Pathcast where the Titanic Trio take turns “selling” different game lines of ours. It is probably the most energized and fun recording that they’ve done. Something about the timed, short, pitches just seems to bring out the best in the three of them.

In order, these are the ones they hit:

Dixie: Exalted Third Edition

Eddy: Legendlore

Matthew: Promethean: The Created Second Edition

Dixie: Cavaliers of Mars

Eddy: Pugmire

Matthew: Werewolf: The Forsaken Second Edition

Dixie: Geist: The Sin-Eaters Second Edition

Eddy: Trinity Continuum

Matthew: Demon: The Descent

Dixie: Scion Second Edition

So even if you just want to be sold on one line you haven’t been sure about, or that you were curious about, or even if you already love the game but want to hear their take on it, it’s easy to go back and forth until you get to it. Link is here and below in the BLURBS! section: https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

I really like the selection they chose for this batch of pitches, many of which were suggested by our community, and I think it’d be great if they did more in another episode or two. After all, we have:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Next week on Tuesday March 26th, we will be starting the Contagion Chronicle Kickstarter at 2pm Eastern US time!

Matthew Dawkins has also started running the Contagion Chronicle for some of the members of his Discord, via Google Hangouts! Follow along to get some sneak peeks of the content coming up in the Contagion Chronicle Kickstarter: https://youtu.be/dFMjit-YTwQ

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Illustration by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast is an interview with a writer for many, many of our projects and now a first-time developer Chris Allen! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

This week in Onyx Path News with the ever-present Gentleman Gamer, Matthew Dawkins! https://youtu.be/zFTknuOdHGk

If YOU have a podcast, YouTube or Twitch channel, or talk about games on a blog or other website, and want to perform actual plays or make reviews of our games, please reach out to the Gentleman Gamer on the Onyx Path forum. From there we’ll share emails and get you started, so when you do start producing content we’ll be able to promote it on our blog and YouTube channel!

We’re closing in on the conclusion of Red Moon Roleplaying‘s They Came from Beneath the Sea! actual play! Here’s the most recent episode: https://youtu.be/CeFYwRLtXQk

Matthew Dawkins has also started running the Contagion Chronicle for some of the members of his Discord, via Google Hangouts! Follow along to get some sneak peeks of the content coming up in the Contagion Chronicle Kickstarter: https://youtu.be/dFMjit-YTwQ

We’d be fools not to promote the excellent Devil’s Luck Gaming, as they’ve reached episode four of their Scarred Lands actual play: https://www.twitch.tv/DEVILSLUCKGAMING Their costumes really add to the roleplay!

The Story Told Podcast comes at us with two pieces of media this week! The first is their Wraith: The Oblivion Actual Play here: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-22-wraith-the-oblivion-actual-play and the second is their Exalted: Dragon-Blooded actual play here: https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-episode-1-session-0

Don’t forget to get in touch with any of your actual plays, interviews, and reviews of our games! We’re always happy to promote them.

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here’s an update from the App devs:

Onyx Dice!  We’ve recently released the Changeling: The Lost, Trinity Continuum: Aeon dice, and now the Geist dice.  Next up on our radar is: Demon: The Fallen,  Mummy: The Resurrection,  Kindred of the East, Vampire Dark Ages, and Mummy: The Curse.

We have a serious issue on the Pixel and Motorola phones that prevent the user from using the app correctly.  A fix is coming shortly.  A temporary workaround is to minimize the app without shutting it down, and then restore it.

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can now order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

And available this week! Deluxe Changeling: The Dreaming and Deluxe Beckett’s Jyhad Diary! The additional books we have after the Kickstarter ship-outs are done are now at IPR!

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, we’re yipping and purring to offer the Roll of Good Dogs and Excellent Cats, characters for Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau, in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DTRPG!

CONVENTIONS

UK Games Expo: May 31st – June 2nd Gen Con: August 1st – August 4th Save Against Fear: Oct 12-14 GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd We’ll also be back at PAX Unplugged later this year.

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Blood Sea Guides for 5e (Scarred Lands)

Redlines

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Let The Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Development

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Manuscript Approval:

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Editing:

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Scion Jumpstart (Scion 2nd Edition)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Post-Editing Development:

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

C20 Novel: Cup of Dreams (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Indexing:

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Ex3 Monthly Stuff  

Chicago By Night

Aeon Aexpansion

They Came From Beneath the Sea!

EX3 Lunars

Hunter: The Vigil 2

Shunned By the Moon – Final finals coming in.

Contagion Chronicle – AD’d for KS.

Scion Jumpstart

VtR Spilled Blood – Going over notes.

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

Dystopia Rising: Evolution

Book of Oblivion 

Signs of Sorcery

Proofing

M20: Gods and Monsters – PoD proof ordered.

Adventures for Curious Cats – Waiting on maps.

Trinity Core – Page XXing.

Trinity Aeon – Putting in Mind Meld changes.

Ex3 Dragon Blooded – PoD proofs ordered.

Geist 2e – 2nd Proof.

C20 Player’s Guide – 2nd Proof

In Media Res – Inputting proof corrections.

The Realm – Art is arting, book is proofing.

At Press

Scion Hero – Printing. PoD proof ordered.

Scion Origin – Printing. PoD proof ordered.

Scion Dice – At Studio2.

Scion Screen – At Studio2.

Fetch Quest – At Studio2 prepping for shipping.

Pugmire Roll of Good Dogs and Cats – PDF and PoD versions on sale this Wednesday!

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: 

St. Patty’s Day or St. Paddy’s Day! Either way, we just had it Sunday, and while my celebration mostly takes the form of corned beef, cabbage, and green-dyed Birch Beer these days, once upon a time it was the old White Wolf tradition to meet for brunch and line up at the local Irish Pub to get in there as they opened and spend the rest of the day there drinking (or not) and having fun. It was a grand tradition of fellowship, and so here’s to the old gang!

[mikucollemmc]

[Info] Ver. 3.0.0 Update Contents

New Main Visual Illustrated by 7:24!!

This new main visual will also be used on the title screen!

Normal Quests Renewed! Help residents of each planet because the sound has gotten strange!

Tapping the icons on the map will now reveal detailed information about each quest!

To proceed onto the next quest, you must collect all the magical notes!

Collect all the magical notes to progress through the quest, with a arrow lighting up indicating progress. Once all are lit up, the next area will open up!

NPC characters may appear during quests to give you hints

*The music of each planet will gradually come back together as you progress through the story. *All BGMs prior to the renewal can still be used in BGM settings.

Powerup cards even further with Scores! Power up your favorite cards even further with Song, Defense, and Life scores! 

Using a score will increase the stats of a card by 10. Each stat can be increased by 1000, meaning 100 scores of a particular stat will need to be used (a grand total of 300 scores).  A cap on how many scores you can use is in place depending on the current rank (no. of limit breaks) of the card.

No. of Limit Breaks - Max no. of Scores per stat - Max stat increase Limit Break 0 - +20 - +200 per stat Limit Break 1 - +40 - +400 per stat Limit Break 2 - +60 - +600 per stat Limit Break 3 - +80 - +800 per stat Limit Break 4 - +100 - +1000 per stat

Using scores will require you to go to the Power-up screen like usual and selecting the strengthening tab and choosing the scores you’d like to use. You can also check the number of scores you own in the items menu under the normal tab.

All characters are unlocked! Clearing the tutorial will unlock all characters, if you haven’t done so already!

All Music Note Are Now Items

No longer will they take up space in your card inventory!

Daily Quest Renewal Daily quests can now only be done twice per day! Two new difficulties have been added, Super Hard and Expert! Difficulty - Stamina Easy - 4 Normal - 8 Hard - 12 S. Hard - 20 Expert - 24

Day of Week - Quest [Attribute] Monday - Scissors [Mars] Tuesday - Thread [Mercury] Wednesday - Dark Stone [Jupiter] Thursday - Light Stone [Mars] Friday - Soul [Mercury] Saturday - GP [Jupiter] Sunday - Experience [Sun/Moon] *Daily quests, Mysterious Space X, Totem Pole & Haniwa Forest, Night Guitar, Sky School, Luka and the Sweets World have closed.

Obtain Stamina Recovery Items via Daily Missions These will recover 100 stamina. You can obtain these by logging in during specific times of the day.

6:00 ~ 4:00 the following day 12:00 ~ 4:00 the following day 18:00 ~ 4:00 the following day *All times are JST.

Up to 300 stamina can be recovered! *Max stamina is 999. You can’t recover beyond this point.

Damage calculation changes! Hey that Defense stat really makes a difference now. If the attacker’s Singing Power is lower than the defender’s Defense stat, the attacker may not take any damage at all! Use this to your advantage! *Card skills, magical skills, and enemy skills that uses Singing Power as their basis are affected by this change and, as a result, damage may not be inflicted.

Login bonus changes! Scores are added

Login Bonus Sheet B (accessed by logging in consecutively for at least 8 days straight) can now obtain scores on the 1st, 4th, and 7th day

Login bonus sheet A does not have this.

Changes to avatars

Slight changes are being made. Currently only the default costumes are affected and the change will only take place if both the default costume and hairstyle are used. Using one or the other will revert to the previous version. Information about other costumes will be notified at a later date.

[lalka-laski]

What was the last TV show you binge watched? The Haunting of Hill House

Would you rather eat burgers or tacos? I love 'em both (veggie, of course!) but if you tied me down I think I'd choose tacos.

Have you ever taken a first aid course? The Red Cross babysitting one, if that counts?

Did your mother change her maiden name when/if she got marred? She did, and she offered me some really great advice when I was struggling about my own decision to take Glenn's.

What was the last job you applied for? Did you get the job? The one I'm at currently, so does that answer your question?

Do you use TikTok? I created an account just to to view/support my friend's craft business. Otherwise I just see Tiktoks secondhand on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.

Did you participate in any extracurricular activities when you were a kid? Girl scouts, soccer & track (if you know me, these are comical), and various writing and art camps/clubs/programs.

If you were given the chance to relocate for work, would you do it? Working from home might be nice

What decorations do you have in your bathroom? A framed picture that says "I hope you feel beautiful today"

What was the last thing you cooked in an oven? A funfetti cake!

Describe your favorite coat or jacket. It's pink (of course), and sort of peacoat style. It makes me feel like Elle Woods!

Do you like Seinfeld? Nah I was never really into it

Have you ever lost something really meaningful? Yes

What’s something you could teach a class in? I'm not so sure, actually. Not to say I don't have skills but I'm not good at explaining them.

What do you look forward to the most at Christmas/holidays? Just the cozy, magical feeling and all the nostalgia that comes with it!

How do you like your coffee? Usually black but I'll take a splash of cream now and then

What year was your favorite band formed? I don't feel like looking it up but it was early 2000's.

What’s your least favorite pizza topping? I guess any kind of meat, by default.

What does your shampoo smell like? It smells like my mom's salon growing up which gives me wonderful nostalgia. It's one of the main reasons I use it actually.

How old were you when you learned how to drive? I never did lol

Are you in a relationship? How’s it going? Yes and it's the absolutely one of the best things that's ever happened to me.

What grocery store do you shop at most often? Wegmans but I'm TRYING to shop at Aldi more. It's just silly not to!

What percentage battery is your phone on right now? I wish I knew. I stupidly left my phone at home this morning.

What’s the best way to spend a rainy afternoon? Reading a book or marathoning a TV show (with the windows open, of course!)

Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Did you like it? Never have & never would, ya nasties.

Are you closer to your mother or father? I have a great relationship with both of them actually. I confide more in my mother just because we're both women & can therefore relate more, but my dad and I have tons of inside jokes.

What do you wish didn’t exist? This motherfucking sore on my mouth that's causing me intense pain!!

Do you own any costumes? Mhm

Is your bedroom clean or messy right now? Clean, always.

What’s your favorite fruit? Strawberries, blackberries or peaches.

[junker-town]

The Super Bowl halftime backlash says more about the complainers than the performers

You always have the power to change the channel.

On Super Bowl Sunday, a nation of sweet, innocent children gathered around their televisions to celebrate the wholesome tradition of grown men risking permanent brain damage in the name of sports. What should have been a respectable evening of family-friendly violence was soon marred by something so crude and disgusting it inflicted irreparable damage on the game’s youngest, most vulnerable viewers:

The Super Bowl halftime show.

Open up your jewelry box and grab a necklace because it’s time to clutch some pearls.

Not long after Shakira and Jennifer Lopez took the stage Sunday came a predictable flood of online outrage about how two pop stars who had been singing and dancing in flashy costumes for a combined 49 years were suddenly deemed too risque for television.

Florida columnist Gil Smart called the halftime show “obscene” because it featured two famous women gyrating rhythmically to music — an act commonly referred to as “dancing” — in an off-putting display that was entirely too inappropriate for the writer’s young child.

“We let my 9-year-old son stay up and watch, thinking — hey, it’s the Super Bowl, so long as we’re not talking another Janet Jackson ‘wardrobe malfunction,’ how bad can it be?

Less than a third of the way through my wife started saying, ‘Ummmm ...’

Call it educational programming, I guess.”

The natural conclusion here is that two grown women performing their hits as a nod to their success and respective cultures is not only a sin, but far more harmful to children than watching men playing an inherently violent sport. Football players destroying themselves on a field is appropriate viewing for a kid because at least their bodies are covered in fabric, whereas two grown women performing in a manner replicated in music videos and on award shows for decades is not.

Given its history, the Super Bowl halftime show has long been buyer-beware. If you’re the kind of person who is likely to be offended by any display of human sexuality, then at this point it’s on you not to watch. Aforementioned Jackson moment aside, it was only a year ago that Adam Levine performed almost the entirety of his show without a shirt on — which is inherently more sexual than anything Shakira and Lopez did in Miami on Sunday. Still, Smart goes so far as to suggest future Super Bowls come with a warning in the event the sight of a woman’s body is more than viewers can handle:

“But if the Super Bowl is going to be touted as family entertainment, or at least not marketed as adult entertainment, perhaps the NFL has an obligation to warn people with children that what they’re about to see may be upsetting to some viewers.”

In re-watching the halftime show I’m still at a loss to find anything that could be deemed as “upsetting to some viewers” outside of the same performance style Shakira and Lopez have long been known for. Sports and news programs are naturally exempt from parental TV guidelines due to their unpredictable nature, but let’s play this game for a second and rate what football should actually be.

To obtain a G rating a broadcast must have “little or no violence.” Football itself doesn’t pass the test on violence, so we must default to TV-PG — which states:

“Parents may find material unsuitable for younger children. Contains one or more of the following: Moderate violence, some sexual situations, infrequent coarse language and some suggestive dialog.”

While there was nothing objectionable in my eyes, if someone else wants to shelter their child to the point they unleash their repression as adults and possibly get themselves in far more trouble than children raised with a healthier understanding of how the world works, so be it. And considering this is a sport where players are routinely maimed and injured on live TV, parents watching with young children should already be prepared to either turn the channel or remove them from the room in the case of a serious situation. Why shouldn’t the expectation be the same for the halftime show?

It’s worth mentioning Shakira and Lopez were arguably the most inspirational parts of the entire damn Super Bowl. Two successful women in their 40s and 50s celebrating their bodies, talents, and cultures, along with their womanhood. This is exactly the kind of thing we need kids to see as we teach them to value themselves and others.

“And that, to me, is the biggest problem here. J. Lo and Shakira shaking their respective rear ends? Who cares? That’s what they do, I’m not interested, and in general I use the halftime show as a chance to hit the head and see what snacks are left.”

Not everything has to appeal to all people. That said, if you want to point the finger at Shakira and Lopez for being too “inappropriate” for children while watching a sporting event that even adults should approach with caution, perhaps start by taking some parental responsibility and point that finger at yourself.