#finally got around to reading vol 12 this week

[misfits-den]

Knives definitely picked up that feeler trick from Legato.

[wannab-urs]

The Spreadsheet Digest - Vol 23

Howdy y'all!

If you're new here this is every new (to me) fic I read this week and some of my silly lil thoughts about them.

I did some catching up on series this week and also did some writing so I've only got 12 fics for you this week! I read a lot of dark shit this week, but that's October for ya. There's still some sweetness in here somewhere if you aren't into dark stuff and I've made sure to mark everything appropriately (I think).

As always you can find all my previous fic recs here.

Recs below the Pedros!

Apple - a Frankie/Santi/Will one shot by @romana-after-dark

You are married to Santi and you have a CNC kink he very happily obliges. You set up a thing where Santi, Will, and Frankie pretend to be home invaders and they gangbang you. Stuff goes a lil sideways and it ends up being NC/DC. This was wonderfully unsettling. I love how there's this strand of believability that they don't intentionally overstep her boundaries. It's dark and scary and feels very real.

sam and diane, eat your heart out a Marcus Pike one shot by @chronically-ghosted

You've been working with Marcus for a while and finally wrapped up the case you were on. You've almost given up ever getting what you want with him when finally!! You both admit your feelings for each other. Cue steamy office make out sesh with thigh riding. I loved the will they won't they shit in the beginning. The frustration makes the pay off so good.

i am touchin', i am grabbin', everything I can't be havin' - a Dieter one shot by @chronically-ghosted

You show up at the doorstep of your long time but estranged family friend Dieter Bravo, soaking wet and with nowhere else to go. You've known him so long you call him Uncle Dee, no I'm not kidding. I almost didn't click on this bc like UNCLE?? But he's not really your uncle and I cannot express enough how fucking hot this was. Like Dieter is just so fucking good this OH MY GOD. If you love Dieter, read this. You'll love it.

Recovery Road - a Dieter series by @chronically-ghosted

Dieter finally gets his shit together, he's clean and married and working on a new project. His costar (you) is a cunt fr. You're on drugs, you're a brat, and you're a mess. And Dieter can't stay away from you. When his wife gets fed up with him and humiliates him in public, you're there to catch him... and ruin his sobriety, his marriage, and maybe everything else. I have a couple chapters left of this but OH MY GOD. I was so MAD at Dieter, but also so sad for him. Don't take that as me saying I didn't love this because I did. I do. It's so beautifully written. The pain and angst and desperation and everything is so powerful, this hurts to read. And the smut? Mind altering actually.

a revolting development - a Joel series by @chloeangelic

Your new step dad is really hot... and that's gonna be a problem. I've been reading so many step dad fics lately (not just Joel!) and I'm so into it and what is wrong with me?

The Rogue Who Coaxed You - a Joel series by @atticrissfinch

You're Joel's secretary and you suck him off while he fields a phone call from his wife! We love an infidelity fic round these parts, we really do. Reader is filthy, Joel is mean, there's a lot of degradation, the works. I'm so obsessed with this dynamic I can't wait to read more.

When the Gallow-Grass Gives - a Silva one shot by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

Silva rescues you (m!reader) from the gallows, walks you home by the rope you were supposed to hang by, and then tells you that you remind him of someone he used to know. I love a good gay cowboy fic and this is a GREAT one. The historically accurate lube made me cackle. This was so well written and so HOT and managed to maintain that wistful sadness Silva seems to have hanging like a cloud around him.

Desires and Complications - a Marcus Pike/Dave York series by @ezrasbirdie

Sweet little Marcus Pike wants to please you better in bed so he calls up your ex, Dave York, to show him how to be a dom. It goes a little differently than any of you imagined when Marcus turns submissive for Dave. This fic is so hot. I read up through "plead" and it looks like maybe there's some throuple dynamics forming!!! I'm so excited to finish this AHHHGHGHG

Ripping Sunrise - a frankie one shot by @idolatrybarbie

You accidentally take an edible and Frankie takes care of your high ass. And then once the high wears off he really takes care of you... This is so sweet and hot, I love it so much.

I Might Kill My Ex - a Joel one shot by @beskarandblasters

Joel leaves you for Tess and that... well that's just unacceptable. We got dark!reader, asshole!Joel, murder, dub con for Joel, the works. This fic is so good. It's dark and gives you a fascinating look into reader's crumbling psyche. I love the ending so much also

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

I wrote Ouroboros and Eat You Whole. Dave York x f!reader fics set in the same universe, canon divergent but some canon stuff still happens in the background. Love as consumption/Love as violence type thing. Basically you and Dave are two touch starved, miserable people with nothing left in this world and you have crazy sex about it. There’s some softness in there too.

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Here's some series I've been reading (not a comprehensive list): Hot and Heavy (Joel), Muddy Waters (Joel/Ez), Stepdad!Joel, Exile (Javi P), New York or Nowhere (Joel), Feral Woman (Joel), Yearling (Joel), a lover's pinch (joel), the world tipped on it's side (Frankie), and Pretend Alleyways (Marcus/Dieter)

(In order: @tieronecrush @bonezone44 @toxicanonymity @jksprincess10 @beskarandblasters @gasolinerainbowpuddles @justagalwhowrites @hier--soir @idolatrybarbie @radiowallet)

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Happy Reading!

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2022!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

*I’m doubling up my reviews this month so I can post them all before the end of the year!*

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291. A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This has been on my shelf for years because I had a coworker who read and loved this book YEARS ago. While I really enjoyed this, it was a really difficult book to read. Every time I read a book like this, I'm reminded of how awful human beings can be. Given everything that's happening right now in the world, this was oddly timely? Seeing the brutality of a government and its soldiers from the POV of a character (especially first person), made this so much harder to read. I think the characters in this book are incredibly brave. Even if the story is fictional, I'm sure there were similar stories of people trying to escape--some succeeding, and some sadly not succeeding. HIGHLY recommend. Especially for fans of Alan Gratz. If you have a young historical fiction lover looking for a book to read, I think this should definitely be a book added to their to-read lists!

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292. Both Can Be True by Jules Machias--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a little different from what I was expecting, but I'm grateful for stories like this one! There were many things I loved about this book, especially because there will be kids who read this book and learn that some things are okay, despite what society has tried to train them not to do. For example, showing emotions. Machias challenges the societal expectation that boys can't be emotional and that showing emotion is purely a feminine trait. There was also a lot of exploration around gender and what it means to everyone and society. One of the MC's struggles with this for a good chunk. What broke my heart, though, was one of the parents. I wanted to slap some sense into him. I do wish we had more of a closure around that, but I understand that also in the very real world you won't always have cookie cutter solutions to everything. I really enjoyed this. The blossoming young relationship between the two MCs was adorable and while I expected it to happen, it was very different from the last few MGLit LGBTQ+ titles I've read that didn't end with a very young relationship. I'd recommend this one for anyone who is struggling with their gender identity and for anyone who wants to learn more about the topics explored in this book. I think kids should definitely read this one!

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293. Perfect World Vol. 12 by Rie Aruga--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a beautiful conclusion to this gorgeous manga series! I loved seeing these two finally getting their happy ending, even though there were moments of grief and sadness thrown in there. We get to see how everyone's lives changed and evolved, but we especially get to see the main characters tackling parenting together. This is such a gorgeous story and I can't recommend it enough!

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294. Whiteout by Various--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy via the publisher in exchange for an honest review! For some reason, I was expecting this book to be a collection of short stories, but what I got was a lot cuter. There's a snow storm coming and a group of young adults are trying to help a heartbroken friend win back their girlfriend. Most of the chapters focusing on different love stories happening to the friends and I honestly loved these stories, even if some had me groaning with envy because seriously, how were these stories so cute? From childhood friends confessing their love for each other, to estranged friends admitting that they loved each other all along--come on, there's only so much a single girl heart can take. LOL. Anyway, this was really cute and a perfect winter read for anyone looking for cute stories with LGBTQ+ characters and black joy!

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295. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-read November 2022: I don't know why I was craving a re-read of this, but it has been about two decades since I read this book. I thought that while it very much was a product of its time (some of the language and terms are a perfect example of how society thought back when this was written), it was such a cute and fun experience. I'm excited to read this series since I never finished it. It was short, sweet, and I loved seeing the adorable budding relationship between Mia and her love interest.

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296. Chicken Girl by Heather Smith--⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW: Drug and alcohol use, Sexual Assault, Fatphobia, Depression, Death I'm going to be honest here: I hated the main character. I know we're not always supposed to like the main character, but this one was just especially rough. I think it's because she had that moment in her character arc when her negative thoughts took her down paths that led to her saying or thinking (on the page) incredibly insensitive and offensive things. Granted, she's been entirely disillusioned because of the bullying she's experienced online due to her weight. I think at that age it's very easy to fall into black holes of cynisism when depression and obsessive behaviour take over. There were, however, some saving graces of this book, like her brother and how he was always trying to lift her up (despite losing himself to the stereotypes of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community), the adorable little girl she meets in the street, and the small thrown-together family under the bridge. This was a difficult read and if you're interested in reading it, please check the trigger warnings!

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297. Nightbooks by J.A. White--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I understand the appeal behind this book--especially since I definitely think it would be great for the younger readers who want a horror book that won't make them want to check for monsters under their bed. I haven't watched the show, but I wonder if I should since I felt a bit of a disconnect with the beginning of the book. It was slow and a little boring and I don't know how many times I almost DNFed it. Thankfully, I didn't because it got really interesting just after halfway through the book. I love MGLit horror because weirdly enough, these books know how to get under your skin without it being too gory or too traumatizing. I think this is a great story that emphasizes the importance of not judging a child by their interests. The idea that a child likes to write horror and must therefore be a disturbed kid is explored here and while in some cases morbid curiosity CAN lead to darkness inside, some kids are just not into the lightness of some fiction. The MC gets judged not just by the adults in his school, but is also picked because of this perceived darkness by the witch we meet at the very beginning. I think it's sad because it can completely dissuade a child from exploring their (ultimately harmless) interests. I probably won't read the second book, but this was a story I wish had given me more from the beginning, but I would still recommend to the young readers that come into my store!

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298. A Sign of Affection, Vol. 5 by Suu Morishita--⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's been a while since I read this manga and I thought it was time for me to pick it up, especially since I loved the previous volume. I'll be honest, I really enjoy the topics explored and the sign language between the characters and how they communicate, but I thought this volume was boring and lacklustre. I was at the point where I just wanted to finish it and move on. We will see how volume 6 goes!

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299. Altered by Jennifer Rush--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After having this book on my shelf for nearly a decade, I have finally read it! I was so surprised by this story because it captured my attention immediately. It was a fast-paced thriller with a touch of scifi that definitely carries more of a punch than the cover made me think. I don't know if I'll be picking up the sequel, but I think this is one of those books that definitely disappeared with the passing of time. Books like this one were some of the gems that just kind of faded. If you have this book on your shelf, give it a shot! You might just be surprised!

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300. Living-Room Matsunaga-San Vol. 11 by Keiko Iwashita--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We have finally reached the conclusion of this wild ride, especially after that cliffhanger at the end of Volume 10! This was cute, just like the rest of the series, but I think this volume was a little rushed. The MC is too forgiving and throw in that wild trope the author randomly threw into the middle of the very short manga and this just felt like...so much happening with the fastest conclusion. I do wish there was at least one more volume in this series--both because again, this felt rushed, and because I want more from these characters. I can't say goodbye yet 😭

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Happy reading!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 324: Is There a Force Field Around Him??

Previously on BnHA: Flashback!Rat Principal was all “please tell Midoriya that I spent a concerningly small amount of money upgrading U.A. into a wacky physics-defying funtime grid so as to make the final battle much more confusing for everyone.” Present Day!Mic (or Present!Mic, if you will) and Jeanist were all “if only somebody could deescalate this dangerously unhinged mob, we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas.” Ochako was all “LISTEN UP PEOPLE.” The mob was all, “god??” Ochako was all, “NO, IT’S ME, OCHAKO. I’M REALLY HIGH UP ON THIS BUILDING AND THE VISIBILITY IS LOW DUE TO THE RAIN, SO I CAN SEE HOW YOU MIGHT MAKE THAT MISTAKE. ANYWAYS, DEKU WAS OUT THERE RISKING HIS LIFE FOR YOU CLOWNS EVEN THOUGH HE’S JUST A KID, SO I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IF YOU COULD ALL REMEMBER HOW TO BE DECENT HUMAN BEINGS, THANKS.” Let’s see if her Big Scolding Energy has any impact.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “so I have this speech planned out, and it’s really good, but it also only really needs about 6 to 8 pages, but I’m gonna see if I can stretch it out to 17 pages so I can kill time before we get to the next volume cliffhanger two weeks from now.” Anyway but it really is a good speech though. There are feels, and tears, and more talk about how Deku is so in need of a shower that just looking at him requires a tetanus booster, and more feels, and more tears, and bonus ship drama, and an iconic callback to the very first chapter which reframes the entire series in a new context in a totally epic and moving way, and it’s all very good. Except that Horikoshi is determined to never let anyone actually give this kid a hug. Who hurt you, dude.

omg we are opening on a callback to chapter 212, a.k.a. the chapter with by far the cutest flashback that doesn’t involve any baby Todorokis

baby Ochako is lethally cute. she could literally murder someone with her cuteness. I just want to scoop her up and play airplane with her until she accidentally activates her quirk while we’re spinning around and we both helicopter up into the air never to be seen again

“a child’s insistence” huh well that’s all well and good, but I sure hope this doesn’t mean we’re going to drag out the whole “sternly lecture the obnoxious citizens” plot for another whole chapter. no offense but I think we’re good

so page 2 is just continuing the whole happy/worried faces monologue, which of course is very important to Ochako’s character as it provides the context for why “who protects the heroes” ended up becoming her thing. and this is making me think we actually are in for a whole second chapter of this sob. when will my boy finally get to rest

OH MY GOD SUDDENLY THESE PEOPLE HAVE EYES IMAGINE THAT

HORIKOSHI:��[reaches for a box of tissues while tearfully penning an homage to his beloved Spider-Man 2, specifically the train scene where the crowd sees Peter without his mask and they suddenly realize just how young he is]

HORIKOSHI’S HOMAGE SCENE: “COME TO THINK OF IT, I GUESS IT WAS KIND OF MEAN FOR US TO PICK ON THIS TEN YEAR OLD KID WHO WEIGHS 75 POUNDS AND LOOKS LIKE HE LOST A FIGHT WITH SATAN’S MOLDY OLD BASEMENT”

lol at this one guy who can feel the mood of the crowd shifting and is all “WAIT, NO, I WANTED TO KEEP BEING AN ASSHOLE DAMMIT”

as many pointed out last week, this man is wearing an All Might shirt. that’s some fantastic irony there

-- SDKFJWIGKS

“LITTLE GIRL, I HOPE YOU’RE NOT SUGGESTING THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE WALKING AROUND DRESSED LIKE A SOVIET-ERA BUS STOP.” heh. last week I said I was ashamed of BnHA being my favorite manga. that was a lie, actually

(ETA: in the original Japanese Ochako’s next two lines are basically “the only ones covered in mud will be us heroes!” followed by “please give us some time to get rid of the mud”, with that second line basically being the single funniest thing I’ve ever read rdslkjl. Ochako thank you so much for supporting my running gags. “YEAH WE KNOW HE’S DIRTY. WE ARE GONNA TRY AND CLEAN HIM UP, BUT IT MAY TAKE A WHILE, I’M JUST SAYING. I MEAN LOOK AT HIM. HE LOOKS LIKE AN ASBESTOS COSPLAY.”)

doesn’t the megaphone kind of look ever so slightly like an axe that she’s wielding maniacally here

easy there Lizzie Borden

also that’s a really bold claim to make there. and not one she necessarily should have to make, either. but as we all know, there’s nothing that shounen manga likes more than having its heroes bravely hoist heavy burdens of responsibility like good self-sacrificing citizens

p.s. lowkey loving how Kacchan is positioned here standing slightly behind Deku. not presuming to stand in front of him all overprotectively (because he would hate if anyone ever did that to him), and kind of being unobtrusive and letting others take center stage -- but still being close enough to Deku that he can catch him if he stumbles or passes out again

(ETA: or maybe not lmao.

DEKU: [falls to his knees]

KACCHAN: [glancing up from his phone a few minutes later] “someone just sent me the stupidest meme about milk crates -- oh. uh. you good...?”

really, son. “the burdens you can’t carry, we’ll carry them for you. ...later, I mean. right now it’s late, and we’re all cold and wet.”)

also lowkey loving this OchaTsu moment here

I was going back and binging Ochako chapters this past week for reasons, and I gotta say it really stuck out to me just how often these two are paired with each other. they do everything together. it’s a really sweet friendship that often goes unappreciated but it’s very cute

meanwhile, not to be outdone by the OchaTsu, Iida is staring at Ochako with open admiration talking about how she’s fighting too. it’s been so long since we’ve had any IidaRaka you guys. I was starving and I didn’t even know it

oh my lord IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING

THE LIGHT IS BACK. he finally looks like him again. what a cathartic fucking moment omg

ffklkdw

“I KNOW YOU ARE ALL SCARED, BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS, WE DEFINITELY CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SAFETY AND WE ARE ALL SCARED TOO!” good pep talk there kiddo

BUT, jokes aside, truth be told this is the exact right approach to take imo, and something that’s long overdue. I’ve said this before, but this new generation of heroes is shaping up to be much more transparent than the All Might generation. they’re basically abandoning the almighty, untouchable Superman “heroes as gods” concept in favor of the more nuanced “heroes as people” concept instead. and that’s a good thing. seeing their heroes as humans, with human limitations and weaknesses and flaws, will hopefully not only lead to more scrutiny and accountability, but also more awareness of how hard some of them are working and how much they’re sacrificing. that’s something All Might never quite grasped back at the start of the series -- that the weak, vulnerable, injured him could be just as inspiring as the mighty, invincible him -- perhaps even more so. there’s a power in seeing otherwise ordinary people show extraordinary bravery and compassion. it inspires others to try and do the same

SSDLHK AIZAWA SIGHTING AAHHHHHH

so he was still back at the hospital this whole time?? smdh at this disrespect. that feeling when your sexy self-insert character’s powers of rationality are too strong, and so you have to nerf him so that he doesn’t ruin your Deku Angst arc twice over by (1) immediately talking some sense into Deku and making him come home Right This Instant Young Man, and (2) not allowing him to leave U.A. in the first fucking place. excuse me, you want to do WHAT now, Midoriya?? that’s it, go to your room

also living for Katsuki and Hawks’s soft expressions. Shouto’s too, although his is tinier and harder to see. and Jeanist’s 12-foot-long neck. imagine Jeanist’s head with Mic’s hair. maybe Jeanist had a mohawk back in the day and that’s why U.A.’s doors are so big now

speaking of soft faces, Enji’s is also excellent

what could this random close-up possibly imply?? hell if I know. but Horikoshi truly fears no discourse and that’s what I love about him

OMGGGG

“smh my child is so dumb.” poor Ochadad. your child is cute af count your blessings

SDOFFHSMH

I’m telling you guys. lethally, catastrophically cute

this speech is still ongoing lol. Horikoshi you’re doing so good but I think we get the point now my dude. you gotta learn how to transition out of these things

UNEXPECTED TOGA WHAT

“there we go” Horikoshi says, crossing off the last line on his list of Ochako ships. “that’s all of ‘em”

poor Ochako is just repeating the same “LET HIM REST, PLEASE, WITH EVERYONE’S COOPERATION, IF YOU DON’T MIND, WE APPRECIATE IT” talking points over and over again hoping someone will throw her a bone and acknowledge her already. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP HER

literally they’re all just staring up at her silently omg. work with me people!!

now she’s saying it for the 56th time but more dramatically all of a sudden

they got so dramatic that for a minute I thought she had suddenly leaped off the building or something

look, not to rush you or anything Horikoshi, but I’m starting to get the feeling that this is yet another one of those “the volume is ending soon so I need to either hurry things up or slow things down in order to make sure we end it on my perfect cliffhanger ending” chapters where you go to ridiculous lengths to drag things out much to the exasperation of your week-to-week readers

(ETA: ftr, volume 31 ended on chapter 306, and I’m predicting that vol. 32 will end with chapter 316 (a.k.a. “you’re next!” [explodes]). I’m guessing vol. 33 will follow suit and likely end on chapter 326, so keep your eyes peeled for a big cliffhanger in two weeks’ time. Deku’s dad?? All Might in peril?? U.A. traitor at long fucking last?? we shall see.)

is Deku straight up falling in love with Ochako right on the spot lol what is happening

I know I just said that I enjoy when Horikoshi gives zero fucks about discourse, but shipping discourse is a whole different beast lol. I hope he’s prepared

(ETA: and for the record, I have no interest in shipping discourse either, as always. and I think this scene can be interpreted as platonic, tbh, with the context being that Ochako was literally introduced as someone who was willing to help him so casually without a second thought, and now here she is saving him again.

I don’t think it really fully hit Deku until this moment how much he needed saving. like I said in another meta somewhere, selflessness is basically just selfishness on behalf of others. and Deku is selfless to a fault, but that’s okay, and it doesn’t mean he needs to change -- he just needs friends who are willing to be be selfish on his behalf in turn. and I think the full emotion of what it means to have friends like that just hit him at last. everything his friends have done for him, how much he needed it and didn’t even realize, and how grateful he is. anyways what a terrible day for rain.)

-- son of a --

is he apologizing?? or pleading?? please tell me that’s not the case, because what the actual fuck. Deku you beautiful precious radiant selfless child, this is the exact opposite of how this should be. all these motherfuckers should be on their knees apologizing to you

DEKU WHY

I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS FREAKING BOMBARDMENT OF EMOTIONS GODDAMIT. OUT HERE ARMED WITH YOUR FREAKING TREBUCHET OF FEELS TO LAUNCH AT ME UNPROVOKED. WHAT’S WITH THAT

FREAKING CHRIST. THIS BOY IS CRYING HIS EYES OUT AND HORIKOSHI IS JUST ZOOMING IN WITH THE CAMERA, LIKE CAN WE JUST CUT HIM A BREAK ALREADY. ENOUGH OF THIS. HE’S SO YOUNG AND HE TRIES SO HARD AND I JUST NEED HIM TO FEEL SAFE, HORIKOSHI PLEASE CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME THAT ALREADY WHAT IS THE FREAKING HOLD UP!!

GIGANTIC FOX LADY!!!

GIGANTIC FOX LADY PLEASE BE MY HUGGER BY PROXY!! SERIOUSLY GIRL IF YOU JUST HOLD YOUR UMBRELLA OVER HIM OR SOMETHING AND DON’T GO THE EXTRA MILE I’M ABOUT TO LODGE AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT. THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS NOW

!!!!

A KOUTA IS GOOD TOO!!! oh my god if Kouta hugs him I will seriously 100% straight up cry. go on and test me

FOR THE LOVE OF --

is this man expressly forbidden from drawing hugs in his contract or something. DO YOU DO IT JUST TO SPITE ME?? this is tyranny, sir

AND I KNOW, THIS PAGE ACTUALLY CHALLENGED THE VERY PREMISE OF THE SERIES ITSELF, AND HERE I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT HUGS, OR THE LACK THEREOF. “this is the story of how we all became the greatest heroes.” and just like that, he waves a polite middle finger at all of the Strongest Greatest Chosen One shounen protags of old, in favor of something much less conventional, much more interesting, and much more suited to Deku’s character. because if that one sentence doesn’t just sum up Deku to a T. he gladly relinquishes his Greatest Hero status in favor of acknowledging the hero in everyone. what a class act. that’s my protagonist

I love this kid so fucking much I swear. only just PLEASE. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. GIVE HIM HIS HUG

[watchtowerindistress]

we are not our demons (8/24) - bruce wayne x batmom

Gif source: taradarcy

Author’s note: To @BenRG on ao3, you certainly predicted the future of Ellie becoming the new Oracle (your words certainly made me feel all gushy) - but she certainly doesn't intend to replace Babs in her worth as a hacker. Don't expect her to call herself Oracle 2.0.

A line spoken by Babs is inspired from the comic Birds of Prey Vol. 1. I seriously love her in that series.

God, Tim is going to kill me one day, I just know it.

Update break after chapter 12 for a few weeks. [Read more at the end.]

Starting from this chapter only beta-read by Heidi.

Words: 3.8k

Warning: angst, violence (not graphic, only mentioned)

Please reblog/leave a comment.

Series Masterlist | Want to be tagged? | Read on AO3

In the game the little soldiers get maneuvered

If you lose a few you easily move on

Bet you never thought your soldiers could undo ya, now, did you?

But to tip the score it sometimes takes just one

- One Little Soldier by Regina Spektor -

“Miss Ellie, would you care for a chamomile tea?”

Alfred’s softly spoken words filled Ellie with deep embarrassment before she inadvertently pulled her thumb out of her mouth. The young woman didn’t even notice that her fingernail was already unrecognizable.

Ellie licked her lips and straightened her back while sitting in the armchair in the living room. She chuckled falteringly with a distressed grimace. “Do I really seem that obvious?”

The corners of Alfred’s mouth inched upwards. He raised his left hand and pressed his thumb and index finger close together. “Just a tad.”

Ellie tilted her head in mock speculation. “Well, that’s a relief, Alfred.”

“I’m quite sure everything will turn out alright.”

Alfred’s vote of confidence caused her eyebrows to arch in wonder. “Quite?”

“About 33,3%.”

Raising her eyebrows, Ellie felt once again mollified by Alfred’s ability to soothe someone’s worries by offering realistic truths.

She rubbed her jeans-covered legs to ground herself in the moment. “Thanks for the offer but … I think I can manage for a while.” Her eyes nervously glanced around and discovered the second day of severe weather hitting them, pelting the manor with heavy raindrops.

Alfred offered a soft smile. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”

“Will do.”

And as if Bruce had finally answered her prayers, a key fiddled in the lock of the front door. With jittery fingers, Ellie pushed herself up but stayed rooted to the spot, right next to Alfred. Just waiting for Bruce and their new house guest to arrive.

A distant male voice came from the foyer. “Do you need—?”

“This chair doesn’t have handles on the back for a reason, Bruce.”

Clearing his throat, he only replied with, “Duly noted.” And with that, Bruce turned the corner, with Barbara stopping at his side in a wheelchair.

Ellie pressed her lips together and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “Hey, guys.” She casually waved a hand in greeting.

Barbara stopped moving and revealed an expression of surprise. “I didn’t know that you’d be here as well.”

The brusque words of the ginger-haired woman caused Ellie to arch her brows. “I kinda live here now.”

“How about, you know,” Bruce cleared his throat, “I mean, only if it’s not—”

Ellie sipped a cup of coffee at the kitchen counter. “Bruce, are you proposing to me?”

Bruce’s nervous chuckles took her by surprise before he averted his eyes. “What makes you think that?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Ellie let the heat of the mug warm her fingers. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s on your mind instead?”

Bruce exposed the inside of his palms, like he was laying his cards on the table. “Okay, here it goes … I want you to move in with me. I mean, us.” He cleared his throat loudly, trying again. “Stay at the manor.”

Okay, whoa.

Ellie narrowed her eyes at the unexpected ‘proposal’. “But why?”

“It’s closer to the base of operations and…” Bruce furrowed his brow in thought. “And I’ve got to admit, it would fill me with relief, knowing that you’re safe and sound—here.”

Ellie nibbled on her lower lip and tried to imagine living here again. She’d be able to see the boys more often.

Bruce’s gaze remained on her eyes before he swallowed thickly.

To be honest, the idea didn’t seem that far-fetched or horrible. But could she really do this? Live in close quarters with her ex-boyfriend again?

Did she really imagine Bruce’s face getting closer to hers?

Ellie huffed out her breath and covered her eyes with the palm of her hand. “You know, I can’t keep abandoning my apartment in Midtown just for you.”

Bruce released a tired sigh. “Well, I could buy that whole complex.” At her sardonic expression, he quickly added, “If you want, of course.”

Ellie gathered her thoughts to find the right words. “As simple as that sounds—”

Before she could indulge in her hypothetical mind, Bruce interrupted her, “How about that? We’ll cross that bridge when we’ll get to it. Just try this out for a month or so, then we’ll see, alright?”

“Okay, fine. Sounds like a plan.”

Barbara expected anything else, but the words Ellie just uttered. Her befuddled voice only emphasized her pinched brow, “Uh-huh, but why?”

Ellie cleared her throat, willing to distract Barbara if she had to when Bruce seemed to have read her mind or just harbored the same thought. “So, Barbara, if you don’t mind, Alfred could show you to your room.”

Her lilac-cerulean eyes switched rapidly in suspicion between Ellie and Bruce as they narrowed at the mystery she wanted to unfold.

“Okay, sure,” Barbara said slowly and pushed the wheels forward.

Ellie folded her arms over her chest and waited until Alfred and Barbara had left their vicinity before her attention went back to Bruce.

Something crossed her mind. “Jesus, I forgot about the stairs.” Shame made her cheeks blush at the reminder of her negligence.

Bruce hid his large palms in the pockets of his pants. “Don’t worry about it. She’ll be living on the first floor. This way Alfred will be able to help her out more.”

“But what if something urgent happens—?”

“Then she can press the emergency button at her bedside.”

Bruce’s reassuring words slightly calmed her elevated heartbeat when Ellie closed her eyes. Rubbing her forehead, she breathed out.

“God, you’re right.”

Bruce offered a soft smile. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he reminded her.

“And Gordon is alright with you basically letting her live here instead of caring for her himself?”

Bruce exhaled a long breath. “Jim is grateful for any support we’re offering. Not to mention, he can’t keep taking paid leave. At least, for the next few weeks during her physical therapy when it’s most important for Barbara to heal and to train her motor skills. He promised to show up for these sessions.”

“It must be nice to always have someone on hold when you need them.” As much as it sounded like a rebuke, it wasn’t meant to sound like one. Ellie certainly saw the appeal of being connected with someone who had the means to help if given the chance.

Bruce shrugged, like he didn’t see the issue with having endless resources. “As long as Barbara recovers. I don’t care how much money I must commit. She’s family, and I don’t leave my family behind.”

Ellie seriously had no idea how Bruce did this. Once she was facing the Batcomputer, the thought hit her that he was working two jobs. In her eyes, it still felt like investing in two full-time jobs. She rubbed her closed eyelids from this setting fatigue before adjusting her glasses again.

“Your green tea, Miss Ellie.”

Her focus remained on the monitor as she absentmindedly brought the hot liquid to her lips. “Thanks, Alfred. Short question—” she twisted the chair around until her expectant gaze met the brown eyes of the butler and pursed her lips, “—how does he do this?”

Before Alfred could inquire about the vagueness of her question, Ellie waved her hand at their surroundings. “You know, work 8 hours in the office and still beat up bad guys during the night.”

Humor danced in Alfred’s eyes. “Master Bruce only sleeps two hours besides his usual power naps.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow at the surprising statement, trying to rack her brain on Bruce’s sleep schedule when she was still living with him. “How did I never notice this?”

Shrugging his shoulders, the gray-haired butler answered truthfully, “Granted, he made some exceptions for you.”

Ellie’s mouth twisted into a grimace, as much as she felt flattered at being called the exception. “Still doesn’t sound healthy.”

A familiar heavy sigh left his lips when he walked to the station in the far corner of the underground lair. “That’s Master Bruce for you. But still, he tried not to overdo it with you.”

The discomfort on her lips switched to light chuckling when she went back to her task of finding leads to catch the Joker. Despite Gotham’s need for CCTV cameras, his trace ran cold after he had left Barbara’s apartment in some tourist-y outfit.

She had the coverage of Gotham City News running in the background on another monitor like a lulling sound while she was working on her research. Currently, the talk show ‘_Late Night with Vesper Fairchild’ _was on the air.

The familiar voice of Vicki Vale, the investigative reporter covering the articles for the Gotham Gazette, spoke earnestly to the host, “We’re dealing with a crime spree that’s spreading from various districts in Gotham. The crime families Maroni, Falcone and even Galante have been severely hit, but unlike the Bat vigilante who sends them to GCPD in a neat little bow, this time someone assassinates them in cold blood. Mob families are killed one by one by the Crossbow Killer and a whole armada of trained murderers. Gotham has officially risen to a cesspool of vigilantes and assassins—” Ellie instantly muted the audio to the news network.

“The world has gone crazy, hasn’t it?” She mumbled in exasperation.

“There is a small percentage of people who are using this chaos to their advantage,” Alfred acquiesced to her perception with his ever-present foresight.

Ellie felt grateful that her only companion in the cave, besides the ever-present bats, worked mostly in silence by tweaking Bruce’s tech which gave her the perfect opportunity to complete her own task—even if she was failing.

She cleared her throat and sighed wearily. “Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels this hopelessness.”

Alfred’s low chuckles slightly calmed her worries. “Trust me, Miss Ellie, you’re not the only one.”

“You seem pretty calm, Alfred,” she retorted with deep appreciation for his peaceful nature.

Alfred’s actions of tinkering with the stungun halted. “I’m anything but. Although I like to focus on the present and remain grateful.”

“I know, you’re right. But part of me can’t help imagining the what-ifs of worse things happening. What if Babs had gotten it so much worse? The possibility of the Joker killing her is racking through my brain.” A pregnant pause hung in the air like a premonition before she uttered her next words. “What if she had gotten the same fate as Jason?”

Alfred’s eyes behind his glasses widened before his breath left him with a stuttering exhale. “So, you know that name.”

Ellie nodded slowly and cautiously. “Barbara told me.”

The screwdriver in his hands dropped onto the onyx surface of the workstation, together with a heavy sigh.

“How was he like? Jason, I mean.”

The corners of Alfred’s lips barely moved. “Jason Todd was … tiresome.” Both chuckled quietly at that fond confession. “You think Damian is trouble, but Jason was too reckless for his own good.” He tilted his head. “Reminded me too much of a young Bruce.”

Ellie shared an involuntary smile and held up the side of her face with a closed fist. She felt fascinated by the story Alfred was telling. “How come I’m not even surprised by that?”

“Perhaps you know him too well.” Mischief was dancing in Alfred’s eyes while smiling serenely at her.

The quiet pitter-patter of naked feet echoed down the stairs and made Ellie’s brows furrow. Her brown eyes wandered over someone’s blue-checkered pajamas before they landed on Tim’s nervous face. Her fingers stilled in shock over the keypad.

“Hey, buddy, what are you doing up?” Ellie’s gaze on the watch at the corner of her screen revealed it was 9 pm. And she had a feeling that Tim had to wake up early for Brentwood Academy the next morning—as Dick had briefly mentioned.

Ellie nearly died inside of cuteness when Tim rubbed the sleep out of his eye with the back of a balled-up fist. “Didn’t know that you’d be here.” Tim’s wide eyes stared up at her in confusion.

“Yeah, about that…” Ellie’s nervous gaze met Alfred who had stopped with his task and stared at them with intrigued eyes.

“Remember movie night?” Ellie continued speaking when Tim nodded at the memory. “You see after that night, Bruce and I—Jesus, how do I even phrase this?” Brushing her hands together, she tried to kick-start her brain, “I told him that I wanted to spend more time with you, guys.”

A familiar emotion lit up in his chocolate-brown eyes—dare she say hope? “Really?”

Ellie leaned forward in her seat until her eyes aligned with his as she folded her hands in her lap. “I know I’ve been gone for a long time, but not a day passed by that I didn’t regret being there for you.”

Sadness emanated from Tim like a slow-moving train. “It’s okay. I understand.”

The corners of Ellie’s mouth twisted into a somber smile. A part of her couldn’t help feeling guilty for abandoning those boys. The fact that Tim understood—or at least accepted her leaving—broke her heart into tiny little pieces. She couldn’t help taking the blame and kept on thinking that she could’ve tried harder for their sake.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have to, Tim,” Ellie whispered. “But I promise you this, I won’t ever leave you again.”

Tim only nodded, but she wouldn’t mind assuring the young boy of the sincerity of her promise in the future.

“Anyway,” Ellie carefully arched her eyebrows, “did Bruce tell you what happened to Babs?”

Tim frowned at the mention of his friend’s name. “Bruce told me that the Joker hurt her.”

That’s one way of phrasing it.

Ellie cleared her throat. “Yes, he did. It’s important now that we make sure Babs will feel right at home, so we can help her recover.”

“But will she?”

Even Ellie couldn’t sugarcoat the bitter hard truth. That none of them knew if Barbara would ever recover, despite upcoming sessions of physical therapy.

Ellie hesitantly bit her lip. “I don’t know.” She met the concerned glance of Alfred standing in the corner, silently observing Tim’s emotional state and how he was taking this news.

“And how do you feel about what happened to Babs?”

Tim averted his gaze and let his eyes wander to his wiggling feet. His shoulders shrugged before his next words left his mouth with a murmur. “I’m sad about what the Clown did to her. I wish she wouldn’t have to suffer like that.”

She gulped at the feeling of lead forming in her stomach. Nodding in empathy, Ellie had a feeling that the young boy was in dire need of a hug. She acted on one of her deepest impulses when she stretched out her arms on her knees.

“Come here.”

Barely waiting a moment to hesitate—or give Ellie the opportunity to rethink her offer—Tim stepped into her waiting arms.

A content sigh broke free from her lips when Tim’s warm body snuggled into her. His head burrowed into the curve of her neck while her chin nestled on top of his head. Ellie didn’t even mind how his breath was tickling her.

“We’ll get through this together, I promise.”

Tim didn’t utter a word but only nodded his head.

Ellie’s hand comfortingly stroked down the back of his PJs.

“Besides, your daddy’s a superhero. Bruce is going to look after us. I mean—”

Tim looked up at her. “I know. He keeps the city safe.”

Ellie’s ankle boots resounded through the cave while walking towards the monitors which Bruce already occupied. He was still in his Batsuit but relieved himself of the cowl.

Before Ellie could even utter a single word, Bruce opened his mouth without turning his head in her direction.

“It looks like you found the cameras for this lair,” he said, commenting on her arrival five minutes after he had just come in.

Ellie cleared her throat, feeling her fingers tighten around the tablet. Another glance down revealed Bruce’s almost clairvoyant abilities. And yep, the display showed several camera feeds of this ‘lair’ she had accessed as he called it.

“First, yes, I did. And second, ‘lair’?”

Bruce made a grunting sound but kept his eyes fixed on the computer. “Did you do something to the facial recognition software?” Bruce pressed a few buttons; she was guessing that he had to get used to this new system.

Ellie tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. “You mean, improved it? You’re welcome, Bruce.”

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s just—”

“It’s an update, nothing more.”

Bruce turned his head, sending her an affronted look. “Are you insulting my tech? Let me tell you, everything here is state-of-the-art.”

An ecstatic moan left her lips at Bruce’s reminder. “Trust me, I’m well aware of that. This could get a girl wet.”

Bruce sounded like he had swallowed air when a coughing fit went through his body. “Okay, duly noted.”

A small grin played on her lips. Teasing him or flirting with him felt like second nature. A small part of her was curious how far she could push until she received a reaction. “By the way,” Ellie dropped her device next to his keyboard, “gotta get used to the fact that you got Lucius Fox to work for you.”

Bruce leaned back in his seat. “He’s working with me,” he reminded her. “What did he want?”

“Just wanted to notify you about an upgrade for your gadgets. And he’s going to send some design ideas for an EMP gun.”

Barely contained interest shone in Bruce’s brown eyes. “Oh, really? Seven feet radius?”

“Nine actually.”

Bruce pursed his lips in thought. “Okay, sounds perfect.”

Ellie supported her right hand against the desk while peering over Bruce’s shoulder to observe on what he was working.

“I programmed an alarm for the facial recognition software for all the locations the Joker is known to use. But if he’s wearing another disguise that covers up his face, then we might have a problem.”

His fingers tapped against the surface. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him. Sooner or later, he’ll reappear. He can’t help himself really.”

Ellie pressed her lips together, trying to overcome her inhibitions to utter her next question. “What are you going to do to him as soon as you find him?”

Bruce sent her a long, appraising gaze. “Send him to Arkham.”

There was a part of her that felt like she was unable to breathe. Incredulity was slowly boiling inside her and she couldn’t really contain it any longer. Ellie took a deep, cleansing breath. For a few seconds she felt speechless. She released a bitter exhale. “Just like that?”

Bruce narrowed his eyes, gauging her reaction. “Well, usually the Joker’s not far from Harley. Or more like vice versa—”

“No, I mean…” Ellie put her hands on her hips and blinked slowly. She tried to calm her breathing as something inside her reared its familiar ugly head. Ellie’s eyes glinted with disbelief.

“Just like that you can just ignore what the Joker did to Babs?”

Dark shadows roamed over his face. “What exactly would you have me do?” Bruce spoke with a dangerous tone.

“I don’t know, anything but this—”

Bruce’s voice rose in volume. “Then tell me! Tell me what you want from me right now.” He got up from his chair until his upper body towered over her. “Is it blood?”

Ellie’s cheeks started to blush in anger. Her brain felt like it was fried as she never felt this dazed. “I don’t know.”

“You want me to break his bones?”

Uncertainty rang through her with every second when Ellie shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe.”

“What? Kill him?”

Something erupted from her chest which she hadn’t even admitted to herself—the truth. “I want justice! And I don’t care what that looks like. I want Joker to feel five times the pain he inflicted upon her, for what Babs had to endure.”

Tears gathered in her eyes at that painful admission.

Bruce’s gruff words tore at her conscience. “That’s not justice. That’s revenge, Ellie.” He clenched his jaw when his molten eyes caught something on her face.

Helplessly, her fingers rubbed the slightly wet spot underneath the outer lid of her eye. God, how she hated those tears of frustration.

“I don’t care anymore, Bruce. I mean, how can you not seek vengeance for what he did to Jason?”

It was like the mention of Jason flipped a switch inside Bruce when his eyes grew cold and unfeeling.

Feeling blind with mindless fury, Ellie realized she had found his blind spot, and she wasn’t shying away from delivering a low blow to achieve her goal.

“The Joker is going to keep on doing this. I don’t get you, Bruce. He killed someone you loved. What does it take for you to finally do something about it?”

Bruce’s guttural voice made her body tense. “Don’t you dare compare Jason to Barbara. They’re not the same.”

It wasn’t a good idea to bait him like that, but Ellie needed something—just anything from him. There was a part of her that harbored that impulse of hitting him and she had no idea where it came from.

“Jason _died. _And what exactly did you do? Just gave that clown a ‘Good work’ pat on the back as you sent him to Arkham?”

The skin around his cheeks tightened and Bruce glowered at her. The air between them felt almost choking and sweltering. It was getting hard for Ellie to breathe.

“Mind your words,” Bruce grunted out through barely moving lips. “I did unspeakable things,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “You have no idea what it was like. To lose a son. I nearly killed the Joker, broke his bones. And he only laughed with every crack.”

Dear God.

Bruce’s confession knocked the wind out of her body. Ellie opened her mouth, but only a faltering breath left her. The woman might have been stubbornly refusing to take the high road of morality, though Ellie knew when she made a mistake.

Ellie sighed deeply and stepped away with her hands on her hips, needing to take a breath to calm herself down.

“I think I need some fresh air,” Ellie whispered.

Bruce’s eyes shifted to something emotionless. An expression Ellie never expected to receive from him. “That’d be a good idea.”

Ellie’s fingers rubbed together while she was assessing that empty expression on his face. Without uttering another word, she twisted her body around until her back was facing Bruce and slowly walked out with her hands tightened into fists.

It was getting too crowded in here anyway.

A/N: So, Mom and Dad are fighting, huh? Don't worry, there are going to be some tough times for them. Their views are going to clash and I found it so fascinating to flesh out Ellie's character so much more into this person that's trying to keep everyone together while losing herself.

Tagging: @mellowstatesmanhandsempath​ @ravenmoore14​ @alwayshave-faith​ @ikranfuad​ @daydreaming-gemini​ @bluegalaxyprime​ @liadamerondjarin​ @steph21369 @andrewswifes-blog​ @yanna-banana

[maladaptiv3]

Sunflower, Vol. 6

Content: the long awaited part 2 to good fit...and an homage to my other favorite man 

Warnings: swearing, smut, I get in my feels at one point (lmao)

Word Count: 2,036

sorry it has been so long since I posted! i hope this makes up for the absence...

read part 1 here

*original content by colsonbakes*

You groaned at the sound of your alarm. The phone screen was bright and stung your sleep laced eyes. You felt a familiar arm snake around your waist as you were scrolling through all the emails you managed to miss throughout the night. He pulled your closer to him, nuzzling your neck, tickling you with his bed head. He lightly kissed the back of your shoulders, feathering kisses along your exposed skin. You leaned back against his chest, “Colson, I have to get up. I can’t be late again.” You had shifted and could see the playful disappointment in his eyes. He huffed, “Come on, what’s the point of being in charge if you can’t use it to your advantage sometimes?” You shook your head and rolled your eyes, “I’m not in charge, I still have a whole board that I report to.” He knew your work was important to you and this wasn’t a disagreement he was going to win, no matter how hard he tried, “Fine. Leave me, I guess.” He pressed a long kiss to your lips and you felt his lashes flutter against your cheek. You tapped the tip of his nose with your finger, “Don't pout. Why don’t you come over after I get off work? I don’t think I have to work late.” He propped himself up on his elbows, “Your place?” You shook your head at him, confused, “Yes, my place. Is that a problem?” He reached out beckoning you to come back to bed, once again, “You always stay here. This is like the fifth night you’ve stayed here this week.” You giggled as you made your way to the bathroom, “You have a better shower than me.” You could hear Colson shout from the bedroom as you splashed your face with cold water, “Oh yeah, I'm sure that's why."

He did have a better shower, but you had also developed this sort of routine. A nice, safe routine that finally felt organic. For so many past relationships there had always been something forced. Whether it was pretending to laugh at his friends or the fact he always had to be the smartest in the room. There was something different about the time you had spent with Colson. He was a comfort you thought you would never have. A slight smile crept across your face every time he absentmindedly drummed a beat with his fingers. The soft snores that filled the air as you typed into the early hours of the morning soon became your favorite song. His touch simultaneously melted your heart and left lines of fire on your skin. You felt everything all at once with Colson, in a good way. You wanted to wrap yourself up in the way he made you feel and just exist in that feeling forever. You wanted to exist with him forever.

You were jolted from your thoughts by Colson’s bare feet padding across the ice-like bathroom floor. You jumped slightly and he took notice, “Someone’s jumpy.” You continued to run your brush through your hair, “I’m not jumpy, I was just lost in thought.” He stood behind you, you looked up at him through his reflection. He placed his hands on your shoulders, giving them a light squeeze before running his fingers down your arms, “What are you thinking about?” You gave him an innocent look, “Nothing.” He turned you around to face him placing his hands on the counter on each side of you. He lightly pressed his body against yours, “Oh come on, I know you better than that. You’re never just thinking about nothing.” You wrapped your arms around his bare torso and buried your head in his chest, “Don’t laugh.” He wiggled out of your grip so he could look at you, “Why would I laugh?” You could feel the heat in your cheeks, “I’m just thinking about how happy I am.” His angular features seemed to soften, “Why would I laugh at that?” You shrugged, his gaze burning a hole through you, “I don’t know, it’s cheesy.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead and you felt your heart flutter, “I like cheesy.” You couldn’t figure out why but you wanted to cry, it was almost out of relief. You cleared your throat, trying to hide your emotion, “I gotta get ready for work.” He stepped to the side letting you get on with your routine, “I’ll come over later.” You just shook your head as you pulled your sweater over your shoulders. 

It was nearly eight before you had managed to find your way home. You felt bad for telling Colson that you weren’t working late then sending your normal, “still at the office. x” text. He was always very understanding, probably because you extended the same sentiment whenever he had a late night in the studio or a longer than usual rehearsal. You fumbled with your lock bracing yourself for the probably now dead plants you had neglected while at Colson’s. You tried to close your door quietly when you noticed Colson sprawled out on your way-to-small-for-him couch. His arms were crossed and his head was leaning back against the wall. His nose twitched a little whenever the cool air from the ceiling fan passed across his face. You walked over to him and slightly shook his foot, you didn’t want to scare him. You whispered, “Colson.” He groaned, pretending not to wake up. You sat down next to him and blew in his year, “Baby, wake up.” He playfully swatted at you keeping his eyes closed. You rolled your eyes, “Come on, scarecrow I’m hungry.” His eyes shot open and his jaw dropped, pretending to be offended, “You know I hate it when you call me scarecrow.” You laughed, pleased with yourself, “It got your attention though.” He pressed his lips against yours and you hummed. He stood up and stretched his arms above his head, “How was your day?” You swept your hair up into a messy bun on the top of your head, “It was fine, just a lot of work. I’m tired.” He pulled you up off the couch, “And hungry?” You nodded, “And hungry.”

The two of you crossed the room to your tiny kitchen. You shuffled your playlist and let it play lowly over the speaker that lived on your counter. You started rifling through your fridge, “You know, I don’t really have anything. I haven’t been home in like a week.” Colson set two packs of ramen on the counter, “Looks like it’s a noodle night.” You began to sway to the soft melody of Champagne Supernova as you filled a pot with water. Colson placed his hands on your hips and began to sway with you. You set the pot down on the counter as he spun you around on the cold tile floor. You pressed up on your toes and wrapped your arms around his neck, pretending you could reach it without him slightly bending down. He slightly crouched down and pressed his lips against your ear and softly sang along, “A dreamer dreams she never dies.” You echoed back, “Slowly walking down the hall.” He slowly pressed his lips against yours before turning you around, your back meeting his chest. You stayed like that for a few minutes before turning back around to meet his lips. You were lost in each other, limbs tangling together while Harry Styles started to play in the background. Colson lifted you onto the cold kitchen counter. You instinctively wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer to you, “You know, I’m not that hungry anymore.” He pressed a chaste kiss to your jaw, “Yeah, me either.” The music was still playing in the background, “Kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor…”

Colson slid your sweater off your shoulders as you pulled the hem of his shirt over his head. His shirt, soon joined by yours, in a heap on the floor next to you. You both reached for each other’s waistbands. Colson took hold of your wrists and pressed your hands against the kitchen counter, sucking lightly on your collarbone. You slightly lifted your hips to make it easier for your jeans to slide down your thighs. Colson trailed wet kisses until he met your hip bone, his calloused fingers pressing into the soft skin of your inner thigh. His hot breath wafted over you and you shivered in anticipation. You tried closing your legs around him but he met your knee harshly with the palm of his hand. Your breath was uneven and you were almost too frustrated with his slow actions to enjoy anything. Your fingers found his messy locks and you pushed them off his damp forehead, fingers lacing with the blonde strands. You breathed out his name as your hand found his chin, urging him to come up and meet your lips. Your lips pressed together feverishly like you had been deprived of his touch for too long, a whole 12 hours.

Colson wrapped one arm around your back and the other around your hip. He lifted you off the counter, nearly tripping over the pile of discarded clothes on the way, found his way to your bedroom. You sat on the bed as he stood above you, his icy blue eyes now dark with need. You shoved his jeans down his thighs until they pooled at his ankles. He kicked them to the side as he moved to hover over you. You slightly leaned up pressing a kiss to his chest as you took him in your hand. He pressed his lips to yours, moaning into your mouth as you began to slowly move your hand up and down his length. He breathed against your neck, “Not like this.” You repositioned yourself farther up on your bed, your head slightly propped up by pillows. He followed your movements. You stroked his cheek with your thumb, “I love you so much.” He pressed a kiss to the palm of your hand, “I love you.” Colson’s head dropped into the crook of your neck as he slowly pushed into you. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, frozen in time for a minute, taking in the intimacy. You connected your lips to his, “You can move, ya know.” He stifled a small laugh, “Right.” He slowly circled his hips, it was deliciously agonizing. You could feel your stomach tighten as a heat rose within you. You could barely choke out a word, “More.” He quickly obliged, his rhythm picking up, becoming more erratic. You could tell he was close as his thrusts become short and sporadic. His words were breathy, “God, fuck.” You dug your heels into the back of his thighs, burying him deeper than he already was. A look of concern spread over his face, “I’m gonna…” You cut him off mid-sentence crashing your lips into his, squeezing your eyes shut.

He collapsed on top of you. His sweaty forehead was sticky against your bare chest. You raked your fingers through his hair as he took your fingers in his hand, dancing along your fingertips with his. You basked in the afterglow until your breath steadied. You could stay like this forever, you wanted to stay like this forever. You closed your eyes, Colson shifting so that all of his weight was no longer on you. Your bare legs intertwined, the cool night air from your open window washing over your bare skin. Goosebumps erupted everywhere as he traced small circles on your hip. This was a perfect moment. Your comfortable silence was broken when Colson’s shrill ringtone started playing from the other room, “I’m gonna let it go to voicemail.” You just nodded. His phone rang again, he huffed in annoyance, “I guess I'll get it.” You could hear his tone shift into confusion and panic. You shouted out, “Everything okay out there?” He trudged, standing in the doorway, “We forgot to pick Pete up from the airport.” You scrunched your brows in confusion, “I thought he didn’t land until like almost ten.” Colson pointed to the analog clock sitting on your dresser, “It’s almost ten.” “Shit.”

Part 3? Maybe? 

[sailorspazz]

10 Dance Vol. 6 Special Edition overview

Volume 6 of the 10 Dance manga was released in Japan on March 18th, 2021. As with volumes 4 and 5, there are both regular and special editions available. In this post, I will provide an overview of the release, including observations on changes that were made to the chapters compared to how they were printed in the magazine, plus summaries and select scans of content from the special edition booklet.

It is often the case that when chapters come out in the manga magazines, they aren't always fully polished, and since I became highly familiar with this run of chapters from the summaries I made, several things immediately jumped out at me as I went through the book. First of all, though chapter 29 was split into two parts and released in subsequent months in the magazine, these two halves were combined into one chapter, with no indication they had ever been separate. I assume that they were always intended to be one chapter, but since the full chapter was not completed before the deadline (and it was a month when 10 Dance was being given the cover image, so not possible to delay its release), it was simply split over two months instead.

For visual changes, the most common alteration was scenes that originally had little or no screentone having it added in:

There were also some instances of either slight panel redraws, or complete replacements with new panels. None of these were from particularly important scenes, so it could just be Inouesatoh or someone on her team didn't like the look of the original panels and wanted to change them. The following example has a bit of both, with Suzuki in the upper left corner being replaced, and his eyes being redrawn in the lower panel:

Personally, the most amusing addition I noticed was when Max was thinking about throwing a party. Originally, we didn't see what he was envisioning, but in the volume, an addition has been made in the background: the New Year's piece Inouesatoh drew with sexy men dressed as cows, except now they're bunnies!

As for dialogue, it appeared to be almost the same in both versions throughout. Some minor exceptions include a spot I found where the dialogue was put in a different order, swapping Sugiki’s lines between this panel and his first line on the following page (in addition to another altered panel example):

As well as in this shot of Suzuki describing how they tug at the thread that connects them through their dance. Whereas before it put the word “dance” next to the part about tugging on the thread to specify what was meant by that, it was deleted in the volume. And while it was originally described as “affirming that we’re connected”, this was also tweaked a bit to be, “affirming our connection”.

There were a couple instances of character names being different from when they appeared earlier in the story. In this volume, two characters who were last mentioned back in volume 2 (Lucas Calvo, one of the champions at the table in Blackpool, and Deeks, who Ernie said hated Sugiki because he "stole" his girlfriend), either from typos or intentional changes, weren't the same as before. Lucas' last name was written with a 'g' sound (ガルボ) instead of a 'c' (カルボ), and this change carried over to the volume. On the other hand, Deeks' (ディクス) name got transposed as Disc (ディスク) in the magazine, but was fixed in the volume.

There was a typo that unfortunately made it through to the volume (but could perhaps be fixed in future printings). In chapter 34, when Norman is testing Suzuki's skills, he flashes back to Sugiki taking the national title from him several years earlier. The text in this scene, written in English, incorrectly states that Suzuki won the championship, rather than Sugiki.

The volume also includes the usual additions that are not present in the magazine, such as the under the cover flap comic, and Inouesatoh’s notes about each chapter.

The cover flap comic (which looks very much like a sketch, compared to previous ones that have had more complete art), features the Shinyas during a practice session earlier on in the series in December, where Suzuki complains that Sugiki’s Latin just isn’t sexy. Sugiki suggests that he can practice being sexy by wiggling his butt around to write a message in the air. Suzuki worries that if he starts writing out “love” or something, he’ll have to run away and escape. Sugiki gets started, and Suzuki calls out each letter that he can make out from his elegant butt bouncing. After figuring out he’s written “M-E-R-R-Y”, Suzuki guesses that he’s writing “Merry Christmas”. Sugiki gets mad that he said it aloud before he finished writing his message, and says he’s going to leave. Suzuki says, “Wait, I love you,” as narrative text says that this somehow turned into a love story in one panel.

And here are some tidbits I found interesting/amusing from the chapter notes:

She thinks readers who are fans of pecs will like Saichi.

She’s not sure if readers will love Max or hate him, but she personally likes him (sorry Sensei, I kinda hate him lol)

As of chapter 32, a portion of the art is now done digitally.

The epic “last dance” scene from 33 was something that she had planned since the beginning of the series, and it ended up being 8 times the cost for a typical chapter.

Special edition booklet:

The special edition comes with a 48 page hardcover booklet that includes a variety of different extras, divided into 8 sections called “heats”.

Heat 1 is a newly drawn, 12 page parody manga. Back in September 2020, Inouesatoh put out a request on Twitter for fans to send in their suggestions for an erotic side story. Putting the characters in a high school setting was the most requested scenario, so she chose this idea as the basis for the story. The title is “And All That Jazz” (the premise makes this somewhat confusing to summarize, so keep in mind that I’ll mostly be describing their actions based on the soul rather than the body, but will use quotation marks if it’s about other characters and who they think they’re addressing. It’ll all make sense, I promise...I think :P)

(The title page actually depicts the ending of the story, so I’ll come back to it later). It starts with Suzuki narrating his introduction, saying that he’s a transfer student to the Standard Academy. He really doesn’t get along with a guy named Sugiki, but for some reason, the two have now switched bodies with each other. Sugiki opens his shirt and inspects his new physique in front of other students, as Suzuki yells out asking what the hell he’s doing to his body. They look at themselves wearing each other’s expressions, Sugiki seeming surprised his mouth can gape open like that, and Suzuki wondering what happened to his body’s facial expression muscles. The bell rings and Sugiki heads off to class, as Suzuki is baffled that he can act so calm about this.

Sugiki perfectly reads a passage aloud in English class, something everyone (including the teacher, who looks like Norman) find unusual coming from “Suzuki”, as they wonder where his usual hearts are. Suzuki makes the decision to enjoy living as Sugiki for a bit, and is shown getting flirty with several girls. He notes that the more serious personality in his regular body is also strangely popular, though with a very different crowd.

A student named Alberko (Alberto in a girl’s uniform) shows up and says that “Sugiki” was supposed to have lunch with her(?) today. Suzuki says that he thought Alberko was going out with Dorou (a masculine alteration to Dolores’ name). Ernie and Suzuki watch as his harem falls apart with Alberko running amok. Ernie comments that both “Sugiki” and that transfer student have been acting weird all week, and he asks if something happened. Suzuki internally reflects back to one week earlier, when he was relaxing in bed in the infirmary. Sugiki comes in and accuses him of skipping class, and Suzuki tells him to mind his own business. He thought this would turn into one of their usual fights, but he can’t believe that actually happened instead...

After school, Sugiki asks Suzuki if they can go home together today. As they’re walking, Suzuki asks if Sugiki realizes what it was that made them switch places, and Sugiki says he does. Suzuki says that in that case, they know how they need to fix it, and they should go over to his house. Sugiki asks for clarification of whose house exactly he means by that.

As they start to get undressed, Suzuki says that he always thought his mom and sisters were annoying, but after a week apart he really misses them. Sugiki promises that he’ll make sure he can see them soon. Suzuki claims that he’ll be the one making Sugiki come, and Sugiki asks how he can talk like that when he was the one who looked like he was about to cry when Sugiki first touched him in the infirmary.

Sugiki peeks into Suzuki’s pants and wonders if he won’t get hard unless he touches him. Suzuki thinks it’d be weirder if he could get hard while looking at his own face, and wonders if Sugiki has AI in his crotch or something (Sugiki contends that it’s not his body). They fool around with each other until they finish, and Suzuki wonders why they didn’t change back yet. Sugiki suggests that maybe it needs to be just like the last time to count as a complete set, when they went at it until they fell off the bed, so both agree that they need to go for one more round. This then ties back to the title page, where they’ve finally managed to get back into their old bodies, but have now sprouted cat ears and tails.

Heat 2 of the booklet is 8 pages long, and contains short comics and illustrations that were not previously included in the volume releases. The comics include “How to 10 Dance”, a one-page comic with the Shinyas demonstrating the tango. Their privates end up touching, and Sugiki seems highly amused, gleefully asking Suzuki how it feels. Suzuki says that he was the one who got all bent out of shape over that back in volume 1, and tells him to lay off the sadist mode since they’re not dancing Latin right now. The second comic is “2nd Step”, and shows a glimpse of how the Shinyas were with each other after Suzuki gave the go-ahead for kissing. In fact, Sugiki ends up kissing him so much that Suzuki’s lips get sore and swollen. Sugiki then tries to kiss his neck as an alternative, but Suzuki’s not having it. The third comic depicts Suzuki’s first time in a public bath, where he realizes that Japanese people aren’t fully shaved everywhere like he is. Some of the old guys talk to him and slap their balls with their towels, and Suzuki, seeming a bit confused, gives his own balls a slap, too. After the comics are a selection of illustrations that were never used in the volumes, including this one from a Real 10 Dance event in 2018:

Heat 3 is 18 pages, and contains a variety of colored versions of both chapter covers and scenes from the manga, a couple of which I’ll share below:

Heat 4 includes 3 pages of insight from the professional dancers who consult for the manga, in which they explain the moves shown in specific panels.

Heat 5 is a single page look at Inouesatoh’s work space.

Heat 6 is 3 pages worth of advertisements that have been used to promote the series, including things like ads that were posted in subway stations:

Heat 7 is a single page look at the storyboard for chapter 1 of the manga.

Heat 8 is a single page showing the covers for foreign editions of the manga (Taiwanese, Korean, North American, and French).

Finally, there’s one last page with a thank you message from Inouesatoh, including an absolutely precious illustration of the Shinyas in happier times.

And that’s that! This really is an incredible release, and I’d definitely recommend picking up the special edition if you can. CD Japan offers direct international shipping, and I’ve also seen that Kinokuniya lists it as “available to order” currently (though they don’t appear to have stock on hand, so might take longer).

[kyluxtrashpit]

2020 Fic Recap

I really like writing these and 2020 has been a HELL of a year, so here we go lmao. It’s been a wild ride for sure

Total wordcount: 88 109 words (note: I’m subtracting the ‘sorry I didn’t finish this, here’s a summary of the remaining plot’ that I published for a fic in a previous fandom from this since it’s not relevant here). Overall I wrote less than last year, but given all that happened in terms of the world and personally and fandom-wise and all of it, I don’t feel too bad about it lmao. I also have a lot of WIP words of half-finished things and some planning and such so I feel okay with this

Favours, 4906 words, posted Jan 4

This was a weird one cause this is a two chapter reader insert fic, the same story but told with both Phasma and Hux. I originally wrote this for Phasma, but later decided it would be easy to tweak into a Hux story (which it was lmao) and figured people might like that, so I did both. I had fun doing it, even if this is kind of a very small niche ship and trope wise

Know Your Shadow, 5022 words, posted Feb 16

Ah yes, here we are, the first foray into renben, a ship I had NO idea would grab me so hard but here we are lmao. I’m not done with them either yet, don’t you worry. There’s something about the corruption angle I really like, also Ren is HOT, and it’s also interesting to think about Kylo truly getting to find himself and be who he wants to be. Canon didn’t really satisfy on this, but the concept still interests me and it’s what had me writing this fic. Also, Ben losing his virginity to an older man like Ren is just *chef’s kiss*

Public Indecency, 3719 words, posted Mar 1

And my second renben! This was partially inspired by art and partially by just the idea of not giving one single fuck, and how thrilling that must be for someone like Ben to experience. Ren and the KOR truly do not give a shit and it’s really beautiful in a way. Plus some hinting at found family with the KOR. Ngl, Ben/Kylo finding his place and acceptance with the KOR makes me so Soft and there’s so many words I could write about it. Plus public sex is very hot lmao

Beautiful, 3254 words, posted Mar 8

Back to kylux, and this one was an old WIP I started back when the prompt was first posted on KHK in like 2019 or something. I got stuck on it and then left it for a while. I was digging through my old WIPs, looking for something that might catch my interest and boom, this one did, so I finished it and then posted it. I quite like the fic and it’s a bit more in the ~classic~ style. It’s also always a good feeling to get an old WIP done lmao

Choose Your Destiny, 5077 words, posted Mar 20

More renben and this was my fix it fic for ROKR vol 4. I talked about this more on twitter at the time and why I found the story as it was unsatisfying, but ultimately it’s really just a case of rushed writing and playing into established bad writing (e.g. showing a fall from grace by having someone kill someone eviler than themselves). I also really liked Ren and I felt like Kylo didn’t really get to have enough agency in like... any of it. His motivations were weirdly absent as well, despite this being ostensibly about him. So I wrote this, which I think handled how the story should have gone a lot better and, plus, it’s got smut!

(Okay and the rest are behind a cut for length)

Show of Devotion, 2479 words, posted Mar 28

Renben once again and this time, I mean, it’s all inappropriate use of lightsabers lmao. I was looking at the Ren and was like ‘wow that is SO phallic’ and then the horny brain turned on and, well, here we are. I also wanted a side of found family with the KOR and I think got that with this. It’s horny. It’s fun. What more could one want?

Aural, 2729 words, posted May 12

Okay this one... I have absolutely no excuses for lmao. I’m not even sure where the inspiration came from, I just remember I was in an online work meeting that was boring and the entire sequence of events played itself out in my head. It was all I could do to focus on work for the rest of the day and not immediately write this cursed creation lmao. The worst part was I’d been totally blocked on writing since March and this, THIS, was what eventually broke out of me. In case you haven’t read this one, it’s ear sex. Hux’s dick, Kylo’s ear. No, I don’t know the logistics either. But hey, I had a blast with it, both in terms of writing it and the reactions lmao. Someday I gotta write a follow up involving a nose too

Missed Chances, 10 749 words, posted Jun 7

Ah yes, this is the point where my renben met my kylux and created this absolutely enormous peanut butter cup of a fic lmao. It really was supposed to be like half the length it was, but alas, it was not. Also cockblocking kylux was SO hard, they wanted to fuck SO bad, but I had to stop them, the story demanded it lmao (and people in the comments were MAD, which is always excellent). It’s also when my renben series really started to have like, an overarching plot (aside from the modern au fics which I’ll talk about later). I even still have more instalments planned

Free Use, 6971 words, posted Jun 23

Another one that turned out far longer than initially planned, and also my most popular fic this year! I’m both surprised and not cause like. It’s a complete smut fest + my heavy headcanoning of the personalities of the KOR. People like smut, but I also feel it’s kinda niche considering how deep I’m in for the KOR lmao. So idk, I guess the smut won out. I did have a lot of fun with this one and there’s a lot of characterization thought put into each KOR, so it was really nice to see people loving that as much as I did. Canon gave us crumbs, but I just used them to make meatballs

Eat You Up, 1573 words, posted Jul 5

There’s not a lot to this one, it’s really just renben rimming cause the sexual dynamic with renben is so fun. Kylo/Ben is inexperienced yet eager and depraved enough to impress Ren, which is something considering I think of Ren as Very Experienced lmao. I really do love this ship; it’s a lot of fun to play with

In the Vents, 2002 words, posted Aug 3

Ah and this was my first piece for the stuck inside event on twitter, which I had a lot of fun with. Stuck fetish is one I’ve always wanted to explore, but never had any concrete ideas for. This event led to me finally getting to have Kylo stuck in a wall (plus more as well), which was fun. Also I spent far too long thinking about Hux’s vent contraption set up cause I knew he would never let Millie go anywhere that might hurt her, so I had to come up with a way to make the vent safe and here we are lmao. Hux being an engineer and also the most extra cat owner in existence worked out very well indeed. This was also the start of my creativity boom near the middle-end of the year that uh kinda burned out in a not so great way, but I’ll talk about that later lmao

Distraction, 3658 words, posted Aug 6

Another for the stuck inside event and another kylux/renben sandwich! Also featuring the KOR this time! Listen... it’s a gangbang, it’s got renben, it’s got kylux, it’s got Kylo getting stuffed from all ends... this is the kind of fic that, to me, is pure indulgence lmao. I had a tremendous amount of fun with it

Entrapped, 3484 words, posted Aug 8

So this was also for the stuck inside event (yes, I wrote 3 fics in about a week lmao - I don’t know how I did it either) and it’s darker than the sort of things I usually write. I enjoyed exploring something like this though, something outside my usual purview. It didn’t perform super well, but tbh the dark ones rarely do so lmao

Pit Stop, 1505 words, posted Aug 31

Welp, this is just an excuse for watersports lmao. I like piss, what can I say? And I’ve done it to kylux, so I had to do it to renben, and the modern au ‘need to pee on a road trip’ seemed like the perfect opportunity for it. Not much to say for it really

The Deal, 2431 words, posted Sep 3

Ah and this one here was the first for the throwback event I ran on twitter! The event itself ended up kind of being tainted by drama from one singular person who kind of ruined it by being a jerk for literally no good reason, but I’m not going to talk too much about that. Even with that, I still greatly enjoyed it and this piece might be my favourite from it as a whole. Kylo Amidala, political scandals, neither of them being nice... ahhhh yes, it definitely brought me back lmao

Devotion, 1929 words, posted Sep 10

Another for the throwback event, this time with Emperor and Hound dynamics which, unf, yes, I will literally never get tired of it. I really had fun with every fic from this event and this one was great because I so rarely get to write real action scenes, even if they’re in a flashback here. That and the dynamic itself really made it fun

To Be Wanted, 10 473 words, posted Sep 16

Ah yes, and here is my KBB for the year! I did a minibang this time, as, well, everything was going horribly wrong around the time of sign ups and I thought a mini would be more realistic. I think I was right on that and I’m glad I did it, even if I was torn at the time. The idea itself is one I’d been thinking about for a while. I can’t remember if I thought of it after seeing the leaks for tros or after watching the movie itself, but it’s been with me for a while and while I dithered over whether or not to sign up this year, the idea came back and was just perfect for a minibang. Plus I got an absolutely amazing and wonderful partner, which is really what makes the experience of doing bangs so great. I love this fic, I LOVE the art for it, and the whole experience was definitely a highlight to 2020 as a whole, both overall and in terms of my fandom/writing experience this year

Floss Me, 2033 words, posted Sep 21

My third for the throwback event and also the dental fetish fic I’ve wanted to write for a while now lmao but could never figure out a scenario for. As some of you may remember, 2018-2019, I went through some pretty horrific dental stuff and ultimately I think it kinda gave me a fetish lmao. Also I feel like there may or may not have been a kinky flossing prompt on one of the prompt sites at some point, but I looked everywhere and couldn’t find it so. But anyway, it was a fun fic for a kink I think is quite underrated tbh

The Cost of Certainty, 2541 words, posted Sep 25

My fourth and final piece for the throwback event, and this one is also a contender for my favourite piece from that event. I have always loved the idea of Hux being a serial killer and this was a perfect excuse to write it. I’d also recently finished a rewatch of Hannibal and, well, you can see where this came from lmao. I love writing tension and it was just very fun all around. I almost wish I’d done something like this as a long fic but tbh I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed writing it as much

Huxloween Drawings, 676 words, posted Nov 1

So this isn’t a fic but rather the drawings I did for huxloween, but people wanted them on ao3, so posted they are. Now, I mentioned above that I had this massive creative boom in Aug-Sep, but that it burned out rather badly. This is when that happened. I got into this place where I just... felt like everything I made wasn’t wanted or needed in the fandom. That everything I like is so unpopular at this point that I should just give up and leave. That I’ve spent all this time and energy over the years trying so desperately to get people engaged and so few ever cared and I just... ugh. It was bad. It was really bad and definitely partly fuelled by the bullshit that someone brought up regarding the throwback event (and I still believe that they are the sole cause of it’s poor reception). I, uh, am doing better now and still working through it all but it was a really rough time. But I found myself still wanting to be creative so I decided to draw. I am not good at drawing. I am not an artist. But that’s what made it fun: I went into each drawing knowing it wasn’t gonna look great. That wasn’t the point. So I never got upset about it. I think it helped me a lot tbh and I did really enjoy it and I’m glad I did it

Unconventional, 7243 words (in progress), updated Dec 20, first posted Nov 18

So the next part of me trying to fix the bullshit in my brain creativity-wise was to post the first chapter to this fic. This is a piece I’ve been working on since 2016-2017 (I don’t remember exactly when, but it was pre-TLJ, and I’ve gotten a new computer since so I don’t have the original creation date of the document) but I could just... never get a plot together for it and ever since I abandoned a fic in my old fandom (and this year I finally posted the ‘sorry this isn’t getting finished, here’s a closure summary’ chapter), I’ve been hesitant to post WIPs before being at least 80% done. So I said fuck it, I’m gonna post this and not be scared. Is this fic complete? Nope, but the plan is starting to come together. Do I know exactly where it’s going? Nope, but I don’t need to. Is it self-indulgent as all hell? Absolutely. I love this fic and I love this story and I love the concepts within it. So I posted it and tbh, it really helped. And I think this, combined with my writing break where I drew for 31 days straight lmao were really my saving graces here

Test Run, 3661 words, posted Dec 31

And now my final fic of the year! Which is a ship I honestly wasn’t super into (I don’t hate it, it just generally doesn’t do much for me) but then I did that thing where I thought ‘hmm but could it be written in a way that I am into?’ which, in my experience, always leads to me writing exactly that. Which is what I did here lmao. I’m pretty happy with it though and despite it being very strange to write, as I really had to work to get these two to get where they were going lmao, I had fun with it. I honestly doubt I’ll write more of them, but I’m glad I wrote this one, and I think it’s a good experiment to close out the year with

What have I learned?

Honestly, this year was a clusterfuck lmao. 2019 wasn’t great for me either, but we all lived through this and it was certainly An Experience. I think what this year really helped me focus on was what made me happy. I ended up in some dark places and I don’t want to go there again. It feels repetitive to say that, once again, I have learned that writing what I want is key when I say that every damn year, but tbh I think 2020 underscored it even more so. Spite as a motivator, when used to much, smothers the spark of creativity and the joy of creation. The most important lesson I learned this year by far is to not let that take the driver’s seat. A dash here and there? That’s fine. But as your main motivator? That’s just not healthy. And I need to work to keep it from consuming me like it has been for too long

Goals for 2021?

So last year I didn’t set any hard goals and boy, is it a good thing I didn’t, cause I achieved none of them lmao. I didn’t write more words (though I did write more individual fics, and the word count gap between this year and last is about the size of the difference between a big bang fic and a mini bang fic so really, I think I did okay), I didn’t even write a single fic for BTHB, and, to be really honest, I did not manage to keep my love for writing alive the whole time. I was in a really dark place a few times this year, but that drop in Sep-Oct was the worst from a creative standpoint. I feel like I’m mostly out of it now, even if I still have some work to do maintaining it. I’m hopeful for the future in that regard. The only thing I really did accomplish was that I feel positively towards all the fics I wrote; I’m happy and proud of all of them

So what is my goal? Honestly, I feel like every year I have to relearn the lesson of ‘write what you want, have fun, be self-indulgent, fuck expectations, etc.’ and my goal this year is to not have to relearn that again, but to keep that energy and carry it with me for the whole year. I realize I may have to put some effort in there, but I’m okay with that. I don’t know what 2021 has in store, but if I can just keep my passion alive and not fall into that pit again, I’m calling it a win

[crimson-snowfall]

[Commission] Blooming Love

Pairing: Isaac x Botanist!MC

Word Count: 2441

Commissioned by: @savourthelittlethings​

Isaac’s POV

The vast array of books in Le Comte’s library have always been a treasure trove of knowledge for the mansion’s residents. A thick pile of books lay on my table, and while I do normally prefer to take my reading materials into the solitude of my room, recently I seem to have developed a strange preference towards this place– not that it was any much different from my own room considering that it was actually quiet most of the time, since the other residents rarely frequent this place.

I flipped through the pages of a foreign academic journal, and though I may not be so fluent with the language it had been written in, mathematics is a universal language, so the language barrier had never been that much of a hindrance for me when it comes to my research.

What bothers me though, is that try as I might, I couldn’t seem to concentrate. Looking out at the window for what seemed to be the hundredth time since I had settled on this desk that just so happened to have the perfect view on one of the mansion's outdoor gardens, I could only heave a sigh of resignation as the curious woman outside commanded my undivided attention.

That carefree smile on her face told me that she was once again lost in her own little world. She sketched the now budding flowers I believe she had grown herself with unrivaled enthusiasm, and it reminded me of that fateful encounter a few weeks ago.

Thinking back on it, that's probably when it all began.

<<Flashback>>

I had just finished returning the books I had borrowed from the library and was on my way out, when my eyes caught sight of a book laying on one of the desks. I decided to pick it up for closer inspection.

Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, Vol. 12.

I quirked a brow in mild intrigue. I do not recall having a botanist amongst the residents. Or perhaps it was Leonardo? His involvement and contributions in a lot of disciplines was what made him the Renaissance Man, it wouldn’t be surprising if botany was one of those disciplines.

In any case, I might as well return this to its proper shelf. I made my way towards the natural sciences section of the library… and that was when I saw her again.

It was the woman from the future who had somehow ended up wandering into this time. The last time I saw her was at the banquet, on the same night she had arrived from that door. Right now, she appears to be too occupied with trying to reach for a book on the upper shelves, that she had failed to notice my presence.

Wordlessly, I took the book she had been reaching for and offered it to her. 

"Oh, thank you!" Her voice was mellow and pleasant to the ears.

"It's nothing."

"Sir Isaac, isn't it?" She tilted her head a little on the side as she verified my identity. On the other hand, I was rather surprised that she had even remembered my name.

"Yes," I affirmed, "...but you can just call me Isaac."

I spared her a furtive glance, but she wasn't looking at me. Rather, the book I had picked up from the desk a while ago seemed to have caught her attention.

"You're interested in botany too?" 

For some unfathomable reason, the way her eyes lit up as she asked me that question rendered me at loss for words. It was such a simple question, and yet… the notion of disappointing her by revealing that I just happened to pick up the book just didn’t sit very well with me.

It’s almost as though I wanted her to keep on looking at me like that.

She seemed to have deduced the truth from my silence either way, and the next thing I know, she was apologizing to me, head hung low in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, that was quite presumptuous of me…”

“N-No, no it’s not…!” And without giving any much thought to my next words, I added, “It’s not my expertise, but I’m always open to new knowledge. That’s why… I would really appreciate it if you could tell me all about it.”

By the time my rationality had caught up with my senses, she was already beaming up at me, that warm light back in her eyes.

“Do you mean it?”

“Of course I mean it,” and no sooner than those words had left my lips, she had practically dragged me off by my hand on the nearest desk, the spring in her step perhaps an indication of her excitement… and as she began what would eventually turn out to be a lengthy lecture on the basic principles of botany, waves of nostalgia washed over me, and I began to understand my previous reactions and what compelled me to act the way I did.

She reminded me of my younger years; I know exactly what it feels like to be enraptured by the beauty of the natural world, hence why I ended up spending– and continue to spend my taste of eternity in pursuit of my goal of unraveling its truths. That’s why I am also familiar with the dejection that naturally accompanies the harrowing realization that I didn’t have anyone I can share the exquisite, unique brand of fulfillment one derives from pursuing their respective passions. 

Perhaps I’m just overthinking it�� maybe she feels things differently from how I felt back then– anyway I’d really rather not dwell trying to decode things as unpredictable as human emotions, but one thing I’m sure of was that I didn’t want to take my chances and accidentally make her feel that way... and that was when I knew I just couldn’t leave her alone.

She talked about a lot of things, and it left me feeling rather delighted how advances in physics over the next century lead to the development of more complex microscopes, which in turn revolutionized the study of a lot of biological fields, botany included.

“...So naturally, a lot of things changed after the scientific community finally got their hands on the technology that enabled them to study the molecular organization of life forms with higher accuracy. In the modern day, though the strict use of epithets in botany is regulated by international codes, it is highly considered impractical and outdated,” she went on as she made neat annotations on the book I had gotten for her a while ago.

“And that’s what all those corrections are for?”

“Exactly. There has been a consensus in the scientific community that actual evolutionary processes and genetic relationships should be reflected in the plant classification system for it to be both functional and truly objective. However, the technological means to actualize that goal only came to be in the more recent decades of my time, with a ground-breaking classification of angiosperms consolidating molecular phylogenetics, which is one of the best available methods in the present.”

For the first time in my life, I must admit that this conversation finally gave me the slightest hints with regards to how my students must have felt back then. I couldn’t make sense of some of the botanical jargon she casually threw around in her mini-lecture, but at the same time I really didn’t want to interrupt and ask her since she really looked like she was enjoying herself.

Well, as long as she could have someone who would lend her an ear… then that should be enough, right?

<<End of Flashback>>

Little did I know back then that what would start out as a sense of liability to be a listening ear to her would gradually turn into something more, and on this particular day, I’m about to be enlightened as to what that ‘something more’ encompassed.

I know for a fact that she uses those sketches to keep track of the plants’ growth, and after making her rounds through the garden checking everything she had planted, she would usually head to the veranda where she would summarize that day’s records. 

But not this time.

Right after her routine inspection, she skipped off to the main gate. I rose from my seat to get a better view of where she’s headed, and much to my dismay… she headed straight into the direction of the forest. I understand that she’s simply practicing her profession, and frankly I feel like if I say anything about it then I would just be getting in her way but… sometimes, I just wished that she’d look out for herself more by not abandoning her sense of self-preservation at the drop of a hat. Seeing that she’s clearly beyond that point in this situation, my legs began to move on its own, and in no time I was dashing out of the mansion, determined to catch up so as to not lose sight of her.

I tried to follow her as discreetly as I could, but I couldn’t hold back the small curses that erupted from my lips as she went deeper into the forest and the increasingly thicker undergrowth threatened to trip me every now and then. Gods, just how much further is she planning to venture in? Years of experience may have honed her skills to navigate through this infernal, uneven terrain, but I don’t like the idea of her fending for herself alone should the unseen dangers of this forest decide to capitalize on her little quest for more plants to study.

After what felt to me like hours of battling my way through the forest undergrowth, a small clearing in the forest came into sight; it was adorned with flowers of all sizes and colors. She sat just right in the middle of it, and for a few minutes that's what all she did; she just sat there and took in her surroundings, breathing in its pleasant, floral scent, with a smile that I could only assume to be a proportionate mixture of delight and contentment accentuating her beau– no wait, what am I thinking?

Shaking off the strange thoughts coming into my mind, I concealed myself behind a tree trunk so as to not be a distraction to her. After a while, she took out her notebook and began jotting down notes and sketching the abundance of flowers in the area, when one particular flower seemed to have caught her eye.

I may be one to talk though– seeing as I myself didn't realize that my own eyes have been way too caught with keeping watch on her that I neglected awareness over my own surroundings. I failed to hold back a shriek of alarm as I felt something, perhaps a forest bug, crawl over my leg… so long story short, I had blown my cover and now her full attention is on me.

"Isaac?" Her voice was laced with concern as she hastily made her way over to my side, "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, a bug just crawled over my leg…" I couldn't meet her worried gaze in sheer embarrassment. Then, without any warning, she pulled me up from my hiding spot and led me by the hand into the clearing as though it was the most natural thing in the world, and I, utterly dumbfounded by the gesture, could only follow her lead.

"Thank you for always looking out for me, Isaac. But you should really look out for yourself too, you know?"

...I can't believe I'm actually the one getting told off for not looking after oneself. Besides, how did she even come to that conclusion? But then again from what I have seen of her, she can be quite intuitive, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised she was able to figure it all out on her own.

In an attempt to save face, I initiated a new topic.

"So, did you find something new?"

The excitement she radiated over my question was akin to a flower bursting into full bloom, and once again, I find myself at the mercy of her delicate charms. She pointed to a tiny patch of flowers that are light violet in color.

"Viola cryana, a flowering plant species that was already extinct in my time. I wasn't even expecting to come across one of them here since they're supposed to be endemic in the region of Yonne," she explained.

"Then if you found them here when they're supposed to be endemic in that region, doesn't that open up the possibility that it wasn't extinct after all?"

"Exactly! Even so, I plan on taking measures to ensure that it doesn't really go extinct," her voice reflected her determination towards her newfound goal. “A lot of people don’t realize just how important plants are. Even in the future, a lot of ingredients used in the medicine that treat various diseases are synthesized from naturally occurring compounds commonly found in plants, and who knows what disease this plant may have the cure for in the future? Also, it has been proven that...”

She had me utterly enthralled by her passionate address, that once again, I had lost sense of my surroundings, only this time, it wasn’t any forest bug crawling up my leg that had brought me back to reality. Rather, it was the faint, but definitely warm brush of her breath against my lips as she suddenly looked up at me, and that ardent passion in her eyes almost threatened to draw me in closer, closer, and closer– until both of us abruptly turned away as our senses came rushing back to us.

For a few moments, only the sounds of nature filled the air. She had been one to break the awkward silence between us.

“I-I’m sorry, I got a little c-carried away...” 

I dared to steal one glance on her, and at the very least, I found it rather comforting to know that I’m not the only one whose cheeks were burning up, even though this warm, fuzzy feeling that accompanied this experience is still completely foreign to me.

“No, it’s m-my fault. I got t-too close…” I stood up from where I was seated next to her. “Regardless, I think it’s getting late. We should be heading back now…”

Our trip back to the mansion went without incident. However, little did I know that on that fateful day, in the second instance I have lost sense of my surroundings, I may not have had a forest bug crawl over my leg, but it may have been the moment the love bug has bitten me.

Commissions Page | Ikevamp Fics

[mirrorfalls]

The Alchemist When He’s Full of Metal, Vol. 27

(Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7, Vol. 8, Vol. 9, Vol. 10, Vol. 11, Vol. 12, Vol. 13, Vol. 14, Vol. 15, Vol. 16, Vol. 17, Vol. 18, Vol. 19, Vol. 20, Vol. 21, Vol. 22, Vol. 23, Vol. 24, Vol. 25, Vol. 26)

And lo, there shall be an ending.

A double-triple-deluxe ending. It’s never an easy prospect, giving everyone something to do in your Grand Finale, but the genre pretty much demands it - even when the finesse needed to juggle dozens of protagonists and deuteragonists in the same room have crushed countless otherwise-talented writers. On the low end of the scale, of course, we have our pick of any Big Two kill-a-hundred-C-listers-cripple-a-couple-more crisis crossover (which, adding insult to injury, never actually end anything apart from the fans’ patience), and on the high end...

... on the high end, this is a pretty good candidate.*

I suppose I’m cheating, since this particular Final Battle started anywhere from one to six volumes beforehand, during which everyone from the Armstrongs to the Curtises to the Xingese to Scar to Marcoh to Yoki got to contribute something. But this is where the not-my-our victory theme truly congeals. Here, a lesser writer would’ve decided everyone else has already done their part and relegated them to cheerleading while Ed pastes the Dwarf solo; here, Arakawa makes damn sure that you know Ed owes it all to the sacrifices of unambiguous friends....

... and supposed foes.

Now, in case you think I’m getting too gushy: I still think the Dwarf in itself is an underwhelming Big Bad, and its actual “death” scene is visually impressive but emotionally not too different from setting the week’s trash out on the curb. I’m also not too unsympathetic to those who came away from this scene deciding Truth is the real Big Bad of the series**, or that the true moral is closer to “Equivalent Exchange rules all... but there’s still a guy at the top who gets to rule on what Equivalent is.”

A point made all too clear by what comes after.

Don’t get me wrong - I love that Arakawa doesn’t let the Epic War story get the last word over the small, all-too-human quest the Elrics started out on. And Ed’s giving up all his powers (and implicitly at least 75% of his combat ability) is still refreshingly unique among Shonen protagonists, even counting those whose powers are literally lethal curses. But I really could’ve done without Truth suddenly deciding to like and approve of the kid like some kind of auxiliary sensei. Even if it’s not a cheat - and I don’t think the manga ever denies that every single Gate Exchange only happened because Truth let it happen - it drains quite a bit of ambiguity and hardship from a scene that could only have benefited from both.

And then you’ve got Mustang’s equivalent to the above:

Okay, so Mustang never willingly entered the Gate - it’s fair enough he’d get his eyes back with less fuss, and on top of that he doesn’t actually get to be Fuehrer. I’ve no complaints on that front, but I wish a bit more space had been devoted to the Ishvalans beyond “Bad Army Men out, Good Army Men make everything okay for you oppressed peons now!” In particular, it feels off for Scar’s final scene to be with the uniforms that wreaked so much havoc on his people; I’m not saying he should’ve turned his backs on them entirely, but tell me it wouldn’t have been more heartwarming to see him rejoining the other Ishvalan refugees, or even Mei and Yoki.

Speaking of heartwarming... okay, I don’t have the time or space to go into all of the different epilogue-threads, but I’d just like to highlight this one in particular, because more than any of the others it lands just the right amount of hope.

Selim is, in the final analysis, a Nina who was saved - an innocent child, involved in repulsive alchemy experiments through no fault of his own, now untangled from it all and allowed to live as freely as he can. And through him, Arakawa raises a question I’d been wondering a while now: why should Homunculi be so feared and hated on sight, to the point where Mustang and friends spend multiple chapters acting like the Fuehrer being a Homunculus should in itself be a career-ending scandal? Oh, the seven Sins have the whole stigma from the Dwarf, fair enough, but they can’t have been the only Homunculi in existence, else the secrecy of their existence would preclude Amestris even having a term for it; and hell, when the chips were down, one of those seven turned around and gave its life to do the right thing.

They can learn. They can change. They can love. Not for certain - but then, a child should never be a promise, only potential. Potential to go higher than the last generation ever dreamed - or lower than it ever dreaded.

And that, ladies and gents, was Fullmetal Alchemist.

Is it good? Definitely.

Is it great? In many parts, yes.

Is it the epitome of everything the Internet says it is? No - at least, not at the stage I read it.

I can say this without hesitation: if this had been my first or second or even fifth Shonen, devoured anytime during my school years, I’d almost certainly be a full-on stan today. It’s a machine with many, many excellent parts - maybe too many to build a properly excellent whole. You’ve got all the talent and ingredients for a first-rate fighting fantasy, or globetrotting political thriller, or horror-fable about the follies of playing God, or goofy-ass romcom, or heartbreaking war drama, or a half-dozen other storytypes. Perhaps a more seasoned author could’ve mined the strongest benefits of each while keeping them all in line; as-is, they compete with each other as much as they complement. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen a perfectly poignant moment cut apart by an ill-timed joke, or how many many potentially interesting plot/character moments were either let down by insufficient worldbuilding or left dangling altogether.

(I’m told that 108 is some sort of sacred number in Japan, so I presume Arakawa had the total length mapped out before she even started the series, But as any author can tell you, no outline survives contact with reality; some characters might have been better off folded into others, some plot-threads trimmed altogether. I, for one, still can’t quite figure out why the heroes needed four chimeras turned to their side.)

At my current age, I suppose my eyes are a little too jaded, a little too impatient with (or worse, eager to point out) shortcomings big and small and subjective alike. But make no mistake: I don’t regret finally finishing this little epic, and if half my mutuals’ accounts are to be believed, it's just the start of the real fun to be had with the series.

Hi-ho, to AO3!

*The midpoints that come most immediately to (my) mind are Harry Potter, Gravity Falls, and Samurai Jack. Which stands atop which is an exercise for the individual reader.

**Y’know, there is still plenty of time for Arakawa to roll out a sequel series where our heroes fight actual God instead of a wannabe. ‘til then, let’s content ourselves with this.

[aion-rsa]

Infinite Frontier and What’s Next for the DC Universe

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

DC Comics released a first look at its March comics, the first batch after the end of the multiverse-spanning Dark Nights: Death Metal and the pause-everything company wide reset Future State, and from our first glimpse of the solicitations, the big changes coming in Future State look like they might be sticking around. 

With the sheer volume of change that DC underwent in the last year – new distributors, new release days, personnel changes, cancellations and FanDomes included – there was a lot of speculation about the future of the comics line. This first batch of solicitations provide an interesting answer to that speculation. It looks like, post-Future State, DC’s changing everything. By keeping some things the same.

Here are our biggest takeaways…

It All Counts

Dark Nights: Death Metal #6 features a big twist where Wonder Woman powers up for the final battle with The Batman Who Laughs by reactivating all of DC’s past continuity. YES, that’s ridiculous, but it’s also awesome: the DC Universe contains 80+ years of stories, and they’re never, ever better than when they are playing around in what’s come before. 

So while Future State is a look forward at what’s to come for the DC Universe, the most exciting part of what follows is how much it takes in what came before:

Justice League, by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez, is bringing in Black Adam, clearly following up on recent events in Endless Winter.

Batman: Urban Legends is full of cuts both fresh and deep, with Matthew Rosenberg and Ryan Benjamin continuing the story of Wildstorm’s Grifter in Gotham, while Brandon Thomas and Max Dunbar start an old-school Outsiders story with Katana, Metamorpho and Black Lightning. 

Suicide Squad kicks off a new run from Robbie Thompson and Eduardo Pansica with Peacemaker. The last time he was hanging with the Squad was in John Ostrander and Kim Yale’s classic run. 

And the Crime Syndicate makes its return with a limited series by Andy Schmidt and Kieron McKown with a blend of the classic team (with an Ultraman origin backup from Bryan Hitch) and the Trinity War era Syndicate – Atomica is one of the newest additions to the team.  

You’ve also got plenty of forward-looking stories, starting with the big one kicking it all off. Infinite Frontier #0 is the jam book spearheaded by Josh Williamson, but with samples from much of the rest of the DCU, functioning the same way that DC: Rebirth #0 did. It’s got some of Joelle Jones’ new Wonder Woman; some of Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad’s new status quo for Diana; and the next big move for the Joker spinning out of Joker War.

New Faces

Hands down the most exciting part of Future State is all the new blood brought in to create the books, and seeing them carry over to the main DCU is invigorating. New blood means new perspectives, and new perspectives can completely turn the old superhero formula on its head.

Also, some of these creative teams are bonkers. Wes Craig (Deadly Class) doing a Superman story in the Red & Blue anthology! Mariko Tamaki (Wonder Woman) and Dan Mora (Once & Future) on Detective Comics! Tom Taylor on a Nightwing he can’t kill! Presumably.

But we’re also getting new faces in the books. Ram V, maybe the hottest writer DC has at the moment, is sticking with his Future State: Swamp Thing collaborator Mike Perkins to put a new face in the Green: Levi Kamei is the new Swamp Thing in the main DCU.

Red X, Dick Grayson’s other secret identity from the various Teen Titans cartoons, is making his comics debut in Future State: Teen Titans, and Tim Sheridan and Rafa Sandoval are going to keep using him when we get back to normal continuity.

Damian Wayne is getting a new costume in Williamson and Gleb Melinkov’s story, “Demon and Detective,” running as a backup in Batman and Detective Comics.

And then there’s the book I can’t actually order fast enough: Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan and The Terrifics) and Ivan Reis (like, everything big from DC for the last half-decade, including some awesome Aquaman and Superman) diving into the multiverse for Batman/Superman, introducing three villains from the old movie serials as Batman and Superman nemeses from parallel Earths. It’s so beautiful!

Plenty to Sample

DC’s anthologies seem to have been successful enough that they’re going to keep putting them out. Batman: Black & White continues to be Eisner-bait, and DC is trying to transfer some of that magic over to Superman: Red & Blue, which will run short stories by prestige creators that use only those two colors. Meanwhile, Batman: Urban Legend looks like another chance for multiple creative teams to tell quick hit stories that are either artistic experiments, backdoor “pilots” for future books, or tryouts for up and coming creatives.

And many other regular titles – Batman, Superman, Action Comics, Detective Comics, Wonder Woman, to name a few – are coming with backup stories and extra pages. It’s extra bang for your buck, plus it’s a nice way to tie the line together without publishing multiple books like they’re one story (I’m looking at you, ‘90s X-Men comics). However these backups and anthologies are going to work, they should be valuable parts of the publishing universe. 

Also valuable to DC: not killing your creators or readers. Double shipping – putting out a new issue of Batman every two weeks, for example – is logistically complicated, taxing, and expensive for me. That’s done: everything is coming out monthly.

In fact, there seems to be more of an effort at truth in advertising with some of these titles, with more books advertised up front as miniseries than I can remember in the past. There is some speculation among people who monitor comics sales that advertising a story as a mini upfront can restrict its readership. But creatively, knowing that there is an end can often make the story more meaningful. And let’s be honest, most comic readers are reading for the story and not the title – when a story in a book ends, people move on, regardless of whether the subsequent issue is a new #1 or issue 768.

Black Label’s Still Got It 

DC’s prestige line, Black Label, has been one of the focal points of speculation, but judging by these offerings, everything keeps humming along. Tom King’s whole line of books (Batman/Catwoman, Rorschach, and Strange Adventures) are all well underway, and now with added Helena Wayne. The Dreaming: Waking Hours kicks off a new arc. And John Ridley and Giusseppe Cammuncoli’s maybe-masterpiece, The Other History of the DC Universe, drops its Katana issue in March. Rumors of Black Label being on the chopping block don’t seem to have had anything to them.

Grant Morrison’s Swan Song

The last bit of news from DC’s March solicits is a sad one. Grant Morrison, the architect of so much of what has made the DC universe beautiful for the last 25 years, is stepping away from that world on March 9th. That day sees the publication of their final two DC comics: The Green Lantern Season Two #12, and Wonder Woman Earth One vol. 3. 

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The beautiful thing is, Morrison was a huge proponent of the “everything matters” school of comics continuity, making it their central thesis on their Batman run, but also using it to incredible effect in their Superman triptych. It’s really easy to see their influence on the last 25 years of DC stories, but that influence has only grown stronger over the last few years, as a generation of comics creators took over the industry committed to honoring and integrating everything that came before. Hell, it’s the entire point of Death Metal. So for their DC career to wrap up as their influence reaches its textual peak is just a nice way to go out. 

The post Infinite Frontier and What’s Next for the DC Universe appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[kenkamishiro]

zakki:re translations Part 1 (pg. 10-29, Vol. 1-2 illustrations)

Hello and welcome to the zakki:re translations post! It took a bit of time to think about how I’d have to structure these translations, but I’ve figured it out for the most part.

What this series of posts will be is a text translation of Ishida’s comments accompanied by the art he’s referring to (the actual art itself that’s been available online, not a picture taken from zakki:re. It’ll make more sense once you start going through the post, I promise). It will also include some commentary from me for some additional context, which will be marked as “T/N” for “translator notes”.

What this will NOT include are photographs of the book. If I take pictures of the book, they will be contained in a different post since I don’t want the translations posts to be more cluttered than they already are. I also won’t include any illustrations that don’t have commentary attached to them unless they’re somehow relevant to it.

They will be posted every 1-2 days depending on my schedule, and have roughly 10 pieces of commentary each which I found was a good length.

And lastly, some terminology before I begin. TG = Tokyo Ghoul (overall, like the fandom tag), OG = the first Tokyo Ghoul series, :re = Tokyo Ghoul:re.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy!

[T/N: This illustration was a magazine cover that included the blurb, "Justice has now been commenced." Presented this way since this is how it appears in zakki:re.]

zakki:re has now begun. Just like zakki, the comments on the paintings and such will be referred to as accordingly. I hope you enjoy.

This is the first cover on which :re began.

It gives off a certain vibe, hence the "Justice, commence!" blurb. At least that's probably what my editor thought.

I thought at the time that I was seriously going to fail to hand in my manuscript in time. It almost became, “Justice, commence (starting next week)!”

Weekly Young Jump 2014, Issue no. 46, Cover illustration

Volumes 1-4 of :re were prefaced with colour pages. Hinami was a member of Aogiri Tree, and Kanae was distressed over Tsukiyama.

Shirazu’s character looks kinda dangerous here for some reason, doesn’t he?

Weekly Young Jump 2014, Issue no. 46, Opening colour page

An image of a sky, as if it’s connected to the sky from the last chapter of OG. A certain three people from the final chapter are also standing here.

Weekly Young Jump 2014, Issue no. 46, Opening colour page

The cover illustration for volume 1 of :re. I used up all my energy drawing Haise. But he turned out quite well, don’t you think? He’s holding a Kitahara Hakushuu book in his hand.

I thought I should draw the story from the CCG perspective, so I introduced the character known as Sasaki Haise, an investigator who is a half-ghoul.

Before :re began I also created the Qs characters all at once for the shock factor. I took a break in between OG and :re, but it was only 3 weeks if I recall. I remember at the time I was working on the setting and drawing, so I ended up busier than usual during that writing period.

When OG ended, one of the staff asked, “Is it really over?” in confusion, and I answered, “Yeah, it’s really over.” It wasn’t really a lie since it was OG that had ended.

2014, Volume 1, Cover illustration

[T/N: The quality of this illustration isn’t good since I took it from the table of contents in Volume 1. But the neat thing is in zakki:re, the quality is so good that you can clearly read the words in the book that Haise is reading. Right now he’s reading Hakushuu’s poem “Blue Dragonfly.”]

Ui-kun has risen the ranks. Looks like he’s gone through a lot.

2014, Volume 1, Frontispiece

The exterior of the pinup, I think. From the series of mysterious outfits. Seems it’s based off a military uniform?

Weekly Young Jump 2015, Joint issue no. 6~7, Special long pinup

This is an illustration I drew using CLIP STUDIO. I’ve always used Sai for drawing, but when I was drawing the ending cards for the 2nd season of the OG anime (the ones that moved along with amazarashi’s “Seasons Die One After Another”), I decided to try drawing using CLIP STUDIO on a whim, and I kept using it for a while. Later I also drew the Trump card illustrations using CLIP STUDIO. I don’t use it anymore but looking back, the end product has a really distinct look to it, which makes me wonder if I should try using this program again...

Weekly Young Jump 2015, Issue no. 12, Cover illustration

[T/N: Couldn’t find the raw version of this illustration. This page was scanned by Imperial Scans (RIP).]

At the time it seems I pressed my editor, “What’s ��On Christmas Eve the Qs bell is ringing’ supposed to mean?” for answers. But hey, doesn’t “Qs bell” sound kinda cool?

Weekly Young Jump 2015, Joint issue no. 4~5, Center colour illustration

[T/N: Not completely raw, but close enough. Scan for this illustration done by Twisted Hel Scans (also RIP).]

You’ve probably realized it by now, but the opening pages and the center colour illustrations from the YJ magazines were printed as they originally were back then.

Since the magazine design would be lost for those who didn’t buy the magazine back then, it would’ve been a shame since L.S.D. (the design company) worked extremely hard to make it look good. I also think the blurbs that my editor came up can be considered a work of their own (such as ‘Qs bell’).

Of course, I’m sure there are people who want to see the paintings in their original state. I felt the same way which was why I was conflicted about it, but I’ve accepted it in this form for this time.

The volume illustrations and the magazine illustrations have been arranged in chronological order as much as possible. I hope you can enjoy it together with the circumstances of my editor’s work.

If I ever get another opportunity, I’d like to have an art book with just illustrations only.

Weekly Young Jump 2015, Joint issue no. 6~7, Opening colour page

[T/N: The version of this illustration in zakki:re doesn’t include any text.]

Colour pinup from the appendix of YJ magazine. I added in Scarecrow who hadn’t appeared in the story yet (I didn’t know when I would add him in). I had fun drawing the 4 people above. I really like Nutcracker in particular.

Weekly Young Jump 2015, Joint issue no. 6~7, Special long pinup

The character popularity poll illustration contest (I think it was with Nico Nico Seiga). I drew some shikishi and gave them as gifts to those who submitted illustrations. This illustration itself feels nostalgic.

Weekly Young Jump 2015, Issue no. 12, Opening colour page

[T/N: Updated with HQ scans from TG_Hub. Thank you!]

The cover of :re volume 2 featuring Touka.

I chose something relaxing for the off-centre composition while still following the general flow of the OG volume, conveying that she has become more cunning. A reference to "zakki", so it'd be great if you could compare between the two.

Haise looks good in shades of brown.

This is the interior of the Chateau where the Qs resided, and it was designed by a good friend who I’ll call J-chan. A luxury home with the Qs’ bedrooms, common room, kitchen, Haise’s room, and the training room, fully furnished. I got the data from him so that I could preview it and look around in 3-D, so I included it in the instructions for drawing the backdrop as a reference. Thanks!

[T/N: If you want to see the comparison to OG zakki, click here. Also, the Qs chateau that Ishida’s friend designed...is ripped from The Sims 4. No, I’m not kidding.]

Weekly Young Jump 2015, Volume 2 cover

I took a bunch of my scribbles and reused them for the colour pages in the volume.

At the very beginning I drew Mucchan (Mutsuki Tooru), and moved on to other characters from there. As Saiko hadn't appeared in the story yet, her face isn't shown here. "Saiko absolutely won't show up for an entire volume," was my iron will.

2015, Volume 2, Frontispiece

next

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Iruma-kun 10 - 12 | Shinchou Yuusha 9 - 12 (FINAL) | Dr Stone 22 - 24 (FINAL) | BnHA 72 - 74 | Stars Align 9 - 12 (FINAL) | No Guns Life 10 - 12 (FINAL)

Iruma-kun 10

That mascot is still around to annoy poor Kalego, huh? (LOL) I also noticed the demonstration demons have horns like oni.

Oh no! This means Azz-Azz is a prime target for Iruma!

(I was going to write something. Then I got so engrossed in the action, I forgot to…)

LOL, Sabro’s too heavy for Team A to lift!

Oh, Iruma’s hair isn’t tied anymore…

“…pruning this cactus.” – Does Eggie-sensei like plants?

Ooh, the first double-parter ever for this show, I think it is.

Shinchou Yuusha 9

Apparently ep 10 got delayed…*sigh*

LOL, thre’s product placement for a certain ice cream brand in this episode, huh?

Can we not with the boob grope???

*Rista takes care of Mash and Elulu* - Rista’s such a mom sometimes…

Stars Align 9

This one scene with Nao looks really blue…it’s almost unsettling.

Oh dear…I understand the sentiment of an inferiority complex all too well.

Dr Stone 22

Now we’re back to good ol’ science vs. survival of the fittest philosophy clash. Now, see, that’s the Dr Stone I like best!

Torricelli’s law.

Why is mica like baumkuchen? Probably because it has a lot of layers…

Wow, for WSJ – which encouraged fangirls all over the world to make yaoi/shonen ai ships – they sure tossed out the yaoi/shonen ai option real fast…

Skarn. I’ve never heard of it until now.

Magma, staring at the product of magma…LOL.

I…don’t get it. Even after watching the bit again, I don’t understand why Magma was trying to save Senku.

So…as is said for most WSJ series, the treasure was the friends we made along the way…LOL, what a way to acknowledge a trope.

Lemme guess…surprise birthday party? (Sorry, when I was reading up on Magma earlier, I saw that Magma helps with a birthday surprise for Senku and I found out what it was.)

I wonder if Rei is still up there at this point…? (Who’s Rei? You’ll find out if you read the Byakuya reboot…)

Well, “Rock Day” only works in Japanese. The language would’ve drifted over thousands of years so it shouldn’t work in the year 5731 (or whatever year Dr Stone is set).

Dr Stone 23

One episode until the end…but I’m away over Christmas, so I’ll have quite a bit to catch up on when I’m back. Update: I never did end up going away over Christmas.

Senku is much more of a trickster hero than an action hero. That’s been pretty obvious all the way through, but here it’s at its most obvious.

Oh, so Kaseki made the village bridge? Is that a correct assumption…? Update: I think the answer was yes from the manga.

How much chemistry does Gen know, anyway? Assuming he’s a humanities person because of psychology and his tricks, it must only be basic, right?

Thse intense stares…I’ve been reading JJBA: DiU lately, so I’m expecting an 80s-style “!!” to appear over someone’s head at this point, LOL.

Ooh, hardware. In fact, it looks like the inside of a computer…or, more relevant to this case, a phone.

So it’s not “rules are rules” anymore? Now Kinro’s changed his words to reflect his faith in Senku…hmm! Interesting! (Update: A quick google says Kinro is 18. Senku is about 18 (+ 3700 years). Plus, after they start dragging Ginro away, Kinro says his trademark line.)

Wouldn’t the coal smoke alert Tsukasa of the village’s location, though…? Then again, thanks to Homura and Hyouga, Tsukasa already knows their location…oops.

Rochelle salt.  

I saw that one shot of the world from the 1st OP and I thought there was meant to be a post-credits segment…LOL, nope.

Dr Stone 24 (FINAL)

The “acquisition message” basically said “We didn’t (just) need one cell phone, (so) it was useless!” Notably, it uses the counter for large items (like computers) for the phone.

Having finished the Byakuya reboot now, I wanna cry every time I hear about the guy…

Oh! The eyecatch is a record!

Basically, what records do is that they recreate sounds by using vibrations created by the grooves of the disc. Sound is a set of vibrations.

“Astronauts are science elites…” – Except maybe Lillian Weinberg…

I like Shamil out of the guys from the Soyuz the most. He’s a cross between Tsukasa and Senku. Stoic yet skeptical, a voice of reason for Byakuya’s sillier outbursts.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the shield was made with CGI, tbh.

Byakuya’s humour here is betraying the emotional capacity of the scene…it’s gone from “100% tear-inducing” to “confusing”.

Please sing Tsubasa wo Kudasai, Lillian…*crosses fingers*

I didn’t get what I wanted, but oh well. This song is good too. (I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the record player was CGI too. It’s good CGI for sure.)

LOL, Puyo Puyo! Even Sherlock Holmes! Dragon Ball, Nintendo Switch, VR, Saiyuki! It’s like a treasure trove of references!

Normally the s2 announcement comes after the credits, so I was thrown for a loop when it was announced before the ED…anyways, this is the end of the s1 coverage. See you for s2!

BnHA 72

[no notes, sorry!]

Iruma-kun 11

Robin looks like Iruma…(this vaguely annoys me.)

I noticed Keroli (sp?) is in the back left, alone…that’s kinda sad.

Sabro is hella tall…even taller than Azz-kun, and that says something.

Ah…I love Eggie-sensei. He’s so funny!

Really? I thought Sullivan wrote them (the rules).

I wanna see an episode where Eggie-sensei can’t turn into his fuzzy form and has to do familiar activities with Iruma. That, or an episode where Eggie-sensei has some human parts and some familiar ones (although that would scare some little kids, I think…)

What a Machiavellian mindset Eggie-sensei has!

Iruma’s got wine, people! Underage drinking is a no-no! (partially joking)

Good on ya, Clara! Go kick those girls to the kerb!

The butterflies are so beautiful in this show!

So basically school clubs.

Hmm…it’s almost a Fordist approach. I mean, “freeing yourself up to do other things” is basically the entire ethos of that.

NGL 10

I was reading JJBA: DiU today and Colt seriously looks like a Jojo’s character…

“Your face is just like…”

N-No way! You mean, the Victor Mary’s wanted to see all along…is the other gunhead…?! Geesh, what a plot twist!

Stars Align 10

“We all play to win.” – That’s very Maki of you, Maki.

Shinjo/Oshimi???? That must be Ryoma…! By the way, what’s up with these Itsuse twins…?

Who’s Hatanooka? Update: That’s the team with Joy in it…and those fangirls who busted Mitsue up.

F*** it…Arashi, I wanna pummel you someday.

LOL, you can sell your temmates out with chanpuru, huh, Arashi?

Did Maki suggest something subliminally…?

*Maki and Toma run around* - LOL, this play is completely unorthodox, haha. I can tell even if I’m no expert.

Shinchou Yuusha 10

We’re back after another week’s break…

Come to think of it, how do fantasy worlds have concepts of “hours”?

LOL, how convenient it was that there just happened to be a dude needing healing walking past! (partially sarcastic, partially meaning it since the circumstances foreshadowed it)

“Talent”, eh? *stares at the camera, which is showing Rista’s boobs, with disapproval*

The Demon Spirit Orb is basically a monster cell from OPM 2, isn’t it…?

If Seiya came from our world…then I’m sorry, Wolks, but whoever told you is completely and utterly wrong. *gestures at all the conflicts around the world, including political turmoil*

“Are you calling…”  

No Guns Life 11

Second-last ep!

Oh great…another yandere?(I read JJBA: DiU hardcover vol. 2 yesterday, so I’m still thinking about Yukako Yamagishi…)

There’s a convertible in the OP, though…I wonder if that will come into play later. Update: Even if it does come into play in the future, it doesn’t happen in ths cour.

Stars Align 11

It was like Joy was showing off to the camera…LOL.

Apparently, Joy’s name is a weird reading for yorokobi (happiness).

This feels like a final episode…

Hmm. I thought Yonex sponsored this. Turns out that’s a parody logo after all (or at least, here it’s a parody).

One of the Itsuse bros looks exactly like Maki, so it’s confusing…

I’m still confused as to why Shijo Minami’s shirts say nantei on them. The minami might be nan in another way of reading it, but…the shi can only be read kokorozashi otherwise and while the jou can be read many, many ways, tei isn’t one of them.

Ume = plum blossom, so that purple-pink colour really suits them.

BnHA 73

Eri’s name means, literally, “to break reason”.

This scene with the stars and the dancefloor…that’s new.

Iruma-kun 12

Sometims you forget this dork *points at Azz* is more powerful than Iruma and Clara…

You can see Clara and Iruma in the shot of Azz-kun.

The reason why I like calling Kalego “Eggie-sensei” is because he doesn’t like it! 

I love how the narrator is even aware it’s been mentioned several times Iruma can’t decline requests.

New Magic is basically science…?

Oh, it would be hilarious if this character Iruma just bumped into and he (Iruma) would be in a Battler together…but I’ve read spoilers, so I know what Iruma will join…

Is this some kind of allegory for technology…?! *eyes sparkle* Yes, I want in! Iruma! Join this club!

Even this demon’s clip is a book! Amazing!

Clara! She dab! In a pot!

Come to think of it, in the basic premise, Iruma-kun (the show) is Kenja no Mago, right? The Wise Man’s Grandson…sort of.

Shinchou Yuusha 11

Almost at the end…I’ll sorely miss this show.

Is Tiana some former version of Rista…?

How old is Seiya again…? Update: Apparently he’s 17…and if he’s the same age as he used to be in this flashback, then…kinda squicky, no?

Stars Align 12 (FINAL)

I heard this show dropped the ball and that Nao’s mother got a rant, but otherwise I don’t quite know what happens here…so let’s finish what we started. Update: Nao’s mother’s rant was in a previous episode.

Oh hey! It’s that running thing Nao and Taiyo were doing…I think. (I don’t think I’ve grasped everyone’s names, even over 12 eps, so I had to check Taiyo’s name up.)

Oh, these gremlins…*sighs happily but also exasperatedly* No wonder this show took out a top 10 position for my 2019 list.

I’m worried now…there’s always a last minute thing to ruin an episode on this show.

I always thought Ryoma’s hair was pretty nice…(small LOL). That’s just my bias for bishonen showing though.

I’m…scared now…Maki’s dad must’ve come back and the red in the sky really sold that moment…

Maki…no!!!!!!!! Aw, f***, that’s the final seconds…geesh, way to end the series. If this were a 2 cour, I’d definitely watch the next one, but since I heard through ANN that this is all we have so far, really, the only thing I can do for a passion project is hope another cour gets funded and (maybe) purchase what I can to help out. Well, that’s it, folks, skedaddle out of here until next time.

No Guns Life 12 (FINAL)

This pendant reminds me of the mana compass I saw in Fate/Zero yesterday.

I bet Danny planted those footprints…or something like that. Update: Yup, he did.

Come to think of it, is Juzo still missing his arm from last time…?

“You weren’t my client, little lady.” – There’s one of two possible options here, I think: 1) the hands guy was or 2) Danny was.

I wonder, will the hand Extended ever become his (Juzo’s) left hand? Or will he get an Extension for it?

Wow, second huge end-of-season cliffhanger! Juzo got a new buddy, it seems…anyway, see you in spring!

Cautious Hero 12 (FINAL)

If the Valkyryja (sp?) isn’t magic…what is it???

That one guy lying on the side of the fountain, looking all drunk…LOL.

Geez, you make me wanna cry, show!!!

Even the alarm clock is dejected…geez…

This is…the best conclusion of the fall season in that Seiya defeated the Demon King and the story wrapped up properly, but the worst in that Seiya died. No one died in Stars Align, even if they failed a tonne! So…I dunno. I guess it should be happy it ended optimistically…anyways, enough of my moping. See you next time.

BnHA 74

Shin Nemoto = “the truth of the origin of the sound”, if you stuck the particle no between each character.

Tintin got scary, LOL.

Lemillion, making “no capes” go out of fashion again (LOL).

Wow, talk about a clip show…! This is really one.

Check the end of the episode, don’t forget to watch the post-credits segments, people.

[tenchiforum]

For the first time ever, the Toonami versions of OVA1/2, Universe, and Tokyo are available online! On their respective archive.org pages you can access each episode easily.

Watch now: OVA1/2, Tenchi Universe, Tenchi in Tokyo.

For users who keep up with contemporary anime communities, we also have an upload for the entire run available on Nyaa.

It’s been quite a journey in getting these episodes from analog to digital. If you’re interested in reading about the process of how these almost lost-to-time edits came into our hands and how we’ve gone about preserving them before the tapes rot, then sit back and enjoy the story below!

Part 1: Toonami – A Love Story.

Tenchi Muyo! and Toonami are tied together like the red thread of fate often times referenced in many East Asian myths. For those who aren’t aware, Toonami was a programming block on the Cartoon Network channel. Starting in 1997, it did one thing for anime that no other channel in the English-speaking world had ever done: showcased anime during “PrimeTime” (In North America at least, this was 4pm to 7pm Eastern Standard time). Before the internet, having this block of time meant having the most eyes on your product, meaning exposure was huge. Oftentimes whoever got on this block, regardless of the channel, was “made.”

However, it wouldn’t be until mid 1999, with a soft-rebranding, a new host, and an almost entirely anime-focused block, that Toonami would take over the world.

And on July 3rd, 2000, an entire generation was introduced to Tenchi Muyo! for the first time.

- The now legendary two minute Toonami promo.

Thanks to the efforts of Jason DeMarco, Sean Akins, Gill Austin, Sean Polinski, and the rest of the Toonami crew, the “Toonami generation,” still to this day, is the largest block of Tenchi Muyo! fans. Whether it was Toonami US, UK, or Australia. Tenchiforum is a testament to this fact. I personally would not be here were it not for Toonami, so to say that fans of Tenchi Muyo! hold Toonami in a high regard is an understatement.

I had always wanted to somehow, some way, get the Toonami version of Tenchi up for everyone to see again, but my old Toonami VHS recordings were long gone, and I figured trying to piece together the Toonami version from other people’s tapes would just be too hard with how many episodes were broadcast, that was until… 2012

In mid-to-late 2012, I found out that Pioneer actually released a home video version of what was shown on Toonami. It was simply released as “Tenchi Muyo!” in those big, white, clam shell VHS cases (that most people probably remember for old Disney movies). I felt as though I had struck gold! I was able to get a hold of the first two OVA, and was able to rip them to my computer.

- Vol. 1 & Vol. 5 of “Tenchi Muyo!” – No distinction was made that they were separate series.

Though I was high on my endorphin-induced nostalgia, I ran into a couple of unforeseen problems.

First and foremost, the equipment I was using was not great. I used an old StarTech composite to USB dongle and the software that came with it. While this isn’t necessarily bad at first glance (it doesn’t support Windows 10), I had no experience whatsoever in the field of digital transfer. While I think my rips were okay for the time, I knew even then that they were too low of bit-rate and the quality of the rips suffered for it.

Because I also had no VCR at the time that had S-Video output, I was only able to output from composite, which meant the whopping 240p equivalent VHS tapes look fuzzier than they probably should. (I realize that VHS is technically an analog format, meaning that a 1:1 equivalent digital representation is hard to pin down or that someone might argue that it did technically output 480i over composite, but basically it was 240p.)

Another problem was the software itself, I had no idea about Virtualdub, AmaRecTV, or other helpful capture software, so I only recorded at a lower bit-rate, again producing an inferior quality rip.

I also ran into the problem of showcasing the videos. Funimation (who now owns the vast majority of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise in North America) had finally started really cracking down on people uploading videos to Youtube. Even though my videos were not completely the same, the algorithm immediately flagged and blocked them. This led me to uploading the videos to Facebook. I had to cut them in half because of Facebook’s restriction to roughly only 12 minutes of video. Somehow in the process, some of the videos had audio drop out for a minute or two, and for some the audio dropped out completely.

Arguably the biggest blow though, was when I learned that this set of Toonami tapes was incomplete. Pioneer stopped producing the Toonami version for home video after they finished releasing Universe. Meaning, the only way to get the Toonami version of Tenchi in Tokyo, was hope that someone, somewhere,  had taped it 11 years earlier.

While Tenchi in Tokyo has been getting more appreciation from fans as of late – thanks in part to most newer entries in the Tenchi OVA sucking harder than a vacuum – in the year 2000, it was the black sheep of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise. So expecting fans to have recorded any of it, let alone the entire series, was the long shot of all long shots. But even still, I made a post on the forum in 2013 asking if anyone knew anyone that might have anything.

Naturally, no one had any leads, and all of these previous problems meant that this project would, frustratingly, have to be shelved indefinitely.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

Part 2: Deferred Dreams Don’t Die.

On April 5th, 2019, a person by the name of Talos dropped into our Discord server, and posted an introduction. Like so many, they had gotten into Tenchi through Toonami, but what would change everything, was this.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading, someone actually had it!

Instinctively, I reached out to Talos via PM to ascertain how to go about acquiring these tapes, and admittedly, to see how legit this claim actually was. Because the fact of the matter is, when you’ve been around Tenchi fandom as long as I have, you’ll quickly realize the best bullshitters in the world come from this fandom.

But Talos was more than the genuine article! They sent over pictures and an incredibly detailed analysis of the quality of their tapes, watching through them all again to prove to me that their claim was valid.

It can’t be said enough that this all would not be possible without Talos, their willingness to work with me and send me their own personal tapes that they’ve kept for almost two decades just goes to show how awesome they are and how much they care about the fandom.

So the deal was struck, and the dream that laid deferred for almost six years lived again.

- A time capsule from another era.

But with dreams from the past, come the demons that plagued them way back when. I still only had the setup I once had, and at this time I was really trying to be tight with my finances for a number of different reasons, but this opportunity was too good to pass up, I wasn’t going to let this dream go, even if it wasn’t perfect.

Talos’ tapes showed up, and I rolled up my sleeves.

So I put in the first tape, the first seven episodes of Tokyo, into the old VCR I used to originally rip the Pioneer tapes, a JVC HR-VP650U….

And static…

Or rather, a tape that would play for 3 seconds, then immediately drop to static.

This wouldn’t work.

I then tried my other VCR, a Sony SLV-N50 from the mid-to-late 90’s that I was able to “fix” by removing the old Android Kikaider tape that got stuck in there many years prior.

It worked!…..but…..not all that well.

While it did actually play the tape relatively smoothly, the colors were completely washed out in comparison to the JVC, and it had this weird color flickering that was particularly noticeable when black backgrounds were on screen. (This was not unique to this tape, it did it with everything I put in there.)

As much as it pained me, there was no way I was going to rip it with this setup.

So the hunt began for not just a replacement VCR, but one that was high quality and recommended among enthusiasts for digital transfer. Which meant research and long winding rabbit holes of non-answers and vagueness, and unfortunately, money.

Without a doubt, the de facto list of best VCRs for transferring comes from digitalFAQ.com. This list is not only informative but gives you a broad range of ones to look for in the event you can’t find an “elite” one. However, this list has also become the de facto list used by people who are hawking their sets on eBay to try and get every penny from enthusiasts and new-comers as possible.

After three frustrating weeks of losing bid wars on eBay, someone finally put up one of the good sets, the JVC SR-V10U. I quickly sent them what I thought was a reasonable but not bank-breaking offer….

And they accepted! The beast was finally mine.

Immediately upon unwrapping and testing it, the quality difference between what I had then and what I was looking at now was staggering. The SR-V10U had beautiful color, while having the incredible ability to stabilize the old tapes with its TBC (Time Base Corrector), as well as onboard Video Stabilization option. Combined with the ability to output video via the superior S-Video cable, I now had something that, despite its age and typical old VHS wear, was way better than I could have imagined.

Part 3: No Need for Nostalgia.

You’re probably thinking to yourself “Dagon, why go through the trouble? The OVA has a beautiful Blu-ray release, and Universe and Tokyo have pretty decent DVD releases. Why would you ever want to rip old VHS tapes of an inferior quality release that was in some cases censored?”

- The now famous Toonami “bikinis”.

Because this version of Tenchi Muyo! is a piece of history. Not only is it a piece of Tenchi history, but a piece of Toonami history as well. Being able to preserve this in the best quality possible is being able to point to future generations and say “This is why I’m here.”

For a lot of us it’s about taking us back to a simpler time, grade school, high school, university. Taking us back to a time before the internet was what it is today.

So now we can, after almost 20 years, re-watch the version of Tenchi Muyo! that brought so many of us joy and wonder.

[bespectacledbookworm]

How to Bleach Your Hair and Not Completely Ruin It

I get it. You want to be platinum NOW. If you’ve done your homework, you know what everyone says: it’s a process, it can take weeks of being brown, then light brown, then dark blonde, then medium blonde, light blonde, and finally platinum. For people who can afford it and have the patience of Mother Teresa, this is no big deal. But you work part time and go to school, and ain’t nobody got time for that! So before you pop on down to Sally’s, or your local beauty supply store, PLEASE READ THIS.

EDIT: for clarity regarding level of damage to hair.

Disclaimer: I am not a professionally licensed cosmetologist, so everything I say, you listen to at your own risk. However, I have been trained by a popular beauty supply store to ADVISE others on bleaching and or coloring their own hair at home, and I’ve done my own research. About three years worth. So, be advised, be warned, be smart. Please. The integrity of your hair is at risk.

If you’ve done your research, and all of this looks familiar to you, go ahead and skip down the section titled THE METHOD to see the process i’ve used to avoid fried, patchy hair.

For the sake of this post and time, I’m not going to cover every single thing about hair color and chemistry, but I’m going to go over some important stuff if you don’t know what you’re doing. I’m hoping you’ve already done some research, either on google or youtube. If not, you might want to watch a few Hair Bleaching Fails from Brad Mondo’s youtube channel. He periodically gives tips and tricks during these and is actually licensed. If not, here’s a quick article that explains the process of bleaching that I think covers the basics that I’d like to add. 

[child with natural ~level 10-11 hair. About the lightest hair can really get without bleaching out all pigment to white]

So onto a few basics and info that I think is worth noting:

KNOWN TRUTHS OF HAIR BLEACHING:

To achieve  Platinum hair, THE HAIR MUST BE TONED. More on that later.

The thicker your hair is, the more bleach it can take, usually. If you have curly/kinky hair, it’s not necessarily impossible to bleach, but because of your curls and the tendency your hair has to frizz, bleach can be more damaging. (Or, rather, the damage is much more visible on curly/ kinky/ natural hair. Sorry ya’ll :/ ] 

Fine/thin hair is fragile. TAKE CAUTION. Test strand.

Test strands are your FRIEND. Please don’t bleach all your hair in one go before test stranding.

Bleach will damage your hair. There’s no way around it. You’re hair will never be the same. It will be drier, a little frizzier, more brittle, and it probably won’t hold a curl as well. You have to accept this, and realize that you will be spending a little more to mask the damage.

You cannot repair bleached hair. The process is permanent and so is the damage. All of the products that claim to repair are tongue-in-cheek. Many of them say “Reduces the appearance of damage of the hair” on the back. This is not the same as actually repairing the damage. As far as the Hair community knows, Olaplex is the only thing that reverses the hair damage, but it is expensive, it is only sold to professionals, and only yields the greatest results when mixed in with dye or bleach, when the hair is being chemically altered.

Bleaching is a PROCESS. This is why professionals will have you visit the salon multiple times before you get platinum/ silver. It’s healthier for the hair, it saves length, it stops your hair from looking like spaghetti- Which is why it’s so expensive. But you’re here because you don’t have patience, don’t lie to yourself. You’re probably also here because you want to save money. Which brings me to…

[ the usual bleached hair process from this site]

WHAT DO I NEED and HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST?

BLEACHING HAIR IS EXPENSIVE, no matter which way you go. Product breakdown, 2019 prices:

1 pound tub of powdered bleach (trust me. You want the tub. It’s cheaper in the long run): ~ 30  dollars. This tub will be enough to bleach a shoulder length bob (normal hair thickness) two or three times.

16 Ounce bottle of developer: ~5

Manic Panic/ Other brands: ~10 for one tub. One manic panic is about 4 ounces of color, which can color an above shoulder bob if you have normal/ thin hair. For thicker, longer hair, you WILL need more. So the price for this is anywhere from ~ 10— 50 dollars for first time application.

Brush for color: ~2

Brush for bleach: ~ 2

Bowl for bleach/ color (it can be washed and rinsed)- ~3-4

Toner (wella, most popular toner)- ~5

10 0r 20 Vol. Developer for toner: ~3

Shampoo Toner (less permanent than well, but also less damaging) ~ 12-15 dollars.

gloves: ~ 4

Hair clips/ ties to section hair: free if you have them: ~ 5

Protein masks/ deep conditioners: ~1 for the mask or ~ 10+ for the bottle.

(There are bleaching kits, like the manic panic one and “High lift” boxes of color at walmart, but I don’t recommend them as they usually are packaged with a 40 developer and not one box fits all. Plus, they’re way WAY more expensive than buying a tub of bleach if you have long hair compared to buying five boxes of Feria high lift or whatever at 10 bucks each. And they don’t contain as much product, so. YEah.)

Total: ~80. Sales tax (CA)= 5.60. That’s around 85 dollars MINIMUM if you have shoulder length hair. If you have longer hair, you WILL be spending much more than this. A salon visit will cost about 175+ for a bleach process alone, not including color or toner.

Does it sound like i’m trying to convince you to just go to the hair salon? I kind of am. If you’re going to spend this much money, you might as well just go to a professional, sit down in a nice comfy chair, and have someone else slave over your hair while you chillax. But I gotchu- you want to do this yourself! It sounds fun! Plus, the pride of doing it yourself? Addictive. And the potential to save money? Even more so. So okay. You’re buying all this stuff. Now the other question is….

[Loreal Quick Blue Bleaching Powder. Probably the most popular tub of bleach.]

WHAT DO THESE PRODUCTS DO??

Bleach powder: chemically lightens hair.

Developer: Activates bleach and opens the hair cuticle, allowing the chemical reaction to take place inside the hair strand and take out your natural color. A lower level developer is typically used to deposit color/toner back onto the hair.

Toner: Light glaze of color that tones hair, usually purple or blue. Why? Think of it in terms of the color wheel. Your hair will be some shade of yellow no matter how much you bleach, so you have to neutralize the yellow with a purple to create that beautiful silver/grey/ platinum/ white color. It’s just color science. This can be achieved with long term results with Wella or similar toners, or you can use a shampoo that’s purple colored for short term results.

The darker the purple OR the longer you leave on the toner, the darker grey it will get. Some people have the misconception that using a toner like Wella’s T14 will lighten their hair to grey which is not true. The developer lifts a little bit of pigment out, but it also replaces some with the purple- it doesn’t really lift :/ . To clarify: toner NEUTRALIZES the yellow hue in your hair. It’s like toggling the “hue” tool in instagram editor: you’re not changing the darkness or lightness of anything, you’re just changing the color a bit. 

Okay! So you have these products, you’ve watched some youtube videos, you have a general idea of how to apply it. But..

[Ahh, Brassy hair. The bane of our existence. Katy’s got about three different levels of hair going on here, all untoned and brassy. The hair at the crown of her hair behind the bangs isn’t bad- it’s a nice golden color. But the rest might be a little yellow/orange for some of us. ]

HOW DO I AVOID PATCHY/ BRASSY HAIR??

Test strand! Mix enough bleach using the ratio on the tub, it’s usually 1 parts bleach to 2 parts Developer. So get a tablespoon of bleach in your bowl (parts can mean anything used for measuring but a table spoon should be enough), mixed with 2 tablespoons of your Developer and apply it either to some hair you’ve collected from your hairbrush, or snip a few strands from the back of your head. Follow the rest of the directions on the tub. It is crucial that you test hair that is in the same condition that your hair is in now. Don’t use old hair. 

Okay, so you’ve done that, and the hair still is only a weird orange/yellow color! Can I bleach it again?

Technically, yes. But in a salon, they would make you wait a week or two, even a month before daring to touch your hair again. So I tell you the truth: bleaching it immediately will cause more damage then if you’d waited for a few weeks while using conditioning treatments like moisturizing and protein packets. Your hair will be more brittle, dry, and rough if you bleach again immediately.

But that’s your call. It will be more expensive in the long run, because you will probably purchase more expensive conditioners and more treatment packets to mask the damage.

Just for clarity, here is a hair level chart from Pinterest, showing toned levels of hair on the left and the underlying warm pigment of that hair on the right:

THE METHOD

Okay, so to avoid patchy hair when you bleach, I find that this method described below is time intensive but almost foolproof. It works best on hair that is longer than shoulder length, as hair this long can end up the patchiest. Like I said above, your hair will be damage, but using this method, it won’t be as bad as the “hair bleach fails” that you see on youtube. On virgin hair this process should yield hair that is a uniform color with minimal damage. After you’ve test stranded and found the appropriate amount of time that works for you, section your hair into four sections, buns is good. Now apply bleach to one section of hair beginning an inch away from the roots all the way down, making sure the hair is thickly coated in bleach on BOTH sides (bleach is thick and not as runny as water and will not “soak” into your hair like water. You need to make sure to get both sides or patchiness will ensue). Then go back up and do the roots. Now this is the important part!

LET THAT ONE SECTION SIT FOR THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU NEED. DON’T DO THE OTHER SECTIONS. Then rinse, shampoo, rinse, maybe shampoo that one section again until it is free of bleach, taking care not to wet the other sections. And repeat. Yes, I am advising you to bleach and wash your hair in sections. We can’t do our own hair fast like the professionals can, we just can’t. Bleaching it like this in sections will ensure that each section is bleached for the same amount of time, every time, ensuring a nice even color all around. Is it labor intensive? Yes. And if your hair is still only a level seven after you do all that work, you may have to do it again before you can tone. 

But this method will save your hair. Get your supplies, test strand, bleach and rinse in sections. You and your hair will thank me. I’ve done this, and it worked!... for the most part. I got cocky during the last section and waited an extra ten minutes longer than all the other sections, and wound up having to get a trim, but that was my fault. So don’t do what I did; go by the time you have used on your test strand for. Ever. Section. 

If your hair is already patchy/ has previous color tackle those sections first. I’m not guaranteeing anything for hair that has been previously treated- that’s a color correction and is very hard and expensive to do. This method works best on virgin hair, but not really on hair that’s already been colored. 

If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll try to answer them the best that I can. Good luck!

[the beautiful silver hair of all our dreams....]

[moonchildpages]

The Reading Rush ended yesterday for me. I had such a great time doing The Reading Rush this past week. It was really fun doing twitter sprints, collecting badges, reading all those comics, and just overall connecting more with the bookish community through this readathon.

I wanted to do a wrap up for what I read and accomplished during the readathon. I’ll start with the Reading Rush challenges and then go into what I actually read. I completed :

8/8 reading challenges

14/16 badges

2/7 bookstagram challenges

0/0 booktube challenges

Now into my wrap-up of the week. I did switch around my tbr for the readathon because f the time crunch (which I expected because of my ambitious 12 book tbr) ad just went with ones that were more convenient for me to finish.

1. Teen Titans: Raven

three out of five stars. I love raven, she has been my favorite of the bunch ever since I watched teen titans as a kid. I just loved her backstory and that her character had depth in the show and how she was always protective of her friends. this was a good graphic novel, but because I went into this thinking I was going to get hardcore raven, it was kind of a let down. if I had gone into it remembering that this was a toned down version for young readers getting into books and superheroes, I probably would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. it was still enjoyable.  I especially loved the monotone color palette that the colorist used with the art, it added to the tone of the story. anyway, still excited for the beast boy graphic novel that’s coming out next year. garth speaks to my soul.

2. Blackbird Vol. 1

two out of five stars. the only reason I picked up this comic was because one of the artists I follow on instagram worked with them on it. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, didn’t get the magical world, didn’t get where the insta love came from??? it just seemed like it was all over the place. it did get interesting around issue 4 or 5 but.... just generally wasn’t for me. the art is fuckin gorgeous tho.

3. Goldie Vance Vol. 1

five out of five stars. I fuckin loved this comic guys!! it was such a blast to read. it’s set in the 60s in Florida following our 16 year old POC mc Goldie Vance who works at hotel as a valet, but on her down time likes to help with the hotel’s detective services. the art is so aesthetic and pretty, the characters are awesome. it just felt like a good ‘ol time. it gave me old fun detective cartoon vibes like scooby-doo or detective conan. loved it so much and can’ wait to read more.

4. The Backstagers Vol.1: Rebels Without Applause

three stars out of five. the story started kinda slow and weird with no context at all, but grew on me around the third issue. the characters were adorable; my faves were beckett and sasha. such cuties!! not crazy about the comic, but would continue for good ‘ol soft, fun, laugh times.

5. SLAM! Vol. 1

three out of five stars. picked up this one because roller derby has always been a topic of interest to me. the sport that is or seems dominated by females, females who are aggressive.  anyway, the art was really vibrant and cool. the story was cute and sorta relatable. two friends trying to make time for each other around busy lives; that I related too. that was the part of the comic I really liked. but I wanted to see more of the community side of things, the team, the found family. will probably end up continuing this comic.

6. Misfit City Vol. 1

three and a half out of five stars. female lead cast in a ‘goonies’-esque treasure hunt story?? yes. hell yes. I enjoyed this comic. the art was beautiful, the characters were funny and some relatable. I thought the premise of the town being a film site for ‘the gloomies’ was an interesting backstory. it was a light, fun, comic with awesome females friends at the center of it. the only thing, sometimes the dialogue was a little bland. some jokes were bad and made me cringe.

7. Fence Vol. 1

four out of five stars. I have been meaning to read this one for a while. finally got around to it, and am I so glad I did. fencing is another non-mainstream sport that I have some interest in. first, art (as always) was fuckin great, just like, the movement of the fencers in the illustrations, I loved. the cast of characters were great. my favorite was bobby, he’s just such a sweetheart so i will kill that other character i forget his name if he breaks him. idk why but the conflict between the main characters reminded me of naruto/sasuke or hinata/kageyama dynamic. one is the arrogant ace who looks down on just about everyone and is surprised when someone catches them off-guard, the other is the underdog/newbie who has passion and effort and something to prove. and they hate each other... for now. i seriously screamed ‘and they were roommates’ when i finished issue one. just read it, it’s good.

8. Moonstruck Vol. 1: Magic to Brew

two out of five stars. the world’s full of magical creatures and magic. which sounds cool and all, i guess but the whole story just wasn’t for me. i did’t really connect or sympathize with any of the characters, except for cass and chet. which is also why their my favorite characters. especially chet. a non-binary, sassy, and over all awesome friend. yes yes yes. thank you. i loved them. probably the only reason i would continue the series is chet.

9. Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom  

five out of five stars. again, this is me and my love for mystery, crime-solving teens. like, seriously: nancy drew, kim possible, conan, scooby-doo, tintin, and so many more i can’t think of right now. it was full of lovely friendship dynamics and lots of mystery and suspense.

10. Batman: Year One

four and a half out of five stars. batman’s origin story. hell yeah. this was a reread. this is one the only comic that i own and i love it dearly. the atmosphere that the art adds to gotham city and bruce’s journey into batman is just *chef’s kiss*. there were a few things, that i don’t remember when i first read, that bothered me. there was a line in there somewhere when jim is baiting batman, and batman says something like “she knows how to walk in heels. it’s practically a lost art. it’s a shame.” which off course is the most ridiculous line in the graphic novel, and of course comes from a rich white boy playing dress-up... other than that, i really really love this as a batman comic. all the characters in it are incredibly flawed and yet they are some of my favorites. and will continue to be.

I think that’s the end of the wrap-up. wow. it’s nine o’clock already. I’m probably just gonna sit in bed, eat my cheetos and watch some shows. or booktube. eh who knows. I’m definitely going to be in bed tho. goodnight folks.