#fixed it hopefully

[lunawings]

Okay, I watched AiPri episode 1

...........

First of all, the way they refer to AiPri is super different and it's jarring. Before, like, PriPara/PriChan/PriMagi was something you could do. AiPri is something you become. You don't do AiPri, you become an AiPri (Idol Princess)?

This will take some getting used to.

As I predicted from the day it was announced, Mitsuki is already an AiPri and Himari is already a fan not knowing it's her. Her AiPri name is Mii or Miichan and she broadcasts to her Miichannel (......).

Himari's sister Hiiro calls to make sure Himari isn't late and her mother reminds her to keep up with her skin and hair care......

Himari's room is ginormous, but it does seem like she has a roommate. (Mitsuki? It's implied that Mitsuki snuck out early to go do AiPri stuff.)

Himari is nervous about starting their first day of junior high and not knowing anyone, but Mitsuki nudges her forehead (their secret good luck sign) and takes her hand and they are off.

These guys are all the student council, apparently.

Himari and Mitsuki's brothers go to the school too. It's implied that Himari's brother is very protective of Himari, but Himari kinda has a crush on Mitsuki's brother.......

AiPri isn't outright banned I think(?), but the principal Victoria seems to be against it? I wasn't quite sure she said in her speech. (She's shown later in the episode watching AiPri though.)

After establishing that Himari is shy and could never see herself doing becoming AiPri, she spectacularly falls and flips over onto her bracelet, attaching it to her hand. (You know that viral clip of like a Bollywood actress fainting into a suitcase? It was basically that.......)

(Also wait... did she accidentally steal her bracelet from the student council!!?)

"SO CUTE!!!!"

(....i....is it...?)

Himari is being forced to debut immediately even though she doesn't want to. Despite Himari not recognizing Mitsuki as Miichan, Mitsuki recognizes Himari immediately after seeing her on a screen for five seconds and runs to her. Mitsuki/Miichan asks why she's there, and Himari insists she was forced, but Michiru asks her, isn't it because you wanted to be an AiPri? Himari realizes this is true.

Mitsuki gives Himari their good luck headbonk and Himari finally realizes it's her. The secret's out already. (But, considering they were shown performing together in the OP I figured...)

I kinda like the CG. I like the soft shading.

The Buzzilume change kinda hurts my eyes though. Why do they need to have so many.... lasers...........

I've been wondering if Buzzilume comes from like... someone told them that "buzz" as in like "what's the buzz" means like rumor, i.e. secret or something haha.

Student council gets the VIP death star.

One of them has a thick Kansai accent but I'm not sure which because she wasn't on screen while she was talking.

Is this really supposed to be the audience?

Ugh, I dunno. It's just the beginning, but I thought this episode was super cringy. I got a lot of secondhand embarrassment from it. Specifically from the scenes below:

-There's this scene where Himari is forced to address the entire school despite neither knowing nor having any chance to prepare for it. They didn't make it seem like she knew and forgot, it just seemed like she was picked randomly. It was supposed to be like an analog for her debut and show how Himari actually can overcome anything (with a little help from Mitsuki) but like... that would never happen in real life. So cruel.

-Chi is determined to break all the rules and make AiPri as little a secret as possible. The joke is she's putting her secret out there but nobody will listen to her, but... in order to make that work, they've made her super annoying haha.... ha...

-Himari ROLLING OVER AND FALLING INTO HER BRACELET... REALLY.............

-Seeing Himari's mascot/manager felt like in PriChan when Rinka was showing off Silk except we are actually supposed to think it's cute........

-Realizing Himari overcame her fears and put everything into performing to.... a bunch of.... floating c...cards.........?

Welp. Neither Himari nor Mitsuki left a big impression on me and Chi was kind of annoying. Looking forward to getting to know the student council at least, I'm pretty sure I'll find my favorite there.

Also the yellow girl does seem to be the Rinne character, as her voice was inviting Himari to the AiPri Verse and she has like, triangle pupils. It's also heavily implied in the OP that she is indeed Mitsuki and Himari's teammate. We'll see, we'll see.

Oh, and Himari didn't choose a name for her AiPri persona in this episode. Mitsuki is Mii so... (Hii? lol)

[enby-ralsei]

i got this super cool bug necklace ^-^

HAHAHA I FOOLED YOU! ITS ACTUALLY ROLAN! I TRAPPED HIM IN A CICADA!

[edwardbonnets]

how to ask the demon you've been smitten over for 6000 years to dance: an angel's guide

bonus:

[l13]

The loud thumping wakes you up, and you blink tiredly as the sound persists. You look at your ceiling for a second before you realize someone is knocking at your door. You groan, bringing your duvet over your ear as you snuggle in again.

“Leave me alone,” you mumble against your pillow as the knocking becomes more forceful.

Suddenly there’s silence, and when you finally think that whoever is bothering you has left, the knocking starts again.

You groan, cursing under your breath as you stand up, grabbing your gun from your vanity. You walk to your front door, opening it angrily.

“What-” your outburst dies down at your lips when you lock eyes with the last person you’d expected to see standing outside your apartment, but one you’d longed for, for years.

Your first instinct is to panic, there’s no way you were conscious. The person standing at your door was supposed to be dead.

So you raise your gun up, hand trembling, “This isn’t real.” you choke out, and Vander raises his hands slowly, opening his mouth to speak but you cut him off, “You’re not real, you’re not here.” There are tears dripping down your cheeks, the gun threatening to fall from your hand with how much you were shaking “Y-you’re dead, this can’t-” you clutch at your chest, heaving, and Vander’s hands grab at your shoulders when your knees buckle,

“My love,” The gun slips from your shaky grip and falls to the floor the moment the words leave his mouth. His voice, god fuck, his voice. You’ve dreamed of it, you’re certain you’ve heard it, back when the grief first clawed at your heart, when the illusions spilled into reality to try to mend what was broken.

But this sounded too real, and you gasped when his hand cupped your cheek, thumb wiping the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. “Darling, my darling girl. It’s me,” the sweet but rough sound of his voice sent shivers down your back, and you wanted to drown in it, you wanted to hear it again and again and again until you couldn’t anymore. You blinked rapidly, tears blurring your vision as your eyes danced across his features, the five bright white dots across his forehead would have confused you, if you weren’t on the verge of a panic attack.

You didn’t realize you’d raised your hand to cover his, until you felt the warmth of his hand under your skin. “S-stop, this isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real,” you squeezed your eyes shut, whispering frantically in order to wake up from this sickly realistic dream, to end this before you woke up and missed his touch again. And yet you craved more, desperately running your hands down his sides, back up to his chest, his shoulders, his back.

God, he felt real, and he was so warm, not like the previous dreams you’ve had when he was always cold, just a silhouette of the man you loved. He even smelled like your Vander. A sob broke through you, and you threw your hands around his neck, crying against his chest. Even if this wasn’t real, you’d still take advantage of this opportunity to feel close to him one last time.

You tried not to cry harder when his arms immediately circled around your torso, hugging you tight to him as you both slipped down to the floor, “Shh sh, love it’s me. Please, look at me,”

“If I do then I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone.” you muttered against his chest, nuzzling closer to him, “Let me have this, just for a moment.”

“You have me, forever.” His rough gravelly voice vibrated against your chest as he spoke, his breath hitting your ear as he nuzzled against your hair, his hands running up and down your back, spreading warmth everywhere.

Too real, too real, too real.

“I miss you so much. I-I can’t-” you take a shuddering breath in, “I can’t live without you. I need you back, please. Please, I’ll do anything.”

“My love, my heart. You beautiful, stunning creature. Look at me, I beg you.”

You could feel him leaning away just so he could cup your jaw, lifting your head up softly, so so softly.

Please.

“Look at me.” he mutters, the softness of his request filled with desperation. You slowly open your eyes, blinking away your tears, gaze immediately locking with his.

Your lips part as you take him in. The color of his eyes was much greyer than you remembered. You raised your hand to follow each feature, each wrinkle of his. After a moment, You brought your other hand up, as well, cupping both his cheeks in your hands, feeling his stubble prickle at your palms. “Vander… This- this can’t be real.” you move to pull away but he cups both your hands, keeping you in place, leaning his forehead against yours, “It can, it is. I’m here honey. I’m here.”

You can’t help but stare at his lips, watching them move as he speaks, your mind trying to make sense of what you’re seeing, hearing, feeling.

Please.

You can’t let yourself get too hopeful because this isn’t possible, and he seems to get it too, so he starts explaining.

He tells you everything. How he was on the verge of death, how a man, Singed, found him, turned him into something vile, but the mutation kept him alive, even if he wasn’t entirely himself. He tells you about how all he felt was pain, but you and the kids were the only thing in his mind the whole time, trying to block away everything else. Tells you about Powder, Vi, and Isha, how they found him, brought him somewhere, a colony of some sort. A man, the Herald, helped him, and “..honest to God he kind of scares me, but it-it didn’t matter then, and it doesn’t matter now because I’m here. I’m here with you.”

Please.

You don’t realize you’ve lost track of time until you’re looking at yourself. You blink quickly, eyebrows furrowing, but then you realize you’re looking at yourself in the mirror. Vander is still holding you tightly, and the side of your face is pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he whispers sweet nothings against the crown of your head. You stay there, listening to his voice and his heart for what feels like forever.

He grabs your shoulders, pulling you away from him just enough for him to look at you in the eyes, “Are you okay?” he asks, but his voice is muffled, sounding too far away. You blink slowly up at him and he frowns sadly.

“I missed you so much. Even in death I missed you, but I wasn’t selfish enough to wish I could see you again because that would mean you’d-” he cuts himself off, the strands of his hair moving as he shakes his head, eyes clenched shut as if to rid himself of that painful thought. “I-I’m here. I’m real. Darling, I’m alive, and I need you to know this.”

His eyes are pained as he stares down at you, once again cupping your jaw, thumb caressing your cheekbone “Say something.”

“I love you.”

His face immediately crumbles, eyebrows squeezing together as his tears start falling, and he tucks his head against the place between your neck and shoulder, crying as he squeezes you impossible tighter, “I love you.” he chokes out, and you feel him pepper soft kisses over your skin, the brokenness of his voice bringing fresh tears to your eyes as well.

You don’t know how long you stay tangled together like this, just holding each other, but Vander leans back suddenly, looking at you with so much adoration that it makes you want to scream. “Hi,” he mumbles, petting your hair softly, his other hand drawing circles on your back.

You start pressing soft kisses all over his face, not being able to contain your affection, and he closes his eyes, laughing giddily, the deep sound traveling over your skin, spreading warmth everywhere. God, you’ve missed this, missed him. “Hi.” you mutter, pressing one last kiss at the corner of his mouth.

His puffy eyes glance down at your lips, “Can I-”

“Please.”

He kisses you.

2024 © l13 | Do not steal, copy, edit, translate or re-post any of my works.

[carebooks]

overlooking all the other reasons why the show went downhill: katara’s feminine rage missing, aang getting guilt punched every episode, bumi being ooc, almost zero gaang bonding episodes, three episodes compiled into one (done twice), azula being introduced too early + given too much screen time, the cave of two lovers being in s1 when it was a s2 episode— all of that is valid but the show can really be pointed out in two ways where they went downhill:

aang never waterbended once during a season where it is literally called book one: water.

yue’s wig.

[fruit-sy]

Genius Society 🤓🤓

Just the dudes by themselves below bc why not lol

[miscellaneousmellons]

they have this conversation at least once a week

[hrokkall]

ULTRATOBER /// FIRST: FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK

[chrisbangz]

BANG CHAN ✦ 3RACHA with JAESSBEE — MMTG Civilization Special

[sainz100]

2024 Brazilian GP | x

[tomatoart]

doodle page who cheered

[chatnia-starlight]

a little addition to bakery enemies au part 184 from @buggachat I put the dialog to let y'all know where I imagined it'd go!

If you haven't already, go check her comic now!

ID: [Adrien blushing a bit is leaning over giving Marinette a kiss on the cheek making her blush profusely while she looks shocked. Adrien has a speech bubble over him saying "you're amazing".] End of ID

[nopanamaman]

What’s the deal with Tsar and Arthur?

Today we’ll look at the two most popular members of Sanya and Yura’s friend group, Tsar and Arthur, a.k.a. Anger Management. How did they meet? What’s their life like? And most importantly, why the hell are they so angsty?

Let’s start with the older one.

Arthur Sokolov

Joining the orphanage

Arthur was brought to the orphanage not long after being born. He never met any of his parents.

Growing up in a state-funded shelter meant developing a clear understanding of what kinds of behaviours will and won’t result in getting your shit kicked in. You can’t be too cocky, and you can’t be too weak. Follow the hierarchy, but don’t let your fear of elders show.

Arthur learned to navigate that little society well. He had earned respect among kids his own age and younger, and avoided being pushed around by the older teenagers too much. Less due to a noble heart and more because of being too proud to act like a doormat. 

However, that didn't make him immune to peer pressure.

Correctional psychiatry

Business trip.

Many low-end orphanages across the former USSR had been essentially transformed into incubators for future gang members. “Businessmen”, either by bribe or threat, came to these institutions to recruit impressionable children into their organisations. One such uncle visited Arthur’s foster home.

For kids like him, the course of action was simple:

misbehave;

get sent to a mental institution for corrective treatment;

sneak as many bottles of trihexyphenidyl as you can into your bag during your stay;

leave the hospital as normal;

transfer the trihexyphenidyl to a gang representative and get your paycheck.

Under that business model, Arthur became a frequent guest at psychiatric wards. Having witnessed their indifference and medical callousness firsthand, he had developed a massive disdain for all kinds of mental health professionals.

It started even before joining the gang, of course – way before. It’s hard not to foster a vendetta when you get thrown to the looney bin for any misstep. At first he tried to honestly convince the doctors working there that he was fine, but he eventually realised it was futile: they were always in on the punishment.

Hustling continues

Arthur and Ivan at 15 and 17 respectively.

As Arthur grew older, he got more deeply involved with the gang’s activities alongside other kids. This meant participating in transfers, standing watch during certain deals, acting as a “treasure man” (i.e. hiding drugs in agreed upon places for clients to pick up), and so on. Fights were frequent.

He knew it was a slippery slope, but getting out was not an option – not an easy one, at least. This was the period during which he grew close to Ivan, who was commonly assigned to work with Arthur and other children from their institute.

They bonded on the basis of wanting to leave the business, though for different reasons: most of all, Ivan didn’t want to disappoint his grandma.

Getting out

First meeting with Yura.

The sudden disbandment of the gang was a relief to both Ivan and Arthur. A major member got caught and ratted almost everyone out, except for the dozens of orphans involved. So while Ivan went to turn himself in, Arthur got to walk free.

Before going, Ivan suggested Arthur replace him at his pop’s car repair salon. The boy seemed to have a knack for fixing things, and the two had developed a trusting relationship over their time working together.

While everything was looking fine, Arthur still wanted to destroy all traces of his activities - even those that couldn’t reasonably be tracked down to him. This led to him encountering Yura. Despite the very rocky start of their acquaintance, they went on to hang out together pretty regularly.

As of today, Arthur continues to do part-time at the workshop alongside Ivan. Both are committed to never getting back into the criminal business. Unless you count Sanya's Dynamo. Which you shouldn't. Having experienced what actual gangs are like, Arthur finds it hard not to look down at the girl's little roleplay.

Tsar

Joining the orphanage

Before coming to the orphanage, Tsar lived with his grandma. She died when he was 6. Since his parents had lost their parental rights due to alcoholism a couple years prior, there was only one place for him to go.

Tsar had a very hard time adjusting to the rigid hierarchy of the foster home. He was lucky enough to catch Arthur's attention and, in a sense, got scooped under his wing. The boy disliked relying on the older kid too much, but was too weak to stand on his own.

Gang involvement

How come mom lets you have two trips to the mental ward

Since Arthur got dragged into gang activities earlier than Tsar, the younger kid felt jealous. He, like most other children, fully bought into the romanticised idea of criminal life that was pushed by the uncles visiting the orphanage.

But as years went on, he saw the toll it had begun to take on Arthur. Tsar had taken a couple of correctional trips to mental wards as well, though he'd never participated in any illegal schemes. Those times were bad enough - he couldn't imagine going there again and again on purpose.

By the time Tsar would be old enough to get recruited into the business, Arthur forbade him from it. The kid still wanted to join to prove his worth, to earn his share, to show his guts. But his trust and respect for Arthur were stronger.

As much as he hated the idea, he stuck to the sidelines.

Contact with parents

Teatime with family.

Tsar’s parents reached out to him a couple years after he was transferred to the orphanage. He could only meet with them under supervision up until he was 13 years old. Afterwards they were allowed private meetings.

Today, he occasionally comes to visit them at their apartment. They still drink, but to Tsar, they just seem quiet and pitiful. He usually lends them the pocket money he receives from the orphanage. He knows they won't return it.

Anger Management

Ural models are known for their incredible durability and a baffling number of switches.

Tsar found a creative release in music and wrote songs to vent his frustrations. The orphanage had an old acoustic guitar that he learned to play, but it got completely broken when the boy was 13. After Arthur joined the workshop, he bought a black Ural from Ivan’s dad for cheap, upgraded its port, and gifted it to Tsar.

As it turned out, Ivan’s dad was hopping from one band to another in the 80s-90s, so he was happy to accommodate the kids' creative endeavours. He allowed them to use the spare garage space to practise and even supplied an incomplete drum set.

Tsar begged Arthur to back him up with drums. The latter begrudgingly agreed to learn them, but ended up really enjoying hitting barrels with sticks. Right now their band has a tiny local following, mostly in the face of Sanya Kazarina.

Some notes

I remember sitting down and reading about actual orphanage experiences in the post-soviet space – it was eye-opening, but also gave me a lot of material to work with, as heartless as that probably sounds. A lot of things simply clicked into place.

I didn't go into too much detail here, but FYI, I've downplayed the severity of certain situations. Trauma aside, I'd say both Tsar and Arthur got quite lucky in the end.

[1alchemistart]

"Waltz with me!"

i don't usually take requests but this one (coming from @mariichengg thank you mwah!) got the gears in my little head turning! 'tis a scene from my own fic from a while back :D was fun to revisit!

[adhdandcomics]

joint pain will fully have you standing around like johnny bravo

[civetcider]

Traver's new car (she/her)

and robert their deer neighbor (he/him) he's just some guy with a wife and 2 kids who was kinda homophobic but than his son came out as gay and now he still sometimes says kinda off stuff about it but everybody lets it slide since at least he's trying, extra bit under the cut