#guess its time to use a vpn again i guess

[enderon]

....... huh, first time that's happened to me

[alpaca-clouds]

Solarpunk Stories and Western Sensibilities

Will I talk about this again?

I guess I will talk about this again. But to be fair, it is now a good year since I wrote the bigger blogs on this topic, so let me bring the issue up again. After all, it will come up in at least one blog each month, if not two or three: The core issue that Solarpunk fiction struggles with coming up with conflicts, while also sticking to the Utopian theming.

Last year I wrote four blogs on this: Three on possible conflicts that would not conflict with the Utopian ideas (1, 2, 3) and another blog on the topic of the Japanese genre of Iyashikei.

Yet, there will always be people blogging (or commenting on different blogs of mine) how Solarpunk people, who talk about this issue, "do not understand storytelling", and how you "cannot tell stories without conflict". And, well... Those people tend to be quite confused about storytelling.

It usually is quite clear that a lot of folks talking about this, come somewhere from one of the other Punkpunk-Genre. Mostly Cyberpunk. Because they tend to be quite obsessed with this idea of a dark conspiracy in the background of the world. Because they are too cynical to imagine a world that actually in general is good for the people living in it. And they consider this outlook as the only way to tell stories. This is one of the main issues, I think, when it comes to Solarpunk storytelling.

Because... Well, it is not just those nay-sayers. In general, there are a lot of folks in the Solarpunk-Sphere, who come from the Cyberpunk fandoms. And who really cling onto the ideas popular in Cyberpunk - especially modern Cyberpunk, that so rarely is really punk.

But I also think there is another issue: It is an issue with Western sensibilities. Because in the end this idea that all stories need a very strong central conflcit is very much a western idea. It is an idea that is central to a variety of Western storytelling traditions. Especially - of course - the storytelling traditions of the anglosphere and as well German society as well.

There are quite a few non-western and especially non-white storytelling traditions that do not cling to this idea of conflict as the central aspect to every single story.

Because here is the issue: There are a lot of different ways to tell stories. Of course there are. But because we in the West grow up with exclusively one style of it, making us think that it is the only style.

This would be a moment to tell people to go and read books, watch movies, and TV shows from other cultures. But let's face it: It is actually really hard to get your hand onto that kinda stuff - at least outside of Anime. While almost every single anime releasing out of Japan will get by now a simulcast, no matter whether they fit within western storytelling or not. Iyashikei does get simulcast the same way as your newest Shonen anime (which is way more western in its mentalities).

However, when you try to move away from anime, it becomes a lot harder a lot faster.

I mean, I cannot tell you through how many hoops I have had to jump before to watch certain movies made in Southern Asia or Africa. At times I was lucky and it was possible with VPN + Netflix. At other times it was impossible.

Same goes for translated novels. I mean, I still have a list of "novels I would love to read, but I do not speak the language and it was never translated into any language that I am familiar with". Especially stuff that does not usually fit western sensibilities. Because, guess what? Those stories just have a much lower chance to get licensed over here.

Still. I really want to urge people to question, why any story would absolutely need something. Be it a conflict or something else. Do you really think that it would be impossible to tell a story without that one element? Or have you just never tried?

Especially as modern storytelling very much reflects a lot on colonialist and capitalist mentalities - but that is a topic for tomorrow, I think.

[007-nightfire-yakuza-agent]

anyone of you guys networking/IT freaks? im sure some of you must be. i wonder abt something strange. the wifi network onboard has a captive portal where u log in with ur credentials so they can limit ur usage and ig to spy on u. i notice that periodically you have to sign in again but its kinda weird its like. if you're using for example whatsapp or spotify or whatever and you get the notification to sign in to the wifi network, the app you were using at the time of being signed out will continue to work, but any other app won't work. that's what happens if i'm NOT using my vpn.

if im using my vpn client then i notice i can continue to use everything as per normal even tho im not logged into the captive portal. to me this suggests that the connection u have open at the time of being signed out for some reason doesn't get closed and u can use it anyway? does that make sense? and the vpn works bcus everything is just going thru a single connection? right? yes? no?

its not really of any importance but its curious and i guess it shows something about how these types of connections work or something abt the captive portal... im like an unnatural philosopher...

[nordic-language-love]

Hello! I hope you’re doing well! I was wondering if you could give me some advice when it comes to furthering my language learning. I’ve been learning Norwegian on Duolingo for almost 5 years now but I feel like I’ve barely made any progress into actually learning the language. I’ve seen you mention that Duolingo isn’t the best way to learn a language, just on its own. What more can I be doing to actually learn Norwegian? I appreciate any insight you might be able to give. Thank you!

Hi there!

I actually think Norwegian Duo's not that bad, especially compared to other courses. It got me to A2 level without my really using any other resources! But of course, A2 is still only the top of beginner level, and from thereon out it's pretty ineffective on its own (although I still used it even at B2 level as a way to refresh vocab I'd forgotten or just do a little practice every day when I didn't have the time or energy to do anything else).

There are a lot of different ways you can study Norwegian. Here are some things I did (it's an essay lmao I'm so sorry):

1) Listen to Norwegian radio. You'll probably think I'm mad when you first try it because you'll probably understand very little other than the odd word here and there, but I promise it gets easier and you'll get used to the rhythm of the language in a way Duolingo doesn't prepare you for. Try to shadow the speakers (repeat what they say just after they say it. You don't have to know the words they're actually saying; just approximate the phonemes and the melody and the stress patterns. I promise you your pronunciation is gonna get SO good)

2) Take to Youtube. Check my resources list here for some links to channels that teach Norwegian.

3) Norwegian podcasts! I made a list of some beginner/intermediate-friendly ones (check the link in point 2). The plus with podcasts is you can slow the speed down to half-speed too. Again, don't be discouraged if it's difficult at first; just focus on the rhythm and stress of the language

4) Norwegian TV. You're gonna struggle at first but you need to struggle to improve, so don't be discouraged even if several months pass without you feeling like there's any improvement. Intermediate level sucks I'm afraid. Some shows I like that don't require a VPN (as of the time I'm posting this) are Fra bølle til bestevenn (it's got dogs in it), Hva feiler det deg (game show where normal people with internet compete against doctors to guess a patient's diagnosis), 113 (documentary following paramedics in Trondheim - try not to cry at the dialects), Klassequizen (quiz show with 10th graders, pretty A2/B1-friendly), Side Om Side (popular sitcom, sometimes the second-hand embarrassment kills me but mostly it's pretty funny) and Superkrim (did you know that crime stories around Easter time are a Thing in Norway? They make a new season of this one every year but it's accessible year-round, and the language is a lot simpler than a lot of shows, and it's pretty fun and a bit silly)

Note: subtitles are in Norwegian only, and half the time they match the nuance but not the actual words being said. I recommend trying to listen without them first, then listen with them, then listen without them again and see if you can catch a few more words.

5) Textbooks, if that's your jam. I recommend The Mystery Of Nils (you can jump straight to book 2: Mysteriet om Nils if you think you're ready. It's a bit of a jump but no point wasting money/time on something that you won't enjoy) and Norwegian Tutor (from the Teach Yourself series. The first few chapters will seem pretty basic but it's great at explaining nuances and prepositions in later chapters).

6) Read things in Norwegian. You can get short stories for beginner/intermediate level online, as well as read news articles (even if you can't read the whole article, just try the first paragraph). When I was about A2 level I would print things out and go through them just translating them, highlighting new words, words I'd encountered before but couldn't remember, words I could work out from context, particular grammar patterns and words I couldn't figure out and needed the help of a native speaker to work out.

7) Follow Norwegian accounts on social media. Here's a list I made earlier.

8) If you have some extra cash, investing in an italki tutor can be helpful. I've had lessons with a number of tutors so feel free to send me a message if you want help deciding which one to go with.

9) Keep a journal in Norwegian. Look up words you don't know and write them in a different colour. Maybe try to use words you learned that day and write them in a different colour too (even if by using them you're literally just writing "jeg lærte ordet «______» i dag. Det betyr ______")

10) You can also try creative writing. I started out by writing fiction largely in English but with Norwegian dialogue. I then moved on to writing short articles and then essays, then short stories and fan fiction.

11) You can try apps like HiNative and HelloTalk to find native speakers for language exchange. If you only know English though it might be difficult to find people because Norwegians typically speak really good English and aren't looking to learn/practice.

12) Listen to Norwegian music. Get on spotify and search "norsk (music genre of your choice)" and find some songs you like. Listen to them and pay attention to the lyrics. Then find the lyrics online and listen with the lyrics. Then try to translate the lyrics on your own. Finally, look up someone else's translation and see how close they are. Then try to learn the song and visualise meaning it with your whole heart as you sing along.

13) Practise speaking to yourself. It feels super awkward when you first start, but I always manage to get into the flow pretty quickly. You can have GT in front of you so you can look up things if you need to, or you can just write down words you don't know/couldn't think of as you go along, then look them up once you're done (I prefer this method; having GT in front of you encourages your brain to be lazy and not try to actively recall the information you need). Not sure what to write? Try my Speaking In 20 Challenge prompts.

14) Flashcards. I put this one last because really flashcards are only useful as a supplement to learning through other methods. They help to keep vocab fresh in your mind until you see it in context again (and it's the seeing words in context that's gonna cement the meaning in your brain. I've never heard anyone say "oh, I know that word because it was in my flashcard deck that I reviewed every night before bed", but I hear people say things like "oh, I know that obscure word because I watched cooking shows in my TL and the host said it aaaall the time" or "it's in a line from one of my favourite songs" a LOT).

Okay, that's it, essay over 😅 Hope I gave you some ideas! Best of luck with your Norwegian-learning journey!

[nightfurmoon]

Okay, I hope you don't mind me doing this, but I wanted to talk about the USA English dub for HBO Max! I was a bit caught off guard by the new voice cast, I was expecting the same cast they used in the pilot on YouTube. The new cast isn't bad or anything, in fact I really enjoy them, but it's just not what I was expecting, and I think Penumbra & Sunblast in particular sounded a little strange. Again, not bad, just, off ... I would've perfered the Pilot voice cast. Also is it just me, or did it feel like the Animation was moving slightly faster than the voice over? Cause there was a few places where I remember the next scene would start as the last scenes Audio was still finishing. Maybe that's just a Glitch on my end. There was also a few moments where the audio just randomly dropped out, or was missing, like in the Pilot when 5.0.5 responds to Flugs warning not to clean the office his cute little, "Copy That!" Was missing. A few of the line deliveries sounded a bit strange, almost like they weren't said in the right tone, or mood I guess, like Flug really should've sounded tired when he said "Breakfast" to the Rookie hero being lowered into Dementias chambers. Not to mention how they changed a couple of lines from the original Pilot script, and a different English dub I watched that DID feature the Pilot voice cast. Most of them made more sense than the original or just sounded better, but a few were a bit weird. But altogether I loved it, and im happy to finally have Villainous available in the US without paying for an expensive VPN! ^^ sorry this turned into a bit of a rant...😅

Yeah they changed the cast a while ago! The English dub was released on HBO Max Latam with this new cast and script, I'm guessing you didn't catch on that. But yeah, they had to change the cast for union reasons and that boring stuff.

I think they sound better than the original! And yes some lines are weirdly missing like the 'copy that', but apart from that I think it sounds better. I reaaally love the new Flug and Miss Heed. It's also very normal for them to change the lines, and sometimes some scenes don't really align, but it's not much of a bother. I guess I'm more used to it since I watch shows both in eng and spanish and you can definitely see the differences in script, the tone and the timing. Each language is its own world, you can't really make all of them align perfectly

[crehador]

hi! sorry to bother but i had a question about the hypmic lives? i recently got back into the fandom after several years and i wanted to know if there was a general set amount of time we have to wait before the dvds for the lives are for sale? and if its possible to buy any of the previous ones?

hii first of all welcome back to the pit fandom!

you are in the right place with this question bc i definitely know a thing or two about this <- guy who owns multiple copies of every live lol (except the solo lives bc oh god that was expensive)

this'll get long so answer goes under the cut

to start: i am a strong supporter of pirating media you cannot feasibly access otherwise, so don't hesitate to do that. i can't tell you where to actually find the lives online bc i personally do enjoy collecting the physical copies of the lives and throwing my money at the franchise, so i have no idea. but i'm sure they're all out there somewhere if you want to look!

if you are interested in buying them, they'll usually be out within a year of the actual lives taking place. 9th live just released a few weeks back, and 9th live took place nearly a year before that, so sometimes it can be a pretty long wait

10th live may be a somewhat special case because it's the first time we've had multi-angle cameras for the livestream, and i don't know how or if they'll include those on the dvds? i've heard each day is like a 3hr live as well so i'm sure it'll be a big (and pricey) thing even if they don't do anything with the multi-angle camera stuff

in short: i would expect 10th live dvds to be out in about a year, and i would personally guess that they'll cost in the neighborhood of 20k yen at least

(zero out was 16,830 yen on amiami, same price for dvd and bluray, and it seems to me like 10th live is an even bigger live... so i'm expecting it to be more expensive)

if you want to watch 10th live through an official avenue and don't want to wait, it is currently still available for streaming on abema. you can pay for the stream and watch it as many times as you want until the 14th (so there's only a few days left of that) but you'll need a vpn for it to be available in your area (unless you happen to live in japan)

as for the previous lives!

9th live is actually still available on amiami, where i usually get my lives. neither the bluray nor dvd is sold out yet, so you can pick it up that way (but again they are 16,830 yen each)

for older lives, you can generally find them on proxy sites (again, that's only assuming you don't live in japan)

personally i use fromjapan as my proxy. i don't think it's necessarily better than other proxies out there, but it's the one officially affiliated with hypster, which is what i'm mostly buying from lol, so it was just more convenient for me to set up an account there

you can typically find listings for the older lives for quite cheap, sometimes you can even find big lots containing all or most of the lives (usually some cds as well) for a really good price

they also sometimes pop up on mandarake, but won't necessarily be cheapest there

although the prices can be really low (like less than 2k for some lives; for example i just did a quick search and see a copy of six shots for literally only 1,150 yen) keep in mind that there will be shipping! so factor that into your budget as well

one tip on searching, do your searches in japanese (for example search for "ヒプノシスマイク" instead of "hypnosis mic") because sometimes a lot of things don't show up when you search in english. that's the case on fromjapan at least, not sure about other proxies

another tip is do not buy from sites like otaku republic... or whatever it's called, i don't really remember. basically even with expensive overseas shipping, proxies are still so much cheaper, in my experience, than these other sites that mark up prices to absurd rates. like i'll see these english sites selling a doujin for 10,000 yen that you could get for literally 500 yen elsewhere, it's absurd

but ahem yeah tl;dr

10th live dvds should be out in about a year

10th live stream can still be purchased on abema for viewing until the 14th

9th live still available on amiami (possibly elsewhere as well)

older lives best bought through a proxy (fromjapan or whichever you prefer)

keep international shipping in mind if you do not live in japan!

1st live does not exist btw*

2nd and 3rd live are bundled together on one dvd

*like there is no published dvd of it, some footage has been released as part of anniversary celebrations though i'm not sure if that's still available... i'm sure it's somewhere!

[davekat-sucks]

Sucks the internet is a mess and that finding all fanart and videos get lost because a websites filtering and tagging is shit, ex: tumblr, youtube, twitter. So much 2012 homestuck art I'll never see again. I'll miss all those now deleted comic dubs even if they were cringe. Say what you want about Shelby but I wish more of her art got saved. It SUCKS, either people hide art or nuke their galleries, it feels like no one has a legitimate gallery anymore, no one wants to use a proper art website anymore i guess i can't blame them since everyone wants content streamlined towards them rather than searching and Deviantart is unbearable to use with its new awful layout. No one likes newgrounds. I don't like the new internet, i feel like i have to archive every video i watch and every art i see or else it'll get deleted, privated, or lost. All I'm trying to find today is a wonder of wonder art vid that had Caliborn in it and i cant fucking find it and it was posted like a year ago AAAAAAAAHHHH

Blame the Tumblr purge for trying to make sure nobody uploads female-presenting nipples. There are people that like Newgrounds (me being a long time user who browsed it many years back), but some people hate it for things like political beliefs, edgey humor, etc despite it is one oldest sources of Internet culture. Pixiv is limiting content for certain countries to try and comply each nation's policy and we even got credit card companies limiting us on buying stuff from overseas that we will have to use VPNs. Then there's the copyright thing that on YouTube. Old vids that has copyrighted audio is now silenced no matter the context used for having it, thus ruining the video that was uploaded years back. And for some that deleted their gallery or work, most want to move on from the series they had once liked. So they purge all works and continue with the next new thing they like. Perhaps the fandom or series itself, left a bad taste in their mouths that they don't want to be associated with it anymore. Move on to better things and expand new stuff. Octopimp's statement of why he doesn't make HS vids anymore is an example of this. A series like Homestuck, doesn't give off the same motivation or spark that it once had. Even the new shit like HS2/Beyond Canon, can barely invoke any feeling, both good or bad, to make content about it.

[rivvyelf]

7/27/23 "Chapter 1" Update

Total words in chapter: 6191

Total words written today: 1216

Excerpt:

That didn't stop those 'living trees' from tearing everything apart, though. Wang Jin lost two friends to one of those monsters... Just thinking about it made her want to chop a tree down. They had to burn down the entire forest; tree roots spread far, after all. Now Wang Jin understood that if humans were used like wood and replaced with new humans, it would piss her off. So she understood that particular tree's anger. She didn't care though if that tree knew that its remains were still defiled by Wang Jin as target practice. She'd burn that living tree 10 times over again for what it did to her friends! Screw that stupid piece of wood! Why couldn't the One Above create tree shepherds or something to make those overgrown plants understand that humans had a need for wood.

Brownie points if you can guess where the crossover with Tolkien is in there :D .

Hehe, we're getting closer to that 10k word mark again. So far, what I wrote today was both detailing the recovery process for a character while world-building what corvee labor was like for the villagers, which counts as world-building.

I like writing these daily updates. It also is something I can look back on when I reflect on how I wrote this fanfic. Wish I did it earlier. Speaking of that, @brasideios recently wrote a well-written reflection on keeping a writing log that's certainly worth reading. Forgot to mention that yesterday. Hopefully, I can keep it up. I just wish I didn't need a VPN for my stay in China.

[teruel-a-witch]

tag 9 people you'd like to know better

i was tagged weeks ago by @crackers4jenn (*waves* sorry it takes me ages, i'm a scatterbrain)

last song: had to check my youtube history because i rarely listen to music and apparently it was precious by depeche mode on July 12th, lol. it's the soundtrack at the end of bones 1x10 and rewatching the episode always makes me want to listen to the song again.

currently watching: of the shows that are still on right now, only what we do in the shadows. (i think how i met your father s2 officially ended, i mean to pick nancy drew back up but i don't remember where in s3 I fell behind) but i'm in a perpetual process of rewatching/watching so many things, just since the beginning of the summer i've rewatched s3-5 of community, the entirety of black books, went back to white collar which i had abandoned after s2 and watched s3-4 in full before getting distracted, i am also in a neverending rewatch of castle and bones that's been going on since like 2016. earlier this year i was rewatching rizzoli&isles, warehouse 13, grimm, etc. did not finish them all. i jump around a lot depending on my mood. also mean to get back to my lucifer and wynonna earp rewatch at some point. i very rare finish shows and then i get back and have to start from the beginning and then i don't finish anyway, it's a vicious circle, i don't like saying goodbye. also i have no attention span. i guess technically i am also in the process of watching hawaii five-0 but i haven't watched any new (for me) episodes in a loooong time because canon is such a drag compared to the happy au land i've been living in. i do also watch some shows that are on hiatus right now but i probably wouldn't even remember them all. i only remember when they come back. suffice to say i watch a lot of tv lol.

currently reading: embarrassingly, nothing. only stuff that comes up on my tumblr dash 🤷🏻‍♀️. i haven't even read fanfic since ao3 was blocked in my country in april of this year. because of how my brain works if you add an extra step to something i am used to doing (aka i have to turn on vpn to open ao3 links) i am just that much less likely to do it. i miss losing myself in a book but my brain is too preoccupied by my blorbos to be able to invest in anything new.

current obsession: probably shocking to no one who follows me, it's mcdanno. this ship ate my brain in november of 2021 and since then its hold on me has not lessened at all, probably got worse, lmao. i found myself unable to gather any feelings about any of my old long time ships because all that space has been eaten up by steve and danny's insane chemistry and frustrating and wonderful epic love story. also within the mcdanno fandom the obsession of recent months has been building/brainstorming aus with aron @emphasisonthehomo (best rp partner one could wish for) . and i guess you can call making mcdanno screencap edits and metas an obsession of its own.

tagging (no pressure, only if you want to): @emphasisonthehomo , @stephmcx , @trickster-archangel , @pepperf , @wordybee , @alexihawleys , @aflawedfashion , @annieaceofhearts , @lukeclvez

[mypastellittleworld]

I think i will post sth just to tell people that this account isn’t die (yet) 👍

This year I watched a lot of stages and every stage made me feel like i can see myself when i was young. That personality had long lost from my memories but watching butais… i came to remember why i’ve always love “the stage”.

It can’t be changed that i lose desire to stand as a performer. I ran away from my past but i knew one thing: i never hate “stages” and i’d never be.

I love lightings, bgm, decorations, and every single movement of stages. I just… love them so much. I’m more than 100000% sure that i no longer suitable to perform but… you can’t deny your inner thoughts, right? I love stages and i still do. Butais proved me that.

I wonder what im gonna do in the future. I do have plan but it’s not like sth that i can do now so maybe i need more time. I asked myself every morning whether im doing fine or not. Everyone around me seems to be happy since they got to do what they wanted. They’re tired but fulfilled. They got their own “thoughts” while i’ve always acted according to what my parents wanted me to do. I didn’t think about my heart much since i didn’t have another choice other than obeyed my parents.

I’m tired of everything, but not the stages i’ve always being told to forget it.

So… i wrote this because i’m happy to know that at least i’ve my <own> thought. If Shu wanted Mika to live as a doll like my parents told me to do what i must do, my life back then should be considered as a doll as well. I did tell myself that it’s okay to abandon my feelings as long as my parents still love me, but in fact it wasn’t. I realized later that my heart has been broken into countless pieces which i can’t even fix them. I just gathered them together and continue my daily life because my parents told me i must not abandon my responsibilities.

In enstars, Shu wants Mika to become human while Mika starts to learn how to love a human-side of himself. I can related to that. I mean, my friends want me to stay true to my feelings and my life is my life. I can do whatever i want that it won’t trouble others. Somehow… watching these butais made me understand myself more than before. I threw away my imagination and dream to satisfy my parents, but i know now how much those fantasy precious to me.

I just want to say that i’m happy to see a lot of people start to love watching butai or stage play. There are soooo many of us who have lost our ways but you might found sth laying deep within your heart by watching stage plays. No matter how much i want to say thank you, it won’t be enough.

I hope lots and lots will open their hearts and watch stage plays. Its magic can turn your whole life though! 🤣

I’m mumbling nonsense once again but i guess no one read my blog so maybe it’s fine(?) hahahaha

If any of you want to talk to me, no need to feel scare and send me a private message! I don’t think i’d get notification fast enough to reply instantly but i promise i will answer every single thing you asked.

Truly, my pastel little world right? ;D

P.s. EVERYONE PLEASE LISTEN TO HAJIME AND SHUN NEWEST DUET BECAUSE ITS AMAZING

Ryouhei-san is just… (　˙-˙　)(、._. )、(´；_；)ノ♡ haaaaaaahhhhhhh T T

P.s.2 You need to use VPN to login into Spotify and stay connect until you decided to stop listen! If you live outside JP and your account is premium, you can’t use that account since they knew that we’re being an outsider. It’s fine to use some of your leftover-email to login though. Just don’t forget that your VPN must stay CONNECTED!! 😂

Now go and listen!!! IT’S A MUST!!!

Light & Dark (Hajime + Shun duet)

When I got a chance to watch TsukiSta 14 rabbits kingdom, i promise that im gonna be crazier than today 🧐🙏

[yandere-daze]

hello! this is the anon with the "u inspire me to write an self aware au". ive been thinking of making a seperate blog (bcus im planning to delete my current one soon, its a bit empty and i ended up not liking it) just for yandere and i really want to make a ramble post about yan self aware au with trickstar bcus i had this one idea that wont go away then tag u bcus again, u inspire me with ur writings. someday. im away from my current home and didnt bring my laptop cuz didnt expect to take long

Hell yeah, go for it!! I'm really happy to hear that I was able to inspire you to write for the self-aware AU, that's some of the highest praise I could ever hope to get 😊💕

I wish you lots of success with your blog and may it be the creative outlet you want! And also, yes, definitely do feel free to tag me if/when you end up writing something! I'd love to read it ^^

And oooh Trickstar! I'm definitely interested in reading what you have to say about them! I've mentioned them in passing one or two times but I don't think I ever really did an indepth post about them. So please do feel free to share, I'll definitely be reading it when you post it 😊

And oof I feel that so bad with the laptop because funnily enough, I was in the exact same position for the last two months. I went to Belgium for 2 months and only packed a company laptop which I didn't want to use to write fanfic for obvious reasons ( I would also have to log in to the company VPN for internet to even work). So all I had the last two months to write was my phone, which wasn't really ideal 😅

It's one of the reasons why I haven't really been posting any writing recently, though I have typed up quite a bit for a pretty long post, though it's not for a fandom I've written for before. If you happen to be into Raincode, I guess you're in luck though 😌

I hope I can write and post some more when I'm back at home with my laptop. Hope you'll also be able to write soon ^^

And yes, rambling posts can be so fun, I love doing them to just get an idea out there in the world that I've been thinking about a lot but haven't written an elaborate piece for yet. It's also why I tend to prefer headcanon posts compared to fics, it allows me to just spill all the ideas and thoughts I have at once!

So to end this all of, please do share your works ( if you want to) once you've posted something ^^

[ddarker-dreams]

Aspiration. Yandere Chrollo x Reader [COMM]

click here for part 2! 

Watching others has always been a hobby of yours.

There’s a lot to be learned from observing and watching how people behave and interact. Whether it be for your own simple amusement, or for the sake of gathering information. While some may find it creepy to keep such a keen eye out for others, you don’t look at it that way. Understanding human nature has an endless list of advantages, after all. 

It started as a small side project. When you’d stumble across information on the Phantom Troupe online that wasn’t at a ridiculous price, you found yourself looking more into them. Possible members, possible motivations, surface level stuff. The more you looked into the more you descended into a minor obsession. Questions plagued your mind about their goals, the theories you found too shallow for your taste. 

Through carefully studying their past hits, you came to the conclusion there were no patterns to be found. Nailing down the next possible heist felt like searching for a needle in a haystack, a part of you losing hope at the prospect of ever being in the same area as them. 

So you busied yourself in other ways. From digging through hours of forums and pricey information, you pieced together the most possible members. While they’re all unique in their own right, the apple of your eye has always been their mysterious leader. There have been no solid leads on his real name, much to your chagrin. 

But the leaked autopsies from what’s assumed to be his victims are fascinating. The cause of death was always different! For most nen users who kill, the method of death was typically similar with minor discrepancies. But for whoever this leader was, it almost felt like he had an unlimited amount of abilities. Was that even possible? 

The morality of his actions had never been a strong concern of yours. Wanting nothing more than an opportunity to learn more about him, you brainstormed all you could on how to gain any form of contact. That’s when you got the idea of posting information online yourself, but not about the Troupe. 

From guessing where they might strike next, you posted on hunter websites about information that they might find helpful. Important figures to expect at the events, bodyguard’s abilities that had been confirmed from previous employers. Whether or not the Troupe actually looked and used the information is a mystery, but the prospect of assisting them felt… thrilling. Like you were almost a part of them yourself. 

That leads you to where you are now. A mini road trip of sorts, your last exit approaching fast. 

The Troupe’s realm of possibilities stretched throughout the entire globe, but never close enough where you could investigate in person. But that all changed when rumors of some of the strongest hunters being hired popped up, for a museum exhibit that would be opening tonight. In your city, nonetheless! 

Securing an invitation to the event was a tedious matter, but the possible payoff was enough to keep you motivated. Though being in attendance for too long could be risky if they do actually strike, running surveillance throughout the area would be easier without having to sneak around bouncers. 

Checking your glove department, you find a blurry photo that serves as your hope. It had been posted on a hunter information website earlier today, a credible one at that. Even if obtaining it cost you a pretty jenny, you didn’t think much of it. In the image is what’s believed to be one of the members. A girl wearing a dark turtleneck with equally dark, short hair. 

Having driven around the back of the museum, you lean back into your chair. Stretching your aching muscles, you see why this area is such a hot spot. While the actual exhibit itself didn’t interest you much, it’s evident a lot of effort went into preparing this event. Limousines had lined the entrance, important individuals emerging in expensive outfits; waiting to be escorted inside. 

It’s quieter back here though, with no flashing cameras and chatty socialites. The silence gives you the opportunity to think through your plan once more.

‘I shouldn’t go in unless one of the bodyguards gets suspicious at my loitering. If I’m lucky, maybe, just maybe… I’ll see the Troupe tonight. And their mysterious leader.’ 

Rolling down your windows, you keep a sharp eye on your surroundings. Boredom never gets the opportunity to set in, your own rapidly beating heart never once slowing down. Having flung yourself into a possible lion’s den, the last thing you need to do is relax your concentration; it could be the death of you.

The exhibit opens at 8:00, and it’s currently 7:30. 

The exhaustion from the day starts to weigh on you against your will. All the preparation and anxiety leads to your eyelids feeling heavy, leading you to lightly slap your face. The last thing you need to do is loosen your concentration. That’s when you suddenly feel a strange sensation. 

Perking up almost immediately, your rapidly eyes dart around for the source of this ominous feeling. Only to find nothing out of the ordinary, your car is the only one in this parking lot. Checking your mirrors again, you catch a glimpse of what appears to be dark fabric. 

‘Am I just imagining things?’ 

As far as you see, you have a finite amount of options ahead of you. One, to ignore whatever it is you just saw. Two, to drive off as fast as you can. Three, activating your En to see if anyone is in your immediate area. Staying without doing anything doesn’t feel wise in the slightest, and driving away wouldn’t matter if it is indeed the Phantom Troupe. They’ll catch up to you before you can set any solid distance. 

That leaves using your En. 

It’s risky, but everything about this trip is. Taking a deep, shaky breath, you close your eyes. Activating your En, you feel nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe everything is getting to you after all? It is late, after all. There’s always the possibility that they’re out of your range, but if you were able to see it in your mirror they couldn’t have been that far away.

“So you are a nen user after all?” An unknown voice breaks any semblance of peace you have, scurrying your mind into action. 

Snapping your head to your left, your eyes widen at the sight of a stranger. Not bothering to take a second look, you immediately react by going to start your car. Before you get the opportunity, your car door is pried off by them with ease; their presence threatening. Hands twitching over your keys, you realize they’re faster than you are.

“There’s no need to be hasty,” A deep voice says next to you. “Move back, slowly. What happens to you all depends on your next actions.” 

All you can hear is a mantra of cursing within your own mind. Leaning back as you were told, you hesitantly look to see who your possible assailant is. Much to your surprise, it looks to be a young man around your own age. Wearing a long, leather coat with fur; raven black hair slicked back. 

‘Could this really be…?’

Given the tense situation, this individual doesn’t seem perturbed in the slightest. Is this the confidence a Troupe member normally exudes, if that’s who this is? You can’t help but feel a sense of admiration, that would undoubtedly be stronger if not for the dire circumstance. 

He helps himself to your glove department, rummaging through your insurance information. 

“Ah, your name is [First] then?” he inquires, finally breaking some of the tension in the air. 

It’s a rhetorical question, so you don’t humor him with a proper response. He studies your defensive position with analytical eyes, taking in as much information about you as you are about him. You get the feeling that in comparison to him, you’re more of an open book. 

“Do you want my wallet too?” you can’t help but inquire with sarcasm, almost immediately regretting it as his eyes widen. Why you can’t ever keep your mouth shut is beyond you, but he doesn’t seem to mind. 

“This gives me all I need to know for the time being,” he states with minor indifference, waving your insurance paper with a smile. “But I appreciate the offer.” 

Humming in response to his words, you can’t help but throw in another cheap quip. “Something tells me you’re not a police officer.” 

He laughs in good humor at your biting words. “Well, you’d be correct.” 

Before you’re given the opportunity to ask who this person is, he speaks as if he knew what you were intending to ask. 

“I’m surprised you don’t know who I am, [First]. Seeing as you’ve dedicated so much time into researching me.” With this, he places the paper back into the glove compartment with a click. Giving you his full attention, you feel like every aspect of you is being scrutinized. It takes all your will power to hold eye contact, his dark eyes unlike anything you’ve even seen before.

Mouth agape, you speak without thinking. “I take it my VPNs weren’t good enough then.”

Another chuckle leaves his lips at your comment. 

“At first they were. Shalnark had difficulty finding out your identity for a while, but everything can always be traced back to its source,” he leans closer to you, tilting his head. “You’ve been an enigma to me to say the least.” 

“I feel like I should be saying that, not you.” you mumble breathlessly, the reality of the situation hitting you like a ton of bricks. This is either the worst prank in existence, or you’re actually speaking face to face with a member of the Phantom Troupe. While them tracking you down was always an unfortunate possibility in the back of your mind, you never paid much attention to it. 

“You’re free to say what you like. I don’t have any intention of killing you… unless you try something stupid,” he explains to you, straightening his posture. “But you haven’t given me reason to believe you’d do that.” 

A shaky sigh leaves your lips, your attention turning from him to the fists in your lap. Everything in your body is screaming to run, to do something, but you know it’ll be for naught. While he said he wouldn’t kill you, it’s not nearly enough to comfort you. There are fates worse than death, after all. 

“Don’t you have a crown to steal or something? Why waste time with me if you’re not going to kill me?” 

He blinks at your question, before amusing you with an answer. “I’ll get to that later. I’m more interested in seeing what you’re going to do, if I’m being honest.” 

“What I’m going to do…?” you repeat his words back aloud, hoping it’ll help you process the information better.

Knitting your eyebrows together, your mind races to make sense of the implications in his words. This must be how jesters used to feel back in the day, you surmise. Is he expecting you to do something entertaining? Well, given as there’s a solid chance you’re going to be dead in five minutes, why not.

“Alright, I’ll bite. Since I’m likely dying soon, why not tell me your name? It’d be cool to know that much in the afterlife.” 

He considers your words, before responding. “Didn’t I say that as long as you don’t act foolishly I don’t intend on killing you?” 

“I figured talking this much to a Phantom Troupe member counted towards my ‘acting foolishly’ points.” 

“Maybe it does, yes. And to answer your previous question, but my name is Chrollo.” 

The name is one you’ve never heard before. Despite only having met Chrollo a few minutes prior to now, you feel that his foreign name suits him well. Practicing the pronunciation on your tongue in a low tone, you feel a sense of pride at having uncovered this newfound information. It’s more than anyone else has learned.

Chrollo looks down at his watch briefly, before returning his attention back to you. It’s uneasy being incapable of hiding your feelings as well as he does, but you still try your best. Straightening your posture, you try to think of what to say next. This situation is one you never expected to be in. If you had known this would’ve happened, you would’ve prepared some questions at least…

He’s toying with you, you know that much. But it doesn’t seem to have any malicious intent behind it. Rather, a genuine intrigue towards your motives. It could just be hopeful thinking, but you feel like Chrollo wants something from you. Though you’re unsure what. 

“Since I shared my name with you, I believe it’s only fair if I asked you a question of my own,” Chrollo insists, your heart racing for whatever comes next. “Why is it you spend so much time assisting the Spider?” 

You blink. It’s actually a question that you’ve seen before in responses to your posts. People wondering if you were just messing with others by spreading false information, or if you’re an undercover hunter trying to fool the Troupe or something. The question never really sat right with you, since you couldn’t give a good answer to it yourself.

But now that you have a captive audience, you need to think of a coherent response. Vocalizing feelings that you don’t even understand yourself, while under pressure, is certainly anxiety inducing.

Placing a finger to your chin, you articulate your response to the best of your abilities. “I don’t think I have a solid reason. I just found you guys interesting, in a way. No one really knows your motivations, for example. It just adds this mystery element.” 

Chrollo takes in your answer with a slight frown, seemingly not expecting such an unsure response. Since you have no reason to lie at this point, you assume he doesn’t think you’re being untruthful. He’ll undoubtedly call you out on it if he thought you were being dishonest.

“And what do you think our motivations are?” Chrollo continues to press, not settling until you give a satisfactory response.

‘He really isn’t letting me off the hook easily, is he?’

“Well, that’s always been a hot topic. Typically people guess that you do it to spite the rich, or to assert power. I even read one theory that you guys were under a curse and the only way to be free is to steal rare items for the person who cursed you! Weird stuff.” you let out a shaky ramble, scratching your neck with an airy laugh.

“Is that what you believe then?” 

“Not really,” comes your response with a dismissive wave. “I could be wrong, but… I’ve always thought that there isn’t a special motivation. That you do what you want, only for the sake of doing it. There doesn’t always need to be a solid reason for a person’s actions. Sometimes… people just do things.” 

Much to your surprise, Chrollo’s interest remains on you despite your long-winded rant. Why your opinion means anything in the slightest to him is still beyond you, but he seems to be taking in every word seriously.

“For the sake of doing it, huh…?” Chrollo repeats your words back to you, considering them himself. Whatever you said must've struck a chord, as he appears in deep thought by your side. A few moments of tense silence go by, causing you to frown. 

‘Hopefully I didn’t upset him. I didn’t think I said anything that bad, though.’

“You may be right,” Chrollo breaks the brief silence, causing you to jump. “You’re a very strange person, [First].” 

“S-strange? I don’t think you have room to talk,” you blurt out before you can think twice, Chrollo smiling in good nature at your curt response. “I guess you’re kinda right though. Any normal person wouldn’t have been in this situation. I think.” 

“Anyways… since we’re doing some question give and take here, I have some of my own. If that’s okay with you.” 

Amusement flickers in his eyes at your unabashed interest. “Do your worst.” 

“So, there’s always been rumors of one member that I’ve found to be the most intriguing. I’ve seen the most speculation that it’s the leader of the Troupe, but of course no one really knows for sure.” you begin to ponder aloud, Chrollo letting out a soft chuckle at the word leader. 

“Basically, the cause of death is almost always different! I’ve heard of people having a few different types of Hatsu, but never more than two or three. It’s almost like his nen is having unlimited nen abilities? I don’t know, it’s just really fascinating. That’s the only reason that could explain it.” 

“Anyways, you’re probably not too keen on sharing Troupe abilities with a stranger. But like… blink twice if I’m right. Throw me a bone here.” 

Throughout your entire explanation, you paid extra attention to picking up body language. Just anything to see if Chrollo would subconsciously give a hint or two towards your theory being correct. But his ability to control himself is unparalleled. He only looks highly entertained at everything you say. 

“You’re almost right,” Chrollo confirms, making your eyes widen in surprise. “I would know. I’m the boss of the Troupe, after all.” 

His last sentence repeats like a mantra in your mind, your jaw loosening as you realize the full impact of them. 

Not only are you speaking to a member of the Phantom Troupe, but you’re speaking to their leader? This definitely wasn’t what you were expecting when you woke up today. Had you have known you were speaking to the leader, you may have been more polite. 

‘Oh god I’m so fucked.’

“Okay, uh, Mr. Chrollo. Sir. I now just realized I’m definitely gonna be disposed of. So. I have a business proposition. I have a pet cat at home, and if I die, he’s gonna starve. If it’s not too much trouble, can you set him up with like a meal service or something? Here, let me get my venmo…” 

“I’m still not planning on killing you,” Chrollo refutes with a shake of his head at your insistence on the matter. “Though I suppose it’s understandable why you would be worried about that.” 

“So torture it is then?”

“It hadn’t crossed my mind.” 

“Oh…” 

Pursing your lips, you lean back into your seat with a deep sigh. This entire ordeal has been the most stressful time of your life, if not the most notable. The sides of your head feel like they’re pushing against your brain, a massive headache on the way. Sliding down in your seat, your eyes flicker to the time. 

7:43.

‘It’s felt like hours! Only thirteen minutes, huh? I guess time doesn’t fly when you’re speaking to a murderer.’ 

“I do believe it’s my turn to ask you a question now.” Chrollo states, leaning back into the passenger’s seat as if it were his own car. The way he speaks commands such respect, you wonder if it would be impossible for anyone to refute him. You certainly weren’t going to test your luck.

At your lack of rebuttal, he continues. “Why go through all this trouble if not for money? Or prestige?” 

‘Why is he so intent on giving me a midlife crisis?’

“If I had wanted money I would’ve posted detrimental information about you guys,” you respond with an unnatural ease. “But most of the people who do that end up dying. And prestige? Who cares what a bunch of strangers think about me. It’s not gonna do me any good at the end of the day.”

Shaking your head at the thought, you continue. “No, none of those things matter that much. I only wanted to appease my own curiosity. To learn what others tried, only to succeed where they had failed.”

Chrollo hums in response to your heartfelt words. He takes a moment to consider them himself, before leaning in closer to you. At the sudden, unexpected movement; you can’t help but flinch. 

Instead of causing you any harm, he gently places a strand of stray hair behind your ear. Your face ignites in warmth at the tender gesture, your tongue failing to form any coherent words. His cologne almost dulls your senses, overwhelming presence leaving your eyes wide as saucers.

He looks at you with a knowing smile, before retracting his hand and sitting back in the seat. Your hand shakily touches the same area he did, in wild disbelief. 

‘What just happened? Am I dreaming?’ 

“To be truthful, I’ve known about you for a while before now, [First]. I’d been intending on meeting you at some point. It just so happened that everything fell into place the way it did.” Chrollo informs you, serving only to befuddle your feelings further. 

“You’ve fascinated me in the same way I have you. Observation can serve an important purpose, but I’d longed to pick your brain in person instead. Thank you for indulging me.” 

“I-I really don’t know what to say,” you stutter out in response, swallowing thickly. “I knew spending ten dollars on a VPN wasn’t going be enough.” 

“I would’ve found you regardless.” 

‘Good god what is happening? When did breathing become so difficult?’ 

“Oh... well that’s... good to know I think?” 

Chrollo looks at his watch yet again, and you wonder if it means anything detrimental for you. Realistically speaking he probably needs to rekindle with the rest of his group before performing whatever heist they have planned. 

“It looks like our time together has almost run out,” Chrollo says, a soft sigh leaving his lips. “I hadn’t realize how much time went by.” 

Your hunch now confirmed, you once again go over your options. Should he try to do anything to you, there’s still a chance you could make it to the front of the museum in time to alert the bodyguards. If you’re crafty enough, that is. Whether or not you can think coherently in this state is up in the air, as your eyes flicker momentarily to the door handle. 

Hand twitching, you exhale shakily at the thought of your backup plan. What else is there for you to do? Although you’re afraid to test out who’s faster, since you get the feeling it isn’t you. 

Chrollo shakes his head at your obvious thoughts, reaching forward to lock the doors with a dreadful click. 

‘There goes that idea.’

“Still thinking of how to get away, hm?” he asks in a chiding tone, a blush returning to your cheeks at his words. Chrollo seems capable of reading you without even having to try, as frustrating as that is.

“Well, what else am I supposed to do exactly?” you counter, your words coming out shakier than you had hoped. The underlying sarcasm is still there, even with your waning tone. 

“You could come with me instead.” Chrollo offers, in a way that seems too genuine to make any shred of sense. 

“What?” you choke out, spluttering at the implications of his words. 

“Exactly as I said. I’m interested in you, and you know enough now to be considered dangerous,” Chrollo states as if it were obvious. “I know I phrased it like a question, but it’s not exactly a choice."

“In that case, I can’t really say no can I?” you mumble, grasping your hand to hopefully stop it from shaking. Control of your body had slipped through the cracks, leaving you in a constant state of alertness. 

“You could, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” Chrollo looks at you in a way that shows he’s already won. “Instead, you’ll do this.”

“I already have someone monitoring you here -- so running won’t do you any good. Sit here and wait for me to come back. You can do that, can’t you?” 

Biting your lip, all you can do is nod your head. It’s better than dying, you figure. 

Chrollo seems content enough with your obedience, sliding over to leave the same way he had came in. Before he leaves you to your own thoughts, he offers a final quip.

“We’ll have a lot more discuss while we travel together, [First].”

[maniacpixiedreamgirl]

i wish online companies would understand that some ppl dont like subscriptions. like it works with streaming, bc we grew up with similar options in cable, and using subscription for like music/movies is great! bc u have access to an endless library. end-less. like every song u could ever want to hear. but besides like multimedia, there is rarely another service that ur average individual needs a monthly, or god forbid, YEARLY, subscription of.

what happened to just selling a one time service. like it makes no sense that linkedin has a subscription feature. god, if u want to charge something so bad then just sell products. x dollars for our interview prep. x dollars for profile analytics report, etc. its the fucking internet its so easy to layout a bunch of bundle options.

i remember once i really needed a specific layout for a project. i was checking websites to see what i needed and stuff like canvas would only allow me to check their stuff if i signed up for their free trial for their YEARLY subscription. it was insane. i just needed to see that one layout. why would me, just some random student, need a yearly subscription for an online template editing website. i got google docs for free like?? most ppl just need that one specific layout for one specific project. so i found another website that sold single templates. i bought like 3 bc they were like 1 dollar? and i am pretty sure they gave me one for like free. years later when i needed another template again (which took WAY MORE THAN AN YEAR) guess that website i returned to and bought from again.

i am way more likely to return under those conditions - even if to sign a subscription later. like let us just buy things without needing to commit. god, if like news websites asked for like 50 cents to read their goddamn piece that i need to reference to one dumb research i would be more likely to pay for that than a fucking weekly subscription. if vpn's offered like a day package for a couple bucks instead of a yearly subscriptions i would be way more likely to pay for. why do we need to commit to so many services. to so many libraries.

[putschki1969]

H-el-ical// 『B-day Event 2021』Live Commentary/Report

Date: July 2, 2021 Stream open 18:00／Stream start 18:30 Stream Ticket purchase period: 2021/6/19 12:00〜7/8 19:00   Ticket sales page https://eplus.jp/h-el-ical_st/ Ticket price: 3,000 yen Archived video available until July 8 23:59

Hikaru tweet |

Notes: As discussed in previous posts, it’s VERY hard for foreigners to buy tickets on e+. Their service requires a registration with an active Japanese phone number which needs to be verified via SMS/call (something I managed to do a couple of years ago with the help of a kind friend in Japan - it wasn’t easy at all). On top of that, you can ONLY pay with Japanese credit cards or at convenience stores (once again, something that was only possible because I know kind people who are willing to help me with stuff like that). Lots of hurdles which aren’t easily overcome. *sighs* I know that e+ does in fact have an overseas ticket service but alas, Hikaru’s team have decided not to offer it. Maybe it wouldn’t have paid off for them, I don’t know. However, I think you CAN use a proxy service like FromJapan or WhiteRabbitExpress because they will handle the whole process for you. Careful though! It has come to my attention that certain foreign fans cannot access the relevant e+ pages anymore. I think the reason for that might be that e+ blocked the countries where their overseas service is available. So even if you get a Japanese ticket through FromJapan etc you might not be able to access the event without using some proper VPN. Anyways, without further ado, let’s get to the live commentary 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

•————— ♬ —————• 

LIVE COMMENTARY/IMPRESSIONS (TO BE UPDATED)

The current background music is an acoustic instrumental arrangement of a famous song I know but for the live of me, I can’t remember its name or the lyrics. Sounds a bit jazz-y, pop standard-ish, I’m guessing that will be the vibe for the event? I don’t really know the other piece they are playing now. Could be anything really.:P

It’s a small but cute venue. Takeshi Kato (from SPICE) is enthusiastic as always as host XD Hikaru looks super cute. They are clapping “Happy Birthday” for her (they can’t sing due to COVID guidelines unfortunately). She also got a little cake and and Amazon giftcard from her management.

Time for a little “How much do you know about H-el-ical//”  quiz: She needs to reply within 5 seconds which Hikaru finds very difficult. On what day was “pulsation” released? (June 1 2019) The venue for her 1st H-el-ical// live? (Kanagawa Kenmin Hall) How many H-el-ical// songs are there in total? (24) How many goods did she sell for her acoustic live in 2020? (11) Something about the key being different in the first part of the song compared to all her other songs. Hikaru doesn’t know this. Gushimiyagi chose that question :P Apparently it’s Landscape. Hikaru scolds Gushi for coming up with such a difficult question :P Otherwise Hikaru did great tho, she answered 4 out of 5 qustions

Then they bring out five different bubble teas for Hikaru to taste. I think she is supposed rank them according to how strong they taste or sometthing? No idea. She is pretty good at it (even though she almost chokes :P) And she was happy to finally drink some tapioca again. She is trying to take a break for the YK Live Tour.

LIVE CORNER: She is doing the TOP 3 of the survey where we got to choose our faves. Hirotaka Sakurada has joined Hikaru on stage. 1. disclose ~ acoustic ver. [WOW!! LOVE IT!! So powerful *chills*] 2. Altern-ate- ~ acoustic ver. [Really loving these arrangements. Sakurada’s playing is pretty epic and fits Hikaru’s super dramatic and dark singing.] 3. 咲 -SHOW- [Okay, didn’t expect that to be so high in the ranking. Not one of my favourites :P A tad too shrill for my liking, much preferred the lower key of the previous songs. Still Hikaru is super cute and she was happy that it ranked so high bcause she wrote the song for us]

GOODS INTRO CORNER: Hikaru is excited to see lots of people wear her masks. Cute as always. My merch already arrived at the TENSO warehouse. Can’t wait to receive all of them. Dammit, the t-shirt looks so soft. Her shirts are honestly the best. I kinda regret not ordering one. There is still a chance for you to purchase the items! [H-el-ical // Limited time ONLINE SHOP] http://h-el-ical.tokyo TUTORIAL [Order period] 2021/5/21 20: 00 ~ 2021/7/6  23:59

LIVE CORNER: We are back to some songs. Something summer-themed. 4. Spiranthes [Lovely as always. Not what I would have liked to hear from the “Blooming” album tho :P]. 5. 水 – Find your answer [Another nice pick but once again not what I would have chosen from the “elements” album] MC: Hikaru is super happy to have Sakurada with her because she has loved his playing ever since the Kalafina day. 6. 火 − One step forward [They did a darker arrangement for this live. I love it! Made me fall in love with the song. Hikaru SLAYS!] 7. Existence ~ acoustic ver. [LOL, I almost forgot about this song. Shame on me. I prefer it like this I think. Her screams are super cool]. 8. 紡-TSUMUGU- [Ahhhhhh, I knew this would be the final song. I am in love. The lalalas always get to me! She asks everyone at the venue to clap along and everyone who is watching the stream can sing the lalalas with her 💕 ]

She received another present from her drummer MASUKE. Then Hikaru  once again announces that all her albums are now available on various streaming services. AND we are getting a NEW SONG today on YouTube - “I am me”. Please look forward to it! It’s a song with a very youthful vibe. Awwww, her final words are so touching, I think she almost teared up. And she is taking some pictures with the audience whic she will upload later. AHhhh. wish I could have been there. Will there be an encore? Maybe? But the live stream doesn’t seem to cover it?

ENCORE: THERE IS an ancore!! And it IS covered by the live stream!! For a second the sound didn’t work but they fixed it quickly. BANZAI! 9. Happy Birthday [She sang it for herself because the audience isn’t allowed to sing. So precious! ]

[empressxmachina]

Is THIS what will push me to make an AO3 account? (not clickbait) (surprising)

[See this journal in a better layout on my blog site or on DeviantArt.]

I’ve fallen so down abysmal for the Help, I Shrunk My… series – “…Teacher“, then “…Parents”, and finally (?) “…Friends” – especially the last movie and its scenes between peers, that I have such an uncharacteristic urge to write a fanfic.

Yep, fanfic. I did say uncharacteristic. But with the cuteness and quality, especially at certain scenes in “…Friends” like below, I don’t think you can blame me.

“Holy shit, I’m going to pass out/die/shit myself/etc.” -me, at nearly everything in this series

(Post?) Pubescent Pairings

A. The Classic Couple.

I’m already, because I’m a serial romantic that loves a good self-insert, thinking to name the whole story “Help, I Shrunk My Lover/Girlfriend” or something cheesy like that (maybe even in German?) for Felix and Ella to be stuck together and have to deal with (post?-) pubescent awkwardness. I mean, I feel so honey-dicked that we got cute shit like this and its amazing scene…

God, look at that FOV, the (lack of) focus, the size difference, the subtitle, that face… Fuck.

…but it had to be ruined because – SPOILER – the dumb, lusting teen boy couldn’t see what was literally right in front of him for years until the end of the third movie! Plus, being steps away from a married couple of hotheads, who knows what kind of fights or arguments they’d get into? Are you telling me you wouldn’t want a scene like this again?

That stick is actually way too big to really be a toothpick (or is it?), but I’m not mad. We stan a brave queen.

B. The Will-They/Won’t-They Duo

I’m thinking of making Mario and Melanie into each other, too, as irony based on how much they hated each other for most of the last movie. She stole his phone (and everything else) and then his heart. (lol, I’m so sorry.) Maybe she’d still have some fancies for Felix but then sees that Mario has redeeming qualities of his own, on top of a rich background (not that it matters, but money is cool). My main focus in mind was just for Ella to be shrunken, with Melanie being the supportive gal pal, but given she’s new and hasn’t yet been small herself, maybe this would be the time.

I think Mario would’ve totally gotten over the prepubescent power drive from the first movie by now and certainly no longer has even the slightest grudge over Melanie causing and/or catalyzing chaos that could be played with if he had to deal with a small her. Surely.

C. The Bros in the Back

Would it be too presumptive to make Chris and Robert maybe gay for each other… or even absolutely the opposite? I respect a strong friendship and/or bromance, and LGBTQ+ representation is always a win, too. But for either, I don’t want to do anything “just because” or because it’s “(not) woke;” it should add to the story and have meaning. After all, a situation like “Dude, I love you, and I’ll love you forever, but not like that” could be just as cute. We stan supportive introspection between men. Bros before hoes, you know?

Though, maybe they’re likely the great masterminds to figure out what/why the plot thickens. They seem like the most intelligent of the squad, even if they were only henchmen at the beginning.

D. The Elders

I guess it would only make sense for Schmitty or Felix’s parents to get shrunk again, as is tradition. Maybe the former would be due to considering retirement from teaching/being principal.

I’d do anything to get Hausmeister Michalsky protecting her with his hat again.

As for the parents, it’d likely be a wrong place, wrong time situation. I don’t know.

Unless Sandra and Peter were snooping again, I doubt Felix would willingly do this to them.

Overarching Themes

Aging for Innuendo

Regarding all this, I do know that I’d like to make the story time-skipped a bit, making the kids at least U.S.-adult-aged for my own sake. I am a fan of double entendre, cheekiness, and raw emotion, so I’d love to spill them all over a story or characterization if fitting. However, I couldn’t bear to see or write any kiddos explicitly going through with any entailed implications – that shit’s illegal, lmao. Plus, why even risk something like that when an age-up takes away all the trouble, thus not make any innuendos or ideas awkward?

In a fun way, small or not, wouldn’t seeing the gang party together with real man’s drinks or whatever be cool? What about someone getting turnt on a thimble’s worth or a gummy bear’s paw?

The cups have been used. That’s adorable. +10 points for realism.

In a trash way, if a greater trust was built between Felix and Ella to wear one would suggest taking a bath with the other, and a small Ella floating in the soap ocean bumps into something on her back, only to realize all of Felix’s (normal) limbs are out of distance, in view, and/or just not able to touch her yet he’s blushing, then what would that imply? (It could be nothing, but it could be something.)

Why, Though?

I just can’t figure out a supposedly new catalyst for the ultimate shrinking plot point, mostly due to the main chaos causers, aka the ancient magic users that tackled the school, being sent to the Shadow Realm in the last movie. I do have some ideas, but I’d always love to hear more.

*Oh, Hulda Stechbarth… Bless this crazy bitch, lol.

Throughout the series, people going to our wanting to go to America was frequently brought up. Maybe, like Ilvermorny is to Hogwarts, maybe there’s a (maybe American) (college?) counterpart to the Leonhard school that is interested in the kids. Could the sudden shrinking be a part of the admissions or entrance exam process, such as figuring out how to reverse it? I can’t imagine someone still wanting to go to a school that risked its prospective students’ lives, but who knows? Still, I’m sure the friends would debate whether going overseas for any school is the best idea, especially with the ridiculous costs. Could differing views cause tension?

What if one between Felix and Ella considered it, but the other didn’t, and a coincidentally timed dream for them to stay together – not unlike Minami-kun no Koibito, if you know it – made one of them small with no way for Felix to turn the affected back to normal (due to the tests)? What if people start believing that Felix is intentionally not transforming people back, despite not being at fault but trying his best the whole time?

I suppose another villain is cool, too, but what would be their spite? Would Felix getting all of Leonhard’s power be enough to spark something?

***

I want to do this, but I rarely finish anything now. I can’t even think of a proper plot! Maybe putting this out into the world will inspire myself or even someone else to give a fanfic a shot or at least expose this series to our fandom more (like when I found Dwarfina and blushed at every scene, despite not knowing a lick of Tagalog)!

The third movie pretty much just released, so I only see it (legally) able for streaming (via renting or buying) via Vudu and Amazon Prime Video (in the U.S.). It maybe more widespread in Germany where it was made. (Though, VPNs do exist…) But the first and second movies can be bought or rented from multiple sources, surely.

In any case, let me know what y’all think, and feel free to share your thoughts!

[jellyluchi]

May I inquire about how one obtains the Sims, its add-ons and increased customizations at a low low price? Context: I am broke

Not to worry anon, I'm a complete Sims novice and I'm broke too so I know what you mean. Thanks to @cumslutcrusaders I was able to get it, so if you have any questions please do ask them but here is my step by step guide from what I did with the links provided by her. I'll break it down into 2 sections.

Requirements:

Definitely make sure your computer is compatible with Sims but more importantly, you need to have LOADS of space like at least 50 GB or more (just in case!). My previous computer has barely any space so I knew I could count on this new one.

VPN connection (I heard from Lei it's better to have a paid VPN but they referred me to softether VPN gate which is free and worked great for me!). I think it should be pretty simple to operate this because of the "add adapter" and "add connection" buttons. It's advised that you use a VPN connection close to your country and with less ping.

Torrenting software (I used to use uTorrent but again Lei referred me to vuze which worked just fine!)

Obtain the Sims:

Go to this website (called games4theworld.site) which has a whole section dedicated to the sims when you scroll. Scroll to this bit:

get the installation guide first and read through it

I'm guessing you have a 64-bit computer as well but check for other machines just in case! Before downloading / torrenting, check through the installation guide since there's specifics about which folder or files to put where in your computer so the game works best! (it also explains how to get mods

The purple symbol and the magnet are the download link

get the Sims 4 - Basegame [FIXED] first and you can play it without the expansion packs (if you want!) but this is a super old version of the game (like 2014)

then the Sims 4 - Global Patch (the installation guide explains where to put the files from these two downloads in your computer)

Here is where you decide whether you want the DLC or not, it is possible to get it from the Sims 4 - DLC link like in the screenshot I didn't get it bc its like 26GB and takes AGES to download

then this Sims 4 updater which brings the came to the current state but also you can get the DLC from the updeter too however it takes more time than torrenting so it's completely up to you!! I only get the latest "fashion street" and "Incheon arrivals" stuff from the updater because I didn't want to download the rest yet

finally, if you want the NSFW animation stuff search up "wickedwhims" and the first website should be it! check their website for the download link (it's the same as adding mods and other custom content which is basically drag and drop ".package" files into Mods folder or tray item files into "Tray" folder)

Remember to turn have "custom content" and "script mods" enabled once you're in game to be able to experience

This is a lot and basically a compressed version of the entire process I went through so I'm sure I'm missing some stuff so if you have any questions you can message me or Lei !! I hope this made sense