#has anyone ever hit a post limit in the current day?

[daincrediblegg]

I say this with a full heart: the boop event was genuinely the most alive I’ve seen this website be in actual years

[messrmoonyy]

I just read your nsfw Headcannons for Tess and all I have to say is. Give. Me. The. Alley. Thing. Now. And no one gets hurt

The art of jealousy

Tess Servopoulos x Fem!reader

A/N- this request has been sat in my inbox since I first posted those Headcannons. Which was. A long time ago. I’m sorry. So here it is finally. Also the Headcannons being referred too are right here for anyone that wants to read them. Tess POV cause I really am loving giving a look into her head. I only proofread this once cause Tuesdays are becoming ever so slightly stressful for me so I just wasn’t vibing. So. Anyways. Enjoy.

Warnings- Tess lmao. Possessiveness, jealousy, she’s a lil rough at times but reader likes that, smut: fingering ( reader receiving), sex in a public place, choking, degradation

Word count- 3.8K

Masterlist

Reblogs and comments are always appreciated <3

If Tess was one thing, it was being possessive of shit that was hers. Maybe that was just a side affect- as it were- of the post outbreak world. No one had much that they could truly call theirs anymore. Tess had actually always found it quite interesting how attached people could be to their things. She’d never been the material type. Even pre outbreak she’d never been one for expensive jewellery, flashy cars or designer clothes. And she’d never really understood people’s obsession with it.

Material items took on new forms now. People these days valued things like boots. Or ration cards. Family photos they’d managed to hold onto for all this time. At least they were more practical now she guessed. But still, she wasn’t really one to be overly attached to things.

People too fell under that bracket. She straight up refused to let herself get attached to anyone once the outbreak hit. After losing her entire family within the first week of the outbreak she’d vowed to never let herself get close to anyone again.

And then you’d come along.

She hadn’t meant to fall in love with you. Fuck she’d actually ignored you for several months when she realised she might actually be feeling something for you. But you were persistent. And beautiful. And it was unbelievably irritating but you had a knack at kicking down the walls she’d built up over the years. Brick. By brick. And she had learnt that maybe she did have a possessive streak in her after all.

Because there was truly nothing she despised more than watching someone else flirting with you. And it happened a lot which wasn’t at all surprising. The majority of people she surrounded herself with knew not to mess around when it came to you. They knew that you were off limits. But occasionally someone new would poll their way into the underground scene of Boston, some attempt to establish themselves on the black market, and thoroughly piss her off.

Jealousy crept up on her more frequently than not, she couldn’t help it. She just didn’t like it. Seeing you around someone else.

She knew you weren’t about to run off with some random fuck who thought he could win you round with some ration cards. She had you wrapped tightly around her little finger, just as you had her. But still. It pissed her off.

“ are you hoping if you stare at the back of his head long enough he’ll just drop down dead? “ Joel’s southern drawl hit her ears and she flashed him an irritated look, before looking back over at you. You’d been striking up a deal with someone for over 10 minutes, some new fucker clearly bartering you down for the cost of some pills. But he was being too… touchy.

You were no stranger to flirting your way through deals and Tess had always been surprised at just how much you could raise the prices in trades just by simply… existing. Being a woman in the current climate had never been particularly great. And learning to use what you had to for your own advantages was vital.

‘ men think they’re getting something and they’ll be putty in your hands ‘ that’s what you had said once. And she wasn’t exactly against it, hell she was guilty of doing it herself. But it didn’t change how infuriating it was.

“ you know she won’t do shit. You got that girl eating out of the god damn palm of your hand “ Joel said with a laugh, chewing at a chunk of his rationed beef jerky and eyeing the hand of cards he was holding. Though Tess had long since lost interest in the game they were playing “ ask her to beg at your fuckin feet and she’d do it. Then again, you’d probably do it for her too “ A small smirk pulled at her lips with that. She knew it was true, of course. She trusted you whole heartedly, knowing you had zero interest in anyone else. Especially men. And no one on the entire planet could turn her head.

You were just as infatuated with her as she was with you. It was a mutual obsession that was no where close to burning out.

“ I know “

“ then drop the miserable look on your damn face and play your turn “ she rolled her eyes and took her eyes off of you for a few moments, looking back down at the cards in front of her. She played a card without even really looking at it, her eyes soon trailing back over to you again “ you are making this too damn easy for me “

She didn’t grant him with a response, eyes narrowing as she watched you exchange a half bag of pills for a wad of cards. Clearly more than you’d usually have sold them for, but her small proud smile didn’t last long.

The man stepped closer to you, head bowed as he said something in your ear. You gave a clearly over exaggerated laugh, arm on his shoulder. And she was certain she saw your eyes flick in her direction.

She huffed a laugh, sitting back in her chair and shaking her head in mild disbelief

“ the little shit “ Joel’s eyes drifted over to you too, his brow furrowed as they both watched you flirt with the man.

“ Jesus Christ “ Joel muttered, clearly thinking the same thing Tess was. You were doing it on purpose. Pushing her buttons “ don’t rise to it. It’s what she wants “

“ I know what she fuckin wants “ she narrowed her eyes, watching you across the courtyard as she attempted to continue the game with Joel.

“ hey Tess. How you doin? I was wondering if you had an- “ the sound of one of her customers filled her ears as she kept her eyes trained on you.

“ not now “ she said with a wave of her hand, not even looking up to see who was stood there

“ but- “

“ not. Now “

“ okay okay. That’s cool. Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow? Cool cool “ Joel sighed as the man shuffled off sheepishly

“ you’re forfeiting sales now? Will you just go talk to her “ she was tapping her fingers against the table impatiently now. Jealousy and anger swimming in her veins in a dangerous cocktail.

You were always the same. A fucking brat. Pissing her off to get your own way. And she knew exactly what you were trying to get out of her. Piss her off, wind her up, drive her insane so that the second you both got home she’d pin you down against the closest surface and remind you exactly who was in charge for as long as it took for the message to sink in.

But she was in no mood to wait until you got home. If you needed a little reminder of just who wore the trousers in your relationship, she’d remind you. And she’d remind you sooner rather than later.

One more gentle touch of your hand to the man’s chest followed by a glance in her direction was the last nail in the coffin. And she was tossing her cards down on the table.

“ Tess- “ she was up and out of her metal chair before he could finish his sentence, crossing the courtyard in purposeful strides, someone hopping out of her path as she went.

“ are you fuckin done? “ she asked in a low voice as she reached you, throwing a glare towards the man seemed confused at her sudden appearance

“ oh hi Tess “ you said innocently “ everything okay? “ the man took a step back, eyes widening as he looked between the two of you

“ you’re?- I didn’t know- “ she quite enjoyed watching people crumble under the weight of her reputation. Especially men.

“ if you have any idea what’s good for you, you’ll take your pills. And fuck off” she turned to you then “ and you. Come with me “ she walked off before waiting for a response from either of you, making a beeline for the back alley leading out of the courtyard. No one would bother her down there, the only entrance that lead from that way was the one from anyone coming from outside the wall. Which wasn’t very often.

She didn’t have to look behind her to know you’d be following. Even when you were in the mood to piss her off you were still desperate to please.

So she waited a few moments and then you appeared, strolling into the alley like you didn’t have a single care in the world. And she was reaching the limits of her patience.

She grabbed you by the wrist and pushed you back against the wall, hiding effectively behind a stack of wooden crates.

“ you okay Tess? You seem a little tense today “ god you were infuriating. She laughed and shook her head, trapping you against the wall with a hand resting beside your head.

“ the fuck was that back there? Huh? “ confusion twisted into your features, but the smirk tugging at your lips gave it away that you weren’t even remotely confused by her question. You knew exactly what you’d done “ you think it’s funny? “

“ I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“ oh you don’t? “

“ I was just making a trade. You’re a little scary you know, the new ones always prefer to come to me. You should smile a little more “ you reached up and poked at her face lightly “ I think you scared my customer away “

“ good. He needs to keep his fuckin hands to himself “

“ shame. He was quite nice “ the little monster that lived in her chest was trying to claw its way out, a pointless feeling of jealousy threatening to overwhelm her. It truly was pointless. She knew you were toying with her. You were playing her like a violin, messing with her to get what you wanted.

“ wanna go back out to him? Be my fuckin guest “ she knew you wouldn’t. Knew she had you exactly where you wanted to be. Though a small part of her did wonder if you would. Just to piss her off a little more.

“ you should know by now I’m not into the nice type “ she exhaled shortly through her nose and gave a small nod. She knew. Tess was not one for softness and romance. Yeah, from time to time it would slip out. But that’s not what you wanted from her. It’s why you worked together so well.

Her fingers brushed over the exposed skin of your neck, almost annoyed at the lack of purple and red marks she found. Maybe that was why the fucker back there had been so willing and accepting to your loaded advances. How could she have been so careless. To let her possessive marks vanish. Her clear silent brand that you were spoken for.

“ you don’t think I’m nice? “

“ there’s different meanings to different people “ she couldn’t help herself and dropped her head down to your neck, the blank expanse of your skin frustrating her. You tilted your head to give her access to more of you, attacking the blank canvas of flesh with her teeth “ see. Nice girls don’t behave like this. You taught me that “ she laughed against your skin, biting a little harder than she really needed to. Just to hear the delicious sound it would draw from you.

She knew she wasn’t nice. Not in the conventional sense. But you didn’t want nice. You didn’t want a cosy and warm relationship, soft forehead kisses and vanilla sex, cruising along in life and abiding by the rules.

You wanted her. You wanted the way she was rough, she was all teeth and bruises and hair pulls. She threw you around and left you wrecked for anyone else but her. And she knew that was how you were. She knew that was what you wanted. What you needed. Needing some kind of reminder that you were real, that the fucked up mess of the world around you wasnt a nightmare. You needed her to bring you back to life. And she was more than happy to oblige.

“ so what? You gonna take me home? “ she didn’t quite know when exactly she had decided she wasn’t going to take you home. The idea had arisen quite suddenly and she’d decided to act on it just as fast, quite certain she didn’t actually have it in her to take you all the way home. Not when she was so wound up.

That paired with the smugness still interlacing between the syllables of your words… she had a point to prove.

“ no “ you gave her a confused look and now it was her turn to smirk “ you act like that and think you get to choose if we go home or not? Gotta be fuckin kiddin me baby “ she leant in close to your face, her hand moving up and applying pressure to your throat. She felt your breath stutter, your fingers wrapping around her wrist. Not so cocky anymore.

“ Tess someone might- “

“ what? You were okay with behaving like some common fuckin whore out there in front of everyone, but not here for me? Breaking my fuckin heart “ she liked the way you seemed to lose all of your cockiness in an instant. She practically watched it drain from your features.

“ I wasn’t doing shit I was working “ Tess quirked a brow and smiled, fingers moving to unbutton your jeans. The second her fingers slipped into your underwear and she felt how wet you were, her smile grew. She wondered if you knew how much she truly loved how easy it was to make you wet. How much it turned her on just to have you so willingly at her mercy, how much you so clearly wanted to be used by her even if you attempted to deny it.

“ I’m not stupid. I know what you were doing. You think I didn’t know this is what you wanted? “ a soft moan slipped past your lips as she dragged your arousal up and slowly circled your clit “ you wet for me or that fucker back there? Huh? “

“ what do you fuckin think? “ Tess raised her eyebrows and shook her head, not the biggest fan of your tone of voice. Your breath hitched as she set herself into a steady rhythm, losing your cool and cocky demeanour as she worked you into a mess. It never took her long. She could read you like a book and knew how and where to touch you to have you melting in minutes.

“ the attitude on you sweetheart “ she increased the speed of her fingers, applied more pressure to your neck. She watched the way your eyes fluttered closed, loving the way the light headed bliss washed over you “ that’s it baby, can’t talk back now can you “

Your eyes fell onto hers as she slipped two fingers into you, not bothering to ease you into it with one. You were wet enough for it, she knew.

“ fuck- “

“ you think you’re so powerful don’t you? Thinking you can fuck around like that? Look at you now “ she kept her voice low, in that tone that she knew you loved. That made your velvety walls flutter against the fingers she was thrusting in and out of you roughly “ do you think they all know back there? That you’re back here with me getting fucked like a little slut? Do you? “

You whimpered out an answer your nails digging painfully into the skin of her wrist

“ I’m sorry “ your whimpers and whines were cute but she found it mildly funny that you thought they would make her go easy on you. She was only getting started.

“ not good enough “ her thumb applied pressure to your clit and you moaned loudly at the feeling “ acting like you’re so big. So bad. But who’s the one getting fucked in an alley? What do you think they’d say if they saw you now? Saw you a pathetic mess having your cunt stretched out by my fingers? Hmm? “

“ I- I said I’m sorry. I’m- fuck “

“ you should be. I look after you, I take care of you. And yet you behave like that? Such a spoiled little brat. You want more? I bet you want more don’t you “ your moans were increasing in pitch and she was a little cautious of being caught, but she was far too preoccupied by you to care completely. By the own arousal pooling in her belly, she didn’t need to be touched to get off. Watching you fall apart at her hands was enough

“ yes. Yes. More “ you begged. She loved hearing you beg.

“ greedy girl “ she glanced down at her hand that was hidden in your jeans and smiled, adjusting the slightly awkward angle and carefully adding a third finger to the mix. You winced at the new stretch and she gave you a moment before continuing her movements.

“ fuck Tess “ the sounds falling from your mouth mixed with the sopping sound of your cunt stretching around her fingers was almost too distracting, fighting the urge to stop and take you home so she could fuck you properly.

You were getting louder, even when she stifled your sounds for a moment with a more firm grip on your throat. When she could feel your pulse hammering beneath her finger tips.

“ nice and quiet. Or do you want them all to hear you? Is that what you want? “ it’s what she wanted. Deep down. A part of her desperately wanted people to hear, to remind everyone and anyone that thought they had a chance with you to back off. But a louder part of her was yelling at her, that she didn’t want anyone finding you both there. So you’d have to quiet down “ quiet “ she warned.

She sighed in mild annoyance when you didn’t listen.

“ sorry I- I can’t- “ so she clamped her hand down over your mouth and shook her head in disappointment. Though internally she was unbelievably fucking smug, very much getting off on the fact that you couldn’t control yourself. Because of her. You were a whimpering, shuddering wreck because of her.

She wondered if she should have planned this a little more thoroughly before executing it. If she could’ve roped Joel into dragging the man you had been flirting with down that alley too. Forced him to watch. Get a couple of hits in to really cement the fact. That you were hers. No one else’s. You weren’t to be touched. Or looked at. Or even thought about but anyone but her.

In an ideal world where she didn’t act on impulse and actually planned that exact moment, that’s what would have happened. Maybe she’d have even taken you some place more secluded. Where she didn’t have to force you to be quiet, where she could let you be loud. Let that bastards ears be filled with you moaning her name. The wet sounds of your cunt soaking her fingers.

He’d never get to have you like that. He’d never get to feel the way you clenched on her fingers, the way your inner walls were so soft. No one would. Only her.

But maybe that was for another time. In that moment she was quite pleased with herself, pleased with the way she had you whimpering into her one hand and dripping all over the other.

She wished you could see how pathetic you looked there for her, squirming in her hold, eyes rolling to the back of your head as she pushed you closer the edge. Her hand across your mouth, neck covered in fresh hickeys, your arms grazing against the brick wall.

“ I don’t want you acting like that anymore. You understand me? “ she curled her fingers as she said it, pressing at the spot she knew sent you spiralling. That she knew would render you unable to respond, that gave you that wonderful blank look in your eyes when all you could think about was her. Exactly as she wanted you. You nodded your head, eyes falling closed “ I can’t have you showing me up like that again“

She couldn’t. She didn’t need people seeing you treat her like a pushover, so easily able to walk all over her. She was in charge. She had the control. You were hers

“ who do you belong to? “ she asked you, moving her hand down from your mouth and gripping at your chin “ who? “

“ you “ you said breathlessly, your chest heaving and grip on her wrist tightening. She knew you well enough to know when you were almost there, recognised the sounds. The look in your eyes. The way you tightened around her fingers.

“ say it again”

“ fuck- “ she was a little cautious of how loud you were being again but she wanted to hear you say it, needed you to say her name and feed the jealous creature sitting in her chest.

“ say it or I swear I will leave you here like this “ she threatened “ say my name baby “

“ Tess “ you gasped, voice high and breathy “ Tess. You I belong to you please- “ she smiled and gave a small nod.

“ that’s my girl “ she moved her hand back over your mouth as you came, whining loudly even muffled by her fingers “ you fuckin remember that yeah? You’re mine “ she said against your ear as she worked you through it, coming over her fingers “ all mine “ she kept going, only withdrawing her fingers when you slumped against her. Legs shaking and chest heaving as you caught your breath.

She dropped her hand from your mouth, eyes scanning your face and an overwhelming smugness settling over her at your fucked out appearance.

“ did I make myself clear? “ she asked quietly, thumb brushing over your lips.

“ crystal “ she pressed a soft kiss to the corner of your mouth before letting you go and taking a step back, running a hand through her hair as she looked at her handiwork. It was clear as day what had just happened and she took great pride in the fact that you would walk back into that courtyard, and everyone would know. Bruises were blooming on your throat, your cheeks were flushed, lips swollen from your teeth sinking into them, hair dishevelled.

“ I’ll let you get back to work then shall I? “ she said with a smile as if it were the most normal thing.

“ you fuckin kidding me? “ she shrugged and leant forward to press a kiss to your cheek “ just keep your hands to yourself this time “ then she stepped back and made her way back to Joel, almost sauntering her way back to the table where he was still sat.

The cat who had gotten the cream.

“ you are fuckin unbelievable “ he muttered with a shake of his head as she sat back in her chair, arms folded over her chest and eyes locked on the entrance to the alleyway waiting for you to appear.

“ deal me some new cards Texas “ he shook his head with a sigh but gathered up the cards again as you re appeared. You had tried to make yourself look more presentable by the looks of things, but even if people could excuse the flushed look of your cheeks or the glazed look in your eyes. There was no escaping the freshly bloomed artwork she’d left on your neck.

She’d like to see anyone try it on with you now.

[thatstheproblemwithnapkinman]

@bluejaysgonerogue i wanted to do a proper post so:

more people can see it

people can add to the list

(this is my opinion, please please if you have other comics, add them to the list)

im actually a big fan of the "newer" stuff, we're talking new 52 onwards, purely bc it works nicely in the times

new 52 starts strong with a storyline that's all about dick's past, and given it ocvurred after a hard reset, it's easy to get into

so:

nightwing 2011 (30 issues + 1 annual)

grayson (20 issues + 3 annuals + futures end, a weird special that i would honestly skip)

nightwing 2016 (109 issues and counting + 5 annuals + nightwing rebirth that comes before the run)

there's also the 2? previous nightwing runs:

nightwing 1995 (five issue limited run + alfred's return #1 special that comes first)

nightwing 1996 (153 issues + issue 1/2 + issue 1,000,000 + a whole host of specials)

2? because does nightwing 1995 actually count as a proper run???

you might also hear them referred to by volumes, 1995 is vol 1, 1996 is vol 2, 2011 is vol 3 or new-52, 2016 is vol 4 or rebirth

grayson is a bit weird but my absolute favourite dick ever. it's a spy thriller and doesn't have a lot of batfam/titans/yj characters in it BUT it does have a lot of dick being awesome. there's also an 'event' that takes place during grayson called robin war, very fun and a good show of dick's skills and manipulation.

to top it off, robin year one is always quoted as essential reading so i'd check it out too (before anyone shouts nightwing year one, it's issues 101-106 of vol 2)

there's also a lot of batman that features dick, he has a nice feature in both hush and under the (red) hood but nothing major, both giving us some nice interaction with bruce. both are also just incredible and deserving of being on the list of iconic batman

batman and robin 2009 is a lot of fun bc it features dick as batman, and damian wayne as his robin. this is a dynamic that i just love and is where episode 113 os WFA just hits hard (and why damian leans on dick so much, he is dick's robin)

oooooo and a lonely place of dying (1989) is brilliant. it's the introduction of tim drake and features dick. it's great, you should read it. it comes after a death in the family which is also just amazing. no dick, just jason, but fun (dick was in space at the time with the titans, tamaran i think)

i do just want to give a warning for nightwing 2016, it gets weird from issue 50 onwards. there's a period where the comics shift massively (#50-77 no spoilers) and then the current run by tom taylor is fine but misses a chunk of his character. i still like it but it's not the best thing for his character

OMG i forgot about titans runs lmao. ngl, i haven't read that much titans so i will leave that to one side so any experts can accurately recommend. i will say that i have enjoyed the very recent worlds finest: teen titans (2023) limited run a lot, back in the robin days, deals with dick and bruce's relationship and his relationships with the team. (also wally is there and i love wally)

TL;DR

start with nightwing 2011 and work forwards moving to grayson and then to nightwing 2016. then go back and read the older stuff

i have absolutely missed a lot BUT this is kind of my "short n sweet" run down, iconic dick grayson is like, most of dick grayson, so it's hard. the common advice (and what i did) was new 52, grayson, rebirth

tbh this is like a basics list, the required reading if you will, not that you need to read any of it but if you do want to, this is a good starting point. a lot of the runs have these crossovers, like robin war and death of the family (not the jason one, this is a weird vol 3 thing), so you get to read other comics too for those issues)

also sorry for the just random other non-nightwing comics, i got excited

i definitely forgot some stuff, again i'm sorry, but go vibe with dick and have a good time and also your fic?? if you'd be willing to share??? i'm always looking for new stuff to read (do not feel pressured into sharing it if you don't want to tho)

i hope you enjoy your nightwing experience, it can seem overwhelming but take it slow, comics aren't that long, and just remember that even yj and WFA are better than nothing (or the live action titans /hj)

[melodygatesauthor]

Weekly Update

07/30/2023

Announcements

- I’m writing an original fiction novel -

You read that right! I’m writing an original fiction called Lock & Key, and I’m taking all of you along my journey as I go through the process. I’m so excited to get started actually writing it soon (once I have a bit more of the outline finished) and I’ll be posting all updates on @lockandkeynovel!

This is a big project, and it’s going to take some time, but I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for all of you and your support. You all mean the world to me!

- No more requests -

I have 3 more requests left in my inbox, and once those are done that’s it for now. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be in a position to take requests again or not. My WIP list is a mile long, and right now (summer) is a VERY busy time for both of my jobs. I’m lucky if I get one day off a week. All this to say, it’s not feasible for me to continue taking requests when I can’t even handle the fics I have currently in the works. In fact, those 3 are folks who requested back at the end of APRIL, so…yeah…

I’m not saying I’ll never do requests again, it’s just not realistic right now. There will still be follower celebrations and birthday events and things like that in which I may take limited requests, but as far as the regular ones go, I gotta stop taking them for now.

Fic Updates

Disclaimer - I never know which way the winds of inspiration will blow. Timeframes aren’t a promise/guarantee, they’re a goal.

Fic Updates Legend:

Blue - Update this week

Pink - Update in progress

Red - Backburner Fic (not currently working on. See WIP list for status)

Chaptered Fic Updates

A Bit Dodgy - We’re back baby! I got chapter 14 hitting a Tumblr dash near you tomorrow at 8am! Thank you all for being patient. I’m hoping to be back to regular Monday updates, but we will see. I’ve worked SO HARD on this fic, along with my good friend @whatthefishh and I would hate to ruin it all by rushing through the ending. I would rather write it well and while inspired, than push through just to say I did it, you know what I mean?

Always Yours, Never Mine - Chapter 3 is on its way. This one had to be put aside while I was on the cruise, but i’m planning to work on it this week. I’m not sure if the update will come out this week or next though! Stay tuned!

The Fractured Moon - Part 3 is coming this week! - So I had a bit of confusion with this one in my own head. Let me explain haha…

I had already planned out the four parts for this fic a long time ago, and I spend hours in canva making the banners for each part. Each part was supposed to be centered around each boy. Part One (All boys) - Part 2 (Steven) - Part 3 (Jake) - Part 4 (Marc). Then I had some other ideas and plans that I wanted to work into the fic but was trying to figure out how I was going to do that without messing with the banners I made, so I planned to do 4 bonus chapters called “These Fractured Knights” all with the boys having their own bonus chapters. However, these chapters are all in line with the timeline of the fic, and it really makes more sense (and is less confusing) to just have them be part of the series normally as parts 3, 4, 5, and 6. (I hope I haven’t lost anyone yet).

That being said, I’m not going to call 4 chapters that fit in line with the story “bonus chapters” just for the sake of the banners I made, that’s my weird mental thing and idk why I do that. Once I’ve planned something, I HATE changing it. So I’m just going to make them fit in line with the fic like normal lol.

So anyway…

Part 3 is coming this week hehe.

Mini-series Updates

Feeling You Can’t Fight - I’m hoping to have a new chapter out this week, but I’m not really sure. This fic was supposed to be finished a month ago and I’m sad that I’m behind on it but I’m working on it!!

All on the backburner for now but will get additional chapters soon:

Not a Doctor - Part 2

Worth the Risk - Part 3

The Good Doctors - New Series

AI Character Bot Updates

I currently have the following bots on my list that I’m working on. If you have any suggestions or additions you’d like, please feel free to ask! I won’t make every single one I get asked for but I’ll make some of them as I get time!

Requests Updates

My 1k Follower Celebration ficlets ARE COMPLETE! - YAY! I AM going to be doing a 2k celebration (I’m like 50 followers away! Woot!), but it won’t include writing requests. I just don’t have time, sorry all! It will consist of games and other fun stuff though! Can’t wait!

I had 2 requests for Nathan Bateman, however I don’t feel overly inspired to write for him. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him, nor does it mean I never will write for him, but I just don’t want to have those requests sitting in my inbox while I figure that out. I still have them written down and I have the people who requested them written down so if I ever feel up to it again I’ll do it, but as of right now I don’t foresee it happening any time in the near future, and I just mentally needed to take it off my plate.

I’ll be working on the other requests between this week and next! I’m hoping to have them all out this week but that’s probably unrealistic lol. Thank you for all being so patient, and I love you!

That’s it for now! I love you all!

[verdantglow]

asking you some easier questions. (or hopefully)

who's your favourite troll or troll pairing to write/think about?

also whats pearly up to in this au?

(also to be abundantly clear its still me, your loyal asker, ive just changed my username, i have not abandoned you i promise)

The Mummbo-Griann-Scar combo/group is probably the one I think about the most, though I also have a lot of love for my other disaster trio, Cleaoh-Eethos-Bedubs. Which is funny because I’m not a huge Clethubs person generally (nothing against it! I don’t think poorly of it or anything, I actually like it, it’s just not Ver-bait.). But there’s something about these two blue bloods that everyone finds scary & their blustering but generally amicable bronze blood quadrant mate, & the fact that if you dare touch their low blood, they will completely fuck you up. (They consider themselves in a stable 3-way auspistism, but, because this an AU made by my queer ass self, they tend to drift around the quadrants a bit. Nothing as…. Intense as Scar & Griann, but sometimes one of them will be feeling pale or flushed towards another & they just roll with it like it’s nbd. & occasionally, Bedubs lets Eethos & Cleo drift a bit more pitch. You know. As a treat.)

Relatedly, I personally subscribe to the thought that an auspistism can be either two or three trolls: you’ve got dynamic auspistices, where they generally act as this meme for each other

& then there’s stable auspistisms, where one party is consistently auspistizing for two others. I can’t back this up at all with Homestuck canon, but it was a fairly common head canon for a bit back in the day & I like it so in the AU it goes!

Anyway, back to the question. It’s really funny, because I’m sooooo hype for so many of the characters & spend so much time thinking about all of them, but I just keep drawing Eethos instead of any of the many other trolls I still need to make art for. I think it’s because his cartoon moose antlers delight me so. (Also there’s just something about characters with pale/white hair that gets me every time. Every single ship I’ve ever been properly feral for has included at least one pale haired dude & I still cannot figure out why. Also they all have red eyes. Fuck.) (Note: I’m not including Scarian in that because while I am devoted to Scarian, it’s not like how I am over SmallEtho. I am unhinged about those two lol.) (Nevermind, my fiancé just pointed out that my first ever ship— Zutara—didn’t include a pale haired dude with red eyes, just every single one since then.)

Okay, so Pearle. From what I’ve got figured out, she starts out on the same ship as Scohtt, Jimmie, Martyn, & Wrehnn, as she & Scohtt are moirails at that point. Post-Double Life, Pearle ends up a bit sour about how Scohtt acted towards her, & winds up deciding to spend some time on another ship. For a while she hangs out with Bigbee on his tiny transport ship, but it is, you know, tiny, so Bigbee introduces her to Gem, a defected Alternian military officer who is currently wandering space doing piracy. Pearle & Gem hit it off & Pearle joins Gem on her (slightly) larger ship.

After Limited Life, they both move on to the Tangoh-Impuls-Skizzl ship for a variety of reasons. For one, they want to be more connected to Pearle, & eventually Gem’s, VLARP friends & honestly the crew of that ship has the least amount of nonsense happening out of anyone. But also, Gem’s ship doesn’t have the speed that Impuls can make happen, & the Alternian military isn’t taking too kindly to Shiny Duo’s piracy & connections to the resistance. So, when Gem’s ship gets burned (as in it is no longer capable of going undetected), it’s the last straw pushing them to join up with another group. As of post-Secret Life, the five of them are all still living harmoniously on the ship together, though they sometimes have additional guests (mostly Jimmie but Bedubs as well).

As for what Pearle is doing outside of where she lives, crime, mostly. She helps Gem with piracy for a while & once they properly join the resistance, Pearle runs a lot of operations type stuff.

A fun fact about Pearle: She is actually also a mutant like Griann, though hers presents as moth wings she keeps hidden & secret.

[feekins]

xkggzjgzjdumb depression taking away the spoons I had for making these posts 😖 I'm in a better brain place now, though, so here are my thoughts and things as I re-read ch 6 and finish up Trigun Maximum vol 1.

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

...ok idk why I didn't connect the two before, but something about that flashback to Wolfwood saying (quoting the Overhaul here, but Dark Horse p much says the same thing) "It's the same old story that keeps repeating itself. Even people who would never fight...will pick up a gun if their loved ones are killed." and then, on the very next page, the way it cuts to "THIS BASTARD KILLED MY DAUGHTER!!"

that...REALLY hits hard this read-through.

additionally, what Wolfwood says... that's basically Vash's story, too. preaching to the choir. I wonder if Wolfwood knows...?

(Dark Horse on left, Overhaul on right)

"should" VS "will" - an important difference imo, with the Overhaul's translation better conveying how well this new character, Sensei, knows Vash.

here, the Dark Horse translation seems to lead into what's said in the next panel - although I can't tell, in either translation, whether Sensei or Wolfwood is speaking.

in the next panel, we just have 2 blocks of text. here's what it says in Dark Horse:

"Every time they up the ante and every time they regret the outcome... This time will be no different..."

meanwhile, the Overhaul has:

"Those who are too foolish will never learn to solve problems effectively, no matter how hard they try. Every time they will push the limits...and every time they're gonna regret the outcome."

next, in Dark Horse, we have Wolfwood saying "You could end up singin' with the angels this time and all I've told you would be wasted... Seems my luck may be tested, too. Whatcha gonna do...Spikey?!"

below, we have the Overhaul's translation...

and I just. HAD to put the panels across these two pages together. idk how to put it into words but. this sequence says A LOT to me.

I'm a bit confused, though - the two choices Wolfwood gives are "regret the outcome" or "sing with the angels" which? I'm p sure is an idiom for dying? it's a pretty damn grim way of looking at it...which, now that I'm thinking about it more, perhaps this bit isn't so much Wolfwood talking about the current situation as it is Wolfwood talking about himself, if that makes sense.

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

...interesting translation discrepancies...?

next, we have a little inner monolog from Vash as he's being taken into custody. both translations start with "In the end...he just couldn't kill a man in cold blood." from there, Dark Horse has Vash saying:

"His daughter's murder goes unpunished. Call him weak, but...it saved both of us."

meanwhile, in the Overhaul, we have:

"His daughter's murder goes unavenged. Call him weak, but...that 'weakness' saved the both of us."

and then...to this day, this sequence confuses me:

thoughts, anyone?

Dark Horse's translation gets the gist of it, but imo there's more impact to the Overhaul's specific wording here.

I never noticed that poor guy up by the headlights ����

:(

"make foundations ring out"????????

finally, in Nightow's afterward...

then in the next panel, he says "I incorporated them throughout the story."

as someone who's in the middle of the biggest for-fun thing they've ever written...mood 🤣

[blocksruinedme]

Actual fic deadlines/priorities

Now till September 2 - My three hermitshipping bang fics are due, in a complete "can post if you got hit by a bus" version. Last possible extensions till September 8. I don't know if I'll get all three done. If I don't, I can't predict whether I'll put it down for awhile or try to get through it. If I want to wait to post, I can still possibly get the "doodle tier" of art and can add it to the collection, which is just so chill and cool of them, everything is chill and cool

September 3-18 - The burning man fics, god, I really want to post them during my (partial) top surgery and recovery. The current plan is to post chapter of three stories a day, that line up with time periods. (Like the first posting day covers approximately noon-2pm, etc). The current plan is for the final story to be posted on the final day. This means for anyone who pops in at the beginning, they can have three kinds of cliffhangers! I personally think it's super cool

September 19-late September - Recovering from surgery! If anyone has any tips, please let me know! I'm very excited! And I've had a "6 days inpatient three months recovery" surgery, so it's really about the detail of a different surgery recovery.

Late september-deceber: God, first my wips, my poor beautiful wips, along with the larper au (which might top out at three fics, we'll see... and immediately on writing that i got possessed with a flower husbands idea, very well! NO PROMISES). I'll also be editing my hermitshipping bang fics, which are allowed to be totally expanded on, including adding B plots, so... I might go off the rails there.

Onwards: If life goes to plan, sometime in 2024, probably late spring or later, I will have WAY less free time, and while I am very excited about the reason, it might stop fic entirely for awhile. @that-tall-queer-bassist has offered to help me (including up to cleaning up my speech to text into something like real notes or maybe prose). Part of why I push so hard to write is because my time having this much time is limited.

Crucial note about how I write: Sometimes what I need to work on fic is to go work on a different fic, and sometimes even publish it. I had a huge drought after limited life when i told myself I couldn't publish anything else, until i let myself do Driving After Dark and, well, I've published about 44k in 2.5 months. Sometimes I get stuck and all I can do is take a break. I now refuse to push myself hard enough on a fic that I burn out.

I genuinely have 20 wips that I want to publish. I acknowledge this is unlikely but they are all my weird little children. Things may appear in wip wednesday and never make it.

What does that note mean for you: Do not EVER pressure me to finish a fic. You may ALWAYS express enthusiasm for specific fic, and it may get it higher up the queue. Asking about timing is tricky. "i was wondering if you know when you might be publishing this one" - in practice has not upset me. "(affectionately) what happened to posting the next chapter in november?" - ruined my fucking day. Had to stop myself from a mean spirited essay about all the reasons it hadn't happened. I can not tell you how to ask this correctly. You now have this schedule here, and you can ask about how it's going (perhaps in an ask) if it's in a chill manner! I'll totally answer, including if any of the bang fics have been officially dropped from the bang (and thus i can tell you my neat ideas! all i'll say is there's some very me things and at least on surprise that might keep people from guessing it's me!)

Anyway follow @burningmanau for fun burning man pictures and fic stuff!

[marimelwrites]

The following post under the cut is triggering. Trigger warnings in the tags. You've been warned.

I don't generally talk about this with almost anyone, other than my therapist. Maybe one other person who has a general idea on here.

The point is that my life has been extremely difficult since I had my son, and not because of him. He's the best part of it. After I gave birth I ended up battling severe postpartum depression, no need to go into details, but needless to say it was bad enough I was pulled out of work for 8-10 weeks. Eventually, that got better, and I was slowly weaned off medication.

For a time things were fine, and I felt normal. It wasn't until I decided to make a choice to essentially turn my life upside down (despite it potentially being the best choice for me) that depression hit me stronger than ever.

I ended up in a hospital for a week, it didn't help (there really was no individual therapy, and I do NOT thrive in group settings), but the medication did. They also set me up with follow-up care. Great.

The thing is, sometimes my medication helps, and other times it doesn't. Most times this is a sign that medication needs to be increased, but then I wonder what happens when I've reached the limit?

So, anyway, all that long rambling is basically to say that this week, or rather, the last two weeks, have been increasingly bad for me. There really was no particular trigger for it this time, no specific event that caused my depression to worsen, but it has. I've been feeling more alone (I mean, that's pretty true as I don't really have any friends down here, and all I have is my son... whom I don't have all the time). I've been feeling as though the people who know me, or are around me, never choose me or even think of me as their first option for... really anything. This is, sadly, no exaggeration.

Every single day I end up feeling less and less seen, less and less heard. Constantly forgotten by the people around me, especially at work. (No really, they forget I even exist... all the time. I've lost count of the amount of times they don't even realize I'm not there, or don't notice me standing there, etc) It's not really anyone's fault, but... none of this has been helping me do anything productive.

I don't know when I'll feel normal enough to be able to create replies worth writing. As of right now I keep opening things and staring because nothing is coming out, which doesn't help me feel any better about myself.

Just know that I am around, and I am drafting replies. You may see them come out sporadically when I feel as though I can actually think.

I'm just currently not doing well, at all, and I'm really very sorry for those of you waiting on me... once again.

[sunmoonclouds]

hiiiiii welcome to my lmk blog

slappin together an intro post to christian this blog or whatever. like breaking a champagne bottle on the hull of a ship or something. honestly idek if im gonna use this blog yet but yknow if i get the impulse i dont wanna have to do a bunch of prep work before i can so here we are.

i use they/them and am an adult. i dont feel comfortable divulging much else but that seems like the most necessary. and as for a name idek what i want to be called In General so if you need a name just make one the fuck up, probably based on my url or just the whole thing so i know you mean me. maybe not just "sun" though. anything else though go wild have fun maybe I'll finally FINALLY feel settled on a name.

slapping the rest under the cut bc hoooly shit. I'll slap a tldr at the bottom too but everything else is very extraneous no worries.

also as you may have noticed already i have severe yap disease. It Is Terminal i fear. but jokes aside i currently have a bad habit of Rambling For Actual Fucking Ever! i apologize in advance and ask for your patience in this difficult time etc etc whatever but in all seriousness this has happened to me before so i have reason to believe it'll get better eventually. it is seriously literally for real just a phase i prommy. or at least i hope so but yknow.

anyway onto actual lmk stuff. my faves r the monkey trio (which is another point in my long long trend of picking vanilla freaking ice cream as my favorite like come onnnnn) but yeah they're the ever 2 me. especially mk when hitting on his monkey plot thread it makes me want 2 eat my phone and chew thru drywall (/v v pos i tend to feel bitey when extremely excited) (i will read every monkey mk fic out there) (mark my words) (this is a threat /lh) but honestly i love them All. i will try and restrain myself from that sidebar tho. [flashbacks to the employment status incident.] . anyway continuing with more In General, i really like everyone's relationship dynamics too and love reading all sorts of fanfic with different takes on them!! like ofc i have my limits but im not picky i loooove different interpretations and angles. and with ships im pretty go with the flow (as long as its not weird). like I'll read just abt anything (as long as its not weird) especially if the writer can get me invested and they do majority of the time so! ya.

my url is based on the monkey trio like sun moon duh but clouds ive seen mk associated with a lot. like stars is the obvious continuation of that trope or w/e you'd call it but the boy has got more cloud vibes i think. also i think ive seen people translate his name to "little cloud" or he was just Called that? like a fanon term of endearment? it was probably a mistranslation or i am completely misremembering everything and just. mixed something up along the way. but regardless. he is now cloud boy.

✨tldr✨

idek if im gonna use this blog yet but im just prepping it in case i do

they/them, adult

if you need a name just make something up, probably from my url or just use it wholesale. maybe not just "sun" on its own though. otherwise as long i understand you're referring to me then hooray the name has served its purpose

disclaimer: i have terminal Will Not Shut Up Disease. but I'll probably get better. one day.

my faves are the monkey trio! (not very unique i know) especially mk in his monkey plot thread! i will consume every monkey mk fic out there mark my words-

but really i do enjoy everyone, especially their various relationship dynamics!

I'll read just about anything in terms of relationship interpretations and ships (as long as it's not weird) as people are so talented in making them interesting and getting me invested!

my url is a monkey trio reference! the cloud part might originate from me misremembering something, but mks just cloud boy to me now ig.

(ps if you know who i am NO YOU DONT!!! i doubt anyone would be able to Tell if they even found this but. im just not ready to deal with that yet. h.)

(pps i know this intro post is ass i will replace it one day but for now it'll do)

[haroldgross]

New Post has been published on Harold Gross: The 5a.m. Critic

New Post has been published on https://literaryends.com/hgblog/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny/

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

[3 stars]

I complete understand why James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) and Harrison Ford (The Secret Life of Pets 2) signed up to revisit this franchise along with other past characters. I even understand why Phoebe Waller-Bridge (No Time to Die) and Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) threw their hats into the fray to be part of it and the pay day. But despite being one of the most anticipated movies of its era, it fell (relatively) flat.

Why? Well, to be honest, we didn’t need it. The story they provided only resonates with an older audience that grew up on the franchise and are closer to Indy’s age than Waller-Bridge’s. It doesn’t help that it also focuses on history that is well and truly ancient from the perspective of anyone born after 1980. In other words, it was self-limiting in audience.

And I even get why the writers went that direction. The most recent sequel tried to do a generational hand-off and bring in a new audience and, while it did significantly better at the box office than this latest, it still failed in that mission. So why not stick with the original WWII focus and dangers and see if that would work again? What they missed, of course, was the reflections on today’s society and, more importantly, the fact that Indy films were meant to be fun and funny adventures. This one is darker and less fun, in a humor sense, than the others. It had great chase scenes and some fun quips, but carries weight with it through the whole thing. From Indy’s age and shattered life, to the dangers and cold blooded violence of its villains, it is a pall over the story.

Dial of Destiny is a symptom of an aging executive board who want to repeat the successes of the past but have no sense of the current populace and tastes. Not that committing a four-quadrant hit is ever a sure thing and it is never easy. But this movie is pure nostalgia and that should have been obvious to everyone writing the checks. Sure you’ll get folks to come aboard…it’s a storied franchise and a chance to have some real fun, but it was never going to be the success that was hoped for.

Which is a lot of pontificating to say, yes it was fun if you remember the time period, or were close enough to it, and enjoy the characters from the original films. The action is amusing, but not ground-breaking, and the story is semi-clever but obvious in too many ways. It is a gift to the older viewers, but probably will bore younger ones who only have Captain America as a reference or, now I suppose, Oppenheimer. Go into it with a desire to be in a sepia-ed past for a bit and you won’t be disappointed. It flies along, even with the 2.5 hour length and it is nicely crafted in all ways visually. But a great or classic film? Nah. At least it’s a step above Temple of Doom.

Where to watch

[littlewalken]

May 21

May 21

Mkay, hopefully changing one word in the description of one of the art blog posts will stop the pr0n bots from liking it.

If you hover your cursor over the profile of anyone who likes or reblogs something you can tell if it's a bot and hit the three dots to report them.

To this day the only people I have found using the sensitive posts filter have been real people. Some of them post explicit adult things but they're not bots if you know what I mean.

Meanwhile I'm under self imposed staying in the house until parts of me I can't cover up are done being allergic to whatever they've decided they're allergic to.

I spent long enough as a kid with severe cystic acne and the fall out at school when everyone didn't have cameras in their pockets.

That'll teach me to go out in the sun.

Laundry was put off put this might get me out of doing this load all together.

I know some of it is stress related as it's coming up on the two year anniversary of us being forced out of our home for ten years.

But self, let's look at what's happened since then- No more Life Ruiner, you currently own what is definitely the youngest and nicest car this branch of the family has ever owned and your ancestors are proud, your bills are so much less that the credit card is technically before homeless levels and your limit and score is management companies pre approve you levels. The only reason you haven't found a 55+ place to move to could be that it's still being built. You've never been the first to live in a place before.

Two years ago I never would have believed any of that, except a better than we had car because of reasons, and a year ago if things had continued as they had been I would have been simply getting 'the fuck' away.

Hell, growing up I never would have believed that I would even be at a place where having enough quality food would be a thing.

[ineedhelp5244]

I tried to post this in reddit and it got taken down but I need advice so I'm trying here

I think I'm living in a toxic situation but don't know.

This is a long one.

For some context I f 15 turning (16) am living with my grandma (60) and dad (38) and sister (14) (she wasn't for most of what I'm writing) I visit my mom on Thursday and spend the night and every other weekend I spent Friday and Saturday with her on top of that currently we have always been homeschooled except for in 4th grade.

When I had turned 12 yo we had just moved into a new apartment after living with a few family members and staying in a hotel, my relationship with my guardians were fine until I discovered my family's homophobia (note my mom isn't homophobic) and my father's alcoholism, It all spiraled from there. My father and sister had never had the best relationship as she has always clung to my mom more. after she found out he was Homophobic she was furious and didn't understand why it was so bad to love the same gender, my father and sisters opposing views started a ton of arguments between her dad and my grandmother since she lives with us, some of which I got involved in because they were being taken WAY to far some examples of this are

-My father punching a hole next to my sister's head after he got pissed and backed her into a corner when she asked him to give her some space.

-My grandmother calling my sister a C*NT (she was 12-13)

- my father slapping my sister so hard she flipped over a chair and hit her head on the TV stand.

- My grandmother cornering my sister and asking her to "hit me" my dad was standing right f***ing next to her and did NOTHING to stop her till I tried to step in and THREATENED me saying to "sit the fuck down unless I want my ass beat" then split them up.

- Later that very same day they compared to that situation to putting a misbehaving dog in their place and when called out denied it even happened.

- Me trying to open up and communicate on how I felt about dads Drinking and how it hurt my feelings and I lost a lot of trust and respect that he would have to earn back to which She laughed.

These events took place during on and of occasions where my dad lost a job then took several months to find a new one so we where constantly fighting while trying to do school. I began to realize the unhealthy tole it took on my health both mentally and physically and my weight was going DOWN and I now suspected I have anxiety and the weight issues was a side affect of me not being able to eat because of this. my father "quit drinking" a long with getting a afternoon shift job and so the arguments went down tremendously. In my most recent fight with my grandmother I was expressing how I thought dad could get better and that conversation turned into about dad and his drinking then her throwing a pitty party saying that all she's ever done Is good for me. I called her out saying this wasn't about how great she was and gave her multiple examples where she was HORRIBLE including but not limited to

- How she repeatedly said my mom abandoned me leading me to resent her

- Making consistent comments on my body

- criticizing anyone that claimed to have mental health issues saying it was only except able for her

- constant gaslighting

- not letting me and my sister now she was "behind us " when dad was drinking

- letting it carry on for to long

- Only giving non apology apologies

And much more

We argued back and forth a bit before I went to my room. When my stomach was feeling better I hadn't had much to eat and was hungry and went to get some leftovers but because of her coming in and nagging me I lost my appetite again. When I went to go put the food back in the fridge to eat later she made a sarcastic comment about food and I SNAPPED saying "well maybe if a psycho bitch wasn't yelling at me I would be hungry" she spanked me with a pan, a fucking pan, when I went to leave she started to corner me I asked her to back away but she didn't and came closer cornering me I asked her to move so I could leave but she didn't say anything so I went to put up the dish washer door so I could leave through the other side, but before I could she slapped my hand. I slapped her to try and get her away but that didn't work so I pushed her and ran to the living room where she cornered me again and asking her to " hit her again" I refused so she shoved me HARD I fell into some boxes. I ran to my room and looked the door my sister had come in with me and started to call my mom and aunt., But it was to late my grandmother called my other aunt and told her a whole sob story she came in asked me what happened and I could tell she didn't believe me she started saying I needed to be more understanding because of her disease s I told her I get it but anxiety PTSD and depression isn't an excuse for this but she added in that she has bipolar as well. For the next bit I had family members guilt tripping me defending what she did. I don't know anything anymore I thought I was right but there saying I want and I don't know anymore I don't have any friends to ask what's normal either so I am at a loss.

Am I the asshole?

[cienie-isengardu]

@blue-mint-winter​ commented post:

Your welcome and I completely agree about TCW changing important characterizations, especially Anakin's. Also Barriss, I will never forgive that shit. They definitely did that. That's why my favourite eps were about Jar Jar LOL

I spent the whole day debating with myself should I go on and scream about the unfairness done to Barriss and Jedi as a whole or not since talking negative about TCW at times feels like opening can of worms, but my frustration with current star wars content already hit acceptable limits and is waaay past them so I decided to screw all consequences, it is time for a mini-rant. I hope you don’t mind me bringing that up as separate post (or if you don’t wish to be tagged in that post, lemme know :))

Okay. Where do I even start? Anyone who would sort posts through my blog will know that I love analyzing stuff and more often than not, I’m critical toward the Jedi Order (especially Order as the institution) and that through the years I have a lot of critical things to say about the new canon, with the emphasis on The Clone Wars.

TCW has literally been a thorn in my side for years and although the show had its good moments (storyline wise and artistic effects/music) that I want to acknowledge, the longer the show was run, the more it felt to me as the Triumph of Form over Substance. The creators needed to go from point A (post AotC/clone wars) to point B (RotS / Order 66) but as it was proved, they did not need to actually keep Legends (old canon) elements in the original form and things were used or discarded as they wanted. Some choices made more or less sense, some were turning our knowledge totally 180 degrees with various effects or fan reactions. Like I will never agree with chip in clone brains storyline (x)(x) nor implying domestic abuse toward Anakin and Padme (they were meant to be tragic, doomed lovers, not being in abusive relationship for Force’s sake) or erasing Prequels/Legends characterization of Anakin for the more common action macho idiotic one (something that creators themselves admitted to do, which is why Skywalker is more mix of Han & Luke because apparently some people aren’t capable of accepting introverted / emotional man as main hero? Riiight). At the same time, I’m willing to defend changes done to Mandalorians,  because the story has a great potential but sadly the show focused mainly at the pacifism vs. terrorism angle. Which I guess makes sense from U.S.-centric perspective, but for someone like me, whose country/nation actually lost its independence for over 123 years (1795 -1918) and then suffered through the Nazi occupation (1939-1945) and survived the communist regime (1945-1989) before finally feeling like free country again, then Death Watch, however brutal or incoherent at times, rings a different bell. It is not about nationalism itself but wanting to have your culture back despite all the damage done through the years of forced expulsion / displacement or warriors (those not fitting into New society) and be independent from Republic / Empire. And this hits me more closely as a Pole than terrorist narratives done to DW (and Bariss). 

But the thing that irritates me the most is how characters and their powers aren’t incoherent in a sensible way. They can use Force for great action and dueling, but Anakin can’t feel Obi-Wan’s presence when the man worked undercover (sorry if the show actually explained it for I do not remember it was ever addressed?).  Anakin at first was shown as a self-sacrificing type of person (e.g. Jedi Crash) but for some reasons sometimes doesn’t do anything to save clones from certain doom even if he could use Force to stop them from falling down into lava or whatever it was in Citadel? And it is not just him? Ahsoka killed clones infected by worms but didn’t kill Bariss because they were best friends or whatever? But she is the bestie with clones! She cares! She is after all the protagonist who acts smart and all while all adults suddenly lose their brains. Like Anakin, a Jedi General, does not study maps before an attack on an enemy position, but Ahsoka did and saved the day. What a hero! And whatever she will do, it is all right at the end of day. Bo-Katan willingly supported Pre Vizsla/DW who destroyed the whole village and killed an innocent girl (whose Ahsoka befriended) but does it matter? Nope. Because she is now besties with Bo-Katan, a beloved freedom fighter, a noble lady and all the jazz.Pre Vizsla? Anyone remember him? No? No wonder, a persona non grata who would drag Bo-Katan (and Ahsoka by extension) in bad light so the show and other current sources are literally erasing him from the Mandalorian storyline. Because it is better to not remember the past than face a consequence of characters (creators) choices. 

It feels like yeah, Jedi care if the episode needs it but don’t care if the show needs some shock value or feeling of danger. Mace cares for clone troopers and even offers droids a chance to surrender but isn’t somehow bothered when 12 year old Boba was put in prison for the worst ADULT criminals. Sure, it is very reasonable. Anakin cares for clones, unless the show needs a high death toll or jokes (throwing Rex off the dam without warning). Jedi will literally jeopardize an important mission just to give one of them a proper burial but will not give a shit about dying or dead clones. And so on.

I understand that the show was made for kids, but if we go into dark themes - and the show went into pretty dark stuff, mind you - then at least it should be addressed properly. Slick accused Jedi of keeping clones slaves yet it doesn’t matter. What a bad clone! Totally forgotten for the rest of the season. Bo-Katan’s past crimes don't matter since you can just erase Pre Vizsla from her narrative. Does the story need emotional impact? Create female characters (Satine, Steela, Tryla, Teckla Minnau) to kill off, so someone else (Obi-Wan, Ahsoka & Padme) could use it for either development or making political statements and either turn dead ones into some saints or forget them all. Or just kill off clones, there is so many of them anyway, who cares how competent soldiers they were or if you make them act idiotic. Jedi lead an army made of people with no legal right, but the clones *love so much them they have nightmares about order66* so everything is right. All makes sense, right?

This doesn’t just influence how fans see Anakin (turned into a typical action male lead) or how Ahsoka is literally everywhere now. The show, as I’m seeing it, did a great disservice to Jedi. And Barriss… Barriss is just the tip of the iceberg. The authors literally twisted every established clone wars storyline around a new character - Ahsoka Tano - so there was no real reason to use Barriss since they could simply introduce us to original Ahsoka’s friend. She already interacted with so many original Jedi characters but instead the team took one of the most known Legends!Jedi Healers and turned into terrorist? Killing innocent people to prove Jedi lost their ways? It really feels disrespectful, both to fans and Jedi.  

And you know what TCW did not show us? Jedi Force-healing their troopers. Something that Barriss did on various points in Legends sources. She literally worked in various Republic Mobile Surgical Units (Rimsoo) as was seen in Republic comics series & Medstar duology or helping at triage unit(s) and as Jedi healers would not abbadon the wounded during enemy attack. Like when fire spread around them and cut away from safe way to evacuate, her first worry was about the injured people (Republic #65)

I’m really supposed to believe a person with such a mindset and compassion would decide to kill innocent people to make a point about war? Really? REALLY? Even more since there was no focus on why a Jedi like her could break and do something like that in the first place? This wasn’t a development or fleshing out for character, it was just shifting the blame on someone so Ahsoka could get out of Order before RotS/Purge. Which is unfair to Barriss. 

Oh, and by the way, remember how Luminara was talking to Anakin to let it go and accept that his padawan may have died or something along the lines? The mentioned Republic #65 has Mace Windu personally searching for survivors and not leaving enemy lines without checking first if someone survives even when he was told that enemy may attack at any moment:

 This is a proper Jedi. There is a difference between accepting that you did not manage to save someone and not bothering to at least try to save. Which is just another reason why TCW Jedi strikes me more as arrogant, manipulative and uncaring than the flawed people presented in Legends. 

Good Force, it is really bad if I'm going out of my way to rant about respecting Jedi characters...

[qqueenofhades]

Oh look, it's exactly what I was saying in my Bush v. Gore explainer post that went pseudo-viral and got a lot of people Big Mad at me in the notes for pointing out, even in briefest passing, that Nader took votes away from Gore and in an election as close as 2000, that probably cost him the presidency. According to my independent math, Gore would have netted approximately 18.9k extra votes in Florida in a Nader-less election, so 20k fits almost exactly in that ballpark.

By the way, the guy who liked that tweet/posted the original question, Michael Beschloss, is an acclaimed and prolific presidential historian. Which means that we are on the same wavelength here as people who study history professionally and draw similar conclusions from it, and also that this news of "former Republicans and Democrats forming a 'centrist' third party!" has both of us facepalming, groaning, and wondering if people really never learn anything. Also, this so-called Shiny New Centrist Party literally has... no policies....? Just a stupid slogan?? ("How will we solve the big issues facing America? Not Left. Not Right. Forward.") As if they're hoping (they are hoping) that you'll notice it makes, uh, no fucking sense.

Milquetoast Moderation!!! is generally bad as a political strategy anyway, since a) it pleases nobody, especially in a hyper-polarized environment, and b) acting like the far left and the far right are equally dangerous extremists, who should both be equally shunned, is an absolutely idiotic claim that casts serious doubt on whether these clowns want to do anything aside from continue to suck votes away from Democratic candidates. In a political environment where one party has gone full masks-off fascist death cult and won't even commit to protecting BIRTH CONTROL, not to even mention that they don't want to provide veterans with health benefits no matter how much they claim to love the military, anyone who looks at that, looks at the Democrats, and screams THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME, ONLY WE HAVE THE CENTRIST ANSWER!! should not be given the time of day.

There are far left elements in society, and as I have posted about, they're the usually terminally online types who have stupid ideas on Twitter and discourage civic engagement in others. Yes, those people are dangerous, but that is not at all what is at issue here or what these New Centrist Third Party-ers (oh Andrew Yang, you perpetual disappointment) are reacting to. If you actually think the current institutional Democratic party is too far left and this is bad, then you want to maintain the system pretty much exactly as it is, while slapping on a nice coat of "socially tolerant!" paint to attract a few ex-Republicans who have finally hit their limit with the crazymaking Christofascists and think the most important thing about politics is that it should be "nice!" and "respectable!" Who cares if we actually fix anything; gotta make sure the kids on the playground are being civil!

Anyway, as ever when it comes to so-called Moral Third Party Alternatives in the current American political system, this is a profoundly stupid idea, could split the anti-authoritarian vote in 2024 and thus elect said authoritarian (as Beschloss also worried about), and literally... offers... no strategic plan. On top of its false equivalence (Republicans want to destroy democracy, Democrats explain their pronouns and what they are wearing to blind and visually impaired people, EQUALLY BAD DON'T VOTE FOR EITHER!), it reinforces the media "bothsiderism" that is already destroying the country and any accurate coverage of Biden's presidency, legitimizes right-wing and Online Leftist propaganda alike, and deliberately undermines the only actual organised political faction (the Democratic Party) that is currently keeping outright fascism in the USA at bay. Don't fall for it.

[shiningliive]

Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love Live 7th Stage Report

Day 1 Report:

Thank you all for waiting, here is my report for the first night of Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 7th Stage!! I wanted to make sure I covered it in as much detail as I could, however if you just want to see the setlist, you can see it here on tumblr. If anyone doesn't know my personal history with this concert, I have been an Utapri fan for about 10 years, and for the first time ever, I finally managed to hit for tickets to view it in person back in 2020. Although I can no longer travel to Japan, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the first night’s performance (27/11/21) and exchange information with someone who saw the second night. I have also tried to include some information from tweets and other posts from people that attended day two, but this report will mostly focus on the first night. The set list was the same on both nights. The main difference between the two live streams were apparently vastly different camera angles. The cast were also reportedly more confident and had slightly better vocals on the second night. Both live streams had some minor infrequent audio issues (mics being too quiet or mics occasionally cutting off others), but they were also seemingly slightly improved for the 2nd live stream. I believe these were livestream-only issues, and people who viewed live in the MetLife Dome did not experience this. I reccomend reading on the google doc linked below do you can see the proper formatting!

7000+ more words below the read more, or see the full google doc of the report here!

To quickly cover Suzuki Tatsuhisa’s (Kurosaki Ranmaru) and Yonaga Tsubasa’s (Mikado Nagi) absences (although I’m sure I will reference it multiple times throughout this report), both were handled a little bit differently due to the reasons each was not taking part, and the timing of those decisions in the planning of the concert. As far as the audio goes, both Ranmaru and Nagi’s parts in songs were played as regular background audio alongside otherwise off-vocal versions of the song tracks. In Tsubasa’s case, it seemed they knew the whole time, or at least from very early on in planning that he would not be able to attend due to his dysphonia. Tsubasa has been advised by his doctor and other professionals to limit his voice acting work so he doesn’t strain or damage his voice and throat which obviously means no extensive live performances. There seemed to be more consideration put into the camera angles and choreography for songs that include Nagi. It is sad to see him gone, and Heavens would never feel complete without him, but I am glad he is prioritising his health especially since that can be such a difficult decision to make in the idol and voice acting industries. Both Yonaga Tsubasa and Nagi were given huge amounts of respect that they rightfully deserve during the concert. On the other hand, Tatsuhisa’s absence from the concert was decided very late into not only planning, but also after the concert was originally supposed to be held. This impacted the choreography, camera angles, and set list as they were all decided on and rehearsed by the voice actors before they knew he wouldn’t be able to attend. This resulted in the gap left by him in most songs to be more noticeable than Nagi’s as it seems (at least for the first night) they didn’t have time to change most of these elements before the performance, leaving occasionally awkward pauses in dances, or zooms on empty microphones and spotlights. If you do not know why Suzuki Tatsuhisa was absent from the concert, I suggest you take a quick google and form your own opinions on the matter. I will not go into depth here as I am not fully informed on the subject, and I don't know the validity of the claims against him. Regardless, he is currently on a hiatus I believe to prioritise his non-work life and his mental health. It is unclear if he made the decision himself or was advised/forced to cease work by his management. Despite everything, I still hope he can get back on his feet and at the very least stay healthy and well. Whatever conflicted emotions you may now have towards Tatsuhisa, please do not let them influence your opinions on Ranmaru or any of Tatsuhisa’s other characters. At least, that is how I will be approaching him in this report.

Now that the basic information is out of the way, onto the opening! Of course, this report will contain spoilers for pretty much everything in the concert (outfits, staging, set list, mishaps, announcements etc) so this is your warning to stop here if you would like to remain unspoiled for when the DVD/Bluray are released in 2022 (date undecided). 

Stage setup: This is the third Utapri live in the MetLife Dome in Saitama! Previously, 6th stage and Welcome to Starish World were both also held here. It is difficult to describe but I’ll do my best. The stage is a lot simpler than recent Utapri Lives. There is one main stage that is just a long rectangular platform. There are four different doors  on the bottom layer of the stay. Behind the main stage, there are three higher platforms connected with stairs. Each of these three higher stages also has a screen behind it. There is no extended runway like in 6th Stage, Maji Love Kingdom or the Starish fanmeet. The stage’s theming makes it look very vaguely like a castle. It’s really interesting to see how different the vibe of the concert/arena can be just dependent on how the stage is set up, even within the same arena. I have to say, I think the other two set ups in previous Utapri concerts in the Metlife Dome lent themselves to more interesting staging and effects.For comparison, If you look at the stage for 6th stage or the Starish fanmeet, both of them had a main stage at the back and different types of longer walkways stemming off it (6th stage also had a secondary stage in the middle of the arena) and space around the edge of the floor seats for songs to be performed on carts. It may be due to some covid restrictions in Japan (unable to get in the extra stage equipment etc) or maybe because of a higher seat capacity, but 7th stage only had the basic rectangular stage. 

If nothing is said about a songs staging, assume it was just walking around and doing a little bit of dancing on stage with a microphone. 

The beginning:

After a standby screen, and overhead view of the audience in the MetLife Dome, the concert opens with an introductory video to the Utapri characters from Starish, Quartet Night, and Heavens. They are shown in the usual order. Ranmaru and Nagi are included, despite the absence of their voice actors. The voice actors from Starish (Terashima Takuma (Ittoki Otoya), Suzumura Kenichi (Hijirikawa Masato), Taniyama Kishou (Shinomiya Natsuki), Mamoru Miyano (Ichinose Tokiya), Junichi Suwabe (Jinguji Ren), Shimono Hiro (Kurusu Syo), and Toriumi Kousuke (Aijima Cecil) rise from platforms below the stage, and the first song begins.

Song 1: Fantastic Prelude

Impressions: 

Fantastic Prelude is a great beginning to the concert. The camera angles were the livestream were great, so many different views of the stage, close ups, really everything you’d normally see on the final bluray release. Saying that though, I’m excited to see how the impression of each performance changes once they have been edited for release. Starish are wearing all dark red outfits reminiscent of their Maji Love Kingdom outfits. As usual, the details of each outfit are tailored specifically to each voice actor/character. They also all wear concert rings of their characters' image colour on their right hands. I will go into more detail on the outfits during the character introductions shortly. 

The majority of the song is performed on raised platforms high in the air. For the m,ost part, there isn't much choreography for Fantastic Prelude, but they do mimic parts from the official choreography in some parts. Each boy comes on during an instrumental to say a line in character to welcome the audience. It's wonderful to see them all together again after so long, it nearly made me cry. 

Song 2: The World is Mine

Impressions:

The first note I took for The World is Mine was “THEY HAVE SWORDS?!?” The song opens with the Quartet Night Voice actors (Morikubo Showtaro (Kotobuki Reiji), Aoi Shouta (Mikaze Ai), and Maeno Tomoaki (Camus) in shadow. As the lights turn on, they each pull out a sword and point it to the sky. Their outfits are primarily dark blue, almost seeming black in some lighting. These are also similar to the Maji Love Kingdom outfits for Quartet Night. During the song, they stab their swords into a hole in the floor where im guessing some staff members underneath take them away. As mentioned, for Ranmaru’s lines, his voice is played in the background and red lights shine on the stage for him. The ‘yonin no kizuna/the bonds of four” is particularly sad without Ranmaru. While I was almost crying at Fantastic Prelude, my hands were shaking while typing my notes for The World is Mine. 

Song 3: Gira x2 Seven

Impressions:

The stairs at the back of the stage open and the Heavens Voice actors (Midorikawa Hikaru (Otori Eiichi), Ono Daisuke (Sumeragi Kira), Uchida Yuuma (Otori Eiji), Takahashi Hidenori (Kiruiin Van), Kimura Ryouhei (Hyuuga Yamato), Yamashita Daiki (Amakusa Shion) walk out. They are wearing dark green outfits of course inspired once again by the Heavens movie outfits. An important and very endearing detail with the Heavens outfits though, is that they wear not only their own character's image colour ring, but they also each wear a yellow ring for Nagi who was unable to attend. The first solo line in the song is by Midorikawa, and it seemed his voice and hands were both shaking a little bit. He seemed quite nervous, and I'm so proud of him, it must be so scary to be the first one to sing, and he always seems to put so much pride and care into his role as Eiichi. This is followed by Uchida Yuuma who of course seems so comfortable and confident on stage. Hidenori’s voice broke during his long high pitched note which was a bit tough, but as far as I’m aware he doesn't have as much live stage experience as some of the other voice actors, and even though he missed this note he otherwise really shone on stage and always drew my attention whenever he was on screen. His smile absolutely lit up my loungeroom. I didn't hear anyone talk about him missing the note on the second night either! Like Ranmaru’s voice, Nagi’s voice is also played in the bg audio. On the second night, instead of chanting “gira gira gira gira” after Nagi’s “haato yo moechae” and “Hikari mo tomochae” lines, they chant “nagi nagi nagi nagi!” instead. I really hope this makes it to the bluray version, it sounds like a really sweet and fun moment. Much of the choreo for Heavens group songs leaves an empty space for Tsubasa and it seemed more like a deliberate choice to pay respect to him and acknowledge him as a part of the group than just not being able to change the staging.

Character welcomes and intros:

Each voice actor does a very short line in character to welcome the audience to the concert and introduce themselves. This is done in the usual order, Otoya - Shion. Since these speeches are pretty much all “Im ____’s Voice actor ______. I hope we have fun tonight” I’ll just mention a couple unique things about their outfits before moving on. 

Takuma is of course wearing glasses

Kishou had some hair clips on the left side of his hair

Suwabes hair is styled similar to Rens with one long spike of his fringe in between his eyes. I can't remember if he had part tied back in a short ponytail or not. He addressed the crowd by saying “Ladies and gentlemen, no, everyone!” which was lovely. 

Shimono has pink hair clips in his hair in the same pattern as Syo’s. I believe he also wore these in 6th Stage. His nails are painted black 

As usual, Toriumi is wearing a hat

Shouta has highlights in his hair syed the same colour as Ai’s and it is also styled like Ai’s hair with part pulled back into a short ponytail. He dyed his hair back to black the day after the 2nd performance haha. His nails were painted a very light purple, and his outfit has white frills on the hips of his coat.

Maeno has his nails painted, is wearing blue contacts, and wears the same hairstyle and accessory (or at least very close) as he did in 2018’s Quartet Night Live Future. And of course, he had to call us all gumin. Shouta and Shoutarou bowed as he did so.

Midorikawa is wearing glasses, and drew on Eichii’s mole again

Ryouhei has his hair dyed blond for Yamato

Following the short introductions, there is a small video slideshow of the Heavens 7th Stage art to introduce the beginning of the Heavens section.

Song 4: HEAVEN'S GATE

Impressions:

Although it's been performed before (you’ll find that to be a common theme with 7th Stage), we start with Heaven's Gate! As much as I would've liked to see some new songs represented, it’s always nice to see more Heaven's Gate. They are all on platforms high in the air like in 6th stage. There was an empty platform for Yonaga Tsubasa, and after the platforms sank back to the stage level, I think there was once again space left in the choreography for him as well. 

Heavens MC

Midorikawa opens and introduces a Heavens only MC. They talk about how its been a long time yet they’re back in the same arena as 6th stage. Apparently last time Midorikawa had a cold, so he feels like this is a revenge match haha. Yamashita points out their yellow rings to symbolise that their hearts are always one with Yonaga Tsubasa even if he isn't there. They call out and wave to Nagi, asking if he can see them as they hold up their rings. They say that since he isn't with them, they’ll have to battle it out to be just as cute as he usually is. This leads to OnoD impersonating Nagi/Tsubasa’s cute voice and mannerisms to read out a short greeting that I think was prepared for Nagi by Yonaga in the Heavens Line group chat. “Heavens is the best isn't it! Angels, please be super excited and have a lot of fun, by Nagi.” OnoD of course instantly gets embarrassed and collapses to his knees. Apparently they talked about something different on the second night, and Midorikawa delivered a different message from Nagi. I wonder if they’ll edit together parts from each night’s talk segments for the DVD/bluray. 

Song 5: Fumetsu no Inferno

Impressions:

My notes for Fumetsu no Inferno start with “YUUUUMAAAA!!!!”. It’s hard for me to pick a favourite Heavens song, but Fumetsu no Inferno is so great, and Yuuma especially shines so much while performing it. I especially look forward to seeing it on the DVD/Bluray release which I’m sure will have improved audio mixing for the live vocals. Smoke shoots out in front of the stage as the Voice actors raise to be on three different platform heights, arranged in a triangle. Since I feel that so much of this songs greatness comes from Eiji’s harmonies and high notes in the background, its wonderful to see Yuuma front and centre in the middle of the bottom row. All stages become the same height again. During the livestream, whenever they were close to the smoke or fire, you could hear it through their microphones. 

There is a very short video introducing the Quartet Night Section.

Song 6: Dancing Over Night

Impressions:

Each boy comes out of a different door on stage with a group of backup dancers. I think this was the first time we saw the dancers, and I like their outfits, they're wearing simple european styled long black coats and black pants with a plain white shirt on underneath. Each of them does a little dance as they come out, and there is quite obviously a pause in the choreo for when Tatsun would have walked out. There are plenty of red penlights in the audience for Ranmaru, as well as some yellow for Nagi too! Towards the end of the song, they stand in formation on the stairs with dancers to form the shape of a diamond.

Song 7: Love EVOL (Short ver)

Impressions:

Something you might notice here, is that the versions of the heavens solos were shorter versions! I didn't notice this, likely because I hadn't listened to their new solos a lot yet, but I saw people mention it on twitter! I remember thinking Fumetsu no Inferno also felt short, so it's possible there were other short versions that I didn't catch. Super odd decision since the run time of the concert was already much shorter than the last couple.I was definitely not expecting Love Evol, or any Quartet Night solos since there weren't any released at the time when 7th stage was supposed to occur! Sadly though, there are no Heavens or Starish solos. Hopefully next time. I do find it funny though that I predicted Starish and Heavens solos, and we got the exact opposite. It was instantly noticeable that Aoi Shouta is very comfortable with live vocals and dancing on a stage. He looks so comfortable, and all his movements were polished to absolute perfection. Super cute of course too. The music paused and he did a little finger heart, smile, and laugh at the camera.

Song 8: Steward Dance (Short Ver)

Impressions:

I'm very proud of Maeno for doing a little dance! He seems to be more confident with choreo every concert. The performance is super cute, performed in the higher pitched Camus voice which switches to the deeper Camus voices. He’s also dancing with backup dancers who at once point mime being a table in front of Maeno that he pretends to take a teacup off and drink from. 

Song 9: All Right All Night (Short Ver)

Impressions:

Not a lot of notes for this one. Morikubo on stage with backup dancers, a bit of dancing, including some hip swaying. It did have a part that I feel was really hindered by the audience not being allowed to yell/cheer, or use their voices to take part in audience calls, so i'm curious how it comes across on the Bluray/DVD release. After his solo, Morikubo welcomed out the other QN boys for a Ranmaru solo.

Song 10: Only One (Short Ver)

Impressions:

The Quartet Night voice actors and a bunch of backup dancers to a tribute (?) to Ranmaru by dancing to Only One. At first I thought they might sing it in his place, but no, just dancing. Okay, so I seemed to interpret this quite differently to other fans. It could’ve been a difference between the camera angles in the livestreams, and it certainly was nice to see Ranmaru acknowledged, but honestly I mostly found this performance really funny?? And I don't say that to at all demean Ranmaru or the effort that obviously went into it by the voice actors and dancers, but rather than a tribute that made me emotional, if felt more like a rushed “oh shit we couldn't change this performance in time” with CONSTANT close ups, zooms, and pans across an empty microphone with the loneliest spotlight on it you've ever seen. Talking with someone that saw the second night, this wasn't really the case there, as the camera angles mostly focused on the remaining QN boys doing the choreo. However, saying all that, Ranmaru is definitely missed, but to me this performance felt so out of place and made me feel his Morikubo, Shouta and Maeno doing a really nice pose for the camera which I‘m sure will be screenshot and posted all over the palace once the DVD/Bluray are released. 

Quartet Night MC

More “kono gumin ga” thank you Maeno it is always appreciated. I think on the first nights performance, it was about 5 degrees Celsius in Saitama, so they said they hope everyone brought blankets and clothes to keep warm. Maeno said “Its as cold as Silk Palace.” As I mentioned earlier, due to covid safety measures being taken in Japan/the MetLife Dome, the audience wasn’t allowed to cheer or raise their voices during the concert, so they released voice recording concert merchandise that fans could use to record their voices in advance cheering a set amount of different cheers in support which they could play during the live. They asked to have the background music removed, and everyone who bought them to all press play on the count of 3. You couldn’t hear it on the livestream, but I’m really excited to hear them on the official release! If I heard correctly, they got goosebumps and Shouta cried when Starish first performed Fantastic Prelude. From Morikubo: “Its been a while since we’ve been able to return here with all four of us, but sadly we cannot do our best to keep our spirits up and entertain you! I hope you enjoy the rest of our songs let's get excited!”

Song 11: Kizuna

Impressions:

After their talk, they go to sit on the stairs and act as if they are in a car like how the song appears in the anime. The was a cute use of handheld camera right next to them on the stage so you felt like you were in the car with them. I think this was maybe the same choreo we’ve seen before for Kizuna. Seeing Kizuna with only ¾ Quartet Night members feels especially lonely since I feel like so much of the song's charm is dependent on their harmonies, and finishing each other's lines. Having said that though, they all put so much effort into the performance and asked the audience to call out the “whoa-oh”s in their hearts. From memory, I think they all looked emotional at the end of the song. 

And of course, there is a small video introducing the Starish boys with the 7th Stage art.

Song 12: Maji 1000% Love

Impressions:

As soon as the intro to Maji Love 1000% started playing as they walked out, I got so emotional. It really is such an important song to the franchise and my personal nostalgia. That nostalgia was interrupted when Suwabe and Takuma accidentally started early when they were supposed to wait for the fireworks/fire effects to go off in front of the stage. Very funny little mishap that will 100% be cut out of the final version, so I’m glad I got to see it! To be fair, I was also definitely expecting the song to start when Suwabe started singing! They use a lot of split screens throughout this performance so we can see the different boys together while they sing their little duo lines (for example, Mamo and Takuma split screen for “Dochi wo erabu princess” line.) 

Song 13: Shining Romance

Impressions:

Lots more handheld camera on the stage for this one on the first night! Super cute performance, each of them have the concert mino towels which they spin around in the air and dance with. Since there’s no Shimono solo. I’m glad they got them in there for a performance, it seems like such a Utapri Live tradition at this point! There was a very fun close up of Shimono that I enjoyed a lot. I definitely enjoyed this song, but I feel like it will be even more fun to watch when more camera angles are edited together for the DVD/bluray that focus on each of the boys more with their little towel twirling and silly dance moves.

Song 14: Star Wish

Impressions:

I love Star Wish! Possibly my second favourite Starish song (ignoring Nostalgia for 1000% 2000% etc) so I was so happy to see it live, especially since it’s one of the only relatively new songs we got. I wonder if they would be waiting to do Quartet Crown and Endless Score for when all of the Quartet Night and Heavens voice actors are able to gather together? The staging for Star Wish was all them standing stationery at mics which kinda reminded me of Night Dream’s staging. Very simple staging, but it worked very effectively. The lack of dance choreo also meant their vocals really got to shine. Something else I loved that I feel might show up better on bluray release, is that as each of them said their solo syllables in “Ki-su-ya-mi-su-go-ku” etc, each of them got individually lit up by a spotlight in their characters image colour. 

Starish MC + Announcements

Terashima almost falls down the stairs and the others made fun of him for it. Takuma sais this is now Starish’s third concert in the MetLife Dome! I wonder if they’ll keep up this tradition if we get more lives in the future. Terashima Takuma: “Even if we cant be close to you in person we can be close in our hearts.” They bring up that apparently shouta cried backstage seeing the 7 members of Starish perform 1000% together. Takuma passes over to Suzumura-han as usual for announcements! I love that Suzumura gets this responsibility, and you bet he did his robot voice. They tease him saying that the voice was a bit different than usual, and Suzumura says “Hey! Even the announcer can have growth/character development!”  Of course, usually by the time I see the announcements on a bluray, we’ve already known them for months, so this was so exciting to see live! The first thing they announce is the Bluray and DVD release for 7th Stage sometime in 2022. Nothing unusual there. However, he goes on to say:  “Of course it’s getting a bluray release though right? So we have more announcements!” They announce the return of animated Utapri  content that we’ll receive via a one hour Utapri TV anime special! The Special will serve as a bridge in canon to connect the story between Maji Love Kingdom and the 2022 Utapri Movie, Utapri Maji Love Starish Tours. On the second night, they also announced the title of the 1 hour special; “Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love Starish Tours ~Tabi no Hajimari~”/Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love Starish Tours ~The Beginning of the Journey~”. Takuma points out how whenever they enter announcement mode, all the pennlights turn blue for Suzumura. Apparently on the second night, Zuzumura did a wasurero beam so people would act surprised when they announced it again. After the announcement they acted as if his wasurero beam was too powerful and made everyone forget all about Utapri. Takuma announces that the next song will be Starish’s last in the concert and although I knew they’d definitely be doing an encore, I was still surprised because we were only an hour and a half in!

Song 15: We Are Starish

Impressions:

They kinda do the dance/movements from the anime. In general, this has pretty basic staging, but Mamo and Kiiyan’s vocals were perticularly good. I really don't have a lot of notes for this one!

Following We Are Starish, it’s Maji Love Kingdom time! There is a video montage that once again shows the 7th stage artworks in the Maji Love Kingdom shuffle unit song groups in order as well as short clips from their songs from the movie to remind you what they looked like in the anime. For example, they first show Otoya, Ai, and Van, then a little clip of Up Down Up.

Song 16: Up Down Up

Impressions:

Here we get the first outfit change!! Each group wears outfits reminiscent of their movie outfits without just being copies. Instead of being white, the Up Down Up outfits are mostly black with shite shirts underneath and their signature colours applied similarly in patterns to how they were in the movie. The screen in the back of the stage shows a lot of footage from the performance from the movie. As far as the performance goes, they are joined by backup dancers, and all three of them do quite a bit of the dance from Up Down Up. It’s super cute! Something I was looking forward to with these songs was seeing different combos of penlight colours in the crowd, and the lavender, orange and red lights look really good! The dance moves for “up up down up” look really fun, they asked the audience to do them together at the end. All three of them look like they're having so much fun! Sadly Shouta and Takahashi couldn't throw or princess carry Takuma like Van and Ai did with Otoya in the movie haha.

Song 17: Egoistic

Impressions:

Somehow the staging for this one didn't emphasize Tatsuns absence as much for me, despite only having two other people on stage. It was still noticeable though, but I imagine with editing for the Bluray/DVD release that would be improved on. He would have killed this live, but Kiiyan and Midorikawa do really well with just the two of them! Their outfits have leather jackets and pants, and they each have harnesses across their chest like the movie outfits. I’d say Midorikawas outfit looks closer to the movie than Kiiyans did. They're both just standing with stationery mics on stands, but the shots of them on the big screens in the back have a filter that looks like metal bars over the top so it looks like they're in a cage like in the movie! Kiiyan intentionally kicks over his mic stand, and it looks super cool. And of course, Kiiyans improv vamping (is that the right term?) in the instrumental parts. 

Song 18: Feather in Hand

Impressions:

I was hoping for water effects with this one (like Masato’s solo in 6th Stage), and sadly there weren't any, but they did have feathers flying through the air! At the start, Maeno has one in his hand, and I wasn't sure if he had it the whole time or if he actually caught it. These outfits are probably the most different from the movie since it seems like they wanted to stick with majority black and white looks so all the members still looked cohesive when they were together at the end. The outfits mostly resemble the movie outfits since they both had a lot of diagonal lines. Later in the song, they go on raised platforms high in the air similar to the movie. No matter who he’s on stage with, Yuuma always seems so comfortable, and Maeno and Suzumura are both so good, but I still couldn’t take my eyes off Yuuma! He’s just so charming. The light blue, dark blue, and purple lights also look great in the audience for this one!

Song 19: Souai Traumerei

Impressions:

Suwabe, Takahashi, and Shoutarou rise from below the stage. They’re wearing all black, with lots of things to create a long coat-like silhouette that reminded me a lot of the movie. I’d say these are the closest to the movie outfits. They pause the music in the middle and each give a little emo speech in character about love and while doing so, they each pick up a lily! The lilies are lit up in their character's colour. I really hoped they'd, they put the lights out, and turn off the lights in the lillies so it looked like they dissolved like they did in the movie, but they didn't. Still super cool to have them at all though! There wasn't as much cool choreo in this one, but thats fair enough, it was still really nice. 

Song 20: Colourfully Spark

Impressions:

So cute! But especially since its such a cute song, it was sad to be missing Nagi! Again, like Feather in the Hand, these outfits are lacking a lot of the colour that made them recognisable, and even the cuts of their outfits are quite different! Instead, the colours are applied like splatters of paint on the mostly black outfits. The backup dancers have cute colourful star shaped balloons. Shimono couldnt get out all of his little “aaaah” note, it was more of an “aA-”. They do the little arm motion choreo like the movies choreo which I like! The stage in the background has three little mini stages. each one is lit up in a different boy’s colour. The middle one is yellow for Nagi. You can tell they had more time to plan for no Yonaga with this one, theres not as many awkward empty camera angles. This is another one that I feel like would benefit from more close ups in the final edit for the Bluray release since I swear every time they did cute expressions or focused on the choreo it cut away to far away or shots from the side where you couldnt really see them! After the song, Shimono tried to say “arigatou!” but they cut off his mic so there was just a very loud “ARI-”

Song 21: Kaleidoscope

Impressions:

I'm guessing this will be cut out for the bluray, but there was this horrible sound effect in between Colourfully Spark and Kaleidoscope that kept playing on repeat. However! This was so they could set up the hot air balloons! They can’t fly through the air on hoverboards, so this is the best option I think haha. Super cool to see these return after they were in 6th Stage. Quite similar execution to Visible Elf there, so go rewatch that If you want an idea of what they look like. Each boy is in their own hot air balloon. From memory, was Ryouhei scared of heights? I swear I heard that somewhere, and he was certainly holding onto the railing on the balloon’s basket the whole time. They land, and sing the end of the song on the stage. Their outfits are kinda work casual, but they're each quite different. Instead of being grey like in Maji Love Kingdom, they're mostly white with black accents. Mamo wore a white blazer with thin black pinstripes. They each mime drawing a big heart in the air at the end.

Song 22: Ai wo Sasageyou

Impressions:

Midorikawa announces that this is “Heaven's final song”. They're each still wearing the outfits from their Maji Love Kingdom songs. This is another one I didn’t have many notes on. I LoVe  Ai wo Sasageyou, but there wasn’t a lot of interesting staging for this one, but similar to Star Wish, that meant their vocals sounded a bit better since there wasn’t much choreo. At the end, they're all one one rising platform together, and they each strike a pose after saying their solo lines. 

Song 23: Fly to the Future

Impressions:

Most of my notes for this were me freaking out as a Shouta stan because HIS MIC WASN’T WORKING. Its really hard to tell, but it seems like maybe it was working in the arena but they didnt turn on his mic to transmit to the livestream? I couldn't tell if he looked a bit frustrated because it wasnt working or if I was just seeing things. His mic wasn't working properly for a while, but later on when the 3 of them stand a bit closer, you can hear Shoutas voice quietly and it sounds like it’s maybe one of the other boys' microphones picking it up from the arena. This was thankfully fixed on the second day. At the start, there was a shot of Shouta singing, but all you could hear was Morikubos voice. His solo bit at the start of the song was also completely silent, just the instrumental. It was interesting however to hear the start of the song without Ai’s harmonies, I feel like his voice really adds a lot to the other three boys’ deeper voices. This was another song that made use of a handheld camera on stage in parts. Morikubo announces that this is ”Quartet nights final song” before Shouta’s mic is out again for his solo part. Thankfully it gets fixed towards the end of the song though! It felt even more exciting to hear his voice back in a very triumphant part of the song! At the “arigatou, soshite, korekara mo” they’re on a raised part of the stage. I have to admit, I was so focused on Shouta’s mic I totally forgot about Tatsuhisa’s absence haha. At the end of the song, Shouta’s eyes looked a bit watery, and I couldnt tell if he was frustrated because maybe his mic didn’t work, or if it was just the lights reflecting off them. I imagine it had to have been working at least somewhat in the arena because I’m sure they had spare mics on standby that someone could have ran on and given him if it truly wasn't working. But anyway, this has been your full rundown of my panicked “Oh no Shouta’s mic isn't working” notes!

Song 24: Ultra Blast

Impressions:

Again, not many notes about this one, but it did have nice fire effects! There was a nice 7 way split screen effect showing them all at once, but Kiiyans screen was fully covered by fire. Toriumi misses one of his solo lines. And of course, this is the “last song of 7th Stage” with the usual incredibly transparent fake-out ending before an encore! It’s always fun to see them finish and just walk straight off the stage. 

Since the audience wasn't allowed to cheer or raise their voices, you can't hear them calling for an encore, but they did clap for one instead!

Encore 1: Welcome to Utapri Kingdom

Impressions:

Whoohoo, encore! Only a two song encore though, and the talk was nowhere near as long as 6th Stage’s! Some people might prefer this, but I was looking forward to another 45 minute talk full of crying haha. I guess they’re saving that for next time! I was also totally expecting them to wear the concert t-shirts, but they’re all still in their Maji Love Kingdom outfits! In any case, Welcome to Utapri Kingdom works really well for an encore. I'd love more songs with all 18 of the characters in them. Of all of my many mistakes in the set list predictions I made in 2020, I'm glad I at least got the encore songs right! Maeno is wearing at least four Camus rings, and all of Heavens has their yellow rings back on after removing them for the Maji Love Kingdom songs. 

Following Welcome to Utapri Kingdom, there is a very short talk. Takuma covers how the concert was supposed to happen in April of 2020, and all the hardships everyone has gone through in the past 2 years in order to stand here together. Shouta looked to be crying a little bit. Takkun talks about all the different things people have gone through to be able to perform/watch live. Takuma passes over to Yamashita Daiki who starts their solo goodbyes in character. This is one in reverse order, starting with Shion, and ending with Otoya. Each voice actor says about one sentence and I didn’t manage to make notes for all of them, but for example, Uchida Yuumas goodbye was “I would be happy if my feelings were able to reach you. I will make sure that my memories of today remain in my heart forever. I'm Otori Eiji’s voice actor Uchida Yuuma, thank you!” One the second day, I heard that Takahashi accidentally cut off Ryouhei’s goodbye speech and they both started speaking at the same time. Takahashi got embarrassed as they others made fun of him and Suzumura did another wasurero beam. 

Encore 2: Maji Love Kingdom

Impressions:

Although this is the final song, I again didn't take too many notes so I could just enjoy watching it. Like in the movie, each group does each other's hand signals! They end the song in a heart shape on the stairs like at the end of the performance from the movie!

After the song Takuma thanks the shining dancers as they walk off stage. Finally, to end the first night of 7th Stage, Takuma leads the others into saying thank you, and the curtain/screen behind them rises. Mamoru Miyano’s ‘Encore’ starts playing in the background as Takuma invites Heavens, then Quartet Night to leave the stage. As Starish stands up to leave, Shimono gets to his spot quickly and Suwabe says “Ochibi-chan there's no need to rush.” They all look a bit emotional, and Takuma says “Let's definitely meet again, that's a promise.” I will hold you to that promise Takkun! The screen lowers, and they squat and look under it so the audience can see them for as long as possible as they wave goodbye underneath it. The concert ends with a “See You Again” message on the screen. 

Final Impressions:

I'm so happy I was able to watch this livestream. It was such a special night. This was only possible thanks to the friend I had in Japan who let me borrow her Japanese phone number to use ticketPIA, and of course thank you once again to everyone who gave me their codes back in 2019 to apply for tickets. I doubt I would have put this much effort into getting access to the livestream and covering it in such detail unless I had originally gotten tickets thanks to you. I am sad I had to cancel my trip to see the concert in person in 2020, but the fact that the voice actors, and of course the staff went ahead with their plans for 7th Stage despite their many hardships really shows their devotion to this franchise. 

I wonder if there were restrictions on having songs performed on the carts, because I don't think there were any at all. If so, probably due to them needing to be distanced as much as possible on stage. This also could be what impacted a lot of the staging if they couldnt be as close to each other as often, and had to potentially rework some cart songs to be “standing stationary at a mic and doing a bit of dancing” songs.  Saying that though, They definitely did their best they could with lots of restrictions in place in Japan at the time, and I am so incredibly thankful that they made the concert available via livestream, even if it was still difficult to access as someone living outside of Japan. The TicketPIA process was very complex and I saw a lot of Japanese people complaining about it on twitter as well, so I hope they may streamline the process in the future for both Japanese and international fans of this franchise that we all love so dearly! 

Like everyone else, I have also been through a lot this past 2 years, and earlier this year I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes which will make it more difficult for me to travel in the future, however I am more determined than ever to do my best to make it to any future Utapri concerts. Utapri has been a part of my life now for about 10 years, and I’m so happy I binged it one day when I was sick in 2011. It led to me meeting some of my closest friends, and it has been so great being a part of this wonderful and forever growing international fanbase through my ShiningLiive blog and admin work on various Utapri zines has been so wonderful. I look forward to following the future of Uta no Prince-sama for as long as I can. If you’ve read this far, thank you! 8th Stage, here I come!

My Twitter ShiningLiive Tumblr

[mittensmorgul]

So, Signs that 15x20 isn't real: El Sol beer; warm, saturated lighting; Dean's choice of clothes. Signs the writers were silenced: cut-out-tongue-vampire-thing. Sign it's about sexual repression: Vampires! Sign it's all about the gay: Dean was nailed from behind. Anything else to add to that list of symbols? Because this looks like the writers winking SOS at us in a kidnapper's video.

oh gosh... I keep meaning to rewatch the finale and make a full list of it all, because this is tip of the iceberg stuff. But I just... heck I just don’t want to watch it again :’D

That rewatch is on the agenda, and I’m currently watching 15.09 on the eternal loop. According to the TNT schedule, they’re showing 15.20 on Tuesday, looping directly back to the pilot immediately afterward. So... if I do decide to watch that (and I haven’t decided yet), that’s... gonna be some wild whiplash...

But anyway, back to the question!

You have a pretty good list going there...

I’ll add these things that made the episode feel like not-a-finale:

-no Road So Far segment, or even any sort of “important moments from the last 15 years that brought us to this point” sort of montage/retrospective of their lives

-no Carry On Wayward Son at the beginning, but TWO versions of it back to back at the end

And these things that were just general wtf moments for me:

-Sam? cooking breakfast? since when does Sam make breakfast, ever? that’s Dean’s thing

-Dean, with a dog? since when has Dean ever wanted a dog? That’s Sam’s thing

-Dean makes his bed, and it looks messier when he’s done than before he started (this is... not Dean-like... I actually went back and checked previous shots of his room)

-they never, not once in the episode, act like they have even one (1) single friend or any sort of goal or direction in life, which is weird...

-apparently they’d been unable to find a hunt, making it seem like the supernatural world had been quiet (for a moment I thought maybe monsters were no longer a problem in a post-Chuck world), until they stumbled on a hunt out of nowhere after choosing to go to a pie festival... as if the moment they chose to do something to move on and just have fun, suddenly there was work for them to do and they immediately abandoned everything to hunt these mystery monsters from John’s journal, which turned out to be a trap for them (specifically for them? considering the rando s1 vampire seemed to have lured them there?)

-The fact Dean recognized this vampire he never even interacted with and somehow magically knew her name, despite it never having been stated in canon and, again, Dean never having interacted with her outside of watching her escape with the vampire who actually DID bear them a grudge from 1.20...

-the weird lingering close up shot of the rebar during the fight scene

-the invocation of “destiny” and “don’t have a choice” as they went into a freaking pie festival... this hits bad right now because I’m rewatching 15.09 in the background as I type this, and it was almost word for word what the Dean in Chuck’s vision of the future said to Sam as they resigned themselves to go off on their final hunt (which was vampires btw), which they lost because in the next scene Sam and Dean have become vampires and are both killed... so like... this was Chuck’s story. The trappings might’ve been different, but it was still fundamentally the same... Cas locked away in a terrible place (ma’lak box in Chuck’s story, Empty in Dabb’s), Dean resigned to his fate because of a vampire hunt gone bad.

-then the pie festival itself... Dean’s got a huge tray with half a dozen different varieties he’s excited to try (purchased from Dabb’s Pies...), is eager to taste them all (like... metaphorically trying out different “apple pie life” ending scenarios, because he’s finally free to explore and maybe he actually wants the pecan pie life...), but before he can even taste the first bite, Sam... chooses one and smashes it in Dean’s face.

-even weirder, Dean never once in the episode says Cas’s name, or seemed even once to give a dang about Cas at all... and handwaved it when Sam mentioned Cas and Jack. It had been like... days, on screen (if they’d intended for more time to have passed, they would’ve indicated that on screen, and they did not... they showed us MAYBE three days passing since the events of 15.19). So like... did Dean have a personality transplant or what. Sam says Cas’s name in the ep, Bobby says it in Heaven. Dean... never does. Which is weird, considering how many times he’s said Cas in canon over the years, to the point it’s literally become memes...

-jumping around a bit here, but why Masked Vampires? Why had John failed to figure out they were vampires originally? Because he believed vampires were extinct? because he hadn’t been told they existed at all yet when he’d confronted them in 1986? Was John suddenly just A Bad Hunter after years of canon reinforcing that he was actually a really good hunter?

-and why THIS WEIRD CONGLOMORATION OF JOHN-RELATED CASE NONSENSE? From his journal to the murder clowns to rando vampire from their first vamp hunt? It’s like the perfect storm of erasing the last 15 years just to “bring it back to the start” to end it all like it could’ve had this been s1 still.

-speaking of John, and the El Sol in Heaven... WHY would Bobby hand Dean “John’s Beer” in Heaven? Especially since Dean expressed the fact that he didn’t even like it? Like... why wouldn’t he have been handed a beer he actually ENJOYED in Paradise? Why force a John Beer on him when he could literally have anything he wanted?

-and why was Heaven for Dean, in a place where he could literally have anything he wanted, go anywhere and do anything, why was he just driving through the woods along back roads? After years of talking about how he wanted to go “toes in the sand,” take a vacation, go fishing, or even finally get to eat a piece of pie? Or like ANYTHING he’d talked about wanting to do over the years that he never had a chance to... but apparently the thing he’d arguably spent the most time during his life doing is the only thing he wanted to do now that every possibility was open to him? Yeah, no that’s stupid...

-Tree (the final shot of 15.04 with bobblehead Sam and Dean by the tree like they didn’t have a thought of their own, Chuck’s plastic figurines dancing on his orders, very much like where they randomly parked and had the “vamp mime” conversation)

-Dean casually resorting to the threat of torture after YEARS of the show condemning this choice. Dean gratuitously being “a killer” when his acceptance of the fact that that’s not who he was in the previous episode was literally the thing that defeated Chuck... like... this was entirely stupid...

-just... the pacing of the episode was so weirdly wonky, with random cuts and no sense of time passing anywhere, nor interconnectedness between scenes, and the weirdly uncomfortable interminable death scene. Like, it looked like the death scene of a soap opera heroine. It was upsetting when Dean hit the spike and realized what had happened, but then he just... lingered... dangling on the hook for Sam’s benefit. Like Dean was nothing more than set decoration like a framed portrait for Sam to hang up and walk away from. Which is weird... and stupid... Dabb knows how to do pacing, and it’s like he forgot everything he ever knew about writing to force this “good way to die” trope, as if the previous 15 years of the show hadn’t been spent denouncing (and Dean finally overcoming) this mindset of “I always knew I’d go down swinging” or whatever. WHY. IT WAS STUPID.

-Wig

there’s probably more, but I’m tired and have reached my daily limit for the wtf of this episode >.>

Anyone else, please feel free to add more.