#hm. i don't know where i was going with that. either way big fan of leonie and ignatz existing. they're doing amazing jobs sweeties

[n0tamused]

Can i request a drabble with Newbie Assistant reader! x jing yuan? I've been thinking (daydreaming) abt this for a while with my delulu brain. From what qingzu says, he prefers everyone adress him as jing yuan. And not full title.

OR

Where reader is his wife and he can't go 1 minute without hugging her and worst part, she works at the seat of divine foresight and everyone at the seat has to witness his love sick behavior. I imagine especially fu xuan will be pissed like 'get to work, general!'

Honestly just a food for thought u don't have to take this srsly. Luv u, byeee <33

A/n: Anon you got my gears turning with this food and you have successfully dragged me out of the hole of writer's block. Thank you for that and I really hope you enjoy this little drabble I made, specifically for the second prompt! Man I love this man I wanna eat him. Just imagine him with a wife that's also on the strict side and just knows to get him back to his work but he just wants another kiss before he lets her leave his embrace-

Content: female reader, fluff, drabble

Big arms find their place around her waist and before she can pluck them off, Jing Yuan has slotted himself against her back. His chin rested on top of her shoulder and his golden eyes sluggish dragged their gaze over the documents his lovely wife was working on sorting out. A signature smile remained plastered over his lips even when he felt the scolding words bubble in your throat.

He never shared her shyness, as he called it, in the workplace. It was nothing that could damage either of their reputation, a little bit of hugging and a few cheek kisses here and there - if anything, he held firm belief that more warm displays of affection could even make the workplace be less stagnant. Why does everyone have to be so stiff? Jing Yuan knew to not cross any boundaries that could make his affections be perceived as something odd or even bad. But in an empty office, like the state it was in now, where no one paid them any mind, he really couldn’t help but pounce at the opportunity. 

“Have you finished your paperwork so soon today, General?” she’d bite at him with her words, fully familiar with his tendencies to neglect the piling papers on his desk. 

“Certainly. For today I have done the amount my hands could endure” Jing Yuan responded with a peck to the side of her exposed neck, smiling into her skin when he smelled some of his soap there. She smelled so warm, so relaxing, and it made him squeeze her in his arms just a little more. He heard his love exhale at his squeeze, and despite the facade she tried to keep on, he could see traces of a smile on her pretty lips when he lifted his gaze. “And what did we say about name calling? I’m Jing Yuan to you, your white lion, your husband, am I not?” He playfully nips at her ear, his warm breath fanning across her skin and making her hairs stand on their ends. “Or have you decided to take back your vows all of a sudden?” That gains a reaction out of you, a huff of a chuckle flying past your mouth at the absurd way he delivered that question. He sounded so serious about it, offended even, making her shift in his embrace.

“Jing Yuan-”

“You just keep gaining more beauty, my love, do you know?”

A long sigh and her shaking her head tell him enough, and he smiles when he sees her smile. “Don’t try to weasel your way out of this. Unhand me now, my dearest husband-” she says it as if she hates it, swatting at his hands until their grip falters. She could swat at them all she wanted but she knew that getting him off of her in this instant would be like trying to separate a nail from the flesh. “You may have done what you think is all for today, but I have more work to get to.. Tell you what..” her eyes finally grace him with the attention of her gaze and he feels like kissing her again, but he refrains as to hear her out. “If you tend to all those papers I’ll pamper your scoundrel self once we are back home, hm? If you don’t, well you can expect the cold shoulder and the couch as your bedroom until it gets done” 

“You are too cruel to me, my dear, you hurt me so..” he feigns offense, all while he leans in and litters her cheek with feather kisses before he finally gets to her lips. One of his hands had snuck its way up and held her other cheek in its palm, tilting her head towards him as he pressed his lips against hers. 

"You know I must resort to rougher measures when you're slacking off-" "Shhh.." he hushes her and places another kiss to her mouth.

Safe to say, that paperwork did get done later. And Jing Yuan got to enjoy a really touchy afternoon with you in his arms. 

Ⓒ n0tamused. Do not repost, translate, edit, and/or copy any of my works. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

[laroserie]

i probably won't extend of that expect if people want me to (still scared of getting told to kms for writing about hh or hb) but !

the idea of (yandere? not necessarily but i am a yandere fan) Alastor whose darling/the reader is a baker!

the reader is of course a sinner, but they aren't someone that ended up in hell for something like murder or a really big sin, something more silly, petty. they were in hell for a while, they accepted that they were stuck there and decided to just keep on 'living'

so they open up a bakery, maybe they were a baker when they were alive or maybe they just like to bake - either way, they open their little bakery in a part of the ring of hell that is kinda better off then the rest, one part where their store is less likely to get burned down.

they will somewhat peacefully - outside of when the extermination happen, they fear for their life - and they still aren't sure as to how they survived that many years in hell. and they often have to get their shop fixed up after the yearly extermination. that bit is annoying but outside of that, life is as peaceful as life in hell can be.

before Alastor disappeared for seven years, he used to be a somewhat regular customer, you made some pretty good breads and pastries. it was when he was starting to get more and more powerful as an overlord so you were very much on the verge of passing out everytime he came in the store and tried to limit the amount of words shared between the two of you. you never knew if you ever slipped and ended up offending him, you didn't want to be an another one of those broadcasted scream.

but once he reached his peak, a few years before his disappearance, you stopped being this tensed up around him, you started engaging in small talks with him, it wasn't anything extraordinary, mostly centering around the weather and what he choose to buy this time. at some point you even started to ask him to sample one of your creation before officially selling it.

you ended up being somewhat attached to the radio overlord.

and then he ... was gone. for seven years. you were somewhat sad about this, but you were not THAT close to him so you get over it.

but one day, while going about your day, while serving a customer you hear something weird, about a certain overlord being back.

you don't really believe in it, until you hear one of his broadcast, a small smile creep on your face hearing it. you're happy to hear him again, to know he is still alive and well. but you don't expect to see him in person or anything like this, you doubt he even remember you but one day, one morning shortly after you opened the bakery - you heard the little noise made from the bell of the entrance alerting you that someone has opened the front door, and you see him.

without thinking much, you smile at Alastor and give him a warm 'Good morning !' and again, without thinking you add 'It's been a while, glad to see you're back.' you only realize that one of the most powerful overlord could not like a measly sinner to talk to them like they are a friend when they are barely acquaintances that haven't seen each others in seven years.

but before you can correct yourself and let out a ton of 'sorry please don't kill me' Alastor answer you with a 'Hm, yes it's been quite some time. I am glad to see you still running this bakery dear.'

you simply nod at him and decide to ask what you ask every customers 'So what will you get today ?'.

[yanderes-galore]

I hope you are having a good day. Could you write a platonic concept for Glamrock Freddy sharing reader with Glamrock Bonnie? I replayed Ruin and seeing Freddy's poster again made me think that those two friends (or more, if you want to see them that way) would be a great team and work together to keep the reader to themselves.

Yeah I can do that, was not entirely sure how to write Bonnie so I winged it.

Yandere! Platonic Glamrock Freddy + Bonnie Sharing a Darling

Pairing: Platonic - Sharing

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Overprotective behavior, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Clingy behavior, Isolation, Forced companionship.

There's no canon Glamrock Bonnie personality but I'm going to make a new version compared to my other one.

We can assume Bonnie is very caring as Eclipse's line was meant to be for him if I remember correctly.

As a result, both bots are very caring to guests and STAFF.

We can assume this whole concept took place before Monty breaking Bonnie and the missing kids.

Bonnie is probably a little arrogant but not as much as his other counterparts.

For the most part he'd probably be similar to Freddy.

Although I also imagine him as carefree and fun loving.

You are most likely close to the two as their mechanic like I do in most fics, or at the very least you work at the Pizzaplex somehow.

I think you're right to assume the two would share a darling.

They're best friends and nearly inseparable.

I can't imagine the two fighting so they'll have no big problems sharing.

You often visit Bonnie Bowl and the Main Stage to see the two.

Unbeknownst to you, you're their favorite.

The blue bunny and orange bear often meet up to speak about their best friend.

They see you as part of their duo now trio.

They only bond even more when they realize they have a shared connection with you.

I imagine they'd gush about you to each other and are very excited when you stop by.

The two are no doubt your biggest fans and hope you care for them too.

Of course these two are going to be a great team.

They both keep track of you and share information about you with each other.

You always have a pair of eyes on you as you work.

At this point they know what you bring to lunch, where you frequent, what you like… they have a lot more information than they should.

As your friends… they have to learn everything, right?

That's what they tell each other as they pry into your personal life.

Obviously you'll notice you see the two everywhere.

They are the bots you see most often.

I imagine they'd both act as parental friends or dads at times with you.

They have to watch you for overworking, right?

Oh! Can't have you getting hurt, either.

Care for an ice cream? You can hang out with them at Bonnie Bowl!

You try not to feed into their behavior as you don't want to be fired for slacking off.

Such information makes the two upset.

Their friend can be taken away from them that easily?

Hm… that won't do.

They definitely act like robot caretakers at times.

If you express any emotions that aren't normal or have any injury, one of them is checking in.

Bonnie will have you follow him to Bonnie Bowl for a couple of games.

Freddy's checking you over and even passing you a plush toy.

It's nice they care but they make it difficult to get them to do their job.

The STAFF members keep giving weird looks.

Honestly, if you ever felt like quitting or were told you were being fired, you'd end up disappearing.

Why? Well, your two “friends” ended up taking you away.

Oh, they never liked the other STAFF around you anyways.

They also didn't appreciate you ignoring them.

There's no need to worry! They'd never hurt you.

So there's no need to look so scared as they stare down at you from the darkness.

They made a little room for you in the maintenance tunnels.

They'll feed you, care for you, and be your best friends!

Don't leave your little room… they made it just for you!

They filled it with merch of themselves, there's an old arcade machine, a collection of blankets and pillows to be your bed….

They couldn't just let you leave!

Now you won't have to…

With them… you'll have endless fun!

So please… stop crying… give them a smile!

[play-rough]

Re: pet regressors, what is comforting to you when you are in petspace? What activities do you do to play? What would you like your caretaker (owner? what’s the preferred terminology?) to do with you?

Ehehehehe, as someone who goes into little space and pet space at times, you have no idea how happy this question makes me ^-^ This post will bounce all over the place. Apologies in advance.

First topic, verbal communication ✨ sometimes I am capable of speaking, but the words are usually improper/grammatically incorrect due to the headspace. I prefer noises like whining/barking/mewling/squeaking (depending on what pet headspace I'm in).

Second topic, nonverbal communication 🤐 body language does play a good part of how you communicate with your owner or other pets in pet space. It lets another see your emotions or thoughts. Nuzzling, biting, head butting, pushing, leaning on, eye contact/motioning, licking, nibbling, rubbing against, pawing at, wriggles (picture excited dog that starts a full body shake when they hear the word "walk")—these are all different things I use to motion what I need or want. Because you write so much hurt/comfort, I also noted down a list of common behaviors I have when feeling certain emotions, but I have no idea if that's a tmi. (Side note, I can use ASL properly when in pet space, but it's a bit awkward.)

Third topic, lingo 💃 I usually see other people call it petspace, and for the most part I do as well. Animal headspace is a slightly different thing for me because it's not so,,, codependent? Usually I call my partner "master," and I refer to them as that or "owner" when talking to their people about my dynamic. I prefer the first in direct address, but certain nicknames work too when in headspace. I don't use either if I'm between little and pet space. I have a specific way of talking then.

Fourth topic, objects of interaction 🧸 toys and comfort objects are definitely important. I was a semi-destructive mess before I finally bought some to keep me from chewing on stuff I would have to repair later. Because I'm not always near my partner when I'm in pet space, I usually keep myself occupied. Hm, collars help ground me, and leashes are occasionally to my benefit. The collar's weight and significance of showing I have a master helps my head to not be so foggy/have me not spiral into on emotion, and the leash has two purposes depending. If I'm in petspace alone, it's something nice to play with with my hands. If my owner is holding it, it's a way I can immediately know where I'm looking for guidance/instruction.

Fifth topic, master-to-pet interaction 🤝 because my main pet space is dog/puppy, I'm a big fan of commands and training. When I talk to people about the dog in me I mean the acts of service girlypop who's very eager to please lol. Exercise/going on walks is also tons of fun. Romping in the grass is peak. But also toys >>> Toys are the best.

Sixth topic, little shittery 🤭 people in pet space are not exempt from a love of mischief or habits of getting into things. I'm more obedient when leaning towards dog, but when I'm in a feline headspace, I have no qualms about doing stuff I shouldn't. Knocking stuff off the table for fun, moving stuff around to frustrate someone, hiding a belonging that I should not have, stealing food—all this done while acting completely innocent. I will pull out big doe eyes and a curious purr while knowing I will be darting to go hide in a closet or under a bed the moment they figure out it's me who did it. Playing chase is fun; what can I say...

Seventh topic, miscellaneous notes 📝 • I don't like using eating utensils in petspace. It's just kinda weird for me to actively pay attention to. But if it's a command, I can momentarily get over it. • When punished by or frustrated at my owner, I'm more prone to being sulky in a cat petspace and being dejected in a dog headspace. Being snippy versus curling up and crying type thing. • I'm definitely possessive of my master in an odd way that makes me like to wear something to show I'm theirs. It's like a symbol that not only do I have an owner but they're also the love of my life, hehe. • Reading and writing are do-able in headspace, but I don't exactly like to. When I'm little, I just focus on the task and tell myself once I'm finished I can go get my blanket and hug it (if I'm big enough), but my attention span and energy levels in pet space usually have me falling asleep on any paperwork I'm supposed to be doing or be unable to do anything in a timely/constructive manner. Do-able but not very useful. • I'm neurodivergent, and that also affects my time in petspace. Auditory sensory issues become stronger, and I sometimes have to walk myself through some things I could normally do without thinking. • Crawling on all fours just feels more natural.

P.S. I was grinning like mad fool the entire time I was writing this.

P.P.S. because I had to go off to class before I could answer, I spent most of my day drafting up a reply and making notes.

-💜🐕‍🦺 (I might also use 💜🐕 depending on the mood sksksk I'll get into that explanation later if situations permit)

Thank you! This is all very very helpful!! I really enjoyed how detailed all your examples were and they will be very helpful for the petre fic 🥺🩷 thank you for taking the time to type all this up i really appreciate it!

[desceros]

Hello! Big fan! I had a couple of questions that I'd been wondering about. I hope they don't sound accusatory, I don't mean them that way, I was just curious to see if I was understanding. Basically, I started re-reading to catch all the little differences and I noticed two things:

April was touching Donnie pretty regularly out the gate. Does he not have trouble with her touch?

2. In light of chapter 23, I'm curious how Donnie can notice the second Viola-chan is upset through a mask, but missed all the romantic cues?

Feel free to answer, one, none, or both. I'm sorry if they've been asked before and, again, just thank you for sharing your work with all of us! Have a wonderful day!

wow!! excellent eye, anon-chan! that's the first time someone has noticed! or at least mentioned it. i'm very impressed! :0

so this hasn't come up yet, but to some extent, april can touch donnie, sort of, over his clothes and on his shell. he really prefers her not to and gets irritable when she does, but when there's something going on (...like donnie being nasty to viola-chan in chapter 2) she's going to do something about it (like pinching him or smacking his shell; also to stop him from saying something nasty after mistaking viola-chan for an anti-mutant bigot). but that's as far as they go. anything more than a brief touch, donnie doesn't tolerate it, and it's quite rare.

you may have noticed that april is less surprised than the others when she hears that donnie touches viola-chan, and that's why. to her, it's not as. hm. shocking? there's actually a scene coming up uh... soon-ish... chapter after next maybe? where april talks to viola-chan about this very thing. so i shan't say more on the topic!

as for your second question, donnie doesn't know what's wrong with viola-chan in chapter 23. all he knows is that, for some reason, she's masking, and that disturbs him. it's quite common for autistic people to study others in an attempt to learn how to mirror their emotions and to mask. (i do this myself without realizing it often times, and on purpose if i'm, like, in a business meeting or talking to someone important.)

donnie, being the way he is, over the course of turtle time and also just from spending time with viola-chan, has done this to an extreme. he's meticulously catalogued every little twitch her face can make, across a wide berth of emotional states. recordings of her voice. thorough examinations of her movements. he knows her. so when she starts acting strangely out of nowhere, in a manner that seems artificial, he takes note. then, when he sees how viola-chan reacts to leo, that's when he puts together that the masking is something from a place of harm, and that leo is likely the cause. hence begins the interrogation.

i'd go into a deeper analysis of donnie's emotional state for viola-chan and romance specifically, but... hm.... that's perhaps leaning a bit into spoiler territory. by which i mean i started to answer this like. three different ways and kept butting against spoilers, hahaha so i shan't say any more on that, either!

anywho thank you for your ask, and i hope that cleared things up. uh. a little tiny bit since a lot of it is "you'll learn soon" as an answer hahahaha

[howlingday]

A Big RWBY Party

Yang: Hey! Hi! How's it going? Welcome to the party! Come on in!

Weiss: Ugh... Why did we agree to this?

Blake: Yang said it would be a great way to meet new people.

Weiss: Jaune isn't going to be here, is he?

Ruby: No. He had a thing going on already.

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

Jaune: (Sleeping)

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

Yang: Hey, how's it goin'? You enjoyin' the party?

"Fan": Hardly. This party is so boring?

Yang: Oh, really? What's wrong?

"Fan": This music is so loud and obnoxious, you could probably replace it with anything from the Sonic the Hedgehog games. It's also really annoying that it's always made by the same two people.

Yang: Uh-huh... Well, uh, I'll check the song list and see what else we got in the ol' music library.

"Fan": Whatever. It's not there's anything good to do with the music anyways.

Yang: ...

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

Blake: Hey, uh, how's the food?

"Fan": Terrible. It's all the same crap.

Blake: ...It is?

"Fan": It's either something so salty, it might as well be a bowl of salt, or it's so fluffy that I'd rather be eating a pillow.

Blake: Uh...

"Fan": And more than half of them are just bananas! Like, there's other fruits out there people can eat!

Blake: ...What bananas? Where?

"Fan": Ugh, and don't get me started on these "thirst" traps!

Blake: ...You mean the punch?

"Fan": You just know whoever made these are just hiding behind the "it's implied" excuse. We all know you're a pervert, so just admit it and jump off a bridge and die! Ugh!

Blake: ...What the hell just happened?

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

Nora: I love you, Ren~.

Ren: I love you, too, Nora. (Pokes her nose) Boop.

"Fan": UUUUUUGH! CRIIIINGE!

Weiss: Hey! What the hell is your problem?!

"Fan": This is so forced it hurts to look at! There's no way they should end up together!

Weiss: And who are you to decide that?

"Fan": Soneone who clearly understands how the real world works. Unlike SOME of us.

Weiss: What are you talking about?

"Fan": She was pining after him for years, and the only thing they have in common is their shared trauma. That is not any kind of healthy relationship. It's called enabling each other's flaws.

Weiss: Wh-

"Fan": Also, you are a shitty person because you didn't just stab Jaune when he couldn't take the hint.

Weiss: Why would I-?!

"Fan": Jaune was a stalker and you didn't tell anyone. Just like you didn't tell anyone that Velvet was being bullied.

Weiss: That was years ago!

"Fan": And what have you done now to fix it?

Weiss: I-

"Fan": Whatever. I'm done associating myself with someone who refuses to acknowledge that they're a terrible person.

Weiss: ...

Nora: You okay, Weiss?

Ren: What an absolute-

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

Ruby: Come on, midnight... I want these people to leave.

"Fan": And you.

Ruby: Huh?

"Fan": You are the worst, most sorry excuse of a character I have ever met.

Ruby: I am?

"Fan": First off, your look is so cliché, it hurts. Red Riding Hood with a gun? Real original. Also, what are you, fourteen? You shouldn't even be near these people, let alone going on the same adventures as them. You're a liar and a fraud, just like that idiot Jaune; you just cheated your way into school. The big difference is that you did it by breaking the law and being a vigilante who should have just let the police do their job. But with a thug like your sister, who breaks into bars under the legal drinking age and sexually assaults grown men before destroying their business without getting any punishment because her tits are somehow fatter than her head, I'd say it's no wonder.

Ruby: ...

"Fan": Of course, it's not she's the only bad influence in your life. Your deadbeat dad was a womanizer who got what was coming to him, and your uncle is an alcoholic mess who had to change his voice because he didn't know the meaning of the words, "no" and "stop".

Ruby: Hm...

"Fan": And finally, your "accomplishments" are so forced that you might as well change your name to Mary-Ann Susan. Everything just has to go ypur way because you know how the world works. You want to be so much like your mommy, but you don't want to put in the effort to actually better yourself.

Ruby: I see.

"Fan": You, your friends, this party, and everything you touch becomes a bigger and bigger trash fire the more you stick your nose into it, no matter how much you and your racist, sexist, homophobic "friends" try to make it better. You're a disgrace to your mother, and an abomination to your father.

Ruby: ...

"Fan": ...

Ruby: ...Are you done?

"Fan": I... I had some other things to say, but I can't remember them right now.

Ruby: Okay. I think I get what you're saying. Honestly, some of that stuff does kinda make sense when you think about it.

"Fan": Really?

Ruby: Mhm. But I also think you should leave.

"Fan": What?! Oh, I get it! You're trying to silence me because I'm telling the truth!

Ruby: No, I'm asking you to leave because you came to this party, but instead of just enjoying it for what it is, all you've done since you showed up is complain without offering anything actually constructive as criticism. This is a party for people to have fun, and you showing up, making fun of it, and then acting like you know how things should but not offering anything except even more criticism is just... dumb. Like, really, really dumb.

Ruby: They're here to have fun. And we're here for their fun, too. Because we believe in the message they all believe in, too. And that's why we're here. To make it better.

"Fan": I...

Fan: Can I stay? Just a little longer?

Ruby: If you promise not to be such jerk anymore, then I'm okay with it.

Fan: Yeah. I want to make it better, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now I know as I say this, there will be some [viewers] saying that they think [creator] doesn't have quality or quantity and that everything [they] do is wrong. People will often disguise their comments as 'constructive criticism' even though they word in a way that isn't just mean, but as pompous, and often to prop themselves up as some sort of authority because of their own experience while also disregarding the experience of the actual successful creator of multiple shows with millions of fans worldwide."

- Deep Cut, Cartoon Universe

[docholligay]

What would be your dream race? Real or made up.

Hm, I mean, I would love to run a LOT of the world ones: London I put in for the ballot every year, I would really really love to run the London Monuments half, but I haven't put in for the ballot for it--my grandmother has said she'll help me pay to run London if I get in, but a half marathon is not impressive to her ahaha, and London is the only marathon she gives a shit about that's not Boston (I cannot qualify for Boston)--but someday if I have the free cash I'll probably put in for the monuments half.

Someday, SOMEday, I'll run the Marathon du Medoc, which has oysters and wine and steak and shit along the way, and has people throw up all the time, because it also has a rule I VERY much support: you have to be able to run the marathon in 6:30. That's not crazsy at all, that's only a 14:50 pace, BUT, if you're stopping at everything, as a practical matter you have to have a fair amount of cushion time.

So as a practical matter I'd want to make sure I could run a marathon in a 10 minute mile. That DOES NOT sound impressive. Until it's like, mile 20. (Seriously, if I drew London tomorrow my strategy would be 'survive'. Until beeb is in klindergarten, i don't have the time to train for a marathon. Cutoff for london is a 15 minute mile, I would come up with a run/walk strategy to survive the thing so I didn't DNF)

There are plenty I WOULD run: Paris, Tokyo, I do put in for Chicago, NYC, but those 3 above are probably my "If you said I could run whatever" choices. On the ground right now, whole trip being paid for it would be the Monuments half, because I know I can run a half without trouble. And I LOVE running through cities, especially major cities.

Now, if I had a shit ton of money and I could put on my own race, so looking forward to making everyone SO mad at me:

The Kawaii Ass Bitch Magical Girl Women's Run!

There would be the 5k, 10k, and Half.

There would be a drawing to win a Tokyo Marathon Package with guaranteed entry for the racers. This is, last I looked, worth about 6k.

If you run the 5k, you get one entry, if you run the 10k, you get two entries, if you run the half, you get three.

Anyway, also along the course I would have some cool stuff! At the start of the 10k/Mile 6ish, I would have a bunch of kids in the local band playing some magical girl themes and the like (I would pay them) and at the 5k start/the last 3ish miles for everyone else, I would have a big arch that would be all decorated and everything, and as you run through, there are speakers playing different attacks and power ups and the like from different magical girl properties. There's a spot on the course I'm thiniking of where you would have to go through a tunnel, I light it all up with those LED rolls so it's like a transformation for you.

Maybe before every start the countdown to the start gun would be Zettai Unmei, that sounds fun to me.

Anyway, the last stretch before the finish line would be playing the outers (read: harumichi) transformation music, and I would SOMEHOW figure out how to have fans blowing either fake or real rose petals, depending on the permits I could get ahaha.

Because it would be putting you up to run a marathon, it would presume you are of the athletic quality to run a marathon, at least potentially. So the cutoff times would be as follows. THEY ARE AGGRESSIVE FOR MOST PEOPLE'S TASTES.

5k: 30 minutes

10k: 1 hour 3 minutes

Half: two hours fifteen minutes

If you don't cross the finish line in that time, your name isn't in the randomizer.

Why? I get fucked every time I run the run to the pub by a bunch of 10k slow walkers in the last goddamn mile or so, walking four abreast for funsies. By the time I hit these people, the 10k has been started for AN HOUR AND A HALF. The draw prize is a place in the Dublin marathon, pretty much like what I'm suggesting above. I am bitter about this. I am bitter about fucking slamming into a bunch of people who could not fucking finish the Dublin and killing me when I am at the toughest point of the race, for me. I would hope this would encourage people who want to walk, to walk somewhere else. You can all think I am a villain, and that is fucking fine. There are some years the people who won did not even RUN the race. This INFURIATES me. Hate me! It's cool!

Also there's beer at the end I hate a fucking race without beer at the end.

[kikidoesfanfic]

Island Demogorgon Daily

Demogorgon daily prompt Isand for the @strangerthingswritersguild discord

On Ao3 here

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"Maybe we can go on a holiday," Steve says, head leaning back against the wall of the boat house. "After all this is done, we deserve a break right?"

"Hm? A holiday?" Eddie scoffs, "not all of us are rolling in it Harrington."

"Yeah, because Family Video pays me a fortune," he rolls his head to look at Eddie, sees him looking at him sceptically. "My parents didn't love that I wasn't accepted by the college they wanted, they don't even pay the utilities any more dude they haven't been home since..." it takes him a moment to place it, they'd stopped in twice in '83 to pick up clothes, more of his mother's jewellery, that sort of thing. "They haven't been in the house for more than a day or two at a time since long before junior year when all this stuff started."

"Well. That's a bummer, way to bring down the mood," Eddie says, but the corner of his mouth is lifted, like he's teasing.

"Oh sorry, we can go back to talking about evil wizards and demo creatures if you want?" He jokes back.

"You know, you guys still haven't told me everything from the beginning, maybe you could?" Eddie hesitates before adding, "maybe not tonight, though. It's already hard enough to sleep in this place."

"Good idea, this place is..." Steve grimaces as he looks around, the boathouse hasn't been very well maintained, broken boards around the place and water damage rotting through. It creaks with even the slightest gust of wind in a way that makes them both flinch, sitting in the dark on high alert and listening out for anyone coming closer. The way it keeps sending his heart rate up hasn't been fun. "I wanted to move you to my place, but I was outvoted."

"Aw Harrington, concerned about little ol' me out here all alone?" Eddie bats his eyelashes, swooning with the back of his hand against his forehead into Steve's side, a long line of heat in the cold.

"I'm here, aren't I?" He leans into Eddie in return when he doesn't pull away, he wouldn't want to be alone here, so he won't leave Eddie here by himself either.

"Yeah, you are." Eddies smile goes soft, more genuine, "so, you mentioned a holiday? Where are you taking me?"

"I don't know, I was thinking something easy, drive across the country, have a road trip, see the sights."

"See the sights? Go for a drive?" Eddie says flatly, "wow you're really swinging for the fences there, big ambition on you."

"Oh yeah? Well where would you go then?" Steve huffs, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I wanted to see the world, travel to new places. I always thought one day the band would take off, and we'd tour and then I'd be able to go anywhere I wanted." He looks sort of wistful, sad, so Steve has to interrupt.

"I mean it still could take off, I only heard you guys the one time, but you're not bad." Eddie slouches down a little further, so he can tip his head back and look at Steve upside down.

"Not bad? High and lofty praise from the king there, and-" he sits up, turning to face Steve properly with his jaw dropped, "wait when did you see us play?" Steve can't say he isn't enjoying the shocked look on Eddie's face.

"At The Hideout? I can't really remember any of the songs but I do remember thinking you were good." Eddie takes a moment to gather himself after that, exaggeratedly lifting his jaw up with his hand and flopping dramatically back into Steve's side.

"Well I never," he says, talking like some sort of southern belle from a movie, fanning himself with his hand. "Not only are we not bad, but good even, and I thought you were gushing before, I'm gonna catch a case of the vapors, I may faint right here."

"Such a dork," Steve says, shaking his head and shoving Eddie off, though not quite able to smother down the smile at his antics. "So that's it then? World tour, your name in lights, and adoring fans? Doesn't really sound like a holiday though, it sounds like work."

"Depends how all of this goes I guess, it's funny, being hunted by a mob makes crowds chasing me down and having no privacy seem even less appealing."

"We'll go somewhere quiet, then," Steve says matter of fact. "Some island somewhere with a deserted beach to lay on and drink out of coconuts with a straw, no other people in sight."

"Coconuts huh? I could maybe get behind that, you'd have to promise to help me rub sunscreen on my back though, this delicate skin is not meant for direct sunlight." He says it all sly, leaning back in towards Steve like he expects him to pull back, recoil and make a joke of it. Steve maybe chooses another direction, leaning in himself with a smirk.

"If you want my hands all over you so badly all you gotta do is ask, Munson." He watches Eddie blink, face getting redder in increments until he pulls back and thumps his head against the wall.

"Don't start things you aren't willing to follow through on, Stevie," Eddie says, voice gone just a little mean like he thinks he's being made fun of, "you'll get a boy's hopes up."

"I've been told I'm pretty reliable these days, actually," Steve says, "stick around and I'll prove it." Eddie turns to stare at him, stare hard like he's looking right into Steve's soul to judge his sincerity. Steve lets him look his fill, he might not have noticed Eddie like this while they were at school together, more in an offhanded 'I'm envious that guy can be so himself' kind of way, but in the last year things have changed. Taking the kids back and forth to hellfire and catching glimpses of Eddie in his element, hearing all the kids stories, and then seeing him up on stage like that, all passionate and wild and free.

Anyone would be hard pressed not to crush on the guy after that.

"Alright, sure thing Sweetheart, if we both make it out of this we'll go have an island holiday, and you can prove it." He looks at Steve, eyes glittering with mirth, like he doesn't quite believe Steve but he's willing to play along for the bit. That's okay though, Steve will show him.

Ugh he's gonna have to ask Robin which islands are good islands to holiday on isn't he. She's gonna ask him why and then be utterly merciless.

Oh well, he thinks, eyes locked onto Eddie's silly little smirk. It'll be worth it.

[vigilanteshtagain]

JJK HEADCANONS: CHRISTMAS EDITION

This is way too long but I hope you enjoy nonetheless.

GOJO: Okay, he takes Christmas VERY seriously. He's the type of person who will go out and beyond to have the best decorated house on his street. The one with the most lights and decorations? Yeah that's Gojo's house.

Is it because his birthday is in december? Is it because his self proclaimed son was born three days before Christmas? Is it because he killed his best friend on Christmas day and he has to cover up the void with something uplifting? WHO KNOWS.

But there are two things this man does very well on said holiday:

- He arrives LATE to the party. This man CANNOT arrive on time to save his life, he will do everything he's not supposed to do right before leaving for Jujutsu Tech's Christmas dinner (Idc if it exists or not, it exists in MY head). He'll be like "oh, that window is really dirty, I should clean it NOW", "hm I haven't seen that one shirt I used for Christmas last year, I need to find it now, my life depends on it", "Suguru and I used ugly matching sweaters on Christmas of 2007, maybe I should wear it again but where did I put it? (he finds it and cries for an hour)". And when he DOES arrive, everyone will stare at him like he's the Grinch.

- He LOVES opening gifts. Nothing much can be said, he's definitely the type to make everyone meet at the living room to make them open the gifts. Number one fan of gift opening.

NANAMI: (God knows I cried writing this after last week's episode) I had to think hard about this one, mostly because I don't see him as someone who celebrates Christmas in a big way, probably he just buys a pretty expensive bread or a Charcuterie board and calls it a day. HOWEVER, if he plans to celebrate it one day, for once in his life, it would be orchestrated by none other than Yuji, because and I quote "Nanami shouldn't be spending such a happy day alone :(" And so he invites the first years and Gojo (and Ijichi) to celebrate Christmas at his house.

- He's the one responsible for Christmas dinner. He'll cook the turkey, he'll buy the best wine he can find (and non alcoholic sparkling apple cider because he has minors over), he'll bake the most delicious dessert you'll ever try in your life. And while the Turkey is baking, he will set up the table for everyone invited, with assigned seats (Yuji to his left, Gojo to his right). And of course he has to leave an empty chair at the table for Haibara, because he might not be there physically, but Nanami will always have a space in his life for him. (Jesus please someone tell me to SHUT THE FUCK UP)

NOBARA: (Yes, I'm adding salt to the wound) She either LOVES Christmas or she's pretty chill about it. But she loves a gold old Christmas dinner party, there's no force on this earth that will stop her from attending. And this leads me to my main point, she is pretty eager for everyone to open the gifts she gave them, why? Well

- She considers that the most important day in December is Gift Shopping Day-mas, yes she has a name for it. She will walk for HOURS from store to store trying to find the perfect gifts for her friends, no matter how much she will end up spending that day. "An expensive hoodie and a pair of sneakers for Yuji, a special limited edition of Megumi's favorite book, a wrist watch for Gojo, no that's too plain, maybe a shirt. Or an expensive colgone, or-". She'll go out and beyond for the gifts she'll give.

YUJI: This came very easy to me, as he is one of the most excited for Christmas, only second to Gojo. You know him, Itadori is the most energetic and good hearted person in Jujutsu Tech, to say he hates Christmas is a nasty lie because:

- There is not a single activity in this earth that compares to decorating for Christmas. He'll spend entire days trying to fix the Christmas lights on the rooftop in a symmetrical way, making sure every snowman is in place and every single one of the has to have a different face (just for shits and giggles).

- He is the designated Christmas lights Detangler™. And he takes his job seriously, spending hours trying to figure out the knots on the cables and the best way to detangle them without damaging the wires. It's an impressive job, even he admits it came natural to him when he was a kid, and he has done it ever since.

MEGUMI: He has never been one to get particularly excited for Christmas as he has never celebrated it in a proper way, nor he is interested in doing so. HOWEVER, he remembers two specific Christmas that have a special place in his heart. The first time he and Tsumiki saved enough money to buy a cake on Christmas day, Tsumiki said that it was to have a double celebration, as his birthday and Christmas day are only three days apart. The second time was the first Christmas he spent with Gojo, because that man went out and about to make this the best Christmas of their entire life. Food, gingerbread houses, hot chocolate, putting up the tree and decorating the whole house, allowing them to DIY their own Christmas tree ornaments (Which Gojo still has and still uses them in his Christmas tree to this day). But there is an activity I see him engaging without complaining:

- Gift wrapping. Now, I don't know if this really is a Christmas activity but in my personal experience it is and its a very nice activity I keep close to my heart. So once he has done all his Christmas shopping, he will lock himself in his bedroom and sit on the cold floor just to wrap up the well thought gifts he bought for everyone, yes including Gojo. He'll buy different gift wrap papers for the sake of knowing which gift is which, not because he chooses the paper according to the person's taste, not at all. He has to wrap them up perfectly smooth, no creases or rough edges because hes a perfectionist.

The only reason i didn't include Geto in this was because i could NOT think about something Christmas-y for him. Also becasue he was killed on Christmas day so there was not much he could be doing. I'm so sorry i swear I like him.

ALSO, I will be writing a spanish version of this post with a little twist because God knows Christmas in a Hispanic household hits different. And it's also a way for me to know how many people will enjoy/interact with that post since i dont see any spanish content of JJK on Tumblr, I see it mostly on TikTok but I don't have the time to manage two accounts on different platforms so.

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression: Vol.23 - Watching Hanshin vs. Orix in the Japan series.

·Kaoru explaining Hanshin's progress so far, imagining himself doing the ceremonial first pitch, and learning English through the window of the Hanshin Tigers.

J: Ah this is an important moment...whats his name? Dongu?

T: Not Dongu, TONGU.

J: Oh, Tongu! This must be the most important moment of the game so far.

T: Ah, it's exciting!

J: This must be the most important moment so far....go on, go on!

K, J, T: Aghhhh!

J: Eh?! Was that a walk?

K: No, no.

J: Its three balls, one strike??

K: Yes

J: The batter chose not to swing there, right?

K: Yeah

J: Or he just couldn't manage it?

K: Well, it could be either.

J: Come on, come on, come on!

T: Oh, a strike!

J: A strike?! Ohh, interesting from Tongu.

K: Haha, you just wanna say that!

T: Hang on, hang on! The broadcast started!

J: No way! We are on air already?? Leader, do the greeting!

K: Im Tongu.

J: Tongu! And im Hikomaro!

K: No, not Hikomaro, he isn't even there!

J: No, but there is that one who looks like him though, right?

K: Ah, Mune! Are you trying to mock him??

J: No no, the Orix players are...

J, K, T: Ahhhhhhh!

J: Yeahhh, lets go!!

K: This is what I like.

J: Crisis averted, right?

K: Yeah.

J: Easy going from now.

K: Ahh, we're off! At last.

T: Yeah, haha, at last.

J: Yep, and we can finally get started with Niconama too.

T: Oh, we're on niconama today?

J: Yes, we are! Look at all the comments!

T: Thanks for all the comments!

K: But we are also on Youtube too.

J: Yep, so today we are watching the 4th game of the Nihon series on the channel...what is it? Hulu?

K: Yes, Hulu.

J: Yes, so we are watching it on Hulu. We can't show you our screen, so if you have a spare screen, get it on at home too.

*Kaoru reaches behind to update the score on the white board, and writes a big 0 for Orix*

T: Ah, yes. This is Kaoru's job today.

J: What a big zero!

K: Yeah, I wanna fill all the rest like this too! haha

J: Haha, yeah. By the way, today's broadcast is titled 'Go go Tigers! Aiming for Japan no.1 special!!'

*applause*

J: So we are gonna have a drink while watching the game! We will do a toast soon, so everyone at home please have a drink ready too. Ok, Leader, its the 4th game, right? So, could you please explain what that means for people who know nothing about it (myself included), and tell us what has happened in the Nihon series so far.

K: Well, for the Nihon series, the first team to get 4 wins is Japan champion. Today is the 4th game, Hanshin won the first game, Orix won the 2nd game, and Orix won the 3rd game. We'll have to see what happens in the 4th game today.

J: So at this point, Hanshin have won 1 and lost 2?

K: Yeah

J: How did they score in that first game?

K: 8 - 0

J: Yeahhhh!

T: And Kaoru, did you say you were there for that game??

K: Yes, I went to Kyocera Dome to watch it.

J: Ohhhh! Where are our souvenirs??

K: I forgot, haha

J: You forgot to bring us souvenirs??! Thats the most important thing!

K: I left them at the studio, we've just been rehearsing for the tour. I did buy some Hanshin manju type things, but I left them all in the studio for everyone. I didn't bring any here.

J: Ahh, it would have been great to eat those now while supporting the team! Anyway, how was it at the game??

K: It was good, it was my first time to watch baseball at Kyocera dome, so it was quite refreshing.

J: Ahh, were there fewer Hanshin fans there?

K: Hmm, no, about half and half.

J: And it was a thrashing victory with 8-0.

K: Hm, is thrashing the right word? haha

J: Yes, of course it is! I bet you enjoyed it..How did you feel?

K: Oh, I felt great.

T: Haha, I've never seen Kaoru this happy.

J: You can see how happy he is with the way he just leaned back slightly then! haha. We don't see this very often. Look, that comment says 'I'm gad they won when you went'.

K: Yeah, absolutely. Because the next day, the score totally flipped, we lost 8-0.

J: Ahh, that badly? Leader, your presence is good luck for the team.

K: Yeah right?? I need to go to all the games.

J: Thats right! So what happened in the 3rd game?

K: That was yesterday at Koshien. We lost 5-4. We started to catch up towards the end, but couldn't make it in the end. Hanshin have a bit of a self destructive image when they lose. They tend to make a lot of errors and stuff. But they are not like that today...Anyway, in the 2nd and 3rd games, Orix gained the upper hand.

J: Hm, yeah. Hanshin couldn't take it back. And today is the 4th game...what innings are they in now?

K: The third innings.

J: And Hanshin are in attack.

K: Yes...Oyama, he just hasn't got the hang of it yet today.

J: Who is Oyama, what does he do?

K: He is a baseball player.

J: Yes, but what number/position etc?

K: He is number 3, and in first.

J: And despite this, he isn't hitting??

K: I'm not sure whether 'despite this' applies here, haha.

T: He just isn't hitting today.

J: Ah, he is not in good form today?

T: Yeah

J: But Hanshin are in the lead, right? How did they manage that?

T: Oh look, its Neuse!!

K: Ah, yes, good good.

J: Who was that?

K: Neuse.

T: Neuse is in good form.

K: Yeah, he is.

J: So now...

T: What?

J: Hm? Hang on?...Neuse leaves base, bottom of the third innings, Hanshin in attack, 2 out, Neuse hits, passes first base. Won't they score points from here on?

K: Yeah, I think so.

J: Ah, so its still ok.

K: Can't we have a drink yet?

J: Oh, ok.

K: Haha

J: Let me just explain the show quickly! Even if you don't like baseball, you can still enjoy this show. And we are always taking your messages, you all know this, right? Any, thoughts, comments, questions, please send them in. X (formerly Twitter) users can use the tag TFOE. The first part of the show is free for anyone to watch, but the second part is for channel members only, so you need to be a member if you want to watch to the end. If you join, you can watch this broadcast in the archives for 1 year, and there are also members only videos too, so please join using the link at the top of the screen. Also, in the second part of the show today we will be asking Kaoru all about the European tour scheduled for next year.

T: Loads of variety!

J: Thats right. You can't miss it!! Ok, Leader, its time for a toast! Everyone at home, join us too. Just a sec, Leader...ok ready now.

K: Joe, you can do it.

J: No no, you have to.

T: *raises hand* Ok, I'll do it.

K: *raises hand* No, I'll do it. (※This is a reference to a tv comedy skit by ダチョウ倶楽部/Ostrich Club, where the third guy is tricked into raising his hand to volunteer for something after seeing the other two raise theirs first)

J: Eh?! Who? Ok, Leader, you do it.

T: Agghh, haha

K: Agghh, of course, he doesn't watch tv so he doesn't get it!

J: Eh?! What?!

K: Nothing, nothing.

J: Ahh, Im sorry I ruined the joke!...Oh, it was that Ostrich method??

K: Of course, it was.

J: I just saw someone write it in the comments, haha.

K: Anyway, lets have a drink and enjoy watching the Nihon Series...Kanpai!

J, T: Kanpai!

J: So, Leader, they won when you went to the stadium, so we should support them as if we were there in the stadium today.

K: Of course!

J: That way it will help. If we half-heartedly support them, our support won't reach them.

K: Ahh, yes, thats right.

J: We've really got to be out of the ordinary.

K: Haha, you are so excited.

T: Joe, you know the least about baseball of all of us, yet you are the most excited.

J: No, but we've really got to imagine ourselves at Koshien! Is that where this is?

K: Yes...We have to?

J: Absolutely.

T: There is a comment saying Kaoru's hat is cute! Its unusual, right?

J: Was this a specially made item?

K: No, these are regular merch. It comes in different colours, even blue etc. You wouldn't be able to tell it was Hanshin merch just at a glance.

J: No, you wouldn't.

T: Isn't this one an unusual colour though?

K: I bought this years ago.

J, T: Ehh?

J: Ahh, yes, there is all sorts of Hanshin merch. You know, I wanted to wear that Hanshin happi to support the team today, but the staff forgot to bring it.

T: Haha, you should prepare that yourself.

J: I was thinking about wearing that pink happi, so I wore like totally room wear to go under it.

K: Haha, room wear? That doesn't matter.

J: Haha, well, whatever I'm wearing I'm at Koshien in spirit.

K: Yeah. Ah, I'll just update the scoreboard.

J: Oh, yeah. So, last time we had Morikawa Toshiyuki on the show, right? That was fun. What did you think, Leader?

K: Oh, I'm so grateful to him...Coming on a show like this.

J: Yeah, and he supports the Baystars.

K: Yeah, I felt sorry.

J: Yeah, cause they didn't do well, right?

T: Haha, he even came in here singing Rokkou Oroshi.

K: I'm really grateful to him.

T: There are not many people who know as much about professional baseball as he does.

J: He is such a great guy, we had a lot of fun. Yeah, we laughed a lot. If you are a channel member you can rewatch it in the archives. There are comments coming in saying it was incredible, and that Morikawa san was perfect at singing Rokkou Oroshi!

T: It would be good if we could do that kind of thing again sometime.

J: Yeah, last time was perfect though, with those talk topics and Morikawa san's personality. Anyway, today we are watching the Hanshin vs. Orix game, and I'm sure things will get exciting whenever the game heats up, but in the meantime the staff have prepared various fun things for us to talk about. So lets sandwich some of these in while we watch the game. The first topic is 'Dream ceremonial pitch'!

*applause*

J: Don't hold back, everyone! We gotta show our support! Ok, loads of different people have done the ceremonial pitch before, right? So I'm gonna ask both Kaoru and Tasai, if you were to do the ceremonial pitch, how would you do it? What music would you enter to, what would you wear, how would you throw etc, etc. Its a brilliant topic to talk about!

K: Who did the ceremonial pitch today? That rugby guy? The one who never smiles.

T: Was it Inagaki....?

J: Inagaki Goro? (*member of SMAP.....Kaoru is actually referring to rugby player Inagaki Keita*)

K: Not Inagaki Goro! haha

J: Haha, I don't know. Ah! Is it that half Japanese guy who looks like Inagaki Goro??

T: Haha, no no. Ah, *reading comments* it seems like his name is Inagaki though.

J: We just can't remember his given name.

K: Well, anyway, he did the ceremonial pitch today.

J: How do they actually choose who does it?

K: We should have asked Morikawa san this last time!

J: Right! He has done it before, hasn't he?!

T: I guess the team just choose someone.

J: Kaoru, have you ever been asked to do it?

K: Haha, no.

J: Oh, but to have a world famous musician like you sypporting them so much...!

K: No no.

T: What are they thinking by not asking you?!

J: Right?!

K: Guys, stop talking like this! They'll never ask me now, hahaha.

T: Hanshin players, please consider it!!

J: Look, there are comments saying they want you to do the ceremonial pitch! Anyway, Leader, if you did do it, how would you like it to be?

K: Hmm, well, I don't really like it when people try to make it all about them...

J: Ahh, some people are like that when they do this, right? I mean, I havnt really seen many people doing it though.

T: Yeah, it is often like that.

K: So, I would probably just go out, greet the crowd, and simply throw the ball.

T: Yeah, Joe, did you know, celebrities and such who do the ceremonial pitch often get booed if they try to appeal to the crowd to much. Its like, "Just get on with it!"

K: Yeah, cause no-one is there to see that.

J: Its unnecessary, right?

T: Yeah, sometimes that happens. But when Yanagisawa Shingo did it, they crowd was pretty happy....You know who that is, right?

J: Ah, yes, that comedian right?

T: Yeah

K: Well, if its someone very famous who everyone knows, it works.

J: Ah, its tough, it only works with big names. What does that comment say?

T: 'Degawa(Testurō) took his trousers off'...

K: Ah, someone like Degawa san is fun, you'd wanna see that, right?

J: Yeah! But Kaoru, you would just keep it very simple?

K: Yeah.

J: What about you, Tasai? How would you do it? Gyōza themed?

T: Im not all about gyōza, you know!

J: A gyōza shaped glove or something? Oh, what just happened in the game? He is out?

K: Yeh, at second base.

T: I mean, I'd probably want to do something UFO or kappa related. I'd do it with determination.

J: Well, Tokyo Sports are big enough misfits for that to work.

T: Haha, someone wrote 'throw a gyōza'

K: Throw a gyōza??

J: They wouldn't expect that!

T: They'd be asking me to leave! haha

J: Leader, someone just asked in the comments 'Would you do it if you were asked?'

K: Well, yeah, I wanna do it.

T: Hanshin, please consider it!

J: Ahh, so you wouldn't hesitate if you were asked. But, hey, its quite a long throw, right?

K: Yeah, I don't know if my throw would reach far enough. But remember, Morikawa san warned against practicing too much, or you'll be unable to throw on the day.

J: Yeah, but its a bit embarrassing if your throw doesn't reach.

K: Yeah, it might not.

J: What would you do then?

K: Well, yeah, cause most people have never thrown a ball from that kinda raised mound before, right? You have to throw it from above.

J: How high is that mound?

T: Quite high, but it depends on the stadium.

J: Really? So the pitchers have to maintain their accuracy even at different heights in each stadium?

T: Well, pitchers do have preferences about which mounds are easier or harder for them. And teams will even alter the mounds in their stadium to try to put the opposition to a disadvantage.

J: Ahh, to make it harder for them? This is such a grown ups' game!

T: Haha.

J: It all depends on so many factors, even with the top players.

K: Well, I guess because they are only active for a short time.

T: Kaoru, if you did the ceremonial first pitch, would you walk out to a DIR song? Like in that movie 'Major Leage'?

K: No no no, whatever the team preapres in advance is fine with me.

J: No, but I think the team would ask you about the music, since you are a musician.

K: No, I'd be fine with just a normal introduction, then just getting on with it. Playing a song of ours deliberatly, then walking in is really cringe!

J: Haha

K: I'd feel like apologizing!

T: Haha, I see.

J: Ah, whats going on with the game?? Do we need to check it?

T: *reading comments* 'Kaoru can throw towels to the 2nd floor'. Have you done that before??

K: Yeah, I think so.

T: Ehhh?! Do they reach that far?

K: If you drench them in water they do. And you have to throw underarm. Throwing overarm wouldn't work.

T: You are really good at underarm throwing. You throw all those picks too, right?

J: Yeah, and you squirt water out from your water bottle. I like that, its kinda kinky.

T: Haha, really??

K: Yeah, cause thats the only way Joe sees the world.

J: Its true!

K: Haha

J: I'm embarrassingly pervy about everything. Do you have a problem wth that? haha. Anyway, I'm going all out today, remember.

T: Ah yes, right. 'Joe always brings up dirty topics'.

J: Anyway, lets just check on the game.

T: Hirooka is doing well.

J: What doea Hirooka do?

T: He is a baseball player.

J: No, I mean his order and position etc.

T: He is number 8, but...hm, Im not sure.

*K eats cheese and ham snack*

J: This is no time to be eating ham.

K: But I'm hungry.

*J and T discuss the game for a few secs while K concentrates on eating snacks*

K: Mm, this tastes good.

J: Yeah, ham and cheese. I complained that the snacks were too cheap looking before, so now they are a bit more luxurious.

K: Ahh, ham, cheese, and crackers gives off more of a distinguished air, right?

J: Yeah. If people donate to us, we might get even better snacks.

K: Nah, I dont mind..You're the one who makes the most noise about this. Its you who got our bentos changed to curry.

J: Ah, yes! I really love that curry, but there is a yakiniku restaurant on the first floor of this building, right? And before now we've had yakiniku bentos, so today I avoided meat all day in anticipation, I was kinda disappointed we got curry again.

K: You're the one who made them give us curry!!

J: No, but this is the time and place for yakiniku! When are we gonna get yakiniku bentos again??

K: Haha

T: Joe, you are so noisy about food! You were eating more curry than us today!

J: Because I'd been saving myself all day! I was so hungry! You know that nice cafe nearby here? Its closed on wednesdays, so I couldn't go there. But I figured it would be ok if I was having yakiniku later. And then I almost got myself a steamed bun from the convenience store, but I decided not to in the end. And then I got here, and it was curry!! But actually, curry is more like Hanshin colours, so its for the best!

K: Hahaha, what a fuss.

T: You know, that curry comes with potatoes too? He was like, 'Ahh, maybe I shouldn't eat the potatoes..' But then he covered them in butter and ate them anyway.

J: Yes! And that led onto an interesting debate about whether this curry was made in Europe, remember?! Or was it a European style curry made in Japan??

K: Where are you going with this?? haha

T: Deflection, deflection.

J: If Hanshin win today, Kaoru, you should buy us yakiniku.

K: Oh, okay. Who knows what will happen, but thats ok with me.

J: Good, I can't stop thinking about yakiniku today.

T: You never shut up about food, haha.

J: I'm going all out today, remember?

T: Joe, the staff are trying to tell you something.

J: Huh? Ah, ok. Move onto the next topic about the Hanshin dictionary....thats enough about curry, haha.

K: We'll be getting complaints.

J: *reading comments* 'If Hanshin win, please sing Rokkou Oroshi'. Ah, yeah. Ok, so the next topic is about the 'Genius Japanese-English Hanshin dictionary' where many of the example sentences are Hanshin themed. I didn't realise something like this existed!

K: Yeah, I was surprised.

J: There are over 60 Hanshin related sentences. I think a lot of the editors are from Kansai, so thats why they made this version.

K: Oh, I see.

J: Yeah, so lets have a look at some of the examples. Are we gonna show them? No? I just read them out? Ok. For example the word 'atsui'. In English you'd say 'excited' - to be excited about something', right? So, the example is 'kare ha Tigers no koto to naru to, sugu atsukunaru'. Tasai, could you read that out in English?

K: Haha

T: 'He gets excited at any mention of the Tigers'.

J: Thats it! 'Tigers' at the end there, its great! The next one is 'uchimakuru' (hit a volley). I feel like thats not the type of word you'd usually need to look up though.

K: Right.

J: The example is 'Sakuya Tigers ha Giants aite ni hitto wo uchimakutta'

K: You never need to say that though.

T: In English, 'The Tigers got a lot of hits against the Giants last night'

J: Yeah, but with 'uchimakuru' the potential is there to use it. And you can use 'atsui' for people like me getting excited about sports. But the problem comes next, with 'oeru'...'to end something'. There is no reason to use this word about Hanshin, right?

K: Yeah

T: Haha

K: Yeah, its not a good meaning.

J: Yeah, because with hits and things, they still have that potential.

K: 'to end' is difficult to use.

J: The editors have thought hard about this one! The example sentence is, 'Kare ha Hanshin Tigers no guraundo seibiin toshite sono shōgai wo oeta.

K: It can be done! hahaha. But this sentence would probably never be used outside Hanshin fans.

J: No

T: Everyone, please check out this dictionary.

J: Yeah. Tasai could you read out the translation of that last one?

T: 'He ended his days as a groundskeeper for the Hanshin Tigers.'

J: Isn't this show great?! You can study English while you watch!

K: This one is good too.

J: Which one? Leader, which one do you like??

K: 'Tigers no roku senshu ga ponpon to home run'

J: haha

T: 'Six different players cracked....' haha

K: What does that even mean? Do we ever say 'ponpon to home run'??

J: You wouldn't have much need to say that to a foreigner.

K: But!! Today we will need to use it! Hahaha

J: Yehhhy, hahaha. And when that happens, you can say it in English, Leader!!

K: This one too, 'machigainai' (no doubt)

J: What does it say?

K: 'Tigers ga shiai ni katsu koto ha machigainai' (There is no doubt that the Tigers will win the game)

J: Ohhh, yeah. That, and ponpon are good. Leader, you will have to shout 'Ponpon!!' in English later.

T: How do you say it in English?.....'cracked'. It says 'machigainai' is 'on ice'....'The Tigers have the game on ice'

K: Shouldn't it be 'nice'? Or is it supposed to be 'ice'?

J: It might be an English idiom. They use idioms, like for heavy rain, there is an idiom about 'cats and something'

T: Oh, really?

J: Yeh, there is. How about this one.... 'ryūnin'. 'Fan no ōku ga Okada kantoku no ryūnin wo nozondeiru' (Many fans want Manager Okada to stay in office)

K: Well, there's no reason to make him quit.

J: Yeah. Ah, someone commented, 'Kaoru, make an example sentence'.... in Japanese.

K: A Tigers sentence?

J: Yes, and then the staff will use Chat GP and put it into English.

T: Thats a good idea.

K: Hmm..

J: Something that you wouldn't usually expect to see in a JP-EN dictionary. Anything is ok.

K: Hmmm.....uhhhh......'Jama'! (obstruction)

J: Jama?? Hanshin related?　Uhhh...ok.....jama.....uhh, ok.... go ahead...

T:...Uh..

J: Ah, ok, Leader then...

K: .Hm?...What are you asking for?

T: Right? haha

J: I've been talking too much, I'm too tired now, haha.

K: You want me to say the sentence, right?

J: Haha, yeh, I'm exhausted now, I'm just zoning out.

K: He's tired himself out after all that.

J: Haha, I'm 55, leave me alone! Haha, someone wrote 'Its mystery hour'. I don't know what I'm doing any more, haha.

T: Haha, you were so energetic at the start, and now you are totally burned out!

J: Yeah, ahhh, I'm tired. Ok, Leader, say your sentence.

K: Ok, so at their stadium, Koshien stadium....'kousokudōro ga jama de mienai'. (The highway obstructs the view of the stadium)

J, T: Ahhh

J: Really?

K: Yeah, its really close. From here to that wall is the same distance between the wall of the stadium and the highway.

T: Yeah

K: So you can't see the big 'Koshien Stadium' written on the stadium wall. (※TN: But you can if you drive on the highway past the stadium! 😁)

J: Ahhh, ok, well the staff will translate that for us. I think we should send this to the editors at Genius.

T: Someone wrote, 'Joe Yokomizo is the 'jama' haha.....ok, the English is 'Koshien stadium cannot be seen because the highway is in the way'. *laughs/snorts*

J: Ah, 'in the way'... you just snorted.

T: Haha, sorry. Put, 'Joe Yokomizo is noisy' into the translator!

J: Haha, the staff will put Kaoru's sentence and translation in the comments later. So thats how you can support Hanshin and study English.

T: Ah, Kaoru, you forgot to write the score. More 0s.

J: Oh, thats good.

K: Is it the 5th innings already?

J: Is the game running at a fast pace?

T: It is, yeah. Its still the first half of the game, right?

K: Yeah.

J: Mm, this ham is really good.

K: Haha, you've eaten loads.

J: Yeah, it tastes really good. So, for now they haven't changed the pitcher...

K: No, but we are in the lead.

J: There is a one point lead at the moment, but another two or three points wouldn't be bad.

K: Yeah yeah

J: Yeah, another point would be good. Which innings do you think they will really start moving in?

K: Oh, any time now. They are hitting a lot.

J: 86 throws so far, is that a lot for the 5th innings?

K: Hm, yeah well, the fifth innings might decide the game.

T: Just as long as they win.

J: Ah, yeah. Those Orix players are all really good-looking though, right? Like that Hikomaro guy before...

K: Remember who we talked about before though....Chikamoto.

J: Ah, Chikamoto, yes!

T: Hey, but its about time for the first part of the show to end, isn't it?

J: *talking with mouth ful of food' Yeah, so in the second part, we will go all out supporting, and we'll be talking about Dir en grey's...

K: He has no enthusiasm left!

J: *empties mouth* ...and be talking about Dir en grey's upcoming European tour, so please make sure you are a channel member. If you become a member, you can watch this broadcast in the archives for a year, and there will also be members only videos, where we try out lots of different things, so please check those out. Ok, here's how to join. There should be a blue link at the top of your screens now. Leader, please point to it. Please click this link to become a member. After you click it, you wil get a page asking you to choose your preferred payment type. Choose your method, click proceed, then enter your details. If you haven't joined yet, please do so to continue supporting Hanshin with us, and to hear Kaoru talking about the European tour. Ok, Leader, do you have any announcements?

K: The tour starts next week. I was just rehearsing today. It'll be fun!

T: I'm looking forward to it.

J: Kaoru, you said that with confidence.

K: Did I? Well, it will be. haha. Kawasaki is first, with the fanclub lives, I think Nagoya is after that.

T: Someone wrote they are going to Kawasaki, Haneda, Yokohama, and Omiya. Wow, thanks!

J: The merch info is out now too, yeah. Someone says they are going to all the dates!

K: Wow. You know, this really is the end of Phalaris. So please enjoy it.

J: People saying they are going to Wakayama, Niigata, some are joining in December. A question asks who designed the merch?

K: We all did.

J: They are looking forward to Wakayama.

T: Is it your first time playing in Wakayama?

K: Yeah.

J: Someone said its their birthday at Nagoya....Vol.3?

K: Yeah, Vol.3 is the final.

J: What merch do you recommend?

K: Recommend? Hm, the limited tshirt.

J: Is it limited to sale at the venues?

K: Yeah, but saying limited tshirt sounds a bit negative, so just look forward to it anyway.

J: Yeah, please look forward to the merch.

T:*looking at game* Oh no, Tongu.

J: Tongu...like thong sandals?

K: No, its 鈍宮, the kanji for don(鈍) and miya (宮).

J: It sounds like a summery name..

T: Anyway, should we finish here?

J: Yes, lets have a quick break here. The screen will change for a moment, but we will be back shortly with the second part, so please wait there.

T: People watching on youtube, please register on niconama too.

J: We'll be talking about the European tour too, it'll be fun! Ok, bye bye for now.

K: Yep, see you soon!

[uravitypng]

Ouuu, may I participate in this cute Valentine event? 👉👈 Hm, if I can, I'd like to pick Hawks from MHA as my guy of choice <33

I'm a 170 cm, chubby/curvy gal with dark blonde hair and glasses. (Hawks is barely taller than me lololol) Idk if you know mbti and star signs so I'll throw them in just in case - I'm a cancer enfp! Personality wise, I've been told that I am very doting, honest, bold, outgoing, affectionate, clingy, witty and friendly! I'm not shy when it comes to talking to strangers, especially if they catch my eye. (Physical touch is also a massive love language of mine!!!!) Although, I do unfortunately get embarrassed way too easily sometimes. I wouldn't call myself a true extrovert as I do have my moments but I'm much better than most of my friends, who are almost Shigaraki level shut ins.

My hobbies include - reading, writing, listening to scary stories and podcasts, watching tv shows/anime, and just overall being a big goofball with my friends! I love them sm, they're so cute <333

For my bad side, I have this habit about keeping my feelings locked up until I burst but that's usually only in very extreme cases. I am very sensitive and pick up a lot of little things that most people don't see and it freaks them out sometimes. This also depends on who you ask because you either love it or hate it but I can get a bit too random sometimes. I just kind of say what's on my mind, no matter how unhinged. It might sound quirky on paper but it's not always the case lmao, trust me.

I'm not exactly sure what else to add. If there's anything else, feel free to let me know!!

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐖𝐊𝐒…

have surprised romantic attraction!

- hawks never thought he'd have any romantic feelings towards anyone. he's not exactly the playboy personality that the media show him as but he doesn't have the desire to date anyone. that is until he met you of course. - how could he not fall in love with you? you met by chance and he was drawn to how honest you were, calling him out on his bullshit. whenever he'd smile was too bright and too forced at fans you'd say, you'd say when he played up his flirty personality. - he felt like you saw the real him, everything about you made you him feel that way. - you show genuine affection towards him, keigo, not pro hero hawks. sure you love the side of him that saves people every day and captures villains but you love keigo more, when he doesn't have to put on any mask or act any way for the public, when he can be his complete self. he loves when that happens because no one has given him that real affection through most of his life. - hawks thrives off embarrassing you since it happens too easy, he thinks its cute. - whenever your feelings burst out after bottling them up for so long, he doesn't change his opinion of you in anyway whatsoever. instead he'll try and make light of the situation and buy you something from the shops that you like or offer to give you a 'free flight' taking you high up to a tall building where you can look at the city below you and pretty sky. - being so outgoing is great because you can go to parties and functions with you as his plus one, being able to talk to everyone without feeling nervous, even if they're strangers - physical contact?? oh yeah. he can't keep his hands off you. he thinks you're so beautiful and he loves going up behind you and grabbing you by your waist

you and hawks are literally perfect together oh my god!

valentine's day event

[cryiling]

what do we think about kpop idol au revalink where revali is from a big 3 company (i feel like he gives sm or yg but idk) and link is from a smaller company, but they get into a dating scandal because of dispatch's stupid dating dump at the end of the year or whatever

revali is appalled to have dating rumors with this little runt from a nugu group (he's lying, link is totally his type), meanwhile link is losing his shit bc it's his idol it's THE revali 🫣

im gonna use this ask as an excuse to talk about idols!link and revali bc I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS

first of all revali is def giving agust d vibes, that fuck capitalism and the government sorta songs, and he definitely writes his own music (he thinks that artists who don't write their own music aren't real artists). no wait like genuinely. have u guys seen the lyrics for all the songs on d-day?? and like the mv for amygdala?? totally breaking kpop industry norms and I can totally see revali doing that, like yes babes talk abt your mental health and traumatic experiences, pop off king !

I bet revali prefers doing hip hop style dances, like you're never gonna catch him doing those rlly simple trendy dances. nah he out here doing flips and bboying and stuff 😭 hmm like think back down or halazia level dances (bye not me finding a way to bring halazia into any conversation SJDHSJF)

also he definitely only sings live, no lip syncing for him. one day he gets sick and loses his voice but he still has a performance that day, and his manager is like PLS just lipsync to the track, literally no one will get mad I promise, and he's like bitch no and just has his fans sing the whole song (he goes viral for this, his fans bragging abt how revali would never stoop to the level of lip syncing while his antis are calling him lazy for having his fans do all the singing, then revali's fans clap back at those ppl and pull up the receipts of all the times their faves lip synced)

ok we need stage name and fandom for revali. hm tbh I feel like he would just keep his name as his stage name, like he probably thinks the idea of stage names is cringy 💀 help I need fandom name ideas. like, vale or something BYE. his company probably came up with a whole list of possible fandom names and he said no to all of them, atp his manager just picked one for him 😭

u mentioned revali is from a big 3 company, hmm yeah I'm getting sm vibes from him. how long do u think he trained for? probably a couple years, like 6? so he's very insistent that all his accomplishments are from his hard work

OK let's talk abt link! idk many small companies but ummm let's say like, gf or something (they have kingdom, slay!). do u guys know that one idol from loona I think? and she was a trainee for only one day? yeah that's link 😭 he auditioned for the company and they're like you're great! debut asap pls

link is just here to have a good time honestly, like he's going live at 3am to do drunk karaoke like jungkook fr 😭 he really has a passion for singing and performing, and at the end of the day he's just doing this for funsies, he doesn't let the stress get to his head too much, which, king behavior honestly

ik u said he's from a nugu group but honestly I'm seriously loving the soloist vibe from him, like if he was in a group he'd probably end up as the wonyoung of the group bc he just has that main character energy 😭

I can see link doing more upbeat/poppy songs, but he does the occasional ballad + contemporary dance combo that his fans go FERAL for. or,, omg. imagine him doing criminal by taeyang... 😊

his stage name.. L!NK bc he's quirky and not like other girls 😧 I bet his song titles are either in all caps or all lowercase too, he insists "it's for the aesthetic 🥺"

hm what sort of situation are they in where dispatch makes a dating scandal for them? OUHH MAYBE theyre both mcs for a music show (ignore that it's usually one guy and one girl) and they do one of those performances together and ppl are like 🤨⁉️ like imagine them doing the iconic dolphin dance together ✋ fans go CRAYZEEE the fancams hit like 20m views because their chemistry together really shines, even with such a simple song

their companies see how good they are for each other's publicities, so they really push for more of their schedules to be together.. which ofc comes at the cost of the dating scandal. they're hanging out together at some cafe idk, their managers told them to go hang out in the hopes that they would get some more publicity. what they WEREN'T expecting is for dispatch to declare that they're dating??? (that's a lie, link's manager (zelda) definitely knew smth like that would happen and she's the biggest revalink supporter 🤞)

when revali hears about this, he has a freaking meltdown to his manager teba, like 😭 lying facedown on the couch screaming into a pillow, "they think we're DATING?$:$;&2!;@/@ they really think a senior idol would go out with a rookie!!???!: SHUT UP TEBA HE IS NOT MY TYPE-"

meanwhile link has the BIGGEST celebrity crush on revali, like you know how jungkook is with namjoon? yeah 😭 so when the dating scandal comes out, link is just so flattered that people would think that he's worthy to be with revali- he's going around to anyone who will listen and is like "people think I'm with revali 😦🥰🥰" zelda is like girl calm down you're not actually together

[switch]

I'm trying to figure out Vlad's speech pattern, do you have any tips on writing his dialogue?

ohh yeah that's tough. i struggled with that for a while and i'm still not 100% sure how exactly i'd put it to words since i kinda just started feeling it out...

uh i think one thing that especially helped with vlad for me was really listening a lot to his voice acting and then just sort of... imagining how his particular deep and kind of slow-spoken and kingly cadence would translate to and sound in written dialogue... does that make sense...

i mean one, uh, 'nice' thing about vlad is that he doesn't have a lot of written dialogue. between his gameplay/my room lines, his interlude, the gray collar event, vegas, valentine, and halloween revival, plus his relatively sparse dialogue in apoc, you can basically look at... everything he's ever said in, like, a day for reference (heck i've got like a 10 minute video of every single line he says in the apoc anime). i will say that some of his early my room lines do have a bit of an odd feel to them, though...

uh, anyway, as for more specific tips... uhhh.... he tends to use more refined or formal or even old-fashioned-sounding language, but critically without sounding excessively flowery, either, as he's often also pretty direct and conveys authority in the way he talks at the same time. especially if he's giving some kind of speech, or talking about something before battle, or scolding someone (apoc and vegas). he says stuff like "fool," "unsightly," "end yourself", "i thank you/you have my gratitude" etc... when he does get more poetic or indirect is in higher bond levels where he starts alluding to things more than outright stating them (bond 5, bond 10, ascension 4), so that's also situational.

it's also sort of shown/implied that he lightens up a bit more when dealing with kids or teenagers in chaldea, and obviously the protagonist, but he really never feels casual even at his most relatively casual or happy state. when writing him i'd definitely recommend veering towards more formal language than you might think is necessary vs risking making it sound too casual, as i would say it sounds out a lot weirder fast when a vlad is accidentally written even a bit too casual than it does when he's written maybe a little excessively formal. he also doesn't seem to laugh a lot outside of brief "heh"s or "hehe"s or even the occasional "oho". he seems to go "hm" or "hmph" sometimes if he's contemplating things or not happy about something... maybe it was sort of a weird translation, but the end of his interlude 1 where he just outright says "sorry for forcing you to accompany me" instead of anything more... noble-sounding feels like kind of a rare big deal thing, for him.

a lot of fan translations outright write him into using "thee"s and "thou"s and "canst"s and such, or at least having him switch to talking like that in certain situations, which i do definitely think works contextually for him. he doesn't use contractions a lot of the time ("there is" "i am" "it is" "i shall", etc) but he does still use them sometimes, (there's multiple instances of "i've" and "i'll" peppered around at the least), so it's not a hard and fast rule- it seems to just be more dependent on who he's talking to and whether or not it works with the flow of that particular line of dialogue. he tends to address other people by titles of some kind rather than by name.

actually i do remember one time the way vlad talks was described to me as something like the way some kind of dark anime villain would talk. he talks like an anime villain who isn't actually a villain...

ugh does any of this make sense, i don't know, so much of this is situational.......

[dichromaticdyke]

I don't think either of us ship it, but because it'd be funny: 11 for Devon and Ceelie? 😉😂 (Gointothevvater)

11- Write about your ship waking up together. 

oh no 😂 this can only go one way, can't it? @gointothevvater

Devon rolled over, stretching their arms above their head. They rubbed their eyes, grunting a bit at their pounding headache. They must have really overdone it last night, which was certainly rare these days. "Abigail, you up...?" they muttered. They looked to their side before freezing in place.

It wasn't Abigail next to them. It was St. Cecilia Jameson.

This might have been his teenage self's dream come true, but right now, this was a nightmare. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," he muttered. As if Devon didn't have enough reason to be terrified of Offdensen as it was.

Luckily, it seemed like both of them were dressed, but that still didn't explain what the hell she was doing here, especially when he still wasn't sure if St. Cecilia even liked him or not. They quietly sneaked out of their bed, desperate not to wake her up. Quiet as they could, they slipped into their kitchen, where they quickly ran into both Abigail and Offdensen sharing a pot of coffee. "Oh, good morning, Dev," Abigail said, handing her a mug. "I called Charles to come and pick St. Cecilia up."

"Yes, thank you both for making sure she got home safely," he added. He rested a hand on Abigail's shoulder. "You've got yourself a, ah, responsible partner."

"Oh, stop it." She looked at Devon. "You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Nope!" Devon smiled awkwardly. "Just, uh...last night. Crazy, right?"

"Charlie?" came a slurred voice from behind them. Devon turned around to see St. Cecilia standing outside the bedroom, rubbing her eyes. "You're here. Wonderful!" She walked over to the rest of them. "I must have had a truly wild night. I can't remember anything."

"No worries about that," Offdensen replied. "We'll get you back home."

"Thank you, Charlie." She looked at Devon and Abigail. "Oh, is this your home?"

"Uh, yeah," Devon replied, wincing a bit.

She pursed her lips. "Hm. Thanks for letting me sleep in your bed, I suppose..." She frowned a bit, like she was holding back from saying what she truly thought. "Abigail, I'll see you later. Devon...Goodbye." She followed Offdensen out the front door.

Once the front door shut, Abigail turned to Devon with an unamused look on her face. "You and Ceelie?"

"No! No, I swear--"

"I know." Abigail laughed. "You were whining about how much of a big fan of hers you were, but neither of you ever touched each other. I was in between you both all night."

Devon blushed. "Oh. Good." She was glad both of them were loyal to their respective partners, but they weren't going to act like the image of them, St. Cecilia, and Abigail together wasn't enticing.

[ragecndybars]

🍈

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

👀👀👀 Anon... I hope you knew what you were getting into when you asked this.

I already went on a rant about Akihiko, so here is my Minato Arisato, aka Makoto Yuki, aka Sakuya Shiomi if ya nasty, rant <3

He only says as many words/syllables as are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to get his basic point across. In general, he isn't a talker, but he isn't the type to say, for instance, "I'm getting a little tired, so I'm gonna head to bed," he's more of a "Tired. Night." type of guy.

We all know that he has that Resting 😐 Face. He has a really nice smile when it's genuine, but if he tries to force it just for the sake of appearances, it looks insanely strained and just... wrong 😅

He can be a real space case sometimes. Take your eyes off of him for too long and he'll drift into traffic or walk into a pole because he's not watching where he's going, he's either doing complex mental math to allocate time and determine his schedule for the next few weeks or he's rotating a 3D model of a snake in his head, and both activities take up the same amount of brain power (all of it).

Though he's hard to read and can come off as aloof, he's a genuinely great friend who's understanding, a great listener, and very attuned to other peoples' moods. But. And I cannot stress this enough. He is kind of a huge asshole sometimes.

Autistic king.

Big fan of music and also weapons. He owns a lot of CDs, including Lotus Juice's entire discography, and can play a fair number of musical instruments to some degree of proficiency, as well as knowing Fun Facts about many other instruments. He also knows Fun Facts about many types of weapons, not limited to just the types he's able to use.

Speaking of which, I've said this before, but I think his ability to use almost any weapon type isn't just because he has an interest in weapons, or because he just has Overpowered Protag Syndrome, but also because he very closely watches his party members' movements during battle and picks up on their technique. That's also why he can't use guns or knives -- the way Aigis and Koromaru use those weapons is unique to them, as a robot and dog, so he can't observe them to see how to use them himself. I think he does know how to do basic maintenance on Aigis's guns, though, since he's seen her dong that as well.

I've said this before as well, but I don't think he's the type to address people directly very often. He's more likely to tap their shoulder, say "Hey," or just start talking without preamble. This isn't necessarily noticeable -- most people don't think to themselves, "Hm, y'know, he's never actually addressed me by name before," because that's just not something people really pick up on -- but, when he does address someone, either by name or just by "Senpai" or another relevant title, it catches their attention because they subconsciously aren't used to him addressing them, and that's why he is 100% capable of saying "Senpai" romantically.

There are very, very few foods he likes to eat, which is why he gets the same thing at every restaurant in town every time he goes, but that also means that he's very used to eating food he thinks is gross, which is why he can stomach Fuuka's creations better than any other character. To him, her burnt food slathered in all the wrong sauces and spices isn't that much worse than just having a regular entree that isn't one of his very few Approved Meals.

He's pretty laid-back and sometimes even lazy, but he HATES having free time. If he doesn't have anything to do, he isn't going to just casually indulge in a hobby or anything -- he has to have something concrete, like a Social Link to level up, or a particular skill he wants to hone, even if that skill is honed by watching a movie or something. His motto is "If I'm not doing something, then I might as well be asleep," and he sticks to that whenever he possibly can.

The only exception to this rule is video games. There are a few games he can play without needed to justify it to himself as honing his Guts or whatever. He likes farming sims :) A couple other members of SEES play them as well, but he's the only one who's remotely relaxed about it. He's just there to have fun, whereas Mitsuru and Aigis are frantically minmaxing to become billionaires in their first season. (Fuuka at least will play with him normally, though she's more of a rhythm game girl imo)

THIS IS GETTING LONG OH GOD LETS WRAP IT UP

He doesn't grasp social cues very well, but if he feels like he does understand a particular social cue, he'll use it as a crutch of some sort. For instance, to use a specific example from a published fic, when Akihiko gives him a thumbs up in Always Wanna Play, Minato thinks to himself, "Ah, yes, a thumbs up. I know what that means, and now I know that thumbs ups are an effective way to communicate with Akihiko," which is why he then gives Akihiko three more thumbs ups throughout the fic (even in very dire circumstances where it doesn't realy fit, lmao)

[safestsephiroth]

completely unbiased objective factual review of every MSQ in FFXIV as of the release of base dawntrail (pre-7.1) (Part 2: SB and SHB)

A repeat of the intro from last post, which can be found here: https://safestsephiroth.tumblr.com/post/762492923054047232/completely-unbiased-objective-factual-review-of

Just to clarify, I know some people are bad at reading tone through text. This is, of course, the objective truth because it's my opinion and my opinion has never been wrong ever, and I take this as deathly serious as a hostage negotiation, a military standoff, or an argument about vtubers.

[And if you don't already know this is written tongue-in-cheek with that, then you might not enjoy what's to come. Especially if you cannot stomach negativity. If you keep reading from here that's on you tbh.]

[This series of posts will not be tagged with anything relating to the game because I have learned over the years not to tag things when you're being a hater. If you hate this, it's not likely to come up again on here so just ignore this post dude it ain't hard. Press the J key. Or read and laugh. I'm writing this for me, your enjoyment is not a concern, audience!]

-

STORMBLOOD

Here's the point that everyone who started playing this game in either Heavensward or Shadowbringers finds out they're WRONG AS FUCK and always have been: Stormblood is good. Stormblood MSQ is GOOD. Characters that are at worst mid and by and large pretty great; regions that are (sometimes) visually interesting for the first time since A Realm Reborn; some of the coolest parts of the lore added in the game to this day; some of the most interesting political questions and situations.

Heavensward and Stormblood both ask the question: what does it take to have a political upheaval in a society? Can you restructure a society that might be too far gone?

Stormblood asks this question about countries who, within living memory, used to be free of the worst dictatorship in the setting (Allag is gone and Garlemald are fanboys of it so it has the tiniest bit of bonus points in the same way modern Rome fanboys are even worse than ancient Rome was because they're not even good at understanding the upsides of that ancient awfulness and think the worst parts are the best) and go figure that leads to a far more interesting exploration of the societies at play.

As someone who used to be a big fan of Ala Mhigo and how it was a really neat way to incorporate concepts and ideas from Ivalice without actually just copy-pasting Ivalice wholesale into the game (hm!) I was largely disappointed with its treatment in this game, but you know. It's there! It's better than More Goddamned Ishgard! I do think it's keenly disappointing that by and large the ala mhigo zones are just Pollution And Ruins but whatever.

Incidentally, did you like the part of Stormblood where the Emperor of Garlemald looks directly into the camera and says "JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW, WE'RE THE BAD GUYS. THE ONE PURE RACE IS THE ONLY WAY FOR THE WORLD TO CONTINUE. DO YOU RECOGNIZE NOW THAT WE'RE AN ANALOGUE FOR TOTALITARIAN NIGHTMARE SOCIETIES? DO YOU GET THAT WE'RE RUSSIAN NAZIS? DO YOU GET IT? DO YOU UNDERSTAND YET? WE'RE THE BAD GUYS. GARLEMALD IS BAD. IF GARLEMALD WINS, THAT'S BAD. GARLEAN RULE IS A BAD THING. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT GARLEMALD. IS NOT THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD WIN. 'ARE EORZEA THE BAD GUYS' NO. JUST MAKING SURE YOU UNDERSTAND, CRYSTAL CLEAR, THAT THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON."

Anyway by and large Stormblood has exactly as much subtlety as it needs and I appreciate the subtlety that is there. I appreciate that they decided to try to wean themselves off of killing women for no reason by killing a woman for some reason. Good work. Baby steps, FFXIV. Baby steps.

Anyway, remember that time Zenos attacked Rhalgr's Reach and we had no hope of winning and we fought him anyway because instead of watching him massacre people we decided to try to intervene because we're heroic and heroes take fights because they're the right thing to do, even if they lose? Don't worry, I'm sure that won't come up in a future segment of these reviews.

OVERALL, I think, Stormblood does a great job conveying its overall themes and playing to them - revolution does not come from an individual but only when everyone works together, even enemies that feel insurmountable are not invincible, even in fantasy setting equivalents Japan fucking hates foreigners and has a corrupt government, isolationism and neutrality are the same as collaboration with the winner of a conflict and "neutrality" is in essence a lie and an appeaser continues to be a man who feeds his fellows to an alligator hoping to be eaten last.

So anyway.

Stormblood is also the point where class gameplay hit its peak (DARK KNIGHT! ASTRO! MY BELOVED! COME BACK! PLEASE! COME BACK TO ME! I NEVER SPOKE LOUD ENOUGH ON YOUR BEHALF BEFORE! Give me back everything class gameplay was in stormblood my GOD) and also where encounter design really just completely fell to shit. It also might be one of only two points in the entire game where the mandated formula does not excessively hinder the MSQ.

Spoiler alert, the other time is probably the best expansion overall to date.

However, Stormblood is not perfect - it introduced the Ivalice raids whose impact on the setting and how much I FUCKING HATE it cannot be overstated. It also introduced the laziest raid series to date (Fuck it just throw in cameo characters with no real context beyond "a robot did it" and have cid and nero be gay at each other and call it good. It feels completely pointless to have a sidequest that TOTALLY is saving the world bro we swear it's just that it has zero impact on anything visibly. There's no giant robot you're stopping from climbing out of a lake, no giant shards of evil dragon prison or any real sense that you MUST give a shit about Omega to be honest with you. Anything good about this raid series is a retcon. Fight me.)

It's also where gameplay really hit the toilet with the worst dungeon design at the time, Omega ending the concept of Raids being anything more than glorified Trials, and the addition of jump potions meaning you get the dumbest motherfuckers in the world coming in complaining the game they don't want to play is too hard (as if there's any amount of ease you can bring to the game that will make those people happy. As if their opinion is worth more than a handful of sand applied directly to your unprotected eye.)

I also think it's important to note Stormblood came out not super long after Final Fantasy 15, a game where you go on a road trip to save the world with four identical prettyboy JPOP bandmates where it was made explicitly clear to us you couldn't possibly do that story with, GOD FORBID, the presence of a woman in the party, and then Stormblood is Alisaie and Lyse going on a road trip to save the world and it's glorious.

Also if your complaint about Stormblood is that you hate Lyse, but you DON'T recognize that everything bad about her is just describing Aymeric's character too and crow about how great you think Heavensward is all I can conclude is you prefer white bread yaoi elves to white bread jock women and I think that says a lot about you frankly.

Stormblood is a 7/10 MSQ and 6/10 on the gameplay front, carried entirely by the class gameplay despite dreadful encounter design. A lot of people say it was bad because after 5 years of playing the same video game it's kind of normal to get burnt out.

Wait, Stormblood had Eureka. Right.

4/10 on the gameplay front.

Shadowbringers:

Statistically speaking, odds are very high if you're playing FFXIV right now in the year of our lord 2024, your first expansion was Shadowbringers. Shadowbringers in many ways is extremely good. It's got phenomenal worldbuilding, excellent character writing, a marvelous plot, and is gorgeous. The concept of LITERALLY bringing back the night is baller as fuck and you're a fool if you disagree. You better believe I'm disappointed in how few Light Up The Night AMV-equivalents there are for Shadowbringers. (What do you call an AMV made with FFXIV cutscenes?)

It's also the first time we're REALLY the main character of the plot instead of someone who accompanies the main character of the plot. Don't worry, this won't come up again later, probably.

Shadowbringers story-wise is near flawless. Maybe if I really dig I can find nitpicks, but it's extremely tightly-written. The antagonists by and large avoid the trap of being one-note and all tie extremely well into the overarching themes: what do you do in the face of inevitability? Is it ever worth giving up? Is anyone truly strong enough to weather absolute despair? Is it possible to overcome impossibility completely alone? Does imperfection still have value? Is someone a furry if they have cat ears and want to fuck someone with a lion face?

Shadowbringers DOES begin one of the most annoying trends in the entire fanbase (X is shard of Y character!!!!!) but I forgive it for that because it's not like it demanded the fanbase do this they're just Like That.

Shadowbringers as an expansion has many flaws its MSQ doesn't have, though. For my money, the absolute worst part of anything gameplay-wise in the entire game is the final "pull" of Holminster Switch, and if anything ever is worse than that then this video game needs to be euthanized for the good of society. (Fortunately it's looking like that won't happen.) However, Shadowbringers has the worst 24-man and the worst trial series (probably; I didn't bother to do Endwalker's so idk). Sorry not sorry I don't care about Plot Device Van Baelsar's man-pain.

Eden gets a pass because it's gay, but its encounter design is a fucking embarrassment overall and I know most people didn't comment on that because they're so happy that square was able to tell the story of FF8 in a way that didn't suck ass like FF8 did while also correctly identifying it's made better by Ryne and Gaia being turbo gay together. And that's valid, but also, FUCK dude that gameplay sucked.

Hey remember how jobs used to have resources and depth? Shadowbringers was the death of that. Dropping TP was a disastrous decision. Destroying what little unique traits the healers had in Stormblood so that every one could be IDENTICAL henceforth (don't argue, it makes you look stupid to try to go into the minutiae of how ackshually AST and WHM have SO MANY DIFFERENCES!!! for instance, one has STAR particle effects when they heal and the other has GLOWY WATERY LIGHT particle effects) and AST cards could be COMPLETELY meaningless, DRK could have all gameplay depth removed, and zero jobs could have depth added. Dancer in Shadowbringers was pathetic, Gunbreaker was simpler than the simplest tank job in Stormblood but now the most complex tank job because they nerfed the complexity of EVERYTHING so fucking hard, and that is an unforgivable change. Shadowbringers was the point I completely switched over to "This game's story is good enough to justify suffering through the painfully mediocre/bad gameplay. Mostly."

Also I didn't bring it up earlier, but Shadowbringers has a fucking excellent soundtrack that's the pinnacle of FFXIV to date.

Story wise Shadowbringers is an 8.5/10 and gameplay-wise it is definitely a 4/10 but I need you to understand that the fact it's the source of everything that came after means it DESERVES to be the worst of them all in a sense.