#i got halfway through the ep and forgot to take more lol

[softhairedhotch]

Aaron Hotchner, Season 4 Episode 22.

➥ TAG LIST: @criminalskies @hotchs-big-hands @milla984 @bau-babyg @mrs-ssa-hotch @whotfskai @emberfrostlovesloki @pandorasdreamings @supercriminalbean

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[mazojo]

Winter 2021 Anime Opinions

As always its that time of the year I pretend to be an anime connoisseur and leave my review on this seasons anime so take it with a grain of salt asdfgh from the one I enjoyed the least to the most.

Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! (TV)

You are seeing currently the only probably best thing about Wave asdfghj Tanaka bby I am SO sorry you got stuck here,,,,, Its bad because I had so many expectations for Wave but it just...... isn’t very good? The characters feel 2 dimensional, animation is veeeery average and the plot is all over the place? Dont even get me started on the Shou situation plot device that they just brushed over and went on with and,,,,,big sigh

Urasekai Picnic

To be honest is not very fair to compare this one to the rest as ive only watched the first 2 eps but ill catch up eventually asdfghj its not bad just that the plot didnt capture me as much as I hoped but the two main characters cutiess the plot just confuses me asdfgh but I don't have much to say about it

Yakusoku no Neverland 2nd Season

So uh anyways Chile I don't wanna talk about it the only reason this is not dead last is because RayEmma cute moments but yeah don't watch this clown show go read the manga for self care ✨

Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun

The only reason this is here is because she. The main girl I cant remember the name of sucks and main dude is very normal asdfgh the plot is basically “Want people to like you? change everything about yourself and become a normie robot!!!” ASDFGHJ Like its so over the top and cringe at times it becomes very confusing but hey I am not caught up either so I may change opinions (x doubt tho)

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu

From this point onwards I basically like everything. 2.43 Started suuuuper strong for me, definitely thought it would be one of my favs this season but as the eps went by I just.... kinda lost interest asdfgh? Like its not bad, but its a sort of mix between Stars Align and Haikyuu where I would have loved a more character based story with dark subplots like Stars Align but got the parts I always criticize about Haikyuu were there was a point I didn't really knew any of the characters? ASDFGH like the enemy team is super cool and Love their designs but if you ask me to tell you anything about them I already forgot rip. Its still cute and the animation is cool but yeah it kind of disappointed me in the end a bit ;w;

Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season

AOT Is so sexci because it keeps on hurting me and I come back every-time for it ASDFGHJ Not much to say that hasn't been said, characters are super interesting, plot is a bit confusing at times for me to follow but amazing and I just :))) could go on about certain characters :))))) but I wont :))))

Wonder Egg Priority

Wonder egg priority is very talked about right now so I wont get too much into it other than definitely give it a watch if you like the more philosophical and “makes you reflect on your life choices” sort of anime ASDFGHJ the visuals are stunning and the characters very well build, although I am very confused at times I am still enjoying it tons ^^ Trigger warning however for some heavy topics I recommend checking the warnings before watching it <3

Kemono Jihen

I LOVE THEM OKaY? asdfghjk Kemono Jihen gives me the found family topes and I eat them all right up, I love the characters , their designs, the plot, everything. To be fair tho, I did enjoy the manga more than the anime but maybe its a pacing thing? idk but I definitely recommend 100% taking on the manga and maybe after watch the anime but I am enjoying it tons!!

Kai Byoui Ramune

This one may come as a surprise lol?? Like I haven't seen a single soul talk about Ramune but like??? I am actually enjoying it a lot?? and look forward every week for the ep? asdfghj Like yes I will be the first to admit the animation isn't really the beeeeest out there but the plot is funny while also being serious, the characters are quirky and interesting to keep the flow going and I am liking the undertone heavy messages? the soundtrack also slaps imo and yeah I would definitely say to watch the first ep and if you like that sort of dynamic take it up on the rest!

I★Chu: Halfway Through the Idol

Okay I will be the first one to admit this is just me being trash for the idol shows but like?? its my list so I get to decide which found family I am screaming about next ASDFGHJ. As an avid A3 stan this gave me serious vibes of my boys (plus they were made form the same company so like not very surprised there loll) and like I think the characters are cute with adorable relationships and cute songs and its just a lighthearted show I sit down every Wednesday and smile through the 25 minutes so yes I Chu deserves a high spot and yes I recommend it even if it has like a 6.3 on myanimelist sksksks

Dr. Stone: Stone Wars

Look at Gen!!!! enough reasons to watch dr stone!!!! ASDFGH but in all seriousness I....... love them okAy? The plot is amazing and the characters are super entertaining (hiiii Ukyo Gen Senku and Chrome muak) and although it may seem a bit slower paced than first season the arc is gonna get better and better and the finale is gonna be great if they stick to the manga. Only sad that I dont get to see my pirate fuckboy but we better be getting a third season

Bungou Stray Dogs Wan!

when I say this is the happiness of all my Tuesdays I ain’t even exaggerating ASDFGHJ Does this have an important plot? no. Is it transcending to animation? not really. Is it BSD content I've been starving for? absolutely!!! Tbh I see my favorite anime characters in chibi version and I go feral, go watch BSD pogg!!

Horimiya

Me?? searching for that one gif of the side ship scene am obsessed over?? more likely than you think ASDFGH Horimiya holds a special place in my heart because it was the first manga I ever read and the nostalgia is stroNG,,,,,, The plot isn't anything really transcending but the way the characters are captured the feelings just,,,,,, stan!! Also Yuki x Tooru supremacy !

Skate-Leading☆Stars

Okaaaaay this is also me being a bitch for sports anime but like, again, are we surprised?? ASDFGHJ It may be my love for Hayato speaking but ive absolutely loves Skate Leading Stars, I love the group, the main characters, the ships, the routines and its so pretty and they are in love and like the competition and asdfgh its gOoD OKaY??? Watch it if anything for Hayato 👉🏻 👈🏻 My bastard bitch I love the gremlin.

Beastars 2nd Season

I think we are all sleeping on Beastars brushing it off as a furry show. I don’t speak enough about it and I am not one to go about poetic cinemaness on main but beastars is a very poetic cinema show and yall sleeping on it. Coming from someone who was uncomfortable at first with the whole animal relationships part at first, just know beastars is so much more than that, it has a complicated plot with critics about the society within the show with amazing characters, great soundtrack and animation plus banger plot. Pina, Jack, Juno and Legoshi best characters and every week I look forward for the next eps so I hope yall go give it some love.

SK8 The Infinity

If it wasnt clear from my spam every Saturday that I am absolutely in love with this show I dont know what to tell you ASDFGHJ. Sk8 has an amazing range of characters I find fascinating, specially Reki, very much so everything Reki asdfgh but yeah!! Its super entertaining with an interesting plot and its definetely becoming one of my favorite animes because the amount of times ive rewatched the episodes to cope is kind of embarrassing lmaooo, definetely give it a try although I understand its not for everyone but like,,,,, do it for Reki? 🤧👉🏻👈🏻

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 14: So If You Put a Fraction Into a Duel Disk, the Card Explodes

We left on quite the cliffhanger last episode, so I’ll fill you in:

I did not get the haircut.

Like I seriously considered getting a Zigfried for a cool 3 or 4 minutes there, but then I decided to wait a couple of days and I basically forgot.

But, back to the arc finale, Seto has decided to walk, not run, to the Kaiba lab in order to fix the virus rapidly eating his entire company.

I just want to point out that Zigfried went through a LOT of work to get Seto Kiaba to go “uggggh” turn around, and pretend to calmly walk away. I’m used to Seto losing his nut kind of a lot and blowing things up but this season he’s like “be chill be chill be chill” so that the entire world doesn’t think he’s a spaz on TV.

And little aside about Seto’s design choices here, I fell down a hole of interior design videos, and can I just say: apparently these wood frame things on the wall are back in style? Good on you, 2002(3?) Seto Kaiba. Don’t think that current designers are painting them purple but...we’re halfway there to Yugioh fashion.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh decides to remind everyone that these stakes are hella low. The worst that happens is that Zigfried deletes the plane that Yugi needs to fly home...which would be an impressive virus.

Like it’s hard to tell if Yami even has a solid concept of “capitalism” and whether or not he cares about or understands the makeup of Seto’s company (which up till now has operated like a small country and not a business...which is a little more Pharaoh’s understanding. Either way...hard to tell if Yami would shed two tears for the loss of Kaiba corp.)

And, despite what I say in the caps, I feel like Leon and Zigfried are the first villains we’ve ever had that Yugi and Pharaoh didn’t unintentionally disclose that they are 2 people to. Zigfried and Leon are just...completely oblivious to how effed up Yugi’s bean is. They think that’s just a normal kid and lol no dudes...y’all got distracted by Seto Kabia but you have a literal Egyptian God just hovering around in the background and dating 3 people by accident.

Like when the show shelves the main storyline, it is very funny how it’s all “And we’re gonna put the Pharaoh crisis on hold--just put a pin in it. No one will notice this child is two nervous wrecks stitched together” and then Yugi and Yami just kinda hold it in and watch all patiently until it’s their turn to get off the bench.

(read more under the cut)

In the giant computer tower, Seto Kaiba shouts out a string of orders and numbers, admired the many sonar detector looking windows open on every monitor, and then sat down at his desk to like...check the firewall, I guess?

The virus is past the firewall. It’s um...it’s inside the firewall, pretty sure that was the point, but youknow, it’s a kid’s show so they’re just throwing out computer stuff that has no meaning to the writers of this show.

Mokuba thinks fondly of how Seto Kaiba has never screwed him over (which I mean...maybe not on purpose, ((except for that one time he did screw him over on purpose to get Gozaburo Kaiba to accidentally give Seto Kaiba the company, but you could say that was a grander scheme that he knew Mokuba would see through, which...)) but Seto certainly has screwed Mokuba over accidentally. At least once.)

And meanwhile, Yami fixes everything through card shenanigans.

So here’s the shenanigan this episode: I don’t go over cards here but this one requires a limited amount of explanation.

So every round the golden castle deletes half of Yugi’s cards. So he was like...I’ll just draw down to one card. They can’t delete half a card...so that means the card must delete one of the two cards on the field which means it must delete itself.

...which is like the closest Yugioh will probably ever get to abusing a glitch to do a speedrunning tactic like GDQ.

Anyway, like I stated in the title: there are no fractions allowed in Yugioh. If you do that to your priceless one-of-a-kind card you got from winning one of Pegasus’ murder tournies, it will irreparably bust the card.

I’m sure at least one of you will correct me with the proper way to insert a fraction into your duel disk. Cuz like...as I say multiple times so we never forget, I barely pay attention to this card game and I’m just flying by the seat of my pants.

I want to say Seto and Mokuba were in the hacker chairs for like...3 minutes maybe before they realized “oh...Yugi fixed it...” and walked the half a mile back to the duel arena.

and also, as I’m looking at Seto’s glasses here, I just realized...all of Kaiba’s team wears sunglasses all the time. Inside, outside, night, or day...

They haven’t outright said this...but what if those aren’t sunglasses?

Is Roland and that other Roland wearing fancy cyber glasses? They are, right? Because they wear them indoors?

Damn, they can’t take a piss without being on call with Kaiba Corp, can they?

Now the problem is...Yugi played all of his cards (he has two in front of him face down, but none in his deck) and after milling himself, this means he’s now basically a sitting duck for Leon to take the title of “King of Games.”

Leon insists that he defend whatever scraps are left of his card honor and not duel a person who is carrying no cards and Yugi was like “COME AT ME BRO THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW I’M ALIVE.”

He didn’t even have to do a horror on Leon, he just...played cards good? I skipped it, I’ll be honest, but overall Leon’s card honor was...saved? Maybe? I mean he also go destroyed when his competitor had not a single card in his duel disk so...

...Leon will have to work on his card honor off screen because he’s pretty well humiliated at this point.

But stumbling onto the playing field like he’s half dazed/daydrunk, Zigfried is like “You forgot I already won, bastards!”

Which is when we find out that Zigfried’s “delete all” virus failed to press “enter” and deleted basically nothing. Just like when my Mom attempts to send something in Gmail but doesn’t press “Send” and tells me that Google is down and broken.

Sorry my bro has informed me that he ALSO has had to help my Mother locate the “Send” button and I just...I know she absolutely did that but I’m in denial that this Riddle of the Sphinx has happened to her multiple times.

Honestly, the pep talk we get from Leon at the end to cheer up his bro was a whole lot of “we will pick ourselves up and we’ll do better next time. Together.” and sure you can translate that as “we’ll be honest next time” or you can translate that as “next time we will be not nearly as obvious about inserting a virus into their computer until it is done doing the job, bro.”

Just like Dartz, we didn’t really get a whole lot of retribution or closure when it comes to Zigfried. But, unlike Dartz, Zigfried didn’t do too much murder, so I guess this is fine. He tried to cheat in a card game...

...and I guess tried to delete Kaiba Corp but youknow...

...people let him have that. The police saw the ticket of “this man tried to delete Kaiba Corp” and they just...didn’t arrest him. The judge saw that ticket and didn’t put out a warrant. They just let Zigfried have this, almost like “better luck next time, ya?”

And then Roland clocked out for the day and went home, thus ending this arc.

Look at all these characters, most of which we never saw duel even one card.

We also got one shot of Mai for some reason although she was not in this arc.

AAAHHHH. Every time I’m like “the show is done screwing geography” we get another freakin geography spook!

But we went back to California in order to get a scene of these guys in an airport to get a flight to Japan...

which means Rex and Weevil just...were they shipped home by the Kaibas? Because way to ditch getting arrested by the American Government, hot damn. They are...literally terrorists who destroyed a Caltrain in a plot to kill everyone in the world so like...really surprised Rex and Weevil are in public...but maybe all the FBI were dead at the time so they just didn’t know?

Meanwhile, Duke has to go back to Death Valley and call a tow truck for his car, RIP.

I sure hope he got PTO during this stunt and isn’t going home to a pink slip.

I’m not sure of Dukes life or anything going on with Duke. I’m sure the thing about Serenity is him joking because we have all forgotten about that girl by this point...but also...is Duke...still living in the Tenderloin? The crime rate is very, very high and the ground isn’t solid, so it will liquefy if there’s an Earthquake, but it is one of the few places in the Bay Area that doesn’t light on fire every year. He has that going for him.

I just really hope Duke moves out of the Tenderloin one of these days, he needs a better life.

Meanwhile, Rebecca does one last crime.

This is like a post-epidemic reaction to a hug, but in 2002(3?).

I don’t think I’ll miss Rebecca too much. Wanted to like her more, but she was under-utilized, like most of the characters on Yugioh. Not even just talking girl characters here--most characters on Yugioh are super under-utilized, just Tristan Wallflowers doing nothing, but also being selectively OP as hell about very specific things they never, ever need to do.

Speaking of the devil:

Yugi...just saved his entire company...

But Mokuba is just has to make sure to make it seem like they owed Mokuba and not the other way around. Just in case.

So off they go on this massive plane. It’s probably more to do with the length of the trip as to why the plane is so big but also...

This plane is overcompensating.

But before we analyze that, lets close the book on Seto Kaiba’s very short therapy arc. Overall, it was a nice distraction, but I can see why people call it a filler arc, as it really doesn’t affect...anything going on in the major plotlines, which makes me think it could have been a movie or a game or something. But overall, it’s not bad, it’s just not what you’d expect if you were a Western audience.

Like I’m preaching to the choir, but typically, Western stories are entirely plot focused, and so our arcs always give or take away from that plot. But in a Eastern story arc, it may instead be character focused, where the climax is a character evolving or coming to some sort of cathartic realization, which this arc was, in a big way. We still had some plot, because this is a Shonen, but overall it was about characters, and specifically whether or not Leon and his bro would reconcile or change--which they did.

We did get to see a little more growth on Seto in that he...didn’t go bonkers and hallucinate during a card game. It’s been a while since we’ve had him not do that. Seto was very chill this arc, which makes sense, it was a very chill slice of life arc for everyone involved.

So, next we move on to the next one, which bro has informed me...is

still not Bakura.

According to Bro, the next arc didn’t even air in the Japanese version of the show? Like he’s got a lot of spicy Yugioh headcanons so he could be wrong (He did tell me that he thought that Zigfried was Seto Kaiba’s ex boyfriend when he saw this as a kid which...that sure is a way to interpret this arc, and it probably wasn’t just my little brother who went down that thought tube there...)

(Bro Note: To be fair, I didn’t watch much of this arc as a kid.)

But he says the next arc was originally a movie. But they released it in the States as episodes to be part of S5, just to put more episodes in there. Which, if he’s correct, makes it seem like we’re getting like the Mulan 2 experience kind of shoved in between this arc and the next

But um..

according to bro it has virtually no card games.

.......

I’m so used to only capping 10 minutes an episode, what?

Anyway, until then, here’s the link to read the rest of these from the start in chrono order:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

I’m kinda itching to do a Season Zero, it’s been a hot minute--so those take a little longer to do, especially since I need to go to a different site I haven’t...checked out yet...I’ll be back...eventually? I just know that at some point in Season Zero they fight it out with yo-yo’s and I want to see it.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Let’s talk TroPreCure! (^∀^ 🌺)

i’m so stupidly proud of this dumb pun “tropurikyua~”, hahahahaha

Last post of the year and wow is there are lot to be excited for!

I even had to make a list for the stuff I want to talk about and I’m sure I already forgot one or two things but we’ll get to them as we continue to float~ along the wave to February 28th, mmkay? :)

Now for what has peaked my interest so far. And yes, we have to talk about the following first:

1) HealPre the shortest Precure season??

Unless they plan for double features in February (which I doubt but you never know), HealPre is likely going to reach only 45 episodes long instead of the usual 48~50 before TroPre I’m using this shortening of the title for now so if there’s a better alternative, tell me and I’ll switch out begins its broadcast.

Understandable because the producers probably want to get back to their normal scheduling as soon as possible (toy sales, y’know) and I suspect pushing the start of the new season back by a month is the most they’re willing to compromise.

As for me, I’m quite happy about this since HealPre’s lost its hold on my attention a while ago so the sooner TroPre gets here, the better. Though the downside might be a scrambled climax and a rushed, underwhelming ending for HealPre (I dunno if it’s January’s titles that feel a bit messy or if the hiatus is still throwing me off) but whatever. We’ll refresh ourselves with the new blood Cures so it’s all good.

2) Tropical movie announced for Autumn 2021, no All Stars??

(source)

First saw this mentioned on Youtube somewhere but it’s all over the fandom forums by now. I mean, HealPre’s movie is set for March, the usual time slot for All Stars release. If Toei intended for there to be an All Stars in 2021, there’s no way they would announce the seasonal movie before it so speculations of them skipping it this year are probably true.

To squeeze it somewhere between March and October-ish would force them to readjust their budgets as well and I don’t think even Toei wants to go through that extra hassle after all the trouble the pandemic’s caused for everyone already. It’s just easier to resume All Stars in 2022.

That, and I think Laura being a major character in TroPre despite not having a Cure title (yet) would make for an awkward situation when the three latest teams gather so perhaps that’s also one of the reasons. But I’ll get back to Laura in a bit.

3) Cure Summer is a RAINBOW Cure

So god help me if I see anyone calling her a Pink Cure.

Yes, she’s the lead Cure for this season. NO, she is not a Pink Cure.

Look, even the official website has a rainbow overlay for her profile pic and text font while everyone else’s respective theme colors are a solid hue:

Therefore, RAINBOW.

In promotional material and merchandising, they’re probably going to advertise her primarily with pink bah and at worst, she might occasionally be labeled as a White Cure with multiple subcolors (her outfit is not pink-dominant) but definitely NOT. PINK.

...also, this goes without saying but f***yea, we finally got a lead Cure practically and unabashedly wearing the LGBTQ flag and you cannot tell me otherwise, Toei!

Own up to it! Declare Manatsu/Cure Summer as the Precure queer icon!

I’m not gonna stop yellin’ until you do! 😠

4) Laura = obvious midseason Cure is obvious

First of all, Laura is a babe. I already love her the best and she’s not even Precure yet. <3

Anyways, the set-up is pretty much in the description. Important main character who’s not a mascot, stated to have a self-confident personality and just speaks her mind (oooh, I like~ :D), magical/foreign being from another world looking for Precure to save her home, possesses her own special item(s), has aspirations to become the next Queen (so she’s a princess-candidate or something to that effect, I suppose).

We’ve seen various combinations of these traits in past midseason (and a few starter) Cures so nobody should be surprised when we all guessed that one of the Cures would be a real live mermaid.

The only question is why not just make Laura a Cure from the get-go if she’s introduced to us at the beginning (like Hime or Lala) and having a team of five with no unnecessary extra add-ons later on (like Smile).

Well, there’s a simple answer for that: formula.

Toei is afraid that if they don’t spit out some new animation sequence at the halfway and third quarter points of the show, the kids will lose interest and abandon the series altogether. Which means failed toy sales. Oh nooo... [/sarcasm]

...Yea. 

And this way they can also have Laura available in the Cure lineup for the next All Stars in 2022 instead of making her sit the fight out if we were going to have one in 2021. I’m convinced that’s gotta be one of the reasons. *shrug*

But ok, whatever. Her debut is gonna be later, that’s all. She’s a delayed Cure.  Midseason Cure, same difference.

Moving along to the more important stuff now like what’s her Cure name gonna be, y/y?

Well, knowing Toei, a translation of the term “mermaid” into another language is the most predictable route even though we already have a Cure Mermaid. Not like that ever stopped them from repeating words before (ex. Cure Happy vs Cure Felice). Though if they do go down that road, I hope they opt for the Spanish/Italian “sirena” and not the French “sirène” because the latter sounds too close to how Cure Selene is pronounced in Japanese. And, putting it nicely, we all know Japanese pronunciation of foreign words is as off kilter as can be.

Hell, even the the Portuguese “sereia” sounds aesthetic as hell so it’d be nice if they can just remember there are other languages that exist out there besides Japanese, English and French when making the final decision at the writing table! *stomps foot* >:/

Alternatively, “nereid” or “naiad” are good choices too but they remind me too much of Greek myths and Laura’s from the Grand Ocean which covers more than just a couple of seas (Greece is surrounded by three, btw) so...

I dunno. But whatever it’s gonna be, she’s definitely got a strong association with water and her powers will probably be based on that.

As for theme color, since there’s noticeably no blue or green Cure in the starter lineup, it’s likely she will take up that spot when she debuts around ep 20.

Pink is also open since Cure Summer, again, is technically not a Pink Cure and Laura’s hair and tail fin are hot and light pink respectively but looking at Laura’s design and concept, does anyone seriously believe that?

Her upper torso consists of aquamarine while the body of her tail is definitely some shade of cyan, implying they’re aiming for somewhere around the middle of green and blue on the lighter spectrum.

And yea, I’m aware that green and blue are considered exchangeable in some perspectives with how close some of their shades are to each other but officially, I think Laura’s gonna be grouped with the Green Cures.

Cuz of the hair. If Laura’s gonna keep it the same or a similar shade after transforming, that is. The Blues have always had cool-colored hair so putting Laura in with them might disrupt that harmony whereas if you put her with the few Greens there are (including Parfait), she’d fit right in.

I mean, we’ll see but that makes the most sense, doesn’t it?

On another note, I just want to say that I love how they added frills to her arms instead of letting her elbows go bare naked. It definitely makes her look more like a genuine mermaid than if she didn’t have them (remember, half fish doesn’t mean half the body :P).

5) Magical Items

Frankly, I’m tired of seeing the transformation device being a compact again even though one of the main motifs is make-up this season. But at least, as far as Precure compacts goes, the Tropical one is my favorite cuz of how cute and delightfully colorful its toy version looks! So I guess I’m okay with it.

The Heart Rouge Rod, though? ...I dunno. I think it would’ve been fine without that...straw (?) jutting out at the top. It looks weird, doesn’t it look weird? :S

As for the collectible clip-ons, I can live without those for the rest of my life. Yeesh.

Laura’s items, the Aqua Pot and the Ocean Prism Mirror.

Again with the portable, travel-size housing. *sigh* 😩

Alright, I can let this year slide cuz Laura (I’m so soft for her, omg) probably won’t be getting legs for 20 weeks so she’s got to move about on land somehow. But unless they’re really thinking about turning this idea of carrying your apartment around in your bag/pocket/purse into a reality (cuz that would be effin’ awesome), please be more creative with your toys.

On the other hand, I’m much more interested in the Ocean Prism Mirror but from what Kusyami (the Precure merchandise reviews I follow on Youtube) said in his latest vid, this is the ED dance item so don’t know if it’ll actually have an relevance to the story or not. But I did hear him mention it having something to do with the Queen as well and since Laura wishes to become Queen, maybe it’ll be important after all? Maybe it’s her transformation device?

That’d be super cool. Let’s continue the trend of the midseason Cure having a different transformation item than the starters. Honestly, we should alternate every other year or two but we’ve gone three seasons with all of them using the same henshin gimmicks up till HealPre and I just want a break from that.

6) Fin sleeves??

These look so impractical for combat so maybe it’s exclusive to group attacks.

And/or a sort of precursor to the super forms?

*GASP* Does that mean they all eventually turn into mermaids? 🤩

7) Yui finally became Precure!! 😭

lol, it’s all crack from this point on so don’t take it too seriously but man, after Yuni’s deceptive braids, I thought I wasn’t gonna see anything that reminded me of Yui for a while and lo behold, Sango.

kehehehehehe xD;

Though Yui might be closer to Minori in terms of personal interests (fairytales and storybooks).

8) Akira, the actual Onee-chan version

I didn’t think this when I first saw her but once I read “Onee-san” in her profile, there’s no saving you now. Sorry, Asuka. 😅

Also, damn, do her sandals make her feet look big! Compare them to the heels she wears as Flamingo. Are they even the same?! lololol

9) ...this sounds awfully familiar...

Translation:

Tokimeku Tokonatsu! [Exciting/Thrilling Everlasting Summer!] Cure Summer! Kirameku Hoseki! [Sparkling Jewel!] Cure Coral!  Hirameku Fuurutsu! [Flashing Fruit!] Cure Papaya!

Japanese reiteration:

Mallow/Mao: Pink no tokimeki! Lillie: Blue no kirameki! Lana/Suiren: Yellow no kagayaki!

….........

@Toei 

Care to explain yourselves, punks?! 

୧(ʘ ∀ ʘ ╬)

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 14: Orphan Black 2x04

Got home early today, took a nice long nap, made dinner, and watched Orphan Black. I’m still not sure I feel good but I feel a little better, which is something I guess.

This was a really good episode! It focused a lot on characters I liked, and didn’t have too much extraneous in it.

I love Cal so much, and the weird little family he, Sarah, and Kira make warms my heart so much. He basically is male!Sarah if she just mellowed out a little bit and started keeping bees. He has great taste in sweaters, windswept hair, secret RVs “not under his name” and he asks minimal questions. Her perfect guy. And he’s sweet with Kira. Love the awkward new dad trope also!!

Helena’s story line is nightmare fuel to the point where it’s almost unwatchable but I admire them for showing it as a horror and... I mean if you’re going to do it, do it, no point in going half-assed with your rural religious fertility-cult concept.

I have a weird fondness for Gracie, tbh. Like even when she smuggled Helena. First off, that was a ballsy move. And second, she seems to at least have a better grasp on the concepts of her religion than her father does lol. So she has that going for her.

The weather was really working for them when they shot this episode. Cal and Kira out by the corn field, Art watching Helena in a ripped up wedding dress running across a field under very lightly falling snow... Where is MY stark rural landscape and very lightly falling snow??

Cosima was back to her primarily expository role but you can see that her illness story is going to really ramp up soon. It’s a little weird it’s taken this long... we’re almost halfway through season 2 and it’s the primary thing I remember about her role in the show. I’m a little worried to see it get worse/more prominent. For obvious reasons coughing and lung diseases hit differently now.

But at least there was no Delphine.

Not that much Alison either but she was on point and at a 10 in every short scene. Personal favorite line today was “I don’t believe I’ve ever done the nasty.” Also just every interaction with Felix. He just loves being her brother and you can tell. My mom is right: he likes that she needs him, that he can take care of her in a way. He feels left out of Sarah’s life. When he was talking to her at S’s house, about how Cosima is in her lesbian love nest and Alison is in recovery... he just sounded so left out.

Mrs. S was absolutely kickass today. I forgot that I shipped her and Carlton lol. But that was ridiculously hot. It was like.. such a cliche of old lovers from some kind of Dangerous Field alternately threatening each other, flirting, reminiscing, and fucking, but I loved it.

I’m not entirely sure what S is supposed to know... maybe the show doesn’t know. I remember a lot of what I read as retconning going on with her. I liked her best, as a concept, when she was just this woman involved in radical work who ended up with a kid of mysterious origins, and then she got pulled into the whole greater mystery/conspiracy/whatever. At this point I’m still okay with how she’s being developed... They’re doubling down on the Carlton story, and he seems to not know anything about the clones. So it’s still possible that she got Sarah randomly and THEN did some digging, and got into Leda and all that. But even then might not have known about clones until Sarah told her? Idk I’m just trying to make my preferred headcanon work I guess.

The whole ‘pro-clone’ thing could be interesting... I don’t know, it just never did anything for me tbh. I know some people for whom Rachel was their favorite but I never got her particularly. The vhs tapes of her and her parents, which I remembered in a supremely vague way, were interesting though. And it’s even weirder when you remember that Sarah is seeing someone who looks like her own younger self. And I like the callback to the Beth tapes. I miss Beth.

I couldn’t even be scared of the return of what’s-his-face, even though his torture plans were gross and terrible and I could barely watch Sarah’s fear, because I kept thinking ‘she and Cal really dropped the ball not actually making sure he was dead.’ Like she barely checked for his pulse! Helena would have slit his throat to be sure. And Mrs S would have shot him point blank lol. What did she teach these kids??

The next ep is the halfway point of the ep somehow?? Already?

[ichika27]

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun ep 21

New character incoming!!!.... or is it?

I nearly forgot I haven’t made a post yet :P

Proud members of the Unofficial Iruma Fanclub. I don’t know why they haven’t made one yet at this point to be honest.

Iruma hears about Akudol (or Dem-dol in the sub). He asks what it is and got a little lesson about it’s meaning. It’s more than just a pun for the word ‘Idol’ which is cool. Japanese language really is kind of complicated yet interesting. With this, we’re told how important the role is of Akudol in the Netherworld.

On the other hand, here’s the person behind the popular akudol, Kuromu-chan. It’s no surprise with the character design and all, to be honest but knowing doesn’t mean it ruins the big reveal. It’s finally Crocell Kerori’s spotlight episode after all!

She’s cute and talented but despite how confident she acts on stage, she does get embarrassed of her actions and outfits behind the scene. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy her job - she does and she loves it. She just happens to be self-conscious.

Cuteness is Justice!

So here’s her backstory: her siblings always get praised by her parents but she isn’t as good as them. She wants to be special and get attention, too. Then as she grew up, she realized how everyone looks and treats her and finally figures out a talent she has that her family doesn’t and uses it not just to help others but to finally achieve her dream. Using the power of her cuteness, she becomes a popular Akudol!

Popular as she may be, she can’t tell everyone about it and so she keeps it a secret. So in school, she’s just plain old Kerori and the person who gets the most attention in school is Iruma. It pisses her off cause Iruma kept getting the bigger part of the school news while her, as Kuromu-chan, only gets her news printed on a little corner.

Her being an idol who wears glasses when out of the spotlight and wants attention reminds me of another character exactly like that: Kanon from ‘The World God Only Knows’ except Kanon isn’t secretly an idol and everyone knows who she is. They’d probably get along if they met to be honest, though.

By the way, this is her manager and is the only person as far as it was revealed, that knows of who she is and is also the one to remind her not to use her ice powers cause it’ll definitely be a big clue as to who she and her family is behind the akudol persona.

In the middle of the concert...

She sees the person she would hate to see the most. lol

Like, Iruma’s way at he back but she still accurately pinpointed where the hell he is and has to stop herself from being pissed on stage. Iruma and his friends are here cause the Broadcasting club had tickets they don’t need anymore cause they’d be working backstage in this concert anyways.

Iruma winning the meet-and-greet was a coincidence also, to Kuromu-chan’s dismay. I honestly thought she did it on purpose to get revenge or something but no, Iruma is just lucky (or is he?).

She tries to show off how great she is but in the middle of it noticed that many things in the room could potentially give away her real persona and tries to hide them in desperation. Her actions though made her more suspicious.

Which is useless cause Iruma knew anyways. His reasoning is to be belived - the guy is like a freaking detective from a mystery anime and the clues he found weren’t something that normal people would pay attention to in the first place.

Like, what other skills does Iruma have that he hasn’t shown to us?

He promised not to tell anyone of this though.

You’re not supposed to say that, dude.

I mean, I get why he said that. In any other circumstance, this is a compliment but it’s the total opposite of what Kerori wanted. Also, he didn’t know she hated him for this exact reason. He’d probably have kept his mouth shut if he knew.

She gets annoyed though and loses control. I actually thought there’d be a fight or at least, an attack...

but she passes out. Iruma then calls for help.

--

The episode ends but I did see something interesting in the next episode preview. From what I and the other viewers have seen from the clips, it seems Kerori can’t go on stage anymore and so someone should take her place. I wonder who?

Hmmm....

Take a guess. I bet you already know where this is going. Hehehehe~

Also, I have to say again how I like the fact that they never changed the OP and ED of the show as others did halfway through. I do like both songs. If they ever had another season though, they need something to top those 2 really catchy songs.

[ghosty-schnibibit]

much earlier in the day than usual taz liveblog! ^o^

the only reason this is going up so early is i haven’t slept yet lmao, i fixed my sleep schedule for about a month and then went right back to being nocturnal.

i've spent the last four nights or so staying up til around ten in the morning binging the magnus archives (i'm about halfway through season three right now) and enjoying the hell out of it. for anyone who followed me bc of my taz liveblogs, rest assured i'm still going to be keeping up with graduation and taz in general :P

without further ado, here we go!

i fucking forgot about “thundermen”

awww, argo made friends with the kitty ^u^

snippers my sweet prince

"i think i take a great deal of delight in that" fitzroy you lil bastard man ilu

clint asking the important questions here lol

you've just described hell travis

did clint already forget the name of the school

jesus that's depressing argo

god i wish i'd had a gary during college to remind me of stuff

i vill tell you the story of melon

i love firbolg and argo so much, they are my favorite best of friends

aww firbolg ; _ ;

fitzroy i am suspicious of where your folks even are

yes fitz get your cloak back you silly boy

i love firbolg so much holy shit

i hope we get to see the boys hang out over spring break, that sounds like a fun episode

"that's good narrative!" travis ilu

oh god the capitalism owl is back

“i vill not do this thing” mood

justin's about to hit us with that sad shit i just know it

called it ; _ ;

... well damn that made me sadder than i expected

i'm still very suspicious about that dog

fitzroy you dumb little shit ilu

make sure higglemis isn't pulling a sazed lmao

you are being very paranoid fitz but that’s okay

"you don't curse well" he's a good sweet boy

jesus christ fitz maybe don't say this to the dude in charge of the school

fitzroy my sweet boy what is your deal, please tell us

... so fitzroy basically wants a venue to prove himself to be a good person that doesn't revolve around performance and artifice. he wants a way to gain power on his own merits without relying on status to boost him up, and felt knighthood was a better way to accomplish that than going to a school where he’s basically being trained to fit a specific role in life

i can see where higglemis is coming from with his worldview given that he's been forced to play second fiddle to his brother for so long

i have a sneaking suspicion that hieronymus thinks he can better manipulate or keep fitz under his thumb in the villian track

fitzroy you dumb himbo baby, my sweet stupid son who i love so much

well that was fucking tense as hell, jesus fuck

yes, on to my sweet boy

c r e e e e e p y

ilu jackyl

why would he want a pocket watch though?

i feel significantly better in argo's ability to do challenge this now that there aren't any life altering consequences

this is going well so far

argo this is such a dumb plan, you are smarter than this my boy

"i'm drawing a word picture" ilu clint

argo this is a dumb and bad plan and you need to roll for this!!!

clint my sweet son

yeah!!! that is how it works!!!

A R G O  W H A T  T H E  F U C K

i cannot fucking believe that worked holy shit

idk if it's just because the creepy voice is gone but i'm trusting jackyl more and more

ARGO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING

take your caffe back to chicago 

he got a fuckin tattoo holy shit

what is this reference justin

argo is deeply committed and i love it

this whole bit has been so good

oh damn that was quick edit, holy shit, i didn't even realized we were going into the money zone

there we go, there's the regular intro, i missed it

yay! my favorite girl's birthday :D

awww, argo and firbolg being bestest buds is so wonderful

a knight's tale is the only one of those movies i've seen, please juice don’t dunk on me like this

i know i keep saying this over and over but i love their friendship so much, it warms my heart dearly

fitzroy my sweet boy, he cannot cuss for the life of him 

"as partners" y'all

i love them so much, my sweet loves

god this is cute as shit, i am sold, i am sailing away on the fitzrain ship

... argo were you about to give her the same thing???

argo where the fuck did you- oh okay, nevermind lol

oh firbolg my sweet son

oh my god this is the best holy shit

rainier is my sweet darling girl and i love her so much

i need art of this so bad this sounds so cute

argo why are you busking at your dear friend's birthday party

good god argo really is shaping up to be the magnus of this campaign in terms of rolling and bonuses

yay! festo is back :D

what was that noise travis

festo is going to dance with the wee crabby, i love this so

WHY IS THERE DUBSTEP NOW

i need this as a ringtone asap 

i am so bad with names, is buckminster the nice one or the malfoy one??? oh yay good he is the nice one

oh no, what happened to leon? D:

"he wouldn't leave me!" ... are they together?

gross griffin, gross

yes! show love to your sweet crab!

i love these sweet dumb friend boys

oh dang, so the blacksmith professor is in the group too??? interesting

not liking that emphasis on "when someone needs stopping," this is extremely interesting but i'm worried about the narrative implications of this, vís a vís argo being made to turn on his friends

this is so powerful, wow

i'm gonna cry but in a happy way ; u ;

oh snap this is already so cool, wow wow wow

how many teachers are in on this, dang

WAIT WHAT??? why do they want dirt on fitzroy?????

so higglemis was the one who controlled him???

"you may forget" WHAT IS GOING ON

OH FUCK, HIGGLEMIS WHAT ARE YOU UP TO? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SWEET LEON???

dang there was a lot of development this ep, plot and character-wise! i’m very worried for literally all three of my boys, but also very excited to see what travis has planned from here on out now that some conflict appears to be brewing!

see you guys next right thursday~ ^u^

[galenaes]

Glee rewatch 5x10 “Trio” and beyond

Thoughts under the cut

Ugh.... I had blocked out the part where Will and Emma were leaving classes to get it on in the faculty bathroom....  

how could they forget to lock the door???  Scarred Becky for life

 I don’t blame Sue for retching at the news that Shue and Emma “were able to achieve a successful emission”  Yuck

Poor Artie... being left out of all the senior 'trio’ lol    

lol what Blaine? ‘No, no you had your turn.’ he says as he pushes Artie away when he tries to get into the group hug to help stop Tina from crying.

That is so wrong Blaine lol

Why are you giving Rachel what she wants, Elliott? Getting her dry cleaning and her tea? What? Are you her assistant? 

lol Rachel telling Elliott she was kicked out when she turned up at his doorstep. Um, no Rachel... YOU chose to leave. Stop being so dramatic

though lol at her coercing Elliott into giving her his bed and making him sleep on the couch 

oh Elliott, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into... allowing Rachel to stay with you indefinitely lol 

I’ve always hated when Rachel refers to Kurt as her ‘best gay’ so I’m glad Elliott called her out on it. Too bad it went right over her head.

Rachel is out of her mind if she thinks Kurt hasn’t done anything for her since graduation.... He’s the one who signed her up for the audition to get her dream role in the first place... 

Blaine: “Holy crap, I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Me neither, Blaine, me neither. The world’s longest school year ever is coming to a close and you are finally gonna be allowed to graduate 

lol Sam promising Tina he’ll send her a Vine of him doing impressions for the rest of his life...  Ok well that’s not gonna happen now since Vine only exists as an archive now 

....this is so awkward to watch.... Tina crying on the ground.... the acting is just.... yeah

lol Poor Blaine being in the middle of boob talk with Sam and Tina.

“Oh, girl, this is so high school.” Elliott has no idea what he’s walked into lol

Nighbird falling through the window. So graceful lol

I wonder... does Kurt know about Blaine’s Nighbird costume lol

Could you imagine how much trouble they would’ve gotten into had they been caught on this break in? 

Though Blaine’s idea of rebellion is definitely more rebellious than Kurt’s flash photography at the MET idea of rebellion ;) lol 

Oh  I forgot about Becky catching them

And Blaine gets roped into playing twister with Becky

Blaine catching Tina and Sam making out LOL

Blaine asking Sam if he forgot about Nurse Penny... well the writers definitely did until this very moment

Blaine running through the halls in disgust lol

FINALLY we have Kurt show up in this episode. Over halfway through. 

Needs more Kurt. Of course, I will always be of the opinion than any given episode needs more Kurt.

“You don’t own him, Rachel.” 

And her calling him a traitor again *eyeroll*

Rachel and Santana fighting over Elliott is just....  sigh

I love how Kurt is like the only one who never gets a song at the Spotlight Diner.... Even Elliott gets one and he doesn’t even work there.

Kurt is so over their feud. 

though lol at the two of them trying to one up each other during this

lol Kurt’s face though

The timeline for this episode feels a little wonky. Most of Tina, Blaine and Sam’s story takes place in one night while the NYC plot seems to take place over several days. Am I wrong? 

Blaine can’t handle boob talk apparently lol 

“I turned down bumper bowling with Kitty and Artie and you know how much I love bumper bowling...” L O L

I feel for Kurt trying to play mediator. It’s a difficult task when you’re dealing with two divas... 

Good for Kurt calling both of them out... that they only care for themselves while he’s the one that got screwed over by their bickering

I’m soooo glad he kicked them out of the band lol 

Rachel to Santana: “I think I just saw a squirrel run up the back of your hair”  lol 

It seems like Kurt’s band has quite a fanbase... too bad the writers dropped it like a hot potato. Am I bitter about it? Probably. Because it could’ve been something that actually went somewhere and would’ve been different...

At least it seems like Rachel and Santana finally feel bad for acting the way they did towards Kurt...

Finally... Santana and Rachel are being civil towards one another again. Still not 100% friendly but it’s a start...

Blaine is right... this senior year has been so weird and really hard...  Sooo much has happened when you take in s4 and s5 together. 

Poor Artie.... being left out of the senior stuff once more 

At least they finally included him in the final number lol

still kinda sucks that Kurt’s new friends (Elliott and Dani) will inexplicably disappear when their contracts run out.... and this is why they shouldn’t have stunt casted as often as they did... especially for stories that could have actually gone somewhere

This episode was blissfully newbie free....

5x11 City of Angels

...so why do the writers prop Sam up and claim he’s the leader of the group when Blaine has been in that role the entire year? 

It’s probably to help set up his endgame story.... but still 

Blaine giving hugs to his future in-laws :)

They’ve finally remembered they need chaperones 

But Finn.... :(

One of the few eps where they didn’t have to hide the LA skyline when they went outside XD

I wonder if Blaine called up his brother Cooper while they were in LA lol

“Do none of you read the show choir blogs?” lol oh blaine

Tina’s face when Sam calls himself the leader of the New Directions... right there with ya, girl.... wtf?  It’s Blaine...

Jean-Baptiste is so over the top lol 

“He smells like a winner.”

ugh after them being blissfully quiet for several episodes, now we get newbie stuff..... sigh

I don’t get why they pushed Marley as a songwriter...

Carole :(

Ugh newb drama

I kind of feel like Blaine is letting Sam feel as though he’s the leader... because he needs it at the moment. 

Blaine’s reaction to prancercise lady lol 

I can’t see how these girls from The Amazonians can even walk in those heels... it’s soooo thin O_o

They’re singing Finn’s favorite songs :(  (which i’m assuming means they’re singing Cory’s favorite songs ....)

The callback to the choreography from Don’t Stop Believing... nice touch. 

I remember watching this live and being totally unprepared for the Finn flashbacks.... :(

She’s gonna be gone in like 2 episodes, why bother giving Marley a storyline about her future?

:(   sucks that they lose....

second place always feels like you’ve lost terribly when it’s still really good. 

This scene with Sue and Shue is actually a pretty good one... 

still sucks that she disbanded the glee club though....when 2nd place is not terrible and most schools would kill to be able to get that ranking at the National level... 

While I appreciate a chance to see Kurt... this scene is really kind of pointless lol  since it just rehashes what was said in the previous scene. 

[shemakesmusic-uk]

TRACK BY TRACK BREAKDOWN: Getaway Car EP by charly haze.

Dutch London-based electropop sensation charly haze shares her debut EP Getaway Car via Kartel Music Group. The 5-track EP includes new single ‘Getaway Car’, as well as previous singles ‘Tanlines’, ‘California, 2am’, ‘Backfire’, and a dreamy rendition of Don Henley’s ‘The Boys Of Summer’.

The Getaway Car EP was written over the course of three years between 2017 and 2020, after a traumatic brain injury caused by a severe car accident put charly’s life on hold. Specialist treatment brought her to the US, where the concept for her EP was born. Inspired by the Californian Summer, charly captured both her recovery and travel experiences to create a raw and honest collection of songs, that feature painfully relatable lyrics featuring cars and driving as a thematic throughline that punctuates the EP.

Borrowing influences as wide as ‘80s pop, modern alt-pop and synthwave, the EP is a kaleidoscopic journey across the music that inspired charly as a singer, songwriter and producer. This is easy to observe in latest eponymous single ‘Getaway Car’, a collaboration with writer/producer David Westmeijer (The Brahms). Inspired by electronic acts such as The Blaze and ford. and layered with lush and dreamy pop vocals backed by a pulsating and irresistible synth bass line, ‘Getaway Car’ is charly at her most infectious and accessible.

We asked charly to do an in depth track by track breakdown of Getaway Car for us. Read it below.

Tanlines

‘Tanlines’ was my very first single that came out last year in April, exactly 3 years after my car accident. Recovering from a traumatic brain injury, I spent most of the time at home, only going out for therapy/groceries/a walk. I felt very isolated and to stay positive I tried to capture past travel experiences into songs, nostalgically longing for that careless freedom that would hopefully return some day. I had to meditate a lot and visualising warm, sunny places really helped to calm my brainwaves, and it gave me hope for the insecure future. Specialist treatment brought me to the US, after which I did a roadtrip through California. I’ve included lots of footage from this trip in the music video.

The song explores that feeling when Summer is over but you’re not ready to let go just yet. The tan lines are starting to fade from your body and daily life is calling. People cross paths at certain moments and places in life, but some things just won’t last due to various reasons and circumstances. ‘Tanlines’ is about embracing those fleeting experiences, as they nevertheless become meaningful memories.

My favourite part of the song is the bridge, where I stacked loads of dreamy harmonies together.

Backfire

Even though all my songs are autobiographical, ‘Backfire’ is my most personal song to date, as it stares right in my soul and I’m sharing my most vulnerable thoughts. It’s about battling the brain injury (whiplash), and the emotional rollercoaster that was the recovery. It captures the contrast between the darkest days of despair and the fighting spirit; losing control over your body and doing whatever it takes to regain it. However, it is not a sad song; the emphasis lies on perseverance, courage, and invincibility.

For the music video I wanted to tell the story with my body and the affected parts of my body (back, neck, shoulders), so I teamed up with an amazing contemporary choreographer, trained (via Zoom) for 6 weeks and shot the music video in front of a green screen in my living room. A visual artist added loads of crazy background and I’m so proud of how the video turned out.

California, 2AM

As we’re halfway through the EP now, you might have noticed that cars and driving are a thematic throughline in the lyrics. ‘California, 2am’ describes the ambiguity of a stormy love affair, using metaphors of a car chase to convey the all too relatable head vs heart dichotomy (“I see your conscience in the rear-view mirror”). It’s very cinematic, starting off with a spoken word intro, followed by a dreamy sexy verse before the thundering synths and beat kick in. The ‘80s darkwave-inspired backdrop is full of pulsing arpeggios, sinister synth melodies and a driving guitar riff, balancing between sensuality and bitterness.

This fling was doomed to fail from the beginning, but I liked the thrill of it and thought to myself, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ My life had been on hold for 2 years and when you’ve been at such a low point, apparently your standards go down too (lol). Sometimes you just have to jump in that car, enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts, before it eventually crashes. I made a retrowave kinda video (again, in front of a green screen in my living room).

The Boys Of Summer

I made a slow, dreamy, synth version of one of my all time favourite ‘80s songs, ‘The Boys Of Summer’ by Don Henley. I initially discovered the song when I was 10 years old, but being a ‘90s kid it was actually DJ Sammy’s trance cover, not the original! It was the composition and the lyrics that just really grabbed me, that blue post-summer feeling, which is a recurring theme in my own songs as well.

During the first wave of the pandemic, I went back home to The Netherlands for 5 months. Over Summer I rented an apartment in Amsterdam, which was the first time I was back there for a longer period of time since I moved to the UK. I moved away in 2019 straight after my US treatment. As soon as I recovered, I left everything behind to get a fresh start, so I never really got to make up for lost time with my friends. This Summer was full of quality time, which left me feeling a bit heavy-hearted and questioning my decision to move away. But like with holidays, you’re seeing with rose coloured glasses and you filter out all the negative things that made you leave in the first place. For me, that’s what ‘The Boys Of Summer’ is about; a nostalgic reflection on past experiences and decisions made.

I brought a very basic recording set up to the apartment I was staying in, just a tiny midi keyboard, my laptop and a mic, and I started crafting the cover with a basic beat and chords. I wanted to bring the ‘female’ perspective to the song, so I played around with the vocal melodies, adding more variety and adlibs, and added loads of verby harmonies on it. I topped the synth-tinged soundscaped with a sax solo, because hey, it’s an ‘80s inspired power ballad! I did another super lush music video from home, no green screen this time, but I turned my bedroom into a romantic, dreamy pink/purple filmset.

Getaway Car

‘Getaway Car’ is the title track and new single from my EP. It was written in one day during a writing session with Dutch writer and producer David Westmeijer. This was pretty special for me, because I don’t do lots of writing sessions with strangers. I was back in The Netherlands for Christmas and stayed in an Airbnb in Amsterdam for a few days. It felt bittersweet being back in the city where I lived for 10 years, noticing how much I had changed since I left, leaving all the bad brain injury stuff. I forgot street names, I got used to walking everywhere instead of cycling, it just didn’t feel like home anymore. I was reading a book about English idioms, and I stumbled upon the expression ‘to carry a torch’, which is about unrequited love for someone. During my whiplash recovery, I was stuck at home and couldn’t enjoy the city, so it felt like the city no longer loved me and it was time to move on to new beginnings.

The production is inspired by electronic acts such as The Blaze and ford. and is drenched in melancholia, yet full of calmth and acceptance. In order to heal and grow, sometimes you need to take the dive and start over, even though it hurts to leave people and places behind that you deeply care for.

[mysticdragon3md3]

md3 watches Demon Slayer ep1-2

Apparently I watched Demon Slayer last month and I forgot to post my reactions. 1:59 PM 8/26/2019

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 1 – Cruelty

Maybe I shouldn't have started watchign this anime with such high expectations.  I had been passing it up for a while now, even though the "demon hunting" genre used to be *my jam* (before my mental/emotional problems had me watching almost exclusively the iyashikei genre).  But then EVERYONE started saying how good this series was.  And I reluctantly went to go check it off my list today.  Just another thing to do.  And I was hoping it would excite me, more than just being a chore.  

But so far, the character introduction seemed too stale.  Reminded me of what critics have said about Adam Sandler movies, where the beginning of the movie does too much to show "this is a good guy".  It feels too unreal.  And indeed, I couldn't get emmersed.  But I gave it slack, because this is a Shonen Jump manga.  It's about the action to come, not always about characterization or plot---even though the great Shonen Jump manga can do that too.  And anyway, I'm sure in a manga, these introduction scenes would have gone by faster.  Why was I so impatient about it anyway?  Is it because the first scene was an in medias res with high stakes and high tension, but then we're expected to just slow down for this long character introduction flashback?  Usually, I like getting to know a character, especially Shonen protagonists.  They're usually so endearing.  But I guess Tanjiro hasn't been the typical spunky or even quirky protagonist.  His introduction has been all about everyone else showing how nice he's been to them, how trustworthy he's proven himself to everyone, and his sense of smell.  Even his interactions with his family were very subtle, with most of the proactive, more extroverted interactions coming from his siblings.  Then again, such a reserved protagonist is fitting for a serious toned series. And whave I've seen of this series has seemed kind of serious toned.  

Oh, I see.  Seeing Nezuko's character design and Nendoroid all over the place, never without the scroll in her mouth, I wondered if it was a seal so she wouldn't turn into a monster.  I should have remembered that when I saw Tanjiro's slaughtered family.  My first thought was, "They weren't eaten?  What were they killed for then if they still have all their flesh and blood on their bones?"  It was so the demons could proliferate and multiply.  

2:27 PM 8/26/2019

I mean...It's good.  The direction, the charcter designs, the animation, the story,...But I don't care about the characters yet.  

...Until this scene.  When Nezuko is fighting to protect Tanjiro and earlier, Tanjiro's tactics impressing the Demon Slayer were intriguing.  I mean, it's all signs of some good fights to come.  But I don't necesstarily care aobut the characters yet.

UFOTABLE?!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Well, no wonder the animation is so good.  

...I don't know.  I don't feel like watching a second episode.  Maybe later, to kill time.  But I wanted to be exhilierated right now.  I just came back from being depressed yesterday.  I needed something to lift me up.  And this was all tragedy and horror. It doesn't have enough levity for me, and I really need levity in my life right now. 

2:21 PM 8/28/2019

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 2 – Trainer Sakonji Urokodaki

My computer is still booting up though.  So the episode hasn't actually started yet.  

I've decided to give this series another chance.  I mean, episode 1 didn't have enough levity for me, and I need that in my life, especially from what I spend time on as my "entertainment" and "relaxation".  But I don't ONLY like iyashikei.  I mean, I loved Shonen manga/anime for a long time.  So I may as well give this series another chance and see if there's something for me.  Lest I miss out, especially on the Nendoroids whose preorder windows are halfway through _right now_.  If it turns out I like this series and end up falling in love with these characters, I'm going to regret not getting those Nendoroid preorders.  

2:31 PM 8/28/2019

Reloaded page.

Ok.  Opening scene was comedy, so that's an imrovement.  

BTW, what era is this?  When I first saw these character designs without watching this series, their collars looked like gakuran.  So I thought this was one of those modern setting with old-fashioned demon hunter organizations that made their exorcists wear traditional clothing.  But now that I'm watching this series...Is this early Meiji Era?  

Ever since I first noticed the UFO Table name in the credits, I can't stop noticing how nice the animation quaility is.  

Well, that explains the kick pose in Nezuko's Nendoroid.  

I'll say one thing for this series, it very immediately gives teh vibe of a battle manga.  That tone where characters are thinking about strategy, tactics, and you're guessing how they're going to win the fight, what kind of ingenuity the protagonist is going to come up with, etc.  I missed that.  ...that's right I loved the "battle anime" genre.  It used to be the fundamental subgenre I'd watch, with some other kind of genre layered on top of it...or alone.  Now that I think about it, the only "battle anime" I've really been watching lately, has been "Shokugeki no Soma".  The only other Shonen series I've picked up recently, has been "Dr. Stone" and that hasn't proven to be a "battle anime" in several episodes so far.  (I've been really enjoying it from the first epsiode though.  Even more immediately than "Demon Slayer".)  

I mean, everyone---all the anitubers---keep posting how great this series is, so I'd feel bad if I ended up liking it and missing out on the Nendoroid preorders.  But then again, they all love HeroAca, and I gave that series 3+ tries and just couldn't get over how much I dislied Bakugo (and how hard the series tried to frame him with sympathy).  Sorry, bullies are my pet peeve.

So it's one of those demon/yokai series:  Where the demons have some kind of specific weak point.  The demon's body got crushed, and suddenly it's head in another location died or at least felt a lethal blow?  Reminded me of "By the Sword", the manga by Sanami Matoh.  In that manga, the demons had their soul in a spherical jewel and that was their actual weak point.  (You couldn't even crush it to kill them.  You had to capture it, take it to an exorcist, and they would actually destroy yokai for demon hunters.)  Reminds me of the belief that human souls are in a jewel/ball/tama, which usually gets mentioned in kappa stories, about how kappa will try to grab that soul from out of your butt.  

"This kid isn't going to cut it.  He's too kind and can't make decisions.  He's facing a demon, yet the scen tof kindness remains.  He has empathy for even a demon."  Hey, man.  The fact that he's concerned about the suffering of the person he's going to kill is the whole reason I'm now finding Tanjiro endearing.  Sure, it was nice in ep1 when all the villagers showed how much they trusted him and how altruistic he is.  But my pet ideal is Kindness/Compassion.  If a character can retain that, even in the worst circumstances, even towards the worst people, then I'm hooked.  

I guess sunlight is enough.  Oh yeah, Nezuko was hiding from sunlight earlier in thsi ep.  Well, here's the solution to our protagonist retaining his empathy.  ^__^  He jsut has to last until dawn of each fight.  That's fine.  Shonen heros need to show determination through stamina.  

Listen, if the mentor figure is going to slap our protagonist for preserving his Compassion, while the series frames his "lesson" as advocating for admirable Resolve---as Shonen manga/anime are prone to do---then I'm out of here.  I just hope on the obvious hunch that our protagonist is going to prove him wrong, regardless of his standing/experience.  That's what'll make him a Hero...at least the "protagonist who chooses their own option while rejecting the rigid systems" is the type that plays well in America.  "Rebel without a cause" and all that.  Hard to know which way an anime/manga will go until you watch the whole thing.  

Actually, killing Nezuko if she eats a human THEN killing yourself, sounds reasonable.  1, Nezuko already has shown that killing humans for demon food still makes her feel bad enough to cry, so I'm sure if she did it, she'd want to kill herself.  2, Tanjiro would never be able to forgive himself for having to kill Nezuko and he'd want to die too.  Urokodaki then said, "But that must never happen no matter what.  And you'd best not forget."  So looks like he's not going to be that trope mentor who constantly advocates against Compassion as a weakness, just so the protagonist can demonstrate his resolve towards Compassion, by constantly butting heads with the mentor figure.  Good, because battle anime can spend a lot of time with mentors and I don't want their company to be a pain to be around.  

Lost in the thick fog?  No.  He thinks you're going to get eaten by demons on the way down the mountain.  Man, this series did well to establish that association between night and demons, pretty well, if even a forgetful idiot like me can remember. LOL  

Traps?  Wehn did he have time to set that up?  Isn't he just backtracking?  Wouldn't they have set off those traps while going up the mountain???  Whatever.  

"That's why I'm gasping for air like this and feel so dizzy!"  This series does a good job of inserting exposition very quickly and when you want to hear it.  This is going to be an excellent battle anime, isn't it?  

This smoke portrayal reminds me.  I haven't noted how beautiful this art is yet.  I've noted how nice UFO Table's animation is, but these character designs and artwork in general are also pretty nice.  It's nothing fancy like CLAMP, but the draftsmanship is good, everything is very solid in what it needs to do and does nothing in excess...unless needed, when rendering magical things.  Though the artwork during the ending credits shows nice stylized illustration, and not just any "minimums" of draftsmanship.  This nice artwork is also the reason why I want to know if I like this series, before their Nendoroid preorders close.  Because the character designs make the Nendoroids pretty in and of themselves.  The Nezuko Nendoroid is already really cute, without me even knowing who she is.  But I need (to try) to stick to only buying Nenodroids of characters I OBSESSIVELY LOVE from now on, with my budget the way it is now.  As pretty as both the Nezuko and Tanjiro Nendoroids are, if I don't LOVE these characters, then I'll have to skip their preorders.  Of course if the preorders close and I do end up loving these characters, I'll feel pretty bad.  (But I can rely on rereleases, which are coming more often in recent years, and on Good Smile Company's booth sales, like I did for the "Cells at Work" Nendoroid.)  That's why I've gotta get through this series fast!

Still...The preview just ended, and I'm not raring to binge another episode.  So maybe my wallet is looking safe from Nezuko's and Tanjiro's Nendoroids???  o.o???  I don't know...  Maybe I'm just avoidant because indecisiveness is one of my sore spots and Urokodaki keeps scolding our protagonist about it.  Mabye I just don't want to feel bad, wasting all day on binging anime.  I mean, I really like "Dr. Stone" so far, and I don't binge it.  ...I mean, I don't think?  I may have watched 2-3 episodes in one sitting more than I wanted, so....  Ug.  Whatever.  I've got stuff to do, I can't waste time binging "Demon Slayer", and it has yet to grab me enough to make wasting my whole day on it, worth it YET.  

[delirium-drk]

TAG!

RULES: Always post the rules. Answer the questions asked, then write 11 new ones. Tag 11 people to answer your questions, as well as the person who tagged you.

Tagged by @daxiia thank you so much ;o;!!!

warning, fma spoilers!!!!

1. Who do you think has the best character development in the series?

not sure but off the top of my head gREED SOBS i cried SO HARD when Ling had him realize thAT HE JUST WANTS FRIENDS also now that i’ve rewatched beasts of dublith and he was like they’re my possessions!!! I was like cryign GREEED YOU’RE WROOOONNGGGG AND HE DOES REALIZE IT WITH LING’S HELP!!! AND HE ACCEPTS IT AND DOESN’T SEE THEM AS POSSESSIONS ANYMORE!! and then he dies and thanks them SOBS god i watched that last scene SO MANY TIMES so many tears

2. Tell me about your FAVORITE character and your LEAST favorite character? Why do you love/hate them?

my favorite character is LING!! He is so adorable, smart, and amazing!!! Realized how deep his character is after reading people’s analyses. That and i’m just rewatching from the beginning and actually noticing things that i forgot lol he’s not constantly portrayed as dumb, it’s made pretty clear its a facade at the start. at least i think so. he’s also fricking badass. if i could be him, that would be awesome lol.

hmm my least favorite character...first ones that come to mind are kimblee and father, but most likely father/dwarf in the flask. i guess it’s kind of obvious but he’s like the only character that doesn’t have any profound epiphany or remorse. which is a given i guess lol

3. If you could change one thing in the entire series what would it be?

I’d have Greed stay alive and with Ling SOBS 

4. QUICK! Give me a really cute headcanon about your OTP/fave?

oh god this one is going to take me the longest and i’m saving it for last bc i have literally no idea i just feed off other people’s content and don’t really think of things myself I’m not very creative lmao maybe when greedling lies to sleep at night ling won’t shut up and greed complains and calls him a pissant and tells him to shut it but he secretly likes the company lol idk

5. What is your favorite arc and why?

oh god my memory is awful so this will be hard lol i’ve only just started rewatching and im only on ep 16-17 and when i finished the series i started at 36 so... i guess, for now, the arc in the north? it was really interesting seeing the dynamics with the chimeras joining the protags after kimblee left them for dead and of course olivier is badass also miles is super cool a lot of interesting stuff happened in the north and it’s probably what i remember the most right now lol

6. What character do you think is under appreciated?

hmm i really like jean havoc but i guess i don’t see much for him in the general tag? it was a LONG time ago i saw that part of the anime but i remember being really sad when he went out of commission but i think i really got excited at the end when he helped a lot with ammunition or something

7. What is your sin?

probably greed bc i can be selfish and i have so many material desires and i am so spoiled by tyler lmao

8. If you (and someone close to you) were in Ed and Al’s place, would you be okay with using the stone? Why or why not?

 i definitely would not be okay with using it, because it would be turning those human lives into just a number and a tool for one’s own gain i’m not one to use others like that without anything in return

9. Is there any villain you feel sympathy for and can fully understand their motives? Do you think what they did was justified?

Hmm...not really. I’d say the closest would be Scar but I really don’t condone his murders. I can kinda understand him murdering alchemists that took part in the Ishvalan Civil War, but still don’t think it’s right. What kills it is how he tried to kill Ed, who had NO part in the war at all. Like I can understand going after Mustang bc he killed many people, but Ed didn’t do anything. Also why am I suddenly typing with good grammar and stuff. This is the second to last thing I answered lol.

10. Which would you rather eat, Winry’s apple pie or Gracia’s quiche?

oh GOD can’t i just eat everything lmao jk i guuuessss apple pie bc i love pie lol

11. And finally, what is your FAVORITE moment in the entire series? oh god let’s see

also hard bc i don’t remember everything but..i guess when Ling helps Greed realize thAT HE JUST WANTS FRIENDS creys

------SPOILERS END HERE------

oh boy time to think of 11 questions lmao im sorry if these are lame your questions were so good, daxiia lol idk what to put

1. would you ever want to live in the fma universe?? (why? o:) (if not into fma pick your favorite thing rn!)

2. do you want to marry anyone from fma/fave show/book/etc.?? who??? (if you want them to murder you that’s fine too LOL)

3. do you play any video games? if so, what’s your fave rn?!!

4. is there a character who’s died that you wish didn’t die, but their death added so much to the story and other character(s)’s development(s) that them staying alive would detract from the story?? (cough cough im trying not to spoil anything)

5. do you ever stop watching something halfway through, even as it’s getting good, for no goddam good reason???

6. what’s your favorite animal and why?? o: genuinely curious and totally not struggling with questions lmao

7. do you tend to like male or female anime characters more?

8. what do you think is the best and most meaningful anime op or ed, including the animation itself?

9. what scene made you cry the MOST in fma (or other fave interest)??? (i’m sure you can tell what made ME cry the most...)

10. if you could make your faaaaaavorite fictional character real, WHAT WOULD YOU TRADE??? ( i am proud of this question. )

11. what would your style of alchemy be???? (ALSO PROUD OF THIS QUESTION!!!!)

i def do not have 11 people to tag so i tried lol. also if you don’t wanna do this feel free to not!

@swimforfish, @raggle-fraggle , @kagerou-daze, @lilygigg, @daxiia

[isadorator]

A Fic Year in Review - 2016

It's that time again~ And I wrote so much this year, holy shit. As usual, any concrit and comments are welcome~~ (as are requests, when open lol)

January

what are THOOOOSE a superhero's holiday

Oh jeez. Both these fics got way more attention than I thought they would. But I keep underestimating the ML fandom tbh. The first was basically me goofing around and I somehow ended up promising to write a sequel since everyone wanted one (which I...still need to do.....). The second was a flag for both my descent into ladrien hell and also a return to my nsfw ways orz;;;;

February

you are gold and silver (1/2)

IT TOOK. SO. L O N G. TO WRITE THIS. Although this fic is firmly in AU territory now thanks to being beautifully jossed by canon, it helped me realize just how much I needed to grow in order to write romantic intimacy in a believable way. So, I made it my goal to work on it until it was up to my own standards.

(I...still need to finish this fic too......)

March

jackady ladrien drabble prompts (1/2):

ribbons

fan merchandise

artistic muse

make-outs

stuck in a small place

rain

smiles

croissants

never have i ever

i want to touch them

jackady ladrien drabble prompts (2/2):

damsel in distress

beauty facial masks

visible marks

ice cream sandwiches

volpina ladrien drabble prompts (1/9):

the 4 times adrien pretended to shower to hide from ladybug (and the 1 time he was actually showering when she calls out his bullshit)

disney

halloween

tried to kiss your lips but i missed

magic

staring into each other’s eyes

Ah, the plan being put into action! With the release of actual ladrien eps, I had the perfect excuse to write romantic scenario after romantic scenario using submitted prompts. Which also meant I accidentally created a secret love affair AU and wrote more smut whoops. Still, they were super fun! I took a break halfway through to write some Inuyasha-inspired marichat that just would not leave me alone (also fun).

(....I promised to write a continuation of the 'never have i ever' prompt, didn't I alrjkdsflaks. AND TANGLED AU SHIT I ALMOST FORGOT)

April

volpina ladrien drabble prompts (2/9):

music

moaning

sweat

bath

they go on a date together

soulmate au

photographs

“i love you. i’m completely and utterly in love with you. please don’t get married.”

the one time ladybug actually catches adrien in the shower

ACTUALLY in the shower

“of all the people i could’ve gotten stuck in an elevator with and it just had to be you.”

mirror

More ladrien prompts/romance practice~ The music prompt is still one the most cracktastic things I've ever written lol. Managed to make two more AUs with this batch that I've already started to expand on: the soulmate AU and the auteur AU. Lastly, in a surprise twist, the fucking elevator prompt managed to gather over 1k in notes. Probably because I ripped off Sailor Moon but. Still.

May

volpina ladrien drabble prompts (3/9):

another shower scene

porn

away from home

“you have mom’s smile.” he said this to ladybug once, but he thinks it again and again and again. but ladybug is better: she is real.

calling bullshit

untitled continuation of a comic by pozolegirl

volpina ladrien drabble prompts (4/9):

under the covers

eyelashes

mega nachos

“i heard that the spots on your bodysuit corresponds to chakra points? so… what happens if i touch this?”

cute nose/forehead kisses

their first time

happiness

“i need you to pretend we’re dating…”

“is there anything you’re not good at?”

More Volpina prompts! Again, I like experimenting with them :D Also wrote a continuation of that Christmas comic because it was just way too cute~~

June

ladrien june 2016 drabble prompts (1/6):

love poem

awkwardness

games

i can show you the world

first love

everyone can see it

shower scene

jealousy

it’s a trap

insecurities

sins cannot be undone

ladrien june 2016 drabble prompts (2/6):

jealous fangirls/boys

“you have her smile”

gabriel | hawkmoth’s reaction

it’s not you, it’s my enemies

secret dating

window kisses

Oooooh boy. The triple whammy of Ladrien June, Ramadan, and starting my summer job. I was excited to have a month dedicated to just ladrien (as if I hadn't already dedicated most of my year to it lol) but fell behind pretty quickly thanks to my lack of free time. I aim to finish them this year!

And Ramadan. Man. It always sends my mental health straight into the toilet. Not because of the holiday itself, but because of the way my family treats it. Idk. I tried to flush away the bad feelings by punching out 'sins cannot be undone' in one night. And it helped, I suppose. It's definitely the rawest thing I wrote this year and I still have very strong feelings about it.

July

three sentence prompts:

ladynoir, spy au

nino and marinette, karaoke au

ladrien, bodyguard au

ladrien, superman/lois lane au

adrien and tikki, baking au

alix and kim, and the one-time-max-actually-won au

alya and marinette, vigilante au

adrienette, foreign countries

ladynoir, and the elevator game/ritual

Between work and writing various wips that I still haven't posted yet (*coughcoughconjugalvisitcough*), I only posted stuff from this meme. I had fun (the goal) and the adrien&tikki kwamiswap AU one is still my fave |D *slams fists on table* LET ADRIEN BE A BAKER!!!!

August

untitled continuation of a comic by geek-fashionista insomaniac and the chaton pile

UMMMM My summer job ended by this point, so my only excuse for not posting much is it's all tied up in unpublished wips and...I was freaking out about starting school next month for the first time in y e a r s;;; Just some drabbles for the sidekick AU (not mine) and my own, sleep-deprived ideas (that I...still find hilarious alkdjfhalksd I DID NOT EXPECT ANYONE ELSE TO???)

September

volpina ladrien drabble prompts (5/9):

embarrassing hobbies (aka: adrien is secretly a popular ladynoir fanfic writer)

water

mlnsfweek prompts (1/3):

laughter

roleplay

make 'em blush

we've got time

"i can’t believe we survived" sex

wet dreams

virginity

STILL REALLY STRESSED ABOUT SCHOOL, which translated into a lot of writing. Did a couple of Volpina prompts, including time ≠ water. Which. Got way more attention than I expected;;;; And that I...also promised to expand on......;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

And then #mlnsfweek hit and I'm actually really proud of myself for finishing the whole week, even if it was late~ /o/ Did some random scenarios, including some futurefic for the timebreaker AU. I still cackle every time I think of the wet dreams prompt tbh XDDD

October

volpina ladrien drabble prompts (6/9):

inside a video game

horror movies

“who crawls through someone’s window at 4 am to go for ice cream?!”

aching muscles from running all over the city, and then: "would a massage help?"

chocolate

discovering their sensitive spots

“so close” from enchanted

As usual, more Volpina prompts in between school and wips. Not really much to say except it was around now (or maybe September? My memory is horrible) that I realized I had developed a pretty good grasp on romance and could start working on upping my daily wordcount. I really want the mental stamina to complete a chapter fic one day...

November

mlnsfweek prompts (2/3):

marks

School REALLY started to pick up in difficulty and I signed up for a fic exchange and a fanzine. Despite really wanting to, I didn't have time or energy to do more than one prompt for the #mlnsfweek redux, but I plan to complete it~ I have Ideas.

December

oh, the things i do for you (the bubbler remix)

volpina ladrien drabble prompts (7/9):

bruises and scars

cold hands, warm hearts

I'm never, ever committing to more than one fic deadline near exam time ever again. I nearly died last month as I rushed to complete these fics, my studying, and prep for my vacation that started right after exams (I'm still recovering;;;). The remix is currently the longest fic I've written to date, including my wips! Holy shit!!!

Both were done very last minute, but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I tried to finish the last of the Volpina prompts before the end of the year, but alas, time was not on my side. Better luck next year~ :'D

Total Year’s Output: ....58,718 words;;;

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?

.......This is almost twice as much as I did last year. I actually passed the NaNoWriMo standard. Oh my god. There is no fucking way I would have predicted this last year. And that's not counting all the wips aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH—

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2016?

Uhhhh, Bustier/Mendeleiev, definitely. Also DjWifi?? I just wasn't into it at all last year, but now I'm rooting for them. Also, I did not expect to write this much smut, but here we are. ALSO MARIE/ADRIEN/MARINETTE AKA THE OT3 AKA LOVE SQUARED (the homestuck in me will never die)

What’s your favourite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest.

Happy...? Hmmmm....There's stuff that makes me laugh, that I'm proud of...

...I know it's not published yet or even done, but...probably conjugal visit. Not only is it chock full of my favourite type of ladrien, it's...sort of my thesis on emotional intimacy? It's proof of my progress. I look at it and I can feel my determination to grow and to move on from the mental rut I was stuck in for most of my life, that I won't let my past keep my from recognizing my own emotions and learning empathy, not forever.

(Maybe that's pride and contentment and hope more than happiness, but I'll damn well take it)

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?

I ALWAYS SAY THIS but...I really want to finish my wips.....and I want to start an actual chaptered fic. Not a one-shot collection or a drabble collection. Long, plotty, gen or romance (or both!!), chapter fic. I want to write something that will keep people up all night, lying to themselves when they say 'just one more chapter'. I think I actually have a shot at completing one now, at my current skill and confidence level |D

[feliciasink]

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme originally from Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things I have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on my blog.

I so forgot my Sunday Post last week, so I’ve combined the two as one big one. Not much exciting has happened these past two weeks. Been tired a lot lately, especially the last few days. My bf has a kind of flu thingy and gets a weird sleep cycle because of it, which results in screwing up my sleep as well… Feel like I could sleep for two days straight and still not have enough sleep… Fell asleep on the couch at least four times in the last few days… One at night and most during the days, watching a movie or episode… Maybe it’s also the winter coming down at my energy levels… It’s cold, sad weather and not much to do… And especially with him having the flu, it means I can’t do a lot – besides reading, sleeping, eating, cooking, blogging or watching an episode or movie – I know you need your rest when not feeling well, so I won’t bother him with too much noise and stuff… But it’s gets kinda boring after a few days… In combination with my sleepiness, it makes me less motivated to watch or read anything.. So it get’s real boring.. Hope he feels better soon and I feel more energetic again… Gotta work out tomorrow again, prepare for my first Taekwondo exam on February 3rd!!

One exciting thing that did happen was discussing out holiday. It’s becoming more permanently set and booked =]=]=]=]=] I so wanna go to Orlando and Harry Potter’s Wizarding World…. Biggest issue is saving money to spend there hahahahaha

Big thingy did happen on the blog…. I WROTE/PUBLISHED/ MY FIRST REVIEW IN THREE MONTHS AGAIN!!!!!

This weeks posts:

What about that bookchallenge 2016 + goal 2017.

December Wrap-Up + January TBR.

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2017.

TTT#19 Top Ten 2017 Debuts I’m Excited For.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Awesomeness!!

TTT#20 Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn’t Get To (But TOTALLY plan to).

#72 The Diabolic.  <<<<<————- !!!!!!!!!!!

  Coming next week:

TTT#21 Ten Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So (up to you if you want it to be those published in the past year or so or just ANY underrated book you’ve read recently).

Tv Thursday #7. Week 3 [need some motivation there too, don’t want to let you guys down…]

Maybe some reviews =]

So in the last two weeks I’ve had a great start of this year’s Goodreads Reading Challenge 2017. I’ve finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’ve read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them all by J.K. Rowling and The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid.

I’m currently reading Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet [Kingmaker Chronicles #2] as a NetGalley review, Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling and Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. After Breath of Fire I’ll start reading Halfway Bitten by Terry Maggert and/or The Gender Secret by Bella Forrest. After Snow Like Ashes I’ll start Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth. That beautiful hardcover will arrive this Tuesday and so I hope I’ve finished reading Snow Like Ashes before it arrives =]

So these two weeks I watched A LOT of episodes… If you’ve noticed a weird watching order with bones that’s true nothing is weird there… Apart from the fact that the first two episodes of Season 4 were a double episode and my streamer made episode 1 episode 1&2 and made episode 2 number 3 and so on… So I got confused in the episode titles and figured it out after watching episode 8 hahaha… A bit late, I know but I’ve watched the missing episode after all…

My bf finally wants to watch series again during dinner – instead of brain-dead comedy central re-runs – and now we’re watching Modern Family S8. We’ve watched How I Met You Mother as our dinner series before Modern Family and You’re the Worst will probably be our next. We also watch a few others together, but mostly they wait a long time because of the snack series [HIMYM and Modern Family, eps of 20-23 minutes instead of at least 40 minutes an episode]. Those are Gotham, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Scorpion. The rest of the shows can’t be watched together because of work, our preferences in watching series and our progress if watching the same series.. haha we love a lot of the same things, but in some series I’m ahead of him and some he’s ahead of me.. So we watch together separately mostly lol.

Monday Jan 2, Charmed S4E18: Bite Me

Thursday Jan 5, Charmed S4E19: We’re Off to See the Wizard

Friday Jan 6, Charmed S4E20: Long Live the Queen

Saturday Jan 7, Charmed S4E21: Womb Raider

Saturday Jan 7, Charmed S4E22: Witch Way Now?

Saturday Jan 7, Bones S4E1: Yanks in the U.K. (1)

Saturday Jan 7, Bones S4E2: Yanks in the U.K. (2)

Sunday Jan 8, Bones S4E4: The Finger in the Nest

Monday Jan 9, Bones S4E5: The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond

Monday Jan 9, Bones S4E6: The Crank in the Shaft

Tuesday Jan 10, Bones S4E7: The He in the She

Tuesday Jan 10, Bones S4E8: The Skull in the Sculpture

Tuesday Jan 10, Bones S4E3: The Man in the Outhouse

Tuesday Jan 10, Bones S4E9: The Con Man in the Meth Lab

Thursday Jan 12, Bones S4E10: The Passenger in the Oven

Thursday Jan 12, Bones S4E11: The Bone That Blew

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E12: The Double Trouble in the Panhandle

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E13: The Fire in the Ice

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E14: The Hero in the Hold

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E15: The Princess and the Pear

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E16: The Bones That Foam

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E17: The Salt in the Wounds

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E18: The Doctor in the Den

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E19: The Science in the Physicist

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E20: The Cinderella in the Cardboard

Friday Jan 13, Bones S4E21: Mayem on a Cross

Saturday Jan 14, Bones S4E22: The Double Death of the Dearly Departed

Saturday Jan 14, Bones S4E23: The Girl in the Mask

Saturday Jan 14, Bones S4E24: The Beaver in the Otter

Saturday Jan 14, Bones S4E25: The Critic in the Cabernet

Saturday Jan 14, Bones S4E26: The End in the Beginning

Saturday Jan 14, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow S1E1: Pilot (1)

Saturday Jan 14, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow S1E2: Pilot (2)

Sunday Jan 15, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow S1E3: Blood Ties

Sunday Jan 15, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow S1E4: White Knights

Movies:

Sunday Jan 15, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

With the boyfriend:

Tuesday Jan 3, Mars S1E4: Power

Wednesday Jan 4, Mars S1E5: Darkest Days

Wednesday Jan 4, Mars S1E6: Crossroads

Friday Jan 6, Modern Family S8E1: The Tale of Three Cities

Thursday Jan 12, Modern Family S8E2: A Stereotypical Day

Friday Jan 13, Modern Family S8E3: Blindsighted

Saturday Jan 14, Modern Family S8E4: Weathering Heights

Sunday Jan 15, Modern Family S8E5: Halloween 4: The Revenge of Rod Skyhook

#2016bestnine

A photo posted by Felicia (@felicias.ink) on Jan 2, 2017 at 5:54am PST

When you were being cheeky and asked if you could have them after the movie leaves the movie theatre. When you hear you can take them now and the lady helps you get them down. When this happens, I'm a very, very, very happy girl😍😁 • #fantasticbeasts #fantasticbeastsandwheretofindthem #fangirl #fandom #luckygirl #happygirl #newtscamander #queeniegoldstein #tinagoldstein #jacobkowalski #nomaj #happy #fangirling #movietheatre

A photo posted by Felicia (@felicias.ink) on Jan 4, 2017 at 7:18am PST

Getting my geek up again🖖🏼 first time entering the Star Trek universe in chronological order. Awesome to see what they could already do in the 70s. And such a young Shatner haha. And what a difference in voice volume and effects. • #startrek #startrekuniverse #startrekthemotionpicture #startrek1979 #mrspock #🖖🏼 #captainkirk #geek #geekgirl #geeky #nerdy #nerdygirl #geekygirl

A photo posted by Felicia (@felicias.ink) on Jan 15, 2017 at 11:22am PST

In case you’ve missed these:

#72 The Diabolic.

TTT#20 Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn’t Get To (But TOTALLY plan to).

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Awesomeness!!

TTT#19 Top Ten 2017 Debuts I’m Excited For.

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2017.

Sunday Post #23 & #24. January 8 & 15 The Sunday Post is a weekly meme originally from Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share News.

[kinetic-elaboration]

January 27: Thoughts on The 100 2x09, Remember Me

...For some reason I was really angry at the beginning of this? Also there’s a lot of Lxa bashing. Sorry. And some Clarke criticism but in the latter case, I mean it well.

Also this is really long whoops.

*

So...I miss when killing off main characters was a big deal and people actually reacted to it.

I truly cannot take Lxa seriously I’m sorry. I don’t find her... intimidating at all.

I’ve already complained repeatedly about her complete bad faith deal making at every turn so I won’t go into it again but nevertheless, here she is, again, moving the goal posts of the negotiation. ‘I’ll withdraw my army if you cure the Reapers. No, if you give up your friend. No, if you give me his body.’ Clarke should have double crossed her immediately.

Also I know that I ultimately did think it was reasonable for Finn to face Grounder justice (except insofar as that justice was itself morally untenable--that is, the Torture Porn) but now that he’s dead, I think there’s no real moral argument to be made that the Grounders deserve his body. I understand their traditions, which in fact I found quite moving when I first watched this ep, but surely his people have, or could make up, some traditions for his burial also. He is still their friend. This seems like little more than an excuse to be cruel. And Clarke’s so fucking broken she just goes with it. It’s truly awful. I mean she’s doing the only thing she can do I guess but it’s laughable that she sounds as if she has any sort of upper hand, you’re getting played bitch.

(Yeah I know, Lxa is being ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘revolutionary’ by even semi-accepting capital punishment without torture and taking his body is a way of appeasing her harder line advisers but like cry me a river--she’s either the all powerful commander or she’s fucking not.)

“We want the same things.” Lol if you wanted the same things you would have stuck to the original deal. No I’m not over this at all I guess.

I also still can’t get over how Clarke has literally never earned true leadership in the eyes of her own people and yet she continues to be randomly viewed as a leader by the Grounders and thus retains pretty much full de facto control over her own people’s power structure.

Also Kane shut the fuck up. I completely forgot about this but they really did put him through an off-screen 180 where all of a sudden Lxa is a God to him and can literally do nothing wrong and to this day we have never been given an explanation how that came to be. Guess it’s easier to tell not show huh?!?

ALSO I get we’re suppose to see a sort of racism-corollary to lines like “I don’t think they know what peace is” like obviously this rubs one the wrong way automatically. But Abby’s not really wrong. And despite what Kane thinks, Lxa has given, again, NO indication at all that she is interested in peace. She has given a lot of indications that she wants to do whatever she can to wring as much from the Sky People as she can without giving anything in return and hey we’re only halfway through the season and she’s already psychologically broken Clarke (also the only person she acknowledges as the leader even though she is not, cannot emphasize this enough, the leader of anything... and thus the only person L really has to break) and sunk-cost-fallacy-ed her into submission. Now that Finn is dead Clarke would cut off her own tit to make Lxa happy because anything else is “letting him die in vain.”

...Why am I so angry lol?

I understand the positions of both Clarke and Raven in this scene, which is fucking brutal, but I sympathize more with Raven. Clarke’s basically just a messenger, but what the Grounders are demanding is (I know I already said it) cruel, and cruel to Raven above all. And Clarke is almost all business. I think that’s what she needs to be for herself but it’s not helpful to the situation.

Anyway here are my faves in Mount Weather. It’s almost hard to watch these scenes because I want to, like, memorize them. Partially for the C/M story and partially just because. Today’s adventure is getting to a radio to send a message to the Ark-wide channel, which is a term for a thing that exists. Also I forgot how snarky everyone / Miller was to Maya. Which, I get. But--are they not thinking about how her own people have experimented on her? Like she is expendable to them, this is just a known fact at this time. So yes, there is a real risk to her, Nathan.

“Oh, is that all?” / “No--there’s more.” Monty’s so one-track he didn’t even hear the sarcasm. I love him.

“Their army has been getting their ass kicked by Mount Weather forever.” Bellamy speaking the truth. Do they need the alliance, or do they just need the Grounders to back the fuck off from attacking them? (Spoiler: they do not need the alliance.)

Ah Bellarke, always quick to reassure each other. Blindly, even.

“Since I don’t take orders from you, I’m going to need a better reason” is one of my favorite lines, and underrated. Finally someone reminding Clarke she’s not actually in charge of everyone and everything all the time. (I realize this sounds like I dislike Clarke. I don’t. I just find certain traits of hers frustrating. But this just makes her a good character.) Also you can see that, rather like her moment with Raven, she falls back on being business like and direct and issuing orders to avoid talking about feelings or breaking apart.

The United States War Room survives the apocalypse.

I’m sorry but it’s ridiculous to think that Lxa invented the concept of an alliance lol.

I guess Clarke needs to go all in on the alliance because of Finn, but... I also think this is part of who she is. Her sense of practicality outweighs any human desire to hold a grudge, and I think she assumes a level of practicality in others too, automatically, such that she underestimates wariness in others. Like Bellamy and Gustus and everyone is right to be uncertain about this literally hours-old alliance--not even an official alliance, since L’s latest demand hasn’t technically been met!--and Clarke’s like ‘yeah I’ll sleep next to people who would have killed me six hours ago np!’ because now that she’s in, she’s in. She’s neither angry nor afraid.

Linctavia like “Google Earth, always taking pictures.”

Is Lincoln wearing Ark clothes?

I know Raven is made to look kind of wan and sunken and sad but yet this scene where she’s being disarmed is honestly like peak hotness for me and I don’t know why. I like my women sullen and covered in knives?

Interesting how allegedly only the warriors knew English and yet Lxa’s big announcement re: get in line with me or die is made in English. Just going to point out yet again what a big mistake that throwaway S1 line is.

What a sad life to lead, where random declarations followed by “or death” have to form the entirety of your belief system “Don’t be upset that your wife and child are dead...or I’ll beat you to a pulp.” I truly don’t understand how we were ever supposed to get in line with this society as sympathetic or interesting. So much so that they get a whole prequel I guess???

I’d rather have a Mount Weather prequel except not really, don’t ruin it for me.

I love Miller’s canonical insane superhuman strength. This is a trait often overlooked in fics.

The usual comment on Mount Weather scenes: I love all of it.

The thing is that if everyone were on board with the funeral ceremony, it is touching. Murderer and murdered together, and the people who’ve been hurt, on both sides, saying goodbye as a group. It’s just that Clarke’s people were coerced into this--they weren’t convinced it would be a fitting ceremony, just told ‘well this is how it is and if you don’t like it, we could perhaps... KILL YOU?”

Is this a new revelation that Mount Weather crashed the Exodus ship (still a really satisfying belated explanation imo)? Or did we know that because, unlike Monty et al, we knew about the jamming signals already? Can’t remember.

You can see how L came to believe what she believes but nevertheless this is bad advice lol. “Don’t care about other people.” Okay, I’ll just stop doing that then.

Mmmm, a feast in a subway station. Delicious. Fucking full pig head as the centerpiece. Very DC.

Kane (handing over pure space moonshine probably): Just don’t drink too much of it. Clarke (five minutes later): Guzzles whole bottle at once. #partygriff is officially canon.

Waiting until tomorrow to start the war? Procrastinators. Clarke didn’t kill Finn for this.

I love Certified Dramatic Ho Bellamy knocking the cup out of Clarke’s hand even though she had made no move whatsoever to drink it.

“When you plunged your knife into the heart of the boy you loved, did you not wish that it was mine.” Lxa, also a certified Dramatic Ho.

Clarke kinda deserved to be punched in the face given that it wouldn’t actually make sense for Raven to try to poison Lxa--and make Finn’s death mean nothing? And put them all in danger in enemy territory? Nonsense. Nevertheless it’s hard not to feel bad for her when she follows this accusation up with a psychotic break.

Hmmm, do I think Abby turning in Jake was the same as Clarke killing Finn? Not really. She didn’t directly kill Jake, that was Jaha, and Jaha is who Clarke should really be mad at. That said, I don’t think she was really saving anyone in the direct way Clarke was. So, apples and oranges. Crazy awkward moment to bring it up, though lol. “Oh Clarke, you’ll feel better eventually--remember that time I killed your Dad? I got over that! Wait--does talking about your dead father upset you? That’s a surprise!” Nevertheless I appreciate major actions having consequences as that’s a semi-rarity on this show.

Monty Green: hero.

“Lxa needs this alliance as much as we do.” - True, if she intends to get her people out of MW. “She’s shown herself to be flexible.” - Not true. She’s given the bare minimum of concessions. Kane, please crawl back out of her colon for like 5 seconds, get some air.

Interesting that Raven and Bellamy are chilling near each other. I wonder what they were discussing. Tbh Bellamy’s feelings on everything in this episode are rather opaque. Other than understanding why Clarke mercy-killed Finn and being skeptical of the alliance.

“Kill one person and destroy the alliance” is literally only merciful because the default in this society is “kill everyone all the time for any reason.” Like, I guess??? That’s mercy by comparison?? But forgive me if I am not moved to admiration.

“This time justice will be done” says the woman who used the barest sliver of evidence to decide that a random person was guilty so she could have a public execution. A public execution to replace the other public execution, in fact, not to avenge a death because Gustus isn’t dead. (Yet.)

Kane’s really okay with letting Raven be tortured to death, huh? Gah he’s fucking annoying.

Bellarke: Crime Solving Duo. That’s some satisfying teamwork. Clarke figures out how the scheme worked. Bellamy figures out who’s behind the scheme. With all the evidence put together, the motive becomes clear. (Honesty, they should have been suspicious that the poison not only didn’t kill Gustus, it barely harmed him lol.)

Check out all the Department of Homeland Security stuff on Monty’s computer. This is perhaps Dante’s log in? There’s a set of “personal” files too. And a set of President’s Office files, which one would assume not everyone would have.

Anyway, I have a Thing for tense sequences of hackers...hacking.

When I first watched this season I was often so tense my whole body hurt and it’s mostly because of MW scenes like this one where Monty is caught. Like aaaaah it still gets me. He almost makes it... and then almost makes it again, with his silly little salute... (Never forget that he is A Dork.)

On the one hand, Raven being tortured and then seeing Gustus tortured to death allows her to see why Clarke killing Finn was an act of mercy, to forgive her, and to move on, so the narrative can continue with them as allies and nominal friends. And it works, basically. But I also think there’s something to the theory that they were never the same, that the wound never really healed.

I’m sorry but Octavia’s face when Clarke’s like “Yeah B, you’re expendable, go get yourself killed, have a map!!” is hilarious. Like, he’s just said that Gustus doing anything for Lxa made sense, and Octavia responded with “Look at the thanks he got” which seems to me like She Knows and then 5 seconds later Bellamy is basically thrown away by the person we all know he’d do anything for... I mean the face is fair. Also this is Bellamy’s idea and it’s a good idea and so he was right before and Clarke is also right now, but it’s still so... annoying.... like “okay, I’m done caring about you lol bye.”

And Raven’s just totally confused. It’s been a damn long day I guess.

Why are they all such fucking hotties? It’s hard to pay attention to “the plot.”

So the ashes Abby tries to give to Clarke are the same ashes, perhaps, that Jasper scatters in S3? This vial looks smaller. Why did she not immediately give them to Raven? That would seem to be the obvious thing to do.

And here we see Clarke, under L’s direct influence, becoming Increasingly Insufferable. I love her but this is obviously supposed to be her descent into the abyss: she treats her friends like little expendable minions, she turns her back on Finn’s memory, and then she ends the episode by dramatically walking into a dark room in slow motion to creepy chamber music. I mean this is the hero’s fall guys!! That’s what it always was!!!

If only they’d handled Bellamy’s hero’s fall in 3A, and Clarke’s rise again in 3B, as well.

That ending is a straight up horror movie thanks that’s why this is my favorite season.