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dolliedarlin · 4 years

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i m p l i c i t ⏤katsuki b.

p a i r i n g : bakugou x f.reader

s u m m a r y : ever since you were young, you were forced to meet with the person dubbed as your finance, Katsuki Bakugou, a Baron’s son who had quite the temper but peaks your interest in every way possible

l e n g t h : 1.9k

g e n r e : olden days au ; fantasy au ; arranged marriage au ; Bakugou is a tsundere ; and we love him for it ; reader is an amazing bean that can keep up with him ; kirishima is your brother ; best brother ever ; rumours are toxic ; never base your opinions on someone solely on rumours ; you attract a stalker ; it’s not your fault ; he just as a twisted yandere mind ; Katsuki is your hero ; he makes your heart flutter ; and he makes your knees weak ; i really want someone to protect me and say what he said at the end of this

w a r n i n g s : swearing from our lovable explosion murder king ; acts of stalker/yandere ; sword fighting

a / n : i didn’t plan on posting this but mother nature decided to pay me a visit today so i basically lazed around in my bed groaning in pain and half starving bc it was too painful to get out at times for food. instead i started writing this imagine again that i had began months ago. this is inspired by Ranma 1/2, which is an anime that i loved watching when i was much younger, it’s not well edited because i’m kinda dizzy rn but i hope you enjoy it!

— first of all, before either you or Katsuki were born, the arrangement for your marriage to each other was already settled by your parents, hence why you were immediately introduced when you were children

— neither of you knew what marriage or engagement meant but you both associated it with seeing each other

— it wasn’t something Katsuki liked but you didn’t quite mind it, he always gave you really interesting reactions that you quickly came to like

— as the two of you grew up together, you always tried your best to get close to him but Katsuki was adamant at pushing you away and keeping you at arms length at all times

— despite all that, you wanted to catch his attention, which meant that you took interest in all the things that he found interesting too. that included: sword fighting, horse riding, duelling ; spicy foods ; battle tactics ; magic etc

— Katsuki always tried to ignore you but secretly appreciated how skilled you had become over the years. you were still nothing compared to him but you were able to battle against a majority of qualified knights and still be the last one standing

— he only scoffed at you because your talents were wasted; you’re too kindhearted to ever use your honed skills properly - it irritates him that other women push you to conform to etiquette, tea parties and high society when you were better than that

— you’re better than shallow conversations about the latest fashion, or the art of sipping tea, calligraphy and painting because he knows how much you train and how much effort you put into your education outside of such insignificant things

— Katsuki knows that you can handle yourself better than any other nobleman he knows of, he’s seen you help your father with his business and vigorously train with your dukedom’s knights

— what’s the point of all that effort if you weren’t going to show anything for it?

— because of that Katsuki always acted like he hated having you as his fiancée despite your optimism about him, as well as your patience and understanding of his unique way of expressing himself

— because the two of you are forced to spend a lot of time together by your parents, you’ve has been able to understand Katsuki and his mannerisms better than anyone else as your mother has always taught you to be openminded - she’s never been like the other noble ladies of society, hence why your father married her

— now, you were following in her footsteps. there’s been much gossip about your unladylike behaviour but you didn’t care, all you needed were your parents’ love and the love of Katsuki. he still needed some more time to come around but you’re positive you’ll get to him soon enough

— you’re positive there’s a different gleam in his eyes whenever he looks towards you now. it had always been one of hatred when you were much younger but his expressions frequently soften around you nowadays.

— no matter how subtle it may be, you always notice

— many rumours circulated about you the first time you had shown your skills openly amongst the knighthood. it had first started with your knights who praised you highly but, as soon as those whisperings reached outside the dukedom, many noble ladies started to gossip about your misdemeanour.

— surprisingly, those rumours were shut down in under a week and you didn’t know why; usually such good gossip material stayed for months and only faded with the years so it was peculiar to have it die down so quickly

— what was suspicious was that, as soon as your rumours died down, stories about Katsuki surged forward.

— when you conversed with other people, they would say how horrible they feel for you having to marry such an aggressive and dislikable fiancee. they would then over-exaggerate all the belligerent and misunderstood characteristics of Bakugou, even making up disgusting rumours that painted him to be more villainous than he actually was.

— “how shameful,” you spat with disgust, glowering down at the noble ladies frozen in their seats, “how dare you openly gossip about my fiancee right in front of me, the nerve! you should know better than to act like such children. if you have nothing better to do then i suggest you leave the kirishima estate immediately and never expect to be invited back,”

— they tried to beg you for forgiveness, seeing as your father held such power in high society, being one of the four noble dukes of the kingdom serving directly under the king as they all had noble blood.

— nobody expected your father to marry you to a Baron’s son. Katsuki didn’t have a higher title than you but your fathers had gone to war together and remained loyal friends ever since, Baron Bakugou went on to acquire his title of Braon after his service in the war but many people still looked down on him from his commoner origins. to think that such educated ladies of high society would use that as leverage to gossip however they wished.

— word of your actions on behalf of Bakugou spread quickly and the two of you became a couple that shouldn’t be trifled with.

— after that day, you always defend Katsuki and never miss the opportunity to express how much you admire him and care for him even if he doesn’t tend to reciprocate it

— you do this when Katsuki’s friends make an appearance, they consisted of your brother, Eijiro, Denki of house Kaminari (son of Marquis Kaminari) and Hanta of house Sero (son of Marquis Sero).

— they usually don’t visit the estate but this time they decided to utilise the knights training grounds for extra duelling practice and happened to catch you just as you were walking out, having finished your own training

— as soon as introductions and polite greetings were exchanged, came the jokes and jives.

— “I wouldn’t blame you if you eloped with someone else on your wedding day, Lady (Y/N), knowing this guy’s attitude,” Denki snickers as he points his thumb at your fiancé, who growled lowly in return.

— “i wouldn’t dare do something like that because, even if this is an arranged marriage, Katsuki will be the only man for me” Katsuki didn’t expect you to be so forward and couldn’t help the blush that coated his cheeks from your response

— Denki whistled in a mix of astonishment and amusement, “Katsuki’s a lucky guy!”

— “he looks really happy to hear you say that too, sis,” Eijiro teased as Hanta grinned from beside him.

— “shut up! we came here to train so let's train already, you dumbasses!”

— the days go by and life is good; the quicker your wedding day approaches the kinder and gentler Katsuki treats you. it wasn’t until the kindness you practiced with everyone you met, no matter their status, became something more in the twisted mind of an unknown individual that you encountered within city streets, while out shopping

— one act of kindness made the stranger crave for your touch and sought you out in the most deviant method. he sent constant letters multiple times a day and even mailed one with his most intimate item of clothing, not only that but he always stood at the gates of your estate, waiting for it to be opened just to slip in and try to meet you again

— of course, he didn’t get far because of the security brought on by your dukedom’s talented knights stopped him at every devious attempt. each incident was reported directly to your brother, who was training to inherit the duchy as soon as your father retired

— Eijiro was having none of it and devised the best plan of action he could, knowing that his image as the heir of the dukedom needed to be thought of so that his people wouldn’t be against him when he took over his capable father’s place. he resisted the urge for an immediate confrontation to plan with you, about how you wanted to defuse the situation

— however, as soon as word got to Bakugou, he ran over on foot to confront the man at your estate, just as Eijiro came down with a squadron of knights and you at his side

— lost in his own world, your stalker immediately reached out for you the instant he caught sight of your figure. on his face, he had a twisted smile and manic eyes, his breathing became heavy as if to savour the same air you breathed not too far away from him. it was frighting and chilling to see such an unhinged man. he was so deranged, he didn’t mind the swords and pointed glares directed at him by all that were present and Katsuki, who was fast approaching from behind

— “Get. Away. From. Her!” Katsuki shouted in anger as he drew his sword and slashed at the young man, making you jump back with a gasp.

— “Bakugou!” Kirishima warned as he pulled you into his chest for protection from the clashing of swords

— “Katsuki, be careful!” you cried. confronting someone with such an unstable mind could go horribly wrong and no matter how skilled your fiancee was, you couldn’t help but worry

— Even though this was the first time Katsuki ever showed his feelings for you in such a dramatic gesture, the worry you had for him consumed your joy as his opponent drew out his own sword and started lashing out with worse coordination than your junior knights.

— what he lacked with technique, however, he made up for in agility as well as his own unpredictability. it made it hard for Katsuki to predict the path of his opponent’s sword so for a time, he was constantly dodging his blade. it didn’t take long, however, for the game of endurance and stamina to come into play and slow down his opponent enough for him to fight back with more accuracy.

— “you revolting rat!” Katsuki growled swinging his sword with might only to grind his teeth when his sword is narrowly dodged. not one to give up, however, he goes in once again and finally lands a hit that forces your stalker to crumble to his knees, “you try and pull that shit with (Y/N) again and I’ll be doing more than just beating you to the ground,” it was an obvious win for the blonde.

— “And what would that be?” your stalker still had fight in him that came off as more irritating than anything else Bakugou had ever encountered in his life of servitude as a royal knight and baron’s son.

— just to prove his point, whatever it may be, Katsuki goes to stand beside you and pull you into his chest with his large hand at your waist

— “landing your ugly, disgusting ass in a fucking coffin!” the venom in his voice was evident and it made you shudder, curling up into his chest for comfort, not knowing that the next words he’d shout would have your knees weaker than any training could ever do, “(Y/N) is MY Fiancee! you touch her and I’ll kill you!”

n a v i . | bnha mlist

#bakugou x reader #bakugou imagine #bakugou fluff #bnha bakugou #bnha olden days au #bnha fantasy au

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aceofshitposts · 3 years

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I saw that you like CATS the musical. What are your thoughts on the movie?

AAAAH AHHAHA oh man oh boy y'all should BUCKLE IN cuz it's a ride

my simple thoughts? it's entertaining if only because it butchered the stage show so badly in an attempt to idk modernize it? Well, modernization is one part of it I think. The other part I'll go into below lol. I don't necessarily hate some of the more modern renditions of the songs (mostly the ensemble sets like Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats) but then others are just... so poorly done it's insulting.

I've said this at the end of this whole rant too but I'm gonna put it up here in case people don't (justifiably) wanna see me go on and on about it:

The movie wasn't made for fans of the musical. It was made to make money and I believe they choose, at least partially, to do that through making it the weirdest and worst possible adaptation they could so that people would want to go see the train wreck. Which, really, worked! It was all people could talk about for a good while so like... Goal achieved, I guess.

A MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS UNDER THE CUT cuz i don't wanna. flood your dash with... this

ALRIGHT SO. Most of my friends know I'm actually a huge fan of new adaptations of things. I love remakes (provided the people making it are coming at it with some form of heart and not just... cash grabbing which is more often the case) I love seeing other peoples interpretations of characters, or changing settings. It's one of the reasons I like American comics so much, getting to see different writers takes is fascinating.

I think musical movies can be wonderful ways to introduce people to a stage show that might have been unavailable to them otherwise! Chicago, for example, is one of the BEST musical to movie adaptations in my opinion. It kept the heart of the show, it's funny and the song numbers are done really well.

There are of course other famous examples, such as Grease or Bye Bye Birdie. Hairspray was also a wonderful take. These are simply off the top of my head, there are of course more.

CATS in particular has a history. If you go through my CATS tag you may see a few posts from @catsnonreplica which posts photos from non broadway productions of CATS! It's a fascinating read and I love, love, love looking at the other interpretations of the characters! CATS is a musical full of fun and wonderful characters if you take the time to see past the ridiculousness haha and the Korean and Japanese runs of CATS especially have some of my favourites.

How does this relate to the movie, I hear you say well. As you might has noticed the movie's interpretations of the characters is........ lackluster at best and downright uncanny valley at best.

CATS is, at its core, a ridiculous thing. I will fully admit that! But it's fun, it's entertaining and if you pay a little attention you can actually get the plot. (Honestly I don't understand when people complain it has no plot but that's a whole other rant for another day)

The movie was... obsessed with this idea of like... semi realism? Like obviously, as a fan, I think they should have leaned into the over the top character designs but instead we got...w ell:

Bombalurina:

Demeter left and Bomba right. Demeter was actually cut! From the movie which is. upsetting lmao.

Macavity is one of the worst offenders for me:

Macavity was... I wish I could know what the hell they were thinking there cuz it's even in his song? Ginger cat??? THAT IS NOT... A GINGER CAT...... but I digress. I would show more examples but I think you get the point.

So. We've butchered the characters appearances. Okay that's fine but what about their personalities?

ALSO BUTCHERED.

There's... there's a lot to unpack here. Just for context: the Jellicle Ball happens once a year and the Jellicle leader chooses a single cat to be reborn into a new life. In the stage play all the cats who are nominated for this honour are on the older side (Jenny-Any-Dots, Bustopher Jones, Skimbleshanks, Gus The Theatre Cat, and eventually Grizzabella) AND are always nominated by another cat. Not themself, unlike the movie where they all seem to nominate themselves.

Jenny-Any-Dots went from a doting grandmother figure who's celebrated for her selfless volunteering and tireless work into a conceited, vain younger cat who is obsessed with fame.

It's an incredibly strange dichotomy. I don't doubt some of it isn't the result of the uh people playing the characters honestly. I do think some of them did the best they could! I don't really blame Jason Derulo, for example, for Tugger. And honestly, Tugger was probably closest to his stage version (while being a trouble maker, he's shown to show Deuteronomy an immense amount of respect)

Speaking of Tugger! This will bring us to one of the biggest grievances with the movie and that is how they handled Mr Mistoffelees.

So... Ugh. So. We have Victoria as the pov character, which imo is like whatever in the grand scheme of things, and then we have Misto who they have decided will be get live interest cuz... Of course. Misto is shown throughout the musical to be awkward, unsure of himself and well. Really, kinda incompetent. Which is Wild cuz in the stage show he might be aloof but he's fairly confident in his powers.

So, Old Deuts gets kidnapped. In the stage show Tugger is the one to bring Misto forward! It's really quite sweet, imo, and I'm showing myself as a Tuggoffelees shipper here, but again Tugger is previously shown to be pretty conceited but then here he is boosting and hyping up Misto to bring Deuteronomy back. My friends and I have lovingly dubbed this the boyfriend hype song.

SOMEHOW. The movie manages to make this, easily, the MOST BORING number in the whole thing. Which, again, WILD. Misto awkwardly stumbles through his whole song, which again is... Boasting of his supreme magical powers which movie Misto clearly. Does not have or believe to have. The song, to me, feels super awkward and unnecessarily drawn out in the movie which sucks cuz it's one of my favourites in the show.

The declawing (heh) of Mr Mistoffelees actually reminds me strongly of how they changed Gaston in the live action Beauty and the Beast movie. He's gone from a beloved figure in the animated movie to someone so disliked in the town that Le Fou has to pay people off to say nice things about him. It's just. Wild character choices were made!!

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat is probably my favourite in movie non ensemble number. It feels the most... Genuine? Compared to the other nomination songs.

Other problems include but are not limited to:

The inconsistent size scale of the CATS which throws me off constantly.

The weirdly overt sexual overtones added to MANY of the songs (Jenny and Bustopher being the worst)

This is just a personal gripe and opinion but I don't like that they used the UK version of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. The American version is both better known and tbh way more fun. Teazer's giggle? Adds ten years to my life every time.

Victoria's added solo song, Beautiful Ghosts, while I like the song as a song it doesn't fit the style of message of the musical. In the movie she's singing directly to Grizzabella who's being an outcast for years that she should be grateful she even has memories of being part of the tribe?? What?? But I know they had to add an original song to be able to be nominated for awards in like the Grammys n shit (which is why all musical movies will have an original song, fun fact!!) kinda funny they went to the effort though considering........... I don't think anyone could have genuinely believed CATS 2019 was gonna win anything but golden rhaspberries.

Movie Mr Mistoffelees has made repeated appearances as my sleep paralysis demon

The various cut characters, shout outs to Jemima, Demeter and Jellylorum especially

Bombalurina being a henchman to Macavity rubs me the wrong way

God I've written... So much. You probably get it by now haha. Like I said at the beginning, I try to go into any adaptation with an open mind but... Let's be honest, this movie wasn't marketed to people who are fans of the musical.

It was marketed, and made, to make money. And they choose to do that through, I think, intentionally making the worst possible version ever. Bad press is still press and the more outrageous people said the movie was the more people wanted to go see exactly what kind of train wreck it was.

Which is a disservice to the stage show, honestly, and all the people who've worked on it over the years.

But what can we do, right?

And besides all that, I do... Still own the movie version and I do still rewatch it on occasion. It is entertaining even if it's in a train wreck kind of way. I usually end up watching the 1998 version, then 2019 and then various tour runs that are on YouTube. (I highly recommend the 2016 tour, it's very good)

So in conclusion. It's fun (?) to watch. I enjoy picking things apart and doing analysis (if you couldn't tell!) so like... I don't hate it?

It did what it set out to do, I guess, and I can't fault it for that but. It's not a fair metre with which to judge the stage show imo. But I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, haha.

Jazz hands. I'm more than happy to elaborate or just chat about CATS if anyone wants! I grew up listening to the Broadway CD since I was a toddler so it's been! A very long standing obsession haha. Probably the only other thing on par with CATS is my obsession with Jurassic Park which I've also been a fan of since I was 3 (but that's a whole story in and of itself)

#astrix thoughts #cats the musical #Thanks for the opportunity to talk about one of my hyperfixations anon!#And to anyone who reads this whole mess lmao

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clair-void-ance · 4 years

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If Only She Knew

Pairing: Cedric the Sorcerer X Wormwood! Reader

Word Count: Roughly 1,516 words

Warnings: None; just yearning and fluff

Notes: Gif, photo, poem, and characters are not mine; only the story is mine! The poem is “If only She Knew” by Kiara Wilson and, honestly, I think it fit pretty well for the story :) The idea was one I found on @merlins-mushrooms blog that focused on the reader being Cedric’s familiar instead of Wormwood and them being able to switch between their animal and human form. I had a little bit of time and wanted to write, so I decided why not? It seems more like headcanons than a story but what can you do lmao. Hope you guys enjoy, feedback is always appreciated!

Growing up as an animal-based shape shifter, life had been both difficult and easy going for you. The magical gift you had to change into any animal at will provided you with opportunities and freedom not many people ever got to possess. Especially when it came to sneaking around and getting away with things

What made it difficult though, is that you had immense difficulty finding a job that suited you. Although you had attended Hexley Hall to learn to control and gain your magical abilities, it ended up being something you just didn't want the responsibility of doing.

Something that you did like about attending there though, was someone who had grown to be quite dear to you over the years: Cedric.

Cedric and you had started off pretty rocky, given you different backgrounds and his stifling parents, but you eventually learned to create a happy medium. After the whole fiasco with his older sister and his falling out with Roland, Cedric ended up not having many people to fully rely on. In fact, he had no one to rely on. That is, until he met you.

You two would work on spells together, duel against each other, rant about your problems to one another, and even began providing physical affection to each other. One form of which, was when you would shift into a stark black cat and curl up in his arms underneath you guys’ favorite tree outside the school grounds.

For Cedric though, his favorite form for you was the raven you would transform into when wanting some alone time or freedom. After all, one of the few things that you adored above all things was your independence. He thought you looked adorable and, after an embarrassing incident that you have sworn him into secrecy about, he dubbed your new nickname “Wormwood.”

When you both began to creep closer to your graduation date though, your time together became thinner and more tense. When your studies started to wrap up, it became clear that you both had to pick your career soon. To Cedric, that choice was easy. His father had been Roland I’s Royal Sorcerer, and it was only natural that he took his place when the king retired. For you though, choosing a career that would define the rest if your life caused you so much stress that even Greylock had noticed. Which said a lot lmao But, like always, Cedric was there to ease your troubles. Since you both wanted to stay together, but there was no need for a second royal sorcerer, Cedric offered the idea that you become his familiar.

Which…..wasn't actually a bad idea. In fact, it offered every bit of freedom, fun, and intellectual interest that you had desired in a would-be dream job.

After crushing Cedric in a bone shattering hug, you quickly made your way to the school’s office and began the preparation of registering as a familiar. lmao, we’re just gonna act like it works that way cause I have no idea what else to do

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

Moving to the castle had been an easier transition than you had anticipated, but you assumed that was more your doing than Cedric’s given the fact that people seemed to greet him with more suspicion than warmth.

An unexpected advancement though, was when you were told that you both had to share sleeping quarters. Not that it really mattered that much; you and Cedric had slept near each other before when bunking and traveling at Hexley Hall, and this time would be no different.

At least....to you it would. The fact that you had grown up to be rather beautiful made you sleeping in the same quarters rather awkward for Cedric. And though he could hide his affection relatively well, he still slipped up here and there and was caught throwing you yearning glances throughout the day.

(Cedric was just glad that you had separate beds, cause he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it if you slept less than ten feet away from him.)

Dynamic wise, you both worked together with so much ease it seemed as though you shared a collective mind. Which, in a way, you did. The only downside to knowing each other so well though, was the fact that you were adopting one another’s personality traits. Cedric, of course, had little downsides, but you were finding yourself becoming a tad more awkward then you remember originally being. But that just made you even more cuter in Cedric’s eyes. Which didn’t help his repressed love for you that he had harbored for the last fifteenish years he had known you.

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

It wasn't until Sofia joined the castle and started to warm up to Cedric that he let it slip that he had the most embarrassing crush on you though. Sofia, of course, thought that this was the most adorable thing in the whole world and made it her life’s mission to help you both get together before it was too late.

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

After sending you away on ‘work-related’ jobs, Cedric and Sofia began to brainstorm the best possible ways to reveal his feelings and have them reciprocated. This ended with Cedric bringing up the idea of doing it through one of your more favorable interests: Poetry.

When you guys were still young and spent most of your time underneath the great Elm tree at Hexley Hall, you two had jokingly picked up the hobby of writing mushy and cringe inducing poetry. Which meant that his admission of feelings would be even more meaningful and heartfelt. That would definitely aid him in his and Sofia’s plans.

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

While he began writing his love poem to you, Sofia began to set up the location in which he would proclaim his love. With the help of a few animal companions, Sofia had successfully set up a romantic setting in a secluded area of the palace gardens when she saw Cedric leading you down the pathway towards a singular bench.

You were wearing a deep purple pantsuit and, for a minute, Sofia realized that you complemented eachother surprisingly well.

After quickly hiding behind a bush, she got as close as she could without being found.

Grasping both of your hands in his as he stood in front of your seated form, Cedric began the start of confession speech.

“(y/n), to say that you’ve had a tremendous impact on my life would be a tragically large misconception. Unlike everyone else in my life, you have stuck in my corner through thick and thin and have remained, through it all, my closest companion and friend.”

At this point, he began to nervously shift around and cast his eyes down to his polished black shoes.

“The thing is though, that my feelings as of late have changed. And, to help convey them….I sort of….w-wrote you a poem.”

You let out a snort to this, but looked at him tenderly as if to say “continue.”

Coughing into his fist, Cedric pointed his chin upwards as he sat to face you and started to recite his hastily written poem.

“She has her own special way

Of turning around my terrible day.

She makes all the bad things go away

The second that she says hey.

And when I look into her eyes,

I see pure beauty with no disguise.

Just a glance at her makes my heartbeat rise.

I know for a fact that these feelings aren't lies.

If only she knew

How much my love for her grew,

Maybe, just maybe, we could start something new,

And then I'd never feel blue.

And if beauty were inches, she'd go on for miles.

I'd better catch her before I go out of style.

I'm going to let my heart be my dial

So I can tell her what I've been feeling for a while.”

After finishing, Cedric nervously looked up at you to see what reaction you would show to what he had just revealed. Gazing at your eyes, he finally noticed the rim of tears that surrounded the lower part of your eyes and began to panic.

“Oh no, was that too much? Did...did I just ruin everything? Merlin’s Mushrooms! This always happens,” his tender look deflated into one of distress as he put his head in his hands and quickly turned away from you. It wasn’t until he heard what, at first, sounded like crying that he hesitantly gazed up at you. Analyzing your facial features, he noticed that your face was not scrunched up in disgust, but rather into one of joy and laughter. You let out an airy giggle and reached to cradle his cheeks in your palms.

“Oh Ceddy, that was the mushiest and most cringe inducing poem you’ve written yet,” you said with a smile.

“I’m just glad that this one is about me.”

“Does that mea-”

It was at that point that you connected both of your lips and started to slowly initiate a deep and affectionate kiss. Sofia could be heard squealing behind one of the bushes across from you guys’ bench and that only made you giggle softly against Cedric’s slightly chapped lips. Which made the bumbling sorcerer swoon and lightly bring you into a hug,

Needless to say, that situation led to you both getting real familiar with each other. Only, this time, it lead to one of the most fulfilling chapters of both of your lives.

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koolkvat-blog · 6 years

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hello loves , what’s up ! i’m super excited to be here & to finally play my precious girl , jade aka kool kat . i’m LOLA , use she / her prounouns , i am NINETEEN , & i am currently in the gmt + 1 timezone which means yes , my ass should’ve been awake for intro posting but i don’t know what time management is and ended up swamped w/ work , so ! everything you need to know about about miss kat is under the cut , & i’m rlly thrilled to be apart of such a wonderful rp with such gorgeous muses . corniness over –– if you’re looking to plot sumn out , just hit that ♥︎ & i’ll make my way on over to ur dms , or feel free to add me up on discord which i’ll give in im’s if anybody’s interested ! ♡♡♡ tw : family issues , body image issues & drug mention ( not explicit ) .

001 . SYNOPSIS . FULL NAME . jade kikuchi . NICKNAMES . kool kat . AGE . twenty - one . DATE OF BIRTH . twenty - seventh of september , 1993 / libra . PLACE OF BIRTH . harajuku , tokyo , japan . GENDER . cisgender female . SEXUALITY . ( closeted ) pansexual . NATIONALITY . japanese , now american too after successfully gaining citizenship . ETHNICITY . asian . OCCUPATION . fashion designer at katz designz , former fashion design and journalist student back in her original timeline . PLAYLIST . here ! ( + ) charismatic , enthusiastic , warm , energetic , adventurous , compassionate , animated . ( - ) deceptive , independent , emotional , territorial , ambitious , impulsive , temperamental , insecure , sarcastic .

002 . AESTHETIC . wheatgrass smoothies , 90′s anime with subtitles , chanel no. 5, speeding on a desert road with the windows down , painting your toenails on the dashboard , neon prints , cat lazing on a balcony in the sun , black lace , japanese horror films , sour cocktails with sugar around the rim , half - smoked cigarettes , stacks of fashion magazines , long hair hastily dyed different colours in a motel bathroom , thrift stores .

003. INFORMATION .

tl;dr : a flighty, inattentive adventurer: a follower of whims; personable and sociable but lacks the skills to maintain relationships because she’s entirely (and perhaps too) career focused, checks her horoscope daily and entirely relies on the stars when concerning relationships, epitome of a britney spears / gwen stefani stan back in the 2000′s, still owns a (bedazzled) flip phone, collector of vintage fashion (chanel, elle, juicy couture etc.) a subscriber to the Leonardo Da Vinci sleeping method; catch her at 2 am making soufflés or buying plane tickets to shiwei so she can really experience the culture: will tell you she loves you ten minutes after first introduction because she’s high: kind of unintentionally insensitive to those she doesn’t know and closed off but in like a cool, lovable way.

• heads up im running on like 5 hrs sleep so sry when this inevitably derails ! ok sweet let’s get into this .

• so as aforementioned this is jade kukichi, aka, kool kat. she was dubbed that by her friends due to her unique fashion style and sense of dress, and it’s stuck. lbr nobody other than her friends can use that term so if you do, she’s just going to stare at u for a quick sec before saying ‘it’s jade’.

• born in harajuku, tokyo to a cardiothoracic surgeon of a father and a politician of a mother, jade grew up traveling the world and becoming flighty af, never thinking she was going to make long - term friends and kinda being okay with that.

• her family has never stayed in one place for very long, though her aging parents eventually settled into a permanent residence in the us around the time she turned sixteen, not soon enough for jade to break the habit of wandering, but thankfully quick enough for her to meet the bratz girls who were just as adventurous and fun - loving as she. she's spent much of her teen life jumping from place to place wherever her interests are that moment, collecting people along the way, but to find friends was the only thing she was missing. jade has a brilliant mind, but she lacks patience and follow through. she needs guidance or she'll jump from idea to idea, job to job, whim to whim.

• ngl, jade pretty much hated her home life. her parents were an overbearing presence in her life, her mother wanting jade to be a proper lady who also went into a profession like theirs (entirely serious and stifling when it came to creativity, doctor, politician, lawyer etc.) while jade herself wanted to check out the latest trends and go to the mall w her friends – so she turned all of her focus and energy into getting good grades in everything she wanted to do in the hopes that she could be the most successful fashion designer, then leaving town forever.

• like she spent 7 yrs in high school graduating w honours but she barely knew what was happening in 9/10 of her classes and sometimes she just slept through classes and then wing her exams which she miraculously did well at. it was just not a good idea to send jade to a public school at 11 after being in boarding school for the rest of her life and then never really enforce any rules :~\ she has trouble with that kind of thing.. as in making logical choices instead of saying "YEAH lets go watch american psycho and smoke weed!" skipping chemistry to do just that

• she loves fun and values doing what makes her happy over most things. it's hard to pin her down and she spends most of her life chasing after ideas that don't really follow any sort of conscious order, bc she’s really got that ‘i’ve got dreams and i’m gonna do everything in my power to achieve them’ personality.

• according to bratz canon she’s worked as literally everything ? she’s one of those insufferable people who r just. good everything ig and that’s just how it is on this bitch of an earth. jade’s been a photographer, a song - writer and bass player in a rock band (shout out to bratz rock angelz the best movie w the best soundtrack ever), a student studying fashion design, a fashion columnist, a quickly fired nanny, and many other things in between.

• so when she appears in toonsville she’s kind of out of it that she’s not doing something w her skills and sets up her own business which she loves ? being her own boss suits her fine (for now) because she’s got a Real Job and she's actually trying rly hard so she can fulfill her dreams !! like suck it mom nd dad haha !!!

• jade has a lot of weird feelings TM about her body and her looks and struggles a lot with her self confidence :~( she had a shit time at school with boys saying she was too thin and she compensated by acting like she didn't like anyone at all for a while and now she thinks she isn't good enough for anyone when rly she is a cinnamon bun too good for this world too pure

• best friend ever she is so good at being a friend if u text her at 3am to go out or cry on her shoulder shes ready to go at 3:15 even if she was sleeping w lots of snacks and treats and love!!! she is sooo extroverted around those she’s comfortable w, she gains so much energy from being around people and she loves being nice and being around ppl she likes

• she becomes the mom of groups pretty easily (hence why she’s the leader of the bratz) bc she bottles up most of her own problems to help ppl with theirs!! which is toxic yea but she puts people first always so !! plz help her poor repressed soul!! rip kool kat..

• still super into the stuff of her time so like.. she loves the x files and bad reality tv shows (i want to be a hilton) and reads gossip magazines on the reg because she enjoys that stuff! also very into girl groups.. ginger spice / posh spice is an eternal mood.

• anyway yes sweet adult-child of 21 (she is in denial about that tho like she doesn't want to be childish) who is v nice v kind v loyal v baked a lot of time, v passionate v silly. idk what i'm doin hope u like it < 3

004. WANTED CONNECTIONS .

friends / best friends / ride or dies . jade genuinely loves people, loves talking to strangers and getting into intense conversations with people she’s only just met, learning other people’s way of life and bettering herself for getting. she is, however, incredibly blunt and has never once minced words to keep from hurting someone’s feelings or to ease them into a situation. she’d much rather have a one-time conversation with a stranger than make long lasting relationships. she has three very close friends – to the point of co - dependence – and honestly, she’d rather spend all of her time doing things she loves such as her hobbies, sticking her nose into the latest vogue, or searching for cute collars and treats for her cat mica w them instead of making new friends. she's also FUN and she'd be happy to go on crazy road trips or buy out a movie theater for a day or anything that she thinks will her buds happy. she's traveled all over, so she’s v well read and cultured. she loves people but she hates complication and won't deal with any sort of emotional labor. she wants to live in the moment and expects everyone in her life to do so as well. just be chill, y'all.

frenemies / enemies / rivals . please be her enemy, she needs people to antagonize shdhshd. she grew up pretty much affluent so she’s pretty spoiled even if she doesn’t want to admit it, and that rebellious side of her hasn’t died down yet. despite the fact that she is wealthy and in good community standing, she has a hard time letting go of childish grudges. in general she’s got a lot of suppressed feelings and ready to fight everyone who hurts her friends – like an irritated cat – so, honestly, come at her ? she is sometimes a little fickle and flighty and a unintentionally stuck up when it comes to art / fashion and she has definitely said the wrong thing at the wrong time and pissed the wrong people off, she can’t stand anyone underestimating her or thinking she’s dumb bc she’s interested in fashion. like gtfo !

ex’s , fwb’s , possible love interests . jade is fairly fluid romantically and is the type of person who hates labels but also just wants to be cherished and called cute pet names lowkey. she loves a lot and gives a lot to her relationships, but typically doesn't want to commit to anything important. she’s gone from one disastrous relationship to another, ending up with a boyfriend who constantly ridiculed her image that was essentially the catalyst for her cutting off romantic ties, quite a recent wound before she found herself on the island actually. worst thing is tht she’s convinced herself that she’s been the problem in these relationships – that she turns good people bad or that she is too much for people to deal with, she’s not sure what the issue is and she doesn’t really want to know. so…. fuck everything amirite ? anyway, she’s a strong independent woman who don’t need no (wo)man.

etc . pls give me people jade can give a makeover to, people she shares an apartment w on the island, people who think fashion is girly and vapid.. creatives who love what she’s doing, anything tbh << 3

#cartoons:intro #ngl making jade's playlist was the best part about this

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Begins with Episodes 1-7!

*guitar*

*shadows*

COME ON!

Welcome to The Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! I'm Nate, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, I told you how all this worked, but everybody who's new I'll go over things one more time.

Each week, we'll be watching SEVEN EPISODES of the original Naruto, and sharing our thoughts on them interview-style every Friday at 5pm PST.

This week, we're starting things off with episodes 1-7, featuring an introduction to everyone's favorite super-loud orange ninja, the rest of our main cast, and this world of ninja that they inhabit. Things move pretty quickly--it's not long before Naruto's assigned to Team 7, they have their first real test against their teacher and commander Kakashi, and they face their first life-or-death fights against the Demon Brothers and Zabuza!

But, before we discuss these episodes, let's take a look at the comments and questions that you had from our last installment!

The number one question we got last week was a simple one: ARE WE GOING TO SKIP THE FILLER?

No. We are not skipping the filler.

You may skip the filler, but be sure to tune in to see our reactions to it... there's gonna be a lot down the road.

Now, let's see what the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's episodes!

Alright, this is where it all starts--I know a bunch of you are new to Naruto. How did actually watching it compare to your expectations?

Paul: Judging from my previous experiences with the fans, I was expecting Naruto (both the show and the titular character) to be a little more meat-headed and hyper-masculine. Instead, the show sets a laser focus on evoking sympathy with a protagonist who wants to be the best in the world simply so people will recognize him. I didn't anticipate such feelings of internalized inadequacy from the shouty, fighty shonen hero.

Peter: I’m rewatching and also decided to read the manga alongside. So far I’m really impressed by how strong Kishimoto’s aesthetic was from the outset. The environments and character designs are all unmistakeable and his action is like this perfect combination of piece-by-piece panels and splashes. I like the anime’s additions, especially some extra Naruto/Konohamaru scenes which drive home the difference in how they’re treated and an early Ino intro that sets up her rivalry with Sakura.

Kevin: I was one of the people watching the original Cartoon Network run of the show’s dub back somewhere around 2003 or 2004. Going back and rewatching, I forgot how much the early parts of the show focus on Naruto’s emotional struggle, first of not being accepted by anyone and just trying to get attention, then how he feels about his various failings as a ninja. As a result, the stakes aren’t as high, but it feels like a much more personal story.

Jared: I completely missed out on Naruto after dropping off anime around 2003, but going in I was more expecting it to follow a similar structure to other shonen shows I’ve seen. From the start, the opening episode completely shattered any expectations I had with how tight the entire episode was woven together with regards to its narrative, characterizations, and how much info it packed into 24 minutes. Outside of that, I think I’d missed out on knowing that Naruto can act like a brat early on in the series.

Joseph: I’m in an interesting position, because I watched maybe 40 episodes of this a decade ago and I’ve read around 50 volumes of the manga. I will say I was surprised at how nostalgic it felt to watch this compared to, say, Shippuden, which has a much different vibe. It’s also impressive how much groundwork is laid for the entire series via Kishimoto’s designs and world and the way the anime adapted it.

Carolyn: I was very surprised at how quickly they dove into Naruto’s backstory. I have seen the show many years ago and didn’t seem to remember that such a “big reveal” occurred so quickly. I… honestly find the story quite boring and hard to keep my attention focused on, I guess I’m just not super invested in the characters. However, I can absolutely see seeds of how this show has affected and inspired many that came after it. I hadn’t really noticed that when watching other anime, but going back and rewatching Naruto makes that pretty clear. Also, I am cracking up at the totally rad ‘80s Breakfast Club-esque opening sequence. I didn’t remember that music at all.

Noelle: Naruto was one of my first encounters with manga when I first really started getting into it, but it’s been a long time since I touched it. I read the whole thing, but I never reread it, so a lot of instances I completely forgot about. For example, I forgot how kind of gruesome it was at the start, focusing on serious injuries instead of just fantasy violence. At the same time, I’m impressed how strong the characters are established, along with themes such as kindness and proving yourself that will resonate throughout the entire series.

Kara: I was five years out of college when Naruto started, and I remember in the circles I ran in it was Not The Done Thing to be into it. I can’t remember if it was because it was considered a “casual’s anime” or if it was based on run-ins with cosplayers at conventions. Likely a little of both. Watching it has been a lot more chill than I expected, and while I see a lot of the tropes I figured I’d see, it looks like it’s leading somewhere interesting.

David: I basically grew up with Naruto, but I fell off of it in high school so it’s been more than a decade since the last time I actually watched an episode or read a chapter. Comparing it to my expectations, it’s much more focused than I recall--the first episode could stand alone as a very emotionally effective short story, for example. Kakashi is still the only side character who seems to have a lot of thought put into their long-term character arc, though.

Daniel: I like it, though Naruto has always kind of been a blind spot for me. I’ve seen a decent chunk of it, but it’s always kind of been background noise, something to have on so that when people ask me “Do you only watch One Piece?”, I can say “NUH UH. I ALSO WATCH THIS ONE ABOUT ANOTHER LOUD BOY.” That said, actually paying attention to it, it’s pretty fun. I dig Kishimoto’s world building, and the environment that he’s set up. I’m really interested in finally figuring out why so many people adopted this show as their gospel.

Danni W: I actually did watch the first dozen or so episodes of Naruto around six or seven years ago, so this was more of a refresher than anything. It never quite clicked with me the first time, so I was surprised to find I enjoyed it more this time around. I think it helped that the show gets real pretty immediately. We’re only seven episodes in and Naruto has already had to face real combat three separate times. The characters aren’t enough to hook me yet, so the early doses of action have made for a good on ramp for me.

I've always enjoyed how Naruto hangs on to its emotional core, and we see that very strongly in the first few episodes. What did you all think of this part of the story?

Paul: I'm not fully invested yet in the emotional stakes of the series, mostly because I don't really know the scope and scale of the world that Naruto inhabits. Why are these children being trained to be spies and assassins from such a young age? What dangers does the outside world present such that it prompts entire villages to weaponize their kids?

Peter: I feel like I never gave Iruka enough credit in retrospect, maybe because his act was the first in what later emerged as the series core. Without him, Naruto probably would have been another Gaara. I also never realized that Naruto is wearing Iruka’s headband the entire damn story. After Naruto’s hand stab I’m trying to remember if grand masculine gestures are regularly mocked as an inverse toward the important compassionate gestures, so I’m planning to track that moving forward.

Kevin: While I like seeing the cool techniques and fights from later in the show, going back to the beginning and seeing much more of a focus on each character’s internal conflicts is an interesting change, giving each of their actions a bit more personal weight. It’s not inherently better or worse, just a different focus on the same story.

Jared: It really seemed like a great way to start the series and let people know from the onset that this is a story that deals heavily with empathy. I figured eventually the series would go that route, but to do it immediately sets a tone that allows for these characters like Naruto to instantly have layers that otherwise might take a long time to see. With the show really bouncing between emotional moments and comedy pretty frequently, I’m curious whether it’ll continue that or try and lean more in one direction or the other.

Joseph: Naruto is the most three-dimensional character in these first episodes, mostly because we haven’t had much time to delve into the stories that drive Sakura and Sasuke. I think they do a great job of making Naruto sympathetic, which makes up for his brattiness. One other thing I appreciate is that they make it clear from the outset that being a ninja isn’t just cartoonishly huge shuriken fun and games. People die on the regular here, and Naruto and the rest of his upstart era would do well do remember that before taking the next steps.

Carolyn: Just let Naruto live! Everyone is so mean to the poor kid. Again, I was surprised at how quickly they jump into this and I have a feeling it is what kept me watching the first time around. They do a good job of making you feel empathy for Naruto even when he is being totally obnoxious.

Noelle: While I remember pretty vividly the general plot, I don’t remember a lot of the small moments that make up a scene. Naruto is set up really well, and I to this day really enjoy that he’s not just cast as a quirky problem child with no future, but someone who genuinely wants to be acknowledged, and acting out is the easiest way to get attention. Knowing how things end up, seeing everyone at the start and how they are introduced is a good refresher and sets up a lot later on. At its heart, this really is a story about teamwork, empathy, and growing up.

Kara: It’s been all right—some cute and funny bits, and I like what action scenes we’ve had. From a writing standpoint, it feels like (except for Naruto himself) everyone’s categorized largely by wanting to be the Hokage, wanting to kill someone, or having a crush on someone. But I can also see that we’re quickly moving forward from that. Being on the News team means educating myself fast about unfamiliar shows, and the wildest thing to me has been seeing Hinata in the background crushing on Naruto when I just recently posted an article about her wedding figure.

David: Iruka and Naruto’s relationship has to be my favorite single part from this section. Iruka is given every reason to not like or just give up on this kid, yet he sticks up for him the whole time (while also never letting him slack--no free pass on the exams for Naruto!). Kakashi is setting up to be a good role model, too, but I’ll definitely miss how intimate Iruka’s care for Naruto is.

Daniel: You can really sympathize with Naruto because he’s the “chosen one” character without being a prodigy. He isn’t impressive right out of the gate, but he has the potential to be impressive. I think you can relate to him easier than, say, Goku, who is ready to dropkick most of the world the first time you meet him. That feeling of being meant for bigger things, but still struggling to even get on the path to those bigger things is pretty powerful.

Danni: I think it’s showing some promise. I really appreciate the lengths it goes to explain why Naruto is a troublemaker in the first place. He can be pretty annoying, but the reasons for that are mostly justified. In the end, he’s a victim. I like that Sasuke can already see that and identify with him in that respect. They both have a lot of trauma to work though in the next *checks notes* few hundred episodes.

I know we're really early in, but have there been any standout moments or characters so far?

Paul: I know everybody else is probably going to go with Kakashi as the standout character, but also cool as Kakashi may be, my heart goes out to Akimichi Choji, the chubby ninja who is stuffing his face with potato chips in Episode 3. I also like the design of the oversized shurikens and other exaggerated weapons, and I dig the visual aesthetic of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Peter: This question is kind of hard to answer since I’m retracing old ground but I definitely did not recall Sakura being such a little shithead. Completely forgot her putting her foot in her mouth with Sasuke saying Naruto’s a troublemaker because he’s an orphan. Funnily enough, I think her hating Naruto for who he is rather than what he represents is a really important connection between the two.

Kevin: Naruto freezing up in his first real fight and then stabbing himself, swearing that he’ll never be a burden again was a scene that I feel is an exemplar of how the early story focuses more on Naruto’s emotional journey, rather than just trying to fight increasingly strong bad guys, but still has the kind of payoffs that the audience can rally behind.

Jared: Iruka is a good dude who really wants what’s best for Naruto, even if it means taking an oversized shuriken to the back. Naruto stabbing himself in episode 6 was an immediate “YO” moment from me. The entire atmosphere of the fight in the back half of episode 7 was incredibly good. I really hope that Konohamaru continues to show up with either worse and worse stealth or continuously better ways to try and fight Naruto.

Carolyn: Glad to see Shikamaru show up so early. Love him. As I mentioned before, I’m not sure I’m fully invested in these characters. I am quite disappointed in Sakura. I remember loving her when I was younger and she is not the strong female character I remembered. She’s kind of desperately boy-crazy. Which is fine! But it feels like it comes on strong and the first several episodes don’t give her many traits beyond that. She must grow throughout the series, or my memories were warped? Kakashi Sensei feels sooooo much like a Shoto Aizawa (My Hero Academia’s Eraserhead) prototype. The mystery, the aloof manner, but secretly a big softie that just wants his student to do well. Similarly, Naruto has a lot of traits that seem to overlap with Bakugo and Soul Eater’s Black Star. More evidence of the show’s reach. Sexy Jutsu has not aged well. Also, the ending theme song is beautiful.

Noelle: Kakashi’s great, and knowing that he’s pretty close to my age puts a lot of things into context now that I’m an adult. Kakashi’s got a lot on his plate with these three problem children under his wing, but he’s still a pretty laid back guy personality-wise. Someone who stood out to me more in my rewatch was Iruka. Iruka’s presence means so much to Naruto, being the father figure he never really had. If Iruka wasn’t kind to Naruto, and he really was the only person to treat Naruto like a kid and not just a monster container, this would’ve been a very different series. Naruto truly did need someone to be there for him, and seeing their relationship really does make my heart warm. Iruka’s a good guy!

Kara: I actually cannot believe how much I associate with Naruto, and 12-years-ago me would faint at hearing that. The absolute need to prove himself, the feeling that he’s sliding backwards the harder he works, all that is something I (and others, I’m sure) can relate to. Obviously he goes a little harder than most people would in his situation—seriously, if you’re wearing Safety Orange constantly, you’ve gotta think really highly of yourself as a ninja—but it’s really something to see how much of his attitude is couched in fear of failure.

Joseph: Kakashi’s kancho, obviously.

David: Konohamaru only gets his one episode here, but I actually thought his bit was the most emotionally effective. He largely has the same issues as Naruto but in reverse. Konohamaru isn’t necessarily "royalty" but treated as such, infantilizing him from his perspective. Even his name is a point of contention for him, putting a burden on his very existence that others can’t relate to. To these ends, he looks up to Naruto for being a free spirit, but as the viewers we understand that they are more similar than they know. Naruto is the main character--we see his troubles garnering respect and even love from his peers and mentors in these episodes--but Konohamaru grounds that conflict by mirroring it.

Daniel: In my high school band class in Freshman year, a kid asked the teacher to be referred to as “Sasuke.” He also had a ninja headband that he’d wear around some time, and while I thought it was goofy then, I think it’s ABSOLUTELY DOPE now. So, while I still figure out the characters, I’m gonna nominate broody ol’ Sasuke in honor of that kid.

Danni: Kakashi covers like 75% of his face with ninja gear and to show how badass he is fought one-handed while reading a book called Makeout Paradise. I want to be that cool someday.

The action escalated pretty quickly--we started with Team 7 having to take the bells from Kakashi for the first full-on action scene (even if it wasn't "for keeps"), and then we have to worry about Hidden Mist assassins and our first real villain, Zabuza. Any thoughts on the action?

Paul: I like all of the action that I've seen so far, but the resolution to Kakashi's test wasn't dramatically satisfying for me. The payoff didn't match the build-up. I wanted to see Team 7 put up more of a show of resistance than simply refusing to obey Kakashi's instructions not to feed Naruto. The scene plays more like everyone being recalcitrant teenagers and less like anyone taking a principled stand.

Peter: I can’t believe the action is so sick even this early on. I always thought of Sasuke’s style as the most orthodox and the intricacy of some of his combos and the shots are so damn satisfying to look. Kishimoto made it super easy for the animators to make some stylish shots and they ran with it. The series is already building its vocabulary with a Sasuke attack that obviously builds into the Lion Combo and some underground shenanigans.

Kevin: I feel like this is the show’s action at its weakest. None of the Genin know how to fight yet, so once the actually dangerous fighting begins, they’re relegated to standing around watching Kakashi and Zabuza fight, and even that hasn’t gotten to the more impressive techniques. It’s not bad since at least there is still a fight between two experienced combatants to watch, it’s just weaker than what the show delivers on later when the protagonist and major characters are experienced enough to contribute.

Jared: I was surprised how subdued the action had felt before Team 7 took on Kakashi with there being pretty minimal fight scenes until that point. Kakashi messing around with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura gave a good baseline of the complete difference in skill between all of them, but it wasn’t until Zabuza and his ridiculous cow print sleeves showed up that we truly get a sense of how much of a gap there is between Kakashi and Team 7. The beginnings of that fight truly gave the feeling of their being stakes involved which had been missing elsewhere.

Carolyn: Again, surprised at how quickly the show turns on a dime. They can go from goofy to serious in a heartbeat and it is very reminiscent of how things often progress on My Hero Academia. But I still find it hard to really get into the peril. I’m not sure why, exactly, I’m not very invested in the characters, but it’s early. I’m sure that will change.

Noelle: Since this series came out where it did, Jump was still very much comfortable with keeping pacing slow. As a result, the fights are a lot slower than what I’m used to, even if that was the norm back then. At the same time, the action itself isn’t bad--it’s pretty clever, and introduces the rules of the world in a way that anyone can pick up with ease.

Kara: I have a feeling a lot of my appreciation for the fighting will come as I start learning the different abilities in play. There have definitely been some cool moves, but I think we’re still in that exposition phase where we’re learning the types of things ninjas can do (and what our main cast’s strong and weak points are). A couple weeks from now when I’ve seen more of how this universe operates, I’ll probably be all in.

David: Sure, the action isn’t flashy, but the Kakashi training fight was much better than I remember it being for two reasons. One, it’s just funny. Kakashi doesn’t do anything truly harsh to the kids (well, aside from starve them, but that’s part of the plan), and what little physical combat he does with them is either light or just plain comedic. Two, it serves as a small show-don’t-tell of the show’s combat mechanics. For example, he calls out at the beginning that he’s going to use taijutsu, leading to his infamous kancho when he could have done a million other things; Sakura even believes he is using a more fancy technique before it happens. From there more involved strategies are used and by the end we have a basic primer of Naruto combat simultaneously serving as a team-building exercise for our heroes. Very efficient storytelling.

Joseph: The action is really clear and well-handled in these early episodes. I’m not sure how it gets later on, but I know in the manga I found some of Kishimoto’s action layouts much harder to follow than they should be. His designs and the intention behind his action translate nicely to animation, thankfully. Naruto is also really good at suddenly showing just how powerful a character really is within action, which is a total must-have shonen staple.

Danni: It’s not very flashy so far, but it is pretty tense. The high-level combat so far seems to entirely be a contest of clones and substitutions. The substitution jutsu seems way too broken. That being said, it’s a pretty cool technique. I hope we get to start seeing some good hand-to-hand soon.

For this batch of episodes, what were the highest and lowest points, respectively?

Paul: High point: Naruto getting caught in Kakashi's rope trap, grumbling about not getting tricked again while he frees himself, and then immediately getting caught in another rope trap. I love those kind of gags. Low point: ninja diarrhea.

Peter: In both cases probably the information reveals. Purely narratively speaking, a lot of the info that comes at the characters feels like common knowledge in retrospect. Kakashi is famous for having the Sharingan, how the village and mission systems work, and Sakura not knowing about her crush’s family being murdered seem like they should things the kids know. On the other hand, I’m super impressed with how much of a foundation Sasuke and Kakashi’s backstory have so early on and foreshadowing for both.

Kevin: The lowest point for me was the repeated use of the “Sexy Jutsu.” Once made sense to show Naruto as a troublemaker who could invent new techniques if he tried, and the Harem Jutsu showed that he can be creative and combine techniques for new tactics, but the other 2-3 times just feel like a joke being overplayed. The best moment was the fight against the Hidden Mist Chunin, since each of the kids’ personalities show through clearly. Sakura is terrified but keeps to her main duty, Sasuke starts retaliating to get rid of the threat, and Naruto freezes in place and needs to be saved, leading to an excellent emotional payoff when the fight is over.

Jared: The high points for me were Kakashi vs. Zabuza, Naruto’s hand stab, and Sakura and Ino’s incredibly ridiculous power walk competition in episode 3. Sexy Jutsu really beats you over the head with how many times they use that gag and Naruto’s stomach issues from episode 3 were just strange, so those would be my low points.

Carolyn: The music is a definite high! The emotional moments and humanizing of Naruto is nice to see. Using ninja skills to save a lost cat is completely adorable and feels like something All Might would do. Did the My Hero peeps grow up on Naruto? It feels like it. I also like how positive Naruto is in the face of adversity. He can make any situation a positive one. Laughing at the clunky exposition, “It’s going to take someone who is highly skilled.” Low point, again, definitely Sexy Jutsu (and teaching Sexy Jutsu to a little kid, WTF, these were different times) and Sakura’s desperate crush.

Noelle: Sexy Jutsu got old really fast. It was interesting to see Naruto expand it, as that showed he was learning, but aside from that, it’s an overdone gag. Glad they cut down on it. For good points, the Zabuza fight for sure, and each one of the kids standing up for themselves in the face of danger. And of course, Naruto stabbing himself in the hand to show his resolve!

Kara: Low point was absolutely the diarrhea episode—add to that the weird middle school comedy of errors surrounding it. I only had so much tolerance for Sakura’s crush and Naruto’s willingness to either mess with or take advantage of it. High point for me was Konohamaru’s desire to be called by his name and not his function or association. It was such a goofy little episode, but something really resonated for me about being willing to go to ridiculous lengths just to be recognized for who he is.

David: The bizarre ‘love triangle’ dynamic as a whole is the low point--this is notably represented well in the “diarrhea episode,” but comes across everywhere else too in how obviously undercooked Sasuke and Sakura’s characters are at this point. On the other hand, the high point is how obviously fully developed Kakashi is despite us knowing so little about him at this point. Unlike the rest of the side characters, there is clearly a lot going on in both what we see him doing here and what is implied to be happening in his background, and that’s as exciting a hook as it was when I was in middle school.

Joseph: The gags are hit or miss, but mostly decent. For me, the low point is any time an information dump rears its head. Zabuza standing on top of his sword for an eternity while he and Kakashi trade off exposition about the Sharingan is sloppy. I dig most everything else, and the high point is how the story handles this early-stage version of Naruto. He is just straight up a bad ninja, and it shows. He’s loud, brash, and obnoxious in an all orange jumpsuit. He’s the anti-ninja. Best of all, he’s terrified, and he totally should be.

Daniel: I really like the show’s tone, usually. But the high point and low point were within five seconds of one another. In the first episode, it’s so rad when Naruto finally reveals his Shadow Clone Jutsu against Mizuki. And then they all beat up Mizuki, and you get these “BONK BOOP SCHWWWWOOOP” sound effects, which takes all of the power of the scene and kicks it out the door.

Danni: For me, the highest point of this batch was in the first episode when Naruto overhears Iruka defending him against Mizuki. That’s a potentially life-changing moment for Naruto, finally learning why so many in the village hate him. Had it been anyone but Iruka who had found Naruto, he likely would’ve ended up turning against the entire village in anger. It’s a touching moment of understanding not just between teacher and student, but also between a pair of orphans linked by the same tragic event.

The lowest point is anytime I‘m reminded the sexy jutsu exists.

COUNTERS

Ramen consumed so far: 2 bowls, 1 cup

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 8

Number of Shadow Clones summoned: 46

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule!

-Next week, on JANUARY 25th, we'll be discussing EPISODES 8-14, hosted by KARA DENNISON! The mission in the Land of Waves continues! THIS IS THE ONLY INSTALLMENT WE'RE ACCEPTING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS WEEK!

-Then, on FEBRUARY 1st, we discuss EPISODES 15-21, with KEVIN MATYI hosting! Not only do we start the Chunin Exam arc, but we get our first FILLER EPISODE!

-On FEBRUARY 8th,we'll discuss EPISODES 22-28, with JARED CLEMONS as host! The Chunin Exam kicks into high gear!

Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have any comments or questions about episodes 1-7? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 8-14?

-----

Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. Check out his comic, Shaw City Strikers!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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surewarren · 6 years

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hey guys hey guys hey guys it’s daisy again, comin’ at u live w/ a new but also old character ( see: i’ve tried playing him so many times then the rps died after like four days rip ) !! click that sexy read more for info on this angsty pun-loving douche.

˚ ‧ ♢ ․ LANDON LIBOIRON. CIS MAN. HE/HIM » is that WARREN JEFFERSON, the SINGER/MUSICIAN, who has been often times compared to ROGER WATERS? i heard the TWENTY-NINE year old can be DICTATORIAL and PESSIMISTIC but makes up for it by being OPEN-MINDED and GENUINE. whenever i think of WARREN PEACE, i’m reminded of a plethora of ARGUMENTS THAT LAST THROUGH THE NIGHT, UNNERVING BIBLE VERSES, and IN-DEPTH CONCEPTS. maybe there’s more to them than being dubbed THE AUTOCRAT by the media.

background:

triggers: war, death, kind of?? emotional abuse??, brief mention of drugs, mental illness implication

alright, so warren’s paternal grandfather fought and died in wwii, fighting alongside the allies ( ofc ) and, bc of this, warren’s father had a certain tear. on one hand, he wanted to build a family; on the other, he wanted to honor his father by following in his footsteps and fighting for his country and, preferably, others.

whynotboth.gif

so he formed a family first, what seeing as there was a lull in war ksksksks. it was perfectly nuclear, but his son, aka warren, only had two years of connection with him before he left to fight in the gulf war.

now he OBVIOUSLY thought he was going to come back,,, but rip dad.

his mother refused to remarry, or even to begin dating again, and spent all of her time trying to shelter warren, but not in?? a caring way?? necessarily??

it was ultimately very damaging. she made sure to instill all of her fears into him, and then some. it also led to a rather friendless background.

for a while, he was a very solo guy. his only friend was music. emo. then he met one other guy when he was 16 who played guitar and knew a guy who played the drums.

through some ‘networking,’ roughly two months later, they also had a pianist and they began actually... being a band!

warren grew very close to the guitarist (we’ll give him the name robert), again, basically being his first and only friend in his sixteen years on the planet.

so that’s why it hurt when they had to replace him!

you see, robert had gone a little Mad™. they attributed it to simple drugs at first, but, even when off, he acted the exact same.

they first brought in a new guitarist while he was still in the band and pretended they were just going to try a rhythm/lead formula out when, in reality, they were letting the new guitarist grow accustomed to the group dynamic and learn the songs and all that good stuff!

poor robert. he had to be fired from the band he formed.

let it be known that, by robert’s departure at the young age of 21, they had already put out two ~psychedelic~ albums – ‘the piper at the gates of dawn’, and ‘a saucerful of secrets’

after that, warren was lowkey like... “listen. u guys?? wld be nowhere w/out me. let me take control from here.” (such a virgo)

ofc, he didn’t... phrase it like that... but it was IMPLIED by the fact that they began implementing his ideas and his ideas alone.

at the beginning, it wasn’t all that warren-based, though. their first three albums under his ‘leadership’ were ‘the dark side of the moon,’ ‘wish you were here,’ and ‘animals’ – the first was primarily centered around the idea of a life cycle, the second was primarily centered around robert (gay), and the final one was just super politically charged. everyone was on board for those.

then he was like “you know what i want to do... create a concept album... it’s going to tell a story about a character named pink, so i’m thinking maybe i temporarily use the alias ‘red’ and you temporarily use the alias ‘white’ because of copyright reasons, so far sound good?”

“ya! tell us more about ur idea!”

“so it’s basically a make-up to the fans album – you know, bc i’ve been a jerk to them – so he’s me with a little bit of robert thrown in there, but, instead of the gulf war, it’s wwii.”

“...”

“ok cool! let’s start!”

that’s how ‘the wall’ was formed, but there were a LOT of disagreements during that era.

the pianist was fired for some time for no good reason. he and the guitarist, aka the other lead singer, butted heads A LOT. the drummer couldn’t keep up very well.

literally just... a bunch of arguments... meant to be an album that explained himself and ‘made everything up’ to the fans... but broke everything apart with his bandmates...

but u kno the thing was he still rly loved them?? two four bros in a hot-tub five feet apart cause they’re not gay. a couple of the songs (i.e. ‘nobody’s home’) were actually written for them as opposed to... himself... but with the guitarist’s lack of writing credits, the pianist’s lack of contribution up until the very end, the drummer’s utter confusion... it was BAD.

they rly hated him tbh.

that being said, after that was completed, he made one final album with them, mainly composed of outtakes from ‘the wall’ – ‘the final cut’ which was... similar, in that it was very warren-centric.

they were like “well he’s obvs gonna leave soon anyway let him do it.”

they were right. he left after ‘the final cut’ and attempted to sue them for still using the band name that has yet to be determined. it didn’t fall through.

starting a solo career with the album ‘the last refugee’ which wasn’t... half as successful as any of the songs he’d made with his band... but tbh... shrug city?

a pun-enthusiast, instead of just going by his full name or ‘warren,’ he decided to play on ‘war and peace,’ especially since a lot of his songs had to do with war, and created the stage name ‘warren peace’

most people still just called him warren jefferson.

little facts not in the intro:

wanted to live that rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, so he found some groupies and slept with a lot of them. probably got at least one pregnant. he would never say it out loud, but that’s his proudest accomplishment.

moved to the US w/ the band following the success of ‘dark side of the moon’

does not talk to his mother anymore. is lowkey afraid of her.

is based off of the only living white man i trust tbh.

honestly probs more but i’m?? tired??

timeline:

since roger waters/pink floyd is old af and i also didn’t include all of the albums, here’s the breakdown, keeping in mind he started his career in 2006:

‘the piper at the gates of dawn’ - 2008 (18ys/o)

‘a saucerful of secrets’ - 2009 (20ys/o)

‘the dark side of the moon’ - 2011 (22ys/o)

‘wish you were here’ - 2012 (23ys/o)

‘animals’ - 2014 (25ys/o)

‘the wall’ - 2015 (26ys/o)

‘the final cut’ - 2016 (27ys/o)

left the band - 2017 (28ys/o)

‘the last refugee’ - 2018 (29ys/o, current age)

stan list!

OK ! LIKE THIS OR HMU IF U WLD LIKE 2 PLOT !

#vanityintro #this aint all that great. bc i started it last night when i was EXHAUSTED. and im lowkey v tired rn. BUT!!!!

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aceyanaheim · 7 years

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Like...I feel like I’m unnecessarily angry about the dub v sub debate. I feel like maybe there’s some actual valid arguments there ( instead of just That Person From The Anime Club Who Looks Down On Any Dub-Watching-Peasants or w/e. Y’all know the one)

But the thing is, when I was growing up I had to see my language be made fun of while another one was downright fetishized. ( or just seen as “better” in milder cases)

I was made fun of constantly because of where I came from. And then I found people who liked the same things I did, and they...kinda did the same thing.

I got told that the shows I watched, the characters I loved, the opening songs I memorized as a kid were less than. Because they weren’t the originals.

And like that’s something I think people don’t get. The whole point of a dub is to make it available and understandable ( because straight translations are actually Worse not Better but I’ll get into that some other time) for kids in another country. There are children all over the world loving and hating characters same as you. And that’s only possible because someone translated it and because of the Voice Actors that work on it. There is a reason they exist. And it is important. Maybe it’s not important to you, maybe you hate it, fine but it’s not for you anyways. It’s for kids who may want to watch their favorite character in their own language, and who may not be able to watch a sub version anyways. ( cable tv still is a thing right? I’m not THAT old?)

And like I could talk a lot more on how much sub was pushed on me ( never mind I have a disability that makes keeping up with it harder for me) and how much attitude I caught over it. How pedantic hearing How Dare You and You Know Nothing sounded when it came to character analysis and how flat it falls on someone who has watched multiple renditions of the same show ( I thought Seto was cool and Marik was a creep in the English dub and surprise surprise that didn’t change when I traveled back to S.A. and watched the Spanish dub. The words were slightly different but Seto still insulted Joey and snarked a lot and Marik still possessed people. The big things didn’t change. ) and how it kinda keeps me away from fandom because like I’m not gonna put myself through a rewatch that makes watching decidedly less fun just so people think my opinions are valid. It’s just not worth the literal headache.

But...I would have been okay with all of this. I may have even given this debate a chance eventually if that was all I had to deal with.

What I had to deal with was being told another language was better than mine ( Japanese was cool for otakus, but Spanish was ugly.) right after-and even while- I was told English was better by everyone else. What I had to deal was people acting like the translation I watched was somehow lesser or Not As Good like they were some bastardized “oh how darling” version of a show instead of just the same in a different language, in MY language. Like I didn’t have a right to enjoy the things I grew up with right after I was forced to leave them.

And see that? That still pisses me off. That I just don’t think I ever got over.

#acey speaks!#on sub v dub stuff #The original post had a lot more anger and How The Fuck Dare You #but like....I've been dealing with this since I was 12 and I don't feel like stirring the pot and fighting about this #so...no anger #not much anyways #>>#anywho your friendly reminder that Fandoms Are In Fact International

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snowheist-blog · 7 years

Note

Digimon!

⊱Send me a fandom and I’ll tell you…⊰

Am I familiar with it? - Yep! Digimon was one of the shows I grew up with in the 90′s. I remember being a kid when the dubbed version of Digimon Adventure aired. My sister was an even bigger fan than I was and owned all the little action figures and everything.

Do I like the fandom itself? - I quite like the fandom, yeah! Admittedly, I haven’t really spoken to others from the Digimon fandom although I’ve been trying to get a few people into Digimon. I sometimes stream the most recent game, Next Order, on Twitch and it’s nice getting the chance to talk to the other Digimon fans - they’ve been really kind and have helped me out a lot.

Who’s my favorite character? - Honestly? I feel like I can’t really choose just one because character development has always been one of Digimon’s biggest strengths. If I had to choose a few who stand out I’d probably got with Yamato/Matt from Digimon Adventure, Takeru/TK from Adventure/02 and Ruki/Rika from Tamers - those are probably my top three characters. I like how they actually grew and changed as characters (Arguably moreso with Yamato and Ruki) over the course of the series and by the end of the series you really see a change in them - they feel like completely different, more matured characters.

If I had to choose, who would I roleplay? - Oh god, who don’t I want to roleplay from that fandom? Ha, I’d kind of like tackle Agumon from the 2006 anime Savers/Data Squad. I’d also love to tackle Guilmon from Tamers or possibly even Veemon from 02. Ha, I’m honestly more interested in roleplaying a Digimon than a human character.

#panickypeachboy

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pot-of-gluttony · 7 years

Text

Flickers of Stardust for the Lady

Prompt:

Day 1 - Stardust and Scrap Metal

Day 2 - Starting Line

Day 3 - Unicorns and Rainbows

Rating: G

Category: Gen

Chapters: 1

Characters: Yusei Fudo, Martha, Dr. Schmidt, Jack Atlas, unnamed extras

Summary: For his 6th birthday, Yusei decided he would celebrate Martha's birthday too.

Author’s Notes:

Late prompt fills and uneven writing, I know, I know. I'm sorry. I haven't written in ages but I'd be darned if I didn't contribute to the event somehow and I'm afraid I can't art or edit, so here we are.

"Dr. Shcmidt" is that doctor that operated on Yusei after his duel with Kiryu. He didn't have a name in the original Japanese version of the anime, but apparently this is what he was called in the English dub. I considered giving him a Japanese name, but most people living at the Satellite had English/Western names, so I decided to roll with it.

Also on AO3!

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

“An astronaut.”

The 5-year-old’s jaw slowly fell open with a soft, prolonged gasp and his eyes widened so much that Martha almost had to hold her breath to keep from laughing.

“You mean like--” he paused and took a deep breath, mouthing words as he tried to recollect his thoughts, “like-- like-- going to the stars? And the moon and the sun?”

He always spoke with a sort of hushed voice. It didn’t strike Martha as a thing of shyness, though. It was more of a calculated response. Yusei was an impressively thoughtful child. He didn’t speak as loudly as most of the other kids in the orphanage, but he spoke far more often. Usually, about whatever new thing he happened to learn each day. On days when brand new knowledge didn’t come looking for him, he’d quickly go out of his way looking for some, and what easier way than following Martha all around the house, asking literally every question that came to his mind all day long.

Right now, he was watching her do the laundry when he thought of asking what she wanted to be when she grew up and he wouldn’t take “I already grew up” as an answer.

“Well, you can’t actually land on stars or on the sun,” Martha replied.

“Why not?”

“Because the sun and the stars are made of hot gas and fire. Astronauts would burn alive if they tried.”

He brought his chin to rest atop the washing machine, tapping his fingers on the cold metal with a tiny frown on his face. She half-expected him to question how they knew it was made of fire if they had never landed on it, but instead he nodded along.

“Did they get really close to it and then when they feeled it was too hot they just-- they went around and drove away?” he asked. He firmly pressed eight fingertips against the top of the machine and urged the rest of his body weight to drop back, pulling himself back to a safe stand when his fingers slipped too close to the edge.

“Maybe,” Martha hummed a little distracted. “I don’t know all the details.”

“Do you know all the details when you turn into a austronaut?”

“I would if I ever became one, but I don’t think I will,” she said, then gave him a scolding glare when she caught him hoisting himself over the washing machine before dropping back to his bare feet.

“But isn’t it your dream?” he asked.

His eyes stared at her unflinchingly and with a great deal of concern, and she couldn’t help letting a chuckle slip out.

“It was,” she answered with a confident smile. “Back when I was a little girl. Well. I was bigger than you at the time, buuuut... not by much.”

“You were a little girl before?”

If she got a handful of pocket change every time a kid asked her that, she could buy all of Japan two times over. She sighed and gave him a resigned look.

“Yes, Yusei. I was a little girl once.”

Yusei lowered his head and shuffled his feet. He must have detected he said something she didn’t like, but she didn’t want him to feel bad for asking about things he didn’t know. It was very important to her that her kids ask as many questions as they could and she absolutely adored Yusei’s curiosity.

She ruffled his hair and pulled him into a hug. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and looked up at her, again with wide eyes.

“But why dun you wanna be a austronaut anymore?” he asked eagerly. “Is it because you learned the sun was too hot? Because you can still walk on the moon. All the other austronauts do it in the videos.”

“I lost interest, I guess. Besides, if I decided to be an astronaut now, I’d have to leave you guys for space and I don’t want to do that!”

“Well--!” he spluttered with ill-contained excitement, jumping to his tippy-toes and making throwing motions at the ceiling. “Maybe not, ‘cause! ‘Cause maybe you can take us with you to the moon! If-if like! If like the other austronauts say it’s okay, then you can take us all! We can build a house on the rocket and then use a crane to move it on the ground when we reach the moon.”

Martha doubled over in laughter. “Honey, that would be dangerous!”

“W-well...” he paused and turned his sights down, eyes dancing side to side as he thought carefully, “we could... We could tie it down safe with a loooooot of ropes... So it doesn’t fall down on the way.”

“It still wouldn’t be very safe. Besides even if we could take everyone, we would still be missing a lot of stuff that’s only here on Earth.”

“If you mean like water and food, we can take some in the fridge.”

“We would run out,” she said as she pulled him into another hug. “And we wouldn’t be here for all the other things, like holidays and new card releases.” She heard a little gasp escape him, but no other response. “We wouldn’t have flowers or grass either. Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes I like to sit outside, run my toes on the grass and smell the flowers. If I want to see the stars, I’ll just look out into the horizon at night. It won’t have an awful lot of them to look at, but something’s something.”

“Hmm... okay.”

----------

Everyone has a birthday, apparently.

Martha made his second-favorite breakfast today and happily announced that they were a week -- that’s seven days -- away from Yusei’s birthday, which was a wonderful revelation, of course. Everyone at the table had been eagerly discussing what their plans would be for it and then one of them asked if there was any chance of them getting a cake this time around. Before Martha could answer, however, one of the newer kids at the orphanage asked what they meant by “this time” and soon learned that every kid at the orphanage had their birthday celebrated every year.

Then everything got very quiet very suddenly. After a few minutes, the kid who asked the question started crying. She claimed she didn’t have a birthday, but Martha said that she did, she just didn’t know.

“How are you so sure I have one?!” the little girl had demanded amidst tears.

“Because everyone has a birthday,” Martha reassured her.

This immediately set off an alarm bell in Yusei’s head. He waited until his foster sister calmed down and everyone ran off to do chores or play outside after breakfast to approach Martha.

“Is it true everyone has a birthday?” he asked.

“No doubt.”

“So you have one, too?”

“If you’re going to stand here with me all day, you might as well help me dry these dishes,” she replied.

His feet quickly scattered as he hurried to drag the little stand he and his foster siblings always used to reach the sink. He settled it on the perfect spot possible, where he was close enough to speak privately with Martha but not so close that he wouldn’t be able to reach the dish rack.

“So?” he asked eagerly.

“Yes, Yusei. I do have a birthday.”

“But it’s not every year because you’re not a kid, right?”

Martha laughed. Very loudly. “Oh, I wish I could skip some birthdays! No, dear. I have one every single year, just like you and everyone else.”

There was already a stack of dishes accumulating next to him while he was still busy drying up the first plate he was handed. This was the only reason he hated helping with the dishes. He always worked so hard to dry them carefully so the water wouldn’t pool underneath the rack and so that it wouldn’t slip out of one’s grip and fall into oblivion, but Martha was so fast at washing them -- she was really good at running everything in the house, really -- that she would end up helping him dry them. And then she would end up drying most of them up. And then he felt like he didn’t really help at all. But Martha always said that she would prefer he helped a little rather than not at all. How honest she was in that statement, he wasn’t sure; she usually let him skip dish duty anyway.

“Why dun we celebrate your birthday this week, then?” he asked as he tried to hurry himself and keep up with the dishes. “I dun mind waiting until next year so I can have my birthday.”

The speedy clutter of the dishes stopped but the water kept running. Yusei looked up at Martha to see if anything was wrong and found her staring at him. She looked a little bit surprised. Then she quickly pulled him into a hug and kissed his temple.

“Aww, my little Yusei, you’re such a sweet boy,” she said, then immediately let go of him and wasted no time getting back to work. “We don’t have to cancel or replace anyone’s birthday to celebrate mine. We can celebrate it just fine, I just,” she shrugged, “I’m getting a little old and very tired, and it just doesn’t matter much to me anymore.”

“Everyone’s birthday matters!” Yusei declared.

“Hmph. Welp. I won’t argue with you there. I am glad I have a birthday, even if I don’t celebrate it. And who knows? Maybe someday, I might feel like celebrating it again.”

“Would it be okay if I gave you a birthday gift?” Yusei asked.

“Oh, I would love that,” Martha said.

He placed the second dish he dried up on the rack and turned back to the stack, where there was now seven, eight, nine, ten... and then lots more after that... He was sure someone had tried to teach him how to count this high before, but the numbers just weren’t coming to him right away. It didn’t matter. Martha was already getting a rag of her own to help with the drying.

“What would you like?” he asked sheepishly, quietly hoping she wouldn’t ask for something dish-washing-related. That would be the second-worst thing she could answer with, he thought.

“I will love whatever you can get me,” she replied earnestly.

Yusei sighed. That would be the first-worst thing she could answer with.

----------

There was a building in Satellite with a lot of chairs, desks and other materials. A lot of it had been ransacked, but when Yusei had entered it for the first time in his life, he had been surprised to find there was still a lot of stuff to be found inside. He asked around and everyone had an answer for why they never loot around the place. Most of the other kids didn’t know what to do with the materials inside. The adults’ answers were more uneven: some of them said that it reminded them of their old schools, which just made them sad; a few claimed that the stuff in it was useless; and others said that they wanted to leave it be out of respect.

“It used to be a community center,” one elder said to him. “It was a place ran with love and care for people who had very little or who were very alone.”

That sounded a lot like Martha’s house, if Yusei was honest. But when he asked Martha about it, she said there wasn’t anything in it they needed. He asked Dr. Schmidt about it and he just shrugged his shoulders.

“There might be some textbooks or almanacs there,” he said. “But I already have my fair share of those here. In fact, Martha’s been asking that I scan them so that we can save the text in the computer and clear the actual books from the house. They take up a lot of space and she thinks it would be a good idea to figure out a way to recycle the paper. Can’t say I disagree much.”

It had taken a few days of exploration and messing around, but Yusei had managed to find a way to get around the blockade on the stairs and move on to the elusive second floor. It was very intact. In fact, if it weren’t for the heavy dust and lack of lighting, it would look a lot like the hallway in Martha’s house.

Of the rooms there, he found he could only open one of them seeing as the other doors were locked. There were rows of small desks lined up and several blackboards stood at the end of the room. Thinking of the shows he saw on TV -- on the rare occasion that they could watch TV -- he was fairly sure this was how school classrooms looked. Or rather, how they would look if Satellite had any school of its own. Several hours of scavenging around in it yielded some excellent results. Books with very worn pages, notebooks (both used ones and empty ones), scissors, several markers and pencils... Honestly, it was a treasure trove. Surely, Martha would have to agree that these things were useful.

But before he could bring the valuable haul back home, there was a more pressing matter to attend to -- and this was the best opportunity for it.

Yusei organized all his findings to his own liking and strategically hid them in different desks. He would need to know where everything was when he came back tomorrow. He wished he could get started now, but it was already getting late and Martha always made him promise to be back home before it got dark outside.

----------

“What are we doing here?” he whispered to himself with a high-pitched voice.

“Well, you see,” he answered his first whisper with a second, more gravelly-toned one, “we’re doin’ a experiment today.”

He gasped and put on a concerned face. “A experiment? But wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Nope,” he quickly replied with a smile. “Is a differen’ type of experiment, you see. You see! Because we’re a-gonna make a birthday present for Martha with all this stuff.”

“Stuff?! All I see is junk, hon hon hon,” he whispered to himself with the snootiest voice he could come up with and nearly ended up giving himself a giggling fit over it.

“Ha!” he countered and confidently tapped the side of his noggin. “That’s where you’re wrong! Nothing is trash because everything and anything can be used!”

“But... but some grown-ups said that trash is just trash and--”

“Those grown-ups are wrong!” he shouted, only to clasp his hands over his mouth as quickly as he possibly could. He meant to say that, not shout it.

He poked his crazy, spiky-haired head over the only window in the room. No one seemed to be within earshot. The other buildings were too far and there didn’t seem to be anyone on the ground level below. He ran over to the door and pushed it open with care. No one was listening in on him in the hallway.

“You dummy,” he whispered to himself.

Yusei shut the door as best as he could and hurried to gather all the supplies from the desks, all neatly ordered to circle around the textbook he had borrowed from Dr. Schmidt.

“So wha’s the experiment?” he whispered in a new tone of voice, realizing there was only so little more he could do to keep up this game before he started to annoy himself with it. At least this time no one was around to call him a weirdo for talking to himself.

“We are going to maaaaaaaaaake,” he ran his finger over the side of the book until he felt his bookmark and wildly flung the book open, “a star!”

It was a picture of a starlit night unlike any he had ever seen before. He plopped down on his belly in front of the book and admired his discovery anew. It was going to be perfect.

----------

It was not going perfectly.

First, he tried to make the star out of paper, using pages from the books he found around the room and cutting them out with scissors, but they looked flatter than how he pictured them in his head and just like the ones everyone had made a few months back during the most recent arts-and-crafts session Martha had held at the house. Nothing new or interesting.

It should pop and stick out. Also, obviously, it needed to glow because stars always glow.

He remembered going into an abandoned building with glass windows of different colors once. It always looked as if it glowed. It wasn’t hard to find glass around Satellite; the problem was that glass was dangerous. It would break too easily -- he knew this from experience -- and it could cut you up really badly --or so would Martha always say.

He found a green, empty glass beer bottle not too far from the community center’s entrance and he held on to it tightly with both hands. He maneuvered it back to the second floor with all the precision and patience required to transport a bomb. He sighed a sigh of relief upon arrival and placed it atop one of the desks, where he was certain it would be okay.

Except the instant he turned around, it rolled off and crashed on the floor. He jumped with a gasp and fled from the room, hopped off the stairs and ran out the building with all of his strengths, then hid for a good long while. If any grown-up caught him in the act, he would have been grounded for a long time and maybe his birthday would be cancelled. Martha would be so disappointed, it wouldn’t matter if he brought her a real star because no gift would be enough make her not be mad at him for many days to come.

So he waited and waited until the coast was clear. He feigned innocence and looked in all directions to ensure no one was following him as he made his way back to the building, back to the scene of the crime, whereupon he faked an undignified gasp at the broken bottle, just in case someone saw him. No one did, though, and he brushed all the glass away using the pages of a notebook. It was while looking for said notebook, however, that he encountered the secret stash of glitter he had forgotten he had hidden on his first day in the room.

That would have had to do the trick, he had figured. He tried gluing paper spikes on a rubber ball to make it stick out and he covered them in glitter, but it looked kind of ugly. And the glitter couldn’t glow on its own. It needed light.

Looking around the room for something that could glow on its own, he found an old desk lamp in the supply closet. He had ignored it the first couple of times he had come upon it, but now that he looked at it closely, he managed to recognize that it was just like the one that Martha kept on her sewing table. It was missing a light bulb, though.

So he ran back home and searched every room in the house until he came across Martha.

“Can I have a light bulb?” he asked.

Martha looked down at him and blinked. “No.”

“But I need it,” he insisted.

“Yusei, you have no use for a light bulb,” she said.

“It’s not for me,” he answered.

Martha raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Then who is it for?”

“It’s-- hmm...”

He puffed up his cheeks and flicked at them rhythmically as he thought. If he told her it was for her, it would ruin the surprise, but if he didn’t tell her it was for a grown-up she might not give it to him. He blew out the air and yanked on her skirt.

“Is a secret and I can’t tell you,” he said, “but I promise I’m being very good and I’m not getting in trouble and it’s not for ‘nother kid because it’s for a grown-up thing and I promise I’ll bring it back to you so please please please can I have a light bulb like the one on your table with the clothes machine?”

Martha didn’t budge in what felt like forever. He wasn’t sure if she would be moving any time soon, wasn’t sure if he had made her mad. He picked his words very carefully, though. He knows that much.

Finally, she sighed and headed towards one of the closets in the house and took out a light bulb. She knelt down to his eye level and gave him a hard look.

“You promise you’ll be careful with it?”

“Yes.”

“If someone asked you for it...” she paused and turned her head to a nearby window, “they can keep it if they really need it, but I would prefer it if they asked me for it themself next time.”

“No one asked me to get it,” he replied. “But I can’t tell you why I need ‘cause is a secret.”

“Well,” she squeezed his little shoulders and gave him an even harder look, “promise me you’re being very careful with what you do and who you talk to out there, okay?”

“I promise,” he nodded. “But does this light bulb work for the lamp you have on the clothes machine table?”

“It does,” she said. “Which is the reason why I won’t be giving any more of these away unless an adult comes ask me for one. And only if it’s an emergency.”

“S’okay,” Yusei replied. “One’s nuff.”

And off he ran. Or rather, he started running before Martha grabbed him by the arm.

“No running with a light bulb in hand!” she scolded.

“Oh. Sorry, okay,” he whispered as he dutifully marched out of the house with a steady step.

Martha followed him all the way to the front yard and called out to him as soon as he started to slip away from her line of sight, reminding him to be careful and to come back before dark. Yusei was reasonably sure he could make it back to the center on time without running, but he would need to fasten his step. So he peeked back every three to six steps until he was sure Martha hadn’t followed him and then he walked as fast as he could. Some would even say he was running, but he wasn’t. He swore he was just really good at walking really fast.

As soon as he made it into his hideout, Yusei barricaded the door, placed the light bulb in the safest spot he could think of (on the floor of the emptiest corner in the room; he realized in hindsight that that was where he should have placed the bottle in the first place), retrieved the lamp, screwed the bulb in with delightful ease, plugged in the lamp, flipped the switch and--

“What?”

He flipped the switch on and off many times in one go, but nothing happened. Did Martha give him a faulty bulb?

“Oh,” he whispered. “Oh!” He slapped his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Duh!”

How was it that Martha had explained it once? That there was no power in most of Satellite? That must have been it. No power in the building. He had forgotten in all of his excitement. He turned off the switch, unplugged the lamp and screwed the light bulb off.

“S’okay,” he said. “Martha said it worked so it definitely glows, just not here.” He scrambled around the supplies, collecting the necessary glue and glitter containers. A new inspiration had come to him on the way there, way better than all that paper and rubber band stuff from before. “I’ll just make it glittery now and then it will shine when I bring it back home.”

He uncapped the glue and squirted nearly the entire contents on the bulb, then readied the glitter for the assault.

----------

It went horribly wrong.

Yusei painstakingly covered every single millimeter on the bulb with glitter, he got back home just as it was getting dark outside -- sure was a close one -- cleverly sneaking the lamp unseen. After successfully shooing away some of his nosier foster siblings, he locked himself in the bathroom, plugged the lamp in, turned off the bathroom light and flipped the switch. But nothing happened.

Clearly the lamp was busted from being so old, so he unscrewed the glittery bulb, waited until bed time and sneaked into the little room with sewing table in it once everyone was asleep. He flipped Martha’s lamp on and it worked perfectly with the bulb it already had. It was just a matter of switching the bulbs.

He worked as steadily and stealthily as he could, constantly stealing glances at the door to make sure he didn’t get caught. Slowly but surely, he replaced the bulbs and flipped the lamp on to test out his gift star.

But nothing happened?

Something did happen, actually. It was the same something that had happened with the lamp he hid in the bathroom, except back then he didn’t realize it was a something. Now that a little of the glitter had fallen off in a teeny-tiny spot, he could tell the light bulb was glowing... only from that spot. Not from the rest.

But how? He put extra glitter everywhere and it glows less rather than more. It made no sense. For a couple of days, he pondered long and hard on what went wrong. It was three days before his birthday when Martha announced during breakfast that she needed to run some errands outside of the house, so she was trusting everyone to stay put with Dr. Schmidt while she was gone. She’d be back before dark.

So he took the chance to bring his experiment to Dr. Schmidt. Martha always said that people of science helped each other figure things out.

“The problem is you added too much glitter,” Dr. Schmidt explained. “It made the glass of the light bulb opaque.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means the light can’t shine through it.”

Yusei huffed and scoffed and pouted. His eyes started to get a little misty with frustration. He took a deep breath to compose himself. “Can we fix it?”

“Um, tsk. I’m afraid we probably can’t, little one,” the doctor replied. He turned the light bulb around and around, but no matter how much he inspected it, all he could do was frown. “It would probably be best to just throw it out.”

The doctor didn’t even have time to hand the light bulb back before Yusei had already dropped to the floor. The heels of his feet were raised and he balanced his curled up body on his toes, face buried in his hands as he sobbed quietly.

“Yusei, it’s fine,” the doctor insisted. “I’ll talk to Martha about getting you a new light bulb if you want.”

“That’s not it,” he sobbed softly.

“Then what is it?”

“I-I-I wanted to” -- a hiccup -- “make her a star! But I ruined it! And I’m out of time now!” he cried.

“You... you wanted to make a star?”

Yusei nodded.

“You mean make a star of your own, right?”

He nodded again.

“For whom?”

“For” -- he gasped for air in-between sobs -- “For Martha. So that she could see stars at night.”

Dr. Schmidt reached out a hand and patted his head.

“How about we wait for her to return home,” he started, “and then you an I can go find a solution?”

----------

Martha managed to get a cake this time around.

She had never been able to get Yusei a cake before and who knew if she would be able to pull that off ever again, but children live very much in the now so she figured it was best to put her worries away until the next birthday -- which was only a month and a half away.

Yusei had woken up exhausted. The past few days, he had headed off fairly early in the day alongside the good doctor and returned at night, almost nearing Yusei’s bed time.

“What on Earth are you doing with my boy, doctor?” she had asked him then.

“It’s more of a matter of what he’s doing with me, my dear Martha,” he joked. “He has big plans and needed my help. I’m only offering base assistance and adult supervision.”

On the night before his birthday, they arrived late, carrying bags full of school supplies. Textbooks, notebooks, pens, pencils, glitter, scissors, rulers, glue, markers, crayons and much more. Apparently no one had bothered working their way through the stairs blockade at the community center until Yusei, and even then it took the doctor a while to get through it since the boy had simply managed to find a little gap he could squeeze through.

“A couple of men may be delivering an important item during Yusei’s birthday party,” he said. “Until then, you should try helping him fall asleep. He’s so ready to bust with excitement, he might not be able to get a wink.”

She felt as though she could throttle that man in that moment. The nerve of the guy staying who-knows-where this late and dark out with one of her kids. Had he not been a trusted friend, she probably would have hunted him down to give him a good ass-kicking for it.

Ultimately, Yusei fell asleep sometime after midnight. It was the only reason she tried to give him at least an extra hour of sleep the next morning, but as soon as she woke up his foster siblings, they all ran to Yusei’s bedside to wake him up and wish him a happy birthday before she could stop them.

Oh well. Thankfully, Yusei always had the heart of an angel and he took the other kids’ excitement to motivate himself out of bed. They all eagerly fell in line for the bathroom, letting Yusei go in first as a cordiality, to wash up before breakfast. Everyone helped set up the table and no one let a single bite of their breakfast go to waste. Promptly afterwards, they split into little groups and ran around the house to get ready for the party. One group handled dishes, another would be in charge of setting up the picnic blankets on the front yard and the others would help organize the gifts. Ironic as it may sound, birthday mornings were the easiest mornings Martha had because of this. Though of course there was always the birthday nights to deal with and boy were those a thing...

Before they eat the cake -- naturally, they all erupted into cheers when learning that there was, indeed, a cake to be had on this joyous occasion -- Martha clapped her hands together and announced it was time for the gift exchange. As with every year, Yusei would get a little awkward and embarrassed at all the rapt attention he would get from his foster siblings as he unwrapped each of their homemade gifts -- all of them arts-and-crafts projects they secretly put together with Martha’s help, using scrap and supplies they collected themselves. Jack lived up to the other children’s expectations -- they would dub him “the King of Lazy Gifts” each and every birthday -- when it turned out he hadn’t even bothered to put his spare pieces together to make a gift. He literally just dumped a bunch of scrap metal and junk he had collected unto Yusei’s lap.

“Jack!” Martha scolded as she jumped off her chair and to her feet, glaring at the boy while the rest of the kids laughed their little hearts out.

“He’s gonna break it all apart in the end anyway!” Jack complained. “He just waits for a lot of days to go by so that no one gets upset but I dun care. Now it’s easier because he doesn’t hav’ta wait for it!”

She was loathed to admit it, but he wasn’t wrong. Whether on purpose or by accident, none of the gifts Yusei received on his birthday ever survived until next year. He would make scrap pieces out of them in a few weeks and then reassemble them into his own little projects. Sometimes he would even wreck his own creations to make new ones.

After the gift-giving was all wrapped up, Yusei thanked everyone for their presents, then swiftly turned on his heels and looked up at Martha with rosy cheeks.

“So,” he said with hushed, ill-contained joy, “can we... have the cake now?”

“Of course we can,” she said.

Normally everyone would wait until the end of the party to cut the cake but when you’re in charge of a stampede of children, you learn that the sooner you can get the sugar in and out of their systems, the better. Waiting until the end of the party meant a later attempt in sending cake-fueled children to bed and that was just not going to happen.

So halfway through the festivities, she brought out the cake. She lamented it was so small -- there was only enough to give every kid a single thin slice -- but one of the kids excitedly proclaimed that it was even bigger than the last birthday cake they had had.

“It is not!” Jack objected. He stomped over to Martha with the angriest of pouts on his face and tugged at her skirt. “Tell them Martha!” he demanded. “Tell them it isn’t bigger than mine!”

“Jack,” Martha wanted to pacify him but children can be cruel, even when they don’t truly mean to be, and any attempt she could make to lie about the cake’s size would surely result in the kids calling out her bluff to make Jack feel better. “Jack,” she tried again after her initial pause, “didn’t you tell me that a king gives to his people?”

“Yeah?”

“That was why you shared your cup ramen with everyone during your birthday, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You all remember that and are very grateful to Jack about it, aren’t you, children?” she spoke to the others.

A guilty chorus of “Yeah...” answered her, much to Jack’s smugness.

“So,” she continued, “it doesn’t matter whose cake is bigger. What matters is that we got another cake and we’re all going to share it. Isn’t that right, Yusei?”

“Yeah!” he pumped his fists into the air.

Martha grinned, triumphant and pleased. Crisis averted.

They all ate cake. Jack ultimately admitted that this cake was a little bigger than his, though not before boasting that his tasted better. None of the kids remembered enough about the previous cake’s flavor to argue with him about it and Yusei didn’t give a damn as long as everyone got cake, so Martha didn’t bother revealing that it was the exact same recipe, just a bigger amount.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent playing “party games.” These involved singing songs at the top of their lungs (unfortunately, no one could convince Yusei to sing along with the others; he would bashfully mumble some lyrics before retreating into his fortress of gifts); many, many guessing games where the clues ran the gamut from descriptions to smells; and lastly, running around the yard in circles playing an improvised version of tag that involved shouting colors, card types and attributes, all while stopping in the middle of a chase for impromptu rock-paper-scissors sessions whenever the temporary referee yelled “Duel Time!”

It was only about an hour before bed time that all the kids lied down on the picnic blankets to stare at the star-less night above, tuckered out and sweaty.

All of them, that was, but the birthday boy, who somehow became increasingly restless the longer the day got. She was making her way to his side when she spotted a pair of men led by Dr. Schmidt coming their way. Yusei gasped excitedly, leaping to his feet and swirling into a mad rush that nearly caused him to crash into her.

“Martha,” he beamed at her as he grabbed her skirt and yanked in the direction of the incoming guests. “You have to come see this!”

“What is it?” she asked cautiously.

“You have to come and see it,” he urged.

He got a hold of her hand and led her forward and across the tiny field of children and blankets on grass.

The men accompanying Dr. Schmidt were wheeling in what appeared to be a large board with a heavy sheet draped over it. The doctor pulled with him a small wagon carrying a strange device in it and he carried a couple of extension cords coiled around one shoulder.

“Here should be fine,” he said to them. “Thank you very much for your assistance.”

“No problem, doc,” the older of the two replied. He waved to Yusei as he and his friend took their leave, “Happy birthday, little guy!”

“Thank you!” Yusei waved back.

“Is this,” Martha asked as she ran her hand over the sheet, “that... mystery... project you two had going on?”

Schmidt wheeled the wagon directly behind the board and adjusted the device on it, tilting it to face the back of it.

“It is indeed,” the man said. He plugged the device to the extension cords and handed one of the coils to Yusei. “You know what to do.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yusei slowly walked away from the device as he unfurled the coils and disappeared into the house, presumably to plug it up.

“I can only have it up for about fifteen minutes tonight. I had to borrow it from a friend and it just drains too much energy to keep for long.”

“What is it already?! I’m just about to lose my patience with you two, I swear.”

“I’ll show you!” Yusei’s voice declared as he ran back into view. He grabbed the sheet and pulled it off in one swoop. He would have brought the whole board down had Schmidt not had the foresight to hold it in place.

Little gasps followed Martha’s own. It was a blackboard with countless perforations scattered all around and paint splattered on to resemble stardust.

“You made this?”

“Yusei showed me pictures from an old astronomy book I once picked out before moving here. I did a rough sketch on the board and a group of generous helpers made the holes. After that, I gave Yusei a few instructions on how to, uh,” he made a flickering motion, “how to paint the stardust right. But he was the one who spent hours choosing and mixing the right colors and getting them to flicked on the right side of the board.”

“I chose the picture with the red and the green, the blue, the yellow and the orange,” Yusei added. He scrambled to open up a textbook that was almost half his side. “‘Cause you said, ‘cause you told me that you liked all the colors of the rainbow.”

“I said that?”

“Yeah, once! Uhhh, a long time ago? I asked you and you said so.”

“Right, of course.” She ran a hand through his messy, inexplicable hair and turned back to the board. She could swear it on her life that it was the greatest work of art she had ever seen in her life, museums be damned. “Yusei, it’s gorgeous!”

“And look at the best part!”

He tried to snap his little fingers at Schmidt, but failed spectacularly. He was too pumped, though, so instead he compensated by making finger guns and quiet pew-pewing at the old man. He chuckled at the cue and shook his head, leaned forward and flipped a switch at the device.

A stunning light shone from it, and while it obscured the light coming from the house, making it harder to see the stardust painted on the front of the board, it poured perfectly through the tiny holes on the board.

It was the starriest night she ever witnessed at the Satellite.

#ygo5dsmonth2017 #yusei fudo #martha (5d's)#yugioh 5d's #yu gi oh #stardust and scrap metal #starting line #unicorns and rainbows #pot.glut.fic

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prussiasboxerbriefs · 7 years

Text

language journey

thanks to @squeezieslangblr for tagging me and giving me an excuse to infodump about languages :D

rules: reblog, tag ten others and share your answers

1. what languages are you studying/have you studied?

- my dad is german, so he spoke and read books to me in german, and my german grandparents were the only ones who ever bought us dvds, so i grew up watching either pbs kids or the same couple sendung mit der maus and dubbed disney movies on dvd. i picked up a decent amount this way, but my grammar and spelling were abhorrent and i started studying it on my own in 8th grade, so now i can actually consider myself decently fluent (even though my grammar still sucks B) just reasonably less)

- obligatory spanish through 6th grade; i’ve picked it up and dropped it on-and-off over the years but at the moment it’s lower on my wishlist than a lot of other languages

- latin for two years in 7th and 8th grade, of which i remember almost nothing

- started learning french on duolingo at the end of 8th grade in preparation for switching to it in high school; i ended up skipping a year of french because american language education is fucking terrible

- the summer between 8th grade and high school i was emotionally unstable and started learning italian to cope (i’m not kidding) but i kind of trailed off with learning it last summer + haven’t picked it up since

- i was really excited about russian and i started learning that on duolingo as soon as the course came out (bc i still didn’t realize you could learn languages for free without duolingo) (i was in 9th grade, so late 2015 i think?). but i stopped, and then restarted last year, and i was sticking with it up until a couple months ago. i’ve been having kind of a rough time, so i lost my interest in a lot of things i love, but even once i get on meds i doubt i’ll have time for it come september :\ i love russian though, so hopefully i can keep it somewhat fresh

- i can read hangul and kana, and languages i was interested in and super focused on for like a week include korean, japanese, mandarin, hebrew, icelandic, swedish, and dutch

- tl;dr: i’m currently focusing on german and french, and i’ll be taking an online IB course in beginner’s mandarin junior + senior year!! in the past i’ve seriously studied russian, italian, and spanish, and i’ve dabbled in korean, japanese, hebrew, dutch, swedish, and icelandic

2. how long have you been studying?

i got really into languages in april-may of 2015 i think, so that would make it two years

3. did you learn through class or self study (or both)

spanish, latin, and french are all classes i have taken in school, but i go to an american school and language classes teach you nothing here :\ so i take french, but the way class worked last year, our teacher would write the name of the grammar topic we were studying on the board, and then i’d ignore him and research it myself on my computer. hopefully it’ll pick up this year now that i’m in a higher level, but idk. all other languages i’ve self-studied, and i’m self-studying french over the summer anyway

4. why did you decide to learn this language?

- i want to major in animation for college, and the best animation colleges that don’t cost half your soul are mostly in france, so that’s my main motivation for getting to a decent level in french.

- german is my heritage language, and it’s one of my favorite languages because i grew up with it. (also, german college is free)

- i decided to learn russian because cyrillic looked really cool to me, and i liked the way it sounded. also, it has a reputation for being “harsh” or “ugly”, like german does, which probably drew me to it as well (other reasons include the declension system, the challenge of learning a complicated grammar, matryoshka dolls, russian literature being super famous and esteemed, snow, how big the slavic language family is, and cheburashka).

- everybody says mandarin is really hard, which makes me want to study it. i’m curious about the tones, and i like the writing system. (also, if i can speak russian and mandarin, then i’ve got the languages of the three major hacking countries under my belt, so i could totally work for the CIA or be a spy or a hacker or something :P )

5. what was a major highlight/milestone in studying this language?

german: finally understanding the declension system of der/die/das

french: understanding how all the verb tenses work, which took approx. 2 years (and now they’re super easy for me!! it’s so cool!!!)

russian: realizing that i was starting to decline nouns + adjectives without even thinking about it (i think that was back in march or april, though, so i’m kind of rusty now)

6.what was the hardest thing about learning this language?

french i’ve found pretty easy because of all the cognates between it and english, and the verb tenses i struggled with until i learned english, and realized that a lot of tenses are either the same construction in both languages, or the reverse of each other in meaning

russian...it took me ages to get the case system, but that was because i didn’t study it enough tbh :P i’m still struggling with perfective/imperfective verbs + verbs of motion, but again i think that’s something that probably just requires rote memorization and discipline

7. what resources did you find most useful for studying this language?

i leaned super heavily on duolingo for a while, although i know better than to trust it for everything now. my personal favorite sites are dict.cc (german-english/french/russian/etc. dictionary), verb2verbe.com (french verb conjugation), lingolia (german + romance languages grammar guide), and russian-lessons.net (russian grammar). “german grammar drills” second edition is a really good grammar book that got me to finally stop butchering my heritage language and slurring my articles so native speakers wouldn’t realize i was incompetent B)))

8. any top tips for studying this language?

for languages in general, i would say make sure you understand your own language’s grammar first (especially if you’re an english speaker whose school never taught you grammar like mine). practice vocabulary and WRITE every day. practice active use of your TL, not just passive consumption. i am lazy and don’t do this and believe me, your skills will suffer.

9. what’s your next major language goal?

my next goal is probably to succeed in my german fluency exam and french and mandarin school exams senior year...after that i’ll have space to study new languages, so i want to get back into russian (if i don’t have time before then), and then maybe korean, thai, or hungarian?...there’s so many languages i want to learn, and it changes so often, i’ll probably study something totally different 2 years from now ;w;

10. anything we can do in the tumblr community to get you there?

i was thinking about starting my own langblr! but i still need to figure that out...also, the majority of my blogging is done on mobile, so i don’t know how much original content i would contribute, and i really want to focus on school and my college portfolio as much as possible. so we’ll see, but i’d love to join the langblr community from more than just my personal blog

i’m tagging @langloser and anyone w/ a special interest in languages who wants an excuse to talk about them (not that you need one tbh)

#languages

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crushingonrazz · 7 years

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Roommate Bros One-Shot

Rating: Mature

UL!Sans & UF!Papyrus (also background Magenta)

W: sex addiction and loneliness/depression

Roommate Bros is a fic that I co-wrote with the amazing @queenofbiscuits over on Ao3! It was an amazing project that we both had a ton of fun working on! I don’t feel comfortable posting up the whole thing, since I wasn’t the only one that wrote it, but I would still love it if you guys would go check it out in full!

Below the cut, I’ve added my personal favorite chapter from RB, a one-shot that I wrote to delve into Lust’s character so I think it’s okay? (Fresh if you don’t want this on mine let me know, I can take it down). Consider it a teaser trailer for if you click that link up there lol. This won’t be the only RB thing I ever post since there’s a chapter in COSOS as well, but I just wanted to post this! Enjoy!

The first time Lust met one of his alternates, he got slapped across the face.

Looking back, it wasn't particularly surprising, but at the time, he remembered being extremely confused. He had found himself, along with his brother, tossed through the void and into a world where the native version of himself wore a comfortable blue hoodie and made a habit of leaning against the nearest wall in a tired sort of way that automatically made Lust offer to help him fall asleep. Comic, as he was later dubbed, had gawked at him for a long moment, then reached out and delivered a stinging smack that left Lust reeling with the unexpectedness of it. He'd just been being nice, and it wasn't like he wasn't always down to help if it included that.

Before too long, though, he was educated, through a few more slaps and a lot of yelling on the part of the SwapFell brothers. This world, and the majority of the worlds in the multiverse, didn’t exactly have the same views on sex as his world did.

Lust wasn't sure exactly what caused it, but he remembered the moment when it finally clicked for him that his access to the activity would be much decreased. His panic attack had come seemingly out of nowhere, and his brother had been extremely concerned. The soft turtleneck sweater Pink had been wearing seemed to grate against Lust’s bones, seeming to mock him with the modesty of it, and it just drove him further into his own mind.

He needed sex. Sex was...His method of coping. He would get lost inside himself, hating the world and his place in it, unable to function unless he'd been fucked until he couldn't think any more.

He didn't know why all of the others seemed to think they were so much better than he was. He'd been drinking with Comic, and he was pretty sure that there was nothing sadder than when he got going. He'd seen Red work his way through eight packs of cigarettes in a single afternoon, and even if Blue was too naive to realize that Italian seasoning wasn't usually kept in plastic bags, everyone else knew what Stretch got up to when his mind got the best of him.

So where the fuck did they get off judging him for his coping mechanisms? At least he could remember what he'd done the next morning.

Even once they got to the surface, things barely got easier. There were more people, sure, but sex with humans didn't feel nearly as satisfying as it did with other monsters. There was a lack of connection, almost no involvement of souls. It distracted him and fulfilled his need for physical affection, sure, but it just didn't...fill him. At least...not in the way he’d grown to crave so desperately.

Even as the empty hole inside him grew deeper, his brother seemed to get happier and happier. He’d never had the same problems as Lust, his had been a different kind of loneliness. Before too long, he found himself showered in kisses and affection and attention without needing to use his usual methods, courtesy of Lust’s alternate from UnderFell.

Things really seemed to reach their lowest point when the two announced their engagement. Lust was happy for his brother, he really was! In fact, he was ecstatic!

Right up until he realized that this meant he would be left to live alone in his house.

The thought terrified him. The house, which had previously felt almost too small for his normal tastes, now seemed infinitely too big and empty, what with Pink having left to live in the Fell brothers’ home until such a time as the two could find their own space. He dreaded the wedding, having to resist begging his brother to not leave him so permanently or to not get married. But the day came, and Lust found himself going through the motions of congratulations almost as though he was watching it all through someone else’s eyes, holding back tears and the urge to go find someone to lose himself in.

“You seem absolutely overjoyed to be here.”

The voice was unexpected, and Lust jolted suddenly, glancing up at the speaker. The wedding was over, but they were in the midst of the reception, and Lust had found a table in the back to sit and pretend this wasn't happening, to pretend that he wouldn’t have to go back to an empty house at the end of the night and know for a fact that his brother was never coming back.

Red's brother stood in front of him. They'd spoken a few times before, settling details and setting up dates for different meetings and events. As their brothers’ best men, they'd been forced to interact many times, actually, despite the other's apparent distaste for him. Lust couldnt understand why the other seemed to take such great delight in being an asshole, he got on with Pink almost too well.

When Lust didn't respond, Fell continued, sitting at the table and propping his feet up on the chair that stood between them. “Seriously, if I didn't know any better, I’d think you were at a funeral.”

Lust grimaced at him and sipped at his drink, electing not to respond. The other rolled his eyes and joined him in his silence. Despite the almost prickly air that surrounded him, Lust found himself relaxing slightly. He'd been craving the proximity of another monster but none of these assholes seemed to be willing to get within ten feet of him, as though they were afraid he'd try to fuck them right there in the middle of his brother's wedding.

Screw them. He'd have at least been polite enough to meet them in the bathroom. He wasn't a fucking animal.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, broken only by the laughter of the other partygoers, before Fell spoke again. “May I be honest with you for a moment?”

Lust spared him a withering look, then nodded slightly. Why the fuck not.

“I share the sentiment.”

Lust turned to look at him fully, surprised. Fell had seemed almost as invested in this wedding as their brothers.

Fell saw the look and shrugged. “Don't get me wrong, I approve the union. I don't think I've ever seen Red as happy as he is when he's with your brother. Pink...allows him to be more open with himself. And with me.” He paused for a long moment, picking at his sleeves and looking away. “But there is something lonely about having your brother be so completely tied to another person when it's only been the two of us for so long.”

Lust studied him carefully. Fell had hit on a large portion of his own problem, an immense percentage of the reason Lust was finding himself to be so incredibly...unwilling to let his brother go.

“You aren't even alone,” Lust found himself saying before he could really think about it. “You still have Red. Pink...he left me.” He decided to blame the drink and the exhaustion and the overwhelming emotions for his honesty, waiting for the other’s answer.

Fell snorted. “Do you truly think that my brother is any more present in my life than he is in yours?”

Fair enough. Pink and Red did tend to be a bit...involved in one another.

Lust felt his mouth moving, and words coming out of their own accord before he could stop them. “Do you get sorta lonely sometimes?”

Fell snorted slightly, but he looked thoughtful. “Yes, I do. But so do most people.”

Lust shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. It’s more...do you ever feel like you need to be around people? Like if you don’t, you’ll fall apart?” His voice broke on the last word, and he withdrew from the other slightly, his cheeks flushing in shame at letting the other see such a hidden part of him.

Fell turned and met his eyes. Lust was prepared for judgement, for the other to burst into laughter and call him a whore, but he received none of it. Instead, Fell just shook his head. “No...I have quite the opposite problem, actually. I get too much of people, and I want them to leave me alone. There are very few people I can stand to exchange more than a couple of words with.”

“Our brothers?”

Fell nodded, then shrugged. “And you, I suppose, though you are…” he smirked slightly, and Lust raised one brow in response. “...irritating, at times. There is no need to be offended, however. Most people tend to be.”

Lust just rolled his eyes, but there was a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. He sipped at his drink, rolling the liquid around in his mouth for a moment as an idea occurred to him.

Fell made to stand up, and Lust’s eyes snapped up before he suddenly reached out and grabbed onto his wrist, surprised by the panic that was accompanying the thought of seeing him go.

“Hang on, just...wait a second. I have a question.”

Fell sighed heavily and sat back down, looking at him questioningly.

Lust took a deep breath, and plowed on, pushing down the thoughts that he was being an idiot, of course the other wasn’t going to say yes.

“Do you think you could stand me enough to live with me? Because I have an extra room in my house now and I wouldn’t keep you awake at all hours having loud sex.” He winked. "At least, not most nights."

Fell laughed slightly, then seemed to realize that Lust was serious, and sobered. “Wait, really? You want to live with me? You must be more lonely than I thought.”

Lust shrugged, not about to argue with that.

Fell regarded him silently for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully for a moment. “Yeah, okay. At this point anything would be better than whatever these idiots’ honeymoon is going to entail.” He looked down slightly, then back up at Lust’s face. “You have my contact details, correct? Call me tomorrow morning sometime and we can discuss this further.” And with that, he stood up and walked away, leaving Lust to sit alone at the table.

It was only after he got into his car to go home that Lust realized that his parting congratulations to the happy couple had been more sincere than any he had given them before.

Want More Stuff Like This?

#cososchaptersyo #roommate bros #lasagnaise #lust x fell #red x pink #underlust #underfell #Ao3 #undertale fanfiction #fontcest fanfiction

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Street art: 45 incredible examples to inspire you

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Street art: 45 incredible examples to inspire you

Street art adorns streets from all over the world. Urban graffiti might be the first form that springs to mind, but street art actually comes in loadings of different forms, from sculptures to& apos; yarn bombing& apos ;, and is also found in a diverse scope of surroundings.

We& apos; ve gathered together the work of our favourite street artists for this article, from famous faces you already know to relative unknowns you& apos; ll want to know more about. Some only want to brighten up their neighbourhoods, while others have political statements to induce. But whatever their motivating, we think what they& apos; ve created is pretty incredible.

If you& apos; re feeling inspired, check out our piece on graffiti fonts and use the influence of street art in your own designs.

Click on the icon at the top-right of the image to enlarge it.

01. Sonora

Sonora was painted on the Arizona/ Mexico perimeter to open a dialogue through art

Hazard, aka Harriet Ford, is a British street artist whose work is recognisable from its bold, peaceful depictions of women with detailed hair and headdresses.

Sonora( 2017) was painted on a warehouse in the abandoned mining township of Ajo on the Arizona/ Mexico border. This comes within the framework of a crowdfunded project, designed to create a dialogue through an arts residency in a significant place at a significant time. With a headdress decorated with wildlife from the Sonoran desert, the female character represents a peaceful Mexican lady.

02. 16th Avenue Tiled Steps

The steps in San Francisco have a sea to sky theme

The 16 th Avenue Tiled Steps is a community project completed in 2005. Inspired by the famous Selaron steps in Rio de Janeiro, the neighborhood residents opt artists Aileen Barr and Collette Crutcher to collaborate in a design across 163 mosaic panels.

The steps have a sea to sky theme and the local residents sponsored handmade tiles in the shapes of the animals, fish and shells. Three mosaic workshops were held within the community so that everyone could assist in the creation of this stunning street art.

03. Cryptik

This work in New York’s lower east side translates to ‘Love thy neighbourSSSS

Los Angeles-based artist Cryptik is notable for his calligraphic approach to street art. Much of his work is based on ancient sacred texts and eastern philosophy, with echoes of the intricate geometric patterns found in Muslim art and architecture. It& apos; s all rendered with an unmistakable street art spin, making for a perfect mixture of ancient and modern. His aim is to help humanity evolve towards greater awareness and understanding.

04. Kobra

This colourful David is painted directly onto the marble in an Italian quarry

This colorful portrait of David is the work of Eduardo Kobra, a Brazilian street artist from the south side of Sao Paulo. The design is painted directly onto the marble at a quarry in Carrara, Italy, where Michelangelo and other artists detected the marble used in their statues. Kobra has been a graffiti artist since he was a teenager, and in 2016 his mural for the Rio Olympics scored him a record for world& apos; s biggest mural- a record he& apos; s since broken.

05. D* Face

This epic street art by D* Face’s cover-ups the side of a Las Vegas hotel

London-based artist Dean Stockton( also known as D* Face) generates work inspired by things he loved as a child- skate graphics, album art and cartoons- and some of his work is clearly indebted to pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. One such example is Behind Closed Doors; and epic piece of street art found on the side of the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. The design cleverly uses the shape of the building to give the mural an added sense of depth.

06. Reskate Studio

The Harreman Project, by Barcelona-based Reskate Studio, uses glow-in-the-dark paint to create street art with hidden depths. Each piece of artwork in the series demonstrates one image during daylight hours, while another is revealed when it gets dark. “The intention is to try to light up dark corners of cities, both installing new illuminations and encouraging citizens to interact with the wall, painting with light on it, ” reads the description on the studio& apos; s website. This piece, Asombrar, was created for Fisart Romania in 2015.

07. Dulk

Dulk’s street art is inhabited by surreal beasts

Antonio Segura Donat, or Dulk, grew up copying illustrations of exotic animals from his parents& apos; old encyclopaedias, and used to take his sketchbook everywhere with him. Having analyse illustration then graphic design, today he works as a multidisciplinary artist tackling describe, painting, statue and ad, but it& apos; s his large-scale street art, featuring surreal beings in imaginary landscapes, that really stands out.

08. Mobstr

Upon the Sighting of New Rendering charts Mobstr’s ongoing battle with the authorities

Mobstr is a multi-talented street artist with a strong line in fake billboards, but it& apos; s his Progressions that we really love. Documented across a series of photos, he plays fantastic mind games with the poor souls whose undertaking it is to clean graffiti off the streets, use little more than stencilled letters.

09. Smug

One of Smug’s Glaswegian pieces, gracing the city’s Castle Street

Glasgow-based street artist Smug specialises in photorealistic graffiti, and the Scottish city has become his infinite canvas thanks to a council-funded mural initiative. After picking up a spray painting can over a decade ago, the artist has developed a unique and mesmerising style- rendered entirely freehand. His meticulously detailed work can be seen transforming walls all over the UK and Europe, as well as Australia.

10. Mario Celedon

Artist Mario Celedon’s intricate paints can be seen all over the city of Valparaiso

Culture capital of Chile, Valparaiso is the home of many a talented artist, including Mario Celedon. Best known for his incredible street art, Celedon& apos; s colourful and detailed paints can be seen in various locations around the city, but our favourite artwork has got to be the intricate illustrations on these steps.

11. Ernest Zacharevic

One of Zacharevic’s Georgetown pieces

Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic brings fine art techniques to the great outdoors. Exploring a multitude of media, from installing and statue to oil paint, stencils and spray paint, Zacharevic& apos; s experimentations remove the restriction of artistic boundaries.

Based out of Penang, Malaysia, the artist first grabbed global attention in 2012 after creating a series of murals for Georgetown Festival, resulting in the BBC dubbing him Malaysia’s answer to Banksy. Since then, his Georgetown murals have become cultural landmarks and his run can be seen from Singapore to LA.

12. Peeta

One of Peeta’s 3D graffitti ‘sculptures’

Italian street artist Manuel Di Rita, who goes by the moniker Peeta, is known for his 3D graffiti. Using gradients of colour, his 2D street art gives off the impression of multiple dimensions, creating the illusion it is sculpture, rather than paint. On top of this, the artist generates actual graffiti-inspired street art sculptures.

Since he first started making street art back in 1993, Peeta has travelled the globe, spending a lot of time in both Canada and the US. After gaining plenty of experience as a graffiti artist in Europe and America, he started painting canvases and now runs his own business selling canvases and sculptures.

13. Phlegm

Phlegm paints and places his illustrations all over the world

Sheffield-based Phlegm started out in self-published comics before bringing this detailed illustration style to the streets. The UK artist generates surreal, storybook-style imagery, running solely in monochrome. Each piece of street art forms part of a grand narrative that widens worldwide, from Canada to Australia.

14. MrDheo

MrDheo dedicates himself to photorealism, blended with graphic components

MrDheo has no formal artistic train, and it& apos; s this that he believes has helped him to develop his own techniques and evolve without direct influences. The Portuguese artist& apos; s bold, graphic style lends itself to graffiti art; the bigger the better. MrDheo& apos; s street art appears in over 30 international cities, and he has collaborated with a number of major brands and companies.

15. MVM Graphics

Moore W. Moore has been painting geometric murals for more than half his life

Boston based artist Matt W Moore- who runs MVM Graphics- has been painting on walls for over half their own lives. “It& apos; s a magical experience to actualise an idea extra-large in the public space, ” he smiles. “Lots to see in this section. Everything from my early years of graffiti and street-level art, to my more recent abstract murals. Indoor and outdoor, I& apos; ve got you covered.”

16. Mademoiselle Maurice

A flock of metal origami birds adorns this street art

This impressive piece of street art was created to mark the opening of the Urban Nation contemporary art museum in Berlin. It& apos; s the work of visual artist Mademoiselle Maurice, and features a flock of 3D birds brought to life in metal origami.

17. Herbert Baglione

An eerie creation for an abandoned psychiatric hospital in Parma, Italy

Herbert Baglione is a Brazilian street artist. One particularly striking project, entitled 1000 Shadows, considered him add his stamp to an abandoned psychiatric hospital in Parma, Italy. Balione created eerie shadows across the floors, walls and doors of the building, often interacting with deserted wheelchairs for extra creepiness.

Next page: 15 more awesome examples of street art

18. Fallen 9000

This inspiring tribute to fallen soldiers only managed to last a few hours

To mark International Peace Day back in 2013, British artists Jamie Wardley and Andy Moss accompanied by 60 volunteers and 500 local residents, took to the beaches of Normandy and etched 9000 fallen soldier silhouettes into the sand using rakes and stencils. The piece was washed away by the tide after merely a few hours, but generated a lasting impact.

19. DALeast

DALeast’s 3D style is instantly recognisable

Born in China, DALeast has spread his distinctive 3D technique of street art across public spaces all over the world. The artist paints creatures that appear to have been run from twisted metal. His pieces are instantly recognisable and burst with energy.

20. Pez

Pez began painting in 1999 on the outskirts of Barcelona

Street artist Pez( Spanish for fish) started painting in 1999 on the outskirts of Barcelona. Wanting to find a way to communicate and spread good vibes to the people of the city, Pez decided that his signature mark would be a fish character with a huge smile.

Since then, the artist has gone on to gain international recognition, exhibiting his work all around the globe. The last few years has also see him make several new characters, including demons, angels and Martians. All have one thing in common- a huge and infectious smile.

21. David de la Mano

Spanish artist David de la Mano generates astounding monochromatic street art

Spanish artist David de la Mano creates striking and often somewhat unsettling street art based around silhouettes. This typically creepy piece is entitled Silent Sound.

22. NeSpoon

Polish artist NeSpoon decorates Warsaw with beautifully intricate patterns

Although she also generates more traditional murals, Polish artist NeSpoon also generates street art that& apos; s a little different. Alongside paints, NeSpoon also decorates buildings with cobweb-like doilies, and etches intricate designs into cement.

23. C2 15

C2 15 ‘s stencilled street art features the marginalised and vulnerable

Parisian artist Christian Guemy- also known as C2 15- employs stencils to produce beautiful street art illustrating vulnerable and marginalised groups of society including refugees, street children and the elderly. Since creating his first work over 20 years ago he& apos; s developed a huge following. His street art can be spotted in galleries, auctions and on streets all over the world, in cities including Barcelona and London.

24. Interesni Kazki

Ukranian duo Interesni Kazki create vibrant street art

Ukrainian duo AEC and Waone, aka Interesni Kazki, make bright and vibrant street art that references a variety of cultures and art forms including sci-fi, Mexican folk tales, religion and classical art. For the best part their surreal ideas are created with acrylic paint utilizing rollers, although on some very small pieces of run they use spray cans.

25. Gaia

Gaia makes surreal and colorful murals

New York-born, Baltimore-based street artist Gaia& apos; s unbelievable abilities, combined with his strange compositions have gained him worldwide recognition. He& apos; s also keen to help others explore the street art medium, setting up celebrations and group conferences to fill places like his town of Baltimore with new and arousing murals.

26. Julian Beever

Julian Beever generates whole 3D worlds with just a pavement and some chalk

There& apos; s nothing quite like strolling along your local high street and coming across a whole new, 3D world- completely made of chalk. Many other chalk artists could have featured in this list, but it& apos; s Julian Beever& apos; s playful approach to the medium that has us in awe.

The British artist started out as a busker, before attract commercial commissions in the mid 2000 s. He even made a 10 -part TV series and released a book, Pavement Chalk Artist, in 2011.

27. See No Evil

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For two consecutive summers, Bristol- home of Banksy and centre of a vigorous street art scene- was hosted to one of the most important one festivities of street art Europe has ever seen.

Organised by legendary street artist Inkie and Team Love, it was See No Evil& apos; s mission to transform one of city& apos; s most deprived stretchings of road into a work of art. Nelson Street, located in Bristol& apos; s city centre was a dreary, gray walkway. Artists from around the world, including New York& apos; s Tats Cru and LA& apos; s El Mac descended upon the city to bring it to life.

28. Slinkachu

Slinkachu’s Little People Project combinations street art and photography

Using characters from model develop sets, Slinkachu& apos; s Little People Project is a mixture of street art and photography. If you& apos; ve had the pleasure of stumbling upon one of his odd little creations, you& apos; ll appreciate his humor and childlike imagination.

Slinkachu says that the titles he gives to each scene, “aims to reflect the loneliness and melancholy of living in a big city, virtually being lost and overwhelmed”. However, he is quick to add that “underneath this, there is always some humour”.

29. Joshua Allen Harris

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As you& apos; ll already have assembled , not all street art involves the use of spray paint. This video from Joshua Allen Harris indicates just what can be created with a few household items.

Now principally a photographer, back in 2008 Harris caused a stir with his Inflatable Bag Monster project. The artist generated animals use disregarded plastic bags and attached them to subway grates around New York, ready to be inflated into life by gusts of air from passing develops. Some of the pieces had an environmental angle, such as the plastic polar bear, which deflated to its demise to offer a strong message about global warming and the effects it continues to have on the world we live in.

30. Banksy

Banksy’s stencils often tackle political issues- this work in Paris remarks on the treatment of refugees

The best-known street artist across the world, Banksy& apos; s challenging, contrary and thought-provoking, stencil-based art has made a huge impact on both high and low culture. In recent years he& apos; s branched out with more ambitious projects including a hotel in Bethlehem and a theme park in Weston-Super-Mare, but his politically charged stencil artwork continues to make an stir wherever it appears.

Hailing from Bristol, UK, the artist keeps his identity a secret. Some assert he has a team of people working on each creation while others believe he still works alone. Whatever the case, his art remains as impactful as ever.

31. Pavel Puhov

Puhov is sometimes called the ‘Russian BanksySSSS

Known as the& apos; Russian Banksy& apos ;, street artist Pavel Puhov( aka Pavel 183 or P-1 83 ), has been cooking up a political storm in his native country for over a decade. Like Banksy, the artist& apos; s identity is unknown, adding to the mystique surround him.

The Moscow-based graffiti artist& apos; s creations often have a strong political stance. Some have included paintings of riot police, civilian protesters and even a reimagined painting of National Geographic& apos; s infamous Afghan girl photo. Placing his art in very public locatings, such as subway doors, attains certain that it& apos; s not ignored.

32. Jan Vormann

Jan Vormann ‘repairs’ old builds with brightly coloured blocks

A German native, Jan Vormann spent three years travelling the world,& apos; repairing& apos; crumbling and disregarded buildings with his brightly coloured version of Polyfilla. The venture had humble beginnings, starting out in a small art fair in Rome before moving onto bigger ventures. He has even filled the holes of houses in Berlin that had been damaged by firearms during the second World War.

Next page: 13 more awesome examples of street art

33. EVOL

EVOL transforms street furniture into mini-buildings

For his Buildings project, street artist EVOL transformed street furniture into miniature high-rise blocks, complete with graffiti and er, ogres. The German artist exhibits his work in warehouses as well as local streets for all to enjoy. The intricate detail of each piece is incredibly realistic, and it& apos; s great to see something bearing and functional turned into something that will set a smile on people& apos; s faces.

34. Guerrilla Crochet

Guerrilla Crochet has induced crochet cool once more

It& apos; s official- crochet is not just for grannies. Guerrilla crochet( or, in the UK,& apos; yarn bombing& apos ;) has been causing a blizzard in recent years, with renegade street artists enveloping everyday street furniture in brightly coloured woolly loveliness. One of the most prolific crochet street artists is Agata Oleksiak( aka Olek ), who has covered everything from the Wall Street bull to London taxis.

35. Isaac Cordal

Issac Cordal’s work exudes a strong sense of personal injustice

Like Slinkachu, Spanish artist Issac Cordal likes to work with little figures. Unlike the former, however, Cordal tends to take a more melancholy approach. Most of his street art represent the everyday businessman and their struggles to deal with the mundanity of everyday life.

36. Ronzo

Ronzo’s bird statues liven up mundane surroundings

Independent artist Ronzo describes himself as& apos; Vandal Extraordinaire& apos ;. On his site he claims that he exists because “this fragile Earth deserves a voice”. We& apos; re not quite sure what he entails by that, but we like it.

The artist& apos; s 2012 Birdz project ensure colourful bird sculptures popping up on London& apos; s Brick Lane as well as council estates, along with a graffiti mural of the& apos; Olympic Bird& apos; and a a& apos; Credit Crunch Monster& apos; placed on a building overlooking The Old Truman Brewery.

37. Vj Suave

Vj Suave is a collaboration between artists Ygor Marotta, hailing from Brazil, and Cecilia Soloaga, from Argentina. The duo make live visual performances utilizing a mixture of character illustration, animation and projection. The video presents a series of intricate designs and colourful characters coming to life and walking the streets. A truly unique street art event.

38. Guerrilla Gardeners

Guerrilla Gardeners are on a mission to attain our streets a greener place

This project assured sneaky gardeners constructing it their mission to turn our streets a greener place. The team behind Guerrilla Gardening became a global hub, with planting taking place in cities from London to Beirut. The collective carried out their work during the night.

39. Kello Goeller

Kello Goeller brought pixel art to the streets of New York

Kello Goeller took pixel art into a new dimension in this awesome sculpture. The piece, entitled Pixel Pour 2.0, was created from wood and latex, and could be found on Mercer Street in New York. Goeller is a multidisciplinary performance artist, and can currently be found crafting& apos ;d reamscapes& apos; in Portland.

40. Invader

French artist Invader completes his 8-bit art behind a mask

French UFA (& apos; unidentified free artist& apos ;) Invader has been invading cities across the world with his perfect pixelated artwork for years. He always completes his artwork behind a mask, so as to not give away his identity. This project, entitled Space Invaders, is inspired by first-generation arcade games. The characters are made out of tiles cemented onto walls, and Invader has set up a scoring system for them, with each character rating between 10 and 50, depending on its size.

41. Roadsworth

Popsilos brings an artistic twist to the ugliest of structures

Peter Gibson, aka Roadsworth, started his street art journey painting the street of Montrealo. Initially motivated by a desire for more cycle tracks in the city and a questioning of the world& apos; s& apos; automobile culture& apos; in general, the artist then moved on to urban landscapes and bigger, more ambitious projects- including the above Popsilos project. In 2004, Roadsworth was arrested and charged with 53 counts of mischief. Despite the heavy fines, he continued his street art quest.

42. Miina Akkijyrkka

Miina Akkijyrkka turns use vehicles into animal sculptures

Finnish sculptor Miina Akkijyrkka has a thing for kine. She scours her native country for use vehicles and turns them into these huge animal sculptures. The artist has been working her magical for the purposes of an impressive 50 years.

43. Vhils

Part of an initiative that uses art to campaign for environmental issues

Alexandre Farto, who works under the moniker Vhils, is a street artist hailing from Portugal. He has gained renown for his murals, created using a bas-relief carving technique that involves cutting either directly into walls or removing layers of advertising posters.

The above artwork, located in Sumatra, Indonesia, aims to raise awareness about a new species of orangutan that has already become jeopardized due to unregulated palm petroleum farming and irresponsible construction in its natural habitat. This piece is part of Splash and Burn- an initiative that uses art as a route to draw attention to environmental issues.

44. The Glue Society

Grab a giant spoonful, quick!

It& apos; s so hot on Tamarara beach in Australia that this ice cream truck has melted! OK, you got us, it& apos; s actually a brilliant street art statue created by artists at The Glue Society. The installing, entitled Hot With The Chance of Late Storm, was displayed on the beach during the opening of the 10 th annual Statue By The Sea exhibition back in 2006.

45. JR

Artist JR has been dubbed the ‘French BanksySSSS

French photographer and artist JR& apos; s political street art began during the Paris riots of 2005. Angered by the way the areas involved were being presented in the media, he took photos of the residents pulling funny faces and flyposted them around the city.

His passion-filled, often didactic artwork has since appeared in deprived regions across the world, from the suburbs of Paris to the shantytowns of Rio. He& apos; s also been arrested in China, and in 2011 was awarded the TED prize, worth $100,000.

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