#i think next year i might go more for quality over quantity

[allmyoldhaunts]

i read 101 books this year (so far) and here's the best ones (ranked, not including rereads)

The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches- Sangu Mandanna

The Haunting Of Hill House- Shirley Jackson

The Lies Of Locke Lamora- Scott Lynch

The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet- Becky Chambers

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night Volume 1- Ana Lily Amirpor

Always And Forever, Laura Jean- Jenny Han

Batgirl: Silent Knight Volume 1- Kelley Puckett

Red, White, And Royal Blue- Casey McQuiston

The Poppy War- R. F. Kuang

[little-cereal-draws]

Sad Ballister and food headcanons

He would be coming from an environment where he wouldn't be sure when his next meal will be or where it would be coming from. It could be something he pulled out of a dumpster, it could be something he stole from a food cart, it could be a handout from a passerby. He has no way to ensure its quality or its quantity. He would need to make it last as long as it can so that he's full for as long as possible.

When he gets to the Institute, there's a dining hall and three full meals a day. It's absolutely insane. It's literally handed to them on a silver platter. There's no uncertainty, no violent competing for limited resources; there's more than enough for everyone. And even though he might logically understand that, underneath there's the anxiety that somehow it might run out and he would be hungry again.

So, he takes rolls, apples, and anything else that will fit in his pockets back to his room. And he hides them. He's pretty sure he's not allowed to do this, but he's so scared of being hungry that he can't stop. Occasionally he'll have some when he wakes up in the middle of the night but for the most part, he's not hungry anymore. Or if he is hungry, it's not gut-twisting hunger pains so he can't justify eating his stash; he needs to save it for when he's desperate.

But that never comes. Eventually, he begins to trust in the Institution's resources and that there will always be enough to feed everyone. The food under his bed is rotten and covered in mold when he finally pulls it out again. He throws it out, disgusted that he ever thought he could eat that at some point.

Jump forward several years, he's no longer at the Institute. He's on the run, labeled a "queen killer," "a villain," "a monster." His arm is gone, his home is gone, the people he thought he could trust are gone, his safety is gone. He's living in a run-down forgotten mechanic shop on the edge of the Kingdom. It's filled with drafts that let the cold in, rats that scuttle around the floor, and more safety violations than he can count. And he's hungry. He can't go to the store, he can't go to a restaurant, he can't order anything. He's a criminal now. So, he's back to where he started, stealing and dumpster diving. He finds half a sandwich that doesn't look that bad and starts scarfing it down. With a few bites left, he realizes he should save it; his hand may be shaking and his vision blurring now but he'll need it more later. It goes in his cloak.

Jump forward again, the wall and the Director are gone. But so is Nimona. He's reworking things with Ambrosius, figuring out where they stand now. He's been staying in a guest room in the Goldenloin's sprawling mansion; it wasn't his first choice but he didn't have anywhere else to go. There's a long banquet table they use for meals and Ballister slips food into his pocket with every course. He doesn't know how long he'll be staying; he might need it later if he leaves. Ambrosius notices out of the corner of his eye and frowns. Giving him time to pull away, he slowly puts his hand on Ballister's wrist. Their eyes meet but Ambrosius doesn't say anything, he just looks at him with a sad expression. Ballister doesn't need him to say anything though, he gets it. He's not on the run anymore. He doesn't have to worry about basic survival. He's cared for here. He's safe.

He puts the piece of bread he tucked away back on the table and intertwines his fingers with his lover's.

(Also I think that for the first few months after he came to the Institue he would fight the other kids over his food. Someone asks for a piece of his potatoes? He slams their head into the table. Someone reaches across his plate to grab smth else but it looks like it could be his food? He twists their arm behind their back. Todd jokingly tried to take his whole plate once so Bal bashed him over the head w it. It was a combination of him getting in trouble, him becoming more trusting in the Institute, and the other kids learning to leave him alone during meal time that finally stopped it. If you're out on the street and someone tries to take your only food, you fight them like hell for it bc it very well could be the difference between life and death for you. The Director never understood that no matter how many times Bal tried to explain to her why he attacked the other kids.)

[loudlooks]

Day 29 - Take my hand

30 day challenge notes: quantity over quality, limited editing, stand-alone/unrelated stories unless specifically stated otherwise, not always tiva, chronologically randomly set in whatever pre-s11 season seems to fit

A/N: Tony's car broke down and Ziva is giving him a ride to work, fake dating ensues (WIP rescue from years ago)

Tag for blocking/following: 30 days of spring

Prompt: Take my hand

Word count: 723

-

The small Toyota parking across the street made Tony lose all focus on what Ziva was saying. “Take my hand,” he told Ziva, as he watched his perky new neighbor—the one who was half his age, yet had been hitting on him ever since she moved in—cross the street towards them.

Ziva looked at him in confusion.

He leaned closer to her, and repeated his request with more persistence.

“What? Why?”

With Sally now within hearing distance, he simply grabbed hold of Ziva’s left hand and pulled her right next to him, ignoring her look.

“Tony!” Sally said, all smiles.

“Sally, fancy seeing you here,” Tony said with a fake smile.

Sally frowned. “In front of our apartment building?”

“Ha, yeah,” Tony said at a loss for words.  Feeling Ziva’s burning stare, he held up his and Ziva's conjoined hands. “Sally this is Ziva.” He glanced at Ziva, who looked at him in amusement. “Ziva this is Sally, she moved into Patterson's apartment last week.”

Ziva narrowed her eyes, never having actually met Patterson, so he squeezed her hand, willing her to play along.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Ziva said with exaggerated pleasantness.

Sally’s smile faded significantly as she glanced at their hands again. “Oh, yes, I think I saw you in the hallway a few days ago, and Tony mentioned your name...are you two...?”

Tony smiled widely and looked at Ziva affectionately. “We’re partners.”

“Yes, we have worked together for six years now,” Ziva added.

“Must be fun working with the person you love every day,” Sally said.

Ziva looked at him like the cat that ate the canary, and he knew he had to be on his toes for whatever she was about to throw at him.

“I wouldn’t know,” she said sweetly.

Tony forced out a chuckle, and brought her hand up to his mouth to kiss it, before giving Sally a conspiratorial look and saying, “Strictly business at work.”

Sally gave them a conflicted look. “Right…well, I have to go.”

As Sally walked away, Tony leaned down to grumpily whisper in Ziva’s ear, “Thanks, I don’t think she bought it.”

“Easy enough to fix,” Ziva said with a hint of mischief in her voice. She placed a hand on his cheek and guided his mouth to hers.

His heart skipped a beat as his mind focused fully on Ziva, giving as good as he got, and god was it good.

She pulled away, biting her bottom lip, gaze flicking to his mouth before meeting his eyes.  “More believable?”

“No,” Tony said, getting lost in the desire in her eyes and the need to stay close to her. “Not at all,” he breathed against her lips and kissed her with fervor.

All too soon, Ziva broke the kiss, a small gasp leaving her lips. She kept her face close to his. “That should definitely do it.”

“I don’t know…” He grazed her lips gently.

“Tony, she’s inside,” Ziva murmured.

He nuzzled her nose, not wanting this to end, fake or real. “She might be watching us through the window.”

Ziva pulled back and looked at him with a bemused smile. “Her apartment is on the side of the building.”

With a grin, and a last glance at her lips, he said, “I guess we should get to work, anyway.”

As they walked towards her Mini, his heart skipped another beat realizing she had not let go of his hand. Mindlessly he gave it a light squeeze, drawing her attention.

She let go of his hand, brows knitting together as she unlocked the car, but didn’t open the door.

He reached the passenger side, opened the door, and hesitated as he watched her seemingly lost in thought.

She glanced back at his apartment building, then met his gaze over the roof of the car. “When did you say your car would be fixed?”

“Tomorrow,” he said, then caught another glimpse of mischief in her eyes. Tony glanced at the same spot she had glanced at, and felt a flutter in his chest. “Maybe next week, who knows with mechanics, right.”

She opened the car door, a slow smile building as she held eye contact. “Do you think we’ll run into your neighbor again?”

Tony smiled his million dollar smile. “I never thought I’d say this, but, I hope so.”

--

Tagging @hopeless-nostalgiac

[lumieresdanslacave]

Look, this blog is not dead!! Early february update. I realize I've drawn far less in 2023 than any other of the last 5 years. I haven't worked less, but i've worked more purposefully I guess? Like, there was the exhibition, and then end of the year I made my 2 first comics ever... I'm so happy about working as a collective, we've been so productive and we have many more projects going forward!! I think more and more the collective is more important than the individuals. But look. I miss something about the tiny minizine, something raw, self-contained, pure, obscure.... The bad thing about them, why I got bored, is my main problem of all time, I make piles and piles and piles of stuff and never look back at it, I lack vision or ambition, I'm like if a plant made drawings. There might be something to do with them, I don't know what yet, but hey two things Okay three things, maybe even four. -I found 3 minizines I never scanned and never posted, dating from january to april 2023. -I'm going to go back to schedueled posting for the next few weeks I think. -I will go back to post stuff on the go, as i'm making them, bc really I couldn't favor quality over quantity, ever! What an idea. -Okay maybe I'll start making minizines again. I don't know. Or something new. Or less often. But I feel I can't live without making them! -Should I reblog old stuff here? To make them resurface a little, forgotten drawings and stuf.. Many I like barely get seen, but as always there's so!! many! of them!! I'm a stupid hoarder ><

that's all thank you for reading thru! 😘remedios

[pearwaldorf]

[edit 12/27] Hey go reblog this instead thx

--

It’s a really fucking boring party. Phillip is here purely for lack of anything better to do, including sitting on his couch and binging Parks and Recreation, which he’s done three times this year already. 

(Lyndie glared at him when he demurred yet again, but then softened.

“Babes, I know it’s been hard on you, but you have to get out there. Not in a find yourself a nice rebound way, although I do think it would be beneficial, but you have to get out and talk to people.” 

“And who exactly am I going to talk to, love?” He was fine with Tim getting pretty much the entire friend group after the breakup initially, but it was real fucking depressing looking at his contacts and realizing there wasn’t anybody who wanted to hear from him. 

“Somebody. Anybody. Not everybody in the fucking world is part of Tim’s circle.” Lyndie’s trying her best, bless her, but that’s what sisters (or close as) do, right? It’s not fair to her to be his one social lifeline.

“All right. For you.” 

She beamed that damnable grin that makes everybody fall over themselves to do what she wants, him included, and kissed his cheek. “Thanks babes. You won’t regret this.”

“We’ll see.”)

It’s an exhibit opening, and now that Phillip’s looked at the art (pedestrian, derivative) and nibbled at the platters (Costco, of all things. Not that they’re bad, but absolutely not in keeping with the atmosphere), he’s taken his plastic glass of Three Buck Chuck to find a corner to people-watch.

In the back next to the one actually interesting sculpture, he nods to a man dressed in the most fascinatingly archaic suit. No, that’s not the right word. It’s like he bought all his clothes at one time and never bothered to replace them because they really don’t make them like they used to. They’re at least forty years out of style, but they fit well. 

Phillip takes a sip of the wine. Oh god, he’d forgotten how awful this plonk is, not really being a person who frequents places where the quantity of alcohol is more desirable than the quality. 

“I regret I don’t have a fine vintage to offer you, but this has to be better than whatever swill they’re providing.” The other man holds up a flask, smiling. He’s not exactly handsome—his eyes are too small and his ears stick out too much for that, but he has a sharp, curious demeanor that makes Phillip want to know more. 

He takes the flask, ignoring how their fingers brush,  and downs more than is probably polite. It’s whiskey of some sort, burning sweet on the way down. 

“Thank you,” he says, handing it back. “It is very much an improvement.” 

The man screws the lid back on, puts the flask back in his jacket pocket. “A fine bourbon, American of course. Certainly other countries produce it, but it never tastes quite right. Like a bagel made outside of New York.” His accent is something Phillip has heard but never actually encountered in person, almost parodic in its intensity. It’s fascinating.

“They do make bagels elsewhere. And they’re nothing like the ones in New York.” Phillip says, just to be a shit. 

“Indeed, and I do not mean to impugn their quality. But I suppose we latch onto the examples we first encounter as the ideal.” He puts out his hand. “Benoit Blanc. If we’re going to have a conversation I suppose we should get a little more acquainted.”

“Phillip Owen.” The other man’s hand is warm, his grip assertive and confident. 

“A pleasure, Mr. Owen.” It might be the whiskey, but Phillip swears Blanc’s voice is warmer, more friendly. 

“I don’t mean to be presumptuous or rude, but your name does not strike me as particularly Southern.” 

Instead of bristling in offense like Phillip expected, Blanc just smirks, a little reproving. “How quickly we forget history, Phillip.” His smile takes any sting there might have been from the words.

“Now that I’m to get a lecture it’s Phillip?” He keeps his voice light. This is probably the most interesting conversation he’s had in a long time, which is probably a bit sad when he thinks about it, but he’s a little buzzed from the whiskey and he’s enjoying himself much more than he thought he would tonight.

“Lecture is such a stuffy word. Call it a gentle reminder of things that should be more prominent in your memory.” Blanc’s kind of a shit too, and god help him, Phillip is into it. 

“Then tell me what I should remember, Benoit,” he says, as gravely as he can. 

The other man winces, like he’s physically pained. “I hate that name. By the love of whatever you consider holy, Blanc, please.” 

Impulsively, he reaches for Blanc’s hand. “I’ll call you whatever you like if we get out this stuffy hellhole into a place with better liquor and a place to sit.” Is it forward? Absolutely. But it’s been a long time since he’s had anybody besides Lyndie to talk to, and he didn’t realize how much he missed it until now. 

Blanc looks a bit surprised, but his mouth curls slow into a smile that might promise something more. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

[owlwithanapple]

Your Hero

He is one of my favorite characters in mha. I want to write a future version of Bakugou Katsuki, I hope you guys will like it. 😘

Part 12.

( Bakugou Katsuki X Y/N )

When got home, you walked into study room and placed Endeavor's Figure on a glass shelf. You put the books on the desk back on the bookshelf, and Dynamight Figure placed next to the computer.

You originally planned to buy one but he couldn't bear it and instead gave it to you. You admire his Figures with a face full of intoxication, seeing how the hand-made work and high quality show off its details.

Out of curiosity, you on your computer and search for the price and production quantity of the Dynamight Figure. The price listed on official website is so high! Global production only 30 units! The pre-orders are currently full and it won’t be officially launched until next week?

The company that once specialized in producing All Might and Endeavor Figures. The maximum production units of each figure is 50 units. When you check Figure's site, there is a mark with the number 1/30 engraved on it! You were the first to get it!

The official website uploaded a video interview about the cooperation between Dynamight and the sculptor. The sculptor wanted to restore the details of the Figure's movements and equipment, so Dynamight cooperated with the request and put on combat equipment.

This guy is a lot more attentive than you thought! No wonder this company's products are so expensive. They rely on the high level of reproduction and detail. It's worth the price, it's great value for money.

What about the Figure of Endeavor just now? You found out that they are produced by the same company, and the number engraved is 20/20, which is the last one! The model has been officially announced to been discontinued for 2 years and cannot be pre-ordered.

"This should be worth a lot of money if sold..." You had an evil thought, but gave up because you afraid that he would blow you up.

When you are intoxicated with joy, your computer screen displays a message. Sender: Unknown, Content: Video. You watched the video and found out, Why is this video......!

Video content makes you feel actively uncomfortable. You covered your mouth and ran to the toilet to throw up, your body shaking. Why is this video still there?

"Why..." You collapsed on the ground, hugging yourself and crying.

10am—

You wake up from a nightmare, sweating and shaking all over. Last night you cried in toilet until you fell asleep. You remembered that you felt uncomfortable after watching the video last night, so you kept hiding in the toilet and crying.

You stood up and leaned in front of the wash basin, taking a deep breath slowly. Last night's video made you have bad memories, so you were a little out of control. Damn it! Makes you feel sick just thinking about it now. But why hasn’t the video been destroyed yet…

"Fuck..." You clenched your fists angrily and gasped.

Suddenly your phone rang again. You hurried to the study room the phone showed the contact was the police. You calm down and answer the call, they ask you to assist in the investigation at 12pm Tartarus.

Special Prison For Villain Criminals - Tartarus is a prison distanced from civilization where extremely dangerous Villains are imprisoned and interrogated under the highest security standards possible.

You answering the phone, you go to the kitchen to make coffee and put it on the table before sitting on the sofa to rest. Close your eyes and cover your ears with your hands, not wanting to hear any sound, because now will make you feel suffocated.

After calming down, you reach out your right hand to get a cup of coffee, but your hand is still sweating and shaking. You grab right arm with your left hand and tell yourself to calm down.

"Damn..." You covered your head, wanting to cry.

You take out a brand new hero costume, a dark blue cape, all black clothes, a blue skirt, white gloves and white boots. The design this time refers to All Might Young Age Costume. You prefer a cape-style design than wings.

Forget about the video for now, there are more important things to do now. You are suddenly asked to assist in the investigation, which means there is something wrong with Tartarus. You're ready to go straight away.

12pm Special Prison For Villain Criminals - Tartarus Entrance

When you arrived saw Shoto and Froppy standing at the entrance, you stepped forward say hello to them. They also gathered here after receiving notification from the police this morning.

The details haven't been explained yet, but the tone sounds like it's an emergency. While you were talking to Shoto, you felt Froppy staring at you.

"What's wrong, Froppy?" you asked her curiously.

"Kero, just call me Tsuyu chan. Wind Chan, you look bad. Are you okay?" Froppy looked at your face.

"I'm fine. Maybe I didn't sleep well yesterday..." You smiled at her.

"Kero..." Froppy is still staring at your face.

"Go in first." Shoto said calmly.

The three of you go in together, there are two guards at the door who lead you to the conference room. When arrived theroom opened the door saw a tall man with a dog face named Tsuragamae Kenji.

The other four heroes present are Dynamight, Deku, Uravity and Hawks. Kenji asked the three latecomers to sit down first. He left to get documents and then came back to start the meeting.

"Kero, do you know something?" Froppy was confused.

"I don't know...Kenji said we can't start talking until everyone is here." Deku said.

"Now we can only wait for Kenji to say." Uravity said.

You sat next to Dynamight waiting for Kenji to come back for the meeting. Dynamight said nothing and just kept looking at you. You felt uncomfortable and asked him in a low voice.

"What?" You asked coldly.

"You didn't answer my call. I thought you would get rid of me if I gave you those valuable things." He said helplessly.

"Sorry I fell asleep. I promise to pick up next time." You raised your right hand and swore.

"Did something happen? You shaking." He grabbed your right hand and asked.

"It's okay!" You pulled your hand back in a panic, squeezing your own hands.

Kenji walked in and handed the file to the heroes present. You took the file and flipped through the contents. They were the citizen (name Gen) who went on a rampage last time and the Villain (name Koe) whose dagger was poisonous and Quirks the voice.

"Now that everyone is here, I'll start what I want to say." Kenji said.

Kenji turned on the screen and played the news report at that time first. It's a video of Gen and Koe being interrogated. You hear what they say and you wonder why it's the way it is.

What is mentioned in the video is that both of them were detained without remembering what happened that day. Gen is an ordinary citizen so he is still undergoing treatment, while Koe is temporarily detained because of her criminal record.

"Hey, dog face. What is this?" Dynamight pinched the document.

"Don't remember what happened that day?" Shoto asked confused.

"Are the denying ?" Deku asked seriously.

"It's useless to deny it. We arrested them on the spot." Uravity said.

"Kero...their reaction doesn't look like faking it," Froppy said.

"I don't know whether it's true or not, but still trying to defend themselves..." Hawks said calmly.

"The current situation between the two of them is one of denial and ignorance." You said.

"Yes, I am also very confused. Neither of them can explain what happened that day. But please look at the documents in your hands. It contains reports on their interrogation, confessions and physical examinations. According to the analysis, they have the same drug component in their bodies." Kenji opened the file and flipped through it.

"Drugs?" Uravity asked.

"Kero...could it be that they happen to be taking the same medicine? Like fever medicine." Froppy raised his hand and asked.

"The ingredients contain stimulants." Suddenly there was a deep voice.

"You….." You looked at a man wearing a black mask standing in the corner with confusion.

"Overhaul!?" Deku was surprised.

Chisaki Kai,also known as Overhaul, the former Yakuza leader of the Shie Hassaikai.

"Yes, he is an analyst. In exchange, he will help us when we need him." Kenji answered.

"Can trust him?" Uravity stared at him.

"I'm just telling the truth. My ability allows me to break it down and put it back together again. So I know." Overhaul said.

"What do you want to say?" Shoto asked.

"These two people may have suffered memory impairment and Quirks loss due to overdose of some kind of drug."

"Is there a chance of coincidence like Froppy said?" Hawks asked.

"If the fever medicine had stimulants, the patient would have died a long time ago. First of all, they have no memory of the incident. Secondly, according to the police investigation, Gen has awakened Quirks since he was a child. Thirdly, the poisonous component of Koe's dagger was synthesized through chemical experiments. ” Overhaul analyzed the content calmly.

"After synthesis..." You whispered.

"First meeting, Wind Breaker. Let me tell you the fact first. You were listed as a special case when you entered the hospital. The doctor is not treating you with ordinary detoxification, but "cleaning". The ingredients contain chemical synthesis ingredients, so the surgery class requires “cleaning up” is called treatment." Overhaul explains the unknown to you.

"Kero...it means someone borrowing a knife to kill someone." Froppy was worried.

"The hell!" Dynamight said.

"Someone secretly making this kind of thing." Deku whispered.

"Know the origin of the ingredients?" Shoto asked.

"These are ingredients that come from the realm of illicit research. Things that our society generally doesn't see and doesn't use." Overhaul explained.

"Now we can only start investigating from the drug." Uravity said.

"I'd like to add that this is a conversation I had with them. They didn't remember what medications they took that day. It's possible that they took the medication themselves, or it was possible that someone inadvertently injected it." Overhaul clicked on the video to play .

"There are these possibilities." You sigh.

"So I summoned you all in the hope that we can keep this matter confidential for the time being and conduct a private investigation. If we directly launch a comprehensive operation, maybe the mastermind behind will escape." Kenji said seriously.

"Dogface, one is in prison and the other is at home, right?" Dynamight asked.

"Correct." Kenji replied.

"Dig out whatever the fuck can from them!" Dynamight shouted.

"No. 1 is right. We may not be able to ask questions through normal interrogation. But maybe we can do it in another way." Hawks agreed.

"Then I'll interrogate Koe. I'll talk to her face-to-face and maybe I can find out something." You vote by a show of hands.

"Kero...then let Dynamight...better Deku interrogate Gen." Froppy said.

"Damn it! I'll blow you up!" Dynamight shouted.

"Then I will make arrangements now, please wait." Kenji left the conference room to make arrangements.

You look through the files to see if you missed any clues. It's so strange, except that they don't have the memory. If someone really caused trouble, wouldn't it be declaring war on heroes...

According to police investigation, Gen has awakened Quirks since he was a child. But when you were on the rescue mission that day, he had no idea about his Quirks.

He will attack you when he is confused and frightened with his hands. Wait, those hands? The force he used to strangle your neck was very strong. Could it be the power of the drug to invigorate the body?

You clutched your neck and thought calmly. According to Overhaul, the drug contains a mix of stimulants. Gen's physical power and the poison of Koe dagger…..

"You're pretty good-looking." Overhaul said suddenly, standing next to you.

"Huh?" You were surprised because he walked over quietly.

"Have you figured it out?" Overhaul asked you.

"Yes, there are indeed unusual signs." You replied calmly.

"Kero...Wind chan, what do you mean?" Froppy asked.

"Say it!" Dynamight shouted.

"What Overhaul said is understandable. I have met them both and found something strange." You explain.

"What's strange?" Deku asked.

"Dynamight, do you remember when Gen strangled me, I tell you that Gen's power was extraordinary?" You looked at Dynamight.

"Yeah, I remember." Dynamight replied.

"His Quirks are transfer not power-type. But the moment he strangled me, I felt as if I was suffocated and about to die, as if my neck was a branch about to be broken by him." You explain.

"Really?" Uravity wondered.

"What she said is true. I checked her neck and there was indeed a deep red mark. His strength is no joke." Dynamight said.

"The poison from Koe's dagger. The poison spread quickly. I felt that my vision, breathing and strength were almost gone. But I still have self-awareness and can continue to think." You said.

"You were still able to think during the time when you used the storm to blow up the upstairs. This means that the poison was used to take away your vision, breathing and strength in order to suspend your body's movements." Shoto said.

"The head can think, but the whole body cannot function." Hawks said.

"That's right, smart woman." Overhaul praised you.

"Kero... things are more complicated than imagined." Froppy said.

"Overhaul, let me ask another question." You looked at him.

"Yes." Overhaul said.

"Are there any traces of injection on their bodies?" you asked.

"What a quick mind. Yes, Gen showed signs of being injected, but Koe did not. This shows that Gen and Koe became experimental subjects for the drug." Overhaul said.

"Is it possible?" Uravity raised his hand and asked.

"Fuck! Anything is possible!" Dynamight slapped the table.

"Kacchan?" Deku was startled.

"Idiot! Think about it in another way! Don't always think of them as victims or perpetrators! The investigation report pointed out their identity and background! Gen's guy has been working hard in a company for 10 years but never been promoted or received a salary increase. That woman Koe has a history of robbery and was sentenced to 3 years without a job after being released from prison, but she has a stable income!" Dynamight pointed to the report and explained.

"Kero….what does this prove?" Froppy asked.

"Part-time job?" You said suddenly and unintentionally.

"Drug testers. There are two opinions. In the light society are legal and have medical insurance, so they can sell legal drugs in society. In the dark society are classified according to the risk of the drug and value judgments." Overhaul explained.

"They are volunteers. After all, a person with a stable job but no high income and a person without a job but with a stable income does need a lot of money." Hawks said.

"Wind Breaker, you've noticed, right? That girl Koe's dagger is made of super high-quality material. That guy Gen’s shirt and watch he's wearing are famous brands." Dynamight said.

"Yes. I remembered." You said.

"Are your two heads one?" Overhaul suddenly asked.

"Shut your fucking mouth! Black mask!" Dynamight shouted.

"Everyone. I have arranged the schedule for you to discuss later." Kenji opened the conference room and walked in.

"That's none of my business. I'll go back to work first." Overhaul prepared to leave.

"Overhaul, one last question. Are the poisonous components in my body mixed with the same things as theirs?" You asked.

"Why do you feel that way?" Overhaul approached you.

"I don't understand. But for a moment I felt my strength a bit different." You answered.

"Yes. It's slight, but if your body can bear it, it means a special constitution." Overhaul said.

"The fuck!" Dynamight was surprised.

"Thank you for your answer. I will come back to you if necessary." You smiled.

"You're always welcome, Wind Breaker." Overhaul suddenly approached you.

"Hey, what are you doing?" As soon as he approaches you, you immediately step back.

"Tempest, this is not the first time we have met." Overhaul whispered into your ear.

You have an impression of this nickname. Someone once called you that. But when did it happen? Why does he know this word? Why would he say that word to you?

After Overhaul finished speaking, he left the room and left you alone. What he just said about "Tempest" and "It's not the first time we met" gave you some impression. Because the first time you saw him you almost said "Kai".

But you have no idea where you saw it. Have you really seen it? Your memory was still a little hazy but still conscious. Just losing a little memory isn't a problem.

Losing your past memories has caused you to have a habit of self-doubt now. Memories, confusions and questions are always on your mind. But now you just have to accept not to continue to think wildly.

"Hey!" Dynamight grabbed your shoulders from behind.

"What!" You slap him away and step back.

"Kero...what's wrong?" Froppy asked confused.

"Oh! Nothing! I was thinking about something and didn't notice him behind me." You explained with a smile.

You followed the others out of the conference room, leaving Dynamight alone. The first time you refused his physical contact. He had doubts about what Overhaul said quietly to you just now and felt something was wrong.

"The hell..." Dynamight held the file tightly.

Kenji arranged for you to interview Koe, while Deku arranged for an interview with Gen. You sat in the interrogation room waiting for Koe. You and Koe will be talking through a layer of glass.

There will be monitoring and recording during the interview. Therefore, both parties must communicate carefully. You really hoped that Koe would be willing to cooperate because Kenji had mentioned that Koe insisted that she didn't know anything.

"Damn it, a psychological warfare." You sat on the chair and thought.

There is also a layer of glass behind you. Behind the glass are Dynamight, Hawks and Kenji listening to your conversation. If they are suspicious they will send you a signal.

This is when Koe walks in and sits across from you. Her expression was very calm, unlike before. Her wrists were cuffed, but there were signs of struggle, indicating that she had been emotionally agitated. Ask calmly and carefully.

"Won't you introduce yourself?" Koe suddenly asked.

"I would have forgotten if you didn't tell me. Hello, my name is Wind Breaker. I have a few questions want to consult with you, and I hope you can give me a chance." You put your hands on the table.

"I told the police everything I needed to say. I don't remember what happened that day." Koe said.

"I know, I've read the report." You said calmly.

"Then why are you here?" Koe asked.

On the other side of the interrogation room—

"Wind Breaker very calm..." Kenji was watching your interrogation process from the other side.

"What the hell was she thinking?" Hawks asked.

"She wanted to try psychological warfare. That's why she was so calm." Dynamight said.

You and Koe side—

Ordinary conversation cannot yield any information. Koe's expression management is simply invisible. She didn't make any small movements with her hands. It's really a tricky thing, and now we can only rely on that method to find a breakthrough.

"How much do you earn per month?" You ask.

"Huh? This has nothing to do with the case." Koe replied.

"Yes, I'm just curious , no other meaning. Can you answer me?" you asked.

"I may refuse, I will not answer questions that are not related to the case." Koe said.

"I wasn't asking about the case from the beginning." You said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Koe's fingers began to move.

"The first thing I said was consultation. I never said I wanted to discuss the case with you." You said.

"What do you want? Don't be too quick-thinking. Just say what you have to say." Koe asked.

"This is what you said, I hope you can bear it." You said.

On the other side of the interrogation room—

"That girl started nervous ." Dynamight said.

"I don't understand." Kenji and Hawks said.

"Stupid! Watch it yourself!" Dynamight yelled.

You and Koe side—

You stayed silent and focused on everything Koe was doing. The interrogation room was air-conditioned, but she was already sweating, her fingers were shaking slightly, and her brows were wrinkled. Stick to this point now.

"You know me." You said.

"I don't know you." Koe's eyes weren't focused on you.

"The basic courtesy when speaking is to look people in the eyes. A little education, okay?" you said.

"Damn bastard...it's not your turn to teach me." Koe glared at you.

"I'm not teaching you. I'm warning you," you said.

"I'll kill you now!" Koe stood up and shouted.

"You’re welcome to kill me. But you will be dead in an hour anyway." You said.

"Huh? What are you talking about? You want to murder me?Wind Breaker." Koe asked.

"I don't have to, you will die naturally." You said.

"What the hell are you talking about! Tell me clearly!" Koe shouted.

"Didn't the police tell you? He’s dead..." you said.

"What does his death have to do with me?" Koe asked nervously.

"I'm hungry. I'm going to have lunch first." You stood up and said.

"Hey! How did he die! Tell me!" Koe shouted.

"What for? His death has nothing to do with you." You said.

"I..." Koe became nervous.

"Right, then I won't hide it from you. He had the same drug in his body as you. That drug contained a stimulant and a lethal ingredient. To put it simply, the stimulant ignited the lethal ingredient, causing him to have seizures and eventually die violently. "You say.

"No... doesn't mean it's harmless?" Koe started to get scared.

"What?" you ask.

"He said it was harmless, just would lose the memory after the medication! He didn't say would die!" Koe cried.

"The higher the reward, the higher the risk. Are you ignorant?" you said.

"Fuck..." Koe said.

"Can you tell me? At least I can avenge you." You said.

"Actually... the man named Gen and I took over the job of testing drugs because we were short of money. The man picked us up that day was masked and wearing a white coat, so we couldn't see his face, so we didn't know who he was.They asked me to get into the car with mask on, so I didn’t know where I was going. The whole process was done in the car without being able to see the person or place." Koe said frankly.

"How did you get the job?" you ask.

"There's mail coming to my house." Koe said.

"What did the masked man say?" you asked.

"Just tell us the reward, that the drug is not fatal and there will be no memory after taking the drug." Koe said.

"Did you see the car?" you ask.

"Before I got in the car, I saw it was a small black car," Koe said.

"I see...I feel so sorry for you, life is so small." You said.

"You must catch them for me! I will never forgive him! He fucking lied on me!" Koe banged the table hard.

"I promise you, I won't let him do whatever he wants." You said.

On the other side of the interrogation room—

"Wow, she knows..." Hawks said.

"Yes, I admire it." Kenji said.

"If you “don't bite the bullet” with this kind of person, your questions asking for a long time won't get any answers." Dynamight said.

Dynamight admires you in his heart, you didn't waver during the interrogation. You will also pick up the fatal points let her reveal the information herself. But he knows very well that this is not the only thing that is scary about you.

"The interrogation is over, you can stop, Wind Breaker." Kenji reported.

You and Koe side—

"Thank you very much for your cooperation. I hope you won't be so confused again in the future." You stood up and prepared to leave.

"Future, I will die soon..." Koe cried.

"I lied to you, you will be tried but don't know what the conclusion will be." You said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Koe looks at you.

"Everything I just said was a lie to you, otherwise you wouldn't have given me the information obediently. I believe the reward also includes hush money." You said.

"How dare you lie to me, you damn bitch!" Koe scolded you.

"There is something called psychological warfare. Although it includes deception, this is also the scope of my work. It is aimed at dishonest people like you." You said.

"I will definitely kill you when I get out of prison!" Koe shouted.

"Try it. Believe it or not, I'm going to punish you a little bit more." You said.

"Damn! Insidious woman!" Koe said.

"I think you're complimenting me." You said.

"Wind Breaker, you are more difficult than you thought." Koe said.

"Well.Thanks for your cooperation." You leave.

You leave the interrogation room Dynamight standing next to the door. Hawks and Kenji went to the office to handle the interrogation. You stood next to Dynamight and stayed with him.

"Why you so close?" Dynamight asked.

"I just want to stick with you." You whispered.

"Haha, that mouth so damn sweet. But good job, I'm impressed by you." Dynamight said.

"Thank you." You smile.

"What do you have to tell me?" Dynamight asked.

"You're thinking too much." You were afraid that he would alienate you if he found out about the video, you chose to hide it.

You left him and went to the office alone to find Kenji to help you read the interrogation report just now. You were really afraid that if you recalled the memory and that video, he would completely withdraw from your life.

If he knew, you might not be able to stay with him anymore. You think about the past memories, may not be able to accept it. You must have been scarred at that time.

"Hey!" Dynamight shouted loudly from behind.

"The hell?" You turned around to look.

"Listen to me! If you are afraid of something, you must tell me! Don't hide it from me! Do you know? Idiot! I will protect you!" Dynamight suddenly declared to you.

"In what capacity do you protect me?" You approached and stood in front of him.

"You know." Dynamight holding your hand..

"I want to rest." You leaned against his chest and closed your eyes.

"You are special to me. You can come to me anytime you want. You know it." Dynamight stroked your hair.

"Will you be my exclusive hero?" You whispered.

"Hahaha, do you hope?" Dynamight put his arm around your waist.

Why is he so gentle? Really love this moment. He is completely yours at this moment. You are very happy that no matter what, he will always be your support.

"I hope so." You smiled.

With him by your side, you tell yourself must retrieve your past memories. Even if you can't bear to look back, no matter how scared you are. Trust him no matter what, he will definitely protect you.

Part 12 end.

*If you have any ideas, you can leave them in the comment section, and I will try to add in the story.*

[umgeorge]

george russell during the press conference, qatar - october 5, 2023 (transcription under the cut)

Interviewer: "George, coming to you now, so more padel here. I feel I have to start almost every conversation with a padel conversation, 'cause it's what seems to be going on when you arrive at a new racetrack." George: "Yeah, I think golf is out the window for most of the drivers now. It's into padel. No, it's such a great sport, and it's good to get together and have a bit of a game before the race." Interviewer: "Now, I've just spoken about Pierre Gasly's frustrations after the race in Japan. You struck me as a frustrated figure, as well. Having debriefed with the team and spoken to Toto Wolff, how do you reflect on that race?" George: "Yeah, I think there's not really much more to say, to be honest. We was on different strategies. Obviously when you're in the car and, as I said, straight away, emotions are running high. It's a long race, physical race, trying to make the one stop work, but at the end of the day we were on different strategies. And I can circle back to Miami this year, when the roles were reveresed and we were on different strategies, and the team came in to say let's not hold one another up, so yeah, nothing more to say from my side." Interviewer: "And were you happy to be on that one stop strategy?" George: "Yeah, because I think we would have finished P7, regardless, even if we was on the two stop. It gave us a small oportunity to get a much bigger result, but we knew it was definitely a long shot, but I think in the position we are at the moment, in a race like that, we've got to roll the dice and there was nothing gained, nothing lost." Interviewer: "Okay. And this racetrack's got lots of fast corners, similar to Suzuka, so do you think you're gonna have to roll the dice again this weeknd?" George: "I think the sprint race mixes things up a little bit, but for sure McLaren are gonna be really quick here, I think, as we saw in Suzuka. Obviously Max is, as always, week in, week out, so that will be a challenge. Our fight is with Ferrari, at the moment. P2 in the team's championship is our goal to achieve, so that's what we're chasing." Interviewer: "Twenty points, the difference between you and Ferrari. How intense is it? How predictable is it?" George: "Yeah, I think it's gonna be close towards the end of the season. I think there's been a lot of missed opportunities on my side this season, so we should have had that sewn up already, but I'm confident we can secure that while still, on the journey, putting a huge amount of emphasis on next year's car, because P2 is obviously very important, but making sure we hit the ground running next season is the most important." [time jump] Journalist: "David Croft, Sky Sports F1. It's a question to all of you, because you've all got views on this, I'm sure. As drivers, congratulations, you've made it into Formula 1. Liam, we hope you're gonna be around for a long time to come, even after Daniel gets his seat back. But there's the possibility of an eleventh team; the FIA have approved Andretti Racing, but there's a lot of hoops to go through. But, as drivers, do you want to see an eleventh team on the grid? Would it be better for you, in terms of racing against more drivers, and would it help drivers like yourself, Liam, who might be struggling to get into Formula 1 because the seats just aren't there at the moment?" George: "Formula 1's the pinnacle and we wanna see quality competition, so I'm not for, I'm not against, but definitely if there were to be an extra team, it's gotta be a quality outfit, one that can add to the sport, and we wanna see competition. In an ideal world you wanna see all ten teams fighting against one another, so I'm sure F1 will come to the best conclusion and answer, whatever it may be, but it's just we've got to have quality over quantity. But, as I said, I don't feel strongly."

[saint-amand]

Hi!! I love your artwork, your comics look really polished and professional! I was wondering if you had any inspirations/favorite mangaka or comic artists, or if you had any tips for starting on making comics ^^

Thank you so much!

To be honest... I have not actively kept up with manga for a long time (I really should for someone drawing one), although I'm exposed to a bit of the doujinshi community in general just by way of social media. I would say the look I've arrived at stems from having drawn comics for years and so having those opportunities to experiment with different ways of doing things.

The #漫画が読める��ッシュタグ tag on Twitter is a fun trove of seeing what's out there and some professionals also use it to plug upcoming publications by posting the first chapter (it's heavily used though so you might need to wade through a lot). Also recommend finding manga anthologies or magazines because it's a good way to compare a lot of artists in a small space!

As for tips on starting... I feel I can say a lot of things but it depends what kind of detail and what topics!! (I wanted to start a blog on this before but the idea dropped off because I didn't have a lot of time to write) Anyway I'll rattle off about some key points:

Deciding technical details Figure out what your intended specs are -- are you publishing digitally or do you want to print it? Both? Or digitally for now with possibility of printing in the far future? So then what size? Is it in pages or long webtoon format? What DPI will you draw in? Colour or B&W?

Storytelling and panelling Assuming you already have a story in mind and have written some kind of script, you then need to figure out how you're going to tell and pace it, and how you're going to lay it out on a page. I start with going over the script and splitting them into pages, cutting them at points that seem to make sense to be a good stop. And then I split the lines into panels. Now you know how many panels there are going to be per page*, you can begin storyboading (infamously the hardest part of comics). *But at the same time, you might only get a better sense of this once you've had more experience laying out pages. It's a huge spectrum. Depending on the tone of your story, if it's slow, loose, emotional and fluffy, there tends to be less panels on a page. More active and actiony, or if you just need to get through a lot and want to keep the scene going without lingering too long you would have more panels. Some manga average at like 3-6 panels per page whereas some people with higher density go for 5-8... And some people can fit up to 10 depending on the type of scene. It's all up to you! It's not a hard rule though obviously and it can create a lot of impact to mix it around. For example it's really impactful if you typically have 7 panels and suddenly something major happens and there's only 2 panels on the next page. Likewise you can create a sense of franticness or comedy if it's a slow moving story with 3 panels and suddenly there's 8 on the next page. Not to mention there are then a gazillion ways you can shape the panels on the page, and then compose the speech balloons and shots in them. Maybe you already have an image of mind of 1 shot and need to figure out everything around it. I recommend analysing at what other comic artists do for reference! Take your time because this is the most thinking-intensive part of the entire process. It's kind of a problem or puzzle-solving exercise though and it's satisfying once you arrive at your solution for that page.

Drawing style Since you're going to be drawing multiple pages, you need to decide how you want it to look so that it's consistent. There are an unlimited number of combinations, but just keep in mind the more detailed the style and the more drawing steps there are is the longer it takes to complete a page -- it's a balance of quantity vs quality. In the end you want to tell a story but you don't want to take 2 years drawing 30 pages. Some questions to ask yourself: - How detailed is the lineart? How detailed is everyone's clothes keeping in mind that you then need to draw it every panel and every page? - How do you shade it? Not at all? Flats or with some gradients? Screentones or nah? (PS: I only really do screentones because I'm genuinely prepping for print and I like the texture, but beware it doesn't show up great digitally) - Overall black and white balance of a page and how much you do your black fills/shadows - (If it's manga) How do you deal with black hair? (I'm so serious there are so many ways to do this if you have black hair characters) - Do you draw the backgrounds? Or process photos? Or use 3D?

Typesetting Nothing ruins good art faster than shitty typesetting. I have a strong opinion about this but please hand draw/hand lasso your balloons rather than using ellipse tools. And make sure there is enough space between the letters and the edge of the balloons. Nate Piekos' Better Letterer tips is a GREAT resource for this and explains everything far better than I can -- I highly recommend this for everyone wanting to get into comics.

Anyway, in a nutshell, drawing comics is a series of decisions you have to make. Break it up in various stages because thinking about everything at once can be overwhelming!

Start small and don't burn yourself out. It can very much be an exercise in stamina and if you can maintain passion towards a project. In terms of the reality of it, the process can be hard and time-consuming with varying levels of reward and satisfaction at the end. Just remember you're also doing it for yourself though -- because you've been gripped by a great compulsion to tell a story :)

[fizzingwizard]

On Methods for Gauging Reader Interest, because it's not just about comments!

Initially, comments and kudos are what matter most to me. Hits only show how many people click, so when I post a new fic or a first chapter, there's no way to know whether people stick around till the end unless they leave kudos or comment.

For fics with multiple chapters/installments, hits begin to matter as kudos dry up. You can leave kudos on AO3 once per fic. The only way to show extra support to a writer afterward is to comment on each chapter. But a lot more people are going to read than are going to leave comments. If you start looking at hits and thinking of them as little kudos themselves, that's something. Of course some of those people are still clicking and leaving without reading to the end. But it's safe to assume that enough aren't, especially if you see a similar or increased count of new hits each time you update.

Don't overlook bookmarks! If someone's bookmarked or subscribed to your fic, count it in your head as kudos. And don't forget that on AO3 you can have private bookmarks which don't show in the public bookmark count. Check your stats and you might find your fic is bookmarked significantly more often than it appears to be. (Also check what your public bookmarks are because sometimes people leave mini reviews in them and it's such a sweet surprise!)

All fics lose interaction relative to when they were published after they haven't been updated for a while. So if you want to know whether anyone's reading your "old" fic (in quotes because I find fics are treated as old pretty much as soon as they're completed and off the first page of results!), but kudos are rare and comments are rarer still: look at hits. Indulge in that wiggle of joy you get when you see there are people reading. It's not silly to do that. That's a person who noticed your fic and was interested enough to open it.

While comments will always give the biggest serotonin boost for most of us, I think that a lot of the reason we don't feel the same towards hits is simply because they're not comments. We've programmed ourselves to see certain forms of interaction as more valuable. But if you think about it, fan art here on tumblr gets a lot more likes than it does reblogs or comments. Likes on tumblr can mean you liked the art, or you're bookmarking it for later, or even that you don't like it and are planning to rant about it. Plus people can revoke Likes any time they want, which you can't do with comments or kudos.

Likes are the bare minimum for interaction tumblr, and hits are the bare minimum for AO3. Art will still have more, because it's quicker to take in a picture than it is to read even a short fic, and easier to make a judgment on whether or not you enjoy it. But the value of that interaction isn't necessarily different if you equate likes to hits. In both cases, comments and shares occur less. Interaction is largely wordless - that's just how it is. But that lack of words doesn't mean lack of interest. You've got to arrange your mentality to interpret the coded message.

This may sound like a case for quantity over quality, but that's not my intention. I know as well as any fic writer how a joyful comment can power me through the whole of the next chapter, while posting and not getting any response for weeks can feel like I might as well give up and become an accountant. :P But it's completely out of our control. And it's better to focus on what you can control than what you can't.

"I don't get enough reader response" is a common refrain which I've heard since I posted my first ever fic as wide-eyed eleven-year-old. Over the years, I found that my reliance on comments dropped as I came to value other forms of engagement more highly, as I think they deserve to be. It doesn't mean I don't still adore my commenters, it just means I am more aware of my quiet readers and adoring them as well has done wonders for my confidence as a writer :)

[neeseeart]

My BooRai WIP stats

So. As of right now, the number of written BooRai fan works I've published is...... zero. I recently announced my angst fic I Can Stop The World, with another reveal planned in a few weeks, but I've yet to actually publish anything 😭

Last night I was backing up all my WIPs, and I decided to go through and reorganize everything. I moved everything into new folders and checked their word counts. I was a little surprised by the numbers to be honest. Especially when compared to this word count update from 5 months ago: [link]

I thought it would be fun to post my stats so you can see how much I've been working on, even though I haven't started posting yet.

As of last night:

Total number of Google docs: 34 Outlined fics: 21 (mostly longfics) Comic WIPs: 7 Completed fics: 1 (a one-shot I'm not ready to post yet 😭) Ideas yet to be fleshed out: 12 Total BR fanfic word count: 517,362 Words this week: about 25,000

ICSTW (main angst fic, post-canon):

196,871 words 6 docs

SSATSF (Modern AU, upcoming reveal):

125,474 words 3 docs

Folklore AU (started recently):

23,289 words 2 docs

Comics (text only)

80,795 words 7 docs

Reference docs (OC masterlist, headcanons, language dictionary, etc.)

9149 words 5 docs

Okay, pause real quick. The first BooRai fic I started writing is a fluff comic (briefly mentioned here) that I started in late 2022. It was my only project until the day I started writing ICSTW in June 2023. Then I exploded in ideas and here we are. So, if I exclude that first comic's word count of 36,190...

...Then the total word count of BooRai fanfic I've written in the past 7 months is 481,172 words. That's about 2217 words per day, and 15,522 words per week.

Now. This all just a bunch of numbers. Numbers don't mean the fics are any good. I value quality over quantity, so you can see why I haven't published anything yet. The ideas are all there! Tons and tons of dialogue is written. Detailed lore is laid out. Languages have been constructed! But the chapters themselves are not written. I don't write chronologically, and my stories are very elaborate. So even my main two fics, at 196k and 125k, are nowhere near complete. I haven't even finished fleshing out the early chapters 😭

You might be looking at this and thinking like.... "yeah bro you're not gonna finish most of those fics. It's not happening. You're gonna burn out." Mayhaps! I have a tendency to overdo things, and sometimes I overwhelm myself by making things bigger and more complicated than they need to be. But all in all, I like the way I create and I like having a few big projects and lots of tiny ones. I'm deeply invested in my major projects and I really do want to dedicate myself to publishing chapters in the next few months. But if I never finish them, that's okay too! The important thing is to enjoy making the thing... and I enjoy it immensely. Enough to write half a million words in 7 months, apparently

I've talked about my fic content to some irl people and they always respond with: "When the hell do you do all this? I literally never see you writing." In reality, yes they do. if you see me typing on my phone, I'm most likely writing. I kind of high-key spend 100% of my free time drawing and writing now. Which is a miracle after years of art block and creative sterility.

Another reason I wanted to share my numbers is that there are a lot of fellow AuDHD creators on this site, so there are bound to be at least a few of you who work just like I do. If you're one of those people, you probably know that it's easy to feel like the projects will never come to fruition. Don't lose heart!!! You have the strength to finish your projects at your own pace!!! And if you simply lack the will to finish, that's also okay! If you enjoy just writing down ideas without committing to a fully fleshed out work, that's a perfectly legitimate form of art and recreation. Godspeed my friends.

And as for the people who have been supporting my BR art and keeping track of my fic updates... You are the world and I am but a humble bean in service of your fancies. Thank you for your support. Here's a picture of me rereading my WIPs for the billionth time while y'all stand there and wait for me to start posting chapters:

(P.S. I have about 80 fic-related art WIPs on my tablet.)

(P.P.S. stay tuned for my fictional language dictionary!!)

[funkymbtifiction]

Hey Charity, I’m likely of the same type as your friend and they did a really good job of putting into words what it’s like to be one. The part on not sharing =/= not trusting the other person was particularly exquisite. I’ve never really thought about such matters myself, but it seems to be an important point for people to understand in general, for the sake of everyone’s collective sanity.

The misconception of not sharing = no trust is understandable because it seems logical but like your friend mentioned, is far too simplistic and fails to take into consideration that there are other factors completely unrelated to the other person. Basically there is some correlation between trust and sharing but it’s pretty weak. For the part on loneliness…I see it as more of something that may happen in future as a result of my current trajectory. It does worry me a little at times, though it’s rare, because a combination of factors is typically required for it to rear its head, and one of it is having too much time on my hands (between jobs).

I recall on perhaps two occasions thinking about the people I currently have in my life and evaluating in terms of quality and quantity of friendships. Essentially, I would try to figure out the answer to the question of whether or not we would still be friends many years later. I think of it as lower NiFe coming out to warn me but also screw with me a little lol. Aux Se quickly takes over though, and I get back into my usual routine of forgetting the matter easily and reminding myself that whatever analysis I was trying to do is quite a waste of time, given that 1) relationships change throughout life, with my ex-colleague-turned-good-friend being the best proof of that (ie. the present isn’t a restriction on the future) and 2) it’s not like I’m going to do anything about it - either I make friends in my next job, or I don’t. I’m not currently willing to do anything beyond that.

That said, my experience might be slightly different because I went through some unpleasant times and ended up alienating people, so that could be a contributing factor. And growing up, I saw my istj dad put up with this one friend whom I always wondered why he put up with, until it struck me that he was my dad’s only friend. I told myself to not end up like that. My dad’s great, but he’s also the stoic istj type…so, you know. That said, I roughly have an idea of how I come off to people.

I’m sure not one of them suspects I’ve ever contemplated loneliness. I think they are happy that we keep in touch at all lol. I can imagine 9s being slightly bothered by loneliness - or just anything really - at times but true to being 9s, are unlikely to mention it, ever. The last part on choosing the meal place is quite funny lol. I’m mostly the same way - the idea is that I genuinely have no preference, so it would make more sense for the other person to choose. That said, if the other person insists that they are the same way, and refuses to choose, I will take it at face-value. I think many people will relate to the next part - if someone swears they are fine with anything and turns out to not be, that will annoy me for sure. Because I genuinely am, and you my friend - are not. All you had to do was accept my offer and save us the trouble of going through this unnecessary process. Fortunately, I’ve never really encountered this. Because I double, triple-check and inevitably sometimes the other party goes, “Actually…”.

For people who don’t experience this - let me try my hand at a clarification. You might be thinking that it’s impossible to not have preferences at all, and you’d be right. It would suggest that every of our meals is selected completely at random, which can’t be true. The issue here is the relative strength of the preference. Of all the eateries in the mall, I definitely do have some I frequent more and some I seldom order from. But to me, the point of hanging out with someone else is to have a good time. Cue the ‘weighing’ game. If we pick the eatery I like the least in the mall, how much would it negatively impact my experience? Honestly, barely.

For me, a good time involves just two things: 1) either a good (not forced) conversation or doing an activity we both enjoy and 2) the other person is having a good time. The underlying assumption here is that the strength of my preferences is so weak that it can’t affect my enjoyment, but this may not be true of others. To maximize the nett enjoyment level the best option would be to have the other person pick the place. If this person is like me and on top of that has a personality where being forced to choose just visibly stresses them out, I’ll do it - again, nett enjoyment level.

Fun fact - I think none of my friends are like this. I think every single one has either mentioned a craving, had a recommendation, or something along those lines. That said I’m also the cave-dweller type who doesn’t explore and cannot remember places anyway, so they generally don’t count on me lol. And lastly, sometimes if a friend who usually chooses wants me to do it, I’ll pick something I know they probably like and I’m perfectly fine with. kcuniquesummer and all other high-energy types: the line between care/concern/enthusiasm and pushiness is sometimes almost nonexistent when you’re already toeing it. If the 9 is not a high-Se type, it’s even worse. Calm down and reign it in. If you can’t do that, learn to become good at observing so that you know where the limits are.

[duhragonball]

Dream 9 Toriko x One Piece x Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special !! (2013)

Okay, let me start with a disclaimer: I know nothing about Toriko and extremely little about One Piece.  No disrespect to One-Piece, but I didn’t like this special very much, because it’s basically crammed full of characters I don’t know, and the ones I do know don’t get a lot of screen time. 

So I wasn’t particularly excited to cover this one, and now that I’ve watched it, I can’t say it was a particularly great introduction to Toriko or One Piece.  All I really got out of this were a few good screenshots of DBZ guys. 

I’ve heard good things about One Piece, and I might check it out one of these decades, but I’ve also heard it’s over a thousand chapters long, and still going, so I might be dead of old age by the time I’m ready to try it.  And I have zero interest in Toriko at all.  For years, I kept having trouble remembering who the third guy was in this thing, and for some reason I kept thinking it was Bleach. 

So this is a good old fashioned crossover, like Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.  Well, actually, all three properties are under the Toei banner, so this is more like an intra-company crossover event, like when the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men get together to do stuff.  Or Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.  Basically, in 2013, these were Toei’s “Big Three”, and they wanted to do a cross-promotion. 

I never quite understood how DBZ got roped into this.  There had been a Toriko/One-Piece crossover before this, but this one aired the week after Battle of Gods first premiered in Japan.  So there was a coordinated effort to promote the movie along with the two TV series. 

Personally, I have trouble buying into Toriko as one of the “Big Three”.  This feels more like Superman and Batman hanging out with Captain Atom or something.  And Captain Atom is like “Hey guys!  It sure is historic that we’re all teaming up like this.  The three greatest superheroes!” And Superman and Batman have to try not to roll their eyes at him.  I’m not saying this to bash Toriko or Captain Atom, but they’re not on that level and they know it.  I feel like I’ve heard One-Piece has already surpassed Dragon Ball on a number of popularity metrics, and while I find that hard to accept, I believe it, because I hear about it all the time.  They made the theme song Krillin’s ringtone in  Resurrection F.  Every time I hear about Toriko, it’s always this special, where he teams up with two much bigger franchises.

To be fair, Toriko had a much shorter run than the other two.  The anime ended in 2014, and the manga wrapped up in 2016.  So maybe it just had a smaller pop culture impact. 

But I think it might have something to do with the author’s history as a sex offender.  In 2002, Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro was arrested and convicted for violating child prostitution laws.  He was sentenced to two years in prison, but for some reason the sentence was suspended.  So if it sounds like I’m not showing the proper respect to the Toriko franchise... this might have something to do with it. 

Okay, so this crossover is organized into two episodes.  The first part is Toriko Episode 99.  The conclusion is in One Piece Episode 590. Apparently both of these are going to get an English dub when they air on Toonami March 4.  That’s like next week, but I don’t want to wait around for that, so here we are.

Here’s the skinny: All of these characters live in the same world now, apparently.  Just run with it.  The IGO has organized a special tournament, with the winner receiving the Carat-Sized Cattle, a delicacy so tasty and precious that... I don’t know.  I saw Goku eat a cloud once, so he seems like more of a “quantity over quality” kind of guy.  The Toriko characters are all about gourmet food, so I assume this is to keep them interested.  And I think Luffy is another hungry action guy in the tradition of Goku, so that’s enough to get him involved.

Anyway, the tournament is really more of a race.  A large crowd of people enter, but early into the event...

A giant antlion or something shows up and most of the contestants get lost in the sand.  Did they die?  Who knows.  All that matters are the characters who didn’t get slowed down by this, and they continue towards the goal.

Sigh... let’s go over the characters.  The Toriko side, from left to right is: Toriko, Sunny, Rin, and Koichi Hirose from Diamond is Unbreakable I mean Komatsu.  yeah, that’s definitely what I meant to say.  We never learn jack shit about Sunny and Rin, so I won’t have much to say about them.   Komatsu is some kind of chef, and Toriko’s sidekick.

I literally just finished watching this and I couldn’t tell you anything about these characters.  Okay, let me try a little harder. 

Luffy’s the stretchy guy with the hat.  He’s the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates. 

Nami’s like the team’s resident woman.  Like, if there’s a Pirate Crime that they can’t solve because the clues involve makeup, Nami will solve it for them, because she knows all about that stuff.  Also, she wants the Carat-Sized Cattle because its bones are made out of solid diamond, and she’s into money.

Sanji has a cigarette, so that’s kind of special, I guess.

Chopper looks like a deer or something.  Maybe an antelope.  I’m pretty sure he once teamed up with NJPW star Minoru Suzuki, so I guess he’s my favorite One Piece dude.

Franky’s a cyborg?  I guess?

Slash (aka Saul Hudson) was the lead guitarist for the hard rock band Guns ‘n’ Roses. 

Zoro is green and has a sword.  So he’s like their Piccolo, I think.

Finally we have... fuck, I have no idea who these assholes are.  Was Naruto in this thing too?  Dammit, I’m gonna be writing this all day. 

So there’s multiple paths in this race, so that allows the characters to split up and get their stuff in.  See, my problem with this whole premise is that these shonen franchises have a lot in common, and teaming them up like this really just exposes this flaw.  Most of the gags in this thing boil down to “Oh, you have  a horny guy on your show?  Well here’s the horny guy on our show!”  Like, I’m pretty sure the skeleton man has a little more to him than that, but we’re never gonna find out in an hour special featuring 45 characters. 

Also Vegeta shows up late, because no one even told him about this event, and he interrupts a showdown between Zoro and... Zebra, I think his name was.  They start fighting each other, which sounds like a cool little side-thing, but this is literally all it is.  The joke is that they’re fighting off-screen through the rest of the story.  So tough luck if any of these guys were your faves. 

Oh, hey, it’s King Kai.  And he’s not dead in this, which proves that the original theatrical cut of Battle of Gods didn’t have him dead!  The DVD release has halos on him and Bubbles, and I’ve known all along that Toei was gaslighting me, so this is my favorite part of this special.  Anyway, he calls Goku about a Space Crisis, so Goku just teleports away to deal with that other, probably cooler adventure.  Okay, so two things.

First, I really find it gratifying how they put over all the DBZ guys in this.  There’s some semblance of parity between Toriko and Luffy, but Goku’s clearly shown to be on another level.  They don’t even try to hide it.  He’ll knock out a second adventure while he’s slumming this one.  Goku doesn’t give a fuck.

Second, this is really, really annoying.  Just show me the cool thing Goku’s doing in space.  This little gag is basically admitting that the show would be a lot better if all these other characters would take a hike. 

So Goku makes it back just as the race is coming to an end, and he still manages to catch up to Toriko and Luffy, so they all grab the flag together and it’s a three-way tie.  But that just means we settle it with a tiebreaker....

So the IGO guy had prepared for something like this, and the stadium transforms into a combat sports arena.  The last man in the ring wins the beef.

Also, Mr. Satan fell onto the stage during the transformation sequence, so he’s in this thing too, even though he didn’t do the race part. 

So Goku works over the other two guys pretty well.  I like this fight, but let’s not kid ourselves, much of this is Toriko and Luffy double-teaming Goku.  They might have stood a chance that way, but then they turned on each other, and that borked it up. 

Anyway, they all cut loose with their full power (except Goku who never goes past Super Saiyan 1), and they destroy the ring, so all three of them lose.  Mr. Satan wins, because he managed to stay on the small piece of the stage that wasn’t destroyed. 

But Mr. Satan is a magnanimous guy, and the Carat-Sized Cattle is enormous, so he decides to share it with all three groups. 

So I think we’re into One Piece Episode 590 now.  Everyone sits at this big-ass table and eats and talks about how great the food is.  Cripes this is boring as hell.  Is this all Toriko does all day?

Aw, look at Marron, she’s so cute.

Toriko says some BS about how eating with friends improves the dining experience. Okay, but I had an omelet from Denny’s this morning and I ate it alone and it kicked ass.  Can I just say how absolutely goofy all these characters look when they’re in the same shot? 

Then Mr. Satan says the exact same thing Toriko did about the power of sharing or whatever.  Cripes this show is so damned redundant.  We have like eight guys in orange-red clothes, and four sex pests and this is just dumb. 

So then Piccolo and... two other people, confront the guy who organized the tournament, and they ask what the real purpose is to all of this.  He admits that it was all a plot to get a bunch of strong guys together to capture the Akami, a dangerous sea creature. 

I think the idea is that the Carat-Sized Cattle is so delicious that it lured the Akami up to the surface, where it then begins attacking all the superheroes.  Each time the Akami nabs somebody with its tentacles, it absorbs all their power and transforms.  Is this supposed to be a Toriko deal or a One-Piece deal?   Who cares?

So the gang splits up to find it, because the need to capture it in thirty minutes to cure its victims.  Unfortunately, it just gets stronger every time it nabs another one, and it even absorbs energy from attacks, so fighting it is pointless.

Toriko reasons that they’d have to hit it with a lot of energy all at once, so Goku proposes using the Spirit bomb, except that doesn’t work either, because the Akami sucks up the energy faster than Goku can gather it. 

So Goku asks everyone on the island to send him more energy, which... I don’t see how that changes the problem, but whatever.  The bigger issue I have is that we see a lot of characters sending energy even after they got drained by the Akami.  So what are they sending, exactly?

So Goku launches the Spirit Bomb, but the Akami manages to hold it off, so Toriko and Luffy hit it from the sides while Goku goes SSJ3 and fires a Kamehameha at the Spirit Bomb to force it down the Akami’s throat.  So that’s  a cool variation on the Spirit Bomb.  Nice touch. 

And that takes care of the Akami. 

So then they eat the Akami for dinner, because apparently it has legendarily tasty meat as well.  So wait... they had Carat-Sized Cattle and Akami on the same day.  Wouldn’t regular food just taste like poop after this?  Maybe I’m not supposed to overthink this gimmick.

Then we get these really long pans across still images, as the voice actors read their lines.  It’s really, really weak, and there’s like four of these in a row.  Is this standard for One Piece?   It just seems really cheap, especially for a big “event” episode like this one.  Maybe they blew all their budget on that SSJ3 Kamehameha. 

Also, they just show the same footage of Vegeta fighting those other guys, so that’s another corner cut.  I mean, damn.  I’m just gonna re-use the screenshot I took from the first half in protest. 

And that’s it.  I kind of hope they never do one of these again.  Also, Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro belongs in jail. 

[redmeet]

I saw your post (s, because I know that this is unfortunately something you`ve had to deal with multiple times) about people asking if IBLBM is discontinued and what not, so I thought I would write from a different perspective.

sorry but this is going to be a bit long, with a little bit of broken English, but I hope this will be okay and that it will be somewhat coherent:))

reading a very good story like, IBLBM, its kinda like when you eat after a long time, without realizing how hungry you are, and then you just devoured everything. it is so good, and there is no good point to stop either. The flow of the story, the little incidents/moments and the major plot points are so amazing, with the writing/language itself being of the highest quality, it is so difficult to stop. people who stumble upon the fic after it is done is going to read it all within days I believe! at least that is how it is for me when I find a top tier fic.

which is why after a chapter ends, all you crave its more, however it has been soooo fucking good having these months long waits in-between chapter!!!!

i dont really read wip especially for longer fic, but I might have to reevaluate after you. I started reading top gun fanfics around Christmas I think, and "what up,..." was one of the first I read and then I immediately just clicked next over to IBLBM, and it was so good that top gun has now been mine main fandom since NYE.

having time between updates made it so that you have to step away from it and then instead of just focusing on the fic as a whole, really put the spotlight on each chapter. and instead of just consuming everything, you have to take your time with it, and that is when you really get to enjoy it.

I have send in an ask before, but im truly in awe of the transition between each chapter, the flow that is good throughout this work is a masterpiece, I actually can't believe that your are writing this as you upload, amazing.

having the the 2-3 months made it so that rather then having a good ass meal when you are hungry, which is also good ngl, its more of an experience, a 10 course FEAST, where the days leading up to it you are just so excited, cause even if you dont know the menu, you just know its about to amazing, where its just like the moment in ratatouille where the rat eats the cheese and strawberry at the same time, a literary symphony ahaha. especially since you kept on FEEDING US WITH THESE 20-30 K WORDS CHAPTERS????!!! absolute mad, also especially since I just can't with these 30k words 30 chapters fic, that just not for me.

it made me really appreciate things I would have missed if I just read it when it was finished, and that I did missed the first time I read it, it has been so good rereading the fic between chapter uploades, after some time, to really get to know the characters through your eyes as well.

I can only imagine how demotivating it is to get request to upload the next chapter as soon as possible, but if it is one thing I have come to realized after keeping up with IBLBM these last months is that you only need to listen to your own gut about uploading of the next chapter, because you really know your shit!!

when it comes to what you have written so far the wait have truly always been worth it and never been too long cause everything you have produced have been of both such quality and quantity that its been a real treat I just can't get enough of.

I really hope that you will continue writing after IBLBM is finished, cause you truly have in my eyes a real talent for this, and if I can continue to read something you have written, a couple of times a year or so, it is truly a dream come true!!! but I also hope you take a much deserved break!

with how much you have actually written, while having a full-time job??? that is not writing this fic??? it is amazing that it is only 2 months between uploads!!!!!! when its finished IBLBM is going to be longer than most books, that a lot of authors, that only write, spends a lot more time on than you did (and did not produce the quality you did).

anyways, what this rant was really about is that I really enjoy your works and fuck the people who get greedy and can't wait for the masterpiece, art take however long it take!!! you will always have people willing to read what you write no matter how long it takes, cause it is really that good!!

lots of love during this finale bit of the race:))

beloved you’ve absolutely rendered me speechless with your kindness! like genuinely this ask just made my week. I feel so grateful and privileged that you chose to read my little WIP at all, let alone enjoyed it enough to reread chapters… thank you 🫶🏻 I am beaming so much love your way!

[gargrizzled]

Fic Writing Review 2023

Got tagged by @suplexkitty99 awhile back and finally have the time to do it! Posting it on this blog because it's all been wrasslin fics this year.

Stats And Fics

48,659 words written

3 new fics written; 4 chapters of 1 preexisting fic written

35 Kudos

8 Bookmarks

Top 3 By Kudos

And We Leave It All Behind (13)

Blood Brothers (11)

Devil You Think You Know (6)

Top 3 By Bookmarks

Blood Brothers (4)

And We Leave It All Behind (2)

Feliz Navi-Dead & Devil You Think You Know (1)

Reflections

I feel a touch embarrassed at my fic count if I'm being honest. How are the rest of ya'll freakin writing machines?? Show me your magic

I noticed a pattern this year of me taking on time-constraint challenges. I deadlined myself to finish Feliz Navi-dead by Christmas and had started work on it mid-late November; Devil You Think You Know was written in a week; and if I remember correctly, And We Leave It All Behind was finished in a mind-boggling three days!

Blood Brothers continues to be my labor of love this year, prioritizing quality over quantity, and while 4 chapters doesn't feel like much progress in the grand scheme of things I've felt like what little I've put out have been the best versions I can make them.

I would also like to state that, for the record, my fic and word count would be just a smidge higher this year because I've been working on a secret fic, with 6 chapters planned and 4 already complete!! But the challenge with that one is to actually complete it before I publish it, so as to commit to a weekly posting schedule.

"And that's not a bad thing - that's a good thing!"

😉

Upcoming Projects/Resolutions

More Blood Brothers. In an ideal world I'd like to get as close to the end as possible in 2024, if not complete it, but I won't make any concrete promises. Just know that's it's at the top of my list and I'd love to go as far as possible with it in the next year.

I'd like to finish and post that secret fic I mentioned up there soon. All I will tease of it is that it's some off-the-wall crack-a-licious stuff and while the subject matter is out of my comfort zone, it might be more within a lot of ya'lls wheelhouse. Maybe. We'll see. But I'm having fun with it, and I think you will too!

I have a few non-wrasslin fics in mind. There were one or two drafts leftover from my brief Pokémon Sun/Moon fixation that I wouldn't mind revising. I also had an idea for a Ghost of Tsushima fic I hatched during my month-long obsession with that.

I also have a personal resolution to make more substantial progress with my original fantasy work this year. So if I do ever take a hiatus from Fandom activity - it's safe to assume I'm working on that, instead.

[firesofdainix]

12, 18, and 19!

AO3 Wrapped!

12. How many WIP's do you have in your docs for next year?

Assuming that I can post... two wips the next two Fridays, i'd say four? five? I have a multichapter wallylinda fic I might post in February, a new connorkyle fic, my Perseus retelling, and the prophecy of Paris' dooming the fate of Troy. basically, a lot, but as I said I've been prioritizing quality over quantity.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

These aren't in order: Wally, Connor, Odysseus, Penelope, Diomedes, and Clytemnestra. I had to reread volume 2 of the Flash because I felt like my voice for Wally isn't right, especially since he's noisier in his head, playing more into that strange self-loathing and quizzical way he views himself and the world. Connor gives me the opposite problem, where I don't know how to tack onto his kind personality without the fear of making him act like a wallflower. He can be assertive when he needs to, after all.

Odysseus and Penelope are the world's worst and smartest couple and they're one of the cleverest people in the epic cycle. Their mindset is definitely something interesting to explore, especially Odysseus, with his colder, rationalized way of thinking except when it comes to his family. Then Diomedes is the opposite of Odysseus, where Odysseus feels, especially his family's needs, Diomedes is the caricature of a disciplined soldier and general, and because not only is he underutilized in literary retellings, but also in the Iliad... well, it's hard to give him a more distinguished personality. Clytemnestra is... how do I say it? She's cool, blood for blood, but underneath the glory of seeing her kill her husband, there's just... vindication. I want to make her justifiably angry, but I'm still experimenting with unreliable narrators.

19. What's one pairing you want to explore next year?

I am SO going to flood the wallylinda tags. also the connorkyle ones. If I have enough time I'll probably think about writing an orestes and pylades fic.

[steveskafte]

LIKED IT OR NOT "How do you write so often?" is a common question I get, online and in person. It's an honest enough query, but it's built on a misunderstanding of creativity that we're taught early on. I believe that writing, like all forms of artistic expression, is not the product of some random lightning bolt of inspiration – rather, it's just a predictable, repeatable exercise. Quality may vary, but quantity is completely within the writer's control. One of my favourite songwriters, a man named Jonathan Byrd, said it best: "Some days, I write so much that I can't fit it all in the wastepaper basket." That's always been my approach. Taking the mess of constant thoughts in my mind, and arranging them in text with no concern for their final value. Do I want to write something worth reading? Absolutely. Do I hate it when writers ask and answer their own questions? You bet. I don't believe in writer's block, not for a second. That's a product of fear, worry over what someone might think constitutes your failure in getting it across. Just write some crap if you have to. Who's it gonna hurt? I shake off the fear by knowing that I can always do better next time. Two-thirds of everything I write isn't meant to be read again anyhow, never reposted or printed in a book. It's shared the once, then left to dissipate into the wider realms of the internet. Maybe I'll stumble over it again and decide that it has value. Most likely it'll fade to some permanent obscurity, and the week that it was born will be the only time it has. The worst case scenario isn't audience derision or cruel critique, it's just the curse of going unread – and that's something the blessing of tomorrow can always undo. I follow momentum most of all. Stopping cold is worse in every way than failure. There's an important lesson I learned in my years as a busker, writing live poems on the street. People were waiting, and I was working in ink, so there was no option to opt out of a final product. That poem was getting finished, I was getting paid, and they were walking away with it whether I liked it or not. The lesson was letting go, and it's one most writers never learn. To have something taken from you is a reminder that you work primarily for others. Even though my daily journal offers a little more time to think, and briefly edit before an endpoint, it's still out of my control at a deadline. I write between 10:30 and midnight, so I'm done before one day rolls over to the next. Every evening, I'm reminded that words are only an escape route for thoughts. The gift they give is a break from getting trapped in thinking, but it isn't complete until they're given away. November 9, 2023 Moschelle, Nova Scotia Year 16, Day 5842 of my daily journal.