#i’ll check my archive at some point. maybe

[whitmore]

just started reading stargirl: lost children n it’s cute i also like the references. i get very uncertain when media is very self-referential or dependent on understanding niche jokes in order to derive enjoyment from it but it feels more subtle here and more as a side than an entree if that makes sense. also the art is stunning

[chlobliviate]

Wolfstar Microfics - Soulmates

Words: 824

@wolfstarmicrofic

***

It was a truth universally acknowledged by the sixth years that Sirius Black had a secret.

Until his seventeenth birthday, he would take any opportunity to strip down to his pants, or even less. But that suddenly changed. He'd even stopped getting changed in the dormitory, taking his clothes into the bathroom to dress each morning and evening.

Marlene was convinced he’d gotten a tattoo he was embarrassed about. Remus and James were more concerned about spell damage from his family. Sirius point blank refused to discuss it with any of them, and after a month, they eventually stopped pushing the matter.

On Lily’s birthday, something happened that made Remus panic more than the possibility of spell damage littering Sirius’ skin. He was finishing up prefect rounds when he heard a sniffle from the cosy alcove in the library. He poked his head around the corner and was startled to see Lily wiping her eyes furiously.

He was by her side in a second, “What happened?” She shook her head. “Lils. Is it Snape? Did he—“

“No, it’s not— it’s not that.” She sniffed, “Something appeared on my skin today and I have a feeling that I know what it means but…”

“A soul mark?”

“I think so. It’s on my fucking collarbone. At least Sirius’ is on his—“ She covered her mouth quickly. “Shit, you didn’t hear that.”

“Sirius has a soul mark? Fuck. That’s why he stopped getting his kit off twice a week?” Remus stared at her collarbone as if he expected to be able to see it through her robes. “Wait. He showed you?”

She shook her head, “I saw it by accident. Someone gave him the password to the prefects' bathroom.” She said pointedly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Remus said with a smirk. “So, on your collarbone? Can I see?”

She sighed, undid the top couple of buttons on her shirt, and slid it aside, pushing her robes back. On her collarbone, several fine lines made up a pair of delicate antlers.

Remus pressed his lips together. “Remus Lupin, don’t you dare laugh at me.” She glared at him. “It’s ’Prongs’, right? That’s what Prongs means?”

He nodded, “Yeah. His patronus is a stag.”

“You all think everyone is so stupid and oblivious, I swear. There was a whole month last year where those three idiots claimed to have a lisp as a result of a potion gone wrong. You could very clearly see the mandrake leaf under their tongues the whole time. They’re unregistered animagi.” She did up her buttons slowly. “I’m guessing Pete is some kind of rodent and Sirius is a gross, mangy, little dog.”

“Who else knows?” Remus had frozen. “They were so sure that they wouldn’t be found out. Idiots.”

“Nobody that I know of. I wasn’t about to tell anyone, I figured it related to the moons.” She smiled at him. “Honestly, the day I figured it out was the day I thought ‘Huh, maybe Potter isn’t a complete tosser’. But if you tell him I said that, I’ll hex you so hard.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

“And yours with me, always.” She sighed again, “James’ birthday is in March, right?”

“Yeah, a couple of weeks after mine. Are you going to tell him?”

She hummed thoughtfully, “It’d probably be funnier to wake up and let him see it himself. But that means covering myself up for two months. I don’t want to get all obsessive and weird about it like Sirius.”

“Is it bad? Sirius’ mark?”

“I— It wouldn’t be fair to tell you about it.” Lily touched his shoulder gently. “He’ll tell you all when he’s ready.”

“Yeah, I hope you’re right.” He stood up. “Anyway, I believe there’s a bottle of Firewhiskey or two waiting back in our dorm. Marlene will be getting antsy.”

***

On Remus’ birthday, he awoke at 7:37 am to a very peculiar tingling sensation on his left bum cheek. He rushed to the bathroom, not checking to see if anyone else was awake yet. He twisted around, pulling down his boxers on one side, trying to look in the mirror, but it was too high. He tried twisting around again.

“It’s stars.” A quiet voice said from behind him. “Canis Major.”

Remus looked up into the mirror and made eye contact with Sirius, who lingered in the doorway. “And yours?”

“The moon phases.” He shrugged, lowering his pyjama bottoms slightly as if he hadn’t been shielding his body from scrutiny for almost six months.

Remus took a step toward Sirius, not taking his eyes off the nine small circles, but before he could say anything, James burst in, took in the scene of his two friends admiring one another’s arses, and quickly retreated.

“Pete, do not go in there!” They heard him shout from under his pillow.

Sirius started to chuckle as a smile tugged at Remus’ lips “Happy Birthday, Moons.”

[author’s note: idk if it’s because I’m currently on day 8 of a covid infection (send help) but the image of Remus trying to see his bum in the mirror and essentially chasing his tail like a dog has me laughing, coughing and wheezing so hard.]

[cdelphiki]

Searching felt like it was taking forever. 

Jason sat next to Dick as he and Bruce poured over surveillance footage, trying to create a trail from Jason’s apartment to wherever they had taken Damian. 

It was hell. Jason kept checking his phone for a text from… he wasn’t even sure. Clark, maybe. Or Athanasia. 

Although he wasn’t even sure if she had the other cell phone with her… 

Lois, maybe. He shot off a text to her asking, “any news on Mara?” then looked back over at Dick, his leg bouncing. 

“What if we don’t find him,” Jason asked, “What are we gonna do?” 

“We’ll find him,” Dick said soothingly, “That’s not even an option, Jase.” 

“But what if,” Jason pressed. What was going to happen to Damian?

The League was fucking hell. And, and. Damian would lose all trust in him… If. If he had any trust to begin with.

[[The entire rest of the chapter is below the cut, due to the AO3 maintenance starting tonight so folks can read it during the blackout.]]

Damian trusted him, right? He stayed in the apartment and did what Jason told him to do. And. He gave his stupid cat to Jason when Jason made him, so the girls could sleep without the cat jumping on them, even though he kept thinking Jason would hurt the cat, or whatever. 

“Jason,” Dick said, “We will find him. If we don’t find him today, we’ll keep looking tomorrow, and the next day, and every day until we do. So don’t even consider won’t.” 

“Ugh,” Jason sighed. He leaned forward in his seat and steepled his hands. “I promised him he’d never go back.” And now he was there. 

He was fucking there. 

“We can’t control everything that happens,” Bruce said, “The important thing—” 

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Jason snapped. He needed need Bruce’s stupid advice or whatever he thought he was doing.

What he needed was for them to find Damian.

“We will get him back, Jason,” Bruce said, even though Jason wasn’t talking to him, “Ra’s has never been able to hide from me for long. We’ll find him.” 

Oh yeah, sure. Then how did Bruce explain Ra’s and Talia hiding two children from Bruce, hm?

Jason supposed that right there was proof Bruce didn’t fucking care about his own biological children. 

“Dick,” Jason said pointedly, refusing to look over at Bruce, who was on the other side of Dick, “Want to spar?”

“Spar?” Dick asked skeptically, “What for?” 

Stretching his legs out, Jason scowled and said, “I need to get used to these damned tights. Mr. Ra’s-has-never-hid-anything-from-me can deal with this for a little while. Come on, afraid I’ll beat you?”

“You, my little baby brother, beat me? Now you’re just dreaming,” Dick said with a giant grin. He got to his feet and motioned with his head toward the training mats. 

All Jason did was smirk in return. 

HIs phone buzzed with a text, so he looked down as they walked and read Lois’s reply. 

‘She’s still in surgery, I have not heard anything further. No news is good news at this point.’ 

Nodding, Jason shot back, ‘Thanks. Do you know how Attie is dealing?’ then set his phone down on a table near the training mats. Hopefully Attie was doing fine. Or… at least not crying her eyeballs out and not letting the Kents comfort her. 

However she was dealing, Jason couldn’t really do anything to help that. 

“I’ll go easy on you,” Dick said, still grinning. 

Sparring was, quite frankly, the best damn thing to do. 

Jason… Jason hadn’t been doing any sort of training for a couple months at that point.

And while, yeah, he’d been doing physical labor, and he did some stretching and such, he hadn’t been training since they got to Metropolis. 

Thankfully it hadn’t been too terribly long. What? Like…. Two months? Sixty days? Since they landed in the US? Because they definitely did enough physical exertion before while trekking across the entire damn world. 

Plus he fought with the assassins a few weeks back. So.

It wasn't like he was weak, but his muscles did feel a little achey as he started really moving them. 

Dick of course kept showing off all his acrobatic moves, but Jason wasn’t exactly clunky in his own movements. 

Several minutes into them exchanging blows, but not really landing anything on each other, Dick pulled out his escrima sticks. 

“No fair,” Jason panted, as he stepped back out of Dick’s range, “I don’t have any sticks.” 

“Do you want some?” Dick asked, stopping abruptly and standing up straight. 

Jason fall out of his own protective stance and contemplated it for a moment. 

He would be going up against assassins, most likely. Who had, like, swords. And Jason’s sword got abandoned in Kabul, so he didn’t have that. So. It was probably a good idea? He had his guns, of course. And guns were great, until he was in close range… 

Then he needed a way to deflect swords being swung at his neck. He could fill someone up full of lead, but if they managed to get one single swing on him, it was all over. 

“Yeah, that would be good,” he finally said. 

Dick took him into the weapons vault, as he always called it as a kid. In reality it was just an elaborate little nook in the cave with lots of neat things hung up on the wall. 

“I had such a nice sword in the League,” Jason lamented, as he start picking up different sticks, feeling the weight in his hands. 

Some of them were downright light, and it was a little unnerving. His sword had some heft to it, and Jason liked that. 

“So were you, like, a member of the League of Assassins,” Dick asked slowly. 

Jason rolled his eyes. He set the bo staff he’d been holding and picked up the next one as he said, “Not like you’re thinking. Talia was just getting me training.” 

Sure, he did some missions and stuff…. But yeah. He wasn’t, like, one of the assassins. 

Also it was none of Dick’s business. 

“Ooh this one,” Jason said, before Dick had even figured out how to respond to him. Jason had picked up a collapsible bo staff that could be split in half to be escrima sticks. They weren’t too heavy, but they weren’t light as feathers, either. The only thing they were missing was tasers. Dick’s had tasers. 

“Come show me your skills,” Dick said, and Jason could only grin in response. 

They sparred for a good half hour, and honestly it was the best damn thing. Jason felt so loose when he finally knocked Dick off his feet. 

Dick rolled onto his feet, but he did not stand back up. Instead, he stayed down and caught his breath.

“I learned from the League’s best,” Jason said, as he collapsed his staff and tried to find a good spot to store it on his body. 

“Apparently,” Dick panted. He reached over to where one os his sticks had landed, then looked up when Jason held a hand down to help him to his feet. “I went easy on you, though.” 

“No you didn’t, shut up,” Jason said. He walked back over to where his phone was and checked to see if Lois had replied. 

“Everyone knows you have to let the little kid win,” Dick said. He clapped Jason on the back. 

“Shut up,” Jason repeated. He opened Lois’s latest texts and read through them. 

‘Martha said Attie isn’t speaking, but she’s doing fine. They’re making ice cream right now, and she seems to be enjoying it.’

‘Mara just got out of surgery. Doctor said everything went well, they fixed the bleeding and stitched her up. They’ll hold her at least overnight, possibly for a couple days depending on how she’s doing tomorrow.’ 

“Mara’s out of surgery,” Jason said, as he started shooting back his thanks to Lois. He asked her if they knew when Mara would wake up.

He’d like to be there for that… but Mara understood, if he wasn’t. 

Probably. 

“How is she doing?” Dick asked. 

“They might discharge her in the morning, so good I guess.” 

Bruce walked over into the training area, Jason could tell because he was allowing his boots to squeak against the floor. 

Which was annoying, but at least he wasn’t sneaking up on him. 

Jason wasn’t turning around to look at him, though. 

‘If Mara wants I’ll talk to her on the phone when she wakes up, if I’m not able to get out there,’ Jason texted to Lois. 

“Jason, Dick,” Bruce said, when neither of them gave him immediate attention. 

Asshole.

“I found him.” 

Jason whirled around and demanded, “Where is he?” 

Bruce twitched, but he motioned with his head for them to follow him back out into the main cave. 

And Jason eagerly followed. 

Back at the computer, Jason stood behind Bruce as he sat and started pulling up all the research he had. Up on screen already was a flight tracker, with one flight highlighted that was just east of Greenland, presently. On another screen was a security footage video, paused. Jason couldn’t really tell what was going on with it, but it looked like it was footage from an airport.

“He’s on a plane?” Jason asked. If they got on their plane that moment, maybe Damian would only have to spend a couple hours with Ra’s, at most. 

Or, maybe they could intercept him before he even got to Ra’s.

Because Jason doubted heavily that Ra’s came to the United States to get Damian himself.

“Yes, but not one of the ones we were tracking,” Bruce said, as he pulled up flight logs, “It’s a private plane charted by a shell company. It took tracking through seven layers, but it does lead back to Ra’s.” 

Bruce hit play on the security footage, and Jason found himself leaning in. It wasn’t a long video, only about fifteen seconds, so Bruce had it on loop, and the quality was absolute shit. If it were a video on youtube, everyone would be asking if it was shot using a potato. 

But Bruce thought it had something to do with Damian, so Jason tried to take in each of the men on the screen. One of the men adjusted something as he stepped onto the staircase up to the small plane, and in the third loop, Jason finally saw the brief flash of a face against his shoulder. 

Almost like he was carrying a sleeping child…

“What the fuck did they give him,” Jason asked. Damian did not sleep deeply. Generally he’d stay asleep if Jason was very quiet, but more often than not Damian woke if Jason entered his room. And Jason was Jason. Someone he hoped Damian knew was safe to sleep around.

Random assassins he may or may not have ever met?

Nu uh, no way. He was drugged. 

“I have a few guesses based on Athanasia’s report it was an injected drug that caused almost instant unconsciousness,” Bruce said, “a few of those last several hours with one injection.” 

“Bastards,” Jason huffed, “If that kid was conscious, he’d be biting them all.” 

“Biting?” Dick asked, from where he’d come to stand next to Jason, behind Bruce. 

“Yeah. He bit me the first day I met him,” Jason said. And honestly, Jason was surprised that was the only bite he got from that feral little runt. 

Dick grinned wide and asked, “Why?” 

“I was trying to keep him from attacking fucking Deathstroke when Deathstroke was letting us go. We needed to run, not fight Deathstroke more.” And the fact a smart kid like Damian hadn’t even understood that on his own is a real testament to how fucking stressful that day was.

Or how brainwashed he was into believing you cannot lose a fight ever. 

Bruce looked up at Jason and legit just stared at him for a solid several seconds. 

“What?” Jason demanded. 

But Bruce shook his head, and looked back at the screens. “There are twenty-six people on this plane, including the pilot, who is employed by Ra’s.” 

“So twenty-five assassins and one drugged up baby assassin,” Jason concluded. They could take twenty-five assassins. 

“It seems so,” Bruce said. 

“Funny it took so many of them to kidnap one feral eight-year-old,” Jason said. 

“I asked Clark to do a flyby of the plane, he’ll be doing that in a few minutes,” Bruce said. 

Dick shifted his weight from one foot to another and asked, “Where’s the plane going? Do we know where they’re trying to take him?” 

Nodding, Bruce said, “The itinerary they filed with the FAA says they’re going to a small airport in western China.”

“Tashkurgan?” Jason asked. That was the airport they always used. It was a tiny little airport that was big enough flights leaving there wasn’t suspicious, but small enough no one ever noticed them. 

Plus, Jason was sure Ra’s slipped the officials lots of money. So. 

“Yes,” Bruce said, “So it seems they’re taking him to Nanda Parbat.” 

“That’s where Ra’s had been hiding the kids to begin with,” Jason said, “I would have thought Ra’s would try to hide him somewhere else, he must be pretty darn confident no one will ever escape from there again.” Jason would have found a different place, for sure.

But then again, maybe the League didn’t have another base so well hidden and guarded. 

“They’ll likely take a helicopter directly to Nanda Parbat from the airport,” Bruce said, “That might be a good time to intercept them.” 

The computer lit up with a phone call from Clark, so Bruce quickly hit accept.

“Talk to me,” Bruce said. Which was just. So Bruce. 

What an asshole.

“I can’t get near this plane,” Clark said, “There’s so much Kryptonite on it I can feel it a hundred feet away. I put one of your trackers on the plane, though. I don’t think anyone saw me.” 

“Is Damian on the plane?” Jason asked, “Could you see him?” 

“He is, yes,” Clark said, “He’s asleep, but they have him strapped into a seat between a couple assassins. He appears unharmed, and his heart rate and breathing seems normal.” 

“I see the tracker,” Bruce said, “they would have disabled it if they noticed you.” 

“Good,” Clark said, “I don’t think there’s much more I can do from here. I don’t want to down the plane and risk hurting Damian.” 

“Of course not,” Bruce said, “We can handle it from here.” 

“Thanks, Clark,” Dick said cheerfully.

“Keep me appraised. The Justice League is standing by. Just because I can’t get close doesn’t mean Green Lantern or Flash can’t be helpful.” 

“Will do,” Dick said, before Bruce could probably say no. 

Once Clark cut the line, Bruce turned to Dick and said, “We are not asking Green Lantern to help.” 

“We might,” Jason said. He started tapping his toe and motioned back up to the screen when Bruce looked his way, and said, “So what’s the plan? What are we doing?” He wanted to get Damian and get him now. 

“I think our best course of action is to follow the plane,” Bruce said, “The Batwing is faster than the jet Ra’s chartered, so Damian won’t need to spend long there by himself.” 

“Good. Ra’s is a bastard, I don’t want Damian there for a second longer than necessary.” 

“I don’t want him there, either,” Bruce said, “Children don’t belong in the League.” 

Jason huffed, but chose not to say something.

He wasn’t going to start fighting with Bruce over him leaving his fucking kids there. They needed to get the plane prepared to go. 

“Give me a task,” Jason said, “I want to get Damian back today.” 

“It will probably be tomorrow when we actually get him,” Bruce said, “even at top speeds, it will still take about eleven hours. Damian’s plane won’t even arrive for another nine or ten from now.”

“Ugh,” Jason whined. He knew that, of course. He knew it would take them a while.

Unless Clark could, like, fly their plane closer? Fly them closer? Then they could be there in an instant, but Damian’s plane still wouldn’t be there. So. 

He wouldn’t be seeing Mara that day, then. Or Attie. 

Hopefully they understood. He could still call with them, possibly. Especially if they get stuck on a damn plane for eleven hours. 

How the fuck was he going to sit on the stupid plane with Bruce for eleven hours? 

“Ugh,” he whined louder, “Still give me a task. He can’t stay there a second longer than necessary.”

“Fuel the plane up,” Bruce said, “You remember how to calculate how much fuel?” 

“Yeah,” Jason said, “That’s easy.” And it would be good to be working. 

He couldn’t get annoyed at Bruce if he was occupied. Probably.

“I told you we’d find Damian,” Dick said a few minutes later, after Jason had worked through the math and jotted it down on a sticky note. Bruce had fucked off to wherever he’d gone to prepare. 

Which was great to Jason. 

“We don’t have him back yet, Dick,” Jason said. 

Dick clapped him on the back and said, “You’ll see. By this time tomorrow, we’ll be landing in Gotham with your little ankle biter.” 

“It was my arm he bit,” Jason said, “he was trying to free himself.”

“He is the cutest kid,” Dick said almost fondly. 

“You’ve got a weird definition of cute,” Jason grumbled, “Tell him you think he’s cute. I dare you.”

“I will. I’ll tell him tomorrow morning when we see him.” 

Despite himself, Jason grinned at that thought. 

He was looking forward to seeing Damian throw a knife at Dick. 

At least now they had a timeframe.

[brucebocchi]

Ranking 2024 anime, Pt. 2: #40-31

hey, this post is also available on my ko-fi, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i do this for free and am currently between jobs. you can find part 1 of the list here. thanks!

Alright, on we go to the list proper. The first post was probably whiplash-inducing, going from a bunch of shorter stuff I loved to whole seasons I hated, but we can only go up from here. I watched a lot of anime this year, as the numbers indicate, so there's a little positivity to be found even in the lower rankings.

As always, OPs are linked in the series titles. Watch them, they're almost all great.

40. Metallic Rouge

One of the biggest disappointments of the year, one which I didn’t think could be outdone (and I’ll get to that one shortly). Metallic Rouge had so much going for it as a Studio Bones original for its anniversary, and managed to fumble all of its promise and goodwill in slow, agonizing fashion. 

It’s a shame, too. Metallic Rouge still looks awesome; the character and mech designs are excellent, the space-cyberpunk aesthetic is undeniable, and the animation can be terrific when it counts. The story, on the other hand, is so completely asinine that I was sick of this show before it ended. I’ve mostly forgotten what even happens, partly because it was that infuriating to keep up with, and partly because I feel like the writers forgot too; the bulk of any actual story felt backloaded into the last two or three episodes because they focused too hard on vibes for a while. I think they were trying to go for some “G-Witch by way of Detroit: Become Human” something or other, but all of it rang hollow. I’m still not sure whether it needed more runtime or better writers. Probably both.

Not worth your time. Just watch the OP and imagine a better show than what we got.

39. Mysterious Disappearances

I’ve thought so little about this show since it went off the air that I don’t really have anything new to say. Looks pretty lousy most of the time, not that interesting, oddly horny, and the plot structure gets kind of cloying after a while.

I know I harped on that last point when I reviewed it at the end of the spring season, but something funny happened after I did. Back in July, I mentioned that I took issue with the formula of “we encounter a paranormal anomaly, it’s identified as a yokai or urban legend, we learn its tragic backstory, our protagonists give it closure, and we move on” because it felt manipulative after I realized that it happened with every arc, and then I went ahead and read DanDaDan, which basically does exactly the same thing but a hell of a lot better. Comparing a middling work like this to DanDaDan of all things feels unfair, but they cover pretty similar ground. Maybe it’s sharper writing, or maybe it’s just a more engaging work. Who’s to say?

I’d also said in my review that Mysterious Disappearances unintentionally gives off the vibe of a poorly-archived mid-2000s series, but I hadn’t realized just how right I was: It turns out that studio Zero-G just went ahead and made up its own ending even though the source material is still ongoing. Better shows did the same this year, but the studio and I seem to have the same level of faith that this anime’s ever coming back.

38. My Deer Friend Nokotan

Honestly? Fuck this show.

I’ve already gone into what I did and didn’t like about Nokotan after it went off air a few months ago and I don’t care to revisit that while it’s still relatively fresh. Not nearly as funny as it pretended to be, yet still not even confident in its own sense of humor. The OP's still a bop (calling it "Shikairo Days" was a genuinely great joke), and a small handful of gags do land, but not enough to prevent this from being a massive disappointment.  At the same time, Nokotan was still somehow not the biggest letdown of the year.

37. Uzumaki

This was the biggest letdown of the year.

When an anime adaptation of the legendary Junji Ito horror manga was first announced in 2019, it was hard not to get excited. Even when I’d mostly fallen out of anime fandom, I knew damn well who Junji Ito was and I knew Uzumaki. Adult Swim was funding the project, a prestige studio in Production I.G. was handling the animation, and they even nabbed Hereditary composer Colin Stetson for the score. Ito’s manga is famously very difficult to adapt well, and it looked like we finally had a project being taken seriously. Delays and radio silence in the ensuing years were disappointing, but I was willing to be patient if it meant everything was being handled right. When the trailer dropped this summer, it looked like it would be worth the wait.

And for one glorious episode, it seemed like everyone’s patience paid off. Uzumaki’s debut episode was one of the most visually arresting pieces of animation I’ve ever seen: The entire look and feel was faithful to Ito’s inimitable style, from the meticulously detailed linework to the stark black-and-white color grading of his manga’s pages. On top of that, the animation itself was absurdly good; the process of rotoscoping 3D motion capture seemed arduous, but the end result was beautifully lifelike for a story where that quality could only serve to instill further terror. Several of the most iconic images from the early chapters looked incredible in hi-def motion. Sure, the pacing was a little fast, but this was a four-episode miniseries. We could deal. This was just too good.

And then came the second episode.

I’m not going to over-elaborate or relitigate every single thing that went wrong here, because it’s a lot. Uzumaki was in development for a long time, and that five year gap between announcement and release included several detriments to the production process, not the least of which being COVID, animation production changing hands between several studios, and new leadership for Adult Swim’s parent company that now favors profit over product, especially when it comes to animation that doesn’t involve DC characters. Plenty of us figured that all of these delays and a run of only four episodes meant that they had the time to hammer out all the issues and give us the best possible product. That, unfortunately, was not the case.

Responding to complaints about the decline in animation in the second episode, executive producer Jason DeMarco (who, to be blunt, has overseen several mediocre-to-awful anime products released under the Adult Swim brand, including my bottom-ranked anime of 2023) claimed in a quickly-deleted Bluesky thread that there is indeed a higher-up to blame and that they were left with an ultimatum to either drop Uzumaki after just one episode, let it go the way of so many other Warner Bros non-releases under David Zaslav’s disastrous leadership, or release the whole miniseries in its half-baked state. They went with the third.

So, what we got was an uneven, often sloppy work; another mediocrity to throw on the pile of failed Junji Ito adaptations. All goodwill established in the first episode is soon undone by wonky character models, uncanny walk cycles, and movement that looks like PNGs being dragged across a background at the most inopportune times. Plenty of viewers, myself included, were willing to overlook the accelerated pacing after the first episode, but that issue was thrown into stark relief by the second when entire chapters of the manga began playing out simultaneously, and one was even reduced to an afterthought for a cheap “scare” at the end of episode three. 

Not that I thought Uzumaki necessarily needed a full 12-episode season for a proper adaptation or anything; Ito’s output can often be light on story, and dragging it out too far risks losing interest. What makes Ito’s stories actually work, though, is a proper sense of setting and space to let tensions rise. That didn’t entirely happen here; while the atmosphere of Kurozu-cho does plenty resemble what we’ve seen from Ito’s pages, and Stetson’s atonal saxophone does a lot of work to raise the level of unease, things just kind of happen. Few things really get the chance to land as intended, in part due to the production quality cheaping out at climactic moments.

This was the last anime I finished this year even though I’d watched the first two episodes after they aired and it went off the air in October. I was looking forward to the last two episodes that little. There are still bits and pieces of great animation and faithful adaptation here and there, but not enough to regain any goodwill from the second episode’s wheels visibly falling off. Maybe it’s finally time to declare Junji Ito’s works unadaptable once and for all. 

Definitely watch that first episode, though. At this point I kind of wish that’s all we’d gotten.

36. Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!

Straitlaced Nice Guy moves to a new town, laid-back gyaru from his class immediately takes a liking to him, a couple other girls enter the picture, shenanigans ensue, and a slow-burn romance begins in parallel. Nothing special on paper and nothing much more special than that in execution. The setting is lovely, though, and it really made me want to visit Hokkaido one day. Nicely done, tourism board.

If you watched this and were put off by it, I don’t blame you; I probably would’ve been too if I hadn’t decided to read ahead in the manga. I will say this, though: If you liked Hokkaido Gals even a little, read the manga. It’s a minor investment, but if you can get over the halfway mark, it gets surprisingly good and has a really lovely ending. 

The anime, on the other hand? Meh. Doesn’t look super great and didn’t have enough time in 12 episodes to overcome most of the issues the source material had to move past to get to what made it worthwhile. It would take another season or two to get there, and that probably isn’t gonna happen. Great OP, though (I'm starting to repeat myself, I know). Just read the manga.

35. No Longer Allowed in Another World

Boasting one of the most audacious premises for an isekai I’ve ever seen, No Longer Allowed in Another World doesn’t shy away from the implications of an Osamu Dazai isekai, has the dark humor to match, and provides some fascinating commentary on the type of person who tends to consume wish-fulfillment isekai. Unfortunately, the presentation was a little lacking and threatened to lose my attention several times. I think the idea is much better on paper, to the point where I might test that theory and go read the manga.

34. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

The next dozen or so anime in the rankings fall into a category of either “well-made anime that I found kind of frustrating” or “middling anime that I kind of enjoyed.” The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic is very much the latter. It’s a standard isekai on paper; demon king, special powers, what have you, but it has a likable cast and laid-back vibe for much of its runtime that made it pleasant enough to watch.

As I said after the winter season, I really liked that Wrong Way spends a lot of its early story ensuring that the protagonist expends the time and effort necessary for him to become the hero he’s meant to be instead of the narrative just handing it to him from the start, which instantly sets it apart from most other wish-fulfillment isekai. It’s far from the best-looking anime I watched this year, but it has a mid-00s throwback look and feel to it that works more to its benefit than in Mysterious Disappearances. Nothing groundbreaking and a little too backloaded, but an enjoyable enough experience and one I’m looking forward to seeing come back. 

The only really upsetting thing about this show is that Atsuko Tanaka (Major Kusanagi, Bayonetta, Kainé), who was tremendous as the intimidating Captain Rose, is no longer with us. She was an exceptional talent with an iconic voice who will be sorely missed, and future seasons of this show won’t be the same without her.

33. Go! Go! Loser Ranger

Though not a bad anime by most metrics, I still consider Loser Ranger a minor disappointment. It mostly looks great, and “what if The Boys was a sentai series” is a killer premise, but the story so far is extremely frontloaded. Almost too much happens in the first four episodes, and then the bulk of the last arc of the season takes place in a goddamn parking garage. I’m still annoyed by that. Still looking forward to season 2, but I wish the debut season had been 24 episodes to avoid the sour taste in my mouth.

Did you hear that echo? Yep, that's me telling you to watch yet another OP. Easily the best part of the show and one of the best of the year. Tatsuya Kitani can't keep getting away with it.

32. Astro Note

2024 turned out to be a banner year for Rumiko Takahashi’s older works making their way back to modern screens, and one of those entries wasn’t even hers.

Astro Note is an overt homage to Takahashi’s less-famous romcom Maison Ikkoku, which ran parallel to Urusei Yatsura for most of the latter’s run. Like Ikkoku, Astro Note follows a down-on-his-luck young man living in a boarding house full of bizarre miscreants who only stays because the manager is super pretty. Unlike Ikkoku, and unbeknownst to our protagonist, said manager is actually an alien who is practically turning the house over to find a secret alien MacGuffin.

This show looks lovely and has a delightful cast and some surprisingly moving subplots, but it’s nothing too special otherwise. There are some fun creative flourishes here and there, like the alien stuff shown in flashback being made to look like an older space opera anime, but aside from a very fun turn near the end of the season, Astro Note rarely rises above the level of simply “pleasant.” And that’s fine, but it doesn’t quite live up to the material it’s aping, and what we’ve ended up with is just a nice distraction. 

I’m so glad I finally decided to read Maison Ikkoku though.

31. Shangri-La Frontier, second cour

It’s been a running joke for me that the more I watch Shangri-La Frontier, the less I’m sure whether I like it or not, and now with 25 episodes in the tank, I’m less sure than ever. The back half of the debut season improved on a few of the things that annoyed me about its first cour by focusing more on the high-quality action and introducing minor stakes to the proceedings, and then everything else surrounding it made it feel no less like I’m just watching a guy playing a goddamn video game, and the stakes still mostly seem to amount to "he wants to be good at it."

You may notice that I didn’t include the second season in this review, and that’s because I flat-out didn’t care to pick it back up. I’d been busy during the fall season and continuing a show I didn’t enjoy that much just wasn’t a high priority. It’s continuing into January, so there’s time to catch it while it airs, but I’m still not in any hurry.

[whiskawaybelf]

A timebomb, time loop AU (inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice)

which basically amounts to friends to lovers and then angst. Which is what most of my fics amount to. but like. fun?

Little excerpt after the cut for those keen on those things. I tag my fics so you can blacklist if this clutters your tags: onemoretime

Ekko was the one she sat on when he annoyed her. The one she wrestled with and argued with. It was nice not to feel like the youngest, just stuck tagging along. The playing field was even when they battled.

And someone was hurting him. 

Powder found an older boy and his friend, the friend had large droopy ears and a sad droopy nose. The guy holding Ekko’s arm behind his back was not very tall but he was dense and moved slowly. Powder watched Droopy look through Ekko’s bag.

“There’s nothing good here, Dekker, let him go.”

“No. Keep looking, he has something, I know he does.”

“No,” Powder said, coming out from her vantage point, hearing Vi scream in her ear no. no. don’t do that. just stay hidden. i’ll take care of it. “He doesn’t have anything, Benzo doesn’t give him anything good to carry, he’s really stupid.”

“Shut up, Powder,” Ekko said, “What are you doing? Go away.”

But his arm was being twisted at such a weird angle. And Vi also told her, we don’t leave people behind, powder, okay? you never leave someone behind.

Powder’s heart began to pound when Dekker told Droopy to get her. Just to put her somewhere where she wouldn’t be a problem. Check her bag too. But Droopy was less enthusiastic about intimidating children. Power wasn’t a child anymore, though. She was twelve. And twelve meant she was old enough. For what? Hard to tell, it was just… old enough. The two boys weren’t much older, fourteen… maybe fifteen? 

“Look, we won’t hurt your friend-”

“You’re already hurting my friend,” Powder snapped, “And Vander is going to kill you. If my sister doesn’t… and she will.”

Power did begin to panic here, just a little bit. Because Vander wasn’t coming, Vi wasn’t coming, and she could only bluff for so long. The boys both stiffened at Vander’s name but that wasn’t the same thing as stopping. Now Dekker was holding Ekko down but he was also looking at her. So she caught Ekko’s disapproving eyes. Tried to think. 

“I could scream,” Powder said, “That will bring them both here really fast. Do you want me to do that? You could lose a couple teeth for the low, low price of some copper wire and broken Piltover garbage?”

“Don’t scream,” Ekko managed to say and Powder shot him a look but he sounded weird, “He’s going to kill them. They don’t understand. You know how Vander is.”

Powder skirted the wall, trying to come a little closer to Ekko without startling the two boys, now watching her uncertainly, “He has these metal gauntlets, and he just sort of… picks them up,” she bent her knees and did a tiny movement that somehow conveyed slipping her hands into something and it being very heavy when she lifted them, “like they weight nothing. And they don’t. For him. But teeth-” she tapped her front tooth, “Cheekbones… jaws… they tend to be a little more delicate. Mandibles, in particular… ” it was a new word and she said it like she liked it, her next two steps to Ekko almost had a swagger, “I don’t think copper is meant for wiring jaws shut, but if that’s all you got, then that’s all you got, you know?”

“Shut her up,” said Dekker, his fear making him angry.

“Run,” Ekko said, his fear making him brave.

“Don’t fight and we won’t hurt you-” Droopy said, his fear making him hesitate. 

“Watch your jaw,” Powder said, her fear making her incredibly, incredibly stupid. She swung her backpack, filled as it was monkeys and mice and chomping things, wrenches and bolts and yes, wires. She swung it with all the force of a twelve year old girl who was incredibly frightened. And then she grabbed her pliers from her pocket, the ones with Ekko’s name circled even though they should have her own name, and she dove for Ekko. 

Powder had done two things that Vi wouldn’t like. One, she joined a fight she couldn’t finish and two, she blocked her own exit. You could do one and be okay, you couldn’t do both. But Ekko was there and Dekker was watching her, his hands were lighter on him , and Ekko could be slippery. She could be quick. As soon as Ekko could run, they would run. 

But one backpack wielded by scrawny arms was never going to be enough, it knocked Droopy flat, he got up quickly. And he did not appreciate being hit in the face with a bunch of shit. 

[caye-otome-translations]

Note About the Shut Down of MidCin and 100DP

Okay. So I recorded what I can. Here’s the thing.

I recorded all the events I had (keep in mind that this is only the events I managed to get while I played, and not all the events in game, BUT I did have a lot).

I recorded half of Byron’s Dreaming Princess end. I got stuck at a check point and didn’t have time to pass it.

I recorded most of Byron’s Princess in Love end. Unfortunately, when I was recording things all in one go for the sake of time, my recording got messed up and lost Chapter 13, Part 1, 2, and half of 3. And when I was in the middle of recording Byron’s secret end for Princess in Love, the game shut down. So, if 100DP ever gets archived on the Ikemen Fan Club website like their other shut down games, I’ll be translating what I missed from there. Unfortunately though I won’t be able to provide any screenshots of those parts since the website is text only.

I got three Byron premiums (the ones I’ve already translated), and two garden side stories. Didn’t have time to spend my last gacha points. I hear the website also archives those though, so I’ll be translating those when it gets archived as well (hopefully).

I didn’t get Byron’s Another Story, which takes place a year later after the main story, but I know someone who does, so I’ll translate it and put it on here as well. I’ll also be translating Giles, Louis, Albert, Nico, Leo, and Sid when I get the chance. I only have one ending for Alyn, and I’m missing Noah, and I only got part of Cain and Claude, but again, I’ll get whatever I am missing when the website (hopefully) posts everything.

They also archive events so I’ll be sure to translate any events they archive.

I also know someone who got Rayvis’ EA on JP and stuff so I’ll be translating all of that too…

As for me, for MidCin… I got nothing except Byron’s Honey and Royal end and three of his events on EN.

This might take me a while lol. Don’t expect me to translate everything right away. After all that recording hustle I wanna take a break from 100DP. And it’s a lot I gotta go through.

If you have anything to contribute, such as any of the things that I mentioned I am missing, that would be much appreciated! Let me know!

So what next? I guess I’ll translate Cybird’s other games, maybe some Love365 stuff. I’m gonna be making a discord that has everything I’ve ever archived as well, since I’m playing a lot of other otomes right now. The plan is to keep improving my Japanese and read all the stuff I want to read lol.

[silversapphire5691]

welcome beaaaaack to another episode of silver’s merch mysteries: the two part season finale (just kidding, but this post will be in 2 parts)

today we have a very interesting case: the hoops and yoyo top secret journal.

so if you follow my blog, you’ll know i’ve been a fan of the greeting card characters hoops and yoyo since before i could read and write. im always on the hunt for interesting things about them or lost media i can archive/help in finding.

well the other day, ebay notifies me that my saved “hoops and yoyo” search has a new listing. i click it, expecting it to not be much, but it turns out to be a listing for a diy journal kind of book.

these kinds of books were all the rage in the late 2000s, i knew a lot of people who had the diary of a wimpy kid one and i had a junie b. jones diary too (shout out to junie b. jones fans). but i had never seen a hoops and yoyo book like this.

i save the listing and i do some research to see if this has been mentioned or archived anywhere. i try searching the title. nothing. i try searching the isbn number. nothing (although it is pretty blurry, i could have typed it wrong). there are absolutely no images or listings for this book that i can find. i even check worthpoint to see if maybe someone else sold it at some point. absolutely nothing.

by this point i knew i had found something interesting so i immediately buy the book. at the time of me writing this i have not received it, but i will post pictures and updates once i do. i think i have found some real lost media here!

some things i think are interesting: the back of the book says “this edition is only available for distribution through the school market.”

you’ll also notice that the book was published by scholastic. so that led me to a theory…

was this book only sold through the scholastic book fair?

i mean, that would explain the rarity. hoops and yoyo weren’t exactly the most popular characters even in their heyday, so i can’t imagine many kids bought this book anyway.

while im waiting for my order to arrive, i’ve been trying to find old catalogs from book fairs of old, but i haven’t found much. i’ll keep looking and see if i can find any other mention of this book anywhere online.

i wanted to hold off on making this post until i actually got the book but i got impatient. once i get the book i’ll post a follow up and any other findings i stumbled across while i was waiting!

see yall soon!

[notoverjoyed]

Chapter 4 of my invisobang. The penultimate! (2 more chapters to go but the last is an epilogue) No warnings for this chapter but be aware for the next. As before, text below the cut for the tumblr crowd. I'll edit the post to include my partners' art later.

Edit!

Here's a scene from chapter 4! by the fantastic @chaseacer-ghostedition!

Chapter 4: Isolation

The Red Huntress glides among the roofs of Amity Park’s tiny downtown, only half paying attention to the her suit’s ghost tracker. Not that there’s much to see; the city is quieter than normal today. Just as well, as Valerie can’t quit shake the goosebumps that have colonized her skin ever since she left Master’s mansion and she’s in no mood to fight right now. She’s just been coasting along for hours just because she can. Even though she can’t feel it through her suit, she’s happy to be in the open air rather than those strangely claustrophobic halls.

Her wandering is disrupted by a sharp beep from her suit. She checks the ghost tracker, then eyes the sky in the direction the tracker indicates the blip came from. She snorts when she sees the ghost. Figures that the only other hunter out tonight would be the ghost boy himself. A moment later it occurs to her that he might be useful. She points herself toward the distant black and white blur moving out toward the small industrial park just north of town.

“Hey Phantom, hold up!” she calls out as soon as she’s within the ghost’s earshot.

Phantom stop and turns toward her, then leans back in the air as if there was an invisible couch supporting him. A lazy smile washes over his face. “Hey Red, What’s up?” She gets right to the point.

“Something’s up with Masters.”

Phantom straightens and turns to face her fully, his eyes focusing and grin vanishing.

“Is he planning something?” he asked.

“Maybe? He’s acting weird.”

Phantom raises an eyebrow. “Weirder than normal?” he asks incredulously.

“Like kinda more fucked up and sick looking than normal? I guess?” the Red Huntress replies. Her voice through the suit is neutral, but her shoulders bunch up in discomfort.

“Sick, huh.” Phantom loses some of his tension, but his brow furrows in confusion

“Can you like, check on him or something?”

“Sure, but why do you care?”

“Ugh I don’t really, I hate that guy.” She pauses, searching for a reason to give him. “But… god I don’t know, he freaked me out.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Phantom says. “Or you know, normal for him,” he huffs out in amusement.

She doesn’t share his humor, and says insistently, “He was giving off way not-normal for him vibes though! The whole place was freaky. Quiet and musty or something.”

“So he fired his maid and forgot to pay the light bill.” Phantom says dismissively.

“It’s stupid, but what if he has some weird ghost virus that’ll infect the whole town. Like some crazy potent flu jumping from pigs to farmers to everyone else” Even as she speaks, she feels silly. Next she’ll be claiming he’s the first victim of a zombie plague.

“Someone was paying attention to that ecology unit last quarter,” he jokes.

“Someone who got a passing grade, unlike a certain spook,” she retorts.

“Ouch, but fair.”

“Damn right. Anyway, will you check up on him?”

Phantom’s eyes soften. “I’ll see what’s up Red, no worries.” Valerie’s shoulders lose some of their tension.

“Thanks Danny.”

He raises his eyebrows in faux offense. “That’s Phantom to you Ms. Gray.”

“Shut up before I shoot you,” she says, fingers twitching deliberately to the blaster strapped to her hip, but the ghost boy is already flying away

Danny cackles as he twists and turns in the air. “Love you too, Red!”

Behind the mask of her helmet, Valerie rolls her eyes. He quickly disappears from her sight, and the night grows quiet once again.

“Annoying.” she mutters with a smirk, knowing he can hear her even at that distance. The smile doesn’t last however, as she prepares herself to get back to her own patrol. She finds herself with renewed focus, and no teenage boy, ghost or no, can distract her from her mission.

Her hover board starts up with a quiet whir that builds then fades as the Red Huntress rides away.

***

“Hey, uh, Vlad? You in here?” Danny calls out. He feels strange just walking in like this, but he promised Valerie he’d check it out. If she was that worried about the fruitloop, then he was probably actually dying. No that he would cry at the man’s funeral, but he’d appreciate a warning for the epic mope-fest of mourning his Dad would have.

Okay, fine, so he might feel bad if Vlad died and he didn’t do anything to stop it. Damn hero complex.

There’s no answer to his call, so Danny wanders around looking for him. There’s no sign of the man anywhere, but none of his home’s defenses were armed like they would if Vlad was away. That alone is enough to confuse Danny, but he’s suddenly struck by the feeling that something’s wrong with the place. It’s not just quite, but a smothered silence. It’s almost like the walls are too close, and too thick. Danny finds himself increasingly on edge.

It takes a while for him to notice that the uneasiness seems to be centered in his core, in the part where he feels his ghost form comes from. Something about this place is making his ghost form twitchy, almost fearful.

Upon realizing that his ghost was somehow afraid of this place, the fear begins to spread to the human self, and he quickly decides that this is something he really doesn’t want to tackle by himself.

“Nope, nope, nopity nope." Absolutely not,” he mutters under his breath as he transforms into Phantom and flies straight out of the manor. The eerie feeling doesn’t leave him until he’s fully left the mansion’s grounds. He will come back later, but only with help.

***

Dani approaches Vlad’s manor with something almost approaching worry. Val had said that he looked sick when she last saw him. Danny couldn’t even find him, but confessed to being strangely creeped out at his empty mansion. Knowing how much Val hates the man and how hard it’s become to really disturb Danny, it’s logical that Dani should be at least curious. She would never forgive him for how he manipulated her. But if he was dying, she wanted to know.

Even just approaching the mansion has her feeling that sense of unease in her ghostly core, just like Danny described. Having been warned, she’s able to stand it, but only just.

Just like Val and Danny had described, the manor is dark, and smells dusty. It’s also completely empty; a sickly Vlad nowhere to be seen. Of course, Dani knows one other place where he could be. She was born there after all.

She phases down into the lab to find a few lights on, though still dimmer than usual. It takes a moment to see the hunched form of Vlad, his back illuminated by the green light coming from an open cabinet behind him. She can hear his ragged breathing and see his lank hair going down his back, but his face is turned away from her. Her worry spikes.

"Daddy?" she says in a tremulous voice.

Vlad jerks, like he hadn’t sensed her presence. He turns, and it’s then that she can see the gauntness of his face.

“Danielle,” he says with a wavering smile. The look on his face is nothing like his normal self-confident smirk, and Dani doesn’t even object to being full named like that.

His eyes flick away from her quickly, and wander around the room before landing on her again.

“Are you.. are you okay?” Dani asks.

“Fine as ever dear girl…” Vlad starts to say, but trails off at seeing the concern on Dani’s face. He clears his throat. “Just feeling a bit under the weather,” he says.

He looks away from her again, and she can see his eyes rest briefly on the cloning tubes on the far wall of the lab, only to flinch down to the floor, then rise up to meet hers once more.

She can never be sure of what’s going through the man’s head after how he messed with hers, but she’s gotten much less naive since she left him.

“When did you…” she starts to ask about the clones, as she’d thought she and Danny had freed all the that remained, but she trails off. It makes sense that he’d be surprised to see her, as their last meeting wasn’t pleasant for him. But he seems almost disturbed to see her in his lab. He’s definitely disturbed to even see the cloning tubes, though he certainly can't be surprised by them. What’s freaking him out? Is it her, or the clones? And what does that have to do with how sick he looks?”

“Danielle,” Vlad rasps, and Dani realizes she’s been quiet too long.

“Can I do anything to help?” She blurts out, suddenly desperate to fix what’s wrong with him.

Vlad stares at her for a long moment. He’s transfixed, his eyes dilating and nostrils flaring. Then, his expression shifts. Is that … panic? Whatever emotion he’s feeling, it seems to seize him abruptly as he staggers to his feet.

"Leave!" Vlad shouts hoarsely.

“What?” Dani says, taken aback.

“You can leave!” Vlad says. He takes an unsteady step toward her, then flinches back as Dani steps forward to meet him.

“But-” she starts.

“Please leave.” he interjects, almost whining now. “Please.”

Dani’s eyes hurt from concern, but the look on Vlad’s face keep her from pressing. She steps back carefully.

“Alright,” She says with carefully composed calm. Her feet leave the floor as she starts floating. Slowly, and keeping her eyes on his face, she rises toward the ceiling of the lab.

“Bye Daddy,” she says as she fades from sight. Then the lab is quite save for Vlad’s ragged breaths.

He stares at the spot where she disappeared, then stumbles back to his chair and slumps back into the seat, appearing much like he had before Dani’s visit. He doesn’t move. A few minutes later, the motion sensitive lights in Vlad’s lab click off.

[theromanticscrooge]

A Few of my Favorite Scenes from Fics I've Written

This is pretty much more shameless advertising for fics I've written over the past month or so. Each of these will include the link, rating, and whether or not its finished if you're interested in checking out more.

The World Beyond the Mouse Hole

Rating: Teen +

Completed

Synopsis: A short prequel one-shot about how Fink met Professor Venomous and her first childhood friend Eurydice.

Once he was back in his own apartment, Venomous dug a box of his neighbor’s bonbons out of a nearby drawer with a small smirk. Maybe he’d pay her back after he had a few bigger scores and actually moved out of this cheap, crappy apartment complex. He hit the creamy center of the chocolate and made a satisfied noise.

No, compared to the laundry list of other bigger scale crimes he did on the regular, sniping someone’s pricey candy was low on said list.

“Gimme one,” a squeaky voice demanded. She pushed his leg aside and reached up with deft little fingers to take one of the chocolates.

“Hey…” Venomous started to protest, but halfheartedly.

“Actually, I’ll take all of these.” She took the full box with a sassy swipe of her tail.

“What happened to being subtle, kid?” Venomous crossed his living room to his lumpy thrifted couch with a checkerboard pattern.

“I’m tired of hiding!” she complained, climbing up next to him. “I live here too. Why do I have to hide?”

“Have you heard what they’ve said about you…?” Venomous asked with a slight frown.

“Rita likes me.” The kid said with a cheeky grin. “We even have this fun game we play!”

Venomous fixed her with a skeptic glare as he crossed his legs.

“I finally have a place I like!” she cried, spreading her arms. “I just got everything set up the way I want it…”

“We were moving in a month anyway.” Venomous tapped his leg. “Things would have gone way more smoothly if you stayed in the apartment instead of making a tunnel system through the whole building.”

“That bed sucks. So does the couch.” She stuck her tongue out. “I want my own room and my own space. Not something you let me borrow.”

“You’re getting your own room. We just need to hold out a little longer.” Venomous settled back into the cushions with a huff. “What do I need to do to get you to stay put next time?”

She looked at him like he had a third head as she stuffed a huge handful of chocolate in her mouth. Glaring, Venomous plucked one of the remaining chocolates.

“There’s parks near one of the motels I’m looking at.” Venomous started chewing. “Some mascot pizza place. Toy store. Lots of stuff a kid like you should enjoy. And keep you preoccupied while Boss gets work done.”

“I don’t have any money…”

“That didn’t stop you before.”

“I was taking stuff people wouldn’t miss.” She huffed. “I take one thing that looks kinda cool or pretty. I can’t have one nice thing?”

“There’s plenty of cool, pretty stuff at these places.” Venomous took another chocolate. “You can have everything you want. We just need to get you out of here.”

“But I like it here.”

“We can’t stay here.” He sighed heavily. “Birdbrain was threatening to raid your nest and bring in a professional exterminator. And you pushed Rita’s buttons a bit too hard. There’s a finesse to that kind of thing. Spread out the pranks more and you could’ve milked that longer.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d let me come with you to work.” She gave him a pout. “I’m bored!”

“I have books-”

“Without pictures.”

“You have a little something called...imagination.”

“There’s a lot of big words I don’t get!” She complained further. “Yes, I looked them up in the dictionary. And those are the books that aren’t boring science stuff.”

“Hey, science is cool. That’s how I make a lot of my money…”

“It’s fun when you talk about it.” She frowned again. “I have more fun when you’re here.”

“Someone needs to keep a roof over our heads.” He pointed at the ceiling.

“I made my own roof.” She smiled sadly. “I can make a house.”

“What about the other stuff?” Venomous raised his brows.

“I’m. Bored.” She leaned forward. “You’re supposed to be my boss, right? Give me something to do…”

Venomous folded his arms and hummed. The longer he mulled things over, the higher the effectiveness when the kid looked at him with the most pathetic expression on her face. Finally, he slumped his shoulders and raised his hands.

“Okay…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Get all of the necessary stuff you want out of your nest. We’re moving tomorrow. That’s your first assignment.”

She started to pout but Venomous raised a finger in a “hold on” gesture.

“We get moved out. Then I’ll take you with me on an upcoming work trip.” He smiled slightly. “Think you can navigate vents?”

She gasped and started pumping her fists. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”

“It’s settled!” He nodded and slapped his legs. “I need to get Birdbrain off the scent. Leave Rita alone.”

“….I can’t say goodbye?” She frowned. “Rita’s the only one here I kinda like besides you, Boss.”

“Trust me. It’d be a better idea to leave her alone.” Venomous huffed. “Sometimes, it’s better to just leave. No matter how much you liked the person.”

“I already had to do that. Before I moved here.” She looked bitter. “I’m gonna find Eurydice again someday. I want to let her know I’m okay…”

“That’s your prerogative,” Venomous said while looking at the nearby wall.

She stared at him for a long moment, waiting for him to follow up or expand on his cryptic comment. It felt like there was something he wanted to say. Something important he was holding back and keeping to himself.

“...Have I told you about Eurydice?”

“No.” Venomous finally looked back at her. “This is the first time I’ve heard that name.”

Not Quite an Elevator Pitch

Part of Chapter 4: The Man, The Myth, The Legend....Or "Just a Guy" Named Mr. Gar

Rating: Teen+

Completed

Synopsis: Professor Venomous is back in Lakewood Plaza Turbo and ready to get back to more 'mundane' villainy. It should have been as easy as return to Earth, move back into Boxmore, and start scheming again. Instead, he's still trying to figure out what he wants to do next as well as trying to find himself. Then he gets stuck in an elevator with the last person he expected but it's the reality check he absolutely needed.

PV jammed a hand in one of his pants pockets and whistled tunelessly as he punched the glowing ‘up’ button and waited. He was on autopilot when he strolled into the next available elevator. Then the doors slid closed and that’s when PV noticed the dark sunglasses, pink tie, and cop mustache in the mirror on the back wall.

His breath hitched slightly as he slowly turned his head. Yes, that was Mr. Gar standing next to him. The slightly taller man had his arms folded, stood with a rigid posture, appeared stoic and intimidating. Considering this was Boxman’s direct rival, among other ties to significant persons in PV’s life, he should have interacted with or seen more of Mr. Gar than he had. Yet, he only saw Mr. Gar from a distance entering the Bodega in the early morning, trading a few cornball flirts and banter with Carol during her lunchbreak, teaching K.O. how to safely shoot energy blasts on the Plaza roof. All of the direct fights had been with K.O. or his friends.

Did Mr. Gar even know that he’d entered….?

The slight view of Mr. Gar’s eyeballs behind the glasses lenses shifted slightly. Then his huge shoulders rose and fell. Venomous felt like he was caught in the crosshair of a sniper rifle.

He was blushing with intense embarrassment. He unhelpfully remembered the meek, nervous, and painfully geeky El Bow. Laserblast loved to wind up and fluster his squeamish teammate. “Silver and I have a date at the Starlight Theater tonight. I heard you’re a horror buff. Any good recommendations for what would scare someone to cuddles?” “You’ll catch flies if your mouth stays open like that. Want one of my suckers? It’s a pretty good way to train your tongue for...certain recreational activities.” “We should hang out sometime, El Bow! My girlfriend really talked you up.”

PV blew out a long breath as his shoulders slumped and he tried, desperately, to look anywhere but at Mr. Gar.

“Hey…” Mr. Gar said with as much awkwardness as PV felt. “Going up?”

“Yes,” PV said.

“Me too. Forgot there was...somewhere else I wanted to go…”

The elevator started moving. Now it was too late to punch the button and bail.

Thankfully, Mr. Gar let the conversation taper off and went quiet. It’d be just one more minute stuck in here. This was bearable. PV just had to stay in his former teammate and love rival’s presence until the elevator-

The elevator squawked.

No.

The elevator creaked and came to a sudden halt.

No.

A few seconds passed. Everything was quiet, the atmosphere felt heavy, and PV’s heart started hammering. He prayed to any divine entity, corn related or not, that the elevator would start moving again.

Instead the emergency light clicked on. A bored, automated voice announced: “A technician will come help you shortly.”

PV cursed. Loudly. A dry lump formed in his throat as he turned and looked at Mr. Gar again. The other man’s cool demeanor dropped. His brows were furrowed, he frowned, and he was nervously rubbing the back of his neck while simultaneously tugging at his tie. Both of those gestures were a common thing for El Bow but it was weird seeing Mr. Gar do this.

“Good thing I’m not on a time crunch…” Mr. Gar said with a shrug.

PV shrugged back in response. Any words or other sounds were stuck in his throat next to the lump of indeterminate origin.

After that, Mr. Gar leaned against the elevator wall and looked around at anything and everything that wasn’t his current unwanted company. For a moment, PV looked at him, then at the fancy light attached to the ceiling, then the buttons immediately next to the door. Nervous energy rattled from PV’s head to the toes of his boots.

He muttered another string of curses and walked up to the buttons display. He started tracing the outline of the metal and desperately rummaging through memories of all the times Fink talked his ear off about her lock picking pet projects and what tool was a good fit for what. But he was too flustered to pull anything useful from those thoughts. All he could tangibly keep in mind was that she was cute and he was happy she had a new interest she was so passionate about.

“I don’t think it’ll take the tech too long to get here,” Mr. Gar piped up.

Next PV started trying to remember if Boxman ever built something related to elevators, levers, pulleys. Or more specifically, if Boxman had injected a detailed description of an evil elevator into their pillow talk or late night conversations period. He ranted about planned obsolescence a surprising amount during their intimate moments together.

“If you can, take a big, deep breath,” Mr. Gar said.

“I’m not claustrophobic!” PV barked as he turned around.

“That’s good.” Mr. Gar took a deep breath himself. “I just wanted to make sure you’re...okay…..”

“No.” PV let out a sharp breath and looked down at the floor.

“If I punch a hole through the wall in just the right spot, we could jump out and get back to the mall that way,” Mr. Gar said with a short laugh. “I’d rather not do pointless property damage if I can help it though.”

“The mall would definitely be down an elevator if you did.” PV snorted. “Cosma owns this property. She’d probably just send us a bill, never repair it, and leave up a permanent ‘Out of Order’ sign.”

“I’ve noticed some of the...shabby repair work here,” Mr. Gar said. “I don’t come here unless I absolutely have to.”

“So it wouldn’t be that big a deal if we broke one more thing….” PV looked at Mr. Gar, then at the wall, and back again.

“What about customers that need the elevator for mobility reasons?” Mr. Gar fixed an incredulous look at PV. “There’s plenty of people that need these elevators, Cosma being irresponsible or not.”

“Ugh….” PV grunted. “Any smart person should avoid Cosma’s stores.”

Mr. Gar raised his brows. “I’m here. You’re here. And as I said, I try to avoid this mall. I’m here for something very specific that, unfortunately, I can’t find anywhere else. I can’t find it online either.”

“What are you looking for?” PV planted his fists on his hips. “I’m pretty good at finding niche and obscure things in town. Or figuring out where to find them if there isn’t a supplier in immediate Lakewood.”

“Well….” Mr. Gar started stroking his chin. “There’s an artisan here that sells these little sculptures of heroes and villains. Carol sent me a picture of a particular one with K.O., Rad, and Enid. I’m a really big proponent of supporting artists and small businesses. And I really want to surprise my so-treasured employee with that one. I don’t think this artisan has a shop front anywhere else.”

“Both Carol and K.O. strike me as sentimental types.” PV shifted weight from one leg to the other. “I think K.O. would be pretty thrilled with something you made yourself.”

“I’m terrible at crafts…” Mr. Gar muttered.

“It’d be a gift from his father,” PV sighed. “It could be a styrofoam cup with pipe cleaner arms and legs and a badly drawn face. He’d love it! I bet you’d cry your eyes out if K.O. made something like that for you.”

“Father? I’m his boss-”

“Right…” PV rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen him trying to mimic your moves. He has a pair of sunglasses just like yours. He wore your pink tie on Father’s Day.”

The sound of a boiling kettle started up.

“I just wanted to know if this artisan had another shop front!” Mr. Gar raised his hands. “This has nothing to do with what we’re talking about.”

“What’s the artisan’s name?” PV folded his arms.

“Terrance?” Mr. Gar tapped his chin in thought. “Quarterly? Maybe Sugar?”

“You just gave me three very different names.” PV huffed. “There’s a Quarterly and Funnco here. Funnco has figures, but they’re usually secondhand or mass produced. Quarterly makes a lot of custom figures but it’s a wide variety of things. Not just local heroes and villains.”

“It’s probably Quarterly!” Mr. Gar snapped his fingers.

“Quarterly only sells here,” PV said. “He’s in the process of setting up a website...”

“...thanks.”

“Sure thing.”

PV whistled and then dug his phone out of his pocket. After a few seconds of aimlessly swiping around on the screen, he regretted not taking Fink’s suggestion to emulate a few retro games on here or something. No new messages from anybody either. His inbox was probably full of lame attempts from Billiam to recruit him back to the Board and other clients wanting chemicals, viruses, whatever. Nothing he was itching to give immediate attention.

“How did you know about K.O. wearing my tie on Father’s Day?”

“Hmm…?”

“I haven’t seen you around the Plaza, Professor. How did you know?”

“Boxman has at least one of the bots go undercover and patrol the shops at least once a day,” PV chuckled. “I don’t think your employees care unless they make a dramatic entrance in the box, right? Well, all of the bots have a pretty big soft spot for family bonding. Shannon told us about the tie and could barely keep herself together over how cute she thought it was.”

Hot Coffee: A Joe Cuppa Love Story!

Part of Chapter 1: You Latte Me Crazy

Rating: General Audiences

In-Progress

Synopsis: It's up to Joe Cuppa, the movie star, renowned comedian, and now RnB singer, to write and perform the perfect mood-setting love song for Mr. Gar and Carol! Mr. Gar is finally popping the question. Along the way, Joe meets the gorgeous Cupid and volunteers to help Cupid's fight to stop his rival the Romance Scrooge from destroying Valentine's Day.

Rad’s antennae shook excitedly and he turned to Joe with a face-splitting grin. “I think this would be the perfect place to start the tour for your upcoming RnB album!”

“I agree.” Joe nodded. “I really like the little atmospheric touches. That’s exactly what I need for my slow ballads to hit with couples on date night.”

“Speaking of date nights…” Rad cleared his throat and started fiddling with his fingers. “Does the particular day and time I suggested work for a surprise appearance?”

“I see. Wanting to impress a special someone?” Joe wiggled his brows.

“No. No-not for me.” Rad raised his hands and flushed, embarrassed. “I’ll definitely keep in touch when I’m ready for that step. This is for my boss, Mr. Gar. He’s been hinting at popping the question to his girlfriend Carol for awhile now and I’m hoping this will finally give him that extra little push!”

“This isn’t an out of the blue proposal, is it?” Joe asked in a warning tone, resting his hands on his hips. “I’ve seen one too many of those go wrong at my previous shows. I want nothing to do with putting some unsuspecting dame on the spot!”

“No. They’ve talked about it.” Rad ran a hand through his curls. “She’s ready! They both have engagement rings picked out for each other. She said she wants to keep the ball in Mr. Gar’s court because it’d be a big ego boost if he gets to be the one to propose.”

“Ohhh…” Joe wagged a finger. “Now, that’s a pleasant surprise. I can get behind that!”

“Excellent!” Rad clapped.

“I’ll even write a song just for them.” Joe casually rested his fingers in his pants pockets and leaned back. “I already have a name picked out. It’ll be called… “You Latte Me Crazy.”

Rad chuckled appreciatively. “Carol loves a good pun! Perfect.”

“I’ll get started right away.” Joe pumped his fists. “Know anywhere with a tuned piano?”

“...my dad has a piano.”

“I’m not invading your personal space like that, kid.” Joe folded his arms.

“Hmm….I’m not sure.” Rad started rummaging in his pants pocket. “My riva-boyfriend might know. I’ll see if I can pick his brain real quick.”

“Invite him to my show!” Joe winked.

“A-ah….” Rad had already punched in the number and he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Invite him!” Joe cheered. “I’ll give you free tickets. Heck, I’m feeling generous. I’ll nab some tickets for your other little friend and her girl too!”

“She’s not….” Rad bit his lip and let the thought linger. “Yeah. Thanks Joe!”

Before Joe could good-naturedly rib the young man any further, Rad’s boyfriend answered.

“Hey Raymond.” Rad tugged at his shirt collar. “Are you free next Friday…?”

There was a loud squeal on the other end of the line. The tips of Rad’s ears fluttered slightly and Joe lightly touched the mug handle on the side of his head to check for chips.

“Yeah.” Rad’s face was a cherry tomato as he nodded and his irises flitted about. “It’s for a Joe Cuppa RnB show at the Starlight Ballroom.” He nodded as a stream of excited chatter spilled from the other line. “Yeah, we can coordinate outfits. I don’t need you to treat me though.”

That last line elicited what sounded like angry chatter.

Rad’s face was a personalized fireworks show as his expression shifted at least six more different times. “I’m not….Is it so-Ugh….”

They sounded like a lightly bickering married couple.

[celestialtitania]

reading year in review

ty @bittersweetresilience beloved for the tag. i have gone diving deep into the archives to pull these out (about 140 pages into my history on ao3 to be exact)...so just about every month has around 2 fics. until i did this i had no idea i read THIS MUCH. insanity.

very long post so under the cut

January

#thatjacksonkid by the_german_grim_reaper (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

Following an episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved, several twitter users do their best to uncover the truth about Percy Jackson. They get surprisingly far.

hilarious. the fic had me in stitches. i love a good outsider pov and esp when it has mortals look into the godly world. it really puts into perspective how crazy their lives are without context.

Internet Friends by limited_edge (My Hero Academia)

All For One, like many other individuals, has non-violent hobbies. Said hobbies result in him trying to troll quirk analyst SmallMight41 online and getting repeatedly (and accidentally) wrecked in the process.

izuku getting the chance to spar with afo, even mentally, is one of the best gifts of fandom. i love seeing izuku winning and afo seething. this fic had me intrigued, in awe, and on tenterhooks the whole time i was reading.

February

Primary Sources (And Historical Epiphanies) by hoover_the_fish (Miraculous Ladybug)

Mary Beauréal hates history, so she's not too jazzed for the history reports and group presentations that Caline Bustier assigns for her class. However, the people in her life have an odd connection to an era her teacher refers to only as, "Ladybug and Chat Noir," a connection that none of them seem to want to remember. "For some reason, there aren’t a whole lot of newspaper articles, but there’s an old blog online that might be worth checking out. As far as I know all the pictures, interviews, the articles that still exist- they all ended up there at some point or another." "Do you know what it's called?" "I believe she named it the Ladyblog."

ive been following this fic for awhile and the MYSTERY has me hooked. this fic is so much more than it seems and it has me so very invested.

fishing in alaska by CaffeinatedFlummadiddle (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

“This… this would qualify as a mental breakdown, right?” Triton asked, frowning over his shoulder to where Percy was still fuming in the corner. The lady at the counter curiously glanced over before lifting a questioning brow. “My brother – half-brother, technically, I have much better breeding – decided to run away from home to where our father can’t reach him and now he won’t leave. And now I can’t leave unless he leaves,” Triton continued. Percy opened his mouth to object that wasn’t what happened at all, but the tyrant only waved a hand to silence him. “He’s seen war or whatever, so if you could maybe just drug him then I’ll throw him into a suitcase and we can be out of here by the Summer Solstice!” Silence. Finally, the woman cleared her throat and turned to Percy. “I’m guessing he’s the one you want checked into the mental hospital?” She asked. Triton gasped as Percy punched the air in victory. “Aha!” Or Getting in trouble works a little differently when your parent is an all-powerful god. Sometimes you have to escape to the land beyond gods and get your immortal brother turned human to drag you back so you can be exploded a million pieces. You know, normal teenage stuff.

one of my favourite fics of all time, ive read this so many times. So Many Times. ao3 says 37 and i believe it. there is comedy, there is angst, and the emotional beats are to die for. 11/10 would recommend.

Life is A Dream by selenemoon (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

One minute Aang and Appa were fighting a storm, the next Aang was holding a baby. When two soulmates are asleep at the same time they create a dreamscape instead of dreaming. Aang has been sleeping a long time. Long enough to raise five soulmates... (Aang is really tired given how long he's been sleeping.)

love seeing the gaang grow up. really taking a closer look into their childhoods is so fun, and they're so babey but true to character. amazing fic.

March

In A Moment Like This by dreamlittleyo (BBC Merlin)

When Prince Arthur vanishes in the middle of a hunt, replaced by a significantly older—and more kingly—version of himself from the future, the world goes a bit topsy turvy. This really isn't Merlin's fault. But somehow, he needs to fix it anyway.

time travel? magic? shenanigans? you can't get me more hooked.

hidden by glacialdawn (Spy x Family)

"Opayshun Sticks gonna fail?" Anya mumbles, fast asleep. Loid freezes on the spot.

coming from the ml fandom, i love a good reveal fic and man does this deliver.

April

Egg-legant Parents by Ewq1111 (Spy x Family)

The kids have to take care of caterpillars, Damian is more concerned why Anya and Glooman are laughing.

this fic is just pure silly. i love those chapters when the kids are goofing around at eden and this fic is exactly that.

a small world, isn't it? by marzipan_maples (My Hero Academia)

Shouto realises there's never a dull moment when it comes to his boyfriend. OR, alternatively: Two times Midoriya Izuku accidentally met Todoroki Rei and the one time it was on purpose.

this may be a tododeku fic on the surface but its really such a character study on rei at the same time. i just love the interactions between the characters and how well portrayed the todoroki family is in how much they care for each other despite the dysfunction.

May

it runs in the family by cloudyheaven (My Hero Academia)

It takes Nana three seconds of knowing Izuku Midoriya to know Toshinori chose the right successor. Or, sometimes a family can be just you, your emotional support Gran Torino, your #1 hero pseudo-son, your adopted grandson, and your adopted grandson's mother.

found family is my kryptonite. just all the wholesome vibes ever.

it's raining, it's pouring (i need you here 'cause i'm a mess) by bleugris (trivia_cypher) (My Hero Academia)

It's raining and Shouto is exhausted, physically and emotionally. It's been hell the past few weeks and his friend, the one person who can possibly understand, is gone, but when Shouto comes face to face with Midoriya again, he realizes that maybe he isn't the one his friend needs, no matter how much Shouto needs him.

ANGST. PINING. TODODEKU. does it get better than this? i dont think so.

June

room to grow by Mysecretfanmoments (Haikyuu)

Third year Kageyama is considerate, careful, doesn't grab Hinata's hair. Hinata's still trying to figure out how he feels about it.

as the title says, just them growing and developing their relationship together. i fully enjoyed them maturing but still being their silly volleyball obsessed selves.

i've been waiting to smile by themorninglark (Haikyuu)

And he’s calling him Shouyou like they’re old friends already. So, Hinata decides, they must be. (or, The Unlikely Tale of how Hinata Shouyou builds an odd friendship with a super-smart, super-quiet rival setter.)

kenhina my beloved. *and* canon compliant. it fills in all the missing gaps and shows just how they became such good friends despite living so far from each other, just what i needed to be fulfilled, really.

July

A Completely Normal Cooking Show by CoreyWW (Omori)

The dream always ended the same, but the start kept changing. This time, the beginning was Hero on his own cooking show.

chills. literal chills down my spine. this was so intense and well written. a psychological horror piece indeed.

all lights turned off can be turned on by Toasted_Waffles (Fairy Tail)

“Loke…” Lucy whispers. “Is there anything I can do to help you? You seem so…sad.” “Maybe you could distract me from my troubles,” Loke blurts. He follows a sudden impulse, allowing his intense homesickness to guide his voice, “I’m curious. Which spirits do you have contracts with?” or: Ever since Karen died, Loke’s been fading away, mentally and physically. Lucy brings some light back to his life.

nothing like hurt/comfort from the early arcs.

August

monster by FireDragonPhia (Fairy Tail)

Monster. How many times has someone called him that?

a natsu dragneel character study. everyone portrays him as super goofy and silly so its nice to delve into his mind and see the serious stuff going in there.

stars on the water by liketolaugh (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

"I dunno, I just think it would make a lot of things easier for a lot of people," Percy said to Thalia, when she just stared at him. His cheek rested in his hand, a rare pensive look leaving his eyes distant and unfocused. "Mom has Paul now, so it’ll be easier on her if she doesn’t have to worry about me mucking things up. Dad won’t have to keep threatening war every time Zeus gets his toga twisted. The prophecy’s done, so I won’t be bringing it down on Nico. And no one will have to worry about me blowing up another volcano."

this one. this one was....A Lot. in a good way. it's a percy goes to therapy after the og series fic and it really dives deep into some dark areas. watching percy heal from it was beautifully done. pls check the tags carefully if anyone decides to read this, because you definitely need to be in a good space to read this.

September

Lingering Memory of You by ReaderError72 (Fairy Tail)

Natsu seems to be the only one in Fairy Tail that's aware something is missing. Day: Twelve: "Can you feel me? I'm right here"

nothing like whump for the soul.

October

water into wine by magnuschases (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

Dionysus accidentally claims Percy. They both take advantage of it. (five times percy was the son of dionysus and one time he was the son of poseidon)

one of The best things to come out of the tv show. i said what i said.

All Roads Lead to Your Grave by nemali (Original Fiction)

this fic was like being hit by pure lightning. you think you know exactly where it's going and it does not go there. drove me insane in the best way possible.

November

dots of stars by Ladykyriaa (Apothecary Diaries)

As he took on a closer look, he realized she looked rather…different, today. Her hair was the same, the usual half ponytail and several strands of hair divided on either side. Her clothes were the usual green robe and brick red skirt. Her freckles was.. Hm?

a bit of a charcter study...or perhaps relationship study. digging beneath the surface and connecting it with the future knowledge is so rewarding to read.

December

Through the Decades...Hour by Hour by TicoryBlues (My Hero Academia)

Against all the odds, through a dozen eras and seven billion people at any given point of time, he had the ill luck of running into Midoriya Izuku. Every. Fucking. Time. Or Immortal Izuku and Time Traveller Katsuki and their non-linear love story

this fic made me whole and broke me apart all over again. and i would read it again. and again. and again.

the love quirk by minimeowngi (My Hero Academia)

For Katsuki and Izuku, their last day of work studies takes a dangerous turn when a villain's quirk alters everything they thought they knew about each other. Katsuki, usually fierce and aloof, wakes up acting uncharacteristically sweet and protective toward Izuku—a behavior that the class can't ignore and Izuku can't explain. While the pros scramble to reverse the quirk's effects, Izuku finds himself caught in a bittersweet dream—watching the person he's always loved shower him with affection, knowing it's not real. As Katsuki's obsession grows, Izuku battles his own emotions, torn between cherishing their fleeting connection and bracing for the inevitable heartbreak when the quirk is undone.

aka the fic i am currently obsessed with. i read every update immediately, as soon as i can. so so SO excited to see where it's going.

phew. that was so many. wow. i def read less in the final few months as i got busy with work, and also concentrated on reading more long fics but still, that was so many fics. at least this way i found some i don't remember and plan to reread hehe. not sure who hasn't been tagged but anyone who feels like it, is free to join!!

[thatfanfictionchick]

This is intended to be...archival, for myself, mostly. But if you find it interesting you should definitely check out Ikemen Villains!

Ikevil Event - Wrapped in Wicked Romance pt.2

Ellis's Route Ch. 1

·✦...·✧

What is happiness?

It was like the sky at twilight, changing colors right before your eyes.

Even though it may capture your heart forever and never let go, you’ll never experience the same thing twice.

(What am I doing? I really need to pull it together.)

Today, Victor called me to the palace where we enjoyed tea time together.

Just when I thought the day would end with that peaceful chat, he told me something shocking.

Victor: “Oh, I almost forgot! I have your first mission as Fairytale Keeper!”

Kate: “Oh, really? What is it?”

Victor: “I want you to choose one member of Crown to spend the day with as a couple.”

Kate: “... Pardon?”

(As a couple?!)

Kate: “W-wait just a minute! I don’t know the first thing about any of them!”

Victor: “Precisely! That’s just it, Miss Kate!”

Victor: “I was trying to figure out a way you could get to know them more deeply, and I finally came up with it!”

Victor: “I’m an absolute genius! Well, it’s already late today, so you can start tomorrow. I’m so excited.”

(I have to get them to trust me, so I can’t just run away during the first mission. I have to say yes.)

(But how am I supposed to pretend to be a couple with one of them?)

It was going to be a rough day – I was so deep in thought I nearly got run over by a carriage.

I looked down at my ankle, which I’d twisted badly jumping out of the way of the carriage, and let out a sigh.

(Well, there’s no point in worrying about it.)

(I’ll go see Roger and ask if he’ll lend me a plaster or something.)

As I limped up the stairs toward the entrance…

Ellis: “What happened to your leg?”

Kate: “Whoa! You scared me, Ellis.”

Ellis appeared out of nowhere, startling me so much my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

Ellis: “Are you in pain?”

The night I had avoided being killed by becoming Fairytale Keeper…

…Ellis was the one who’d said, “Should we kill her?”

(Then shortly after that, he gave me some weird proposal and said he’d make me happy.)

I couldn’t help but feel incredibly uneasy.

Ellis: “I’ll take care of you. Put your arm around my shoulders and hang on.”

Kate: “Waaah!”

As soon as he saw that my ankle was swollen, he easily lifted me up without a moment’s hesitation.

Kate: “N-no, I’m fine! I can walk…”

Ellis: “Roger’s not here tonight, so I’ll take a look and determine whether or not you’re fine.”

Ellis ignored my protests and carried me toward the basement.

(He seems really used to this…)

He skillfully wrapped a bandage around my sprained ankle.

His gentle fingers moved deftly while holding my bare foot.

But he was very serious about what he was doing, so he didn’t make me feel bad about it at all.

Ellis: “How did you get hurt?”

Kate: “I was walking along without paying attention and almost got hit by a carriage. I twisted it as I jumped away.”

Ellis: “A carriage, huh? Are you worried about something?”

(I’m not sure if I should talk to him or not… but maybe he has some good advice.)

Kate: “Victor told me my first mission was to pretend to be a couple with one of the Crown members for a day.”

Kate: “But now that my ankle is twisted, I think it would be best if it was someone with whom I wouldn’t have to move around too much.”

Kate: “Do you know who I should choose?”

He finished securing the ends of the bandage together and then stared at me for a moment.

Ellis: “I’d like to do it.”

Kate: “Huh?”

Ellis: “I want to play the role of your boyfriend.”

(He does?!)

Kate: “But why?”

Ellis: “I want to make you as happy as possible while you’re here.”

He’d said something similar on the night we met.

(Why would he think that about someone he just met, right after asking if they should kill me?)

Ellis: “I don’t want you to be sad when the day is over tomorrow. So can I be your boyfriend?”

(I feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea, but…)

He’d been very kind to me and wrapped my ankle with great concern.

I couldn’t be cold or suspicious after that.

Kate: “S-sure.”

Ellis: “...Yay.”

He smiled happily and then lifted me up.

Kate: “I-I’m fine now! You bandaged me up and everything.”

Ellis: “I realize that you’re someone who doesn’t want to cause trouble for others even though you’re injured.”

Ellis: “But I don’t trust you when you say you’re fine. Let me take you to your room.”

Kate: “You’re making a huge fuss over nothing…”

I tried to convince him to stop, but he didn’t have any intention of letting me down.

So I had no other choice but to sit still and let him carry me.

Ellis: “I’d like to know more about you so I can make plans for tomorrow. What makes you happy?”

Kate: “Um… Eating something delicious?”

Ellis: “Hmm. Well, then. I’ll buy something delicious and we can have a picnic.”

Ellis: “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning. From that point on, we’ll be a couple.”

Kate: “...Okay. Thank you.”

(I was a bit unsure about this first mission, but it’s going pretty smoothly.)

(Maybe TOO smoothly. Should I be more cautious of Ellis?)

I looked down at the carefully wrapped bandage.

I wasn’t sure why he did it, but he had treated me with great care.

(I’m sure I’ll be fine with Ellis. Right…?)

-next morning-

Ellis: “Good morning, Kate.”

Kate: “Good morning. What’s that?”

The following morning, Ellis came to my room to pick me up, just as he said he would.

He was carrying something that looked like a chair with wheels attached to it.

Ellis: “It’s called a wheelchair. They’re not easy to come by, so I made one.”

Kate: “You made it… But why?”

Ellis: “Because I don’t want my girlfriend to put any strain on her injuries.”

(His girlfriend…)

Kate: “Wait, you did all that for me?”

Ellis: “Of course. Now come and sit down.”

I hesitantly sat down and was surprised at how comfortable it was. I could probably sit there for quite some time.

He pushed me from behind and the wheels turned smoothly as the chair moved forward.

Kate: “This is amazing. I can’t believe that not only do you know of such a useful thing, but you could make it, too!”

Ellis: “A long time ago, I researched things like… I just happened to remember it yesterday.”

Kate: “Thank you so much. I’m really happy. But you’re really making too much of a fuss. I don’t have any broken bones. I can walk.”

I tried to stand up, but…

Ellis: “No. You could make it worse, and then you really won’t be able to walk.”

Kate: “Huh?!”

He hugged me from behind and made me stay in the chair.

Ellis: “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

Ellis: “And if we come across stairs, I’ll lift the chair up.”

Ellis: “All you have to do is sit here today. Please.”

Ellis whispered as he held me, his voice sweet against my ear. I was unable to stand or even move.

I was so bewildered by his excessive kindness. It was like I was being wrapped in a warm blanket.

(...Maybe this is how he treats his girlfriends?)

(Is it weird to ask him to stop, even though we’re pretending to be a couple?)

Kate: “All right. Thank you.”

Ellis: “Great. This will be our first date together.”

Ellis: “And I’ll do my best to make it the happiest day ever.”

·✦...·✧

[chapter 2] [main page]

[chicago-pd-is-weird]

Day 7: Passing Out/Unresponsive

@the-three-shits-whump

Read it on AO3 via the link, or find it below the cut:

Trudy smiled as she stood behind the desk, Erin walking up to greet her. “Hey, Sergeant.”

“Lindsay, what can I do for you?” Trudy asked, leaning forward on the desk.

���I was wondering if you could look into someone for me… off the books,” Erin replied, quieter now.

Trudy hummed, taking the paper Erin slipped her. “Who is it?”

“A bad guy,” she replied. “A real bad guy. I’m hoping to track him down before anyone else can.”

Trudy looked at Erin, seeing the same look in her eye Hank often had before he did something stupid, like hide a body. She sighed, debating helping, but took the paper and nodded. “I’ll look into it. No guarantees.”

“Thank you, Trudy,” Erin replied.

—

That was how it had started, at least. Innocent as checking into someone’s background and history. It ramped up after that, Trudy telling Erin exactly what she found out, which wasn’t good. Erin thanked her and Trudy figured that was going to be the end of it. She never figured it would be traced back to her.

Never in a million years.

Kim walked up to the desk, Kevin in tow, a box in his hands. He held it as Kim grabbed Trudy’s attention. “Sarge?”

“What is it, Burgess?” Trudy asked, not looking up from her reports.

“Package for you. Got dropped off with the mail outside.” Kim set the stack of letters in a paper tray, Kevin setting the box on the desk, prompting Trudy to glance up.

Trudy furrowed her brow. “A package? I don’t remember ordering anything.”

“The return address says it’s from the ivory tower,” Kim pointed out. “Maybe it’s a new jacket or something.”

Trudy looked down at her jacket, then back at Burgess. “What’s wrong with the one I have, Burgess?”

Kim looked a little uncomfortable, shrugging. “Nothing, Sergeant. It looks nice. I just thought… Maybe since you like it so much… they maybe sent you another one?”

“Yeah, right, I gotta beg just for more toilet paper around here,” Trudy huffed, cutting the tape with her pocket knife, then opening the box. Just as she did, something sprayed out, some kind of strong mist. Kim and Kevin jumped back, but it hit Trudy directly in the face. She blinked, shocked at first, looking down at the package, seeing nothing but some kind of mechanism that deployed the mist. She groaned, blinking as the voices around her faded. Kim and Kevin’s voices meshed together, then got far away. Trudy hadn’t even realized she was falling until she hit the ground, too weak to move. The world spun around her as she saw others she knew at her side, particularly Hank and Alvin. Then, her eyes rolled back and the world went black.

.

Hank and Al walked up the steps of the district, Hank shaking his head. “Al, I’m telling you, you can’t live in the garage anymore. Come stay at my place.”

“I want to be close to Lexi. She’s my life, man. I don’t want to miss these years when she needs me most.”

“And you think living in the garage is gonna solve that? Come on, Al.”

“At least I’ll be close. That’s better than being halfway across Chicago. I mean, look at Antonio and his divorce. It’s terrible.”

Hank hummed, shrugging. He couldn’t argue with that. He opened the door and walked in with Al, walking up the inside steps of the district and to the front desk. “Help!” He heard a familiar voice call. Hank and Al sprung into action, running around the desk to see Kim and Kevin kneeling beside Trudy. She was moaning, obviously something was wrong.

“Move,” Hank commanded, Burgess moving out of his way. “Call for an ambo, now!”

Kim got onto her radio, calling for an ambulance to be dispatched to the district. Trudy was still moaning, seemingly trying to stay in this world and not move on to the next.

Hank brushed her hair away from her face and cupped it. “Trudy? Trudy! Come on, can you hear me? Dee, come on!” Hank put a fist on her chest, pressing and rubbing it up and down, trying to see if she would wake up or respond. When her eyes rolled back and fluttered shut, Hank frowned and looked at Al, who had taken Kevin’s place. “The hell?”

Al looked up at the two beat officers, who were obviously stressed. “What happened?”

“Sh-She opened this box,” Kim said, going to grab it.

“Hey, hey, just leave it,” Al replied. “Don’t need anyone else hurt, either.”

“Some kind of mist sprayed out of it. Next thing we knew, she was on the ground,” Kevin said.

“The return address was HQ,” Kim continued. “We didn’t think it was suspicious cause it was with the rest of the mail and-“

“Evacuate the building,” Hank said. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with. Have everyone take the back way out. Don’t walk past here unless it’s absolutely necessary. We have no idea if this is contagious or not, so we want to limit exposure. Go now.”

Kim and Kevin went off to evacuate the building, taking everyone out the back way. The Intelligence Unit, however, tried to come down the stairs. Alvin stood and shook his head. “No, go out the back way. Go.”

“Al, we want to help,” Adam pleaded.

“There’s nothing you guys can do. Get out. We don’t know what this is.”

The rest of the team reluctantly left, except for Erin. She took a few steps closer. “I know what this is.”

Hank continued to take Trudy’s vitals, trying to wake her and get her to respond to stimuli, but it was no use. Alvin looked at Erin. “How do you know?”

“Hector Temple,” she replied. “I’ve been tracking him off the books for a while now. Trudy helped me.”

Hank looked up at Al with a frown, Al kneeling and switching places with Hank as he walked over to Erin. “Hector Temple? Why are you looking into him?”

“Because… He might be my father. My birth father.”

Hank blinked, then huffed. “Temple was a shit cop. He was fired for negligence. Then, he ran off and I didn’t head of him again until he popped up on a most wanted list. Apparently, he was a major player in the drug scene.”

“Yeah,” Erin replied. “He disappeared but sometimes he pops back up in Chicago. There’s been a pattern that every few years he comes back. I wanted to find him this time and get some answers.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this, you-“

“Hank, he sent a box with gas in it. Is Trudy going to be okay?”

Hank pointed up the stairs. “Go out the back and wait with the rest of the unit. Fill them in on what you know about this guy. We’re finding him and we’re taking came of him once and for all. Go.”

Just then, the paramedics rushed in, Al urging them behind the desk to take a look at Trudy. Hank watched Erin go back up the stairs, tears brimming her eyes. Then, he turned and went to help the paramedics. “Alright, we need to get her to the hospital,” one of them said. “We’ll get the stair chair and-“

“No need,” Hank replied, leaning down and picking Trudy up bridal-style. “Let’s go, we’ll get her onto the gurney this way.”

“Alright then,” the paramedic said, walking ahead of Hank to get the gurney. Hank carried Trudy out, Al close behind with the other paramedic. They got her onto the stretcher and loaded into the ambo. Hank pointed at the ambo. “Go with her, Al.”

“You both need to. You, and anyone who’s contaminated.”

Hank looked around, scanning the crowd. “Burgess, Atwater!” He called, the two running over in record time. “Get up in there. Go with her.”

“Yes sir,” Kim said, getting into the ambo with Al, Kevin riding up front.

“If it’s something serious, I’ll come in,” Hank said, nodding to Al and taking a final look at Trudy before shutting the ambo door and banging on it, the sirens wailing. Hank sighed deeply, then looked over all the employees standing outside the district, including his own unit. He walked over to them, nodding. “Let’s go. We have work to do.”

[asachuu]

It has been a long, long time…and there is no better way to start a new year than bringing back something beloved lost to the winds, right?

And what is that beloved thing, you may ask? It is…

…the long, long awaited 31st update of my fic, after a year-long hiatus.

…and I’ll be sappy about that, as well as everything, of course, but firstly, by God, what a dreadful year it was.

I can’t go into detail for the sake of my privacy, but if it wasn’t obvious, all the ceased activity on most of my blogs and accounts wasn’t just out of nowhere, and I wholeheartedly thought two things— the first was, the chance of me no longer being here today was much higher than I’d like to admit, and the second…even if, by some miracle, I found myself still alive and well, I would have never been able to return to my usual doings in any capacity, seeing all my works as lost to time.

Well, if it isn’t clear, neither of those things happened.

There were no miracles involved, and the true reason behind it is ironically not one that leaves me joyful whatsoever, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still around, and not just that, I hopefully still have it in me to tie up some loose ends on all the works I wanted to make from the start.

Truth is, I’m very surprised I’m writing this at the moment— I’ve only gotten this update done in the past three days, and before that, I’d been completely sunken in a feeling of meaninglessness surrounding every single thing I’ve ever tried to do on here, but I think it’s taken some external matters to make me realize that even if that much is true, it could mean everything, as much as it could mean nothing.

Sure, maybe the posts I’ve thrown out into the wind will forever just be aimlessly floating, never to change a single thing in the world, but maybe, a single person will see them and be glad they were written, or even better, I’ll be the one who’ll feel glad I wrote them and put them out there, be it to the sea or to the wolves. And sure, maybe there’s no point in trying to change…ahem…some frustrating developments of events I’m reserving myself from commenting on for now, so what if I left all that be and focused on returning to something I’d hope some folks, as well as myself, could enjoy far more? In the end, I do hope my energy returns at some point and I’ll be able to do both again, but for now, seeing as I don’t have that, I’d much rather just make something I consider meaningful.

And don’t get me wrong, I don’t know how long this train of thought will last for me, as I’m more than certain it’ll take me far, far longer to restore my own life back to how it used to be for me to be able to return to all the things I left behind for a day I could have only hoped for, but I hope that I can at least get back to what this blog really meant to me in the first place, and I’m relieved to have picked some of the pieces back up again as this year ends, hopefully allowing me to try and start anew. Some things won’t be the same, I may post stuff much, much less frequently, but that’s a choice I feel as though is right for me.

Overall, everything is…really bittersweet, if I am to summarize it in one word, but that much is better than if all was just bitter entirely. If there’s anything I can say as I am right now, it’s that at the very least, all the times I thought could be the end of everything have ultimately made the handful of lovely ones more precious than anything else I could think of, and that I’m glad for. It’s not much, but if it’s something, that’s just fine by me.

Well, enough sentimental rambling from me. I truly hope you all have a wonderful year, I’m wishing everyone all the best, and a huge thank you to anyone who’s supported me along the way.

Happy 2025 to you all! ♡

(And feel free to check out the update to my fic if you’d like. This post is sponsored by me, after all. lol)

[heartofcupid]

🎀 — 🍮 cupid’s blog, art & archive ☆

✩ hello ! :-D

i’m cupid! but you can also call me jenny, jenn or angel! 💗 i like to draw! i’m mexican & 16 years old! 🐈‍⬛ i’m also bisexual & gender-fluid :^D ! i like ralph macchio, the karate kid (1984—1989), cobra kai, labyrinth (1986), literature, batman, spider-man, phantom of the opera, cats, the color pink & cute things! 💭💓

i also go by she / they & neopronouns love / doll ! :-D 💕

p.s. 💭 i like a lottt of things but you can also check out my carrd linked in my bio! it’s a bit old & needs to be updated since it has been over a year but it does have a lot of basic information i hope can be of use! once i update it, i will make sure it’s all up to date! 🩷

welcome to my blog! 🎧💕

☆ — art

i like to draw and practice art, i’m currently trying to learn digital art and have mainly drawn only traditionally but i enjoy both! i’m trying my best to practice a lot & will take any advice + critique given :-D!!!! 💗💗

top two photos —

first photo: a screenshot of my homepage for the app Procreate showing multiple drawings & sketches done on the app. Note: most are experimental pieces of art! so yeah some look a little wonky, it’s all just for fun :-D

second photo: art of my original character, Michelle, legs painted over because i cant draw legs and i just didn’t finish drawing them so i covered what was drawn of the legs at the end.

bottom 2 — sketches of my original character laelia :-)

last art! — (self portrait of myself! :-D)

☆ — (sadly i’m on doing this post on mobile so i can only add so many photos here, so for now here are some main ones that i have never uploaded until now! 💗⭐️🌛)

the following paragraphs of this post are not as important since it’s not art or really discusses much about anything else that’s really critical for my blog here but it is more information about me and what i like, so it’ll explain any other posts i might have on here & helps to know what to except! so this part is optional to read:^). ��

☆ music

my favorite music!! i don’t listen to music too much & would like to expand my music taste throughout all genres (rap, punk, goth, pop, cumbia, rock, electro, anything !)

music artists i like ! i’ll add them cuz i have to be honest, there’s no point of faking my music taste lol.

☆ — my spotify! for fun lol

cravity; bts; hatsune miku; the smiths; tv girl; my chemical romance; oliva rodrigo; radiohead; the cure; paramore; baby metal; alex g; blur; david bowie; plug plug; Procrastinación 1 Yo 0; tommy february6; strawberry switchblade; luis miguel, pinkpantheress; beabadoobee; & some more! but i’m mainly a casual listener to most / don’t know that many songs from each artist but enough of their hit songs lol!

☆ films & shows.

i watch a lot of films and shows but i’m not like … a cinephile? ofc not srsly ofc but maybe as a joke to say i’m like super deep into movies & shows i could be with outside side sometimes stopping me but it’s all good!! i’ve watched some shows, mainly with family so it does take me time to finish them if i don’t watch them on my own time. i also watch a handful of films so i hope this rundown of favorite, recently watched and want to watch films & shows can give another overview of myself :-D

shows

(completed)—mob psycho; breaking bad; the bear; aggretsuko; saiki k; Neon Genesis Evangelion; Card Captor Sakura; Great Pretender; Derry Girls; and more ^^

(want to watch)—yo soy betty, la fea; NANA; Death Note; kimi ni todoke; Kamisama Kiss; princess jellyfish; and some more ^^

films

side note, here’s my letterboxd lol.

all time favorite moviesss & obsessions: the karate kid trilogy; labyrinth (1986); spider-man into the spiderverse & across the spiderverse; Batman (2022); Pride & Prejudice (2005); edward scissorhands; Howls Moving Castle; and more! i watch a lot of movies but some favs on the top of my head 💗

☆ — i try to watch and enjoy as many different films as i can, i welcome any film, show and music recommendations!

i’ll try also to maybe update this post as much as i can to make sure that while it’s up, it’s also up to date!

i tend to make mistakes in my writing & while typing a lot, i also make mistakes while reading so if i send, type, write or mistake anything else while reading & writing on this blog or any other social media account i have i apologize & any correction suggestions/clarifications are welcomed!!

p.s. i might also do a follow up post to be linked to this post to show more art or just art here will be added / changed just incase! 💭🩷🐈‍⬛🐈

☆ 🤍

i don’t reblog that much, and im not active here as i am twitter and instagram lol but i try my best to interact as much as i can! i hope i can use this as an archive for my art & things i like while making friends & anything else lol but thank u for reading (^^ 🌷

☆ — ending song for fun lol

[ohsalome]

Sorry if this is a really annoying way to do this, I’m still a little new to tumblr and I’m not sure what’s the best way to go about this, but I saw the question from the Ukrainian Diaspora person and since I’m from it as well I thought I could maybe help.

(Note: a lot of this is from a Canadian lens, but a lot of it should apply to the states and maybe to other commonwealth countries to some extent)

So if you live in a town or city, my first go to would be to look for dance groups. This is definitely true in Canada, and I’m pretty sure true in the US: dance is at the centre of most of the diaspora culture here. Nearly every event will have performers, if they aren’t hosted by dance companies themselves, and it is the opinion of many older Ukrainian Canadians that dance is the most important thing here (there’s a long thing about diaspora history and trauma in there but that’s for later). Even if you don’t want to/can’t join a group, you can keep an eye out for zabavas to go to, especially around malanka (side note: the North American diaspora has a type of Kolomeyka that I believe is unique to us and originated in the Canadian Prairies, which is at most parties and Ukrainian events)

There’s also Ukrainian churches, which of course will have a number of Ukrainians, but if you’re not Christian maybe not a good choice

Ukrainian diaspora members are pretty obsessive about preservation and recording stuff, so anywhere there’s a population there’s a decent chance at a museum and a number of them have online portions. If you look up Ukrainian museum (insert country/region) stuff should come up, but for specific recommendations: the Ukrainian Village in Edmonton, AB is an open air museum detailing life of early Ukrainian Canadian settlers, and has some online tours, there’s the Ukrainian Museum of America and Canada respectively, and the University of Alberta has the Kule Folklore centre and the Bohdan Medwidsky archives.

On the topic of the University of Alberta, it at one point had one of the largest Slavic studies programs in North America, rivalling Harvard’s, and I would argue unlike others is Ukrainian centric rather than R*sso centric. It along with the University of Manitoba and Saskatchewan has a number of Ukrainian and Ukrainian diaspora resources (I’ll try putting some links at the end)

I found music to be a good way to connect with my heritage, especially folk songs. If you look up Ukrainian Folk Songs on YouTube you’ll get a lot to explore, but I’m sure that the Ukrainians here on tumblr can plug in a lot of people to check out

Finally, see if you can look into any Ukrainian political organizations in your area. In Canada we have the Ukrainian Canadian Congress as a sort of political representative for Ukrainian Canadians, but there’s other as well such as the Ukrainian Student Society in many universities. I’m not sure what the equivalents are in the states. There’s also scouting organizations such as Plast and SUSK, but I have no experience with them

As promised, links

Kule folklore centre

CIUS

Love Letters from the Past

The Ukrainian Village

Songs and Bands

Ukrainian Canadian ones

Zeellia

Balaklava Blues

Zubrivka

Millenia

Hloptsi z mista

Korinya

Ukrainian ones

Go_A

Один В Каное

Dakhabrakha

Христина Соловій

Тріо Маренич

Veryovka

Eteria

Individual Songs

А Льон Цвіте

Ой Розвиайся та Сухий Дубе

Хай Живе, Вільна Україна

Сонце низенько, вечір близенько

Ой у лузі червона калина

Ой чи є чи нема

Водограй

This is brilliant, thank you!

@bat-anon

[totkdaily]

Day 12: Lucky Clover Gazette

As if I hadn't had enough distractions, there's smoke and sad horn music from a hole in the ground, and I have to check.

Eustus is trapped here. He drove his wagon into the hole and, though his horse has run off and his cargo has spoiled, refuses to leave without the wagon. 

I build a tower of stuff on top of his wagon and haul him out. Apparently, his band broke up in the early days of the Upheaval. He reckons the rest of the Stable Trotters are at Woodland Stable - wasn't that where the music-loving Great Fairy had become a recluse? He's going to somehow return the borrowed wagon without a horse, and then head there. I’ll probably have to join him at some point.

Addison’s here too! How many adverts can one construction president need? I'm starting to think Addison's been sent away on busy work. 

The temperature drops and the sky darkens as I ride down the hill to what once was Rito Stable - it's now the Lucky Clover Gazette. Galli used to own this stable, but he’s now the odd-job guy. He warns me, apropos of nothing, that Hylian pine cones explode when they're burned. Noted. 

Inside the stable - or the Gazette? I find Penn, the Rito who told me to come here to be a journalist back in Lookout Landing. And it appears Traysi is the editor of the Gazette - who else! She seems to be doing well for herself, at least. 

She sends Penn away before she admits she knows me, and says Purah has already asked her to investigate the Princess' disappearance. Maybe Purah’s more committed to finding Zelda than I gave her credit for. I tell her my side of the story. 

Traysi says people have been seeing Zelda - all over, apparently! She wants me to partner with Penn without anyone knowing I'm involved, which is an interesting conceit. Does she think I’ll bias people, or that I’ll take the credit?. She'll pay me in clothes - as if I need an incentive to follow any trail that might actually lead to the Princess. Though the clothes do look useful. 

A sign on the back room door says the archives are closed - according to someone called Juanelle. I wonder if there’s a cave somewhere nearby that would get me underneath. 

Traysi says Penn is heading for Woodland Stable first - all roads seem to lead there. But not before I've checked in at Rito Village. 

There's no point heading to the village in the middle of the night, though. Everyone will be asleep. I wait by the fire until dawn.