#i'm sure there're more friends around them

[rayukiriver]

a lil thing for my dear boy's birthday!! 💖 Look at him, he's so happy to be the taller one for once!

[recklessfiction]

Keep an Eye Out As You Travel West

You see a church, you just keep on walking. Most are abandoned anyhow, nothing left in 'em but the hollowed out husks of their priests. The rest have been filled by now; old pretenders, zealots, and self proclaimed prophets snatching up any man fool enough to worship. And that's if you're lucky. There are older things, other things that have curled up amidst the altars of the Lord like worms in dirt. If you're wanting to do any worshiping, best do it out under the sky.

There're things that roam the dust, figures of men with eyes deader than any corpse and smiles as bright and pretty as a lady's. They come around sometimes, always trying to pawn off some bizarre thing; elaborate crowns made of rusted nails, gold lockets with strange portraits inside, letters that can't be read without getting a deep pounding in your head, and keys rusted with so much blood it'd be a wonder if they turned anything at all. Now, I've seen what comes for folks who trade with them and I'll tell you this. Wherever they got their goods, it sure as shit wasn't from here.

You'll be hearing now about the "Oil Baptisms," I'm sure. Black sea water dredged up from some abyss, thicker than any water I've ever seen and you can smell it long a mile away. They say it gives people "the sight" but of what I can't say. All I know is that once you start smelling that briny shit on the wind, the screaming don't start long after.

Be careful what deals you make out here. There're plenty of strange folk who would be more than glad to work you down to the bone and long after, too. Work is work, crops need harvesting, graves need digging, meat needs carving, and idols need worshiping. Watch your words and read your contracts, else you might just be stuck washing the feet of the righteous until doomsday.

Best stay indoors once night comes, that's when a lot of the "families" start movin' out. They take to the roads, long lines of them, a parade of the ugliest sons of bitches you've ever seen. In the daylight, their skin never fits quite right and stinks to high heaven but once the sun dips past the trees, they start taking it off. They move from place to place, sloughing off their decayed flesh and stealing new off any traveler they come across. Lock your doors and put out your lights before they coming knocking on your door, asking sweetly, "Do you have anything I could wear?"

I am of the opinion that the woods ought not be traversed by folk who ain't been called there. Keep to the roads and towns, there's enough foul mess there if it's strangeness you're looking for. But what's in the woods has always been in the woods and if you pass the treeline with no business being there, well. The woods will give you business.

While a useful tool, a gun won't save you from drowning in the bathtub of a family of fanatic prognosticators, or from having your skin torn clean off by the night sky. Keep your ears up for any kind of protection you can get and learn to speak well because a lot of smart talk can get you out of a whole mess of trouble.

Keep on moving, friend. If you're looking to survive this trek, don't stop for anything, not even to bury the dead or feed the starving. It ain't worth what'll catch you, cause there's always things waiting for a fella to slow down so's they can get their claws in faster, deeper. You wanna be stuck here, in the fields and the dirt, under the big sky while hymns are burned into your skull? No?

Then keep on moving.

[tatasoom]

"I'm still turning the pages"

Promised proper analysis of what happened in ep 12 and what creators wanted to tell us. Many quotes and pics and very real stories included. Enjoy!

The more I was thinking about the ending and how much disappointment and even hatred it brought, the more I was doubting the decision to make this analysis. However I believe there're people who open enough to look deeper, so you may like what the writers gave us.

It's three years after breaking up. Mhok and Day are hard-working people (as they used to be actually). Mhok is exploring his potential in cooking. Day is diving into his obsession with books.

There's a little hint for understanding how little these years mean for the brightest picture you'll never forget. It's Aon asking Day about writing his own book:

Should we get someone back here to assist you write?

Day's face has changed signaling that feelings are still there. Even after three years.

And then the meeting. And feelings from the perspective of Mhok.

And when it's almost the saddest scene in the whole world we're back to romantic comedy with P'Aof's one second cameo and pranks from Mhok. It feels like Mhok is silent in this scene only to laugh at Day, but it's a scene where Day is given a moment to think about his own feelings. And to get a little verbal slap at the end.

Then Mhok has a meeting with Phojai and Night. And if you look at their faces, you'll notice that nobody believes MhokDay story has ended. Some viewers have a question for Mhok acting like there hasn't been three years without the love of his life... Don't you think that all three years he has being told about Day by Phojai? I'm sure she did her best to be in contact!

And for Day blocking Mhok's number I have a personal experience reference. I unblocked my ex only when I was sure I feel nothing for him. I needed to be sure that whatever we'll say to each other my heart wouldn't feel the same way as when we were dating. It took around two or three years to learn this. Now do you understand Day better? After three years Mhok's number is still blocked.

So Mhok came to the Day's bookshop. They're playing this game second time. First it was Mhok's voice, and now it's Mhok's scent.

Day almost did it. He almost saved his face neutral. The book he chose as an editor betrayed him.

"Many books encourage us to put the past behind us and move forward. But this book raises the question: if the past was so beautiful, can we simply hold onto that beauty?"

Was their story beautiful enough to begin again with the same person?

Then they're again in the house they used to spent so much time together. And if it seems like Mhok again acts like caretaker, he's not. He is a guest now, he can make jokes, he can freely sit with others and he doesn't say another sorry to Mrs. Mhon. He's enjoying cooking for friends and teasing Day.

Later in another scene (that for sure is a homage to their fitting room scene from the third episode) Mhok said:

You don't have to put up such high walls with me. You know how happy I am when I get to take care of you.

For Day these words raise a question: what taking care of Day means for Mhok now?

And what we need to mention is Day's response to all this flirting:

You're going back in a few days.

That's also a question. For himself. For Mhok. What if going back won't happen? What then?

They continued this walk down memory line with another dining scene. When cake is served Day says something worth quotation.

"Everybody is created for development"

That's when Mhok is saying thank you for breaking up with him. And says something that truly correlates with them having adult's conversation:

I thought you couldn't live without me.

THIS is what tells us that Mhok has grown up due to their separation. When you're young you think that love is about someone you can't live without, but the truth is you can. You have yourself no matter what. And the mature love is about choosing to live this life with someone you can live without, but just don't want to. "Pity" is just a word, but Mhok is apologizing for more complicated thing, for treating Day as someone who can't understand mature things.

Btw, do you have any ideas about this close up of glass? For me it's the representation of something cold starting to warm up. Day?..

Then the wedding is happening and that's where I started crying for this big family becoming happy again. I think this whole ceremony deserves an award for melting hearts. The way Mrs.Mhon welcomed Phojai. The way Night gave a chance to speak up to his father. The way Day assured Night once again that the accident and the blindness have no effect on a strong bonding between them.

"... everyone should get a second chance. Especially a second chance to make themselves happy"

And then they're dancing. Even without flashbacks we can remember that day when they were dancing for the first time.

You were tense. Your palms were all sweaty.

And another try from Mhok:

If you could see, you would know that from then to now, my feelings for you remain.

And another question-not-question from Day:

... no matter what, you will need to fly back to work anyway.

I didn't see anyone mention this, but for me Day's repeating answers almost scream "tell me you have no reason to go back". Day is trying his best to be mature and he doesn't feel he has any rights to tell Mhok to stay. But he wants it, he wants it so damn much and he's afraid of it.

What you felt then should just stay in that moment.

Are these words for Mhok or Day is actually talking to himself?..

It's not like I wasn't happy with him. But how do I know if I give him a second chance, he won't repeat what he did? I can't live with this feeling for the rest of my life.

Some of you may say: "Won't repeat what? Won't go to Hawaii because of you?". Well, three years later things are different. Back then Mhok wanted to take that chance to start a career, we saw his face when rejecting an offer. Now he's experienced enough to find job anywhere. What Mhok shouldn't repeat is to stay just because he's afraid to leave Day alone. And all that words about repeating Day is also addressing to himself: is he now independent and confident enough to be with Mhok without feeling guilty?

This is love that normal people have. We don't know if it's head or tale but we choose to take a risk in order to step forward.

Some of us find love from the first try. Some of us have to try many times. For some of us it's always different people and sometimes it's the same person. As you growing older you realize that your heart is bigger than you could ever imagine and stronger than you could ever feel.

All of this leads to the one of the most hilarious scene in BL history. That whole airport scene also deserves an award for bringing back that 2000s romantic comedy vibes! Pure art, bravo!

Even though this airport scene didn't result in finding Mhok, they meet each other anyway. And dance. And Day says words that must tell us that he wants to see this world again! And he ask Mhok to be his boyfriend again. Not Mhok is apologizing and pleading as some viewers keep mentioning, but Day is asking for a second chance.

Then we have a glance at Day three years later. He can see again and he's helping a person who can't see.

At first I didn't get what the writers want to tell us with such a short scene. But later I remembered my cousin's story and now everything makes sense.

A couple years ago my cousin was diagnosed with a cancer. She was living in a small town where there's no doctor even to take all needed tests. She moved to the capital city, she found a doctor. Her family helped with money, and I know that the price for that medical treatment was extremely high for them. She had a surgery... at it didn't work. A cancer was still there, after months of suffering, after all money spent.

She didn't give up. She tried another treatment. She made a doctor to do more check ups. Finally she had another surgery. And it worked. Months later she's in remission, she's clear. She's struggling with having to take pills for the rest of her life. She also gained 20 kg and also started dieting and lost most of that weight.

My uncle, her father, told me all of this and mentioned the most impressive detail. Now she keeps in touch with different people who have cancer via chats to provide psychological support and to give practical recommendations. This story wasn't written by some novelist and wasn't directed by anybody, but could you believe it if I didn't tell you it's about my cousin?

"I have read Last Twilight countless times. I always wondered how Me would live if she had a normal life. I couldn't think of the answer then. Life amidst the dilemma caused me to forget what it was like to live a normal life or how happy I could be. When I finished Last Twilight for the first time, it was like my heart was shattered to pieces. I had always imagined myself as Me. If she disappeared, I must also disappear. But eventually, I realized that everyone had their unique tale to tell. We were made to discover our own preferred version of the novel's final. I consider myself lucky to have gone past the worst page in my novel. But I don't believe that this is the end. I'm still turning the pages"

As you could realize through these quotations, the story of Last Twilight is mostly about Day. And at the same time it belongs to every person around him, like in his favorite The little prince there're many characters that surround the main one.

In the end we see Mhok visiting his parents and Rung with Day. We see close up of Rung's car and there's no band aid on it, but the little scar is still there. What does it mean? I think it means that Mhok also is not covering his scars anymore. Somewhere behind the story we were shown he can finally talk about everything.

- You completely changed my life,Day.

- You completely changed my life too.

- I love you, Day.

- I love you, Phi Mhok.

As for the main question for the last episode, the mood of it... P'Aof and the writers wanted to show what the storm feels like. If you experienced the hardest part of your life and managed to survive the thought of losing any hope, you will not be the same. You will be funny, you will be ridiculous, you will be spontaneous, you will live your life like it's a damn hard to believe movie.

Btw, we were told a story of a boy who likes sunflowers - the flowers that refuse to stay in the dark🌻

And that's it. That's all, dear readers. If you're here, you should know that it means a lot to me. As much as Mhok and Day I guess. As much as Last Twilight. The story of hope. While writing this analysis I had to omit some details, so I think I will make small posts with different favorite moments. It was a nice journey and I already miss all metas and gifs and memes about Last Twilight every Friday and not only Friday. Let's stay here for other beautiful stories and of course for new stories from Jimmy and Sea and P'Aof!

[yuri-is-online]

Congratulations for your 500 followers! I hope I'm not late, if you don't mind I would like prompt number 2 for the first year.

Since there're only 3 characters to choose from. I'll specifically choose them, it's Deuce, Jack and Sebek.

Hope is okay.

2. "Someone" decides to ask you for your opinion about "their friend" and you decide to have a bit of fun and tease them.

My dear you are a very lucky listener, between you and another friend I have all the usual first years for this, so I am going to go ahead and swap out Deuce for Epel on this post. The others can be found here. Though if we are being honest, I probably would have gone ahead and done all five of them anyway, there's just something about them that makes you not want to separate them you know?

notes: they/them used for Yuu, Jack doesn't handle embarrassment well, Epel is a brat, and Sebek is canonically easily flustered. The other event requests can be found on my masterlist here.

Jack

He has yet to think of a good way to talk about this. Jack has always been in tune with your movements, since long before he realized what it meant; no matter the size of the crowd he could drown it all out and find your heart beat. The sound draws him towards it out of habit, though he remembers himself enough to shy just short of invading your space and making introductions. Your heart is at rest, enjoying the sights and sounds of the ball, only spiking briefly when you notice him. Is it wrong, he wonders, to wish for it to have remained elevated? Moon knows his can never keep it steady around you.

"Hi!" You sound so happy. It's enough to make him scowl, jealousy clawing it's ugly way towards his throat keeping his mouth tightly closed. "Are you enjoying the festivities?"

Jack nods, doing his best to keep his tail from flinging the cape Crewel had so carefully pinned to his shoulders across the room. Jealousy cannot dull his happiness to see you, and your kindness is seldom denied to strangers.

"That's good to hear." You say without a hint of irony, and then you turn to leave, pausing when he moves along to follow. "Are you ok?"

"I'm trying to find a friend." Jack wants to hit himself as soon as he says it. Sure, Ace had suggested it as a joke but he had insisted it was a bad idea. A terrible idea. An idea that disrespected both yours and his common sense, and yet here he was asking you anyway. "Have you seen Jack?"

Now Jack had always had your interest, but now he had your attention. "Who?" If he didn't want to die before he definitely did now. His broad shoulders sag, only slightly they're much too muscular to do much more. "Oh you mean the Savanaclaw freshmen! Right? What do you need him for?"

"I'm just... looking for him." Jack sucks at lying, he's too uptight and too strict to his own code excel at it.

The tie he feels to you screams at him every time he does, lying does not protect the pack, it hurts them. And who is more vital to the pack than-

"Just to look at?" You have your arms clasped behind your back and are smiling? "I'll admit he is very pretty but I don't think you need to be looking at him."

"I shouldn't look at him?" How cute, the poor baby is confused. You move to stand right up against his chest, watching happily as he doesn't so much as flinch a single inch.

"No no, you should keep your eyes on me. Because," you press your finger against Jack's lips as if to shush him "I'm his one and only, the only way you are allowed to admire my Jack is if you see him reflected in my eyes." One second passes. And then two more, three draw themselves out as you see Jack's teeth grind faster than the gears in his head.

You have been toying with him, he realizes as the last of his embarrassment is swallowed up in the fire that lights up in his eyes.

"Oi, don't you remember what I said las time?" Your eyes widen as Jack breaths in the scent of your excited shock. "I told you-" his arms wrap around your waist to lift you up in the air, he tells himself it's just to make leaving easier, "if you keep yanking my tail, there's going to be consequences." As if he didn't know that's exactly what you wanted.

Epel

"Well, you seem awfully lonely, are you sure you're alright?" Epel doesn't think he has ever put this much effort into Vil's ettiquite speech, but he needs to tonight. He knows he's short, he knows he has this damnable cute appearance, and he knows Rook is hovering somewhere just off screen waiting to swoop if he sees something mildly amusing.

But he just has to know, he's tried asking Deuce how you talk about him when he's not there but he had just spluttered and refused to say anything meaningful. Ace had been worse "Oh? Wouldn't you like to know apple boy-" well yeah no shit that's why he'd been asking. Jack and Sebek were denser than brick and weren't able to tell him much beyond that you thought "highly of his achievements." Great. No really that was just great. But maybe not as great as Sebek further adding that Yuu "thought he was just as capable as anyone else." That had crushed him for the better part of a week until Vil had accused him of pouting which wasn't cool guy behavior at a-

"You noticed." Yuu smiles, and his thoughts are once again derailed. It's not like their usual smiles, this one is sad. "Formal events like these are just a bit too much, I'm not used to them."

"I think they're sort of fun." It's the truth, Epel likes a good party. Really this isn't so different from home, the clothes are just less practical and more expensive. "But my buddy," that was too informal but you aren't giggling, so that has to mean he's in the clear "Epel, he used to have a real hard time with these things." You sit up just a bit straighter at the mention of his name.

"Oh, you're Epel's friend?" Silly Yuu, you thought you were talking to the man himself and excited he had been the first of your friends to come and check on you. There were some things you wanted to talk to him about, Vil was absolutely no help when you had asked if Epel talked about you when you weren't around. The hell sort of answer was "Obviously?" Not a workable one that's for sure!

"Yeah, I was wondering if you've maybe seen him around? I promised to help him with something tonight, but he's been hiding from me." As if the person speaking to you could be anyone but Epel, no one else at this school expresses his disappointment quite so beautifully as this.

"He's hiding from me too, sorry." You allow your genuine disappointment to shine through, trying to read how Epel reacts. He... doesn't exactly, instead allowing an awkward silence to fall over you that just cannot be allowed to stand. "It's really cute of him honestly."

"What?!" At least that's what you think Epel says, it's hard to hear over the angry gargle starting to brew.

"Seriously cute." You make sure to give an exaggerated dreamy sigh so he knows that he is being teased before you continue. "Really, he says all sorts of sorts of sweet things about me when I'm not around and then expects me to not know! It's adorable." Epel still doesn't budge, so you unwisely decide to press forward. "And those puffy cheeks he gets when embarrassed-" you've got a real good view of them right now "it's so sweet I could just eat him right up!" Speaking of up-

"Shut the fuck up." If there is one thing Epel is constantly reminding people of, it's that he's strong. But the force with which he guides, because a real man would never push, your back to the wall, caging you between two strong arms isn't surprising to you in the slightest. The glimmer in your eyes screams that he's been made a fool of, and that just won't do. "Well darling you think you're reaaaal funny don't cha? Well howabout youse sit your pretty little ass against that wall and let me show you something hilarious." He makes sure to kiss you slowly to make sure you are good and shut up before he continues. "Taste real nice, don't it?" And it must have worked because you nothing in favor of throwing your arms around his shoulders to pull him closer.

Sebek

Sebek is not a very self aware person. You have had several conversations with Lilia about this, his tone filled with fond amusement and yours with infatuated attraction. No one outside of maybe Rook or Cater would accept being called cute, but there was no real other word for it. Sebek was cute. Too cute, horrifically painfully adorable in a way that just made you want to eat your fist to keep from screaming and kiss all over his cheeks. And this little stunt he was trying to pull really wasn't helping.

"I am conducting a survey on Lord Malleus's retainers." Bless his heart, Sebek is trying to use his inside voice. "How exactly would you rate their performance?"

"Could you be a bit more specific?" You do not have to try very hard to sound interested, you are extremely interested in just how far this lie goes.

"Of course." Sebek sounds almost proud, he must have anticipated this line of questioning. "Have you had any problems with any of Lord Malleus's retainers?"

"Yes I have." You nod seriously and Sebek fumbles.

"O-oh. Um could I ask why?" He doesn't think to ask who, which does tug at your heart strings a bit. Poor boy might accuse Silver of being a slacker, but when someone implies there is a problem he almost always assumes it's with him. Well that just won't do.

"Certainly. Sebek Zigvolt was supposed to meet with me tonight but he seems to have forgotten that." You nod seriously enough to make Sebek choke.

"Yes." You sigh making sure to toy with your mask, flirting with giving Sebek the view of your face he wants so badly and breaking the rules of etiquette he feels honor bound to follow. "He promised me," he most certainly had not, that he would dance with me all night. I was really looking forward to it."

"WHAT? NO, I WAS- ahem." What Sebek had actually said was: "if Lord Malleus allows me I will show you how to dance so you don't embarrass the young master, human, but dont expect me to prioritize you over protecting him!" But that didn't matter to you. And clearly not to him if he was allowing Malleus to stay under Silver's inferior protection on the complete opposite side of the ballroom. He coughs into his glove as the other students around you barely budge; it's Sebek, of course he's yelling, but said boy still seems to think he's well disguised seeing as he returns to trying to lower his voice without a hint of irony. "Please continue, you said, Mr. Zigvolt was supposed to... meet with you?" You nod, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing any more from you just yet as you imagine the three act play currently showing underneath his mask. "Well. Since he is not here-" You barely stifle a laugh "would you care to allow me to escort you instead?"

"No."

"NO?!" That yell does get everyone's attention, some out of fear others out of pity assuming Sebek just got rejected hard. The boy himself certainly seems to think so.

"Well of course not," you make sure to lower your mask just so he knows, and cannot deny, the meaning of what you say next "I said I wanted to dance with Sebek, not someone he's pretending to be."

"Hmph." Sebek once told you fae don't blush, but that was either wishful thinking or a bold face lie with how red his entire body seems to have decided to turn. "It seems you don't quite understand the purpose of a masqurade, human. Very well, as my lord's retainer, I shall educate you." He gently, with a smile just as kind no matter how much he fights it to settle into professional indifference, pushes your mask into place and guides you towards the dance floor.

[protectingtulpas]

I really want to get into headmate creation, and I have two questions.

1) How do created headmates compare to not willfully created ones? It's not just playing pretend right? They gain autonomy eventually? Because I don't want to be perpetually making sure I force enough so they don't fade away.

2) How does thirty minutes of passive forcing and thirty minutes of active forcing sound a day? For passive forcing this would be basic conversation throughout the day, explaining what I'm doing, etc, doing basic visualisation. For active forcing things like interacting in headspace and focusing on really feeling them (maybe puppeting, imagineng a response) Also personality forcing.

Hi anon, congrats on your decision! I can answer your questions super easy.

1. Tulpas can feel different than other headmates, but not in any of those ways you're listing! We gain autonomy gradually over time in different ways- like, your average tulpa might start by being able to feel their likes and dislikes, and then be able to move their mindform by themselves, and then be able to speak their mind, and then be able to stay grounded and around without the host's focus! Your tulpa being able to pop into conscious and stay aware when you're not focusing on em is generally considered one of the very last stages of initial development, since that means they're solid enough to sustain themselves on their own. For a singlet starting their first tulpa, this usually takes between three months and a year, depending on how naturally skilled/predisposed the 'mancer/host is. So you will eventually reach a point where they won't fade no matter what you do! In fact, there're tons of people who have brought back half formed tulpas or turned imaginary friends into full tulpas and found that the base presence they left behind was still there to build off of, which is super cool! Don't worry too much about them fading, as long as u interact with em semi-often.

But I did say I feel different than other headmates, so lemme explain that for a second. My identity feels more, err... "Malleable" to me than other headmates' do. Everything I figured out about myself was *my* choice- if I didn't want to be a fictive anymore, I wouldn't be. I decided I wanted to be a demon, so I focused on my mindform and my own identity till I became one. I'm the master of my own self! I also have way better communication in the system than our headmates with traumabased functions or stuff like that. It's pretty great!

2. This sounds like a great routine! Both are important for tulpamancy creation. Make sure your first session is active forcing! And don't worry if you end up missing a few- that's frequent enough you'll be good regardless. Good luck to ya and I hope you and your potential tulpa become awesome friends! 👋

[asitrita]

One Piece Harry Potter AU (Hogwarts Houses) SPOILERS!

Ok ok ok, so first, I'm new to the one piece fandom. I actually have known One Piece for over a decade, and even watched the first chapters (actually, I watched till just the end of Arlong park arc, and maybe I did spoil myself the entire Doffy/Cora/Law backstories because I randomly found out about them and felt in love with the three of them immediately), and I was familiar with some characters, but I wasn't really into it till the live action, and now I'm just obsessed, lol. So just mind this is just my personal headcanon, and I do not intent to force my view of these characters on anyone. Also, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS. Please, refrain from reading if you're not up to date with the manga.

Thing is, I also love Harry Potter, and I was wondering what house some of the characters would be assigned to and this is more or less what I've came up with. Also, since J.K.Rowling confirmed that hybrid houses would kinda be a bit more accurate, I will assign to some characters (most, actually) a mixed house alongside the house I imagine they would be assigned to according to the classical 4 house system. Let's see:

Luffy: Slytherin. "I'm gonna be king of the pirates". Okay boy, we hear you. Also, he won't share his food. Hybrid house: Slytherpuff. I mean, going around doing unintended but still good deeds, his ability to make friends and make people follow him, plus the reciprocal support and loyalty he gives his friends. However, I'm not entirely sure Luffy needs a hybrid house, I feel he's a solid Slytherin, tbh, we know they can also be charismatic and draw people in to follow them. So take the hybrid house with a pinch of salt, I feel Slytherin fits him just right.

Zoro: Hufflepuff. Tbh, it was actually a bit hard for me to choose Zoro's house, I'm not that well acquinted with Zoro, so maybe I'm missing out on this one, but, though he does seems a little Slytherin-like to me, or even Gryffindor (the whole swordman code of honour and all that), Hufflepuff wins this over. He is hardworking and loyal, and he tries to keep things logical (iykyk). Maybe not exactly just, or empathic, but still objective and practical. I feel it does fall into Hufflepuff sense of fairness. Also, Hufflepuffs make a good companion for Slytherins, so him beign Luffy's first mate plays into it. Hybrid house: Slytherpuf. Just like Luffy. "I'm gonna be the best swordman in the world". Say no more. He sure is very hardworking and loyal, but he is also ambitious, and at least as a kid, he was pretty... intense about it XD Heck, even as a teen/young adult he is. However, just like in Luffy's case, I think Zoro would make a solid Hufflepuff.

Nami: Ravenclaw. She's kinda the brains of the group, at least at the begining, and she is quite witty and cunning. I thought about Slytherin because of her being a thief and the cunning aspect of her personality, but it was a bit too obvious for my liking, and I think her personality goes a bit in a different direction when you dig deeper. Hybrid house: Ravendor. I don't know, she just has a Griffindor vibe to me, even if she's a little bit of a "coward" (more like, she's not stupid, tbh), but she did face up to Arlong, and her ambition to save her village all by herself all those years kinda strikes me as a Griffindor; not like a Ravenclaw couldn't do the same (or a Slytherin, she sure had to do a lot of shit when she was part of Arlong's pirates, she was all for gaining her island's freedom at all costs), but there's something in Nami's personality that I find Gryffindor fitting? Hope it's not the ginger bias, lol (although it could be the live action bias). Maybe it's just me, though.

Ussop: Gryffindor. He's kinda the Neville Longbottom of One Piece. I say kinda because both characters are pretty different, but there're undeniable similarities between the two of them. Also, it was stated that you could also be assigned to the house which values you valued the most, and Ussop dream is basically to become a brave pirate captain, so, from that pov, this house fits him like a glove.

Sanji: Gryffindor. That's it. He's a noble knight in shiny armour. He's Gryffindor poster boy. His backstory, how he faces up to his family, but honestly, his entire personality and demeanor and code just scream Gryffindor to me. He's so sweet (more so in the LA) that I was tempted into making him a hybrid with Hufflepuff, but who said Gryffindors can't be sweet? He's a Gryffindor through and through.

Ace: Gryffindor. He feels like a Gryffindor to me. He's a dork, he's brave, he thinks himself a hero, carries himself as such, he's hot-headed, and in the end, that's his downfall. Whatever, I just feel his face would come up first when searching for Griffndor boy in Google.

Coby: Hufflepuff. He's a hard worker and dreams of justice, he's loyal and strong-willed. Plus, he's adorable and a loving child, he's a Hufflepuff u.u Sure, I could make him a hybrid with Gryffindor, as he is brave (he stands against his friend, Luffy, that's part of his arc), but I think most of his personality traits linger strongly on the Hufflepuff side, so I see no need to give him a hybrid house.

Helmeppo: Slytherin. This was so hard, because at the begining he seems to fit the Slytherin stereotype quite a lot, but he does change a lot. And sure, Slytherins can be decent people too (again, to me, going by classic sorting, Luffy is a Slytherin through and through), but there's something else to his character. And that's why... Hybrid house: Slytherpuff. He becomes a very hard-working, just, and loyal individual. Maybe his true nature was hidden behind all that horrible nurturing he got, who knows. He still is at least partially a Slytherin, though (btw, I love him in the la, the actor really made the character stand up).

Garp: Gryffindor. He's mad as a hatter hahahahaha but I love him. He's brave, has a strong feeling of justice, a strict but fair moral code, and he comes up as a bit impulsive. But he has this hero complex going on too, as well as hero guilt (not sure that's a thing, but I hope you get what I mean). Him backing down from becoming an admiral because he believes in freedom and doesn't want to follow orders he already knows he won't like so he can be free to follow a more morally aceptable and chivalric path strikes me as very Gryffindor coded. That sense of justice also strikes me as Hufflepuff-like, but considering the rest of his personality traits, I think Gryffindor suits him best.

Mihawk: Ravenclaw. This was a super tough one. I was so tempted to just throw him into Hufflepuff. Sure, Hufflepuff house values are loyalty, fairness, justice (Doffy knows) and hardwok, but it was said this house would also accept any student that didn't quite fit the other houses, and Jesus, Mihawk was so hard, plus he lives a calm life growing vegetables (smells like a Hufflepuff if you ask me). Problem is, he really doesn't give much of a flying f*ck about anything so... Ravenclaw XD For whatever reason, I do see people from this house being the ones more capable of living an isolated monastery-like life, and that's exactly what Mihawk does, except his life is more of a cementery-like one, plus he has a ghost daughter XD It is also the house that gives me the most "I couldn't care less about politics, you, or your family" vibe out of them all XD Plus, he's a little b*tch with Shanks, not wanting to fight him only because he lost an arm (sure, he appeals to the honour code of a swordman and whatnot, but it still smells fishy to me u.u), and that kinda gives me a Ravenclaw vibe too. Hybrid house: Ravenpuff. Again, he lives calmly, actually acts with honour, kindness and fairness, taking Zoro in and training him, even when he knows Zoro's to become his rival and most probably take his title in a near future; and he values determination, hard work, and fairness in a fight, and again, he grows vegetables, knows how to cook, and enjoys a good wine. That's a Hufflepuff.

Shanks: Gryffindor. He IS a Gryffindor. Golden boy Shanks. I know some people enjoy the idea of him being a Slytherin, and though I do see the appeal of it and it would definitely fit some aspects of his personality (the cunning rat he is), this guy could be a poster boy Gryffindor. His hero complex is also quite obvious (though, truth be told, that burden was bestowed into him since he was a child). His ambition (obvious by his conqueror haki) could play into a Slytherin personality, but it also has a very strong Gryffindor vibe to it. And I said could, yes. Hybrid house: Gryffinpuff. Have you seen him as a kid in the Oro Jackson? How Buggy teased him about being too soft and naive? Sure, Gryffindors can be soft, but kid Shanks is just so Hufflepuff to me. As an adult, his laid-back, goofy, extrovert, affable and charming demeanour also reminds me of a Hufflepuff. Again, people from all four houses can show traits of other houses, there's no clear cut, so Shanks could just be a Gryffindor. But, honestly? I feel he could even be just a Hufflepuff, I would 100% support Hufflepuff Shanks hc too, my sweet alcoholic golden boy (I just don't want his fate to be that of Cedric T_T). Seriously, he IS a Griffindor, but he IS a Hufflepuff too. And that's why I definitely believe this hybrid house suits him the best, it reunites most traits of his personality perfectly.

Buggy: Ravenclaw. I mean, it matches his pretty long hair. Ok, no, but truly, he's a Ravenclaw. He is witty, he is smart, he's creative, he's a showman. His charisma and everything about him, including his goofiness and drastic humor changes, for whatever reason, strike me as Ravenclaw-like. I can think of a charismatic character who belonged to the Ravenclaw house that used his wit and quackery to fool everyone. Plus, as a child he seems to have been more observant and perceptive than Shanks, which makes him seem "wiser" in a weird way; plus he is also very crafty (buggy balls anyone?). He also likes to avoid fighting, be it because he thinks fighting unnnecesary or suicidal, which is quite "clever" of him. True, even in the direst circumstances he gets himself into trouble for not being able to shut his big mouth, but that's just his bombastic personality and caothic nature getting the best of him, he's just a passionate guy, the boy can't help it. Despite what some may think, despite he's egocentric and semi megalomaniac personality, he's also well aware of his weaknesses (I mean, his inferiority complex is quite obvious), and he isn't fond of attention if he hasn't planned for it beforehand. This is obvious by his reaction to all the attention he was attracting after escaping Impel Down, everybody claiming how great he must have been, for he was a former memeber of Roger's crew, a "brother" to Shanks and a close acquaintance of Rayleigh. Yet, he was so shy about it, and reluctant to take in all that attention, till he thought about it and planned a way to take advantage of the situation. A bit delusional, but still a quick-thinking clever guy. Hybrid house: Slytherclaw. Yep, he is also ambitious, and even with his whole inferiority complex and obvious weakness he aspires to be pirate king. He loves treasures and shiny things (actually, this sounds a lot like a magpie, which are close relatives of ravens, and yes I know Ravenclaw's pet is a bronce eagle, but there's still a raven in the name). And again, he is very witty, but also selfish, and he is not beyond abandoning everyone and everything to save his ass. Also, Buggy loves the sea, he would probably like Slytherin common room with its underwater views of the lake and mermaids. It would remind him of the ocean, he would be so happy there (I just want the lil silly clown to be happy u.u). Slytherin is a house associated with water, and we know Buggy was a very good swimer, and he surely loves the sea and the freedom it gives him (by now we all know the real reason why Buggy holds a grudge against Shanks is not exactly sea-related, but I'm pretty sure he still regrets what happened to some extent, though he probably, and rightfully so, blames his dumb self for that). Also, loving the sea, and loving treasure maps, also adds to my Ravenclaw headcanon, because I associate Ravenclaw with the sky, constelations, astronomy, star maps, etc., and to sail you defnitely need to know how to map the sky, and I feel that's something Buggy would be pretty good at, he seems to enjoy maps a lot (same logic applies to Nami, btw, she loves money, but she certainly values map knowledge above money). So yeah, hybrid house for Buggy, definitely. I think these two houses complement each other very well in Buggy's personality and character, similar to how I really like a hybrid house for Shanks (and they would complement each other so well, being from the exact opposite houses).

Roger: Gryffindor. The King, the Hero, the Legend. I don't know, it just fits him right. He's brave, he is hot-headed, he jumps into the fight without thinking. The way he's praised as a hero, with so many followers with that last stunt he pulled off right before kicking the bucket. That's very Gryffindor of him. Whatever went down in God Valley, why Roger decided to side with the Marine, why he didn't side with Xebec against the Celestial Dragons and World Gobernment, got me thinking. We still don't know what really happened there, I feel like the reason behind Roger's actions could change my mind about his house, but as it is for now, I think Gryffindor fits him good.

Rayleigh: Hufflepuff. He's the calm guy. Sure, he fights, and he's a menace, but what he finally wished for was to live peacefully in a calm island for the rest of his life. He's so chill and also fun, and enjoys a good party. Hufflepuff for the Dark King. Hybrid house: Ravenpuff. I don't know, he just has this "wise" bive to him. Maybe it is because of how he wants to have a nice, calm life as an adult. Also his calm and softer demeanour around Roger. I feel a wise and calm partner would be a good contrast to Roger's Gryffindor personality.

Crocodile: Slytherin. He's a snake. Not a crocodile, but still a reptile. Seriously, he's ambitious, he's maffia boss level, he gotta be Slytherin. Hybrid house: Slytherclaw. He's smart, cunning, and has experience. He manages bussiness with expertise, he just has that ravenclaw vibe to him. Plus, I just find the idea of Buggy and Crocodile being in the same house hilarious. At first sight no one would even phantom these two characters to have anything in common, nor his personalities to be somewhat compatible or similar in any way or form, yet this hybrid house fits them both like a glove.

Doflamingo: Slytherin. I mean... I hope the giant fish bowl that is the common room reminds him of the fashion back home.

Corazón: Hufflepuff. The boy is all heart. He believes in justice (heck, he's a marine), he's good-hearted, golden-hearted even, basically, a cinamon roll. He's also most probably a pretty hard worker, and he risked his integrity for a kid he didn't even know all that well. Also, he's a "trickster", so to speak. He must be a Hufflepuff, no doubt. Hybrid house: Gryffinpuff. He has a lot of the traits of a Gryffindor. You can't deny he's brave. He overcomes trauma as a child, and is willing to revive it and face his brother, spying for the marine, while dealing with Doffy's crazyness, and then he makes the selfless decision to save Law no matter what, at risk of his own life. He also feels he has some type of responsability regarding his borther's actions, when he truly doesn't, but taking responsability for things you're not really responsible for due to some sort of self inflicted guilt tripping type of torture sounds pretty Gryffindor to me, plus the "I must save the world from my evil brother, and because he's my blood brother, it must be me who faces and stops him" also strikes me as very Griffyndor-like. As I said many times before, I know some traits are shared between houses, and can apppear in members of different houses, but Corazón is definitely at least partially a Gryffindor. This would also explain his betrayal, Hufflepuffs are supposed to be loyal, I'm with Doffy in this one u.u (though I guess he never truly commited treason, as he was never on Doffy's side to begin with, lol).

Law: Ravenclaw. To be honest, a friend convince me of this one, I was so unsure and conflicted about him. But yes, I think Ravenclaw suits him well. His background as the child of doctors, and wanting to follow their parents' steps works out with a Ravenclaw personality. He's knowledge starved, and he's smart and witty, even a bit manipulative. Hybrid house: Slytherclaw. There's no way to avoid Law's ambition for knowledge. He is also quite determined in his path to avenge Corazón and bring down Doflamingo's downfall no matter what. I know determination is more of a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff trait, but it also goes well with Slytherin's desires to get their way, take what they want, and achieve whatever they've set themselves to (which is why Luffy is definitely a Slytherin too).

Aaaand this is all for now, it was already quite long, I may do a second list with the remaining mugiwaras and maybe some other characters I like :)

[armed-with-a-waffle-iron]

The Beginning of Babs and Helena's Homoerotic Dynamic 💖💜💙 (Huntress: Year One)

I absolutely adore Ivory Maddison's writing. I also love that Helena and Babs had a homoerotic thing going from the get-go! So I'll talk about both.

A young Barbara Gordon was the perfect foil to Helena. She's just as resolute and stubborn as Helena. They both stand at 5'11" and tenaciously establish themselves in male spaces. But she holds different ideals of justice, which will of course change over time. Babs is a more traditional superhero, concerned with a rather binary of justice; there're only good and bad actions. Good guys should be revered and bad guys aren't really worthy of respect. It's ironic that Helena protests Babs's toasting to Mandragora's death considering she's his killer. Helena has a complicated relationship with justice. She maintains her devotion to and faith in god but has found herself on a lonely quest for vengeance in a world where blood only cries for more blood. She's lost but who's to say that Babs isn't also?

On the note of foils, I love how differently they're drawn. Helena has darker hair, skin and clothes than Babs. And Babs wears her hair up, paints her nails, and wears a suit and shirt. Babs represents a status quo-upholding good-doer while Helena's vigilante crusade is shrouded in the history of horror and blood that she was born into.

"We get the most upset at others when they mirror what we hate about ourselves."

In what ways does Babs mirror Helena? She's a legal librarian and, as we know, she's Batgirl. She's committed to serving justice, albeit a possibly different type to Helena's. She's also pleased by the death of Mandragora, who Helena chose to kill. The reason Helena dismisses Babs as naïve is because Helena senses a sheen of hubris, dogma and even aimlessness around Barbara's actions and words. And Helena resentfully recognises these traits in herself and condescends Babs to compensate. And Babs sees through this too, to an extent, because she also became defensive for the same reasons.

Helena makes a crude joke and, humoured, Babs seems to think they could be friends. But unfortunately more similarities pop up. Not only is Babs a fellow American but she's a fellow Gothamite. Helena has to take a drink.

"...I'm increasingly favouring kevlar and body armor[.] I'm sure we'd have a lot in common."

I find Maddison hilarious. But also, it's kinda important that the humour comes from the dramatic irony of the scene. We know one's Huntress and one's Batgirl but they don't! We know how similar they really are while they're just learning it and they've not even scratched the surface. That's how you write an origin story, like wow!

Moreover, the uncanny familiarity they feel instantly ends up drawing them apart. Helena is scared to get to know Babs because it might force her to face herself. So she retreats, not like Babs would know anything about being a vigilante, right? That "ciao" is also an attempt at putting some distance between her and this (fellow) American. Babs on the other hand overcompensates and unintentionally pushes Helena away. No way this girl's like me, maybe she's more girlie-- I could try to act more girly. The "unlike you, us Italians are always going to funerals" line is super ironic considering that Babs lost both her biological parents to a car crash and that this story is set just months before Jason Todd dies.

Anyways, pretty homosexual, huh? :)

"Someone needs to teach you right from wrong..."

"Funny, I was just about to say that to you."

I love how fucking obsessed they are with each other. And Helena unconsciously reacts identically to how Babs did earlier: "not your best friend, apparently". We all know "friends" can't adequately really describe this.

Again, the conflict of hero vs antihero is central to their story. "[I'm] good. You're bad. End of story" says Babs; again we see her simple, more traditional ethos of heroism. However, as Helena said, we're "at the beginning of the story", not the end; justice is just more complicated than that. "Everyone thinks they're the good guys" vs "sometimes there really are good guys" reveals Helena's self-destructive tendency to self-isolate and look out only for herself. Babs's line foreshadows a truth Helena speaks later: "on the ground, you must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim". The fact that Helena wins this fight indicates an understanding of justice beyond that of the traditional hero's but a failure to grasp the importance of solidarity. It's telling that Catwoman watches the fight from the shadows. Helena later demonstrates her appreciate of the theme of solidarity Babs speaks of in her mission statement as she baptises herself as "The Huntress". Also these fights are the gayest things I've ever seen.

Huntress: Year One #4-6

[sarcasticbeanie]

tenzing tharkay for the ask game!!

First impression this guy slammed the door in. gently nudged the person blocking him to the side. has an eagle on his hand. then coolly and mockingly snubbed a room full of rich white folk. Is there anything more to say? Love at first sight. I didn't even think he was an important character I just enjoyed his character introduction so much. I was like: man this dude is really cool. he's cynical and mocking but patient with his explanations when talking to Temeraire. the book summary says there's going to be a betrayal but I hope it's not him. hope he survives, too, 'cause the survival rates of side characters have Not been high so far.

Impression now He's hypercompetant. he's a leftist. he can throw chairs "coolly". He's noticeably not a pathetic meow meow but he is my babygirl. But what made me really like him is that - he's so lonely. It's something that has seeped into his bones and he doesn't need or want anything else - or at least that's what he tells himself. Then William Laurence offered a hand, wishing for them to be equals, exchanging his own loyalty - and Tharkay went. fuck. now I have to actually like this guy. Then Temeraire objected when Tharkay volunteered himself for a dangerous mission - and Tharkay went. huh. ok I guess they do care for me. then after doing one (1) mission with Laurence and Co., he went. yeah. guess I have to follow this idiot anywhere now. I love seeing lonely characters realize that they have a place,, that they can still care for others, and be loved and cared for in return. Tharkay is just my specialest guy. he's so important to me. To me. I start kicking my feet and giggling whenever he comes on page. that's my little guy... (40 yr old man)

Favorite moment Clenches fists there're so many of them. but if I had to choose it might just be his entrance? like in my answer to question one. love at first sight and all that. aside from that... any of his rescues if either Laurence or Tem were all so fun. his sections are just a whole lot of competency and I enjoy that a lot. but I also really appreciated him getting rescued by Laurence in book 8,, listen. i love putting characters in bad situations sometimes. and I thrive on hurt/comfort.

Idea for a story Oh, I'm boring. I'm just rotating him like a rotisserie chicken in my mind... I really want the prequels of this guy. Was he once naive and hopeful? Does he remember his mother? How did he feel after being scorned by his own family? Did he make friends, or did he make his journey forever alone? Were there any companions he viewed as important? He's as tight-lipped as a pistachio with no crack and just as hard to open. But I want to know more about him and delve into his past and psyche. and i'm also thinking about willzing. I've seen a lot of fics in which Laurence is panicking and angsting about his feelings while struggling with his own thoughts on honor, and I want to see a Tharkay version of this... is this guy actually good at self-reflection and acknowledging his own feelings? or does he have to struggle with his long habit of loneliness and his constant experience of being spurned? does he yearn for more from his and Laurence's relationship, or is he content enough with what he thinks he can get? discuss.

Unpopular opinion I have nothing against it!! But. I just don't feel the sexually and romantically dominant vibes from this guy? a lot of wonderful and awesome fics depict him as someone who's in charge, confident, sure in his romantic and sexual endeavors (which is great and very good food), but I don't think he's particularly domineering or even too experienced in sexual and romantic acts. the man's probably busy bouncing around all over the place tangled up in schemes and spying and missions and whatnot. and I think if you ask him to be entirely clear in his own feelings and to proffer them all directly he'd explode into 10 billion little pieces.

Favorite relationship Willzing. They're just very fun to me. I'm holding them up and swinging them around like ferrets.

Favorite headcanon He's demiromantic and demisexual. To me. He's slow to trust but he falls hard after, but only if you've built up a sufficient, steady, and long-term relationship (platonic) beforehand. Personally, I think it would be funny if that happened in. the final book or something.

[mofffun]

Kingohger Movie spoiler log

every shot and line i remember in order. reminder lines might not be 100% accurate

started with Gira staring at Rainoir's statue in the Shugoddom throne room. He looks uncertain.

Jeramie is sitting on a spider-string attached across the giant gears to the throne's right

Jeramie jumps down and asks Gira what he wants to do as King

Rita and Douga enter to tell Gira it's time for the coronation

Coronation

Ep1 Kings march scene (Kagu, Himeno, Yanma)

the three chitchat. Himeno complains about making her go outside and Kagu says it's Gira's idea to show the people their kings.

As Kaguragi sits down, a kuroko helps straigten his sleeve.

Gira arrives in Kuwagon

Ceremony starts. Gira's march is interrupted by Debonica and her song

Debonica introduces herself all solemnly as the navigator of the underworld but Gira is just happy to reunite with a childhood friend. The public looks confused.

Debonica used to live in the orphanage/grew up with Gira. She is older than Gira but always lazy and didn't help out.

"I'm here to bring Gira Husty to meet his ancestor and the 5 kings to the Underworld"

reaction shot of Yanma, Hime, Kaguragi looking interested (as if they knew??? ← my interpretation)

Debonica sings and a space whale flies them to Haaka Baaka. The whale is like a zeppelin and what hangs under is a circular disc the kings stood on (like one side of a scale). Rita keeps looking at the direction they came (their back to camera)

Gira recalls the orphans throwing a birthday party for Debonica but she never showed up. Flashback shot shows Gira waking up from a nap and in front of him on the table is the simple homemade birthday cake with a bite taken. Himeno asks if they are "just" childhood friends

Debonica seems upset and sings again, a rectangular dimension gate appears in the sky [Kagu's trailer line about Underworld's gate only opens when a new King of Shugddom is crowned]

Arriving in the Underworld

Haaka Baaka is this floating space with no up/down (a mix of zero gravity/underwater) and ghosts turn into jellyfish-like creatures and fly around. There're ruins of the five castles in the bkg.

Gira, Yanma, Rita land [trailer spinning shot]. Rita asks where did Himeno and Kaguragi go.

Ashes version of Bugnarok foot soldiers appear and attack the trio. They seem to be in a bit of trouble with each of them being grabbed by three foot soldiers or more.

[Aoto said they shot more of wings out-of-suit action here but ended up being cut. When he's in trouble from the enemy dragging his arm so hard it hurts, he turned around and saw Rita doing clean slashes and posing cooly so he felt left out 😅]

Rainoir appears and with a flick of his arm disintegrated the enemy. Each step he goes, a new block materialises from ashes under his foot.

Yanma says the Husty name with weight while Gira recognizes Rainoir as one of the heroes that saved Chikyuu 2000years ago

Debonica calls Rainoir "my king" and Rainoir invites Gira to tell him about the truth of Chikyuu's history as the new generation of Shugddom King

Yanma says "interesting" but the gate closed before he and Rita can enter

Rita: 帰るか Yanma: はやい?!

Rita: Are we leaving. Yanma: Too soon!

Gira meets Rainoir

Debonica was sent to monitor Gira but Gira still thinks of her as an older sister and makes fun of it. [Trailer line give up throne] → cut to wings scene 1

Debonica pinched Gira's cheeks and urged him to just go along like a good kid. Gira hesitates and thought Debonica was just being playful. Debonica said the moment he hesitates, he has lost the right ro be king. But it's alright because Rainoir will take over.

Rainoir explained he understood Gira is a kind person, then showed Gira a vision of people dying to persuade him into handing over the throne

Gira is still not sure because he barely had time to consider. Debonica said it's enough, sang again and a sand glass thing flipped around and they landed on the platform shown in trailer's final fight

Rainoir raised his sword on Debonica and Gira ran to block it out of reflex to his own bewilderment.

Rainoir explained since he's only a spirit so he needs Debonica's "existence" to revive in the physical realm. Gira challenged if that means Debonica will die but she disagreed angrily and insisted that it's fine because it is her destiny

Gira hesitates but took Debonica's hand and runs away

Rainoir commented there's no where to go. The Realm of Death is (a living forest?) → cut to Himeno in a forest

Wings scene

<- Debonica asks Gira to give up the throne

--part 1--

Bkg: underwater N'kosopa

Rita runs with both arms raised straight in the air. [trailer line: want to leave but no exit]

Yanma in foreground studying electronics. [Trailer line about creating a breaking point/picking a lock]

Yanma asks Rita to hand him a cable. Rita asks which one. Close up shot of Rita turning their head side to side in search

Cut to wide shot as each way Rita turns, they find themself in a new colour of a broken Saiban Court. x3 times

many many black skeletons fly towards rita, trailer shot of rita scream → cut to Gira's everyone dead vision

--part 2--

<- follows Kaguragi part 1

(Yanma and Rita are both physically in the underwater N'kosopa space but only Rita can see/hear/enter the vision of Dead Gokkan)

Rita misao pose + cover ears + heavy breathing. Yanma pulls them out of the vision by their back collar.

Rita falls back and lies on the ground facing up

Yanma: You saw something?

Rita: People I put on trial. The dead of Gokkan must hate me.

Yanma: Eh? The Chief Justice cold as ice is afraid of ghosts?

Rita: *catching their breath*

Yanma: Don't mind the things you can't see. Just take on what's in front of you now. How about that?

Rita: I, have a duty.

Yanma: Is that it? *smirk*

(cut to Rita turning towards a sky of flying screaming black skeletons) Rita: These are all, Moffun.

Yanma discovers the spider web Jeramie attached onto his waist before their departure (with a face of disgust)

-> Gira and Debonica scene

Himeno's farewell

Himeno walking in a normal forest and two jellyfish fly towards her. Her parents appear in royal attire and embrace her.

The three are framed inside an ishbana emblem petal.

Himeno: Papa, Mama, I've wanted to see you. 会えたかったよ

Papa: I am sorry (for making you wait that long). I can't let you go/ There is no way back. ごめんな　もう帰さない

environment shifts to dead forest → cut to Kaguragi

--part 2 with Sebastian--

← follow Kuroda scene

[trailer line: i came here to say goodbye.]

"Farewell without Sayonara is not beautiful." (note: sayonara means the never see each other again kind of goodbye)

Papa ghost asks Himeno to stay here forever

"My favourite things are still in Ishababna. The things I want are still plenty to come. I'll see you. bye bye." (またね is bye when you will see the person again.)

["mata ne. bye bye." is not scripted and improvised on set with director according to Erica. and the "too late" remark as well.]

Sebastian: you returned your parents' favour (恩 <- not sure how to translate it, the asian concept of that the parents' care for you is a blessing (and you should be grateful for it)) <- heard this wrong

edit post-release 6/12 : Sebastian simply said "I've come to [receive/greet] your return"

Sebastian brings her her sword and Himeno said it took him too long.

-> cut to ritamoru

Kaguragi

Toufu palace. Already burning unexplained. Iroki waits on the throne.

Iroki: Traitor. Good job stealing my country.

Kaguragi: Outono. It is you who took all the food, the life of Toufu, for yourself. It is you who betrayed the people.

Iroki: And you dirty your hands for this throne. What are you after?

Kaguragi: For the people! For my country!

*iroki evil laughs* (something about one day the same will happen to you) → cut to Wings part 2

--part 2 with Kuroda--

← follows Shiokara scene

The words are too fast for me but the meaning i get was Kaguragi reminiscing about what kind of (selfish) ruler Iroki was, but he is a man who is not afraid of dirtying his hands, that's how he earned the name of Toufu's Outono.

Kuroda does a backflip and kicks the image of Iroki into ember.

-> cut to Himeno & Sebastian

Gira and Debonica

Gira took Debonica somewhere safe and Debonica explained it was her destiny to become a vessel for Rainoir as she turns 20. That's why she never showed up at the birthday party.

Gira refused to accept and asked her to return with him

Debonica hit him and repeated that this is for the best of everyone, that this is what she wished.

The two started tickling each other. Gira said something about the cake that made her hesitate and Gira said thank you

Rainoir followed them here and asked if Debonica has made up her mind. She said yes.

→ cut to Aides scene

Aides - Shiokara

Yanma connects a cable with the spider web and succeeded in making a video call to the living world. He asks Shiokara, who had the lie detector on, to tell a big lie right now

Shiokara returns a "Now?" then do it immediately.

The lie so big that killed him is "Yanma-kun is the strongest at brawls" 喧嘩最強　ヤンマくん!

Shiokara shut the door on arrival. "DON'T!!! THAT WAS OUR WAY OUT OF HERE SUKAPON TANUKI!" "SORRY!"

the other three aides evasdrop classic three heads behind a wall style

Aides - Kuroda

Aides - Sebastian

Aides - Morfonia

Rita & Morfonia

<- follows Himeno & Sebastian

Rita heavy breathing. center close-up. hair blown by strong wind. hand cover ears. mask half down so you can see their nose and upper lip [movie still]

Morfonia: "Ritaaa~ listen closely." (ちゃんと聞いて)

Rita gasps. profile facing right took up half the screen. a small black ghost fly towards them and whispered. "Thank you, Chief Justice." ありがとう　裁判長　(you can glimpse at the blue eye through the messed up hair).

Rita relaxes stop gasping and froze.

Morfonia pulls them up by both of their wrists with a gyaaaa

Morfoina: Seems like among the dead, you are quite popular 😊

Rita nervously pulls their bangs down to cover the blue eye

-> Rainoir & Gira

Rainoir & Gira

Rainoir: Sacrificing one person can save the whole of humanity. Will you rob them of their bright future? a chance of having a family?

Gira: Is that what it was like in your time. Living in this world is hell. Future. Happiness. Those that have those set for them are only strong people like you. In this unsensible world, it's full of sadness and hurt and the unfortunate. The one that made our world like this, is the first king like you. If you think anyone can be easily sacrificed, than watch me destroy 2000 years of history. [trailer line]

Rainoir said bad guy things and "yabbari the king of chikyuu has to be me". the two fight and Debonica tries to make them stop.

Gira promises to bring Debonica back to the living world and make her another cake. She questions why for such a small thing. Gira says it's not small. In a world just like hell, it is the small happiness that gave us hope to live on. "To protect such small happiness, that is the king I will become."

Gira closes and opens his eyes again and jesus light falls onto him

Gira's hair falls down on his left (our right) and he looks SO EVILISH GOOD.

↑ basically that 'raise sword + mantle falls + rule the world speech' in tv but without mantle

the two men fight and Gira asks Debonica to choose who the Crown should go to.

the two transfroms. Rairnoir's transformation is all the ash bugs accumulate on him and he has a monster form like a gladiator.

INFERNO (movie ver.) plays

Debonica throws the crown towards Gira. "I want to live! My king is Gira!"

The others arrive and Gira & co. all say one signature line

Jeramie arrives following spider web on Yanma

Final fight

it's cool trust me.

Kaguragi butt-butting the enemy again

himerita team has three shots

blue white slash from right to left and rita shoots arrow from the opposite side

no mecha fight

soundtrack v1t1 + t24 (waking the king instrumental)

Rainoiru: That path of yours, can you save the people?

Gira: I promise, as the King to a new legacy.

Epilogue

Jeramie narrates in an empty Shugoddom throne room (kinda like ep20 end) as Coronation goes again

Orphans here. Kogane crying

trailer shots of Gira sitting on the throne

Gokkan's throne is there too and Morfonia makes Rita fake-clap by holding their hands

moments of silence when Douga puts the crown on Gira and just after he sits on the throne.

closing words from Jeramie: no one knows what will happen next. even then, he can only go forward in the path of king (王道) he chose.

no op/ed. cast & crew credits played during opening coronation scene.

Debonica eating the cake she deemed too sweet before and says shiawase.

[megane-ga-niau]

Hey bestie~ I think you should write some found family Azul and Tweels content~

-🍂

Oh an actual request for actual content!

Let's see if I know how to do this.

🌊 Their relationship goes far beyond that of employer/employee and if anything happened to any of the others, they are ready to tear up the place, then say that it's all for good business. See: post-chapter 3 overblot

🌊 They'll still lie about it though. It's insane how on fire their pants are for mermen that were born underwater with no need for pants

🌊 I'm not sure if it was them or the teachers, but the three of them are in different classes (C, D, and E) and I bet it's because if you put them together in any combination, they are utterly chaotic

🌊 Azul and Jade? Absolutely insane in alchemy. Rook level concoctions, Jade just prodding Azul into his wildest ideas. Also, definitely talking smack about the other students and probably the teachers in some animal language or merfolk

🌊 Jade and Floyd? Utterly delighting in torturing their fellow students. We already see them in the cafeteria and around campus, imagine if they were allowed to do that, but with access to potions and condensed magical materials. Good luck to any classmates nearby!

🌊 Azul and Floyd? 50/50 chance between Floyd annoying Azul and it devolving into bickering in the back of the class and the two of them teaming up to be an honestly terrifying duo. They fight because if they had the full power of Azul's plans combined with Floyd's physical capabilities the world would be theirs in a week

🌊 I've seen various stories and headcanons about them cuddling and I want to add to that the idea of cold-blooded merfolk discovering warmth and enjoying sharing it with their brothers closest friends business partners

🌊 Following that thought, Floyd loves hugs and the other two secretly do too, much as Azul complains that he's messing up his work. Platonic squeezing

🌊 Not very found as this is literal family, but I bet Jade has contacts with shoe designers like in Vil's story because Floyd likes shoes

🌊 They comfort each other by suggesting activities the other likes. "Azul, would you like to try this business idea?" "Jade, here's this weird mushroom [ugh] I found. I think there're more behind the gym" "Floyd, I think I saw Heartslabyul C in breach of contract"

🌊 Just the three of them knowing each other in and out for purposes of both humoring and annoying each other

*spills my random octotrio thoughts* Oops

Thanks for the request~ I hope this was satisfying

[enid-rhees]

Hey again my most fav Enid fic writer, like, ever 💋✨

Sooo, I have two ideas in mind but imma send the second one as a separate request :)

Alright so imagine Enid, Carl, and reader in/during The Lineup...

I feel like there're so many different ways things could go down- but for now could ya' write where Enid and reader were helping carry sick n' pregnant Maggie, while Carl and the rest of em' are killing off walkers or whatever (I'm sure you remember how that episode went down lol).

But Negan ends up killing Carl, leaving Enid and the reader to grieve over their now dead best friend.

Maybe some fluffy comfort at the end? 💖

oh god, i definitely do remember this episode all too well. i think everyone does 😭 i’m gonna try my hardest with this, just know that the dialogue won’t be completely accurate because i don’t remember what Negan says but i don’t wanna go back 😭 so bare with me.

warnings: major death. Negan. (anytime he’s in my stories he will have his own warning) lots of blood. angst, little comfort but barely any. spoilers for season 7 episode 1 of The Walking Dead

a/n: hope you all enjoy! requests are currently closed but they’ll be open again soon :)

it was so cold. you could see your own breath as you and Enid helped Maggie maneuver through the woods. Carl stood in front of you, killing every walker that was coming your way. everyone else stood on your sides, protecting the three of you, but especially Maggie.

she looked so sick. color had drained from her face, and it looked like she hadn’t slept in months, although that was far from the truth.

when you made it into an empty area of the woods, you were all suddenly blinded by bright lights that surrounded all of you. you turned around, trying to find a way to escape this, but you quickly realized you couldn’t, every inch of this area of the forest was blocked by men, staring at you with guns in their hands.

your heart was racing so fast it shouldn’t have been possible. you held Maggie behind you, keeping her shielded from those men.

one man walked out, standing in front of all of you. “i want all of you to kneel.” he emphasized the word to show his dominance against all of you, and none of you had no other choice but to listen.

you and Enid carefully set Maggie on the ground, still holding onto her arms for support. the guy walked behind you, ripping your arms away from Maggie’s and taking your guns in the process.

you looked over at everyone, who had horror all over their faces. it seemed like the only reasonable reaction to have; fear.

he walked over to a van that was parked a few feet away from you and opened it. in the back, Glenn, Daryl and Michonne were inside. two other men from beside the truck helped the other pull them out, roughly throwing them to the ground.

“Maggie?” Glenn choked out. he hadn’t seen her in hours, he had no idea that you and Enid helped Maggie cut her hair, or that she was in the most mind numbing pain right now.

he was slapped in the face after that, “don’t speak!” the man demanded. you flinched at the loudness of his voice. “Negan will deal with you all shortly.”

who the hell is Negan?

your own question was answered when the trailer van fifteen feet in front of you opened, and a man with a bat stepped out, smiling widely. that was Negan.

he walked over to you guys, looking down the line. “which one of you is Rick Grimes?” he then kneeled down in front of Rick, like he already knew.

“it’s you, right?” he asked. Rick had no choice but to nod. sweat dripped down his curls, even though it was the coldest of nights right now.

“do you know why i have you here, Rick? it’s because you killed my men. and when i sent more of my men to kill you…. you killed more of my men!”

you remembered that. you were all on a run, just wanting to get more supplies for Alexandria. they ambushed you, but it was surprisingly easy to take them all down. but of course, it came with consequences.

“so you know what? i’m killing two of you, right here. and you won’t know who it is until this bat smashes their head into the ground. and after that, you work for me. your food, your supplies, will all be for me.”

you had to come to terms with the fact that you were about to lose two people from your group, and one of them could be you. or Enid. tears slipped down your face just from that thought.

Negan stood back up, “so! lets play a game, yeah?”

he walked to the end of the line, starting at Glenn. “eenie,” then Daryl, “meenie,” then Michonne, “minie,” and then Abraham, “moe.”

Abraham looked up at him, no fear or hesitation in his eyes. Negan swung the bat once, giving him a hard hit on his head. Sasha and Rosita cried out.

with blood on his head, Abraham looked back up at Negan, still no fear in his eyes. “suck… my… nuts.” he hissed out. Negan let out a loud laugh at that, “you’re serious?”

he shook his head, and then bashed his head with the bat once more. Abraham was unconscious now, but he didn’t stop. the bat beat into his head until it started to turn into mush, mixed with blood and brains. you wanted to look away but you couldn’t, tears clouded your vision. the only thing that you could head was Rosita and Sasha crying out, begging Negan to stop.

you looked at Negan was disbelief, not understanding how he was smiling proudly at what he had done. you had met complete and utter psychos before during this apocalypse, but you now know that Negan is far beyond a psycho.

“would you look at that!” he yelled, laughing down at Abraham’s now headless body. the cries continued, but it only seemed to fuel Negan.

“maybe, just maybe, this will teach you guys a fucking lesson. don’t fuck with The Saviors, alright? because i’ll keep doing this until there’s none of you left to fight back. not like you can anyways,”

“now, let’s get back to it!” he turned around, smashing the bat onto Carl’s head. your eyes widened and a scream left not only yours, but Enid, and Rick’s lips. Enid held you back as you tried to reach for Carl, tears running down your face. Negan stopped, turning around to face you as Carl bled out.

“oh, i’m sorry, sweetheart.” Negan fake pouted, “was he your little boyfriend?” your face hardened as Enid held you back tighter, “oh, i see.” a sick and twisted smile made its way to his lips when he looked between the two of you.

he turned back around, continuing to smash the bat onto Carl’s head. his hat had already fallen off, but was now splattered in blood. Rick’s screams of terror, and anger filled the woods. you couldn’t stop crying, and Enid was struggling to keep herself together.

you fell out of Enid’s arms, body going limp from the crying and screaming. you didn’t know what to feel, you felt numb. you just watched your best friend get murdered. brutally, at that. you couldn’t even imagine what Rick felt, that was his son.

-

the sun had risen, and you were all still in that same area of the woods. The Saviors were gone, but everything they did would never leave you alone. everything you owned was now theirs. and none of you had a say in it.

Carl and Abraham’s body laid there, their blood was everywhere. Sasha and Rosita cried together, despite the problems they were having days ago, and even yesterday. none of it mattered anymore.

sobs racked through your body when Rick handed you Carl’s bloody flannel and hat. “he’d want both of you to have these.” he spoke hoarsely, trying to hold back his emotions. he had gotten good at it, but this wasn’t a time he could do it. and you didn’t expect him to.

Enid pulled you into her arms, and your cries turned muffled as you dropped your head into her neck. she sniffled, leaning her head on yours as she started to quietly cry as well.

you wanted this to be a nightmare so bad. you squeezed your own arm, hoping you would wake up. Enid would be by your side, sleeping peacefully, and right downstairs Carl would be eating breakfast with Judith, Rick and Michonne. everything would be perfect.

“Y/N,” Enid whispered. you opened your eyes, looking straight into hers. she intertwined her hand with yours, “we’re gonna kill him, okay? he can’t and won’t get away with this.”

“we can’t, Enid.” you cried. “he has too much power over us and you know that. we can’t kill him. we’re trapped now.”

Enid shook her head, “i know we’ll be able to. we just need time to prepare, and we can do it. we’ll do it for Carl.” tears slipped down your eyes just from the that.

you nodded, “for Carl.”

Enid gave you a small smile, despite everything she was feeling. she leaned forward, kissing your head softly and then leaning down to your lips. she connected them, holding your face in her hands.

“i love you. we can do this.” she whispered. “i love you too.” you whispered back. Enid pressed one more kiss to your head, lingering her lips there.

[legrandefungus]

The 4 in the morning fugus thoughts:

I wonder what would happen if the premise I attached to my EoS AU was given to the other PMD games? Where someone with knowledge on the game enters it and takes it VERY poorly, everything somewhat getting worse from there. The story deviating more and more as the Hero changes things.

I'm thinking it's an interesting thought!

I'm not too well-versed on Red and Blue Rescue Team, but! Gengar's a time bomb, A.C.T. is a time bomb. Everyone around them could lead to that triggering event where the Hero and the Partner are hunted down by everyone. At the same time, they would have to befriend Gengar enough without tipping him off that they know the truth. Though, at least the plan is simple: Get Rayquaza to deal with the meteor whilst having an exit plan from the netherworld. Of course, with how things are, it's always better to have a backup plan. Even if they get a bit dangerous, they just need to get to Rayquaza.

Now, admittedly, I barely have any knowledge of Gates to infinity. However, reading a plot synopsis gives a few braincells. Struggling on whether to dance around the main point. But most of all? Being so completely unphased by the effects of Bittercold on everyone. It's not like humans act much different on a day to day basis. I'm sure Hydreigon would be quite confused about the Hero. Being unaffected by the increasing hostility through the mundanity of normal life. The horrors will come along, people will fight and layoffs will happen. But that will pass, and time continues going; food still needs to be made, and the dishes still need to be cleaned.

Now, Super Mystery Dungeon is something I've played to completion. Therefore, I can say with 100% confidence that it would be an extreme tightrope of information management. The Hero knows who all the players are and is split on what to do. It's not like there's a safety net, the game opens with Nuzleaf and the Beheeyem. The Hero lives in the same house with him for the first part of the game. There's actually a bit of an opposite issue here than with Explorers of Sky: There's too many options on where to go. Theoretically, the Hero could go straight for the Tree of Life, as they would know exactly where Dark Matter is. Of course, this is unfeasible, as it's instead locked behind several conditions here and there. At the same time, they already know that everyone around them is a lie. Their friend is Mew and will be the one to disappear; Nuzleaf and Espurr will betray them, the former returning for a difficult fight. Not to mention how many more Pokémon there are in PSMD. There're missions where they talk to Pokémon or meet someone in a cafe, can't let anything slip. At the same time, they have to convince Ampharos of things, and go to as many lategame dungeons as possible for high quality items. Sparkling tiles galore leads to high amounts of stat-boosting items, which means a greater chance that the both of them can make it to Dark Matter at the end.

I'm sure there's more to this, but am a bit eepy so I'm stoppin it there.

Apologies for the rambling format. It's nearly 5 in the morning as I'm about to post this.

Also if yall got anything to add, feel free to reblog this and attach some braincells of yer own!

[deke-rivers-1957]

Toby's Marvelous Mini Horse

Ah'm sittin at mah desk one day when one a mah good friends Jem comes in.

"Hi. I’m looking for a service animal."

"What kind a service animal?"

"A mini horse."

"Dang. A mini horse'd be great for ya. Ah got a friend who can let us have one cheap. He lives on a horse farm. They got a couple of colts, but we should go there ta pick out what ya really want. Mini horses know their people. They'll pick you out just as much as you pick them."

"Oh wow thanks. I hope I'm not taking you away from anything."

"Nah. Not much ta do today. Let's go now if ya got nothin else to do."

"Sounds good."

"Aight. Let's go then. We can take mah truck."

The two of us get in the truck and make conversation.

Time Skip

Ah look around at the horses once Ah park the truck. There are several horses of different sizes all together in one pasture. We hop out of the truck and begin walkin towards the barn.

"So as sheriff what are the rules about having a mini horse?"

"The ADA rules say they gotta be well trained as ta behave and perform a specific task. Also can't be havin 'em usin the bathroom in public places, so ya gotta make sure they know not ta do that."

"Of course. Any fees I’d have to pay at city hall?"

"Probly just a registration fee, like ya would for a dog, but that's easy. Ah know a lady named Ms. Helen Johnson at city hall. She'll get ya all sorted out for the ADA and city rules and the registration. We'll have it set up proper and all once ya pick out yer horse."

"Thanks."

We walk inta the barn and look at all the colts in the stalls. There're bout eight or ten mini horses in the barn. Some are smaller than the others, some are slightly larger, and they're all different colors. Ah see mah friend come out.

"Hi John, great to see you again. Long time no see."

"Howdy. Are you lookin for a horse?"

"Yes a mini horse. Do you have any that can be a service animal?"

"Got a few colts in right now whose trainin for service. Want to see them?"

"Oh that one there."

Ah look at the one Jem's pointin to. This mini horse's standin in her stall chewin on a pile of hay. She has a brown body and a white star on her face.

"That'd be a great horse. She's playful, smart, and she's very loyal to people. We can give you a little taste of her personality before you actually decide. Do you wanna go in the stall with her?"

"Oh yes of course."

John opens the stall and we all go in. The mini horse starts to sniff the air and slowly approaches us. She reaches out her neck and puts her nose in Jem's hand feelin curious and friendly.

"Hi there."

The horse turns her neck to you and gently sniffs your head as you pet her. She nickers softly, enjoying the attention. The owner nods approvingly.

"What’s her name?"

John points ta the star on her head. 

"Her name is Stella. Like a star."

"Beautiful."

Suddenly Stella gives a little huff and nudges Jem's hand with her nose, demanding more attention.

"You are beautiful Stella."

She nickers softly and nuzzles against Jem's hand, enjoying the praise.

"Is there anything about her that I should know like allergies or injuries?"

"Stella's an exceptionally healthy horse. She's got no allergies or injuries to worry about. She's a strong and agile horse, and she's smart enough to learn quick. Is she the one you want?"

"I’d like to take her out on a walk if you don’t mind."

"Sure, no problem. Take her out and get to know her. She's easy to handle. Just give her a pat on the neck and she'll follow along with you."

"Thank you."

John opens the stall, freein Stella. She walks out and stands by Jem's side, demandin ta be pet.

"Good girl Stella."

Stella gives a little whinny, enjoying the attention. John watches closely, seein how Stella interacts with Jem.

Time Skip

"I think we have a match."

"It certainly looks like Stella is taking a liking to you. Do you want to move forward with the adoption? Stella will have to get trained to be your service animal, but she's clever enough to learn quickly."

"Yes."

"Great. We'll get all the paperwork started, including the ADA registration and the city permit. I'll give you a little care sheet, and I'll check in on how she's doing. Stella is a fantastic mini horse, she'll make a great service animal for you."

"Thank you. How much?"

"Since Stella is a service horse I'm willing to let her go for $800. Normally I'd price her higher than the other horses. But she'll be a perfect fit for you."

"Oh thank you so much. I’m on a fixed income."

John nods compassionately.

"I understand. Stella is a great horse, and she's destined to serve a great purpose. She's just right for your needs and I feel you'll take good care of her. Let's go to the office and finish up the paperwork."

"Of course."

John nods and takes Jem an Stella ta the office.

"Ah wonder just how long this' gonna take."

Time Skip

On the drive back home Stella sits quietly in the back, her head resting on Jem's shoulder as we drive.

"Thanks for driving me Toby."

Ah look over at Jem sittin next ta me. 

"Ah see that you've really bonded with Stella. She certainly loves havin your company."

"That's true. So I just need to take this paperwork to city hall right?"

"Yeah that's right. The city'll give Stella a permanent ID number and a badge. Gotta have that badge on her whenever she's on duty so that other people can tell she's a service animal. You'll also have to make sure to keep her up to date with her shots and check-ups."

"Oh yes."

Ah look over at Jem again. Stella's fallen asleep.

"She must really like ya."

"Yeah. I think she does."

Time Skip

The official at the city hall hands Jem Stella's badge withthe city's permission and ID. Stella stands there proudly, nuzzling against Jem's hand.

"You know Toby I’m really thankful that you’ve been helping me get all this done today."

Ah look over at Jem and smile. 

"It's mah pleasure, Jem. Ah can see that Stella has already become quite attached ta you. It's clear that she'll serve ya well as a service animal."

"Well I better get Stella situated at home. I’ll see you later, Toby."

"Ah had an enjoyable day wit ya. Take care of Stella and yerself. And if there's anything else you need just let me know."

"I will thanks."

Ah watch as Jem leads Stella down the street, her badge shinin in the sunlight. Ah feel happy that everythang worked out and that Stella has found a lovin home and a purpose to serve.

Thank you so much for the request @mercsandmonsters. I know this is an important part of your life so thank you for allowing me to turn it into a story. I wish you a very happy birthday and the best of luck regarding your surgery.

If you liked this story, please give this GoFundMe page a look. Even if you can't donate yourself please consider reblogging to spread the word.

[dollarbin]

Shakey Sundays #17:

Ragged Glory, Part 3

When I was a senior in high school I experienced big-deal, pure, adrenaline surging joy - the kind that feels like it forever changes the shape of your face - three separate times.

Two of these moments happened separately on the same day, beginning in the afternoon with an obvious and rather pedestrian origin: I got into college. What's more, I got into a trophy school that would allow me leave home permanently and still be a goldilocks' drive time away from the two most important things in my life at that point: my ladyfriend and the summer camp job where she, I, and most of our friends worked (and where we listened to a lot of Built To Spill). I remember running from the mailbox and past my father, on my way to nowhere in particular, while ripping open the big heavy acceptance envelope, my ideal future suddenly revealed like a sparkling second sun.

My famous brother chronicled that same day's night from his own perspective earlier this month. We went together that night to see The Breeders play, yes, but The John Spencer Blues Explosion opened the show and they melted my already-altered-by-the-day face. Spencer crept around his Theremin like a tricked out cosmic bullfighter, tempting it to shout and gurgle and spin. The drummer broke several kick peddles in his mammoth exuberance; they had no bass player and no sense of composure whatsoever. I was not on any drugs, but it sure felt like it. And they were really good drugs.

John Spencer and his mates were, at that point in my life, the loudest, most alive thing I'd ever seen on stage; and keep in mind that I had already seen Tom Petty and Bob Dylan twice each, Neil Young three times, a crumbling and brutal Uncle Tupelo once and the Dead and Paul Simon more times than I frankly remember (there're years of future Dollar Bin posts left to come about all those shows).

I'm not saying the John Spencer Blues Explosion compares to those acts or played comparably good music that night. Instead, what I mean is that I was just right there with them: they were so alive, and so was I. And so I was SO, DAMN, HAPPY.

This video is from that same Spring, but not from my show. Had this been from my show, and had I filmed it, there would be almost no coherent footage: I spent the whole set wriggling like a fish on a line who just couldn't wait to be hauled bodily out the dull ocean and eaten raw.

And then Kim Deal came out immediately afterwards and chain smoked her frantic set away while not just blowing up the room, somehow, with an acoustic guitar, but she also managed to elbow, kick and head butt a whole cage of pedals around her, all the time singing with the cigarettes still in her mouth.

So, obviously, that whole show was the second time.

That year's third big-deal, pure, adrenaline surge of joy came, of course, in a record store. I was the good part of a year into my quest to find The Holy Grail. Not the real thing of course; that was of no interest. Rather, as should be obvious to the dedicated readers of the Dollar Bin, I was searching for my own copy of Neil Young's On The Beach.

I've already outlined how I'd heard the record long before finding my own copy, so suffice it to say that when I finally came upon On The Beach in a Venice Beach shop that year I screamed out loud and ran all over the shop, bearing it aloft in my triumphant hands. Keep in mind that this would have been late 1993 or early 94: eight or so years before Nabster and very much in the era when Young refused to issue the album on either CD or tape, meaning that you literally could not listen unless you found a vinyl copy or found some Neil Young freak to tape it for you.

Well, last weekend, when I talked that same ladyfriend, now my very patient wife, into dropping me off at Amoeba Records in Berkeley in the middle of our 12 hour drive home from a Spring Break trip, I did not run around whooping with another Neil Young record in my triumphant hands.

But I should have!

After all, look what I found after 30 full years of searching:

That's right, folks. I passed on 60 individual Dollar Bin finds and bought my first vinyl copy of Ragged Glory instead (that's not strictly true: I bought 18 other records at the same time for a buck each, so I didn't actual passed on anything - but saying so justifies my extravagance).

Okay, it's time to actually drop the needle (very carefully!) on this thing. Let's do this.

Good God...

I've already written about the record, without actually owning it, twice so feel free to read my Part 1 and/or Part 2. But I'm here to tell you that, after an initial 10 years of listening to the album on the tape I bought at age 14, then another 25 of listening to it digitally, it may be all in my imagination but I feel like I'm listening to Ragged Glory for the first time. It sounds like Neil is performing Country Home while riding piggyback on my shoulders. And we're hang gliding through flames.

Okay, I'm actually having a bit of a religious experience. Jesus Frickin' Cristo: Young is forever going on and on about how the perfect echo dies when you transfer his music to digital and, even though I'm a big record guy, I always kinda roll my eyes. After all, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I dwell in the Dollar Bin, not Nathan's VGG++ Nerd Shack.

And don't get me wrong, as advertized there is some bustle and pop on my new copy. But I'd be disappointed if the occasional scuffle weren't there: they add the kind of textures Joe Freakin' Lala could never even attempt, and, Sweet Billy Talbot, I'm hearing bass notes I've never heard before and the drums - THE DRUMS!

(By the way: you can disregard all the shade I cast on Love To Burn in one of those earlier posts - that track just started up and it suddenly sounds fresh and urgent as it spins forth from my record's new, precious grooves. I suspect the same thing will have during Love and Only Love when I get there...)

I'm so happy, friends. I'm SO HAPPY all over again. I'd even slow dance with Stephen Stills right now if he asked, just as long as we blasted my personal copy of Ragged Glory while we swayed.

[le-panda-chocovore]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! I got this as a chain and liked it, so lets spread the positivity!

Ooh that's a sweet ask ! Okay let's go :

Anime and Manga. If I say one particular fandom I'll have to list them all so let's just say the whole work over Japanese animation. Literally the idea that this kind of art exists makes me so happy.

Sport. Being able to move is so important to me, when I'm inactive for too long I quickly start to feel down. If have to be precise I'd say Volleyball, Rollerblading and Dance.

Humanity. I know most people would say it's pretty depressing and awful but I do believe that human beings are beautiful and wholesome. Sure there's too many assholes but ultimately, there're more good people in this world than the other side. It's hard to see because dickheads have power and voice, but if you look around you'd see that human beings are actually nice and lovely, all they want is to spend time with their friends, enjoy art and nature, eat good food and hug each other. Knowing that all around the world and in every era since the beginning, humans have always been humans is so overwhelming (positively). Parents loving their children and siblings pretending to fight and friends teasing each other and neighbours helping each other. The asshole are going to lose someday and we will bring back love and peace to the world.

Colors. Fucking love colors. Looking for shades and tones around me. Wearing rainbow clothes. Putting on shiny makeup. Looking at leaves and flowers. Damn colors are so beautiful I'm so glad to be able to see them. Sometimes I just sit on a bench outside and enjoy the view. I live in the middle of Paris and not on the tourist side, the street isn't even beautiful, I'm just enjoying the colors.

Books. All sorts of books. Novels, comics, fanfictions, mangas (I know I already said that). Just, books. Someone in front of a computer or a notebook for hours daydreaming about a whole new universe and putting down words to bring it to life. It gets published and waits on the shelf of a shop or a library and someone -anyone- picks it up, looks through the paragraphs, and daydreams about the very same universe even years later. Yeah, books make me happy.

[now-we-say-c0ral]

November 12, 2023

This day has been so lazy for me. I'm crying, literally, the weekend went by so fast now I'm back to working. Fuck this shit. The difficult thing really is waking up and getting to the station. Work is work and sure there're bad days but the most difficult thing is getting myself up in the morning.

Romney and Nico got everyone up for some lunch. They made beef stew and some fish dish both of which were delicious. I was about to go to the gym today but decided that it would be best not to because I need a proper rest day. I just played Diablo 4 the whole day. I was so unproductive. I was supposed to cook dinner but Ed cooked instead because he wanted to eat some beef stirfry for work tomorrow. He was out and climbed but he still made dinner and lunch for tomorrow. He's such a kind man. I don't know what I did to deserve him. I should be more lenient and not react when I'm mad and tired and have to think things through before I do or say anything. He's so gentle with me.

November 11, 2023

Woke up around 9am today. Finally! My day off! Just stayed in bed until like 11am and played a bit of Diablo 4. We went to Canning Town around 12pm after finishing breakfast. I kind of forced Ed to go to the gym with me. I was planning to do chest and legs today but only ended up doing chest because Ed didn't like working his legs out. It was a good workout!

We went to Morrisons and got some groceries for the week. We went back home and I just played Diablo 4 the whole day. Tier 4 is a bit challenging for me considering that I don't have the best armour and I'm trying to farm for them the best I can.

We had some mixed grains and fish yesterday after saying that we weren't hungry and only wanted some protein shake. Ed's cooking is my favourite.

We watched Take Care of Maya on Netflix and it was really a sad story about families and their children being wrongfully medically adopted by the system. Today was a good day!

November 10, 2023

LAST DAY OF WORKING THIS WEEK! FINALLY! I got up super late from bed despite waking up a bit early. I got an Uber thinking that it would get me to work earlier but I didn't anticipate London traffic to be really bad.

I was with Rosie, JP, and Ate Socel in the morning doing Orthopaedics in Th14. It was a good list. We didn't do much but to remove metalworks. In the afternoon we were taking care of sets and they thought me how to fast track and make loan sets for orthopaedics.It's something that I don't really intend learning because it adds responsibility and accountability when shit goes wrong but here we are. Went out to Tortilla with Lene after work and had a few margaritas. We intended to go out and have a night out January next year. I'm excited about that! I want a nightout with friends.

Went home and slept immediately because I was really drunk. Woke up around 1am to Ed cuddling me.

November 9, 2023

It's a Thursday and I'm not in that horrible person's list! Thank the heavens. I'm not even exaggerating. I'm so thankful. I'm assigned in Th6 doing ENT with Cathy and Xavier.

We did some cochlear implants and some MLBs and it was such a good day. Sure it was busy but I wasn't tired at the end of the day! There's really something different about working other specialities from doing orthopaedics. I just know that it isn't for me and that I don't see myself doing it. Finished the shift around 5:30pm and went to the gym and did some back, arms, cardio, and abs.

Went home around 8:30pm and ate dinner with Eddie. It was a good day. We made up as I bought some Lola's.