#im still using techniques i used back then rather than new stuff i picked up that looks better (+ is more efficient) just for the sake of

[ria-starstruck]

it's kinda crazy coming back to petra roxanne fight animatic after so long (+ artfight) bc ....like . my style might not have changed all that much and any anatomy/etc studies i need to do are still dreadfully overdue but also . i can really see how stuff's changed?? everything looks so much swaggier in the part im working on rn...en sane how the passage of time + practice can make ur art better

[decepti-thots]

Do you have any tips for getting back into reading?

I do, anon!

So for context, as I said previously, I went from reading 50+ books a year to 5-6 a year max for about half a decade. Most of this related to a longterm downswing in my overall health and my executive dysfunction specifically. I would pick books up and never finish them; my attention span was dead in the water, as was my motivation to even try half the time. It took a couple years of active effort to get back to a 3 book a month average. So here's a few subjective tips I personally found helped. They may not be useful for everyone, but this is what personally helped me!

Some of the techniques I used:

Follow your interest and enthusiasm, and don't be afraid to hop around books. I was stuck in a rut for ages where I'd start a book, lose steam, and vaguely want to read another one instead... but I insisted to myself 'no, I need to FINISH this one, I can read that one when I'm finished!' Obviously, I just never finished the books period, rather than methodically finishing everything one at a time, as I'd hoped I would. I read less, not more. The most important thing period is getting momentum back up; better 4 'still not finished'-s on the way to the book you unexpectedly finish in one sitting than nothing finished, and just a vague sense of guilt. If a new book calls to you and your current one feels interminable, seize that urge and start the second book so you can keep your motivation going. At least you're reading something then; the alternative was usually just not reading either book, for me.

Try some shorter books. I read a lot of novellas to get myself going again last year especially, and it was fantastic. Again, it helps get the momentum going, to be continually working up to longer stuff. (Plus novellas are just a great medium in their own right! Length =/= depth. SFF especially is having a real Novella Moment rn!) Hell, read short story collections, read poetry chapbooks, read plays- if you can only read 75 pages before losing steam, find a 75 page book worth reading. There's tons of them.

Try and carve out reasonably consistent times to read. For me, I started saying that after work most evenings if I was still awake really late, that was now book time, not Twitter/etc time. I read on my lunch a lot at work, and on Sunday afternoons. You don't need to be rigid, that can just be restrictive, but make it a routine you can easily make time for on a predictable basis without hoping you'll spontaneously 'feel like it'.

Read shit you love. This sounds obvious but like. You can't easily branch out of your comfort zone into more challenging-to-you stuff til you have the momentum going, IME. Start off reading the shit you know you like, heady intellectual ambitions be damned. Yeah yeah, reading outside your usual lane is often rewarding, but it'll wait a year til you get back in the swing of it. Read 50 romance novels in a row if that does that for you. The other books will wait. Likewise: reread shit you know inside out. Your to-read list will be here once you got a few of those old familiar faves in.

Those are the big things I guess. A lot of it was locating what really resulted in bottlenecks for me and tailoring what and how I read to them, instead of trying to force past them. Finding the books that fit what I could manage helped me reach a point now where I can read more broadly again. It's like building endurance, you can't start at 110%, I found.

[actualbird]

Hi zak! I've been a longtime reader of your original works. Do you have any tips on what pieces to put in your writing folio?

hi anon !!! im very sorry it took me forever to get back to this ask, and doubly sorry if you are no longer in need of tips OTL. still, thank u for reading my original works, thats a pleasant surprise to know!! i havent posted my original writing website here in......a long while, since im the (very slow) process revamping the site HAHA,

but yeah, tips on what put in a writing portfolio!! if ever you still need em or if ever anybody out there can make use of this. all of these based completely on my personal experience of applying to writing workshops and writing jobs, so feel free to take what you think applies to you/would help you, and leave the rest behind

-

1 ) in general, put your Best Works. but take into consideration that You are usually your own worst critic, so you definitely could benefit from a second opinion (or many)

so, obviously, you wanna be putting in your best stuff. and thats still the general method that i'd choose, but with the added reminder that a lot of the time, writers can be blind to certain works that they themselves made that other people really liked or found immensely compelling.

this for lots of reasons: writerly self-esteem problems, that odd experience of mostly remembering the arduous Process of writing the thing and less the actual finished product, general blindness to stuff in your own work since you Wrote That (and probably revised it 76439754985 times) so it's just hard now for you to realize the level of skill thats apparent to many others

the opposite effect is also very possible, where you can be Incredibly attached to a work (maybe for sentimental reasons, maybe because the you learned a lot along the way, etc) but other people kinda found the whole work meh.

bottom line: by this point, you know youve got skill in writing. but the skill OF seeing and evaluating your own skill is a whole different animal

reach out to your friends, writing peers, or reading peers and ask them what they think some of your best works are. personally, i think it's good both to ask people who are Also in the practice/study/career of writing, and people who arent, simply because a more diverse set of information is always better than a lesser diverse one. if you want, you can ask follow up questions like "why?", or you can just stick to getting a general pulse check of what is resonating to the people who read your work. because [tv commercial voice] The Answer May Surprise You!

and once you know what resonates with others, you can start chopping down the list with armed with that new knowledge

-

2 ) "Best" should not be a catch-all term, cut it up into specific categories and showcase your Best in top categories you want to focus on. this way, you get a folio that's showing a wide range of your capabilities

if i were picking between two applicants, both of which submitted portfolios of their Best fiction works (and theyre both Very good), i would ultimately choose the applicant who gave a portfolio that showed a wider range of what Bests theyre capable of rather than the applicant who submitted 5 really great stories but they all still employed the same techniques/concepts/themes

......if that makes sense?

like, okay, let's assume the portfolio is a fiction portfolio. no specific lit genre limitations or whatever, just, fiction in general.

"fiction in general" is a ridiculously huge field! theres the genres of course, so many damn genres. but what im more focused on is Technique. there are so many ways to structure your plot and pacing, there are so many ways to create your cadence and tone, there are so many kinds of characters and so many ways you can make them clash, so many dang ways to make your story's themes come to light. theres a Lot

so take a portfolio as a chance to show the widest possible range of what you can do, and what you can do Well

let's say you did Tip 1 and coming from that, youve got a list of 15 stories you think would be good for a portfolio. your next step then is to identify which stories are doing the same Thing (whether that be in its genre, structure, themes, etc) and then decide which of those stories showcases your ability to Do that Thing best.

if ive got 3 different stories that are all magical realism pieces using a very subdued tone to communicate the plot's conflict and emotion, then im gonna need to pick just one to put in my folio, the one that did it Best. and then you can go back to Tip 1 and get a second opinion on that if you want, and THEN i repeat with the other stories, this time picking a different Thing-Technique-Structure-Theme-Etc to focus on

basically my point is that a portfolio, ideally, should show different Kinds of Bests. because that is much much more appealing than only seeing One kind of Best

-

3 ) you can make as many portfolios as you want, tailor-made specifically for what youre using that portfolio for

this is something i learned after college and when i was applying for various writing jobs. for context, i dual wielded fiction and nonfiction in college. though my degree ultimately/officially went into the nonfiction track, i still wrote a whole lotta original fiction, and when i was applying for jobs, my personal list of Bests included a lot of fiction pieces, as well as nonfiction pieces

but i was applying to all different kinds of jobs, and it would be slightly off-course to submit a fiction piece to a job like Feature Writer For Magazine. additionally, it would be slightly off-course to submit a nonfiction piece to a job like Romance Game Writer

(.....both of those real jobs i applied for and man, sidenote, can you believe i almost became a romance game writer? like, how ironic that is now that im into the fandom i am Currently into. guys. guys i got to the second interview stage of that job. Guys. jdhvfhvfkshd)

anyway, remember how Tip 2 is about showing off a diverse array of what youre capable of? well, dont get Too diverse. always remember the people/organization/etc that you will be submitting this portfolio to, and keep in mind what They are looking for

if youre applying for a sci-fi fiction workshop, submit your Best pieces that do different techniques or things BUT are still within the parameters sci-fi fiction, so they are relevant. if youre applying for a feature writing job, maybe fiction might work, but read the works that the magazine puts out, maybe. get a feel for their style, what they like. like idk , if theyre super into that Anthony Bourdain-esque kinda description of gritty details, then maybe a fiction piece that shows off that kind of descriptive skill can still be relevant.

make a new portfolio whenever the need arises to best adapt to whatever it is youre gunning for

-

in summary :

tip 1: Best works but cast a wider net and ask other people because us writers can get tunnel vision sometimes

tip 2: whittle down your list to show different kinds of Bests that you can do, avoid redundancy

tip 3: keep your Bests relevant to whatever the task at hand may be

well....thats all i can think of. i hope some part of this can be helpful to anybody out there. hope youre doing well, anon :")

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 61 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 359 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here. 

---

RATE THE EPISODE 347 Responses

While this episode wasn’t as big of a hit as episode 60, overall most viewers still enjoyed the content and are looking forward to more next week!

amazing amazing! I'm so delighted with this season so far!

Im so beyond pumped i love everything

Dissapointing but acceptable.

I’m like angry I loved it so much.

I just wish we didn't have to wait a week

It was amazing. We all gotta apologize to MAPPA for ever doubting them.

It's a huge stepdown from episode 1. At times the animation was straight up painful to watch. My expectations were low and yet I'm still disappointed :/

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE/MOMENT? 349 Responses

Reiner-centric scenes were the highest on people’s radar, with 24.9% of respondents enjoying his reunion with the warrior cadets, and not far behind, 22.9% enjoyed Reiner bringing up the 104th at the dinner table. In third, with only 13.5%, was Pieck and Porco’s formal introduction to the audience. 

Hearing Zeke greet his grandparents with such happiness warmed my heart. I do believe that he loves them. 

They just had to add one last image of Ymir's broken face before she died, huh? :(

WE FORGOT TO ASK LAST WEEK D: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENES/MOMENTS FROM EPISODE 60 WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 348 Responses

Last week we forgot to include what your favorite scenes were. The scene from episode 60 that got the most favor was Reiner’s, “I’m sick and tired… of walls” with 33.6% of the vote. 16.7% most enjoyed Zeke’s titan transforming scream. 14.9% were hyped about Reiner and Porco wrecking Fort Slava.

MAPPA WENT ALL OUT WITH THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THIS EPISODE. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CINEMATIC PANS AND ROTOSCOPE ANIMATION? 349 Responses

Overall, a total of 74.5% respondents have positive feelings about MAPPA’s use of rotoscope animation and camera panning. Some felt like it was akin to watching a movie, while others are just happy to have the dynamic movement. A smaller amount of respondents didn’t have feelings one way or another, and a minority (about 10.3%) really are not a fan of this type of animation style for the series.

It felt odd sometimes as they used it for long scenes (like Udo talking or Gabi telling the story to her family) but overall it was pretty great and I prefer it to WIT's stale animation during season 3

I liked the more dynamic movement during dialogue, but my roommate found it super awkward and off-model. So a fifty-fifty split in a sample size of two lol

It could have been animated better, but I like the extra dimension it gives to scenes

Enjoyed it a lot! However, there were a few scenes that felt a bit off, like some frames were missing. Specifically, when Udo was doing all those gestures while talking with the rest of the Warrior Candidates.

It felt dynamic to the point of looking unnatural - some gestures and expressions just moved wrong

i'm split, in some scenes it was great (like reiner waking up), but in the dialogue scenes the constant movement seemed kinda unnatural and distracting

It was amazing but at the same time I'd didn't look fluid enough, especially at Udo's mouvements which made the character look kind of...video game-ish in constant moving. 

I thought it looked great the rotoscoping,the movements all looked amazing

The animation during Urdu’s scene is so cool!  I was caught of guard at first though lol. It’s so realistic!

NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE OF THE NEW OST TRACKS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK SO FAR THIS SEASON? 344 Responses

So far, reception to the newer music is overall positive. 31.1% are really enjoying the music and think the songs are being used immaculately, and 40.4% really feel that the song choice compliments the scenes they’ve been used in. 13.1% think the songs are good, but miss having that sole Sawano feel to them. 10.8% just feel the music is “ok” and 2.6% aren’t a fan of the new OST tracks so far. 

I mean it sounds good, but we haven't gotten to important moments that require a memorable track, so we'll see!

First episode slapped because it really complemented the scene but it's more... generic. I didn't like how it was used in this episode, there wasn't enough of it and again, generic. I miss Sawano's unreal scores.

the animation absolutely blew me away, and i love the intense music that played during Reiners monologue 

The music is fine.

I've heard both new and old songs from the previous seasons. Still too soon to make an opinion as we need to hear more.

I am deaf, I can't hear no damn soundtracks 

That music guys when they came back to Liberio and reuniting with they parents, made me tear up but also because the scouts never had the chance to go back home with victory in the arms of their family, I wish I could have seen EMA like this.. It kinda felt unfair X) but I was happy for them nevertheless.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CLOSEUP OF ZEKE’S MOUTH? 346 Responses

Our first of probably too many crack questions in this poll, 32.7% thought the closeup of Zeke lighting his cigarette was cool looking. 21.4% are concerned about Zeke’s lung health. 19.1% are probably annoyed with us and simply don’t care (lol). 13.3% wouldn’t mind smooching Zeke, and 11% were just plain grossed out.

Does smoke even affect a titan shifter? Surely his lungs just heal themselves

ASMR for the eyes, right there. Aww yiss

It was awesome! Zeke is shown as relaxed person with a big drop of mystery. 

Smoking Bad but he is gonna die in a year anyway

Suuuuuuucc

It might've just been an artistic choice to include it in there, but i gotta say I'm oddly fascinated and idk why

I don’t remember it lol

I didn't even notice.

Zeke looks hotter than he has ever looked

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT ELDIAN ASSES? 341 Responses

Most of the responses seemed to feel rather positively about Eldian asses, with almost 40% seeking out Zeke’s ass wiping technique. About 17% simply stated their appreciation for them, while almost 13% are just thirsty. In contrast, a little over 17% seemed confused to the question’s inclusion and about 10% were confused outright. 

MAPPA WHERE IS PIECK'S ASS

More into Eldian thighs, really

I bet Levi’s is nice

If only Eren had one

zeke has the energy of a straight man who doesn't wash his ass

Only Shadis' ass

GIVE IT TO ME 😏😏

They are like normal, human asses. Do not turn them into some magical, special snowflakes, just because they belong to Eldians. 

Seek help

Enough

DO YOU WANT REINER TO GIVE YOU A HEAD PAT? 343 Responses

A definitive majority, almost 59 percent, openly expressed enthusiasm for the prospect of a head pat from Reiner. However, a near 30% fraction of responders didn’t seem too happy about this recent chain of less than serious questions. We’re sorry about that. 😅. The rest either didn’t seem interested in said prospect or noted they wouldn’t care either way.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DECISION FROM MAPPA TO CONDENSE REINER’S FLASHBACK INTO (PRESUMABLY) A SINGLE EPISODE? 346 Responses

It would appear that the majority of those who took our poll express cautious optimism at the prospect of seeing all (or the vast majority) of Reiner’s backstory being adapted into a single episode, with a near 47% supporting the move, thinking it could make the narrative “more coherent”. Almost 20% argue it would work better pacing wise. On the flipside, just over 17% state that they would rather have a more accurate adaptation to the manga. 11.6% simply say they have no opinion. There were also more than a few write-ins.

I do wish everything could be animated to full detail, but pacing and structure will benefit here

They've done a good job so far, so I'll reserve judgement until I actually watch it.

It will be difficult as they're chapters with loads of dialogue, but they can pull it off if unnecessary stuff gets cut out or changed in some type of way (like watching Marcel's death for the sixth time, them breaking through the wall or even Jean and Eren fighting) 

If they get the pacing right, then the rearrangement will be for the better.

Reiner flashbacks + Reiner suicide attempt + Falco meeting "Kruger" (more than 2,5 chapters) in a single episode? HELL NO! WTF MAPPA!  

Worried and cautiously optimistic.

At least it looks like they're going to stick to just one episode for the RBA flashback. It was mostly just filler anyway, so there was never any need to stretch it out and waste precious time getting back to the Paradis side of the story

I doubt that that's exactly how it is, but if so, then I don't think that that's a wise idea

It’s gonna be rushed as hell

Reiner flashback is very long and there is tons of dialogue, so I dont know how its going fit in only one episode, but if they can make it work then its fine for me

WHICH CHARACTER DESIGN DID YOU LIKE BEST IN COMPARISON TO THE MANGA? 346 Responses

This question gave us a somewhat evenly split pie chart, but Porco nonetheless managed to gain the bigger piece with just over 55%. Surely due to that bomber jacket and haircut. Nearly 45% picked Pieck (gottem) instead. Must have been the somewhat inconsistent nose. 

WHO’S SEIYUU DID YOU LIKE BEST? 335 Responses

On the flip side, 68.4% seemed to prefer Pieck’s soft voice. Porco with his (how the hell does Porco sound like… how can you describe his voice) managed to win the hearts of 31.6% of responses.

Pieck voice wtf? I imagined Pieck with a more Hanji-ish voice, not this sweet and high pitched.

DID MAPPA DO PIECK’S NOSE JUSTICE? 345 Responses

The debacle over Pieck’s POWERFUL nose gave us quite a colorful pie chart. Almost 39% of responses noted that Mappa was on point with Pieck’s nose for most of the episode. Afterwards, 26.7% stated that they thought that Mappa got it right only in some points of the episode. On the flip side, another 26.7% thought that Mappa was generally quite on point throughout the entire episode. A small minority (7.8%) thought that Mappa simply did a poor job. 

The animation is good, and while I don't want to complain, I have a small problem with the drawings themselves. I feel like they lack precision (like Pieck's nose, idk if that's clear).

I'm grateful for Pieck's nose. I always respected Isayama for drawing imperfect characters, because this way he has made them to look more realistic. Even though Pieck has so-called imperfect nose, she is still absolutely gorgeous. Her imperfections are part of what makes her beautiful and unique.

PORCO’S HAIR - WERE YOU TEAM RED HAIR OR BLOND HAIR? AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH HIS ANIME COLOR SCHEME? 345 Responses

A far less controversial debacle concerned Porco’s hair scheme. The folks supporting a Blond color scheme were universally content with his hair color (all 57.4% of team Blond). On the flip side, an almost universal approval was also present from team Redhead (13.6% of those supported his blond hair color). 27.5% of the responses seemed to care not about this issue at all, however.

NOW THAT WE KNOW PORCO BETTER IN THE MANGA, DO YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE *ACTUALLY* DONE A BETTER JOB THAN REINER IF HE HAD INHERITED THE ARMOR AND WENT TO PARADIS? 348 Responses

Porco inheriting the Armored Titan is a rather interesting what-if scenario. Perhaps of the most interesting as a whole, so it’s no surprise to see a rather divided opinion of those who took our poll. A little over 36% believe that Porco doing a better job than Reiner on Paradis is a definite possibility. Just over 24% believe it’s not likely Porco would have done better than Reiner. On the flip side, 21.6% think that is is likely Porco *would* have a more successful conduct on the island. 9.2% believe that Porco’s success is a given and in opposition to that, 8.9% think that Porco’s success would have been basically impossible.

HOW ABOUT IF PIECK HAD GONE TO PARADIS WITH THE WARRIORS? 346 Responses

Much less division here, however. 70.5% of responders believe that Pieck’s possible trip to Paradis (in the initial attack) would have not have resulted in a given “mission success” for the Warriors, although she would have been a rather useful ally. Nearly a quarter, on the other hand, think that Pieck’s inclusion would have ended the story right then and there. The rather small minority of the other responders think that Pieck would not have been useful had she participated in the mission.

GABI HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER. HAS MAPPA BRINGING HER TO LIFE CHANGED YOUR FEELINGS TOWARD HER? 342 Responses

64.6% of respondents overall have positive feelings toward Gabi as of right now, with 39.5% having already been enjoying her character throughout the manga. 25.1% now view her more positively with her being brought to life. 20.2% don’t really care about Gabi either way, and 11.7% feel very negatively toward Gabi, without the anime swaying their opinions. 

Gabi still sucks

Sakura ayane as gabi is probably the best thing to happen to me all year

WITH SUCH A DIALOGUE-HEAVY ARC, CUTS WERE INEVITABLE. WHICH CUTS WERE YOU DISAPPOINTED IN, AND WHICH CUTS CAN YOU LIVE WITH?

Overwhelmingly, the scenes that were most missed by manga readers were “Pieck walking on all fours/scaring Porco”, “Zeke mentioning the Ackerman Clan”, “Reiner’s smirk when his family talks about ‘Island Devils’”, and “The imagery of Eren and Armin wrecking ships”. Smaller character details, such as Reiner mentioning how he acted like Marcel on Paradis, Gabi wishing to understand Reiner’s feelings, Falco pointing out how Reiner almost had the Armor taken from him, were also very missed by manga readers, although just less so. 

General Calvi talking about Zeke’s loyalty, Gabi getting praise from her parents when they reunite, and Magath trashing the Marleyan navy, were moments that many respondents didn’t feel strongly about one way or another, or felt that these were details that weren’t really needed anyway. 

Cutting the scene where Falcon talks about why Reiner kept the AT was really bad.  Also the table scene could have been better. Some imagery when Reiner was describing the 104th and his smirk.

The cuts the anime has done made the spectators less informed about some story background stuff. This is in order to direct attention to the marley's eldians planning how to overcome the world's disparagement towards the power of the titans. 

I'm sad they cut the gate guards. They humanize the marleyans a bit. Hope they add their scenes next episode and do them justice.

I hope we will get the Gabi/Reiner talk about understanding each other through PATHS when she eats him next episode

Gimme crawling best giiiirl

MAPPA cut Pieck's ass so this episode wouldn't be so ass centered with Zeke's ass wiping technique. This is my theory lol

Great episode but U was so looking forward to the Reiner scene talking about Paradis “devils”. In the mange it was a powerful scene really adding to the duality of Reiner and the pain he has, and the animation did not do it justice. Plus some parts of his speech were probably hard to understand for a non mange reader without the flashback. (Like which one is referring to Jean for example).  I really wish it had been better delivered

IS THERE ANY CHANCE WE’LL SEE SOME OF THESE CUTS ANIMATED IN A LATER EPISODE? 342 Responses

them into different scenes. Overall, the majority answered a big, fat, “maybe.” 15.8% are confident that what’s done has been done, and 12.6% are more optimistic that MAPPA will find a way.

Overall I was a bit disappointed. I feel like the amount of material cut from every conversation included really added up overall and gave it a very rushed feel to me. I really hope they add it all in later.

ON THE FLIP-SIDE, WHICH ADDITIONS/CHANGES DID YOU LIKE/DISLIKE?

The changes and additions that MAPPA made were overall viewed very favorably, with the scene of Porco and Pieck interacting with the warrior cadets being the most liked addition. This is followed closely by the overall character movement during dialogue scenes, the small detail about Pieck’s father being unwell, and Gabi shouting “Watashi!” on the train.

I loved the additional details made it very emotional

IT WAS A GREAT TIME TO BE GALLIPIECK TRASH

Sneakier Eren's a nice addition too

Porco my boiii I'm so happy he's here 💖💖💖💖 if mappa is adding some extra scenes then gimme more of gallirei 👀

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 338 Responses

Unsurprisingly, 42% of respondents are hyped about Kenny’s brief return and Annie’s unlikely encounter with him in the Underground. 22.2% are eager to get that sweet Reiner angst as he is rejected by his Marleyan father. 17.8% are looking forward to Reiner’s training days.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

great! it was inevitable they would cut stuff but it hasn't changed any major plot point or thing i would want to see desperately 

It was just really great to see the scenes animated, it adds another level of depth and understanding to the story I believe. 

Loved anime-onlies missing Eren completely. Some even thought it was him but then noticed the leg and thought against it

I think it was very well done. Just need a little getting used to with MAPPA on the reins now. I think MAPPA added some scenes to show how those Eldians over there are still just human after all and they have their own problems to deal with. 8/10 episode.

I feel like they took a lot of emotion way from reiner. made him seemed stoic and determined to go to the island even though in the make he looked scared about having to return. 

I thought the rotoscoping was really well done! I’m happy with the pacing, the fact that the episode felt like it went by fast is good considering it was dialogue based.

Incredible. The direction, the cinematic quality, we are feasting. MAPPA is elevating the story beyond anything I could have imagined! I'm beyond hyped for the rest!! But where is asshole Marley guards/Hobo!Eren's appearance as a favorite moment?!

Incredible, it adapts the source material very well while adding some touches that make it unique in it's own way. As a manga reader, I'm really glad that they're doing this because it feels like a completly different experience from reading it and makes me excited on what changes or directing choices they're going to make during the course of the season, great job so far MAPPA!

Such an amazing episode. Made 20mins feel like 5. MAPPA is doing fantastic. The characters have never felt more alive and the animation style is something I never knew I wanted until now. 

I can't believe they didn't cast Mads Mikkelsen to voice Mads Mikkelsen

The episode was good but the dinner scene didn't do justice to the manga. It didn't have the same feeling to it. I saw a lot of anime onlys thinking Reiner was just trying to talk shit about the 104th. I feel like the flashbacks during that part in the manga gave it a nostalgic feeling that helped convey what he truly felt about his time on the island. His facial expressions were not quite there either. Specially sad because it was the moment I was expecting the most this episode and because it's a big part of Reiner's character, maybe next episode can kind of fix this.

I haven't seen the anime only poll results, but given personal conversations with them I imagine quite a few could care less about the Warriors and are looking forward to the 104th showing up to stir shit up. Boy are those folks in for a treat :)

I knew I'd feel more attached to all of them once they got animated. I didn't expect getting real thirsty for Lainah.

I was so happy with how much detail MAPPA put into the background scenery. Also, I think that an underrated moment during this episode was the Marlian douchebag triggering the Eldian soldier’s PTSD. You could really feel their terror, and THEY KEPT THE HOBO EREN PART IM SO HAPPY!

Its consistently very pretty and well animated which is great of course, but I worry the team won’t be able to maintain this quality for some of the meatier scenes in the later episodes. The fast pace of the episode (compared to the manga) as well as the many cuts make it a bit harder for scenes to stick, I wish there was a bit more breathing room at times. This also makes the fancy animation and frequent rotoscoping cuts feel less impactful for me—with every scene being cut down to its core ingredients, and every scene having at least one cut with more motion and energy than we’re used to, I can’t help but feel it all kind of mashes together without sticking out as much, leaving less of an impact. (I feel really really weird actually complaining about good camerawork/animation, what the hell lol) Also hobo <3

Plenty of questions about ass but no questions about the full ED? Or how we thought the episode did at hiding Eren in plain sight?

rip Reiner's chocolate abs :'(

The episode wasn't as interesting as the first one. I was yawning from time to time. Yet, I think that Mappa did a great job, because it's hard to animate full of  dialogues chapters. I was disappointed of the fact that flashbacks from Paradis have been cut. I hoped to see Sasha, Connie, Ymir and Marco while Reiner was speaking about them. Without the flashbacks we just got the dry speech and this way hard to say what Reiner is really thinking about people he met on Paradis. We - as manga readers - already are aware of his feelings, but anime onlies may not know and see Reiner as cold hearted person. I'm not complaining over animations or the OST tracks because no studio is perfect and some small mistakes here and there won't destroy my fun. I just sit and enjoy the episode. 

Very good, with the exception of the dinner scene, in which the director missed the mark completely with the tone.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 328 Responses

Thank you again for participating! We’ll see you again next week!

[ambitionsource]

hi can we get some zaley friendship headcanons whenever you're free? ☺️

im not the best at headcanons just bc of the way my brain functions but im gonna do my best for you, sunny my friend. let’s go zay and riley let’s go!

thrift shop buddies!! one of the most common ways that they hang out is definitely going thrifting. considering they arguably have the two most eclectic wardrobes on the show, this makes sense. esp i fully believe they’re the perfect people to thrift shop with where they encourage each other to try on everything, even if it seems outlandish (and sometimes even more in those moments). that’s the only way to really get some good finds! and i feel like, beyond S1, when they wear items for performances in the show that are clearly unique / seem thrifted, it’s more than 50% likely the other helped them pick it out at some point

on this note, i think that they both have really good senses of what looks good on the other bc they spend this time together, probably better than anyone else (yes, including their significant others. not that that’s hard, since both of their significant others have notoriously bland fashion). like even when theyre not out together i can totally imagine them seeing something and being like “oh this is so riley / zay” and getting it for each other. they know each other’s sizes and have like an ongoing swap credit system gfJSKHJDLFH

riley and zay usually run performance by the other person before they perform them for the class / at an audition. like they find a specific time (usually during breakout sessions during class) to get in front of the other person and run them through their concept + do a run-through for them. they just really appreciate the other’s perspective, especially since they tend to complement each other -- zay is able to identify places where riley could heighten things or add some flair or just like... assert her talent more lmao, whereas riley helps zay pull back on some of his more overwhelming instincts when necessary or find the moments to truly lean in emotionally rather than blowing us out of the water the whole time

if we could actually Watch the show, i guarantee 9/10 times when riley or zay is performing, we would cut to the other enjoying the performance. like theyre always bobbing their head along and truly feelin the other’s performances. excellent vibes luv!

i also think they harmonize well with each other, which is why its kind of a shame they dont do more performances together within the context of assignments (as for why, couldn’t tell you... it might just be a weird psychological thing of like i have These people i perform with when it matters and these who are just for fun... like maybe zay and riley tend to see each other as easygoing comfortable duet partners and thats why they try not to overdo putting pressure on it). but yeah they absolutely have days where they just hang out in one of the rehearsal studios and play around on the piano and try to find ways to harmonize on their favorite songs. this is some of the best singing riley ever does, bc its so low stakes and fun

i also think that honestly, zay really helps strengthen riley’s vocals over the time they’re friends -- especially early on. riley is someone with good raw talent but she’s never thought about honing it seriously prior to joining aaa, whereas zay has been on a career mindset since he was little. so he is good at teaching her like small technique things or helping her expand her range and she really values that esp bc hes so selfless about giving it, but it doesnt come off naggy or unnecessary like maya’s advice often does

sometimes it can be hard for them to find songs they both wanna sing though bc their music taste is so different. i think they have like three small categories where their favorites overlap -- select big names (sza, chloe x halle), jazz / old-time crooners (frank sinatra, nina simone, and the like), and select musical theater. but i think this is mainly on zay, bc he’s much more picky about music than riley who will give anything a listen without much nudging. as we know zay likes to pick on his friends’ music taste (like charlie and harry styles / 1d) and i don’t think riley would escape this affectionate teasing. they exchange song recs and riley gives him like her usual piano ballad-y sara bareilles tswift rachael yamagata energy and shes like oh yes, another piano ballad and hes like STOP!!! JUST LISTEEEENNNN GFSJKLHJFDSKLHKDLFH

that said though, they’re definitely go-to friends when it comes to like checking out a new local artist or coffeeshop open mic nights. this is probably a typical zay / riley / yindra outing

zay doesn’t spend a ton of time watching tv bc “he has better things to do with his time,” but riley and zay are definitely the type to watch a show together. like not always Together, but they’ll try to keep up with each other so that they can talk about it (and riley has to try really hard not to keep binging and get way ahead of zay). theyre good at this bc they can have really intense and opinionated conversations about it but in a way where its like safe and neither of them feel like theyre actually being judged / are stupid if they disagree (something thats not common for riley, and zay usually is trying to discuss media with super strong personalities who aren’t great at Debating).

in general, though, they tend to agree on favorite characters / relationships. for example, they both hate rachel berry -- which always gets maya and farkle extremely heated if they’re around. i can only imagine why...

they’re also definitely safe-space vent people for each other. they don’t use the privilege all that often bc i think both of them try to like keep their cool and not get hung up about things, but if they really just have to pop off about something they know they can go to the other person and they’ll actually Listen and keep it under wraps rather than either spilling it to everyone else and/or immediately trying to problem solve rather than just listening to the Emotions. and it’s helpful bc for the most part, their friends don’t actually really overlap that much, so they don’t really like harbor the emotions the other person unloads on them or let it affect their dynamics with other people? like riley can talk about dasher and zay can talk about yingel without it having any ripple consequences bc theyre different circles.

for example, i can totally see riley talking to zay about how she feels like -- at first -- asher doesn’t really like her and won’t really let her in and like he doesn’t want her to join the friend group (even tho that isn’t really true). like she can’t talk to dylan about it bc she’s not going to put him in that position and she’s not foolish enough to think that’s a good idea, she can’t talk to lucas about it bc he like doesn’t get stuff like that gFJKHGLFJSDLH and also he has such a set impression of asher it would be hard for him to understand it from her perspective. zay has none of that, so hes a good person to listen to her nerves about it.

the only times this gets kind of complicated / janky is in the midst of zay x charlie stuff where riley is kind of unintentionally (or, sometimes, intentionally) in the middle. like, zay trusts her not to go telling charlie what he says about him, but he knows they’re good friends too, and its an awkward position to put her in. but still, i think when zay is really hurt or frustrated he’ll snap sometimes and just vent out all his anger about charlie to riley in one foul swoop, and she’ll just absorb it like a sponge without judgment and then not bring it up again. but you can also see little ways where this puts pressure on their friendship, like how when he was drunk in 304 zay expressed resentment towards the fact that riley also talks to charlie and sometimes he feels like she puts him first, even though that isn’t true. it’s just..... a very very complicated (and interesting, if emotional) situation with that trio.

that being said, when things are Good, i think that zay feels comfortable talking about his significant others (including charlie) with riley. he doesn’t really get too Detailed about anything personal or anything, but they definitely discussed charlie in s2 in the small window of time where riley knew and zc wasn’t actively imploding LMAO. on the flip side, riley doesn’t really talk to zay about her relationships, but only bc her relationship is lucas GJFSKLJHLKDJHFLDSH. like anyone else she’d be like okay sure this is fine but she knows zay finds lucas annoying 65% of the time and talking about him in a romantic context grosses him out so she respects that LMAOOOO. hysterical

in general, if they’re gonna hang out, they usually go to either a local coffee shop they like (like svorskis) or each other’s houses. its kind of a relief to have a person they can just take anywhere and have around their parents with no trouble at all, considering both of them are used to having a boyfriend who cant be seen in their house (for different reasons). and theyre comfortable enough that like i think when they hang out at their houses, they just spread out in the living area of both bc theyre not hiding anything, its like very lowkey and comfortable

that being said, riley doesnt spend much time in zay’s usual studio at school. most people don’t, its a place zay now likes to be alone (and it feels weird with someone else being there who isnt charlie)

as for how they come off to their families, the babineauxs love riley. jada has met her a couple of times and thinks she’s super sweet + zay could afford to learn a thing or two from her like how to chill the fuck out (cue zay going shut the fuck up). donna is excited that zay has another friend who isn’t batshit intense about stuff like maya / farkle, she figures yindra has the diva best friend role covered and zay needs more friends like nigel and riley to ground him. she’s right about this.

cory likes zay, but he also does have some prejudices from the teaching perspective about how zay doesn’t pay attention in class half the time and blows off his assignments -- but this isn’t partially because cory isn’t a great teacher and his assignments suck. so the feeling is mutual, tho zay gets along better with cory in a neutral, polite sense than say, asher and dylan, where it’s like guerilla psychological warfare. topanga has no opinion about zay bc riley doesn’t introduce her friends to her (wisely).

they’re still very common lunch buddies. essentially when riley isn’t eating with the techies (which is only when lucas is there usually) or bothering lucas in the booth once a week, she’s with zay (which usually also means nigel, yindra, and farkle, though not always)

ultimately, i think that when someone asks riley who her best friend is, her mind will always jump to zay first. not even because theyre necessarily the closest at any given time, but because he really was her first life raft at aaa and he extended that kindness to her in a moment where she was so used to being brushed aside, talked over, ridiculed -- and you don’t forget that. it stays with you. so when she thinks about her Best Friend, speed round answer, he will always come to mind first. i think she greatly admires his skillful balance of confidence and compassion, his sarcastic sense of humor, the way he gets so passionate about dance and music and how these elements come together, and his inarguable kindness that is at his core and so fundamental to everything he does (even when his more known reputation is a bit more barbed and witty).

on the flip side, i think riley came into zay’s life at the exact moment he needed it. we know he felt isolated in s1, and even though i think he thinks of nigel and yindra as his first-to-mind best friends, riley was a breath of fresh air who allowed him to be himself with someone who wasnt going to judge him on past decisions or impressions. just like he gave her the chance to define herself in his eyes with his extension of company on that first day, she does the same for him by not making assumptions about him and learning who he is on their terms. i think she’s also just a really great, measured system of support -- she’s not busting his balls or keeping him in check like yindra and nigel do (except when its really needed, like 304), but she isn’t as in awe / romanticized with him like charlie. i think he appreciates that he can go to her for an honest perspective, but she’ll take the care to deliver that honesty in a gentle way. it’s like, he’s tough enough to take a hit, but sometimes its nice to know you have someone who will be kind with you even then.

that’s what is at the core of their friendship overall. kindness.

-- Maggie

[carewyncromwell]

[Night had already fallen by the time Charlie and Carewyn returned to school. Charlie led Carewyn upstairs, down the third floor hallway of the East Tower to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at the far end.

Sure enough, when the two “Fireballs” entered, standing at the head of the classroom was Bill Weasley. He was dressed in a second-hand but well-cared-for slate gray suit and a black collared shirt, and his hair, as ginger red as Charlie’s, had grown an inch or so since his graduation.

Bill’s brown eyes lit up at the sight of Charlie and Carewyn. Carewyn skipped across the room -- Bill met her half-way, opening his arms and bending down slightly so she could wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. With a soft, almost mischievous laugh, Bill straightened up, making Carewyn give a strangled yelp when he lifted her right up off the ground. Then she burst into giggles, and Bill chuckled too as he gave her a big squeeze.]

Bill: “Aw, Carey, it’s so good to see you.”

“(through a big grin) Are you growing your hair out?”

Bill: “(lightly) A bit, yeah. Wonder if I should try to go for a ponytail like yours or Charlie’s -- maybe get a piercing or two.”

“How dashing.”

[She giggled again as Bill lowered her back down to the ground and the two finally released each other. Charlie came up and gave Bill a big hug too -- both boys clapped each other on the back before breaking apart.]

Bill: “It’s great to see you both. Letters are nice and all, but being here in person’s just that that bit better, right?”

“I know. Though it was great, reading about your Cursebreaking work -- your assignment in Slovakia, at the old Bathory Castle? Amazing!”

Bill: “(grinning) Gotta thank you for the cursebreaking books you bought me -- I wouldn’t have even tried examining that knife without reading up on cursed gems beforehand.”

[His eyes softened upon Carewyn’s face.]

Bill: “Cursebreaking’s been brilliant...but I’ve really missed you. Missed Hogwarts...”

[He then frowned slightly.]

Bill: “Gotta say, though, Carey -- you don’t seem very surprised to see me.”

“Charlie told me you were coming to visit tonight.”

[Bill whirled on his brother.]

Bill: “(groaning) I tried to act surprised!”

Charlie: “‘Act’ is a strong word.”

[Carewyn burst into giggles at the two brothers’ bickering, covering her mouth with her hand to try to contain her amusement.]

“Bill, don’t worry about it. I’m glad Charlie told me.”

After how awful a day I’ve had...I needed some good news.

[Charlie smiled, his gaze shifting from Carewyn to Bill and back.]

Charlie: “At least I didn’t tell Carey why you’re here -- mostly because I don’t know either, but still...”

[Carewyn looked up as she heard the class room open.

In came Penny, Rowan, and Barnaby. A moment later, another clump of people -- Tonks, Tulip, Diego, and Andre -- sidled in.

Bill grinned broadly.]

Bill: “Don’t worry -- you’re about to find out.”

~*~

[Once all of the sixth year students had arrived, they stood together in a group in front of the rows of desks, facing Bill at the head of the class.]

Ben: “I don’t waste time wondering anymore -- I just take action.”

You could do with some wondering. And other types of thinking too, quite frankly.

[Rather than say this aloud, Carewyn merely pursed her lips sourly.]

Tonks: “(taken aback) Blimey, Ben! When did you get so interesting?”

Penny: “(disapproving) ‘Interesting’ isn’t how I’d put it...”

[Bill cleared his throat in a business-like way to regain everyone’s attention.]

Bill: “As I was saying -- Charlie told me your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is....particularly useless this year...”

[Ismelda gave a snort.]

Ismelda: “That’s putting it mildly.”

[For once, Carewyn agreed with her.

This year the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had been filled by a hot-shot, up-and-coming “Defense expert” named Huxley Meyers. Although many Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers in previous years had merely been old and dull, rather akin to Professor Binns, Professor Meyers clearly was much more interested in puffing himself up than actually teaching his class anything. In his first two classes, he’d had the students pair off and duel each other with no set guidelines or instruction and then strolled around the room, picking apart their technique and vaguely going on and on about what he would’ve done better.

“‘Flipendo,’” he’d scoff. “Is that what you all have been learning? Come on. Shoot out something more dangerous sometime, Copper. You’re going to let a ginger runt like that overpower you, Lee? Pummel ‘im!”

There was also a clear difference in how he spoke to the boys in the class versus the girls. With the boys, he’d often try to goad them into attacking their opponents more aggressively -- with the girls, he’d throw out random snide remarks and then played them off as being just “jokes” if anyone took offense to them.

“Spread your feet, Miss Murk, they’re much too close together -- rather like your eyes,” he’d say with a cheeky smile. “Miss Karasu, what’s with that wand grip? More gently now -- don’t reckon your folks would much like to hear about bad marks, eh? Hahaha...oh, don’t worry -- you lot know I wouldn’t write to them about something like that, lighten up...”

Carewyn herself had strangely found herself victim to both behaviors. In both classes, Meyers had paired Carewyn with several of her male classmates in an attempt to get her to really go at it, but when she’d refused to inflict any lasting damage on her friends, he’d ended up tearing into her for it, mockingly calling her “the little princess.” The condescension wasn’t unlike how Snape spoke to his classes, but at least Snape actually taught them useful material -- Meyers, on the other hand, seemed much more interested in tearing down his class than actually giving them tools to hone their skills.]

Even if Rakepick was a lying snake, at least she taught us stuff. This guy is just a joke.

[Bill glanced at Ismelda out the side of his eye, his mouth twitching with disapproval, but it was clear he was much more cross about what he’d heard about Meyers than Ismelda having interrupted him.]

Bill: “Mm-hmm. Well, given the circumstances...and how important it is that you lot be able to defend yourselves, given everything that happened last year...I decided to volunteer my services. I can’t replace your teacher -- “

[For a second he severely looked like he wanted to add “however much I’d like to,” but thought better of it.]

Bill: “ -- but when I have downtime between my Gringotts cursebreaking missions, I’ll be visiting Hogwarts to teach you new defensive spells.”

[His face then grew a bit more solemn.]

Bill: “This tutoring will be informal and optional -- you can opt out if you want. But if and when Rakepick or any of her lot return...I want to make sure you all are as prepared as you can be -- and since your current professor seems to be no help in that, I figure I at least can be. If you decide to stay, of course.”

[He waited for anyone to leave -- but as Carewyn had predicted, nobody moved.

Bill caught Carewyn’s eye and she beamed proudly at him. Bill’s face broke out into a grin.]

((OOC: BILL, MY DEAR, MY CURSEBREAKING BOY! How I love thee! *huggles Bill plushie*

Huxley Meyers is completely original to me, being inspired by both my absolute worst teacher from grade school and a rather unpleasant ex-roommate. I personally see him having friendly connections to Carewyn’s maternal family, the Cromwells, and maybe R as well, depending on what else we learn about them -- either way, yeah, he’s a creep. Still trying to pin down a fancast for the bugger so I can draw him properly. I knew I had to create at least one DADA teacher OC for this game, though -- I’m sorry, but the books always had such interestingly diverse candidates for the position, and after Rakepick, it’s good to explore the downgrade. >>

Whew, I need to get caught up on roleplaying posts for this Weasley brothers chapter so I can start working on posts for THIS --

Squeeeeeeeeee~!!!!! X3333))

[tumblunni]

The cafe at the hotel + a nice meal WITH TERROR LURKING

I specifically asked for no peas because peas are a problem for me with my autism but OH WELL I GUESS PEAS and i was too embarassed to ask the damn chef to take it back and like..bin everything that touched the peas.

Its so fuckin stupid i feel like such a child

BUT

I know its really fuckin dumb but i feel really accomplished to say this is the first time i have ever finished a plate of peas without throwing up.

Its my fuckin weirdest brain problem, i get really oversensitive to some textures and its the height of extreme embarassment whenever it happens. I wish so fuckin much that it was something i got over when i grew up, it sucks to be a full grown adult and still get an involuntary gag reflex and full on pulse racing panic just from your tongue touching ONE PEA IN A THING. (Also sweetcorn cos its similar in texture)

And all the years of my childhood being told i was 'just being picky' and somehow making up being sick and just getting slapped and given more goddamn peas to train me out of it. Well all that ever accomplished was getting me to panic at the mere sight of the things and have to compulsively pick them out and pick out everything that touched them like man i cant even eat a thing that looks like it was near a pea!!!!

BUT HOLY HELL IVE FINALLY CRACKED IT IVE FINALLY CONQUERED MY STUPIDEST GODDAMN FOE

Not by 'just manning up' and doing it again and again until something changes. No, turns out this entire time i could have just made a really minor change to avoid the cause of the freakout. Cos this is actually the first time ive tried MUSHY PEAS

Yes, the epitome of cliche boring british person food was actually the solution all along???

See it was entirely a texture thing, and when theyre mashed up it just doesnt do anything at all. This is actually my first time even knowing what peas actually taste like! I cant believe my friggin PEA JITTERS were so strong i never even registered one percent of wtf they taste like. They taste like nothing?? Like just..generic vegetable. Slightly vinegary i guess. (Or do they put vinegar in mushy peas?) I still dont like them but i dont hate them either, and more importantly they dont destroy my entire frontal cortex with The Terror Sweats

So i was able to eat all those peas and now i know the secret technique to eat all peas for the rest of time! And it was a super easy thing that my parents could have done for me with minimal effort and saved all that trouble if they just actually listened to me all those years ago. I cant belueve i was so locked into the whole 'its your fault you have to keep trying you cant try doing it another way' mindset that i never simply squashed the pea under my fork and tried to see if it was better...

Though it still wasnt exactly easy, i had to try and eat this stuff while not actually looking at the peas cos itd make my stomach churn just thinking about them. I think i can get past that gut reaction eventually if i keep eating them in Safe Non Anxiety Form and like..rewire my brain to see this as a New Food instead. I dunno. Maybe put food colouring so they arent green?

It sucks that i have to go to such weird lengths to deal with my brainweirds but im just glad to have figured something out so i dont have to embarass myself again.

Most of my other touch-based sensitivities are stuff i can deal with like just not being able to deal with those outer ear headphones puttibg pressure on the back of my head or also hats that are too tight. I think it actually might be part ptsd from how my mum used to pull me by the back of my head. My support workrr touched me on my shoulder near the back of my neck the other day and i had such a spike of panic but i felt too embarassed to tell her about it. Like she was just tapping me to get my attention but its just..just please dont. And aside from that im also working on my big taste sensitivity to mint and bitter stuff. Today i had a lightly bitter green tea boba and i feel so grateful to my buddy for helping me find one tea i can handle! And ive found that i can deal with mint if its mixed with a second thing thats equally as strong. I tried this mint and pepper drink that sounded like itd be awful but it was actually amazing how it cancelles out the mint entirely! So i dunno should i buy some of that novelty spicy chewing gum and chew a stick of that along with the mint stuff? I have a low tolerance for spice but its not like an overstimulation thing its just regular having white guy tastebuds lol. Id much rather have a burning hot tongue than a burning hot brain!

I will slowly but surely find out a way to deal with all of my things!! Even if i cant ever get rid of them i can find a way to live with them, ykno?

Also i need to try and buy a fidget toy, i need to stop being too embarassed about that. My friend i met today is also autistic and she has a chew ring and im like WHOA i wish i could get over my anxiety enough to do that! Chewing on stuff is my biggest damn stim, i would destroy all my pens and pencils and chew bottlecaps so long they ended up as rubber, not to mention how much i wreck my nails and get so many cuts all over my hands whenever i get nervous. But it just seems like chewing on stuff is seem as the most immature type of autism symptom by neurotypical society. so im stuck too ashamed to buy the stuff actually designed to help us and instead i just keep doing it anyway and still embarassing myself but like also with a choking risk. I still remember when i accidentally choked on a coin and my dad spent the entire time i was in the emergency room making fun of me for it and saying i was a burden on the nhs for getting hospitalized and like..taking resources away from real problems. And how i was childish and r-worded and etc etc cant ever survive on your own cant ever be a fully sentient human being

Gahhh this has been a long tangeant but anyway this is why autism awareness and acceptance is good and also why you shouldnt make fun of people who have the 'weird version' of symptoms. Im not choosing to do this, seriously im way more upset by it than you are...

[auskultu]

‘Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out’: LSD Users Describe Their Experiences During a Psychedelic ‘Trip’

Gladwin Hill, The New York Times, 22 February 1967

Perfect example of the flood of LSD scare stories that flooded the mainstream media since October 1966, and most as unbiased as Reefer Madness. — auskultu

LOS ANGELES — “We just don’t know how to cope with it...”

The speaker was one of the leading psychiatrists who has been battling with the nation’s newest scourge: the hallucinatory drug LSD.

His admission of helplessness is seconded by an array of other medical men and law enforcement officers who have watched aghast as the use and depredations of the drug have spread during the last year.

The chief hope they have at this point is in “education”—simply spreading the word about how tricky and dangerous the seemingly innocuous white powder can be.

A few months back an LSD victim in Los Angeles, gripped by the horrible psychoses the drug may induce, knew he could stagger to the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of California here, where there is 24-hour emergency service for the mentally disturbed.

“But we had to shut the door on him,” said Dr. J. Thomas Ungerleider, one of the nation’s foremost LSD researchers. “It just became too much. We’re basically a teaching institution, and we didn’t have enough beds for all these people. Now we just tell them to go to the County Hospital.”

"Heaven knows we've got enough cases to study," the white-jacketed psychiatrist said grimly. “We’ve got an outpatient, huddled in his room near here, who thinks he’s an orange, and that if anybody touches him he’ll squirt juice.”

He continued: “We've got a mother of 23 and her baby. She was giving the baby LSD as a tranquilizer. The baby seems all right, but the mother is all confused.

“We had a girl flown in from Kings County Hospital, New York, the other day for treatment by a doctor who had handled her before. She was a straitjacket case.”

No one has any firm data on the extent of LSD use on the West Coast or elsewhere in the country—except that it is deplorably extensive. Legal bans on LSD went into effect only just year, and no crime statistics distinguishing its use from other drugs have been compiled.

One LSD expert, Dr. Donald Louria of New York’s Bellevue Hospital, guesses that LSD use has extended to “no more than’’ 1 per cent of the population. That figure would represent 200,000 persons —an alarming number, in view of what In becoming known about the drug.

A student at a small California college said this week he knew of eight LSD users in a student body of 200.

At the Los Angeles County General Hospital Dr. Walter Tietz, resident psychiatrist, said admissions of LSD victims reached a peak of about one a day last June, but since have tapered off to about two a week—“hopefully, because the word is getting around about how harmful it can be."

“I don’t think it’s particularly a West Coast problem," says Dr. Ungerleider. “I think it’s more of a national problem—a metropolitan problem. Wherever you have a big city, where conditions are favorable for making and distributing the stuff, I think the problem is about the same.”

LSD has been publicized as a compound that essentially just heightens sensory perceptions, often to the point where they are weirdly distorted. This has been depicted as having the beneficial potential of “opening up the mind," even to the extent of awakening latent talents.

Dr. Ungerleider and a number of his colleagues consider that such expectations are either still conjectural or demonstrably wrong, and are overshadowed by long-term effects, appearing with increasing frequency, which add up to chronic mental derangement.

The chronicle of weird and tragic consequences of LSD use gets longer by the week.

In Santa Cruz Feb. 1 the police picked up Michael A. McGhee, 19-year-old son of George C. McGhee, United States Ambassador to West Germany, when he rammed his car into a school bus. Officers quoted the youth as saying he had just swallowed two capsules of LSD obtained on a nearby junior college campus.

Four teen-agers were arrested in Hermosa Beach, near Los Angeles, in mid-January after their car rammed a house, killing a 3-year-old child. The police chief said the driver seemed to be in a trance and kept trying to climb the jail cell wall, yelling, “Im a graham cracker —oops, my arm crumbled off...”

Dr. Ungerleider has reported in medical journals that several years’ research he has conducted, in collaboration with Dr. Duke Fisher, indicates:

It is impossible to predict such long-term aberrations, even with an individual who has taken LSD repeatedly without apparent bad effects.

It is impossible by advanced psychological testing to differentiate “adverse reactors.” 

There is no necessary correlations between dosage and effects.“The nominal dose is 250 micrograms—less, in pure form, than would fit on the head of a pin,” he says. “But we have observed chronic effects from doses as small as 100 micrograms.”LSD—lysergic acid diethylamide—is a compound involving one of the principal ingredients of ergot, a fungus that grows on rye.

Peril in Manufacture It can be made by someone with just an elementary knowledge of chemistry—although some of the bad effects may be resulting from unknown extraneous substances that are introduced during the process of amateur manufacture. Pure LSD can have drastic physical effects. A massive experimental dose killed an elephant.

Last year LSD was banned by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, and in California and some other states its sale, or possession by nonprofessionals, is considered a crime.

Dr. Ungerleider described its impact as follows: “LSD has been called a consciousness-expanding drug. In fact it is quite the reverse. It decreases one’s ability to select and pay attention. Therefore it decreases conscious functions. Sensations do become intensified. Perception, however, is not enhanced, and visual and auditory acuteness are not revolutionized but rather are distorted.”

Of all of LSD’s effects, the worst may be none of the violent aberrations but a very subtle one: a seemingly permanent dulling of users’ objective judgment and its replacement bv purely subjective values. This effect has been noted by observers as widely separated professionally as psychiatrists and law enforcement officers.

A distinctive effect of LSD is the “missionary" zeal it engenders in users to get others to join them. Some habitues will insist on giving away handfuls of impregnated sugar cubes or capsules that, at the going rate of several dollars a dose, represent considerable money.

Suppresion of LSD is impeded by a number of other factors different from those applying to long-established drugs. These include:

Its relatively easy procurability.

Technical difficulties it presents to regular law-enforcement operations.

The possibility that it has constructive applications.

Its association with the reputably sponsored religio-esthetic “psychedelic" movement.

Authorities Stumped A survey of law-enforcement agencies in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest metropolis, indicates that LSD use has authorities stumped.

A user cannot be readily detected. The effects can either be less obvious than, or indistinguishable from, other intoxicants such as alcohol, marijuana, barbiturates or heroin.

Since LSD was outlawed last year the Los Angeles police department and the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office have referred about 100 LSD arrests to the District Attorney’s office. Of these 100, prosecutions have been prepared in 27 cases, but none has gone beyond the preliminary hearing stage. There is no record of any prosecutions elsewhere in California.

Burnell Blanchard, Southern California director of the State Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, painted this picture: "I could tie up every agent in this office—30 of them—just on LSD. We haven’t been able to aim at the situation from a user standpoint at all, and I suspect the other law-enforcement agencies haven’t either.

“We’ve been going after sellers. And we can only give LSD a certain amount of attention. Since last June our marijuana seizures exactly doubled over the previous six months, in terms of quantity, and there was a 70 per cent increase in the number of defendants.

“Drug arrests of adults have risen to nearly 25,000 a year among California’s 20 million residents. About 40 per cent of the arrests are marijuana cases. About half the LSD use that has been coming to light has been coupled with marijuana.

“This LSD problem is a serious one,” said Mr. Blanchard, an official of national repute who has been in drug-law enforcement for 25 years. “Our insane asylums are going to be filled if the young people continue to use it.”

At San Francisco State College a group of scientists from its faculty, from Stanford University and from other institutions established the Institute for Psychedelic Research about months ago. Its purpose is to explore "techniques, particularly those using chemical substances known as psychedelic agents, for bringing into conscious awareness aspects of mental processes which are usually unconscious or inaccessible.”

The institute has reported that trial of such "techniques” with 350 persons over a period of several months "resulted in demonstrable changes in the direction of more adequate functioning and reduced psychic discomfort"—specifically, "greater spontaneity of emotional expression and increased self-confidence.”

Another exponent of this more liberal view of LSD research is Dr. Keith Ditman, a fellow psychiatrist of Drs. Ungerleider and Fisher at U.C.L.A.'s neuro-psychiatric institute. Dr. Ditman has been studying hallucination drugs for 10 years, and some years back took some LSD “so I know what people were talking about.”

Dr. Ditman describes his reactions as follows: “The feelings I got from listening to music and looking at art were greatly intensified. I discerned things that I never have before. LSD doesn’t give anyone talent. It gives them appreciation. I think I have a new dimension—an awakened, esthetic appreciation I didn’t have before.”

Dr. Ditman is optimistic about some long-term LSD tests he has been conducting with inmates of a detention center for alchoholics near San Diego.

"Many alcoholics are people who never had a sense of belief, hope or religious faith,” he said. “With LSD, an alcoholic may move over toward spiritual values. A whole new world opens to him. He sees beauty that wasn’t there before.”

Dr. Ditman disapproves of “making criminals out of LSD users,” on the ground that it discourages their seeking treatment, and he thinks that the habitual LSD user is an effect, rather than a cause, of “character disorders.”

No specific means has yet been found for neutralizing the effects of LSD. At the U.C.L.A. clinic, the most effective medicines in severe cases of derangement have been several of the so-called “major tranquilizer” drugs. Following that, psychiatric treatment is indicated.

Even the optimum law enforcement against LSD, says California’s Attorney General Thomas Lynch, is “only a partial solution to the problem.” Beyond that, Mr. Lynch thinks, there is need for a great educational effort to expose hallucinogens as fradulent escapism.

“We have in every large student community,” he says, “what has been described as a 'head culture’—the drug users who reject the social consciousness of their contemporaries and seek a more passive way out of modern dilemmas.”

He continued: “They devote energy and ingenuity to taking 'trips,’ which they equate with 'experience.’ This is ironic, because a 'trip' is the antithesis of experience— it is a flight from reality. Our goal must be reversing the retreat from reality within the student community.”

[themoneybuff-blog]

The perfect is the enemy of the good

Im home! Over the past two weeks, I drove 1625 miles across across seven southeastern states. I had a blast hanging out with readers, friends, and colleagues. Plus, it was fun to explore some parts of the country that Kim and I skipped during our RV trip a few years ago. Most fun of all, though, was talking to dozens of different people about money. After two weeks of money talk, I have a lot to think about. I was struck, for instance, by how many people are paralyzed by the need to make perfect decisions. Theyre afraid of making mistakes with their money, so instead of moving forward, they freeze like a deer in headlights. It might seem strange to claim that the pursuit of perfection prevents people from achieving their financial aims, but its true. Long-time readers know that this is a key part of my financial philosophy: The perfect is the enemy of the good. Here, for instance, is a typical reader email: Thirty-plus years ago I was making much less money than when I retired so my tax rate was lower. I sometimes wonder now if it would have been better to pay the taxes at the time I earned the money and invest and pay taxes all along rather than deferring the taxes. You can make yourself crazy thinking about stuff like that! Yes, you can make yourself crazy thinking about stuff like that. This reader retired early and has zero debt. Theyre in great financial shape. Yet theyre fretting over the fact that tax-deferred investments might not have been the optimal choice back in 1986. Regret is one of the perils of perfectionism. There are others. Lets look at why so many smart people find themselves fighting the urge to be perfect. Maximizers and Satisficers For a long time, I was a perfectionist. When I had to make a decision, I only wanted to choose the best. At the same time, I was a deeply unhappy man who never got anything done. Although I didnt realize it at the time, the pursuit of perfection was the root of my problems. In 2005, I read The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. This fascinating book explores how a culture of abundance actually robs us of satisfaction. We believe more options will make us happier, but the increased choice actually has the opposite effect. Especially for perfectionists. [embedded content] Schwartz divides the world into two types of people: maximizers and satisficers. Heres how he describes the difference: Choosing wisely begins with developing a clear understanding of your goals. And the first choice you must make is between the goal of choosing the absolute best and choosing something that is good enough. If you seek and accept only the best, you are a maximizerMaximizers need to be assured that every purchase or decision was the best that could be made. In other words, maximizers are perfectionists. The alternative to maximizing is to be a satisficer, writes Schwartz. To satisfice is to settle for something that is good enough and not worry about the possibility that there might be something better. To maximizers, this sounds like heresy. Settle for good enough? Good enough seldom is! proclaims the perfectionist. To her, the satisficer seems to lack standards. But thats not true. A satisficer does have standards, and theyre often clearly defined. The difference is that a satisficer is content with excellent while a maximizer is on a quest for perfect. And heres the interesting thing: All of this maximizing in pursuit of perfection actually leads to less satisfaction and happiness, not more. Heres what Schwartz says about his research: People with high maximization [tendencies] experienced less satisfaction with life, were less optimistic, and were more depressed than people with low maximization [tendencies]Maximizers are much more susceptible than satisficers to all forms of regret. Schwartz is careful to note that being a maximizer is correlated with unhappiness; theres no evidence of a causal relationship. Still, it seems safe to assume that there is a connection. Ive seen it in my own life. Maximizing in Real Life

For a long, long time, I was a maximizer. When I had to make any sort of decision, I researched the hell out of it. I wanted to buy and do and have only the best. But you know what? No matter how much time I put into picking the perfect product, it always fell short of my expectations. Thats because theres no such thing as a perfect product. In the olden days, for instance, if I needed to buy a dishwasher, I would make an elaborate spreadsheet to collate all of my options. Id then consult the latest Consumer Reports buying guide, check Amazon reviews, and search for other resources to help guide my decision. Id enter all of the data into my spreadsheet, then try to find the best option. The trouble? There was rarely one best option for any choice I was trying to make. One dishwasher might use less energy while another produced cleaner dishes. This dishwasher might have special wine holders while that had the highest reliability scores. How was I supposed to find the perfect machine? Why couldnt one manufacturer combine everything into one Super Dishwasher? It was an impossible quest, and I know that now. Nowadays, Im mostly able to ignore my maximizing tendencies. Ive taught myself to be a satisficer. When I had to replace my dead dishwasher three years ago, I didnt aim for perfection. Instead, I made a plan and stuck to it. First, I set a budget. Because it would cost about $700 to repair our old dishwasher, I allowed myself that much for a new appliance.Next, I picked one store and shopped from its universe of available dishwashers.After that, I limited myself to only a handful of brands, the ones whose quality I trusted most.Finally, I gave myself a time limit. Instead of spending days trying to find the Best Dishwasher Ever, I allocated a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon to find an acceptable model. Armed with my Consumer Reports buying guide (and my phone so that I could look stuff up online), I marched into the local Sears outlet center. In less than an hour, I had narrowed my options from thirty dishwashers to three. With Kims help, I picked a winner. The process was quick and easy. The dishwasher has served us well for the past three years, and Ive had zero buyers remorse. A Trivial Example At Camp FI in January, one of the attendees explained that hes found freedom through letting go of trivial decisions. For things that wont have a lasting impact on his life, he doesnt belabor his options. Instead, he makes a quick decision and moves on. In restaurants, for instance, he doesnt look at every item on the menu. He doesnt try to optimize his order. Instead, he makes a quick pass through the list, then picks the first thing that catches his eye. It sounds silly, he told me, but doing this makes a huge difference to my happiness. For the past four months, Ive been trying this technique. You know what? It works! I now make menu choices in seconds rather than minutes, and my dining experience is better because of it. This is a trivial example, I know, but its also illustrative of the point Im trying to make. Perfect Procrastinators Studies have shown that perfectionists are more likely to have physical and mental problems than those who are open-minded and flexible. Theres another drawback to the pursuit of perfect: It costs time and lots of it. To find the best option, whether its the top dishwasher or the ideal index fund, can take days or weeks or months. (And sometimes its an impossible mission.) The pursuit of perfection is an exercise in diminishing returns: A bit of initial research is usually enough to glean the basics needed to make a smart decision.A little additional research is enough to help you separate the wheat from the chaff.A moderate amount of time brings you to the point where you can make an informed decision and obtain quality results.Theoretically, if you had unlimited time, you might find the perfect option. The more time you spend on research, the better your results are likely to be. But each unit of time you spend in search of higher quality offers less reward than the unit of time before.

Quality is important. You should absolutely take time to research your investment and buying decisions. But remember that perfect is a moving target, one thats almost impossible to hit. Its usually better to shoot for good enough today than to aim for a perfect decision next week. Procrastination is one common consequence of pursuing perfection: You can come up with all sorts of reasons to put off establishing an emergency fund, to put off cutting up your credit cards, to put off starting a retirement account. But most of the time, your best choice is to start now. Who cares if you dont find the best interest rate? Who cares if you dont find the best mutual fund? Youve found some good ones, right? Pick one. Get in the game. Just start. Starting plays a greater role in your success than any other factor. There will always be time to optimize in the future. When you spend so much time looking for the best choice that you never actually do anything, youre sabotaging yourself. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Final Thoughts If your quest for the best is making you unhappy, then its hurting rather than helping. If your desire to get things exactly right is preventing you from taking any sort of positive action, then youre better off settling for good enough. If you experience regret because you didnt make an optimal choice in the past, force yourself to look at the sunny side of your decision. Train yourself to be a satisficer. Ask yourself what good enough would mean each time youre faced with a decision. What would it mean to accept that instead of perfection?If you must pursue perfection, focus on the big stuff first. I get a lot of email from readers who fall into the optimization trap. They spend too much time and energy perfecting small, unimportant things newspaper subscriptions, online savings accounts, etc. instead of the things that matter most, such as housing and transportation costs. Fix the broken things first, then optimize the big stuff. After all of that is done, then it makes sense to get the small things perfect.Practice refinement. Start with good enough, then make incremental improvements over time. Say youre looking for a new credit card. Instead of spending hours searching for the best option, find a good option and go with it. Then, in the months and years ahead, keep an eye out for better cards. When you find one you like, make the switch. Make perfection a long-term project.Dont dwell on the past. If youve made mistakes, learn from them and move on. If youve made good but imperfect decisions such as the Money Boss reader who wishes they hadnt saved so much in tax-deferred accounts celebrate what you did right instead of dwelling on the minor flaws in the results.Embrace the imperfection. Everyone makes mistakes even billionaires like Warren Buffett. Dont let one slip-up drag you down. One key difference between those who succeed and those who dont is the ability to recover from a setback and keep marching toward a goal. Use failures to learn what not to do next time. I dont think perfection is a bad thing. Its a noble goal. Its not wrong to want the best for yourself and your family. But I think its important to recognize when the pursuit of perfection stands in your way rather than helps you build a better life. https://www.getrichslowly.org/perfect-is-the-enemy-of-the-good/

[somedaypast-thesunset]

so i went to this therapy session. it consiisted of this woman asking me what i thought my issues were and going through a list of “important life factors” before she readily prescribed CBT. and like.. ive learned to play the game with these people; if you influence them by giving too much or focusing on the wrong thing, they can suggest stupid things. so i gave her very concise and bare bones answers. 

unlike my family doctor, she had little focus on the traumas. she said the traumas must have created behaviors that needed to be examined. i mean, yeah. science? and like, i’ve learned to handle my anxiety atleast 30 - 40% better than say, last year. by using things similar to CBT techniques, like examining all possible outcomes and taking time to examine my anxieties rather than react on them. this has allowed me certain control over a lot of previusly panic inducing situations. but now im plateaued because the anxiety is not so much an issue -- i don’t care. i used to care alot more before. like i wanted to be seen as a good person and i went out of my way to be a good person and put myself and needs aside for it. but now i dont care? i find i have even less anxiety going out and meeting new people because i dont care? the apathy is overwhelming.

CBT doesnt fix apathy. and i dnt know if anything fixes apathy. 

heres what i do KNOW from this year of self improvement: the only thing that has made me feel remotely better and that has made sound logical sense since it came to be acknowledged is really standard old school talk therapy. in no fucking way can cure anxiety about being alone or having no family by “positive affirmations”. you can try and see some positives in but if you try to fool yourself so far that youre “totally okay” with no one, there will always be one day that comes when you regret “totally okay”. 

but absolutely no one cares about examining the known. no one cares why or how the family dynamic works except people literally studying it. all anyone knows is that by default, you’re handed a group of people who share similar dna to you and whatever happens after that is up to fate and chance. more often than not people have SOME kind of family. even those who say they dont “really” have family have some cousin or distance aunt or someone they manage to stay in close contact with. 

heres what i also know: he is “right” about one thing - the people we know, including himself, were shaped and influenced by a community; there’s half a million strong here but yet if you’re in our age group and you’re white you can probably play six degrees of seperation. and a lot of people turned to drugs, a lot of people came from bad homes, a lot of people have untreated mental illnesses -- and these are the people i am turning to for support. because i have no real choice right now. it’s literally trying to survive and you cannot pick and choose in survival. you take whatever you can get wherever you can get it. and thats not even to say these are bad people. clearly if they offer any support at all they are good people in their hearts. no matter what issue they have, they’re decent people.

but in no fucking way what so ever are they equipped to support another person emotionally or even leave their own foundations of support because i mean, who does that? logically? 

i went through all of this stuff. and like i’m nt trying to have a pissing contest of whos life was worse? my own parents lives were worse than mine. a close friend of mine - definitely way worse than mine. this could totally be worse but what difference does that make? you cut off a finger and you’re like “well didnt lose the hand” but youre still living with no finger. you still have to cope and deal with n finger every second of the day despite how much worse it “could” be. 

to me my power and release and way i feel good is not through meditation or yoga or taking a walk - it’s being heard. i want to be heard. i lived in silence an was sheltered for a long time and i didnt get to speak on a lot of things that legitimately shaped the way i lived my life. and like i’m not asking for these things to be analyzed. theyre not here for like a game of psychology. this is my life. this is what i lived and i want to speak about it. i want to be able to speak for ten minutes straight on what happened to me and how i feel. and secondly i want to be understood. like im not speaking a different language. there is no hidden meaning i am just telling a story i want to have understood by the listener. when you read a book, you dont stop thrugh a paragraph and be like “oh i remember the time my mom did this and this” and go off into a new tangent for yourself. you give it focus and attention to understand the nuances of this person’s perspective. 

and my doctor gave me the freedom to speak to him at anytime. i can literally go and be like i am upset and here is why and he will just listen to me. because my problem is not about me. my problem is the things that happened to me. CBT literally tells you that statements like “i am a victim to outside circumstances” is “harmful”. but i am? like i’m not saying this t promote an internal victimization but that outside circumstances happened to which i had little to no control over anything BUT my own reaction. 

and the thing is - no one at all will ever fix what happened. very bad things happened. this is without a doubt now, bad things happened. almost all of the time. and people cannot even fathom such trauma without bringing up sexual abuse or physical abuse because it more often manifests those ways but this was a unique circumstance of very different factors - none of which are special in the world but just a timeline that by using all of these factors created a very jarring and traumatic time. 

so you cannot give me medication. im not sick. im experiencing a natural reaction to long term trauma. like.. the brain is damaged now but who is to say filling it with synthetic chemicals to “fix” or cover the damage is any better? what happens when youre no longer on them? 

you cant tell me to meditate on it; sit silently and dont think about it? cruel. how o you think i made it this far? i deserve to talk about these things, outloud, without judgement. i dont even need a group. in fact right now i deserve one single human to give me the respect and time. because literally? sometimes i need like.. one hour in a month. just one hour in 30 days to speak out loud everything that haunted me that month and have it acknowledged in reality without personal opinion inserted. 

i explained to him why i didnt like cbt and why i felt like i wanted to be left alone now; like i was tired of being psychoanalyzed, i knew what my problem was, i knew what i wanted in life. he immediately brought up how i should be seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist instead and that i just needed to have that. i realize now that hes put alot of weight on a psychologist or w.e. solving my issues and “giving me coping techniques” and by me saying i wanted to be left alone triggered anger, like he assumed i was “giving up”? still, it went into an argument which led to him saying things like i needed to have a job to deserve a family which is very hateful and emotionally abusive thing to say. i walked away when we got to his place and then went to a friends for an hour or so before he picked me up. he commented on the way back, “just for the record, i’m just too real for people.” -- but ive started not to care. i told him he wasnt real, he was mentally ill and projected a lot of things on to people around him when he was a textbook example of toxic thinking. i said he should get therapy, but he wont because it takes work and it might mean he wont be great anymore but i still loved him regardless. 

he sat quiet for a bit and when we got back to his place he made a casual remark asking if we had talked about him. i said sure and he asked what was said. i told him the only thing im ever told about him is to not listen to him because hes crazy. he laughed a bit and asked how and why and who. i doubled down and said even my doctor has told me to not listen to him because what he says is harmful and misunderstood. he got very quiet and then seemed to be upset the rest of the night. i couldnt understand entirely why though? did he feel bad about it? did he think i was wrong? did he have shame people held this opinion or was he angry they knew about him at all? 

he was still a bit upset this morning but seemed to try and at least fake it? he told me he loved me when i left but it just seemed weird. i feel like he feels bad? like maybe he realized he was causing damage but now couldnt take it back? i certainly dont think he’d tell me he loved me if he was angry. 

[crappycrafts-blog]

Session 1: Motivational excerpts

I am an artist…

Or so I say…

I am now a working artist in a small indie game company. However, I still think that my skills are not enough to make high quality art hence, the name crappycrafts. I am not saying that my boss was wrong to hire me but it’s just that I want to deliver more.

I am a lazy person. I am ambitious as well. Very contradicting huh? I am aware that I can’t reach my dreams if I stay lazy af but I can’t help it! Sleeping and playing games are just so fun to do!!! Thinking about it though, I have so much passion in playing games to the point that I exert so much effort to finish the story, complete all the missions/quests and get all items/equipments. That is why I don’t understand why I am being lazy to do things for the better of myself, right? I know for sure that if I exert the same effort that I put into games into learning and practicing art then I’ll get to achieve my ultimate goal, my ultimate quest in life and that is to be a professional artist. (my personal definition of professional is “being someone who doesn’t need a diploma or anything but someone who is knowledgeale in his craft and able to produce something that can level the standards of the community and the industry.)

I graduated college with a degree in BSIT with specialization in Digital Arts. It’s not an art school where I studied and as a matter of fact, college sucked. I didn’t learn a single thing in that course that helped me to get where I am now. What it thought me is that I can never learn the fundamentals unless I take interest to it (even without a teacher). So let’s get to the point shall we?

I am starting this blog(?) for the sake of keeping track with my studies. Hopefully I stay motivated. I am very bad at updating stuffs too so I am getting anxious as I am writing this but I have to learn how to negate my lazy self so I can continue forward.

I will be studying the book of Andrew Loomis, “Figure Drawig For All It’s Worth”. Almost all artists I saw online recommends his book and I’ve already read the book before but of course, I didn’t take it seriously. I just read it without grasping things and without applying and practicing those. I already started reading it again and I got some excerpts from it that I think are important to highlight.

All these excerpts can be found in the ‘Opening Chat’ section of the book.

You love to draw. You wish to draw well. If there is any chance, you greatly wish to make a living at it. - pg. 15

Honestly, I never thought that I will pursue art as a career. When I was a kid, I just draw whenever I feel like it. I can’t really say it was a hobby since it’s very rare that I draw although back in high school, I got so much passion in drawing that I draw even though everything I do looks like crap. Well, I still draw crappy art up to this day. I am one of those people who didn’t know what they wanna do in life and I just had to pick a course to take in college and so I said, “yeah well, I draw so maybe do that” I didn’t know I’ll regret that decision so much.

I believe that greater chances of success lie in the mental approach to the work, rather than in sheer technical knowledge - pg. 15

I am lazy… I already said that, right? So even if I get the urge to draw something and be creative, I just shrug the idea and think of it as a bother and that I’ll just exhaust myself. Someone slap me please…

I feel that talent means little unless coupled with an insatiable desire to give an excellent personal demonstration of ability. I feel also that talent must be in company with a capacity for unlimited effort, which provides the power that eventually hurdles the difficulties that would frustrate lukewarm enthusiasm. - pg. 15

Talent, well, I think that there are really gifted people. However, I also believe that talent is worth nothing if it’s not put into practice. It will stay stagnant and will never improve if not taken care of. Like a seed that needs to be watered and exposed to sunlight, talent needs effort to achieve improvement (but exposure isn’t a good deal to take advantage of artists so please stop that nonsense)

…what is of greatest importance and subordinates what must be there is of less importance - pg. 15

I used to get compliments for taking good pictures. So I thought that I have a good sense of composition but that isn’t the case. Taking pictures are a lot easier than drawing a whole scene. In pictures, I just need to position the camera in a nice perfect angle to capture my message but in drawing, I need to think of what things would make up the message I want to convey.

Everything about your pictures is, and should be, a little of you- pg. 16

This is probably the easiest thing I could do in all of these important points Loomis stated. I always put something of me in my art to the point that sometimes, I overshadow the personality of the character I wanted to portray. So far, I have 13 official OCs that I plan to create a comic of and they have varying personalities. I am an introvert and an extreme one so I always find it hard to portray my OC that is an extrovert. I suppose I need to control the amount of me that I put into things.

Good drawing is neither an accident nor the result of an inspired moment when the Muses lend a guiding hand. - pg. 17

THIS HITS HARD because you know what? I always rely on the supernatural being to bless me the motivation and the ability to draw sometimes. And at times when I feel really exhausted, I just thought that maybe the being is not here to bless me. Pretty ridiculous, right? I keep giving excuses not to draw or practice and yet I get frustrated when I can’t achieve what I have in mind.

Use another’s style as a crutch only-until you can walk alone. - pg. 17

There are lots of artists out there nowadays that has a distinct art style e.g, Kawacy, WLOP, Ilya Kuvshinov, Gabriel Picolo, Artgerm, Sakimichan and more that anyone would be able to tell that it’s their artwork without even looking at the watermark. I’ve been seeing other new artists out there that I could tell that they were influenced by some of these masters I mentioned. There’s nothing wrong with that and I am actually awed that they managed to get the technique from another and use it for their own. However, I honestly feel that anyone can have this distinct art style if we keep developing what we gained from others. So far, I have very inconsistent art style since im a crap.

… nurture individuality and not produce imitation. - pg. 17

I started out drawing by merely imitating a photo of a character. From the pose, to the expression, to the colors, and more. Of course, just like most of artists out there, I thought that this is what it means to draw. Apparently, that’s wrong. Drawing as a person can be different as drawing as an artist. An artist adds creativity to the creation and not just imitating what is seen.

Technique is not so important as the young artist is inclined to believe; the living and emotional qualities- the idealization you put into your work- are far more important - pg. 18

Every artist, every person has different experiences in life. These experiences enables us to think differently and have varying opinions. This creates a unique idea and personality within us and we can learn how to turn it into something creative that is new and that will define us.

For the next post, I’ll be tackling the chapter one of the book. I’ll probably take out some excerpts again and anything hat could be helpful to highlight.

[elliotthezubat]

DEATH CITY DAYS CHAPTER 32

from asakusa craziness to family drama

Tool: O____o; "...He cannonballed into my pool--and bashed my head six feet under! Aren't you gonna reprimand his ass for that?!" setsuna: *tiny chop* bad. Tool: >_< -elsewhere- juria: *chewing on some gum* Kishiri: "...Get. Away." juria: nyeh? vivian: but torryyyy~ i want to get crepes together~! Kishiri: "...One crepe. Then your crazy ass leaves me alone." vivian: yay~! ^w^ juria: oi, aint you that helvitz girl? Kishiri: "???" ("Holy crap--hot girl!") vivian: hmm? yes, im vivian helvitz. juria: whats with the uniform? vivian: oh? its a customized special fire brigade uniform. i wanted to look stylish on the job~ juria: heh... AHAHAHAHAHAHA ARE YOU FUCKIN WITH ME AHAHAHAHA!! Kishiri: "...??? What the heck is with you?" juria: nyeh? whats it to you punk? just look at her, she's just a pampered little princess. little rich girls like her arent fit to be in brigades, *mocking voice* dey're just too dewecate! HAHAHAHA vivian: you wanna try me b*tch? juria: nah, i'd squash you like a bug, it wouldnt be a fair fight. Kishiri: -_-; "Vivian isn't delicate. Believe me." juria: you her boyfriend? vivian: *shiny eyes* you have that much faith in me torry~? Kishiri: -_____-; "I have faith. No, she is not my girlfriend..." *then takes Juria's hand* "Which means I'm single, babe~" juria:....do you want me to beat you to a pulp you little low rank yankee? Kishiri: "Kinky...And I like a little girl on girl--" juria: *KNEED IN THE JUNK* no. Kishiri: Q______Q *whimpering* "My progeny..." vivian: OUR BABIES!! D8> juria: wow. you are pathetic. Kishiri: *crying* "Vivian...KICK HER ASS." vivian: *takes out fan* Kishiri: *crying, clutching his groin* "Why should a cat fight be so painful..." -elsewhere- Relan: [tummy ache?] shinra: [i'm used to spicy food, so i'll live, haha] Relan: [ :) and you have the festival tomorrow] iris: [be sure to have fun ^^] shinra: [can and will do!] shinra:......[still, we have to remember its a mourning for the ones who passed on...] iris: [right]..... Relan: [...oh. yeah...] -elsewhere- Konro: *stretching* -knock knock- Konro: "Enter." katarou's wife: good evening commander. Konro: *nods* "Ma'am. How are you?" katarou's wife: surviving....*sigh* toshio's...been rather difficult about all this. Konro: *nods* "I can understand...Might it help for someone to speak with him?" katarou's wife: perhaps... Konro: *nods* "...Will you and Toshio be at tomorrow's event?" katarou's wife: if i can get him out of his room, yes.....otherwise, we'll be at the shop... Konro: "I'll let Benimaru know as well." katarou's wife: thank you commander. i'll be returning home now… Konro: "Until then. And again, my condolences." -elsewhere- Arthur: *groaning* "Ugh..." tamaki: easy there... Arthur: "My tummy...Why?" tamaki:...*getting him a cold compress* Arthur: "Thank you, Tamaki...My...My..." tamaki: hmm? Arthur: "...My...um..." -\\\\\- "My thanks to you..." ("My nurse...") tamaki:....no problem....*hesitant small smooch on the forehead* Arthur: -\\\\\\\- "Th-Thanks...I l--" tamaki: d-dont go telling shinra! he'd never let me live it down 7-7; Arthur: "..." *sad eyes* tamaki:.....*small smooch on the forehead for real now* .////. Arthur: "..." *nods* "Th-Thank you for...you." tamaki:....*small smile* Arthur: *lies down, struggling to breathe through the pain* -elsewhere- Kid: *lies in bed* stocking: zzzz... Kid: *looks a little worried* stocking: zzzz..... Kid: *inhales* ("One day...I can do this.") stocking: *still asleep* Kid: "..." *hugs her gently and tries to fall back asleep* -elsewhere- tsuyu: *watching tv* samidere: hey sis, phone for you. tsuyu: *picks up* yes? Izuku: "Um...Tsu? It's me...Izuku?" tsuyu: oh, hey izuku, whats up? Izuku: "I, um...I'm fine. I wanted to see how you were." tsuyu: im doing well. Izuku: "That's good. Um, I went to the hospital today--not for any injury! Just to see Iida." tsuyu: ah, how is he? Izuku: "...He wasn't there. He got released." tsuyu: i see. Izuku: "You haven't heard from him, have you?" tsuyu: not yet. maybe we can visit him tomorrow? Izuku: "I'd like that. Morning or afternoon?" -elsewhere- Anya: *filling up a glass of water* layla: trouble sleeping? Anya: *nods* "Yes." Anya: "I take it you cannot sleep either." layla: just needed something to drink... Anya: "How are classes?" layla: doing good. and you? Anya: "Could be better. There's one technique I'm having some difficulty with." layla: oh? Anya: "It involves wielding Tsugumi's halberd forms." layla: ah. she's a triple bladed weapon, right? Anya: *nods* "So I have been trying to focus on wielding some of those other forms." layla: ah. i see. you're pretty good with the spear part, and hoshino uses the scythe part, right? Anya: -_-; "Yes..." layla: ah, i see. Anya: "I would love to master her scythe form...Scythe meisters are less common." layla: yeah...... Anya: "How is your training going?" layla: it's been doing good. i've been trying to learn how to use a bowstaff. chidori and kimiko are doing well too. Anya: "Hmmm...Bowstaff? Wait, who is your partner?" layla: havent found one yet. ^^; Anya: "Perhaps a social meeting with new students?" layla: maybe. *she smiles* Anya: *smiles back, then yawns* "I better try for more sleep...You should as well." layla: ok then. night. Anya: "Night." *walks back up stairs to room...hears snoring* "???" mio: *at her desk, asleep* Anya: -_-; *takes blanket from Mio's bed, puts it over her shoulders* mio: *muttering* meme... Anya: "???" ("...Jeez, those two...") -elsewhere- Arthur: *tosses a little in bed* tamaki: zzzzz... Arthur: *knocks into Tamaki a bit* "Hmmm..." tamaki: *nuzzle* Arthur: *holds her in his sleep, letting out soft sigh* tamaki:....*small smile* Takehisa: *getting a glass of water...his stomach growling* "Ugh..." serina: good evening commander. Takehisa: "Evening...How are you?" serina: doing well. Takehisa: *stomach growls* -\\\\\\- "...Are there leftovers?" serina: i think so. Takehisa: *opens fridge, removes leftovers* "...Don't tell Obi I took these." serina: i wont. Takehisa: *heats up some* "Want some?" serina: im good. Takehisa: *after heating his meal* "...How was everyone at dinner?" serina: it went well...i think the commander has forgiven you now... Takehisa: "That is good to know...I will have to make it up to Shinra, however." serina: im sure he'll forgive you too....he's a good kid. Takehisa: "Yes..." *groans* "I was a fool." serina: its ok, *pap pap* Takehisa: -\\\\- *small bite of food* "...I did so many stupid things today. What is wrong with me?" serina: perhaps its nerves? or maybe a lack of sleep? Takehisa: "Both, likely. I can imagine the nervousness's causes..." Takehisa: ("Why did I behave so awkwardly around Maki? That's out of character for me.") serina: ah, i see. maybe you should sleep in tomorrow, see if it helps? Takehisa: "..." *nods* "Thank you. Please let the Commander know I was feeling ill." serina: understood…. miss oze......do you have feelings for her? Takehisa: o\\\\\\\\\\\\o "Um...Yes?" serina: ah. well, its best to come to terms with those feelings sooner rather than later, i guess. Takehisa: "...Easier said..." serina: *she nods* the 8th's fraternization rules arent too strict, are they? Takehisa: "No, although Akitaru does tend to see us as a family, and can be rather insistent for everyone's well-being." serina: ah, i see.....i suppose its different for each brigade.....the 1st is far more strict in that regard... *she seems sad* Takehisa: "...Someone you are thinking about in the 1st?" serina: O/////O w-well....i-its rather complicated. Takehisa: "More complicated than Maki and me?" serina: well..... serina: one of the company commanders, foien li... i guess it was during collage that we met and dated for a while....unfortunately, due to being a company commander for the 1st, as well as a priest, we couldnt be together like that. even so, we're still close. *sad smile* Takehisa: "I'm sorry. I imagine this is difficult. Did you break up before he became a priest?" serina: well, thats the complicated part. sometimes in his off hours, we still see each other from time to time... .///. Takehisa: " 'See each other'? For dates or something platonic?" serina: somewhat like that. Takehisa: "Hmm...Have you directly asked him whether he would consider pursuing a more consistent romantic or sexual relationship in the future?" serina: ..... O/////////O Takehisa: "...I assume no, then." serina: i'll have to think about that one... *steam coming from her ears* Takehisa: *nervous laugh* -\\\\\- "Yes, I know the feeling." -elsewhere- Wes: *turns in bed, as Ghost Dog is sleeping right on top of him, tries to pet him* dog: =w= Wes: *petting* "Good puppy..." -elsewhere- mephisto: zzzzzz..... felisia: *sleeping next to him* Amaimon: *somehow in bed with them, spooning with Mephisto* mephisto: *YAAAWN*... ?? Amaimon: "...Hi." mephisto: ammy, do you mind not drooling on my neck? its rude. Amaimon: "Oh..." *wipes his mouth* "Sorry." mephisto: thank you. Amaimon: *back to spooning* "Good night." -elsewhere- Tsukiyo: -w- "So nice, peaceful at this hour..." kabuki: indeed. Tsukiyo: "Kinda glad I got night-watch with you. So...What should we talk about?" kabuki: perhaps how we got here....do you want to start or should i? Tsukiyo: "Why don't you start~?" kabuki: oh, well, its quite an unusual story. before i joined the brigade, i worked as a circus performer. Tsukiyo: "...For real? What did you do?" kabuki: i used my ignition ability and played the role of a trickster fox. Tsukiyo: "Kind of like a circus performer doing fire dance and stuff?" kabuki: indeed. to be quite honest, i've never been much of a fighter. i just wanted to see people smile. Tsukiyo: "D'awwwww!" :3 "Did they like your performance, then?" kabuki: i would like to think so. *he smiles* Tsukiyo: "So, after the circus, you came to the 7th? How did that go?" kabuki: it went fairly well. i guess i learned to fight from konro. Tsukiyo: "I can see that. He's so beefy~!" kabuki: now what about you miss usada? Tsukiyo: *shrugs* "I didn't have much going on back home. Parents just let me do what I want, play where I want...weren't home much..." kabuki: *listening* Tsukiyo: "...Not many friends...School was boring...Then--" *holds up small flame* "This happened. And that's when I met..." <3 "Beni-Chan..." kabuki: ah, i see. ^^; Tsukiyo: "I didn't get to be very personable with many people, but here feels...fun! Get to goof around, have excitement in my life!" kabuki: ah. but you do have friends here, like miss huo, right? Tsukiyo: "Yep! And she's awesome, right? A bit serious, though." kabuki: im sure she's just looking out for you. she worries about your well-being and doesnt want you to get hurt. Tsukiyo: "...Yeah." T~T kabuki:....are you ok? Tsukiyo: *wipes face, puts on smile again* "Yeah...Just emotional about friendship and corny stuff like that..." kabuki: understandable. Tsukiyo: "...And she's cute, too, huh~?" *struggling to keep up the act* kabuki: well she isnt unattractive. but then again i usually dont pay attention to those things. Tsukiyo: "..." :3 *she's back in her previous mode* "You telling me you don't scope out any of the fine booty around here?" kabuki: not often. but i've had some...interesting encounters in my life ^^; Tsukiyo: *leans closer* "Do tell~" kabuki: as told by my appearance, i've often been mistaken for female. Tsukiyo: *nods, listening* -elsewhere- Emine: "..." lin: *handing him a towel* going up to the roof after the rain? Emine: *nods* lin:....want me to come with you? Emine: "..." *nods* lin: ok. Emine: *opens window, sets down towel, exits, then holds out hand to Lin* lin: *she follows him* its nice and cool out.... Emine: "Yes. The rain smells clean." lin: *she smiles* Emine: "...I don't see your hair down this often. You look good." lin: o///o um, thank you emine. Emine: "..." *lets a hand pass through her hair* lin: *blushing* e-emine... Emine: "Yes...?" lin: ....n-nothing... *a bit flustered* Emine: "...I want to kiss you." lin: o...ok...*leans in* >////< Emine: *small awkward peck on her lips* lin: *smooch*..........*she soon relaxes* Emine: "...I was bad, wasn't I?" lin: .////////. it felt nice.... Emine: "...Your lips are soft. I liked how they felt." lin: *blushing*.....*small smooch* >////////< Emine: o___o *slowly closes his eyes, returning the small smooch* lin: U/////U Emine: *sigh of relief* "That was...better. You're good at kissing." lin: *she smiles* i....really like you a lot.... Emine: "...You are so supportive, loving...have been there for me." lin: you've been there for me too.... Emine: "...May I hug you?" lin: of course. Emine: "..." *awkward hug* lin: *hugs back* Emine: *awkward pat* "You feel...good." lin: y-you do too..... Emine: "I can feel your heartbeat..." -\\\\- lin: *blushing and petting his head* Emine: *small purr* lin: *smiles* (thinking: too adorable for words) Emine: "I...feel a lot right now, from my body down to my soul. I don't know what to say." lin: if you dont want to say anything, you dont have to.. Emine: "..." *small kiss on her cheek* lin: ^///^ Emine: *another small kiss on her lips* -inside- nea: *soft sigh* u///u Shinoda: "This okay?" nea: y-yeah. Shinoda: *holds her in his arms, kisses her cheek again* "So..." nea: hmm? Shinoda: "Shall I...I mean, should I..." nea: should you what? Shinoda: "..." *kisses behind her ear, as his hand slides along her hip* nea: ahhh~ U///U Shinoda: *kisses down her neck...as his hand gropes one of her breasts* nea: *soft moan* Shinoda: "You feel excited...Your skin has goosebumps..." *slides a fingertip just under her panties* nea: a-ahhh~! *shuddering* Shinoda: "Nea, I don't want to hold back..." *starts to pull down her panties* nea: .//////. c-can you even eat out? g-given your condition... Shinoda: "??? I had my apple today..." *smirks* "Just want a taste of you to complement it~" nea: .///////. maybe not risk it? Shinoda: "...Shall I pleasure you another way?" Shinoda: "Whatever you want." nea:.....maybe just straight up fuck me? Shinoda: o\\\\\\o "Nea...I've been wanting to for so long..." *pulls down her panties* "...So beautiful." nea: *blushing* its been a while since we did this.... Shinoda: "And you look the same as you did then: so pretty..." *strokes a hand along her face, as he kisses her neck again* nea: ahhh.... Shinoda: *he straddles her, tugging at her top to pull it off* -elsewhere- Jacqueline: *returns to her room with a glass of water* kim: *asleep* Jacqueline: *sips water, then walks to her bed--and trips* o___O kim: ?? *wakes up* Jacqueline: *falls* "Ow." kim: are you ok? Jacqueline: *rubs her face* "I tripped over something..." *picks up a jacket* "...Yours, I assume." kim: *she examines it* oh, my old letterman, remember this? *she holds it up* Jacqueline: "...Very much so." *walks up to her bed, sits on the side of it, and hands the jacket to her* kim:...if you want to borrow it from time to time, its fine.....you arent hurt or cut are you? Jacqueline: "..." *clutches the jacket, hugging it* "Thank you...My face is just bruised..." *rubs her nose* kim: let me see.... *turns on the light* Jacqueline: *faces her...it's a small bruise* kim:....it doesnt look too bad.... *she looks for the glass* Jacqueline: "You sure? It hurts a little." kim: want me to kiss it and make it better? *she says in a half joking tone* Jacqueline: o\\\\\\o "Uuuuuuuuuuuuh..." kim: ?? well, seems the glass didnt break. Jacqueline: *pouts* "Hmph. First you toy with me, then you make fun of me." kim: .....did you really want me to kiss you? Jacqueline: "...Kim. I like you. A lot." kim: well, i like you too, we are partners, right? Jacqueline: "..." -\\\\\- "Yeah. Partners..." kim: i should get some paper towels for the spill, brb. *goes to get them* Jacqueline: "..." *buries her head in Kim's jacket* (muffled voice when Kim leaves) "I'm an idiot." kim:....(thinking: i should make it up to her somehow....) Jacqueline: *falls sideways onto Kim's bed, still clutching the jacket* -elsewhere- Mifune: *sipping tea* ("Just can't sleep...") yuma: *yaaawn*... Mifune: "Oh. Hello." *offers chair* yuma: *sits down and drinks her milk* yuma couldnt sleep.... Mifune: "Dreams?" yuma:...thirsty.... *sips her milk* .... Mifune: *nods* "Otherwise, you feel okay?" yuma: *she nods* yuma's gonna go back to sleep now... Mifune: "Sleep well." yuma: *goes back to her and angela's room* Mifune: *stares into his cup of tea, sighs* "Long night..." -silence. takane's picture is still placed on the butsudan- Mifune: *sets tea aside, approaches butsudan, bows his head* -there is no response- Mifune: "I will always keep you in my thoughts...Watch over me..." -a small feeling of warmth can be felt- Mifune: "..." *small smile* "Thank you." -elsewhere- Relan: *tosses in bed* "N-No..." -phone rings- Relan: "P-Please, leave me alone..." *seizing the sheets* "LEAVE ME ALONE!" *falls out of bed* "...Ouch." Relan: *hand reaches up, picks up phone, looks at it* shinra: [you ok?] Relan: "..." [no. nightmare] shinra:....[want to talk about it?] fuck.... Relan: [bad memories of the past. bullies. some self-harm] Relan: [sorry. tw] shinra:....[its ok]..... [its stuff like this that makes me wish you were in the 8th with us.] Relan: [i do. but i also like the 3rd. not that i don't want to be with you and iris. it's confusing] shinra: [i understand. you're more than welcome to spend the night if needed...] Relan: [i'd like that. thanks. are you not sleeping?] shinra: [i got worried about you....instinct i guess.] Relan: [that's adorable, you know that, right?] shinra: *blush* [yeah, haha ^^] Relan: [it suits you, down to that adorable smile of yours] shinra: [god i wish i could be holding you right now...] Relan: [same. when you get home. <3 ] shinra: [night. love you so much] Relan: [love you too. night] *crawls back into bed, smiles at Buttons* Relan: *snaps a pic and texts it* -elsewhere- shinra: ?? *he checks his phone* *Pic of Relan, smiling and winking at the camera* [love u] shinra: *sends a pic of himself smiling* [love you too <3] Relan: -\\\\\- [handsome man] -early morning- Hibana: *yawn* *squish* gabriella: zzzzzz..... Hibana: "Hmmm..." *she's behind Gabriella in their bed...in her sleep, her hands reach from behind her and cup her breasts* gabriella: >//////< Hibana: *yawn* "You have the world's best ta-tas..." gabriella: h-h-hibana! >//////////////////< -elsewhere- Arthur: *strokes Tamaki's back* tamaki: mmmmm..... Arthur: *small laugh* "You purr like a kitten." tamaki: oh shush -.- ..... thanks for letting me sleep here... Arthur: "Any--" *yawn* "--time. Was it okay? Did I snore or anything?" tamaki: its was warm... Arthur: -\\\\\- "So were you...I was worried my feet would be cold or something." tamaki:...im glad you were here with me. Arthur: "..." *nods* "Same...Tamaki? I had a bad dream. And you being here...helped." tamaki:...arthur.... Arthur: "...It was when I was kidnapped." *small hug* tamaki:.....*hugs him* Arthur: "...I missed you." -elsewhere- chie: zzzzzzzzzzz...... Yohei: *carrying in a tray of breakfast* chie: *yaaaawn* awww, yoheiiii! *smooch* Yohei: *chuckles* "I tried to make it how I thought you'd like it...Anything I'm missing? Sauces? Fruits? Sardines?" chie: hahaha... ^^ Yohei: *smiles, hands her the tray and sits at the foot of the bed* "...You're so beautiful." chie: *smiles and blushes* Yohei: "Sleep okay?" *picks a grape off her tray and eats it* chie: yeah. Yohei: "That's good...Hey, what would you like to do today? Rain stopped, we got the day ahead of us." chie: maybe we could stay in and watch a movie? Yohei: "That sounds great..." *crawls up, careful not to knock the tray, to lie beside her* -elsewhere- Kid: *hugging Stocking* stocking: *smooch* hehe~<3 lord death: morning kiddos~! Kid: -\\\\\- "Morning, Father." stocking: hey da-death! Yumi: *carrying Shiori to her high chair* shiori: ^0^ Kid: *waves* "Morning, Mother, Shiori." kirika: *yaaawn* murnin.... Yumi: "Kirika? Sleep okay?" kirika: yeah, just was up late last night. Yumi: "Perhaps nap later." Kid: "What kept you up?" *hands her a glass of orange juice* kirika: training a lot. visited oriko, usual stuff....she's really getting better in terms of talking. Kid: *smiles* "Progress." lord death: *reading the paper* hmm, seems an austrian/japanese pianist is going to be playing in death city later this month. Kid: "Oh?" *takes plates for him and Stocking to the table, next to Death* stocking: *reading the article* huh. i actually play some piano myself, with a bit of electric guitar on the side. Kid: "And you play very well, too~" stocking: hehe~ Yumi: "Perhaps we can get tickets?" liz: maybe. Patty: "Could be fun!" stocking: i'll see if i can get us tickets... Kid: *smiles* -elsewhere- Shinoda: *cuddle* nea: ^w^ Shinoda: "Was last night okay?" nea: yes, it felt good. Shinoda: "It did for me as well...It meant a lot to me." nea: *small smile* i really missed you, dummy. Shinoda: "I missed you, too. And I am going to do whatever I can to earn your trust." nea: *she smiles* Shinoda: *holds her, kisses her forehead* nea: U///U Shinoda: "...Would you like to go out for dinner tomorrow?" nea:...i would love that.... Shinoda: *smiles* "Okay. I know a place with excellent cold meals." -elsewhere- Tsukiyo: *sprawled out on floor* "Zzzz..." *snoring* fang-hua: tsukiyo? Tsukiyo: *tosses over* "Wha--?" fang-hua: its morning. Tsukiyo: *groans* "I had night-watch..." *rubs her face* "Did I just fall asleep on the floor?" fang-hua: *helps her up* Tsukiyo: *yawn* "Thanks...I'm still exhausted." *cute rubbing of her eyes* fang-hua: want some tea? Tsukiyo: *nods* "Tha--*yawn*nk you." fang-hua: *she smiles* now come on, we have the mourning festival today... -elsewhere- Jacqueline: *out of the shower, brushing her hair* kim: *streeeeeetch* ha... -knock knock- kim: *she answers* ya? Jacqueline: "???" *she's in her robe* Kana: "Good morning. I have letters." kim: awesome. *she takes the mail for them* thanks. Kana: *holds out hand* "What about my tip?" Jacqueline: *looking over Kim's shoulder at letters* kim: *sigh* fine, here. *hands her some candy* Kana: -W- *skips away* Jacqueline: *small laugh* "Cute...Any mail for me?" kim: *sorting* you...you...junk mail....letter from ox, oh, seems my magazine subscription went through! Jacqueline: "Neat." *looks at the letters* Jacqueline: *opens one envelope, starts reading it...* "Hmm." kim:.....you ok? Jacqueline: "..." *nods, trying to keep it together* kim:...jackie? Jacqueline: *starts crying* kim: jackie?! whats wrong? Jacqueline: "M-My p-parents...w-want me to visit..." kim:..... Jacqueline: *covering her face with her hands* "No...No!" kim: its ok jackie, im right here! *puts the letterman over her shoulders* Jacqueline: "Why now...?" *clutches the jacket around herself* kim: well, thanksgiving is just around the corner... Jacqueline: "That's the problem...I-I don't want to...but I can't get out of this. No..." kim: its ok, no one is forcing you to go, right? Jacqueline: "...Mother is." kim:............*she hugs her* Jacqueline: *cries in Kim's arms* "I can't get out of this." kim:......i have an idea. Jacqueline: "Wh-What?" -jump cut to...- eibon: oh? miss kimial, what do i owe the pleasure? kim: two things, one just call me kim, two is gopher here? Jacqueline: *nervous* eibon: oh, why yes, he should be- Gopher: "Hello! I--" *spots Jacqueline* o_o Jacqueline: o_o kim: heeeeeeey gopher~ mind if we borror him for something, we'll give him back later. eibon: oh...um... *sweatdrop* kim: hey jackie, you still have your old uniform, right? Jacqueline: "...Yes." Gopher: o^o kim: perfect! Jacqueline: "..." *blushes, smiles* "Thank you, Kim." Gopher: T^T -elsewhere- Emine: *holds a water balloon* -elsewhere- Relan: *panting* "T-Time? How did I do?" ryuuko: 6 minutes. Relan: *small sigh of relief* "That's a little better." mikami: congratulations! Relan: "Hee hee...I think that's all for training. I'll cool down, shower, then maybe we can get something to eat?" mikami: sounds good. ryuuko: i hear there is a festival in asakusa today... Relan: -\\\\\\- "That's where Shinra is right now..." mikami: maybe we can visit him? Relan: "...I would like that." *smiles* -and so- Relan: *dressed up* tamaki: this doesnt feel too overly festival like, but at least there is food. Arthur: *yum* "Tasty, too..." Relan: *nervous* shinra: ?? !!! REL! *hug* Relan: o\\\\o "H-Hi..." *hug* shinra: come to see the festival? Relan: "Yes..." *holds his hand* "...and to see you." shinra: *he smiles and stands on his toes to smooch him* Relan: -\\\\\- *kisses back* tamaki:.....(*screaming of adorableness*) Akitaru: ("D'awwwwww...") -elsewhere- Black Star: "Hello, sunny day!" tsubaki: *streeeetch* Black Star: "Ready for a run?" tsubaki: *she nods, getting her training gear on* Black Star: "..." -\\\\\- "Let's see how long you can last out there!" *grabs some water bottles and energy bars* tsubaki: right! Black Star: "On your marks...get set...GO!" -elsewhere- Izuku: *at Iida's front door* "..." maid: yes? Izuku: "H-Hello...Is Tenya Iida in?" maid: ah, he should be in his room. i'll walk you there. *levitating and shows him in* Izuku: o___o *scribbles something quick in his notebook and follows* -knock knock- maid: young master? you have a visitor. Iida: "Yes?" Izuku: "H-Hi, Iida...It's me, Izuku..." tsuyu: hey. *waves* Iida: "...Hello." *small smile* "How are you?" Izuku: *enters* "Alright..." *pulls out a chair for Tsuyu, takes one for himself* "...You have a nice room." tsuyu: it's very clean. Iida: "I try...Well, the staff does, now..." tsuyu:...... Izuku: "...Bed looks comfortable! And I heard that--" tsuyu: *examines the ignium action figure on the desk.... with a smaller figure resembling a young iida next to it made out of play doh* Izuku: "--you're thinking about additional surgery?" Iida: "...I want my eyesight back." tsuyu: *she nods and examines the bookshelf* Izuku: "...Hey." *pats Iida's hand* "We'll support your decision." *smiles* Iida: "..." T______T -elsewhere- Rino: "Okay..." *wipes grease off her hands* "I tightened the bolts on the furnace--all repaired and up and running." iris: *polishing tools* Rino: "...Um, thanks, Iris? But I'm probably going to get grease on those again soon anyway." iris: oh... q.q Rino: "!!!" *nervous laugh* "I mean, it's the thought that counts, right?" *nervous laugh* "...Don't tell Hibana I said that to you. Please?" iris: i wont. ^^; Rino: *sigh of relief* "Thank you...Jeez, she scares me..." -elsewhere- Shotaro: "And now, to finish it..." *puts the cherry at the top of the sundae* nea: *nom* *shiny eyes* Shotaro: *GOOD DEED COMPLETE pose* Shinoda: -\\\\\- "So cute..." *bites into his slice of apple pie* akaderu: *watching tv* Kepuri: *cuddles* "Wait 'til you see the new improvements I made on the TV." akaderu: oh? Kepuri: *smiles* "HD, 3D, all the D's." mana:....*struggling not to laugh* Kepuri: "??? ... !!!" >\\\\\\< "Sh-Shut up!" mono: i wouldnt stoop to such childish jokes. mana:....mono, you're a year older than me -_-; Kepuri: -\\\\- "You're both childish--and far less mature than I. I'm too smart for such immature humor." akaderu:...*sipping his cherry slushie* Shotaro: "Oh, I know plenty of childish jokes! How do you make a tissue dance?" -elsewhere- Jacqueline: "Do you think it'll work?" kim: its so convincing, it just has to. with some hair extensions and sand in special nylons and a specialized bra, he's good to go! Jacqueline: "But how to explain the voice?" (" 'Specialized bra'?") kim: im sure he can imitate it. Gopher: *nods* "I've had practice!" *clears throat--and speaks in Jacqueline's voice* "Hello, Father, Mother! How are you?" Jacqueline: o______O kim: holy crap that's impressive. (thinking: then again he isnt human and could probably just be that......but then on the other hand he already sounds pretty feminine...) Jacqueline: T_T "This wounds my ego, that a boy can impersonate me so easily..." kim: but at least its something. Jacqueline: T_T "I guess...I don't look mannish, do I?" kim: no of course not! ao:........... kim:....!! i didnt mean anything offensive- ao: it's alright. Jacqueline: Q~Q "S-Sorry!" ao: i forgive you, miss du pre. Jacqueline: "Thank you." Gopher: *playing with his skirt* "This is quite fashionable~!" kirika:......its cute i guess 7////7; Gopher: "...You think it looks good on me?" .w. kirika: y-yeah, i mean, whatever floats your boat, dude. 7////3////7; Jacqueline: *crying on Kim's shoulder* "I'm so confused..." Gopher: "Yay!" .W. -elsewhere- Takehisa: *looking at festivities* Benimaru: *standing, arms crossed, next to him* katarou's wife: hello commanders. Takehisa: *nods* Benimaru: *bows to her* "Hello." *looks at her, offers a hand* "Please let me extend my condolences." katarou's wife: thank you *she smiles*....toshio still wont leave his room... Benimaru: "...Would you like me to visit, right now? I would be happy to speak with him." katarou's wife: i would appreciate it... Benimaru: "I will go now. Hinawa will be here to support you." *pats her hand before walking towards Katarou's home* Takehisa: "..." *nods to her* -inside- toshio: *curled up in the futon, crying to himself* Benimaru: *knocks* "Toshio? It’s me, the Commander." toshio: *no answer* d....dad... Benimaru: *enters* "...We are beginning the mourning ceremony for your father. You should be there." toshio:.....the people are holding it like a festival, they arent even sad! Benimaru: "Because they are celebrating your father--his life, his contributions, all that he accomplished." *pats Toshio's head* "You." toshio:...*sniffling with ghibli tears* Benimaru: *hugs* "Let it out..." toshio: *crying* Benimaru: "You're going to be okay. You are never alone, Toshio. You have this village." -elsewhere- Relan: *munching on red bean pastry* >~< "Tasty..." shinra: these arent that bad! misora: *nom nom nom* >w< Arthur: "One Tamaki for taiyaki!" *flustered* "I mean, one taiyaki for Tamaki!" tamaki: *chuckles* thanks. Arthur: -\\\\- *small bite on his own taiyaki* Konro: *bowing at the memorial for Katarou* katarou's wife: *praying* toshio: *whimpering* Benimaru: *hand on Toshio's shoulder* toshio: *hic* Benimaru: *bows his head, prays* misora:.......... Tsukiyo: *peeps up behind Misora* "O.M.G." misora: EEP! O.O Tsukiyo: "Cee-uuuuute outfit!" *she's in moon-theme yukata* misora: thaaanks~! ^^ Tsukiyo: "Who does your do, girl? 'Cause it is hare-raising!" misora: i have my sources~ tamaki: *sweatdrop* Tsukiyo: *takes Misora's arm* "Do share! We can talk about it during a walk-sy around!" *winks at Tamaki* fang-hua: -__-; misora: we- *sees some* KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA! BENI-CHAAAAAAAN~!!<3<3<3 tamaki: ow my ears!! Tsukiyo: "!!!" *joins Misora in glomping Beni-Chan* Benimaru: -____-; Relan: "...What's up with those girls?" shinra:....they're very....very strange *sweatdrop* Relan: "Hmm. I don't know why they are crawling all over Benimaru..." *blushes* "You're cuter..." Tsukiyo: *squish squish* "Want to walk with Misora and me for a bit?" shinra: *blush* t-thanks. Benimaru: "Sorry. I have other responsibilities, so--" *FLAME PUSHES TSUKIYO BACK* Tsukiyo: "Owie!" Benimaru: *stares at Misora* misora: O////w////O Benimaru: *sighs* "Fang-Hua, please remove Misora...and do something about Tsukiyo." Tsukiyo: Q~Q "Beni-Chan..." fang-hua: *drags them off* come on... Tsukiyo: *pouts* "Fang-Hua, I'm just wanting to be gracious to our commander..." Relan: "..." *holds Shinra's hand* Arthur: *small laugh, looks at Tamaki* "That Tsukiyo girl is weird, huh?" shinra: *smooches relan's hand* tamaki: thats a delicate way to put it. Relan: o\\\\\o *steam out of ears* shinra: love ya. Arthur: "..." *scratches his cheek* "...Have you talked with her recently? Because she talked with me..." Relan: "I-I-I-I l-l-l-love you, too..." tamaki:.........you could say that. Arthur: "...She gave me some advice." tamaki: really? Arthur: *takes Tamaki's hand* "She said to let you take the lead..." *brings her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss* tamaki: O////O n-not in public yet.... 7////7 Arthur: *small chuckle* "Sorry..._Not in public_, then..." tamaki: jeez... u///u; maki: ta~ko~ya~ki~tiiime~! *nom* Takehisa: "...Is it good?" maki: delish! want some? Takehisa: "..." *nods* maki: here you go~ *holds one to his mouth* Takehisa: o\\\\o *tentative bite, quickly pulls back, munches* "Delicious..." maki: glad you like it ^^ Takehisa: "...Yes. Thank you." -\\\\- Akitaru: (looking at the happy couples, smiles) padma: *slurred* love'as, com'te'tooown *hic* Akitaru: "Wow, there..." *takes the liquor out of her hand* "Easy..." padma: miwaaaa im goooood to gooooo. Akitaru: -_-; "...How about a good meal, some coffee, and plenty of water?" Relan: ._. padma: yes miwa, a breakfast date sounds looovleyyyy. *hic* Akitaru: "..." *praying* "Someone, help me...I don't know what to do..." T_T serina: h-here let me. *helping padma back to the ryokan* Takehisa: "..." *small smirk watching Padma drunk* Akitaru: *sigh of relief* Arthur: "...I think we all learned a valuable lesson now about drinking." tamaki: (thinking: i think we learned something about padma too...) Relan: "...Interesting colleagues." shinra: yeah. Relan: "...You haven't had alcohol before, have you?" shinra: no...at least not to my knowledge... Relan: "M-Me neither...Some bullies tried to force some onto me, but I managed to run..." shinra:....*holds his hand* Relan: *small squeeze* -elsewhere- Kid: *hug* "I'll miss you..." stocking: it'll only be for two days kiddo, and i wont be going on the trip until tomorrow. Kid: "I'll still miss you..." *pulls back, still holding her hands and smiling* stocking: i know, i'll miss you too. but i'll survive two days i think. Kid: *nods* "You're strong..." stocking: *she kisses his forehead and smiles* Kid: -\\\\- "Do you know where you are heading?" stocking: i think camping in a national park not far from here. Kid: "Do you have bug spray?" stocking: yes. Kid: "Change of clothes for the hikes, outdoors?" stocking: yes kid. Kid: "Okay..." *smiles* "Then I guess you need your rest today." stocking: *she smiles* Kid: "What would you like for dinner? And dessert?" -elsewhere- Black Star: *panting, collapsed on grass* "Good run..." tsubaki: yeah....*looking around her surroundings* Black Star: *takes off his shirt, waving it to get out the sweat* "...Sense something?" tsubaki: hmm... Black Star: "Hey, sushi!" tsubaki: hungry? Black Star: "Definitely!" *finishes fanning shirt and puts it back on* "Let's go!" -inside- tsubaki: how nice. rather big on the inside. Black Star: "~AH~ Air conditioning, too..." *sniffs* "Tasty meals..." tsubaki: *waiting for a seat* Black Star: *looking for seats as well* "What you going to have?" *looking at customers* *One customer dining on a meal behind Tsubaki, looking at her* tsubaki: i think i might have the salmon roe. Black Star: "Oh, that's tasty! I can't decide on just one...Any seats yet?" ???: *watching Tsubaki intently* *sneer* tsubaki: ah! there. *she points to an empty booth* Black Star: "Awe-soooome!" *follows her to the booth* tsubaki: *checking the menu* Black Star: *looking at his...and still feeling something chilly around him* "Hmm...Fiery shrimp roll...Yum..." tsubaki: *looking around the large room* ???: *still looking intently at Tsubaki* tsubaki:....?? ???: *sneer* tsubaki:....?! *rubs her eyes and looks* *Gone* Black Star: "???" tsubaki: n-nothing... Black Star: "..." *small shrug, as he goes back to menu* tsubaki: *suddenly a lot more chilled, but keeping it together* Black Star: *peeks up, frowns* "Okay. What happened?" tsubaki: just a bit chilly today. Black Star: "...Shit, I should've brought a jacket...Um...I could give you my shirt?" tsubaki: oh, i-its fine. im not dying, haha. Black Star: "...Maybe hot tea?" tsubaki: sure. Black Star: "Awesome! I'm going to try this cola..." -elsewhere- Hibana: *checklist* "Furnace is fixed, bathroom remodeled, new furniture is here--" iris: oh my... Hibana: "???" miwa: its not bad....the furniture i wasnt expecting. Hibana: =w= "I simply want to share my divine image with everyone~" *There is a poster now hanging up with Hibana in her fire uniform, winking at the viewer* Rino: -_-; "Pretentious as fuck." gabriella: O//////////O Hibana: -\\\\\- "My mistress is so cute when she blushes~" *pats Gabriella's shoulder* -elsewhere- Wes: "A concert?" soul: yeah...leetcht...light...how do you say that?? Wes: " 'Licht.' German?" soul: ah....says he's from austria?? Wes: "Interesting...I'll have to check that out!" soul: yeah... Wes: "Up for going? Maybe after the trip to Mom and Dad's?" soul: yeah, it should be after then... Wes: *smiles* "Well, alright then..." *pulls out a box* "I also got you something..." soul: oh? *Inside is a framed photo of Wes and Soul as kids...and also in the box is a really corny piano-key tie* soul: *small smile* thanks, bro. Wes: *smiles* "You're welcome, bro." soul: *pressing the tie* oh my god. Wes: *giggles* soul: well, good to see you have a sense of humor. Wes: *small pout* "I have a sense of humor." -elsewhere- Yohei: *cuddling with Chie on the couch, watching the movie* chie: zzzzzzz....... Yohei: "???" *smiles, bundles her up and sits with her on the couch* chie: =w= Yohei: *whispers* "Love you..." *yawns* -elsewhere- Jacqueline: *wearing Kim's jacket, washing dishes* tsugumi: need any help? *putting away groceries* Jacqueline: *smiles* "I'm almost done. But thanks! How was shopping?" tsugumi: it went well. Jacqueline: *nods* "Any plans for your Thanksgiving break?" tsugumi: not sure. we dont really celebrate it in japan for obvious reasons...but anya did mention wanting to invite us to her home country! Jacqueline: "That should be a fun trip!" tsugumi: *she smiles* Jacqueline: *finishes washing plates, dries her hands* "You have your passport, Tsugumi?" tsugumi: *she nods* it's in my room. i think they speak english in yngling. Jacqueline: "...Huh. Does Anya speak Japanese?" tsugumi: she's been learning. Jacqueline: "Ah. That must be exciting. Soon, you'll be able to hold conversations with her!" tsugumi: you say that like i dont already -_-; Jacqueline: "!!!" *nervous smile* "I just meant in Japanese!" -w- tsugumi: maybe ^^ Anya: *sheepishly enters the kitchen* T_T tsugumi: hey anya! Anya: "..." *bow* "Kon'nichiwa." tsugumi: hehe <hello to you too anya!> Anya: "Um..." <How healthy are you?> -She butcheredly asked "How are you?"- tsugumi: im in decent health ^^; Anya: "Oh...Um..." <Glad to hear.> -elsewhere- Benimaru: "...So, what nicknames do you give to each other in your Brigade, Kusakabe?" shinra: well- Arthur: "Shinra's nickname is Bed Wetter." Relan: -_-; shinra: ARTHUR! jeez! *embarrassed* tamaki: and there's the time you called commander oubi 'dad' shinra: TAMAKI! Arthur: "Ha ha! That was pretty funny." Relan: -_-; "And what nicknames do you two have? One of you has a knight complex, the other one a cat fetish." Benimaru: *snort* shinra: *snickers* tamaki: funny. Arthur: "I am a knight! There is no shame in that!" shinra: yeah. Relan: *holds Shinra's hand* "His nickname isn't Bed Wetter. It's 'Hero.'" Benimaru: *eyebrow raised* shinra: yeah! *beaming smile* Relan: -\\\\- *whispers* "So cute." tamaki:....so whats the 'kohana story'? Benimaru: *small smirk* tamaki:... *slight blush* d-do you like her?! shinra: !!! that's a pretty bold question!! Benimaru: "...You are in no position to ask me such a forward question, and I owe you no answer to my private thoughts and feelings." Relan: "..." *growing smile* "That's not a 'no'!" tamaki: *sigh* figured as much.... shinra: i wont even ask... Benimaru: -\\\\\- "Hmph. Are the Cat and the Knight a couple?" tamaki: ./////////////////. shinra: its a long story. Arthur: o\\\\\\\o Benimaru: "I figured as much, especially when Tsukiyo was getting involved." -elsewhere- misora: so they've arrived then? *talking on the phone* Joker: "Yep. How about you give them a tour?" misora: *she grins* -elsewhere- Tsukiyo: "Hey, have you seen Cute Lolita Dress?" serina: she went on a walk, but i havent seen her for a bit...im worried she may have come down with something... Tsukiyo: "Well, that's no good. Want to help me cook some soup for her~?" serina: i could try. Tsukiyo: *claps hands* "Yay! I know a quick carrot soup recipe we can prepare!" serina: that sounds lovely. Tsukiyo: *opens cabinet, removing potatoes, bowls* "Just need some milk..." *pulls up her sleeves* maki: do we have any milk? Tsukiyo: "...I hope so. Check the fridge." *her sleeves slip down* *pouts* maki: *checks* Tsukiyo: *pulls out rubberbands from a drawer, puts them along her sleeves to hold them up* "Any milk?" maki: nope, doesnt look like it... Tsukiyo: *pouts* "D'aaaaw...Well, we could substitute with coconut milk, unless anyone else here has an idea." maki: commander oubi! commander hinawa! want to go with me to buy some milk? i found a nice shop to go to! Akitaru: "Hey, sounds great!" Takehisa: -\\\\\- "Sure." maki: come on, i'll show you the way! Tsukiyo: "..." *light bulb* "Have fun, Captain Hinawa and Maki! Oh, and you too, Akitaru." *pulls him down by the ear, whispers, angry* "Listen here, you gorilla--get those two together, alright?!" Akitaru: Q___Q "What the hell?! I'm a commanding off--" Tsukiyo: "Do it!" Akitaru: "Okay, okay!" -later- shinra: see you later relan! be safe! Relan: *nods, shuffling awkwardly* "Okay...G-Good night..." tamaki: *she smiles* Arthur: "...Cute couple, huh?" tamaki: yeah.... Arthur: "..." *brushes hand along hers* tamaki: *blush*....oh! c-commander shinmon, didnt you mention wanting to speak with the commander about something? Arthur: *stabbed in the chest with an arrow: TAMAKI-BLOCKED* Benimaru: "...Yes. I wanted to speak with your commander: I am prepared to speak with him about an alliance between our brigades." shinra: that's great! Benimaru: -_-; "Don't get too excited. This is just to talk. Where is Obi?" shinra: not sure, but he should be somewhere around the town. Benimaru: "Hmm...I'll make my rounds then. Please let my staff know..." shinra: sure thing. -on the roof as the sun sets, hiding in the dark is...- misora: he's coming this way! the show's about to begin....ah~ my heart's pounding just thinking about it~<3 "Akitaru": "Easy...Just give a good performance..." "Takehisa": "Don't screw it up." misora: i'll just be an observer for this...... "Akitaru": *nods* "Takehisa": "Hmph..." *crosses arms* Benimaru: *walking within sight* misora: *watching as benimaru comes down the street* "Akitaru": "We succeeded." Benimaru: "???" ("The Commander?") *follows the sound* *Benimaru peeks around the corner--and spots them* "Akitaru": "We managed to turn that old coot Kantaro into a Flame Being." Benimaru: "?!!!" Takehisa: "We can proceed with the next phase, transforming more villagers..." misora: *from the darkness....smirks* Benimaru: *stays hidden (so he thinks)...clenches his fist, grits his teeth* "Akitaru": *smiles* "Indeed. Let's get back to the festival...We'll take a short-cut." misora: *follows from the rooftops* *Akitaru and Takehisa disappear into the shadows* Benimaru: "..." *follows them, struggling to keep an eye on them from an alternate alley...* -the two seem to have vanished- Benimaru: "..." *clenches his fists, furious* -chatter can be heard in the street from two people...- Benimaru: "???" *furious, marching towards the location of those two people... -oubi and takehisa are talking, coming down with bags in hand- Akitaru: "I can't wait to try out this new protein powder!" Takehisa: "As if you need more muscles..." *spots Benimaru* Akitaru: "Commander! I wanted to compliment you on those desserts! I hope you don't mind that I tried one--" *BOOM* tamaki: !!! what the heck was that?! serina: fireworks? Arthur: "Awfully loud--and no light..." *BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!* *Akitaru and Takehisa are seen running* Akitaru and Takehisa: Q____Q "AAAAAAAH!" shinra: commander! what's going on?! tamaki: is it a flame human?! Takehisa: "BENIMARU IS ATTACKING! IT'S BECAUSE THE COMMANDER ATE ONE OF HIS DESSERTS!" Akitaru: "Shut up! I only ate one!" *Benimaru fires another blast--Akitaru tackles Takehisa out of the way, but the fireball explodes a building* maki: COMMANDER!! Takehisa: "Ugh...What is wrong with him?" Benimaru: *marching forward, charging up another blast* "...Traitors..." tamaki: HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?! shinra: *running to kick the fireball away* HYAH! Benimaru: *does not flinch, as the fireball sails past him and explodes in the sky* shinra: h-hey, come on now, im sure that granny can make you more daif- Benimaru: *aims, and fires at Shinra* shinra: !!! *kicks up* WOAH!! maki: this is bad... Tsukiyo: "Beni-chan! What the hell are you doing?!" *NOT!Akitaru and NOT!Takehisa look down from the roofs, in cloaks* Benimaru: "Those two...The 8th...They transformed Katarou into that monster!" tamaki:..........*looks up, getting a glimpse of their faces*.....!!! *mutters* what the fu- fang-hua: ?!?! shinra: !!!! what?! *Hoods leap away* Akitaru: *holds up his hands* "No we didn't!" Takehisa: *shakes his head "no"* "We would never do--" *Benimaru picks up a potted plant and hurls it at Takehisa* Takehisa: "...A plant?" *The plant catches on fire* Takehisa: O______O fang-hua: !!!! shinra: !!! COMMANDER! maki: TAKEHISA!! Takehisa: *pulls out his pistol and fires shots at the plant, causing it to explode--but knocking back him and Akitaru* Akitaru: "Oomph!" Benimaru: "Asakusa residents! These two--they were the ones who transformed our friend Kantarou! Do not let them escape alive!" maki: *taking position* i dont know where you got that idea, but we have nothing to do with what happened to katarou! Benimaru: *marches towards Maki* "Out of my way..." tamaki: yeah! where's your proof?! maki: *taking stance* Villager: "Kick her ass, Commander!" -from the roof, a woman watches- ???: "Progress?" misora: he's so angry.....such beautifully burning rage.....*squirming* ahhhhh.....that destructive fury....this much chaotic power.....that's what i love most about you, benimaru shinmon~<3 ???: "..." ("Jeez.") tamaki: *nekomata mode and charges* NYAAAH! Benimaru: *grabs Tamaki by her leg, swinging her* tamaki: !!!!! *bends forward and slaps him smack in the face* Benimaru: *smacked...turns slowly, fire burning in his eyes* tamaki: O-O;;;; oh boy. Benimaru: *pulls back his fist, clenches his jaw, and--* *SLASH* Arthur: *slices at Benimaru, who releases his grip on Tamaki* tamaki: !!! Arthur: *catches Tamaki, leaps back* "Are you okay?" tamaki: yeah...thanks. Arthur: *sets her down* "The Commander seems to favor his right side. Take him on the left, I'll take him on the right..." tamaki: right. Arthur: *takes Benimaru on the right* Benimaru: "..." Akitaru: *getting back on his feet* "Ugh, my head..." tamaki: *rushing for his left* Benimaru: *slams his foot down, knock up a piece of earth, which he hurls at Tamaki's face, before his fist slams into Arthur* tamaki: what the fu- *The ground explodes around Tamaki, knocking her back* *Arthur is slammed against the building's wall, a potted plant from above slamming onto his head* tamaki: uuugh.... Benimaru: *picks up a potted plant, hurling it at Maki* shinra: *charges forward and tries to kick it away* Benimaru: *while Shinra tries to kick, Benimaru rushes at Shinra, aiming for his other leg* shinra: !!!!! maki: !!!!!! Benimaru: *reaches Shinra, taking his leg and spinning him, tossing him at Maki* shinra: ack!! -CRASH- shinra: maki! you ok? maki: y-yeah, barely felt it. shinra: *frowns* Benimaru: *tosses another plant at Shinra and Maki* Takehisa: *aims his firearm at the plant...* *BANG* *Plant explodes just before reaching Maki and Shinra* maki: O-O; shinra: 0-0; Takehisa: *fires point-blank at Benimaru* *BANG BANG BANG* Benimaru: "A pea-shooter? Really? That's the best you have? So useless." Takehisa: "I know it is useless..." Benimaru: *redirects the bullets back at Takehisa, who barely moves yet still dodges each bullet* Takehisa: "..." *smirks* Benimaru: "???" *Someone is rushing at Benimaru from behind...* *Benimaru is tackled* maki: ?! Akitaru: *tackled Benimaru, having changed into his fireproof outfit* "Never." *punches Benimaru's face* "Touch." *punch* "My." *punch* "Team!" *punch* Benimaru: *catches the last punch, clenches his teeth...fire burning in his eyes* Akituar: O_O "Oh shi--" *PHWOOSH!* Akitaru: *knocked back across the ground* shinra: commander!! *Villagers have gathered to watch this fight--and are cheering on Benimaru* Villager #1: "Kill 'em, Beni-chan!" Villager #2: "Show them what we're about, Commander!" Tsukiyo: Q____Q "Not good not good not good..." hinata: where did big sis kohana go? hikage: last i saw she ran to the shrine... hinata: big sis bunny girl! go get konro! Tsukiyo: T_T "O-On it!" *hops up and away towards the Shrine...* tamaki: ....... Arthur: *holding his head* "Ugh..." Benimaru: *furious at Akitaru* "You killed Katarou...transformed him into that monster!" Akitaru: "We didn't! I didn't! We're trying to stop whoever is doing that!" Benimaru: *aims two fingers at Akitaru, charging an attack* Akitaru: "...So, I'll have to beat that answer into you, then..." *arms himself with a shield* shinra:...*grips fist* COME ON COMMANDER! YOU HAVE TO WIN! Arthur: "Defeat him, Sir Obi!" Benimaru: *fires his flame at Akitaru--who blocks and sends the flame up to the sky to dissipate* Benimaru: "??? How do you intend to win if you don't try to kill me?" Akitaru: " 'Kill you'?" *rushes at Benimaru* "I'm only human! I couldn't kill you if I wanted to!" Benimaru: *kicks into the shield, running up it--and kicks Akitaru in the head, knocking him to the ground* maki: oooh, that has to hurt! Akitaru: *struggling to stand up* Benimaru: *holds matois in the air, each one flaming and pointed at Akitaru* *Matois fire--but Akitaru blocks them with his shield* Akitaru: "Good aim...But I can still stand up to you..." *gets back on his feet* "...Because I train all day, every day!" *Akitaru pulls a grenade from his sleeve, tossing it at Benimaru--coating him in fire extinguisher foam...that solidifies around his body until he can't move* Takehisa: ._. "Um...That tech is still only in the developmental stage..." Akitaru: "...'Developmental'?" o_o; "Oh no..." *BOOM* *Benimaru explodes out of the foam, rushing at Akitaru and tackling him down, punching one fiery fist after another into Akitaru's chest* *Akitaru screams in pain* shinra: COMMANDER!! Benimaru: "I can't stand someone like you! Murderer! Weakling! You let another human transform like this! You sicken me, you bastard!" *pulls back one last fiery fist...* ???: commander, wait. *a soft, calm, but firm voice can be heard* Benimaru: "..." *holds back his punch* kirei: i understand you're angry, but wouldnt it be wise to hear their side of the story first? fang-hua: yeah. Konro: "...Benimaru...Young Master..." *disappointed dad voice* "What have you done?" Akitaru: *struggling to get up, smoke coming off his chest* serina: *rushing over* Akitaru: "Ow...Thank goodness for fire-proof clothes..." *small laugh--then grimaces in pain* Benimaru: "Konro! I heard them discussing, in the alley--they transformed K--" Konro: "Did you ask for their side?" *points at Maki* "Is this true? Was your commander in that alley?" Tsukiyo: Q___Q "Beni-chan, why...?" maki: of course not, he went to get milk. katarou's wife: it's true, toshio and i spoke with them in the shop. toshio: mr oubi showed me pictures in his wallet. Benimaru: "...That can't be true--" Konro: "You are calling Katarou's wife and son a liar...Young Master?" *glare* Akitaru: *struggling to stand, needing Shinra, Takehisa, and Maki to hold him up* tamaki:............i saw..... Takehisa: T_T "Too...heavy..." Konro: " 'Saw'?" tamaki:....two hooded figures on the roof....they...had commander oubi and commander hinawa's faces.... shinra: ?! misora:.......*vanishing into the dark* (thinking: she didnt mention me.....good girl...) Benimaru: "...People, who look like Four Eyes and Gorilla Face?" Akitaru, Takehisa, and Konro: -____-; Benimaru: "None of this makes any sense...Escort the Commander to medical. Keep him and Hinawa under arrest until we get answers..." shinra:......... maki: guess we're staying a little longer..... Benimaru: "Tsukiyo, escort the remaining members of the 8th back to their inn." *turns to depart...not even looking at Katarou's widow and son* Tsukiyo: *looks ashamed* "...Follow me..." tamaki: i'll go with the commander....to give my alibi. maki: if they're going, we're all going. shinra: right! Arthur: *nods* Tsukiyo: "Um...I think you have to break a law or something first, right?" Arthur: "..." *picks up a potted plant, smashes it against the ground* "I smashed a plant!" maki:......*PUNCHES TSUKIYO RIGHT IN THE FACE* Tsukiyo: *knocked to the ground* "Motherfucker! What the hell?!!!" shinra + tamaki: >->;;;; we're just gonna go in.... *follows* Arthur: "Your walls can't hold me in, man! Attica! Attica! Attica!" Tsukiyo: Q____Q "Why me?!" fang-hua: *drags them in* please stop... you're just embarrassing yourselves... Tsukiyo: *her nose is bleeding, as she follows them in, pushing Maki* "I'll get you for this, you ogre!" maki:........*sharp inhale* its not worth it maki Akitaru: "...I am so sorry--" Konro: "Forget it. We get this kind of thing all the time..." Konro: "After all, look at Tsukiyo--" Tsukiyo: "COULD EVERYONE JUST GET OFF MY CASE?!!" kabuki: *yaaaawn* what's all the commotion? *Buildings demolished, Tsukiyo's bleeding face glaring at him, Konro looking confused* Konro: "...You slept...through all of that?" kabuki: *he nods* Tsukiyo: "Benimaru tried to straight up kill the 8th, their commander and captain are under arrest, the rest of them demand to be arrested with them--AND MY NOSE IS BLEEDING! WAAH!" kabuki: oh? -and so, everyone gives their alibis- Arthur: "--And then I saw Benimaru running after Obi and Hinawa!" soldier: i see... soldier 2: *has a map of asakusa out* now commander, you say you saw them in this alley...*points* at what time did you see them talking? Benimaru: "The clocktower had said 7:15." soldier: and commander oubi, you were at the store for how long? and when did you enter? Akitaru: "The clock said 6:50 PM when we entered...We took maybe 5 minutes to get all items...Then I was comparing photos for about 10 minutes...I don't know when we exited." soldier: *looks at takehisa* Takehisa: "We exited at 7:22 PM by the clock in the shop. _He was showing photos for far longer than 10 minutes_." soldier:...i...see... Akitaru: "I-I have a lot of photos!" -later- soldier: we spoke with the shop keeper and katarou's wife, and the story checks out. Arthur: *blowing on a harmonica in the jail cell* Benimaru: "Hmph...Shape-shifters, now? That's the story we are to believe?" tamaki: i dont know if i believe it either....but i know what i saw! Benimaru: "...How reliable is the word of someone who left the 1st for the 8th?" Arthur: *stops playing, glaring* soldier 3: COMMANDER! WE FOUND SOMETHING! Benimaru: "???' Akitaru: "What is it?" Takehisa: -_-; "Wrong commander, sir..." soldier: we found this in the alley. *places a red, cross like object on the table* Akitaru: "!!!" Benimaru: "..." *puts on a glove, then picks it up* "...From one of our factories..." shinra: !!! fang-hua: commander?? Akitaru: "This was the same type of cross found on one of the 8th's first missions..." Arthur: "..." *shudders* "Oh no..." maki: yeah, noz- Akitaru: "Our investigations here were to find the location of this cross--the factory that made it, whether someone here was involved in the artificial creation of Flame Humans." Benimaru: "...You withheld this information from us..." maki:.... Akitaru: "I'm sorry. If the factory associated with these Flame Beings was located here, we had to vet you as well." Konro: *nods* "Sounds reasonable." Benimaru: "Hmph." kabuki: what will we do now commander? shinra: if you need time to consider helping us, we'll leave you be and let you call us back if needed. Benimaru: "...I want guards outside their inn..." shinra:......*looks at oubi* Akitaru: *nods* "Very well. I am sorry all of this is happening..." -at the inn- shinra: i guess we're going home until further notice then? Takehisa: "It is for the best...We'll return when they are ready for us to do so." shinra: understood.... tamaki: will we be taking classes again then? Takehisa: "Yes...although judging by this brigade, I would not be surprised if its members kept a close eye on you." tamaki: *sigh* -morning- iris:..!! commander! shinra! *she hugs him* shinra: hey iris, i missed you! nozomi: commander, welcome back. Akitaru: *deep breath, a little wheezing* "Hey...Good to see you safe." *smiles* miwa: oi! akitaru! great to see you!...now, im gonna warn you, hibana did a bit of....'redecorating' but i made sure to fix a lot of it so it isnt as bad as it was....your office is safe, dont worry. Akitaru: "Um...Thanks? ...How bad are we talking in terms of damage?" Takehisa: "...Oh boy." shinra: *goes in......* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!! *faints, foaming* iris: SHINRA!! *goes to get him some ice* Akitaru: "!!! Shinra!" *runs into the room* "...You have to be kidding me." tamaki:.....wow. my words fail me. maki:..... 0-0;;;;; *Mural of multiple Hibana's on the wall, worshipping her, her face on all the pillows, a chandelier...* Takehisa: "...The chandelier is nice, though." shinra: this is terrifying. Q____Q Akitaru: "...THAT DAMN PRINCESS!!!" maki:....commander....you miiight not want to see your bedsheets.... *Takehisa moves a lamp--which causes the chandelier to pull up and be replaced by a disco ball and loud music* Akitaru: "..." *storms up to his bedroom* "...OH GOD!" Arthur: "...Please tell me no one went into my bedroom...or looked under my bed..." iris: at least the rest of our bedrooms are untouched. *A loud sigh is heard, as someone walks out of the bathroom in a robe* Rino: "Man, after all that clean up work, I'm--" *spots the 8th* "...Oh, you're those guys." shinra: *darts to his room and hides* Q-Q maki:...is she a new recruit? Rino: *spots Maki* "..." -_-; "I'm Hibana's new whipping girl. You. You have weird tasks, ma'am." maki: ???? Takehisa: "???" Rino: "Hey, Iris, I finished recalibrating the furnaces. Did the 5th already leave without me?" iris: they should be back soon.... miwa: i'll keep akitaru from murdering her. Rino: "Okay, I'm going to change..." *poins at Maki* "Keep that one away while I do! Sick fuck!" *goes back into the bathrooms* maki: ?!?! what did i even do?! ..oh.... OH CRAP!!! *goes to her room* Hibana: "I'm back~ Oh! And so are you all! How was your trip?" *looks around* "Where are Shinra and the Gorilla?" shinra: *cowering under his bed clutching his action figure* Q~Q Takehisa: "..." *turns off the disco ball and music* "Hibana, these decorations...You are not charging us, are you?" Hibana: "No...Not unless you all want to pay--" *Everyone*: "No!" Rino: *comes out, fully dressed* "Hey, Boss Bitch. We done here?" Hibana: *slaps Rino across the head* iris: sister!! Rino: -_-; "I mean...What ever can I do for you, Princess?" Hibana: *smiles* "Please carry my bags out to the limo~" Rino: *growls, mutters* "I'll carry your bags, you old bag..." *grumbling* Hibana: *smiles at Iris* "It was good to see all of you again~ Enjoy the decorations! Tell Shinra to enjoy the special gift I left for him, Relan, and Iris~" gabriella: i feel like i forgot something- Akitaru: *tearing sheets off the bed* "I'll just burn these and--" *something falls off the sheets...and onto his head* "...I am going to light my head on fire now...* *LOUD SCREAM FROM AKITARU'S ROOM* tamaki:.........................................???? iris:...... O_____________O sister, you didnt. Hibana: "You'll remember it when we're back home, dear~" *pats Gabriella's bottom--and notices...* "Oh, my~" Hibana: "Hee hee...Just a little fun, Iris." *winks* tamaki: ugh, get a room. and not the commanders -_-; Arthur: "...This used to be the normal brigade..." shinra: *notices something with a card* Card: "A small gift for you, Relan, and Iris, courtesy of your 'Mama Hibana'--your 'Hi-mama,' if you will. xoxo" shinra:............*he opens it*..................................... *Inside are various items, including Hibana Brand furry handcuffs* shinra:.......*puts the lid back on*..................... *single tear* -later he buried the box, had iris bless the ground, and spend 30 minutes in the shower and 30 minutes in confession- -at school- Kid: T_T stocking: it'll only be two days kid, i'll be fine, i promise. *kiss* Kid: *nods* "I know...These are tears of happiness for when you get back..." stocking: try to be safe while im gone, ok? Kid: *nods* "I will keep up on my medication, I will stay calm, and I will be here when you return. I love you." stocking: *smoooch* hehe~ -at the bus- stocking: rin! hey! *high-fives!* Rin: *high five back* "How's it going?" stocking: good, looking forward to the trip, what im not looking forward to is- Mr. Angel: "Demon 1. Demon 2." stocking:....triple A batteries. *forced smile* how. nice. to see you. ^^ <3 *on the inside, she is so pissed* Rin: -_-; "Douche Lord." Mr. Angel: "I expect you two to be on your best behavior--or you'll have to contend with me." Rin: *pats Stocking's shoulder* "We're not going to let this jackass ruin our week, right?" stocking: of course not! *thumbs up* luna: they're rather close. student: i think they're cousins? stocking: o-o; *is technically rin's niece* sure.....cousins.....yeah... Rin: -__-; "I feel old..." stocking: we'll you're two years younger than me, so... ^^; Rin: "Yeah...I mean, I wasn't saying you're old or anything..." *small smirk* "Although, I am wondering when I get to call Kid 'Mr. Stocking'." stocking: oh shush you! *chop* Rin: "Ha ha!" -elsewhere- Yohei: "...Well, everyone seems more lovey-dovey around here..." Shinoda: -\\\\\\- setsuna: *not even bothered* -elsewhere- Black Star: "Feeling better?" tsubaki: yes, much better. ???: *shuffling along the halls* Black Star: *spots someone* "Hey, who's that?" tsubaki:....chrona? lilac: *nervous* Black Star: "Maybe...CRONA! LOVE THE NEW HAIR!" lilac: *trembling and curled up* mami: ??? Black Star: "??? Mami, what's up with Crona?" mami: chrona's right here. *points* Black Star: "...Crona, you got a twin?" lilac: *trembling* Crona: "??? Oh! I met you early!" *holds out hand* "I'm Crona." lilac: um....i-im..i-im lilac...*meekly shakes* Crona: "You're new to the school? I-It's kinda scary, but there are some kind people here." lilac: i-its big....lots of p-people... tsubaki: my name is tsubaki, nice to meet you. lilac: !!! that's.....a very nice name, ma'am. Black Star: "I'm Black Star! If anyone is harrassing you, just let me know--I'LL KICK THEIR ASSES!" lilac: o-oh..ok -later- Kid: *stirring spoon through his soup* ):> liz: cheer up kiddo, she'll be back tomorrow night! Kid: *nods* "A long 24 hours..." liz: why dont we go to the library and look at butterfly books? Kid: *twitch* "...I...would like that." liz: ..... Kid: "??? Are you okay?" liz: of course, come on, eat up kiddo. Kid: *smiles, his appetite returning* -elsewhere- mana: opening more rooms? chie: that's the plan. Yohei: "Doesn't hurt to have a few more dollars coming in, and another few hands to help with chores." mana: ah, i see. Yohei: "Anyone reply to the housing ad yet?" chie: not yet, but maybe soon. Yohei: "Well, I'll be around to help interview. Mana, I'll need some help with cleaning out some rooms we were using for storage..." mana: *salutes* on it! chie: i also made some 'house rules/warnings' so they know what they're getting in to... Yohei: "...Shotaro and Emine will require at least two pages. Each." chie: ^^; Yohei: *looking over rules* "How you feel about people bringing pets in?" chie: maybe, but im worried emine might do something to them...if we do, we'll have to make sure there are ground rules for emine to follow too. Yohei: "Don't now how to convince him to follow them. Maybe have to do a reward/punishment system, like a carrot and the stick..." -elsewhere- Hibana: "Hello, you lowly worms! Your goddess has returned!" Kishiri: *holding ice over his groin, weakly waves* "Hey, boss..." angels: welcome home princess!! Hibana: *smiles* "Ladies, good to see you...Kishiri, what happened to you?" Kishiri: -_-; "Crazy girl got into a fight with me and Vivian." gabriella: let me guess, you doing your usual thing? Kishiri: *anger twitch* "I DIDN'T START THIS! That crazy former gang member did!" Hibana: *sweatdrop* "...'Gang member'? Gabriella...It's them..." gabriella: them? as in- Hibana: "Those crazy blaze gangsters!" *slams fist against a wall* "Those bitches!" gabriella: hibana!! *making sure hibana didnt hurt her fist too much* Hibana: T_T "Those gangsters piss me off..." *pouts* "Kiss my knuckles and make them feel better?" gabriella: of course! angels: *sweatdrop* (thinking: so much for fraternization rules....) Hibana: -\\\\- "Kishiri, you will give a full report to Gabriella. Let's keep an eye on these fuckers..." -elsewhere- Relan: *waves at Shinra and Iris in library* iris: hey relan! shinra: hey rel! how're you doing? Relan: "Okay. Can't wait to see how I do in gym!" shinra: we'll be rooting for you! Relan: *smiles* "Thank you both. How has everything been in the 8th? How was the festival? I texted but--" shinra: ah! *checks his phone* iris: we'll check right now! Relan's text: [how was the festival? you coming back to classes soon?] Relan: *shy head scratch, smile* "I just wanted to check in with you both. Back to classes, then?" shinra: yeah. had fun at the festival too. Relan: "That's good. So, the meetings there went well?" shinra: more or less. Relan: *smiles* "The Commander Benimaru seemed to really like you." shinra: yeah, although nothing's concrete yet, so we'll have to wait and see. (thinking: i shouldnt worry him...) Relan: *nods* "Iris, I heard that...um...the 8th was redecorated?" iris:......*excalibur face* to an extent..... Relan: "??? I'm not that great at interior design, so I imagine someone as fashionable as Hibana didn't do terribly..." shinra:......*triggered* *screaming on the inside* QwQ;; Relan: "!!! Shinra?" shinra: im okaaaay. -elsewhere- Jacqueline: "Hmm...It's those new students again." kim: ?? Jun: "Yo." yumikage: hey. Tsurugi: "How are you, Jackie and...Kimberly?" kim: just kim. Tsurugi: "Well, Jackie, Kim, where were you two ladies heading?" -in the woods- stocking: *pitching a tent* Rin: "Got it okay?" stocking: yeah luna: nice job! Rin: "Well, better get to cooking. Stocking, I made sure to figure out something sweet to cook on campfire." stocking: thanks ^^ Mr. Angel: "...Tent is crooked." *keeps walking* Rin: -_-; stocking: *studies it* perfectly symmetrical i think... Rin: *smiles* "Kid would be pleased." Mr. Angel: "Fufufu...The reaper...Such a silly fixation..." stocking: *glares* shura: come on artie, lay off. *bwap* Mr. Angel: *frowns* "Fine...Okumura, finish the meal and make it palatable." Rin: "..." *sneers* "Of course..." stocking: *whispers* you're gonna spit in his food, arent you? Rin: *whispers* "Please...I'm not gross..." *pulls out a small box of "X-Lax"* stocking: *griiiins* -elsewhere- Akitaru: *grumbling* "Now I have to order a new bed..." maki: it's ok commander. *pats back*.....at least your pictures made it out unscathed. Akitaru: *horrible thought of Hibana putting her face over the image of his daughter and wife* Q_Q "Indeed...I'll just have to wait for replacement bed to arrive. I guess I'm on the couch tonight or bunking with Takehisa--" Takehisa: -_-; maki:......*shuddering with joy* Akitaru: "??? You two okay?" Takehisa: "...I have clean-up to do, including dealing with that mural..." maki: huehuehuehuehue~ Akitaru: "Well, when you're done with that, I'll help you with the inspection...bunk mate!" Takehisa: "Oh, lord..." -elsewhere- Anya: *stretching for gym* ochako: *streeetch* Izuku: *bouncing in place, ready to run...* EF: on your marks....get set.....go! Izuku: *keeping a good pace, but well behind Ochako* Anya: *keeping up with Izuku* Relan: *just right behind the two of them* iris: you can do it relan! Relan: *pacing himself until the final stretch...and starts to push himself further* ("I can do this!") *Relan is catching up to Anya...* -and so- shinra: you did great! Relan: *panting, smiling* "Th-Thanks...Woo, that was a challenge." Izuku: "Great work, Ochako!" ochako: thanks ^^ Izuku: "That was one powerful burst of speed!" Anya: *pouts* tsugumi: 4th isnt that bad, anya. ^^; Anya: "I wanted to be further along than that..." ao: there's always next time ^^ Anya: "Hmph..." Relan: "??? She seems...annoyed. Did I do that? Oh no..." iris: it's ok relan Relan: *nods fervently* "I-I better go shower and change..." -elsewhere- Konro: *groans* fang-hua: feeling any better, commander? Konro: "A bit...I'm just glad I didn't get too involved in that battle..." fang-hua:....commander shinmon's really been on edge today.....after last night, i cant blame him, but i cant blame the 8th either....i just have this gut feeling they're telling the truth... Konro: *nods* "Something is not right...but you know how stubborn the Commander is." fang-hua: perhaps........you've really known him a long time, havent you commander? Konro: *nods* "Long before we even had a fire brigade." fang-hua:....ah. Konro: "..." *looks at his ashy skin* "It was a battle that gave me this...and made Benimaru the future commander." fang-hua: ...... Konro: "I gave up my safety, and my ability, to prevent Benimaru from being attacked by that...demon. And now, the very creation of such a Flame Being may be from our own home..." fang-hua: that's a pretty scary thought.... Konro: "The red cross...any indication where it was made?" fang-hua: not to my knowledge, no... Konro: "Then we keep searching. Please try to keep morale up among the village, but tamp down on the threats...A lot of people here are less trusting of the 8th now." fang-hua: i'll see what i can do....tsukiyo and i...still believe in them.... Konro: *nods* "I know you will go where your heart and mind takes you." -elsewhere- Tsukiyo: (in class) Q____Q tamaki: usada? why're you here? keeping an eye on us? Tsukiyo: "..." *nods* "I'm sorry. It's just...this is all confusing." shinra: how do you think _we_ feel about this?..... Tsukiyo: "..." *looks down, ashamed* "I know...I didn't want this to happen...You all seem fun and friendly..." shinra: thanks...i think... Tsukiyo: "Who do you think could be behind this? Why would someone want to turn the 7th against the 8th?" shinra:.... -he explains the situation about the preacher, but leaves out the part about his brother- Tsukiyo: "...I'm sorry...What you two [Shinra and Tamaki] have gone through...Good thing you have each other." tamaki:....you implying something? Tsukiyo: "...Well, you're siblings, right?" tamaki + shinra: NO! Tsukiyo: "...Oh. But your hair, faces, and that creepy twin simultaneous speech thing--" tamaki: *elbows shinra* shinra: god why! Q-Q Tsukiyo: "..." *loud sigh of relief* "Good...'Cause I am so not into twincest..." tamaki: *headlocks shinra* shinra: GRK- TAMAKI LET GO!! D8> Tsukiyo: O____O Relan: *calm voice* "Is there a problem here?" iris: *chops tsukiyo* bad tsukiyo, bad. Tsukiyo: "Ow! What did I do?! Why is everyone in the 8th now hitting me?!" -elsewhere- Kid: *looking at photos of butterflies* "This one looks just like her..." liz: ...... Kid: "..." *goofy Charlie Brown smile and hearts appearing over his head* "I am going to marry that girl..." liz: we know kiddo, we know -__-; Kid: "Cupcakes with butterfly decorations served at the reception..." *he is now literally floating in the air...* liz: KID! *Other people are staring* Everyone else: o_o; Kid: *suddenly collapses onto the floor* "...Ow." liz: *sweatdrop* honestly kid.... Kid: "..." *awkwardly crawls back into his seat, tries to resume dignified posture and poise...and fails to notice his hair is a mess and that he is holding the book upside down* -elsewhere- Rin: "Alright, food's ready!" stocking: awesome! -several students eat- student: so delicious~! Rin: -\\\\- "Aw, it was nothin'..." Mr. Angel: "Hmph. Flavor is lacking, over-cooked..." *Stomach gurgling* student: wow, you're tongue musnt work, teach. cause this is really good! Rin: "Thanks, Stocking!" Mr. Angel: *looking pained* "My...tongue is fine...This food is...is..." *groans* stocking: no problem. Mr. Angel: "..." *clutches his stomach* "I HAVE TO GO!" *stumbling to get up and run into the forest* shura: jeez, what a baby. Rin: *struggling to hold in laughter* -elsewhere- Jacqueline: "Those new students still seem...bizarre." kim: yeah... Jacqueline: "...Kim? I didn't get to thank you for...helping me with Thanksgiving issues..." kim: its fine, anything for my partner, right? Jacqueline: *nods* "I just...feel like I owe you. I was so scared..." kim: its ok. Jacqueline: "..." *pats her hand* kim: *smiles* Jacqueline: "Maybe...I could treat you? Dessert?" kim: sure, that sounds good. Jacqueline: "Then let's get going..." *takes Kim's hand to lead the way* -elsewhere- Emine: "...Why do we need more tenants? And why should I have to change my behavior to accommodate them?" chie: we have plenty of rooms... *she looks at yohei* besides, we arent asking you to change completely, but try not to go _too_ overboard in your bad deeds, ok? Yohei: *nods* "I already had to disable some of your 'tricks' around here..." Emine: "Like the bubble gum bomb?" Yohei: "...The what?" *BOOM* mono: GET ME OUT OF HERE!! Assi: "Mono! I'll save you! ... Um...Now my hands are stuck..." Yohei: -_-; "...I think freezing the gum may make it easier to shatter it off..." -elsewhere- Black Star: "Pumpkin pie, pumpkin fries, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin coffee..." tsubaki: still quite a bit left over from halloween ._.; Black Star: "But so tasty!" *giggles* "Can't wait for Thanksgiving." tsubaki: so what did you want to do for it? Black Star: "Anyone staying around Death City in need of a dinner?" tsubaki: i'll have to see. Black Star: "Maybe Mifune and his kids? Or Kilik?" tsubaki: sounds good. -elsewhere- Hibana: *seated at her desk, underneath piles of late paperwork* T_T "I didn't realize how much I missed having to cover for the 8th, too..." gabriella: would you like some assistance? princess? Hibana: *nods* "Yes. I don't even know which papers are due first, so let's sort them..." *hands half to Gabriella* -elsewhere- Relan: "..." shinra: you ok? Relan: "Just worried...for you and Iris. I worry a lot about things." shinra: well, we're here for you, ok? *holds his hand* Relan: *nods* "I just...want you both to keep being there...overall. Not hurt or...worse." shinra:.....*hug* i understand. Relan: *hugs back* -at the campground in the tent- stocking: zzzzz..... *A small clicking sound is heard* stocking: mmn? *A silhouette of a fox can be seen outside the tent, in the moonlight* stocking: a fox? well, it is a park....*she goes back to sleep* Fox: "..." *pulls up the zipper to the tent...* stocking: ?! what the fu-?! Fox: *nuzzles against Stocking's hand, licking it* stocking: um.....hi? .w.;;;; Fox: *panting like a puppy, nuzzling against her* stocking:...*awkward petting* Fox: *rests head along her lap* stocking: ^^; Fox: >w< "...Mr. Mephisto was right--you are kind." stocking: !! oh...i see ^^; Fox: "He asked me to come here to make sure you were safe. Are you okay? And can you rub my belly?" stocking: im doing fine *pet pet* ....*sad smile, remembering her pet cat from private school*........... Fox: "...You seem a little sad." stocking: just remembering something from the past..... Fox: *nods* "Do you want me to leave?" stocking: i do have to go to sleep. but im glad i had some company. *she smiles* thanks, and let my dad know im doing well. Fox: *smiles* "On it! Good night, ma'am." *exits* -morning- Mr. Angel: *groaning in his tent* "Damn these brats..." Rin: ^_^ stocking: *streeetch* morning everyone~! Rin: "Morning! Sleep alright?" Mr. Angel: *glaring at Rin and Stocking from his tent* stocking: yeah. Rin: *notices something on Stocking...plucks a bit of fur off her shoulder* "The heck?" stocking: yeah, one of dad's familiars visited. ^^; Rin: "Really? Was it a cat?" stocking: a fox actually. Rin: "Cool! A guardian angel for you!" stocking: i guess, haha ^^ Rin: "I was just making campfire coffee--want some?" stocking: sure. -elsewhere- liz: kid? you up? Kid: *praying before shrine* liz: kid? Kid: O-O "I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!" liz: O-O;;;;; i'll just....let you do your thing..*closes the door* O_O;;;; Kid: o________o "...I should lock that door..." doll:......................................................... Kid: "..." *picks up Stocking doll, gives it a small kiss on the forehead* "Be safe on your return, my love." -elsewhere- Arthur: "Maki, you see the Commander? His bedroom is empty--not even a bed." maki: he's bunking with commander hinawa.....*drools* shinra: he's replacing his bed....i'd have done the same thing. tamaki: since most of it was worth a lot, we're auctioning the 'hibana furniture' online. we've made quite a bit with it! Arthur: "Really? What're you doing with the money, you know, aside from replacing stuff in the Commander's room?" *handing a tissue to Maki for her drool* tamaki: maybe fix some stuff that's still broken, maybe get more stuff for ourselves too! Arthur: "SUIT OF ARMOR, SUIT OF ARMOR!" shinra: -_-; Akitaru: "Morning, everyone!" *beaming happily* Takehisa: *exhausted, looking ready to murder someone* shinra: morning commander! maki: morning~ Arthur: "...Hinawa, sir? Are you o--" Takehisa: *death glare* Arthur: o_____o *hides behind Tamaki* tamaki: commander? O-O; Takehisa: "...Coffee. Donuts. Lots of coffee and donuts. Now..." tamaki: right away! maki: *goes with her* nozomi: good morning everyone. Akitaru: "Good morning, Nozomi. How was sleep?" nozomi: it went well... shinra:...was it me, or was my room a bit spacier? iris: sister expanded your bedrooms too. shinra: seriously? Arthur: "...How? Wouldn't that compromise the load-bearing walls and cause the roof to fall in on...us?" *looks up, scared* tamaki:....what? shinra: *kick kick* looks pretty sturdy.... Takehisa: >__< "If the rooms were bigger, why did my bed still feel so cramp?" Akitaru: "I thought it was comfy and cozy--" Takehisa: "Your big arms knocked me out of the bed--five times!" Arthur: (" 'Bigger room'? I could get a bigger bed...one big enough for me and...") >\\\\\\\\< maki: *NOSEBLEEDS* Arthur: -_-; *holds up another tissue to Maki* -later that evening- stocking: kid! im home! Kid: *kitten leap into her arms* "Angel!" *hug* stocking: hehe~ you really missed me, huh kiddo? Kid: *nods* :3 "Did you have a good trip? Are you okay?" stocking: yeah. *she tells him about the trip* Kid: *serving tea to her with a cupcake* "A fox familiar?" stocking: yeah. im glad to see my dad's looking out for me in little ways like that. *she smiles* Kid: *smiles* "Sounds like Rin as well. I wish I had been there to see Mr. Angel's face when his 'stomach problems' began." stocking: *evil grins* Kid: *chuckles* "...I missed you. A lot." stocking: aww *kiss* Kid: -\\\\\- *holds her hand* stocking: *hug* Kid: *returns the hug* "Mmm...You're so huggable." -elsewhere- Shinoda: "Okay, I finished re-painting the room. Amazing the power of apples~" ((referring to his speed and strength at painting so quickly)) mana: not bad. nea: must this room be so....dark? chie: the tenant prefers darker places... Shotaro: "I bought the black-out curtains! And I got the low-light lamps they wanted!" chie: *she smiles* good job showtaro *hair ruffle* Shotaro: "Hee hee..." Assi: *hair is noticeably much shorter* T_T "Stupid bubblegum..." mono: 7n7 *in a change of clothes* Zuno: *waves at Mana* "Hi, Mana!" *sees Mono* "...Why are there two Mana's?" mono: im mono! MO-NO! >n< Zuno: "...Oh. Right...You just look a lot like her in her clothes...Why _are_ you in her clothes? Is it clothes-swapping day?" Emine: "..." *devlish grin* "Yes..." -elsewhere- Hibana: *stretches* "Paperwork...complete!" gabriella: phew, im beat. Hibana: "I want a hot shower, a hot dinner, and sleep." -some days later- Wes: *in limo, being driven...* "...Ready for this?" soul: *sighs* yeah, as ready as i'll ever be.... *looks at stein* liz: you're gonna be ok, soul... Stein: "...You'll get through this." soul: *he nods* Wes: *sees the mansion approaching* "...We're here." Stein: "...Damn. Big." soul: *breathes* Wes: *pats Soul's back* soul: ok...im ready. *Limo pulls into the mansion...The chauffer opens the door, as quartet exit and approach the door, where a butler welcomes them inside* soul:...... Stein: *looking at the artwork...musical instruments under glass* soul: not much has changed about the place... Wes: "Yeah...but we have..." liz: even after years of living in gallows manor, i feel so out of place.... Stein: *shudders a little* "Chilly." soul:....... Butler: "Young Masters...Your parents are ready to greet you." soul:..... *looks at wes* Wes: *nods* "Thank you." *looks to Soul and Liz* "Ready? Or do you need a little longer?" liz: im ready. soul:.....yeah, no more running. *They follow the Butler into a large den, with a framed family painting over the fireplace...Their parents are seated there* nora:......... James: "Wes...Soul..." soul: dad. Wes: *gulps* "H-Hello, Mother. Father." nora: ......!!!! my...my baby boy....*she hugs him tightly, practically hysterical* my baby boy my baby boy my baby boy.... Wes: o___o soul: !!.... *hug* hey mom... James: "..." *awkward walk up to Soul...pats shoulder* "Hello." soul:........ James: "...Soul." soul:......hey. liz:....*ahem* Wes: "!!! Um, Mother, Father? This is Liz Thompson, my girlfriend." liz: hi. *meek wave* nora:.....hello.... James: "...Hello." *looks at Wes, his eyes looking rather hard* Wes: "!!!" liz: a pleasure to meet you, mr evans. *extends hand, nervous* James: *firm handshake* "Quite." liz: ^^;;;; (thinking: god please let this go smoothly!) -meanwhile- mephisto: so whats new with you, kiddo? Kid: "I have been preparing for the next steps in helping Father lead the Academy, after graduation. And other steps..." mephisto: ah, i see. interested in telling me? Kid: o\\\\\o "Um..." Kid: "...I intend to propose marriage to your daughter." mephisto: well it's about damn time! in otherwords, yes, but _after_ graduation! Kid: "O-Of course! yes!" *takes Mephisto's hands* "Thank you, sir! Thank you!" *kisses Mephisto's hands* mephisto: oh my~ it's my daughter you're marrying not me! Kid: o\\\\\o "R-Right!" *lets go of Mephisto's hands* ("...Jeez, now I know where Stocking's soft hands come from...") -elsewhere- Black Star: *wearing a "Kiss the Chef" apron and finishing up sweet potatoes* angela: yay! they're ready! Black Star: "Yep! Just need that bird...Tsubaki, how's the turkey looking?" tsubaki: it's doing well. -later, elsewhere- Akitaru: "Mmmm~ Tasty!" shinra: *nom nom* tamaki: so yummy~ =u= Arthur: *scarfing up potatoes and gravy* nozomi: i heard a school concert is later in the week... Arthur: "Oh?" *gravy dripping down his face* iris: *hands him a napkin* Relan: "Th-That should be entertaining." Arthur: -_-; *takes napkin* "Thank you." *pats his mouth* tamaki: hmm, nice. Takehisa: "Doesn't the concert feature that musician, Licst?" maki: licht todoroki, SQUEEEEEEE~!! Takehisa: "...???" *jealousy alarm going off* Arthur: "Who?" Relan: -\\\\\- "Licht Todoroki..." iris: oh! he's that piano player, right? Akitaru: "Huh? You mean that boy with the sharp teeth who looks like Shinra?" shinra: no, that kid with the sharp teeth is someone else. nozomi: *looking it up on her phone* Licht Jekylland Todoroki, no relation to Enji Todoroki, is a half japanese half austrian piano prodigy. it's said his preformances are enough to bring its listeners to tears. Relan: "His music is quite moving..." *flashbacks to listening to it alone in his room* maki: and he's sooo dreamy~<3 >///< shinra:.... 7///7; i guess he's attractivish.... Relan: -\\\\\- Takehisa: "..." ("No one even complimented my yams...") shinra: .... (thinking: stupid sexy piano player! >//////< ) iris:...the yams are delicious sir! Relan: "!!!" *holds Shinra's hand* Takehisa: "..." *serious face, loud voice* "Thank you! I am glad the meal was satisfactory!" shinra: *flustered* thanks rel. Relan: *smiles* "How about you, Iris, and me go to the concert, enjoy some music?" iris: that sounds lovely! Takehisa: "..." Takehisa: "...Maki! Would you be interested in going with me to the school concert?" maki: sure! Takehisa: -\\\\- "Very good, then!" Relan: ._. *whispers to Shinra and Iris* "He has it _bad_." shinra + iris: no kidding. Akitaru: "Okay, I hope you all made room for dessert!" -elsewhere- Patty: *playing with Julie* "What sound does a turkey make?" julie: *gobbling* hehe! shiori: gabu gabu! Patty: *claps hands* "Correct!" *giggles* Yumi: *patting her belly* "So full..." lord death: *cleaning dishes* kirika: *playing games with riley* Yumi: *smiles* "Big family, huh?" lord death: indeed. Patty: "I haven't heard from Kid, Liz, or Stocking. Hope they're alright." lord death: i'm sure they're fine. Patty: "Hope so..." *smiles* "At least they'll have leftovers when they get home!" -elsewhere- Jacqueline: *relaxes in chair, content* "Good meal." kim: yeah. Jacqueline: *smiles at Kim* "I wonder how 'Jackie' is doing with her parents..." -elsewhere- Gopher: .w. "Enjoyable meal. Thank you, Mother, Father." papa du pre: likewise. Mama DuPre: *sipping on wine* "Hmm. The meat was a bit dry." *studying "Jacqueline"* Gopher: .v.; papa du pre: so how have your studies come along? Gopher: "I'm doing well! I received highest marks in all classes last semester!" ("Thank goodness I memorized Jacqueline's report cards.") papa du pre: excellent! Mama DuPre: "...What rank are you in your class?" Gopher: ("...Crap!") "T-Top five percent, Mother." Mama Dupre: "But not Number One?" Gopher: .w.;;;;;;;;;; -elsewhere- James: *staring at Soul* "..." soul:.... *not saying anything* James: "...You're tall." soul: yeah, that's kinda what happens when you get older. James: "Indeed. Wherever you are living must be keeping you healthy." soul: it sure is. James: "Hmm...Which continent?" soul: ..... James: "Your accent sounds American." soul: really? i never would'a guessed. James: "...Are you someplace safe?" soul: the safest place i know.... James: "...Are you happy?" soul: happier than i ever was. James: "...Then I am happy for you." soul:...*weak smile* how's grandma? James: *small laugh* "Vacationing in the Bahamas, of all places." soul: ah. James: "...Are you healthy? Are you getting regular check-ups?" liz: *struggling to find a topic to discuss* soul: yes dad. nora: *still hugging soul, trembling* James: -_-; "Please, Nora, this is unseemly and overly emotional..." Wes: Q_Q; "Such a beautiful family reunion..." *sniff* maid: mr evans, please understand, it's been a while since young master soul has been here, let her at least enjoy this.... James: "...I am not heartless. I just want to be reasonable." Wes: Q____Q *holds Liz's hand* liz: ^^; James: *glances at Wes and Liz, sees the hand-holding* "How long have you been dating my son, Elizabeth?" liz: about 3-4 years now. James: "Hmmm...How is Wes behaving? Appropriately?" Wes: ._.; liz: of course! Wes: "...Where did you meet?" liz: well... liz: i go to a very exclusive private collage! OwO *looks at wes* Wes: *nods* "I teach there." James: "You are dating your student?" liz: IMALEGALADULT! soul: >->;;;; Wes: o____O liz: ..... *sinks into her chair* ./////. James: "...What is the name of your school?" soul: *sweats* Wes: "The...Star Academy for Exceptional Students?" James: "..." soul: *excalibur face* James: "I've heard of this school. It's in the northwestern United States, right, Elizabeth?" liz: yeah..... owo James: "Nora and I have an estate up there. We will have to visit your school the next time we are there. Perhaps for Christmas." liz: that sounds...lovely. OwO;;; soul: sounds great.... Wes: "...Yes." *screaming internally* James: "Soul, tell me a bit about this school." soul: some of the brightest minds of this generation attend! *mentally laughs as he mentally digs his own grave* James: "Then I'm happy students like you and Elizabeth are in attendance, and that Wes is a teacher. But if this is such an important school, why have I not heard of it?" liz + soul: *forced smile* *sweats* Stein: *returns, with drinks* "The Academy is very exceptional, so few know of it." *hands out drinks* "Sorry, I got lost in this labyrinthine estate." nora: ???? Stein: *hands a drink to Nora* "I am a teacher there as well, and your children are in good hands." *twists the screw in the side of his head* James: ._. *staring at the screw* nora: doesnt...that hurt? Stein: *sneer* "Immensely..." Wes: "..." *nervous laugh* "Oh, Professor--you are such a laugh riot!" *nervous laugh* James: *glaring at Stein* soul: OwO;;;;;; -music is playing from the screw?- James: "What the devil?!" Stein: "...Not a fan? I could switch to classical..." liz: ._____.;;;; Wes: "...Could you just turn it off, _Professor_?" *death glare* Stein: "..." *twists screw to turn off music* James: *deep, loud inhale* soul:...........dad- James: "Professor Stein, what exactly do you teach?" Stein: "...Biology." James: "Soul. Why did you bring this man here for Thanksgiving? Is he your lover?" soul: HE'S MY TEACHER! D8< James: "Who brings their teacher to Thanksgiving, except for evidently your brother's girlfriend?" Wes: *anger twitch* soul: *scythe blade* knock it off! nora: !! James: "What the hell?!" Wes: "Soul, no!" Stein: *grips Soul's wrist* "Revert. Now." soul:.....*changes back*...........*he doesnt take his eyes off james* James: *shrinking away from Soul, fear on his face* soul: yeah...that's right...i'm a goddamn weapon! what the fuck were you expecting, some kind of monster?! James: "...H-How is that even possible? You don't have weapons for...parents..." Wes: "..." *struggling to take a step forward to intervene* nora: *hyperventilating* Wes: "!!! Mother!" Stein: *doctor mode* "Relax, ma'am. I'm a doctor." nora: its all my fault.....all my fault...all my fault..... James: "Nora!" *rushes to her side* soul: mom!!! Stein: (" 'My fault'? ...Oh no...") Wes: *immobilized* nora: m...my...my mother....my mother was.... Wes and James: "..." *slowly realizing* soul:...mom....*hugs her* its ok mom, just breathe.... nora: *she breaks down* James: "Nora..." *holds her hand* Wes: "..." *losing balance* liz: wes! *goes over to her* Wes: *steadying himself* soul:....guess we outta tell him, eh? Stein: "..." Wes: "It-It's up to you, bro..." -soul explains everything. and i mean _everything_- James: "..." *stunned* Wes: "..." *holding onto Liz's hand* liz: yeah, that's basically what's been going on... *she told the truth about herself....including her son* James: "...Soul...I...I'm sorry." soul:.......you're going to have to be more specific. James: "I-I'm sorry for what you have gone through...To...To lose...her." soul: *bites his lip and grips his fist*....... James: "The pain you have had to go through..." Wes: *spotting Soul's reaction, whispers...* "Oh no..." soul: ......... James: "You didn't deserve any of that." soul: oh, so i did deserve all the times you cut me down for not trying hard enough? James: "...Soul, I...But that...A-Are you seriously bringing _that_ up, right now?" soul: not sure when im gonna get another chance, but may as _fucking_ well! liz:.... soul: i was born into the evans family, a family of status, and i had to push myself to my very limits to be considered worthy of the name, even when it affected my own health, and did you care? no. no you fucking didnt! James: "Th-That's not true! I wanted the best for you! You just needed the right push--" soul: PUSH WHERE?! TO THE POINT OF NEAR DEATH?! even with talent, we're only human! we make mistakes! we screw up! thats what makes us who we are! and she helped me to realize that. she gave me a reason to live, and she still does. James: "..." *opening his mouth...but he can't speak* soul: thanks to her, i know i found my own path in life; to become a death scythe, and take destiny into my own hands. the name is soul eater. dont forget it. James: "...This is what you want to do, then?" soul: yes. if you plan on disowning me for this, i dont really care. the way i see it, you disowned me a long time ago....im going to be in the limo.... *exits* James: "..." *stunned, looking around at everyone* "...Isn't anyone going to talk to him? Suddenly, he's a weapon and wants to be a...What even is a Death Scythe?" liz: stein? you're the teacher here, teach him! Stein: "...'Death Scythe.' The highest rank a weapon can achieve, upon consuming the souls of 99 humans, and one witch's soul. It is a task few weapons accomplish--and live to brag about." *stares at James* "Your son, and his meister, went far in that task. And Soul is going to be one hell of a Death Scythe--like he is already one hell of a student, person, and son." *stands and leaves, following Soul* Wes: "..." *holds Liz's hand" " 'Anyone going to talk to him'? You mean like his dad?" liz: ....*smiles* James: "...Wes? How long have you known about this? We were worried for years about Soul, and he was running around...He could have been killed! Like that--that--that girl!" Wes: "..." liz: *aims gun arm* dont. underestimate. my friends. ok? James: o_o "Jesus Christ! What are you?! Wes?! You gallivant around with this--this thug?!" Wes: "..." *lets go of Liz's hand, marches up to James* James: *steps back, seeing how much taller Wes has become* Wes: "..." *glares daggers...then wraps his arms around James, hugging him tightly* James: "...???!!!" liz:.....*observing, arm reverting to normal* Wes: "Take care of Mom, Dad. Because I'll be back to see you both--and you better treat her better than you ever treated Soul." *lets go of him, crying* "...I love you, Dad..." *turns and faces Liz* Wes: *looks back at James* "And don't you ever talk that way about Liz again." liz:...*she smiles* Wes: *approaches Liz, looking ashamed, whispers to her* "I am so sorry." liz: its fine... Wes: *sobbing* "It...isn't..." James: "..." *staring, having broken his two sons...* maid: young master, wait!...please, make sure soul gets this. *its a box filled with his old belongings* Wes: *wiping his tears, nods* "Th-Thank you...Is Mother...?" maid: she's....she's fine, she's just asleep right now. Wes: "...I'll be back in the morning to see her. Please, if her condition worsens, get her to a hospital." maid: understood. Wes: *looks to Liz, smiles weakly* "Let's blow this joint." -elsewhere- Relan: *asleep on the 8th's couch, from turkey* shinra: *puts a blanket over him* *he smiles* hey, commander... Akitaru: "???" shinra: in a few days, i'll be a year since nozomi joined. Akitaru: "...What you got in mind?" shinra: we should do something for her, especially considering what she had been through... she's important to us, like everyone is. Akitaru: *nods* "That is a good idea. Host it here, or maybe Nozomi's favorite restaurant?" shinra: im not sure where she likes to eat the most, but lets have it here, just to be on the safe side. Akitaru: "Okay, then." *small laugh* "I guess the new disco ball will have some decent use...And we can get her some gifts." shinra: *he smiles* one more thing....about relan....if he, for whatever reason, decided to join the 8th, could he? Akitaru: "..." *pats Shinra's head* "Of course." shinra: glad to know. *he smiles and looks at relan* Relan: *drooling in his sleep* shinra: *smiles and wipes his mouth* Relan: *smiles in his sleep* -elsewhere- stocking: *yaaaawn* so tired~ Kid: *nods, rubbing his eyes* "Good food, good conversations..." *yawn* "Accomplishment." stocking: yeah. good to be *yaawn* back home... Kid: *yawns* "Turkey is tiring..." *collapses in bed* stocking: *she smiles* good night, kid. *kisses his forehead* -a few days later- kirika: school concert's tonight! what a way to spend a birthday! yeah! Gopher: "A super-happy birthday!" *...He is still in a skirt* kirika: yeah, im actually going to be preforming too! Gopher: .w. "I will be cheering after your excellent performance!" student: is that a boy? student 2: its so convincing! student 3: i'd still hit that! Gopher: *twitch twitch* "BOYS CAN WEAR SKIRTS, TOO, YOU HETERONORMATIVE BASTARDS!" Relan: *from far away* "..." *thumbs up* student 3:.....i'd still hit that. Gopher: .\\\\\\. "...I'm not used to being treated like a piece of meat." kirika: *kicks them in the dicks* FECK OFF YOU WANKER FUCKS! kim: just ignore them and enjoy yourself. Jacqueline: Q_Q "...The resemblance is still uncanny..." kim: speaking of, how did it go? Gopher: "Quite well! ...I mean, Jacqueline's mother was...Um..." Jacqueline: " 'Strict'?" Gopher: "Yes, let's go with that word." -elsewhere- stocking: *practicing guitar* Kid: -\\\\\- "So wonderful~" stocking: thanks ^^ im going to be wearing one of the new outfits my mom made. Kid: o\\\\\o "Wonderful...I look forward to its premiere~" stocking: hehe! -elsewhere- Yohei: "How's the new tenant working out?" chie: she...spends a lot of time in her room. Yohei: "She seem friendly, or...?" chie: i guess 'introverted' is the appropriate term here? ^^' Yohei: "I think I know that feeling. Well, as long as rent is on time, not giving trouble to anyone...and as long as no one is troubling her..." *looks around for Emine* -elsewhere- Wes: "..." liz: you ok? i brought you some coffee. Wes: *weak smile* "Thanks...I called Mother." liz: how is she? Wes: "Better...It's going to take her more time. Nerves shot." liz:...... Wes: "..." *puts his head in his hands* liz:.....*she hugs him* it isnt your fault, wes. Wes: "...I didn't say anything for years...I didn't know Mom was..." liz:........ Wes: *holds onto Liz* "I'm sorry for not stopping my dad." liz:..*rubs his head* Wes: "..." *sigh of relief* -elsewhere- Kishiri: *doing inventory* "So, Gab, how many more of these do we got?" *gestures to cloning tank* gabriella: quite a lot. Kishiri: "...So, you could say these cloning tanks are...replicating as we count them?" gabriella:...................did you just....? Kishiri: ‎( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -elsewhere- Black Star: "...How you holding up?" tsubaki: doing good. Black Star: *nods* "I think the dinner went well. The kids seemed to like it..." tsubaki: *she smiles* looking forward to the concert tonight? Black Star: "Hell yeah! Could use some music!" *pauses* "...Do I have to dress up?" -later that evening- kirika: *preforming screamo metal* liz:...wow. O-O Gopher: .w. "So...metal..." Kid: *covering his ears* >_< -backstage- marie: *answering phone* yes? ah! mr kranz.......oh....i see.....ok then.... *she hangs up* well this isnt good. Spirit: "What's wrong?" marie: that was rosen kranz on the phone, looks like licht todoroki wont be arriving until later in the month or even early december... Spirit: "What?! What happened, travel delay?" marie: yeah...now what? shinra:.... !! excuse me for a moment. *he exits to someplace* Spirit: "I don't know...We set aside all that time for Todoroki..." -minutes later- tamaki: you sure about this? shinra: you're our best hope for this! soul: not used to a keyboard, but im sure it wont be too hard. -the curtain rises, tamaki takes a deep breath, and begins her song- Black Star: *headbanging* Arthur: *jaw drop, in awe* nozomi: *listening* Kid: *listening to Soul's playing* ("Outstanding...") stocking: *guitar solo* Kid: ._. *Instant heart-boner* -when the song, concludes, there is a wild applause- Relan: *applauding* Arthur and Kid: Q_Q *loud cheering* maki: yeah! way to go tamaki!! tamaki:...*she smiles* -in the after party- nozomi: you did great, miss tamaki! tamaki: thanks. ^^; Arthur: *awkward shuffle* o\\\\\o "...You're an incredible singer." tamaki: umm 7///7 thank you.... shinra why did you even volunteer me? shinra: well i heard you doing it in your room and i thought it wasnt too bad. tamaki: thank you too....i think. shinra: ^^;

[tumblunni]

Digimon World Next Order!! For once a game that ISNT a weirdly named sequel, even though it still sounds like one. 'Order Points' is the name of the revamped battle system. ^_^ Ive only been playing for about four hours but so far I'm really enjoying it! RANDOM RAMBLING ABOUT MY JOY, AHOY!

* First off, its a sequel to the original Digimon World rather than to Cyber Sleuth, so do a bit of research before you buy it, I'd say. Its more of a tamagotchi hybrid rpg than a regular turn-based one. Lots of hugging virtual pets and feeding em snacks! But this has always been my fave genre so I'm happyyyyyy~ * I named my two digimon Hershey and Zephyr cos they started off as terriermon and lopmon. But they immediately diverged off into wildly different digivolution paths instead, so now the names dont make sense XD By some grand coincidence they ended up becoming snowogremon and icedevimon at the same time, so that's what they are now! :3 my popsicle buddies! * Hershey's favourite food is mushrooms/vegetables, and Zephyr is a bit of a diva who hates everything except mineral water. Its funny since Hershey is the fragile magic user of the duo, and then we have this hulking ice shoulderblades yeti being all 'no my carbs'. DUDE WHY U GO AGAINST UR EVOLUTION REQUIREMENTS aaa but i luv u anywayyyyy * Hershey lucked out and got a super powerful technique early on by random chance, this thing that costs 700 mp to deal 700 damage, when everything else is like 50 power. And then they lucked right out of it again, cos Icedevimon cant use that move XD fifteen seconds of power as a rookie... * why do the levels mean basically nothing, yo? the game says this redvegiemon is level 3 but its stronger than the level 6 everything else in the area. Maybe the game is just dumb and levels dont take into account digivolution level? Like.. this is stronger cos its not a rookie, and they didnt even bother to make the level counter say 13 or something so the player could actually tell  Well, now i know to ignore that thing entirely and just judge on their digivolutions! * The difficulty is far lower in the actual raising aspect yet higher in battles... its weird... * Its also a shame that training no longer has unique animations! It doesnt have any animations at all, its just push button dispense stats. They did at least clear up the problem of having to walk manually between each training area and waste valuable time, now there's just one training area that contains all the different trainings in a neat quick navigation menu. But its also a bit less charming and less gamelike when its JUST menus. BUT on the other hand they did mitigate it a bit by throwing in new features like a roulette roll to get bonus stats, and a whole system of complex ways you can win an extra turn on it. (Training next to each other, training opposite skills, having max happiness, someone having just digivolved, one stat gets a bonus turn each day at random...) * Its really nice that the intro of the game has you meet your digimon partners in fully evolved mega form and have a few scenes of dialogue with them before they get poofed down to digieggs by the villain. It helps mitigate the weirdness of your partner digimon being the only digimon that cant talk! * BUT ALSO. NOW THEY TALK. !!!!!! * You get some cute random dialogue popups on the bottom of the screen as you adventure around, and each digivolution has a different set of stuff to say. Its still very minimal and can get repetitive, but its adorable and helps you get more attatched to these lil doofs! * Also its hella nice that you can now pick to play as a girl, for the first time in the tamagotchi-style digimon games! I actually think her design looks cooler than the dude, he just has a streak of blue hair while she has this awesome poisonous-looking striped ponytail that bleeds pixels as you run! Badass! * ALSO thank you for english dubbed dialogue yo. Its not perfect but then again namco bandai games rarely are XD And they included an option to have the original japanese voices if you prefer! * I missed Jijimon so much. Why he never get to appear in anything aside from this spinoff series? He was in one episode of Tamers but that was an awful cameo He has THE MOST STEREOTYPICAL grandpa voice in the english dub and i luv im * The environment design so far is a lot more basic and boring than the old ps1 game for some reason? It seems to fall prey to the usual ps4 designer logic that making stuff BIG makes it automatically good, even if its just annoyingly huge spaces to traverse with barely anything in them. And so far its just been Generic Field A, B and C, with only occasional stuff like a giant battery to let you know its the digital world. And the main town is super small now that everything training has been smooshed into one building... * Its also a lot less sandboxy and interesting to explore, and the digimon recruitment quests kinda suck. I've already found three guys and all of them were fetch quests to gather a certain amount of an item. And now you also have to gather certain amounts of an item from special gathering spots in order to actually build the new shops, which is annoying because its in these huge boring maps that you have to backtrack thru again and again * The battle system is VASTLY IMPROVED, holy SHIT! Its like they somehow read my brain?? Back when i played the first digimon world, i would always get so frustrated at the auto battle and its bad AI that i'd just mash the X button even when i had nothing to do. Somehow I thought it would make my digimon stronger. AND NOW IT ACTUALLY DOES!!! The X button has been remapped to the new cheer function, and if you cheer at the right moment you get more or less Order Points. if you use them you can manually select to use a move at the right timing, use a move without consuming MP, or use a special super move! (waaaay easier than the shoulder buttons thing in the old game) It spices up a very inactive battle system! * Oh and HELL YEAH FOR QUIDE PUZZLE SYSTEM THINGIE! In the first game you had NO WAY OF KNOWING what requirements you needed to meet for each digivolution, or what digimon could turn into what, until after you'd already unlocked it. You had to consult fanmade guides if you wanted to try 100% completion. Now the guide is an actual ingame menu where you unlock tips as rewards for various good actions as a virtual pet owner. You'll likely never unlock all the guide points for a particular digimon stage before you're already past it, unless you raise the same one a bazillion times. But the lil tips every now and then can be useful enough to help you choose which direction to take your training! Just a lil 'oh, ive already hit the HP requirement for this one? i guess I'll try and go for it!' or 'oh darn this one requires maximum deliquency, i guess i wont get it so I should try for something else'. Its useful. My only complaint is that maybe the way to unlock them could have been less random and less easy? Its just a random chance whenever they eat food/get praised after a good thing. * Ultimately so far the few bad points arent bad enough to ruin the enjoyment for me. It just seems a little soulless and rushed, maybe? But I'd enjoy literally anything in this genre, I've been waiting so long for a sequel that even if this was terrible I'd still adore it! And its far from terrible, its just a lil bland. It probably wont have as much replayability as the first game, but it still feels like it'd be fun for one playthrough! * Also, Hershey and Zephyr are my new lil best friends. SUCH A CUTE GIANT MONSTERS YES YOU IS