#likee for example today's an (I'm assuming) even day right now. so I have to have my tv volume on an even number

[koka-mi]

Oh my gosh whyyyy am I so obsessed with numbers I don't like it at all this is driving me INSANEEEE😭😭IT'S GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AS THE DAYS GO BY AAAA

[secret--history]

the whole 'there are not very many Great Causes worth fighting for these days' from Julian scanned as WAY more out of touch than the moon landing thing for me the first time i read tsh

[kourabiedes]

I'm not here to grind a political or social axe. I'm just here to tell a short story, about a normal person trying to navigate the American medical establishment. Here is some evidence. You may draw your own conclusions.

So I've had a migraine for a month.

That's not hyperbole, mind. It has been a month since this started. A month of the entire side of my head pulsing with pain, worse whenever I look at light which is always because I do digital art and all that.

Now, I've had migraines all my damn life. I know the drill. I have a preventative medicine that keeps me from having more than one a month or so, and I have a "rescue" medicine meant to stop the ones that do start. I have a nice dark room to rest in when it starts, I have blindfolds, I have ice packs -- I know how to handle these, is the point. So, for about the first two weeks, I did just that. I hit this sucker with everything that worked before and did my best to wait it out. Yes, I delayed getting care, because it was a problem I was already familiar with and assumed was normal for me.

Then, a week ago, it stopped responding to my rescue medication. Entirely stopped. Alarmed, I went to the ER. They hit me with a fairly standard migraine cocktail (so they said anyway -- don't ask me what it was because I honestly do not remember). Killed the pain almost right away and they give me some advice about what to do next and sent me home.

It was back in sixteen hours.

ER again. Same cocktail, same result. I'm freaked out now, so I call my PCP and schedule an appointment. She fits me into her schedule because she's alarmed too. She gives me a shot of Toradol and that helps, but she notices my blood pressure is reading a little elevated for me and we decide to try a blood pressure medication. Okay, cool, I'm down, high blood pressure runs in the family and it can definitely give you migraines if untreated. We start this medicine and she prescribes me a new rescue medication, giving me one pill to try while waiting for insurance to okay the prescription. This rescue medicine works, putting me back in control of the pain. Cool, thinks I, I just have to get through a couple weeks while the blood pressure medicine settles in, and if we're right, the migraine will finally let go.

Today, I discover that insurance would only okay ten pills of this medicine, because I have had the other rescue medication refilled recently for... obvious reasons. Ten pills, and if I want more, I have to wait like forty days or something.

Do you know how many of these pills I have to take a day to keep the migraine at bay? Two.

I have five days of relief -- four, now -- before I go right back to the same ER level pain, unless I am exceedingly lucky with this blood pressure medicine.

The ER did no imaging. I'm not sure if they even could. My PCP put in an order for an MRI when I saw her, which was a week ago, and that request has not yet left the insurance company.

A migraine is not just a headache, like you get after overindulging or staying up too late. A migraine alters your mental state. It can come with physical symptoms beyond head pain -- mine likes to manifest itself with dark spots in my vision, for example, which can ruin a day real fast -- and sometimes they even come with nasty mental symptoms.

So... what part of all that upsets you the most? Because, for me, it's knowing I have about four days before I go right back to screaming misery.

Oh, and I have to note, I am considered fairly lucky because the state covers my ass when Medicare won't. Yet here we are all the same.

[stealingyourbones]

Question! I have been getting into DC comics cuz of dpxdc, and I saw your tags on frank Miller on a recent post. One of my irl friends told me to read the dark knight returns and while it was occasionally hard to follow I assumed that was a result of when it was written rather than who wrote it? But I did overall enjoy it.

I guess what I'm asking is why you say frank Miller is a bad writer when it seems like the dark knight returns was so acclaimed?

(I saw the nazi thing too but that's something I can google so while it's news to me it's not my main question)

ok so. A lot of this is my personal opinion and I'm not too equipped to say shit about this because I'm not very political but I'm going to give it my best shot. Put under a cut so folks who don't want to hear about comic ranting can simply scroll past

I’m just gonna write a quick thing for the Nazi stuff, He isn't exactly a Nazi but boy oh boY does he set off many warning flags. Frank Miller is also the writer of the comic 300, if that sounds familiar that's because the movie you're probably thinking of is indeed based off these comics. The Spartan's ideology helped create the baselines of Fascism. Fascism is a pretty leading cause of commentary in Frank Millers work. In Batman: The Dark Knight he is a fascist. In Hard Boiled there's swastikas in the background every so often. (I even went back to reread it just to make sure and yep. they definitely were there) In 300 there's a shitton of Fascism... I could go on but still. His comics are incredibly gorey, have a discussion about a world gone wrong that can only be changed using force and weaponry (the whole Dark Knight "I am a surgeon" monologue for example), and the fact that he has Fascism as the main point of nearly all of the comics he's written... it doesn't sit right with me and it's a consistent pattern.

Now, onto the bad writing. I must firstly preface that these are my own opinions and that I didn't grow up reading Frank Miller's work. I think he was a good writer but isn't one anymore. His writing did incredible things for DC and you can see his influence in Batman even today. Works I've read and enjoyed of his are: Daredevil, Batman Year One, and Dark Knight. Nowadays you'll see many folks like myself talk about how Frank Miller has fallen off the deep end. A vast majority of Frank Miller's comics have reoccurring themes: politics, fascism, extreme violence, and so so much weaponry. Politics is in every comic book. There is no unpolitical comic, there ARE comics that are batshit wild with their politics and that's what I'm talking about. I'll get back to this later. He wrote many good comics, ones that first come to mind are Daredevil , Wolverine, Batman: Dark Knight, Batman: Year One, Sin City, Ronin, and 300. All of these comics are still credited by folks as amazing comics and hell, I recommend folks to read them go and check them out. Then 9/11 happened. That along with rampant alcoholism. Those reoccurring themes I mentioned? They become exponentially more blatant in his works. Especially on the political angle. You can see the difference between his works from pre and post 9/11. If you read Dark Knight and Dark Knight 2 back to back. It's night and day. He even made a comic during the post 9/11 panic called Holy Terror. The comic's title was originally pitched as Holy Terror, Batman! with the Gotham hero himself as the main character but it swiftly denied by DC, denied being published by DC, and changed to what it is now. The basic plot of this comic: A Vigilante named The Fixer fights Al-Qaeda after attacking Empire City. He doesn't even mention the word Al-Qaeda until 80 pages into a 150 page comic. The comic is some INCREDIBLY blatant post 9/11 propaganda that's ridiculously Islamophobic and anti-muslim. That isn't even my opinion, Frank Miller has said that's what this comic was. It is scattered with a ridiculous amount of hate speech written by a hate fueled man in 2007. Now onto comics that you'd more likely read. All Star Batman and Robin (2005). Oh boy. Let's compare shall we? Batman Dark Knight Returns (1986)

All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder #1 (2005)

mind you this is as Dick is being driven to GCPD for questioning RIGHT AFTER HIS PARENTS DIED. He gets kidnapped by Bruce out of the police car. Not calmed in his arms after the murder and brought to the manor. Kidnapped. All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder #2 (2005)

( a brief intermission of this sickass pose of a shirtless Alfred Pennyworth comforting Vicky Vale)

now back to the kidnapping:

[Skipping Bruce getting chased by the GCPD, Jumping the Batmobile ONTOP of a GCPD car, and laughing and talking to his car all the while Dick is absolutely terrified. They then use boosters that propel the Batmobile into the sky.]

Smashcut to #4 where they actually enter the Batcave.

I don't even think I need to explain myself. This is Spider-Man: One More Day levels of mischaracterization. Like seriously. Bruce kidnapping Dick after his parents were killed? Calling him a retard and hitting him during the aftermath (we can go on about how in 2005, the r slur was used commonly but this was just out of pocket), Leaving him in the cold batcave and told to eat rats? Frank Miller used to write some incredible works. Nowadays his writing is as decent as Rob Liefeld's art.

[krispycreamcake]

Reiji's perfect gift

From author: I'm gonna try just a tiny different writing style today sooo enjoy

Edit: I'M GOING TO KILL MYSELF OH MY GODDDDDDD I POSTED THIS BY ACCIDENT AND TRIED TO CNP IT BEFORE I DELETED IT BUT IT ONLY GOT LIKE ONE SENTENCE. I AM LEAVING THE EARTH.

"Mmmm... That's- hnng- good..." I grunted out in relief as I felt their gentle fingers easily glide across my aching muscle, pulling and tugging until I could no longer hold in my voice. Just the feeling of them on my skin made me instantly fall into a state of relaxation and pleasure.

Once they were done, I rose up from the bed and rolled my shoulders. "Thank you, I do appreciate it." The words left my mouth as if butter had been smeared all over my lips. I turned around to face them, looking into their eyes. I wish I could've stayed longer but I had important duties that couldn't be dismissed.

Truth be told, I've been certainly stressed out these past few days with the events father had planned for us. Convincing my no good brothers was hard enough as it is to attend, but making sure they don't make a fool of the Sakamaki name would be the harder issue at play.

"Reiji? You're kinda zoning out, you ok?" I heard their voice and immediately snapped my attention back to them. I cupped their face with a gloved hand and grazed their cheek with my thumb. "It's nothing you should be worrying about. I'm just focusing on making sure everything turns out the way father expects it to." They quirk an eyebrow at me before giggling.

"What's so funny?" I ask. "Well if things turn out the way he expects it to, then wouldn't that be a disaster?" I grin as the joke registers to me. As much as I do appreciate the humour, it was just another reminder that without me, this family would completely fall apart.

"I suppose you're right. Truly I couldn't imagine them being on any kind of behaviour, so it'll be hard to make sure they're even on their best one." They look at me a bit despondent as if they know what has to happen now. "Goodnight. I do hope you have a good rest, if you need me, you know where to find me."

I watch as their hands grab onto mines, not saying a word. It would be so easy to ignore what must be done and just stay here with them, but I'm afraid that that's just not in my character. "Don't look so troubled, you'll feel my fangs soon enough."

"I watch as their expression changes from one of surprise to embarrassment. What a predictable human. "I assume that's why you're so against letting me go no?" As their unbelievable fibs reach my ears, I can't help but think about how I'm only wasting more time. I say my farewells and immediately head to the game room to check on my brothers.

"Really Ayato, you never fail to disappoint me." I watch as he freezes in his spot, pool table clutched in hand. "Shit.... Reiji." I sigh before crossing my arms. "I don't expect anything from you other than to slack off, but even then you prove to me time and time again that you cannot be trusted with anything. You can't even set an example for your younger brothers! You agreed to come to the gathering and claimed that you had read the event's guidelines, yet here you are lazing off and playing games! You understand the severity of your situation don't you? Of all of us? We are to present the family's greatest accomplishments over the years and yet we have nothing to show for it."

I fix my glasses as my voice grows Stern and tense. "Tch- why don't ya take that damn stick outta your ass and have fun for once? Isn't today supposed to be your special day?" If I didn't have more important things to attend to, I'd slap that imprudent little boy across his face. Where does he honestly get the audacity to speak to me of all people like that?

"You know that as vampires, our birthdays are rather pointless and tiresome to celebrate. I am not some weak mortal that needs to be pitied for having gained another year to my age. Kanato, your advanced math class is having a meet-up tomorrow, you will be attending. Laito, I've arranged for you to be giving a tour in the demon world where you'll be teaching others about our history and culture, all your notes and resources are on your desk. Ayato, you have been designated to attend tomorrow's ball along with Subaru. You all have your work cut out for you so I don't expect anyone to be slacking off."

They luckily knew I wasn't asking but still, neither seemed pleased to be bossed around. "I think I'd rather die than have an old guy like you tell me what to do you know." Laito spoke with firm determination, I could see it in his face and sense it in his voice, no matter how smooth of a tone he may put on.

"These are not my wishes, I am simply carrying out our duties and making sure you low-lives don't drag the Sakamaki name through mud." I quickly spat back at him. Why must they oppose every single thing I say? I'm doing this for them! I sigh before taking my leave.... Until I heard Kanato murmur something under his breath.

I snapped my head towards him. "Speak up, it's rude to mumble, you're no longer a child anymore Kanato." I watched as Kanato looked at the floor, fiddling with that teddy bear of his before finally speaking up with such dead eyes.

"Teddy and I think that you should just leave if everything's such a bother to you.... You don't care about us anyway, but I can't say that we all don't feel the same! Uuu..... You want to abandon us, leave us here to rot!" I was almost taken aback before Kanato started to sniffle and cry like a child that lost its mother.

I once again adjusted my glasses before giving them all a stern look. I head back to my room to review the letters we received after a certain good-for-nothing let them stack up without informing anyone that they were delivered in the first place.

Just as I climbed the stairs, I immediately noticed that they were there. Watching perhaps? Sometimes I just don't know what's going on with that person after it seems like I have everything figured out. "It's highly unbecoming to ease drop on other's conversations."

I chuckle as I watch them jump in surprise. I grabbed their hand before giving their wrist a slap with my index and middle fingers. They wince at the jolt of pain before yanking their arm away. But something wasn't right.... Their usual playful stature in moments like these, was replaced with what I could only concur as annoyance and anger.

"Is something the matt-" My ears were immediately assaulted by a loud berating. "How could you not tell me it was your birthday??? Are you insane?? We spent the entire day doing nothing! I could've made you a cake or something or- or I don't know! Get you a present at least! You told me 'not to worry about it' when I asked because it didn't matter!"

My face drops and I feel exasperation creep up on me. "Is that what this is all about? I believe you heard my explanation when I was speaking to Ayato, I won't repeat myself because you refuse to listen to anything that isn't what you want to hear. I've explained before that I'm busy, so if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave."

I walk past them before things could escalate more. I tried to remain as composed as I could but everyone seemed to be additionally unintelligent today. Truth be told, I couldn't care less! My birthday? Ha..... What a joke, it should be forgotten and buried with that woman.

I turn the knob on my door and see my room in the state of a pigsty. I hurriedly closed the door as it let out a small slam. "Hm, it seems I've let this place get the best of me. I don't have time for tidying right now..... I need to-" I don't know what overtook me, or perhaps I did, but I slid down the wall and thre my head back, tears streaming down my face. What a fool I've been, running around catering to others and I shut them out when they try to do the same.

"Yes?" I look down to see them... But not just them. The triplets are outside as well and Subaru even. A warm yellow glow was radiating off of their face. Candles that were stuck inside a strawberry shortcake.... My eyes grew wide as I realized. I didn't say a word as I opened the door for all of them to come in. Ayato was the second to bolt inside holding a bottle of wine.

It's that damn person's fault! Ever since they got here, they've made my life hell! Their outrageous tendencies to check in on me, to care for me, to hold me! How could they..... Make me see my own flaws, make me feel this way? I hear a knock on the door and immediately stand up, drying my eyes and taking a second to breathe before opening it.

"Happy birthday dear Reiji~ happy birthday to you!" I unintentionally gave a small smile as I listen to all their uneven voices try to sing in harmony, it was absolutely awful. But I can't say I didn't enjoy it nonetheless. "Thank you all.... And I'm assuming this was your idea?" I asked them.

They tried to be humble but I knew they really enjoyed the praise they got from me. I opened the bottle of wine and poured everyone a glass, using the ones I keep locked away in my room. They all seemed surprised to see me bringing them out.

I can't remember how many drinks we'd all had, but when they kissed me.... I can't explain it. It was more sweet than any blood that I've ever tasted, more delicate than the finest of pastries. In fact, if it wasn't for that kiss, I don't think I'd recall that night at all.

I feel a presence behind me and before I could see who it was, they left. The only thing to indicate that there was someone there in the first place, was a small store bought card with the words 'happy birthday' written on it in an ugly font with bright colours. "Hmph, you really are good for nothing."

[riansdiary]

Change Your Thoughts

(Actually ended up being a huge loa lesson/rampage for myself instead. You'll know what I mean when you read through everything 🦢)

Dearest Gentle Readers 💎

Hello everyone! Today, I wanna teach you how I change my thoughts and how I do inner conversations to manifest!

I found that this works along with deciding & commanding my subconscious mind. This is what I do so I can be in the shoes of the version of me who has everything she wants. All I'm doing to manifest is to constantly decide and remind myself that I already have it and it's done then when I'm going through my day, I naturally think thoughts that I would have if I already have it. Again, once you assume you have it, it is confirmed to be already done in the 4d because imagination is the real reality. Assume that you have it is the basics of manifesting so the law literally cannot fail you.

You cannot serve two masters. You either have it or you don't and I chose to think that I have it because that's what I want to happen. You wanna be in Barbados? Okay, you're in Barbados 🚪 It's done as soon as you assume that the thing that you want is a fact now.

While my subconscious mind is doing its job, I'm thinking thoughts that align with my desires.

I watched videos that taught me how to do this. I'll link them right here:

I use the printer analogy by Sammy Ingram a lot everyday. Whenever I think of my desires, I either affirm naturally:

"I have 10 billion in my bank account, it's a fact."

Or I would tell myself a story as if I was recalling memories. It's inner conversations I have with myself.

"I went shopping at Chanel today and I thought I did some damage on my back account but I looked at it and the funny thing is I thought I lost some of it but there's even more money in my bank account than before! I probably got paid by the brand I'm working with!"

I either say my affirmations like a boss or do inner conversations. I do one of those two whenever I think of my desires.

When I see something I don't like in the 3d, I don't pay it any attention. I could rant to release it sometimes but I keep thinking it's done after. This is what persisting means. Do not immediately give up if you see the opposite or something you don't like. Let me show you some examples of how I changed my thoughts recently.

There was something going on, my parents were talking about some type of bills. I ranted a bit but immediately changed the story to how I want to be.

"That's stupid, I literally pay bills in a second. I think Dad and Mom are just talking about the person who bought our old house. They haven't paid us yet so that must be it. It's not our bills, we are collecting theirs."

Whenever I thought about our mansion:

"We have so many snacks in the pantry, I literally got lost one day looking for the gummy bears!"

Whenever I walked into the mirror and saw my face:

"Oh my God I look so pretty! I look like Wonyoung and Ju Jingyi! I already have full results from my subliminals. It's working so well!"

Whenever I eat something:

"Oh my God we're having a feast today! So much food! There's lobsters? Shrimp? Mom and our personal chef popped off! I'm gonna enjoy this lunch now."

Whenever I'm about to go shower:

For this one you need a little bit of context. I want to have Blair Waldorf's Dorota like an exact copy of her to be my personal maid and assistant so I just yell orders or ask her sweetly what I want her to do as if she's in the room. She is duh! I literally see her in my mind's eye go: "Yes madam? I'll have it ready for you!"

"Dorota, could you prepare me my self-care bath? I want snacks, the bath tray and my Ipad. I wanna watch movies while in the bath. Thanks, you're the best."

Whenever I see a product I wanna have while I'm on TikTok or YouTube:

"Oh, I love that! It's one of my favorites! It's on my vanity. That face mist always make me feel so fresh during the day when I spray it on me."

Whenever I want to eat a snack and see not a lot of choices in the 3d:

"I want a snack so bad. There's literally a lot of snacks in the pantry, let me just get some. We have so many snacks in the house!"

Whenever I go to my Pinterest Boards:

Looking at a picture of Paris: "Oh wow! I remember this! We had such a great time there! I wanna go back soon! Oh yeah we went there! We ate some delicious croissants and took pictures of this place."

Looking at a picture of a part of my bedroom. My vanity area: "Fit for a princess like me, of course. I chose the perfect mirror shape! It's perfect for me, love that."

Looking at a picture of Summer Fridays lip balm right now: "Oh I love those. I love this photo, I did this for a Ugc video and it turned out so pretty. The pink one is my favorite, wish they had more cool-toned ones though."

See something you don't want in the 3d? Do your favorite technique and throughout the day, instead of repeating what you saw in the 3d, change it to how you want it to be by thinking thoughts naturally as if you have whatever you are manifesting.

I'm already thinking like the version of me who has whenever I think of a desire.

For example, I see something I don't want in the 3d. This is how I usually deal with it:

I rant if I feel like it but once I've released the stress and emotions, I stop paying attention to that which I do not want because what you focus on grows so I wanna pay attention to what I want instead by being aware of it using a simple affirmation, reminding myself I have it or changing the story to me already having what I want.

You don't need to do this if you don't feel like it. Knowing it's done and leaving the 3d alone, not paying attention to what you don't want is enough to manifest. I usually do this only when I feel like it and when it's fun for me.

I get doubts too even though it's rare for me to have them now because I know I'm the boss. This is what I just said and did to remind myself it's done. I was worrying about the how and forcing myself to do techniques to get. I was not doing it because it's fun or natural to me. Yeah, I was doing this technique to get which is not what I'm supposed to be doing.

I stepped into being the ice princess boss who never backs down on her decision and said this in my mind right now and I'm still scolding and teaching myself as I wrote this. This is basically what I'm saying to myself right now at this moment that I'm doing the job I'm not supposed to be doing:

"I've decided that I already have everything I want, I have my dream life and I have my desired face. These are facts now. I will now step into being the person who has manifested them and instead of doing techniques, I will relax because I'm relieved that it has manifested and there's nothing I need to do. Why am I forcing myself to do a technique? I already have it. The me in another reality who has it won't need to do techniques to get! No, she will relax in the knowing that it's done!"

"You are in Barbados meaning the moment you accept it as true, it's true. Do you think that I would ever back down on that decision? NO! I locked it in and that's it! I'm the boss, you will never change my mind on this so you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna stop trying to get, I will relax and do things that make me happy. I'm the boss so the 3d has no choice but to follow my orders and it can't defy me. I mean it's a mirror come on!"

"All you need to do to manifest is assume you already have it and guess what? I ALREADY HAVE IT. Period and locked in. The how is not my job! I will never worry about it ever again. All I need to do is assume and accept that I already have my desires."

"What are the basics of the law Rian? Assume or think or know that you have it. Okay I wanna manifest this snack. Okay I already have it. You do not even need to lift a finger. Oh you didn't see your siblings come home with it so do you just give up? No! As soon as you know it's done and you have it and be in the shoes of the version of you who has it then it's done. Leave the 3d alone. Shift to the version of you who has it. How? Okay, it's in the pantry. Done! Now relax because it's in the pantry! It's done. The subconscious mind has no eyes so why would you panic if you're not seeing the snack in the 3d? Oh you're paying attention and accepting the 3d as fact! No no no. Stop paying attention, leave the 3d alone. Just live your life knowing we manifested it and it's in the pantry."

"It will reflect and follow you so don't care about it and keep reminding and deciding that it's done. That's all. I also have a best friend doing the job for me which is my subconscious mind. I trust my subconscious mind. Why? It has never failed me and it's me. It knows what I want and it's getting them for me. I just have to trust it and know it's done. No overcomplicating bs."

"Manifesting is not a process. It's true in your mind/the 4d as soon as you wanted it so why think it's a process when all I have to do is to calmly remind myself: it's already done and I'm not backing down from that. Why am I deciding again when I think of my desires as if, if I don't do that, it's not gonna manifest? Girl, you are the boss. You already decided it's done and your subconscious is getting it for you. You can tell your subconscious/reality/yourself that it's already done but after that, you do not have to do anything."

"Watch the Ghibli and Disney movies you said you would watch. Your job, I mean who am I kidding? What job? We're the boss! The only thing the boss has to do is to sit pretty and give orders. Trust that it's gonna be delivered like when you order online, you don't ever worry that it's not gonna come because hello? You bought that and it's gonna be delivered to you for sure. That's the mindset we need to have throughout the day."

"Just sit pretty boss/queen, you got this, it's done so why don't you relax and just make yourself happy by doing the things that you love or things that make you happy! How long has it been since you devoted time to just play or watch something fun? Yeah. Recently, you haven't been doing that much. The boss just gives orders. That's your only job and you've done it so chill. Consider it done, babe. You did well. You did your part and the how is not your problem. Let's go play and watch some shows or movies. Preferably Gossip Girl so you can keep feeling like the boss/queen b you are."

So guys this was meant to be a changing your thoughts/inner conversations post but I'm also here to remind you that it's already done. Don't be like me who forced herself to do that when I didn't feel like it. When I do have fun doing it, it's when it's natural.

I hope my rant to myself will help you because it's true. I'm actually happy I wrote that in as I was thinking about that just now. As I was scolding myself about forcing things or thinking about the how. Thinking that if I don't do a technique when I think of my desire, that I will not have it. You've accepted your desires as facts girl. This means it's done period! Just live your life and do what makes you happy. Again, it's not do a technique to get. As soon as you accept that it's done, it's done. You have it. It's like a person who's studying for an exam but the exam's finished. Someone will tell you: What are you studying for? The exam is done. The basics of the law again is to assume it's already yours, whatever you want.

This was us before and I know we have all made this mistake before. Asking where it is and looking for it in the 3d when you should leave it alone and don't expect anything from it. It's a past old newspaper. It's natural that it will reflect my mind/the 4d so I don't have to check it. Why would I look for my desire in the past when what I want is in the present? It's like finding a photo of your new car in your old photo album! Ofc, it's not there. The present means in my mind and the 4d. What to do? Let's check the present! Okay I'll check my mind. Well, I already have it so it's done.

I'll remind you once again. You cannot serve two masters. Actually think of a desire you have and check your mind. All you need to do to have is to think/assume/know you have it. You wanna have it right so what do you do?

"Okay, I checked my mind and I have it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I have it so I can celebrate and be happy now."

It is as easy as deciding you have it.

You can still ask where it is but after you release and rant, keep persisting. Ask yourself every time you're finding your manifestation: Okay so boss/queen, are you gonna back down on your decision? Your words are law. I then sit up and say NO. NEVER. I gave my orders and I decided It's done. Me? I mean I'm the boss and the queen. I said I have it and it's already done. I have it now go run along, employee/minion/3d/subconscious. Every time I think of my desires I'll do this instead.

Every time you think of your desire, imagine that it's Blair's minions asking her to approve something or Dorota showing her the thing that Blair asked her to do and is awaiting approval. I literally pretend that I'm Blair when I did this. When you think of your desire, see that as Dorota or the minions a.k.a your reality asking for your approval on something you asked them to do. Embody Blair or whoever you like from the characters I provided when I talked about embodying a Boss or a Queen B in this post. Now, first read how I did it and make your own version of it when you apply this.

Okay so I sat on the couch and that's when I thought of a desire as I was writing this. (I do this in my mind but I embody Blair and pretend I'm Blair. I imagined her minions coming up to me to ask me to approve something. You don't have to close your eyes whatsoever. Imagining them is not necessary but I can act like Blair better when I saw the minions approaching me for a split second. I literally act like Blair and even do her facial expressions as I said this line below in my mind. You know that face she makes when she orders or yells at her minions? Yeah that.)

Me/Blair: "What? *looks at the file whatever it is/a picture of your desire* Yeah, I have that. Now, be gone. Run along, your job is done. Get the hell away from me."

I am implementing that again right now as I write after watching some scenes of Blair ordering Dorota and her minions or them asking for approval on what she asked them to do.

Okay let's talk basics and how to apply.

How about food? Let's say your mom is out and you're hungry. You wanna manifest food. Okay what do I want? I want some cinnamon rolls. Okay mom's coming home she's getting me food. She's getting me cinnamon rolls. Great. Now you're in the reality where your mom is getting you food because you decided. Don't be like: What if she's not getting me food? What if she's not going to the grocery? Don't do that because that is in the past. You're putting yourself back to the reality where she doesn't get you some because you said so. All you need to do is to know she's getting you food. If you keep thinking it's done no matter what you see then she is getting you food.

I know this will help anyone who's confused about the law.

Yours Truly,

Lady Rian Whistledown 💋

Note: I might change my blog to be Blair themed. Not the visuals like my gifs. That will remain to be my face (my df) but I wanna do things in a Blair way now content-wise. I'll keep Lady Whistledown cause I like that! Blair's giving me so much confidence in myself and more of that boss and Queen B energy we should all be embodying. You're the Queen B of your reality! All you do is give orders, approve things and remind yourself it's already done. Think of your reality as your kingdom. What you say literally goes. You decide what happens. Make rules that make manifesting easy for you because you rule your reality. Those rules have to be abided by your reality no matter what. Love you all and here's a free hug to anyone who needs it 🫂

[inbarfink]

Hello, Invader Zim Fandom! Say, have you ever found yourself thinking “hmmm.... I wonder how often Zim and Dib skip classes due to their constant misadventures and battles?” Well, whatever you did or not, I am going to do it now! Time for…

Checking Attendance for Invader Zim and Dib Membrane!

"The Nightmare Begins"

Our first major confrontation between the two leads (leaving aside some quarreling in the middle of class, but I am checking attendance - not behavior) happens explicitly right after Skool has finished. So, no class has been missed in the production of this episode. 

(I mean maybe I would ask about how long their Skoolday even is considering Miss Bitters introduces Zim, says ‘Doomed’ for a few minutes and then sends them home. But that’s, like, a common Bug with Schools in fiction. I’m going to assume that we’re not supposed to take the class/Skoolday as literally being that short.)

"Bestest Friend"

Zim takes a whole day off from Skool under the claim that he’s sick.

Zim: I'm sick. I'm not going to skool today.

Which, I mean, he said it to get Keef off his back, but then we do see he stayed in his lab all day to work on his Eyeball Machine. So yeah, here's our first missed attendance. Zim skipped a whole day of Skool right there.

"Nanozim"

Dib: Zim wasn't in class today, Gaz. Gaz: Maybe he's sick. Dib: Yeah, sick with fear!

Another whole missed day from Zim for the sake of his scheme!

"Parent Teacher Night"

Nothing! The entirety of this episode takes place either during Skool, explicitly after Skool or during a Skool-sectioned Afterskool event. 

"Walk of Doom"

Now this is where things really get interesting. Because Zim certainly spent like a whole day on his and GIR’s little City Adventure - but also, you might want consider the possibility that this episode took place over the weekend, or even just that it starts after skool. After all, Invader Zim’s Daytime Sky doesn't change that much between the morning and the afternoon.

However, even taking these factors into account, I still think that it’s more likely that this episode does takes place during Skool Hours and is yet another example of Zim missing a full day of Skool, and that is for one reason - the background extras. 

Through all of Zim’s Urban Misadventure, the City seems to be populated entirely by adults + one baby we saw on the Bus. No Skool-aged youngsters anywhere in sight.

And, maybe that’s a weird thing to get hung up on, but usually IZ Crowd Scenes do include a mixture of kids and adults… including some scenes in that very episode, but only after the transition into night. When Skool would obviously be already over.

Thus, I think it’s most logical to conclude that Zim, for some reason, decided to do this lil excursion in the middle of a Skoolday. Couldn’t wait for the weekend or even just the afternoon for some reason. He got a bee in his bonnet about the Guidance Chip and he had to do it at that very moment!! 

(But I am going to cut him a little slack with the ending. Cause, like, obviously he’s been driving for like a whole night and it’s going to take him some time to get back home… but for the sake of Being Nice I am going to assume this episode takes place on a Friday and he's got the whole weekend to find his way back home and so he only missed one day of Skool. After all, isn’t this what ‘Invader Zim’ is all about? Being nice?)

(This is a rhetorical question and the answer is no.)

"Germs"

As Zim himself states, he did miss a day of Skool due to his obsession with Germs.

Zim: The skool! The skool will know I've been missing! They must be really suspicious by now!

I wondered if that was actually more than one day, but we only see one transition to night near the end of the episode. 

Most likely this entire episode takes place over the course of a single day - Zim watched that movie very early in the morning before getting to Skool (he doesn’t sleep so he’s got a lot more free time in a day) and then got so Germ-Obsessed for that one day that he forgot about that.

And thanks (?) to the workaround at the end, we can be sure this time he only missed one single day of Skool.

"Dark Harvest"

So all of this episode takes place in the Skool, but mostly outside of the classroom. With Zim leaving early on after a lesson started, then Dib going after him a short while later and this whole …. Adventure lasted enough to get to Lunch Break and also probably the climax lasted a bit after it and into the next lesson period (considering how empty the Skool Hallways seem at that point.

However, this speculation is kinda moot since both Zim and Dib were both out there with Hall-Passes officially ‘just trying to get to the nurse’, so I am just not going to count it as skipping class at all. They had permission. 

"Attack of the Saucer Morons"

Okay, so… this episode starts at night, but by the time Zim gets to the Saucer Morons it’s already Daytime. But since Zim was very adamant about getting his Voot back ASAP, I am going to assume this is taking place Very Early in the Morning. It just takes a while for Zim to get back home from the crash site and then back again without the Cruiser, but it’s still probably like… before Skool starts. 5AM-6AM or something like that? You know, the excitement of an Alien Spaceship is going to encourage a lot of people to wake up early.

It’s not entirely clear how long the events of the episode lasted in-universe. There’s a few ‘skips’, like, how long did Zim’s initiation take? How long did it take GIR to get the Government Man robot ready? How long did it take the Saucer Morons to make that lil’ set-up for Zim?

But, Fastforwards to the climatic chase scene at the end of the episode, and we can see Zim has zoomed by a Skoolbus. Now, this might be a Bus taking kids back from Skool, or taking the kids to Skool. Either the implication here is that Zim has wasted a whole skoolday and it’s already the afternoon - or it’s still early in the morning and Skool is just about to start. And… since it’s just down to my gut feelings, I am going to say the second one. I think all of the little-time skips during the episode still don’t amount to more than like, an hour or two. So it being just before Skool starts seems reasonable to me. 

But, well, even for the sake of being nice to Zim…

I am going to assume that murdering all of these scientists (or however he got himself out of that jam) and getting back home to retrieve a new disguise will take like… A Considerable Amount of Time. And Skool was basically just about to start. So… I think that I’m going to mark it as Zim missing at least one class and getting to Skool late. 

"The Wettening"

This episode actually puts a lot of attention into making sure all of Zim and Dib’s confrontations take place after Skool hours and that all the time they spend at home planning is happening during the weekend. This episode is mostly useful for explicitly establishing that Skool is operating with a two-day Saturday-Sunday weekend. 

Now, I was wondering if I should count Zim as ‘skipping class’ for, y’know - not actually showing up to Skool on Monday and basically going straight home to drown to death in the toilet right after he won that water-balloon fight. But since the entire damn Skool was reduced to a ruin by Zim’s victory - I think it’s safe to say that Skool is canceled regardless. So that shouldn't count.

(Remember kids! If you wanna skip school, you should just blow it up with a giant Space Water Balloon first and then it’s okay!)

"Career Day"

The entire events of that episode were a Skool-sanctioned activity, so nothing really to report.

"Battle-Dib"

With the 8PM ticking clock, Doctor Membrane having a clearly very kid-oriented edutainment show that he’s apparently recording live, and all the other ordinary kids trying out for the audience… I think it’s pretty safe to say this whole episode takes place after skool.

"Planet Jackers"

Whole episode takes place at night, nothing for us to concern ourselves about.

"Rise of the Zitboy"

Okay, so this episode starts at daytime, with both Zim and Dib very clearly not at Skool - and usually that would be enough for me to assume this episode starts in the afternoon, but…

After Zim gains the Power of Pustulio, he seemingly immediately goes to Skool to test it out. There’s no reason to assume this is like, a whole night later. Zim’s only thought was about hypnotizing Dib and he knows where his house is. If it were the afternoon, wouldn't he just go to the Membrane household rather than wait for the next Skool Day? So this episode actually starts very early in the morning. 

And, like, either way it seems like this is happening very early in the morning and has no real effect on their Skool attendence and I shouldn’t dwell on it too much for this post but… I guess it still kinda surprises me that Dib got up bright and early just to do this shit like an hour before skool starts.

Most of the episode seems to take place before the first period of the day even starts, so the only actually relevant part to our discussion is the very last line from Zim.

Zim: Bye Dib, and thanks for the information! I've got a few more lawn gnomes to plant!

So Zim is going to skip away before Skool starts to take care of the security problems in his Gnome Field right away. So… he’s probably going to miss at least one class, if he’s even coming back. 

"Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain"

Episode takes place entirely at night, not relevant to our discussion. I am not going to consider the ‘One Year Later’ gag as canon, because, like…. come on. 

"Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy"

As the episode starts with a broadcast of Professor Membrane’s show (which as we have already established, is very kids-oriented, highly-rated and seems to be airing live), it’s a pretty safe bet that the whole events of this episode is taking place in the afternoon, so no Skool-Problems here!

"A Room With a Moose"

So, I am not going to knock Dib any points for leaving mid-class on something that wasn’t really a Skool trip. I mean… everyone thought it was a Skool trip, including the other students and their teacher. I assume either Zim took care of the paperwork while he was sneaking around setting up his plan or there was never any paperwork in the first place because it’s the IZ Earth and No One Cares.

Now about Zim… he has technically not skipped class in the sense that he was doing all of this under the guise of being in the toilet, but… Like, in his second round in the Restroom, he actually just never came back until… well, probably the next Skool day, considering it was nighttime at the end of the episode. Even with how apathetic Miss Bitters is… I assume she can conceive of the idea of a student trying to get out of Skool under the excuse of being in the bathroom, even if she doesn’t know/care about the Alien Teleporter Device.

So I am counting this as just a half day of skipping school for Zim. 

"Hamstergeddon"

Okay, so this was actually the episode that inspired me to make this post, and the reason why I conceived of it as a “Zim and Dib Skipping School” list even though, as you have seen so far… Dib has a pretty spotless attendance record so far. I just saw both Zim and Dib piss off from Skool mid-lesson to follow the Hamster Kaiju and started to wonder ‘hmmm… how often does this happen?”

And since we never see Ultra Peepi, like, outright entirely destroy the Skool - I don’t think the day would be canceled like it probably was in “The Wettning” (if it was, I’d assume we’d see more students running out and not just Zim and Dib). And I assume Dib would notice the Growing Peepi Problem near the start of the day, so they both missed about a full day of Skool just then.

"Plague of Babies"

Takes place entirely during one night, not relevant here. 

"Bloaty's Pizza Hog"

Explicitly takes place during the late afternoon/evening. 

"Door to Door"

Another Skool-Sanctioned activity similar to ‘Career Day’

"FBI Warning of Doom"

Takes place during the evening/night. 

"Bolognius Maximus"

After Zim reveals there is no cure to the Bolognafication, Dib runs out of the classroom screaming. This transition into a whole Zim Fantasy Sequence where he’s Gigantic and stuff. But it does seem like the whole ‘Dib being run out of Skool midway through the Skoolday’ did happen. Since they only re-meet after Zim is going back home from Skool. 

So that’s the first time Dib loses attendance (basically an entire day, since he didn’t even last one whole lesson) but not Zim. (But Dib still has a lot of ‘catching up’ to do).

(This episode also establishes that Dib is often late to Skool due to his various paranormal misadventures. Reliably enough for Zim to incorporate it into his Vengeance. However, that’s not entirely relevant since I’m only counting attendance in this post and not tardiness. But I thought I might as well acknowledge it.)

"Game Slave 2"

Episode takes place entirely at night, not relevant.

"Battle of the Planets"

Same as above.

"Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom"

So I am not going to count Dib being forcibly institutionalized by Skool administration as ‘skipping classes’, obviously. 

However, while Dib was being dragged off to the Crazy House, Zim used the chaos to ‘escape’ this Skool full of ‘Zombies’ and ready his base for tonight. Next time we see Zim, it’s nighttime and he is still readying his base. And even with Dib being late, it still seems like the episode started early in the first period. So Zim is skipping another full day of Skool basically. 

"Mysterious Mysteries"

From the events of the episode, it seems like ‘Mysterious Mysteries’ airs live (or at least semi-live, in regards to the interviewed segments). We already know that it airs in the evenings because that’s always when we see Dib watch it. Even if it didn’t actually air live, they would probably schedule their interviews to afterskool hours when they have three elementary-skoolers to interview. 

"Future Dib"

Episode starts at a Skool-Assembly, and then move to later that day in the afternoon/early evening (Membrane says ‘tonight’, but the sky is always daylight-yellow, so it seems to be later that day after Skoolhour, it’s just that the sun hasn’t quite set yet.) Either way, neither Zim nor Dib actually seem to skip class on that one. 

"Hobo 13"

With this being an entirely Space-Based Episode, we have basically No Data on what Earth Time this episode takes place. Zim does generally seem to call the Tallests just after Skool or during the night, so I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt on that one and not count it.

"Walk For Your Lives"

While I have no doubt in my mind that Zim would skip Skool for the sake of Probing Day and maaaybe Dib would too for the sake of catching Zim by surprise, well…

So remember way way back during ‘Walk of Doom’ when I talked about background extras? Well, I’m doing this again but in the other direction this time!

Because all the city scenes in this episode do actually feature both child and adult extras (including literally some of Zim and Dib’s classmates).

So I think it’s most likely to assume this episode takes place just after Skool hours. Or perhaps the weekend. 

"Megadoomer"

Starts right after Zim gets home from Skool, and lasts through the night. Not relevant.

"Lice"

Takes place entirely at Skool and also classes are canceled due to Lice Quarantine. I don’t really count any of the Nonsense in this episode as ‘skipping class’, it’s fine.

"Abducted"

We don’t have any details about when the episode takes place outside of ‘the daytime’, but again, Zim generally ‘updates’ the Tallest after Skool so I am going to assume this applies here. Plus, we also see Dib and Gaz at home by the end and they generally don’t skip Skool - so yeah, more evidence for this being the afternoon. 

"The Sad, Sad Tale of Chickenfoot"

Episode explicitly takes place at evening/night, not relevant.

"Gir Goes Crazy and Stuff"

Episode starts at night, and ends at sunrise.

Not relevant.

(Also hey! Does this imply that we can tell that the City is on the East Coast at least?)

"Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom"

Starts at Skool and then seems to take place entirely at night - since the Wonderful Life of Doom starts with Dib sleeping in bed, I assume Dib kidnapped him and put him in the simulation while he was actually asleep.

"Tak: The Hideous New Girl"

Okay, so we had two fairly-regular Skooldays since Tak arrived on Earth.

Then, after Zim comes back from Skool the second day and Tak reveals herself, we cut to Zim’s battle against the Ham Demon. Which is also happening in the daytime. Although Zim later mentions he’s been trailing Tak for ‘48 hours’ - meaning exactly two whole days. 

And then as Zim realizes he needs Dib’s help, we cut to the Membrane house at nighttime. 

So… was that battle taking place in the afternoon/early evening  and it’s just that by the time Zim got to the Membranes the sun had already set? That seems to be the case from the establishing shot. But then Dib yawns and rubs his eyes as if he just woke up and Professor Membrane says ‘good morning’. 

I mean… with how often Dib seems to stay up late and wake up extremely early, maybe he takes a lot of afternoon-evening naps?

Or perhaps this suggests this establishing shot might’ve been just an art error? The little we see of the indoor backdrops are also kinda inconsistent about the Color of the Sky.

First seeming to indicate daytime.

And then… nighttime? Nighttime with sunset? Nighttime with sunrise?

Then nighttime again?

And then, the whole Giant Evil Weenie Stand sequence is at daytime again.

And it only becomes night again by the climax.

And with Zim’s ‘48 hours’ comment placing the Ham Demon fight at the early afternoon (it should be 48 hours after the Tak confrontation, which happened just after Zim got home from Skool) our scenarios are either: 

Zim battles the Ham Demon, then almost immediately Zim confronts Dib after his afternoon nap (and the Color of the Sky around the Membrane household is just Consistently an Art Error. It should be daytime). And the rest of the events of the episode take place on that same day’s late afternoon/evening. 

Zim battles the Ham Demon, then a few hours later Zim confronts Dib after his early evening nap (the Color of the Sky around the Membrane household is not an art error...for the most part. The sun has set already). Then the rest of the events of the episode take place over the next day.

Zim battles the Ham Demon, then the next morning Zim confronts Dib when he wakes up (the Color of the Sky might be a major art error, or it might be a failed attempt at conveying sunrise, or both). Then the rest of the events of the episode take place during that day.

And when considering which one seems to me the most likely, I took three different factors into consideration.

I wanna minimize just dismissing things as art/continuity errors. I want to be as canon-compliant as I possibly can.

The plot needs to maintain its sense of urgency. Having too many Big Timeskips where the characters just kinda don’t do anything significantly hurts the narrative. ‘

The possibility of skipped skool days which is… hey! Is actually what this post is supposed to be about!

Okay, so to elaborate on Point C: Scenario 1 has Zim spend like two full Skooldays’ worth of time on tracking Tak down and then he and Dib and Gaz stop her together during afterskool hours. Scenario 2 + 3 has Zim spend two skooldays, and then the three of them spend the day after that stopping Tak. And.. it’s not just a matter of considering Zim skipping two days versus three days and Dib and Gaz skipping one day versus zero days. Because also the weekend exists.

I actually think it’s incredibly likely that the Tak Reveal is supposed to take place on a Friday, and Zim tracked Tak over the weekend (so the ending of the Ham Demon sequence is on Sunday afternoon).

Especially as Dib apparently didn’t notice Zim either stalking Tak during Skool or just vanishing from Skool altogether due to the Ham Demon Situation. Like, considering how paranoid he is about Zim normally, you’d think he’d take notice and try and figure out if he is up to anything. Especially if it involved the girl he saw as an ally and friend. But it seemed like he was not bothered by anything or noticed anything Zim was doing in the meantime. Which I think only makes sense if Zim was ‘investigating’ Tak during the weekend. 

So in Scenario 1 that would mean the climax of the episode took place during Sunday afternoon/evening. And Scenario 2 + 3 would mean that those events take place during Monday, and thus all of our main trio is either skipping skool or waiting until skool is done to go on their Earth-Saving-Missions.

And the latter is both unlikely because it wrecks the sense of Urgency in the plot and because… like… did Zim and Dib just go to Skool and Angrily Glared at each other until it was done? It really just kinda ruins the dramatic pacing if Zim and Dib meet between the scene at the Membrane Household and the Weenie Stand. So going to Skool on Monday and then doing the Evil Weenie Investigation afterwards seems unlikely to me.

And as for the former scenario… like, as you’ve noticed. Dib very very rarely skips Skool of his own volition. And Gaz never does. Honestly I don’t think it’s in-character for her. Not cause she’s a goody-two-shoes who would never skip class or anything like that. Just because she never takes all of this Alien Stuff seriously enough to consider it a worthwhile reason to skipping classes. And no, neither is getting her brother beat up by security - even if she does enjoy the latter a lot more. 

I guess maybe just Zim could’ve been skipping Skool that Monday morning to do some more failed ‘investigative work’ before he actually realized the Evil Weenie Stand was important. While Dib and Gaz just attended classes like Normal and investigated the Weenies afterwards.

But then, like, did Tak go to Skool? She cares so much about showing off her ability to Actually Competently Infiltrate Humanity, and it seems most of the Evil Weenie Stand Construction is happening automatically… so I kinda assume she would go to Skool on that Monday? So with both Dib and Tak at class that day and Zim not being… that would be another Hypothetical Dramatic Scenario that is just Inexplicably Off Screen in the narrative.

You know like…. Maybe not Dib confronting Tak about Zim’s accusations if he truly doesn’t believe them at that point, but trying to warn her that Zim is deluded about her and out to get her? I just don’t believe any Skoolday after Zim and Dib's confrontation at Dib’s house could be uneventful enough so that we could just skip over it completely like that. 

So, I really really tried to get a scenario where I don’t resort to the Art Error Clause but… I think the only timeline that makes real sense in terms of narrative and characterization is Scenario 1. So most of the events of the climax of “Tak: the Hideous New Girl” probably take place over Sunday afternoon and thus neither Zim nor Dib actually skipped classes. Zim just had a very very busy weekend. 

"Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars"

Takes place entirely during the night/evening, irrelevant.

"Mortos Der Soul Stealer"

Same as above.

"Zim Eats Waffles"

Okay, so, there’s nothing in the text of the episode that explicitly says it but… since this episode centers around Zim eating waffles and reading the newspaper

I always kinda assumed it was taking place in the morning. And probably, like Saturday/Sunday morning.

This would also explain why Dib immediately goes to sleep at the end of the episode even though it’s the same ‘daytime’ sky-color outside.

 He woke up early for this - but now that his plan has failed so thoroughly, well… It's still the weekend and now he’s going to sleep in for a while. He probably needs it.

"The Girl Who Cried Gnome"

Well, presumably Moofy and the other Girly Rangers don’t go selling cookies during normal Skool hours. So this episode either takes place after skool hours or also over the weekend. The amount of kid extras in the scene also supports that idea. 

Of course, with the episode ending with Dib being tormented until nightfall, there’s a reasonable chance he won’t make it to Skool on the next day… but I’m going to be nice and assume he managed to get himself free, like, at 3AM or something. So he’s fine, just incredibly sleep-deprived and traumatized. So par for the course, really.

"Dibship Rising"

So, Dibship tries to go to school as Dib, and it seems like it could’ve worked

Poonchy: Hey! Dib's bein' all weird and giant again!

But, well for starters, Dibship only managed to get to Skool by the time for lunch break. I guess he’s really just figuring out how to walk and he’s pretty slow and heavy… So yeah, it might take him a While to get to Skool.  Then once he is at Skool, Zim almost immediately takes him over and starts up his Evil Scheme. 

It’s unclear how long it takes until Dib actually wakes up (hey, remember what I said about him being probably very sleep deprived?), but since Dib’s concern is about being late, I assume the skoolday is not yet over. And when he meets up with Dibship again…

Yeah, it actually took me a bit to notice it, but the scene is directed as to always obscure the top of the ship’s cockpit. AKA where Zim is. I thought at first that maybe he sent the ship out on its own and jumped onto it when it was passing through the Skool. But with that little trick of angles and the stick in Zim’s wig and GIR scattering acorns everywhere… yeah he was clearly on it the whole time.

So Dib missed about a whole day of Skool, spending the reminder of that day trapped just over the cesspool listening to the dying Dibship talk about how much of a loser they are. 

Zim got about… half a skoolday done before skipping out for, as Dib pointed out, no real reason other then endangering himself. And I’m pretty sure he, like, died at the end of the episode. So he’s probably not making it back to Skool either. 

"Vindicated!"

The events of this episode start during Skool and then explicitly continue after Skool, not relevant. 

"The Voting of the Doomed"

Takes place entirely at Skool doing Skool stuff, not relevant.

"Gaz, Taster of Pork"

Well, I am not actively counting Gaz’s absences for this post, so I don’t need to worry about, like, the multiple weeks that her dad kept her isolated in his lab (and even so, I don’t think being forcibly being pulled out of the education system by your parents count as ‘skipping skool’?) As for Dib, most of his ‘research’ we’ve seen happen either in Skool

Or at nighttime and thus explicitly after Skool.

The daring breakout from Membrane Lab does happen in the daytime - the day after Dib’s Hobo Encounter at MacMeaties. The question is just if Dib decided to wait until after Skool to get the information out to Gaz or if he broke her out ASAP skool be damned. (And it can’t be the weekend this time, “this Friday” is our explicit Ticking Clock). But since the sun had already set by the time they finished with their chase scene… Honestly, yeah my guess is he decided to procrastinate by waiting after Skool to break her out lol.

So Dib has had another Very Long Night, but he probably didn't skip skool (and since the episode ends on Friday, he technically has two whole days to finish Cleaning the Pig Toilets and still make it back in time for Monday! Fun!)

"The Frycook What Came From All That Space"

So Zim gets kidnapped from Skool at the very start of the episode and , according to Sizz-Lorr, a week before the Foodening starts

Sizz-Lorr: YES!! And that's not all, Zim! In one week, the Foodening begins once more, and you'll be trapped here for 20 years, just like I was!

And Zim manages to get off the planet at the very last second before the Foodening trapped him there.

And we know there’s no ‘time warp’ in place cause Dib did notice Zim was gone for three days about halfway through the episode.

Dib: Um, I noticed Zim's been gone for three days. Do you know where he is?

So, yeah, Zim was absent from Skool for a week.

(I am… going to assume Dib did not spend like 72-96 hours non-stop annoying the Tallest. But rather he went back and to Zim’s house whenever he had the chance so I am not counting absences for him.) 

"The Most Horrible X-mas Ever"

Takes place over Winter Break and thus is irrelevant.

In total, Zim has confirmed 12 missed full days of Skool + about two times where probably just skipped the first period. Dib has three missed days of Skool. So, like Zim might need to repeat the sixth grade if time ever Actually Moved Forwards in the IZ universe - but Dib is pretty in the clear I think.

Really, what I find really interesting, more than just the obvious difference between Zim and Dib’s tendency to skip skool is the difference between the earlier and later episodes. Like, not counting the five days Zim picked up at the second-to-last episode (which were very much outside of his control)…  Zim picked up 4/7 missed days in just the first eight episodes! And after that they are far less frequent. Perhaps the writers deliberately tried to take care to not overuse the whole skipping skool thing too much? Or maybe from an in-universe perspective it just took Zim a few weeks to really wrap his head around how the skool schedule thing even works? 

[draganwhorror]

So I have some fun little tidbits of information to share from my time at Frightmare in the Falls. I had to miss Ted's Q&A panel today because of the timing of my flight, so alas, I do not know what was asked/answered at his panel. However, I did get to chat with him quite a bit this weekend (especially Friday), and I wanted to share what I learned.

I asked Ted about Popsy, the Stephen King dollar baby he was a part of back in 2019. He said he honestly didn't have much to tell me about that, other than he knew there were directors (not the guy who did Popsy) who were abusing their contracts, which is potentially why Stephen King ended the program. He also said he assumes King has some type of claim or rights over the dollar babies, so whether or not it will ever see the light of day is completely unknown.

I asked Ted about Red Light, and he said it's becoming a feature film (full-length) now. Same director, same producers, etc. The only difference is, he won't be starring in it this time. He didn't say anything about the short film, but he did say he will be an executive producer on the full-length version. He also said the reason he's not starring in it is because he doesn't have time/has been super busy with other projects. He did say he's grateful for all the work/projects he's got going on, though. What those are, I can't say. I didn't ask, and he didn't tell me anything more.

I also brought up The Fountain Clowns, mostly out of curiosity, since it was considered "lost" until recently. Ted said he didn't remember the film at all, even after I mentioned it was one from the early 90s he did for a director who was in film school at the time, and that he played a Justice of the Peace named Hayden. He just chuckled and said he didn't recall it.

I did go see Ted before I left today to let him know I was going to miss his panel and see if I could ask him a question at his table instead. He agreed, and so I asked him if he'd ever had a role that he found challenging or difficult, not in terms of stunts or physicality, but more like getting into a character's head or portraying that character (and I used Skinner as an example because of how vicious he is towards prostitutes/women in general). Ted thought about it for a bit, then apologized for not having an answer for me/being evasive. He said making movies is hard, and all of his characters were difficult in some way. He said TV is easier, because if a movie gets behind on schedule, everyone panics, starting at the top and trickling down to even the lowest people on the totem pole (like craft services).

I jokingly brought up Planet Raptor, and he went off on a tangent about that film. Said it was absolute shit, and that none of the people (director, producers, writer, etc) really cared about it. Said they just wanted to rush it and get it out to Syfy Channel as quickly as possible. I told him he was the best part of the film, and that he'd given it his all, doing his best with what he'd been given. He said the whole cast gave it their all, even though there wasn't really any reason to. Then I told him Dr. Tygon was a dick, and he laughed.

Ted also told me he only did Millennium Crisis because he wanted to hang out with friends in New York. Said the movie wasn't very good, but he did it just because it gave him an excuse to be in NY to spend time with friends. I'd say that's pretty valid. 😂

Oh, and Ted apparently (jokingly) feels bad for me because I told him I'd seen like 90% of everything he's been in. He was like, "Most of it sucks." But he loved my cosplay of Pavel. He gushed over it a few times and told me I looked good/just like him. 🫣 According to him, I'm the only person who has ever gone to a con as Pavel, and I guess he got a kick out of it.

I think that's everything. I just wanted to share that with all the Ted fans on here. Hopefully we'll be seeing Ted in a bunch more fun stuff soon! 🤞 

[blueesnow]

Kotobuki Reiji's Birthday (Year 1) Voicelines Translation.

-You can look at it again on the Event Log, Mini-Event section (for the other boys messages to him) and Talk section (for a one-on-one conversation with you and him) in Idol Page.

-Also the translations might not be fully accurate since I'm not that fluent on jp/en, so if i ever made a mistake do correct me🙏

<You (Player)> Reiji: Thank you for the celebration~! I held a party today, so make sure you come okay Kouhai-chan☆ Reiji: And of course there'll be an afterparty later~☆ The participant will be just you and me. …Will you tell me you're happy about it?

<Otoya> Otoya: Rei-chan, Happy Birthday! As a Senpai-Kouhai duo with a great chemistry, let's continue to have lots of fun together from now on! Reiji: Aww~! You said the cutest thing ever! Onii-san shall do his best to keep up so that he won't lose to Otoyan's growth okay☆

<Masato> Masato: You never forgets to pay attention to your surroundings. Seeing you like that made me want to learn more from Kotobuki-senpai's example. Happy Birthday. Reiji: Hearing that from Hijirin made me so happy~! I should do my best as well to continue being a role model☆

<Natsuki> Natsuki: Happy Birthday! It's always fun being together with Rei-chan-senpai. I think you have an amazing power! Reiji: Thank you—! Nattsun is always happy go lucky so it's worthwhile talking to you☆

<Tokiya> Tokiya: Happy Birthday. Even though it's a joyous occasion, please be careful as to not get carried away, okay? Reiji: Tokki is as strict as usual! But I already knew that's also your way of being kind♪

<Ren> Ren: Happy Birthday, Bukki! Let's go for a drive together again somewhere and refresh ourselves. Reiji: Thank you Ren-Ren☆ I'll go pick out some good places later okay~♪

<Syo> Syo: Reiji-senpai, Happy Birthday! I found a good hat shop, so let's go shopping there together! Reiji: Eh~! If it’s a shop recommended by Syo-tan, then I have high expectations of it☆ Thanks, I'm looking forward to it!

<Cecil> Cecil: Happy Birthday! You've always been so kind to me, so today I will return the favor! Reiji: Cesshi! I'm so happy to hear that I almost burst into tears! To think that's how you thought of me already made my day☆

<Ranmaru> Ranmaru: It's your birthday? Well, Happy Birthday. I have nothing more to say at this point. Whether it's about music or other works, let's put all that we've had into it. Reiji: Why of course! Let's always do our best with our full power☆ I'll accept your celebration wish to me♪

<Ai> Ai: Since it's your birthday, why don't you show a bit of your maturity? Anyway, Happy Birthday Reiji. Reiji: Ai-Ai, thank you~! Don't get burned while looking at the grown-up Rei-chan, okay☆ Ah, don't ignore me!

<Camus> Camus: Since we're in the same group, let's at least celebrate your birthday. So, I assume there'll be a cake later, right? Reiji: Wait a minute~! Geez, Myu-chan you're so dishonest. But thanks for the birthday wish♪

<Eiichi> Eiichi: Looks like it's your birthday today, Happy Birthday. Since we're both the one who's responsible in keeping the group together, I'd like to talk about it sometime with you. Reiji: Thank you~☆ Although I'm not actually the leader, I'm interested in that topic. Do tell me more♪

<Kira> Kira: Happy…Birthday. The ability to create a cheerful atmosphere…and bring people together. It's a charm that I don't have. I'd like to learn it from you. Reiji: The fact that you praised me so seriously made this Onii-san so happy…! Let's learn a lot from each other's good points okay☆

<Nagi> Nagi: Happy birthday☆ I heard you knew a lot of retro words. If you knew something cute, do tell me~♪ Reiji: Ugh, is this what you call a generation gap… You're already cute enough as it is, I don't think you need that~☆

<Eiji> Eiji: Happy Birthday. I think it's so amazing that you've always made the atmosphere on set so relaxing. Reiji: Oh no~ I'm a little embarrassed to be told that by a guy from the different agency☆ It's perfectly OK for you to always imitate me♪

<Van> Van: I heard it's your birthday today, Happy Birthday! In exchange for celebration I have a suggestion, can you put a pizza on the Kotobuki Lunchbox? Reiji: Pizza~!? But, it might be quite a good surprise. I'll go and talk to them about it later☆ Thanks for the advice!

<Yamato> Yamato: Birthday, huh. I'm happy for you. I've always been indebted by this karaage from your place. Let me also express my thanks to you. Reiji: Don't tell me you're actually a big fan of our store!? That's great~♪ Also thanks for the birthday wish too☆

<Shion> Shion: I can feel such a warm vibes from your machocho word. I wish you a happy and prosperous day. Reiji: Don't tell me I'm being praised!? At times like this thank you very very machocho☆ Make sure to use it with HE★VENS too okay♪

[baskeigh-ball]

Ignoring the fact that ibis had the ai paint feature a couple years before this whole ai fiasco, after seeing your post, I decided to try it out to see if it really held up. I already knew what you said made no sense, as even stuff like ai painting requires heavy human input that isn't just someone typing a prompt in a thing and looking through thousands of images and somehow still calling it 'art'. Really, it's just some weird advanced bucket.

The ibis ai paint... really sucks. I'm pretty sure it hasn't even been touched since it was added. No matter what I did, I got random colours and whatever colours I had put there looked like it were from a filter, not to mention how my lineart bled everywhere like it was blurred out.

Ibis isn't problematic for adding that feature as not only was it added ages ago, but it was also just a gimmick only added because a few more popular paid programs added them, like Clip Studio Paint. I highly doubt even the company took it seriously considering how poorly built it is. This is actually the one time I'm glad some feature in an app sucks so much.

Another reason why ibis isn't problematic by the mere feature alone is that, when you look at the artists making content during the time of that update, it was received with humour. It was something fun to try, but ultimately dismissed for actual artwork, as nobody would use it to fully paint their works. Nowadays we see something slapped with the words 'ai' and think that it's instantly bad due to the latest issues with it and big corperations/ certain production companies but it isn't. It's just a lot of people abusing what was previously some fun gimmick, which it can still be, and for certain apps, still is. Nobody throws pitchforks at character ai, after all.

You can tell just by the size of this that I'm procrastinating on something. Ima go and let this rot away in your askbox now lol

You really thought this would fade away in my ask box, mwahahaha /j

I wanna start off by saying thank you for holding me accountable, I will admit that I got buzzworded pretty hard in this situation lmao

This information came as a surprise to me-- I was seeing posts pop up within the past week complaining about the ai feature on ibis, so I assumed it was recent. As it turns out, after reading your ask, I discovered that I got a few wires crossed! Because yes, the auto paint feature I referred to in my post has been around for years now, and was never taken seriously anyways

So that was my bad (and yea ur right it's completely unusable, lmao)

But as it turns out, the feature that people have been complaining about DID come out recently. It was called the AI Example feature, I think the idea was that you make a simple drawing and the AI adds 99% of the detail and color, which I've seen a bunch of other programs do.

...and then it was immediately removed due to some pretty major backlash, which, duh

^ This is the only evidence I can find of the 11.2.0 update that included the AI feature on the actual site; their update history stops at 11.1.0. But there's also the news page about the removal of the update, so it's not like they're trying to pretend it never happened.

So tl;dr, I jumped on the hate train a little too quickly and never did enough research to figure out what the actual update was, and that it's been removed by now anyway (which I couldn't have known until today, ofc, but i did kinda post that thing about ibis today so it's still a pretty major oopsie)

I think I can say with confidence now that I agree, ibis paint isn't problematic to use-- they made a mistake with this update, but they actually listened to their users and removed it LITERALLY the next day. So, thanks for letting me know! I'll also edit my last post to prevent any misinformation, just in case people make the same mistake I did :]

[dadzawa-abc]

Hii, I really hope I'm not bothering you with asking this. But I've gotten to see quite a bit of post about age-regression? Is that how I'm supposed to type it?? Sorry if I typed that wrong, especially if that made you uncomfortable. English is not my first language. Anyway, I was wondering, I guess, what age-regression is? Cause like I said, I saw I lot of it, both recently and in the past. But I've also gotten told in the past, well, not any good things about the people who age-regress? I'm not saying I agree with those things I got told. Those weren't any nice things, so yeah. However, if others aren't hurting me, themselves, or other people, then I usually leave most people alone. But in short, I'm curious and want to know more? Cause, well good sources are good. If that's okay? If not, you can just delete and forget about this. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Have a good day or night!

☁️ what is age regression? ☁️

(long post); a TLDR at the bottom

Hey anon! Thank you so much for stopping by to ask your question. I'll be answering it for you today -🧸 Hawks.

first of all, I'd like to say that yes, you did type it right! English isn't our first language either, so we understand! People also may spell "age regression" as "agere" which is just a shorter version of it. So when someone spells it that way, they're the same thing./information

-Now, what is age regression? What's it used for? :

age regression is, in short, a coping mechanism where people may mentally regress to a younger age than themselves physically. Example, let's say person A is an age regressor. They are 20 years old. But regress to a much younger age. Like 3-6 years old. Age regression is very different with every person who does it, so that doesn't mean a single person has to regress the same age. Someone could regress to be a newborn, another can regress to be a middle (which is around 10-teenager age) if I'm not wrong. Anyone can regress to any age, depending the person. Age regression is a healthy way to cope. Age regression is a professional therapist recommended coping mechanism, and it does not hurt the user who does it, or anyone around them. Age regression can also be for fun. Some, if not, majority regressors do regress due to trauma. To restore their childhood that they never had. Or to relive a childhood they wish they had. Whiles others who may do it for fun, doesn't have to use their regression as a coping mechanism. Hey can age regression because hey, it's fun to do! And so it's isn't something that you can only do if you have trauma. Everyone can do it. Trauma related or not

- is age regression harmful/bad?

⚠️ Tw/CW: ageplay talk ⚠️

Not at all! People whom may tell you that "regression is bad because ___!" Is usually the ones who don't do research. Age regression is a safe-for-work coping mechanism. Which means it's never sexual, or a kink. Alot of people who aren't in the community will assume age regression is just a kink thing, and that is untrue! Many people will get "ageplay/ddlg" mixed with age regression. While age regression is never inappropriate, and is appropriate for all ages to do, ageplay is a kink to.. hopefully just something adults do. Ageplay, is a BDSM kink where someone will pretend to be a younger child while their partner, whom they'd usually call: daddy/mommy/whatever title, they will do inappropriate things with them.

Meanwhile, age regression is a lot different. Like I said, agere is a safe for work coping mechanism. And NO little, (which is whom we call someone who age regresses) will pretend to be a child for sexual reasons. When someone age regresses, they mentally revert back to a much younger age and sometimes can't even do things they'd normally do when big (which is what we call them when they aren't in a regressed state anymore). They physically (mentally physically,) regress to an age of a child. And the difference between that and ageplay, someone who participates in ageplay will never mentally regress to a younger age. They pretend to be, for sexual desires and kinks. They do it on purpose for sexual pleasure, while people who age regress can't consent at all when they're little. Since they actually do regress mentally to mostly 10 and under. (But even if they regressed around being in their teens), they still can't consent.

-some popular titles (that you may want to know)

What is a caregiver?: A caregiver, is someone who will take care of the little when they're regressed. A caregiver can take on a father role, mother role, sister, brother, etc. (Solely depending how the little sees them/and how the cg would like to be called)

What is a little?: A little is someone who age regresses

What is a flip?: A flip, is someone who regresses, AND is a caregiver.

what is a pet?: While I'm not saying pets are the same as age regression, it does exist. An age regressor may regress, but may also be a pet regressor (or) someone isn't a little but be a pet regressor instead. pet regressors has very similar concept with age regression. While age regressors regress to a younger age mentally, pet regressors will regress to an animal. (Ex; cat, dog, bird, deer, dragon, fawn, list goes on) and just like age regression, is SFW

TLDR; Age regression is a SFW coping mechanism that is therapist recommended and is not at all harmful to them, or others. Age regression can also be used for fun and doesn't have to be trauma based to regress. All ages, genders, sexualities, races can regress. Age regress is for everyone and isn't something only feminine, petite or hot pink lovers can enjoy. Everyone can regress no matter what anyone says about it.

I don't know alot of resources to direct you to, but I wouldn't really recommend google either. Google is a "trust me bro" and "he said she said" deal. It'll tell you false things and it'll mix age regression with something completely different. But I find # agere resources tag a very helpful place to scroll in. So I'd recommend checking there if anything answers anymore questions you have. Hope this answers your question, anon. Feedback is amazing so if you have any more questions or anything, let me know

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for calling my father a cheater?

This is not a serious serious topic like others I've seen here but I need to know if I was justified or just an ass

Me (20s) and my father (60s) got a Jeopardy calender last uear5. Each day it asks a question and you put a guess, you get it right you gain points ("money") if wrong you lose that- essentially just how Jeopardy is. Its a one a day calendar for the full year

Well, each Sunday is a "Double Jeopardy" and you make a bid based on the amount you have. At the start me and my father both wrote down our total amount and how much we made that week, we did this independently. I distinctly remember asking him after that first week how we were betting, and after a discussion we agreed to bet each week what we made (for example, let's say the second week i made 3,000 but my total overall would be 6,000, I would only be able to bet up to 3,000)

Halfway through i have a distinct memory of asking him again how we were doing it, because we were close, but he was ahead. I felt confident on the topic and he wasn't as much. I asked "when you bet, do you bet from the total or from how much you made that week?" He said he never bets over what he made that week and that we only went by what we made. Because of that, I didn't pass him.

About two weeks ago he made a mistake and lost points because he misread a question and I got every question right that week. I got ahead of him by a few thousand.

Even though today isn't the last day of the year, he wanted to do the question because we wouldn't see each other. I agreed even though I was tired and had worked all day

Me, my father, and mother were sitting around their living room as I was visiting. I pulled the calendar out of my purse (its a pocket-sized, about the size of a small notepad, it isnt a calendar you hang on the wall lol).

I said I might as well bet it all, go all in. He asked me my full amount and I told him, he told me his- i was ahead by 2000. I said, again, well i can only do the 3000, so might as well go all in. My mother, who hasn't been involved, simply said don't bet a lot because you want to maintain a lead.

Well I bet the full 3,000 and got the question right! However, my father bet an amount he DID NOT make in the week NOR what you could make in the week. We both got the question right, so now he's thousands ahead.

I claimed that wasn't correct or how we had been doing it. He claims "you said all in, I thought you meant your total amount" I stated "no, I said the full 3,000 I had made first off, second off we've never bet from our total if we had I would have bet more on this". He is now claiming that only *I* was going by that, he wasn't, but that he had never bet more then what he had made that week so it didn't pertain to him to do that. He claims that *i* said I would be doing that, but he "didn't realize" we both were.

I told him we discussed this multiple times and he did agree that we had discussed it. Anyways, he is claiming he is the winner cause he has more now, and is bragging. I called him a cheater and am a bit frustrated. I didnt raise my voice, didnt curse, I only said "yeah but you're a cheater, you cheated so it isn't a real win" with a slight edge to my voice. To which he got upset and rose his voice and called me a sore loser and told me to stop being an ass. I didnt respond and so He says "well we will both follow that rule next year, you can win next year" EVEN though we BOTH followed the rule this year.

My mother didn't know about those conversations and said she wasn't sure what j meant when I said all in, she assumed I meant my full amount but she did hear me say 3000 is all I can bet im all in, and she didn't know why when I had a total amount larger then that

This frustrates me because when he's been ahead of me in points he makes digs at me, and when I do well he dismisses it. He makes jokes about how I'm not good at geography and there are a lot of geographic question (jokes on him, the final question of the year was a geography question and I knew it).

I wouldn't be upset if I had gotten the question wrong, but I got it right and SHOULD have won. In my mind, I DID win, but he is saying I don't have more points so I didnt win.

Like I said, I know this isn't like a serious life or death situation, but it actually does matter to me because idk if I'm blowing it out of proportion or not. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[nicascurls]

Breaking The Dollhouse - Chapter Seven

Word Count: 3.3K

Summary: What would have happened if Junior survived and was taken by Tiffany from the hospital? What would that mean for Junior and Nica over the next year?

Notes: Yes, I know. I'm awful at consistent updates, these may be slow but i promise i will not be stopping for good any time soon. There is still a lot of this story to go. Also, it's GG's birthday today, so this chapter is dedicated to them!

Tags: @barclaysangel @streets-in-paradise @fairchilds-glasses @high-functioning-fang1rl

“I win.” Junior announced once again with a triumphant smile.

“Again?! I knew I was out of practice but this is just embarrassing!” Junior had stumbled across a pack of playing cards as he was ‘exploring’ the week before, Tiffany had grown used to Junior being more fidgety after having to stay hidden when the twins visited, since Tiffany still seems to think that it isn’t the ‘right time’ to introduce them. It certainly isn’t a lie, Junior still dreads being cooped up in his room for multiple days as the twins visit, he doesn’t blame them, only Tiffany. If Tiffany is so focused on keeping him and Nica for that matter, hidden from them, maybe they are actually pretty decent people, he’s never heard them mention Chucky. Maybe they disowned him or something and are being fooled by their mother the way he was. 

The only time Junior can leave his room during those visits is when everyone is in bed and he can sneak out to see Nica. He wishes he could do more than that, that’s the main reason why he feels the need to wonder around more after the visits. Those visits continue to remind Junior of just how trapped his mom and him are, how desperately he needs to find a way for both of them to escape. They had been there for months now and Junior had memorised almost every inch of the house's interior and is still no closer to finding a way out. 

As a small plus, Junior does at least find more things of use, even if that is just entertainment. Like the playing cards that he and Nica had made great use of over the past week. 

“Right, come on. One more game before we get some sleep, I need to redeem myself.” Nica claimed with a smile as she gathered up the cards. Junior only gave her a judgemental look in response, “Winning one game is enough to redeem yourself after losing for a week straight?” 

“Obviously! Now, you shuffle for us, I'm still kinda sluggish right now. I think Tiffany gave me a higher dose this morning.” Nica suppressed a yawn as she passed the deck over to the boy.

“Excuses, excuses.” Junior joked as he began to shuffle, “Aren’t you supposed to be the one to tell me we need to sleep as I insist on another game? You know, set a good example for me and all that?”

“Probably. But were also being held hostage by a woman who willingly married Chucky. I’m pretty sure Oogie Boogie would seem like a good influence in comparison.”

Junior let out a chuckle as he began to deal the cards once again, he knew Nica didn’t want to risk falling asleep whilst the drugs were still affecting her. He wasn’t sure exactly why, he’s assuming it’s to do with her time in mental hospitals but was never quite brave enough to ask. He didn’t want to risk bringing up bad memories for Nica, Junior just wants to make sure she’s okay. 

“Um- Mom?”

“Yeah, honey?” Nica tried to suppress the buzz of excitement at being called ‘mom’ once again. 

“Are you starting to feel better, now? With how much she drugged you? Like- do you know what day it is?” Junior couldn’t help but worry, reverting back to his early tactics when he first began talking to Nica. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, just waiting for the last of the fog to go. It’s uh- Sunday, right?”

“Monday. May 21st.”

Something in Nica’s eyes seemed to change for a moment then, she looked distant, almost haunted. “Monday, okay…” She took a deep breath and composed herself once again, but Junior couldn’t ignore it.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Junior had noticed the way Nica’s eyes were shining with tears that had begun to well up.

She sniffled slightly before answering, “Yeah, I'm- I'll be fine. It’s just-” She took another breath to help steady her voice, “It’s Alice’s birthday tomorrow. She would have been thirteen.”

“Oh.” it felt as if that was all Junior could say. Instead, he opted to gather up the cards and quickly set them aside before moving to sit next to Nica, gently resting his head on her shoulder as a form of comfort. It managed to pull a small smile to Nica’s face as she wrapped an arm around Junior’s shoulder and held him closer, brushing her thumb against his shoulder.

They’re not sure how long they stayed like that, Nica couldn’t focus on much at all. Her mind was consumed by different scenarios and ‘what if’s, all the things she could have done, even slightly differently, that just might have saved her niece's life. 

Nica could remember joking with Ian about how he and Barb would cope when Alice became a teenager, if they would struggle, especially with Barb's constant claims of Nica already being a ‘bad influence’ on Alice. Nica herself could just never picture it. Not then, or now. She couldn’t for the life of her imagine Alice as a teenager, that was part of the pain. Something she once thought she would get an answer to without even realising it would now never be answered, Alice would never change from that cheerful, curious, little girl that lived in her memories. She would always be that innocent little girl who would run to her Auntie Nica’s arms every time they were reunited.

The same one that was scared of ya.

Stop it. You manipulated her!

She had already decided when I found her again!

She was confused because of what you did!

“Mommy and daddy are dead. Auntie Nica killed them.”

“Just shut the fuck up!” Junior instinctively flinched and Nica’s tone and it suddenly sunk in that she had spoken out loud.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry honey. It- I didn’t mean to snap, it wasn’t directed at you.” She wanted to reach out, stroke his hair or pull him close but was also terrified of frightening him again. She had scared him, she knew that, and hated it.

“I know… It’s okay, it just startled me. What was he saying?”  She took a deep breath. “Just- a whole load of bullshit. You know how he is…” 

With that, Junior decided it was best not to pry, Nica had gotten used to dealing with Chucky’s comments, even mastered the art of responding to him without saying anything out loud. Unfortunately, that also meant that it must have been something awful for Nica to snap enough that she spoke out loud without realising it. Nica herself was still quiet, Junior could tell that she was trying to keep her emotions hidden, the same way she would stay silent around Tiffany as she rambled, fearful that if she didn’t she would drop the act of believing she was dismembered and kill her right then and there with her bare hands. She couldn’t do that, no matter how bad either of them wanted it. They would have nowhere to go, Nica could try and clear her name but she would have no chance of that if she killed ‘Jennifer Tilly’ in cold blood. 

It was strange, Junior never thought he would have wanted a sibling, sure he felt lonely growing up and he liked spending time with Jake when they were little kids, but he always knew that if he had had a sibling, it would have just been more comparisons made by his dad. More competition and training, a constant battle for validation from his father. Yet, hearing the way his adoptive mother spoke of her niece, he knows it would have never been like that, a part of him hopes that they would have gotten along. Granted, if Alice was anything like her aunt, he’s sure they would have. He can’t help but imagine how different his upbringing would have been if Nica had been found innocent in her trial and adopted her niece, from what he knows, Alice may as well have been her daughter anyway. Would he have still met Nica? A part of him wished that Chucky was lying, was it possible for Chucky to show Nica things he imagined and pass them off as memories? Maybe Alice could have gotten away, she was safe and hiding somewhere, maybe started going by a different name and is in a random foster home somewhere...

His thoughts were interrupted by Nica taking a deep breath, the kind he had grown accustomed to hearing when Tiffany would leave the room. As if her emotions that were fighting to get out had finally stopped pushing on the door, for better or worse.

“Right,” she sighed out, “Would you like one more game or would you rather just get some sleep, Junbug?”

“Uh, I think I would just like to get some sleep if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, honey.”

As he lay down and began to allow sleep to take over his senses, he couldn’t help but worry about his mom. He could ignore the feeling that she was trying so hard to avoid becoming like her own mother that she would end up hurting herself even more. She was so devoted to making sure that he was okay and staying strong for him that she was fighting all her grief and suffering on her own as well as fighting his grief and trauma alongside him. He had to do something, help her in some way, let her know that she’s allowed to struggle as well. That’s when the idea struck him, and calmed those worries enough for him to drift off to sleep. 

Where the fuck was she?!

Junior was sure he must have checked almost every room in the house by now and yet no sign of Tiffany. It didn’t make sense, she hasn’t left the house since she brought him and Nica here, and she wouldn’t have gone to ‘visit’ Nica without telling him. But the only explanation she had given was that she just had to ‘take care of something’. He half debated going to check on Nica but it was far too risky without knowing where Tiffany was and what direction to listen out for her. 

That was when he heard it, the faint noise of Tiffany’s signature cackle, he focused on the sound, following it intently to find his captor. Before he came face to face with that door, the one other door Tiffany told him to stay away from after Nica’s room. Which luckily, had stopped being off limits after it was clear to her how well he had been getting along with her ‘girlfriend’.

His curiosity got the better of him, he had to know what she was doing in there, was it more voodoo stuff. Maybe she was helping Chucky again, and decided to give him another chance considering that part of him was still possessing the woman Tiffany had ‘fallen for’. 

There was another voice, but it definitely wasn’t Chucky, it was a female voice, one too small and muffled for him to make out the words through the door. It wasn’t long before he heard the familiar clicking of Tiffany’s stilettos and he rushed, at least as quickly as his heart would let him before resuming his place on the couch as if he had never moved. 

Tiffany was already drunk, Junior figured he had half an hour tops before she passed out this time, that's when he would investigate. And like clock work, he watched as Tiffany clumsily placed her wine glass down as her eyelids began to droop. He gave it another five minutes just to be sure that she was out before retracing his steps to the room, his precious kitchen knife in hand. 

He hesitated briefly once he was there, debating whether he should knock. He doesn’t know why, surely no one would be in there unless they had to, so he decided to skip that part and start picking the lock. He soon heard the triumphant click and slowly pried the door open and to his confusion, saw a room nothing like the one Nica was placed in. Strange. He was so sure he heard a voice, he expected the same layout as another bedroom but this seemed to be no more than a storage room. Random boxes and items coated in dust was all he could see, there had to be something he was missing. 

“Hello?” Junior fought hard to keep his voice as steady as possible, if there was someone in there with him, he couldn’t let them know he was afraid. He was beginning to think he had imagined that mystery voice earlier, he was just being paranoid when there was an almost inaudible response.

“Who- who’s there?” Unlike his own, this voice had been unsuccessful at hiding the fear in it, or maybe the owner wasn’t even trying.

“Where are you?” Junior called out a little louder, still on edge but more determined now. 

“In the cage- under the sheet in the back of the room.”

Junior’s eyes instantly landed on a faded sheet covering something that, at first glance, he would have never guessed to be a cage. The shape seemed too big and an unusual size for something similar to the kind of animal cages he had seen in the past but also too small for a human to fit, except maybe a small child. Oh gods, please not a child!

Junior steadied his trembling hand as it wrapped around the sheet in front of him, and drew in one more deep breath before pulling it clean away. 

For a moment, he was frozen by the dozens of questions racing through his head, trying to settle on which one he should ask first. It was a cage, a huge, shining gold, old-fashioned bird cage and, somehow, that was the most normal thing that was unveiled. Sitting inside, on a lining of newspaper with a small desk behind her littered with letters and a cheque book was a doll. Another goddamn living doll, but this one seemed different, she looked almost the same as the lookalike Tiffany doll that human Tiffany had placed in the truck with the Good Guys last November. Except this one had a large wound on the side of her head with stitches holding it closed and an unmistakable look of fear in her eyes, the kind that could not be faked. Besides all those dolls from the truck burned up, fried by the explosion after Andy Barclay drove the vehicle off of Hackensack Gorge, taking himself with it. 

Junior couldn’t ignore the pang of guilt that took over, he had tried to warn him, and he should have listened.

“Wh- who are you?” Junior asked, desperately trying to push through the regrets that were filling his head. The doll’s eyes hadn’t left him once, still wide and afraid as ever.

“I’m Jennifer, Jennifer Tilly!” She rushed on with her explanation before Junior could respond, “I know how that sounds but the woman keeping me here, she’s an imposter! Her name is-”

“Tiffany Valentine.”

“Yes! It’s the truth, I swear it!”

Junior held his hands up in mock surrender, “I know, I believe you. She’s trapped me here too.” With that, Jennifer finally began to calm down, at least temporarily, before some mix of a sob and a laugh escaped her plastic lips, “You know who she is. You believe me and you found me!”

Junior gave a sheepish grin as he lowered himself to sit by the cage, hesitantly placing the fingers of his right hand through the gaps.

“I’m Junior, by the way. How long have you been down here?”  Jennifer took a moment to think as she reached a small plastic hand to hold his fingers as a substitute for a handshake. 

“Oh, I couldn’t tell you exactly. Since my babies were born, that's when she switched our souls. Do you know anything about them? My babies? Are they safe?”

“Glen and Glenda? The twins? I think so, I haven’t met them but they visit once a month. I think they’re doing well…”

There it was, the first smile Jennifer had given it what felt like years, maybe it had really been that long. There was so much more they both wanted to ask but they were interrupted by a distant crash, no doubt Tiffany knocking her wine glass to the ground in her sleep. Both prisoners tensed up, “Kid, you have to get out of here. If she finds you-”

“I know, but I'll come back later, when she’s asleep I promise. I still have a lot of questions.”

“Okay, be careful!”

“I will.” Junior gave her one last apologetic smile before draping the sheet back over the cage. 

Breathe, in and out. Nica had to keep reminding herself of that, to focus on that and the birds moving back and forth, taunting her from the other side of the glass. Somehow that was more bearable than her hunger, the fog around her brain from the drugs and the unbearable itching of the dress she was forced to wear. Luckily, in Tiffany’s obviously still tipsy state, she had forgotten to draw the curtains over one of the windows, so once again watching the world go by became Nica’s source of entertainment as she waited for Junior to pick the lock. 

Anything to distract her from thinking about things that should have happened on this day, including spoiling her niece rotten- No! Focus on the birds, she could just about watch them from this distance as they hop around under the glow of the outside lights. It was nice in a way, being able to see once again that there is life outside of the cage she is currently trapped in, it helps to remind her to keep going, that Junior could have a future still-

Speaking of, the familiar sound of the lock being pried open started once again. Except Junior did not confidently burst in as he had begun doing, in fact he lingered just outside of the room, almost as if he was hiding behind the door. A brief flash of terror struck through Nica as the idea came to her that maybe Tiffany had found them out and was threatening Junior from the shadows. 

However, that fear quickly evaporated as Junior gave his signature half smile,

“Sorry i’m later than usual, I uh-” He slowly entered the room carrying an unopened box of brownies with him, “I was trying to see if there were any kind of cakes in the kitchen but these were the closest thing that I could find. I just thought that, even if Alice isn’t with us, it is still her birthday. I thought you might still want to celebrate her…”

Nica couldn’t stop a few tears from overflowing at Junior’s explanation, she hadn’t celebrated her niece’s birthday since the last time she spent one with her. She didn’t allow herself to celebrate it when she was in Lochmoor, the hypnosis had started taking effect and she told herself she didn’t deserve to be involved in any way. Not that she would have been allowed to do much. 

“Yeah, I would like that…” It was barely more than a whisper, “I think she would have wanted us to as well, not to mention how happy she would have been. She preferred brownies over cake anyway.”

Junior allowed his smile to spread a little further across his face as she pulled two brownies out of the box. The whole experience was bittersweet but Nica couldn’t have been more grateful for it, Junior even had them quietly sing happy birthday and yet, something was still so clearly on Junior’s mind.

“Is everything okay, Junbug?” 

“Yeah, mom. Uh- look. I know it’s kinda shitty timing, and I don’t want to ruin Alice’s day or anything but it’s pretty urgent…”

“Don’t worry about that, honey. What’s the matter? Are you sick?” She instinctively placed a hand over his forehead.

“No, I’m fine but, remember when we were trying to figure out why Tiffany and Jennifer don’t switch like you and Chucky do?”

“Yeah..?”

“I’ve found out why.”

[gartenofbanny]

So today I'm going to list off the characters in Helluva Boss who I believe are defined by their relationships with others and one character who is extremely close to being defined by their relationship with others, but Vivziepop actually gave them the time of day to develop them. Just so you all know, yes Millie is in the list of characters defined by their relationships with another character and yes I know Vivziepop made a tweet thread about her. For that case, I'm just going to debunk the personality traits that Viv told us Millie have or explain why those personality traits don't matter or make sense. Let's get started.

Stella

Stella Goetia, now just Stella is without a doubt a character who is known for her relationship with Stolas. Why do I think that? Well, it's because every time she's on screen, she never shuts up about Stolas or what he did. Most if not all of Stella's scenes are just her talking bad about Stolas, her insulting Stolas either in front of him or far away from him, her talking to Stolas, and her referring to Stolas when talking.

Even when Stella is talking to Andrealphus the topic is about Stolas. She doesn't even mention Octavia which is another issue. We do not know what her relationship with Octavia is even like, at most Stella referred to Ocatvia as "an egg" after she gave birth in The Circus. Does Stella love Ocatvia or not? Does Octavia love Stella or not? Are they just both neutral to each other?

We don't know because all Stella does is just badmouth Stolas. She's exactly like Millie, Stella doesn't say anything or do anything that doesn't involve Stolas except it affects Stolas negatively instead of positively. I swear why does she even hate Stolas what did he do? But speaking of Millie-

Millie

Fans of Helluva Boss are noticing that Millie's character is just being Moxxie's wife and it still holds up to this day even after Western Energy released. I'd assume you all know why, but to clarify most of the things Millie does or says the subject is just Moxxie.

Harvest Moon Festival involved encountering Millie's family, but despite knowing more about Millie and her childhood, we just know that Millie's parents aren't fond of Moxxie, they're farmers, and they like war, fighting, and other masculinity-type things. Millie talks about her family in Loo Loo Land so you'd think they would actually do more with her actually going to her parent's place, right? Nah. In fact, Moxxie and Blitzo interact with Millie's parents longer than Millie herself does. Something to think about.

EXEs and OHs is the best example of Millie just being Moxxie's wife because if you all forgot Chaz is also Millie's EX. She got pissed off at him for some reason at the beginning of the episode, but that's never brought up again as Millie gets even angrier once she finds out about what Chaz did to Moxxie before they were married. What was the point of making Millie the ex of Chaz when you aren't even gonna do anything with it? This would've been the perfect opportunity to show why Millie doesn't like Chaz and why she loves Moxxie so dearly. Despite being a Moxxie magnet we don't know why Millie loves him.

Ik about the tweet that Vivziepop tweeted out regarding Millie so I'm just gonna summarize my problems with it mainly when she talks about Millie.

"Millie is resourceful", and so is Moxxie plus I never noticed anything that Millie even does that's resourceful or out of the ordinary. All she really does is just fight.

"Millie has strong family ties", and so does Moxxie and Blitzo plus Millie barely mentions her family aside from Loo Loo Land.

"Millie has a past of violence", and so does everyone else. Blitzo used to work as an assassin, Moxxie worked for Crimson's mob, and Loona most likely had to fight a few Hellhounds from her orphanage to survive.

"Millie has a sibling rivalry with Sallie May", but Millie doesn't even mention Sallie May before or after Harvest Moon. Hell, Millie doesn't even bring up Sallie May after Sallie May made her first appearance. I'm not sure if Vivziepop is an only child, but there is a difference between being angry at your sibling and having a sibling rivalry.

"Millie has strong familial memories", but the only instance of us seeing that is when she mentions her family in Loo Loo Land and doesn't do so ever again.

"Millie is excitable and hyper-focused", those are just basic personality traits that literally everyone has.

Millie doesn't have anything that actually makes her stand out as a character. Her only role is that she's Moxxie's country-killer wife. That's it.

Octavia

A few people don't consider Octavia to be a character defined by her relationship, but I honestly think otherwise because the episodes she's featured in involve Stolas and whenever she's taking action within the episode, Stolas is the cause.

Loo Loo Land and Seeing Stars are nearly identical. IMP goes somewhere with Octavia or to look for Octavia, Stolas gets distracted by Blitzo causing his feathers to ruffle, Moxxie and Millie fuck around somewhere else, Octavia is alone somewhere crying about her situation with her family, someone finds Octavia whether it be Stolas or Loona, reassures Octavia that Stolas loves her and will never leave her behind, and the episode ends with Octavia and Stolas making up.

In a nutshell that's what both Loo Loo Land and Seeing Stars are and that's what Octavia is, Stolas' daughter. We only know what her relationship with Stolas is like not with Blitzo, or Stella. We know that she's cool with Loona, but we don't know when they met, why does Loona actually like Octavia as a friend, and in all honesty, their relationship just came out of nowhere as it had no build-up.

With those out of the way, I'm going to discuss the one character who is so close to being defined with their relationship with another character, but that character has some form of depth put into them and that character is...

Stolas

This is probably a little bit of a shock, but hear me out. In Western Energy, most of his lines revolve around Blitzo saving him or how Blitzo handles him in bed. Blitzo this, Blitzo that. His last words before he passed out were "Blitz.."

Similar to Stella, Octavia, and Millie it has almost gotten to a point where Stolas was defined by his relationship with Blitzo, but we all know it isn't because Stolas has developed (somewhat) and currently has relationships with others and not just Blitzo.

This all gives me just one major question, why is it that the characters that I listed are defined by their relationship with others, but one character who nearly has that aspect doesn't?

And just so you know all the characters I listed who are defined by other characters are female.

With all of this out of the way, I'd like to thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a great day!

[itsyourearthtoo]

Dinosaurs are not extinct.

The fact that Dinosaurs, the rulers of Mesozoic earth are extinct is not at all a 'news' to you, right?

Yeah, I mean considering you or your distant cousins belong to the Holocene earth and actively taking part in this Anthropocene, you have been technically taught right since your childhood, that YES! DINOS, THE GIANT LIZARDS ARE EXTINCT. And, even if I write something on this, won't make a big deal. But what will make quiet a big deal is, if I write and actually go onto claim that NO! DINOSAURS AREN'T EXTINCT! Now this is what that sixth grader would say, "Yes, I want more of this... go on I'm listening."

By now, you might be thinking that this is a big statement I have made. But what if I tell you, go and ask this same question to a paleontologist or maybe some evolutionary biologist. Trust me, try it out and you'll see, it's not much of a shock to them as it was to you. Dinosaurs are not extinct, they know it. But do they say it? NO (and this is what this blog is all about)

You see, in the world of Paleontology or (to be more precise)Dinosaur Paleobiology there are two very vaguely defined things. And by saying, 'very vague' it's actually quiet serious. I mean if at least one of these two would have been crystal clear to us, I wouldn't have been writing this blog today.

First, the very meaning of the word Dinosaur! yes... it literally means "A Giant Lizard" (as you all might already know). Why Sir Richard Owen, why did you do this? I mean there's a whole different story to this though, but yeah the great paleontologist of his time could have come up with something more better and clearer.

Now, if you are that average sixth grader wondering what's actually wrong with A GIANT LIZARD, well let me shatter your childhood learnings and say that, dinosaurs are related to lizards but not that related enough to actually call them lizards!

Avoiding, scientific stuffs here (you'll get bored otherwise) let me get this straight. Assuming you are aware of a phylogenetic tree, look at this below -

Just look at where Lizards and the group of Dinosauria or Non Avian Dinosaurs are! In our planet's great evolution story (with regards to Geological Time Scale of course), lizards and dinosaurs both went on to follow separate paths of development.

Now the sixth grader might argue, "Oh cmon! but they do have a common ancestry at some point right, like mentioned here as Diapsida?" Well its true, but going with this, it all comes down to that one single-celled microorganism or maybe that RNA molecule made of just proteins from which life eventually began and the fact then becomes, YOU are also a lizard or fish or any insect. Not so happy with that ain't you. Trust me, my brain's okay digesting this but you or an average sixth grader won't be proud calling themselves a disgusting house fly :)

This is what I call 'A Game of Perspective'.

Perspective, to actually define events with regards to our evolutionary history. This is... what I feel, the most difficult thing to do in paleontology, apart from the fact that you define something one day and tomorrow you dig something out related to your newly defined 'thing' which actually makes you rewrite the whole definition, previous day going in vain.

Hence, the giant lizard, based on the above phylogenetic tree, does live. It's not at all extinct. Komodo dragon, take this for an example if you aren't satisfied with your house lizard. Now, this obviously doesn't bring back the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex or Velociraptor right? They are indeed extinct. But, if you are attentive enough to actually see 'Birds' in the above phylogenetic tree branching out of the Dinosauria group, ask yourself, "Is the chicken, that I love to eat from KFC extinct?"

The answer is an undebated NO and this is where the 'second vague' thing comes in - Where to draw the line and define birds as a whole separate species?

Look at a closer division of Dinosauria in the above figure and you will see that 'Aves' has actually branched out from 'Theropoda', which itself has branched out from 'Saurischia'. Aves, is what you might already know, refer to the birds. Now the main point of confusion is at what point in evolutionary history did a chicken become a chicken from its theropod descendants. The game of perspective comes up here, and we look into the definition of birds with regards to theropods (group of Dinosauria), because we know that they are their evolutionary successors. (look at the above figures again if you still don't believe)

Birds as Archeopteryx and all of its descendants.

Pretty cool right? I mean if you follow paleontology to some extent you might know that Archeopteryx is the missing link fossil between a bird and a dinosaur. But is it a bird or a dinosaur?

More precise - Is Archeopteryx a bird or a theropod?

The issue here is, recent studies have shown that Archeopteryx is more related to Dromaeusaurids (a small clade of feathered dinosaurs) than modern day birds.

2. Birds as feathered dinosaurs.

As good as it may sound, feathers! It is the most confusing body part of a Dinosaur, because more and more fossils show that they had feathers attached to them. Even your favorite T-Rex is now believed to have it! (Note - Jurassic Park is just a movie, there's a whole lot more to dinosaurs than to just get chased by them in a park)

3. Birds as flying dinosaurs.

Again, it is difficult to determine exactly which dinosaurs were capable of flying (as opposed to simply gliding). Also from a modern perspective, penguins for instance don't fly. But they are birds!

4. Birds as crown dinosaurs, meaning the last common ancestor of all extant birds and its descendants.

This is somewhat the most favored definition by paleontologists till date, but the problem here is, it ignores many feathered and flying dinosaurs that are more closely related to modern birds than to Archaeopteryx as birds.

Just look at how the highlighted region fades as we go from modern birds towards Archeopteryx and so on.

So, YES... saying that the Ornithischian group of dinosaurs is extinct, isn't wrong at all. Even the Sauropod group of Saurischian dinosaurs are extinct. But the Theropods, the same evolutionary line of Tyrannosaurus Rex isn't extinct, unless paleontologists can actually draw the line to separate modern day birds from them.

Paleontologists are still trying to figure this line out and believe me, this is quite challenging. I would like to quote here, studying what's underneath is much more difficult than something just above your head. You see, your goal isn't far in paleontology... it's hidden and that's what makes it more difficult.

Now, is it even necessary to actually draw this line. I'm afraid it is, otherwise blogs like this will come up more and disturb the already disturbed lives of paleontologists, dinosaur paleobiologists out there.

And... till the time this line is drawn, respect the chickens that you eat as they are your living dinosaurs. (I mean, I am not promoting veganism here, but just respect them, yeah... can't think of anything else)

Figure References - Figure 1 (in order) taken from Macroevolutionary patterns in the evolutionary radiation of archosaurs (Tetrapoda: Diapsida) by Stephen L Brusatte | September 2010 Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101(3-4) Figure 2 (in order) taken from www.opengeology.org | Image by Callan Bentley Figure 3 (in order)taken from Dino101: Dinosaur Paleobiology 200/201 University of Alberta | Modified from Hackett et al.2008

If you have made it this far, thanks a lot. Feel free to ask me any dumb thing. Trust me, dumb questions often lead to great discoveries!

Anyways, this is it for my first blog.

For the love of Earth Science :D Byeee

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama CD - Hijikata Biyori Track 32 Eng translation

I'mma back! Well, not really. This was scheduled to get posted... and I'm going to assume that I'm too tired right now to check tumblr.

oh well!

enjoy!

Hakuoki Hijikata Biyori Track 32: Confrontation

Translation by KumoriYami

Toudou: The weather's really nice today.

Hijikata: Oh, if it isn't Heisuke.

Toudou: Ah, Hijikata-san.

Hijikata: What are you doing in a place like this? Have you wounds recovered?

Toudou: Didn't I say that those injuries weren't a big deal? But you all kept me at headquarters and didn't let me do anything. Everyone was making a huge fuss about about nothing. Because I have so much free time now so I thought I would go read. I'm heading over to the book rental store to borrow some books now.

Hijikata: Heisuke reading? Ha, that really doesn't suit you.

Toudou: That's terrible, what do you mean by that. Speaking of which, I'm definitely studying harder than Hijikata-san now.

Hijikata: Haha, is that so. Where's the rental book store? Toudou: Ah, it's right around here. Hijikata-san, if you have time, why don't you come too?

Hijikata: Yes. It seems I don't know thta you knew of a good rental bookstore. Lead the way.

Toudou: Ah, leave it to me.

(arriving at the rental book store)

Hijikata: This is the place?

Toudou: Nn, the proprietor here is a nice guy. Uncle! I'm here to return the book I borrowed the other day!

Hijikata: There are no other customers saide from us. It doesn't look like this place is popular. Is this rental bookstore really that good?

Toudou: That's why it's good. You can focus on finding the book you want to read.

Hijikata: I see.

Toudou: Now then, wht should I borrow today. Oh, this looks pretty good.

Hijikata: Hm? What, isn't this "Otogi-zōshi" ?

Toudou: What, is that bad/isn't that good?

Hijikata: I won't say it's bad, but shouldn't you read something bit more useful? For example… how about this one?

Toudou: Ah?

Toudou: Huh? Which one? Hijikata-san, you'd actually read something so old-fashioned? How are you so popular at Shimabara when you're reading books like this?

Hijikata: Hey, Heisuke! What do you mean by old-fashioned! Reading the classics is more educational than anything else. You should read books like this.

Toudou: Ah, if you say so, I'll read it.

(coughing)

Hijikata: Hey, is there someone else? Sorry, I thought that there was no one else here…

Kazama: You guys can't even decide what books to read? How foolish.

Hijikata: Ah! That voice... is Kazama?

Kazama: You force your values ​​on others, and speak as if you know everything. It seems you don't even know the basic common sense of reading.

Hijikata: Huh?

Kazma: A book is something you have to choose and decide the value of for for yourself. Are you not able to understand that?

Hijikata: If you don't have a standard to determining value, you can't decide what is good, and whaa is bad. The values ​​that you decide on yourself are the ones that you can impose on others. That's why it's important to listen to other people's opinions on values.

Kazama: And that standard is the classics… is it? How pathetic.

Hijikata: What did you say?

Kazama: Your unquestioning belief in old things lasting for a long time is exactly how you all live your lives, clinging to the dying shogunate, though I don't mind praising you for your blind loyalty.

Toudou: Hey, you've been eavesdropping on us from the start and then spouting nonsense here? In the first place, if you want to decide on what books to read, then the method for making those decisions will vary from person to person, right? Isn't it fine to listen to other people's values and then mke your own decision?

Kazama: Ha, I've heerad that often. But even that opinion is not yours.

Toudou: Then what are you saying! Wouldn't it be better if you had someone teach you how to say things?

Kazama: There's no need for that. I was just teaching you how to speak in a way that's appropriate for you.

Toudou: Stop it!

Hijikata: Heisuke! Don't fall for his provocation. If you want to pay him back, use your katana. The next time we meet.

(Hijikata and Heisuke leave)

Kazama: This is why country aand cowardly samurai are such a pain [not sure what to put here. the JP here is 田舎の犬侍 apparently. the cn version just says 'country samurai']. Proprietor, I'll be borrowing this.

---end---

notes: 『御伽草子』 or "Otogi-zōshi" are "a group of about 350 Japanese prose narratives written primarily in the Muromachi period (1392–1573)."

source: wikipedia