#nice idea!! is april 1st good? sure!!

[aroaceofthesea]

Everyone celebrating april fools meanwhile spain knowing the real date is in december

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 76: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Ooooh CCS fans, welcome back to our monthly appointment!! Which, apparently, will go on a little longer than previously expected because (I'm sure you've heard of it in the last month, but in case you didn't) CLAMP/Kodansha did what I thought they wouldn't dare doing: they extended the Clear Card serialization a little bit more, announcing the last volume will be the 16th one, instead of the 15th one as previously stated! Volume 16 will be released on April 1st 2024, while they also delayed the release of volume 15 to November 13th (this made me suspicious, is it to accomodate more chapters in it? Or what else happened there, to delay it?) I have no idea how many more chapters we'll get at this point (or if the 16th volume was born because it will accomodate some after-story extra chapters), but I have to say that after the initial shock, I've took the news quite well and I just can't deny that the story really seemed to need a bit more room to develop the conclusion properly, so I'd daresay the announcement ultimately made me sigh in relief. And this chapter definitely proved to me that things are steadily proceeding, but taking care in depicting carefully and without haste an heroic moment that will turn out to be more complex than what probably Sakura & co. expected. I'm gonna need a bit more patience to see how all of this ends, but I prefer for the end to not be rushed and not have regrets in the future! Also, this looks like it might tie in with the beginning of season 2 of the anime? We'll see!

Well, after this preamble to update everyone on the situation of the serialization, we'll proceed under the cut to talk about the actual chapter, which unfortunately this month is stained by several translation mistakes, omissions and inaccuracies. They really deceived me, doing a good job on the past 2 chapters...*sigh* I'm still quite mad because of course WHO gets affected the most, among those translation mistakes? I feel like coming at this point I don't even have to state it. *another sigh* Before diving into my ramblings, let's give a look to the gif of this month! I chose this one because I feel like I need to lighten the mood a little bit, since between the end of this one and -I'm sure- the next chapter, I'm afraid there won't be anything to laugh about.

Under the cut!

The Color Page

Anyone following this blog since some time, or who knows me well, probably doesn't need to be told that I completely loved the color page of this month! 🥰After 11 chapters, Akiho comes back to grace the opening page of a chapter of Clear Card. It's very simple, but in its simplicity I could feel all of Akiho's essence, while appreciating the usual symbolism of some elements of the color page. First and foremost, Akiho is smiling, and that wasn't a given for a color page appearing at the end of this story. We've seen Sakura making plenty of wistful faces lately, so it feels like we can't really take for granted to see our characters smiling. But her beautiful smile in combination with the nice shade of green Mokona-sensei chose for her elegant dress (which is totally in tune with what Akiho would wear) is really giving a kind of hopeful vibe to the whole color page. And I feel that for this chapter, we really needed that. Green is kind of an unusual color to associate Akiho with, but there's more to it. Together with the shade of yellow that sensei used to create a gradient on the skirt, this green is a clear callback to the color scheme of the lilies that Akiho is holding and wearing among her curls. And as we all know, lilies in this arc are primarily a symbol of the character who literally bears their name: Akiho's mother, Lilie (German for "lily"). As soon as I saw the presence of lilies in this color page with her, I went all "awwww" because I couldn't help but think "this is a sign her mother is watching over her and is always with her, right?" And inevitably, seeing Akiho gently holding those flowers made me wish even more that she could know something, anything about her mother. I also noticed that Mokona-sensei slightly changed the shading of Akiho's hair again, removing the yellowish undertone that was present in the most recent color pages that Akiho appeared in, making me sigh because I'll have to modify my color palette for my fanarts once again 😩it still looks lighter than her mother's, at least, and it's still very much ash blonde. The editorial text in JP on the color page is what Sakura told her at the end of chapter 73: "Let's get them back. The one you didn't want to lose".

Collapsing Time

Aaaaand this chapter for me started with a "I KNEW IT!" equipped with a loud laughter, because ever since chapter 75 ended I've really been wondering "will the group at home be able to follow their journey inside the fake moon, or will the connection be conveniently cut off?" OF COURSE IT'S THE LATTER, what else could've been? 😆 Tomoyo rationally wonders if the signal simply doesn't reach in the space inside the fake moon, but Eriol from the other end of the videocall tells everyone that these are rather some more specific, particular circumstances: he was able to see what was inside the fake moon for a split second before the connection was cut off, and what he saw is an environment where time isn't simply stopped, is actually collapsing. I want to start my long list of complaints about the translation in English of this chapter, with this mild inaccuracy: the ENG makes Eriol consistently sound unsure of what he's affirming above, using verbs like I suppose, while the JP text doesn't leave any trace of doubt - Eriol isn't supposing, he knows that time is breaking down in that environment.

Back to Sakura and Syaoran, our little heroes start to feel the effects of this powerful magic that is permeating the interior of the fake moon, with Syaoran noticing that the clock parts fluctuating aren't really deformed like they're seeing, but only appear so due to the strong pressure of the magic spell inside that environment. And here we have to stop once again, because this is another straight up mistake of the ENG translation:

ENG: "There's nothing wrong with the watch itself. The spell's placed too much pressure on it. It only looks broken"

JP: "It's not like the components of the clocks are really deformed...They only look like that because the pressure of the magic spell is too strong"

As you can see, skipping the translation of the word 部品 (components) made them completely misunderstand Syaoran's line and make it about the pocket watch in their hands, instead of the fluctuating clock parts! And it's like they wanted to give an explanation to why the pocket watch looks broken (hello??? The pocket watch gradually broke when Kaito was still active in the un-rewritten world!!), despite the adjective used in JP is deformed, not broken. But let's go on.

Sakura starts to feel that pressure on her head, in fact she points out that her head is hurting to a worried Syaoran (JP, lit.: "My head is..."). He answers that it's only normal, because the spell is so powerful that it's affecting them physically, and he can feel those effects too (he's only better at dissimulating it, apparently). (I'm just worried if it's clear in the ENG translation, by how they're phrasing things, that the spell Syaoran is referring to is the one that's active on the whole place, not the one he used to trace the owner of the pocket watch). Syaoran continues saying that it's happening the same to the interior of the "fake moon", basically everything is so warped and deformed (due to the strong pressure) that if the pocket watch didn't show them the way, they would've lost both their sense of orientation and even the "target" they were tracking with that compass. So while the readers might have thought that if Sakura and Syaoran got there successfully it was only thanks to the compass, CLAMP went out of their way to specify that it wasn't exactly like that: it seems like the pocket watch actively guided them through the magic beam that originated from the compass, preventing them from getting lost. I guess without the watch's intervention, the compass might have still shot that beam in search for Kaito, but it might have gotten all of them lost, because the magic spell at work inside that environment is so strong that it warps everything, beam included. Again, I wonder if this concept above is clear enough from how they phrased it in the ENG translation.

And if that wasn't enough, Sakura's sweet smiling face says that Akiho guided them there. Evidently she thinks that the pocket watch is not only permeated by that mysterious moon magic that they still don't know who it belongs to, but also by Akiho's strong will to look for and to find the person she never wanted to lose. Akiho is always with them, spirit tightly connected to that pocket watch, and I couldn't help but being so moved by how considerate and sweet Sakura is. Akiho is evidently at the center of her thoughts even now, after all, she departed for this mission precisely for her sake.

Syaoran says that the beam is pointing at this dragon that is sleeping in front of them, but then actually starts doubting it and says "wait, is this really a dragon...?". The mere fact that he had a second thought about it might already be a sign that there might be more than meets the eyes, behind this creature that we're seeing now. Sakura just needs to look at it for a moment to remember immediately: she met this dragon before, in a dream. Of course, she can remember about this only thanks to the "film strips of memories" that the Record Card supplied her with some chapters ago, since it's all stuff that comes from the "un-rewritten world". Then, Sakura takes charge of the pocket watch and thanks Syaoran for his help with the compass: it's clear that she wants to talk to the dragon, now. Clutching the pocket watch tightly and looking at the sleeping creature in an intense way, she gets closer to it.

The dragon finally opens its eyes and wakes up.

Sakura is such a sweet and well mannered girl, so I couldn't help smiling when she said this: (JP, lit.) "Please allow me to address you with "you" (anata), since I don't know your name". Yes, because Sakura's usual speech pattern includes calling people by their name, rather than using a direct "anata". Even with Syaoran, some pages ago, she didn't use a direct "you", but simply repeated his name instead. Her usual way to talk to people always sounds very soft, well mannered and warm to me, while probably using "anata" even with her closest people feels too "blunt" to her. Or, maybe, "impersonal". In this case, she really doesn't have any other choice, though. Alas, this was something that was hardly translatable in a literal way in the ENG version, and I think the way they chose works pretty well anyway.

And so, Sakura continues. (JP, but ENG is equally fine as well:) "I can feel 'something' coming from you, which is the same that I can feel coming from this watch as well. I guess Syaoran-kun would call it 'magical power'. Do you know the owner of this watch? Or.....is this watch YOURS?" How cute, this really shows clearly that Sakura's relationship with magic is not made of technicalities and such, and she still feels a newbie about it, so she is capable of feeling distinctly the magical aura coming off the dragon and the pocket watch, but she isn't still used to use technical terms like "magical power", "aura" and such. Syaoran is the expert for those things, and she seems to admire and respect him a lot for that! 😆

Sakura asks something to Syaoran to get a certain confirmation. I have the impression that she could feel it herself, but wanted the confirmation from her expert husband boyfriend. She asks him if the magical power that is permeating the environment of the fake moon is the same moon power that comes from the pocket watch. Syaoran confirms they're different (again, an inaccuracy of the ENG translation, which makes Syaoran say "something is different". There's no "something" in the JP, he was just plainly stating that the two sources of power are different).

I want to point out how cool Syaoran looks in his pose of this scene, his hand gripping the handle of his sword the whole time, ready to unleash it at the minimum sight of danger on Sakura. I really love it because Sakura doesn't really know the intentions of the dragon yet, so what she's doing is pretty risky in itself, but Syaoran didn't stop her, he trusted her and let free to do what she wanted to do. He's just, you know, going to stay in the background with his hand on his sword, ready for any scenario, just in case. 😂 Protective boyfriend (but not suffocating one) strikes again! This is what I mean when I say they came a long way ever since chapter 1.

I Know Your Eyes

Sakura can feel that even the magic coming from the "cage" (she uses a term in JP that sounds more like fence than the harsher cage, though) is different from the one the pocket watch is giving off, and this is all she needs to have the confirmation she was looking for: just putting 2 and 2 together from the difference in powers, she concludes that the dragon is there against its will, and someone else locked it up in there. Sakura asks the dragon if she's right, but it simply......stares at her, in silence.

Sakura watches those eyes....and they're all she needs to see. Because she realizes she knows those eyes.

And here, unfortunately, I have to prepare you for another translation mistake, an actual omission that irritated me quite a lot because I consider this a very important scene for a certain character's depiction and development. And you probably don't even need to ask who he is, because he's been bastardized this whole time by the ENG translation.

ENG: "I know you. I know your eyes...And not just because I've seen them in a dream. With your eyes, you watched over Akiho-chan. Somehow, that memory's still inside of me"

JP: "I know...your eyes. And not because I've seen them in a dream. Those eyes used to look at Akiho-chan with great care/affection. (That feeling) remained inside of me"

*draws a deep breath* Okay. I'll go with my grievances with the translation first and then I'll talk about my own reaction to this scene.

When Sakura is talking about the way Kaito used to look at Akiho (because it's clear as hell we're talking about him here, even if she doesn't remember who he is, yet), the JP text includes a very important adverb, 大切に (taisetsu ni, lit. "carefully, giving importance, cherishing something). And Sakura doubles down on it by preceding it with another adverb, とても (totemo, "very"). It is absolutely, unmistakably clear that Kaito used to look at Akiho with lots of affectionate feelings. That 大切に indicates how much he cherished her...how much she was important to him...and he never said it aloud, probably not even realizing it himself, but his eyes spoke for him. And Sakura saw it all.

The ENG translation completely omitted and skipped the translation of the adverb とても大切に, indicating only that Kaito "watched over" Akiho. Completely stripping the action of looking at her of any emotional involvement. To me, that is intolerable. Why?

Because this is the first time that a character, any character, clearly spells out how Kaito considers Akiho. And of course they gave the honor of pointing out the elephant in the room (gosh, this really looks like that situation) to the protagonist, our Sakura. I mean, we came to this point in the story precisely because nobody was able to say for sure what the hell Kaito thought of Akiho. Not even the person concerned himself! I've seen countless of theories along the years, and a worringly big amount thought that Kaito only wanted to use Akiho for his own selfish goal. I kept seeing speculations of that kind even after all he did in chapter 70. And that was particularly strong in the western side of the fandom, because of how the translation portrayed Kaito all these years. Now that we finally get a spoken, spelled out confirmation that he considered Akiho so important, he cherished her so much, and those sweet feelings seeped through his eyes and couldn't escape Sakura's attentive stare, what do they do? They remove any sign of it. They make Sakura say that he only "watched over her" like a regular watch dog, without touching any of the emotional involvement that was indicated in the JP original text. I remind you that 大切(な) is also the core adjective of the famous 一番大切なひと, "the most important person". If this will be connected to an eventual statement later on, this omission is even worse.

Of course, I cannot be anything else than dismayed at this perpetrated character assassination that this translation is operating on Kaito. Leaving aside all my bias for my two favorite characters, this omission penalizes Sakura's characterization too. The fact the she could recognize Kaito (without knowing it's Kaito) through the Dragon's eyes is a testament to how extraordinarily empathetic she is, and how her empathy is literally saving this story. Her empathy made her understand that Kaito couldn't be a bad person, deep down, because of how he looked at Akiho and how Akiho was so happy with him, leading her to make the decision of not confronting them openly, back in the un-rewritten world. Her empathy is what guided her here and what now is telling her "yes, this IS Akiho's most important person. And that person cherished her too". And how she was able to recognize that? Not because Kaito used to just "watch over" Akiho, what made that gaze special were the feelings that Sakura could see inside of it. All of this story is held up by the feelings between its characters. I think it's a huge mistake to not give the right importance to them, to ALL OF THEM.

I think I complained enough about this translation, so let's get talking about happier things. Because of course, in its original form, this scene became my favorite one from the entire chapter and moved me to tears. I was amazed by how Sakura was capable of recognizing Kaito's soul, his essence, only looking at the dragon's eyes. And you know, although being similar (they are some kind of tsurime too), they're not exactly the same as Kaito's, so it seems clear to me that Sakura recognized them basing on sensations and feelings alone. Eyes are, after all, a window to somebody's soul. And even though we could never really get into Kaito's head, or only partially did towards the end of the "un-rewritten world", I really have to say that his eyes spoke volumes of what he was feeling for the entirety of the manga. And for that, we can only praise Mokona-sensei's wonderful skills. I always loved Kaito's eyes, how they could be mischievous, happy, surprised, sweet, sad, tragic. The fact that I could be sure that he loved Akiho in any capacity till now, was also thanks to how he looked at her. So I was really glad to see the element "eyes" being used in this scene to make Sakura recognize him. And there's more to it. I delved into the use of the word 瞳 (hitomi, lit. "pupils") with the furigana "me" next to it (which is the pronounciation of another kanji used to indicate eyes, 目), and I found out/re-confirmed that 瞳 indeed literally means "pupils", but in manga, songs, novels and such it is a trope used to indicate the eyes when there's an emotional nuance attached to it. It is used to make things sound more "romantic" or drip with emotion. "Your eyes...looked at her with so much affection"... ...You can now understand even better why I am so peeved at the omission of the ENG translation for this part. All the other languages did their job and included the nuance correctly. CLAMP were trying to be very straightforward with their composition of Sakura's line, everything was indicating that this was a very important and emotional moment. Akiho, all alone in Sakura's memories of the double date, is at the center of the entire page, as if to indicate that she was at the center of Kaito's eyes too (because that's what Sakura is talking about in the bubbles). But we can see a "spotlight" beside her, an empty one: that was certainly where Kaito used to be when Sakura met them at the botanical garden.

The Escape

Okay, Sakura found what she was looking for. Or, rather, WHO she was looking for. And it doesn't matter if it's a huge, dark dragon trapped inside a cage. I found this almost hilarious, how she doesn't question even for a second that Akiho's most important person is actually a dragon! But I could quickly realize that it's all because in this manga, external appearances don't matter. What matters is who you are. These are all souls, loving other souls. Everything in between holds no meaning. And so if there's one thing that Sakura knows with all her heart, is that this dragon cannot stay here. So she tells him (yeah, I can finally say "him") to come along with them. But it's in that moment that a danger arises: the clock particles start attacking Sakura and Syaoran at great speed, so much that Syaoran has to turn around very quickly to realize it (I loved the effect in his eyes to indicate the speed). With a swift move, Syaoran summons his famous "Raitei Shourai" and his powerful thunderbolt repels and destroys the clockwork that was about to attack them.

We go back for a moment to Yukito's home, where everyone is staring intently at the tablet to see if Sakura and Syaoran give any sign. A worried Touya (and Yukito, too) turns his attention to Akiho, though, who is the quintessence of tension right now. Hard stare to the screen, she looks as if she's ready to fight anyone at any moment. And here, unfortunately, another translation mistake drops.

ENG: "We need to be sure we're ready to go...In case Sakura-chan calls for us" JP: "I have to be fully prepared...for when Sakura-san will call me"

First thing first, you probably caught it yourself, Akiho calls Sakura "Sakura-chan" in the ENG version, and that's a mistake. She hasn't suddenly changed speech tone in the JP, she hasn't dropped keigo, she still calls her "Sakura-san", as usual. And despite here there isn't a subject (again, a typical thing Ohkawa-sensei does in her scripts), it's pretty understandable that she's talking about herself and not the whole group, because of the imperative tense she's using. Moreover, Sakura told the rest of the group that MAYBE she would've called them if she ended up needing any help, but for Akiho she was SURE she was going to call her, so Akiho really does have to be ready to be called at any moment. Akiho in JP uses a particular word to indicate the concept of "be fully prepared, all set, take all possible measures": 準備万全 (junbi banzen) and when I looked for its complete meaning on the internet, to understand the context better, I found out that this is also the name of a skill in the game of the "Uma Musume" series. That made me laugh because coincidentally, Akiho's voice actress Minori Suzuki is famous for voicing one of the characters of Uma Musume, "Agnes Digital" and I know for a fact that CLAMP are fans of Uma Musume. Was Ohkawa-sensei trying to make a fun reference or an Easter egg, here? 😉 Anyways, Akiho's determined face here is really beautiful, I'd daresay there isn't only determination in those eyes, but also a tiny touch of...irritation? I've probably said it before, on other social media, that I hope Akiho will be the one giving an earful to Kaito, and yell all her feelings in his face while angrily crying 🤪if this is building up to that, I cannot be happier than this!

Everyone proudly looks at our little warrior getting ready, and unfortunately due to the misunderstanding above, Yukito's line is mistaken too, in the ENG version: they make him say "I'm glad we have eachother" while in JP he simply commented "You're so confident/reliable!", which is totally coherent with the face she was making before. The adjective he uses, 頼もしい (tanomoshii) indicates someone who's dependable, reliable, confident or even "sure-footed".

Needless to say, I was very happy to: 1) See an interaction with Akiho coming from Yukito, this is the first time and with this comment he acted like another お兄ちゃん to her (the more, the better); 2) See him defining her "confident and reliable", I've seen a JP fan I follow on Twitter making an interesting interpretation of his line, coming from a character that was always worried over not knowing what to do to help the people he loves, and seeing another magic-less character standing tall and facing this ordeal courageously might have prompted him to understand Akiho's position more than we could imagine; 3) Acknowledge that it really seems as if CLAMP are trying to establish new and more connections between the old cast and Akiho, probably because these connections will stay even after the end.

Back to the situation inside the fake moon, Syaoran yells to Sakura that he's sure he won't be able to break that cage only with his spells, so he urges her to find a way to free and get that dragon out of there while he fends off all the incoming attacks. Sakura immediately complies, and this back and forth between them was already awarded the title of "husband and wife interaction" from the JP fandom. 😂 Sakura remembers what Momo told her about the remaining Cards that are waiting for her call...and sadly I have to point out another translation mistake: while the JP was always vague about the number of Cards awaiting for her to call them, the ENG this time around traced back its steps and made Momo say that "There is one more Card that was left behind", despite in chapter 73 correctly translating Momo's words as a general "There are other Cards that haven't disappeared". So, not only they haven't even checked what they translated just 3 chapters ago and are unable to keep coherence with it, but they didn't even consider that the Card we're about to see isn't even the last one that is waiting to make an appearance ever since the Clockland Play happened. Therefore, it's NOT true that there's just one left.

But the inaccuracies aren't over, because in the next line, Sakura looks at Kaito's pocket watch, and this is the association that she makes with it:

ENG: "This is my mother's watch...and that card looked just like it. I don't remember creating it...but..." JP: "My mother's watch....I created a Card that looked like it, and I never found out when that happened"

Always thanks to Record, Sakura got also back the memories of Nadeshiko's pendant watch, how she got it, and that she found herself with a Card that looked like it but didn't know when she created it (hint: it was because Kaito rewound time, but the Card survived).

It's the moment for Sakura to call the Card: TIME!! And finally, this Card that many awaited in trepidation gets activated for the first time. In a very poignant moment, no less! Sakura, full of gratitude, thinks about her mother and how they made this Card "together", and she finally realizes that Nadeshiko's pendant watch found its way to her through great-grandpa Masaki precisely for this. To be used in this moment. And so she does. She orders to the Card to "activate" the time of the cage, so that she can "open" it, and Nadeshiko's watch goes to position itself precisely over what I think is "the lock" of the cage. I think this might suggest why the watch was changed into a key in the anime: it would make even more sense that it's a key the one that will open the lock. The lock, together with the cage, successfully dissolves, freeing Kaito/the Dragon. The Dragon seemingly "stretches" himself (poor thing, having to stay all crouched for god knows how long!!), destroying all the remaining clockwork in the process. Sakura gets her Card back and doesn't waste time, urging everyone to get out of there. Syaoran notices the opening they had "sliced" into the fake moon earlier, and says to go through that to get outside. I think the opening is appearing here in front of them so immediately because the spell that was warping and making that space so tortuous and convoluted is now broken. Sakura and Syaoran fly towards the opening, successfully getting out of it, but once outside Sakura notices something and looks back in dismay: the Dragon is not moving. She asks frantically why. But Syaoran yells to Sakura to pay attention: she turns around, in time to see a big group of arrows pointing at them, in full attack.

Aaaaand this is where the chapter ends, once again with a big cliffhanger!! Where is this attack coming from???

I'll give you a hint......

Remember a nice afternoon tea, interrupted by a clan of ass*oles allied with an Association of criminals, back in chapter 33? Yeah, Kaito sure remembers well. Lord knows how many of these attacks he had to repel over the months that passed from when he was excommunicated from the Association, officially starting "the war" between him and those bastards. Kaito back then easily fended off the attack by stopping time, again at the expense of his life, but I wonder what will happen now. It's clear it's something that's coming from them. However, I'm still not sure they're concretely sending the attack right now. It might be a "trap" they've left in place in case anybody tried to free Kaito, so maybe Sakura won't confront them directly. I still don't believe this is where it's going. But we'll see what will happen and what direction CLAMP decided to give to this.

My biggest concern is also the Dragon. It became apparent, in this chapter, that the creature is Kaito himself, in some capacity. I say "in some capacity" because we don't know if he was transformed, if this is the form the Seal of D forced on him, or if it's the effect of taking all that magic from the artifact that he got from Akiho. I am pretty sure this isn't his true form or anything like that, he was a human being to begin with.

We don't even know if he's conscious of what's happening right now, what he remembers from "before", from the un-rewritten world. If he remembers about Akiho at all. Unfortunately, he didn't give any signs of even understanding what Sakura was telling him. I have to say it pains me to see Kaito like that, and this is a possibility that I had been preparing myself for since long time, so that surely "cushioned" the blow.

However....

There is a theory going around, about why the Dragon won't move at the end of the chapter. I've seen it both from JP fans and from my mutuals too. And I have to say....it's pretty in-character. It's very convincing. The Dragon/Kaito doesn't move because he doesn't want to. Because he thinks he doesn't deserve to go out there and be saved. And it's to be noted that what Syaoran says is indeed 動かない (doesn't move), not 動けない (can't move). If we have to take those words literally, then we should exclude that there's anything "external" preventing him from moving. The reason is somewhere else.

If it's really Kaito being unsure/not willing to go with them because he doesn't think he deserves to, then that would also mean his memories are intact. Add agony over agony. If his consciousness is intact, I wonder what he thought when he saw Sakura and Syaoran? Was he surprised? I really think this could be the perfect spot where Akiho could finally spring into action. Because THAT is something only SHE can do anything about. If that's really the reason why he's not moving, then he needs to hear the full story. And he needs to hear it from the person his plan affected the most, the one he saved, yes, but also the one he's hurt the most with his blind "excess of love". But before that, Sakura needs to understand where the problem lies. I really hope she'll have the chance to talk to the Dragon again, and with her exceptional empathy, understand that Akiho needs to talk to him.

Next chapter, the 77th one, is going to be published on August 30th on CLAMP's Youtube channel, less than a month away! And by this release date, I can infer it'll go on sale with Nakayoshi on September 1st. At this point it doesn't even feel so "special" to announce it, but the next issue of Nakayoshi will see Sakura once again on the cover, and once again featured in the furoku! At the time of writing this post, no leaks have appeared regarding how/what the furoku will be.

Well! Sorry again for an endless post full of complaints about the translation, but this time around they really messed up. I thought something changed in the translation process in the past 2 chapters and they paid more attention/checked multiple times before giving the OK, but apparently this time that was not the case. As usual, I'll await any question/topic you want to discuss about in my ask box! See you at the end of this month for chapter 77!!

[cherry-pop-elf]

Happy Birthday To We

George Weasley x Reader

It’s April 1st. The busiest day of the year, and most traumatic. You figured to steal your husband away, and have a nice little picnic. You, your son, George, and of course…. Fred

Warnings: Grief, Mourning, Talks of self harm, suicidal ideology, hurt comfort, wizarding war angst, lots of angst, dead Fred, Umbridge, hopeful ending ((because reading a story that starts sad and ends sad can be frustration. Spoliery? Kinda, but hey. Heavy topic story with an actual pay off? You deserve it))

“You gotta eat, young man-!” You tsked, but smiled. You knew he went heavy with work. Especially today of all days. April 1st. Not only the busiest day of the year, but also the day of his birthday. A birthday he was no longer able to share. So, he would try and drown himself in work. Make his mind so numb, he can’t feel anything.

“I will I will, after I-“ He tried to excuse, but you waved your wand. Having the box he was carrying quickly be sent into the shelf. He held his hands in mock defeat, as you smiled in victory. You won this round.

“Good boy! I made us a picnic basket and everything! Junior would love some fresh air with you too.” You smiled, as he couldn’t say no to that. A picnic, with his family? How could he resist? Fresh air, fresh food, and his little baby boy? You staked his heart, and he was at your mercy.

“Alright alright. Let me transfer my notes, and schedule, to Lee-“ That had you giddy. Hell yeah, you won this round. That had you proud, as you watched him go and find that good friend of his.

Meanwhile, you were quick to run to the back of the shop. Up the stairs, and into the flats above. Specifically the one where Fleur was, given Bill worked at Gringotts again. Ever since Fred passed, Bill figured being closer to family was wise. Fleur was already packing their bags, the moment he suggested the idea. A Weasley indeed.

“Thanks for baby sitting, the place gets so swamped-“ You wheezes, before you picked up your little boy from the Veela. Those beautiful ginger curls danced in his face, as he reached out for you. Little chubby fingers eager to touch your face. You happily allowed, as Fleur made sure to remind you he should eat soon.

With him safe in his sling, the picnic basket grabbed, you would wait outside of the shop. That way Junior wouldn’t get overstimulated. Was just you, and him. You playing with him, as he babbled away. Your eyes, and his hair. He was just perfect. You loved him so much, and so did George.

George was just enjoying the view. Watching you play with his son. How little Freddy was eager for your attention, and you happily gave it to him. With kisses, and tickles to his tummy. Made him gurgle and squeal so happily. Seeing all that just helped heal him. Like all that pain from the war was worth it. It wasn’t for nothing. Nothing at all.

“My family.” He sighed, as he would be by your side. The way Freddy’s eyes lit up made you want to cry. He was so happy to see his daddy. Out of his work suit, his dress shirt, and tie. Actually enjoying the fresh air on his skin. So many scars, so much ink. So much to his skin, it’s hard to tell the self inflected apart from the war torn. You knew, but you were happy to see them healed over. Finally.

Without another worrying thought, he aparated you three off. There again, to a oh so familiar place. Familiar, and painful, place. One memorized to its core, for George. Even the very ground was indented from his endless visits. The wind seemed to be aware of his presence, and blew. Cooling down the anxiety in his soul.

Across the worn down paths, with the scent of freshly laid flowers next to them. Little Freddy, ever curious, would cooe at all the pretty flowers. Laid for those who have long passed on. You wondered if this was healthy for Freddy. To be exposed to such things so young, but maybe understanding such could be helpful. You would worry about it later, now was the time to see him. See Fred.

His grave was well taken care of. George visits at least once a week, and it was quick to be realized that by the masses. That meant that not only were offerings left for Fred, but George as well. Such as something George had come to love the most.

The grave was that of the familiar W, with its star, and said star would have a little purple and orange beaded bracelet on it. A friendship bracelet, that Luna made. That way the twins could still be twinning, even beyond the grave. Never was there a day you ever saw George without his, and no storm seemed to be able to blow it off the stone. You were surprised no cruel soul tried to steal it, but then again who would want to steal from a prankster who was friends with Peeves?

“Oh, someone seems to need some tummy time.” You giggled, as Freddy was fighting to get free. George was quick to lay the blanket over the grave of Fred, and you were careful in setting Junior down. He was much happier, as he rolled around. Giggling, as he looked up at the cloudy blue sky. Fascinated by the clouds.

While George set up the picnic, and you made sure Freddy didn’t roll into someone’s grave, you have a sight. Reading over the engraving, after moving the endless presents and flowers aside.

Here lies Fredrick Fabian Weasley. Brother, Twin, Son, Friend, Inventor, Prankster, Hero. Your sacrifice promised happiness to endless. Rest In Peace. Mischief.

When the day comes, Mischief will be managed. One day. Maybe times, you thought that day was soon. As soon as Voldemort died even. Not even a chance to get off Hogwarts grounds, did George’s attempts at his life started. You hated how creative he was with it. You couldn’t understand how each one failed. Deep down, you could only imagine it was Fred. Fred, even beyond the grave, found a way to protect George. No ghost needed.

“And I thought I would be the once to space out-“ He snorted, alerting your attention. How embarrassing, but at least you had George there. Funny how he was the one to keep you grounded, right now. Suppose little Junior helps him as well. How his chubby little fingers poked at the stone.

“Ed-!” Junior spoke. “That’s right. Fred. You are named after him.” George encouraged. They say having a kid doesn’t fix all your problems. They are right, but George Weasley was never one for conventional norms. Sure solved alot of his. How he wasn’t bursting into tears was a mystery. Today was such a hard day, yet….Here he was.

“Come here, ya little bugga. You gotta eat, yeah? Ya like grapes don’t ya? Just like yer uncle Fred.” As George said that, you could see the pain in his eyes. He was happy, but it was bitter sweet. One Fred for another. The wound will never truly heal, but to say you weren’t proud of how far he came? A total lie.

You would soon rest your head on George’s, and watched him feed your son. Eyes glancing to the many scars on his inner arms. Burns, self harm, battles, and of course the many faded words of Umbridge. You could hardly see the words, but knew them well. How they were forced to write different words, so that they could never be identical again.

No, you had to fight those memories. If you were thinking them, Merlin knows what George was thinking. You fought your tears, so that he knew he wasn’t alone. Seemed to be what he needed, as he leaned his head on yours. Bandaged fingers gentle in cleaning your little boys face.

“I miss him, so much. It hurts, but I guess it doesn’t hurt so much anymore. Does that make me a bad person?” That caught you off guard, as George would play with Junior. Tickling his nose, and making him squeal. As if on auto pilot. Make everyone else happy, not yourself.

You had to sit on that, for a moment, as you looked at the grave. How well taken care of it was. George made sure it stayed such, and you would safely assume others did as well. Seeing that made it clear. So, you kissed his cheek.

“No, you aren’t. If anything, it makes you a better person. We all heal differently, sweetie. What better way to honor Fred, then allowing yourself some joy. Maybe…..Maybe you’ll cast a patrnous again.” Hearing that made George wonder.

With a wand drawn, he looked it over. To his wand, you, Junior, and Fred’s grave. A thought crossed his mind, and breathed. As gentle as the wind in the air, he whispered the incantation.

It was weak, but something was there. A whisper of hope, as the light swirled around Freddy’s fingers. Utter enchainment was in those big eyes, as George’s eyes watered. Spilling down his cheeks, as he smiled. It hurt to remember those happy memories with Fred, but at the same time it felt so good.

You held George tightly, beyond words of proud, as he kissed his cheek again. He was healing, and he was living. Living, not just surviving. Oh you had to rub your eyes to fight the tears. You were so happy.

When your eyes cleared, you blinked. With George busy with Junior, you noticed something. A beautiful bird, standing on the star of the stone. Such beautiful purple hue to its black feathers. Looked so curious, as its beak poked the bracelet. When that moment passed, it looked at you both. Watching, before it flew off. Leaving behind a single feather in its wake.

“A magpie feather. Say, we could turn this into something for Freddy. Like a training quill, since it’s so small.” With your tears falling down your cheeks, you nodded at what George said. What a lovely gift for Freddy. What a wonderful Birthday present…..for Fred.

[myheartalivewrites]

2023 Writing Round-up

Thanks for tagging me @kiwiana-writes @cha-melodius 🩷 I've saved doing this for a little while just because I wasn't sure I was quite done for the year.

JANUARY

Happy NY (E, ~11k) started in 2022, finished in 2023. Henry and Alex meet for the first time at a NYE party, have a super intense hook-up--and then Alex disappears. An NYE story in two parts.

Down by the Water, I Saw You (E, ~63k) another fic that started in 2022, finished in 2023! Exes to lovers, meeting on holidays/vacations, angsty-emotional-horny.

Tumbled Down and Tangled Up (E, ~4k) canon divergent, hooking up for the first time in THAT hospital cupboard.

FEBRUARY

Started writing Deep Blue, wrote Don't Wanna Be A Fool, no idea why I didn't publish it straight away. I've got a feeling I was a lot shyer back then.

MARCH

Don't Wanna Be A Fool For You (E, ~6k) roommates to lovers, mutual pining, Henry-based angst.

APRIL-JUNE

Gave myself a nice little patch of writer's block. Read a lot. ✌️

JULY

Love and War (E, ~11k) WWII training camp 1st meeting, no angst. Had a lot of fun writing this in one day.

Finished writing Deep Blue and started posting it.

AUGUST

In His Wildest Dreams (E, ~11k) went on a big family holiday, wrote this incredibly horny post canon somno fic. The way the brain works is truly baffling.

Awakened (E, ~2k) a little Alex POV follow-up to the fic above, again: super smutty. Uh, also written on (a different) holiday for some reason.

SEPTEMBER

Oxford Days (E, ~6k) my ode to slutty Henry, a roommates in Oxford fic.

Deep Blue (E, ~76k) started in July, finished in September, don't know which month to put this in. Seaside dreaminess, angsty writer!Henry, lawyer/waiter!Alex, pining while fucking.

Just like that. (E, ~10k) roommates + getting together + prostate orgasms + lots of feelings. Most surprising performer of the year for me.

OCTOBER

Twice the speed (of you and me) (E, ~17k) Alex/Henry/Pez threesome, some of my favourite smut I've ever written

NOVEMBER

NaNoWriMo! I managed to reach 50k on my NaNo project, but that means very little fic writing was done.

"Please, I need you to." (E, 0.1k lol) rimming drabble-ish for Smutsgiving 2023

DECEMBER

Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured (M, ~3k) bickering co-workers getting trapped in a cab together (and figuring shit out)

***

2023 has been SUCH A YEAR for writing RWRB fic, it feels really good to see it all lined up like this. Open tag for everyone who wants to do a little self round-up!

Here’s to more next year! x

[sabrinahawthorne]

Update January, 2024

It was good to take a break. I'm glad I got the rest, and I'm thrilled to be getting back to work. Let's talk about what 2024 is going to look like.

The Plan in General

This year, I'm starting production on JUMP! Shonen Battle Roleplay, my most ambitious title yet (although technically, I started production last year with this prototype). My hope is that by the end of the year, I can crowdfund, develop, and release the game in full, including - hopefully - a print run. Along the way, I'll also be whittling away at some smaller titles that I can release throughout the year.

The Plan in Specific

January

Pre-Production on JUMP. I'm currently shopping for publishing programs, as well as reaching out to artists for commissions. The first playtest of the prototype is scheduled for later in the month, and I'm very excited.

February-March

Begin production proper. By the end of February, I'll have finalized who I go to for Illustrations, and by the end of March I'll have the better part of a first draft. During this time, I may also release a smaller title.

April

Begin Crowdfunding on JUMP! This is really exciting - by this point, I'll have something to show for my work, and some art to make everything look nice. I'm not sure what platform I'll use to run the campaign yet, but it's going to run from April till the end of June.

June

End the JUMP crowdfunding campaign. With any luck and lots of generosity, I'll have funded the game, and I'll be making a living on my craft for the first time. Fingers crossed.

October

By the start of the month, work will start on the final draft of JUMP. By this point, a lot of the design will be set and ready to organize and make presentable. From here on out, it's just drafting, editing, and layout. My goal is to have the final draft completely done by Halloween.

November

The tentative release date for JUMP is November 1st. This goes for digital copies - as of right now, I quite simply have no idea if I'll be able to pull of a print run, and if I do how it will work. In all likelihood, it will be a limited run, maybe a few dozen copies shipped to anyone who donated a certain amount during the crowdfunding campaign. Regardless, I'm beyond excited to get to work. I hope you all like what I have planned.

[adminbryantsaki]

Ch.5 First day of school part 1

(This Au will follow the main events of the canon. In this AU, the tropes of fantasy and Omegaverse apply. The dynamics that can apply to people are Alpha, Luna, Beta, and Omega. The main ship is Erasermic x oc. I do not own the characters of My Hero Academia. Horikoshi Kōhei does. I also don’t own any of the fast-food franchises or any of the other references to other super hero movies or groups.  I own Bryant Saki. Here is her info Please do not steal.)

(These are the Headcanons. Please read these before the fic.

Wc: 5,575 Tw: Omegaverse Shenanigans, polygamy, PTSD, Breeding kink, Breeding, trauma, fear, ED (eating disorder).

Prologue Chapter Four ~ Chapter Six

Over the next few months, I honed my new Admin Power and securing a job for a steady form of income before I started my job as an Admin at U.A. I went for the job at the radio station and I grew close to Present Mic as I worked alongside him. I would work overtime with him at the station long after the normal crew left for the day working on scripts for the week and promotional ideas. On nights like this, Present Mic, or Hizashi Yamada as I learned from his character profile on my tablet would order food into the station when we would work late into the night. When we were done working, he offered to give me a ride to the train station since it was dark out and he wanted to make sure that I got home safely, which I thought was nice of him. The following months before my first day at U.A. went by quickly as I used the time to hone my quirk and Admin power until I had good control of my powers. But April 1st came sooner than I thought. I woke up early the morning of my first day and changed into my hero suit before I left my room to get a quick breakfast and heading out to the train station to head to U.A.

When I arrived, I immediately went into the school and found myself walking the halls along with the entire student body as they were buzzing with anticipation and excitement as they were getting oriented with the school. I was following the map on my tablet trying to find my way to the homeroom of Class 1-A. I managed to find the room despite getting lost a couple of times. I managed to arrive a little early at the door of the classroom. I took in the massive size of the door, hesitating to walk in and introduce myself even though I figured that they would recognize me even after all these months. I knew that Mic would know because we’re co-workers at the radio station, but I wasn’t quite sure about Shouta remembering me. I was nervous to enter the classroom and introduce myself but I took a moment to calm myself down. You got this, Admin. You can just walk in there and talk to them like normal adults. Yes, you have feelings for them, but don’t let those feelings cloud your judgement. You can do this. I said to mentally to myself before I knocked on the door and waited a moment as I didn’t want to just burst through the door and disturb them. I heard a laugh and some rustling on the other side of the door before another hushed chuckle and quiet for a moment. “Come in.” I heard what I thought was Shouta’s voice say. I opened the door and found him sitting at his desk, waiting for his students to arrive I noticed Present Mic sitting on the edge of Shouta’s desk on the same side that Shouta was sitting on. They seemed to be looking over the rosters for the classes and seeing who they would have this year. I did recall that Shouta had been known to expel then re-enroll a whole class of his just to teach them a lesson on sacrifice. I didn’t get why at the time but I’m sure I would find out eventually. Both heroes looked up from what they were doing to greet me. “Hello there, can I help you with something?” Shouta asked as he watched me from his desk as I stood in the doorway. Present Mic nudged Shouta’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear. “Oh, I’m sorry, you’re the girl that Fatgum introduced to us all those months ago. You’ve really changed since then. Its good to see you again. Is there anything we can help you with?” He asked as his demeanor softened and he shifted in his seat. “I’ve been assigned to be Admin of the teachers and staff of this school. I’ve also been assigned to stick by your side today.” I spoke. Shouta sighed and rested his head in his hand. “Nezu did say something about his.” He spoke and I walked up to the desk. “Alright what he did he say about it? Also, what is your plan today?” I asked. “Nezu said that several people saying that they are Admins would be coming into the school this year and covering different classes and people in the school. But if you stay out of the way, we should be fine. My plan for today is to wait for my students to come to the classroom and I plan to take them out onto one of the P.E. grounds and run them through some tests to see how well they can use their quirks because junior high schools don’t allow much usage of quirks with their students. I have a copy of my class’s roster if you’d like it before we head down to the grounds. Would you like to accompany me to the grounds?” He explained and asked. “Yes. I’d like to accompany you to the P.E. grounds and don’t worry, I’ll be out of the way. I’m only here to make sure everything plays out right, and I’ll take the roster sheet.” I spoke and Shouta handed me the sheet that I added into my tablet even though I already had the list of students on my tablet.

“It will be a little while before the students will arrive. Make yourself comfortable.” He spoke before standing up and leaving the room with Mic. “I’ll be back later. I just need to file some papers.” He told me and I nodded and sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall as I looked through the student’s profiles. Soon all the students came into the classroom and took their seats, either pulling out a book to read or talking amongst their new classmates and introducing themselves.

I watched them get into their seats and wonder where their teacher was. I saw a couple of the students stand up and begin to head to the door when I saw the door to the classroom open and find that Shouta was on the other side laying on the ground and drinking down a jelly pack before he stood up and introduced himself as their teacher before telling them to gather their things and head down to the P.E. Grounds instead of going to orientation like all the other students which made a couple of the girls upset but they complied. I noticed Shouta gesture to me for me to come to him which I did.

“Follow them down to the P.E. Grounds. There should be some where you can watch them from. But stick around. I’d like to talk to you more afterwards.” He told me quietly and I nodded. I waited for the students to file out of the classroom and follow their teacher down to the P.E. Grounds before I trailed after them, looking up the next set of variables on my tablet and the information on Eraserhead and Present Mic and keeping both files pinned as I had a feeling that I’d be reading over their information a lot in the next few days. The students broke off and went a different direct to the P.E. Grounds after getting instructions from their teacher. I followed after Shouta still as he took a different route and met them at the grounds soon after. On this alternate route, Shouta paused and turned to me, again gesturing for me to come closer to him and I did. When I did, he grabbed me by the waist and kissed me on the cheek. I felt my face heat up and look back at him in surprise.

“You shouldn’t have done that. You’re married to another person.” I told him and he smiled.

“You seem to have forgotten that my mate and I are in an open relationship. We are looking to form a pack and I told you months ago that we haven’t found the right person yet. Hizashi and I talked over the past few months after he came home from working with you all day and we decided together that you’d be the perfect fit for us. If you’re worried about it, Hizashi gave me permission to pursue you. Think about it and get back to us.” He spoke and turned away with a small smirk. I was frozen in place, processing what Shouta just told me. I then followed him out to the grounds and found some bushes nearby that I could discreetly watch the variables play out from. I also found Shouta’s colleague and another one of the characters I was assigned to hiding behind the bushes. It was none other than All Might. He was wearing a golden-yellow suit and was shocked to see someone else hiding in the bushes with him. I held out my hand to shake his and introduce myself. “Hello there, I’m Admin Bryant. You must be All Might. I’m only here to watch Class 1-A go through their Quirk assessment tests.” I spoke and All Might shook my hand back. “It is good to meet you, Miss Bryant. I’m here watching the students as well. Since their homeroom teacher has been known to be harsh on his students.” He spoke and turned his attention as Aizawa began to run his students through the tests. “I read about that. It says here that Eraserhead has been known to expel full classes of students only to re-enroll them as a lesson of sacrifice and to not get their hopes up on the first day. It is a bit harsh but there must be a reason why he’s doing this.” I spoke when I listened in on the instructions that Eraserhead was giving his students through my tablet.

After one of the girls, I think her name was Ochako Uraraka mentioned that they were going to miss orientation, Shouta said this:

“If you really want to make the big leagues, you can’t waste time on pointless ceremonies.”

This made his group of students gasp and without turning back to look at them, he kept speaking.

“Here at U.A., we’re not tethered to tradtions, that means that I get to run my class however I see fit.” He spoke and turned to face the young students that had been assigned to his class. Shouta says something else that I didn’t quite catch then focuses his attention on one of the students near the front of the crowd of students standing near the edge of the field and picks him out. This student has blonde hair and I remember him having quite the explosive personality and scoring the highest points in the entrance exam.

“Bakugo, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam. What was your farthest distance throw with a softball in junior high?”

“Sixty-seven meters, I think.” He responded. “Right, try doing it with your quirk.” Shouta instructed and had Bakugo walk out onto the field with the softball in hand. Bakugo took the softball and stepped into a circle made from chalk and took a moment before throwing the softball with the help of his quirk. The softball landed a few feet away and a new number appeared on the small, almost cell-phone like device in Shouta’s hand. The new number was 705.2 meters which was a huge improvement, even though Bakugo had used his quirk to make the softball go farther. This amazes and excites the rest of the class to do their best in the rest of the tests, thinking that the tests would be fun.  This is shut down quickly by Shouta’s next line. “So, you think this is fun, huh? You have three years here to become a hero. You think its all going to be games and playtime? Idiots. Today, you’ll compete in eight physical tests to gage your potential. Whoever comes in last has none and will be expelled immediately.” Shouta told his students with a sly smirk on his face which shocked the students.

Ochako spoke up that the idea of immediate expulsion if you didn’t get the highest score wasn’t fair and Shouta commented back.

“Oh, and you think natural disasters are? Or power-hungry villains, hm? Or catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities, no. The world is full of unfairness it’s a hero’s job to try to combat that unfairness. If you wanna be a pro, you’re going to have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, U.A. will throw one hardship after another at you, so go beyond, plus ultras style, and show me that you do belong here.” Shouta told his students.

“Now then, we’re just wasting time by talking. Let the games begin.”

This was the end of the variable in the P.E. Grounds and beginning the next eight physical tests that I watched all of them play out. I noticed All Might’s reactions to how all the students performed in the tests, especially Midoriya who I knew was his protégé. Watching each of the tests play out was quite the long and boring process but it was worth keeping track of the points that would add up to their end scores at the end of all the tests. There was something off about the kid with the navel laser seemed off so I took note of it and noticed All Might watching me. “What are you doing on that tablet if you don’t mind me asking.” He spoke and pointed to my device which I showed him what I was seeing.

“I’m able to get a closer look at what the students are doing from right here. Also, I know your connection with Izuku Midoriya. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone and your secret is safe with me.” I spoke and marked off each of the tests on the list of variables as they were finished. All Might looked at me with a bit of concern which was understandable then nodded. “Alright. I trust you to keep my secret.” He spoke and turned his attention to the class as they were beginning the next test. I turned my attention back to the tablet and slipped into a sort of trance. “You know, things will go to hell in the next year. By this time next year, we will be recovering from a horrible battle that is the result of several lives lost and All for One. He will have transferred his quirk to his own protégé. It makes him almost indestructible.” I spoke just above a whisper and All Might had heard me and a look of terror was now spread across his face. “How do you know his name?” He asked. I snapped out of my trance and laughed to myself. “I did some research. Looked at some historical records from local archives. If you’re going to ask if I can prevent all this chaos and destruction from happening just because I’m an Admin, I can’t. It all depends on the events and variables that play out between now and then. Its even too far in the future to know if that’s the variable that’s set-in stone yet or not. Us Admins are only here to make sure that events like these physical test play out according to what is shown to us on the tablets we are given. And so far, these variables are playing out accordingly.” I spoke and checked off another box on the list.

All Might shifted his position and looked at me with his infamous smile. 

“You know, you remind me of my old sidekick. He too had the ability to see into the future. You’re going to do great as an Admin here. I wish you the best of luck.” He spoke before going back to watching Midoriya. I smiled and thanked him before watching in anticipation as the tests were over and the final scores were being tallied up and shown on a holographic screen for all the students to see.

I could see that Midoriya was more worried out of all his classmates when the scores came up on the screen. He knew that he was going to be the one that went home when he saw his name at the bottom of the screen and prepared himself mentally to begin packing his things and heading home. that was until Shouta spoke and said that no one would be going home today and that it was just a tactic to get everyone to perform at their best. This was a new change in his usual pattern that was usually him expelling his whole class just to re-enroll them again. I thought this was a bit odd and I chose to put it as a task to research later. I turned to see that All Might was still watching the class, probably just as relieved as I was that none of the students were going home. I then suggested that when intern week came up that it would be prudent to recommend Sir Nighteye or even his old mentor, an older Pro Hero known as Gran Torino so Midoriya has a safe place to go so he can learn how to use One for All in his own way.

Next, I heard Shouta tell his students to go get changed, head to lunch, and that the real work would begin tomorrow. After he dismissed his class, he began walking in the direction that All Might and I were hiding in. “I’ll make a note of that, thank you, Miss Admin.” He spoke and stood up, hoping that he could get away from the area before Shouta came over here. He managed to disappear around the corner as Shouta walked up to me after he had finished with his students. “Was everything up to par for you?” He asked. I looked up from something I was doing on my tablet to him. “Yes. Everything played out nicely.” I told him and smiled. The hero looked back at me and smiled back. “Why don’t you come an eat lunch with Mic and I.” He suggested. My mind began swirling with the thoughts of if I should accept his ask to eat lunch with them or not. I then decided that it wouldn’t hurt to have just one lunch time because I would be working closely with them for the foreseeable future. But this could also be apart of their plan to get me to like them more by spending the hour lunch with them. “Oh, I guess so.” I responded, immediately regretting it as I knew that my boss, Hunter would reprimand me later. I kept my head down as I followed Shouta down the maze of hallways through the school, stopping in the teacher’s lounge to pick up his lunch and asking if I had something to eat which I pulled a hefty bento box out of my backpack and showed it to him. “Wow, Fatgum must’ve made that for you. Mic should be waiting for us on the rooftop.” He spoke and led me to a quiet hallway that had a door with a sign the read: ‘Rooftop access.’ Shouta opened the door and led me up the flight of stairs. “We normally have lunch on the rooftop or in one of our classrooms. Mic usually picks where we eat and he’s supposed to message me about where he picked but he didn’t so I don’t know where he picked today.” He told me. “Then why are we going to the rooftop?” I asked. “This is where we normally go to have lunch. You see, Hizashi and I went to school here and it’s where we would go to have lunch. Guess we chose to keep up tradition. Tell me, what’s home like for you?” He spoke and opened the door at the top of the stairs that led to the roof. “I wasn’t aware that you and Present Mic were alumni of the school. That’s interesting. I’m from New York. I would sit on the roof as well with my brothers and eat pizza as we would watch the sunset, the stars, or even the sunrise. Especially if one of us was sad or upset, or even just celebrating something or we just wanted to hang out together, one of us or all of us would do that. It depended on what was going on. I miss doing that sometimes.” I told him as we walked to a section on the roof where we could see Hizashi waiting for us and waving at his partner.

“So, you’re from out of the country? What brought you here to Japan?” He asked. “I wanted to explore the world so I came here. I also wanted to learn more about my family history so why not come here and find out what made my parents want to leave Japan?” I spoke and sat down uneasily on one of the benches across from the men. Hizashi was set up already with his own lunch and some extra food too which made me feel a little out of place having my own lunch in hand.

“I see. Well, we’re here so let’s eat.” Shouta spoke and opened-up his lunch and eating. I opened my own bento box that brought from home that Taishiro had packed for me the night before and began to eat the contents.

Hizashi greeted me and I smiled before I swallowed my bite.

“Hi. I hope its okay that I joined the two of you, Eraserhead invited me.” I spoke and looked over to the hero. “You don’t have to be so formal when we’re not around my students, the other staff of the school, or out in public. Here, you can call me Shouta and you can call Mic, Hizashi when we’re alone.” He told me and I nodded, thinking that they were trying to pull something off like what Superman and Clark Kent did. Shouta smiled and gestured for me to sit next to him which I did, picking up my lunchbox and carrying it over to the empty spot in between the heroes. I felt so stiff and nervous being between the two. I also felt out of place being alone with them here. I knew that I should have refused Shouta’s request and gone to have lunch with the other Admins. But now I ate in silence, listening to the men chat amongst themselves as they devoured their meals. I finished mine as well and set my now empty bento box back into my bag and sat there stiffly as I still had some time before class was to start back up again for the afternoon classes, so I picked up my tablet and began to scroll through some of the more mundane variables that I didn’t need to attend to so I technically had the rest of the day off but I needed to process other variables so I had my day full. I sighed and Shouta looked to me. “You seem nervous. What’s going on? You don’t need to be nervous around friends.” He told me. I looked back at him and relaxed a little at his comment. Typically, Admins were to stay in a professional manner when around the people they were assigned to but it felt good to relax around these two at least. I knew I could around Hizashi because we had spent the last ten months working side by side at the radio station and got to know each other a little bit but I felt like I had to act in a more professional manner around Shouta that he carried himself and spoke to others.

“I’m glad that you consider me a friend… I know that Hizashi does because I’ve known him a bit longer. Its just that I’m an Administrator of Care and this is my first official day on this job and usually the Admins are to limit their interactions with the people that they are assigned, so I’m a little worried that my boss is going to be upset that I’m up here with you two.” I spoke and gave him a smile.

“Why would your boss be upset with you hanging out with other people than your co-workers? Aren’t we technically your co-workers too?” Hizashi asked, clearly his curiosity was getting the better of him.

“Everyone needs to have healthy interactions with other people than who they work with.” Shouta added. I shut my eyes tightly and gripped the fabric of my pants.

“This is a precaution so the Admins assigned to people in the field don’t get emotionally attached to the people they are assigned to. They are expected to find a friend within the group of Admins like everyone else.” I said to them in a serious tone as I took the rules I was given seriously as punishment for breaking one too many rules resulted with an Admin in the most secure jail in the universe they were in. In this case, I would be locked up in Tartarus Prison if I broke one too many rules for the Admins. Both heroes looked at me with a concerned look on his face.

“The Admin’s organization seems to be a little strict. They should loosen up on some of the socialization rules. I think all the Admins should be able to make friends with the people they are assigned to, what do you think, Hizashi?” Shouta spoke.

“I think that’s a great idea. Besides, I think Bryant and I are already friends since we’ve known each other for a few months by working at the Station.” He spoke and looked to me.  I smiled, feeling good that I had friends now. “I guess it would be okay to have friends outside of the organization. It makes sense because the two of you have been friends since you went to sch-school here.” I stuttered a little then covered my mouth with my hand and shut my eyes tightly. How unprofessional of you. I thought to myself.

I felt Hizashi’s gloved hand rest on my shoulder and I looked at him. “Stuttering is alright, you know. No one is going to judge you here.” He told me and I looked to see Shouta nodded too and picking out some food that Hizashi had brought as extra up to eat.

“He’s right you know. I’m curious, what made you want to be an Admin?” Shouta asked as he ate his food. I looked over to him to try and make eye contact with him. “I wanted to care for people…I had lost control of my life at one point and became a puppet to an evil person. I eventually broke free and I searched for something that I could have control over. Seeing the ability come up to watch variables of a timeline that I’ve never known of before seemed interesting. As an Admin, you’re assigned to a set of people that you follow the variables for. I was given the teachers of the school. I remember meeting the two of you months ago when Taishiro brought you over that one day but I didn’t know the other members of the staff here at U.A. All the Admins are given tablets that are used to watch the variables play out and keep track of the information on the people they are responsible for. That’s why I know a bit more about the two of you without you knowing… It seems odd but not every Admin wants to take part in conversation with the people they are assigned to.” I told them, unaware of my hunger pains and that I had put an arm around my stomach as I was talking.  Hizashi seemed to notice my gesture even though I didn’t. “Are you hungry still? I brought more than enough food for the two of us.” He spoke and handed me a container with what looked to be rice with fried chicken on top of it. I took the container and listened to Shouta as he spoke. “That makes sense. I think that you’ll be a good Admin, and I agree, you should eat something.” He told me. I sighed and slowly ate the food I was given. I noticed Hizashi was pushing other small amounts of food to me as he picked through and packed up other food that would be saved for later. I almost regretted eating the smaller amounts of food that Hizashi pushed to me, knowing that Taishiro would make a larger meal for dinner.

“I’m glad you think so. I already know so much that has happened and what’s going to happen that it’s almost overwhelming.” I spoke as I ate the food. Shouta looked at me an raised an eyebrow as Hizashi pushed a little bit of some kind of dessert to me, wanting to make sure that I didn’t go hungry.

“Oh?” I heard him speak. “Yeah… I can’t really talk about it though.” I spoke and finished the rest of my food and noticed the dessert, but politely refused it as I was full already. Hizashi took it back and put it into his lunch cooler. “Thank you for the food.” I spoke then stood up slowly to walk around a bit to help with digestion, so I looked out over the landscape that made up the campus of the school grounds and the surrounding area. “I didn’t know how pretty the school grounds were.” I spoke quietly.

“It always has been.” Hizashi spoke and walked up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder, and showing me where the different buildings are. “Over there are the gymnasiums. Sometimes the kids will want to train alone or with their friends. But they are close enough to the main building that we can still interfere if something were to go wrong with the students. As we were watching, I saw some of the students down in the gyms already training under the supervision of some of the other teachers.

“That’s good.” I spoke, hearing my tablet go off and I went to check it. I had a notification that I needed to head down to the forest to train with some of the other Admins. “I’m sorry to cut this short but I should get going. I have training with the other Admins.” I spoke as I gathered my things and headed to the door that would take me back to the various floors of the school. My stomach growled a bit more and I paused. Shouta followed me and handed me a small bag of food. “Please eat some more before you go. Not eating enough can lead to fatigue; judging by how your quirk works, how long you can use your quirk is by how much you’ve eaten. I won’t have someone burn themselves and their quirk out because they didn’t fuel it properly.” Shouta told me and I accepted the food, unwrapping the food to reveal that it was a giant steamed bun that I thanked him for. I usually wouldn’t accept this because I was already super self-conscious because of my curvier and heavier set body because of not knowing how to use my quirk properly over the past ten or so months.

“Make sure to eat enough. If someone has a problem with it, refer them to Hizashi or I. We will deal with them, okay?” He spoke. I wanted to leave so badly but I nodded and held the knob of the door as I ate the steamed bun that had sausage, egg, bacon, and cheese in it. “ We don’t need you passing out on us, now do we?” He told me. I swallowed my bite and looked at him. “No, but I won’t pass out from lack of food. It’s lack of water from what I was told that I would pass out from.” I spoke as I ate another bite of the bun, only leaving a small amount in my hand. Hizashi joined us, now having packed up the food and slung the food cooler over his shoulder and was heading back down to his next classroom. Once I finished the bun and threw away the wrapper, I said goodbye to Shouta and Hizashi, hurrying to open a portal to the ground just outside the forested area of the school campus where the other Admins had already gathered and were waiting for me. I stepped through the portal, only to be met by a very frustrated and fuming Hunter Smith.

“What the hell do you think you were doing by spending your lunch period with not one, but TWO of your characters?! It doesn’t matter now that this lunch is over. Just know that you will be spending your future lunch hours with one of your co-workers even if it has to be me! Now get your weapon out and get ready to train.” Hunter scolded me. I nodded and kept my eyes down. I pulled my pen out of my pocket and clicked it open, watching as my beautiful scythe unfolded and I carried it into the forest after Hunter.

[abuddyforeveryseason]

Alright, this is it, the last of the Buddies.

This, the Buddy for May 11th, marks the end of this little project. It's my 366th upload. As a compilation of all of my previous drawings (you might need to open it in a new tab to see it better), it technically breaks the rule of using only white, black and red, thanks to compression issues on the drawings for March 18th and September 9th. But, well, I figured I did post stuff that didn't break that rule those days, so it doesn't matter. Besides, the project's finished now.

There are some good ones there too, although a lot of them are traces, so I won't be counting those. I liked the pin for May 18th, that's something I had been working on before I started, and I still think it looks better and more polished than my actual art. The sketchy drawing for May 17th is good too, even if it's kind of phoned in.

May 27th looks cute, and June 17th was a good idea, even if the implementation was a bit lazy; but at least it wasn't a trace for once. June 23rd was cool, though I wish I had made it a gif. Lack of time, I guess.

The woman in July 15th looks pretty good, and the gif for July 25th is pretty badass, even if it was a simple one. July 29th was one of my funniest ideas. I like the shading for September 7th. September 19th and October 1st were also female figures, I'm proud enough of those. Some of the drawings on the template for October 3rd were good. October 16th looks pretty good, something I'd use on a comic.

The first "strip" on October 23rd was a pain to make, but I like the joke in it. The nerdy relationship map on November 15th was fun, but it was more for my benefit, not really special, art-wise.

December 1st was different from my usual style, I like it, even if the anatomy is pretty wrong. The tarot cards on December 17th were an earlier project, but also really nice.

The lighting on the drawing for December 20th was fun to make too. January 16th looks really simple, but I like the vibe of it. The strip for February 3rd was an idea I'm also proud of. More women, on February 11th, 19th and 28th. The negative colors effect on Mach 4th worked better than I expected, too.

I think the gif on March 22nd worked well enough, although I rushed it. The joke on March 26th was something that was on my mind for some time.

There was the strip on April 10th with different versions under the main post, those were nice enough. The gif on April 12th was hard to make, and I'm not too happy with it, but it was an ambitious idea..

The Buddy for May 8th looks the closest to what I had wanted to do as a proper webcomic, so I'm happy with it, although there was some trouble making it, and I was pretty bored with the project already.

But, the best Buddy of the year, in my opinion, was, funny enough, the one for January 23rd. The Rob Liefeld parody. It's funny cause I drew it so it'd look crappy, and, well, it does, but still better than my usual art, just with more lines and cliché Liefeld stuff. Pretty XXXtreme.

It's weird that one of my earlier comic ideas was a Liefeld parody, where a seemingly-normal person would get involved in the world of Liefeld badasses and contrast those comics' anti-logic with the real world. I wrote a lot of it, but gave up about 2/3rds in. Not that there's much point in mocking Rob Liefeld nowadays, anyway.

I'm not sure what'll become of this tumblr now. I'm trying to keep focused on art and distance myself from online dumpster fire discourse, so I'm trying to fill out my new sketchbooks for now.

Anyway, thanks for all the likes throughout the year, I appreciate the interest from everyone who found my silly little OC entertaining enough.

[infatuatedheloise]

Update: Drinks

so we went out for drinks after my presentation and getting to the place we planned was a bit of an adventure. Abelard and I were already on campus and the place we were going was very close by, so the two of us walked there. It was a little cold and a bit windy, but still a nice walk with him! We've taken a walk or two together before and they're always pretty cool. He makes sure to match pace with me instead of me with him, so I really appreciate that. I'm not in bad shape, but he walks way more than I do lol so he's a bit faster than me

Anyway, we get there, and the door says "temporarily closed until April 1st" LOL so we head back to campus, text our friend and plan to meet up to go to a different place. We get to the parking garage and abelard says he's parked on the 4th floor. We walk to the fourth floor and there's one car there--not his. He then remembers he parked on the 2nd floor that day lmfaooooo. Eventually, we found his car and met up with our friend and headed out.

We went to a small little place not far from campus that is a combo coffee place & bar. I'd never been before and had no idea what to get, so abelard said he'd order for me. He got me a Guinness lol. Most of you in this community aren't even old enough to drink, so maybe I am offending no one when I say I didn't like it lmao, but he bought it for me, so yeah, I drank the whole thing

The three of us sat drinking our beers and talking about all kinds of things, mostly stuff related to our fields (that all sort of overlap with each others')

Abelard talked about the PhD supervisor he had in grad school who was an alcoholic and would take students out to drink with him after basically every class, and how the supervisor was also a super big creep & likely was having an affair with one his the students. Abelard was pretty clearly condemning the guy for that, which, good, don't cheat on your wife with a student and don't date a student, but also like............................ there is truly no hope for me at all 😔

I sat next to Abelard and our friend sat across from me. I kept turning to look over at Abelard and oh my god. I don't know if it was the alcohol or if it was just because I was able to sit close to him for an extended period of time (rare) but I could not stop thinking about leaning over and putting my head on his shoulder or just straight up kissing him. I stared at his lips sooooooooo much, I wanted to kiss him so so so so so badly. Obviously, I didn't and wouldn't have done anything, but the temptation was very strong

A lot of times in conversation, abelard will look over at me to see my reaction or something, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see him turning to look at me quite a lot lol, I should've looked back at him more than I did lol, but I appreciate that he was looking at me maybe almost as much as I looked at him? Though obviously for different reasons lol

[suddence]

Retrospective!

HI. So. Since Suddence draft 3 is done, I thought I'd do a bit of retrospective on this story :^)

This little project started as an escape from my main wip, APHELION, which is a big sprawling sci-fi thing. I thought Suddence would be a nice little novella, 40k words tops.

Turns out, it's 60k words long. That's right. It's a wholeass novel.

Draft #1

On May 17th, 2021, I started the first draft. While I had a strong idea of the basic premise and a nice solid beginning, I wasn't sure how exactly the rest of the story would go. Most of this draft was just me writing down scenes that seemed interesting. At this point, I hadn't even figured what exactly Dany was gonna do after reaching Suddence. I threw together some semblance of a wham bam action climax. I didn't like it, but I couldn't think of much else.

Also, while I had the alternating timelines idea already, they were both written in regular prose.

After "finishing" this draft, I went back to my main wip for a while and continued struggling with it.

Draft #2

On November 16th, 2022, I started the second draft. In this draft, my goal was to tie the story down. The prose doesn't have to be good; it just has to be finished and whole. The beginning of the story stays mostly the same, except that I decided wait! Wouldn't it be more interesting if we got to read the flashbacks as if they were Dany's diary entries?

I tested this out and decided, yup. It was much cooler.

So, I focused on this for a while. Progress was meandering and I was struggling a bit with how I wanted the story to end. At some point, I peeked at my first draft, hoping to have some inspiration, and noticed I started it on May 17th. And at this point, it was also almost May 17th (2023). And I thought to myself, "Man, wouldn't it be something if I could finish this draft on May 17th? Wouldn't that be nice and symmetrical? Haha. That's not possible though."

But with the power of promising I'll treat myself to a Lego splurge after I finish the draft, it was, indeed, possible.

Now, as you read through the draft (I say "you" as if you will ever read this version of the story), you will notice that the quality significantly gets worse as it goes on. But I was perfectly fine with it! I had confidence and trust that my future editing self will handle it. All that matters right now is that it's done.

I let the story marinate for a few months, leaving notes whenever I thought of something, and went back to focus on APHELION. And I had a HUGE breakthrough there, which only boosted my confidence. I had been struggling with this wip for SO long, and it was amazing to finally have it figured out.

Draft #3

On August 1st, 2023, I began the third draft of Suddence. I switched my goal from "it just has to be finished" to "it has to actually be good." My mindset on this stage was that it had to be in a publishable state, even though I don't plan on publishing it just yet. I took the chapters one by one, reading each of them out loud to catch any strange wording or confusing moments. (There were a LOT of these that would have slipped by if I hadn't been reading out loud.)

One thing that really helped was keeping a notebook on hand, and any time I thought of something (e.g. checking the continuity on a previous scene, or a reminder to add something earlier, etc) I would write it down. This made editing SO much more manageable. I didn't have to rely on my spotty memory, I could cover so many more bases, and it's very satisfying to check each task off my list as I tackle them.

I wasn't really sure how long the edit would take. My general goal was to have something ready to show by April/May of 2024, where I'll hopefully be tabling at VanCAF again.

And now it's only been a bit more than two weeks, and the edit is done. 😳

Next Steps

So! My next steps will be to get critiques. I've set up a critique form, and now I'm preparing to reach out to people for beta reading. It's exciting! But also nerve-wracking. I've never gotten to this stage with ANY of my wips before. (Unless you count, like, my grad film, which I definitely don't.)

After critiques, it'll be one more round of edits!

I'm also going to have a copy printed out just at a local print shop, just so I can have something physical to hold :3

Publishing

I'm sure I've talked about this at some point before, but I'm planning to publish the story serially online first, and then having physical copies and e-books once it's done airing, so to speak. I've been checking out a few websites, like Wattpad and Royal Road and Substack. I'll have to poke around them a bit more before I decide which one to use.

I haven't really decided which printing company to use, either. Last I checked, BookVault doesn't ship to Canada :'( and the only other printer I've used is Lulu. I guess I'll have to look into KDP and all that eventually anyway, so I'll do some research on that front as well.

Thank you to everyone who's been following along on this journey! For now, I'm gonna migrate back to APHELION.

[carifletch]

it’s you and me forever

Who: Cari & Sophie @sophbelindadreams

When: Saturday, April 1st

Where: Their house in LA

What: Cari plays a couple of pranks on Sophie for April Fool’s Day, and then ends it by asking her the most important question of their lives. 

Cari: It had been a stressful few days to say the least with trying to make sure that everything was perfect and the way that Cari wanted it for proposing to Sophie, all without letting the redhead know something was going on. The excuse of the studio had been her saving grace, when really she had been making sure the bounce house and decorations were ordered, and going through a test set up with both Joe and Alex. Naturally Cari had roped the two of them into helping her out, needing them to get things actually set up while she was gone out to dinner with Sophie for the April Fool’s part of the proposal. Which had gone over maybe too well if Sophie’s current irritability was any hint, though Cari did sell that she was going to propose at dinner multiple times throughout and on their walk after. A few ‘April Fool’s!’ thrown in for good measure along the way. She almost felt bad seeing the obvious disappointment on her girlfriend’s face, but she knew what was going to come a little bit later. “Did you have a good time? I figured a nice night out was what we needed before going off to London soon,” she said casually while driving them back home. The text from Joe and Alex confirming everything was ready had come in a little bit earlier, giving Cari the all clear to take Sophie home and actually propose to the love of her life. Not without one last little prank though, but that would come in just a little bit. “You look tired tonight, baby. Let’s go get some rest, yeah?” she offered just as the car came to a stop in the garage. Cari lead the way out of the car and sneakily set her phone out of sight, making sure that Sophie went straight to their bedroom and avoided the backyard. Once they were in the bedroom, she smiled softly at her girlfriend and started to take things out of her pockets, making a confused look when her phone wasn’t where it usually was. “Fuck, where’s my phone?” she asked out loud and checked her jacket pockets. Of course she knew where it was, it was all part of the plan, but she had to sell it first.

Soph: Sophie had been extra clingy the past few days, which she already knew she was to begin with. But this was next level with how much Cari had been in and out of the house, saying she had a bunch of stuff to take care of in the studio. Especially with the girls needing to jet off soon to England so Sophie could film for her latest project. So when Cari had asked Sophie out for a dinner date on April Fool's she was over the moon about it. Finally getting to spend some time with her girlfriend after not seeing much of her the past few days. At least, she was excited until Cari kept dropping a proposal joke on her over and over again. The first time was funny and she had shot Cari a teasingly annoyed look before they carried on their meal. Then it kept happening and Sophie just got annoyed over the whole thing. How many times could one person make the same joke? So she, admittedly, was irritable in the car, shrugging when Cari asked if she had a good time. When Cari sort of gave her an out, mentioning she looked tired, Sophie hopped right on it. "Yeah, I'll meet ya upstairs. Want to call Joe and the girls quick before bed," she muttered, stepping out of the car and going up to do just that. Though, her Facetime call had gone unanswered, which was odd for Joe but Cari chalked it up to him probably giving the girls a bath as it was just about approaching both of their bed times and Sophie hadn't given the girls a bath the night before. She turned at Cari's voice as she looked for her cellphone, eyebrows furrowing for a moment. "I don't know. Did you leave it in the car? Wasn't it on the dock or somethin'?"

Cari: "I have no idea, I could have sworn I felt it in my pocket earlier but it's nowhere to be found now," Cari sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Thankfully she had been working on her acting over the last year or so, and Sophie being annoyed with her at the moment was helping too because she wasn't fully paying attention. "I'm going to go see if I can find it in the car," she told her and quickly made her way downstairs. Cari grabbed her phone and closed the garage door, standing there for just a minute and then rushing out the back door, the lights came on to reveal the bounce house set up exactly how she had pictured it. Almost making her want to start crying right then and there, eyes getting teary instantly but she did her best to wipe them away. Cari quickly used her phone to turn the lights back off while she grabbed her guitar to get herself ready and then went to stick her head back in the house. "Baby, I still can't find it. Can you try calling my phone? Let me know if you hear it," she called out to her girlfriend and then immediately retreated back to the front of the bounce house and made sure her ringer was on high. It started going off a moment later and she just let it ring, knowing Sophie would eventually hear it and it would lead her out back to where Cari was standing with a finger on the buttons to turn the lights on fully that Joe and Alex had set up for her. Both of which were hiding off somewhere with the girls, having Sophie and Caris' families on zoom to see the entire thing but in silence so that Sophie wouldn't hear them when she came down. Cari looked around, honestly not sure where they were hiding or how the girls were staying so quiet, but her head quickly snapped around when she saw Sophie finally starting to walk towards the back door. As soon as it was opened, Cari pressed the button to turn on the lights and tossed her phone to the side without a care in the world so that she could start playing the song she had been writing the last few weeks. It was familiar but different, a new rendition of 'Girl of my Dreams' that she had written entirely about Sophie and their relationship, tears already starting to flow down Cari's face only a few seconds into the song.

Soph: "Can't take you bloody anywhere," Sophie mumbled, affectionate tone slipping out even with her being slightly annoyed with her girlfriend at the moment. She barely had her mouth opened to suggest something when Cari was running out, saying she'd be checking the car. She shook her head at her girlfriend and tipped it back to look up at the ceiling. "Of all the girls, you had me choose that one, aye? Puttin' me in an early grave, you are," the actress wagged a finger at the ceiling as if she was punishing the lord or the fates for making her fall for Cari. As if she'd ever actually be upset over that when she was so in love with the girl she could cry. Hearing Cari shout for her, Sophie grabbed up her phone from the bed and dialed Cari's number and pressing it to her ear. It rang over and over and over again. "She's so fuckin' dear, I swear," she huffed to herself, following the ringing sound of Cari's phone to outside. The ringing lead her right outside to the dark backyard and she furrowed her eyebrows. "Cari? Did ya come to the backyard at all before you came up?" she called out to the darkness, trying to find where the damn cube was so she could grab it and find her girlfriend next.

Cari: As soon as she knew that Sophie was paying attention, Cari began to sing the words that she had poured her heart into for the last month. Singing through the details of their relationship and how Cari felt about Sophie, tears rolling down the singer’s cheeks the entire time and just doing her best to get through the rest of the song. “I had to find myself to find you, my real dream come true,” she sang as the second to last line and then set her guitar the side. The box with the ring was in her guitar case and she picked it up to walk over to Sophie, bending down on one knee and looking up at the redhead through her tears. “A year ago, I never thought I’d ever get myself to the point of being ready for this. But from the moment I met you, I’ve known that I’d be doing exactly this sooner rather than later. You’re the love of my life, Sophie Belinda. You’ve changed me in every conceivable way, and I never want that to stop. I want to change with you, and grow with you, and love you for the rest of my life,” she managed to get out and opened the box to show the ring to her, “So to finish the song, girl of my dreams, will you marry me?” Those were words Cari honestly wasn’t sure she’d ever say, the idea of them terrified her until now, now they came out so effortlessly and as if she had been holding them in all this time. In a way she had been, but now they were out and she looked up into Sophie’s eyes with all the love within her to wait for the answer.

Soph: At the sound of music coming from across the backyard, Sophie slowly turned to see the lights above Cari switch on and froze at the sight of a bounce house. Her beautiful girlfriend sat in the middle of it with her guitar, singing a rendition of Girl of My Dreams that she'd never heard before. It took Sophie a few lines in to realize that Cari was singing about them. About their whole relationship so far and the redhead slowly lowered her phone from her ear, hanging up the cal and slowly walking over to her girlfriend and stopping in front of the bounce house. All the memories from their first night together rushing back to her. The way they'd giggled and rolled around in the bounce house in Cari's backyard. Trying to keep quiet even though they both knew that the rest of Cari's family heard them inside. The night that Sophie realized she was falling for Cari and had been so terrified she shoved it down. And she mentally kicked her past self for being so silly. For psyching herself out when she could have been with Cari right then and there if she had let herself. Once the song ended, Sophie didn't even bother to wipe the tears that flowed down her cheeks and sniffled as Cari walked up to her. Her breath hitching in her throat when Cari got down on one knee in front of her with a ring box, hand cupping over her mouth. Was . .. this really happening right now? "i . . . of course I'll marry ya, Cari," she whispered, sniffling again and holding out her hand for Cari to slide the ring on her finger. The second it was on her, the actress grabbed Cari up by her face and crashed her lips onto hers, salty tears mixing in with the taste of Cari.

Cari: Cari felt like she couldn’t breathe for the few seconds it took for Sophie to answer her, finally able to exhale the second that agreed and a huge smile spreading across her face. The ring slid on perfectly, and Cari looked up at her fiancé just in time to see Sophie leaning down to kiss her, the singer’s arms instantly wrapping around the actress to kiss her back, both of them still crying the entire time. “I love you,” Cari mumbled against her lips. A moment later, the sounds of Joe, the girls, and Alex’s voices rang out from the shadows as they ran over to congratulate them with both of their families screaming from the screen of the ipad. “I had a little help,” she winked at Sophie and then allowed them both the time to celebrate with everyone. It was a whirlwind of hugs and talking to a screen, barely able to get a word in with anyone. Cari’s family hung up the call, giving Sophie some time with just hers and Joe, all before they all ended up in the bounce house with Willa for a little bit and Cari holding Wren to gently bounce with her. After awhile, Joe left with the girls and Alex took off to her hotel, leaving it down to just Cari and Sophie finally and Cari wasted no time in playing tackling her fiancé into the bounce house again. “I had you going with the April Fool’s pranks,” she teased, leaning down to kiss her quickly and then pull away, “You were pissed and I was trying so hard not to laugh or let you in on the joke right there because I felt bad. But couldn’t let all this hard work and planning go to waste.”

Soph: Sophie couldn't believe her eyes when Joe and everyone stepped out from the shadows, her family and Cari's family both on separate zoom calls to be there for the occasion. The tears were still flowing down her face as Sophie hugged and thanked everyone for being there, bouncing Wren in her arms when the baby reached out for her. She playfully pushed Joe's shoulder and playfully yelled at him for keeping this a secret from her. Like he wasn't supposed to do that. She talked to her mom and brothers for a while before jumping over to Cari's family  and back again before both families finally hung up to let them enjoy their night. Everyone stayed for a bit longer before Joe left with the girls because it was getting late and everyone else wanted to let the girls have some privacy. The actress laughed as Cari took her down to the bounce house floor, wrapping her arms tightly around her fiance. A word that Sophie was going to need to get used to. Out of all the things she expected to happen tonight, it surely was not this. Even with the jokes from Cari, her brain just couldn't comprehend the fact that Cari was now really going to be hers for forever. "I was! Cause ya were bein' an arse," she groaned, playfully nipping at Cari's lower lip in retaliation. "I still can't believe you did. Like . . . I'm gonna marry you. For life."

Cari: “I’ve been planning this close to a month now, once I realized April Fool’s was an option, couldn’t pass up getting to fuck with you just a little bit before crying and asking you to marry me,” she laughed and brushed her noses against Sophie’s, “Neither can I, asking your dad and Joe for their blessing was scary as shit but that had nothing on my nerves the last few days and today.” The performance at the GLAAD Awards a couple days ago had given Cari the perfect excuse to blame her nerves on and even be able to let some out to Sophie without her being suspicious. And maybe that’s why she had gone a little father on the pranks today than she initially planned, as a way to distract herself from the nerves and keep her mind focused on one thing at a time. “You and me forever, sweetheart. We’ve only been engaged for like half an hour and I already can’t wait to marry you. I love you so much, Soph,” she grinned and kissed Sophie quickly once again, “But I do think we need to focus on putting this bounce house to good use while we’ve got it, don’t you think?” The singer didn’t even let her fiancée respond before she was kissing her once again, fully content for this part of the celebration to be as slow as it could be so that they could really savor it together.

[its-all-ineffable]

I posted 6,149 times in 2022

That's 3,109 more posts than 2021!

98 posts created (2%)

6,051 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dreamsequencer

@prouvaireafterdark

@sehkmetdestroyerofworlds

@thisbluewind

@werewolfpeterparker

I tagged 3,384 of my posts in 2022

Only 45% of my posts had no tags

#amc interview with the vampire - 723 posts

#amc iwtv - 722 posts

#amc iwtv spoilers - 586 posts

#amc interview with the vampire spoilers - 585 posts

#the batman 2022 - 484 posts

#loustat - 396 posts

#stranger things - 330 posts

#louis x lestat - 316 posts

#the sandman - 296 posts

#the sandman netflix - 274 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#but if it was your daughter who'd been raped and was now dead daniel and couldn't consent to likely graphic sa being shared with the world

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So Interview With The Vampire is apparently airing? Or available on AMC+ now? A Twitter friend just tweeted about how good the 1st ep was. The time difference between America and the UK is crazy.

Here it's the 30th of September, 4am, and right now, the UK has no way of watching the show.😭😡

It is likely to be included with BT TV since their package includes AMC, but I don't have that, & it involves talking to them about wifi and getting a box etc. We don't get AMC+ here in the UK yet. And they've not said if they're giving it to Disney+ or Prime like they've done with other things.

So, I don't know when or where this show is coming out, and I honestly feel a little fucking cross. I'd just like to watch the gay vampire show without having to learn how to do piracy or do a million and one internet searches!

So I'm gonna block the tags for it, and also...TAG YOUR SPOILERS PLEASE! Thank you.

I really want this show NOW, you have no idea. Ffs AMC, you assholes. 😠😭😭😭

UPDATE: An AMAZING friend of mine has helped my learn piracy and I have now watched both available episodes!!!!!! I am obsessed, this is my newest thing, I am not sorry and my blog is about to be filled with gay vampire content.

22 notes - Posted September 30, 2022

#4

This is now my header:

Yes it's Louis and Lestat snogging right before they have sex.

No I'm not ashamed.

Yes I'm very happy. Thank you.😊😎

27 notes - Posted October 14, 2022

#3

So my BatCat fic that I wrote and posted last night (Call It What You Want To) did really well and I've had 3 lovely comments on it!

This has inspired me to write another BatCat fanfic, but I'm not sure what to do for it! So, I want to ask you awesome people on here, should I write:

a) a reunion fic that follows Call It What You Want To?

b) just a random reunion fic, possibly with an identity reveal?

c) missing/extended BatCat moments from the movie?

d) identity reveal fic with Bruce Wayne & Selina interactions beforehand?

Let me know which one sounds best, cause I wanna write some more BatCat asap!

UPDATE:

I have written the sequel, and these ideas will now be a series of one shots! Here's the sequel: My baby's fly like a jet stream, high above the whole scene, loves me like I'm brand new

28 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

#2

I am afraid to go into the Interview With The Vampire tags right now....I know episode 5 was a lot, and it definitely needed trigger warnings for sure, but I...

I hesitate to say I enjoyed it, but I found it interesting to watch and will keep watching the show, and I also don't feel that the wave of panic about Lestat's character being butchered is true.

Also the people crying about not being able to ship Loustat after this when a lot of you ship Hannigram.....do I need to explain?? Really?🤨

I just don't wanna see the hate and negativity, I just wanna see nice gifs and art etc. and I have a feeling I won't get that.

33 notes - Posted October 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

You're his destiny

A Loustat fanfic, and my first one in the fandom!

Available here: You're his destiny - TheImpossibleDetectivesAngel - Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022) [Archive of Our Own]

“For one horrifying second, as Louis curled against the cool metal, he thought that Lestat may leave him there, only protected from the deadly sun by the small terrace. […] He dismissed the thought as quickly as it appeared. Lestat had tried to warn him before he left, but Louis had been too scared, to wrapped up in his own mind to listen to the man. His new lover may be petty and vindictive, but he’d never leave Louis to die, not after everything he’d done to keep Louis with him so far.”

An extended cut of what happened between Lestat opening the gate and him carrying Louis up the stairs, and then a little extended cut of them after Lestat invites Louis into the coffin.

39 notes - Posted October 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[onehunnit]

April Comebacks/Debuts that I Caught!*

*in no particular order, non-exhaustive, and all songs were released between April 1st and April 30th. 🎶 means it was playlisted!

*Locked On by VVUP: This technically came our march c32st my time but whatever, going in april list: I enjoy how this track goes but im unsure ab the chorus. but who knows?

🎶 Deja Vu by TXT: yet ANOTHER Deja Vu kpop song. nah im jk. This song is really banger, i love the guitar riffs. However, TXT (FOR ME) do their best when they're in their pop punk bag so the remix does clear I fear.

Renegade by LUCAS: Man idk NOTHING ab what happened to Lucas and why he was kicked out (I have a vague idea?). Anyways. This is like.... not good. Painfully average at best, boring and snoozefest at worst. The entire release is, Crushing On You is the closest I get to being happy ab this. And I'm still not. This solo shit may not be it king 🙌🏾. I will never get those three minutes back 😭

SHEESH by BABYMONSTER: It is better than Batter Up for sure and the girlies ate up that rap like no tomorrow. But it's just not my cup of tea at the end of the day.... :(. the dance is addictive tho fr

LURE BY I.M: This song is really nice 😭😭 I.M's music always is

🎶 Midas Touch by Kiss of Life: BRITNEY SPEARS' CHILDREN! 10/10 AMAZING SHOW STOPPING NEVER DONE BEFORE ETC ETC ETC WHEN I TOUCH YA

🎶 By My Monster by ONF: Wahhhhh this song is so beautiful the chorus HITS and the post-chorus instrumentation like fawk! GIVE THE BOYS THEIR FLOWERS. i wanted to hatethe rap but i fear the transitions in and out of it are in fact well done

Could It Be by YUQI: This was a cute little jam!

🎶 BLUSH by woo!ah!: take these girls out of nugudom. EXPEDITIOUSLY. THIS SONG IS SO FUCKING GOOD UR JOKING!?!? this is MY SPRING SONG! MINEEEE. I FEEL LIKE MONEYYYY

Beautiful MAZE by DRIPPIN: I heard this song once and it was stuck i my head for the next three weeks.

Girl's Night by LOOSEMBLE: Died 2020, reborn 2024. Welcome Back GFRIEND /j

Flower Rhythm by ARTMS: i do enjoy this genre a lot and I started choreographing something to thus. Guys. Spring is here and the ggs are making sure you know!

Impossible by RIIZE: whoever said this sounds like a SHINee reject is right, but that's how u know they ate 🤭 Again adhering to my belief that every bg should have a club banger. side note: sm been fumbling the bag so bad (see: renegade) so bring that boy BACK

PSYCHIC by LAY: WHEN WE NEEDED HIM MOST HE CAME BACK. I enjoy this song!

Earth, Wind and Fire by BOYNEXTDOOR: this is hella catchy.... they did eat with this one 🙈

Bubble Gum by NewJeans: this is a rly cute song 🫶🏾

SPOT by ZICO ft Jennie: Zico can miss.. Jennie can't miss... and they hit the target with this one 🤷🏾‍♀️

🎶HEYA by IVE: I really loved this sample flip and y'all know i'll alwaysbe tapped into a demjointz joint. that insturmental goes crazyyyy

🎶But I by SOLAR: goddd solar's vocal never fails to move me. This is the exact song I woulda lost my shit to in eighth grade and I'm still losing my shit to it now ngl

MAESTRO by SEVENTEEN: That instrumental section is sooo juicy and bonkers i love it.pots and pans music but good

🎶Little Things by Xdinary Heroes: HELLLL YEAHHHH BROTHER

[ajoytobeheld]

Food review: North America 2010, volume one, part two

May 14th, 2010

Welcome back to another instalment of us eating our way across America.

28th April Covington, Kentucky.

Covington hadn’t provided us with that much during the day.  A trip across the Ohio river into Cincinnati led to a market research interview in a bagel shop, which included false names and the impracticality of bottomless coffee mugs.

We did find a sports bar in Covington that included a whole variety of rock inspired Mac n’ Cheeses’ including Nirvana, Cream and Green Day.  Now I don’t like Green Day, but I decided to go for their take on Mac n’ Cheese.  I’m not sure if Billie Joe had had any input into it, but if he had his ideas were pretty good.  The Green Day contained spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, this created a better flavour to the Mac n’ Cheese and also a bit more colour.  I find Mac n’ Cheese a bit bland and not the most attractive of meals, but the spinach and the tomato changed this.  It was a nice size, the perfect amount of a quick meal before the show.

29th April, Madison, Wisconsin.

The last time we played Madison, whilst we were annoying the students in their beer hall, I decided to ask some of them where was good to eat.  We were kindly sent to the Top of the World and had an amazing meal.  We decided we would go back there.  Top of the World is a Himalayan restaurant serving dishes from Nepal, Tibet and India.  I had the Goat Curry last time and it was so good, I had it again.  With the meal you were given a dhaal or a salad.  I went for dhaal.  This one was more of a soup, normally it is a lot thicker, but the spices and the spinach created a lightly balanced soup that was refreshing.

The curry came and the meat just fell off the bone.  It was so tender and the spices created an amazing flavour, the spices dancing on my tongue.  Despite it being quite dense, it felt really light, and I felt contented at the end.  I was left sucking the bones to get all the flavours off.  Despite it being one of the more expensive meals of the tour (average plate cost $16), it was definitely worth it.

30th April, Chicago Illinois

No visit to Chicago is complete until you’ve gone to Intelligentsia Coffee; probably my favourite coffee shop in the world.  Unlike Gimme Coffee in New York, it doesn’t have the snobbery and the staff were really helpful in suggesting different beans for my espresso. Me and Tom both came away bearing some beans.

Today’s meal was eaten and then I realised I hadn’t taken a picture.  Sorry fans, my stomach comes first.  I went across the road to Azteca De Oro and got a couple of tacos.  First tacos of the tour and they were great.  It’s hard to muck up a taco and these were satisfying and full of flavour.

After the show I crossed the street again to a hot dog place called Wrigleyville Dogs.  And though it was a great meal at 1am, it wasn’t as good as a Pink’s in L.A. The chilli sauce had made the bun go too soggy and this led to it all spilling out.  Nonetheless, after a show and a massive thunder storm it was satisfying.

1st May, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Some of us ended up in a Tequila bar for dinner called Barrio.  As well as having a massive selection of tequila, which we failed to try, they served Mexican “tapas”, which was basically small mexican dishes mainly tacos.  I had a carnitas taco and a crab taco.  Both appeared well presented with a few extra touches such as fresh coriander.  The crab taco was very good, when were in Mexico we had tuna sashimi tacos and they were amazing.  The crab created a different feel to the taco, the lightness of the crab meat contrasting really well with the lime and the coriander.  Despite being in a fancier place these tacos didn’t cost that much more than anywhere else so it was still excellent value, and being served a man called Machete also helped.

2nd May, Billings, Montana.

So how many of you have been to Billings?  Well, we’ve been there twice.  Both times we’ve been to a restaurant called Walkers, which serves pretty fancy food in a town that doesn’t seem that big.  With a vast beer and wine selection, they have a very appealing menu.  I had the confit of duck which came with Cannellini Beans, pancetta, fried garlic and asparagus.  The duck was so tender and had been cooked really well; the meat falling off the bones.  The beans had been cooked in a creamy sauce.  The fried garlic was very good, and that with a bit of duck meat and the beans lit up my mouth.  The asparagus had been cooked very well, it was still a bit crunchy and the creaminess of the beans really complemented it.  It was pretty expensive but well worth the price.

In part 3, we reach the West coast and hit up some of our favourite food establishments.

[rikasfundingassociates]

[New Chatroom] A Sparkling Surprise.

This chatroom originally took place on April 1st, 2023.

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

--- [ACTOR has entered the chatroom.]

[ACTOR]: hmm... so quiet!

[ACTOR]: you people are so busy.... certainly you could spend some time to keep me company, hm?

--- [HEIR has entered the chatroom.]

[HEIR]: I'll put a bookmark in my work just for you. ^^

[HEIR]: It is really quiet today, though. I wonder why ...

[ACTOR]: [HEIR]! oh darling it's so lovely seeing you ^^

[ACTOR]: I wonder if it's because of the holidays... so much to do this time of the year

[HEIR]: That's true too ... I guess spring around this time does get quite hectic.

[ACTOR]: Any big plans✨ or just the same old same old?

[HEIR]: Nothing that I'm aware of ... I'm only looking forward to Easter because of a close friend, but that's really it. I'd love to plan something more worthwhile though ... Lately, I've only ever around after work. T T

[HEIR]: What about you? Do you have anything coming up? :0

[ACTOR]: ohhh just the usual! Well- aside from all the seasonal stuff! It's fun being able to be on the opposite end of the runway this time of year for sure...

[ACTOR]: I know I'm one to insist but I'd love to have you model some of my clothes sometime! ^_^ You'd look dashing in anything

[HEIR]: I've never done anything like that before .. but I appreciate the offer!

[HEIR]: Perhaps one day, I can.

[ACTOR]: Lovely

--- [ASSISTANT has entered the chatroom.]

[ASSISTANT]: 😑

[ASSISTANT]: Notifications.

[ACTOR]: 😅

[HEIR]: We apologize ...

[HEIR]: But it's simply too quiet!! :(

--- [GAMER has entered the chatroom.]

[GAMER]: omg!!!.. u have a good point!

[GAMER]: it is kinda quiet... not anymore though ^^!

[HEIR]: Not anymore indeed!! >:) Hello, [GAMER].

[GAMER]: HI [HEIR] !

[ASSISTANT]: It's fine, I suppose.

[ACTOR]: aw... come on [ASSISTANT] cheer up where's the pep in your step darling?

[ACTOR]: And yes! hello [GAMER]

[GAMER]: :]! helloo..

[GAMER]: u should totally cheer up !

[GAMER]: it's the first of the month!! new month new u..?!

[ACTOR]: I quite like that motto

[ASSISTANT]: It's nothing special, really. But fine, I will refrain from being annoyed. I just find it to be unprofessional for my phone to be buzzing while at work.

[ACTOR]: ... you're still at work?

[ASSISTANT]: No, but I'm doing work at home and it's the principle that matters.

[HEIR]: So productive!

[HEIR]: But I fear the stress ...

[ASSISTANT]: ...

[HEIR]: .. If you insist.

[ACTOR]: work, shmerk, I get a little tired hearing about it...

[ACTOR]: so happy to see you all in one place again

[ACTOR]: at least... almost all of us

[GAMER]: awwww...

[HEIR]: It is fun to see most of us here together. I miss this kind of thing...

[ACTOR]: I miss the days we would put on those parties...

[HEIR]: I MISS THOSE DAYS TOO!!! They were so much fun ..

[HEIR]: We need to get out heads back in the game!! We mustn't stall any longer!!! One of these days will be the right day. I know it. I am ... confident.

[HEIR]: .. ^^;

[GAMER]: this is so!! nostalgic!! omg..:]

[ACTOR]: it certainly is... just like the good old days now isn't it?

[ASSISTANT]: You all are in quite the reminiscing mood.

[ASSISTANT]: But... I suppose that this isn't too bad. I've only hear stories of the parties you used to throw, and I would like to see what you all can do one day.

[ASSISTANT]: With my help, of course.

[HEIR]: Of course ..

[GAMER]: YEAH!!! ofc ..<3

[GAMER]: i think reminising is nice sometimes. its always fun aswell^^!

[ACTOR]: I am hopeful of the future call it wishful of me, but I can feel it in my bones. There will be another party I swear by it

[HEIR]: Well if that's wishful, then I'll be wishful with you!!

[ASSISTANT]: Ah. Speaking of.

[ASSISTANT]: It seems I have received a... few strange emails.

[ACTOR]: hm?

[HEIR]: ?!

[HEIR]: Strange emails?

[GAMER]: whatt?? do u have any idea who it's from?

[ASSISTANT]: Yes.

[ASSISTANT]: Perhaps I am being a bit jumpy, but it's almost as if they're applications.

[ASSISTANT]: Applications to join the RFA.

[ASSISTANT]: Which I do not remember sending out.

[HEIR]: We haven't hosted a party in a year, who's sending out applications now? Did any of you guys call for volunteers?

[ACTOR]: i haven't no...

[GAMER]: ?!! not that I remember ;;;..

[ASSISTANT]: None of them are from anyone I'm familiar with either.

[ASSISTANT]: We've gotten 6 so far. Which is... very strange.

[ASSISTANT]: Nothing in common from what I see either, at least, what I can find googling their names.

[ACTOR]: ,,, maybe it's a prank 😅 April fools?

[HEIR]: If that's the case, what a cruel prank that is...

[ASSISTANT]: I doubt it, this has been over the past week, not just today.

[GAMER]: maybe..!? what if we like... got hacked....;;

[GAMER]: that'd be a super planned out prank..

[ASSISTANT]: Hacked? Don't we have measures for that?

[GAMER]: YEA!! thats why it'd be crazy if it happened..

[HEIR]: This is so weird.

[ACTOR]: I hope it's just... nothing

[ACTOR]: it's so very strange

[ASSISTANT]: Indeed.

--- [HACKER has entered the chatroom.]

[HACKER]: WHO DID IT.

[ACTOR]: oh my- is everything alright?!

[HEIR]: ??!

[GAMER]: WHAT

[ASSISTANT]: [HACKER].

[HACKER]: DON'T ACT ALL INNOCENT

[HACKER]: ONE OF YOU IS CAPABLE OF HORRORS BEYOND HUMAN UNDERSTANDING

[ACTOR]: dear heavens...

[HEIR]: What are you on about???

[HACKER]: OKAY !!! OKOKOK

[HACKER]: OK

[HACKER]: imagine !!!

[HACKER]: no wait i need to properly conceptualize my experience

[HACKER]:

>be me

>its a hot day and i want to browse the tube !!

>i got for a good old reliable, dr. pepper

>IT WAS NOT RELIABLE

>MY MOUTH TASTES LIKE BUZZING

[HACKER]: i know one of you recognizes that story now...

[ACTOR]: ...buzzing????

[ACTOR]: isn't that just the carbonation..?

[GAMER]: DUDE

[GAMER]: DID YOY GET POISONED

[HACKER]: THE EQUIVALENT OF POISON, YES

[HACKER]: THAT WAS NOT SODA CARBONATION

[ASSISTANT]: How dramatic.

[HACKER]: THAT WAS SPARKLING WATER.

[GAMER]: OH NY GOD

[GAMER]: how many fingers am i holding up

[HACKER]: seventeen

[HACKER]: anyways did you do it

[GAMER]: oh my god....

[GAMER]: :dove:

[HACKER]: please avenge me..,..,.

[GAMER]: I WILL!!!!

[HEIR]: Pardon me for laughing but ... that sounds really silly, [HACKER], I can't help but giggle.

[HACKER]: YOU CAN'T BELITTLE MY TRAUMA !!!! THIS IS VERY SERIOUS

[ACTOR]: This is a bit entertaining^^ you always manage to make me laugh [HACKER]

[HACKER]: i know it's april fools and all... but this is a new low for even me

[ASSISTANT]: Who's not to say you're pranking us right now?

[HACKER]: DO YOU WANT TO SEE MY MOUTH.

[GAMER]: it's ok [HACKER].. it's ok. im here....

[HEIR]: Gasp ...

[HEIR]: The plot thickens

[HACKER]: I CAN SEND RECIEPTS.

[GAMER]: no :(

[GAMER]: pls do not

[HACKER]: thank you, [GAMER]... at least someone understands ...

[GAMER]: i do ....

[HACKER]: i still continue to struggle to understand how anyone could ever enjoy sparkling water

[HACKER]: what is there to like about it !!! its the antithesis of everything fun and cool and good

[HACKER]: it looks like water .... but it HURTS

[ACTOR]: sure, why not^^ send the receipts if you wish I'm a little curious

[ACTOR]: wouldn't you have noticed your dr pepper was in fact not that?

[HACKER]: i don't know !!!! it was in the regular can and everything

[HACKER]: the lovely logo was there as always to greet me

[ACTOR]: oh my.... this all sounds so elaborate...

[GAMER]: that's a lot of effort to prank u... seems personal... ;;

[HACKER]: that's why i KNEW it had to be one of you !!

[HACKER]: only someone who knew my deepest weakness could hoodwink me so well

[ACTOR]: what a silly case of who dunnit....

[GAMER]: bamboozle

[HEIR]: Sounds like dedication, really

[ASSISTANT]: And a lot of free time, which I don't have.

[HACKER]: evil genius and pure diabolicaness !!!

[GAMER]: i could never be that evil.. wasn't me :broken_heart:

[HACKER]: who could ever have it out for poor me...

[ACTOR]: I don't really have much of an alibi outside of me just knowing I did not do it

[ACTOR]: I guess my innocence comes down to trust

[HEIR]: Yeah.. I didn't do it either :(

[HACKER]: i trust you, [ACTOR]

[HACKER]: the others, not so much...

[ACTOR]: :adore: how sweet, [HACKER]

[HEIR]: You don't trust me ?!

[GAMER]: omg

[GAMER]: this is getting intense...

[HEIR]: I'm wounded ... T T

[HACKER]: forgive me [HEIR], but you're like the peak stereotype of a sparkling water enjoyer

[GAMER]: am i not trustworthy!! i comforted you during this hard time... </3..

[HEIR]: HEY WHAT

[HACKER]: THE IMAGE IS SO CLEAR

[HACKER]: SITTING IN YOUR SKYSCRAPER WINDOW OFFICE AT YOUR DESK... FANCY GLASS IN HAND

[HACKER]: filled with what, you might ask?

[HACKER]: SPARKLING WATER

[ASSISTANT]: Not to point fingers but anyone who aims to appear more innocent would instantly comfort the victim, especially if they were the culprit.

[GAMER]: HUH!!

[HEIR]: For the record, my fancy glasses are typically filled with RED WINE. AND!!! EVEN IF I WAS A SPARKLING WATER ENJOYER (Which I am not.) ... What could have possibly possessed me to have even an ounce of dedication to impose such a prank on you?!

[HACKER]: joyous whimsy

[HEIR]: I'm wrongfully accused. :crycry:

[GAMER]: oh my god ive set myself up...

[GAMER]: it's just us , [HEIR]

[GAMER]: watch my back ill watch yours...

[ACTOR]: how intense!

[HEIR]: nuh uh ... I think [ASSISTANT] has a point ... You're more suspicious than me!!!

[GAMER]: NOOOO

[HACKER]: [GAMER] MY BESTIE

[HACKER]: be honest with me

[HACKER]: .... did you do it ?

[GAMER]: NEVER!!!

[GAMER]: i wouldn't dream of it :(:(

[HACKER]: I DON'T KNOW WHO TO BELIEVE !!!!

[GAMER]: WE BONDED!!!

[HACKER]: WHAT IF IT WAS A TRAUMA BOND ...

[HACKER]: STOCKHOLM SYNDROME ...

[GAMER]: THAT WOUOD MEAN I GOT TRAUMATIZED TOO

[HACKER]: MAYBE YOU DID

[GAMER]: WHAT IF SPARKLING WATER GOT SNUCK INTO MY DRINKS TOO

[HACKER]: FROM PRANKING ME

[GAMER]: NOOOO

[ASSISTANT]: You people and your theatrics...

[ACTOR]: it's almost like a soap opera...

[GAMER]: IT WASNT ME....

[HACKER]: BUT IF YOU DIDN'T NOTICE...

[HACKER]: DOES THAT MEAN YOU LIKE IT?

[GAMER]: NO

[GAMER]: NOOOOOO

[HACKER]: [ACTOR] HELPPPP

[GAMER]: HELP....

[HACKER]: THE ONLY PERSON I CAN TRUST

[HACKER]: WHAT DO YOU THINK

[ACTOR]: hm...

[ACTOR]: oh i hate choosing between friends >.<

[HACKER]: one of these people ISN'T a friend

[ACTOR]: :hehe:

[HACKER]: i was never good at mystery games ...

[ACTOR]: nor was I!

[ACTOR]: does this make me the watson to your sherlock?

[HACKER]: it's merely elementary ...

[ASSISTANT]: And juvenile. You all have a very funny way of going about this.

[HEIR]: :rose_giggle:

[HACKER]: don't you see how life or death this matter is ???

[GAMER]: :broken_heart:

[ACTOR]: come on now [ASSISTANT]... this situation is very dire...

[ASSISTANT]: :raised_eyebrow:

[HACKER]: don't you care about the security of the RFA !!! if there's a rogue prankster in our midst theres no telling what else might happen !!

[ASSISTANT]: :jaeheesigh:

[ACTOR]: i think.... the culprit should confess... and if they do we will forgive them <3

[HEIR]: Well, it wasn't me. That's for sure.

[HACKER]: i won't.

[GAMER]: IT WASNT ME!!

[ACTOR]: then who WAS it??!

[HEIR]: What a cliffhanger ...

[HEIR]: Perhaps, we will never know. :(

[ACTOR]: ... :SCsorry:

[GAMER]: omg...

[HACKER]: i guess a prankster can never reveal their ways :"

[ASSISTANT]: Certainly. That would spoil his fun.

[HACKER]: yeah .... that IS true ...

[ACTOR]: ...

[HEIR]: Hm

[ACTOR]: [ASSISTANT] darling, that is a funny choice of pronouns ^^

[ASSISTANT]: I know.

[GAMER]: ....omg........

[ACTOR]: is there... something you want to tell us?

[ASSISTANT]: Hm?

[ASSISTANT]: Oh, I suppose.

[ASSISTANT]: Sparkling water isn't that bad.

[GAMER]: OMG.

[HACKER]: ………. … .. .. .

[HEIR]: No. Way.

[GAMER]: OH MY GOD...

[HEIR]: NO WAY?????

[HACKER]: IT WAS YOU??

[ASSISTANT]: What it is is spending several hours replacing the doctor pepper.

[GAMER]: YOU MADMAN

[ASSISTANT]: ? Yes.

[ASSISTANT]: April Fools.

[HACKER]: WHAT THE FUH HAKAXZA

[ACTOR]: Oh my :hehe:

[HEIR]: That is a plot twist

[ASSISTANT]: You have been, as they say, played.

[HACKER]: HAHAHAHAHAHA

[GAMER]: THIS IS CRAZY

[HACKER]: I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT FROM YOU, [ASSISTANT]

[HACKER]: i guess you really do learn from the best !!! :3

[ASSISTANT]: Haha.

[ASSISTANT]: Yes, let's say that.

[ASSISTANT]: :)

[HACKER]: i’m dropping off Kirby at your house btw

[HACKER]: and he's not leaving

[HACKER]: :3

[ASSISTANT]: ....

[ASSISTANT]: If you insist.

[HACKER]: enjoy litter box duty, funny guy

[HACKER]: gotta go wash out my mouth, peace !!

-- [HACKER has left the chatroom.]

[HEIR]: :rose_giggle:

[ACTOR]: :adore:

[GAMER]: BYEEEEE!!!

[HEIR]: That was a good laugh :cmere:

[GAMER]: im still processing it... omg...

[ASSISTANT]: I am glad it was enjoyed by all. I spent very long on it. :)

[HEIR]: I would have never expected such a prank from you, [ASSISTANT]

[HEIR]: I applaud you ...

[GAMER]: TOTALLY!!! kudos<3

[ASSISTANT]: I thought it would be nice to step out of my comfort zone as many suggest.

[ACTOR]: Yes yes!!! :UWAH: this was done so well... the commitment...

[GAMER]: YEAH!!!

[ASSISTANT]: I do have to go now, however. I still have work to make up after spending so much time replacing soda.

[ASSISTANT]: Thank you all for your time.

-- [ASSISTANT has left the chatroom.]

[ACTOR]: bye bye :adore:!

[HEIR]: Bye!!!

-- [HACKER has entered the chatroom.]

[HACKER]: IT WAS MORE THAN ONE

[HACKER]: HE FILLED THE REST OF THE 12 PACK WITH SPARKLING WATER TOO

[GAMER]: WHAT

[HEIR]: WOW

[GAMER]: WHATT

[HACKER]: FOOL ME ONCE SHAME ON YOU

[HACKER]: FOOL ME TWICE ....

[HACKER]: im really impressed

[GAMER]: fool u twelve times...

[HEIR]: Fool you twelve times ..

[HEIR]: :rose_giggle:

[HACKER]: no way im throwing the rest of these out

[HACKER]: no... wait...

[HACKER]: that was 10 dollars

[ACTOR]: welll... maybe drop them off with Kirby? he did say he didn't mind it :hehe:

[HACKER]: maybe if i just close my eyes... and pretend ....?

[GAMER]: robbery..

[ACTOR]: no... don't do it !!!

[HACKER]: I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THOSE DR PEPPERS

[HACKER]: perhaps i will give him the rest

[GAMER]: im so sorry for ur loss.....

[HACKER]: he's probably the only one of us that could make use of them

[HACKER]: thank you ....

[HACKER]: he'll pay dearly one day

[GAMER]: i believe in u ..

[GAMER]: ive gotta like totally process this...

[GAMER]: ill see u guys around though!!^^

-- [GAMER] left the chatroom.

[ACTOR]: Goodbye!! :UWAH:

[ACTOR]: perhaps we can plan something in the future...

[HACKER]: seeya [GAMER] !!!

[HACKER]: you think we can give it another try ??

[HEIR]: I think so. I kind of ,, hope so.

[HACKER]: ... :)

[HACKER]: i'd like that

[HEIR]: ^^

[HACKER]: . crap boss is calling

[HACKER]: see you guys around !! :3

-- [HACKER has left the chatroom.]

[HEIR]: Seeya !!!

[ACTOR]: bye... :cmere:

[ACTOR]: I suppose you'll be off too, then?

[HEIR]: Yeah ... it's getting late.

[HEIR]: I'm still so nervous though. :nervy:

[ACTOR]: Over the applications?

[HEIR]: Yes...

[ACTOR]: me too...

[HEIR]: Getting applications is so lovely and my optimistic side wants to see it as a sign to get things going but it's also so bizarre and weirdly timed.

[HEIR]: And peculiar in general

[ACTOR]: It's not like we'd be looking for people either...

[HEIR]: Right ...

[ACTOR]: Hm...

[ACTOR]: I just hope [ASSISTANT] will be able to handle it.

[HEIR]: I'm sure he will. He's capable!! And generally great! >:0

[HEIR]: I might ask him to forward them to me ... I'm curious.

[HEIR]: But I also want to keep all hopes up! Good energy! Positivity! So if we do end up hosting a party again, it will be smooth. :adore:

[ACTOR]: fingers crossed for all good things then!!

[HEIR]: Crossing my fingers as we speak!!!

[HEIR]: Goodnight, [ACTOR] ^^

-- [HEIR has left the chatroom.]

[ACTOR]: And good to you as well^^

-- [ACTOR has left the chatroom.]

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

Transcript provided by [UNKNOWN]. rika's funding association (or the "rfa" for short) is a private, non-profit organization whose primary objective is to make the world a safer and kinder place for everyone. they will pay for what they did to me. can you hear me?

[100dayproductivity]

68/100.

This morning's cup of coffee. Not sure what AI was trying to spell out on the cup, lol. But the colour is nice!

Yesterday I was very unproductive all day. I tried to focus but ended up watching a YouTube video entitled "10 Signs You Might Have ADHD". The irony was not lost on me.

Finally, around 11 p.m., I got started on what I had been wanting to get done all day: look at my secondary credit card statements to see what I spent with it from April 1st, 2022 to March 31st, 2023. It was the last bit of financial data I needed to gather. Got the numbers entered into my spreadsheet and started adding everything up. I stopped at 2:30 a.m. and went to bed. Better late than never!

So today I want to finish adding everything up and see what the numbers tell me.

Oh, I don't think I mentioned why I'm doing this exercise. Besides the fact that it's a good idea to periodically analyze your spending from a personal finance point of view, I also really need to get a handle on what my expenses are and how much I actually earn. Several years ago I was a married SAHM (stay-at-home mom). My ex is a relatively high income earner. Then I got divorced and started working a little bit. At first I did some low-paying work-from-home jobs, then as my kids got a little older I was able to work a bit outside the home during the school day. And then a little more, and I raised my rates a little more, and so on. I've gradually been working more and earning more, but it's still not at a full-time job capacity and still a modest hourly rate. I'm not sure I can afford to continue to live where I do and/or continue to solo-preneur the way I do when my support payments stop. I'm a little afraid to see the final numbers of how much it actually costs me to live here. Hence the difficulty in getting this project done. That's the obstacle.

I'm hoping the next time I post I'll have some fun pie charts to share with you. Who doesn't love pie?

[nyaitsu-writes]

spring has just arrived! it's the season of nice weather and pretty flowers! so let's celebrate by running a very due milestone event ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

thank you so much to everyone who has made this possible! it's crazy that we're more than 400 people already ♪(´▽｀) i would have never expected it, it's such a big number!!

✿ GENERAL INFO

🌼 one of the big charms in enstars is its music! not only do we get catchy beats but the lyrics are also very good and inspiring. and so, after running for the 34534th time through some of my favourite songs lyrics, i came up with this little idea!

🌼 i know there's a ton of enstars music and i'm sure i haven't heard even half of it! so this helps to update my writing playlist too ehehe

🌼 this is more of a freeform event! i won't be going with full drabbles this time but rather little concepts or ideas that might become something if i'm very motivated. mostly focusing on AUs and different concepts to the ones i usually write! <3

🌼 about the tone of the writing, it can be anything. it really really depends in the song! (if you want a specific genre/concept/au be sure to mention it!)

🌼 everything in this event will be tagged as [🎶] sing for you! and there will be a masterlist pinned in my blog

✿ RULES

🌸 send the title of an enstars song + a character and i'll write a little concept about it! 🌸

🌷 you can add any extra info you might want into your request! a concept, a certain au or just some guidelines on what you'd like to read!

🌷 i'm fine with any song from the series, be it a unit song, shuffle or solo! the only rule is that the character you send needs to be part of the song

🌷 you may send multiple requests! just please, don't send them all at the same time. everyone wants to get their piece of the event <3

🌷 the event will go live for an entire week from now!

✉ ❝ this event will be open for a week from 21st March to 1st April, ending at midnight (GMT+1) ❞

love, nya 🎶