#once the hurdle is overcome and some time has passed

[numetalkids]

why do i only ever feel ready and prepared for milestones or difficult phases in life once i've passed them?

[causenessus]

love notes

part 0.18. MAKING MAC AND CHEESE AT TWO IN THE MORNING?

"this spot, it's all for you even if you don't come tonight, it's still for you. i stand by my reasons for wanting you, i wanna do right by you. baby baby baby, i want it to be different with you."

from different this time by corenelia murr

she greets him at the front door, dressed in a ragged hoodie and sweats. he looks just as messy in his own pair of gray sweats and a black t-shirt. they’ve known each other for too long; neither of them could care what the other looks like.

“oh my god,” she says, staring down at his hand, “you brought four boxes? i love you.”

he gives her a tired grin, eyes drooping but at least he attempted to comb his hair back at some point in the day. he looks like he’s finally recovered from however much he drank last night. “man, that onigiri did nothing for me today, bokuto stole like almost half of my food and then we were all running around. just thought i’d bring extra in case we’re still hungry.”

she follows him into the kitchen after she locks the door behind them, a spring in her step. she's happy to have someone to spend time with; she loves her roommates, of course, but she’s honestly glad atsumu’s the one who responded to her texts. her own group chat is so focused on her and rintaro that atsumu feels like the only close friend she has left who isn’t extremely involved with the situation–at least from her point of view (rintaro would disagree. atsumu’s a thorn in his side).

there’s nothing wrong with her friends looking out for her, she knows that. and in a way, it feels like the worst has already passed after what happened at onigiri miya: rintaro remembered his promise from the previous night, and now she feels a little bit more ready to confront him about their relationship. but, she also wants a moment where she doesn't have to think about it.

even her head is wrapped up thinking about the situation right now, so she’s glad to have atsumu as a distraction to keep her mind from wandering.

“oh? who are these from?” he asks, looking at the lilies placed on the middle of her counter. he passes by them as he wanders around her kitchen, opening every cabinet in search of a pot. she only watches, amused at the way their roles have switched. she’s often the one cooking for him, it feels nice to have someone else doing it for her for once.

her attention is drawn back to the flowers in front of her. the rosy pink color the petals have bloomed into never fails to catch her eye. she’s not sure if rintaro knew they would be pink when he bought them on new year's eve, or if he’d just grabbed the first bunch he’d seen. “they’re from rin,” she answers, cheek resting in her palm as she sits at the table of her kitchen. after overcoming the initial hurdle of calling him his first name, she finds it easier to say, and she likes how it rolls off her tongue.

“rin?” atsumu repeats, turning to give her a surprised look, brows raised with a teasing grin. “you’re calling rinnie poo his first name now?”

she snorts at the name, “rinnie poo? is that what you call him?”

“on special occasions,” atsumu replies, turning back to the stove where he’s boiling water before he reaches for one of the boxes of mac n’ cheese, turning it onto its side to read the instructions.

“how cute, maybe i’ll call him that one day, just to see how he reacts,” she laughs to herself, imagining how his brows will probably knit in concern and shock, hearing the nickname from her.

“it’s cute you’re calling him rin now,” he responds, and she thinks he actually looks quite at home, cooking in her kitchen. she’s not entirely sure she would trust him to cook something more complex, but at least he knows how to make the basics; maybe she’ll bother him about coming over late at night more often. “how’re you guys doing? if you don’t mind me asking, i feel like it’s been pretty chaotic in our group lately, or maybe that’s just my half, but osamu’s definitely been going crazy over you guys.”

she hums in thought at the question before he adds onto it, “you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. suna get’s on my ass sometimes for being nosy, even though he’s the same exact way.”

“no, it’s fine,” she says, still thinking. perhaps she needs to pull herself together. if everything in her life is going to keep bringing her back to this problem, she needs to stop avoiding it. “we’re good, i guess. i don’t know– i’m sure it’s obvious to everyone how much i like him, and everyone’s trying to convince me he likes me back but i’ve just been scared to ruin what we have in case they’re wrong. i’m starting to believe them, though.”

she watches him navigate around her kitchen, looking through their fridge for a carton of milk, and then a strainer. she decides to help him and points out where it is, and he has a minor accident while trying to strain the boiling water. the steam hits his skin and burns it, causing him to curse loudly and he almost drops the pot. she thinks for a second to take back what she said about him making a good cook, and she hushes him, trying to hold in her own laughter while they both sit in silence for a second, trying to make sure they didn’t wake up any of her roommates. then, before she knows it, he’s sliding a bowl of pasta across the table as he stays standing right across from her, placing his forearms on the counter and leaning forward as he digs into his own bowl. “well, then i’m not sure if this is any help but i’m pretty fucking sick of you guys too,” he says, shoving his spoon into his mouth.

she can only blink, hand frozen in air at how blunt his words are. when she doesn’t respond, he looks up and stops chewing. “oh, sorry– not like sick of you guys but if we’re all just giving up and telling the truth: no shit yeah he likes you. maybe it’s our twin intuition and ‘samu’s frustration is rubbing off on me but sometimes we see you guys together and it’s like ‘oh my god! why haven’t you guys kissed yet!’ you know?”

the only thing that comes out of her mouth is a surprised fit of laughter, “no? i mean– i guess i can see how it’s been frustrating for you guys now but i’ve been struggling with this for years so think about how i feel! it’s hard for me to trust that he actually likes me back after so long. and even now everything he’s doing is confusing me. i don’t know what to make of the fact that we’re calling almost every night, and when you guys got drunk last night, he almost made it seem like he’s been making the art he’s been sending me. you know about that, right? every time you guys go on an away game he sends me some pictures of the art he finds when you guys are wandering around or sneaking out.”

atsumu scoffs, pushing around the food in his bowl with his fork like he’s been doing for the past five minutes; he looks like he's on the verge of falling asleep. “well that’s stupid,” he starts, before he pauses to yawn. “i can’t believe you believe that. like, it’d take a fuckton of luck to just ‘stumble upon’ so much of that kind of art.” 

she tilts her head, brows furrowing, “why are you saying stumble upon like that?”

he finally looks up at her, giving her a face as if this should be easy for her to understand, “because he is making art for you, duh.”

they stare across the table from each other in complete silence, and his fork clatters onto the surface of it as he goes completely rigid before slapping a hand over his mouth another second later, “i wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

she’s speechless, unsure if she should be more surprised about the fact it took her this long to find out or about the actual fact itself. “rin’s making that art purposely for me?” she asks, trying to make sure. “he’s making art and then sending it to me pretending that he hasn’t made it?” atsumu only looks back down at his bowl awkwardly, trying to avoid eye contact with her.

“atsumu,” she says, standing up out of her chair, not even thinking about how loud it screeches against the ground. “you have to tell me!”

“no, no, i can’t. it’s not my place!–”

he exclaims as she grabs hold of his shoulders, trying to shake him (in reality, she’s the one being shaken back and forth while he stands there like an immovable rock), “atsumu! please! did you just say he's making art for me?”

he’s looking left and right, anywhere but her, mouth running off numerous incoherent excuses before they both stop dead cold in their tracks at the sound of another voice.

“god you guys are so loud, what the fuck are you– atsumu? what the hell are you doing here?” they both turn slowly, facing the black-haired boy who's just walked into the kitchen, eyes squinting in the light.

“making mac and cheese at two in the morning?” atsumu tries to answer, sounding unsure of himself at the sight of his volleyball captain.

“omi,” she grabs his attention instead, hands dropping from atsumu’s shoulders, “is rintaro putting up art for me in other cities?”

perhaps she should take advantage of people who’ve just woken up or who are on the verge of falling asleep more often; they become so much more honest, “huh? yeah he is. like every single night we’re in another city. i’ve given up trying to stop him– oh fuck.”

atsumu lets out a sigh, knowing there’s no use trying to deny the fact now while she has the biggest smile on her face, running to hug omi, whose frozen in place. “i can’t believe you guys have been hiding this from me for so long! atsumu, you need to come over more often.”

she removes her arms from around omi’s neck, still looking up at him with a grin on her face as he looks back down at her, eyes boring into her. “what are you gonna do now?” atsumu asks from behind her, and she turns back to him, coming back to her seat at the counter.

she takes a moment to think about the question as omi comes to stand by atsumu on the other side of her, joining the conversation. “i don’t know, this is so much to take in, thinking about everything he’s sent me before,” she rambles, playing with her fingers as she thinks before she looks back up at the two boys in front of her. “but you guys aren’t joking? he’s really doing that? all for me?”

omi nods, running a hand down his face like he’s still waking up while she can’t help but let out a little squeal. atsumu only sighs. the sleep has definitely left his eyes, and he's fully awake now.

“i think i want to talk to him– and confess. or something. it’s the least i can do with how much he's already done for me. i’m the one who just hasn’t been reading the signs. but god, how am i supposed to bring it up after so long?” 

“i mean, we can all meet up again. you can see for yourself how specially he treats you, and then maybe you can pull him to the side and confess your love for him while we all stand there awkwardly,” atsumu shrugs, yelping when omi hits him while she lays her head on the counter with a tired sigh.

“no, i don’t think i can handle being around him again until i confess to him. it was already so hard just seeing him today,” she responds, stretching out her arm to fidget with atsumu’s keys, which he threw onto the table when he first walked in. she rubs her finger along the jagged edges of a bronze one when suddenly it makes her think of something. “oh, i think i got it!”

the two boys in front of her look at her, brows raised as they wait for her to continue. and she tells them the plan.

prev. | m.list | next

extras <3

i've very subtly mentioned how yn's lowkey gonna confess to rin :)

or at least where they're going/what they're going to do <3

two chapters left!!! i'm going to cry </3

tsumu obviously is calling y/n pretty platonically. sorry i'm a whore

he's so domestic pookie core <3 i have to say it again!!! i really ate when i said it the first time

they're just very chill friends. like i don't think anyone else paired up would make mac n cheese together at 2 am. maybe osamu for yn but that's it <3

i reread this written part like four times so i'm sorry if i missed any typos 😭😭 i tried i really did

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[shiraishi--kanade]

"Ken should have told An sooner!"

Okay. I can see where you're coming from, because yes, from our perspective, and moral and ethical views, he should have.

But as a person within the narrative he had very valid reasons not to.

I want to reiterate that everything that pertains the whole "don't tell An" (as well as "don't speak of me like I've died") thing is entirely, 100% on Nagi. Ken has asked Nagi, repeatedly, if she really wanted that, and he himself has always been on the side of telling An even before she passed. He wasn't comfortable with Nagi's idea, and still carries a lot of guilt for going through with it.

But that aside, he was always going to tell her, at some point. The question just came down to him asking "if An is strong enough yet?" and it just so happens that the way An got stronger always led to VBS and the hurdles An has learned to overcome together with them. It's not that Ken didn't want to tell her but rather that he was afraid to, because wrong timing there might've broken An (as An herself admits and understands that the assessment of that is correct), and for both An's and Nagi's sakes, Ken couldn't have let that happen, basically leading to him pacing in circles for a very long time but unable but make a decision once and for all.

We can actually see his walls crack first in Vivid Old Tale. After that, he starts to constantly question if it's the time yet, and after Taiga almost openly admits what he's about to do in Kick it Up a Notch, Ken doesn't argue with him (although it stands to reason he didn't expect Taiga to do it like that.)

For what it's worth, Ken isn't malicious or uncaring, he's the last of those things. What he is, however, is a bit of a coward; but ultimately he was always just going through with what Nagi wanted. All of them were. It's all there is to it.

[tomionefinds]

Step siblings???? 👀

Here are some- Haus

Over Your Dead Body by midgnight5776

E | Complete | 104k

All Hermione wants to do is what’s best for her Tom. He’s her best friend, her protector, her stepbrother. Since the day he moved in, Tom’s looked after her. Now, as Tom’s urge to kill has become too strong to overcome, Hermione is going to do everything in her power to keep him from ever getting caught.

Psychopath by shezwriter

E | WIP | 83k

‘Tom Riddle’ is a believable character, designed with the customary tensions of a young man navigating the modern world.

The Nutcracker by sianatte

T | WIP | 14k

Widow Jane Granger found herself in dire straits, penniless and homeless with her young child. A chance emerged to salvage her life by becoming a housekeeper at the Riddles' residence. However, the terms didn't allow her to bring her child along. Facing this dilemma, she made the heart-wrenching decision to place Hermione in the care of the Wools Orphanage. Her plan: to reclaim her child once she could provide adequately. Meanwhile, at the Riddle house, an eerie occurrence befell the heir. Abruptly, he called off his engagement to Cecilia, vanishing for a month without explanation. As Jane began her work at the Riddle estate, the heir returned, bearing a terrifying, almost deathly appearance. Jane found herself tending to him, and amidst the trials, they gradually fell in love. However, their union faced a hurdle—Sr. Thomas, who disapproved of their relationship. They awaited his passing to wed legally. When the moment finally arrived, Jane hurried to the Wools orphanage to reclaim her child. To her relief, Hermione was there, but accompanying her was another boy—Tom, coincidentally sharing the name of Jane's former fiancé.

Riddle's Girl by MrsWhisper

E | WIP | 27k

Tom’s father was known to bring women home, he had married before, but they hadn’t lasted. But his father ran off and got married again. For the third time since his mother passed away. But this time, when introductions were made, Tom found a gorgeous curvy girl with curly brown hair, and eyes of amber. Hermione would be his- no matter the costs, step-sister or not.

Metanoia by Vofastudum

E | One-Shot | 5k

"Just ask it of me." He leans closer, her hand still holding his chin, "Just ask, baby sister." Tomione unhinged step-siblings Muggle au where they find magic, eachother and freedom on a whole new level.

[superthatguy62]

top 5 ffs?

Oh, hello.

Just as a warning, I have yet to go through the post 5 FF games to a significant degree, so I'll be including some spinoffs:

5: Final Fantasy Explorers

I haven't played... well, any Monster Hunter-type games, so FFE was my first taste of it, and you know what? I enjoyed it. I played it on single-player, so it was essentially "Beastmaster: The Game" and the bosses were still fun enough. Also it probably has one of my top 5 favorite Big Bridge remixes and some of the music (particularly the general boss theme and Odin's theme) are highlights for me.

4: Final Fantasy Tactics

It clears the 'higher-than-you'd-expect' hurdle of me being able to actually play a decent amount of a strategy game and is generally fun to boot. I got up to Chapter 3 before the random encounters started kicking my ass enough to discourage me from continuing (though the fights towards the end of chapter 2 really tested my patience), though said encounters didn't help by me playing the PSP version with its magic/animation slowdown. By all accounts, I should probably go for the GBA/DS games since those lack permadeath (albeit with a very different tone plotwise), but I still intend to try out the PS1 version of the first game and hopefully not grind myself into a corner.

3: Final Fantasy 2

Yes, this. FF2's 'quirky' and 'complicated', but I dig the story, the gameplay once your characters actually get built up and just general setting. It's also to read the supplementry material and other notes on what could have been: It really shows that the devs were putting some thought into the story and its a shame how some elements didn't translate properly. It's the type of game where it gets better the more you know of how it works. That said the dungeon design alone holds this back fiercely, especially in the PSP's Arcane Labyrinth (Darkness floor, my beloathed). Speaking of which, the bonus content for this game is probably some of the better such content of these re-releases.

2: Final Fantasy 3

Wow, what a surprise.

FF3 is basically the video game equivalent of "it could be that deep" in my eyes. Because you don't have any of those fancy "Materias", "GFs", Magicites" or even abilities to carry over like in FFV and FFT, you need to team build your way through whatever the game throws at you. Again, FF3 is one of those games that gets better when you have more an idea of what to expect: Getting thrown into a mini-dungeon early on is annoying, but its less so when you have mages prepared ahead of time to either magic their way through or play "pass the Fire Rod that the devs conveniently added". The world isn't fully developed, but the nuggets you can find are interesting, especially the whole duality concept and the existence of the World of Darkness.

But this is also the same guy who has spent however many years obsessing over this game, so you know. Feel free to add some salt to this opinion.

As for why this isn't higher, it's because my image of this game has been ruined by my obsession, and there I feel there is no "definitive" version. All three versions are playable (yes, even the remake) and enjoyable (yes, even the remake), but all have enough pros and cons that I can't fully say one is better than the others. It's the kind of game that feels like it has yet to reach its full potential and I unfortunately don't think there are many people, at least in the west, who would care even if it did. 3's always been the overshadowed game. After all, FF5 is right there. And, oh hey, speaking of...

1: Final Fantasy 5:

Not quite a basic answer, but still a not-uncommon one, I feel. I was very late to the FF5 party, only playing it when the PR came out and not even experiencing it through osmosis like I did with FF6, and while my obsession with 3 means that it will never overcome that bias, I can easily see why people consider it to be the gameplay peak of the Nintendo-era, if not 6. It builds on what 1 and 3 started and the job combos can be fun to play with. That said, I'll admit that part of my ranking it so high is a particularly impressive mod known as "Custom Classes", which allows you to swap out basically all of the commands, meaning that you can carry over more than one skill between jobs. I haven't finished a full playthrough of CC yet, but between that and the reasons I gave for FF3, I'll be willing to give the edge to 5 over it.

Also, 5 gave us Gilgamesh and ExDeath (and indirectly eScape, and therefore The Twinning).

Honorable Mentions:

Dissidia (012): I don't know how to feel about this game. Settingwise: I love the ways it expands the FF1 mythos, but I hate how WoL is a manikin and what that implies for the rest of the FF1 party. It gave me my favorite portrayal of Garland, but it also gave me Onion Knight, whom I resent for sidelining Luneth's party in later crossovers. Even gameplaywise, I like the general gameplay, at least on paper, but I think I get far frustrated with it more than I would with a normal fighting game. Yet, I keep playing or get the urge to keep playing. Maybe it deserves to be on the list? Maybe it doesn't?

Final Fantasy VIII: I haven't gotten far in FFVIII (I finished the Dollet mission) but what I've played so far feels promising as far as my first PS1-era FF goes (some perfectionism on my part aside). Junctioning is an 'interesting' mechanic, but I think I like it. I need to get the hang of Triple Triad, but I can understand how people get hooked on it.

Final Fantasy Dimensions: Albeit with the mother of all asterisks: This is here mostly for the 'idea' than the execution right now. Like the other FFT games, I do have it ready for play, I just haven't gotten around to it, because when I play games on my phone, it's usually the gatchas that I'm stockholm syndrome'd to playing right now and it's rare for me to not be playing at least 2 at a time. At some point I do want to get around to actually playing it, but until it gets like a steam release or something, it'll be one of those "get to it eventually" type games.

Final Fantasy: Admittedly, it has been ages since I played through FF1 (relatively speaking) compared to every other game on this list aside from FFE, so I don't know how much mention it merits. But I'll put it here anyway.

[lgcxnoeul]

NEWKIDSNEWDREAMS⋮ COACH PRACTICE

"Noeul, are we wasting each other's time here?"

Coach Baek's voice is frank, cuts through the bullshit. How ironic. For once, there is no bullshit present this evening, not even in the form of a playful smirk on the young man's face. He doesn't understand the purpose of him attending vocal lessons. Sure, he's going to be an idol. An idol sings and dances and performs on stage for an audience. A puppet of sorts.

Rapping?

That's mainly added flair, a distraction—

No.

It serves as a thrilling reprieve from the vocals if done correctly, or mere seconds to throw at those vocally challenged idols. At this rate, he didn't know on which side of the coin he had landed on. He was a blank slate when he joined the company as a trainee. Singing had never been his strong suit. He recalls barely passing the first batch of evaluations. Perhaps, the coaches had taken sympathy on him, or saw him as an unpolished diamond that was in dire need of some guidance. As a fan, he had always gravitated to DBSD's rap line and when it was time for him to choose a skill to master. It was a no brainer for him.

Several years later, he was still psyching himself out and he could see it was getting worse. He didn't feel like embarrassing himself on stage. He hated that vulnerable feeling that came with singing. It was worse than dreaming about ending up on stage in only his boxers and if you asked him, he had suffered through several of those nightmares. He knew his self-confidence carried him through when he was dancing, or spit-firing his raps, but that was non-existent when it came to singing.

"What's the point?" He huffs out, tension forcing his shoulders to slump forward. "It's not like I'll get any singing lines. Most of the team carry me through the lines I get... I think I'll get by fine."

"Am I hearing you correctly? You, who gloats about being stable on stage–...refusing to practice at all? Be honest with me. What is preventing you from overcoming this hurdle?"

Lips form into a thin line, parting when an exhale slips through: "I don't know."

"You're no longer that seventeen year old all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with only determination that walked through the doors asking for a chance, Noeul. Where did he go?"

"I don't think I'm any different."

Was he?

"You've always been quite the contrarian. So willing to try anything once, give it your all. That's what I saw in you— Someone able to be molded, but that incessant need to be perfect has crept up, hasn't it?"

Shit.

Was he that easy to read?

"It's just us two here." Coach Baek waves his hand, reaching to turn the page on the sheet music in front of him. "If you can't let go here, your chances of being able to do it on stage are nil. Croak, go off key for all I care, but don't let this fear of being imperfect keep you from being great."

"You don't stop..." He scrunches his nose, draping himself over the piano. "This is why you have so many gray hairs, hyung."

He hears the familiar laugh of Coach Baek bellow through the room, playing the beginning keys from Girls, Love Boys, Love Girls.

"From the top?"

"But don't laugh if I–"

Yes, he was getting in his own way and the stubborness coursing through his veins would either be his fuel, or downfall.

[underratedandoverit]

Maybe One Day You'll Become That Star (1/?)

Kip has never wanted anything more in his life than to study magic and become a real wizard, no matter what it takes, no matter the hurdles he has to overcome to achieve that dream. So when a chance to study under one of the most prestige wizards in the country rises, he's more than ready to jump on it. But could it be that there's something else he finds himself fascinated with, even more than the magic itself under the apprenticeship of this intriguingly odd wizard…?

Kip Sabian/Orange Cassidy (eventually). Slow romance. Modern with magic AU.

Kris Statlander makes a cameo in the first part, Chris Brookes is mentioned. Most likely we'll be seeing more of Best Friends and Penelope as well.

On AO3 here

I'm an absolute beginner with anything in the realm of even slight fantasy, so please bear with me while I try to learn how to do this. This concept was just too cute and too good to pass up, so I'm willing to try to get out of my comfort zone to create some more magical fluff. Hopefully this'll only be a few parter and it's not gonna suck complete ass ajsndjkas Also thank you @midnightpretenders0 for this idea and being the amazing moral support I needed to get to writing this, couldn't have done it without you 💜

@stormbornpirate

----------------------

Clutching his belongings against his chest, Kip scanned the door standing almost threateningly in front of him. He had honestly lost track of time for how long he had been standing there, trying to build up courage to give the door a knock and get this over with. He was here by his own will, so why was this so hard to do? He was sure the people passing him by on the busy street were staring at this point, so many of them wondering what he was so nervous about, how long he had been there, what he was waiting for, even if they just observed him for barely a few seconds while walking by.

Kip wasn’t sure what kind of a reaction he was going to get, if he ever managed to get himself to go through with this in the first place. He wasn’t an expected guest in this place, he wasn’t going to be a customer, he wasn’t… Well, it was probably a shorter list to mention what he was. Or what he was hoping to be, hoping to become by coming here.

And Kip wasn’t sure if the great wizard that occupied this residence even wanted to have an apprentice, let alone someone like him.

Straightening his suit jacket, hoping that he looked much braver and put together than he actually was on the inside with his nerves going absolutely crazy, Kip finally reached a hand towards the door. The balled fist stopped inches away from the wooden surface though, making him second guess it once again. Was this the right move? Was this really what he wanted, what he was meant to do? He had already flubbed his chance once before, despite thinking he was ready for it, so what good would this do to him? What proof did he have that he was made for this, that someone like an actual wizard would even want to see him, let alone consider teaching him anything?

Kip pulled his hand back, pulling the notebook he was holding with the other hand even tighter against his chest. This was ridiculous. He had no idea why he had even listened to Chris about this. Sure the man knew how much Kip wanted to study magic, how much something like this meant to him, but to take his advice, advice from someone that had no idea how any of this actually worked. Sure as a performer Chris sometimes worked with wizards and magicians and what have you, but that didn’t mean he had an idea what actually studying under one would take. Or how that stuff would be approached. Or anything outside of how it all related to the show business.

It had been a mistake to listen to him in the first place, and yet somehow Kip had convinced himself to try out Chris’ stupid advice. And now he was here. Standing in front of a door leading to the residence of the greatest wizard, at least according to Chris, on this side of the country. Having no idea what to do or how to actually proceed with this plan that he didn’t really even have in the first place.

He tried to remember what Chris had said. “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Kip had to admit, in that line of thinking he was right. The worst thing he could hear is ‘no’, or the door wouldn’t open up to him in the first place. He didn’t gain anything by not trying, that much was for sure.

But at the same time, he had already failed once before. How bad was it going to hurt the second time, especially if he went through so much extra effort for this? This wasn’t like the first time, this time he had no competition, and while this wasn’t a magical school of very high prestige that was extremely difficult to get into, this was something so much more, something much more personal, something ever more important to him. And while some people could claim that Kip had nothing to lose, he also had everything to gain from him. Which was maybe even scarier to him, if he was being honest.

Swallowing hard, Kip finally pushed the intruding thoughts aside, raising his hand up and knocking on the door. The sound wasn’t that loud, but it felt like it took over every other sound of the busy street behind him, swallowing him into the inevitable wait mode, just having Kip now stare at the door in anticipation, hoping that something, anything, would happen. The end result at this point was irrelevant, as long as someone would answer the knock and he would see at least a glimpse of another person at this point was all he cared about.

At least then he could convince himself that he tried, if nothing else.

Kip waited for a moment. Then another. A third. He was slowly starting to grow impatient, not really having prepared for this. Was the knock not loud enough? Would he be heard if he knocked again, or was he ignored on purpose and the second knock would just be seen as annoying and thus dooming him from any even minor amounts of success in this quest he had set himself on? Maybe there was just nobody home? Did he even have the right address, was he hundred percent sure someone lived here?

With one hand fidgeting with the corner of the cover of his notebook, Kip waited for a while longer. He didn’t hear any indications coming from inside that someone was even there. Maybe he had come here at the wrong time, the wrong day, or something.

Maybe this was a sign for him to give up on this crazy, silly dream of his finally. It seemed like the second disappointment had been inevitable, and while the saying was that third time was the charm, Kip wasn’t sure if he was able to handle this kind of disappointment after getting all of his hopes up one more time after all the efforts he had already gone through multiple times.

Finally letting out a breath he had been holding for a while, Kip leaned down, grabbing his little bag in his hand. He didn’t have a lot with him, he could find a place to crash before heading back home tomorrow. Traveling back home was a whole day's worth of struggle, but this was the best place he could have come, honestly. This is where Chris had directed him, saying this is where he could find the best wizard on this side of the country that could potentially help him, and yet…

Once again, Kip wasn’t sure why he had listened to him. Sure this was something he wanted, almost desperately so, but the amount of effort probably wasn’t worth it in the end. Trying to repair the damage he had done with the previous mess up wasn’t worth it. Traveling all this way just to knock on a door that wasn’t going to open for him wasn’t worth it.

Him trying so hard to convince himself that he was going to be a wizard wasn’t worth it, and it obviously wasn’t going to happen. And Kip just had to take the defeat and accept his fate finally.

As he turned on his heels to leave, Kip finally heard the lock on the door click. He froze in place as the wooden door opened with a soft creak, feeling the soft breeze of warm air rush outside through the doorway, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as it pushed past him. Kip could feel the eyes on his back, the air around him suddenly very expecting, waiting for him to turn around and face the fate that he came here to chase in the first place.

As much as he didn’t want to, this was the reason he was here now. This was the moment Kip had been waiting for. He straightened up a little, inhaling deeply before spinning around on his heels.

Kip wasn’t sure what he had expected, but getting face to face with a blond man roughly around his age, maybe slightly older, definitely wasn’t it. Kip had been expecting someone older, more magnificent, someone that actually looked like a wizard and definitely not… A man dressed mostly in denim wearing sunglasses on his face indoors.

…Fuck. Maybe he already had an apprentice.

Taking in another deep breath as he could feel the pair of eyes behind those sunglasses stare at him expectantly, Kip put on the most polite and friendly smile he possibly could, hoping that it didn’t look as fake as he felt it did in this situation. The blond didn’t seem to care as he just slowly, and surprisingly casually, leaned against the door frame, hands getting stuffed into the pockets of his jeans after brushing a few rogue coils of hair away from his face.

“You know the door was open, right? You didn’t need to knock. And we also have a doorbell.”

Kip wasn’t sure who this fellow was, but honestly he was slowly starting to irk him. The clearly carefree attitude, no respect for a proper attire for a man in his position – whatever that might have been, Kip knew denim was the wrong choice either way, especially compared to the effort he had put into picking out a suit for this very specific occasion – sunglasses indoors, among so many other things that were just wrong. He didn’t fit into this setting, inside this house, into the life Kip was envisioning for himself here instead. He–

“So did you actually need something or…?” Even his manner of speaking was so lazy that Kip had to hold himself back from snorting. They denied him a chance and a position in a prestigious dream school of his, but here was this dork living his dream instead. Absolutely ridiculous.

“Yes, actually.” Kip couldn’t help but to sound just a tad bit annoyed. As if he had gone all this way here to be treated like this, to be put in a position like this. With feelings like this. The blond just nodded at him, not asking any further questions. “Okay. Come in.”

Kip blinked at him a couple of times, slightly stunned. Was there really no vetting process in this place, anyone could just waltz in with whatever into the residence of a great wizard if they just said they had some business here? Maybe Chris had lied to him, to make fun of him, to lead him to a wild goose chase of a supposedly great teacher, only to land him in the house of some F grade street magician. Kip should have known, it was very on par with the kind of people Chris spent his time with anyways, it wouldn’t have surprised him if Chris would think this was what Kip wanted.

Still, something about this whole situation, this whole place, and especially this blond man that was now motioning him to follow him inside the building was intriguing to him. It was all so odd that it almost came full circle for him, that maybe there actually was something magical going on around here. After all, if everything was correct, this still was a residence of a rather magical man.

Kip nodded carefully, following the other man inside. The door slowly closed behind him, making Kip jump a little as he heard it click shut, eyes shooting over his shoulder towards it. He should have known; everything around here did feel magical now that he was inside, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to him if the door was enchanted or something. And yet it still somehow caught him off guard. Eyes shooting back forward, Kip’s nervous hands were picking on the corners of his notebook again, trying to calm his nerves as he wasn’t really sure what to expect now that he was inside the place. The place he had dreamed for so long to be in.

As he took in his surroundings, it slowly dawned on him that the lower floor of the building seemed to be some sort of a magical shop. Long and tall shelves lined up most of the wall space, filled with books and familiar looking magical items and what Kip assumed to be enchanted tokens of all sorts, each set in their own shelves, sorted based on their different qualities. Few tables were set under the windows facing out to the street he had just been on, lined with various potions and elixirs that most seemed familiar to him, just the usual stuff. The storefront itself wasn’t anything special, Kip was assuming most of this was just a convenient side business on the side of actual magic that was performed here by the owner.

Speaking of which…

Kip looked around him, eyes landing on the blond who had moved to now sit behind the desk at the back of the store, checking over some books set on it. Maybe he was just a helping hand, Kip had hard time believing a hard practicing wizard, or even his apprentice, had a lot of time to keep up with a store of this size along with everything else. Kip breathed a sigh of relief, laughing in his mind at how silly he had been before. Of course this guy wasn’t going to be a practicing wizard, or even if he was, at least not an apprentice of any sort. Like, look at him. He looked like he could care less where he was or that he was surrounded by magical items from the floor to the ceiling on almost all sides, he was probably only in it for the money and nothing else. Kip knew his kind, the lazy type that barely cared about anything in this life. He probably didn’t even know what this store actually was about, he was just here because nobody else would hire him to do even the easiest jobs imaginable.

With a new found confidence and a smile climbing its way on his lips, Kip approached the desk with a slight spring in his step. The blond didn’t look up at him until Kip had actually stopped right in front of the desk, looming slightly over him as he got an expecting look back, still through the sunglasses. Kip wasn’t sure how he was able to see so well with those on indoors, the store was already very dim, only being lit up with a few candles and some of the natural sunlight that managed to make its way through the heavy curtains hanging by the windows. Even he had a hard time seeing at first, so Kip couldn’t even guess how it all looked through tinted lenses the blond was wearing.

“So were you looking for something specific that I could help you with?”

That he could help him with. Kip held back a snort, feeling almost insulted by the question. He might have failed in his life before, almost masterfully so if he was being honest, but even he didn’t need help when it came to magic from a man who clearly had no ambitions in such a field, or life in general. Lowering the notebook from his hand on the desk in front of him, Kip leaned one hand against the desk, leaning slightly over it towards the other man, who didn’t seem to mind this move from him at all as he just kept staring.

“Nothing you could help me with.” Kip watched as he nodded, but saw the slight, clearly confused tuck on the corner of the blond’s brow at his statement. “I’m here to see the great wizard that owns this place. So if you could get him for me, I would appreciate that.”

The man watched him quietly for a moment, Kip trying to keep up the confident exterior that he had finally found. He knew he was going to be fumbling over his words when he actually got face to face with the man he was here to meet, so this was the downtime before that he had to calm his nerves and try to keep himself collected, hoping to carry at least some of that feeling with him later. Kip knew exactly what he wanted, he knew what he was here for, and this was the time he was going to get it. He wasn’t going to lose anything by asking for this, it was a bigger loss if he now turned and walked away because he didn’t like the attitude this one single man that was standing in his way was giving to him.

And hell, if someone like this ignorant fool was able to be inside this building, handling this sort of business, there was nothing stopping an actual talented, passionate young lad like Kip himself from achieving that as well, and even more.

“…Okay,” the blond finally shrugged, standing up from the stool he had been sitting on. Kip watched him, the man just standing behind the desk for a moment before he sat back down. Kip furrowed his brows at him in confusion, the man responding by taking off his sunglasses, crossing his arms on the desk and leaning over them, never breaking eye contact with Kip as he did.

“How can I help you?”

Kip stared at him, not taking in this bit whatsoever. “Is… Is this a joke? Are you making fun of me?” The other man shook his head, the blue eyes still not looking away from Kip as he did. “I said I wanted to speak to the owner. Your boss.”

“Yeah, and I’m asking how I can help you.”

“This is ridiculous, what --”

Kip couldn’t finish his sentence as the front door was slammed open, making him jump a little. Both pairs of eyes shot towards it, a woman striding in the store through the now open doorway. She glanced around the place quickly, eyes landing on the two of them, her steps directing towards the desk. Kip took a hesitant step to the side as she didn’t seem to slow down at all, not even stopping to look him over as she slammed her hands on the desk, eyes locked on the blond sitting behind it.

“Cass! It worked! It’s perfect!” She pointed at her hair, Kip’s eyes traveling from the side of her excited face to the hair, seeing the shiny blue color on the whole left side of it framing her face. The blond behind the desk nodded, Kip seeing the first real smile crossing his lips since he had started interacting with him. It was brief, but continued all the way up to his eyes as he watched the excited woman talk to him, showing off her apparently new hair color. Kip couldn’t help but look on, almost mesmerized, at the sight of the odd duo continuing an equally odd interaction with one another.

“The boys didn’t think you could do it but look at this,” she stated, spinning a coil of her freshly colored blue hair around her finger, pulling it slightly away from her face to stare at it in clear awe. “They will be so jealous when they see this. Chuck is going to freak out for sure, it’s going to be amazing.”

The man chuckled, Kip’s eyes almost instinctively traveling back to him. He was fully smiling now, obviously comfortable around this odd woman who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, but who he clearly knew very well. He was listening to her go on and on about the hair, the extremely good quality of it, the magic tied to it; him just nodding along with a smile plastered all over his face, proud that someone appreciated the work that had been done.

Almost like she finally realized that Kip existed, the woman looked towards him as she finally quieted the gushing down a little bit, glancing him quickly up and down. “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“No, you’re good, Kris,” the blond shook his head before Kip had a chance to reply, gathering a glare from him. “Did you need more of the blend? I can make a few more.”

“Oh, yeah, if you could,” she smiled, turning back towards the man behind the desk. “I have a few other requests so I can come over tomorrow for them? I have a whole list of colors and placements I would like to try if you can make them.”

The blond chuckled, though Kip could have sworn he sounded slightly insulted at Kris’ words. “Of course I can. Just let me know what you need. I have some more of the blue from the last batch though so let me get that for you.”

She nodded, both her and Kip watching as the blond disappeared through the door behind the desk, which Kip assumed to be the storage room of the shop. As soon as the other man was away from his field of vision, Kip turned towards the woman, offering her a quick smile as he pointed at the blue streak in her hair.

“Could I, uh, see the hair?”

Kris beamed at him, handing the coil towards him enthusiastically, obviously being more than happy to show off this magical work that had been done. Kip examined the coils carefully, admiring the excellent craftsmanship that had taken place to produce such an incredible product, being nearly unrecognizable as a magical creation to the untrained eye. Which, of course he didn’t have, so it was easy for him to spot such a top notch enchanted creation.

“This is incredible,” he mumbled, observing the shiny color of the hair carefully as he turned it around in his hand. “The color is amazing, the shine makes it look so real, it’s almost indistinguishable from regular dye. Like this… This is art.”

“And lasts twice as long without a messy fade or destroying the hair,” the other man piped up as he walked back in, lowering a jar filled with something blue and slightly luminescent on the desk from his hands. Kip let the hair fall from his grasp as he straightened back up, watching as Kris reached for the jar, pulling it close to her chest as she continued to beam at both of them. “Also a custom made color. I can hook you up too if you need a refresher on that platinum of yours.”

Kip could feel a soft blush creeping on his cheeks, brushing a quick hand through his hair trying to rid of the nervous energy as the conversation had suddenly turned back to him. He knew it had been a while since he had his hair recolored, sure, but it wasn’t that bad, right? The roots couldn’t have been pushing out too badly already, he would have noticed that, being as particular about the way he looked on the outside as he was. “No need, I-I’m good.”

The blond shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He turned his attention back to Kris, sending her a little smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow for the rest then?”

“Yeah! I’ll stop by at some point, thanks Orange!”

She turned on her heels, with a nice spring in her step almost skipping her way back out of the store. Kip watched after her, his head slightly spinning at this odd interaction he had witnessed, before her last words slowly crept their way into his mind. Brows furrowing, he looked back towards the blond who had taken a seat behind the desk again, currently fitting the sunglasses back on his face before looking back up at Kip.

“Orange…?”

The man shrugged, running a lazy hand through his hair. “Yeah? That is my name.”

Orange… Orange. Why did such an odd name also sound so weirdly familiar to Kip? And more importantly, who the hell gets named after a color, let alone a fruit? At the same time?

“That is the name that’s on the mailbox outside. Orange Cassidy. Considering how long you were out there earlier I figured you would have seen it.”

No… No, that wasn’t it, there was some other context where Kip had heard such a weird name before. It was off the walls enough that he remembered it, not every day you met someone named after a fruit or a color. And yet, he was struggling to place it anywhere specific while trying to ignore the other man’s sassy remarks about his behavior from earlier.

“Anyways… You’ve been here for a while. Did you need help with something or…?”

Kip snapped back to the moment at hand, blinking blankly at the blond a couple of times before quickly nodding, as if he finally remembered again what his true mission here was. He couldn’t get derailed by minor details such as this, there was something much more important he was here for.

“Uh, yeah. I wanted to talk to your boss. The great wizard Orange--”

Before he could get the full name out of his mouth, Kip froze in place. All of a sudden everything made sense, the color flushing from his face as his eyes widened in horror as the realization was finally setting in. He could so vividly see the name Chris had scribbled down to his notebook for reference alongside the address where to find him, the one he deemed to be the best wizard he could find from a reasonable travel distance away.

And right next to the name, drawn the little orange fruit that Chris had thought at the time was such a funny little joke to make, considering the name.

…Oh no.

“I-I, uh, I… Um.”

The blond watched him patiently, clearly seeing Kip struggling to form words as the true nature of the situation was creeping up on him, how everything was slowly starting to make sense to him. The attitude he was getting back from the man with the sunglasses, the way he was dressed and yet handled the entire store, the whole exchange with Kris and the quality of the work done for her… Everything was falling into place, and the realization Kip was having as he was coming to terms with how he had acted earlier was catching up with him, having him finally face the consequences of it all, but especially his own actions up to this point.

Cassidy looked at him, just waiting. Watching him. Observing the nerves getting better of him as Kip fidgeted with his hands, wide eyes now shooting around the room, trying to find something interesting and calming enough to look at as he was trying to reassess the situation at hand. Situation that he had created himself, unintentionally it seemed, but it was still more or less Kip’s fault that he was in this predicament right now.

“So… Can I actually do anything for you or…?”

Kip tensed up immediately, wide eyes landing on the blond. He couldn’t read the expression behind the sunglasses, but the air was thick, filled with expectations Kip wasn’t sure he was going to be able to fill. He quickly glanced down at his feet, spotting the bag he had lowered there earlier, flicking the switch on in his brain. Reaching down for his belonging, Kip pulled the bag into his hands, eyes landing back on Cassidy again for a brief second one more time.

“Sorry, I-I gotta go.”

Turning on his heels Kip rushed out of the store, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment as he didn’t turn to look back to see if the blond was calling out after him or anything, he just pushed out the door as fast as possible.

Cassidy didn’t move from his spot, just stared blankly after the Brit as Kip was suddenly gone from his view. The silence fell back into the dim little shop as the door closed shut after him, leaving Cassidy alone there to ponder over what had just happened. He had to admit this wasn’t the first time, and probably wouldn’t be the last one either, when someone had made such a mistake, thinking he wasn’t who he really was. But there was something about the way this particular man had dealt with it all, probably the most disrespectful he had ever witnessed.

Slowly his eyes moved down to the desk in front of him, a brow slightly raising as he spotted the notebook that didn’t belong to him, the one thing Kip had left behind him in his rush to get out of the store and away from him as quickly as possible.

[fantastic-wizards]

so i'm that person who has never really considered reading fanfics that ship severus with any of the marauders. i have come to learn over the years that fanfics are completely self indulgent --- as they should be --- but sometimes that sacrifices plausibility. as in to say, could this REALLY happen? and sometimes i can suspend my disbelief and roll with it and other times, i struggle if there's no slowburn where necessary.

in the case of snape, you've got 4 people who spent the vast majority of his school life bullying him. and remus does NOT get a pass here because you're just as guilty if you're allowing it / enabling it / not speaking up. so even with remus, who nearly killed sev on accident, i cannot see a scenario without a shit ton of slow burn, where sev would even want to be near him, let alone date him.

and i imagine when remus was hired at hogwarts, sev probably tore albus a new one. like 'HOW DARE YOU HIRE HIM KNOWING WHAT HE IS...' because despite sev being a changed man, some trauma is harder to let go. and don't get me wrong. i love albus to death. he is my son, but he's also my very manipulative son who will sacrifice a person's comfort for what he deems 'the greater good'. and severus' comfort is sacrificed often. some would argue its deserved given how he was a death eater but no man is perfect. albus is not perfect. he dated a potential lord voldemort in gellert and KNEW what the man was deep inside so i mean... its a fine line if mistakes and imperfections but also good intentions in some areas.

all of that to say, i can never see a romantic relationship realistically working out with snape and a marauder UNLESS its slow burn AND a lot of things are discussed / apologized for on both ends AND lots of reassurance. Because honestly, if one of the marauders actually took a interest in snape, he'd assume it was one long, laborate joke. even as an adult, he'd assume they were having one last go at him on James' behalf and i don't think he'd ever truly believe one could care about him. the wound is too deep. he'd spend years wondering when the jig was up because anyone could have sex. anyone could SAY they love you. but snape's used to being used, manipulated, ect by those who claim to care so just... idk. romance for him in general would be hard.

and yeah i read snarry but its the same deal. there's a LOT of hurdles to overcome there starting with the fact that potter is the seed of the woman he once obsessed over and loved and the man he loathed beyond words.

but anyway, i will probably blog a lot of the fanart of these ships cos the art's so pretty. but just know its not me trying to push ships on people cos it would take plotting and time and a willingness for our characters to admit their wrongdoing. and they're all proud men so if it never happens, its totes cool.

as a side note, one night stands --- always possible. its the romantic, long term stuff that would take ages.

[midnightactual]

Shunsui Got Yoruichi to Help With Lisa's Captaincy

There's a paragraph in CFYOW vol. 1, after Tokinada leaves Shunsui after handing him a note and trying to upset Nanao, where we get the following:

“I can’t believe you set yourself up to eavesdrop without me noticing. You’ve grown so much! Is this Lisa’s influence?” It was possible that he mentioned Lisa Yadomaru, once an assistant captain and now being eyed as a candidate for the eighth company captainship, to reassure Nanao with thoughts of a familiar face.

CFYOW is supposed to take place six months after TYBW (June 2003), around the start of 2004. So we know Lisa was being considered already then. A summary of WDKALY tells us that:

Orihime currently works as a regular employee of a bread and cake shop called ‘ABCookies’. After her older brother INOUE Sora passed away, she was getting along by receiving assistance with living expenses from a distant relative; but because of the fact that the relative had originally declared that they would only provide assistance up till high school graduation, since the summer of three years prior, Orihime had been searching for a job placement for after graduation. During that time, she was working at the shop part-time, the shop manager who had learnt of her situation insisted that Orihime be fully employed by the company.

WDKALY is happening three years after TYBW, in 2006. But when? Another paragraph:

In one block of that institute, the fourth-year students who had just finished their summer vacations were gathered in the large lecture hall which could feasibly accommodate all graduate students.

Summer vacations usually happen through August, presuming a schedule like Japan. It's either late Summer or the start of Fall. We also learn that:

Ever since KYÔRAKU and Nanao transferred to Squad 1, Nanao has been executing the duties of both captain and vice-captain of squad 8. Six months ago Lisa was finally inaugurated as Squad 8’s new captain, she happily took over the duties of a captain, however she stubbornly refused to handle tasks on behalf of an absent vice-captain, as a result squad 1’s Nanao was handling that share even now.

This means that Lisa became a captain sometime in early 2006, more than two years after she was already under consideration for the role in CFYOW. And then we get told by Yoruichi:

“Like I’ve said, since I’m a genius and all, I don’t know what teaching methods to use towards average people, but I was told to either undertake the responsibilities of guest lecturer once every half a moon, or restore squad 8 by becoming its captain, naturally I decided that I probably had no choice but to take up responsibilities in this place.” If she refused to restore the squad then she would have to deliver a lecture on Hakuda and Hohô to the 5th and 6th year students every other week. That was the proposal handed down to Yoruichi from Commander KYÔRAKU. “We probably can’t afford to leave people as talented as SHIHÔIN-san idle…after all, orders have been sent down to all squads, each squad elects at least one member for academy lecturer.”

We know from earlier in the same scene from Yoruichi that:

“KIRA, this is the first I’m seeing you in half a year, correct? In any case, are you getting along well with ÔTORIBASHI?”

Kira asks how Yoruichi is adapting to teaching, so obviously she only started after she last saw him. Yoruichi took up this academy teaching position at the same time that Lisa became Captain of 8th Division. In other words, sidelining Yoruichi into some other "useful" position was the final hurdle Shunsui had to overcome to be able to promote Lisa into being captain, as he wanted since all the way back in TBTP.

I once assumed Shunsui must have essentially blackmailed Yoruichi, as she more than did her part on the Seireitei's behalf over the prior years (she 'sourced her own replacement' in Soifon, which is the normal condition for 'retiring'; she surrendered her active role in the nobility; and she helped with Tokinada) but as I look at how long it took to get Lisa into the role, and how relatively cushy Yoruichi's job as guest lecturer is, I think it's actually sort of the reverse: she did Shunsui a huge favor, and he owes her.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 50 Review

Originally posted June 22nd, 2016

Team Four Star continues a streak of fun, entertaining episodes.

If there is one thing that is genuinely impressive about Dragonball Z: Abridged, it’s how Team Four Star has been working with the same premise for eight years while continually mining fresh comedic content out of the source material. This is most helped by the incredible restraint Team Four Star has shown in making direct fun of the source material.

Excluding the two episodes of Dragonball Z Kai: Abridged,1 they have waited until eight years and fifty episodes have passed before cracking a joke about clip shows, and as a result, what is arguably the lowest joke fodder in your standard anime abridged series is turned into an earned and well timed joke (especially since it’s at the expense of Goku’s shoddy memory).

Of course, mining fresh comedy is also helped by their characters’ personalities being very well established, so as to create easy comedy by bouncing them off of each other. Most of this episode does that with Cell and Vegeta, and it is damn good at showcasing the arrogance of these two, as Vegeta makes his triumphant return and Cell has his dreams of perfection crushed before, in a moment of true dramatic irony, Cell uses the pride Vegeta has gained with his victory to plant the very seeds of his defeat, leaving Trunks to look on as his father plays himself.

Rating: 4/5

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Stray Observations

1I would also argue that Kai Abridged isn’t actually making fun of clip shows, but rather is simply an outlet for Team Four Star to tell as many jokes in quick succession as humanly possible (while also serving as an easy recap for the seasons).

Cell: “Stop fisting me!” Vegeta: “Okay.” *pulls out* Cell: “Not all at once!”

Cell: “Can I have a minute?” Vegeta: “Shoryuken (Sure you can).” *uppercuts Cell* I have been in awe of how freaking clever this little pun is since this episode came out. It’s goddamn brilliant I tell you. Goddamn brilliant.

Vegeta: “I’m about to pound you so hard the boy’s mother is going to be jealous.”

Vegeta: “Bitch, I’m adorable.”

Okay, question about Dragonball Z: If the Room of Spirit and Time makes a year go by in just a day, why don’t they just grow a bunch of Senzu beans every six hours or something by planting them inside? Sure there might be some logistical hurdles to overcome, but that’s why irrigation systems exist yo.

To all of my loyal readers, thank you so much for your patience. As you might have guessed, in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting I fell into a pretty significant depressive state, and was unable to write any criticism during that time. Things are looking up now though, and now that I’ve settled into my new job, you can expect the weekly reviews of DBZA to start up again, and once they’re finished I’ll make sure I find something else to write about.

Also, I do apologize for this review being as short as it is, but in my defense, the episode is one of their shorter ones, and while I usually try to say things about the series as a whole in these circumstances, I kind of feel like I’ve covered as much as I can in that regard, which I suppose is appropriate, given that after almost a year of writing these reviews, I’m nearly caught up with the show itself.

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

Maroon's Diary - training with Rin, part 2

Day 8 - The second week of Rin's training starting off with a lil quiz. Of course she wasn't looking forward to it. I am trying here-- I even turned this quiz into a multiple choice one where you just have to choose between A, B, C, etc. but even then she wasn't very focused on it! On the bright side, she at least faired better than the written tests, meaning she did learn. That's somewhat of a relief. What wasn't a relief was that I felt her body very slowly but surely increase in temperature. I thought it was a cold at first, but if I'm wrong the next day me might correct me on that.

Day 9 - Turns out her valves were already partly broken from going too hard using her powers during the song contest. It was partly my fault as I was the one who had control over those instead of her. But she wasn't fully out of blame here the moment we found out she hadn't put that collar on for a while. I scolded her heavily-- I somewhat felt bad for that, but even so she had taken a heavy risk and she could've risk her nightmare coming to fruition, burning her and her friends and her family to ashes without wanting to. Luckily, that was prevented as we straight up upgraded her valves. Don't tell her, but I also upgraded her entire aura channel system. She's now bedridden for the entire day, but at least she has a caring family now and Miku to help her out.

Day 10 - This was the first day she was training after I had to fix her valves and I'm honestly wondering if this is the same Rin that I danced with back in the singing competition. She used to be so carefree when it comes to training and now she's taking this seriously, more serious than before-- even did some genuine studying for once by reading the guide and she used to hate it. Did the issue from yesterday worry her to the point of taking it seriously?

Day 11 - We didn't do much that day as I saw that the whole situation from two days ago worried her. We went to go play games, to the amusement park and even went and grabbed some fast food over on our local fast food restaurant.

Day 12 - I'm really proud of her right now for this and I might be for a while, she seemed to have mastered controlling the output of her powers, which is good because she needs that fine control, which also means she's closer to being in full control. Although there's still one hurdle she has to overcome.

Day 13 - Almost a week ago she was struggling making a fireball. Now with some focus she was able to pull it off! Really, she's going so quick for a girl her age and as her brother and teacher I was very proud of her. Due to that, our training for the day finished shortly, though today wasn't without one concern. Even with her collar on, her temperature slowly rose and I checked and her system seems to be alright. We'll have to wait and see what the next day is for her, but I have small suspicion what that may be.

Day 14 - Her body's temperature increased a lot by then, she says she somehow was feeling a build up in pressure, but temperature wise she was feeling totally fine even though her body already was reaching over 100°C. Situation wise we're somewhat back to what it was 5 days ago-- kind of. It was a free day for her so I thought that she should take some time off in the pool. I told her in advance what she's about to go through, the final hurdle to control: her Overdrive that was slowly but surely making it's power known.

Update: 160°C

yet she's still was still very much comfortable. Today was likely the day her Overdrive activates. She'll probably pass out in a few seconds, having used up much of her reserves. But once that's done, her powers are then fully in control. Our training has yet to be over, but her concerns of her nightmare might as well be over.

[erigold13261]

For Yinu, what happen if yinu decided to have kids to pass down classical family, will she?

I mean, if she decided to have a kid then yeah she would have one. I personally don't see her having a kid of her own, because I feel like she would be afraid to end up like her mother at times and somehow hurt her kid emotionally or mentally (maybe even physically without even thinking about it as Yinu does get stronger powers as she grows up).

However, if a life partner of hers has a kid, or already has a kid, she would be happy to raise them as her own! Or at least she would raise them like she was an aunt or something. She would still be afraid of turning out like her mom, but if the added idea of genetics isn't there in the back of her mind she would probably be more open to raising a kid.

Plus, this is a darker thought kinda, if something happens in the relationship then Yinu is free to leave without having to also take care of a kid. This is a kinda shitty mindset, but it's one that helps Yinu come to terms with potentially having to help raise a kid. She really doesn't want to be "stuck" with a child. She would probably feel like life kinda ends once a child is brought into the picture.

Mainly because of trauma from her own childhood would she be thinking of this. Her Mama's life kinda just stopped after Papa died, only living for Yinu, but Yinu sees it more like "her life ended when I was born. I was a burden she had to carry after Papa died and she couldn't live because she had to take care of me." And that would be a huge hurdle that Yinu would have to overcome at some point if she ever wanted to have her own biological child.

[fromdevcom]

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[re-pave]

Thinking about how people fall in love.

I’ve often wondered how people could dismiss me. I’ve thought about how if someone just “knew” me they would have to fall in love with me. “I’m deep. Look at these sad quotes and listen to this song I just posted. I’m different.” This has proven so many times to be false. Most people don’t care that much. At least initially (and if they are “struck” initially then major milestone already passed. Doesn’t really happen though beyond just a vague interest).

The biggest problem is I don’t make a lot of people feel comfortable when I’m with them (inhibition). I’m guarded. Afraid to drink. Sure I smile a lot but it comes off as nervous (I want to keep smiling, just not nervously). I’m too afraid they don’t like me and too conscious of trying to say the right thing. Too skittish of physical touch. And it has to show.

People can’t fall in love unless their walls come down. If it feels strained it’s doomed. Nothing else matters if that basic element isn’t met. Once it is met, then the other stuff definitely matters. But it’s a big hurdle. Obviously there are going to be people who just don’t like you, but odds are they’re going to be open to connecting if they agree to meet. A strong connection, that includes lost inhibitions overcomes so so much. Nothing else matters without it (and everything grows from it, including good sex). The importance of feeling comfortable together can’t be over-stated when trying to get connect deeply. I think I’ve developed some horrendous habits that are hurting me, most importantly feeling that being “comfortable” with someone, or uninhibited, takes time. I’m starting to realize the feeling NEEDS to start immediately. Sure it can grow. But there needs to be some sort of an uninhibited feeling, or feeling of being able to be fully yourself. At least some walls down. Comfortably being able to physically touch without sexually and not without it being uncomfortable. And it’s interesting how much less your body matters when you’re connected with someone (within reason obv).

I want “my person” to be someone who’s been through it. Someone who’s been into the depths of their minds and soul. And I really don’t know want to settle for less. Someone who really thinks. But first and foremost: establishing a relationship without inhibition. That’s the only way a relationship can find its depth (with friendships too).

Thinking you’re too good for people = you being alone. Be more accepting and interested in “differences” or of things you don’t think are interesting. Good chance they become interesting once you can become uninhibited.

Any conversation (trivial or not) can be unihibited!

Focus on VALUES for romantic compatibility.

The good news is = being better and being uninhibited allows you to build relationships EVERYWHERE. Including the places you actually want to be! It’s a skill that can be taken anywhere. Definitely more motivating to build relationships in a place that inspires me and I can see a future in.

There are going to also be people who it just doesn’t work with. Even with being loose. Try your hardest to make sure it’s not because you were holding back. A million possible reasons, none of them matter. Some people are just simply not a match. Not deep. Nonetheless, I’m currently doing something wrong. It shouldn’t be this hard. It isn’t for most people. I’m not an exception that has “bad luck”.

Balance. Not an overhaul. Things to think about, knowing I’m always going to be me. There’s a never changing core (soul). And I like that. I will always be me.

——————I need to learn how to have fun again——————

It’s ok to fuck a day up!!! It’s ok to have fun!!! Do something a little wild sometimes!!! It adds color and is sometimes very necessary. No more guilt.

Think about it: the people that you want to spend the most time with are the people you can be most yourself with. Uninhibited. Give some to get some.

Thoughts on how it extends to other parts of life:

Anxiety with answering the phone? I’m boring? Don’t have much to say? NOT THAT SERIOUS. A 2 minute call can be just as good as a 50 minute one. No one is going to be disappointed if you lead with love. Express it! Even if it’s exaggerated (within reason). Being excited is good and showing love is good. Focus on that. Natural to think more about how someone made you feel. Doesn’t take much effort. Uninhibited! Back to being young (12?) and caring way less.

TLDR: to feel connected: drink alcohol (etc) or use the mindset to loosen up. It’s not that deep. You need to feel uninhibited to connect with people. You need to feel like you can be your true self. Be light, excited, don’t overthink, be curious (questions, anything goes) and interested.

Most simply : ALL OF THIS IS SIMPLY ABOUT THINKING LESS, NOT MORE.

Cont…Certain people just naturally make you feel more uninhibited when you’re around them. This is probably more about you (they’re uninhibited themselves (drinking etc) or you just care less about what they think). Practice being more uninhibited, regardless of who you’re with. Be uninhibited about everything - trivial and deep. Key: don’t be afraid to talk about or bring up anything. Nothing is embarrassing. Literally pretend to be drunk. Ask stupid questions. Helpful mindset: “I want to know everything about you” Being uninhibited about physical touch is also important and makes everything else more comfortable.

Being fully uninhibited doesn’t have to happen right away, some people are willing to work towards it and others aren’t. Don’t be discouraged by people who just aren’t a match and it’s too difficult to connect. This happens, but you can still be uninhibited with them. Connections that aren’t life-long partners are good too and shouldn’t be a “loss”. There doesn’t have to be an end goal!!! It’s ok to have fun, practice being uninhibited and try to connect!!! No connection is a wasted one. It’s healthy.

None of this applies to texting.

It’s ok to be broken. I will mess up. I might never be able to “fix” myself. And that’s ok. Because I’m capable of love, and that’s all that really matters. If I’m nothing but love, so be it. It will always be there and that’s a big deal. But also, I’m not that unique -no one has everything figured out. My love will reach who it will need to reach. I have an undying faith in that.

I liked the person I used to be when I was (much younger). It’s super comforting knowing I’m still that person and I have the capability to get back to that. How lucky am I! Makes me happy to think about “becoming myself again”. Doesn’t matter how long it takes. Just knowing it’s possible all I need. I’m really excited to feel like myself again.

Ok I’m done.

[freenewsreport]

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Michelle Larrett’s story is one of grit and grace. From her humble beginnings, she faced numerous obstacles, but her perseverance saw her through every hurdle. Whether it was personal hardships, professional setbacks, or societal challenges, Michelle never gave up. In fact, every setback seemed to fuel her fire to keep moving forward.

It wasn’t always sunshine and roses, though. Like many of us, Michelle experienced moments of doubt and despair. But what made her stand out was her ability to dust herself off and keep going. Talk about rolling with the punches!

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Perseverance Pays Off: Michelle’s life shows us that no matter how many times we fall, it’s about getting back up and moving forward.

Embrace Setbacks: Michelle viewed setbacks not as failures, but as stepping stones to success.

Keep the Faith: Through her darkest moments, Michelle held onto hope, believing that better days were ahead.

Help Others Along the Way: As Michelle gained strength, she never hesitated to uplift others, serving as a mentor and motivator for many.

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You know what they say, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going," and Michelle Larrett is living proof of that! Her ability to remain resilient in the face of adversity sets her apart. Instead of crumbling under pressure, she thrived. She embraced the challenges thrown her way and used them to fuel her ambition. Isn’t that something we can all strive to do?

What Makes Michelle Larrett Different?

Many people encounter difficulties, but what sets Michelle apart is her outlook. Where others saw barriers, she saw opportunities. Her “never say die” attitude kept her focused on the bigger picture, even when things didn’t go as planned. And let’s face it—things rarely go as planned in life!

How Michelle Larrett Overcame Adversity

Michelle’s ability to bounce back from adversity wasn’t an overnight transformation. It took time, reflection, and a lot of inner strength. Instead of wallowing in her setbacks, she used them as fuel to drive her forward. Each stumble was merely a lesson that helped her grow.

But Michelle didn’t just overcome adversity; she learned how to embrace it. After all, it’s not about waiting for the storm to pass—it’s about learning to dance in the rain!

Michelle Larrett’s Impact on Others

It’s one thing to overcome your own challenges, but Michelle Larrett didn’t stop there. She used her story to uplift others, becoming a beacon of hope for those who faced similar struggles. She’s inspired countless individuals to keep pushing forward, no matter how hard life gets.

She’s living proof that your past doesn’t define you—how you rise from it does.

Why Michelle Larrett’s Story Matters Today

In today’s fast-paced world, where we often feel like we’re juggling a million things at once, Michelle’s story serves as a reminder to slow down, stay grounded, and keep moving forward, no matter what. Her resilience, determination, and compassion are qualities we can all admire and aim to cultivate in our own lives.

What Can We Learn from Michelle Larrett?

Here’s a short list of the key lessons Michelle Larrett’s life teaches us:

Never Give Up: No matter how many times life knocks you down, get back up and keep going.

Look for the Silver Lining: Every challenge has something to teach us—if we’re willing to learn.

Stay True to Yourself: No matter what others say or do, hold onto your beliefs and values.

Lift Others Up: Success isn’t just about what you achieve; it’s about how you help others along the way.

Michelle Larrett’s Vision for the Future

Michelle Larrett isn’t done yet! She continues to inspire those around her and remains committed to personal growth and making a difference. Whether through mentorship, public speaking, or community outreach, Michelle’s future looks just as bright as her past.

Her story proves that no matter where we are in life, we always have the power to rise, inspire, and leave a lasting impact. So, what’s stopping you?

Conclusion

Michelle Larrett’s story isn’t just about overcoming challenges—it’s about embracing them, learning from them, and using them as a springboard to success. Her life serves as a reminder that we all have the strength to rise above our struggles. The question is, will you take that leap of faith, just like Michelle did?

[dew-journal]

Another obsession. Do I just keep collecting these powerful crushes, never to see any to fruition or ruin? All of my hopes of connecting to people that I desire have been crumbling. Not due to lack of pursuit it seems, but of the randomness of coincidence. And yet ever onward to new crushes. Although I have to admit the newest one is possibly the most consuming I have had (at least for sometime). She seems ethereal, both in beauty and demeanor. While we have hardly interacted in any meaningful way I have become utterly smitten. She is a person who I assumed would only ever be a passing presence, someone I would see from afar at the markets and make any excuse to visit their table; or someone who I’d admire through their online activity. Someone who’d never know my name, and maybe not even my face. She would forget I exist once I left her sight, just another person in an overcrowded sea of the same. Yet by some measure of luck and goodwill I was at the same table, eating a meal with her and others who in any other circumstance I would pine to be even in the same music venue as. None of that means anything at all, but she might now remember my face, she might remember my name. And goddamn catching a glimpse of a rare smile on her lips melted my heart (even though it was not because of me). Of course one meal, one night, means nothing. Maybe I will still only have passing glances and missed opportunities. I do have one thing that may prove to be a powerful tool for the next time we chance to cross paths. The introduction. Officially we have been introduced to each other so the highest hurdle has already been met. All I have to do is the next time I see her is walk up to her table or where she is and say “It’s Olivia right? I don’t know if you remember me, but we were introduced after the BM Market in April. Just wanted to say hi, and that your look is just killer.” Or some variation, and definitely should remember to reintroduce myself too though. The problem though is I still have to overcome my nerves and present myself in a way that I actually want to be. I still feel that my biggest obstacle is I am still in a bit of a crisis of self doubt. I know the person I want to be, but it’s as if I don’t know how to get there. The true issue is that what is getting in my way isn’t something physical preventing me from moving, it is a psychological and/or monetary barrier. And the other issue is there is a first psychological barrier in front of the second which is the one stopping my true progress.

All of this doesn’t even touch on the gamble that comes into play when facing these emotions. It isn’t up to me, I have zero actual control over how she would perceive me. How any of my crushes will perceive me. I can do everything “right” and still just be not a fit. Which just sucks. That’s life, the highs and lows. I have just been feeling a lot more lows than highs and it’s soul crushing. My relationships all fall apart, a lot of the time due to me (at least partially) admittedly. But I can’t help but have a nagging thought in my head that rears every time this topic comes up. Every single one of my attempts at relationships since Ari, have been started because “they answered”. Not one has truly been with someone I felt passionate about. They were what I felt was as good as I could do as I was lonely or they were present. It’s been so hard for me trying to find someone that I get on blinders and just accept people who show interest. I just want one person who I crush on to even give me a chance, but I suppose that still puts the ball in my court.