#rival stars horse racing live race

[rivalstarsracinggirl]

My first trophy in the 6-7* category🏆

[roguemonsterfucker]

Not to sound insensitive on the tail of that post but. As someone who lives in an apartment and desperately wishes they could have horses, what are your game recs?

Not insensitive at all! 🥰 I'm always happy to talk horse games!

First off, I have a Somewhat Comprehensive List of Horse Games over on one of my side blogs. For just a general, mostly unbiased, list of games, that's a good place to go.

For my personal game recs... Well.

The game I play the most is Horse Isle 3, but I can't easily say I'd recommend it for... reasons.

Issues of management aside, HI3 is the most in-depth horse breeding simulator available to date. You can breed not only for different colors and markings, but due to the robust breeding system, you can breed for all sorts of shapes and sizes. It is very much a "make your own fun" type game, which doesn't appeal to everyone, and it can be stressful if you want to manage breeding projects because time passes whether you play or not and horses can die of old age.

If anyone does wish to join Horse Isle 3, please feel free to contact me so I can help you out. The way it's set up is actively hostile to new players and basically requires established players to help new folks in order for the new folks to make progress in their early days without mindlessly grinding for resources. Oh, also, feel free to use my referral code. 🤐

Aside from HI3, another game I've been playing a lot is Ranch of Rivershine. It's in the "cozy game" genre and it's completely single player (unlike HI3 which is an MMO). While Ranch of Rivershine doesn't have realistic genetics, it does have a wide range of beautiful coat colors and it's own genetics system that even I, someone obsessed with horse genetics, enjoy playing with. It's simple and straightforward, making it much easier to breed for the colors you want than a realistic genetics system would be.

The only other game I play regularly is Rival Stars: Horse Racing. It's very different from the other games as it's based around the sport of horse racing, with cross county and steeplechase being added more recently. There used to only be one breed, the Thoroughbred, but a very recent update added the Selle Francis and Arabian. There are lots of colors and patterns to breed for, but it has a completely nonsensical breeding system that really irritates me lol. But the horses can be quite stunning, which makes up for it... some of the time. 😂 I play on the PC, but there is a mobile version as well. The two are very different in some ways but the basis is the same. However, the mobile game will constantly push microtransactions on you and the PC game is a one time purchase with no transactions afterwards. I highly suggest the PC game, but you can always test the mobile version for free to see if you like it at all before buying the PC version.

Rival Stars is single player, but you can race against friends on PC with multiplayer game modes.

Honorable Mention: Star Stable Online.

I only pop on every once in a while to look at the pretty horses. It's a completely quest based game, and I used to enjoy the quests, but now I really just don't like it much. Aside from quests, it's mainly a game for collecting pretty horses. No breeding, just paying the premium currency to get new horses. It's really good if you just enjoy riding high quality horses around a pretty map (which I do sometimes!), but not good for much else for me. Since it's an MMO, there are a lot of social elements to it that others enjoy, but I'm antisocial so that holds no appeal for me.

So... All that to say...

My #1 recommendation right now is Ranch of Rivershine.

It's a bit grindy (which everyone seems to think is bad, but I like grindy lol), but it's super simple, super cute, and is just a nice and chill time. If the controls were more suited to how my hands work, I'd probably play it as much if not more than HI3.

Ranch of Rivershine also is an early access game that is regularly getting updates! There's a new update coming soon that will add foal training and personalities to the horses.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Or tell me what type of game you're looking for and I can see if I can find one that better suits you!

[werewolfnightwalker]

Soulmate AU

Tw for lots of death

.

The first life they met in, he was royalty, flattered and spoiled and bored. And he was a thief, a highway man that halted fancy carriages and forced them to hand over baubles and gems.

Caught by the guards and hauled to prison, they met when the prince was exploring the dungeons.

"What did you do?" The prince asked, enraptured by the rugged prisoner with eyes as gilded as the coins he pilfered.

"I lived." The blonde thief sneered.

"And what a life, to end up behind bars." The prince replied sarcastically.

"Indeed, it was a riveting tale." He laughed.

So the prince sat outside the cell, and asked him to tell his story. He shared his own, although his was not as thrilling. Each day, the prince came down to visit, to talk of their lives and bring news of the outside world. Occasionally, he brought things for the thief; snacks, sweets, a book or two to keep him entertained.

Then his visits came each night, when the guards were lax with patrol and it was unlikely for them to be over heard. When the prince could sit against the bars and reach through their gaps to touch, and the thief could do the same.

But this was only the first life. They'd scarcely shared a first kiss when the thief was hauled to execution, and the prince... stories say he died of a broken heart.

When they met again, he was a sailor. He'd scale the mast and watch the sunrise, feel the salty wind on his face and imagine that he could fly.

And the other... well, he was a buccaneer. Ruthless and bloodthirsty, he roamed the seas with a fleet at his command. They met in battle, as men screamed and ships burned and blood splattered across the deck. As cannons fired, their swords clashed and eyes met. Their battle snarls faded, if even momentarily.

"... Do I know you?" The sailor asked, puzzled.

"Unlikely. No one ever meets me and lives." The pirate spat, his eyes as bright as the stars that guided them both.

"A pity."

They killed each other that day, their meeting even more brief than the first.

But the third... Oh, the third time.

He was the son of a wealthy ranching man, their mansion lording over acres and acres of valley and forest. He sat on the porch and sipped sweet tea in the morning as he watched the other ride through the valley, as fast as the hawks that circled the sky, whoopin' and hollerin' to make the cattle drive into the next pasture.

He watched him sweat under the unforgiving texan sun, watched him ride his horse right into the cattle's drinking lake to cool them both off.

And at night, when the cattle were in the barn, when his horse was resting and his clothes were dried, the garments were thrown to the rich son's floor as they grappled in his plush bed, giggling and whispering so as not to be caught.

It was passionate and secret and divine, lots of whispered promises and soft kisses that ended in them holding one another, tangled in bedsheets as their sweat cooled across naked bodies. When the sun rose, the sun-eyed stablehand snuck out to the bunkhouse to keep up appearances.

They didn't know, yet they knew. They knew each other in a way neither understood, they treasured every moment before it all, inevitably, ended in tragedy.

And, inevitably, they were found out. As he screamed and cried and begged his daddy not to, the stablehand was dragged out on the lawn, and a shotgun was leveled between his brows. He looked up at his lover, one last time, before his blood spilled on the grass and the gunshot drowned his lover's screams.

It wasn't a week later that the rich boy hung himself out of grief.

The fourth life was kinder.

College sweethearts, they met in a cafe during a study session. Rivals in academics, in the race to be their school's valedictorian, but that didn't extend outside of lessons.

Their love was allowed here, allowed and slow and deep. Late nights in libraries, in parks, at parties, all ended in each other's arms.

After school, it was barely a year before he popped the question. And it was barely three after that, when he was diagnosed. Terminal, the doctors said. In and out of hospitals, forced to watch as his snowy-haired lover's health declined, but never leaving his side.

He was there with him, in the end. He held his hand and kissed his cracked lips, promised he loved him and they'd meet again. He never loved or wed again, whispering his husband's name on his dying, aged breath.

In the fifth life, their current lives, they find themselves as opposites again. One, a hero, with crimson wings and a charming smile and enough adoration to take his pick of the crowd. The other, a villain. A wrathful, lonely soul, burning under scars and staples.

When first they met, there it was again. That recognition, that knowing. That echo from the past.

"... You know me?"

"Of course I know you. You're a famous hero."

"No, I mean... you recognize me, don't you?" He stepped forward, his steps guided by lives past, "I recognize you."

Their eyes met, as they had through prison bars and across clashing blades, from the other side of the valley and over the tops of books. As they had in lives so unremembered and so long past that they were uncountable now.

"... Yeah. I recognize you. Are we really doing this again?" Both moved, until they clutched each other again, halves of a reunited whole.

"Don't you want to?"

"This won't end well, Keigo." He cautioned.

"It almost never does, Touya. But it'll be another riveting tale, don't you think? One we can share when we meet again."

[aylinvail]

ok but what if rogue trader white lotus bitch villainess where the RT claims Heinrix as a race prize after possibly causing the deaths of Kunrad and Edelthrad so she can inherit

A year of planning. Twelve men and women. Twelve horses. All of it over in twelve minutes.

No outsider could conceive of, let alone begin to understand, what the Chase meant to the Dargonians. That they breathed it, ate it, lived it. That they prayed to the saints of Dargonus, Saint Rosalyn and Saint Lunette, all year round for their blessing. That the upper and lower houses pledged their youngest sons and daughters to the Saints service so that their elder siblings may win the year’s race. That all their loyalties, legacies, and divisions all proceeded from the Chase, as planets radiate in orbit of a star. That the ever-churning circles of their customs and beliefs could be distilled down to this single point – the race track. Scattered with the dust of stone cut from the sharp cheeks of the Dargonian hillside. To be run by Dargonian born men and women on Dargonian bred horses. An impenetrable rush of human and animal bodies joining centuries of tradition that no unblooded could hope to pierce.

The Chase was the center. The Chase was Dargonus. To know this was to know all. 

The girl knows this and understands that this is not her place. She should not be here, walking alongside the blue and white stallion of House von Valancius, herself clad in the same colors. As the youngest, she should have been pledged to the Saints, but fate had seen it fit to feed her older brothers to the Warp. They only had her, and the House of Sky and Moon has always fielded a champion. And so Aylin would ride, without the blessing of a sacrifice behind her, to keep that millenia long chain of tradition unbroken.

Sintella, the capital of Dargonus, was punishingly hot in the summer. The sun beat its rays down on the heads of spectators, but despite this, the blooded gathered around the plaza, their servants trailing after them in a procession that could rival a Saint’s feast day. The plaza filled with every soul emptied from courtyards, palaces, churches, whorehouses. Chief among them, aside from Aylin von Valancius’ own house, was the House of the Roses.

She heard the Roses before she saw them, the sound of a hundred blaring bronze trumpets declaring the arrival of the Duque of Aguilara, Heinrix Alvaro Vicente de Contreras y Silva. The Duque, considered a young man still at thirty five summers, had won brides and husbands at the Chase for his gaggle of sisters. It was this summer, all of Dargonus hoped, that the Duque would finally win a bride for himself.

They will be sorely disappointed, Aylin thought to herself, watching as the Duque sallied into the plaza on his dark steed, for I plan to win the Duque for myself.

this au brought to me by

[cowboyink]

No Minors

No TERFs

No Negativity of any kind

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but anyway

You can go ahead and call me ink, I'm 23 and I'm Australian. I'm a trans man he/him pronouns pls <3 Queer as hell and unapologetic about it

Note: I am autistic and do struggle with socializing and shit like that.

My hyperfixations/interests

Stardew Valley - current hyperfixation

Rival Stars Horse Racing - just living my horse girl dreams

Sims 4 - love making colourful/weird sims

Primeval - I honestly can't let go of a show from like 2007, send help

Wrestling - Men in skimpy little outfits pinning each-other, need I say more

Tattoos and Piercings - Love tattoos and piercings, love talking about them and getting them.

Anyway, if you read all that, thank you, and if you like any of those things feel free to follow (as long as you're 18+)

[mapleridge]

Zero Pistol and Magic Moon

[metalandmagi]

Winter 2021 Anime Worth Watching!

Since 2020 basically sacrificed itself to give us the most stacked anime season of all time, I’m currently buried under the weight of almost 20 shows airing per week. So for anyone who’s looking for some anime to watch this winter, here’s some first impressions! I’m speed running my list this time by only talking about the new shows...because otherwise this would be my great American novel. 

If anyone’s interested, I have master lists for both 2020 anime and 2019 anime, because there’s no shortage of fun things to find. 

New Shows!

And before anyone asks, So I’m A Spider, So What? isn’t on here, because CG spiders freak me out.

Cells At Work Code Black: This...less comedic spin off of Cells At Work (made by a different studio) takes the wholesome concept of Osmosis Jones meets cute anime girls and turns it on its head. In this much more depressing version, we follow a rookie red blood cell who works in the body of an overly stressed, alcoholic smoker who puts every strain on the body imaginable. I love Red Blood Cell AA2153 and his co-workers, but man am I glad we get the regular Cells At Work airing this season too, because I need something fun and uplifting after seeing my sweet son go through hell every episode. 

*Heaven’s Design Team: Have you ever wondered how God came up with some of the weird ass animals that live on this planet? Like, what’s the deal with giraffes? And why can’t we have dragons and flying horses? Well this is a comedy about the engineers and designers in heaven creating the new animals that are going to inhabit the Earth. That’s it, that’s the show. It’s kind of in the same vein as Cells At Work, having comedy blend with a surprising amount of educational information. If you want something light and funny, this is the show for you (though I don’t think it needs to have full length episodes). I’m just hoping there’s an episode about how the hell the platypus was created. Also it’s the only new one available on Crunchyroll.

Horimiya: A romantic comedy about a girl named Hori who fits the image of a perfect queen bee and a quiet bespectacled boy named Miyamura who never makes an impression at school. When the two meet by chance outside of the classroom, we see that Hori is practically raising a younger brother by herself, and Miyamura is actually a sweet guy who happens to be covered in tattoos and piercings. This show is an exercise in breaking down the images people have of others in their minds, and it’s a concept that really hits home in a fun and meaningful way. Honestly, this has become one of my immediate favorites. The characters have great chemistry, and I can’t wait to see more of them!

Monster Incidents (Kemono Jihen): When big shot Tokyo detective Inugami is called to a rural town to investigate a series of strange animal deaths, he finds a mysterious boy with the nickname Dorotabo who has been shunned by the other children in town. As the detective gets closer to Dorotabo, he discovers that there may be more...inhuman secrets to the boy than he realizes...and Dorotabo discovers that Inugami has some secrets of his own. This is a hard show to sell without spoiling the first episode, but it had twists and turns that kept me engaged from start to finish. I’m really interested to see where the plot goes, because I thought this was going to be something totally different just from the PV and series summary. If it plays its cards right, this could be a great paranormal detective show!

Wonder Egg Priority: A psychological drama about a girl named Ai who starts having dreams about a mysterious egg that promises to give her what she wants most in the world...a true friend. Before long, she begins to see how the dream world and reality are tied together, and trippy antics ensue. It’s hard to say more without spoiling anything, but I had to go back and add this one in because I made the mistake of thinking it was an OVA when it’s actually a full series. And what a series it’s starting out to be. This anime has all the psychological discomfort of a Satoshi Kon product with the beauty and style of something from Kyoani (even though it’s made by Clover Works). It’s really one of those anime you just have to see to understand.

Sk8-∞ (Skate the infinity): An original skateboarding anime from Bones, featuring a typical sports anime protagonist who takes a new transfer student who has never skateboarded in his life under his wing. Together they compete in dangerous races and take the skating community by storm. The character designs rival Appare Ranman’s in outlandish creativity, and I can smell the main characters’ ship dynamic a mile away (considering they’re exactly the same as the protagonists from Robihachi). If you’re looking for some wild and crazy fun with top notch skateboarding animation, don’t skip this!

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu (Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Club): Yes, it’s another volleyball anime. And no, it’s not just a clone of Haikyu. This story follows Yuni Kuroba, a physically built but emotionally weak teenager who finds out his childhood friend Hajime is moving back to their hometown for high school. Yuni discovers Hajime has become an exceptional volleyball player and they join their school’s volleyball club hoping to turn the unknown team into a rising star. If anything, this anime is much more like Stars Align or Free, where the sport is a backdrop for letting the characters explore their personal problems. Or at least it seems that way after the first episode. I went into this show ready to throw it in the trash because how could anything compete against my beloved Haikyu, but I found myself really enjoying the dynamics of the main duo and I’m curious to see what the rest of the team is like.

And speaking of sports anime rip-offs…..I can’t believe I’m including this but…

Skate Leading Stars: The show where the animators clearly wanted to design another throw away idol anime but saw how popular Yuri On Ice was so they decided to make whatever the hell this show is instead. It revolves around a fictional team sport called skate leading, and we follow the world’s most insufferable main character, a former figure skater named Kensei who wants to return to the ice and join his school’s skate leading team after he finds out his childhood rival is going to compete in the sport. Look, this show is just trashy enough to get a certain type of audience hooked, and it mainly has to do with the best boy of the winter season, Hayato Sasugai, the aspiring team “coach” who pulled most of us into watching this show with his punk appearance, snide comments and smug personality. He’s basically the lovechild of Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima in a high school sports anime setting. The show treats itself with the perfect amount of sincerity to get away with being absolutely ridiculous most of the time without making you feel like you’re watching it from a dumpster...like Try Knights. You will know after one episode whether this show is for you. All I can say is, Hayato is worth the watch, and I haven’t seen any 3D animation used for the skating scenes (yet) so that’s a win for me. 

Honorable mention:

Jobless Reincarnation ( Mushoku Tensei): Yet another isekai where the main character is hit by a car (big surprise) and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world...but he happens to remember his previous life and narrates himself growing up as a jaded adult. I’m only including this because it looked amazing animation wise, and I love the opening where getting hit by a car and dying is actually traumatic. And I love the protagonist’s parents (who are retired adventurers who just want to bang all the time). But honestly...the main character is the fucking worst, and I don’t know if I want to keep watching it because of how creepy and weird he is. Like...he’s the hit on your fantasy mom as a baby kind of creepy and weird. But for anyone who wants a cool looking isekai that had an amazing PV, it’s worth checking out. 

Continuing Series!

Because the real gold of the season is in all the established anime getting their next seasons, I’m just going to list some of the things that are also amazing and definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already (because I’ve already talked about most of them at some point and don’t know what else to say).

Attack On Titan season 4

The Promised Neverland season 2

Beastars season 2

Log Horizon season 3

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season 2

Re: Zero season 2 (second cour)

Dr. Stone season 2

Cells at Work season 2

Osomatsu-san season 3 (second cour)

Higurashi New (second cour)

Jujutsu Kaisen (second cour) 

Not to mention all the shows I don’t watch that everyone else loves...like World Trigger (which I have seen quite a bit of, but long shounen shows are too much for me now) Quintessential Quintuplets, and Non Non Biyori. 

So there’s just some of all the anime airing this season. Hopefully, someone can find something they like. Here’s to a great year...well, of anime at least...

[echoalias]

I had grand plans for Day 24 of Randivor April: Horses! :D

So grand, I did not finish them...! XD

So here, have a headcanon that I may come back to, one day:

Cowboy/RDR2 AU -

Randvi is a runaway from a bad marriage, and stumbles upon The Raven Gang.  They're a rough around the edges travelling band made up of outcasts and vagabonds, and led by a scowling, scarred, sharp-shooter - Eivor "The Wolf-Kissed".

Gunnar's a lucrative and prolific weapons dealer - do not be fooled by his kind nature.  Valka the apothecary may or may not be an actual witch, but she keeps everyone healthy and fit, so they turn an eye to her strange habits and chanting.  Tekla often spikes the beer she brews, and the food she cooks, but it tastes nice enough.  Holger and Alvis are mostly there for entertainment, but they also make the perfect distractors of any heist, and weave a good tale to intimidate or mislead rival gangs.  The kids are hooligans and pick pockets.  Sunniva and Norvid are still level headed sorts; the ones you want riding out with you.  Birna gets them in trouble more than she gets them out of it, but she is endlessly loyal, and pretty damn good with a rifle, so she is always forgiven.

They are a mismatched, dysfunctional family of strays, and Randvi gets adopted in.  Eivor takes her under her wing (obviously), and they ride the plains together while Eivor shows Randvi the lay of the land, and tests her skills with a gun - and of course, Randvi impresses.  She’s a handy sort, used to farm work and living rough and wild, and shooting pests threatening to eat her family’s crops.

So then suddenly Randvi's not just a pretty face; she's riding out to rob banks and looting outposts and running down trains.  She completely turns over the gangs finances, and suddenly they’re not just getting by – they’re thriving.  And she’s even better at planning heists than Eivor and Sunniva!

Eivor's quickly smitten, and she takes Randvi out more and more. Patrolling, hunting.  They lay out on the plains of a night-time while on lookout duty, and star gaze.  And they race from one town to the next to prove who is the better rider, and they wrangle wild horses because Randvi quite likes the look of that golden stallion they saw yesterday...

And they run from the law and build a fearsome reputation, and end up on Wanted posters - Dead or Alive, Wolf-Kissed and Little Red.

(And, I suppose, wouldn't it be awful if Sigurd/The Husband found out where Randvi had run to?  A duel should sort that out…!

And Kjotve’s gang is an antagonistic thorn in their sides, too.)

Anyway...the history of the wild west was written from the back of a horse.  So that's where this prompt took me :D

[rivalstarsracinggirl]

Another trophy for the collection 🏆

[leonardhoee]

Ikevamp OC: Sandro Botticelli

Birthday: March 1, 1445

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Height: 173cm (5’8)

Past Occupation: Artist

Vampiric Type: Lesser Vampire

MBTI Personality: ENFJ- A

Build: Lean, but toned. He says his best feature is his ass. Everyone agrees

Fashion Style: Modern day Sandro would wear light academia or cottage core. He would also wear a maid dress or skirt just because he’s proud of his thighs. In Ikevamp’s time period however, his priority is always comfort. He’s wear leather pants with either a white silk or cotton button up. (Tiddies out ofc because he is shameless) 

Background: Turned in 1510 by Lorenzo de Medici, Botticelli was initially unaware that he had even died and been resurrected as a vampire. As someone who greatly appreciates life, he was angry at first about being brought back without his permission, and immediately left the Medici court. For several decades he traveled the world and realized there was so much undiscovered beauty just waiting to be discovered and immortalized by him. Since then he made it his goal to seek out that beauty wherever he could, and create a painting so extravagant and ethereal that it would put the sun, moon, and stars to shame. 

Personality: He is one of the most outgoing people in the mansion. He is not afraid to speak his mind and often compliments random people he meets in town. He is very genuine, almost to a fault. He always sees the good in others and can be a bit naive at times, only because he choses to believe people at face value. His  authenticity and trust in others, inspire the people he cares about to believe in themselves and become more confident. He also tends to have a flair for the dramatic, basically the embodiment of “I’ll get over it, I just need to be dramatic first”. He can be a bit dreamy and carefree, tossing awareness of his surroundings. (One time he went horseback riding with Leonardo and saw a pretty flower. He spaced out, thinking about how he would paint it in the hands of a beautiful person and ended up getting thrown off his horse when he almost rode into a tree. A true himbo). His carefree attitude however, can leave him a bit detached from people. While he’s very empathetic, he doesn’t know what to do when those emotions are coming from him. Finding beauty is his motivation after being brought back, but what happens when he realizes beauty isn’t the only reason he’s so drawn to you?

In Love: At first, he simply thought he was attracted to you for your beauty. After all, that’s the reason he was drawn to people in the past. He understand’s beauty very well, but he doesn't know what true love feels like from his own perspective. A major conflict for him would be realizing that the reason his heart races after time you smile at him, isn't because he simply finds you worthy of his art. He is hopelessly in love with you. 

“Oh don’t worry, I’m just holding your hand because its pretty haha...”

He can be oblivious at the beginning and won’t understand why you’re jealousy that he’s admiring other people for their beauty. It’s only because he wants them to be art subjects right? 

But once he has come to terms with his feelings, he will be the sweetest lover you can ask for. You are a goddess to him, his one and only muse, and he will make sure you know that he worships every single part of you. (He will definitely ask to paint you nude because “beauty such as yours absolutely must be captured. I only hope I can capture your radiance the way you deserve Amore”)

Hobbies: Painting, Meddling in people’s business, Stargazing

Dislikes: Dishonest and close minded people, Spicy Food

Favorite Food: Crème Brûlée

Hated Food: Banana

Weaknesses: Physical fighting, Math, Situational awareness.

Speciality: Making people smile, Chaos

Extra Things:

-Lorenzo brought him back because he believed it would be a waste for the world to loose such talent so quickly. 

- He arrived at the mansion to surprise Leonardo after hearing he was still alive. It was supposed to be a temporary stay but he fell in love with Paris and asked Comte if he could move in with them.

- Sandro is a great singer and dancer and is often asked by Mozart to sing one of his pieces for him. However he only agrees if he is allowed to draw Mozart after. (He can’t help it, Mozart and Jean are so ethereally beautiful, they just have to be drawn.)

- While he is extremely talented artistically, he doesn't know how to cook, wash dishes, or hail a carriage. Sebastian has officially banned him from the kitchen after he set the cupboards on fire trying to make a cake. (Theo nearly had a stroke after taking a bite and realizing he mixed up the salt and sugar)

- He is already very hyper, and he is not allowed to touch coffee. One time Arthur gave him a cup and he was awake all night trying to turned all the residents into the perfect models. He carried their sleeping bodies to the garden and arranged them to resemble the 12 Olympians. Jean woke up the next morning curled up at Comte’s feet and since then he has banned Botticelli from visiting his room or painting him. 

- Botticelli originally met Leonardo while they were both studying in Verrocchio’s workshop, and he considers Leo to be like an older brother to him. Being the two college-age dumbasses they are, they decided to move in together and start working as waiters in a nearby restaurant. After most of the staff died from the plague, Leonardo came up with the bright idea of rebranding the restaurant, calling it called "Le tre rane di Sandro e Leonardo" (the Three Frogs of Sandro and Leonardo), and serving gourmet cuisine. It ended up being a failure because most of their customers were not used to the innovative new food being served. 

- A threeway with Leonardo is definitely a possibility for you.

- He has a pet peacock named Juno.

- Sometimes he lays down in the garden and watches the clouds imagining different animals based on their shapes.

- Surprising Botticelli is very good friends with Dazai, and his positive outlook on life has helped Dazai appreciate his own existence. None of the other residents understand their conversations but it makes perfect sense between them.

- He cannot handle spicy food. One time Dazai slipped chili powder into his dinner and his face turned red while he teared up. To this day he internally shudders every time he sees the others eating something spicy without flinching.

- He tries to avoid conflicts as much as he can because he tends to get emotional very quickly. Being so empathetic can be draining to him and getting into a fight hurts him more than it will ever hurt the other person.

- He loves making random sketches of you and the other residents, and he will leave them your respective rooms with a small note reminding everyone that they are appreciated.

- His love language is physical touch and he has a habit of kissing everyone on the cheek or forehead.

- Something about Napoleon’s room is so cozy and welcoming that it makes him sleepy. He’s woken up cuddling Napoleon many times. Yes they have kissed each other.

- Though, he doesn’t like taking naps with Leonardo because sleeping on the floor makes all his bones hurt.

- He has a sweet tooth that rivals Theo. Between the two of them, any desserts Sebastian buys, are eating within 2 days.

- Sandro loves shopping with Comte and he constantly asks Leonardo to let him pick out a new wardrobe. He cringes every time he sees those mismatched boots.

- Shakespeare is the only resident that makes him a bit wary. He is very good at figuring out when people are lying and Will’s personality unsettles him.

- Besides Leonardo, Vincent is his favorite resident. Sandro appreciates how kind and welcoming he is, and his favorite pastime is painting with him. If he ever hears people talk bad about Vincent he will not hesitate to give that person a piece of his mind.

- Sandro is a bi king who develops crushes very easily, but most of them are fleeting and superficial. He had a major crush on Leonardo that he quickly got over after they became friends. When they lived together, Leo would often tease him for his habit of falling for people so quickly and moving on within a week.

- Modern Botticelli would be a major Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, and FKA Twigs fan.

- One time he was running to show Dazai a pretty butterfly he found and he was so distracted by it that he didn’t notice the tree branch right in front of him. He ran into it so hard that he knocked himself out for 30 minutes and Napoleon had to carry him back inside the mansion.

Other characters he is similar to: Ranpo Edogawa, Tamaki Suoh, Grell Sutcliff

I’m going to be using Ikevamp Botticelli so you can follow that tag if you want to hear more about him!

[maxemilianverstappen]

Why did I see someone say something along the lines "Seb's probably thinking what's the point racing if Lewis isn't there"?

I hate how much s/ewis shippers reduce to Seb to how he relates to Lewis & to just being "grid dad". Yes, Seb has taken some of the younger drivers under his wing but that's not all he is. He is an incredibly talented driver and I swear to God of AM don't give him a decent car to show I'm going to lose it. His story in F1 doesn't begin or end with Lewis. It didn't start when he moved to Ferrari either, but they don't like to acknowledge his incredible time & achievements at Redbull prior to that because well he had the car and the team to challenge lewis - and won.

Bottom line is Seb is not only his own person but he's also a real living breathing human, not just one half a "ship".

"Seb's probably thinking what's the point of racing if Lewis isn't there"?

Please tell me which idiot said this so that I can block them and everyone who liked/reblogged this piece of horse shit 🤢🤢

I... I really can't imagine what kind of delusion is needed to think like this. The way some of these people's minds work is absolutely a case of slow brain rot.

Sebastian is not the kind of man who measures his own self worth with the accomplishments of his rivals. That's someone else, but I won't name him. Have you ever seen the guy EVER talk about how XYZ season could have been his win/how he could have been X times WDC if he was driving YZ car or for LM team? Has he ever compared himself to LH? Has he ever said anything that can be interpreted as he is needing to win against ONE specific person to feel himself accomplished/successful? Man, the guy just wants to f/ucking win one more time as he so deserves. It doesn't matter against whom, he is not someone who will find any form of MORE satisfaction in winning against one specific person. His rival can be LH, can be Chal, can be Max, can be Dan, who cares? I am positive he doesn't give a single f/uck either as long as it gives him the adrenaline and that surge of passion that comes with racing and winning.

And also, how can ppl discredit all the fantastic talent on the grid as if only LH is there as a talent? Look, I personally believe that if F1 was a single/same spec series, all the guys i listed above and some more would have been on quite the similar level. To claim that Seb wouldn't be happy to race and win against anyone else but LH is a gross discredit to them all. But I know why they delude themselves so.

They want sth like in the movies. They want them to be obsessed with each other to the point that winning against anyone else wouldn't suffice or feel worthy enough (look at the level of god complex they try to slap on these dudes 😂) They want them to be each other's single most important focus that after one leaves racing, the other one, no matter what kind of talent is on the grid to race against, would lose his interest and leave, too, forlorn and hurt and dissatisfied, alas... 😂😂

I am pretty sure LH was secretly happy to see Seb is no longer in a position of challange and thus modified his stance accordingly, suddenly friendlier and kinder and more compassionate. And I am pretty sure, Seb doesn't care about the presence or absence of a guy on the grid while deciding on his future plans. Why should he give a f/uck actually other than the generic "oh, we are saying goodbye to a huge star" kinda stuff? In what way the s/ewis idiots think Seb's life will be negatively impacted upon LH's leave? How absurd and laughable is reducing Seb's career to those 2017-18 years and his inability to win the WDC not just due to his own shortcomings? We all know if Ferrari didn't have an internal politics war and make all the wrong decisions in car upgrades in the second half of the season, Seb might very well win in 2018 with some luck. But that's another story.

2010/2013 was something else and these so called Seb fans should really watch those races and interviews to see how great he was and not even F1 can diminish his success nor these so called s/ewis/LH fans can by reducing him into an arm accessory to their GOD.

As Max said, “You need a bit of luck to fight for the seventh or eight. You need a very dominant team as well to do that, so you don’t always have that luck or you are not in that era. Sometimes it doesn’t happen.”

Choices were made, things were desired and sought after in different places; so, it made one guy a 7 time winner while the other guy who is absolutely not below him talent wise even an inch, had to stay at 4. I'm pretty sure if Seb had chosen Merc in 2017, he would have been an 8 times WDC already. But as another Anon said (perhaps you are the same one?) Seb wanted it in Ferrari and it didn't happen.

I am pretty sure he wouldn't give a fuck about who he would have won those titles against and wouldn't care whether they'd leave or not and continue to race just as LH doesn't care even a bit and that's okay too.

[itsatomicparadise]

No one has done a Johnny and Gyro swap. So I decided to it myself. Story(Also sort-of spoilers for the story) Gyro's story: Gyro is born into a wealthy, (Secret), Executioner Family. Until one day- being warned not to bring anyone into the household- brings a woman into his bedroom. Little did Gyro know, she was a wanted criminal; one sentenced to be executed by Gyro's father. He was stabbed in the back and left paralyzed. Soon after, a little, boy, servant (The boy gyro would save in the SBR), betrayed (Not-really) Gyro and told his Father what really happened (Gyro tried lying his way of it). In raged, his father kicked him out of the family household. He told Gyro, "Don't come back until you have earned of something of great value; I will consider you my son again if you do". Couple of years later; living in a miserable apartment. He gets a newspaper, about the Steel Ball Run, in America. The reward $50 million dollars. In a fit of desperation- Whether or not he get's back into his house. Gyro was determined to stop living in the slumps. Until one day...He Met a jockey By the name of Johnny "Jonathan" Joestar. Johnny's Story: An All Star, Jockey racer. Johnny is a born expert in horse racing. He is so good in racing horses. He won 4 races by the age of 13. He had it all, Women, money, and fancy food. He was living in the LIFE. Until one day, his brother Nicholas was charged for a murder he did not commit (The guy that died was the one who shot Johnny XD). He was to be executed in a couple of days. The only way he would be set free, If they paid for a re-trail. But it was $50 million. The only way to save him was the Steel Ball Run race. But it wouldn't be easy. For his rival- Hot Pants (cause why not?)- was entering the race. And She was always one step ahead of him. It wasn't long until Johnny would run into trouble. A Scumbag, tried robbing Johnny of his entry-fee. But failed to do so. He challenged Johnny but lost....his life. And not a moment too soon. He met up, with a strange, paraplegic, Italian. Gyro Zeppeli.

Sidenote: When I came up with this Idea. I went for a simpler version. So I didn't add much to this; that's why the second version looks better.

Also feel free to try to understand the story behind this. Even I don't know. I just wanna make a 2nd version. As in Johnny is a crip- paraplegic; that knows about the spin. And Gyro wants to follow him. I was inspired by funny valentine's attempted "escape" from Johnny's attack.  Where the next dimension/neighboring world is a town that the other Valentine fought a different Johnny

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Parallel School Series: Junior High School Student Saitama

Translated by @vibhavm with additional help from Redditors /u/graywords and /u/lucci85.

As part of the drama CDs from 2017, ONE didn’t just write stories set in the canonical story.  He also penned lighter-hearted alternative universe stories, set in a high school... with predictable hijinks.

Audio link: https://soundcloud.com/vibhav-745976766/parallel-school-series-junior

We start:

Saitama (Sa): In this universe, there exists another world different from our world, a parallel world. This is another me, another Saitama, who lives in that parallel world.

Sonic (So): And I, Speed o' Sound Sonic, who went out of my way to transfer to Z Municipal Peace Middle School to settle my dispute with this Saitama!

Sa: (Well, there he is.)

Sa: (What's with the attitude?)

So: On the blood-covered battlefield known as the Sports Festival, in truth I was not really motivated for it, but I was unconsciously beginning to display my true abilities as the strongest ninja, and would unexpectedly become the star of the Sports Festival!

Sa: (It's just at a regular middle school sports festival.)

Sa: (I guess there are guys like that, who pretend they aren't motivated but are actually super excited.)

Sa: (Huh, so you really participated that much?)

So: This... is the lightning-speed sports documentary that recorded my heroism!

So: It’s the day before the Sports Festival.

So: To do image training for the bread eating contest, I was running to school eating a piece of bread.

Sa: You are fully motivated, aren’t you. I haven’t seen a guy like that.

So: Well now, Speed-o’-Sound Sonic, this is the last lap and I’m on one last straight line. It’s the last spot!

So: Fast! Fast! Crazy speed! Now, overtake Saitama running in front of you! Eh, seriously?!

Boom

So: Why the hell were you there on the last straight line?!

Sai: Huh? You tripped and fell on your own, what are you talking about?

So: gasp Hmph, you’ve got the wrong idea.

So: Running to school eating a piece of bread to do image training for the bread eating contest...

So: ...I was doing nothing of the sort! Not at all!

Sa: We don't even have a bread eating contest at our Sports Festival.

So: Eh… Anyway, tomorrow's sports day, be prepared for it! I’ll beat you up until you can’t stand, without fail!

So: I’ll turn the sports day into a bloodbath!

Sai: Uhh, you and I are on the same go-home club team.

So: Eh.. Uh… Hmph…

Music and fireworks

PPP: Sooo, let’s start this year’s Z-City Peace Junior High School Sports Day.

PPP: A physical festival, where muscles will clash with muscles!

PPP: I’m Puri Puri Prisoner, the speaker, i’m very fond of young boys.

PPP: And for the commentator… the well-known first-year junior high school student, Sweet Mask chan is joining us!

SM: Thank you for having me.

PPP: Well then, Amai Mask chan, you hold your annual winning streak with your Student Council team: what’s your outlook for this year?

AM: It goes without saying. This year too, my Student Council team will win without fa-

So: Hehehehehhehe. You’re pretty foolish, Student Council.

AM: Huh! You are…

So: chuckles

AM: Who are you?

PPP: This month a new student was transferred in this school for an exchange draft, B-group, attendance number 8. You’re Speed-o’-Sound Sonic-chan! You prefer a 40-degree temperature for your baths, and you enter the bathtub from the right. And apparently you don’t sleep in a bed but in a futon.

So: Ugh, why do you know so much about me!

PPP: It’s natural for teachers to keep the profile of their cutest students.

So: Anyway! This year's "go-home club team", teamed up with me, Speed o' Sound Sonic, their Golden Rookie, will be on a completely different level than before!

SM: Hmph. So the number of small fries increased by one-

So: I’m not alone.

So: The only man I consider a rival, Saitama! His gofer, the cyborg Genos! Furthermore, the strongest man, King is also here!

So: With those three, everything should be treated very seriously!

PPP: Are you talking about those 3 hurriedly eating over there?

Genos (Ge): Captain Saitama, what would you like as ingredients for the rice balls?

Sai: Salmon for me.

Ge: And you King senpai?

King (K): Tuna.

So: Hey! What are you doing relaxing! The fight is about to start!

Sa: Hm? Mmm..mmm… You wanna eat too? gulp Genos’s Fried Rice Balls are pretty tasty.

So: Mm, well now, let me see.

So: Mmmh, the sweet savoury smell of soy sauce with barley rice flour is- HEY YOU ALL!

Ge: Hmph. The Rice Balls weren't for you in the first place.

So: Tch, this guy.

AM: Did you already fall out with your friends? You can’t challenge our strongest student council team in such a mess.

AM: You should know your social standing. You’re an eyesore. It’s best if you quickly run home.

So: Such a way of talking…

So: You all! Aren’t you annoyed by how he’s talking to us!

Sa: Genos, grab me a barley tea?

King: Yeah, me too!

Ge: Ah, yes!

So: These guys are hopeless. They don’t listen at all…

AM: Heh, good luck with that. It’s going to be useless though. Hahahaha.

So: Tch, you bastards! You’ve acted like this all the time！

Ge: It’s according to plan. With this, the student council has let their guard down.

So: What?!

So: That means, could it be… their lax behaviour up until now…

Ge: Hmph, obviously. It was a fake in order to fool the opponent. Right, Captain Saitama?

Sa: Mh? What did you say?

Ge: Sonic, was it? How can’t you understand that even though you say you’re a ninja?

So: Uh...

So: I don't like your tone of voice, but....

So: I see. As expected of Saitama. I don’t see you as my rival for nothing.

PPP: And noooow, the first event, the mock cavalry battle is starting.

PPP: All contestants, please reach your friends!

Ge: Now then, Captain Saitama, King Senpai, let’s head into battle!

Sai: Ehhh, I'm full from overeating Rice Balls. Is it necessary to have four people? What a drag.

So: This isn’t a strategy at all is it!

SM: After all, the mock cavalry battle finished and naturally our student council team’s victory was secured. The home team was totally unfocused. But I won’t talk about it, because it was quite an embarrassing sight.

So: What a way of talking…

PPP: Well, apparently the Student Council Team is overwhelmingly above the others and leads the chart as of now.

AM: It seems the match is settled.

So: The student council team is 1280 points ahead huh. But there’s one last match.

So: The opposition club activities relay is left!

King: That's right, I believe the team that wins the relay gets 9 times the points.

Sa: Wait, that's way too many.

Ge: I see. If we win the relay, that means we can win by 8,999,999,998,720 points, then.

Sa: Huh. Did we really need that calculation?

So: Anyway! The game starts now! Just you watch, Student Council!

AM: Hahahaha, I could say the same to you from the horrible state you seem to be in.

AM: Everyone! They may be in last place, but the Go-Home Team is desperately trying hard, so please give them a round of applause!

AM: However, I, Amai Mask, pledge that my Student Council team will win the final opposition club activities relay, and achieve complete overall victory.

crowd applauding

So: Tch, what an unpleasant guy.

AM: Good luck to you all, even though I think you’re hopeless.

So: You all, despite being made such a fool of, you’re still-

Ge: All according to plan, this time for sure the Student Council has let their guard down.

So: gasp

So: So you mean... this pathetically slow start... I can't believe it!

Ge: Obviously, this is the final event that will decide everything.

Ge: It was a strategy to retain stamina until the opposition club activities relay. Right, captain Saitama?

Saitama: Man, I'm gettin' sleepy now.

So: I see, to deceive your opponents, you must first start with your allies. I was completely deceived.

So: Alright! Well then, let’s decide on our running order immediately!

Ge: Captain Saitama, what number would you like?

Saitama snoring

K: He’s having a sound nap.

So: This definitely isn’t a strategy at all is it!

PPP: Ok, time for the final event! The activity is the relay fight! The winning team will not only receive 9 times the points, but also a prize of 50 thousand yen!

So: Eh!?

K: Oh, you woke up.

So: So basically, I’ll be running for all 3 people?!

Sa: Well, what number do you want me to run in, Sonic?

So: Saitama…

Ge: Captain…

PPP: Well then, starting off with our first runners -- for the Student Council, their secretary, Drive Knight Chan!

DK: At last, it’s my turn…

PPP: And the go-home team self proclaimed vice captain, Genos-chan!

Ge: For the sake of the Go-Home club, I cannot lose!

PPP: Everyone is ready for the start...

mechanical sound

PPP: Wow, Drive Knight-chan! The lower half of his mechanical body transformed into a horse-shaped one!

PPP: Amai Mask chan, isn’t this foul play?

AM: Obviously, this is not foul play. As the opponent is also a cyborg.

PPP: That’s true…

DK: Genos-kun… This is the latest model lower body I prepared for this Sports Festival. The likelihood of you winning again such equipment is next to zero.

Ge: hmph, next to zero you say?

DK: That’s right. Therefo-

Ge: So you mean, it’s not zero, right.

mechanical noise

PPP: The race finally begins! Drive Knight chan and Genos chan, the two advance at a speed that far surpasses human expectations!

running and trotting noise

PPP: Oh, as expected, the performance is different. Drive Knight chan is leading.

DK: Of course...

Ge: I see. Naturally, I can’t best him in leg power. However…

mechanical sound

Ge: Incineration cannon!

Explosions noise

PPP: Ah, what was that?! Drive Knight-chan was blown away by Genos-chan’s Incineration cannon and went out of bounds! And in that moment, Genos-chan has pulled ahead!

AM: That damn Go-home team…

AM: The use of weapons is against the rules!

So: What an idiot! That’s nowhere in the Sports Festival’s guidebook!

AM: Son of a... If it's come to this, I'll just use my position in the Student Council to mark this as a loss for the Go-Home Club due to foul play...

DK: There is no need for that.

AM: Drive Knight!?

DK: I told you, didn’t I? My equipment is the latest model.

DK: If you are going to come at me with weapons, I will counter-attack with even stronger weapons.

DK: Tactical Transformation: Sports Festival Special.

PPP: Oh, Drive Knight-chan’s horse part transformed again! This time it transformed into a missile!

PPP: Ah, look out Genos chan!

Shit ton of noise

PPP: The missile shot by Drive Knight-chan landed! Genos-chan’s body is in pieces. I feel so sorry, Genos-chan! Drive Knight-chan goes right past him!

DK: Sorry, Genos-kun. However, this is reality.

PPP: How can you call this a sports festival anymore?! The other runners have lost their fighting spirit and are falling apart one after another!

AM: As expected of Drive Knight. This match is already over.

G: I wonder about that.

AM: Hah! Genos-kun, with that broken down body, what can-

G: Rocket Punch!

AM?: What?!

Genos’s theme playing

PPP: Oh! Genos’s right hand holding the baton is flying off at even faster speed!

DK: Huh, impossible.

PPP: In a blink of an eye, the second place runner flies past Drive Knight to Sonic-chan!

G: Even if my body is broken and scattered into pieces, I will definitely pass the baton! That is the spirit of the going-home club team!

So: Hmph. Good performance for someone who’s Saitama’s errand-boy.

So: Now it’s up to me, Speed o’ Sound Sonic!

PPP: Wow! The Go-Home team takes the lead, and right after that, the baton of the Student Council team goes to its second player, Flashy Flash-chan!

DK: Forgive me, Flash. It’s up to you now.

Flash (FF): Leave it to me.

So: I’m gonna win this by a landslide！

PPP: Now; it’s a match between Speed o’ Sound Sonic chan and Flashy Flash chan!

PPP: Both have the cute face and speed I love so much. So, so fast!

So: That Student Council guy, he’s not bad…

So: Still, can you actually follow me like this?

FF: Seems like a good runner for the Go-Home team...

FF: still, don’t think you can win against me in speed!

PPP: They both fast, Fast, FAST!! I mean, they’re so fast I can't see them at all! I can’t see anything, it’s all enveloped in a cloud of dust!

So: Alright, take it, Saitama!

Sa: Eh? Where?

Sa: I got dust in my eyes, I can’t see a thing.

So: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? QUICKLY TAKE THE BATON!

FF: Take it, Zombieman!

Zombieman (ZM): Right, nice job Flash!

So: Hey, carry across the baton Saitama!

Sa: I can’t remove the dust in my eyes…

So: JUST RUN SAITAMA!!!

PPP: Anyway, I couldn’t see anything at all, but it seems like the third runners, Saitama-chan and Zombieman-chan started at almost the exact same time!

So: It seems that everyone has had a chance to see Sonic at the speed of sound!！

PPP: Nope, I didn't see you at all, Sonic chan.

So: What?

PPP: Nobody could see it, too bad.

So: Eh…?

FF: Hey, are you alright? You look like you’re on the brink of death.

PPP: Meanwhile, Saitama is nowhere to be seen!

So: Huh, what did you say!?

PPP: Saitama chan, where did you go off to?

sound effect

Sa: Huh, wait a sec. This scenery is a bit unfamiliar-

BOOM Tropical music

Sa: Eh? Where am I…?

Sa: Ah by any chance, did I take the wrong course? Crap…

Sa: I was running without seeing anything because of the dust...

Sa: Hey this is a jungle…

Sa: Crap, I need to get back quickly.

animal roaring

Sa: Hmm? Something about the animals...

Boom Weird laugh/cry

Sa: Are you… a monster?

Monster (M): That’s right.

I’m a poacher that was monsterfied after a trip to the jungle! With my overwhelming physical ability that was trained to perfection in the jungle, and my hunting instincts, I now reign at the pinnacle of this jungle's ecosystem. As the ultimate invasive species, I will tear people like you, who don the mantle of civilization and allow your physical abilities to devolve, limb from pale civilized limb--

BOOM

Sa: Oops… I should have asked that monster now about which way to Z-City.

Sa: Ah well, it’s probably that way-

Boom

PPP: While Saitama-chan is absent, Zombiman is still running alone!

ZM: Why can’t I see anybody, is this not the sports festival? What am I even racing against? Can I just keep running like this?

AM: Don’t think about it Zombieman, just keep running like that.

ZM: All- Alright, Amai Mask.

So: Damn it, where did Saitama go off to! Hey Genos!

Ge: There’s only one possibility I can think of.

So: What is it?

Ge: He might have gone home.

So: What!? Why in the absolute hell would anyone go home at a time like this!?

Ge: How Naive. You still don’t know anything about the go-home club.

AM: Hmph, looks like this time the match is over.

So: NNGHHHH

Beeping-like sounds

Genos: I sense something, it’s coming!

AM: What!?

PPP: Oh, he’s finally back here, Saitama-chan!

Seigi Shikkou playing

Sa: Sorry, sorry. I went the wrong way…

So: What were you doing, you idiot!

Sa: It’s your fault for spreading dust clouds everywhere.

PPP: However, Zombieman-chan is a long way away in the lead now.

AM: You’re too late.

So: Well, I wonder about that!

AM: What?

Sa: Alrighty, this time I won’t make a mistake.

BWOOSH

PPP: Fa- fa- fast!

Ge: As expected, Captain! His eyes have gone red, probably because money is on the line!

PPP: Saitama chan easily passed Zombieman chan!

ZM: Fast, way too fast!

PPP: And he’s rapidly gaining a wide lead.

AM: Impossible! That plain looking faced guy can’t be this fast!-

Crunch

PPP: Ohh… Amai Mask chan crushed his microphone…

PPP: Mr. Saitama gets ready and passes the baton to King-chan, the anchor!

Sa: I leave the rest to you.

K: Yeah…

PPP: On the other hand the Student Council Team, Zombieman is still far away back.

Ge: As expected Captain Saitama!

So: With this, the match is over.

AM: Nope, you’re pretty naive huh Go-Home team.

So: Huh?

AM: Have a look at our final runner. Can you still say that?

OST: Dark Energy

So: What did you say?

Tatsumaki (T): Hey, why are you running so sluggish! Hurry up and bring the baton to me!

Ge: Tha… That is…

AM: That’s right. The student council vice president. Tornado of Terror!

T: Ugh, I can’t wait anymore!

splash sound

PPP: AAAAAAH! Tatsumaki burst Zombieman’s body into tiny pieces with her Psychokinesis!

PPP: Aaaaand, the baton was passed on to Tatumaki-chan as if it were being carried by water.

So: Gah! In order to win… she even killed her ally!

ZM: No, I’m fine. Since I'm immortal.

Sa: Ah, is that so? I’m glad you’re okay.

ZM: Excuse me, but could you please gather the pieces of flesh scattered over there.

Sa: Sure. Though are you really fine?

AM: Now then, go Tatsumaki, show the power of our student council team!

T: I'll go without you having to say a damn thing, moron! Don't you dare boss me around and give me orders while your useless ass is just sitting back and relaxing in the commentator's seat! You disgust me. Why don't you just go on home with the Go-Home Club?!

PPP: Whoa! Tatsumaki-chan unexpectedly beat the Go-Home Club to the punch by telling him (AM) to go home!

PPP: Amai Mask-chan, is there anything you wish to say towards Tatsumaki-chan?

AM: Fufu

PPP: Amai Mask-chan is just barely able to maintain his smile, but it is at maximum twitching! As usual, today Tatsumaki-chan is emanating an aura of range in all directions!

T: Every last one of them, they can’t do anything without me. Here I go!

wind sfx

crowd panic

PPP: Aaah Tatsumaki-chan’s extremely powerful psychokinesis! There’s an actual tornado invading the campus!

PPP: The students --gagh, and even the tent we’re in, are getting blown away--gaah!

T: HAAAAAAAAAA!

winds intensify

PPP: King-chan.. Where is King-chan!

Sa: Ah, there right?

PPP: The object being blown away with tremendous force… K.. King chan!?

Ge: No, he’s not being blown away...

So: He’s riding the wind!

Sound of something lowering down

Tatsumaki: Huh?

PPP?: WHAT!?

PPP: With tremendous force King chan has wooooooooon!

PPP: The winner is the go-home club team!

cheers

K: Hm, what happened to me?

Sa: You did it, King!

Ge: As expected, King-senpai!

So: This is the world’s strongest man’s power…

T: You’re the one I lost to, it can’t be helped…

Amai: Cheers to you...

PPP: Congratulations, the MVP is King!

Crows woos

Saitama: Nice, let’s eat barbecue with the prize money.

King: Yeah. Though before that… I’m gonna swing by the infirmary.

[dropintomanga]

Understanding Yumeko Jabami, Thanks to Mahjong

One of my latest hobbies is about to intersect with a very notable gambling anime/manga series starring a girl who just loves to risk it all.

So I found out that Mahjong Soul, the game/service I play online riichi mahjong on, is doing a collaboration with Kakegurui and my reaction to it is somewhat of a mixed one. 

That’s mostly due to what Kakegurui explores versus the ambiguity of mahjong as a gambling game.

For those who don’t know about Kakegurui, it’s a gambling anime/manga series about a young girl named Yumeko Jabami who attends a school, Hyakkaou Private Academy, where the social hierarchy is determined by gambling with your fellow students. The more you win, the more privileges you get in school. The more you lose, the worse your status is. There are multiple “loser” students that are labeled as “household pets” and have to wear a tag around their neck that labels them as such. Yumeko is noted to be a compulsive gambler. She doesn’t care if she wins or loses; she’s in it for the thrill. Yumeko’s behavior draws the attention of the whole school as she takes on various notable opponents in order to get an opportunity to take on the student council president, Kirari Momobami.

There’s a lot of commentary about Kakegurui with regards to Yumeko’s character. She does have a huge gambling addiction, but never truly pays for it in anyway. The series can be also be commentary about the nature of today’s world and how the nature of capitalism has destroyed important familial/peer bonds for the sake of status.

I find the MajSoul x Kakegurui collaboration fascinating because 

1.) Gambling is illegal in Japan. There’s literally no casinos there at all. You can beat on sports and horse racing, but if you want to play poker/blackjack, underground casinos are your best bet. And the ones who run them tend to be the yakuza. The Yakuza games highlight underground casinos to a huge degree.

2.) Mahjong has stigma from where the game originated - China. The Chinese government has frowned on people playing mahjong to gamble. While there are mahjong parlors in China, there are many stories of police raiding them and many parlors are run by gangsters. It also doesn’t help that some Chinese folks have had their lives ruined due to mahjong.

3.) Mahjong is very popular in Japan. It’s probably the most popular table game there. However, the game is in this in-between space of being a gambling game while also not being a gambling game. That’s probably a big reason why Japan hasn’t been too fussy about it.

So this collaboration has some kind of tension as many folks don’t know about the dark “gambling” side of mahjong. Kakegurui is a trip to that dark side. No real money is bet in MajSoul anyway, but I’ve been thinking about the series after getting caught up with the manga.

There’s a scene where Yumeko and one of her rivals-turned-ally, Mary Saotome, face off in a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors Poker. Mary was the 1st opponent Yumeko fought and she lost her place in the school. Over time, Mary built up the resolve to challenge Yumeko again while becoming more friendlier. During their game, Mary manages to win a hand against Yumeko. Yumeko admits that she was scared during the hand, but at the same time, she’s having A LOT of fun.

Mary remarks about her comments:

“Oh. The way Yumeko sees it...fear is part of the fun of gambling. This is so ridiculous. “Fear is part of the fun of gambling”? It makes no sense. And yet, I’m starting to feel it right now. 

Getting afraid, bluffing, going in fully confident...our feelings are exposed in every move we make, and we respond to them and then...the showdown! Our true emotions are revealed. 

We’re having the kind of conversation we can only enjoy when we’re gambling.

It’s like we’re in our own little world...sharing secrets with each other.”

Yumeko isn’t a hero. Gamblers usually aren’t noble characters, but they have this tendency to inspire other people to embrace their vulnerabilities and move forward while doing so. Fear is real, but it closes off the real you. Yumeko wants the people around her to truly be themselves and take the kinds of risks that can change their lives for the better in so many ways.

There was an article I once read about how most work is BS and one of the things that was mentioned was that what’s considered work today doesn’t solve social problems. For example, many people will argue that rampant consumerism has destroyed the world. The writer said something along the lines of that it’s not pleasure that’s a problem; it’s the view that people have to suffer in order to deserve pleasure. That view feels like Puritanism because it absolves those with power of their responsibility in letting social problems happen in the first place. 

Kakegurui is a celebration of that pleasure in a way that generates real change. The freedom to have whatever desire you want. And in turn, that freedom spreads to other people in good ways. In some ways, mahjong is about the right kind of pleasure and learning how to deal with it amongst other people. It’s competitive, sure, but you’re being intimate with 3 other people and are learning more about yourself and those around you.

I don’t really gamble much, but mahjong just grew on me. While I’ve managed to do well, I have lost many times and have deliberated on many in-game decisions. I realize that the game is a safe outlet in learning how to deal with life’s many decisions. You don’t win all the time. There’s also benefits in letting other people win as well. For example, if you’re in 1st place by a lot and the player in 2nd place is chasing you, you can help the 3rd and 4th place holders by discarding tiles that you don’t need and they need. Make them take on 2nd place or each other. Hell, you can even lose to them if you know you won’t lose 1st place at all and they don’t have super-strong hands. Mahjong is a game that connects everyone and really gets going when all the parts (i.e. the players) move together.

There’s a wonderful interview I read last year from a psychology journalist turned pro poker player, Maria Konnikova, about being unable to control things in life and how poker taught her how to stay calm despite bad luck. Maria talks about the beauty of not knowing and embracing that view.

“Look at how many things there are to amaze us, to fascinate us. Look at the power of wonder, embrace it, and don’t be afraid there are things we don’t know. Don’t be afraid of uncertainty, be grateful for it. Would you want to live in a world where you knew everything and where everything was determined? 

He (Carl Sagan) hated superstition, as do I. Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t give up agency. Don’t have these stupid rituals. Science is beautiful. Lack of knowing is beautiful. All of these things we can’t control are beautiful. They’re powerful. They make us human. They make life worth living.“

We all make kinds of gambles in life when it comes to choosing the right partner/school/job opportunity. There tends to be a lot of pain, but there’s almost always something good that comes out of taking the right kinds of risk. I’m learning more about that through mahjong. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever get super-competitive in mahjong because it’s a lifetime to master. But it’s a safe outlet to process my fears of uncertainty. My mom has been a big help in telling me that it’s okay to lose and give up when needed. There has to be rainy days as well as sunny days, right? The “win at all costs” mentality causes so much harm to people and those around them.

While I know Yumeko is criticized to be a sexualized female character, Yumeko isn’t afraid to display her lust for gambling with a sense of pride. In my opinion, she represents female empowerment. There’s so many women who are slut-shamed for being sexually expressive. What bigots fear are people unafraid to express themselves and won’t let themselves be shamed for it. Yumeko is the kind of heroine whose story needs to be out there - potentially destructive and able to harness it for self-empowerment without it getting out of hand.

So, I’ll go pseudo-Yumeko and say - Gamble away responsibly to your heart’s content~! Share your love with fellow gamblers! Have fun! Make that fun destroy those insecurities awful people have placed upon you! (insert wicked grin)

[chaifootsteps]

I dont know I hell has video games, but if they did, I know two that Blitz would be OBSESSED with; Star Stable Online (which might be too "childish" for Blitz, but still), and Red Dead Redemption 2

I mean, they have Spirit and theme parks and social media. I don't know why they wouldn't have video games too.

I feel like "too childish" is impossible where Blitz and horse games are concerned. Blitz would absolutely have a Star Stable Online account full of hacked Star Coins, a Howrse account, an account on this awful game. He'd play Red Dead Redemption 2 and Rival Stars Horse Racing. There was this weirdly sad My Little Pony game back in the 90s where you made a pony, raised it, trained it, and when it was ready, sent it off over the rainbow to live its own life, and Blitz would play it and save every postcard his grown up pony kids send him.

If it's got horses, Blitz will at the very least give it a try, usually illuminated by the glow of his computer in the odd hours of the morning.

[orsuliya]

Hi) Do you think Awu would be happy with Zitan? I think the best thing Daddy Wang did was to force het to marry XQ. I mean he knows his daughter well. I think all those men (Zitan, Helan Zhen, Huaien) who were in love with her, would eventually dissapoint her. Which happened pretty early with Zitan lol I think they all lived in a fantasy, without really realizing what kind of a woman she is. I think they happen to be compatiable with XQ on all the levels. And he is the only one that matches her spirit. And the one she truly admires and looks up to) Potato is the only one who got over his affection towards her and managed to treat her as a sister or a friend) Who knew)

Ah, I knew I couldn’t keep escaping this question forever. This is absolutely not a slight against you, Reasonably Potato-Friendly Nonnie, not at all. It’s... complicated.

Now, let us consider how could such a marriage even take place. Of course there is always the elopement, although in order for that to succeed Zitan would need to be much less... Zitan. But is there any possibility of getting Awu and Zitan hitched even earlier for the purpose of this exercise? Well, yes, there is.

I am not going to consider a pre-series betrothal if only due to Awu’s age. Besides, such a betrothal would be akin to putting a cat among pigeons, which is something that Daddy Wang might absolutely do... but not without a guarantee of proportionate gratification. Letting such an agreement stand for long - with no possibility of sealing the deal early - is a no go, not when every other party would try to tear it asunder, use it for their own purposes or strike preemptively just in case.

Yes, I know that Daddy Wang had no intention of giving Awu’s hand to any of the Ma princes. And certainly he wouldn’t be able to marry her off to Zitan, should Zilong still be free, not without alienating his sister completely by building up a rival claimant with his own two hands.

Of course Zilu works his magic and Wanru becomes Zilong’s Crown Princess; this opens new, exciting possibilities. Potato is off the table completely: surely Awu could never become a second wife and neither would the Xies agree to see Wanru degraded so. This makes the rather stubborn Empress Dowager malleable; now what?

Well, let’s say that Xiao Qi pulls a runner much, much earlier, about five minutes after catching and putting Awu down. Even then Daddy Wang wouldn’t be all that keen on having Zitan as his son-in-law... unless one of two impossible things happened:

Impossible Thing number 1. Daddy Wang decides that Potato is an evolutionary dead end and decides to change horses halfway through the race. No, I do not mean that he goes for an earlier coup. He simply elects to switch his prospective puppets; I have no idea why would he do that, but he totally could, you know. Potato gets mashed in mysterious circumstances, Zitan gets Awu... for about nine months or however long it takes them to produce an heir... and then chokes on his own flute the minute a son is born unto him. Or rather unto Daddy Wang, who snatches this shiny Platinum Ticket up immediately. Awu gets a sweet gig as an Empress Mother, should Daddy Emperor expire prematurely. And they all get killed by the wondrous duo of Zilu&Jianning. Or maybe not, since the governor of Huizhou would probably stay loyal in this scenario, giving Xiao Qi enough time to save everyone and their dog. As always. In this scenario there is every possibility that Awu wouldn’t become disappointed with Zitan... because he wouldn’t live long enough for that in any case. And even if there was enough time for that to happen, Daddy Wang would make sure there were no dark clouds to throw shade on their marriage… for as long as it actually lasted. Why am I so sure that Zitan would have to die in this scenario? Well, how else could Daddy Wang install his Platinum Ticket on the throne? The way I see it, in this case Daddy Wang might not even go for the throne himself; a grandchild is, after all, a wholly different thing from a grand-nephew.

Impossible Thing number 2. Daddy Wang gets hit with a low-flying brick and gets a truly genius idea of making peace with the Xies. Wanru is married to Potato, so if Awu gets married to Zitan, there is simply no way that either side could step out on this status quo by, let’s say, marrying a daughter off to Xiao Qi and his big bad army. The only problem is that nobody would take such an entente lying down. The Empress Dowager wouldn’t, since it basically halves her own power as a prospective Empress Mother. Zilu&Jianning wouldn’t, since a Wang-Xie alliance could force them to wave their own chances goodbye. And the Emperor certainly wouldn’t, not when much of his power derives from serving as a mediator between warring factions! Even for the Xies and the Wangs it makes little sense: why take half a pie when you can have it whole? Without an external factor forcing their cooperation, there’s just no way they would go for that, unless as a way to shore up their positions. But that is a strategy good for the currently weaker Xies, not for Daddy Wang! Damn, that would have to be one heavy brick! Anyway, this scenario requires both couples to take part in an elaborate court dance of precedence, power games and daily balancing between two factions. Otherwise it all comes toppling down. This dance is certainly something that Awu can do… but Zitan absolutely cannot, not with his tendency to act like an offended kindergartener every time his ego gets hurt. Potato is much more likely to swallow an insult or ten than Mr. Flute and Awu would quickly see her husband for the child he is. No long-lasting happiness to be found there, sorry.

In both these cases court life would quickly reveal Zitan’s true face. Oh, I doubt he would go full-blown villain in either scenario, regardless of his probable life expectancy. The problem is that Awu knows and loves Zitan as this happy, carefree prince. What concern is Cheng’s governance to Zitan? He’s the Emperor’s youngest, most beloved and most spoiled son, the one with a greatly favoured mother; in this family even the presumptive heir gets little to no actual preparation for ruling and neither does the most talented prince!

Marriage to Awu automatically catapults Zitan into the very centre of Cheng’s political scene. What is permissible and even cute in a favoured youngest princeling is catastrophic in a pillar of the Empire. And Awu? Awu would be there with him all the way; infinitely more capable and yet comparatively powerless. Because riddle me this: what happens once Zitan’s beloved wife starts to show him up? As she inevitably must, knowing them both. Somehow I don’t think he would glow with pride or boast about her accomplishments. We saw how Zitan treats most women in his life, how he treated Wanru when she was his best ally and even Su Jin’er while she served as his spy. Women are allowed to have their own agendas and interests… as long as their agenda is to make Zitan great (again), regardless of any actual pay-off for them and theirs.

Love… love would last for a while. But you see, Zitan exhibits another worrying tendency, which would show its ugly face sooner or later. Starting from the Huizhou arc, he no longer sees Awu as she is and stubbornly tries to make her fit the mold he constructed in his head. And that mold is designed in such a way as to make him, Zitan, shine. He came late to their elopement? He didn’t come late at all, she just didn’t wait! He’s the faithful lover here. That mold is also very, very stiff and not very big to begin with. Surely what Awu wants most is to be an Empress. She’s a Wang daughter and Wang daughters become Empresses, who cares what Awu actually thinks or feels. Oh, sorry, that’s the second mold he constructs, the first was Zitan’s little wife, completely satisfied with living somewhere far from the capital and listening to his dreadful poetry all day long. Yeah, that romantic fantasy? It could have never happened; while believing in it might be forgivable in a fifteen-year-old Princess, it’s rather less so in a Prince who may become a target at any moment due to the Xie-Wang rivalry.

Okay, I have no idea where this whole thing is going and it shows. Let’s look at the third impossible thing, namely what would happen should that bloody elopement end in a success.

Impossible Thing number 3. Awu and Zitan run away and for some reason Daddy Wang doesn’t track them down. Which would take him a week at most, since neither Awu nor Zitan are all that inconspicuous, unmarked golden leaf or not. Golden leaf of presumably imperial grade is hella suspicious even without any markings, so kudos to Jinruo. But then how could she know any better…? But let’s say Daddy Wang gives up. And so do the remaining Xies, who just lost their potential claimant. And so does Zilu, who would totally set a potential rival loose. And the Empress Not-Yet-Dowager, paranoid that Zitan could be plotting with provincial magnates. And the Emperor, once he wakes up! Not like he wanted to put Zitan on the throne, right? And so does every single other interested party who could use a nifty imperial figurehead of their own. So Awu and Zitan settle down in a small house somewhere in… somewhere. What then?

Well, that small house… While Awu might be able to live and even thrive in such circumstances, Zitan is made out of different clay. Who was it that complained about the Imperial Mausoleum, which was basically a palace; and who had her wedding night under the stars dealt splendidly in Ningshuo after the first cultural shock? Okay, let’s say he sees this new servant-less and palace-less life as his Glorious and Noble Sacrifice, which is the only way I can imagine him being more or less happy with it. He woud drive Awu mad in a month. Either she gets a husband who is visibly unhappy – even if he doesn’t actually say so – or one that keeps indirectly blaming her for their new circumstances.

Also, I don’t think Jinruo’s stash would last all that long, not if they wanted to keep some standard of living, not without replenishing it in some way. Surprisingly, they both have some rather marketable skills; Awu is good with budgeting, for example, and Zitan would make a credible music master or calligraphy teacher. They could be… reasonably happy with that? Although seeing as Zitan is perfectly content with sitting a whole year out in his room, doing… nothing, I can’t see him being all that eager to make an honest living.

Then children would come and with children usually come problems, pulling them both further into the daily grind. Now, Awu would probably be okay with that, but Zitan with his lofty ideals? Zitan, who wasn’t able to imagine how Awu could possibly love or do anything more than tolerate a mere soldier? Somehow I can’t see him being anything but deeply unhappy with this rather prosaic existence. And unhappy with being unhappy, because he should be ecstatic, right? He married his love, he fulfilled his dream! How can he feel so... so mopey about it?!

He would be unhappy and unhappy with being unhappy, and sooner or later he would start searching for somebody to blame. And Awu would take that blame, at least in the beginning. Not because she’s a doormat, no. Because without her loftly titles, without her family and her position, she would probably feel much more vulnerable. We know how she felt about being a traitor’s daughter and Xiao Qi did everything in his power to shore up her position, even as he assured her that it mattered not at all. Would Zitan be half as observant and supportive? Yeah, I don’t think so. Besides, there would be a grain of truth in Zitan’s accusations: while it wasn’t Awu who came up with this whole idea, it was her mother who organized the elopement. Zitan was the victim, a poor unknowing lamb led to the slaughter the boat.

And you know what? Even if no blame was being thrown around, even if they both found acceptable equilibrium in their daily lives, even if they both were more of less satisfied with their new existence… it would still be a bloody tragedy.

And no, I am not talking about their differing levels of maturity or the fact that I rather doubt that a man like Zitan would be able to keep a woman like Awu permanently satisfied in every aspect of their lives.

My main beef with the elopement scenario is the fact that Awu was born to move empires, not wither in some backwater. She’s designed to operate on an entirely different scale! For all that she may dream of having a pretty little house somewhere in Ningshuo, those dreams take on an entirely different flavour knowing that the man living with her in that pretty little house would be Xiao Qi. You don’t exactly need to decide the fate of empires yourself when you have a man who could easily do just that eating out of your hand. The level of satisfaction is more or less the same, I guess.  Note that even at the end Xiao Qi and Awu don’t give up power. They may choose to live quietly in their beloved Ningshuo, but the moment something goes really wrong? They will be back in the saddle in five minutes flat. That big bad army isn’t going anywhere either and that neat final voiceover? Gives us a pretty good idea as to their plans for the future:

grasslands + grateful and thus loyal manpower + big bad army = economical and military powerhouse + all benefits of being a vassal state + de facto independence

That’s no withering in obscurity, let me tell you! Not like living with Zitan under an assumed name would be.

ETA: Oh, I know what the question was! Do I think that Awu would be happy with Zitan? NOPE.