#seriously though you guys are seeing this right why is the 13 big

[elemental-daddy-neos]

13

W-why is it so big

First thing I'm doing in the purge... I'd go looting tbh, I can't think of a single problem that money can't fix. I would steal enough to appease the little kleptomaniac girl in me that I had to struggle to keep down.

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 751: Hakogaku's preliminary inspection

Pag 1

1: Plunging into a new chapter!!

Pag 2

1: The rivals standing in their way in the Inter High!!

Pag 3

1: Kanagawa Prefecture, Hakone city

3: Huh, a preliminary inspection

4: for the Inter High!?

5: Yeah... well... it's a usual thing

Now, really? Really?

Pag 4

1: Gwaaa hoii!!

2: I'll go, I'll go, I'll go!!

Yeeah!!

4: Huh, preliminary inspection? I might be a little interested

He's suddenly acting cool!?

5: Ah

Pag 5

1: Coough

Waaaa

He's suddenly vomiting blood!?

2: He definitely bit his tongue while jumping around in excitement earlier....

3: 'm ohey

It's obvious that your tongue hurts....

Yeah...

This guy is always injured....

4: If nohing!!

I get it, I get it!!

5: 'en u we 'eave? (When do we leave?)

In thirty minutes, before the clubroom... you'll take a car to the train station

'aight!!

6: It's so obvious he's happy about it

7: Was that right? They didn't give us details

I guess, it's what Manami-san told us

First year Tobirama

Pag 6

1: Last month, in the club's tournament he won the F-group climber race

Pag 7

1: Yeah, I see, and he's gonna run in this year's Inter High as the sixth regular member of Hakogaku!!

2: Seriously, I

3: I want to be considered cool by everyone!!

4: What's up with him, he looks so cheerful

Cool, cool, Kyuushu~

That Tobirama is so festive

Pag 8

5: Huh!? It's just me and Manami-san!?

Isn't- like, Doubashi-san coming!?

6: Hn.... I told Jou-kun and Yuuto, too, but they had their practice menu, so they said “no”

8: They said no!?

Huh!? But it's a preliminary inspection!?

9: For the Inter High!! A preliminary inspection, right!?

Yeah

Pag 9

1: A preliminary inspection for summer's great battle, right!?

2: That's right... the place we're going to now it's the biggest “mountain”.....

3: A mountain we absolutely have to overcome

4: And yet the other members didn't come!!

Ah... Manami... I'm seeing now that apparently the train stopped because of an accident

Ah

Should we just go there directly?

Is that okay? Thank you

5: Directly!? By car!?

Huh!?

6: To Kyuushu!?

7: The Inter High is in Kyuushu, right? How long will it take from here....

Hm? Around

Pag 10

1: Two hours and a half

Pag 11

4: Yeah... we arrived in two and a half hours, but- this is Chiba, isn't it!?

5: Where is Kyuushu!? Ah!? Is there a theme park like the park in Kyuushu here too?

And what abaout the splendid nature!? The big volcano...!!

6: Ah

7: Where will he have the preliminary inspection?

Cool

If you hurry up and get ready...?

Pag 12

1: We'll do our practice menu here, today

Pag 13

2: Our menu.... did you want to practice here just for a change of mood?

3: It's here, right? Where they do tournaments and stuff

It's Chiba's

4: Minegayama, right?

Yeah!!

5: Hakone is better though

6: I wanted to go to Kyuushu

7: Ah, by the way, speaking of Chiba, an acquaintance of mine lives here

Pag 14

1: You know, I was in the basketball club when I was in middle school

Ehh... I didn't know...

2: A good senpai of mine meddled with their basket club....

3: And apparently he was a good friend with my club's teacher advisor, and so they often organized practice matches with Chiba's middle school

4: I got injured a lot back then, too

So I often got injured and that guy from that middle school took care of me

5: He was so good at treating injuries that in my school they called him the “super manager”

6: I guess he's still in the basket club?

Pag 15

2: Ah, by the way, what's today's practice menu?

Fifteen minutes at a fixed output... three or something?

Nahh

3: Since they'll probably come, it's “do your best to win against that guy”!!

3: Huh!?

Who's gonna come!? You organized this with someone?

4: Any time now... probably

But we didn't

5: Organize it

6: Huh!?

The sound of wheels.... from behind us!? A bike!? …. no, more than one

Pag 16

2: They're here

Pag 17

1: Last year's champion, Sohoku High School!!

Pag 18

5: Teh!?

7: Yo

Pag 19

1: It's been a while, Sakamichi-kun

2: Hakogaku's captain, Manami Sangaku- why is he here!!

Pag 20

1: Wearing their jerseys and riding their bikes, there's no way they came here to sightsee!!

2: Manami-kun!!

3: The Inter High is next week already, isn't it? Bu before that.... I thought we should cross that “mountain*” once

(*NdT.: here, the kanji say “mountain king”, but the reading says “mountain”)

Pag 21

1: “Mountain”.....!! “That we absolutely have to overcome”- so this is the “preliminary inspection”!!

2: How about... that summit over there?

Your team... we're at an overwhelmind disadvantage, but

3: We don't plan on losing

It's a “preliminary battle”!?

5: Manami-san's concentration.....

Pag 22

1: it sprang up!!

Sounds interesting, doesn't it!?

Pag 23

1: A preliminary battle!?

He wants' to challenge us!?

2: Now!?

Here!?

3: You came here... on purpose... for this?

4: Yeah

5: I came here for this only?

7: Uh!! Sohoku's captain's.....

Pag 24

1: Onoda-san's concentration sprang up too!!

Got it!!

Pag 25

1: Onoda!!

2: Onoda-kun!!

3: Seriously!?

4: Waaa

5: We're starting a race against those two!? Teh!?

6: Oh, oh oh?

Pag 26

1: Really?

Those jerseys

2: It's Hakone Academy and Sohoku!!

[yourmomxx]

Jason Todd / Red Hood anxious to get you under the mistletoe cause he is in love with you so bad and doesn't know what to do because he is afraid to scare you away if he confess

loving this request right now - I hope you like how it turned out!

Word Count: 2,2k

Warnings: none, 13+

A/N: author was stuck deep in a writer’s block while doing this, so if you don’t like it lmk and I’ll redo it for you <3

You loved Christmas. Even more than every other holiday. That was a fact that everyone knew, because every year you made it everyone’s problem.

Not that they minded, you were sweet about it. Like when you started singing Christmas songs in mid November.

Or when you took Tim to a Christmas market to help him get his mind off his exams.

Yes, christmas was your favorite time of the year. And gift giving was your specialty.

Though, this year you had decided you needed to be extra careful with gift shopping than usual. Because you had a plan.

See, there was this guy you had a crush on, his name was Jason Todd.

You and him had been friends for a long time, you were even good with his family and invited to all their gatherings. So, naturally, you spent Christmas with them, too.

And this year, you had told yourself, you were going to tell Jason how you really felt about him. What better reason than the most romantic time of the year?

You were going to pull him aside while everyone was busy with the presents, you were going to give him his and then you were going to tell him you loved him.

And nothing could go wrong. Unless he rejected you. But you were secure that your friendship would survive it if your feelings were unrequited. Until then you could just hope they were not.

You took a deep breath and stepped outside into the snowy landscape to go for a walk. There were still some things to do before you had to be at Wayne Manor.

Back in an upstairs apartment in Gotham City, shielded from the snow and cold temperatures, Jason Todd was standing in the kitchen and stuffing a turkey for the upcoming Christmas dinner, while his brothers Tim Drake and Duke Thomas were draped across the sofa, taunting him.

Because they didn’t have much better to do.

Duke had his legs crossed and batted his eyelashes as he spoke in an over dramatic female voice: “Oh, Jason, you have such beautiful and strong arms I’m sure they would be great at picking me up and carrying me into the sunset!”

Cue Tim in a deep voice: “Oh now but Y/N, I can’t do that, because I’m way too scared that you’ll reject me when I tell you my real feelings!”

“I don’t sound like that,” Jason grumbled.

Tim scoffed. “You wish.”

“I’m gonna get my gun.”

“Relax Jay were just teasing you.” Tim lifted up his hands in surrender.

“Seriously it’s mistletoe-time, man,” Duke said, “They’re everywhere. Just … take them under one and kiss them. It ain’t that hard.”

“I will in fact not do that.”

“Why not?”

Jason put some spices away and wiped his hands at the dish towel hanging at his waist. “Because. It could ruin the entire friendship we have if they don’t like it, and even if, just kissing someone like that is super unromantic.”

But the truth was that Jason was scared. Yes, him, Jason Todd, and in his mind it was absolutely ridiculous. He had died and come back to life, he was a vigilante at night, he had fought the Batman himself.

And yet, what made his hands shake and heart beat faster was the thought of kissing you under a mistletoe. What made his jaw clench was the thought of someone else getting to you before he did.

And that, in his mind, was ridiculous.

Duke threw his head back and groaned. “Oh come on, you big baby. You don’t have much of a choice here anymore. I want a mom, and Bruce sure as hell isn’t gonna get on with Selina soon, so you and Y/N are my next best choice.”

“Y/N does make amazing PB&J’s,” Tim agreed.

“Silence, both of you. Or I will tell Santa that you don’t deserve your presents.”

Tim grinned. “Ha, nice try, asshole. I stopped believing in Santa when I was six.”

“That’s when everyone starts believing in Santa,” Duke said.

“Yes because you all fall victim to parent’s mind control and illusion. Couldn’t be me, suckers.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “How mature you are.” He opened the oven and carefully put the roaster inside. ”Well then, come on, you two heroes of Gotham. This turkey needs some time in the oven and I-“ He picked up his keys “-still need a few presents.”

Duke jumped up and rubbed his hands together in excitement. “Ooh, last-minute Christmas shopping. This is a Hallmark movie.”

“Shut up and put on some shoes.”

—

That night, at Wayne Manor, Christmas was in full swing.

From ornate chandeliers (thanks in no small part to you) to landscape art made out of fake snow on the huge windows.

The entire building smelled of cinnamon and tangerines, and small loudspeakers in the corners softly played Silent Night.

It was shortly after the huge feast together, the whole family and unofficial family members were invited.

Jason had brought his ready-made turkey, Steph brought hilariously decorated Christmas cookies, Dick and Barbara brought the appetizers.

Now everyone had gathered in the living room, in which stood the huge Christmas tree (and I mean massive, department store size), decorated in dark red and gold.

Bruce, wearing an elegant black tux, stood up, holding a glass in his hand and carefully clinking a spoon against it to get everyone's attention.

When silence fell, he raised the glass.

"My dear friends, relatives," he said, "It is my pleasure to welcome you here today. Christmas is the festival of joy, love and gratitude, and I want to thank you. For the good times we have spent together - day and night - and for always being able to count on your support when I need it." He held up his glass solemnly. "I wish Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!"

"Merry Christmas!" It rang out in several voices, and glasses were raised and toasted everywhere.

Jason pushed past Stephanie and stood next to you.

"Merry Christmas," he said in your ear. His breath tickled your neck.

"Merry Christmas," you said back.

He looked up and down at you and you felt your heart start beating faster.

Then he grinned and leaned closer to you. "You look amazing today. Red really is your color."

Your breath caught in your throat and you looked up at him.

“Thanks,” you breathed out. You didn’t trust your voice to do much more.

He stayed focused on you for a second, dark blue eyes reflecting the light of the Christmas tree, when suddenly, the door bell rang and you winced, startled.

“That has to be the carol singers, Master Wayne,” you heard Alfred say and Bruce nodded.

“Well then, we’ll greet them. In the meanwhile, behave until we get back.” He threw a look around until he finally turned and disappeared, Alfred in tow. Cassandra also chose to join them.

Shortly after were previously interrupted conversations resumed until the babble of voices surpassed anyone's senses.

You decided that now was the best time to go through with your plan.

“Jason,” you said, slightly tugging at his jacket to get his attention.

“Hm?” “Can we talk for a second?” You asked him. “We are talking.” “You know what I mean.”

He raised his eyebrows in confusion, but gave in. A hand resting on your upper back, he guided you through the crowd until you found a small corner where no one was standing. Carefully, you put your glass down and Jason did the same. Then he raised his arms in defense.

“Look, whatever I did, I deeply apologize for it, but first of all, I didn’t suggest to cook Damian’s turkey, that was Tim.”

Now it was on you to be confused. “Jason, this is not this kind of talk.”

He visibly relaxed. “Oh.” He pursed his lips and chuckled awkwardly. “For a second there you had me worried.”

You smiled softly at him. “No, I just- I wanted to give you your present. You know, in private, so it’s more… private.”

Your heart was almost jumping out of your chest at this point. You were blabbering and stuttering before him as if you hadn’t gone through this monologue at least three times alone at home.

So get it together.

You took a deep breath and pulled out a small, wrapped present, handing it to Jason.

“Merry Christmas, Jay.”

He glanced first at the package in his hands, then at you, before slowly pulling the wrapping paper off and revealing an oblong black box.

You watched him as he pulled off the lid and took out what was laying on a red fabric pillow.

It was a quill, polished black with subtle gold decorations twining around the handle.

Jason wide-eyed the object in his grasp.

“I know you like to write,” you said. “I mean, you don’t have much time to do it, of course, but I know you like it. So, I thought you would like this. I know it’s not much and it’s actually pretty small now that I think about it-”

“I love it.” He interrupted you and looked into your eyes. “Thank you.” Jason quickly put the quill aside and swiftly pulled you into a warm hug.

You wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders and breathed in his scent of old cedar wood and whiskey and gunpowder.

“You’re welcome,” you murmured when you pulled apart. Jason’s armes remained wrapped around your waist and he was still remarkably close to you.

You could’ve counted the small freckles littered across his face. Just like before, his eyes went up and down your body. You felt your cheeks grow hot.

“Did I tell you that you look absolutely beautiful tonight?” He asked in a low voice.

You but your lip and nodded. “Yes you did,” you whispered.

His eyes were staring deeply into yours and for a moment, you felt you forgot what breathing was like.

Suddenly, the two of you heard a rustle above you and Jason looked up, coming face to face with something green.

He pointed above him. “Mistletoe.”

“But we’re not under any- “Jason cut you off by pulling you towards him and clashing your lips together with his. You let out a surprised noise but quickly wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him back.

And it felt good. You felt excitement in your stomach, spreading through your entire body at the feeling of Jason’s warm, soft lips moving slowly against your own.

When you pulled apart, Jason leaned his forehead carefully against yours.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” you whispered back, biting back a smile.

From above you, you heard slow clapping. Holding the mistletoe, sitting on Dick’s shoulders was Tim, with a grin on his face.

“They did it, people!” Dick yelled. “Only took them a reason to make out.” He leaned a bit closer to Jason. “You know we have like three guest rooms, so this is now an official invitation to- ow!”

Jason shoved him away and he tumbled back, making Tim almost crash into the Christmas decoration hanging from a chandelier.

“Just gonna have to hang a mistletoe over a bed, too.”

When the man in your arms turned back at you, you were still smiling at him from ear to ear.

“I apologize for this,” he said. “You know how they can be-”

This time, he was cut off by you kissing him and was more than happy to oblige. You felt his shoulders relax as his lips moved against yours slowly.

He bit at your lower lip and slid his tongue into your mouth. You pulled him closer by his neck and tangled your hands into his hair, softly pulling at the black strands-

“Excuse me!” The distinct voice of Duke Thomas interrupted your kiss. “There are children present.” As if to make a point, he took his hand off the eyes of a scolding Damian who was sitting on the floor.

“Animals,” he whispered. Duke nodded.

“So are you guys like together now?” Steph asked and collected a punch to the arm from Duke.

“Ow! What? It’s the question we all want to know!”

“Look at them!” Duke’s eyes were wide as he gestured in your direction. “They just made out under a mistletoe in the middle of our living room, the poor guys don’t even know their own names, how can they know if they are in an established. Relationship?”

Jason pulled his eyes away from his siblings and locked them on you. “I don’t know. Are we together now?” He asked. You smiled.

“Yes I think we are.”

“Like, with hand holding and going on dates and all?” Damian didn’t seem all too excited.

“Are we together with hand holding and going on dates and all?”

Jason grabbed your hand and squeezed it. “I’d love that.”

“I’d love that, too.”

Squeezing into the room and coming to a halt in front of you, Dick clasped his hands together and wiped a fake tear. “Oh, young love.”

You two ignored him and Jason pulled you swiftly into his warm side. “Best Christmas present ever,” he mumbled into your hair.

“Wait until you get to unwrap it,” you murmured to him.

“Children, people!” Duke screeched, “Children!”

[hooked-on-elvis]

MY EYES... MY TEARY EYES! 🥹

ABOUT ELVIS AND GLADYS' BOND. ♥

"Watching the snow reminded me of Elvis' mother. She used to say that if snowed in Memphis when Elvis was gone, she always went outside and gathered up enough in a pan to make snowballs for Elvis to see when he came back. She put them in the freezer of the refrigerator to keep. Elvis loved to see it snow at Graceland." Excerpts from "Elvis: This One's For You" by Arlene Cogan.

No wonder why EP missed his mother dearly. There's many types of moms but the Gladys type of mommy is a true blessing - the ones which heart's that almost burst while trying to make you feel their love for you. It's almost a physical need to pour love in their children every way they can. Towards their children, they have all love languages at once: words of encouragement, sound advice, physical touch/cuddles, actions… It's suffocating, but in a wonderful way. Gladys Love Presley was the sweetest mom anyone could wish for. EP was fortunate in many ways - starting from his family - but what a misfortune was to lose Gladys so early in his life. Love is a dangerous splendid thing anyway. It's best to have it and lose it than never being touched by it. Gladys' love for her son was bigger than life anyway. ♥ -- Note: The excerpt from that book reminded me this footage below, where Gladys is playing with the snow with Vernon (C. January, 1958). There's also another book that mentions her saving some snow so that Elvis could see it later when he came back home (i don't remember what book, unfortunately, but I've read this before).

Above, pictures takes in 1957, during "Loving You" movie production. Gladys actually appears on the big screen for a few seconds in this Presley early movie. EP dances next to her while singing "Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do" by the end of the movie… It's so cute!

Photo 5-13: March 23-24th, 1958

Elvis was about to be inducted in the US Army. The photos showing the Presley's alone were taken March 23rd, a day before Elvis' army induction day. On the actual induction day, on March 24th (pictures 11-13), there's footage where EP's hopping a bus together with other fellow guys, heading to the army camp to the beginning of the basic trainning and his 2-year epic journey as Private Presley in the U.S. Army. Gladys was visibly shaken and heartbroken to see her beloved son go away and the reason why. Some family members and friends said Gladys was terrified thinking about the horrors of World War II that she seriously feared for Elvis' life and well-being as a soldier. She never got over it, even though Elvis and everybody else tried to convince her nothing was going to happen, after all they were living at the Cold War period, therefore there wasn't reasonable reasons in being anxiously alarmed. Nothing seemed to comfort Gladys. We know she sadly passed away on August, 1958, a few months after Elvis was inducted in the army. Years later, EP would say to one of his intimate acquaintances "my mommy really worried to death." It's so sad... in a poetic way. IDK what I'm talking about right now… It's like she couldn't live without her little boy, literally. Gladys was so close to her son! The reciprocity is true. She was the only person EP trusted blindfolded, with all his heart, body, mind and soul. Gladys only had the best intentions for her son. She didn't care about the money or fame. She actually asked him many time if it wouldn't be better/safer if he gave up his career and just became a business man, a owner of some local company in Memphis/TN, got married, had his own family, and lived a nice, calm, Southern life. EP used to get upset with that "nonsense" talk, because he loved his career greatly and everything was working out just fine for him... he was in love with his music and his fans. He was born to be the King of Rock and Roll and he worked very hard for it every single day. It wasn't right to chicken up. He wouldn't give it up his career, even for his beloved mommy. Yet, Gladys couldn't help herself but to worry something bad could happen if she was not by his side 24/7. A typical loving mom behavior. Even when she acted overprotective like that and drove Elvis insane sometimes, it was all out of the purest heavenly true love... and he knew it.

Although she was uneasy most of the time, thinking about Elvis' well being, the constant travelling on the road all the time, having tabloids badmouthing him, a portion of American society threatening to put him in jail, crazy passionate fans scratching the hell out of him, trying to touch him to the point they'd tear his clothes off his body, even so Gladys supported Elvis' career and was by his side whatever he decided to do. He knew how blessed he was having her for his mother, and Elvis did his best to protect his mommy's heart - even by hiding some of the bad happenings in his life from her. He wouldn't let anything break her heart... even himself.

Yet, so soon the day came when she was gone. Elvis never ceased missing his mommy.

Shantay Perrish, a dedicated fan shared the following story: "We arrived about 7:00 pm that following evening and were shocked to see Elvis leaving on his Harley with a blue flower arrangement strapped to the rear. I quickly went to the guard house shack and asked Harold Lloyd, "Is that who I think it was?" Harold said, "Yes that was Elvis, but don't follow him." We waited there and he returned to Graceland within the hour. Earlier that day we had gone to pay our respect to his mother at Forest Hill, never thinking of Elvis possibly showing up. The next morning we again went to Forest Hill Cemetery and there on Gladys grave was the arrangement of blue flowers we had seen the night before on the motorcycle. Elvis had been to visit his mother in a quiet personal moment."

Photos and excerpt from the book "Elvis Behind the Image."

This event possibly took place circa August 11th, 1977. A few days before Elvis Presley sadly passed away on August 16th. The photo 1 shows Elvis leaving Graceland that day and the photo 2 is Gladys' grave site with the blue flower arrangement he placed there for his mommy for one last time. Elvis assured to send flowers there often over the years since Gladys' passing, but this time he delivered it there himself. Isn't intriguing, to say the least?

Oh, mama liked the roses but most of all she cared About the way we learned to live And if we said our prayers Oh, mama liked the roses in such a special way We bring them every Mother's Day And put them on her grave Oh, mama liked the roses Mmmm Mama liked the roses

In loving memory of Gladys Love Presley ♥

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Ep. 13 "Into the Breach" Review

This was another fantastic episode that packs so much into its 25 minute runtime. Seriously, the finale better be like an hour. I feel like there's so much we have to address, yet so little time. My faith in you doesn't waver Jennifer; you've guided us through thick and thin. I will say that Rampart is surprisingly a really fun character to revisit and I enjoy watching him interact with the Batch. This man doesn't learn, but he's funny now so I give him kudos for entertainment purposes. I loved the dark atmosphere as the finale draws nearer and near. This is the end of the Bad Batch. We know it and they know it.

As usual, spoilers below:

MAMA ECHO RETURNS!!! After so long, he graces us with his appearance and he serves. I loved everything from his action sequences to his sass. Watching him sneak around the Imperial ship, rolling off of crates and working his magic was awesome to watch. That's why he's the Arc Trooper. And boy was he funny too. If it were possible, Rampart would've definitely be set on fire. Between being told he was being demoted to being denied the title of "sir," Rampart was demolished by Echo. It's just so good to see Echo again. I love him so much for his kind heart, quips, and awesome action sequences. The writers delivered!

Rampart, Rampart, Rampart... what will we do with you? He certainly hasn't changed and probably never will. But honestly, I kinda hope he doesn't. Sometimes, people are just aholes who do the right things for the wrong reasons. Rampart provides an interesting moral perspective. And he's still hot. Seeing him cleaned up in the uniform didn't help either. I'm a simple woman guys. He's also hilarious and I love it. Rampart's ego is so big that he unintentionally comes across as whiny and comical. Going forward, I seriously wonder what they'll do with him because he's going to Tantiss. Will he get dropped off? Sell the Batch out? Die in the battle that is to come? Next week will tell. I'm glad he was brought back though. He did his job as a villain well. Now, we get to see him in different situations and it's fun.

Omega, my sweet bean, hang in there. This episode does so well in establishing just how much she's grown over the past few seasons. Omega's always been resourceful and clever. Seeing her scheme to escape the Vault was exciting. You can also see the influence her brothers, particularly Hunter, have had on her. Omega's become more confident and mature. She's a leader in every sense of the word. The other kids look to her for guidance as she plans an escape. I also want to give the other kids a huge hug; I can't imagine what it must be like for them. It's one of the darkest things we've ever seen in Star Wars. Also, Emerie and Scalder rivalry definitely is gonna end with Emerie's true motivations being discovered. Scalder's not gonna let her allow Omega to slip away.

And seeing the boys strip their armor of all their color... that was legitimately heartbreaking to watch. I see it as a symbol of finality. There is no going back once they get to Tantiss. Hunter's "negative" just cements that. The last 5 minutes of the episode were so tense as the boys hitched a ride. As a my discord friend put it, "all roads lead to Tantiss."

There were a lot of smaller moments I enjoyed too. Wrecker was pretty funny this episode. Crosshair and Hunter voicing their trust in Echo was sweet. It furthers just how much the Batch truly trust and know each other. It's that implicit trust that makes me love their dynamic so much.

Anyways, that's all for now. We're truly in the endgame guys. After so long, we've finally made it to Tantiss. All that's left is to get Omega, the children, and escape which is so much easier said than done. I'm so scared yet excited for what's to come. See y'all next week!

[anewe9]

My black mage is too cute... (and a carboncopy, too)

If you like Spy x Family (SxF) you might find this somewhat interesting. A plus if you are a wee bit familiar with Harry Potter (HP)

If not, skip this.

Warning: Chapter 1 Spoilers for My Black Mage is too Cute under the cut. Long post, too.

Yes, the above is official. It is not fanmade. The chap above is a student actually saying "I will kill you" whilst thinking "I like you". The pink-haired girl is a classmate, shocked as SHE CAN READ HIS MIND.

So... what can I say? The boy looks suspiciously like a teen SxF Damian, and the kawaii girl looks like a teen SxF Anya. Browse the damianya tag and you will see how similar they are.

Other than being students in a magical school (hi, Hogwarts), and girl is a prefect (hi again, Hogwarts) the rest does look like an AU Damianya to me... sans the Damianya/SxF charm.

-Background-

My Black Mage is too Cute (such an unimaginative title but on par with other shoujo titling standards) launched in the August 2023 Hana to Yume issue 17/2023.

The premise is quite damianya simple: Tsundere boy, named Jade, with a rather obscure family, is hiding romantic feelings for your standard bubbly, chirpy pink haired shoujo heroine, named Aria Popwell. She is a senior (third year) to him (first year), and prefect at their School of Magic.

-Aria, the female lead-

Seriously, "Aria"? Nothing to connect with certain Anya, right?

Anyway, chapter starts with introducing Aria, the female lead. She is a prefect (whatever this means) at Hogwarts Hardy Quartz Magic Academy, "where apprentice magicians attend classes" We don't know where this Academy is (Japan, I suppose)

Aria is in her third year (no sure if this is a grade, and in fact, how many grades there are if any). She also teaches other junior students (perhaps for being a prefect, this is not confirmed) Her first words are to let us know that Kafugori are big bad wolfs that are very dangerous and how to face them. This is important to the plot (more on this later) It also sets some expectations. To me, I am led to believe that Aria is proficient and competent in whatever she does as a magician or at least, as a student in a Magic Academy.

Yes, let's have a closer look at our heroine... Yep the ^_^ shoujo trope.

Oh no no... that is not a damian jade-shoujo-filter yet. This is how WE are meant to see her. The shoujo flowers are absolutely necessary to help you understand that she is the cutest, loveliest creature on Earth. Unfortunately, we have seen the same face, same flowers and same cheerful shoujo attitude hundreds of times.

-Jade, the male lead-

Yes, this is Jade. Probably if Damian's puberty makes him... agonisingly emo teenager whilst keeping his mysterious and irresistible good looks. Or else. And Yes, Anya Aria just read his thoughts for the first time, much to her shock. Apparently until now, she did not know she can read thoughts when she touches people.

-Giving Tsundere a bad name...-

In case the first time's insults (pushy bitch) were not clear, he escalates his attitude. (Note: I appreciate that the fan translation might not be that harsh, so probably bitch is not what the original Japanese intended to sound) As he is such a cute and charming misunderstood black magician, he has to make sure his prefect is well aware that he is not only terrible at throwing unimaginative insults... he is also proud to announce he will kill her. Why? I do not know.

If you are a hopeless 13-year-old romantic teen that finds that charming, I hope you grow up out of this as soon as possible. If not, please stay away from handsome, dark, mysterious boys/men who might feel the opposite when they say "I'll kill you" Good looks are not worth it and I bet you do not have mind-reading abilities.

There is a kind of cute tsundere (Damian himself, though he is just a young boy), this is not one. There is absolutely nothing sexy, romantic, attractive or remotely interesting in a guy that pretends to hate you, says he will kill you, when they actually like you. Insulting is no praise either and I detest this trope.

Some tsundere fail to recognise or deny (again, Damian, he is too young); some are a bit embarrassed and these pass soon. Insulting and threatening is not charming.

-No, we don't need to see your fantasies (part I)-

Is he really fantasising / wishing to be kissed by her???

Yep, he is. What a creep.

It is bad enough that this guy thinks Aria is cute/hot/pretty and admits (to himself) that he likes her, when in actuality he is insulting her (a charmer). Wait, why would she kiss him? Because she is flattered she is called pushy bitch? Slow poke? Because she likes to receive death threats?

I was truly hoping Jade wanted her to kiss him to destroy that stupid crush. Only an idiot would kiss such a jerk. That would be his eye opener, at least, to realise he cannot possibly like someone so daft. Otherwise, this is ridiculous.

-She is adorably clumsy... NO. She is not.-

Moving on, good news is that the story goes to the point, way too much. Does not waste time with world-setting, simple when/where/why/how/what...

No, we meet cheerful Aria, and dark Jade like that. Other characters do not have any names, and do not really matter. Simple and lazy storytelling.

As Aria is completely shocked she reads minds, she has some little insights/flashbacks about this newly (and conveniently) found ability. No creativity, no build-up, no surprise, nothing. It just happens. Maybe this will be developed later, but it is just dumped like that.

Next panels are a few random examples of him pretending not to care about her, but actually saving this clumsy Aria girl. Too fast and again, no time to digest anything.

First time Jade stops a magic lab accident by destroying a hazardous chemical aimed to that foolish girl.

Second time, he appears to be shoving Aria off his way when in reality, he was saving her from being poisoned.

Why is she even a prefect???? How come she is not aware of the hazards around school??? Why are there hazards like those in a school no matter how magical this is???

Frankly, instead of being charmed by Jade's apparent indifference (yet saving her arse), to me this is a disservice to the girl that started the story being introduced as a prefect. We meet this shoujo heroine explaining useful tips as to how to defend yourself from big bad magical wolves. Sets a bar, you expect some proficiency even if you are not (yet) explained her merits or how she got the prefect status. By being this dumb, requiring the hero to save her, we have to lower our standards. At some point, even Jade himself wonders how she even became a prefect in the first place...

Back to the story, as now Jade inadvertently picked Aria's interest after saving her, we have Aria determined to know him better because, and I quote "Is Jade actually a really good kid who's easily misunderstood?"

So she joins him for lunch. Basically now she is trying to connect with him which only makes him complain and insult again. Now I have to agree with Jade, and I hope these attempts to connect with him help him realise his crush is as dumb as Aria.

How many times have we seen the kawaii heroine with that exactly same pose??? Eye wink + finger + cute smile + shoujo flowers. This is supposed to charm boy who (for no reason) is already charmed by this standard shoujo/magical girl trope.

The highlight of the chapter is when dark boy saves clumsy useless girl from being eaten by a Kafugori. Yep, the same beast she started the chapter talking about. Too bad, I would have appreciated getting rid of this ridiculous FL.

Why is a prefect unable to defend herself when chapter started with this lady mentoring others? I've no idea.

Why is the first year student able to save her? Other than a convenient plot device, I suppose we are led to believe that (1) he is powerful (more than her, but this is not a high bar at this point) (2) as he is a dark mage or comes from a family of dark mages, then his abilities are better. Or both.

She is again pushy, wants to understand why he saved her again (and yes, we want to know too) The pacing and rhythm are confusing, he declares he does not want her around because he is dark magician and would stain her reputation. There is a flashback when they meet, on his first day at school, and apparently, how he started his crush on her.

Again, the same shoujo-face, with shoujo-flowers, with naive shoujo-girl that smiles at sad kid declaring she does not care about his dark magic nature.

-No, we don't need to see your fantasies (part II)-

After the flashback to understand (?) why he seems to like her so much, Aria insists she will help clarify that he is actually a nice kid so that everyone knows.

Then she touches him again, and so she reads his mind.

My face mirrors Aria's. D:

Why does he have such ridiculous fantasies about her?? Marry her??? WHY??? Even poor Damian, being six years old, did not even fantasise about marrying Anya (and it is overkill, yet so appropriate for the comedic tone of SxF) With panels like this one, I wonder if this is actually a parody of shoujo fantasies, inspired by damianya doujins, or the author is really serious about this romantic trope.

To be honest, there are damianya doujins that are ridiculously charming, and follow the comedic style that SxF has and it is so refreshing. Here, those fantasies seem so serious I am inclined to believe it is just feeding shoujo readers.

-Conclusion-

Yes, there are fics and doujins that do a much better job at using the crazy and hillarous setting of a tsundere boy crushing on a mind-reader... A tsundere's worst nightmare.

However, this story has not earned that tone yet. It feeds from the premise of Hogwarts with a teen damianya... but both worlds (HP and SxF) are set and well-constructed. This one not yet.

This is a confusing setting instead, I am reading this as a (serious) romantic story (shoujo) with some supernatural/magic environment and bits of comedy. But also, perhaps it is just a comedic shoujo with a HP/damianya parody; a parody of both shoujo and HP/damianya ship; an homage to SxF damianya... Or simply a confusing combination of shoujo tropes with zero creativity (nothing we are presented tries to be original) The humour/comedic tone is just not good either.

Speaking of... and considering that Damian and Any are in primary school and are just little kids, these two have so much charm. She can read minds, yes, but she is young (it is implied she is 4 or 5 and not 6 like Damian and the rest of her little classmates) Therefore, Anya cannot identify that Damian has a crush on her, and Damian, as a little boy, does not know how to deal with a crush. The insults are not cruel, they compete with each other and they also care for each other in a naive, adorable way. But here... Aria just unlocked this mind-reading ability, so maybe it would have been more interesting to see her confused by his feelings towards her, as a first time mind-reader, making the comedy more intriguing. But no, she clearly reads him and concludes he is misunderstood and wants to help him (?)

The fantasies he has (kiss, carrying her bridal-style) are so disconnected... Even with the lame flashback, we have no reason to understand why he seems so infatuated other than Aria being pretty and choosing to ignore his dark reputation. He does not even know her (ok a boy crushing on a pretty girl does not need more) And when Jade gets to know her just a bit, it is to realise she is useless. And the crush seems to be at least the same or worse (wedding!!!) But again, I cannot help to remember how Damian started his crush: it was earned. We see him noticing Anya at the student ceremony and smugly believes she is the one crushing on him. Such a conceited brat. Then she punches that very smug face (priceless!) and you cheer for Anya. And then she tearfully apologises for punching him. Damian realises he does like her, we are shown his now celebrated damian-shoujo-filter... and we have to adore this kid. Poor Damian runs away embarrassed and disgusted (he is a child) And then their friendship develops, with comedy and nice moments that do progress their connection (keeping it in line with their age) Anya does not take advantage of Damian's feelings for her, as she is clueless about these.

But with Jade and Aria, I found no chemistry, nothing to really empathise with Jade's feelings towards her other than she smiles too much and has the standard kawaii looks. Compare that to how badass Anya is, she stood her ground, yet she was such a sweetie when she genuinely felt sorry for punching him. She is not necessarily pretty all the time, but Damian's shoujo-filter sees her as such a cute girl. I insist: the crush is earned. I would have crushed on Anya, too. With Jade? Not really.

Conversely, I also struggled to understand why would Aria care for such a jerk, no matter how pure his actual feelings are. Yeah, we need to wait for him to realise, and publicly accept he is not actually a killer and he has this heroic streak blah blah. But I am not even intrigued by this potential either. Moreover, I mentioned that Anya did not take advantage of Damian's feelings as she is not aware of these. Aria declares this mind-reading ability will make her "feel guilty" and "she will not touch anyone again"... yet she definitely touches Jade, and does use his secret to approach him. How noble.

Regarding this mind-reading ability, with Anya, we don't know much (yet) other that she was experimented on since birth (or was she born with the ability?) With Aria, we are shown a simple flashback of her Mum mentioning this ability as "high level magic only used by some bloodlines with excellent magic manipulation skills" and that some Popwells have the ability. Being so useless, Aria is not in the Sue category yet... but I hope being such a special snowflake with such great blood and the cute shoujo clumsiness does not make her one.

Probably this Story has not found its place yet, and I am definitely not the target group. But I would have never considered myself the target group for the crush of a 1st grader like Damian, and here I am. I will read the next chapters until I confirm my suspicion, but this is definitely not my cup of tea.

If you like this, it is okay, too. It is simple (very, very simple), easy to read, and does not seem to deceive anyone: Aria will eventually fall for the misunderstood tsundere with a secret heart of gold, and probably more shoujo tropes will be added to the story (boy saves girl, exes, competitors, jealousy, his family of evil magicians...)

1/5 only 1 for some decent artstyle. Zero/few backgrounds making the art super amateur and lazy (only faces and people) And lack of originality.

[cofeeban]

Demon copperhead

If someone were to ask me what my favorite book is right now, I would say Demon Copperhead. I've only read the book a few months ago but I love it to death. It took reading this book for it to finally hit me that my favorite genre is depressed mc facing an indifferent world, where their greatest enemy is themselves. I seriously adore this book and what it is has to say.

Anyway, here were a couple of quotes that stuck with me.

"take that sweet thing and run with it. Hide. Love it so hard. Because it's going to fucking leave you and not come back." (Chapter 13 Page 97)

It just makes me think of when I really love something, I should shamelessly do whatever it is that is making me happy. Because there is no guarantee it's going to be there forever. One day it'll be a memory and I'll wish I had done whatever it was more. Whether it's spend more time with people I cared about or just doing something that I love.

To just, when you are really honestly sincerely happy to cherish whatever made you feel that way with all your heart. And do all you can to keep that feeling going on until for whatever reason you can't. Because when it's gone you'll miss it and it's sometimes hard to know when you're living in one of those sort of golden periods of happiness. You never get a refund on your time wasted, so even if what you like is weird just do it. I doubt you'd ever regret choosing to do something that makes you happy.

"a good story doesn't just copy life, it pushes back on it. It's why guys like Chartrain wear their clothes too big and their teeth edged with gold, why Mr. Dick put words on kites and sends them to the sun. It's why I draw what I draw."(Chapter 62 Page 520)

I love this one so much because I wholeheartedly agree with it.

It's just so beautiful to see people not just give up on a hard life when everything is stacked against them but to keep going. And find something worthwhile at the end of the road. That's what I love. When there are stories that honestly show how hard life is, but the mc is even harder. Those are the stories I fall hopelessly in love for. Real life is scary and there's no way to know how anything will turn out, but when I read a book or a movie where characters are as anxious, confused, or scared as I've ever been, and moves forward. I find it so inspiring.

Those stories are the ones that resonate with me the most because they give me hope that life, no matter what happens, might be worth it some point down the line. In my various sad arcs of life I would think of stories that push back and remind myself that things can always get better. You never know, even if it's hard or nearly impossible to think of right now. The characters had it hard too, but they somehow someway found happiness.

What I get out of the bit after he talks about stories, is him saying that despite life throwing every challenge your way, people still choose to be themselves. I know it doesn't sound like much but it can feel hard to really be yourself. To do the things you want to. So to just decide, even though life can be so awful I'm going to go on living my way and move forward and people will deal with it. Not caring whether you'll be putting people off or not. Whether you do or don't, you're living your authentic life and you can be happy with that. And when people do live their way, it inspires others and you find your friends. I know people and stories have inspired me, and I bet you too.

[ruka-the-animefangirl]

Happily Ever After

This is my first time writing a story for Twisted wonderland, but I did it for myself. I thought it was a cool concept and I wanted to write it. 

I’ll probably do the art of the characters and post them later. Thank you for reading !

It's a big realization, when a person finally sees how unfair the world is. Or at least just how fucked up it is. I was a sheltered kid, my family always surrounded me. There was never a time where I found myself alone somewhere. Someone was always with me. But the problem was…

My family hates me..

They don't like me, they can even stand me. So I was confused as a child, seeing my family always surrounding me but can't even look at me. Without that gleam of hate.

I never cared much, I only thought I was such a cool anime main character. That I was like Zuko from Avatar, being hated by my family but super cool and awesome.

But no matter what they still had my back, at least that's what I thought. I never even knew they hated me up until this moment. 

Until the day came where the universe was o so gracious enough to show me how wrong I was. During a beautiful sunny day. Me, a short 6 year old little girl, with black hair and brown eyes and glasses was invited to my cousin's, Mark, birthday party. He was 15 at that time, and he always made fun of me, but he didn't go too far. At least he was never allowed to. 

No matter, I was playing in the garden with my best friend. 

My family were inside talking and eating and celebrating. I didn't pay attention however.

"Morro, imagine if I was the green ninja. I won't be as cool as Lloyd but I would still be cool" I said grinning ear to ear. He chuckled and ruffled my hair. " Sure you would kid. But it's a really big responsibility ya know. I think your too short for that" 

"Heyy!! I'm gonna grow!" He laughed loudly at that. 

While we were talking (arguing), my mom came over and told me to keep it down.

"Brett come here, we're gonna start singing soon" I looked behind me to see my mom and aunts looking at me while holding a really big cake.

My eyes brighten up looking at it. It was 3 layers and was black and orange. Mark is a basketball player, so the cake was basketball themed, it had small decorations with tiny basketballs. That was all it took, I needed to eat that cake.

"OK ma! I'm coming" 

I turned to look at Morro so I saw him standing and holding his hand out, "let's go?" I smiled and grabbed his hand. He pulled me up and picked me up. "Let's go eat that cake before you blow up" 

I giggled and went inside, while holding Morro's hand. Everyone was already gathering near the table. So I just walked between people's legs till I was near my other cousins. 

I was the youngest and the shortest kid, so everyone was bigger nonetheless. Morro stayed behind me as everyone sang happy birthday to Mark. Then came the time to eat CAKE!

All the adults left right after, like they always do during our birthdays. Something about them drinking the red grape juice. 

I just enjoyed my third slice of cake with Morro. He doesn't eat anything, I don't know why. Like its food, food is good. He did take a bite of the cake though so I was happy enough.

Anyways, while I was eating and talking to him. Alan and Mark came up to us. Alan is Mark's youngest brother, he was 13. They sat down next to me and started asking me about my imaginary friend.

"Hey short stack! How's that imaginary guy of yours" Alan said while grinning wildly,

"He's doing fine" I said in a small voice and kept eating. 

He never even gets mad at them either, he just smirks and watches us interact. He does always tell me not to react if they try to bully me, and that's what I learned to do.

"You seriously need to grow up, you look like such a weirdo outside. Do you know how weird my friends looked at me cos of ya!" Mark said while picking up his plate with cake.

"Good thing they thought you were a stupid toddler, so they dropped it." 

Leo stood up, "yeah like why don't you just start acting like normal people, remember last week?"

"Oh yeah where she jumped in the lake and accused her imaginary friend" 

His friends came up to us, one of them asking if he was serious.

They all just laughed and laughed as they kept reminiscing about the times they found funny.

I remembered that moment, it was when I was playing with Morro and he picked me up and threw me into the river. We then swam together and saw fishes.

My mom got mad at me later on because she found me drenched and yelled at me for jumping into the water with no supervision. 

While they kept laughing, my mood slowly disappeared. Why can't they leave me alone…

Morro, sensing my discomfort, ruffled my hair and told me, "do you want more cake? I'll get you some more." He smiled at me " These idiots are gonna stay idiots, so ignored them"

I looked down on my plate, "sure I want cake I said softly" 

As he prepared to get up, Leo looked at me and said while smiling "awww are you talking to your imaginary friend ?"

Mark laughing chimed in "you want more Cale? Seriously?" 

He looked around and then back at me, "why don't you take mine then? I don't feel like eating more"

He grabbed his cake and threw it at me. I stayed frozen, hair and face covered in cake, some of the cream falling down on my dress. 

Morro looked at me and grabbed some tissues and started to wipe my face.

The rest of my cousins realized what happened and joined in the laughter.

They didn't care about me, they all just laughed at me whenever Mark torments me. My aunt, Malak, came to the room to see what the commotion was about. Saw me and chuckled a bit. "Brett, sweetie how did you get cake all over you" 

Mark got up and pretended to wipe the cake off of my dress. "She tried and fell on her slice. I was just helping her out." He said smiling.

"Yeah but we also couldn't help to laugh at her" Leo said, "sorry, haha" 

She smiled and then looked at me. She was the only person who cared about me besides Morro; but she always took Mark's side because he was one of the older children. 

Malak wasn't a very tall person, but she was super nice. She always covers her hair with a cloth, when I asked about it, she said it's because of her religion. I don't know much about it, only that my parents disapproved of it a little, but were still content with Malak. My uncle was also part of the religion I think. Cos I see him praying similarly to how she prays. 

My parents don't follow a religion, I don't think they do. We don't go to church, unlike some of the people we see. Nor do they pray or wear the cloth like Malak and my uncle. 

Whenever I asked Morro, he avoided the topic and said that he believes there is God or multiple Gods and doesn't say anything else. So I just do the same, I believe there is a God there, but he makes things really hard for people sometimes, I don't know why tho. 

Breaking my thoughts, Malak picked me up and took me to my mom. Who, the moment I saw me, glared at me so hard. My eyes started to water. 

She scolded me and told me I should have been more careful after Malak explained to her the situation. 

My mom is a tall woman, she was harsh and very serious. She always made sure that I did well in school, even if I'm still a child. She got me to take up music and sports so that I have activities to do after school. 

She always has big expectations of what I need to do, and how to do them. Whenever I don't reach them she gets mad and grounds me. So when she saw me with a dirty dress covered in cake. She was livid. 

"Charlotte, calm down, it was obviously an accident. You know how Brett is." My dad calmed her down, she stared at him and sigh. "Drop it Oliver, she knows better"

She took me to the bathroom and kept scolding me while cleaning me up. 

I started to cry, snot and tears running down my face. "But Mark was making fun of me and threw the cwake at me awnd I couwldnt-"

"Stop! That's enough from you. Why do you always have to accuse Mark of stuff? Just drop it!" Suddenly she gasped horrified. She called my dad over, who also came in and looked at me horrified. He sat down with a smile and held my shoulders tightly, and started to chant something. Some of my uncles and aunts came too and just stared at me. They were all glaring at me, eyes filled with hatred. When suddenly I passed out. The last thing I saw was Morro staring at me with glowy red eyes.

At that time I never knew what that situation was about, but what I did know was that not only was the world shit. But it also hates me. The reason was unknown to me until I was 10 years old. When Morro finally explained to me the situation. 

Why everyone I knew ignored his existence, why he was able to come to school with me, why I was the black sheep of the family.

 To make things clear, I have known Morro since I was a baby. He was so cool and was my only friend. He was always there for me, no matter what happened. But I fully got to know him when I was 3, when we became friends. He played with me when my parents didn't. He gave me food, clothed me and walked me to places. My parents never brother to do any of this. They only cared that I stayed silent and polite. And kept the appearance of a normal child. Which obviously wasn't the case, especially since I walk to Morro every time of the day. He told me his name was Moros. Which reminded me of a bunch of Morro from Ninjago, so that's how I ended up calling him Morro. He didn't mind, so I kept it. He was tall, like really tall 190 cm tall. He has dark purple wavy hair, and wears makeup. He's the definition of an emo kid honestly speaking. He swore a lot- which is where I got my swearing problems too- he taught me to be independent, and how to be myself. He helps me with my homework, especially the extra ones ma gives me to make me smarter than other kids. He hates my family, and they hate him too. For a good reason too.

"I'm Moros, but what you don't know is that I'm also through God of Doom. I was stripped of my title and forced to this earth cos I was tormenting humans too much. I turned into this demon creature by default. Your parents, who were mages from this other world, sealed me into you as a favor from the gods to stay in this world instead of theirs."

"My parents are from another world ?.." 

"Yeah, your whole family is. The world is called twisted wonderland, it's a very interesting world. They have sorcerers and mages, along with inherent creatures and people. Like mermaids, beastmen and other gods such as I was once myself. They have a very rich history and a very interesting one at that. Much better than this boring world, where people have no magic, no supernatural, nothing at all." 

He picked me up, and suddenly we were in the living room. Where my parents were. They jumped when they saw me and were shocked to see me with Morro.

My dad got up, but Morro pushed him back down.

"So…the reason why your family hates you, is because they used you, to seal me inside of you like I told ya. But the reason they did it was because they made a deal with some gods who wanted me gone."

My mom stood up and started yelling at him to shut up. He glared at her and continued, "if they took care of me, if they got rid of me, then those gods will send your family to this world."

"We did this to have a peaceful life!!"

"At the expenses of your child!"

"Shut up!! You have no right to talk to us that way! She is our daughter. We can do whatever we want to her!!" My dad screamed back at him.

They kept arguing and screaming, I couldn't follow, I wasn't able to. 

Did they really sacrifice me to come here, why do they hate me? They did this to me. Is that why I'm the only one that can see Morro? But they're seeing him now, did he just now show himself to them? I don't know what to do. I don't understand. Why is this happening to me! Why can't I be a normal child! Why is this happening to me of all people!

Before I knew it, my dad was sending fire at Morro, I was choked, this is the first time I ever saw magic. So Morro wasn't lying, they're mages. They can use magic, so everything else he said must have been true. Was I really just used to just being a sacrifice for Morro? Do they really hate me that much to do this to me?

My mom grabbed me by the arm and held it tightly. But I couldn't think, I didn't know what to do. It was starting to feel really hot, and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see either. My breath became short and harsh, tears streaming down my face. I was crying and hiccupping, barely able to breath. 

Mom was yelling at me but I could hear her, everything was blurry, and my ears started ringing. With Morro and mom's voice in the background.

"Kiddo, please calm down, everything is okay, just breath" 

Everything just stopped, I opened my eyes and I saw Morro in a black area. He was kneeling, holding my face. He started to breathe and I followed.

In and out

In and out

Until I could breathe properly

I took a really deep breath and sighed. I looked into his eyes, as he was wiping my face form my tears.

"W-where" sniffing loudly "are we?"

"We're inside your head right now?"

I stayed silent and wiped my face. "Am I like Naruto then? I have something sealed inside me which is why people hate me?"

He chuckled "yeah I guess you are. Is that bad?"

"I don't know" 

"Are you feeling better"

I hugged him 

"I'll see you outside then, and let's getcha ice cream kiddo"

I hated that day so much, but it really showed, who cares about me and who doesn't. 

My parents, after that day, made it clear that I am not wanted. They started to work more and exclude me in events. Morro, however, stayed with me through thick and thin. And I loved him for it. 

I ended up growing alone, Morro being my only friend and family. High school is the hardest for me. I was already short growing up, and I'm still short. I look nerdy and I haven't developed much. 

I was slightly overweight, I had braces and wore glasses. I was the perfect person to bully through high school. But I didn't care. I ignored them as much as I could.

I started to learn magic after I found out about everything. Morro did his best to teach me, but it's not his Forte so it was hard to learn for us both. Until I found a spellbook in my parents room. Morro created an illusion so that it looks like it's still there while I learn the spells. And well, I ended up being really good at it. At least from what Morro tells me.

"Stop narrating about how you think your too weak"

"Come on! How am I supposed to believe that I'm good at this?!"

" you can trust me and believe me when I tell ya"

"Yeah but like… am I really that good at magic? Like it's not like I can compare my magic to someone"

"You don't need to compare yourself, you're an amazing girl. I wouldn't exchange ya for anything in the world"

 "Thank you"

You're probably wondering why the hell, I'm even ranting about every single traumatic shit that happened in my life at the moment. Or how I was basically disowned by my parents. 

Yeah well I'm templating my life choice right now, cos well.

I'm stuck in a coffin

I have no idea how it happened, or how. Or who put me here.

But here I am.

In a coffin, upright and having nothing to do except to contemplate my whole life.

Honestly as fuck up my life is. I like it, I have an amazing best friend, who's awesome. And who taught me everything I knew.

"You also forgot to mention how I gave you my powers?"

 That too. Morro has very powerful magic, as the God of Doom. He can see how people die, along with some teleportation abilities and this guy can make amazing illusions. As in, good enough where they're like shadow clones. You can touch them and they don't disappear. I don't know if you realized it, but I abused the hell out of this. I’m 17 ok?! I’m using this power, it's super powerful, I'm not giving up on it.

A loud click brought me back to reality, light blinding me for a few seconds. The door of the coffin opened up.

[lryghe]

MDZS thoughts; jiang cheng

I have been meaning to talk about Jiang Cheng for a while considering he is a very special character and someone that I love thinking about. Because he’s just so interesting to think about, and his closeness to the main character of the story is probably why he’s so highlighted despite the fact he doesn't contribute to the plot the same way all other characters are that have been explored in depth (e.g. Lan Wangji, Nie Huaisang, Jin Guangyao). Yes, this post will contain spoilers, but not just from the novel this time, I would like to incorporate elements from the live action (despite my dislike of it). This may end up being not nearly as thought out as I usually am with my posts, to which I apologise for in advance (also for those who may eventually expect the second half of my MXTX themes and conventions post, you will never get it. I lost inspiration and my thought process deleted itself so I have nothing for you).

I saw a post the other day and it was exploring the idea of characters that are driven by grief and rage, characters who devolve over the length of the story, characters who change, but never for the better. And my first thoughts were like Azula, or maybe Sasuke, but then I remembered that my favourite fictional character of all time, Jiang Cheng is Right Here and he’s so interesting to analyse. Because he is that character that is driven by grief and rage. He has been fighting since he was like 17 and became Jiang Sect Leader at the cost of everyone around him. He is the character that devolves over the length of the story, because he’s so strong for the majority of it, but 13 years of mourning and a revived brother who turns his whole world upside down again is so so damaging to him. And he is that character who changes for the worse, because young Jiang Cheng was always so willing to go along with his older brothers schemes, always so desperate for the approval of those around him, but decades of grief have worn him down to his very foundations, and he is a husk of grief disguised as rage. He no longer needs the approval of the Sect Leaders around him because he is the fearsome Sandu Shengshou, the three poisons. 

I refuse to assume a pitying role with Jiang Cheng though. I see a lot of people saying he did nothing wrong, that he was the victim in the entire situation but I seriously despise when people say this about him. Because he has very clearly done bad things, and sometimes he has no excuse. Sometimes he was just a bad guy, and that’s okay. The live action went on this whole narrative about how Wei Wuxian was a total victim in everything that happened and people have started applying this type of narrative to every other characters, which is so silly in places because MXTX creates these characters to be criticised. They are well rounded and whole characters, and there is a whole spectrum of grey in regards to their actions and motivations. You are definitely allowed to feel bad for characters though, who am I to tell you what to do, but remember to be objective in analysis. Jiang Cheng ‘tortured’ demonic cultivators because he hated his brother so much (allegedly), he abandoned his brother when he was the Yiling Patriarch, he is harsh and cruel and he’s always able to find the one thing to hurt those around him (even to Wei Wuxian, who is notoriously good at not being hurt by what others say to him). 

And to ignore this would be a disservice. Jiang Cheng is forever a part of Wei Wuxian’s backstory, forever the character in MDZS that does not get their redemption, forever Sandu Shengshou, a poison to those surrounding him. And it’s so interesting to think about this concept of poison in relation to Jiang Cheng because objectively, it's like. Kind of true. Literally every other Jiang is dead, even the unofficial Jiang, Wei Wuxian. No one likes Jiang Cheng very much, and he’s purposefully left out of the big 3 ‘zuns’ of the cultivation world, a very informal alliance between the Lans, Nies, and Jins. Even geographically so (in reference MXTX’s presentation of where the sects would be on a real map of China) Yunmeng is isolated from all other notable sects, the only notable place nearby being the Qishan Wen and the Burial Mounds, both not being very happy places to be. His nephew Jin Ling embodies all the outward traits that people don't like about him, brash and arrogant and refusal to admit one's faults. In all senses of the world, Jiang Cheng really is a poison to everyone around him. And this idea of poison is so cool because Jiang Cheng is a background character objectively. His screen time is mostly just to further the emotional plights of Wei Wuxian but he’s such an important antagonist (of sorts!).

The time skip is both a wonderful and fearsome thing in reference to this thought, because we can only guess what happens during those 13 years where he doesn't have screen time, and although there are parts mentioned of what happens (e.g. Jin Guangyao becomes sect leader, Nie Mingjue dies, Lan Wangji goes wherever the chaos is) we don't know the details, specifically in regards to Jiang Cheng. Those 13 years is where he is pushed out of the narrative spotlight, and he’s not relevant until the whole golden core fiasco near the end, which is good because it keeps him as a background character (being otherwise would be detrimental to the themes of the novel), but scary because it takes away so much power from the other characters. 

I just want to end this by saying that I actually love Jiang Cheng and that manifests in writing long posts about how horrible and complicated he is because it's completely fine to be a bad person, that's what makes some of these characters so interesting. He is my favourite out of all of MXTX’s works, right up there alongside Luo Binghe and Xie Lian. So if you ever see me ‘dissing’ these characters, it is born from a love that compels me to analyse them.

Also I wrote this instead of revising for an assessment worth 30% of my overall grade literally an hour before said assessment worth 30% of my overall grade.

Words: 1091

Reading time: 4 mins

[imperial-topaz2003]

Mass Effect Questionnaire

I saw @littleneonlily do this, so I figured I'd give it a shot, too, while I still have Mass Effect on the brain. 1. Tie between Wrex and Liara

2. Mordin, Samara, Zaeed, and Tali

3. Liara and Tali again, Kaidan, and Javik

4. The M-76 Revenant. Who doesn't love a non-stop barrage of death?

5. Still like the Revenant, but if you want me to pick something else, I'll do the N7 Valkyrie

6. Soldier. Go ahead, call me bland, but I think it best fits both the gameplay and the story. Though I do also like the Vanguard and Sentinel classes.

7. Noveria in Mass Effect 1. I dunno why, but I just love the atmosphere this planet has, both setting and story wise.

8. Tying in with the above, the entirety of Noveria's arc, for the same reasons, with Bringing Down the Sky right behind it.

9. The Suicide Mission itself, which is my favorite level in all of gaming. Runner-ups would have to include Garrus's Recruitment, Tali and Grunt's Loyalty Missions, and the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC.

10. It's gonna be a tie between Priority Rannoch and Tuchanka. And the entirety of the Citadel DLC, too.

11. Depends. With Male Shepard, I like to pair him with Kaidan (shameless Mshenko fan here). With Female Shepard, I like to romance Liara. Tali's a big runner up

12. I kinda wish James Vega was a romance option, preferably Bi, because I love my himbos. Other than that, I'd love to see some bisexual romance options from currently romanceable companions, such as Garrus, Tali, Thane, and Miranda.

13. Mako. Both control like ass, but at least the Mako isn't made of wet tissue paper.

14. Oh boy, you guys are gonna hate me for this one, but to me...it's Garrus. Look, I don't hate him but HOLY SHIT, some of his fans are overzealous.

15. I dunno how the rest of the fandom sees them, but I do really like Samantha Traynor and Steve Cortez. For side characters, they're really well written, both character and romance wise.

16. Haven't played Multiplayer in ages.

17. Refer to above, though I do recall liking the Earth maps.

18. I'd say SR-2. If you wanna be more specific, I like the version of it in ME3.

19. Destroy all the way...and maybe control. I know, E.D.I. and the Geth won't survive, but it's not like folks are just gonna forget how to rebuild synthetics (unless you're a moron who gets everyone killed). Control is a decent runner up if you wanna spare the robots. Synthesis is bullshit space magic (seriously, what the fuck even happens in Synthesis?). And Refusal is just...dumb.

20. I tend to lean more towards Paragon. Granted, I do make some Renegade Choices here and there, either for the sake of pragmatism or sheer amusement, but generally, the Shepards I play will lean a bit more on the Paragon side.

Not tagging anyone this time, since IDK how many of my mutuals are Mass Effect Fans, but feel free to give it a shot.

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 77

Are you that busy, Sam? Really? See, they're both making a strong argument that they're MORE busy than you ...

Ah yes, I see ... vainglorious Sam ... if course ... "Text Marisha to find out what UWU means" ... oh dear gods ...

Laura: "Why are you so much better at reading your own schedule than the ad-copy?"

Matt wants the Ruidus dice so he can DESTROY THEM with them ... XD

Travis is so grabby for the jammies, I love it, it's adorable. :3

Oh, intimate conference for the witchy trio ... or an excursion? Oh, yeah, okay ... get caught up, idiot ...

Are we sure this is a good idea, Marisha? Seriously? This is gonna be potential problems for Laudna ...

Tunnels? Oh boy ... yeah, I really don't trust this at all ...

I will not dignify girl-fart talk ... I will not ...

A lost master bedroom? That's ... weird ...

Why not use it? Oh man, I got a pretty good idea about the reasons for THAT ...

Sneaky sneaking ... and here we go, stealth checks ... oh, nice work, ladies ...

Does she know where to go? Hmmm ... oh, so Laudna was kind of like a phantom of the castle for a while? Okay then ...

Yes, maybe AVOID the many guards ...

Liam, Taliesin, what are you whispering about there? And now note passing? I am so curious ...

Crap! Pots and pens make BIG noise ... sheeeeee-it ... yeah, NO SHIT you need another stealth check ...

Argh! Busted? "A little midnight snack?" Nice save, Imogen.

Fearne trying to be quiet ... clop clop clop ... Travis: "From Pike in armour to Fearne's fucking hooves!" XD

Aaaaah ... Laudna's parallax effect! O.O Oh ... trauma ... yes, I'm with Fearne, I hate the Briarwoods ...

Laudna and Fearne BOTH have Thieves' Tools? Blimey ... I mean I expect it of the klepto, but ...

Lighting up the room through the keyhole? Intriguing move, Imogen ... oh, and that is SPOOKY ...

I'm sorry, WHAT is she doing? Are you REALLY gonna summon a Reiloran right now, Imogen? Seriously?

Reiloran: "What do you require?" Imogen: "Can you unlock the door?" Reiloran: "... sure ..."

Apparently he doesn't really have a CHOICE about hanging out ...

De Rolo family portrait ... yeah ...

Laudna IS NOT having a good time right now ...

Looking for a book in particular? Hmmm ... Sam: "The Cat In the Hat ..." XD ... you idiot ...

OH!!! Secret passage! Nice ... bricked off? Okay then ... oh, really? Cute ... Travis: "The attitude in this family!" XD

Marisha: "I don't want to have to Shawshank Redemption this." Matt: "Two weeks later, you finally make it through the wall."

Sneaky nifty Fearne ... nice ...

Sivaana? Interesting ... and apparently he's kind of ENJOYING this ...

Oh NOW they're twigging to the fact that this was a BAD IDEA? A bit bloody late now, surely ...

An old lab? Oh shit ... I know whose workshop THIS IS!!! Crap ... it's Ripley's!

It's getting cold? Oh that can't be a good sign ... oh fuck what fresh hell is THIS?!!!

Roll initiative? SHIT!!!

Theatre of the Mind? Oh, okay ... Sam's disappointed he can't do a proper Wizzkids plug ...

Laudna first ... Hunger of the Shadow Shard? Fascinating ... Nat19 ... 16 Necrotic damage! Yeah!

It takes NO DAMAGE?!!! What? Oh shit ...

Form of Dread! Yeah! Oh wait ... WHAT THE FUCK, Matthew? Seriously? Not Delilah, not NOW!!!

Once a young man? Hmmm ... Withering Touch? Owwwwww ... 16 points of Necrotic damage to Laudna ...

Fearne tries to communicate ... no joy ... so she just bitch slaps it with her flaming palm! Nice ... not SUPER effective, though ...

Now a teenage girl, a servant? Crap ... and now ANOTHER? Some old guy ... Hmmm ... oh, I think I'm starting to get this ...

Yup, this is just Delilah's vengeful victims seeking retribution ...

Imogen just shoves Laudna back ... then casts Shock Flare? Wow ... oh, nice! Oh, and that works? Great ... finally a break ... 13 points of Lightning damage ...

Sivaana hits the hurt one eith a Mind Spike ... POW!!! Nice ...

Oh no ... Laudna is rattled ... but she's USING IT ... Hound of Ill Omen! Yay! Go, demon doggy!

Another Withering Touch? Phew ...no joy ...

Fearne casts Daylight? Hmmmm ... yeah, I really didn't expect that would actually DO anything ... so she bamfs out Mister? Okay ...

Damn it, that means Delilah really IS there ...

Mirror Image? Okay ... and they miss! Yes ... phew again ... and ANOTHER miss! Yay!

End this, Imogen! Please!

Oh crap, no rest means she has NO SPELLS LEFT?!!! Balls ... oh, she's never done this? Eat are you planning, Laura?

WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?!!! Ashley: "Lightning tiddies!"

Holy fuck, they BOTH take 4D8 of Lightning damage? Sweet ... 15 points each! Oh, and the first one is GONE!!! Nice ...

Oh, bye bye Sivaana ...

Laudna unleashes some Eldritch Blasts! Yay! And they all hit ... 15 and 23, then 8 damage overall ... then again ... and a Nat20? Wow ... 25 for the first, 9 for the second, 15 ... HDYWTDT for BOTH of the remaining ghosts ... BOOM, they are GONE ...

Oh man ... fucking Delilah! Crap ... what the hell? It's coming FROM Laudna? Oh shit ...

Oh, so this was Delilah's workshop? Great ...

So Laudna's Delilah's tether as much as the other way round? Crap ... and now she's trying to SEDUCE our girl ... leave her alone, you heinous bitch!

What the fuck is she talking about ... the Whispered One? Fucking VECNA?!!! Seriously? Oh shit!

She wants "more"? Oh, this won't end well ...

So if she gets out she's gonna try and bring the Whispered One back ... not good, not good at all ...

I'm hating this whole conversation so much ...

Oh for fuck's sake ... now she's going after Fearne too? Crap ... no! Not Dark Fearne! That's not good at all ...

That's just it, the only way they can kill her is to kill Laudna ...

And now to Imogen ... she really is just being an all round unpleasant bitch, isn't she?

She's gone? Finally ... I was not enjoying that ...

OF COURSE Imogen wants to find a way to get Laudna out of this mess ... this is so ugly and heartbreaking ...

Laudna makes Imogen promise to move on and be happy if anything happens to her ... fuck ... damn it Marisha, you're getting us right in the feels right now ... and Laura too ...

And now Fearne has FINALLY twigged that Imogen and Laudna are A THING ... :3

Yeah, there won't be anything of use on here now ...

A coffin? Lovely ...

Oh yeah, makes sense they would have just TRASHED this place ...

A splinter? Hmmm ... witchcraft ... charming ...

On the way out, Fearne torches everything she can ... Nice ...

Gods ... I don't like this deal AT ALL ...

You're gonna break HERE?!!! Really? Gah ...

Back to it ... a night's rest, then ... and Travis is rolling AGAIN?!!! You're really messing with us here ... STOP IT!!!

Typical morning for Orym, clearly ...

Awwwwww ... I love Fearne and Orym's friendship so much ... :3

He STOLE something for her? Awwww ... and so here we go, the ghost pirate spyglass, yeah, I'd actually forgotten about that ... that's so sweet ...

"Scenelet done." XD

Chetney had a sexy dream about Lady De Rolo ... of course he did ... watch out you don't give yourself a coronary, Chet ...

Crap ... they didn't reseal the wall? Balls ... that's totally gonna come back to bite us later ...

Now Chetney wants to make Ashton a toboggan ...

Last chance to chill before it all goes off ... yeah ...

Oh, here we go, makeshift sled ... hmmmm ... Orym is rightfully suss about that ...

You know what that is? Growth.

No, I don't think there will be any wood on the moon. Unless there is ... "moon wood"? Imogen: "Rich ... thick wood." Oh boy ... and then it gets worse ... oh, that's it for Matt again ... more games derailment ... XD

FCG: "What's the happy ending for you?" Orym: "Tomorrow. That there be a tomorrow." Wow ...

The girls stole Letters a copper wok ... not to eat but USE ... hmmm ... oh no, not the "fishy hot hole" again ... Matt is dying ... XD

Eight tubes of Bengay? Oh no, it's Tiger Balm ...

Chetney: "Nothing like some fresh pow!" Oh, here we go ... sledding ... okay then ...

Ashton and FCG are going in the wok ... oh dear ... Liam: "It IS Christmas Vacation!"

They're RACING?!!! Oh dear ...

They JUMPED THE WALL?!!! Crap ... watch out for the cart! Aaaaaaaah! Oh, that could have been SO bad ...

Meanwhile the others just WIPED OUT ... but Ashton enjoyed it, at least ...

ASHTON!!! No stones in snowballs! They are children!

Cassandra's coming?

Imogen goes to the Dawnfather's temple ... oh hello, priestly lady ... Imogen: "How do I talk to a god?" Oh boy ... here we go, time for the theological lecture ...

Mother Brizalda? Awwww ... I like her immensely.

Imogen offers up her Whitestone Is For Lovers t-shirt? Wow ... oh man, she's really asking for His help either Laudna's situation ... oh man ...

The Matron's temple ... yeah, she's not accepting it ...

Gilmour's Glorious Goods? Awesome ... wow, the place has been somewhat STRIPPED, clearly ... Orym seeks what he can ... three healing potions for 150 gold? That's a sweet deal ... oh yeah, that's right, Orym HAS met Gilmour himself, hasn't he?

Ooh, what's this? A Potion of HEROISM?!!! Holy fuck ... 199 gold? Nice ...

Oh, the Slayer's Cake? Yes! Do that!

50 pastries? Blimey ... and an apple pie. Okay ... placing an order, then ... the electrum piece? Okay then ... and a namedrop ... that'll do it.

Old abandoned ruins? Seriously, Ashton? And the clock tower ... probably safer ...

Ashton and Fearne having a serious talk about the future ... hmmm ... and now ... oh wow, are they actually FLIRTING now?

Damn, they're actually SO CUTE ... :3

Yeah, the shippers are going NUTS right now and I love it ... XD

Clockwork Vox Machina shenanigans ...

CASSANDRA DE ROLO!!! Awesome!

FCG gets snippy about Orym supplying baked goods instead of him ...

Orym's apple pie makes Liam hungry for real ...

To business in the war room, then ...

Percy gets his mad scientist on ... it's kind of adorable actually ... and that's actually pretty brilliant, as well.

Oh, he's still so SPICY too, especially with Laudna ... XD

Allura's coming too? Okay then ...

Meat?

2 scrolls of Mass Nondetection? Cool. A scroll of Dimension Door too. Also cool. A bunch of healing potions too. A potion of Speed. 2 potions of Gaseous Form.

And FCG gets his bejeweled baking tin too ... cool.

Oh, they're going NOW?!!!

Beneath the castle? Oh ... OH!!! Yes, of course ... oh boy ... they're going to THE FUCKING ZIGGURAT!!!

Oh wow ... now Chetney's homing in on Cassandra instead ... XD

So ... this is it, then? Moment of truth for Ashton and Fearne? Hmmm ... oh, he really IS going to put it in HIMSELF instead? Crap ... I thought that was gonna be BAD ...

Holy shit he KISSED HER!!! Fearne: "Well now I'm not sure I WANT to put it in you."

Shit ... they really ARE doing this ...

It's happening ... the Harness and the Shard snd Ashton ... and now the others know too ... oh boy ...

And he Rages ...

A Constitution save? No Advantage? Hmmm ... 23? Oh, okay ... HIS SHOULDER BROKE OFF?!!! What the fuck? And his EAR?!!! Shit!

15 points of Fire damage ... the crystal crumbles and shatters ... Ashton's chest becomes a furnace ... and more parts are breaking off?

Ashton (over and over): "From the earth to the earth ..."

Orym and Imogen run up and through the barrier ...

The other arm breaks off? This is going SO BAD ... Fearne tries to take the Harness off ... Ashton tries to Rage again ...

Another 36 points? Crap ...

Imogen tries to hold him together using Telekinesis, he downs a Healing potion but it just evaporates? Great ... FCG tries to cast Death Ward on him ...

Another 28 points? He's getting hurt SO FUCKING FAST ...

This is going SO many kinds of bad all at fucking once ...

48 points now ... snd he is DOWN!!! But FCG tries to take it instead ... oh, but the Death Ward ... it's just CHAOS ...

Watery Sphere? Which just turns into steam as soon as Imogen casts it ...

At least he made his Con save ... he is BARELY holding on ...

FCG casts a 6th Level Cure Wounds on him ... 27 points back, but he also took over 60 damage ... he's BARELY alive still ...

Imogen tries to take the Harness off ... meanwhile Orym tries to help with Seedling ... itoff, but the Transference I'd still going on ...

Aura of Vitality?

The Ring of Temporal Salvation? Oh yeah ...

Damn it ... hejeep dropping and then coming back ... this is going do bad ...

Laura: "Hey, you guys remember when Ashton broke that green lens?"

Ashton shatters ... and then it comes back together again while the Ring breaks ... snd he has another 5 rounds? Crap ... it's not over ...

Laudna just grabs Imogen and Chetney znd starts dragging them out if the bubble ...

He just has to last those five more founds znd keep rolling good? Okay ...

Just keep healing him! Fearne's doing it too now ...

The tension is unbearable ... I can feel the whole table just PANICKING internally ...

FCG tries Divine Intervention ... roll good, Samuel ... 31? Shite ...

But he's still rolling sweet ... he's still in the fight ...

Okay ... one round left ... I'm fucking SWEATING ...

This is it ... last roll ... come on Taliesin ...

They are all SO MAD AT HIM RIGHT NOW and I don't blame them ... but it was a SWEET roll ...

He's down, steaming ... but now he's back ... wow ... he has a MOLTEN ROCK ARM replacing the one he lost? Cool ...

Fearne kicks him in the face. "I sm never trusting you again!" I do not blame her ...

That's it ... end of session ...

They are still SO PISSED at Taliesin ... I am too ... he is SO FUCKING LUCKY ...

This episode put us through the FUCKING WRINGER and I am DEAD ...

[br1ghtestlight]

love how bob seems to be completely out of it for this entire episode. like gene and tina are barely following along with linda and louise's insane reverse psychology game but bob is GONE like he's not present at the dinner table he isnt even part of the family. he just grumbles when linda tells him to but he isn't saying shit 😭😭

TINA AND GENE ARE SO SILLY IN THIS EPISODE LMAOO head empty zero thoughts. they are nothing more than pawns in louise's game

bob is correct for wanting to bribe them with candy that would literally work. like they are simple people

WHAT IF THEY TURN INTO LITTLE DELINQUENTS WHO DONT LISTEN TO AUTHORITY??? linda do you know who your kids are they are already WELL past that point especially louise. kinda funny that linda in this episode has the exact opposite viewpoint to how she was w/ louise in amelia. not a criticism of the episode its just ironic

BLACKMAIL

ARE YOU GONNA KILL US LMFAO

gene is SO BABY in this scene im gonna need to take screenshots later bcuz he is the smallest boy. in the world or maybe ever

back when we were children?? says the nine year old child

love how this episode is told through a bedtime story its very creative formatting and kinda unique feeling compared to the three story type of episode :)

MR FISCHOEDER APPEARANCE thank god we always need more fischoeder in our lives. i was worried we would have to wait weeks or even months to see him again

love big g. is that perhaps Grandma or Gloria

ZEKE AND JIMMY JR this is the big win for people who like seeing secondary characters. this episode already has more of them than like the Entirety of season 13 zeke and gene are so cute. their friendship is everything

THEY SEEM NICE TO ME AND LOVING I WANNA SAY AND WISE LIKE THEYVE GOT ALL THIS WISDOM TO PASS ON ABOUT LIFE AND THE WORLD 😭😭😭 lmao zeke saying that bob and linda are loving and kind is kinda sweet even though i know its technically bob and linda saying that about themselves. i do think zeke has a positive view of bob and linda Tbh

YOU GUYS SEEM LIKE YOU WORK SO HARD ALL THE TIME AND YOURE DELIGHTFUL........

new jimmy jr lore: he has a small bladder?

BOB AND LINDA GIVING EACH OTHER PIGGYBACK RIDES <3 so cute

rudy AND jessica spotted

AAWWWW ITS OUR JOB TO PROTECT YOU they love their kids so much :(

MARSHMALLOW APPEARANCE WTF??? new voice actor too :D i thought if she was gonna be in any episode it would be the bachlorette episode but its kinda funny she's just randomly in a western. its where she belongs

wait did i die?? no you were just being dramatic :/

I DONT KNOW WHY I THOUGHY MR FISCHOEDER WAS GONNA SERIOUSLY SUGGEST TO USE REAL BULLETS mf just shoots a bunch of kids. i mean he would do that honestly

AWW BOB SPECIAL INTEREST MOMENT he likes cooking ^_^

everything i do i do it for you 😭😭💕

LINDA ACTUALLY CRYING THIS IS GONNA BREAK MY HEART wtf i wasn't expecting this episode to actually get sad. what the hell </3 louise making her mom cry.....

"even though its really cool for moms to get angry and frustrated and cry in front of their kids"

this is weirdly reminding me of mother daughter lazor razor?? linda saying that she wished louise liked her and then louise saying wait you think i dont like you. their relationship is so weird and complicated but louise DOES love and respect linda and thinks she's really cool and fun!!! i wont hear otherwise idc

ONE OF OUR CHORES WAS TO LIGHT GRANDPAS CIGARS LIKE IN OUR MOUTHS??? LMAO WHAT THE FUCK LINDA why is this getting like weirdly serious is every episode gonna be like this now. are they just a little bit traumatic to watch every single time (also john roberts did A GREAT job voicing in this episode especially this ending scene)

MOSTLY BECAUSE OF TINA RIGHT AND GENE why did i literally start laughing loudly when she said that. god i love louise so much

aww they're babies <3 their relationship is the sweetest. you'll the toughest little cutie in prison

LIKE I SAID CANDY WAS LITERALLY THE SOLUTION those kids will do anything for some candy we all know this. we've seen the show before

gene its not even a question you WILL play coachella someday baby boy. you could probably do anything you wanted

GLORIA APPEARANCE i mean i dont like her but its been a few seasons since she was around. hello gloria is al dead

wait why does gloria have big ass badonkadonks..what who said that

aww the babies all asleep <3 little sweethearts

THIS EPISODE WAS SO FUN AND CUTE??? like genuinely a great episode that was heartfelt AND funny and had a really interesting story element to it as well. louise and linda episodes are always great and i love linda talking about how hard it is to raise good people and how much pressure is on them (and it makes sense that she would be more stressed about making them do chores vs bob because it was her mom who was pressuring her. big bob doesnt give a FUCK) a very fun start to hopefully a great season!!!!

[elfdragon12]

So you know how Simon Furman's big justification for how he handled Arcee being a female Transformer in the Marvel UK issue "Prime's Rib" was "it was the times!" as if 1989 was some ancient history? Also that there wasn't really a female readership?

Yeah, here's a letter in Marvel #18:

"Dear Bob,

TRANSFORMERS #13 was great. You guys were sooo right about that being an off-beat story. Megatron is my favorite character and I have been worrying about what was going on with him. Boy, if I had Megatron as my servant, that would be great. He is the coolest Decepticon around. On a different subject, though, why aren't there any female Transformers? Hey, we're in the eighties now, Bob. Male dominance is a thing of the past. Robots shouldn't be any different from humans. You have me thinking you guys are male chauvanists or something! Come on, guys, let's have some female Autobots tangling with Megatron or Shockwave. Maybe you can have a love interest for Optimus Prime! Please consider my suggestions. I think you would really benefit from the addition of a female Transformer. JoAnn Teen 320 Drake Road Honolulu, HA

That settles it, Shingo, you've officially started a craze--even people in Hawaii think we're cool! Our Transformers comic just might put Emerson Air conditioners out of business! But seriously, JoAnn, you've got a point. There definitely seems to be a serious lack of femininity within the pages of TRANSFORMERS. But, in the near future, you will be seeing a female Autobot. It will not be in these pages, though, but in the upcoming TRANSFORMERS film (which Marvel just happens to be adapting in a three-issue limited series--so be on the lookout)."

Not only is this a letter from a female reader (there's also a "Shannon" on the same page, but that writer is from the South, so possibly a boy named Shannon), a female reader pointing out that they should be past this "no girls allowed" mentality. They're in the 80s!

This is from the US side of things, but I don't think the climate regarding feminism and girls either choosing to read Transformers based on their own interest or any brothers' (pre-mobile device, you often shared books or TV time in a family with more than one or two kids) would be so different in the UK.

While folks might argue about JoAnn's point of "robots shouldn't be different from humans", we should recognize that she isn't making a point from the viewpoint of hard science fiction but as a girl who wants to see her gender represented in the stories she enjoys. I, for one, definitely don't fault her for that. If you're going to write male robots (which even Furman admits they were), it's ridiculous to say that female robots don't make sense.

Either way, Simon Furman's portrayal of Arcee and women in "Prime's Rib"... Was perhaps not a result of "the times" and maybe... His own personal view on women that has lurked in how he has written them as recently as 2008 with his Spotlight: Arcee issue.

[our-time-is-now]

October 13, 2019 (2): Guess!

(previous play)

You can find more information about the authors, translators, content warning and additional information about the plays in the pinned post on our blog.

Sunday, 1:07 pm

WhatsApp, ok.cool.:

David: Okay, little change of plans. We’re now looking for a two- to three-room apartment, preferably in Moabit and affordable! Would be nice if you could keep an eye out!

Carlos: Huh? Why that? Did you win the lottery and you’re now showing off your money by renting an apartment with living room, bedroom and office room?!

Abdi: Or are you moving in together with Laura again, after all? I thought you were past that topic.

Jonas: Or are you starting your own flatshare?

Matteo: He found the world’s best roommate!

Carlos: Really? Cool! Who is it?

Abdi: A roommate who doesn’t already have an own apartment? That’s not very practical, isn’t it?

Matteo: Noo, the guy’s still living in a flatshare right now but now wants the full David-blast.

Jonas: For real?

Matteo: Yep! ;-)

Carlos: I don’t get it….

Abdi: Are you moving in with Alex? Noo, then he could just move into the loft… huh?

Matteo: :-) :-) :-)

David: Ey, it’s really unbelievable that it’s the two of you who don’t get it, even though only a few days ago you were so in favor of it…

Carlos: In favor of what?! We’re constantly in favor of something…

Jonas: I’m just thinking about whether or not it would be funny to let them guess…

David: lol @ Jonas. Probably - but it’s also a little mean, isn’t it?

Abdi: Hey, come on Brudis, clear it up!

Jonas: Guess!

Carlos: Dude, no, for real now!? You two? Davenzi!? Together!? New apartment?! &lt;3<3<3

Matteo: Otherwise I really would have doubted you, Carlos :-)

Abdi: AWESOME! Yes, great, congratulations! I’ll definitely keep my ears open together with you!

Carlos: Me too!!!! Awesome!!!!

Jonas: Have you asked Linn yet? Doesn’t her dad have connections?

Alex: No time to read up on everything, what did I miss?

David: Oh, right - we’ll go and ask Linn. This morning, we were too busy confessing…

Abdi: @ Alex: Davenzi are moving in together!

Carlos: &lt;3<3<3

Alex: Okay.

Jonas: Okay?

Alex: Doesn’t really surprise me. Congratulations!

Abdi: Ey, you player…. you can’t foresee everything, either!

Alex: Guys, seriously? You’ve said it yourselves, the two of them will stay living together after the three months. You don’t need a crystal ball for that.

Carlos: But it was close. David was already looking for flatshares.

Matteo: He even already had one, actually. Well, he got the okay after we decided it.

Jonas: Decided? The way I knew you two that surely was highly dramatic once again.

Alex: Have to leave again. See you.

Matteo: Byeee Alex

Abdi: Bye, Brudi

Carlos: See you, Brudi

Jonas: Say Hi to Mia

Carlos: So? Spill! How did it happen?

David: Have a good flight, Alex!

Jonas: Oh, right… he’s already coming back today… so good flight from me, as well!

Carlos: Hello?! Details!?

Abdi: I also want details!

David: There aren’t many big details… Matteo and I were supposed to meet and I was late because I was at a flatshare viewing before our meeting, which was a really good viewing. And Matteo was somehow weird… the days before as well and I asked him what was wrong and then he told me that he doesn’t want me to move out…

Carlos: So he simply said: “I don’t want you to move out”!?

David: Why is it that such things are only ever talked about with our relationship!? For example, it would also be nice to learn how Kiki and Carlos greeted each other on Friday evening after being separated for a week, wouldn’t it?

Matteo: Nice try :-*

Carlos: I’ll gladly tell you about it in a lot of detail in a minute, but first we’ll talk about you two.

Matteo: Man, okay, I said that I find it shit that David wants to stick to the stupid plan and that I’m opposed to the plan and that I want us to stay living together and that I don’t care where and how and yeah.

Carlos: Awwww

Matteo: Well

Jonas: Nice Brudi, I’m proud of you!

Matteo: Haha

Jonas: No, really.

Matteo: So how is Kiki doing, Carlos? How was the weekend?

David: @ Jonas: Me too!

Carlos: So far, the weekend was quite nice and if she weren’t in the shower right now, I wouldn’t hang around WhatsApp right now, either… Friday night was a little strange. I think she imagined it to be easier… arriving here, I mean… and at first she didn’t want to admit that all of this overwhelms her quite a bit, I think. New people, new city, new surroundings etc… she acted so weirdly fake as if everything were okay…

David: But a fresh start like that is also hard… if it weren’t for Laura back then… and Kiki really doesn’t have anyone in Halle… did you talk about it?

Abdi: Oh man, poor Kiki…

Jonas: Jep. I think you can plan for everything as much as you want… every fresh start is damn hard. I mean it’s the same for all of us… but at least we still have each other.

Matteo: Oh man, yes, I can really understand that. And Kiki always acts really tough. Could you talk to her?

Carlos: Yes, we talked, I told her that I’m always there or rather only a phone call away and that she’ll surely meet people in uni and so on. She just also misses her girls, but I think Sam will visit her next weekend, unfortunately I don’t have time that weekend. So I hope everything will be okay eventually.

Matteo: Hey, if it helps then we’ll all show up. When’s the next time she’ll be here? Then we could also get the entire crew together or something?

David: Good that you could talk!

Abdi: It probably really takes a bit of time for her to get used to it.

Carlos: Well she’ll only come for a longer period of time over Christmas… that's a really incredibly long time away. Otherwise she’ll really try to make sure to come to Berlin every second or third weekend… she’ll definitely be there for Davenzi’s birthday party! Everyone will be there, then, anyways…

David: Yeah! Happy to hear that!

Jonas: Yes, awesome! That’s not so far away anymore, either… this means we can gift you things for your new apartment… Blender, coffee maker and stuff like that… you should make a list of what you need!

Matteo: First we need an apartment… But Carlos, then let’s make a Christmas party or something like that. We did that in the past… that was nice…

Abdi: Davenzi will simply get kitchen appliances from us… it’s already come this far…

Carlos: Christmas party sounds nice… Kiki also likes Christmas markets.

Matteo: First Christmas market, then party!

Jonas: Luigi, bro, I’m sure you must know what stuff you guys already have and what you don’t have, right? David, you tell us, I’m sure you’re better organized.

David: My first Christmas in Berlin! I’m also in favor of Christmas market AND Christmas party!

Abdi: Maybe you’ll find an apartment by the first of December - then the Christmas party will definitely be held at your place!

Carlos: Or at ours! I’d also love to have a party if the bed is right around the corner!

David: @ Jonas: To be honest, I’m not really too organized yet. The decision is still really new and I didn’t have time to make lists yet ;-) But I’ll have to talk to Laura, anyways… Matteo and I will surely be able to use a lot of stuff from our old apartment…

Jonas: Doesn’t Laura need that herself? Or are you splitting it up?

Matteo: Yeees, at your place, I’m in favor of that!

Abdi: Me too!

Matteo: @ Jonas: Laura will stay at the flatshare and is going to take over my room if we can find a place fast enough… or rather, that’s probably already a made decision, but if not, then we’ll have to shift things around a bit… maybe we’ll have to ask Alex, who’s not aware of anything yet…

Jonas: Haha, I see. But if you shift over Mia to his place, then he surely won’t mind.

Matteo: But Mia might :P

Carlos: Oh, you’ll figure it out. If not, then we have a sofa available…

Jonas: Hanna also has more than one bedroom…

Matteo: Yes, thanks. Everything will work out somehow.

David: You guys really are the best! Thanks, Brudis! But first you all have to keep an eye out for a suitable apartment!

Carlos: Aye, aye, Sir!

Abdi: We’ll do that!

David: <3

(next play)

[lentendays]

Hi!! Here's a fic-related ask: Do you have any deleted scenes/plot ideas from any of your fics that you feel like sharing? Personally, I'm a big fan of your BNHA fics, but this question can apply to any fic you want!

Okay YES I have MANY

Here are a few for the BNHA fics:

Breaking through the storm clouds: Kurogiri time travels to 17yo pre-nomu Oboro's body and raises Tenko

BTTSC Chapter 5/The Flashback Chapter/keep your face to the sun:

OK it definitely didn't fit anywhere in there with the angsty tone but I *really* wanted a scene where the league are doing Smash Marry Kill and Kurogiri, immediately and with no hesitation, says smash Midnight (or Eraserhead). He's been quiet the whole time. They almost forgot he was there. They all turn to him. "What the fuck" Shigaraki says, his innocence shattered.

More seriously, I was initially planning for Oboro to go back to school for a bit in BTTSC.

Scrapped that idea, but there was one scene where he gets stuck in combat class and goes lethal.

There's the one classmate in the Vigilantes flashback who kept mocking Aizawa for having a useless quirk (and I think the rest of the trio? Don't remember exactly). Good natured past Shirakumo shrugs it off. Kuroboro does not hahahaha. They get matched up.

He can't cut people up with Black Mist anymore, but he can apply much the same principles. Cover the eyesight, immobilize the legs. And once they're down, he brings his staff down on the kid's head. The instructor stops it just in time, redirecting the worst of the blow (though it does still land and give the kid a concussion) coz they realized Oboro was going for lethal force, zero hesitation. (He of course deeply regrets it later, but in the moment it's all instinct.)

Everyone's horrified and Oboro's just like, cool, we done here? I won, I'm leaving, I'm a teen dad I don't have time for this.

Rekindling fire: In the Hideout Raid, Endeavor dies trying to save Dabi. Dabi, who has now time traveled to his middle school pre-bbq years, finds this confusing. Also Hawks.

RF has many more comedic moments than I planned for, because the Todorokis make me very sad and I cope with humor.

At the start, before chapter 290 etc. were out, I like most of the fandom, thought Endeavor was the one who kept pushing for Dabi to be a hero at the cost of his health. So there was supposed to be this exchange:

"No? I don't want to be a hero anymore."

"You said you did last week??"

"I'm 11, I don't know what I want to be."

"....You're 13."

"Shit rly?"

In Chapter 6, where middle schooler Dabi gets arrested for alleged prostitution while he was trying to bait a guy to a secondary location to kill him. All Might is the one to find him at the station, but I had fun with a lil what if it was Endeavor:

Endeavor walks past. Doubles back. Stares from across the precinct.

"Touya? "

Several emotions flash across the kid's face in rapid succession: Panic, anger, resignation. Then he breaks into a shit-eating grin that Detective Cato will learn to dread in the next ten minutes.

"Hey there, daddy. Fancy seeing you here!" He pitches his voice to carry and if there were people who weren't already staring, they were now.

Endeavor is suddenly looming over Cato's desk, bewildered.

"Why are you here? What are you wearing?" His eyes trail down to the handcuffs. The fire flares around his face. "Have you been arrested?"

The kid - Touya - shoots a smirk at Cato. Oh God. Why is the number 2 on a first name basis with a preteen hooker.

"I'm sorry," And Cato really is, moreso for himself. Obaka is watching goggle-eyed from the desk over, surreptitiously filming Cato's pain, the fucker. "What's your relationship to this boy?"

The kid gets up, leaning into the man's side, unbothered by the flames. Grins at Cato's future therapy bills. "I'm his baby boy. Right, daddy?"

Endeavor. Doesn't refute it. He kind of glances down in confusion but doesn't push the kid away. His sidekicks, on the other hand, stare at his back with frozen expressions.

The hero breathes out a frustrated sigh. On fire. "What happened, exactly?" He addresses Cato, who blanks.

"Um," he says. The flames grow hotter. "Um, uh. Your relationship?"

Endeavor looks irritated. "He's telling the truth." Cato mentally writes out his resignation letter. "This is my son, Touya Todoroki." Which wasn't at all what the kid had said, no matter what Endeavor seemed to think.

The kid snorts and moves away, falling back into his chair.

"We, uh, we've arrested him for underage prostitution." Cato winces.

"What?!"

.

.

This was fun, might add more later. Thanks Anon :)

[qualitywhispersarcade]

wait for me...

this is a book I started writing a couple months ago and I don’t think it will ever get published so i’m posting it here.

This is chapter one lmk if you want chapter 2 and so on.

 Sound molecules only travel through air. The sound goes into the oxygen and into our heads. 

It feels like I'm underwater and everyone is shouting for me to come up for air, but why? It's so loud up there where there's oxygen. The burning in my lungs sets in and I realize that oxygen is needed for me to speak or breath but I can’t. I can’t speak or breathe when I'm underwater. I need to get out, but it's so loud up there where there is  oxygen. 

Loliana. “ Hey, um I just wanted to let you know that they tend to lie about what happened and exaggerate the experience, so don’t take her too seriously the first couple weeks. They also seem to have a reputation of acting out when they get home just a forewarning.” 

“ I thought lola was the top of her class?”

“ She is but it happens to the best of them, I'm sure she’ll be fine though.” 

“ I want to go home now, please.”

“ Of course honey one second, I’m talking to mom right now.” I stare out into a wall behind Sister Colleen's head and pretend to listen to what she says next. I can’t wait to be off these fucking pills. They make me want to rip my face off. “ The ‘happy pills’ as we like to call them make her less… frantic. She has really bad anxiety and these help her relax.” 

“ By cutting all my emotions off.” I mumble not really wanting to be heard right now.

“ See exaggerations like that happen frequently after being released.” At the age of 13 I was sent to church camp for ‘making a better society’ or whatever. All that happens here is they tell you to shut off your emotions and learn to be polite. That means yes means yes and no means yes, and maybe means yes and please no let me go means yes. That’s just the way of the world I was taught. Saying no to anything was disrespectful and would result in getting hit or locked up. Growing up I wasn’t a bad kid at all. I went to church and never talked to boys. I was always getting good grades and being respectful. I got sent anyway, I learnt that my family had ties to the royal family of Beligia and Westraci ( The two kingdoms were merged into one after the 1344 war.) But it would have to be a miracle and catastrophe for me to even be a princess. So i never really thought of it much, My family was rich always has been. We have two main cleaners from the house that live with us. Mari and Gio, they are married I think but I haven’t been home for three  years so I’m not entirely sure.  My sister Elizabeth also went to the camp but she left a year before I came so we were apart for a total of 6 years. I love her, she is my best friend. 

“When you get inside please don’t make a big scene like you always do.” I walked into the house and saw everyone waiting for me, my sister, my dad and the cleaners. My own welcoming committee. I walked in and not wanting to “make a scene” I simply said hello and walked to my room. As soon as I got inside and laid on my bed the tears fell. I’m too dramatic, I’m too emotional and weak, I'm just too much. I hear a knock on the door and quickly wipe my tears away. It’s too late. I've been spotted, but it’s not my dad like I thought it was Gio. He was a kind older man like mid thirties. He sported a kind gentle smile and he had a sad, glamoring look in his eyes. He knew. 

“You can cry without hiding it, ladybug.” I never really talked to him before but he always asked me how I slept and told me to have good dreams. He was kind, the kindest guy i’d ever met but I thought he just wanted a tip but he never asked for anything. Maybe he was just stupid and too kind. 

“I’m not crying.” I challenge him. 

“ Okay, I brought you some water. I know you might not feel comfortable with me yet but I just think your dad mistreats you and your sister and I hate seeing it so if you want you can talk to me about anything, Okay?” Then it starts again, I’m crying again. Not sobbing or shaking like usual, just slow tears rolling down my chin and the front of my head hurts. I take the water and calm down. 

“How do you know?” How do you know that I'm hurt? How do you know I want to talk to someone? How do you know that I need you? He knew.

“ I don’t but I do now. Get some sleep before dinner please, ladybug,” I just stare at him until he leaves and he closes the door. My dad doesn’t close the door.

I woke up feeling awake and ready. I went down to dinner and sat in the chair across from my sister who looked way too happy to be there. 

“ Can I go to a sleepover at Tiffany's house after dinner?” She asked

“ Um I don’t know, can you take your sister with you then?” my mom responds.

“Yeah whatever she can come if she wants. Do you want to?”

“Sure yeah.” No thanks.

“ You can go after you eat so eat.” My dad. After dinner I pack a sleepover bag and get my makeup and hair ready.

“You do know we are not really sleeping over at tiff’s right?” 

“ Yeah, duh.” No, I did not know that. Where are we going then?

“We are going to Jessie’s party and then sleeping there okay?” Reading my mind.

“Okay sounds good.” I want to stay home.