#something i should have done ages ago XD

[lendubsofficial]

It's done I did it, it's a historical even sdiufh I'm no longer sassinapaperbag, I'm finally lendubsofficial

[milkloafy]

TOO LATE TO BE YOUR FIRST LOVE, BUT I’LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FAVORITE — MEGUMI FUSHIGURO

⋆｡˚ ❀ summary: megumi has known you since childhood as his sister’s annoying friend. now, years later, he sees you at a nice restaurant and wonders why you’re all alone. ⋆｡˚ ❀ contents: fem!reader, fluff, aged up au, gojo is…here xD, bsf brother / sister’s bsf au, reader wears a dress, megumi checks reader out, reader gets stood up by her ex womp womp… ⋆｡˚ ❀ wc: 1.9k+ ⋆｡˚ ❀ a/n: first jjk fic and i’m starting it off with a banger cliche ! i can’t help it okay megumi’s sister is soooo pretty pls by my bsf in another life :3 also ik this title is so long i literally could not think of anything so i was like okay yeah sure let’s listen to miss sabrina carpenter and then bam! here we go i guess! 

“Be good to my kouhai, okay Megumi-chan?”

Those were the words that rung through his head as he saw you sitting at a table for two, alone and dolled up in a nice dress with pearls around your neck. 

Megumi didn’t claim to be an expert in your life or personal preferences, but from what he did know of you, you weren’t exactly the type to take yourself out on a date all alone. It drew too much unwanted attention towards you that you likely did not want to deal with.

That was something he certainly resonated with.

After watching you pick up your glass of water and put it down five times all in the span of one minute, he almost felt bad enough for you to head over there and take you out of your misery. Unfortunately, an aggravating voice beside him reminded Megumi why he was in this fancy restaurant in the first place.

“Isn’t that right, Megumi-kun?” 

“Huh?” he asked, turning his attention back to his own table. 

Gojo was leaning forward on the table with a smug look on his face, a look that Megumi learned was never good. Although Gojo had shades on blocking his gaze, Megumi sensed Gojo was looking directly at you.

“I said she’s pretty, isn’t she?” 

Megumi glared at the white-haired pervert with an irritated look on his face. “She’s not for you, old man.” 

Gojo laughed as he held his arms up innocently. “I meant for you. You’ve been staring at her for a while now. It’s kinda creepy, actually.” 

“That’s Tsumiki’s friend,” said Megumi, choosing to ignore Gojo’s comment. “One of her closest. Not sure why she’s here by herself. I just want to make sure she’s not in any kind of trouble.” 

“Well, let’s examine the evidence,” Gojo declared, clearing his throat before counting his fingers on one hand. “One, her hair and makeup are done real nice. Two, she’s in a fancy dress. Three, she’s been giving that glass of water a death glare for the past few minutes.”

Megumi raised his brow, unamused. “Okay. And?”

“Your sister's friend over there has just been stood up,” concluded Gojo, leaning against the back of his chair in satisfaction. “Now, if you’re going to do something about it, I suggest you do it before Yuuji and Nobara get here.” 

“Why?”

“Do you have to ask? The moment they arrive they’ll follow along behind you and see what you’re doing,” cautioned Gojo, as if he wouldn’t join them in an instant. 

Megumi made a face at the thought, but he knew Gojo was right. Itadori and Kugisaki would stick their noses into any and everything that involved him and would somehow find a way to embarrass him yet again. 

Standing up, Megumi sighed. “How long do I have?”

“I told them the reservation was for ten minutes ago. So you should have at least twenty minutes now.” 

“Thanks,” Megumi grumbled, heading over to your table with an awkward expression on his face. He hoped this wouldn’t embarrass you further, but he could deal with your potential attitude as long as it brought you some comfort. 

Though you may be annoying at times with how often you teased him and called him girly nicknames he hated, you were still his sister’s best friend. Helping you save face seemed like the good thing to his sister would want him to do. 

“Hey.” 

Startled, you looked up from your phone and saw Megumi standing next to your table, his arms folded across his chest. 

The moment you met his gaze, your eyes brightened and you waved at him.

“Gumi-chan!” you sang as a greeting, voice too loud for the formal ambiance of the restaurant.

“Shh! Are you crazy?” hissed Megumi, looking around frantically to make sure Gojo did not overhear you calling him that. However, judging by the shit-eating grin on Gojo’s face, Megumi knew Gojo heard and would never let Megumi live this down. 

You giggled at his embarrassment.

Megumi huffed. Shouldn’t you be the embarrassed one here? 

“Long time no see,” you said, motioning for him to sit across from you in the opposite seat. “What’s little Megumi doing at a fancy place like this?” You paused, gasping in surprise from a story you totally just made up about his situation, he assumed. “Don’t tell me you’re here on a date! I have to text Tsumiki! They grow up so fast…”

“I’m the same age as you,” he mumbled. 

You reached over and pinched his cheek. Megumi swatted your hand away. “You sure act younger, though!”

“Shut up.”

Megumi sighed, wondering why he wanted to comfort you in the first place. You seemed just fine to him. 

“I’m not here on a date,” he finally replied, hoping you hadn’t yet sent his sister any incriminating texts about his non-existent date. “Gojo-sensei is treating some of his students out for a graduation dinner.” 

“Aww! Graduation, already?” you cooed, as if you didn’t also just graduate university this year. “They really do grow up so fast!”

“You can stop talking now.” 

You laughed, knowing better than to take his grumpy words too seriously. Megumi was glad he didn’t have to explain that side of himself to you.

“What about you?”

“Me?” you parroted.

“Are you here on a date?”

You slowly brought up your glass of water to you and nodded. “Supposed to be…”

“You’re dating someone new already?” asked Megumi, thinking about the annoying ex-boyfriend of yours you finally broke up with a few months ago. 

Hesitantly, you shook your head, toying with the pearl beads on your necklace. “Not exactly…”

He raised a brow, waiting for you to stop being so vague. 

“He’s not someone new,” you mumbled, your voice clouded with embarrassment. 

“He’s not new?”

“Oh, Gumi! Are you really going to make me say it?” you cried, puffing your cheeks in indignation. “My ex, alright? I was supposed to be on a date with my ex right now. And he stood me up!”

Megumi blinked, his mind jumping through hoops to piece together what you were implying. “Let me get this straight.”

You made a defeated noise of agreement. 

“You broke up with your ex, he groveled and begged for your forgiveness, you agreed to go on a date with him for god knows why, and he still stood you up. And now you’re here, sad and alone.” 

You groaned, covering your own ears. “It sounds even more pathetic when you say it out loud. God. I’m so pathetic, Gumi.”

“Hey,” said Megumi gruffly. “What would Tsumiki do if she heard you say that just now? You’re not pathetic. Your ex is the pathetic one.” 

“You’re right,” you sniffled, nodding at his word. “But I still can’t help but feel that way, though.”

For the first time tonight, he saw a dejected expression cross your face. It always unsettled him to see you unhappy.

“He’s dumb for standing you up.” Megumi rubbed the back of his neck, looking away uncomfortably. “Listen, you deserve someone better than him, okay?”

“Someone like you?” you teased with the start of a grin forming on your face.

Megumi rolled his eyes in annoyance, but deep down, he was glad to see your smile return. 

“Eh? Who said you would deserve someone like me?” he retorted.

You giggled, putting your hand over your heart dramatically. “Ouch! You wound me, Gumi.”

He shrugged. 

“And here I thought you would feel bad enough for me to finally give me a chance,” you proclaimed with an exaggerated sigh.

“Shut up.”

His short words didn’t disguise the heat from spreading across his cheeks to the tips of his ears. You always toyed with him like that… There was no way you actually meant it, he told himself.

“Hey,” he said, about to suggest something he might later regret. “Instead of sitting here alone, do you want to join me?”

Your eyes widened at his invitation and his ears turned an even darker shade of pink.

“Not alone! There’ll be others there,” he said hastily. “For the graduation dinner, remember? But they won’t mind.”

You tapped your index finger to your chin a few times, as if thinking hard, before agreeing easily. “Sure! Beats being alone. And, just for the record, I would have said yes even if it was just us two.”

Megumi scowled. His poor face wasn’t able to catch a break from all the annoying heat rushing to it. “Let’s go, then.”

As you stood, you smoothed your dress down and adjusted the length so you wouldn’t accidentally flash your ass to those seated behind you. Immediately, Megumi found his gaze wandering to where the hem of your dress hugged your soft thighs. His throat grew dry. 

When he managed to tear his gaze away from your body and back to your face, he noticed you looking at him always expectantly, as if waiting for him to explain why the hell he was checking you out for so long.

Megumi cleared his throat, hoping his voice wouldn’t sound too strained. “It’s a good thing you were stood up, you know?”

“Huh?” you asked in confusion.

“Your ex doesn’t deserve to see how you look in that dress anyway.”

“Oh,” you managed to say, averting your gaze as a bashful look took over your face. This was the first time in ages that Megumi has seen you look like this.

He smiled to himself, savoring the sweet look of shyness on your face. Typically, you were the one teasing him, much to his annoyance. It was nice to get some payback sometimes.

“Thank you, Gumi,” you murmured, fingers toying with the hem on your dress, only making it rise up higher on your thighs. 

“Just the truth,” he said with forced nonchalance.

As the two of you approached the table, the contentment Megumi felt was instantly doused when he saw Gojo, Itadori, and Kugisaki all ogling at you with their mouths wide open.

“Oh ho ho! Is this a friend of yours, Megumi-kun?”

“Hey, I’m Itadori!” 

“Run while you can! You’re too pretty for him, got it?” 

You waved at the table, somehow not scared away by their obnoxiousness. “Hi! And yes, his sister tells me that all the time!” You looked over at Megumi and winked. “But I think he’s just as pretty.”

Megumi groaned as he sat down in an empty seat, putting his head in his hands in exasperation as he heard everyone laughing together. He was already regretting introducing you to his idiot friends. 

But as you took a seat next to him, he peered at you through a crack between his fingers, and he couldn’t help but feel pleased at the joyful expression on your face. If it was up to him, that’s the only way you would look.

Along with your shy expression, of course. Megumi would pay to see that again as well. 

You met his eyes through the sliver of space between his fingers and grinned at him. His found his worries fading away. 

Megumi sighed to himself. Maybe he should thank your scumbag ex for standing you up, after all. Turns out he quite liked your company. Maybe even as more than just his sister’s annoying friend.

As if you were able to read his mind, you blew him a kiss from the seat beside him and his face reddened once more.

Gojo whooped and hollered at the interaction and Megumi felt himself sinking further and further into his seat.

Never mind, he told himself. You were still the pain in his ass that would never go away.

But maybe Megumi didn't want it to.

[felassan]

Quick compilation of interesting comments/comment exchanges from Mark Darrah and folks commenting on his most recent YouTube video, "Mark Darrah back on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf?!" (under a cut due to length) -

[I've loosely organized these into related clumps of comments.]

General thoughts and feelings about the game & its development

Comment: "Well this is a relief. Glad to have a DA veteran looking at this project." MD: "There are lots of veterans on the team"

MD: "I'm helping. The team is very strong" / "There is a strong team there." / "There are lots of strong devs on the team" / "I have great faith in the team" / "I have confidence in the team" / "I have confidence in this team"

MD: "Excited to see how things are progressing" / "Excited to see what the team has been up to." / "Excited to see what the team has cooked up." / "Excited to see how it is coming along" / "Excited to see how things are going"

Comment: "please save DA" MD: "I don't think it needs saving" / "I’m an amplifier not a saviour" / "I'm not worried about Dreadwolf" / "I have every confidence in the state of the game." / "I have high hopes"

Comment: "Please fix that game" MD: "I wouldn't say that its broken..."

Comment: "Can’t wait to see what this game becomes." MD: "You and me both!"

Comment: "This is an interesting development, can't wait to see the final product." MD: "You and me both"

Comment: "Is this a good of bad news? :D" MD: "Good I hope"

Comment: "It must've felt good when they approached you for help! It's definitely a positive sign as well." MD: "I think so too!"

More details on his role, what it will entail and where the game is currently at

MD: "As I mentioned in a previous video, I do consulting now. I did reach out to BioWare first" / "I reached out a while ago to offer my services. I don't expect I will ever be a 'face' for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf."

Comment: "Does this mean that the current bioware lead execs can overlook your advice as consultant?" MD: "Anyone can ignore anyone's advice. See: https://youtu.be/yWPaiWAotwo"

MD: "Game can be played start to back. Still lots to do."

Comment: "Wishing you the best of luck in steering the ship on the game." MD: "My hands aren't directly on the wheel."

Comment: "Hope you will or are happy about what you see that the team has worked on." MD: "I'll see a lot pretty soon."

Comment: "Isn’t it a little too late for that? I mean, if the conclusion is that the game isn’t respectful, will BioWare change huge chunks of the story?" MD: "They are very focused on quality"

Comment: "From your words it seems like Dreadwolf somehow doesn't quite feel like a Dragon Age game and you're coming in to make it feel like one. It should be a great game in it's alpha state, with new ideas etc but somehow people who played it feel like it's at least slightly disconnected from the franchise as a whole. Am I correct? I understand if you don't want to reply since confirmation of that could open the door to negative rumours about the game." MD: "That would be overstating... But its been a long time so it both needs to change and stay the same"

Comment: "I'd love to know what specifically you can do at this point in development, since I assume the game is largely content locked at this point (this might make a good video?)." MD: "Not content lock yet. Firm not locked"

Comment: "Not sure if you can answer this but considering how far along the development of Dreadwolf supposedly is, assumably there isn't going be like major changes to the game's systems and such. So are you consulting them more about lore aspects and whatnot?" MD: "Lore and landing"

Comment: "Has the dragon age team ever done something like this in the past? MD: "We have brought back people late stage before"

Comment: "so essentially.. they had no idea what they were doing and where like 'should we call mark? lets just call mark' 'urgh.. yeah lets. might as well' XD" MD: "Nothing so dramatic as that"

Comment: "I honestly assumed that you were already censoring yourself in regards to Dreadwolf out of respect for your former coworkers." MD: "To some degree I expect this is true."

Comment: "So glad that some deal about collaboration between you and BW has been struck. And I hope the game will benefit from your input, though I do admit I am on the fence about what the leaks have shown, did not look much like any RPG people liking BW content are used to (I hope I am wrong about that)" MD: "Hopefully they can convince you"

Soon™ and after

Comment: "I have real concerns of what is being shared about the gameplay style. Hopefully we get some clarification in upcoming bioware show and tells for expos and trailers" MD: "I expect more to be shared soonish"

Comment: "I hope to see some decent trailers this year. We haven't seen those since 2020!" MD: "We shall see"

Comment: "Can't wait to see more (when you are allowed to talk about it!)" MD: "I'll share what I can"

Comment: "You're still going to be careful about what you tell us, for a while. Totally understandable" MD: "Definitely won't become the all "Dragon Age: Dreadwolf" channel"

Comment: "I realize there's always going to be some things you can't speak about, but I hope that after the game is out and your involvement is completed, you can speak about some of your experiences coming back to work as a consultant vs. executive producer and how/if it shapes your thought and approach towards your contributions to the game and team." MD: "i hope to do this. after"

Questions, feedback and things to pass on to the team

Comment: "I know a lot of the fandom is wondering if there will be more BIPOC and body-type representation in character generation. It would ease a lot of concern if there was an indication that the game does indeed include that representation." MD: "I'll pass this along"

Comment: "Will Dragon Age Keep be supported going forward? Also will we get any recaps of important events from previous games at the start of this one? Also will this be more actioney or more strategic than Inquisition? Dragon Age: Origins is still my favourite for combat and general gameplay, but I appreciate if y'all are going more actioney these days like Final Fantasy, if it's the actioney route though I wonder if you guys could do some gameplay like the old THIEF games for some Rogue quests, that would be hella cool." MD: "I'll pass these along"

Comment: "If you’ll be passing along something to BioWare, I’d be interested to know if the Orlesian Warden-Commander exists as a character in the world. We hear about the The HoF, but nothing from the Warden-Commander. And not being able to port your save into DA: Awakening with a dead HoF, makes me question how canon they actually are. Along with not being able to define them in the Keep." MD: "I'll pass along the question"

Comment: "Now that you have the ear of the project leads I have a small suggestion: It would be great if in DA:D when you hover over a dialogue choice the game would tell you what you are about to say (at least the first sentence) in form of a "subtitle". Deus Ex: Mankind Divided does this for example. Other than that I wish you and the team the best!" MD: "Nice idea"

Comment: "Is Mike Laidlaw going throw two cents as well" MD: "He's too busy"

Comment: "I hope Gaider will come back too." MD: "That seems unlikely"

Comment: "It's a BIOWARE game. Characters and story comes first."" MD: "CHARACTERS CHARACTERS CHARACTERS"

Anthem

Comment: "I hope it's not the same situation as Anthem. :/" MD: "Definitely not"

Comment: "Game has been in the oven for what?, a decade now. I hope it turns out great, but I feel like it will be kinda a mesh with all the iterations and people involved." MD: "Depends on how you count the reboot to pull people to Anthem"

On a possible/requested DA:O remaster

Comment: "you should suggest that it would be a smart move to remaster Dragon Age trilogy like ME Legendary edition" MD: "I don’t think the people that would green light a remaster are listening to be"

Comment: "Get them to remaster DAO ....please. :)" MD: "I'll try"

Comment: " Please consider making a DA remake. I literally pray for this everyday. I hope this reaches you Bioware." MD: "Here's hoping"

Other

Comment: "I don't know how much you can answer this, but I've always been curious: How did you guys manage to come up with the Solas plot twist when making Inquisition? Heck, how'd you guys come up with the character of Solas, period? Whose idea was it, how did you develop it into the absolute masterpiece that culminated in Trespasser?" MD: "I don't actually KNOW the answer to that"

Comment: "It's not about DA:D per se, but please let the team know we still love Dragon Age: The Last Court and hope it can live on in some way MD: "err. I think there are some legal issues in Europe with that..."

[source]

[nocompromise-noregrets]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love 💜

aaaa, thank you so much! Thank you also, and apologies for how long it's taken me to do this, to @mirkwood-hr-department, @scary-grace, @erathene and @verecunda who have also sent me this one over the last couple of months. I'm afraid I took fright because I currently have uh 415 works on AO3 and I kind of don't know where to start. I am also terrible at picking favourites, and particularly terrible at picking a short list thereof. So I am going to cheat and give you some links to series instead, and I am not going to limit myself to five because that way lies far too much stress and anxiety XD

My Heart Is An Empty Vessel - well, obviously that had to be on the list, it's the fic that got me into the Barduil fandom and the longest I've ever finished, not to mention it's sparked a whole 'verse spanning at least three Ages of Middle-earth. :D Almost all of my canon-'verse fics take place in this 'verse, as it happens, and one of these days I will collect them into a series but it is not this day, mainly because it's an enormous task. Maybe when I retire... XDDDDD

All I Want Is You - the one that got me through the third and fourth (I think) lockdowns, the daft Christmas-movie modern AU that morphed into something rather bigger and gave me a chance to exorcise some of my work-related demons.

the hardest choice to make - because it's me finally tackling my favourite characters making their Choice between mortality and immortality. I love the Twins inordinately, more than any other character, and I think I have more very fixed headcanons for them than for any other - I've been putting this one off, or rather they have, but they've finally started talking and I'm hoping to piece the rest of it together gradually sooner or later.

a kiss in the cold and dark (I should have kissed you that summer) and its associated series - because it took on a life of its own and is also letting me channel a lot of my teenage memories :D

paint the sky and burn the stars - because, again, it took on a life of its own and pretty much wrote itself, and unlike a lot of my other stuff, it's self-contained. I don't think there will ever be a sequel, but that's all right; the story is complete as it is.

stained glass heart - another one that pretty much wrote itself, I loved the imagery in @piyo-13's art so much and it just all fell into place.

dancing in the dark - because I'm having so much fun with my old rocker bi widower dads :D another place to channel memories of my younger days, this.

A Little Piece of the Sea - one of my longest-running series, I started writing this 20-odd years ago, and then picked it back up when I came back into the fandom. Legolas/Imrahil my beloved underappreciated rare pair canoe!

I Will Be With You Always - last year's TRSB piece written for @seagull-energy's beautiful art, I finally managed to pin down my Arwen feelings in this rather reflective piece about her last moments on Cerin Amroth, where her life has come full circle at last.

breathe freely - the utterly out of character hanahaki twincest fic the premise for which came to me in a dream XD look I have problematic OTPs, I am old and have been here a very long time it is pretty much a given :D (the twincest is not the bit that's out of character)

Do You Remember The First Time? - the Twins/Rúmil two-parter that got rather out of hand and also gave me the headcanon about the Twins standing in alphabetical order as you look at them XD

It's Always Been You - the other problematic pairings one, featuring the Rúmil/Orophin story that had been sitting in my notes for nearly 20 years until I got back into the fandom with a vengeance in the summer of 2020, and the foundations of the Rivendell and Lothlórien bits of my canon-'verse set stories...

death is certain, life is not - the TRSB fic that ate me alive this summer, inspired by @erathene's glorious art, in which Tilda finally strides into centre stage and refuses to stop talking (I am already working on the sequel because I ran out of time to include most of what I wanted to squeeze in). Technically part of Empty Vessel-'verse but deserves an honourable mention here!

A Quiet Understanding - and finally, because if I don't wrap it up here I'll be going all day, the first longfic/chaptered fic I ever wrote, in the King Arthur (2004) fandom, about Gawain and Galahad and how their lives unfold both before and after the Battle of Badon Hill.

(and that's not mentioning the rare fandom stuff like A Knight's Tale, That Thing You Do!, Fisherman's Friends, Call The Midwife, The Alienist and The Palace, all of which I adore unreasonably, but I think I've rambled on quite enough here XD )

Thank you so much to everyone who asked me for this one, and I'm so sorry it took me so long to work out an answer! I haven't the spoons for askboxes, and I have to admit that the choose-x-people-to-ask games always feel a bit exclusive to me because what about the people who never quite make it onto that finite list, the people who nobody ever remembers to ask - and my memory is terrible and I will always inadvertently forget people. So, instead, I would like to invite anyone who sees this and wants to do it - don't wait to be asked, just rec yourselves! Let us know the works of yours you love the most! <3333333

[swaps55]

2023 Year End Fic Wrap Up

Tagged by @cr-noble-writes. Thank you!

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!):

Published: 65,113 Unpublished:  41,773 Total: 106,886

It feels like I wrote a lot less this year than previous years, but I think it’s less about word count and more that my two big projects, Fugue and Mezzo, sucked up my entire mental bandwidth and I just didn’t have capacity to kick out one shots like I have in the past. I have a bunch of ideas for fun one shots, but not enough time or energy to realize them.

Also, this number is by no means accurate. My Mezzo Leftovers document is sitting at 11.3k, and Fugue finished up with a scrapheap of 28.3k. Gosh, it's hard to believe Fugue was actually 2023. It feels like years ago. Just writing it aged me 10 years. XD

Smut scenes written (if applicable): None. Did I daydream frequently and in great detail about how Sam and Kaidan reconcile in ME3? Yes. Could I write it in my sleep at this point? Also yes. Did I write a word of it? No.

New things I tried: 2nd person POV, Mordin POV, and EDI POV were all new and very scary things I tried, and think were largely successful (jury is still out on EDI and Mordin because only my beta has seen it, but I’m pleased with them).

Fic I spent the most time on: Probably Mezzo, because I wrote more of it than Fugue in 2023.

Fic I spent the least time on: Probably Capriccio, because it was short and mostly wrote itself.

Favourite thing I wrote: Well…I wrote so little outside of the long fics, because they have sucked up all my time and spoons. Fugue is something I am so proud of, but Mezzo has been so fun.

Favourite thing I read: A Sip of Serenity was a Spec Recs Kaidan & Liara treat fic for me by @screwyouflightlieutenant and I love it with an unholy love. Also, Madrigal and Volta by @dandenbo are PHENOMENAL stories you should drop everything and read.

Writing goals for next year: Finishing Mezzo sounds ambitious, but I guess I can be ambitious in January. XD

Tagging...I don't know! Who hasn't done this? If you haven't, please do it and tag me, because I wanna see. @stormikins? @otemporanerys?

[tarnishedxknight]

OC Muse: Munoh, an Independent (Heretic) Occuria

[Bio and other information below the cut!]

Type of Character & Fandom/Source Material: OC muse, Munoh (Mew-NO) the Occuria, from the FFXII fandom.

FC: Themself! I actually sat down and edited a pic of an Occuria, putting together an entirely new one from parts of at least four of them, heh. So they should look like an Occuria, but not like any of the canon ones. I tried! XD Below is the whole version of the pic that I used for the banner, sans their magical glow so you can see the detail in their body. =)

Alignment: Neutral Good

Race: Occuria

Age: Ancient (in other words, nobody really knows, heh)

Gender: Agender (without gender)

Preferred pronouns: They honestly don't care if you use she/her or he/him, that really doesn't bother them, but they prefer they/them. They do take offense to the use of "it," as they see that as condescending.

Personal identity: They refer to themselves as "I," not as "we" as most Occuria do. They share this practice with Venat, for the same reasons. Having defected from the views that humekind needs to be guided to perform the will of the Occuria to maintain balance, Munoh no longer considers themself part of the collective, and therefore, quite rebelliously, refers to themself as "I," "me," and "myself," instead of "we," "us," and "ourselves.")

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: None

Family: I suppose the other Occuria, but they're pretty damn angry at Munoh right now. XD

Potentially Triggering Material in Threads: war; violence; trauma; mental illness; manipulation; depression

Positive Personality Traits: They are empathetic, curious, determined, understanding, and helpful. They are also very good listeners, and genuinely care about the well-being of humes and other mortal races.

Negative Personality Traits: The biggest one is arrogance, which all Occuria share due to their age and immense power, but as far as Occuria go, Munoh is not nearly as arrogant as some of the others. They can also become nervous and tend to fret if they are worried about something or someone. They will lash out against anyone or anything that threatens their current chosen mortal that they are overseeing.

BACKGROUND: 

Not much is known about the Occuria. At the time FFXII takes place, they are considered gods by the hume (human) race because of their ancient age, their magical power, and their ability to hold sway over mankind. The Occuria are essentially the last members of an extremely powerful, magical race of incorporeal beings with the ability to shapeshift, make themselves invisible, make themselves inaudible, and to bestow power and magical ability onto mortals. Centuries ago, they bestowed magical powers upon King Raithwall, the first Dynast King and Ashelia's ancestor.

The last remaining members of this race have formed a council of sorts who feel it is their duty to maintain balance and order. If one hume nation, country, kingdom, empire, etc. becomes too powerful, it is punished and reduced in some way. If one has been wronged, it is raised up, assisted, or granted help through the process of selecting a "chosen savior." This is a hume the Occuria have chosen to act on Earth and in Ivalice to push the tide of war back towards balance.

For example, in FFXII, Ashelia is chosen by the Occurian council, partly because of her blood connection to Raithwall and partially because of the injustice done to Dalmasca, and granted a magical sword to help her create powerful nethicite weapons from a much larger cryst. With the shards she could cut from that cryst with the sword the Occuria granted her, she could obliterate the Archadian Empire, thus restoring balance and avenging her kingdom. Billions of innocent people would die in the process, but this was necessary to restore balance the Occuria said.

In FFXII, there is one Occuria named Venat who defects from the council. They believe that mankind should control its own fate, not be forced to adhere to the guidance of the Occuria. They do not need guidance, and should be permitted and free to explore and reach their full potential, whatever that may be. To prove this point, he chooses Vayne Solidor as his "savior" and guides him to amass as much power as he wishes by developing a manmade form of nethicite (manufacted nethicite) that is made in a laboratory (through Dr. Cid's research) from magicite ore. This would allow Vayne an endless supply of nethicite that does not need to be granted him by the Occuria. Deifacted nethicite is only bestowed by the Occuria using a sword given to their chosen one with which they cut a large cryst the location of which is only shared with that person. So Vayne eagerly accepts this guidance from Venat, wanting to expand the Archadian Empire indefinitely.

Now... where Munoh comes in... is that they have also defected from the Occurian council, so they do not believe in guiding (or coercing, manipulating, tricking, etc.) humes into potentially committing terrible atrocities for the purpose of "resetting the world balance." However, unlike Venat, Munoh does not believe humes should run amok and take what they want at the expense of others either. Munoh believes in not pushing humes to do anything they don't want to do, and instead, just letting them live their lives. If they destroy themselves, that might be their destiny, but it could just as easily be that they will restore balance on their own through their own means and with their own minds. They don't believe the Occuria should intervene at all.

Their views have gotten them rejected from the Occurian council and thrown into exile on Earth, something they... really don't mind. In checking up on the last remaining living descendants of Raithwall, Munoh saw that the council was already manipulating Ashelia Dalmasca. Their searches took them to a very distraught Caelen Dalmasca (see his info post for more detail on him), one of Ashelia's brothers. Seen as a pathetic failure by the Occurian council because he lacked the drive and rage Ashelia possessed for exacting revenge on the Archadian Empire, he was ignored by the ancient beings. So Munoh... took him under their wing, so to speak.

Again, you can read up on Caelen to find out more about his relationship with Munoh and how other humes viewed him because of it, but essentially Munoh encouraged Caelen to make some kind of difference in the world... but in a way he wanted to, not because anyone told him to, or because he felt like it was expected of him. Munoh celebrates the free will and unpredictability of humes and finds it very beautiful. Sometimes it is used for and brings about evil, but sometimes it is used for and brings about goodness too. Munoh believes Caelen has a good heart and wants to support him in his endeavors, offering aid here and there when it is needed but otherwise simply keeping Caelen company as he tries to sort out his life. They are fiercely protective of him (or of any muse they might decide upon as their "chosen one") and will protect him if need be.

Potential Starter Ideas:

Your muse might encounter Munoh with Caelen if he's the focus of a thread, or Munoh might approach your muse if they're someone Caelen has been interacting with. Maybe your muse thought Caelen had mental health issues, talking to and interacting with thin air, until that thin air appeared before them and starting talking to them too. XD

Or your muse could be chosen by Munoh, which means they'll offer their guidance and help for whatever your muse wants to achieve in life. Maybe they've taken an interest in your muse and have some questions, wanting to know more about them. Maybe your muse's motives confuse them and they want clarification. They are a very curious sort. =)

Munoh might be convinced to help in certain battles or to oppose Venat, for muses who might be in a FFXII setting. But this would definitely take some convincing because they usually like to stay out of human conflict.

I'm not sure how Munoh would fit into a MCU verse, but I'm sure we could work something out!

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

Watching you dancing in your platform shoes You look so pretty in these reds and blues Baby, please, I know we're diving deep And you can barely breathe I'm scared completely that you'll up and leave me Is it worth this feeling?

Who are we kidding? That night in Milwaukee Was already starting

Your hair in my mouth Pull me down to the couch Oh, I want you right now And everyone tells me My heart beats for nothing But something is changing

I've still got that ring that you let me wear In that haunted swimming pool, I know you felt me there You'll win this hide, don't try to change my mind I feel so sure this time

Standing in just your t-shirt I know that this will hurt If you let go of me first

Who was I kidding? That night in Milwaukee You already had me

Your hair in my mouth Pull me down to the couch Oh, I want you right now I want you right now And everyone tells me My heart beats for nothing But something is changing

Standing in just your t-shirt Something is changing If you let go of me first Something is changing

***

@karatecaulfield back to making the lesbians little graphics and such!!!

Actually posting it is my birthday present to myself XD I just turned 26!!! This just in: Getting old isn't actually that scary. It might be when my health starts failing and whatnot, but for now I am vibing. Might finally get a job soon, too, so I can now shitpost without worrying about money constantly!!!

Also YO I MADE THIS AGES AGO BUT I NEVER POSTED BECAUSE I KEPT OBSESSING OVER THE PERFECT RUBY RING HELP

Truly what has obsessing over a couple of rich lesbians done to me akanhdusygduyis Do you know how much I would've cared about finding the perfect picture of a ruby ring 3 years ago??? 0%. YasMoon has forever altered me. There's no going back to who I once was.

I still debated myself for a long-ass time because like. I was like is that TOO much red nail polish??? Should I crop it out in the middle left pic??? Is it more symbolically poetic or whatever if only YASMINE has flashy red nail polish??? Is she the only one between them who gets to act like a showy tropical bird doing a mating dance??? But then I was like nah...wearing matching nail polish is 4000% one of those coupley-things-we're-gonna-pass-off-as-best-friend-things Yasmine and Moon would definitely do. And they both look damn good in it, so. Fuck it!!! They went matchy matchy to their secret hotel date!!!

So I got kind of obsessed with the idea of a YasMoon songfic based on Wisconsin Ave by Kailee Morgue, where basically Yasmine secretly books a nice hotel room the night after her 15th birthday (so pre-show!) so she and Moon can have a night to themselves and finally be free to do whatever they want! I've mentioned it in previous posts, but I am like. VERY certain these two were messing around backstage during (and before) Season 1, and the idea is so JUICY that I sadly am coming up with plot bunnies about it faster than I can write them D:

For whatever reason, Wisconsin Ave is the one that keeps chewing on me like a brain worm, and may in fact become a full-length songfic one of these days ^^; So naturally, to tide me over until then, I sated this desire the only way I know how...

MOODBOARDS AND FICLETS BAYBEE

This moodboard goes with this, this, this, and this! (Might make Daze Inn its own moodboard too, if I REALLY can't Find My Chill with these things ^^;) Tangentially related, but Yasmine's blue dress at the beginning of the Halloween episode in S1 was SUCH an underrated look. Like I don't care if it was supposed to be slutty or whatever!!! It served!!! I miss her skimpy little outfits tbh, the girl can have a redemption arc without having to dress "modest" like the good girls ;_____; Let her dress like a slut!!! This is her holy divine right as a woman!!!

Also they definitely underwater kissed in that hotel pool. I know, I was there, they told me themselves--

In any case, Moon would absolutely see Yas spinning around in that dress in a pair of stylish platform heels and just be so fucking gone for her. I love imagining it as this sweet, blissful moment of butterflies in her stomach and the unique euphoria of young love...and then reality comes crashing down seconds later and Moon is like "oh, I am fucked." Because all they get is this one perfect night--one night to be themselves and love each other the way they want to and let loose and do whatever they want...and then they have to go home. They have to go back under the watchful eyes of parents and classmates and snotty neighbors and everyone else who they have to hide from.

And Moon has to wonder. What if this this little arrangement between--this affection limited only to where no one can see--gets to be too much for Yasmine? What if she starts wanting someone she can show off? Love in the open? Take home to her parents?

...a boy?

And she lives in that fear. She lives in the fear that Yasmine could snatch away everything they have on a moment's notice and leave her behind to pursue something a little less...complicated.

She feels it all night--watching Yasmine dance, kissing her on the suite couch, wearing the ring Yasmine got as a birthday gift with their feet dangling in the Universal Studios Hilton pool that some kid supposedly drowned in. Waking up in Yasmine's shirt the next morning.

Knowing that she's Yasmine's, whether she wants to be or not. Moon is in too deep to pull herself away now.

The other girls in their group sneer at her. They see how she looks at Yasmine. They know the admiration in her eyes go beyond platonic.

And they hate her, because she's the only one that Yasmine gives any of that back to. She's The Favorite. The right-hand Beta Bitch. Unquestionably second in their lunch table's pecking order. She calls the shots far more than any of the other girls are allowed.

Not that Moon feels the need to call shots. But it's still a privilege not afforded to the girls who throw snide, passive-aggressive comments her way.

It'd bother Moon more if Yasmine actually gave a shit. But their "friends" are irrelevant to the queen bee beyond how good they can make the table look to the rest of the school.

Harper Moreno confronts her one time. Corners Moon on the way to history class--a class she notably doesn't share with Yasmine.

"I know you want Yasmine." Harper doesn't mince words. "I see you over there, leering at her all lunch. You're wasting your time."

"I don't--"

"No use lying about it." Harper's eyes flash coldly. "You really think you're the only one of us who's ever wanted to fuck her? You're not special, Moon."

Moon sways on her feet, caught off-guard.

"Did you ever...?"

"Not me, no. But I know others who have."

Yasmine would tell her Harper's trying to get the better of her. Work her up until she loses her composure and gives Harper the kind of undignified reaction she wants. Something she can get Aubrey or Jenna--probably hiding somewhere in a nearby crowd--to stealthily record and put on her Instagram story.

Something to bring her down so Harper can fill the now-vacant spot of Yasmine's second-in-command.

Moon isn't going to have it.

"You don't know me," she says coldly. "You don't know her. I matter to her in a way you don't."

It's a cruel thing to say. Yasmine would approve.

So much of what Moon does hinges on that these days.

Moon doesn't like the conniving smile Harper gives her. The way the other girl steps forward, putting only a few inches between them before leaning forward and hissing in her ear.

"It's all for nothing, you know. Your little crush. Yasmine will throw you away once she's done with you, just like she does with everyone."

As Harper saunters off, she throws one last sneer over her shoulder.

"I've known her since middle school, by the way. I've learned by now you don't get attached. Maybe you should wise up, too."

Most everyone else she talked to told her something similar. Her mom warned her away even more strongly.

"I went to high school with that type of girl too, Moonchild. They'll break your heart. Plain and simple."

But on the morning after Yasmine's 15th, looking at herself in a hotel mirror clad in Yasmine's clothes...

Moon has her doubts.

After all, it's not just any girl Yasmine invites for a private getaway in a luxury room. And if the loose Paris t-shirt hanging off her, the ruby ring still on her bedside table, and the bright red nail polish Yasmine picked solely to match Moon's are any indication...

Yasmine seems to have gotten pretty tangled up herself.

And something is shifting. The way Yasmine's sprawled out on the bed with her hair a rumpled mess on the pillows, drool trailing from her mouth...

It's imperfection she's never dared show before. Every past time she and Moon screwed around, one always fled before the morning came.

Now here Yasmine is, messy and flawed and laying it all bare for Moon to see. Trusting Moon with it.

It feels like the beginning of something.

Not the beginning of a "real" relationship. Moon isn't that naive.

But the beginning of Yasmine considering what they have is deeper than she planned?

That Moon can hope for.

***

(This is Harper btw)

I gave her a personality and a backstory!!! She fucking sucks and I'm very excited to write more of her being a menace <3

I do fr wonder about the other girls at Yasmine and Moon's S1 table. Like who are they??? Did they really all just ditch tf out of Yasmine after the wedgie incident??? Why did Yasmine deem them in particular worthy of the Rich Girl Clique, but only sometimes (since it's different extras at the lunch table in different scenes)???? Anyways, I imagine they prolly were passive-aggressive terrors to Moon because of all the blatant favoritism and special treatment she got from the Alpha Bitch. There was so totally inner bullying going on in that clique, and someday!!! I will write about it more than anyone ever asked for!!!

Anyways!!! More posts about Best Lesbians coming soon :3 As always, moodboard pic credits available upon request!

[girls-are-weird]

a fragment

so... i wrote this short fragment of a scene ages ago... maybe a month or so after YR S2 premiered, when i was trying to wrap my head around what i wanted S3 to be like or what i thought would happen in it-- either/or. i'm not sure.

i wanted to write it early on in the break, before the real S3 came and jossed it, but although i had some idea of the beats i wanted to hit, i was never able to fully crack the plot, and now that S3 is firmly in postprod territory, i realize i probably won't have time to write the full thing. but i think it's a pretty good piece of writing, and i don't want it to just languish in my hard drive without anybody ever reading it, so i figured i might as well put it out there just for kicks.

you don't get much of the plot in it-- it's just 650 words of wille complaining about being grounded at drottningholm-- but the gist of the fic was going to be: sara runs away after telling the police about what august did, her family thinks she's missing and the police starts searching for her, august gets arrested but he promises to not implicate simon with the drugs as long as the crown puts all of its resources into the search, wille demands to be allowed to stand with simon and linda during public appearances to support them/give the case more visibility, and eventually they get a tip from the public that leads them to sara alive and well in some other city she ran away to because she couldn't take the guilt of what she did to her brother. they all make up. august goes to jail. something something happy ending. your guess is as good as mine. xD

anyway, here's the little snippet i did manage to write. it was supposed to be the very beginning of the fic. hope you like!

Four days Wilhelm spent by himself at Drottningholm, completely disconnected from the outside world and without a clue as to what was happening with Simon or any of his friends at Hillerska. His mother had confiscated his phone before leaving the school that day; his computer was presumably still at Hillerska or elsewhere with the rest of his belongings, which hadn't been returned to him as of yet. He could watch tv in the family lounge but all they were doing was speculating about his sexuality and his relationship with Simon without any response from the Crown, and that only made him even more anxious, so he'd given up on the news altogether. His parents' room and offices had been unused and locked for the past four days so there was no way he could use their desk phones even if he knew how to do that (which he didn't), and the entire house staff had been instructed not to lend him theirs no matter how much he begged. Labor contracts and NDAs outweighed pity when it came to the palace staff, unfortunately.

He hadn't even heard from his parents, who had probably spent the past few days at the Royal Palace dealing with the fallout, and his only interaction with another human being other than the house staff was his one daily check-in with Minou. He was sure his mother had done that on purpose because Minou was the "nice" one— Farima would've gotten a door slammed in her face, and Jan-Olof better not show his face around Wilhelm any time soon if he valued his life at all. But even though polite, Minou was still loyal to the Queen, and the most Wille had gotten out of her was that the team was figuring out how to proceed after his reveal at the jubilee and he should stay out of the public eye until further notice.

Not for the first time, he cursed having to live in a place watched over by the Royal Guard; their job was just as much to keep him in as it was to keep intruders out. He swore he'd haunted the palace like an 18th-century ghost, pacing trenches in every carpet to be found within the 162 hectares of the property in search of some exit that would allow him to get outside undetected and maybe hail a cab or jump on a bus— fuck, at this point he'd even try and hitchhike back to Bjärstad, even though every horror movie in history warned against doing that.

But even that was a no-go. Every known exit to the building had at least one guard posted outside of it, and he was certain he'd be bodily brought back inside if he so much as poked the tips of his toes beyond any external doorway. By this point, he'd even begun contemplating the physics of jumping out a window, but he'd concluded there wasn't one that was close enough to the lake that he could fall into it and maybe, with some luck, not break every bone in his body.

This had to be some kind of kidnapping, right? Except even if it was, he was screwed because his captor just happened to be the queen of the fucking country, who probably couldn't even be charged with a crime— he wasn't sure; he'd never asked. Erik would probably know, but that was… a whole separate issue, wasn't it? And even if he raised a stink about neglect or something along those lines, he was nearly seventeen, not seven, and nobody would buy it, anyway, because the place he was being held captive in happened to be a bloody palace with a whole fleet of servants at the ready to attend to his every need.

Except when that need happened to be talking to the boy he loved.

[megan-loves-surveys]

Let's go.

1 - Who was the last person to give you a gift? What was the reason for it? Christmas lol.

2 - Are you a good cook? If so, who taught you? What’s your favourite thing to cook? No I suck. My boyfriend has been trying to teach me but I'm awful.

3 - When was the last time something in your house broke? Did you manage to fix it or did you need to buy a replacement? Good question, I'm not sure.

4 - Is any part of your body hurting right now? What caused that pain? Not right now.

5 - Do you have anything exciting planned for the upcoming weekend? I'm going to a wrestling show, that'll be fun.

6 - If you could spend two weeks in any city in the world, which city would you pick and why? London or NYC, cos so much to do, I wouldn't get bored.

7 - When was the last time you tripped or fell in public? if there was nobody around to see you, did you still feel embarrassed? Ages ago, I don't think anyone saw me.

8 - The last time you made a sandwich, what did you put in there? Peanut butter.

9 - How many hours sleep did you get last night? Was that enough for you or could you have slept for longer? 6 hours and 40 mins, I could have had a bit longer but eh.

10 - What’s your favourite time of day? What’s your favourite thing to do at that time? Evenings, that's my free time! I listen to music, watch wrestling, play video games, talk on Discord etc.

11 - Where did you go the last time you left your house? I went to work, then after work I went out for a meal with my Mum.

12 - Are you tired right now? Will you be going to bed anytime soon? I'm alright, and no it's 12:26pm xD

13 - How many times a week do you get takeaway coffee, if you get it at all? I mostly stay away from coffee cos caffeine does a number on me.

14 - What radio station do you listen to the most? None.

15 - If you eat steak, how do you like it cooked? What sauces or sides do you like to go with it? I don't.

16 - Do you prefer sweet or savoury pancakes? What toppings do you have on them? Mixture - I get them with bacon and maple syrup.

17 - Are you someone who cracks their joints a lot? Which one(s) do you tend to crack and click the most? Yep, especially my knees and my fingers xD

18 - Have you ever taken medication or tablets to help you sleep? is this something you do on a regular basis? No.

19 - For you, what’s the worst thing about getting up in the morning? What about the worst thing about going to bed tonight? Actually getting up, after I do, I'm fine. And going to bed is annoying cos I have to haul all the plushies off it xD

20 - Do you prefer regular or diet soft drinks? Definitely diet, regular is usually too sweet.

21 - What do you tend to wear if you’re just hanging about the house for the day? Depends on the time of year - in summer, it'll be a jumpsuit, summer dress or tank top & shorts. In winter, it'll be comfy yoga pants and a hoodie with ugg boots.

22 - When was the last time you dyed your hair? Did you do it yourself or get it done at a hairdresser? December, I went to the salon.

23 - Does having to wear a mask stop you doing things? Is this because you struggle wearing one or you just don’t like it? We thankfully don't have to wear them anymore, but we did have to wear them for months in 2021 and 2022 - inside any buildings and on public transport.

24 - Have you ever witnessed a car accident? Or have you perhaps been involved in one yourself? Were you at fault? Does getting hit by a car count? LOL.

25 - When was the last time you baked a cake? What cake was it? I don't bake.

26 - Do you like wearing bows or accessories in your hair? Nah.

27 - How many books do you read in a year? Do you enjoy reading or do you have to really force yourself to sit down and read? Not as many as I should. I've read two this year so far lol.

28 - If you have pets, where did they come from? A breeder, a rescue or maybe a friend who bred their pet? No pets.

29 - Do you make your bed every morning when you get up? Yep.

30 - When was the last time you got takeaway food? Was it good? I had KFC on Friday if that counts.

1 - Who was the last person to knock on your door? Were they there to see you? My boyfriend, he usually texts me to let him into our complex but the gate was open last time and he was able to come in on his own.

2 - Have you left the house yet today? If not, do you have plans to leave the house later on? Not yet, and yes, I'm heading out to a concert later this afternoon around 3:30 or so.

3 - What’s your favourite brand of chocolate? What type of chocolate bar from that brand is your favourite? Any Belgian chocolate, Whittakers (NZ brand) and Cadbury's.

4 - Have you ever met someone in person who you first met on the internet? Do you have plans to do that anytime soon? Oh yeah, quite a few of my friends were online friends first, then later on we met in real life.

5 - What was the last thing you used a blender for? We don't own a blender.

6 - Have you ever got into an argument with a stranger on social media? Do you remember what it was about? Oh, loads of times. They're usually about wrestling xD

7 - When was the last time you cracked your joints? Is that something you do often? I do that way too much.

8 - What time is it right now? If you weren’t doing a survey, what else would you be doing right now? 1:25pm. I'd either be at work, at the gym or watching wrestling or playing a video game haha.

9 - If you had ten minutes to run around an empty supermarket and fill your trolley for free, what’s the first aisle you’d go for? Chips! Haha.

10 - Aside from Tumblr, what websites do you visit the most and why? last.fm, Facebook, Reddit, YouTube. All the usuals.

11 - Has COVID had any impact on your Christmas plans this year? What’s going to change or be different to normal? No, Covid isn't really a problem anymore. It's still around of course, but it doesn't affect stuff as much now.

12 - What’s your favourite flavour of cake? Are you any good at making that kind of cake? Any! And I suck at baking.

13 - Do you prefer sweet or sour candy? Sour.

14 - What colour is your favourite fruit? Is this a fruit you eat often? Yellow, cos it's bananas haha. And I don't eat them that much really.

15 - Is your favourite restaurant an independent place or a chain? What is it that you love about it so much? Porterhouse Grill, it's independent as far as I know. It's expensive but the food is so good and the staff are so friendly.

16 - Are you genuinely a fan of Starbucks or do you think it’s all hype? I love it! I go at least once a week.

17 - Do you own a Christmas jumper? What design/pattern does it have on it? I do, I have two, they're both wrestling ones - one is Seth Rollins, the other is Roman Reigns. I can't wear them at Christmas though cos it's too hot, so I wear them in July lol.

18 - What’s your favourite fit/style of jeans? Skinny jeans.

19 - What was the last non-essential item you spent money on? I dropped a bunch of money on backing the Broken Sword kickstarter haha.

20 - Are you currently under any COVID-related restrictions where you live? Are people generally following the rules? No, they lifted those in 2022.

21 - What did you last leave the room you’re in to do? To go downstairs for lunch.

22 - Have you ever read any self-help books? Did you find them useful? No.

23 - What’s your favourite programme on the Food Network (if you watch it)? If you don’t get that channel, what’s your favourite food/cookery show in general? I don't like cooking shows.

24 - Do you still watch cartoons? Yep sometimes.

25 - Who do you know with the most number of siblings? Would you ever want to live in a huge family? Ngawari, my BFF. She has 9 brothers and sisters! And no.

26 - Are you a fan of garlic bread? Yes! Yummy.

27 - Do you own any personalized clothing? What’s the reason for getting it? No.

28 - Is anyone else in the same room as you right now? What is that person up to? No, my Mum is downstairs.

29 - What colours are you wearing right now? Does your wardrobe contain a lot of those colours? Only black haha. And yes.

30 - Do you like adding condiments to your food? If so, what are some of your favourites? I am a condiment addict, I use so many different ones. But I def use tomato sauce/ketchup the most, with mayo in second.

This past year…

who were your favorite singers, musicians, or bands?

My most played artist on Spotify was Taylor Swift, lol. But on last.fm my #1 was Ayumi Hamasaki, like she is most years.

what were some of your favorite foods?

Mac & cheese, always.

what was your favorite dessert?

Iceblocks or ice cream.

what was the best thing that happened to you?

I got permanent work finally! It started as a temp job, but my boss liked me so much he offered me the permanent position. Yay me!

what was the worst thing that happened to you?

Dunno, 2023 was pretty good, all things considered.

how have you grown as a person?

Sure.

what have you learned?

That a temp job can turn into a permanent one if you work hard enough and impress.

how old did you turn?

36.

what did you do for your birthday?

I had dinner with my BFF on my actual birthday, then the next day I went to lunch with my Mum and then went out for drinks with my boyfriend.

what did you accomplish?

Got a permanent job, went to the gym regularly for the whole year etc.

where did you live?

I've lived in the same place since 2016 lol.

who was your best friend?

Ngawari, we reconnected in a big way last year - she was inspired to join the gym by me and now we go together every week.

This past year, have you….

made a new friend?

Yes.

lost a friend?

Yes :( My friend Zoe passed from cancer.

made a new best friend?

No.

lost someone close to you?

Yes.

attended a funeral?

No, cos Zoe didn't have a funeral, they just had a get together and I couldn't go cos we lived in different cities.

attended a wedding?

No.

gave birth to a child? 🤰

No.

“came out of the closet”?

No.

traveled?

God I wish.

felt depressed? 😔

No.

felt suicidal? 😔

No.

felt happy? 😃

Yes!

felt at peace? 😊

Probably?

felt overjoyed? 💃

Sure.

felt blessed? 😇

Dunno.

felt amazed? 🤩

Sure.

fallen in love? 😍

I was already in love <3

had your heart broken? 💔

No..

got a new car? 🚗

No..

graduated? 👩‍🎓

No.

experienced something miraculous? ✨

Nah.

had a better year than last year?

2023 was way better than 2022 for sure.

had a worse year than last year?

No.

been to see the doctor? 👨‍⚕️

I didn't, lol.

been to the hospital? 🏥

No.

had a severe allergic reaction? 🤧

No.

had COVID? 🦠

I think I did, I got sick twice in two months - once was a cold, the other was prob Covid.

found out someone you knew had COVID? 🦠

Yes.

used an epi pen? 💉

No.

had a fever? 🥵

No.

had a migraine? 🧠

Too damn many.

gone on a date? 🌹

Loads.

written in a journal or diary? 📔

Yes.

given someone a hug? 🤗

Loads.

cut your hair? 💇‍♀️

No, but I dyed it a few times.

danced around your living room? 💃

No.

prayed? 🙏

No.

worshiped Jesus?

No.

read the Bible? 📖

No.

discovered a new favorite book? 📕

No.

gone to church? ⛪️

No.

went for a walk in the fall? 🍁

Probably.

set up and decorated a Christmas tree? 🎄

Yes.

threw up? 🤮

No.

almost threw up? 🤢

Yes.

discovered a new music artist you really liked? 🎤

Loads!

discovered a new song you really liked? 🎶

LOADS.

seen snow? ⛄️

No.

seen beautiful fall foliage? 🍁

Yes.

gone to the beach? 🏝

No.

rode a bike? 🚴

No.

rode a horse? 🐎

No.

swam? 👙

No.

worn makeup? 💄

No.

done a craft project?

No.

made a scrapbook page?

No.

written an essay? 📝

No.

painted something? 🎨

No.

drawn something? ✍️

No.

sketched in a sketchbook?

No.

written someone a letter? 📝

No.

been to a concert? 👩‍🎤

Yep, I went to see the Vengaboys last year.

driven a car? 🚘

No.

kayaked? 🛶

No.

gone on a cruise? 🚢

No.

made a big purchase?

Depends what you consider big.

moved to a new home? 🏡

No.

got a new pet?

No.

lost a pet?

No.

gotten a tattoo?

No.

gotten a new piercing?

No.

started a new hobby?

No.

worn a mask? 😷

We didn't have to wear them in 2023.

felt afraid to leave your house?

No.

celebrated your birthday alone?

No.

celebrated Christmas alone?

No.

went for a long walk through the neighborhood?

Yes.

Favorites of this Year (Pick one for each.)

Song:

Hard choice, probably CuteBad - Provocateur

Book:

Dunno.

TV show:

Raw or Dynamite.

Youtube channel:

I have loads of faves, but prob Call Me Kevin. He's always funny no matter what.

Food:

Mac & cheese.

Dessert:

Iceblocks.

Drink:

Starbucks mocha java chip frappe.

Friend:

Ngawari or David.

Thing you did:

Saw the Vengaboys or going to wrestling shows.

Place you went:

Nowhere lol.

Person you spend time with:

My Mum.

Thing you did for your birthday:

Gone to eat.

Celebrity:

Jon Moxley.

Website:

YouTube or last.fm.

Emojis:

Laughing crying face or heart.

Colors:

Purple & blue.

Restaurant:

Porterhouse Grill.

Tea flavor ☕️:

I don't like tea.

Final Questions!

Would you say this past year has been a good year overall?

Pretty good, yeah.

What are your goals for the new year?

Keep going to the gym, mainly.

How old will you turn next year?

37.

Did you make any big mistakes this past year?

No.

Do you have any big changes coming?

No.

How will you be celebrating New Year’s Eve this year?

I just hung out with my boyfriend and his friends and we had some drinks.

What was the best day of this year for you, and why?

Hard to pick.

What did you spend the most time doing this year?

Working and going to the gym, lol.

[just-here-for-iolaus]

Hercules in the Underworld

The great HTLJ/XWP/YH (re)watch continues!

I actually watched this AGES ago and took notes but am only now formatting this blog post.

First scene, I got overly excited, and my notes literally read "Iolaus!? But not, sadly." because our boy Michael Hurst shows up with black hair, and idec what's going on at this point because I just want to stare at him for the rest of the movie.

But the ground opens up and it's this whole thing and these two die. Boo.

The next thing I freaked out about was Timothy Balme in the credits!! I hadn't thought about it at all going into it, so I didn't know he was in the movie. (I know him mostly from Almighty Johnsons, as Mike Johnson, and for writing things I liked.)

Those credits were over a scene where a young woman was being bathed and groomed etc. It's kinda sus but we don't know what's up yet.

Then we get what is actually kind of an upsetting scene? This wrestler comes to town and the hype man is taking bet money from anyone who wants to challenge the wrestler... who then just immediately kills the first man. And his friend realllly flatly complains about it because that was his friend. Yeah, you sound heart-broken... but for some reason friend dude challenges the 'wrestler' who just literally killed someone, and he has no shot.

Then we get a really adorable reveal of Hercules with his kids and it made me happy to see him after that awful scene. He's asked to come deal with the killer in town, and so he arrives to challenge him. There's a long fight, bla bla, Hercules wins. Then it's revealed that this whole thing was Hera just causing problems to annoy Hercules and WOW is that awful.

Several men are dead because Hera blames Hercules for Zeus's infidelity... what else is new?

Hercules quite reasonably destroys the shrine to Hera outside the town.

Then Zeus comes and complaings to Herc about how he should complain less about Hera's bs? And be more grateful for how great his life is, because he has a wife and kids/happy home life and that's "more than [Zeus] ever had" which is like... confusing?? He's the king of the gods? Surely he could have had a nice wife if he'd wanted one? IDK. I don't get Zeus. And I get him less the more I see.

Herc rightfully points out that he's worked very hard to get this nice life, and I feel much more annoyed at Zeus on Herc's behalf than he is. Hercules has grown on me so much haha.

My notes: "I kept waiting for Hercules to come home to his wife and kids dead. XD" "How do we still have a wife and kids and no Iolaus???"

Luckily Herc goes home and there's a cute scene of him and his wife that shows their chemistry quite well. I liked Dei a lot here. Herc then goes and does chores but gets distracted by how much he loves his family and my FUCKING HEART. I love Hercules so much in this scene.

And he's hanging out with this centaur guy who, initially, excited me!

"A centaur! Not as well done visuals as they end up having for Cheiron in YH but fair enough."

Then this girl shows up and says she needs Herc's help in her town. We find out that the centaur doesn't like Hercules and worships Hera (even tho he works for Hercules?). He goes back to the house and gets into a confrontation with Dei where he implies that Hercules won't be faithful to her and then - (and this part makes my skin crawl) says that he can think of something else he can do better than Hercules, coming on to her. I thought this scene was unfortunately believable, both on how creepy he was and how Dei reacted.

"Die-a-nah-rah"? "Day-a-nee-rah"? Well the characters can't agree on how to say her name, so...

Dei encounters a lady who says the girl who came looking for help is trying to trick Hercules, so she goes to try to warn him. She leaves her kids with their aunt.

I got really excited, because the aunt's name is Althea (which is the name of my Young Hercules OC hahahahaha).

On the subject of names, the woman Herc is helping is named "Iole" but I definitely thought her name was "ailoli" at some point. But also why is Iole's name so similar to their daughter's name (Ilea)? WHAT IS WITH NAMES IN THESE MOVIES?? Just pick names that are more different PLEASE. Iole, Ilea, Iolaus, whyyyyy.

Anyway, off Dei goes to warn Herc but SURPRISE, Herc already knew all about it and he's convinced he'll never get seduced by anyone because the only person he loves enough to die for is Dei (sorry kids), so he sends her home with the centaur (Nessus) that tried it on the night before.

Disappointingly, Nessus tries to assault Dei, who yells for help, and Herc... Shoots a single arrow. From a huge distance. To kill Nessus without visual. She didn't say "Hercules, help, Nessus is attacking me" she just yelled for help and... I can suspend my disbelief for a lot in these movies but this was just ridiculous. He could have easily killed his wife here. JFC.

Anyway Nessus is dying and whines to Hera about it, but then tells Dei his blood is magic and if she puts her cloak (which absorbed his blood) on Herc, he'll always be loyal to her. Even in the scene this doesn't make a lot of sense, but he claims it's because he loves Dei.

Herc (to his credit) does come to Dei. He blames himself for what's happened and offers to go home, but Dei... tells him not to? Urges him to help Iole? It's a bit odd. But she says she has to help those people and she gives him the cloak and tells him to use it at night when he's cold and think only of her.

Herc and Iole get to some town where a man is just going apeshit destroying a pub or whatever, and Iole uses her special virgin powers to calm him down and figure out that he burned his tongue on soup and would have explained but couldn't talk because he was in too much pain, and he just needs a drink of water... and the guy is immediately calm. Like a toddler or animal. Except that he's a grown man, so this whole scene makes no sense whatsoever. I assumed this was some sort of like "oh, see, Iole argued with Herc that they should try talking" callback to Dei previously or something, but it's actually a set up for something else.

WE SEE TIM. He's clearly watching Iole.

But I just got so excited because I love familiar faces.

There's a scene where Iole and Herc are camping out and she tells him a story about two lovers in the stars who are destined never to reach each other... And I was like WHY AREN'T YOU USING YOUR WIFE'S CLOAK? Guess it was a balmy night.

A Tim Balme-y night.

Creeper character that he is, he's stalking Iole and we get a scene which is basically just more fanservice where Iole swims around naked (save for all her jewelry) and Lycastus (we don't know his name yet, but I feel bad calling him Tim here) watches her the whole time making wanton faces. It drags on a bit, and Iole thinks it's Herc watching her so she's playing it up... Yikes.

Lycastus attacks Hercules, and Herc is like "I'm not gonna dirty my hands on you" or something but then when Lycastus attacks again he's like "the next thing to break is your neck" which is sort of the opposite of what he just said, but okay.

Anyway Herc knocks him out instead of killing him, Iole explains that she and Lycastus are in love, but that it doesn't matter because the only thing that does matter is saving her village. And off they go, leaving poor Lycastus alone and knocked out in the wilds.

They get to town and everyone's happy cuz Herc is there to save them. At this point I was still very confused why anyone thought Herc could help, because, I mean... it's a big hole with green shit coming out of it. Hercules can't exactly beat it into submission, you know?

Zeus shows up and tells Herc not to go down there because the only thing down there is death.

From my notes: "Hercules doesnt know if he’s mortal or not… and apparently neither does Zeus…??? Even though in the last movie they were like ZOMG IF YOU GO IN THE CIRCLE YOULL BE MORTAL. Guess that doesnt matter now?"

Seriously what is or isn't canon in this universe? XD

Anyway, Lycastus tries to tell Iole not to seduce Hercules, she's like "no, I love you, but I have to do this" but then these two start making out!! She's like "no, I can't (bone you right here right now)" but he argues that she wants to, and she's just like "yeah, but I can't" and Herc shows up right then to tell her that he just can't bring himself to go in that hole (in the ground).

Iole then strips and tries to convince Herc to do it for her, but he's like "nah, this is really uncomfortable, sorry" and isn't interested at all and honestly... his face when she starts dropping her dress? He seems so like "what is she doing?".

This is not a man who was ever going to cheat on his wife.

I'm still wondering if maybe he's kinda demisexual? Like he needs to form a certain kind of bond with someone before he considers them sexually attractive? Not important, just a thought.

HILARIOUSLY, on his way out of the tent he's like "Hey Lycastus, take care of her" which makes me wonder if he knew Lycastus was there the whole time, and chose to cockblock him when he entered, or...? XD

And it's only now, when Herc is deciding to go home, that he puts on Dei's cloak for the first time. It starts beating him up (really, just, watch the scene, there's no other way to describe it?) and when he finally gets it off, it turns into a peacock (for Hera) before disappearing entirely.

This drives him to throw himself into the hole because... he's mad at the gods?

Unfortunately someone runs and tells Dei that Herc is dead because there was a cloak that drove him mad. She believes he's dead and that it's her fault.

Then we get treated to more Michael Hurst (as Charon the Boatman, so a little less photogenic than usual), who informs Hercules that he's still alive. I thought it was kinda rude Herc stole his lantern (especially after getting a free boat ride) but I suppose even heroes can have flaws. (I say, knowing full well I will never blame Iolaus for stealing anything ever.)

Dei then, uh... walks to a cliff, thinking about Hercules, I think with the intention of killing herself already, but then it's implied that Hera gives her a vision of Herc reaching out to her, and she walks off trying to reach back to him? I'm not sure if Hera's involvement was needed, but maybe they wanted to soften the suicide angle a bit. But like, why would she have even been there otherwise, dressed like that and having flashbacks of him... ANYWAY.

There's a really weird scene where these three "women" come to Hercules in the underworld and start like, seducing him, I guess? And he keeps picturing sexy times with his wife (clips from earlier) and repeating her name... until he snaps out of it and kills(?) them.

Basically the dead are all after Hercules. Especially the villains he killed. Herc pits the villains against each other to get away. Honestly the fighting gets boring.

Nessus reveals himself to Herc and explains how he betrayed him. He reveals that Dei killed herself because she blamed herself for his death. Herc tricks Nessus into opening the portal to where Dei is (to "show" her to Herc) and Herc jumps through it. (Suck it, Nessus.)

Herc finds Dei, but she doesn't remember him. Hades shows up and (I actually thought quite reasonably) explained that he had erased the pain that brought her there, and that she was dead but basically happy. It's a reward for her good life. Herc says he's gonna take her home and Hades tries to explain that that's just, not really how death works.

He also claims that her memory can't be restored. But the moment Herc kisses her, she gets her memories back, so... that was incorrect.

Fortunately for Herc, Hades is dealing with a problem right now. Hercules offers to catch Cerberus for Hades in exchange for Dei leaving with Herc. They make the deal, even tho Hades is doubtful it will happen. And for some reason tries to raise the stakes on the bet by saying if Herc fails then she's Hades's forever?

From my notes: "I kind of loved Hades? He was actually being pretty kind to Deianeira etc. and it was reasonable for him to make a deal with Hercules. Eventually Dei will die though so like… IDK that was kind of a weird like IF YOU FAIL SHE IS MINE FOREVER like yeah I guess if you die, you're dead forever? IDK."

How does death normally work in this world??

The underworld guards were actually so funny. Some really interesting/fun costume stuff and fake limbs, etc. But clearly they were limited with the budget/technology of the time.

To quote my notes: "Speaking of visuals, Cerberus is… rough…" (Not even so much the practical props, but the CGI.. yikes)

But Hercules manages to not only find, but corner Cerberus, and, remembering the TONGUE BURNING SCENE FROM EARLIER, is able to calm him down and get him back to his post instead of killing him. That's great and all, but I think the whole thing would have been better if that first scene had been about a child or animal and not a grown man.

To their credit, the guards seemed quite satisfied with the whole thing. I liked these guys haha.

Getting Hades back to normal saves the village, as the hole closes up. Iole apologizes to Herc and Dei, then announces that she's gonna start a family with Lycastus. Herc and Dei have some PDA in the town which makes me wanna gag just a little bit.

Zeus then comes to visit his family and he and Herc chat about whether or not Hercules is immortal, and apparently Herc doesn't care either way.

The movie ends on Herc being asked to help someone again (almost played for laughs? But not by the characters, at least).

Final thoughts:

Overall, a pretty solid plot.

I can't get over how stupid the soup scene is. Literally just needed it to be a kid or an animal in a similar scenario to solve that issue. It was great that it came back when dealing with Cerberus, but the initial scene itself was a mess.

I wanted to see more of Lycastus, not because his plot felt unfinished, but just because I actually really liked the character and it was Tim haha.

Once again I ask: How do we still have a wife and kids and no Iolaus???

I was not surprised that Dei died. But BOY was I surprised that Dei didn't stay dead. WTF.

On that note, I really like Dei. I liked how certain she was initially of her bond with Herc and that it was only after she was convinced that there was treachery afoot that she went to warn him (and I love that she was trying to WARN him, not be all jealous - she was told he would die, so of course she'd want to warn him)!

I also really liked Hercules's loyalty and the love he showed throughout the movie for his wife and kids. It's very endearing.

WHERE IS THIS GOING? How does this become the TV show?? XD

[shadowsong26fic]

NaNo Wrapup

((she says, disingenuously, as if she’s actually gotten stuff done this month))

...yeah, I didn’t XD I think I wrote all of five hundred words, if that. A lot more kept building in my brain but in situations where I could neither actively work on it nor jot down the highlights to remember later (most often when I was driving because Of Course that’s when Inspiration strikes lol)

I have actually figured out a few things, at least, just need to actually Get Things Written Down. I have some time off and no travel plans this month, plus the Liminal Space that is the last week of December tends to be very quiet at work so I’ll (hopefully) get some stuff down then. Part of what I’ve figured is a few more gaps filled in for The Other Battlestar (which still needs a better title; I will probably dive into Shakespeare to find something suitable, all of the mythological references I’m coming up with Do Not Suit); I’ve also worked out a list of possibilities for this year’s Star Wars Big Bang, which is starting up now (exciting!)

I didn’t really get any further on Incinctus. I joined a Castlevania creatives discord Ages ago, I should probably just. Like. Ask for someone to help beta/bounce ideas off of/whatever. Then I would probably unstick, lol.

So, yeah, that’s where things stand. I’m hoping to actually get some Stuff out later this month, but not really counting on it at this point. If the last couple weeks of the month go the way I’m hoping, though, I should have some things going up in January! That seems much likelier but we’ll see ::knocks on wood::

In terms of SWBB...well, I do generally appreciate feedback in terms of ‘what would y’all like to see from me’ when I’m torn between a few options, so, here’s what I have right now ((this is, of course, assuming nothing New jumps out at me before I have to Settle on something, lol)) Several of these are in fact BSG crossovers because that’s where a good chunk of my head is at and crossovers are allowed for the event.

List, along with some pros and cons, behind the cut.

Also, plug for my writing discord; and I’ll be around for an open question night if you guys are!

Crossover Option 1: Some subset of the Ghost crew, post-s4, ends up on Occupied Caprica during the Kobol arc (i.e., while Starbuck is there the first time)

Pros: This is one of the easier ones to keep self-limiting (meaning, I can have a Clear End Point and then separate the two storylines without derailing the future too much; that’s one of the harder things about plotting a BSG crossover, I’m finding. Unlike the ATLA crossover I wrote a year or two ago, it’s hard to keep these contained/reasonable, lol). Also it would focus a lot on Zeb (and, to a lesser extent, Kallus) and Zeb needs more love from fandom.

Cons: 95% of why I want to do this is to build up to/around a conversation between Zeb and Helo that I wrote a while back; I’m not really sure there’s enough here to sustain a long-form work. ...I mean, I am an Extremely Wordy Writer, lol, but still. Also I haven’t done a whole lot outside of self-indulgent RP with a friend involving the Ghost crew so I’m not 100% solid on doing them justice.

Crossover Option 2: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and possibly Rex and/or Padme end up on Kobol while the first landing party is there.

Pros: Another one that’s easy to keep self-limiting (by the time the SW half of things is able to get back there, the second landing party has come and gone; radically different hyperspace/FTL tech means reconnecting On Purpose is like finding a needle in a haystack). And there’s a lot of stuff I can do with Baltar and Anakin; and Anakin and Chief; and Visions and Head!Six. And possibly even keep Crashdown from spinning out and getting shot!

Cons: A lot of this would rely on Unsettling Vibes and Mysticism which is Not my strong suit.

Crossover Option 3: Either immediately after A Measure Of Salvation or during the skipped year, a Basestar and a Clone Wars-era capital ship (probably the Resolute) cross paths.

Pros: Clones and Cylons are a connection just waiting to happen; plus I can get some of the stuff I want out of the Head!People without adding the Kobol Vibes into the mix; I also have a few Cylon OCs I could throw in because Why Not.

Cons: That self-limiting problem is a Big One here. I also don’t write a whole lot of clones other than Rex, so...yeah, doing that connection justice isn’t easy.

Non-Crossover Option 1: actually using this as an excuse to finish our faces like a mirror the way I keep saying I could

Pros: I might actually finish this! I’m still really invested in my girl Bo-Katan and the way her relationship with her sister collapses.

Cons: That whole ‘I keep saying I could’ things is. Not an exaggeration, lol. I’ve been working on this off and on for like...five years? And still have a Long Way To Go.

Non-Crossover Option 2: Dive back into Devoted!verse; pick up either Padme or the Kryze sisters’ backstory, or Anakin and Ahsoka as kids; or possibly Bail and Breha.

Pros: I do want to get back to this AU, and there’s a lot to build on. I’m not sure Bail could support a BB-length story on his own the way the other options could, but I do love him. (Kryze sisters is the most likely at this point, because half a summary popped into my head, but I don’t. I don’t really have much beyond that, lol. Anakin and Ahsoka are a close second because I just have Feelings about Sibling Bonds.)

Cons: There’s a lot of white space to fill with any of these options, figuring out what I’m doing and getting it done in a way that I feel as satisfied with as the main story in this AU is going to be difficult.

Non-Crossover Option 3: Something Else I Haven’t Come Up With Yet.

Pros: Things pop into my head a lot and if I ride the wave when it does then it usually goes well??

Cons: Well. Sign-ups are technically starting, and I...don’t have the concept yet, lol.

...I think that’s about it! Thoughts, opinions? Unrelated questions? Let me know!

i guess this sort of turned into a coming attractions post lol so i’m not gonna do one on monday but here we are

[thesecretoflivereactions]

Alright. We are back with Episode 8. Its Sunday again already and I am not having a lot of energy for some reason, so the best thing I can do for now is watch Anime ^^'

So she heard a story about a young man, who came from the future to protect his mother from misfortune. HOWEVEr the misfortune was that a nomade took and raped her and this is how the young man was conceived. Meaning that he prevented his own existence in order to save his mother. Our Lady here was asked what she would have done and this is her answer. And I think a lot of the fandom will wish later she would have told her husband that she would not have changed the past. (You will get that in Episode 12)

She had never turned into a cat before, even tho it would have been quite convenient at times. Weird that she only does it now. (She only did it here, by the way, because Oscar and she needed to share a room with only one bed and apparently this would make it okay to sleep in the same bed.)

I thought it was just a duel were... you know... the one who loses either his sword or ends up in a position were he could be easily killed instantly loses... but Oscar cut his Arm right off ^^'

This is another one of these rush-rush Episodes were you can barely follow what is actually happening.

This scene really shows that do to the rush-rush-nature of the Anime, we do not really know anything. Tinasha said she aquiered a lot of her power after birth and it totally confused me. Its likely she meant because of that spell her previous monster-fiance had put on her, but it took me a while to even get that it was what she meant. And then she said Oscars powers are sealed. We have talked about him having some magic abilities but she never before mentioned that they were sealed and now even Oscar is confused about that information. After more than 6 months together and the shitload of training she put him through this is the random moment she tells him that?

This woman has serious self-sacrifice tendencies...

He... does? ^^'

This was not just a filler, it also left a lot of questions open. Why did that woman actually rushed to the guys help, even tho she seemed afraid of him and why was the guy in love with her? Not to mention... (although that might have been a translation-mistake) she said her story is from 200 years ago and so it should not have been her own story so... uh... this episode really left me confused.

Episode 9 starts with the reveal that appearantly, the year Tinisha had that contract with Oscar is... over? Time sure flies in this Anime.

Its been ages since Oscar made it clear publicly what he feels for Tinasha and only now someone voices their concern?

This girl can be such a pain in the ass sometimes...

Even if she didn't recognize her feelings for Oscar as love, it is clear she is attached to him. So how can she say this so easily with a smiling face, like it would mean nothing to her to lose him?

I am not even sure who that Lady is, but I am glad that she said out loud what we all have been thinking...

Seriously, why doesn't she? If she marries him her powers will be weakened either way... so were is the big deal in the fact that she is a witch? (Then again, if they both have magical powers, I guess their children will not be normal human and I guess that is something to consider...)

I am the least person to complain about a kiss, but these two are doing it randomly without any substance, if you get me. They are not officially in a relationship and yet every now and then they just randomly share a kiss and while I get that he is in love with her and wants to show his feelings to her like this, it feels odd that she never fights it, even tho she even considered erasing his memories like it means nothing. What is he for her? A toy?

I would usually complain about an interrupted almost-kiss, but since we just got a perfectly fine kiss... I don't feel the need XD

So he has been poisoned, that idiot. With quite the good trap no less. And apparently, she can not heal him.

This is an insta-kill poison, so he should have been already dead, when Tinasha found him. But it could be once again a mistake in translation and what she wanted to say was that it was a very fast moving poison.

They rushed this once again. So Tinasha poisoned herself so she can make an antidote and said that if she dies Lucrezia needs to erease Oscars memories of her. She refused, but when he woke up, he couldn't remember Tinasha and she is nowhere to be seen. Effectively making you wonder if Tinasha died and Lucrazia caved, because it was Tinashas last wish or if Tinasha survived and just decided to use that situation for the spell and left. We did not see anything of Tinasha fighting the poison tho. It was very anti climatic.

I wonder if they made the forgetting-spell weak on purpose, given how only asking for who Oscar wants to marry brought back his memories instantly. Either that or they really wanted to make us see how strong his love for her is. (OR the rush-rush-situation didn't allow this to take a bit longer...)

I know what he means but he could have worded it a bit differently XD

She almost died because of him - and no one even explained how she ended up surviving anyway - but she still didn't realize that she loves the man.

BTW... the post is too long already, we finish this episode in the next post.

[knowlessman]

it finally crossed my mind to watch this at the magic hour of fifteen minutes past midnight again so here we go (bnha s6e1-6)

oh yeah, libertaria happened; Mosquito from Soul Eater got his entire city's ass handed to him by pajama sam. and I think hawks fucking killed best jeanist to keep his double agent cover intact. I forget whether Endeavor is in the hospital atm or what, if I didn't know any better I'd swear the bit with the smart nomu was two entire seasons ago -- OH FUCK, AND SLENDERVOID TURNED OUT TO BE AN OLD STUDENT FROM UA. there was a whole thing with him and eraser head and present mic

oh boy, and Chapped Komaeda's quirk leveled up too apparently

new OP to go with the new season? I thought this didn't happen with anime. …I miss Carousel 'XD

oh yeah, and Twice unlocked the ability to use his power on himself freely too.

ah, we're finally learning more about Robotnik

"of course, he does have a quirk, it just wasn't in the records" dangit, show keeps dodging opportunities to have quirkless characters in important roles (and have them, y'know, stay quirkless). I don't know for a fact that the detective guy doesn't have one, but assuming he doesn't, he's like the only one. Hell, even that quirkless-centered faction in that movie had no quirkless members who even had faces, much less names; cept maybe that one nameless police chief guy

(outro showing deku and tomura standing across from each other) gawd I hope these two don't get to have a conversation, deku's gonna piss me off so bad

oh no, she killed the ugly platypus

… no yeah I officially miss Carousel. I should go find the other intros and listen to them again, I'm sure there must've been at least one that I liked more than Carousel and just didn't remember the name of (speaking of which, I'm like 50/50 on whether it's Carousel or Merry-Go-Round)

"in all, we only have five High End nomus, including Woman" really? …is her quirk having hair

Mirko goes pretty damn hard, huh

heh. Pichu has Lightning Rod, then. Kinda doubt this means he's worked past that recoil tho. (misc, ngl that amplivolt guy is kinda hot. lights his cigarette with his sparks. not quite the absolute legend that Dilf Legoshi (Chimera from the second movie) is, but still, not bad)

'XD poor Twice is just racking up the L's when it comes to introducing new friends

"Dark Shadow! Ragnarok!" pfft, calling him by his government name now, eh? 'XD

…wait hawks is a fucking child soldier? what the fuck

"no! mewtwo's not ready yet! he can't be taken out of the machine until it beeps!"

danganronpa 4's looking legit

you're not gonna get very far in tetris with a setup like this, not unless you've got some ungodly T-spins

you had ONE JOB, dollar-tree cyclops. one job. "take care of shigaraki." your dumb ass didn't even take him out of the goop, you just HAD to shoot the bad guy machine with your dinky eye laser before doing anything else so it'd spark up and defibrillate him, even though that probably shouldn't have done anything because HIS HEART WAS ALREADY STOPPED

-- (defibrillators don't start your heart, they force it to stop so that your body freaks out and starts over trying to pump it in a proper rhythm. or something like that anyway, lol I got a D in survey of anatomy and learned from tv tropes that writers have been repeating misinformation about zappy shock pads for ages)

(cyclops got jean-gray'd, probably, I don't know x-men) yooo, tomura takin this dipshit's cape and making it his new wardrobe like Liliana taking that angel's hairpiece, I dig it -- or xykon taking that one guy's crown ig. …okay not that xykon isn't a cool villain but I think I just stopped being impressed by this trope

o_o tokoyami you're even weaker to fire than hawks is (probably), the fuck you think you're doing here? -- "this hero friend of yours killed an enemy" okay here's a take: hawks's subplot and entire deal, even his backstory, is in the wrong genre. that's kind of it. spies do this shit, and even kill their own allies, all the time in intrigue stories. it doesn't stop it from being dark af, but their genre is all about necessary evils (albeit, those evils are often only "necessary" for the purposes of their countries', or worse, governments', interests). this is a kids' show. …fine, a teenagers' show. this isn't where those themes generally show up. -- "those pros you admire so much play dirtier than guys like me" also dabi is talking out of his ass here but I feel like that's pretty obvious, he's just trying to demoralize tokoyami and company

'''XD fuckin A! a shitload of ice explodes out and knocks toko and hawks free of dabi, and it wasn't todoroki??? it was just some named rando villain with ice powers? I think I vaguely remember him from when pajama boy took over, but I could swear I recall him getting completely thrashed last time -- "I know you did what was right, hawks!" aw 'XD you kinda can't avoid meeting your heroes in this show. such a shame

oh dammit, and now bigfoot's woken up -- OH TOMURA'S HIS MASTER NOW? FUCK 'XD

just realized something. I don't think we've seen deku yet this whole five episodes. …oh wait, no yeah he and the others showed up way at the beginning, they're in the back ranks and out of the fighting. …author get bored of them? 'XD -- oh, speak of the devils

oh shit, the avatar spirits are sensing whatshisfuck waking up. …there was raava, I think, was the blue one. the hell was the red one called? think it also might've started with an R. ryukyu? probably not. rakdos, idfk 'XD

ayyyup. boomboom levels are approaching the lower end of the DBZ scale

okay this OP is wayyy too chill and upbeat for this arc 'XD

(toga's on the move) spah stabbin mah heroes

"it's like I've had them since I was born" ayyyyup, papa's got a brand new bag of tricks to back up his signature moves

"where are you going?" deku: "uh, I forgot something!" yeah sure, you left the stove on in the hospital that looks like piccolo threw a tantrum on it -- "following you? what, you think you're the main character now?" …gawd bakugo is annoying. catch up, mr verbal-abuse-is-my-only-language -- "you're the bait" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA get dusted, ya swaglesss vegeta knockoff

0_0 RYUKYU'S DEAD HE TOUCHED HER. …oh wait, hat n clogs is on the scene. it's a fight. hot damn, but what tricks are chapped komaeda packing now that hat n clogs can't turn off? -- …(finally looks up the bleach character I keep associating aizawa with) …wait this guy's blond. he doesn't even have black hair. …why do I think Aizawa looks like him? even their personalities are completely different, so it's not that

gran torino: "bakugo knows about one for all, right?" yeah, I don't know why they trust him with it either

…goddammit, that was six episodes, I don't WANNA keep going, I should try to sleep! 'XD eh, I'll try to make that gif and post these later (there was a split second where I'm pretty sure an indistinct figure during one of the crowd fighting shots was breakdancing, but fuck it nvm)

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

069 of 2023

Are you more of a leader or a follower?

Neither, I’m an oddball.

Do you know anyone with a profession in law?

Yeah, M. is the law student. :P If that counts, because you know. Student is not a worker XD

Have you ever Googled yourself?

Haven’t I? Both my first and last name are really common, though.

Do you have a regular vacation spot, or do you always go somewhere new?

I just travel around my country recently. :P For longer vacation, always to my parents.

Where were you working 10 years ago?

Cleaning toilets as a student.

… 5 years ago?

Electrician in that big, French rail company.

… 1 year ago?

On a sick note, but still on contract in the same company. They don’t want to lose me.

Would you say you’ve had a good life so far?

Yeah right. I have a chronic, incurable neurological disorder and I’ve suffered brain haemorrhage, so yeah, great. But, besides that... I have a job I love, a husband I love and who loves me back, great friends, and enough money to survive. Could be worse, really.

What’s the shortest amount of time you’ve had between relationships?

Like... three months? I’ve realised something, by the way.

As a child, what comfort foods did your parents make for you when you were sick with a cold or flu?

I’ve never had flu in my life, and my parents tend to say cold is not an illness and I should stop being a sissy. XD

What’s something you wish you could have delivered to your house?

Can’t think of anything particular, I receive packages anyway.

What’s your favorite art style?

I have no idea. Really.

What time period is considered to be your country’s ‘golden age?’

Lol. At least it got almost untouched during the world wars. That’s what happens when you’re nothing but a speed bump.

How many trees are there in your yard?

None. My backyard is, like, two meters wide, if ever.

What are some of your favorite ways to de-stress?

Travel. Currently I get to visit the whole Flanders. :D But also when my cats are purring next to me.

Have you ever done LSD?

No, not interested.

What’s currently on your grocery list?

Potatoes.

Are any of your coworkers currently out on maternity/paternity leave?

Not that I know of.

Would you be able to pinpoint Milwaukee on an unlabeled map?

No, I don’t know shit about the US geography. Why would I anyway.

What is your favorite parody movie?

I don’t watch movies.

What kind of first impression do you hope others have of you?

That I’m friebdly and funny, in good meaning.

Do you have a good sense of balance?

Man, I have a neurological disorder. What are you on about.

What is your least favorite ice cream flavor?

Anything plain.

Does your car have heated seats?

Hell no. It’s a damn Renault Clio. XD

What’s something that has been in your local news lately?

A Dutch guy who has parked his delivery van in front of an airport and then fled with a plane. Such a comedy.

What’s your favorite internet meme?

There are a few. Can’t name anything particular.

What hair length suits you the best?

Short, I guess.

What is the strangest pizza topping you’ve ever eaten?

Pineapple, who has even invented that.

Do you live in a very racially and culturally diverse country?

Kind of. We have lots of immigrants in Belgium.

Can you name any books or movies where all the main characters die?

No, I can’t.

What was the last hotel you stayed at?

Martin’s Hotel in Waterloo, if I remember well.

Do you live alone?

No. I live with my husband, his son and two cats.

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

I don't even watch soccer (football) but my current rubber ducks are all soccer players... okay

I'm thinking I should make you a playlist (consisting of songs I think you'll like, songs I want you to listen to, and songs I feel fit your vibe)

So I've collected 96 new and used books this year and I think it's gonna be my goal next year to read them all. It's entirely doable, I just don't know if it's doable, you know? Like, I could read them in a few months if I just went at it, but that's not really how I read books anymore.

I ordered a bunch of stickers for my coworkers and some of them came already. They look nice!

Right after Christmas, my family is going on a vacation to Israel, Egypt and Petra, which I can't really think about right now because I'm too tired and it'll stress me out, but after that trip I need to stop adorning l spending so much money. It's easy enough to stop, so I just have to.

I'm not gonna give up seaweed snacks though. I love those things.

Bonus picture of pretty lights

🧡💞

Sleepy!!!

I'd be honored to listen to that playlist, but if it's another task to add to what it seem your long list of things to do (with the trip and everything), do not sacrifice your free time for it!!!

Football....has me in misery. Me and my sister both. She's fallen in love with a polish player and now all of our interactions consist on screaming at each other how we need a jersey of our crushes and cursing the time we decided that watching this world cup was a good idea xD

I do understand what you mean about your gol being doable but not. Do think that no matter hoe many books you end up reaching at the end of 2023, it's still a lot of books more you've reached if you hadn't done your personal challenge, and a lot of stories you've gotten to visit

(and if you read something really good, do come in and pass me the rec, I need to keep my status as "that one crazy classmate that reads a ton" in class xD)

My parents did the same trip that you are about to make I think! And they both had a really good time. It was ages ago tho, long before me and my sister B were even born, and, as they like to say "when they had money and time to travel and no kids to take care of". I hope you don't get too stressed about it if you can help it, and if you can't, that you can synthesize that stress maybe talking with some family member?? Also I hope you have a really nice trip and that you enjoy everythin you see!

Are seaweed snacks good? I'm deffo not a picky eater, but I've never tried them and somehow I'm... wary of them for some reason.

As someone whose house is not gonna be decorated this Xmas because of Reasons(tm) your lights make me so happy!! I love how colorful they are!!

Thank you for passing by!!

[tuulikannel]

Akabane Karma in the official character book, p. 1-2 translation

I haven't done these for a long while, but the mood suddenly struck me. I know that Karma's pages have already been translated, so in a sense this is kind of pointless, but I still wanted to do this. I mean, I did Gakushuu's part ages ago (or that's how it feels, anyway), and as they're fighting for the #1 spot for me (isn't that just fitting?), I kind of felt like I had to do Karma too. So, here we go!

As usual, I mainly did this to practice Japanese, and there might be mistakes... though this time I could check if I was in agreement with the other translation when I was unsure about something, so there shouldn't be anything too bad. XD Early on there's one sentence that totally baffled me, tho... My comments are in [brackets].

“I won’t lose. The one to take sensei’s life is me.”

Having tasted defeat, Karma came to understand the feelings of those who lose and learned to sympathize with his companions and got closer to the weak.

(The manga panel is from when he told the Big 5 that he was the only one in 3 E who’d taken the 2nd mid-term exam seriously.)

Everything is perfect – the genius boy of E class

He was suspended after a violent incident. He is something of a slacker, but his skill for studying and assassination, as well as his physical strength, are all top class.

Code name: Chuuniban (by Hazama) [or should I say cord name? XD Sorry… ^^;;]

Chuunibyous tend to take an unexpected look at things. In Karma’s case… [...I became completely confused. Something like taking an unexpected look on unexpected look on even further on an unexpected look… I’ve no idea. If anyone can give me a sensible translation of アイツの場合斜め上の更に斜め上のそのまた斜め上から見てんだけど結局１つ上にはいけてないのよ please do. ^^ It’s very 斜め上, that’s all I can say. The other translation didn't give a literal translation of this either, just this: “a person with Chuunibyou is supposed to see things a certain way, but because he’s doing it in a half-assed way, she’s basically calling him a half-assed Chuunibyou”]

[Chuunibyou, in case you’re not familiar with the term, means a teenager with grandiose delusions who tries to stand out in every way possible. Gundham Tanaka, anyone? &lt;;3 It literally translates to “second-year syndrome” (second year of junior high, that is). The -ban in Chuuniban means half, so yeah…. half-assed  chuunibyou.]

(Bottom left corner) His specialty is provoking his opponent through pranks and harassment. His skill for provocation is also first class.

Code name: Chuunibyou Birthday: December 25 Height: 175 cm Weight: 60 kg Blood type: AB Favorite subject: math Least favorite subject: Japanese Special skills: provocation, pranks, pestering Clubs he belongs to: Going Home club Treasury: Collection of spices from around the world Favorite food: “煮オレ” (ni ore) series (the brand of those strawberry milks he always drinks) Bento or buying snacks: buying snacks Election poster: In any case, I want to be manipulating from behind the scenes

Regular examination, announcement of results from Korosensei

First school term mid-terms

English 98 p. (2nd) Japanese 98 p. (2nd) Math: 100 p. (1st) Sciences: 99 p. (2nd) Social studies: 99 p (2nd) 5 main subjects: 494 p. (4th)

First school term finals

English 96 p. (2nd) Japanese 96 p. (2nd) Math: 85 p. (10th) Sciences: 97 p. (2nd) Social studies: 95 p (2nd) 5 main subjects: 494 p. (13th)

[Kind of funny how he did so badly in his best subject, while keeping the second position on all the others. I’m a little surprised his overall ranking is that bad… how does the math work here? (It’s not my strongest point XD)]

Second school term mid-terms

English 98 p. (2nd) Japanese 98 p. (2nd) Math: 100 p. (1st) Sciences: 98 p. (2nd) Social studies: 98 p (1st) 5 main subjects: 492 p. (2nd)

[Seems like people on A class did worse on the second term. I mean, Karma got the second place, even though he had two points less than in the first mid-terms, where he placed fourth. Also, there’s no grades from the finals, because it hadn’t happened yet in the manga when this book was published.]

Karasuma-sensei’s assassination skill assessment

He was a little lacking in serious attitude, but that changed during the summer break. His combat ability is at the top of E class, and he has good intuition and learning ability.

[I figured it’s easier to show these on the chart]

[About the technique part: the preparations refers especially to food preparation.]

His taijutsu skills are also great, to the extent that he could hold his own in one-on-one match against Grip.

He excels in the situational analysis of the opponent’s real strength and can also make decisions calmly.

Bitch-sensei’s fashion check

(Speech bubble) The brat is very brat-like, but he doesn’t have bad fashion taste. Design is also important, but the base to being smartly dressed is to wear something that fits your body. He’s style is so-so, but he's still growing. [Possibly both literally and figuratively. XD]

School uniform

Summer or winter, Karma wears a black cardigan. In summertime he rolls up the sleeves to adjust the heat.

Ordinary clothes

Just from simple coordination, even with layered clothing his sense of (clothing) size and so also his silhouette are perfect.

(pages 3-4)