#source: my favorite twitter exchange

[incorrect-kill-la-kill]

Satsuki: Why the mafia isn't a fucking aesthetic. A thread.

Ryuko: i cooka da pizza

Satsuki: Go fuck yourself, for real. I can't with these people anymore. I hate you all from the bottom of my heart. Ignorant pieces of shit.

Ryuko: i cooka da meatball aye pass the linguini its a me mario

Satsuki: *A number of images, news headlines, and statistics laying out the harm that the Italian mafia has done to the United States and dangers they still pose*

Ryuko: mamma mia

[erros429]

now that we’re all sufficiently mad about the way fandom treats sapphics let’s all go in a circle and say our favorite bumbleby moment in or out of canon. mine is the twitter exchange where someone points out that blake’s and yang’s eyes are the colors of each other’s souls, someone replies asking what kind of fanfic ass shit is that, and op replies “would you believe me if i told you this is from the source material”

kdjshfsjadhfk that's incredible

my favorite bees moment has probably got to be the "go" scene in v6 right before the adam fight. it's super tiny and seemingly insignificant but i would devour that scene . inject it into my bloodstream . if i could.

[yupuffin]

In summer 2016, I got one of the Japanese bookstore's last copies of the KAITO 10th anniversary album Glorious Blue. The whole album is full of BOPS, but I got particularly hooked on Doctor=Funk Beat by nyanyannya. I was super excited to see it slated to be performed at Magical Mirai later that year. I learned the choreography as fast as I could and became, to my knowledge, the first person to publicly upload a dance cover of Doctor=Funk Beat using the Magical Mirai choreography.

Sometime in the next few months, I got hooked on the rest of nyanyannya's discography and decided to subscribe to his Patreon. We got monthly updates and the early release versions of some songs, which was cool! I believe it was in the announcement post for the song Justin⇒Jive⇒Justify in which he included the song lyrics, footnoted with "It'd be cool if I had an English translation!"

So, like the bilingual student I was, I went 🤔🤔🤔, assembled my best attempt at a translation, and stuck it in the comments with "Hey, I wasn't sure if you were serious about wanting an English translation for this, but in case you were and wanted to use one, I gave it a shot!"

I thought this would be a singular instance, but I was wrong! Unexpectedly, this led to us collaborating on quite a bit of translation work for him over the years, including captions for his music videos back when community captions on YouTube were a thing. It was a really cool experience. I remember consulting one of my housemates, an exchange student from Japan, to help me proofread my responses to the messages we exchanged. Once nyanyannya started to get into Vtubing, I learned how to make subtitle files from scratch to match the skit videos he'd send me so he could upload them with the final product. Most of those videos have sadly been unlisted now, but I have fond memories of his avatar's antics, and many of the one-liners still live in my head rent-free despite the defunct source material.

The cozy fandom for his body of musical work "the Namari Hime series" was led by a dedicated user who'd host regular drawing chats -- the kind where everyone doodles on the same canvas while voice chatting. Every few weeks or months I'd get to wake up ridiculously early to discuss new song releases and favorite characters with a bunch fellow fans from the other side of the Pacific Ocean, and nyanyannya even joined in himself on a couple of occasions. He laughed at the cleverness of me posting a photo in cosplay of one of his characters "Cash" gesturing dramatically at an ATM. He rightly proclaimed our little corner of the Internet a "super cool fandom."

For a while, we had an unofficial Discord server for the worldwide English-speaking sector of the fandom as well. It's probably still out there, actually! It was really cool to see how the fandom grew over the years from just a couple of people to at least several dozen, if not more.

Shortly after protests broke out across the United States in 2020, I woke up to a message from nyanyannya saying he'd seen the news about what was happening on my side of the pond and wanted to ask if I was okay. It was really touching.

I followed his work less closely after he officially started Vtubing, just because, as a college student, I didn't have the spare time to watch a large quantity of ~3-hour-long videos. And a couple of years ago, I stopped financially supporting him after he started experimenting with generative AI to make YouTube thumbnail images and singing samples.

But we still follow each other on Twitter--even though he posts mostly about Vtubing now, and I mostly post about Hoyoverse games and not Namari Hime. I still see the selfies he posts on Instagram from time to time. And I'm still mutuals with a lot of the previous fandom members, too, even though a lot of them are less active and we don't speak directly basically at all anymore.

nyanyannya's song Fräulein=Biblioteka is featured in the ongoing MIKU EXPO North America tour. nyanyannya is not a mainstream musician. In fact, he deliberately quit mainstream music production before he wrote Namari Hime because of the toll it was taking on his mental and physical health, and turned instead to Vocaloid as tool to help him express his individuality, instead of whatever would be the most commercially successful.

Well, that's just one example. There's plenty more.

KIRA, the producer who wrote the featured song "Highlight," is younger than I am by several years. He wrote the lyrics to another one of his hit songs, "MONSTER," when he was sixteen, and almost scrapped it because he thought nobody would like it. Now a song he wrote played at COACHELLA and he's over the moon.

Utsu-P, behind "Hyper Reality Show," is experiencing similar feelings, as he never would have dreamed of one of his songs featuring at Coachella back when his parents bought him Hatsune Miku with graduation money.

yukkedoluce is another of my favorite Vocaloid producers. He grew up wanting to be an astronaut, but didn't qualify because his eyesight was too poor -- so now he lives his dream in a different form by writing Miku songs about space.

At one of the side events at MIKU EXPO 2018, my siblings and I happened to sit next to a Vocaloid producer named Lystrialle who specializes in making contemporary folk music featuring MEIKO and KAITO. I looked up her music after the expo; her album "You, in the Endless Starlight" almost literally defined my sexuality (or lack thereof), and my Genshin Impact AU is named after some of her lyrics. She runs a Mastodon instance for Vocaloid fans.

What I'm trying to say is... there are Vocaloid producers who might be more comparable to mainstream producers, and there are musicians who started with Vocaloid work and eventually transitioned to more mainstream work. But there's also an endless list of Vocaloid producers who make little to no money off their work and hence are far from major corporate entities.

Individuality and collaboration is at the heart of Vocaloids like Hatsune Miku. Miku is primarily a tool to give musicians the power to create the music they want, not to make a highly successful commercial product. I've given an entire hour-long panel on this that convention attendees still remember ten years later, but that's a lot to put into a post that's already long enough, so I'll spare you the details for now.

Vocaloid was one of my first fandoms back in 2011. I got into cosplay and dance because of Vocaloid. Now I'm heavily involved in my local cosplay performance scene, both in terms of participating in events and helping organize them.

How does that phrase go? Do not recite the magic to me; I was there when it was written.

Don't spread misinformation that Vocaloid producers don't care about people's feelings because all they care about is making a commercial Product(tm).

Instead, please fuck all the way off.

[journeys-debut]

Wha—what is a lightstick? PC? What is—why would we collect plastic? Birthday? In a cafe??? Free..bie?

THERE IS A KPOP CONVENTION AT THE ANIME EXPO PLACE?

HEELLLLLP

*record scratch*

*Freeze frame*

Yep, that’s me. (Not really.) Freaking out over boys a million miles away. I bet you’re wondering how I got here.

Hi I’m Journey, nice to meet you!

So here’s the thing: I’m brand new to K-Pop fandom.

I’m not new to fandom (anime, books, etc.) and I’m not new to K-Pop (in that I’ve always been aware of it; listen to some of the music; I have friends w/in the fandom, etc.) But I have never been in the K-Pop fandom—that all changed w/ Cha Woongki. 

One day, I'm scrolling through Tiktok and see this:

and I’m like it’s giving

queer~,

it’s giving

Reality TV~.

Already my two favorite things. So, I search up the source material, and boom: Boys Planet pops up. 

I jumped right in, wondering if I’d even be into it (Because I have a short attention span when it comes to tv sometimes)—

I got hooked.

Cute, talented guys around my age?

Also some very much giving girlypop?

ALSO competing?

(The survival aspect killed me sometimes as an empath. Stop emotionally destroying those boys please.)

I can’t remember when I started watching the show...maybe half way through the season airing? But I immediately jumped into live voting.

I was super excited, and even thought, "if some of my Top Picks make it into this little group...

...will I be stanning a K-Pop group?"

Then it happened. I went from juggling a few Top Picks, to finding the one.

My BIAS* (which I did not know at the time, because what is K-POP?):

Seok Matthew.

I was like... "him. I’m rooting for that one. I love his talent, he's super freaking cute, and I’m sad when he gets sad on the show."

...and right on time. Because, now, instead of having the option to vote for three Top Picks on the app...we could only vote for one. 

And I was finding that a lot of fans on social media weren’t struggling to select one. It seemed like every fan had one person they really were devoted to /excited about / cheering on. And I was like... "Well, that’s how I feel about Seok Matthew."

I mean, this happens all the time with Reality TV shows, right? We have a fave and we root for them with fellow fans. And maybe even vote.

But the energy of this—felt different.

Only 9 out of 18 guys were going to make it into that debut group**. It all was riding on the votes.

We, as fans, literally had their dreams in our hands.

There were Twitter polls where fans were exchanging and buying votes. Or working with fans of already debuted groups.

There will billboard ads across bus stations and on the sides of buildings advertising top picks. 

There was even this crazy moment where the fans decided who got the best part in the finale performance...all through YouTube streams?! As in, all the competing boys performed the part, and the video with the most views + likes would be awarded the part.

(It was CRAZY. Seok Matthew has just gone through a sad moment on the show and had been dealing with a lot of negative rumors. So, Seokryudans*** were PISSED. All that stress/defensiveness blew up, and w/in a day, the fandom got his views super high.

But get this? One of the most popular boys on the show [rightfully so, we love him] has a HUGE fandom, so they started competing with us Seokryudans.

Like, it was meant to be an 8 person battle, but the competition was ONLY between Zhang Hao and Matthew.

We were in the trenches. Streaming in the millions. SCREAM TYPING on social media.

Hao won.

(I’m almost over it.)

Anyway, so that crazy streaming war? Think of that vibe, but times it by 100000000—because this time we weren’t voting on a part.

We were voting on who debuted.**

We were voting on who got to follow their dreams versus who would literally have go back to their daily lives and struggles / head home / leave the country. 

It was intense.

...

Matthew debuted in the group!

 And two other Top Picks of mine: Gunwook and Hanbin debuted, too.

(*Moment of silence for some of my other faves that didn't survive this time around...

...including the icon, the legend, the one that started it all for me:

)

So, many talented boys didn't make it. But Gunwook, Hanbin, and the LOML Seok Matthew did!

And, throughout the transition from Boys Planet to the new group preparing to debut (through a lot of Tiktoks, birthday lives, and magazine covers, I’ve gotten to really fall for the charms of all the boys in the group—and now I really do love ZEROABASEONE.

And that’s when it hit me:

 I…

...really love a K-Pop group?

As in the background on my phone? As in my previous hyper fixation (*cough* My Hero Academia *cough*) almost replaced??

WHAT???

At least with previous hyper fixations, I had something to jump off of. MHA? Great, I know anime and cosplay.

Thai Drama? Yeah, you know, I’ve watched foreign TV shows before. I can read captions, I get it.

UlTING**** a K-Pop group? Wha—what is a lightstick? PC? What is—why would we collect plastic? Birthday? In a cafe??? Free..bie?

THERE IS A KPOP CONVENTION AT THE ANIME EXPO PLACE?

HEELLLLLP

*record scratch*

*freeze frame*

(Yep, that’s me. Newly formed K-Pop girlie, with only one K-Pop group...that’s she's obsessed with.

ZEROBASEONE is debuting as a new group, and I’m debuting as a new K-Pop fan.

This is Journey’s Debut.

...Let’s see how this goes. <3 0_1

.

.

.

BONUS: I will be keeping K-Pop Logs for new vocabulary I learn / pickup / discover within the fandom, and end up using on the blog.

~

K-POP B/LOG:

*BIAS - A favorite member within a group.

**DEBUT - Though “debut” is a word used for music genres other than K-pop, it's often used in K-pop to refer to a trainee who has transitioned to an idol by releasing their first official single (either as a soloist or in a group) or performing in public for the first time.

***Seokryudans - Name of Seok Matthew fandom; a play on the Korean word for pomegranate (seongnyu) and Seok.

****ULT - A bias refers to your favorite member, but it can change through time. Meanwhile, an ULT, short for "Ultimate," is that group or member who's your top favorite no matter how many idols and groups you like in the future.

~

More ways to follow the Journey!

[idolskpop]

Congrats to Lee Dal for getting married! He’s one of my favorite actors from Vincenzo. I hope he invited Song Joong Ki and Jeon Yeo Bin to his wedding. That would be awesome #LeeDalWedding #VincenzoSquad #Vincenzo #LeeDal #LeeDalMarryNonShowbizGirlfriend

Vincenzo star Lee Dal is ready to say “I do” to his non-showbiz girlfriend in a private ceremony this week. The actor, who played Jeon Soo Nam in the hit Netflix drama, announced his upcoming wedding on his Instagram account.

'Vincenzo' Star Lee Dal’s Wedding Announcement

On October 11, a media outlet reported that Lee Dal and his fiancée, who was a production staff member of his 2021 series “Police University,” will tie the knot on October 14 in Seoul. The wedding will be attended by their family and close friends.

(Photo : tvN's Official Twitter) Lee Dal’s agency, Beasts Entertainment, confirmed the news and asked for the fans’ warm support and blessings for the couple. The actor also shared a photo of his wedding invitation card on his Instagram, along with a caption that read: “Hello, this is Lee Dal. I’m writing this to share some good news with you. I’m getting married to someone I love on October 14. She is not a celebrity, but she has been a great source of strength and comfort for me. I’m very grateful to her for accepting me as I am. We decided to have a small and quiet wedding with our family and close friends, considering the current situation. I hope you understand and respect our decision. I will continue to work hard as an actor and show you good sides of myself. Thank you for always supporting me and loving me.”

Lee Dal’s Acting Career

Lee Dal made his acting debut in 2014 with the acclaimed drama "Misaeng: Incomplete Life." Since then, he has appeared in various dramas and movies, such as “Signal,” “Black,” “Two Cops,” “Be Melodramatic,” “Hospital Playlist,” “Vincenzo,” and “Police University.”

(Photo : tvN's Official Instagram) He is known for his comedic timing and versatile acting skills, as well as his friendly personality and good looks. He gained more popularity and recognition for his role as Jeon Soo Nam in “Vincenzo,” where he showed great chemistry with the lead actors Song Joong Ki and Jeon Yeo Bin, as well as the other Geumga Plaza members.

(Photo : Jo Han Chul Instagram) He is currently filming for several upcoming projects, such as “Taxi Driver 2,” “The Heavenly Idol,” “The Empire,” and "Today’s Webtoon."

Fans’ Reactions

Fans of Lee Dal expressed their congratulations and happiness for the actor’s wedding news. They also wished him and his bride-to-be a happy and blessed marriage.

(Photo : Lee Dal Instagram) Some of the comments from the fans are: “Congratulations Lee Dal! You deserve all the happiness in the world!” “Wow, I’m so happy for him! He’s such a talented and charming actor. I hope he and his wife will have a beautiful life together.” “I’m so proud of him! He’s one of my favorite actors from Vincenzo. He always makes me laugh with his hilarious expressions. I’m glad he found his true love.” "He’s so handsome and sweet. I’m sure his wife is very lucky to have him. Congratulations to the lovely couple!" “I can’t believe he’s getting married! He’s such a catch! I hope he will invite some of his co-stars from Vincenzo to his wedding. That would be awesome!” Lee Dal is the latest K-drama actor to join the married club this year. He will exchange vows with his non-showbiz girlfriend on October 14 in a private ceremony. We congratulate Lee Dal and his fiancée on their wedding and wish them all the best for their future. What do you think of Lee Dal’s wedding news? Are you a fan of his acting? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Subscribe to IDOLS KPOP for exclusive updates and captivating content. Read the full article

[brawltogethernow]

I had to google that Campbell guy and went through a few pics like "Oh this is just a guy who should have been doing pinups instead of comics covers" and then I saw an MJ moment and went WAIT and oh this IS the guy who made the awful 'MJ waiting in a horrible pose on the couch with a cup of coffee' cover

CORRECT, that is the only thing a normal person has a chance of recognizing him for. I was jarred and displeased when I got more into comics and discovered that he's still frequently called on to do covers by the big 2 and neither his art going viral by way of hundreds of artists panning it in like 2007 nor the general end of the Bush era discouraged anyone from hiring him OR improved his art, which demonstrates the critique concept of the male gaze (and nothing else) so utterly that looking at it makes me want to never go outside where people can look at me ever again. His favorite character is MJ and he hung onto this doggedly during the post-OMD period where she was Marvel's persona non grata, so my bottomless ire is kind of friendly fire even though he codified or initiated every single thing I hate to see people do when they draw her—he's like antimatter to me. He knows people hate him and has no desire to improve. (Source: He has a Twitter.) And why fucking should he, since people keep throwing money at him in exchange for nasty art of mutated-looking women with balloon tits and bare feet doing the Barbie doll invisible heel pose! He only knows how to draw one facial expression, so once you've recognized his shit once you can never go back.

[eggman-is-fat-mkay]

no but fr this is actually so important. run Linux. jailbreak all of ur shit, esp. your phone and game consoles. learn how to use the network tab in your browser's devtools (inspect element) to get DRM free links to download music off sites like calm.com and brain.fm. discover the joys of hacking, not of breaking into someone else's computer to steal stuff but of popping the hood on your favorite software and your favorite gizmos and tinkering around and making them work the way *you* want them to.

i can't remember the last time I had to respect one of these popups or care that netflix didn't make this content available in my region, and this world could be yours too.

there are hiccups, don't get me wrong. open source software made by volunteers is almost never anywhere near as polished or feature rich as the software made by a company worth eight figures. it's like fan comics versus the actual TV shows they're based on. it's just not fair to compare them directly. (like with fan works, there are a few notable exceptions that are as good as and in some cases better than the proprietary offerings, notable examples being blender for 3D animation and Home Assistant for own-your-data smart home automation, but they're the exceptions, not the rule.) but like with fanworks the freedom you gain will be worth it.

your first time switching to Linux will be rocky. everything will mostly work but there'll be a few hiccups, like that one windows application needing some tinkering to get working right, or KDE not responding correctly 100% of the time when you plug in an external monitor, or your laptop not going to sleep or hibernating because something in the kernel is messed up. (it fixes itself if you reboot.) organicmaps for android will happily give you turn by turn driving directions for any map it has downloaded even if you're not connected to the internet, but don't expect it to take traffic into account. Mastodon's moderation tools pale in comparison to Twitter's or Threads'. Matrix as an end-to-end-encrypted Telegram/Discord replacement still has some kinks to work out. the LLMs you can run locally on your laptop aren't nearly as capable as ChatGPT or Google Bard. but they're pretty damn good all things considered, and they can do a few things the commercial offerings can't refuse to. and at the end of the day rougher edges are just the price we pay for using stuff we the community made ourselves instead of just buying whatever a big corporation made and hoping they had our best interests at heart. it's what we give up in exchange for knowing for a fact that our data is not being sold to anyone, in most cases not even leaving our devices, and that these services will never, ever die, even if the servers they're hosted on right now disappeared tomorrow.

i for one am happy to give up a little convenience in exchange for that security. shoot me an ask if you are too.

[villain-sympathizer]

here it is!! the dumb cringe thing ive been working on instead of my actual college work lmao

i absolutely ADORE these otp form things, they itch that lil adhd scratch in my brain that loves filling out forms for my characters

────── ･ ｡ﾟ: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ･ ──────

[the original blank sheet can be found here!!] the op changed their twitter handle but its still the same source!

some explanations on their dynamics and backstory under the cut!!

SO. God I think about these idiots so damn much, its insane.

First off, their history:

I have my own lil headcanon (and excuse to merge my own bnha universe with the canon one lmao) that U.A has collaborations with other top Heroics schools across the world to have similar Hero Course curriculums. That way they can avoid drastic differences in heroics styles if heroes need to work internationally (for example, instances like in World Heroes Mission).

Because of this, I think U.A used to have exchange programs with specific countries every-other year before their security cracked down on itself. For one semester, hero students from the American branch would come to U.A to learn alongside their respective class level (meaning American "Juniors" would work with Japanese "Second years"), and at the end of the semester, the Japanese branch would then learn in America for the second semester.

This is likely how Dani and Mirai met, as Dani - once she becomes a Pro Hero - enjoys volunteering her time to assist with the local Heroics high school that she used to attend, and thus jumps at the idea of joining in on one of their bi-yearly exchange trips. It also gives her an excuse to visit her father and sister, who live in Deika after her parents' divorce.

It was no doubt when Mirai was All Might's sidekick, and of course would tail him whenever he wished to "check in" on all the "future pros" training at U.A (aka, he misses his high school years sometimes and this event gives him an excuse to drop in).

Taken by Dani's overall cheery, bubbly, and slightly ditzy personality, as well as her ability to put up a rather good spar with All Might himself - still losing, but proving to be a formidable opponent - it was no wonder Mirai decided to strike up conversation with her. Besides, she seemed to be close with other Pro Heroes like Present Mic, Eraserhead, Midnight, and Best Jeanist, so there had to be more to her. As it turns out, she used to be in this program as well, and trained alongside the aforementioned heroes back when they were baby-cheeked rookies in U.A.

Dani totally won him over with her sense of humor, kindness, and overall open disposition. All Might seemed to approve of her too, which would always be the make-or-break reason for Nigheye. They exchange contact info, spend time together whenever Dani was in the country, and hung out together alongside the other Pros.

It was no wonder when Dani's little sister, Adelynn, got into U.A and was accepted into Nighteye's internship program. Every. Year. He'll tell you it's not favoritism, but we all know it is.

────── ･ ｡ﾟ: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ･ ──────

Their lil symbols:

Dani's is a star, because her name is Slavic/Germanic for Morning Star! Her and her siblings have this celestial theme going: Dani is a star, Adelynn is the moon, and Sunna is the sun!

Nighteye's is based off his eye shape when he uses his quirk!

────── ･ ｡ﾟ: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ･ ──────

Checkbox explanations:

[Confesses first / Initiates first kiss:] This is Dani, I would say, only because she's more bold and open when it comes to her feelings or emotions. Sure, Mirai is someone who is bold and speaks his mind too, but I think we can agree this man will never in his life bring up his feelings first unless it's absolutely dire, or prompted by someone else. So of course, Dani's the one to take the initiative, something Mirai notices is a trait both her and Adelynn share.

[Says "I love you" first:] Despite Mirai being emotionally constipated, like stated above, I feel like he's the one to say it and truly, deeply mean it in a romantic, 'I want to be with you forever' kind of way. Dani, having grown up in Western society, is comfortable telling her family and friends that she loves them all the time - it's just instinct to let them know they mean a lot to her! As far as their relationship goes, Dani's said "Love you!" to Mirai plenty of times, but they both know that it's in that platonic close-friends way, at least until they feel the time is right to fully confess their love. And that's what Mirai does, likely letting it slip while seeing Dani off at the airport after one of her visits.

[Big spoon:] Mirai, a majority of the time. I mean look at this gangly-ass mf, he could wrap around Dani like a cocoon if he tried. However, there are rare times when Dani finishes a patrol in the early, early mornings when Mirai is still asleep, and she'll crawl into bed and spoon him instead.

[Worrier:] DANI, NO CONTEST. Blame 'eldest sister' syndrome on this one, having grown up always looking after Adelynn (before she moves away) and then Sunny. It doesn't help that anxiety runs in the family, too. Mirai can worry sometimes, like if Dani's late from a mission or patrol, the typical stuff, but never on the level of Dani's downright separation anxiety. There is the rare chance that Mirai catches a glimpse of something in her future that worries him, and he practically hovers around her constantly, taking away things or restricting her options to try and lessen the chance of disaster, like a mother with her first-born infant.

[Better w/ money:] Mirai. Not that Dani is bad with money, per say, just that she's a bit of a philanthropist when she has the opportunity to be. Hell, nearly all of Adelynn and Sunny's tuitions were paid by Dani's Pro Hero salary, and she still had more than needed for herself left over. Mirai's also clearly a natural-born desk jockey and instinctually takes charge of any budgeting.

[More experienced:] Dani's had more relationship experience in the past, and likely more sexual experience too. Mirai's just never had the time or interest in that stuff, not till he grew attached to the shadow hero. However, after an incident in college, she grew more reserved in her willingness to date/have one night stands, and instead focused on her career and potential relationship with Mirai.

[Wakes up first:] Now this question is all based on perspective, cause the two of them work literally opposite timeframes of each other. Mirai works that typical 7am to 5pm white-collar shift, running his own agency and all. But Dani, due to the nature of her quirk, works from 10pm to about 5 or 6am, the only exception being Thursday nights so that she can volunteer to teach that next Friday. So sure, Mirai gets up first in the traditional sense, but technically it's Dani who wakes up far before him.

[Steals blankets:] DANI LMAO. She inherited the low-circulation that comes with her quirk from her dad, and runs pretty cold in her hands and feet. It's pretty normal for Mirai to wake up with only a corner of the blankets on him yet. He combats this by just gluing himself to Dani when they're sharing a bed, a win-win.

[Speaks more:] Dani again, but only because she tends to be too friendly and strike up conversations and ramble due to obviously undiagnosed ADHD. Think of a mom who just has to talk to every person she knows at the grocery store, regardless of their connection.

[Normally cooks:] In the off-chance they have the time to have dinner at home, it's always Mirai taking the lead. Dani's cooking skills growing up were mixed: her father was a good cook and loved to teach his little girls, but her mother was a bit of a perfectionist and REFUSED to let anyone help with cooking. Since the divorce, Dani's father was never around to teach her as much as he taught Adelynn, so Dani's a bit of a disaster when it comes to cooking. It's hilarious to them both, but she agrees that Mirai takes control in the kitchen. Though, after the raid incident, and Mirai looses an arm, Dani takes it upon herself to learn to cook in order to help out.

[Apologizes first:] Even if she wasn't in the wrong, Dani will always apologize first, at the very least for arguing. Once again it's likely because of her anxiety (and strained home life as a kid), and how she doesn't want to make people mad or upset at her, despite not giving a flying fuck about her reputation or ranking. So for her to apologize first, no matter what, is kind of her way of inadvertently saying "Please don't be mad at me anymore".

[Ticklish:] BOTH, HANDS DOWN. Dani is by no means immune to tickling, Mirai's proven that plenty of times totally not through fetish means. But Mirai himself, however, is just as ticklish, if not more. Dani found this out after taking advantage of his shirtless form one night as a means of revenge, and it was like she found the holy grail of blackmail.

────── ･ ｡ﾟ: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ･ ──────

Their songs:

VOID - By Lil Nas X [[Yes, I know this one is about LNX's experience with being a gay man, and I'm not trying to take away from that! But without that context I feel like it can fit well for these two.]]

God, this song is so raw and emotional to me, I actually cried a few times when I first heard it just cause it's that GOOD when you really think about it.

For the most part, I see it in the perspective of Dani, admitting her feelings of depression and loneliness despite always being cheery and upbeat around others. She's constantly separated from the comfort of her friends and family in Japan, and clearly seeing that as a true "home" to her than her life in America. Each time she visits and leaves, it's almost as if she's 'running away from home'.

"Oh, Blue, I love you too But today, I'm gonna run away from home"

Now this next line is what REALLY defines them, and what I focus on every time I project them into this song:

I find it hard to get Way too hard to live Tell me what you know Now before I go

I see this taking place after Mirai sees his potential death, keeping quiet about it, but is obviously worried or saddened by something. The next time he sees Dani off at the airport after a visit, she tells him he's clearly upset by something deeper than just her departure. When Mirai denies it and assures her nothings wrong, she immediately knows he must have saw something with his quirk, and asks he tell her what it is before she leaves again. Mirai doesn't tell her, but she gets her answer in the form of an international news report and a rather forlorn call from Toshinori.

The second verse I've only just recently thought harder about, and boy, it makes me almost cry sometimes LMAO

Basically, this next part would take place in the canon universe, where Mirai dies, rather than my au where he survives but with many life-changing injuries:

Oh, I weep through the night Can't find a love who loves me the same Or as much as you do [...] See, I'm getting tired of the way I've been living I'd rather die than to live with these feelings [...] It's too many ups and downs on the ride I spent inordinate 'mounts of time Trapped in a lonely, loner life Looking for love where I'm denied

After losing so many people who were close to her, like Oroboro, her father, Mirai, and Midnight - I can see Dani becoming more reckless and careless with her wellbeing, going through times where she doesn't really care if she dies on a mission or during an attack. This of course never happens, and her sisters manage to convince her to seek help for herself. But the pain and the loneliness never really go away, and in fact, grow worse.

────── ･ ｡ﾟ: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ･ ──────

everything i wanted - By Billie Eilish [tw for suicide mentions/eluding to suicide in the song]

This ones a bit of a given if you've heard it before, but of course I'm going to put a different spin on the song's context for the sake of these two:

The song's about Billie's struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts, how the worry of not being enough or the idea of everyone hating her plagued her mind to the point it manifested in her dreams - however, her brother Finneas was always there for her, and was who she went to to discuss her troubling dream.

In terms of Dani and Mirai, this is once again in the perspective of Dani, with Mirai being the one to assure her and provide comfort.

Danica faced a troubling past and even worse present due to her quirk being seen as "malicious" and fearing the public hates her for it, despite being the #3 Pro Hero in America. She's also put under the stress of what likely every Pro Hero goes through, the feeling of needing to save everyone or else people will berate her for not being a 'true hero'.

'Cause everybody wants something from me now And I don't wanna let 'em down

This is even more prevalent after she learns what Adelynn went through in the psychiatric penitentiary and then the "reformatory camp" after a mishap with her quirk, especially since Dani had the ability to take her out from it - had she known what was happening.

────── ･ ｡ﾟ: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ･ ──────

Comedy - By Bo Burnham

This ones much more lighthearted, and can be seen from both perspectives.

Dani originally wanted to be a comedic musician, or at the very least a musician, but unfortunately was coerced into heroics when her school subtly threatened to have her "reformed" if she couldn't learn to control or use her quirk for something "useful" (aka they threatened her to work for the hero commission since her quirk was useful).

After meeting Mirai, who also enjoyed comedy and making others smile and laugh, it was a breath of fresh air for the both of them to find someone who shared their ideals: making people happy, if only for a moment.

Healing the world with comedy Making a literal difference, metaphorically I swore I'd never be back, and now, I'm back on my feet And I'm healing the world with comedy

This line at the very end hits me every time I hear it, because it pretty much sums up Dani's attitude after she thought she'd never be able to make music again when she became a Pro Hero. Thankfully, after sustaining injuries that required weeks or months to heal - numerous times, mind you - Dani realized that she can spend that time working on her original passion: comedic music.

[kidlawexchange2021]

Hello, kidlaw fans!

The KidLaw Exchange Pinch-hit Event is officially on!

Of the 18 participants of last year’s Christmas exchange, 11 got their gifts. For the remaining 7 people, we decided to organise a pinch-hit event and share their prompts without revealing their names, so as to keep the surprise for whoever's going to apply as a pinch-hitter.

How does it work?

Everyone’s welcome to join the pinch-hit event, even if you missed the chance to sign up in November 2021!

There’s no strict deadline. We want to keep this event as chill as we can. We just ask pinch-hitters to finish their fan works before May 31st, 2022.

To claim a prompt, please write us at: kidlawevents@gmail.com. Please, DO NOT use PMs here on Tumblr! We’re having problems accessing the messages section. Alternatively, you can contact @sorellaerba and @sneakend or write a PM to the KidLaw Events account on Twitter.

In your message, copy and paste the number of the prompt you'd like to create a gift for. If you want to pinch-hit for more than one prompt, please write them in order of preference.

We'll get back to you as soon as we can to let you know whether the prompt(s) you chose are still available or not. So, please, wait for our okay before starting to work on the prompt!

If the prompt of your choice is available, we'll give you the name of you giftee and then you can proceed to create your fanfiction or fanart.

NB. We won’t accept new prompts for this edition. For that, you’ll have to wait the 2022 edition.

PINCH-HIT PROMPT LIST

N.6) Prompt: literally just kidlaw being in love. Anything you don’t want to receive? NOPE. What type of gift would you like to receive? Either fanfiction or fanart.

N.7) Prompt: domestic fluff – stuck in a snowstorm island with nowhere to go. Can be AU or canon. Anything you don’t want to receive? ABO. What type of gift would you like to receive? Either fanfiction or fanart.

N. 9) Prompt: I love fantasy/legends, hurt/comfort, Sci-fy, medieval, Victorian romances, smut… Anything you don’t want to receive? furry, non-con, dark kinks, mpreg, abuse, gore or anything too weird. I also don’t like Modern AUs, unless it’s hurt/comfort or paranormal AUs. What type of gift would you like to receive? Either fanfiction or fanart.

N. 10) Prompt: Serial killer and Thriller Author AU! Like they have a similar interest and experience but from different sources. I don’t care who’s who just make sure to put in lots of fluff and smut! <3 Anything you don’t want to receive? Mpreg, vomit and goldenshower and the likes. Top Law. What type of gift would you like to receive? Fanfiction.

N. 12) Prompt: NSFW explicit, as much as you can. Be creative and have fun! I love their hard attitude and pride. I prefer Law being the bottom but still being the smartass he is. Anything you don’t want to receive? Please no furries/mechas/gore. What type of gift would you like to receive? Either fanfiction or fanart.

N. 17) Prompt: DESPERATELY need Law to say “cmere white boy” to Kid. Whatever happens after, that is up to you and if it’s sexy I will be extremely happy. If not that’s all good lmao. Please make them kiss… Anything you don’t want to receive? NA What type of gift would you like to receive? Either fanfiction or fanart.

N. 18) Prompt: My favorite tropes are fantasy, arranged marriage and slice of life. I would like to receive anything domestic fluff related, like a morning between Kid and Law, it can be in the pirate setting or modern AU settings. As long as it is fluff I would love it. Anything you don’t want to receive? gore, dub-con or violence angst. What type of gift would you like to receive? Either fanfiction or fanart.

For further information, contact us to: kidlawevents@gmail.com

If you're on Twitter, we invite you to follow @kidlawevents! It's an account specifically designed to promote (and sometimes create) KidLaw events from all over the net!

[carat-archive]

under all this

➝ prompts: 

“I wish you could be kissed, Jane,” he said. “Because I would beg just one off you. Under all this.” He flailed an arm toward the stars. — Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves 

13. “i’m not worthy of anybody’s love.” “that’s not true, you’re worthy of mine.” followed by the lover breaking eye-contact… + a love confession (source)

➝ pairing: best friend!chanhee x gn!reader, former changmin x reader

➝ genre: fluff, minimal angst

➝ themes & tropes: best friends to lovers

➝ warnings: alcohol consumption

➝ word count: 1.3k

➝ notes: this is so self-indulgent it hurts, but anyways, here’s a drabble based off one of my favorite lines of dialogue from the raven cycle + a bonus prompt i found on tumblr. (this also made me realize i rarely write friends to lovers... should do that more often). special thanks to grace & husna (@masterninjacow​) for beta-reading this for me!

➝ scan credit: @hyunjae_gif / hyunjae-gif on twitter / tistory!

You think part of you will always love Ji Changmin. Another part of you knows the two of you were never meant to be.

You realize this when you see him at the altar, a look of pure adoration on his face as he gazes at his newlywed spouse. (He never looked at you like that.) 

It stirs up a cocktail of emotions, ranging from envy to relief. Eventually, you would have fallen out of love with him, and yet, you still wish it were you up there with Changmin, about to have your first dance as a married couple. 

Maybe you’re just lonely, you muse, downing your glass of champagne. 

Someone squeezes your hand beside you, drawing your attention away from the happy pair. Chanhee interlaces his fingers with yours, smiling softly in your direction. Sighing, you rest your head on his shoulder, leaning into his warmth. 

“Thanks for coming today, you didn’t have to,” you murmur, fingering the empty flute of champagne in your unoccupied hand. 

“I’m your best friend,” he states, a laugh spilling off his lips. “You know I would do anything for you.” He pries the glass from your hand, uncurling your fingers. “I’ll go get you another drink.” 

You do your best to mingle with the other guests without Chanhee by your side, encountering old friends and exchanging pleasantries until your cheeks begin to hurt from the effort of keeping the smile frozen on your face. After what seems like your fiftieth greeting, you begin to wander around the venue, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chanhee before you stumble backwards into a warm body. 

“Oh it’s you,” Changmin says, interrupting the stuttering start to your apology. He’s alone, you notice, his spouse likely making their own rounds around the room. 

Your words pour out on their own volition, accompanied by nervous laughter. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you. Sorry for bumping into you just now. I guess I should watch where I’m going.” 

Changmin chuckles, taking a sip from his wine glass. “No worries. How have you been?” 

“I’ve been doing well! I moved back a few weeks ago and I started my new job recently. We should meet up soon, it would be nice to get the group back together,” you ramble, shifting your weight from side to side. 

“I see you and Chanhee finally figured things out,” he says, smiling above his wine glass, following your eyes as they dart around the room.

“What do you mean?” 

“You two have always been in love with each other, whether you realized it or not. It’s why we never could have worked out.” He shakes his head, looking down at his hands. ”You would always put him first, and there was never room for three in your relationship.” 

Your mouth drops open in shock, but before you can formulate a response, an enthusiastic couple rushes up to Changmin, offering their congratulations. As he turns to face them, he calls out over his shoulder, “I’ll see you around, Y/N.”

With that, he walks away, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

You need some air.

Pushing open the doors to the balcony, you step outside, feeling the cool night breeze brush against your skin. You wrap your arms around your sides, taking deep breaths as you gaze up at the stars.

Chanhee’s your best friend, your better half, the first person you talk to in the morning and the last one at night. He’s the only one who has seen the entirety of your soul and still somehow decided to stay by your side. If there were one person you had to spend the rest of your life with, it would be him. You can’t imagine a life without Choi Chanhee. 

But that doesn’t mean you like him like that, right?

The door creaks open behind you, but you don’t bother turning around. There’s only one person who would come looking for you here. As if to confirm your suspicions, Chanhee taps your elbow gently, extending your now-refilled champagne flute towards you. 

“Thanks,” you mumble sheepishly, leaning against the cool metal ledge of the balcony. You can’t help but notice the slight flush in his cheeks and the way his eyes seem to drink in the sight of you bathed in moonlight, like ill-fated Actaeon stumbling across the form of heavenly Artemis. 

Maybe your conversation with Changmin affected you more than you had thought. 

“Sorry I took so long,” he says, scratching the back of his neck. “I got caught up with some old friends.” 

“Understandable. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” 

Chanhee hums in agreement, settling by your side, his elbow brushing yours. You ignore how the brief touch makes your skin tingle in excitement, as if you were a lovestruck teenager again. 

“What did Changmin want?” he asks.

“Nothing.” 

“Are you sure?” He tilts his head towards you, taking in your distant expression. “You look pretty tense.” 

“I’m fine. Just thinking.” You take another sip of the champagne, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. “It’s just… I thought I was going to marry this guy someday, and here I am, avoiding everyone at his wedding while they’re celebrating.” You laugh bitterly, shoulders starting to slump downwards. “The thing is, it’s not that I’m not happy for him. I mean, I’ve been over him for a while. I just didn’t expect coming back to feel like this.” Gesturing vaguely, you let out a sigh before meeting Chanhee’s gaze. For the first time in a while, you realize that you can’t tell what he’s thinking. “Maybe I’m just not worthy of anybody’s love.” 

“That’s not true,” Chanhee replies, his face softening as he takes hold of your hand. “You’re worthy of mine.” 

You avert your eyes as you attempt to extract your hand from his grasp. “You’re only saying that as my best friend.” 

“I’m serious, Y/N,” he pleads, drawing your attention back towards him. Dropping your hand, he rakes his hair back in exasperation. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m in love with you. Maybe I’ve been in love with you all along, and never realized it until one day I looked at you and realized I didn’t want to call you just my best friend, but also my lover, my partner. Mine.” 

Chanhee takes a deep breath before meeting your eyes again, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You deserve to be loved.”

He leans against the balcony, placing his hands by either side of your body until he’s close enough that you can feel the illusion of his touch on your skin. You’re more than aware of the metal ledge digging into your back, but it doesn’t bother you—not when Choi Chanhee stands in front of you, looking like he outshines all the stars in the night sky, breathtaking and brilliant. 

“Can I kiss you? Just once?” he begs, gently cradling your face in his hands. “Just once, under all this, to show you the kind of love you deserve. And then we will never speak of it again.”

“Just once,” you breathe out, nodding your head. Just once to see what it’s like, to get it out of your system, to crush the butterflies suddenly fluttering around in your stomach.

Chanhee’s lips are soft, hesitant—caressing yours with a tenderness that makes your heart ache. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull him infinitesimally closer to you, your fingers threading through his hair. You let yourself get lost in the kiss, indulging in the sweet alcohol on his lips, even as you tell yourself that it’s just pretend. 

You can blame it on the champagne running through your veins all you want, but deep down, you know that once you’ve had your taste of Chanhee, you’ll never want to let him go. 

Chanhee pulls away, a bittersweet look in his eyes. As he tries to detangle himself from your embrace, you quickly press your lips to his again, leaving him stunned by the sudden action. 

“I love you,” you whisper, placing your forehead against his. “I think I’ve always loved you, I just didn’t know it yet.”

A dazzling smile spreads across Chanhee’s face as he kisses you back, his thumb stroking your cheek softly. 

“I love you too.”

[seeyounexttime]

As you may know, Black Clover is having an online exhibition. If you look at it here (has to be on mobile though) you see 0/20 and 0% in the corner. I saw the screenshots that some people shared also have zeroes and wondered... After some clicking around and struggling with Japanese, I’ve gotten a full score :D

So for those who want to know what to do, or can’t see the exhibition yourself for whatever reason, I’ve made a walkthrough that’s what it’s called right?

First, you’re asked to please turn on the sound and enjoy. There’s an ON and OFF option

Devil Possessed Work Is On Display. DEVILS AND ~THE DON’T GIVE UP MAGICAL EXHIBIT~ Black Clover 6th Year Anniversary Celebration

The Spade Kingdom’s evil devil hosts have set their hands on Black Clover’s online exhibition, the “Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit”, from the 5th year anniversary celebration!? Only the “devil-possessed works” were shining a suspicious light in the transformed exhibition hall.

[yellow/gold box] To the Devils and Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit >>

Asta has newly awakened devil power!? -- Together with the devil Liebe, get power to confront the invasion of the Spade Kingdom, including the Dark Triad!

[white/silver box] To the Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit >>

Complete Revival of the “Won’t Give Up Magical Exhibit”!? -- Because of the Spade Kingdom’s invasion, the “Don’t Give Up Magical Exhibit” has ended up in miserable condition, but Nero’s sealing magic has succeeded in completely returning it to the way it used to be! Let’s dive into the work and explore Asta and friend’s “won’t give up magic”

I recommend starting with the previous year’s exhibit, so flip your phone to the side and click the white box with Nero on the corner..~

A little tutorial: you can click in the picture frames, swipe, and pinch the screen. Nero says “I’ll tell you if you get lost. Don’t worry.”

“Not giving up magic” isn’t only Asta’s magic.

Everyone who supported Black Clover will surely have the power of “not giving up magic.” Now, with your magic power, let’s dive into the world of Black Clover’s story.

PROMISE -- 約束 (yakusoku) -- The source of the power of Asta’s “not giving up magic” was a “promise” with his rival, who pursues the dream that they can never give up on, called “to become the Wizard King.”

Nero says “Tap the framed picture.”

This causes a little manga movie to play - about Asta and Yuno of course. Their promise, words exchanged at the dungeon, that time they saved Hage, and times they fought side by side in the Elf Arc are shown. When it comes to an end, it displays this manga spread:

Nero says “Tap the demon’s bones...”

This plays a manga movie about Licht’s and Lumiere’s tragic battle...

Nero says “Tap the icon on the upper left to return to the original world.”

You’ll be taken back the Promise screen and should now have 1/20 at the bottom corner

PRIDE -- 誇り (hokori) -- Magic Knight Squads that protect the world with magical power. The Wizard King with the magic knight captains whom he brings together. It is that “pride” built up due to their overwhelming achievements that is the source of power.

Again, tap the framed pictures. A slideshow of their most prominent moments (before the timeskip) play. At the end is a panel of their most impressive spell at least that’s what I think they were trying to do here?

Nero says “You want to know more about your comrades right”

Tap the yellow button next to her (it says “see details+”). This pops up:

At the top is their type of magic. Then a short description about them. The rest is mostly stats that were already in their manga profile’s + a little extra. In order it’s: {their name ☘, age, height, birthday, sign, blood type, favorite thing, birthplace, and rank}

Yami’s birthplace is the Land of the Sun; Dorothy’s is the Witch’s Forest; Jack’s is in the Common Realm; everyone else was born in the Noble Realm

COMPLEX -- 劣等感 (rettoukan) -- A person who can deal with their “inferiority complex” is also a blessed person who has the chance to become stronger than anyone else.

*note: the kanji specifically refers to “inferiority complex”

A manga movie about her struggles with magic plays, then switches to this:

Nero says “Pinch out and move forward.”

As you “zoom in” panels of Noelle’s development with spells, from Sea Dragon’s Lair to Valkyrie Dress, rotate around, ending with:

“I... won....!!”

FRIENDSHIP -- 絆 (kizuna) -- For their precious friends, sometimes a person can even go as far as surpassing their limits. A magic blow vested with the “bonds” of friends has defeated any despair.

*note: the kanji means “bonds (between people)”

Nero says “If you look at all the framed pictures of bonds…”

When you click on each framed picture, you get panels like in the Complex section but these one’s don’t rotate

It focuses on an important fight for each Black Bull, I think one that emphasizes their bonds with someone and/or teamwork. Magna & Luck share framed pictures; Gauche, Gordon, Grey and Henry share another. Usually at the end you see the kanji for their magic attribute (Charmy’s ends with “food magic”)

Like with the captains, there’s also a panel of them looking impressive. Again, Nero says “You want to learn more about your friends right.”

At the top is their name, description about them, then Profile ☘ and stats in the same order as the captain’s in the Pride section. I want to note that Charmy’s birthplace is literally “?”

But Before You Finish Looking At All The Frames-!! swipe left and take a look 👀

Try to tap this~  Nero says “If you look at all the framed pictures, there will be something good.”

After you watch the 8th one, you’ll find that the middle frame has lit up

“Tap the framed picture” Nero says. A manga movie about the Black Bulls plays, showing their good and awesome times, then ending in the group shot of when they busted in during Asta’s and Nero’s trial --but wait!! there’s more!!!

We’re moving left-?! Omg SECRE-!??

“Well done, you undid the seal.”

“I will undo the seal with my magic.”

Sealing Magic

Inverse Release

LOVE -- 愛 (ai) -- The magic of Black Clover has been sustained by the “love” of everyone who continuously supported all the characters, including Asta and Yuno, and this story. Thank you very much for so much “love.”

That’s right: you just unlocked Love :’)

Tapping it opens up a high-quality image that you can download for yourself.

Nero says “It’s a commemorative wallpaper. It’s yours.”

☘ Instant Posting Magic ☘ Let’s share with everyone that we came to play Black Clover’s 5th anniversary project “Never Giving Up Magic” 📖 Use Instant Posting Magic

Tapping that opens up twitter. Nero says “Post in celebration.”

--but wait! there’s even more!! swipe one more time 👀

Zenon, what are you doing here? staring at a framed picture of the Heart Kingdom... Tap it, Nero says

oh shit

a preview of volume 25 plays

Click Here For Part 2~! ☠ 

※✧※

*Disclaimer: The exhibit used 諦めない魔法 (akiramenai mahou). Akiramenai is the negative form of the verb akirameru "to give up" and mahou is "magic." It's definitely a reference to Asta's "my magic is never giving up" line, and I guess it could be translated as "magic that doesn't give up" but doesn't that make it sound like he has magic? This becomes more of an issue when they begin to apply it to others beside Asta... So yeah, sorry that sounds awkward. Also depending on context and because I got tired of repeating the same phrase I changed the form from "don't give up" to "not giving up" and others.

I was using google translate quite a bit, after I looked up kanji by parts because I couldn't copy-paste the pictures (it was decent practice; I think I can totally identify the word "not giving up" now). This isn't an official release, but I did try to clean things up to at least sound coherent and give you a better idea of what's going on.

[yyh4ever]

Interview with the voice actors (1994)

Source: Yu Yu Hakusho Anime Comics, Meikai Shito Hen - Honoo no Kizuna, volume 2 (October, 1994). More info: Anime Comics.

This may be a long interview, but it’s interesting to learn more about the japanese voice actors’ point of view about the characters and YYH in general.

Nozomu Sasaki (佐々木 望)– Yusuke Urameshi

Profile

- Birthplace: Hiroshima;

- Birthday: January 25 (Aquarius);

- Blood Type: O;

- Freelancer voice actor;

- Other roles: Tetsuo (Akira), Shin no Suiko (Samurai Troopers).

Note: he was a freelancer when this interview was conducted in 1994. For more info, visit Nozomu Sasaki‘s Official Site.

How did you react when you found out you were going to play Yusuke?

Even though he was a character I really wanted to play, I knew it would be very hard being chosen, so I tried not to worry about the results of the audition. When I got the news, my motivation was renewed.

What are your impressions of Yusuke after playing him?

Hum...I can't say I know him thoroughly. Despite what he may look like, he's not an ordinary guy, he's someone who goes deep in his thoughts. When I think I am finally able to understand him, in the next scene he says and does things I could never imagine.

Which Yusuke's episode was a moment to remember?

I always end up forgetting about my favorite scenes (laughs). For example, I can't fully express in words everything I felt during the dialogues exchanged between Yusuke and Sensui at the time anymore. If feels like all of this has already become a part of me.

And which episode in general was one to remember?

When Master Genkai died. It was tough and sad. Even knowing she would resurrect later, it was impossible to not be moved. It was like my own grandma had passed away.

Apart from Yusuke, who’s your favorite character?

Yusuke (laughs). But I also like Genkai.

What's your opinion about Yu Yu Hakusho?

I  think YYH has something different from the other traditional fighting animes. It doesn't betray itself. If feels like it has its own purpose that no other anime has.

What makes you think so?

Don’t you think YYH differs from the traditional animes with beautiful characters? Of course, YYH has its heartthrobs (laughs). But the same old rule that separates the hero from the villain doesn’t apply here. Both Younger Toguro and Sensui had their own goals that went against others. So, if you put yourself in their shoes, you will understand their motives and what led them to act the way they did.

How would you describe Yusuke in one word?

Every time I am asked this question, I answer that he is stupid (laughs). But he can’t be boiled down to that…What about someone who pretends very well to be stupid?

Shigeru Chiba (千葉 繁) – Kazuma Kuwabara

Profile

- Birthplace: Kumamoto;

- Birthday: February 4 (Aquarius);

- Blood Type: O;

- Affiliated with the talent management enterprise Eighty-One Produce;

- Other roles: Chief Shigeo Chiba (Patlabor).

For more info, visit  Shigeru Chiba’s Official Twitter

Did you take any precautions while playing Kuwabara?

I’ve always taken good care to not make him sound like a heartthrob. I tried to dub him as a normal guy for what he really is, so people would be able to identify themselves in him. If there is an exception to the rule, it’s when he shows his feelings without reservation.

Note: It’s also interesting to have a look on this interview (2011). Togashi praised Shigeru’s work twice: “the acting skills of the voice actor of Kuwabara Kazuma, Chiba Shigeru, motivated me greatly. He understood the character of Kuwabara even better than me. Therefore, when I watch the anime, I also had something to take away from it. That is the best result”  and “The person who can act out the right voice, not only merges with the original work, but also investigates the character in their own way, just like Chiba Shigeru whom I mentioned earlier, he understands the character better than I do. ‘So you can interpret the character that way too’, I was surprised that way before. Because I know this is a good learning point for me, I would consciously avoid the sound”.

Are there any unforgettable Kuwabara’s scenes or lines to you?

When Kuwabara saved Yukina and said: “I’d like you to know that not all the humans are bad. For that reason, please, don’t hate all human beings”. Or in the movie when he was losing badly, he didn’t quit the fight and said: “in a matter of stubbornness I’ve never lost to anyone¹”. Through this line, I found out the real meaning of the word “quit”.

Note¹: In the english dub version of the Poltergeist Report movie, Kuwabara says: “in a true contest of guts I have never been beaten”.

What do you mean?

Normally, this word carries a negative sense, for example, “to quit your efforts”. But in reality it means “facing the reality as it is and move forward”. For that reason, it’s beautiful when someone fights with all his might even knowing he will die. That’s the way Kuwabara has always fought.

Which episode of the anime was unforgettable to you?

Sensui’s Arc. Even in daily life, people tend to eliminate what they fear. For that reason, I think humans are the most fearful race of all. Sensui claimed he wanted to be killed in the Demon World (Makai) by the hands of a youkai. Even though this act would not erase his sins, that feeling really moved me. In the end, love, hate, envy and sorrow are originated from the same kind of energy. Depending on how it is used, a person can hurt others and eventually can destroy oneself. Using this energy in a positive way, it becomes love; in a negative way, grudge.

What's your opinion about Yu Yu Hakusho?

I think YYH tries to unveil what it is being human. Evil also exists within us and that’s exactly why Yusuke and Kuwabara fight. The goal of this story is to make them realize the existence of this evil in order to destroy it.

Do you mean it’s not a traditional story about good and evil?

Normally good overcomes evil and we’re proud of that. But here, the “evil” also has its motives and if you delve deeper you may find out it could exist within you. That’s what Sensui’s saga was about.

Nobuyuki Hiyama (檜山 修之) – Hiei

Profile

- Birthplace: Hiroshima;

- Birthday: August 25 (Virgo);

- Blood Type: A;

- Affiliated with the talent management enterprise Art Vision;

- Other roles: Pedro Kazmaier (Jungle King Tar-chan), Maito Senpuuji (The Brave Express Might Gaine - Yuusha Tokkyu Maitogain) etc.

For more info, visit Hiyama’s Official Twitter

What was your first impression of Hiei?

At the beginning, he was an enemy, then I thought: “the stronger the enemy, the cooler he is”. So, I thought about playing him in a way that intimidated Yusuke.

But he ended up becoming an ally…

That’s right, that’s when I felt flat on my face.

What kind of guy is Hiei?

He’s a character in which strength, sincerity and bad mood coexist. It’s natural for some people to refrain their desires due to other people's opinions, but he is free of modesty. He comes and goes as he pleases. It’s not like he doesn't think of others, but keeping his own rhythm is more important to him.

Do you mean he is only sincere with himself?

Yes, even though I receive lots of letters saying he’s a "contrarian" (laughs). He seems to be this way because the story is told by Yusuke’s point of view. If it was Hiei’s perspective, you would see that he is just unable to lie to himself.

Which episode of the anime was unforgettable to you?

It’s not about “one episode”, I like when Hiei loses a little bit of his composure when Yukina is around. Shortly thereafter, Yusuke and Kurama show up to mock him. What a pain in the ass those guys (laughs).

What are Hiei’s best lines?

Those three: “Humph”( フン), “tsk” and “idiot” (laughs).

What's your opinion about Yu Yu Hakusho?

Even though it’s a fighting anime, the way the story is written is unique.

The enemies are interesting, don’t you think?

I agree. I don’t think Yusuke and the others have any goals in mind to fight but the enemies do. I know Hiei and Kurama are very dear and popular characters, but personally, I see many interesting things about the enemies as well.

Who is your favorite villain?

Sensui. He’s a character who had been worried about several events and that led him to desire the destruction of the entire human race. I know it would be impossible at the moment, but he’s the character I’d like to play one day, like in 10 or 20 years.

Note: Mr. Hiyama, more than 20 years later (February 20, 2020), gave an interview alongside Shohei Hashimoto, Hiei’s actor in the Stage Play, commenting about playing Sensui. The question was about if there were any scenes they wanted to see on the stage. Hiyama’s answer: “what I personally want to see is the Sensui’s Arc. I've loved it since then. Hiei doesn't get much of a chance to appear, though (laughs). Even though he passed away, Sensui was a really cool character with the performance of Naya Rokuro (he died in 2014, R.I.P). I was reading an interview from back then in which I said "I want to be an actor who could play the role of Sensui in 10 or 20 years”  but I'’m not used to it yet (laughs)”.

Megumi Ogata (緒方 恵美) – Kurama

Profile

- Birthplace: Tokyo;

- Birthday: June 6 (Gemini);

- Blood Type: B;

- Affiliated with Aoni Production;

- Other roles: Sailor Uranus (Sailor Moon), Hiryu (Ginga Sengoku Gun Yuuden Rai) etc.

For more info, visit Megumi’s Official Twitter

What was your first impression of Kurama?

When I asked the producers what kind of character was Kurama, I got this answer: “he’s human but also a youkai; has a human form but is fox; looks like a girl but he is a boy; looks 16 but is hundreds years old...” (laughs). Confused, I turned to the manga and saw for the first time his appearance as Youko. So, my impression was: “what? such a complex character!?” (laughs).

How would you describe Kurama in one word?

Lately, I am not able to answer that. The same way it is hard to describe a real person, he’s almost indescribable.He’s a character that seems to be always walking a fine line.

What are Kurama’s best lines?

What he said when Yusuke was about to die in the Irima’s cave (Sensui’s Arc): “I couldn’t stand it if any of us four weren’t here”. Due to his real age, he already has a refined mind and rarely externalizes his true feelings. But, at that time, he spoke from the bottom of his heart.

I have the impression that you natural voice and Kurama’s voice are very different.

Really? I don’t need to create a voice for him. The voice simply comes out of my mouth when I think about him. After finding out I had a high-pitched voice, I tried to make it sound deeper, my focus was solely on my voice. Then, I started to dedicate more to acting and trained a lot to increase my vigor. Paying more attention to intonation helped me to expand my vocal capacity.

Apart from Kurama, who’s your favorite character?

Sincerely, it’s Yusuke. He has a big heart and is able to accept people for who they are. No matter who, everyone ends up liking him. The guys gathered together thanks to Yusuke and, in the end, even Toguro and Sensui were attracted by his charisma.

What's your opinion about Yu Yu Hakusho?

It’s a story free from hypocrisies. It addresses several themes, but never pushes you to agree with any of them. That’s its attractiveness. When I play Kurama, I always try to convey this lack of pretense from the story itself! Please, keep on watching Yu Yu Hakusho!

[codename-adler]

Kevin Day and his Oblivious Literature Lover, pt.IV

In times of college finals, aftg is my coping mechanism of predilection. hope it helps some :)

>> Table of Contents,TW and other parts here!

i’ll let you guess what Kevin and Juliet chose for their project

oh, yes

the letters of Hamilton, Eliza and John + Hamilton: The Musical

i will fight you on this

at first, when Juliet suggests it, Kevin stares at her so hard bc really?? a musical??

but then she lends him the 50$ leatherbound official book of the musical (you know the navy blue and beige one? you know what i’m talking about, right?) and reads it all in one evening and wow

lin-manuel miranda? genius. ron chernow? Genius. alexander hamilton? Dumb Genius.

oh yeah and Juliet? Absolutely mind-blowing genius.

as Andrew & Neil grow closer and the match agaisnt the Ravens rounds the corner, Kevin finds himself looking more and more forward to the time spent at the library with Juliet

she is just so focused on their project and so oblivious as who he really is and doesn’t really care if sometimes he is more anxious, if freaks over everything to be perfect, if he babbles on&on&on&on about any bit of history he discovered

she’s just there, smirking, stiffling her laughs and asking for more

they’ve exhanged phone numbers and she installed snapchat on his, and although he never sends her anything, she always has a short video and a funny caption that pop up from time to time; they’re that little reminder that the world goes on outside of exy and that he exists outside of exy

she introduces him to funny videos and he didn’t know absolute dumb shit could make him snort??

his favorite is the peanut butter baby

at first the Foxes give him this judgemental look when he ugly-snorts in the locker room or at Eden’s, but eventually they just get that glint in their eyes as if they were in on the jokes

sometimes, Juliet’s so focused on writing down bullet points in her notebook, peeling the skin off her lips, so unaware of Kevin’s personal hell of a life, that he just wants to spill out everything

although he’s not sure if it’s because he wants her to know him and stay, or because he wants her to reject him and therefore spare himself the trouble of getting attached...

she takes the decision for him

on a Thursday afternoon, on their planned study session, she doesn’t show up

she doesn’t answer her phone either

he even tries out a completely blacked out snap with “r u alive?” in caption

no answer

he gives her space, sending her occasional cat videos he thoroughly researches

if she watches them, she doesn’t say anything

on Monday afternoon, she doesn’t come to class

that’s when the panic Kevin’s been reigning in just... bursts

what if it’s Riko? 

what if it’s the Master?

what if it’s Ichirou?

what if, somehow, it’s the Butcher’s people?

that afternoon’s practice is hell for the Foxes, Kevin is ruthless and an asshole and very agressive

Dan waits for him outside the boys’ locker room as all the other Foxes leave (not even Andrew and Neil want to wait for him)

“Spit out your goddamn problem before I tell Coach to bench you next game”

oh, how Kevin wants to cuss her out

and then he looks  at her face, ready to vomit words, when he sees her worrying her lips

just like Juliet

it shouldn’t be enough to make him tear up, but it does

he still manages to keep as much of the truth to himself as he possibly can

“My EAL partner isn’t responding to my messages or my calls and she didn’t even come to class today and it stresses me the fuck out and what if it’s like with Neil, Dan?” he says in one breath, trying to tear out the net of his racket

Dan recomposes her face and gets that very serious look, the one she usually gets when someone touches her family

“It’s not, Kevin. That’s over. We got Neil back, we got you back, you got Jean back. The team didn’t even know who that person was. The most info we’ve gathered is what you just told me now. Yeah there are some bets but it’s mostly for funsies, nothing even remotely serious. You wanna look for her?” she soothes him.

“I don’t even know...”

“She lives on campus?” she asks.

“I don’t- I don’t know, Dan. I spent months with her and I can’t even vaguely say where she lives! How fucked up is that?” Kevin yells.

“It’s not even remotely fucked up, Kevin. You should know that. Does she have instagram? twitter? Or like, facebook?” she questions some more.

“God, I don’t know. She only sends me stupid fucking videos and I never even respond like the goddamn asshole I am...”

“Shut up. We’re all assholes at the end of the road, ‘kay? You ain’t better or worse than others. Now she sends them to you in text or somewhere else?”

“Sometimes texts... Sometimes the yellow app, the chat one. Why.”

“Oh great, that’s great. We can locate her, with snapchat, if she forgot to turn off the sharing. And if you’re comfortable with that, too. I know you’re not a creep like that. You’re creepy sometimes, don’t get me wrong. But, not a creep.”

“Gee, thanks, Dan.”

“Hey, shush. You down or what?” she says, arching an eyebrow.

“Okay,” he answers, unable to make the fear go away without knowing for sure.

And so it turns out Juliet’s location is, in fact, knowable. Dan grabs one of Kevin’s shoulders as he leaves the court, squeezing her affection into her grip; he nods emotionally in her direction, as far as emotions can translate unto his face.

he doesn’t even know what he’ll do once he finds her, his brain is solely focused on the animated map that brings him closer and closer to Juliet

the more he progresses, the more he realizes he is far from Fox Tower, on a campus area he has never even seen

he stops before a decrepit building, old and moldy-looking

Jackie Kennedy Hall

student dorms? this shabby? she can’t possibly live-

except that she can, because there isn’t another building close and the map has brought him here, and he doesn’t really know her...

so Kevin straightens his shoulders, inhales deeply, and goes inside

he could go on and on and on about everything that is just wrong with the place, from the smell to the decoration, but he makes a beeline for the front desk (he’s lucky there’s even one)

he asks for a way to contact someone, flashes his press smile at the women behind the desk, gives up his ID in exchange for the room number

Juliet Grier, 418

stairs, stairs, stairs, stairs

heavy door, right, 412, 414, 416...

418

what, now?

Kevin hesitantly knocks once, twice

no answer

he knocks again and decides to speak up, in case she didn’t hear

“Juliet? It’s Kevin. Day. From EAL? Can I speak with you?”

still nothing

maybe she isn’t home... no, the map says she’s here. maybe she’s sleeping...

he decides to try one last time

“We really should finish that project, you know? I think we could both use the free time...” he says without his heart into it.

without surprise, no response still

he decides to take a loose paper from his sachel and writes down some words

Greetings Hi,

My friend Dan helped me look for you, but you don’t have to worry about your privacy; it’s because of the yellow app. You should turn that off if you don’t want other people to be nosy. 

You weren’t in class today. I’ll share my notes if you want them. But, you should come to class, it’s better. For learning. 

I’ll wait a few in case you’re asleep. 

Text me or call me or whatever when you’re ready.

- Kevin D. (your partner from EAL)

quick, efficient, to the point

Kevin slips the paper under the door, and waits

he refreshes the map too many times, to see if her location changed or if somehow there was a glitch

it stays put

he ends up sitting on the hallway floor, his back sliding down the wall

he catches up on a book for another class, checks exy stats and watches many, many videos of Jeremy Knox on the court and in interview

some students pass him with a nasty look, eyeing the lack of earphones on his phone

some other students walk by him and will themselves to keep going, because holy shit it’s Kevin Day in Jackie Hall

it’s at least an hour and a half before the doorknob slowly and quietly starts to click

Kevin was absorbed deep into whatever move Knox was making before scoring

the 418 door opens

Kevin gets up in one move, all things Jeremy Knox and exy forgotten

she’s loosely holding Kevin’s paper in one hand, the other clutching a large scarf that covers up the majority of her body

from what he can see, though, she’s wearing sweats from head to toe; her hair’s tied on the top of her head, but most of the curls escaped and it looks unwashed and her curls, dry

her skin’s turned pale, dark circles under her eyes, a haggard look in them, her cheeks stained with dry tears

Juliet looks terrible

“Hi...” Kevin attempts

she finally looks up from the paper and gives him a bored look that could rival Andrew’s

with a rough voice strained from cries and many days without speaking, she asks, “My EAL partner?”

“Well, yes. In case.”

“In case of what.”

“I-”

“I know who you are, Kevin.”

and isn’t that both his most ardent wish and his worse fear?

with that, she turns around and goes back to her dark room, leaving the door open behind her

is that... an invitation?

Kevin’s never been to another person’s place, apart from the Columbia house, Abby’s and Wymack’s

he reminds himself why he came in the first place and decides it would be a waste to leave now, right?

the small studio is a mess, much like its occupant

there are clothes everywhere, on the floor, on a chair, on the bed, on the desk

all the curtains are drawn, no light is on, the only source coming from Juliet’s laptop somewhere amongst her bedsheets

it’s like she made herself a nest and hasn’t moved from there for a long time

maybe even since last Monday, the last time he saw her

Kevin doesn’t understand the scene he has before his eyes

he’s never seen such apathy in someone that is not Andrew

and at this point, apathy is pretty much Andrew’s default state of being

not Juliet’s

Juliet is a soft glow, toothy grins, wild curls, countless jumpers, dumb jokes and references, color-coded notes, an organized mind, unwavering focus and determination, flowing words and warm, kind eyes...

so what is this?

then Kevin realizes he spoke aloud

and Juliet can only chuckle sadly, almost mockingly

“This? This is why I don’t have friends. This is why I don’t mix with people. This is why I’ll never amount to anything in life. This is my dirty laundry, both metaphorically and literally. This is it. That’s... That’s it. This is what I get,” she answers flatly

Kevin’s mind is spinning

he doesn’t understand

he needs to understand, though

“Explain it to me,” he says

Juliet looks at him like a brick just hit him on the head and made him speak Swedish

“Why.”

“Because, surely there’s a way to work with it.”

she laughs

it doesn’t reach her eyes, nor her lips or her cheeks

it’s just a desperate sound

it makes him think of Andrew again

and that gives him an idea, a gut feeling, if you will

“Can I try something out?” he asks

“Kevin... I can’t- I’m tired... It’s not a good idea... I’m tired, Kevin,” Juliet responds, pain noticeable in her voice and her movements slow

“I know, I- I know. Someone I know... He plays this game. It’s really not a game, it’s more like a communication thing. He calls it “A Truth for a Truth”.  In exchange for something I tell you, you tell me something. And in exchange for something you tell me, I’ll tell you something else. It’s made me... work through some things... before,” Kevin explains calmly

Juliet keeps on observing him from her bed, silent

“Look, can I just stay here to do homework? I have nowhere to go right now,” Kevin asks, almost blurting out “Please” before Andrew’s ghost caught it in his throat

she lies back down, burries herself in her covers, a silent “yes”

Kevin ends up falling asleep sitting on the floor, books open, head resting at the end of Juliet’s bed

he wakes up around 2 AM

he’s got multiple texts from Aaron and Nicky, one from Andrew, and one from Dan

“told everybody you spent the night at Coach’s. take care.”

he silently vows to thank her later

now he either really goes to Wymack’s to finish his night there, or... he stays exactly where he is

Juliet is still sleeping soundly

in a haze, he palms for a pillow or cushion, pulls his hoodie on and lies back down on the carpeted floor

he’s only awaken in the late morning when he brutally gets stepped on

“What the shit?? Kevin! How...???” Juliet yells

“Um, ow? No, no, don’t apologize so quickly. You just, you know, crushed my lungs and a couple of ribs, no worries, Jules!” Kevin groans

“Ju- you know what? I’m not sorry. Right now I gotta pee, so you better have a damn good explanation when I get back,” she replies and leaves her room to go to the bathroom at the end of the hall

instead of dread, Kevin feels calm about the upcoming conversation

he doesn’t prepare lies, doesn’t run away, doesn’t resort to assholery

he just stays put where he is on the floor, snuggles deeper into his hoodie, and waits for relief, for the truth

he waits for Juliet

[sleepykittypaws]

Ted Lasso: Carol of the Bells

Original Air Date: August 13, 2021 (Apple TV+) Where to Watch?: It’s an Apple TV+ original series, so should be available on the streaming service in perpetuity

Ted Lasso, the series, is one of the brightest entertainment lights to come along in a relatively dark time. Premiering mid-pandemic, the show, based on a series of not-all-that-well-known NBC soccer coverage promos, stars Jason Sudeikis as an American college football coach hired to coach British Premier League soccer (I, of course, mean, football) team, AFC Richmond.

The show, which has become something of a phenomena as it enters its second season with a record 20 Emmy nominations, has been hailed for its niceness and general likability. It's funny, sharp and, yes, sweet, without being saccharine. Bad stuff happens on, and to, Ted Lasso, just like in real life, but the characters don't let the worst parts of their lives define them.

Ted Lasso’s trick is that it manages to be both grounded and an escape from reality, into a world that's a little bit kinder and more gentle than the one we all actually live in, in 2020 and 2021.

So, there's probably no better program to offer up a Christmas special, even in August, despite the fact that I'm usually a stickler about keeping holiday content special by confining it to the season. I mean, sure I start "the season" no later than November 1, but, still, I do enjoy waiting to savor my Christmas TV, so it takes something pretty special to get me in the spirit mid-summer.

“Carol of the Bells,” the fourth episode of Ted Lasso’s second season, takes place, like most UK series Christmas specials, both within and somewhat outside the timeline of the rest of the series, and could easily be watched, and enjoyed, as a stand alone. There is barely a passing mentioning of what felt like a cliffhanger ending to episode three, when the team protested their top sponsor, Dubai Air, in solidarity with Nigerian player Sam Obisanya. But in “Carol of the Bells,” the timeline of the show has jumped ahead significantly, putting behind us the team's streak of draw matches, which had been another  main focus of the season to date, via one line of exposition and a pan to a whiteboard in Coach Lasso's office. 

One of the things I love about this show is that they aren't afraid to resolve a plot line mid-season. No need to draw it out for drama, or to have beloved characters backtrack, constantly recreating the same situations. I think the moment I really feel in love with Ted Lasso is when the owner-seeks-to-destroy-team-as-revenge-on-her-ex plot that launched the series was resolved, not via a dramatic reveal, but a quiet office conversation with team owner Rebecca asking, and receiving, forgiveness, from Ted, who understood her instinct to lash out, and refused to hold those worst impulses against her, knowing he had his own not-quite-pure reasons for accepting the job in the first place. 

For me, that moment was when Ted Lasso went from amusing, to awesome. So, it's no surprise that the Ted-Rebecca relationship continues to bloom at Christmas, where Hannah Waddington's character absolutely sees through Ted's all-good exterior, knowing just how lonely the first Christmas post-divorce can be.

When we saw Ted drinking, alone in his apartment, and watching It's a Wonderful Life, I feared we might be in for one of those dream Christmas movie redux's with Ted learning how important his existence really is, but of course I should have known better. A huge part of Ted Lasso's charm is that show usually zigs, when viewers expect it to zag: Not giving the team the tie to keep them from being relegated, the undramatic reveal of Rebecca's evil plan to Ted, Keeley and Roy's rock solid relationship.

Instead, the show continues to demonstrate it really does have the best of intentions with Rebecca and Ted going on a Christmas Day giving spree, that feels both absolutely perfect for the pair, and helps support the very real Poverty Alleviation Charities.

Meanwhile, Roy and Keeley's Sexy Christmas is interrupted by the last minute arrival of Roy's adorable niece, Phoebe, who has received a not-very-nice gift from a boy in her class. Roy and Keeley's banter is on full display as they attempt to both revenge and reconcile the source of Phoebe's distress.

Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy and is also a writer on the show, steals almost every scene he's in, even at Christmas, and the onscreen chemistry he has with Juno Temple's Keeley is off the charts. That child actor Elodie Blomfield more than holds her own with these two is a real testament to her own, budding abilities.

The ending of Roy, Keeley and Phoebe's Christmas adventure—teased early on with the reveal of the teasing boy's name as Bernard (and if you don't get that reference Google "Richard Curtis-Bernard Jenkin") is so perfect, I absolutely did tear up. 

Oh and, shout out to guest star Claire Skinner, who knows a thing or two about classic UK Christmas specials with her own from her days on Outnumbered, another of my UK faves. Gutted we didn't get to see Dr. Rogers' husband, who I kept hoping would be Skinner's real-life partner, and Outnumbered co-parent, Hugh Dennis. Really, Dennis' lack was the only real mis-step in this entire episode for me.

Meanwhile, Higgins, played so well by Jeremy Swift (the casting in Ted Lasso is across-the-board perfection), is hosting his annual Christmas open house for Richmond team members without family in town, expecting the usual one or two players to pop in. Instead, with Swift's real-life wife Mary Roscoe at his side, almost the entire team turns up ready to celebrate with the Higgins clan. 

It's only at the very end that “Carol of Bells” goes traditional Christmas special, putting most of its main characters outside Casa Higgins for an episode-ending musical number that, I'm just gonna admit, while cheesy as heck, brought even more tears to my eyes, despite it still being August, and would have made me a blubbering mess in December—when I will definitely be watching this again.

From the opening scene reveal of the team's Secret Santa exchange, to the closing moments that put Waddington back on the mic, which fans have been demanding since her karaoke outing in season one, for an extra dose of Christmas cheer, “Carol of the Bells,” was, to me, perfect. 

I'm not exactly sure why Apple TV+ didn't save this for a one-off November or December drop but, as I said on Twitter, it's very possible, maybe even likely, that I saw my favorite Christmas content of 2021 on August 13th. Ted Lasso: Carol of the Bells is going to be very, very hard to top.

Final Judgement: 4 Paws Enthusiastically Up for this instant Christmas classic

[corteae]

king of beasts UPDATE | 12. call of the beast

title: king of beasts fandom: the untamed / mo dao zu shi summary: A song is calling to him, and the voice is his mother's. Wei Wuxian ignores it at first, determined to focus on his upcoming wedding to Lan Wangji, recently named Chief Cultivator.

However, the events of Guanyin Temple and the coveted coffin inside draw the attention of some very powerful rogue cultivators. The leader of this group turns out to be an old enemy, long thought dead. So Wei Wuxian must follow the song on the wind after all, and track down his mother's immortal master, Baoshan Sanren.

A post-canon, find-BSSR adventure fic. Our heroes journey to find immortal super cultivator, but end up finding themselves.

relationships: lwj/wwx, jc&wwx, jc/wq, and the juniors™

begin on ao3 | twitter

a/n: when i finished CQL, my one disappointment was that we never actually do meet baoshan sanren, because she sounds like a badass. for our favorite husbands to have an adventure to find the real celestial mountain she hails from felt like a very natural sequel to me. so here i am, writing that.

Wei Wuxian knew what it was like to die, so he knew this wasn’t that.

He knew how it felt to be torn to shreds, down to thinnest fibers of his anatomy, until there was nothing left. He remembered nothing afterwards, nothing until those same threads of his body were suddenly, painfully forced to unite again, as if a hot needle had sewn his skin back together. He knew what it was like to come back to life, so he knew this wasn’t that, either.

This time, Wei Wuxian opened his eyes to total darkness.

At first, he thought he might still be in Empathy with Xiao Xingcheng, during one of his years of blindness. However, upon looking down, Wei Wuxian could make out his hands and the rest of his body. Despite there being no visible light source, Wei Wuxian could see himself just fine. More than that – directly beneath his feet, he saw his own rippling reflection peering back at him.

He appeared to be standing on an eerily still, inky black pool of water. Furthermore, there was no indication anywhere of a shoreline, nor how deep this lake was. But if this was water, why did the surface feel as solid as stone?

Where the fuck…

“Lan Zhan...?”

...No response, just the hollow echo of his own voice.

Heart thumping, he ran around aimlessly, but his surroundings never changed. Just pitch blackness. What he did notice was the sound beneath his feet – a light splish splish as if stepping in puddles. He continued to call for Lan Wangji, fear edging into his being.

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I…?”

He was alive, but there was no way he could be conscious, right? Yet, he couldn’t wake himself up, which alarmed Wei Wuxian even more. Had Empathy gone horribly wrong? What if he was stuck like this? What if he was trapped there forever?

“Lan Zhan!!”

No one answered.

Seeing how he wasn’t getting anywhere, Wei Wuxian slowed to a stop. He was panting, either from running or from his racing thoughts. There really was nothing around here except him. His reflection was as clear as if looking in a perfectly polished mirror. His form had a surreal, desaturated glow around it.

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath.

“Relax,” he told himself. This is just another nightmare.

Though so far entirely unlike the others he’d had lately. This was the first time he had ever been lucid for a dream, but he knew the phenomenon existed. Recently, he would usually be with his parents, their faces smudged by memory loss. In this place, it was only himself.

Wei Wuxian looked down again and watched himself frown. Such a simultaneously comforting and jarring sight, even now.

When he had awoken back then, in the bowels of Mo Manor, Wei Wuxian had felt right away that pieces of himself were missing. Like being the victim of an unfair transaction, an uneven exchange. The amount of matter sacrificed to summon him did not equate to everything the man Wei Wuxian had been. Something cannot be created from nothing. To deconstruct an object – or person, in this instance – and form another, the sum of their components must be equal in mass. Therefore, whoever was going to invoke such forbidden magic, they should have known that whatever they offered up will dictate how much there is of whatever’s spat back out.

...continue on ao3