#sunday reading recap

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (2-8 February 2025)

perfect reaction to a pc just deciding to take a pee break. no shady shenanigans, just a pee break. still laughing over it.

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 Please Pass the Guilt (Nero Wolfe #45) (Rex Stout, author; Michael Prichard, narrator)

🥰 Size Doesn't Matter series (Kalee60) - 97K, shrunkyclunks AU with freelance operative Bucky who has a crush on Cap AND then develops feelings for this tiny, stubborn-as-fuck, injured blond guy named Grant that Natasha dropped off. Plus a whole 'bring down HYDRA-infested SHIELD' thing they've got going on. First fic is 63K, Bucky's POV and the main story; 2nd fic is 33K and is Steve's POV on the whole thing.

🥰 Where You Lead (Linsky) - 42K, hockey rpf BDSM AU

💖💖 +150K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

00Q Chatfics and Assorted Headcanons (cicer, miri_tiazan) - Bond universe: 00Q, 2.3K - absolutely hilarious & unhinged not!fic of various 00Q headcanons

pony (greatunironic) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 19K - FANTASTIC olympics AU with aged up rockstar Eddie & pommel horse superstar Steve - fun & funny, incredible job fitting characters to this AU

When I Think About Seventeen (thisapplepielife) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 2.8K - sort of 2nd chance romance, just a tinge of poignant nostalgia to add piquancy

Long December (Arsenic) - Suits: Mike/Harvey, 16K - delicious, angsty h/c alt version of things post S1

Let Me Be Your Porch Light, Baby (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 8.6K - mostly a reread of great monsterfucking fic with mothman!steve NOW with added epilogue making his happy ending even happier

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

The Repair Shop - s1, e12

Home Town - s9, e6; s8, e9

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled - s3, e10

Handsome - Pretty Little Episode #24

Handsome - Pretty Little Episode #25

Handsome - Ilana Glazer asks about God

Handsome - "Weird Al" Yankovic asks about memorable movie moments

Harley Quinn - s5, e1-4

Only Murders In The Building - s1, e1-4

James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome

Music Box: Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary

D20: Dungeons & Drag Queens - "The Queens Take Matali" (s2, e5)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Twyla's Twine Time" (s19, e5)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Smart Podcast, Trashy Books - 652. Smart Bitches Turns 20 with Candy Tan

It's Been a Minute - Books vs. Brain Rot: why it's so hard to read

Hit Parade - The Bridge: Dylan Was Always Electric

⭐ 99% Invisible - Valley So Low

⭐ Decoder Ring - Jump, Jive and Fail: The ’90s Swing Craze

⭐ Decoder Ring - Decoder Ring Plus | John Bunkley of The Atomic Fireballs

⭐ Switched on Pop - Liz Pelly's Mood Machine says the playlist isn't the product — you are

Welcome to Night Vale #261 - Brought To You By Flakey O's

Short History Of… - Butch Cassidy

One Song - George Benson's "Give Me the Night"

Vibe Check - It Doesn’t End with This

Ologies - Hippopotomology (HIPPOS) with Rebecca Lewison

⭐ Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Speaker Terror Upper: When Bass Tapes Shook the Streets

Shedunnit - The Missing Moneylender by W. Stanley Sykes (Green Penguin Book Club 7)

You're Dead to Me - Aristotle: Ancient Greece’s greatest philosopher?

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Paul Scheer’s Life in Three Places

Dinner's on Me - NATHAN LANE

The Curious History of Your Home - Hats

Pop Pantheon - Billboard's Hot 100: Hits, History and Kinks (with Hit Parade's Chris Molanphy)

Our Opinions Are Correct - No, We Don't Live in a F---ing Simulation!

The Curious History of Your Home - Board Games

What Next: TBD - Bonus: The Discourse | Why is Elon Musk Cheating at Video Games?

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Love Hurts And What's Making Us Happy

One Song - Daft Punk, Part One: The Road To Get Lucky

One Song - Daft Punk, Part Two: "Get Lucky"

The Sam Sanders Show - Should the Oscars Even Exist? with The Big Picture Hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Pop Culture Happy Hour - You're Cordially Invited

Today, Explained - Super Bowl GNX

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

my 'Liked Songs' playlist

Thundercat

The Atomic Fireballs

Squirrel Nut Zippers

Royal Crown Revue

Grailknights

Wig Wam

[pucksandpower]

The Girlfriend Test

Lando Norris x girlfriend!Reader

Summary: no new LN merch is deemed ready for sale unless it passes the girlfriend test (or in which you are Lando’s favorite hoodie thief and the sight of another driver’s brand on you drives him just a little bit crazy)

You hear the front door open and close, followed by the sounds of Lando rummaging around in the entryway. “Babe, I’m home!” He calls out.

You’re curled up on the couch in his latest hoodie design, a soft charcoal grey number with black sleeves and his LN logo embroidered over the heart.

“In here!” You reply. Lando comes into the living room and smiles when he sees you wearing his new creation.

“Well hello there, hoodie thief,” he says, leaning down to give you a quick peck on the lips before flopping down on the couch next to you. “So I see you found my newest sample.”

You grin and snuggle further into the super soft fleece. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is my hoodie now.”

Lando laughs and tugs lightly on the hood. “Oh is it now? I could’ve sworn this was a prototype I brought home from my design meeting a few days ago.”

“Nope, definitely mine,” you say cheekily. “It’s so cozy I don’t think I can ever take it off.”

“In that case, I guess it passes the girlfriend test with flying colors,” Lando declares. At your confused look, he elaborates. “Oh, I never told you about the girlfriend test? I can’t launch a new LN design until you have stolen it out of my closet. That’s how I know for sure it’s comfy enough for my fans.”

You raise an eyebrow in amusement. “You’re telling me every hoodie so far has passed this supposed test?”

“You got it,” Lando grins. “I’ll leave the samples laying around and if you end up snagging one and wearing it all the time, I know it’s prime merchandise.”

You think back and realize it’s true — Lando’s hoodies have a habit of migrating into your wardrobe. The papaya one is your go-to for grocery store runs. The tie-dye version is your favorite for lazy Sundays. Even the bold purple hoodie he released last month has already earned a permanent place on your desk chair.

“So you mean to tell me this was all part of your master plan?” You ask in mock offense. “And here I thought I was sneakily stealing your comfiest clothes.”

“Baby, if I really didn’t want you wearing my stuff, I wouldn’t make it so tempting to take,” Lando says sincerely, wrapping an arm around you. “But it makes me so happy to see you in my designs, wearing my brand.”

You cuddle into his shoulder. “That’s really sweet, babe.”

“Anything for my number one fan and favorite hoodie model,” he says, planting a kiss on the top of your head.

You snuggle together in contented silence for a few minutes, your head tucked perfectly under his chin.

“So, how was the simulator today?” You ask. “Get some good practice in for Monza this weekend?”

Lando nods. “Yeah, had a really solid session. Tweaked a few things with the setup that I think will help with the low downforce.”

“Nice,” you say. “Maybe another podium this week?”

“We’ll see,” Lando replies. “Ferrari looked quick in Spa so it could be tough. But I feel good going into the weekend.”

“Well, I know you’ll kill it babe,” you say supportively. Lando smiles gratefully and pulls you closer.

“But anyway, enough about F1. How was your day off?” He asks.

You launch into a recap of your relaxed day — sleeping in, catching up on chores, and working on some creative projects you’ve had on the backburner. Lando listens intently, asking questions and commenting on the new songs and recipes you’re dying to try. The conversation flows easily, as it always does between you two.

Before you know it, Lando’s stomach rumbles loudly and you both crack up. “I guess that means it’s dinnertime,” you say, checking your phone. “Pizza sound good?”

“You read my mind,” Lando replies. While you call in the usual order from your favorite local pizza joint, Lando queues up Netflix and scrolls through options for tonight’s viewing.

Thirty minutes later you’re back on the couch, the coffee table littered with pizza boxes and cans of soda. Lando hits play on an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and you settle in, toes tucked under his legs to stay cozy.

You’re only halfway through the episode when you feel Lando’s gaze on you. You turn and find him staring at you wearing his newest hoodie creation, a small smile on his lips.

“What’s that look for?” You ask around a mouthful of pizza.

Lando shakes his head, the smile growing wider. “Nothing really. Just thinking about how lucky I am.”

You tilt your head curiously and he continues. “I have my dream job, getting to race cars for a living. And then I come home to you and … I don’t know. It just feels really good. Like everything is kind of falling into place.”

You set down your pizza slice and cuddle up to him. “Aww babe. That’s so sweet.” You give him a greasy kiss on the cheek. “I’m the lucky one you know. I get to see you living your dream every day. And then I get to be here to celebrate the wins with you and cheer you up after the tough days. It’s pretty amazing.”

Lando wraps both arms around you in a hug. “Love you so much,” he says softly.

“Love you more,” you whisper back, your head tucked perfectly under his chin once again.

***

The next evening, you’re sprawled across the bed browsing on your phone when you hear Lando come home.

“Honey, I’m home!” He calls out in a sing-song voice. You grin, expecting him to come give you a kiss. But instead you hear his footsteps stop abruptly.

“Babe, what … is that?” Lando asks slowly.

You look up confused. “What do you mea-”

Then you spot what he’s staring at in horror: the soft teal hoodie you’re wearing with an embroidered Enchanté logo across the front.

“Oh this?” You say casually. “It’s from Daniel’s new merch drop. The fleece is so soft, I couldn’t resist snagging one.”

Lando’s jaw drops open. “You … you bought a hoodie? From a competing merch brand?”

You stifle a laugh at how seriously Lando is taking this. “Well yeah, you gotta support your friends right? And I told you how comfy it looked in his posts.”

Lando just blinks slowly, looking utterly betrayed. You almost feel bad for riling him up.

“Babe, come on, don’t look at me like that! You know I’m your number one fan.” You get up and go to hug him, but Lando dodges you.

“Nope. No hugs until that … that enemy hoodie comes off,” he says dramatically.

Now you really have to hold back your laughter. “Lando, don’t be silly.”

But he crosses his arms and sticks his chin up. “I’m dead serious, Y/N. My own girlfriend, wearing another man’s merch!” He shakes his head in despair.

You bite your lip, trying not to smile at his antics. Time to have some more fun with this.

“Well if you’re going to be like that, maybe I’ll just keep it on,” you say nonchalantly, snuggling back into the ridiculously soft fleece.

Lando’s eyes go wide. “You wouldn’t dare!”

You raise your eyebrows challengingly. “Try me.”

You stare each other down for a few tense moments, before Lando huffs loudly.

“Fine then. Desperate times call for desperate measures.” And with that ominous statement, he lunges forward and lifts you up, tossing you over his shoulder.

“Lando!” You shriek through laughter. “Put me down!”

But he marches down the hall determinedly, you still slung over his shoulder. He brings you into the living room and gently tosses you onto the couch. Before you can react, he rips the Enchanté hoodie up over your head in one swift move.

“Lando!” You squeal, trying to reach for the hoodie, but he’s quicker. In a flash, he has the offending article of clothing in his grip.

“How could you bring this … this enemy propaganda into our home?” Lando accuses dramatically. He holds the hoodie between two fingers like it’s contaminated.

You have to press a hand over your mouth to contain your giggles. Lando looks utterly scandalized at the sight of you in his rival’s merch.

“I’m sorry babe, but you left me no choice,” Lando says solemnly. And with that, he crosses the room, opens the fireplace, and tosses the hoodie in.

You gasp loudly. “Lando Norris, did you just burn my hoodie?”

“I had to protect the sanctity of this home! Can’t have you falling for another man’s branding,” Lando exclaims. But you can see his facade cracking as he fights back a smile of his own.

You get up from the couch and poke him in the chest. “You’re absolutely ridiculous, you know that?”

Lando grins sheepishly. “Maybe. But you love me.”

You roll your eyes but can’t fight back your own smile. “Debatable at the moment,” you joke.

Lando pouts and gives you his best puppy dog eyes. “Come onnnn, you know I’m your favorite driver.”

You pretend to think about it for a moment. “Hmm well Daniel does give the best hugs ...”

“Hey!” Lando exclaims and tackles you into a bear hug. You dissolve into giggles as he squeezes you tight and sways you back and forth.

“Nope, absolutely not allowed,” he declares, still holding you captive.

You lean back to look up at him with a smile. “Oh yeah? And why’s that?”

“Because you’re my girl and I don’t share,” Lando states matter-of-factly. His eyes are soft now as he gazes down at you.

You feel your heart melt a little. You stand on your tiptoes to give him a sweet kiss. “You’re right, I’m all yours Lando.”

His answering smile is dazzling. But then a thought seems to occur to him and a grin spreads across his face.

In one smooth motion, he strips off the neon green hoodie he’s wearing, leaving just a black t-shirt underneath. Before you can react, he pulls it down over your head, enveloping you in soft fleece that smells like him.

“There. That’s better,” Lando declares satisfied.

You snuggle happily into Lando’s worn hoodie, his warmth still lingering in the fabric. Looking down, you recognize it as the exclusive design he wore constantly last season.

Lando’s eyes crease with happiness as he looks at you swimming in his hoodie. “That’s my girl,” he says softly, pulling you close again.

You nuzzle into his chest, perfectly content.

“Am I forgiven for my momentary lapse in loyalty?” You ask cheekily, peering up at him.

Lando pretends to consider this for a moment. “Hmmm, I guess I can let it slide this one time,” he teases back. “But only because you look so damn cute in my clothes.”

You smile and tighten your arms around him. You sway together slowly, Lando humming tunelessly under his breath. The fireplace crackles gently beside you.

After a few moments, Lando speaks again, his voice quiet. “You know I was only joking around before, right? You can wear whatever you want babe.”

You lean back to meet his gaze. His brown eyes are warm but serious now.

You touch his cheek softly. “Of course I know that Lando. Your hoodies might be the comfiest, but they’re not the only clothes I own.”

Lando nods, looking relieved that you understand. “I just never want you to feel like you have to choose between me and your own style or interests.” His voice is earnest. “I want you to always feel free to be yourself.”

Your heart swells at his words. You reach up and kiss him tenderly. When you pull back, Lando is smiling again.

“Thanks babe,” you say. “That really means a lot to me. And same to you, obviously.”

Lando grins. “Of course, it’s you and me against the world! Oh, and McLaren against the other teams,” he adds cheekily.

You laugh and snuggle back into his chest. “Yes, McLaren over all,” you agree, just to make him happy.

“That’s my girl,” Lando says again, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

[catsushinyakajima]

KLANCE FIC RECS FOR THE NEW YEARS RECAP PART ONE

2024 has come to an end! Here are all of my fav fav Voltron fics and authors that I've interacted with throughout the year. I'm trying to make this list as diverse as possible so everyone can find some tropes they like but I PROMISE all these fics are worth a read. Listed in no particular order, we have:

fear no more the heat o' the sun by taromi | 28k | Canon-Divergent

This fic is an ASTOUNDING depiction of Keith's perspective on life and how Lance changes things up. Every scene between them added not only to their dynamic, but also to our vision of Keith. We see how he is and how things unfold so beautifully. The prose is beautiful and the scenes carry both fluff/emotion so well.

Silver Bells by heavily_caffeinated/@heavilycaffeinatedsblog | 86.3k | Christmas AU

I'm not one for much holiday cheer/hallmark-esque tropes, but caf's writing still managed to draw me in so much. I applaud Caf sincerely for their incredible diligence to upload a chapter everyday (totaling to 86k words in 25 days!!), and their enthusiasm to include everyone in it's creation. This fic is a pure show of passion, in both it's story and the creation of the story. I encourage you all to check out their other fics too.

late night talking (can’t get you off my mind) by ShatterinSeconds/@shatterinseconds | 5.8k | Werewolf!Keith

This fic is SO GOOD for touch starved Keith. It's short and sweet and you get both perspectives of their pining and feelings together. It's a really cute one shot, and I had trouble picking between this fic and other fics by the author so check those out too! Also @shatterinseconds is the goat for not only commenting on all my fics, but somehow always being in the comment section of every fic I read.

Hearts Don'/t Break Around Here by klancekorner | 135.5k | Roommates/Childhood Best Friends

This fic is a classic in the KL fandom but I still don't hear it talked about enough!! I don't usually like childhood best friends trope that much but this fic made me LOVE it!!! It also portrays Lance's anxiety and Keith's avoidance so so well and shows them growing up beautifully.

Cores of Diamond by speaks/@speakswords | 25.6k | Friends with Benefits

One time I lost this fic in my bookmarks and spent a whole day trying to find it. It's such a good depiction of the way KL don't always see eye to eye due to a lack of proper communication and bridging that gap between them. Has NSFW scenes!

Where the water meets the sky by speaks/@speakswords | 106.3k | Mer!Keith

I NEEDED to rec another speaks fic, this one is unfinished but it ends on a conclusive note. There's themes of growing up, living with changes, reunions, and also lots and lots of feelings.

got got got it bad by kairiolette | 10.3k | Post-War | Pining Keith

This one is also pretty popular. It's so so funny. And so real. Keith goes through the five stages of grief as he realizes he loves Lance and like. Of course he would do that. Really sweet.

so kiss me (kiss me kiss me kiss me) and tuesday's sweetheart (sunday's lover) by hearttpoem | 10k | roommates AU | getting together

This author writes the BEST modern/roommates AU. I love the way KL lives together in their fics and I love the way you can see different love languages in the fics. I was going back and forth between which fic to rec and I chose both these fics cuz I read them all the time!!

Where the apple falls by europa_report/@jupiters-junipers | 130k+ | post-war | comatose

No fic rec list is complete without this fic. This fic is genuinely one of my favorite KL fics, its not finished but I believe the author will finish it. The prose is beautiful and it is an entire emotional rollercoaster. You guys should definitely check this fic out

I've Said Too Much (You Promise I Can't Ever Say Enough) by negativefouriq | 1.8k | Autistic!Lance | Est Relationship

This fic is short, sweet, and such a good depiction of having so many thoughts and wanting to share them all and the anxieties of it. Keith's perspective and his reactions to Lance are very healing to read.

baby, i'll rock your world by AsterikaMay/ @catsushinyakajima | 9.5k | Christmas AU | Gift giving

I am putting one of my fics here lol because I did enjoy writing this one a lot! I keep writing fics about gift giving and pining...this must say something about me ahahah

Part two here

[chosetherose]

Taylor and Karlie were at the same wedding in NYC and it’s not a secret.

💥💥💥

I messaged a mutual a couple days ago saying how interesting I thought it was that Taylor and Karlie each let it be known that they are in NYC. I’d been meaning to make a post about this but have a sick toddler and didn’t get to it. Anyway, it struck me because normally Taylor and Karlie go to great lengths to make it seem like they are in different places.

To recap, on Friday 9/6/24 Taylor and Karlie each deliberately let us know they were in NYC.

Taylor was papped at Lucali in Brooklyn on Friday night. I’m not sure what time but it was dark so it was late.

Karlie posted two pictures of herself very clearly in NYC; near the September 11th Memorial and in a subway station sign to Brooklyn. We don’t know when they were actually taken but she wanted to establish herself as being in NYC. According to my screenshots, she posted these late like just before 11pm.

The next day on Saturday 9/7/24, Taylor was papped outside Electric Lady Studios with reports that she was attending Karen Elson’s wedding to Lee Foster, the owner of Electric Lady Studios.

For those that don’t know, Karlie is good friends with the Bride. See this post for more on their relationship. My mutual said Karlie has got to be at that wedding. But we didn’t know if her attendance would be public.

Then on Sunday 9/8/24 we got confirmation Karlie was at the wedding via tabloids and Karlie posting a wedding favor on her story with an iconic Electric Lady leather couch in the background.

There’s something about the pics of Karlie outside Electric Lady. She genuinely looks happy. ☀️

I’m so curious if the narrative will become about a private Kaylor reunion behind closed doors. They can sway the wind however they want since no one can read into pap walk pics of it, etc.

Regardless, I sincerely hope they enjoyed themselves at the wedding and are basking in a bit brighter sun today. This feels like a step forward. 💕

[ofmdrecaps]

07/10/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Vico Oritz and Samba Schutte; Rachel House; Lindsey Cantrell; Kristian Nairn and Nathan Foad in Wee John Wednesday!; Gypsy Taylor/Ra Vincent/ Adam Wheatley; Articles; Cheers M'Queers; YouBearFineThingsWell Day 2; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika: National Kitten Day!

== David Jenkins ==

Chaos Dad was out in droves today inspiring more honking all around! First, he retweeted one of our incredibly creative crewmates' Calypso cosplay and moving words from this past weekend!

Source @ StellarCyn's Twitter

Next up, David responded to our beloved @ofmooshd with some encouraging words! What are you up to David?

Source: David Jenkins' Twitter

== Rhys Darby ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew are pushing everything bear this week and we love to see it! We're with you crew, so excited! Here's the Decider Article they linked, and the exclusive clip with Rhys below!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Taika Waititi ==

Today I learned that Taika was one of the Executive Producer / Director of one of the episodes of the new series Interior Chinatown, premiering November 19th on Hulu! The man is involved in everything it seems!

Source: Ronny Chieng's Instagram

Follow up from yesterday, I had forgotten to include OFMD's bestie (Astroglide)'s response to the latest Taika version!

Source: Astroglide Twitter

== Rachel House ==

Rachel House was featured in a Concrete Playground article about her directorial debut film The Mountain!

Jumping Behind The Camera When You Love Being A Supporting Actor: Rachel House Talks 'The Mountain'

Source: Concrete Playground's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz + Samba ==

Florida Supercon is coming this weekend, 12-14 Jul and both Vico and Samba will be there both Saturday and Sunday!

Source: Vico's Instagram

Vico's other upcoming work, Lesbophilia, will be joining the LaughAfterDark Comedy Fest in October! Visit their site to learn more!

Source: its_michellewest Instagram

Ticket are now on sale for the LA premiere of FireFuckingFire at @lashortsfest  They'll be screening at 10pm July 28th and closing out the festival! You can buy tickets here!

Source: juliaeringer's Instagram

A little late on my part sorry-- Happy Non Binary Awareness Week from Vico!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vico Ortiz (@puertoricaninja)

Source: Vico's IG

== Gypsy Taylor / Ra Vincent / Adam Wheatley ==

Gypsy, Ra, and Adam were nominated for Costume Design, Production Art Department/Design, as well as Concept Art Awards with the Australian Production Design Guild! Congrats you three!

Source: Gypsy Taylor's Instagram / APDG Awards Website

== Lindsey Cantrell ==

Reminder! Our beloved set designer's new short Watching Walter will be airing at the LA Shorts festival in LA on July 19! You can buy tickets here if you're in the area!

Source: Lindsey Cantrell's Instagram Stories

== Kristian and Nathan ==

Our darling Kristian and Nathan gave us YET ANOTHER insanely fun WJW. These two are the absolute best. If you get a chance, give it a watch. CW: Mention of Witnessing Shootings/Death

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristian Nairn (@kristiannairn)

Some minor highlights from WJW today!

Nathan's been traveling!

Both of them are going to a bunch of American Comic Cons

Kristian has been working on his book and being crafty (turned some white Nikes into Spiked, Glittery Nikes)

Kristian and Nathan will be doing a wee WJW in Raleigh with the cast if they can

Nathan will be going to a not yet announced European Comic Con sometime this year

Kristian read a few excerpts from his book

There will be an audiobook version that Kristian will voice

During OFMD S1 Kristian asked David and everyone about his accent and if he should change it and David replied with "We just want YOU Kristian"

One of the funniest days on set was Nat Faxon and the GreenScreen teeth when the Swede had Scurvy

Nathan described himself as "Nathan Underscore Foad" and now the fandom will henceforth call him this.

These were some of my favorite shots of these two:

And this is a bit of bonus features for the WJW but you'll have to watch it for context:

Source: Nathan's Instagram

Adopt Our Crew was kind enough to put together his list of where you can buy Kristian's Book! Reminder-- bookshop is great if you want to support your local bookstores!

Barnes & Noble

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Bookshop.com

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Articles ==

Adding already mentioned and one more article to this section for more easily finding them later! Thank you @adoptourcrew for sharing them!

Decider: The Hungry Games

The 10 Best Show's To Watch If You Love 'Lady Jane'

== Cheers M'Queers! ==

The Cheers M'Queers variety show tickets are on sale now! Join Our Flag Makes A Difference on July 31st at Akbar, in Los Angeles for drag, music, and so much more! Get your Tickets here!

Source: Our Flag Makes A Difference Twitter

== You Bear Fine Things Well ==

Yesterday was Day 2 of #YouBearFineThingsWell by @adoptourcrew and they asked the fandom what kind of bear each member of the crew would be! Starting off the fan spotlights, I'd like to give a special shoutout to the fab @ everyonegetcake on twitter, for their brilliant submission of Kraken Ed Bear aka Cocaine Bear to the event! I laughed pretty hard at this one.

Source: @ everyonegetcake

I am so very happy that our dear crewmate @sirencalll included Mary Louis and Alma! Look at that proud mama bear! <3

Source: Sirencalll on Twitter

Our badass crewmate Jeniye aka @ nifafifa on twitter got one I didn't think I'd ever see and that is Buttons and Karl!

Source: NifaFifa's Twitter

And to close out the fan spotlight of #YouBearFineThingsWell Day 2, I'd like to end on a submission by the glorious Manu, aka @ VictoriaVan9 on twitter! That is an impressive spread by both Ed AND BearEd!

Source: @ VictoriaVane9's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! I saw so much continuous clowning today! 2-3 days in a row? It's been a while since we've had that much all at once! I'm so happy to see people feeling the love and camaraderie with each other again! I hope that continues even if we see things calm down! Something I heard in WJW today that really stuck with me was "We just want YOU Kristian", something David said when Kristian kept asking if his Belfast accent was okay for the role. How absolutely heartwarming is that? We knew that David and the rest of the cast and crew were kind and wanted everyone to be themselves, but to hear that out of the mouth of Kristian and how it affected him, in his book where he poured out his soul-- just hit so much harder. That really is one of the major values that drew me, and I know quite a few others of the crew to OFMD so hard. Acceptance and celebration of individual uniqueness is at the core of OFMD-- it's part of the building blocks that makes our show so special. Each crew member has their own skills they bring to the table, and we can feel safe when we're allowed to be our true selves around others.

OFMD exudes that kind of acceptance in droves. We can hear it in their varying accents, in the wide array of queer portrayal, in the character's love and acceptance and forgiveness of each other-- in the music, the stage decoration, and the cinematography. We each are different, and we all bring things to the table that make the fandom, or the world a better place. We may not always get along, but it is in the uniqueness of so many crew we find creativity, love, kindness, acceptance, and a place where we can feel safe and learn to be more of our true and authentic selves. Embrace your uniqueness lovelies. You are different from me, from your moots, from your favorite fan artist/writer and that's fucking beautiful. We want YOU, crew. Be YOU in everything you do. Rest up lovelies, see you tomorrow <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Today was National Kitten Day so these two appropriate gifs just HAD to make an encore appearance. Gifs courtesy of the stunning and brilliant @kiwistede and @yourcatwasdelicious!

[halalgirlmeg]

🚨🚨🚨PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL HELP IS NEEDED🚨🚨🚨

Hello, everyone. I am still campaigning for Shimaa and we are still quite a ways from our goal. Unfortunately, the last time Shimaa and I spoke was Sunday. Prior to Sunday she was telling me that the internet was very slow, and I know that there have been issues with distributing esims as well. So I am waiting for her to get back to me, and I hope that when she can reach out again that we are much closer to the goal. Really, I hope that we can meet or exceed the goal at that point and hopefully both of those moments come sooner rather than later. To recap she and her family are needing this money for food as there were more food items being let into Gaza and there are multiple people in their family and we want them all fed and full in this instance. I know we have heard of the ceasefire that is coming up on Sunday. But I know that that is just the beginning of the end, I'm very happy for those who are joyous in having made it to this part. But I also know that this is not the end that more help is still needed and I want to help Shimaa and her family for as long as help is needed. Also the art you see depicted here was made by @im-smart-i-swear who is still offering commissions in exchange for your help. you for reading this far. Please don't turn away, please help me help this family in anyway you can.

GOAL: 222.95/400

[kellyvela]

Sophie's Hon Vol. VIII One Year Anniversary Edition 🎂

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!! In time to celebrate one year since I started this series ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

So let's see what the lovebirds have been up to lately!!!

~~~

Before starting this recap, it's worth to mention that Sophie Turner is legally and oficially single again.

Indeed, on Friday September 6th 2024, a Florida court declared Sophie's marriage dissolved.

~~~

Red Cockscombs & Pink Calla Lillies 🌹🌸

On Sunday September 15th 2024, Sophie posted this instagram story captioned with a red heart emoji ❤️

In the story we can see a flower bouquet and a card that reads "I Love You So Much"

In the bouquet we can see red cockscombs (love & affection) and pink calla lillies (appreaciation & admiration).

When I saw this story, the red heart emoji, the meaning of the flowers, and the message on the card made me think it might be a gift from Perry.

And a couple of hours later, my suspicion might have been confirmed with Sophie's post on her grid . . . .

~~~

TIME OF THE SEASON 🌞💕

On Sunday September 15th 2024, Sophie posted a carousel on her instagram grid featuring several photos of Perry and/or Perry related.

The post was captioned with a sun emoji 🌞 and accompanied by The Zombies song "Time of the Season"

It's the time of the season When love runs high In this time, give it to me easy And let me try with pleasured hands To take you in the sun to promised lands To show you every one It's the time of the season for loving —The Zombies

The carousel basically summarizes Sophie's Summer of Love with Perry and their close friends, but for the first time she posted pictures that she took of her boyfriend alone.

~~~

Here we can see Perry at Estelle Manor:

---

Here we can see that Sophie got her wish to go to the beach the past Summer!!!

“I would like to go to the beach at some point, but right now I’m working in London and it’s basically pissing it down with rain every day,” said Turner, who was headed back to London right after the event. “So I don’t really feel like I’m getting much of a summer, but I’m hoping to do a few more barbecues, maybe go to the beach soon.” —WWD

And next to her, we can see some limb of Perry lol 👣

~~~

Another unknown limb next to the backgammon board??? Probably Perry 👋:

~~~

Here we can see Perry bathed in the sunset light at the Wilderness Festival:

~~~

It was the time of the season for loving indeed!!! 🌞💕

~~~

💎 JOAN'S LAUNCH 💎

On Septermber 19th 2024 Sophie attended the Launch of her new ITV series 💎 Joan 💎, at Jack Solomons Club in London.

Perry accompanied Sophie to the event, supporting her during her big night ❤️

~~~

RED OR BLUE PILL 💊

On Friday October 25th 2024, Sophie and Perry dressed as Neo & Trinity from The Matrix to attend a Halloween party:

~~~

~~~

It was a great choice for a couple costume 💊

Sophie's friends Tabby, Taura & Ellie W. were also at the party.

~~~

ANGEL PIE 😇 🍰

On Sunday October 27th 2024, the day of Perry's 30th Birtday, Sophie posted a sweet tribute to her Hon with twelve photos of them together during their first year as a couple 💕

The post was captioned with "Happy Birthday my angel pie 🍰 🎉 30, flirty and thriving 🎈" and accompanied by Goldford's song "Orange Blossoms."

The caption is a reference to the movie "13 going 30", as you can see in this gifset.

And "Orange Blossoms" is a song that I first listened when Sophie posted it on her instagram stories on December 12th 2023, and since that moment, I knew it was their song!!!  [See here; here & here]

Now, to the pictures!!!

~~~

1. CAIRO, BABY!!!

Oh my God! When I first saw this photo of them kissing in that romantic pose, him in a tuxedo, the pyramids of Giza in the background, etc., I immediately thought I was looking at some poster or scene from a James Bond movie.

Now, I can tell you that this pic was taken during Perry's 30th Birthday Party in Cairo, Egypt:

I would love to know more details about this lush party ✨

~~~

Back in London, a little bird told me there may have been a more intimate celebration with Perry's family and Sophie ❤️

~~~

2. IN LOVE ON THE NILE

Here they are also in Egypt, sat together touching heads, with the River Nile in the background bathed in the sunrise light . . . . This photo can't be more romantic!

~~~

Egypt is a special place for Sophie and her family. During a Dark Phoenix promotional interview, when asked "What was your brightest holiday memory?" She said: "I used to go to Egypt a lot with my family. I love Egypt." And now she also shares Egypt memories with Perry 💕

Also, I think Perry's 30th Birthday Party in Cairo was planned months in advance, because when Sophie was filming the Hugo Spritz campaign in Côte d'Azur mid June, she was asked about her "Next destination?" and she answered: "Cairo, baby."

~~~

3. Him

This is a classic "boyfriend taken by his girlfriend" candid photo ❤️

And if you haven't noticed yet, check out how their styles are mirroring each other: black Ray-Bans and tan Polo Ralph Lauren corduroy jackets!

~~~

4. LOVE IS IN THE AIR 🎈

When Sophie was filming her upcoming psychological thriller movie 'Trust' in Mexico, Perry visited her for about a week, and they were doing a lot of turist activities, like flying in a hot air balloon over the Teotihuacán Pyramids, near Mexico City:

Sophie posted this instagram story with the view she had from the hot air balloon:

~~~

5. XOCHIMILCO

Another photo from Mexico. Here the lovebirds are sat on one of the colorful "trajineras" in one of the Xochimilco canals:

~~~

6. PASSION RED

In the middle of a crowd, bathed in red light, music blaring, the lovers kiss 💋

~~~

7. SKIING IN MERIBEL

On January 29th 2024, Sophie posted some photos of them skiing in Meribel together with a couple of Perry's friends. Those were "group friendly" photos, but for his birthday, Sophie chose a photo of them alone hugging in the middle of the snow ❤️

~~~

8. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

Find someone who looks at you the way these two are looking at each other under the Regent Street's beautiful Christmas lights in London 💕

~~~

9. PINK RIBBON 🎀

That's some sexy little black dress, Sophie! But please explain why are you tying a pink ribbon around your man's neck?

~~~

10. BEST SEAT

Here are the lovebirds again, matching in green and earthy tones, looking lovingly at each other:

~~~

This is a familiar sight by now:

~~~

11. HALLOWEEN

The decoration with cobweb, the lovebirds in costume, and Sophie's long hair, makes me think that this photo is from a 2023 Halloween party:

I would love to know what they are dressed as? They look hot 🔥

~~~

12. ANSWER YOUR PHONE, TABBY!!!

Sophie and Perry trying unsuccessfully to FaceTime Tabby Doherty and making sad faces ☹️ ☹️

Sophie deleted this photo from the carousel since she accidentally posted Tabby's phone number . . . . Opps!

Being in love is very distracting lol

~~~

It was a lovely set of photos, testament of Sophie's new chapter in her life. They look truly happy together 💕

~~~

✨ HE LIGHTS ME BACK UP ✨

On October 30th 2024 Sophie was announced as the recipient of the performance award for the UK Harper’s Bazaar Women Of The Year Awards 2024.

Lydia Slater, editor in chief, interviewed Sophie for this edition. At the end of the interview she asked Sophie about Perry:

Still, there is no doubt that she has moved on, both professionally and personally. Since the end of last year, she has been dating Peregrine Pearson, who is in line to become the 5th Viscount of Cowdray. “We’re very happy,” she says, blushing, when I ask how it’s going. “It came around very quickly. I just needed to go on a date to know how to do it again. That was the first date and the last date, and it’s been great.” What’s he like? “He’s lovely. He’s funny, and he brings out the cheeky side of me, the fun side. He lights me back up.” It will be thrilling for us all to see how brightly Sophie Turner can shine. —Harper's Bazaar

The "she says, blushing" got me blushing (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

~~~

BYE BYE 2024

On January 6th 2025, Sophie posted a carousel recap of 2024. The post was captioned "Bye bye 2024 - A pic a month."

The new pics fearturing/related to Perry are the following:

MAY: FADE INTO YOU

Here we can see Sophie performing for a small audience of friends/family. She is singing Mazzy Star's song "Fade Into You" while trying some sexy/acrobatic moves.

Bless Perry who was ready to hold her in case she fell, lol

He really brings out the cheeky fun side of her!

~~~

JUNE: CLIMBING YOU

Here we can see Sophie wrapped around Perry, while snapping a selfie in a bathroom's mirror:

~~~

This is another familiar sight now:

Ahhh the perks of having a very tall boyfriend . . . . So you can climb him!

~~~

OCTOBER: MORE EGYPT

Here we can see Sophie happily posing in front of the Ramessid columns in the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III in Medinet Habu, Egypt:

This picture was taken during the trip to Egypt for Perry's 30th Bithday Party.

~~~

DECEMBER: MORE BEACH

Here's a photo of Sophie taken by Perry (you can see his leg there), while she was sleeping in the fetal position, somewhere on a beach location:

As Tabby's comment on this post says: "If sexy and cute had a baby, it would be you."

They are two cheeky fun lovebirds, indeed!

~~~

I'm glad Sophie got to go to the beach one more time to end the year. And maybe she even welcomed the New Year on the beach, since her instagram story from January 8th 2025, mimicking Macaulay Culkin at Raw on Netflix on January 6th 2025, looks to be recorded on a beach location, with those white windows, her wet hair and tan skin (also, I'm pretty sure she's wearing Perry's black cap).

This story can also be an answer to all those stupid comments about her daughters on her 2024 recap post. In the video this is the exact moment when one commentator says that "Kate McCallister (Kevin's mom in Home Alone) is the worst mom of all time:"

Well, Sophie seems not bothered at all by that! As she should!

Or maybe I'm reding too much into this story and she just wanted to say: “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal" to some unknown addressee ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

~~~

Oh, boy! This was a fun post to write, full of happy and fun images. I wish for an even more happy and fun 2025 for our cheeky lovebirds and for us all 💕

~~~

You can read the previous editions here: Vol VII - Vol VI - Vol. V - Vol. IV (Appendix) - Vol. IV - Vol. III - Vol. II - Vol. I

Until the next report 👋

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 58 Welp Posting

Hello kind void. Short (for me) yap this time... it's mostly just pain this chapter, after all. So much pain.

Very rough TL of the editor's notes:

First page: 漆羽の命滅契約は一体…? [Uruha no meimetsu keiyaku ha ittai...?!, What in the world happened to Uruha's lifelong contract...!?] Last page: 信念のもと漆羽を殺めた座村を前に… [Shinen no moto Uruha wo ayameta Samura wo maeni..., Standing in front of Samura, who killed Uruha due to his conviction...] Google Translate or DeepL can probably do better than me on this one, so go ahead and copy/paste that text into one of those instead for a better idea. Just note that 漆羽 (Uruha) usually gets auto-translated to "Urushiba" and 座村 (Samura) to "Zamura".

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Pregame Mini Meta Rant: If I hear a SINGLE complaint about how many panels were reused this chapter Imma get heated. Yeah, there's been a lot of copy-crop-paste stuff going on in the past two weeks. This chapter alone re-used Hakuri's exhausted seal pose four times. But the major scenes still hit hard as fuck and the new art is holding up. Let the author do what it takes to avoid burnout and health issues just as his series is getting the major promotion treatment, okay? Dude's had to do a lot of extra work recently with the cover and colour pages in addition to the usual volume redraws and accompanying filler sketches/doodles.

These chapters were probably being written and drawn about the same time as the extra materials. It's not like the author starts drawing on Monday and sends the chapter out by Friday so it can be published Sunday- they're finished weeks in advance before they're released. I recommend checking out a short manga called The Right Way to Make JUMP! by Takeshi Sakurai if the practical details of getting manga out to thousands of readers in both print & digital simultaneously every week seem interesting!

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Uruha vs. Samura

I interrupt this ramble before it even begins to do a little celebratory dance. I got most of what I yapped about last chapter right for once! Yay! ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪ I won't have to recap the Samura motivation/mindset yap with the new information! (This will probably never happen again.)

Anyway...

Let's start with this because fuck it was so cool and sad.

I love how every character in this manga holds fast to their convictions, man. But I didn't expect Samura to be so cold about killing his former apprentice y'know?! Not even a hint of remorse from this guy. Between this and the subdued greeting Uruha gave him, the lack of warmth in their dialogue together... I wonder if they had a positive relationship. Uruha certainly respected Samura's skills but the contrast between how he thinks about Kunishige and the man who presumably taught him everything he knows about fighting is striking, isn't it? He was pretty unemotional about having to duel his master to the death despite being such an emotive guy. Yet now we'll probably never know... (sigh).

Here's something I missed on my first read: Samura didn't use Tobimune to face Uruha; he was just the quicker draw with a regular katana.

His sword is closer to being sheathed, while Uruha's sword is still farther out.

In case anyone still wants to believe that Uruha is alive or can come back somehow after this... more power to you. The Sojo copers can probably give you some tips if you need them. But there is one small smidgen of comfort to be had, if one wants to interpret it as such.

Not using Tobimune can be read as respecting Uruha's determination and facing him on equal footing. I know he unnecessarily double-tapped Uruha when he was laying on the ground- he didn't need to slash the guy again with Tobimune to make the kill. I get it, the Enchanted Blades are tools of death. Just let me have this. I need it.

Uruha deserved better. He deserve to live, dammit. I didn't get nearly enough of him. But what a way to go. Standing up for what you believe, your dead (boy)friend's last words telling you to live no matter what running through your head. Fighting for your life to honor his wish even though it's a completely lost cause... fuck what a tragic character. He was such a passionate guy despite the losses he suffered. Uruha, man... I really wanted to spend more time with him, but I guess all we'll get of him are flashbacks about him from other people or during scenes recounting what happened in the war.

The worst part of saying goodbye is that it felt like we had so much more to see and learn about him. His story's incomplete but it's over all the same. That's what hurts most when authors kill these characters- the sense of real loss because of all the loose ends. Anything we learn about him will be retroactive for context. No more growth, no more silly faces... damn you Samura...! Fuck this author makes good villains in a short span of time.

Whatever incident was covered up 18 years ago has to be incredibly awful to drive Samura to become an avenger for the truth. I'm talking "establishing a whole fucking international court system to process it for over a decade" levels of bad. Which it may well be, if this flashback from Sojo's PoV in chapter 8 remains unchanged when we revisit it for context:

Hello, probable war crimes.

Yeah I'm banking on that mystery kid being Magatsumi's current wielder. Whether he was a child soldier or picked up the sword by accident somehow, this might be the clue to The Incident that turned Samura against his allies. The point about how anyone can use the Enchanted Blades is made repeatedly during and after the Sojo arc- why not a child? Covering up a massacre like that would be in a lot of people's interests.

Unfounded spitball theories aside, now that Hakuri and Chihiro are both clued in that some real bad shit went down, we can expect to learn more about it. Hopefully sooner rather than later because I'll definitely be judging the shit outta Samura based on how awful it is. I'm very interested in his moral dilemma but I've got unreasonably high standards as to what kind of event could drive someone to do something so awful (in fiction, at least). IRL people are messy, but fiction demands justification. And the way this incident is being hyped up makes me believe it's different from the other horrors of war sinking in and slowly driving someone to resent everything they did for the cause. Whatever the Bearers and the Kamunabi covered up is going to cast them all -Kunishige included- in an extremely unflattering light.

Burnout

He just looks so cute being carried like that even though he's so exhausted and roughed up…

... Yeah. Poor Hakuri.

I won't take up as much space here as I want to yapping about him because most of it's just retreads of things I've been saying for weeks already. But man. Man.

This guy awoke to his powers, killed his dad and brothers, put an end to his family's cruelty, saved a bunch of lives at great risk to himself, passed out, and woke up to try and do this crazy mission with Chihiro all in just over 24 hours. He's so fried he fell asleep while being carried piggy-back and can't even move any more! But he's still kicking himself for not summoning Kumeyuri for Uruha when he had enough adrenaline to sort of stand up on his own. Never mind the brain haemorrhage- he's got lives to save. Ms. Makizumi's words about pushing himself too hard being dangerous just go in one ear and out the other. These people want him to care about himself for the mission and because he deserves it but he just refuses to take it to heart...

Then the person he promised to protect is killed in front of him right after he made it his life's mission to prevent exactly this sort of scenario.

Fuck.

Can't even turn this into a ship moment I'm so bent out of shape. Someone strip me of my fudanshi creds.

It looks like Hakuri did summon Chihiro in a panic after all- he couldn't even call out to Uruha so reaching for Chihiro instead was his first instinct. He just wasn't fast enough because his body and mind are on the brink of totally shutting down. If he's truly unable to use sorcery again after finally gaining his own strength at long last... oh, that will hurt so bad. I'm not ready for how hard Hakuri's going to be on himself when he eventually wakes up despite doing his very best.

Hakuri's gonna be out of commission for sure after this event.

I'm close to 100% positive he'll temporarily lose his powers now. If it comes to be, then Kagurabachi will have passed my bullshit "don't say they'll die if the consequences don't match up to the risk" test. Being paralyzed and powerless for a while is good enough to convince me that death really was a possible outcome. See, it's really that easy. Totally not unfair and arbitrary.

Regardless, there's a lot of suffering ahead for Chihiro and Hakuri. Not only did all of this shit go down the day right after the Rakuzaichi, but there's still whatever the blood test will reveal hanging out there... the political and practical price of this failure with the Kamunabi... processing the guilt of not being able to save a life... coming to terms with how much they don't know... so much has happened to them in a short 24-ish hours, huh? And neither of them have anything good to look forward to in the short-term.

I gotta wonder what Hakuri will do this arc if he's literally unable to move for a while. His PoV gave us the info that there was a specific incident that was covered up, but that doesn't mean he'll be involved in that plot line. But let's save that stress for another time- gotta see how badly he fucked himself up and how things shake out between Chihiro and Samura first.

Chihiro vs. Samura

(Ch. 50) A long-awaited reunion.

What will go down next week? I'm sure as hell not gonna try to guess. Could be anything from casual conversation to an actual skirmish. At least one thing will definitely not happen though.

Neither Chihiro nor Samura are dying here. Chihiro cannot die until the last fight in the series is finished, so that's out (boo joyless nerd take no fun booooooo). Samura's simply too strong to go down to an exhausted Chihiro and we still have to learn the history behind his motives. So he's gonna stick around for a bit longer to cause trouble. Wouldn't be surprised if he's the arc boss! Hiruhiko's got his own training arc ahead of him and all (and some arms to reattach), so he'll be more of a recurring villain than someone to defeat as a character growth moment for now. It's looking like Samura vs. Chihiro for the foreseeable future IMO.

If I can reveal a selfish hope, I want Samura facepalming Chihiro and feeling the scar to be the means of getting insight on how he feels about Chihiro's situation. Samura's probably the one who tipped off the Hishaku about Kunishige's location thanks to accidentally finding out when Momma Shiba took Chihiro to the local festival. Oh boy, if Chihiro learns that Samura was the one that sold him and his dad out... that would be some incredibly potent angst. His hero, a monster? Say it ain't so. Would have told you sooner if I could, Chihiro.

Hm, Kunishige and the Bearers who were entrusted with his vision...

(Chapter 1)

(Chapter 9)

(Chapter 58)

I feel confident in thinking that Samura is basically Bad End Chihiro now. He's been tormented by guilt for nearly two decades and has decided to do everything himself. He'll kill his former comrades and the Hishaku or go down swinging- and kill himself if he actually succeeds. He's on a doomed mission to scorch the earth and take out as much evil as he can. All scum go to hell! Including the guy who's so mired in grief that he does a lot of murder to cope. Those scars of his don't look like tear tracks in some shots for nothin'. (Wait, wasn't I talking about Chihiro for a bit there?)

Chihiro's well on his way to following Samura's path already... he's not the type to kill his comrades, but he's definitely got the "guilty sinning avenger" thing going on strong. So if Samura is Chihiro's "Bad End", what will he force Chihiro to realize? Every major foe reflects a part of Chihiro back at himself and forces him to answer difficult questions, after all. Sojo- forced him to accept that there are multiple ways to interpret and use his dad's legacy

Kyora- forced him to look at his own devotion to his dad's legacy and admit he doesn't know as much as he needs to

Hiruhiko (round 1)- forced him to admit that he thinks of himself as a monster for the lengths he's willing to go to

As for Samura, I think it'll be along the lines of "is it necessary or justifiable to sin and/or commit oneself hell for the sake of a cause?". Maybe "can I be redeemed at all?" (or if redemption is even necessary in the first place). Legitimately can't wait to see what goes down between them next week to get more clues! God I love this manga so much. I haven't been so consistently engaged week to week like this in ages.

...One last thought. This is probably looking too far ahead as an angst merchant and I was rightly rebuked for mentioning it. I should know better than to share the worthless depressing bullshit that goes on in my head. But these posts are supposed to just be some yaps into an ambivalent abyss so... sorry, kind internet void, but you get some of my depresso espresso.

"The least I can do is refrain from causing harm to others and take you Hishaku bastards to hell with me." - Chihiro (ch. 53)

With all the deliberate parallels drawn between Samura->Chihiro and Uruha->Hakuri, I wouldn't be surprised if our favourite protagonist/deuteragonist pair has the same exchange later down the line. Definitely not under similar circumstances! I can imagine scenarios where Chihiro is trying to kill Hakuri but they're so far removed from canon that they make absolutely zero sense.

But there could well be a time where Chihiro decides to leave because he really does need to bear this burden alone and Hakuri tries to call him out on the ridiculousness of that mindset. I think it would be a happier result for Chihiro and Hakuri compared to Samura and Uruha if only because Chihiro isn't as far gone as the blind traitor rat is. But yeah I'm just sticking that in my back pocket to see if it manifests in the future.

Time to write some hurt/comfort and hope canon eases up on the pain soon. It's either that or setting up a bingo sheet with all the angst scenarios I've got written down in my drafts and notes... I choose the one that I can create my own happy ending for. Until next time, dear void.

[pinkkop]

This week’s recap is brought to you from a train!!! Also in case anyone missed it I made a post with some tips and tricks on how to use the Tumblr Search Function which you guys might find helpful.

QL Recap for Week 5

The 27th of January to the 2nd of February

🇹🇭 Your Sky

Episode 12 of 12 || Watching on: iQiYi, Sunday

Really liked this show and it kept me invested all the way 'til the end. All three couples were great and weirdly the one who I'd love to see the most in another show in the future is Save. Thomas and Kong were great but I'm not sure how easy it would be for them to pull off other dynamics than this one at least at the moment. They definitely delivered in this show though! The NC scene in the final episode absolutely blew my mind and I’m really happy they had it in the episode because if there’s one thing I find frustrating it’s the Blushing Maiden trope and this scene showed us how Rak absolutely wasn’t a blushing maiden. Sure, he was hesitant in the beginning of their relationship but he was still very much into Fah both romantically and sexually. I loved seeing him taking charge and Fah’s reaction was just great.

🇹🇭 The Boy Next World

Episode 5 of 10 || Watching on: iQiYi, Sunday

This show is still confusing but it helps that we now know that Jin can read minds and that there is no parallel world(?). I feel like there must be some kind of other supernatural thing going on with Cir though because some of the dreams Cir’s having seem like they aren’t normal. Boss and Noeul though are fire as always and that bj scene was mind blowing. I’d like to send a fruit basket to Boss (or whoever gave him directions) for giving Noeul’s legs some attention once again. I’m a big fan of some body worship and when they focus on other body parts in BL NC scenes so I was thrilled to see it. It can get pretty repetitive when the shows always do the classic “kiss him down his chest and then up again”.

🇹🇭 Perfect 10 Liners

Episode 15 of 24 || Watching on: Youtube, Sunday

I’m really liking Santa and Perth in this so it's safe to say that I'm on board with their pairing. It was very satisfying to see Yotha finally figure out what’s up and then get to experience a loving family. Not big on relationships that seem to be so magical that they fix all your trauma but it seems to be a theme this week so I guess I have to live with it.

🇹🇭 Sangmin Dinneaw

Episode 6 of 8 || Watching on: iQiYi, Sunday

This show keeps being so weird and just an odd mix of plot and genre. As with the past weeks I’m still enjoying Sangmin and Dinneaw’s part and for the most part also Tor and Athit but I don’t care for Pony and the third couple at all!

🇹🇭 The Heart Killers

Episode 10 of 12 || Watching on: Youtube, Wednesday

Finally Fadel and Bison know what’s up with their "Mom"!! I loved seeing Fadel dealing with the knowledge that his ex had been killed by “Mother”. His breakdown and the following desperate attempt at pushing Style away was delicious. Just standing ovation to Joong. Is it clear who my favourite character is?!

🇹🇭 ThamePo Heart That Skips a Beat

Episode 8 of 13 || Watching on: Youtube, Friday

I’m still enjoying this but I’m starting to feel a little frustrated with some of the characters. I was ready to slap Thame when he almost suggested that they should basically compete for Po’s love. Also I’m very much of the opinion that Jun definitely has feelings for Po and just decided to step aside when he realized that Po has feelings for Thame because if not then what the fuck was he doing this episode?!

🇯🇵 Futtara Doshaburi

Episode 4 of 7 || Watching on: Gagaoolala, Friday

I’m still on the fence about this show. I’m intrigued by what it’s trying to say and I really like the production but I’m still worried about where it’s going. All the relationship problems in this show are in part due to inaction and missing communication and maybe a dash of denial about the state of their relationship which I can’t quite figure out if that’s my cup of tea or not. Especially Nakarei straight up annoys me because he just keeps trying to sleep with his partner even when he’s been told no many times that he doesn't want to. Like you basically started this relationship knowing that it wouldn’t have a physical component so why the fuck do you keep throwing yourself at your partner?! Also he just has this air of superiority which irritates me.

🇹🇭 Petrichor

Episode 10 of 10 || Watching on: iQiYi, Saturday

I liked this show and I definitely think it’s worth the watch. Sammon writes some cool stories, but it does often come at the cost of the relationship which is a pity. Don't know if it's because they workshop the shows differently, don't pay much attention to it during production or if it's because the plot outside the romance gets priority in post production.

🇨🇳 I'll Turn Back This Time

Episode 4 of 6 || Watching on: Gagaoolala, Saturday

I’ll be honest, this show isn’t good enough for me to enjoy plot points around homophobic parents, so I wasn’t a big fan of the turn this episode took. I’ll definitely watch this 'til the end but my enjoyment and investment took a bit of a dive this episode.

That's it for this week!!

For links and airing schedule check out World of BL (Only for BLs)

[cattimeswithjellie]

Excerpt from Doc's 6/23 Stream Recap

I'm going to bed early tonight because I stayed up recapping til 4am last night, so I'm not going to finish this stream until tomorrow. Enjoy this unhinged little sequence from Doc's Sunday stream this week.

43:30 Doc forgets the inherent peril of every GoodTimesWithScar build and gets severely jumpscared by the creeper that sneaks up behind him. He’s not hurt but the front yard of Poe Poe HQ has lost some landscaping. Doc thinks that vandalizing Poe Poe HQ might not be the best move for a guy in his legal position, and it seems like the “SUE TODAY” banner on the courthouse might just be mocking him. He remembers that Scar’s building supplies chest monster hasn’t been picked up yet and goes to rummage through it for extra booshes. He finds some, but comes very, very, very close to blowing up Scar’s entire chest monster when another creeper pays a visit.

44:40 Doc uses freecam to show the now-underground broken rainbow beacon, buried under the road between the courthouse and the police station. The metaphor would be unbearably heavy-handed if it weren’t also obviously accidental. Doc replaces the destroyed bushes and takes a look at Poe Poe HQ by daylight, declaring it a really cool build. He laughs at the enormous POE sign and is confused by the sand countdown clock. Chat tells him it is counting down to the enforcement of the rule against popup shops in the shopping district. Doc wonders who made this, even as he finds a trapdoor with a sign reading “Ultra Redstoners Only.” Deciding he is definitely in that club, he enters without hesitation to check out the guts of the countdown machinery. He studies it for a moment and asks in complete befuddlement “Who _made_ this?” Hearing from Chat that it was Scar does explain a lot. Doc decides he had better leave before the redstone drives him insane.

46:40 Time to go back and work on interior design again. Doc does not want to do his interior design. He bemoans the fact that he got himself into a quarrel with Cleo, who would’ve been the perfect Hermit to tap for all the armor stand work he needs done but is now mad at him. He decides he should wander around and look for design ideas from other shops, because he is so uninspired. Chat suggests Joel has great interiors, so does Pearl. Doc admires Joel’s octopus but does not want one in his armor trim boutique. Chat thinks the octopus is amazing. Doc tells Chat they are useless. Chat doesn’t care; they want to go look at the Lizzie statue at Joel’s base. A chatter says they heard Doc was going to play Stardew Valley and is excited about it; Doc tells them he has played Stardew Valley through three times already. He’s exploited everything exploitable in that game and even made a tutorial for finding rare fish; Stardew Valley has nothing left for him.

49:00 Doc looks around in the honey shop for decoration ideas, but is disappointed to find no armor stand work to get inspired by. Chat wants to hear the song. Doc is unenthusiastic but plays the song. He goes on an entire facial journey as Chat grooves to the “Honey, Honey, Honey” song. “Jesus Christ,” Doc says. This puts Joel at the top of the suspect list as far as Doc is concerned. Anyone who could come up with that song is clearly capable of anything.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (26 Jan-1 Feb 2025)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 The Father Hunt (Nero Wolfe #43) (Rex Stout, author; Michael Prichard, narrator)

🥰 Death of a Dude (Nero Wolfe #44) (Rex Stout, author; Michael Prichard, narrator) - love it when Wolfe is forced to leave the brownstone

🥰 It's The Snow (postmodernmulticoloredcloak) - 44K, stucky modern AU - snowed in, only one bed, enemies-to-lovers goodness - reread, forever fave

💖💖 +223K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Everybody Wants (primrosewine) - The Cabots (Cat Sebastian): Daniel/Alex, 16K - so lucky to get such great Cabots fic for Yuletide

And a cradle for your heart (ryoorisuru) - MCU: Stucky, 2K - short but sweet fic where bucky gets to be shown that no one who loves him is afraid of the arm

Novel Movements (thisapplepielife) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 2.6K - charming & fun & when I read the tags I thought 'how you gonna make Eddie into a plausible gym guy?' and then of course IT DID ALL MAKE PERFECT SENSE

Some Kind of Tomorrow (togina) - Justified: Boyd/Raylan, 27K - truly delightful mpreg with perfect character voices - really love the set up for the possibility of mpreg in this setting a lot

Not In The Answer But The Question (aimmyarrowshigh) - MCU: Shrunkyclunks, 27K - reread, forever fave. Brilliant shrunkyclunks with jewish deli owner Bucky helping Steve connect his past and his present. Lots of great stuff about existing as an oppressed minority, on multiple axes. (but not super heavy! Mostly just a delightful love story!)

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Why Won't You Date Me? - Siobhan Thompson On Men Who Don't Wipe, Hookups Gone Bad, and D&D Fans in Her DMs

Ask Hank Anything - What’s The Sexiest Part of A Chicken? (with Rhett & Link)

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled - s1, e5; s2, e2, e6

Home Town - s3, e6; s9, e5

The Great Pottery Throw Down - s1, e1

Fortune Feimster: Good Fortune

Beyond Paradise - s1, e1-2

Um, Actually - s10, e1

All Creatures Great & Small - s5, e4-7

D20: Dungeons & Drag Queens - "Ice, Ice, Fae-by" (s2, e3)

D20: Adventuring Party - "She's a Brick Orc" (s19, e3)

D20: Dungeons & Drag Queens - "Shady by the Sea" (s2, e4)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Monét Will Say Anything" (s19, e4)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

⭐ Pop Pantheon - CHER (with Hit Parade's Chris Molanphy)

Pop Culture Happy Hour - The Pitt

⭐ It's Been a Minute - Intellectuals vs. The Internet

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Dylan’s Mailbag: Tough Trips, Controversial Airplane Etiquette, and Tattoos

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Presence

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

my 'Liked Songs' playlist, on shuffle, off & on all week

[psychewritesbs]

Chapter 251: Decisive Battle in the Unhabited, Demon-Infested Shinjuku, Part 23--Megumi is back!! aaaaand it's not looking good

Well. In case you've been living under a rock, Megumi is back and everyone and their mom knows about it because Twitter demonstrated to be full of people who lack reading comprehension, basic human compassion, and an understanding of how trauma fucks with the mind. Only the latter is excusable, since this is domain-specific knowledge that I don't expect others to be aware of.

The number of times I've read the word "bitch" next to Megumi's name is appalling to say the least.

So... yeah... happy jjk-Sunday? Sorry, I wish I had a more upbeat intro to my ramble for this chapter but man... this fandom is something else and a lot of the comments about Megumi were just so...

Anyways let's taco'bout Megumi and share Megumi-love under the cut.

What is this irritating feeling?

Why does this matter? If you haven't seen me mention this over on the twt already, Sukuna makes a small gesture that is unequivocally Megumi body-language in chapter 248:

Megumi typically places his hand over his shoulder when he's stressed (although I have to confirm he only does it when stressed):

It isn't just the body language that is significant, but rather the way of thinking itself. I didn't catch this myself, but Ant and Danchou did, so I might not do it justice when explaining it.

This way of thinking is very Megumi-like in how he second-guesses himself. More than second-guessing, however, it also feels like a nascent sense of consciousness. All of this obviously presents a very interesting dilemma because, as Sukuna recognizes, sharing a body with Yuji has changed him.

I think we all knew Yuji or Megumi would be changed by Sukuna--because that is how Gege directed our attention by having Gojo mention Yuji could inherit Sukuna's CT by the mere fact that they shared a body. I know I also assumed that Megumi would maybe learn from Sukuna using 10s. But I also know I never even considered that the opposite could be true: Yuji and Megumi could also change Sukuna.

So, the way I see it, with that hand gesture, we have what appears to be Megumi's sense of self bubbling up from under the surface and changing Sukuna.

What's interesting to me is how subtle this is. Sukuna notices this as an "irritating feeling" that is incomprehensible to someone like him who rejects aspirational ideals.

So, part of what I love about this is that sharing a body with Yuji has deepened Sukuna's own experience of reality.

Sukuna is all ego, right? Ego is everything that is concrete...

So I have to wonder how much of this is also Megumi's own emotional turmoil given what we saw this chapter...

Wake up, Megumi!

Ok so let's do a quick recap...

We also know Tsumiki is integral to how Megumi sees himself. This is very important because Megumi basically makes her his raison d'être. In other words, his whole identity is framed around protecting her during the Culling Game. Aside from the obvious shock that it was to realize Yorozu was pretending to be Tsumiki the whole time, which meant Tsumiki was dead, the issue with Megumi was that he made Tsumiki his identity.

And if there is one thing we have seen happen time and time again in jjk is how being limited by your self-ascribed identity comes back and bites you in the ass.

So in Megumi's case, what happens when his whole identity was framed around a single outcome, and then he realized that outcome turned out to be a failure right from the start?

An identity crisis or basically no sense of self.

So what does he have to live for now?

What reason does he have for living if the person whom he had wrapped his identity around is now gone? This is what created the opening for Sukuna to possess him.

What's crazy about this is that even when he was weakened, he still put up a fight and elicited a "Fushiguro Megumi" from Sukuna. Sukuna had probably already considered the importance of the bath, but this likely solidified the need to have Megumi marinate in cursed energy. Like... this is what it took to bury Megumi's consciousness. Also, this is important because we're talking about marinating in negative emotions "to be near evil".

Now, it's midnight and I got to get to sleep, but the way jjk uses "evil" is not cliché at all, but almost like as a metaphor for chaos, hyper individuality, and instinct. I started writing about Naoki Urasawa's Monster, so hopefully I can get around to explaining the whole good vs. evil dichotomy (which is one of my favorite topics ever) soon, but this is all I'll say for now. I'll come back to this in a sec.

Next, Megumi's own Cursed Technique (which we know is tied to the brain and personality) and hands are used to kill Tsumiki's body and Gojo while Megumi can only observe.

And then, Gojo accidentally blitzes Megumi's soul with his technique.

Like are we for real expecting Megumi to just stand up and start throwing hands after all he's been through? What is wrong with people???!!!!!!!!!!! Have some compassion ffs.

Unfortunately, this isn't just about a lack of reading comprehension and compassion, it's also about lack of domain knowledge. This is Trauma with a BIG T we're talking about, and Trauma has been shown to limit how you see yourself and how you are able to think.

So, of course Megumi is distraught. The writing in this is so damn realistic.

Now, Gege has been paying special attention to Megumi's body language, and while the rest of the fandom is laughing at the "Mahoraga hands", I'm looking at how tightly closed those fists are. Even the way he's curled up in a tight ball... Almost like he's about to blow up from sheer pressure.

Quite the contrast to the last time we saw him in a similar position but with more relaxed body language.

And remember, he marinated in cursed energy so that he would be closer to "evil", right? Plus getting blitzed?

Listen, I am ready for Yuji's pep talk, I am sure it will be generational, but right now, I don't think Megumi is ready (or maybe even able) to hear it. Again, because Trauma with a big T.

Plus Sukuna loosing control of Megumi's body? You kind of have to wonder why Megumi's energy has been crescendoing to the point that Sukuna would be affected by it and not only think like Megumi, but also use body language that is unequivocally Megumi.

This feels like a Megumi is about to snap.

This is starting to feel ominous precisely because he's marinated in these self-destructive emotions for so long. Emotions which surely intensified as he saw the consequences of his inability to take action.

But then again... I was expecting a blood bath out of the culling game and it was everything but so 🤣 idk what to tell y'all. As predictable as he is, Gege is unpredictable af.

Ok I think those are my main thoughts? WHAT ABOUT Y'ALL?!!!!!! What are we thinking? What are the theories? oh mai gah.

Even if I'm responding to asks slowly, I'm still reading them as they come in guys. Sorry, school + work is kicking my ass because well... in typical Megumi fashion I haven't taken responsibility for bringing out my best.

That said, I go off to sleep 🫡 Thanks for reading!

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 7/16/2024

how your backyard hurricane go, the houston area? pretty good it doesn't seem

to be clear other than losing everything in my fridge and developing some mold around the windowframes IM personally fine and so are the girls and so is the lair. we lost power sunday afternoon and got it back friday morning (upside down smiley emoji x16)

listening

THREE CANONICALLY BISEXUAL CLUB BANGERS!!! also, trying out a new thing with spotify and youtube videos for songs bc my readership is about 70/30 and i want to streamline the process of actually listening to new music for ppl. it must be really annoying this week but that's bc there's three songs. sorry. it will rarely be this long

anyway.

ANXIETY by Lilyisthatyou is new to me, off the spotify autogenerated dance playlist. a chiller groove in the spelling-things-out genre of dance music. VERY flashy-lights music vid fyi

Why do I feel so alone? Does it show That I'm dancing to fill the void with pretty girls and pretty boys?

i know about kesha's joyride bc i happen to be an alive queer woman. im SO happy kesha is also alive and making music more regularly. this one is canonically bisexual bc kesha is bisexual. also a really flashy-lights lyric video. the most classically recession-pop/early KESHA sound of all three tuesdaysongs this week. im always fascinated when an accordion shows up.

Rev my engine ’til you make it purr Keep it kinky, but I come first Beep-beep, bitch, I'm outside Get in, loser, for the joyride

thank u new releases spotify playlist. also canonically bisexual bc the singer is, also an early KESHA feel but she is a metal artist first and foremost. very fun to headbang to at a stop light. i don't totally Love how it's an emasculating song but given how dudes in the metal scene generally are? i think she should make it more emasculating actually

Take you down a peg (And peg and peg and peg) If you're a macho man then beg (And beg and beg and beg) Bend you over the bed (The bed the bed the bed) It's time to take you down a peg (And peg and peg and peg)

-

reading

fun fact i still haven't seen this movie. i got this from the library the day before the hurricane proper and it gave me a really lovely two hours of not thinking about the active hurricane the day after. enormous format photographs! full-length shots of every look! ithe little personal notes from each designer were so fun to read, and i think this genuinely healed my heart a little. everyone was so excited to go into detail about what choices they made and what inspired them, and even though i would have loved more specific construction details, specific fiber types, and full-length shots of the Back of every look, i recognize i am a freak.

-

watching

watched a truly bonkers assortment of films at my bestie's house this week. her husband is big into godzilla and i sat down not really paying attention or planning to pay attention to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024, dir. Wingard) but found myself actually paying attention. i unfortunately was a character i hate, Person Who Stops The Movie Halfway Through To Demand A Recap. loved these guys, whatever the fuck they were

the most fun thing about this movie is that it is not a silent film but it acts like one. there are long, long stretches of movie without dialogue bc all the political action is happening between a bunch of giant monkeys. this is going to sound like im damning it with faint praise but they really thought carefully about directorial and artistic choices here! there was a vision and they executed it! it's fun to look at and not just because there's a big monkey in most of the shots!

-

playing

got a look at characters for the new fire-themed land coming up this fall. ppl are understandably big mad that the land is based on Ring of Fire cultures and everyone is paper-white. i think it is correct to be mad and ask them to do better, and they have tweaked designs before release before, however, i don't think this will bring about a sea change in gacha games.

i am rolling along clearing out map markers and achievement hunting and my GOD are there a lot of time-gated achievements in inazuma (electricity-themed legally-not-japan). so so so many of them i originally got halfway through or did 1/5 and then wandered off bc i didn't realize there was a quest or achievement locked behind doing something for three or five days in a row. i now have a post-it on the corner of my monitor with nine different things i have to keep checking in on this week. please someone give me a REAL JOB!!!!!!

-

making

cross stitch progress. this was the only thing i did last week aside from shake like a chihuahua and sleep. very slow going! may have to ship the package off to my brother with an IOU bc it is already stressfully late.

made the bean influencer soup (creamy miso coconut butter beans). i made a batch before the hurricane last week so most of my notes are from then. the grocery did not have canned butter beans so i made the same thing (big lima beans) from dry. i have not made beans from dry since i was very small. these beans were so large, so pale, so aggressive.

changes: i was able to find a little carton of straight coconut cream at the grocery but they were out of miso paste. i did have miso soup mix and plopped that in. i also used frozen spinch bc it’s cheaper and i felt better about it than the somewhat questionable fresh spinch on offer. also used two onions instead of one and a hearty dollop of minced jarred garlic bc who do u think i even fucking am. i would have loved to use fresh dill, bc i did plant some and it was growing very well, but the caterpillars were very intense and ate almost everything on my balcony.

going in the rotation! im making it AGAIN as im typing up this post! pretty cheap, very tasty, i don't regularly keep butter beans or coconut cream in my pantry but that can change!

[lawbin-archive]

Hi kokonut

First of all, I'd like to thank you for your analysis and recaps on Lawbin interactions and similarities.

I enjoyed them so much. I SHIP THEM HARD.

I started reading One Piece because of Ms All Sunday at the time. You know she looked so badass with the outfit, stoic/stern luck, and her DF abilities. I was Luffy and his nakama's age at the time and when she joined I was like: "Wow, Robin's so much older and mature, a woman in her late 20s. How does it feel to be that mature?"

Now, I am even older than her :))). (I'm old, I know)

I'll try organizing my thoughts chronogically. This might be long as NR and One Piece and I go way back to my adolescent years.

- So yeah, I have been a Robin fan since way back. One Piece wasn't as popular and access to manga was not easy. I saved One Piece chapters on floppy diskettes of 1.44 MB capacity (those were the dark ages). I had nobody around me to talk about One Piece and Nico Robin even searched for a mailing list and sent a cold email to a stranger just to search for someone to talk about Nico Robin/Miss All sunday lol.

- I was much younger so what I cared about mostly was just badassery and her being cool and strong. I got really worried and sad when Robin was frozen by Aokiji and she was a "burden" to her nakama. But then came Water 7 and Enies Lobby arc which were Robin's arc and full of Robin which made me really happy. Robin's outfit from back then is still the best Robin outfit for me.

- I was not very much and is still not into character ships. I've seen some Zoro x Robin and Franky x Robin ships since back then. I read the reason why people match them but I wasn't convinced. I just didn't see it. (We'll get to Law and Law x Robin later)

- When the supernovas were introduced in Sabaody archipelago pre-time skip, Law stood out for me immediately upon his introduction. Most probably cause he was the only one that was directly mentioned by Robin to Luffy :)) Oh, and cause he had a unique name that made me curious.

- And then came the time skip. I was kind of "disappointed" when Robin was sent to Tequila wolf. You see all the straw hats went to unique islands and we knew what they were doing there (e.g. Luffy with the amazon lilies, nami studying weather) while Robin went to I am sorry be a slave at a random bridge??? And what the hell was she doing with the Revolutionaries? We know what the other Strawhats were doing during the timeskip but what she did during the timeskip was always vague.

- I was also rather disappointed with her design post timeskip in Sabaody archipelago :/ Where was the cowboy hat? Why the much "softer" clothes? Where was the full body leather dress as in Enies lobby?

- The last time I followed the chapters real time was at the beginning of Punk Hazard, Law hasn't even reappeared at that time. And then life happened: uni and work and life in general. I had other hobbies and interests too, I had minimal time to follow chapters per week with less motivation fueled by my "disappointment" about post timeskip Robin .

- So, I had around 10-12 years of One Piece hiatus. Now OP is VERY mainstream and accessible, so different compared to when I first read them 20 years ago. I decided to pick up where I left: beginning of Punk Hazard.

- Now that I am much older and mature with more of the story revealed, everything about Robin's character development makes sense to me:

How she's much more relaxed, and how it felt to not want to be a burden for others, how it's okay to ask for help (and that it's a very courageous thing to ask for help), and how she felt so happy Sanji asked her for help :')

- My disappointment about how she was sent to Tequila Wolf (and The Revolutionaries) has evaporated: Oda has tied her even further to the One Piece lore after all

- I mentioned that I've seen Frobin and Zorobin since way back then. Now I have a perspective of both a teenager me and much older me reading Nico Robin interact with other characters. I still do not see the appeal to those pairings. But when I read her interactions with Law, I immediately got: AHA!!! WHAT'S THIS?

- Now that I've caught up to all chapters (up to 1133 as of now). I SHIP THEM HARD. I'm squeezing years worth of Law x Robin obsession/admiration/hope in these recent weeks LOL. So glad that I found your blog so that I know I am not crazy and not alone in seeing the appeal of Law and Robin. Damn shipping in the fandom is so toxic these days.

- I agree with your writing about why you ship Law x Robin. Back in my younger days, the idea of opposite attracts appealed to me. But now that I'm much older and much overwhelmed with life, the meshing of personalities such as Law and Robin's what appeals and what makes sense to me. Both are introverts with quirks (both are nerds in their own field) and both can engage in intelligent and analytical discussions.

Ah well I blab a lot. Sorry for the long post. I hope we can see Law (and Robin) interaction again soon. I might write to you again next time. Hope you're not bored. :)))

Hi, thank you so much for the long message you sent me. I feel so heartwarmed whenever someone shares their lawbin experience with me. I’m sorry it’s taken me a few days to get back to you, I’ve been busy lately :(

I’m glad you enjoyed the analysis, even though I wrote most of it late at night when I was supposed to be sleeping, so my writing was probably a mess. And OMG I’m a baby one piece fan—I only got into it last year. It’s so nice to know someone has been in the fandom for so long! I’m happy that one piece has grown so much that it’s now easier to find people to share your one piece thoughts with!

I also really wish we could learn more about what happened to Robin during the time skip. I think one piece has grown with its audience, when you read it at different stages of your life, your interpretation changes. I’d say I’m lucky because I got into it pretty late, so a lot of things have already been revealed, and I didn’t have to wait for them haha I’m also super happy that you’re back and shipping lawbin too. The more lawbin fans, the merrier!

I do also ship them so hard, and I’m thrilled to have met so many lawbin shippers who share my obsession. The shipping fandom can get pretty toxic nowadays, but as long as we focus on our ship and find happiness in it, I think we can ignore all the hate :)

I know a lot of people believe that opposites attract, but my personal experience tells me otherwise, and that’s one of the reasons I ship them. I’m so happy my blog has reached you, and I want you to know you’re definitely not alone!!

If you’re interested, you can always join the lawbin discord (shamelessly promoting) https://discord.com/invite/NRE3hheBPA

There are even more Lawbin shippers there, and we can delulu haha :D Thank you so much again for sharing your thoughts! <3

[ofmdrecaps]

08/31/2024 - 09/01/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Samba Schutte; Kristian Nairn; Vico Ortiz; Guz Khan; Happy DickFuck/Be A Lighthouse Day!; Bisexual Awareness Month; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Be a Lighthouse!; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Today's Taika;

Hey friends, things are slowly progressing on things with my dad and his surgery recovery. Each day things get a little better but it's gonna be a really long road to recovery. Hopefully we're out of the worst of it. I'm still gonna try to keep up with recap stuff as best I can, but they'll probably still be late because of the uncertainty of timing right now. Thank you all so much for all the kind words and well wishes and all the patience. I hope you're staying well <3

== Taika Waititi ==

More Taika out with VasJMorgan and Rita and friends in Ibiza back in August.

Source: VasJMorgan's Instagram

== Con O'Neill ==

Con's done with vacation in Mexico! Hope it was relaxing!

Source: Con's Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Hey! Samba's gonna be on the Geekspace podcast again for his new movie Advanced Chemistry! You can check the episode out on spotify below!

Samba was also out to visit his extended family in Holland!

Source: Samba's Instagram

== Kristian Nairn ==

Reminder, you can still get signed copies of Kristian's book coming out this month on his Linktr.ee! https://linktr.ee/kristiannairn Kristian was featured in a Polygon article about his new book! Full link and highlights below.

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico's film Lesbophila was chosen as the Official Selection for Long Beach Film Festival 2024! Sunday the 9th, at 1:15 pm they'll be in the "Women In Shorts" block. You can get tickets here.

Source: LesbophiliaFilm Instagram

== Guz Khan ==

Some love from a fan for Guz <3

Source: Guz's Instagram stories

== Happy DickFuck Day ==

Thank you to the awesome ofmdnocontext on instagram for the fabulous stills for this, September 1st (on an actual leap year!) aka DickFuck Day! Also known as Be A Lighthouse days by some as well!

Source: OFMDNoContext Instagram

== Bisexual Awareness Month ==

Happy Bisexual Awareness month to all our lovely Bi+ Crew members! Please know my dear lovelies, you are valid and you are seen. It doesn't matter who you're in a relationship with, or what sexual experiences you've had. You're valid in your sexuality and romantic attractions. Love you friends! For those not already aware, Bi+ represents the the bisexual community, also known as the bi+, m-spec, bisexual/pansexual, or bi/pan/fluid community, which includes members of the LGBT community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual and sexually fluid (source).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Queer Chameleon (@queeeerchameleon)

Source: QueeerChameleon on Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

I'm very behind again on the cast cards by the brilliant @melvisik! First up! We have Scott Marsh, another of our stunt performers, and Jacob Tomuri, one of our stunt coordinators!

Next up is Alexa Stollmeyer, a visual effects coordinator and Cynthia Pusheck, one of our S1 Cinemtographers!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

New Epitizer available this week from Our Flag Means Fanfiction! "Close to Home" by our beloved @xoxoemynn! Read by @babykrakenpodfics!

Source: OFMFF Instagram

= Be A Light House =

In honor of Sept 1/2, Just a quick reminder that our amazing friend @blueberreads released this fabulous Be A Lighthouse- a Monkey Island Inspired point and click game! If you havent played it yet, please check it out here!

Source: Blueberreads Twitter

PS: I wanted to spotlight OFMD Smaugust works since it's the end of the month but I've been swamped with family stuff. It'll be late, but it's coming!

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies, hopefully life is treating you well. I hope you're getting a day off this Monday, but if not, please remember to take some time another day to rest if you can. Rest is so incredibly important. We need it to be able to recover from the crazyness that is our everyday lives. We all deal with a lot, and no one knows the extent at which we go through things, so you have to be your own advocate sometimes when it comes to rest. You deserve rest, no matter what you got done today, no matter how much you had the day before. Sending love and good vibes your way, and a couple extra love notes. You're powerful, and wonderful, and kind, and you deserve the best, lovelies.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Barbara ✨🐞 (@joyfulsmolthings)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Case Kenny (@case.kenny)

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Idk about the theme today, I was going through gifs and my son really laughed at these two, so he helped pick them out tonight. Gifs courtesy of the darling @sherlockig and @brizzystar

[suhnandmoon]

2024 tumblr wrapped

thank you to @dibidibidismynameisleeknow for tagging me in this :D this has been a special year for me on tumblr. i ended my two year hiatus when i wasn't planning on coming back and met so many awesome authors and people on here :) i've only been active for again for around half this year but its nice to look back and see just how much i made (ignore the fact that we are two days into the new year.)

2024 fic stats

number of works posted

5 smaus!!! 1 fic and a few scenarios

fics in progress

way too many… currently 3 smaus and a few written fics that wont see the light of day

total words written:

12k (15k including s4u’s transcripts 😭) damn yall. i didnt realize i wrote this much. shoutout my one written fic that carried my word count

top 5 posts

enha request: how enha reacts to your lockscreen being a different member (it makes me laugh that this is my top post)

stupid for you (sunghoon x reader)

dance with me baby! (heeseung x reader)

beat it! (riki x reader)

starlight (renjun x reader)

most recent fic

beat it! (riki x reader)

longest fic

soul eater with 8.5k words by default just bc its the only thing i wrote this year. smau with the most chapters is starlight

favorite fic i wrote

you already know. dance with me baby… meet me in elwynn is a close second though. ironically my least popular smaus but who gaf!!! me and loser hee will always be here.

goal for 2025

i need to conquer my fear of written fics!!! i want to write more. hopefully post my jake fic… also to stay active this next year and not drop off the earth... like before...

fav fics i read this year

you already know. pur autre vie by @starlightkun (park jisung x reader)

i also read her strawberry sunday anthology this year (even tho it was posted last year) beautiful beautiful. always mel's number one fan

hwarang by @pasteidolons (seventeen x reader, different member routes)

my history with this series is real. so happy its being brought back for svt... one of the best works i've read on tumblr everrrrr

to be honest i didnt read a lot of kpop fics at all this year. im so behind. heres a hawks fic i loved. i've been on my mha grind recently. here's a touya fic too.

my fic rec acc is @sixyearsfromforever

tagging my mutuals. if any of you want to do it, i really want to see your recaps :) i get nervous tagging people but know i would like to see everyones!!