#this is my first time doing web weaving so it might not be great lol

[sapphiccyranodebergerac]

web weaving: love felt wholly in the mundane. the kind of love that sometimes goes unnoticed

| fleabag s1 ep4 | the orange by wendy cope | circe by madeline miller | love should be about the mundane by lauren bravo | circe by madeline miller (again) | everything everywhere all at once | the happiest day by linda pastan | drops of jupiter by train | lady bird dir. by greta gerwig |

[risingnovas]

hello world :)))

studyblr (re)introduction.

i used to lurk in the shadows as an inactive studyblr account but now that i'm a university student i want to team up and make friends :D

about me

i'm aleixandre, i use she/her pronouns and i'm studying robotic engineering. i'm only on my first year so there's a lot i have yet to learn !!

my degree involves chemistry, physics, a lot of maths and programming, for now.

i'm from spain, so i speak spanish as well. i'm not interested in the language side of the community but if anyone wants to chat in spanish i'm open to it. also, if i make any mistakes in english i blame it on not being a native speaker lol.

what do i plan to use this account for?

i'm looking for people in the stem community so we can complain about how our degree is so so hard together :) and also to see how is it like to study engineering at other places/countries.

i'll post cute pictures from time to time, but i'm not all that focused on aesthetics. i'm messy at heart but i like toying with image edition :)

i like poetry and essays too, so i'll share quotes/articles about learning and academia that i find around.

lastly, i'd like to take part in productivity challenges and other commmunity activities, if only to connect with more people :D. i study a lot anyways so i might as well share it with the rest of the class !!

misc

i listen to a lot of music and i like making connections/web weaving !! some of my favourites are

° argentinian urban music (which doesn't feel like most people in the studyblr community are into, but it's like. really mainstream stuff lol),

° kpop groups such as itzy (the girl in my profile picture is ryujin!) , xdinary heroes, stray kids, [g]idle or nmixx.

°sad girl classics, aha, like fiona apple and mitski

° and... a lot i don't feel like individually mentioning but can't sort into categories either. they will come up in my blog though :))

i also watch anime sporadically. i'm currently obsessed obsessed obsessed with chainsaw man !!!

i was told i should be more participative in class so i'll try my best to put myself out there too. people usually tag people here but the blogs i used to follow (main is @originz, i follow from there btw) are mostly dead so if anyone from the stemblr community wants to be buddies it'd be great ?? if you read till the end you get my gratitude <3

see you around!

[tianshiisdead]

I was just looking through the Babel tag to see what it was, and it does interest me lol… what’s it about? Do you recommend other people to read it?

I'm assuming if you looked through the tags that you know the basic summary, Robin Swift being a Chinese boy brought to London in the early 1800s in order to enter the Royal Institute of Translation where they use silver bars etc. etc.

Imo, the book is partially about the beauty and intricacies of translation and etymology, the classes Robin and co. take at the institute are very detailed and the reader learns alongside the characters about this topic obviously dear to the author. The other part is very political, it addresses colonialism and the ways racism and exploitation both in the imperial core and abroad manifest as branches of the larger tree that is imperialism (which itself steeped in economics), and as many reviews good and bad have noted, does it in a way that very much ties it to its modern effects and manifestation, despite the book's early 1800s setting. In general, I'd say the book's strongest points are the sections about etymology/translation and the roles of that + culture in imperialism, British and Chinese history + culture, as well as its depictions of orientalism and the attitudes of 'Orientalists' and China scholars/hands of the time.

To preface my recommendation, I want to mention that I might not be the best person to ask because I honestly don't read many novels (I'm pretty busy with school so I can only really fit in one book every once in a while, and due to my interests it's usually history books and the like rip) so I can't judge the quality of the book when it comes to character, story, etc. in comparison to other books in the genre. Also, some people have mentioned that there are historical inaccuracies in the book wrt some of the other countries touched on, but I'm coming from a Chinese history perspective and that part at least is very well done.

I personally would highly recommend it, especially if you're passionate about translation, the history of 18th-century imperialism in soft and hard forms, early modern Chinese history and views of the late Qing through the lens of the British, or the economic webs of exploitation weaved across the world by the powerful. I loved the characters a lot and found them believable if not 1000% historically accurate (tbf there are magic silver bars... + the British China scholars and hands are 100% accurate no notes perfectly done), I enjoyed myself the whole way through and found the storyline engaging and memorable, the magic system is one of my favourites, and the writing is good, not at all dry despite the heavy topics. I also found certain aspects of Robin's struggles with identity and ostracization very relatable as a 1.5 gen Chinese immigrant to the west, though relatability isn't the be all end all of good media, it was definitely refreshing to see! Finally, I especially love how the tensions leading up to the Opium Wars are captured in the background even though the book doesn't focus on it, the historic conditions are set up in the first few lines and the author uses rising tensions with the Qing to ground the novel in time a couple of times in the beginning and then near the end.

So to summarize: great book, dunno how well it compares to other books like it but I personally really loved it!

[chongoblog]

INTRODUCING THE PURPLE SASQUATCH

Hey everyone! I wanted to let you all know that I’ve been cooking up some OC’s recently and I really want to share them with you all!! Unfortunately I don’t have any artistic talent, but I’m sure that if I give a half-hearted visual description, then I can sit back and hope that you all will love them enough to provide that part!!!!!!!!!!! :D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(under the readmore)

So these OC’s are a member of a central group known as the “Purple Sasquatch”. They are a small group of cowpokes that travel around the Wild Wild West together. But not just any Wild West. A different Wild West than what we might know. One overrun with great beasts and cryptids. They are infamous for being a close-knit team that always wears the color purple in some capacity and are known by some others to be “in the pioneer business for selfish reasons” only bothering to fight monsters near native villages and not even bothering with helping build the new towns. They each conceal their true identities, opting to use a codename reflecting an instrument used for artistic creation due to the head of the group’s belief that the earth supplies a grand canvas and beautiful materials. It is simply up to them to use what is provided to create masterpieces in collaboration with the earth. Additionally, once one has become a member of the group for long enough to prove their loyalty, they are marked by wearing iconography of a bug on them in some way.

Oil is the head of the clan, always donning his trademark purple Stetson that has seen quite a few rough days. Incidentally, it was noticed that the somewhat torn hat looked exactly like the head of a beetle. This was what inspired him to put the Sasquatch together. His short sandy blonde hair and deeply tanned skin contrast each other like nobody’s business, and he wears a dark purple vest over his large muscular frame. He founded the troupe of pioneers after he and a couple others came across a cryptid that had been terrorizing a native tribe and they managed to subdue it together while also protecting its life from another crew of pioneers who wished to hunt it. He acts as a moral core, being the strong leader that everyone finds only fitting to follow, but is never afraid to get tough when he needs to.

Chisel is considered to be the second in command, and is one of the most wanted people in the country. She is a Beastial (which is an in-universe version of a Furry lol) of the Fox variety, sporting a dark crimson fur coat. Despite the darker fur coat, she still opts to wear a beautiful purple poncho weaved by a tribe that she and oil had helped when they had first formed the Sasquatch. The poncho has beautiful patterns of mantises sewn upon them. Chisel is most wanted because she will not take no for an answer and won’t tolerate injustice for even a moment. This gets her into trouble with the wrong people, but when you’re as handy as Chisel is with a revolver, that sort of problem settles itself.

Clay was one of the three founding members of the Sasquatch and was indispensable for helping to somehow, against all odds, subdue a number of the cryptids they meet. With a heart of gold and an adoration for the beasts that walk the earth, it seems almost magical how he can make the Sasquatch’s horses run almost twice as fast simply by giving them a genuine pep talk. Others have wondered if he can talk to horses, but he denies being able to. He sports a short buzzed head of red hair and green eyes along his freckled face. He’s usually found wearing a purple fringe jacket, with each fringe having a very small hand-sculpted ant he sculpts together after he makes a friend. However, if you threaten his friends, then he’s perfectly capable in a fight. After all, he’s learned that some people unfortunately don’t want to be friends.

Watercolor is an exciteable zoologist who wears thick glasses to frame her brown eyes, almost always wearing her frizzy purple-dyed hair in a ponytail. While she’s far from equipped for any danger, that doesn’t save her from her own curiosity as she was originally found by the Sasquatch trapped in the web of a monstrous spider. The group never let her live it down, granting her a spider-shaped bolo tie. that she wears over he denim overalls and purple flannel. She isn’t incredibly helpful in a fight, but she has quite the mind for strategies on the fly and is always able to lighten the mood.

Brush is an Avian Beastial (a Bird Furry) with bright orange feathers and a white tuft around the chest. He’s considered to be the one that’s most “out there”, constantly tinkering around with any machinery they might be able to find, always attempting to create “an imaginative window into the future!”. Some of these inventions can be useful, such as stun guns and keeping food cold. Others are mundane (such as a ball that can “read your mind so long as you answer its twenty yes or no questions first”) or simply don’t work. But seeing what Brush has whipped up is never a dull experience, especially with his theatricality regardless of how dull the item itself comes across. He almost always wears a denim jean jacket and denim jean shorts, usually covering anything else he can wear in denim. This has been mentioned to him multiple time and he simply does not care. On the back of his denim jacket is a sick looking purple dragonfly design

I might have more one day, but I hope you enjoy these cool characters!!! I know that I don’t really do original characters that much, but I wouldn’t be shocked if I end up shifting my content around these little bastards! They’re just so unique, I doubt I’ll do anything like them again!

If you decide to draw fanart of any of them I’ll die in real life! Send it over my way!! Thank you all!!

[aerialflight]

Fic Recs (cause it's always nice to give a shout out and get people into things I'm into rn)

[The Magnus Archives] (I recently finished the podcast and I fell into a hole for a while so here you go)

Sing a Song of Sixpence by Kaiel

Ship: Jon/Martin

In which Jonathan Sims is a Siren, and he fails to notice any new abilities granted to him by the position of Archivist. Or really anything about the Entities at all.

Takes place in season 1 featuring Jonah Magnus’s slow decent into madness

(The new mythology interwoven with tma's worldbuilding is so freaking good and I love how all the characters change and develop because of these changes. Also, f you Elias)

Along Came a Spider by Dribbledscribbles

Ship: implied Jon/Martin

Sasha James is the Archivist, as expected. Martin Blackwood is menaced by Jane Prentiss, as expected. Elias Bouchard weaves his web, as expected.

All goes as it should.

At least until something calling itself Jonathan Sims steps in.

(Web!Jon in this makes me want to weep, it's so freaking good. A pretty long, very excellent oneshot on what could've happened if Jon got taken by the web when he was a kid. And Sasha as the Archivist is ALWAYS so cool, we love her in this house.)

A Break in the Clouds by Ash_Rabbit

“I’m eight.” the kid sniffs as if eight was any different from four, maybe not an unspeakable horror then, just a regular horror. “And I heard that the Magnus Institute deals with-” his little nose scrunches, cute. “-spooky things.”

“Do you have a-” he cracks a grin, and then rethinks it as small hands tighten against their burden.”-spooky thing to deliver?” gods he hopes not, it’s bad enough when adults walk in and lay out all of their baggage, but for a child-

“There’s a spider in this book.” the kid says solemnly, raising his textbook sized parcel. “It ate Evan Pritchard.” a bloody fucking Leitner. Of course an eight year old would find a murder spider book. “This seemed like the best place to bring it.”

(I never thought about what the Original Elias could've been like AND NOW I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF THIS FIC. I LOVE HIM, HE'S COMPLEX AND HE CARES AND JON CARES AND THEY BOTH CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. THIS IS THE CONTENT I WANT, OMG. Also, Jon being even smaller than usual is adorable, so cute. No wonder Elias wants to hug him, a LOT.)

See the Line where the Sky meets the Sea by The_Floating_World

Ship: Jon/Martin, Jon/Oliver Banks

When Jon is a child he looks into the infinite abyss of space. The Vast looks back into him.

(One of my all time fave fics in this fandom, no questions asked. I have reread this three times and am open to doing it again, god. Vast!Jon, such a concept. It's written so beautifully and the relationships Jon develops, so good. ugh. My heart. Please please read.)

Sweet As Roses by Prim_the_Amazing

Ship: Jon/Martin

“Come in, Martin,” he says, not looking up from his notes.

“Hi, Jon,” he says, and Jon stops writing at the sound of his voice. “We’re out of the green tea, but we’ve got lemon?”

Jon looks at him. Martin smiles at him in his usual tentative way as he sets the mug of tea down on Jon’s desk. Heat spikes so sharply in his gut that he twitches with it.

“Thank you, Martin,” he says, mouth dry, and he stands up.

“Oh,” he says, sounding almost surprised. He smiles again. “No-- no problem-- um, what are you--”

Jon takes Martin by the shoulders, leans up on the tips of his toes, and kisses him.

(You have no idea how much I howled through this fic, my god. *buries face in hands* The number of times I wanted to cry from sheer hilarity and horror reading this good lord.)

Things Could Always Be Worse by theOestofOCs

Ship: Jon/Martin, Georgie/Melanie

Sometimes, the most horrifying thing of all is what might have been.

Somewhere, Jon could swear he heard a crowd laughing.

Or: in which Jonathan Sims is forced to swap places with his alternate self—a tall, chivalrous hero extraordinaire, who knows neither fear nor nuance—and is sent to the aggressively straight alternate universe the Magnus Archives was never meant to be.

“Whatever place this is,” Jon announced, “I just want to be sure it knows I hate it.”

(I will say this once, THIS IS THE MOST CURSED THING IVE EVER READ EVER. Like holy hell. I can't believe this thing exists. please read it oh please please please)

-

[Supernatural]

heard from your mother (she don't recognize you) by Schmuzz

Ship: Dean/Cas, Jessica/Sam

A man named Cas wakes up in 2003 with no memories, but he's able to piece together a few things:

1. Supernatural creatures exist, and most of them will hurt innocent civilians if he doesn't stop them; 2. He has abilities that no human hunter should have, but he knows enough about human hunters to keep that to himself, and finally; 3. He keeps running into another hunter named Dean Winchester, who seems to be about as lonely as he is if he's willing to put up with those former facts long enough to help Cas unravel the mystery of who (or what) he really is.

For his part, Dean's still (not) dealing with Sam's departure to Stanford, and figures distracting himself with a bit of mystery and intrigue is as harmless as it gets, right? Right.

(THE fic I'm most into right now, been following this from the very start and it's AMAZING. Cas has agency and is making friends and S1 Dean is growing out of John's influence and is becoming a Person and the both of them first being friends then more. The slow burn as their relationship develops, SO GOOD. SO SO DAMN GOOD. *screams* Seriously one of the best spn fics I've read in a long, long time.)

anamnesis by cenotaphy

Ships: Castiel/Dean, Sam/Eileen

Chuck is depowered, Jack is the new god, and the world is free. Dean and Sam get into the Impala and chase down the miles on an endless highway, and their story is finally, finally their own to follow. At least, that's what Dean tells himself. But the diners and motels and painted interstate lines are blurring together and the smallest details keep catching at his brain like tiny fishhooks and he can't quite shake the feeling that not everything is exactly as it should be.

* Fix-it/alternate series finale. Canon-compliant through the end of 15.19.

(THIS IS THE FIC THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE FINALE OKAY. WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE BEEN CANON. It's Disturbing and honestly plot-wise this makes more sense. Why couldn't we have had this. *screams*)

-

[Avatar: The Last Airbender]

where the stars do not take sides by WitchofEndor

Ship: Sokka/Zuko

When Azula is nine, she becomes an only child. She hears the Fire Lord call for Zuko's life, and in the morning, her mother and brother are gone. Azula may be young, but she isn't naive. She knows what happened to them.

Which makes it all the more surprising when Azula tracks the Avatar down and fights his group of peasant friends, only to find herself staring into an eerily familiar face.

(The fact one of the tags in this fic is, "Sibling Dynamic: Fucked Up But Wholesome" should give you an idea what this fic is like. Chaotic as HELL and I just love Azula here, she loves Zuko so much in her messed up way and Zuko loves her back in the exact same way lol. It's batshit and I am Here For This.)

-

[Naruto]

Eclipse by AislingRoisin (JayBird345) for HybrisAnaideia

Ship: Nara Shikaku/OFC

"In life, it's easier to remain stagnant and wallow in your troubles. But life isn't merely about continued existence, nor is it meant to be gone through alone."

(This is a fic that's slept on and I NEED people to read this. A self-insert fic that I find really interesting in its approach and the worldbuilding for the post-third war shinobi world is fantastic. I feel like there's a certain pattern with self-insert fics, not that is a detriment in any way to how much I enjoy them, so this fic feels fresh to me in a way I haven't read in a while. I am waiting eagerly for this to get updated! Please read!)

On Freedom and Other Formalities by iaso

Ship: Kakashi/Genma/OFC

When push comes to shove, Hiwa Inuzuka doesn't go down easy. Reborn into a new, dangerous world? She puts her past life as a spy to work. Thrown into a war? Hiwa does her duty, for Konoha. And when she's forced into an arranged marriage? All there is to do is beat them to the punch and get married first. Thankfully, Genma Shiranui is willing to lend a hand. Literally. SI/OC

(Listen, LISTEN, it's about the slow burn, the longing, the communication (it both has and hasn't and isn't THAT great??), the messy way you fit three very different people together, it's so freaking good! Also, Kakashi is so Chaotic here this is my fave characterization of him, you can't change my mind. And Genma is a Good Boi who is Doing His Best, along with the Self-insert character who I LOVE SO MUCH, SHE'S FANTASTIC FNEIWOPAF. Sped past this fic in the speed of light, I could not stop reading!)(Honestly, read all of the author's fics, they're all really REALLY good!)

Building a Castle by WhisperingDarkness

Without needing anyone to tell her, Sakura knew that talking to someone no-one else could see or hear would make her weird. It would draw the bad kind of attention to her, something people could make fun of her for.

She didn’t like being weird, but she did like the voice. Her inner voice was helpful and it was a part of her that had always been there. The idea of it not being there would have been so much weirder than anything else.

It was during her first year at the Academy that Sakura realised the voice was not in her head at all, but that it came from a cloudy shape floating next to her.

(Basically a short-ish retelling of Hikaru no Go. Only with more Shogi and Nara and Ninja's)

(Sakura can see ghosts (I'm noticing this is a popular trope for her) and it's really cute haha! Her relationship with Tobirama is sweet and I just enjoyed reading this so much.)

-

[The Magicians]

So Long (And Thanks For All The Books) by IncompleteSentanc (Erava)

Ships: Quentin/Eliot, James/Julia, Quentin/Margo/Eliot

When Quentin is told Julia wasn't admitted to Brakebills, he realizes he has a drastic decision in front of him. If he tells Julia about magic, he'll have his mind wiped as well as hers. But he can't just leave her behind, either. He can't lose his best friend, and he can't let her life a life with her magical potential stolen away from her.

So he makes a third choice.

(Really, and I mean REALLY well-done canon divergent fic, this is the Quentin & Julia friendship fic I have been looking for forever. It explores so much of what could've happened and I just love Quentin here, I really really do. Characterization done so right. I also recommend the author's other works too. Been a follower of them for a long time, they're great.)

-

[Game of Thrones]

The Road to Victory by writing_as_tracey

Too late in preparing for the Night King and the Long Night, the last stand at Winterfell is close to falling. Bran takes desperate measures to ensure victory, and Jon, Sansa, and Arya pay the price for it in a time unfamiliar to them, on the cusp of another war. [GoT, time-travel fix it]

(I swear, this fic made me laugh so many times, all the Stark are BAMF and fantastic, and Rhaegar gets Wrecked lol. It's crack btw, and the plot goes in directions you'll never guess and it's amazing hahaha!)

-

[Haikyuu!!] (I am very very late to the fandom but here I am)

Ballare (To Dance) by MidnightSparks

Ship: Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru, and platonic Kageyama & Kentarou (really love their friendship)

Kageyama’s first love is volleyball. His second, however, is ballet.

In one world, Kageyama Tobio is left behind by his parents. In this world, the existence of soulbonds keeps Kageyama’s parents in Miyagi and leaves Kageyama in the care of his grandma and grandpa.

(In which soulmates exist and that changes everything and nothing at the same time.)

(*buries face in hands* I have fallen for this ship so hard and I can't get out fudge me. I understand now. Their DYNAMICS FIEWONPAF)

Kings of Tomorrow by bokubroya (liarielle)

Ship: Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru

On the eve of Tobio’s 16th birthday, he counts down the seconds to midnight, and emerges with Oikawa Tooru’s name on his wrist.

It’s been two years since then, and Tobio thought they had an understanding. A silent, never spoken about understanding that this thing between them is nothing, and they’re going to pretend it doesn’t exist.

Of course, it’s just like Oikawa to change the game and leave Tobio wondering what comes next.

(I am WEAK for soulmate fics between these two, I don't even really like soulmate fics half the times what is WRONG WITH ME-)(Please suffer with me, I'm begging you. Its a good fic, thumbs up.)

-

[Crossover]

Honey and Magic by JustARatherVerySillyWriter, White_Squirrel for Super Carlin Brothers

Fandoms: Matilda (yeah you read that right), Harry Potter

Everyone knew Matilda was a rather extraordinary child, but even she didn't know she was a witch. Matilda Honey receives her Hogwarts letter in the year of the Triwizard Tournament, and soon, she will leave her unique mark on the magical world.

(Do I even need to explain how amazing it is to have Matilda in the wizarding world? And Matilda is a HUFFLEPUFF AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL THIS FIC IS GREAT PLEASE READ!!!)

An Eye for an Eye by DpsMercy

Fandoms: The Magnus Archives, Welcome to Night Vale

In which Jonathan Sims is not from the UK but instead, if you took his origins and turned them sideways twice then flipped them over, he technically would be from the US, the town of Night Vale specifically. Elias can’t do shit about it and gets a headache and slowly creeping madness instead.

(Look, I know probably everyone has read this because if they haven't, what have you been DOING with your lives??? Jon interning at Night Vale is Incredible, nothing phases this man, it's Delightful. I laughed so many times reading this, I'm not even kidding right now. Read or perish.)

The Favour by R_Cookie

Fandoms: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Ship: Original Percival Graves/Harry Potter

Percival is ten years old when his grandfather tries to tell him that he's ensured the greatness of the Graves legacy for him, that he ought to be eternally grateful - but the explanation is hijacked by a stranger who manages to intimidate Chester Graves with an ease never seen before.

or: Hadrian (Harry) Potter is the Master of Death, who grants Graves a boon. Nobody could have known that the Deathly Hallows didn't turn you so much into the 'Master of Death' as into the anthropomorphic personification of Death. And so, Death becomes Percival's guardian angel, and Percival does not spit out his cereal.

(Look, I don't know how I stumbled back into the FBAWTFT fandom either, it just happened and I'm grateful for that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found this amazing fic. Their relationship is slow and strange and I just love how Percival is characterized here. Also, one of the tag promises that it deviates from canon so I am really, really excited for that! XD)

baby that's what i do by natanije

Fandoms: Naruto, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!

"Are you telling me," Hidan exclaims, incredulous, "that you collect money all this time to give to orphans?!"

Kakuzu pauses. He blinks a few times.

"Huh. I guess I do."

(Tsuna reincarnates as Kakuzu and it's HILARIOUS. HE'S SUCH A MOM HAHAHA)

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

Hey! I literally love your last post so much but I'm confused about the rebels bit (never watched it). How does Rebels criticize the jedi? Thanks!

Aw, thank you! (Lol, this is such an old ask I don’t remember what that post was, but here goes).

Well in s2 Ahsoka, Kanan (a survivor from Order 66) and Ezra (his Padawan) all go to an old Jedi Temple to talk to Yoda about Vader and his Inquisitors (Darksiders who hunt the few remaining Jedi and kidnap Force sensitive kids). Yoda is only there spiritually and the three of them get different visions. Ahsoka sees Anakin as Vader, and Kanan has to fight several enemies and eventually admit he can't protect his Padawan from the world, only guide him (which prompts the vision to finally make him a Jedi Knight, as he survived Order 66 as a Padawan.)

And Ezra... Ugh. Ezra had a previous encounter with Yoda, in which he got his lightsaber crystal. Basically Yoda asked him why he wanted to be a Jedi, and Ezra had to do some self-examination and eventually realized that helping and protecting people made him feel alive, which greatly pleased Yoda who told him he might become a Jedi after all. That's a really great exchange and I love the character development Ezra gets, as he starts by saying he wants never to feel powerless and eventually realizes that's not the right answer.

But in this second encounter, as Ezra asks how they can defeat the Inquisitors, Yoda basically says that fighting is rarely the right path. And to illustrate that, he says that line about the Jedi being arrogant and joining the war swiftly "in their arrogance," which really bothers me. He also says they were "consumed by the Dark Side", which is why they're now gone. In all fairness, he also mentions that they were motivated by fear, which is partially true. 

Now, I write analyses and I try to be intellectually honest about them, because ignoring contradicting stuff weakens your argument instead of helping you. Except this time, I really can't accept this quote. I have an excuse, Lucas wasn't involved in Rebels so it's not the highest canon in my opinion (the 6 movies + TCW are, here are the quotes justifying my position), and I feel like that assertion is out of character for Yoda, ignoring his ST ghost appearances, and also plainly factually incorrect.

I understand that Ezra really needed to be taught not to always seek to fight. At this point, he's still an emotional kid who occasionally struggles with the Dark Side. Not fighting is important to a Jedi's path, so I can understand Yoda's intention. But the example he uses? According to Lucas, the Jedi were drafted in the war. That's not jumping into a conflict out of arrogance, that's literally being dragged there against your will. And sure, there’s Geonosis, but how exactly is rescuing a bunch of your people that’s getting slaughtered by a Sith Lord the same thing as arrogantly jumping into a fight? Like, what’s the option here? Not go, and let an innocent Senator and a bunch of Jedi be murdered?

It's like Rebels!Yoda isn't acknowledging that the war was fake and that a Sith Lord engineered it as the perfect trap (which is recurring problem in Rebels; at one point Ezra, Kanan and Rex have to fight an old Separatist tactical droid and Ezra "solves" the Clone Wars by pointing out that nobody won except the Empire, so really they were on the same side all along, and he gets praised for doing what "a bunch of Jedi, senators and Clones couldn't do," ie getting both sides to talk to each other – except wtf??? setting aside that the Jedi and Rex were aware of the war being fake by the end of it, and that the Separatists were openly led by a Sith Lord and attempted to commit genocide several times in TCW and did commit mass murder, and reduced like several worlds to slavery or starvation and were backed by the worst big corporations you could imagine, the war would NOT have ended if the two sides had tried talking it out. 1) The Senate made it illegal 2) the big corporations arranged for terrorist attacks on both sides the one time they tried to negotiate so the war would drag on and they'd get more money out of it 3) Sidious. Was. Controlling. Everything. What. The. Heck. Would. Have. Been. Accomplished. By. Negotiating.)  Plus the question of whether or not the Jedi should even fight is like... constantly raised by the Jedi during TCW, so I really can’t see it as “oh wow we didn’t even take the time to think and we got killed because of it, we really sucked.” 

Seriously, there’s this S6 quote: 

MACE: Are you sure we are taking the right path? YODA: The right path, no. The only path, yes. Designed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, this web is. For now, play his game, we must.

Like yeah, totally rushing in and being eager to fight lol. Nothing to do with being boxed in and having no alternatives. 

So yeah that's bothers me and I don't think it jibes with the rest of canon. I don't remember Yoda telling Luke (who, in the beginning, is as eager to fight as Ezra is) that the Jedi "disappeared" because of some fault of their own, or because of an eagerness to fight. (Seriously, pussyfooting around the fact that the Jedi were slaughtered grates me.) The OT never, ever, ever implies that the destruction of the Jedi Order was their fault - and unless you assume that the OT is “pro-Jedi propaganda” (*laughs in dumb youtube comments*) then I don’t see Rebels weaving it into its narrative as legitimate.

Again, choosing alternatives to fighting is a great lesson on a personal level, but it doesn't work on the scale of the Rebels/Empire conflict - or the Jedi/Sith one. Ezra should often choose not to fight because of what it'll do to his soul. The Rebels should not stop fighting because there is no cohabitation with something as evil as the Empire. Imo Yoda is always presented as wise enough to know the difference. 

The last thing that makes me think it's out of character is Yoda's spiritual journey in TCW s6. He gets all of his flaws thrown into his face and has to conquer them – he has to face his literal Dark Side and he wins. And yet at no point during that arc is he ever made to conquer his ‘Jedi arrogance’ or whatever. He has to face his worst fear (first vision, all the Jedi dying), let go of his attachments (second vision, him having to accept that he can’t live in a perfect world where everything is beautiful and no one is dead), and reaffirm who he is as a Jedi (third vision, refusing to give up on Anakin and trying to save him rather than to kill Sidious) but at no point is he ever made to recognize that wow, the Jedi are the worst for fighting. 

I’d argue that the very purpose of the visions showing him Order 66 and Anakin falling are to make him accept that these things are completely beyond his control - and as such, not his fault. He doesn’t get to fix things, because the fate of the Order is not in their own hands. It is, in fact, in Anakin’s (from a thematical/narrative standpoint). Yoda has a hard time with it (actually he almost shuts down when he first sees everybody dead and his first reaction is to say that he failed them, so I can’t accept Yoda blaming his grandkids for dying) but he accepts it in the end, when he tells Mace and Obi-Wan he’s not certain one ever wins a war, but they might still find ‘victory for all time’ (referring to balance aka Sidious’ death in RotJ). 

So anyway that’s my beef with Rebels!Yoda. Not hate on Rebels though, there are many parts of it that I really, really love - but some of them kinda infuriate me, and this is one of them. 

[knightofameris]

uncharacteristic team-ups — avengers (stark!reader)

Setting: Timelines? What are timelines? I have no clue when this could be so have fun but also who cares lol (basically an AU) Gender: Neutral Contains: curse words, an in-depth description of death (like lots of it), blood, a bit of fighting alcohol mention, everything in here is platonic but relationship with peter parker could be read either way Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: What happens when a mission gone bad leads you to team up with some vigilantes who aren’t known to be good team players? Except, you have to team up with the so-called Defenders of New York as they’re the only way to get your dad back.

a/n: a self-indulgent piece,,,, lol. also uploading this despite it being done a long time ago since i haven’t posted in a hot minute.

Let me know if there are any mistakes, regarding the gender of reader, grammar, spelling, or with the story. c:

Enjoy! [repost from old account

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

❝ the most powerful people in New York and you were a part of it ❞

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

The abject horror one feels when coming across a dead body is one no one ever talks about. The stench, the sudden realization of how fragile life is. If said dead body is mutilated, violated, eyes left open to stare into the unlucky person to come upon it, it’s even worse.

But (Y/n) was left in a worse situation. The feeling of their dinner wanting to leave their stomach the same way it entered caused them to cover their mouth, trying to hold it back. The array of bodies strewn about in the warehouse caused them to shut their eyes and pinch their nose.

No one ever talked about how a body releases everything, and I mean everything, when they go onto the next life.

Now (Y/n) knows why.

“Holy shit,” Peter murmured, plugging his nose. “The smell, I didn’t realize the smell—”

Tony shushed him, his head turning back towards the two teenagers. He should have known that this small takedown of a few crimelords should have been left to the police. But when he saw his name on one of their weapons, he couldn’t help but want to investigate. Now he regrets it because even on missions, he’d ensure that (Y/n) and Peter would never see dead bodies. And now they were seeing more than they should.

Tony’s hand gripped (Y/n)’s shoulder, giving them a small squeeze then looking back over the railings onto the first floor where the bodies laid.

The lights on his armor dimmed and (Y/n) looked up at him with a tilt of their head.

“Something’s wrong,” a voice spoke out, a group of footsteps sounded throughout the warehouse. (Y/n)’s eyes widened and began to back up on the catwalk they were on, hiding from the voices.

“God, this is disgusting,” a woman spoke out.

“You’re telling me, Frank Castle, did this?” A man in a hoodie asked.  

“Yes, but this group, they wouldn’t be his MO,” another man wearing a red armored suit responded. “Luke I’m going to need you to—wait.” His mouth parted, and he tilted his head. Unbeknownst to anyone else, his eyebrows furrowed as he continued listening into his surroundings.

“We’re not alone.” The man turned his head upwards.

“Daredevil, right?” Tony was already over the railings, hovering in the air above them. The HUD on (Y/n)’s domino mask they wore had instructions over it: ‘Do not show yourself until I say so. I know you’ll do it, but don’t do it.’ (Y/n) and Peter exchanged glances in which Peter only shrugged.

“Or should I say, Matt Murdock?” Tony pointed his finger at the man in the suit, his helmet promptly coming off. Matt tensed up, his jaw clenching. His fingers parted from the eskimo sticks he held then regripped it.

“Great, now we’re dealing with superheroes,” the woman sighed, walking away.

“Isn’t that Jessica Jones?” (Y/n) murmured towards Peter. Peter inched forward, peeking over the railings then looked back at (Y/n). He nodded his head. (Y/n) lets out a silent grunt of approval then slowly sat down, wanting to hear their dad’s interactions with them.

“I’m sorry,” Tony gestured towards her and his eyebrows furrowed. “Rosie the Riveter, from what I could tell, what you guys have done in the past few years could deem you as heroes.”

“Look, this isn’t something you could blast your way through, Stark.”

“Oh, so this is something you could, punch your way through, Mr. Luke Cage is it?”

“Okkaaayyy,” (Y/n) called out, jumping over the railings and ignoring the dead bodies below. “Dad, they’re on the same side as us, they might know more than us.” They landed with grace in front of the adults and then promptly jumped back up, tapping their mask that uncovered their face. “(Y/n) Stark, but you probably already knew that.”

Tony began protesting (Y/n) but they just ignored him after putting their hand out to shake the hands of the others with a smirk on their face. (Y/n) didn’t even notice Peter landing next to them until he did a two-finger salute.

“H-hi, Spider-Man, nice to meet you guys,” Peter stammered out. “I’m usually in Queens.”

(Y/n) rolled their eyes then turned around to face Tony who’s helmet already came off. His face full of exasperation and the wrinkle lines could probably very well be from the stress from taking care of his kids.

“I swear to god,” Tony flicked the back of (Y/n)’s head lightly, “you’re both going to be the death of me.”

(Y/n) giggled, trying to make light of the situation before turning back to the others.

“We’re on a bit of a time crunch, so please, if you could just get out of our way.” Jessica leaned on one of her legs, her voice slightly desperate. (Y/n) arched a brow at her. Peter raised his hand in the air and everyone glanced over at him. “Just talk, kid.”

“You know, if you work with us you won’t have to deal with the illegality of being a vigilante,” Peter spoke up.

“So what, we’d be Avengers-in-training?” A man (Y/n) and Tony recognized as the heir of Rand Enterprises, Danny Rand. Tony had meant him once, with Pepper.

Luke scoffed, “No thanks, we’re not—”

“Heroes?” (Y/n) interrupted. “Don’t you guys already have a nickname?” (Y/n) glanced up at their dad who clicked his tongue and began nodding his head, gesturing to (Y/n) then back to them.

“Yeah, yeah, the Defenders, right?” Tony asked. “Rhetorical question but you guys need us,” he turned around, looking over the dead bodies then back up at the catwalk he was at minutes earlier, “just as much as we need—”

(Y/n) frowned and everyone exchanged glances wondering why Tony would just stop talking, he loved hearing himself talk.

He was even frozen in place, his hand raised to the side and his foot just hovering over the ground.

There’s a certain gut wrenching feeling you usually get before the bad thing happens, in movies, in real life. Usually you just look away, ignore it, and wait for the next scene. But in this situation, in this world that (Y/n) lives in, you gotta look. You gotta watch to find out what the next move is.

(Y/n)’s gaze followed their dad’s, wondering what Tony was looking at.

“Don’t look up!” Matt shouted, pushing both teenagers’ heads down. “Don’t look at her.” He held both of them there.

“Oh my,” an alluring voice called out. (Y/n) suddenly felt at peace and almost wanted to fight against Matt and look up to see who the voice belonged to. “I never would have thought I could catch one of the big ones.”  

“If you can,” Matt murmured towards the two of them, “Change your masks to see in infrared.” He slowly let go. (Y/n)’s mask covered their eyes, and they blinked, suddenly seeing everything in infrared. They looked up and saw a woman who radiated no heat but her eyes, her eyes were burning hot.

Jessica and the others had on goggles with the name Rand on the side, their fists were held up, prepared to fight the moment they saw Tony’s helmet come back online.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter called out, his voice wary.

The woman laughed, weaving her arm through Tony’s arm and hugging it tight. “I’m afraid Mr. Stark isn’t able to come to the phone right now.”

“What did you do to him!?” (Y/n) demanded, pulling out their bo staff. Jessica grabbed their arm and held them back.

“Not now, kid,” she said. (Y/n) tried shrugging her off but her grip just tightened. What they didn’t realize was another man walking out from above, a skull painted on his chest and two assault rifles in his hand.

“Alright, honey,” the woman wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck, “Let’s get out of here. And Frankie, be a dear and take them out for me?”

“Wait, dad!” (Y/n) called out, reaching their arm up towards him as he flew up and blasted a hole in the roof.

“Watch out!” (Y/n) was jolted out of their daze from Tony seemingly under the woman’s control when Luke grabbed them and set them behind him once the man, Frank Castle, began raining bullets down on them. Matt, Jessica, and Danny dove behind a car that was set in the warehouse.

Peter launched himself up onto the roof using his webs. Then pointed it towards Frank.

“That’s unfair, you can’t use guns on unarmed people!” His webs hooked onto the two guns and he yanked it back. Frank stumbled forward, grunting as he lost his balance. He wasn’t able to react fast enough when Peter launched two webs beside him only to catapult into him, knocking him out the moment his head slammed into the wall behind him.

(Y/n) gripped their bo staff, their knuckles white and waited before the shooting stopped. They watched as Peter jumped back down with a webbed-up Frank Castle in his arms. (Y/n) turned to face the other adults and their mask came off, their face red with fury behind their eyes.

“You better tell us what the deal with that woman was because she just kidnapped my dad, Tony-fucking-Stark and we’re helping whether you like it or not.”

***

“So you’re telling me,” (Y/n) rubbed her forehead, “that Adeline Trost, the woman who took my dad, can control people when she makes eye contact with them.”

“Yes, and that’s why we don’t want to call in the Avengers,” Matt replied. At this point, he was unmasked, relaxing in the confines of his apartment. (Y/n) glanced over at Peter, who still wore his mask, and then over at the others who sat spread out. Frank Castle was webbed to a chair, making him incapacitated in case he’s sitll under her control.

“Well, when one of us is compromised, we have to alert the others,” (Y/n) sighed, burying their face into their hands. They let out a frustrated groan and leaned back in the chair.

(Y/n) didn’t want this, they didn’t want to be the one making the call but they were an Avenger, and a higher ranking one than Peter was. At least, that’s what they both saw (Y/n) as.

Peter fiddled around with his hands, tapping his foot against the ground. He watched (Y/n) let out another frustrated groan and though they just seemed exasperated, he knew that they were worried about their dad. Naturally, he was too. But (Y/n) had probably lost him more times than the two of them can count combined.

“No,” a new voice spoke up, his voice gruff. “If she ends up controlling them, the whole world will be at risk.”

Chairs scratched against the floor as everyone stood up. Frank sat still though, as still as he could. He looked up, his face was bruised up and littered with cuts and scars. If he had powers, he’d be a force to be reckoned with; he still was.

“Are you still…” Danny’s arm was outreached towards him, cautious in case Frank could break out of the webs, despite it being extremely strong.

“Under that bitch’s control?” Frank asked, his head tilted. “No.” He shook his head. “I’m not and Murdock over there can tell you I’m telling the truth.”

(Y/n) looked over at Matt, their eyes narrowed at the lawyer. Matt’s face was relaxed, most likely listening to Frank’s heart.

“He’s telling the truth, you can unweb him,” Matt assured. Jessica walked over behind him before Peter could make his way over and ripped open the webs. Frank shortly stood up, letting the webs fall to his feet. He groaned as he rubbed his neck and dusted the webs off of himself.

“Woah,” Peter murmured and looked over at (Y/n) while pointing towards her, “she’s strong.” Jessica rolled her eyes and walked over to the fridge and took out a beer.

“I’m taking this Murdock.” She raised the beer then took the cap off and began chugging. Matt didn’t respond, knowing he couldn’t deny her.

“So what’s the plan?” Luke crossed his arms, looking back and forth between (Y/n) and the others.

“Alert the Avengers and,” (Y/n) raised a hand up in the air before anyone could protest, “let them know that Tony’s compromised and to not trust him. I’ll let them know that I can handle it too.”

“And you’re sure they’d trust his kid and Spider-Kid?” Luke nodded towards Peter.

“Spider-Man, it’s Spider-Man,” Peter whined.

Jessica cocked a brow at him, “You’re a kid, Spider-Kid.” (Y/n) stifled a laugh, patting Peter on his back before taking out their phone.

“I’m sure,” said (Y/n) and walked away from the group to call Rhodey.

***

Rhodey walked up to Frank, who was significantly taller and more toned, despite Rhodey actively being War Machine and a Colonel.

Frank stared down at him, adjusting his stance and his fingers fiddled around against the palm of his head rhythmically.

“Look, Colonel,” Frank started, “with all due respect, this is one of the jobs that the Avengers can’t take up. Might as well be well below your paygrade.”

Rhodey scoffed with a smile, placing his hands on his hips, the whirring of the mechanics surrounding his legs filling the quiet room. Everyone watched with silent, observant eyes. You could literally cut the tension in the room with a butterknife. (Y/n) knew they were in deep shit when Frank glanced over at them from the corner of his eye.

“This is a job that’s already been taken up by the Avengers,” said Rhodey. “When one of our own is compromised, we’re involved. I could call in the authorities right now and have you arrested. All of you.” He pointed at the other four. “But I won’t, even if I should.”

Jessica groaned, walking towards a chair and falling into it. “I need a fucking drink and I blame you, Stark.” (Y/n) ran their hand through their hair nervously and walked over towards Peter, hoping to find comfort near him.

“Can we stop this?” Luke asked, desperation laced in his words. “The longer we take on finding a way to work together, the longer it takes to take down Adeline. Frank, you need to learn how to be a team player.”

(Y/n) draped an arm over their stomach, their other hand going up to the side of their face, taping on their mask to let it go over their face and watched Tony’s vitals that the two of them setup for each other. A way to make sure the other was safe in a situation like this.

They pursed their lips, tapping their fingers against their side, ignoring what the others were talking about and just watched Tony’s heartbeat across the screen.

That’s all (Y/n) wanted, for their dad to be back and safe and alive. They’ve lost him too many times, too many near death counts. This can’t be the one where they truly lose him.

***

The streets were nearly empty of civilians. Buildings were destroyed and, despite ‘the Defenders’ wanting to keep the Avengers out of it, the Avengers became a part of it. But with the Avengers becoming a part of it, the risk of them falling under Adeline’s control increased.

The plan was to bring Adeline out in the open, have the Avengers as secret weapons in case the plan went south if the Defenders (and Colleen, she didn’t want to be left out) got stuck in control and to have Wanda use her powers to invoke her worst fears and to read her mind.

But what they didn’t expect was Adeline being able to counter Wanda’s powers and she worked backwards, bringing Wanda down to her fears and then putting her under control. One by one, the Avengers who were there, Rhodey, Steve, Sam, and Natasha, fell straight into her control.

Leaving the misfit heroes (not that they’d ever call themselves that) with the two Avengers-in-training to take out Adeline and bring them back. Which brought the block they occupied in Manhattan to be destroyed.

(Y/n) slowly walked up to Tony, ignoring the sounds of protests behind her. The Defenders, miraculously, brought a few of the Avengers back to their side, aiding them in the fight against the others, especially  Wanda. They all helped each other up, leaning on each other for support as they watched (Y/n) confront Tony.

His mask was off and his eyes were dull as he stared into (Y/n)’s eyes. His gauntlet was pointed straight at them, one repulsor blast and they’d be done for. But Tony was hesitating.

(Y/n) tapped the side of their mask allowing the nanotech to show their face; allowing themself to be vulnerable even in the case that Adeline appeared. But they didn’t care, they just needed to get their dad back.

“Dad, it’s me, it’s (Y/n).” They smiled but choked on a sob when they heard the whir of his repulsor. Until Tony cracked a smirk and he grunted, using his other hand to pull the one pointed at (Y/n)’s face back down.

Tony yelled, falling to the ground, his face scrunched up in determination. The ground hit (Y/n)’s knees, landing next to him and grabbing him by the shoulders.

“Hey kid,” he breathed out, placing his hand on her shoulder as he stood back up. The glimmer in Tony’s eyes coming back and (Y/n) knew he was back. His helmet covered his face and (Y/n)’s mask followed. “You in infrared? I don’t want you to fall und—”

(Y/n)’s arms wrapped around him, despite the bulky armor.

“How do you always get caught up in this shit, dad?” Tony hugged back, the mouth of his faceplate slightly tapping the top of their head as if it was a kiss.

“I don’t think I’d be me if I didn’t get caught up in this shit.” He pulled away, glancing back to the fight. “How’d you even pull me out?”

(Y/n) shrugged, “I just looked you in the eye. We got Frank out by knocking him out really hard too, and the others.”

“Sounds good, now how do we deal with the Adeline chick?”

“Already got her,” Jessica said. The two Starks turned to face the powered woman who held a woman with her eyes covered. Jessica shoved her down at their feet, her hands tied together. Both of the Starks’ masks came off, showing their face.

“Well, that was easy.”

“For you, maybe.” Luke spit out a mouthful of blood, walking up to them, limping. Others trailing behind.

Steve grabbed his helmet from the ground, holding it to his side. “You guys did good, you know. Not a lot of people could say they went toe-to-toe with the Avengers and survived. We could use more people with your abilities.”

“Yeah well,” Colleen sheathed her sword and held her side, leaning on Danny for support.

“We’re not heroes,” Frank finished for her.

“No matter how much you guys deny it,” said (Y/n), “you guys are heroes. You worked with us, saved us, helped me get my dad back and defeated the enemy. You’re my hero.”

“We should cap this conversation for another time.” Natasha gestured towards Adeline squirming on the ground and then towards civilians making their way to watch a large group of heroes interacting with each other.

“Sure, but I’m tossing it in the ocean because I’m not down to join a band,” Jessica began walking away, despite her wounds. “You know where to find me though, if you need me.”

They all watched as she walked off.

“She’s always like that, don’t worry,” Matt brought up with a slight smile.

“She acts cold, but she’s warm-hearted. A bit blunt at times,” Luke added.

(Y/n) rolled their eyes as the adults began to talk about trying to recruit the others to be Avengers. Peter inched his way over to them and (Y/n) looked up at him.

“This is pretty crazy, isn’t it?” Peter asked.

(Y/n) nodded their head, “It’s like a crazy crossover special episode. Pretty badass.”

a/n: skfhgkdsfg i had fun writing this even if it’s not the best but i hope you guys still enjoyed it nonetheless!

[sleepysempai]

Woo, first real post! I decided to take a crack at translating the opening comyu for the current Idolm@ster: CG event, “I want to fly!” It’s been about... four years since I actually had to sit down and translate something, so this took me an embarrassingly long time lol. I guess I have to start somewhere to get back in the hang of it, though! 

Please not this is a fan translation, so it’s not perfect! There were some parts that didn’t make sense to me, so I did my best based on what I feel the characters were trying to convey knowing their personalities. As always, that you to Jisho.com for being an amazing resource!

I put translation notes and a vocab list at the bottom in case anyone is interested :) 

Opening: 波打つ心の予感　”The Premonition of a Rippling Heart”

 Southern Island

 Shiki: One, two, jump!! Nyahaha~

Kanako: J-Jump!!

 One Month Prior

Kanako: N~ so yummy! I could eat this forever!

Rina: Right? The sweetness, the sourness, this tart has the best flavor!

Airi: Hehe~ I’m so happy you like it, since the jelly turned out so well this time!

Shiki: *sniff sniff* Smells like trouble’s afoot, Ms. Miyamoto.

Frederica: Eh~ something troubling is right, Ms. Ichinose. It’s a dire incident!

Rina: Hi there~ You must be all done with work.

Kanako: Good work today, Frederica, Shiki! But, when you say an “incident”... did something happen?

Shiki: Just as we were finishing up our work for the day, our tummies started grumbling~ Producer was explaining our next job when we dropped by this office only to find... a gorgeous tart!

Frederica: There’s no winning against the power of the tart... Eh~ Eh~ My stomach is crying out in pain! The only salve to soothe this pain is getting a bite of the tart~

Airi: Of course there’s enough for you two too! Here you go~ Would you also like some coffee or black tea?

Frederica&Shiki: Coffee!/Black tea!

Frederica: N~ It’s a mirage of tea and tart... Just like sparkling jewelry box! A treasure even gold and spices couldn’t beat~

Shiki: My name is Scout Ichinose, Ms. Totoki. Together, shall we aim to reach the pinnacle of sweets?

Produce: *ahem* Would it be alright if I start handing out some of the documents for today? You can keep eating while we work if you’d like...

Kanako: Ah, I’m sorry! They’re on the desk, aren’t they?

Rina: I’ll help you hand them out!

Shiki: *chewing* ... hm? So we’ll be shooting “I want to fly” to be used as a brand advertisement?

Producer: That’s right. It looks like they’ve really liked this song. Using the song as the motif, we’ve been commissioned to make a commercial, still shots, and a long promotional video for the web. Kanako, Shiki, and Frederica will be the three centered in the video, but I would like Airi and Rina to join us as well.

Kanako: Ehehe~ To have a chance to work with that song again, I’m so happy~ It’s a melody I really love.

Airi: Graceful, just like Kanako~ I love that song too!

Kanako: Really? Thank you, Airi!

Rina: Hey, hey, Producer~ Could this mean we’re going to the beach!?

Producer: Just as Rina says, we’ll be filming on an island in the south. During our stay, the shooting will be intensive, so I’d like you to be sure to prepare. In terms of our long promotional video, we’ve planned for everyone’s behind-the-scenes footage to be woven together into a comprehensive promotional film, so you’ll have a little bit of free time to use the camera as well.

Shiki: Hmm, I see~

Rina: If we’re getting the chance to film too, we’ll have to be extra enthusiastic about it! Right?

Kanako: Right! Airi, try not to come undone... **

Airi: Hmm... I’ll do my best~

Frederica: Hmmm~

Producer: What’s wrong, Frederica?

Frederica: This’ll be like a filming training camp, won’t it? A summertime camp... you can’t get mad during our summertime camp adventure!

Shiki: Mm, I wonder... is it legally binding that we have to stay in a lodging? Rather, I might end up getting bored~

Frederica: Ah, that’d be the worst! In that case, let’s run away~ Hand in hand, with only each other to rely on... A heart-pounding elopement in the summer heat! Mhm, that’s certainly be an adventure too!

Shiki: Then this time, let’s go to Paris~ In summer, Paris is surely richly colored with excitement! Although, it’s still not actually summer yet~

Kanako: W-Will you consider not eloping? After all, at the island we’ll be going to, there will surely be lots of yummy food to eat, especially delicious fruit! Shiki: Paris is full of delicious foods that are unique to Paris, Kanako~

Frederica: Chocolate dipped macrons, canelé~ Kanako, won’t you come with us?

Kanako: Chocolate... macrons... canelé... ah, no, no!

Producer: We’ll be on the shoreline.

Frederica&Shiki: Ok~

Rina: Well, either way, this sounds fun!

Airi: I’m sure it will be great~

**Kanako tells  Airi something like, 「脱いでダメ」which more literally translates to “don’t get undressed”. I couldn’t tell what Kanako is getting at here, so I figured it might be a nod to Airi’s (sizable) chest and ergo a warning to make sure her swimsuit stays on properly? I decided to translate it as “undone” for the imagery of strings being untied, since mischievous Shiki and Freddie would probably not be above pranking Airi like that... 

波打つ to wave, to pound (a heart)

配る　to hand out

界 boundary

天辺　summit

広告 advertisement

撮影　photography

先方　other party

映像 footage

依頼　request; to entrust

滞在 stay

集中的 intensive/concentrated

準備 preparation

織り交ぜる to weave together

総合的な comprehensive

宣伝 publicity, promotion, advertisement

制作 work (film, book)

気合い fighting spirit

合宿 lodging together, training camp

飽きる to get fed up with, to lose interest

逃避行 elopement

極彩色 richly colored

刺激 thrill, excitement

[princelucivaryaslana]

It’s D&D and i’m bad at it and talk too much HEYOOOO

So Mercy is fucking dead forever.

Which I mean, he was an excellent character and the player i thought hated him actually enjoyed our character dynamic so it’s bittersweet, but god he was bad at things. Also, he’d officially died-died three times, the 13-year-old goliath that served as the party lil brother and the little purple kobald everyone loved that was the goliath’s best friend were dead-dead too, Mercy had found his mom in the afterlife after agonizing over her the whole year and a half he inhabited Prince Valafar’s body, and he was (as I have been) agonizingly cognizant that he was more of a hindrance than a help when it came to achieving party goals, so he didn’t really have a reason to come back (although he would have come back as an aarakocra and finally been able to fly again and that would have been cool but whatever I did this).

SO

I’ve started playing a Madness domain cleric named Ban (pronounced “Bahn”). 

       Backstory: Ban’s parents were a changeling trouper (who was open about their status as a changeling and used their talents for acting) and a changeling living in town disguised as an elderly elven weaver. The weaver excitedly met with the trouper in secret the night the troupe arrived, having not knowingly met another changeling in years, and the two had a short, secret romantic foray during the troupe's week-long stay in town before they parted ways.          The weaver ended up having Ban a little while later and kept them a secret until Ban was old enough to be taught how to shapeshift, whereupon Ban was taught how to look like an albino human child so as to be easily discernible from the other children in town, as well as to create a simple excuse as to why an elderly elven woman suddenly had a child (”I found him sleeping in an alley. His mother must have abandoned him due to his condition, poor thing.”).         The early years of Ban’s life were warm and happy. Ban was clever and quickly taught themself how to read, spending a lot of their time with their nose in a book when they weren’t out playing with the other children. Their parent taught them how to subtly age, about the art of acting, and about the cultures of the other races. They also taught Ban how to weave and sew, and they took great pains and pride in teaching Ban how to transform into the elderly elven weaver themself, a persona named Shi (short for Shilaena Nivarian) that had been passed down through the family for generations.         Unfortunately, it couldn’t last. Ban’s parent was very old, and they died in their sleep one night when Ban was about 8 years old, reverting back to their default form. Ban took their trade tools and as much of the most expensive wares as they could carry and ran north to the capital, as they’d been instructed to do if their parent ever died.         They lived on the streets in the capital of their country for almost 6 years, learning through practice how to quickly learn enough about other people to convincingly portray them, as well as how to sneak and steal. When they were around 14 years old they finally sold the last of the wares they’d taken with them from home (though they kept a small square of thread-of-gold cloth to remember their parent by), so they moved farther north, using the money they got from that final sale to rent a kiosk in the marketplace of the first big city they entered and play the part of Shi for the first time in years. When they made enough money to feed themself between cities while still having enough left over to rent a shopspace, they moved on, and they slowly traveled northward with that routine for about 2 years.         When Ban was 16, they were living in a city that claimed to guard the third of the Seven Seals, a group of massive monsters who, through magic runes kept in a tower built in the very spot where all the planes converge, were kept alive but controlled to seal away a powerful blood mage who threatened the entire world (it’s all very complicated and dramatic). The city had an annual tradition of selecting a child, usually an orphan, and throwing them into the cave where the Third Seal, Everbleed the Webbed, resides, to appease the beast and keep it in its prison.         Guess who got picked as sacrifice because they were young and new in town?         So Ban was caught, blindfolded, knocked unconscious, and thrown into the cave the spider-thing lived in. Whilst in the cave, they had a dream wherein a voice told them they weren’t going to die there. When they awoke, there was a gem embedded in the flesh of their throat, and the Seal was chewing on their shoulder. After slashing the beast in the face with a blade made of blood (i won’t apologize, it’s a rad weapon and is going to make me very useful as a tank) and getting out of its grasp, Ban ran through the cave, fumbling through webs covered in acid, pursued by Everbleed and other creatures that lived in the spider’s cave, their head full of the sound of powerful winds. Winds that screamed. Winds that never ceased. Winds that threatened to drive Ban mad. ��       Winds that succeeded.

Turns out, during Mercy’s character arc, we ended up killing the First Seal trying to get Prince Valafar’s girlfriend out of the dungeon, which initiated the decay of the other seals, so our party has been given the task of killing all of the rest of the monsters before they can start to run rampant again. Ban was called upon by the elderly archdruid Moody Blue, a PC from the first campaign and one of the founders of the Allegiance of the Nine, to give the party information about Everbleed so they can kill it and save the Warforged wizard’s creator, another first campaign PC (he’s a tortle gunslinger-turned-wizard who steals people’s bodies to stay alive like an asshole lol) who’s stuck in Everbleed’s rune seal. Apparently, he true-iced and then Sequestered himself on it after being mortally wounded by one of this campaign’s BBEGs, and he can’t get out to be healed until the seal breaks.

All that aside, lemme tell ya how I’m still real bad at D&D.

Ban and Rush (a really cute otterfolk paladin from Moody’s order of the Nine) joined the party after Moody sent out four letters asking for help. We were supposed to go fight Everbleed that session, but Moody let slip that there were rumors of weird goings-on in other parts of the continent, and Tome and Aliara (the Warforged transmutation wizard and the half-elf beastmaster ranger, respectively) were not terribly eager to go fight the spider without a few more allies in light of what they’d just gone through, so, despite Moody warning us that it might not go well, we set out to deal with the other issues in the realms and hopefully accumulate forces in the process.

We started with a town that claimed a bunch of portals were popping up everywhere with horrible monstrosities coming out of them. When we arrived, about four hours from sundown, the outer fringes of the town were on fire and the townsfolk were running about, boarding up their windows and locking themselves indoors. We managed to bully the town innkeeper into letting us inside his tavern, and after he tried to aggressively swindle us and failed, he told us about the whispy black ghosts and the lanky, bony, long-fingered abominations with glowing red eyes that were coming out of the portals and killing everyone.  We ended up finding such a portal in an alleyway across the street from the tavern, and we fought and killed 4 wraiths there, though not before they reduced our paladin’s hp maximum to 43 (that’s important for later). After we killed the wraiths, while I was trying to get up the nerve to have my literally crazy cleriboy stick their head into the portal to see what was up....the paladin stuck his head in the portal to see what was up. Inside the portal was a room made of smooth stone and tile with a giant purple eyeball chained inside of it and three of those white bony motherfuckers surrounding it. After alerting the bony bitches to his presence (he literally said “gross” out loud he was so stupid what a good boy), the paladin popped his head back out and told us what he’d seen. While the rest of the party was standing IN THE ALLEY trying to decide if they were going to run or stay and fight, Ban stuck their head in and saw the boneclaws were making their way to the portal already. Ban told them so just as the innkeep yelled at us to get inside, where he insulted us some more and started freaking out.  While the otter was trying to sleep to get his HP back, the boneclaws broke in and interrupted his rest. They attacked and we started to fight them, and we were doing pretty well after Tome turned the big one into a sheep. Unfortunately, just as the sheep ran outside of the tavern, Tome’s player forgot about the sheep (tbh all of us except the DM did) and had Tome cast Haste on himself, and the big one came back with a vengeance. I tried to get a Turn Undead off on it and failed despite the fact that the damn thing didn’t have advantage on its Wisdom save because of one of my domain features, and it ended up murdering the otter paladin before I could heal the damage he’d taken from the other boneclaws. We managed to kill it by remembering that oh, yes, of course, we intended to Polymorph the innkeep into something not a little bitch, and turned him into a giant ape to help us fight. We managed to kill the boneclaw priest pretty quickly after that, and the session ended there.

“But Winter,” you might exclaim, “you’re playing a cleric! Why didn’t you just use Turn Undead on the wraiths in the alley and prevent this whole disaster instead of waiting until the boneclaws attacked?” Well, you see, the thing is, I’m a fucking idiot and have also never played a cleric in a campaign with undead in it. Mostly though I’m an idiot.

I will say that I offered to fix it since it’s my fault the otter died (Gentle Repose is useful and I just need one more level to be able to cast Raise Dead), but the DM and the player have already moved on and made a different character.

Oh, also Ban’s god is Ghaunadaur, but they didn’t know that until after the boneclaw fight. Tome had done an Arcana check in the alley when Ban and Rush described what they saw in the portal and had told us all that what we described sounded a lot like a shrine of Ghaunadaur, also known as The Elder Eye. After the boneclaw fight, Ban had heard the voice that talked to them sometimes say, “You will make that up to me, child,” and had put two and two together and now has to keep yet another secret from their new buddies.

I love D&D

[angelsandcelestials]

Messages from your Angels & Guides~October 22-29. 2018

Greetings!  I am writing to you from an extremely cold Big Apple. lol!

Last time I wrote, I said that my daughter and I were going to the Museum of the City of New York. It was my first time there and I didn't realize how close this museum was to the Met( my favorite museum ever, I mean like of all time..lol) and the Guggenheim. I learned some new things and I enjoyed the short film called Timescapes. Which detailed the history of this city pre-Henry Hudson and the Dutch. The one exhibit that really caught my attention was Germ City.  It was part creepy, scary and just wow. There was a letter from "Typhoid" Mary Mallon, written in her own hand. She didn't seem to understand why she was "medical curiosity".. her words.  All in all, we enjoyed our afternoon there. If you're visiting NYC or if you live here and you wish to visit something different than all the usual museums here. I would suggest checking it out.  It is located right on 5th Avenue, across from Central Park.

https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/germ-city

So what is new in your corner of the world?

Now onto this week’s messages. You know what to do. Let your intuition guide you as you choose one card and then scroll down for your reveal.

If you chose Left~Epona's Wild Daughter

Inner Shadows, Nightmares, Depression, Madness, Growth

Epona's Wild Daughter, Dorcha, is the Sphinx whose riddles must be answered lest we are otherwise destroyed by our own internal conflicts.  Her presence here tells us that finding and working through this is a task of urgency. We can expect help in the form of other people, from the faeries, from our dreams. But we must be open to these difficult questions and answers and be ready to face things about ourselves that are not as we would wish them to be. She urges us to heal the unresolved issues about who we really are and what we truly want to be.

The answers to her riddles often come in a sudden burst of enlightenment like the "solution" to a Zen koan.

Totem Tuesday~ Spider

Spider medicine is full of magic and mystery, They have the ability to weave their manifestations into reality. Spiders are guided by their higher selves, as they create a web and sit back and wait for their prey. It is a sign of taking your time and doing things just right. Spider energy can balance the light & dark. And it shows you that there is nothing scary about the shadows. For without dark there is no light.  Those with Spider totems have the unique ability to maintain the balance of the spirit realm and that of the physical world. Old and new, yin and yang, Spider communicates as it creates. Most writers have the Spider as a totem animal.

The Spider has 8 legs and most spiders have 8 eyes. * for those history buffs like myself, October is originally the 8th month of the year( stemming from the old Roman calendars)*  8 is a significant number as it the symbol of infinity.  The combination of two worlds: material and spiritual together in one point

If you chose Middle~ He of the Fiery Sword

The Active Principle, Spiritual Will, Justice, Protection

The presence of this fiery sword indicates that there is (or there is a need for) clear and focused will and a determination to carry through on decisions, even if much effort is required. Or he can tell us that such will and strength is present in regard to the issues under consideration.

It is the energy of this sword that enables us to burst the bonds of an outgrown way of being and move on to the next level. He indicates this is a time to take action based on clear spiritual will. His presence speaks of great strength and great potential for good.  He also reminds us that if we call upon him, we will receive assistance. The energies of strength and willpower radiate in great waves.

Something to Do~Blessing for Those Who Protect Us

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear sirens: police racing to stop a crime or help victimized people, firefighters racing to put out fires in homes and businesses, EMTs racing to rescue and treat injured people. It’s important to bless the rescuers and those being rescued.

Whenever you hear a siren, stop what you’re doing. Take a deep breath and center and ground yourself. Know that if you were in need, those sirens might be heading in your direction. Say these words:

"Blessings for speed and safety to those who are going to help someone. Blessings for healing and safety to those who are waiting for help. Blessings to all on the roads and to their destinations."

Or shorten it:

"Blessings to you and where you are going."

Take another deep breath, and blow the grounding energy to follow the sirens.

If you chose Right~ Laiste, Moon's Daughter

Light cast in shadows, Spiritual Guidance, Illumination, Riddles

You may be finding apparently random events and ideas are falling into a pattern and beginning to make sense to you. Things may be flowing more easily than you are accustomed to, and your decisions and choices may be bringing an unusually high degree of success. Psychic abilities, hunches, intuitions, foreknowings--are becoming clearer and making more sense. Trust the process.

Laiste, also brings psychic dreams, forelighting the future and illuminating the present. These dreams often speak in symbols, as the faeries are wont to do.

This week’s messages come to you courtesy of The Faerie's Oracle.

.Have a magical week!

I do hope that this week’s messages resonated with you. If it hasn’t at first glance, then feel free to re-read them. There may be a deeper or hidden message specifically for you from your angels and/or guides. These messages may also apply to several people and/or the collective. That’s how Spirit works..lol Let me know though I would love to hear from you. Also, please share, reblog, and like. This way you will be paying it forward for others to receive this guidance. Follow Angels & Celestials on Instagram And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AngelsandCelestials111/

[catalinanp-blog1]

Tricks To Getting Your Following Established Of Mattress Linens

francouzská peřina If you've got at any time been browsing for mattress linens then you might be in all probability impressed at all of the available options in top rated sheets, fitted sheets, pillow cases and quilt addresses. They all occur in a range of types, measurements, hues, styles and kinds of fabrics also. Regardless of whether you are looking for luxurious bed linen or price reduction linens, it's all right here on the net these days. It doesn't have to be baffling even though, if you have these nifty recommendations on hand to enable you sort out your mattress linen options. First off, go ahead and evaluate your mattress to be completely confident what you need to have is what you conclude up getting. You really don't want any surprises listed here. Really don't go by the typical measurement label, like queen or king. Evaluate the thickness of your mattress, heaps of people fail to remember about this and end up with fitted sheets that pop off simply because the sheets were made for a thinner mattress. Some of the more recent beds can have pillow best mattresses 18" thick...so if the match appears to be like shut, then opt for the the following measurement up to account for some achievable shrinkage. A note on equipped sheets. For the best high quality, appear for the types with elastic all the way about. They will continue to be on the mattress devoid of popping off, rather than the kinds with elastic only on the sides or on the corners. Then figure on your decide of fabric. This is important mainly because your bed sheets, duvet handles and pillow instances will be touching your pores and skin, so it is in all probability a good plan to go for more natural fibers like linen, cotton, or blends of all those. You'll find that they wick away humidity, dry speedily, and are absorbent. Not to point out that they just truly feel really soft also! Pure cotton fabric feels cooler to the skin also, which is good for individuals of us who kick off the addresses trigger we just get far too hot at night time. A great deal of people go for polyester blends for their bed linens, since they are a lot more affordable and are inclined to wrinkle a bit much less. They do are likely to be warmer for these folks who get as well great at night time. But these blends are usually not as at ease, they keep on to body oils and at times odors, and they tend to "tablet" also. That means that as they are washed, fibers loosen and ultimately fuzz up and type little balls above time. I recall staying equipped to essentially see appropriate via some of my sheets simply because they had worn out so a lot appropriate there in the center, with all of these tiny minor balls of what utilised to be the sheet all above the area. Of course, that was a lengthy time ago- before I understood that nicer sheets and bedding would actually aid me really feel and rest greater. Some people want to string me up for even mentioning the word polyester in my content or on my web site...but hey...plenty of people however obtain and take pleasure in individuals poly blends. One particular lady commented that using polyester sheets was like sleeping inside a plastic rubbish bag. I'll consider her word on this one particular. lol These days, most men and women really are employing one hundred% cotton mattress sheets, pillowcases and quilt addresses. For the ideal toughness and softness, a couple of of the very best sorts of natural materials for mattress linens are pure Egyptian cotton and Pima or Supima. What can make this cotton far better than all the rest is the reality that their fibers are lengthier than normal operate of the mill more affordable, shorter fiber decreased thread rely cotton. Why is this significant for mattress linens? Very well, if the fibers are extended they can make more robust thread, and then stronger yarns, and in the long run you can conclusion up with stronger fabric for your bed sheets, pillowcases, duvet handles, comforter shells..and many others... These linens even get softer and additional comfortable as you clean them about time. You can be thrilled at how gentle and lavish a hundred% Egyptian cotton sheets can come to feel less than your skin. Some individuals write and question me why their sheets pill even although they swear to me that they are really good that they have 100% pure significant thread rely bed linens. Be careful in this article and make completely positive that you are getting a hundred% Egyptian or Pima, or Supima cotton. From time to time you'll end up with misleading labels that in fact will not point out that they have blends with other more affordable cotton fibers. This is why it truly is incredibly critical that if you might be shelling out the dollars for that level of quality sheets, you acquire via reliable stores. Don't forget that skimping on the price tag is all right as prolonged as you will not count on to have the best most high-class, longest long lasting bed linens. There are a several other items to keep in brain when buying mattress linens: one. Making use of harsh detergent may hasten the breakdown of your linens. Use a little volume of a mild liquid detergent to support prevent pilling. If you have really hard water, then toss in a minor little bit of cloth softener suitable into your washing machine. And hey - put them on the light cycle... until you haven't washed them in more than a thirty day period they shouldn't seriously be that filthy, except you sweat a whole lot of training course. If you've bought the washer on the other cycles...then it truly is just like getting your sheets out and clubbing them with a rock. No question they pill. 2. Leaving your sheets and other bedding in the dryer on high...or for too very long will also seriously begin to bake your sheets. Not excellent. Try out and get sheets out even though they're even now a little small little bit damp. You may get considerably less wrinkling that way also....which is a excellent issue for you and your sheets, pillowcase and duvet handles! Just fold them up pleasant and they'll dry out by natural means. Greater yet, try out a clothesline when feasible. three..Clean your bedding after for every week. So figure on generally having three first rate finish sets of sheets. So, it's one particular established on the mattress, one particular in the laundry, and just one in your linen closet. If having fantastic bed linens is essential to you, then this minor regimen will assist you get the most ease and comfort and use out of them. Then there is the entire thread rely factor of linens, which just means how numerous threads run up and down via one square inch of material. Commonly speaking, thread counts assortment from 80 or so, to effectively up about 1000 these times. You'd presume that the larger the count the greater your bed linens would be. The factor is, that the much more threads that you set into that one sq. inch, the smaller sized these threads are inclined to turn into. Some bed linen manufacturers split the threads and then weave them in a way that permits them to say the thread rely is double. Naughty naughty.