#time stamp: 2:40

[vanosslirious]

Delirious: Oh, Vanoss, I see what you're doing.

Vanoss: Wait...What, what, why are you saying it like it's a secret?

[that-student-that-has-homework]

Portgas D. Ace Headcanons 01

Excuse me Oda-sensei, but that 40 year old Ace is simply criminal. Thank you so much for blessing us with him

Anyway! Have some Husband!Ace headcanons For more Ace content please head to my Tumblr MasterList

Ace is, respectfully, a huge simp for his wife

To the extent that the Whitebeard crew straight up jokingly awarded him with a “Biggest Wife Simp” Award

They made it look official and had Whitebeard sign it and everything. There's even a stamp.

Ace has it framed and hung proudly on the wall next to your bachelor’s degree / college diploma / degree in general. 

I feel like despite his own personal insecurities, Ace still manages to be an amazing father

I imagine Ace originally setting out for like one or two kiddos at most (because y'know...what if he's not good enough) and ending up with 3 or 4 kids

Thing is, that’s both your faults.

Ace is tender and goofy with his kids, and he’s so friggin caring: to the extent that…well wouldn’t it be neat to see him with maybe another 2 or 3 kiddos of his own? 

(Your husband is hot okay?)

In his case, he swears you have a unique glow about you when you’re pregnant. But more than that when he sees you with your first born, he suddenly wants a big family with you.

I imagine his kids are an eldest son, then his princess, then the youngest boy who takes after his uncle Luffy.

His kids aren’t parentified. He keeps his issues far, far, away from them. Besides, he’s got you by his side.

He was dedicated to making sure they got as much playtime as possible.

He heard about learning through play, and he is DEDICATED to doing that as much as possible

Ace’s kids are spoiled with affection, but not spoiled brats.

While it’s true he’d give them the world, he’d rather let them go get it themselves. 

For example: when they asked for a tree house, he gave them the greenlight immediately.

But they had to build it themselves.

It was a super fun project lasting a little over two months with the whole family involved.

Oh and the Whitebeard crew helped too.

It took a while to get the design down initially, then the shopping logistics and whatnot (they used a lot of math here - see education via play)

Building the thing took maybe a weekend or two because the Whitebeard Crew and even the Strawhats came over to help

(It was mostly Franky and Usopp doing work, Sanji was cooking with Thatch)

Uncle Luffy was not allowed near the construction zone after an accident.

They almost destroyed the tree house with their partying once

Ace’s kids were not happy and no one was allowed in the backyard for the rest of the night

He makes sure they have proper manners and self-defense skills

You had to help out here, no lie.

He admitted he needed your help, especially after a dinner with Garp where Makino tagged along to see Ace again

He puts all of his kids into martial arts classes

especially his princess - he’s so proud of her when she beats up bullies

He’s not great at discipline though to be honest. He probably goes about it similarly to Garp. 

Ace will not tolerate any of his kids being nasty to their mother. No matter the phase.

You will have to hold him back if you want to let them get their frustration off their chest.

He’ll let them talk, but you’ll have to keep a hand on him somewhere, his arm, his hand, his knee, his shoulder, his back and rub soothing circles

Let’s just say, “talk shit, get hit,” is Ace’s attitude towards anyone being demeaning towards you (more so with adults, not his kids, but that's why they get a scolding)

"Ace my love" (he melts every time you call him that) "the kids’ll start thinking you love me more than them if you do that"

"My kids won’t disrespect their mother though!"

"They’re just venting darling, and when they say or do something that violates my boundaries, I'll be sure to reinforce it. Lead by example right?"

If they ever feel like pissing Ace off for fun they can just say something kinda not nice about you and he'll get mad and they'll flee from him giggling like the little gremlins they are

Ace is veeeeeeeeerry physically affectionate and he isn’t shy about it at all.

At gatherings with the Whitebeard family, he will gladly seat you in his lap, he will happily hug you as you are seated.

His arm is on your waist most of the time.

They tease him to make him tone it down, he does not.

He, in fact, dials it up. Turns up the heat lol.

You have kids? Not in front of them? What do you mean, not in front of the kids? It’s important they know just how much he loves their mama!

So he will continue to be playful with his hugs and kisses and other displays of affection.

It’s nothing too over the top. Just hugs and quick pecks wherever.

Your entire head is fair game for his smooches, your arms (he loves kissing your pulse and then making eye contact, sneaky guy that he is), your shoulders.

Maybe lifting you and spinning you around. Cuddles. Little bites.

He will play-wrestle his kids to “fight” them over getting to cuddle you, and then he’ll just put all his weight on all of you in a group cuddle

Just to let you know, your kids also receive all the warmth and love of his affections.

When his sons are still tiny and adorable, he smooches them all over. The kisses grow less frequent as they grow older, but the hugs do not stop.

Oh no, hugs galore.

Ace still pecks his little princess on her forehead though

When they’re all under ten he’ll wrap them in a hug (after he chased them down and caught them so they’re laughing and screaming) and start smooching their cheeks while they laugh and try to get out of his grasp

Also yes she’s his princess, but that girl has no problem throwing a fully grown man twice her size around, he made sure of it.

I reiterate: Ace is not remotely shy about displays of affection

Like his eldest could have a friend over, and Ace would still launch a full scale hug attack using the rest of his troops (daughter/youngest)

It's complete with screeching, screaming, and a lot of laughter

His kids used to get teased for it, but it didn’t take more than a few conversations for them to instead jeer at the kids that teased them.

"You’re all jealous your parents don’t love you like ours do"

"How sad, your parents don't hug and kiss you"

Their dad, grandpa, uncle - uncles really, are all gremlins - it's in their DNA

The kids are really physically affectionate with each other as a result

Deadass they’ll be kicking the shit out of each other one second and the next they’ll be all cuddled and huddled up playing Mario Kart or something

Ace is his kids’ hero.

His sons aspire to have his level of fitness.

His daughter, when she’s older, uses him as a standard for dating

You're relieved

Ace is touched and a touch nervous, because he is aware of his shortcomings, though he works hard to keep improving

Of course when you look at him, a twinkle in your eyes, and tell him, “I’m so proud of her, I’m so proud of you!” He feels better

When you continue: “if she can find a guy like you, who cherishes her as much as you cherish me, I’d be so happy.”

Ace loves you so much he swears

[sourrpatched]

PAIRING ⇝ NA JAEMIN X FEM!READER

“Say you can't sleep, baby, I know That's that me, espresso”

GENRE ⇝ Comedy, Fluff, coffee shop au, college au, strangers to lovers, slight angst (maybe)

EXTRAS ⇝ profanity (lots of it actually), sexual jokes, kys/kms jokes, lgbt jokes (yes im lgbt), jaemin is down BAD, maybe a bit unrealistic but this is just for fun, my first ever smau ever please bare with me, crack writing lowkey, ignore time stamps they’re probably super off cause i cba to make them specific

SUMMARY ⇝

Overworked at her understaffed job Y/N finds it hard to enjoy this summer vacation even with the school semester having ended. It doesn’t help that it seems nobody is interested in working at a little coffee shop even if it’s just for the summer. That is until fate brings Jaemin into the picture who happens to be desperate for a job and love. Let’s just hope this time around he can actually keep it.

or, the one where jaemin needs a damn job and Y/N needs a damn break.

STATUS ⇝ COMPLETE ✅

profiles - intro yn & friends intro jaemin & friends

PT. 0.5 - (1) (2)

01. ➼ You Will Die in 6 Hours

02. ➼ Mischief, Inadequacy, and Despicable Me? (.3k wrdc)

03. ➼ Who hired this guy?

04. ➼ Jumping to conclusions

05. ➼ Suicide POSTPONED

06. ➼ 2 dumb b*tches saying EXACTLY (1.1k wrdc)

07. ➼ This is really weird :/

08. ➼ ipad kid

09. ➼ u are NOT my mom

10. ➼ baby that’s keke palmer

11. ➼ instigator vibes

12. ➼ netflix and chill?

13. ➼ big time betrayals

14. ➼ mark’s villain origin story (.5k wrdc)

15. ➼ motherly instincts

16. ➼ fork found in kitchen

17. ➼ re-do

18. ➼ satan’s beverage

19. ➼ (not so) 21 Questions

20. ➼ Trust

21. ➼ playing cupid

22. ➼ u discuss me

23. ➼ haikyuu irl

24. ➼ brat summer (.9k wrdc)

25. ➼ gone girl

26. ➼ girl, so trackstar

27. ➼ i’m not the moon (1.1k wrdc)

28. ➼ *gulps*

29. ➼ ur honor im a freak

30. ➼ tough luck buddy

31. ➼ negative aura

32. ➼ fallin for ya

33. ➼ for better or for worse (1.8k wrdc)

34. ➼ therapy sesh

35. ➼ i miss u

36. ➼ Cold heart

37. ➼ Old friend

38. ➼ Long Chat (1.7k wrdc)

39. ➼ Love Scene

40. ➼ Hardest soft launch ever

Halloween Special 😈

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

TAG LIST ⇝ closed!!

[luciemggio]

The Line Between

Pairing: 40’Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers’ sister

Warnings: none

Summary: Bucky loves Steve’s younger sister. They plan to marry, but he’s lost in the war. She refuses to believe he’s dead.

Here is part 2 of this story !!

Brooklyn, New York – Winter, 1942

The winter wind howled outside the apartment on Hicks Street, rattling the thin windowpanes and pushing under the floorboards like it was searching for warmth. Inside, the Rogers’ place smelled like coal and cinnamon — a combination of the fire burning low in the iron stove and the tea she’d been steeping for Steve’s cough.

Bucky Barnes stood in the doorway of the cramped living room, his gloved hands shoved deep into the pockets of his peacoat, watching her from across the room like she might vanish if he blinked.

She was kneeling beside the stove, carefully adding a few logs, her brows knit in focus. The hem of her dress brushed the floor, and her cheeks were flushed from the cold, a few stray curls falling from the braid she’d tied back that morning. He could hear Steve’s cough echo down the hall from his bedroom.

“Thanks for walking him home, Buck,” she said without turning, her voice soft but certain. “The wind’s worse than yesterday.”

He nodded, then remembered she couldn’t see him. “Yeah. Didn’t want him out alone in that wind. You know how he is — refuses to bundle up unless you threaten to sew the scarf to his coat.”

That earned a laugh. “He’s stubborn. But you’re worse, and you know it.”

Bucky smiled faintly. “Maybe. But I’m taller, so I get to win.”

She turned then, slowly rising to her feet. “You coming in, or are you planning to freeze in the doorway all night?”

He hesitated. “Steve’s asleep?”

She nodded. “Out cold. He’s been coughing for days… I think the ration stamps aren’t going far enough. I haven’t had the heart to tell him we’re almost out of milk.”

Bucky stepped in finally, shrugging off his coat and folding it over the back of the lumpy armchair. The room was small, but cozy. Familiar. He knew every crack in the wallpaper, every worn edge of the carpet. But she — she didn’t belong to the furniture, or the walls, or even the past.

She belonged to the air. To the hush that settled in his bones when she was near.

He sat down on the edge of the couch, glancing toward Steve’s door. “You want me to go out and get you something? I got paid yesterday — I can cover milk, bread, whatever you need.”

She tilted her head. “And bruise your pride? Never.”

“I’m serious,” he said gently. “Let me take care of you.”

Her eyes flicked to his, dark and warm. “You always say that.”

“That I want to take care of you?”

“No. That you’re serious.” She paused. “But you never stay long enough for me to believe it.”

The words cut deeper than she intended, and they both knew it.

Bucky leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “It’s not because I don’t want to stay.”

“Then why?”

He rubbed his jaw. “Because every time I’m here, I want something I know I shouldn’t.”

She crossed the room, stopping just a few feet from him. Her voice was quiet, but unflinching. “Me?”

He looked up, and the answer was all over his face.

“You’re five years younger, sweetheart. I knew you when you were ten and trying to convince Steve to let you sneak into the pictures with us. I was sixteen and already trying to flirt with dames in heels. This ain’t—” he shook his head— “this ain’t simple.”

“I’m not a child anymore.”

“No. You’re not.” He swallowed hard. “That’s what scares me.”

“Why?” she whispered.

“Because now, every time I see you, I want to kiss you stupid. I want to pull you into my lap and bury my hands in your hair and forget about everything that tells me I shouldn’t.”

She took a breath, steady and brave. “Then do it.”

He stood suddenly, running a hand through his hair, walking toward the window as if the frost-lined glass might cool the fire in his chest.

“You’re Steve’s sister,” he said quietly. “He’s my best friend in the world. He’s family. And you— you’re all he has left. If I screw this up, if I hurt you, if anything happens…”

“You think I’m not scared too?” she said, stepping closer, her voice trembling now. “Do you think it’s easy for me to love someone who refuses to let himself want me?”

His back straightened. Slowly, he turned to face her. “You love me?”

She didn’t blink. “I think I always have.”

The silence that followed was a living thing. Heavy. Breathing.

“I think about you all the time,” he said after a long pause. “In the barracks, in the dark, when I hear gunfire in my dreams — it’s your voice that pulls me back. I tell myself it’s nothing, that it’ll pass. But it doesn’t.”

She reached for his hand. “Then stop running from it.”

He looked down at their joined hands, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. “If we do this… we can’t hide it. Not from Steve.”

“I don’t want to hide,” she said. “I just want you.”

He let out a shaky breath, and then — finally — he stepped forward and cupped her face in both hands, tilting her chin up.

His mouth hovered above hers, close enough to feel her breath.

“Are you sure?” he murmured.

“Yes,” she breathed.

And when he kissed her, it was slow — reverent, like she was something sacred. Her fingers tangled in his collar, pulling him closer, and he melted into her, all the tension, the guilt, the longing pouring out in that single moment.

He kissed her like a man starved. She kissed him like she’d been waiting her whole life.

When they pulled apart, they were both breathless.

His forehead rested against hers. “We should talk to Steve.”

She nodded. “In the morning.”

“And if he punches me in the mouth?”

“I’ll kiss it better.”

Bucky chuckled, soft and low. “I might let him punch me, if I get more of those.”

They stood like that a while — wrapped in each other, suspended in the fragile quiet of the night — knowing that outside, the world was breaking, but inside, something was just beginning.

Brooklyn, New York – Spring 1943

The war didn’t wait.

Three weeks after Bucky kissed her in the living room of the Rogers’ apartment, he shipped out.

They told Steve together the next morning.

Bucky insisted on doing the talking. She held his hand under the table while Steve sat there silently, staring at the chipped enamel mug in front of him like it held the answer to some great cosmic riddle.

“You love her?” Steve finally asked.

Bucky’s voice didn’t tremble. “Yeah. I do.”

Steve’s jaw clenched, the muscle jumping once.

“You touch her wrong, I’ll break your damn nose.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Bucky replied quietly.

The room was still. Then Steve exhaled and looked at his sister.

“You sure about him?”

She smiled gently. “Always have been.”

And that was that.

Steve stood, walked over to Bucky, and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Hard. “Then don’t die out there.”

France – Autumn, 1943

The war made men disappear in pieces.

Sometimes they came back with fewer limbs. Sometimes with fewer memories. And sometimes, like Bucky, they came back with fewer smiles.

He wrote her every week.

He tried to keep it light — cracking jokes about rations and bad coffee, about the idiot who snored louder than gunfire in the next bunk. But between the lines, she saw it.

The weight.

The hurt.

“We took a hill yesterday. Lost two guys. The youngest one… had eyes the color of yours. I couldn’t sleep last night. I keep wondering how many more I’ll bury. I’m not scared of dying, sweetheart. I’m scared of making it out and not recognizing who I’ve become.”

She read that letter over and over again.

And then she made her decision.

England – January 1944

The Red Cross nurse uniform felt strange at first. Stiff. Starched. But it suited her more than the dresses ever had. The Army had started accepting civilians through aid programs, and she’d applied the day after Bucky’s letter arrived.

She landed in a field hospital outside Manchester and started tending to wounded soldiers under dim lights, the air thick with blood and antiseptic. She wrote to Steve. She didn’t tell him where she was — just that she was safe.

She didn’t tell Bucky either.

Until one rainy morning in France, when she found herself standing in front of the 107th Infantry camp, soaked to the bone, mud up to her knees, heart pounding like it might crack her ribs open.

“Name?” the guard barked.

She straightened her shoulders. “Y/N Rogers. Red Cross Volunteer. I’m here to report for medical reassignment.”

He squinted. “You Rogers’ sister?”

She nodded.

He radioed someone. Moments later, Bucky came running from the command tent — his helmet askew, his jacket half-buttoned, dog tags clinking.

He stopped when he saw her.

His eyes widened. “Sweetheart?”

She smiled despite the shivering. “Hey, soldier.”

Bucky didn’t wait. He crossed the mud and grabbed her face, kissing her like the war might swallow them whole if he let go.

“You’re crazy,” he whispered against her lips. “You came here? In the middle of this?”

“I had to,” she murmured, breathless. “I couldn’t sit home and wonder if your name would be the next telegram.”

“You don’t belong here,” he said, brushing wet hair from her cheeks. “You belong in Brooklyn. In our kitchen. Safe.”

“I belong wherever you are.”

He crushed her against him.

France – Spring 1944

They didn’t get much time.

A few stolen hours behind tents. Fingers brushed in hallways. Letters passed between infirmary and outposts.

Every time Bucky went out on a mission, she kissed him like it might be the last.

One night, he returned bloodied and silent. She stitched his shoulder in the low flicker of lantern light, tears in her eyes.

“You’re shaking,” she whispered.

“It was bad,” he said hoarsely. “He was only eighteen. I tried to drag him out, but—”

He broke off.

She wiped blood from his skin. “You did everything you could.”

His hand found hers. “I don’t want to leave you a widow.”

“You’re not my husband.”

His eyes met hers — fierce, stormy. “Then marry me.”

She froze.

“Don’t think,” he whispered. “Just say yes. Say it now. Before the world explodes.”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Of course, yes.”

He kissed her with cracked lips and trembling hands, and for a moment, the war faded away.

Austria – 1945

He fell from the train in the mountains.

One minute, she was reading a telegram, tracing the lines of his last letter, and the next — silence.

No word.

No body.

No answers.

Steve was the one who told her.

He looked like he hadn’t slept in days when he came to the field hospital. His uniform was torn. His eyes were hollow.

“They say he’s dead,” he said quietly.

She didn’t cry. Not at first.

She just stood there, blinking, as if someone had kicked the wind out of her.

“Then they’re wrong,” she whispered.

“Y/N—”

“No,” she said, voice flat and final. “He’s not gone. I’d feel it.”

She looked out across the darkening hills, the wind tugging at her hair, and waited.

Because she knew. Somewhere, out there — Bucky Barnes was still alive.

Even if the world called him a ghost.

[shepscapades]

Doc "I am not a toy" quote source

For people who are curious about the doc quote from my recent drawing, I've got some timestamps! I don't know how to make clips on twitch (im very good at the internet) so below are the timestamps for THIS vod (Scar's recent vod, streamed on 7/15/24).

2:16:40 If you don't mind 15-20 minutes of build up/goofing off, you can start watching from here: this is kind of where everything starts (Doc makes a comment in chat about the ore snatcher after they supposedly strike again, and scar flies over both under the pretense that doc might want to talk to him about Disney or something due to an earlier conversation they had and also because he's supposed to be the chief investigator for the ore snatcher-- Joe joins to see what's up, Doc lashes out, shenanigans ensue)

2:32:23 If you don't mind 4 minutes of build up, you can start watching from here: this is when Scar and friends fly over again after said shenanigans to continue to poke fun at the very angry goat

2:36:24 is when Doc's main Angry Rant starts (This is where the "I am not a toy" quote is from)

(Scar and Joe and Cleo stick around and pester him for a good 10-15 minutes more but the previous 2 time stamps is the meat of the interaction imo)

Hopefully this is helpful! :> I could also do a short transcript if anyone would find that more helpful!

[zepskies]

Racial & Ethnic Representation in Fanfiction

[🎙️ Podcast Interview]

Hey, friends! Sandra and Kasey, the lovely hosts of @idlingintheimpalapodcast — the podcast for all things SPN and fanfiction — invited me back on the pod for an interview on a topic that's very close to my heart…

With @rubyvhs, we talked about the fun moments and challenges about reading and writing fanfiction that represents specific racial and ethnic cultures, being bicultural/multicultural, the immigrant experience, and much more.

I offered my own experience as a Latina POC writing in the fandom space, specifically Supernatural and The Boys (and adjacent Jackles fandoms).

Check it out here: ⤵️

Interview Timestamps –

(Plus fic recs, SPN writer/reader shoutouts, and more! Links to all the fics we mentioned are at each time stamp.)

2:54 – When did you start writing fanfiction, and when did you join SPN fandom?

⟡ You can check out my first author interview with Sandra and Kasey over here. We chatted about Dean Winchester and Jensen Ackles’ early roles, the best and worst seasons of SPN, the joys and pains of writing Soldier Boy, and much, much more. For all the timestamps of key moments, fic recs, and SPN writer shoutouts, see this post (you'll find the link to the video there too).

6:18 – What is your ethnic, racial, and cultural background? (And how me and Sandra bond over “food and family” ties between Hispanics/Latinos and Italians.)

13:05 – The immigrant experience in America, what you take with you from the “Motherland,” the struggles of bicultural identity, my personal experience being a second-generation child of an immigrant family, and Sandra’s experience as a first-generation child of Italian immigrants.

16:58 – What do you look for when you’re reading fanfiction? (Canon-compliant, AU, romance, etc.) Does the length of a story matter?

19:52 – Bonus: The merits of drabble writing vs. long-fic writing.

25:54 – Have you ever actively searched for fanfiction that represented your ethnicity? (Whenever I do, it’s like finding gold.) Plus, the challenge of writing reader characters, the “gray area” of writing reader characters like OCs.

32:38 – The inherent “bias” of reading and writing reader characters as White. The concept of diversity being “cool” in popular media, TV shows, and movies is still pretty new.

36:36 – Why I started writing reader characters that might have a specific body type, race, and/or ethnicity.

Examples:

⟡ Midnight Espresso – Dean Winchester x Plus-size Latina!Reader

⟡ If I Stay – Dean Winchester x Plus-size!Reader

⟡ 10 ‘Til Midnight – Professor!Dean Winchester x Plus-size Grad Student!Reader

⟡ Unravel Me – Soldier Boy x Afro-Latina!Reader

⟡ The Honorable Choice & Outlander – Cowboy!Dean Winchester x OFC

40:14 – The fun challenges: like giving Dean a partner who takes care of him as much as he takes care of others in Midnight Espresso.

45:28 – The BIG challenges: like writing Soldier Boy being himself with a “person of color” (POC) in this new series, Unravel Me. What even is a POC? Where do you start with Soldier Boy, the Sandra-proclaimed “bowl of fishhooks?"

51:38 – Is there ever an element of fear when you publicly post a story that represents your culture, which is something very personal to you? What happens when you get haters in the comments?

1:05:33 – When and how did you begin to break out of the “ingrained biases” in your writing? (AKA: Always assuming my own characters are White.)

1:08:04 – When did you decide to explore writing plus-size!readers?

1:13:20 – What has your experience been in writing a race/culture outside of your personal experience? The Honorable Choice and Outlander, a western AU where Dean Winchester falls in love with a Native American Lakota Indian. (Shoutout to @jacklesversebingo!)

Plus, the ethical responsibility to “do no harm” when you represent different cultures, and answering question of not only can I write this, but should I write this?

1:32:42 – What advice would you give a writer interested in writing about a culture outside of their own that they don’t have first-hand knowledge of? How can a writer avoid cultural appropriation if their goal is cultural appreciation? How important is a sensitivity reader/beta reader for this effort?

1:40:35 – Final thoughts on diversity and representation of culture in fanfiction, whether it’s your own or someone else’s:

“Write what you know. Write what you can research. Write what you’re interested in. Remember that words have power, so be careful how you use them.”

1:45:30 – Sandra and Kasey’s outro: The importance of representation and diversity in fandom.

I hope you enjoy the ride!~ 💜

💗💗💗 Shoutouts to some of my beautiful friends and lovely readers who've supported my attempts to explore ethnic and cultural diversity in my writing:

@luci-in-trenchcoats @lamentationsofalonelypotato @waynes-multiverse @rizlowwritessortof @roseblue373

@tofics @deanwinchesterswitch @deanbrainrotwritings @deansbbyx @waywardlatina

@supernotnatural2005 @wayward-dreamer @spnwoman @waywardxwords @mostlymarvelgirl

@chevroletdean (shoutout to your 500 follower fic challenge at around 19:52 😘) @siampie @bettystonewell @wvffles

@iprobablyshipit91 @my-stories-vault @littlesoulshine @thatonewriter15 @jessjad

@deans-spinster-witch @winchestergirl2 @kazsrm67 @chernayawidow @jackles010378

@jollyhunter @leigh70 @foxyjwls007 @beakaleak32 @alwaystiredandconfused

[afeelgoodblog]

Best News of Last Week - December 11

1. Biden administration to forgive $4.8 billion in student loan debt for 80,300 borrowers

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would forgive an additional $4.8 billion in student loan debt, for 80,300 borrowers.

The relief is a result of the U.S. Department of Education’s fixes to its income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

2. Detroit on pace to have lowest homicide rate in 60 years this year

A partnership to reduce Detroit crime is being praised with the City on pace for the fewest homicides in 60 years.

"This is the day we’ve been waiting for, for a long time," said Mayor Mike Duggan. The coalition which includes city and county leaders that Detroit Police Chief James White formed in late 2021 to return the criminal justice system in Detroit and Wayne County to pre-Covid operations.

3. Dog that killed 8 coyotes to protect sheep running for Farm Dog of the Year

Over a year ago, Casper was stacked up against a pack of 11 coyotes, and he overcame them all to protect the livestock at his Decatur home. Now he needs your help.

Casper, the Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dog, needs the public to vote for him to become the American Farm Bureau's "Farm Dog of the Year: People's Choice Pup" contest.

4. Shimmering golden mole thought extinct photographed and filmed over 80 years after last sighting

De Winton's golden mole, last sighted in 1937, has been found alive swimming through sand dunes in South Africa after an extensive search for the elusive species.

5. About 40% of the world's power generation is now renewable

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have released their first joint report to strengthen understanding of renewable energy resources and their intricate relationship with climate variability and change.

In 2022 alone, 83% of new capacity was renewable, with solar and wind accounting for most additions. Today, some 40% of power generation globally is renewable, due to rapid deployment in the past decade, according to the report.

6. Jonathan the Tortoise: World’s oldest living land animal celebrates 191st birthday

The world’s oldest living land animal - a Seychelles giant tortoise named Jonathan - has just celebrated his 191st birthday. Jonathan’s estimated 1832 birth year predates the invention of the postal stamp, the telephone, and the photograph.

The iconic creature lived through the US civil war, most of the reign of Queen Victoria, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, and two world wars.

7. New enzyme allows CRISPR technologies to accurately target almost all human genes

A team of engineers at Duke University have developed a method to broaden the reach of CRISPR technologies. While the original CRISPR system could only target 12.5% of the human genome, the new method expands access to nearly every gene to potentially target and treat a broader range of diseases through genome engineering.

---

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.

[twstgameplay]

Coral Sea's Eternity Float

From Apr 22nd, 16:00 to May 12th, 14:59 (JST)

How to Play

Collect Coral during Lessons (History / Flying / Alchemy) and use those to read the Event Story. Complete Stamp Card missions for rewards.

The event is divided into 3 Parts.

Information found below:

Event Characters

Story Info

Stamp Card Info

Shop Info

Guest Room Info

Event Characters (Shore's Celebration)

The event cards will help with paint collection, boosting the number of event paint that you can get during a battle. SSR Jade will drop 3 Coral Sea Magical Paint and SR Malleus and SR Riddle will drop 1. For event freebies, we have SR Riddle and R Rook.

Making the cards permanent:

R Rook: Complete the Event Story (obtainable on Episode 2-4)

SR Riddle: Complete the Event Story and collect 800 Coral total (obtainable on Episode 3-1)

Groovies are locked until May 5th.

Story Info

Spend 5 Coral to unlock the Event Story episodes. Some episodes need you to collect a certain amount of Coral to unlock. Currently, we have:

Episode 2-2: 40 Coral total

Episode 2-5: 80 Coral total

Episode 3-5: 150 Coral total

Episode 3-10: 200 Coral total

Episode 4-2: 250 Coral total

Episode 5-2: 300 Coral total

Episode 5-6: 350 Coral total

1st Stamp Card Info

Click on the Stamp Icon on the bottom left of the Event Page, there will be a total of 3 Stamp Cards.

The first stamp card goes until April 28th, 14:59 (JST), so pay attention to the time limit.

2nd Stamp Card Info

The second stamp card goes from April 28th 16:00 (JST) to May 5th, 14:59 (JST), so pay attention to the time limit.

3rd Stamp Card Info

The third stamp card goes from May 5th, 14:59 (JST) until the end of the event at May 12th, 14:59 (JST)

Shop Info

This event has 2 different shops: one for Coral and another for Fish Water Guns. Fish-shaped Water Guns are obtainable by completing certain parts of the story, as well as stamp mission rewards.

Coral Shop

Extra copies of the event characters will be available once they’re made permanent.

Fish Water Gun Shop

Shore's Celebration is used to groovy the free event cards: 3 for SR Riddle and 1 for R Rook. There’s a total of 4 exclusive event backgrounds that you unlock as you advance the Event Story. Card Set includes: 10 Honey EXP L and 30k madol. Book Set includes: 8 notepads, 4 textbooks and 2 grimoires

Lastly, there is a Ultramarine City Set in the usual Gem Shop, where you can find the Ship-in-a-Bottle. This item is simply for collection purposes and does not serve any purpose in the event. However, it can be built in the Guest Room after purchasing.

Guest Room Info

There will be furniture available in the guest room for a limited time for this event. You need to be at Room Rank 8 to build the furniture and furniture will unlock as you progress the event story.

[vanosslirious]

Nogla: Fine, I might be wrong. *opens chips*

Vanoss: *laughs* Going back to eating chips~

[astradyke]

Phil Lester, the romantic you are. (or, some of my favorite "Phil loving Dan" moments in the last few years ft. actual timestamps, since i'm not artsy enough for web-weaves yet)

❧ "Thanks Dan-" "Thank you... for tolerating my presence." "-for treating us with your presence." (What Dan and Phil Text Each Other 2, 20:50)

❧ The cooing at Dan's outfit at The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences Award event, including putting a hand over his heart. (ROASTING DAN'S 'FASHION', 11:11)

❧ The edited segment at the end of this video in which Phil does an additional promotion of Dan's book; "I've just seen how happy he's been since he's found all this stuff out..." (I TRY TO GIVE DAN A HAIRCUT!!, 19:10)

❧ "Oh look, we're together!" (Dan and Phil Chained Together, 12:40) -- volume warning for this one.

❧ Every time during this video in which Phil expresses excitement that his character is with Dan's again, or stress that him and Dan will be separated (Dan and Phil are Getting Divorced - It Takes Two #1, non-exhaustive list of timestamps 17:50, 22:20)

❧ “Here’s where that’s fine. I would shape-shift into you, you would shape-shift into me… no, we know each other so well, it wouldn’t be that different." (Phil Pushes Dan's Button for 18 Minutes, 10:47)

"op you forgot-" a lot of these are just recent clips i've mentioned in the past since i was asked to give time-stamps, but please add more in notes! i know most folks know these but in case anyone doesn't :3 (honorary mention both mukbangs & every baking video)

BONUS: my personal "roman empire", AKA a selection of pictures Phil's taken of Dan that I think are particularly loud -- warning in advance these do not have IDs but when i get a chance i can add them into an RB! all under cut <3

EXTRA BONUS: i made a post compiling some of my favorite pictures of Phil wearing the "We're All Doomed" merch hat because this is something i think about a lot too. these have IDs! my actual post isn't important i just didn't want to recopy over the pictures.

phil lester loving via photography in a very non-exhaustive list because it's not like this has been his birthday tradition or anything... i hate romance. <3

[a-green-misstep]

A list of all Jayce and/or Viktor scenes in Arcane (wth time stamps)

SPOILERS for all of arcane

Season 1:

EP1

11:00 - 11:50

Jayce is heard, not seen during lab the break in

EP2

0:00 - 7:50, 11:50-12:20, 14:15-19:00, 20:00-21:40, 23:20-24:30, 31:30-33:40

Jayce introduced, goes in front of the council, almost kills himself and is stopped by Viktor who wants to work with him

EP3

7:30-8:40, 13:00-15:20, 17:00-18:00, 19:10-20:00, 25:10-27:00

they break into the lab and make a breakthrough in hextex

EP4

0:00-5:30, 11:00-14:30, 20:15-22:15, 23:10-26:30, 28:40-31:50, 33:00-35:20

hextex has advanced, Jaycee gets flirty with Mel, makes a public address, gets robbed by Jinx, and is made a council member

EP5

8:30-10:00, 13:20-14:00, 15:10-16:20, 19:00-21:20, 25:40-29:00, 31:30-32

Jaycee has lost focus on science for politics, and Viktor gets a breakthrough in the hex-core! Jaycee fucks and Viktor is in the hospital.

EP6

0-8:30, 13:00-16:15, 18:00-20:00, 22:30-26:00, 31:20-32:20

Baby Viktor, Viktor is getting weird and meets up with an old freind, Jayce fires Heimerdinger

EP7

5:10-8:40, 13:00-14:20, 23:00-27:30

Viktor is taking drugs and Jayce is getting hot in the forge. "I'm from the undercity"

EP8

5:30-6:20, 19:00-23:30, 24:30-35:00

Councilman Jayce meets Vi, Viktor runs, self-harms for the Hexcore, and kills Sky. Jayce forges the Hex hammer, raids a factory, and kills a child

EP9

0:00-2:30, 4:40-6:30, 8:30-10:40, 13:30-16:00, 23:00-24:20

Jayce sad about the dead kid, Viktor is sad about dead Sky and almost kills himself. "In the pursuit to be great, we failed to do good.". The boys get blow up

Season 2:

EP1

0:00-2:30, 14:00-16:00, 23:30-31:00, 34:15-36:30

Jayce survives, Viktor is dead and Jayce saves him with Hextec. Hex cacoon. Jaycee fighting aginst undercity gang.

EP2

13:00-17:00, 19:30-22:00, 32:20-36:00

Hex-Jesus leaves Jayce :(. Jayce almost kills Heimerdinger but instead talks science with Echo. Hex-Jesus starts a new religion.

EP3

13:30-15:30, 18:00-19:00, 21:20-24:30,

wild runs, the gang goes to visit the Hex-gates... it doesn't go well.

EP4

nothing

EP5

35:00-40:00

Jayce is back, and is doing bad. Viktor is now somehow speaking through Salo. "I thought you were done with hex-tec, and me." Jayce SMASHES Salo.

EP6

The entire episode is them.

Viktors the prophet, he has surpassed bodily existence. He helps heal, until Jayce comes to him, and kills his body.

EP7

8:00-10:30, 15:30-16:30, 17:00-20:00, 22:00-22:30, 27:30-28:00, 32:40-37:00

Jayce is in the Future, is being haunted by the mage, and spends months in a crevice with a broken leg, going mad. He is rendered disabled (like Viktor), and climbs to the top of piltover to find where the end of the world begins. (meanwhile Echo goes to prom)

EP8

6:00-6:20, 7:20-9:00, 14:00-20:00, 23:00-28:10, 33:30-37:00

Viktor has reached the glorious evolution, he spies on and trys to kill Jayce. Jayce is going to war. Viktor is alone, and is inbodied by a monster.

EP9

4:40-6:00, 18:00-18:50, 22:00-23:00, 27:00-39:00

Viktor has transformed, he wants for the world to become one, a collective consciousness. Jaycee and Echo convince/beat Viktor into understanding that he is wrong, and to end it, Jayce and Viktor, as partners finish things together, and their souls implode into themselves whilst they hold each other close.

[starberry-cupcake]

if my silly recaps and my reactions bring a small smile to your face or remind you of a book you love in these trying times, it's all worth it ♥ I'm hugging you softly and telling you I'm here for you ♥

previously, in harrowcita del 9:

this happened

EPIPARODOS

9 months and 29 days before the emperor's murder

I need you all to know I'm reading all of these announcements of time stamps for the emperor's murder like this

I spent these past 2 days marinating on this time stamp and making math in my head with the fact that harrow told palmolive that he's been in his river loft for 8 months

and being like "is this gonna be the Explanation????"

sort of

remember when I said harrow was probably the one who did the mind tampering or, at least, it was done with her consent?

I WAS CORRECT

I also said maybe it had to do with the emperor and his murder but that's not yet been clarified

harrow is asking yandere twin to help her do a brain procedure to forget stuff

for reasons that will be partially disclosed later

basically, it's like if she was asking her to cut her hair for her, but more metal

yandere twin also sort of dunks on palmolive and harrow goes like "you wash your third house filthy mouth before talking about my bestie palmolive sextus like that"

she didn't say that word by word, she said "I may have been Sextus's necromantic superior; but he was the better man. You are not even so worthy of that brain as to wipe its bloodied remnants from the wall."

which is kinda similar in concept

camilla would have high-fived her for that one

yandere twin is trying to convince harrow not to do the brain hair cut because it's dangerous and potentially useless

as if that has ever stopped someone from the ninth from doing crazy shit

harrow tells yandere twin that if she thinks becoming a lyctor doesn't mean they're more trapped than ever, she's delulu

harrow also exhibits one golden eye

and I'm like WAS GIDEON SLURPED IN THE END???? I WAS HOLDING OUT FOR HOPE!!!!

yandere twin says "time to absolutely fuck you up"

cue brain makeover montage with this song

please imagine it with that song, I need you to see my vision

I swear it's very important

I didn't mention it before but this chapter was narrated by yandere twin

sponsored by chad aka babs aka nebarius...was it nebarius or naberius? anyway

she says that harrow's brain makeover is a "destructive, romantic, ridiculous act"

I sure hope so

she also says she's gonna marry harrow, but probably not

I sure hope not, because it's not my ship, yandere twin, I'm sorry

I like you, but not for harrow

ACT FIVE

CHAPTER 40, 41, 42

I'm grouping these all together because they're a ~theme~

the fact that the titles of them are like ?????????? is very much the spirit of these recaps

thank you, author, I see your vision

these are other aus, much like the canaan house gideon-less au, but with different scenarios

first au has a broken IX skull, it takes place in the ninth and harrow is called "nova" instead of "nonagesimus"

in it, she's fighting ortus, or attempting to

because harrow wants ortus to give her the spot of cavalier primary

which is very regina george twin and chad behavior, they had a similar situation going on, but they resolved it with biting

as you do in the third house

(I just wached a yt video in which a person was called 'babs' and they said the name so many times it's starting to make me want to name chad correctly)

(it's fixing my brain)

she also mentions a Reverend Daughter who isn't her

she doesn't seem to like the other reverend daughter, even if she stepped in to intercede for her at one time, and ortus and her argue about it until crux comes in

it's giving gideon and harrow switching spots, in a way, although gideon never wanted to be cavalier primary

neither did ortus

regina george twin is the only one fighting for that spot

she is made to go and apologize to two pilgrims standing there and, when she does, it's abby and magnus from the fifth

and abby says "this isn't how it happens"

our favorite phrase

next au has a V broken skull and takes place in a ball

there is a Divine Highness who is looking for a bride and this is a dance to present suitors to her

the sixth house isn't dancing or joining in on the party, wich is another tick on my personal checklist of my favorite house

idk if there's a quiz of which house you're in but I hope I'm that one

*me getting the second and having to erase my memory like harrow*

abby and magnus show up once again and magnus is eating the food and complimenting harrow on how accurate it is

ortus is with them too, because polycule

they all wanted to see where this au led (actually, me too) but, you know what they say

say it with me:

"this isn't how it happens"

42 is a broken IV skull

this one is, at the start, a sort of military au

the kiddies from the fourth show up, remember them?

they're still talking in whispers among themselves

so cute ♥ I'd say protect them at all costs, but we already failed at that

the important part of this one is that it turns from a military au into a coffee shop au

and there's a BARI star (puns!)

"the arms beneath the rolled-up sleeves betrayed lean, taut muscle, a little dewy with sweat and steam from the mess. But it was the face that sent her neurons in a thalergetic spin. When Harrowhark looked at that face, she found a curious heat travelling all the way up from the pit of her pylorus to the high collar of her Cohort shirt. It then traversed her cheeks, her nose, her brow, her temples. The other officer smiled a firm-jawed, long, crooked smile at her; Harrow was electrified by the fact that beneath the hastily brushed crop of red hair those eyes were—"

(the fact that my playlist started 2 become 1 from the spice girls right now is actually incredibly funny)

AND ABBY GOES "Absolutely not"

ABBY NOOOOOOOOOO

ABBY LET ME HAVE THISSSSSSSS

LET ME HAVE A COFFEE SHOP AU INTERLUDE AS A TREAT

I DESERVE IT

WE ALL DESERVE IT

CHAPTER 43

GIDEON FRACTURED SKULL PEOPLE

AVIATOR GLASSES, CROSSED OUT IX, CRACKED SKULL

one night before the emperor's murder

we're connecting the timelines

ortus's polycule is arguing about the previous scenarios and whether or not "that was..." while harrow wakes up

abby promptly shoos everyone out of the room

FOLKS LISTEN TO THIS NOW

LISTEN TO THISSSSSSS

"If I forget you, let my right hand be forgotten. Add more also, if aught but death part me and thee. Griddle."

I'M IN P A I N

I'M IN S H A M B L E S

(my playlist decided on hoobastank's the reason now lmao what is happening with the 90s/early2000s playlist tonight)

OK OK EXPOSITION TIME

sort of, you know how it is

harrow remembers gideon and cries for her as we all do

abby is asking her questions and gives her one minute to mourn

so, harrowcita decided to do the hair cut brain procedure to separate the part of her brain that remembered and understood gideon's soul

accoding to her, it was "a brute-force solution but it worked"

very gideon behavior, we love that

abby points out that harrow is also very much haunted by an invasive soul

harrow's like ?????????????????????????? on top of everything else?????????

I'm wondering if this is ice cube barbie????? not sure

abby explains that harrow is possessed by an angry spirit and that she's losing against it

ice cube barbie sure has reason to be angry if she wants to, she had to put up with doctor reverend emperor john's bs

also, the canaan au is harrow's form of palmolive's bachelor loft, the bubble in the river thing

she made an au in the river and brought on all her ghostie ghoulie friends to populate it

abby tells her that she didn't remove her memories of gideon, she re-wrote and re-touched them with ortus, which is why he was invited, and she also filled in spaces of some people (people who weren't dead) with constructs

harrow says "what a waste of a woman, to have ended her life at the bottom of a ladder"

RIGHT???? she was killed so book 1 could be longer, otherwise it would have been solved in 2 minutes, no wonder she's the top in the polycule

apparently also a lot of what's happening at this canaan au has been modified by this invasive spirit that's haunting harrow

harrowcita tells abby who's alive, abby says regina george twin should have been the lyctor

NOW WAIT A MINUTE THERE

yandere twin and I don't see eye to eye on everything but I get defensive if someone's trashing her abilities in comparison to her sister

also "The Master Warden found the idea of dying inconvenient"

I love that chad catches a lot of strays when he isn't there but palmolive gets a lot of compliments when he isn't there

did they ever interact one on one btw? I don't remember, it feels like a jock vs nerd situation

wait, are they a ship???

why am I asking this now IT'S NOT THE TIME

harrow starts quoting gideon ♥ "as her—cavalier—might have put it, absolutely butt-fuck nothing happened"

we love that, so poetic

harrowcita basically can't leave her canaan bubble now because she's in the river due to the fight that was going on with the beast and whatnot

abby says that the canaan au happens when harrow is asleep, unconscious or just disconnected from outside stimuli

harrow tells her about the beast and how she was brochetted out there

abby says that she's not dead yet because, if she was, her soul would be gone forever and they need to ensure her body survives

harrow asks herself "what is happening out there?"

WOULDN'T WE LIKE TO KNOW

BUT WE WON'T KNOW YET

because I have immense willpower and knew this was the right time to stop reading, otherwise this recap would be awfully long

gonna put "strong willpower" in my cv to see if the sixth house accepts me

see you in the next one very soon!!! be safe and take care of yourselves ♥

[naanima]

I am so fucking feral over Maxiel. URGH. Anyways, a fic written in 40 mins. No beta. BUT I NEEDED TO WRITE IT. THE IMAGES OF DANIEL WITH IT IS, SCREAMING!! POST Max winning his 4th WDC. This will get edited and posted to Ao3 eventually. Around 770 words.

ETA: PART 2.

The thing was he didn't even have an excuse for it. He wasn't drunk, he wasn't depressed, and he wasn't even fucking doom scrolling at 2 AM in the morning because he couldn't sleep and his brain was a fucking mess. If it had been any of that he could have had an excuse. He could have kept on ignoring the weird intimacy he shared with Max, all the sharp messy feelings that he had ignored, examined and buried throughout the years.

But he didnt. He had watched Max win his fourth consecutive world championship, watched his emotions overwhelm him, watched the guys hug and fold him into themselves, watched all of it from the comfort of his own home. Watched all of it, and the only things he could feel was pride and so much fucking fondness for his boy. And a soft regret at not being physically there so he could have embraced Max and told him how proud he was of him.

He had watched the close-up of Max's champion helmet, the M, V, and the four stars above it. The design was simple but beautiful, and Daniel was hit with a sudden want, a need. And he couldn't wait anymore. He called his guy Kenny in LA, and was so happy that he could do a home visit that evening. Daniel didn't want to leave the coccon of his home for this one. He had a shower, carefully dried himself off, put on a loose shirt and shorts and waited on his couch till Kenny arrived with his kit.

When Daniel showed him the picture from his phone Kenny had looked at him with a raised brow.

"Man, are you sure?" Kenny looked low level concerned, someone who has seen way too many people regretting their decisions at times of vulnerability or stupidity. Or both.

"Yeah," Daniel said with confidence. This was what he wanted. He knew it with certainty. "And yeah, that's where I want it too."

"It is your funeral." Kenny shrugged and got ready.

Daniel took off his shirt and laid down on his bed. It was the easiest way to do this.

Three hours later Kenny was gone with a judgemental look and aftercare instructions. Daniel had nodded his head to whatever Kenny was saying, and had ran to the bathroom as soon as Kenny was gone.

He stripped naked and looked at the red inflammed skin of his lower back in the mirror. The whole design was about ten centimetres wide, and it sat a bit lower than what most people would have considered the prime tramp stamp location. This was beyond slut territory.

Kenny did an amazing job, the man was an artist. The V cutting between the M were thick lines shaded in molten gold as if hit by the sun, and highlighted by black. The four goldden stars above it were similarity shaded, there was enough space to add more to it beneath them. Because Max wasn't going to just stop there.

His underwear was gonna block off most of the design, just top of the stars showing. So at least he could still go around shirtless.

It was beautiful, and he still wasn't regretting it. And yeah, this probably crossed the line of friends, but if Daniel couldn't fucking admit that they were more than friends now when he had purposely put Max fucking Verstappen's mark practically above his ass crack then he really would be beyond stupid. He could hear Blake's voice in his head saying how he was beyond stupid for marking himself for another man.

Daniel ignored the voice, grabbed his phone and tried to get the perfect picture of the tattoo. It took him several tries, but he finally got the angle that best showed the tattoo. It was fucking beautiful. He thought about cropping out his back and ass, there was no way that people wouldn't know it was him, even if his face was facing away. But fuck it, they had been joking around for almost a decade, and it was best to be as clear as fucking possible.

He sent the picture to Max. No words or messages.

If Max didn't fucking recognise it as Daniel going all in, as a declaration of intent, then Max didn't fucking deserve him or his ass.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #41 – Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy by Eri Hotta

Almost everything I know about World War 2, I learned against my will through a poorly spent adolescence and reading people argue about it online. Living in Canada, Japan’s role in it is even more obscure, with the wars in the Pacific and China getting a fraction of a fraction of the official commemoration and pop culture interest of events in Europe. So I went into this book with a knowledge of only the vague generalities of Japanese politics in the ‘30s and ‘40s – from that baseline, this was a tremendously interesting and educational book, if at times more than a bit dry.

The book is a very finely detailed narrative of the internal deliberations within the Japanese government and the diplomatic negotiations with the USA through late 1940 and 1941, which ultimately culminate in the decision to attack Pearl Harbour and invade European colonies across the Pacific. It charts the (deeply dysfunctional) decision-making systems of the Imperial Japanese government and how bureaucratic politics, factional intrigue and positioning, and an endemic unwillingness to be the one to back down and eat your words, made a war with the USA first possible, then plausible, then seemingly inevitable. Throughout this, the book wears its thesis on its sleeve – that the war in the Pacific only ever seemed inevitable, that until the very last hour there was widespread understanding that the war would be near-unwinnable across the imperial government and military, but a broken political culture, the career suicide of being the one to endorse accepting American demands,, and a simple lack of courage or will among the doves, prevented anything from ever coming of it.

So I did know that Imperial Japan’s government had, let’s say, fundamental structural issues when I opened the book, but I really wasn’t aware of just how confused and byzantine the upper echelons of it were. Like if Brazil was about the executive committee – the army and navy ministries had entirely separate planning infrastructures from the actual general staffs, and all of them were basically silo’d off from the actual economic and industrial planning bureaucracy (despite the fact that the head of the Cabinet Planning Board was a retired general). All of which is important, because the real decisions of war and peace were made in liaison meetings with the prime minister, foreign minister, and both ministry and general staff of each branch – meetings which were often as not just opportunities for grandstanding and fighting over the budget. The surprise is less that they talked themselves into an unwinnable war and more that they decided on anything at all.

The issue, as Hotta frames it, is that there really wasn’t a single place the buck stopped – officially speaking, the civilian government and both branches of the military served the pleasure of the Emperor – whose theoretically absolute authority was contained by both his temperament and both custom and a whole court bureaucracy dedicated to making sure the prestige of the throne didn’t get mired in and discredited by the muck of politics. The entire Meiji Constitution was built around the presence of a clique of ‘imperial advisers’ who could borrow the emperor’s authority without being so restrained – but as your Ito Hirobumis and Yamagata Aritomos died off, no one with the same energy, authority and vision ever seems to have replaced them.

So you had momentous policy decisions presented as suggestions to the emperor who could agree and thus turn them into inviolable commands, and understood by the emperor as settled policy who would provide an apolitical rubber-stamp on. Which, combined with institutional cultures that strongly encouraged being a good soldier and not undercutting or hurting the image of your faction, led to a lot of people quietly waiting for someone else to stand up and make a scene for them (or just staying silent and wishing them well when they actually did).

Now, this is all perhaps a bit too convenient for many of the people involved – doubtless anyone sitting down and writing their memoirs in 1946 would feel like exaggerating their qualms about the war as much as they could possibly get away with. I feel like Hotta probably takes those post-war memoirs and interviews too much at face value in terms of people’s unstated inner feeling – but on the other hand, the bureaucratic records and participants’ notes preserved from the pivotal meetings themselves do seem to show a great deal of hesitation and factional doubletalk. Most surprisingly to me was the fact that Tojo (who I had the very vague impression was the closest thing to a Japanese Hitler/Mussolini there was) was actually chosen to lead a peace cabinet and find some 11th hour way to avert the war. Which in retrospect was an obviously terrible decision, but it was one he at least initially tried to follow through on.

If the book has a singular villain, it’s actually no Tojo (who is portrayed as, roughly, replacement-rate bad) but Prince Konoe, the prime minister who actually presided over Japan’s invasion of China abroad and slide into a militarized police state at home, who led the empire to the very brink of war with the United States before getting cold feet and resigning at the last possible moment to avoid the responsibility of either starting the war or of infuriating the military and destroying his own credibility by backing down and acceding to America’s demands. He’s portrayed as, not causing, but exacerbating

every one of Japan’s structural political issues through a mixture of cowardice and excellent survival instincts – he carefully avoided fights he might lose, even when that meant letting his foreign minister continue to sabotage negotiations he supported while he arranged support to cleanly remove him (let alone really pushing back on the army). At the same time, the initiatives he did commit were all things inspired by his deep fascination with Nazi Germany – the dissolution of partisan political parties and creation of an (aspirationally, anyway) totalitarian Imperial Rule Assistance Association, the creation of a real militarized police state, the heavy-handed efforts to create a more pure and patriotic culture. He’s hardly to blame for all of that, of course, but given that he was a civilian politician initially elected to curb military influence, his governments sure as hell didn’t help anything (and it is I suppose just memorably ironic that he’s the guy on the spot for many of the most military-dictatorship-e aspects of Japanese government).

One of the most striking things about the book is actually not even part of the main narrative but just the background context of how badly off Japan was even before they attacked the United States. I knew the invasion of China hadn’t exactly been going great, but ‘widespread rationing in major cities, tearing up wrought iron fencing in the nicest districts of the capital to use in war industry’ goes so much further than I had any sense of. The second Sino-Japanese War was the quintessential imperial adventure and war of choice, and also just literally beyond the material abilities of the state of Japan to sustain in conjunction with normal civilian life. You see how the American embargo on scrap metal and petroleum was seen as nearly an act of war in its own right. You also wonder even more how anyone could possibly have convinced themselves that an army that was already struggling to keep its soldiers fed could possibly win an entirely new war with the greatest industrial power on earth. Explaining which is of course the whole point of the book (they didn’t, in large part, but convinced themselves the Americans wouldn’t have the stomach for it and agree to a favourable peace quickly, or that Germany would conquer the UK and USSR and impose mediation on Japan’s terms, or-).

When trying to understand the decision-making process, I’m honestly reminded of nothing so much as the obsession with ‘credibility’ you see among many American foreign policy hands in the modern day. The idea that once something had been committed to – the (largely only extant on paper) alliance with Nazi Germany, the creation of a collaborator government in China to ‘negotiate’ with, the occupation of southern Vietnam – then, even if you agreed it hadn’t worked out and had probably been a terrible decision to begin with, reversing course without some sort of face-saving agreement or concession on the other side would shatter any image of strength and invite everyone else the world over to grab at what you have. The same applies just as much to internal politics, where admitting that your branch couldn’t see a way to victory in the proposed war was seen as basically surrendering the viciously fought over budget, no matter the actual opinions of your experts – the book includes anecdotes about both fleet admirals and the senior field marshal China privately tearing their respective superiors in Tokyo a (polite) new one for the bellicosity they did not believe themselves capable of following through on, but of course none of these sentiments were ever shared with anyone who might use them against the army/navy.

The book is very much a narrative of the highest levels of government, idea of mass sentiment and popular opinion are only really incidentally addressed. Which does make it come as a shock every time it’s mentioned that a particular negotiation was carried out in secret because someone got spooked by an ultranationalist assassination attempt the day before. I entirely believe that no one wanted to say as much, but I can’t help but feel that people’s unwillingness to forthrightly oppose further war owed something to all the radical actors floating around in the junior ranks of the officer corps who more than willing to take ‘decisive, heroic action’ against anyone in government trying to stab the war effort in the back. Which is something that the ever-increasing number of war dead in China (with attendant patriotic unwillingness to let them die ‘for nothing) and the way everyone kept trying to rally the public to the war effort with ever-more militaristic public rhetoric assuredly only made worse.

That same rhetoric also played its part in destroying the possibility of negotiations with the United States. The story of those negotiations runs throughout the book, and is basically one misunderstanding and failure to communicate after another. It at times verges on comedy. Just complete failure to model the political situation and diplomatic logic of the other party, on both sides (combined with a great and increasing degree of wishful thinking that e.g. letting the military occupy southern French Indochina as a concession for their buy-in on further negotiations would be fine with the Americans. A belief held on exactly zero evidence whatsoever). The United States government was actually quite keen to avoid a war in the pacific if possible, as FDR did his best to get entangled in Europe and effectively start an undeclared naval war with Germany – but the negotiating stance hardened as Japan seemed more and more aggressive and unreliable, which coincided exactly with Japan’s government taking the possibility of war seriously enough to actually try to negotiate. It’s the same old story of offering concessions and understanding that might have been agreed to a few months beforehand, but were now totally unacceptable. In the end, everyone pinned their hopes on a face-to-face diplomatic summit with FDR in Juneau, where sweeping concessions could be agreed to and the government’s credibility staked on somewhere the hardliners could not physically interfere with. The Americans, meanwhile, wanted some solid framework for what the agreement would be before the summit occurred, and so it never did.

After the war, it was apparently the general sentiment that the whole nation was responsible for the war with the United States – which is to say that no individual person deserved any special or specific blame. Hotta’s stated aim with the book is to show how that’s bullshit, how war was entirely avoidable, and it was only do to these small cliques of specific, named individuals that it began. The hardliners like Osami Nagano, but just as much the cowards, careerists and factional partisans like Konoe, Tojo, and (keeper of the Privy Seal) Kido. Having read it I, at least, am convinced.

[ideas-on-paper]

Lies of P: Overture gameplay footage breakdown

So, some new gameplay footage of Lies of P: Overture just dropped - and holy macaroni, if it doesn’t go hard.

In fact, it got me so hyped that I couldn’t help but sit down and break down all of it.

Note: All time stamps, unless otherwise stated, refer to the video linked above.

Gameplay stuff

- First off, we’ve got notable gameplay updates, the first of which being the option to adjust dash/dodge/jump being on the same button! (Seen at 3:27.)

I’m actually so glad they decided to implement this - you see, Lies of P was my first soulslike, and I couldn’t get to grips with the standard controls at all. On the other hand, I practically grew up with Monster Hunter, so what I did was basically jury-rigging the MH controls in Lies of P. xD

I kinda got used to dodge/dash being on the same button over time, but the jump button being L3 still weirded me out. Whenever I play LoP again, I’ll definitely play around with those options a bit, and see if I find some key bindings that I like better! :-)

- Second, there now is the option to use Held Ergo for level-ups and purchasing in stores. (Seen at 29:17.)

I suppose this means you can use Ergo items in your inventory right from the level up/purchasing screen, which is an awesome QoL improvement.

- The footage also reveals one new status effect and one new buff item: Freeze (seen at 0:22) and the Miraculous Enhancement Ampoule (seen at 29:40), respectively.

Freeze not only continuously drains your HP but also decreases your movement and attack speed, which sounds like a rather nasty effect.

The Miraculous Enhancement Ampoule temporarily increases your max HP, Stamina, and Legion, which I can see coming in handy in boss fights and miniboss fights. (Probably more so miniboss fights as the duration of that effect is probably not too long.)

- The footage also extensively shows a new type of gun blade, which was also briefly featured in the Announcement Trailer (at 1:14 in that trailer).

You can also get a peak at one of the new Legion Arms in the footage, called “Cataclysm”; since the person playing doesn’t use it though, we don’t get to see what it does.

However, I managed to find a second video where you can see that the Cataclysm arm is essentially a three-barreled shotgun (best seen at 9:40). In addition, the aforementioned video also showcases some other weapons, namely a killer wind wheel (at 3:12), a flamethrower lance (at 6:22), a rocket engine lance (at 10:30) which literally has the same charge animation as the lances in Monster Hunter LOL, the bow (at 8:06 and 9:24) and the Wolverine claws (at 8:23) from the Announcement Trailer plus a new Legion Arm named Icarus that can throw spinning blades (as seen at 3:52).

So yeah, the new weapons are wild. xD

Heck yeah, Gemini!

- One thing I’m especially pleased about is that Gemini seems to be a lot more involved in the story this time: He’s actually reacting to the newspaper found at the beginning (at 2:48), you’ve got the option to talk with him at the Stargazer (at 3:07; I wish we could’ve done this more often in the base game), and he chimes in a lot more often to share his thoughts.

Now, it actually feels like Gemini is part of the story - and ngl, I’m enjoying that very much. :-)

Okay, now for the juicy stuff.

Beware that there are spoilers for the main game ahead, as well as spoilers for the setting/location of the DLC, as seen in the footage. I will also speculate about the direction the story of the DLC might potentially take, based on what we saw so far.

Timeline

- Despite the big tease of “You want to know the year?” in the first trailer, the date in the zoo advert found at 2:40 is redacted - again. Well, if we keep going like this, I don’t think there’s much hope they’ll give us an exact date in the DLC. xD

- One slightly more precise date is found on the plaque at the zoo’s entrance (seen at 6:55), stating that the zoo was founded on September 19, 18XX - however, that’s only logical, since one of the dates in Descartes’s Note is 189X. Descartes’s Note was presumably written shortly before everything went to shit in Krat, so the zoo must’ve been founded at an earlier date.

Story theories and speculation

Just to be safe, [CW for mentions of animal cruelty/skinning]

- At 24:52, Gemini voices his suspicion that “the Stargazer sent them back in time”. Since they’re talking about the Stargazer - like a very specific one - could it be the Golden Stargazer near the Malum District? (That past DLC speculation has also revolved around?)

The Stargazers in the DLC are also visually distinct from those in the normal game: The have a few extra rings around them, one of them with Roman numerals. That actually makes the DLC Stargazers look very reminiscent of the big one in the hotel - I wonder if this might imply that they’re in the past/traveled through time?

- According to Gemini, the zoo “burned down a long time ago” (4:02); now, this is interesting because the records of the mental institution that was once Hotel Krat were also destroyed in a large fire.

I already suspected previously that the “mental institution” was just a facade for experiments with Ergo, and the zoo is crawling with mutated people and animals all over, so it’s reasonable to assume the Alchemists had something to do with that as well. (Their involvement is basically confirmed by the dead body found at 36:29.)

If I may be so bold, I would assume that in both cases, the fire was started intentionally by the Alchemists - they did some experimenting and then eventually said “okay, that’s enough, torch the place” to cover their tracks.

- It’s interesting that one of the enemies seen in the footage (from 18:35 to 21:28 and again from 29:50 to 34:38) appears to be a mutated hybrid of an elephant with giraffe hindlegs. 

I wonder if this is because the Alchemists intentionally created “Frankenstein” versions of various animals and then subjected them to the “carcass concoction” to see how they would perform; judging by the polar bear with the encased head at the beginning (0:33), it at least seems like they were running some pretty brutal experiments on them…

Alternatively, it might be because Ergo “assimilates” the souls of different beings (and physical features, too); I’ve had the latter theory for a longer time, and it might further be supported by the elephant-giraffe-hybrid sprouting an additional head in the second fight (at 30:45) that incorporates heads of a variety of animals (a crocodile, a zebra, a hyena, a wolf, a mandrill, and an anteater, from what I can see).

- Although the full text isn’t seen in the video, there’s a note about a missing taxidermist at 17:00.

My genuine live reaction when seeing this: “No. No. NonononoNO! Please don’t tell me it’s true. Please tell me that Geppetto and Simon didn’t kidnap a professional taxidermist to give P real human skin.” (And why do I imagine that we’re actually going to meet said taxidermist, the taxidermist recognizes P and says: “You… You are that special puppet I was tasked with. *touches P’s face* My God, you look marvelous…” And P is just really uncomfortable with the whole situation, recoiling and saying “Don’t touch me like that! I’m not a doll!”)

- So the lady puppeteer from the Announcement Trailer is revealed to be Markiona, the “Puppeteer of Death” (at 13:40) - that means she’s not Camille, as some people have suspected.

However, she definitely seems to have to do something with Camille: In the note found at 36:32, it’s stated that Markiona was the one to discover “the secret of the Sacred Maid Puppet” (interesting that they’re calling Camille “sacred”). Furthermore, the text mentions that Markiona was once a Workshop Technician in the past; so… maybe the theory about her being Camille is not entirely untrue? Perhaps, like Laxasia (who was known as Adriana in the past), she received a new name after her “ascension”? Kinda like a rechristening? (How would Camille’s Ergo come to be in the maid puppet, though? Markiona is not dead… Or is she?)

Markiona is also credited as the creator of the so-called Arche Puppets, “her masterpiece” - I would suspect the angel puppet we saw in the Announcement Trailer is one of those.

The Arche Puppets were also supposed to “spread the elixir” through all of Krat, with Markiona’s army bringing “the joy of evolution” to every citizen in the land. This sounds like the Arche Puppets are responsible for spreading the Petrification Disease/carcass disease in Krat (more likely carcass disease, as it mentions an “elixir”) - a task which would’ve been that much easier for them as they can fly.

- Last but not least, we’ve got Gemini saying “I remember a day like this. A day when snow was falling on the zoo…” (at 25:00). This would mean that Gemini, in whatever way, was present when the catastrophe in the zoo we’re witnessing right now happened. And that means it’s also quite likely that Carlo - and by extension, Romeo - was involved in some way. (As Gemini seems to have been quite familiar with Carlo.)

Anyway, from all we’ve seen now, it seems like the zoo catastrophe was the original outbreak of the carcass disease (with the Alchemists experimenting on animals which got pretty out of hand), and the Monad Charity House incident occurred at some point after that.

[bumlets-appreciation-blog]

Dominic Lucero Performance Costume Rankings

For my fellow enthusiasts, I pulled screenshots from YouTube of Dominic's various performances, music videos, and other stuff he's been in to talk about his costumes for them. Shout out to @chaosfairy18 and @thatoneandlonelyemo2005 for appreciating him with me and to Paula Abdul for choosing the majority of these outfits! The quality isn't great on a lot of the images but I'll put links to the videos!

"Straight Up" Part One Outfit (All Performances)

The first part of every performance of "Straight Up" that I've seen has the dancers start out in black trench coats and black fedoras before they take off the coats and hats for the second part to reveal a different outfit. As such, I'm putting them all in one category because they all look the same. I pulled the screenshot from the "Straight Up" segment of this performance here. It's a classic look with 40's noir vibes, which I appreciate. A solid 10/10!

"Straight Up" Part Two Outfit (Arsenio Hall)

This one is just a simple black tank top and blue jeans but he makes it work! It gets bonus points for being an outfit I personally wear on my lazy days lol. 12/10!

"Straight Up Part Two Outfit (Canada)

The first mesh shirt on the list but not the last! This is also the only time he wears something under one of the mesh shirts, which makes it stand out a bit (at least to me). 15/10!

"Seal Our Fate" with Gloria Estefan (Unofficial Version)

There are two versions of the "Seal Our Fate" music video on YouTube and this is the one I prefer because you see more of the dancers. I think this is supposed to be a stylized construction worker? I don't know but the yellow thing around his waist is a vibe and I like the sleeveless shirt-fingerless glove combo. 22/10!

"The Way That You Love Me" (Arsenio Hall)

It's cropped. It's fringed. It's fabulous. These screenshots don't really do it justice because the way it moves is beautiful! I really love this one. 28/10!

"Knocked Out" (Probably 1990?)

This is cropped, fringed, and mesh so it's definitely a fave! Bonus points for the green robe because 1. green is one of my favorite colors and 2. the hood did not want to stay on and kept almost coming off which I found hilarious. 37/10!

"Cold Hearted" (Music Video)

I always feel awkward admitting that this is my favorite Paula Abdul music video because of how suggestive the choreography gets toward the end. I have nothing against that part but compared to a lot of the other choreo in the video, it doesn't really register with me. I just love the other stuff too much. Anyway, he's got a hoodie with a mesh tank top underneath, which is new! The fingerless gloves and the knee pads make sense because he hangs off the scaffolding and slides around on his knees a bit so bonus points for safety. The vibe is really just impeccable and it gets bonus points because it's my favorite music video. 45/10!

"Cold Hearted" Segment (MTV Awards, I think)

It's a mesh crop top with nothing under it or anything covering it so it gets a lot of points from me! I'm also one hundred percent biased because I love this performance a lot lol. His hair also looks great! 52/10!

"Opposites Attract" (Children's Royal Variety Show, 1990)

Look at this! Look at him! He's so fancy! I don't even have the words to describe how much I fucking love this outfit! Bonus points for the microphone he's not actually using and keeps forgetting to lip-sync into lol. 100/10!

Bonus Outfits!

Faith/Ballerina (1990, Time Stamp 1:25:27)

So I haven't actually watched the entire movie, just the part I was told had Dominic but I'm pretty sure it's set in the 80s and this outfit definitely screams 80s to me! You might need to rewind to the right place but the dancing is a lot of fun and I love the song that plays!

Roundhouse Episode One (You Can't Fire Your Family)

It's a very basic, 90s outfit but I like it! I think it's my bias toward the color green showing again!

Bumlets!!!

This outfit needs no introduction! It is officially my favorite of all of his outfits because Bumlets is my baby and I love him!