#<- apparently incorrect the blog is active again

[blushroom20]

What is Epic Battle Fantasy?

Epic Battle Fantasy is a series that got its start in the mid 2000s. Created by Matt "@kupogames" Rozak, the main games are JRPG at its core, each sequel having more features than the last. Follow the adventures of Matt, Natalie, and whoever they recruit along the way. While being very lighthearted and goofy, it is also full of fun gameplay mechanics.

As a kid I didn't get a game console until I was around 8-9, so until then I spent my time playing PC games, Arcade games emulated on MAME, and Flash games I found on the internet. I first found this series on Armor Games back when EBF3 was new.

EBF even has a few spin-off games, the main ones being Bullet Heaven 1 & 2 (Bullet Hell shmup and the reason why I refuse to call Vampire Survivors and its clones "Bullet Heaven" games) and Adventure Story (action platformer).

Every game can be played for free on Matt's Newgrounds account (and probably other places like Flashpoint), the versions sold on Steam/itch.io have additional content and bugfixes that make them better experiences.

Additionally, Matt's website provides information on all of his games. Devblogs, fanart showcases, and more can be found there.

[freakin-fries101]

Ateez concert(s) rant nobody asked for #2

Sorry if it's long, incoherent or grammatically incorrect but I just want to yap about my Ateez concerts experiences.

I decided to buy tickets for yesterday on a whim, I saw them in Milan last month and it was so great I randomly bought the tickets for Berlin too. I know the city pretty well since I lived there when I was younger (exactly 10 years ago) so it seemed right too celebrate this anniversary in this way, lol enough of me trying to justify my actions.

Leading up to the day I was freaking out, more than I was for Milan actually, cause unlike the first time I didn't receive any information about the non vip entrance. I was ready to complain that for once Germany was worse than Italy. However once in line it was super smooth and in less about 30 minutes I was in. In Milan I had the lowest tier of vip ticket and they let us wait under the rain for a really long time, to a point this is expected, but still, it was pouring so they could have thought of something else. So in my experience Germany won on the organization part (which was expected).

I caved and I'm now the owner of a light stick. I don't know if it will survive my journey back or if I'll ever use it again but whatever apparently my fomo was stronger.

Now for the juicy part... In Milan I saw sound check too, I managed too get somewhat close to the stage and the view was very very good (you could see the guys pores, as my line friend said). The "oh my god these are real people and not just online" though hit me very hard.

It's a cliche thing to say but, they were all so good looking and their presence is truly unmatched. I expected this from Hongjoong or Seonghwa but Yunho? Jongho? I feel like unfortunately their charisma doesn't translate that well on screen, but live it definitely does. I've seen Yunho stans complaining about the fact that now everyone is a Yunho stan but it's real, somehow he always catches your eyes and it's not just for his dancing he is truly the that magnetic. And Jongho too, he could just stand there not doing much but you just look at him because of how charismatic he is, unfortunately for many he is just the guy that sings.

Also, Yeosang fan service is really underrated, out of all the members he is the one that actively interacts the most with fans and takes the most time creating moments and paying attention to everyone. It think he should get more credit for that.

I'm Milan the energy was absolutely crazy from the jump, even before the beginning of the show we were singing on top of our lungs, we probably could have done the concert for them (and in "Matz, per favore" they acknowledged that 🥹). I thought the energy wouldn't be the same in Berlin, and at the beginning I was proven right, but then the show began and everybody went crazy. The guys acknowledged that and they seemed so happy about that. It's their job to make us think that I know, but concerts are at the end of the day an exchange of energy and it's nice when the performers match the energy of the public (I assume it's the same the other way around too) and that was why yesterday was so amazing.

I was able to be present for some of the best "what's in the air in Europe" ( Mingi and his microphone shenanigans and him wilding out on stage in general, Seonghwa sucking his fingers, San and his d cups...) so I feel really blessed, lol. I don't know how, but I missed Wooyoung with his abs out, I'm really sad about that, the funny thing is, on the way to the concert I read the whole analysis about Wooyoung that @storkmuffin wrote (I think, cause now I'm trying too find the exact words on her blog and, of course, I can't find where they are, sorry if I'm mistaken) and how he is trying to find his "niche" in terms of sexiness and once he will find it he will be unstoppable, well this quest is coming to an end soon and I'm here for it.

An other unexpected thing that stuck out to me is how much I enjoy Hongjoong dancing. Like we all know physically he is quite petite, especially next to Mingi and Yunho, and he could get overshadowed by them easily. However he is so powerful and he dances really big, almost exaggerating in a way, and he is also fairly precise. In my opinion it's truly a great sight to watch and I enjoy this style a lot (I might be biased, he is my ult).

Speaking of dancing I want to say that I might start stannig Bbtrippin as well (don't tell Hongjoong) because I don't think they get enough recognition and they are truly amazing at what they do. I heard pretty bad stories about back up dancers in Korea and it doesn't seem that way with them. Them joking with Ateez it's heartwarming and the mere fact that Hongjoong always mentions them at the end makes me think that for them it's not that bad.

I was finally able to hear Ateez speeches, in Milan it was so chaotic that people were screaming over them and in many cases you couldn't hear anything, and let me tell you with that final speech San did a better work than my therapist ever did in years, I wonder if they have him on BetterHelp...Also why does he have a better German pronontiation than me, I've been speaking it for 15 years I'm quite fluent but I'm so envious.

Yeah these were my hot takes on the two concerts I attended. The rant is finished.

[haven-in-arcadia]

hey friends!

some of you have been following me for a while, some of you are new, welcome! i’m gonna go on a bit of a personal rant here so, feel free to read or not or just read the tldr.

cw/tw: mentions of separation, toxic relationships, moving towns, haven rambles about their personal life for a while, medical discussions, autoimmune disorders

tldr: life flipped me upside down and fucked me and that’s why i haven’t been posting or super active

i don’t often talk about personal stuff on here but figured i’d provide some context as to why everything’s a mess and i haven’t been writing/posting like i said i would, or like i used to.

back in january i split from my long term partner who’d i thought i would marry, right down to having matching tattoos, and calling him my husband on here often. to make a long story short; the relationship was very toxic. it wasn’t a healthy situation for me anymore, and im happy to be where i am now. luckily my name wasn’t on any paperwork for our apartment (since i live in BC Canada there’s something called “common law” if your names on paperwork), and i was able to get out of living there quite quickly and easily. i’ve traveled the country since then, got to see sleep token, made new friends, seen and done tons of new things, and feel truly blessed with the life i have now.

as some of you may know from my posts, i have been diagnosed with celiac disease, and im also in the process of being diagnosed with POTS, both of which can be super draining on my body and mental state. im trying really hard to push through and continue to move my body as much as possible to maintain my health. i’ve taken to bringing my ipad to the gym and reading fics on it while running on the treadmill, as apparently thats supposed to be good for me, the juries still out on that one.

i also graduated university during this time and will be starting my career in the fall! i’m hoping that having a proper work life balance will allow me to start publishing more on here and on ao3 like i’ve wanted to, and being a more active part in my fandoms.

i’m still a huge SW fan, even if my page has shifted more into the bad omens/sleep token genres. Star Wars is still very near and dear to my heart, but was something my partner and i watched together, hence the matching lightsaber tattoos, and can sometimes be a little hurtful sometimes. but alas, you will still see me reblogging SW content that i read on here, as a lot of my mutuals are from that fandom, and i love to support them.

i’ve got all sorts of stuff on this page, I will be going through and organizing it now that i have more time to make my page a little less confusing. i’ll be posting my current readings, fic recommendation lists and my own fics again in a masterlist either today or tomorrow, once i have the whole thing organized. i’ve been writing a ton to keep my mind off everything and as an outlet while dealing with my issues, and hopefully i’ll be able to edit and post some of those soon. for now, you’ll continue to see me reblogging art, fics and some other nonsense stuff about bad omens, sleep token, and whatever else i come across.

i’ll probably go back to posting some incorrect quotes as i come up with them, since that’s how i gained a lot of my traction. i’m also planning on starting up streaming on twitch again, so i’ll be posting a stream schedule once i get my room all set up for it!

anyways, if you made it this far, thanks for listening to my rambling. as always, if yall ever need anyone or are going through something similar to what i went through, please reach out, i’m always happy to talk about literally anything. this blog has always been my outlet and has been and always will be a safe space for everyone.

love always,

haven <3

[vapehk1]

Comprehensive Guide to Troubleshooting Your RELX Infinity Device

When you invest in a RELX Infinity vape, you're signing up for a premium vaping experience. But what happens when things don't go as planned? If your device vibrates and the light flashes, but it won't produce vapor when you inhale, it's time for some troubleshooting. Let’s dive into a detailed guide that will not only help you solve these issues but also deepen your understanding of vape maintenance and care. Check Your Device's Battery The first port of call in your troubleshooting journey is the battery. A device that isn’t fully charged might still light up and vibrate but fail to vaporize the e-liquid: - Charge Your Device: Connect your RELX Infinity to a power source using the original charging cable and adapter. Allow it to charge fully before attempting to use it again. - Battery Health: Consider the age and health of your battery. Batteries lose efficiency over time, so if your device is old, the battery might need replacing. Ensure Proper Pod Installation The way you insert the pod into your device can be the difference between vaping success and failure: - Correct Insertion: Make sure the pod is inserted firmly and correctly. The RELX pods are designed to fit in a specific manner, and incorrect insertion can prevent the device from activating. - Check for Damage: Inspect the pod for any signs of damage or leaks. A compromised pod can affect the device's functionality. Maintain and Clean Your Device Regular maintenance can prevent many common issues associated with vape pens: - Clean the Contacts: Use a dry cotton swab to clean the electrical contacts where the pod connects to the battery. This can remove any e-liquid residue or debris that might be causing a poor connection. - Inspect the Airflow: Make sure nothing is blocking the airflow of your device. A blocked airflow can prevent the device from producing vapor. Examine the Pod Itself Sometimes the problem lies with the pod and not the device: - Try a Different Pod: If you have another pod, try using it to see if the issue persists. This can help you determine whether the problem is with the pod or the device itself. - Check for Compatibility: Ensure that the pod is designed for use with the RELX Infinity. Using incompatible pods can lead to poor performance or no vapor production. Update Firmware and Software Like many modern devices, your RELX Infinity may need updates: - Check for Updates: Visit the RELX website or contact customer support to find out if there are any firmware updates available for your model. - Follow Update Instructions: If an update is available, follow the instructions carefully to ensure your device operates with the latest software, which can fix bugs and improve performance. When to Seek Professional Help If you've tried all the above steps and your RELX Infinity still isn't working: - Contact Customer Support: RELX has a support team that can guide you through additional troubleshooting steps or advise you on warranty issues if your device is defective. - Visit a Vape Shop: Sometimes, a hands-on approach from a professional can spot issues that are not apparent to the untrained eye. Final Thoughts Troubleshooting your vape device might seem daunting at first, but with the right knowledge and a bit of patience, you can often solve the problem yourself. Remember, regular maintenance and care are your best tools to ensure a smooth vaping experience. Keep exploring, keep learning, and who knows? Maybe your newfound expertise could save your vape session one day. Don't forget to bookmark our blog for more insights and tips that will keep you puffing happily and healthily. Let's keep those clouds flavorful and your vaping journey trouble-free! For more detailed troubleshooting, consider exploring further resources: RELX UK's guide, Evapo's comprehensive solutions, RELX Philippines' quick fixes, and RELX International's troubleshooting tips. Read the full article

[meimi-haneoka]

There are others who post some summaries and make small theories (I follow such people myself, some of them cross post to other places too...) but did CLAMP mention anything specific? Can you please share if so? Are they open to such things then (fan summaries with some translation, or would they still be upset[?] if it's the "full chapter" translated)? I thought we were in general worried about what would happen if CLAMP noticed them (again?), so is this confirming the opposite...?

Alright alright, let's specify some things here. (I'm writing my report on it so you'll see exactly what they mentioned)

What sensei talked about was strictly the difficulty of translating certain words from Japanese to other foreign languages, and the fact that for many of them there isn't much that can be done due to lack of a perfectly corresponding word in the other language (I'm aware of that and I don't criticize that in particular in my posts, but rather the direction they choose to go in ENG every single time there's a subtlety, and if Kaito is involved, you can be sure it's going to be to his detriment). Ohkawa sensei didn't even put emphasis on the actual mistakes (like, the Mana thing that was corrected 2 days later, or Lilie's "my beloved" in ch. 60, or making the Squids say that they have Clow Reed's blood, or making Kaito say that he wanted to give magic to Akiho in ch. 35, etc etc etc etc, those are mistakes that highly alter the understanding of the plot), but she did mention specifically the ENG translation. What she said is that she's aware there are people who have discomfort from those translation differences and make blog posts about them to point them out to the international fandom. That's indeed what I've been doing, mixing them up with my personal commentaries for my convenience's sake (having them separated would just take too much time). She said she's grateful to them and that it's already something if fans check those out and get the correct nuance from them, but they're also grateful to the official translators for their hard work, putting up with her scripts.

She didn't mention posts for fan theories, or commentaries, or summaries. Those fall within the area of "fan activity" and it's perfectly legit to do them, it's always been. Even japanese fans do that themselves.

OF COURSE, now more than ever (since we know they apparently look over stuff of foreign fans), we have to be extremely respectful when we're doing those kind of posts. Exposing our thoughts respectfully, always keeping in mind that they are hard working women, not our sisters. Even when we don't like or agree with something they're doing (they don't mind that).

What they didn't mention nor even infer is that it's ok to *completely re-translate* their chapters. That's not okay. Hell, I would've done it myself probably by now but the official translation is still out there, they still have the license, we have to respect that. As much as it frustrates me. Don't manipulate Clamp's chapters because we don't have any permission to do that. The most we can do is to redirect the fans (who want to read about it) towards the right translation with blog posts, or explaining the hidden nuance when it's a case of "look, they couldn't really translate it any other way, but know that this word actually got this and that nuance".

But, as a piece of advice, be careful. This isn't something that should be entered into lightly. I've actually had anxiety yesterday because I started worrying over so many things, "what if I said something incorrect" "did I sound too harsh towards the official translation?", "are they *really* glad I'm doing this or did I overstep?", this shit comes with a lot of responsibility and I always double check with the other international translations I can understand (like Spanish, which is very good) if I'm getting the right interpretation or not. Because, after all, Japanese is a language that relies on context and interpretation a lot. I also check with my japanese friends when I'm still not sure (bothering them). Heck, sometimes (very rarely) the ENG is correct and other languages got it wrong (it happened in last chapter and I did point it out! I always remember to be fair and when the ENG gets something right it's good to point that out).

But most importantly, precisely because of interpretation issues, if you're willing to do that, you shouldn't have bias towards this or that character, or against this or that character. Or, let me rephrase that, you should be able to put them aside when you're writing the post. Because that will inevitably reflect onto your interpretation and then it's once again the same issue of the ENG official translation.

[void-occupation]

Let's get started

So, this is my first ever post, just wanted to let people that I have followed know that I am in fact not a bot (crazy, I know), and I wanted to set the basis of what people can expect from this blog.

First things first, I will have no activity from the beginning of July to the end of November 2023 for important personal reasons (I don't want anyone thinking I died), and I wanted to at least get a few things out before I forget them during my forced hiatus.

As my description says, I am in many fandoms, and am willing to talk about all of them! However, my brain has latched onto one or two characters in each and insisted that they become my trauma buddies, so I won't talk about anyone else as enthusiastically. I'll go ahead and make a separate post about the fandoms I'm in along with my trauma buddies, so feel free to hit me up and start a conversation (anon or not are welcome)!

Here's the link for the post with all my fandoms and the characters I'll write for: https://www.tumblr.com/void-occupation/718121684263108608/fandoms-and-emotional-support-characters

Things I will not tolerate include:

Racist, homophobic, ACAB, incestuous, or otherwise shaming remarks

MAP supporters/sympathizers. Get the fuck out.

Politics. This is for when I'm surrounded by my family trying to duck out of the conversation, not Tumblr.

Porn. Don't send me graphic shit, I don't want to see it, I'm asexual I have very few exceptions to this, and I'll follow the blogs that meet those exceptions. If I haven't followed you, chances are I don't want to see it. You'll be blocked if you send it. Just don't.

Pressure for a face reveal. I'm not very fond of the way that I look, and I like to keep anonymity. It's comforting.

As far as I know, that's about it, so if you don't do that stuff, we should be pretty chill.

As for what should be expected to come from this blog, I'll probably end up doing a lot of incorrect quotes, rants, theories, headcanons, and maybe some fics. I'm also planning on making edits when I come back from my hiatus, so we'll see how that goes.

I'll probably post the names for my Ao3 and Tiktok accounts once I get those up and running, but it might have to wait.

I think I've typed long enough, and for those of you who made it all the way through this, I am aware that I write like an English teacher, my brain insists upon it, I swear that I am actually 18 20, and not a time traveler from the 1800s

Edit: apparently Tumblr ate all my posts, so we're gonna try again and see how it goes

Edit #2: Ao3 is Void_Occupant (I like to keep shit simple)

[simonalkenmayer]

for context, someone tried to stir shit asking izzy about you meeting a gentle reader, and he answered with "we don't talk about that thing here" because he hasn't talked about you in months. another anon brought you up again, probably the same one, and izzy once again deflected the ask by talking about his own writing. now that that's failed, they came to your inbox to bait you. izzy never actually called you "that thing" in that way that anon is implying. they just want drama.

Sigh

Listen to me well:

1. I want everyone to absorb this. Hell, read it a couple of times. There may have been a time, I’d trust or open up to people after the experiment. There may have been a time I’d be transparent as much as my contracts allow. There may have been a time I’d have clarified all the things left unclarified, explained intent and methodology, outline the many data sets I gathered and why and how. There may have been a time I said “so you were wrong about all of the following and here is why” or explained why I allowed some rumors and argued others. One thing I want to make very crystal fucking clear right now: I am not stupid. I’m in fact, very intelligent. I’m not bragging, as I know there are many people of incredible intelligence, but where I work very well is in a few areas. It’s the one attribute of mine that I take pride in. Everything I have ever done is highly thought out, planned, weighed and written with great care. I put years and thousands of dollars, and effort into my project. I stayed up nights talking people off ledges, organized events, tried to build a community outside of my experiment, so there may have been a time I could say “no harm no foul. After all, it was an experiment” but that time came and went and the people involved behaved so absolutely atrociously that I will not be doing any of that. Not because of fear. Because of anger. I owe no one a “bygones”.

So I will not be entertaining any explanation of his terrible behavior from a third party. If he has one iota of self-awareness, he will know that an apology from his own mouth for the unfair and incorrect harassment he’s perpetrated for years would be lovely, but I don’t expect it. In polite society, you don’t actually have the right to say the things he’s said about me, any one of which would be grounds for libel in every first world nation, assuming my pen name actually connected to my real name. I’m sorry it seems no one really knows how people ought to behave anymore. He worked somewhat diligently if petulantly to ruin my friendships, destroy my data, vilify me, and mock me. So no…you don’t get to explain his behavior to me. If he wants it explained, he can damn well do it himself.

2. I want you to absorb this too anon, because it’s clear you apparently travel between both blogs, meaning you’re not precisely a friend to me, so please listen carefully. Do not defend people. People who care about you, don’t need your defense and will want to keep you safe from bother. People who care about you don’t want the consequences of their actions to hurt their friends. Unless someone is being actively harmed by an opponent they can’t beat, stay the hell out. Why? Because bias will always lead you astray. You’re trying to justify, rationalize, and explain away what he said; something that was obviously not a good word choice assuming it meant what you say it did. However:

3. There is no explanation for “that thing” in any grammatical framework I know. Then again, I’ve been reading through all Izzy’s helpful grammatical advice, when he tried actually doing critique, so I’m sure he knows better than I. “That thing” is a reply to what, do you think? “We don’t talk about that thing”…what thing? The situation, the person I met, me? The only thing that makes sense is that the object refers to me. If he didn’t want it to read that way, then he should have put a great deal more into how he writes. “That thing” with regard to me, is a fucking disgusting thing to say. He knows it. You know it, or you wouldn’t be trying to defend him while he sits silent and cowardly. So if it didn’t mean me, then maybe he should be the one to specify eh, anon? That’s how decent people behave. If he wasn’t depersonalizing me, then he needs to say that. He needs to be held to the same standard he demanded of me.

4. So he doesn’t talk about me anymore eh? How odd. I’m fairly certain my name is still on his blog. Still. After I repeatedly, since the first encounter, politely asked for it to be removed, as I take it as both a slap in the face and unprofessional. It doesn’t matter if it’s not my real name. It’s my intellectual property by law. Continuing to use it while advertising his own writing is also unprofessional and no publisher would ever allow such a thing. He’s not talking about me anymore, why? It ended the day I made it abundantly clear I absolutely do have what I have and was doing what I was doing. Then of a sudden? They stop. They stopped, not because it was right, but because they looked like the assholes they frankly are. He stopped talking about me, not as an apology, but as a consequence. And what didn’t he do? The one thing I asked him to from the very beginning. So if he really wants to devote his time to other things and stop being a bully, then he needs to do the right thing, and get rid of my name. Not to mention the fact that if he finds me so repugnant, he shouldn’t have put it on in the first place. Not only did he refuse, but he argued for several reasons why he will keep doing it anyway, principally, that I should be flattered. Remember back when I began flirting with him to illustrate that only someone who loves me ought to be spending so much time on me, and he accused me of sexual harassment? Should I say he should be flattered? No. That’s wrong. So what in the name of fucking St Peter gives him license to say such a thing to me? He is a bully and he doesn’t want to stop being one. So now that there are three separate studies of his behavior, suddenly he will stop, but he will keep that one thing he knows upsets me. Like a trophy. So I’m sorry if I am unable to hear any justifications made of his behavior over the din of my disgust.

5. Did you somehow miss the part of my post when I said I do not care, will not care, am apathetic to an explanation, and frankly would prefer to completely forget him altogether, as I shall do before the century is out? I was fairly plain. Do not visit my blog, if you visit his too. I’m finished learning about him. If he wants me to notice him, he can do better than stealing my name and being a shite. He can do the right thing and then impress me with his writing.

So to recap: I’m not talking to one more person about Izzy until he comes to talk this over with me directly, I will accept an apology and for my name to be removed. If that is given, I will cease talking about him, and he can walk away with no damage to his reputation. Those are the options. If he doesn’t like that? That’s what I expected and so be it. We know who he is.

Otherwise I have absolutely nothing left to say about this.

[crimson-snowfall]

Notice

better late than never, but this is just to say that the otome-centric content on this blog is going on an indefinite hiatus.

To be more precise, I won't be posting any *new* Ikevamp/Ikesen related stuff in the foreseeable future. Tho I'm thinking of reblogging my older stories/hcs in the meantime but I just haven't gotten around to scheduling it. I also haven't caught up with the manhwa I used to read ever since MangaDex went down so it'll be a while (a month or two?) before i post new stuff here again.

I've put a small Q&A below in case if anyone's actually curious tho it's just personal stuff really

Did something happen?

Well, lots of things have been happening since I made this blog, though sometimes some unexpected things happen and for me I just hit the last straw. In the end, once one becomes involved with people it becomes impossible for one not to slowly lose interest in something if unpleasant things keep on happening for the most inane, ridiculous reasons.

So the people factor is one... another reason is that I've started to find some of the event stories repetitive (?) or maybe the premise of these stories just doesn't interest me as much it used to. I also buy the epilogues for my faves mostly and it just doesn't make me feel the same way as it used to. I'm also not interested in any of the future routes to be released (it's gonna take... a year before Vlad comes out? and I'm not really updated with the route release schedule for ikesen but I'm not into Motonari nor Keiji whom apparently are the next 2 routes, so...)

So what have you been up to lately?

Studies as usual tho I picked up a new interest where I devote pretty much all of my free time. With that said, the next time this blog becomes semi-active again it will most likely be centered more around my new interest + me catching up to manhwas and me giving my reactions/thoughts as I read along.

As for Ikemen series content... I'll be honest but the probability of me actively and actually *writing* content for it ever again is just... kinda low, really. Maybe a Vlad route/Kenshin eternal route will change my mind? Who knows. Memes/incorrect quotes are more probable, but it'll most likely be done on a whim/if I happen to come up with ideas that would actually fit.

So... that's all for now? Thanks for reading.

[ichinoue]

Submitted: I sent this ask to another IH blog but I feel like asking you too. So I was following along a thread on twitter and a anti said when Ichigo laid dead on the ground with a hole in his chest in the Lust arc, that he didn’t say “I can hear her..stand up..I will protect her” before hollowfying. They claim he instead said “I can hear..stand up..I have to protect” using no pronounce directed at Orihime, hence NOT coming back from the dead because he wants to protect her specifically but because of his instincts to protect and he would’ve done it for any of his friends. They also said that Orihime didn’t scream “help me” but instead said “help” which triggered Ichigo’s instincts to protect, making him rise from the dead, hence once again making it clear this was never about Orihime specifically but about Ichigo’s instincts responding when hearing a voice in need (and this voice could’ve been from anyone amongst his friends) and how the hollow would not allow him to die regardless. Basically the English translations are incorrect and the raw version in kanji never used pronounces during these scenes. Is this correct and how would you respond to this?

Man, people will really grasp at straws to make it seem like Ichigo rising up had nothing to do with Orihime lol. The thing is, you don’t need specific “her” pronouns there because of the way the scene is set up---Orihime screaming and crying and Ichigo responding, panels placed side by side to demonstrate exactly what he’s responding to (Answer: Orihime). Take all the words away, and the meaning is still the same: Orihime crying and Ichigo reacting. And even if you leave the words in, if he’s saying “I can hear” what *exactly* is he hearing I wonder?? 🤔(Answer: Orihime crying out to him.) They really need a pronoun to figure that out? Stay in school, kids. (Also, as someone pointed out in the replies, Japanese doesn’t use the same pronouns and sentence structure as English does).

You would have to be...willfully obtuse to need the word “her” to be there in order to comprehend this scene lol. Like, “hmm I wonder what he’s responding to?? Welp, there’s no pronoun there so I guess we can’t know for sure 🤷‍♀️” lmaooo GOD it’s like they actively choose ignorance when it comes to IchiHime moments. A four year-old who can’t even read could figure this out! 

And if their argument is that Ichigo would have done this for any of his friends if they had cried out to him like that...maybe? We can’t know for sure because it didn’t happen. But what we DO know for sure is that Kubo chose Orihime to be the one who cried out to him, he chose Orihime to be the one Ichigo responded to. He could have rearranged the scenes and put ANY of the other nakama in that position, crying out at Ichigo’s corpse...But he chose to give that role to Orihime specifically. Why? Perhaps to demonstrate how special she is to him? After all, she IS the girl he decided Ichigo was going to marry after writing chapter one. Having him rise up from the dead for her would make for a *giant hint* at his underlying feelings for her. A hint that flew right over the heads of the anti-IH fans apparently lmao. The poor things are still out there making arguments against something that’s already happened.

And if Ichigo rose up for all of his friends and not Orihime specifically, then why did he literally attack his friend, and then, *on the very same page* turned to Orihime and chanted the word “protect.” Answer: Because he wanted to protect her, specifically. Not Ishida, the friend he just brutally attacked lmaooo, but Orihime. Whatever shred of his humanity was still intact was determined to protect Orihime. If he had risen up to protect all of his friends, and she wasn’t being set apart here as the special person he rose up for, then he wouldn’t have attacked Ishida. But he did. Point blank, period.

And, immediately after he attacked Ishida, he does this. Turns around to face Orihime while chanting the word “protect.” Again, I don’t know if the “her” pronoun is being used here, but it doesn’t need to be because of the way the panels are set up: Ichigo and Orihime’s faces placed directly next to each other, side by side, while Ichigo’s chanting the word “protect”---and his dialogue is even carried. over. to Orihime’s panel, to demonstrate that he’s speaking to and/or about her. Clearly, whatever mantra Ichigo is chanting here is being aimed at Orihime. That’s just basic reading comprehension, dude.

And it’s at this moment, the moment when he turns to Orihime, chanting his need to protect...this is the moment when she realizes that Ichigo is, in fact, doing this for her. How do we know this? Because it’s immediately followed by this page:

This is when it dawns on Orihime that Ichigo reacted to her voice and is doing this for her. Seriously, this page right here debunks their entire argument all on its own. Because if Ichigo rising up had nothing to do with Orihime specifically, Kubo would not have written this page literally acknowledging that it was about Orihime specifically. He acknowledges this via Orihime’s inner monologue. He even included a flashback of Orihime calling out to Ichigo a mere few chapters ago, a flashback from the first page I posted, the page where Ichigo starts to transform as Orihime screams---solidifying even more that it was her voice he was responding to, and then having Orihime take the blame for it...Because it was about her. “Because I said that, Kurosaki-kun is trying to help me.” It’s....literally right there on the page like, lmao. This is so blatant, why do they try so hard to deny it? 

But yeah, antis. Keep telling yourselves that the girl Ichigo rose up from the dead for was never special to him. It’s not like he ended up marrying her in the end or anything, right? 

It really makes me wonder if the reason they think IchiHime “came out of nowhere” is because their reading comprehension was so poor that they missed out on blatant, in-your-face Ichigo-->Orihime hints like this. Or, like I said, that they were so willfully obtuse to the point of ignoring the obvious because “there’s no pronoun!!!!” As they studied the raws, desperate for a way to debunk what’s right in front of their faces, clear as day.

Like Kubo obviously wrote these things to lay the foundation of IchiHime, which we can safely say now that it’s canon, and antis are still out there like “nope, IH had nothing 😤I’m clinging to all of my interpretations even though they’ve already been proven wrong.”

They spent the entire series’ run making arguments like this and twisting obvious IchiHime moments to make them seem less than what they were in order to convince themselves that IchiHime had nothing and would never be canon...and then it did become canon. And instead of just accepting that their arguments and interpretations were wrong, they’re still out there shouting angrily at clouds, trying to prove that all of this IchiHime evidence that led to it becoming canon, doesn’t actually exist. 

Oh well lmao

[yoiprojects-n-events]

Hi!! I don’t really understand how all these event thingies work? Bangs, reverse bangs, zines, challenges etc. Could you explain them for me, please? 😅 Thanks!!

Hey there nony! That is a really great question! I would be more than happy to explain all the different events for you! I will even provide some example blogs you can look at too for reference (please note, not all of the example blogs will be active or current events/challenges).

Hold onto your ice skates because this is gonna be a long one. As such, I will put the explanations below the cut 💕

So I will begin with Challenges as they seemed to be the easiest to explain:

Challenges 📝

Challenges are generally based on Writing or Art prompts. These events challenge participants to create something based on a series of prompts for a certain number of days/weeks/etc. These types of challenges will most often be art-based, but not always.

For example: The most well-known event that would fall into the ‘challenges’ category would be Inktober. Although this event isn’t specific to Yuri!!! on Ice, it’s a good example to use. Inktober provides participants with a list of 31 prompts that an artist can use to guide their drawing ideas. Artists are challenged to post one ink drawing a day for 31 days based on these ideas. Even some writers use inktober prompts to create spooky stories every day for 31 days.

Applications or sign-ups are not typically required for these types of events.

Here are a few posts to check out with different Yuri!!! on Ice challenges:

100 Days of Makka Challenge, Pochatober 2019

Event Weeks 🎉

In the Yuri!!! on Ice fandom, event weeks seem to be the most popular (and generally the easiest to run). Event weeks (sometimes called theme weeks) as the name suggests, are generally week-long events that are often based on a specific theme. These themes can range from week-long birthday celebrations for a specific character, to holiday themes, or even more unique topics like fantasy weeks and ship weeks. Honestly, the sky is the limit when it comes to choosing a specific theme. I’ve seen a whole collection of crazy and interesting theme weeks in this fandom!

Anyways, once the event theme has been decided blog moderators will also provide participants with prompts or suggestions that span across seven days to help guide the creative process. 

For Example: In October I was a co-moderator for a Spooky Week Event (A Halloween themed event) that ran from October 25 - October 31. For each day we had two ‘prompt suggestions’ to help inspire people. On the first day of the event, our prompts were ‘Zombies and Monsters’ and ‘Haunted’. For day Two, our prompts were ‘Devil and Demons’ and “Autumn’. Then that pattern continued over seven days. 

Once the prompts have been released, creators will have a certain about of time to create something based on the daily themes. Then, once the event week starts, participants can start posting and sharing their creations.

Sometimes, event weeks will have a day called a ‘free day’ which means participants can create something based on anything that falls within the scope of the theme set for the event. 

Applications or sign-ups are not typically required for these types of events.

Here are a few event week blogs to check out:

@yoirarepairweek​ (Upcoming in January), @yoitrainingweek​, @yuuriweek2019​

Gift Exchange/Secret Gift Exchange 🎁

Gift Exchanges are when participants create artwork or written fanfiction based upon prompts or ideas suggested by another participant.

When signing up for this type of event, you are generally asked to submit one or more prompts or suggestions based on a theme or pairing you enjoy and would like to receive as a gift from another participant.

For example: Let’s say I am a big fan of Victor Nikiforov/Katsuki Yuuri Super Hero AU’s (One of my not so secret weaknesses). I could ask for my giftee to create something based on that idea (and you can certainly add more details than this). Then, whoever receives your prompts/ideas would then create something (typically art or written works) based on what you have suggested.

It’s also important to note that when participating in these events, you are also expected to create something for another person based on the prompts/ideas that you receive from them.

More often than not, these events are Secret Gift Exchanges, meaning that no one knows who their giftee is until the set day when everyone is allowed to reveal/post their gifts.

Here are a few gift exchange blogs for you to check out:

@victuurisummerloving​, @yoisecretskater​​, @yurionice-secretsanta​

Bangs 📝🎨

Bangs are traditionally challenges that require authors to write a story that is 50,000 words or more within a set amount of time. HOWEVER, most bangs these days, host much smaller challenges that generally only require around 10k or 15k words per author (and sometimes even less depending on the event)

Then, once these stories have been partly, or fully written, artists will have the opportunity to review the written stories or a summary of the story. They can then decide which one they would like to create artwork for (this is often called the claims or claiming period). 

Once the claims have been completed, authors and artists can converse (if desired) about the artwork that will be created for the story. Writers can often suggest to the artists which scenes they would like to see drawn, but it is up to the artist to make the final decision on what scenes actually are created.

Then, on a specific day, artists and writers will be able to post and reveal their works online.

These events can also be called Big Bangs or Mini Bangs at the discretion of the event moderators

Here are a few bangs blogs to check out:

@bigbangonice​,  @otayuribigbang​, @viktuuriangstbang​

Reverse Bangs 🔁🎨📝

Reverse Bangs, as the name would suggest, are the opposite of Bangs. For these events, artists create their work first instead of authors. Then, once their artwork has been created, authors can view the artwork and decide which piece they would like to write a story for. 

Once the art claiming period has ended, Artist and Writers can collaborate (if desired) regarding the creation of the written portion of the piece. Sometimes, (if desired) artists will even create additional pieces for a story based on what the author writes.

Then, on a specific day, artists and writers will be able to post and reveal their works online.

* Sadly, I don’t have any Yuri!!! on Ice blogs to recommend looking at regarding this particular category. The only Reverse Bang I found in this fandom seems to have occurred in 2017 and the main blog appears to no longer exist (I can provide example blogs from other fandoms though if desired, just send me a message and let me know).

Zines 📚

Now, while I don’t necessarily reblog Zine events on this page, I am more than happy to explain what they are and how they work!

The term Zine, which is apparently pronounced zeen -like magazine- comes from the term Fanzine (I’ve been pronouncing it wrong this whole time, whoops). Zines can be created by a single person or by a group of artists, writers (and sometimes cosplayers) who come together to create content for an independent or self-published booklet. 

Zines are often theme-based (i.e. Fairytale themed or centered on a specific ship) and all the content created for the zine is based around said theme. 

In order to participate in these events, interested parties will submit an application containing examples of their works. Once applications close, moderators will review the submissions and decide which applicants will be participating.***

Once Zines are completed, they are put online for fans to purchase. Some Zines are digital-only, meaning that only PDF versions are sold. Other Zines sell physical printed books and even merchandise items (such as pins, keychains, bookmarks, etc). 

Depending on the moderators, some zines donate all the prophets made on sales to a preselected charity while other zines split any money made between all the creators. Most Zines, however, either do a combination of both (donate half the proceeds and split the remaining money between contributors if there is enough) or simply donate everything to a specific charity. 

Zines are incredibly fun events, but I would definitely say that they are the most time-consuming. 

*** Sometimes, when Zines are online-only (PDF versions), all applicants are accepted. If a Zine is going to be physically printed, moderators tend to limit the number of participants to keep both the production costs and the sale prices low.

Here are a few Zine blogs for you to check out:

@yoidreadfulzine​ (applications still open), @onceuponayoi​, @phichimettizine​

Again, I do apologize for the length of this post but I hope I was able to answer all of your questions nony!! I tried to include everything, even the ones not mentioned, but please let me know if I left anything out that you would like to know about! (If anyone sees anything that seems incorrect/inaccurate, please let me know)

I will also create a new page on my blog explaining all of the above again so it will be easy for everyone to find in the future!

- Mystic

[thesaltyoceanwaves]

Bewitched Part 2

Ao3

@lenoreofraven

Today’s musical numbers: “Reason to Become a Witch” and “Congratulations” (cut from Hamilton)

“You trampled on my love and laughed. You clung on to a foolish love. The reason I became a witch, the reason why I’m cursing you… Hurry and run away, I’m a girl with a gun” - Reason to Become a Witch, NS Yoon-G

-~-~-~

There’s something exciting about sitting on top of the academy rooftop, despite Bewitched being used to running and swinging over the city all the time. Right now, she bides her time and can appreciate just how small and ant-like everyone looks from this perspective. It reminds her that the problems of her past life will be just as petty and meaningless after her plans come to fruition.

The students flood the schoolyard, none of them the wiser about what’s to come. She waits until all three of her potential targets enter the area - Adrien rushing in last and going over to Alya - and while doing so, charges up a red energy into her left hand. In the meantime, she overhears a glimpse of the conversation that they have, including a few moments where Nino actually called Adrien out for his behavior.

Hm. Perhaps I’ll spare him a cruel fate.

Once ready, she points her fingers like a gun in Lila’s general direction and fires.

All of the girls surrounding the liar - Rose, Juleka, Mylene and two girls from another class - shriek at the sight of Lila getting blasted. Sure enough, all of the attention now comes to Bewitched.

“I hope you all had a good morning, because it’ll be the last time any of you know good fortune.”

She allows for a few moments of collective gasps and hurried studying of her new form. No one, it seemed, could believe that it was actually her standing there above them. Even Lila, still frozen from her blast, has her thoughts immediately betrayed by her facial expressions.

But from high above, all of their judgments and stares mean nothing. It’s only fair considering she apparently meant nothing to them when she was a good and fair princess. The only expressions she finds intriguing, are the ones realizing just how much they messed up this time.

“M-Marinette?”

She practically rolls her eyes at the sound of this name. Damn, did he always sound this annoying? She glowers at the pathetic, wannabe knight, and dictates, “I am not Marinette. I am Bewitched. And to those who cursed me,” she pauses to cast venomous glances at both Lila and Adrien, giving her a glorious moment of seeing the two squirm, “Well, allow me to return the favor.”

The burst of red energy cackles around Lila, and the liar is forced to turn her entire body toward Bewitched. Her mouth and hands tremble, and she looks like she’s on the verge of tears.

“P-Please, Marinette,” she begs, “I-It doesn’t have to be like this!”

“Oh, it’s too late for that,” Bewitched cooes, “You can’t simply return to this school, lie to everyone, and then threaten me in the bathroom for not following your lead. And painting me to look like the envious one?” she clucks her tongue, “That’s just tasteless, Lie-la.”

Yet another collective gasp erupts across the schoolyard. All of the girls that just moments ago, were fawning over the Italian, are now studying her with raised eyebrows. Bewitched isn’t so pompous as to believe that the girls realize the lies all on their own. No, she predicts Lila’s next actions quite easily.

“That’s not true! I never lied!”

Bewitched can only laugh as she says her line, word for word. What a predictable turn of events.

By this time, Alya already has her phone out and is recording the entire interaction. Excellent.

“I’m not sure I really believe you. So, allow for me to fix that.” The red energy around Lila flares brighter than before, blinding anyone who stands too close to her. The girl group has all evacuated at least twenty feet away from the Italian. “Lila Rossi, you are now cursed to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth. Anytime you try and speak a lie, you will choke on your own words until the truth comes out.”

The red flash dissipates, leaving Lila only with a red symbol on her forehead - the Chinese symbol for “cursed”. When she realizes this, her hands race up to cover it.

“W-What did you do to me?”

“Excuse you, I’ll be asking the questions around here,” she scoffs. God, how did none of these people get sick of Lila’s whiny, cowering attitude all the time? She proclaims to be related to top martial artists and bodyguards, not to mention a superhero whose position she inherited, have secret training, but oh no, someone come save her, please! People actually eating this up though and not getting tired of all the bragging is the most tragic part. But after today, that will change. Smirking, she crosses her arms over her chest, hiding her hands so as to gather more energy. “Tell me, Lila. Have you really met Ladybug?”

She lets out a breath. “Oh, of course I have. We’re best frie-” The gagging is immediate and her hands drop from forehead to around her throat. Some of the girls that ran away earlier, are now back surrounding Lila, trying to help her stand up.

“Marinette!” Rose squeaks, “Make it stop! You’re hurting her!”

“She’s only hurting herself,” Bewitched shrugs, “If she’d only tell the truth about her relationship with Ladybug, then it’ll stop. So Lila, tell us the truth. When did you really meet Ladybug for the first time?”

The panting slows down a bit, but tears still form in the corner of the girl’s eyes. Honestly, is her pride and reputation so important that she would refuse to tell the truth? How pathetic. Hawkmoth honestly chose to akumatize this girl twice?

“A-At the park…” she gasps, “It was m-my first day… here… I was with… A-Adrien. S-She got mad at me… for lying about her on Alya’s blog.”

The liar collapses to the ground, clearly trying to keep herself from retching. Satisfied with her response, she turns her attention to Alya and Nino. She almost frowns when she realizes that Adrien is long gone, and doing a quick scan of the courtyard, Chloe, Kagami and Felix are also gone.We’ll just have to fix that, won’t we? she notes, feeling the warmth of her energy charged finger guns.

“Well, did you get that, Ladyblogger? It turns out the whole time you were reporting about Lila and Ladybug’s legendary friendship, you were getting played for a fool the entire time. Someone who refuses to fact check and blindly believes that they’re right and yet gets fame and attention for it is just asking to be cursed.”

Before anyone can object, she fires the red beam at Alya. For good measure, she also fires a pink beam from her right hand at Nino. The couple exchange a horrified glance, trying to move toward one another, but Bewitched will not allow it.

“Alya Cesaire. You are now cursed to be wrong about everything. Every decision you make, every word you utter, whether you mean it to or not, will be incorrect. No one will ever be able to take you seriously again.”

Again, the light disappears, and the symbol appears on her forehead. Satisfied, she then turns to Nino.

“As for you, Nino Lahiffe, I’ve decided to spare you. You could have done better at defending my honor, but you at least tried, unlike a supposed best friend of mine. I’m willing to give you a second chance as one of my familiars.”

The pink light overtakes him and transforms him. His outfit converts from his usual street wear, to all black attire. Jeans, shirt, jacket… his glasses are now sunglasses, and his cap is on backwards, with cat ears present. A bit cartoony for her tastes, but it works with her general aesthetic. The chain belt tail is a nice touch though.

“Marinette, stop this!” Alya shouts, trying to run toward her. She only trips over her feet. Sitting herself back up, she clears her throat. “I know that this is just a ploy to get everyone to turn against Lila! There’s no way she’s lying!”

If she hadn’t already been akumatized, Bewitched would have predicted a butterfly being sent her way by now. Thankfully, the students in the courtyard below all see reason and merely shake their heads at Alya’s words. It feels so nice to finally be believed for once.

That doesn’t mean she’ll spare them all.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have a few more familiars at her side.

Some of the students start running away, so she needs to be quick in her decision making. Marc Anciel starts running toward Nathaniel. He is one of the few people to not buy into Lila’s pack of lies, and actually seems grateful for her help. He's lacking in the self-confidence department, but that’s easily adjusted. When the pink beam hits him, his outfit becomes not too dissimilar to that of Nino’s, though his cat ears are sewn onto his hoodie.

Aurore Boureal stands in front of a classroom door, ushering other students inside. How noble and brave. The two of them hadn’t interacted much, but Bewitched always sort of liked Aurore, and could relate to her. She knew what it was like to have to juggle so many activities and responsibilities, and how draining it could for no one to appreciate her best efforts. What a fitting candidate for her familiar.

Aurore’s outfit maintains the shape of her dress, but also gives her a pair of shorts and plain stockings. She owns some fishnet gloves, cutting off at the knuckles and a cat ear headband. The parasol she so iconically carries is black with white cat heads, and she uses it to close the classroom door, before pointing it at students that dare try to approach.

Most of the students are gone by this point, even Alya and Lila who are now free to move about. Still, she doesn’t want to settle for just any old people to serve as her trustworthy familiars - they have to be worthy, unlike that troubling Chat Noir. Her eyes fall on Juleka, and sure enough, the goth girl is now a part of her pack. Perhaps she believed Lila’s lies as well, but she was also Luka’s younger sister - she could afford to show a little mercy in her case. Not to mention that her outfit is already perfect for a familiar, so she just gains some cat-themed accessories.

The effects of Alya’s curse are to her benefit, though, Already, Bewitched sees her ushering everyone into the classroom. Honestly, did she think that would be an ideal location? From the look on her face, that doesn’t seem to be the case, but Bewitched isn’t complaining.

She commands her familiars to go forward.

--

An essential lesson in any form of martial art is self-control. Competitive matches could get heated, but a practitioner always held back a certain degree of power and force in their attacks. It was the difference between fierce competition and bloodsport.

Even as Riposte, Kagami has never wanted to throttle Adrien as violently as she does now, ignoring all of the rules of competition. The only thing holding her back at this point is Felix’s pointed glare at the clueless Agreste. And even that is only helping a little.

The three of them are panting furiously, trying not to gag at the odors radiating in the sewers. Her only wish at this point is for Luka to meet up with them, and for them to find all sort of shelter to come up with a plan to properly save Marinette.

But for now…

“Congratulations, Adrien Agreste,” Kagami scowls, “You’ve managed to make one of the kindest, most hard working girls in our entire school into the most vengeful akuma Hawkmoth has ever created. I thought Chloe Bourgeois was reckless with her bullying, but at least she attempted to change her ways. You on the other hand…”

“You’re on a whole new level of stupid,” Felix adds on, “Did you honestly think that Marinette was going to want your pushy, obsessive behavior in a relationship? You know better than anyone that she hates bullies.”

“I’m not a bully!” he objects.

“Oh? Then what would you call yourself then? A hero? No, I don’t think you’re worthy of that title anymore,” Kagami barks, “You know if it were my decision to make, you wouldn’t even have that ring anymore.”

His eyes widened. Even Felix couldn’t contain his surprise at the statement, his hands shaking.

“You mean to say… that this obsessive, entitled doormat of a human being… is Chat Noir?”

“Y-You’re not supposed to know that!” Adrien exclaims, “H-How did you-”

“I had my suspicions, but your reaction confirmed it. Not to mention, when Ladybug decided to take a break, her reasons and story was awfully familiar to Marinette’s,” she sighs, “That means you went to that journalist girl and made her write stories and articles trying to get you two to date…”

Oh god. Images of Marinette scrambling across the school yard, plastering fake smiles, attempting to keep her voice even and level, anxiously reading from her phone only to hide it from the three of them… screw keeping her composure, Kagami wants nothing less to vomit then and there. Just what the hell snapped in this kid’s mind to make him act out the way he did?

For a moment, she weighs the idea that maybe she might be at fault. Had she tried veering Adrien away from Marinette on the ice skating date, might this all have been averted?

No, she reminds herself. It doesn’t matter the reason for his obsessive behavior. It’s still wrong. She glances over at Felix to remind herself of that. He’d point out just how irrational that all was.

Neither her nor Marinette were responsible for this temper tantrum .

She’s not sure how he managed to do it, but Luka has somehow managed to find them in the sewers, and leaps over to them. He’s completely winded, and Kagami can’t help but wonder just how far he had to run to get here. The fact that he made it here so quickly too doesn’t do much to ease her anxieties, either.

“What did I miss?” he asks in between breaths.

“Apparently, Mr. Model Behavior here is actually Chat Noir,” Felix scowls, “And not only has been playing the part of the Nice Guy to Marinette as a civilian, but also as a so-called hero. Hence, our current situation.”

Luka is one of the softest, most gentle souls Kagami has ever known. From time to time, she teases him about this, and her and Felix would refer to Luka and Marinette as cotton candy or marshmallows for their sweet and silly behavior.

But Luka once admitted to having a bit more impulsive, and angry side. This was as a result of him having problems using the right words to speak. He often kept this in check through meditation and his music. When he felt like screaming, he listened to Jagged Stone or heavier music and just let it all out. He worked hard to keep it under control and Kagami never would have suspected his problem unless he told her about it.

The flash of anger that races across his eyes is still a surprise to her.

“What the hell were you thinking, Adrien?”

“Woah, take it easy there-”

Luka slamming his hand across the wall is enough to make them all collectively jump. “Shut the hell up. Don’t tell me what to do. You didn’t take it easy on Marinette when you decided to ruthlessly pursue her into being your girlfriend. You remember that day at the ice rink?” The scowl in the back of his voice starts to dissipate a bit. Kagami can’t help but wonder if Luka is actually on the verge of tears from everything. “I told Marinette to go after you, not because I wanted her to, but because I thought it would make her happy. I cared about her a lot, but I knew for a fact that she wasn’t mine to control. Knowing that you went out of your way to hurt her for your own selfish purposes…” he looks away, his voice faltering, “Damn, you really know how to sicken a guy.”

“You’re just jealous that she confessed to me and not you,” Adrien retorts.

“As I recall,” Felix interrupts, “ You rejected her. It seems you were only interested in her once you found out she was Ladybug.”

Luka lifts his face up and regards Adrien with an even harder glare. “What?”

“Enough,” Kagami scowls, rubbing her temples. After this entire situation was fixed, she was going to get herself a nice pot and a half of tea to alleviate the headache she was going to have. “This isn’t going to get us anywhere. Adrien,” she spits, regarding him with a cold glare, “You and I will go and get Chloe. Luka and Felix, I’m leaving this with you.” From her inside jacket pocket, she pulls out the snake miraculous, “Only use it if you have to. See if you can calm Marinette down from her emotional state.”

“I should be the one to go to Marinette,” Adrien mutters, trying to get away.

“Marinette is looking to give you the worst curse she can muster,” Kagami points out, “Going in without backup is the dumbest idea you have, and you’ve had plenty of those today.” The boy has the nerve to pout, but she fights back the urge to retort any further. “Luka… are you going to be alright?”

His eyes are closed, and he lets out a breath. She knows that later he’ll probably be blasting Jagged over the Seine, but with Felix gently touching his shoulder, Luka sighs and let’s it go. “I’ll be fine. If we can just help Marinette... “

“We’ll manage something,” Felix says assuredly, “Hurry up and get Queen Bee. We’re going to need all of the help we can get.”

Longg and Tikki pop out of her pocket, only giving her a silent nod of agreement. With everyone on the same page, the two groups split up, and Kagami only hoped that Chloe managed to keep herself hidden away from Bewitched.

[hiddendreamer67]

I got tagged by the absolutely wonderful @fanartfunart! (thank you for tagging me it made my week <3). Also this may or may not be my second attempt because I accidentally deleted the first one.

Rules: Answer 21 questions and tag 21 people you want to know better (& make a separate post).

1) Nickname

Mandy, or some people call me Dreamer.

2) zodiac

Gemini!

3) Height

5′7″, I thiiiiink?

4) Last movie I saw

Hmm...oh! It was “The Greatest Showman” in my local movie theater for a sing-along movie event. It was fun.

5) last thing googled

google docs...because I’m lazy and don’t just click the little icon...

6) Favorite musicians

This changes a lot but recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Linsay Sterling and I am LIVING.

7) Songs stuck in my head

Currently? That “Maybe I’ll be Tracer.” But only the 15 second tik tok version. On repeat. Forever.

8) Other blogs

hnnng... fine i’ll look them up. Here’s the ones that are the most active and also aren’t run with other people:

@hamsteryoutubers (my reblog blog affectionately named my trash blog), @cam-is-fam (my aesthetic blog <3), @wilfordanddarkcantdie (where i reblog videos/things with sound for me to watch later), @incorrect-youtuber-ego-quotes (pretty self explanatory), @incorrect-ladybug-quotes (also pretty self explanatory), @i-am-alive-rk800 (Detroit: Become Human reblog blog)

9) Do I get asks

I get some occasionally, and I absolutely love them. Sometimes I hoard them in my inbox for a while just so I can smile. :) Oh also I have maaaaaaaaany prompts, which I will get to eventually. 

10) followers

I don’t like to share follower numbers but I certainly appreciate the ones I have!

11) following

Apparently, 782. 0.0

12) amount of sleep

This week it’s been 6-7 hours, but i like to aim for 8-9.

13) lucky number

7!

14) What I’m wearing

Today matching Hogwarts sweatpants and sweatshirt from Target.

15) Dream job

Currently I’m pursuing video game design and computer science, which I love, but someday I’d love to be an author. Really though I’d just like to be happy.

16) Dream trip

I actually got the chance to do this last summer, which was a trip to London. I’d love to do a similar trip again with more of my family and friends because I love quality time with them, but for a new destination I would love to go to New Zealand. 

(There’s a lot of places on my bucket list though because I love travel.)

17) Favorite food

Potatoes! Pot-eight-o’s! Specifically mashed potatoes.

18) play any instruments

I can play the piano a little. I’ve been trying to teach myself violin for years now, but I never seem to have enough time.

19) Favorite song

This changes every minute, but right now I’ve been enjoying “Queen” by Stephen Jerzak.

20) Random fact

I have a pet rabbit named Napoleon Bunnyparte.

21) Describe yourself as aesthetic things

Flower crowns, scattered glitter pens, dollhouse furniture tucked away in the attic, dark blue ink stains, cozy oversized sweaters, late night rambling texts,  and a video game achievement icon.

(...maybe? idk.)

Alright Tag time! @arc852, @planningconstantplanning, @renewarightspiritwithinme, @borrowersandelvesandgiantsohmy, @nicolepostsstuff, @madd-catter, @justanotherpurplebutterfly, @lilygold23, @callboxkat, @lppchan, @castaways-ask-blog, @dangerousdoodle, @curlyclogs, @yourfreindlyneighborhoodnerd, @theatresweetheart, @tiny-enby, @mycatshuman, @revalisidepiece, @always-make-it-gayer, @memelovingsun, @puns-and-musicals

[charilmg]

So, I was gonna let this just go because I don't even post here anymore anyway, but it's so fucking stupid that yknow what, let's make it official.

So, apparently, my simple post of my wedding ring with the caption "got married today" and nothing else, is against Tumblr's rules now!

Let's look at the rules to see what I broke, let's see we got:

TERRORISM: not terrorism it's a wedding ring.

HATE SPEECH: unless getting married is hate speech now (lbh considering the breed of snowflakes Tumblr caters to it probably is), not hate speech it's a wedding ring.

HARM TO MINORS: I was 28 and my husband 34. No harm to minors.

PROMOTION OR GLORIFICATION OF SELF HARM: neither of us even have visible cat scratches, let alone self harm.

ADULT CONTENT: it's hands.

VIOLENT CONTENT AND THREATS, GORE AND MUTILATION: it's hands.

NON-GENUINE SOCIAL GESTURE SCHEMES: I read this like 8 times and still don't even know what the fuck, but, yes we genuinely got married, and no it's not a social gesture.

DECEPTIVE OR FRAUDULENT LINKS: no links, it's a picture of hands.

MISATTRIBUTION OR NON-ATTRIBUTION: it's a photo I took myself with my own phone. But also lol that if you cite an incorrect source you can get taken down, even if you genuinely believe that's the correct source.

USERNAME/URL ABUSE OR SQUATTING: wat. Doesn't even apply. It's a picture of hands.

ACCOUNT DORMANCY: "Use Tumblr! Use Tumblr all the time!" Lol fat chance after this

SPAM: posted it once. A picture of hands.

MASS REGISTRATION/UNAUTHORIZED CONTESTS/THEMES DISTRIBUTES TO THIRD PARTIES/COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT: none of these apply in the slightest

CONFUSION OR IMPERSONATION: no I really am married and that is my hand

HARRASSMENT: again unless tumblrites are triggered by people getting married, not harrassment

PRIVACY VIOLATIONS: it's hands. One of which is my own.

RESOURCE ABUSE: wat

UNLAWFUL USES OR CONTENT: we are legally married, not unlawful content

HUMAN TRAFFICKING OR PROSTITUTION: neither of us purchased the other, we married of our own will

And here's the kicker!

"We do our best to ensure fair outcomes, but in all cases we reserve the right to suspend accounts, or remove content, without notice, for any reason, but particularly to protect our services, infrastructure, users, and community."

So some idiot saw a picture of my fucking wedding ring, declared HARAM and put a strike against my account. If they did that for a fucking WEDDING RING then what the fuck CAN I post without concern?!

I wasn't even active much over here anyway, but effective immediately, this is now a dead blog. Not updating here anymore. If my account can get deleted because of a non-issue and some intern's personal judgment, without me even being contacted about it, then that's not happening. It'd be one thing if I could see why something I posted violated a rule, but again...

... It's my fucking wedding ring.

I'm not active much anywhere really but you can follow me on Instagram. @c_and_cats for catties, @i_am_atzend for everything else.

✌

[avaantares]

So uh, I’m really really disappointed with the Torchwood fandom right now (over what you addresses in your post about being respectful/a normal human being online), and I’m just not quite sure how to deal with that. Sorry to barge in with this, but you seem like a really understanding, level-headed person 😅

I feel you, Anon, and you are certainly not the only one I’ve heard from! A number of people have told me they’ve been growing more uncomfortable with the fandom’s atmosphere lately, and have been actively avoiding posting about certain topics for fear of dogpiling. (This actually came up in a few private conversations before I made the post you referenced, and helped cement my decision to speak up.)

This post is long, so here’s a dash-saver. Below the jump I talk about the state of the Torchwood fandom, how people can avoid and resolve drama on their own posts, and some things everyone can do to make the internet a nicer place.

While my recent post was not targeted solely at the Torchwood fandom (the “how dare you differ in opinion from me” trend is disturbingly widespread; see also: politics), it is true that there has been a lot of sectionalism and polarization in that fandom lately. Fandom niches have always existed, but as the Torchwood fandom shrinks – whether due to natural attrition, lack of interest in the new content, or whatever reason – the Venn circles for each area of interest also shrink, making each group appear more segregated, and resulting in less crossover and less generalized Torchwood fandom.

Now, specific interest groups within the fandom are not a bad thing! They occur naturally, since not everyone engages with fandom the same way. Some people listen to the new Big Finish releases, while others have only seen the original series. Some people enjoy trading headcanons, while others aren’t interested. Some people create fanart or fanfiction, while others just reblog gifsets. Some people are only in the fandom for one specific character, and that’s okay! We’re all fans of the same source material; we can all share and respect each other’s unique interests!

The problems arise when we stop doing that, when interest groups become isolationist (i.e. ”we’re the only real fans”), or when one group decides their focus/interest is more important than another group’s or individual’s. If any group begins policing or calling out other fans who don’t share their views, that’s a problem. If fans are afraid to share their opinion on a topic because of the threat of harassment or name-calling from other fans, that’s a problem. If we can no longer politely discuss our respective viewpoints or agree to disagree, that’s a problem. If we all start blocking each other because we can’t get over the fact that Person A loves Gwen Cooper and Person B doesn’t, or Person C ships Person D’s NoTP, or Person E headcanons a character as a particular sexuality/alignment/whatever and Person F has a different headcanon, there will be no fandom left because everyone who loves Torchwood will be on another fan’s block list.

“But wait!” Person A cries. “[Opinion I hold] is really important to me, and is relevant to my personal identity! By disagreeing with me, Person B is being disrespectful to my identity!”

Sorry, but no. Certainly, Person A is allowed their opinion, and that opinion may well be informed by their personal identity or beliefs. But Person B is also allowed an opinion, which may also be informed by their identity or beliefs. Person A’s personal opinion is no more or less valid than Person B’s. It’s not about B being disrespectful to A by voicing an alternate opinion; it’s about both A and B showing mutual respect by acknowledging that the other person has an opinion.

Of course, just because you’re fully entitled to state an opinion doesn’t mean you are correct, or that you have license to say anything you want free of consequence. Any time you put your opinion out there, you are opening yourself up to disagreement or rebuttal.

“So how can I avoid people aggressively disagreeing with me?” Person A asks. “I hate reading dissenting viewpoints, especially on my own posts.”

Well, you have two options. Option 1 is for those who honestly can’t handle any level of conflict or disagreement, and that’s not to post your opinion at all.

“That’s no fun!” says Person A. “I like to share my opinions.”

Well, that brings us to Option 2: Set the tone of your posts. See, here’s the thing: If you post your opinion in an agonistic manner, you’re more likely to elicit agonistic response. Here’s an example of two different post tones:

A’s Post: I went outside today and looked up, and the sky looked blue to me, so I think the actual color of the sky must be blue.

This is a clear statement of opinion, phrased with supporting rationale, but it’s focused on the person who holds that opinion, rather than targeting or disparaging someone who subscribes to a different one. A dissenter might counter with this:

B’s Response: I’ve always thought the sky looked white. Those puffy spots up there are definitely white, so I think that’s the real color of the sky.

It’s relatively polite, with no offensive personal remarks, and (again) it’s focused on why they personally believe what they do. It is likely that this sort of rational discussion could continue for many exchanges without becoming heated or aggressive. Maybe one will convince the other, or maybe they’ll stick to their own beliefs and agree to disagree, but nobody’s getting hurt and nobody’s getting blocked.

Now, compare that to this type of post:

A’s Post: OMG I hate when those white-sky idiots say the sky is white, they must all be MORONS because it’s clearly BLUE and if you don’t agree you’d best unfollow me NOW because i don’t want you anywhere near my posts. This is a BLUE SKY ONLY BLOG.

This person has already personally attacked anyone with a different view, drawn a line in the sand, and declared that this is the hill they will die on – all without supporting their opinion with a shred of evidence or reason. Naturally, this will only serve to inflame the other side:

B’s Response: HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A MORON, I’ll have you know I have a Master’s Degree in Cloud Watching and I wrote my thesis on why the sky is white. Only uneducated idiots think the sky is blue. BLOCKED.

Yeah, this exchange is never going to result in any kind of rational discussion. It is already 100% emotional, and there is no actual discussing going on, just name-calling. Getting involved in this kind of argument is a waste of time and energy, will not change anyone’s mind, and will only succeed in stressing out all parties.

“But the sky really IS blue!” Person A protests. “It doesn’t matter what tone I take, I’m still right!”

Nah, in this case both sides are wrong. The sky’s apparent color depends on the angle of the sun’s rays, humidity, and the way light in the visible spectrum is scattered by air molecules. It looks blue when the sun is high, and red or orange when the sun is near the horizon, but the sky itself is colorless. (There’s your science fact for the day). Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how right OP thinks they are; chances are the other person is just as convinced that they’re right, and it’s entirely possible that you’re fighting over something completely arbitrary or fundamentally unimportant.

And that brings me back to the Torchwood fandom and the hill-I-will-die-on arguments that have been plaguing it more and more in recent months. There is one thing I think we can ALL agree on, no matter our individual interests, and that is that Torchwood’s canon is a hot buttered mess. The original TV series is internally inconsistent; the novels contradict both the TV series and other novels; the comics contradict themselves, the novels, and the TV series; Miracle Day contradicts EVERYTHING that came before, including parent series Doctor Who; and the Big Finish dramas try really hard to respect all the prior releases, and mostly just end up creating their own canon, because it’s utterly impossible to reconcile everything. If canon can’t even agree on relatively simple things like

whether or not Jack can get drunk (no: BBC novels / yes: also BBC novels)

whether or not Jack can sleep/dream (no: TV and BBC novels / yes: also TV and BBC novels, plus BBC audio dramas)

if Jack and Ianto went on a date after KKBB (yes: BBC novels / no: also BBC novels)

what year Owen was born (1980: TV and Torchwood Magazine / 1981: TV and BBC novels)

what Ianto’s sister’s last name is (Evans: The Torchwood Archives / Davies: CoE)

…there are bound to be contradictory fan views on more complex issues, and there may not be a clear “correct” or “incorrect” position. It is possible to find canon support for nearly any Torchwood headcanon, because Torchwood canon is consistently inconsistent. Don’t make every issue a hard line in the sand. Accept that people are different, and based on their own unique backgrounds and experiences, people can legitimately come to different conclusions when presented with the same canon evidence (or lack thereof).

(Hmm… it’s almost like this principle could also apply to real-life sources of conflict like politics, religion, and social and cultural norms. Maybe keeping an open mind is a good idea in general…?)

“Well, it’s MY blog, and I can say what I want,” says Person A. “If people don’t like it that’s their problem.”

That is absolutely true. But remember, whatever you put out there is likely going to come right back at you. If you go with a rude or aggressive stance, or if you make personal attacks, you should expect your replies/reblogs to be just as nasty. If you escalate, so will they.

“Okay, so what if I post something polite and someone STILL comes back with a nasty response?” Person A asks. “I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now, and it isn’t even my fault!”

There are a couple of solutions to this that don’t involve breaking out the napalm:

Check for a misunderstanding. It’s hard to interpret tone in plain text sometimes. If you think the person may have honestly misinterpreted your post, maintain the polite tone and either clarify your post, or ask them (nicely) to explain why they are so upset about what you posted. Look for resolution, rather than merely refuting their post.

Don’t respond. “Be the bigger person” may sound cliche, but believe it or not, the world will not end if you choose not to engage someone on the internet. There is great power in putting down the phone or stepping away from the keyboard, and it’s much better for your blood pressure and stress level. Plus, if that person keeps raging on posts and not getting any responses, it may make them wonder why nobody pays attention to their opinions. Speaking of which…

“YOO-HOO!” hollers Person Z from waaaaaaay over in the corner. “Hi there! I just came for the fanart, and I’d like to participate more, but I’m really stressed out by the way this fandom is arguing all around me. I’m worried that if I post anything, someone will yell at me and tell me I’m wrong. That would really upset me.”

So let’s talk positive reinforcement for a second! This is where the casual observers and innocent bystanders can have a lot of power to steer the direction that fandom grows. Ultimately, the goal of all social media is to elicit interaction, whether that’s in the form of Likes, Reblogs, Replies, Retweets, Shares, Follows, or what have you. Giving posts this kind of interaction is like praising the writer. Reblogging also makes that post visible to more people, potentially attracting them to your fandom circle. Posts with more notes get seen more, read more, and can set the tone for other fandom interactions. The more rational, polite posts get spread around and accumulate notes, the more rational, polite people will be likely to get involved, and the more likely a new post on that topic will be worded in a rational, polite way. Whereas interacting with argumentative, nasty, stressful posts will tend to make new people avoid your fandom, and will encourage more people to turn things into a drama-fest because that’s what gets the notes, and notes are currency.

So when you see a post that just looks like a slap-fight or upsets you in some way, just ignore it and keep right on scrolling. You don’t need to attract drama to yourself or your blog, and you don’t need to feed that machine. But if you see someone doing it right, or if there’s an ongoing polite discussion, consider getting involved in the conversation! You can comment, reblog, reply or just like if you don’t have anything to add. Pay the polite, thoughtful interactions in notes and let the harsh posts die an unreblogged death.

So, dear Anon, that’s a very long-winded expansion on my previous post, and one you didn’t exactly ask for. :) But you’re not alone; many of us want to initiate change for the better. I hope we can help the fandom return to the happier, more collaborative place it was not so long ago.

Be kind to each other, be respectful, let go of whatever is driving you to have the last word, and we’ll all have more fun and significantly lower blood pressure.

[doberbutts]

it's particularly weird when both Fenris' breeder and the owner of one of his littermates, who IS cropped and docked, are right here and linked extensively in the last few days? Like I don't want to bring crap down on Ron or anything but it's extra bizarre when you're been extremely publicly hanging out with a bunch of Dobe people this week all of whom have cropped/docked dogs and... you personally... have one totally intact adult and now one totally intact puppy.

like I'd assume the axe grinding was an attempt to get you to yell about the horrors of docking/cropping but... obviously.... you are willing to continue working with and maintain close relationships with people whose priorities differ on that topic...

which makes the axe grinding and repetitive questioning even stranger

@grison-in-space​ Honestly I think you are being too charitable. Considering one of the more recent events was someone randomly swinging at me not because I had posted a recent photo of either of my cropped dogs or, apparently, because they had seen my desktop blog theme which features one of them, but simply because I am a doberman blog and dobermans are a cropped and docked breed. In their words, since I don’t have a disclaimer that I disapprove of the practice (because idgaf what other people do) in my bio or a pinned post, I was fair game to swing at and label as pro-crop/dock (also incorrect) and thus yell at and call an abusive monster. When I said that this is asshole behavior and I didn’t appreciate it, they made the excuse that actually it’s because they just care about the animals and I’m the asshole for being annoyed that I was called an abusive monster for even liking the breed.

So yes I am very done with repeatedly getting this question. My cropped dogs are dead. The dobermans I have now are fully natural. That’s also what I wanted in the first place but one was a rescue who I got at 2 years old and thus the ears were not even remotely my fault, and the other I purchased from a breeder at 13 weeks, he was cropped at 6, and I only even heard about him for the first time at 11, which again means that I had nothing to do with his ears having been cropped. Same with tails. Now I have a natural import from a country where it’s illegal and I have a natural puppy born in a country slightly more allowing than this one (also technically an import).

And as you said what’s more annoying is that there are multiple people on tumblr who deliberately chose to have their puppies cropped and/or docked and those people do not receive a fraction of annoying questions and abuse allegations. Not that I want them to- many of them are my friends. But still, to continuously bother the one person who actively did not want a cropped/docked dog in the first place because either their two previous dogs were cropped/docked or because the breed usually is and thus the whole breed is tainted, is really fucking obvious and also really fucking annoying.

That being said, this apparently was asked in good faith- the anon poked me in dms and explained t hey just didn’t know and they weren’t aware that this is a repeated harassment tactic that got old 9 years ago let alone today. My answer, however, remains the same: I don’t care what other people do with their dogs, it seems unnecessary so I don’t want it to happen to my own dogs, stop calling surgery under the care of an actual doctor abuse just because you don’t like the practice, go spend some time with actually abused and mutilated dogs like I have before running your mouth about ears and tails, WHY CAN’T LITERALLY ANYONE BE NORMAL ABOUT EARS AND TAILS.

Since I've seen a few of the dogs you've posted on your blog have it, I want to ask your opinion on tail docking/ear cropping for dobermanns (and by extension other dog breeds)? I'm asking because I live in a country that has banned both practices and the image of the cropped ears/docked tails is so prevalent in breeds like the dobermann.

My opinion is that I'm tired of having this discussion 2 years after my last cropped dog passed

[pursuingthebear-blog]

What the arts do for us

Ok, so I wrote a blog post a couple of years ago now, and haven’t really blogged a lot since, and it was all about why I found studying to be the arts so important. I was upset because there was a person who thought I was throwing my life away by studying a degree in drama and I wanted to explain why that was factually incorrect, but more so than that, a horrible symptom of the zeitgeist we've found ourselves in where we are living to work instead of working to live.

 But time has passed, I'm no longer a tired, irritable student; I'm a tired, irritable freelancer, who works in various theatres, with various theatre companies and has found themselves running two theatre companies. Whilst also teaching technical theatre and guest lecturing at my old university.  

One of the theatre companies that I run is mainly focused on providing what we like to call "Enrichment Events" to schools and libraries. We do kids theatre. And we are currently on tour with a show for KS1 Maths. Now I know what you're thinking. "That must be awful!" I hear you cry. And I can see your point, yes getting up at 6am to iron colourful dungerees, climb into a taxi with your fellow bedraggled actors, to go be moaned at by a grumpy receptionist who couldn't give a toss that you've got a first class degree in drama, then set up your not so glamorous set, get into costume in toilets literally designed for tiny humans, then perform in a gymnasium to 60 - 90 kids who havent woken up yet, whilst doing your own sound during the show and then try to do a big group workshop about maths, MATHS, without any tears or tantrums whilst the teachers look on. It does sound like a nightmare. And I will be honest with you, sometimes it is.

 But actually a lot of the times it's not. This week we've been to a couple of schools but there is one that really sticks in my mind. As well as being the set designer, co-playwright, assistant director and technician for this show, I am also the producer. So I book all the shows, and keep in touch with all the schools before we arrive.  One of the things that I ask is that the schools notify us if there are any children with additional needs so that we can work to facilitate their involvement with the show and workshop along with their peers. One of the schools this week did not provide us with any such information but it became quickly apparent when we got there that there was one child in the KS1 group who had additional needs.

 This child was brought into the hall after their peers, and as I was stood on stage greeting the rest of the KS1 group in character, I heard a member of staff say "Just stay for a bit and see if you like it." The member of staff did not look hopeful and choose a place strategically near to the door. I wish I had been able to go over to the staff member and reassure them. That it was ok with us for this child to engage with the show however they needed to, if they wanted to be noisy, or quiet, or leave, that it was all ok with us. But I didn't have the opportunity. I kept glancing over at them both at the back of the hall throughout the show, and was pleasantly surprised and reassured to still see them both sitting there. They stayed for the whole show. Fast-forward to about halfway through the workshop that I lead after the show, and we've had once child carried out of the hall by two members of staff screaming, but the child who sat at the back for the show had been actively engaged for the whole workshop. To the surprise of the teachers. But I and my fellow actors were not surprised. We learnt after the show that both the child who had sat at the back, and the child who had been carried out of the workshop were autistic. The teachers were noticeably buzzing about how engaged they had both been. We learnt the first child had never spent more than 10 minutes in the school hall for the whole three years they had been at the school, but that morning they had spent two hours with us. I will admit, that being the softy that I am, this did fill me with that glowy, warm feeling of a good thing done right for other people. And this, my friends, is why whilst you might shudder at the prospect of kids theatre, or TIE, especially for the very young children, I gravitate towards it. It has been proven time and time and time again that active engagement with theatre and the arts is beneficial for social and personal development. Yet the arts are being cut and cut and cut. The funding is being cut and it is being cut from the national curriculum. As the EBACC is rolled out further by this government, we are heading towards a crisis. The government, and in fact many people, see "the arts" as being a frivolous pursuit. Ultimately a waste of time, money and productivity. But whether they are the fellow student who is laughing at your degree, or your relative who keeps asking "yes, but when are you going to get a real job", or the government minister who is cutting arts subjects and funding again, and again and again; they are wrong. They are wrong on the macro level, because it has been proven again and again that the arts are a significant contributor to the economy, and they are wrong on the micro level, because who knows how long it would have taken that child to stay longer than ten minutes in that school hall if we hadn't brought our silly little kids show to their school. They are wrong, but sooner or later we are going to have to show them, and show them that these things are worth fighting for.