#yeah... the naming committee is weird

[glassygate]

Due Finland having some legal restrictions for naming your child, every year you get this list of names that the offical "naming committee" has banned due them being:

1) likely to give offence 2) likely to cause harm 3) manifestly inappropriate as a forename

Also name that are written in "non-common way" can be denied. For example, this years list had name Väiinö, which is just a weird way of writing a very common name Väinö.

Anyhow. Quess who was this year's "No, you can not name your kid after video game character" representative xD

[perlelune]

Training Wheels | Coriolanus Snow | iii.

Your mother's macabre work never appealed to you as you always preferred the comfort of your books, but when her apprentice takes a special interest in you, your safe, quiet world is flipped upside down.

Warnings: DUB-CON, NON-CON, Gaul!Reader, Shy Reader, Manipulation, Parental Neglect, Drinking, Peer Pressure, Hazing, University set, Loss of Virginity, Dumbification, Insecurities, Abusive Relationship, Degradation, Suicide Attempt

This is a dark story. Heed warnings before reading under the cut.

𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙

“So what’s your deal?” Festus Creed asks out of the blue. 

Your mouth opens in shock, a nervous laugh slipping out. “My deal?”

A mocking sneer twists his features. “Yeah, Coriolanus kept trying to get you to eat with us but you were being weird about it. If you hate us, just say so.”

While some snigger at the table, Coriolanus stares daggers at him. The mirth instantly vanishes from Festus’ face.

Clemensia bumps her elbow into his rib, chiding him, “Festus, come on,”

“I don’t…hate anyone,” you defend, your voice hardly above a whisper.

Clemensia flashes you a reassuring smile.

“Of course, you don’t. Coriolanus said you’re very sweet.”

Livia rolls her eyes.

“Ugh, whatever. Can we get back to discussing the Yuletide Ball?”

Surprise flutters through you. The name bears vague familiarity. It can be found in the archives detailing the history of the Capitol University. But it’d since long become a frivolity amidst concerns such as quelling the uprisings in the Districts. What’s a students’ dance in the face of war and famine?

“The Yuletide Ball? I thought this was an abolished tradition…I mean since the war.”

Excitement illuminates Livia’s face.

“We’re bringing back the tradition this year, thanks to Coriolanus here. He convinced the new dean.”

Coriolanus lowers his head in apparent humbleness.

“I just made a few good points and he couldn’t refuse me,” he shares. He turns to you, blue eyes sparkling.  “I’m pretty persuasive when I need to be.” A chill dances through you at his low, suggestive tone. 

To your relief, his attention switches to the rest of the table.

“It’s important to not let District scum ruin our way of life. Traditions must return.”

Livia smirks. “Spoken like a student body president.”

Coriolanus waves a dismissive hand but a hint of smugness lingers in his tone as he says, “Please, elections are only in a month.”

“And it’s obvious you’ll win,” Clemensia states.

He gives a light shrug.

“We shall see.”

Clemensia pivots to you.

“Ivy, Liv and I are on the Ball committee,” she preens, her face brightening. “You could join us if you want.”

You lick your lips. “I don’t know if I’d find the time with midterms coming up soon…”

Coriolanus’ fingertips graze your arm as he offers, “You should do it, angel. It’d be a good way to expand your social circle.”

“You mean her nonexistent circle,” Festus gibes.

The blond’s jaw clenches.

“Talk to her like that again and see what happens, Creed.”

Festus cowers, nervousness flickering on his face. He clears his throat.

“Sorry,” he says to you.

“It’s fine.”

Coriolanus’ fingers latch around your wrist as his steely gaze cuts into Festus.

“No, it’s not fine,” he articulates. 

Undisturbed by the altercation between the boys, Clemensia prattles on about the ball.

“We meet up every Saturday morning. We’re working on winter-themed decorations right now. It’ll be so fun. It takes forever to do though.” She looks at you with emphasis. “An extra set of hands would be really welcome.”

“Clemensia…”

“Call me Clemmie,” she interrupts. “All my friends do.”

Friends? You study her hand clasped around yours. The concept is a little foreign to you. You also ponder why someone like Clemensia, with her perfect silky mane and smooth, blemish-free face would want to befriend you. She is the girl everyone gravitates towards. Charismatic, smart and nice to boot. And you might as well be a fly on a wall, ignored on the best days.

You are so stunned that it takes a shamefully long time for the words to fall back on your tongue.

“Clemmie, I’m usually busy on Saturday.”

“Oh.” She deflates, her hold on your hand loosening. “I get it. Sorry I asked.”

The excitement on her face plummets. Immediately, you feel terrible. You’ve never missed a single Saturday of studying, using that time to break down your more complicated courses of the week. But Clemmie looks crestfallen.

Perhaps, this one time, you can adjust your plans a little. One Saturday won’t make a difference in the entire year.

“But…I can try to free up some time,” you offer.

She perks up with your response.

“Great. We’ll be expecting you then.”

Lunch then proceeds, the table resuming the lively debate they were having before you showed up. Festus maintains facts about his family’s role in the reconstruction after the war while Clemensia rolls her eyes. They go back and forth and you observe them, slightly fascinated by the exchange. It’s such a rare occurrence for you to be around others that you soak every bit of their interaction. You get the inkling this happens a lot between them, them ruffling each other’s feathers. Ivy and Livia get wrapped in their own secret conversation you don’t catch a single word of. Meanwhile, Coriolanus watches all of them, taking a bite of the food on his plate every once in a while. The way he eats is slow, nonchalant, almost like he couldn’t care less what’s on his plate. Even if he doesn’t interject at any point, he looks right at home at this table. Unlike you. You recline into silence, letting every minute fly by as you wait for lunch to be over. When it finally is, relief surges inside you. 

You mumble a quick goodbye and gather your things. Clemensia beams and waves at you while the others barely acknowledge your departure. 

You head for the hallways, trying not to allow your mind to linger on the strange, uncomfortable lunch. Still, your mind swirls. You curse yourself for every blunder and awkward moment. You told him you don’t belong, that you’re an outsider, and always will be. It’s painfully obvious. From the way you dress, talk, carry yourself, you have nothing in common with girls like Clemensia or Livia. There’s a vast chasm between you and them. He should have listened. It astounds you that you even let yourself get roped into joining Clemensia’s committee thing. Though perhaps that won’t be too much of a hassle. You’ll show up to keep your word, then sink back into your rigid study routine.

Coriolanus’ deep voice, a sound you’re now oddly familiar with, erupts behind you.

“Let me carry those for you,” he says, swiping the books in your arms before you can protest. He falls in pace with you, a gentle expression decorating his  handsome face.

You frown, the uncanny emptiness of your arms swelling your discomfort.

“You don’t have to-”

“I insist,” he interrupts, chuckling lightly when you try to reach for your books and he dodges you with ease. Your shoulders sag. Your strides hasten, an urgency limning your steps now. 

Coriolanus meets no issue with your escalating cadence. He easily keeps up with you, a subtle hint of mirth lurking in his cobalt gaze. 

“It wasn’t too much, was it?” he inquires. “I know they can be a lot but they’re all good people. I promise.”

A myriad of words weigh heavy on your tongue but you diplomatically swallow each, settling for a safe, innocuous remark.

“Clemmie was nice.”

The corners of the blond’s lips quirk skyward. 

“I told you she was.”

The statement hovers between the two of you for a while. Clemensia seems nice indeed. The rest of his friend group…perhaps a little less so. Possibly a bit more cutthroat and self-absorbed. Though you surmise it is a requirement to be a member of Panem’s elite.

No other word is traded between you and him as you make your way to the lecture hall. 

“This is me,” you announce.

You turn to Coriolanus, hands stretching towards your books. He makes no move to give them back. Your forehead creases.

He gives you a sluggish once-over before offering, “What if I drove you back home after your classes?”

You nibble your bottom lip, dismayed by his proposition. You’ve caught glimpses of his fancy new car, as you’re sure most have at the University. As heir apparent to the Plinth fortune, he gets to spend money as he likes. 

“I usually walk. It’s okay.” 

He gets a little closer. “Come on, angel. Just let me do something nice for you.”

You shrink until your back hits the wall, stunned when Coriolanus follows each of your steps.

“My last lecture is…Professor Bellweather tends to ramble,” you mumble, his proximity unnerving you. “I don’t…I don’t know when he’ll be done.”

He licks his lips.

“I’ll just wait for you, angel.”

He utters the words like it’s obvious. You gawk at him. It takes you a few minutes to retrieve your speech.

You scratch your arm, your frown accentuating.

“You really don’t have to. Like I said, walking home is fine.”

The gaze trained on your form sharpens.

“And I’m offering to take you home so you don’t have to exert yourself.” He bends over you, invading the already insufficient space between the two of you. “Has a friend never done something like that for you?”

“N-No,” you admit. 

His tone’s heavy with suggestion as he rasps, “So let me be your first then, angel.”

Your heart stumbles inside your chest. 

“I’m gonna be late for class,” you blurt out, attempting to brush past him. 

Coriolanus’ hand darts out, swiftly cinching around your wrist to stop you from leaving.

“I still don’t have an answer,” Coriolanus says.

You glance from his hand, tight around your wrist, to his determined gaze. Your throat goes dry.

“Okay, you can d-drive me back home.”

He releases your wrist and returns your books, a smile ghosting over his lips.

“Wonderful. I’ll come get you later, angel.”

Clutching your books against your chest, you watch him glide away.

As promised, Coriolanus is waiting for you when you exit from your last class. You don’t even think to hide your shock as you find the blond leaning against the wall. A smirk unfans on his lips, your reaction seeming to amuse him.

He doesn’t say much to you as you walk side by side and head to his car. When you’re outside, he surprises you by opening the passenger door for you before you can even lift a hand. 

“T-Thanks,” you stammer. You plop down on the plush seat. The leather smells new and expensive.

Your nerves thrum as he takes the driver’s seat and starts the car. You’ve never been alone in a car with a boy before. Uneasy, you let your eyes roam outside the window. The Capitol’s high buildings blur past you rapidly. 

You’re lost in your thoughts when you notice the prickling sensation over your flesh, The burning, unwavering weight of Coriolanus Snow’s scrutiny. 

Your head whirls.

Bashful words quake through your lips.

“Do I have something on my face?” Your hands reach to touch it, just in case.

He chuckles.

“No,” he replies, shrugging. “It’s a nice face that’s all.”

The casual compliment sends a wave of heat through your body. 

“Can you drive?” he asks, curiosity lighting his features.

You shake your head. Getting your license has never been a priority. Besides, it’s only a thirty minute walk to get to the University. You don’t mind it, often using that time to sneak in some reading.

“No.”

“I could drive you if you like,” he offers, his gaze holding yours. “Anywhere you want to go.”

Your cheeks warm. “I’m okay.”

Coriolanus nods, his focus shifting back to the road.

“You always say that…” He hums low in his throat. “I’m just not sure I believe it, angel.”

You’re so nervous the entire drive that you don’t even notice when he arrives at your house. You stare at him, mouth agape. You haven’t given him a single instruction on how to get there.

“You know where I live?”

As he opens the door for you, Coriolanus simply replies, “You told me earlier.”

Your brows furrow. You don’t remember telling him but his tone harbors no doubt. You rummage through your brain, seeking the moment. Nothing comes up and you grow confused. 

You blink up at him.

“I-I did?”

“Yes, you did, angel.” He snorts as if your line of questioning is beyond ludicrous. “How else would I know?” He slams the door of the car as you rise. “Besides…Dr. Gaul is my mentor. Of course, I know where she lives.”

You nod. That makes sense and it didn’t even occur to you.

“I…”

He cocks his head. “What?”

You fidget beneath his stare, discomfort flaring in the pit of your stomach. 

“Nothing. Thanks for driving me home.”

He flashes you a wide smile.

“My pleasure. See you soon, angel.”

He starts the car and drives away. You don’t feel quite at ease until his car’s gone from view, heading towards the Corso.

Walter zooms across the room as soon as you enter the large apartment. Your eyes wander about. As usual, the place is empty besides you and Walter. Mother rarely spends any time here nowadays, her work occupying all of her time. 

Walter rubs his furry head against your ankle, twirling around you as he meows. He then stands on his hind legs and starts gently raking his claws across your leg. A way for him to demand that you pet him. A small smile tugging your lips, you pick him up. The orange ball of fur purrs, curling against your chest as you carry him in your arms. You make your way to the kitchen and pour a mix of leftover meat and fish in his bowl. 

You set him down on the floor. His tail wiggles as he hops to his food.

You crouch next to him.

“You wouldn’t believe what happened today, Walter,” you say while giving gentle pets to his back. “I was invited to their table.” The orange cat pauses his eating to stare up at you blankly. “Yes. Theirs,” you repeat as if he could understand you. He gives a long meow before focusing on his bowl again. You sigh. “I know. I thought the same thing.”

Once Walter’s emptied his bowl, you pick him up again and make your way to the living room. 

You collapse on the couch.

“And then…Coriolanus Snow drove me home. Yes, the Coriolanus Snow. I didn’t even think he knew I existed.”

For a while, you remain on the couch, stroking Walter’s fur as he sits on your lap. His tail whips the air, his eyes closing as you pet him. His soft rumble of content reverberates against your belly, amplifying when your fingers drag behind his pointed white ears. You lean back, a blanket of peace settling over you. 

Walter’s not just a strange-looking cat, he’s also a rescue…from your mother’s experiments. A kitten mutt with mismatched eyes, one blue and one yellow, his mushed, wrinkled face gives him a passing resemblance to a rodent. Pets like him are a rarity in today’s world as most creatures such as him were eaten during the First Rebellion. 

Your mother finds him appalling. In her eyes, he is a failed experiment. Like you. Perhaps it’s why you have such kinship with the creature. You still recall her unsettling glance in your direction the day she asked the entire class of nine-year-olds at the Academy if they had pets they were sick of. She then proceeded to burn the flesh off a lab rat to demonstrate her pulsed energy laser.

This moment is burned into your mind forever, your mother’s clinical tone chilling your blood.

You stole Walter from the Citadel and took him home that same day.

You were careful to hide him, though you suspect your mother figured out what you did. She likely added it to her long list of disappointments when it comes to you.

Sometimes, you envy Walter. The simplicity his days hinge upon. His obliviousness to the woes of the world. His uncanny ability to sleep through the chaos of it, ignore the disarray. Walter’s world consists of food, play and cuddles. 

What a blissful existence. You bet Walter never had a vexing thought in his short life.

The train of your thoughts is interrupted by the shrill ringing of the phone.

You carefully remove Walter from your lap. He meows in protest and jumps off the couch. You pick up the phone, chest clenching as a familiar face fills the flickering screen.

“Mother,” you greet. “How are you?”

She ignores your question, curtly stating, “You’re falling behind in Molecular Cell Biology.”

You know that tone all too well, the warning laced within it so achingly familiar.

Your fingers twist around the phone cord, your voice becoming small.

“I’ll get my grades up, I promise.”

Silence hovers between you and your mother for a while. Faint hope sparks within you. Perking up, you decide to tell her about your day.

“Oh, mother, today-”

“I must go,” she interrupts. “It’s time for my milk and cookies.”

Your spirits plummet. You nudge a hollow smile onto your face.

“Right. I didn’t realize,” you say, checking the clock hanging on the wall. “I’m sorry.”

She heaves out a deep sigh, her lone blue eye narrowing.

“Focus on your studies. And try not to be even more of an embarrassment to me than you already are.”

“Y-Yes, mother,” you reply, your heart shriveling inside your chest.

As she hangs up, you feel silly and horrible. Silly for trying to strike up a normal conversation with your mother. And horrible for letting her down once more.

“You came!” Clemensia exclaims as she rushes to you. You try not to tense as she gives you a tight hug. Ivy and Livia linger in the background, their eyes lifting from the crafts’ table. 

You wave at them and are surprised when Ivy wiggles her fingers at you. Livia is more withdrawn, nodding to acknowledge your presence but quickly returning to her task.

You step out of Clemensia’s embrace and flash a quick smile.

“Well I promised you that I would,” you reply nonchalantly. You take a look around the room. Various decorations and posters are propped against the walls, while snowflakes cut-outs and what looks like moon dust are scattered on the table. It seems the girls have been busy.

You turn to Clemensia. “What’s the theme again?” 

Ivy surprises you by answering cheerfully, “Well, it’ll be like a Winter daydream and we were thinking of making it a masquerade.”

Excitement sways in Clemensia’s bright eyes. “What do you think?”

“Sounds nice.” Your trite answer draws every gaze in the room to you. Awkwardly bouncing on your feet, you correct yourself, beaming at Clemensia. “I meant amazing.”

“I think so too,” she chimes.

She shows you the empty chair next to hers. The both of you sit down and she starts rambling about the theme and all the ideas she has to decorate the ballroom. You grow dizzy with all the information, trying to follow along her instructions at the same time. 

“We’ll need to find you a date,” Clemensia says. 

You shake the can of blue paint before spraying over the tree cut-out.

“It’s okay. I probably won’t be going anyway,” you respond absently. 

The pencil in Livia’s hand snaps. Your head rises. The blonde’s gaping at you. You then realize…the same look of disbelief is etched on all the girls’ features. A frown mars your brow. Did you say something wrong? You didn’t realize this was such an important event. 

A nervous laugh peals off Clemensia’s red-painted lips.

“No, but you have to,” she says, “It’s the first Yuletide Ball in over a decade. Everyone will be there.”

You shrug. “It’s four months away, Clemmie.”

Her onyx gaze shimmers.

“Well, a lot can happen in four months,” she sings, a mysterious smile spreading onto her lips.

[everlastingremorse-blog]

Breaking News: Olympics consider whether or not to invite stoat athletes next year.

After the shocking win of Jaysohn Lastname last week, conversations about letting them compete in next years competition have commenced.

“The fact that he broke the record on his first try is astounding,” Peter Ueberroth, chair of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, said.

Lastname’s long jump measured at 14.7 meters, almost doubling the previous record of 8.9 meters.

Bob Beamon, previous record holder, argued that it wasn’t a fair competition.

“It’s like letting a cheetah participate in the 100 meter dash. There’s just no way for a human to win,” Beamon said.

It did come to a surprise that the stoat was able to jump so far. While the other competitors only had two legs to run on, each step was longer than a stoat.

Nevertheless, when Lastname went up to jump, he suddenly grew large, blue arms, and used them to hurtle himself the impressive distance.

When asked how he did that, Lastname simply said “Jaysohn rules!”

According to Dr. Tara Steel, stoats are able to absorb and use radiation for their incredible feats.

This has led to some questions about how safe it is for these stoats to compete. Dr. Steel has previously said that the radiation is only a minor danger, releasing radiation comparable to that released by the sun.

“Yeah, it should be fine,” Dr. Lila Lastname, Jaysohn’s sister and first stoat physicist, said.

The UN has currently stalled in recognizing the land within Ukrainian borders as it’s own country.

Jeane Kirkpatrick, US ambassador to the united nation, explained that there is very little political gain for such a move.

“These stoats are just little guys,” Kirkpatrick said.

There’s also the problem that these stoats have very little economic or social ties with the rest of the world.

“It also feels a little weird to have a country named Stoat Place.” Kirkpatrick explained. “I think it would help their efforts to change the name.”

“We are not changing the name,” Thorn Vale, Stoat Ambassador, has repeatedly said.

[jusst-you-race]

hiii im sending this in bc of the condominium community committee conversation prompt (that's a mouthful 😭) just want to say i LOVE love this fic so much and i'd like to ask for a slice of yukierre domesticity please especially since they live together in the fic iirc!!

it's such a mouthful... if i knew this fic was going to be this popular i probably would have given it a more convenient name lmao... here is some yukierre domesticity!!! these two have such a weird unique dynamic it's very entertaining for the ccc snippet prompts

Pierre Yuki have you seen my hoodie?

The grey one 

I’m trying to do laundry and I cannot find it 

Yuki oh yeah

Pierre Yeah?

Yuki I’m wearing it 

Pierre Right now?

Yuki yep

Pierre That’s my favourite hoodie

Yuki mine too 

Pierre It’s too big for you!

Yuki no it’s perfect size 

it covers my hands 

so they don’t get cold 

Pierre In spring?

Yuki it’s still cold out 

Pierre Why do you always steal my clothes?

Yuki for fun

Pierre I can’t believe you 

Yuki also they make me think of you when I have to go somewhere alone 

Pierre Hmph

You are lucky you’re so cute 

Yuki 🥰

you like me in your clothes 

don’t lie 

Pierre I don’t

Yuki this hoodie even says pierre on the back 

like a label 

Pierre Fine 

I like it 

Happy?

Yuki yes 

I love you 

Pierre Yeah yeah 

Yuki say it back bitch 

Pierre I love you too! 

Yuki 🥰

Pierre 🙄

Where did you even go?

Yuki to get food

I told you this 

Pierre Mm

We’re out of milk 

Yuki I know 

it’s on my list 

I will get everything we need 

Pierre Okay okay 

Be quick 

Yuki demanding 

Pierre That is rich coming from you 

Yuki no 

Pierre Please be quick?

I started thinking about my name being on you 

Yuki you are so horny 

fine I will hurry 

just for you 

Pierre 😘

Yuki well then stop texting me 

or it will take longer 

Pierre Okay bossy 

See you at home baby 

Yuki 🖕

[mayasaura]

now that soul permeability is established, do you think cassy and/or g1deon will have a major effect on varun?

varun has already shown small signs of quote unquote 'infection' from cassy, because i remember that varun-through-judith laughed at palamedes lamenting sounding like he was a sixth house committee member which. y'know. is a cassy thing to do. and varun was reported to have gone dormant for a century after it ate her

do you think we'll learn more about cassy through varun, and that her motivations have bled into its own, affecting how it will approach alecto and the idea of vengeance and love?

(on a smaller level, do you think we'll learn about pyrrha's pre-res memories this way? if her knowing g-'s name is a result of memory blending, then how does he know his name?)

Did Varun eat Cassiopeia? We have a few slightly differing accounts of her death that mostly boil down to: Which would you rather be torn apart by; ten thousand feral ghosts, or one feral ghost ten thousand times the size?

But yeah, that laughter was fucking weird wasn't it?

If that's Varun laying low inside Judith and getting startled into laughter, then. Damnit, I hadn't even considered that. It would be just like this series to have two ghosts playing dead in one scene; one the audience explicitly knows about, and one we don't.

Anyway, let's assume Pyrrha's account of Cassiopeia's death is the most accurate.

At the volume a soul like Varun's must have, I wouldn't think we'd find out too much about one specific soul it incorporated. Unless....

I noticed something very interesting while I was searching for the above quote. "Dormant" is repeatedly used in Harrow the Ninth to describe only one thing: a lyctor's body when its soul is elsewhere. We've seen that a Resurrection Beast can also throw its soul elsewhere—into poor Judith—so .... if there's an equivalency there, where did Varun go for those hundred years after killing Cassiopeia? And what was it doing?

A planet's ghost is burning through Judith pretty quickly, but how long would it take it to burn through a lyctor? Maybe a century?

[headspacedad]

I Became the Villainess of a Third-Rate Drama

Okay I've been putting off talking about this manhwa because it is so hard for me to put into words just how hilarious and fun and weirdly resonating this one is. But I need someone to enjoy this ride with me so - here we go.

Yoon Miso is a writer. To be more specific, Yoon Miso is a script writer for Kdramas. After years of working her butt off working under a boss that writes the most cliche and over-the-top dramatic stories, Miso has finally promoted her own script, a drama about a hard working, independent, multi-layered female lead that wins the day by turning tropes on their head. It's even been picked up by her network and casting for the leads has already begun.

Here's the problem. Well, the first problem.

Miso's boss stole the script and rewrote it before presenting it to the broadcasting company. That's not the big problem though. The big problem

The big problem is that, thanks to a smart watch given to her by a departing mentor, Miso has woken up inside the story - and its her boss's version of the story.

The super big problem is that Miso is the chaebol villainess of said story - and villainesses tend to die at the end of her boss's stories.

When the female lead accidentally spills soup on Miso at the restaurant she's eating at, the theme song to close out the first episode of the drama start playing violently in the background and her smart watch prompts her to 'create the closing for episode one'.

Because that scene - and the music - isn't going to stop until she, the villainess, creates something her boss would think it worthy of the ending of the first episode in a new drama.

The only way out is through and if Miso ever wants to get back to the real world she's going to have to make it all the way to the end of the series. Alive. And that's the set-up for our story. One put-upon writer trying to navigate her way through the over the top drama mess her boss made of her script. She's going to rewrite the script if it - or it will kill her. It's not that easy to change a kdrama's rules but darned if Miso isn't going to try. Fighting!

First off, let me introduce you to my favorite character.

This is Mr. Cha. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you I literally say 'Mr. Cha!' in the most delighted voice every time this guy shows up. Mr. Cha is the villainess's secretary and as such he's stunningly competent. This man is Miso's right hand man and he's awesome. I don't care about the male lead - I don't even remember his name - but I LOVE Mr. Cha! He and the 'villainess' work so well together its a delight to watch. Weird kdrama situations? Mr. Cha doesn't bat an eye. Miso making a mess of things? He'll bring the broom. At some point, Miso even begins to suspect he's meant to be the secondary male lead - who we all know is the much more interesting of the two male leads in any kdrama. Miso and Mr. Cha are my power team and I am here for them. Miso is Team Cha all the way and I completely understand why.

Unfortunately for Miso - there's a review committee that pops up to put a lid on things whenever life tries to go beyond a very gentle PG13 rating. (she's had to be called before the review committee a couple of times now regarding Mr. Cha).

You also have the very conflicted male lead of the story and the spunky part-timer female lead

Miso's parents that are now super rich CEOs instead of the owners of a struggling mom and pop diner. Even the neighborhood fish vendor is there - and what's the story with him and Miso's mom?! (stay tuned until next week).

Okay, the reason I'm enjoying this webtoon so much is the tongue in cheek approach its taking. It KNOWS how crazy kdramas can be at their worst and it is going to lean, hard, into that. Watching Miso be Just So Done with it - and watching the other characters just immediately jumping to the worst takes on everything is hysterical. This is one of those stories that's just having fun with itself - and yet -

Yeah, I spend a lot of time laughing with this one - but I am also deeply invested in the characters. Every single one of them has a lot more going on with them than it at first appears. I feel bad for the male lead. The female lead IS delightful without being obnoxious. Mr. Cha is going through character refinement. The world feels real enough to be lived in. And the story, thanks to Miso, is taking all kinds of twists and turns that I haven't expected that range from wholesome to tragic to 'oh I love this trope'. This story isn't written from a place of condescension - this manhwa really enjoys kdramas and embracing the crazy of them while still asking - yes, but what if a normal person were in this mess. It's a fun story that pokes fingers at itself - but its also a well written story that's not afraid to actually deal with some of the repercussions of 'the episode ended on drama but what about afterward'. I do want a happy ending for Miso (and Mr. Cha) - but I also want a happy ending for the male and female leads as well.

Plus watching Miso lean into being the villain when she deems it necessary is pure delight and I'm living vicariously. Girl knows how to use a trope just as much as how to try to avoid one and she's not afraid to when its useful.

rating: PG (thanks to that review committee)

warnings: over the top kdrama shenanigans, blood, death, murder, bullying, parental death, kidnapping, over-bearing parents, accidental pregnancy, one room with only one bed, cliches as far as the eye can see

finished: nope

abs?: chapter 4

Seriously, this is just a fun one that isn't going to put you emotionally through the wringer but will keep you entertained and smiling all the way through

[feministsouthpark]

Mrs. Tweak - Character analysis (Part 1)

I'm starting a new series, analyzing some of my favorite South Park characters, starting with the one and only... Oh no... She's only known by her husband's surname! Well, for the purposes of my text, I'll call her on the widely accepted fanon name, Helen. And it's not like South Park has shied away from using fanon names in their official material. Let's start with S2E17 Gnomes, in which she appears for the first time, along with her son and husband.

"Some things are more important than money. The people of South Park count on you to give them that first cup of coffee every day."

Her very first line serves as introduction to her values and beliefs. She is a devoted housewife, who believes in her husband. Clearly, she is a woman with a strong moral code first and foremost, and is a devoted housewife second.

Helen: Oh, hello, son. How was your day? Tweek: UUuuUunh! Helen: That's good. Who are your little friends? Tweek: What do you mean?! Kyle: We're his oral report buddies. Stan: Yeah, we have to stay up all night to write it. Helen: Well, have some coffee boys. I'll brew up another pot for later.

In her next interaction we learn about her as a mother, and she is shown caring for her son and being patient with him. But we're also met with a flaw in her parenting (of course, what else could you expect from South Park) which is that she nonchalantly offers coffee to children.

Kyle: Coffee? I don't think I like coffee. Helen: Oh, you'll like this coffee. It's fresh. And she coerces them to take it, although it's clearly out of good willed ignorance, rather than malicious intent.

Stan: 'Kay. Maybe it'll help us figure out what to do our report on. We have to present it to the entire South Park town committee tomorrow. Richard: Oh. I've got one for you. How about doing a report on how large corporations take over little family-owned businesses? Helen: Richard! Richard: No, I'm- serious, hon. These boys should learn how the corporate machine is ruining America. You see, I own a coffee shop and now a great, big, multi-million dollar company is going to move in and try to take all my business, which means I may have to shut down and sell my son Tweek into slavery. As you see, she is opposing to Richard using the children for commercial, however she is indifferent towards the way he threatens Tweek, probably because it's too common in their household. She chalks it up as Richard's weird sense of humor. She is however more strict with her son than her husband, as we see in the exchange that follows.

Kyle: We're already doing a paper on Tweek's underpants gnomes. Helen: Now, Tweek, how many times do we have to tell you? Your underpants are missing because you lose them, not because of underpants gnomes. Which line solidifies her as a grounded-in-reality type of individual. While Richard threatening Tweek wasn't that big of a deal for her, since it was a joke anyway (not that Tweek would know that, however Helen's parenting skills are lacking in the child's healthy psychological development department), but she stands up for something that she sees a problem with, because as soon as Richard says the boys should do their project in corporate takeovers again, she opposes, just like she did for the first time the idea was conceived, but this time she further explains her worries, instead of just interrupting.

"Honestly, Richard. I don't see why you have to preach to some eight-year olds."

While she is dismissive of her husband's idea of using the children, she still demonstrates great care for his side of the problem. "My goodness. That's going to be a huge coffee house, honey." Then what follows is 8 year old Kyle questioning her parenting methods. Probably based on the fact that Sheila is overprotective, and Helen is quite the opposite.

Kyle: Do you ever think maybe you shouldn't give your son coffee? Helen: Like, how do you mean? Kyle: Like look at him. He's always shaking and nervous. Tweek: Agghh! Helen: [holding a bag of Tweekers BLEND] Oh, that. He has ADD, attention deficit disorder. That's why he's so jittery all the time. The writing seems to imply that Helen is in fact wrong, and her letting Tweek drink coffee is the problem (well Richard gives it to him mostly, but she fully enables it), however Tweek does show genuine signs of ADD in the later seasons, so in retrospective canon, she might as well be right, at least partly.

Back to the episode's political topic, she has yet another exchange with Richard about her concerns: Richard: What do you think, hon? [she crosses her arms and moves away him. He follows] Hon? What's the matter? Helen: I have a big problem with this. Richard: What do you mean? Helen: We are just using those boys for our benefit. They have no idea what they're saying. Richard: But, kids are great to get people on our side. Helen: You don't just throw a child in a political commercial to sell your beliefs. I won't be a part of this anymore. [walks out the door] Richard: Honey, all's fair in love and war. And coffee. Hon? Hu-hon? As you can see, while Richard asks for her opinion, it's not out of respect. He just wants her to tell him he's doing great, he expected her to compliment and reassure him, even though she clearly stated time and time again that she disagrees on the matter. Richard ignored her thoughts and expected her to go along with everything he does, only after she leaves him, does he realize he is taking her for granted. And the episode makes it clear that the writers of the episode believe her to be right. In the end, she gives the "I've learned something today" speech. Yes, the parent who is wrong in one thing (giving her son coffee) and gets criticized by the ever so judgemental moral compass of the boys, Kyle, also gets to give a Kyle-speech of her own, which positions her to be in the right on that specific debate. South Park has low-key been creating multidimensional female anti-villains back in season 2? Well, yes, but that is party because this character wasn't conceived by Trey and Matt only. This episode is co-written by Pam Brady - a producer and creative consultant of the show - in her only full-on writing credit for the series. And I can't help but feel like her sense of womanhood helped shape Helen to be the well-rounded character she is. "These boys are absolutely right. We've been using these poor kids to pull at your heartstrings for our cause, and it's wrong. We're as low and despicable as Rob Reiner. You keep protesting and complaining, but did any of you ever even bother to taste Harbucks coffee? Harbucks coffee got to where it is by being the best. Don't you think you should at least try it?" There you have it. She is pro-corporation, and wether you agree with her or not, so are the writers (in 1998). And you better believe Trey and Matt see her as the hero of the story by the moment she is insulting Rob Reiner! She even earns a turn in her marriage, Richard listens to her at once, and tries Harbucks, and realizes he likes it. He then gets a new job running the local Harbucks, gaining more money than before. So he did not only became a better husband for her sake, but also a better breadwinner - thanks to her efforts to talk some sense into him.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Markos Moulitsas (kos) at Daily Kos:

In the wake of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s exit from his failed independent bid for president, Republicans were giddy at his endorsement, and that (re)endorsement of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard a few days later. In their minds, it was but the beginning of a flood of Democratic defections to Donald Trump. That never happened. But Republicans sure are defecting to the Democratic ticket!  It’s hard to understate just how excited conservatives were. 

"We now have a trio of Power Rangers who can swoop right into the middle of the rival party and convince traditional Democrats that it's OK to leave a party that left them,” a senior Trump adviser told conservative outlet Just the News, founded by former Washington Examiner editor John Solomon, back on Aug. 24. The quote was so ridiculous, that this “senior Trump adviser” was too embarrassed to put his name on it. The third “Power Ranger” is Elon Musk, who is an independent.  "I think that the Trump people should package Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr, together, and they would—as joint former Democrat witnesses about the corruption of the system—be devastating,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast, apparently with a straight face. 

“[I]t shows you that today's Democratic Party is leaving these people behind. Today's Democratic Party is so radical, so dangerous, so progressive, that there are millions of Democrats who are leaving that party every day," said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley to Just the News. "We're seeing thousands of them that are coming our way.”  Yeah, no they’re not. In fact, their endorsements only serve to remind voters of how weird and creepy Republicans are.  Kennedy was funded by right-wing donors in order to take votes from the Democratic ticket, and was so batshit crazy that he repelled weirded-out Democrats and ended up taking votes from the Republican ticket. He would’ve stayed in if any Democrats were actually interested in what he was selling. 

[...] Musk, long lost to the fever swamps of the right, isn’t attracting any Democrats anytime soon. On Sunday, Musk tweeted “interesting observation” at an incel posting that women and “low T men” shouldn’t be allowed to vote. “Only high T alpha males and aneurotypical people (hey autists!) are actually free to parse new information with an objective ‘is this true?’ filter,” the weirdo wrote. “This is why a Republic of high status males is best for decision making. Democratic, but a democracy only for those who are free to think.”  Not really the sort of thing any campaign should be associating with, even if this is the sort of material Sen. JD Vance might embrace. Gabbard hasn’t damaged Trump by association this past week simply because she hasn’t said anything publicly. She’s supposedly helping Trump with debate prep, playing the role of Vice President Kamala Harris. But nothing in her history suggests she’ll attract traditional Democrats. She lost the plot a long time ago. 

Kamala Harris has oodles of GOP endorsements, such as Adam Kinzinger. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has very few Democrats endorsing him.

[elcor-thespian]

I’m in the early early early stages of planning out what my characters do post-DATV, but so far:

-Lucanis and Nephele get married like 6 months after the game. People that don’t know them well are like, isn’t that a little fast? But everyone who has spent even 5 minutes with them knows they’ve been acting married pretty much the entire time and honestly it’s less weird if they finally make it legally binding. These two are so wifed up for each other I stg

-Emmrich and Nasreen on the other hand take about two years and properly date, although just like Lucanis and Nephele they do move in together right away. Nasreen joins the Mourn Watch and has to go through all the training and there’s multiple tribunals and ethics committees to establish whether there is an unfair bias, but eventually it’s decided that as long as she never has Emmrich as a professor and he’s never her direct superior it’s fine. This doesn’t stop her fellow students from being weird and gossipy about it, so she has a really hard time making friends her age. This makes Emmrich obviously feel really guilty but she could honestly give a fuck. She has enough friends.

-So far I only have plans for kids for these two couples. Nephele has a hard time getting pregnant and has multiple miscarriages, but ultimately has a daughter named Francesca. I feel like we as a fandom really got attached to this name for this game and I am no exception (I blame Hozier)

-Nasreen has fraternal twins named Jonah and Imogen, both mages.

-Only one of my 7 Rooks stays with the faction they started with

—Nephele Mercar moves to Antiva and never officially becomes a Crow because of her age, but as my canon Rook and wife of the First Talon she is very highly regarded. Plus shit got really awkward when she chose Treviso over Minrathous as a Shadow Dragon, and even though she was basically forgiven the vibes never really recovered.

—Nasreen Aldwir joins the Mourn Watch, like I’ve said. If she had been born in Nevarra instead in an Antivan Dalish clan she would have always been there, but it is what it is.

—Aleksei Laidir romanced Bellara and I think they kind of smush together the ideas of the Veil Jumpers and LoF. Like yeah, there’s a lot going on in Arlathan, but there’s weird undiscovered magic stuff all over, right? Let’s get on a boat and go find it.

—Brenna Thorne romanced a sacrificed Davrin, and she spends about 6m with Antoine and Evka before admitting that it’s just too much for her emotionally. She goes on special assignment to Arlathan to care for the griffons. She moves in with Uncle Eldrin and they take care of each other until he dies and she hears the Calling. I love yearning.

—Konstantin Ingelvar romanced Neve and mostly stays in Minrathous helping her and the Shadow Dragons. He’ll still go back to the Necropolis from time to time to help out, but as a non-mage he feels more useful with Neve.

—Elspeth de Riva peaces the fuck out of Antiva and goes with Lace to work with the dwarves in Kal-Sharok (mostly). Most people don’t even realize they’re married at first, they just think Elspeth is Lace’s bodyguard. That’s a dynamic she’s very comfortable with.

—Paloma stays with the Shadow Dragons. I haven’t played Taash’s romance yet so I don’t quite know what the vibe is, but I’m feeling like it’s probably a lot of long distance

[eclipse-ofthe-sun]

heres info about my weird hw link modern au in my head because everything i have for a modern hw link is absurd and hilarious to me and its been cooking for several months now and i wonder if anyone else will enjoy it

this is a modern with magic au but not in the everyone is a cool wizard and society is epic way but in the. kinda shitty and not everyone cares about it because its normal and there's laws restricting it so doing wizard shit is kinda just the equivalent of how society works around various substances, is the best way i can put it. some magic is completely normal and commonplace and never thought about as such and others are illegal and people do it anyway and its cool or not cool depending on the circles youre in or how you're doing it. its politics. its annoying teens messing about. its boring.

so. link does history and magical law at university. he's a couple years late to uni, had to get a shitty job and survive for a few years before he could actually pursue an education, and he's learning about legislation of various magics in the present and throughout history, one part as a genuine interest, and another part bec he knew a kid (sprout, mm link) that he tried to take care of in those days of working a shitty low income job (he's the manager of that place now. better pay still shit) that suddenly just fell off the face of the earth and he's pretty sure that time travel magic was involved but that means if he wants to get around the insane time travel laws and the Committee of the Guardians of Time to find his kid again he needs to understand how and that's where the research via his uni comes in. he also doesn't know actual magic himself so he needs to find someone he can trust enough to help him with this.

the other main thing is that on top of working a full time job and doing uni full time he's also a twitch streamer. which i know sounds absurd at first but 1) i think he'd be really good at war and strategy games and could get really into doing challenge runs of games you wouldn't expect to have a big scene of that sorta stuff and have a lot of fun with it and 2) being a streamer/youtuber is a surprisingly good modern translation of the 'sorta famous guy that is liked by many but also has haters that get intense with it for no goddamn reason and also has a weird stalker' situation he's in in canon. he doesn't use a facecam all the time he's streaming he also has a pngtuber that Ravio made him (they met in uni randomly one day, Ravio does art and product design) and the text to speech function of chat messages goes through a little widget on his stream that looks like proxi. bec its the chat proxy.

theres a linksmeet aspect to this where i put my favourite links in with my headcanons for their modern vibes but ill save that for another post. what its relevant for here is that somewhere along the lines link managed to snag a needs tlc house for cheap as hell rent and and made a deal with the landlord to eventually buy it from the guy at a discount if he fixes it up himself and when he put out a roommate post along with his friend from uni who happens to also be called link (albw link) (shes nicknamed mage, the person he thinks could potentially help with his time travel issue but they haven't gotten to that yet) apparently every funnyman also named link in the city decided to apply and now there's six of them all in one house. hw link is the only one with a car. he becomes taxi whenever he's free. he's very tired.

anyway yeah thats my cringe little modern au link is overworked and good at videogames and is trying to break the law on an extreme scale to try to see his kid again but nobody knows it yet they just think he's a chronic overworker because he doesn't have the money for therapy which isn't entirely incorrect but he really just hates his service job and wants to stop getting weird dms. yeah. 👍

[blackjackkent]

OK, let's see how much of this Harding quest we can knock out. It's called 'The Waiting Stone', and we're off to Kal-Sharok in the Deep Roads to see if the dwarves there can help her understand her new earthbending powers.

"Thanks for coming, Rook. I hope the Kal-Sharok dwarves have some answers."

This whole thing is a bit weird for Helena, I think. She doesn't really have a strong sense of herself as a dwarf, certainly not as an underground dwarf, and yet the Deep Roads and those who live there are a significant part of that heritage that she doesn't really acknowledge. There is a sort of strange and instinctive recognition in her bones at being in this place, and that makes her somewhat uncomfortable because it is so different from anything else she's ever experienced.

Still, the bright side of fighting gods is everything else feels more manageable by comparison. So she's not going to back down from this if Harding needs her help.

This particular area of the Deep Roads seems as if it used to be an active mining area, complete with elaborate statuary, but there's no immediate sign of anyone waiting as a welcoming committee, perhaps because there are rocks falling regularly from the ceiling:

JK spoke too soon. There are, of course, 234251234 deepstalkers:

Yeah, Helena already hates it here.

Luckily the deepstalkers aren't terribly difficult to fight, and setting off bombs under a group of them does make a very satisfying effect. There's also plenty of ledges around here to yeet them off.

We're actually not as far underground as I thought, because the quest path leads us to a dwarven structure lit by a surprisingly bright shaft of sunlight from a crevasse above:

Gorgeous.

Harding is supposed to meet someone named "Stalgard" here. Helena is skeptical:

"So you don't actually know who, or what, this Stalgard is?"

"A new friend... I hope?" Harding says, but it's clear she's not entirely sure about the situation either.

And several deepstalker fights later, we finally get to meet the man, striding out from behind the heavy doors of the structure's facade - a stout bearded fellow with an elaborate facial tattoo and armor that has a six-pack of abs molded into its design.

"Stalgard?" Harding asks cautiously.

"Yes." His voice is cool and flat, curiously accented - a far cry from the boisterous, animated dwarves Helena knows from the streets of Minrathous.

"I--" Harding starts to say, but he cuts across her, curt.

"Lace Harding. Of the Inquisition."

Harding blinks. "Wait, how do you know about--"

"And this is the one they call Rook," he says, turning his piercing gaze on Helena. "A Dalish elf," he adds, eyeing Bellara.

"Bellara!" Bellara says brightly. "Nice to meet you!"

The man only grunts in response. All in all, taking in the three of them, he seems singularly unimpressed.

This grinds Helena's gears a little; it's similar to the reception she's gotten on the handful of past occasions she's spoken to undergrounders on behalf of the Dragons. As a surfacer, she's been automatically lesser in their eyes. "So you've heard of us," she says warily.

"You have brought a strange assortment to our gates, Lace Harding," Stalgard says, as if Helena hadn't spoken.

Helena hisses an irritated breath between her teeth. "Someone did their reading," she drawls.

Stalgard does shoot her a sharp glance this time. "We are not as blind as Orzammar wishes," he says flatly. "We know enough."

Harding, clearly trying her best to ignore Helena's acerbic tone, squares her shoulders and presses on. "I... I'm looking for someone touched by the ancients," she says. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Stalgard looks her up and down for a moment, then nods. "Yes," he says. "She has been waiting for you. Follow - and keep your weapons ready." He squints again with brief suspicion at Helena and Bellara, then turns away. "The roads are dark. The creatures there, even more so."

[damagedintellect]

Craig Tucker x Fem!reader

💌 Craig Tucker is a mother fucker: Chapter 1  💌  

Summary:  You want to say that it wasn't your fault buuuuuut it kinda was. You didn't think much of it as you casted your joke vote for the "Hottest guy in school" and in hindsight you should never listen to Clyde but it was pretty funny at the time. Craig just wanted a peaceful junior year and you can't blame him for that however waking up the morning after a party, in his bed, being told that you two were dating wasn't exactly your definition of peaceful either.

Notes:  I was always too scared of the fandom to post it back in the day but I wrote this before Creek was made canon so let's just say Craig is bi for my sake because I've had a huge crush on him since forever. My S/O pointed out that Craig is just Trafalgar Law but with a guinea pig instead of a polar bear and I haven't been the same since I have a type and it's them.

💌 Word count: 3,043 💌  You Are Here | Chapter 2 =>

You look in the mirror and stare at yourself for a little bit, Today was the first day of the new school year. You had moved to South Park in the middle of your Sophomore year and needless to say that moving in the middle of the year is just plain weird. At that point in the year everyone in the school has already known each other for a while and have already formed their friend groups and at first you had a rough start making friends, but eventually you made a few good ones. You perk up when your phone rang scrambling to answer it "Hey, we're outside" Wendy said, you could also hear Bebe in the background shouting "Get that ass in the car!" you smiled as you hung up on them and rushed outside, you were excited. You could feel it, today was going to be a great day.

Today is not going to be a great day.

Wendy and Bebe lied. They said that they were picking you up early to go eat breakfast somewhere but you noticed Wendy drove straight to the school. You had questioned where they were taking you and they didn't say anything. Instead of breakfast they took you to the sunshine sparkle girls club meeting or whatever the fuck they called it.

"Why are we here" you huffed as the rest of the girls showed up to the meeting. Last year they tried to get you to join but you turned them down. "(Y/n) almost every girl in our grade level is apart of the committee." Wendy chimed in as she handed you a paper and motioned for you to sit down. "Yeah, but why do I have too and what's up with the paper?" You sat next to Bebe who was giggling at your defiance "If you're not apart of the committee people write you off as a two faced bitch. Trust me it's better if you join and just become a partially active member."

"Honestly, most of the members only participate in the first meeting which is fine because it's the most important one." Wendy walked up to the podium "Today we decide who the hottest boys in school are!"

You stared at your paper and swore under your breath "Fuck" the entire meeting was basically suggesting that you go about the first day as you would any other day but the moment a guy catches your eye you should write that name down. Most of the girls managed to turn in their votes immediately. Wendy said that you could write your crushes name down but you have until the end of the day to change your mind. Now it's not like you don't have a crush, you do, but you haven't told anyone who they are because well,

"Wendy who did you vote for" you heard some girl ask "I bet she voted for Stan she always votes for him every year." another rang and Wendy blushes "We're voting for the hottest guy in the school my crush on Stan has nothing to do with it."

And there it was, your best friend had a crush on the same guy you did.

Stanley Marsh

It's hard to explain but every time he's around, you get butterflies. You had a few classes with him last year and he seemed pretty cool even though you only talked with him a few times. Stan was the one who gave you your welcome to South Park High tour and if it wasn't for him you would have fell down the stairs but he caught you just in time. Thinking back that's probably when you fell for him, pun intended, and since then you've just admired him from afar. Getting up from your seat you fold the paper and pocketed it. You have until the end of the day to decide whether you were going to out yourself or not and worse case scenario you leave it blank. "So who'd you vote for?" Bebe asked as she walked back from turning hers in "Honestly I'm going to scout out the hotties, walk among them, become one of them."

"You have no idea who to vote for do you."

"Not a clue"

The bell rang and everyone made their way to their first class. Bebe walked with you for a little while but you didn't have the same class. You picked a random seat in the back not really paying too much attention to who was in your class. You spaced out for most of the class anyways. You guess you could always just vote for one of your friends but you wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. According to Bebe the student body really liked their rumors and so far you feel like you've been pretty good with laying low. At least you haven't heard many but then again maybe you just weren't paying attention.

Mr. Garrison called on you and you didn't even notice until you felt a tap on your shoulder "Uh (L/n)?" A familiar monotone voice brought you back to reality "Hmm?" it was Tucker, Craig Tucker. You raised your eyebrows causing him to gesture towards the front at Mr. Garrison, who was waiting for you to read the next paragraph. You quickly apologized and continued where they had left off. As soon as you were done you turned to Tucker and mouthed a "Thank you" but he only stared at you with a blank expression "Yeah well maybe pay attention next time dumbass" he whispered flipping you off. "Tch well fuck you too" you whispered back using both hands to do the same. God Tucker always gets on your nerves, it might be a new year but it feels like the same old shit.

When you first moved here, you and Tucker got off on the wrong foot. You're not even quite sure why, but it did escalate to a fist fight. That was some time ago at this point and a lot has happened since then, coincidentally you ended up in the same friend group. However anytime you two were left alone you'd still butt heads. Honestly you wish you could remember what started it all but from that time last year you both couldn't stand each other.

As if you weren't already having a hard time, for the rest of the class you couldn't focus. You glared at Tucker waiting for class to end so you could bolt. He noticed you staring and stuck his tongue at you. You grit your teeth only staring back at him. As soon as the bell rang you took off to your next class.

"(Y/n)" you hear someone behind you call out to you but you were walking pretty fast.

You couldn't tell whose voice it was so you turned around and ended up crashing into someone. You felt an arm wrap around your waist as they caught you right before you hit the floor. Your eyes widen and your posture stiffens "Hey are you okay (Y/n)?" It was Stan and he was holding you.

Your hero.

You really tried to keep it together but end up stuttering "T-t-thanks to you I'm f-fine." He helped you upright as you continued "As always your reaction time is impeccable." He smiled and scratched the back of his neck "Hehe you think?" you both stare at each other laughing a bit before you both went quiet. You should say something but your mind goes blank when he smiles at you "Well anyways we probably should get to class. It was nice seeing you." You waved him off. You feel like an idiot and yup there were the butterflies. You lightly slap your cheeks and continue going to class.

You heard your name once more but you were lost in thought looking at the floor. You felt an arm around your shoulders and you were met with a bubbly voice "Oooooo, I saw that! So are you going to vote for Stan? He's been number 1 for a while." It was Bebe but not too far behind her were Clyde and Tucker as you walked into your next class. You shake your head as all four of you sat at the same table. If you did vote for Stan, Wendy would probably flip out. She's pretty compulsive when it's about Stan. "Or and this is a pretty big or, why don't you just vote for your crush." Bebe said wiggling her eyebrows at you "And up the chance they find out, sounds like social suicide to me. Hard pass."

"Wait (Y/n) you haven't voted yet!" Clyde said as he smiled in anticipation "Nope" you shook your head "Since I came in the middle of last year I wasn't aware this was going to be a thing."

Clyde stands up slamming his hands on the table "Ooo GIVE ME YOUR VOTE!!" everyone in the class turned to look at Clyde and he sheepishly smiled. You and Bebe laughed at him with how desperate he sounded "Okay, okay calm down. I was going to leave it blank but I'll vote for you." He waved you off "No not like that I mean I want to vote for someone." He grinned while Bebe gasped "WHAT? Clyde Donovan not voting for himself. Who are you and what have you done with Clyde." You both laughed as the teacher started class. It was "Life skills" which mean it was a fancy version of home ect.

The usual first day back icebreakers followed by a small overview of the class. It was mostly going to be a lot of group work and projects with the people at your table. All your classes were short because it was the first day so class went by fast. The bell rang before you knew it and you all parted ways. Or so you thought you noticed that Tucker was walking in the same direction as you. You rolled your eyes "Oh joy" you said to no one in particular as you both walked into the same classroom. He took a seat all the way in the back which you did the same only a few rows away since most of the seats were already taken. You could see Wendy from where you were sitting and you almost got up to greet her before you noticed that Stan was sitting next to her. They looked like they were really good friends, you didn't want to intrude. You frowned and rested your head on your hand. Now you just want class to be over.

Through most of the class you were just fiddling with your pencil to pass the time that's when a note landed on your desk. You opened it to see it was a drawing of a small Tucker flipping you off saying "I thought I told you to pay attention!" you couldn't help but laugh as you drew over his drawing adding in a mustache and devil horns making another speech bubble that read

"Since when could you draw?!"

Yes, you know that it's grammatically incorrect to use both punctuation marks but you didn't care. You waited for an opportunity where your teacher was facing the board and threw your reply back. You watched him open it and saw him smirk as he drew something else on the note. This was pretty much how you both spent the rest of the class scribbling doodles to each other and making snide remarks. When the bell rang you thought about trying to talk to Stan again. You looked to the front of the class to see Wendy and Stan laughing as Stan offers to hold her things while they go off to lunch. It doesn't seem like you had a chance at all they've known each other for so long and you barely even talk. A hand waves in and out of your vision "You really need to stop zoning out, you're in the way." You snapped out of it and slapped his hand "In the way my ass, you could have walked around me." you both walked to the cafeteria. Not together you both just so happened to be walking to the same place at the same time.

As you approached the usual table you were greeted by Tweek and Token who didn't miss a beat to point out the obvious. "Whoa Tweek are you seeing what I'm seeing." Tweek nodded "I-i-it's very rare to see them AH together."

"And not at each other's throats." They both gasped "Could this the start of-" Craig narrows his eyes at them flipping Tweek off and interrupting Token "Oh fuck off. I don't have a choice she's been in all my classes so far." Token laughed and nudged him playfully "I don't know there's a lot of rumors about you two."

"P-p-people think you two are-AH-dating." You start choking as Clyde and Bebe joined the party "Yeah I'm surprised you guys didn't hear about it until now." Clyde said sitting down next to Craig who rolled his eyes "No I've heard the rumors. They're annoying." He glares at you "As if I'd ever date an idiot like her."

You stick your tongue out at him "I haven't heard any, so pray tell what are they" You thought you did well laying low. Bebe laughs at you hugging you while petting your hair. "Poor (Y/n) so oblivious when it comes to herself." you tried to push her away but she hugged you tighter "It was around the end of the year when you and Craig had that big fist fight." You stopped her right there "Best day of my life, what about it." you will never forget the day you got to punch Tucker in the face.

Craig was fed up he clenched his fist and slammed it on the table "Tch, You know what? I'm out of here. I can't stand her." He left flipping everyone off. As you all watched him leave Bebe hit your shoulder "Ow, hey he can't complain about that day! He was the one who started it, may I me remind you he hit me first!" you defended yourself "Anyways that was when they started. If you haven't noticed Craig doesn't have any interest in girls." Clyde added and the rest of the table agreed "He doesn't give any other girls the time of day so naturally people would think he has a thing for you with all the attention he gives you." Token said as Clyde nods "He does treat you special comparatively. I mean I wouldn't doubt if he did."

"H-he's not good with ACK expressing his feelings." you rolled your eyes "Yeah yeah or he could actually hate my guts but whatever I don't really care." you rubbed your temples "Could we change the subject already." Bebe perked up "We could always talk about who you're gonna vote for!" why, why you.

Eventually Lunch was over and you continued with the rest of your day. You did notice that Tucker was in some of your next classes but you made it a point to ignore him. At least as much as you could anyway and before you knew it, it was already the end of the day. He wasn't in your last class so that was a plus. You slowly got up from your seat looking at the blank paper, should you just turn it in anyways? You sighed about to write a name down when you heard footsteps from outside the room.

"(Y/N)!! Oh thank god you haven't left yet!" Clyde appeared in the doorway as the rest of your classmates were leaving the room he was panting pretty heavily "I.....oh god I'm out of shape.....give me a minute." he tried to catch his breath and you pat his back "I would have been here sooner but I had to lose Craig he can't know about this. Do you still have your vote please please PLEASE tell me you do." you laughed at him "Seriously this is what you're so worked up about? You can take it." you handed it over to Clyde who scribbled down a name. You leaned over to see who he was writing. You both smirked "Oh I see. So that's why you wanted it so badly." Clyde gave you a thumbs up "I'm not saying I'm rigging this years list but I've pretty much been doing this all day." he helped you gather your things "Do you know how hard it is to not have Craig around?! Pretty fucken hard like god damn man he shows up out of nowhere!" you walk out of the room with Clyde and almost on cue you see Tucker approach. You clutch the note "My lips are sealed but I do have to turn this in now." you waved them goodbye and made your way to the committee's secret not so secret base.

When you arrived Wendy looked frantic probably from trying to tally up all the votes. You knocked on the door frame to get her attention. She looked up at you with the biggest sigh of relief "Are you turning in your vote?" you handed her the paper "Yup but, are you okay you look a bit shaken up?" you were concerned you've never seen her like this before. "Well right now we currently have a tie for THE hottest guy and everyone else has already turned in their votes. I'm glad there was one left."

"I'm the literal last vote? I feel oddly special." Wendy looked down at the paper and back to you then back at the paper and back to you. "A-are, are you sure this is who you're voting for? I mean this helps but I thought you-" you cut her off, you know how this must look but at this point you didn't care. "Don't ask I've had a time, but yes I'm sure that's my vote." quite frankly you thought Wendy was going to keel over she looked kind of pale. "Wendy are you sure you're okay?" She gave you a forced smile.

"I'm fine. If anything you broke the tie."

[canmom]

Have you ever looked into how JJBA: Stone Ocean was handled? fans (understandably) bemoaned the release schedule because the long waits in between batch drops killed a lot of enthusiasm for the adaption but you don’t really see many people talk about the production side of it.

When the first 12 episodes were dropped on Netflix I saw Kvin and a few other big sakuga accounts hinting that it was really under-prioritised in favour of an “upcoming unnecessary remake” (Urusei Yatsura was announced some time after) and that the schedule animators were given was catastrophic.

David Production are announcing part 7 in a couple of weeks time and I’m pretty worried about it considering it’s a much larger-scale projects than its predecessors as well as them having 3 other projects going on right now, and they’re not a very big studio either. I hope Kvin makes a blog post about it at some point.

Found one of the tweets I was talking about. https://x.com/yuyucow/status/1466177272675713028

big oof :(

yeah it is one of the curses of the industry as it works atm that the margins on projects are so thin under the production committee system that anime studios that start out with the best of intentions to set themselves apart from the industry average all too often tend to take on more and more work to make ends meet, and of course it is the animators who have to make that work somehow.

which is maybe the generous way of looking at it - the less generous way of looking at it is that most anime studios are just really badly managed in general, and they can get away with it because there's always people who want to work in anime to use up.

so you get studios like Science Saru, once upon a time a really good place to work as I understand it, take a nosedive into overwork hell with way too many concurrent projects over the last few years. (at least, kvin kept saying it was really bad around the time of Heike Monogatari - idk if it's gotten any better since. DanDaDan started off real strong but I hear it fell apart a bit by the end? idk how things were on The Colours Within, everyone in the sakuga scene loved that movie but I didn't hear much about its production)

I don't know the specific story with David Pro. but my guess is that some dynamic like that is underlying it (kvin also says they changed management in that tweet). I haven't seen that much of their Jojo work but what I've seen was really stylistically unique and it's rightly iconic. you'd think a franchise as big as Jojo would be a high priority money maker, but management is weird and I only know what you've told me I'm afraid!

honestly I'm a bit baffled by the spate of dubious remakes recently. Urusei Yatsura and Rose of Versailles are classics of their eras and we just don't have the same industry that made them, so there's no way you'd be able to capture that vibe again today. is nostalgic name recognition just that strong that they're just money printers? is it some kind of copyright extension bullshit? confusing.

[darkmaga-returns]

The story starts when a Florida Tax collector got himself in trouble with the law.

Joel Greenberg who knew Gaetz, was involved in a sex trafficking ring and he was eventually sentenced for it. It consisted of getting girls for sugar daddy's and at least one was a minor. However Joel did a plea bargain where he lies and tried to implicate Matt Gaetz. For political reasons the Zio press jumped all over this.

Joel isn't reliable. He has 33 felonies the list of amazingly stupid things he did is enormous.

*Sex trafficking

*Stalking

*Wire fraud

*Bribery

*Conspiracy to defraud the government

*Identity theft

I*Impersonating a cop (twice)

*Created fake businesses and got them loans, he also got them covid bucks.

*He spent 3.5 million on "consultants" who were all his close friends who attended his wedding.

*Used tax money to buy and office and crypto mining machines.

*He had too many plugged in and it set the building on fire.

*He created fake IDs for the girls he trafficked and paid them on venmo.

*He created a fake letter to smear a political opponent who was a teacher by pretending to be a male student in a sexual relationship with him. Left his finger prints on the envelope.

*He also created fake Facebook a.d Twitter account is to label the guy z white separatist.

*Spent 15k on remote water sprinklers outside his office that he could aim at people.

*Brought MDNA to his sugar babies parties

But the ethic committee in congress is going to listen to Joel who confessed to 6 of the felonies and is spending 11 years in jail. Because they politically want to target Matt Gaetz. Gaetz opposed the hate speech laws labeling criticism of Israel as anti-semitism.

This other crook Steven Alford tried to blackmail Gaetz's father (25 million) claiming he could get Matt Gaetz a pardon for a sex trafficking allegation. But only if he gave him money that would be used to get a Jewish spy out of Iran, Robert Levinson. (CIA)

Gaetz thinks the DOJ leaked information that they were investigating him to the extortionist and that they limited the case to a couple fall guys when it was a much larger network.

In the end Joel and Alford were convicted. Nothing was found on Gaetz and Levinson is still Iran if he is even alive.

Someone was trying to ensnare and blackmail rich American politicians so they could attempt to set free a Jewish spy in Iran.

Here is the weird part. Yeah that wasn't even the weird part yet.

When Gaetz was bring strong armed he went right to TV on the Tucker Carlson show and named his accusers. He named lawyers on TV and called them blackmailers.

David McGee and Bob Kent. (Steven Alford worked with them.) Gaetz said when his father was approached to give them 25M he went right to the FBI and they had him wear a wire.

[chibishinobi]

Look! A stray nintamaka!

An ordinary nintama... or is it? Perhaps there is more to this little ninja.

Meet...

(click the image for better quality-- hngg)

This young man right here is not born in MC Rantarou's world. No, he transmigrates into it. And he doesn't like it one bit.

Originally he is 19 years old, reaching 20. He aspires to become the most accomplished musician, and he comes remarkably close to achieving it until someone took it away.

Unfortunately, all his efforts have been snatched away by his envious close friend. A stab to the chest is all it takes. Overwhelmed by a sense of betrayal, sadness, and anger, he surrenders to his demise.

The next thing he knows when he opens his eyes, he has the body of a kid. Surrounded by unfamiliar environments and weird superheroes with shuriken.

___________________________________________

He didn't know how he ended up in a children's show and he certainly didn't know how he got rope in the ninja academy.

He prefers to hide his face. Mostly, he uses the cloth above.

His scar? Some mystery is better to let it be.

He refuses to tell his name, so people called him Tokumei, sometimes Mumei.

He doesn't want to be any part of the Committee-- it is either, he chooses or he chosen.

He begrudgingly chooses the Hunting Committee.

He lacks proficiency in handling traditional firearms.

He doesn't get along well with others. Often being alone wolf. He prefers that way.

He hates when being told off what to do- that's mean he hates the teachers and seniors.

Often got into fights with them. Doesn't care what punishment he gets-- "I didn't ask to be here."

But he has a tiny soft spot for the juniors.

He tends to avoid conversation whenever possible. But when he have to, he is very straightforward.

He prefers to sit to the side and let the canon characters and events roll.

He often forgot that this is a children's show that he is surprised there is a little to none blood whenever they fight, fall into traps, etc.

And because of that, he gets too far in killing beating people.

When he met with non-canon characters (y'all nintamaka); "I have not encountered you previously. Are you a recently introduced character or something similar?"

Yes, he speaks... Weird.

Hobby? Breaking the fourth wall.

Yeah, he's a bit prickly but hey-- he's hard on the outside but soft on the inside. He tries to adjust to the new world. And new body too.

Here's more about the Hunting Committee.

[frogmanfae]

Newsies as Things I Heard This Week Part 3

Race, who decided to fuck around and take an intro to med course: Boogers, man *solemn nodding*

Literally everyone else who was having a normal conversation 2 seconds ago: ...

Race: They have a purpose

Davey: What's on your dress?

Romeo: Are those corn dogs?

Jack: They're popsicles!

Katherine: No!! They're otters!! You're like the third person! They're two otters swimming next to each other and holding hands because otters holding hands is the cutest thing ever!

Romeo: Ohhh I see it now

Katherine: I would wear a dress with corn dogs on it though, that sounds pretty cool

I'm gonna drop out

Spot: What happened

Race: Change my name

Spot: What happened??

Race: Move to another state-

Spot: What happened???

Davey: He was talking to his english teacher while she was trying to grade and she asked him to shut up

Race: MY ENGLISH TEACHER

Spot: ooh... That's rough buddy

Jojo: Uh... I think it's red?

Buttons: Damn that's a big apple!

Jojo: I know it's like huge-

Buttons: What kind is it??

Buttons and Elmer: ...

Elmer: *bursts into laughter*

Buttons: *gasping for air* I mean... Are we talkin gala, pink lady, honey crisp...?

Albert: Do you ever want to just start some chaos for no reason?

Jojo: Oh! Uh... *laughing but the crying kind* I don't know...

Race: Absolutely-

Albert: Because right now I just wanna- I'm fighting an urge

Elmer: *out of nowhere, directed at no one, for no reason* itty bitty titty committee

Race: What? Literally what did you just say?

Davey, running on an hour of sleep, three monster energies, and the crippling anxiety that if he takes a break he will have failed his entire family: It's like thing that there where like... What is that?

Davey: Where all the words are the same? Oxymoron!

Race, who isn't an english scholar but is pretty sure that isn't right: ...no?

Davey: Wh- *realization* ... Alliteration. I meant allitera-

Race: DID YOU JUST MISTAKE ALLITERATION FOR OXYMORON-

Race: NO BECAUSE YOU'RE A FUCKING OXY-MORON

Davey: SHUT UP

Crutchie: Were you on the marching band bus with the penis game last year?

Davey: THIS IS ANTISEMITISM AND HOMOPHOBIA AND- UH- fuck what see am I? I'm something else, for sure, right?

Race:.... An immigrant?

Davey: YEAH THIS IS ALSO XENOPHOBIA

Race: DID YOU JUST FORGET THAT YOU-

Davey: I SAID SHUT UP

Buttons: What?

Crutchie: The penis game

Buttons: No? Can I- I'm gonna need some elaboration

Crutchie: Okay so you say "penis" and you start really quiet and then the next person-

Buttons: Okay I understand. I need no more instruction, I know what to do now. I'm so glad I've been given the honor to bring this to Bus 1

Denton, addressing the marching band kids on expectations before they leave for their first away game of the season: Did I cover everything? Is everything said?

Medda: Language!

Denton, very obviously tired: Oh yes! Language. Only use the good words, not the bad ones. Like... Yay and... Yippee.. Oh darn... Holy smokes... Things like that...

Romeo: The trombone section shirt is going to say "I'm about to blow" and it's gonna have a trombone with a bomb

Henry: Why the bomb?

Romeo: So people think we're talking about explosions but actually... Cum

Henry: I mean the trumpet shirts say "I'm horny" so-

Romeo: RIGHT?! THAT'S WEIRD! If they can have that we can have this.

Elmer: Please don't quote me on that

Buttons: I'm quoting you on that

Elmer: Nooo...!

Denton: *chainsaw imitation in the middle of teaching class*

Davey and Spot: *autistic discussion about angler fish* (I wasn't able to write all of this down because deadass this conversation about angler fish lasted 20 minutes in the middle of my creative writing class instead of doing our work)

Elmer: *tricks his cat into thinking he has a treat when he, in fact, does not* Look he's looking at me like "you whore I knew you were lying"

Denton, teaching biology: This is called phagocytosis (fag-oh-sigh-toe-sis)

Davey and Race: *bombastic side eye*

Crutchie: *trying not to laugh*

Denton: It occurs when a phagocyte (fag-oh-sight) essentially, like- *eats* another piece of biological material in the body-

Davey and Race: *BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE*

Crutchie: *TRYING NOT TO LAUGH*

Medda, to her english class: Oh don't read that that's hetero

Les: you just use your tippies *talking about fingertips*

Davey: ... *trying so hard not to laugh*

Davey: I'm gonna touch you with my tippies

Race: *trying and failing not to laugh*

/after Les leaves/

Race: PLEASE GO UP TO JACK AND SAY THAT

Albert: *gets his heart broken by a guy* I'm straight now!

Henry: No!

Albert: I'm taking the rainbow heart pin off of my bag right now!!!

Race: I support you, I'm shopping for a straight pride pin to replace it

Elmer: Relationships are give and take, lately you've only been giving and he's only been taking you should really end that

Albert: thank you! A true friend

Race: here, here's an ally pin-

Albert: no I'm straight up homophobic after this

Race: oh shit

Crutchie: Damn okay look at you getting deep, freshman??

*long line to get in through a door*

Buttons: *opens a second door*

Denton: Oh there we go, second option. Always use plan b!

Jack: *snorts*

Davey: *side eye*

Race: *deep voice* get off my property

Race: You should keep that one in mind

Davey: I'm having a hard time seeing what I could use Plan B for

Jack: It's so weird to hear you using your straight guy voice

Race: *southern deep voice* oh yeah-

Davey: WHY ARE YOU SOUTHERN???

Race: *still in the voice* I was born in South Carolina

Jack: THAT DOESN'T COUNT

Race: *still in the voice* In another life I coulda been a cowboy

Buttons, about Oscar: Nah girl that is more than a bad day that's a bad YEAR-

Spot, sarcastically: It's governMENt not governWOMANt so sit down

Denton, teaching a band class: It's like your tongue is ever so slightly flicking the note-

Sarah, jokingly: :0

Davey, also a drummer: *trying (and failing) not to laugh* shut up

Spot, a drummer and therefore not a part of the tongue flicking thing: *starts laughing*

Specs: It's like we're a travelling truffle of elephants-

Romeo: Is that-

Specs: Yes that's the right term

Denton, about a halftime peice: No no it can't be that

The entire band: ah- pff- uh-

Denton: i's not funny anymore now it's just sad

Race: Alright I'm going to the bathroom so no funny conversations while I'm gone

*2 minutes later the book falls*

Race: Everyone point and laugh at her because her book is slowly falling off her desk

Davey: It's not that funny

Davey: *snorts*

Elmer: You have a cartoon character frown

Race:

Davey: shut up

Davey: What

Elmer: Like your frown is cartoony

Davey: I dropped ap chem

Jack: What?

Davey: I'm taking ceramics now

Jack: You-

Davey: I dropped chemistry for ceramics

Jack: You're so real for that

Albert: AH- You did not just L my jeans that are black!

Elmer: Okay but why would you have edibles if you could just have gummies

Jack, who has never actually done drugs of any kind in his life: I mean like drugs tho

Elmer: Okay but would you rather have a bowl of fruit gummies or like 3 edibles

Jack: But-

Elmer: Infinite fruit gummies or-

Buttons: We should give birds space suits and just send them up there

Davey: Huh?

Race: I'd get arrested if I was a politician

Buttons: See if they would fly without air

Davey: I feel like you aren't thinking any of this through

Romeo: Aren't the best politicians attested at some point? (/sarcastic)