#CoLS Chapter 15 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jiminjamms · 1 year

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sex therapy :: 17. wicked games

chapter tags/warnings: family drama. mentions of masturbation. mentions of sex. infidelity/adultery. nonconsensual acts. manipulative undertones. strong language. classism.

word count: 3.6k

notes: this chapter incorporates the official manga relationships in the zenin household (link that illustrates the family tree). without further ado, i present to you the latest pov added to the fic: toji! likes, comments, and reblogs are deeply appreciated. xoxo

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Toji Fushiguro could not get his mind off of you.

Was that weird to admit?

When he last saw you two weeks ago in Teyvat’s meeting room, dolled up in that pretty pink dress, he had to wrestle every urge to push you onto his dick. All the times he had to retreat to his room afterward too—all because your one outfit had set off his imagination—forcing Toji to lock and then lean against his door so that he could palm himself through his sweats to dirty thoughts about you.

Gosh, what higher being in the universe allowed you to be such a hot and sexy tease? You sure loved prancing around with basically nothing and stealing looks at his colleagues as though he wouldn’t notice.

At this point, Toji was certain that he wasn’t the only therapist calling dibs on you. That most definitely pissed him off, though, because he explicitly told you that your pussy belonged to him.

Then why hadn’t you made another appointment these past two weeks?

Were you upset, perhaps flushed with utter denial, from the revelation that your husband had been cheating on you? Besides, he recalled how you had reacted so strongly to the information, racing away from the therapists who were just being honest with you.

In hindsight, Toji might have felt a teeny tiny bit bad about crushing your rose-colored glasses without much lead-up, but he was rarely the type to beat around the bush anyway. After all, he was the one to suggest a divorce in your first therapist appointment.

Of all things, echoing laughter was what finally grounded Toji’s wandering mind.

His green eyes fluttered rapidly, realizing that he had been in his office and staring blankly at his desk for... how long has this been? He glanced briefly at his tabletop clock. When he noticed how the time had advanced by thirty minutes, Toji rested his forehead on his left palm. “Damn...”

Given how he had a fully booked schedule today, he could not afford to dawdle in his thoughts. He had not noticed that half an hour had passed so quickly. How was it possible that thinking about one person (you) made him lose all sense of time?

He could do better than this.

‘Maybe you’re the one who needs a therapist,’ Megumi had recently pointed out to him in irony, and boy, do these words from his own eighteen-year-old son sting.

In contrast to himself, though, his co-workers had lately been in higher spirits than usual. That much Toji could ascertain given the hubbub that continued to filter into his suite. He would not have minded the phenomenon much had it not been for this gut feeling, this hunch, that you were the reason behind this change.

At his age, Toji has learned to mind his own business, but he still considered joining his colleagues by the reception desk to investigate. He stopped, however, upon noticing an article at his desk.

Right, this was what had derailed Toji from his work.

‘Look at this, boss,’ Geto had said when he first presented the printed webpage to Toji. ‘No wonder Y/N’s been lonely. Naoya literally took his side bitch to Mexico.’

The accompanying photo may be in low resolution, but Toji recognized the two figures hand-in-hand, stepping into a private jet. Their faces were shielded by baseball caps and face masks, their bodies clad in boring and baggy clothes. Consequently, Toji had to scoff, drumming his fingers along his cheekbone.

Another impeccable snapshot for our collection, huh?

Quite the scandal was brewing in Japan’s high society, not to mention how the illicit relationship involved your husband, and the therapists were merely here for the show. This was what the therapists were trying to advise you about before you promptly shut yourself away from them.

The love affair—especially involving a family as influential as the Zenin’s—should theoretically be all over magazines and newspapers, but any internet search for this image would prove futile. The Zenins were good like that, relying on under-the-table tactics to ensure that this photo would go nowhere.

Only thanks to his colleagues, who had extensive contacts throughout Japan’s many ranks, was Toji able to get his hands on this printed article before the magazine editors had taken them down.

Naoya, that cunning bastard.

If he had been in Cabo prancing around with his paramour, how did he so quickly realize that his images had been circulating among Japanese media? Or, more likely, was it his authoritarian father Naobito who informed his doltish son about the impending rumors?

Either way, Toji could not believe that he was affiliated with both assholes by blood, no less: Naoya, his cousin, and Naobito, his uncle. To think how he was involved again with the relatives who he had sought to avoid, Toji assumed that fate must love toying with him.

Already, growing up in the Zenin family was hell, to put things mildly: how they would obsess over power and prestige as though those two items alone determined one’s value as a human being, how they would scrutinize one’s every action because everything had to conform to their cookie-cutter standards, and then how they would abruptly cast aside those who strayed away from their ideals.

Toji, once an established member of the household, could speak from experience. Thus, blood relation meant nothing if these were the same people who had prayed for his downfall.

He recalled his relatives’ dirty glances when he announced his engagement twenty years ago, then the even nastier looks when he took his first wife’s surname as his own: Fushiguro. ‘She’s a woman too low for our caliber,’ Toji had been told.

He remembered the apathy he later received after his wife’s untimely death, followed by belittlement when he chose to marry again—this time, to a single mother. Perhaps he should have heeded his family’s advice for the last bit, but his decisions seemed right at the moment. During a desperate time, he provided his then-gradeschool son with a much-needed maternal figure as well as a stepsister.

His personal life already made him a deviant among his relatives, so when his family discovered his therapist ventures earlier this year, Toji was not surprised to be severed from the household he once had been considered to lead. Well, Toji was more relieved than bitter, anyway. He could now live life on his terms without worrying about what his father’s uncle’s second cousin twice-removed or some crap like that thought about him and his son.

As he gazed upon the pixelated photo again, he sighed and wondered: was this how low the Zenins have stooped since they had expelled him? A centuries-old bloodline built on relationships with the public and the powerful, now resorting to bribes and threats to sweep scandals under the rug? While watching the Zenin clan burn from afar was entertaining, the situation was also pathetic and sad.

To also think that his moronic cousin Naoya was now not only the household heir but also the current CEO of the family conglomerate. Not to mention that the family’s current patriarch Naobito seemingly turned a blind eye to Naoya’s flings. The older Zenin might have been a brilliant businessman back in the early ‘90s, but his elderly brain had deteriorated too far to see how, at this rate, his son would eventually drive the company and the prideful family to the ground.

Had you realized what you married into?

Probably not, but you didn’t deserve this.

Or, to put things the other way around, the Zenin family didn’t deserve you.

“Yo!”

Toji shot up from his seat just as his door crashed against the wall.

He turned to the sound’s source in surprise. Leaning against the entryway stood a personage with his white lab coat draped over his unsurprisingly shirtless chest. The incomer crossed his thick arms over his half-exposed tattoos, but one such arm frees itself to greet Toji with a mocking wave.

“Sukuna,” the older therapist grumbled, “I’ve told you to knock first.”

“Why?” the pink-haired man challenged, not caring how this must have been the hundredth time he heard the order. For him, this was in one ear and out the other. Rather than mind the complaint, he inspected his newly filed nails. “Worried I would walk into you fingering Mrs. Zenin again?”

“Only because that’ll make you jealous,” Toji retorted with equal spite, to which his colleague chose not to respond anymore.

Besides, as a savvy businessman, Sukuna knew how to pick his battles. He might come off as crude, but only because he understood that, with his financial acumen and incredible connections, he was an indispensable asset.

After some silence, Sukuna’s chest rose and fell with a long sigh. “Well, check your schedule, Fushiguro. You have an appointment coming up now.” Not only was he the most well-organized therapist but also the current receptionist on duty. He then huffed again. “Tsumiki’s mom has been waiting for you. I don’t know how you deal with such an impatient bitch. What the hell am I supposed to do when—"

And a hand shoved his face away before he could finish.

Sukuna, flinching from the unexpected approach, recoiled at a beaming woman that peered in from the door frame. Anyone would immediately notice that the overly excited client was beautiful. The plush of her full lips, the gentle arches to her face, the roundness in her doe-like eyes—her looks were akin to an angel constantly in awe. Most people could hardly believe that, with her youthful looks, she actually had a university-aged daughter (with whom Toji could see a strong resemblance, too).

Meanwhile, her large brown eyes scanned the office—the posters, the couch, the nearby mirror—until her gaze landed on Toji and lit up.

“Honey, I’ve missed you!”

Before someone could stop her, the woman welcomed herself into the premises, her lithe limbs swaying with her graceful figure. She sported a simple navy dress that contrasted with her true self because, as far as Toji knew, this woman was anything but simple.

In fact, as she sashayed into the room uninvited, Toji remembered the paparazzi pictures still sprawled on his desk. He caught Sukuna’s maroon gaze and scowled.

This is why I tell you to knock.

Hurriedly, Toji then pushed the photos under some files just as his client seated herself in the sofa seat closest to him. She then turned to her escort in the hall. “Thank you, Sukuna. You’re such a wonderful man.”

She might be oblivious to Sukuna’s irritation, but Toji did not miss the way his colleague hid a gag and rolled his eyes. “M'kay, whatever,” the pink-haired therapist muttered as he slinked back into the corridor.

Then, when Sukuna shut the door with him, she pressed her rosy lips together. “Aw, Strawberry Boy doesn’t want to join us. Guess he likes to play hard to get.”

“Mari,” Toji started, placing his right ankle over the other knee. He rested his back against his chair and held his hands behind his neck. “I do not think neither Sukuna nor any other therapist here is interested in you. Therefore, if you are seeking a summertime fling, I’d suggest you pursue someone else.”

Shot down, an exasperated Mari tossed her dark locks to one side, a die-hard habit of hers. “Like who?”

Like Naoya.

It was hilarious for Toji to think about how he was entangled with his cousin’s mistress, the very same lover in that paparazzi photo with the young executive. In fact, Toji had this theory that Naoya sent Mari here as a Trojan horse, a seemingly harmless client whose actual intention was to gather intel for the Zenin CEO from afar, a pretty façade to lure others into ruins. He didn’t have much evidence to back up the suspicion (yet), but he knew Naoya for long enough to be familiar with the silly games he’d play. Did Naoya and Mari really think that Toji would be so naïve?

“Well, in Tokyo, there are plenty of ways to meet people your age,” he finally suggested and had to suppress a slight smile before adding, “Unless...you’re into younger guys?”

Mari narrowed her eyes but for a millisecond. Had Toji not been at the top of his field, he would not have noticed. Nothing, however, got past him.

“But,” she responded, “I still like you most because you give me your time, Toji.”

Interesting. Because that would mean Naoya had been too busy for his poor sweetheart, hm?

No wonder Mari had been so frustrated. Life must be tough when one was merely the mistress of the Zenin Corporation’s CEO. Not only was Naoya Zenin a mediocre performer in bed, but the homewrecker role also came with no fancy balls, no formal recognition, and—if the affair was well-hidden—not enough public attention either.

Pity.

Toji leaned forward in one fluid motion, resting his elbows on his desk. “Do not misunderstand my intentions, though,” he clarified while lacing his fingers. “I spend time with you because, as your therapist, I am sadly obligated to do so.”

The woman frowned.

“Now, that’s not nice,” she pointed out, allowing her staccato to afflict him with guilt. "That’s not how to talk to your wife, my dear husband.”

And Toji snapped.

“Ex-husband,” he corrected forcefully. His startled client jerked backward in her seat, but that didn’t matter because he had to sternly remind her, “You were the one who filed for divorce, remember?”

Toji liked to think that he was a patient man. Well, he had to be. As he grew up, the pressure that came with the Zenin spotlight taught him to exert self-discipline and emotional regulation, skills that became even more pertinent in his current role.

As a licensed practitioner now, Toji was obligated to treat all clients equally regardless of background. But under no circumstance could he remove all biases when this was the very woman who split up with him, leaving his son Megumi and his stepdaughter Tsumiki under his care. Therefore, she had quite the audacity to keep visiting him at his office and still call him her husband, especially since she was Naoya’s mistress!

How sinister life could be. For years, no one—not even Toji himself—would have seen this coming: how his second wife would leave him, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ on the divorce papers, only to become his first cousin’s secret girlfriend.

His sudden confrontation, however, must have caught Mari off-guard, for she began twirling at her strands again. “Just because we aren’t married anymore does not mean that I don’t think about you. It’s been so long since we’ve—"

“Three days,” Toji interjected. He had to hold his breath before his annoyance controlled him completely. “The last time you saw me was three days ago. That isn’t much long ago at all.”

The silence that ensued was admittedly awkward until Mari suddenly stood up.

For a moment, Toji had to hide his relief thinking that the appointment would end earlier than anticipated, but he should have known that Mari wouldn’t leave that easily. Instead, she approached him in slow steps, encircling the seated therapist like a vulture.

When she drew near, her hands skimmed up from his brawny arms to his equally well-built shoulder blades, gliding over his lab coat before her warm palms began to knead at his tired muscles.

“I...think about you more than I’d like to admit,” she whispered, an incantation that could set any lustful man’s heart ablaze. Her fingers continued to massage him in slow and circular motions, the gentle pressure over tight knots melting into a calm and comforting rhythm. “I care about you so...don’t be mean to me, alright? The words you sometimes say, they hurt me a lot.”

Her delicate hands crawled up to his chin next, her left thumb tugging at the plush pillow of his lower lip. The most dangerous thing about Mari wasn't how she embodied a young lady’s exuberance with a mature woman’s elegance. Rather, it was her ability to place spells like these. Back when he had less self-respect, Toji might have forgiven her and caved in, her simple but flirtatious touches like trances that could crumble his resolve.

But you still fuck your ex-wife?

Of all moments, your words from weeks ago decided to haunt him now, your revolted expression a clear image in his memory. His heavy-lidded eyes batted quickly as he came to a realization: Why was he doing this?

In the revelation, Toji stopped Mari’s wandering hands from traveling toward his black slacks.

“Mari,” he said very firmly. As he pulled her away from him, his green eyes held her shimmering brown ones. “No.”

“What?” Given the woman’s visible surprise, Toji could also imagine the smoke that fumed from her nose. After all, this was the same man who once would go weak on his knees for her. Mari stepped back, folding her arms defensively. “Why not?”

“You say that my words hurt you, but I would argue that you’ve hurt me far more,” the therapist explained. As he regained composure, he twirled his chair so that he could face his client squarely. “Have you heard? Your own daughter Tsumiki isn’t even returning to Tokyo for her university’s summer break because she is too ashamed to see you.”

“Good!” she shot, surprising the man with her soured temper. “Would not have cared to hear from her either! Tsumiki had always sided with you and your urchin-headed son. But you know what? You’ve changed, Toji. You, and all the other therapists here, too. I don’t know what has been up with you four, but this clinic was far better back when Naoya worked here.”

Toji had a talent for hiding the whirr behind his thoughts, but he could not conceal his surprise this time. Although he wanted to, he never bothered to mention Naoya in his appointments with Mari before. However, it turned out he didn’t have to be the first one to bring up his cousin since Mari did so herself. Had she not reminded him, Toji would’ve forgotten that Naoya was once a sex therapist too, the family pair once working several doors away from each other.

Since the opportunity already presented itself, Toji took the chance to inveigle his ex-wife. He stood up from his office chair and closed the little gap between him and his glaring client.

“Let me tell you something,” Toji started, his voice low but steady. “You genuinely think Naoya is all that great of a person? That man has received countless complaints from his former clients about manipulation and derogatory remarks. He’s disrespectful. He’s deceptive. He's a complete con man. Therefore, I would actually argue that our office is much, much better without that elitist and misogynistic asshole.”

Come on, woman. Take the bait. I’m waiting. Three, two...

“Naoya is not that kind of person,” Mari erupted, likely faster and with more fury than she intended.

Well, that was easy. Toji appeared unruffled from the outside, yet he grinned inwardly.

While he paid no mind to how the woman shook her hands from anger and flung a weak fist into his strong chest, he did—however—find more amusement when she added, “Spreading false rumors about your own relative doesn’t make you the bigger person.”

Unfortunately for her, she tended to act and speak before she thought, not realizing that rushing to Naoya Zenin’s side made her suspicious.

“What? Do my claims about ‘my own relative’ upset you that much?” Toji challenged, quoting her words. He rolled his shoulders back after pushing the woman’s hands from his pectorals. “He’s my baby cousin, so naturally, I have seen his good and bad sides. Just throwing that out there. Unless,” his voice then dropped into a deep bass, “for some reason, you know something I don’t...?”

The inflection in his tone was purposely inquisitive, and he raised an innocent brow with his questions. He could see the emotions that threatened to spill past her walls, from how she furrowed her brows in contemplation to how she pursed her lips in wrath.

But Mari bit her tongue at the very last moment. “No,” she quipped and folded her arms defiantly. “Naoya is not my business.”

Sounded rehearsed, but oh well. The paparazzi photos from their recent Mexico getaway might prove otherwise, though.

“If you say so,” Toji shrugged.

He was satisfied enough with Mari’s reactions to his cousin’s name, and he liked thinking about how two heartless people had found passion in each other. Just as Toji retreated to his seat, a knock rapped at the door and opened to Geto at the entrance.

“Time is up, boss.”

Even as the appointment ended and was followed by other clients that day, Toji’s mind buzzed into the evening.

Call him obsessed, but—for himself, for his son, for his stepdaughter, for his colleagues, and for you—he sought revenge. As Toji mulled over his strategy in his home library that night, he could feel himself about to detonate like a time bomb when the apartment buzzer rang unexpectedly.

“Megumi!” Toji’s low timbers boomed, hoping that his son would hear him from his room upstairs. He chased toward the entryway in hurried steps, calling the teenager’s name again because only the boy’s high school friends would be visiting at this hour. Toji swung the door open. “Megumi! Yuuji and Nobara are downst—”

His words vanished when, in the place of two bubbly teenagers, there stood you.

You raised your gaze from the ground, the overhead lighting leaving a warm glow on your features as you met Toji with reddened and lachrymose eyes.

“Can...we talk?”

last chapter || next chapter

end notes: 1) For me, this was another challenging chapter to write, as I balanced between introducing the many layers behind our main therapist and inundating you—my lovely readers—with too much information without adequate context. 2) Originally, I had named Mari something else. I changed it because her name eventually reminded me of a different anime character and I didn’t want the association. Haha.

taglist: @dissociatingdiva @httpsplanetmarsdotcom @nemoyr @huangfairy @shadowarchon @203steph @agentdedf1sh @cloudybabes @hinativity @lynn-writes-things @illicitwriter @7oji @kikuchimi @piqer @nobody289x @chaoticjojofan @musicisme333 @vvestwoodrose @kumocchin @s-guru @mwahilovemylife @hey-gurls69 @cloudsinthecosmos @moon-mumu-moon @kazscara @obitohno @skilerfrostfairy @funicidals @nico707 @proteovaldez @tsukiyohanayome @marimoares @qirbys @moodpi @tokyometronetwork @downtown-roponggi @the-cosmos-network

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readyforevolution · 9 months

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JACK DANIELS HOLSCLAW (1918-1998)

Tuskegee Airman Jack Daniels Holsclaw was born in Spokane, Washington, on March 21, 1918. His father, Charles, was a clerk in a downtown store, and his mother, Nell, was a manager at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. Holsclaw attended North Central High School in Spokane, where he excelled both academically and athletically. When he was 15, he became the first black person in Spokane to earn the Eagle Scout badge.

Holsclaw entered Whitworth College in 1935 but transferred to Washington State College (now Washington State University) in 1936 to play baseball. Beginning in his junior year, he played center field and helped the Cougars finish as co-champions of the Northern Division, Pacific Coast Conference. He was the second African American earn a varsity letter in baseball at the college.

In 1939, Holsclaw transferred to a chiropractic program at Western States College in Portland, Oregon, where he met his wife, Bernice Williams. They had one son, Glen. Holsclaw completed the chiropractic program in 1942 and passed the Oregon state board examination.

While there, he enrolled in a government sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program at Multnomah College and earned his pilot’s license. On October 5, 1942, he enlisted in the army as a private and entered flight school, training at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama. After completing his training, he received his wings and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on July 28, 1943. Lieutenant Holsclaw received advanced training at Selfridge Field near Detroit, Michigan before his squadron was shipped to Italy in December 1943.

Lieutenant Holsclaw flew in the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332d Fighter Group, an all-black pursuit squadron. Holsclaw named his favorite P-51 “Bernice Baby” in honor of his wife. The 332d Fighter Group had distinctive red tails giving them the nickname “Red Tails.” The 332d Fighter Group escorted bombers on their runs over enemy territory, shielding them from German fighters. To the bomber crews that were protected by them they were the “Red Tail Angels.”

On July 18, 1944, in an aerial battle over Italy, Holsclaw shot down two German fighters. For this action he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. By December 1944, Holsclaw had completed 68 combat missions, nearing the limit of 70, when he became Assistant Operations Officer, an important administrative position that included aerial mission planning. In January 1945, Holsclaw was promoted to captain.

Captain Holsclaw returned to the United States in June 1945 to serve as assistant base operations officer at Godman Field, Fort Knox, Kentucky. He served as an Air Force ROTC instructor at Tuskegee Institute and then Tennessee State College.

From 1954 to 1957, Holsclaw was assigned to Japan, and from May 1962 to the end of 1964, he served as chief of the training division, Sixth Air Force Reserve Region at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. He directed the preparation of two textbooks to guide incoming air force personnel. Holsclaw retired from the Air Force on December 31, 1964 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

From 1965 to 1973 Holsclaw served as a manager in the Marin County Housing Authority, California. In 1973, he and Bernice returned to Washington where Holsclaw joined the staff at the People’s National Bank in Bellevue. He remained there until his second retirement in 1983. He and Bernice took up residence in Arizona, where Jack Holsclaw died on April 7, 1998, at the age of 80.

In August 2019, the Jonas Babcock Chapter, NSDAR, dedicated a historical marker in the memory of Lt. Col. Holsclaw at the site of his childhood home in Spokane.

#jack holsclaw #blacktumblr #black history #black liberation #african history

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lostbetweenvampiresandmusic · 2 months

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Changes chapter 15

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The head lay in the box still. Julie had left the room, and if Max was being honest, he wasn't sure whether she had gone to her room or to the boys. It felt wrong to let her just go like that, but everything that had happened during the last week had just been a bit too much for her. Max sighed as he stood up, lifting the box from the table.

It would be of no use to let it sit there. Instead, he had to clean up the head and get rid of the box around it. As he walked towards the garage, his eyes fell on a dark spot on the edge of the box. It was dark red, drenched in blood, but Max could still see exactly what had been printed there. A small logo with the letters COL. Max frowned. Were they after Julie?

Two hours north of Santa Carla, an old man entered a small, sterile room. The room was white, and the only thing in it was a bed, attached to which was some medical equipment. On the bed laid a young woman in her early thirties. Her ginger hair had been combed and put into a loose braid, preventing any tangles from happening. Her body was covered in a thick white blanket, a small blue dot pattern printed upon it. The old man smiled when he saw she was awake.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said softly with a weak smile, "I think this medicine is working better than the last one."

"Good." The man sat down next to her, his wrinkled hand holding her smooth one. "You seem to be getting stronger again. I really hope this one is it."

"Me too, dad." The woman murmured quietly, not looking at her father. "I just wished-"

"No. We're not talking about this now. You need to focus on getting better. Let me focus on the technicalities behind the medicine, alright?" The man sounded stern, and despite her age, the woman shrank back into her pillow, nodding submissively. As the man left, the door closed with a click. She couldn't help but wonder how he got this medicine. As much as she loved her father, she knew he would go to unethical lengths to keep her healthy.

"What do you mean, you can't help me? I'm telling you she is missing!" Greg growled at the horn, ignoring the protest from the officer on the other side. "I don't have to mind my tone you have to do your fucking job! Shelly is missing, and you fucking need to find her!"

Beepbeepbeep

"Shit!" Greg cursed as he threw the horn across the room, banging his fist against the wall. Three weeks. It had been three weeks since he had seen his girl, since he had heard from her and he knew something was wrong. Shelly wasn't like this. Sure, she'd sometimes forget to put the horn back on the receiver, but no matter what, they had seen each other daily. So why not now? What happened to her?

As Greg thought back to that night, all he could think of was the fact that that quiet freak had something to do with it. She had been on the beach, she had been there angering Shelly - what if that freak had done something to enact some sort of revenge? Greg shook his head, growling as he picked up the horn, dialling the number of some private investigator he found in the yellow pages.

"Meet me in two days at Joe's at three, alright? I'll see what I can do for you." The man, Xander Frog, had sounded tired but determined after Greg explained his case. He had even forgone payment after realising he was dealing with a youngster - his words, not Greg's - saying he'd help but couldn't make any promises. Still, it was more than nothing. Xander would do some research, find out what he could and with any luck he'd see Shelly again sometime soon.

He hoped so, he thought as he poured himself a drink. He was nothing without her. Sure, people cowered, but it didn't have the same effect as before. Shelly always brought that spark, that edge of danger, that unpredictability that he needed to stay in charge. Without her, he was just the next guy trying to claim the boardwalk as his own. He wasn't, but the people didn't know that yet. When he got Shell back, he'd make sure everyone would know that the boardwalk was his. He would make sure everyone would know Shelly was his. No one would harm her or touch her ever again. No, she would stay by his side, protected by his power.

Max had just finished cleaning up the box, burning the head in an old barbecue he never intended to use before - and certainly wasn't going to use now - when his phone rang. He picked up the receiver, hearing the anxious voice of Maria on the other side.

"I was sorting tapes, and one of them wasn't marked, so I had to put it in to see what was on it and-"

The girl sounded sick, ready to throw up any second.

"Have you stopped the tape?"

"Yes." Maria said, her tears audible in her voice.

"Alright. Give me twenty minutes, and I'll be there. You're taking the rest of the week off, alright? No ifs and buts, I don't know what you've seen yet, but I think you need and deserve a break."

"Max, I can't-"

"You can. If money is what you're worried about, I'll handle it. Now get something to drink, close the shop and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Maria nodded, hanging up the phone. The images she'd seen were burned in her mind, and he thought of them alone was enough to make her sick.

She walked towards the tiny kitchenette in the back of the store, grabbing a glass from the cupboard. Her hand was shaking as she filled it with water, taking some long sips. She needed to focus now, focus on her breathing, focus on staying calm. She never had to see those images again. She didn't have to come back here for a week. She just needed to focus in calming her nerves and-

"Maria?"

The girl almost screamed as she heard her name being called. Luckily, she caught herself before she'd done so and before she dropped the glass to the ground.

"I didn't mean to startle you, dear." Max stood in the doorway of the kitchenette. Maria was so upset by what she'd seen, she hadn't even noticed that his arrival time was just a bit too quick to be normal. "I've asked Paul and Marko if they'd be willing to bring you home, if you're okay with that."

Numbly, Maria nodded. She put her glass down, walking out the store without saying goodbye to Max. She just needed to get out and get as far away from those images as she could.

The second Max was certain that Maria had left the building. He locked the doors and turned the lights off. One night of not opening the store wouldn't do much harm, and he was much too curious to see what was on that tape.

He walked towards his office, seeing that the television was still on, the grey static buzzing on the screen. On his desk laid an empty cardboard box. No name, no sender, no stamp - nothing to indicate where it had come from. Max frowned as he put it back down, grabbing the remote that lay next to it. As he pushed the play button, he was greeted with the face of a young female doctor sitting in a laboratory. The film was in black and white, but even then, she seemed to radiate. Pride, Max realised, as she began to talk.

"So, you know how I've been trying to find a cure for Mel?" The woman had a proud triumphant smile on her face as she looked at the person behind the camera. "I think I found something! Oh, you're not going to believe this. It is absolutely brilliant!"

The woman jumped up and walked towards a heavy metal door at the back of her lab. She pushed it open, allowing the camera to step into the room first. The camera showed a metal table, with a white cloth on top of it. The cloth was covering a human shaped form. Max frowned. Surely this woman didn't mean -

"What is this?" A male voice asked.

"This," the woman grinned, "is the cure to everything. No more pain. No more aches. No more disease. If we're lucky, even no more death."

"You can't beat death!"

"Then explain this!" The woman pulled the cloth off of the body, revealing a young girl. Her hair was tangled, her body bruised all over.

"What have you done to her?"

The woman ignored the question, smiling as she handed the man some files. "Do you see this? These injuries are only an hour old, and already they're healing."

"This is inhumane-"

"This thing isn't human. It is the cure for everything. It's sire needed the money, and let me tell you - we hit the jackpot! This will save-"

The scene ended abruptly. Someone had filmed over that part of the tape, Max realised, as he saw a familiar scene. A large room, a crowd cheering loudly, and two creatures being forced to fight. He had seen this before. He had been there, watching from the shadows. He grabbed the remote control, speeding forward, when suddenly he paused. There, in the crowd, was a vampire. The same vampire whose head was now burnt to ashes in his backyard.

What the hell was Lucien doing there?

Next chapter >

#the lost boys #marko #tlb #david #paul #the lost boys 1987 #dwayne #tlb 1987 #star #the lost boys x reader #changes #max tlb #marko tlb #david tlb #dwayne tlb #paul tlb

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eldritchelfwriter · 2 months

Text

WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the tag @sorceresssundries !

All right, normally I don't post actual WIP's because I like being super secretive about upcoming chapters. HOWEVER. I'm going to throw caution to the wind and give you a lil slice of an (unpublished and very early draft) Aylin/Isobel AU idea I came up with a few weeks ago. Is this a fic you'd be interested to read, if I continued it? Let me know in the comments.

~~~

“So that’s it? You’re just off?” Jeh’lar says, raising her eyebrows at Aylin.

Aylin shrugs her bag over her shoulder, rapidly running through her mind all the last-minute things she’d needed to tie up. There is no paperwork left unfinished, no duties left undone, no promises left unkept. Her slate is clean and she’s free to go.

“That’s right, I’m off,” Aylin says.

“You’re not even going to commiserate with your favourite sergeant, who has to see the Minth this morning?” Jeh’lar says with a hint of a whine.

Aylin purses her lips but says nothing. She does not approve of the nickname the rest of the unit have given their new squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel Minthara, but saying something about it would earn her no friends. She has a suspicion Jeh’lar was the one who started the nickname in the first place.

“My commiserations, Jeh’lar,” she says with an ironic smile. “Although, have you considered it might be good news?”

Jeh’lar rolls her eyes. “It’s never good news with the Minth.”

The Lt Col rules the squadron with an iron fist. The discipline is not something Aylin minds, though her cold manner chafes with some of the others.

“You’ll be fine, Jeh’lar,” she says. “Just be on your best behaviour and do not, for gods sake, call her the Minth to her face.”

“Yeah,” Jeh’lar says sheepishly. “All right. I’m just stalling you, coz I’ll miss you, Moon Angel.”

“Of course you will,” Aylin says, clapping her on the shoulder. “Try not to blow anything up while I’m gone.”

She turns to leave.

“How long are you gone for?” Jeh’lar calls out to her.

“Three weeks,” Aylin calls back, without turning around.

All around her, the rest of the base is waking up and getting ready to get to back work. A part of her itches to join them and take her place amongst the hive, but the hive will just have to go on without her while she keeps her feet on the ground for the next three weeks.

She signs herself out, and then she is walking out of the base of the 53rd Fighter Wing with her bag slung over her shoulder, a brilliant yellow and orange sunrise reflecting on her aviators.

A familiar old Ford Focus is parked and waiting for her. And an even more familiar someone is waving out the driver’s window madly at her. “Aylin! Aylin!”

Someone else is yelling from the backseat window: “Oi you! Get in here will you!”

A smile spreads across Aylin’s face, the first genuine one in a long time. Lia opens the driver’s door and crosses the last few metres to wrap Aylin a hug.

“I always forget how bloody ripped you are! It’s like hugging a statue!”

“Hello to you too,” Aylin says, smiling. “My thanks for coming to get me.”

“Lia you are letting all the cold air in would you hurry up and both get in the car?” Lia’s kid brother Cal, who isn’t so much a kid brother any more, yells from the backseat.

“Shut it will you!” Lia yells back, in the manner of exasperated older siblings. “All right, get in then,” she says to Aylin, smiling.

Aylin takes the front passenger seat, slouching to fit in and bunching up her legs to try and get them into a comfortable position. She’s used to this problem with most cars, but it makes her miss the cockpit of her F-15 already. It may not be spacious exactly, but at least there is room for all of her.

She sighs and mentally makes herself put that aside – she is on leave. It’s time to have some fun.

“All right then, Aylin?” Cal says from the back, sounding genuinely pleased to see her. It’s been a long while since she saw Lia, but even longer since she’s seen Cal. Lia was her friend and neighbour before her mother moved them into a richer neighbourhood. But they managed to keep the friendship going. Lia is the closest and longest friend she’s ever had.

“I am excellent Cal, how are you keeping? Are you still at Gortash’s Emporium?” That’s the last she heard he was doing, anyway.

“Hell no! Lia, you haven’t told her?!”

“Why would I tell her your news, loser?” Lia retorts as she puts the car into gear and drives away. Aylin is tempted to look back and watch the base disappear behind her, but she doesn’t. Time to look forward, to this time they are about to have together.

“It’s not like your life is interesting,” Cal replies.

Aylin smiles, finding their exchange rather endearing. As an only child, she never got to experience sibling rivalries.

“Anyway,” Cal continues, addressing Aylin again. “You’re looking at the maître d’ at Stelmane’s!”

“Stelmane’s?” Aylin says in an undertone to Lia, not recognising the name.

“It’s a very fancy restaurant,” Lia whispers back, deliberately loud enough for Cal to hear.

“What? You haven’t heard of Stelmane’s?” Cal says, looking crestfallen.

“It is not the kind of thing that comes up while flying fighter jets, Cal,” Aylin says.

She listens to the siblings bicker all the way back to their house. Lia parks in the driveway, next to her mother’s four wheel drive, and Aylin can’t help but feel an ache of nostalgia as she flicks her eyes to the neighbouring house. She lived there, once, in a simpler time, before everything got complicated.

Someone else lives there now. Someone with a garish taste in lawn furniture.

She shakes her head to clear away the old memories, and joins Cal and Lia, slinging the bag over her shoulder and following them into the house. But walking into their house is like entering the past in itself. Everything is just the same as it always has been, from the green and yellow wallpaper to the threadbare sofas. It’s almost a relief that something can remain so unchanged, after all this time.

“Well there you are then,” Mrs Helliwell says, stretching on her tip toes to try and pull Aylin’s face down to kiss her cheek. The woman was almost a second mother to Aylin when she was a child. She is shorter than her children, and all the years of putting up with their arguing has added grey flecks to her short, curly hair. She hadn’t been wearing glasses last time Aylin saw her.

“You’re looking well, Mrs Helliwell,” Aylin says politely. “Is that a new cardigan? Most seasonal, and warm.”

Cal sniggers behind her.

“Oh, this old thing!” Mrs Helliwell says, brightening at the compliment. “And you’re looking tall, as always. And fit, goodness! I bet you could lift me right up!”

“Oh please do Aylin,” Cal says with a mischievous smile.

Aylin ignores him.

“See what I have to put up with?” Mrs Helliwell says, confidentially, with the long-suffering air of an old grievance. “I keep trying to get them to leave home and they keep on coming back and giving me cheek!”

“Come on,” Lia, who has been rolling her eyes at the whole exchange, pulls at her sleeve. “I know you’ve been wondering.”

Aylin drops her bag off in Lia’s room, where a camp bed has been set up for her for the night and follows Lia into the garage. Her eyes immediately find a misshapen object in the shadows, bookended by travel cases and old buckets of paint.

Lia switches the light on, just as Aylin pulls off the cover.

“We haven’t touched it,” Lia says, watching her. “Promise. Cal wanted to, but I nicked his Playstation controllers til he promised to leave it alone.”

Aylin hardly hears Lia, as she gazes upon the gleaming Harley Davidson, her pride and joy.

“Shall I leave you two alone?” Lia says, teasing. “You look like you’re in love.”

Aylin ignores her as she makes her inspection. Not a nick on the paintwork. She turns the key and switches on the ignition to check it’s still running. The familiar deep putter throbs from the motor, and for a moment, she dreams of riding away, the wind on her face, feeling as though she is doing a different type of flying altogether. She switches it off, with a vague sense of disappointment.

Now isn’t the time.

“Thank you, Lia,” she says with a little bow of her head. “I appreciate your taking such good care of her for me.”

“Of course Aylin. It’s practically family too. All right what do you want to do?”

~~~

(There's more. But that's all you get to see for now).

#dame aylin fanfic #isobel x aylin #aylin fanfic #bg3 aylin #aylin x isobel #dame aylin #baldurs gate fanfiction #baldurs gate 3 #ao3 fanfic

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twosides--samecoin · 1 month

Text

long time running x @yeehawgust day 22: horse girl

[snippet from chapter 15]

Instead of a black-and-white morality of kindness and bloodshed on antithetical ends of a straight line, Olivia's spectrum seemed bent into a horseshoe; a crosshair with ends that almost converged, opposites closer to each other than either was to the far-off zenith of their shared iron-gray meridian.

Each time RJ found himself in the middle of this reticle and was quite certain she’d kill him, there was some concession in the form of a reward.

Though she ensured his time in the Rocky Mountains wasn’t easy, at least she had a pattern he could anticipate. Climbing up a glacier against polar winds was rewarding when she balanced his trouble with warmth. Thaw necessitated frostbite; he wanted to breathe in arctic air and allow it to freeze him from the inside out, then wake up in the relative safety of Vault 150 once again.

If Olivia surrounded Mount Fay in a radstorm to eradicate the Brotherhood, at least she allowed RJ into the tempest’s calm center. If she was a 'real wild radhorse' like Hancock said, at least she was willing to share the grasslands.

RJ scoffed at the comparison. She didn’t mind me in the pasture until Jack threw on the saddle while she was distracted.

Though it took a few days, his anger toward her subsided. Tangible memories of their time together, combined with his own sense of liability, overruled the images he conjured when Hancock divulged the truth about what happened in Goodneighbor.

There wouldn’t have been a Goodneighbor or Raiders for her to get mixed up with if he hadn't involved her in his affairs. She galloped across the continental divide, crossed the hundredth meridian and left her prairies behind to help an ailing Duncan; Boston punished her, and RJ was complicit.

He returned to Sanctuary with a report on events in north-east Boston and high hopes to make nice with Olivia.

If, in order to exact revenge on the Brotherhood, she wanted to overflow Moraine Lake with rain, then flood the world up to surface tension at the cols between the Bow Range’s summits, he wanted to wedge that heavy metal door open so she could drown everyone in the bunker.

If yellowing late-summer grass in the shadow of Boston’s skyline was a poor substitute for the verdant montane valley she left behind, maybe he could scout the Commonwealth for a meadow and pond protected by a bulwark of hills and miles of forest.

Maybe, through some cooperation of preparing for the weather and turning her loose someplace she felt accommodated, RJ could begin to make up for his latest regret - that he and Jack took advantage of her kindness; that she had no space or time to think through negotiations when she agreed to leave her beloved Rocky Mountains for the Commonwealth Wasteland.

She trusted him; he encumbered her with his many burdens.

So, RJ returned to Sanctuary, determined to ensure she never felt the heft of a saddle or a cold bit in her mouth ever again. He arrived ready to begin a long atonement for stabbing his spurs in an already frightened mare's side.

After all, it was his fault she was forced to spend all of her time running to begin with.

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darkpoisonouslove · 1 year

Note

I’m a couple of days late, but if you still want to play the unwritten/unpublished ask game (I apologize in advance for how badly I’ve been keeping track of your wips), here you go :D

4. Is there anything in the fic you're unsure about including? -CoL trying to have one normal breakfast

5. Is there any scene you're excited about writing? -CoL trying to have one normal breakfast

9. Is there anything in the fic you're not so excited about writing? -Fallen Love

10. If unpublished, can you show a sneak peek of what you've written? -your choice :)

11. Is there any scene you can't wait for people to react to when reading? Why? -the series rewrite

13. Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you haven't mentioned you're gonna do?

14. Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you planned on doing, but now you're feeling like you're gonna scrap those ideas?

15. Do you have any unwritten scene that you think about a lot? -Smolder universe

I have been in the trenches battling sleep deprivation the last few days and I haven't had time to get to the ask game so you're just in time! (It's okay; there's like 2 WiPs that currently exist in my mind and everything else has been put on the back burner so... I've not been very good at keeping with them myself. 😅 😂)

4. Is there anything in the fic you're unsure about including? -CoL trying to have one normal breakfast

Honestly, this is still such a fragmented idea that everything is up in the air. Like, what is the plot? Who knows? Certainly not me. I haven't really gotten past chapter 1 and that feels like it needs more, actually, than what I already have.

5. Is there any scene you're excited about writing? -CoL trying to have one normal breakfast

You're not going to believe how long it took me to realize that the scenes I'm thinking of are actually from the Griffin being reluctant allies with the Company fic. So, um, you're getting bonus content, I guess, because now I need to talk about them.

Those would be Griffin and Valtor's first meeting after she's accepted to switch sides. I can just feel the tension between them. The rage that Valtor won't know whether to direct at Griffin for letting Faragonda take her away from him and then even agreeing to work with her and the rest of the clowns in the Company or at himself for not preventing this, for not preventing them from capturing her and for not killing Faragonda in the first place. And, of course, Griffin would be a mirror reflection of that.

Then there's the whatever scenes I'm going to include of other Coven members trying to take Griffin's place as Valtor's partner and Griffin being intensely jealous while Valtor is fucking done with both the Coven members and her (but mostly with the Coven members; he actually likes the fact that she's jealous; he can use this!). I am including this for the comedy AND drama. As a treat.

And the one scene that I'm most looking forward to is when Valtor will decide that "You know what? Fuck it!" It doesn't matter why she joined the Company or that she did at all since she's clearly still totally obsessed with him. They can sneak away to make out during battles, it's totally fine, exciting even! 😂 To say that Griffin's onboard would be an understatement. The Ancestral Witches and the Company are going to go out of their minds, though.

Okay, back to the breakfast fic, something that I'm really looking forward to is the talk that's mostly between Griffin and Oritel about expectations - how everyone expects the worst from Griffin no matter what and how Oritel is held to impossible standards of perfection. I feel that they are finally going to reach a place of understanding no matter how painful the journey there (and actually, the more painful, the better in my book). I can't say that I'm looking forward to having to carefully write Oritel, though. And treat him with respect on top of that? Who has heard of such ridiculous notions! XD

9. Is there anything in the fic you're not so excited about writing? -Fallen Love

You mean besides this fucking sex scene that has been stalling me for the past 3 months? I'm not ecstatic about the scenes where I'll have to deal with a lot of characters simply due to the fact that royal guards and Specialist raids exist. I've managed to circumvent that in the scenes with Erendor and the visit to CT but, god, the sequences in the Solarian palace and the Fortress of Light where the Council is seated will fucking kill me, I can already tell. Why do I have to deal with the fact that these important people will have guards protecting them at all times? This is cruelty specifically designed to torture me. I might just fuck around and find a way around those as well but I'm afraid the Specialist raid I've planned will have to happen the way it is now. Somebody save me! 😭😭😭😭😭

10. If unpublished, can you show a sneak peek of what you've written? -your choice :)

Feast your eyes on the evil itself (aka the smut part of the chapter - cause that's all I've managed to work on):

Valtor was of the same opinion. He held her so close that every movement of their chests engraved their shape into the other. Feeling her body molding itself to his and his – to hers was addictive. They had always been one in mind and magic. To become one in flesh as well would be the only sane course of action, yet, she fought him. Giving the impression that she could succeed in bringing a single shred of space between them only made him cling to her tighter – hands digging in her hips and teeth – in her lips. He wouldn’t let oxygen itself touch her. She was all his.

She’d missed him. Sorely. Hopelessly. Her want came in cutting shards, each coalescing into a furious, crippling rush of magic hollowing out her bones when it couldn’t spill fast enough through her skin. It pooled behind her eyes, into the hollow of her throat, the valley between her breasts, her lower belly – everywhere. Burrowed in every cell to reach him from there when his hot breath seeped inside her, filled her, spread through her like a claim to her soul.

The flow erupting from her conquered the air itself, lured it into her every cell through her pores. Her lungs expanded with his scent; her power wrapped Valtor, too, to do the same for him, to keep him in the reach of her lips and make anything outside their bodies irrelevant.

Valtor’s laughter flooded her mouth, startling. Having forgotten the taste of it, she was forced to retreat, to gulp it down between ragged breaths to avoid drowning in it. Her skin tingled from his roaming touch, his palm trailing down her spine from between her shoulder blades and his nails in the back of her thigh. Her eyes opened to a sight she’d dreaded and craved, a sight seared in her mind from the first time she’d met him.

He was luminous with triumph, the glow surrounding him half-magic, half-pride. In her embrace he was a flame nestled to her chest – forbidden heat choosing not to burn her, allowing her caress to make her reel from the contact. In his arms she was floating, weightless, untouched by the jagged edges of the fractured metal in their feet.

She’d only ever needed her armor for the space between them, for the divide that made his victory her loss and her victory – unthinkable as much as it was a necessity. She had chosen her side, left him behind, and doing everything right meant never having to suffer his success again, nor his presence. With her place by his side forsaken, the call of his living, breathing magic had cut through her with the need to drink it in. Instead, there had been only bitterness, the knowledge that every inch she’d gained on him, he would reclaim twice as viciously next time while she’d be stranded opposite of him again, made to bear the lure of him–triumphant and dazzling–from a distance. All enjoyment she could have found in winning had been locked behind his teeth, kept from her like his lips, his kiss. She’d only had her pyrrhic victories and the knowledge that he was robbed of that much, without her. Often not even that, without him.

11. Is there any scene you can't wait for people to react to when reading? Why? -the series rewrite

I have a ton of scenes that I can't stop thinking about and wishing to see people's reactions to so, naturally, now I cannot come up with anything.

Okay, you know what I'm gonna do? Rumplestiltskin my way through this (😘) aka exploit loop holes. The scene that I am looking forward to getting people's reactions to is in the "movie" after season 5 and it's the reveal of Kalshara's motivations. She's the villain of the canonical season 7 and she used to be a fairy in Alfea - and Faragonda's roommate - until she used wild magic (that corrupts everything it touches) and turned herself into a shapeshifter. I have kept that but the reason why she did all that was because she wanted to join and become the fourth member of the Champions of Alfea:

From left to right those are Farcelia of the Wind, Ress of the Flame and Chevonne of the Water, who were summoned by the Legendarium in season 6 (which is just as nonsensical as everything else in that season).

In my rewrite they are the three strongest fairies of Alfea that ever lived. They were so powerful that they created the Wild Lands, which are full of Wild Magic. That is all kept a secret, though, because imagine the backlash Alfea would face if people learned their most famous fairies created a force that can destroy the whole Magic Dimension. Kalshara wants to be their missing Earth element and she's trying to spread Wild Magic through the rest of the Dimension. Of course, the plan includes fucking over Faragonda one more time just like in the good old days and destroying Alfea as well as CT and RF.

13. Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you haven't mentioned you're gonna do?

Other than the ton of Erendor x Samara fics that haunt my dreams and may or may not see the light of day? I have stuff that I haven't announced on the blog but I feel like I've told you pretty much everything. The Scream AU, the mind sharing, the one based around the necklace from your story...

The dream-inspired fic, kind of. I have mentioned this but I have not said what exactly it is. It's another Valtor wins the war AU (If I had a nickel for every time I wrote that concept, I'd have two nickels which isn't much but it's weird that it happened twice; can you tell I was having some kind of moment in April and May (even if I myself am not sure what kind of moment it was)?) but the key thing about this one is that he's found himself another partner to take Griffin's place, someone from the Coven. And well, Griffin has to deal with those feelings as well as everything else that's going on. But whatever direction you think this is going in, you're probably wrong.

There's also one other AU. I'm not even sure what kind of AU it is exactly. The prompt that it came from was for a superhero x supervillain but I have no idea what is happening with the fic. But it's basically "Griffin goes back to Valtor (after she'd joined the Company) for the sole purpose of distracting him". And what do you know? It works! ...at least somewhat.

14. Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you planned on doing, but now you're feeling like you're gonna scrap those ideas?

There was something but I really can't remember which one it was. Usually, when I don't like an idea, it's not the idea itself; it's just the execution or the direction in which it's going. In those cases I just save it to rework it later (which is about 60% of all of my ideas).

15. Do you have any unwritten scene that you think about a lot? -Smolder universe

Yes! The entirety of chapter 2 because it instantly dives into the progressing Griffin x Marion relationship. Now Marion is doing so well with moving on from the pain of Oritel's death; it's actually her mother's constant nagging that's the biggest obstacle between her and Griffin (but they are handling that as well). But this whole relationship with Griffin is so much self-exploration for her and so different from everything in her life up to now. She's kind of scared that she'll realize at some point that she is still the same old Marion and she will always be, which will inevitably pull her away from Griffin. It's not so much that she's afraid of digging herself out of the grave she's been sharing with Oritel as much as it is that she'll realize she's drowning in her grief again and isn't able to let go despite how good she feels with Griffin. I really want to get her to a place where she can be happy and not be freaking out for 2 seconds. Fortunately, Griffin is helping.

#winx club #my wips #griffin x valtor #snippet #fanfic snippet #excerpt #wc rewrite #smolder #ask #her-majesty-wears-jeans #col trying to have one normal breakfast #reluctant allies au #fallen love

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tsukiyadori · 6 months

Text

Reading (Watching) Log 2024.02-2024.03 - February-March

Previous: Reading Log 2023.12-2024.01 - December-January

Finding the good things be just like chasing after elusive bubbles and wondering how long they'll last

Reading languages: German, English, French, Japanese, not listing which was what

Titles are as I’ve read them either first or most and thus remember it for that title mostly

Not going to bother putting in the original titles of translated reads unless there is something worthy of note to it

Cursive titles have been completed

Tumblr's four thousand so and so max characters per block is annoying as hell

——————————————————————————

FEBRUARY

JNC Nina licenses Unnamed Memory both in French in February and German in March. And so now I am reading it for a second and third time simultaneously and also got a subscription for it and then you gotta not waste the buffet, do you?

The reason I never subbed to the JNC English site was because I feared I'd never read my other backlog if I'd get roped into chasing expiry deadlines over all the time, so there was extra zeal on that too avoid the nightmare scenario.

And soooo the LN pile read off has had an increase not seen in years.

Light Novels:

Anime Supremacy

Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki LN 8.5-9

Hell Mode v1-2.7

I Met You After the End of the World v1-2

See You When the Snow Falls

Spice & Wolf v21

The Apothecary Diaries v1-2

The Eminence in Shadow v1

Unnamed Memory LN v1.p1

Manga:

100-nengo ni Tenseishita Watashi, Zense no Juukishi ni Kyuukonsaremashita: Heika wa Watashi ga Moto Oujo da to Okizukidenai you desu ch15.1-3

A Certain Scientific Accelerator v10-v12

A Certain Scientific Railgun v17-18

A Kingdom of Quartz ch1

A Side Character's Love Story ch35.2-50.1

After God ch53-54

Alabaster ch5.3-10.2

Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch15-16.1

Beauty as the Beast ch36-49

Black Butler v31

Bloody Bites at Boarding School v1

Boku no Diamond Star final chapter

Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki Manga ch8-24.2

Buta no Liver wa Kanetsushiro ch33-34.4

Captain Ken ch1-7

Close to your Skin

Daijuukou to Unicornis no Otome ch14.1

Dance Dance Danseur v1-3 (JP v1-6)

Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu ch104

Der Geschmack nach Melone v1

Diamond in the Rough v1

Die Braut des Wasserdrachen v8-9 (out of order read)

Gebt mir mehr, bitte sehr v2

Geliebter Wetterfrosch v2ch6-11

Girl Crush ch62-63, ch81-82

Give Her Back to Me

Gleipnir v2-9, ch59-88

Haikyu v34-39

Harebare Biyori ch23.1

Hari to Hitsuji no Fune ch9.1-2

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Meguri ch19.1-2

I have a Crush at Work ch1

I'm cute enough to get away with it ch20

Iki Dekinai no wa Kimi no Sei: Super Pink

In the Sunset ch0-12

Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch17.2-4

Kakan no Oukoku no Hanagirai Hime ch10-11.2

Kijima-san & Yamada-san ch1-6

Knitter's High ch25-26.2

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch79

Kono Koi wo Hoshi ni wa Negawanai ch11.1-2

Lust auf ein Date? v9-10

Miryou no Otome to Katabutsu Hittou Majutsushi no Hatsukoi Kiroku ch18.2-4

Mr. Villain's Day Off ch54-64

My Awkward Senpai ch1-37

Okaeri Aureole

Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode, Kossori Hataraki ni deru koto ni Shimashita ~Usagi ga Iru node Hitorine mo Sabishiku Arimasen!~ ch23.2-3

Oshi no Ko ch139

Our Dedication

Porno Superstar

Porträt eines Vampirs v2

Ran the Peerless Beauty v4

Reincarnated as the Daughter of the Legendary Hero and the Queen of Spirits ch19.4-58

Rental Girlfriend v19

Requiem Of The Rose King v9-10

Resist Destiny v3ch10-15

Ride-On King v3

Sakura, Saku v3ch11

Sasaki and Miyano v7

She is also cute today ch52-75

Shinde Miro to Iwareta no de Shinimashita. ch9-10

Shuumatsu Touring ch35

Sky Link v1

Snow Fairy v1

Snowball Earth v2-5

Solange wir zusammen sind v1

Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch64-66

Sooper Spooky ch1-4

Spice & Wolf - Die Abenteuer von Col und Miyuri v1-2

Suicide Notes Laid on the Table ch1-9

Sweet & Tart Boyfriend Ch39-53

Take Over Zone v1ch5

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten ch13.3-14.1

The Diamond of Heart v3ch11-15

The Heroic Legend of Arslan v12ch71-76

The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl ch16-38

The Killer Inside v1-6, ch53-97

The Villainess's Guide to (Not) Falling in Love ch12.2-15.1

To be Winner ch76-114

Together Forever ch36.2-42.2

Tomorrow, make me yours

Unnamed Memory Manga ch34.1

Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi ch35.1-36.1

Zombie 100 v10ch38

Webtoons:

Breed my Dear Enemy ch92-110

Can the Grand Duke and the Marquis be Friends? ch13-32

Flowers in the Secret Place ch1-52

Ice Lamp: The Chronicles of Kira ch8-41

Marry my Enemy ch8-60.5

SOS My Love has a Bug ch0-3

Spirit of Peach Blossom ch49-80

Taberare Usa ch88-92

The Giantess wants Love ch96-170

The Mermaid Wears a Dress ch38-60

The Villainess Behind the Mask ch1-53

To be or not to be ch12-36

Non-Fiction:

Some Greek mythology book (ISBN 9789463598965)

Notes:

Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki LN 8.5-9 Wow. Wow. So I thought volume 8 was kinda really not too great for me, but ultimately that (and v8.5) are built up to volume 9, and ho boy was this a surprise. It even starts right off with doing the right thing about dating - talking it out - then root issues and problems are being pointed out and then there is also still the Popol and the Fireling analogy going on. And Kikuchi's then even in world essentially totally realizing that she is effectively up against narrative fate. And then there is Hinami. And it's not like Tomozaki has a crush on her, like he does with Kikuchi. While he can perfectly be attracted to her, it's not like he has all the crushy feels he has for Kikuchi. But that bond is there. And it's so paramount, most important he's ready to let go from Kikuchi, when it looks like he can't have both without some sort of suffering happening somewhere. At this point I steadfastly declare this series as being pretty much queer. I thought this before already, that Tomozaki isn't really all that straight, like he is easily attracted to a lot of the girls, but also he's got the heart flutter moment with Misuzawa already and just generally looks up at him copying it. If this had wanted to take a BL turn, this wouldn't really have come out of nowhere either. While this potential route probably is not ever going to be explored, what he has there with Hinami just screams queerplatonic to me. They have all the issues of naming and describing it, the next best thing they can tangibly go for is, she is his mentor in the game of life. But there is definitely more going on from both sides, and at least for Tomozaki it's overly clear how huge her existence is in his life. And he longs to keep it. But it's not the same thing he has with Kikuchi and what's more Kikuchi just.... gets it. And yes, it's a queasy and axiety inducing, but ultimately that ending being like all in the break up mood and she being like she's gotta make a decision herself, so asks him to let her make the request - how often do we get a girl finally stands up to make a decision for herself to end things? Not Kikuchi, she does the entire opposite. Rather than ending it, she reinforces that ending of v7, that this is a selfish wish, but she desires him. And it's not just her crush, it's because he also is her ideal Popol. Which he wouldn't be without Hinami being there as such a paramount existence. And it's just this whole great thing about that ultimately decisions and what one makes out of it is the most supreme thing of all. And what Kikuchi did is, she gave narrative fate a middle finger.

The thing with the badges is kinda a bit of sappy cheese, but it definitely feels well earned. And next to that, there is also this whole setting of boundaries with Hinami, too. When Tomozaki just goes and requests Hinami to shut up, when she is saying her logical, but not empathetic reasoning and he makes it clear, that this is not rejection, not rejecting her, not rejecting her values, but self-preservation, that he needs that distance to protect his emotions and to prevent himself for developing bad ones towards her. It's just so really beautifully respectful while drawing that important boundary. And he also follows up with that game meeting, just to prove, it wasn't just empty talk. He still fully intends to have her in his life. That makes it just buyable. And that also makes the ending clear, that he is upset with her for using him like that, but he does not even contradict her on her methods of working. He just doesn't agree with her attitude and motivation in this. And it's a clear telling off, but it also doesn't feel salty, because clearly after all this, he's not just going to let her walk out of his life AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING ROMANCE. (In a RomCom(Drama), set up a bit harem-like no less.)

You have all that talking with Mizuzawa about you can't have it all, things are spilling, you gotta at least be aware and deliberately toss something and usually this is where people go and pick Za most important loved one to become the OTP and what does this guy do? Starts ditching everything that by all means logic is transient and "replaceable" - until Mimimi makes it clear to any reader she is way too good to let go - is all ready to ditch his new self he has come to like himself, is ready to ultimately ditch the notorious supreme SO. breathes in ISN'T THIS OUTRAGEOUS??

Like completely outrageously rare. I did not expect this. I was all whining that I didn't want to see it end on Tomozaki and Hinami winding up the OTP simply by virtue of the narrative fate of first girl to show up, and the Kikuchi just comes and trashes it down. This is great stuff. And then it is even more, it's talking about compatibility, it's talking unbalance, it's talking about how the solution ultimately was Kikuchi sucked it up, but it's not entirely one sided, either, as it also was her deliberate intentional steadfast choice to put an ideal over her anxious feelings. And it's just so neatly full circle to v7. And it also manages to level up Rena who really was slap worthy in v8. She really is in it to push the limits, but once Tomozaki clearly tells her off, she backs away. So all you have to be steadfast, for everything else, you only deserve to be her prey. That's an interesting one, too, especially considering, who she really comes off as somebody who doesn't respect any boundaries, but all it needed was steadfastness? And then her and Mr. Professional Player talk about relationships from an adult perspective, it being about setting boundaries for the partner meaning relationships and it's all really interesting and convincing for a healthy relationship and Tomozaki is pondering about it and it all looking like it completely falls apart, but then Kikuchi finds a different way that does away with the conflict. .... Isn't that kinda quintessentially queer(platonic)? To not be all following whichever norm was out there set by your predecessors. But not necessarily denying all and everything of it either. And then it ALSO brings in the subject of what loser or winner means in life and that line about how Tomozaki actually is a winner type - because he can recognize status and value, but it entirely not attached it so has no second qualms to just let go it, because he doesn't see it as something that propels himself forward - was really a thing to think about, while it finally tied the gamer aspect into it the rest. Tomozaki never had a need to validate himself, and it was actually something he's had from the beginning. But since he had such a self-sabotaging resigned attitude and approach it perverted it into merely being an arrogant loser. But turns out it actually was just lacking the toolset and guidance to make use of what he's always had. And really just the sheer miracle of meeting somebody, who is equipped with an eye to see that value and then confront and nourish it, even if it may be out of questionable motivations (but it's not like they are exactly harmful to him), it's just so so grand, and.... I think I'm rather jealous of it. Does this even happen in reality? This series makes it buyable that it may actually be possible.

Hell Mode v1-2.7 Here we go with a case of you just read it, because it was there. One of the few current titles on JNC Nina and it just felt like a waste to not make use of it. Turned out, it's not so bad, although it's nothing I'd ever actually pick up on my own. The steady leveling up and checking out stats and experimenting with it is quite like By the Grace of Gods, just without any of it's healing compf properties. The protagonist kinda reminds of the one from Gamers!, just in less of a pathetic loose-type. Maybe that makes him more like the protagonist of Shangri-La Frontier, but in terms of personality he's a bit off. But it takes its very decent solid time to establish actual stakes, the one major thing that made Shangri-La entirely not work for me. The MC even mentions it himself, it's a whole pain to have been reborn and spending all these years, but though it he has a bond with them (which kinda is like Ascendance of a Bookworm, now that I think about it), and these are his stakes. He doesn't just do things because of his gaming obsession, but also because he wants/needs his family to get into better conditions. Not a bad read, it solidly does what it sets out to do so far.

See You When the Snow Falls Uh, hmmmmm. This tried to jug multiple genres and then none of them were exactly terrible, but somehow though the split none of them managed to shine. The split was actually fairly even, too. The mystery bit turns out to be an actual murder mystery, and it was even guessable to the reader, but because it's always background focus it ends kinda anticlimatic, despite being fairly round. And to begin with, nothing about the premise (and the compf cover) looks like a murder mystery.

Cheese wise it was, err, uncommon, I guess? Meets the ghost, looks like a the fated person, meets another girl, also has an air of a fated person, actually starts dating somebody entirely else, and after some detour winds up with his future wife. Some lines really weren't bad, and there is some of the ugly side of relationships depicted quite down to earthly, but maybe it was just way too matter of factually reported, this hardly qualifies as romance as in the genre either. And as a coming of age drama of something who lacks any direction and purpose in life it's too entangled to those two subplots than to shine, he kinda gets dragged around by them and big dramatic moment happens and then just happens to do his thing, because why not.

It has a nice realistic sense to it at places, but somehow it's completely not what you'd think it'd be from the cover and blurb.

(Also has nothing to do with that other 2 volume series, which I only found out after finishing this one.)

As an oel otherwise it was a bit weird at places. Aside from "a kuro tech company" it uses words like chikan, keiko just like that in Japanese with italics and those are words that really need not have to be Japanese, next to some Nee sentence starts (why not simply "groping", "honorifics", "hey"?). Not too many lines, but they have a strange weeb show off effect. At some point it also has a bit of an air about flaunting knowledge of that culture, like how it comes around with explaining how onsen were used for talks because nude means you can't hide weapons. I'd guess this is an obvious snippet of knowledge to any native writer as I've never seen it show up explained anyway beyond No Game, No Life where it was just in a tirade to distract from the main topic and Zombie 100 where the weeb foreigner comes to flaunt her knowledge. 🤔

I Met You After the End of the World v1-2 And there I thought these were all the volumes of this series, but apparently there's gonna be a v3… I was surprised by this series. It was present already in See You When the Snow Falls, but it's clearer here. This writer's style has a distinctive male gaze, and it doesn't shy away from sexuality and being just a bit philosophical contemplating. This kinda reminds me a lot of Asano Inio or Haruki Murakami or Oshimi, but it's not like…. as wrecked. Not that it is to say that there isn’t lots and lots of doom material by premise and setting, as well as plenty of assholes, but the few that are there are kinda all side characters (who get their just desserts by plot). The MC is quite upstanding instead and treats the female MC very respectfully. And it starts off with a mood that comes to a close around a third to half line in the first volume. They are alone in a Tokyo, where everyone died of a virus. It takes months until the stink of the corpses emerges and then it needs the electricity network breaking down for them to properly have it sink in, that they were spending their whole time next to corpses en masse and now need to leave the place. I was thinking the reason why there was no stink was kinda hard to buy at first, but then it's maybe not entirely impossible either. And you'd think, why are they such idiots and didn't prepare stocking up on fuel before gas station electric pumps would fail, why not stock up on battery charge, but not look for this and that. Didn't they know this was gonna break down sooner or later? They even mentioned having feared it before. But it all seems so plausible with the mood. You have this guy, who just is totally burned out from life and was all ready to simply wait for his death by the virus and the girl has her own share of issues and they just are there enjoying the luxury of modern life without its responsibilities and artificial social pressures and they just spend their time to… heal. Did they know to be more clever in preparing more? Probably. Somewhere in the back of their heads. But they also looked to me entirely not being in the mental state of actually following up on it. And this is just the worst thing about extended periods of exhaust. You lose that onlook or care about even a mildly midterm future. Just floating in and out of the days. I didn't even know I'd find that mood interesting, but here were are.

After this it turns into a road trip and the obligatory romance was gonna progress, too. Heads up for a perspective of, the female character can get horny as well and that being solidified as something perfectly not shameful. (Even if the phrasing of “people have their needs” used to cement it is a clunky one that can go to hell.) And some meetings are almost always mystery cases, in between. (I find it rather funny that she'd carry that book about cults of all things all the way from Tokyo to the south, just to have it ready at the right time, lol.) All the hints of more survivors being there is a nice set up for potentially something grander and will be interesting how this is going to weave together with the romance between the two. It gives me slight Eden It's an Endless World vibes there. The end of the world, humanity and everything…. but look there, after a while you'll see humans still survive after all and you gotta see how to live in this world where some things just never change. Could imagine that coming in as a theme, too, but we're not there yet. The MC is already contemplating personal true value vs. artificial social value and the whole thing about it already was dead, but the tsunami comes and and sinks everything down and even the hubris is gone. There was just such a solemn mood about it, like all the things you hated, but you also realize you were attached to it nonetheless. And just how that hits down as a very lonely thing. Kinda reminded me when I heard that my old school was torn down and I looked up some pictures taken from the teardown side filled of rubble. AND THEN volume 2 comes in with…. a ghost and a deity. Huh???? Suddenly it's also Fantasy???? I have no idea where it is wanting to go. But not even a date for v3 yet…

The Apothecary Diaries v1-2 I have to say the beginning was a bit dry and if there was anything at all it was just the narrator’s cheeky tone going for me. It was like the narrator has a personality entirely of their own, while omnipotently knowing about everything past and future and present and sometimes doing a little commentary. (Unfortunately that one vanished quite soon enough.) It requires its time to set up all the characters and especially Maomao. I was expecting that it would just utilize the fact that she is just too into her special interest and doesn’t see anything else of the world trope to justify it until said interest would shift, but surprisingly she is not wholly obsessed about it for larger parts of the first volume at all. And her being so entirely in the know about the Red District certainly doesn’t make her the too innocent-trope. So when the narration goes to state she expressly has no interest, despite the ability to see the attraction by common standards my eartips perked up. This increased with all the weary moods over watching other people’s marriage going right or going wrong and there is just this whole mood of like Ah-Dou and the emperor not really being lovers but bosom friends and confidantes and her just being a strong support to him rather ever really be his concubine. Or Maomao and her adoptive father and just how remote romance and sexual indulgence can be from a home to get back to. At that point I thought that would have been interesting with Jinshi being an Eunuch and that being mentioned as 'losing sometime vital', something that isn’t at all so vital to Maomao herself. If Maomao was pretty much as good as ace, that could have made an interesting match, of one who is dumbly in love and the other entirely not, but slowly finding some intellectual and emotional ways to connect. Like she did with her entire found family. But duh, of course that couldn’t stay that way.

I raged at that v1 epilogue. WTH do you mean she got pink cheeks, blushing from a darn cheese move? At the end? This last minute?? It felt so entirely like, that v1 was set up to work standalone and then it’s just bait, like, imagine the rest of that ship on your own. Which felt entirely like betrayal to the set up of Maomao herself and also if that was where it was gonna go, then it was just half-baked. My best guess was that it was just being bait, and look there volume 2 just goes and essentially retconned it. And then adds a comment in that volume to have Maomao say it was she left everything love in the womb of her mother. Now that’s a really cool phrasing that I’m inclined to use for myself if a need may pop out. In any case, Maomao is such a mood (just replace poison with rabbits for me), her facial descriptions about Jinshin’s cheese advances or the deadpan expressions of exhaust, resignation to annoyance when others have gossips are so quintessentially me as a teenager and her aloofness about just really knowing a whole lot about worldly flesh matters (but all theoretical) and then being stared at is similar to my adult self now. I was surprised how quickly that escalated with everyone getting headaches and Jinshi even resorting to wall punching. What I found too bad about v2 is that ultimate her poison hobby obsession got played as the expected trope after all and then Jinshi just has to be the Ugly Duck (or more like the swan among ducks?) that he is and I was kinda disappointed that Maomao wound up being blood related to her adoptive father after all. Like it was really interesting how things interconnected with the mystery cases, but then it says that coincidences piling up like this suggest something intentional and things in her surroundings and family are also all too coincidentally also very connected and who’s the mastermind there? (It looks a bit like the former empress?) Anyhow. Volume 1 and 2’s mood and tone does feel considerably different at places, I’m not sure which one I actually like better. (What I think is also kind of funny is how it’s like a sort of reverse Jeweler Richard? Both guys are described has heavenly beautiful defying gender and having everyone turn their heads and the narrator and even Maomao can’t stop making mention of this, but Maomao and Seigi are at complete opposite extremes of reacting to it, and yet Jinshi is already like a v6 Richard and Maomao is like a mix of dofus Seigi and early volumes Richard?)

Later I found out that the shousetsu ni narou version was still up and it looks like v1's content is largely the same to the WN. So looking up the phrasing of that v1 epilogue it says utsuru for her thought esclamation that it's catching on to her and then she gets those pink cheeks. Now utsuru is a word descibing catching diseases other things contagious. Which is to say, this is reminicent of that explanation Oda does in One Piece about Ruffy having a reaction at nude Nami, simply because he is in a group and the group mentality caught on. I still entirely don't like that bit of the epilogue, but I suppose this makes it look a bit less disappointingly baity.

That and that the author writes in a postscript to WN v1 that from then on it'd be all about raising flags and then destroying them. So maybe that was intentional. But then it was also one comment I'd have wanted to read right after the epilogue, because darn, was I annoyed/disappointed by that last minute titbit. ._.

The Eminence in Shadow v1 - Another one, read because not reading would be a waste of the subscription, but helluva what even is this. I don't know.

Unnamed Memory LN v1.p1 I said I was gonna be quick to sub if for example UN showed up and then it actually did show up on JNC Nina. Okay, so sub done and started reading it. And I have ??? about the translations. Like I'd say my French sucks, so at some places I had the English version next to it as a crutch for double checking. Which inevitably makes me notice that it differs at some places from the English one and it's not just the name romanizations. And when I compared some of them with the JP preview and looks like the French one.... actually looks more accurate by those samples? That was interesting, but now I am in doubt about the English translation, which on its own actually had read itself just fine.

Black Butler v31 After Zombies, Titanic, Harry Potter Houses, Cricket, and Idol Group (WTH?) Now we have HAZARD SUITS. I don't even with this series.... It’s boldly thick skinned in doing whatever it wants, that much is for sure. Also, I somehow managed to buy volume 23 again instead of buying 32. How the hell did that happen...

Dance Dance Danseur v1-3 (JP v1-6) It’s a very good sports series. It’s been utterly exhausting however. If one had to sum up the first 4-5 volumes it’s like TEENAGERS. All the stupidity, all the worries, body changes, nervousness, and attraction and horniness and lots, lots, lots of it. That’s just everything I do not resonate with because I never really had that phase. In between it shows some really assy prejudices, but also goes to kick them in the ass. While the latter is rewarding the former still happens and just makes me go yuck right of the first pages. But it does a fair job of not just demonizing that side and even the characters with that assy attitude turn out to be really just human in their own way.

German ramblings from right after reading v3: Wandert auf die wird weitergelesen (wenn auch nicht mit Prio) Liste. Ist zwar immer noch so voll mit Elementen zum Weglaufen für mich, aber es ist mittlerweile nicht mehr ganz so übel TEENAGER und wie das alles zusammenkommt mit den Nebenfigurenelemente ist echt schickt zusammengefädelt.

Die Doppelbände bleiben aber ein Krampf zum in der Hand Halten q_q"

Es hat leider sind es immer noch weitgehend Zutaten, die bevorzuge ich eher in kleiner Dosis, selbst wenn es gut verpackt ist…. Beim Pantyshot und dem "mach doch was männliches" oder den Mobbinszenen hatte ich schon paar 🤢 Momente. Das ganze Pubertäts-Hormonmoster-blabla, ist teilweise auch sehr OTL, vermute mal einigermaßen realistisch getroffen? Hatte das halt nie und dann das ganze hin und her mit Miyako oder er ist nur bei der Schule gelandet, weil der Pantyshot im den Kopf verdreht hat. ufffffz. (Bei Bakemonogatari fängt effektiv auch alles mit einen Pantyshot an, aber da ist es durch die Eskalation der Ereignisskette so extra absurd, dass es was passend sureales hat.) Und das Thema um Passion/Talent wiederfinden/verfolgen/fördern ist halt auch bisschen weiter weg als jemand der gar weder das eine noch das andere hat. Und mit Tanzen kann man mich IRL eigentlich jagen gehen. 🩸

Aber ist schon gut eingebaut mit Nuancen und aufeinander abgestimmt, sieht man selten so, aber auch, Band 2 war echt bisschen zu viel TEENAGER HORMOOOONNEEEEEE. Die Richtung seit Band 3 war mir da echt willkommen. Grad auch dass das mit dem Mobbing wieder kommt. Das hatte sich zwischenzeitlich recht verwässert und unter den Tisch gekehrt angefühlt, aber dann war es doch nur die Ruhe vor dem Sturm.. Also erzählerisch macht es eine sehr gute Figur und bei so vielen Bänden sieht es nach Mehrgängemenü aus~

Diamond in the Rough - Finished It is a pretty solid Shonen read, with an interesting setting, but hell, what is this ending? Did it get axed? It totally just feels like an arc ending shortly before a post time skip part 2 and then it’s suddenly simply just the end.

Girl Crush ch62-63, ch81-82 I found out that it actually has a web serialization elsewhere than just Line Manga (which is geoblocked), so straight shoot at it even if it meant gap jumping. It's still rock solid and great, also it's clearly in the build up stages for the next fireworks. Tenka is just so gorgeous.

Give Her Back to Me That was... creepy, in an intended way. It was interesting, but also just slightly brain frying. I suppose that was also intended.

Iki Dekinai no wa Kimi no Sei: Super Pink I also call this 'the horny porny that shouldn't exist'. It's a spin off doujin by the author from Iki Dekinai no wa Kimi no Sei/Breathless Momentum and it's, well, been quite honest about what its content was going to be about from the preview of the thing. Which is to say it has no plot only plot. All I had when I learned of this release was a jerk reaction of WHY. Didn't the author tweet before there were never gonna be ero scenes in her work? And isn't Breathless Momentum really great, because it's just so utterly unabashed horny, but manages to be that while also never being porny or smutty? (You don't usually get this.) Why now this. I'm all whiny. That being said, as for PLOT it was still one of the better ones I guess. You don't just get horny, it's not just about shanking another up till insanity, but it's also about foreplay and really just enjoying the whole thing with their minds still all sound (you also rarely get something like that) and it's just two who are really hot and horny about another, it's far from their first time, and there is just this sort of self-evident natural playfulness to it. And there's even funny little panels and humor in between. And visual cuteness (they get all hearts in their eyes as pupils over their delectable snacks.) So now, please can I have all the elements like these without the need of beams and holes and overly explicitness and also have it actually be integrated into a main plot please? At least it established the horniness in the main series already, unlike say What did you eat yesterday? - which is also to say, unlike some doujins there, where I wanna scream why it wasn't part of the main plot, because of very important emotional characterization, Super Pink is entirely neglectable to the main plot. But some of its seasonings would have peppered the main series nicely, too, if they were spread out more and not going deep into the horny pot like that....

Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch17.2-4 This series got licensed by Yen Press. Everyone go read it. It's good~

Lust auf ein Date? (How do we Relationship?) v9-10 Finally the How to we NOT relationship manual turns into a How DO we relationship advice box. But ho girl was the path to it exhausting. A very good series that does lots of things right and well written, but that are things I just don't manage to really like. But how the two mains are going for and knowing how people are gonna likely misunderstand it and one of their girlfriends being all like “you can’t have enough harbors outside of just your lover” just really really makes it looks like it’s going for some queerplatonic angle and I think I’m gonna whine a whole lot if those two wind up being a couple after all in the end.

Okaeri Aureole This is 50% cute-wholesome and 50% the guy deserves a bloody punch. Like how can you have things like this:

And then also have one go and assault the other one in some run in the mill-bad nonCon trope?

Reincarnated as the Daughter of the Legendary Hero and the Queen of Spirits ch19.4-58 This was a surprise and probably not one I would have touched if I couldn’t have tried checking it out on Manga Up. the title is kinda really unfortunate as is its isekai reincarnation premise. It’s kind of pretty irrelevant to the plot and MC literally goes like “but that’s not relevant so story for another time” (which probably will never really happen?) Well, anyway. It has a nice mix of badass girls and mums, intrigues and politics, an interesting fantasy world with some lore, two parents who are just dumbly in love with each other (they remind me of Spice and Wolf, but just more stupid-funny-cute), who can be funny, idiots, dorks and then entirely mature and serious at the switch of a button. The art is cute, too and in general it just has this playful air about it, being very compf, while it’s still interspersed with darker bits of the world and it’s a really nice balance of savory and compf-cute-sweet.

Ride-On King v3 I am not sure what I read there. Probaby same stuff as v1-2, but it has been a while.

Sasaki and Miyano v7 I closed the gap from print and web-reading. Good heavens I’ve read this as it was chapter-serialized in JP, so I already knew what was coming, but darn it is this cheese death worthy collected in a book like this. How to despair as you gotta rereaed the last few pages every 5 pages because your brain just chimed out.

Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch64-66 I’m entirely not sure where this is going to go. The premise conflicts are more resolved than not, so a new character comes in to retrace some of it and then it opens up new themes. Which is like…. gender/trans/nonbinary themes? One scheming girl who’s not below selling her own body?? I’m not entirely sure, as I dumbly missed out on reading some chapters in time before their free reading expired. The kuudere MC teenager's starting to go cheese, while her mother is finding all her sappyness back? Ok.. But it’s kind of interesting how Ichika went from “I’m just on their way, they can spend more cheese twosome time with each other” to But if she went back, she’d not have as much time to spend time with her cheese-subject.

This was still cute tho and absolute nothing I'd ever have expected from this series:

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten ch13.3-14.1 TINY BITS OF FLUFF FODDERRRRRR, where is the next chapterrrrrr q_q But anyhow! The release date of v1 in German is out and there’s a limited edition with extras and a variant cover, everyone go buy the fluff perfection (for as long as it lasts to be that)~

Ice Lamp: The Chronicles of Kira ch8-41 This has turned into a slight surprise hit so far. The art is solid and knows to be pretty when it needs to. The premise is very fantasy and gender bender driven, but frankly, if this wasn’t fantasy and Kira simply was a boy, it still would have a lot going for it simply by virtue of the art, character interactions and the politics and norms of the world spinning around. Unfortunately I'm now caught up on comikey and have no idea when there’s gonna be more chapters… (until finding out the month after they seem to come regularly now.)

The Villainess Behind the Mask - Finished This seemed like it started with Shinde Mirou to Iwareta Shinimashite x 7th Time Loop at first, it’s like the former in the MC having all that special magic, it is the later in terms of the MC’s character and personality, just not as rich and optimistic and more vengeful. It’s decent enough, but the ending was just a tat anticlimactic and in terms of romance it has a few moments, but they never really got enough room to build up enough chemistry and there’s a whole “buts…!” raised up only to be smashed down at an ending that does feel a little bit too much like axed. Too bad.

To be Winner - Finished. From beginning to end this has positively cute to gorgeous art. The later has been fairly abundantly with the fantasy game settings, but ultimately, it’s just characters on a screen in the world of this story that is just like everyday contemporary RL life so it just felt a bit dissonant. In terms of its actual plot it’s a sports-plot with a romance side-plot with solid execution. E-Sports really is anything but my field of interest, but the rest kept it going regardless. The ending feels round enough, but also a bit like being on the fence about between stretching it on or just finishing on a side plot in the last arc and by the time it decided to be the last chapter it didn’t feel like one whatsoever…

——————————————————————————

MARCH

It is a whole scrumble to keep up with expiry dates on JNC Nina already.

Reading in French is slow business, as is Japanese compared to Englisch and German, and darn it. q_q

One little accidential anime slipped in. Actually I did feel like watching Apothecaries and maybe something else, too, but somehow in the end I just wound up putting all their soundtracks into the playlist to listen to instead...

Anime:

Winter Memories Honkai Impact 3rd Concept Animation

Light Novels:

7th Time Loop V1

Fushi no Kami V1

Hell Mode v2

How to Survive As a Villain Novel ch1-41

Spice & Wolf V21-22

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard v13p10-14

The Eminence in Shadow v2p1-6

The Executioner and Her Way of Life v1

Wolf and Parchment v4

Your Forma v4

Manga:

100-nengo ni Tenseishita Watashi, Zense no Juukishi ni Kyuukonsaremashita: Heika wa Watashi ga Moto Oujo da to Okizukidenai you desu final chapter.1

A Side Character's Love Story Ch49-50.1

Akuma to Keiyaku v1

Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch16.2

Are You Okay with a Slightly Older Girlfriend? Ch1-2.3

Arte Ch84-85

At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender

Black Butler v32

Captain Ken Ch1-16

Cherish v1

Daijuukou to Unicornis no Otome ch14.2-15.1

Domestic na Kanojo v4

Frieren - Nach dem Ende der Reise v4

Girl Crush ch82

Goblin Slayer Year One v9ch61-70

Haikyu v40ch357

Harebare Biyori ch23.2

Hari to Hitsuji no Fune ch10.1

Hiso Hiso v2-3

Horimiya v14-16

I Cannot Reach You v6

I Got Reincarnated in a (BL) World of Big (Man) Boobs ch1

I'm cute enough to get away with it Ch20-23

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle Episode Freya Manga v1ch4

Josou Joushi no Nakasekata v1

Kakan no Oukoku no Hanagirai Hime ch11.3-12.2

Keine Cheats für die Liebe v9-11

Kemutai Hanashi ch13-16

Kijima-san & Yamada-san Ch4-17.2

Knitter's High ch26.3

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch80-81

Kono Koi wo Hoshi ni wa Negawanai ch12.1-2

Koroshi Ai After File prologue, ch1

Küss den Kater v5ch20

Living With My Brother's Wife Ch1-11

Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch30

Love and Fortune v6ch31

Lovers High - Meine beste Freundin, ihr Freund und ich v1-2

Marry my Enemy Ch59-60.5

Miryou no Otome to Katabutsu Hittou Majutsushi no Hatsukoi Kiroku bangaihen1-2

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Elma's Office Lady Diary v4ch36

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Kanna's Daily Life v8

Mr. Mallow Blue ch29

My Awkward Senpai Ch28-54

Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode, Kossori Hataraki ni deru koto ni Shimashita ~Usagi ga Iru no de Hitorine mo Sabishiku Arimasen!~ ch23.4-25.2

Oshi no Ko ch140-144

Repeating Your End Together ch5

Sasaki and Miyano v7-9ch46

She is also cute today Ch60-125

Shin Henkei Shoujo Ch1-2

Shuumatsu Touring ch36.1-4

Sick v1

Solange wir zusammen sind v2-v7ch28

Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch67

Sooper Spooky Ch1-17

Spring, Love and You v3-5

Suicide Notes Laid on the Table Ch8-19

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses Ch71-80

The Heroic Legend of Arslan v13-v15ch94

The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl Ch39-56

The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids Ch1-2

Unnamed Memory ch34.2-35.2

Urban Prince and the Amazon Girl Ch1-4

Victoria's Electric Coffin v1ch4

Virgin Road v2ch13

Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi ch36.2-37.2

Wind Breaker v1ch5

Webtoons:

Breed my Dear Enemy Ch99-181

Flowers in the Secret Place Ch45-87

Ice Lamp: The Chronicles of Kira Ch42-44

Taberare Usa ch93-96

The Blind & The Homeless Ch1-7

The Giantess wants Love Ch164-218

The Goddess of Healing Ch54-66

The Mermaid Wears a Dress ch50-60

To be or not be Ch24-122, 1-23

You Are My Lovely Dragon King Ch1-16

Non-Fiction:

Some Greek mythology book (ISBN 9789463598965)

Notes:

How to Survive as a Villain AKA This Villain Emperor's Gotta Charm the Male Lead to Survive! AKA To Be or Not to Be AKA Please Decide on a Title Already The former is the closest translation to the Chinese title, while the second's length and summary-in-title does all the justice to it being an isekai and the last is a bit ??? in hindsight after reading it, but then it's apparantely the official English subtitle and also what made me pick it up on Comikey in the first place, so I should not complain. This is also a series I can dub as 'how to get interested only really at chapter 41 of 122 and then get hooked at chapter 88ish after having everything before read with pretty much just half attention' and it's another specimen to prove that me getting hooked tends always to happen rather late, which makes finding the next great thing really complicated beyond grinding though as much of everything as possible by sheer brute force and patience. (What do I envy people who can judge that right from the beginning.) Well, I'm gonna have some fun rereading it.

Anyway, this series by premise is a bit like My Next Life as a Villainess, but the isekai'd main doesn't have baka trait of Bakarina, then the world being reincarnated to isn't a tropey heavy otome-game thing, but a novel set in Ancient China (no cultivation and other fantasy elements there as a bonus) and the whole thing is also a BL and the narrative has slices of Romeo & Julia, but without that one's teen pathos (stupidity). The isekai'd main Xiao YuAn is a bit ridiculous and funnily goofy at times, but not dumb and stupid either. It's also been strangely weird, but convincing to me how it takes like 60ish chapters for him to notice he's fallen in love with his favorite novel male lead-turned real, and that it doesn't even occur to him until it's being spelled out in clear words and to boot, he is being transmigrated into the body of an emperor known to be gay and everyone's being thinking the thing for far longer and even his beloved male lead Yang HeQing caught onto his own feelings by what, chapter 12? And yet it felt strangely buyable to me at the same time. Very slow burn and organic progression. In the middle there is even a dish of melancholic facing your impossibilities in the world. (Maybe that’s some Weltschmerz and what the Hamlet quote title tries to reference? The vengeance part probably is less so.)

It sets up a lot and then develops it until it reaps its payoff. Which is to say, the series has 3 parts/seasons and the first two and beginning of the third are really rock solid, but the third is there to reap off all the payoffs from before and does it well, but in comparison feels weak because unlike the prior two parts it doesn't set up anyone or anything for itself much beyond the minimum and just reaps previous buildups. There's no new side character beyond the sister of a side character (Hong Xiu kicked ass really) that got killed off and really she is just a paler, meeker Hong Xiu 2.0, which is really too bad, because it could have integrated another new Kingdom into the spotlight, have some mentioned original novel side character show up or have some more side characters come back like they did from part one to two. The overarching plot is also not has interweaved with all the side tales going on and as a result it feels--- a bit simple I guess. That also makes the focus on the pair's lovey dovey shenanigans more heavy and Xiao YuAn is actually just about as silly and goofy as ever, just now knowing what he wants and entirely unhinged about it, and otherwise it's not so very different to the beginning, but due to the extra spotlight it has with not much more else going on it looks more lower dimensional than it needs to be.

Also somehow the last part seemed a bit visually weaker. And I've been really wondering why. Because it wasn't the art's lines or coloring itself. Was that because his second transmigration has made him get a more manly body than that slender, sickly more androgynous body and I maybe liked that style better? But then this never came across as one of those BLs that just shoves a female strereotype on one of the guys as often the case and if it did I'd likely hate it. Or was it the completely unhinged air? Or that he has a more sturdy body that far better can fend itself, but gets all those princess carries and doesn't even complain about them? Was it the thicker eyebrows? Eventually it turned out to be.... Eyelashes!!! The two mains of them, they both have fairly long eyelashes. And supposedly his second transmigration's body is pretty much like his original body, same face and everything, but!!! Every show up of that one at the beginning totally also has him have those longer eyelashes!! And yet in the third part the only times he mostly gets to have longer eyelashes is when he makes pretty eyes for his guy and it's... it's strangely weirdly irritating. Where is the consistency!!! Or well, I didn't know I found longer eyelashes aesthetically pleasing. What do I do with that titbit of knowledge now... Anyway, to my chagrin I had to find out that there was a Japanese print release for this series, but weirdly enough they only released one volume which has firm 1 cipher plastered on its cover and then no further volume afterwards. It's also licensed in English, but by Monogatari Novels who apparently still haven't released any of their releases in English and keep pushing the dates. :/

The art is also really nice, tho I have to moan about its key illustrations that really really look a bit misleading in terms of vibes and the third main key illustration is basically either misleading or a big fat spoiler. (And the fourth that also is being used on Anilist apparently is mostly used as a merch illustration?) Artwise it's really nice to look at, a really nice color palette that freely uses vibrant to darker parts of the spectrum, lots of wardrobes and because guys in Ancient China also all had long hair, lots of wavy fluttering bangs and ponytails in the wind or hairdos or decorations. And long sleeves and robes, too. It looks good (and just made the special chapters in contemporary times look immensely boring in comparison. Where's the wavy hair!! (and the eyelashes!!). (.... I'm getting ridiculous about this.)

That bit in the middle about the conflict of being yourself but also being that new entirely different identity after being isekai'd and the limited amount of people knowing that is also a quite nice mood I feel like that has gone lost from many of the genre from the modern wave. There's also a nice conversation about how the man's caught up in choices and how he's all doubting to being guilty about the choice being made and how ultimately it was never about doing the right thing, but making a choice and feeling bad, because all choices were important, but he had to pick. Also choices are the thing that defy fate literally. There is something soothingly comfy about it there.

How to Survive as a Villain Novel As it goes, the webtoon on Comikey has.............. parts of overtly dubios translation and editing quality and then also other parts with fairly interesting side notes (clearly these parts have to be from diffrent staff working on it??) and while the translation overall feels more clunky than not, it definitely made hints of making a fair number of literary or cultural references that all got lost in translation. And then I found out there's a novel and also there is a fantranslation and that it was taken down because an English release was licensed in Singapour by a somewhat new publisher and pre-orders closed on that on in January, like 2 darn month before I discovered this series. How cursed. Well, not like that the fantransation isn't to be found elsewhere, and it's worth already just for the footnotes on all the literary references and idioms and occasional contemporary slang. Really interesting. But aggregator rip off sites are still all cursed, because there's a good bunch of chapters that have annotation number markings but they haven't copied the footnotes over. Dang it, I'm interested in those!!!

Anyway. The webtoon definitely cut and changed a good few of things, which makes for a more smooth read and at places with additional flourish. Especially the beginning of the novel is equal parts of wtfh and lmao. And it then it dawned on me why it seemed strangely convincing to me that the main Xiao YuAn gets transmigrated into the body of that gay emperor and while he perfectly knows that fact, he doesn't even ever really think much about his attraction to his favorite male lead (that he has been fawning in a few ways over from the beginning). The way he is introduced in those beginning chapters of the novel pretty much introduces him as never having fallen for any woman, his family goes nuts, tries to ship him with some women, but then he's like bolting and running and family goes like wait, no, is he gay then?? and try to ship him into dubious BL ships and he is running and beating them up and like just. Nope. There's nobody. Probably. Anway, onto more important things!!! How about just focus on work and be a useful person to society. Which is such a mood. And add how it takes him a while to accept that Ancient-China-from-the-novel world as properly a real thing of its/his own now and his not even considering the idea despite being perfectly acquainted with the flags kinda feels like more than just the usual amount of density. Besides he really isn't dumb about it, he quickly gets it once it's been clearly spelled out and he gives it its due thinking over, so like just the whole air of him having all the pieces before his eyes all along but not even considering it at all in that way that's not even exactly dense or phobic of some sort is kind of really interesting.

The other part is how he had already killed himself in his original life to begin with. More or less because he was terminally ill and doomed anyway, but also because some brother asked him to. Which is a bit ??? It checks with how the big turning point in the third part plays out and the man may be whiny and a scaredy cat and all silly with his fear of death but actually doesn't even think twice about facing death in all the serious moments that count (which thinking about it is very reminicent of Haku from Utawarerumono Maskt of Deception/Truth), but him just jumping off the fifth floor in those beginning chapters also feels just random. The webtoon definitely did a good job kicking that brother character out of the plot. Apparently the sheer ludicrousness of attempted shipping offs by his family still made it to the webtoon in post-chapter extra scenes; at least I saw some on chinese raws, but the comikey version has them all cut. (And he's got long eyelashes in his original body there!!) Anyway, less than 1/4 read so far and I'll probably space it out for it to last longer. Also, darn it, somebody license the book already. With lots of translation notes and everything please!

Breed my Dear Enemy Ch99-181 So, apparently that’s actually two completely separate series under the same title belt and the first one finishes here. (with a completely nuts numbering order at the end of it on Comikey.) Isekai-transmigration into the body of a child, spanning over a decade, that has a short reverse-isekai adventure, court intrigues, knowing the novel contents already-cheats and there is a deal of courting and romance and a slice of cultivation and some really pretty art at places (especiallyfemale MC Ye Mu’s wardrobe). Ye Mu is also pretty cool in being just absolutely badass in wits and kicking ass herself. The isekai cheat is a bit excessively convenient though - She hasn't even read the book on her own accord, but while she accidentially trips into the book Fushigi Yuugi-style while doing a military raid and gets sucked into that world she literally gets the book contents downloaded into her brain. It does more with the isekai that you'd expect at the end, but somehow that plot device for plotline cheat skills was still extremely deus ex machina. What I also thought was a bit surprising between this and To be and Not to Be both having it was how their last thirds are both quite so very unhinged at being horny and explicitly things happening but without them being graphically explicit. Also both are from China. I did not expect this level of unhinged horniness from that country at all. What happened.

This panel background otherwise was almost phone wallpaper worthy:

It also had some nice ones ones with bamboo trees.

Domestic na Kanojo v4 I am not sure I know what I am even reading.

Frieren - Nach dem Ende der Reise v4 Fern deserves some sla… stern talking tos about her treatment to Stark and no Sein, I very much disagree, they should totally not be together already like that at all.

Fushi no Kami V1 The isekai premise is so old now it is annoying the MC himself already and lots of cheats, but the world’s cultural mystery hook is not too uninteresting, but everything Maika side it a whole slog and I feel like wanting to drop it out of the window every time a PoV change comes to this cheese stricken girl.

Girl Crush ch82 It’s good, it’s still good!

Hell Mode v2 This is strangely keeping me interested enough to stick to it despite it not really having anything outstanding. My best guess is really just that it’s my surrogate to By the Grace of Gods after all.

Horimiya v14-16 - Finished That took some years to get to these last few vols. But I was taken off guard. First I don’t remember any of the side characters anymore. Second. Was Hori always this bad of an obnoxious violent tsundere despite the guy clearly suffering from it? And you can’t even slap her for it, because she’d enjoy it!!

I Got Reincarnated in a (BL) World of Big (Man) Boobs ch1 I’m crying. In “What a whole darn waste!!” So I am still following Adekan. And when it’s good it’s gorgeous in its art and just all that morbid twistedness of human nature and desires so when it’s good it’s usually really good and when it’s bad it's also atrociously bad to my tastes. This one from the same author ditches any chance of a setting to flaunt or otherwise exhibit her talent for all that gorgeous dreamlike, fantastical artwork. And it’s so dumb and it’s kinda bad and it knows it, which I suppose makes it more bearable than the worst parts of Adekan due to the self-aware 4th wall element. But also it’s just such a waste!!! and yet you can clearly feel, this is what the author has fun with and plenty of fun Nao Tsukiji has with this particularness and who am I to criticize a person doing what they like, but still. I cannot help but cry out: What a waste!!!!

Kemutai Hanashi ch13-16 It's been a great series already and now it addresses yet another thing that is hard to put in words, but was captured brilliantly in its mood design by sheer power of character expressiveness. It will be very interesting if it does go on to capture it in words, too, like that brilliant conversation I raved about last time.

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch80-81 Wow. So we had this Aishiteru Game-ish arc, but it quickly moved on to the theatre play arc and frankly that was sweet and solid, but lacked any sense of a wow effect and probably that was the whole point, because wow did that twist (caused through one of the most old trodden tropes boring tropes at that!) hit at the end. It’s like… of course that was always in the cards. But somehow it managed to catch a surprise anyway and wow does it well circling back to one of its main messages it had been delivering so very well across all the series before.

Sasaki and Miyano v7-9ch46 I died a few cheese deaths and I had even read the web version before. I am regressing in my cheese resistance. Help!

Spice & Wolf V21-22 It was easy enough to get back into that after all those years it took me to pick it up again and the Holo-Lawrence bantering just really doesn’t get old. And everytime at the end of the books, where there are stories about Myuri and Col it just strikes how much less engaging that duo is as main characters. Also, seriously, at the end of all the church reforms it’s just gonna be like marriage is allowed for priests and those get together, is it? Hurry up and please get it over already. sigh.

Wolf and Parchment v4 Actually in their own series, it’s less of a slog to read, as there is still a mystery plot to be had around politics and the setting and everything. But I retain, those two are a bit exhausting…

Spring, Love and You v3-5 I had read v1 and actually thought it was surprisingly pretty aroace and also describing how the friction of being that way and the world not being that way can be hurtful and then I read v2 and OF COURSE this was a shoujo and she was gonna fall in love and then I dropped it for years. But now with having read the rest of it… Not like it ever addressed it as such, but the two mains impress a bit as demi or otherwise still a good deal as still on the aroace spectrum and cluenessness about ok, so they are dating and now? and then there is a side character who really looks like very aroace to the end and there is this girl having a crush at him and confessing in a really respectful way of not making him feel guilty or indebted and there’s a really wholesome part to her being kinda in pain, but also just placing good wishes and hopes for him to have somebody special to him, if it comes to that. And the guy goes like instead of feeling happy about any such a confession he feels like he lost something important and ultimately it ends on him hurrying after her, because he doesn’t want to lose her, a really close, trusted friend so far. And then they are dating and the series ends and the girl is happily blushing in the midst of her crush and he is entertaining her crush with a romantically coded gesture (that he does with a completely straight face), but if you ask me, this looks so much like an act of despair of not wanting to lose something precious and not because it winds up he fell for her like that. It would have been really interesting if that could have been explored, because this setup is bound to have all sorts of challenges, but then this series never was gonna be about something like this, was it? Which is a bit sad, because to me it unfortunately will be the only thing I will actually remember about this series. The characters aren’t exactly bad, they are buyably realistically portrayed, but they are also a bit (very) unmemorable and there isn’t much of an actual plot in this school setting to hook you in either.

She is also Cute Today - Finished (??) This was supposed to be some GL, but then it was more like deep friendship and finding your crowd, with a bunch of opposites attract comedy but after some dozens of chapters it's having more clear hints about being more romantic than not, but before it really ever went to get into that more deeply it says end of part 1 and somehow no more other chapters. (According to Anime Planet it's finished??) Well, in terms im GL that's now kinda like what you get from most GL. Something that just barely has a little bit more than a regular deep intimate friendship. But it does introduce a gender NC theme across the series that has a clear queer message said out loud, so just when I starting to think it could go beyond the usual fare but.... Where is Part 2? :<

Taberare Usa ch93-96 Just what the hell am I even reading there now…

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard v13p10-14 I ACTUALLY STARTED. Meanwhile even v7 in English has arrived and I haven’t even touched v6 after that disappointing peek into it.

The Giantess wants Love - Finished It turned out to be a nicely decent read. There’s some solid art throughout and once the romance is official it actually is mature and makes no big deal out of it. The fashion industry setting is nicely used for a number of pretty outfits. One of the last chapters also just barely turned the scales around over at humanizing a gay side character who went to be all like this predatory asshole criminal. There’s quite a gap between the villains and the good guys, with a few having feets on both sides, but like some of these villains just are a bit taxing on patience to sit though.

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses Ch71-80 Seriously, this series and all its cheese is above my wits.

The Goddess of Healing Ch54-66 picked it up where I originally went on a binging frenzy to the end. It’s still good and the MCs bantering is cute, dorky, wholesome and fun, but the villains are getting a whole deal more annoying now. There is also less ambivalence in character being virtuous or not. While motivations are being shown how the villains became that way, there is still a clear divide between the good guys and the bad ones. Looks like I like the ambivalence more that How to Survive as a Villain offers in that same Ancient Chinese setting.

Your Forma v4 Solid. But one plotline was unfortunately super obvious already right at the beginning of the book. It still managed to play with it and put another twist over it, but the first one was unfortunately a bit too obvious to not guess. But then, actually that was already the case in the previous volume, so maybe it’s a bit of a pattern?

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usafphantom2 · 6 months

Text

Operation Allied Force

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an agreement was reached that led to the withdrawal of Yugoslav armed forces from Kosovo, and the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, a UN peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. The official NATO operation code name was “Operation Allied Force” whereas the United States called it “Operation Noble Anvil”; in Yugoslavia the operation was incorrectly called “Merciful Angel” (Serbian: Милосрдни анђео / Milosrdni anđeo) as a result of a misunderstanding or mistranslation.

NATO’s intervention was prompted by Yugoslavia’s bloodshed and ethnic cleansing of Albanians, which drove the Albanians into neighbouring countries and had the potential to destabilize the region. Yugoslavia’s actions had already provoked condemnation by international organisations and agencies such as the UN, NATO, and various INGOs. Yugoslavia refused to sign the Rambouillet Accords which was offered as an initial justification for NATO’s use of force. NATO countries attempted to gain authorisation from the UN Security Council for military action, but were opposed by China and Russia, who indicated that they would veto such a measure. As a result, NATO launched its campaign without the UN’s approval, stating that it was a humanitarian intervention. The UN Charter prohibits the use of force except in the case of a decision by the Security Council under Chapter VII, or self-defence against an armed attack – neither of which were present in this case.

An important portion of the war involved combat between the Yugoslav Air Force and the opposing air forces from NATO. United States Air Force F-15s and F-16s flying from Italian airforce bases attacked the defending Yugoslav fighters, mainly MiG-29s, which were in poor condition due to a lack of spare parts and maintenance. Other NATO forces also contributed to the air war.

During the night of 24/25 March 1999: Yugoslav Air Force scrambled five MiG-29s to counter the initial attacks. Two fighters that took off from Niš Airport were vectored to intercept targets over southern Serbia and Kosovo were dealt with by NATO fighters. The MiG-29 flown by Maj. Dragan Ilić was damaged; he landed with one engine out and the aircraft was later expended as a decoy. The second MiG, flown by Maj. Iljo Arizanov, was shot down by an USAF F-15C piloted by Lt. Col. Cesar Rodriguez. A pair from Batajnica Air Base (Maj. Nebojša Nikolić and Maj. Ljubiša Kulačin) were engaged by USAF Capt. Mike Shower who shot down Nikolić while Kulačin evaded several missiles fired at him, while fighting to bring his malfunctioning systems back to working order. Eventually realising that he could not do anything, and with Batajnica AB under attack, Kulačin diverted to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, hiding his aircraft under the tail of a parked airliner.[91] The fifth and last MiG-29 to get airborne that night was flown by Maj. Predrag Milutinović. Immediately after take-off his radar failed and electrical generator malfunctioned. Shortly after, he was warned of being acquired by fire control radar, but he eluded the opponent by several evasive manoeuvres. Attempting to evade further encounters, he approached Niš Airport, intending to land, when he was possibly hit by an 2K12 Kub in a friendly fire incident, but more probably he was shot down by a KLU F-16AM flown by Maj. Peter Tankink and forced to eject.

In the morning of 25 March, Maj. Slobodan Tešanović stalled his MiG-29 while landing on Ponikve Airbase after a re-basing flight. He ejected safely.

During the war Yugoslav strike aircraft J-22 Oraos and G-4 Super Galebs performed some 20–30 combat missions against the KLA in Kosovo at treetop level causing some casualties. During one of those missions on 25 March 1999, Lt. Colonel Života Ðurić was killed when his J-22 Orao hit a hill in Kosovo. It was never firmly established whether an aircraft malfunction, pilot error or if enemy action (by KLA) was the cause (NATO never claimed they shot it down).

In the afternoon of 25 March 1999 two Yugoslav MiG-29s took off from Batajnica to chase a lone NATO aircraft flying in the direction of the Bosnian border. They crossed the border and were engaged by two US F-15s. Both MiGs were shot down by Captain Jeff Hwang. One MiG pilot, Major Slobodan Perić, having evaded at least one missile before being hit ejected, was later smuggled back to Yugoslavia by the Republika Srpska police. The other pilot, Captain Zoran Radosavljević, did not eject and was killed.

DATE CALLSIGN UNIT PILOT AIRCRAFT SERIAL/BUNO TARGET(S) ORDNANCE

24 Mar 99 KNIFE 13 493 FS/48 FW Rodriguez F-15C 86-0169 MiG-29 AIM-120

24 Mar 99 EDGE 61 493 FS/48 FW Shower F-15C 86-0159 MiG-29 AIM-120

26 Mar 99 DIRK 21 493 FS/48 FW Hwang F-15C 86-0156 MiG-29 AIM-120

Departing on their first operational mission “Allied Force” from Cervia AB, Italy on the 24th March 1999. From left to right Cesar “Rico” Rodriguez (element Leader), Anthony “K Bob” Sweeney (Wingman), “Wild” Bill Denham (wingman), Robert “Criket”Renner (Flight Leader) 493rd Fighter Squadron Grim Reapers

Colonel Jeff Hwang just after his last flight in the F-15C Eagle in 2014. “Claw” Hwang, as the green stars show, destroyed two (Serbian) MiG-29s during Operation Allied Force in 1999. At the time of this picture, Colonel Hwang was flying with the Oregon ANG

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nightsidewrestling · 1 year

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D.U.D.E Part 22 - Just One of Dem Days (Set in 2021)

Note: This is set in a universe where Men VS Women / Intergender matches can happen.

Chapter 1: here Chapter 2: here Chapter 3: here Chapter 4: here Chapter 5: here Chapter 6: here Chapter 7: here Chapter 8: here Chapter 9: here Chapter 10: here Chapter 11: here Chapter 12: here Chapter 13: here Chapter 14: here Chapter 15: here Chapter 16: here Chapter 17: here Chapter 18: here Chapter 19: here Chapter 20: here Chapter 21: here

Tags: @piratewithvigor @tantamount-treason @thedollmaker16 @janetreader

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places (those chapters will be marked as ‘Mature / sexual content’ just to be safe). Please inform me if you wish to be tagged or untagged from posts. If the text is in italics and orange it’s Kirby’s inner monologue. If the text is coloured but not in italics, it’s either dialogue or a P.O.V change (P.O.V changes will be in bold and translated dialogue will appear in square [ ] brackets), Key below. Quick note on Geia’s text colour: Yes I do know that as Greed she should be in yellow but I decided to colour the men’s dialogue yellow so Geia was changed to be pink like the other women in the story outside of the main 8.

The Main 8: Damo - Bio. Vi - Bio. Billie - Bio. Geia - Bio. Kirby - Bio. Honey - Bio. Eli - Bio. Sara - Bio.

Kirby's P.O.V:

Kirby's uncle Bran spends the night sleeping on the couch, waking up at 10 am, on Saturday the 3rd of September, to the smell of Kirby cooking breakfast.

“Good lord kid, ya oul dear taught ya well.” He yawns, scratching his stubble as he gets up, joining Kirby in the kitchen.

“You still take ya coffee with milk and two sugars, Uncail [Uncle]?” She smiles softly at him, looking up from the pan of bacon and eggs.

“Indeed I do, have ya been cryin’ banphrionsa [princess]?”

“Dhúisigh mé ó nightmare, Tá Eddie fós ina chodladh agus ní raibh mé ag iarraidh é a dhúiseacht. Mar sin, tá [I woke up from a nightmare, Eddie is still asleep and I didn't want to wake him. So, yes].” Kirby nods, her uncle pulls her into a gentle hug, stroking her hair.

“Ya Aintín [Aunt] will be here soon, as will ya col ceathracha [cousins]. Ceart go leor [okay]?”

“Aye [yes].” She whispers, leaving her uncle to finish making breakfast, when she gets a text from her cousin Branwen, Bran’s only daughter.

Kirby goes to the front door, seeing the taxi pull up with her Aunt Meinir and her cousins Mostyn, Darach and Branwen stepping out.

“Don’t panic,” Darach jokes, “We haven’t brought the kids to tire out Aintín fathach [Giant aunt].”

Darach, forever the jokester, married to a lovely German lass.

“Nor have we brought the wives, or Branwen’s hubbie.” Mostyn adds.

Mostyn, Moss, the brawn of the trio. His wife’s a beautiful Native Canadian lady.

“I’ll help you wit’ the twins, banphrionsa dragon [dragon princess].” Branwen smiles softly.

Branwen, the brains, now a McCormick, her husband a half-French half-Irish gent with a mean right hook.

“Get yer butts in there before the house gets cold.” Meinir, Bran’s Wife, scolds her three kids, hugging Kirby gently when she enters the house.

If ever a tornado was named something Welsh, it would be named after her. As her name would suggest via its meaning, she’s tall, slender and beautiful, even at 69.

“Before you ask, this place is rented, and the twins are asleep in the nursery, don’t wake my sons nor my husband. Ed’s a grump in the mornings, and I don’t need the New Yorker being a grump, right now.” Kirby explains, leading the tiny percentage of her family to the kitchen first.

She takes over making breakfast from her Uncle Bran, quickly serving the group up a hearty breakfast, bacon, eggs, toast, beans, all the things her and her family are used to. She even remembers how the group takes their coffee and tea. Bran, coffee, two sugars and a dash of milk. Meinir, tea, black as she cannot have milk. Moss, coffee, one sugar, no milk, strong and sweet. Darach, tea, milky and with two sugars. Branwen, water, not a fan of tea or coffee.

“Holy fuck!” Eddie yelps, nearly falling on his ass when he sees Kirby’s cousins.

“Oh, we should have sat down, Moss.” Darach murmurs as he sips his tea.

“Ya think? I know I’m tall, but you two are tall and broad.” Kirby shakes her head, kissing Eddie’s forehead.

Moss, 6’5”, and Darach, 6’3”, look down at the floor in shame. Their 5’4” sister chuckles as she looks at them.

“And these guys are?” Eddie asks, using Kirby as a shield, having not gotten dressed yet and still in just his rosaries, boxers and a tank-top.

“Ooh, Dara, Kirby married a real New Yorker, maybe a Catholic too?” Moss whispers.

“Eddie, you met my Uncle Bran last night, this is his wife, Meinir, and his kids, my cousins, Mostyn, Darach and Branwen. Consider yourself lucky that they didn’t bring their spouses, or kids, this place would be nearly full.”

“How many kids do you have?” Eddie asks them, a look of total confusion on his face.

“Me and Gen have six, our eldest is eighteen, youngest is three.” Mostyn answers first.

Darach follows his lead, “Myself and Gertie have five, our eldest is fifteen, youngest is also three.”

Branwen is the last to answer, “Me and My hubbie, Faron, have four, Taliesin, Samuel, Rainbow and Quintella.”

“Ooh, Moss, has Eadberht said anything about proposing to his girlfriend yet?” Kirby asks.

“Oh no, he hasn’t said anything about proposing to Nerida, I think he’s a bit scared.”

“Aww, I was looking forward to annoying him about that.”

“Don’t worry, Ker, ya still the baby of the family.” Darach chuckles.

Eddie watches, stunned into silence, as Kirby and her cousins talk back and forth in Irish and Welsh, mentioning name after name, the occasional English word being spoken.

“Eddie, you a’ight?” Kirby asks, gently wrapping her arms around his neck.

He wraps his arms around her waist instinctively, “I have no idea, what any of, what you said for the past ten minutes means.”

“Luckily for you, none of it was important. Me and Branwen are gonna feed the twins, okay?”

“A’ight, Ma, I love ya.” Eddie whispers, kissing her gently before letting her go.

From the nursery, Kirby and Branwen can hear Bran, Moss and Dara questioning Eddie.

“So, what are the kids' names?” Moss asks.

“Emir and Ethan.” Eddie answers confidently.

“No, no,” Dara chuckles, “their full names.”

“Oh fuck,” Eddie’s confidence drops, “Emyr Fah-lawn Peri-der Ariel Moore and Ethan Lore-can Gwin Joel Moore.”

“Pretty decent for a non-Irish speaking ‘Irishman’.” Bran announces his approval, making both of Kirby’s male cousins shut up.

“Kirby,” Branwen whispers, “Say their full names, go.”

Kirby chuckles softly, shaking her head before pronouncing her boys names perfectly, “Emyr Faolán Peredur Ariel Moore and Ethan Lorcán Gwin Joel Moore. There, Branwen, ya happy?”

She nods and chuckles softly as she finishes feeding Emyr, handing him to Kirby. Kirby carries both boys into the kitchen with her. Kirby smirks and shakes her head as she watches Eddie wrestle with his belt.

“Babe, help.” Eddie mouths when he sees her.

Kirby hands the twins to their father and fixes his belt buckle, “How the fuck did you bend the metal of this?”

When Eddie doesn’t answer she looks up at his face, his line of sight directly going to her rear.

“Edward.” She grumbles.

Moss and Dara chuckle softly.

“Sorry, Ma, what?” Eddie’s face goes pink from embarrassment.

“How did you bend the metal of the belt buckle?”

“I don’t know, fuckin’ wit’ it too much?” He shrugs.

“‘Fuckin’ wit’ it too much’?” She mockingly asks, teasing her husband.

“Fucked wit’ you too much, got these two as a result.” He teases back, sticking his tongue out at his wife.

Kirby copies his actions, “Doughboy.” she whispers.

“Doll.” Eddie murmurs.

“Wild Card.”

“Punk Rock Princess.”

“Papi.”

“Ma.”

“Bite me.” She smirks.

“Did ya take ya anxiety meds, and ya iron supplements?”

“Yes, as soon as I woke up.”

“You got any more family showin’ up?”

“Ya might wanna pray, ‘cause I don’t know.” Kirby whispers.

“Take one of the Princes then.”

Kirby takes Ethan from his father, letting Eddie use his rosaries to say a small prayer.

“Hey little guy,” Kirby starts baby-talking to her son when he opens his eyes, his blue eyes staring up at her own, “How’s my little dude doing? Huh, baby boy, how is you doing my love?”

“You’re so cute, Ma.” Eddie murmurs, making Kirby blush a bright pink.

“Sorry, I got a bit lost in my thoughts.”

“I wish I got that on video, I would have watched it over and over.”

“He looked at me, you know I gotta talk to him if he looks at me.”

“I know,” Eddie wraps his free arm around her waist, “I love you, Kirby.”

“I love you too, Eddie… my Edward, my King of Diamonds.”

“My Kirby, my Dragon Princess.” He smirks.

“Did you like last night?” She asks softly.

“If Jon and Renee weren’t there, it would have been perfect.”

“It’s the closest thing to actually being in either a nightclub, or strip club with me.”

“I know, it’s also much more private and personal.” He whispers, kissing her jawline and the scar on her cheek.

“What’s gotten you so affectionate this morning?”

“I guess it’s just one of them days.” He winks.

“Did you go through my music?”

“Yep. You left your ‘Moody’ playlist up.”

“Don’t blame that on me, blame it on Spotify.” She murmurs, sipping her can of decaf coffee.

Eddie grabs a can of Red Bull, and they both head to sit on the couch next to each other. Moss turns the tv on, flicking through the channels until he gets to the sport, putting on a game of Rugby, Ulster v Dragons.

“Why don’t you put on some wrestlin’?” Eddie asks.

“Because,” Kirby sips her coffee, “As a family who runs a wrestling promotion, if we want to watch wrestling, we will watch something from our archives.” She explains.

“How far do the archives go back?”

“Oh jeez… Uncail, how far do our archives go back, with the tapes?”

Kirby’s Uncle Bran steps back inside, holding his cigarette outside of the patio doors, “Our taped archives?”

“Yeah, not the written stuff but the filmed stuff.” Kirby nods.

“I would think back to when Naoise started wrestling, so nineteen-sixty, maybe nineteen-fifty-nine? I would have to check. But it’s somewhere around then.”

“Oh wow,” Eddie mumbles, “That’s a lot of footage.”

“Yeah, most of it’s been digitised now too, so we’ll be able to go back, and use the footage to teach generations ahead.” Bran explains before stepping outside to finish his cigarette.

“Hey Da, can I bum a smoke off ya?” Dara asks as he steps outside.

“Take one of ya sister’s.” Bran grumbles.

“Here, and don’t tell my husband, he thinks I’ve switched to the robot.” Branwen chuckles softly.

“Switched to the robot?” Eddie asks Kirby softly.

“Switched to an electronic cigarette or vape. It’s something that my Uncle Rhod came up with.” She murmurs, engrossed in the rugby game.

“Sweetheart.” Eddie puts his hand on her thigh, getting her attention off the tv.

“Yes, Eddie?”

“You gonna explain what’s goin’ on?”

“With what?”

Eddie gestures towards the tv, “I don’t watch this stuff, you know me, Knicks, Yankees, that kinda stuff I watch.”

“Oh,” She smiles softly, leaning back and keeping Ethan close to her chest, “So you have Ulster, northern Irish, and The Dragons, a Welsh team. Currently The Dragons, the team Moss and Dara will want to win, are beating the asses of Ulster. You know how you have leagues and stuff?”

“Yeah, this works the same?”

“Yep. U.R.C, United Rugby Championship, if The Dragons win, they go on to face Edinburgh or The Sharks, depending on who wins that game.”

“Okay, and who are the Sharks?”

“They’re a South African team.”

“And why don’t you guys support Ulster?”

“Divorce him.” Moss grumbles.

“He’s askin’ why we don’t support Ulster, Moss, nothin’ more.”

“We don’t support ‘em, ‘cause they fuck the British willingly.” Mostyn scoffs

“Jesus, Moss. Right, long story short, we don’t support Ulster ‘cause they’re northern Irish, our ancestry comes from the republic.”

“Oh…” The weight of Moss’ statement dawns on Eddie, “So if I were to support Ulster, your family would hate me?”

“Don’t even mention them by name.” She whispers.

Eddie nods, putting a finger to his lips, indicating that he’ll stay silent. Instead Eddie focuses on Emyr, both him and Kirby watching as his son, Emyr, yawns and opens his eyes. Green eyes meeting green eyes. Son staring up at his father, reaching for his face, or rather the blur that takes up most of Emyr’s vision. Eddie in his ‘I hope you suffer’ tank top and a pair of jeans, timbs on but unlaced, rosaries hidden between his white and black tank-tops. Emyr in a small ‘kiss me I’m Irish’ onesie, a gift from his maternal grandmother, Kirby’s Mam, Oda.

“I hope one day, you’ll grow up to find a woman, or hell, a man, who is as amazing as ya mother, Emyr.” Kingston whispers, kissing his eldest son on the head.

“Kingy, that has gotta be one of the sweetest things you’ve ever said.” Kirby whispers, receiving a gentle kiss on her cheek scar.

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thetuesdaytapes · 2 years

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THE TUESDAY TAPES MARTEDÌ 17 GENNAIO 2023 ►► MONTHLY MIXTAPE 1) THE BEATLES > Polythene Pam 2) DON MURO > Want You to Know 3) HUDSON MOHAWKE > Dance Forever 4) FILIPPO TRECCA > Col fiato in gola 5) TEN FÉ > Twist Your Arm (Roman Flügel mix) 6) SLAM vs. U.N.K.L.E. > Narco Tourists (SSR69 edit) 7) JON GIBSON > Song II 8) SLUTA LETA > Whispers Special (intro) 9) MADLIB > Raw Introduction to Afreaka 10) CHUCK ARMSTRONG > Sweet Foxy Lady 11) BRIAN ENO > No One Receiving 12) MINORU FUSHIMI > In Praise of Mithocondria 13) NONA HENDRYX > Scream (Michael the Lion edit) 14) THE KILLS > No Wow (Chicken Lips dub) 15) HEADMAN feat. STEPHEN DEWAELE > Roh 16) BANDULU > Chapter 6 Ascolta su MIXCLOUD Ascolta su SPREAKER Guarda su YOUTUBE

#Mixtape #balearic #cosmic disco #80s music #new wave #post punk #electro #alternative music

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dfroza · 9 days

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A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures

for the 17th of September 2024 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New Covenant) of the Bible

[The Book of Revelation, Chapter 17 • The Book of Joshua, Chapter 12]

along with Today’s reading from the ancient books of Proverbs and Psalms with Proverbs 17 and Psalm 17 coinciding with the day of the month, accompanied by Psalm 90 for the 90th day of Astronomical Summer, and Psalm 111 for day 261 of the year (with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

A post by John Parsons:

"God abides for ever in an eternal present, His knowledge, also transcending all movement of time, dwells in the simplicity of its own changeless present." - Boethius

====

The name of the Lord is YHVH (יהוה), which comes from a root word meaning existence (i.e., hayah: היה, to be). It is this name that gives existence to creation, as it says, "in him all things hold together" (τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν; Col. 1:17) and by his power "all things are carried" (φέρων τε τὰ πάντα; Heb. 1:3).

In God we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) and "from him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). Some people think of "eternal life" as unending life or immortality of the soul, but eternal life (i.e., chayei olam: חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) transcends the idea of time and is centered in relation to the Living God, right now, wherever we are... Therefore Yeshua says to his followers, "Live in me and I will live in you" (John 15:4). We need not fear death, then, because we partake in the overcoming life of God given in Yeshua: there is no ultimate separation from his love. We have the “now” covenant with our Lord forever!

When we live in Messiah our true life is "concealed" and we pass over from the temporal world of shadows to the world of reality, from fear to comfort, from darkness to light. We “lose our life in order to find it” (Luke 17:33). The walk of faith surrenders all that this life may promise for the sake of finding true life in God.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Psalm 139:23-24 Hebrew audio:

Hebrew page:

9.16.24 • Facebook

from Today’s email by Israel365

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

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lindajenni · 8 months

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jan 24

are you shoeless

"and I have led you forty years in the wilderness. your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet." deut 29:5 God provides! sometimes naturally and sometimes in the supernatural. if there really is a need and we cling tight and claim His promises, He will work it out. He will get it done in your ministry just like He will get it done in you. there was a popular movie awhile back starring kevin costner entitle. "field of dreams." (i'm not pushing or suggesting that movie, just referring.) there was a character it it called "shoeless joe jackson." i have a question i want to ask you. are you shoeless? ephesians (towards the end of chapter six) teaches us about the whole armor of God. our foot covering is just one, but a necessary part of that armor. have your girded your waist with truth put on the breastplate of righteousnesshave your feet shod with the preparation of the gospelthe shield of faiththe helmet of salvationthe sword of the Spirit each element is a necessary part of our armor if we are to be victorious in this spiritual battle. can you visualize a roman soldier all trying to chase down the enemy in bare feet. can't you imagine the rocks and splinters and such that would slow him down? how about without his shield or his sword? our heavenly Father has provided us with all the gear we need for the battle. we just have to put it on. i could have picked out any of the gear but i thought it cute to relate it to a character in a movie. there have surely been difficult times for christians since christianity was birthed. there have been difficult times for the righteous and the unrighteous alike. so well you might ask what is the difference? the difference is the grace we face them with. i remember a story corrie ten boom told. she was on an airplane that encountered engine trouble and it looked like it was going to go down. fortunately it didn't, but as miss ten boom was reflecting on the matter, the enemy tried to convict her because she did not immediately stand up and preach salvation to everyone. as she was feeling inadequate, a person close by remarked that had seen such peace on her countenance during the incident and they wanted to know why. here was her opportunity to witness to the grace and peace she carried within. that's something deniers of God and believers in a false god can never have. i think of a stanza from a song. "blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. oh what a foretaste of glory divine." believers have that foretaste. "whom having not seen you love. though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." 1 pet 1:8 i do not know of any other religion that can give one that kind of peace.

we may not always have the obvious victory in this life. that's because our weapon is love and not carnal. you've heard of the phrase, "killing them with kindness?" we've added love to the mix; love and forgiveness. Jesus forgave His executioners from the cross as our example. we can win some mighty battles in the spirit realm, but flesh and blood await God's judgment. until then, "let the peace of God rule in your hearts." col 3:15 and for heaven's sake - get dressed. from the bill gaither hymn - because He lives, i can face tomorrow, because He lives, all fear is gone. "peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." john 14:27 maranatha - our Lord cometh!

#prayer #faith #rapture #jesus #jesus is coming

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 1 year

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Sep 14, 2023 Updated Sep 15, 2023

Bard College has officially announced it is purchasing the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) property in Barrytown, which has been on the market since at least 2018, for $14 million. College President Leon Botstein confirmed to faculty Wednesday, September 13, that the college is buying the 260-acre property, which was the American home of Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church beginning in 1975. On Thursday, Botstein spoke exclusively with the HV Pilot about the announcement.

...

According to Bard officials, the initial uses for the former seminary will include new studios for the Center for Human Rights and the Arts and administrative offices for the Open Society University Network (OSUN), of which Bard is a founding member. Other instructional facilities uses are anticipated as well.

...

The property includes the main seminary building, a number of outbuildings, and grounds laced with bucolic trails that UTS kept open to the public over the years. The original home here, called Massena, was built in 1796 by John Livingston. The iconic home, once visited by a young Theodore Roosevelt, was destroyed in a fire in 1885, and was rebuilt in a stark gothic style. In 1928, it was purchased by the Christian Brothers, who turned it into a seminary for Catholic youth education. The Unification Church bought it in the '70s and ran it as a theological university and venue for religious activities. The Unification Church’s founder, Sun Myung Moon, died in 2012 and the school became unaccredited in 2015. The property has been for sale since 2018. UTS has since moved its American headquarters to Manhattan and recently changed its name to HJ International.

UTS’s ownership of the property was not without its own controversies over the years. Botstein said the Unification Church was not the best neighbor.

“We were no friends of the ‘moonies,’” Botstein said, using a term for Unificationists that they consider pejorative. “Let's get that straight. Early on in the 80’s their presence was an irritant and a danger to us. That was when they were accused of kidnapping people, and this was a kind of detention center before it became a theological seminary. We had troubled relations with them because of their proselytizing activities. But as their popularity receded, it became more like a ghost town. As it disintegrated we looked at it again.”

Now the storied property enters a new chapter. With the acquisition of both Montgomery Place and UTS, Botstein has dramatically increased the footprint of Bard College during his long tenure, but he says he doesn’t see his legacy in brick and mortar or even the money the school has been able to raise, but rather in the ideas Bard had fostered during his time at the helm. The new facility, he said, provides more space for those ideas to germinate.

________________________________

“… New Haven Advocate, January 7, 1976, at 3, col. 2 (visitors to Unification Church training camp in Barrytown describe “security measures” that include guard houses, walkie-talkies, and shotguns); …” Cited in The Assassination of Representative Leo J. Ryan and the Jonestown, Guyana Tragedy: Report of a Staff Investigative Group to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives

LINK

________________________________

Mad About Moon

Assault at Barrytown: James J. Sheeran and the Unification Church drop charges against each other. (1975)

A visit to Ann at Barrytown (1975)

At Barrytown all members must continually strive to lose their identity and become one with Moon’s will (1976)

Ken Sudo and the secret Barrytown 120-day training manual and Unification Church fraud

Physically restrained against his will at Barrytown

The Unification Church in AD magazine – by Jane Day Mook

#unification church #UTS #sun myung moon #moonies

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booksandwords · 1 year

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The Only Plane in the Sky: The Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff

Read time: 6 Days Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Quote: "The real heroes are the passengers on Flight 93 we were willing to sacrifice themselves" "They made the decision we didn't have to make." — Lt. Heather "Lucky" Penney and Lt. Col. Marc Sassville

Warnings: There are many obvious triggers here. There is discussion of brutal deaths and particularly in relation to United Airlines 93 the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few.

I am automatically giving this book five stars because it is all about personal experience. While author Garrett M. Graff and his oral historian colleague Jenny Pachucki (involved heavily in the research) couldn't include all the stories they included more than enough and the small edits they made for linguistic consistency made this easily readable with a reader having to think too hard to make the connections. On a more personal level I have an interest in ethnography and social anthropology, this is exactly the kind of thing that interests me. This review is mostly going to be a series of dot points of things I found noteworthy.

I kind of feel that reading this book will be coloured by the reader and their experiences, which includes undoubtedly how old and where they were during 9/11. So for that context, I'm Australian and am part of what Graff calls the 9/11 generation. I was 13 at the time I distinctly remember my mother waking me up early, saying 'they'll be talking about this at school' and showing me what was on the tv. This was not long before the tower fell. All day at school we were watching this with the counsellor on standby. Another thing I remember from that day is the jumpers. I think they impacted me more than anything else. But in my life, the part of 9/11 that has fascinated me most is United 93. Their heroic actions are beyond me.

Something that shows well how isolated the 2 (and a half) scenes were. Those at the World Trade Center were unaware of the plane at the Pentagon. Those at the Pentagon were barely cognisent of the places hitting the World Trade Center. The only people aware of all the sites was Air Traffic Control, the media and the government. But they were only aware of them in bits and pieces. United Airlines 93 is what I referred to as the half scene. We all know they were aware of what was going on at least to a degree. Another thing that is shown in spades, as Gradd was hoping was the humanity and the equality of disaster. The Pentagon in particular proves a great equalisor with multistared Generals pitching in to help, or just being so broken in equal measure to the civillian workers.

On the formatting of The Only Plane in the Sky. The book is written broken up into 65 chapters with two 16-page sections of colour photos. The longest chapter is I think only 15 pages, with the exception of the epilogue, that is much longer. Each new chapter is started by an italics paragraph, Garrett M. Graff telling the readers the context for the chapter and the time you join thein the scheme of things, without these I may have got lost a couple of times. Each person is introduced by name, title, location and if required connection to the person in the towers/planes/pentagon. If someone is used more that once in a chapter only their name is given again but if it is in a different chapter it will be the in full again. Honestly, you need it, there are so many players involved and it really helps to know who is who, where they've come from and how likely they were to actually get out.

To my daughter, Eliza, and to all the children affected by 9/11. I hope this book helps you understand the world in which you live. — This is the dedication and I really like it. I wonder how old Eliza is.

I appreciate the maps provided. As an Australian, this level of micro-geography is not something I know. With the timing on the first map and the names of the companies located on the isolated floors, it can be a critical resource for those trying to follow along.

3 years, over 500 stories, 17 years of work by others. The amount of information Graff and Pachucki waded through in researching this astounds me as a librarian. So much of it was possibly barely organised or organised by boutique systems.

Frank Culbertson has a truly unique perspective on the events of 9/11 he was the only American off planet, on the Internation Space Station on the day. His perspective wasn't the first chronologically but it was definitely the most exclusive and a brilliant choice for the first entry in the book. He was able to clearly see the loss of the plane traffic to the point where there was only one visible contrail in the sky (Air Force One) and he could see the massive debris field from the towers falling.

The artists in residence, Monika Bravo and Vanessa Lawrence, and their final interpretations of the towers, both made the day before, are beautiful.

8:00 am is interesting for the sliding doors moments. The forgotten book. Ironing a shirt. Speaking to a friend. The forgotten ID. These are the people that survived. Also, Monica O'Leary by happenstance was fired from her job at Cantor Fitzgerald at 2:00 the previous day. It's on the 105th floor in the North Tower.

Something I didn't know... United Airlines 175 was at one point watching AA11 before being hijacked themselves. They, like air traffic control, heard Atta's message to stay in your seats. There are some voice recordings from both flights. The most painful is flight attendant Madeline "Amy" Sweeny, a flight attendant on American Airlines 11... "It is a rapid descent. Something is wrong. I don't think the captain is in control, I see water. I see buildings. We're flying low. We're flying very, very low. Oh my God. We're flying way too low."

"Everybody's heard plane engines, except very few people have heard the sound of plane engines when they're at full strength, full force, flying up in the sky. That is a horrifying sound. I still remember it very clearly—the sound of the engines flying at full force toward the World Trade Center." — Bruno Dellinger, principal Quint Amasis North America, North Tower, 47th floor

Christine Hanson was the youngest victim of September 11th at two and a half. She was a passenger on United Flight 175 with her parents Peter and Sue Kim.

"They came back on and said, "NORAD took control of all the airspace in the country. Proceed directly to Manhattan and set up Combat Air Patrol." I said, " OK, got that." It was a very surreal experience—flying over Central Park at 1,000 feet and 500 knots, trying to identify possible targets. That was just wrong. You should never be doing this over Manhattan." — Lt. Col. Tim Duffy, F-15 pilot, Otis Air Force Base, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Tim Duffy is one of the recurring pilots in the book. (also omg the multiple lines required for names when we get to the military)

It is so useful know where the planes hit. I didn't know the differences between their impacts. United Airlines 175 hit the sky lobby which was always going to be a big issue and the way in which it hit explains perfectly why it collapsed first. AA11 hit square on but higher up.

I adore Louise Buzzelli, amazing woman. Seven and a half months pregnant and feisty as hell. Wife of Pasquale Buzzelli an engineer on the 64th floor of the North Tower.

"That number doesn't include numerous fire companies, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics who continued to self-dispatch, and because the attacks took place around the time of the standard 9:00 a.m. shift change, many of the trucks were "riding heavy," that is, carrying firefighters from both the night and day tours" — If there is any even muted silver lining to 9/11 it is this. The timing. The "riding heavy".

The number of people with duel connections is great as in I'm glad they were included, not great they existed. Both a personal connection to someone on the flight or in one of the three buildings struck and a job that requires them to keep calm and carry on.

I never fully understood the full confusion around United Airlines 93. It was delayed in its departure, which might kinda explain some of the delays in the hijacking and their failure to hit their target. But also the heroism of the passengers, the reason they knew what was going on and knew they acted to save others. The Capitol has always been my guess for the target for those specific terrorists. It is also a widely suspected target by professionals.

Deena and Tom Burnett are amazing to me. She is so strong. Her strength might be one of the reasons he became one of the leaders of the retaking of United 93.

"As I hit Vesey between Church and Broadway, the first thing that struck me was the amount of women's shoes. I couldn't understand it. I realized women had run out of their shoes—the high heels and what have you. There were women's shoes all over." — James Luongo, inspector, NYPD. If someone had thought to photograph it this would likely have become one of the lasting images of the day. That idea of running for your life so much that comfort no longer matters because there would have been a lot of debris on the ground at the time.

All the freaking loyalty and comradery... it might be some of why whole engines were wiped out.

Herb and Todd Ouida (World Trade Centers Association, North Tower, 77th floor and Cantor Fitzgerald, North Tower, 105th floor respectively) broke my heart. A father and son pair. One survived and one did not. I struggled through their story.

Straight after Herb and Todd we meet Stanley Pramnath and Brian Clark (Fuji Bank, South Tower, 81st floor and executive vice president, EuroBrokers, South Tower, [83rd floor] respectively) they gave me smiles again. They are a reminder of the good in humanity, everyday people standing together and helping others at risk to themselves.

Rick Rescorla (vice president of security, Morgan Stanley, South Tower, 59-74 floors) is a legend. He evacuated his people early, going against the Port Authority's announcement, saving potentially hundreds of lives but losing his life in the process. Rick Rescorla was one of only 11 out of 2,700 people working at Morgan Stanley in the South Tower who died.

The story of Harry Ramos and Victor Wald (May Davis Group, North Tower, 87th floor and Avalon Partners, [North Tower, 84th floor] respectively) was one I wish we knew more of. But it did get me thinking about the placement of names on the memorial after the families of Ramos and Wald requested they be placed together. There is an article on it by Linda Tischler from 2011 for anyone else interested.

While the first official casualty is Father Mychal Judge one of the first firemen killed is Danny Suhr. He didn't get into the towers, he died in the forecourt after being struck by a jumper. I would suspect (though it is not specified) that he wasn't the only one to die in such a way. I have thoughts on the jumpers I go into later.

"A pop and then a sift—like taking a bag of sugar and pouring it into a container." — Joe Massian, technology consultant, Port Authority, North Tower, 70th floor. All the descriptions of the towers collapsing are varied but paint a pretty vivid soundscape of the moment.

While I have much more interest in the day-to-day people in this book, the people whose names will ultimately be lost to history, there are many people from the government providing input as well. It is just as interesting to see them. I have just got a greater interest in the everyday man.

"We would be ramming the aircraft. We didn't have weapons on board to shoot the airplane down. Both Sass and I had 105 bullets, lead-nosed. As we were putting on our flight gear in the life support shop, Sass looked at me and said, "I'll ram the cockpit." I made the decision I would take out the tail off the aircraft." — Lt. Heather "Lucky" Penney, F-16 pilot, D.C. Air National Guard. Essentially Lucky and Sass (Lt. Col. Marc Sassville, F-16 pilot, U.S. Air Force) were on a kamikaze run if necessary to take down United Airlines 93. This I never knew. Sass and Lucky are a whole other level of dedicated, I was stunned reading their story.

The Fourth Crash, the chapter that goes through the downing of United Airlines 93, is A LOT. If you have an interest in this flight I recommend United 93. It's heavy going but worth it.

The firemen took his body. Because they respected and loved him so much, they didn't want to leave it in the street. They quickly carried it into St. Peter's Church. They went up the center aisle, and they put the body in front of the alter. They covered it with a sheet. On the sheet, they placed his stole and his fire badge. — Friar Michael Duffy. This is in reference to Father Mychal Judge and the way he was treated after his death. He is for me impressive and unexpected. I was almost in tears by the end of it, there are two beautiful sections.

Wheelchair-bound John Abruzzo (staff accountant, Port Authority, North Tower, 69th floor) was lucky in a way. Without the bomb in 1993, he would have been dead. It took them six hours to evacuate in 1993 after that the Port Authority purchased evacuation chairs. With the evaluation chair and the help of 10 people he got out in an hour and a half. Getting out right before the North Tower collapsed.

Everyone has their own unsung heroes from 9/11. Security guards (Richard Wichen and Ralph Blasi), the civilian and uniformed personnel that work at the Pentagon (James Schwartz), the passengers of United Airlines (Heather Penny and Marc Sassville), the ship captains (Rick Schoenlank and James Parese).

"I recalled the Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld had been in the navy. He was like the captain going down with the ship—he was going to make sure everything was OK before he went back." — Aubrey Davis, officer, Protective Service Unit, Defence Protective Service, Pentagon. Donald Rumsfeld has the respect of all under his command for his unwillingness to leave the scene. But I really like this take keeping his naval background in mind.

"I was running and running and running. I came up to a fireman who was also running, a tall skinny guy. I looked over and I saw that it said "Chaplin" on the helmet. It was a Fire Department Chaplin John Delendick, from St. Michael's Church in Brooklyn. I was running with him, and I said to him, "Are you a priest?" He said, "Yeah." I said, "Are you a Catholic priest?" He said, "Yeah." "How about absolution?" & "This police officer came up next to me, and said, "Father can you hear my confession?" I told him, "This is an act of war, so I'm going to give everyone general absolution," which I did. General absolution in the Catholic Church is forgiving all at the same time." — James Luongo, inspector, NYPD and Monsignor John Delendick, chaplain, FDNY. I include this because I find it intriguing to see what is remembered by people. In a day when so much happened, when so much was seen both of these two remember this conversion. I'm unsurprised Luongo remembers it, though I am surprised about Monsignor Delendick.

Some of the strongest stories in this oral history are from women. Those women who were left at home wondering if their partner was alive or dead. Wondering if they got out, wondering if they stayed to help others and knowing that their loved ones ran into the towers. It feels like so many of these women were pregnant at the time.

We went over by Kennedy and turned a plane away that was over there. I was going to check out the North Tower and see how it was doing. I flew by. I was looking straight at it; I realized it was exploding right before my eyes. It was the sicked feeling I've ever had. — Lt. Col. Tim Duffy. This would possibly be the most distressing view of the tower falling. That feeling of helplessness and knowing that so many people will be dying in those buildings

One of the two long long-running story arcs (if you can call them that) is of Jean and Dan Porter (Bank of America, North Tower, 81st floor and firefighter, Ladder 10, FDNY respectively). Dan was as close to panicked/ frantic in his search for Jean as any spouse would be. The biggest difference is he was boots on the ground and was able to search. Equally, Jean knew Dan would be looking for her and on the ground but couldn't find him. One of the best-known pictures from 9/11, taken by Matt Moyer, is of Dan on a bench when he has resigned himself to Jean being dead. The slow reveal of their story is just lovely. Their finding each other again is damn near Hollywood.

The editorial comments added by Garrett M. Graff are important for context and potential understanding. Especially the numbers and United Airlines 93 confusion, as well as some important death and comments like the names on the memorial. As September 11 2001 gets further in the past that information will be key for contextual knowledge.

"For those at the tip of Lower Manhattan, the only viable evacuating route turned out to be the water. A makeshift. unorganized armada of more than 130 ferries, pleasure yachts, sightseeing vessels, Coast Guard and police vessels, fire boats, and tugboats gathered—many without being asked—at Battery Park and nearby piers. By the end of the day, they had collectively evacuated somewhere between 300,000 and 500,00 people from Manhattan—a maritime rescue larger than the World War II evacuation from Dunkirk." — Garrett M. Graff. I'm not sure I'd ever known about the armada or really given much thought about how the survivors got off Lower Manhattan. It is logical but this is so much more micro than anything I've read. It is yet another moment of people coming together though, just getting it done.

Lt. Terri Tobin (public information officer, NYPD) is just one example of someone getting something done that would be otherwise unthinkable outside a warzone (though this was a warzone sooo...). Terri had two large shards of glass pulled out of her back, on a rocking boat without anesthetic. Lady after my own heart though, she can still recognise a cute guy when she sees one.

I looked at the water and saw another ferryboat. In my book Jersey was currently a helluva lot safer than crossing any bridge in Brooklyn. We rounded up whoever wanted to go with us and muscled over to the boat. All we had to do was yell, "We've got students," and the adults parted like the Red Sea. — Heather Ordover, English teacher, HSLPS [High School for Leadership and Public Service] I really like the respect given to the kids. It feels like people looked at the kids and thought they don't need to see any more of this carnage. Also those poor parents, especially of the HSLPS students, HSLPS is located only a couple of blocks from the towers. The kids stayed in small groups even if they got separated but the amount of worry existing... on both sides. Total respect for all involved though.

I need to add just a shout-out to the unexpected power couple of the book Rep. Martin Frost ((D-Texas), chair, House Democratic Caucus) and his wife of the time Major General Kathryn Frost. Major General Frost died in 2006 of cancer, Rep. Martin Frost's 2nd wife Jo Ellen is just as impressive.

It was completely amazing, the feeling of support, of unity. I felt so proud that my community, the Hispanic community, were calling. Suddenly the phones were ringing and saying, "This is the country that we chose to come to. Nobody will destroy our country," They would say, "I'm not legal in the United State. Do you think they will accept me to do volunteer work?" — Ilena Mayorga, management specialist, Volunteer Arlington. It's quotes like this and moments like this that are fantastic as a reminder of what al-Qaeda attacks managed to do. Bring people to together against a common enemy, issue.

Among all the people flying around with the President on September 11th that we get to meet Ellen Eckert (stenographer, White House) is my favourite. Ellen feels the most like the everyman. There are moments when she shows her fear that I appreciate.

There is a chapter called The 9/11 Generation. These are stories from children aged 0-college, I didn't know how useful I would find this perspective, it is a fantastic inclusion. I fit in this generation, we are the ones that need the book the most in some ways. Some of us were alive and knew what we were seeing was monumental but not why. We're adults now, and some of us are still trying to understand the gravity of the way it changed us and the world. Even from across the ocean we became a generation shaped by this and gun violence.

I was a pretty shy and quiet child, but I had made my first friend on my own. After that day, my friend come over and said, "We can't be friends anymore, Hiba. My mom said until this is over, we can't be friends anymore. — Hiba Elaasar, Louisiana, age 7. I know there was so much fear involved around this, especially from adults. But this is downright racist and these poor kids who lost those friendships, and friendship opportunities because of the actions of a few.

I didn't really understand the severity of its couple of buildings a few states away had been hit by planes. I'm not sure I had ever heard the word "terrorism" before. Once I got home I turned on the TV to try and figure out what was going on. I remember scrolling through more than 100 channels, seeing the same images of the Twin Towers falling, over and over. I counted 31 TV channels all airing live coverage of 9/11. When I saw that MTV and VH1 were also airing it, that's when I realized how big a deal it was and started to get scared. It was suddenly not an adult problem, but something that I was supposed to be attention to too. — Kat Cosgrove, New Hampshire, age 13. Ms Cosgrove is the same age as me. The idea of this is not just an adult problem is something that I remember well. That fear with no one to turn to as well. Except it was early in the am here.

I called my friend Andy over in the freshman boys' dorm. He very sleepily answered. In the calmest voice possible, I told him to turn on the TV and call me back. As we watched, it happened again [a plane flew into the second tower]. Almost immediately my phone rang. It was Andy, calling to tell me he saw it, and that he was "signing up" I was stunned, at first not knowing what he meant. He kept talking, telling me that he had to call his mom, and that he'd stay and finish up his freshman year, but he was signing up because that's what you do. Andy did sign up. He joined the National Guard that year. — Daphne Leigh, Ripon College, Wisconsin. Okay, so this is a pain quote. Andy would not have been the only college-age student to sign up for the sake of his country forsaking his education. But in multiple reviews I have mentioned guys in my year level enlisting, 9/11 was the originating reason for them too. We had an Andrew I read this, thought of him and got terribly emotional.

"Give me all the bad news now you want. This is the worst day of my life.” — Bill Spade, firefighter, Rescue 5, FDNY. Bill Spade has one of the worst double blows among these oral histories. He was the only one of FDNY Rescue 5 to survive. His uncle, Joe Driscoll (listed as Patrick Joseph Driscoll) was a passenger on United Airlines 93. This was said to his wife after finding out all the people he saw only that morning were missing and his uncle was certainly dead.

For a week, we only had text on paper and each of us in the submarine hoped it wasn't real. Finally seeing the footage for the first time is a feeling none of us can forget. — Matt Dooley, crewman, USS Norfolk. I do appreciate the choice to include oral histories from Dooley and Capt. James "Sandy" Winnefeld Jr., commander, USS Enterprise. These are another group of people we don't think about. Soldiers that were isolated and couldn't really get news for days because of their orders. And the nodes that were on their way home to be turned around back into what was clearly going to be a conflict.

He's like, "Hurry up! Hurry! You've got to get to him. He's going to die if you don't get to him." I said, "Will, we got to do our job. We got to get you out, then we'll get him out." we're scratching away, scratching away, and then we hear Sergeant McLoughlin's voice, and he goes, "Hey, how are you guys doing?" I'm like, "Who's that?" Will's like, "That's my partner," like, You idiots. What do you think I've been talking about? So we're like "We thought he was your partner." He said. "No, that's Dominick. He's dead" I'm like, Oh, my God! Now we have another rescue that we have to do.</i> — Scott Strauss, officer, Emergency Service Unit, Truck 1, NYPD. The other ongoing arc we follow is William Jimeno, John McLoughlin (officer, Port Authority Police Department and Sargent, Port Authority Police Department respectively) and their partners they survive but only just. They were found late on Tuesday night by U.S. Marines, Jason Thomas and Dave Karnes. Honestly, their being found and coming out is a moment and a half. But it's made nearly comical by quote I included. I like Will he's feisty and young.

It was fascinating to see what happened when people went home, and what their pressure valve was. For some of them, they broke because of something else entirely. Emotional overload. Pasquale Buzzelli has possibly the most amusing last moment. Such an Italian thing.

I want to address the 9/11 jumpers. There is a short section on them here, they cannot be forgotten and to ignore them is to erase history. The way that section is introduced is "Amid the catastrophe at the World Trade Center, no sight left as powerful an impression on the rescuers, officials and evacuees as the developing tragedy of the victims—trapped without escape on the Towers' upper floors, caught amid rising, unbearable temperatures and deadly smoke—who fell or chose to jump.". The section is treated with absolute respect and no one mentions suicide. I have thoughts about the jumpers. I subscribe to The Order of the Good Death's death-positive theory of the incident. “The jumpers were choosing their least worst death, the best of two horrendous options and reclaiming their agency.” (From Death in the Afternoon podcast episode The Least Worst Death.) The final lines of the chapter from Sunny Mindel (communication director for the mayor of the City of New York, Rudy Giuliani) explains why so many images exist of these people and in some ways mirror my own thoughts. "I was so rivited to this moment of people making this decision to jump that my gut instinct was: This is an invasion of the most intimate moment ever. My hand started to go up to block the lenses. But then I thought, No, this has got to be recorded for history. I just stood there.".

#book review #garrett m. graff #9/11 attacks #the only plane in the sky #september 11 #oral history #the only plane in the sky: the oral history of 9/11 #non fiction #ktreviews #tw 9/11 #tw death #read 2022 #tw sui

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