#and is thus ALSO very attractive to his classmates

[starry-bi-sky]

More clone^2 snippets

Snippet 12: hands

Lancer: dear god, Mr. Fenton, what happened to your hands!?

Danny, had a run in with Damian’s katana and both of his hands have stitches: um… cooking… accident. I can’t use them that much currently

Lancer, pale: right, yes, of course. You may have one of your friends right you notes until they are properly healed

————

Snippet 13: more hands (and dash is a dick)

Dash: I bet Fenturd’s just faking his hand injury to get out of doing class work. Getting out of classwork is my thing! I’ll show him.

Danny, minding his own business:

Dash, yanks on his fingers harshly: Freak! Did you think you could copy me and het away with it?

Danny, his stitches torn from the way Dash grabbed him: you’re the last person I’d want to copy Dash, let go.

Dash: we all know you’re faking the hand injury, there’s no way you’d— you’d—

(Danny’s hands are bleeding, and starting to smear on Dash’s hands.)

Danny, (fake) calmly: you were saying, Dash?

Dash: I - uh—

Danny: thanks for opening them up, jerk.

—————

Snippet 14: Danny is Bruce’s Clone and Bruce Wayne has been hottest man alive for many consecutive years

The A-Lister Girls are at a sleepover

Star: Never have I ever had a crush on Danny Fenton

All girls (including Star): puts a finger down

A-List Girl: Paulina put your finger down

Paulina, begrudgingly putting a finger down: he shouldn’t count - he’s a loser!

A-List Girl: he’s still the cutest boy in our grade. Put your damn finger down.

—————

Snippet 15: unstoppable force vs immovable object

(In the Clone Danny Au, since Danny is not a ghost Valerie doesn’t see Phantom as the guy who ruined her life, but a very exhausted vigilante trying his best. They’re allies with conflicting ideologies on how to handle ghosts.)

Red Huntress: are you kidding me, Phantom? You dragged a kid in with you to fight ghosts? I thought you were better than that

Wraith, offended: *opening his mouth*

Phantom, tiredly putting a hand over Damian’s mouth: *in ASL + one hand* you don’t think I tried to stop him?

Red Huntress: he’s a child, Phantom, how hard could it be?

Phantom: looks down at Wraith

Wraith: looks up at Phantom with the eyes of a hundred enraged bulls

Phantom, kneeling down to Wraith and pulling his mask up to show his mouth: *whispering inaudibly*

Wraith: *takes off in the opposite direction*

Phantom, standing up to Red: *ASL* well? go get him

————

Snippet 16: identity

(Danny and Damian are sitting on a rooftop, in the middle of a break from patrol. Damian sits between Danny’s legs and Danny is slumped over Damian’s back.)

Damian, playing with Danny’s fingers:

Danny: who are you?

Damian: Damian.

Danny: who are you not?

Damian: Damian Wayne.

Danny: do you have to be?

Damian: no.

Danny: who do you have to be?

Damian: I just have to be me.

Danny: who are you?

Damian: I’m Damian.

Danny: good.

Damian:

Danny:

Damian: who are you?

Danny, smiling: Danny

—————

Snippet 17: long hair

(In the Clone Danny Au, Danny’s hair goes to his shoulders. I was in a GNC mood at the time the au was made and it passed on to Danny.)

Tucker: are you going to cut your hair, Danny? It’s getting long.

Danny, laying against the bed frame with Sam doing his hair: probably to get the dead ends cut off. I like it long.

Sam: I like it long too.

Tucker: you like it long because he lets you do whatever you want to it

Sam: it’s also a stand against the oppressive stereotype that men can’t have long hair and must always have it short in order to appear masculine! Danny’s showing individuality and sticking it to the patriarchy at the same time!

Danny: and because I let you do whatever you want to it.

Sam, making a punk hairdo for danny: yea that too

——————

Snippet 18: Danny is Bruce Wayne’s clone and Bruce——

Danny, getting stuff from his locker: my parents have a new ‘Fenton anti-ghost sticky bomb’ they’re working on and—

Student with a photography camera: Hey, Fenton!

Danny, looking over: what?

Student: *snaps a photo* thanks!

Student walks away

Danny:

Tucker:

Sam:

Danny: so… um…. Is that- is that another Wes? Should I be worried?

Sam: you should be angry! He just took your picture without your consent! That’s a violation of your bodily autonomy.

Danny: we can keep an eye on it, Sam, and if it becomes an issue then I’ll report it to a teacher.

Danny: and as I was saying, I can’t wait to have to make sure that that doesn’t hurt anyone.

Danny: i love having to stay up late sabotaging my parents’ inventions. Yay…

—————

Snippet 19: Danny is Bruce’s clone and—

Wes: ranting about how Phantom = Danny and how there’s proof and he has it and—

Random Student from his photography club: you wanna kiss him so bad it makes you look stupid.

Wes: I do nOT

Student: Its okay Wes, so does literally everyone else.

—————

Snippet 20: Lookalike

Danny: the only good thing about being Bruce Wayne’s clone is that my Brucie Wayne Impression is spot on

Damian: what??

Danny: my Brucie Wayne impression. It shouldn’t be as fun as it is doing it

[it-happened-one-fic]

Dancing With Visions - Your Shared Victory - Paso Doble - The Wanderer

Author Notes: This is the sixth fic for my "Dancing with Visions" series. I'm not gonna lie, this one ended up way longer than I initially intended. Describing the motions of a paso doble is really quite hard though. The performance in this fic was heavily inspired by the Paso Doble performed by Molly Rainford & Carlos Gu to the “Survivor” cover by 2WEI on series 20, week 12: semifinals of Strictly Come Dancing. Just like the rest of this series, reader is female. I hope you enjoy!

If you would like to read more of this series, the fics can be found here: Dancing with Visions Masterlist.

Type: Female Reader/ Dance/ Fluff/ pseudo-romantic/ academic foes to potential lovers/ sfw

Word Count: 2813

Honestly, you could understand why Sumeru’s archon had chosen to sign up your most annoying classmate, the same fellow who wouldn’t give his name and stubbornly kept going by ‘The Wanderer’ like some sort of emo boy idol, for dance classes.

You may not know why he was in Lesser-Lord Kusanali’s care, but you could respect her attempts to make him get along with his classmates.

You also respected her decision to sign him up for the Paso Doble as his first dance class. It was an aggressive dance, so it made sense for that to be his first try since, if nothing else, the ‘Wanderer’ was an aggressive guy.

All of that you could understand and respect. The only thing you didn’t like about this entire situation was that you were the unlucky sap who was going to be his partner.

Well, you said unlucky, and that was honestly how you felt about the whole situation. But you couldn’t say that all of your classmates agreed with you. After all, there were quite a few who bought his whole emo boy idol act and couldn’t stop whispering frenziedly over what an attractive young man he was.

They would have doubtlessly been utterly thrilled to have been informed that they would be his partner, but the same couldn’t be said for you.

Because the very second the teacher had called your name to his partner, you’d felt some small, bright part of you die as you looked towards the perpetually smug young man. 

What was worse was that there was no changing or swapping of partners. With dance being the newest part of the Akademiya’s curriculum in an attempt to right the past wrongs of outlawing dancing, these classes were uniquely strict.

So you’d walked by all of your fellow female classmates who squealed at the sight of the delicate-looking young man and eyed you with poorly disguised jealousy. And it really was a shame, because you would have loved to switch with one of them if such a thing were allowed.

After all, unlike them, you did not like the Wanderer. In fact, you rather disliked Vahuman’s current star student.

He was arrogant, abrasive, terminally smug, and generally unreasonable. Furthermore, he seemed to view you as some sort of rival, even though you weren’t even in his Darshan. But, at the very least, you could hope your shared distaste for one another would serve to help make this a decent performance and thus grant a good grade in this class. After all, the Paso Doble was supposed to be a dance that told the story of a bullfight. 

The lead dancer played the part of the matador, or bullfighter, while the follower, with a large flipping skirt, was the cape that is used to distract the bull and ended up discarded on the ground. 

It was inevitable that, at the end of this dance, it would appear like your partner came out as the winner. Which was no doubt why he was currently smirking at you with his slender arms crossed in front of him as he eyed you from underneath his ridiculously sized hat.

You wouldn’t make it easy for him, though, and at the very least, you’d do your very best to keep up with him throughout the dance. Because, unfortunately, he always moved with a certain grace that indicated he’d probably be very good at dancing on top of everything else he’d proved to be good at.

And so you danced with him. Practicing near relentlessly, as you’d both agree that neither of you were going to do this by halves. 

Apparently he had to pass this class to get the young archon to quit bugging him. You, on the other hand, simply wanted to learn how to dance out of curiosity, and this was the first class that had been open when you’d had time.

It seemed as if time had flown by with you two snipping incessantly with one another, even as you both discovered that you were a surprisingly good match for one another when it came to dancing. 

Despite all the odds, you matched him perfectly and all but forced him to push himself just as he made you push yourself.

 It was by no means the romantic dance one might dream of having with someone, even if his face perfectly fit the image of a male lead. Instead, it was like a dance of adversaries where you matched one another beat for beat and constantly forced the other one to reach new heights.

And before long, it had reached time for the performance, and you almost found yourself almost saddened that it had come so quickly. Not that you would ever tell him that.

It was nice, though. You had finally reached the point where your partner was no longer sneering at you and seemed to regard you as more of an equal. And it felt like an achievement that couldn’t have been reached any other way.

It wasn’t like you’d gained a uniquely deep understanding of the young man, but you had gained respect for him. Even if he were frustrating, he backed up his ego by actually being competent. If nothing else, you could rely on him to do his part, and he could rely on you to do your part.

But you ignored all of those thoughts as you rolled your shoulders and stepped out onto the darkened ballroom floor alongside him. 

Both of you slipped into your starting poses as he knelt in front of you, and you stood behind him. Both of you hung your heads just before a light cut on, briefly blinding you as you were spotlighted for the judges, who included the archon herself, to see.

A tiny part of you wanted to smile at the sight before you, though. After all, you doubted you’d be seeing much of your partner without his hat after this performance was done. It was a shame, though. His hair looked oddly soft.

Of course, you might not be seeing much of him period after this dance anyway. After all, you weren’t part of his Darshan, and there was nothing saying he was going to take any other dance classes after this one unless the archon made him.

You shifted, swallowing slightly as you heard his murmur that ruined the moment and washed any soft-hearted or saddened thoughts you had away as soon as he spoke, “Don’t mess up this time. This is our ‘exam’ after all.”

His smug tone almost made you scowl, but you forced yourself to concentrate as the music started and your spotlight began to flicker in a blinding fashion as you both snapped into motion.  Both of you looked up so suddenly that you all but startled the judges, whom you could barely see as you raised one hand and he straightened, his arms snapping down to his side to the loud pound of a drum.

But you couldn’t worry about them as you let the strings of the music guide you around the Wanderer as he reached out with one hand. His delicate fingers curling into the fabrics of your impressive skirt as he looked up at you. Both of you bracing for the next beat of the music to hit. 

And as soon as you heard it, you let yourself practically fall forward and into his waiting arms. Letting him catch you where he knelt on the ground as you relaxed. Forcing yourself to drape against him as you looked towards the ground, and he curled around where you lay on his lap.

You literally heard a gasp from one of the judges just before the Wanderer let you sit back up. Swirling into a standing position close to where you’d started this entire performance as he pivoted on his knees so he was facing you with his hands still on your hips as he looked up at you. 

The lights continued to flash as you raised your arms like you were a flamenco dancer as he leaned back, pulling you with him so that you were leaning forward and wholly relying on his slim but surprisingly strong arms to keep you up as you held your carefully posed position.

It was a relief when you were allowed to straighten once more, stepping back and away from the Wanderer as your eyes held his violet gaze that had hardly ever flickered away from your face since you’d shifted into a position where he could see you. 

You gripped the edges of your skirt as you continued to back up, giving him room as he reached out towards you with one arm and rose so that he was only kneeling on one knee. Somehow still commanding in his motions despite the fact he was kneeling on the ground.

But then the drums came in, and he slowly stood in a somehow insolent manner, immediately taking a stance like he was challenging you. And you could tell he was, just like he always did.

For some unknown reason, it was always a competition with this man. But that was fine. You could give as good as you got even as you entered a closed hold and let him lead you through your marching steps across the now brightly lit floor.

You forced yourself to ignore the bright-eyed archon who was leaning forward in her seat, the picture of an excited child, as you marched past her. Making yourself keep your focus on the young man, who was obviously treating this like a contest. 

You paused to each beat of the song, your gazes colliding each time with unspoken words flying between at a speed that matched the racing beat of your music. 

Vying challenge paired with a strange pride was in his gaze each time your eyes found his. And that, paired with the intensity of your dance, made it almost relieving each time you were able to look away from him. 

You didn’t want to think about where that pride was coming from when it no longer seemed to be directed towards only his own skills, but towards yours as well.

Because it made no sense for him to feel pride for you, even if you were his partner, when it felt like the two of you had been competing this entire time.

So instead, you just let him lead you along until you were released. 

He all but threw you away from him, sending you stumbling backwards as shot him a look over the vehemence of his shove but nonetheless froze and struck another pose. Entering some sort of preordained stance as you stared at him from across the ballroom area.

You weren’t about to let whatever playful, aggressive, or weird mood he was in throw you off. He’d told you not to mess up, and you weren’t about to give him an opening to gloat over you slipping up during the performance.

He marched over to where you’d stopped, almost as if he were approaching an opponent and only stopping in front of you with his arms spread, as if ready for an attack, only for you to rest one hand on his shoulder.

You held one another’s gaze, not even blinking, as you both slowly raised your arms once more and reentered a closed hold. Only then did you turn your head with an almost painful degree of slowness as you leaned back. Attempting to widen the space between the two of you only for him to pull you closer and then spin you across the floor in front of him. Pivoting with you and raising your arm as you snapped into yet another pose again.

Your eyes met his once more, and you swallowed slightly before glancing away and rotating with him once more. This time letting go of his hand after a full circuit and reaching past him, as if trying to grasp something beyond him, as you both entered another set of rotations that got progressively faster the longer they went on.

You reached the center of the floor, and he let go of you, letting you spin away as he held a pose, watching you the entire time you spun away from him until you came to a stop facing a different direction than him.

And then a beat hit, and you spun as he stepped to the side, only slightly closing the distance between you as you both faced the judges. And in that instant, you could tell all of the judges were wholly engrossed in your performance. Their eyes were wide as they leaned forward in their seats. Waiting for yours and the Wanderer’s next motions.

The next beat hit, and you spun, facing the Wanderer and mirroring his careful, marching steps perfectly. Your feet hitting the stage and the exact same instant as you held his proud gaze. 

He finished closing the space between you as you swished your skirts with every motion until you reached out. Flattening your hand on his chest and pushing him away from you with a special degree of venom before you started circling each other. Just like a bull in a ring, waiting to attack as it sized up its opponent. 

Unlike in a fight, though, the two of you gradually spiraled closer to one another until both of you reached out with one hand to grasp the other’s neck, with him pulling you still closer until your foreheads were just about to touch. And then you spun away again. Almost as if you were unwilling to allow him to even touch you. 

You didn’t get very far though before his hand was grasping yours and whipping you back around towards him so that you spun across the floor into his arms, where he caught you tightly with your back to his chest with your arms crossed over your chest, and hands locked into his like puzzle pieces that were finally fitting together after a long search.

And then, with an almost painful slowness, he lowered you into a forward dip as you twisted to look back at him. Still ensnared in his arms until he used the one hand of yours, tugging it up so that your arm stretched over your head, causing your arms to uncross in front of you, and send you whipping you around so that you plummeted towards the ground. 

You stopped mere inches from the floor with your hands still in his, your extended arms holding you attached to him as he looked staunchly upwards and at the judges, like he was challenging them now rather than looking at you.

But then he yanked you up, swinging you away from him so that you landed on your feet, hands fisted in your dress as you faced each other. Opponents once more as the lights flashed dramatically.

The strings slipped back into the music, sending you marching forwards. Chasing the Wanderer backwards and across the dance floor before he suddenly slowed. His hand reached out and grasped your shoulder, and he pushed his forehead against yours.

His eyes were practically aglow now, but with what you didn’t know. Perhaps the thrill of the dance or something else, but you persisted in your performance. Reaching out with your own hand, to grasp his arm as he spun you around so that you were beside him with one arm wrapped around his outstretched one as your other arm extended out so that you could grasp his shoulder.

You exchanged places, almost as if you were battling for dominance, before he clasped your extended arm with finality. 

His eyes met yours as you braced yourself just before he shifted to the side, swinging you forward as you let yourself drift in a controlled fall to the floor as he swung you.

The momentum of your motions sent you spiraling across the waxed floor until you stopped, fully collapsed, and draped over your lap with one arm outstretched on the floor in a spotlight of your own as he stood behind you. Posed like the victor of a bullfight that he was supposed to be as he looked towards you.

You could hear applause from those who came to watch as well as from the judges, and, through your peripheral vision, you could see the archon standing and applauding. Her eyes were bright and shining as ever as you exhaled slowly before sitting up and looking towards my partner.

Your gaze collided with his as he abandoned his pose and, to my surprise, reached out towards you.

His motions were still commanding, but you found yourself standing and walking over towards him. 

Your spotlights merged into one as you met in the middle of the dance floor, and the applause continued around you. Signaling your shared victory.

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[signiorbenedickofpadua]

"lecturing" for the wip game! xo @hardly-an-escape

Certainly, my dear ❤️ I believe I've described the premise once before, but I'll give you a little recap anyway as well as a snippet! Perhaps this will somehow help this poor fic get out of WIP hell... I know how I want it to end, but I just can't figure out whether to throw some smut in the middle or just...skip it, uncharacteristically enough... A wise reader may at this point ask, "Why don't you just write the ending first then and decide later if you feel like calling it done or if you want to add a sex scene?" Well. That's a good question. Hm. I'll have to think on that.

So, anyway, it's a human AU wherein Professor!Hob (well, lecturer, technically) holds a series of intro lectures on Literary History. A certain tall, dark mysterious stranger sits in the front row every week without fail, watching and listening very intently. Of course, Hob does his best to ignore how attractive this guy is, because god dammit he's trying to be a better person these days and hooking up with his students does not help with that. Except...is he actually a student...? *the soundtrack in the background turns mysterious*

You may find out if you read the snippet below and also PART TWO and PART THREE since several of you asked about this WIP! (List of titles in the og WIP game post here.)

PART ONE

Part of the problem was that the man always sat in the front row, thus giving Hob far too good of a view of his full body, which was just as unfairly gorgeous as his face. His proclivity for the skinniest of jeans did nothing to help Hob in he Sisyphean task of keeping his eyes away, nor did the fact that he kept looking right back.

Of course, Hob was lecturing, and so it was to be expected that his students would look at him when he talked, but he also expected them to look away at least some of the time. At their notebooks or laptops as they took notes, for example, which this bloke never ever seemed to do. Sure, it was not an advanced course by any definition, and he might have a good memory, or was one of those people who preferred not to distract themselves with taking notes during lectures, instead refreshing his memory by studying at home later. Or perhaps he didn’t care about getting more than a barely passing grade for a basic course like this—except he appeared to be paying rapt attention at all times. It was likely this intense focus which made it so hard for Hob to just ignore him. He had taught plenty of good-looking people throughout his career, and it had never been a problem until now. He was quite practised at turning off the part of the brain that noticed such things, and, even when he did notice, it normally didn’t fluster him like this. The man just had a…a weight to his gaze, somehow. His pale eyes were piercing, and Hob could practically feel them boring into him even when his back was turned. He also believed that he had caught them wandering over his body every so often—lingering on his arms when he rolled his sleeves up to combat the heat of a fully packed and poorly ventilated classroom, homing in on the sliver of tummy skin exposed as he had to stretch up to turn the projector on with a pointer when the damn remote control malfunctioned again, and fixating on the hint of chest hair visible that one time he had accidentally left one too many buttons undone on his shirt. He really, really wished that he had not noticed any of this, because the only thing worse than being attracted to a student was being attracted to a student who reciprocated. Fortunately, the man had done nothing to indicate that he intended to actually make a move on Hob, which was some small consolation. In fact, many tortuous weeks passed without him saying a single a word, never raising his hand to answer one of Hob’s questions or ask one of his own, never approaching him after lectures with queries about the curriculum or the final exam, never even talking to his classmates. All he did was sit there, in the same place every time (front row, third seat from the right), silently staring at Hob while nursing a cup of coffee from Bennie’s café two buildings over. Then, every week without fail, he quietly slipped out of the room exactly five minutes before the time was up and the lecture ended, presumably to rush to some other lecture on a tight schedule. Hob could only hope that he checked the information he put up online about suggested reading and the end-of-term examination, since he never stayed to hear Hob’s reminders at the end of the lectures.

[theriu]

River Reads Midnight Sun

Chapter 2: Open Book

In which Edward faces his fears and spends an agonizing amount of time hyperfixating on Bella.

<-Chapter 1

So we jump into chapter two AND next week, as it has been six days since Edward (shockingly) succeeded in leaving town forever (citation needed)! He is chilling (ha) in a snowbank, staring up at the stars, which are truly magnificent. Or he knows they would be, except he can't quite see anything except Bella's face. Yes, the girl has haunted him straight to (checks location on a map) oh he's in ALASKA, okay! I wasn't sure where Denali was, but I was PRETTY sure even Edward couldn't drive a car to Russia. (You'll see why I considered Russia in a minute.)

Anyway, the "unremarkable" face of this girl he's literally never spoken to directly has been haunting him for six days, which is indeed troubling. While he is brooding on this, the thoughts of a new character come leaping towards him. This is where we meet Tanya, a vampire with silver skin, blonde-but-almost-pink curly hair, amber eyes, and full lips. Mary Sue Tanya is stunning and exquisite, at least from Ed's memory, since he still can't see past the face permanently branded on his eyeballs.

So anyway, Mary Sue Tanya does a cannonball into Ed's snowbank, burying him alive with snow but not burying the image of Bella. It becomes clear that she has been crushing on Ed and is sad he will be leaving soon and doesn't return her affections, although he is very polite and gentlemanly about it.

(Honestly, I liked her well enough until we got to the "I'm not used to rejection" line, and then she starts sifting through the memories of all her human male conquests next to the actual mind reader who she is attracted to, to which I say WOMAN REALLY??? I don't think making the guy you like EVEN MORE UNCOMFORTABLE than he's already admitted you kinda make him is an effective way to gain his affections?!)

ANYWAY, thankfully they get off THAT subject quickly and have a really quite nice conversation, wherein Ed apologizes for getting her hopes up by coming to her home territory and Tanya tries to be a good friend. We see a mention of her "long-lost Russian accent," thus my uncertainty about location, and she tells him she knows he won't keep running from his mystery problem because he's the type who faces things head-on. Mary Sue TANYA then runs away across the snow, so light and fast she doesn't even leave footprints, suggesting a connection between vampires and wood elves.

Encouraged by this pep talk, Gary Stu Edward also gets up and runs footprintless across the snow, determined to be brave and go back and face those "bewildered chocolate-brown eyes," and hopefully not eat the girl attached to them.

SCENE CHANGE!

Edward's back in town, and his three vampire siblings/classmates are huddled around him as they head into the lunchroom, being quite adorably protective, honestly. Alice is trying to foresee any problematic eventualities, Jasper thinks it's funny that EDWARD is the one everyone's fretting over instead of him, Emmett is acting like a bodyguard, and Ed is just exasperated with all of them.

To his surprise, nobody at school is thinking about them, suggesting that Bella didn’t blab about his black murderstare from last chapter. After all, a normal human would have asked around about it, because humans and especially teens all like to feel NORMAL and FIT IN and be a "featureless flock of sheep" and WOW, should I be more annoyed at Ed or the author for this intense bias against high schoolers?! But of course Bella isn't like those OTHER kids, she doesn't do things like talk to people when something weird happens!

About this time, Bella walks in and Alice is all, "Act human!" To which Emmett responds by taking out the snowball he compressed into an ice chunk with his superstrength and chucking it at Alice, who casually deflects it across the room at superspeed, where it cracks a brick. This does, ironically, draw attention away from them. Everyone is annoyed at Emmett, which is fair, but also, ALICE COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST CAUGHT IT INSTEAD OF POTENTIALLY SHOOTING SOMEONE?

Ahem. So Bella's in the lunch line, and Mike Newton, Regular High School Guy And Insignificant Human Rival, is worried about her. Ed starts also worrying about if she might be sickly, what with her translucent skin. (Are we 100% sure BELLA is human?!) The vampires do a slightly better job of acting natural, and Edward decides to refer to Bella as “Bella” and not just "the girl,” "as if she were the only girl in the world," which is HILARIOUS considering where we all know this is going!

After eavesdropping on Bella and Jessica whispering about him looking at her (Bella thinks he's mad at her, after the whole murderstare incident), Bella hunkers under her hair and avoids eye contact, although Ed thinks she keeps twitching like she WANTS to look at him. Then, at long last, lunch ends and everyone starts going to class. There is another internal struggle while Ed reviews what all of his vampire family members have advised about this situation. (Emmett sounding the least helpful, as he has apparently encountered two such delicious-smelling-people incidents that... uh... sound like they did NOT go well?) But Ed is determined to prove to himself that he has the self-control to sit through biology without murdering Bella, so off he goes.

(By the way, Rosalie complains she doesn't want to have to move because they're almost finally out of high school. Again, why are you pretending to be high school students?! It's not like you'll age whether you're there or not?! HOW DOES THIS HELP YOUR COVER??)

Edward gets to Biology to find Bella at their table, doodling randomly. He decides to introduce himself. He gets briefly lost in gratuitously detailed descriptions of her eyeballs and how they are simultaneously like chocolate and strong tea, and how could anyone so frail be deserving of his unwarranted hatred last week? He's also holding his breath, but has enough air in his longs for a reasonably lengthy conversation AND a short laugh, during which Bella is... surprised/startled that he called her Bella? Because her dad introduced her to everyone as Isabella? But she's apparently told multiple people since she got here that she prefers Bella? So he probably could have learned that even without his super vampire eavesdropping powers? WHY is this weird enough to be suspicious, and HOW does it indicate she is intuitive?

Well, the book and Ed believe she is insightful and intuitive, so I guess we should just go with it. Ed does eventually needs to breath so he can talk, and even though just breathing through his mouth is like tasting the FIERY COALS of her deliciousness, and their brief moment of making skin contact is like an ELECTRIC SHOCK, he manages to continue acting normal.

By the way, along with being unconventionally if lopsidedly pretty and smelling delicious, Bella was also in advanced-placement biology at her previous school and Knows Science! Edward realizes this must mean she is ESPECIALLY intelligent for a human, which of course makes perfect sense. After all, she was the first student in two years to look him in the eye long enough to notice they'd changed from the Murderstare Incident's I'm-going-to-eat-you black to today's calmer I'm-probably-not-going-to-eat-you-except-by-accident amber/gold! My friends, may I remind you this man previously admitted he has two medical degrees, a thing that probably required some amount of physically attending college. I really wonder if Ed's standards would be more realistic if he ever once SOCIALIZED WITH HIS HUMAN CLASSMATES.

In an effort to maintain normalcy, they talk about the weather. Bella does not like the cold and wet of Forks. She clearly does not like being in Forks at all. She is vague and grumpy about why she came here, and Edward is so obsessed curious that he may implode (this is the actual word used). We learn (agonizingly slowly) that her mom remarried—and no, Edward, Bella DOES like the guy, he's nice and a minor-league baseball player; and no, Edward, her mom DIDN'T send her here, SHE sent HERSELF here so her mom could happily travel with her step-dad rather than unhappily stay home with her! Ed is certain by now that Bella "isn't like other humans" because he keeps guessing her story arcs wrong and she's just so CONFUSING and UNPREDICTABLE, and this can't possibly be because he's about 100 years out of practice having a normal conversation without a cheat code into the other person's brain.

(Okay, to be fair, there are at LEAST two moments of self-awareness where Ed wonders if he'd be this bad at reading everybody without his mindreading powers. We should give him points for that.)

But despite his difficulties, he DOES figure out that Bella is unhappy, mostly by her sending out signals that a rhino could decipher. When he confronts her with this observation, her response is, "So?" And after meditating on this for an unusually brief paragraph, Ed realizes THE ANSWER:

"She was selfless."

I'm sorry, guys, I need to break for a second, that's the first part that made me laugh out loud. Can someone lend me a combine to harvest all this corn.

(Side Note: As previously stated, I have not read the books or watched the movies, so I could be biased by the negative side of the fanbase. But my general impression of Bella has not lent itself to "selflessness." BUT, it is only chapter two and I am only going off of general hearsay! The amount of poorly concealed disgruntlement is not impressing me, though.)

Anyway, Ed guesses that she doesn't really like her situation but doesn't want people to KNOW she doesn't like it. He continues to marvel at how positively he feels towards this girl, how discerning she is, how *cough* selfless she is, not like an "average martyr" who would actually tell someone she's not 100% happy with her SACRIFICE. Bella gets annoyed, which Ed finds amusing, so there's another adjective for the list. But then she says she's annoyed because she's so easy to read, and Edward can't believe this, because he's never had to work so hard to read someone before! Again, this couldn't possibly be because she's the first person in 100+ years whose mind he can't read!

By the way, Bella also seems to be oblivious immune to the usual red flags normal humans feel around vampires! Ed tries smiling dangerously at her, but the teacher breaks up their conversation with actual classtime, so he gets to angst for a few paragraphs about why he shouldn't find this girl interesting and how dangerous this is for her and yet how MUCH he wants to know more about her. And also trying not to kill her when her thick, black hair flips in his direction and drives his vampire nose bananas.

He books it as soon as the bell rings, having survived the encounter without murdering anyone but with so many new questions about this unremarkable, shy, frail, unmindreadable-yet-highly-face-readable, delicious-smelling, selfless, quietly disgruntled human girl.

(Side Note: I have learned a new word!

"Attar—a fragrant essential oil, typically made from rose petals."

Ex: "Again, I gasped at the clean, wet air outside as though it was a healing attar."

*loud sighing noises*)

So after that brief break, he goes to class with Emmett. Emmett, IMMENSELY HELPFUL EMMETT, asks how it went, questions if it wouldn't be easier to just get it over with, reassures Ed that everyone would understand if he messed up (GIVING IN IS NOT THE SAME AS "MESSING UP," EMMETT), and then vividly visualizes a time he experienced a really good-smelling woman and ate her. Between his earlier blasé-ness about not "wallowing in guilt" over past mistakes and this section's lack of anything indicating regret about that incident, I take back any nice things I might have said about this guy. Emmett, YOU. ARE. THE WORST.

It's so bad that Ed has to bolt out of class AGAIN, although it doesn't help that Emmett follows him and continues to suggest maybe Ed should just get it over with if it's so bad, can Alice or somebody please come punch him. Ed finally gets him to leave and hides in his car. Then, "like an addict" (his own words), he searches the whole school for thoughts about Bella. From his car. My GUY, just how UNREASONABLY powerful ARE your mind radar skills???

He finally locates Bella in gym class, because Mike, who is mad about Ed talking to her, is thinking in logical, complete sentences (as one does) about how satisfied he is that Bella doesn't seem interested in Edward. He also conveniently remembers her asking "what was with" Edward last Monday (after the Deathstare Incident). So apparently Bella isn't QUITE abnormal unique enough to stay totally silent when she encounters a weird thing (not that Edward notices). Ed's response to his annoyance over Mike's satisfaction is to blast "violent music," which seems the opposite of helpful to me.

We end the chapter with Bella coming out of school and heading to her rusty old truck while Ed watches her creepily from his car. She almost hits another student's car when she locks eyes with him, and Ed has to laugh at her sudden increased driving vigilance, as if she might be DANGEROUS! Because of course it's RIDICULOUS to think that BELLA could be dangerous to ANYONE in ANY vehicle, as if the driver's physical frailty has any bearing on the damage a truck can do when crashing into cars or non-vampires at speed.

AND SCENE!

I'm gonna be honest, guys, that one was a couple degrees more agonizing than the first chapter. I dread how much more I'm going to hear about Ed's conflicting desires to eat Bella and be attracted to her simultaneously average yet fascinating allure. She's just so unusually unique and smart and intuitive and selfless and shy and frail and inspires protective instincts, you see, and she's not like ANY OTHER human he's ever encountered, even though we have evidence now that sometimes certain vampires just find certain humans irresistibly delicious, and we can probably extrapolate that those humans were somehow immune to vampire powers, too.

I also highly question Bella's above-average "martyrdom," considering she dropped her guard pretty fast around the cute stranger and basically broadcasted how unhappy she is with her decision, which makes it feel a bit like she did what she did so she could feel good about herself rather than because it was the best thing to do? Being selfless doesn't mean COMPLETELY ignoring your own needs, or justify using your good deed as an excuse to have a poor attitude. Of course, considering that half her traits that Ed notices and marvels over are actually fairly normal, I don't think any of us feel a strong need to trust his assessments of her character.

Next up is CHAPTER THREE: RISK. I'm sure it will feature Edward being very level-headed and undramatic. I think I need to build my endurance back up for this one. (And thanks for the likes and comments so far, they really help keep me motivated! =D)

Chapter 3->

[sevicia]

Writer Guy's only "friend" who sucks majorly. Notes under da cut. Heart.

Firstly ☝️ he's heavily inspired by the experience of having someone follow you around even after you have told them very explicitly to stop doing so. Writer Guy will look him dead in the eye and say "I don't care about anything you have to say. Leave me alone, you annoy the shit outta me", and he'll just go "Bro you're always so funny LOL I'm probably the only one that gets ur sense of humor. Anyways, about my new podcast idea..."

This guy's deal is that he's obsessed with others' perception of him. He's an aspiring influencer and can't decide between being a youtuber, a streamer, or having a podcast. He's into crypto and defends NFTs like it's his job.

He met Writer Guy in college and has stuck to him like a leech ever since, even though they only had a few classes together. His reasoning was that Writer Guy seemed like the lone-wolf type and thus would attract attention with his ~mysterious~ charm, when in reality he was so boring that no one really paid him any mind. If you ask any of their ex-classmates, you'll find that no one really remembers either of them.

He spends a lot of time in r/shortguys and gets frustrated that he can't relate to the whole "women only ever pay attention to tall guys and we manlets are all martyrs" thing cause he's never even tried to get with a girl (he will lie about this). He's gay as hell but in almost complete denial. Genuinely believes stuff like "it's not gay with the socks on".

Unserious images that remind me of him:

I also gotta mention that his role in Mary and Writer Guy's story is very, very minimal, and that he never actually meets Mary. His story is a typical yaoi one where he falls in love with some guy and has one of those cliché "I'm not gay... why do I feel like this towards another man ?!?!!" moments. I chose to do it this way cuz I think it's funny as fuck to have him experience a romcom type thing while Writer Guy is basically Spongebob in the Silent Hill corridor.

I admit I'm not 100% sold on his hair, but it's brown for sure. Why? It just makes sense.

Some design notes including the other two:

Writer Guy is generally apathetic and would be considered boring at a surface level by 99,9% of the population. He teaches philosophy (ethics, specifically) at the college Mary attends, though they weren't aware of each other before The Events. His lectures are notoriously boring and many of his students sleep thru class or just skip them completely, but he passes them all anyways.

He's a writer in his spare time and writes trashy extreme horror on his (anonymous) blog, which is how Mary becomes aware of him. Stuff happens, his superiors (who are at best ambivalent towards him) find out about his hobby, he gets fired and doesn't care enough to defend himself or to raise any concerns about the school's attitude towards its teachers' private lives.

I also forgot to include his "On" design in the above pic, so here, a comparison:

I'm very obviously still figuring out how to draw him, but the drawing on the right is what he looks like at work. Just plain dorky and someone you would not look twice at.

I would also talk about his relationship with Mary, but for that I'd need to talk about Mary first, which I can't do rn cuz this post is already long enough and it's nearing 3 AM and she makes me absolutely BONKERS insane to the point I barely even know where to start when I wanna talk about her.

She's the only OC I have ever made a playlist for. I wish she was someone else's character so I could look at her without having to do the work myself.

A little fun fact about her is she used to dye her hair black before The Events. All I got for you rn.

OK that's all from me. For neoww...... Muah!

[noperopesaredope]

My Dumb New BNHA OC (Part 2)

(Read part 1 before reading this. This post will make no god damn sense otherwise)

I took one of my favorite fan OCs and paired him together with one of my least favorite characters in BNHA.

Usually, people ship their OCs with a character they like, or a side character who they don’t hate. Usually, people’s OCs hate Mineta. But Kaito, my nicest, most lovely OC, decided to get with Mineta of all people.

I mainly did it as a funny joke. At some point in time, I discovered the “Mineta Redemption” tag on AO3 and thought it was interesting. I read some of the fics, and they were pretty good. A few years before that, I accidentally read a fic with “Homophobic Mineta”, and despite loathing him at the time, I felt annoyed with it. It felt weirdly OOC. 

In my brain, Mineta wouldn’t be straight up homophobic. At most, he’d be mildly confused and uncomfortable at most. He might also be a little creepy around lesbians. But he didn’t seem like the type to call someone a slur or use hate speech. He would just be kinda ignorant. In fact, rewatching clips of him, I think he might be pretty supportive if one of his guy friends came out to him. He does have positive moments in canon, it’s just overshadowed by creepiness.

Then I found the “Bi Mineta” tag, and that changed the fucking game. Imagine Mineta straight up not knowing what gay people are, and then he learns and slowly realizes that he might like guys. He’s just in denial. Or even Mineta having extreme internalized homophobia. It sounded great.

Originally, some drafts of Kaito were going to have him be extremely charismatic and able to attract all sorts of people. He’s kinda like Alejandro from TD but with a different personality. At some point, I randomly thought to myself: “wouldn’t it be funny if Mineta of all people ended up crushing on Kaito and was confused as hell about it?” Then I thought, “oh god, wouldn’t it be even more hilarious if this sweet, low key perfect guy who could get with anyone he wanted ended up crushing on MINETA of all people?”

And thus, a ship was born. Kaito has changed and evolved overtime, but for the most part, he has remained Mineta’s love interest. It was supposed to be a joke, an ironic ship for shits and giggles. But once you start shipping something “ironically,” eventually you’re gonna end up shipping it unironically.

They first meet at an empty bus stop, where Mineta is waiting for the bus (for some reason). Kaito runs up to the bus stop and ends up standing next to him. Kaito mistakes Mineta for a kid and asks where Mineta’s parents are. Mineta tells him that he’s 16, and Kaito immediately becomes apologetic and rambles awkwardly for a minute before shutting up. Then, he kinda recognizes Mineta (though not fully) and asks if he goes to UA. Turns out, Kaito also goes to UA, but just the Support Course (you know, with Mai). He also just so happens to be the twin brother of one of Mineta’s classmates, Mika (another OC of mine who is important to this story). They talk for a few minutes and introduce themselves.

Then, Mineta notices a pin on Kaito's bag. It’s a pin for a (very obscure) harem anime that nobody else has ever heard of. But both Mineta and Kaito just so happen to love it. They start excitedly talking about it with each other, and end up exchanging numbers. They begin texting each other, growing closer and closer. Mineta thinks Kaito is the coolest guy in the world, and takes his opinion very seriously. At some point, Kaito invites Mineta over to his house to watch a movie/show with him. They end up having a great time, and it’s very friendship goals.

They hang out more and more frequently, since neither of them have many friends, and they like spending time together. Kaito starts to give Mineta a new perspective on the world and people, and Mineta slowly realizes that maybe he has a skewed view of not just girls, but relationships in general. He didn’t have the best view of himself, and that was affecting how he interacted with other people. I’ve always headcanoned Mineta as having dwarfism (which is why I low key hate it when people make him taller/have a growth spurt), and while he is far from perfect representation, I do think that it can give him a lot of extra depth and even explains elements of his behavior. Him being disabled could be interesting if explored correctly. 

As you may know from the previous post, Kaito also has a physical disability, but he doesn’t mind it all that much. Yes, it can be difficult, but he embraces his disability completely. Mineta is very insecure about his disability and how others perceive/treat him because of it. He has a lot of insecurities that shape his behaviors, and may have underlying concerns about whether or not he is lovable. 

And then here comes Kaito, a guy who embraces his own disability to the fullest. Even when facing discrimination, he doesn’t let it affect how he views himself or his disability. He is proud of himself, and he ends up introducing Mineta to a new perspective on disabilities. Kaito may even invite him into an online group chat of others with disabilities or a support group. Kaito inspires Mineta to accept himself as a person, and this causes growth.

But romantic relationships aren’t one sided. Kaito likes a lot of things about Mineta as well. Kaito admires the fact that Mineta wants to be a hero, and while obviously Mineta is a bit of a coward, he is really good at being a hero (found this video, and wow I forgot how much skill he actually has). He can also be pretty brave when it matters. Even though his reasons for becoming a hero weren't the best, Kaito still admires him for it.

Mineta doesn’t exactly have confidence in terms of liking himself, but he still throws himself out there and does things with very little shame. Maybe not enough shame. But the point still stands. He puts himself out there and tries. Kaito isn't always the type to try. He doesn't put himself out there in the same way. So seeing Mineta constantly speak his mind is admirable to Kaito.

Kaito also thinks that Mineta is just a generally funny and interesting person. When he’s not being a little piece of shit, Mineta actually has a surprisingly good sense of humor. He’s mainly good at making slightly snarky/sarcastic comments that can catch you off guard, but still make you laugh. That’s why Kaito loves watching certain kinds of shows with Mineta. You know, the ones you can watch with friends and make comments about while you’re watching it. They also like to rewatch their favorite shows together and actually talk about it while watching, pointing out certain details and what they find interesting. Kaito actually thinks that a lot of Mineta’s points can be pretty good, especially in regards to stylization and character design.

While it’s not exactly canon, I have seen multiple people headcanon Mineta as being good at drawing, and I like that headcanon a lot. Perhaps he’s particularly good at drawing the human figure (not for the best of reasons, but the point still stands), and is very particular about proportions and stuff. He’s very into anime, and thus his artstyle is very anime-esque, but he actually excels in realism. So Kaito frequently compliments Mineta on his drawing skills. Plus some of his other skills, like how he uses his quirk in really creative and versatile ways.

Mineta’s less favorable traits have not gone over Kaito’s head. He only bore witness to Mineta’s more creepy side after having known him for a decent amount of time, but he was already aware of Mineta’s insecurities and personal issues by that point. So Kaito was aware of why Mineta acted the way he did, and he wasn’t completely unaware of how horny his friend could get. Most people would have dropped Mineta after seeing how creepy he can be, but one of Kaito’s minor/major flaws is thinking “I can fix them” whenever he has a slightly shitty person in his life. Somehow, he actually succeeded in this with Mineta.

Overtime, Mineta starts to hit on the girls less and is generally less creepy. Eventually, he stops hitting on people altogether. He also starts smiling more often, like he’s legitimately more happy in general. He engages with people, and he’s still kinda socially awkward and tries a little too hard, but he’s better at it. It’s almost like he’s more “present,” talking not for the sake of social attention, but because he legitimately has something to add. It takes a little while for people to notice, but they do.

At a certain point, Mineta starts catching feelings for Kaito, but it takes a while for him to realize it.

Mineta’s crush on Kaito is actually kinda funny because despite feeling sexual attraction towards girls almost 24/7, Mineta hasn’t had very many (romantic) crushes. Even in canon, he doesn’t seem to actually have a specific crush on anyone, just generalized, desperate lust. So when he starts having a legit crush on a person, he acts very differently. It’s so fucking obvious, too. When he’s sexually attracted to someone, he acts the way he does in the show, and is much more upfront. But when he has a normal crush, Mineta is much more shy about it. He acts the way he usually does around Kaito, but when Kaito compliments him, Mineta’s suddenly blushing and turning into mush. When he talks about Kaito, it’s in such an adoring way, like “he’s so smart and cool and interesting and amazing and-”

And Kaito's not much different. As mentioned earlier, he frequently compliments Mineta, and things he is just amazing, even if he isn't perfect. They are still normal friends, and when they hang out, the tension isn't too high. They just enjoy each other's company. But there will still be the occasional moments where the

It's honestly really obvious that they like each other. While I might not do this, as I have funnier plans in mind, it would be funny if Mineta invited Kaito over to the dorms one day to watch a movie together and Kaito met the rest of Class 1A. Everyone sees how Mineta acts towards him (and hears him talk about him), and they immediately pick up on the fact that Mineta probably has a crush. They can even tell that Kaito feels the same way (again, this subplot might not happen, but it would be hilarious). But the pair are both fucking oblivious, and it’s almost infuriating. Like, just fucking kiss already.

And eventually, they do. It’s such a fun scene. While I was working on the two of them, I finally listened to “Loser Baby” from Hazbin Hotel, and it was like a lightning strike of inspiration. Not only did it help me flesh out their relationship and them as characters, but it made one of my best confession scenes. Basically, the two are watching a (completely original to the BNHA Universe) show that Kaito has seen before, but Mineta hasn’t. In the show, one of the characters ends up having a whole monologue that Mineta relates a little too hard to, and he starts crying.

Kaito asks him what’s wrong, and Mineta basically starts talking to him about how he feels like nobody really likes him all that much because he’s kind of a shitty person. Yes, his classmates no longer hate him, but few of them actually like him. He generally just has a lot of personal issues regarding self worth and stuff. Kaito admits that he struggles with that kinda stuff too sometimes, and they both go quiet for a moment, before Kaito has an idea. He presses play again on the remote, knowing what happens after the monologue in the show. It’s “Loser Baby” (though the context is a bit different). Kaito sings along to Husk’s part, directly to Mineta, and it’s kinda silly at first, specifically during the first chorus. But then, like in Hazbin Hotel, it actually gets really cute. 

There is one small difference in the song during this scene. At some point, before the part where Angel and Husk are under the umbrella together (timestamp 2:20 in the original), there is a small musical break. During this part, this little exchange happens:

Kaito: *Grabs Mineta’s hands in his* “Hey, what you said about nobody liking you? That’s not true.”

Mineta: *Not looking at him* “How do you know that?”

Kaito: “Because…I like you.”

Mineta: “Yeah, but nobody likes me, like, romantically.”

Kaito: “.......I do.”

Mineta: *Freezes in shock, then slowly looks up at Kaito* “Really?”

Kaito: *Blushing like crazy* “Yeah.”

Mineta: *Also blushing* “Me too.”

Kaito: “Really?”

Mineta: “Yeah.”

They look back to the TV again when they hear the final start of the song begin. The part with the umbrella. And the two sing along to the song together (there are subtitles). Then, as soon as the song ends, Mineta and Kaito do a deep kiss.

This isn’t where the story ends. This is more the end of part 1 of their romance. Once they start dating, things are both the same and completely different. And it’s a lot crazier. But I’ll talk about that in either another part, or create a fanfic like a normal person.

Stay tuned if you want to hear more about this chaos. I’m way too proud of it.

[thekoopalingsandstuffs]

☆RANDOM HEAD-CANONS I CAME UP WITH RECENTLY☆

Jr has a light British-sounding accent. His great grandpa was from a kingdom that no longer exists, and took over the Darklands after his place was destroyed. Kamek, Bowser, and Jr are the only living people to have such an accent. It's gotten weaker with each generation, so Kamek's is super strong while Jr's is barely detectable

All of the Koopalings' tails wag for specific reasons (Happiness, anger, fear, horniness, pain, distraction, during sleep, etc.) But nobody knows exactly what Jr's tail wags for. It seems to just wag whenever

Despite being a mini bad-ass who doesn't seem to have any fears, Lemmy is terrified of little kids. (AKA his own fellow classmates) Outside of Jr and Motley, Lemmy has no friends his own age

Lemmy usually wears girl shells because they have lots of pockets on the inside. What does he store in those pockets, you ask?... Knives.

Larry is red-green colorblind. He often forgets this, but will still get into arguments with people over what color something is. Also, he first started hating Ludwig when everyone was picking out what wands they wanted. Larry wanted blue (Because it's one of the only colors he can see) But Ludwig took it. Larry is still bitter to this day.

Larry has a high pain intolerance due to getting beat and thrown out windows by his siblings and followers for so long

Morton was adopted and raised with the rest of the Koopalings. He got adopted at a young age and has almost no memories of his original family. But he still occasionally fantasizes about meeting them someday

Morton has a very strong case of people-pleasing. He will accept any task anyone asks of him, no matter how impossible it seems, and has been known to work hours on end, putting his own needs aside to get stuff done, even if it absolutely is not necessary. He will become very upset, breaking down and frantically apologizing, if he fails at something. Even when he's sick or has a serious injury, he'll get up and finish his work

Wendy has extreme resting bitch face. If she were to look shocked or surprised, you'd see that her eyes are perfect circles, just like Morton's and Ludwig's. (Roy's are the same way, but they'll probably never be shown)

Nobody knows how the Koopalings' dad died. Except for Wendy. She was with him when he began to have a stroke. Instead of getting help, Wendy ran away and hid because the sight scared her younger self. She thinks that his death is entirely her fault, and it's a secret that she will take to her grave

The rings around Iggy's pupils are a super rare genetic trait, inherited from his father. Iggy actually has a lot of the same features and mannerisms that his dad had, thus why he was his favorite child. After the Koopalings' father died, Iggy kept and learned to play his accordion. Him and Ludwig occasionally like to play duets (Both playing instruments and singing) of the old songs their parents used to sing together. The most common to do is Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again

Iggy loves sugar, but absolutely hates chocolate and anything resembling it. He also refuses to eat any bird meat (Chicken, turkey, duck, etc.) Due to a "Very traumatic case of food poisoning" he got from some as a kid

Ludwig finds accents VERY attractive. If there's a character in a movie with an accent of any kind, they are immediately his favorite character. He also loves it when Peasley flirts with him in French. It doesn't matter that Ludwig has no clue what's being said--He LOVES it!!

Luddy has a very large closet. Among clothes, multiple sets of bedding, and towels, he has held onto every single gift that anyone has ever given him all throughout the blog and kept it in there

Under Roy's bed, there's a secret stash of energy drinks. Every single brand you've ever heard of is under there. Nobody knows about this stash. Not even Iggy. It's Roy's biggest secret

Unlike Wendy, Roy could have hair if he wanted to. But he thinks it's too much work to upkeep and maintain, so he just shaves it all instead. If he did grow his hair out, it would be hot pink. (The Koopalings' parents had yellow, pink, and blue hair, so all of the kids have one of those or some combination of it. Only about 50% of female koopas are capable of growing hair due to genetic reasons, though, so Wendy is permanently bald)

Peasley is half bean and half human. His only human characteristic is having five fingers on both hands (Humans are one of the ONLY species in this universe to not have four fingers). He hides this with his gloves. Ludwig and Motley both know. (They don't care)

Also, due to the bean species having plant origins, Peasley is VERY sensitive to touch. Any scars/bruises he gets last quite a while, temperatures bother him a lot, and... I would not recommend tickling him too much

Motley's dad abandoned the family to join a circus before she was even born. The only time she interacts with him is once a year, on her birthday, when her father sends her a card with a present, usually something circus-related, attached. Her previous gifts include a whip, unicycle, stilts, toy canon, and pins for juggling. The gift from her dad is what Motley looks forward to most every year

Motley and her mom are Jewish. They don't actually do much religious stuff, but they do celebrate Hanukkah! And don't eat pork

Topper does not have naturally purple hair. Rango replaced his shampoo with dye one time, but Topper actually liked it, so he keeps re-dying it

Topper plays a keytar in his spare time and is a big fan of 80's rock songs. He also sorta likes classical. But only a teeny bit. Although he prefers the keytar, Topper can also play wonderfully on a regular piano

Hariet has menstrual issues... She most likely won't be able to have children when she's older. Currently, she gets horrible cramps, cycles that last nearly nine days, and horribly heavy flows. Not to mention, she got her first period only a few days after her 7th birthday

Hariet has never lost a single competition she's entered. Of all her awards and trophies and whatnot, she only has one shameful 2nd place prize. She does not like to speak of that event.

Rango, despite being super skinny, is VERY heavy. Him and Spewart are only a few pounds apart in weight. He is very difficult to pick up, push, or move in general. This is mostly due to the fact that he eats a lot. Especially when high

Rango has the least general health problems among his siblings (All he has is a missing arm and ADD) But he does have the weakest immune system and gets sick all the time

Spewart is afraid of practically everything, (You name it--Darkness, needles, clowns, dolls, heights, spiders, etc.) But he is ESPECIALLY afraid of fires. He is the only Broodal who remembers witnessing their parents' death (House fire) and has extreme PTSD from it. Even controlled flames like candles and fireplaces put him on edge

Spewart has been in psyche wards a few times throughout his life. He doesn't like talking about it, though. The first time, he was sent to one involuntarily by foster parents during a very bad "breakdown." Every trip after that has been voluntary (Meaning he decided to send himself and wasn't forced to go). He once stayed in a ward for over a month and a half

[vinetwine]

do you think its realistically possible to fit anyones ideal type? like not idols but personally I dont think i have ever been anyones type and im not tnat fussed anymore if i dont date i dont date but i do wonder what it would be like from time to time then i think nahhh thats ridiculous never going to happen. so for idols it must be a tad harder for them to find exactly what they want in a person for a partner?

i mean their popularity will help for sure but in terms of actually dating them, having to sign NDA's and try to keep it private must be tough really, its 2024 and idols still cant freely date without backlash or hate of some kind and i have read that bts fs will get more hate than other groups welp. thats why in a lot of ways im glad its not me

in terms of looks or fashion style i think its hard to actuslly find what you like and stick to it without getting bored as well? for instance hongjoong is very very specific on his alternative look and seonghwa seems to like rich classic looks again would be hard to keep up with on a daily basis. idk again aesthetics arent my thing anymore or never something i found appealling. i get every other personn has a particular style but i wouldnt spend so long trying to look good 24/7

i mean for college i once wore the same black trousers all year and my classmate would spend an hour just to get ready, her bag would match her outfit snd her nails would match her hair or makeup and so on. isnt it really too much effort at some point to keep up with it?

i tried makeup but it just makes my skin feel and look more gross. idk i think theres still much pressure to have the right face and body in todays society thus making it harder to actually fit anyones ideal type. i mean even if we say we dont care for latest trends deep down we still do bc its ingrained in society yaknow? its so normalised to want to be pretty rather than to have good personality. sadly most idols are glamorised or sexualised for their body anyway rather than anything else so idk i have mixed feelings on these subjects but its still interesting to discuss esp with idols having such a public image. i mean idols can look good in almost anything if i were their fs id feel insecure honestly bc they are very attractive and talented people.

what do you think? sorry for my rambling and love your blog btw <3

🍷 ...

realistically i think it is possible but only to some degree. for instance one's personality.

i myself have been in a circumstance where someone's personality sounded exactly like my ideal type and my personality sounded like theirs [not a celebrity].

physically might be a bit harder. a specific face is very hard to replicate. i feel for the most part it would be one or the other. but i also feel it can still happen if you are not picky and do not expect a carbon copy.

yes i agree there is a lot of pressure. but for idols it is their job and part of their image. and for others they may simply enjoy it. i know some people that find it to be a hobby. if it is not your thing there is nothing wrong with that. i myself am similar. i very rarely dress up because i am a homebody.

i would keep in mind my readings are never to be taken too seriously [not targeted just a general comment]. but thank you for sharing your thoughts nonetheless. i like a discussion as long as it remains civil.

[theink-stainedfolk]

Sunshine For Two

Nikaidou Fumiya, a boy shrouded in an aura of desolation. With a downward gaze,he remained a silent observer, a loner drifting through the currents of social interaction.  Thus the rumor started. 

"if you look in the eyes of Nikaidou Fumiya, you'll be cursed. I looked and after that I tripped and fractured my legs!" said the junior. 

"Me too!! I shared an eye contact with him, even if it was just for a second, I got hit on the head by a toy from which my sister was playing and I've never been hit before" said his classmate. 

As long as these senseless rumors were keeping him away from the students, he wasn't bothered. He didn't care what others thought about him, said or even laughed at him, he preferred to be known as the freaky loner than being the center of attention. 

This was the first day of his 12th class. Few more months and he is free to go. As usual, he sat on the last seat, students began gossiping at his sight, but he just sat and did his work. He knew that this year, would also pass by just like the past few years. Little did he know, it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. 

Suzuki Akira was a well known name in the high school. He was an athletic prodigy, it only takes him 3 weeks to master any sports he sets his heart on. Especially baseball and dodge ball. He is adored by girls, but he pays no attention and that makes him even more attractive to him. Every day was a good day, except for this one. Maybe the God, son and holy ghost didn't listened to his prayers this morning. The prayer in which he asked not to be in the same class as the kid named Nikaidou Fumiya. 

Because the kid named Nikaidou Fumiya was sitting right behind him. 

"Okay class. Good morning to everyone except the kid who is sleeping and planning to not come to school for half of the semester. I'm Sora Ogura, your class teacher. Seems like all of you are present on your first day since the seats are full. So I'll just straight up write down your duties that you have to do for this 3 months before switching. "

Akira prayed silently as he watched Ogura writing the names in pairs. Even if he is in the same class as him, it's not that bad. But if he is in the same duty as him, he's dead. But alas. God isn't with him, but so is not the holy ghost. He was teamed up with the kid named Nikaidou Fumiya. And he had to clean up the 2nd floor toilet. The girl next to him, her name Haruki Miura whispered "Akira-San! All the best!"  he gave her a very awkward and sad smile. He slowly turned his head around to have a look at his 'partner'. His partner was too focused on his phone to notice his stare. But the focused Fumiya looked really spooky to Akira that his heart almost fell out of his chest. 

Both were cleaning peacefully, not talking to one another only focused on doing their chores. Akira was however, trying his best not to scream and run away. He was cleaning really hard and quick so he could just run away. But as someone said. Work that is done quickly, is a work done by Satan. Akira, slipped on the soapy water while moping the floor, and it wasn't his leg that slipped, it was the mop, as he was applying too much pressure on it. All light got knocked out of him as he fell on his face. He let out a very loud and inhumane screech, followed by a string of curses flowing like water, that was currently flowing from the bucket which was overflowed with water that was falling from the tap which was accidentally left open by Fumiya, who got startled by Akira. After a few minutes of groaning and cursing, Akira got up,checked if he was bleeding or not and then gently rubbed his nose. He then heard a soft chuckle, he looked up and saw Nikaidou Fumiya clutching his stomach and laughing hard. He almost forgot that he was in the same room as him. But what made him astonished was the sound of his laughter. It was so sweet and soothing that if someone outside of the school were to hear him, it would be hard for him to believe that this guy is the sadistic loner of the school that everyone fears.

Fumiya caught his breath and said "What the hell was that?... You are so funny..." this made him think if he really is the sadistic loner that everyone fears or if just everyone assumed him to be? Only he can find the answer to this. 

"You..." he said, making Fumiya look at him "You laughed.... You just laughed like a normal person in front of me." Hearing this Fumiya's eyes doubled in size, almost as if he regretted doing whatever he did. Akira got up and brushed his pants and walked up to him, making Fumiya walk backwards and avoid his gaze.

" You just laughed. You aren't a freak. You seem to be aware of that fact too. Then why don't you speak up against the students? Are you afraid of them?" he bombarded him with questions as he trapped him against the wall.

"No.. No.. No, i-I am a freak. I.. I can curse you! Don't look at me! You'll be cursed!! G-Get away from me! Let me go" he said lowering his head and pushing Akira, trying to get out of here. Akira grabbed Fumiya's shoulders and made him look at him.

"Look at me!!" after sharing a second long eye contact, Fumiya got horrified and pushed him and ran away. After hearing Akira hiss in pain, he apologized but never came back. He rested his hands on his hips, staring at the mess made, he now has to clean all of it before the professor gets mad at both of them.

The next day, he found Fumiya sitting at his assigned seat. He let out a sigh of relief. As if he heard him, Fumiya turned towards his direction and Akira practiced what he has been at his home. He 'accidentally' banged his head on the wall before entering and looked over to Fumiya's direction only to find him placing his hand over his mouth to prevent his laughter to spill in front of everyone. Akira smirked as his planned work. Now all he has to do is get to know him better or maybe.... Make friends with him..

[infogramika]

Trailer:  Takumi-kun Series 6: The Morning of the Beginning of a Long, Long Story

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (2023)

On the day of Shido Academy’s entrance exam, Takumi witnesses Gii for the first time--

On the day of Shido Academy’s entrance exam, Gii (Giichi Saki), who stands out in a crowd with his striking presence, walks past Takumi Hayama in the hallway. Takumi is mesmerized by Gii’s exotic, attractive appearance. When school starts, Takumi is treated like a freak by his classmates because of his fear of touching and being touched by other people. But Takumi manages to get by, thanks to Toshihisa Katakura, his only good friend and roommate in the dorm. However, the peaceful days don’t last very long. In the library, third-year student Kei Aso asks Takumi to participate in the campus “shrine hunt” event with him. Izumi Takabayashi, who’s head over heels in love with Gii, and students who idolize Takabayashi start picking on Takumi. When Takabayashi realizes that his beloved Gii not only shrugs him off but is also interested in Takumi the freak, he gets consumed with jealousy and masterminds an attack on Takumi. Spring comes, and Takumi and Gii are now second-year students. They’re assigned to the same room in the dorm, and their relationship gets much closer. Then Takabayashi makes another move and drives Takumi into a corner. Gii realizes Takabayashi’s plot and tries to save Takumi, however… And thus starts Takumi and Gii’s long, long sparkly story.

Introduction: The beginning of Takumi and Gii’s sparkly days

Over 15 years since the first 2007 film adaptation of the Takumi kun Series, a popular “boys’ love” novel series with over 5 million copies in print, a new series has been launched with a new cast and story. The film is a combination of three titles from the Kanzen-ban 1 (omnibus edition) of the original novels—Akatsuki wo Matsumade (tr. Until I Wait for the Dawn), Soshite Harukaze ni Sasayaite (tr. And Then, I Whisper into the Spring Breeze), Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (tr. The Morning of the Beginning of a Long, Long Story ). It portrays Takumi’s encounter with Gii on the day of Shido Academy’s entrance exam and the beginning of their sparkly days.

Takumi Hayama, one of the main characters, is played by Shion Morishita, a new actor stepping into the spotlight in 2023, and Giichi Saki (Gii), the other main character, is played by Daigo Kato, who is a musician as well as a cast member of musicals Touken Ranbu and HYPNOSIS MIC Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage. Other fresh talent in the cast adds vibrance to Shido Academy, namely Satsuki Nakayama of Kamen Rider Zero One as Izumi Takabayashi; Rio Takahashi, who models for magazine MEN’S NON-NO, as Shozo Akaike; Yusuke Noguchi of Hi☆Five as Toshihisa Katakura; Souta Uemura, an actor popular with teenagers, as Michio Yoshizawa; Ryunosuke Nagashima, who performed in HYPNOSIS MIC Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage, as Kei Aso; Kosei Tsubokura from a play called Promise of Wizard as Kenji Suzuki; and Tsubasa Kizu, who acted in the stage adaptation of Tokyo Revengers, as Arata Misu.

Screenwriter Hiroko Kanasugi and Director Kenji Yokoi, the same duo from the previous film who know the Takumi kun Series inside and out, are back together again. With a new screenplay and a new cast, they light the torch to the beginning of a beautiful, sparkly Takumi kun Series.

[countlessrealities]

Kisses under the mistletoe || No longer accepting

@imprvdente sent: 💋 - your muse kisses my muse under a mistletoe without a warning (Teen Fish for Morty hehe)

The invitation to the party had been a real surprised. Usually, Summer was the one people asked for and Morty had, at most, been allowed to tag along in a couple of occasions. People had never been too happy to have him at their parties, at first because he was considered a total loser and now also because of the weird sci-fi messes that tended to happen around him.

If his sister hadn't pointed out that he had been invited because he was a close friend of Fish, he would have thought that it was a prank and would have simply ignored it. He had been tempted to be skeptical even after that, but he also had to acknowledge that, since the two of them had become tight, people had started to avoid him a little less. The girl was pretty popular after all, and the rest of the students tended to be easily swayed by popular people's choices and behavours.

Thus, how he had ended up carpooling with Summer and two of her friends to the pub where the party was. He spotted a few of his classmates, Jessica first and foremost, but most of the presents were from Summer's grade. That probably explained the very spiked punch.

After a few awkward attempts at joining conversations and the briefest exchange with his long-time crush, Morty had retreated in a less crowded part of the main room, sipping his third glass. He wasn't necessarily trying to get drunk, but the alcohol was doing wonders to soothe his nerves and that was a reason good enough to keep his glass full.

He had almost resigned himself to spend the rest of the night with nothing but his plastic glass as company when he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. The face of the person who was the reason why he was there in the first place.

The boy's expression lit up visibly at the sight of his friend, who seemed to be heading towards him, and hurried to meet her halfway.

"H-Hey, Fish! I-I was wondering where you were, s-since, you know, I got invited because of you. O-Or, uh, well, that's what Summer..." He started once the girl was within ear's reach, but he abruptly cut himself off once he noticed that she wasn't looking at him, but at something above them.

Confusion spreading on his features, Morty made to glance upwards in turn, but he wasn't given the chance to get a glimpse of whatever had attracted Fish's attention, because the latter's hand abruptly grabbed the sides of his face, startling him.

Hazel eyes widened in surprise and lips parted, but no word could leave his throat. The girl's mouth covered his before he could properly react, leaving him frozen.

The kiss was very much similar to the one she had given him during her "kissing lesson", not too long ago. Determined and heartfelt, passionate but without being invasive to the point of being uncomfortable.

Confusion and desire to return the gesture battled inside him for a few, long moments, trapping him in a lull, until the latter urge won, bringing him to rest his hands on Fish's side and starting to kiss back. Less shyly than he had the previous time, more boldly and heatedly.

He wasn't think, he was just feeling. His crush had only grown stronger the more time they spent together and this felt like the best moment to let it out, even if he had no idea of what had prompted the kiss in the first place. Or, maybe, exactly because he didn't know. It meant that he could be spontaneous, that he could act before all his doubts and insecurities could catch up with him.

If it had turned out that he had misread the situation, assuming that it was possible, he could have used shock to explain his reaction.

Eventually, Fish broke away from the kiss, much more slowly than she had started it, and Morty was left lightheaded and overwhelmed. His gaze travelled up, as if the order that his brain had given his eyes before it was interrupted had managed to pass through, and it landed on the bunch of mistletoe hanging over their heads.

Oh. Of course. That explained everything. It was a little disappointing, even if he wouldn't have admitted it, but it made more sense.

"D-Damn, I hadn't noticed it! I-I didn't know they had put...those around," he commented with a forced chuckle, taking a step back and rubbing his nape. "I-I guess...Uh, I never had the chance to...you know. D-Do that. Even if it's tradition, so...O-One thing crossed out of the bucket list, am I right?"

Why couldn't the floor just swallow him already?

"H-How about we get something to drink?" He was in sore need of a refill. Right now. "T-They spiked the punch, b-but it's...actually not bad!"

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digimon Adventure Relationship Analysis Part I: Opposites attract - or clash? Where Koushirou and Mimi work best (I), where they are not compatible with each other and where canon missed a lot of opportunities for them (II).

Koumi is, without a doubt, one of the most popular Digimon ships world wide, especially in Eastern fandoms. What appears to be your typical “Beauty and the Nerd” trope ship goes actually much deeper on several levels and thus I would like to take a look at what makes them so appealing, either platonically or romantically - and where canon may have suffered from (in my opinion) a few continuitiy issues. (Disclaimer: I will obviously include Tri in this analysis, as it actually provides a lot of insight in how their relationship developed over the years, but I will look at certain aspects a bit more critically by the end of this analysis. Main focus points will be: Adventure 01, 02, Diablomon Strikes Back, Tri, the Stageplay and To Sora/Kizuna, with minor mentions of the novels, the PSP game and, of course, the infamous Love Letter Drama.)

The first part will only deal with the positive sides of their relationship as it is pretty picture heavy and I seem to have broken tumblr because of it, whereas the second part will focus on where they clash and what canon could have done differently.

Where they work best.

The “same age” aspect - quite different, but actually very similar oddballs.

This may seem like a very minor thing one wouldn’t even notice that easily at first glance, but: Even though their designs suggest that they are quite the opposite of one another...

... They are both very similar in language and approach towards their “elders”, especially in the Japanese version. They are the youngest after Takeru and Hikari after all and so it’s not surprising that they basically address the majority of the others with -san, keeping a respectful demeanour - at least most of the time. Because while you could say that Mimi is more prone to become vocal and loud when things don’t go her way, while Koushirou fulfills a more introverted role here - he becomes more and more vocal himself the older he gets (more on that later down the line). Additionally, due to them being the same age, it’s notable that, while Koushirou sticks to the -san towards Mimi out of politeness, she does refer to him as Koushirou-kun, showcasing that she may feel a bit more comfortable about dropping the polite distance towards him.

Taking the novel bit from above into consideration a little more, Novel!Mimi is a very interesting case. Koushirou refers to himself as the odd one out in his class, which, again, would fulfill the typical “nerd stereotype”. However - the same goes for Mimi as well, who repeatedly gets referred to as being ditzy and a little bit weird in her thinking. When she hears her classmates gossipping over Koushirou, she simply doesn’t even understand why they’d think he could be weird at all, which indicates that, after all, they aren’t even that far apart.

Returning back to the anime, they’re early established as being grade and classmates, considering how Koushirou is the first who notices that it’s Mimi who is missing once they’re in the Digital World.

So them knowing each other should be a given. Plus, the anime also makes a point in portraying them both as somewhat “weird” by indicating that they’re both fancying peculiar combinations of food, that may or may not seem outlandish to others.

This is something that carries on to later seasons as well, with Mimi becoming very much infamous for suggesting and making the wildest food combinations - some that may even be a bit too weird for Koushirou (who tends to live completely off of oolong tea himself).

They (generally) think very highly of one another - and inspire each other greatly.

Despite having had a rough start during their early “adventures” in 01 (more on that later on), they both value the other a lot and the respect they have for each other only grows more the older they get.

Mimi’s more hands-on approach - if applied reasonably - is what triggers Koushirou to think a little bit more outside the box here and there, even going so far as to “leave his laptop behind” on several ocassions. Which is not only something continuously encouraged by Tentomon, but also immensely important to drive things further in Adventure, as it proves Koushirou himself to not only be a human extension of his laptop, but also very much a hands-on person himself.

As for Mimi, she tends to swoon a lot over the things Koushirou is capable of and the more time passes, the more she appears to feel inspired by him, dealing with computers and finding her own path - even career wise. The fact that, by the time of Kizuna, she’s even having her own online shop Koushirou helped her with doesn’t only show that that he had quite an impact on her, but also that they stayed in touch throughout all these years.

While Mimi is very keen on mentioning how much she adores Koushirou, he is not as vocal about her in the anime - the PSP game is a different story though, because there, both of them basically don’t stop praising each other.

Mimi triggers Koushirou’s protective instincts.

As mentioned above, Koushirou can be quite a hands-on character when things are at stake - whether he jumps next to Taichi to help Sora fight against Meramon while everyone else stays back, sacrifices himself for the sake of enabling Taichi to save Sora from Datamon, sneaks out of his home in the middle of the night to fight a rampaging Digimon on his own or runs right into the light of a vanishing Hikari... There are quite a few examples about him not being your typical basement dweller.

However, sometimes, there are people who make this especially apparent in his case - especially when you wouldn’t expect him to just leave his laptop in some old ruins to rush and tear down an entire wall to save and protect Mimi.

This very instance may also have showed him that Mimi is a person who needs to have someone by her side when she’s overwhelmed. Previously in this episode - which will come up quite a few times again, because it is one of their most important moments together -, he had been the reason for her running away in tears, as he had neglected her emotional needs and prioritized rational problem solving. So it is quite a nice touch to see him act more considerate towards her in future iterations. Plus, the fact that he also appears to be getting more comfortable with physical closeness is an interesting indicator as well.

Koushirou triggers Mimi’s teasing nature (and she his, if you look in the right corners).

Mimi’s more sparkly personality also includes her becoming more and more teasing the older she gets - and Koushirou appears to be among the people she enjoys doing this with the most. It’s not done with malicious intent, but rather to get him out of his shell a bit more (and maybe because she enjoys seeing him blush).

Unfortunately, there isn’t much of him reciprocating this behaviour - except for the stageplay, in which they’re both depicted as refreshingly casual and teasing towards each other.

“Texting buddies”.

So as we know, Koushirou has been helping Mimi building her own online shop, thus implying that they’ve been regularly in touch at the time of Kizuna, where they’re both 21. However, this has already been established in 02 and Tri. Digital communication is, obviously, quite a theme in the Digimon universe; Taichi is still somewhat struggling with using phones and computers for the sake of texting and Sora seems to prefer calling and talking on the phone. Thus, it’s interesting that Koushirou doesn’t shy away from contacting Mimi via messages, whether it’s about telling her about a Digital Gate that has opened while they’re in completely different timezones or about asking her to fly from America to Japan to attend his best friend’s football match. Mimi, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to mind at all and happily reciprocates.

In sum, up to this point, they appear to be a very solid, complementing team, two that are “odd”, to each other and the rest of the world, yet inspiring, comforting, supporting and adoring one another despite their obvious differences, with a bit of banter and a lot of texting in between.

So far so good - but we also need to focus on the dark side of the moon. For every step forward - and towards each other - there have been a few set backs, some more, some less coherent. Let’s take a look at that.

[ineffable-opinions]

Takumi-kun 6 – trailer plus

Takumi Kun Series: The Dawn of The Long Tales

[Here’s a bit of an introduction to characters and plot. Covers the material directly lifted from the description box of the trailer. Contains mild spoilers.

The movie has been fan-subbed by furritsubs.]

Introduction

The beginning of Takumi and Gii’s sparkly days

Over 15 years since the first 2007 film adaptation of the Takumi kun Series, a popular “boys’ love” novel series with over 5 million copies in print, a new series has been launched with a new cast and story. The film is a combination of three titles from the Kanzen-ban 1 (omnibus edition) of the original novels—

Akatsuki wo Matsumade (tr. Until I Wait for the Dawn)

Soshite Harukaze ni Sasayaite (tr. And Then, I Whisper into the Spring Breeze)

Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (tr. The Morning of the Beginning of a Long, Long Story).

[This is the order in which the stories appear in the omnibus edition. Third story is new addition to the novel series.]

It portrays Takumi’s encounter with Gii on the day of Shido Academy’s entrance exam and the beginning of their sparkly days.

Takumi Hayama, one of the main characters, is played by Shion Morishita, a new actor stepping into the spotlight in 2023

Giichi Saki (Gii), the other main character, is played by Daigo Kato, who is a musician as well as a cast member of musicals Touken Ranbu and HYPNOSIS MIC Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage.

Other fresh talent in the cast adds vibrance to Shido Academy:

Satsuki Nakayama of Kamen Rider Zero One as Izumi Takabayashi

Rio Takahashi, who models for magazine MEN’S NON-NO, as Shozo Akaike

Yusuke Noguchi of Hi☆Five as Toshihisa Katakura

Souta Uemura, an actor popular with teenagers, as Michio Yoshizawa

Ryunosuke Nagashima, who performed in HYPNOSIS MIC Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage, as Kei Aso

Kosei Tsubokura from a play called Promise of Wizard as Kenji Suzuki

Tsubasa Kizu, who acted in the stage adaptation of Tokyo Revengers, as Arata Misu

Screenwriter Hiroko Kanasugi and Director Kenji Yokoi, the same duo from the previous film who know the Takumi kun Series inside and out, are back together again. With a new screenplay and a new cast, they light the torch to the beginning of a beautiful, sparkly Takumi kun Series.

Story

On the day of Shido Academy’s entrance exam, Takumi witnesses Gii for the first time--

On the day of Shido Academy’s entrance exam, Gii (Giichi Saki), who stands out in a crowd with his striking presence, walks past Takumi Hayama in the hallway. Takumi is mesmerized by Gii’s exotic, attractive appearance.

[fan-subbed by furritsubs]

When school starts, Takumi is treated like a freak by his classmates because of his fear of touching and being touched by other people.

But Takumi manages to get by, thanks to Toshihisa Katakura, his only good friend and roommate in the dorm. However, the peaceful days don’t last very long.

In the library, third-year student Kei Aso asks Takumi to participate in the campus “shrine hunt” event with him.

Izumi Takabayashi, who’s head over heels in love with Gii, and students who idolize Takabayashi start picking on Takumi.

When Takabayashi realizes that his beloved Gii not only shrugs him off but is also interested in Takumi the freak, he gets consumed with jealousy and masterminds an attack on Takumi.

Spring comes, and Takumi and Gii are now second-year students. They’re assigned to the same room in the dorm, and their relationship gets much closer.

Then Takabayashi makes another move and drives Takumi into a corner. Gii realizes Takabayashi’s plot and tries to save Takumi, however...

And thus starts Takumi and Gii’s long, long sparkly story.

-

Fan-subbed by furritsubs

-

This post is planned as a part of a series:

1.Trailer plus (you are here)

2.Introduction to the school culture and male androphilia in Japan.

3.How does the movie compare with the source novel?

4.How does the movie compare with previous adaptations?

[siddaling]

HOW LINKEDIN BENEFITS TO STUDENTS

HOW LINKEDIN BENEFITS TO STUDENTS

Linkedin, social media platform for professionals, was built to link potential employees with employers. But gradually the level of ease at which professionalism has been socialized is unparalleled. What was once built only for professional job seekers is now an attractive platform for students to build, nurture, grow and establish their professional skills.

 There are a variety of reasons why students benefit from Linkedin.

 1)Enhancement of the skill set of a student:

Linkedin enhances the skill set of a student while building a professional online presence for them. There are lots of people who are interested in their required skill set and a student promoting her skillset becomes a more attractive option for recruiters than a skilled student who is not able to promote her skillset.

Recruiters are always eager to see skilled students' recommendations and connections while recruiting fresh graduates.

 Now, about the originality of skill assessment, nowadays with the introduction of the Skill Assessment tab, a person is required to show adequate knowledge of the skills that have been put in. It means that skills are strong and thus employers won't question them.

2)Easy Job Applications:

The tedious traditional recruiting process, where a person would have to keep multiple copies of her resume is solved by Linkedin. This works for students because they have less time for job applications during their studies. With a Linkedin account, the recruiter is already aware of the person's skills.

3)Building Connections:

What is Linkedin without its most prominent feature, connecting professionals? The connections build within Linkedin help students a lot. Connecting with an alumnus from the same industry helps one understand the work culture and job descriptions beforehand.

 Also from a recruiter's point of view, having a good list of connections implies that a person has a strong profile.

4)Job Alerts:

Looking for job alerts can be tedious work for a student. Linkedin makes that easy for a student.

5)Gaining Knowledge:

As a student gaining knowledge persistently is a very important habit

Linkedin is a great platform for reading about topics such as business, motivation, entrepreneurship, etc. Also, Linkedin Search helps to research businesses, industries, and people.

While Linkedin Learning is also a good source of knowledge as it has a variety of good quality courses which can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

6)Personal Endorsement:

Linkedin also offers a feature help which a person can get other persons to recommend them. A student can always ask for endorsements from his/her teachers and classmates.

Asking close people to mention detailed qualities and expertise helps get attention from employers as people with a maximum number of recommendations attract employers the most.

7) Finding the Niche Job type

There is no other place easier than Linkedin to know about a company, its hiring process, and reviews from its past job holders. Company research is a sophisticated task that Linkedin makes easier for students.

Linkedin not just helps in learning about the company and its recruitment process it also helps grow as a professional in that particular niche.

LinkedIn workshop

[mohg-lover]

No Longer Human(1948)

人間失格 / Ningen Shikkaku / No Longer Human was the last complete work produced in 1948 by Osamu Dazai before his before his double suicide with his wife, Tomie Yamazaki. No Longer Human is a semi-autobiographical masterpiece of Osamu Dazai’s (born Shūji Tsushima) life, it is not a complete autobiography due to it starring fictional characters but the events mirror the man's life in broad strokes. The story depicts the misfortunate life of Oba Yozo and shows his journey of growing up in a world he does not understand, Meiji’s era Japan. Oba is convinced he is living in hell, not due to any material hardships as he is born into a wealthy family who all live together in a mansion, but due to his fear of humans. He holds no understanding of other people and dreads making people unhappy, so begins his “clowning”. Describing himself as a "mischievous Imp” Oba takes on this persona of an uncaring clumsy buffoon who couldn’t have a care in the world, whose foolish blunders make others cheer in delight as they witness such comedy. Of course in reality Oba cares what others think about him more than anyone, he studies hard to get good grades to impress his classmates and satiate his father, he is constantly pulling gags and finding new ways to make people laugh, picking up a knack for manga in his early years. His scheme is flawlessly letting him hide all his vulnerability from the world until, later in his schooling he meets a boy by the name of Takeichi, who is able to peer past the veil of which Oba had harnessed, this terrifies Oba more than anything. He befriends Takeichi to keep his lips sealed and with the time they spend together Takeichi sparks Oba’s desire to be a painter, as he describes Obas self portrait as “a Painting of a Ghost”. Over the next coming years Oba would lose interest in his studies and try to pursue art school, where he meets Horiki. Horiki would serve as a poor influence in Obas life. Obas fear of people only grows with his age, he turns to many dissociative pleasures to cope, mainly heavy drinking and affairs with women, which come easy to him as he believes they are easy to fall for him because they are attracted to his disturbed loneliness. Even though he has had many negative experiences with sex, as he was sexually assaulted by multiple servants of his family’s mansion in his youth, he still engages in it, as an escape from people but also sometimes due to his fear of displeasing the women who fall for him. After many failed attempts at a normal life, with countless women, multiple suicide attempts and a dependency on Alcohol and morphine, Oba is institutionalized. He leaves an empty shell, now completely numb to the pleasures and hardships of the world. He lives the rest of his days in complete isolation, from the world, people and emotions. He feels nothing. He failed at living and thus, he is No Longer Human. “Good-Bye” would be the only other piece of fiction written before Osamu Dazai and his wife drowned together in the same year No Longer Human was finished. “Good-bye” remains unfinished. Osamu was a very prolific writer of his time and No Longer Human is his final masterpiece, being highly praised in Japan and receiving an English translation in 1959. Though it is written in a specific time period and place, they remain background elements to core themes of the story, it is a brilliant commentary and reflection on the intricacies of the human condition and will remain a timeless classic because the experience it describes will be lived again in one form or another. Osamu was clearly suffering from mental illness, like Oba, he had already tried to end his life several times before writing this, we are very lucky to have this window into the head of someone so disturbed. 

I was first introduced to No Longer Human through its Manga adaptation by Junji Ito, a horror mangaka whose work I collect, and is by far my favorite book he has published, he does a brilliant job of showing the world through Oba’s warped mind, showcasing how peoples emotions can seep through every pore of their face and being, turning them into terrifying, animalist creatures. This book absolutely floored me on my first read and made me very emotional. Oba represents the spirit of humanity being torn to shreds and patchworked back together to exist as an empty husk, it’s an extreme that I believe anyone can see a piece of themselves in, as to show what it means to be disqualified as human, the book subsequently first undergoes an exploration into what it means to be human. It’s a story which promotes philosophical analysis and begs the reader to self-reflect on their life and the purpose of their wants and desires.

 References:

[alternamarian]

8 — Training

retrace

As soon as the instructors were gone, one of the boys — the one who said the girl was the most beautiful thing in our village — got up from his seat.

He was one of the best boys of the class: tall, with a hefty build for his age. He was on his way to becoming quite grown up; and, for someone from our little backwards village, he was said to have prospects once he completed his education. 

A few of our classmates close to his age had indeed expressed their interest in making alliances with him once they were done with school. Some remarks had even reached me, oblivious as I was to such things, whispers that hinted at certain propositions presented to him at the back of the building. This is another reason why I don't go there as much as I would wish.

However, since I didn't bother myself with these matters, I watched him approach us without much interest, though I could easily guess at his intent. I had heard him described as handsome, but neither envy nor self-pity was my reaction to being so obviously not his target. The glint of his green eyes nauseated me instead, and grateful to be thus invisible in his sight.

I glanced at the sponsor girl, with her conspicuous pink hair, who was not too far away. Her face seemed more sulky than usual, which was no riddle to anyone who knew that she too had made advances to him. — Which perplexed me somewhat, because what need was there? She was even more secure in her prospects than he was in his. But the dealings of the wealthy and privileged are difficult for me to grasp. And as she was generally contemptuous of anyone who was beneath her family's status, I seriously doubted the sponsor girl actually liked him. 

At any rate, there was an overall sense of anticipation in the room as the best boy sauntered over, and leaned on the first girl's desk.

“Hey.”

She smiled politely. “Hello.”

He introduced himself. “I'm the first boy of this class,” he said, “so I expect me and you will be working very closely.”

“Perhaps,” said the girl.

“Oh, there's no question about it,” he replied, lazily tossing his wavy green hair. “You're the best girl. That makes us partners.”

“Oh.”

He nodded. “When the teachers are ready, I will accompany you to their quarters.”

“She can go there by herself,” interjected the sponsor girl from where she sat. “It isn't exactly hard to find.”

But the best boy kept his eyes fixed on our primary student; and I remember admitting to myself that, in terms of appearances at least, their similarities made them quite an attractive pair. “This is your first day here,” the first boy was saying, “and I can't let you go about these grounds unescorted. It is my duty to watch over you, to make sure you're protected.”

“You sound as if I'm in danger of something,” said the girl, with the same polite smile.

“And you are,” replied the boy, with a less pleasant grin. “You can never be too careful of the dangers lurking in the shadows ... or the obstacles right next to you.” At this, he smacked the head of the student on the other side of the girl. 

That student just happened to be the little boy who would stumble in the race because he was hungry. “Oww!” he cried, and the older student smacked him again. 

Our classmates laughed: and not only at the misery of the younger child, but in admiration. These displays of bravado were a steady source of amusement to them, which the first boy never failed to provide. However, because I was so young and unsophisticated, I could not join in the hilarity. “Stop, please,” I begged, whereupon the best boy whirled around at me. 

“Shut up, kid,” he snarled, “and get lost before I teach you to mind your own business!” This was the first time he had acknowledged my existence in days.

I was quite angry — at the first boy, the rest of our classmates — but I got up to do as I was told. I knew my place; and so did the little boy, who was silently blinking back his tears. But I was also glad to be so effectively banished. The nausea had only increased and I could scarcely breathe. I wanted and needed to go outside.

I did take care to keep my lids lowered, and to pass behind the girl, who, as far as I could tell, never once looked at me. 

[Why should she?]

And as I passed the student that the best boy hit, I drew close, inquiring if he was alright, and invited him to go outside with me.

“Leave him alone,” said the older pupil. “You see he doesn't want to be with you. And I told you to go away.”

I can't say I was filled with more courage than I already had all of a sudden. But for a moment the sickly feeling vanished, and I straightened myself up and looked directly at him, while the surrounding kids were still snickering. “Why don't you leave him alone?” I asked, in a voice that somehow did not falter.

Our classmates simultaneously jeered at me while applauding the self-appointed protector as he lifted his arm to strike. I had no doubt he would hit me as he had hit the little boy. But then our teacher reappeared at the entrance, and he halted in mid-action to look at her.

“The feast is ready for the guest!” she said.  

The girl smiled and got to her feet. In an impressive swiftness of motion, the first boy withdrew his assault, stepped beside the girl, and held his arm out to her.

Upon seeing them, our teacher clasped her hands once again, and actually squealed, along with many of our classmates. “Yes!” she said, still squealing, “I knew you two would be together! I knew it! Oh, you are the most beautiful couple ever!” And she jumped up and down in a paroxysm of vindication. 

At last they all left the room, and, with our classmates talking about the pair and quite forgetting about me, I made my own way out.

I can't say for sure where I meant to go. But I caught a glimpse of twining boughs at the side of the building, and hurried over to them.

“Please, may I stay here with you?” I asked, and at once the gliding vines held out their branches at me.

Gratefully I clambered in, apologizing for my awkwardness. They could have thrown me out and onto the ground, but they never did. 

I settled in, with the sounds from the classroom and the teachers' quarters already muffled by the leaves and blossoms. Close to me, at my right, was the wall of the classroom. Leaning against it were a few old doors of cabinets, which have yet to be disposed of in the back. Then the branches closed around me, and I closed my eyes with a sigh.

I cannot say that I hadn't hoped that the arrival of the girl would turn out better than it did. I cannot say I hadn't hoped that I would meet, if not a friend, then someone who might offer a modicum of sympathy. People like to say that the young are resilient; with elastic hearts and minds that require  training. And perhaps that is true. Still, even then I asked myself, nestling among the foliage — should that training include relentless antagonism and continual dismissal? What must I do to diminish the cruelties? Could I ever prove myself worthy of kindness?

I wondered all this, and not for the first time; painfully aware that my very loneliness would elicit only more contempt from adults and fellow children alike. My yearning for respite — to ask for friendship was too much — but my desire for mere rest would surely earn me more scorn. 

A respite was as much as I allowed myself to want. I don't know if I ever truly dared to desire equality. I certainly wanted nothing of the adulation that was showered on the first girl. Though no words of mine would convince our teachers and classmates, I felt truly sorry for what the girl had so far endured. The attention of the first boy was particularly repulsive to me.

And so of course I thought of the maiden's hero. I will not compare the two, for to imply any similarity of appearance or character is almost an offense to the hero. But I recalled the stories of when he and the maiden were together, and I recited the lines quietly to myself, how he sought her out —

for he desired the constancy of the mind that made the mirrors, the light of which had called to him across great distances, accompanying him on his way back from his travels 

— and I saw him with her on her balcony, holding her with such a marked difference in tenderness and confidence, as he whispered to  her —

“We need not go on different paths for long, dear maiden,” he said.

“But I am not as great a traveler as you,” she replied.

“And I cannot make anything so clear and bright as you have done. What of it? Our differences are no obstacles to us. We are together now, and we will be together ever more. We will make our journey, you and I, and we will measure the height and breadth of the realms on the other side —”

“What! Then you will take me there?”

“One day we will be so united, maiden, that I will never have to journey alone, and you will never have to wait alone. We will make our home on the other side, and go even further beyond. I swear to you, my darling,” and he took her hands in his, “my darling, I swear to you —”

The maiden had all these promises  made her simply for her being.

I shifted my position in the foliage, now fully bent on pursuing these reflections. And as I did, my hand slipped through the branches. And I would have drawn back my limb without a thought; but instead I opened my eyes, suddenly alert. Where I should have felt only the breeze, I had not only touched something, I had pushed against something tangible. In another instant I recognized what had happened.

I had come up against a spell.

I turned around, and the cluster of vines parted enough to let me see.

Not too far from the boughs, a dark figure stood in full view, with an arm extended in my direction. 

realize