#of course i'll level it all the way to 90 but that's at least a lower milestone i can reach for in the meantime

[rubys-domain]

so uh... my alt's kazuha is lvl 80 now. and i don't feel like fighting the maguu kenki another 10 fucking times. i'm not sure what else i could do though. there's a lot of world quests that still need doing as well as the sumeru archon quest. but i don't feel like doing any of that rn...

honestly i just want to keep playing on main. even if it's just world quests. i'm way more motivated to do world quests on main for some reason

[sasoriis]

The final chapter of MHA was bittersweet, hopeful, but with enough realism to remind us that life can still be mundane, underwhelming, painful. Honestly, this was a pleasant surprise to me as someone who saw this series as excessively optimistic at times. I wasn't expecting the epilogue chapters to go the way they did, and while I don't think the execution was perfect, I appreciate Hori for making the effort.

To get my complaints out of the way, I wish there had been more time for Deku and Bakugou to talk - about the apology, about Bakugou's death, about how their feelings about one another had evolved over the course of the series, or at the very least had more internal monologues. Deku in particular felt so...distant? Bakugou is my favorite character, so I'm probably the most hung up over him. He went through this incredibly traumatic experience, but we never see if and how this affected him (certainly, it had to have). At the same time, he's the type to keep his most personal thoughts and feelings private, he's also less about verbal expression and more about actions, so I can understand Hori's choice to an extent...but idk, that's where the internal monologue could have really helped.

Similarly, it's quintessential Bakugou (presumably) to secretly save the money for Deku's suit for such a long time. IMO that level of gift-giving plays right into his strengths and was an incredibly significant gesture given what we know about him as a character. Perhaps he doesn't have the words, but he can show, very clearly, to Deku that he can finally return the same admiration and deep affection that Deku always held for him. It isn't explicitly canon, but it's enough for me, it's more than I was expecting, actually.

Initially, Deku's ending made me sad. And I think it still does to some extent. He saved the world, and the world, for the most part, moved on. But that's reality. For many IRL helping professions, this is the routine - doctor's save lives, therapists successfully intervene in crises, the work day ends with lives irreversibly change, and then we wake up the next day to start it all over again. I've seen complaints that Deku lost his dream, didn't have a "becoming Hokage" type of moment, etc, but that was never why he was trying to be a hero in the first place. It's upsetting, of course, but he continues to help people despite the lack of quirk, the popularity, because he genuinely cares about humanity.

And in the end, we see that returned to him through those around him, we see his dreams return. He and his image of victory will get to compete together for the rest of their lives. I'll be 90 years old, and those panels of Bakugou reaching his hand out to Deku will exist somewhere, in a library, on someone's bookshelf or coffee table. And that's while it isn't perfect, it's an ending I can get behind.

[lifetimeoftired]

Now I rarely do character design, or draw for that matter, but when it came to Anthem of Our Dying Day, I felt a little inspired. Sam and Dani (called Elli in-story) haven't shown up yet, and won't for a few more chapters still, but they and Danny got the most changes to their overall designs. Yes because it's been 7 years since the events of the show, but the changes are for reasons that will eventually be explained in-story. I have more designs in mind of course, but I gave my poor hand a cramp doing just these three. So I'll have to come back with Jason's ghost form and Danny's eldritch form (possibly an update to Valerie's look, but honestly her outfit in the later episodes was incredible I don't think I can improve on that in any way shape or form) at a later date.

Anyway, thoughts behind why I gave them the designs that I did are A Lot so I figured I'd ramble in a tumblr post instead of in the AN's.

Danny:

Listen to me. Listen. This man was raised on the vibes of the 90s and early 2000s. Long trench coats were PEAK fashion back then. We all saw the Matrix. Danny also was dragged to the Underworld movies multiple times while dating Sam (who's opinions on those movies are radioactive because they are cult classics and I'll die on this hill). So Danny absolutely thinks trench coasts are cool as shit and make him look cooler. And listen to me very carefully; They're still peak fashion. Slapping a leather trench coat on a mildly gothic character and you have cinema. Also he has a hood because hey! Hoods are so cool and perfect for us 90s kids.

As for the color choices, I didn't want to change too much from the classic black and white hazmat suit but honestly? He really makes it work. I also added the green because the color pop looked cool as shit but also because I felt like, as Danny gets older, he starts to produce his own ectoplasm in ghost form and, similar to how some ghosts have 'flaming hair' to show off their power levels, Danny's over production of ecto culminates within his outfit. This is in part due to him becoming the prince of the Infinite Realms, but also he's just a strong mfer.

Why's the coat torn? Spoiler reasons.

Sam:

I'm actually really pleased by hers turned out because she was the one I was the least set on. The main vibes I wanted from Sam (who's hero name is 'Nightshade' btw) was 'Mad Nature Scientist'.

It's not easy to see, but the mask is actually meant to be flower petals like her skirt. The buttons on her lab coat are also leaves. This is in reference to her time as Undergrowth's chosen and of course her love of the environment, but she's also liminal enough to have a special way with plants. Not to the extreme Poison Ivy does (much to her dismay), but they're important to her and she wouldn't have a hero suit without them I believe.

As for the science bits, in story she's working with the Fentons to study ghosts. Also helps test their weapons (all non-lethal and exist to help her keep up with stronger ghosts), as well as picking up a lot of science-related skills thanks to her years of studying various biology in college and working with Jack and Maddie for several years. While Danny tends to handle the big fights while she runs support, but she's also acting as the brains when it comes to ecto poisoning, making more ecto-dejecto and understanding how ectoplasm reacts with living beings.

The corset is, of course, because she's goth. Why cover her up so much aside from the tiny tit window? That's story-related reasons and we'll get there when we get there.

Dani:

My favorite outfit of the bunch tbh.

In-story Ellie (so I the writer don't get confused by two Dan-es) did eventually return to Amity Park and settled in to be adopted by the Fentons and go to school for realsies and in general get to live something of a normal life. But I maintain that Sam (Valerie too, but Sam was dating Danny and around quite a lot) was a big influence on Ellie once she settled in. She's more 'punk' than 'goth', but finding herself through changing up her fashion was heavily encouraged by Sam. And, of course, Danny's protective older brother dismay. Which is honestly a huge bonus to her.

Like Danny, she produces a lot of her own ectoplasm, but less than he does. And her's is a lot less pure so hers is a different green- She's not too broken up about it because it shows that she is different than her 'template', but also because it matches Sam's green better. (Sam and Danny might not be dating anymore, but Ellie still considers her to be an older sister figure and being more like Sam delights her). She does have 'fire' flicks on her clothes and tbh I actually messed up coloring those. I meant to stop coloring partway up to give a bit of a fade to white effect and make the flames white the same as her shirt, but, alas. I don't think the all black boots and gloves look bad at all.

As for the hair, Ellie's core has an element same as Danny's, but hers is Air. And being that her hero name in Wraith, I really wanted to go for, kind of a ghostly floating/flickering fire long streak. More like Starfire's big curly hair from the comics the shows are cowards give her the poofy hair back!. Also the 'non ghost' hair cut uuuh, I'm not an artits but it was supposed to be that side braid with bangs that fall over? But yeah that's her hair when she's in human form.

That's about everything for now! I'll definitely be coming back to this with more designs once I've jotted them down. Hope to get chapter 3 out soon but that fucker is fighting dirty :(

[ineffablegods616]

I want to see both an animated season 8+ of Voyager, but then cross it with DS9, and make it a whole ass adventure with all our blorbos together. AND anime reboots of them both. Cuz I'm a greedy bean.

I want to see the stuff we couldn't have in the 90's. I want the queer rep they skirted despite and because of Berman & Braga, the neurodivergent and disability acceptance rep level raised. I want it to go dark, scary and psychological with SO many Janeway being a badass moments, and some really forked up alien battle/attack shiz.

Get fanfic writers in on this. Get fandom animators in on it. Like...I've got at least 6 epic story writers for Voyager and at least 10 highly skilled artist/animation Ninja's just on this hellsite alone.

I would absolutely pay out the butt for anime (say cartoon and it ends up looking like Scooby-Doo) Janeway & Sisko unhinged battle tactics, less repressed interaction between ppl... alternate timeline it, so we can have Jadzia back. Worf and B'Lanna arguing Klingon stuff. Odo being impressed with Tuvok and vice versa. Quark hitting on ADMIRAL Janeway reeeeaaally blatantly, and everyone just FREEZES up until she laughs, says something scathing, and joins Jadzia in the 'we like him and messing with him' club. They teach her Tongo. She hustles people at pool. Yup. Quark is in love lol. Garrak makes everyone uncomfortable, because of course he does. Bashir and the Doctor ego battle in fascination of each other's enhancedness.... uuuuuuugh

Pretty sure I could just go on, and on, and on...

Lmao also how I ACCIDENTALLY wrote out an 1800 word note for an outline of a Voyager/Firefly fic, that I will legitimately never write out fully (not a writer, but I have the ideas lol)

I'll be extraordinarily embarrassed to post it, but if anyone would want to flesh it out into a story. I would absolutely be ecstatic to share what I have written out and help in any way.

[mor-goo]

AU MK1 where the two main protagonists are Li Mei and Havik and it gets crackshippy

So this AU was borne of me having recently started playing MK1, and only just learning that the two characters I thought looked most interesting apparently have next to no real impact on the story.

I don't know if anyone even cares about this game anymore, let alone the story, but here's my dumb AU re-write and crackship on the vaguest, most conceptual level.

Very obvious law-and-order-vs-unrestrained-chaos conflict. No way these two would work together of their own volition, so something drastic would present both with no other choice.

Buddy cop movie but they just stay hating each other the whole way through.

Havik's tower ending where he floods Seido, and both characters' stubborn natures also present inevitable conflict when Li Mei is naturally all like 'hey, maybe don't'. No matter how well they work together over the course of the story, you know it'll go awry by the end.

Why do they team up? What do they accomplish by the end of the MK1 story? I'll be damned if I know. Maybe if this gains any traction, I'll think about it more.

Havik works with Quan Chi, but grows to believe that he has promised too much to too many people. He brings back memories of the leadership of Seido.

One form of motivation for Li Mei to finally join him is the hope of redeeming herself in the eyes of Sindel and the royal family. Naturally, she doesn't tell them about their partnership. Tanya's role as the new head of the Umgadi, as well as her suspicions of Li Mei in relation to Jerrek's death, means Li Mei has to constantly check over her shoulder.

Neither of them are happy about having to partner with the other, but recognise it as a necessity.

Maybe their partnership would be found out later. Sindel sees it as the final straw after the death of Jerrek, and threatens her execution for working with a known terrorist (at least in Edenia's eyes). Li Mei perhaps has to make a choice between disowning the travelling partner who she's come to respect tolerate, or staying with him for the greater good of defeating Quan Chi and Shang Tsung.

The dynamic

Li Mei is about 90% of Havik's impulse control. He looks forward to seeing her losing her cool, just so he has something that he can hold over her.

Havik is naturally pretty ACAB (you go, Havik!).

They take turns interrogating people. Havik tends to be more physical with it. I'd say 'good cop, bad cop', except Li Mei would also start beating them if a) they annoyed her enough, or b) Havik's form was off. She's a stickler for fighting technique.

You're a fool if you don't think Havik pulls the most juvenile pranks on her. When they first meet, he pretends to suffer a grievous injury, pulling off his own arm or something just to be a dick.

The arm acts as a Chekov's gun and he gives it to her as an impromptu weapon in act 3 or something, idk.

Li Mei is a smooth talker with some surprisingly witty reparte when she wants to use it. Havik is not. I imagine it like James Bond suave vs Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket. ('You'd better un-f**k yourself or I will rip off your head and check down your neck!')

It'd probably end with Li Mei accepting her role as head of Imperial Police, as she does in the tower ending, and she'd be willing to let Havik go, with a days' head start or something like that. Yeah it's tropey as hell, but I love said trope.

Y'know how Darrius just hangs out with Havik in the story mode and has no dialogue at all? I imagine him as also occassionally being there in this AU, and still also not saying anything. Havik is just like 'this is Darrius, he's coming with' and Li Mei, too exhausted to question it anymore, just thinks 'yeah, that tracks, whatever'. Darrius just sometimes nods or shakes his head.

Remember that meme where the person asks out his crush and makes it a group chat that also includes his friend? And the friend is like 'dw bro I'm here for you?' That'd be Darrius.

('Why does Li Mei call you baby girl?' 'Let's change the subject.') Would it get ship-y?

For some reason they could meet with the canon group (ie Raiden, Johnny Cage, etc) and Cage would be all 'I ship it'. Mileena, having to hide her own relationship with Tanya, is surprised, but doesn't consider it her place to judge. Even Lui Kang could be sporting one of those sly, subtle smiles he sometimes gives.

No clue what would happen after the events of the story for now, but would be left open-ended in an eternal state of chase. A sort of grudging level of mutual respect. ('I hate this person, but I'd be damned if I'm going to be chased by / chasing someone else')

OR it's a more tragic ending where he and Rain do flood Seido and we get a somewhat tragic ending between the two where Li Mei reverts back to hating him, and also herself for thinking he had any humanity to him.

In other words, you're damn right it gets ship-y. They're called crackships for a reason and I've caught the bug.

What shall we call it? Law and Havoc?

Anyway, verbal spray over. Maybe when I see more of the story I'll come up with more ideas. Sorry for any repeated points, I was desperate to get this all down. I'm off to stew over this some more for now.

[all-encompassing-hero]

I want to talk about my least favorite kind of ship in terms of writing but SPECIFICALLY on a meta level. If that sounds confusing, don't worry it will make sense by the end. (Also, I might be using the terms incorrectly anyway, so if I am, please correct me)

I would also like to make it very clear. I DO NOT DISLIKE THE SHIPS I WILL BE USING AS EXAMPLES! I have two examples I'll be using that I love to no end, but this specific aspect of both of them pisses me off.

Be warned, long post under the cut.

Anyway, let's get into it.

I hate ships that are just on the edge of being canon but aren't fully there.

Now, what do I mean by almost canon?

One of the ways I like to categorize ships is by how canon they are. (This is by no means the only way. It's simply the way I'll be using for this post.) A ship can be 100% canon, 0% canon, and anywhere in between. To be clear, how canon a ship is does not affect its quality. Plenty of fully canon ships are hated, and plenty of non-canon ships are loved.

With this metric in mind, the specific type of ships I hate are the ones that exist between 90% and 99% canon. I have come to call the "Occam's ship." And the two examples I have of this kind of ship are Togachako and Pearlina. Let's start with Togachako.

Togachako is the ship name for Himiko Toga and Ochako Ururaka from My Hero Acadamia. Initially, this ship was simply a "what if" for people to have fun with. The only piece of canon evidence for this ship was Toga in episode 108 (I think. It's been a while since I watched the anime, and the wiki isn't very helpful) listing Ururaka as one of the people she loves alongside Midoriya and Stain. This, alongside Toga being confirmed to be bi/pan, helped push this ship into notoriety. Also, Horikoshi draws a lot of artwork of Toga with Ururaka in ways that could definitely be read as romantic.

So far, nothing massive is going on. If I had to assign a number to it, I'd say this ship was at 30-40% canon. (There's no math here. I'm just throwing out a number that sounds right.) Then Toga and Ururaka's most recent fight happened, with chapters 393-395 of the manga causing the most stir. It gave us lines like "I want to give you my blood for the rest of my life," "I envy your smile," and of course, "Am I cute?" "The cutest in the world." (I'm paraphrasing a little, but you get the picture.)

Suddenly, this ship rockets all the way into Occam's ship tier. This is a Shounen manga. The leading man and the leading lady are supposed to end up together. But suddenly, we get a confession of love between the leading lady and the main female villain. And that's what pisses me off. Because at the end of the day, this isn't a confession of love. While the simplest explanation of these chapters is that they are in love, without an explicit confirmation, Horikoshi could very easily pull the rug out from under us. Because even though the most obvious answer is that they are together, until they actually are together, there will always be that nagging thought in the back of your mind reminding you what kind of manga this is.

Now, I said I had two examples, so let's move on to Pearlina. Pearlina is a ship involving the idol duo Pearl Houzuki and Marina Ida from the Splatoon franchise. Initially, these two were in a very similar situation to early Togachako. A few bits of dialogue here or there do not a canon ship make. But as the franchise continued to grow, more evidence began to appear. From the mock interviews with both characters, to the chat logs and cutscenes in Octo Expansion, to most recently a lot of the conversions and details in Side Order, these two were becoming more canon by the day.

But, at the end of the day, their not canon. At least, their not confirmed to be canon. At any point, Nintendo can simply make a statement, either in game or on social media, that Pearl and Marina aren't dating, or see eachother as sisters, or are actually in relationships with other characters. Without that confirmation, there's just enough plausible denyability for Nintendo to undo everything they've built.

"So what?" I hear you ask. "If a ship being or not being canon doesn't affect the quality, why do you care?"

At the end of the day, I think the biggest factor in this whole thing is investment. I want to get invested in these ships. For ships that are 100% canon, I don't need to get invested. All I need to do is sit back and enjoy. For ships that are 0% canon, my investment is my choice. If I care about this ship, it's because I want to. But when a ship is that close to being canon without that last bit of confirmation, it almost feels like the writers are begging me to get invested with committing to the relationship themselves. They want the benefits of the relationship being canon while still leaving themselves room to back out if they want to.

Maybe this post is a bit rambling, and maybe this is just a me problem. But I just really needed to get my thoughts out there for others to see. So, if you made it to the end of the post, thank you.

[indigostudies]

goals for 2024

2023 has been a very tumultuous year for me, for a variety of real-world reasons, and i wasn't able to reach a lot of my goals. in light of that, i want to list out the goals i have for 2024 and how i plan on reaching them as a way to keep myself responsible.

first of all, i have a number of language goals, where i would like to make advances in a variety of languages:

- i want to reach an hsk 6 level with my reading and writing. in order to reach this goal, i plan on reading two articles per day on dot, and two articles per week from TCB, and add terms i don't recognise to my TOFU deck, as well as write down example sentences using these vocab/grammar patterns, and go over them with my tutor. i also want to read the entirety of a cnovel in the original chinese. - i want to reach a basic level in korean and kazakh. in order to do this, i plan on completing the mango korean course, and the first two units on the kazakh course. i also plan on completing through the topik 2/a2 level on lingory for korean. - i want to work through the kurmanji textbook i've been using, and look for ways to continue learning on a more formal level, such as through online courses.

additionally, i have some other academic goals for uni i'd like to meet:

- i'd like to keep all my grades at or above 90% for my classes going forward. my biggest obstacle to this in 2023 was that i didn't want to get up early and actually go to class, instead watching the lectures afterwards from the recordings, and this made it harder for me to absorb information (since i usually take notes by hand while in class), as well as reduced my participation grade in that class. in order to do this, i plan on giving myself an 11:00 hard bedtime, at which point i have to turn off all my devices and lay down and at least try to go to sleep. also, i've chosen classes that are scheduled for later on in the day in the winter quarter, which should help with this. - i want to start utilising office hours and study aids more frequently. i've occasionally used office hours, but i've never taken advantage of study aids, and while i don't think i necessarily need them to keep my grades up, i want to have time to go over class material and make it stick more firmly in my mind.

i also have some miscellaneous goals:

- i want to look for a penpal programme aimed towards international penpal connections, specifically for a chinese penpal, because one of the things i need to do more is actually write in chinese by hand to make characters stick in my muscle memory, rather than just relying on my computer/phone to choose the right character while writing. - i want to write at least 20k of original fiction, and i'd like to plan out a novel at least at an outline level even if i don't manage to write it. - i want to be more consistent about posting language/uni updates on tumblr, as a way to keep myself accountable for being more purposeful in my studies. - i want to find student/interest clubs that are relevant to me and join them, and i'd like to be more involved with events and activities on campus.

that's everything i can think of! i hope that in 2024 i'll be able to meet these goals :)

[izzy-b-hands]

15 QUESTIONS FOR 15 FRIENDS

Tagged by @sherlockig, thank u Alexz!!

Under the cut bc I got wordy and rambly as per usual lol.

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

Kind of? In that I more or less named myself after Izzy from our flag lol. Not that I'm going to tell everyone I meet that, but it is a big part of why I stuck with it after trying it out (that, and I've always wanted a name that had the letter zed in it, silly as that may seem.)

One of my middle names (that I had been using as a first name for a few years) is after my grandfather and aunt who also have that name as their middle name.

My deadname was after an actress famous in the 90s (tho tbh my mum apparently didn't choose it for that, she chose it bc she didn't find out my gender until I was Out and then was like 'aw fuck I don't have a name for this situation' and went with the first one she saw in a book of names a nurse gave her. It was only after that she remembered the actress when I was like. 4. that she changed and started telling ppl it was after that instead.)

And technically Holden is after the book character, but mum never actually read that book (and after I described it to her, said she has no interest in doing so lmao), she just liked how the name sounded and that was the one solitary name she for sure had on hand when I was born apparently. Could have saved us all time had she just used that one for me anyway!

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Couple of nights ago. I'm doing better abt missing my cat Nisha, but my phone will toss up compilations of pics of her to mark the year/month/etc and sometimes those still get me. It popped up just before I went to bed that night and I was already so tired that I just. broke down. Bc I know she's v loved and looked after w/my mum, but I do miss her goofy lil self a lot. She was my first cat that was given to me and meant to be mine alone, and there's something abt that first pet bond I guess.

3. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Nope, and it's not a likely thing for me. I've said before that that happening would be in a very specific situation, wherein I'm with someone who wants to dedicate the rest of our lives to raising a child, or god forbid more than one, tho I think I'd max out at two if I managed one at all tbh (and that's not even getting into the very complex for me thing of would I want to actually be pregnant ever (probably not, absolutely terrified of dying in childbirth and don't see myself getting over that easily), we have the funds to make that happen (and give the kid a good life, not just a decent one or 'could have been worse' like my own), and we feel stable mentally, emotionally, and physically (as much as one can outside of Life Happening of course) bc having a kid means putting allll of that first for them, ahead of yourself. Or at least I think it should mean that lol.

But that situation is incredibly unlikely considering my bigger goal in life is to wind up being a third for multiple couples while also fucking any of my friends who are down for it in a big poly ENM sort of thing for lack of better/more detailed definition (I know it sounds unrealistic and maybe it is to a degree, almost definitely is lol.)

I can admit I just. don't want to uproot the life I've been trying so hard to build for myself in so many ways, to have kids. I'll happily help babysit the kids of any friends tho and be the fun uncle that buys them junk food and lets them stay up late to watch movies. I think that's about the level of parenting of any kind that I can handle for now (also tbh I burned out on parenting bc my family admits they parentified the fuck outta me with my three younger cousins. It by far could have been worse, but I spent my teens spending most of my days after school helping look after them from the newborn years and on. Unless my above uber specific scenario happens, then I've probably had my fill of parenting for my lifetime.)

4. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?

I played volleyball for a few years in elementary school, and we were made to participate in a multi-school track and field thing for most of middle school every year, but I was never amazing at them. Housemate and I have figured out I likely have undiagnosed asthma tho (turns out running or going out in too cold or hot weather shouldn't instantly make you gasp, struggle to breathe, and make you taste iron in your mouth, who the fuck knew? Not me, genuinely) so I think that might have a lot to do with it.

I also enjoy tennis and badminton and would love to try rugby, but I've never played any of those beyond a hobby with family/friends.

5. DO YOU USE SARCASM?

I do! Probably too much and not always in the best situations, but I've been working for years to hone when and where it should be used so I think/hope I'm a lot better with it than I was when I was younger. Tho even then, I did get adults who found it funny when I was sarcastic bc of how adult I seemed to a lot of them (their words, not mine lmao.)

6. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

I genuinely don't know. Usually I'm too busy running my script for meeting new ppl in my head and trying to maintain Common and Expected Etiquette to really notice much right away. I have found that after a bit of time/after the initial meeting has passed, I tend to notice colours ppl wear more often than others if I see them often enough, or hair colour. But I don't know if it counts towards this question at that point lol.

7. WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR?

Kinda blueish grey? Some ppl say it's too grey to be blue, others that it's too blue to be grey. I had a lady at the ND DOT freak out abt not being sure if I should have blue or grey on my ID a few years back, and she finally just told me to put blue so 'she could stop feeling so confused.' Was a weird day and the first time I realised apparently they really do have a blend of both colours, enough for it to be upsetting lmao.

8. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

I can't choose between the two; I like both! I also like mixing them together when I write (a scary story with a happy ending, an ending that seems happy but is actually terrifying, so on and so forth.)

9. ANY TALENTS?

Writing? Maybe, I always list it bc it's something I know how to do and to (usually) do decently well. I can sort of draw? But not well enough that I think 'talented' would be accurate to describe how I draw lol. I'm not sure of anything else off the top of my head tbh.

10. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

In California, USA! We were there bc dad was in basic training for the Marines and then just got stuck at Camp Pendleton for years lmao (or that's how he always talks abt it anyway lmao.) Only was actually there until either: a. I was 3 months old, b. I was 6 months old or c. I was actually basically still a fresh newborn. Depends on whether you're talking to my dad, mum, or grandparents as to which answer you get, and at this point I'm genuinely uncertain as to exactly when mum left and took me to North Dakota but 6 months seems the most potentially accurate lmaooo.

11. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

Writing, drawing, reading (not enough but I'm trying to remedy that), napping, watching movies/fave shows, and giffing.

12. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?

Kind of? My cat Nisha had to stay in North Dakota after I moved, so my mum and her bf are looking after her now (and got her a little sister, a kitten who is getting so big already!, named Bella.) I help Housemate look after aer two cats as well, and I'd like to think the boys consider me like their fun uncle lol (aka I bend over backwards for them and let them steal my spot on the couch all the time, and will break out the treats if needed to corral them now and then. In my defense: they are the cutest lil baby boy cats and they deserve the world, even when they're being little gremlins lmao.)

13. HOW TALL ARE YOU?

Approximately somewhere between 5'3 and 5'4ish? I can't recall the last time I was actually measured, and most of the ppl I've been around were somewhere between those heights and I'm usually either slightly shorter or slightly taller than some of them, so??? I put 5'3 on my ID tho lol

14. FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?

English bc it was easy and I liked almost everything we did in that class. All my general and more specific history courses were a close second, and my foreign language classes a close third.

15. DREAM JOB?

Ideally, I'd love to not have to work. But who wouldn't, so that said, probably something in a library or museum. I'd love to be a library page again, or help work the front desk/docent duties of a museum. Working at someplace like Mystic Seaport would be amazing too; I'd be happy to learn how to help repair/repaint ships that come in or just help do tours or look after artifacts and stuff (tbh they could hire me just to type up any random data entry work they need done for any/all depts and I'd say yes to the job offer lol.) Unfortunately there's fairly significant roadblocks to me achieving any of these jobs rn, but I like to keep them in mind, just in case.

Also, if I can have one dream job that would be even more unlikely and is slightly TMI probably but: paid third for a rich couple. I show up, look nice, [redacted], make sure they're both good for the night, then go back home to Housemate (if it wouldn't be a night they'd want me to stay over, which I wouldn't be against but also. That would require some overtime pay lol.) The chances of this one are...so unlikely it's stupid funny, but a man's allowed to have dreams right lmao?

Tagging (if u guys wanna, no obligation if u don't wanna/have already been tagged/etc!!): @starmoonchildfromthebeamsabove, @freebooter4ever, @willowenigma, @turtleduck-tales, @mash1972, @mysteriouslybluepirate, @turtles-on-turts, @cononeillbreastingboobily, @treesofgreen, @dianetastesmetal, @arsenicflame, @gydima, @king-bussy, @p0ochy, @crvwly, and anyone else following me who wants to!

[voxofthevoid]

Hey, I actually don't know if you've ever answered the question I'm going to ask (I'm like 90% sure you did lol), but you're very active on Tumblr, so I couldn't find an updated direct response 😅 - have you ever considered to post more often on ao3, not just one chapter for each work you're currently posting? From my understanding, all JJK and Marvel works you have on a current schedule are finished? And don't get me wrong - of course you have life and I don't mean you SHOULD post everything all at once, but as a fic writer myself - I do not have a patience to sit on my works for long! Like I need to share my obsession I have with certain ships ASAP. For example, your Shibuya Swap fic - someone already picked on that too - will take 2 years to post! That's insane, I don't know if I would like my own stuff in 2 years enough to not feel embarrassed about it and delete, and you will be coming back to it on a monthly basis for 2 years at best, 2.5 at worst, if something will not change the schedule by that time.

Or could it be, that those works aren't actually *finished* it's just that you have a general idea or "drafts" how will it start, progress and end?

I really admire your consistency though, but sometimes can't help myself, but think "Man, I wish you'd post *that* fic more often, it's SO good!" Or post like one fic, just 3-5 chapters of it in a month or sum. But alas, I will restrain myself from begging on my knees in the ao3 comments, because I can understand how annoying it can get, FAST (I dealt with certain people there, too).

Have a great day and please don't take this question as an attack, I'm just a desperate fan of yours, who can't even mind my own business most of the time due to being an ANNOYING person with ADHD lmfao🙏

You WILL see me generally commenting *OMG SO GOOD WOW HOLD UP* gibberish on your works, though (it is a threat).

Haha, don't worry, I won't bite your head off for this. No offense taken or attack interpreted 💜

I have answered a few versions of this question before, twice in relation to JJK and at least once in relation to MCU. They're all somewhere in this tag (link only works in browsers), and the former two will be more recent...but well, that tag has 127 pages of results and Tumblr search sucks balls; even I can't find my posts most of the time, so I definitely don't expect others to. But I did hunt down the most recent one: https://voxofthevoid.tumblr.com/post/746745605036064768/hey-i-was-wondering-why-you-post-one-chapter-a

As for stuff you've asked that's not covered in that answer—

My works are all finished, not just drafts. The "plot bunnies" I talk about are outlines of varying detail, but the fics I'm posting to Ao3 as well as the fics I've posted in previous WIP Wednesday installments are all complete. They need editing, but my first drafts are essentially my final drafts. I proofread to catch typos and grammar errors and to generally polish the phrasing. My day job is editing, which means I'm extremely lazy about editing my leisure writing, but I manage a decent pass.

Regarding how I feel about my work years down the line: I've more or less settled into my writing style. It's still changing and growing, and I enjoy experiments and challenges, but the base quality is at a level I'm content with in terms of both prose and mechanical elements. I'm not embarrassed by anything I've written after 2018, and I don't really see that changing. I will always see the flaws prominently, both objective and subjective ones, but I'll also see the strengths. The older fics (2014–2018) are of significantly poorer quality as well as clumsily executed in many, many ways, but I'm still proud of my ideas and absolutely delighted by how they still entertain so many people. Regardless of my personal feelings toward my writing at a given time, I won't delete my fics.

As for patience, I am indeed patient 🤣. Well, for a year or so, I've been posting snippets from whatever I'm currently working on as WIP Wednesday posts, so I am actively sharing the pieces that I'm working on, but I'm pretty comfortable with sitting on the full stories for months or even years. It just doesn't bother me.

The only issue with how I build a backlog is that once I lose interest in the ship/fandom, my posting slows down, and I get 100 times lazier about editing—to the point I'll likely post the rest of my MCU and Bleach works all raw and dirty. One of the reasons I'm posting as much as I do for JJK is that I'd like to avoid a similar fate in this fandom. Fool's errand with how my inspiration and writing function, but hey, no harm in trying.

And, in line with the post I've linked above, even if I had fewer fics on the roster, my pace would remain a chapter a month per fic. Let's say I suddenly stop writing and also whittle my backlog down to only 2 fics: That won't mean I'll post 3 chapters each for those 2 fics every month; I'll still only post twice a month in total—one chapter from each fic.

As long as no one's being rude or entitled (I've seen some asinine takes about prewritten fics being posted slowly), I consider people wanting more of specific stories as a compliment! However, you'll have to be patient right along with me 😂

And that's a wonderful threat; I look forward to it 🥰

[rigelmejo]

More progress updates, because I'm having fun!

Glossika japanese: did 1248 sentences, 10,055 reps so far, it says I'm High A1 20.4%. I believe that based on the sentence quality I am getting, they are A1 sentences vocabulary wise. The grammar includes various higher level stuff, but the vocabulary is fairly basic and mostly review of stuff I've learned before and just forgotten or gotten rusty with). Glossika has articles that claim a good first goal is 25,000 sentence repetitions for a noticeable improvement in speaking. So i'll give a little review on progress compared to glossika's claim, when I get to 25,000 reps. Their articles also indicate the eventual goal is to do 100,000 reps in glossika for speaking fluency (i'd argue i'll probably have B1 speaking skills at best by then, but glossika's app claims B2 or C1 so i'm going to score them a bit harshly regardless). I dont think it will be especially hard to do 100,000 reps, as Ive done 10k from around 1000 sentences, and the app has 6500+ sentences, so just going through all sentences ill be around 65,000 reps and then its just a few weeks of reviews.

Reading 默读 by priest: I've read 3 chapters now. Both extensively (not looking up words) and intensively (looking up every word I don't fully know/remember the definition of or pronunciation of). My conclusion is that I am comprehending about 86% percent (like yesterday's calculation) CLEARLY and then another 10% I can guess roughly what's going on and be close enough to use those guesses to learn, or I can guess based on the plot I remember. With that much at least roughly comprehended, it makes reading 默读 extensively doable if I want to do it. I recognize most the hanzi, so when I slow down and read very slowly, I understand closer to 90% of the words (just having forgotten pronunciation), and then using context guess the few unknown hanzi and the words they make, so there's not a huge hit in story understanding. If I read fast, reading along with audio as it plays, I make vaguer guesses about what descriptions mean that use hanzi I know/one I dont in ways I'm unfamiliar with. So far my guesses have been rough, but generally in the ballpark, so I've been able to keep reading without pausing to look stuff up if I choose to.

I am thinking of doing an experiment with 默读. I will read it while listening, because that forces me to practice reading at a faster pace (speaking speed). I will only look words up if I feel like it (so not all the time, probably only occasionally). And I will note if in 20 chapters, 40 chapters etc, I am noticing if I have "learned" significantly more words, noticing if I've gotten better at comprehending words I know quicker while following along to spoken speed (so clearer understanding). The idea of reading comprehensible material to you (say 95% words you know or more), is in theory you pick up more vocabulary through context, and improve reading skills, over the course of reading. Growing up, literature classes and reading assignments basically give you mostly comphrehensible materials to read and that's a major way your vocabulary and reading skills build in your native language. Yes, some classes make you look up vocabulary for a particular literature book assigned (or defined terms in a science textbook). But the vast majority of free reading time is: pick a book for your age level, teacher encourages something slightly challenging but comprehensible. I have read simpler chinese novels extensively, and made progress. But 默读 would probably be the highest unique-vocab book I'd try it with. The upside is? I could potentially learn more new vocabulary from this book. And then in the future it will make reading other stuff easier. So yeah, I'll update on progress later.

Read chapter 3 of 默读. Listened to modu audiobook chapters 1-3. I noticed my listening skills just... fucking suck lol. I can read so much better than I can listen. I was getfing through the audiobook based on phrases I recognized and the dialogues, despite being able to READ those chapters... listening to them I just couldnt recognize as many words. I will also be extensively listening to the audiobook, as see how much sheer Volume of audio listened to helps me improve. I guess on the upside: i used to not comprehend the audiobook much, so this does feel essier, even if its still miles away from full comprehension.

Other things of note:

i find it funny that after a week of getting back into things, im quietly saying the hanzi as i read again. Apparently pronunciatioj WAS locked in my read somewhere, it was just rustier than visual recognition.

I may watch Absolute BL/zettai bl season 3 in japanese. Since its out?!! It exists!!! Which is news to me. It isnt fully translated yet. However, my japanese sucks so i might fail miserably. I Cannot Reach You On Netflix would be another choice (wirh japanese subs available and english). But i miss Mobu. ToT

Its shockingly weird how much reading skill works? Like... it rusts and you "forget" but then if you use it, it always comes back within a week or two. Thats what happens with reading french for me, and apparently with chinese too. I havent read in 6 months ish. Last week I tried to read SCI, i was fucking terrible. Confused as hell, even though it should be easier than modu. Well this week I'm reading modu, which has more unique words in it, and it feels fine and doable and fairly okay to understand. And to be fair, part of that is I just am much more comfortable parsing priest's writing style. So I go back to try reading SCI again today. Well? Easy. What the fuck. It was barely parseable last week. Now I can read: 办公室的门在受到撞击前的一刹那打开了，两人刹车不及，直接摔了进去，双双落地，正中地板。就听楼下有人隔着窗户朝上大喊：“你们刑警队的就不能消停一天？再这样下去，哪天真的地震了，整个楼里的人都不知道跑啦……” 张龙和王朝从地板上爬起来，就见白玉堂手上端着杯咖啡，靠在办公桌边似笑非笑地看着他俩。just fine. It's easy. Okay then.

Oh and also. Tao rans name? 陶然 the fact its the same ran as huran/turan/mengran so many "suddenly" words that come up at the beginning of a sentence, and tao ran's name Also comes up at the beginning of sentences, keeps throwing me off when I listen.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Scarborough Ahoy! (1994 Short Film)- Day 4 Watching Con's Filmography

Live posting. All I know is this is sad(don't know why), short, and that Con is good (and queer) in it. Watching it in 480p, so we'll see.

YELL AT ME BELOW! I NEED YALLS OPINIONS ON THIS!

Warnings for: Suicidal Ideation, full body nudity.

Also, the movies description describes Con as the 'Gay Guy' and 'Barmaid'. So 'Con' and 'Barmaid' is what I'm calling them. I'll specify Con the Actor.

Casually kicking a one-night stand out; GET IT GIRL. Didn't expect that level of nudity, but here we are.

CONNNN! He's slightly older in this one compared to Dancing, and I already don't feel wigged out.

Con's semi-startled look at 'used to get laid all the time'. Me too, babe, me too.

As a person who hates booze, the bar scene made me physically nauseous.

Con, being a bro, and making sure she was alright. Love that for him. She needs a friend.

HAHAHA Hell yeah, stick up for yourself Con, he's queer, and the guy getting you a coffee.

God, gender fucking envy. And coat envy, that thing looks warm as shit. I missed when my hair was that length(Con's). Shame I need to be more feminine presenting where I live.

DAMN. I wish I was that confident in my driving. She backed up with SPEED.

HELL YEAH, TRIP TO FIND MEN BABY! God, I know England isn't affordable to anyone, especially foreigners, but god its nice to be able to drive that in a day and actually go somewhere

Con, stop wearing my dream wardrobe. I want that fucking sweater.

OH MY GOD. This is real ally behavior, compete to see who gets more guys

Synchronize watches! The confidence into immediate, oh shit, how the fuck do i do this on both their faces is great.

Santa, fuck off.

(Con making out with a guy)Now. How the fuck haven't I seen gifs of this. tumblr, I'm surprised you weren't hornier.

SHE CHOSE SANTA. Mam, have some self-respect. I hope he is at least a gentle lover? Laughing as he goes down on you probably isn't great.

AWWW. The way they watched out for each other after getting laid. Happily just walking down the road. Oh my god, help her up. BRO, GET THE FUCK UP OFF THE ROAD.

He straight up said 'boyfriend'. Damn, love short indie films.

24? Fuck him babe, old my ass

Okay, I thought Con was going to say his guy died, not cheated. I'm trained too well in modern......OHH SHIT, whelp (he killed himself)

Babes, please learn to love yourselves.

BANGIN SOUNDTRACK

I Love that they coordinate outfits, either accidentally or not. They are the crew. Hell yeah, the ass-grabbing! Get sailor ass.

Now, mushy peas seems like hell. Actual worse thing on earth

'What's brought this on, catholic guilt?' Mood

'Feels great, sometimes not so great'

'What about love, then.' Awww babe

What game are they playing with all those colors, looks fun as shit. CON LOOKS SO HAPPY. LET THIS MAN PLAY HAPPY PEOPLE. He just fucking giggled, god damn it.

This seems like a nice road trip to mentally reset life for a bit.

Guys, if they're being passively suicidal, then at least they've got each other. See, they pushed and they still wanted to live. Cute shit.

Sexuality being fluid! Great to see this, especially for the 90s.

Love the respecting of boundaries; they both really needed to talk before moving forward. Great shit. It's probably her feeling guilty for 'tempting a gay' but... That feels depressing, so fluidity I will choose.

"Well, you can fix it; you did a course in auto mechanics, didn't you." Hahahaha

GAY EARING ON THE DRIVER. I love that Con's getting as much action as he is.

Nice of her to give them space, ally behavior

CONS HAIR

EXCUSE ME MAM, LET HIM FUCK. RUDE. Stand up for yourself CON! They're just friends. If she wanted more, she needs to communicate that. He's pulling his own and trying to reach out to find a middle ground cause he knows she's angry. I love that he comforts her even though he has every right to escalate this into a fight.

Awww, she saved him the head puzzle piece. Love that he smacked it down. His fucking grin.

THE LITTLE SHUFFLE DANCE. Also, this fucker is stealing my wardrobe again.

OH MY GOD WALTZING. I LOVE IT. Bitch, this is the most romantic thing I've ever seen. THE CINDERELLA SONG! AWWWWWWW. I love them. Bro has to understand how many mixed signals he's sending out here.

Going to the dockyard doesn't end happily in these sorts of films.

He's having thoughts and needs to fuck them out. Fair, she's gorgeous.

SHIT CALLED IT

RUN! GO HELP HIM

At least she realized pretty early that he was out too late.

(Con is revealed beaten up and bloody)SHITTTTTTT Well, that's a head wound. Scuffed hands. Okay, good, I thought he fucking died.

GIVE THE MAN A HUG

AWWW HE SAID HE LOVES HER

DON'T FUCKING LEAVE YOU JACKASS. I've read dozens of fanfic like this. DOZENS

NOOOOOOOOOOO. WHY STOP THIS NOW! I NEED A FULL MOVIE GOD DAMN IT.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Con's Characters Sexuality Discussion: There are two options here. He's 'gay' as described in the film's synopsis or more fluid in a modern sense. Again, he's willing to fuck her, and clearly cares for her. Who knows if he was 'pushing his limits' and this is why she turned him down. The I love you could be romantic/sexual love, or the love of a friend. Both readings are perfectly valid by the text. The short film ends here to not answer the question and keep it ambiguous.

I'm flipping between this movie being about their friendship and finding someone to be comfortable with, or two people used to having one night stands falling in love. You know what. Both are right! (As a queer who says I love you to my straight friends. Calls them beautiful and does all of the shit Con does here, yeah, the waters are murky, who said you alone need to filter it to solve the art)

I can see a happy ending where they grow to be close friends for the rest of their lives, or just making it a probably short-lived relationship. They're both young and impulsive and need to work on themselves a bit before getting serious, but I hope they can keep this little corner of the world safe.

Cinematography(7/10): Fun! About what to expect from a short film. Nonintrusive editing.

Actors besides Con (8/10): I LOVED THE BARMAID. God, she's so fucking sweet and just needs someone in her corner. She's fun, cocky, and bullheaded in a way that fit's with Con's character. I loved their friendship. I love that she's worried about that and doesn't want to push boundaries. I wish this was a longer movie, I want to see them learning to love themselves and having each other there. Everyone else was unmemorable.

CON! The Actor 10/10: He seems more comfortable in this role than in Dancing. It makes him a more likeable character. Likely due to the size of the project, and experience. He seems like he's found his groove here, and I wish we got to see more of it. Seeing him actually flirt was a joy. Again, personally, I think the 'I love you' could be from a gay 'bff' perspective or he genuinely loves her. I love that they just feel safe with each other which is clearly what they need. Love con's look, dialogue, and everything about how he held himself. He seemed like he really opened up to her verses how Con's character acted at the beginning of the movie. That can be really hard to pull off

Story 9/10: Really fucking fun. Sweet, they both felt stuck in a rut and finally made a friend that understood them. The dialogue/writing is so fucking inspiring as I try to write fun dialogue.

REWATCHABILITY: I would say that compared to the downers I watched yesterday, this overtakes Vengeance. It helps that it's so short.

9/10. I hate giving perfect 10s when I haven't seen everything, but god is this so close. I can totally see myself giving this a retroactive 10. Writing this overview I felt like I was balancing on a tight rope trying to 'figure out' the right ending. But that's kind of the point. The relationship they build is a comfort in a shitty world, and it's fucking beautiful.

I know people said it was sad, but I found it really hopeful? They're still living their shitty lives, but they're not alone anymore.

NEXT! Still plan on Cucumber, 3 steps to heaven for weird Con, and whatever I feel in the moment. Rewatching Blood brothers today with the Brother, so wish me luck.

(I linked some people who commented last post, thanks for the comments as always!)

@treesofgreen

@ivegotnonameidea

[dimdiamond]

I wanted to make a post about Chester but all his info is just on this page (keep only the information that his first name is George- I still can't believe it) and in canon, he literally appears in only a few pages in Shooting Star and he's mentioned three times later on, one in The Secret of the Unicorn, another in Seven Crystal Balls and another in Castafiore's Emerald. Unfortunately in no media he ever appears (yeah, not even in the 90s cartoon series- THE AUDACITY TO CUT HIS SCENES- and let's leave the Belvision show, just keep in mind neither there he appears), as far as I know at least (if you find him elsewhere send me the link immediately, it's an order).

So you must be wondering (no you don't but let's pretend you do) why all this fuss about a less-than-secondary character? Well, that's because, first, I'm not well, and second, HE'S NOT LESS THAN A SECONDARY CHARACTER! Just because you can kick him away from the plot doesn't make his importance less, and at least for Haddock he's NOT! They're shipmates for 20 years (20 YEARS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW LONG ARE 20 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP?!), Chester risks his career for him, Haddock asks for his help, they try to meet up but fail and they keep in contact, regularly enough for Chester to send his congratulations for his "engagement" with Bianca. Chester is the only connection to Haddock's past and the only true and loyal stability of Haddock's almost whole life! So how can someone deem him less worthy of attention and importance when the mains (yes, even Tintin) count on him despite the distance between them?!

And now that we made clear how Chester is a very undermined character with unfair treatment from even official releases, I'll proceed with my personal takes and headcanons of him under the cut so you can ignore them if you don't care or whatever :)

Ohhh boy where do I begin??!!!

Ok so from the little canon material we can see that Chester is calmer than Haddock but ready to fight anytime and also uses the same style of sea shanties as him so we can conclude that they developed it together and, considering how sillies and childish they can get with their greeting, it doesn't surprise me that they have lots of imagination. This shared childish joy makes me wonder if they could know each other as kids so I usually end up headcanoning them as childhood friends, growing up in the same village and sharing many interests and dreams and secrets. They're for each other the most trustworthy person and the truest friend, and their friendship has such a strong foundation that it is sustained after so many years and despite following different paths in their lives. They won't need more than a moment to go back to their old ways and be kids again together, only more aged as the years pass by.

Chester also shows to be more moderate and quieter than Haddock and in general, a guy that reads the room much better than his friend. The way he treats Tintin, immediately trusting him and taking him seriously, is because he sees how he and Haddock are close and understands that there is a big level of trust and respect between them. That could be maybe because Chester reads characters well or because Tintin wins you over immediately but probably it's because of both of these and the fact that Haddock only speaks well of his young friend, who seems genuinely interested in the friendship of the two captains. Also, Chester's attitude towards Tintin is very interesting, he immediately shows trust and goes along with the plan (these two are seriously the real masterminds and Haddock is super lucky to have them work for his benefit), meaning that for him what matters is the person and not the appearances.

I find it so funny and cool how Chester just goes along with every plan and idea that most people would be more cautious to agree with?! Like fooling the fuel company to give in secret to someone the company refused to?! And doing it with such ease?! Like "Of course I will mess with the millionaire corporation" despite the huge risk of ruining his career?! You can't tell me that he wouldn't be the first to go to protests and support strikes and help anyone being mistreated by rich and powerful people! This man hates capitalism and authorities and would straight-face mock cops and royals (he and Haddock are proud anti-monarchy Scottish men) and the only rich he respects is Haddock because he doesn't have the attitude of a rich person!

I can't but mention how easily he gave Haddock Sirius for finding Red Rackham's Treasure and there was no mention of giving him a merit of the treasure (actually none on the ship asked for a merit and that's amazing). Most people would ask for something in return, especially giving something as essential as a transportation mean, but he just offers it?! How generous is that?! Maybe Chester isn't the kind of person to care for riches or he considers himself financially well enough to not worry about it? And probably he is since he never seems to ask that kind of help from Haddock later on and he always works so it's not like he has difficulty in securing a good contract.

Speaking of Chester always depicting traveling and never stopping being a Captain, it makes me think that he doesn't want to stop. Not only because he loves the sea and ships and his profession in general and not only because he has no life elsewhere and the sea is his whole life, but also because he wants to run away. Think of it! Chester, after his first and only appearance, is only mentioned in the comics and never shown, even when the main duo tried to meet him it was too late, he was already gone. He depicts freedom as a concept and the ideal of a well-traveled captain but also someone you can't catch because he doesn't want to. He gives the impression of someone running away from whatever life on land can be and while Haddock found his peace away from the sea Chester can't and doesn't seem eager to do so.

The reluctance of Chester to retire or just live on land might be because of his lack of family back on land and when all your friends and acquaintances are at sea why leave? He undeniably loves his job but I think he also hesitates to do something different from what he knows and lacks the confidence in fields he has no idea of.

As a captain he is excellent, his social skills are very good and he's very friendly but he knows how to keep his crew in check and they all respect him. I find it funny not being good with languages but insisting on learning them. He might look like not the academic type and not intelligent but that's because he believes himself to not be so, especially since he hasn't finished school- a learning disorder that was never diagnosed- and he can't concentrate long on reading books. However, he is really smart and intelligent of different kinds, like how he can adapt to new situations and people easily and even emotional intelligence.

Chester needs socialising but he's not as open as he looks. An extrovert that looks for interactions and outgoings, relaxed and comfortable in the middle of a big group of people but not the loudest, and in the end you realize he barely talked about himself, or if he did he only said what he wanted you to know. In reality, he has many insecurities and he reveals them and a more unpleasant side of himself only to his closest people. He prefers straightforward discussions and clear words but his hesitation to open up more or react strongly to anything can lead to the misunderstanding of being apathetic and uncaring.

About his family, I usually picture him being an only son with a very doting mother and a very strict and closed-minded father who raised him with traditional values and ethos. I don't know what job his father might have had but they wouldn't be wealthy for sure, learning to save money and not do unnecessary expenses. Chester was trying his best to not disappoint his father but he realized soon that this was inevitable as he couldn't change who he was (he could never be like his father as he was what his father hated) and leaving far away was the only way to safely be himself, satisfy his thirst for adventures and get away from a "proper" life, restricted in the same place with a wife and kids. His mother didn't stop him but his father abandoning his family for the sea was the last drop and they were separated on bad terms. (Depending on the concept I guess the details change in my mind but I stick to the gay with daddy issues).

Chester has a sufficient amount of money on his name but he lives a modest life and can't stand sitting down and not doing anything, even in his relaxing time he cleans like a maniac or knits (a habit he has adopted by his mother). He is a listening person so he listens to radio or vinyl if he hasn't got a company to listen to. He would like to have a cute pet but he doesn't have much free time nor can't take it with him on his long trips. He takes care of his appearance but that doesn't mean he follows all the new trends and prefers a more classic style.

He is a merciless teaser and with the right victim, he can go hours messing up with them. Haddock is a usual and fun victim but Chester would never go that far to actually hurt him. He is cheerful and usually positive, without letting it get over his head, and if he's not in a good mood he prefers to hide than be seen like that or be pitied.

In conclusion, despite being raised with very closed-minded values, Chester managed to be a very open-minded person, without letting prejudices affect him, be fair with his treatment to anyone, choose positivity and goodness and kindness, and be determined to live his life the way he wants to, free from restrictions, free for any possibility.

I think I have written more or less most of the things in my head about Chester but I do believe there are many things someone can do with his character (I didn't even touch the topic of early adventures with Haddock as I'm sure fans have many great stories for them in their minds and I doubt I can reach this level of creativity).

If you want to ask something more about my headcanons of him or/and his relationships with other characters and such feel free to do so :)

[kayssweetdreams]

Maestro Hiccups 3: Chaos Incarnate Ch 90

You didn't want to take the risk of fighting them all on your own, so you Press the RIGHT button, making the two run away from their adversaires.

This of course didn't stop Lakitu and the flying enemies from getting mad. "Grr. DON'T JUST STAND THERE!! AFTER THEM!!" He shouts. The enemies charge towards the duo, while they still needed to find Mario.

"MARIO!! MARIO?! WHERE ARE YOU?!?!" Drew shouts as he and Peach runs for their lives "IMCOMING!!" Mario's voice shouts from the clouds. The two stopped in their tracks as they saw that Mario was now flying AWAY from the very same Bullet Bill from before...and it looked much angrier than before.

"MARIO C'MON!!" Drew shouts, looking over his shoulder to see the angry horde of enemies still coming their way, led by the bob-omb chucking Lakitu "THIS WAY!!" He shouts to the plumber, hoping that his plan would work. Mario turns his way, and leads the angry Bullet Bill in the direction of the airship.

Drew then calls to Lakitu "HEY! YOU OVERGROWN TURTLE!! BET YOU CAN'T HIT ME WITH THOSE STUPID BOMBS!!" He taunts. Lakitu then turns a deep shade of red and Puffs of steam blow from his head "I'LL SHOW YOU!!!!" He yells, chucking more bombs at him as the enemy horde begins to get faster, and rush after the fleeing heroes.

Peach, Drew, and Mario rush back towards the airship, where a still fighting Brittany and Yoshi are, as they are attempting to hold off Boom Boom, who was starting to get VERY tired, but still blindly punching to at least get ONE hit on the two. "BRITTANY!! ABANDON SHIP!!" Drew yells, hoping it's loud enough for her to hear.

The two of them don't hear her, but Yoshi luckily notices the oncoming horde, angry bomb throwing Lakitu, and furious Bob-omb "YOSHI!" The Dino shouts jumping off the boat and into the clouds, just as Lakitu throws an entire clouds worth of bombs onto the ship...and the Bullet Bill hits it.

"HIT THE DECK!!" Drew shouts, as he, Mario, Peach, Yoshi and Brittany dive into the clouds as the Airship blows up in a blaze of glory. The remaining army of enemies are reduced to nothing but ashes, and the airship to nothing but splinters. The small group slowly peeked out from the clouds to see if there were any survivors, but all they saw was nothing more than a small, inactive Bob-omb, that Peach picked up...just in case.

You give a sigh as you managed to make it through the level without losing a life, even though it wasn't as hard as the other few levels...but that didn't mean you were done yet. The screen flashes. "GET READY!" Once again, as it now shows a large, lava filled castle with a large Bowser head over it.

"This is it...We have to get in there to end this." Drew says "Well let's do it." Leo adds. The gang is about to enter across the drawbridge, until Drew and Mario stop when two familiar voices were heard "Drew! Mario! Help us!" The voices of Vito and Luigi were heard from another side of the castle, through a secret passage. You were hesitant, What if this was a trap? This was Bowser's castle, he wasn't going down THAT easily...

Drew, Vito, Brittany, Blossom Bay, And PLU belongs to @sundove88

[jerzwriter]

What is your MC relationship with Harper? How is Ethan's relation with her after he is with MC?

Hey Nonny,

I really need to tag my asks better because I know I've answered this but, of course, I can't find it!

I'm limiting the answer to my Ethan/Kaycee world because it is more impactful there, but I'll quickly say that in Tobias/Casey world, Casey and Harper enjoy a cordial relationship and have the highest regard for one another.

Before we begin, let me establish most of Book 3 did not happen in my HC. Sorry, the writer knew less about the story and the character than my late grandma, who died before the series began, so I am not claiming it. So all the absolute foolishness they started with Harper didn't happen. Why? It was all so OOC for all characters involved, so I'm not having it. lol

Harper is a gorgeous, successful, self-confident woman. She isn't begging for any man. Period. When Ethan said they were over for good, she said OK and went on to better things. Sorry, not sorry. Ethan, Mr. Emotional constipation, was not about to be flirting with his ex (who he's still friends with) in front of his colleagues, especially when he's dating one of those colleagues. Please.

So with that stupidity out of the way... I also don't have Harper turning MC in, but I "wouldn't if it were Ethan." Because... 90% of Book 3 didn't happen. lol

Kaycee respected Harper as an intern but was a bit intimidated by her. Harper was impressed with Kaycee's background but was reserving judgment. She did see sparks between Ethan and Kaycee, and while I don't think for a moment she was jealous, I think she did have concerns about a highly regarded attending and an intern being involved. She'd probably be at least a little pissed that Ethan ended things with her because she was his boss, and now he's involved with an intern, but just because she'd find it hypocritical. She's not pining for the man.

The relationship between the two women improved when Kaycee approached Harper and confessed to being the one to administer the drug to Mrs. Martinez. Harper felt it took courage and integrity to own up to her actions, so there was a level of respect even though she didn't approve of her choices. Seeing Kaycee fight so hard to continue her medical career sealed the deal. She admired Kaycee, and, in turn, Kaycee admired her for her fairness in her approach to the situation. (Let's be serious, IRL, it wouldn't have been so pretty for MC.)

Ethan was always friends with Harper, so there was no real change in his relationship with her after he and Kaycee started dating. Keep in mind they became quasi-public after the attack, and at that point, everyone was looking at things through a different lens.... including Harper. People aren't going to criticize as much knowing what just occurred.

I think Ethan & Harper remain the closest of friends, and Kaycee and Harper are not as close but consider each other friends as well.

I'm really not a fan of the successful women being at each other's throats tropes. When I portray what could be perceived by some as nasty relationships between women, I am careful to show there are reasons that belie it, not "we're jealous over each other's success or (worse yet) a stupid man." I am all for removing those misogynistic stereotypes from our existence - and I was super pissed at PB for playing into them - poorly at that.

Thanks for the ask, Nonny!

[villainstearoom]

Opinions on all the major 90’s anime villians as characters?

Oooh! Okay! These are just my opinions, please don't be upset if I don't like any characters you like. You're still allowed to like them! As per request, I'll only do the anime characters

Queen Beryl: kinda boring and basic in the anime. Just the big evil and feels more like plot relevance rather than an actual character. I like her being sympathetic in other media moreso. Jadiete: Probably my least favourite of the Shitennou. I've always found him really basic. Doesn't help that I'm a sucker for guys with long hair and he's the only one with short hair out of the Shitennou XD Nephrite: Big love anime Nephrite, I love his arc with Naru a lot. He's also got nice hair -v- Zoisite: He was my favourite when I was younger cause I watched the DIC dub and I only cared about the girls lol. I love him still now, I love me a feminine guy. He's probably tied with Nephrite now for top Dark Kingdom villain Kunzite: I always found him a bit generic like Jadiete but I think his appearance is what makes him higher on my ranking. Just a bit more sexy >:)c Also I love a gay guy Do I count Queen Metalia? Meh, not a pretty lady so I don't really care. Super Beryl is pretty though, a nice colour scheme.

An: Cute and very pretty but Mamoru isn't that handsome, okay? Ail: Handsome but Usagi isn't that pretty, okay? Also please don't fucking kiss your sister.

Koan: My second favourite of the sisters. I adore her redemption episode. I'm not super swayed by her design but it's still good. Berthier: My top favourite of the sisters! I love her design and civilian outfits! And of course her redemption episode is wonderful! I like how cutesy she is too Petz and Calaveras: I do really like the Ayakashi sisters in a group but I'm not so interested in Petz and Calaveras. They also get much less characterisation in the anime which probably doesn't help. I just also don't really think their designs are too special. They are cool but just don't have that spark for me. Rubeus: Design is okay, he's just kinda an asshole in the anime, next! Esmeraude: She's the kind of character that I really like with lots of headcanons but in the anime she's just kinda boring... Making her in love with Demande is sooo lame and overdone (too much het in season 2 and 3 thank you) and her death just felt unfair. Saphir: I like him probably the most out of the non sister Black Moon clan, probably because he didn't do much fighting. He always seemed like the most level headed. I always found his relationship with Petz sweet when I was younger. They should've kept him alive or revived him or something :T Demande: Well.... probably the best iteration of him... If he weren't so handsome I think I'd hate him more. I'm absolutely not a fan of his actions with Usagi but his redemption makes him a lot better than other iterations. Still the kind of character that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. Black Lady: I love her a lot and think she's really cool buuuuuttt... she's probably one of the most popular villains (and get's the most merchandise) and I tend to like a character less when they're already super popular (same with Charlotte from pmmm). Like, I'll happily get Black Lady merch but it'll be with a twinge of sadness since another villain is missing out Wiseman is ugly and boring, NEXT!

Eudial: Another that I way prefer with my own characterisation. Anime Eudial is just a bit plain, just a basic villain really... Also her outfit is probably one of my least favourite of the witches (i love her hair though) Mimete: Now... I'm certainly very 50/50 with Mimete. A love hate relationship one may say... I think she's cute and funny BUT her obsession with Tomoe is boring and dumb (he's two oranges and a banana for pete's sake) and she took up time that the remaining witches could've had. I just wish she had followed her dream to be an idol instead of continuing to be a witch Tellu: Heeheeeee! My favourite witch! Sadly though... another one that's way more boring in the anime. She's a lot like Eudial who is just 'evil for the episode and that's it'. I love her design though Viluy: I felt Viluy was pretty done dirty by the anime. Her crush on Tomoe was so dumb and forced (like, you are surrounded by 5 other beautiful women and you choose HIM?!) and her death was so unfair. Her design is okay and quite unique but not a top fave Cyprine: I don't even remember her episode but what do you know? Another single episode one note villain. Also ANOTHER person with a crush on Tomoe UGH, kill me now... Very wasted. I love her and Ptilol equally and they both deserve more love. Kaolinite: If you couldn't tell already, I detested the ''''''''romance'''''''' in the death busters and Kaolinite and Tomoe's was such a drag and a pain. I much prefer her as an imposing figure in the manga instead of being the first lackey. And why was she bought back and not the other witches???! (I guess cause they could retrieve her body now that I think about it...) meh, wasted Tomoe: Dumb but sometimes funny. Yes, his regular form is kind of handsome but I don't get what all the fuss is about, ladies... But I do like his relationship with Hotaru, we love a good dad Mistress 9: FINALLY a character on par with their manga appearance. I really loved how wicked anime Mistress 9 was although certainly not as creepy. Though sadly another character like Black Lady that is overly popular...

Fish Eye: Another that I liked when I was younger cause he was the only 'girl' in the dub. Super cute and beautiful, I love anime fish <3 Tigers Eye and Hawks Eye: I'm putting them together cause... they're both so creepy in the anime... -_- they're just so wrong... and yeah, Fish does bad things too, I do understand that. I always liked Tigers Eye a little more cause of his appearance but Crystal Hawks Eye definitely redeemed himself. Pallapalla: Cute and I do love me some cute but creepy. But I think they pushed her a bit too much sometimes like 'omg she's so cute rigghhtt??!!' sometimes gets a bit annoying and makes me not want to like her XD Vesves: Probably the weakest of the quartet for me. Just never saw any good characterisation in her... Still like her design though Junjun: The dark horse of the quartet for me. I have a very soft spot for her! I loved her episode with Kyusuke (and her outfit in that episode lol). I also always loved her face when I was younger, her unique eyebrows are fun! Cerecere: My favourite of the quartet! I'm a sucker for a beautiful and delicate girl (also pink, I love pink). Her theme of flowers is adorable and she has the best civilian outfits. Zirconia: Ugly and boring, next! Queen Nehellenia: Now in SuperS, she's a total Queen Beryl, boring and just VillainTM but I adore her in Stars. When you understand how hopeless and depressed she is you just want Usagi to help her. A wonderful redemption and small arc. Her last episode has so many beautiful shots.

Sailor Iron Mouse: Definitely a tie for my top favourite (yes, the other is Tellu). She's cute and funky, I love her! (I think I'm just a sucker for small characters). Chuuko is also funny too. Sailor Aluminium Siren: Very pretty and sometimes funny but I'm not one for a character who's personality is just 'likes to eat a lot'. That's... um... boring.. okay? The ditzy personality can also be a bit irritating sometimes. I like her best with Crow for.... reasons... Sailor Lead Crow: Another beautiful lady though I probably like her a bit less than Siren. She just doesn't really hold well on her own unlike Mouse. Yes, CrowxSiren is the best thing to come out of stars, fight me on it. Her death was so sad though, didn't deserve it. Sailor Tin Nyanko: Another character that I like more with my own characterisations. In the anime she's just... kinda a massive bitch... The Sailor Mau stuff is interesting of course but it's just so tragic... Sailor Galaxia: One that kinda falls into the basic villain trope... I adore the final episode but she's also just another massive bitch that you really don't feel sorry for until the very end... Also I hate characters that are just extremely overpowered, it's boring, okay?

Quickfire round for movie villains. Fiore is very handsome but I never really understood his story XD (havent watched R in a while too). Snow Kaguya is way more interesting in the manga. Badiane is dull and boring and the fairies seem like a waste.

[paullovescomics]

I'm partial to the "return to physical media" sentiment, partly because the problems with streaming and digital-only have become glaring, and also out of general cantankerousness. A few recent pieces have pointed out how unsustainable streaming appears to be, and the real problems it has caused for people who work in the entertainment industry (talking here about production crews, writers, and the 90-odd percent of actors who aren't top-billers). One of the arguments in this discussion that goes "now streaming costs as much as cable used to". It's very easy to just subscribe to one or two, watch what you want to watch, then cancel the subscription and try a different one. There may be a small number of people who feel compelled to buy lots of streaming services so they can keep up with everything, but presumably they would also feel the same about all the extra cable channels, so they'd be paying for the highest level cable tier and HBO, Cinemax, and so on.

But I went to my local cable monopoly's website to see what it costs now. Maybe they've cut prices since so many folks have cut the cord. Nope. The lowest-priced tier was $65. Even if you only bought the higher-priced streaming services, you could get four easy and have some change left over, and each one of those would have literally thousands of hours of stuff to watch. Plus, with cable you either have to watch it on their schedule, or pay for a DVR (or I guess it's a digital equivalent now) and hope that it actually catches the shows it's supposed to. And of course it's going to come with a lot of channels I'd never watch, and chances are good all of them include F-- News, which I do not want to support in any way.

So I think I'll stick with streaming for the foreseeable future. Between YouTube, Twitch, and Tubi, there's more than enough "free with ads" streaming. And I'm cool with only subbing to Paramount when there's new Lower Decks or Strange New Worlds, or Disney when there's a new Star Wars show (though I admit i'm mad about Acolyte not getting renewed, so I might be less eager to go back to that one). If AEW goes to HBO Max, even if it streams a week after the cable broadcast, I'll jump on that.

Not to mention that I don't have a real tv these days. After my last one died (only lasted a couple of years), I just stuck with my lap top. I really don't like modern TVs. The sound is awful, they look boring, and you can't do shit without the remote. Also, and I know I'm in the minority here, and my age is a big factor here since i grew up with TV looking a certain way, but the super HD picture looks fake to me. Watching a show where everything is perfectly lit, hardly even any shadows anywhere, everyone's make-up immaculate, sets where everything is perfectly in its place and there's not a mote of dust on anything makes it all feel very artificial. And I'm not the type to demand immersiveness (often when people talk about being immersed, or especially ads that promote a thing as immersive, I'm not sure I even know what they're talking about). I'm very aware that people on the screen are playing make believe and Im' being told a story by other people. That's a good thing, because I appreciate the storytelling skills of all these people, and the whole reason I seek out stories is to be told a good story. But these ultra high def things just look so fake. The fact that I've worn glasses since elementary school might play into it, too. There are few moments when the world I see doesn't have some fuzziness in it, at least at the edges.