#series 10 is like on par with series 4 for me

[lena-cant]

I need everyone who got back into Doctor Who because of the new specials with Tennant back who dropped out midway through Capaldi's run to PLEASE go back and watch series 10 it's legit one of the most consistently good series of new who. I have a LOT of problems with Moffat as a writer but he actually managed to deliver a well-paced season of television for the first time in his damned life. Capaldi is at his best in S10 (no longer being forced through his dumb midlife crisis plotline) and Bill is great and it finally justifies Missy and turns her into one of the most developed Master incarnations we've seen. The finale especially is a really standout story and one of my favorites in the entire show.

[mikeysagereblog]

⊗ superhero cartoons to watch when little!!! (or big, they're that good imo!!) ⊗

✧.* i've been wanting to make this list for a while now, mainly because i wanna talk about my fav cartoons/open up opportunities for other littles to find something awesome to watch!!! there's gonna be a lot of ranges in age ratings to add some variety for older/younger littles :)

✧.* also, i'd like to put a disclaimer here and say that a lot of these are on streaming services that i own, but other littles may not. i would also like to say that there are ways to get around a paywall if you can't afford certain streaming services!!! you can find full episodes on youtube/other sites for free!!! (just use an adblocker if you're on a site other than youtube if u can!!)

✧.* another disclaimer: any regressor of any age can watch any of these shows!! i just wanted to put the age ratings for those who want to stick to media that's more in their age range!! so, don't feel like you have to limit yourself from watching certain shows just because of how old you regress to!!

✧.* spectacular spider-man (2008-2009, 2 seasons): suitable for 7-8+, but i'd say it'd be okay for littles who regress younger to watch, too!! honestly, my all-time favorite spider-man cartoon!!! not only is it fun to watch while little, you can truly appreciate the show when you're big, too!!! josh keaton's voicework as spider-man is just- ahhhh it's so amazing imo!! the story is really good, the animation/style is just so iconic, and the colors are very easy on the eyes!!! (especially if you're sensitive to bright colors when little/in general) absolute banger of a theme song, too!!!

✧.* x-men: the animated series (1992-1997, 5 seasons): rated for around 7-8+, but i do admit that there can be some scary scenes for especially younger/more sensitive littles. honestly, this show is great!!! i loved all the different story arcs, how colorful the show is, the characters themselves- a lot of cool stuff about this show!!! be warned, there's a sudden drop in quality during season 5... i think they switched animation studios/va's or something because season 5 is NOT the best season of the show, i'll tell you that... 0_0

✧.* x-men '97 (2024-present, 1 season so far): rated for 14+, so this show is more suitable for teen regressors. it's a continuation of x-men:tas, and oh man... this is it. my favorite cartoon of all time!!! the animation is just oh so beautiful!!! the fight scenes are awesome!!! the soundtrack- oh golly the soundtrack!!! the remastered x-men:tas opening is just- wow!!! but, there's definitely reasons why it's rated 14+... not gonna spoil anything, but there's a lot of scenes in the show that can be upsetting for younger littles. trust me, watching some scenes when you're little is just- too much sometimes... (speaking from experience) it's an amazing show, but watch at ur own risk if you're a younger regressor!!!

✧.* batman: the animated series (1992-1995, 4 seasons): i'd say it's for around ages 9-10+, since it can be fairly dark at times. (same goes for a lot of batman related media!!) honestly, this show's pretty good!!! the style of the show is very dark visually, so it's easy on the eyes for those with bright color sensitivities!!! the artstyle itself is also very nice to look at!!! the voicework is amazing as well, especially kevin conroy's (rip) performance as batman himself!!! from what i can remember, the plotpoints were also pretty on-par!! i remember liking the show a lot when i was a kid!! :)

✧.* hulk vs. wolverine (not a show but an animated movie, 2009): this one's rated pg-13, since there's depictions of violence. but, i gotta say- this movie had me hyped up when i watched it as a kid!!! this was part of a straight to video two-movie collection, (the other being "hulk vs. thor") and i gotta say... this movie was awesome!!! the fight scenes were rad as heck, the animation was amazing, even deadpool was in the movie!!! (which, fun fact, was his first appearance in animation!!! other than the 2 second cameo in x-men:tas) very fun movie!!!

✧.* these are just some recommendations!!! i really liked these when i was a kid, and i hope you'll like them too, if you decide to watch them!!!

✧.* (also yay!! finally have a new banner!!! + i updated my blog's theme because nightcrawler is so awesome and he's literally my cg guys!!! he said it himself :3)

[judes-hoe]

Timeless Desires~KM9

Parrings ~ Kylian Mbappé x reader

Summary ~ Your a pro ice skater in Madrid, when you heard the famous Kylian Mbappé was coming to Madrid you followed him, and he followed you too. So what happens when he finally lands in Madrid?

Warnings ~ mentions of weird DMs,

A/N ~ just a short series:) (also reader is and ice skater/ figure skater!!!)(and I’m not a figure skater and some stuff might be wrong sorry!!!)

Pt.2 pt.3 pt.4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were a pro ice skater, you competed in lots of competitions. You lived in Madrid, you couldn’t ask for a better life. In your free time you read books and watch football. Obviously a big Madrid fan, you always get season passes to the matches.

Well one day you were scrolling on your phone and saw that a certain frenchie was coming to Madrid. You’ve honestly been waiting for it to be confirmed for a while and now it is. So you decided to follow him only to see ‘follow back’ when you do. It made your mind wonder how you’ve never noticed.

About a month passed, you were at the ice rink you practiced at. Going through and practice your routine with your coach. When you were done and getting ready to leave you saw a notification on instagram. It was a DM, you ignored it thinking it was just some creepy dude asking for nudes again.

When you got back to your apartment and sat down, that’s when you saw who the DM was really from. Kylian Mbappé himself, you were in shock. You sat there on your couch for about 5 minutes before answering it.

~~~~

~~~~

The rest of the day had gone by, it’s about 10pm and you just got out the shower. You check your phone and see a text from a random number. You ignore it and do you quick skin care routine. By the time you’re in bed in 10:20 and you go back to the text message.

~~~~

~~~~

With that you put your phone away and laid down. You smile to yourself and think about what’s happened the past couple of hours. You then drift off to sleep thinking about what will happen when you competition comes.

The week went by in a blur, you and Kylian texted almost everyday. Just getting to know each other better. Well it’s Saturday the day of your competition. It wasn’t until like 9:30pm, Kylian said it worked great for him since they had an early training today.

You got there about 8:50 and started getting ready, you got into your outfit. It was a black one. It was one of your favorites to wear once in a while. You then get your skates on. “Okay time to stretch.” My coach, James said. You nod you head and walk out into the hallway while James instructs your stretch’s, and which stretches to do.

“You’re gonna kill it today.” James said trying to get you into that mindset. “Don’t I every time.” You joke with him while stretching your legs. “You’re not wrong, but still, you’re gonna do great, we’ve practiced all week.” He said.

After about 25 minutes of stretching you hear them call the first girl to go. Your song you picked was Wash. by Bon Iver. It was a perfect song to do your routine to.

About fifteen minutes passed and 4 more girls had gone and you were next. You stand and wait, they then call your name and James pats your back. You skate out onto the middle of the ice. You stand in the middle of the rink and take a deep breath waiting for the song to play.

When you hear of start you start your routine. Your routine was about 3 minutes long. As you skate and do your routine you block out all the noise from the crowd; you just pretend you’re at practice doing your routine.

As you hear your song end you stop to skate and hear the cheers of the crowd. You then make your way off the rink and over to James. “Amazing job! You did so good.” He said pulling you into a hug. “Couldn’t do it without you James, you help me a lot in my career.” You said hugging him back.

2 more girls went and there’s about a 10 minute break were you and the 7 girls wait and watch them set up the podium. They then announced that the top 3 winners will be announced. You always got nervous when it was time to see the top 3 winners. In third was Vanessa Willams, in second was Britney Edwards, then they get ready to announce who’s in first.

“In first place, with 12 gold medals, 2 championships, is the queen of figure skating y/n!” They announced. You smile and skate onto the ice accepting your medal and stepping onto the top step.

They get ready to take a picture and you invite the other two girls onto the top step for the picture.

You then make your way back to the locker room and change into your outfit you came in. Which was just sweatpants and a shirt. You pack your outfit and skates away and leave the locker room congratulating the other girls. As you leave and start to walk out the stadium you hear your name called a turn around.

“Congratulations.” Kylian said when you turn around, he holds out a bouquet of flowers for you. “Thank you.” You said accepting the flowers. “You did really great, I loved your umm.” He stumbled on his words. “Routine.” You finished for him. “Yes that, you did great on your routine.” He smiled softly.

“So would you want me to show you around…I know a good ice cream place around here?” You said. “Don’t think Ancelotti would like me having ice cream but one won’t hurt.” He said. “It’s okay I won’t tell.” You laugh.

You then made your way to his car as James drove you here, and you told james you had a ride home. You then give Kylian directions to the ice cream shop…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @kymb-10

A/N ~ comment to be added to taglist! Also thanks to Maha my babe for helping me with this can’t thank her enough🩷

[kathanglangit]

The Fourth Blade: Panabas - "For Chopping"

Four days to the launch of the white-hot lightning that is the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG supported by the twin pillars of tactical martial arts and contemplative war drama. Meditate upon love and violence as warriors of a burning world. Will you stem the tide of blades? Or is it rising by your will?

I'll be posting the weapons I've drawn for the game as a countdown until the launch on October 10. This was supposed to be a Swordtember series, but we needed a little more time to gain momentum. 4/7 blades, past the halfway point, let us proceed with the PANABAS

Towering amongst what blade collectors categorize as "Moro weaponry", the panabas is quite possibly the largest blade I've ever drawn. Like- I'm not lying, I drew all the blades in this series to scale relative to each other, and the panabas has by and large been the one determining how big my canvas needs to be. The edge is on the longer curve, the spine of the blade is thicker near the handle, and the handle is about as long as the blade (if not longer).

(Photo from Kristian Josef Acedo)

The form belies the function; it isn't difficult to guess how this blade is used just by looking at it. The name- if I'm not mistaken- is an even bigger giveaway. Panabas supposedly comes from "pang-tabas" which literally means "for chopping". It also goes by the name of nawi.

(Photos from Raymundo Lucero) As large as its reputation might be, the choppers aren't always massive. Their utility ranges from agricultural to combative to ceremonial, and the size and shape usually matched the nature of the work.

(Tools from Datu Paglas, Maguindanao)

(Photo from Dondon Dimpas)

(Exhibit at Museum of the Filipino People- biggest one) The panabas is most often attributed to the peoples of Maguindanao, though the range of its use and the variants of its make span across large portions of the Mindanao area.

(Antiques from the collection of Richard Hudson, size comparison with a kalis) A popular tale (especially amongst Filipino Martial Artists) states that the US Marines wore leather collars to protect their necks during the American Occupation in Mindanao, due to blades like these that gave the troops pause, and feel that the extra protection was necessary. Supposedly, this is where the term "leatherneck" came from. Although the veracity of this latter claim is a bit on par with the claim that the Colt .45 was invented specifically to stop the same Moro warriors, the story has already stuck.

(Antique from Lake Lanao)

(Photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art) We touched upon "Traditional" blades last time, referring to blades made by the same people to whose cultures those blades belong. This time we look at the other side of the coin. "Modern" is the term collectors here often use to refer to reinterpretations, usually by modern smiths who are separate from where a blade traditionally belongs. The point of reference I used for "Traditional" blades before is a katana forged by a traditional Japanese swordsmith. If- instead- a white blacksmith in America were to forge a katana using their own smithing methods, that would be considered as a "Modern" blade under this categorization. I'll leave it to you to spot the differences in these next few photos:

Traditional panabas with a rattan ferrule (Photo from Lorenz Lasco)

Modern blades by Jun Deuna (Espanola) and RE Pandayan (Quezon) (Photo from Dennis Andrew Golez)

Traditional blades (Marawi and Maguindanao) (Photo from Dennis Andrew Golez)

Modern full-tang build by Traditional Filipino Weapons (I know who forged this but I won't doxx their location) (Photo from the TFW website)

Modern full-tang build by Batangas Armory (Batangas) (Photo from Job Abat)

Pair of panabas and a binuaya (leftmost) by Traditional Moro Blade, Maguindanaon (Maguindanao)

Say it with me this time! Blade culture is alive and still developing. Mindanao was never conquered by Spain- the fierce resistance of the Moros made sure of that- and again it shows in the blade cultures. Though the panabas is now popular enough to have modern reinterpretations made by smiths across the Philippines, the traditional panabas and the people who make them are still around.

(Photo from Iniingatang Talim at Kaluban, taken by Ramon H. Bathan)

One of the Five Major Mahamandalas of Gubat Banwa pays homage to and gleans inspiration from living cultures like those I mentioned here. Yes- I repeated the text from the previous installment, because it's equally true, here. Additionally, the panabas shows up as the iconic weapon of the Martyr- one of the 25 Disciplines (read: "character classes") whose moon-bright martial techniques you could pick up in-game. Anyway, go check out the Kickstarter!

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 4 days! Check it out here:

Not long now- this is a very small team of creators from the global south knocking on your doors asking for help to get the word out. I truly cannot understate how small this team is, and how amazing it is that they've come this far- we just need a little bit of a boost! With your help, this grand ambition can be realized. We would greatly appreciate any help rendered towards getting more eyes on this game!

[confusedcanaries]

Numbers! most of them are just sort of there

0 - 10/10 number, very useful, helps proving uniqueness, nicely splits the number line, breaks division which is very fun, additive identity

1 - 7/10 number, kinda the default, multiplicative identity, the induction engine

2 - 9/10 number, for all your actually a number needs, root-s nicely, 2+2=2*2=2^2 (chef's kiss), the only even prime, binary is hella funky (just to be clear though, this whole post is written in base-(# months from January to October inclusive))

3 - 6/10 number, sorta ok I guess, triangles are cool but this isn't a triangle just a triangle number, the other useful root, prime

4 to 10 - 5/10 numbers, sort of on a par with 3 but I might need to start using a calculator and beginning to get same-y.

Notable exceptions: 6=1+2+3=1*2*3 and 7 is just cool

>10 - 3/10 numbers, nothing really stands out here, I will get some slight anxiety if you ask me to do adding or multiplication with these without a calculator, just use induction at this point, this is not the sort of maths I chose maths to do.

The numbers you need complicated power series to reach or are defined ito functions - 10/10 numbers, fantastically unhelpful, really cool because these might as well be infinity and my brain can't cope (For Example: graham's number, googol, Tree(3), 52!)

-1 - 0/10 number (more like hellspawn), to say this is a number and not an inherently evil sentient object is false, hides itself in a minus sign, its entire purpose is to cause sign errors and make real analysis harder

Fractions - 7/10 numbers, rational is the new sexy, much better than decimals, somehow still a countable set despite being thicc in the reals (I know the term is dense but it's 1:30 in the morning, cut me some slack)

Irrationals - 5*sqrt(2)/10 numbers, slightly cooler and more mysterious than fractions, knows the uncomputable and normal numbers but won't tell you their addresses as you're just not cool enough

Mathematical constants - 6/10 numbers, useful but kinda like 3 in that they're a little boring. Some Exciting Constants: φ, Euler's Constant (γ), lemniscate constant (ϖ). Fun fact: e has a really cool continued fraction representation

Infinity - 11/10 concepts, maybe numbers - maybe not, so cool they deserve an illogical rating, gotta love the ordinals, countability is soooooooooo freaking cool (check out cantor's diagonalisation proof), I'm counting infinitesimal numbers as well here, also, the convention for just calling infinity one number for the complex numbers is hecking amazing

i - 7/10 number - very cool, philosophically taxing, the incredible original to the quaternions' disappointing sequel (maybe I'll change my mind when i actually learn about quaternions), geometry and rotation are now part of numbers! , makes differentiation so much more awesome

[oscurascout]

Y/N As A Doublegänger

From "That's Not My Neighbor" game

Note - Finally done! I feel like this chapter was a little fast (and it is) but oh well hope you guys enjoyed this series, I have something pretty cool prepare for September.

Part 11 End (Par 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10)

After that day, everything changed for the better. The doorman was captured and imprisoned. Not only had he been charged with allowing a doppelgänger in, but he was also held accountable for provoking and endangering the residents.

Now, a D.D.D. agent was the new doorman. Since my friends had to come out of hiding to stop me, they were also captured. Fortunately, thanks to the residents' petitions, they weren't killed and were instead released. As for me, I was placed under observation in a hospital, along with Angus and Franciss, since both had gotten hurt.

Fortunately, Angus and I were in the same room, mostly because he wouldn’t stop being a menace until he was placed with me. Steven visited often, trying to keep us updated, and to my surprise, even some of the other residents came by. Franciss, once he was able to move, would also come and stay in our room. I discovered that he was the first person I had attacked.

As the days went by, I made friends with the neighbors I had never interacted with before. Rafttellyn and Alf were kind enough to bring me some “get well soon” flowers and even did a mini tie party, while the Peachman brothers entertained us with stories about their shoe business, always filled with amusing anecdotes about their mini fights and arguments. Steven's dad, Mclooy, visited us as well; he is a very talkative man, always sharing tales of his youth and amazing adventures.

Time passed quickly, and soon I was fully healed, just like Angus and Franciss. Once the doctor gave me the release date, a D.D.D. agent entered the room, prompting the doctor to make a quick exit, leaving only the agent behind.

Agent - “Good to see that both of you are completely healed. Now, I will explain what is going to happen, and none of you can object or argue, alright?”

I nodded, but Angus nor Franciss did.

Angus - *smiling* “I’d like to hear what you have to say before I make a decision.”

Agent - *whispering* “A true businessman. *speaking normally* Alright, regarding the doppelgänger, not only did you hurt two residents and five D.D.D. agents, but you also caused some damage to the building. Because of that, you will be put in a program and continue pretending to be Y/N.”

“W-what!?” I exclaimed in surprise. I had expected them to lock me up, but the idea of going back was shocking.

Franciss - “What’s the catch?”

Agent - “Well, a D.D.D. member will have to stay in the building to ensure it's truly safe. But besides that, there are no real consequences; after all, it wasn’t entirely the doppelgänger's fault.”

“B-but why? I thought the D.D.D. agency would kill me or capture me,” I said, fidgeting with my fingers.

Agent - “Well normally we would, but there were a lot of petitions requesting your release, and thanks to the news, the story spread all around the world. It's the topic everyone is talking about, which worked in your favor. Additionally, you lasted two months without hurting anyone, which strengthens your case. The D.D.D. actually wants to experiment with you to see how a doppelgänger works and all that scientific stuff.”

Angus - “Experiment?”

Agent - “Well, sort of. It’s more like they want to conduct a few tests. You see, two months ago, the doppelgängers became much more aggressive, so they want Y/N's help to repel them or keep them at bay.”

“Well, either way, I don’t have a choice, so I might as well enjoy this outcome,” I said, a small smile forming on my face.

Angus - *worried* “Are you sure? I don't think those D.D.D. agents will hold back in their experiments.”

“Don't worry; I'm stronger than I seem,” I replied, showing my claws.

Franciss - “That's true. I experienced it firsthand.”

“I'm sorry!” I exclaimed, quickly covering my claws and feeling awful for what I had done to Franciss.

Agent - “Well, my job here is done. It was nice to see all of you looking better.”

Soon, the day came when we were finally released. We arrived at the apartment, and it didn’t look any different. I took a deep breath and entered.

As I stepped into my apartment, it was just as I had left it, but someone was there, a doublegänger. I quickly unsheathed my claws and was about to attack whoever it was when I was grabbed, even before I could do any real damage.

Hoon - *smiling* “Yup, this is how it was supposed to have been last time.”

“Hoon!” I exclaimed, quickly hugging him. I looked behind him and saw that everyone else was there too. “How are all of you here? Wait, how did you guys even get here?” I asked, surprised to see them.

Sticky - “The agent told us that we now live here. Well, not in this room, but like you, we were put under the same rules. Some others are in different buildings.”

Peach - *hugging me* “Peach!”

“It's nice to see you too! But wait, how did they find you? And what do you mean by living here?” I asked, still hugging Peach.

Hoon - “It's a bit of a long story, but in short, we were being followed, and we got discovered. Thanks to the news spreading everywhere, a lot of doppelgängers also gave up, hoping for the same outcome you had. So now the D.D.D. agency is creating a program to ‘rehabilitate’ doppelgängers. Though the other half of the doublegängers continue to fight and be against this change”

I was about to say something when Stitch covered my mouth, probably not wanting me to overthink things or ask any more questions. I smiled and looked behind Hoon, noticing half-eaten frozen dinners. “Time to show what I learned,” I thought smugly.

*Moving Stitch’s hand away* “Guys, that's not how you eat those dinners!” I said with a smile

Sticky - “What do you mean? You just need to open them, right?”

I smiled and began explaining how they should have eaten them. “You guys have a lot to learn, but don't worry; I'll help,” I said with a grin. They nodded, finally, we were truly safe.

[moistvonlipwig]

Top 10 Favorite Final Seasons of a TV Show

For @loisfreakinglane's enjoyment.

...This was actually so hard. I'm limiting myself to TV shows with multiple seasons that have officially for-real ended, as well as to final seasons that I've watched in full (so there are some seasons of shows I watch that maybe should make the cut that won't because I haven't gotten around to them yet). In the order that I thought of them:

Breaking Bad Season 5: A really strong & exciting final season with some great new characters (Lydia Rodarte-Quayle I love you Lydia Rodarte-Quayle!!!) and some of the show's best episodes.

Once Upon a Time Season 7: My favorite season of the show, and one that weirdly addressed a lot of the problems I had with the first six seasons. The new characters were great and they did some cool & unexpected things with the old characters. Hardly perfect, and it somehow made the show's already-convoluted timeline worse, but it was a very strong note to end the show on & it helped me look on the show as a whole in a much fonder light, which was no small feat after some of the bullshit the show had previously pulled.

Amphibia Season 3: A great final season. I loved seeing the Boonchuys on Earth in 3A, and I loved the story arc of Anne & Sasha co-commanding the resistance in 3B. IMO a lot of the complaints about this season come from people who didn't really understand what the show was about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Steven Universe Future/Steven Universe Season 5: I kind of consider Future to be the proper 'final season' of Steven Universe and not its own show, but I know some people disagree and consider it a separate limited series and would say that Season 5 is the real final season of the show. Either way, both seasons are quite good. I think Future is consistently stronger -- Season 5 has a stretch of 6 or so episodes that are kind of weak -- but Season 5 has higher highs. But again, both are very good final seasons, whichever one you consider to be the 'true' final season.

Person of Interest Season 5: Honestly, this is not the best final season -- I think being limited to 13 episodes really hamstrung the writers, and not all the episodes are good -- but it does end on a really strong note, and also I ran out of final seasons I consider legitimately great, so, uh, good for you PoI, you arguably don't deserve to be here but you're here anyway!

Better Call Saul Season 6: I'm not gonna lie, I had problems with the way 6B unfolded -- I thought the pacing wasn't the best and some of the character/plot beats didn't quite land -- but both 6A and the finale were very strong, and I'm not opposed to most of the events of 6B in theory. Plus, BCS is just well-made TV in general, so even when I didn't love it, I was still appreciative of the artistry that went into the show.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 9: I remember really liking the first half of this season and thinking it was some of the best stuff the show had put out in years. The second half was more par for the course but not bad. The actual season-long plot was pretty whatever but it produced some good episodes, and Daniel Ingram, as always, delivered with the music.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4: Look, anyone who's taken a cursory glance at my BSG tag knows how I feel about what BSG S3 & 4 did to Boomer, and S4 additionally committed the sin of killing off Anastasia Dualla, but I don't actually think S4 is overall a bad season. I think it could've been better, sure, but I honestly was fine with it aside from the stuff I hated. Lol. Also, Kara Thrace turns into a pigeon, and that's hilarious.

Infinity Train Season 4: Technically this is a better season of television than some of the seasons listed above, but it was not intended as a final season and you can tell; nothing about it makes for a particularly effective ending to the show. I will forever mourn the remaining 4 planned seasons of this show that we never got. But, hey, it's still a good season, even though it's probably the show's weakest outing.

...Revolutionary Girl Utena's Apocalypse Arc: LOOK I KNOW IT'S NOT A "SEASON" I RAN OUT OF FINAL SEASONS I LIKE OKAY. It's better than pretty much everything else on this list though because it's RGU, how could it not be.

Tagging @jioinfocommlimited, @02511213942, @occidentaltourist, @cassphos, @nocticola, and anyone else who wants to tackle this challenge. Be warned, it's harder than it looks!!!

[aaronburrdaily]

July 18, 1809

Yesterday I found * * * * ¹ tea that appeared to be good. Bought % pound, and treated myself to a dish by way of supper. Took two cups moderately strong. Finding that I should not sleep, I did not go to bed. Passed the night in reading French plays and arranging my notes on Swedish jurisprudence. I can’t bear even the smell of tea, though nothing more grateful. But the bare scent would, I believe, keep me awake. Despairing of letters, I will wait no longer, but be off. You would never guess whither, nor why! In December, however, I shall be on your continent. P. M.—No sort of disposition to sleep. At 4 fillibonka. At 6 to Poppius's to talk law; out. To Helvig’s ; the ladies had not left town. Y: Silversparri, who sang; deemed the finest voice in Stockholm. Home at 8 and set to reading plays. This morning called at Breda's to see your picture. It has been varnished and is perfectly restored. It is very much (and very justly) admired. How much I wish I could get a copy made by Breda! Raining hard all day and evening. Read till 12. The plays are: “Le Judgement de Midas,²” three acts, prose, par M. d’Hele, Paris: 1778; a very trifling little thing; the music and scenery may make anything charming. “Misanthrope Repentir³” traduit de l’allemand de Kotzebu par Bursay; Paris an: VIII.⁴ I like this better than the English translation under the name of the “Stranger.” “Camille ou le Souterrain,⁵” three acts, Paris: 1791; par Marsollier. A jealous husband without any reasonable cause confines Camille, a very lovely and virtuous woman, a whole year in a deep vault, lying on the ground, subsisting on a scanty portion of coarse bread and water. He is suspected of having killed her, and being seized by order of the King, the story comes out. Camille is too happy that her honour is justified and she restored to her dear husband. They embrace and all is made up; not even an apology on his part. Is it possible that a Parisian audience in ‘91 could relish such a tale! In the first scene there is something like wit and humour; afterwards a series of impossibilities and absurdities. “Le Jeune Sage et le Vieux Fou⁶”; one act, par Hoffman; Paris: 1793; well enough for a bagatelle. “Raoul Sire de Crequi⁷”; three acts, par M. Monvel; Paris: 1789; well enough calculated for stage effect. “Felix ou l’Enfant Trouve⁸”; anon.; Paris: 1778; impossibilities and absurdities in quantity; without wit or humour. “Jeu de la Fortune ou les Marionettes⁹”; five acts, par L.B. Picard; Paris: 1806; full of rapid reverses of fortune; love and friendship follow wealth and abandon poverty; men, women, servants, all rascals, time-serving, cringing sycophants; the only exception is a little paysanne¹⁰ who adheres to her lover through all changes, though he had abandoned her when he became suddenly rich; the design of the play is well illustrated, but gives a most disgusting, probably true, picture of the times.

1  Undecipherable. 2  “The Judgment of Midas.” 3  Should be “Misanthropie et Repentir.” “Misanthropy and Repentance.” 4  Translated from the German of Kotzebue by Bursay; Paris: Year VIII. 5  “Camille, or the Vault.” 6  “The Wise Youth and the Old Fool.” 7  The actual title is “Raoul de Crequi.” 8  “Felix, or the Foundling.” 9  “The Game of Fortune, or the Puppet-show.” 10  Peasant girl.

[tanenigiri]

I wanted to make another post last week, but when I saw the preview for Episode 5, I figured that I should talk about Episodes 4 and 5 together since it looked like they were gonna be parallels (and I was right!). So continuing from my post about Episodes 1 and 2, here are my stray thoughts and ramblings about Our Dining Table's third, fourth, and fifth episodes.

(Once again, this has some spoilers for people who haven't read the manga, so proceed with caution.)

As much as I want to endlessly gush about Yutaka and Minoru and their 11/10 dynamic, my first bullet point goes to gushing about a fantastic new addition to the series who's (technically) show-exclusive: Ohata, one of Yutaka's co-workers. I said in my previous post that I was looking forward to seeing how they expound on Yutaka's work life with the show, and Episodes 3 and 5 were pretty much everything I could've asked for in that regard. As early as the first episode, we see Ohata as the one who makes the effort to include Yutaka in the conversation, even if he's closed himself off from the rest of his officemates. So it's nice to see that she's the one who first witnesses the changes in Yutaka's demeanor, and it's great to see how genuinely happy Ohata is to see her officemate break out of his shell.

I also want to emphasize that Yutaka's dynamic with Ohata was only made possible by his dynamic with the Ueda family. The show presents this pretty directly - Yutaka asking for help from Ohata was because he wanted to impress Tane and Minoru with his nonexistent bento-making skills, after all - but Ohata herself brings up that not only is this the first time Yutaka's asked anyone in the office for help, but also how Yutaka really cares about the person he's making this bento for.

That last part becomes especially more poignant once we get to Episode 4 and it's revealed just how scarring Yutaka's childhood was, especially when it came to sharing meals. No wonder he volunteers to make a bento for Tane even if he didn't know how to make one - Yutaka's now in a position to make sure that this child he cares about gets to experience meals in the best way possible. In other words, he wants to make sure that Tane never experiences what he did in his childhood, and if that means pain-stakingly perfecting how to turn sausages into octopi over the course of several weeks, then so be it.

I'll reserve my comments for how messed up Yutaka's adoptive family is in a later episode, as I'm pretty sure that there'll be a scene that goes even deeper into this (assuming they follow the manga), but let me just say: Wow what a horrible family. I don't blame Yutaka for closing himself up to the world at all, and it makes his breakthroughs with the Uedas all the more impressive.

Yutaka isn't the only one experiencing these breakthroughs - we see in Episode 5 that Minoru is also healing from his past thanks to his meals with Yutaka. That scene with his old college classmate was repurposed from how it was presented in the manga - it was part of a flashback in a much later chapter in the manga but was brought forward here - but it makes a lot of sense to do so as, like I said in my previous post, they're bringing Minoru's conflict to the spotlight a lot earlier, and I think that's a very good decision for the narrative. He is clearly still dealing with a lot of baggage from losing his mom and having to take on the mantle of being a second parent to Tane, and I'm sure how that old college classmate reacted to Tane's antics was par for the course for him. So to see Yutaka not only take these antics in stride, but also prioritize Tane's well-being over his own feelings about the situation - I'm sure Minoru feels overwhelmed.

And that's not even taking into account Minoru's attraction to Yutaka - which, yes, it is a major factor, and the actor is doing a fantastic job in conveying this pining. But, really, with how Yutaka already treats Tane like his own little brother, how could Minoru not fall in love with him?

That shot in Episode 2 with the shoes is still my favorite (it's become a wallpaper lol), but that sequence in Episode 5 with Minoru making ramen fried rice and being paralleled with a memory with his mom is definitely up there. What an absolutely heartbreaking sequence.

I get how frustrating it seems that Minoru and Yutaka don't seem to be getting the opportunity to talk about the latter's encounter with his brother, but if they're doing what I think they're doing, I really think the build-up to this conversation is worth it. The manga had a similar build-up to this reveal (though it was slightly shorter) so I'm hoping it pays off in a future episode.

We were robbed of Minoru saying that Yutaka's brother was a looker but wasn't his type. Absolutely my biggest complaint about the show so far as that line is Top 3 for the manga. (I have a tiny sliver of hope that it'll come up in a later episode in a different context but I might as well say this now lol.)

(Okay but my actual biggest complaint about the show so far is how there's a pretty heavy use of flashbacks to previous scenes already seen in the show. I'm told that this is actually normal for dramas, but still, there are so many interesting extra scenes they could use to fill the space instead. Give me more of the Minoru-and-his-boss-in-the-ramen-shop dynamic or the Yutaka-and-his-officemates dynamic instead please and thank you)

To those who have read the manga: On a scale of 1 to Minoru at the park in Episode 4, how excited are you for next week's Christmas episode? That is by far my favorite chapter of the manga and I am so, so looking forward to seeing how they tackle it here.

I admit that I was initially worried about the adaptation as I love the manga so much so I had sky-high expectations, but it is such a delight to watch every time. Everything they've added to the story so far makes a lot of sense and only elevates the narrative. And since we're getting into the meat of the story, I can only see it getting better from here.

[jestiric]

Jester I'm interested in Torchwood where do I start...Do I need to watch all other doctor who media...

I GOT U I GOT U !! ok so you dont *need* to watch any doctor who to rly understand it, [objectively you should though. series 1-4 of the 2005 reboot+the specials in that time frame. the 12th doctor is also pretty good.] but some bits of dialogue may be confusing, if youre going to watch aanny doctor who, the last 2 episodes of series 2 [army of ghosts+doomsday], for more context on the origins of torchwood, series 2 episode 2 [tooth and claw], and if you want some more context on jack harkness/his backstory and how he relates to doctor who, series 1 episodes 9-13 [you can skip 11 it doesnt have muuch importance to jacks character other than the fact that hes a fucking NERD about alien technology. do not let torchwood make you forget this. hes not a chad. hes a cringefail little loser and i love him.], series 3 doesnt add much context to torchwood other than like. little easter eggs but the last 3 episodes r fucking bangers and have jack harkness and homoeroticism between lifelong enemies who used to be best friends as children [and also just the typical par for the course homo eroticism that comes with having jack harkness as a character in any episode] also if youre going to watch it, the last two episodes of series four have spoilers for torchwood season 2. also the approximate chronology of doctor who and torchwood if u care ab that stuff is

-doctor who series 1

-jack joins torchwood

-doctor who series 2

-torchwood season 1

-doctor who series 3

-torchwood season 2

-doctor who series 4

-torchwood season 3+4

also a few notes- torchwood is. interesting. and certainly has. some scenes !! the cgis awful, you hate every character at least a little bit, but the writing is. sometimes. really good [emphasis on sometimes. its worth it i promise i swear i swear-], for an example the second episode of the entire series revolves on defeating an alien that uhm. gets energy by turning men into dust after they. uh. eerrrrmmm. birds and the bees yk. the entire show is like this. its also sometimes very 2005 television show with its characterization/treatment of women BUT I SWEAR I SWEAR ITS WORTH IT!!!- also im solely talking about the 2005 reboot in this post, if you go to watch doctor who and see an old man in black and white or rly awful, grainy video thats the originals 1963 version, and unfortunately does *not* have jack harkness kissing men on the lips- episodes of doctor who and torchwood are also around an hour each. heart.

also- the battle of canary wharf refers to the events of the last two episodes of series 2. this confused me for so long.

if you do not want to watch like. 10 hours worth of doctor who ive compiled some pieces of context that may be helpful, spoilers 4 doctor who under the cut smile

series 1-

who the fuck is jack harkness

-jack was introduced to doctor who after having 3 years of his memory wiped by the time agency without explination [he was a time agent from the 51st century], where he attempts to con the doctor in the london blitz, and in doing so accidenrally creates horrors behind human comprehension, him, the doctor, and rose fix it and adopt him as their third and create the worlds most doomed polycule. jack is also the first queer doctor who character🎉 however, rose acidentally becomes an omnipotent being in attempt to rescue her boyfriends, and in bringing a dead jack back to life, acidentally makes it so hes unable to die ever again, and is effectively immortal, silly rose !! the doctor, being a timelord, senses this and abandons jack on an alien planet and fucks off with rose, jack eventually gets back to earth with his shitty time agent watch that allows him to time travel, in attempts to find the doctor who usually hangs around the 21st century, but acidentally gets stuck in the 19th century and joins torchwood in the meantime for funsies. jack also kisses both rose and the doctor on the lips on prime time television in 2005.

-ok cool whats a time agent

-after watching every nuwho and torchwood episode, i still could not tell you❤️❤️ uh. they can time travel, i guess, theyre part of a time travelling agency? idfk.

series 2-

hey jester why the ever loving fuck does jack have an amputated hand in a jar of fluid

-thats the doctors !! :D jack uses it to detect if the doctors present in his timeline

how did torchwood start

-i dont remember, has something to do with the queen of england and werewolves, i think. its made to protect the earth against aliens

battle of canary wharf

-long story, the world almost ends, blah blah blah, theres a lot of stuff to do with dimensions alternate universe that kind of stuff but basically the premise is torchwood one gets infiltrated with cybermen, kind of aliens kind of manmade horrors which take away all emotion from someone and turn them into cyborgs who want to turn all humans into them because having no emotion is what makes them superior, cyberman cannot be turned back to human because the cyberman basically just contain the brain and nervous system of humans, so that kind of sucks for our brave heros. anyways torchwood 1 is gone now and a lot of people died, also had the most tragic separation between the doctor and his companion

series 3-

martha

-martha was a companion of the doctor for a season, absolute girlboss, trained to be a doctor, horribly mistreated by the doctor the entire series. justice for martha🙏

-jack also receives so much trauma during this year

[starlitcorgi]

Hi......If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hmmm 🤔 my favs are always changing but at the moment.

1. Gokurakugai: Alma is a precious cinnamon roll who loves his mentor Miss Tao like a sister. I really love their platonic relationship and the fact that Alma is incredibly emotionally balanced. Like he's not this typical macho guy. Probably because he's surrounded by strong female role models. It's really refreshing for Shonen and I really hope it gets an anime series because I think it has the potential to be as big as JJK and Demon Slayer.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen: I love Yuuji as a ML and I'm usually a side character gal. So it's great to actually like the lead character. I've noticed in this current generation of Manga and Anime that our Male Leads are becoming much more well rounded and likeable. I love Yuuji's strength and his resilience, he definitely deserves all the love and hugs. I also of course love Gojo and I kind of hope Mappa deviates from the manga in regards to his fate because man that hurt.

3. Demon Slayer: I read the manga start to finish and loved every minute of it. The anime series is just as good. I love all of the characters in this in their own rights. From the protagonist to the villains for me at least the author got everything right. It's Shonen at its best. To be able to make your audience love Rengoku in such a short time is an amazing feat. To care so much that you feel as devastated as Tanjiro to me the Mugen train arc is a masterclass in story telling. It's sad that the series will be coming to an end soon but I think for me this will always be in my top 5.

4. Ghost in the Shell: This is the movie that started my love of anime/manga. It's a cinematic masterpiece and everyone should watch it at least once. It was well ahead of its time and it's not surprising that it inspired the Matrix.

5. Hells Paradise: I love the manga and the anime. Gabimaru is so relatable to me, I think we share the same sarcastic and apathetic nature lol. I love it as well because it gave us one of the best disabled characters in current manga generation. Shion is an epic character for the disabled community, being partially blind myself it's nice to be represented you know? And he's not full of loathing or self pity, he embraces his blindness and uses it to his advantage. He's funny, kind, strong and handsome. He never questions Sagiri's competence, he doesn't try to send her of to the kitchen like his colleagues. He recognises her talent and encourages her to achieve her goals. In short Shion needs to be protected at all costs.

6. Chainsaw Man: when I first saw this pop up on Shonen Jump I didn't have high hopes. It seemed like a crack series but this is exactly why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. I love this series even though it hurts me 😭. Denji is a typical hormonal teen, power is a ball of chaos and Aki is just trying to keep everything together. Plus Angel 😇 is one of my fav characters of all time maybe because he reminds me of my daughter lol.

7. Elfen Lied: this is another classic anime the violence is on par with AOT but once you get past that you have this heart wrenching story. Lucy is a monster created by her environment and the abuse she suffered. This is also one of the most beautifully animated series of all time. The art is phenomenal.

8. Solo Leveling: I fell in love with the Manwha and was so excited when it got picked up for a series. I'm loving the anime so far, though I'm two episodes behind. Due to my sight loss I have to wait for the English dub but dubs have gotten way better than when I first started watching anime in the early 2000's. I love Jinwoo's tenacity and the fact that he just cuts through the villains. He never really worries about whether that makes him a bad person. Sometimes you just want to see bad people get what's coming to them. Plus this has some of the most epic fight scenes, I can't wait to see them animated.

9. Tokyo Ghoul: I spent most of Tokyo Ghoul crying ugly tears 😭. Ken Keneki has one of the most heartbreaking storylines in all of anime. It's just painful to read/watch Gege definitely took a leaf out of the Tokyo ghoul book when writing JJK. Yet still I couldn't put it down, I'm a sucker for punishment. It's a great mix of characters as well, I love that we see goth culture mixed in there as well. You do get those Crow vibes the way it's so gothic in inspiration and the art work is stunning. I think the only illustrator that tops it is Yuta Sano.

10. Attack on Titan: AOT has been deemed controversial because of it's fascist themes. However I think it's only problematic if you think Eren is the hero in this story. I actually really can't stand Eren, it's pretty obvious that he's been radicalised by his experiences early on. The foreshadowing is strong with him you know he's not going to turn out well from the start. The real protagonists for me are Armin, Levi and Hange. Like these three are definitely trying to save their comrades and people. Whereas Mikasa is constantly having to save Eren and Eren jumps to mass genocide pretty quick. Levi almost feels like he's representing the audience with his snarky commentary. I also love Levi and Hanges platonic friendship. They really get each other and their banter is a joy to watch especially in the first season.

[seregios-seer]

Monster Review: Dalamadur

So, it's been a good while, but I'm back and starting off big! Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was my first ever game in the series, and young me didn't get much further than the single player campaign, and that is frankly a tragedy because if I'd encountered this thing when I was 10 it would have shattered my kid brain. The presentation behind Dalamadur is exactly what an end game monster deserves, right on par with World's cutscenes for the black dragons. I kid you not I had shivers entering this fight for the first time because of how badass the cutscene was. The design for this monster is top tier by far, taking an incredibly simple creature, and giving it a unique scale ridge and arms is such an easy change but also so famn memorable. I actively have to try and keep this intro short because I could (and probably will) rant about Dalamadur and how much I love it for several stand alone posts. When I first beat this fight, with well under 5 minutes left and no clue if I was even close, I sat there for literal minutes, staring at my ceiling and wrote quite literally a full (I think 2-3k word) essay to my friends about how incredible this capstone fight is.

4u (IG): It's gonna be hard to keep this to a purely mechanical review, but I'll damn well try. The first thing to talk about is just how fighting this colossus even works, which is where one of biggest strengths and weakness of this fight both come into play. The ability to climb on Dalamadur, jumping on and off at the bottom and top of a massive rock spire is a surreal experience, and gives great, and in most fights the only, access to body parts for breaking. Being able to leap onto Dalamadur's head from so high up really sells the massive size of the monster, and it's just incredible. There is however a pressing issue with Dalamadur's size, and that would be the tedium in running around the map after it. This fight is incredible, and certainly feels it, but it's also consistently about 40-50 minutes, and over that time, there's a good deal where you'll just be running from end to end trying to get a hit in before Dalamadur moves again. It's a notable gripe, but ultimatley won't hurt Dalamadur's rating because of just how amazing the rest of the fight is. For Dalamadur's actual attacks, the majority being physical is both fitting and terrifying. During the periods where Dalamadur sits on the upper left and right of the arena, not coiled around the spire, it can swing its arms in just a casual sweep, and that attack hits like a truck. It's not impossible to dodge, and is rarely followed up quick enought to set a kill, but it can come damn close. Dalamadur's sliding across the stage is perhaps its weakest attack, only dealing a small amount of damage, if it even connects, but this attack does run interferance for a move I'll discuss later. I was actually unaware of this, as it had never come up in any of my fights, but apparently standing too close to the head risks paralysis from Dalamadur's tongue, which I can't evaluate without personal experience, but that sounds terrifying. The tail also poses a threat, but really only if you are actively attacking it, which can honestly be an infuriating process when farming for drops due to how much it moves. But the tail attacks in much the same way as the arms, with a sweep that deals less damage, but is certainly nothing to scoff at. The last physical attack worth talking about is the scariest by far, Dalamadur's bite rush. Dalamadur sets its head, coils, and springs forward, twisting to the side as it goes, slamming its jaws on anything so unfortunate to get in the way. This attack is massive, incredibly fast after the windup period, and almost certain death. With armor from well into G Rank I would routinely be carted if I was hit by this attack unless I was at peak health. This attack is awe inspiring, grandiose, and among my favorite attacks in the full game. It doesn't feel unfair, it feels balanced in all the right ways while also being the peak threat of the entire fight. Dalamadur is not, however, fully physical, and has a host of incredible energy attacks, foremost being the meteor swarm. The meteors Dalamadur summons will rain in droves during several periods of the fight, and give a kind of white shrinking display to show where they'll fall, with some tracking the hunter, forcing them to stay moving. These meteors are terrifying if you're unprepared, but if you stay moving, you should escape unscathed. This is where Dalamadur's movement becoems a threat, as that's typically when most meteors fall, and being stumbled into the path of a meteor is a considerable threat, so avoid the snake's body. Dalamadur is also capable of producing fireballs (that I don't think are actually elemental) that it aims at hunters from its mouth. These blasts are, in my experience, wildly inaccurate in my experience, and hardly much of a threat, more a spectacle than anything. Dalamadur's chest can also give off a heat barrier, much like Teostra when the snake is enraged, which deals slow, constant damage. This barrier isn't much a threat on its own, but when it prepares a stronger attack, the damage taken from ignoring this flame aura can be just enough to send you packing to base camp.

Rating: 10/10

What the hell do you mean the meownster hunters have discovered a new target?

[pixiedixiedo]

Out of the scale of 1 to 10 which version/interpretations of angels look horrifying or majestic?

1. Bayonetta Angels

2. Evangelion Angels

3. Diablo Angels

4. Legion Angels

5. Classic Bible Accurate Angels

6. Angelerium Angels

8. DOOM angels

7. Ultrakill Angels

8. The Woodsprite and Death from Guillermo Del Toro's Pinnochio

9. Dark Souls Angels

10. Shin Megamei Tensei Angels

Ooo this is a good question, I had a lot of fun looking into these. Thanks for the ask!

1. Bayonetta Angels

I've never played the games before, but these are neat! The ones that look like inanimate objects are interesting, I love their ornateness. 5/10

2. Evangelion Angels

I have yet to watch Evangelion, its been on my watch list for some time, maybe this is my signal to finally get to it. I love giant angels and the feeling they give, no matter how important humans think they are, there will always be things that will outclass them. 9/10

3. Diablo Angels

I love the Diablo angels, I think their designs are super cool. I especially love their wings and their ornate armor. My Tyrael Funko sits on my desk and watches me sleep at night, he's my little guardian angel. 5/10

4. Legion Angels

No femboys :( 1/10

5. Classic Bible Accurate Angels

I love the cosmic horror of biblical angels, Imagine looking at the sky and seeing a creature so large it dips below the horizon. Very gender. 10/10

6. Angelerium Angels

I absolutely adore the Angelarium series, Peter Mohrbacher's work is gorgeous. I think his work really taps into existential fear, especially for the larger angels/emanations; The feeling of being completely overshadowed by forces infinitely more powerful and important than you. 10/10

7. DOOM angels

Im afraid I've never played Doom; I don't think they are all that majestic or horrifying, but I do absolutely adore the combination of the robotic and angelic. 3/10

8. Ultrakill Angels

Ultrakill has a special place in my heart. Again I wouldn't say the angels are that majestic or scary, but that does not mean Gabriel doesn't have ownership over my soul. 2/10

8. The Woodsprite and Death from Guillermo Del Toro's Pinnochio

The angels are actually what got me to watch Pinocchio in the first place, and in extension got me interested in Guillermo del Toro. The angels, on par with the rest of his work, are absolutely gorgeous. Same thing with his Angel of Death in Hellboy. 7/10

9. Dark Souls Angels

I never got around to playing Dark Souls 3, I didn't know until now they had angels! I love their (and the series' in general) haunting but organic design. 6/10

10. Shin Megamei Tensei Angels

This got me into a rabbit hole of looking at different SMT angels. I don't know too much about it but it seems interesting, clearly there was a lot of research put into it which is very intriguing. Thank you for asking me about this! 5/10

[aingeal98]

hiii. while you're thinking about Al Ghouls do you have any comic book recommendations for them? I want to know more about Ra's and Talia without the post 9/11 narrative. Or more about the LoA in general.Tha k you!

Absolutely! I know there's a few reading guides out there for Talia that can probably give a better overview with a more filtered and streamlined guide. Such as this one here, which features Talia at her best:

Other than Son of the Demon, when I refer to LexCorp era Talia and her old character, these are usually what I'm referring to. This is who she was right before she got tortured into being evil. For a deeper dive into Talia's history, this reading list is really well put together:

If you're looking for something even longer, with the full history and context of Batman and the al Ghuls, here's pretty much everything I've read for the al Ghuls starting from the beginning. I'm not an expert by any means so I may have missed some relevant story or mixed up the order of a few different single issues, but there's enough here to offer a coherent timeline. If you can't afford to buy the comics, all of these should be available to read for free by typing them into a search engine and adding "read online" at the end.

Also please note that you don't have to read all of these. Some of these particularly in the 70s/80s contain repetitive story beats. Ra's has a scheme to make Batman his son in law, Talia helps him out. Batman opposes it, Talia helps Batman but doesn't fully abandon her father. That's the pattern writers fell into after the initial establishing of Ra's and Talia as characters. Some stories are better than others, and some break the mold entirely or put a fresh spin on it.

This is going to be LONG and I apologize in advance. I like to ramble about things. Tis a key part of this blog.

The 70s, aka the beginning of it all

Note: In all of these the al Ghuls feature in the main storyline, not the side stories such as Robin or Batgirl unless noted otherwise.

-Detective Comics 411: Into the Den of Death Dealers

Bruce and Talia's first meeting. Written by Denny O'Neil, Talia and Ra's creator. Batman fights a bull. It's very charming in the way only this era of Batman can be.

-Batman 232: Daughter of the Demon

Ra's and Bruce's first encounter, featuring Dick getting kidnapped, Bruce fighting a leopard, and Ra's attempting a ridiculously elaborate overprotective dad scheme.

-Batman 235: Swamp Sinister

-Batman 240: Vengeance for a Dead Man

The one where Batman and Ra's dynamic takes a turn for the worse, where Batman realizes that Ra's has a very different set of morals to him and can be ruthlessly evil.

-Batman 242-244

Introduction of the Lazarus Pits. Some racially insensitive moments that are on par for the 70s.

-Batman 257: Hail Emperor Penguin

-Detective Comics 444-445 and 447-448

Ra's framed Bruce for murder long before David Cain stole his idea. I think Cain did it better but this is still fun.

-Black Lightning 2: Merlyn Means Murder

A non Batman related Talia appearance.

-Batman: Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed?

4 part story where Batman's rogues thinks he's dead and come together to figure out who did it. Not massively important for the al Ghuls but Ra's being the judge in this trial is so funny to me.

-DC Special Series 15: I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!

The one where Ra's gets fed up of Batman refusing his son in law offerings so he just knocks him out and drags Batman to the wedding ceremony. Not my favourite by a long shot but the "marriage" is important for Damian's conception, since in Son of the Demon Batman hilariously enough doesn't want to sleep with Talia out of wedlock until she reminds him that they're technically married if you stretch the law by a whole lot. After that he's all for it.

-Detective Comics 485: The Vengeance Vow + Detective Comics 490: Requiem for a Martyr

Not a huge fan of this issue considering it fridges Kathy Kane and uses a brainwashed Bronze Tiger to do so. It's included a lot in reprints of the al Ghul storylines and does give us a look at the inner workings of the League of Assassins, but I could do without it. Also DC having two master martial art old men called Sensei who look very similar with one being good and the mentor of characters like Richard Dragon and Shiva, while the other is Ra's al Ghuls father and evil, is very confusing. You could tell how much they REALLY loved Kung-Fu based characters in this era of comics.

-The Brave and the Bold 159: The Crystal Armageddon

The 80s, aka seeds of Character Development and Plot!

-Batman 330-335

The start of Dick and Talia's dislike of each other. Also featuring the most terribly racist Fox family plotline I've read. It makes me glad Jace Fox gets to be Batman in the future even if I didn't like that comic either. He deserves to be Robin and Nightwing too as compensation for this storyline.

-Batman Annual Volume 1 Issue 8: The Messiah of the Crimson Sun

I enjoy this story because rather than have Talia working with Ra's and switching sides halfway, she's firmly opposed to her father from the start here. We start to see the beginning of character development compared to the regular pattern of the old comics.

-Detective Comics 526: All My Enemies Against Me!

We get Pre Crisis aka Earth One Jason Todd's origin while also getting Talia and Catwoman helping Bruce, Babs and Dick fight all the other rogues. I really, really love this issue and I can't fully explain why. It just ticks all the boxes for me.

-Batman 400: Resurrection Night!

Another comic I really enjoy, with Talia teaming up with Robin!Jason to help Batman and Catwoman foil Ra's latest scheme.

-Batman: Son of the Demon

Damian's origin. A must read. The tragedy of what could have been and how loved he was by both parents kills me every time.

The 90s aka we're getting darker and edgier now. Also featuring character regression and Bane for some reason.

-Batman: Bride of the Demon

Classic shenanigans but featuring Tim as Robin this time.

-Batman: Birth of the Demon

Ra's al Ghul origin story time! Trigger warning for sexual assault. Definitely not the tone a 70s era Ra's comic would have but not bad in my opinion.

-The Batman Adventures 13 + 17

Set in the Batman The Animated Series universe, it shows this universe's version of Talia and Ra's and is a pretty faithful adaption! Shocking I know.

-Azrael Issues 5-9 + 29-30

Azrael meets the al Ghuls and Ra's considers making Azrael his heir instead. Basically a classic Ra's Talia and Batman story with Azrael there instead of Batman. Not my favourite, it feels like it belongs in the 70s instead of being 90s al Ghuls.

-Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat + League of Batmen

A future elseworld story starting Tallant Wayne, son of Talia and Bruce. Clearly inspired by the baby in Son of the Demon, who would grow up to be Damian in main continuity.

-Batman: Legacy Volume 1 + 2

A sequel to Batman: Contagion, where a deadly virus spread through Gotham and even infected Tim. This time Ra's is in charge of the spread of the second round of the virus, Talia is back under his thumb and seems miserable about it. And also Ra's is considering making Bane his heir and Talia's husband, which probably contributes a fair bit to her misery. Character regression for Talia compared to how much she went against Ra's in the 80s, but one I personally find realistic. Main drawback is that a lot is written by Chuck Dixon and Talia is weirdly sexual at times. An understandable deal breaker for many, but it's the biggest 90s al Ghul story so I felt it important to mention.

-The Batman and Robin Adventures #10

Set in the comic version of the Batman The Animated Series universe, so if you're a fan of that cartoon you'll probably enjoy this.

-Batman Chronicles Volume 1 #8

Talia centred story that sums up her internal conflict between her father and Batman. Gets to the heart of why Ra's, despite his love for her, is not a good parent at all. Would recommend.

-Batman & Spider-Man: New Age Dawning

Crossover goodness for any Spiderman fans out there.

-Batman No Man's Land #0

The Talia cameo here is good imo. It shows layers to her and Bruce's dynamic that we haven't fully seen before. Plus we get to see Helena becoming the Bat of No man's land.

-Batman: The Chalice

One shot that doesn't fit in NML continuity despite being published at the time. I'm adding it anyway because I enjoy how it portrays Ra's and Talia. A nice break from their most toxic era so far (relationship wise).

The early 2000s aka The Brief and Glorious Talia Independence Era

-JLA: Tower of Babel

The tipping point. Ra's goes too far in messing with Batman, and Talia leaves him. It should have been her permanent break from Ra's and his cult, but if you ignore everything from Death and the Maidens onwards and live in denial like me, it still is!

(This comic also had the unfortunate consequence of giving the most insufferable "Batman solos fiction" fans more fodder. But tis a small price to pay for Talia finally freeing herself from Ra's suffocating grip on her life.)

-Batman Chronicles 22

You get good short stories for Shiva, Steph AND Talia in this issue, exploring more of their character without any of the usual entourage around to hog the spotlight

-Detective Comics 750

Talia is so delightfully done with both Ra's and Bruce. She's sick and tired of their shit and doesn't want to be dragged into it any more. If Tower of Babel was her gaining independence from Ra's, this is her gaining it from Bruce.

-Action Comics 772-773

The start of Talia's LexCorp era.

-JLA Secret Files and Origins 3

Flashback story giving more insight into Talia's POV during Tower of Babel.

-President Luthor Secret Files and Origins #1

-Batman Legends of the Dark Knight 142-145

Like the Birds of Prey storyline of this time, these issues make no attempt to stay in continuity with the rest of this era. It's more a generic 90s story than one that fits where the characters are timeline wise at the date it was published. Only reason I'm adding it to the list is because you get Talia shooting the Joker and leaving him for dead. Batman has to dip him in the Lazarus Pit to stop him from bleeding out.

-Superman Volume 2 Issue 170 (cameo)

-Batman: Our World's at War Issue 1

-Superboy Volume 4 #89

-Suicide Squad 2001 #2 (side role)

-Superman: The Man of Steel 120

Talia is trying to take down LexCorp from the inside meanwhile Superman is like "I stopped the evil stuff you were doing!" and she's like "Congrats you destroyed the evidence of LexCorp doing evil stuff in the process." He still doesn't realise she's on his side, which to be fair is part of her whole antihero deal at the minute.

-Adventures of Superman 600

-Superman: The Man of Steel 122-125

Plot starts in 122. Talia appears in 123 onwards.

-Superman Volume 2 Issue 190 + 194 + 198

Batman: Hush Issue 4. (brief appearance) and Issue 9.

Decent Talia characterisation to me, not so decent Lady Shiva appearance. Torn between amusement and disappointment that Talia manages to beat her by hitting her with a chair. (Yes, really.)

-Superman/Batman #6

Batman informs Lex that Talia has bankrupted him and sold the LexCorp building to Bruce Wayne. Sucks to suck, Lex.

After this, there was so much potential. You had a solid basis for Talia as an independent anti-hero, using her connections to team up with villains only to double cross them when the time is right and take them down from the inside. A master at espionage in the making. Instead Death and the Maidens happens. You might as well skip to Robin: Son of Batman and fill in the blanks however your imagination deems fit. It's probably better than what DC came up with.

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2023 Summer Anime

This is the anime season I've been waiting for this year:

Jujutsu Kaisen - Season 2 speaks for itself, long awaited, goated characters, fun action packed story

Bleach: Thousand year Blood War - Season 2 One of the best come backs of all time for an anime, the first season was absolutely worth waiting 10+ years for. Season 2 back to kill it again I'm sure.

Horimiya: Piece - 13 Episodes One of my favourite shoujo romance series. This isn't the second season but it's a lot of new content that didn't make it into the original series. Another one lots of people have been waiting for.

Another one of my all time favourite shoujo (?)/fantasy? series is coming back this season as well: Sugar Apple Fairy Tale This was such a brutal cliffhanger to leave us on in the first half and I honestly cried so much. This is a highly anticipated second cour for me. We also have Mushoku tensei season 2 coming this season. While I feel like it's definitely one of the top isekais out there, I'm not too sure how this second season will do, it seems a bit darker and has a different vibe to it. We'll have to wait and see. There's also a bunch of series that attempted to air in the winter series but were halted for one reason or another: The misfit at demon lord academy - season 2 The devil as a part timer!! - season 2 After watching what they did release originally, I feel like these series could honestly have been left alone and been such solid series. Who knows if they'll redeem themselves. NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a - it seems like this is only going to be 4 episodes, not too sure what's New Series:

The Girl I like forgot her Glasses A new romance series that looks straightforward and wholesome. Pretty much what the title says. It's done by an older studio, known for the 2012 anime "K". It seems like they're trying to make a comeback as they're also releasing the following show this season: The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today I've heard of the manga for this series and it's supposed to be quite highly rated but I honestly know nothing about it. My guess is that it'll be popular with the manga readers but likely won't get too much traction in the wider audiences. My Happy Marriage Historical romance series that honestly looks like it checks all the boxes for me. Arranged marriage by evil step-mother of a quiet girl to a supposed cold hearted commander with money. The quality animations are honestly a bonus.

Zom 100 I think this is exactly the kind of show that'll do well as an anime, it's big, loud, and stupid (in a good way). A 24year old salaryman realizes he never has to work again when the zombie apocalypse hits japan. Definitely a fun one to watch this season.

Helck This is a new fantasy/comedy series where a human - Helck, is nominated as demon lord. Big muscle brain who hates other humans and wants to destroy humanity. The manga was just released in english so I've heard the name around recently and think it'll be a fun watch. Dark Gathering A new horror/supernatural series where a shut in start working for a child prodigy psychic who wants to hunt down the spirit related to her mothers disappearance. Seems like it could be a half-decent supernatural series, it's been a while since I've watched one so i'll likely check it out.

Undead Girl Murder Farce Another interesting dark looking series. It's about a disembodied head who's a detective who travels with her half-demon friend and maid around Europe solving supernatural related mysteries. Liar, Liar A big brain battle anime about people faking each other out to win some kind of tournament (?) I know people like this kinda series quite a bit, like Classroom of the Elite so I figured I'd throw this in incase you're interested. Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero A new comedy fantasy series that's popular in the manga realm. After 10 year the hero and the retired demon lord room together as the Demon lord tries to get the hero back in shape. What I wanted from Devil as a part-timer. Record of Ragnarok - Season 2 I honestly have so much fun with this series and have no complaints about the animation style, looking forward to the new battles. Along the same lines: Hanma Baki- Season 2 Easy brainless violence/entertainment Link Click 2 I really need to get to watching the first season, I know this is supposed to be an incredible series with solid animations. Fate/Strange Fake A new season of fate, animated by A-1 who'll be doing solo leveling. I've been putting off watching the series but honestly will likely try and catch up for this season. Sequels: Masamune Kun's Revenge R (season 2) Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 3 BSD Season 5 The Duke of Death and His Maid Season 2 Spy Classroom Season 2 Others/Isekai/Fantasy: The Gene of AI - technically just sci fi - detroit become human meets medical show Hero Classroom - honestly the one that has the most potential out of this list - Hero/Fantasy/Ecchi/School Genre Atelier Ryza - looks a little promising, new alchemy apprentice in fantasy world Reign of the Seven Spellblades - Harry Potter type fantasy school (but not really in a good way)

[chekhovs-tantrum]

Locked Tomb crochet skull pattern: First and Ninth houses

Let's start by addressing that while my knitting is on par with Gideon's swordwork, my crocheting is on par with Gideon's flirt game. These patterns might be a disaster. If you recognize that I fucked something up, please feel free to leave a comment translating my mistake so that future crocheters can get it right. I hope to make the whole series and put it up on Ravelry!

Mine turned out fairly large; maybe 3" wide. I used worsted weight yarn, a USA 4 crochet hook (E), and a tension that's as unpredictable and chaotic as the sexual tension of regrowing a bone arm. 

If you love this pattern and want to celebrate it via capitalism, you should give the money to the Trevor Project to support the LGBTQ folks (which are everywhere in our fave series) and mental health (which, in our fave series, is nowhere to be found).

That's it for now. DM me or post your pictures if you make this! I want to see!

FIRST HOUSE: One Skull Base, one Nose, two Standard Eyes

NINTH HOUSE: One Skull Base (see special instructions), one Nose, two Ninth House Sunnies

SKULL BASE: 

Start with magic loop, 

Round 1: Ch1, hdc 10 in circle; join to first with sl st (10 stitches)

Round 2: Ch1; *2hdc in next loop* around; join to first stitch with sl st (20 stitches)

Round 3: Ch1; *hdc, 2hdc in next loop* around, join to first stitch with sl st (30 stitches)

Round 4: Ch1; *hdc into next 2 st, 2hdc* around, join to first stitch with sl st (40 stitches)

Round 5: Ch1; *hdc into next 3 st, 2hdc* around, join to first stitch with sl st (50 stitches)

Round 6 (begin chin): ch3, dc, dc, hdc, sc, sc, hdc, dc, dc, tc, turn work. 

Round 7: ch1, hdc across. For the Ninth House only, stop here and bind off. For all other Houses, turn work. 

Round 8: ch1, hdc across, turn work. 

Round 9: in 2nd loop from needle, sl st, sc, hdc, dc, dc, hdc, sc, sl st, sl st, bind off. 

NOSE 

Slip knot, ch4

In 2rd loop from hook sl st; ch 2; sl st in same loop (go through both threads to close hole)

sc twice, bind off. It’ll look like a girthy little prick, so try not to confuse it for Naberius. 

STANDARD EYES 

Slip knot, ch4

in 2nd loop from hook, hdc; 

ch2, in 2nd loop from hook, hdc

in 2nd loop from start (on original chain!), dc

in 1st loop, hdc. 

NINTH HOUSE SUNNIES

Magic loop

Ch1; 10hdc into magic loop

Ch2, 2dc; 2hdc; 2sc into next 6 loops; 2hdc, 2dc, bind off.