#so there'll be more fun stuff next time

[undertalethingems]

Unexpected Guests Chapter 10, Act Two: Page 21

First / Previous / Next

Perhaps surprisingly, Gaster is not very experienced in hand-to-hand combat. Heheh.

Undyne very much is, and is going to throw everything she has at the man threatening her friends--spears, punches, and Gaster. Whatever it takes, she's determined to win.

There's still more action to come--stay tuned for the next update, coming on Sep. 12th!

[shuenkio]

Midas touch | 선우 (͡⁠°⁠‿⁠ ͡⁠°) 엔.하.이.픈 ᝰ.ᐟ

Paring: Sunoo X Male!reader ᝰ.ᐟ Genre: Suggestive, Fluff.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Synopsis: Big boy is upset and sulking knowing that you'll be working as a makeup artist on the other members

Cw: slight Curse, jealous, a lil possessive.

Non proof read / Eng is not my 1st.

This is a work of fanfiction, do not throw unnecessary tantrums on this nsfw/sfw blog. ©Shuenkio

AᝰN: Sorry to my anon that I didn't do justice for this to be smau :( after thinking and write through for a while I'm okay with the suggestive instead. I hope you don't mind and give it a go >< thanks for the idea .

➽──────────────❥

Every fans dream was to be close to their own idols, such as work as stylists, make up artists, managers and so on. But little did they do, there was no love involved. Work means work, you can't go to work just to love your idol, you go to work for passion and living, isn't that right? Common sense.

However it was one in a million that you get chosen as a male make up artist for one of a popular boy group, ENHYPEN. Yet that was in the past, actually you've worked for them for God knows how long, ever since their Debut era, Given-Taken. If somebody asks how many things you've witnessed watching them grow, Proud is the only answer.

Being this young, and getting to walk in the same journey with the 7 boys, it's truly life changing, not only watching them grown, your mindset, maturity, emotional have grown too. You get to pinpoint what's right or wrong.

Present time, the one and only member that you've been working for the ultimate is Sunoo. To say how experienced you were with him, is quite easy. Sunoo is a guy who's easily outgoing, fun to talk to, making you feel exist, being by his side is never bored just sometimes when he's bored, he's scrolling his media.

➽──────────────❥

Making your way to the music show make up room, because ENHYPEN just came back with a new repackage album. There'll be tons of work for shooting promotions music shows, make up is very... Important.

Today is different, the boy's manager approaches you with some other new staff as well. He announced that you will be moved to work with another member, that turns out to be Jungwon for the next few months since the former staff took their break, while Sunoo got a new female staff member. Somehow it makes no sense why you have to move, when the new staff could go right to Jungwon but soon, was explained by the manager himself, that Jungwon suggested he wanted to work with you, also Sunoo is getting along pretty well with girls so why not. It clicked after the manager in the state, nothing more to be curious about.

Get to work right after, as you are doing make up for Jungwon, the leader seems happy that you agree to work with him while he chit chat with you how he had seen your work, your calm presence, and your aura around Sunoo and other people as well which response by your chuckle. Is that all he wanted? Silly boy. Beside that, Jungwon would find many dad crack jokes on you, practice his flirty skills out of the blue that affect you a lot, finding yourself tummy freeze from laughing.

Unbeknownst to you, Sunoo is upset and sulking on the other side. He was pouting all the time as the new female staff did her job quietly, and didn't dare to ask why. He was seen taking a deep sigh, chin resting, and introvert the whole time. Not when he heard Jungwon is flirting with you, all the goofy and cheese stuffs hearing from the other side that would make him hot. Yet he bottled it up, waiting for the right moment to have a talk with you?

Nearly time up for the attendance for the promotion shooting, the manager would ask all the members to get prepared, pee or drinks and essential things to do, that could delay the time. Coincidentally, as you are making your way to the bathroom, you see Sunoo was there too, but it seems like, when he looks at you, his eyebrows furrowed together just like you did something to make him mad.

Just like usual, best friend for many years, you go up and ask what's wrong with him, politely when he responds back making you surprised.

"M/n you never know who I am but... Seeing you with Jungwon makes my heart hurt!! Come back to me" instead of throwing a tantrum, Sunoo jotting his bottom lip out, pouting on the edge of crying as he speaks.

What is going on really, this is not sad but funny.

"oh gosh Sunoo snort i never knew you'd cry for this, but it's just a few months. It's not like

I only did it on him bias, sometimes I'd work on other members too including you, stop sulking it's not Sunoo anymore" You claim, explain how it works, as results that does light him up a lil bit, before flashing you a bright smile like he used too.

"Hug? Please~"

" sigh Okay, Hug" intended your arm open, as his talk frame wrapped around your small body. His hand smoothed over your back in slow, soothing circles, and you could feel the unspoken comfort in the way his chin rested on the crooked of your neck. All at once, the naughty hands of Sunoo grope both of the cheeks behind your back, His hand found your cheek with a touch that was both rough and unintentional, the calluses of his fingers brushing against your skin like an afterthought.

"Sunoo!? What's this behavior" You whine, as his hand feels your butt cheeks, carelessly on it as if he worships them, giving them some attention in case they need it but that's just him.

"but I miss this saur much, well I think it's bigger than mine now the last I've touched it, haha" Sunoo wheeze under his throat, as he pulled back his hands away and handed up like a police officer arrested him.

"You naughty boy, you're only sunshine in front of the fan but not for me" Blushing, tinted on your face. Crossing your hands over your chest, turn away from his playfulness. At some points his touch does make you feel the unspoken strange too, it kinda... Hot?

"okay okay, I won't do it again M/n don't be mad at me. Oh they're calling! See you later, I'll treat you to a cup of coffee after this, mwah" Blowing the sweetest kiss, before disappearing out of your sight.

Exhaled softly alone in the rest room, you find yourself thinking about his sudden touch earlier that does magic on you that can't be forgotten easily. It's just a few weeks apart from him before the comeback, but he grows more bold? Sigh deeply.

"Shit, why am I rock hard over this. Pull yourself together M/N!"

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

[psychicreadsgirl]

Pick a Dish: Your Relationship Dynamics with your next S/O

Pick the picture that draws you most. If you can't decide between 2, then look at the 2 readings. Remember, this is a general reading so take what resonates and leave what doesn't behind.

#1

Very relaxed, kind of lazy. Stay at home dates - a lot of Netflix and chill vibes. Almost literal couch potatoes at times.

You two will feel comfortable with each other really fast. You two won't be scared of sharing your "bad" sides like farting in front of the other or telling them how bad your arm pits smell etc. You also will feel comfortable wearing just casual stuff or PJS or home clothes with them. You won't really feel the need to put on makeup or dress up much for your S/O.

You two will feel like good friends, in fact, almost like best friends. You two will either be very clingy towards each other or will lead very independent/almost separate lives, mostly bc of your work/school or some other uncontrollable situation.

You will both help out each other and listen to one another. There's a lot of positive energy between you two. And a LOT of lazy chill energy - which is fine too. Just be careful of your health - still important to exercise and eat healthy.

Some people may feel like you two are like those super old married couples, but you both feel that's ok.

For some there may be a long distance relationship for you two or it will become one after dating.

#2

You both like to keep things fresh and spicy. Expect lots of surprises and fun. I see both of you travelling a lot together and you might even be the couple that quits their jobs and becomes vloggers or quits their jobs to start some other biz etc. Somehow being together leads you two to create something together, whether it be a career/organization/a place/other friendship maybe. There's some "expansion" or creation aspect to this union.

You will find each other to be very funny and will enjoy spending time with each other. You will have endless of things to talk about--likely one of you will be more chatty and the other just more quiet.

You two don't seem to place that much emphasis on material things in life. You enjoy doing activities together -- not necessarily the fact that you two went to some "fancy" restaurant. You both don't really care about luxury goods or brand names. You both would rather spend money on more practical things or entertainment like travel, movies, vacations, etc.

For some of you you might be polar opposites with the other person so inevitably there may be times where you two will definitely butt heads. However you two will make up usually by some physical touch or sex.

#3

There'll be some traditional undertones to this relationship. Perhaps both of you come from very strict families or one of you does or maybe you/they/both have traditional values. Maybe you two were set up by your parents.

There's going to be some element of cultural significance/foreign element too. Perhaps you both enjoy different cultures' foods. Maybe one of you comes from a multicultural family or has lived abroad in many different places. Maybe one of you is fluent in multiple languages or has many different friends abroad. Maybe you guys even are from 2 different countries.

Oddly there's a mix of non-traditional/traditional elements to this relationship. Sometimes that might make for a very interesting dynamic/relationship. Sometimes it might lead to conflict/disagreements because there are 2 different, sometimes opposite views in play.

There's likely going to be someone's parent that disapproves of this relationship for some reason.

I don't see this relationship as one that's particularly easy, in the sense that there are a lot of factors that are out of your control, which try to break you two apart or cause you two conflict. Whether you and your s/o will be able to work with each other to overcome those will be up to both of your efforts in the relationship.

This relationship will also be a meeting of equals, so you both will be quite "equal" in the sense that there won't be a power imbalance. You both could be equally smart or equally foolish. You both could make similar amounts of money too.

#4

This will be a rather chaotic yet dynamic pairing. Somehow there'll be a lot of gossip/news or something related to your relationship. Perhaps this is some office romance that's a bit judged on (i.e. you are dating your boss) or maybe you two seem like such an unlikely pair that people kind of just assume the worst about you two.

I see a strong physical attraction. Sometimes it might even seem like that physical attraction triumphs other parts of the relationship. There will be a lot of physical touch and bedroom activities. If you've never had your 1st sexual experience, then your s/o will likely be the more experienced one. It's not to say that they have fooled around with tons of people out there, but they will have had more dating experience than you.

It feels like one party will be more mature/experienced, while the other seems to be more naive/innocent/inexperienced. There may also be an age gap at play and this age gap can be quite big. Possibly for some of you, this will be the relationship after you've ended a long term relationship or marriage. Possibly for others, your s/o might have been previously engaged or married. Your s/o might even have married more than once before.

This relationship may also have a bit of like..parental feeling? Getting the sense that 1 of you might suffer from issues related to your parents and somehow your s/o kind of takes on the role of a parent that you didn't have. Some people might feel like your s/o is like your nanny sometimes or butler? One of you will definitely be the one that does a lot of acts of service.

#5

There's a very youthful feeling about this relationship. It might even be the 1st relationship that you'll ever have. There's that puppy love/1st love feeling. If it's not the 1st relationship, then it might be that rare serious relationship that you have.

There are very deep feelings within this relationship from both sides - more emotional than physical. Not to say that physical affection doesn't exist here, but you two will feel very emotionally connected with each other. You might even feel like they don't even need to talk to you and they get how you feel and vice versa. I don't see that a lot of communication is needed between you two. Somehow one look or some behaviour will just let you or your s/o know what's going on.

There can be some feelings of possessiveness/obsession with this relationship. 1 of you or both will be rather possessive. That can be bad or can be fine, depending on how it plays out. The possessiveness can sometimes turn into deep obsession/jealousy, which would not be great.

You might feel in this relationship that without your s/o you are incomplete. You feel like your s/o truly understands you. It's possible that 1 of you have had a traumatic childhood/past or both of you have and you two bond because of this. Or one of you will be very empathetic and understanding or somehow maybe even have an occupation as a therapist/healer/doctor that can help your s/o.

#6

Wow there's something really forbidden about this relationship. You or your s/o might both be already in relationships or even in a marriage but somehow you two are very drawn to each other. The lust/attraction is irresistible and even if you or both are already in relationships, you both will still date. Another possibility is that you two are dating when you're not supposed to be like the school/company won't let employees date or you're dating your best friend's ex partner. Or you two come from 2 different religions/ethnicity that traditionally have hated each other. Other possibilities in rare cases could be like incest or bordering incest (i.e. you are in love with your step sibling who doesn't have any blood relations with you or you are in love with your cousin etc). In other rare cases, you may be dating a well-known public figure secretly.

There's a lot of intensity with this relationship. The physical affection/passion is definitely there. There may be like a lot of angst too or suppressed feelings or you know in movies etc where there's a lot of sexual tension but then someone comes and interrupts and so the sexual tension has to be cut short? Something like that.

This relationship while intense may end rather abruptly or have many make ups and break ups. Somehow you both continue to be drawn to each other.

For some there may be some toxic stuff in this relationship - I see a lot of arguments and shouting and then shortly after there'd be intense makeup sex or kissing. A lot of times the physical side of the relationship will dominate everything else, which isn't so good, because the problems of this relationship don't go away.

For this relationship to work, both will need to recognize the issues and want to change and also realize that communication is very important. For some, this relationship will inevitably end for various reasons.

Because of the forbidden element to this relationship, inevitably there can be many misunderstandings and complications.

This relationship, however, will be one that you will definitely always remember - probably the one most dear to you.

[petermorwood]

One of the fun things about a Quiet Christmas is that ex-family food traditions can be observed, ignored or played with, and on different occasions @dduane and I have done all three.

We've stayed traditional with roast turkey (a crown roast not a whole bird, easier for two to consume - or slice and freeze - before boredom sets in) as well as non-traditional roast goose and, like this year, roast beef.

We've played with non-traditional turkey as Oaxacan mole poblano, and we've had Sauerbraten, venison, and even - with some special pleading at a Dublin game butcher - wild boar.

We've completely ignored the carrot-and-parsnip mash which - in my case anyway - always sat untouched in air-rescue-orange splendour on the side of my plate, because I hated the stuff.

Instead we've discovered the delights of roasting root veggies, a vast improvement on mashing them and, given there's often meat and potatoes already in the oven at Christmas, makes a lot of sense.

And every now and then there'll be a nod towards the tomato soup which invariably started any Christmas dinner from as long ago as I can remember until I moved out.

I like tomato soup in all its forms, so that wasn't a problem like the C&P mash, and as I got more adventurous the soups did too - but not at Christmas, because of Tradition...

*****

Soup wasn't planned at all this year, but happened unexpectedly when DD saw a recipe on-line - Spanish tomato soup with smoked paprika potatoes - and decided to try it.

This reads like a variant of Salmorejo, a cold soup like gazpacho, and having made it I think it would work well chilled in summer. In that case I'd either cut the potatoes into very small dice and fry them completely crispy, or slice them, fry them, let them cool and THEN dust them with smoked paprika / pimentón picante. Just a thought...

Because the decision was a bit spontaneous, i.e. after we'd done our last, very very last, bit of shopping, several ingredients were missing. We had no sherry, olives or orange juice, and neither of us could see the sense of two kinds of tinned tomatoes if the end result was going to be blended smooth.

It's a US recipe, so if "diced" and "crushed" have different flavours that makes sense. Here tinned toms are either whole or chopped, and I've never noticed them tasting different enough to matter.

*****

DD's IBS meant we also left out the onion and garlic, but I remembered we had a proper Spanish chorizo in the freezer, so that was defrosted, diced and added for a ten-minute simmer after the blending but before the potatoes.

The result...

...was superb.

The broth was rich, complex, warming and tangy, the chorizo was meaty and savoury, the paprika potatoes were spicy and just faintly crunchy along their edges.

Next time we'll lay in the missing ingredients and give them a try - sherry in particular Does Things For Soup - but our tweaked-by-necessity version was seriously good, and I can think of yet another tweak.

Adding chopped sun-dried tomatoes is getting two thumbs up from my Mind Palate, and there's at least one jar in the pantry, so I've a feeling there'll be another batch of this soup before too long... :->

[slutforpringles]

why does this real estate thing seem like a favor to nick thimm/his wife? like 'I missed your wedding I'll show up at your real estate conference'....but yeah the difference between daniel doing....that and max getting a week off of f1 and using it to drive a different car....I'd love it if daniel could just go have some fun like that driving again.

😂😅 Obviously I have no idea but the real estate company Daniel's speaking at is an australian company/brand, so I'd probably guess it's less the the Nick connection and more likely corporate australia business world connections. Although it's probably booked through CAA so who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yeah ... I know Daniel's never been the same level of complete racing nerd (affectionately) as Max, but I dunno I still find the apparent total lack of desire to do anything motorsport related somewhat sad and confusing, and also I feel it somewhat feeds into the corpse's (and others') sentiments about Daniel being completely done with racing, that he just didn't have it anymore etc.

I'm going to put this next bit under the cut because it's not the most positive sentiment and I don't want to bring others down, so read at your own risk and be warned my thoughts are very inarticulate and rambly.

Yeah ... I won't lie I've really struggled a bit with connecting to Daniel the last little while. I've mostly come to grips with whatever this current post-motorsport reality is, I think. I've also mostly come to terms with the fact there'll probably never be any closure on F1, on what happened last year, that we'll never hear from Daniel's perspective how he envisages the next few years or what his future plans are. And I've also not particularly minded the post-F1 sponsorships/business/money-making...

... But It just feels like now the only time we see or hear from him is when he's selling something; his social media is literally a glorified advertising billboard literally devoid of any of the old fun and personal posts he used to intersperse his feed with. And I get that he doesn't owe us any of his life etc etc. But I think it's kind of tough because part of Daniel's brand is/was his personality, and himself; part of what makes him such a lucrative marketing/brand asset is the way that he made sponsorships and advertising part of his content - it was fun and engaging because of Daniel. It didn't feel like you were just purely following someone to only to be advertised to, if that makes sense ?

Now the only time he posts is either because he's selling something, or because it's a sponsored post. Even the F1 Academy stuff that he shared on his story was literally a link to the enchante website and that was it (but I still think it's a super cool more from him and the brand regardless). When you scroll back though old posts/stories/comments where you just see the way he used to give random little updates and insights - even just his random videos of the sky with music - it's hard not to feel like his social media now is anything more than advertising.

And maybe it's a bit silly but the Real Estate thing did kind of hammer that feeling home a bit more for me. At least the fun projects, ongoing sponsorships all of that makes sense. But speaking at a real estate conference ?? To me it does kind of suck that since Singapore the only times he's spoken publicly have been at corporate events (like in NY for Afterpay, or for the wine event in Sydney, or to select influencers for Enchante in Melbourne). I get that his life is a lot more private post-F1, and I fully understand and respect that decision. (But I also just from a business pov do not in any way get it - because he's currently as off grid as Seb post-F1, except with several very public brands built around his popularity that aren't sustainable without him.)

Anyway all this to say I still love Daniel, I still support Daniel, I still enjoy getting to see random glimpses of him in 240p from random instagram posts. I'm just grappling with my own feelings towards how being a Daniel fan feels now idk if that makes sense ??

[yoroshiu]

Characterization Through Language: Riku (Kingdom Hearts)

Now onto 2nd place from the poll: Riku!

Considering how some characters are in a large range of how different they are across dubs, I find myself needing to adjust how I organize the content of each of these.

Riku's one of the ones that, as far as I've seen, isn't that different in ENG and JPN. As in, besides a few translation/localization changes to certain lines, I don't think you're missing out on anything huge in terms of speaking habits/quirks.

With that in mind, I'll still talk about his 1st/2nd person pronouns and go into my thoughts about the choices in his direction. There'll also be more trivia + links to voice clips I find fun/interesting!

Want a quick clip of JPN Riku to get an idea of how he sounds like?

Heh

CV: Mamoru Miyano (Light Yagami (Death Note), Ryuji Sakamoto (Persona 5), Mario (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), Osamu Dazai (Bungou Stray Dogs), Atsumu Miya (Haikyu!!), etc.)

("Yoro, did you put those roles specifically on purpose?" Yes. I need to emphasize how big his range is.)

If you've seen any other anime or game with Miyano-san voicing a character, you're probably familiar with how dynamic he is. Miyano-san has a very bright personality and can be very dramatic so the contrast between him and Riku is very amusing.

Obviously, Riku is a pretty cool guy, mostly reserved, though he has his moments.

~~~

So 1st and 2nd Person pronouns!

Riku's preferred 1st Person pronoun ("I") is: "Ore" - 俺

Which is no surprise by any means. Typically casual masculine pronoun, fitting for his personality as someone who's pretty confident and straightforward. As far as I've seen, I don't think he's had a moment where he's used a different one like Sora has.

Riku's preferred 2nd Person pronoun ("you") is: "Omae" - お前 / おまえ

BUT he does sometimes switch depending on who he's talking to. He's used あんた ("anta") with Naminé when he first met her and used both "omae" and "kimi" with Joshua. And if someone is of a higher position than him, he tends to switch as well (using "anata" with Terra, etc.).

("Your memories are made from Sora's memories.")

~~~

When compared to Sora, I think Riku ends up radiating that cool older guy energy. He's "rough around the edges" enough to use "omae" with others more often but he's aware enough to switch to desu/masu form when needed (desu/masu form being standard politeness in general).

("[I] was able to keep/fulfill your promise.")

(できました (dekimashita) is the past form of できます (dekimasu). If Riku were to speak casually here he would probably have said できった (dekitta). できる (dekiru) is the plain form for "dekimasu")

Miyano-san's voice has been relatively consistent throughout all the games, just becoming more refined as he gets older and has a better handle on his voice. He's able to capture Riku's coolness and occasional dramatic flair really well.

~~~

Some links to clips to actually hear him talk for a longer period of time:

KH1 Battle Voicelines

KH2 Post Xemnas Fight

Re:Mind Limit Cut

Riku Wakes Up And Gets Confused Over The Tea Party (3D)

Some screenshots from interviews:

To be honest, I struggled a bit with this one mostly because I felt I didn't have as much to say in terms of anything "new" but I guess this shows that Riku is consistent in terms of portrayal across the dubs. There's a chance I've missed stuff too so there's that LOL

(Yes, I'm aware of some of the localization changes but the "You don't believe that" vs "Don't give up" thing is a lot more well-known lol)

I'm still figuring out what would be good formatting for these posts so any suggestions or like particular things you're curious about would be super helpful!

Thank you if you've made it to the end of this post!

Next one in this series will be the Xion! (She and MoM tied for 3rd so I'll do her's first. MoM is a doozy, I tell you ToT)

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

Making Kingdom Hearts Stuff Until KH4 Comes Out (Day 101)

[ninja-muse]

August is over! My reading month felt like it took forever even though otherwise, the month flew by. I blame this half on my top two reads of the month, which I was only reading in short snippets, and half on a number of lackluster reads and DNFs. I'm hoping to get back into my usual habits in September.

I did do better on reading off my physical TBR though! Even though one book was a "aw man, what do I read now?" and two more were, "I'm behind on my goal, quick, read something fast!" Plus the T. Kingfisher, which was graciously provided by my work, as was Running Close to the Wind. (Finally a month where I didn't spend money to add to my library!)

As for my top reads, The Salmon Shanties would be near the top of my list even if there wasn't a degree of reverse-nepotism involved. Absolutely excellent poetry collection, very layered and complex. If you're into Canadian poetry or poetry-of-place, pick it up! And Rose/House, once I got it back from the library because my Libby hold ran out, was absolutely fantastic! As was the quality of the French translation, because it sounded like Martine. So very, very glad I had the nerve (and linguistic ability) to read it. Super-creepy and I'm glad Tor's picked it up so I can hype the heck out of it next year. And then there's Jinn-Bot, which I wrote an actual review for.

On the other end of the list, sigh. I DNFed one book for feeling kind of trite, and another for being too predictable, and probably should have DNFed Voyage of the Damned for being uneven but I needed to know who the killer was. The Library Thief I'm also counting as lackluster—very good book, just wasn't for me or what I was expecting. Still deserves a 7.

Lula Dean, on the other hand, was surprisingly good! Fun and satirical and just plain entertaining. Read it in a couple days and it would likely be higher on my list except my reasons to be "glad to have read them" this month are less about quality and entertainingness than usual. I can't put "really liked this" above "finally I get to read a new book by X!", for instance. Or necessarily above "learned stuff!"

You might notice a distinct lack of any other news, and that's because there is none. September may be marginally more exciting, we'll see. (I know there'll be a bigger book haul.)

Anyway, on to September now, and in the meantime, here's my list everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

The Salmon Shanties - Harold Rhenisch

A collection of poems centered on and celebrating Cascadia in all its facets (or taking it to task, as the case may be). Out in September.

10/10

🇨🇦

warning: mentions racism, colonization, genocide

digital reading copy

Rose/House - Arkady Martine

There is a body within Rose House—two, if you count its architect, who ordered the house shuttered with his passing and left to its AI. Only one person is allowed to enter now, and she’s accounted for. And yet there is a body within Rose House….

9/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: descriptions of a dead body

library ebook

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport - Samit Basu

Lina and Bador want freedom: from surveillance, from power structures, for their city, for all bots, or just for their family. This might come from cunning, or revolution, or a lost ancient artifact, or an underground bot-battle, or swaying a visiting space hero or the Not-Prince. Much more than an Aladdin retelling.

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (multisexual, achillean), Indian-coded cast, Indian author

warning: discusses colonization and oppression, references police violence

reading copy

Unwritten, Vol. 8 - Mike Carey with Peter Gross, Dean Ormston, Yuko Shimizu

When Tommy Taylor learns that Lizzie is trapped in the land of the dead, he goes to rescue her—but he’s unprepared for his adventures there, or the wider implications.

8/10

Indigenous Australian secondary character

off my TBR

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

Paul Bäumer recounts his time serving in the German army in WWI.

7/10

warning: war, death, animal death, gore, injury

off my TBR

A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher

Cordelia’s terrible mother has decided to marry a squire. Cordelia knows he and his sister don’t deserve that—but how to stop her, when she can do magic?

7.5/10

warning: child abuse, torture, murder, animal cruelty and death

finished copy received through work

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 4 - Umi Sakurai

Kanda gets the courage to make a new friend and revisit an old situation.

7/10

Japanese cast, Japanese author

off my TBR

A Gentleman from Japan - Thomas Lockley

The true story of a Japanese man who was brought to the court of Elizabeth I and influenced early modern English science.

7.5/10

warning: slavery, orientalism, war and violence

library book

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books - Kirsten Miller

In Troy, Georgia, the fight for public decency is kicked off by Lula Dean, who craves attention and loves her Southern history—and her fencepost library, where someone’s put wholesome jackets over books she’s tried to ban….

7/10

ensemble cast including Black, 🏳️‍🌈 (gay, lesbian), and Indo-American POV characters

warning: Nazis, anti-Semitism, anti-Black racism, homophobia, rape, suicide

reading copy

The Library Thief - Kuchenga Shenjé

Florence talks her way into a job repairing a lord’s library, but is quickly drawn in by the mysterious death of the lady of the house. A gothic novel centering race, gender, and other marginalizations in late Victorian England.

7/10

Black British main character, Black British secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (trans woman, sapphic), Black British author

warning: racism, including slurs; rape, abuse, misogyny, queerphobia

library book

The Voyage of the Damned - Frances White

A grand state voyage is upset by murder and it’s up to the lowly, non-Blessed Ganymedes to catch the killer before they dock. Goddess help them all if he doesn’t….

5.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (multisexual), fat protagonist, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (nonbinary, ace, trans man, sapphic, achillean), Indian-, African-, and Japanese-coded secondary characters

warning: murder, injuries, blood, colonial thinking, attempted genocide, suicidal thoughts

reading copy

DNF

Remedial Magic - Melissa Marr

Safe and ordinary Ellie meets a mysterious woman in her library, and is whisked to a fantasy world where she’s probably a witch—and almost certainly in trouble.

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 author

reading copy

Casket Case - Lauren Evans

Garrett stops to ask for directions at Nora’s casket shop and they hit it off. Unfortunately he works for Death…. Out in September.

African-American secondary characters

reading copy

Currently reading

A Natural History of Dragons - Marie Brennan

A memoir by Lady Trent, renowned natural philosopher and adventuress, but covering her childhood and first expedition, to the mountain highlands of Vystrana, and the troublesome dragons encountered there.

library book

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts. The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle Victorian detective stories.

disabled POV character (limb injury), occasional Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 11 Yearly total: 70 Queer books: 1 Authors of colour: 3 Books by women: 6 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 1 Classics: 1 Off the TBR shelves: 4 Books hauled: 2 ARCs acquired: 3 ARCs unhauled: 6 DNFs: 2

January February March April May June July

[saltwaterandstars]

A bit of emotional personal processing.

We have two enormous floor to ceiling cupboards in our dining room and they've been crammed full of paperwork and assorted personal stuff for many years. When my mum died (a long time ago) I dumped a lot of stuff from her house in these cupboards because I just couldn't deal with it all at the time while also trying to function at work and in my life generally. Anyway, over the last few months I've finally begun to sort through the contents and there's no getting around the fact that it's really grim, upsetting work. Occasionally I find something surprising or lovely, like a bag of jewellery that belonged to my nan:

But mostly it is not fun. I don't enjoy spending hours at a time transported back to my distant past, especially when I don't know what I'm going to unearth next. On Friday I came across a box of my old school work, I think from the start of my A levels - when I was sixteen. The things I knew then! I feel so tenderly and fiercely protective towards my young self who in many ways was having a very hard time but who was still grappling with maths and chemistry and physics. Who was that girl?! I feel tearful just typing this, in part because I know how difficult life was for her at that age. But also because I see a pattern already in place - the outward appearance of competence/functioning/success while inside being hollowed out and on fire and taking a bleak, shame-driven pride in no one having a clue about any of it. It's a pattern that's been repeated many times through my life, and I'd say a big part of my life's work thus far has been to close the gap between who and how I am on the inside, and what I show/how I appear on the outside. I've made a fair amount of progress over the years, and I definitely hold myself and my struggles with much more kindness than I ever did, but I don't think any of us gets to have a complete personality change so I think there'll always be echoes of this stuff around. So yeah, fun times going through the cupboards.

I was thinking about what to do with the thirty or so school books I found. I definitely don't want to keep them but I also don't want to just unceremoniously dump them in the rubbish bin. So I've decided to ceremoniously bin them. My plan is to put them all in a big paper sack I've got, decorate the sack in a way my sixteen year old self would have liked, acknowledge the work and struggles and triumphs the books represent, wrap them up carefully, and then gently place them in the recycling bin. It feels really important to let them go but not to throw them away in a disrespectful way, so I think this is a good way forward.

[suguri-shark]

Hi! I uh, didn't upload this after art class last night whoops LOL I'm doing it now though!! All of these images are pen only exercises! It's one of my favorites cause it helps like, you know where to put lines so you don't have to erase with a pencil as often and you're more confident or w/e

First is silly doodles then is from a prompt book I got lol

The first image was a doodle in art class lol, the second two I was trying to draw in the car while on a road trip and got frustrated because the road was like *really* bumpy haha

Now for the prompt book stuff!

The first two! Reflection, finished 5.17.24, and Asteroids, finished 5.18.24

The next is The Milky Way, also finished 5.18.24! It's slightly jank but I still like it

The next two are Comic Book Cover, finished 5.19.24, and Lotus Flower, finished 6.19.24! I enjoy Lotus Flower a lot it was fun to compose.

Looking Through a Keyhole is next, finished 8.14.24!

And finally, (for now) Tree of Life, finished 8.21.24! My first time drawing Xerneas, I think it came out alright enough lol

I wanna redo all of these digitally eventually, see how far I've come and stuff but I wanna fill out the entire book first! there's a total of 200 prompts and I plan on making the whole book Kiki so there'll be plenty more drawings in the future ehehehe.

I'm looking forward to learning and growing more with this! It's small but I'm still proud of my progress in the past months, gone are the days of undefined muzzle mouths lol ((not that any of these pictures show improvement on that ehehe :p ))

and finally, bonus doggo Florian sketch lol

Lighting was bad and you can see my phone's shadow it's fine don't @ me lol

[starleska]

hey guys, listen. it means the world that you like my stuff and are eager to see more of it, but i literally posted a wip just two weeks ago and have so many people asking when it's going to be done. the answer is: i don't know. this month has been tremendously difficult for me, and i'm really, really exhausted.

i've been posting art, vids, text posts, writing articles, etc. all for the sake of fandom while trying to keep on top of the huge amount of asks and messages that have come my way. i was supporting a loved one in the hospital, my laptop is broken, and i experienced a really horrifying situation earlier this month that left me sick, that i'm still recovering from. please do remember that i'm not a content factory, and neither are any other fandom artists you like. i know some of you are just reaching out because you are excited, but a lot of the time it's coming across as a demand, and it's making me just want to log off and not work on anything at all. this isn't my job - i'm just a person who gets excited about stuff and likes to write/draw/talk about it, that's all. i recognise some of this response is just burnout from a really terrible month, and i probably wouldn't be reacting this way if i was less at the end of my tether, but this is something i've always been vocal about. as a prolific fandom creator i've had my fair share of 'WHEN'S THE NEXT CHAPTER???' comments on fics, and 'OMG YOU SHOULD DRAW THIS!!!' replies on art that's just been posted. zero acknowledgement of artistic merit, of what they liked about what was made...just an insatiable hunger for more. i don't know if it's because i'm in so many fandoms, or because i make such a wide variety of fan content and make a lot of posts that seem to draw strangers in. but none of my fanworks come with a release date. i make them because they make me happy, and i release them when they're ready, and if i want to. i shouldn't be logging onto Tumblr and feeling dread looking at my askbox, messages and replies because i know there'll be more demand. for real guys...my stuff isn't that good? it's just silly self-indulgent nonsense and autistic overthinking. this is the place where i go to release the fixation energy, not to come to another workplace 😓 my apologies if this seems ridiculous or overblown. it's a feeling i've been sitting on for a few months now, and it's one i've had following strong/frequent/demanding interactions in larger fandoms before. i don't think there's a fix for this, because people are always going to be crossing boundaries and treating fanworks creators this way. but i think i need to stay firm and say that i don't owe anyone a schedule of the art i make for fun. thanks for reading 💖

[egg-emperor]

Does Eggman go after big burly men/monsters because he enjoys the thrill of making them submit or is it possible that in very rare instances he's fine with temporarily letting someone else be in control long as his own pleasure comes first?

I like to imagine it's both. For just big burly men in general, I imagine he was "fascinated" like all his life but didn't want to outright admit it to himself for a while besides his statues on the Egg Carrier but he could create various, still very gay, excuses for having them lol. But he'd finally get experience with big strong guys for real like Zavok (or Bowser but non canon) and he wouldn't be able to deny it any longer when he just has to jump on that 👀

As for the monsters, it started as just loving the thrill of making them submit for sure, since he primarily gets involved with them for his plans, feeling they'll be useful. Then through it he realizes he's really into the process of making them submit and serve and not just in his typical desire for control and domination way, he realizes it's a full on kink and it goes to very interesting places

The best example is Eggman with the Deadly Six in Lost World, ESPECIALLY Zavok. He had way too much fun bringing them to their knees in submission and was clearly really getting his kicks out of the sadistic aspect of the pain too. He's so playing up the master and slave dynamic here and Zavok doesn't understand that even if he only sarcastically calls him master, he's setting up the perfect opportunity for him to put him in his place and enjoy it

Making him bow at his feet, wagging his finger at him. Yeahhh 🥴

And the way he finds even the smallest reasons to punish them (though it's due to his very high standards too of course) and takes every opportunity to force them to obey with the conch

And the prequel comic made it even more blatantly kinky it was gold

Like hello he literally steps on him and tilts his chin with the conch shajgsnjgksng god me next pls

It's literally canon that he's into it in some form, I don't even have to exaggerate, I mean look at that sadistic smile on his face the two times he does it

The second smirk being quick and sneaky because he wants to appear serious and threatening yet smiles for a split second like he just can't contain himself hehe I love it

All I'm doing is speculating that he gets another kind of excitement from it too lol

And Zavok being a muscle monster dude and how he repeatedly goes after monsters and his hall of muscular guy statues in Hot Shelter, it all checks out. Zavok was the jackpot and best of both in one for him

While the rest doesn't have such confirmation lol, I like to think he discovered he also very secretly likes to be on the receiving end. Typically he'll stay dominant through it first, being the one to order and control them. I can see him always starting with a more dominant power bottom position, where he's still in control and likes to use it in a way to demean them some more, by treating them as not just a tool for his plans but also his personal pleasure

But there'll be temptation to be a little more submissive and when he finally is, he looks at it as being the one being serviced, it's for his own pleasure that comes first rather than what they get. It makes a lot of sense for him to want to just take, in fact it makes a lot of sense for him to not give at all. He has a great case for being a total pillow princess with his entire personality so viewing it through that lense, there is kinda official stuff to support it and it's just *gestures to his entire character* XD

When he is practically just giving himself to them, he constantly has this inner conflict of "why am I letting this happen, if this got out it'd ruin my image" but he likes it too much. It feels nice to just give up control for a little while, relax and have fun. And to feel like the one that's the full center of attention and priority as he lets them work on pleasing him, as it's still always in pursuit of his own pleasure and always his only priority, of course! He'll make sure they still know he's the real dominant one in control after and just enjoy it for now ;)

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Slow work

My husband insisted I take the rest of the year off because I made quilt after quilt after quilt, stopping only due to pain overwhelming me, for ten months straight. We compromised with me taking November off. Though that compromise was forced due to me being dealing with an infection and the side of effects of the antibiotics, and today will be the last two doses.

I'm finally starting to get bored, much to his dismay.

He, and my doctor, both insist I reduce how much time I spend sewing everyday. For my own welfare courtesy of a long list of chronic health issues, like hEDS, chronic pain, and various other fun factors. I started the year with "gotta keep going" aka too much. So then it was reduced to a max of six hours a day, then no more than four hours a day and no more than four days a week. We've finally figured out my real max: ten hours a week, spread out however I want.

Workaholic + ADHD + multiple other disabilities =/= a good mix.

I begin physical therapy next month, specifically for my hEDS. I'll be figuring out how to unlearn some things and train my muscles to serve as splints so my joints stop dislocating. That, and finally getting the proper therapy for my left hands/wrist. The PT I received last year for this ongoing issue did not address my hypermobility. I was diagnosed in July of this year, but looking back...it was very obvious I have hEDS. Plus, the place I had PT was not a good place at all. If you live in the Springfield/Eugene region of Oregon, please avoid going to Slocum Orthopedics. My doctor told me if she had known they would be the ones to pick up the referral put in the system, she would've put in a note NOT to have them do so. Many of her patients have had nothing but poor experiences there.

If the physical therapist I'm assigned to tells me to work no more than ten hours, that's where I'll stay at. Will it slow down my work? Obviously, yes, but once I get the hang of machine quilting, it will speed up considerably. 200 hour handquilting projects will be reduced to less than fifty. At least, according to people I've spoken to who have done handquilting and machine quilting.

My intentions were to make a stack of panel quilts this month, but my body demanded otherwise. Tomorrow, I'll begin working on gifts for my ko-fi members, and then some small quick things for friends and a few family members. My baby sister (she's the youngest of us three and I'm the Eldest) has two children, and they live with my/our parents. My mother insisted I not make anything for them "because they have so much stuff already." That's five gifts not to concern myself with. Works for me!

Once I have the gifts done, of which there'll be a little a dozen, I'll turn my focus to making panel quilts using the easiest and quickest patterns that aren't boring. I'm thinking six total, all for practice, and all of them will be listed at a 25%-50% discount from what I would otherwise charge for the amount of work and supply costs. Of course, you will have the option to pay more. That will always be an option in my shop. Said quilts won't be listed until the end of January though, so don't go thinking you can hold off on purchasing them with my Yuletide coupon code.

Each quilt top will take probably ten hours each, so that's five or six weeks of just quilt tops before switching to the actual quilting. Then it may be another ten hours of quilting each one. So that's 20 hours. Let's say each panel was $18 USD, and the fabric for the borders, binding, and blocks came to $40 USD, the backing another $30 USD, and the other miscellaneous things (thread, sewing needles, rotary blade, etc) come to around $25 USD. That'll be $653 USD, and at a 50% discount, the quilt will be listed at $326.50 USD. If you're one of my members, you'll also receive an automatic 15% off that, which brings it to $277.50. I dunno about the rest of y'all, but that's more than fair.

Because I haven't gotten around to making all the giveaway prizes owed, I'll be giving the winners, and those promised a quilt for other reasons, first dibs. If none want what I've made, the quilt will be listed. If you would like to ensure you get on the list for one of these, you have a few options for how:

for one of these quilts, you'll need to spend at least $250 USD on my Throne wishlist. It can be one thing that reaches the amount, or many things combined, that reach the minimum for one of these quilts,

or help me reach my current goal posted on my Ko-fi page. It can be with a purchase from my shop or a donation. Personally, I would rather it be a purchase; space in my house is limited due to there being no closets to speak of. However, thi option puts you in the giveaway for a free quilt with no guarantee you'll win;

or become one of my Ko-fi members. This work similar to what another website has set up, but more user friendly. It's monthly support, so an automatic payment of an amount you choose. The minimum is $5 USD/month, the max is $100/USD. Look over the benefits I have listed. My member receive a postcard from me every month, and no less than two gifts over the course of the year. The gifts replace the postcard for that month. This option also has the same outcome as the second; each of my members is automatically entered into the giveaways I have, but there's no promise they'll win.

Work will be slow, and my mind is doing everything it can to make me feel ashamed about it. Workaholic mentality is something I'll be unlearning over the next several months. I just need to get myself to stop shaming myself for not being able to work at the pace abled folks can.

[90percentstudios]

If you were able to go back in the past and change anything with your games, what changes would you make and why?

man, the changes i'd make are numerous and never-ending, it feels like every week or so i'll vent to andy about an anxiety i have about our games and he'll reply with some cowboy wisdom like "if you're always looking back you're never looking forward". so i try not to think about it too hard, except for right now just for you anon:

better music/sound design. y'all have been so nice to me while i figure out music stuff. i know i could probably just, idk, hire someone to make music 100x better than i can, but i've always wanted to be able to make music. hopefully it gets better with each project. :)

write more deeply i guess. i dunno, writing hits different when i'm getting in touch with those things called """"feeeelings"""". not that i mind our less deep work, it's weird and silly and i love that, but maybe it'd be fun to write more existential-crisis level stuff, especially since i got some practice with ckc.

okay, this isn't really project related but i sometimes think i should've made a separate social account dedicated to ckc to help mentally separate it from pa. i mean, at this point it is what it is, but from now on i'll probably make a dedicated account for the next project we work on instead of assuming there'll be a significant degree of overlap between our games' communities.

make time for more content on release. there's a handful of extra scenes that i think would benefit our games but i just didn't have time to make it happen (at least, not right at release, who says we can't make a big silly update later?). i think with the next project being a single release instead of episodic, there'll be less time-crunching so we'll hopefully get to say everything we want to say right when the game comes out!

anyway, it's all pretty subjective and my priorities are constantly shifting, but those are the things that are typically on my mind!

[iamatomicstarlight]

Måneskin Para Title Ideas

Lately, I've been working on two different directories that aren't yet ready to be viewable, but in the meantime, I'm going to continue to also add to the Thread Title Directory because I'm obsessed with having many options based on my mood. This time, I've gone through Måneskin's album Rush! to find title inspiration. Hope you find these useful for titling your next stuff.

A Deadly Silhouette A Different Timezone A Few Lines That I Have Wrote A Lion Tamer Of Indecent Behavior A Part Of Me That Will Never Be Mine A Place Downtown A Stolen Dress All Is Fair In Love All Those Lives On Your Hands And I Let It Kill Me Another Dimension Blue Jeans And Leather Break Away From The Pack Breaking Free, But I'm Stuck In A Police Car Burn Down Your Throat Can't Deny It Count It Down Create A New World Crying Alone Dance Until I Die Don't Need A Lover, You Need An Animal Don't Tell Your Mother, She Doesn’t Want To Know Don't Think At All, That's The Advice Dream Vacation Dressed Like A Nightmare Drink Away All My Feelings Drink 'Til You Choke Du-Du-Du-Dumb Even God Had His Back Turned Every Night's A Heartbreak Everything's Got A Price Fill Your Drink With Tonic Gin Four, Three, Two, One Fuck What I'm Dreaming Fuck You Again Give Me A Chance And I'll Make You A Lady Gloomy Face Harder Than Ever Before He Says He Loves Me But I Know He's Lying Hidden Among The People Without An Identity Honestly, I Don't Give A Fuck Honey (Are You Coming?) Howling At The Moon I Bet You Are I Can Be Your Toy I Feel The Beat Of The Drums I Hate Your Face I Wander Like I'm Crazy I'll Be The Pill That You Wanna Swallow I'll Make Your Body A Habit I'm Gonna Fly Straight To You I'm No Visionary Just A Taste Just Say The Word Just To Tell You That I'm Losing My Mind Let's Go To My Spot Light It Up And Let Me Lose Your Mind Locked Up In Four Walls Lucy's Diamonds Making Love With Danger Marry Me In The Countryside Maybe The Only Answer Is To Leave Medicate Myself 'Til My Head Is In The Sky Meet Me There, Where It Never Closes Momentary Flavors Music Freaks My Life Sucks And The Blame Is On You My Old Clothes No Dancin' If You Were Gone Not Even All The Gold In The World Own My Mind Paint It Red Playing God With A Heart Of Stone Read Your Diary To Get Inside Of You Reborn From My Ashes Running After You Running Like A Mad Dog Running On A Wire Seven Thousand Miles Shed A Tear She'll Never Love You More Than Money And Cigarettes Silver Spoon In Daddy's Jeans Sip The Gossip Sitting On A Stolen Throne Sky-High Soaking Wet In Your Golden Bed Some Kind Of Magic Somebody To Take You Home Tonight Something Vicious Standing Alone On That Hill Stop Going Where The Wind Blows Superstitious Take Your Pills And Dance All Night Talking To The Wall 'Til He's A Friend Of Mine Tell Me Your Limit And We'll Cross The Line Again The Four Corners Of The City The Gift Of Life The Moon Should Be Jealous The Saddest Part Of Me The Shittiest Party I've Ever Seen The Whole World Is Waiting For You To Go Down There'll Be No Summer They Treated Me Like A Saint, Then Judged Me They'll Never Be Naked This Fame Has No Meaning This Is The American Dream This Love Of Mine Thornes Without Flowers Tonight Is Gonna Be The Loneliest Under The Rug Using Your Fuel To Kill Watch Us Dance Wear It Better Welcome To The City Of Lies We're Gonna Dance On Gasoline When I Close My Eyes, I Get Too Lonely Where It's Never Hopeless You Broke My Heart, So I Crashed Your Car You Might Be The Answer To The Sinner In Me You Play It Smart, But You Look So Dumb You Said Goodbye, So Guess What I've Done You Said You Love Me But It's Just For Fun You Say I'm A Loser 'Cause I Want A Puff Your Ego Is Dangerous Your Favorite Place Your Own Blood Is Losing Trust You're Not Iconic You're Nothing But Gasoline You're Still The Oxygen I Breathe

[batsplat]

first of alla I wanted to say thank you for your job, it’s super useful, you’re doing the lord’s work fr. if you feel like answering I wanted to ask you who are the riders of the current grid that you like the most? and why?

cheers!!

eh I think I'm in quite a happy place in the sport actually where... I do broadly like most of the riders. this isn't really like me, actually, I'm very capable of being a hater trust me. in my main sport, I've gotten to a fun place where with one of the genders I just. hate everyone who ever wins anything. except one guy but that's really an awful fan experience, wouldn't recommend. I don't really know why I'm more kindly disposed towards the motogp grid. maybe it's something about how dangerous the sport is, maybe how they are generally quite interesting as people (far from guaranteed in athletes), maybe it's because they're generally flops or assholes or both (nothing worse in a sport than when the goats are dull as shit). also, so many online fan spaces have been dominated by valentino fans and marc fans ceaselessly bickering - and as someone who is pretty fond of them both, does just eventually make you quite bored of all that stuff

that being said! I obviously do have a few preferences. the first one is marc, who I've gone through several different stages of being a fan of. I never really got stressed about him during his prime because I'm just not really the type of person who can get that invested when someone's winning that much. like I'm invested in the narratives but I'm not gonna pretend I care that much if someone can secure their fiftieth victory of the season lol. now he's the only one who can fuck up my heart rate during races so go figure, really. (undeniably my fan experience with him has massively been affected by the injury... I realised it most strongly with indonesia 2022, which just made me feel sick of the sport for a while.) I like him because he's kind of awful... inconsiderate, ruthless, too committed to winning for his own good. shameless. he's very narratively engaging, got a lot going on in that department, and it's not just... easy winning, like idk I'm not really the type to enjoy nice and happy athletes winning a lot and then being nice and happy about it. marc would like to be liked, but he wants to win more, y'know? he's got enough weird stuff going on in his head that he allows me to take the next step from just 'normal sports fan' to 'ride or die'. whenever he does any mind games-y stuff it's good fun, plus he's got this valentino-esque perma-smile that gives you a fun contrast/companion to the ruthlessness. also one half of one of the true all time great rivalries, what a banger entry to the canon. AND most importantly the actual riding, I think him on the honda is only really second to some of casey's ducati riding as stuff that's got that... 'this doesn't look like it should be working but it is' vibe in quite a visceral way? I'm not super into quali laps, I think they can be fun but they're not really what *get* me about the sport, but some of those signature laps like cota 2015 and brno 2019 just are soooo good to watch. and the racing itself... idk it's also fun when you've got such a distinctive style because it automatically makes you so much fun to plug into match-ups with other riders where there'll be a lot of contrast, like you really got that with valentino + jorge and then later dovi, rinsy, fabio, pecco... just makes it really easy even as someone who can't ride a bike to SEE and feel the differences. plus, sue me, I like my racing with overtaking, he actually overtakes other riders. makes races better with his presence, like there's Certain Riders who can spend a whole race in p6 but you can USUALLY trust him to do something

so the next picks are gonna make me sound like. an insane glory hunter. genuinely awful levels of glory hunting here. but I just want to say for the record that this isn't representative of how I usually approach sports and it was completely accidental that it turned out the way it did. I got really fond of the 2019 crop of rookies (minus one of them) because it was like. oh they're actually quite promising. pecco had that super promising pre-season testing (obvs also right after the moto2 title) and every race I was like This Will Be The Time when he puts it all together and he just kept. not. so at a certain point I was kinda convinced he was a loser but stuck with it for the bit? pecco #believer but as a joke. (I was also an early investor in the 'wouldn't it be funny if marc had a rivalry with an academy rider' campaign so kept a close eye on both him and franky, but in all honesty I never thought any of these guys would be a serious threat to marc.) with fabio, I hadn't really followed him closely enough to know the reasons why his lower class results were so mid? so it was very much a surprise when he started fighting marc lol, and then misano 2019 weekend just made me crazy, the whole thing was *so* good. and then sepang I just went? yeah we can build something here. we can build something special. (narrator: we did not build something special.) with joan, you know how it's kinda fun to have a midfield-y team to root for where a lot of the times they're mid and then sometimes something special occasionally happens and you can feel proud of them for fighting with the big boys? well that was suzuki for me, fond of rinsy especially when he got snippy at marc, thought the 2019 rookie they'd picked up was sweet too and he had a great start to his rookie season. and his first podium was cool!! and when he should've won styria 2020 :// (I think? this was the red-flagged one where he didn't have tyres anymore afterwards) (admittedly 'race in austria during 2020 that was red-flagged' doesn't narrow it down as much as you'd think but) also I went all in for him when everyone was extremely mean about his 2020 title, like that's MY underdog world champ. I wanted him to win the title without winning a single race, actually!! (generally quite defensive of all the champs in marc's absence, like god forbid they haven't cleared the hurdles you people have made up in your heads)

anyway as to why I stuck with them... with pecco it's how fucking whiny he gets. the start of 2022 where he was just :( I may have crashed myself and another ducati rider out of this race but why is ducati making me test stuff :( what a twat!! but crucially getting ducati to apologise to him is still as far as I'm concerned one of the funniest things anyone has done recently. ducati!! apologised to him!! DUCATI! after he publicly bitched about them! bonkers. anyway he's introverted verging on shy and then also capable of such arrogance and hubris and sheer entitlement!! that early 2022 after being the title favourite was so??? he's such good fun, the dramatic failures followed by him doing something crazy and you just go. okay but why. why did you not do this earlier. you know indonesia last year where he'd fucked up his whole weekend until the race and jorge martin should have run away with it but then he crashed and pecco won from thirteenth and he went all hammy with the celebrations? SILENCED THE DOUBTERS why were you in pee thirteen in the first place you absolute weapon. he's stuck in his own head so much, which you can get really juicy stuff out of imo. plus I like smart racers.... even though he does have these howlers, he's just so obviously clever in his approach? as a competitor he's easy for me to get invested in, because whenever he goes into a year as the favourite and clicks the bit of my brain that hates dominance, he has SUCH a horrendously messy early season that I remember why I was so fond of him and can enjoy when he's winning. also he's got a fun skill set, I love what a good defensive rider he is, just quite watchable idk... I'm not super into being a good starter as a skill generally but I've really enjoyed how he's muscled himself to the front of the field, he's so ruthless and neat how he just knows exactly where he needs to put his bike to basically suffocate the competition right at the start? plus obviously he's such a different profile of champion than what we've gotten historically, which maybe makes me rate him even more highly than I otherwise would. also academy rider, inherently narratively fun. when valentino said this???

hilarious. he's not WRONG but also just incredibly funny. valentino rossi can we have an honest conversation about your proteges I need to get your thoughts on some things

(that being said, when he says pecco has nothing to prove during the impending marc teammate stint, that pecco's already earned his three titles, he's 100% correct. one of the most based things he's ever come out with, quite frankly)

fabio... idk something about that depressed frenchie... watching that child endure successive brutal last lap losses, that's what it's all about. I was hugely endeared by the 2020 campaign (even in the absence of the rivalry I'd been promised) and the self sabotage of it all, how he got himself a psychologist during the off-season and had to adjust his approach, cut out the tantrums... I'm a sucker for an athlete who figures out how to improve themselves, y'know? his actual title campaign is... well, I'm happy for him, but it's also kinda a weird season (without being as fully bonkers as 2020) - but 2022? his first half was very 'fabio quartararo domination may bore fans' (admittedly a style of domination very low on wins) but oh yeah what happened next was awful to watch, just kind of extremely elongated hell once you realised 'oh this might actually be happening'. incredibly cruel!! handled that situation with ridiculous amounts of dignity. then he got very stroppy at various parts last year which was also deeply endearing. he's not... he's kinda missing a mean streak, but he's still prone to misery and tearing himself apart, enough that he kinda does it for me? he's also just sweet, you kind of feel like yamaha insisting on building awful bikes is a bit like kicking a puppy? yamaha's also sort of my team and he's trying to make them not flop. so. am just long-term invested in that development work, how he was the only one who could really do something special with that 2021 bike and how he's now talking about adjusting his riding style to it idk as much as I desperately wish he were actually competitive, there is something cool and engaging about how it's His Project... plus that one time when he tried to hit the golf ball but failed, almost had a stroke I was laughing so much

joan is just. well first of all people are STILL dicks about that title. and good lord has he had a rough time of it. I was so impressed with his 2021 season even though he didn't have that much to show for it... plus when he kept having all these fights with jack miller?? low-key the best drama we got that year. best minor beef of 2020-22...? it's not like we have that much to work with. he has a pitch of voice that's very suited to complaining I feel, like when he's moaning about something going wrong you feel like that's what he's supposed to be doing. 2022-23 has just been a rough watch and not really in a fun way, can't say I'm particularly thrilled he's close to signing again with honda... but ugh idk I'm just so fond of him, he's just a type of guy that's good for the ecosystem. you know that motogp unlimited clip where he's terrified marc is going to eat him and marc just doesn't care?? (I'm gonna be honest, this is my favourite marc teammate relationship... can't even tell you why him interacting with dani leaves me completely cold, but then when I'm seeing how marc's actually occasionally chatting with mir after mostly blanking him when they were actually teammates? oh yeah that's the stuff.) joan has very tragicomic vibes as a guy... he gets sympathetic laughter from the audience. y'know how lucy always pulls away the football from charlie brown... that's his vibe. but he's also a mean girl. anyway I hope he does still get a bit more from his career, he's far better than his record reflects, minus the 2020 title. also I like it when riders race better than they qualify

anyway yeah I like all the current world champs on the grid. gross. on the plus side they're all in completely different bits of the grid now so. I do also like a bunch of other guys, like rinsy (also deserves better, awful time with late suzuki/honda, his late 2022 was really emotional, fun to have someone stand up to marc), aleix (perpetual underdog, temper issues, kinda a moron but in a fun way)... the other academy riders, mainly franky (made 2020 so much better, horrendously clumsy rider at times lol) and bez (loser mindset, weird as fuck about both valentino and marc, great watch as a rider when he's not *gestures*)... uh. quite like pedro, though I still need to see a bit more in the beef department to keep pace with how talented he is? like where's the balance y'know... great to watch as a rider though for sure. martin's title bid last year was nicely compelling, especially stuff like phillip island. he's been put into a lot of Situations I feel? instant rookie success followed by that horrid injury, the stand-off with bastianini for that factory seat, all of last year and this year... all this cockiness married with so much insecurity, the need to be seen and appreciated and not to be taken for granted. the pecco rivalry is fun for them both, plus obviously also a cool riding style. oh I thought diggia as an underdog story was great to follow latter half of last year, though now he's kinda safe I realise I'm less invested. bit all over the place with vinales but at some point you've just been exposed to these guys enough you have a kind of secondhand fondness. yamaha's still my team, tend to root for ktm's downfall which is working out fantastically for me. in moto2 my number one boy is alonso lopez, who may have never made an overtake without knocking into someone in his life and has zero understanding of how to preserve a tyre, but apart from that!! also do quite like a few of the other riders, would basically like to see everyone on a boscoscuro on the motogp grid at some point... the moto3 grid I don't really feel like I know a lot of those kids as well yet, though alonso's obviously quite a watchable racer and veijer is really growing on me, seems pretty clever, curious what he can do on bigger bikes

and that's that!! my current opinions on... actually most of the premier class grid. I really do like most of them! but then also I turned off mugello before the podium because I was so pissed bastianini had gotten back past marc lol so I'm hardly a neutral. but marc's different... he's the only one I've gotten a bit superstitious over the way you sometimes do with athletes. every time before he races, I write down somewhere, either in a note or as a message I send someone, just something along the lines of 'please don't crash' or 'stay safe'. I don't care that much about his results, I just don't want to see him hurt himself any more

[yoroshiu]

Characterization Through Language: Xion (Kingdom Hearts)

Next from the poll: Xion!

(She technically tied with MoM but I put her first because MoM...he's something...and I feel like I'll have a little too much to say about him)

Xion has a lot of fascinating aspects to her that kinda get lost in the translation/localization sauce, one of the biggest ones I've posted about before so I'll just TLDR it here while linking that post. And just like the previous posts there'll be analyses and trivia ^o^

CV: Risa Uchida (Emika (Lupin the 3rd: Goodbye Partner); She mostly focuses on acting/theatre actually so she doesn't have as many voice acting roles)

And of course, she's Kairi's seiyuu as well.

Here's the two saying the same line:

"Don't hold back, Axel." vs "Don't hold back, Lea."

Uchida-san has such a pretty voice, it's very princess-like. That's one consistent thing I've heard from people hearing her voice for the first time.

~~~

Xion's preferred 1st Person pronoun ("I") is: "Atashi" - あたし

This previous post goes into it in more detail but there's a lot of significance in her usage of this particular pronoun.

"あたし" is the typically feminine way of referring to one's self as comapred to 私 (わたし)/"Watashi" which is gender-neutral and the standard "I" that people can use in conversation. It's basically the go-to for standard politeness in Japanese.

In short, this is extremely important for Xion's characterization because it's a pronoun that none of the other characters she's based on use it. Kairi uses "watashi" (and so does Naminé). This makes "atashi" a Xion thing. She's a girl, she's her own person and her name is Xion—not a boy named Sora.

("Roxas also doesn't have memories, like me.")

Xion's preferred 2nd Person pronoun ("you") is: "Anata" - あなた

This is a standard way to say "you', probably one of the most polite ways to do so. Honestly, I don't have much to say here lol

("You, as well. Why are you pretending to be [in the] Organization?")

~~~

Xion has a soft but firm voice, emphasis on the firmness. I think the best way to put it is to show how voicing Xion versus Kairi is for Uchida-san:

I think she tends to make use Uchida-san's darker/deeper tones, at least more than Kairi. Considering the time we get with her throughout Days + 3, there were a quite a bit of moments that stuck out to me. I don't have too much to say, but Xion's quite an emotional performance.

~~~

Notable Clips:

Xion screaming (Riku encounter)

That one convo with Axel (The softness of her voice usually)

After beating Xigbar (Her voice being more firm)

Right before her boss fight (The epitome of the climax of her making up her mind TvT)

Screenshot from an Interview:

(KH3 Ultimania)

Not gonna lie, there's a part of me that wishes I didn't make that previous post just so I could've written more here LOL

Either way, Xion's another case of relative consistency. Besides the "atashi" aspect, you don't really lose out on the characterization I feel. Kingdom Hearts is relatively consistent on that basis. I always find it fun studying characters with the same voice actor cause you can usually find those cool nuances based on the direction.

So, that's all I have for this post so thanks if you made here!

Next is the Master of Masters, and this time, there's A Lot to talk about with him in terms of how his dialogue and personality come through in the Japanese dub.

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

Making Kingdom Hearts Stuff Until KH4 Comes Out (Day 109)