#thankfully he is very healthy and doesn't act his age

[toji-fushiguro-is-broke]

Toji proposing to you

Toji proposing to you

It's been years since you and Toji had been in a relationship, You've made bonds with Megumi and Tsumiki and your relationship has gotten stronger over the years. Thanks to you they were able to live a happy life with a complete family.

But years pass, Megumi and Tsumiki are wondering when you'll marry Toji.

Kids their age ask why your parents aren't married. And they don't know how to answer them because it is very complicated.

Ever since, Megumi and Tsumiki kept bringing the Idea to Toji

"DAD, WHEN WILL YOU MARRY MOM?" Tsumiki yelled at her father, thankfully you were out to buy groceries so they can confront him about.

"Why, what's the matter? Me and her are together. That's what what matters." Toji said as Tsumiki hits her with a punch.

"IF YOU DON'T MARRY MOM ANOTHER MAN WILL SEE IT AS A SIGN THAT SHE'S AVAILABLE TO TAKE!!!" Tsumiki angrily yells at the man infront of her.

"Alot of guys kept asking mom for her number and thought I was her brother." Megumi said to stir his mind up.

"SEE?!? IF YOU DON'T ACT NOW, SHE'LL VANISH! HEAR ME??!?? VANISH!!!!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SHE SEES IN YOU DAD YOU'RE OLD AND CRANKY!!!" She huffs at him.

"I doubt anyone other than mom can handle you, SO SEAL THE DEAL!!!" Tsumiki yells again

"Tsumiki why are you yelling at your Dad again?" You spoke as you just got home.

"BECAUSE DADS STUPID! I WANT ICE CREAM!!!" She yells as she runs to you with a hug as Megumi comes in to hug you as well.

You didn't hear what happened but you thought it was just the kids nagging Toji about junk foods again.

"Okay okay, a little bit of ice cream isn't bad." You said as you pulled out some ice cream from your groceries.

"YAYYYY!!! WE LOVE YOU MOMMY!!!" Tsumiki squeals in glee

"Thank you, Mommy I love you." Megumi says as he kisses your cheek.

"I LOVE YOU MOMMMEEHHH!!" Tsumiki yells as she kisses you too.

As they both got the Ice cream, they sat on the couch to watch some movies with you.

After that talk with Tsumiki and Megumi, Toji got to thinking.

He did wanted to marry you but he's worried if he afford a grand wedding for you. He heard that girls like big weddings.

So he's been secretly saving money up, but Tsumiki was right.

You were younger than him, beautiful, smart, energetic. Who wouldn't want you?

He thought should speed up on his plan as he took more missions.

While you on the other hand, were getting worried about Toji, as he kept coming home very very late.

He kept using work as an excuse, and you trust him.

You sighed as you were stressed about your relationship with him.

Ever since you knew he was an assassin you get VERY worried, you had accepted Toji for who he is and accepted it.

But of course you wanted some things to change to have a healthy happy life with him, hopefully one day he'll quit gambling and assassination overall.

*After a few days*

"Tsumiki, Megumi let's go out." Toji said as he was walking to the front door.

"Why?" Megumi asked.

"We're picking a ring for mama" Toji said as Tsumiki butted in.

"Mom should be the one who chooses the wedding ring Dad! It's the new hype these days." Tsumiki said

As Toji just stood there, "I don't get what that means."

"It means what if mom doesn't like the ring? These days I've heard the guys will propose with a ring but later on they'll let the girl choose the ring-" Tsumiki

"Gosh, how hard is it to marry these days." Toji sighed.

"Hard enough that half of the population is still unmarried." Tsumiki crosses her hands.

"Aight, You do it then plan the proposal." Toji said as he hands Tsumiki the money.

"OKAY I KNOW THE BEST PLACE." Tsumiki said as she drags her father and brother out.

At the Mall, Toji was shocked at the ring prices.

"This can feed us for an entire fucking month" He said

"Language Dad, I'll tell on you." Tsumiki said

"let's get over with, mom is going to be home any time soon." Megumi complains as Tsumiki was taking so long to choose.

"It's done." Tsumiki said as she raised the ring up in the air.

Toji and Megumi looked at the ring.

"It looks kinda plain" Megumi says.

"Mom likes plain and elegant jewelry didn't you notice? Of course not you're both boys." She said as she walks to the counter to have it wrapped up and paid.

Tsumiki and Megumi helps alot with the preparations on the engagement.

They were going to surpise you.

Meanwhile you, were getting suspicious as your family is clearly hiding something from you, so after coming home from work.

You decided to confront them, you opened the door to hear balloons popping, Two kids fighting and a lot of groaning from an adult man who's trying to hang designs.

"IT LOOKS HORRIBLE DAD!" Tsumiki yells

"Mom's coming home we better-" Megumi spoke as he got interrupted when he saw you.

"Too late." He said as Toji turned to see you as he lost balance on the chair he was standing on as he fell down.

"TOJI!! Are you okay? That must've hurt." You rush to him concerned.

"I've fought stronger enemies, something like this won't do anything." said still sitting on the floor.

"Still, But what were you guys doing." You asked as you shifted your eyes around.

As you saw a banner that isn't being covered by Toji's body anymore.

-> //Will you marry me?

You gasped and yelled "YES!!!" you immediately hugged and kissed him.

"Ewwww" Tsumiki and Megumi said both at the same time.

"UGHHH THIS ISN'T ROMANTICCCCC"

"Congratulations though mama and papa!" She said as she smiles.

"Congratulations" Megumi said as Tsumiki takes her phone out to take a picture.

"Say cheese!!!"

"Cheese!!!"

[ask-kooparadio]

Headcanon dump - Ludwig

Age - 23

MBTI - ENTJ-T

His birthday is on december 16th

He most likely has Autism Spectrum Disorder - struggles to get along with others, has a few interests he's incredibly good in. His angry outbursts are actually meltdowns

He stims by walking around in circles, talking to himself, having that one song on repeat. Very subtle, but noticeable to people who are neurodivergent or live around autistics

He is sensory sensitive, which makes him extremely picky about how he's working, what he eats, and the texture of his clothing, which makes him really good at spotting counterfeit.

His special interests are art history, his piano, and magic history

He's the most powerful koopaling, whose magic proficiency challenges Kamek himself

Because of that, his weapon of choice is usually just his wand, however he does have a rapier and other "support", you can't just disarm him by stealing his wand

He doesn't have a speciality, if you'd ask him he'd tell you he's better at the history of magic than magic itself, just like any autistic person trying to convince you that they're not amazing at their special interest

The reason Koopalings have mixed feelings about calling Ludwig the clan leader are his social shortcomings. They worry that he may slip up on this, or that, and stain the reputation of the whole clan. Thankfully, as they grow, they realise that he needs them regardless, just as much as they need him. Both sides can ensure the other thrives.

His fashion sense is classic romantic goth, always wearing his fancy military coat and probably being the only Koopaling who wears the royal badge correctly

Speaking of his coat, he is a half parakoopa, hiding his wings behind it. The reason he reassigned himself from Pipeland to Skyland is the need to perfect his flying, or maybe something else (oc x canon warning lol)

His absolutely favorite season is winter, sitting at home to do his things, able to layer. Though the amount of holidays is kind of overwhelming, so maybe fall..

he's shorter than Roy, Morton and Iggy because of inheriting the parakoopa genes. Parakoopas are naturally smaller and more agile to use their wings the best as they can

He loves coffee, probably it's his only only safe food he can have in any way

He can't stand modern technology. If there's something that can be done manually, he'll use a typewriter, one of the tons of books he has, his room could easily pass for the 19th century reconstruction if we exclude the modern books. If he can't do it his way he either uses magic or asks Iggy if all the options involve it in some way.

Why does he hate it if his childhood self looved tinkering? Easy, 'Kooky' also hated modern technology and wanted to make his own

He's surprisingly the closest to Larry, a polar opposite to him. They mirror the need for approval, the youngest koopaling struggling to get any due to lack of skill, while the oldest struggles to take breaks in fear of becoming weak. Being around each other helps them find the healthy balance.

Considering he's a clan leader of the assassin group directly under Bowser and a renowned pianist, he is a workaholic, balancing his passions with his profession which often overwhelms him.

He can't stand physical touch, ESPECIALLY WITH HIS HAIR. This is the reason Kooky's hair was so messy, he would get a meltdown each time Bowser tried to detangle it. He may have few people he trusts like Larry or Roy, but it's an exception from the rule.

He's like a parental figure to the koopaling clan, though sometimes he may act more childish than them, which causes a ton of "I told you so"'s

He's the first koopaling to openly state his surname, Von. Koopas usually say their names in " name - surname - koopa" order, but other koopalings felt it was too obnoxious or were worried that by having the same surname as Bowser they'd get in trouble. Another I told you so, they were his nephews all along.

[altocat]

Not sure if you've done this, so sorry in advance. If Sephiroth had a child, but the mother didn't make it, what would a child raised by only Sephiroth act like? Lets say a daughter because that brings up more inherent mommy issues. I'm talking both sane and insane Sephiroth.

I know your headcanon for sane him is being in love with Genesis, but for the sake of the prompt, I'll assume Hojo pulled some NASTY tricks. Insane Sephiroth is trying to create a new world, and I'm 99% sure he does not want to raise a remnant after how they turned out.

Sephiroth doesn't want to be a father. The damage done to him throughout his life has made him exceedingly disturbed at the idea of repeating the cycle. He feels that he isn't emotionally equipped enough to handle it, and is terrified of the idea of his own blood being brought up in the labs the way he was.

Now, should Hojo do something particularly nasty and succeed in breeding Sephiroth...

-If there's no mother at all, Sephiroth has to make a choice. His duty to Shinra or knowing that Hojo will torture his offspring for the rest of her natural life, conditioning and corrupting her little by little.

-At first, Sephiroth spends the first few years completely detaching, ignoring his guilt, trying to remain loyal and avoiding it completely. But when he finally sees her again, now a fragile wobbly toddler behind the glass, he can't bear it. It's the first time he's genuinely, completely enraged and angry, breaking through his calm facade just to get to her, killing Hojo without hesitation, taking the child and running. If Sephiroth was ready to leave Shinra over his friends, he would have burned the place to the ground over his child.

-As a father, Sephiroth is distant and not very communicative. He doesn't like to share his emotions and he isn't good at playing or doting or doing anything a healthy father should. He is often leaving her in safe spots and will disappear for long periods, only coming back with food or when it's time for bed. He will purchase whatever is required to keep her well cared for, but he honestly has no idea how to express the traditional feelings of paternal love that most fathers provide. He WANTS to. And the feelings are there deep down. But he is completely at a loss.

-It's only after they've been together for a while that Sephiroth finally begins to learn little by little. He might not ever be a physically affectionate father, but he begins to provide her with gifts, toys. He tries to express himself when he can, and would fight to the death to keep her safe. In rare instances, his hollow mask shatters and she can see just how tired and anxious he really is. It takes many years before he is finally able to tell her that he loves her.

-By the time he's raised her to adulthood, they're much much closer. She understands him very well and he's much more relaxed by then. Sephiroth is more at peace far away from Shinra. And is low-key constantly following his daughter wherever she goes. She finds it quietly amusing. He's still so awkward, and lots of what he says around her is blisteringly aloof and stilted. But she doesn't doubt that he really does love her, and is devoted to her.

-She probably would grow up a bit more mature than other kids her age. And due to Sephiroth being Sephiroth, would probably be well versed in self-defense and reading others when they can't really verbalize. I don't think she'd be especially powerful or important or sue-ish. I like the idea of Sephiroth's child being Just Some Gal. Wise, thoughtful, pragmatic, and thankfully living a normal, boring, uneventful life with no Main Character higher purpose or trauma. Sephiroth would greatly prefer that.

-Because I'm mean, I'd like to think she very strongly resembles Lucrecia hehehehe...

-ANYWAY Insane!Sephiroth just wants to see what's in it for him. Otherwise, he'd find a nice little nook and dump her off. He'll come back once she's an adult and can be useful to Jenova's cause. Other than that, she is of little use to him.

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond! Scripting: Retained Memories (READ TO THE END)

A couple of days following One More Hero's events, Sally came to see Tails up at the balcony of a forest.

Sally: You okay, Tails?

Tails: I am, yeah. I've just been pretty deep in thought since what happened a few weeks ago.

Sally: You sure? You've been awfully silent recently...

Tails: I mean... after all that happened with the Outbreak Malware Threat, I've still been really shook up.

Sally: Yeah... Sure wasn't a pleasant experience.

Tails was doing his best to fight off his exposure to the multiverse's bounds' radiation from the big battle, considering, even after a year, his body was still recovering from how many times he perished at OMT's hands.

Tails: At some point, I'm gonna have to be ready for if something like that happens again. I still want Sonic to be proud of where we've come to, you know?

Sally: Speaking of, I was wondering if you'd like to hang around more often.

Tails: Heh, yeah. I'd really like that.

Sally: Besides... I know when someone isn't okay. You've been very deprived ever since we got back from the whole ordeal.

Whilst OMT's other victims only remembered their most recent demise, Tails was unlucky enough to remember ALL of them. Yes, every. Single. One.

Tails: I've remembered all those times I got killed during OMT's rampage here, and I'm still shook up thinking about it... Even trying to fight back changed nothing...

He was just glad aging was halted in his universe, as he clearly was not ready to go into being a teenager.

Sally: Would you like to talk about it?

Tails: Y-Yeah.

A little later...

Sally: So... you remember every death you've faced?

Tails sadly nodded.

Tails: Every single one...

Sally: W-Why didn't you tell us any of this? T-This is beyond terrible forms of trauma!

It was very clear Tails needed therapy to clear his mind of all the trauma OMT gave him.

Sally: Tails... What you're doing isn't healthy, and by the looks of it, it's harming you a lot... If you need someone, I'm always all ears. You're my friend, after all.

Tails: T-Thanks, Sally.

It then started raining, as the radiation's side-effects kicked in, leaving Tails suddenly exhausted.

Sally: Looks like the storm's started. Come on, we need to get back home. Think you can fly us to your workshop?

Tails tried to, but his fatigue made his twin tails feel heavy to move.

Tails: O-Oh...

Sally: Oh, man... That doesn't look good. Come on, hop on my back. I'll walk, and you navigate me to where your house is.

Tails nodded as they headed back.

After this scene, Sally found out Tails had a nasty fever from the radiation and the abundance of Chaos energy he was forced to use to stop Eggman Nega. She also discovered his compartment of plushies he made of his multiversal companions, which she genuinely found sweet.

However, it wasn't all positive. Tails was still horribly haunted by his experiences, to the point that he had to go through nightmares related to OMT and his sickening misdeeds. Thankfully, Sally was there to comfort him, but it would still be some time before Tails was ready to help protect his home again.

Fortunately for him, since Detective Ghost was already an ample crime fighter alongside him, she could handle the main crooks while he recovered. And Tails managed to fully recover his strength and gain an immunity to the radiation. Sally also proved to be a good role model to Tails and made sure he was well cared for in that month, which was very valuable to him.

And after he was feeling all better, he continued his usual crime-fighting acts alongside Detective Ghost, whilst keeping his studies going strong at Bumper High School, maintaining his excellent grades alongside Max Cartwright. After 5 more months, however, we know what happens next, don't we? But that's a tale for another point.

To be continued in More than One Universe...

...

...

"Do you even get it? Do you even realise WHY my little bro had suffered so much in that year?! ...No, of course you wouldn't. Because it's all about your petty idea of entertainment, isn't it?"

"I've seen so much of the multiverse after my passing, and to be frank, I discovered that there are LOTS of creatures like OMT out there, all targeting the same people who quite frankly don't deserve their fates. And it makes me feel bitter to see that you seem to love seeing Tails suffer; always first, ALWAYS the worst."

"Yeah, that's right. I can see you watching behind that screen of yours! That monster isn't the only one who can see past your fourth wall. And to be quite frank, you have SERIOUSLY pissed me off, ESPECIALLY whoever let this freak into my world! My best friend has suffered the worst from it, all because of your "Tails demos" and alternating paths! One death would've been merciful enough for them, but NO! You just want to satisfy your curiosity and desire for "entertainment" just to watch those I love suffer!"

"Consider yourself lucky I'm not real OR alive at this point. Nobody deserves to go through that level of suffering in ANY dimension, ESPECIALLY not Tails. I don't care how "quality" or "appealing" your little .exe games might be; every time you make those, you're forcing another version of Tails to suffer, AND Knuckles, AND Robotnik, and potentially even the girls! All because you want to gain recognition from giving a monster fuel to cause terror!"

"I'm gonna cut off this post here and hope that you actually bother listening. If even one more version of my companions is forced to suffer at the hands of an EXE as of the day this post was made... you'd seriously better hope you can run WAY faster than I can."

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 1, Episode 2

Episode 2 picks up the morning day after the initiation party, the girls are having breakfast lunch at their dorm, the boys at theirs, and everyone wants the juicy details about what happened at the party...

Culture: Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far? Although, it's pretty funny how the roles are reversed, Maddie is all "meh" about it, while Nils tells a different story. Then again, since when do you get together after a blowjob?

Culture: I actually have no idea why Simon is having breakfast at Skogsbacken, since regular schools only cover lunch for students, everyone eats breakfast at home, and then goes to school. Then again, it allows a scene where (Never mind, they're having lunch, thanks @kamand !) Blink and you miss it: Wilhelm casts some nervous glances at Simon after having been called out for disappearing at the party and almost forced to confess to making out with someone.

Culture: I know Felice is trying to put August down, but don't knock a proper Swedish pizza! As much as I like living in the US, they can't fucking make pizzas here, and the first thing I eat every time I go back to Sweden is always a real pizza. With pineapple and shrimp as God intended pizza to be made!

Culture: August is namedropping ski resorts in the Alps, which is where you go skiing in Europe if you have money, although Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is actually near Val Thorens in France, while Verbier is in Switzerland. It does have a three-star restaurant, though. Sweden and Norway have a couple of decent ski resorts, but the Scandinavian mountain chain is simply not as impressive as the Alps.

Subtext: Remember Wilhelm getting up and hurrying to math class in the beginning of the scene? It was so he could grab the other seat next to Simon, because he knows Simon is gonna sit next to Sara, since no-one else does.

Culture: Formally greeting your teacher before class is very uncommon in Sweden, but since Hillerska is all about discipline and tradition, of course they do it. Note that they're again using the formal Swedish title for male teachers, Magister, which in a regular school would be kind of a joke, since teachers and students are on a first-name basis with each other.

Subtext: Wilhelm is exposing how the world works if you have money. At Simon's old school, studying alone would result in good grades, but Hillerska is slightly corrupt and almost expects the students to essentially pay for getting a good grade.

Subtext: Simon is lying to his teacher, he absolutely hasn't talked to his parents about paying for private lessons.

Subtext: No, Sara absolutely does care about what other people think about her, and when she directly tells Felice that she would actually like some friends, that's when Felice gets it and starts making an effort to become real friends with her.

Culture: They're all bilingual at Simon's home, they're all speaking Spanish and Swedish, although Linda has a very noticeable accent to her Swedish. Based on demographics and statistics, the most likely scenario is that Linda immigrated to Sweden from Chile, met Micke, and started a family. In real life, Omar Rudberg was born in Venezuela and grew up in Sweden, while Carmen Gloria Pérez was born in New York, and grew up in Puerto Rico.

Subtext: Remember how I talked in the intro post about how distant social classes know nothing of each other? Ayub and Rosh are either working class or lower middle class like Simon, and since rowing is a typical upper class sport, they know nothing of it, they don't even think of it as a real sport. Unlike football, which is a proper working class sport, they know all about that!

Subtext: Scandinavia has Jantelagen, and everyone there thinks it's uniquely Scandinavian, but all countries have some form of Tall Poppy Syndrome. In this scene, Simon is starting to make a class journey, he started rowing, he started trying to fit in with the other upper-class kids, and getting into a relationship with someone as upper-class as Wilhelm would definitely move him all the way. But going on a journey means leaving things behind, which is why Rosh and Ayub are cutting him down and literally turning their backs on him. They like it in the small town of Bjärstad, why can't he be happy there too? Why is he betraying his roots?

Subtext: This comment from August nicely foreshadows a later episode when August does something traceable on a School computer...

Subtext: What August means is that he's not sure Wilhelm has the same desire to be accultured into the upper class, to play the part of a proper prince, in the same way that he and Erik have accepted their roles and are even enjoying them.

Culture: Although it's impossible to read the name of the medicine, the paper tag on the bottle indicates that it's some kind of prescription medicine. From the conversation with Vincent, we learn that it's some kind of ADHD medication, probably some kind of Dextroamphetamine since those improve athletic ability and cognitive functions in healthy people.

Culture: Birkenstock sandals are associated with hippies in Sweden as well as in many parts of the world, so August is actually saying that the school counselor isn't really part of the same upper-class society as the rest of the staff. And again, his use of the word sosse drives the point home.

Subtext: Consequently, the counselor sees right through August and refuses to immediately prescribe him the medication that he wants...

Subtext: ...even though August tries to both bribe him and threaten him into giving him the medication he wants.

Subtext: A big theme of this episode is class journeys, and in this scene and a previous exercise scene, August gushes about how good a thing that is, how proud he is of Simon for going on one, and spouts some crap about how everyone can make it if they really want to.

Subtext: Thankfully, Madison says what we're all thinking: August is full of shit, life isn't fair, and they're only at the school because they were born into privilege.

Blink and you miss it: After Wilhelm has nervously texted his crush for the first time, he starts to bite his fingernails, but quickly stops himself, because why would he be nervous? He's just texting another boy about rowing practice, there's nothing more to it!

Subtext: Simon's texting game is on point though, he knows exactly what he should write to get Wilhelm to go on a totally-not-a-date with him.

Subtext: In the same way that August couldn't convince the counselor about being sick, I don't think Wilhelm's atrocious acting here convinces August that he's sick either.

Culture: Public transport in the greater Stockholm area - or wherever we're supposed to be - is of course cash-less, and you pay by either charging a special card, or by signing up in their app and buying tickets through there. The point of this scene though is to drive home how Wilhelm has never ever had to take the bus before in his life, and therefore has no idea how it works.

Culture: The totally-not-a-date starts at a Circle K, which in Sweden is just another gas station, but it is actually a Canadian multi-national convenience store corporation. The price of gas is of course posted in kr/l, and 13.98kr/l corresponds to roughly $6/gal.

Subtext: Throughout the totally-not-a-date, Wilhelm is trying to reach for common ground with Simon, trying to show him how he's just a regular guy...

Subtext: ...but then real life intrudes, Wilhelm is recognized by some local girls, who call out to him and run away giggling, which shows how he's not a regular guy, he's going to get recognized wherever he goes.

Culture: Kokt eller grillat, boiled or grilled, are the two ways you can get your hot-dog at pretty much any hot-dog place in Sweden, and ketchup and mustard is always offered. The correct answer to this question is of course grilled, with ketchup and mustard, and this just shows that Wilhelm is a man of culture and good taste. Unfortunately, they were out grilled ones, so they all got boring soggy boiled hot-dogs instead. Is there a metaphor here? I don't know.

Subtext: Again, the show drives home the point that absolutely no-one has a problem with people being gay. Simon is clearly out to Ayub and the rest of his friends, and Ayub immediately picks up on the fact that this is totally a date.

Blink and you miss it: Ayub nudges Simon with his elbow to tell him that he should make a move on Wilhelm.

Culture: What we're looking at is just the local junior/high school football team, Bjärstad, playing a match against some other unnamed junior football team. Since the stakes are super low, the audience basically consists of whichever parents and friends of the players that could be bothered showing up.

Culture: Driving age is 18 in Sweden, and even then getting your own car at that age is extremely uncommon. However, you can easily get a license for a moped when you turn 15, so these are the vehicles of choice for teenagers to get around.

Subtext: August found out about Wilhelm's trip to town, but his main problem with it is that he wants Wilhelm to stop slumming it with lower class people, and to start hanging out with everyone at school instead, so that he can be properly accultured into the upper class. Again, sosse in this context means working class, not socialist.

Subtext: Although Simon felt really great about his first date with Wilhelm, the text message reminds him that Wilhelm isn't a regular person, and that even this innocent little trip generates interest and scrutiny, and can't be posted publicly.

Culture: As everyone should have noticed by now, Madison keeps speaking English, while everyone speaks to her in Swedish, so clearly she understands it. But here she gives her motivation for sticking to English, and that is that she doesn't feel she's good enough at speaking Swedish. Boarding schools like Hillerska attracts international students that have some kind of connection to the country, so a likely scenario is that Madison grew up in the US with a Swedish parent, and she's being sent here to experience Swedish culture and get immersed in the language to learn it better.

Cinematography: This shot of August drives really home all the pressure he is under, he's out of drugs, the headmistress just hinted that he's out of money, and he's literally being weighed down by books and work-out weights.

Subtext: Simon has kept his visits to Micke a secret from Sara, so here he has to intervene to make sure August doesn't accidentally reveal this to her. He also wants to protect his sister, so he's redirecting August's search for drugs onto himself.

Subtext: And on the flipside, Simon isn't really telling his dad that Sara still hates him and really doesn't want to see him, so he's vague when Micke asks about Sara and Linda.

Culture: Finally a bottle of medicine where we can read the label! Unfortunately for Simon, this is Tramadol, an opiate prescribed for pain relief, which is the complete opposite of the kind of drugs August wants.

Subtext: If you haven't figured out yet that this episode is about class journeys, August spells it out for us here. However, the reason he's "congratulating" Simon in front of everybody is because Simon just supplied him with more drugs, so this is his way of thanking him, since he can't really pay him.

Blink and you miss it: For a split second, Wilhelm grabs Simon's leg during the scary scene.

Subtext: The entire dialogue of the movie works as subtext for what's actually going on between Wilhelm and Simon at this point, and Wilhelm is getting a little freaked out by this sneaky display of affection.

Subtext: The movie also puts words on the implications of Wilhelm getting together with a boy, what about having kids in the future? Can you carry on your family name and traditions, or will they die with you?

Lost in translation: The plaque actually says "FEEL YOUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE HERITAGE". Even though the plaque means the heritage and legacy of the school itself, Wilhelm is thinking about his legacy, his heritage, and how getting together with Simon would threaten that.

Lost in translation: Wilhelm actually says "jag är inte en..." - "I'm not a..." before he stops himself. So it's not possible that he was trying to say "I'm not gay", because that doesn't work grammatically in Swedish either. He could be trying to say "I'm not a guy like that" or "I'm not a guy who likes guys", that would work.

Cinematography: The framing and silhouetting of this shot is just chef's kiss. The outline of their hair allows us to see who is who, and we can see from their poses that Simon is welcoming a kiss, while Wilhelm is still hesitating.

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Omggg your xiaowo fic was one of my favess I got confused on why it suddenly disappeared, then I read your blog and I realized I also don't have an age on my bio (I thought u blocked me ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ) I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT READING YOUR RULES BEFORE FOLLOWING YOU BEFORE😭 I've already put "18+" on my bio, at first I'm also hesitant to put my age on socials just like the other anon but I understand now :((

Hope u feel better now and again I'm sorry for my ignorance🙇🏻‍♀️

Hey there! This is late af and considering I still have this, it means I haven't blocked you within the past few months. Which means you put your age in either a pinned post or your bio and thank you for that.

And don't worry about it! I used to be like that as well until I finally understood why it's important to put your age if you're above 18 -

For any minors that read this (ik you do and I can't stop you physically from reading my shit, but for the love of God stop interacting with me) if an adult talks to you despite you having your age or 'minor' in your bio...

It's weird.

For every one out there, be careful who you talk to over the internet and in real life.

Tmi about my sexual awaking below the cut. I was very young so if that makes you uncomfortable, please don't read.

I know that as you get older you get curious. But that doesn't give you an excuse to overstep boundaries that someone put in place. It's for our comfort and safety and you need to understand that. It's not only for our safety but yours as well.

I used to be like that. I used to scoff at the "dni" sections of blogs or in the bios of wattpad because I thought I was mature enough to do so at the age of 12. I started to do shit when I was extremely young and it fucked me up mentally. Because of that, I thought any romantic relationship I have *needs* to have sexual actions to be healthy and because of that, I was used as a cum dumpster (or rather sex sleeve??? He pulled out but still...) in high school by my ex, despite knowing he cheated on me multiple times with his exes and how I allowed myself to become codependent on him.

Because I grew up in that type of environment. I went through that with someone I was close to while I was young af and because of that, I was lead to believe to be worthy of a relationship I needed to satisfy the sexual needs of my partner.

And then I started to read smut from my mom's shitty erotic novels that she loved to collect before I even hit puberty. And reading sexual content at that age just engraved the idea further, that all 'healthy' relationships *needs* sex, when in reality, they don't.

Especially since those books had stuff like "who do you belong to" kind of stuff. Just toxic relationships that were painted in this sparkly light. And I thought that was normal. And before you call me a hypercrit for writing dark content as well, I literally put all the warnings and disclaimers right before the actual story. Because I don't support it and I'm an adult who knows when to draw the line between reality and fiction.

And well, here I am now, still unlearning all of that bs. And it still effects me.

You're young. Don't focus on sex at such a young age. Especially you 13 year olds who just love to fucking follow me and then I immediately block the moment I check my notifications.

Being hyper fixated on something like sex when you're extremely young will fuck you up in the future. I am a living example of that. Obviously it won't happen to everyone but it will happen to many.

The guy was the same age as me btw, thankfully it wasn't an adult who groomed me. But he was the one who started it and I followed suite. We were too young to be curious and my mom thought someone older than me taught me shit because of how I would act in private and she would walk in.

So yeah. Minors, extremely young minors rather, don't get curious about sex at your age. At least to not the degree where you want to follow a 21 year old woman who writes dark content that is meant for adults and not for kids.

It's creepy and annoying.

So for the love of God stop interacting with me, I had to block 5 of ya within the past hour.

Going back to you anon, I kinda just rambled on -

Thank you for reading my rules once you realized something was up.

[loveisneurotic]

Kaguya-sama Blind Reaction/Analysis: S1E1

Hello everyone, this is my blog which I am currently using to react to and analyze Kaguya-sama: Love Is War much more seriously than I should analyze any romcom.

I have only seen the first episode of the anime, which this post shall explore using far too many words. If I'm feeling particularly motivated, I may read the manga as well.

My analysis will contain spoilers. If you're thinking of watching this show and haven't seen it yet, I recommend you at least go check out the first episode yourself before reading any further. I don't know what the rest of the show is like, but what I've seen so far has been both entertaining and thought-provoking.

I'm going in mostly blind, but not entirely blind. There are a few images of the anime and manga that I have been exposed to, although without the attached context. Due to cultural osmosis and the sheer popularity of this work, perhaps that was almost inevitable.

Figure 1.1.1: Why did this guy write an essay about a single episode of an ongoing romcom?

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

Season 1 Episode 1

I Will Make You Invite Me to a Movie / Kaguya Wants to Be Stopped / Kaguya Wants It

Power dynamics in relationships

Figure 1.1.2: Immediately, the mangaka's tastes become clear.

I heard a saying once that really stuck with me: "The partner who cares the least has all of the power."

In the world of dating, I often sincerely believed this saying. You may yearn for someone's affection, but the other person need not give it to you until they are willing and ready. No matter how much you want it, you can't make someone more interested in you, unless you resort to being roundabout, such as adding some mystery and intrigue to your courtship. But is that excessive?

I once felt a potential lover slipping through my grasp, and before I knew it, I found myself chasing after them. As I was yearning for their attention, I felt as if I'd lost my dignity. It was humiliating. Painful. Was it just that they weren't the right person for me? Or was I not funny enough? Not charismatic enough? Not interesting enough? Too clingy? Too talkative? Should I have been more distant and given them more space? Did I seem too weak? Too eager? How should I have maximized my desirability? Regardless, I had surely lost. Perhaps they wanted the satisfaction and validation of conquering me. Playing me for a fool and asserting their superiority by being so distant. Isn't that right? Or is that just insecurity speaking? At what point is it ideal to cut one's losses and walk away?

If someone desperately wants the object of their affection to desire them, does that make them pathetic? Does it make them a loser? If you show more vulnerability and desire than the other person, does that truly make you the weak one in a relationship?

These questions plague our two protagonists and seem to be a driving force behind the main conflict. Since I have also grappled with how much to reveal my own feelings of desire, I find Kaguya-sama: Love Is War to be a particularly fascinating show.

Desire without action

Figure 1.1.3: Our protagonists are gifted with impressively high academic intelligence paired with impressively low emotional intelligence.

The show wastes no time in introducing us to our two main protagonists. Kaguya was born into a family of high stature (and says "ara ara" frequently enough to power a small country of weebs), whereas Shirogane is a "commoner" (Kaguya's word, not mine) who worked hard to reach the pinnacle of the student body. Like timid schoolchildren, they're crushing on each other, and yet they refuse to admit it due to their pride. Instead, they focus on getting their "opponent" to confess their love first.

What stuck out to me immediately is how they both have different ideas of what their relationship would be like. Shirogane envisions Kaguya as blushing, shy, and conventionally cute, whereas Kaguya (thankfully) envisions herself taking absolute dominance over Shirogane (which plenty of people should see coming as a character trait after the anime's very first scene). The bad news about this is that their two fantasies are at odds. The good news about this is that the mangaka has fantastic taste -- you can learn a lot about a storyteller based on the characterization of a love interest or lead character of the author's preferred gender.

In the event that the two of them become an actual couple, I wonder how on Earth they'll reach a compromise as to how they'll treat each other. Perhaps they will have to figure that out before they can even get that intimate.

I appreciate that we get to see both of their perspectives. It hammers home how everyone has a different truth in regards to what they desire and what they experience, and the show does not hold back when it comes to showing just how different these truths can be -- such as a certain lunch-themed sequence that I will talk about later. This works to great dramatic and comedic effect.

That said, when you spend your time fantasizing about what could happen instead of actually taking action, time is not so friendly to you.

Half a year passes.

Figure 1.1.4: Two geniuses dedicate their pride to wasting their life and energy.

Immediately, I got the impression that whoever wrote this segment of the story knows what they're doing. This is too real. And by "too real", I mean I very much appreciate the realism. How many of us have waited for ages (or for eternity) to confess our feelings to a specific someone?

This is the curse of having a crush and being incapable of acting on it. It's also why I hate having crushes.

Manufacturing affection in others, AKA the extraction of vulnerability

Figure 1.1.5: A plan is devised to weaponize jealousy in the name of affection.

To express your truest feelings means being vulnerable. That implies taking a risk and feeling responsible for any potential consequences of rejection, as well as putting our dignity on the line. It would be so much easier for the object of our affection to make themselves vulnerable instead. So instead of being direct and honest, we act indirect. We drop hints. We act suggestively, but not explicitly. We may even place them in situations where we think they are more likely to confess. If they don't pick up on it, we can pretend we didn't mean anything by it. That way, we don't have to risk our dignity. We can just wait for them to make the move.

It sucks.

Incidentally, it sucks even more when both you and your love interest are thinking that way.

It sucks infinitely more when both you and your love interest are COMMITTED to thinking that way.

Someone has to break the deadlock, whether that's immediately or eventually.

If this show isn't one of those romcoms where the status quo never changes ever (judging by the quality of writing, I have faith that it isn't), then at some point, either Shirogane or Kaguya is going to have to be explicit about how they really feel. And it's going to feel scarier to them than anything else they've ever done.

It's gonna be great.

If we could all grow up and live in environments where it's safe and encouraged for all of us to be honest about how we feel and what we want, surely love would be much less painful for so many people.

Chaos theory

Figure 1.1.6: If your prospective lover won't protect you, then your friend definitely will.

Chika is the ideal wild card and agent of chaos in this arena of love.

From a writing perspective, Chika is immensely useful. The mangaka probably could have gotten by without a third character in the mix, but she serves as a catalyst and an unknown element, able to create unpredictability and subversion of expectations. For a comedy-oriented story, this is invaluable.

Blissfully unaware of the mental turmoil that plagues our two lovesick dorks, she is able to unintentionally invalidate whatever schemes that Kaguya or Shirogane spent so much mental energy on, which adds extra comedy and tension for the audience. She is also an effective vehicle for Kaguya's jealousy and projection, as seen in the lunchbox scene which I have so graciously foreshadowed.

Figure 1.1.7: We have confirmed visual on an unidentified fourth person. Chekhov would love this. From their posture, I wonder if they'll be a gloomy character?

Misunderstandings and assumptions

I've heard that most interpersonal conflicts in life emerge from misunderstandings. In the absence of communication, assumptions are born and give rise to misunderstandings.

You may know where I'm going with this. Let's talk about the lunchbox sequence.

Figure 1.1.8 (not pictured because tumblr wishes to deny me of my image spam): Kaguya is too prideful to admit she thinks that a couple is doing something cute.

Figure 1.1.9: Pride is considered a sin for a reason.

From a writing perspective, I was impressed by the lack of romantic intentions in Shirogane in this whole sequence. Not once did he try to get Kaguya to show vulnerability to him. Instead, Kaguya is the only one spinning the situation in a romantic way, while Shirogane's driving force is the misunderstanding that Kaguya is looking down on him for what he eats. Because of this misunderstanding, Shirogane doubles down and makes his food even better, making the situation even more complicated and more stressful for Kaguya. This was definitely my favorite comedy sequence from the first episode.

I appreciate that the show has demonstrated the ability to create these scenarios where one of the characters doesn't even have love on their mind, but there are still romantic thoughts coming from the other character which drives the drama. It gives me a lot of faith in the variety this show will have to offer, and makes me excited to watch more.

When it comes to comedy rooted in misunderstandings, it is important to have miscommunication or lack of communication. In order to resolve a misunderstanding, you need to talk about it. For a pairing as dysfunctional as Kaguya and Shirogane, expecting healthy communication sounds highly unreasonable, which makes them prime material for a whole world of misunderstandings.

Misunderstandings are rooted in assumptions about what the other person meant when they said something or made a certain gesture or expression. When Kaguya glared at Shirogane and his food, he didn't even think to ask "What's the matter?" He just made an assumption about how she felt. I wonder if trying to understand Kaguya's feelings would be considered a sign of weakness by Shirogane?

A prerequisite to initiating an emotional conversation is the desire to understand or be understood by the other person -- assuming that your assumptions haven't already built a narrative for you. It is far easier to make assumptions than it is to attempt any sort of understanding.

In the end, Shirogane fled, unwilling to confront or attempt to understand the intense and passive-aggressive Kaguya. Kaguya feels that she cannot directly ask to try his lunch, so perhaps this is the closest she can get to initiating such a conversation with him at this time. Despite their mind games where they imagine the reactions of their opponent, they still have a lot of difficulty understanding each other.

I am curious to see if this prospective couple's communication skills and emotional intelligence will improve over the course of the story.

The burden of potential romance

Figure 1.1.10: Even the infallible genius Kaguya succumbs to superficial jealousy. It's "mind over matter" versus "matter over mind". That's how the saying goes, right?

Chika is a free spirit, able to ask Shirogane for whatever she wants without being neurotic. That is the power of not being bounded by a crush. Kaguya, who lacks that degree of freedom, briefly loathes her for experiencing something that Kaguya cannot ask for. It's amazing how much someone's feelings for a friend can change without a single word being spoken between them. All it takes is an action, unintentional or not, combined with the raw strength of insecurity. Just as quickly, the status quo can return back to normal too, with the act of properly making up.

To Chika, asking for food from someone doesn't mean anything at all, whereas with Kaguya, it is an admission of defeat. In that sense, a relationship that will only ever be platonic brings peace of mind, whereas a relationship that can be potentially romantic brings leagues upon leagues of anxiety if the outcome is of great concern.

Love is neurotic.

Is love worth the pain? For some people, it is not. For others, the reward is immense -- but only if you can make sure your relationship with this person doesn't end up being a nightmare for your emotional health.

Love and self-identity

The final scene of the episode surprised me in a good way. It's a brief departure from the comedy, and reveals a more heartfelt side of the show.

Kaguya's servant asks her an insightful question. It is substantially more insightful than I would expect from any romcom: "If you fell in love some day, would you wait for that person to confess their love, like now? Or would you confess your love?" I found myself immediately curious to hear Kaguya's answer, since I knew it would be highly informative about her character.

"If that time comes, I would consider the risk of someone stealing him first and come to the one rational conclusion." Even in the realm of love, Kaguya seems precise and calculating. It's as if she hesitates to give a straight answer, but then she confirms: "Of course I would go."

Figure 1.1.11: "Please understand."

It is not embarrassment or rejection that Kaguya fears; it is the absolute destruction of her identity and sense of self. Kaguya is the daughter of a family that practically runs the country. In her mind, everyone yearns for her and wishes to serve her. Turning that around and reaching out to another person to express her own desire would be a direct contradiction of that. It is probably a similar situation for Shirogane, where the infallible self-image he has built up is being put at risk during his romantic duels against Kaguya.

Kaguya clearly feels trapped. She and Shirogane see each other as threats to be conquered, but in reality, they both share a mutual enemy that is much more imposing and insidious: their own simultaneous disgust at the idea of vulnerability.

Their freedom is dominated by their insecurities, and so, even despite their impressive stature, they are still very human. Their upbringing that has lead them to become so accomplished may be more of a curse than a blessing, due to the resulting pride and self-image they likely feel pressured to uphold.

It is hard to cast aside a lie that you have bought into for your whole life.

If our two protagonists wish to have a chance of establishing a healthy romantic relationship, they have a lot of their own demons to overcome first. If they cannot set aside their pride and reach mutual understanding, they have no hope.

Until then, they will both remain trapped in a hell of their own design, however tragically comedic it may be.

My hopes for this story's future

I can tell that the mangaka, unlike far too many writers all over the world, actually seems to have a solid understanding of romance and the conflict that arises within. I've watched too many anime that place huge focus on the "will they or won't they" crap which never runs any deeper than one or both of the characters being too embarrassed to just say what they're thinking, without any sort of convincing mental blocker. In that case, it's clearly just manufactured drama which is designed to pad out the story and waste your time rather than pose interesting questions and themes. In the case of Kaguya and Shirogane, the two of them have substantial communication issues which are depicted in a comedic yet mature way, which I have found engaging.

I very much hope that the show will more deeply explore the themes and questions surrounding the ideas of vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and superiority within relationships. Kaguya and Shirogane have been set up to be great vehicles for such exploration, and I hope the mangaka can capitalize on that, especially if our protagonists can confront these issues directly.

My impression is that the ending will make or break this story. If the mangaka can pull it off well, I can already believe the payoff will be hugely satisfying.

Of course, in order to get to that point, we'll have to see a certain something. It has to do with the most sacred word amongst romcom enthusiasts: "progress". Indeed, after spending chapters upon chapters watching two characters bumble around amidst the same exact status quo, those little signs of advancements in a relationship are highly rewarding.

Underneath all of their aggression, if we can see Kaguya and Shirogane slowly open up to each other and realize the benefits of vulnerability, I think we could witness something really beautiful and really emotionally cathartic.

I've still only seen one episode, but I believe the mangaka has laid a fantastic groundwork for a series and can do a great job developing upon what I've seen so far. On that note, I will surpass our prideful protagonists by opening my heart to this story and entrusting it with my vulnerability, believing it can deliver satisfying development and resolution. You can do it!

Closing thoughts

I did not expect to write so much about a single episode of an ANIME of all things, but here we are. If only I could conjure this kind of power back when I actually needed it in high school English class!

The first episode alone is already so rich with characterization and themes that I managed to find quite a lot to talk about. Given how much I found myself relating to the characters and some of their situations, it's clear to me how this show became so popular. Not only are the animation, direction, and writing excellent, but also many people can probably relate to love feeling like a battlefield.

I do not want to believe in the idea of winners and losers in relationships. That idea creeps into my head whenever I'm having trouble keeping the interest of a new date, and I find myself wondering where those thoughts even come from. Lately, I have been reflecting on the way I relate to other people. Perhaps I've started experiencing this show at a time in my life when I most needed it, and that's why I felt driven to write such a large analysis.

This show poses some very interesting questions about romance that I do not actually know the answer to at the time of writing. I do not know yet how much the show is actually going to explore these themes. Regardless, I appreciate how this show is helping me reflect, and I am curious to see if and how the mangaka will answer some of the questions brought about by the story's themes.

This is a show that I'll most likely have to pace myself with. There was so much to process in this first episode alone. If I went any faster, I'm not sure if I'd even catch all of the details and character moments. I'm excited to move onto the second episode soon.

A highly subjective footnote about my cultured tastes

I'm glad that Kaguya is a sadistic dom with a gentle and vulnerable side, solely on the basis of that being my favorite personality type in a love interest. It also helps that it makes Kaguya's fantasies that much funnier with Shirogane acting so out of character. I feel like this show was made for me.

What was I writing about again? Oh yeah, writing a gigantic wall of text about an anime romcom. Somehow, I spent an entire day on this essay. Hopefully someone got a kick out of it.

[mysticnfantastic]

Okay, so on a happier note than my previous request. If requests are still open could do a scenario with RFA + V and Saeran (and maybe also Ray?) holding hands with MC when she suddenly flops to the ground and makes them carry/drag her because she doesn't want to go somewhere (like to the hospital for a checkup cause she hates hospitals or the grocery store cause of social anxiety or something)? I'm really curious about how they would react.

Hi! I hope this’ll  be good! It’s cute!

Jumin:

Jumin is a responsible man.

He makes sure to attend all meetings, check-ups and the like when he must, and is used to everyone else doing the same.

And it is because of this that he is rather shocked to see your (seemingly childish) reaction when you refused to go to the hospital

At first, he tries to convince you bluntly, not understanding where this is all coming from - you just….flopped in the middle of his apartment.

When you refuse to get up, he sighs, and tries to ask you why you’re acting this way, and will try to listen to you as you embarrassedly admit how you feel too anxious to go, and how you have had some pretty bad experiences in hospitals, which made him feel for you, of course, but he also knew you’d have to go for your check up to make sure that you were healthy…

So, he’d probably make a deal with you - he’d have private doctors come to you to check you, instead, and he’d be there by your side the majority of the time.

Zen:

It was so random, he couldn’t have ever expected it.

You two were just...walking through town when he mentioned how you’d need to go shopping with him, and you just...flopped.

It was really strange and he had honestly no idea how to react, but he crouched down beside you, super concerned, thinking you had a seizure or something, panic in his (beautiful) crimson eyes

“MC!? MC, are you okay??”

Finds it NOT funny when he realises you aren’t actually hurt, but also relieved as fuck.

You shake your head though when he asks if you’re actually alright, and it makes him concerned, as he helps you to your legs, glaring at people who gave you two weird looks.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice fully laced with worry as he looked into your eyes, pulling you into a nice alleyway for some privacy from prying eyes.

You explained your feelings and concerns and anxiety to him, trying not to get upset, to which he smiled reassuringly and kissed your forehead in a gentle manner only Zen could manage.

“That’s okay - I’ll be with you the whole time, okay? If you feel too overwhelmed we can leave and go home.”

Despite this, you refuse, and so he picks up you in his arms and literally carries you to the shops, it gains A LOT of attention.

Yoosung:

Gods save this precious bean, he has NO fucking idea what’s happening.

You were both just hanging out at the park, when he remembered how he needed to go to town and pick up some important things, and asked you to go with him, to which you responded by flopping facedown into his bed, saying something that got muffled under the pillow.

You hadn’t ever really..done anything like this before, so it was...interesting…?

So damn confused, is that a ‘no’, then?

You’ll sit up on his bed, and sadly explain why you /really/ don’t want to go to buy anything with him, the social atmosphere being suffocating to you.

He’ll nod, somewhat relieved it’s nothing too major, and he promises that you needn’t go, and that he can and will go by himself.

You feel bad just...waiting at his dorm whilst he goes to do errands all alone, but when he comes back he brings you back candy to cheer you up.

Saeyoung:

You were just hanging out at his house, sitting on his bed as he sat in front of his computer, typing away.

Eventually, he pulled away from the illuminated screen, smiling at you (like the dork he is) and then pouted when he saw your pale face.

You had been ill recently, and it showed.

Sighing softly, he tried to smile regardless, standing up and walking over to you, when he sat down beside you on the bed, he declared you had to go to the doctor.

Queue you immediately (and dramatically) falling into his lap face-up, hand on forehead like a prima donna.

He’s surprised, but chuckles lightly, shaking his head at your childish endeavours.

“Come on, MC, don’t be like this.”

You shake your head, refusing to go.

He sighs, and tries to make a deal with you - if you agree to go to the doctor, he’ll get off that forsaken computer and spend more time with you when you get better.

V:

Usually, you were quite calm and easy-going, and that made this situation so much more confusing for this poor angel.

He stated that the two of you needed to go to the supermarket to buy some groceries, and your reaction was highly unusual.

You didn’t really even say ‘no’ you just...fell onto the floor, lying on your back, looking up at him with a pout.

V.Exe is not responding

He has no idea what the actual hell just happened.

“...M...MC? What are you doing?”

The humiliation suddenly hits you and you get up off the floor, blushing softly and explaining your dislike of being in public due to your social anxiety.

He’s still mildly confused as to why you felt the need to fall onto the ground to tell him that, but he understands what it feels like to be anxious, and just tells you to make a list of the things you want him to buy.

Jaehee:

The two of you were in town, holding hands as you made your way past the buildings, when Jaehee mentioned how it’s about time for you to go and make your annual medical examination

And you responded by...suddenly going limp and literally falling on the ground, much to her shock.

Thankfully, you weren’t in a busy part of town, but it still gained someone unsavory looks.

“MC!? What are you doing…? Get up from there…!” She’s slightly panicked but also embarrassed by the glances from passersby.

She helps you to your feet, though she does glance you over to make sure you aren’t hurt, worried about what caused you to do that.

When you explain the problem to her, she sighs in disappointment. “Really, MC?”

Disappointed Mom Mode

“You’re going to have to go get checked, but I suppose I could make the appointment with you if you’d like.”

Saeran:

It was the day of your doctor appointment, and you really hated the doctor.

Something about the doctor just...caused a deep discomfort within you, and you absolutely loathed it. You weren’t even /that/ ill…!

Unfortunately, Saeran begged to differ, calling you out for how you clearly needed to go.

You could tell her was becoming frustrated with how childish you were being, shaking your head like a five year old and refusing to go get yourself checked out.

When he tried to get you to stand up, you went limp and fell onto the bed, low-key freaking the poor boy out with your sudden limpness.

“W-What?...MC! Get up!”

You jokingly say ‘not unless you carry me!”

MUCH to your shock you feel him suddenly lifting you up in the air, into his chest like a princess, “Damn, you’re heavy.”

You know he’s joking, but you still playfully hit his chest in an ‘offended’ manner.

He chuckles softly, as he carries you through the town (and the two of you recieve many gazes of awe and confusion as you do so)

Ray:

Ray and you were in the garden, technically on a date.

And it was then you remembered you had a ‘one on one meeting’ with the Saviour.

Immediately you felt the anxiety within you, and you bit your lip, and unfortunately Ray noticed your internal distress.

“Everything okay, MC?” His voice was so full of love and concern.

“I...have to go see the Saviour in a little while.”

Ray’s face was confused - why did you seem so immensely concerned by it?

“I...suppose I am slightly anxious, haha…” you exclaimed, biting down on your lips harder. It intimidated you, and honestly this entire situation was so unusual and odd for you.

You were clearly very hesitant on going, and before you could really say anything else, you felt him princess-carry you to where your meeting would be taking place.

Hope this was good, it took ages and also confession: Mod Ama has long-ago deleted the app (B/c it took too much space and generally I b r e a t h e d this game, and it was...taking way too much time from my busy ass life, BUT i have read A LOT of fanfiction from the Saeran/Ray route, and also I wiki’d shit like hell, and so the Ray scenario is just…..something I made up so don’t shoot me pls.

- Mod Ama 

[unchecked-too-long]

Recent c-drama watch updates

Sorry I got lazy and took forever to write this but!!! I now have TWO c-dramas to report! Praise me!!! :'D

jk anyway as of recent I've watched "The sword and the brocade" and "The imperial coroner" and it's safe to say I loved one of them a lot more than the other :')

Spoilery (but not really, at least partially because they're so poorly written) reviews ahead:

Starting with tsatb (shortened because I am not writing that title out over and over again):

It was okay. I really, really loved some parts. I also hated some other parts. Quite a bit of it was unfortunately very skippable. bad summary ahead with my very ungathered thoughts:

It's basically about this girl called Shi Yi, a girlboss who is actually a proletariat girl because she's worked as an embroiderer and her bourgeoisie family hate her because of her lower status. Except they can apparently put that aside when they need her to keep up two different relations with other rich families to get her dad a position in court. So yeah stuff happens, her mom dies, she gets married of to the better rishta because her cousin is bad at schemes and also an idiot, except she doesn't care because she only put up with that rishta in order to find out who killed her mom. Also she's 15 when the story starts, 16 when she gets married and 17/18 by the end. Yeah.

her now husband looks constipated, is tired of politics at court, and does not really enjoy coming home to find more politics and arguments and has become very distant as a result. he's like 30 something or 40 with two kids and 5 previous wives (3 concubines, 1 dead wife), all of which were settled more or less without him having an opinion in it.

their age gap, the lady not putting in any effort at home or in her rship, his distance and shit involvement at home obviously causes problems, and i liked how they dealt with it (mostly). also loved the roles the other concubines played, whether as villains or just as characters affected by the leads. did not like the mom. she could've avoided so much trouble so easily for them but noooooooo. lol.

Some people didn't enjoy the Ou family as villains but I'd disagree as they were honestly a very classic set. I just felt bad for the younger son mans did nothing wrong ever and still got the shortest end of the stick.

there's a total of 45 episodes of this ancient chinese saas bahu drama, and i'd like to call it a brainless watch. you'll probably end up rooting for the main couple. the kids are cute too.

7 out of 15 sheep as rating.

-

As for "The Imperial Coroner":

It was lots of fun. The romance doesn't really become a heavier theme until the second half, and the no side characters are unreasonably given less time than they deserve to shine on screen, and they honestly all did. "Fun, with lots of healthy relationships, and well wrapped up" is probably the best short description I can think of.

Our leads are Chu Chu, a coroner who comes to Chang'an to work and get a certificate, best girl with the best name, the best family, and heart, and Xiao Jinyu, resident gold fish, handsome judge prince combo, and little brother and baby boy in general. Chu Chu has a classic paindu vibe and I was actually really afraid they were going to keep her simple and stereotyped but thankfully we avoided that. She's smart, understanding, and straightforward. tbh the lead couple started giving me sona chandi vibes at some point ;u; well. Jinyu also follows a similar trend, where his straight forwardness isn't used as an excuse to have him act dumb except a few times, and his reliance on his team to work on his cases is often showed, as is his care and gratitude towards them. He's a good kid.

Prominent side characters include, Jing Yi and Leng Yue, childhood friends to the prince as well as subordinates, Xiao Jinli, a general in the army and the prince's twin, and Wu Jiang who is the princes deputy and also a close friend. The characters families also regularly make appearances and play roles in pulling the story together, especially our leads parents and family, including Princess Xiping and her husband Xiao Heng (accidental cupid), Ministers Jing Zhi, and General Leng Peishan. The entire Chu family too (Chu He is the He Ziqiu of this show bdjsksj).

The story goes from case to case, most of which are connected, to unveil a rebellious conspiracy and a race against time to save the day.

Also I'm pretty convinced the emperor and Jin Bao (young eunuch dude from later half of the show) are smooching.

Anyway the show has 36 episodes, and even with it's shortcomings that i'm still too in love with the show to mention, will hopefully keep anyone watching engaged and rooting for the leads. They're adorable. Also Jing Yi's parents are actually the best couple of the show.

13 out of 15 sheep. (would probably be 15 if i'm being extraaa biased lol. Most of my reviews are entirely personal though so yeah.)

[dailyaudiobible]

03/15/2019 DAB Transcript

Numbers 22:21-23:30, Luke 1:57-80, Psalms 58:1-11, Proverbs 11:12-13

Today is the 15th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian. It is a pleasure and a joy to be here with you as we prepare end another work week and head into the weekend and this week we've been reading from the English Standard Version, which is what we will do all the way through tomorrow. And obviously, we’re gonna pick up where we left off yesterday with this drama, this guy Balaam whose been called in by this king named Balak to curse his hoard of people that seems to be moving in around him. So, we’ll pick up that story. Numbers chapter 22 verse 21 through 23 verse 30 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, there's a lot that we covered today. Where do we start? Let's start the Old Testament. So, we’ve got this drama going on between Balak who’s the king of Moab and Balaam whose some sort of prophetic person, a person who has the ability to curse and bless. And he's not from among the people of Israel and yet, as we’re reading it in the Scriptures he is communicating with God and God is speaking to him. So, lest we think, as we’re reading the Old Testament, the only people God ever spoke to were the Hebrew slaves, the children of Israel who were delivered from Egypt, that would not be the case. And we have a pretty valuable lesson to learn from Balaam. So, Balak sent an entourage to Balaam, a high-ranking entourage to Balaam and asked him to come curse Israel. God told him, “don't go”. So, he didn't go. So, the people returned. And, so, Balak, the king, sent an even more prestigious entourage to Balaam with a message and essentially the promise of wealth, riches, prestige and honor. And, so, Balaam prayed and God said, “go back with them, but only say what I tell you to say.” So, Balaam spent the night and there's this…this thought of, “well God wouldn't let me go the first time but He is telling me I can go this second time as long as I say only the things that He says, but if he's letting me go then He must be gonna let me go to say good things.” And, so, “I’m about to get rich maybe. Maybe God is gonna let me get rich off of this.” So, the next day Balaam gets up and gets on his donkey and we have the three incidents where an angel with a drawn sword is standing in the path not wanting Balaam to go. So, it's like, what is going on here? First God says don't go then God says do go and then God sends an angel with a drawn sword in the path to keep him from going. What’s happening here? It all gets revealed as we go through the story. The angel is blocking the path. The donkey is veering aside. Finally, the donkey sits down. Balaam is so mad that he would kill the donkey and then the donkey speaks to Balaam and Balaam answers the donkey as if this is a normal thing. All I can figure is that he’s so mad he doesn't…he's like so enraged he doesn't understand what's happening. He's talking to a donkey and in effect the donkey’s saying, “have I ever done anything like this before? Why are you so mad at me?” Balaam then reveals his heart, “because you have made a fool of me”. And there it is. Balak sent high ranking officials of Moab with the promise of honor and prestige and wealth. Balaam went and his donkey's acting unruly and Balaam doesn't want to look stupid in front of these people. That is a profound weakness that could have undid Balaam had he got before the king of Moab with all of the royalty and all of the nobles. He wouldn't want to look like a fool and only say what God told him to say. And, so, his weakness was being exposed along the way so that when he got to do the mission that God wanted him to do he was very clear on his instructions. So, we can look for ourselves in Balaam’s story and find ourselves in Balaam’s story when we find ourselves conforming to an environment even when we've been sent by God to do something, find ourselves conforming to an environment and all of the sudden find ourselves doing things that we would not otherwise even consider. And before you know it we’re in the mud pit again, but the story isn't over and the parallels to our lives aren't over. We can certainly find ourselves in the early parts of Balaam’s story, but now let’s go to Balak and become Balak for a second. There’s a problem for Balak. There's a horde of people that are very powerful moving into his territory. He would like to get rid of them, but other people who have tried to get rid of them have lost. He calls for a man of God. The man of God finally comes. So, he's excited about that and he takes the man of God to covertly view a part of this horde and they make sacrifices and God blesses them. And, so, Balak is mad and what does he do? He takes him to another place to look at God's people and God isn't going to curse His own people. And, so, Balaam informs Balak that these people are not cursed, and no curse is going to work. And, so, what does Balak do? He takes him to another place. We do this too. We might ask God for something. We might hear God say, “no that's not healthy for you”, and so where like, “well come over here and look at it from this angle” and the answer’s still no...and so “come over here and look at it from this angle”, right? We’ll keep going until we get what we want. And God is kind and He is a gentleman and one of the ways that we are created in His image is that we are allowed to make choices. And, so, at some point He’ll say if that's what you're going to do then that's what you’re going to do and then we go and do it thinking that we've convinced God from some special angle, it doesn't work out, its destructive and then we blame God. This is such a mess when we do this. It’s so unfair. Thankfully in this story Balaam got the message and he wouldn't be persuaded to speak outside of what God told him to say because he had a good memory of an angel with a drawn sword. So, he probably felt like he wouldn't be making it home if he didn't obey God, but we sure watch Balak try to change the story by looking at things from a different view. And sometimes friends, no means no. Sometimes when the Lord is not in something we’re not going to convince Him to get on board and when we go off on our own, I mean, how many more times we gotta go around that track before we get it through our heads that it never works out? So, there is plenty for us to put in our cup and stir around as we move into the weekend from the Old Testament.

From the gospel of Luke, John the Baptist is born today and I don't necessarily have something to apply to our lives about this other than I just want to point out some context because often when we read the Gospels we think John the Baptist just showed up out of the wilderness eating grasshoppers and wild honey and had some kind of, you know, loin cloth made out of fur and he’s just this odd dude coming in out of the wilderness and the people are coming down to be baptized and he just shows up. He didn't just show up. His father was a priest. His father was in the temple of God when an angel appeared to him foretelling the birth of John. When he came out of the temple everybody knew something had happened because he couldn't speak. Zechariah, who was John's father, could not talk, right? This is happening in Jerusalem in the temple. This was not an obscure unknown thing. So, when the baby is born, and the baby is born in their old age and they name him John and Zechariah's mouth is open so that he can prophesy about his son, this is not an unknown thing. So, later on John will be arrested by the king, by Herod, for political reasons because Herod was having an affair and married his brother Philip's wife. So, John condemned that, and that got John killed, but the religious elite, now let us remember, Zechariah, John's father, was a priest, one of the religious leaders. Later on they distanced themselves from John, right? They won't declare that he was a prophet of God but the people view him as a prophet of God, not only because of the power that is in his words and in his call to repentance, but because of his heritage, because of his story. And Jesus has a similar story when he showed up on the radar and we’ll talk about that when we come to it, but the point is, something was buzzing around John and Zechariah and Elizabeth before John was ever born. So, John would've grown up under that shadow where people would have wondered his whole life, “what is going to become of him” because that's what the Scriptures say they were doing at his birth. So, sometimes we might wonder…I mean…we can read the Gospels and not even ever wonder this - like John showed up and then Jesus showed up and that was that and they were famous and it was because of miracles, but actually there’s a story before the story and we can see glimpses of it if we’re looking for it just like we’re doing with John today. He wasn't some random dude coming in out of the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord and baptizing people. There were prophecies over his life from his father who was a priest who had been serving in the temple. So, this was a known thing.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the way that it will penetrate and expose our behaviors and make us look in the mirror at ourselves as it has done in the Old Testament in the book of numbers today and we thank you for the repetition, for the times we read through the Gospels and the more and more that the story begins to unfold before us and we feel a part of how things came to be because this is our story too. So, come Holy Spirit, plant the word of God in our lives today changing us irreversibly from within. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

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And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi family, this is Stanley from Maryland. I’m reaching out to pray for Elisa’s daughter Lisa from Illinois. You said you have a daughter and she’s 16 and she’s struggling with drug use and I want to pray for her. Father, thank You for Elisa’s daughter. Father, I remember when I struggled with marijuana, taking drugs, trying to fit in be cool and be social and it wasn’t…it wasn’t all that fun after a while. And so, I thank You for giving me the opportunity to not be around that any longer. I just want to thank You for Elisa and Elisa’s daughter. And Your word says in 2 Peter 3:9 that You’re not really being slow about Your promise as some people think. No, You are…You are being patient for our sake and You don’t want anyone to be destroyed but You want everyone __. So, God on behalf of Elisa’s daughter from Illinois we pray that…we pray that her daughter can repent. I don’t know who’s gonna come into her life or what’s gonna happen that may change. Maybe someone…a friend she meets will help her to change her, help her to see that she doesn’t have to do these things or something will happen that will help Elisa’s daughter to see that she doesn’t have to do this anymore, this is taking the place of God in her life. We pray for that. I know for me it was someone reaching out to me and inviting me into their life who was a Christian. So, God we thank You that it’s already done and we continue praying and seeking Your face for Elisa’s daughter in Jesus’ name.

Hello Daily Audio Bible. I want to pray for my sister and my friend Luca. They both have a fever and my sister stayed home today from school and she slept almost the whole day and my friend Luca, he didn’t go to school today and I want to pray for them.

Hey everybody, this is Linda from New Hampshire. I hope you can hear me alright I’m in my car on my way to work but I just finished listening to the March 12th podcast and I just want to thank you Candace for sharing so beautifully your relationship with Brad. You know, that really touched my heart. As sad as this may sound, I have never known that kind of love from my man. I’ve been married twice and they’ve both been abusive unfortunately. So, I just really __ my husband. It’s so sad, it may be long for experiencing that someday by God’s grace, God’s will. And if not, I will continue to hold on to him as my husband and my partner and trusting Him. So, thank you for sharing that. And I just wanted to wish everyone a very blessed, blessed week. I’m praying for each of you and little Noah, praying against those seizures and I appreciate everybody who calls in asking for prayer but also those who call in and pray because sometimes I don’t have the words. I can hear someone’s prayer request and I just don’t have the words and a couple days later I’ll hear somebody call in and pray and I’ll say like, “yes that’s it, that’s exactly what it needed here.” And, so, love you all. Have a great day. Keep me in your prayers please. Things are still happening but I’m keeping my eyes on the Lord. Blessings to everyone.

Hi there, my name’s Jake. I live in Utah and I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible basically since the start of the year. I’ve been a Christian since…well…I was raised Christian but really Jesus converted me and put his Holy Spirit in me in 2012 and brought me out a lot of dark stuff, a lot of hard core drugs and addiction and this last year I’ve had a pretty pretty tough time, I’ve relapsed and I can’t get a hold of my struggles. I’m essentially…I used a lot of LSD and I feel so alone…I work in a Christian company. I’ve talked to my friends about this but I keep falling back into it. I’m very active in my church and I just…I don’t know what to do, I don’t know people that…yeah, yeah, just yeah, just pray for me. I’m pretty…pretty frustrated and despairing at times. I trust the Lord. I know who He is and what He’s done to my heart and life, but sometimes it really freaks me out that I’ve resubmitted myself to these fleshly patterns and that I can’t seem to find a way out. So, yeah, pray for me. I pray for you guys, listen to it every day. So, thanks. Bye.

Hi daily audio Bible it’s Megan Kelly from London. I called, oh, I think a couple of weeks ago and just calling again. I’ve got a prayer request and a praise report. Best get to it quickly. First with a prayer request. Unfortunately, one of my colleague’s dear friends actually, she went to a __ day and she went out for the weekend and in a nearby city __ she went with her friends and I don’t know the details but I know her friend went missing. Obviously, we’re all very concerned for her to be missing for two days now. So, just pray that you’re keeping, her friends and family all in your prayers so that they hopefully find her, but in the meantime also feel the presence and find all the peace they can. So, that’s the prayer request. I also have a praise report. And I actually for Lent decided to try and really focus on listening a  bit more to the community prayers and I have been listening to the Daily Audio Bible on my commute to work every day. So, I manage to listen five days a week and I realize that the buildup of the community prayers was getting quite big and I wasn’t sure how I was going to listen to them all. I think they’re fantastic. And, so I finally started listening to them just in tiny little bursts so when I walking to the station or if I’m popping out of the office to buy lunch and I’m finding I’m actually getting through it quite quickly and finding I want to listen more __ I just feel connected to you guys. So, yeah, I just wanted to thank the Lord that I found this, and it’s given me more inner peace, which I was really needing. I was __ broken for the last year and I just hope that the same can be done for the rest of you. I know a lot of people having hard times and will keep you all in my prayers. Okay.