#though i AM very much looking forward to having the next four days off ngl

[airenyah]

finally in bed. opening day went great tho. except for the fact that one part of a prop broke and another disappeared after the show over (it's ok tho, i bought spares just in case)

technically i'm doing only a hospitanz which is when you sit in rehearsal to learn through observation and then maybe do some minor tasks. i'm at a super small theater tho so there's actually a lot of work for me to do. and it's my second year working with this team so now i know my way around too. ngl i feel like i do a lot more than the actual assistant director. the actors handed out little opening day presents with handwritten cards and pretty much all of them mentioned how hard-working and meticulous i am. it feels amazing to see that all my efforts are being seen and appreciated. planning on asking if next year i can be the assistant director right away

[atlabeth]

night owl - sokka x fem!reader

summary: when things get too overwhelming, your boyfriend is always there to pull you back, no matter how forcefully he has to do it.

a/n: this is for @missmorosis​​‘s 400 follower event!! go follow her and check it out if you’re a writer as well:-) ngl this is kinda self indulgent because im also dying of school rn i need a sokka of my own. also i did not proofread this, i think it adds some spice to life not knowing if this is coherent or not

wc: 907 

warning(s): stress over school and one (1) curse, but other than that it’s pure fluff 

“Why aren’t you asleep?”

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

You considered yourself a fairly smart person. 

You had earned a scholarship to get here, you took hard classes, and your friends came to you for help from everything to school problems to just general every day things.

But for a “fairly smart person”, you made a lot of bad decisions. 

You knew that taking on a part time job wasn’t a good idea when you already had so much going on. You knew that taking 8am’s wasn’t a good idea when you were already a night owl. You knew that saying yes to that night out with your friends wasn’t a good idea when you had a huge paper due in two days.

(It was worth it, though.) 

You knew all of this before you decided to take on the world, but dammit, you were still allowed to complain. Besides, getting anywhere in the world required sacrifice — if your sacrifice entailed having more caffeine flowing through your veins than blood, then so be it. 

Making up for your mistake of wanting a social life was proving to be much more difficult than you planned — you were on page seventeen of a twenty page paper, and you were stuck in a rut. You had written and rewritten the same sentence more than twelve times; it was like your brain was going on strike in protest of what you had put it through. 

The lights in your room suddenly flicked on and you blinked rapidly to get used to the sudden onslaught on your eyes. You had been staring at your computer screen for so long that you were sure the document was burned into your irises, and this extra brightness was not helping. You squinted and looked to the doorway to see who the perpetrator was, and despite the mix of sleep deprivation and deliriousness you were experiencing right now, the corners of your lips quirked up in a small smile.

It was none other than your boyfriend. You were a bit surprised to see Sokka up at this hour — he took hard classes as well, but he was better at managing his time than you were — but just seeing him made you feel ten times better. 

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Sokka asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

“Work. This paper is due tomorrow, and I only have a couple pages left until I’m done. Why are you awake?” You countered playfully. 

“‘I’m awake because my girlfriend doesn’t know what a proper work-life balance is,” he answered, though there was real concern in his voice. “How long have you been working on this for? It’s three thirty, you have to be up in four hours.” 

“All day,” you managed through a yawn. “I’m almost done, but I’m just- I’m stuck on this one part, and it’s infuriating.” 

He hummed in acknowledgement and walked over to you, draping his arms around your shoulders and giving you a light kiss on your temple. “Have you ever thought that you can’t focus because you’ve been staring at this screen for eight hours?”

You closed your eyes and leaned into his embrace, feeling the most at peace that you had this whole week. “I mean- it has crossed my mind, but I’m fine! As soon as I get past this sentence, it’ll be smooth sailing. I only have three pages left, I can survive off of four hours of sleep.” 

“Alright,” he sighed. You thought that Sokka had conceded until you felt his arms around you, and you squealed as he lifted you out of your chair. 

“Sokka!” You laughed, swatting his arm in a very low effort attempt to get free. “What in the world are you doing?” You tried as hard as you could to inject some form of anger into your voice, but you couldn’t be mad at him in such a ridiculous situation.

“Sometimes I need to take things out of your hands, and apparently your sleep schedule is one of them,” he grinned. He was carrying you bridal style through your apartment, your arms now looped around his neck for support. 

“Excuse me? I am perfectly capable of maintaining—” your own claim was foiled with the interruption of a yawn; even your body was against you at this point, “— a proper sleep schedule.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” By now, the two of you had reached your room and Sokka gently set you down on the bed before climbing in next to you. You turned your head slightly to meet his eyes — you were always captivated by the oceans that were held in them. “Just trust me. You trust me, right?” “Of course.” 

“Then believe me when I say that not being sleep deprived does wonders for the mind,” he chuckled. You leaned forward the slightest bit and pressed a kiss to his lips, already finding your way into his embrace. 

“Okay,” you murmured, nestling your head into pillows and humming contentedly at the warmth he brought you. “Just this once.” 

And laying there, together with Sokka, it didn’t take too long for you to fall asleep. Just before you drifted off, you felt him press another kiss to your hairline, and you smiled unconsciously. Your mind couldn’t be farther away from the task that you had been so feverishly working on just minutes prior. 

That paper could wait until the morning. 

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

perm taglist: @dv0412 (i can’t tag you for some reason) @siriuslyslyslytherin​ 

send an ask if you want to be added to any of my tag lists! 

[myelocin]

life and death | matsukawa i.

synopsis: here’s the truth about fear. it comes to you when you think you’re at the farthest from death. you learning about issei’s fear and you do so with his face in between your hands, and your heartbeat against his ear. 

characters: matsukawa issei, you

genre: fluff, hurt/comfort, issei crying lmao. tw: talks about death. 

wc: 1500+

a/n: issei prob has it rough ngl

you think that fear is supposed to feel a certain way, but your truth is that it’s a range of the black, the white, and every shade of grey in between.

you recall that issei talked to you once, after his first day on the job, about how incredibly tragic death is. he was curled up beside you in bed, at five pm, where he had the blinds drawn so the darkness in the room could somehow emulate the safety he found at night.

truth be told, it’s the first you’ve seen him like it. a little bit broken before, yes; some bruises at the cheeks after life punches him hard, sure. but crawled up next to you with his head in your lap was a new sight. looking at him like this: where issei’s way past broken and distraught, crying into your lap a little too softly for it to be called a sob, has your heart cracking into an unfamiliar kind of pattern.

to you, matsukawa issei had always triumphed over his fears. a witty joke after a heartbreak, a heartfelt sigh after a lost game. for as long as you’ve loved him he was always, always light.

“what do you fear?” he asks you out of the blue, and when he turns his head and faces you peering down at him, in his eyes do you see his craving for comfort.

“bugs,” you answer immediately.

issei chuckles, then sniffles a little bit before he reaches up and wipes the accumulated tears on his eyes with the heels of his palm. “other than bugs.”

“do you want me to say death?” you ask, patiently.

“i want you to say the truth.”

“i fear that i am not afraid of death,” you then say, giving him your truth.

“but wouldn’t that mean that you’d just live life fearlessly?” issei questions.

“that means i am living life too recklessly.”

you smile, smoothing away the strands of his hair that stuck a little too wildly on his face before you lean down and press a quick kiss to his forehead. he sniffles again, so when you part, you laugh and squeeze his cheeks in between your hands.

“what’s this about?”

at your question, issei looks faraway again. a tap to his cheek has his eyes refocusing back and you smile, because you know he’s brought back down to earth. his eyes soften as if to say thank you.

“at work earlier,” he begins, and his lips tremble in the very slightest. “i had to escort a kid for a viewing. he was only eleven or ten or something—fuck, i don’t know.”

when your open palm settles against his cheek, he leans in and reaches forward with one hand so that he keeps your warmth in place. you stare at him, so he continues. “he had no one else with him. i think uncle dropped him off then bolted. he was staring at his parents dead inside a casket. kid didn’t even cry—just asked where they were gonna go.”

“what did you tell him?” you ask.

issei runs his hands over his face, just as a fresh cry escapes his throat. the silence in the room hangs like the portraits on a wall. they watch, with baited breath, as issei lets his aches escape his body.

“i couldn’t tell him shit, because i don’t know shit.”

“that’s okay,” you reassure.

“i know that,” issei smiles. “it will be, in time, for him. but that made me realize that there’s always gonna be that one person who’s there after you go. and that shit’s terrifying.”

“you could be that person’s whole world or just a speck of it, but they’re left when you go. i can’t fucking deal with it if you go—“ he finishes, spiraling.

“i’m here now, though.”

“all we will ever have is the now, ‘sei,” you add as an afterthought, speaking softly as you move your hand up and swipe away the longer strands of the waves that dangle in front of his eyes. when your knuckles brush against his forehead, you smile at the warmth of his skin.

the now, you smile again, because there is really no other truth than that. the past was once a now, and you know that the future will be that as well.

you’re quick to see the retaliation that issei wants to say before he could even get the words out, so you beat him to the punch instead. “if you keep thinking about it too much, time’s gonna pass you by real quick.”

“but when either of us goes—“

“then whoever goes first will just have to wait a bit before meeting up again wherever the next destination is,” you answer with a tone of finality, cutting him off.

“you’re letting yourself spiral, sei’.”

then with patience, you watch as issei crumbles even further in front of you. “it’s just,” he begins, leaning his head back as the tears pool and slide down his cheeks again. “i just didn’t expect that it would be this fucking hard.”

instead of saying anything, you choose to keep your silence. you keep issei’s hands held warm and tight against yours, your thumb automatically reaching out to draw circles around the back of his palm. slowly, you watch him as he gathers his composure and rebuilds himself for a few seconds before crumbling, then regaining that same composure once again.

the idea of death had always been just a thought that even if it were to come—it wouldn’t happen in the moment. to be face to face with it, on the other hand, that was a different case. and issei, you note, even if he held himself together stronger than others you know in the field, even he has his moments too.

moments where more than ever, you see how unapologetically human he just is.

a human who cries in the face of death, because the other side was still a haze that you couldn’t see past the fog that is the void in between.

“let’s just live in the now, issei,” you tell him again, reaching forward and cupping his face, wiping the steady flow of tears on his cheeks. they keep coming despite his attempts at sniffling and controlling himself, but you suppose you don’t mind. the now, for the both of you is really just this. it’s the tender moment where even if you aren’t face to face with death just yet—you’re instead face to face with the fear that comes with it.

and the truth, you think, will always be as raw as the emotions that come with it.

“are you afraid?” you ask, voice soft, and eyes speaking of patience.

issei nods, closing his eyes again as his head drops in your hands, his shoulders sagging and body slumped. “i’m fucking terrified.”

“and that’s okay,” you answer him, leaning forward to press your forehead against his. with eyes closed, you imagine the contours of his face that is in no doubt in a state of grief in front of you.

his cheeks are warm against the palms of your hand, and when he sighs, you smile to yourself. the now, you remind yourself is also this very moment too: life.

“we’ll always be scared if we keep thinking about anything that isn’t the now, issei, so just breathe and live a day at a time. and if you can’t do that just yet, then let’s settle on a minute at a time. that’s okay too.”

when you tug at his arm to lay beside you, you smile when you feel him rest his head on your chest instead of the pillow on his side of the bed. you reach down, stroking his hair then eventually moving down to rub circles on his back.

issei heaves another sigh as he closes his eyes, ignoring the thoughts of the hours that passed and instead just trying to focus what his now is.

a smile blossoms across his face when he hears a heartbeat.

your heartbeat.

and in the minute he decides to finally let go and lose himself in, he understands what his now is. it’s this, here with you, in the darkness of the four walls he calls home. your hands warm against his back, breaths audible as you inhale and exhale. it’s your heartbeat, issei thinks.

the now is life.

[pucksnsticksnhockeyboys]

summertime mindset - pt. 4

ice cream & children’s books

masterlist for summertime mindset

Timing is hard to get right and summer doesn’t last forever. You and Tyson learn the hard way.

word count: 2.3

note from the writer: part four! ngl this is a very self-satisfying part as in the whole second half is literally a dream of mine. enjoy and let me know what you think!

SUMMER

Few things went together as well as summer and ice cream dates. And as much as you loved hanging out with Tyson, spending time with his sister was just as fun.

Tyson had to go workout, and Rachel was off with Michael, so you got a few hours to spend with Kacey. Immediately, you had decided to go for ice cream, and after ordering your respective cones, she was driving you back to the houses.

“He’s crazy about you, you know.” Kacey commented after a lull in the conversation. You didn’t have to ask her to clarify who she was talking about, and just the thought of Tyson brought a smile to your face.

“I kinda like him too.” You replied easily, adding a shrug onto the end of your sentence and earning a laugh from Kacey. It was no secret that you were falling for Tyson, he was a ray of sunshine and a total dork all at once—the complete package, in your book.

“He talks about you all the time, I’m pretty sure I know more about you than Rachel does.” This caused you to laugh, and your cheeks were starting to ache from how long you had been smiling. “But seriously, I’m glad he’s got you.”

“I feel like the lucky one, honestly.” You responded with a cheesy comment just as Kacey pulled the car into her driveway. You were just in time, apparently, because Tyson was standing in the driveway having just gotten back too. He was shirtless, tanned skin on display and he was covered in a sheen of sweat that served as evidence of his workout. “Yeah, definitely the lucky one.”

“Gross.” Kacey grumbled, her face scrunched up as she connected the dots on what you meant. You just chuckled as you slipped out of the car, and your feet were barely on the ground before Tyson was standing before you and pressing a kiss to your lips. When he pulled back, he was pouting, and you raised a brow in silent a question.

“You went and got ice cream without me?” He pouted, and you couldn’t help but tip your head back and laugh at his childishness.

“You can’t have her all the time!” Kacey called, but nonetheless she slipped inside her house to eat her ice cream in the air conditioning. You giggled, licking your own melting cone as Tyson called out that he had dibs on you from day one, but the grin on his face told you he wasn’t actually upset.

“You really went without me?” He turned back to you, his hands moving to your hips and walking you back until you were pinned between him and the door of the car.

“Didn’t want to ruin your workout.” You grinned, leaning forward and pressing another kiss to his lips as his playful frown deepened. He smiled at that, your favorite smile of his that was equal parts playful and loving, the one that never failed to make you feel adored. “Plus, Kacey is fun to hang out with.”

“I’m glad you get along with her.” He commented quietly, moving in closer and stealing another quick kiss. “But ice cream is really good.” You watched his grin brighten and grow wider as you laughed at him, and you were certain you had never felt more content.

“Have some of mine.” You held the cone up for him, and he readily took a lick. You giggled at him, he just looked utterly ridiculously with how hard he was smiling while trying to eat some of your ice cream. “You’re welcome.”

“Mhm.” He mumbled leaning in to kiss you deeper this time. You tasted your ice cream on him, the sweetness making you swipe your tongue out to chase the flavor. “Thank you.” He mumbled against your lips, and you pulled back to grin at him.

“You’re a dork.” You chuckled, leaning up halfway to meet him for a kiss that was cut short by a shout of your name from the house you were staying in next door. You practically shoved Tyson away, careful of the ice cream cone that you were going to have to start actually eating soon before it completely melted. With a wince, you turned to face the sound. “Hi, Grandma. I didn’t know you were coming around today?”

She didn’t look happy, if the frown on her face was any indication. You smiled, and Tyson greeted her politely—he always was a charmer. Still, she didn’t exactly take kindly to seeing someone make out with her grandchild

“I need you to run to the store to get a few things I need for dinner tonight.” She explained and you nodded, stepping away from Tyson and cutting across the yard to get the list from her. You were mortified that you had just gotten caught, your face turning bright red. “And Tyson?”

“Yes ma’am?”

“Keep your hands to yourself, young man.” Tyson took the comment in stride, affirming that he would but calling out that he wanted to go with you to the store. Your grandma raised a brow at you, and you just smiled as innocently as you could.

Though, you wished that the ground would open up and swallow you whole.

PRESENT

You hadn’t meant to complain to Tyson when he called you, but he just caught you at a bad time. Plus, he always was the one person you felt you could tell anything to. Despite everything that had transpired between the two of you, you couldn’t help but feel like he was quickly refilling his role of being your confidant.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong or am I just going to have to guess?” Tyson asked after a few lines of polite conversation. Apparently, you weren’t doing as good of a job as you thought you were of hiding your annoyance, but Tyson had always been able to see through you.

“Nothing serious. It’s just—” You cut yourself off with a sigh, stopping your pacing in your bedroom and flopping backwards on your bed. “Jon was supposed to help me rearrange my classroom today, but he just texted and said he can’t go.”

“Why can’t he?” Tyson settled on asking, his tone a bit harsher than what you’re used to hearing from him. You shrugged, despite the fact that you were talking to him on the phone and he couldn’t see you, but Tyson knew you. He knew you better than probably anyone, despite the years of silence between you. He sighed, and you sat up at the sound. “Can I go with you?”  

“You want to?” You questioned, though now that he suggested it, you kicked yourself for giving him a chance to back out.

“Of course, I’ve heard you talk about your future classroom so many times, I want to see it.” He sounded so honest, you almost glossed over the fact that he so casually mentioned that he remembered you talking about your future career when you were twenty and in the process of getting your degree.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll come pick you up.” You grinned, heart beating a little too fast and your face just a touch too warm for your liking. Tyson was your friend, nothing more.

You had been telling yourself that more and more often.

You knew Tyson was genuine when he said he wanted to see your classroom and help you out, but he was excited to see where you worked every day. You had to stop and have a laugh from the way he was looking around the room in wonderment. The tiny chairs for your students were his favorite part, and he insisted on sitting in one as he helped you cut borders for your bulletin boards.

“Thank you, Tys.” The nickname fell easily off of your tongue, and you hesitated for a moment until you saw how broad his grin was. You had only called him that once since you reunited, it was a remnant of your past relationship that you had figured would stay buried with all the stolen kisses and nights spent together.

“It’s really no problem.” He waved you off, moving to settle in the carpet to sort through the books you had pulled out. As the holiday’s changed, you needed to switch out the books you had out. “I like keeping you company.”

You didn’t respond to his loaded comment with anything more than a simple smile. Instead, you fished your phone out of your pocket and took a picture of him on the carpet, grinning while holding up one of the books. You chuckled to yourself as you wrote out the caption ‘Finally teaching him how to read!’ and posting it on your Instagram story.

“I don’t even want to know what you said.” Tyson grinned, your expression matching his as you remembered having a contest with Kacey about who could chirp him the most. She had years of ammo against him, but you had spent an ungodly amount of time with him in the previous weeks. Tyson called it a tie, but you were pretty sure that was only because he wanted to steal you from his sister.

“Just some friendly banter.” You grinned, sitting down on the carpet across from him to sort through the books. It took longer than you thought it would, since Tyson would get distracted easily by the stories and you couldn’t help but indulge his every request to flip through the book.

“This is fun.” Tyson told you, thumbing through a book on dinosaurs you wanted to save out for a lesson later in the year. You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help the chuckle you let out.

“You’re like a child.” At your comment, he feigned an offended gasp, complete with a hand clasped over his heart and pout. You laughed at this, loudly, and an arc of pain shot through you at how this used to be the norm with him. Things had changed so much, and yet they still felt the same. Except, you probably would have leaned across the pile of books to kiss the pout off his lips if things were like they used to be.

The realization had you working quieter, and if Tyson noticed, he didn’t press. After sorting through the books, you cleaned the room back up and got it ready for Monday’s school day. You drove Tyson home, and once you pulled up in front of his apartment complex, you sighed and leaned back into your seat.

“Thank you, again.” You smiled at him, resting your head against the back of your seat and turning to face Tyson. He was already looking at you, his expression just a touch too serious for your liking.

“You know, it sucks that Jon bailed on you, but I’m glad that he did.” Tyson spoke slowly and barely above a whisper. Your breath caught in your throat as he reached across the center console, tucking a strand of your hair that had fallen out of the messy bun you had thrown it up in while working behind your ear. “I’m glad, because it meant I got to spend the day with you.”

You smiled at him, it was weak and forced but it was something—more than what you honestly expected yourself to give. He dropped his hand back into his lap, and with him fully on his side of the car you felt like you could breathe easier.

“I’ll, uh, see you later Tyson.” For the second time that day, you felt yourself avoiding the elephant in the room, but it was for your sanity. Everything with Tyson came too easily and you were worried about falling for him all over again.

He didn’t put up an argument, and instead he slipped out of your car with nothing more than a simple goodbye, and you waited until he was inside his building before shifting your car into gear and pulling back out onto the road to head back to your place.

As you drove, your thoughts ran wild. Thoughts about Tyson and Jon, and your future with either of the two. Before you even knew it, you were standing inside your apartment and checking your phone for the first time in a while. You were shocked to see over a hundred new followers on Instagram, though that all made sense once you clicked on Gabe Landeskog’s story.

He had posted your photo of Tyson with the books on his story and had added his own teasing caption: ‘Someone had to do it. Who’s next—Andre, Mikko, or Z?’ You had giggled at the jab, knowing that chirping was a sign that a hockey player liked you, and an even bigger compliment that Tyson’s captain had included you in his playful teasing.

Next you pulled up your texts, heart catching in your throat as you spotted the newest one was from Kacey—someone you hadn’t talked to since you lost contact with her brother. You felt worse about not talking to Kacey than you did with Tyson, because you were friends with her outside your relationship with him and should have been able to stay in touch.

Her text was a simple ‘I didn’t know you were seeing Tyson again?’ that sent you reeling. You weren’t seeing Tyson, per say, but you had been hanging out with him again. You had thought that Tyson would have told his sister, though.

You contemplated what to say for a while, typing out three different messages before finally settling on one that would put her suspicions to rest. ‘Just friends, I promise. What have you been up to?’

Her reply came quickly after that, and you hoped that you wouldn’t have to discuss the exact nature of your relationship with her brother. Part of you missed your friendship with Kacey, and you wondered if this was your chance to reunite with her too.

‘FaceTime date tonight?’

You smiled at her text. Things were falling back into place easier than you thought they would.

[suudonym]

Every anime/manga rec so far have been great! I'm hooked on Made in Abyss rn. If its possible what are some of your other anime/manga recs?

I’m glad you’re enjoying it!! I for one am all but literally bouncing in my seat because tomorrow is friday and friday is made in abyss and I am looking forward to it

other recommendations, hmmmmm let’s see what I can come up wiiith

(genres are gonna be all over the place, sorry about that)

among anime that I eagerly looked forward to new episodes of, I’d recommend re: zero first and foremost. it’s a “normal guy ends up in an alternate fantasy world” story but it does the trope SO MUCH BETTER than the trope usually gets done. there were already like five episodes out by the time I finally gave it a try and boooyy am I glad I did because it’s just a phenomenal story, very painful, top marks from the pain-loving me

if it’s anime that I looked forward to, then I can’t not mention natsume yuujinchou. the sixth season aired last season with new episodes on tuesdays and as early as thursday I’d be like “TUESDAY IS COMING IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR NATSUME.” natsume is what I call a warm and soft anime - it just feels good to watch it. that said it is six seasons long and it’s episodic with pretty much no overarching plot (though there is some subtle and natural character development that’s just HEARTWARMING) so a lot of people find it too boring but if you don’t mind the episodic nature then it’s so… so good

speaking of warm I also greatly enjoyed amaama to inazuma and udon no kuni no kiniro kemari / poco’s udon world. I say them in the same breath because they have a LOT of similarities: yuuichi nakamura (voice of karamatsu) plays a mild-mannered guy awkwardly bumbling his way through single fatherhood to a young child. the thing that makes them very clearly different stories is that in the former the child is the main character’s four-ish-year-old daughter, his wife recently deceased, and in the latter the child is a three-ish-year-old magical shapeshifting tanuki. for amaama to inazuma there’s also an ongoing manga which I would almost be inclined to recommend over the anime (the art works a lot better imo) if not for the fact that the little girl in the anime is voiced by an actual little girl and it’s so endearing

if you like osomatsu san (and if you’re engaging with my blog it feels safe to assume that that’s the case) then I recommend handa-kun for it’s extremely relatable protagonist and general hilarity. if misunderstandings as a tool for humor is up your alley then handa-kun is the alley itself. hardly anybody watched that show and to this day I cannot understand why. (actually it’s probably because it was a prequel to the similarly underrated barakamon which I also wholeheartedly endorse. there are a few references to it in handa-kun so on one hand if you’re interested in watching barakamon it may be better to watch it first for the sake of those references but on the other hand handa-kun has a very different tone from barakamon so it may feel a bit weird watching it after barakamon unless you leave a gap in between)

another criminally underrated one is alice to zouroku. my god did I enjoy that one, it’s a found-family story featuring a young girl with extremely limited worldly experience and a grouchy old man with a heart of gold (ngl I based the explosive engineer in tata on this guy after the first episode because I was so deeply intrigued by the unusual character archetype). it goes through a few shifts in genre and leaves a looot of loose ends but imo it is SO WORTH IT for the really wonderful themes along the way

so that’s what I can come up with for recent anime, and for older/less recent anime the first thing that comes to mind is definitely steins;gate, which is pretty highly acclaimed so I’d be surprised if you’re not already familiar with it. BUT, what gets talked about much less is robotics;notes, which I also very much enjoyed. as you can tell from the semi-colon it’s by the same author as steins;gate (and I THINK, I might be wrong but I THINK it’s also the author of re: zero?) and there are parts that stick out very vividly in my mind, so vividly that I also distinctly remember sitting in the school cafe talking about these parts to a friend because holy shit

I also will never miss an opportunity to scream to the sky about hyouka because MY GOD I loved hyouka and it was so beautiful and so interesting and yes it’s kind of slow and quiet but it’s a highschool slice-of-life pseudo-mystery with a focus on characters and character development so of course it’s gonna be a bit slow and quiet. also the main character is voiced by yuuichi nakamura so, y’know, lil bonus there for those who are as deeply attached to karamatsu as I am

and! tales of the abyss. play the game if you can (it’s for ps2 and has a 3ds port) but if you can’t then the anime, while not necessarily what you might call pretty or well-animated, is an admirably faithful adaptation for being limited to two cours. the protagonist is one of the most deeply human characters with some of the most realistic and thoughtful character development I’ve seen out of anything ever and I will never stop recommending it, but do play the game first if it’s within your ability because it is, naturally, much more thorough in its storytelling and also is very rewarding by nature of being a game

back to anime that’s just anime (and boy is it anime), I’ll always enthusiastically endorse shirobako, the quintessential anime about anime, specially about anime production. I’ve heard that it was supposed to have four cours but due to scheduling conflicts it was cut down to just two and I will never know peace knowing that I could have had twice as much shirobako as what I got

and now that I’ve been through aaaaaall that how about some MANGA

there’s three right off the bat that I very very VERY highly recommend but I’ll do em one at a time for the same of organization. first, I’ve said it before and I’m still waving my arms in the general direction of the promised neverland if you’re not already reading it. if you’re more of an anime watcher than a manga reader you just wait a while and I have no doubt in my mind that an anime announcement will spring up

next, I’ve actually been wanting to recommend this one for a really long time: dungeon meshi. it’s sorta like d&d meets shokugeki no souma - a party of penniless dungeon crawlers crawl through a dungeon trying to save the main character’s sister, and because they’re penniless they cook and eat monsters. it’s CRIMINALLY funny and extremely well-illustrated and the plot has been seriously heating up lately and there aren’t nearly enough people reading this manga

and third is to you the immortal / to your eternity / fumetsu no anata he (not sure which is the more accurate translation of the title). a strange immortal rock has the power to take on the form of things that have a big impact on it, and by experiencing bigger and bigger impacts the entity gains a sense of identity and purpose, plus a whole bunch of forms that he can shift between at will. it’s by the same author who did koe no katachi (which I also highly recommend, both the movie and the manga are really really great - though the manga covers much more than the movie)

I would also recommend yotsuba& / yotsuba to but I don’t want people to think I have a type (I do have a type, it’s family themes. lay them sweet sweet family themes on me). I’m honestly really surprised that this one’s still never gotten an anime. a soft and fluffy story about a single dad raising his extremely energetic small daughter

there’s probably a loooot more, especially manga, but I have completely run out of energy and that’s a pretty extensive-feeling list as it is so I’m gonna leave it as it is for now. hope something in here piques your interest!

[elizabethschoices]

The Freshman, Book 4, Chapter Four: My Thoughts

So like, why bring luggage in the place if you were just gonna leave the next day? Seriously, save the arm work and just grab a few clothes to wear to bed and then to get dressed in the next morning. I’m either efficient or lazy.

So we’re going to go to a club, and apparently we gotta get there early because it fills up fast. Chris says we just had lunch, but then James explains that it’s in Manhattan, which is two hours away, more with traffic. Which means we gotta go now.

Someone texted James, and he got all frowny-faced. Who is it? Is it Yasmin? Some other chick? MOFO WE JUST BROKE UP LIKE?!?!

It’s his friend Teddy (Let’s have a game on the Teddy Picker) and apparently ol’ boy is trying to make it big in comedy. He invited James to open mic night. Apparently James has to rain check for poor timing. And I’m sitting here like bruh, fuck the club let’s go have a laugh.

I’m up for some comedy. Aww, Chris mentioned Tyler. I miss him! He’s always been a sweetie and a good friend. I wonder how he and Abbie are? Hopefully the exact opposite of Zack and Brandon.

Yay, we’re gonna go see a show! I’d much rather go to stand-up than some stupid club that’ll be jam-packed with too many people.

🎶ON THE ROAD AGAIN!🎶

By the time we get to Soho, it’s late afternoon and walking through the streets. Judging by how Zig and Zack (lmao alliteration buddies) are talking about how casually everyone is dressed, I sense a premium clothing option coming up. Yaaay.

😒🤑😟

So we get to the club and apparently it’s some kind of secret shit because James knocked and then a god damn eye slit opens up. They want a password.

Hello, The Freshman, allow me to introduce you to some bullshit trope we used in Rules of Engagement.

The password is given and literally WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE POINT?!?! WE WEREN’T EVEN GIVEN THE DAMN PASSWORD.

Whatever. Now we’re in the club and Teddy is on stage now. He was kinda hot until I lifted my iPad up a bit and actually looked at him.

Also, I don’t care what your joke is. If it ends with the punchline being ‘floundered’ then your joke isn’t fucking funny. Oh god is this guy gonna flop? Are we gonna have to act like we think he’s hilarious?

Apparently Teddy is actually pretty funny. I’ll believe it when I see it.

This game stresses me out sometimes. So we ditched a club for a comedy show and missed his show? Or did he finish it out and we got to see the rest? I’m lost and a detail-oriented person, Pixelberry.

Yeah, I’m not a fan of yours, Theodore.

So if we’re good friends of James, what is Teddy? Absolutely none of these options, that’s what. Whatever, I’m single so I’ll flirt. He’s *shudders* easy on the eyes.

Yeah, no, I take it back. He’s not hot and he’s damn sure not funny. His jokes are old and stale, and I can’t actually hear his delivery so it’s technically not applicable, but in my head that sucks too. He’s a god damned Amy Schumer.

I like him more when he’s not trying to be funny. We shake hands and then he squeezes into the booth. Together we all watch other stand-up artists perform, and then the emcee asks if anyone else wants to perform.

MC volunteers Zack (heh puns sort of whatever Tyler would appreciate it) who says he’s not that funny. I think he’s pretty humorous. Zig is probably funnier though, tbh. But Vasquez gets top marks.

(“Top marks for not tryin’!”)

Chris is such a Mary Sue, omg. Knock everyone’s socks off? Who says that? Ngl, probably me at some point.

God dammit MC I can’t be funny on command. I’m just a salty bitch. Oh fuck I brought the joke book no. This dumbass thinks a fucking joke book will woo the crowd who came for funny shit, not stupid, unoriginal stuff THAT SOMEBODY ELSE CAME UP WITH AND EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS. I hate my MC.

Ohh, roasting. My area.

I. Love. Zig.

The group is okay with it so we head onto the stage. Thank fuck she’s not gonna read out jokes from the book. I’d have deleted the app, s2g.

Yet implies we’ll be roasting ourselves. Well that’s no fun, having self-awareness. Breaks up her narrative without actually developing the character!

They say intelligent people have a hard time finding love. They say the same thing about assholes.

We’re gonna roast Zig because I’m sure there won’t be any ties to my failed relationship with James because that’d just be too hard.

Someone should pull MC off the stage because this is not funny at all. Ever noticed that when you try to do humor, you aren’t funny? But when you’re not, you can be hilarious?

Jfc so what you’re the Deborah of the group also what happens if you’ve named your MC Deborah? #NotAllDeborahs

I wear low-riding jeans, thank you very much.

Not funny, 0/10, thumbs down, DO. NOT. RECOMMEND.

Zack decides he’ll get on stage and I hope he’s actually funny. I don’t have high hopes. It’ll probably turn into a meltdown about Brandon and the single life.

FUCKING HELL THIS IS A CURSE NOT A GIFT

Sad music and talk about being single already. Fucking A, man. Hopefully it perks up.

No audience would say 'tell me about it’ about this shit, you cannot fucking play me Pixelberry.

I gotta lay off Louis C.K.

Zack has probably from the minute we met him been all about Brandon. What does he actually like? Idfk. Outside of Brandon, who is he? His entire story arc seems to revolve around crushing on Brandon, being in a relationship with him, struggling with long-distance with him, and then finally missing him post-breakup. I’m ready for a change, Zack.

Also, I came for comedy, not for Slam Poetry.

OH MY GOD THIS JUST TURNED INTO ONE OF THOSE OBVS FAKE TUMBLR POSTS WHERE EVERYONE CLAPS AT THE END

I hate this book.

Can it end? Please?

Do I want to go to Club Fuse? No, I want the chapter to end.

Is Teddy seriously trying to give us tips? Or wanting to collaborate? Or an experienced guy wanting to get some tips from two people who don’t know the field? Idk anymore, man. This has turned into some Full House type shit.

MC spots a red pantsuit and lmao Hillary Clinton, 2k16. Kaitlyn is calling us now. Honestly, despite previously not liking her all that much because of Book 3, I’ve cooled off a bit. She’s pretty cool for the most part. And I think this book would be ten times better with her in it full-time. We’ll see what happens when we get to her.

Again, wtf was the point? We got her approval on the outfit that I’m not going to buy, big fucking whoop. No new information was presented. No drama bombs. Absolutely nothing to forward the story in any way. This is all just filler content. This is just a bullshit story for money and not for the sake of telling a god damned story. I’m legit considering not reading this book any longer. But I need diamonds, so I’ll do it anyway. Doesn’t mean I’ll waste my time reviewing it.

We’re sticking to our old clothes.

I’m ready for this chapter to be over. I’m not even trying anymore. Ugh.

We get to the club and flirt with Teddy a bit, he bullshits with Zack. Asks for roasting tips. Hm. I am pretty fucking good at it.

He leaves. Another pointless conversation. MC says he’s into Zack? Good god shoot me. Teddy was screaming 'fuck me MC’ but nooo, we’re gonna turn it on Zack because why the fuck not, not like my MC is single, right?

I hate, hate, hate this book.

It’s great 'cause he’s fucking friendly, idk.

Also, MC, fuck off. He’s heartbroken still about Brandon so stop pushing him to someone else. He needs to fucking heal and he can’t do that by just “moving on” all of a sudden.

Zack says Teddy is into us. Fucking obviously. And of course this moron is gonna say he’s into both. I truly hate my MC. The boys come back with drinks. Fucking give me twenty, I wanna die.

And now we get the 'Zig is bi’ drop which would be fine if we weren’t talking about Teddy who is not fucking hot.

MC wants to go dance. Fall down and get trampled then, bitch. Ugh. I am so salty right now. Sorrynotsorry.

I am not wasting diamonds on Teddy. Let someone else grab him, idgaf. And great, throw Zig at some one-off character instead of me, someone who is single and also the main character.

Zack starts panicking because there are too many people and didn’t he happily go mosh last book? Whatever. I’m happy we’re out because the club wasn’t our scene.

We eat hot dogs for dinner and chill out. We start singing. Someone throw us a dollar or something. Or shoot us. I’m open to all kinds of things.

End chapter. I’ll consider reviewing the next one tomorrow, since I’m a week behind it but also very much hate this book right now.

[survivormarmoreal]

Episode #6: "My brain does not math at this hour. Stay tuned." - Sharky

I'm so sad. Everything worked out just like we thought it would but it's still not what I wanted. Charlie went home and he was actually a really good ally. I feel like I maybe could have done more to try and save him but then I would have lost other allies.

OKAY. LET'S. DISH. This swap also worked out really freakin well for me. My #1 Brian is still with me by my side. I was reunited with Dennis who is part of Four of a Kind, plus he is a challenge BEAST. Nick actually thinks I voted to save him which is not the case but made me looks like such a good ally to him, so I had to do 0 damage control. And I'm finally on a tribe with Matt who I've been wanting to work with. This is actually the best case scenario.

Welp. I knew something was happening but a swap wasnt it. Lucky i talked to Bryce earlier so he has my back. We also have Keaton and Marie but we have to see where their heads at. Nate is talking to me and right now i really like his vibe. Annebelle i havent had a chance to but wasnt able to make it so idk if they’ll be here. Hopefully we can win immunity tonight.

So we swapped. Again. AND I AM THE ONLY FUCKING OG MADIGAN ON MY TRIBE. THIS IS SOME BS. James the lil'bitch had to fucking quit over a fucking flash game so we could have MERGED but NO! I see how it is. At least I have Dennis and Brian (who i would literally DIE for) and nicole as well! Sharky is an FB ORG legend so im looking forward to getting to know him. Nick already seems dry asf so yay? Like I think I can blend in quickly with this tribe, but I am still nervous about what would happen if we merge. IDK if the FBers (its weird to me how im considered one now LOL) will team up or whether we will wither and die and I have to pull out my idol (yah i still have some sanity!) WOO TIME TO CRY AT ENDURANCE

ok well we swapped and im kind of loving it but not. like i love that maynor and nathan are here. but so is kirby! so! i miss dennis and brian seems like a legend so i wanted to play with him but oh well maybe merge if i survive! its awk this live challenge bc marie prob wont be doing it like even during the good times for her timezone KJHFADKSJDF. but! ugh dennis is gonna slay this so sad i have a good sleep schedule yikes. its fun that nicole is on the other tribe hopefully that evens it out for us having marie. annabelle hasnt spoken to me yet either so. hmmm.... maynor wants to work with me so thats GREAT love him wooh!!!

Okay we are actually working really well as a tribe on this challenge. No shade to my previous tribes but I haven't seen this much teamwork in a challenge yet this season. Feels good.

This swap was really good for me i think. And I had 2 swaps today and I was going crazy. I have now Bryce and Keaton both wanting to work with me which is good because now we atleast can make it a tie if the others dont want to work with us. I really like Nate so Im going to try and see where he’s heads at. Marie doesnt talk much and is offline. And starting to talk to Anna. I dont think we are going to win this immunity.

Matt is great. End of story.

3:51 am. Dennis, Matt, and I have really stayed up to pull this challenge together. And we are so close. This would give Brian and I a much needed break from tribal council and considering I can see myself working with all of these players I'd rather us win so I can have as many options as possible when we merge. I just need to stay up for another hour or so to get this done. Matt and Dennis have already stayed up all night to get it done. Also though in the back of my mind I'm clocking how Dennis works REALLY hard at these challenges...maybe too hard. And now I'm rambling...because it is now 3:54 am.

4:21 am. We think we have won. Unsure. My brain does not math at this hour. Stay tuned.

SO WE WON IMMUNITY WOOOO! Thank god, live tribals for some reason would make me really nervous so i am happy to be safe! hopefully the merge is soon as well, would love to get there and know i made jury (something which doesn't happen too me that often ngl) Sharky and I really hit it off last night, and i know this cause we established that Betty white is very dom but also caring about her subs. so thats a sentence you just read. If feel like even if I went to tribal, im likeable enough to make into into the majority alliance that could spring up, so I am happy with how I am playing tbh. Will it make me a threat further down the line? probs but i'll deal with that later

Can I just say that the laptop Discord is way better than mobile Discord. But catch me still using mobile discord all the time. Anyways.... It looks like the target might be Marie for tribal. TBH I really hope this tribal goes smoothly and everyone just votes for Marie. She was one and didn't help out in the challenge, as far as I could tell. Haven't seen the ones after I deadass fell asleep on my phone. Bryce and Keaton have my back so that's all that matter. Nate I have to keep an eye on because he threw my name with Marie because he didn't talk to me. (He was telling Keaton this.) I was like bruh why you lying. We literally talked for a couple of hrs after the swap before you went to bed. I'll update if there is any more spicyness. but It sucks though. Now only 2 people to have not gone to tribal is Dennis and Nicole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk_Ur9d_wY8&feature=youtu.be

only audio this time. Like switching it up hehe

everything is so quiet i think im going home which is super sad bc the game is pretty fun and i really wanted to work with maynor dennis and nathan somemore but oh well!!! am i a meninist? also i stan annabelle again she like kind of doesnt talk to me but when she does shes a legend league goddess. marie is so inactive that im going to vote her but i wish keaton left instead!

Hello! I am still safe and probably will remain so until merge, so.....this is fun! Lots of fun! Every time I try to contribute to a challenge I wake up and we've already won or finished it. I...is this the work ethic of Discord games? If so, I love being carried like this. Anyways, hoping that anyone who was cordial to me on my last tribe doesn't get the boot. I'm figuring Maria might go just because she has been so inactive (except that one time Keaton called her inact in the chat and she came on like AND WHAT ABOUT IT???). So anyways that's my thoughts on that. See ya at merge (?) or maybe we are gonna have another round before that.

Today is the day i go to my first tribal. Its kinda nerve wracking but also not because everyone seems to be unified to vote out Marie tonight. Its barely 11:22 am so anything can happy until 5 pm. Im just hoping nothing crazy is happening.

Okay so this day off has been really great for me. Especially since we are still expecting a merge. And we all know once merge hits the party don't stop. However, I'm really interested to see what happens with this vote. Maynor is all alone but I need him to make the merge. Aside from Brian he is my best ally. Not to mention Nathan and Annabelle want to work with me. If they go I won't be heartbroken but I could use the allies. Then there is Bryce and Marie. I have no relationship with them but in a merge situation I think Brian could pull them into something. So I guess best case scenario Keaton goes. But also as long as it's not Maynor I would have to readjust my strategy.

OK, so it's been a couple of days!  I said I'd do confessionals daily but it just doesn't work with how little is going on in the game on the winning tribe!  I know that Nicole approached Sharky for some alliance with her and Dennis, but I just... 2 people doesn't make the numbers on the tribe and Sharky will be more loyal to me as opposed to them!

I guess I didn't really talk much about the swap either because it did just happen.  Basically I got majority of my OG tribe (Nicole, Dennis, Sharky, and myself), but I also got Matt and Nick.  I ADORE Matt and so I plan on working with him in the long run of this game if possible, and I'd love to make Nick the first boot from this tribe hehe... he needs to go before he gets his hands on any more items.  He thinks Sharky was the vote against Charlie and not me, so maybe Sharky snapped, but I genuinely don't care at the moment because Nick wouldn't feed me any information like he would feed Sharky since I know Sharky's playing a good social game.  I like Nicole and Dennis but I just don't care about longterm plans with either of them.  Ideally, I'd love my endgame to be me, Sharky, Marie, Bryce, Matt, and Nathan so that I sit perfectly in the middle of people I want to work with, but I don't know if that's their ideal plans with me, soooo!! I love dis game, and I'm really glad I got this day break after my team carried my ass because I just needed some quiet time…

I like this tribe because we won the challenge.. nothing has really happened besides me talking to some people and making some stronger connections... we all see a merge being what comes next and i cant wait for it to happen.

Idk I think this tribal will go ok but people haven’t really been talking to me a whole lot on this swap so hopefully no ones lying to me and I’m getting fucked over tonight we’ll see I guess fingers crossed!!

We swapped and lost immunity and I have no idea what's happening once again. I'm gonna vote Keaton again because of his behavior and hopefully I'm not the one being voted out ugh

Marie is voted out 5-1.