#today on will i ever decide on an icon format

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era: the visual novel (a fan project)

On a whim, I've decided to finally just publicly release this project that I've had laying around for two years at this point, for Dazai's birthday today. It was originally made for my very dear friend @letmereachforthestars , when I first introduced her to the series and wanted her to be able to read my favorite BSD light novel in an easier-to-read format. You need a computer to be able to play. The details and links are under the cut:

If you've never played a visual novel before, it's basically a novel in the form of a video game. Text will appear line by line, one a time on the screen, and it will be accompanied by relevant background visuals, music, and sound effects, to make the reading experience more immersive, and more stimulating than just reading from a book. Some visual novels have actual gameplay elements to them, and some are just books and nothing else (oftentimes dating sims/choose-your-own-adventure novels), the latter of which this is. If you've played the mobile game Bungou Tales/Mayoi, the story sections of that game are basically mini visual novels.

This game was made with screenshots and music from the anime, sound effects from the anime and Bungou Tales and free sound effect online sources, as well as graphics and fonts and other assets from Bungou Tales and other official BSD art (particularly the official anime soundtrack cd covers). The script is taken entirely from the official Yen Press translation of Dark Era, with the exception of about two or three iconic lines that I used different translations of because I felt like they had more impact. Additionally, at the very, very end, I added on the original ending scene from the Dark Era stage play and wrote a few fanfic lines of my own to accompany it you can tell because they are very cringe and don't match Asagiri's writing style.

Before playing the game, there are a few very important things to keep in mind; PLEASE read all this:

I am not a professional in the slightest. I took some coding classes in high school, and have some photoshop skills (when it comes to the design elements of the menus), but for the most part the former wasn't much help here; this was my very first time ever using the Renpy engine, and I made this entirely from scratch. I used my knowledge of playing other visual novels to emulate the kinds of effects and timing that is typical for these games, and I think it turned out pretty well all things considered, but it's still very amateur. This is most evident in the sound effects. The sound effects have no volume consistency between them, and some of them, particularly the gun/battle sfx, can come on very suddenly and be loud. I highly, HIGHLY encourage going into the settings and turning down the sound effects volume (the music should be fine), so that you're not startled by certain sounds when they happen, and for a lengthy time. I wouldn't blame you if you decide to turn the sfx off entirely if's too distracting, honestly 🫠 I am no expert in sound files equalizing and making sound files loop seamlessly, so this was by far the most tedious and frustrating part of the process of making this for me. Hopefully it doesn't ruin the game or break immersion too much if you decide to leave them on (I hope you do, for the rain and clock sounds at least, but again I wouldn't blame you if you can't).

Dark Era is the most faithful light novel adaptation in the anime, but there are still a handful of scenes, mostly fight scenes, that got shaved down significantly. Because of this, there are numerous occasions where I had to simply linger on a black screen or the same screenshot for a long period of time, while tons and tons of narration happens, because there's simply nothing I can show to accompany said narration. This is not ideal, but unfortunately I didn't have much else of a choice in those instances, so I hope it's not too distracting. There are also a few instances of straight-up inconsistencies between the novel and the anime (ex. the fight between Oda and Akutagawa happens in the woods in the novel, but in the anime it's still right outside the art museum), so sometimes what you're reading won't quite match the screenshots I use. Fortunately it's never anything major, but it does happen.

There will sometimes be long, unchanging black screens. Don't worry, the game isn't broken; just wait long enough and it will continue.

Sometimes, a character will get cut off when speaking, and when that happens the dialogue will auto-force to the next line. If you didn't get a chance to see what was said before, check the text backlog/history (in the menu or the H key).

Last but not least, this game was made with the default text speed in mind. Meaning, that when it comes to certain specific scenes, the mood/tone of them, made up of the timing of music, transitions, sound effects, etc, all of it was arranged around the speed at which things progress when using the default text speed. I completely understand if you can't, but if at all possible, please try not to change the text to go too much faster or slower, especially faster, because certain scenes will lose a lot of impact otherwise. If you already know Dark Era, you probably have an idea of some of the scenes I'm referring to. At the very least, during the more high-stakes/intense scenes, please try to play through those all at once without stopping, for the greatest impact based on how I designed the game, and only pause/quit during the slower scenes. There are specific moments that I'm really proud of how they came out, and I'd like for them to have the maximum impact that I intended :') (also note that if you make the text appear instantly, the cut-off dialogue mentioned above simply will not appear at all, and you won't even know to look back for them, so please refrain from making the text instant at the very least)

Ignore the cringe sappy final message

...I think that's everything. With all that out of the way, here are the links for both PC and Mac:

Download the PC version

Download the Mac version

This was a passion project for me for a good many months back in 2022. It started out just as a gift for my friend, but in the end I was really satisfied with how it turned out, despite how tedious and frustrating it was to work on. I've been hesitant to share it with the fandom for all this time because I kinda doubt anyone would really be interested in something like this especially since it's not stormbringer or beast, but someone on discord who tried it told me that I should share it, so here it is. I'm sharing it not just because I'm proud of my work, but because Dark Era is a truly amazing light novel — underrated, in my opinion (yes, I said what I said) — and far better than the anime adaptation, as good as that is, and I want more people to read it. If reading the books is hard for you and you've never read Dark Era before, if I can help just one more person to read it with this, I'll be happy, and consider my job done. 💖

I so desperately want to make more of these visual novels for the other light novels, but sadly, some of them simply aren't possible thanks to how many scenes are missing from the anime, like with Entrance Exam in particular. I've also been waiting with vain, thin hope that Bungou Tales will eventually reach seasons 3 and 4, so I can use their Fifteen and Untold Origins title screens like I did here, if those ever exist. However, I'm also held back thinking about certain scenes that would require some redrawing/drawing additional details to match what's written in the novels. If anyone has any ideas on things I could do to possibly get around these issues, or just thoughts in general about how the other light novels might be tackled, or if you're an artist who can recreate the anime's style and takes commissions/knows someone who does, I'd absolutely love to hear from you! As well as any advice/help on how I can smooth out/improve this project here!

Anyway, sorry for the long wall of text. Thank you for reading all this, if you did, and if you do try the game, please let me know your thoughts; I crave any and all feedback. 💙✨

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Bowser Castle 2 Debut: Super Mario Kart

Oh no! We didn't have a post ready for today! Well let me improvise one for you really quick. Because I love you. Don't take it too personally, though, we're not here to start parasocial relationships with our followers! Sorry. I hope you understand.

This is Bowser Castle 2, from Super Mario Kart, but if I named it I'd call it Bowser Castle POO! Because it isn't very good.

Many people consider this one of the worst courses in Mario Kart history, and many people would be right! You see, iconic Bad Guy King Morton "Bowser" Koopa Sr. wanted to prove his Bad Guy status by creating a Bad Course, and boy howdy did he! He probably feels so smug about it. Jerk.

Look at that map. This course has a dead end on it. This might be the only course in Mario Kart history to do such a thing! It's possible you can use a Feather to turn that into a shortcut, but I've never pulled it off. But also I'm not very good at this game, nor am I interested in becoming good at this game, so it might just be a skill issue on my part.

But getting past the dead end offers you no reprieve, as afterwards you have to deal with this mess! It feels like they're trying to make some sort of double-loop formation, but all the 90 degree turns combined with the bridge connecting the loops being at the top ends up making it play very awkwardly. Or something like that. Listen I'm just writing this post in a stream of conscience, I dunno how to describe what's so bad about this beyond "it's bad."

luigi enters the torment labyrinth

As you can probably expect, having "being the worst Mario Kart course ever made" on its resume hasn't done good things for SNES Bowser Castle 2. The only game it's returned in is Super Circuit, which included literally every SNES course, which is to say it was not getting any sort of special treatment. Even Mario Kart Tour, a game which literally invented new SNES courses for the sake of getting more content out of existing assets, refused to bring Bowser Castle 2 into its arms.

Is there any hope in this world for an absolute dogwater course like this one? I dunno but that's not gonna stop me from coming up with hypothetical solutions. Yes this is the kind of thing I think about in my spare time! Don't judge me!

Really, for all I've been dunking on this course in this post, I don't think it'd actually take all that much to get this into a playable state. As you can see, I've re-envisioned the dead end as a shortcut (likely blocked off with a wooden cutout so you need to use a mushroom), and I've reimagined the Torment Labyrinth as a double roundabout configuration à la Wii Rainbow Road. After that I just smoothed out some turns, added a glider ramp at the end so you have something to do during the last straightaway, and envisioned some totally awesome elevation changes that can not be displayed from a bird's-eye view like this, and bam! I created a version of this course that could potentially maybe be enjoyable.

I mean I dunno. I don't have the means to play it.

I drew this earlier this morning and it's the entire reason I've decided to make this our spur-of-the-moment post. I hope you're proud of me. For what it's worth, at least SNES Bowser Castle 2 can theoretically be made into a somewhat enjoyable course. It's not like it's stuck with a name like "Figure-8 Circuit" or something.

[catopoliscat]

nail day / fem!reader/atsuya kusakabe.

you always had a way of catching atsuya off-guard in your relationship. you decide to take things to a whole new level with just your nails, and then atsuya's doing things he never thought he would be doing, in places he never thought he'd be doing them.

tags: nsfw. 18+. fem!reader. afab!reader. established relationship (you've been together a few months). ‘get your nails painted the colour of his tip’. canon!verse. atsuya gives me heavy boomer energy ngl. sexting. semi-public sex (kind of, solo masturbation). mentions of edging (reader). shades of dom!reader but feels more like more sexually-open!reader lmao. shades of insecure kuskabe. man has feelings but don’t tell him. toge, maki and panda cameo at the start because i love them. no use of y/n or any other placeholders. ever.

wc: 6.9k

a/n: a masterclass in how to stretch a 2k concept into nearly 7k for no reason ft. an overlooked side character, blegh

also tumblr keeps fucking up my formatting with the texts in this so,,, ignore that. i've tried to fix it twice.

mdni.

The ‘ding’, though faint, rings out through the quiet walls of the classroom, disturbing the languid, tranquil air. 

Atsuya purses his lips around his lollipop, eyes slowly opening. He’s reluctant to move his body from its semi-comfortable position—feet propped up on the edge of the worn desk in front of him, hands behind his head. It was a favourite of his during the warmer hours of the afternoon on a slower work day, like today. From his spot, the soft sun filters in through the windows just right, warming his body and making him just the right amount of relaxed. 

He doesn’t have to look at the clock above the dated chalkboard to know what time it was, his body told him that. Just another twenty minutes and then it was home-sweet-home. 

Swinging his eyes lazily across his cluttered desk, he spots his phone amidst the ungraded papers and documents. The screen is lit up, lighting up the cracks on the glass he is still yet to replace. He can make out the faint outline of a text message, from you no doubt, but once again, he’s reluctant to move to check it just yet. 

Astuya rolls his tongue around the sweet in his mouth once, then twice. The stick rolls from the left side of his mouth to the right. 

His eyes flick up to his students across from him, his gaze moving across each one. Panda’s head rests in his large fist (paw?), his beady black eyes slowly blinking, clearly still trying to stay awake although his teacher was almost napping mere moments ago. Toge was reclined in his chair, feet kicked out across the aisle, fiddling with his phone underneath the desk where he presumed Atsuya couldn’t see it (he could, and he could definitely recognise the sound of Candy Crush when he heard it). His eyes finally meet Maki’s where she sits, arms folded, spear resting against her desk like a faithful dog. 

She holds Atsuya’s gaze with a strength a sixteen-year-old shouldn’t have, something searching in her gaze. After a few moments of uncomfortable eye contact (at least on Atsuya’s behalf), she raises an eyebrow at him, the thin arch peeking above the rim of her glasses. 

The ‘ding’ rings out again. 

“Are you going to answer that?” she finally says. Panda jolts in his seat, straightening up, looking across the classroom as if expecting someone to come running in. Toge’s eyes do not move from his lap, ‘delicious!’ echoing through the classroom a second later. 

“Get back to work,” Atsuya grumbles, shooting Maki a withering look before reaching for his phone anyway, pulling it toward his eyes. 

pain in my ass sent you a photo. 

He squints, just about making out the small icon of the photo in the corner of the notification. It looks like your hand. 

Oh yeah, he thinks to himself, nail day. Even when you were away on a mission, you always seemed to make time for it. 

Atsuya flicks his gaze across his students again and sees three sets of eyes trained on him despite his earlier order. Seems like he was the most interesting thing in this classroom right now. 

Ignoring the expectant look of his students, he unlocks his phone with a swipe of his thumb. He pulls up the text thread with you, presses on the photo and low and behold, there’s your hand, nails adorned with a fresh new colour. A pretty kind of dark pink.

Atsuya exhales a gush of air through his nose, admiring the contour of your hand for a moment. You hadn’t sent a message with it, and for a moment he’s tempted just to leave a thumbs up on the picture and call it a day. After all, what the hell did he know about manicures? Your nails looked nice, he guessed, but you always looked nice, even without them.

But then he remembers the lecture you had given him about his ‘lacklustre’ responses once and he hesitates. Despite having a sister, he still didn’t get women. At all. And it showed sometimes. Sometimes.  

He clears his throat and glances across at his students. “Woman sends you a nail picture, what do you say? Go.” 

Maki raises an eyebrow at him again, her expression the definition of the question ‘really, idiot?’

Panda perks up a little though, scratching at his chin. “Something complimentary, maybe? How about… ’looks very nice?’” 

Atsuya nods, pursing his lips around the lollipop in his mouth for a moment. It sounded good to him, at least. 

Toge shakes his head, a small, negatory ‘fish flakes’ falling from his lips. Atsuya frowns at him for putting doubt in his mind—and for the fact that the speech-user didn’t give him any sort of clue as to what he should say instead.

“Is this really necessary?” Maki drawls at last, kicking one heel over the other, “She’s your girlfriend.” 

A beat of silence passes in the classroom. 

“Give me a good response and I’ll let you leave now.” 

Maki holds his stare for a moment longer, before pushing back her chair with a loud scrape. She walks over to Atsuya’s desk and holds out her hand, even that small movement is somehow aggressive. 

Atsuya hesitates for a second, glancing down at the girl's slightly calloused palm. His eyes flick to the message thread after, scrolling up a little, making sure there wasn’t anything… obscene, before handing her the phone. 

He watches as she types something, both thumbs moving faster than Atsuya could ever manage before he hears the little familiar ‘woosh’ of a message being sent. She hands him back the phone a moment later. 

She folds her arms across her chest again. “Well?”

Atsuya raises a finger, looking down at the message. 

Gorgeous as always. I love that colour on you. 

He keeps his finger raised as he stares down at the message, watching as the small ‘read 2:37 pm’ pops up underneath his forged text. 

A little heart pops up a second later, and Atusya clicks his fingers before jabbing his thumb in the direction of the classroom door. His students waste little time in grabbing their things and filing out of the classroom, the door shutting a moment later. 

Wow, who knew you could be so adorable, Cutiekabe? 

Atsuya smiles, a touch smugly, to himself. He briefly contemplates how weird it would be if he got his students to write more of his texts to you. They clearly understood something he didn’t. 

what can I say? I try

He slumps back in his seat a little more, pleased with himself. His pride quickly melts away, however, when you reply again. 

So, who was it? Maki or Toge? 

Atsuya mutters a small ‘shit’ around his lollipop, before pulling it from between his lips with a pop. He should have known better. You had always been freakishly… aware of things. 

… what gave it away? 

The correct grammar. idiot 

Dumping his phone in his lap with a sigh, Atsuya scratches the back of his neck, wondering how he can try and salvage the situation. He knew you weren’t mad-mad, but still. It wasn’t exactly a good look for him—and he knew he wouldn’t hear the end of this for a good long while. A grown man having a sixteen-year-old write his message because he was useless with genuine affection and emotion? Embarrassing. 

The phone dings again, and he picks it back up, shoving his lollipop back into his mouth. 

Do you like them though? The colour’s special. Really special.

Raising an eyebrow, he scrolls up back to the hand photo to see what he just missed. Was pink your favourite colour? He couldn’t remember. He didn’t think so… but now he was doubting again. He had already messed up once, and now he was on a fast track to digging himself a deeper grave. 

i like them  a lot its a real nice pink

Atsuya cringes at his choice of words and wishes he could unsend the message, but he knows you’ve already seen it. 

You should. You look at the same shade every day, you know. 

…?

“…the fuck did I miss?” he mutters to himself, frowning down at the screen. 

It’s the colour of your tip, Kusakabe. 

He raises an eyebrow at his phone as his thumbs tap out another reply. 

the tip of my what? 

It takes Atsuya three heartbeats before he realises what you’re saying.

He almost drops his phone in his haste to scroll back up to the photo, his feet sliding off the desk as he leans forward in his seat. That pinkish shade on the tips of your nails glares back at him, and his eyes grow wider and wider by the second. Only now you’ve pointed it out, the shade is really fucking familiar, and it’s all he can see now. 

His lips part, the lollipop falling from his mouth and onto the floor. 

The tip of his dick. You got your nails painted the same colour as his fucking dick. 

ur kiddingreally? why

There’s a pause before he sends another stream of messages. 

is this some trend thing?  or a prank? seems fucking weird u couldn’t have done my eyes or something?  anything that wasn’t to do with my actual dick???

It’s as if he can hear the echo of your laughter in the room with him right now, even though he knows you’re a few hundred miles away. In his mind's eye, he can make out the crease of your eyes and cheeks as you take in his borderline shocked and repulsed expression. 

Atsuya knew you were younger than him, though only a little—but sometimes it felt as if you two were worlds apart when it came to things like this. He didn’t know how you kept up with it all. Especially if the main trends of today were getting your nails painted dick-colours. 

What, you don’t like it, baby? It’s like I have you with me wherever I go, now. Or your dick, anyway.  

He rolls his eyes, your teasing tone heard loud and clear. He briefly contemplates letting the message hang, let you bask in your own foolishness while he heads back to the apartment—though he had been spending more time at the school lately. Home felt a little weird without you there, as much as he loathed to think about it. 

Another ding. 

It’s gonna be so much more fun touching myself later. 

And just like that, Atsuya feels his whole world grind to a halt with just a few words. In a flash of smoke, all thoughts of his dick shade (was it really that pink though?) disappear out of the window, replaced instead with an image that comes as clearly to him as his own reflection. 

You, sprawled out on some dusted futon in a rundown hotel, naked and flushed—thighs parted, pussy glistening and wet, ready for him; clit swollen underneath those pretty pink fingertips and—

Atsuya’s head whips over his shoulder left and right, clutching his phone a little tighter to himself, despite the classroom being blissfully empty. Still, he’s cautious—as he should be while at work. In a fucking school no less. 

goddamn womanare u trying to kill me? im still at work

Atsuya’s hand drifts down, adjusting himself as discreetly as he can manage. He’s not fully hard, but his cock is definitely sitting a little heavier in his slacks just from the mere thought of your words alone. You always had that affect on him. 

Well, that, and two weeks (15 days to be exact) without you was starting to drive him insane. His hand could only do so much—even with your panties wrapped around them. 

Atsuya curses, trying (and failing) not to think about that as he feels himself swell a little fuller. Luckily, another ding registers before he can dwell on what he’s more than likely going to do as soon as he gets home. 

Why? I bet you sent the kids out ages ago. 

He purses his lips. There was that freaky-woman-sixth-sense you seemed to have. That, or he was just that predictable. 

still!!!u know what u do to me…u really gonna do that tho?

Atsuya pauses, his thumbs stilling a moment, before he continues on. 

send pics if u do 

He hesitates again, his face pulling into some sort of grimace. 

i really fucking miss you

Cringing a little, he locks his phone before you can reply, shoving it into his pocket and standing from his desk. He couldn’t deal with anything else right now, not while he was at work. Not with Satoru hanging around too. 

The last thing he wanted in the world was for that white-haired fool to see him walking around with a goddamn boner. 

Packing up his things in an even more harried and rushed way than usual, papers half-spilling out of his briefcase, he throws on his coat before heading out the door. All he had to do was pick up a few things from the store for dinner and then he was home free and he could… indulge.

Although the idea of another night fucking up into his fist imagining it was your hand around him wasn’t ideal, it would do for now. Maybe you really would send a few pictures to help him along. Hell, at this point he’d use that damn hand picture. 

Continuing down the hallway, his mind a million miles away, he tells himself he won’t check his phone until he gets back home just in case you do. It was safer that way. You were… unpredictable sometimes. Especially when it came to sex.  

“Not until I get back home,” he mutters under his breath as he strides down the hallway. 

He tells himself that, anyway. 

What Atsuya Kusakabe tells himself and what he actually does are sometimes two separate things. 

Standing in a small supermarket an hour later, looking at the different packages of instant ramen (God, you’d moan at him if you knew he was eating ready meals instead of something sustainable, but what you didn’t know wouldn’t hurt you), he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. 

His eyes move from the rows of brightly-coloured plastic packaging down to the square lump in his slacks. He chews on his bottom lip indecisively for a moment, telling himself it was probably just you goading him for actually admitting he liked having you close—and not the pictures he had already spent an entire train journey fantasising about. 

Atsuya swallows, ignoring the vibration as he pulls a random ramen packet from the shelf and dumps it in the basket on his arm. 

He’s standing in the beer and wine aisle when his phone vibrates again, reminding him about the notification. His eye twitches, but once again, he ignores it—dumping a four-pack of cheap beer into his basket alongside his cheap meal. 

Again, his phone vibrates in the fresh-food aisle (he doesn’t pick anything up, just passing through on the way to the candy), and again, he ignores it. 

Three more times it chimes, in quick succession, as he picks up a lollipop. His fingers twitch around the stick as he stares at the packaging—strawberry and sakura-flavoured! 

Flushed pink colour, stick included. 

Atsuya swallows, throwing the lollipop back on the pile quickly and instead grabs a watermelon-flavoured one. Bright green. 

His phone vibrates once more on his way to the checkout, and Atsuya’s resolve breaks like a taut wire. Impatience finally wins out. 

As he digs his hand into his pocket, fishing out his phone, he tells himself it’s because he cares. After all, you rarely texted him this much. What if you had run into trouble? Maybe you were asking for help? Burying the voice that tells him that if that were the case, then you’d at least call him—he swipes open his phone— 

—and then he nearly drops the damn thing on the floor. 

Phone opening straight back up on the message thread, he’s greeted by several photos of you—fully naked, spread out across sheets, just like in his earlier fantasy… but fucking better because this was real. Right in front of him. So close, yet so far. 

Atsuya slams the screen against his chest so fucking quickly it makes a loud thump, and an older woman further down the aisle sends him a strange look. He offers a strained smile in return as he turns his back to her, his heartbeat thumping against his ribs. 

Close the damn thread, Kusakabe, he tells himself, wait until you get back home. 

What he tells himself and what he does, however… 

Atsuya walks quickly, quicker than he ever did at work, until he disappears down an emptier aisle, heat prickling at the back of his neck. His footsteps draw to a stop right next to some laundry detergent, and with a quick look left and right, he peels his phone from his chest like a bloodied bandage, slowly, as if scared of the damage underneath. 

He takes another peek at the images, and sure enough, there you still are. It might not have been some rundown motel or futon (thank fuck), but the white sheets underneath make the familiar flush of your skin practically glow. The first few images are of your face and chest, smiling up at the camera above you all sweet and saccharine like you have no idea what the fuck that look does to him. His eyes trail over your face, your lashes and the curve of your lips, before slowly dragging downward, down your neck and across your collarbone, until his eyes lock onto your breasts. 

You’ve got one hand squeezing one of the mounds, freshly done fingernails digging into the plump flesh just enough to leave indents. The pink of your nails shines in the low light, and his mind snaps to the thought of his cock between your tits, sliding between the valley slick with spit and pre-cum as you looked up at him from underneath your lashes. It was something he hadn’t done yet but fuck if he hadn’t thought about it. Dreamt about it sometimes too.

“…oh fuck,” Atsuya mutters under his breath, glancing around him once more to make sure he was still alone. He was, but this was dangerous—he knew it. He became distinctly aware of the potential of cameras around, scoping out for thieves and delinquents. All it would take was one dedicated employee who was paying attention to see a grown man lusting at pictures of a naked woman on his phone in the middle of a fucking store. 

Was it… wrong that Atsuya kind of liked that idea? Not the thought of anyone else seeing you like this, fuck no, but… the thought of someone seeing that this was the person he got to go home to every day. The woman he called his own. The woman he got to see like this in the flesh. The woman he got to touch, feel, fuck. He’s always been proud to show you off in his own way, but this was a whole new level. 

Atsuya’s really glad he adjusted himself earlier, but fuck if the growing thickness in his slacks wasn’t uncomfortable. And embarrassing. 

Glancing down at the photos again, he releases a shuddering breath. The POV of the pictures taken above makes Atsuya feel like he’s there, right above you, hips between your thighs like he fucking should be—not about to pay up on some groceries and go home alone to an empty apartment that still smelled like you. 

Another picture comes through, this time of between your thighs, and Atsuya has to suck in his bottom lip to stop from groaning aloud. 

Those pretty folds of yours, already glistening with arousal; underwear hanging off the soft thigh of one leg… the sight is fucking sinful. Your middle finger is already buried deep inside you all the way to the knuckle, the rest of your fingers splayed out around. 

That fucking shade of pink is staring at him once again, reminding him of your choice, your reasoning, and Atsuya finally gets the prank, the trend, whatever it is. He fucking gets it now. 

As his grip on his phone tightens, threatening to bend the already damaged plastic underneath his fingers, another message comes through. 

I miss you too, ‘kabe. See how much? Two fingers deep and all I can think about is your cock instead. 

Atsuya’s mind spins, clouded with lust and thoughts of you and you only. He feels like he might sway on his feet as the full force of his need and longing seems to hit him square in the chest, sending him dizzy. 

Oh, how he missed you. He missed you so fucking much. 

He leans up against the shelves, some of the boxes of powdered detergent rustling underneath him, but he pays it little attention. His eyes are locked on those photos, and the reminder that you missed him just as fucking much as he missed you. 

Are you hard for me too? 

Atsuya’s quick to adjust the basket hanging off of his arm as he brings both hands up to his phone. 

u have no fucking ideaur so goddamn sexy you know that??i’m hard as a goddamn rock right now

Show me. 

Atsuya’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead in surprise. He glances over his shoulders once more and sees a young couple walk past the aisle and onto the next one, giggling about something. 

i canti’m in a storenot in the mood for getting arrested for public indecency

Oh? Opening my nudes out in public? Dirty old man. 

Atsuya can’t bring himself to disagree with you, although the use of ‘old’ does sting a little. 

Do they have toilets? Go there. I want to see you. 

Oh, now you were playing with fire. Opening your messages in public full-well expecting what was in them was reckless enough, but if this was heading where Atsuya thought it was—and it probably was if his resolve was all that was holding him back—then this was downright idiotic. Dumb. Stupid. Gojo-coded. 

And yet the sound of his shoes against the tiles rings out across the store anyway as he marches toward the public bathrooms, the half-filled basket abandoned on the floor.  

He swings open the door of the male bathrooms a touch more forcefully than necessary, quickly scoping out the space. It’s clean, thankfully, although the scent of bleach and other cleaning chemicals hangs heavy in the air. Hardly the sexiest place, but it’s empty—though that’s always in danger of changing. 

Striding past the sinks and urinals, he heads toward one of the stalls, pushing open the door and stepping inside before shutting it once more—and locking it too. He rests his back against the door with a sigh as he swipes open the camera app on his phone. 

The fluorescent lighting isn’t the best, but it’s all he has to work with as he takes a slightly shaky picture of the swell in his dark trousers. His cock sits thick and proud against his zipper, the outline of it abundantly clear. 

He sends it to you without a message and without a second thought, staring down at the screen intently as he sees those familiar three dots immediately pop up. 

Fuck, you really are hard. Just for me? 

Atsuya scoffs out loud, though the sound is weaker than usual. 

who else???u think I’d send pics like this to anyone else? in a public bathroom??u drive me goddamn crazy

So cute.Take it out. I want to see it properly. 

Atsuya freezes for a moment. Although getting your dick out in a public bathroom wasn’t exactly new, this was… different. For him, anyway. Sexting, sending nudes, let alone in a public place… he wasn’t exactly well-versed in this type of thing. It had always seemed a little young for him. None of his previous partners had done anything like this. 

But he had no idea whether this was a regular thing with your past partners though… 

…and the thought of that alone has his one hand fiddling with this button on his slacks, trying to tug it free of the hole. He just about manages, though his zipper requires a little more finesse, but eventually, that gives too.

He heaves a small sigh of relief as the constriction on his aching cock finally lessens, and inching his trousers and boxers down just enough, he lets it spring free. He shivers slightly as the cool, stagnant air of the bathroom hits his overheated skin, the flushed head (pink, pink, pink) shining up at him. 

With a slightly shaking hand, he wraps his free hand around the base of his cock, twitching at the minute stimulation. He snaps another picture and sends it once more.

see what you do to me? god I wish u were herethe things I’d do to you right noweven in this fucking bathroom

Your reply is almost instantaneous. 

Touch yourself and tell me. 

His eyebrows shoot up his forehead. He wonders if that would be too far for him right now considering his environment. He wonders how the hell he’s even meant to type one-handed. He can barely do it with two. 

A second later, you’re answering his questions for him as he sees his phone light up in his hand, displaying your caller ID. A picture of you and him on one of your first dates stares back at him, the pair of you smiling together in a dimly lit booth, his arm around your waist, your head on his shoulder. You look so happy to be there. Atsuya still looks faintly surprised you turned up. 

It’s one of Atsuya’s favourite photos. His students had teased him for it when he had set it as his lock screen, so he had changed it back to default and set it as your caller ID instead. It’s how they had found out you and him were even a thing. He still remembers feeling smug at his student’s surprised faces… before the questions had started. You and her?! Is she okay in the head or…? 

Atsuya stares down at the vibrating phone in his hand, looking at your soft smile staring back at him. It’s a romantic picture. Doesn’t quite fit the vibe of what he’s about to partake in at all. 

He answers the call, holding it up to his ear. He’s immediately greeted by your breathy purr, dispelling all doubts or hesitancy like wind on sand. 

“Hey, baby,” he hears you say down the line. “You have no idea how fucking wet I am for you right now.” 

Atsuya groans, his head hitting the cool door behind him with a dull thunk. 

“Fuck, don’t say it like that,” he groans, before wedging his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Why not? It’s the truth.” 

Atsuya doesn’t doubt your words, because he can fucking hear it. Behind muted moans and breathy sighs, he can hear the sound of your fingers plunging in and out of your heat, the wet squelch so audible it’s lewd. His cock twitches at the sound, and he scrunches his eyes closed.

In his mind's eye, he can almost see himself with you, between your legs, thrusting into you like his life depended on it. Though your fingers are slower than what he’d do if he was there right now, he lines his imagination up with the audio queue you’ve given, and another guttural groan seeps past his bitten lip. 

“Come on, baby, talk to me,” he distantly hears you purr into the receiver. “Are you stroking your cock for me? Just like I would?” 

Atsuya spits a curse as his free hand curls around his shaft on instinct, giving the base a small squeeze before he drags his hand up to the flushed tip. He repeats the motion a few times, practically milking himself, trying to mimic those irritating fucking teasing motions you always worked him up with. 

Not as if he needs much working up though, not now. 

“Yeah,” he exhales shakily. “Fuck, ‘s pretty fucking s-sensitive right now.” 

He hears a breathy chuckle in response to his words. “Aw, too worked up?” 

“Pent-up, more like,” he replies, fighting back another groan as he feels himself leak. He quickly collects it with his fingers, smearing it down his shaft and lubricating the way. 

“Been saving yourself for me, ‘suya?” 

Atsuya huffs a breath that’s almost like a chuckle. “N-Nah, not really, ngh—“ His hips buck up into his palm as he grazes over the sensitive tip. “Just ‘s not the same without you.” 

You coo down the line in response but the sound abruptly cuts off, replaced by a breathy moan instead. Fuck, those were amongst his favourite sounds of yours—almost as much as when you’d moan his— 

“Fuck, Atsuya,” you moan, and his cock practically jumps in his fist. He hears the sound of your fingers working faster, and his eyes roll back underneath his closed lids. 

He widens his stance and leans back further against the door, his hips jutting outward as he quickens his pace to match yours. He can feel his loosened slacks dropping lower on his thighs with every buck of his hips, his untucked shirt ghosting across his lower abdomen. His mind is trying to scream at him that this isn’t the place to be letting go like this, but it’s been so long without you, without hearing you, without touching you that he feels like God himself could break down the bathroom door and he wouldn’t care. Not while you were moaning his name like that. 

“God I miss you so fucking much,” Atsuya groans, his voice thick and choked. He works his fist a little faster over his cock, focusing on the tip mostly—just like you would when you really wanted him to make some noise. “Are you close? God, tell me you’re fucking close.” 

The urge to say ‘please’ is on the tip of his tongue but he just about resists for now—but his pride was quickly melting down into pure, unadulterated desperation as he felt his balls draw tighter and his stomach clench harder. He thinks this might be the quickest he’s ever cum. 

“Mm, I’m so close,” you reply in a semi-strained whisper. “I’ve been close for days.” 

Atsuya’s hand stutters on his cock, his eyes slowly blinking open. “…days?” 

There’s a pause before you answer, and he can already picture the way your brow arches pointedly. “You should know me better by now, ‘suya,” you chuckle. “I don’t mind edging myself now and then, especially when I’m away from you. It’ll just make it all the more better when I finally do see you.” 

Atsuya’s breathing is still ragged as he stares at the far wall of the toilet stall, his brows pinched in slight confusion. He realises that those wet noises on the other end have stopped too.

“You haven’t… cum since you left?” 

“Of course not,” you chuckle. “You think I want to cum around anything other than your cock?” 

Goddamn, does Atsuya’s cock throb something fierce at that. His breath hitches in his throat, his eyes widening at the wall. He immediately stops moving his hand, pinching his fingers around the base instead in the hopes of stopping the climax that just snuck up on him like a tornado in the dark. 

Your words, fucking hot as they were, put Atsuya in a little predicament though. Whilst he liked (actually loved) the idea that you were waiting just for him… did you… expect the same of him? Was this just all a little fun? Because he was hard as a rock right now, throbbing in his own palm, and all he could think about was how close he was and how this climax was probably going to knock the breath from him. Not the little ports-in-the-storms he’d been having since you had left fifteen days ago.

“Did you stop?” 

Atsuya blinks, feeling strangely awkward like some teenage boy on his first date all over again—exactly how he had felt on his first date with you, seeing you all dressed up for the first time, just for him. 

He becomes distinctly aware of how loud his breathing is, how it carries against the cold tiles around him. “Yeah… I mean, did you want…” 

“Don’t stop,” you say, saving him the agony of asking. “Just because I like edging myself doesn’t mean I expect the same of you.” He hears the rustling of sheets on the other side as you change positions. “Keep going, baby, let me hear how much you want me—and I’ll return the favour and then some when I get back.” 

Words fail him for a moment, because all he can think about is how much he wants to kiss you right now, to cover your body, head to toe, in kisses that he hopes portray his gratitude for you better than his words ever could. For once, he wants to leave his cock neglected and bury his face in your cunt until you’re screaming out, clawing at his scalp as he shows you just how much he fucking loves y-

Slowly, his hand starts moving again; slow, languid pumps from base to tip. His eyelids flutter, a half-choked moan pushing out from the bottom of the chest.

“I don’t deserve you,” he mumbles, his words thick and laced with something not even he knows. “You’re so fucking sexy, everything I want.” 

“Mm, you’re always so sweet when you get worked up,” you purr into the phone, the words so breathy that Atsuya swears he can feel the heat against his ear. “Keep going. What would you do if I were there, right in front of you? Would I be on my knees?” 

Atsuya’s eyes roll as his lids shut, his chin jutting up toward the ceiling as he picks up the pace on his cock. He can picture it so fucking clearly that the stagnant air of the bathroom fades away. The image of you on your knees, looking up at him from underneath those lashes of yours… you’d swipe your tongue over your bottom lip just to tease him, and it’d work every damn time. 

He nods his head in eager, stuttered movements, as if you could actually see him. “On your knees, on your back—ngh!—I don’t fucking care,” he groans. 

Through his haze of lust, he knows what you’re trying to do, what you always tried to get him to do. Dirty-talk. It wasn’t his forte, you usually took the lead with that (he much preferred actually fucking you rather than talking about it… that and his imagination wasn’t exactly the best), but you seemed to lap up whatever pathetic attempt he usually tried to give you. 

Swallowing thickly, he clears his throat once. “Y-you’d be naked, just for me,” he mutters, his eyes fluttering open again as he gains a little confidence. “You’d use your mouth just how I like, y-yeah?” His grip around his shaft tightens, his pace quickening a touch more. His breathing grows ragged, harsh puffs slipping past his bitten lips. “F-fuck, you always look so goddamn sexy when you look up at me with my cock in your mouth.” 

A resonant hum greets him in response. “Oh, yeah? What else do you like?”  

“The way your tits bounce as I fuck you, s-shit.” Something scarily close to a whimper coils at the back of Atsuya’s throat as he feels himself nearing that precipice again. His thighs tense up and tremble, most of his weight supported by the stall door behind him now. “W-When you, mmf, dig your nails into my b-back like you’re trying to fucking kill me—oh fuck—“ 

Atsuya’s hand is working almost fervently now, the slick sounds mingling with his harsh breaths and low voice. He’s loud, far too fucking loud for a public bathroom, but he’s so close, so worked up that it barely becomes a concern anymore. If he focuses, he can smell your perfume instead of cleaning chemicals, feel the heat of your body against his instead of the cool door against his back—feel the heat of your pussy hugging his cock so tightly it’s like you’re begging him to fill you up with every stroke— 

“I’m close,” he rushes out, his tone almost panicked as he feels the intense prickles working up the base of his spine. His skin feels like it’s burning, the hairs on the back of his neck standing to attention like there’s a storm coming. He knows this climax is going to be intense—intense in a way that only you can ever work from him, even if you weren’t actually here. 

“Waiting for my permission?” you giggle, and Atsuya wants to snap at you but he can’t, not right now because… well, he is. He just wants to hear you say it, that you want it. That you want him. 

“F-fuck, don’t joke right now I c-can’t hold i—“ 

“Cum for me, Atsuya.” 

And just like that, Atsuya lurches over the edge so fierce it sucks all the air from his lungs. 

A sharp gasp catches in his throat as his cock pulses in his hand, ropes of his essence shooting from the tip so suddenly it makes his back arch. A loud, guttural groan bursts from his lips, his hips stuttering, expression pinched into something almost pained as he cums harder than he can ever remember before. Thick, pearlescent ribbons land across his fingers, shirt and tie, some even hitting his collar too. Pitchy curses leave his lips in a symphony, his vision swimming. 

Distantly, over the pounding in his skull and the blood rushing in his ears, he can hear you coo praises down the line as he continues draining himself of every drop he has, stiff grunts accompanying each stroke. His hand only stops when the sensation becomes far too much to bear, and he lets his hand fall from his cock back to his side with a ragged sigh.

His body slumps against the stall door, his eyes hooded as he tries to catch his breath. He can’t even bring himself to look down at the state he’s in, not right now—not while his head was swimming with endorphins and he finally felt sated for once. 

Fuck that warm, sunny spot at his desk. That had nothing on this. 

“Fuck, I wish I was there to see that,” you finally say after a moment of silence. “Feel good?” 

“…you have no idea, babe,” he murmurs, a small, lazy smile tugging at the side of his lips. “God I needed that.” 

You chuckle again. “Sounds like it, babe. I’m surprised the whole store didn’t come running to see what that groan was.” 

Atsuya can’t help but chuckle in response, though his smile is a touch embarrassed. He makes a mental note that he should probably avoid this store in future. It was going to be awkward enough leaving. 

And he still had to get something for dinner. He’d probably order takeout. 

Fuck it, it was worth it. 

Going to raise a hand to his clammy brow, he swiftly pauses, the sight of his soaked fingers making him curse. His eyes finally flick from his hand to his stained shirt after, the mess causing him to grimace, almost repulsed. “Fuck, it’s everywhere,” he grumbles, wedging his phone in the crook between his ear and shoulder as goes to grab some tissues. 

This, of course, makes you practically howl with laughter into the receiver—but Atsuya can’t bring himself to be pissy. Not when he hears you like this, not after you just talked him through an orgasm so explosive his legs are still trembling. 

Not while you were… well, you. 

As Atsuya does his best to wipe himself down and pull his trousers back up, your laughter eventually dies down. “Now I really wish I had been there to see that… just a pity it wasn’t inside me.” 

Atsuya pauses as he curses under his breath, his oversensitive cock twitching in his repsonse. “You and your goddamn mouth,” he mutters, dumping the soiled tissues in the toilet and flushing. “You’re the whole reason I’m in this toilet, you know.”

“Hey, you chose to open those photos in public, perv.”

He doesn’t argue with that. Though he would never admit it aloud, lest he give you the pleasure, he was weak for you. More than even he was aware of–and time away from you was only proving that.

“When are you coming back?” 

“Tomorrow morning,” you reply easily, making Atsuya wonder just how the hell you were so relaxed after supposedly edging yourself for days. “The cursed spirit was dead before twelve today. Got my nails done afterwards as a little treat.” 

Atsuya shakes his head with a snort as he steps out of the stall finally, making his way over to the sink as he continues to try and fix the damage he caused. He places his phone gently on the counter. “You’re strange, you know that?” 

You hum in agreement, and he can already envision the way your lips pull to the side in that little smile he loves so much. “You love it.” 

Atsuya washes his hand in the sink, glancing up to catch his reflection in the mirror. His face is still a little flushed, his clothes still dishevelled—he’ll definitely have to throw out his tie probably—but he realises he looks… 

…happy. 

“Yeah,” Atsuya mumbles, shaking his hands in the sink. “Yeah, I do.” 

masterlist.

[the-sleepy-archivist]

Backing Up Fanfictions with Calibre + FanFicFare (with screenshots!)

If you've been reading fanfiction for any significant length of time, you've probably had the horrifying realization that a fic or series that you absolutely loved was deleted. Maybe the author was harassed or stalked, maybe they didn't want an abandoned WIP lying around, or maybe they just didn't like the fandom any more. Whatever the reason, it is so important to back up your favorite fanfictions.

Calibre is one of the most popular ebook management softwares available, primarily because:

It is full-featured and fairly easy to use

It has a large plugin ecosystem (like Firefox's addons)

It's available for most operating systems

It's completely free

By "ebook management", I mean it can do things like indexing and searching a library of your books, downloading covers and metadata for them, etc. I originally got Calibre for backing up ebooks I had purchased from various online stores in case they ever shut down (like Microsoft Books) or decided they wanted to take a book back (like Amazon has done), and so I could read in whatever app I wanted.

BUT, remember that plugin ecosystem I mentioned? JimmXinu took advantage of that to create FanFicFare, a plugin that allows Calibre to download stories from over 100 creative writing sites (primarily fanfiction archives, but also erotic writing sites among others).

Just paste in the URL to an AO3 fic, for example, and it will:

Download the fic in your preferred format (EPUB, MOBI, TXT, HTML, others)

Fill in all the metadata for you (story name, author + AO3 pseuds, the fic's order in a series, if the fic is complete or not, word count, all tags, etc.)

Generate an ebook cover from scratch OR using art that was embedded in the fic

From here you can just click on a tag to find all other fics in your library with the same tag; you can also click into the author or the series. It's almost like having a mini-AO3 on your computer, one that is always available and where fics never get deleted.

Installing Calibre

Download Calibre from here, choosing the appropriate copy for your operating system

Run the Calibre installer and click through the wizard. For most people the default options work well.

Open Calibre; the Welcome Wizard should appear and walk you through initial setup

Choose your language, and the place on your computer where you want Calibre to store the fics/ebooks that it downloads, then click Next.

Select the device you use most often to read fanfiction on. This helps Calibre decide what format ebooks should be stored in (but you can override it with FanFicFare later)

You should now have Calibre open with an empty library. NOW we want to install several plugins to teach it how to handle fanfics.

Installing Calibre Plugins

First up is Count Pages. This plugin counts the words and pages in a fanfiction and shows it in Calibre so you know whether the fic you're looking at is a oneshot or a behemoth.

Look for an icon like the one below and click it to open Calibre preferences.

2. Under the "Advanced" section, click "Plugins"

3. At the bottom of the Plugins dialog, click "Get New Plugins"

4. Type "Count Pages" into the "Filter by name" search box at the top right. Once the plugin is visible in the list, click it, then click "Install". It will bring up a prompt about the security risks, but we are only installing well-known plugins today (ex. ZimmXinu has been developing FanFicFare for over a decade). Click Yes to install the plugin.

5. It will then prompt you to restart Calibre in order to begin using the plugin, but just click "Ok" because we're going to install a couple more plugins first.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for three more plugins: "Generate Covers", "EpubMerge", and "FanFicFare"; once all 4 plugins are installed, close Calibre completely and open it again. You should now have several new buttons on your Calibre menu bar:

FanFicFare is now installed! But we still have a little bit of work to do to unlock its full capabilities.

Configuring FanFicFare for Your Fanfic Site of Choice

So FanFicFare is now installed, but right now if you tell it to look at a fic on AO3, it will be browsing AO3 as a new, anonymous user without an account. This means that:

It won't be able to see explicit fics because it hasn't accepted the "See adult works" prompt

It won't be able to see locked fics (ones you can only read if you are logged in to AO3; these are very common nowadays as authors try to prevent AI engines from scraping their fics and flooding them with spam comments).

So we need to configure FanFicFare to accept the adult prompt (if you'd like to download anything rated higher than T), and we also need to give it our AO3 username and password so it can download locked fics on our behalf.

Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the FanFicFare button in the Calibre toolbar. A dropdown menu will appear. Click "Configure FanFicFare"

2. At the top of the "Basic" tab, select your prefered download format (if you prefer a format not listed, like PDF, don't worry, Calibre can convert it for you later).

3. Click the "Personal" tab in the FanFicFare settings dialog, then click "Edit personal.ini"

4. It will open a very basic text editor where you can type your personal fanfic site details for FanFicFare to use. If the box is small and text is cut off or hard to read, resize the editor window by hovering over the edge of the window until your cursor changes into an arrow with two heads, then click and drag to expand the window.

5. Type "is_adult" (without the quotes) into the Find bar, then click Find. The first result should be this a line that looks like "# is _adult:true". Delete the "#" and the space after it to uncomment the line; the text color of that line should change from yellow to green and light purple.

6. Type "archiveofourown" (without quotes) into the Find bar, then click Find until you see a section that looks like the one below (it should be the first or second result):

7. Type your AO3 login details after the "username" and "password" text. Do not put any spaces between the colons and your username or password. Note that your password is stored in plaintext in this file, so don't let anyone else get a hold of it.

8. Skip this step if the only site you're interested in downloading from is AO3. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each fanfiction or erotic writing website you use. There are only a few sites in personal.ini out of the box, so you may have to copy a specific site's configuration section from defaults.ini, which has example sections for all 100+ supported sites.

9. Click "OK" to close the personal.ini text editor, then click "OK" again to close the Customize FanFicFare box.

Whew! Lots of clicking but you're done now! Time to download some fanfic.

Downloading or Updating Fanfic(s)

Copy the URL of the fic (I'm using one from AO3 for this example).

Click the FanFicFare button on the Calibre toolbar. It should automatically detect that you have a URL from a supported site in your clipboard and paste it into the dialog

If you want to download multiple fanfics in a batch, you can hit enter and paste more URLs into the box, one per line. NOTE: please do not try to download like 30 fanfictions at once; a bunch of people doing that can strain AO3's servers, and your account might have its download capability temporarily throttled to prevent that.

5. Click OK. Calibre may look like it's frozen for a few seconds, but this is normal during the metadata fetching process. Once it figures out which of the fics you pasted actually need to be downloaded, it will unfreeze and begin downloading them

6. Once Calibre has begun downloading your fics, it will display "Jobs: 1" with a spinning icon in the bottom right corner of the Calibre window. If you click that, you'll get a progress bar of what it's doing

7. Once Calibre has finished downloading your fics, it will display a summary of the job in the bottom right corner of the Calibre window. In this summary, "good" updates meant that a fic had to be downloaded, while "bad" updates indicate fics that didn't need to be updated (because you already had them on your computer) or that could NOT be downloaded due to an error (usually a fic that was deleted or hidden in a private collection). You can click "View Log" if you're curious about which fics were downloaded and which were skipped. In this example, 2 fics were missing from my library and were downloaded, while "Where the Sand Meets the Sea" was not downloaded because it was already on my computer and up to date.

8. Exit the FanFicFare log if you clicked into it, then click "Yes" to accept the results and add the downloaded/updated fics to your library. The fics should appear in Calibre almost immediately. Then FanFicFare will kick off a second job by calling the Count Pages plugin to grab a word count for the new/updated fics. Once that job completes, just click "Yes" in the job summary window that appears in the bottom right of Calibre to store the word counts in your library.

And you're done! You just backed up your first fanfictions :)

Downloading a Series

FanFicFare can actually pull all of the URLs for individual fics in a series for you automatically!

Copy the AO3 series URL (not to an individual fic in the series)

In Calibre, click the dropdown arrow to the right of the FanFicFare button on the menu bar, then click "Get Story URLs from Web Page"

3. FanFicFare should automatically detect that you have a supported web page in your clipboard and paste it into the text field. Choose the download option you prefer: downloading each fic in the series as a separate ebook, OR combining every fic in the series into a single ebook, commonly called an anthology. Note: anthology ebooks can get rather large in file size if they have embedded fanart in them.

4. Once you pick an option, FanFicFare will grab the URL of every fic in the series and automatically paste them into the FanFicFare fic download window. From there on out just follow the normal steps for downloading those fics (this will start at step 3 in the "Downloading Fic(s)" section above).

Updating Fanfictions

Just wanted to note that you can update fanfictions in multiple ways. You can either:

Select ebooks in your Calibre library, then click the dropdown arrow next to the FanFicFare toolbar icon and click "Update Existing Fanfiction Books" OR

Take the URLs and just download them like you would a new fic. FanFicFare will automatically replace your existing copy with the updated one. This way you can just paste in the URL from an AO3 subscription email alert instead of having to hunt down the fic in your library first.

For Advanced Users

FanFicFare can actually pull the URLs off of any page of multiple fics - this includes pages of bookmarks. For example, if you want to download fics that you have bookmarked and tagged with "favorite", just filter your bookmarks for that tag and then use the resulting URL in the steps for "Downloading a Series". Note that FanFicFare doesn't handle pagination, so if you have multiple pages of results for that bookmark search, you'll have to paste in each paginated URL separately.

Summary

Well this got WAY longer than I meant it to. I think my background in technical writing is showing - this is probably more detailed than the average tumblr user wants or needs. But whatever, at least it's thorough. If you found this guide useful, please reblog it! The more people who back up fics, the better the chances that those fics will be available if you want them later. And if you end up using Calibre extensively, consider donating to the one-person developer team to keep the project going :)

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Baby Boomer Classics: Rockin' Fifties 1985 Rock & Roll / Rockabilly

Bunch of early rock & roll hits from the mid-to-late 50s on this cheat code release from the Baby Boomer Classics series here. You won't find anything on this that could remotely be considered obscure, but this is still a pretty sweet selection of essential listening if you've never really taken the time to venture back into this paradigm-shifting era before. Beloved music critic Robert Christgau has compiled his own lists of what he calls the 'basic record library,' which distills eras down to their must-haves for any collector/serious listener, and I think if we're talking 50s rock & roll, a majority of these tunes would be indispensable entries on a list like that.

So let's get into some of these then, starting with one-hit wonder Frankie Ford's jaunty New Orleans-made "Sea Cruise," a #14 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1959 that sees Ford donning a deliberately brazen vocal affect that delightfully creaks on the choruses. His version of "Sea Cruise" is actually a cover of a song by another New Orleans R&B and rock & roll legend, Huey "Piano" Smith, whose own recording of it didn't see the light of day until 1971. And the reason why this piece of information is particularly important is because Frankie Ford used the *same exact* backing track from Smith's version that went unreleased for so many years. And what's more is that that backing track itself is really a piece of proto-ska, predating the dawn of that genre by about half a decade in Jamaica, which would eventually lead into the formation of reggae. So, on the surface, a song like "Sea Cruise" might seem like just some fun and silly rock & roll hit from the late 50s, but it's really so much more than that!

Next, "Keep A Knockin'," by one of the freest spirits that rock & roll has ever known, Little Richard, whose contagious and unbridled amounts of seemingly limitless energy managed to help him sell millions of records while being both black and visibly queer during an virulently racist and homophobic American 1950s. Released in 1957, this terrific shouter of a tune, with loud and brash sax too, would achieve top-ten Billboard Hot 100 status, and on Led Zeppelin's own classic 1972 hit, "Rock and Roll," John Bonham would show tribute to it by kicking off with its very drumbeat.

And lastly, "Willie and the Hand Jive," by Johnny Otis, a first-generation Greek-American who grew up in a predominantly black community in Berkeley, California, and decided that, despite the fact that he was not black himself, he would live his life as a black American anyway, and then legitimately went on to become the "godfather of rhythm & blues," not only as a musician, but as someone who had a knack for spotting real talent before anyone else. We seriously may have never heard of people like Etta James, Jackie Wilson, and Big Mama Thornton had it not been for this guy! 🤯

And as he adopted black culture—and also helped grow it—his most famous song would adopt its sound from one of rock & roll's greatest black rockers too, Bo Diddley, whose own unique and signature style would get its own name as the Bo Diddley beat. The most prominent song to employ this 'beat' for a good period of time was not one of Diddley's own, but Otis' "Willie and the Hand Jive," which would reach #9 on the Hot 100 in 1958. Following that, though, its status as most iconic Bo Diddley beat-song would be usurped by The Strangeloves' 1965 piece of proto-punky garage rock bubblegum in "I Want Candy," which would then be famously covered in 1982 by new wave group Bow Wow Wow too.

So, again, nothing underheard on this album, but overall, a short collection of very popular songs that people should still know about. As time goes on and classic rock and oldies stations proceed to advance their playlists further forward in time, these songs find themselves less and less appreciated, but a lot of them are really no less important now than they were when they were first recorded, because they really represent the edifice that holds up so much of everything else.

Highlights:

Eddie Cochrane - "Summertime Blues" Frankie Ford - "Sea Cruise" Buddy Holly - "Peggy Sue" Jerry Lee Lewis - "Great Balls of Fire" Little Richard - "Keep A Knockin'" Johnny Otis Show - "Willie and the Hand Jive" Chuck Berry - "Maybellene"

[madtomedgar]

: Books read in September and October:

A Guide for the Perplexed,” Dara Horn: interesting concept, horrible execution. The idea of a modern adaptation of the story of Joseph with two sisters, one of whom is a tech prodigy and one of whom is just a failgirl, was exciting. The book gets away from itself really early, the authors engagement with Egyptian society post Arab Spring was... bad. The historical narrative didn’t ever really gel with the modern one, and then the ending very much imo didn’t resonate thematically with the story of Joseph. Also. Taking Ancient Queer Icon Joseph Ben Yisrael and making his story into a heterosexual love triangle is a crime and I am googling to see if Keshet has a legal team as we speak. That being said, the other Dara Horn book I’ve read, Eternal Life, was AMAZING. Glad I didn’t read this one first or I never would have read that one.

Revielle for Radicals, Saul Alinsky: Oh Saul. I’d missed this professional pain in the ass. A decent refresher, but I would probably have been better served by just rereading Rules for Radicals. You can tell that this was written when he was much younger and still high off the victory of organizing the Back of the Yards community in Chicago, that his confidence and world view hadn’t been disrupted by that community organization turning itself into a gleeful tool of racism yet. My main takeaways were that wow this guy must have been fucking insufferable (I love it), the extent to which American life has become so atomized and private, and how upsetting that is and how it makes it much harder to organize, and that it turns out they would just publish whatever back in the day.

Are You My Mother, Alison Bechdel: I don’t usually read graphic novels or comics, so the format was interesting. It read a lot quicker than I thought it would. A lot of this was unfortunately relatable. Oof. I am not really a person who buys into the like. Early 20th c psychoanalytic obsession with the subconcious, symbolism, and infant impressions, so that part of the book didn’t do much for me. But Bechdel is a great storyteller and overall a good read. Nice to read about mom shit that is different from my mom shit, y’know.

Human Acts, Han Kang: Firstly, I learned a lot about recent Korea history that I had no idea about! Like most white USAmericans, my knowledge there kind of stopped with the end of the Korean War and then fast-forwarded to today. I like learning new things and this book galvanized me to read up on South Korea in the 80s. More importantly it is one of the best and most interesting and emotionally effecting books I’ve ever read. The emotional impact was similar to Holocaust literature. The format of having the tragedy of one particular boy’s death ripple outward in the lives of witnesses and loved ones was just... damn. There is no resolution, and the way time has moved on from these deaths by the end is disturbing rather than comforting. This might be weird to say but the way the book is constructed and the way it reads feels very true to how post-traumatic stress disorder works. The event never goes away or gets duller, the wound is always open, the grief never stops screaming. The chapter from the point of view of the ghosts is especially intense, lovely, horrifying. This is a book about a massacre and the continued oppression by an authoritarian regime of those who stood up to it, so bear that in mind when deciding on reading it. Like I said it felt similar to reading Holocaust literature for me, with the main difference being that this wasn’t my grief and generational trauma. But also, a truly amazing book. Hard to read other books after it because they just aren’t as good.

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(by which I mean if you aren’t reading the Locked Tomb series, what are you doing with your life)

Love, Death, and the Changing of the Seasons, Marilyn Hacker: I haven’t read this much poetry all at once probably since my post-college T.S. Eliot phase. It was a good challenge and I’m glad I did it. So many good individual sonnets that really speak to the lesbian experience, especially the erotic sonnets. I was really struck by how much we’ve lost in terms of lesbian public and social life since this book was written in the 80s. while i loved many of the individual poems, and sections of the series as strung-together beads, I think I would have enjoyed the overall story of the relationship better if it had been an autobiographical novel, but I’m not sure how much that has to do with my actual taste and how much it has to do with me being out of practice with poetry.

The Ruby Fruit Jungle, Rita Mae Brown: Oy. So I get how this was A Big Deal in the 70s. But. The writing is bad. The main character somehow IS the sassy too-cool overly competent and smug and above everyone and everything lesbian character that people shoehorn into fanfics about dudes so they can Do Something with the inconvenient women that isn’t killing them or putting them on a bus. Like. She is lesbian Ebony D’Arkness Dementia Raven Way. A bunch of squares stare at her and she puts her middle finger up at them. Also she’s Not Like Other Lesbians, she’s a Cool Girl. Generally the author’s disdain for other lesbians, especially butches and less feminine ones, is f a s c i n a t i n g given what the author looks like. I’m not sure if this was like... a marketability/likability thing and more about an imagined straight audience, or genuinely her thoughts at the time but uh.. hmmm.

A Map of Betrayal, Ha Jin: I’m very confused how this guy gets awards and tenure, a little confused how he gets published. His writing sucks. His dialogue is wooden, his characters are flat, his plots are contrived, predictable and basic, and everything is an excuse for him to include Cool Historical or Cultural Details that he has researched or knows from his life. If he wrote articles about those things they would be great! When he forgets he’s writing fiction and just starts going on about the relationship between the US and Taiwan in the 1960s, it’s fascinating! He could just write nonfiction! But no, he thinks he’s got to have characters and a narrative to give him an excuse to talk about anything, and it’s painfully obvious that they’re the excuse. Someone tell him to just write the nonfiction that he wants to write already.

[my-year-of-game-boy]

Week 1: Kirby's Dream Land 2

I want to say it was a hard choice deciding what game to start this blog with. There are so many iconic games and series associated with the Game Boy that I could've went with an iconic puzzler, a launch title like Super Mario Land, or that famous monster catching series, Robopon. Honestly, though? I just shoved a game into the Analogue Pocket that I hadn't actually played before and went with that. I'm a big fan of Nintendo's ever present second-tier mascot, Kirby. Multiple round, pink toys adorn my home, a Kirby t-shirt is part of my regular rotation, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land was my number two game of 2022. Yet, there are so many games in the little fellow's catalogue that I've never played them all. I could be writing about how his first ever appearance was on this handheld, or I could write about the many hours I spent getting lost in The Amazing Mirror. Maybe I still will, but today, I have the pleasure of saying I finally played Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Most Kirby games have a gimmick, even as early as this one. Here, our favorite infant Star Warrior is joined by new, rideable animal friends. In addition to Kirby's trademark copy abilities (Of which this game is only the second time they've appeared!), the rideable gain abilities in combination with Kirby's. This creates some fun combinations, but they're hindered by trading Kirby's floating mobility for the movement of your pal.

Pray you don't get this dude on anything but a water level

As someone who's played the original Kirby's Dream Land countless times, I was surprised at the vast jump in scale, game mechanics, level design, and even difficulty between this game and that one. Sure, there was an NES game inbetween, but it's still such a jump from what might be the simplest mainstream platformer to ever grace the Game Boy.

There's some cheapness to the scrolling levels, one in particular has you essentially choosing one of three paths and desperately hoping you don't get trapped, but the rest of levels are pretty cleverly designed. Unfortunately, these levels sometimes feel designed with Kirby's floating ability in mind to the point that playing with his new pals is a detriment. Later levels had me actually avoiding taking one on from time to time because I simply didn't think it would be very helpful.

Kirby's on a roll!

There's secrets to find across the seven different worlds that lead to an optional boss fight that I may not have actually found, but I respect that they're actually there to find. Even with all the Kirby games that've been made over the years, this one's still worth a visit even today. I'd recommend it just to take a gander at Kirby's cute little buddies, even if Kine the sunfish shows up at the most inopportune times. Before I finish my inaugural entry, I'd like to make a point that, in addition to being the first game I've written about here, this is the first game I've played through in its entirety on the Analogue Pocket! So, you get a bit of a bog standard game review along with some first impressions of video game hardware! Don't worry, I plan on changing up the format and topics from entry to entry, but I figured I'd start with something a bit more traditional. Anyway, the Analogue Pocket is a lovely little device with a few issues here and there. For this game, I did take advantage of the save state function, but it's pretty finicky. The Pocket plays carts natively and doesn't use emulation, so I'm kind of amazed that it does save states at all. Unfortunately, I could only read my last save state and would accidentally write over them constantly with the quick commands to make them. For a relatively easy game like this, it was only a minor frustration, but for some real nail biters, I can see this getting pretty annoying. The games themselves look gorgeous on it and the OpenFGPA allows me to load some neat stuff that'll get mentioned in later entries. I did have a bit of hand cramping despite my small hands, and I worry about the shoulder buttons in GBA games. However, the ergonomics are otherwise great and no different than a Game Boy Pocket, really. Lastly, it's a bit of a dream just being able to easily take screenshots on the console. I'd recommend it to anyone who considers themselves a classic video game enthusiast or just has a pile of Game Boy carts they'd really like to play.

I leave you with an obligatory Rick pic.

[driz-zle]

⌕ JUST IN: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

NOW UPLOADED: EPISODE #2 / EXES AND OH’S / I.Y.

Featuring: Lead Vocalist! Isagi Yoichi and Food Vlogger! Y/n L/n Bonus Appearance: Solo Artist! Bachira Meguru Tropes: Childhood Friends

VIDEO SEGMENTS: ###. WHAT IS YOUR NAME AND YOUR EX'S NAME? (Introduction) #1. What was your favorite aspect about the other person? #2. How did you break it to your friends and family? #3. At some point, did you ever feel like you were holding the other back?

We decided to bring together pairs of ex-lovers, iconic and famous all around the world, for a little Q&A. Welcome to Exes and Oh’s! Our special guests for today are none other than Isagi Yoichi and Y/n L/n! A pair whom the public deem as the biggest cliché. From being introduced to each other since childhood, to becoming high school sweethearts, their relationship was as adorable as it was tooth-rottingly sweet! They were, according to netizens, the definition of #relationshipgoals. But as they warn, not everything is at it seems, for the couple went into radio silence, no mentions or sighting with each other, until they suddenly announced their split!

###. WHAT IS YOUR NAME AND YOUR EX’S NAME? (Introduction)

“My name is Y/n L/n, a food vlogger on my YouTube where people know me as ‘Y/n.eats’, and my ex’s name is Isagi Yoichi”

“I’m Isagi Yoichi, lead vocalist of ‘EGOIST/S’, and my ex is food vlogger Y/n L/n.”

#1. What was your favorite aspect about the other person?

▶ PLAYING: Y/N L/N

“For me, it was always how Yoichi knew me the best.”

“He knew how I liked certain flavors more than others so he always got those kinds whenever he bought snacks. He knew how I sometimes forgot to eat whenever I was so focused on studying, so he set an alarm to remind me.”

“How do you think he kept up with all of your likes and dislikes?”

You snicker as you reply, “Don’t tell him, but I kinda caught him with a list of them on his phone. But for some, I’d like to think he knew by heart. Like knowing me was muscle memory.”

Unbeknownst to the audience, the camera crew behind were aw-ing at the thought and even sharing knowing looks. And if anyone were ever to mention the loving smile on your face, then you'd have to answer to that. It's their job after all, isn't it?

"Y/n? Have you seen my phone anywhere?" Yoichi asks from a few rooms over. The noise you must've heard a while ago was most probably him. "I'll check!" Getting up from the spot on your shared bed, you check the bedside drawers.

A familiar blue case with a Polaroid picture met your eyes. You'd found it. You were just about to yell that you had it when a notification from a familiar number caught your eye. One of your favorite restaurants.

Curious, you decide to open it, only for the screen to show with Yoichi's notes app. The particular note is numbered one to three with your top three restaurants, even containing a bulleted list under each one listing out what you liked from there.

When you scroll down, there are more lists and checkboxes, all in the same format ranging from tourist spots, ice cream flavors, snacks, brands, and whatever. Your heart warms at the sight. It doesn't help that he has a list of your dislikes and allergies too.

There's a knock on the doorway and you're quick to turn the phone off. Luckily, your back was facing the door. "Hey, I was just about to tell you I found it." Sighing in relief, he quickly approaches you, peppering your face with kisses. "Thanks, baby."

"I should be thanking you."

He blankly stares. His head tilts and inside his mind, he's running through every single surprise he had planned on his phone. He's just about to panic when you caress his cheek with a lovesick smile, "So, we're going somewhere tonight then?"

He relaxes in your hold and laughs. You don't get off easy though. He's quick to jump on you, tickling your sides, "How much did you see, hm?" You've fallen down on the bed, him leaning over you with a toothy grin on his face.

"Yoichi—! Stop!"

"Not until you tell me how much you saw!"

"I just saw the notification—! Stop it!" There are tears in your eyes when he pulls away and you're heaving. He chuckles at your state and you can't help but playfully smack his chest. Breathless, you crack a defeated but amused smile, "Now will you let me go?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Unless you don't want me to get ready for our date tonight then be my guest." He's never let go of you so quickly in his life.

#1. What was your favorite aspect about the other person?

▶ PLAYING: ISAGI YOICHI

He thinks for a while, “She always knew what to do in different situations. I’ve always admired her for it.”

“Could you elaborate for us?”

“She knows exactly what to say, what to do, and she especially knew what to eat. ”

“You’d just be having a bad day and she’s suddenly setting the table with the comforting smell that reminds you of your mother's cooking but better —he nervously chuckles— sorry mom."

The crew behind the camera laughs alongside him, "She was just— Her existence in and out of itself brought me comfort."

Isagi Yoichi doesn't know if he's had this bad of a day ever in his life. Yes, he's exaggerating, but his day was just that shitty. He wasn't playing on the level he usually was, his teammates weirdly ticked him off no matter what they did, and he just couldn't think. He has an inkling why. No, he knows exactly why.

The events of the previous night flash in his head one by one. Him arriving at your shared apartment late at night, and you, awake and grumpy, sitting on the couch. He recalls the arguing, and then you sleeping in the guest bedroom.

Then came the overthinking as he laid on your supposed-to-be shared bed, alone. It's always been a weakness of his. That he looks too much into things. It's something he's admitted himself.

It's the next day now, and when he opens the door, he expects silence. Maybe you'd gone to a friend's or just stayed away from the place, but he was surprised to smell the scent of Tonkatsu floating around. His stomach growls and he's swiftly walking to the kitchen.

His heart lifts up when he sees you setting the table. You two meet eyes for the first time in a few hours and he feels like everything's much clearer now.

With a partly opened mouth, he's about to spit out his apologies and essays but you send him a pointed look and he gets the message. He's sat and digging into his food, with you right across from him. Yoichi speaks up first, "I'm sorry."

You don't look impressed and he thinks you're still mad until you speak up. "I forgive you, but please don't talk with your mouth full." He blinks, swallows, then lets out a boisterous laugh.

The tension in his shoulders disappears along with the wrinkle in his brow. The sight makes you smile. "We can talk about it later, right now, I think I just want to pamper my boyfriend who obviously had a stick up his ass the whole day."

He rolls his eyes, "Which one of the guys told you?"

"All of them."

"Snitches."

"Barou was complaining the most though, saying how you were so snappy, your plays were so boring, how you weren't even worth paying attention to on the field." You list out the king's complaints, holding back your laughter at his betrayed expression.

He softens up though when you wipe the mess on his lips, "M'always going to be proud of you, baby."

He's suddenly reminded that if the day ends with you, then there's no possibility it'll ever be shitty.

#2. How did you break it to your friends and family?

▶ PLAYING: Y/N L/N

“Friends, it wasn’t that climactic. But for our parents, —you wince— it was hard, especially since I practically grew up with his family alongside mine."

"There was this sort of understood agreement between everyone in our families that we were going to end up together at some point.”

A fond smile appears on your face, "His mother started to call me her daughter-in-law as a joke which just kept running through the years.” You chuckle, and it dies down to a sigh, “To me, they were already family, always have been, ever since the beginning.”

▶ PLAYING: ISAGI YOICHI

“For my friends, I sort of just slipped it in a conversation. For our parents though, they were kinda devastated. You’d think it was their relationship! —he laughs— but then again, I remember how they were so excited when we told them.”

Isagi smiles sadly, a faraway look in his eyes. Now conscious of his expression, he immediately perks up, “Did you know they even bet on when we’d make it official?”

"What's with the set-up Yoichi?" Iyo Isagi, his mother asks. "Right, you two seem so tense." Your mother quips, sitting on a sofa with your father across from Yoichi's parents. Meanwhile, you and Yoichi are on single seaters, the distance painfully obvious to no one but you two.

You avoid their eyes, having them wander along the Isagi household. The halls you used to run around with him, the kitchen you'd always sneak into when the two of you were hungry, the TV where you cried over your shows while Yoichi sat next to you with tissues, water, and a smile that just said 'What am I going to do with you?'

"Mom,—he starts— Y/n and I had a serious conversation about this and we've made our decision." Your heart drops when both of your moms lock eyes and you can almost imagine the sparkles around the two of them.

"Are you two finally engaged?!" They chorus. Your dads let out noises of complaint, "Looks like we lost this bet too, Issei." Your dad huffs and Issei Isagi, Yoichi's dad, lets out a defeated smile. It's a different story for the both of you though.

You're horrified at their excitement while Yoichi feels a lump in his throat. And while he doesn't have it with him, the weight of the ring he bought felt like it was dragging him down. "No, Mom, we're not engaged...nor will we be..." They visibly deflate at the last part, now staring in confusion.

"Mom, Dad, Y/n and I have decided to break up."

#3. At some point, did you ever feel like you were holding the other back?

▶ PLAYING Y/N L/N:

“Ah…”

There’s a pressure that lands a hit in your chest, a bitterness that rises from your throat. “Well, obviously being in a band or pursuing music isn’t easy. It was manageable at first since they were just doing small gigs and all, but then they went on international tours and then it just… I think we bit off more than we could chew.” The smile you give is bitter and painful.

“How so?”

“There was the time difference, the distance, the doubt—” Your voice dies off quietly, “the guilt…”

“But y’know, we had our own separate lives and at that point, I guess we just had to figure out who we were when we were separated. Yoichi went on to become a musician famous all around the world, while I did what I loved and began vlogging.”

“I think that feeling...it’s when I saw him onstage in person that I realized. There was that lingering feeling that, maybe we were just supposed to end on different paths. He was born to be on the world stage, to be a star."

"But then I thought, next to him, what would I be? And the thought came up that maybe, I was baggage.”

You don't know how long it's been since your boyfriend haphazardly rang the doorbell and barged into your hotel room. You don't know how he managed to do it unnoticed either. But all that mattered in that moment was that he was there, in your arms, physically with you.

"Yoichi?" A tired groan vibrates through you, his face buried in the crook of your neck. "What brought this on? Weren't you supposed to be staying at the hotel near the venue?"

"Just wanted to see you." Your fingers thread through his dark hair. It's peaceful and serene, in the dim light of your hotel room, his shoes and a bag that was messily packed, lying near the doorway. The smell of his signature cologne floods your nose.

Yet there's this weird feeling in your stomach. A feeling that warns you, reminds you that in the morning he's going to disappear again. Not literally. But he's going to be on the world stage. And it hits you then that you're scared. Terrified, even, that he might go to where you can't follow.

But then you think, doesn't he deserve that much and more? The boy who you learned how to bike with, the boy who always came with you to buy snacks, the boy who was your other half, the boy who always gushed and dreamed about standing tall, on a bigger, brighter stage.

And when he wakes you up before the sun rises, gathers his things, and kisses you goodbye, you're left in the hotel room, stuck with the uneasy and sinking feeling, that he left you behind again.

#3. At some point, did you ever feel like you were holding the other back?

▶ PLAYING: ISAGI YOICHI

“When we first got big, a lot of the staff were surprised cause I apparently adapted really easily, but that didn’t stay the same with other people. Y/n…she had to sacrifice a lot to support me.”

“Really? Like what?”

“She missed out on a few classes to go to gigs, traveled hours just to meet up with me, and always made sure to check in every single day."

The expression on his face becomes strained, "Out of college, she traveled everywhere with me which is why she resorted to vlogging since staying in one place wasn’t an option. Honestly, I messed up a lot as a boyfriend.”

“Why do you think so?”

“I missed important dates cause of events or touring, and I just—she didn’t deserve someone who couldn’t even be there to act as a boyfriend in the first place.”

The clocks around the establishment look like they're mocking Isagi. Obviously, they're not, but to him, it surely feels like it. It's been almost three hours since the time he promised he would meet up with you, and he's only just arrived.

The little restaurant gives a homey feel, with warm lighting, and trinkets around every corner. They're already closing up, evident by the clatter the staff is making behind the counter. Standing right by the cashier though, is a grandma he vividly remembers visiting every week as a child with you.

"Yoichi? Is that you? Oh my goodness it is! Come, come!" So now here he ended up, a bowl of her specially made ramen for a very special customer or so she says. "Y'know, my grandchildren are really big fans of yours! You've really made a name for yourself haven't you?"

He chuckles, embarrassed at the flattery. "Oh I remember when you were younger and you and little Y/n would always enter the shop together, ordering the same thing, and sitting at the same pair of seats every time." And just when his mood was lifting up.

"She was here a while ago, poor girl looked a little upset." She suddenly looks at him sternly, "You better have not done anything, young man." He gulps and nods.

It was partly true. He didn't do anything, didn't try to insist on getting out of the meeting or the surprise fan meet-up, which landed him in his current predicament. "Honestly, everyone had high expectations for that girl, which is why it was surprising to see her doing something like food vlogging.”

She chuckles, "Always encouraged her to go into medicine, that one, so she could help me when I got old haha! Well, to each their own."

Everyone always had their expectations for you, but what was your dream? Have you ever expressed what you wanted to do? In all his years of knowing you, Yoichi couldn't remember. You've always put others first. Your friends, your parents, Him.

The thought sent Yoichi reeling, glaring at his food like it'd just committed a crime. To each their own indeed, but did you really have a choice?

###EXTRA EPISODE: THE HAPPIEST THIRD WHEELER: BACHIRA MEGURU

[writing-ardent]

So I hit the apps again today

I used to be alone. It’s not that I didn’t have friends. I had plenty of those. All kinds of friends. Cool friends, scared friends, sad friends, party friends…you name it. I guess there were a lot of people in my life. A lot of numbers in my phone’s contact list.

But for some reason, it wasn’t enough. Maybe I’m selfish. Maybe I don’t appreciate them for who they are. I don’t know why but, I always feel so empty, even when I’m around the people I care about the most.

That’s why I spent the entire day on dating apps. They’re what everyone seems to be using now a days to find friends, lovers, and a nice quick fuck. Man, I wish I could find any three of those. Whenever I get lucky enough to find one it always turns out to be the things I don’t want at the time.

I really don’t see what’s so good about these apps. Sure I get a lot of hits on them, but they never mean anything. I’m not exactly self conscious about my appearance above the belt, but you know that problem I mentioned before? Yeah. It’s a frustrating numbers game I’ll never hope to win no matter how low I can force my expectations with a few drinks.

I guess this one is a little better. More friendly to pansexuals my friend said. I guess she has a point, but it’s still not really going to get a gold metal from me just for being mediocre instead of outright bad.

It was swipe after swipe. I tried to be optimistic. There were a few cute people here and there. Maybe I’ll finally have a decent conversation that isn’t just a copy paste of the exact same one I had the last time I was on one of these apps.

It’s boring. I really hate it and I don’t even feel excited anymore when I see someone I want to swipe. I guess I’m smart enough not to get my hopes up anymore on a subconscious level.

I decided to take a break and prod around on some other things I have on my phone. Probably not the ibuddy app though. That was one of the biggest wastes of time you’ve ever tried. It felt like you were talking to a brick wall. Advanced robot my ass. You would have a better time talking to the guy on meth that likes to roam around your street at night.

Time to go on the forms you like to surf. Forms isn’t really accurate though. It’s just a subsection of Paradise, which is one of those big companies that used to be a bunch of small ones. Ive lost track of how many are left now. The last time I checked there were three I think?

The forms were much more interesting than the dating app. This was much better. The kind of thing to finally bring my mood up after an exhausting day. Some memes usually cheer me right up. Or they at least come about as close to it as I’m going to get on a REALLY bad day.

There were a lot of good anime ones this time. They aren’t as good as the cute animal videos, but they’re still pretty nice I guess. At least when it’s for a fandom I’m part of and actually know about. If it’s not I have to sit there quietly and pretend like I didn’t see it. It’s pretty rude to like something for a fandom you aren’t in.

It looked like there was a new format I wasn’t aware of. It was little icons of characters sending people text messages, but with some logo in the corner I didn’t recognize. I thought that maybe this was one of those new surreal ones where it looks like it’s normal unless you get the very specific niche joke. This was something I had to look up right away so that I could start spamming all my friends with them. Well, the ones that like these kind of memes anyway.

That was when I got a phone call from my uncle David. David is a nice guy, but he’s pretty out of touch. He’s from the olden days back before we had things like self driving cars and self serving plates. It’s nice though to talk to him sometimes. My friends all think I’m crazy because I still grow my own plants and eat parts of them. He might be a funny guy that doesn’t know how to text, but I love him and he’s great.

“How’s it going Tripp? Did you get that email I sent you?”

“Fine. And yeah, I did.”

This was a lie of course. He sends me so many emails with random articles about things like climate change and animal facts. It’s almost always something I already know and am bored by, but I know it would break his heart if I told him that, so I just go along with it since it’s usually something I’m already aware of anyway.

“Wonderful! I know it’s hard to get a job these days. Hang in there.”

I was about to start my new business this week actually, but that’s not exactly something I talk about in polite company, especially not in front of uncle David.

“Thanks, that means a lot. It’s really hard, you know?”

There’s a pause before he speaks again.

“I know it too well. Did I tell you the story about the strike of twenty thirty five?”

“You did. And it was a really good story. I’m glad you got heating and cooling back. You probably saved a lot of people by doing that.”

“I’m glad you remember it. Listen, I just want you to be ok. Your generation is out future you know.”

“I know.”

He’s said that a thousand times now. Everyone his age is always saying things like that. I’m surprised I didn’t end up seeing one of the thousands of memes about the kind of things old people say before I picked up the phone actually.

“Did your kale grow any bigger yet?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to eat it! That shit is so good!”

“I have another plant for you if you want it.”

Oh no. Not another plant. I have so many of them that I don’t have any room left for another one. This was something uncle David is known for. While I love to learn about plants from him, he also seems to have an endless supply that he won’t stop giving people. And the worst part is that I can never stop myself from saying no to another one because god damn it, I just love plants ok?!

“Oh damn, that’s great! I’m free Tuesday if you want to bring it over!”

“That sounds great. I’ll talk to you later. Murphy wants to play.”

“Please let him and throw a frisbee for me!”

“I will. Talk to you later. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hung up the phone and sighed. It was nice talking with uncle David, but I always just feel so drained after I do it every time. I’m not really sure why. I love him and he really shouldn’t be this hard for me to talk to, but he just is.

God damn it, I was going to need more coffee. I pull up a delivery app on my phone. The nearest place was probably be the quickest. I typed in what I wanted on my phone and went to my porter. It’s actually a porter printer hybrid, but I don’t use the printer part of it very often because art just isn’t really my thing and those machines are way too complicated.

It didn’t take long for the coffee to show up. It’s pretty easy to port things when there’s nothing organic in them. It’s why most foods are synthetic now a days. This way we can have something delicious whenever we want it. If you ask me, that is an amazing invention.

I sipped the coffee. It was burned. But that’s pretty much what I would expect from a fast food place. They aren’t exactly known for being quality, but the upscale franchises are too far away and I was kind of lazy that day.

I looked out the window. It’s was a nice day in the ocean. That’s the window I picked out. It was either that or the neon pink one with the anime girl on it. I figured I would go for the more tasteful option even if it was kind of surreal. Oh who am I kidding. I was drunk when I picked it. Still one of the best decisions of my life.

I finally remembered what I was going to do before uncle David called. I was going to finally look up what that weird as fuck meme was about. I can’t believe it slipped my mind so easily on that day. I guess I’m just easily distractible like that.

I decided to check out the Paradise page of the one who posted the latest version of the meme. That’s usually the best way to find out what an in joke is if you don’t have enough information to search an actual archived wiki for it. Paradise always loads faster anyway because they shell out the big money to ISPs that nonprofit archives can never even hope to scramble together.

They were talking about how they made it using this new app. It was called DJINN. Weird name for an app. Kind of made me think of the genie from Aladdin or something out of an RPG. That was a weird name for a shitposting app, but hey I’ve seen weirder. Penguin was definitely an experience.

Might as well check it out. I decided to just click the link directly. It probably wasn’t a virus if this many people were using it and I was way too lazy to try to dig up the wiki. Sponsored links didn’t have the same lagging problem because Paradise got money from it if you clicked.

When the page finally loaded, I almost spat out my coffee.

[broodpeas]

random thoughts Ugly Betty, tv adaptations and colombian tv

Early on the year I saw Betty la Fea. I had never seen it, so I thought that what better way to feed my depression than watching a novela and eating a big bag of candies my husband got me? And so I watched it....well tried. I watched all something hundred episodes but I had to speed up a lot. I was amazed by how terrible it was, and surprised that they let this novela turn into a current pop culture moment. Sure, it has some funny moments (Freddy dancing and singing are the only funny moments) but overall, who needs GOT when you have rape, thief, aesthetic, physical and verbal abuse and assault all wrapped up in 30 minutes episode?

To be fair with myself, I kinda suspected this ever since Betty came into the colombian zeitgeist, between 2001 and 2002. It became a powerful bullying tool (still used today in workplaces to justify work assault and abuse, how nice!) but also an influential tv show where even the president had a cameo (a president that needed that because he was going through some political bullshit when you find out you gonna understand nothing because this country is a circus!). My husband told me Betty really broke the mold of colombian television, the same way narcovelas did some decades later. But anyway, the point here is: every adaptation of Betty I heard off, I decided it was terrible and not worth watching, so when Ugly Betty came out, I was like 16 years old and I said hell no. I skipped it, preferring other tv shows like Grey's Anatomy.

When I finished watching betty la fea, I decided that there was no way in hell I'd watch another colombian novela. That was enough and then I moved onto other tv shows. There's a lot to say on the relationship between good taste and television, and the fact that people consider novelas to be bad tv because only low class people watch it is still a valid argument- altho it's also true some people don't watch it because they follow a heteronormative and white portrayal of people. Novelas are believed to be ways to indoctrinate people and this is right (they do) but then again, they also portray society in a way no other tv show could do. It's like a snake biting its own tail, so the argument of taste has to be thought with care and attention because it will bite you in the damn ass. And because I'm catching up with a lot of tv, I decided that I had enough with all of this and put a stop and watch something light, something for a waiting room, or for falling asleep and because Disney+ only has cartoons and Ugly Betty you can see why I chose the second and not the first (I love toys but cartoons no longer make sense to me).

So far, I'm like 6 episodes in and I liked it. It's really good and extremely different from the original version, the only thing similarity is that the main character is called Betty and she has brackets. Everything else is different and yes it has its own flaws (there was no need for Salma Hayek to take her shirt off an elevator, and also Daniel needs therapy and to apologize to Amanda), but overall....it's great television. All characters are human and the mockery of fashion is hilarious (the joke of latex dress worn by kate moss that a baby could wear....mean spirited but so on point, my feminism left my body and I don't think it's coming back any time soon). Betty is a good person, but she's also selfish and she gives people a hard time and she is sassy. Her nephew Justin is a queer icon, as is Marc -played by Michael Urie, who's now in Shrinking, an apple tv sitcom that should get emmy noms- and the freedom they have to be themselves is just so good. I just like it and I hope it stays within these lines.

_

This very long babbling of words also works for me to think a bit about adaptions. TV is very good in adapting books and movies into long format series (like Fargo). Last year when it was announced sex and the city would had a reboot, I was amazed because it was different from an adaption, but it felt more like this than a reboot. the turn and the absences, the overall feel of the show, felt nothing like the original version and I don't know if this was intentional but proves my point adaption is a murky land, that can be very productive or can fuck something up. With the HP announcenment, apart form the obvious question of why giving a terf more money, the question of why making more adaptions about something that doesn't need any more content because it has nowhere to go kinda sprung on me. Let me put it like this: who needs to know more about that school and the peoples and whatever? Who asked for this? Who will be watching this? and well, I'm at it, so let me throw Tolkien in the fray, because I still think Rings of Power was fantastic but do we really needed a tv show about a mashup of short stories and the silmarillion (I'm not sure if they actually used this and I'm too lazy to look for it but if you know, let me know lol)? If you look closely, almost all tv show lately has been adaptations: from wednesday (which was, in my modest opinion, perfect and I'm excited for season 2) to house of dragons (of the dragon? sorry?)? Perhaps only sitcoms are the only tv area where creativity is happening, even when following a formula (abbot elementary, what we do in the shadows, it's always sunny in philadelphia, shrinking and for some reason, people think succession it's comedy, listen here this is later but huh?!) . Do we need all these adaptations, some presented as reboots and some that want to be a breaking point from the original concept? Is this it for us? Did we peak on creativity and ideas for the best way to entertain people?.

_

I love television. I have never believed we're in a golden age of television, but I do love the tv we have now, because it has freed itself from the kantian perception of "good aesthetic" and it's just a really nice way to distract yourself, to soothe in and to just be. TV actors are really the shit and the US writing striking currently happening now is only gonna help to make US television better. I wish colombian television would also go on a strike to strive for a variety of content, to break the monopoly they have on what kind of content is made and who gets to make it and why. The stories colombian pop culture has...they deserve to be told in a different format, with a better formula. They deserve to be adapted and rebooted. They deserve something more than the formula betty la fea and cafe and gaviota and pedro el escamoso has left us with.

[kilopbob]

Quarkxpress tables

#Quarkxpress tables full version

The new native InDesign IDML Import in QuarkXPress 2018 converts InDesign IDML documents directly into the QuarkXPress format. Direct InDesign® IDML Import: With more and more InDesign users switching to QuarkXPress, it was time to make it even easier to migrate.Select the strictness level that is best for the publication – or decide for each individual paragraph. Hyphenation Strictness Levels: Choose between five hyphenation strictness levels – for example, hyphenate everywhere it’s grammatically correct or only hyphenate compound words.Font Family and available Font Styles (Roman, Bold, etc.) are now listed in two separate combinations and can be mapped to the type styles buttons P/B/I in the palettes and dialog. Upgraded Font Listing: Font listing has been overhauled to help designers make the best typographic choices.(Emoji icons on smart phones are examples of color fonts.) QuarkXPress supports Color Fonts in SVG, SBIX and COLR formats and can be used in print, PDF, and digital outputs. Color Fonts Support: QuarkXPress 2018 is the first layout application that fully supports Color Fonts.First-Class OpenType Controls: Rather than hide OpenType options in multiple submenus, OpenType is now easier to access, use, and control.The new features and functionality in QuarkXPress 2018 fall into a few main categories: unsurpassed typography, professional print and digital publishing, streamlined user interface (UI), and customer wish list features. The top user-requested features combined with a host of industry-leading functionality makes QuarkXPress the best version ever. Over the past three years, Quark has added major features and functionality to QuarkXPress – and QuarkXPress 2018 is no exception. Coming on May 16, 2018, QuarkXPress 2018 will bring designers and creative professionals new powerful typography, print and digital publishing features necessary to meet daily creative and productivity demands.

#Quarkxpress tables full version

DENVER, CO – March 1, 2018 – Quark announced today the upcoming availability of QuarkXPress 2018, the next new full version of Quark’s graphic design and page layout software.

[technologiestonki]

Microsoft onenote 2010 templates

#Microsoft onenote 2010 templates windows#

You can paste this into an email now that it is available as a URL. Right click the link icon for the note, and select Copy Link. Now, if you want to pass this linked note on to a friend in an email, it doesn’t appear to be that easy to extract the hyperlink out, but it quite simple in fact. If you try taking linked notes in Outlook, Excel or Adobe Reader for instance, no icon will appear, signifying that these applications aren’t supported for taking linked notes. You’ll know that it works when a small icon appears to the left of your note. Note on Application Compatibility: Linked Notes do not work with every application. Tip! There’s a Linked Notes in OneNote button on the Review tab of the ribbon in Word, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer which gives you another option to start taking Linked Notes. Clicking the linked note should take you to the exact page or PowerPoint slide you were viewing when you typed the note. Click the icon to be taken to the web page.Ĭool, huh? Now try this with another application such as Word or PowerPoint. Hover over the text in OneNote which will show an icon of the application the notes are linking to. Simply by having the web browser page active and typing notes in OneNote, I’ve created a reference back to the website I was viewing. Here I’ve taken some notes on a forum I visited. Since you are already in a web browser if you are reading this, place your cursor in the OneNote window to start typing. You can enable and disable any time you like while OneNote is docked. You can enable Linked Notes by selecting Start Taking Linked Notes or disable Linked Notes by selecting Stop Taking Linked Notes. You’ll want to make sure Linked Notes are enabled by clicking the Linked Notes icon in the left corner of the OneNote content area. Linked Notes! Linked Notes is the feature that enables us to take notes that link back to the content we are viewing in our applications. Want to stop taking linked notes and return to good ‘ol regular OneNote? No problem, just click the Dock to Desktop button again or push Ctrl + Alt + D to restore OneNote to the normal view.īut we don’t want to stop now do we? Let’s try taking some notes…but not just any notes.

#Microsoft onenote 2010 templates windows#

The rest of your application windows automatically adjust in size, and text in the Docked OneNote window automatically wraps so you don’t have to scroll side to side. OneNote docks itself to the right hand side of your screen in a narrow format. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + D. In OneNote 2010, click the Dock to Desktop button in the Quick Access toolbar in the top left corner. And best of all, OneNote automatically creates hyperlinks that point back to the web page or application you were viewing at the time. You can take notes while still being able to view the content in the other applications. What it does is dock OneNote to the right side of your screen along side other applications such as web browsers, Word, PowerPoint, etc. I’m talking about the Docked OneNote feature. But seriously, if you aren’t using this feature today, you’ll want to after seeing just how cool it is. Without further ado… The single greatest life altering OneNote feature ever Since that’s about all it does in the collection process, we’ll spend the majority of our time focusing on OneNote and how it can help us capture and collect all of our “digital stuff.” All my email gets sent straight to my Inbox for processing later. What it is good at is corralling our email. It plays a much larger role in other steps in the GTD process, but not for capturing. As it pertains to collecting our stuff, Outlook is simply a bucket, or an Inbox for gathering our email. I don’t really look at Outlook as a capture device per say. A brief note on Outlook as a GTD capture device We’ll eventually process these inputs and decide what to do with them, but for now we’ll focus on making sure we understand the tools and features that allow us to capture all the information that we come across each and every day. With GTD, the very first thing we must be able to do is capture and record all of our inputs. Now that we have Outlook and OneNote setup, we can begin using our GTD system. In Part 3 of the GTD with Outlook 2010 and OneNote 2010 Series, we setup OneNote to work with GTD. Table of Contents: GTD with Outlook 2010 and OneNote 2010

[duuhrayliegh]

Fuck Misogyny

request: Bucky uses his newly gained knowledge of feminism to squash misogynistic interview questions. @ptrs-prkrs

warnings: language, creepy men, feminist!bucky

a/n: hey babes!! i hope this lived up to what you wanted! i couldn’t find the exact video you were referencing but i know what you’re talking about, so i drew inspiration from a few others.

p.s.: my requests and tag lists are open!!

xoxo ray

full m.list

The set up was simple. A long row of fold out tables covered in black fabric, microphones in front of each seat. Black papers were taped to the backs of the microphones with each team member's name. Bucky had told Evie that he wasn’t going to be able to work out with her today because of this so it better be worth it. The PR manager for the team, Amanda, had set everything up. Hired the mediator, notified the press, everything. Ever since they announced that they were going to be hosting an Avenger’s Q&A Panel, the internet quite literally broke.

Of course Bucky had been doing lives on TikTok with the group of five for the past couple of weeks now, so he was becoming quite comfortable in this format. He’s become increasingly active on his social media accounts, gaining more and more followers everyday. Granted, there were still haters, as Freddie called them, but Bucky ignored them for the most part.

Bucky was actually excited for this press meeting. He was finally gaining traction in the media and he knew how to correctly answer their questions. As Amanda had explained, there was going to be several questions from the mediator, tons from the press that they had invited, and then some fan questions as well. They apparently were going to be live streaming the conference on YouTube allowing them to read the comments and questions as it went on.

“Okay, everyone. You have two minutes until we start.” The team was in an empty board room in the Hilton hotel. Tony didn’t want everyone on the compound’s grass because he just had it fixed. Bucky scanned his fellow teammates. It was impossible for everyone to dress for the same event. Steve was wearing a shirt that was almost bursting at the seams with a pair of jeans and sneakers.

Tony was wearing a lovely Tom Ford, three piece, two-button, of course. Natasha and Wanda were wearing ripped jeans and casual tops. Vision was wearing a sweater vest and slacks, Bruce was clad in slacks as well a jacket covering his shoulders. Sam was wearing a button-up shirt and pressed jeans and he couldn’t find Clint anywhere, probably hiding in the rafters again.

Bucky had his iconic leather jacket donning his shoulders, a pair of slightly ripped jeans. His outfit was picked out by Cassie and Penny. “You need to look like you care but like you don’t at the same time.” Is what they said, the phrase made Bucky shake his head. His hair had finally started growing back and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about it.

He had gotten help from Evie before he left Cassie’s apartment. She had pulled back the top half, braiding back two sections into the bun at the back of his head. There were pieces dangling in front of his eyes, “to accentuate the facial features, trust me they’ll love it.” Was Evie’s explanation as they pushed him out of the apartment, so he wouldn’t be late.

“Alright guys! They’re calling your names!” The team filed out of the board room and into a large ballroom. Bottles of water were placed beside each placemat. Tony went out first, followed by Steve, then Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Vision, Sam and ending with Bucky. They all settled into their seats, Bucky peeled his jacket off himself, placing it on the back of his chair. His black short sleeved shirt highlighted the gold inlays of his vibranium arm.

“Oh, I see we’re showing some muscle today huh, Buck?” Sam teased as Bucky took his seat next to him. Bucky groaned in realization, covering his microphone so it didn’t pick up what he planned to say.

“Good God, is this what it’s going to be like the entire panel? You just bugging the shit outta me?” They shared a laugh making the rest of the members look at the pair. The audience clapped as they were introduced and continued clapping as they assembled before them.

“Thank you. We would like to welcome everyone to the first, of hopefully many, Avenger’s Q&A Panel.” The female mediator, Stacey, read the assigned lines off the sheet on her podium. “We are going to start with questions we curated for the team and then open it up to the members of the press. After that we will turn to our live stream and answer some viewer questions.” The press rustled in their seats, pulling out pens and journals as well as their phones to record. “Okay, starting off with a question directed at the Avengers in general. How are you feeling about coming before the media in this type of format?” Glances were exchanged between the members, not sure on who was going to start.

“I feel that this is a great way for the general public to learn a little bit more about each individual team member.” Vision was the first to respond and Steve added on.

“Yeah, I definitely think that there’s a common misconception that we don’t want to engage with the media or the general public. We do, unfortunately due to the amount of research and training that we are doing behind the scenes, it just goes to the back of our minds.”

“Right. So Tony and Bruce, we all know that you two are geniuses. What are your feelings on expanding the teachings of STEM courses to not only high school, but as far back as elementary school or even kindergarten?” The pair thought about the question before answering.

“Well, I definitely think that offering STEM-based classes at a younger age would be beneficial, especially if we were to allow the kids to continue to switch what they want to focus on.” Bruce started. “It’s incredibly anxiety-inducing for teenagers to have to decide what they’re going to do with their life right before they are thrust into an unforgiving world.”

“Yeah, I’ll never understand why we do that to our future leaders, it’s honestly baffling. Why do American schools wait until high school to require our children to learn foriegn languages, they aren’t going to retain that information. The same applies for such comprehensive courses like STEM-based ones. If you wait until their brains are already developed so far, then they’ve already decided what they think is interesting and if they don’t find those courses interesting then they aren’t going to pay attention.” Tony finished Bruce's thought before nodding to each other smugly, obviously proud of themselves for answering the question so well.

“Interesting that you see it that way. This last one goes out to everyone and then we’ll open it up to the reporters. How do you deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with being an Avenger? Do you feel a certain amount of pressure to always do the right thing?” Stacey shuffled her papers, tapping them twice on the podium.

“We all have our own routines and ways that we decompress after missions so that really just depends on the person. Like I think that Bruce listens to opera music, and Wanda mediatates, Tony tinkers. It depends on the person.” Natasha answered concisely, making Bucky nod his head. He could recall all of those things to be true.

“Oh definitely, and it doesn’t hurt that we have a former VA Trauma Counselor on board to help us work through the harder stuff.” Steve added a gesture of his head to Sam.

“Speaking of that Sam, just a quick question before we open it up. How difficult was it for you to transition from regular Air Force missions to Avenger level missions?” Sam made a face at Stacey before answering.

“Um, I mean, it’s not that different. You’re always fighting one of the Big Three-- aliens, androids, or wizards, no matter what department you’re working with. The only transition I had to deal with was the Tony Stark-erized suits. Now that I think of it, Tony, can we make it tighter?” Sam quipped making the room laugh with ease.

“Alright, well now we’re going to open it up to the reporters. Starting with this gentleman in the front and then if we could also give a microphone to someone on that side of the room. Okay, thank you.” The first reporter stood up, holding the microphone in one hand and his phone in the other.

“Hello. John from Huffington Post. The Avengers inspire almost everyone around the world, so we would like to know who inspires you? Who do you look up to in terms of your idols?” He sat back down as the team contemplated their answers.

“Gandhi.” Bruce said, Tony snapped his fingers and pointed at him then added. “Pepper, she’s so amazing.” Steve looked down to Bucky, who shrugged.

“I would probably have to say that my sister, Sarah, inspires me. She raised her two sons, Cas and AJ, by herself after the Blip and was able to keep the family business going.” Sam’s answer made Bucky smile. Sam had brought him to their house in Delacroix, he remembered waking up to Cas and AJ playing in the kitchen, happy giggles filtering through reminding him of his time in Wakanda. By the time that Bucky had refocused on the conversation they had moved on without his answer. Several different questions went by, all directed to the team at large, until Chad.

“Hi, I’m Chad for the Daily Mail. My question is for Wanda and Natasha.” The pair of women perked up, excited to have a specific question. “Do you find that your equipment hinders you in doing your job as well as your male counterparts?” Stunned expressions settled over the womens faces, then annoyance. Bucky’s brows shot up to his hairline, appalled that someone had the balls to ask that. Wanda and Natasha handled the question with grace and much more restraint than Bucky would have.

“Well for me, I am able to move things with my mind so I can throw things randomly at people even if I’m not in the room. I’ve been very fortunate to work with Natasha who has Widow training, so my hand to hand combat is improving immensely. And being able to work with Princess Shuri in Wakanda to learn how to fully control my powers. It’s an ever evolving process that I’m always excited to take on.” Bucky nodded and turned his attention to Natasha.

“My favorite thing is training with either Steve or Bucky because they push me to do my best. We all have our specialties here and it’s nice to learn new skills or improve old ones with people who support you.” Natasha sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, throwing daggers with her eyes at Chad in the audience, waiting for him to say something else. Chad stood again, yelling so he could be heard over the crowd’s commotion.

“That’s great, ladies, but forgive me, you didn’t answer the question I asked.” Bucky pushed forward in his seat, leaning into his microphone.

“I’m sorry, I think I misunderstood what you asked them then. I would like for you to clarify what you mean by equipment.” Chad balked, not expecting a male’s voice to respond.

“You know what’s implied by equipment, sir.” Bucky’s jaw clenched at the man.

“Did you just ask two of the most capable women that I’ve ever known, if their equipment, which I’m assuming you’re referring their breasts, made it to where they couldn’t do their job as good as the rest of their male counterparts. Just to be clear, that’s what you’re asking?” Chad stuttered as he answered yes.

“Right, well first off that’s disgusting. Just a bit of background for you, Wanda is the strongest Avenger here, plain and simple. As for Natasha, she’s the smartest woman I’ve ever met and she can take down every single male here.” Bucky took a breath before continuing. “So, what I think you really want to know is how they encourage their teammates to keep up with them.” He dropped his head to look at the two women down the line.

“Don’t worry Chad, I’ll ask them the right question, since you can’t quite seem to understand how to respect women.” The team was holding back snickers at Chad’s reaction. “Wanda, Natasha. Chad wants to know how the hell you push your male teammates to be just as good as you are. What are your strategies to keep us on our toes while training?” Claps sounded from the women press members and Bucky awaited the pair's response. The next press member stood and asked a question.

“Hi, I’m Chloe from Vanity Fair. This question goes to everyone on the panel.” Bucky settled in for another question that didn’t matter. “How do you continue to be aware of things happening in our society today? Do you keep up-to-date through new channels, or social media?” The answers were rather generic from the team, all of them rather uncomfortable from the tension that Bucky and Chad had created. Stacey interrupted after Chloe’s question.

“Okay, we’re going to open it up to viewer questions from our live stream.” An iPad was placed on the podium in front of Stacey and her eyebrows rose. “Okay, there’s quite a variety here. Here’s one for Steve and Bucky.” Bucky perked up, nervous to answer because his adrenaline had worn off.

“One viewer asks, ‘Steve and Bucky, being from the 40’s, women were treated like second thoughts and were talked about like objects. Now, you’re in the 21st century, not much has changed. What have you been doing to support feminist causes?’”

“I just want to say that everyone should be answering this. It’s true that during the 40’s women were not treated the right way, and they still aren’t today. An 18 year old can’t walk down the street at nine o’clock at night without being catcalled. I am a proud feminist, as everyone should be. I think that as a team we are doing pretty well in that department. As far as what I’m doing to support feminist causes, I’m doing as much as I can. I actually recently enrolled in online classes to expand my knowledge on many subjects, seeing as how I am from the 40’s and all.” The crowd laughed along with Bucky.

“Almost all of my classes have to do with either psychology or gender studies, it’s a fascinatingly haunting subject. One book that I’m reading right now was suggested to me by my friend Cassie, it’s called Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot. The author doesn’t let up and I’m only halfway through it. Look, I’m still educating myself, but I’m a strong believer in doing what is right for everyone, so I’m trying. Thankfully I have a few people keeping me in check as far as my actions.” Bucky thought his response was well thought out for being an on the fly question. He was new to the concept of feminism but that didn’t change the fact that it made total sense.

“I’m with Bucky on this. The 40’s were a rough time. I remember the first time I met Peggy Carter, I was astonished that a woman could be in such a powerful position. One of the first things she did after I met her was punch out someone who made a sexual comment to her. I’ve been supporting feminist causes ever since working with Peggy.” Steve added, a sad smile spreading on his face reminiscing Peggy.

“This one says, ‘As a total fan of all of you, I love seeing what you post on your social media accounts. When are the rest of the Avengers going to follow Bucky’s lead and download TikTok?’” Bucky’s head flew back into a full body laugh. Tony shifted forward in his seat, pointing his finger at the laughing man down the table.

“I would just like to say he didn’t get that approved before doing it. However, it did go over really well, so we’ll consider it.” Wanda’s mouth rolled inwards, stifling her laughter.

“We’ll consider it, you’re such an old man. Most of us have TikTok already, we just don’t make content on it like Barnes over here.” Sam said, tossing his head in Bucky’s direction.

“I’ve got like three videos on there!” Bucky and Sam began bantering back and forth.

“Yeah and one of them is dancing to a Cardi B song! Who even showed you that? I thought you only like 40’s music?” Bucky made a face at the man.

“Uh, just because I didn’t like your suggestions for music doesn’t mean I don’t have taste. My Spotify playlist is filling out quite nicely, Wilson.” Bucky and Sam didn’t quit fighting from then on, just little jabs at each other under the table.

“Here’s a good one,” Stacey had a smile on her face, “Are you allies of the LGBTQ+ community?” Bucky responded quickly with no hesitation.

“Yes, many of my friends are members of the Alphabet Mafia. Why wouldn’t we be?” Wanda nodded at his question, laughing at his use of the phrase Alphabet Mafia.

“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I’m dating a fucking android, I’d be pretty hypocrictal if I wasn’t an ally. Nat, Clint what about you?” Clint bobbed his head in response.

“Oh yeah. We all are, even the Star Spangled Man with a Plan.” Steve’s shoulders shook with laughter at Clint’s nickname for him. The team broke out into laughter, joining Steve. Stacey cleared her throat, commanding the attention of the room again.

“Alright, everybody! That’s it for today.” She glanced down at her papers. “We would like to thank everyone for coming out today and joining the Avengers Q&A Panel. At this time we are unaware, if we will be conducting another one of these, but the odds look good based on the response.” The team filed out of the ballroom and into the empty boardroom. Bucky was the last to get into the room and he was approached by Natasha and Wanda immediately. Wanda wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug.

“That was so sick, Bucky!” She stepped back and Natasha offered him a side hug as well. “Where’d you learn all that? And since when are you taking online classes?”

“That guy was being an asshole, he needed to be put in his place. I hope you guys didn’t feel like I overstepped or anything.” Bucky hung his arm over Wanda’s shoulder, leaning his weight on her. “And I started about two months ago. They’re going really well, I’m learning a lot and enjoying it surprisingly. It’s a good thing to do in my free time since I’m not always on missions.”

“I’m proud of you James, that was impressive.” Natasha complimented him, she wasn’t usually a woman of many words so that was a lot. Bucky smiled at her, nodding his head. His phone began buzzing in his back pocket, so he excused himself from their conversation. His screen displayed one of Evie’s senior pictures, signalling that she was calling him. He pushed the green button and brought the phone to his ear to answer her call.

“Hello?” She ignored his greeting with a squeal.

“Check your Twitter! Bucky, you’re trending! Here I’m putting you on speaker, we’re all here Buck!” Shuffling noises were heard through the speaker as Evie began reading the tweets to Bucky. Laughs from Cassie, Freddie and Penny could be heard behind Evie’s voice.

“Oh my gosh Eve! Just let the man get back to what he was doing!” Freddie yelled at an excited Evie, who retaliated with a scoff.

“Okay, okay! Just remember we have a movie night tomorrow! It’s Penny’s turn to pick so we don’t know what to expect.” Evie mumbled the last part into her phone speaker. Bucky heard the impact of a pillow hit Evie, causing her to grunt in pain. “Okay! We’ll talk to you later, Buck! See you soon!” She hung up the phone before he could get a word in edgewise. Bucky shook his head as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. Amanda approached Bucky asking to speak with him privately.

“So we’re getting a flood of interview requests from networks and papers. We would like to start running with this. We’ll have to go over everything with our PR guy, Ryan, but it should work out. As long as you’re comfortable with all of this.” Bucky smiled and nodded, following after Amanda as she continued explaining what would happen going forward.

He was nervous, of course, but he could tell these nerves were coming from a place of excitement instead of fear, which was a new sensation for the man. It wasn’t unwelcome, it was the same as when he first started hanging out with Cassie, Penny, Freddie and Evie. It was the same when he went on his first mission with the team. Bucky was ready to tackle this next adventure, whatever it would entail.

[twistedtummies2]

Two Weeks in the TARDIS - The Third Doctor

Welcome to Two Weeks in the TARDIS! I’m talking about the different versions of the titular protagonist from “Doctor Who.” Each day I’ll be covering a different Doctor, going in order from the First to the Thirteenth.

If you could ever call one of these characters “The James Bond of Doctor Who,” I think today’s topic is a good start. This is the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee!

BACKGROUND

In Patrick Troughton’s final adventure, his fate was actually left ominously ambiguous. After his companions had their minds wiped (later episodes and audio plays would indicate they eventually got their memories back, I believe), he was sent hurtling through space and time by his own people, the Time Lords. So, when the show returned the following season - now in full color for the first time (the previous six seasons had all been in monochrome) - people weren’t really sure what to expect. The creators of the series had decided that, as well as bringing in a new face for the Doctor AND the novelty of color, they would also change the series format. Taking inspiration from both James Bond and another popular sci-fi series, “Quatermass” (which I know nothing about except that Dr. Watson himself, Andre Morell, was apparently the main character), the series officially grounded the Gallifreyan. Exactly what killed the Second Doctor was unclear, but for much of this era, the new Third Doctor - played by Jon Pertwee (father of Sean Pertwee) - was unable to travel, and was instead enlisted by the military organization UNIT to help them deal with alien threats and other strange things. This era lasted a LONG time, too: Jon Pertwee, in fact, is the second longest-lasting Doctor out of them all. The Third Doctor’s time on TV lasted for five seasons; again, most Doctors only got three, and some - as we shall see in the future - didn’t even get that much! The latter two seasons would see the Doctor more mobile, but even then, he was still on UNIT’s payroll, and usually his adventures were missions for them or even his fellow Time Lords, whom he was continually trying to appease, under the circumstances. It really wouldn’t be until the following Doctor’s era that the show would truly and properly return to its usual format and sense of style. 

PERSONALITY

Jon Pertwee, at the time, was mostly known as a comedic actor, and so - given the usual pattern of the Doctor’s personality - you would expect him to be a very funny character. And while it’s true that Pertwee did have a sense of humor all his own, the ironic thing is that his Doctor is NOT particularly quirky or bizarre most of the time. Next to William Hartnell, many would argue that Pertwee is the single most serious Doctor of the whole bunch. Pertwee wanted to try and break the mold of his comical persona, so he used the Doctor’s genius as a way to try and combat that. This Doctor, despite his appearance, was a man of action: obsessed with gadgets and gizmos of all kinds, he was always tinkering up new toys to use to fight his enemies. He loved driving sporty cars, motorcycles, and just about everything else that ran on gasoline: most famous was a suped-up oldsmobile he affectionately called “Bessie,” which I personally consider to be right up there with such vehicles as the Batmobile and any of the James Bond spy cars as among the most iconic roadsters in mass media. He was also surprisingly gifted in martial arts and swordsmanship: again, the influence from Bond is evident, with the more “action-adventure” feeling of the series with Pertwee at the forefront. Philosophically, the Doctor was something of a contradiction in terms. Despite his penchant for magic tricks and unusual sense of taste, he was ultimately rather strict and authoritarian, commanding his allies rather than simply letting them run alongside him, so to speak. He was confident and powerful, always sure of his own abilities, swaggering and striding from scene to scene. Ironically, however, throughout this Doctor’s era, the character would prove to be exceptionally ANTI-authoritarian; he’s always the first to question figures in charge when they do things he doesn’t agree with. Throughout this era, the show would tackle numerous social and moral dilemnas in a more direct way than before, from things like environmental awareness to the difficulties of war. It is perhaps best to say that the Doctor was critical of WRONGFUL authority: when he felt people were abusing or misusing their power, he would call them out on it, all while charismatically leading his allies into the charge.

COSTUME

Much like with Hartnell, much of Pertwee’s eccentricities lay in his sense of style and dress. This was the first Doctor who didn’t really have one wrote “costume” to rely upon. Later incarnations would change their outfits in subtle ways from time to time, but would generally keep the same basic look the entire time. Pertwee, however, functions a bit differently: his Doctor has an entire WARDROBE to choose from, rarely dressing in the same costume twice in a row. All of his outfits, however, are oddly anachronistic - again, much like Hartnell. He dresses in an almost Victorian manner, and is very flowery and dandified in his sense of dress. (Hartnell’s First Doctor, in fact, would refer to him and Troughton respectively as “A Dandy and a Clown” in “The Three Doctors.”) The Doctor frequently dressed in multicolored tight-fitting outfits of crushed velvet, with frilly shirts and shiny dress shoes. Occasionally, though not always, he would wear capes or overcoats, not to mention the infrequent fedora hat. The odd thing about Pertwee’s outfits is that they are rather absurd in their own way, standing out drastically against EVERYONE else...yet somehow, he makes them work, and you have no trouble buying that this Doctor is able to do the things he does in them. Any silliness they have is part of their charm, and hint at that odd wit the Third Doctor has just by looking at them.

NOTABLE COMPANIONS

Given his “grounded” state of affairs, working as UNIT’s chief scientist, the Third Doctor didn’t have typical “companions” so much as “colleagues.” His first female companion was Liz Shaw - a fellow scientist who had been UNIT’s ORIGINAL scientific advisor until the Doctor came along. She only lasted one season - evidently leaving out of jealousy - and was replaced by Jo Grant: a sparky but dimwitted young lady who became, once again, one of the longest-running companions in Doctor Who history. She lasted three seasons, before being replaced by Sarah Jane Smith...and we’ll be talking about HER in a later entry. ;) While all of these lovely ladies were excellent, my personal favorite of the Third Doctor’s companions (and I DO consider him a companion; there seems to be some minor debate there) was The Brigadier. Played by Nicholas Courtney, Brigadier Alastair Lethbridge Stewart - frequently simply called “The Brigadier” or even “The Brig” - was the leader of UNIT, and therefore effectively the Doctor’s boss. However, since the Doctor was...well...THE DOCTOR, the two would often quarrel about whose authority overruled the other. There were several points where the Brigadier would make decisions that almost seemed like outright betrayals, but his own frustrations with the arrogant Time Lord were not exactly unjustified. The Brigadier was a recurring character in Troughton’s era, and one of the main protagonists throughout Pertwee’s time in the show, given the new format. Once the Third Doctor’s era ended, he would remain a recurring character throughout pretty much the entirety of the Classic era, appearing at least once or twice in every Doctor’s time aside from the Sixth. Nicholas Courtney would also reprise the character in audio plays up until his tragic death, and the character has even been referenced numerous times in the modern era. While the Doctor and the Brig never saw ENTIRELY eye to eye, over the course of the entire show - and especially this specific era - they would become closer and closer, and by the time of the Brigadier’s permanent departure, Lethbridge Stewart had become possibly the single best friend the Doctor ever had.

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

Without hesitation, my recommendation goes to “Terror of the Autons.” In my opinion, it’s one of the most definitive stories of the Pertwee era, and it is my personal favorite for the Third Doctor. It features the first appearance of the Doctor’s arch-nemesis, The Master (played by Roger Delgado here), as the villain teams-up with one of my favorite monsters from the show, the Autons (who REALLY need to make a comeback, in my opinion; we haven’t seen them in almost two decades). The Doctor gets grouchy with authority figures, all while helping out the Brigadier and UNIT, and alongside the Master, we get the first appearance of Jo Grant. A great start for anybody who wants to learn more about this unique point in the show’s history. Next time, we’ll discuss the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker: the Longest-Lasting Doctor.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 277: Go Go Child Soldiers

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “hey guys I’m going to kill off Aizawa” and we were like “no you’re not” and he was like “watch me, I’m really gonna do it!!” and we were all “DO NOT” and he was all “okay okay geez.” I don’t know if he thinks he’s being cute or what, but we will probably have to have a little talk after this. Anyway, so other stuff that happened included the obligatory news copter showing up to record the carnage so that All Might and Eri can watch; Tomura activating some Approximately High End Noumus to serve as cannon fodder to distract all the hero extras; and Gran dropping off Kacchan and Deku a little ways away from the battle and being all “stay here”, which was IMMEDIATELY and PROFOUNDLY ignored as they just FLEW RIGHT BACK OVER TO THE BATTLE anyway to save Aizawa. Yep. Kacchan really wants to lose that quirk.

Today on BnHA: Tomura, Deku, Kacchan, and Endeavor all take turns flinging each other into the ground and launching fire and explosions and stuff, all of which is impressively violent and doesn’t really get anything accomplished. The grown-ups all collectively decide to shrug off Deku and Kacchan joining in on the fight as though they’re teenagers sneaking into an R-rated film as opposed to CHILDREN on a BATTLEFIELD, and I can’t help but feel like this very nonchalant decision will have some serious consequences! Tomura has a moment of self-awareness in which he’s all “is AFO possessing me lol” before deciding “NAH THAT CAN’T POSSIBLY BE TRUE” which, haha, okay. The chapter then ends with Mt. Lady unsettlingly taking on Gigantomachia ALL BY HERSELF??! which seems like a REALLY TERRIBLE IDEA?? and had better not result in anything bad happening to her though or I SWEAR TO GOD.

ooooooooh!

preview of the final battle, anyone? and I feel like this panel is deliberately drawn to resemble All Might and AFO’s iconic battle at Kamino as well, which ramps up the intensity all the more. very nice

and shout out to Aizawa for making this moment possible with his quirk! I have to assume this isn’t something we’re gonna get the chance to see too often moving forward, unless he decides to chaperone all future battles from here on out, which would be good for the kids but also very stressful for me

anyways, so... lol

it really is almost as though Gran asked them this question and then Deku was like “OOH! I KNOW!” and then just leaped into action to demonstrate. “this!! him getting ahold of me, right?? this would be so much worse.” good job Deku

although

he’s not wrong, though. dammit. I mean, I’ve already tacitly endorsed their involvement by approving of them saving Aizawa’s life. you know, for that brief span of time after Aizawa showed up and before we knew how powerful Tomura would still be even without his quirks, I really thought that Aizawa losing his own quirk was all but an inevitability. now, though, it kinda feels like they absolutely wouldn’t stand a chance without him?? hahaha

honestly it’s a little uncomfortable to think about the fact that the Child Soldiers That We All Agree Should Under No Circumstances Be A Part Of This War have so far a) saved Hawks’s life and b) now saved Aizawa’s, and by extension c) saved the entire world. I mean but don’t get me wrong, you still won’t see me writing the HPSC any thank you cards any time soon

anyway now that I’ve said all that, watch Aizawa just immediately lose his fucking quirk right afterwards though. WE’LL SEE

...sigh

why is every last one of the pros so utterly goddamn useless. sorry, was that a bit harsh. I’ll try to phrase it more gently. what I meant to say was, why is every single non-Mirko adult person on this mission about as useful as a RoseArt crayon. why do they all SUCK so HARD. why are they BAD. bad!! they’re just bad!!!

anyways but back to Deku

I’m torn between SOBBING FREELY at this and banging my head against a wall lmao. help please my green son is so loving and brave and so tremendously stupid, just

this is true! and by the way though Deku, just remind me again, I spaced it out just now, what was the reason Tomura was out here to get ambushed by Aizawa and the others in the first place? he was after... something? one for... the road? one for the money? one flew over the cuckoo’s nest?? damn what was it

damn it Aizawa stop dumping your feels in the middle of my sarcastic rants

bro. I know, right?? listen I’m proud of him too don’t get me wrong! the unfortunate thing is though that right now he’s not just your student; he’s also -- and it’s not your fault you don’t know this yet though -- The Thing That Tomura Wants Right Now, On A Silver Platter. so yeah. hence why I am concerned

oop no time to talk though cuz my boys are doing a ~*~COMBO THING~*~ ooooooooh yeahhhhhhh

look at that. “okay Deku you just hold him there and try not to get shot.” truly dazzling teamwork there

LISTEN, YOU!!

THE DISRESPECT?? ooh man and look at his face. this is the happy reunion I’ve been waiting oh my god oh my god

LOL

YEAH HE CAN DO THAT NOW HAHA. while you were off getting all transcendent he was mastering his BLOOP now what huh take that

...sob he’s just yanking Deku along behind him as if he weighs nothing. it’s like that one fancomic of the entire Bakusquad trying to stop an angry Kirishima --

-- HOLY SHIT I SAID “WHOA” ALOUD

MEEP THAT’S CLOSE. whew. okay. breathe. breathe

OH IT’S YOU AGAIN

you guys, is it just me or has this entire battle so far just been one long loop of -> Deku tries to fight Tomura -> Kacchan goes with -> Kacchan almost dies -> an adult intervenes at the last possible second -> Endeavor tries to fight Tomura -> Endeavor almost dies -> Deku tries to fight Tomura -> repeat ad infinitum

anyway so Tomura’s actually going flying into the ground now. that probably came within a hair’s breath of actually nearly almost mildly hurting him! way to go guys keep it up!

and Endeavor’s now echoing a question which many fans have been asking these last few weeks, “where’s Shouto?” where indeed. off somewhere not being a dumbass like these two, one hopes. maybe sticking his arm down some Not Quite High Ends’ throats and making them hibernate

lord help us Tomura’s actually stopped fighting for two seconds to monologue. is this good or bad??

is this a deliberate tactic? are you trying to buy time?? I don’t like this lol. why did they stop fighting you now that they’ve finally almost sort of got an edge on you

wow we’re really just... letting the kids fight, huh

just letting them be right there in formation with Endeavor. no one stops to think “are there any actual adult people we could try and swap out in place of these two high school freshmen?” because they already know the answer is “no there are not” SIGH

EVEN AIZAWA OMG

AND WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT?? “la la la we’re not gonna think about it.” goddammit I liked it when you guys were at least trying to pretend like the sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t be here fdslkfjlk

anyway. for what it’s worth, at least we’ve got the only three people in the world who ever tried to surpass All Might standing up here ready to take on the guy whose strength and toughness is approximately the same as his. that’s something. I guess this really is our best shot

YES WE GET IT

“I GUESS IT CAN’T BE HELPED” should be the goddamn chapter title. either that or “SHRUG, CHILD SOLDIERS, I GUESS!!!”

anyway so he’s telling Deku and Kacchan not to ask for direction in one breath, and then giving them orders right away with the next

djsalfkj. welp. you heard him Kacchan. guard Deku no matter what. this will definitely end well

KLDSKFLKSHG MEANWHILE!!!

DON’T MIND HIM HE’S JUST POSSESSED BY A LITTLE BIT OF AFO-SOUL. NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

oh man he actually looks freaked out??!

like he has no idea what happened just now. I’m sorry, up until this point were you thinking that having echo-y “wooooo... One for All... go get it~~” voices inside your head was perfectly normal?? lol boy he’s been playing you this whole time and he’s still playing you. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU IGNORE YOUR DEAD FAMILY’S EERIE DREAM WARNINGS. YOU GET POSSESSED

meanwhile!! both Deku and Tomura reacting at the same time! DO YOU BELIEVE ME THAT THEY SHARE A MENTAL LINK YET. hmm hmm hmm anyway

so now Tomura is straight up in denial!

sadly I’m growing more and more convinced that he’s wrong on all three accounts there. you may think it’s your power and your body...

and wait though, because this is the first time that the idea of him not being in control of his body has actually been brought up, isn’t it? so that’s a nice big red flag there! up until now the argument could be made that even if AFO’s will is manipulating Tomura from behind the scenes and influencing his decisions, there was nothing to indicate that AFO could potentially take over his entire body. but now that Tomura has brought it up as a possibility -- even if he’s in denial about it -- I’d say it’s not only possible, but extremely likely! so that’s a nice big thing looming on the horizon there

and it also in turn gives us a potential solution to the question of “how can this battle possibly end without all of the heroes dying and/or Tomura losing?” because one has to assume that Aizawa’s quirk is going to be taken out of the picture at some point, whether it’s because of him blinking at the wrong time or being shot with a bullet or what. at which point Tomura would basically become unstoppable again and be free to just destroy everything like he wants. but now this introduces the possibility of him potentially taking himself out of the picture for the time being. like if he realizes that he’s in danger of being outright possessed, I could see him leaving them for now and running off to go wage mental war with himself for a while, giving the heroes some time to regroup and lick their wounds. so that’s interesting to think about

holy shit!!

okay so just a couple of things I want to take note of here before we read on

“I don’t want to become like you” -- I think we can take this as confirmation that Tomura will fight against AFO if and when he realizes he’s being manipulated. his loyalty to him isn’t completely blind. so that could have some potentially huge implications moving forward

this image of Tomura being on the inside of AFO’s body, in what looks to be the same mental landscape from chapter 270, though. ...yeah. just who is really in charge, here

anyway so his next thought on page 11 is “I want to be even greater than you”, echoing Deku (and Kacchan’s) desire to be even greater than All Might, which is yet another nice parallel between them

and he’s basically telling the AFO voice inside him to shut up now, as if it will actually listen

yep. you want to go after One for All for your own deeply personal reasons. not following your master’s whims at all, nope. you are your own man

so now finally Gran is getting in on the action!

no idea why he want after the arm though. as if a broken arm ever stopped anyone in this fucking manga

OOOH NANA NAME DROP

???? um??? your dead grandma??? remember???!! don’t tell me you don’t at least recognize your own fucking last name there?? that is significant and don’t try to tell me otherwise! and in a chapter about you being rebellious and trying to defy AFO’s will, besides!!

holy shit

1. THE GRAN/TOSHINORI FATHER/SON FEELS I WASN’T READY!!, and 2. HOLY SHIT THIS OLD MAN IS RIPPED, THOUGH

AND HERE COMES ENDEAVOR NOW TO RUIN EVERYTHING SOMEHOW, PROBABLY

I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT FACE MEANS BUT IT SURE AS HELL ISN’T A GOOD FACE I CAN TELL YOU THAT

OH NO SOMEHOW DEKU GOT INVOLVED AGAIN LOL

DIDN’T I TELL YOU IT WAS A NEVERENDING LOOP OF A FIGHT. SO NEXT UP IS KACCHAN JOINING IN AND THEN ALMOST DYING AGAIN

OH MY GOD

NEVER. ENDING. LOOP oh god oh god. next time don’t loudly shout “HE’S JUST THE BAIT” before launching your surprise attack you dingus!!

HOLY MOLY

OKAY BUT

I don’t know about you but I am hella impressed that he managed a blast like that without blowing his own fucking arm off

with the exception of that one time he got all excited and tried to vaporize Todoroki during the sports festival, we have almost never seen Katsuki go all out against anyone, and the possibility that we might be about to see it now is THRILLING. I AM THRILLED

NOW WE’RE CUTTING TO ENDEAVOR AND HE’S FLASHING BACK TO THE SHORT SPEECH ALL MIGHT GAVE HIM WAY BACK WHEN ABOUT THEM BEING DIFFERENT AND ABOUT HOW ENDEAVOR SHOULD FIND HIS OWN PATH RATHER THAN TRYING TO BE THE SAME KIND OF SYMBOL AS ALL MIGHT. AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS IS OR WHY IT’S BEING BROUGHT UP NOW BUT OH GOLLY!

(ETA: I guess it might be because Endeavor -- unlike All Might -- isn’t facing Tomura alone but is working together with the kids to do this combo? like it’s a teamwork thing? I don’t really know lol I’ll think on it some more.)

LOL WHAT

WHAT IS HAPPENING. lol everything is either being exploded or on fire

KFFLSLLK “MEANWHILE”?????

OH NO OH GOD

SIGHING OUT LOUD AGAIN!! not because I’m disappointed to cut away from the Kacchan Loses His Quirk Battle (in due time!!), but because this means that yet again I’m going to have to spend a chapter worrying about Horikoshi killing off one of the TWELVE remaining living female pro hero characters he has, of which one is a healer, another is retired and working as a secretary, yet another only seems to do TV commercials, yet another another currently has... I want to say two limbs?? but I’m not even sure anymore, and lastly two more yet anothers are currently WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN and MAY ALREADY BE DEAD. so if you’re counting, that’s a full HALF of what was already maybe only a fifth of the total pro hero population in general

all of which is to say that IF YOU SO MUCH AS LAY A FINGER ON MT. LADY I WILL FUCKING END YOU HORIKOSHI. we are NOT HAVING THAT. you hear me?? YOU CAN’T SPEND ALL OF YOUR FREE TIME DRAWING MIRKO ALL OVER THE PLACE AND BEING ALL “I FUCKING LOVE GIRL POWER” ONLY TO GO AND BE ALL “OH BUT I KILLED MT. LADY THOUGH WHOOPS”!! DO YOU HEAR ME?? THIS AIN’T IT

sigh. and yet why do I have a very bad feeling about this. hopefully I’m just overreacting. please don’t sully this amazing arc!! MANGA GODS, I OFFER YOU THIS PRAYER

[weuschoiceheart]

⋘I-Land / Enhypen⋙ Love, I-Land (special chapter)

Tagging: @mari-kigold @akira-star @affectionaterainoflove @enhypenthusiast @periwinkle-ink 

Genre: just very nostalgic :))

Word Count: 2k+

Jay knew something was up when he walked into a dead silent Hybe building.

Looking around, he frowned at the emptiness. Am I too early? Too late? Checking his watch, he realized that he was exactly on time. So where is everyone? 

Sitting down on the couch, he decided to wait for everyone in the lounge. Perhaps the other members were playing some trick on him, to scare him when he lets his guard down. None of the other Hybe artists were here today, since Bang PD had let everyone take the day off, so the silence felt disorienting. 

A beep from Jay’s phone startled him out of his thoughts, and he clicked on the notification. 

Location change: go back to where we started. See you at the reunion! 

“Go back to where we started…” Jay muttered, a smile spread across his face as he thought back to the old box in the woods.

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

“Remember when we first came here?” Youngbin sighed as he, Jimin, and Sungchul walked through the forest. “It seems so long ago.”

“Yeah…” Jimin stretched his arms above his head, pointing at the familiar building coming into view. “And we’re here.”

“It still hasn’t changed,” Sungchul said in awe, watching as the black door slowly flipped open and the three of them walked in. “I can’t wait to see everyone again.”

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

“Wow...I can’t believe it’s been a year already,” K traced the sides of the egg gate. “Everything feels older.”

“No, it’s just you getting old,” Kyungmin teased, ducking behind Nicholas before K could smack him. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

“Remember when we waited for you to come back from the dance unit test?” EJ asked. “You guys were so cool performing on stage.”

K smiled, thinking back to the old memories. The feeling of being on stage again, giving all he got to keep from getting eliminated. The cheers from the other boys, the smiles at the camera. He still recalled the nervous feeling of waiting for the results, and most of all, he vividly remembered the moment he, Jungwon, and Sunghoon got back to I-Land and hearing—

“Hello~”

As if on cue, the gate opened to present Enhypen crowding around the entrance, doing the exact same move K had created a year ago. Jaw dropping in shock, he heard the yells from the other boys as they tumbled out the egg and embraced the members they haven’t seen in months. Before he could fully comprehend everything, a wild blur of blonde hair suddenly launched himself onto him and Taki, wrapping his arms around them both.

“Taki! Hyung! You’re back!” K laughed as Niki jumped up and down, bursting with excitement to see his fellow Japanese brothers. Has he grown taller? K wondered, and he felt somehow proud and sad at the same time. Ruffling Niki’s hair, he watched as the younger hugged Taki, almost lifting him off his feet. “Let him breathe, Niki, we’re not going anywhere.”

“You’re finally here.” A familiar voice said, and K turned to see Seon making his way over. Grinning, he trapped K in another hug, and K feels like he’s finally back home.        

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“Did you actually framed the shirt?”

“Yes I did, do you want to come over to see it?” Jay boasted, trying to one up Nicholas. 

“He actually didn’t, he lost it when we moved into the dorms and this morning he panicked because he couldn’t wear it to the reunion,” Jake said, causing Nicholas to raise his eyebrows at Jay, who gave Jake a look of betrayal.

“You weren’t supposed to tell him that!”

“Well, it’s not like—ahhhhh!”

Before Jake could finish his sentence, a larger body wrapped his arms around him. He could sense the younger boy’s enormous smile before he could hear him. “It’s me, Jakey!”

“Daniel!” Jake tried to struggle out of Daniel’s embrace, though he was too busy laughing. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“He’s going around hugging everyone,” Jay explained, “Don’t be surprised if he actually gives you one next time.”

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The ghost watched the boys crowding around the egg gate, a sad smile on his face. It’s been so long since he had any visitors, and seeing them back brought some light in his undead life. Literally. All the lights had been shut off since the boys left, and the ghost had to make his way around in perpetual darkness. Not that he needs any light to see, but it's nice to view the sun, even if it’s just for a little while. 

Turning around to look at the practice room he just came out of, the ghost could almost see the past images of the boys practicing there. The Fire team, organizing their formations. The Fake Love team with their hoods and shirts over their heads, trying to practice without laughing. The Flicker team, playing around with the curtains. It’s also the place where Seon first found him, and the first time the ghost ever revealed itself to anyone. 

There was the lounge connecting to it, where Niki had played the piano and Heeseung had sung. Where the infamous arm wrestling match had taken place and the boys had played with the video filters on the IPads. Where they had cried and comforted each other, and where Jay had written his heartfelt letters.

Making his way up the staircase that the Grounder boys had also walked up to see I-Land, the ghost drifted along the common room. Here, all of them had sat while playing Truth or Dare, the hoodies spread out and “Made by Jay” was created, where they waited anxiously to perform. If he concentrates just enough, the ghost can almost imagine the I-Land boys filming their PR videos, and sheep Niki making Sunghoon laugh. 

There was the dining area, the place where the morning zombies had sat, Sunoo had said “I’m cuter,” where they munched on macaroons and ramen. The ghost can almost see the nine reading letters from their parents, talking and joking around the table. There was the kitchen area, where Sunghoon had screeched about the pork, Hanbin had found the broken banana, and Heeseung had ranted about the ramen. The fridge was empty of spoons, and no one did any side squats to get rid of bloating now.

Moving on to the bedrooms. He had always wondered how K managed to fit his long limbs on the bed, or if he could at all. The mist that Sunoo had sprayed all over his face, and that Jungwon had almost eaten, was gone from the drawer, leaving only the empty reflection of the room in the mirror. The annoying fly that Geonu had tried to catch was gone, the light that Jay had turned off dark (no, the dressing room light does not automatically turn off by itself), all the beds stripped of clothes and necessities. Why Nicholas was sleeping naked would remain a mystery, no more Jay yelling at everyone to wake up and Niki going back to sleep right after.

The washrooms were next. He had to admit, Jungwon’s and Jake’s pranks against Jay worked pretty well, coming from a ghost anyway. There were the sinks lining the wall where K and Taki washed up like father and son, where K and Jay hugged and promised that they’ll debut together, where Jay scolded everyone for leaving their laundry around. 

Out of the washroom now, the ghost lingered outside the room that used to contain the stage outfits and BTS phones. The traces of the boys can be felt, thinking back to the selfies and pictures they took together, to when they marveled at the clothes for their very first “Into the I-Land” stage. He peeked into the practice rooms where he can almost see the Pretty U team helping Sunghoon struggle through aegyo, and where the I Need U team played zombies with the eye massager.

Drifting down the stairs again, remembering how Youngbin carried Jungwon down the stairs to the practice when the younger boy was barefooted, the ghost moved on to the stage itself. He recalled every performance here clearly; the nerve-wracking audition stages, the dance and vocal units battle, the incredible “I&credible” stages, the moving “Calling” performance, and the iconic “Dive Into You” stage. Jigeum Buteo saying “Standby,” Jake’s “this hyung is crazy!” and the confused “Rival? Live?” echoed through the ghost’s ears. The memories of it all hit him like a truck (not that he would feel anything if he was hit by a truck, he’s a ghost after all, but you get the simile), causing him to choke up a little. He missed them so much. 

Strolling outside now, the ghost walked into Ground, and reminisced some more. Here was where Rain taught them “Fire” and hugged every one of the boys. He could picture Jay giving back massages to Kyungmin, telling him how they must work through the pain to get to I-Land. There was Hanbin comforting Jaebeom (it’s so weird calling him Echan now), and helping the other boys learn the dance. Sunoo and Sungchul practicing “Save Me,” Jaeho practicing with Nicholas and Niki, Taki making faces at the camera. A blurry image of all the boys comparing and measuring their heights, trying to see who’s taller. Really, I-Land seems like a magical paradise, but he would never forget the fun times the Grounders had, and the hard work they put in to achieve their dreams. 

Outside once again, he spied the matted grass on the ground and smiled wistfully. It’s strange, he thought, how it was still there after Jungwon filmed his PR video in his sheep costume. He remembered how adorable he was, how all of them were, showing off their personalities to get fans to vote for them. And now it’s getting dark, so the ghost moved on to the small light from a campfire in the distance.

Settling down on the ground, he watched as all the boys talked and joked with each other. They were sitting down in front of the large screen, where the final 11 had watched the fan videos, and pulled the benches around in a circle. Their smiles lit up their faces, their arms tangled in one another, Jimin’s head leaning against Geonu’s, Taeyong holding onto Echan’s hand. The scene filled the ghost with a feeling he can’t describe, and being a ghost with no heart, it was definitely a little strange, feeling something after a long time of emptiness.

“....and I just want to say thank you, to everyone for staying by my side on this journey,” Seon concluded, snapping the ghost out of his daze as the boy sat down. As if reading his thoughts, Seon’s eyes flickered over to where the ghost sat, and smiled.

Thank you for looking after us.

Being a ghost is lonely sometimes, floating in and out of places with no purpose. The smile, that one kind thought, ignited a flame in him. In a world filled with countless people, it’s hard to spot a lone spirit, invisible in a crowd. It’s even harder to make them feel at home, in a place where they’re recognized and wanted. Yet here he is, enveloped in a family who coaxed him out of his shell. No, I should be thanking you, Seon. 

Maybe this is what the fans felt, watching them run for their dreams. Every Friday charged with anticipation and excitement, of finding who would get eliminated and who would stay. Away from lives permeated with pain, loneliness, and uncertainty, they found solace within these 23 boys as they followed them on this journey to debut. Along the way, the fans found each other as well, and a community full of eggies and engenes was born.

Thank you for the memories, I-Land.

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A/N: Thank you to all the eggies for welcoming me into this wonderful family. Whether you were a predebut stan or just started stanning Enhypen, thank you for supporting our boys. I-Land is over now, but our journey with the boys will live on.