#I at least got the first video out of the way.. it's a start ... ToT

[duhragonball]

I can see that the problem with a lot of early Dragon Ball Super episodes is the pacing. Even ignoring the fact that these episodes are based off of movies, if you can cut a lot of filler out, you can probably reduce both the Battle of Gods and Resurrection of F sagas by at least half, maybe even by three-quarters. That is a problem that GT shares, I just noticed.

The thing I keep thinking back to are the Transformers and GI Joe movies of the 1980s. Transformers: The Movie actually had a theatrical release, but then they cut it up into episode-sized chunks and ran it as part of Season 5 of the Transformers G1 TV series. I never saw it in that format, since the cartoon got cancelled where I grew up, but there were these bumper segments where Optimus Prime is telling the story of the movie to some live action kid.

GI Joe: The Movie didn't make it to theaters, probably due to logistical issues and the box office failure of Transformers. So I think it was direct-to-home-video, and they also ran it on TV. I'm pretty sure I first saw it as a movie on TV, but later I found out it was also broken up into chunks and aired as episodes of the TV series. Those had live action host segments featuring the real-life Sgt. Slaughter.

The point I'm making here is that both films could be presented this way in just five TV episodes apiece. I think Battle of Gods and Res F had longer runtimes, but all they had to do was edit the existing movies into TV-length episodes and air them that way. What would be the harm? Were they afraid of losing money by giving away the movies for free? They were already doing that by reanimating them for TV anyway! At least my idea is cheaper and easier to do.

And if they'd done it this way, there would have been less frustration with the early episodes of Super. The pacing and animation quality would have been better, and the filler episodes would be less obnoxious because you'd know for sure which ones were new material and which weren't.

And you're right, it is similar to the problem with GT. In the end, Toei was never concerned about making either show good so much as they wanted to run for as many consecutive weeks as possible, in order to hold onto their timeslot. So when they don't have a manga to work from their instinct is to just drag things out acording tot their production schedule. That's why the battle with Zamasu in the future took three separate trips through time. That's why the battle with Omega Shenron lasted as long as it did. They had a certain number of episodes blocked out for it, and very little in the way of story notes to go on. As long as the characters fight the bad guy, it doesn't matter what they do or whether it makes sense.

In GT, Goku would seem to do okay against Shenron, sometimes even seeming to defeat him, and then he would recover and be back to full-strength, and that would be the cliffhanger for the next episode, where they'd start all over again. They repeated this formula for like seven episodes until Goku finally got to defeat him for realsies, and the only reason that worked was because they knew Episode 64 was the last one.

The Zamasu fight followed the same pattern, except that the good guys would simply retreat in the time machine instead of making any real headway. Then Zamasu wrecked the time machine. Then it turned into the Omega Shenron formula where a good guy would do a big move and Zamasu would dash their hopes to set up the next episode.

This is why the Tournament of Power was so good, because even though the Goku/Jiren fight followed the same repetitive formula, you had 78 other competitors on the same stage. So even if Goku and Jiren's latest clash didn't resolve anything, there would be something else happening in the same battle that could keep things fresh. That, and someone at Toei finally convinced the studio that they had to make the anime look, you know, good, or it would hurt the brand.

To be fair, pacing issues are a little harder to notice than other quality problems with a show. Fans are just happy to see their blorbos on the screen, and even if the story is dragging, they still get to have that, so they feel mostly satisfied. But eventually, it becomes harder to ignore, so when you do a string of episodes where not much happens, fans will begin to get restless and bored, and wonder what else is on. You can get away with bad pacing, but only for so long.

The way I noticed it is when I started writing reviews/recaps/what-have-you for stories, and I would sit down and ask myself "What happened in this chapter/episode?" And sometimes I would realize that the answer was "not much". And I would think "Hey, at least this'll make it a quick write-up... wait, that kind of sucks."

#ask duhragonball #dragon ball #dragon ball super #dragon ball gt

[fff777]

Watched the NCT Dream 7th anniversary video (7 to 7)

They finally changed their seating arrangement! Not that the usual one is BAD but like, some variation is nice.

Jeno: After seven years, we still talk over each other.

The kimchi stew fight was memorable to Haechan ^^;; Affection to him is fighting I guess lol.

Teddy on Jisung's shoulder :3

Renjun and Haechan had a huge fist fight where their clothes were all torn and then they made up on the spot all within 15 minutes X'D That's so freaking dramatic what the heck.

Chenle dropping the bomb that he and Jeno fought and Jeno being like "...we did?" Flashback to when Chenle said he and Jisung had an argument and Jisung was like "...that was an argument?" Chenle being dramatic.

So Dream's infrequent fights start because of jokes eh. I'm reminded of how GOT7's fights are often because of food ^^;; I guess every group has its quirks.

Jaemin @ Haechan: Get the order right, YOU got covid first, and then I did.

I wonder why Jaemin was in the VCR and not Haechan though. I guess it was filmed when Haechan had covid but Jaemin hasn't gotten it yet?

Wow we're finally hearing about the scavenger hunt lol. So the guys went to a vacation home but Renjun was worried they'd find it boring so he set up an entire scavenger hunt at his own expense, and then went to Mark to tell him about it because Mark was leader XD

Jisung: It was fun :3

All of them remembering 7llin' in our Youth >w<

Jisung crying every day for the last three concerts ToT A sensitive boi.

Mark was like this the entire time Renjun was telling his story about hitting his head ToT

Jisung got hurt trying to kick Chenle's ass and they're still talking about it years later ToT

Omg they LIED about it and said that Jisung got hurt practising XD

I'm not even half way through the video but they have so many memories...they spent a lot of time together huh. Like athletes, celebrities also experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows. The highs are great but the lows are inevitable and it's nice that they have each other to rely on ;_;

Oh man I do the same thing when I get excited or very happy, I do the kitty paws thing and just shake my paws a lot.

Chenle telling the fans to be their stars and then them looking up and seeing the moon...Jisung really is such a romantic.

Is that Chenle's assigned kaomoji?

Chenle being nosy

"Jisung still isn't done yet." "HE ONLY WROTE TWO LINES"

Jisung and Haechan have known each other for 10 years ToT

After the other guys come back Jisung is STILL writing. He has a lot of feelings okay ToT

Mark wanted to write a letter back to the him that would have been graduating ToT

Wait whose decision was it to put on the music while Renjun read his letter ToT

They found out they'd be back to 7Dream during Ridin'???

Jeno had a lot of worries while Mark was gone...like the guys obviously tease Mark a lot, but it shows how each member is so important to the group T_T Yeah I totally buy into the 7Dream stuff TAT

"Don't lose the friendship ring." As I'm writing this (weeks ago when I would have queued this post) I just spilled like a quarter of the expensive peach juice I bought and I've been feeling glum about it...this makes me feel a little better because at least I didn't lose the expensive ring that is a representation of my friendship XD

Is Jeno controlling the music??? I can't see clearly.

Haechan kept getting interrupted ToT I can't tell if it was an accident or if they're actually clowning him on purpose ToT

Jaemin's message as always....好行啊!! XD Just focuses on the fans without saying too much about himself.

Renjun would've cried if there was a fire...also sensitive boi.

Mark sooo pleased with Chenle's casual message :P

Jisung's message is so direct :P He writes it like it's a mystery to be solved.

Pretty sure kyuu pose has nothing to do with 7, they just like the kyuu pose lol

YES they all called out Jisung for always skipping out on doing kyuu pose lol. He's in his rebellious phase and doesn't want to be cute.

Haechan: If we catch you not doing it again, we'll shave your hair

I don't know when this started but I think Haechan made this threat during the Finding U-jeong videos too XD

Jaemin: We will sue you (for not doing the kyuu pose) XD

Yep, Jisung wants to be cool instead of cringe lol

Jaemin: You (Mark) always talk about growing old

It's because Mark is a sap!!! He's a romantic too. He's sooo emotional about the Dreamies.

The camera and printer are kind of cool though.

So Jaemin started the Dream trend of ultra-close ups :3

My Jaemren :3

They all ended up wearing their rings on that day :3 Renjun the group glue is so happy. He even got them to take a photo with all their ringed hands :3

They really are just kids hanging out ;_;

Chenle: 我做的好不好?

Renjun: 做的好

Other Dreamies: *Trying to copy them*

Oh man...Dream's story is so touching, that's how they got me v.v

#nct #nct dream #screencaps & commentaries

[silvertws]

Mh yes, I could have been obsessed over I don't know... mythology, dinosaurs, maybe some more known media like Percy Jackson.

But no.

I got obsessed, over Minecraft steves.

You've read that right.

FUCKING MINECRAFT STEVES.

CURSE YOU YOUTUBE FOR YOU PAGE.

I could have been watching maybe good quality Rps.

But no.

One video, and I was already hooked.

Goddamn it.

You know how many different series I've watched up until now?

Let me show you.

First video was episode 118 of "The Legends of the Balancers" back when it just came out, then I kept watching from there and after I finished that I decided to watch it from the start.

And you may think "surely 100+ episodes of a Minecraft Steve saga satisfied their needs" right...?

WRONG.

I.kept.going.

Bedrock Rising, Ruined Reality, Steve Saga (no, not Sabre's one, I tried that one but uh... I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it, I do love his newest series tho!), Ore Quest prime, A dark soul, Crimson Life Origins, and AT LEAST another one that I can't remember the name of- ToT it even was a log one I'm pretty sure. AHHHHHH

Oh and yes.

This all happened in less than a month.

I have a problem.

But it's fine :}

THIS IS MAKING ME WANT TO MAKE A FANON OC- WHY- WHY DO I EVEN HAVE A STORYLINE IN MIND- WHY AM I LIKE THIS.

AND. I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRAW THEM MFS-

LIKE WHAT.

like sure, I have head canons, I have made some sketches, BUT HOW.

Like, take FUCKING TIME STEVE-

IS IT A MASK? IS IT A FLOATING CLOCK HEAD? IS IT A CLOCK FUSED WITH HIS FACE?

I don't know.

It just exist.

oh and let's talk about THE FACT THAT THEY ALL WEAR THE SAME FUCKING SHIT-

MY MANS, I AM HORRIBLE AT DESIGNING OUTFITS, GIVE ME SOMETHING TO WORK WITH PLEASE.

I am going insane.

I am now attached to all of these characters.

Yes.

All of them.

I cannot help myself.

I have low standards I know, I'm well aware-

Anyway.

Someone should really make a Bingo for those series like:

"Naive AF mc, Darkness Go brr, Fought a God, Got mind controlled, has multiple people in their head, is in the WRONG DIMENSION, uses a crystal of some sort, L i g h t, music is loud AF and I cannot hear what you're saying, puberty hit during the series so the voice just changed, Sabre (which, I can exuse cuz yk, it's Sabre), got created by an all powerful being, is supposedly very powerful but somehow loses pretty often ngl (sorry <3), amnesia..." and so.much.more.

Which isn't bad, cause they're all unique in their own way <3

I mostly find that funny :3 they are all based off the same thing after all, so it makes sense.

I swear I am a responsible and serious adult.

I just uh... Like funky stuff ig-

Don't come at me please :'}

I feel like you can see my road trip to madness here.

Don't worry, this happens everytime I hyperfixate on anything.

Well, anything that I can't really talk about with any of my friends because they don't know and I don't want to bother them because if I start talking about the lore...

I won't stop.

You will have to stop me, knock me out or something.

I know my friend will read this, so *hi* :}

#minecraft #minecraft rp #minecraftTV #mcrp #mctv #hyperfixation #steve saga #steve into the steve verse #please I need to talk about this with someone in the fandom or I will loose it #somebody sedate me #I think I should stop #but i'm not gonna #I'm a serious adult I swear #i dont fucking know #i don't know #someone stop me #no like really #rant? idk #AHHHHHHHHHHH #please don't cancel me over this silly Minecraft videos

[laoness]

Crowenture Day 14

I’m really starting to see the fruits of my hard work. It’s so rewarding and cute.

Tag list: @dropje-stuff​ @shirokage218​ @niborniac​ @wolfcrows​ @grinningnexu​

I usually go on my walks at around 4pm every day. Today, when it was close to 4pm I suddenly heard the crows making some kind of commotion right outside of my house and I looked out to see them flying rather low and passed my house. Very curious behaviour that I hadn’t seen before.

But when I wanted to go out I realized I ran out of peanuts! So, I first had to go to the grocery store to get a new bag. Luckily it’s a 5 minute walk. However, I think that kinda confused the crows that were hanging out right outside my house. They followed me for a little bit, thinking I’d bring them food and I think they were just so confused as to why I walked into the opposite direction. Poor guys.

Also I whipped out my 13 year old Sony handycam that I once got for my birthday. The quality is still not the best, but it’s way better than what my phone can do, at least when you zoom in. And I have to zoom in very far to get some nice shots of the birds. So, later today I’ll post a video, hopefully. (I know I said that yesterday, but I lost motivation cause the video quality was so crappy).

ANYWAY, once I had my new bag of peanuts, I started my usual round. When I came back from the store, I left some food for the crows that were still hanging around my house, but they weren’t really interested in it for some reason, even tho they had a fletchling to feed.

I left some for them anyway and moved on after awhile. I came to the random patch of grass at the water, where I had happily fed the “new”Pair of crows yesterday. Nobody was home today, sadly. But I left a few peanuts there. Maybe they’d find them later or the jackdaws will get them.

Then I crossed the bridge over the water, and right on the other side I saw another crow, who liked like he knew exactly who I was. I rummaged in my bag to get out some nuts, laid them on the ground and as soon as I stepped away, he and his kid came flying towards it to munch on the food.

I watched them for a little while and after they were done with my peanuts, I decided to leave them a few bits of meat as well. The youngster seemed very interesting in it and he actually hid his food, which was adorable to see! The parent wasn’t that interested.

Then I moved on towards the dead tree. I have consistently been leaving food here, on the exact same spot, for two weeks and it’s showing. They already know what’s about to happen when I emerge from the from between all the thick trees and bushes.

I first saw one crow scavenging through the grass, as she usually does. When I moved a little closer I saw a second one. He knew exactly that I came to bring food. When I walk tot he tree I tend to keep my head down and not look at the crows, since I’m afraid to scare them off. But they are getting more comfortable with me. As soon as I had put the food down and stepped away a little bit, they came flying in. They even cawed, almost as if they were saying ‘thank you!’. And I smiled, softly saying “You’re welcome.” They probably called the other crow to lunch haha.

Anyway, I sat down in the grass a little further away and observed them. I love watching these birds. They were so eagerly opening the peanuts and eating and their youngster really wanted some food, but had to wait his turn. I gave them a mix of peanuts, some meat and one (1) walnut. Walnuts aren’t that cheap and they’re big so I tend to just give them one at a time. It’s great enrichment for them too, to get them open. I know they will eventually succeed.

I have no idea where he brought that walnut in the end. There’s a smaller tree close to this spot where they all headed to. I think that’s where they hide some of their food.

After watching them for a bit, I started to walk back and came to the spot underneath the trees. This one’s always tricky, because they’re not always on the ground and it’s hard to spot them in the trees. But faithfully as I am, I put down their peanut snacc and walked away a little bit and waited.

Not much alter I saw some crows flying underneath the trees and yes! They had spotted my snacc for them. It were the parents with their youngster. I watched the three of them for a bit and it was just so cute to see this family together.

Look at this greedy little young crow. He’s so funny.

I also had a small chat with a man who was walking his dog. The dog was very curious and stood next to me while I was filming. I stopped recording to pet the doggo for a moment, or well, let her sniff my hand. She was a good girl. The owner told me -- after I said I’m watching the crows -- that another man feeds the crows, very early in the morning. So, there is someone else who does it, how interesting. That might explain why that one crow pair was so reluctant to take my offerings.

But anyway, I returned to the playground, but it was way too busy for the crows to show up. I left some food for them there anyway, because I did hear them in the trees above me. They didn’t wanna come down though.

The crows were rather noisy today in general. First the pair right in front of my house were making a big commotion right before I was going out and even after I fed them. Then the crows at the dead tree were also calling and I kept hearing crow caws from further away. As far as I could interpret them they weren’t danger calls, but simple calls to talk to each other. I can only imagine they were talking about food and maybe about this nice human who gives them said food.

I can only hope. It made me happy tho to hear them all talk to each other.

Like I said, video coming soon!

#crowentures #crows #crow diary #erik befriends the crows #crowdad erik

[mejomonster]

Yup.Kenzan came out in 2008,and a good chunk of the plot revolves around the relationship between Majima and Kiryu.The main plot of the game actually has a full translated series of videos by KHHSubs on YouTube.Although,there's a few errors in it,you'll still be able to totally understand the story.I won't say too much,but even Kiryu's other relationships in that game (like with Haruka,Date,and his love interests) are pretty fascinating.And maybe they're something more like potential past lives.It can be pretty nice to work off that view of it.

The pair you have to watch for is half Mine.I can't say a whole lot due to spoilers,but you'll have to keep a close eye on what he says,what's pushing him,and his behavior.I'd be happy to explain more whenever you're done with 3.

There's definitely some super worthwhile stuff at the end of the construction bit in K2.I'm trying to play through it myself right now so that I can experience the party interaction,and a semi-private Kiryu and Majima conversation.I've seen vids on both.The first one including all the correct responses which will be very useful.

Your interpretation of Majima after having played 0 first is honestly a lot better than most people's.Its true that in the original 1 and 2 he was much more of a focused crazy (especially in 1).While in 2,we started to see more of his serious side not unlike K2.3 presents some very analysis worthy Majima,too.

And Dead Souls definitely looks like something I'd want to try to play,too.Its got some err very interesting substories- like one between Daigo and Majima- and an overall story that I want to look at for myself.

Thank you for all of this! <3

Mmmm if you end up getting Dead Souls before me, please ee tell me what you think of the gameplay. Yeah I um 1. Intensely miss playing majima, yakuza 0 spoils people with 2 full main playable characters , so playing like 4 people is tempting. Also I really would like to see majima and ryujis whole sections, now that I know who more of these characters are now. Also I love genre Mashups so concept itself is tempting for the stories and whatever wild things it can allow for.

I'll look up the KHHSubs kenzan videos cool! I knew they did ishin videos.

Oh man there's correct answers to the construction side game talks later! Thank you for that heads up! Mm I may wanna check out more of that side game area then before I finish the game... I keep playing these games for like 30-60 hours then once the game hints I'm near the end I tend to just really get excited to see the end and start the next, so I'm missing like 60-70% of the game as far as that % complete says ToT which I'm hoping is at least like 50% high score stuff maybe and not story. But I definitely know when I go back to replay them next time, I'll have new substories and portions I just didn't get to yet. Which in a way is fun knowing there's more enjoyable stories to see even when I'm done.

(Mildly related but if you happen to like games where a LOT of the actual game stuff pays off with story, I highly recommend Nier Automata. One thing the yakuza series really does well is all the player time is mostly spent paying off with stories/side stories or mini games You choose to do - no required level grinding or material harvesting for things with no story payoff, no required hours of play to accomplish an objective that has no payoff. I can waste hours at the karaoke or bowling but one usually get a fun music video or story, and two it happens early so if I choose to keep doing it then it's optional for my own fun. I've played games where I spent over half the gameplay time level grinding or harvesting stuff, often with no story movement and not cause I enjoyed the task a bunch - compared to a fun optional mini game lol. So like I really appreciate that quality in yakuza, I don't feel my time is wasted, I'm always doing story relevant stuff I find fun or optional stuff cause I enjoy it. Nier Automata is like that- every side quest has an interesting side story related to the themes of the game or making the main story richer, mini games are optional if you find them fun - though not as many or as silly as yakuza lol, and if you do choose to grind for some weapon upgrade the weapons have stories which is their own little thing. Weapon upgrades are optional, and level grinding isn't required to beat the game by any means, so it's stuff you only have to do if you enjoy it. Nier Automata has an absolutely amazing story, but it also is really fun for you know not wasting player time and having a lot of care for its story and side stories.)

Whenever I play 3 and start/finish liveblogging yeah I'd love to discuss that game more!

#replies #ask #anonymous #yakuza #kenzan #mmm i might buy kenzan too and check out the vids if i get lost.... mmm #thank you for this info! #also mildly related? way diffwrent structurally but atlas ps2 game Devil Summoner Raidou also vaguely reminds me of yakuza games #in a goodcway. you play a devil summoner who solves supernatural cases. befriends demons and humans and helps both. #and theres a main intense story (but also wild) and then lots of slice of life side stories. and yakuzas story setup is similar

[creacherkeeper]

ok but what if i want you to answer all the questions for the lost npcs you havent answered yet.... what then? :'D

well your wish is my command!!!!

under cut cause Long

2. Do you find it easy to create NPCs? Why or why not?

i have so much experience creating characters between original fiction, video games, art, and ttrpgs that making characters is extremely easy for me

3. Do you build settings/encounters or NPCs first?

well with lost it was more setting/encounter just because it was supposed to be a short shot so the small, contained setting and murder mystery aspects were "more important" than the npcs. but once we realized it was gonna be long running, the npcs got a lot more fleshed out. brownbird was definitely a balance of character and mechanics when making her stuff

4. Do you usually have a strong sense of who an NPC, or do they tend to be kind of basic/there to serve a purpose?

my npcs go from "here is a basic vibe" to "oh god theyre calling the shots now" fairly quickly. like lizzie was NOT really a person in game 1 and then in game 2 she was like "im going to lash out and arrest hawk because im in love with divine" and i was like yes maam okay maam i guess this is part of the plot now?

6. How do you pick names for NPCs?

in lost theyre all named after country/folk/americana artists, songs, or bands!! it started as an easier way for me to name them (inspired by mr will orville) but then it became long running and the cast list started expanding and i was like oops!! but yeah its mostly Vibes

7. Do you ever use NPC generators?

honestly didnt know that was a thing

which npc is ...

9. The biggest flirt?

brandi has zero shame <333 shes the biggest lesbian but that will not stop her from flirting w men whether they are into women or not

10. The life of the party?

for regular parties, sarah, for Wild Parties, brandi

11. Most unique?

to stop myself from saying brandi again. i think kelseys stuff is .....,, Interesting. they have the kind of backstory i wouldve written when i was 12

13. Most likely to succeed?

well waylon ... Has succeeded? his methods of getting there were :) its hard to name another character because everyone is in lost cause theyre fucked up in some way <3

14. Most likely to be on a reality show?

sarah would simply thrive with the attention and it would Not make her toxic because she would not understand or care that thats what is supposed to happen

15. Most outspoken?

sarah!!!! my girl has no filter (future flashback my beloved)

16. Most evil?

the jack of course :))

17. Best dressed?

probably kelsey. i think theyre the only one who takes advantage of waylons offer to buy the squad nice clothes. overdressed nonbinary rights. also latrowe <333 his god mom makes sure he is a very fancy little coyote

18. Friendliest?

sarah or scruggs <33 also kitten but she is. 7. and my baby <33

19. Most changed?

can i saw latrowe. is that cheating. okay real answer waylon or scruggs :))

20. Least likely to care what superlative they get?

hawk lmaoo. everyone else would pretend not to care but definitely care, or would care soooo much. hawk would simply be like. this is. dumb.

21. Which NPC is the easiest for you to roleplay? Why?

in the bit of screentime he's had, scruggs

22. Which NPC is the most difficult to roleplay? Why?

honestly probably lizzie? she's just sooo different from me. like trying to balance the Restrained Stoic with the Absolute Messy Bitch Disease is. something im working on. she's VERY much her own person but im still figuring out how to inhabit that person

24. Which NPC is YOUR favorite and why?

thats so hard ToT maybe hawk? i have unfortunately inflicted him with Sad Boi Disease so so fast. bea has received so much psychological damage from high insight checks on him <33

26. Which NPC is YOUR least favorite and why?

hmmmm. i do find things to genuinely like about most of my npcs? either dr clark or colter, not because colter doesnt have interesting stuff, he's just sooo not my type

27. Do you have a favorite NPC (ally or enemy) to use in combat?

well i've only used brandi in combat because im REALLY not a combat person. but she's. insane <3 yall did such a good job kicking her ass but she is a vengeance paladin/arcane archer fighter/wild card rogue who has +12 stealth and her max damage in a turn is 217 <33

29. Are there any NPCs you wish you could play as a PC one day?

if i had to choose one as a long running pc it would probably be scruggs but i WOULD have to break him mechanically more <3 playing brandi as a long term pc might. rot my brain.

30. Bonus question! Answer any that you haven’t been asked, or talk about any NPC you want!

one of the players has a little bit of info about brandi backstory :)) <33

#thank you my love!! #lost township

[drgamenstein]

Projects projects projects.

Okay, So I've been up my own ass with preparing myself and doing all this behind the scenes stuff to set myself up for, if not success, then at the very least a fun learning experience. So he's what I'm up to, if anyone at all cares;

Project 1:

I'll be streaming again on YouTube, with mostly games, but if I can manage it I'll try to do art streams as well, either teaching myself to draw again with my tablet, or building and painting miniatures, which will come up again in a bit

Project 2:

I'm starting a lore series, sort of, basically I'll be doing short lore/story summaries, again focused mostly around games, but expanding out into to film, tv or books. I already have the first of the audio tracks for these videos recorded, explaining the story of Super Mario Bros. for the NES, but I may need to redo it, and definitely need to actually edit it into a video.

Project 3:

The big one... so I've been diving deep into Warhammer 40k. It's been a major part of my life since way back when I was a wee tot playing Final Liberation, because of that I've decided to force myself into building and properly painting an army, and in the spirit of Warhammer 40k, I've done so in the most over the top way possible. I'll be starting a mini-series, on both Tiktok and YouTube Shorts, which I'll be calling Road to the Apocalypse, where I build a full army to a ludicrously over the top level, because I have an addiction to building model kits. This project in particular does have a finale, unlike the other two, and I've already got, maybe a quarter of what I have planned to build, so it will fill out my time. If this project succeeds, or if I just have that much fun with it, I'll probably call it season 0 or something, and then do another ludicrously sized army to follow it. Like any first time army, I'll be starting with Space Marines, and the specific Army I've chosen is the Iron Hands. I like the challenge of contrasting Black Armour, as well as working with all the bits and pieces to make them look like metal. I like their lore, and aesthetic a lot, plus they give me an excuse to paint lots of plastic boxes with all their vehicles and guns, so I'm really excited to be building them. I'll try and get every model to a level above just battle ready, and try to make them really my own.

If any of that sounds interesting, I'll be updating all my social media as I progress through all of them, including here, so I guess stay tuned. Probably this most exciting part here is how many options all these projects open up for me in the future, there's a lot I can do with each of them, and that has me super motivated.

This all happened because I went back to college this year, but due to work, I missed out on summer classes, so I decided to make myself work hard in my spare time, teaching myself art, music and video editing techniques, even if it's not formal teaching. I've bounced back from my depression, and i'm more motivated than ever before.

#gaming #writing #youtube #art #warhammer #warhamemr 40k #painting #miniature #video #editing #bouncing back from depression #personal projects

[meichenxi]

Hey, could I ask you how you do shadowing? Like the different ways you do it? You mentioned in your tag that shadowing is good and I'd love to hear how you do it! I do not attempt shadowing much so I don't really know what helps, etc. ToT (my studyblr is rigelmejo)

Hellooo! Thank you for the interesting question!

Tbh I think I do it fairly basically - I don’t use any particularly fancy software, but software like Language Learning with Netflix has certainly made it easier. There’s a whole video on how to get the most of it here: [on mobile, link didn't work - How to study Chinese with Netflix! by Chinese Zero To Hero] (I’d recommend checking out all of their videos actually, they’ve done a bunch of livestreams recently and they place a lot of emphasis on shadowing + the course they are trying to sell you is…actually phenomenally good)

(Also, I have to preface this by saying that I have been very lucky in terms of pronunciation: I learnt about 80% of my current vocabulary by ear without characters or pinyin. I have been in China for eight months in total, and while I didn’t speak Chinese for all of that, I was constantly soaking in info on natural sentence intonation. I still often don’t know officially what the tone of a vocabulary item is, especially if it changes tone like 教, 为 or 相, but I don’t get yelled at so I have definitely internalised a lot of those changes. I definitely would have more trouble with this if I hadn’t had that experience - my other areas are waaaay weaker because of this though- my reading SUCKS lmao and I can literally handwrite about ten characters)

Anyway. How I shadow:

1) Quite simply by playing the line, and repeating it with all the emotion it has!! I usually use Netflix or Viki for this. I try to do it as fast as possible, and if I can’t do the whole thing, I ‘chunk’ it: if I were doing the sentence 我们还不知道他会不会来, I would start from the end with 他会不会来, then 不知道他会不会来, and then the whole sentence. Notice that this isn’t breaking it down into words or even grammatical phrases, but intonational phrases: it would be perfectly sensible to just do 会不会来 without the 他 but realistically, since this is a question, it’s likely that a strong stress will be placed on the first 会, and you wouldn’t be able to replicate that without also included the more weakly stressed syllable before.

2) I locate (intentionally or subconsciously) the main locus of stress within the sentence, and I focus on that accordingly. Tones may become less extreme if they are not stressed, and may become more exaggerated if stressed. This is always a good exercise. I accompany this with physical actions - I throw my hands down, I sigh, I groan!

3) I put away the text, and don’t look at the tones or even my computer screen - more on this below.

4) Finally, when I think I’ve got it reasonably accurate, I’ll record them speaking the line into my phone with an appropriate pause for copying and play it back to myself at various points throughout the day.

5) I then go and find other words with the same tone contour to slot in, and copy it again. After that, I find words that are slightly different tonally and pop them in too.

6) I finally do fun things like hold a conversation with myself. This can be really simple phrases imbued with some kind of emotion - 这个女子到底是谁呀？为什么不认识我？应该是新手吧。You can do this either really informally, or very formally, or both - trying to speak in the latter way is very fun! So then it’d be idk something more like: 那位姑娘是何人，来自何处？This is fun because you can really slow down your speech and sound as elegant as you like!! (this will sound stilted if you do it for modern speech, but it’s a very fun exercise)

Choosing your media!!

1) Don’t use donghuas. Seriously. The voice actors usually speak at a ridiculous pace and not with the same range of ‘normal’ intonation

2) Your Chinese is definitely good enough to recognise when anyone is quoting poetry or speaking in a paricularly sexy literary way so, uh…don’t do that. That rules dramas like Nirvana in Fire OUT.

3) Modern dramas and reality TV shows CAN be great, but they can also be quite intimidatingly quick and almost too mushy at times. I’d recommend informal speech in guzhuang dramas more, because they have professional voice actors and extensive sound editing, meaning that although it might be fast and the vocabulary harder, it’s actually much more accessible and easier to copy. You don’t want to be stuck with the awfulness of 50% failed foreigner and 50% 12 year old boy who can’t enunciate properly!!

4) CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON WISELY. I try to find characters that speak in a dramatic, whiny or childish way. This is so important! There’s literally no use copying Lan Wangji unless you want to be able to have that particular cadence and tone of voice you get reciting poetry. Childish/whiny/dramatic characters on the other hand stress some words very strongly, and rush others together - this is great for hearing what actual real speech sounds like. Whininess wins. In The Untamed, characters like Wei Wuxian (not yllz!wwx but just…regular wwx), 一问三不知 Nie Huaisang, Jin Ling, and Jingyi are all great. Also Jiggy, who is just very extra constantly and speaks much slower as well, which really helps. In SHL characters like Gu Xiang are good.

5) CHOOSE YOUR VOICE WISELY! If you are really aiming to copy them 100% (which you should try at least sometimes), you want somebody with your pitch range to sound normal. I have a sort of party trick in Chinese that because I’ve spent so much time listening to women in guzhuang dramas I can change my voice and sound like a) a scheming concubine with honeyed words, or b) the voice of the Beijing metro. My teacher found it hysterically funny. But it’s not my natural voice, and if I speak like that for too long it hurts. The women usually are too high for me, and the big burly manly men too low - so I’d recommend finding a man with a higher voice, or an older woman (like some of the female characters in Nirvana in Fire). Again, sorry that this is mostly the Untamed (I’m just most familiar with it) but the voice actors for Wei Wuxian and some of the juniors (+jiggy) has a higher voice. Likewise Chengling in Word of Honour.

On intonation in general:

- The thing is that whilst shadowing is useful it requires prior ability in a whole bunch of other skills that you can train - it relies on your ability to accurately mimic pitch, emotion and other contrasts. Training this in ANY language, including your native one, will help your ability to do this in Chinese - so I’d recommend spending a fair amount of time practicing shadowing (or speaking just after somebody whilst listening to a string of text, like monolingual simultaneous interpreting) in your native language too. Any training copying accents or mimicking other people is going to similarly help, regardless of the language.

So, with that in mind, further tips:

1) Hum / try to copy the intonation without any words. What this does is force you to pay attention to what the intonation actually is, versus what you may think it should be.

2) Don’t look at the text! Do! Not! Look! At! The! Text! If you look at the characters or pinyin you’re telling yourself ‘ok this is a third tone here’ etc, but you want to override the part of your brain that has gotten into bad habits and is supremely self-confident in how you’re pronouncing the third tone, and actually just go straight back to mimicking.

3) Don’t be afraid to do it with vocabulary that is way beyond your level. Actually, I find this can sometimes be helpful, because you don’t have a prior idea about how a particular tone pair should be useful - and you don’t know which tone you should be producing.

4) Learn vocabulary by ear - listen to a vocab podcast or even make one yourself (I often do this; I record my daily Anki and listen back to it through headphones copying throughout the day - if you’re not confident in your pronunciation you can get Google Translate to do it). Similarly, pick unknown vocabulary out of a longer segment and remember it, trying to internalise the tones instead of figuring out which tone it is.

5) Find emotional sentences, and copy them with emotion. This is SO CRUCIAL!!! We remember things when we relate to them, and when we imbue them with emotion - and it also helps in hearing exactly how an angry second tone sounds, for instance.

6) When you’re copying, look up, and imagine you are having an actual conversation. Carry yourself with conviction and poise!! Really try to whine like wwx or slime like jgy. After a couple of turns copying them, try to turn off the audio and keep delivering it in the same manner.

7) Swap individual words out. Once you have a line properly figured out, swap a word or two that has a different tone pair, and focus on delivering it with the same pattern of stress.

8) Finally, practice doing this in your native language too!! It’s a skill that we don’t use often, and it can be trained. Some people are terrible at it at first go even in their native language, but you can work on it!

About intonation in general:

1) I think a lot of pronunciation problems with people sounding unnatural or stiff ultimately come down to a fundamental misunderstanding of what intonation looks like across different languages. In English we mark it by pitch: and we are so used to the rhetoric that Chinese has ‘tone’ and not ‘intonation’ that we try and focus on blindly copying every single word textbook perfect without listening to how it actually sounds.

2) Chinese does have intonation!!! Except that, unlike English, when you stress a word, the pitch doesn’t change, but the tone contour is exaggerated - basically the only time you will ever hear a full third tone is in isolated or very exaggerated speech. If you have a Chinese friend, get them to record a sentence like the English ‘I didn’t ask her to steal his rucksack’, and put stress on the different elements of it - I didn’t ask, I didn’t ask, I didn’t ask, and so on. Notice and copy how the tones change. When shadowing, you should always be paying attention to where the stress is in the sentence: when you speak by yourself, practicing saying a sentence neutrally, and then with stress on one component, the next, and so on. If it feels unnatural, it’s because you might not have practicised like this before - it’ll get better!

Hope that’s somewhat helpful / interesting!

- 梅晨曦

#chinese #chinese langblr #langblr #chinese studyblr #studyblr #learn chinese #study chinese #chinese vocab #lingblr #askies

[fragileizywriting]

Izy... IZY.

I saw that art u showed for flp.

I just wanted to tell u. I. HAVE. BEEN DYING to draw someone- ANYONE! From your AU, EVERYTIME I READ IT. I GO FERAL OVER THE LITTLE DETAILS U ADD, WHETHER IT BEING THE CLOTHES THEY WEAR, their FACIAL FEATURES- EVEN THEIR BODIES. I can't I'm so weaaaaaakkkkkk I RLLY WANNA DRAW THEM SO BADDDDDDD.

BUT whenever I try tho, it's always the character's clothes that always get me. Like I KNOW this is set in a certain period, I just didn't know what!

From the way they lived I thought it was the year 15-1600s. BUT THEN, I remembered how you described Marinette getting dressed, and well IT DOESN'T ADD UP! I've done enough research and even watched TON of videos(def not for this AU no.) of how women got dressed in that time period. The exact detail I remembered that threw me off the loop was her putting stays as an undergarment! And I know that's not in that period, no that's not how they get dressed, unless maybe if she was a noble then maybe I haven't done enough research.

But she's only a commoner!!!(despite marrying a demon prince in the future!) And well... I DON'T KNOW ANYMOREヽ(`д´；)/!!!

I've always just drawn other characters from other shows, in another site so I've always wanted to make my first ml piece by making a small gift for u! I just wanted to know how they really look like(their clothes ofc, im talking abt their clothes)! And... the... time period ur writing in.........

hello anon!!!!! i hope you're doing okay!!!! oh god, i never imagined someone would want to draw this au, eep!!! i'm so glad you want to draw for this au...

you definitely have very important questions, and i hope i can explain!!!

this au isn't exactly set in any exact time period, which is even worse, isn't it? here's how it works out: there are two very distinct places of inspiration i got in order to flesh out this au.

black butler and howl's moving castle.

at the very least, these are two very different time periods, i know.

for black butler, it's where we got the whole "tattoo glowy part and the demon has the same tattoo on them in order to show that they're contracted to one another" type of thing. it's also where we get a lot of the dark elements of the story from.

howl's moving castle is everything else. the magic, the scenary, the sweetness and the calmness even though there's war and destruction in the movie, it's one of my all-time favorites.

i've tried to make the time period as "fantasy" as possible, but there are a couple of things i've made sure to do. for one, marinette wears a chemise under everything. she wears stays, too, and they either lace up the front of the back (the back is her more formal one, since that probably requires a second pair of hands to help her out. familiar chat to the rescue!)

i personally personally personally have taken a huuuge amount of inspiration from these two videos on how they dress for the time period: video one | video two yes, these two are definitely two very different time periods, too! but the delicateness, and the floweryness of the late 1700s combined with the ruggedness and the comfort of late 1800s... i've tried my best to combine them as much as i can, even though it might not have come off as professional... marinette wears nearly identical clothing to video two, but in dark colors instead of denim.

honestly, i should've picked a time period and stuck to it instead of trying to fit different time periods together in order to pretend that this is a completely different world ToT

the tl;dr, anon, is whatever you'd like to draw in whatever clothes, go for it!! the drawing i drew was original from when before i started writing the au, about two or three years ago, so it's definitely wrong now. i didn't fix it when i redid chat, because i totally forgot to!!

i hope this helped...

have a good day!!!

#speakizys #fire lily petals

[mrslittletall]

Let's rate all Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons summer themes! Why? Because it's summer at my half of the globe! SNES - I never really liked this theme. Too busy, too energetic, too repetiteve. It is fine enough to listen too though, but it was never one of my favs. GB/GBC - It's the same melody as SNES, but with the Game Boy sound font. For some reason, it actually sounds BETTER like that. Yeah, I prefer the GBC one to the SNES one. 64 - Hmm... I am torn on that theme. Similar to the SNES theme, it feels too busy for me and the first few notes are a bit grating, but the melody is pretty catchy and entraps you to hum along. Also, the quieter part of the theme sounds pretty good. Yeah, it's pretty solid ^^ If only the loud entry wouldn't be. GBC2 - YIKES! That was my reaction when it started, but it gets gradually better and turns into a pretty enjoyable little melody, sounds very much like summer. BTN - Aaah, now we are talking! This song is just FUN! It lets you think about a fun summer day on the beach. The melody starts a bit frantic and then gets calmer for the second verse, and you just want to wave your body along the melody and eat ice cream. It's a bit short though... GBC3 - Like pretty much every entry for this game, the music is pretty yikes. It just... isn't very good. It isn't an ear grater, but also not very enjoyable to listen to. AWL - While AWL lacks a summer theme on its own, because you can only play disks in your house and on your farm, it uses a song from Save the Homeland and that one is remixed pretty well. FoMT - It's the same melody as BTN but in the GBA sound font. It sounds well enough, but it can't beat the PSX version of it! Yes, I am biased, I prefer BTN over FoMT, end me if you please. BTN was the better game and I wished SoS FoMT would have been more BTN and less FoMT. MM - My husband goes around and hums this theme when I play Magic Melody ^^ And I get why, it's an earworm! It has this absolute summer feel, similar to BtN, from a summer day at the beach you want to spend with ice cream. It has such a tropical feel and once the main melody sets in, you can't help but hum along the music. I especially love the key change at around 1.17 ^^

StH Farm Theme - Ah, it's the theme got used in AWL, but this version is SO MUCH BETTER. I love the charming little melody, the guitar melody in the background, how the melody slowly splashes along and then turns into a flute to just tell you that you are on the countryside and sit leaned against the fence on your farm while there are 30 C and you are completely fine with it. StH Town Theme - Ah, this theme is a lot more energetic and quick. While it kinda remixes the farm theme (every StH theme does that), it doesn't carry quite the same nostalgia as the farm theme. The part that starts at 0.43 is super rad though and I love this bit. DS - I never have been a fan of this summer theme. It just feels like it starts and never ends. It just goes on and on and on and ugh... it annoys me kind of. At least you can switch the music in HM DS. IoH - This game kinda manages to nail all its themes, it is such a charming little song that makes me think of a summer breeze, but it's sadly, like every IoH song far too short. HoLV - Aw, what a charming little song ^^ The bassline melody and the main melody really contemplate each other and unite into a song that sounds like you want to let your feet doused by the river on a hot summer day.

ToT Day Theme - ToT goes a very different route with it's summer theme. It's a downright relaxing song. It is a joy to listen to, for it gives you the feeling that you are allowed to slow down and do your chores in your own pace. I really like the key change in this one. Sadly, the song falls short. ToT Night Theme - It's the same melody as the day theme, but... it sounds a bit haunted in my opinion ^^' ToT's night themes all have this problem. The key change though is really good here, make it sound like a warm summer night under the stars. SI - Hmmm... it's ok to listen to, I guess, but I don't actually feel a lot when I listen to this theme. It doesn't have a very summery feel for me and actually feels a bit chaotic. AP Day Theme - I LOVE THIS THEME! Ok, I say it, that is downright my favourite summer theme in the whole series! It starts with such joyful piano notes and then the piano takes a back seat with the same three notes that goes up and down while the main melody kicks in and just tells you that this is a summer day and you will enjoy it and you will have fun doing your chores and then sit at the beach that is right in front of your farm or share a cold drink with your sweet heart. My husband also can't stop humming this theme whenever I play AP, that shows how much of an earworm it is ^^ AP Night Theme - The melody is the same one as the day theme, but played more slowly and more relaxing. While I prefer the day theme, this one is super solid as well and a joy to listen too, especially the bassline of this song. GB - Ah, a fun little theme ^^ It is very fitting for the world of the game which seems to be set in the netherlands. I like listening to it, it is a song that you want to sway to.

ToTT - I hear the first few notes of this and instantly know that is summer, that is how much this summer theme got ingrained into my mind. It is one of the more relaxing themes though and there isn't much indication that it is a summer theme actually, so while it works very well as song, it isn't the greatest summer theme. ANB - Is it the 3DS game with the best music in the series?! It is! And ANB doesn't disappoint, the summer theme SLAPS! It is a joyful little song which runs at a quick pace and lets you feel like it is summer and you want to go to the mountains and sweat while you climb out and then go for a swim in the river on your way back up. The key change at 0.53 is just GREAT and it gets me every little time I play the game. TLV Day Theme - Aw, I always liked this little theme, it is a very relaxing theme and it fits the valley that is your playground in this theme. I just liked to terraform while this relaxing music played. TLV Night Theme - Um, are we at a jazz bar? Because that legit sounds like a theme that would play at night in a jazz bar, where you sit with your drink and just chill while you look at the jazz band performing. SoS Day Theme - SoS is special, because in that game you actually CAN SWIM IN THE RIVER, so I really like that the summer theme is so enjoyable to listen to, because you can actually cool off in this game ^^ Go swim and dive while this little theme plays, mostly played with plucking instruments. SoS Night Theme - Oh, this one starts a bit slow, but gets really nice to listen to once it hits the first 30 seconds. A very relaxing song, another one that makes me want to douse my feet in water and look at the starts while I stay on the countryside. SV Day Theme - I kinda always liked this tune. It is a fun little tune that feels like summer and has a nice melody to it, but that is pretty much all I have to say about it. SV Night Theme - Ah, we are back at the jazz bar ^^ The quiet piano melody is very jazzy and yeah, that is all I can say about it. SoS 3oT - It's a nice melody and enjoyable listening to it, but I don't really feel summer with this theme, so I am a bit torn on it. I think I prefer the fall and winter themes in this game. It's really nice to listen to though like I said, so I don't mind that it plays for 31 ingame days straight. LoH Day Theme - A nice song that totally sounds like summer to me, but like the rest of LoH's music, it just kinda... splashes along and nothing really happens. LoH Night Theme - Hmmm... it really isn't anything happening in this theme. It is more a melody so that it isn't quiet. SoS FoMT Weekday Theme - It's the tune of BtN but remixed.. and... in a good way actually! This song SLAPS! I really like what they do to my summer time beach fun song. SoS FoMT Weekend Theme - God, I LOVE this song! For some reason, SoS FoMT added a remix of the seasonal songs for the weekends and festival days and this one is such a banger, I can't help but bop to it, it's so good! It just sounds so much like summer and you just want to run around and dance to it while you enjoy your day off at the beach. Doraemon SoS Day Theme - What a cute little song ^^ It is on the more relaxing side, but it clearly has a summery feel to me. The video shows Nobita napping on the beach and well, isn't that a mood for this song ^^ Doraemon SoS Night Theme - Nobita still naps in the video and well, the music turned into his lullaby I guess ^^ It is mainly a guitar solo that is played slowly and very quietly, very very relaxing. I think I am falling asleep as well... OW - Sadly no one uploaded this music... which is a shame, because it is really good and the song gets remixed depending in which country you are. I really dislike how much hate this game got, because it is actually a solid entry and has some of the best music in the franchise. PoOT Weekday theme - I HATE THIS THEME! It isn't because the melody is bad, it's that DAMN TRUMPET! Why is the trumpet player playing it so... crazy? Why are so many notes sounding off key? The song would slap if the

trumpet wouldn't be there! I love every part of it, but then the trumpet ruins my day. Ugh! UGH! I legit had to switch the music off at first while playing until I got used to this horrible horrible trumpet. PoOT Weekend theme - Oh thank GOD! This theme is without the horrible trumpet. I prefer the holidays in PoOT summer a LOT because the song is actually enjoyable to listen to and it sounds very much like summer as well.

#harvest moon #story of seasons #summer themes #rating harvest moon music

[oneshotnewbie]

Olivia Benson's daughter is a talented aspiring singer/actress that goes to a performing arts high school.

 A/N: I did my best! I tried, at least. Since I am not in an arts high school and never was, usually just had a little leading role for a small theater piece in 4th grade, I did not know what they are doing there. Hope this is still okay? _____

You were a barely 17 year old songwriter, singer and actress. Many people fanning over you since you first stood on a stage. You could still remember it exactly, it had changed your whole life. It started with an easy class performing in an theater. You have had always been fascinated and enthusiastic about slipping into a different role and not being yourself. You auditioned and got the lead role for your first, real piece ‚The magic flute‘ through conviction, hard work and a classy act. According to your teacher at your old school, you had what it takes to be on a big stage.

You developed more and more pleasure in what you were doing over the last few weeks and now you were where you always wanted to be. In the performing arts high school of Manhattan. You did not register yourself, your teacher did it for you. She had recorded a video of you without your knowledge and sent it tot he Arts School as an „audition tape“. Immediately they were thrilled about you and your young talent and sent you a letter where they have said, that you would fit in well with their school and that they would like to get to know you better.

You were confused at first, you did not know how they knew you were an actress. You wondered whether some agent from this school was sitting in the audience and has seen you or else until you told your theater teacher about the letter and she laid the cards on the table and confessed to you that she had sent away a video of your performance.

If it was about anything else, you would be mad that something had been done without your knowledge or permission but you were so incredibly happy, it was your dream school. And now, a year later after graduation high school, you were at the end of the first year at your new school. You quickly made contact with others and generally had a lot of fun in your new life, even if the end of the year was a phase of stress and anxiety.

At the moment, you and your theater group were in a state of excitement. Tomorrow the big musical performance of "Hairspray" was supposed to take place and still not everything was as you had imagined.

The stage wasn't equipped with everything you needed, the costumes had to put up with their finishing touches and then the stage lights had gone out and nobody knew why.

Nevertheless, you were happy with what you had achieved up to this point and you were even more proud that you could show your mother and her friends what you accomplished. They had promised they would be here tomorrow to watch you in your leading role.

It was shortly after 10 o'clock when the last things were adjusted and set up. You were pretty exhausted and ready for bed, your eyes already heavy and sore.

You did not even noticed how your mother walked into the hall to pick you up. But instead of doing that, she sat down on one of the chairs a little further up front and watched you go over your text again. She smiled because she knew how much that meant to you.

From the floor on which you were sitting, you got up to get your stuff, which was at the front of the counter, but a figure in the background drew your full attention.

You started smiling and ran from the stage to your mother before you hugged her tightly and she gave you a kiss on your hair. "Hey my beautiful girl!" „Hey momma, how long have you been here?“ you asked curiously and nestled against her body. The warmth she offered you in her arms made you happy and calmed you down. „For a while but do not worry, I did not heard or saw anything.“ She lied and smiled so as not to disappoint you that she already had saw something of your act. Even if she heard you several times in your room practicing your text with Noah when he was allowed to rehearse with you.

 Tired of her working day, she kissed you on the forehead and held you a little in her arms while she ran one hand over your side, caressing it. She also enjoyed being close to you, she did not have had much of that at the moment due tot he dozen cases at work and your late theater lessons. However, after this piece you had vacation and she could enjoy every free minute she had with Noah and you, she was sure.

After a while, she turned you back towards the stage. You quickly ran upstairs with your last strength, throwing your jacket over your shoulders while you picked up your bag and held it in your hand as you ran back again. On the way down the stage, you said goodbye to your crew and teacher and disappeared home with your mother.

Tomorrow was a big day for you and you needed to rest so you could have a clear head.

#olivia benson #oliviabenson #liv benson #livbenson #svu #law and order special victims unit #law and order svu #law and order fanfiction #olivia benson x reader #olivia benson x daughter!benson #olivia benson x daughter!reader #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #imagine #imagines

[lunawings]

King of Prism Zoom cheering show 2/28/2021 (Happy Birthday Shin/Louis)

That was a hoot. 

This is the second time they have done this, but you’d never know it. Just as I figured, this was kind of a hot mess. 

The host had no idea how to mute everyone or share their screen at the beginning so we were all staring at whoever entered the room as they set up their camera, cutting off the staff who were trying to speak to us. Everyone was like “Staff try your best!! You can do it!!” in true Kinpri fangirl fashion and we ended up starting ten minutes late due to “technical difficulties”. The way it worked was the host shared their zoom screen with several of us on it (refreshing occasionally) and the DVD(?) playing in a small box over it. 

We were supposed to be muted most of the time, but I mean... You’re expecting Kinpri fangirls to be QUIET???? So a lot of people didn’t. (TIL the word for feedback in Japanese is “howling”.) So the audio was bad, video was bad, but I mean it’s hard to complain when I have the DVDs sitting right behind me after all... OH AND PROBABLY THE BEST PART... Right in Pride the Hero when the stadium was destroyed and everyone’s supposed to be all sad, a LINE login popped up on the host’s computer. And everyone was like “Huh??? LINE????” “Add ME!!!”

I decided to just do the first movie and Pride the Hero because I’m kinda sick of SSS and I figured I’d be more likely to still have my chops (muscle memory for when to change colors, etc.) for them. I............ did not ( ToT) I’ve gotten so used to SSS I actually forgot how fast-paced the first two movies actually are!!! But not only has it been forever, this was a totally different environment. Honestly I spent more time watching other people than I did watching the movies. Shoutout to...

-The lady with a pile of Leo merch in front of the screen who was rocking her baby in the background... and then rocking her baby and swinging a pen light. -The Taiga and Yukinojo cosplayers who actually bought separate tickets despite sitting right next to each other. -The couple who got up and danced/played guitar during most of the performances. -The Tanaka cosplayer. The person holding up the Solulu and Luluna plushies.

Pretty much everyone who didn’t cosplay was wearing a mask (not because of COVID, because.... JAPAN) and a lot of people just turned their cameras to a pile of merch. I regret not taking more time to set up my background!! I had only a minute or two to reorient my computer from my teaching background and log in to Zoom as I’d finished teaching an online ESL class minutes before. I had some stuff displayed in the background, but I was running to grab more during the intermission haha... Some people physically held up a plushie the entire time (or at least when they were on the main screen) and I wondered how but then again we’re all used to holding pen lights for hours. I liked that we could all see the same people on the main screen so you knew just when most people could see you. (I was lucky enough to be on there during BOTH of Shin’s shows so I could rock out eheh....)

Every time I do cheering of the older movie(s) after new material has come out I always marvel at how things have changed...

*The Shuffle is seen in the first movie* “WHERE’S TSURUGI”

Louis in Pride the Hero: I’m just joking. “NO UR NOT”

June to Jin: I’m sure you’ll find someone who loves you. “......Joji??”

Also a few more new ones:

When Hiro is spinning during his training: “DEKIRUDEKIRUDEKIRUDEKIRU.....”

Kakeru’s Dad: “This country is built on steel and concrete.” “AND PRISM SHOWS”

Hijiri: Have you heard about Kouji? “NO” Hijiri: What do you think? “I DUNNO HAVEN’T HEARD”

Anyway. Despite the low quality and technical difficulties, I suppose this was worth it just to see other fans again and speak Japanese for the first time in months. This was also the second(I think?) time I’ve gotten to go to an official cheering show where I could toast Schwarz Rose with an actual alcoholic drink. Ahhh... I'm really wishing I signed up for SSS too.... but I really didn’t want to spend $100 on this it was expensive enough as it is....

Depending on how this went I was thinking of maybe hosting (FREEEE!!!!!!!!!!) cheering shows of our own on Zoom in the future. But regardless I doubt people would actually participate based on a.) how few people showed up the Rabbit streams except for when a new episode was premiering and b.) I was the only person ever willing to unmute my mic (and it was super awkward). But if King of Prism ever gets a second season.... DEFINITELY. We’ll make it work.............. somehow..................

#king of prism #kinpri #i drank half a bottle of wine and i should go to bed but................................. #kinpri....................

[rigelmejo]

Dude I was on the language learning forms as I do sometimes, and someone was lamenting the lack of Chinese content to immerse in (watch, read etc). And how it was hard to find and they didn’t have this problem with Japanese what should they do?

Well. 1. I get their frustration on one level, as I do think Japanese content is so much more mainstream to watch in English speaking countries (at least anime and Japanese video games), that trying to find content in a language where it’s harder to just find content right on Netflix or from a friends recommendation does bring up a new challenge. Whereas with Japanese, probably you could accidentally stumble onto it or have a friend recommend you something, then at least explore deeper with some idea of what you liked/where to start finding it.

However. The person also sort of thought the lack of content was due to Chinese just not having as much content or as interesting content. Again I’m going to assume their key issue was just - it can be a new challenge finding media if you have a harder time just starting.

Because lol?? Chinese has SO much content. Like as far as language content on the internet alone??? Chinese has been eons easier to find than Japanese for me, and in terms of sites I actually use regularly is much closer to my experience of English online (there’s so much Chinese content online... so much... an incredible amount... like in chinese I’ve even found free movie watching sites FOR shows in English - like the way I find sites in English to watch Chinese shows IN chinese lol! Like you can use English to search for Chinese stuff, and literally do the reverse to find English stuff, there is so much Chinese stuff... I found more stuff in Japanese using bilibili in chinese than I could find of Japanese using YouTube In English). And Chinese drama land is HUGE it feels as active as American television, so you have endless genres to dive into and companies and actors and writers etc (there is a distinct lack of sci fi though as far as I’ve seen, but to be fair america isn’t making a Ton of sci fi compared to like Detective shows either - it’s just English speaking sci fi has had some more good ones in recent years). There is no lack of Chinese content out there. There’s audiobooks, dramas, audio dramas, talk shows, radio, fanfiction, novels, fanart, manhua, sites to find other stuff, forums, weibo, search sites, just a lot?? Like, if you think Japanese has enough internet content then there is an adequate amount of Chinese content on the internet too lol. You just may have to do a touch more initial exploration.

I just. Thought the assumption “can’t find media means their media sucks” was funny. Because also? I have not found that to be true. I know very little about Thai media. I just happened upon SOTUS cause of a friend talking about it. So like someone watching anime conveniently - I got into it. It was good, so I dug, and found a lot of amazing Thai shows (and some I didn’t love cause lol genres all have a mix of quality depending on show etc). There IS a ton of amazing Thai shows that exist right now. But if all you ever found was SOTUS? While it was great when I saw it to me, once I found more I realized there was a LOT better stuff. So like if you see one cdrama on Netflix (if that’s how you first easily find the media), that does not mean all shows will be that quality or anything like them! And just cause it’s the first one you found doesn’t mean they’re all like that ones quality.

Like I had a similar experience with jdramas growing up, so I get it. I was into anime, saw some (trainwreck) live action adaptations. And as a teenage just blanket assumed all Japanese live action media was gonna be around that quality. And then in recent years, I checked out some Japanese live action media - to see if new stuff was better. YEAH IT SURE IS (and I would imagine some old stuff was great I just gave up after one not-wonderful one lol). SO MANY AMAZING jdramas exist now! Even the ones I most feared would not be great - live action adaptations of anime’s? They’re so much better now, some of them are genuinely loved in their own right as standalone live actions. So like. One not-great show experience is NOT representative of the entire plethora of shows available and their quality. Now that I’ve realized how MANY good jdramas I missed out on? I have so much catching up to do ToT

2. If you’re in this boat of “content seems hard to find, so I feel like there’s none or no good stuff” what to do?

First ask some friends for recommendations?

Check Netflix, Amazon, YouTube (YouTube has a ton of cdramas), Viki, iQiyi app. Like how some people get into anime, maybe you just need an easy conviennent show in your recommended to get into more content.

Check out rec channels on YouTube like Donghua Reviews and Avenue X to hear about some shows and figure out the kinds of ones you’d even want to check out (I imagine other languages also have review channels like for kdramas).

Go to MyDramaList.com. Search genres you like, read recommendation list posts. if you’ve seen a show at this point already you can look it up and see in the “Recommended” section what other dramas are like it, you can see it’s genre tags to see WHAT genres you even seem to like. Use this to start DIGGING and finding stuff you might really like. Since like with anime, you’re only going to find the most popular stuff at first just based on Netflix or friends (which might not match up to your personal tastes as well as finding stuff that Is more your favorite genres).

Try out new stuff. And if it sucks, you don’t like it? Drop it, learn that about yourself, start another new thing. You’ll figure out what you like and dislike pretty fast (like I personally hate bad pacing or bad writing specifically characterization, and I can notice when the specific things I love are gonna be in a show pretty fast).

Check out genres specific to that language’s media. Because if it’s new to you, you might not know if you even like it or not, and if you like it then which things you personally prefer in it (since even within a genre there will be wildly different content and feels). For Chinese this might be wuxia, xianxia, palace dramas, costume dramas, republican era dramas, tomb raiding dramas etc.

*That’s how it worked for me, SOTUS led me to the bl drama fans, eventually they recommended Guardian so bam I guess I was learning chinese, YouTube recced me more cdramas from there to continue with, and mydramalist.com helped me find other shows with actors I liked from guardian (and other bl related shows which led me to Go Princess Go of all things for the bi lead), and that site helped me find more genres and shows I’d like, as well as friends continuing to rec things. Didn’t take long to figure out what I liked, didn’t, and to start noticing what upcoming stuff I’d probably be excited for. And now there’s so much good stuff found I don’t have enough time lol.

As for non show media: use shows as the jump off point. Just like using “easy to find shows” can be used to break into finding more shows. Once you have a show you liked a lot - look up it it’s based on a book, if it has an audiobook, an audio drama, a manhua, a donghua. Chances are it DOES have some of this stuff, because cdramas do a PRETTY regular amount of the time. Often cdramas have all or nearly all of these other story types. So jump into those, then find more novels or audio drama or manhua etc by branching off from the one you liked to others like it. Novelupdates.com is good for doing this with novels (it has a recommendations section), I imagine manhua sites have rec lists too, ximalaya starts recommending stuff once you’ve listened to a few audio on it, etc. And if you get into fandoms of those x media types, those fans will start recommending more too. And again, even if you just stick to media related to shows you liked - so often shows have so MUCH related media that would definitely keep you busy. (Like I didnt wade into non-show connected novels until I looked up more novels as recommendations afte show-related novels, like MDZS and Guardian leading me to SVSSS and 2ha and Can Ci Pin which at the time had no show adaptations, and then eventually found just-novel rec lists - which is still the main way I find fanfic).

#rant #June #discussion #I just. I both get why they were frustrated #but also lol it is a bit funny to me to read that #someone thought chinese has very little media and it sucks #because??? lol Chinese internet has been the most similar for me in terms of comparison to English internet #just because there’s SO much it’s like as big as my English shows to wafch/books to read lists god #there is no shortage of media #and also?? seeing the few easy to find cdramas or donghua #doesn’t mean they’re all the same quality? #that’s like finding family guy and thinking all American cartoons can only be like that #not realizing Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse or Xmen Evolition or Rugrats or Danny Phantom or Avatar exist #like?? just look more lol

[punkpoemprose]

December 5th- Livestream

Universe: 2010′s AU Streamer! Anna AU Rating: Teen (maybe I’ll do a smutty followup at some point!) Length: 4368 Words

A/N: Sorry this is a little late. I didn’t have wifi for most of the day so I spent it doing other Christmas things instead of writing.

“So you’ve really never played a videogame before?” She asked, “Like you didn’t play Pokémon or Mario as a kid?”

She was sitting, cross-legged, atop one of the four washers in the apartment complex’s laundry room, snacking on Nacho Doritos and undoubtedly making a mess in a room meant for cleaning things. Across from her, pulling clothes from the drier was her neighbor Kristoff. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone except for maybe her sister, but she’d been intentionally doing her laundry on the same schedule he did his, He wasn’t usually the social sort from what Anna could tell, but she found him very attractive and relished the weekly opportunity to get to know him better. Also, secondarily, but no less importantly, it gave her the opportunity to stare at his very tones ass as he bent over to remove his clothes from the dryer. That he always wore basketball shorts on laundry day was proof enough to her that God was real and she or he wanted Anna to thrive. Or to be tested for her strength of will. Perhaps both.

“Not really,” he admitted with a shrug, “I grew up mostly playing hockey. One of the ice rinks used to have a pinball machine, and I played that, bit it probably doesn’t count.”

Anna snorted and set down the bag of chips, shaking her head and wiping her fingers on her sweatpants. He was a totally unique guy, vastly different than the “pretty boys” she normally took an interest in. Her attraction to him ever growing since the day he moved in. That day, when she��d first noticed him, she’d been given the great pleasure of watching him lift heavy boxes through her window, and then through her peephole after he’d climbed the stairs.

“Did it have a screen or a ball?” She asked, more as a joke than anything given that she knew the obvious answer.

“Touché,” he replied.

She took one last good look at his rear as he straightened up, appearing to be satisfied that all his clothes were out of the dryer and into his green laundry basket. The smell of his dryer sheets wafted over to her from the open dryer as he shifted out of the space and she decided that she needed to up her laundry scent game. It was unfair that someone was allowed to be as attractive as he was and to also smell like lavender and citrus and all the good things on the Earth.

She noticed, probably a bit creepily if she was being honest with herself, that he wore boxer briefs. And since she’d first noticed it weeks before the image of him wearing them and nothing else had haunted her late-night thoughts like a sexy specter. As a result, it had provided her of the most perfect mental picture of what he might look like in her apartment, in her bedroom, undressed and giving her the eye. She bit her lip trying to rid herself of the thought, lest he glance over at her and see her giving him bedroom eyes, or worse, drooling all over herself. He probably didn’t even realize that he was weapons grade sexy, because that made him even more attractive in her books.  

“Sometimes I play solitaire on my computer if I’m waiting fi something to load,” he offered in his own defense.

He was turning towards her now, proving her concerns correct. He rested his basket against his hip as he leaned back on the now empty dryer. His sheepish smile and tone told Anna that he knew that the defense was not particularly convincing in anyway, but that he needed to at least try.

“That’s just sad,” she teased, shaking her head as if she truly were severely disappointed in him instead of just joking around.

“Well not everyone plays videogames for a living Anna.”

It wasn’t an attack really, but more of a statement. When she’d started talking to him the words may have had more sting, but now, knowing him and his gruff but kindly manner, she took it for the joke and defense of his lack of experience that he meant it to be. If he had a flaw it was that he was a bit of a grump. He’d never been mean though, and she was already watching him soften more and more by the day.

“Well not everyone is a chef either Kristoff,” she replied, “It takes all types to make the world go round.”

“I’m a baker,” he corrected.

He rolled his eyes at her when she shrugged and gave him her best “po-tay-to, po-tot-o” look. The look and sigh of exasperation that this rewarded her made her laugh. There was little better than the playful exchanges she could have from him in just looks, and it was one of the many reasons why she enjoyed being around him. They didn’t know each other very well yet, but she still felt like he got her somehow.

“And also, just so you know, you sound like my mother.”

“She’s a wise woman.”

She of course knew that he was a baker, but she hadn’t really realized that he’d rather be called a baker than a chef. Either way, she was still hoping that maybe someday he’d show up at her door with dinner, or a cake or something, just so she could invite him in.

“That she is.”

A silence fell between them as he folded his things and while Anna swapped her own clothes out of the washer and into the dryer. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but rather a companionable one. That was of course, until they both seemed to come to the realization simultaneously that one of them would be leaving sooner or later.

“You can change it by the way,” Anna offered.

“My mother being wise?”

She almost laughed. She hadn’t met his mother, but she doubted that with a son like him she had the power to change anything about her. If anything, she might ask her for some wisdom of her own.

“Oh gosh, no. All mothers, or at least all the ones I’ve met, have been wise. No, I meant the ‘never played a videogame’ thing.”

He shrugged at first, but then gave her a look betraying a greater level of interest. She wasn’t sure whether he was going to say yes or no, and there was a long pause as he thought about it.

It would be fun, she thought, to play with him. Maybe, if he’d let her, she’d stream it too. Videos of experienced players teaching others always had high entertainment and replay value. It would be good for her brand, but mostly she just wanted an excuse to invite him to her apartment. She’d been wanting for a while to see him somewhere other than in stairwells and the laundry room.

“What do you play?” He asked finally, seeking out more information.

She wasn’t sure he was quite ready for the long list of games she’d streamed before, let alone the even longer one of games she’d played just for fun. She decided it was best to give him the highlights of the CliffsNotes.

“I play a little bit of everything. I’m competitive in Overwatch and League of Legends, but I’m not really like… going to in person tournaments of anything. I just get invited to a few online cups here and there. Mostly I just play for my audience rather than thinking about joining a league or anything.”

He looked at her like she had three heads that each of them was speaking a different language. She’d gotten too deep too fast she supposed.

“I just mean that those ate the games I play against people seriously in. I play other games for fun and for people to watch how they’re played.”

He nodded, and while she could still see confusion in his eyes, he was making a solid effort to understand. She did notice that he was giving her a sort of amused smile, like he was enjoying the conversation despite not really knowing what it was she was talking about.

“Can you put that into different terms? I get that it’s competitive, but are you playing for money or points or?”

“Sometimes a cup will have a cash prize, but mostly I earn money from people watching my streams on Twitch and then the replays and the play throughs of games I post on YouTube.”

They’d talked before a bit about what they each did for a living. She’d been trying to figure out how to ask him what bakery he worked at so she could drop by sometime but hadn’t quite figured out how to be subtle about it yet. He knew that she was a streamer, and while it was a difficult career to try to explain to someone, he’d made the effort to understand as she offered him more and more details each time. He hadn’t asked for her username of anything, which was always equal parts disappointing and unsurprising. She didn’t really want him to watch her videos per say, but she also wanted to be able to imagine that he was tuned into her streams when she was doing them. She just wanted to be able to pretend for a little while that he was interested in her enough that he’d want to watch.

“Uh, I don’t know where this falls exactly, but my sister’s kids play Minecraft. Do you play it? They talk about it, but I don’t really know what it’s all about.”

“I could show you,” she replied, feeling a bit bold, “We don’t even have to stream it if you don’t want.”

He stopped to think again, and Anna was careful not to let her eyes wander too far down his body as she took the time to take in the muscle of his arms, the way his black t-shirt strained over the expanse of his chest. Whatever it took to be a baker, she decided, must be one hell of an upper body workout. His rear, she’d already decided, was surely hockey related. He’d never said so directly, but she was fairly sure he still played, and on occasion she’d see him carrying a large duffle up and down the stairs.

“I guess I wouldn’t mind. Could my niece and nephew watch?”

She grinned. It was a date.

They’d settled n the weekend, not too early, not too late. She’d insisted on calling his sister to let her know personally that the kids could watch them play from home. When her sister had called him to let him know about the call, she’d told him how nice Anna had been over the phone and how she’d even given her instructions on how to keep chat closed for the kids’ viewing so that if anyone typed something profane they wouldn’t have to see it. Generally, Anna set up the whole evening and his one and only job was “show up and have fun”.

He’d been a little uncomfortable with the idea even after agreeing to it. He didn’t really know how to act around her, let alone on camera. The fact of the matter was that he was an introvert and Anna was the opposite. She was warm and gregarious, and she was, at least to his yes, radiantly beautiful.

When she’d offered to teach him to play a game, to bring him into her world, into her home, he hadn’t been able to say no.

For months, since he moved in and they started sharing their laundry room conversations, he’d been trying to find a way to get to know her better. All he’d wanted was an excuse to take more time, because when he was with her, he felt happier than he could ever remember being with anyone other than his family or his friend Sven.

He was sure Sven would be tuning in to see whether he made an epic fool of himself. The whole viewing world, or at least all her viewers, would be watching him bumble about, but it was worth it because it would make Anna smile. And he supposed also that it was a plus that he’d be able to play a game with his niece and nephew the next time he saw them, but mostly it was for Anna.

He took a deep breath before knocking on the apartment door. He’d wanted to bring her flowers or something as a thank you for teaching him how to play, but Sven had put the kibosh on it when he’d brought it up, insisting that it would make it seem like a date and that he needed to “play it cool” until “the real date” that he was somehow sure there would be.

“One sec guys, I think that’s him!”

He heard the patting of bare feet moving quickly across the hardwood floor. When the door swung open with a creak, he was met with a grinning Anna and a warm rush of air into their always too cold hallway.

The breeze carried on it the smell from her apartment, which hit him more directly than the heat. It smelled like the holiday collection at bath and body works had an illicit affair with the food scented and musk Yankee candles producing a lovechild that reminded him of what the bakery might smell like if it was in the middle of a garden. It was all sugar and spice, chocolates and floral.

It was like her, and as he saw the bright décor evident even in her entryway, he couldn’t help but smile. It was no surprise that she’d want to be in a place as bright and fun as she was.

“Hey,” she said excitedly, reaching up to click something on the headset she wore, and then reached for his hand, “I’m so glad you could make it! Your niece and nephew are viewing with everyone else. They’re extremely excited for their Uncle Kris to learn a videogame.”

He felt her fingers card through his as she lead him through the door and into the apartment. She was talking and while he was trying to listen, he was distracted by the fact that somewhere in his head, something was screaming over the fact that she was holding his hand, and that he was in her apartment and that this was all happening.

“Okay?”

“Huh?”

She was looking at him and he forced himself to focus on that, the way she was giving him an understanding smile, preparing to repeat what she’d said while he was busy spacing out.

“We’re going to just do an hour unless you decide you want to go longer. We’re going to play on my PC instead of console today. There’s going to be another monitor next to you with my livechat running but you don’t have to interact with chat if you don’t want to. I’m going to just give you a spare headset for audio, okay?”

He wasn’t really sure that he was okay. He was feeling spaced out and wasn’t really sure whether or not he was going to regret this whole thing, but then she squeezed his hand gently and he decided that it was all alright.

“Yeah, thanks for doing this. I’ve been meaning to…” Spend time with you? Ask you out? Watch your streams like a creep because I want to pretend you’re talking to me?, “learn to play something, you know… for the kids. They’re going to think you’re the best after this.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand again, this time holding it tight for a little longer before letting it go entirely, like she didn’t really want to let go.

“I’m glad you’re letting me. I’m really glad you came tonight.”

He took a deep breath, trying not to read into it as she led him over to her streaming setup. There were two chairs set up in front of a webcam with a bunch of screens around them. The main screen had “Standby” written on it next to a cartoon of Anna wearing a headset and drinking a hot cup of tea. The little icon was kicking one foot back and forth under a cartoon version of her computer chair and the cup was billowing steam. It was cute to say the least, and she must have agreed because she walked over, got into her chair and “booped” the nose of the drawing before beckoning him to sit next to her.

“Ready to go?” she asked brightly, handing him a bright green headset that had been sitting next to the main computer’s mouse and keyboard.

He took it and put it on, deciding that this was, in fact, going to be alright after all.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

She smiled and he felt her hand go to his again, giving it a squeeze where it rested on his lap before she pressed a button on his headset, then one on hers, and then clicked a few things with her mouse, bringing them on the stream, live, before an audience of a few hundred people.

***

“Hello and happy Saturday!” Anna announced warmly, trying to focus on working even though Kristoff was right there at her side, relaxed and smiling at her more than he was at the camera, “As you guys requested Kristoff, my neighbor is back for the fifth consecutive weekend to learn a new game.”

She tried not to roll her eyes when she noticed the amount of comments in chat that were, to say the least, thirsty. Anna had noticed that since having Kristoff on her stream for the first time, a fair amount of her female audience had been staying on stream for longer than they normally would. Normally she wouldn’t complain, but there was something about them thirsting over Kristoff that made her want to get her mod to kick them from chat.

It would be bad for business, but every time she saw Kristoff’s eyes wander over to chat and saw him flush from the attention, she wanted to take him into the other room and give him the proper attention he deserved. She’d gotten close to kissing him after the last stream he’d joined her for, and then again, the morning after when he’d brought her coffee and a beautifully glazed apple turnover from the bakery he owned just down the block.

She’d thought, weeks back when they’d done their first stream together, that she couldn’t possibly be more interested in him than she already was. But then he’d been funny and kind and an eager learner in her stream, and then she’d received thank you flowers days later, and he’d agreed, while they did their laundry to do another stream. And she’d fallen in love with him in just a few weeks, she’d fallen in love with the way he was thankful even when she was the one who needed to thank him. She’d fallen in love with the way he offered to come back again and again and again because it had been good for her work, and the way he’d invited her to see his bakery because it was only fair to share as much of himself with her as she had with him. She fell in love with the way he could be quiet, but that his gestures and facial expressions could speak volumes, and she fell in love a little more each day.

“Due to popular demand,” he said, taking a moment to look over at her for confirmation as he’d become more comfortable talking on stream, but preferred to address her more than he did the camera, “I’m going to be playing a dating sim.”

There was a subset of her viewers who, instead of thirsting after Kristoff, had been dead set on getting them together. There were also those who assumed that they were, in fact, together, but the viewers she was enjoying most were the ones who actively attempted to get them to talk about their “chemistry” and “tension” on stream. They were lead by a user named SvenjaminButton and Anna decided that if she and Kristoff ever did get together, she was going to track him down and buy him dinner, because he rallied the troops in a spectacular way, getting people to request more Kristoff on the stream and giving Anna the excuse to see him.

The dating sim had also been his idea.

She loaded it up and laughed at the bad graphics, it was one of those one dollar steam games that someone just threw together from preexisting code and some drawings. She wasn’t expecting much from it, but Kristoff was playing along like a champ, and she was looking forward to talking to him after the stream ended about how silly it was.

His skills with games were improving over time, and this point and click was surely not going to cause him any challenge, but still she appreciated that his initial response to the game launching was to move closer to her, putting her into his space should he need any assistance. She liked to think that maybe he just wanted to be in her space anyway.

“I hope you find true love,” she teased, the stream already going wild.

“I think I already have.”

***

Kristoff was still kicking himself for what he’d said at the start of Anna’s stream as they were logging off. He was pretty sure that she thought he was just playing up a joke when he’d said the bit about already having found true love, but truthfully he wasn’t, and he felt adrift. He’d fallen for her, and he’d fallen hard. She was just so fun to be around, and she instantly had changed his perspective on games from being a waste of time to being something actively enjoyable. Half the fun was, of course, just being with her.  

“Thank you so much,” she said when the stream ended, leaning back in  her chair and practically tipping her head onto his shoulder as she did so, “You’ve really been so wonderful with all of this. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for all the time you’ve been putting in.”

He smiled, happy that he’d been helpful to her, that she’d been happy to spend the time with him.

“You don’t have to thank me Anna. I’ve been enjoying myself. But… if I could maybe ask you something?”

This was the night. It had been Sven’s suggestion, and he still wasn’t sure of how he felt about it. He wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who made moves, but he’d never really had a cause to do so before. He could be bold in business, in work, in life, but in love? It was new for him.

“Of course Kristoff,” Anna replied, leaning her face towards his as she leaned back, bringing her face so close to his that all he would have to do was move a few inches to kiss her. That, he thought, was going to far, even if he desperately wanted to do so.

“Would you be interested in going out to dinner? Anytime you want, I know you’re busy, but I’d really like to take you out.”

She gave him a look of surprise and immediately he wondered if he’d just ruined everything.

He could feel the heat rising to his face, feeling like he’s just picked the wrong answer in the dating sim they’d been playing. He could practically see the little heartbreak icon popping up over her head, but then, he watched as she too flushed.

“Like… like on a date?”

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He raked a hand through his hair, trying to focus on something other than how close her lips were to his and how incredibly wrong this could all go in almost no time at all.

“Yes. Unless you’d prefer not, because I like being your friend and I don’t want to ruin that if you’re not interest…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, because Anna’s lips were on his and she was kissing him. Then as he leaned forward, he was kissing her and reaching out to bring her closer. He couldn’t catch his breath before she was climbing out of her chair and onto his, her thighs moving to the sides of his as she straddled him on the chair and kissed him until he was breathless.

His hands didn’t know where to go, but after a moment of them simply hovering, he let one wander along her sides, feeling her waist and her hip while the other brushed against her hair and rested against the back of her head.

She pressed herself into him and he held her close as they kissed harder and faster, lips becoming kiss swollen and wet as they explored together. He hadn’t ever really kissed anyone like he was kissing Anna, so he focused on the pleased sounds she made when he pulled her closer and kissed her harder.

“Can I take this as a yes?” he managed, when they broke for a moment to take a breath.

She was resting her head on his chest, her eyes, when they met his, were dark and pleased. She must have enjoyed the kiss as he had, and he was glad for it. What he’d started to say was true. He’d be happy to have her as a friend if that was all she wanted.

He felt like the luckiest man on earth that she’d wanted more.

“Tonight,” she said, “Take me for dinner tonight because I’ve been wanting this for months now. I don’t think I can wait.”

His heart raced as he thought about Anna, for months, wanting him as she did now.

“I don’t think I can either,” he admitted, letting his fingers card through her hair as he held her tight.

He didn’t know where he was going to take her yet, but he knew that wherever they went, the food would taste sweeter than it ever had before.

#kristannaadvent2020 #kristanna #frozen fanfiction #streamer! Anna #2010s AU #streamer AU

[smallersocksx]

Why the Wallace Cup Arc is one of the best returning character arcs

Introduction:

For those who have been following the Pokémon Journeys anime, know that Dawn was one of the latest former cast members to return the series for a two-episode arc. As I admitted in my episode 74 review (I’m contemplating reviewing episode 75 as well), should know I hadn’t really been keeping up with the anime up to that point as I felt all the issues, I had mentioned in one of my previous posts all culminated and I needed to take a break as I wasn’t enjoying the series. It felt more like a chore to watch the Journeys series rather than a pleasure and I felt horrible feeling this way about a series that I had loved for such a long time. However, if you’re enjoying the series, that’s great and I’m glad you find some enjoyment watching it.

Nevertheless, those that have read my posts or know me personally know DP is one of my favourite Pokémon series and I absolutely love Dawn, her Pokémon and Contests to pieces. So, when they announced she would be appearing for two episodes, I knew I had to watch. However, after sitting on these thoughts for a couple of weeks, I had to admit overall I was a little disappointed. This is a shame because I absolutely love Dawn but the reasons, I felt disappointed were:

The pacing/length – in both episodes, I felt like some areas were really slow and could have easily been cut out which in turn caused the areas that should have been slower and more fleshed out to feel incredibly rushed such as the battle with Matori Matrix. I felt like another area that could have been sped up was the exposition/discovery of Darkrai and Cresselia’s symbiotic relationship, don’t get me wrong it was interesting but I feel like it could have been handled better. I think if this DP arc had been four episodes long like the Sword and Shield arc, the pacing could have been better, we could have explored Ash and Goh’s side of the story more and we could have actually seen some Contest action. Additionally, it would give us a break from the episodic and slightly disjointed nature of the Journeys series and engage more with the story.

Chloe’s development – Now for those that have read my previous posts, should know that I like Chloe and I’m interested to see where they go with her development. Especially considering she’s meant to meeting an Espeon and Umbreon trainer in the upcoming episode. However, it kind of felt like the only reason they brought Dawn back was to help Chloe develop. It would have been nice to allow Dawn and her other Pokémon to shine more. Also, as  I mentioned in my episode 74 review, the argument between Chloe and Dawn felt completely unnecessary to me. In my opinion, one of the ways Chloe had subtly developed under Eevee’s influence was that she learnt to relax a little bit and not take things so seriously. This is why I was finding her behaviour in episode 74 to be a little annoying.

Also, it would have been nice to at least see Chloe attempt to participate in a Contest and at least try something out once even if it's not for her. Considering, Pokémon is an anime tailored towards children, it's better to send out the message of at least trying something even if it's not something for you in the end. This was something I would have liked to have seen with Serena, as before discovering Pokémon Showcases, she didn’t really try to find her goal/path. However, judging by the preview, at least the writers are acting on the idea of Chloe meeting other Eevee and Eeveelution trainers.

Dawn and her Pokémon – As I mentioned previously, it kind of felt like the only reason Dawn was brought back was to contribute to Chloe’s development. Whilst, it was nice to see Dawn and her Piplup again it would have been nice to have seen Dawn’s other Pokémon outside of a flashback. We did have that brief scene where Dawn gave Chloe a demonstration of a Contest Performance but outside of that we hardly saw anything else to do with contests. They could have done something similar to the Darkrai film and show the contest in the end credits as a one-off/special ED. Or if the arc had been longer, they could have devoted more time to the contest aspect and we could have seen Chloe and Dawn participating in the Eterna City contest. It just would have given Dawn a better opportunity to shine and show off her skills as a Coordinator.

They could have featured the rest of Dawn’s Pokémon in the beach scene at the end of Episode 75. I just wanted a Buneary and Pikachu reunion ToT

Apologies, for turning this into a critique of episode 75/this mini-arc. However, it brought me back to this point and I’ve seen people always make this comment or have made videos on it when critiquing Journeys. The problem Journeys has is that any returning characters have basically been treated as fan service that the older fans including myself have eaten up. But when you think about it, it's honestly doing these characters a disservice, and they deserve so much better. Take Korrina and Iris, Iris, in particular, they had hyped up their returns to the series and it ends kind of falling flat as they both lose to Ash to help him to further his goal (which contributes to Journeys pacing issue). Nevertheless, their losses end up diminishing all the development they built up to that point, particularly with Iris’ Haxorus, this was a Pokémon I would have loved to have seen develop more on-screen and when we see him fully evolved as he has always dreamed it was sad to see him lose.

This brings me to this point that I’ve made and so have others, that the Wallace Cup arc has arguably been one of the best arcs/methods of utilising a former main cast member. And it’s due to the reasons, I had listed were the latest DP arc fell short:

The pacing/length

May and her Pokémon

Dawn’s development

The setting

I feel like the setting, in particular, was one of the main reasons why the Wallace Cup arc was so successful. If you’re still reading this, thank you and sorry for the incredibly long introduction.

The pacing/length:

I feel like these two aspects go hand-in-hand so I decided to place them under the same bracket. Now I don’t know whether some count the Wallace Cup arc as five episodes rather than four as May does briefly appear in Our Cup Runneth Over! But I count it from A Full Course Tag Battle! Nevertheless, whether it be four or five episodes, this arc didn’t feel like it dragged on or rushed, it was the perfect length in my opinion. A Full Course Tag Battle! Was a great way to re-introduce us to May and her character, to learn of her progress/struggles in Johto and to see some of her Pokémon again. This episode had helped integrate May back into the main cast perfectly as we learn she keeps in contact with Ash and they both still have their halves of the Terracotta Ribbon and we see that May and Dawn develop a fast friendship through their shared interests and current hardships. In addition to this, I like the call-back to May’s Kanto Journey, with her fire-water combination in the Tag battle as well as the food-loving aspect of her personality (same May same).

The following episode, Staging a Heroes Welcome! Showed off one of my favourite aspects of Contests in the anime, the Performance Stage. In addition to this, it allowed us to see May’s new skills and style in a Contest setting. I really enjoyed May’s performance, as we learnt her timid Squirtle had evolved into a confident Wartortle (one of my favourite starter Middle Stage evolutions) and I loved their simple performance, it reminded me of a pebble/stone skipping across the water and you couldn’t take your eyes off Wartortle. I really enjoyed Ash’s performance, it’s not the first time he’s competed in a Contest but I love the fact he competed with Buizel, who wasn’t that interested in Contests under Dawn’s ownership. Additionally, I love the fact Ash used Dawn’s feedback to help with the performance but it honestly felt like an Ash performance, just showing off his and Buizel’s love of battle.

Finally, it’s getting closer to Dawn’s turn and naturally, she starts to have doubts, causing Piplup to launch a Bubble Beam at her face. It was a short but cute display of Dawn and Piplup’s relationship and how they support one another especially as Piplup tried to gently encourage Dawn throughout her slump. In this case, he decided to be a little more forceful. Despite a little stumble, Dawn and Ambipom ultimately delivered a simple and clean performance taking on Zoey’s advice. Ultimately being rewarded with a place in the Battle Stage. Overall, this episode was a brilliant way to introduce to the Wallace Cup, the beginning of Dawn re-gaining her confidence and seeing the Hoenn cast of characters.

Pruning Passel of Pals! Personally, this is the weakest episode of the arc, just for the fact it has the least amount of battling but we expand on DP’s main plot with the Lake Trio as Ash catches sight of Azelf and we expand on the Sinnoh lore. We also get a cute Team Rocket moment, where James and Meowth arrange for Jessie to act as a TV commentator for the competition, their sense of comradery is so cute (also if Jessie’s happy they’re happy). I liked the fact we got to see Dawn’s first battle of the competition after renewing her confidence and I did enjoy the battle, as we hadn’t seen Buneary in a Contest battle for a while. Up to the Quarter Finals, we mostly got still-shots or brief cuts of the other battles which is what makes this episode weaker in comparison to the others. However, it allowed us to see May’s Skitty and that her Bulbasaur evolved all the way to a Venusaur.

Once, we reach the Quarter Finals, we see Ash battle against a Coordinator named Kyle. Sadly, Ash ultimately loses the battle and is eliminated he didn’t entirely lose out as he and Buizel are more in sync and the Ice Aqua Jet that Dawn couldn’t perfect with Buizel under her ownership was finally successful. However, Kyle brought up an interesting point during his battle with Ash that stuck with me, that in these types of contests such as the Wallace Cup and the Grand Festival, varying your Pokémon is vital so your opponents can’t figure out all of your strategies. This was what led to Solidad defeating May in the Kanto Grand Festival as observed May’s tactics and battle style. I just found this observation interesting and it was something that stuck with me.

Finally, my favourite episode of the arc and probably one of my favourite Contest episodes ever, Strategy with a Smile! Now, this is how you conclude a Contest arc! There was plenty of action, the first Semi-Final Battle we have is between Kyle and Dawn, what I loved with this episode and subsequent battles was seeing Dawn confident once again and having faith in her skills re-using the spin tactic, she developed in Oreburgh City and combining it with Bide causing Piplup to glow purple and turn his opponent’s attacks against them.

Then we have May vs Zoey, which allowed us to see May’s new skills and battle style on full display. We also get to see May’s Beautifly again! One of my favourite Pokémon. Once again, we got to see, why Zoey is one of Dawn’s toughest rivals utilising the pool to electrocute Beautifly. However, I liked the way May turned the tables on her, something I don’t think we saw too often with her in previous Contests. But she didn’t give Zoey the chance to counterattack either. I just really enjoyed seeing this new fierce style, May had developed during her time in Johto.

However, the next battle had to be one of my favourite Contest battles of all time. What better way to conclude the Wallace Cup arc? Then having our two main Coordinators go head-to-head, DP was the series when the visuals for Pokémon began to increase in quality and I really loved the visuals throughout this battle. Not to mention we got to May’s newly evolved Glaceon shine in a Contest Battle as we hardly got to see it in action as an Eevee.

Some fans were upset at the fact, May the more experienced Coordinator had lost to Dawn and I’ll explore factors and reasons why this could have happened. But I felt the need to hammer this point, Dawn only won by half a point and Contests aren’t about strength, the winner is the Coordinator who best displays their Pokémon’s traits in a Performance and Battle. And say if May won, either way, both Coordinators would have had a positive experience, it would have been similar to the conclusion of Dawn’s battle with Maylene. Despite the loss, Dawn still would have regained her confidence but I think her winning the Aqua Ribbon gave her that extra sense of affirmation, as Dawn won a Contest that attracts competitors from all over the globe. I can’t think of a better way of renewing a character’s sense of self-confidence than in a setting such as this. All in all, it was a great way to conclude the Wallace Cup arc.

It felt like every episode set out to fulfill the job it was meant to do and succeeded. Naturally, they couldn’t show off every battle in the competition and it’s the same in other Contest episodes, utilising still-shots. But I generally enjoyed every battle they chose to focus on and the way the pool battlefield was utilised throughout the competition. In addition to the character development featured throughout this arc, we had some progression to the overarching plot of DP. This section ended up being an episode-by-episode review of the arc but I hope it gets the point across!

May and her Pokémon:

The issue I’ve been having as of late is that it kind of felt like the only reason former main cast members were returning was to help develop a current main cast member and that just doesn’t feel right. These characters deserve to shine and we want to see how they developed. This is why one of my favourite aspects of the Wallace Cup arc is that we truly got to see May shine and see the progress she’s made from the naïve beginner trainer she was in AG to the fearless Coordinator she is now. In addition to May, we got to see all of her Pokémon shine in their own way at least once (yes, I’m including still shots). Which is why I’m glad we had the Full Course Tag Battle! The episode gave us the chance to see her Blaziken, as using a fire-type in a contest that celebrates water-types in a battlefield with a pool probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

One of my main reasons, May split off from Ash, was because she felt like she was imitating his battle style and she wanted to develop her own. And we got to see that in the Semi-finals and the Finals of the Wallace Cup, where May defeated Dawn’s toughest rival, Zoey by utilising her own tactics against her in a very Ash/Drew-like style.

Nevertheless, we also saw that old habits die hard, as to some extent as May still relies on luck-based moves as shown in the final where May had Glaceon use Secret Power which worked the first time and paralysed Piplup however, the second time it backfired and ended up making Piplup shine more in comparison to Glaceon.

All in all, we also learnt of May’s progress in Johto we essentially got to see it for ourselves, which is something fans who have followed May’s journey appreciate all the more.

Dawn’s Development:

As I mentioned in the previous section, it felt like as of late former main cast members was being brought back to help develop members of the main cast. What I love about the Wallace Cup arc, was that even though May was the more experienced Coordinator, at the time they were going through a similar experience and were both on losing streaks. In Dawn’s case, she needed to regain her confidence after two consecutive failures in the Performance Stage, the second time in which she over-compensated for the previous loss.

However, from this experience, Dawn didn’t just regain her confidence, she learnt that simplicity is best and can allow her Pokémon to shine and be the focus. This can be seen in her later Contest performances and in Arriving in Style! In which her Pokémon do something as simple as spinning or jumping whilst uniquely utilising their moves and remaining the focus of the audience.

Moreover, many fans were upset that May, the more experienced Coordinator had lost to Dawn in the Finals. All things considered, Dawn only beat May by half a point, Dawn could have edged May out at several points in the battle as Contests aren’t about strength, the victor is who best displays their Pokémon strengths. With May, having relied on luck-based moves too much, to Dawn utilising previously used tactics such as Piplup riding his Whirlpool (from Dawn’s second Contest) to using May’s water curtain tactic from the Semi-Finals against her.

To this day, this is still one of my favourite battles from the Pokémon anime, not only because I love Contests, seeing our two main Coordinators going up against one another but seeing Dawn having the confidence in her own tactics but being influenced by those around her as well.

The setting:

As I mentioned in the introduction, I believe the setting is one of the core reasons why the Wallace Cup arc was so successful. Having May’s return be featured in a Contest setting just makes so much sense. Not only that, but it allowed us to see May’s growth alongside Dawn. However, we also got to see Ash and Buizel’s relationship develop and to see Ash successfully execute one of his best strategies for the first time with the Ice Aqua Jet.

Conclusion:

Overall, in my opinion, the Wallace Cup arc is one of the best narrative uses of a former main character. As it not only allowed our current cast to develop but it allowed us to see first-hand, May’s growth and aggressive battle style that she’s developed in Johto, especially those who had been following May’s journey from a naïve beginner trainer to the fierce Coordinator she is today.

Dawn’s growth was great from re-gaining her confidence and not allowing it to become over-confidence. Learning simple is best, and that tactic allowed her Pokémon to shine the most. Ash developing new strategies and bonding with his Pokémon. And some slight plot progression to the overarching narrative/story of DP.

The pacing and length of this arc, was just right, as it didn’t feel too long or too short and every episode fulfilled the job it had set out to do. It's nice to experience short story arcs, as it gives the audience a chance to be gripped to a story/narrative and I enjoy having that sense of focus in a story.

Honestly, I think the writers had hit the nail on the head, with this arc and it's sad they couldn’t really replicate the success of the Wallace Cup arc with future character returns. I have seen over the years that the Pokémon anime is capable of some great story-telling and amazing character arcs as shown by this entire post. This is why, I’m finding some aspects of Journeys frustrating, that they set up some amazing plot lines or potential development and fall flat on the delivery or don’t even act on it.

I don’t know if it’s just me setting my expectations too high or I’m being overly critical. I would like to think it's healthy to have some criticisms of a series rather than to just blindly love it. Initially, I did enjoy Journeys but after the episode 60 mark, my enjoyment began to wear thin which makes me sad as I genuinely love to watch the anime alongside playing the games. Anyways, I feel better getting this off my chest and if anyone actually read the entirety of this post thank you! I’m thinking of making another post possibly focusing on why I’m not enjoying the episodic formula of Journeys but that might be another day!

#pokemon #pokeani #analysis #may (pokemon) #dawn (pokemon) #ash ketchum

[sleepymccoy]

sleepy do you have any fun Outsider POV headcanons about our good good ethereal & occult godparents?

Well, first of all, you should read and enjoy this that i wrote however long ago

-

But also! There's a lot of stuff that would be like. small scale weird. Like, going to a bookshop and asking for something you saw in the window and the owner's like, "oh no, that's not for sale." 

And you're like, "the books in the bookshop aren't for sale?"

And the owner's like "aaaach"

And the employee who's wearing sunglasses and drinking wine on shift is like "the ones in the display aren't. There's another edition behind the counter you can have though."

And the owner goes, "there is?"

And the employee clicks his fingers and repeats himself pointedly while you awkwardly stand there. The owner gives you the book you want. You go to the employee and ask if they have any nicely bound dictionaries for sale and he glares at you (or at least you think he does, it's dim and he's wearing sunglasses) and goes, "I don't fucking work here."

So you ask the owner (who is sitting in a couch now reading a book himself and seems surprised you're still here) who says, "no, I don't have any dictionaries"

And the not-employee laughs and says, "he had a fight with Cawdrey and hasn't gotten over it."

So you leave without a dictionary.

-

But also they’re weird in those like liminal ways, where youre not totally sure that’s doable for humans, but also you’re seeing it so it must be doable. Like, you’re on a new medication that keeps you awake through the night as you adjust so for like a week youre awake every two hours and you spend a lot of that time looking out your window at the park across the road and every night you can see a guy in sunnies standing on a bridge watching the ducks all night.

You don’t think about it too much the first night. Just kinda weird. Then the second you notice him again so you start looking for him and hes just. staring. at the ducks. all night.

You take a photo, then at lunch time you see he’s still there. That night you’re still up, so you take another photo. You start taking a photo every time you’re up. You superimpose them and he’s identical in each.

You set up a camera and record. He doesn’t fucking move. It’s so perfect it looks edited. But you figure, you know, maybe he’s high or something and time isn’t moving the same for him.

On the fourth day you brave it and walk past him at like 10am. He’s in a public place, after all. He doesn’t react. You walk past again to get back, watching him much more openly, and it’s like he comes back to life. He stretches his neck, pulls his phone out, and sighs. You’re ready to call an ambulance, you just watched this guy not eat or drink for four days, but instead you watch, bewildered, as he calls a number and says, “You’re late, where are you? Forgot? No, no, it’s okay. Nah, jus’ been thinking, really. Yeah, I can meet you there. Might have to be late, though, only fair. Of course, no more than fifteen minutes. See you soon.”

His voice isn’t even fucking dry. He should be half dead from dehydration. He leaves and doesn’t return and you decide it was just your medication playing tricks on you. You never watch the video you took of him again.

-

Then you get the folk who see a clearly gay couple arguing in public and one of them sprouts bright white wings, snaps, “Well, if you’re going to be like that then I simply won’t put up with it!” and flies off into the sky.

Those people either just totally ignore it, or go full conspiracy theory on it. There’s a sub reddit dedicated to the Soho Couple. Crowley’s a part of it and when it gets quiet for too long he’ll take a new candid photo of Aziraphale doing something ethereal (occult) from through the window (either glowing with irritation while on the phone or floating above the couch because he got so relaxed while Crowley was stroking his hair. There are less photos of the second because Crowley struggles to pull himself away from a fond angel) and posts it with a falsified reading from one of those echo meters that ghost hunters use

He’s also been known to feature in those spirit box things where they scan through radio stations. He often says things like “don’t buy books” but sometimes he’ll say something more like “you know, i was fucking right when i said dates were used in christmas pudding. Do you have a pencil? Write this down. Two cups of flour. 200 grams of butter. A cup of god damned dates...”

-

Then there’s that one American agent from wherever Mulder and Scully worked (fbi? or were they cia? i never finished season one) who lives across st james park and has one of those long distant cameras and is perceptually two months away from securing proof of angels and demons. But every time he goes to his superiors his manager tells him that the next level up, one Agent Aziran Phell, needs yet more proof. Also those files you submitted five months ago were lost in a flooding incident, did you make copies? No? Well, start again, I guess.

-

I think, overall, they both cultivate a certain amount of otherworldyness because it means they’re reasonably left alone, but not completely. They’re not rude (Crowley is sometimes, but, you know) or destructive or cruel to strangers, but they are uncomfortable. They encourage polite conversation, brief and pleasant interactions that go no further. Acquaintances who don’t care enough to notice it’s been 40 years and while they’re had two divorces and one child the man who comes to the bakery every thursday morning hasn’t aged.

I think Crowley doesn’t like the idea of authority knowing about them and works to keep them hidden (he and Aziraphale disagree over the american agent when that comes out) and Aziraphale doesn’t like the idea of large scale suspicion (he’s very uncomfortable with the subreddit, which Crowley resovles by revealing it as a hoax in a similar style to that girl who faked being a gay couple with hiv to write a hamilton fic on tumblr whenever that was) but overall they do like to be weird.

Aziraphale causes lightning storms whenever he doesn’t want customers. Crowley can be found laying in a patch of perfect sun for hours in mid winter while rain clouds form meters away from him but never touch him. But Aziraphale tips generously and Crowley’s illegal parking is never in the way and Aziraphale gives money to the homeless and Crowley gives drunk people lifts home when he’s sad and Aziraphale gave baked goods tot he local bakery to sell while the owner’s husband was in chemo and Crowley only shops at the small businesses. So overwhelmingly they’re liked. But avoided. Definitely avoided.

Keith still glows a little when he’s dreaming and he insists it’s because that Mr. Fell had some kind words to say that one time. So people avoid them. Cos that’s a bit weird.

#sleepy speaks #my dude you ask the best questions #i had so much fun with this #good omens #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #calico-fiction