#was a little shouty in his excitement at first

[rowanthestrange]

Cody aced his first doggo meeting with the behaviourist’s dog! And his second doggo meeting with a random huge lovely Staffie called Odin who was built like a sack of cement. And his third and forth doggo meeting with a wee Staffie and slightly harrumphy French Bulldog. First trip to the park was officially a success!

And now he’s slept for about four hours so far, in his crate with the fan on, with his sore leggies stretched out in the air like so

#rescue pup #*pops ‘he’s not aggressive’ streamers* #was a little shouty in his excitement at first #but then chilled out massively #and has the go-ahead for puppy class! #(yeah the meeting was supposed to happen last week) #(but her dog got overwhelmed the day before) #(so she decided it best to give her girl the day off) #(and this meant he’d be vaccinated enough to do it in the park)

[heresmyfiddlestick]

new doctor who trailer, let's go

let's try and get anything out of what they've given us on wild blue yonder

to re-cap from my first trailer break-down post, we've got (from top left to bottom right) the Doctor with his jacket off (since he tossed it down just before zooming around the new TARDIS and didn't have time to grab it on his way out) discovering something in a strange metal-walled place, Donna also being amazed, Donna rushing frantically through a corridor, a hero shot of Donna with a little triangle button thing behind her, a little scene where we establish that something has scared the TARDIS away and Donna is going to kick its arse (over three shots), Dr. Who trapped in a little metal box screaming "NOO" again, and a spooky looking TARDIS

they have...really not given us anything - i'm very excited!!

we start with an ordinary metal room, which the TARDIS then violently spins through, materialising in. (just like in the Children in Need special... why is she doing that now? smashing things up) this gives us that final WBY shot from the specials trailer. we can suspect that this crash landing is because of the coffee incident from TSB

somebody give this man a break! this has got to be just after crashing and rushing out of the TARDIS, hence the smoke everywhere, and the guy just grateful to be alive and safe

then a blackout as creepy music comes in, before we see our time travellers snooping around a blue-lit room. those things with the windows on them, I'm thinking stasis chambers of some sort? but what's inside? the lights that flicker in the next shot are in this same room. check out that grille on the left hand side of the first shot, it looks like the thing the Doc was banging against in the specials trailer

Donna asks, very scared and clearly in the first room they arrive in, "where are we?" - this is presumably coming just after the TARDIS has disappeared and before the "kick its arse" line

Ominous shot of a grubby vent, which we've seen in the very first shot of this trailer above and to the right of the first door, with a creepy ticking/clicking noise... something is watching them?

"Oh, life signs!" - we recognize this chair and room from the specials trailer! this comes straight before the shot when he stands up and they both look amazedly at something. that'll be the life signs then. probably what's being held in those stasis chambers

a door slams in Donna's face in a dark and green place - and another one of those grilles - this might be around the time Donna is running through her colour-coordinated corridor

"Doctor!" "Donna!" while Tenteen is in a bright red and scary room

and then a further quick shot of the shouty "NOO" room

so obviously these two are going to get separated in this unfamiliar place, after discovering there are "life signs" somewhere on board

which leaves us wondering, "what are they?" (a line of dialogue laid over what is clearly a scene taking place in the first room, this is probably the two of them watching as the TARDIS absconds)

alright, RTD you've done a very good job of giving us absolutely nothing on this one and I have to respect that.

we do know (from Tardis Wikia) that there's a character called Mrs. Merridew played by Susan Twist, the episode is directed by first-time DW director Tom Kingsley, and the TARDIS has left because of HADS

also, from this promo image, we have this little robot guy, and a big triangular corridor with piston-looking things. is the robot guy Mrs. Merridew? why is he all Rusty? why is he so cute? it sort of seems like he could be the one making the ticking noise, and he is probably the one caring for whatever life signs are being held in the stasis chambers... maybe it's a long-haul star cruiser type thing à la The Ark in Space?

then we have the Target cover, which shows us the little guy again, as well as Donna and the Doctor in what looks like a golf cart. easy transport for getting around an unmanned space station, maybe?

Oh yeah, we also have this clip shown at the end of the Doctor Who Unleashed episode, which gives us these amber-coloured banks of drawers of somethings, one of which the Doctor grabs, "if we move one up..."

"ugh, is that stuff dangerous?" Donna asks as what looks like a misshapen honeycomb drips. "No," says the man who should really still be recovering from regeneration sickness before giving it a sniff and a lick (hello 13)

and then definitely deciding "no"...

...and as he tries to put it back, he gives a little cough and starts falling backwards

so what does this leave us with? the Doctor and Donna are abandoned on a spaceship/station/underwater bunker that doesn't see a lot of use but is the site of Hostile Action which makes the TARDIS fuck off. they go snooping around to see what's up and find a bunch of rooms with exciting different colour palettes, flipping on lights and licking alien honey as they go. they discover the life signs that are being kept alive in the bowels of this ship/station/bunker before being separated. maybe they can still hear/see each other somehow? one of them discovers the rusty little guy and maybe the other discovers Mrs. Merridew? they have a daring escape on a golf cart and manage to get the TARDIS back through the power of the U.S. Air Force

and it's "unlike any Doctor Who episode ever"!

#doctor who #doctor who speculation #wild blue yonder #doctor who trailer #doctor who teaser #donna noble #david tennant #tenteen #tenagain #tenthree

[geronimomo-spd]

i decided to make a list with things we know for sure about the Eighth doctor, as opposed to headcanons, so i would know what is a headcanon to me and what is based on an actual personality trait that i noticed!

plus its fun to have this list outthere for anyone who needs a little refresher on Eighth's personality and physicality! (as implied as it is in the form of audio lol)

So! things i know about Eight so far: (up to right after Scherzo, will update when i finish the divergent arc)

he likes to stomp around!! there were multiple times in the audio where he juststmps stomps as he is saying something!! stompy doctor!! (and yep he did it in the movie too, but the audio proves that he doesn't do it only when he is excited! like in neverland he stomped stomped stomped to make a point)

he talks in his sleep!!! every time he falls asleep he talks!!! the amount of times this happend like awwwww, (and it also happens in Stranded because i accedently spoiled myself for it) AND ITS ALWAYS ABOUT MARRY SHELLY, HE ALWAYS DREAMS AND TALKS TO MARRY, i can't wait to explore their audios together because she clearly meant so much to him, its one of the reasons i think she is his first companion post movie and it makes so much sense. (also now after watching Withnail & I i also headcanon him to naturaly smile and laugh in his sleep)

he tends to tell other people if he's hurt!! usuallly it will be or in a "FUCK OH NO" kind of tone or "ahhhh i think i am dieing... oops :)", but he will at least admit it!! like, he doesn't hide it, he more just tells about it, and he gets hurt A LOT so it might be just out of nececaty at this point lol

always puts the kettle on when after a big day of adventure, and good for him to find a way to disstress, but apperently he aways just lets it cool for wayyyy too long lol, sweetheart, and idiot sweetheart if you will

HE IS A VERY SHOUTY DOCTOR, AND I LOVE IT, its or that his vulmue is too low or that he SCREAMS, he tends to rise his volume when he is excited, and when he screams in pain (both happen pretty much in every episode)

that's it for now!!

#doctor who #dw #eighth doctor #eight doctor #8th doctor #8th doctor listenalong #8th doctor big finish stuff #big finish eighth doctor #paul mcgann #points at 8's head as he eats rats: my baby my babyyyyyy

[skeeverboy]

hi i'm skeeverboy and here's my review of every tfb album (not including singles or eps but maybe i will at some point)

I Hate My Friends (2008)

despite being their first and least finished albums, it is one of my fav albums of all time. it's unique and definitely not for everyone, but the garage/basement sound and unique vocals are so charming. it has this whole immature feeling in both instrumentation and lyrics that i'm just obsessed with. i really like the background vocals and the entire shouty kind of singing this one has.

fav track: push-ups

rating: 9.5/10

My Grandma Vs. Pneumonia (2009)

very similar in sound and vibe to IHMF, with the same acoustic recorded-in-someone's-basement feeling (this is because both albums were in fact recorded in random basements and garages). it feels a little more finished than IHMF, and the songs have a bit of a different vibe that i don't know how to explain. ultimately though i put it in the same category as IHMF and frequently forget which songs are in which albums.

fav track: the bass is too loud

rating: 9/10

The Front Bottoms (2011)

absolutely amazing album. it has all the charm of the first 2, with significantly more development and more of a finished feeling. it starts off with an amazing first track and there's really not a dud on this album at all. both versions of the cover art are beautiful. the lyrics in this album are just like some of my favorite of all time and often times soul crushing. i love it. enough said.

fav track: looking like you just woke up

rating: 10/10

Talon of the Hawk (2013)

another absolute banger. it has a lot of the same vibes as self titled, though it started getting a lot higher energy. while still angsty and gut-punching, it's also a lot easier to jam out to than their self-titled, with more electric guitar featured and absolutely banger choruses. maybe a little bit overrated, but a great album nonetheless.

fav track: santa monica

rating: 9/10

Back On Top (2015)

another one of my favorites. it's nearly completely abandoned the more acoustic feeling, aside from chunks of songs like the beginning of West Virginia. pretty much every song can be either cried to or rocked out to in the car. even though there is one song on this album that i kind of hate (summer shandy) the rest of them more than make up for it. fun electric guitar parts, the epic wind section in 2YL, the hard hitting lyrics in songs like Plastic Flowers, it's all just amazing.

fav track: ginger

rating: 10/10

Going Grey (2017)

everyone hates me for my opinion on this album but ultimately it's just kind of meh for me. it's not bad, but it's my least favorite TFB album. the entire sound of the album isn't my favorite, and at times the vocals feel a little dull, which i mean the vocals are like the number one reason why i love the front bottoms. some of the lyrics leave something to be desired, especially considering past songs.

i don't hate the album though. it's high energy, really transitioned TFB into IS&IF and YAWYHOW smoothly. it has a lot of good songs while remaining pretty true to the core TFB sound.

fav track: trampoline

rating: 7.5/10 (don't crucify me please)

In Sickness & In Flames (2020)

ok on my tier list i admit i ranked this one way too low. it pushed the band into a new direction, with the autotune and the way more developed and finished sounding instrumentals. pretty much every song is high energy and catchy. it strays way more into the pop side of tfb's pop punk/emo sound, which is fine but not exactly my thing. i think they do it in a really graceful way though and most songs on here are bangers

fav track: bus beat

rating: 8/10

You Are Who You Hang Out With (2023)

this one is significant for me because it was their first full-length album they released while i was actively a huge fan. it was exciting and i heard a few of the songs before the album's release live, so i'm definitely biased in this one. the autotune is a little weird, but it works for me. the mix between brian's unique voice and the autotune and just the general sound of it are really good.

i'll admit it did take me a minute for it to grow on me, especially as an early tfb girlie, but grow on me it did. outlook and batman both feel like really nice tie-backs to the older sound, almost sounding like they're from TOTH or back on top?? and the newer, weirder songs (i'm looking at you Paris) work really well with the sound of album and such.

fav track: batman

rating: 9.5/10

#picking a fav track from every album was so fucking hard #the front bottoms #tfb #front bottoms #brian sella #mat uychich #midwest emo #emo #album review #i hate my friends #my grandma vs pneumonia #talon of the hawk #back on top #going grey #in sickness and in flames #you are who you hang out with #yawyhow #toth

[arizonaraine]

Sorting Hat Chats: Zootopia

(Have I talked about how much I love this movie? Because I love this movie.)

Judy Hopps might be the Lion-i-est Lion primary to ever Lion. Seriously. From the time she's a little girl, she has this internal conviction that she needs to "make the world a better place." She loves her family in Bunnyburrow, but is perfectly fine with heading out on her own, moving to the big city to fulfill her dreams. Her passion, her drive, is internal and idealistic. She believes so much in the idea of Zootopia. It guides her decisions, the advice she gives, and the way she treats other people. When she acts out of line with her values-- her careless comments about predators are used as justification for mistreating them by the media and by Bellweather-- it eats her up inside. She resigns from the police department and moves home, but is despondent. She's on the verge of burning until her conversation with her parents and Gideon Gray, which proves to her that 1. her idealism made a change in their lives and 2. the fight isn't over! Her Lion spark is reignited, and she speeds off to Zootopia to make things right. She ends the story a more mature Lion: recognizing that "life is more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker," but still working to make that dream of Zootopia true.

I think she's a Badger Secondary. Yes, she can be a shouty and charge-y like a Lion, but I think that her real strength is connecting with the people around her. Like Captain America, she creates assets. She uses Nick's street smarts and leverages her connection with Bellweather to access the Jam Cams at City Hall. She and Nick are saved from being iced by the mobster because of the warmth and kindness with which she treats his daughter. She also showcases the Bookkeeper aspect of this secondary through her nose-to-the-grindstone, "I'm not going to write 100 tickets, I'm going to write 200 tickets before noon!" approach to becoming a cop.

Nick Wilde starts the story a burned Badger primary. The childhood trauma that forged him was being rejected by a group. All he wanted was to join the Junior Ranger Scouts: he was excited to put on a uniform and be part of their community. When he's bullied for being a predator, he burns. He looks sort of like a Snake when Judy first meets him-- kinda hedonistic, only looking out for himself-- but as the story progresses, his true Badger self starts to shine through. He knows everyone: Otterton the florist, the mob boss, Flash the sloth... He stands up for Judy to Boggo. He's a mix of trepidatious and excited when Judy suggests that he join the police force. He refuses to abandon her when she's injured, insisting that they come up with another plan. And in the end, he joins the force! He's finally part of a community.

I'm going use Occam's Razor here and say that he's a Snake secondary. One could argue that he's just modeling Snake because that's what's expected of foxes, but I don't see enough evidence of another secondary, so I'm going for the simplest explanation for now. Nick is good at improvising. He's great at taking information and using the environment around him to shape the outcome he wants. When he first meets Judy, he plays her like a violin. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart." He sells skunk-butt rugs to the mobster. His whole popsicle scam?? Snake, snake, snake. He can talk his way out of pretty much any corner. He can go neutral-state blunt on people, but most of the time, he's charming as hell. Judy teasingly calls him "slick Nick."

TL;DR

Judy Is a shining Lion who grows into a more mature version of her primary by the end, with a Badger secondary that uses hard work and the people around her to accomplish her mission.

Nick starts out a burned Badger primary who eventually finds a home with Judy and the police department. His Snake secondary might just be him playing to what people already think foxes are-- I'd love to hear arguments for another secondary!-- but he seems to use these tools naturally.

#sorting hat chats #shc #lion primary #badger secondary #burned badger primary #snake secondary #zootopia #judy hopps #nick wilde

[bradshawsbitch]

i’m afraid all of my kitchen knowledge comes from jeremy allen white being shouty and sexy on the bear, so would you mind explaining what window duty is in mise en place? and the difference between that and what bradley has been doing?

💌 @laracrofted

omg omg omg no for real I am so dumb oh gosh, this is the number one feedback my professors give me I swear “you have to make your text make sense to the people reading too” meanwhile I’m like “omg this is so clever🤪🤪” and I’ve jumped like 78 steps without mentioning how🤦🏻‍♀️

okay, so, prefacing this I want to say I am not an educated server, and this is just my limited knowledge from working in a dingy, cozy restaurant in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere.

SO, seeing as this is not a fancy, high-end restaurant, the chefs sort of have limited space.

On one side you have grills and ovens (what Jake is supposed to do mostly), he makes sure he has the orders on the grill, keeps check of the temperature of the things he’s cooking - whether that be fish, bird or steak. With the steak he “rests” them (lays them off the grill so they keep cooking off heat until they reach the temperature that signifies what the order is aka “rare” “medium” etc)

And Bradley, who’s supposed to be working the window, gets the checks that the waitresses send in from the computer. He checks the order over and repeats it out loud (like “New order - Jake; 1 tuna, 1 steak, 1 vegetarian - Mickey; 2 garlic bread” and they’ll say “yes chef” back to signify they heard and have registered the new order). Bradley would also be plating, aka putting the food on the plates, making them aesthetically pleasing, and making sure the different dishes times so everyone at the table gets their food at the same time.

He also works closer to the waitresses in the window. They come to him for questions because he’s the first thing they see. The window is where the servers go to fetch the food, they go to correct a check, usually the one in the window is who you ask about for allergens, special orders - he’s basically the communicator of the team. The window is also where most waitresses hang out if they’re bored, you’ll usually talk to the person working the window (and in my case get a little flirty because I’m horrible🙄) and fetch them drinks or just banter.

Mickey, who exclusively works pastry, is in charge of most cold things. His little area is opposite of Bradley’s window - so they can easily communicate and time when the appetisers go out, or when Bradley gets a check to forward the desserts after the waitress clears the main course off their table. Mickey makes salads, appetisers and desserts - and if he’s not busy, he can help Bradley plate if he’s backed up.

So, Bradley has been avoiding working at the window, because he knows if he does he’ll be face to face with Bambi almost every time she enters the kitchen (which is a lot of times). When you’re at the grill you’re in the background, mostly just getting shit done for the window. You also get very close up and personal with the person working the window, if y’all get into a spat you’re like 10-15 inches away from one another, there’s only the bench and the row of tickets to separate you. So in my mind Bradley feels… hesitant, to let himself work so close.

Which is why Jake’s been bitching, he likes to hang around by the grill and make funny jokes and flirt with Mir😉 not have to make sure everything times perfectly, and make sure the food in the window doesn’t go “dead” (cold).

Sorry for long winded answer I get very excited about asks like these 😭 and also pls let me know if it doesn’t make any sense, the terminology is SO new to me in English!

@gretagerwigsmuse wanted to know too I think 🥰

#mise en place asks #I LOVE YOU IM SORRY I WENT BALLISTIC #pls let me know if it’s still unclear!!!

[valjeans]

Can we have a review of the rest of the cast?

yeah sure i've had 24 hours to process:

david thaxton - javert incredible. perfect. life-changing. honestly, the vintage vibes are insane. he walked down those stairs at the prologue and we knew we were in for an absolute treat. every. single. motion. just clearly has so much thought behind it. he checks the paperwork and LAUGHS while singing '5 years for what you did, the rest because you tried to run.' he kneels down and spits 'that's the way to please the lord' in fantine's face and then laughs when she lunges at valjean. he tries to force valjean to stab him at the barricade. and then from then on he is just shaking uncontrollably, he holds up the gun to valjean in the sewer but he's shaking so much, it's all so clearly inevitable. also full speed suicide too. honestly. you all NEED to go and see this man.

ava brennan - fantine now i truly LOVED her acting in i dreamed a dream, it was so refreshing to have a principal fantine that actually acts the song. however, her vocals were a little shaky but we will put it down to first night nerves! i am REALLY excited to see her grow into the role and think there will be really exciting developments!

nathania ong - eponine i've seen her on tour a few times now and honestly she gets better every single time. her on my own is an absolutely earth shattering moments in the show, her acting is soooo good and her vocals are incredible, easily the strongest voice in the case.

robert tripolino - marius i really had high hopes but at the moment by far my least favourite of the new principals. i think some of his shaky vocals can be put down to nerves but he has a really thin sounding voice that i really wasn't expecting? he was constantly drowned out, not just by natty, but by lulu mae too. not much going on acting wise. his empty chairs lacked much depth and was faaaaaaar too shouty for my liking. can only hope there's lots of improvement to come.

lulu mae pears - cosette easily the best cosette we've had in years. she has absolutely no issues hitting that top note and actually really really acts. i actually found her so much more awkward and endearing than marius in a heart full of love. genuinely loved her in the finale too. so exciting to have a decent cosette at last!! smaller roles:

bart lambert - grantaire hmmm. i enjoyed his acting after gavroche's death but that was about it. didn't really get a sense of him having any connection or reason for being at the barricade. he also really seemed to have forgotten that grantaire's man personality trait is that he is almost constantly drunk. no real fun abc cafe moments either.

donald craig manuel - bishop of digne i didn't love donald in phantom but honestly i loved his bishop! it was nice to have one that made an effort to actually act like an old man AND have really good diction too. (p.s. he doesn't wear shoes)

adam robert lewis - courfeyrac love adam but VERY pitchy last night. hopefully just opening night nerves. also hope he brings a bit more passion to the role tbh.

cameron burt - feuilly lovely voice but need him to sing his lines instead of shouting at least 50% of them.

those are the main new ones i have thoughts on! i also want to add that it's lovely seeing sam peggs promoted and he's a great babet so far! also chris is absolutely wasted as combeferre and puts the rest of the barricade boys vocals to shame (i do get them giving alt valjean the less demanding featured barricade boy tho after luke and jon both having bad vocal issues last cast)

also so many of the male tracks are different now and it's gonna take so long to learn them all!

[characternerdocs]

🎮 — favorite video game(s)?

munday asks ||| @icybreaths

Some of my favorite games, first has to be Alice: Madness Returns. Not only do the game and the games version of Alice sort of inspire Heather and Vincent’s characters. (Vincent I feel has grow into the male verison of Alice Liddell as he has emerged from his cocoon of villian and had turned into a beautiful anti-hero moth. While Alice’s impromptu trips into Wonderland she makes through the game and her “powers” were inspirational to Heather’s creation. I believe from day one I was pulling from Madness Returns for Heather’s character.)

ANYWAY, besides that. I love this game’s story, it actually the sequel to American McGee’s Alice, but I really like Madness Returns because the story of the game is just *Cheif’s Kiss* fantastic in my mind. I feel like there are a lot of dark retellings of Alice in Wonderland which can either be a hit or miss, but this one does it so well. In the first game, Alice is fighting to save Wonderland from the Jabberwock and the Queen of Hearts, personifications of Alice’s survivor’s guilt and all of the negative emotions and thoughts respectively. After defeating them, saving Wonderland, all a metaphor for her mental health, Alice is release from Rutledge Asylum, where she had been since the fire that claimed the lives of her parents and sister. A fine story, but Madness Return's is so much better. Come to find out after years of thinking she is to blame for the fire, and once again Alice must save Wonderland as a train (of all thing?) is destroying the land by reclaiming her memories from the night she lost her family, and remember that really cause their family’s death. And the truth is REALLY fucked up. At least it was to a little middle school aged me when I first encouraged it.

I also really like Hades, and am excited for the second one. Prolly should try to finish the first game though. But I like Hades cause I’m not good at video games, but Hades does reward you for failing. To level yourself up you have to die. and I like Greek Mythology so it’s fun.

I also like a weird phone game called Simulacra. I know there were two other games that came out after it, Simulacra 2 and Simulacra: Pipe Dreams, but the first one is the best cause of what you don’t know until the very end of the game. Which the other two have a very similar forum but with the same “twist” that the player already knows is coming because of the first game. But the first Simulacra is great. it’s an interesting commentary on the different persona we create for our online presence vs our offline self. I wrote a paper on it in college for one of my digital media classes.

Finally my friend at work has got me hooked on Skyrim. I’m like ten years late to this game it would seem, but I’m having a romp through this fantasy game. I have little idea what’s happening to be honest as I am basically a murder hobo, walking from city to city, but somehow I have like 30000 gold now. I know there is a plot, but my ADHD brain just distracted by all the caves with bandits, undead, and vampire to fight that I forget the quest I set off to do. I think I got like 70 hours into the game until I actually did something for the main quest killed a dragon and got the shouty powers.

Thanks for that ask @icybreaths

#Icybreaths #Video games #about ME

[milf-harrington]

📓💞

:DDD

okay so i've got this one zukka fic i've had sitting in my head for like. a year but i've never quite gotten around to writing it??

anyway so it's this fantasy-type au where bending is just known as "magic" (and like, within the specific elements you can learn more sub types of magic like healing, animation, manipulation (see: bloodbending) etc)

possibly there's still a war, but im still not sure yet

anyway so zuko is this like. hermit in the woods bc he hates people and he has rage issues, so he just lives in his little cottage with his dragon and he's blacksmith bc that's how he can use his fire magic in a non-destructive way and also blacksmiths are cool. The gaang are travelling bc they need/want to find a fire magic teacher for Aang (the avatar still exists in this world, as someone who can master all 5 areas of magic (spirit is the 5th, involves talking to and seeing ghosts, dream-walking, being able to meet with/hear the sprits etc) and one day they're in this tea shop in a small town in the earth kingdom talking about it, and the owner (iroh) overhears them and he's like "my nephew knows fire magic" and tells them where to find him

said nephew lives pretty far off in the woods, away from society because he doesn’t like people and he can get shouty when he’s stressed (and he's a scorned ex-prince who originally lived that far away bc he was sulking but then decided it was nice out there bc no one talked to him except his uncle who was willing to make the trek to see him - and his dragon who he found as an egg and is now too big to comfortably fit in the house but Spirits Does He Try)

so they head off to find him and they’re walking for hours so Sokka’s kinda like “hey are we sure this guy exists? and if so, is anyone else getting major jeong jeong vibes?”

eventually tho they find this little stone cottage with like. a lil garden and a stream and it's all very picturesque and then they knock on the door and no one answers but toph is like "nah someones here" so they keep knocking and eventually toph just shouts and then there's like. a loud but muffled shout and then door slamming and then this guy opens the door and he's all covered in soot and scowling and he's wearing an apron with ducks on it bc Iroh got it for him as a joke and he's like "what?" and sokka internally is like "is anyone else gonna fall in love with this guy?" and then didnt wait for an answer before falling head first

so then zuko begrudgingly teaches aang fire magic and avoids telling them about his family and he and sokka fall in love and then the gaang moves on to continue travelling/doing what they're doing sokka and zuko exchange letters and gifts and stuff and eventually sokka starts visiting zuko so often he's got his own little room/workshop for his inventions and his science things and druk is always so excited to be sent south to pick him up but he'll fully try to hide under the table when he has to take sokka home until eventually either he never has to take sokka home again or zuko moves down south

#i do really want to write this fic though i just havent gotten around to it for some reason fjksd #fic ideas #pls dont like. copy this #id be so devastated lmao #asks #grace #zukkaoru

[handsoffmyfriends]

Breaking Expectations

— when you transfer into the hero course for your second year, you have a lot of expectations regarding your soon-to-be classmates. of all the people to not meet your expectations, bakugou katsuki ranks number one, but you find that you aren’t disappointed in the slightest

PARING: bakugou katsuki x reader WORD COUNT: 1,852 WARNINGS: bakugou swears like the bakuhoe he is

A/N: my first one shot 🥺🥺 i really wanted to write something cute and fluffy and angst free for once, i hope i did okay!! warming myself up for opening up requests !

Part 2

You weren’t sure what you expected when you transferred into the hero course, but somehow befriending the hot-headed Bakugou Katsuki hadn’t even been within the realm of possibilities. You respected his undeniable power, but his personality left much to be desired. You, like the rest of the school outside of the hero course, believed he was nothing more than a feral child with a superiority complex. All you had ever heard about him was how angry he was and how poorly he treated everyone around him. Hell, the guy called his best friend “shitty hair” for crying out loud. It left you feeling not as excited as you should have been when you found out you were transferring into Class 2-A.

Your first interaction with the angry boy left you wondering just how much of the rumours you’d heard had been just that; rumours. You thought for sure he was going to yell at you when you’d been thrown into him during hero training, but he’d simply helped you steady your footing and told you to be more careful. His tone always held a note of anger, you’d found, but the way he helped you and proceeded to back you up during the exercise left you feeling like you’d completely misjudged him. 

You couldn’t shake the guilt at how poorly you’d originally viewed him, so you approached him later that day in the dorms. Thankfully, he was by himself, sitting on the sofa scrolling through his social media. You weren’t sure how you’d have spoken to him if other people were around. 

Still, you weren’t sure how to start the conversation. He very clearly didn’t want to be disturbed, but he was out in the communal living space, so surely he expected to be disturbed? You stood there like an idiot for several long seconds, agonising over how to begin, but once again, he surprised you. 

“Don’t stand there all day,” he growled out, flicking his crimson eyes up at you. “Couches are free real estate. Don’t need my permission to sit your ass down.” He returned his attention back to his phone.

You stiffened slightly at his bluntness. Again, you hadn’t known what to expect, but that certainly wasn’t it. “Ah, that’s not what I came over here for.” 

He looked back up at you, this time putting his phone aside and giving you his entire attention. “If it’s about before, don’t worry about it. Everyone does dumb shit during the exercises. Dunce Face does something stupid every fucking time.” 

You frowned in confusion before realising he meant Kaminari. You shook your head, finding your voice. “Ah, it’s not quite that either, though I am very sorry about getting in your way. It was a lot more intense than I thought it was going to be.” 

Bakugou shrugged with indifference. “You did alright to me. Better than that grape fucker we had last year.” 

You dug through your brain to figure out who he could have possibly meant before noticing you were getting distracted. “It’s— I mean... I came over to apologise to you! For misjudging you!” You blurted your thoughts out before they got lost on the way to your mouth. It came out a lot less eloquently than you intended. At his furrowed eyebrows, you tried to save face and explain yourself. “I just... I needed to apologise. You aren’t at all how I thought you would be.”

His expression darkened. “Let me guess, you thought I’d be some kind of villain in the making? Some asshole that would stomp you into the ground without a second thought?”

You didn’t respond, but it was answer enough for him. 

He sighed deeply, releasing his frustrations. “Look, that shit was probably true a year ago. I get why you’d think that.” He pulled his phone back out, returning his attention back to it. “People change, believe it or not. But, thanks... for being upfront, I guess.”

You weren’t sure how you felt about the conclusion to the conversation, but it was clear he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. You didn’t feel right just walking away after that either, so you took a seat on the couch, a comfortable distance away from him, and pulled out your own phone to browse your social media. 

You looked back up at him sharply when you noticed the new friend request notification pop up. The Bakugou Katsuki had just sent you a friend request. He seemed entirely unaware of you staring at him in disbelief, despite having just sent you the request. He continued to scroll through his phone, very pointedly not looking up at you. 

You decided not to make a big deal out of it, since he wasn’t either. 

-- 

Bakugou continued to surprise you as the weeks and months went by. Sure, he was as angry as you had been led to believe, but it wasn’t a personal anger that you had assumed. He was just a shouty kind of guy. He called all his friends insulting nicknames, but they were said with a strange kind of fondness, like insults were the only way he could allow himself to show affection. He even had one for you, and if anyone else had called you that, you would have been really offended. Coming from Bakugou, it was strangely nice. 

You found yourself hanging out with him more and more. Not through any intentional planning, but the two of you just ended up in the same places at the same times. He was almost always accompanied by Kirishima, who was always overly happy to see you, almost like he was making up for Bakugou’s lack of enthusiasm. You didn’t mind the extra company, though you found you liked your alone time with Bakugou even more. 

Sometimes, it was just studying together. Sometimes, you both didn’t say a word, simply enjoying each other’s company. When you did talk, it was comfortable. Bakugou wasn’t a big talker, but you could tell he really trusted you when he did talk to you about more serious topics than the weather. You treasured those moments. 

--

“Hey, Y/N! We’ve been looking for you!” Kirishima called out, pulling you from your book.

“Oh, Kirishima, Bakugou,” you greeted pleasantly, giving up on studying. You probably shouldn’t be studying in the communal area anyway. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

Kirishima grinned impossibly wide, showing off his famously sharp teeth. “Bakubro here wanted you to join us for squad movie night.” 

Without hesitation, Bakugou threw a punch at Kirishima, right in the face. The red-head had apparently been expecting it, since he’d hardened up instantly and was left entirely unaffected by the slug. “Shut the hell up, shitty hair, you make it sound so fucking creepy!” 

You laughed at their bickering, finding it endearing. How you had ever thought Bakugou was an asshole to his friends was beyond you. The words themselves were harsh, but the emotions behind them spelled out an entirely different meaning. He was embarrassed.

You decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up. “Squad movie night, huh? I didn’t know I was part of a squad.”

Kirishima threw an arm around Bakugou. “I’ll add you to the group chat! But, you gotta come for movie night first! It’s like, initiation.” 

You giggled. “Alright, alright. I need a break anyway.” 

-- 

That’s how you found yourself curled up on the couch, pressed up against the arm of the three seater. It seemed squad movie night was an accepted practise in the dorm, since no one other than Bakugou’s friends were present despite being hosted in the communal area. 

Mina had picked the movie, which was surprisingly an action packed thriller, not a rom-com that you’d have expected from her. It suited you just fine, since you weren’t exactly in the mood for a rom-com. 

You’d sat down first, since you weren’t sure who did what when it came to movie time. Kaminari handed around little bowls full of snacks for everyone, while Sero and Kirishima pulled out a plethora of comforters, blankets and pillows, passing them around to everyone. You suspected they were from everyone’s rooms and you suddenly felt lacking since you hadn’t brought your own. This certainly wasn’t what you’d expected to come along to. 

You continued to be surprised when Bakugou took a seat next to you and threw his comforter over you. “Bring your own next time,” he growled at you, adding on your insulting nickname. 

You figured Kirishima would sit next to Bakugou, but he just sat down on the other couch with Sero. Mina had created a nest on the floor, pillows and blankets piled into an impossibly comfortable mound of plush. She practically disappeared into it when she laid down in it. 

You found it hard to concentrate on the movie with Bakugou so close to you. You were surrounded  by his smell, burnt sugar and smoke, a combination that you would have thought to be repulsive. Instead, it wrapped you up and made you feel nice and warm. Although, that probably had to do with the fact that Bakugou was so close to you that you could feel his body heat. The sudden realisation had you barely able to breathe.

Why did you suddenly feel so weird? No one else made you feel like your heart was in your throat, so why did Bakugou? 

You think your heart completely stopped when Bakugou very casually threw an arm behind you. Well, behind the couch was more accurate, but it was still behind you and when your heart came back online, it was working double time. 

“Fuckin’ relax,” he murmured, eyes never leaving the screen. When you didn’t relax quick enough for his liking, he turned his crimson gaze onto you, those red eyes boring in your own. “I can move if you’re that fuckin’ uncomfortable.” He probably meant to come off blasé, but you could hear the underlying hurt in his voice.

You shook your head very quickly when you realised he wasn’t just being casual about getting comfortable, but making a silent move to get closer to you. You didn’t speak, not trusting yourself to talk. You’d probably say something really stupid and really loudly. Instead, you forced yourself to relax, shifting around a little to get more comfortable. Bakugou hummed in satisfaction.

You weren’t sure when you were snuggled into Bakugou’s side instead of the arm of the couch, and you weren’t sure when he pulled his arm from behind the couch to be wrapped around you, but you found that you were way too comfortable to care. 

You felt so warm and safe that you didn’t even notice that you were dozing off until you were being gently woken up. The room was dark, the movie very clearly over, and the rest of the squad were long gone. Bakugou gently jostled you awake, a strangely soft expression adorning his features. You’d never seen it before, but you decided then and there, in your sleepy stupor, that you wanted to see it as much as you could.

#bnha #mha #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou #bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #katsuki x reader #katsuki #bakugou #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo

[cheeriecherry]

Can I request bakugo, kirishima and shoji with a reader who has adhd? It's totally fine if u can't, but I love seeing hcs about stims and stuff,, thank u :) !

//raises hand// u mean me <:3c I have adhd so prepare for a lot of uhhhhh habits that I have-

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

-This guy knows fuckall about ADHD lbr

-He’s the guy who can sit down and study and stay focused, who keeps a regular sleep schedule, who sits still in class (for the most part). Sure, he’s shouty, but he’s not got a clue about what you deal with.

-Before he really gets to know you, he thinks you’re a pain in the ass ngl. Like, why can’t you study, it’s not that hard? What do you mean you didn’t go to bed until 3am because falling asleep is ‘boring’? Sorry when was the last time you showered - what do you mean you thought you already did it?!

-It’s probably frustrating to deal with his remarks. Like, he’s judging you for something that’s out of your control.

-It’s best to just lay it out flat for him; call him out for being an asshole. Not only because he’s just being rude, but because he’s being rude about things that are out of your hands.

-He’ll feel guilty about it, but he won’t say anything. Which kind of sucks, because an apology would be nice but...be patient with him also, he’s still learning.

-He would probably take it upon himself to learn what the heck adhd even is, and how it affects people. And what kinds of things you can do to help with it!

-He’d be quieter around you after that, and more lenient. He’d still help you study, but he’d be less gung-ho about shoving your face in a book. Sometimes he’ll read the paragraphs to you while you follow along or make notes, and he’ll help you make summary pages that are organised and colour coded for easy access.

-He finds a neat little fidget toy online and orders one for you, it’s like. A little cube with buttons and switches and little rolly things on each side, very good for when you’re in class and your leg is bouncing and you’re twirling your pen around while staring at the ceiling.

-He definitely can relate to the emotional side of adhd tho. Feeling Everything or Nothing, not really being able to control or get a handle on intense emotions, having outbursts sometimes. He doesn’t really know how to help you with that, because he is, in fact, a loud boi. It’s probably pretty common that you’ll yell something and he’ll yell back, but it devolves into a basic conversation at a high volume.

-Once he gets to know you and starts dating you, he’ll think your mannerisms are cute. The way you sway back and forth while you’re standing, the little wiggly thing you do with your hands when you’re excited for something.

-He also really likes watching you train, and training with you. Your brain goes fast and the rest of you follows, so it’s pretty common for you to lay waste to your opponents. When you don’t doubt yourself, your instinct shines through and you’re incredibly clever.

-It carries over to conversations sometimes, where you’ll always have some quick remark to smack somebody with when they talk shit.

-He’s seen the downsides of adhd, but he also sees the kind of pros it can have, and he sees how hard you work to get things done in spite of it. He thinks you’re pretty cool.

KIRISHIMA EIJIROU

-He also doesn’t know what adhd, not really.

-He’s heard of it, but only the stereotypes. The ‘can’t sit still, always talking, not very smart’ stereotypes. So he probably sees your behaviours and doesn’t connect the dots.

-He notices you staring out the window a lot in class, and not really giving much to group conversation. Plus you sometimes need people to repeat things, two or three or four times, before it clicks with you. He doesn’t think you’re dumb, not at all (he’s seen your grades and you’re definitely not dumb) but he does wonder what’s up with you.

-He’ll probably ask you one day, after seeing you watching a movie with subtitles on, despite it being in your native language. Just be honest with him and tell him that yeah, you have adhd.

-He’ll probably be the guy to say ‘but you dont act like you have adhd’ because all he has to go off of are stereotypes. It’s important to set him straight. Tell him what it’s really like, the good parts, the bad parts, the ugly parts.

-The ‘not being able to tidy anything up because the stars aren’t in alignment’ parts. The ‘everything looks horribly disorganized but you know where everything is’ parts. The ‘I haven’t brushed my teeth in three days because I lost track of time’ parts.

-He already thought pretty good of your before, but now that he knows you really have to fight to be where you are, he’s in awe. You’re such a strong person, which he really admires.

-If you do something that’s ‘weird’ he’ll ask you to explain it. He’s honestly just curious, and wants to learn more about you and what drives you, so don’t be offended by it.

-But he’ll definitely like the fidget toys you have, particularly the squishy or stretch ones. And he finds that your study tricks really help him in terms of paying attention, and he’s able to absorb the material better. You guys always make sure to create study sheets together that are laid out well and easy to access.

-He also really like the energy you have during training, and often seeks you out to partner up. Whereas sitting in a classroom isn’t your strong suit, being out on the field and moving around is. You’re got a quick wit and a smart brain, and when you’re using your body at the same time, it’s easier to keep track of your thoughts and put them into action.

-10/10 loves the shit out of you and lowkey brags to everyone about how good his S/O is.

SHOJI MEZO

-The quietest and most understanding of the bunch.

-He -like the others- probably also doesn’t know much about adhd, but he’s far more relaxed about it when you tell him. He’s kind of just like ‘oh, okay’ and it doesn’t change his opinion of you.

-But when he sees how it really affects you, that’s when he starts to think differently. 

-He’s not a bad student in terms of grades. he’s pretty mediocre, both in hero training and classes, and he’s okay with it. But he sees how much you bust your ass just to be where you are, and he’s certainly not envious.

-When you tell him what other kinds of fun things you have to deal with, he probably feels a little bad for you at first. He’s already self conscious about himself, so if he had to go through the things you do, his self esteem would probably be pretty low.

-but he really respects that you’re owning your adhd, and working with it instead of trying to ignore it and make it go away. 

-Plus, with cons come pros, and you have so many of them. It can be hard to get into things sometimes, but once you do? He’s seen the way you get when you hyperfocus, and the amount you can achieve when you’re in that state. He’s learned not to bother you until you’re done whatever you’re doing when you’re focused, knowing that once you lose it, it’s gone and you’ll never get it back.

-And the way you enthuse about your interests is adorable. he admire you passion and knowledge about certain subjects, and the lengths you’re willing to go to in order to learn about them.

-He doesn’t usually like being your partner during training, mostly because you kick his ass using sped and intelligence alone. Plus your stamina and unwillingness to stay knocked down is...something. Something real good.

-He definitely sees the appeal of fidget toys. After he tries yours, he’ll probably get one for himself, and keep it in his off hand while he’s working. I mean, six arms, y’know? That’s like four more arms to not be busy with when he’s working, and four more arms of sensory input. Having something to fiddle with actually helps his concentration too.

-Speaking of sensory input, this guy gives the best hugs when you’re overstimulated by something. A good squeeze calms down the sympathetic nervous system, and he’s hands down the best at hugs. He holds you tightly and blocks out whatever light and noise that he can, until you’ve calmed down and are more equipped to deal with things.

-You two mesh pretty well together, and there’s a lot he can learn from you. He respects you and cares about you!

#bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #kirishima x reader #kirishima eijirou x reader #shoji x reader shoji mezo x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha headcanons #mha headcanons #Anonymous

[aimee-maroux]

Plato-nic Love (Part I)

I sadly didn’t finish the whole story in time but this is part one of Seren and Plato’s epic love story for the ages XD

Illustrations were done by the wonderful @sigeel​ 😍😍😍

So this submission is by the two of us!

Plato-nic Love

Seren poured a libation of wine and started working on the grapevine that had been growing in the family garden for a while. At first, her mother had tried to get rid of it but it had proven the essence of indestructable life and so they had accepted its presence much like Seren had come to accept the presence of its patron god. She was about to cut off a branch to use for making a crown later on when she heard a familiar voice. "How is my favourite bacchae?" She sighed. It had been about a year since she had agreed to become his faithful follower and needless to say she was still the only one. "Do you know what day it is?" Seren started frantically going through all the calendars she had studied, from the reconstructed Attic calendar to the Roman calendar before and after the Julian reform -what moon phase were they in again? "You always think we don't care about these things but I have a sursprise for you." Dionysos flashed her a bright smile. "What?" she said flatly. A surprise from a god couldn't possibly mean anything good.

"I SAID: I have a SURPRISE for you!" Confetti and flower petals started raining down on them and from above sounded a rustic melody played on pan pipes. Seren looked up to see Hermes sitting on a treebranch, grinning as he played the instrument his son invented. "Ha ha, very funny, Hermes." Dionysos took Seren by the shoulders. "He was supposed to play the Time Warp. Because it's exactly ONE YEAR TODAY that you became my bacchae and do I have a surprise for you!" "Yeah, you said so. But maybe it would be better if-" "Nonsense! As your patron god I am exceedingly generous. You see, I have noticed your infatuation with Plato." "You don't say." "Yes. Anyway, Hermes was so nice to pay grandfather Kronos a visit and relieve him of a little artef- well, details, it doesn't matter! What is important is that you will get to meet Plato!" "Really?!" There was a nagging voice in Seren's head that told her to be careful but Dionysos had just told her she'd get to meet Plato! "Really. All you have to do is take my hand. But I have another gift for you. Hermes, come down here!" The messenger god swung himself lazily from the tree and floated down until his winged sandals touched the ground. "My brother pointed out that you might have difficulties speaking ancient Greek fluently so he will grant you the ability to speak it like a native for as long as you give up your native English." Seren gaped. "That... is surprisingly thoughtful of you." "Hermes, do it! And no nonsense like giving her a lisp or a foreign accent!" "Of course not. Why would I do that?" Hermes grinned at Seren. "I'd not even be there to see it." "What? Now? Wait!" Seren cried out as divine magic rearranged the synapses in her speech centre. "I did not agree-" "She'll speak fluently once you arrive in Greece," Hermes said, "Once you return, the magic wears off." Dionysos gave his brother a suspicious look. Then he beamed. "Perfect!" Dionysos clapped enthusiastically. "Hold on tight!" He pulled her into his embrace and Seren instinctively hugged him. The world around them began to blur and the heavens seemed to turn back as they sped through time and space. There was a sudden jolt and the world was clear once again. Only, it looked strange. But not strange enough for Seren not to recognise her patron god had spoken the truth. This was ancient Athens! She felt a nasty queasiness but she was much too excited to care about that just now. She had known about polychromy but the sheer explosion of colours in the city made her heart sing. The reconstructions were mere shadows of the vibrant paint on the statues, buildings, and clothes. And the Akropolis! It looked majestic even now but the ruins were nothing compared to the magnificence of colour and architecture. Seren stood in awe, even though they were miles away down in a sidestreet. Potters had laid out their painted vases and other works as they created new ones. Seren couldn't decide what to see first, jumping this way and that until the unsavoury sound of regurgitation briefly diverted her attention. Dionysos leaned against the mudbrick wall of a house and puked his guts out. "How can you be so chipper?" Dionysos groaned, wiping his mouth. "You're mortal!" We travelled both time AND space. You should be barfing like a youth at his first symposion." But Seren just ignored him in her euphoria. "It's Athens!" she cried. "ANCIENT Athens!" "That fleet-foorted son of a-" "What? What is it?!" "Nothing, nothing. Everything is fine. I just..." Dionysos leaned against the mudbrick house. "Hermes could have said something about the inconvenience of travelling." Seren shrugged. Who cared, they were already there. "I want to see EVERYTHING!!! The sculptures! The pottery! The architecture! The clothes..." "Speaking of which..." Dionysos grinned. "We should get you something less 2020. If you want to meet Plato, we need a certain disguise. And you want to look your best for him, right?" Seren screwed up her face. "Plato isn't about looks. He's about the beauty of the soul." "Well, if you want to go dressed in that tasteless pink sweater and leggings combination. But let me tell you, nothing looks better on a woman than a finely woven chiton." "Yeah, you're not at all biased." "It's one of the few things even Apollo and I agree on, so it must be true." Seren would have been happy just roaming the streets of ancient Athens for a couple of days. Or for however long this time thingy would allow. The prospect of meeting Plato both exhilarated and terrified her.

Dionysos bought her an elegant chiton in the extremely crowded agora. Seren hardly suppressed a squeal when he paid with real ancient drachmae. Only they didn't look ancient at all. "Why is nobody staring?" she asked, as another group of people walked past them without paying them any mind. "Did you put glamour over my modern clothes?" Dionysos laughed. "No need, honeybee. This is Athens. At a time like this they get tourists from all over the world. One strange, foreign costume is not going to turn any heads." He pulled her away from the merchants and splendour of the agora into the entrance of a seemingly abandoned house. "Put it on," he said, handing her the chiton. "Don't peek!" she reminded him before she changed into her new garment. It felt cool and pleasant on her skin and the quality of the linen was indeed fantastic. Despite the loose fit the fabric was so delicate it hugged her figure in an almost revealing way, making her feel exposed. "Is this really acceptable dress?" she asked. "Only with this worn over it." Dionysos came up behind her, closing another layer of cloth over her shoulders with simple dress pins. "You look great, honeybee," he said sincerely. "Plato can consider himself lucky. You got the brains, you got the looks, and even that austere, joyless personality to match." "I get the impression you don't like Plato much." Dionysos slung the belt around her waist and fastened it. "What gave it away? My graffiti, my groaning everytime you bring him up, or the charming way I speak about him?" "The graffiti was a pretty obvious hint." "I hope you appreciate my gift all the more, honeybee." "I do." She smiled. "But I don't think I could appreciate it any more than I already do. This is a dream come true. The most exciting day of my life. More exciting even than Delphi." "Be careful not to tell Apollo," Dionysos warned but he looked pleased. "Sure. If I ever run into him I'll remember it." As they stepped outside, the streets were empty. "Where is everybody?" "Oh, it must be time to crown the victors." "Victors? Of what? It's too cold to be July, isn't it?" "Not the Panathenaic Games." Dionysos smiled broadly. "It's not an athletic contest. Today..." He made a dramatic pause. "Is the last day of the Great Dionysia!" "Oh." Seren was disappointed. "So we can't go and watch any of the plays?" "I'm afraid it is too late for that. But I can show you my theatre and the temple with my cult image if you want."

Seren politely admired the simple wooden log that was supposed to be a representation of Dionysos and genuinely marvelled at the masks that had been dedicated below it. She patiently listened to Dionysos as he recounted the story of the very first Dionysia in Athens and how he used to mingle among the crowd every year to watch what the people of Athens had put on the stage in his honour. Once they arrived at the theatre it was already empty but it was a stunning sight all the same. Seeing everything intact and in its full glory filled Seren with unknown joy. The decorations, both permanent and temporary, were as colourful and flamboyant as the god they honoured. When they made it back to the streets of Athens, there were already groups of shouty drunk people roaming about. "Victory parties," Dionysos explained when he saw Seren's face. "In fact, we are about to attend one too. But first..." A purple mist shrouded the god's body and when it dispelled, his simple chiton had given way to a slutty ankle-length skirt that hung low enough to expose part of his bum cheeks, his arms, wrists, and ankles adorned with golden jewellery. "I know you practiced with the aulos. You're gonna be a flute girl." Seren startled. "What? No! I'm not nearly good enough!" Dionysos shrugged, making his golden bracelets clink. "I don't think I need to tell you that other kinds of women are not allowed at symposia. Unless you want to play the role of a hetaira..." "F-Flute girl is fine."

They arrived at a house that obviously belonged to someone well-to-do. "A group of revellers is about to show up here any minute. We'll join them to enter the symposion. Trust me, they're too drunk to realise we don't belong." Seren nodded nervously. "Now would be the time to ditch that respectable dress." Reluctantly, Seren freed herself of the protective extra layer of clothing and received the aulos flutes Dionysos handed her. The revellers did indeed show up. Loud and obnoxious, it was impossible not to notice them. A man in his late 20s or early 30s led the group. Half-naked and well into his cups, crowned with a wreath of ivy and violets, he was all but carried by two sturdy lads who looked like they were half-naked professionally. "Come!" Dionysos tugged on her arm and they danced along, she awkwardly, he with a grace and confidence she envied. The leader of the group pounded against the door and yelled for "Agathon". Seren's heart skipped a beat. "Is that... Alkibiades?!" she whispered to Dionysos. "The very same." "We are at THAT Symposium?!!" "We most certainly are." Seren gaped at the man who would eventually be the ruin of Athens by defecting to Sparta and then to Persia. He rattled the door, shouting "Agathon!" and dropped his single piece of clothing in the process, quickly picked up by his lads. Seren shrieked when the man suddenly leaned heavily on her, his arms reeling for support. Dionysos was quick to jump to his other side, taking most of the load off his bacchae. "AGATHON!" Alkibiades yelled once more, in the manner drunks yelled on their way home from the pub after closing hours. He kept demanding to see Agathon with a heavy tongue until a servant boy finally opened up and led them to the andron. Alkibiades managed to stand on his own, stumbling towards the host of the party while announcing how completely and utterly wasted he was. "Let's bring the bacchic spirit to this lame party!" Dionysos cheered. Seren gazed around with stars in her eyes. The room was bright with torches and the klinai were populated by men both young and old but all shirtless and all with crowns of ivy on their heads. She looked more closely at the guests while Alkibiades spoke to Agathon, probably congratulating him for his victory. But none of the symposiasts looked like any of the artworks she had seen of Plato. They were most likely created after his death anyway. "Soooo..." She leaned on Dionysos' shoulder. "Where is Plato?" Dionysos gestured at the kline at the very end of the room, occupied by two young men. "The dark-haired one."

"THAT is Plato?! I thought he'd be at least in his 30s!" Dionysos grinned a smug grin. "He wrote the Symposion in his late 30s. But this, honeybee, is the year the titular symposion actually took place. The first year of the 91st Olympiad. Or, as you would say, 416 BCE." Seren gaped at the young man seated on a couch with a blond youth. He had long, curly hair crowned with a wreath of ivy like all the symposiasts, young and old. A strong, Greek nose gave his face a distinct personality. Who would have thought the man Seren knew only from his words and artwork showing him as an old man could be so... hot. The blonde guy leaned over, whispering something to him. Maybe they were flirting. It wasn't anything unusual back in the day, Seren knew that. But they seemed to be about the same age. Shouldn't- "Play, flute girl," Dionysos nudged her with his elbow, "I'll clear the kline for you."

Seren watched him shimmy over to the pair and tried to remember how to play the aulos. She had practiced so much but right now it felt as if she knew nothing at all. Her idol, Plato, might be listening! Her cheeks burned as she blew into the wooden instrument, the tune an embarrassing version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Despite playing the role of a dancer, Dionysos sat down with the two no doubt aristocratic young men in his usual impudent manner. The blond youth's face turned sour. "What is the meaning of this?" "I came for the entertainment." "We are very well entertained by each other's company, thank you." Dionysos gave the blonde guy a cheeky grin. "Does your company agree?" He crawled on the kline until he basically sat on Plato's lap, prompting the young philosopher to blush. How cute! "Some people can be such a dull affair, talking about nothing but themselves all the time." The angry blond yanked Dionysos off Plato. "This was a philosophical symposion before you arrived!" "Yes. And to shame! You are celebrating a victory at the Dionysia. Where is the revelry?" "There are countless symposia all over Athens. Why did you have to come and ruin this one?" "You know exactly that I didn't ruin anything. But please, if you have any grievances take it up with my master. Alkibiades." "You know what? I will!" The blond aristocrat got up from the kline and grabbed Dionysos by the wrist, effectively pulling him off the kline. He dragged the god behind him as he made for the door, leaving Plato all alone on his bed of colourful cushions. Dionysos winked at her as they passed and it was at that moment that Seren noticed that his "friend" was the only one wearing laurel instead of ivy. Did they just... cock-block Apollon? But not all is lost, she reasoned, if Plato likes Apollon, he likes blondes, right? Right?

Shyly, Seren sat down next to the man whose teachings she still hadn't figured out. And maybe neither did he. He was so young and handsome. She was close enough to smell his heavy perfume and either oil or sweat or both made his chest gleam in the firelight. It really was quite hot in here. He didn't fit the stereotype of the philosopher at all, being so young and handsome and quite brawny. But no matter how hot he was, his physical appearance was dwarfed by the beauty of his brain and thoughts. His intelligence was that much hotter. That being said, Seren liked to think she would be less flustered if the man were old enough to be her father. But he was not. He must be about her own age. "We got rid of the other flute girl." "Wa-What?" "You must know there were already celebrations with heavy drinking last night. Surely you played at Alkibiades' place or some other house?" Seren nodded timidly. "So Pausanias suggested we refrain from drinking tonight and we ended up sending away the flute girl as well. A shame, because before you came in, it was all boring speeches of the old men assembled here. I enjoy the delightful harmony of music much, much more." "You don't like philosophy?" "Of course I do, but not at a drinking party celebrating the Dionysia. You're not from here, are you?" "Ahm, no?" "I don't think I've met a Spartan flute girl. Most of them come from Peiraieús." Seren laughed nervously. What the fuck, Hermes?! "I hope it's not a problem?" she mumbled. "No, no. I'm just surprised. Do you have a name, dear?" "I... I am Seren." "Seiren? What a fitting nickname! My name is-" "I know who you are!" Seren gushed, "I-I-I admire you greatly, Plato!" "Oh?" To Seren's great relief he smiled. "So you have seen me compete?" "Uh, yes, of course!" Seren would be thrilled to see him at any competition, really. "It's just a silly name my wrestling coach gave me. To intimidate my rivals, he says." "I like it!" "You like my broad shoulders, Seiren?" Seren blushed. "No, that's not what I, uh..." "It's all right. Lots of women admire them." "Ahahaha." Was he flirting with her? Or just bragging? "You may be an outstanding athlete," she said, "But I admire your words even more." "My poetry?" Now it was his time to blush. "Did you play it?" "Not yet." Seren decided to be bold, "People want to hear the same songs, Sappho, Pindar and the like. But... But maybe you can teach me how to play yours?" "No I... I burned them all." "Why would you do that?" "I wanted to focus better on my studies. Maybe I made the wrong call. Mousaios, the guy who just left? He said music is like medicine and can create harmony between opposites, that a musical education is helpful in the study of philosophy. Ah, I don't know. I don't want to bore you, flute girl." "You're not boring me, Plato. Please, tell me your thoughts!" And then, all of a sudden, a large drunken group walked into the room and joined the party, Dionysos among them. There was noise everywhere, and Plato leaned in very close and asked: "What do you say, Seiren. Shall we make our excuses and leave?"

to be continued...

#Quarantined Bacchae #The Last Bacchae #fanfiction #The Last Bacchae fanfiction #Linda Sejic #fanart #The Last Bacchae fanart #Seren Calvert #Dionysos #Hermes #Platon #Plato #Apollon #Apollo #Seren x Plato epic love story for the ages? #Plato x Apollo missed romance #I hope you have a good laugh #written with love

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 62 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 314 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

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RATE THE EPISODE 303 Responses

There was an interesting contrast this week between anime only viewers’ and manga readers’ reaction to the episode. Anime only viewers overwhelmingly felt positively about the episode. But for manga manga readers, many of the cuts in the anime dampened their enjoyment of the episode, and for some ruined it entirely. Still, overall, the episode got positive reception, even if it wasn’t overwhelmingly enthusiastic. 

a little rushed but still very enjoyable. it defo got the point across about Reiner's struggles

It was... Fine. I'll give it a solid 8/10 on emotional value and finally seeing these chapters animated. But accepting that the anime and manga are not the same and that there will be cuts is hard.

Wasn't very good. The cut scenes really hurt the pacing and overall story.

i thought the pacing was way too fast :(

Stunning. Beautiful 

Another great episode. My only criticisms are the music that was used at the beginning of the episode, which didn't really work, and the cuts but I understand why that had to happen.

Disappointing

Impeccable. The adaption was both efficient and emotionally effective. Zero misses so far - I'm officially a MAPPA ho. 

Really great! Feels different from the manga and makes me excited for future episodes, because even if it's not perfect, we will always have the original material + some fun new scenes that the anime is adding, can't wait for more

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 304 Responses

The much-anticipated scene where we learn amputee-kun is actually Eren was the most favored of the episode, with 37.5% of the vote. Following behind that with more narrow margins were the introduction to Marley’s titans, Annie and Reiner’s fight and Reiner’s suicide attempt. 

The first part was very rushed and I wasn't as impressed by it. But I was very impressed by the second part of the episode once the warrior kids made it to paradise. I also very much enjoyed how they animated the scene of Annie taking out her anger on Reiner after Marcel's death. There was just something about the use of colours that really appealed to me. 

The Reiner and Annie fight and Reiner's suicide disturbed me a lot more this time around, partially because I haven't read the chapters in a while, but this is easily one of my favorite episodes now.

WE GOT THE FULL ED LAST WEEK. AFTER SEEING IT IN ITS ENTIRETY, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT NOW? 294 Responses

The majority of the fandom are enjoying the new ending, with 65.6% loving both the song and the animation. 11.2% are enjoying the song… but not so much the animation. 11.9% feel that it’s “just okay.” Some are enjoying the animation, but not the song, and a few more dislike both. 

The song and the animation are truly beautiful and gorgeous. I couldn't imagine better. It is always so peaceful after the full of emotions episode. 

Beautiful song, although the bit with the streaks of shiny animation look like 480p and are a little boring. 

I didn't see it 

Bold of you to assume I watch the EDs and don't just skim ahead to the preview.

i'm not interested in the ending

There was a half ED?

ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5, HOW MUCH DID YOU ENJOY THE SEQUENCE INTRODUCING ALL OF MARLEY’S TITANS? 303 Responses

A very tiny fraction of voters weren’t impressed with the way MAPPA executed the scene that introduces us to the Marley titans and why each warrior was picked for the titans they received. However, the majority of respondents felt very positively about the scene, with 221 even feeling they, too, will become a titan as a result of the awesomeness. 

I really liked the marley titan montage but why the hell were the female titan's boobs so big? It looked so out of poportion

It was awesome and I loved the introduction to the Titans

OUT OF ALL THE TITANS THE MARLEY MILITARY HAD 9 YEARS AGO, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE? 299 Responses

Whether it’s for practicality or aesthetic reasons, we all have different titans that appeal to us more than others. This race was a close one, with the Female Titan holding on just slightly over the Jaw Titan in terms of favoritism. The Armored Titan came in at a distant third with the Beast Titan and Colossal closely behind. Only a very small fraction would like to inherit the Cart Titan from Piku-chan.

WHICH OG WARRIOR CANDIDATE WOULD YOU WANT TO ADOPT? 299 Responses

Overall, the majority (29.1%) wouldn’t want to adopt any of the OG warrior crew, whether because the responsibility is too much or because they don’t like kids at all (or perhaps, a missing third option being they don’t like any of them). But for those who would happily take on one of the OG warrior kiddos, 24.1% would most like to take Reiner home (and probably give him lots of hugs). 21.1% adore little Pieck and would shower her with parental love forever. 9.7% probably want to pinch little Bertolt’s cheeks, and 8.4% wish they’d adopted Annie instead of her father.

A LOT OF THE SHIGANSHINA BREACH HAS REUSED WIT ANIMATION FROM PAST EPISODES - THOUGHTS? 303 Responses

The majority of respondents felt positively enough about seeing WIT’s S1 style mixed in with MAPPA’s, with 42.9% feeling it flowed together well enough, and 26.4% understanding why they didn’t reanimate the event (despite preferring it if they had). 11.2% don’t care at all, and 8.6% think it was way too jarring. There are some who are reminded that they miss WIT’s style, and others who have a continued appreciation for MAPPA.

KAJI YUKI HAS LOWERED HIS VOICE A BIT TO DEPICT AN OLDER EREN. THOUGHTS? 301 Responses

Overall, nearly everyone seems to be pleased with Kaji Yuki’s more “mature” sounding Eren, with 76.4% feeling he is portraying an older and more jaded Eren perfectly. 11.6% are lost in their lust for a 2D drawing and are focused entirely on that (we understand lol). A few are simply indifferent to the lower tone, and a smaller percentage just prefer Eren’s voice prior to the timeskip. 

Anime onlys can spot him more difficult, which I like

Made sense to me, he’s not a teenager anymore after all, plus works better for this “new” Eren who’s less angry and shouty all the time.

I didn't even notice lol

Eren is adult so changing his voice was a very good choice. I like his new sound.

It was stupid that he ever talked so low before now. He was fifteen and he sounded like an adult, well they all do that bc it's standard anime shit but it makes it even harder when they become real adults.

NOW HE REALLY SOUNDS LIKE KENMA 🔥

WE’VE LOST COUNT OF HOW MANY TIMES WE’VE SEEN MARCEL GET EATEN. BUT OF THE OPTIONS BELOW, WHO DID IT BEST? 296 Responses

Seeing Marcel get eaten 2000 times seems to be a running gag at this point, so naturally we had to include this question. Whether it’s recency bias or objectively true, 44.6% feel that MAPPA’s take on Marcel’s death was the best. 30.4% feel that Isayama’s more recent art style truly does Marcel the most justice. 14.2% liked the way WIT Studio portrayed the scene and 10.8% like Isayama’s older, more grungy art style.

RIP Marcel

DO YOU THINK THAT REINER WAS CORRECT, THAT MARLEY WOULD HAVE HAD ALL OF RBA EATEN IF THEY HAD FOUND YMIR AND RETURNED HOME IMMEDIATELY? 292 Responses

In the hypothetical scenario that Reiner hadn’t convinced Annie and Bertolt to stay on the island, the majority feel that Reiner was wrong in his assessment that they would be executed practically on-site. 55.1% believe that the idea would have been out in the open, but ultimately rejected. Though, 35.6% feel that Marley is too ruthless and uncaring toward Eldians to care what the situation is, and would absolutely hand over their titans to others deemed more capable. Very few felt Marley would be understanding by default. Many write-ins feel that Reiner is the only one who would have been executed for the failure. 

Depends on if B/A emphasize that it was Reiner’s fault rather than their own.

If all of RBA got eaten then I think they wouldn’t use kids for their next attempt. Maybe teens around the age RBA were after training in Paradis military

Magath would have pointed out how wasteful it would have been, but probably even him couldn't have saved reiner

He was wrong. What would be the point of feeding them to other children, if they were the best candidates? Too much of work. 

Reiner said that there's a possibility that they couldn't find Ymir even if they try. He has a point. But I don't think Marley would have RBA eaten even if they lose Jaw.

They wouldn't go through with it because they seem to lack other qualified warrior candidates.

I think Magath and maybe Zeke would have tried to convince the government to not go through with it and that Reiner might have been the only one sacrificed.

Obviously. They would have indisputable proof that sending a bunch of kids to carry out a massively important mission is the dumbest shit they could have ever done and immediately they'd put the titans into older soldiers.

They'd let them live a few more years just for propaganda and used them for other battles, then they'd have them killed around their midterm.

Possibly, but they put a lot of time, effort, and money into training their warriors. It would be a big decision to execute all of them and start over. Maybe they would have executed Reiner as an example.

WHAT’S THE FORECAST FOR TONIGHT? 295 Responses

In our least-serious question of the poll, we asked you guys to try and predict the weather based on Bertolt’s sleeping pose. 18.3% believe his legs-on-the-wall pose means clear skies, 13.9% are certain it means rain. 13.6% are confident in an overcast night. At 11.5% foresee storms coming and 11.2% think it’s gonna be snow. 18% are probably just annoyed with the question. A few write-ins pointed out that Bertolt was, indeed, sleeping in the Hanged Man Pose.

It’s gonna be partly guilt ridden old man with a 90% chance of suicide by hanging

Blood and guts

HOW IS THAT EVEN COMFORTABLE?

Let's just call it hail

Hanged man posture, dreamed about the old man

raining titans

No one can make me like the warriors even if I don't blame them for what they were forced to do as kids. idc what quirky habits they have.

There'll be clear skies for some time but don't be deceived, heavy rain is incoming

This was amazing because it's a reference to The Hanging Man on Tarot cards: he's willingly being hanged for his sins. Look it up, it's so cool.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MAPPA CUTTING A GOOD CHUNK OF REINER’S TRAINING? 302 Responses

With only 20(ish) minutes to fit in all of Reiner’s backstory, cuts were inevitable. MAPPA made the decision to nerf most of Reiner’s struggles training as a Warrior Cadet (among a couple other more lengthy scenes during and after the wall breach). 62.9% are sad that some of these scenes didn’t make the cut, but also understand that we can’t have it all. 13.2% actually preferred seeing Reiner’s backstory in MAPPA’s condensed version, while 12.9% feel it completely ruins the characterization of the warriors.

I don't even remember what was cut 😂

Slightly ruined the warriors’ characterisations (especially Reiner’s)

I thought they could have shown a bit more about Reiner's underdog, it's something that really made me sympathise with him in the manga. 

Kinda disappointed, since some scenes were essential for a little background on their lives

Honestly, even after all the cuts and the restrains it tells the story of a "warrior", Reiner.

Mappa fucked RBA backstory and I would bet it's because they are biased towards Eren and 104th...

I wouldn't say it ruined their characterisation, but it did leave it a lot more shallow. I would've loved to see those scenes animated, but I also realise that things will have to be cut to fit everything in, and I think these cuts still preserve the forward momentum of the story reasonably well. 

The important scenes were animated, so it's good that way

MAPPA cannot animate every panel and the best will be, if fandom finally understands that. Every episode has limited amount of time and MAPPA is doing everything they can to make episodes good and easy to understand for anime onlies. I was fine with cutting because I know that episodes aren't long and there are more important stuff to animate than every part of training.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT NOT SEEING ANNIE PARTICIPATING IN THE FIRST WALL BREACH? 298 Responses

MAPPA completely glossed over Annie’s role in the wall breach, showing her being choked by Reiner and then waking up in the refugee camp later. 40.9% state they would have preferred seeing Annie play her part in the mission, though they accept that it isn’t there. 34.6% are concerned that those who don’t read the manga will just be confused as to where Annie was during all of the chaos (Oh no! Did RB leave her passed out in the fields!?). 16.1% are simply just disappointed altogether. A small fraction felt it wasn’t necessary anyway and have no problems with the cut. 

I feel kinda iffy about it because that was one of my favorite parts of the chapter, but oh well... it is what it is.

Kenny's scene should be eliminated.

I mean it's not like the female titan could destroy the walls herself. I think nobody expects it and then her absence makes sense

Yams did an oopsie in the first place retconing 

It really confused me lol for a moment I completely forgot what she even did in the manga and had to reread

KNOWING NOW THAT ANNIE IS ACTUALLY ADOPTED, DOES THE JOKE ABOUT HER BEING KENNY’S LOST DAUGHTER HIT DIFFERENTLY NOW? 299 Responses

We learn after Annie comes out of the crystal that her father is actually an adoptive parent. Annie, in an attempt to cover up why she’s stalking Kenny in the underground, claims (or jokes) that she was born to a brothel worker and is Kenny’s lost daughter. We asked if this made the joke any less funny to readers, though most of them didn’t think so at all. Only 14% of respondents say the new knowledge actually makes it a little sad. Some people forgot entirely that Annie is adopted and voiced their confusion in the write-ins. 

wait,,,,, she.,,,, she's adopted ??? wha- how did i completely forget about this

Kenny's gay anyway so it's impossible! Sorry, Annie :/

I don't really get this joke tbh 😅 Do people think she and Kenny look alike?

We're all Kenny's lost daughter

It just brings into question her true parentage, like how she can scream summon other Titans and if that’s a royal blood thing or not. But probably doesn’t matter since it hasn’t come up in the manga yet 

I hadn't thought about it before today.

She's adopted?!?

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MAPPA’S EXECUTION OF REINER’S ATTEMPTED SUICIDE? 302 Responses

With such a weighty scene, execution is of utmost importance. So we were curious if you guys felt that MAPPA hit the mark. Overall, MAPPA’s take on this scene got positive responses from the fandom, with 42.4% feeling they felt about the same as they did when the scene came up in the manga. 26.5% actually thought that MAPPA did a better job with the scene, whereas 26.2% felt that Isayama’s original take on the scene is still superior. 

I think that while the manga's intent is for the reader to feel Reiner's pain and emotions during what he thought were his last moments, the anime focuses much more on making it disturbing and depressing (both taking into account the same things, just choosing to highlight different aspects of the scene). Not a bad change but I prefer the manga's portayal, it made me feel so much more attached to Reiner

Actual scene was good, but the build up was lacking.

I really liked the flipping back and forth 

Not nearly as emotional as I expected

The lighting was so good in the anime version. 

Bruh we needed the flashbacks cause they depicted Reiner's journey and regrets

I think it was more impactful in the manga, but MAPPA did it amazing too

The scene looked more serious but the building of the characters didn't live up for the moment. 

It impacted me differently than in the manga. I prefer the manga scene, but the anime's was still really good

I was worried about it being overly censored so I’m glad it wasn’t 

The execution was about the same, but it had a bigger impact when you read it for the first time

The drool was a great touch

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING CUTS WERE YOU DISAPPOINTED DIDN’T MAKE THE EPISODE? 292 Responses

While we shouldn’t dwell on cuts too much, there will still be things that people are disappointed didn’t make it into the anime. The scenes which were most missed this week were Annie’s role in the wall breach, Reiner passing along a tired Annie over to Bertolt atop the wall, RBA discussing their infiltration plans in the field (also known as the tree-uprooting scene), seeing Bertolt, Annie and Marcel surpassing Reiner in their training, and Reiner breaking up Eren and Jean’s fight (noticing Annie is exhausted). Well, at least the manga still exists, right?

I wish they didnt cut some of the flashbacks right before Reiner tried to kill himself. 

Really great episode, but Bertholdt looking up at the wall before breaking it was such an iconic panel, I'm a bit sad

Any cuts are a negative. I dont care how much it makes sense for the anime onlies, I just wish they somehow incorporate some of the small slice of life scenes that made the Marley arc special.

Truly loved it despite cuts and pacing, but just wish we could’ve seen that tree uprooting scene!

I still hold the sentiment that Mappa is cutting way too much from these episodes. The amount of small details getting cut from every chapter/episode results in losing out on smaller moments that in my opinion have a real impact. While I understand a 1 to 1 replica might not be possible, the amount of cuts is too much imo. Missing out on nearly all of RBA assaulting Shiganshina was a huge disappointment, and less Falco and Gabi scenes makes it tough for me to connect to them. Talking to my Anime-only friends though, they are very into this season, so I'm glad to hear it works for them. 

I'm not necessarily sad they cut so much, I feel like as an Anime only I wouldn't have noticed! The only thing I wish that had been kept was Annie's involvement in the destruction of wall Maria. 

I was sad they cut stuff but that’s inevitable.  The only cut I’m sad about is the scene before Bertholdt  breaks the wall.

some of the cuts made sense, some made other scenes kind of occur out of nowhere, like annie with kenny.

SO FAR, WE’VE LOST A FEW INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FALCO AND GABI AND SOME MOMENTS WHERE FALCO IS BLUSHING OVER HER. DO YOU THINK THIS WILL LESSEN THE IMPACT OF HIS EVENTUAL LOVE CONFESSION TO HER? 296 Responses

While the Falbi romance isn’t a major focal point of the series, it does play a big part in their storyline and overall character development as their involvement in the plot increases. MAPPA has had to let a few scenes go, so we were curious if manga readers felt it would lessen the impact of Falco’s inevitable confession just before the rumbling starts. 31.4% feel that the anime is doing just fine at portraying Falco’s feelings. 28.4% feel the impact will be lessened, but that it’s fine due to it being a minor plot point anyway. 14.5% are upset about the missing pieces and 11.8% think MAPPA will make up for it later. Smaller groups of voters either don’t understand why Falco likes Gabi or just don’t care. 

I'm more dissapointed about Zofia and Udo getting cut than those two.

Kid romance is lame anyway

It's not gonna hit like the manga but it's still pretty important plot imo

What works on paper doesn't always work animated, they're doing ok 

I hate gabi gahh

It is obvious he likes her anyway

Not really, they've established he has a big crush on her since he pretty much came out and told it to Eren

DO YOU THINK MAPPA DID A GOOD JOB OF HIDING EREN IN PLAIN SIGHT? 297 Responses

We failed to ask this question last week, but it still applied well to this week’s episode. When it came to anime only fans, we wondered whether manga readers felt MAPPA did a good job at making him as mysterious to anime watchers as Isayama did to us manga readers. 40.1% felt that MAPPA did a great job, as many anime watchers didn’t seem to catch on. 25.6% feel that they didn’t do any worse or better than Isayama did. 13.8% feel MAPPA did not do as well as Isayama, as some anime watchers easily caught on. 9.4% think they did completely awful at pretending it’s not Eren. Some write-ins felt we couldn’t objectively judge this as we already knew it was Eren anyway. 

I think the voice gave it away the most. The sneaky animation was great! 

Hard to answer because chapters were a month apart while episodes are weekly and I’ve already read the manga when it came out

well, I can't say much about this. since I know he is eren, I was just focusing on how Kaji Yuki will handle this important speech

They even didn't try to hide him. I'm disappointed because I wanted anime onlines to feel what we - manga readers - felt, when after few chapters we found that the hobo man was Eren. 

I honestly didn't even realize he was supposed to be hidden from the readers/viewers at this point. It was so obviously him in the manga and the anime. Genuinely confused by how many people did not catch on. 

Watching some reactors they were like "...wait...that *looks* like Eren...but his leg is amputated...his leg would've grown back??" but as soon as you heard his voice it was instantaneous 

I, being a manga reader, had a hard time getting how you couldn't see that it was Eren, but some of my friend only got it at the last scene.

Hard to say. WIth the manga, it took me a few reads to catch on, but now that I KNOW, it's hard to say anything.

Yes, I'm watching the episodes with my anime-only friend and he still hasn't figured it out

I think they did a good job, but with anime being the medium it was easier to guess due to both hair/eye color and voice.

It was nice, I was actually surprised that some of my anime only friends didn't even realize that it was Eren talking to Falco this episode

When Eren was finally revealed in the manga, I was *shocked! I had *no clue that was him! I think the anime did a great job, but of course had to reveal him sooner. It was perfect both in manga and anime imo.

It's obviously him once you see his eyes, but I don't think that the animation team were trying to make it a big shock reveal, they want this scene to say "this is probably Eren, but can you be 100% sure" to keep anime onlys engaged and reassure them that the main cast is still relevant.

Yes, but the manga hid him better, it took me way too long to realise it was him while reading

HOW WAS KAJI YUKI’S DELIVERY ON EREN’S SPEECH TO FALCO? 299 Responses

The vast majority of respondents were very pleased with Kaji Yuji’s delivery on one of Eren’s most prominent speeches. 38.1% felt it was exactly as they had hoped it would be. 28.1% were extremely happy, and feel that any delivery by Kaji Yuki as Eren will be 100% spot-on. 24.7% are simply just content with it. Smaller fragments of respondents just wanted to voice their thirst, or felt that the delivery could have been better. 

Better than I could have ever imagined

I don't really care

Eren is the best main character ever

Not my native language so I can't really tell how good it is, but Kaji's delivery seemed about right

It was a bit fast but good

Very good. You get a real sense of how clueless but trying to be tough Eren really is.

EREN TELLS FALCO HE HOPES FALCO LIVES A LONG LIFE. KNOWING WHAT WE DO NOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIM SAYING THIS? 298 Responses

Eren already knows he will bring destruction upon the world, so it’s a wonder why he would bother telling Falco he hopes Falco will have a long life. 64.8% believe that he truly means it from the bottom of his heart, despite knowing his future actions will likely affect Falco. 10.7% believe he said this because he has already seen that Falco will survive the Rumbling. 10.1% aren’t really sure what to make of it at all. Smaller numbers of people think Eren was only trying to gain Falco’s trust and didn’t mean it at all, or believe that Falco will take part in Eren’s eventual demise and Eren is already aware of that. 

He saw him in his memories so imma believe what he says

I'm sure there is part of Eren that hopes for a good long life for Falco. Just like there was part of him that couldn't help but save the refugee kid. But that doesn't mean he isn't any less dedicated to his plan to genocide a whole lot of people. He has his conflicts, but in the end he's still going ahead with the attack on the square and later with the rumbling.

I think it's the same deal as him saving the immigrant kid when he knew that he would die in the rumbling.

In an ideal world Eren would want *everyone* to live a long life--he's been portrayed as someone who cries and disassociates while he commits his genocide so we're meant to understand he doesn't enjoy it. Sadly it doesn't matter what he hopes or wants when he's decided murdering everyone is what has to be done..

THE PREVIEW SHOWED PIECK AND PORCO NEXT TO REINER AT THE DAYTIME FESTIVAL. THIS WAS NOT IN THE MANGA. WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS ABOUT POSSIBLE ANIME-ONLY ADDITIONS? 298 Responses

Many of our respondents seem to be looking forward to Pieck and Porco’s inclusion in the daytime festival. 47% are hopeful that this will mean some wholesome bonding scenes between the Warriors and the kids. 26.5% don’t know what to make of it, but are looking forward to it nonetheless. A handful of people think it will be similar to how WIT included Sasha in the Clash arc - adding minor details without changing anything in the story-line. 7% wish that MAPPA wasn’t doing this at all, and 5% are hopeful this means that MAPPA will find a way to repurpose Pieck crawling on all fours next episode. 

I still want Pieck butt

IN THAT SAME VEIN, IT SEEMS LIKE EPISODE 4 WILL ADAPT CHAPTERS 97 AND 98, ENDING ON THE FINAL PANEL OF 98. HOWEVER, THE VAST MAJORITY OF CHAPTER 97 WAS ALREADY ADAPTED IN LAST WEEK’S EPISODE. WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR EPISODE 4? 293 Responses

Who wants to place bets on the contents of next episode? While the largest chunk of people don’t know what to expect in episode 4, others are happy to speculate. 19.8% feel (or are at least hopeful) that MAPPA will fill in some screen time by repurposing already-skipped scenes. 19.1% feel that there will be minor additions, but not too much. A solid 16% feel that there will be a few anime only additions during the daytime festival. 10.9% are placing bets that episode 4 will actually bleed into chapter 100 before the end.

Mappa won't have to cut a lot of stuff like they did to ep 3

The title "From One Hand to Another" immediately made me think we would actually be getting Eren grasping Reiner's hand and transforming at the end (meaning chapters 100 and 101), but that's just so much. The title may just refer to Magath and Willy's handshake. 

What about just enjoying the show?

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 298 Responses

As expected of the fandom! Reiner and Eren’s reunion is the most anticipated scene for episode 4, with 74.8% having voted for that. 17.1% are most looking forward to the daytime festival, and 6% are excited to meet Willy in anime form for the first time. One commenter is very invested in the banquet and how it’s executed. 

Not this ep but if they cut the Udo and Kiyomi scene I'll RIOT!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I'm upset so much was cut from Reiner's backstory but the cinematography is freakin' excellent I can't even complain

*cheers MAPPA animators for their hard work* ... Perfect for anime onlies, I think. Made me almost wish I hadn't read the manga so I wouldn't have missed the cut scenes.

Cuts aside, the animation was much better than the previous episodes. 

"The one scene I really wanted was Bertholdt looking over the wall and seeing the EMA trio. Of all the cuts, I think that was the only one that was damaging to the story. I also kind of wish that MAPPA animated the reused scenes. I kind of like comparing and contrasting the animation styles of both studios so its a bit of shame that we didn't get anything new from Episode 1.

I'm really impressed with how much MAPPA is managing to squeeze in each episode and I'm content that Reiner's flashback was covered in a single episode rather than two. It just makes sense pacing-wise. The only real criticism I have is that in the flashback scenes where everyone is supposed to be 12 years old, they don't sound 12 at all. Their voices are way too mature, especially the males, and I understand they're voiced by adults, but I feel like they could have at least tried to sound more like kids. Other than that, great episode.

Elaborating on the missing content: they really shouldn’t have cut Annie’s transformation prior to wall Maria being breached. It makes it look like Reiner choked her out and then a minute later bert was kicking the wall through. 

I'm in the boat, where i think it wouldve been better if Mappa didnt cut out so much, but considering what there is to cover, we will live,but i hope they dont end up butchering everything Also the bit with reiner’s dad would be confusing to anime-onlies since it cross-cuts between that scene and him on the parade. I’ve seen some reactors think it was a daydream, or that he left during the parade. 

It was quite rushed, but I understand why they did it, the flashback wouldn't have been as impactful over 2 episodes, and I do think when the Marley arc was first introduced in the manga, manga readers were quite inpatient to get back to the main cast, so they might be feeding off that feedback. 

Mappa has become my favorite studio of all time. Not just in regards to anime, but studios in general. Their discography is on another level (imo) and the fact that on top of every other masterpiece they’ve made, they’re doing an outstanding job with my favorite series of all time just solidifies them as the first and probably the only anime studio that I can truly Stan.

Lots of (I think) Important stuff cut, but the meat is still in place. I like my meat to be juicy and marbled, while Mappa cut out all the fat that makes for a flavorful meal. I completely understand why and I am apathetic about it.

disliked the fact the wall breach was so quickly glossed over, and the transition between mappa and wit style was jarring to say the least

Regardless of the cuts, i think it flows together nicely. The anime has always been more speedy than the manga so i kind of expected this. I don't think it'll get as bad as s3 part 1 in terms of pacing. I trust in Mappa, so far i haven't been disappointed at all. The animation and backgrounds are absolutely stunning. That warrior titan sequence was incredibly well done. Props to the animators!

It was a bit confusing mishmash of scenes, but there were some good moments sprinkled in like the introduction of all of Marley's titans. The emotional reactions, however, just weren't the same as they were when reading the manga, to be honest.

I’m really glad they cut the part with RBA hanging onto Female/Armoured neck by a rope. That whole thing seemed stupid to me. Doesn’t match up with previous chapters and I feel like SOMEONE would have noticed two kids hanging onto the Armoured Titan’s neck. 

I think MAPPA is doing a really good job so far, can't wait to see the battle in Liberio. I'm not bothered at all with the CG titans because firstly, they look really good, and secondly, I understand why they had to do it. I also hope they don't censor many things or cut out some dark scenes that are important to the season because I would love to see everything animated. 

Felt like watching a recap episode... And it wasn't supposed to be one, so

I'm really dissapointed that mappa cut so many things from manga. Reiner's backstory is my favoure part of snk. Suicide scene completly lacks impact. 

I really dislike the fact that MAPPA is trying to show only bad side of the marleyan officers. They removed the gate guards, they removed the scene where Magath is telling RBA to stay safe (on Paradis). One of the best parts of the manga is showing that the both races (Eldians and Marleyans) have good and bad sides. By removing positive aspects of Marleyans MAPPA is creating totally different picture. This way the anime onlines may find the whole rumbling even more justified. The episode was pretty good and the OST has made some scenes to feel more dark and serious (especially the moment where the new titans are introduced), but sometimes I feel like the characters are speaking and acting way too fast. I was waiting for the scene with Kenny and Annie, but it took only like few second and was cut. I love MAPPA's version of Kenny. He has more serious aura and looks more like his manga counterpart. In other words;  wrinkled grandpa with skinny neck :) 

It honestly wasn’t my favorite, but I still loved it. I feel as though they skipped around a lot and there wasn’t a lot of scenes that actually tied together and I’m worried anime only watchers might get confused. Definitely some of the stuff I wanted to see animated didn’t make the cut, but I still love the animation style, the characters and the story!

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 285 Responses

Thank you to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again next episode.

#snk poll #snk polls #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot #snk spoilers #snk s4

[myherodreaming]

KRISTIN!!! I just about squeaked when I saw you had a BNHA blog... Can I ask for headcannons for Bakugo, Denki, and Izuku where they’re realized they have a crush?

HI!!! I’m really excited about it too!! Ahh these were really fun/cute to think about! I kinda also added the eventual confessions as a bonus oops 

-

BAKUGO KATSUKI

He denies it for a looooooong time, both to himself and to anyone else, having crushes is dumb and only something losers like Deku do okay??

But at the same time it’s so obvious, because he turns bright red around you and is shouty but not rude - an important distinction because normally he is both shouty and rude

When you smile or he hears you laugh, he gets this really weird feeling in his stomach and his face feels super hot for some reason

He starts avoiding you because he is starting to realize that there is something going on with the way he feels about you and it scares the hell out of him because let’s be honest, Bakugo does not handle emotion well at all

Shit okay, maybe he has just a small, tiny, itty bitty crush on you but he’s doing his best to banish it from existence (it’s not working, in fact if anything the crush is getting worse and he’s panicking)

He needs help figuring out how to deal with this but he’ll be damned if he admits it to anyone because that just seems a lot like showing weakness

So he does the idiotic thing that seemed like a good idea at the time and completely ignores you

He doesn’t even notice the way your face falls when he walks right past you without even acknowledging you

Eventually, you confront him because he’s been ignoring you and you can’t figure out what you did wrong - the two of you used to be almost what you’d consider friends, you’re a little hurt if you’re honest

“I HAVE A DAMN CRUSH ON YOU, OKAY?” No no no there is no way he said that out loud - he turns around and walks veRY FAST away from you because he fucked up big time

But you catch his arm before he can escape and he rips it out of your hand (the feeling of your hand on his arm does things to him that he does not want to talk about) and swings around to face you again

You have this weird little smile on your face and he looks around really fast to make sure no one is looking before he kisses that dumb smile off your face and then tries to run away, again (it fails, again)

KAMINARI DENKI

He thinks he’s not being obvious but he’s so obvious

He leans against things when he’s around you, and laughs way too loud at your jokes, and stares at you during class when he’s supposed to be listening to the teacher

To keep it short and sweet, he is Screwed, and he knows it all too well

He gets a little, uh, extra shocky around you, his brain gets a little scrambled when you’re around and so it’s a little tough to control his quirk, he ends up shocking you a lot, to his absolute horror (y’know like a static shock, nothing serious)

You’re probably the only person who doesn’t realize his feelings, and so the two of you continue to fumble around the issue and the rest of the class is getting seriously fed up

It’s not until he sees some guy from class B talking to you down the hall, and the way he’s standing and looking at you does not sit well with Denki no sir, it is not possible that someone else has managed to confess to you before he could

“WAIT!” He jumps in between the two of you, and doesn’t take even a moment to read the situation first

“Y/N I’VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU FOR MONTHS AND I HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT BEFORE HE SAYS A WORD TO YOU”

You and the other student stand there blinking at him, your face is so hot and you aren’t sure if it’s more from your utter embarrassment or because, well, Kaminari has feEELINGS for you???

“Kaminari,” You say slowly, “We went to middle school together, we were just catching up, that’s all.”

“Ohhhh.” He says slowly, suddenly wishing that Bakugo would come along and blast him from existence (as painlessly as possible)

“Well, I’ll see you around.” Your friend dashes off before you can say a word, and so you’re left staring at Kaminari who’s staring at you and the two of you aren’t quite looking each other in the eye

“Is that true?” You ask really quietly, and after a paralyzing moment Kaminari nods at you really slowly, but at that you can’t help but start to smile. “Good.” You breathe out. “It would sure be awkward if you didn’t like me back.”

Suddenly he is feeling over the moon - so absolutely overjoyed that he grabs your face and kisses you before he even considers whether it’s a good idea

Luckily for him, it was a great idea

MIDORIYA IZUKU

Before he realizes that he actually has a crush on you, all Midoriya knows is that he really admires you - you’re very strong and smart and just altogether a really great person

It’s not until he’s singing your praises to someone and he watches the look on their face that he realizes - Oh. Oohhh. 

Dealing with the crush is surprisingly harder than he thought, now that he knows what his feelings for you are, he struggles to not blush or stammer or otherwise embarrass himself around you

He finds himself thinking about you a lot and how you probably deserve a whole lot more than whatever he could offer to you

Cue mild crisis and him sitting there in his room muttering to himself trying to decide what (if anything) he should do about this

Finally he decides that the best course of action has to be telling you how he feels - how is it fair to you if he keeps this to himself and has all of these thoughts about you? It makes him feel icky

The only problem is the timing never seems to work out very well (or he makes convenient excuses, anyway)

And then one day (Maybe it’s intentional, who knows? Not the entire rest of class 1-A that’s for sure) the two of you end up somehow in the common room completely alone

“Hey Y/N, can I talk to you about something?” You’re kinda jumpy, he hopes he isn’t making you uncomfortable. You agree, so he kinda just jumps right in

He tells you all in one breath about how amazing he thinks you are and how you make him feel all warm and shivery inside and how he really hopes this isn’t too weird for you and if you want him to stop or never talk to you again he’ll understand and-

He stops because you have put your hand on top of his and he forgets what words are for a little bit

“I feel the same.” You tell him when he finally shuts up, a tiny smile on your face. He is suddenly grinning so big even though he still can’t quite believe it

“Really??” When you nod, he grabs both of your hands in his and presses a lightning fast kiss to your lips, he’s already pulled away before you even realize what’s happening

And that just won’t do, so naturally you have to grab his face and kiss him again - he doesn’t mind that at all

#bnha #bnha x reader #mha #mha x reader #Bakugo Katsuki #Bakugo Katsuki x reader #Bakugo x reader #Kaminari Denki #Kaminari Denki x reader #Kaminari x reader #Midoriya Izuku #Midoriya Izuku x reader #Midoriya x reader #request #queued

[oneweekoneband]

meet me behind the mall!!!!!!!!!

I don’t know why Taylor Swift thinks that teenagers drink wine, and I don’t know why she chose to record and release a wistful high-school-other-woman song which left me feeling naked as a frog and therefore furious. Some questions we ask only so as to be soothed by the familiar sound of our own voice, still there after all. The answers are not coming. 

The Taylor Swift Teen Love Triangle Triad of “cardigan”, “august”, and “betty” is the part of folklore that makes me most bullish about where Taylor is going as an artist. A turn away from writing songs which are intentionally meant to appear confessional and toward, instead, songs which reveal the personal as refracted through fictitious circumstances and made-up characters is a better use of her big, weird brain, and allows that brain to be unleashed on a broader plain of experience. It’s incredibly embarrassing to be an adult woman with my own problems to manage and to have living in my head Taylor Swift’s demented YA fiction, but it’s an embarrassment that feels appropriate, like I could never really have escaped this fate. On “betty” she gets to play-act as a contrite teen boy who knows he’s done wrong, and while obviously the most charming thing about the song is Taylor saying “fuck” (and also her giving us a little of the ol’ razzle dazzle by way of some light twang), her experiment with imagining what it’s like to be a skateboarding kid who hates dances, trying on an imagined teen boy interiority as a costume, is effective too. 

“cardigan” is more removed, less plaintive and shouty. This is a song from adult Betty’s perspective looking back on this period in her life and in her relationship with James, who the song seems to imply she is still with now. While—full offense—I believe marrying your high school girlfriend or boyfriend is a disorder which should have its own listing in the DSM, restoring order by putting the original couple back together so as to make the story one of true love triumphing over adversity, rather than a series of sketches of kids doing fuckup kid things just because it is not easy to be alive and to be alive alongside others and with gentleness, least of all when you are very new at it,  is the only conclusion this saga could ever have reached with Ms. Swift at its helm, and I do appreciate the consistent, if baby-brained, internal logic. I’ve never known a teenage girl whose signature garment was a cardigan and, frankly, this Betty sounds like sort of a self-absorbed drip (I do love, love, how Taylor’s own voice comes through so clearly on the lightly threatening, smug lines, “I knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired / And you’d be standing in my front porch light” !!) so I’m not totally surprised she got cheated on, but that’s very uncharitable of me and probably comes from the same meaty polyp in my brain that is responsible for my still loving all the hilariously mean-spirited, woman-hating songs on Speak Now.

“august” is about the other girl. The “her” in James’ rather pathetic defense, “slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long”. “august” tells a story that brings to my mind another story. It is a story I won’t belabor because it is neither exciting nor unique. It will not illuminate an unexplored human experience, as it is, in fact, incredibly boring, regular, an incident which would be at home in any normal Tuesday, ordinary as meeting at the mall. This is a million years ago and there is a boy whose basement I go to sometimes after swim practice. We have matching team sweatpants with our names embroidered above the pocket at the right hip and I like to switch pairs. I’m you and you’re me and when we have pushed and bent the tiredness out of our muscles together, making experimental declarations in hushed voices down there while the furnace groans, well, then I’m you and me and you’re you and me and we are we are we are. 

One February day at twilight I bound out of the school building with wet hair and a fleece jacket, but his car is already gone. No worries. Standing at my locker the next afternoon like in a movie he will say, easy as anything, that he has a girlfriend, a family friend, two towns over, she goes to private school. You’ve probably met her, he says. And right then I remember that I have. Last year I did her zipper in the bathroom at a dance. We were fighting but we never really broke up, he says. For months you’ve been fighting? is all I say back. Fighting since October? As if that matters. Like that’s the point. My voice is pinched and ugly and I know I’ll hear that sound forever. Well, anyway... I feel bad. He doesn’t clarify for whom he feels bad. He’s got one sneaker toe working against the other one atop the tile floor that’s the murky green of sea glass. He looks at my St Brigid’s cross necklace, at the blue Masterlock hanging open like a broken jaw, at someone in a hoodie who punches his shoulder as they walk by. Nothing personal, he says, and there is a tiny smudge of cafeteria pizza at the corner of his mouth that I hadn’t noticed until that second and a day ago would’ve reached up and wiped away with the pad of my thumb, laughing. I get it, right? Oh, sure. 

The worst of it was not skipping pre-calc to cry in the bathroom, since, I mean, I couldn’t actually do pre-calc and would never learn how, but was inspecting my soul in the dark when I couldn’t sleep that night and finding part of me had known this all along, had chosen to pretend, wanted the wanting so badly I’d knocked from my brain the truth of how it was going to end. This would not be the last false love from which I’d find myself unceremoniously discarded, and in time I’d learn to be the liar myself, too. It’s unseemly to pathologize bad decisions, to take on poor impulse control or self-destructive patterns as an identity, but I do think that just as some people are born serial monogamists, part of a twosome forever with very little mess in-between, some of us were built from the very first cell to live like a pool ball struck and banging teeth first into the wrong mouths and hearts. I can examine my romantic history and tap my finger against the obvious errors, the times I chose what I knew would hurt me, when I ascribed hope to situations where it did not belong, when I, like the narrator of “august”, regarded someone as not mine to lose but still put myself in the position to be harmed by the losing, yet I can’t produce alternative choices that feel realistic. If you are in love and it doesn’t work out, there is mourning, there is pain, but there is all the while a record which shows something happened, it was real. “august” stands somewhat apart in the Taylor Swift catalog as a song neither about the glory of true love or the heartbreak when it’s over, but about the small, paper cut heartbreaks that are inescapable during each day of an untrue love. “It was never mine”. When it turns out you were wrong the whole time, fooling yourself, then even remembering that you’d been happy in the lie is like being trapped in a fun house, body bent and broken in the mirror, a thing not built right for this world. 

“august” is about the girl who James was with over the summer, the girl he leaves to return to Betty. Taylor said it’s the first of the three that she wrote, and I fear this has warmed me to her in some new and unsettling way. I fear this means she’s matured as a person and writer, capable now of a more expansive view of situations, to be generous. It’s like how you shouldn’t feed gremlins after midnight; there is no telling what new and more dangerous creature this woman might turn into if she’s suddenly been taught empathy. When Taylor-as-James in “betty” sings, “Would you trust me if I told you it was just a summer thing?” in his effort to woo Betty back I hate him a little, that thoughtless child undeserving of the kind of adoration in lines like, “your back beneath the sun / wishing I could write my name on it.” I try to extend grace to this fictional boy, but I think of the “Do you remember? in “august” and I feel a little sick from being so certain that no... No, he doesn’t. Not really.

“Back when we were still changing for the better / wanting was enough / for me it was enough”. I’d like to think there is no last chance to change for the better. I’d like to think wanting is enough so long as you want the right thing. I’d like to think that God made sure Taylor Swift became a singer instead of a young adult novelist because the absolute last thing this world needed was this freak joining the circus that is YA Twitter. Most of all, I like thinking that Judy Blume knows that her beautiful, searing, devastatingly romantic and also textually gay 1998 novel Summer Sisters is the only important book that has ever been published, and, further, that the world will show me the respect of understanding and accepting that “august”, when removed from the context of the Swiftian child romance trilogy, sounds as if it were specifically written in homage. Taylor, I know I’ve accused you of at least fifty crimes this week alone, but if you want to talk about Summer Sisters, please get in touch.

#taylor swift #folklore

[osakaso5]

Halloween Event Story

~Fluffy Blast Racing~ Chapter 4: A Transformation

Chapter Index

Minami: ...I see. So they followed you here without your knowledge.

Haruka: Aren't these the things you were just talking about, Minami..!?

Torao: What do you mean?

Haruka: Minami said you and Toma would find something today.

Toma: Seriously..? I didn't know his fortunes had gotten that accurate...

Minami: Hee hee, though there was no way I could've predicted how cute they'd be.

Haruka: I've never seen these things before. What are they?

Minami: ...They may well be the extraterrestrial lifeforms Nagi told me about...

Toma: Extraterrestrial...? So, aliens?

Minami: I don't know for certain, but my heat sensor reacts to them, meaning they should be similar to certain types of animals...

Torao: Hey. Where did you guys come from?

???: Tora... torara...

Torao: Ah, I forgot you can't speak our language.

Toma: ...Hey, Minami! Can't you make some kinda translator thingy for us?

Toma: It feels like these furballs could really use our help with something.

Haruka: ...Ah..! Minami, the mat..!

Minami: Right. We should give that a try.

Toma: You already have something!?

Minami: Just a prototype I based on a translator Momo made, but it might do the trick...

Haruka: It's called Peep Mat, and it's supposed to tell you how inanimate objects feel...

Torao: Hmm... so it's for peeping into their thoughts.

Toma: P-peeping..? That sounds kinda weird, what were you planning to use it for..?

Haruka: Oh yeah, it was super weird.

Minami: Was it, now? Thanks to the mat, you got to know how much Spanny...

Haruka: Aaaaah!

Toma: "Spanny"..?

Haruka: S-Spanny's just the name of a dog that lives in my neighborhood. Don't worry about it.

Torao: ...In any case, let's test out that mat.

Toma: Do we just put these guys on the mat..?

Minami: Yes. Then, you push this switch...

Torao: Alright, get over here.

???: Tora... torara...

Haruka: ...Doesn't that one kinda look like you, Torao?

Torao: Press the switch, Minami.

Minami: Haha, how exciting. 

Click

???: .........

???: Toma... ma...

???: Haa... ha... ple...

???: Mi... lp.. us...

???: Please help us!

All: ........!?

All: Help you..?

- - - -

Minami: I see... So you did come from another planet, like I thought.

Haruka: They're space aliens...

Beige Cotton: Yes, we cottons come from another planet.

Beige Cotton: Do you work for i7 Corporation?

Toma: Nope... We know people from there, but we're only working for the P.G. Garage, racing and fixing up cars...

Green Cotton: Fixing cars?

Brown Cotton: Racing..!?

Toma: Y-yeah. But if you've got business with the Corp, them we can call 'em...

Cottons: .........

Cottons: We have a request for you!

Toma: No need to get all shouty on us... What's up?

Red Cotton: P-pardon us! We come from a planet called Desert Colony.

Red Cotton: It was once the Mecca of car racing, where people from all over would test their skills.

Red Cotton: But then the dusts appeared, taking over our races and making a mess of our circuits...

Beige Cotton: We asked our fellow cottons on another planet for help, and they told us of Earthlings who had helped them...

Torao: And that's how you ended up here.

Cottons: Yes..!

Toma: How did they just take over like that?

Green Cotton: The dusts are violent in nature, and only seek to do bad things.

Brown Cotton: They reproduce quickly, turning streets uninhabitable for anyone but themselves...

Brown Cotton: There was nothing we could do to stop them...

Cottons: Earthlings..! Won't you please help us!?

Minami: The ones who helped your fellow cottons were the people of i7 Corporation, not us.

Beige Cotton: Perhaps so... But you race and repair vehicles for a living, do you not?

Torao: Yeah. We operate a car workshop to fund our racing.

Torao: That way, we get to make our own rides!

Brown Cotton: ...Then you are exactly who we need!

Brown Cotton: We and the dusts are also racers, but we cannot match their skill as we are now...

Brown Cotton: Won't you give us a hand?

Torao: I don't know... How are we supposed to beat those dusts, exactly?

Red Cotton: The dusts have decreed that everyone must obey the winners of the race, so that is all you would need to do.

Minami: But if you're also racers, couldn't you try beating them yourselves?

Brown Cotton: ...To tell you the truth, we do not even have a proper car to race in.

Beige Cotton: The dusts have a monopoly on everything from engines to tires, leaving us unable to build a vehicle that could race...

Minami: ...I see.

Haruka: Then what difference does it make if we go to your planet and try to race there?

Green Cotton: Though the dusts have all the good parts to themselves, there are still less than optimal parts available.

Beige Cotton: We lack the skill to build a suitable vehicle from such parts...

Haruka: ...So you want us to help?

Cottons: Yes..!

Beige Cotton: You have that Earthling's driving techniques, as well as the technical prowess to support his skill.

Beige Cotton: Both are simply incredible, I might add! I believe that you will defeat the dusts!

Minami: Oh my, I do enjoy a good compliment.

Haruka: Hehe, of course our tech's incredible! Minami planned it, and I built it.

Torao: You guys certainly have an eye for races.

Toma: ........

Minami: What's the matter, Toma?

Toma: ...Nothing.

Red Cotton: And we mustn't forget the designs! They are so very cool! Especially these lightning bolts...

Toma: I KNOW, right!?

Haruka: Whoa! Stop yelling!

Minami: Good for you, Toma.

Brown Cotton: I believe you may be even more qualified than the Earthlings we originally came here for..!

Cottons: Please, help save our home!

All: .......!

Toma: Guys, let's help 'em.

Minami: At the risk of sounding callous... We don't even have enough money for our own race, and we can't just leave our work undone...

Haruka: ...He's got a point...

Torao: As much as I'd like to help, we've got our own share of trouble to deal with...

Toma: But guys...

Red Cotton: Worry not! If you win our race, you will receive the prize money!

Red Cotton: And it's quite a sum, since the race will be held between the greatest racers from all over the galaxy!

All: .......!

Toma: In other words, if we win that race for you...

Haruka: We'll get...

Green Cotton: Yes..! And you won't need to share the prize with us, of course.

Toma: N-not even a little?

Minami: We're grateful for the offer, but are you sure?

Brown Cotton: Yes! All we want is to stop the dusts, which we'll be able to do as long as you win!

Torao: I guess that'll solve everything for the both of us, then.

Toma: Awesome! Let's do it!

Toma: Ain't this what you'd call a prize-prize situation!?

Haruka: I think you mean "win-win situation".

Toma: Haha, whatever!

Minami: Now, how do we get on your planet?

Beige Cotton: First, you'll fuse with us, forming a fluff.

All: A fluff..?

Beige Cotton: Yes. Through fusion, we should be able to transport you to our planet.

Haruka: What do you mean by fusion?

Beige Cotton: It'll be faster if we show you! Let us begin.

Torao: Sounds fun. Let's do it.

Toma: Go ahead!

Beige Cotton: Here we go!

Cottons: Fusion!

Haruka: Whoa... What!? T-they got sucked in..!

Minami: They're going inside our bodies...

Toma: ...Is it just me, or do you guys feel warm..?

Torao: Yeah, and now we're glowing, too...

Haruka: Are you sure this is safe!?

All: .......! 

- - - -

All: ........

Toma: H-hey, Haruka... You need to look in a mirror, quick!

Haruka: Huh!? I could say the same to you! You're all fluffy now..!

Torao: H-hey! Don't tell me, we...

Toma: W-we...

Haruka, Toma, & Torao: We turned into fluffs!?

Minami: Hee hee. You all look adorable.

Toma: How are you so calm, Minami!?

Minami: Oh, are you not excited by our mystical transformation?

Toma: I'd rather not find excitement by leaving my body...

Haruka: Was that the fusion..? We're fluffs... Fluffs...

Torao: My body's so round now... And I've got short little arms and legs...

Toma: H-hey! Get a grip, Haruka and Torao!

Minami: What is the science behind a transformation like this, I wonder?

Beige Cotton: <We don't have the time for a detailed explanation now, but this is what you'll look like when fused with us.>

Beige Cotton: <As long as you're fluffs, you should be able to use the warp zone to get to our planet.>

Toma: W-what..!? I can hear a voice talking in my head!

Torao: Hey! Tell me we can still go back to normal! I can't take girls out for dinner looking like this!

Haruka: Are you sure girls are your biggest worry right now?

Torao: Of course, there's so many of them waiting for me.

Toma: At least worry about our race or something, man.

Torao: Just turn me back to normal, now!

Brown Cotton: <Our apologies, but the only way we can dissolve the fusion is with elements from our planet's atmosphere...>

Minami: ...In other words, we'll get back into our human forms if we go to your planet and help solve your problem.

Torao: Should've told us up front.

Brown Cotton: <Apologies, but you did not ask...>

Torao: ........

Red Cotton: <In any case, you are the only ones who can help us!>

Minami: ...I suppose all we need to do is get to their home planet.

Minami: I'm sure space travel will be fun.

Haruka: You just wanna see what it's like...

Minami: What was that, Haruka?

Haruka: Nah, forget it...

Torao: I'll just prepare for the worst...

Minami: So, how do we warp to your planet?

Green Cotton: <From the manhole behind this building!>

Haruka: A manhole? That sounds way simpler than I thought.

Torao: And now we're diving into a manhole... At least it probably won't stink...

Toma: You don't know that!

Minami: This is all so exciting. 

- - - -

Red Cotton: <Over here, Earthlings!>

Toma: Alright, here goes nothing! Let's jump..!

Toma: Waaaah!

Minami: I'm right behind you...

Haruka: Yep..!

Torao: Aah, I'm falling..! 

- - - -

Haruka: ...D-do you guys feel something soft in here..?

Minami: Where are we..?

Toma: Why am I upside down!?

Torao: .......! Hey, I see something!

All: Waaaaah! 

To be continued...

Translator’s notes..? 

all of the cottons are technically only referred to as “cotton”, but I added their corresponding colors to their names to make it easier to know who’s talking

#idolish7 #fluffy blast racing #translation #event story