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#I've reviewed four out of six of these
carionto · 6 months
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Humans really like space wildlife
As Humanity integrates itself within the Galactic Coalition ever further, trade and travel between Sol and neighboring member systems is growing at exponential rates. In particular, their interest in the native wildlife of other planets is the most widely expanding sector for tourism and commerce.
Even though it is also the most heavily regulated and restricted one, Humans, who typically display a desire to subvert the normal procedures to expedite any process they can, for this they are surprisingly willing and eager to fill in all the necessary paperwork and spend hours upon days making sure they follow and adhere to all the requirements to import some of these creatures.
While such level of determination is not uncommon for new member species who discover a certain non-native creature or something that to the respective natives is commonplace but for them is the pinnacle of exotic, the variety of requests made by Humans is nearly as great as the entire list of known fauna species. And the reasons listed on the forms are even more diverse:
"That's a unicorn! I've always dreamed of having a unicorn and you're telling me there's a dozen subspecies?! Yes, please!!!"
"After reviewing their behavior, this bear-sized fluff-ball is the perfect cat I've always wanted, but couldn't because of allergies. I'll treat them with love and care, my life is incomplete without this fella."
"Tiny. Elephant-duck. Want."
"Our company was looking for a mascot, and these six-legged spindly beaver-crabs are perfect. Here's our mission statement and prepared accommodations for a flock."
"They all said I hallucinated the lizard sasquatch when I was on that acid trip, but now I'll show 'em. It's real. I knew it all along!"
"Aww, these baby puppies are so adorable (referring to the four meter, 800kg Fanged Widowmaker of Abyss Valley predator). My kids were looking through your alien picture books and instantly fell in love with these ones."
And so on. At first we had to reject quite a few, mainly because half of them were deadly beasts from Deathworlds that are almost impossible to capture in the first place. Then the Human officials informed us that, while they will try to stop it from happening, if we don't make importing and adopting even the most dangerous animals in the known Galaxy reasonably possible for them with Human help and expertise in the field, some Humans will set up illegal smuggling rings to "fill the market gap" as they said. Historically, they explained, that causes more problems and expenses than just handling it through official channels.
Reluctantly we were persuaded and have set up a new organization to quell this, apparently, unquenchable Human pack bonding condition. Even if said pet can kill them. We think, as horrible as it may be, that for some that is part of the appeal. Even the ones that breathe out literal poison.
"We'll wear a mask around them. This wendigo-like one is too cute to not get belly rubs."
Said the OFFICIAL Human Representative of a monstrosity that can only be described as the living incarnation of countless teeth, fangs, claws, vivid seizure inducing iridescent feathers, and a body that extends from a inconspicuous ambush pose to a fully 8 meter tall six limbed nightmare machine of Death!
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adobe-outdesign · 4 months
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Thoughts on the Aisha? It’s been my favorite neopet ever since I got a mcdonalds plushie of it when I was like 8 before I even knew what neopets was
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Aisha are great because they're almost somewhat normal cat-like creatures—except they have two pairs of ears, one normal set and one set sticking up like antennae. These ears are the most important part of their design, as they're both visually distinct and very memorable.
Aishas also vaguely implied to have some degree of extra-terrestrial origins due to the existence of alien Aishas, which is a nice bit of worldbuilding and helps explain the weird ears even more (not that they're that unusual by Neopet standards, but still, it's neat).
In addition to the four ears, the other main notable thing about Aishas is their near-constant closed eyes (though some Aisha characters do have theirs open), which are punctuated by a ring around the outside. The ring is nice, as it helps break up their otherwise solid body colors a bit.
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I'd also argue that Aishas benefited greatly from customization. First, their old artwork was getting very dated and needed a refresh anyways, and secondly, the only real change is that they're standing now, which doesn't really affect anything.
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But the other big benefit the Aisha received is that their collars became a wearable item that can now be removed. I'm not going to lie, I never liked the collars. First, they're weird because in-universe, Neopets are anthropomorphic, and indeed, no Aisha characters sport the collars. Secondly, as a species, where do those collars come from, and why do Aishas wear them? And thirdly, they tend to add unnecessary color to their designs (like how the blue and green Aishas shown above sport red and yellow collars—though this varies depending on paint job). The "A" tag also feels clunky. They're not the worst, but having the choice to remove the collars or keep them is the best of both worlds.
The only big benefit to the collars is that they do sometimes do some really fun things with them depending on the color, as I've spotlighted below.
Favorite colours:
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Alien: No Aisha review would be complete with talking about alien Aishas, which are absolutely iconic in their own right. Species-specific colors are always enjoyable, and the fact that the alien Aishas have SIX ears is fantastic. I also like the spacesuit/helmet combo, and the red triangle at least accents the red color a bit if you choose to keep it on. I just wish they had done something fun and futuristic with the collar, instead of sticking to the standard version.
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Darigan: The converted version of this pet isn't terrible, but the unconverted version is fantastic. The thin body looks great, almost snake-like, and the pointed tail matches the tall ears, which are given a delightful devil-horn look. The spots help break up the body a bit, as does the addition of an underbelly, and the collar changes shape to a D for darigan, which is fun.
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Mutant: Mutant Aishas, my beloved! What a great design. Replacing the second pair of ears with mouths and then accenting the pink lips with floppy, tongue-like spikes on the back is just great, with the pink working great against the blue. Bonus shoutout for the singular eye and the mutated "A" on the collar. My only nitpick is that the collar tag should've been the lighter teal of the stripes on the ears, and the band should've been pink.
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BONUS: I'm cheating by including this, but I have to give a shout-out to the baby Aisha for being downright adorable with its little binky collar and soft blue color. I'm not usually big on baby pets, but this one's actually pretty great.
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cleolinda · 7 months
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My nephew reviews perfume
I'm not sure how my sister heard about Noteworthy Scents, but the concept is, you take a quiz, and they'll send you four Scientifically Chosen samples ($25 USD) based on your answers.
Noteworthy is a new, exciting way to discover your signature scent. Rather than relying on flashy celebrity branding or overblown marketing promises, we want our customers to be in control of deciding which Noteworthy fragrance is right for them. We’re excited that you’re joining us on this journey - we can’t wait to help you find your signature scent.
I have looked at all the fragrances on offer, and I can tell you, they don't happen to have the notes I would want in my One Perfume to Rule Them All (if there's no peach or ylang ylang, I’m not forsaking the rest of my collection). But more to the point, I don't want just one. I've been writing up the things I've been trying for a few months now, and I enjoy the experimenting. But I appreciate what Noteworthy's trying to do, especially for wearers who want something straightforward, and I was perfectly happy to let my sister be the one to try them.
(I did take the quiz, though, and after telling them I don’t like aquatic scents, they said they would send me one that smells like the beach. I closed the tab. My sister told the quiz that she does not like florals and she does not like amber. You’ll never guess what happened next!)
So her Discovery Kit arrived yesterday. She announced this by texting me,
I’m gonna give you feedback from [Nephew] smelling the perfume
Me: Yeah?
As you may recall from one of my music posts, my nephew is six.
(My sister gave me permission to post this.)
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n,841
Lemon, tarragon, cedar wood. A powerful, understated blend of citrus and woods. Drawing from poetry’s ability to spark joy and inspiration, this bright lemon and bergamot blend leaves an instant impression before mellowing out into a rich amber and leather base.
My sister: [Nephew] said
smells like raspberries or being in a dungeon like down in a well
Me: ……..I do not see any of those things on the card
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n,551
Lily of the valley, amber, sandalwood. A sensual, comforting, woody scent that cocoons the wearer in notes of warm, glowing sandalwood and cozy, soft cashmere—freshened up with Lily of the Valley.
smells like lime juice or being inside a pumpkin
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n,307
Mandarin, basil, sandalwood. Inspired by nostalgic childhood trips to lemon groves, fresh flowers swirling together in the summer breeze, and the radiant colors of perfectly ripe citrus, this energizing fragrance stars juicy mandarin and soft sandalwood, plus light notes of basil.
green grape juice or being on top of an umbrella at the beach
Me: that’s very specific
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n,057
Passionfruit, vanilla, tonka bean. Let n,057 become your signature: remarkable, evocative and distinctly yours. Keep your fragrance at home or take our travel spray with you. Fitting snugly in your purse, pocket, or suitcase, it's the perfect on-the-go perfume.
My sister: I think he’s losing his focus on this last one. He said
lemon juice at the lemon store
My perfume sample budget got used up on, like, ugh, actual necessities this month, or I'd give Noteworthy a try for science. On a second try, my quiz results were (very likely overlapping with my sister's):
A captivating blend of warm woods and zesty citrus, like strolling through a sun-drenched forest grove. An intriguing fusion of exotic spices and earthy notes, evoking the vibrant energy of a bustling cityscape. A delightful combination of tropical fruits and delicate florals, reminiscent of a refreshing breeze in a lush garden. And for an unexpected wild card fragrance, a scent that defies expectations because science cannot always predict desire.
Currently, my sister says that she can tell that the Noteworthy fragrances are well-made, but they're not "her"; apparently she's in the 11% algorithm failure group—or maybe she just needs time for them to grow on her! Who knows! She'll bring over her samples for Sunday dinner, and I'll report back if they do, in fact, smell like being inside a pumpkin.
Perfume discussion masterpost
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kasienda · 3 months
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Fanfiction Year in Review 2023
I fill this out every year. It’s become a bit of a tradition for me. Allows me to reflect on everything that I’ve written and kinda think about where I want to go next. And I like it better from the ask games because I don’t have to wait for asks to come in and can compare my answers from one year to the next. ^_^
1 List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:
Displaced (Ladrien oneshot)
No Regrets (Ladynoir oneshot - smut)
You Don’t Have To Pretend With Me (Platonic Adrino oneshot)
Representation Reveal (S5 Adrinette oneshot)
Kisses in the Rain (S5 AU Love Square - technically multichapter, but it’s shorter than many of my one-shots)
Would Trust You With Everything (Adrino multichapter)
Just An Ordinary Girl (Marichat oneshot)
Love Remains (Ladynoir multichapter)
Spin the Bottle (OT4 with cour four - technically oneshot, but it’s longer than Kisses and has more kisses in it. Haha!)
2 Number of words written: 
Written: 166,114 words
Published: 151,018 words (more than twice 2022’s number!! Go me!!) 
Those numbers are incredibly close together because I haven’t been redrafting as much. Those numbers include six one shots, three completed multi chapters. And another four multi chapter WIPs saw at least one update.
And in another fun milestone! I broke a million words published on Ao3 just this last week!! (I've been writing fic since 2003 and everything I've ever written is on Ao3!)
3 Your most popular fic:
Not Part of the Plan - I suspect that this is mostly because being a teen pregnancy fic, it’s my most tropiest story this year. Haha! 
4 Your personal fav:
Aftermath - This story has usurped Right Behind You as my favorite. I’ve been able to connect to the raw hurt and grief in this story, and there’s something very raw and human about it that others seem to be able to connect to as well. I think it’s some of my best work, and that is also thanks to an amazing beta in @ladyofthenoodle who has lent her expertise in more than one way in making this one more true to lived experience. 
5 Your fav scene:
It’s so hard to pick a favorite!! I narrowed it down to my three favorites in no particular order. 
The last scene in Ch 5 Love Remains - Chat Noir give amnesiac Ladybug a geography lesson from space. It’s got Whole New World vibes, and I just loved the imagery of it.
Ch 4 of Aftermath - I’m particularly proud of Marinette’s panic attack when Adrien tells her she doesn’t have to keep coming over. Like it feels like it comes out of nowhere, but it just totally makes sense. And how it manifests and how she soothes herself (it’s not healthy, but it’s so GOOD!)
Ch 7 of Would Trust You With Everything - The scene where Chat Noir tries to tell Nino who he is, but inevitably doesn’t. And how Nino reassures him through all that. This scene feels so raw, but so heartwarming in light of Adrien’s fears. And I don’t know - it’s beautiful to me.
6 A fic or scene that challenged you:
I really struggled with Right Behind You this year, though it wasn’t for lack of trying! I had started out the year hoping to go back to an update a month here and I only updated it three times throughout 2023. 
This was incredibly frustrating because the initial drafts of scenes would come pretty easily, but I couldn’t seem to make them pop the way the earlier chapters did. The good news is I think I figured out what the issue was. Most of my writing this year has been speed writing. And a big part of that is just where I’ve been emotionally. I’m very very out of practice in editing and redrafting, which this story and Aftermath both definitely need. 
I’ve only been able to edit Aftermath because I’ve had a ton of help. (Thanks Noodles!) Sadly, it’s harder to find betas for rarepairs, but I have succeeded! (Thanks@coffeebanana!)
7 A line of writing you’re proud of: 
“She wanted to be there to see it. To see him.”
This line is way better in context, but I’ve made myself cry about three times with it. And I refuse to explain it because that would give its power away. Guess you’ll just have to go read Aftermath. 
8 A comment that touched you: 
I can never answer this question without mentioning several!! 
Would Trust You With Everything - this story had a ton of enthusiastic followers - way more than rarepair work usually gets, and I wrote this story right after my life fell apart and all the commenters here made throwing this story together just that much more joyful during a time when I REALLY needed it. (I'm looking at you, @bittersweetresilience, @bbutterflies @flightfoot @coffeebanana and so many others that I don't know your tumblr name!!!) Not Part of the Plan Comments - I added sex ed lessons to the end of each chapter here because there’s so much about fertility and pregnancy that people don’t know if typical pregnancy fics are anything to go by, and this seemed to inspire so many people to share their pregnancy stories!!! And these have been so cool because I’ve learned that these stories just don’t often have an opportunity to be shared. And it’s neat that this story with its accompanying lessons could create a space for that!! Aftermath comments - lots of people who have really struggled with moderate to severe depression have apparently felt very seen by this fic. And that a story that is essentially about two characters who feel very alone and like no one can understand can help people feel LESS alone and MORE understood is simply amazing!! I love this story so much!! AHH!! Here's one from @neurovascular-entrapta that meant a lot to me.
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9 Something that inspired your writing:
Grief and the need to feel things in a distant abstract-these-are-story-book-characters kind of way so I don’t have to feel my actual feelings as closely every moment of the day really kept me writing the whole year long.
10 Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):
My writing has been really raw and messy this year, and I can’t keep tenses straight to save my life. But there’s something powerful about the rawness that I really like even as all the grammatical errors and the lack of effort on the technical side of most of my stories has driven me nuts. 
I am proud of myself for being able to get back into the big projects in these last few months after not being able to face them from April to October. And I’ve started participating in a few writing events here and there again in addition to working on my own pet projects. 
11 Do you have any writing goals for the next year?
Well, I wanted to finish Not Part of the Plan in 2023, which didn’t happen only barely! So hoping the last chapter and the epilogue make it out within the next month. Once that’s done I think I want to try and make Aftermath and Right Behind You my primary focus projects this year. And of course, I’m sure new plot bunnies and writing events will take over my brain on occasion. Last year, I said I wanted my writing to become a reliable mental health tool for me again, and I’m glad to say that it definitely was that for 2023. I hope I’m able to use my writing this year to continue my healing journey. 
And maybe go and proofread all of the fics I finished in 2023 to fix all the inconsistent tense issues to prepare them for being bound eventually!
12 Anyone you would like to thank?
SO MANY PEOPLE!
@jennagrinsoverml for being one of my oldest fandom friends! For becoming a real life friend for all that we haven't actually met in person. For all the times you vented to me and listened and sent me pictures of your family and gushed over pictures of mine. I'm lucky to know you!
@ladyofthenoodle - for showing up in my DMs, For being a most insightful beta, for dragging me into a larger community over and over again, for listening to both my real struggles and my first world problems, for being my friend!!
@thelibraryloser - I don't know how to put this into words. But I very much look up to you. For your resilience through difficult times - you are role-model for how to handle this world with grace and kindness. Thank you for your stories!
@coffeebanana - for being so enthusiastic in the creation process before and after! When I have a story that is getting no attention one comment from you makes it so it doesn't matter. You give me all I need.
@bittersweetresilience and @wackus-bonkus-maximus for just being so kind and enthusiastic and supportive of any idea I happen to be talking about in any given moment. I guess for enabling me. Haha!
@blur0se and @mila-beedoodling for sharing your ideas and inspiring me to create new things!!
@asukiess, @chocoluckchipz, @sariahsue, @miabrown007 for creating so many beautiful things and for being kind and engaging in so many conversations!
And now, I'm really nervous that I'm forgetting someone because this is the first time where I feel like I've had more than three fandom friends. Haha! It's a good problem to have I suppose. In general, thank you to the miraculous community for helping me to survive this year. <3 <3 <3
Happy New Year Everyone!!
I invite anyone who wants to, to fill this out! (Or something similar because I think it can be modified for artwork pretty easily). But if you do, please tag me, so I can be a cheerleader for all you've accomplished this year!
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People who have been following me since 2022 will know that I have a bad habit of becoming obsessed with things I haven't actually watched. The Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers film became my new special interest in 2022, but I didn't watch it in full until 2023, when I finally got Disney+.
Well, it's happening again.
Right now, I'm mildly obsessed with Hazbin Hotel.
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Now, I haven't seen none of it. I've watched the pilot on YouTube, and I've watched the first episode of the Prime Video series (which is freely available on YouTube). I don't have Prime Video, so I haven't seen the rest of it.
But I have been listening to the songs, browsing Tumblr for talking points, and watching scattered clips and reviews and essays on YouTube - which is basically what I was doing with Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.
I'm a Christian (awkward!), and it initially bothered me that the show didn't mention God or Jesus at all. Not that I'd have wanted them to poke fun at God or Jesus ... but I'd assumed the series was meant to be a satire of Christianity, pointing out how much it sucks that its believers can be so judgmental and unforgiving when the faith is supposed to be about love and forgiveness. So I was quite surprised by the reveal that the angels don't actually know what gets you into Heaven. What, you don't even have the Ten Commandments? You don't have any rules that you impose? You can't satirise Christianity if you don't understand what you're satirising!
But upon reflection, I guess Hazbin Hotel is meant to be seen more as a cautionary tale about hypocrisy and second chances and redemption - about those concepts in general, rather than how they're (mis)used specifically by Christians. It's about how the people preemptively labelled "bad" who do bad things are clearly proving they're bad, while the people labelled "good" who do bad things are defended and justified because there must have been a good reason for what they did. Even if a good reason isn't apparent. And the settings of Heaven and Hell are just being used as vehicles for that social commentary.
It seems as though Hazbin Hotel is not really about Heaven and Hell, it's about life on Earth. But there are still some things that are interesting to think about from a theological viewpoint.
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To close this slightly rambling post, here are some even more scattered thoughts, which may evolve if I actually get to watch the full thing:
EMILY IS PRECIOUS AND MUST BE PROTECTED!
"You Didn't Know" is a banger!
As is "Poison". Kind of reminds me of "All You Wanna Do" from Six: The Musical - in that it's a bop, but the lyrics are dark because they're about sexual abuse.
I really enjoy the "I'm a Disney Princess in a Hellish landscape" thing that Charlie's got going on.
EMILY IS PRECIOUS AND MUST BE PROTECTED!
I hope we get to see more of Emily and more of Heaven in the second season.
I wasn't sure about Vaggie at first, but she's grown on me.
My favourite characters are Charlie, Vaggie, Emily and Angel Dust. I refer to them as Charlie's Angels.
EMILY IS PRECIOUS AND MUST BE PROTECTED!
After a year of basically binge-watching loads of kids' cartoons on Disney+, it's still feels jarring to watch a cartoon where people say the F-word a lot.
Wait, Angel Dust has a twin sister? Molly? And she might be in Heaven? Is that girl with four legs we see in Heaven supposed to be Molly, or is she just a random background character? Why is she in Heaven when Angel Dust isn't? Are they going to be reunited? Is Molly friends with Emily?
EMILY IS PRECIOUS AND MUST BE PROTECTED!
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jebewonmorelike · 8 months
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Whatever You Say, President-nim
Part Two of "So You Can Do Yours"
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⋆ ✮ ⋆
part one: "so you can do yours" wc: 2.6k pronouns: none used; n/a warnings: mentions of food-- specifically gunwook saying he skips lunch to get to work quicker (he's fine, he's just in love), lots of fluff, reader is a bit angsty bc they are missing out on being a kid/young adult/student summary: younganddumbCEO!reader offers to pick up assistant!gunwook at his university one afternoon to "help get him to work on time" ~masterlist~ ♡ ~kofi (no pressure at all)~ so after you read this... you will notice its still open-ended. i really liked this little story i'm crafting for wookie so i think i'll have one more part to it! i really wanted to write this; i definitely got a lot of intrinsic joy out of it and that is what i've been missing from my writing recently. it was super fun to write-- i hope the couple of friends who have asked about a part 2 enjoy this too!! thanks for supporting me on this quasi-break, it means a lot. please give me any feedback you have no matter how small; i just love hearing that you liked it. :)
“It’s almost there, but...” You whisper to yourself, carefully dotting your paint brush to the canvas to touch up the mossy bank in the bottom right corner. Creating a deeper shadow in the greenery, you smile as you imagine what your assistant will say when he sees your progress.
Gunwook typically requests that you save your painting for when he’s working so that he can adequately cover all your job-related duties for you. You know you should be responding to your emails or reviewing the paperwork he finished for you yesterday to better familiarize yourself with it, but you just couldn’t help yourself. The idea of adding deeper shadow to the green areas of the painting had come to you last night in a dream and you’d been bursting at the seams to follow through on it since you woke up this morning.
What time is it? You wonder, glancing up at the clock above your doorframe to find that it’s almost 1 P.M. On Thursdays, Gunwook clocked in at 1:30 P.M. after finishing his classes at his university for the day. Just a little bit longer...
“President-nim?” The voice of Secretary Lee over the intercom breaks your focus from your painting. The small brush you're holding tumbles from your hand, a dot of dark green landing onto the perfect pale blue sky. You close your eyes, inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for six-- the breathing exercise that your assistant had introduced to you last month to cope with your frustration and anxiety at work.
With the amount of times you’d had to use it to keep yourself from impulsively firing his own mother, you’re sure Gunwook was glad he’d found the right one for you.
You pick up your paintbrush calmly and place it into the mason jar of water on your desk before leaning over to the intercom and pressing the microphone button. “Yes?”
“Could I come have a word with you, President-nim?” She asks politely, but hurriedly. “It’s a bit urgent.”
“Come in, Secretary,” you agree, shutting the top of your desk quickly to conceal your artspace. You throw some papers that Gunwook had completed yesterday for you across your desk in an attempt to make yourself look busy. 
With a soft knock at the door, Secretary Lee enters as you pretend to study some of the papers-- tapping the base of a ballpoint pen to your chin in faux concentration.
“President-nim,” Secretary Lee greets with a bow as she makes her way up to your desk. She glances down at the papers you’re pretending to fill out, eyes lingering a bit too long. “Are you very busy with paperwork?”
“Oh, um,” you start, nodding a bit too hastily. “Yes, but please share with me what you need to.”
After a moment of continued suspicion, Secretary Lee finally moves on, responding, “I have to leave now to get the plans you approved from the Engineering Sector this morning to Board Executive Han in Incheon. He requested they be delivered immediately to his office.”
“That sounds great,” you reply with a nod. “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll get back to work now.”
“Well, there’s--,” Secretary Lee says quickly, bowing slightly in apology for the continued interruption. “There’s a slight problem that I have to make you aware of.”
You frown, an eyebrow raising expectantly. 
“The drive isn’t too long and I don’t mind making it,” she prefaces, clasping her hands together. “But it will interfere with my lunch break and... That's when I pick up my son from his university and bring him to work. He can take the bus, but there've been long delays recently so I’ve been driving him to and from school so he isn’t late.”
“Ah,” you reply, placing your pen down on the table. 
“So I wanted to apologize and warn you that Gunwook could be very late today,” Secretary Lee says, fidgeting with a button on her coat. “I’m sorry about this, President-nim.”
To your embarrassment, a flood of disappointment hits you. You’d been really looking forward to showing your assistant the new additions to your painting.
And drinking his expertly-made coffee. And being both offended and impressed by at least one unavoidable and perfectly crafted new insult. And seeing that genuine, absolutely magnetic smile...
“I can pick him up.”
The offer slips out impulsively. Looking up at Secretary Lee, you notice that she’s somehow much less surprised by it than you are.
“Are you sure, President-nim?” She asks with a small smile. “That’s a lot of trouble to ask of you. You’re so busy right now with all of this paperwork!”
“I am so busy with paperwork, yes," you nod, putting on your most convincing performance. "But I... I actually was going to run something over to my mother’s office, so...”
“Ah,” Secretary Lee affirms with a nod. “Then if it’s no trouble, I’m sure Gunwook would love that, President-nim.”
Your face flushes slightly at her words. You wish she hadn’t told you that her son had finally agreed to be your assistant after he’d seen a picture of you. It was wildly unprofessional.
But even worse, it sometimes made you... think things.
Like maybe when Gunwook smiled at you, he wasn’t just trying to please his boss. Like maybe he actually liked you. Even just as a friend. Maybe he really meant all of his niceties. That wasn't something you often experienced in your life.
“Right,” you reply finally, shaking your head a bit to stop the thought spiral. “Well, have a safe drive, Secretary Lee.”
“You as well, President-nim,” she says, glancing at your paperwork one more time. “Do you need new pens to be ordered for you?”
You tilt your head to the side confusedly. “Why do you say that?”
“Your writing isn’t as neat as it usually is, President-nim,” Secretary Lee says; the hint of a smirk appearing on her lips. “You’re starting to write chicken scratch... just like my son!"
“Very funny,” you deadpan, shooing her towards the door with your hand. “I do my own paperwork, Secretary Lee.”
“Of course, President-nim,” she allows with a laugh as she opens the door to your office and steps outside. “Whatever you say, President-nim!”
Like mother, like son.
__________________________________________
Pulling into a parking spot in front of Yonsei University’s Yonhee Hall, you quickly notice a small group of students in front of you ogling your car. In your high hopes to feel nostalgic and comfortable on a university campus again, you’d completely forgotten about the spectacle that is your baby blue 2024 Porsche 911.
Grabbing your phone and keys and stuffing them into your back pockets, you open the car door and climb out-- a chorus of excited whispers when the three students in front of you see your face.
“Whoah,” one boy says in disbelief. “Expensive car AND good-looking? That's just not fair."
“A student could never afford that car,” the girl next to him whispers back as you start to walk over to where they’re standing in front of the steps to the building. 
“I’m not a student,” you reply, which visibly shocks the girl and her friends. “Did you guys just get out of class?”
“At 1:15, yeah. Public Policy Analysis,” a shorter boy next to her replies. With a timid smile, he continues, “We’re heading to eat. Do you wanna join us?”
The girl hits his arm. “Don’t be so desperate.”
“Sorry,” the boy says quickly.
“Let’s just go,” the taller boy says. “Gunwook never comes to eat with us anyway-- I don’t know why you continue to insist that we invite him.”
You notice how the girl looks away in what appears to be embarrassment. Had this girl fallen for Gunwook, too?
You did not just think ‘too’.
You clear your throat, quickly repeating, “Gunwook?”
“Yeah, he’s our friend, sort of, who--...” The shorter boy starts to explain for you (which is very kind of him, considering you’re a total stranger), but his attention suddenly shifts to the top of the building steps behind you. “Oh there he is. Gunwook-ah!”
You turn around slowly to find Gunwook staring back at you wide-eyed. Noticing his black university hoodie and his Adidas joggers, his backpack slung over one shoulder, and his un-styled hair falling into his eyes... you have to physically swallow down the lump of anxiety that’s formed in your throat.
“(Y/N)?” Gunwook asks, running down the building steps to you. “What are you doing here?”
“Y-your mom had to deliver something in Incheon,” you reply nonchalantly as your downright adorable assistant flops his way down to you; towering over you from the step above and smiling.
"So you came to rescue me?" He asks with a smirk.
“Gunwook-ah,” the girl beside you calls, the slightest air of annoyance in her voice. “Is this your friend?”
“Yeah-- or... Um,” Gunwook stumbles as he grins at you. “My boss, actually.”
“You’re Gunwook's boss? I thought you worked for the President of KCTech Company,” the taller boy replies, eyeing you up and down suspiciously.
Gunwook nods-- not once taking his eyes off of you. “I do.”
“The President of KCTech Company is a teenager?” The girl scoffs, folding her arms in front of her chest.
“I turned 20 last month,” you correct with a grimace.
“Whoah,” the shorter boy whispers in awe. “So are you part of a chaebol family?”
Both of his friends issue a punch to his arms. “Sorry,” he says quickly.
“It’s okay. I am,” you say, shaking your head dismissively. “But I anxiously await you political science majors striking my family down with new policies in the future.”
“Okay, and we’re leaving,” Gunwook says, taking your arm and dragging you the rest of the way down the stairs with him.
“But I meant it,” you protest, trying to keep yourself from fully processing that Gunwook has now engulfed your hand in his gigantic one and seems to have no plans to let it go.
“I know you meant it, but we don’t need three university students selling a story to a tabloid about how the President of KCTech challenged them to economic warfare after class,” Gunwook explains with a sigh. As he pulls you towards your car, you hear the group of friends still mumbling about the interaction they just witnessed.
“Am I going crazy or is Gunwook... holding his boss’s hand?” The taller boy asks, wiping his eyes with his fists to make sure he’s seeing clearly.
The shorter boy laughs. “I'm pretty sure he also used informal speech.”
“Whatever,” you hear the girl huff sadly as Gunwook opens your car door for you and gestures for you to get in.
Once you’re inside your car, Gunwook shuts the door for you and makes his way to the other side. That’s when you realize... you’re sitting in the passenger’s seat.
Gunwook opens the driver’s side door and hops inside; watching as his classmates talk amongst each other-- debating whether or not to start to head to lunch. Your assistant waves to them happily through the front window.
“What are you doing?” You ask, shocked at your assistant’s actions.
“Waving to my friends,” he answers dumbly.
“Why are you acting like you’re about to drive my car!?” You exclaim, hand flying to his shoulder to shake him a bit.
Gunwook smirks at you. “Because I am.”
“No, no, no, no,” you squeeze his shoulder harder. “No, you are not.”
“You wouldn’t embarrass me in front of my classmates,” Gunwook challenges, batting his eyelashes cutely. “Would you, President-nim?”
Every time you think your assistant’s gone as far as he can go, he always pushes you a bit further. And you’d be bold-faced lying if you said you didn’t love it.
“Gunwookie,” you whine rather unprofessionally. “Ugh, fine. But if you crash this car, I swear I’m gonna--.”
Gunwook presses the start button on the car excitedly, fastening his seatbelt before pulling out of the parking space without looking both ways.
“Please, Gunwookie,” you beg, fastening your seatbelt frantically. “I really like this car. It’s the only present my father’s ever gotten me that I actually liked.”
The boy tenses a bit, meeting your gaze and nodding quietly in agreement before pressing the gas pedal with his foot at a responsible velocity. Gunwook drives through the campus and out onto the main road diligently, stopping for 3 seconds at stop signs, minding crosswalks, and breaking gradually. He’s a good driver-- which shouldn’t come as much of a shock to you, considering he’s good at pretty much everything he does.
He’d even painted some pretty convincing trees last week when you’d shown him the brush technique before you left work. 
“How come you don’t drive more often?” You ask, reaching to your back pocket and pulling out your phone. “Your mom has to drive you to work every day.”
“I don’t have a car,” Gunwook answers, signaling a turn. “Or a license.”
Your phone drops from your hands into your lap. “WHAT!?”
“Relax! I have a permit,” he says with a laugh as your hands fly to cover your face in despair. “You’re supervising me, President-nim. I know you won’t let anything bad happen to your favorite assistant.”
“The ice is so thin, Wookie.”
The nickname leaves your lips before you can consider its implications. Gunwook clears his throat awkwardly, focusing back on the road. You continue in silence for a bit, looking out the window as Gwanghwamun approaches. But there’s something you still want to say before you reach the office building.
“Gunwook-ah?”
The boy glances at you expectantly. “Yes, President-nim?”
“Those kids,” you start, watching as his grip on the steering wheel slips gradually to a more comfortable position. “They said they keep asking you to go to lunch after class with them.”
“Oh,” he replies, nodding as he sucks his teeth. “One, they're not kids-- they're literally a year younger than you and so am I. And, two, I don’t really have time. I have to get to the office by 1:30 to--”
“One, you're two years younger than me. And two, come at 2:30 from now on,” you interject. Gunwook’s eyebrows knit with confusion, but you continue, “Eat lunch with your classmates while you can.”
Your assistant’s expression softens as he meets your gaze, but you think you would prefer that he didn’t look at you with this much pity again any time soon.
“You’ll regret not spending more time doing fun things like that when you can’t anymore,” you explain, tugging at the skin around your nails. “You should be doing things you enjoy, is what I mean.”
“Thank you, (Y/N),” Gunwook says with a smile. “I’ll eat lunch with my classmates more often. But...”
You raise an eyebrow as Gunwook pulls into a parking spot on the street-- one that luckily doesn’t require him to parallel. He’s a good driver, but you’re not ready to test his skills that much. Pushing the engine button to turn the car off, Gunwook leans back in his seat and turns to look at you.
“I hope you know I also enjoy working, too,” he says; a cheeky grin lighting up his face as he adds, “With you.”
You pout at him to combat the smile that’s desperately trying to creep onto your face. “Who wouldn’t enjoy working with me?”
“Literally every person you’ve ever hired,” he throws back at you.
There’s not much you can say. He’s right. Which begs the question...
“Why do you like working with me?”
Gunwook hums contentedly. “There’s a lot of reasons.”
“Huh,” you reply, still admiring him in his street clothes. Unfortunately picking up Gunwook after class had only made your desire to be normal grow stronger. If things were different, maybe you would’ve met Gunwook in the dining hall on campus-- stared at him in his round glasses until one day you finally worked up the courage to speak to him. You’d have friends instead of employees. Art classes instead of meetings. Parties instead of paperwork. “They must be pretty good reasons to ditch lunch with your friends.”
“I actually usually skip lunch altogether so I can see you quicker,” he rebuts; eyes widening in panic as soon as he realizes what he’s just said. “I--... I mean, get to you quicker. You know... For work. And stuff.”
Gunwook was not known to throw an “and stuff” around very often-- he’s usually more eloquent and thoughtful when he speaks. The way his cheeks start to flush as he blinks at you; lips pouted like a baby chick... It's enough to make you wonder if his words might not have been a simple misspeaking, but rather a truth that slipped out accidentally.
“Come on,” you call, unfastening your seatbelt and opening the car door-- stepping out onto the sidewalk and waiting for your assistant to follow. Gunwook hops out of the car before sheepishly joining you on the sidewalk. You head towards the doors of your office building, but then, much to Gunwook’s surprise, continue to walk past them.
“President-nim?” He calls after you. “Where are you going?”
“To lunch,” you answer over your shoulder. “My assistant’s been going hungry in order to report to his boss on time! We don’t want a headline about that, do we?”
Hearing footsteps pounding against the pavement to catch up with you, your arm brushes against Gunwook’s as he falls into step beside you. “He does it willingly, though, (Y/N).”
“Not anymore, he doesn’t,” you reply, eyes focused on the road ahead of you in an effort to ignore his use of your name. “From now on, my favorite assistant will eat well and he’ll like it.”
Gunwook laughs next to you and you make the deadly mistake of looking up at him. He smiles at you fondly through the fringe that’s falling in his eyes and says softly:
“Whatever you say, President-nim.”
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ckmstudies · 9 months
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July 5th:
Officially two weeks out from the exam. Resting yesterday was super nice but I once again have fallen behind. But I'm tired of talking about what didn't get done so here's what did get done: yesterday, I took the area five practice exam and made a 93% which is the highest I've made on a practice exam. Needless to say, I'm feeling much better about this material than the material in the previous two areas. Then today, in just under five hours, I did modules one through four of area six, the last area. Tomorrow I'm hoping to do modules five through eight and take the area six practice exam while aiming for another five hours of work done. I will then take the mini exam on areas five and six on Friday as well as the first simulated exam. This simulated exam will really tell me where I am in my studying and how much review I'll need before this exam. I would have liked to take the simulated exam today but it is what it is. Friday is going to have to be good enough!
Today's accounting topic: A review engagement is similar to an audit engagement but not test of controls are done and the auditor cares mostly about inquiries with management as well as analytical procedures, such as comparisons to predicted amounts.
Other activity: I played tennis at 7 am in the hopes of beating the heat and getting a head start on my day, but I ended up just going back to bed afterwards and sleeping later than usual. Still, the exercise was nice and so was getting some more rest.
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I WOULD LIKE TO WATCH SOME ROCK OPERAS!!!!
I WOULD LIKE TO HELP YOU WATCH SOME ROCK OPERAS!!!!!
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There are two, completely separate productions, but they are both adaptations of the story of Beren and Luthien, from the Silmarillion.
The first is the Finrod rock opera. It was written in the early 2000's, and has several old recordings hanging out on Youtube. I recommend the 2014 concert version- it is, by far, the best place to start. Easy access, fully subtitled, and brilliant cast.
If you enjoy it, and want to see more, the company just started making broadcasts! They have six new recordings- four from Oct/Nov 2022, and two from Jan 2023. They are quite different from the 2014 concert version (they shuffled the songs around, and it's fully staged), but they are wonderful. I have a subtitled clip here.
If you wish to purchase one of the recent recordings, please contact me directly; it's a rather complicated process, because they're still working out broadcasting/international logistics. I have not finished subtitles for them, but my friend Anarchy has a translation on AO3.
The second is the Lay of Leithian rock opera. This was also written in the early 2000's, but as a one-woman bardic performance. It was only recently adapted into a rock opera in late 2020, and premiered in January 2021.
This one has six total recordings, and growing- every performance since June 2022 has been broadcast, and they just announced the last three shows of the season. I've made a master list of all recordings available for purchase here, with corresponding subtitle files (free) in English, Russian, and Finnish. Of all of them, I recommend the June 25, 2022 professional edit. It has the highest quality of video, editing, and sound. But if you want to watch for free, the very first recording on that list is an unlisted Youtube video, fully subtitled. It's their first broadcast, so there's issues with sound quality, and missing footage (which I repaired as best as I could), but it's still a wonderful start.
For more information and resources, check out my Lay of Leithian linktree, and for news and updates, I recommend my unofficial Instagram.
And as always- if you have any questions, and especially if you have any reviews, let me know! Happy viewing!
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imreallyloveleee · 3 months
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2023 fic review
thank you for tagging me @onlyalittlebookworm! <3 <3 <3
What is your ao3 account?
loveleee
2. How many words did you write total in 2023?
32,717
3. How many fics did you publish in 2023? How many multichapters vs. oneshots?
3 oneshots, 1 new WIP, and updated 1 WIP. this was definitely one of my least "productive" years for fic-writing in quite a while (although i don't think i published much in 2022 either, looking back). for obvious reasons: i was traveling for more than half the year; and also Riverdale canon was so fucking awful to our ship specifically that i think it just killed off everyone's desire to read and write about them. thanks RAS! <3
4. What was your longest fic? Your shortest fic?
longest: i feel like i win when i lose, my bughead four weddings & a funeral-inspired fic. 16,379 words (and i need to finish the last chapter ahhhhhhhhhhhhh)
shortest: honeymoon phase, my (very first!!) jimmy/kim fic. 1,927 words.
5. What was your most popular fic? Your least popular?
even though it kind of feels like cheating, head underwater was most popular, because even though i started it years ago, i updated it in 2023!
for least popular, if we're going by kudos, it was three conversations about one thing, which was my desperate attempt to make some sense out of the penultimate episode of riverdale s7 lol
6. What fic didn't perform as well as you thought it would?
honestly, i try to keep my expectations low for everything i publish, to avoid disappointment. i guess the answer would be that last one, "three conversations." but like, the show's ending sucked? i'm not surprised people were not dying to run out and read fic about it 😂
7. What fic performed way better than you thought it would?
i really did not know what to expect from posting a Better Call Saul fic. the show ended over a year ago, and i don't really have much of a sense of how big/active the fandom around it is, or was at its peak. that said, i was EXTREMELY happy to discover that there are way more fics for Jimmy/Kim than there were for the last "prestige"-y show ship i wrote for (Peggy/Stan on Mad Men).
so, all that to say, i was really pleasantly surprised to get as much engagement as i did with that little story! and i'm working on another one now and really enjoying writing it. :)
8. What was your favourite fic you wrote in 2023?
i feel like i win when i lose!!!!!!! the first four chapters of that story just FLOWED out of me like they already existed. it was so much fun to write and i think it's a super fun story in general. i reeeeeeally want to finish it.
9. What was your favourite fic someone else wrote in 2023?
Beautiful Broken Things by teaandpinkfrosting: a well-written, well-plotted, sweet, emotional, in-character season 1 Bughead fic in the year of our lord 2023? WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS?
Eighty-Six Years by jimmymcgools: a grounded, believable, heartwrenching, yet ultimately hopeful continuation of the most devastating finale i've ever watched in my life? again, WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS? [ETA to be extra clear that the finale i'm referencing here is bcs NOT rvd lol]
10. Tag your friends to do this year end fic review as well!
@absnow @burberrycanary @andsmile if you're into it! <3
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thetruthwilloutsworld · 4 months
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🚨🚨🚨 The Telegraph newspaper review. It's behind a paywall so I've copied and pasted it - contains Spoilers 🚨🚨🚨
Eleanor Tomlinson and Alfred Enoch star in this sexy thriller set in an alternate-reality Yorkshire that looks more like LA than Leeds.
The Couple Next Door (Channel 4) is a sexy thriller and, if we’re honest, this isn’t Britain’s forte. Put it this way: a pivotal scene in which our two main characters lock eyes in a moment of simmering lust occurs while they’re putting the bins out. 
In an attempt to be less British – and this is a co-production with US network Starz, so it needs to be – the six-part, boxsetted drama has been given a glossy, international look. Hilariously, it claims to be set in Leeds, and you will believe that if you’ve never been to Leeds and are prepared to accept that it looks like LA’s San Fernando Valley, where the weather is great all the time (apart from the scene with the bins. Because rain is sexy). 
It’s enjoyable nonsense. Evie and Pete, played by Eleanor Tomlinson and Alfred Enoch, are a young couple who move into a new home in Truman Show suburbia and are immediately love-bombed by Becka (Jessica De Gouw), a hot yoga instructor who lives across the road with Danny, an equally hot traffic cop who rides a motorbike (because motorbikes are sexy). Danny wears tight, white T-shirts that show off his He-Man physique – he’s played by Outlander’s Sam Heughan – and Becka just wears her underwear when guests pop round. 
To be fair, the guests probably expect that sort of get-up, because Danny and Becka are swingers. Not that The Couple Next Door uses the term, because it’s striving to be far classier than that. Becka and Danny have the hots for Evie, and she – despite suffering a horrendous tragedy and being raised in a Christian cult based in what looks like the village from Emmerdale – is soon turned on to the whole wife-swapping idea. 
Pete, who is fatally nice, is less enthusiastic (Enoch is the only actor here who makes his character behave like a normal person). While all this is going on, a creepy neighbour played by Hugh Dennis is stalking Becka, and Danny starts moonlighting for a local criminal kingpin. The drama ramps up. Evie, who appears at the outset to be a sensible, sweet-natured type, goes fully bonkers by around episode four. 
Every five minutes there’s a complete failure of logic, either in terms of plot or production. Why would a crime boss trying to transport goods under the radar send them out in a car flanked by two police outriders? Why does the show go to the trouble of filming its countryside scenes in Yorkshire but not bother to disguise the architecture in any of the urban shots (it’s Belgium, apparently)? I found the whole thing ridiculous. So ridiculous that I happily binged the lot in two days.
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adobe-outdesign · 29 days
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Really enjoying the neopet reviews and holding myself back from asking for half a dozen species. What are your thoughts on the Ruki?
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As an insect lover, I've always really liked Ruki. There are actually two bug Neopets, Ruki and Buzz, though ironically they're kind of opposites to each other—Ruki have insect-like bodies with normal eyes, while Buzz have normal bodies with compound eyes. Between the two I prefer the Ruki, as the body shape captures more of that bug aesthetic while the eyes help it be more expressive.
Visually, the Ruki is probably closest to a mantis (more obvious in the pre-customization art), though it mixes in a few non-mantis traits such as a beetle-like shell. It's actually a very complex design for Neopets, which tends to keep things simple—it's more or less got the anatomy of an actual mantis with all six limbs, just with the body bent 90 degrees to be slightly more anthro. There's lots of detailed line work in areas like the chest, joints, feet, and abdomen, for example. Still, it does follow the Neopets rule of using color to divide out the body for easy readability, with areas like the joints, feet, and elytra being a darker shade of the base.
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Ruki went mostly unchanged in customization, and still look pretty darn good. The only drawbacks are that the forelimbs used to be sleeker and pointer, similar to that of a mantis (stylistically speaking), while the post-customization's forelimbs feel too thick and clunky in comparison—it seems like they mostly got changed so they could hold items, which no one wanted them to do in the first place. Also, the bottom four legs all got inexplicably changed so the knees bend in the opposite direction. The way they are now is more bug-accurate, but I felt like the backwards knees were more interesting.
Favorite Colours:
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Desert: Ruki canonically hail from the Lost Desert, so thankfully the desert Ruki looks really good. I like the use of warm tones—brown for the base with gold and red accents. The way the armor is integrated directly into the body's natural plating also looks great, and makes it feel like a very natural color.
My only complaint is that the converted version inexplicably lost the veil that was supposed to be coming off its head piece, along with the eyeliner at the top and the darker spots. It's weird because the rest of the body is pretty accurate. Hopefully they'll do a UC style for this one some day, but in the meanwhile, the customized is still pretty good.
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Faerie: Admittedly, the converted faerie Ruki is a bit of a downgrade from the UC style version—mostly because the wings actually used to be coming from the abdomen, like real bug wings, which was really unique and looked great. There are also some more inexplicable changes, like the legs having the serrated look but not the arms or the antennae like the original. Still, the peach and purple palette combined with the detailed markings looks beautiful on both versions.
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Transparent: Transparent gets a spot here because it's actually fairly automatically accurate! Relatively speaking. Insects obviously have exoskeletons and not internal skeletons, but this is a giant fantasy bug so I don't mind. The rather long organs are insect accurate as far as I'm aware, and the bones seem to be modeled after an insect's respiratory system. A+ for research instead of just sticking a normal skeleton in there. My only nitpick is that the head could've used some bones, as it feels weirdly empty.
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BONUS: I'm tossing in two bonuses this time because I picked the transparent more for anatomy than aesthetics. The camoflauge Ruki has a very pretty tan and brown palette with some high contrast and lovely darker legs, while the polka dot is a ladybug and just plain cute.
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beatrice-otter · 2 months
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Fic: Six Things That Changed Because They Were In A Sedoretu, and One Thing That Didn't
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Six Things That Changed Because They Were In A Sedoretu, and One Thing That Didn't (7929 words) by Beatrice_Otter Fandom: Battlestar Galactica (2003) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Written for: @tielan in Sedoretu Exchange 2023
Relationships: Lee "Apollo" Adama/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Anastasia "Dee" Dualla/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Sam Anders/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Lee "Apollo" Adama/Sam Anders, Sam Anders & Anastasia "Dee" Dualla, Lee "Apollo" Adama/Sam Anders/Anastasia "Dee" Dualla/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace Characters: Lee "Apollo" Adama, Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Anastasia "Dee" Dualla, Sam Anders
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Sedoretu, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Happy Ending, Polyamory, Podfic Welcome, Don't copy to another site Summary:
what it says on the tin
On AO3. On Squidgeworld. On Dreamwidth. Rebloggable on pillowfort.
Betaed by iberiandoctor With an old-school fandom, I figured why not go for an old-school format?
Fic wittering and explanation of a sedoretu behind the read-more.
sedoretuex has revealed, and I can now reveal that I wrote TWO stories! (I have not yet had time to read any stories but my own--I have been really busy this January--but I am planning on making my way through the collection soon.)
My second story for this exchange was a pinch hit for tielan that I had been eyeing for treat purposes since the beginning, because our tastes are very similar and every one of her ideas was amazing and absolutely a story I wanted to exist. But there was a problem! Each one of those stories, my feeling was "I want that to exist, but I don't know if I can do justice to it."
Here were my main options:
1) Relationship and prompt I have written for tielan before (MCU, Steve/Maria/Natasha/Bucky, the previous fic being Look Clear and Calm)
2) Really interesting relationship and prompt from a TV show I've only seen sporadic episodes of (Simon Basset/Anthony Bridgerton/Daphne Bridgerton/Kate Sharma (Bridgerton TV), The oldest son and oldest daughter of the Bridgerton family finding and settling on a sedoretu husband and wife for their familial quartet. In the middle of the season. With the ton looking on.)
3) Relationship I requested myself and would really like to se done, but I requested it because I'm not sure of my ability to write it and the canon is a TV show I haven't watched in almost 2 decades. (BSG, Lee/Kara/Sam/Dee)
4) Relationship I already wrote for this ficathon for my original assignment. (Star Wars Legends, Luke/Mara/Leia/Han, the other fic being Dawning Understanding)
And these were just the top four. There were 13 requested quartets and I could have written 10 of them! I was spoiled for choice! Honestly, it was a little bit paralyzing.
But in the end, I went with BSG, and decided that Wikipedia would have to be enough canon review. And it really did write itself; everything poured out. As always, for me, Dee was going to have a major role and survive; I love her and she was done so dirty by canon. Her death was the first time I got incandescently angry about a fridging because I could see it for what it was. And of the relationships in this foursome, Lee/Kara is my least favorite. (I am glad that in Kara we got to have a female character who was fucked up and messy and not punished for it or considered 'whiny,' but at the same time, there were a lot of other fucked up and messy female characters on that show, and a lot of the other character arcs interested me more than 'cosmic destiny + will she and Lee ever get their act together.' But I know that Lee/Kara is tielan's favorite! So as I was plotting out each section I had to restrain myself: how much Dee was too much? What could I find to say about the other three? Because if I was writing it for myself, the balance would have been very different. (But I think it would have been a weaker story, less balanced.)
A sedoretu is a specific organization of a poly marriage created by Ursula K. Le Guin in her short story "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea" aka "Another Story" available in a 1994 short story collection of the same name. It includes four people and specific arrangements of the relationships inside it. All people have a "moiety" that is considered as inherent as gender; the two moieties are Morning and Evening. Sex with someone of the same moiety is considered incest. The expected relationships within each sedoretu are: The Morning woman and the Evening man (the “Morning marriage”) The Evening woman and the Morning man (the “Evening marriage”) The Morning woman and the Evening woman (the “Day marriage”) The Morning man and the Evening man (the “Night marriage”) (i.e. two homosexual and two heterosexual pairings)
Here is the Fanlore explanation of it and the E2 explanation.
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springdandelixn · 1 year
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I've chosen you to play Would You Rather....
Boss!Vision giving you your performance review
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or
Professor!Jorah keeping you after class for tutoring
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You know me, I can never choose one but here's the first Haha
A Sweet Surprise
Warnings: noncon and somnophilia undertones, implied use of drugs, involvements of alcohol, plus sexy blue eyes that like to stare. Story is dark so please heed the warnings.
Your comments are welcomed, as always. And I hope you enjoy! 💛
p.s. It got longer than expected haha and Vision’s human name is Victor Shade.
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Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
Your fingers fumble with the hem of your skirt as your eyes follow the motions of the metallic orbs atop Mr. Shade’s desk. Back and forth, they swing, and the sound they make, along with the clinking of the keyboard, only adds to the tension that slowly builds within rather than calm you down, which you assumed it should be doing. 
Six months have passed by in a blur, consisting of endless data entries and the exchange of emails and phone calls from the company’s business partners. And now, here you sit in front of your boss, after working hours, waiting for his feedback on the performance evaluation they’ve conducted on you. 
You know to yourself that you’ve done all they’ve asked. You believe yourself to be a diligent employee, an obedient one. Always grateful for the opportunity they have given you despite having no experience in the administrative field and never being one to complain of the workload dropped on your shoulders. 
After almost a year of slaving yourself away in retail, you desperately needed a new job and out of all the companies you applied for, Crimson Travel Insurance was the one who responded. 
You were slightly filled with worry as you discussed your bare-bones resume during the interview, but Mr. Shade seemed impressed with your enthusiasm to learn the ins and outs of the company. The smile on his face never left your sight, and you hoped it was a sign that they would take you in regardless of your lack. 
You were employed within two weeks. Adjusting to the new work environment was a stretch. You won’t be seeing your friends often like before but the pay was enough motivation for you to push on to your tasks, and soon after, the friendliness and helpfulness of your colleagues, especially Wanda, bled into you that you never wanted anything more. 
Except right now. 
You hope that your boss would acknowledge your efforts and hard work and that he would see you as an invaluable asset to his company. But the silence that continues to stretch between the two of you, only those stupid metal balls hitting each other and echoing in the vast office, makes you think otherwise. 
Click. Clack. Click.
He says your name and you immediately sit up straight, eyes looking forward to face him before drifting down to the folder in his hand, deft fingers flipping through the sheets within. 
“You’ve only been with us for half a year and I must admit that I was quite worried when I hired you.” He starts and you feel your heart pounding hard against your chest. “With your lack of experience and all.”
You swallow thickly. Unsure how to take his words. The threat of being unemployed once more lingers. He’s going to fire me.
“But even with your dearth, you have completely exceeded my expectations.”
You gape at him. “Sir?” The words seem to fumble in your mouth but you take a slow breath before adding, “what do you mean?”
“If the projected numbers are right, it says here that our sales have increased by twenty percent in a span of four months.” There’s amusement evident on his lips as he stands from his seat, rounding the sleek desk before leaning against the edge, and looking down at you. “That’s four times more than what we had last year.” 
The folder in his hands now rests on your lap and you dare to look down, scanning the graphs and charts that fill the sheets. He’s not lying. You blink in surprise before looking up at him once more. 
“Mr. Laufeyson has even called me personally to thank you for assisting them when they had questions about our packages.” He continues to explain. “Every email and call answered, and your diligence has helped them sell more of our product along with theirs.”
“I—” You fluster, looking back at the papers on your lap. “I was simply doing my job, sir.” You look up and then flinch when he’s suddenly at your side, hand resting on the back of your seat, leaning in closer. 
“Exactly! You were doing your job; frankly, it has done wonders for the company.” There’s a grin on his lips and you slightly tense up when you feel his hand rest on your shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before he parts and walks back behind his desk. “And because of that, I’ve decided to give you a promotion.”
“A—a promotion?” You blink. Surprised.
“Senior Operations Coordinator.” 
A promotion? You can’t believe it. You smile as his words slowly sink in, that your hard work has been recognized and has finally paid off. But just as soon as your joy surfaced, it dies down just as fast as the thought of Wanda comes to your head. 
She’s been in the company for two years running, maybe even more, and you’ve heard nothing come out of her mouth than wanting the senior position. She’s kind, although strict, but she was patient enough to teach you everything you know. And you can’t imagine how heartbroken she would be once she finds out she’ll be working for you. 
Still, you feel thankful though you can’t help but ask, “But what about Wanda, sir?” 
There’s a questioning look in his eyes when he faces you. “ What about Ms. Maximoff?”
“Well—” You’re flustered once again, casting your eyes down to your hands to avoid the strength of his gaze. “She’s been here longer than I have and she’s probably more qualified to take on the role.” You try to reason. You’re new and the last thing you want is to have enemies. 
“If she wanted to be promoted, she should have worked harder.” Annoyance is evident in your boss’ voice. “But the feedback I’ve got in her evaluation wasn’t that savory and I don’t want slackers within my ranks.” 
You’re unsure if he’s supposed to disclose such information but you think better of yourself and decide to remain silent. 
“Do you not want what I offer?” He asks, his voice softer this time that you dare chance a peek at him. 
“It is a very generous offer, sir.” You try to smile. “But—”
“But why won’t you take it? Do you not believe in your capabilities?”
“I do.” You try to argue. “But—”
He doesn’t let you finish, flinching when he claps his hands once in finality, the grin back on his face. “Then it’s settled. Starting next week, we shall make the proper arrangements and announce the good news to everyone.” He then bends down behind his desk, hearing a cabinet open then close, your eyes widening in surprise when he holds up a bottle of champagne. “We should celebrate!”
“Oh, I’m not much of a drinker.” You try to object but he’s already popped off the cork, picking up a flute from the shelf behind him and filling it halfway. He holds it out to you but you hesitate to take it. “I really can’t, sir. We’re still in the office.”
“Which is closed.” He rebuttals, setting the glass in front of you on his desk and turning back to the shelf to fill a tumbler with amber liquid. “It’s just you and me left in the building. And I promise not to tell.” You want to cringe at the wink sends your way but keep your face neutral as you watch him walk back to you. 
The smile on his face then fades when he looks at you and then at the untouched champagne glass. 
“Sir, I really can’t—”
“You’d deny your boss his request?” Your back stiffens at the sharpness of his tone, blue eyes piercing you and you grab the glass quickly for fear of angering him further. You stare at the bubbly liquid from the rim if only to avoid facing your boss. “Good girl.” You hear his smirk, a small frown forming on your lips at the unexpected pet name. 
“Cheers.” He says, clinking his own glass with yours but you can’t find it in you to break company rules. 
Under any circumstances, employees must not be under the influence of any form of an intoxicant (alcohol, drugs, etc.) while inside company premises. 
“Drink.” You visibly flinch at the authority in his voice and immediately lift the glass to your lips, taking a small sip. But your eyes grow wide when you feel him tip the base of the glass higher, almost choking on the drink as he forces you to consume all of it. 
You pull the glass away and take a deep breath when you finish, placing the glass back on the table with a loud thud. Your cheeks flush and you frown when you look up at Mr. Shade, feeling sheepish when you see him smirking down at you, unseemingly bothered at his display of dominance.
“Another.” 
You shake your head in protest but he’s already refilling the glass, adding more of the champagne this time and taking the stem, holding it out to you. You stare at the glass and take it with reluctance. As much as his insistence makes you feel awkward, you don’t want to find yourself on his bad side after he’s just given you such a generous offer. 
“Another.” He echoes, his words softer this time.
You do as he bids, closing your eyes before downing the champagne in one go to avoid him from repeating his crass actions. But your head suddenly spins and you almost miss the table when you try to put the glass down. 
“Whoa. Easy there, lightweight.” He chuckles, taking the glass from your hold before lifting your hand to press against your temple, closing your eyes once more, you lean against your seat as you try to recenter yourself. “Maybe another was a bad idea.” But you hear no remorse in his words, only amusement. 
“Thank you again, Mr. Shade.” You say as you blink, hands pressing down on the arms of the chair as you try to push yourself up. “But I think I should be going.” You’re seemingly out of breath when you speak, your head continuously swimming as you try to take a step toward the door. 
“Please, call me Vision.” You hear Mr. Shade speak, only making out the first words but the rest sound muffled. You reach up once more to clutch the side of your head, your steps going wobbly each time you force a foot forward. You can’t be drunk with just two glasses. You’ve had champagne before and you’ve been having sips of hard liquor since you were sixteen. 
Champagne can’t be strong right? You try to think but your brain gets muddled, leaving you with blank thoughts. You’re confused, questions linger to the unease that washes over you. You startle when you feel his hand wrap around yours, looking up at him with hooded eyes but saying nothing as you allow him to guide you on your way out. 
You must have looked pathetic from the clumsiness he’s witnessed from you. 
As you take another step, your knees buckle and you don’t even get the chance to react as you await for your body to hit the ground. But the floor never meets you as you feel arms catching you underneath, a soft whine escaping your lips when you’re unexpectedly lifted from your feet.
You feel something soft underneath you and your breath hitches from Mr. Shade’s sudden closeness. You want to move away but your body feels so heavy that you don’t even think you could lift a finger even if you tried. 
“Stay still.” He whispers against your ear and you frown when you feel his fingers ghost against your arm, the hair of your body standing from his actions. 
“That’s it. Good girl. Let me take care of you,” The sound of his voice so close makes your spine shiver, whimpering once more when you feel his other hand caress your thigh, your skirt hiking up to your waist and you try to move your hand to push him away, struggling to cling on the last strand of your consciousness, but your body won’t cooperate. 
The last thing you feel is his fingers dancing along the inseam of your panties, his hand cupping your sex, pressing down on your heat before you’re completely consumed by darkness. 
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lianabrooks · 7 months
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How To Keep Your (Found) Family Happy
A friend posted a cartoon about weaponized incompetence on another website and talked about how every family has this. In fact, most groups of humans have run into this at some point, it's pretty normal for humans to try to find a way to take the easiest route (even if it means more work for others).
Despite all that, I've been with the same person since 2001. We've been married most of that time, had four kids together, and moved countless times as we restarted jobs, hunted promotions, and switched career fields. And we've managed to avoid most of the pitfalls. Here's how my spouse and I have avoid fights, weaponized incompetence, bitter feelings, and feeling neglected in our relationship for over 20 years (Hint: there's a lot of communication going on)... P.S. These are all very family/relationship-centric but you can absolutely adapt them for the workplace, school, or anything else.
MAKING CHOICES AHEAD OF TIME ... the menu is made at the start of the month, money is allocated before major events, we plan trips sometimes years in advance. All of that reduces the choice making later and is one less stress to handle. This is purely a decision making fatigue thing, if you have to make a decision, it requires brain power, and after a long day you'll have none. So why not sit down on a quiet day and make all the decisions you need to make for the next week? Poof! Brain power is freed up and there is less stress!
MONTHLY & WEEKLY CALENDAR SCRUBS... we sit down and make the menu around the first of the month, and we fill in the calendar with schedules so we know which days someone will be too busy to do things like cook, wash up, or something else.
DAILY CHECK-INS... whoever is home together in the morning does a morning devotional (yoga, dance time, scriptures, motivational quote, prayers, whatever works for you) and review what's happening so everyone is tracking major tests, work meetings, stressors, ect. Then we try to have dinner together if possible (even if it means eating at 5) and then a bedtime check-in before light's out (usually scriptures, prayers, and chatting, then bedtime stories for the littles). If people are working from home, we might have lunch together too. That means we have 2-4 planned meetings a day so we can course correct. -> If you're not religious, don't stress it. Pull out some Terry Pratchett quotes, favorite poems, pick a theme song for the week and dance to it. Just give you and your people five minutes to do something happy together. -> If this is at work this might mean a team meeting at the start of the day or a 12 minute check-in at 1:30 when everyone is back from lunch. The goal is to make sure everyone is on schedule for what they need, haven't run into an emergencies, and no one has questions. A supported work team gets more done.
SPENDING LIMITS... we got married in college when we lived off college stipends of $400/m. And we had a kid. Our rule was never to spend $20 without consulting the other person. We never changed that. We discuss everything from birthday presents to grocery lists and when we're getting gas in the cars even though we're much more financially stable. It means everyone spending out of the main accounts is tracking where the money is going so we don't over-splurge.
CHORE SCHEDULES... when we were first married we'd set aside an hour or so to clean the house together. It worked. As the kids got older this got more complicated (they needed to learn how to clean). But now we're at a point where everyone has assigned chores and we put bounties on chores that need to get done and are unassigned. And then we have one cleaning day (usually Friday or Saturday) where we take an hour and all clean the shared spaces. It takes 30-60 minutes to clean the entire house if you have six people working together. Laundry has assigned days for every load. The dishwasher and cooking have assigned days. It works. Everyone helps to the best of their abilities. -> With this is a lot of Adjusted Expectations. My house is not color coordinated with everything in a bin. My family is all neurodivergent. Most our dishes live on the counters because putting them away makes them vanish. This works great for us but might be overwhelming for other people. Who cares? It's our house, we're doing what works for us and the person mad about messes on Instagram can suck a lemon. -> If you really cannot do chores, cosplay it. Roll the dice and make it a game. Set a timer. Bribe yourself. Make it work for you.
ONE-ON-ONE TIME... not just for me and hubby, but for parents and kids. We try to make sure everyone gets some alone time where they are the focus of attention and we can check-in and make sure their emotional needs are met. Kids need a space to vent. Adults to a space to not be parents. -> This is super important for friendships too. Make time for people in your life! -> At work, this means managers need to make time to talk with their employees, check-in, and assess who needs things (and consider the people's needs first, not the CEO's bonus)
SCHEDULED DOWNTIME... usually this is Sunday for us (the Sabbath day for our religion), but it can be whenever, and we might have more downtime scheduled on a stressful week than in an easy one. The goal here is to make sure everyone gets time to not work, not lead, not think, and just chill. They can play, listen to music, nap, whatever their brain needs, and they can do it without upsetting anyone or feeling guilty because it's part of the schedule. -> In an office this would mean not lean staffing, maybe having an early release day once a week (or a late start) or long lunches. Give your people space to zone out and chill so they can come back refreshed. -> Quiet Quitting only exists because management is trying to exploit their staff. Don't be that boss. (P.S. Join Your Union)
SOME THINGS DON'T HAPPEN... our kids are limited to one after-school activity a year and one AP class for high schoolers. We've tried other ways and found it generates too much stress. I limit projects I take on because I have a set quitting time, even though I work from home. My husband passes up on some away-from-home events with friends because we prioritize family time. Figuring out that balance is something you have to decide as a family. What works for one person won't work for all. -> In business this means doing sustainable, slow growth over rapid booms that overextend and hurt the system. Stop looking for the short term boost when long term is better.
ADAPT TO WHAT YOUR GROUP NEEDS!... this is the most important one, because what we've done over the years has changed in reaction to the needs of people around us. My kids in college need something different than the one starting middle school. My team at the lab needed something than my team at a newspaper. If you have a bunch of introverts, they probably don't want a dance party, they want a three minute meeting with a heads up about any major disturbances and then ten minutes of silence to prepare their souls for any human interaction. Do what works.
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undeath1245 · 5 months
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Holding onto hope for Miraculous Ladybug [spoilers]
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I want to check for myself, but how many of you guys are still holding onto hope for Miraculous Ladybug? Don't take it personally, since I've been an ML observer since 2014–15, meaning that I have never watched an ML episode so far and only saw it through clips, reviews, and YTP-esque edits. I've also been reading through Tumblr posts on what's been going on with the show. However, I feel like the show hasn't been doing well since season three, more specifically the season finale, "Miracle Queen", and it had been declining more in quality throughout season five.
Don't get me wrong, seasons four and five have some pretty good ideas with the show's plot, like Marinette's responsibility as the new guardian of the miraculous charms, and Marinette revealing her secret to her best friend, Alya. And yet, there are still numerous flaws with the show that I couldn't ignore, like with the storyline involving Ladybug keeping Chat Noir in the dark about Chat Blanc, and yet it never went anywhere in season five. There's also this issue with Adrien's diminished role from deuteragonist to damsel-in-distress when not only that he was revealed to be a sentibeing, but he was also left out from the final battle with Monarch, who's actually his father. And lately, according to a recent commentary on the fifth season finale, Gabriel was meant to be a good guy all along (despite his numerous crimes and him abusing and neglecting Adrien), and the reason why Adrien had to be left out from the battle was because that the writers wanted to see Marinette use both of the ladybug charm and cat charm.
Maybe I'm more bias on the critical side of the ML fandom, and I've been focusing more on the show's flaws over its positives. Maybe it's my critical lens getting the better of me. I'm sure that many fans enjoy the show the way it is, and I can't fault them for it. Everyone enjoys something differently. But, I can't seem to ignore any writing flaws the show has been given lately. I don't know.
Oh, and don't forget to reblog this post for a bigger sample size. To be honest, I have no idea what that does.
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Kaiju Week in Review (January 29-February 4, 2023)
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This week was dense with news, but the biggest was Kadokawa's teaser for GAMERA -Rebirth-, now revealed as a six-episode animated series pitting Gamera against five kaiju opponents, including (of course) Gyaos. Also released was a poster of Gyaos in silhouette; in keeping with recent tradition, it's pretty much skin and bones. The next news drop will come at AnimeJapan 2023 on March 25, where they'll announce the voice cast and release a proper trailer.
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Theater listings indicate that Fathom Events will be showing Godzilla: Tokyo SOS in U.S. theaters on March 22 (a Wednesday), paired with Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex. Their Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla program included a behind-the-scenes featurette about the Godzilla vs. Hedorah short that hasn't been released anywhere else, so that's something to look out for. The timing on this seems pretty random; maybe they're trying to get GXMG's sequel (celebrating its 20th this year) out of the way so they can show Godzilla vs. Megalon on Godzilla Day? Pretty nostalgic for me—GMM was the first Godzilla movie I saw for the first time in a theater (at the Pickwick during my first G-Fest).
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This week's episode of Godziban introduced Girly Garlin (official English name TBD), Gigan's little sister—and with that, the whole family's been on the show. She's a yandere, methinks.
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GMK Godzilla is the latest kaiju to join Godzilla Battle Line. Usually there isn't much advance notice for newcomers, but his model showed up in a metaverse collaboration in December, so it was just a matter of time. He's the debuff king, temporarily weakening nearby enemy units with a swirl of shadow when he appears on the field and is defeated. As a leader, his special move does the same to all enemy units on the field. Pair that with an atomic breath that can hit multiple targets at once and you've got a unit I think we'll be seeing a lot of.
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Sukagawa, Eiji Tsuburaya's hometown, has funded a kaiju film about a dinosaur-like beast called Yoroiger. NHK World ran an all-too-brief story on it that mentions that children made it over the course of six months with the help of some tokusatsu pros. Not sure what kind of release it'll get, but I'm certainly curious.
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Hiya Toys has teased its MonsterVerse Ghidorah figure. They've made quite a few MonsterVerse figures already, but given their penchant for low prices compared to SHMA, this might be the one that really puts them on the map.
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Bandai's unstoppable Movie Monster Series has unveiled four more figures—the Heisei Mechagodzilla and the Final Wars versions of Godzilla, Manda, and Hedorah—to be released later this month. Listings for them turned up a few months ago without any images attached, so it's highly likely that the ones for Showa Baragon, Showa Ebirah, Heisei King Ghidorah, and Symbiotic Legion are real too. I think I'll spring for the Manda. Its proportions are definitely squashed, but I've always liked that design and there are barely any figures of it.
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