hey! hope you’re doing well. I’m starting to reread the HQ at Hogwarts series because I needed a change of pace from my work at uni (and it’s a comfort read of mine). anywho, I was wondering if you had a favorite quote from any of your stories that you wrote and why (or just the quote if it is to avoid spoilers)? like were there any quotes that really made a scene worth writing to you?

Oooh I love this ask, thank you!

Let's see, I don't know if these are my favorite but they're lines that come to mind a lot that I'm specifically proud of (tbh I tend to forget lines until I'm re-reading one of my stories and see it and go "oh yeah, that one")

I'll try to do one per series. I can't really pick one from Past is a Mirror or Call Me Your Home At Night yet, I'll have to wait until they're more done:

ATFO:

Oof somehow this is the hardest series to choose just one line from. That said, it's a super dark line for a dark chapter but I really love the use of homophones in this one.

Dick tilts his head up to the sky and laughs.

Laughs until it hurts and it does, it hurts so much, and that just makes him laugh more--throwing his arms out like he can fly on the ground and turning in a circle in a dirt covered Gotham alley that even the morning can’t erase.

Because Robin always smiles when it’s dark. Until it’s morning again.

Or mourning again.

….Dick’s laugh fades out.

Cards:

And, eight years old and with a bone deep gravity too heavy for his small body, Kuroo Tetsuro quietly made a vow even if Kozume Kenma would never hear it.

I’m going to build a kingdom around you.

(Not a line but Tsuki and Hinata's final conversation in Shufling the Deck is what really sold me on writing that sequel)

Walking With My Eyes Open/ In Spite of Ourselves:

Honestly for short stories this series has some of my favorite conversations; but, a couple of favorite lines are these two.

But, human shoulders weren’t meant to bear the expectations of divinity.

and

A riddle, Schrodinger’s long lost love letter. Gen had proof he fell in love--was dying to try even--yet still couldn’t quite believe it. So, which was the lie?

Hq at Hogwarts:

I really love the prologue for Department of Mysteries; I wrote it waaaay before I posted it and was excited about posting it for awhile. I think the end just eally says everything about how long and how deeply Akaashi does love Bokuto.

He was bright and happy and so deeply good in a way that was everything Akaashi wanted that he fell in love by the time he took the hand.

“I’m Keiji.”

Investigators Inc.:

Truthfully, my favorite of my humorous stories; I like this exchange a lot from when their van breaks down. It just eels like it really fits all of them.

“I’m looking up directions,” Suga said, already pulling out his phone.

“But….but, map !” Oikawa held it up even as it drooped around him.

“Great,” Kuroo said, “we can use it for shelter when we’re stuck out here and have to take up foraging.”

Bokuto brightened. “Ooh, I’ve got a pocket knife!”

“Yay, we’ll need it to fight off the wolves,” Kuroo said.

“I don’t think it’s that dire,” Suga said, showing them the screen. “There’s a town pretty close by. Can’t find a taxi or a towing service, though. We may have to walk if Iwaizumi can’t fix it. It’s about an hour.”

Kuroo shrugged. “Honestly, Iwaizumi can probably fix it. He’s like the machine whisperer or something.”

“Iwaizumi cannot fix it,” Iwaizumi said from right beside the passenger window and Oikawa jumped. “The transmission’s out.”

“Then, put it back in,” Bokuto suggested.

Iwaizumi stared. “I’m seriously having all of you read a car manual one of these days."

Thanks again for the ask! Trutfully I always love hearing what people's favorite lines are; I just think it's really neat to see what sticks with people and I'm always touched that it could be something I wrote.

new kakegurui chapter released today and as i am like to do... i've got a couple thoughts. i dunno if this'll constitute a full deep-dive but (finger guns) another month another dump of my thoughts on kakegurui chapter 99.

spoilers galore for the kkg manga as always

i recommend referencing my deep dive on chapters 96 and 97 for some supplemental context but i'll probably be recycling a few panels from it. a lot of things are still/are even more relevant so like. yeah

the first major bullet point for chapter 99 is that souko's appearance is Somewhat consistent with her formerly anime-only appearance from rei's flashbacks

and by that i mean... she wore a kimono and had her hair in that updo whenever she was at the momobami mansion. the design isn't 100% but the jist is more or less the same. ideally this means that while kkgxx had some anime-only contrivances in it, homura isn't writing the manga in a way that contradicts it. with that in mind, there's a standout detail from kkgxx:

rei was present during souko's breakdown. where was rei when this happened? the momobami main house. souko, as of this chapter, is about to gamble vs her aunt tsugiko... at the momobami main house. these particular stars are aligning despite the schrodinger's canon of rei's backstory.

should we suppose that this stays consistent, we know this gamble is going to go one of two ways:

souko loses

souko wins, but something else goes awry

the gamble itself is for the title of the jabami family head, but furthermore operates on the conditions of

if souko wins, tsugiko is ousted from the family

if tsugiko wins, she adopts yumeko as her daughter and heir

considering what we know in hindsight and putting that together with these conditions, we'll probably see souko's breakdown by the conclusion of this game and moreover and at the same time, it's probably most likely that souko will win. this is a reasonable guess because sayaka ran that background check on yumeko waaayyy back in chapter 10:

just like i did in my summaries for 97 and 98, i'm going to re-highlight "yumeko jabami currently lives alone" and "her only other family is her sister"

the reality is that aunt tsugiko is not in the picture. as possible as it is that souko loses (which would facilitate some manner of breakdown, which we know will happen somehow) and then something else happens to tsugiko between that and the main plot, that feels a little contrived when this whole game has been set up. iunno.

the other thing is that we have terano's line about "kirari killing jabami"

we already know that to be "killed" in the momobami family means to lose your personhood and to lose your seat in the clan. this can still refer to something with souko we just haven't seen yet, but it's worth remembering that this was the condition in the event of tsugiko's loss.

the problem is that... if souko wins, something else causes her breakdown. if she loses, we know that her breaking point is probably losing guardianship of yumeko.

on the other hand, her winning still leaves that circumstance a mystery unless her aunt were to go on to do something unhinged after losing. though admittedly, tsugiko doesn't seem to be above going off the deep end:

i will say though that tsugiko doesn't outright answer souko's question here... it's more like she doesn't deny it and that leaves room for elaboration later... that this is a red herring i think is in the realm of possibility. the jabami parents' death either has something to do with tsugiko or kabura (who's definitely up to something) -- they're the only new characters of note introduced in this flashback and that's how storytelling works.

my tentative prediction is that souko "wins the battle but loses the war" so to speak. i think she'll beat her aunt in the gamble because tsugiko is just Not There in the main story, implying she's been ousted, but something else is bound to go wrong. maybe tsugiko gets real ugly upon losing, who knows. if absolutely nothing else, we know from her interaction with kabura last chapter that there's Something Else going on with her.

we also have to remember that yumeko thinks of souko when manyuda asks her if she feels remorse for "the people whose lives she's ruined" but now for all we know that could refer to souko playing this game for her sake, so...there's definitely stuff that's yet to be revealed. too bad we gotta wait another month 🤨

(re: dating query) Thanks for writing out such a thoughtful reply! For context, I'm 27 and female. I've used Hinge but find lots of men my age on there still seem a little immature, and like they're mostly looking for short term casual flings. I haven't tried match.com but sounds like it would be worth looking into. I also wonder if I should think about dating slightly older men, but not sure if it would introduce a power dynamic. What scares me is that I'd like to have kids one day, but a woman 35+ is considered a "high risk pregnancy". and I haven't even met anyone I'd want to have children with yet. I'll be honest it really sends panic through me that I have effectively "8 years" left to both find a partner and have kids. I know about egg freezing etc but realistically it's prohibitively expensive. I guess we can only try our best and see what cards the universe deals us.

I was in my very early 30s (i think?) when I started dating more seriously again, this time online. So I think you might have more luck. I know what you mean, sometimes it can feel like everyone wants something casual, which is frustrating when that's not what you want. It can also take time - online dating is amazing because it gives you a chance to peruse a large number of people, but realistically most of those people won't necessarily want the same thing, won't have stuff in common with you, or may be incompatible (don't want kids, smoke, etc). It can take time to find the people who are more on your wavelength, but they are out there. I know that an entire bunch of my friends in our late 20s and early 30s all started online dating around the same time and all found longterm partners! It can take a while but it's definitely possible - these days around 1/3 of couples meet online - and that figure is from several years ago, so the real figure may now be even higher. TBH everyone I know who didn't meet at university basically met their partner online dating. I'd be careful with older men - yes, there might be a bit of a weird dynamic if they are a lot older (like, maybe more than 5 years older?) but also there's no guarantee that guys in their 30s or even 40s don't want to mess around. I've known people who always dated up in age and still somehow managed to find the playboys! Meanwhile I know plenty of people who found people ready to settle down in their 20s. Ultimately I think it has more to do with looking for the right people than age alone - there are people who want to stay casual at almost any age! And some people who are single for very good reasons! If it makes you feel better, I'll be 35, maybe 36 by the time I/we realistically plan to start having kids. I have a host of potentially fertility-affecting gynae issues which might make things harder, or might not (I joke that I have Schrodinger's ovaries - don't know if they'll work until we try!), and the way I try to deal with that is by focusing on the fact that it has to be the right time in my life to have kids. Over the years I made peace with the fact that I wouldn't compromise on what I wanted or needed in life before I could commit to having kids (stability, financial security, a strong relationship with someone who also felt ready to have kids), even if that meant having kids much later, or possibly missing out. Having kids should ideally never be a rushed decision. My gynaecologist recommended egg freezing if I/we left it more than a certain number of years, but realistically that's both very expensive and very unreliable - personally, I'd rather prioritise having kids sooner than rely on egg freezing because it's really not a guarantee. I've also got a history of early menopause in my family, so my timeline is probably more urgent than most people's anyway. Despite that, it was absolutely important for me that my life is stable, and myself and a partner are in the right place to have kids before it happens- I want to be able to offer any kids I have the best life that we can, and to plan around it as responsibly as possible. If you ever want to chat about that side of things, my asks and messages are open! I have friends who've had kids happily after ge 35 - and without any effort trying! 35 is when fertility starts to drop more steeply and the risks of certain things start to increase, but it's not like fertility suddenly stops aged 35. I personally wouldn't leave it til age 40, as the risk of miscarriage is much higher, and chances of getting pregnant are much lower in one's 40s - it's not impossible, and people should still use contraception if they are having PIV sex, but the odds aren't as high as most people would like them to be.

I love kakagai, I think it's the ship that makes sense the most but what I dislike is how kakagai shippers saying it's canon, kakaobi shippers saying it's canon, kakairu shippers saying it's canon, hell even kakasaku and kakanaru shippers are claiming it's canon too just because Kakashi cared about them ಠ益ಠ Does canon mean that I like it so everyone else has to like it too now? It's infuriating to me that everyone likes to sexualize every beautiful relationship in Naruto then claim it's canon

okayyyyy I think you might need to take a step back, nonnie.

Is this really such a big issue? Are people attacking you personally, or are they just stating their personal interpretations of canon, and because they don't align with your own, you're getting upset and coming into people's inboxes to try and make it an argument?

Basic rule of Tumblr: if people say what you don't like... block them. Don't react. Don't come into people's inboxes, don't post hate in the tags where fans will see it.

By all means, share your negative opinions! Your tumblr blog is your own. But you need to take measures to ensure the fans won't see it, otherwise you're not venting. You're trying to start a fight.

And come off anon so I can block you properly lmao

Look, people have different interpretations of 'canon'. Just because, for all we know, Kishimoto intended every single character except the creepy pedo-coded villain to be read as cishet, it doesn't mean there isn't canon subtext, however unintentional, that people can pick up on and adore.

Sure, the canon content can be read completely as platonic. But honestly, I'm a little weirded out at how you seem to think that seeing hints of a romantic relationship in canon between men in a children's show is ‘sexualisation’.

Where might that train of thought be coming from??? HMMMM I WONDER. :stares at the Don’t Say Gay bill, and every other argument that queer content is somehow inherently sexual:

Obviously, I'm not a fan of teacher/student ships. At the end of the day, I'm a firm believer in 'everyone can write what they want so long as they tag it properly so I can avoid it'. But seeing an adult and a child who are very close, and perceiving them as 'romantically involved', is a WHOLE lot different from seeing two adult male characters and thinking 'oh I can see a canon subtextual romantic relationship here'.

I don't really think they should be compared like this. I'm sure this wasn't your intention, but it kinda makes it sound like you're putting them on a moral playing field, which... no. :/

Of course, I may be being uncharitable. I admit that this whole issue might just be a muddle of terms. I and a lot of people use 'canon' to mean 'content in the source material'. This is different from 'Word of God', which means 'word of the author'. The two do not always align. However, if you see 'canon' as meaning 'both the source material and Word of God in combination', I can see that you might be upset that people are going against Kishimoto's personal views. I still don't think this is an excuse for actually bothering shippers about this, but I can understand it.

But the point remains: I haven't seen anyone say 'this is a canon ship and therefore you have to ship it'. Why would they? Everyone knows that shipping doesn't 'have' to follow canon anyway. A canon ship is of no greater or lesser worth than a non-canon one.

If people are implying otherwise, they're asses - but in that case, why come for the entire kakagai fandom, rather than just blocking those Schrodinger's Assholes who I've never had the misfortune to meet?

I just. I cannot see how people interpreting a romantic element in a canonically close relationship that is only assumed to be platonic because the couple is m/m rather than m/f is hurting you, anon. And it definitely doesn’t justify harrassment, which is what my original post was about.

Motek facts? 🤲

the question is where do i start. ok some basic facts:

after motek was successfully adopted by alicia and they learned to love cooking and baking despite the fact that the kitchen is small, they are tall, and they don't actually eat food.

fun things that alicia got to learn when parenting an elf: they grow in very intense growth spurts that leave them lying on the floor for a couple of days before they stand back up again like a newborn calf; elves don't need to blink, and while motek does to be polite (when they're around alicia, at least) sometimes they forget; there are some things regarding how motek is alive that alicia is no longer going to look into because elf biology makes no sense; motek also doesn't need to sleep, so sometimes alicia will walk into the kitchen and motek's just there, looming over a counter top. this has definitely never scared alicia before into screaming; despite the fact that motek doesn't eat and has very minimal experience with food, they are somehow one of the best chefs around.

motek got very sad when after their growth spurt, they were too big to ride any horses, even the really large ones that orcs bred. this was sad because alicia was like 'once you become an adult i'll let you get on a horse, because the larger ones can be especially aggressive,' and now they're too tall and still not an adult :(

motek's family stuff: motek operates in a really weird space in their family. they're like schrodinger's family member, because the parents of the family don't acknowledge motek at all (partially because they never adopted them and didn't want another child but then sero decided to take care of the baby left on their doorstep) but all the siblings do, though in conflicting ways. like liaga views motek as a threat to affection but also says that motek's not a part of the family but also liaga wouldn't be threatened by them if they did not view motek as a part of the family. jaka is honestly more like a parent than a sibling and sero is the one closest to a sibling but they're also shunted off to the side, so.

anyways when motek ran away, jaka was, of course, really concerned, especially since the whole thing is that elves are tied to places that are still rich in magic, and if you leave, then you become sick and can die. motek doesn't because they're [redacted]. so jaka, liaga, and sero all travel to "find" motek, though only jaka is trying. both liaga and sero are trying to sabotage her because liaga doesn't want motek to come back and sero was the one who helped motek run away. so while motek was getting adopted that was what the siblings were doing.

other family stuff: alicia's half sister is cynthia, aka one of the dark lords, and this is the correspondence that cynthia has been getting: "dude this elf guy is really suspicious, they're up to something" "this elf is going to destroy the town" "this elf is a spy" "how do you like the cake, it's motek's first try, and i think it's pretty good."

cynthia when she receives that last letter: who tf is motek

alicia: sends back a sketch in the form of a family portrait but it's literally her, motek, and a painting of cynthia.

anyways alicia does not get out of all the teasing that cynthia puts her through for the rapid change in attitude, though that stops when alicia and motek's relationship gets worse.

(it also starts up back again when their relationship is repaired. especially after The Miscommunication that leaves alicia like "uhhh where'd motek go?" and cynthia is like "you lost an elf that's like seven feet tall? that's new, even for you." the joke is that alicia runs this really wide and intricate spy/information network and motek is not subtle.)

thanks for the ask!