“There’s not a place where I’ll go You’ve not already stood.” —Sunday Sermonette because I’m Struggling

This isn’t a sermon, really. It just sounded like a fun title. You know. Double S. Anyway. I am struggling, though. And I’m gonna talk about God—talk about how He comforts me despite the way things are going now. (I feel like I should mention in case anyone is new, if you’re not a Christian, …

“F*** Me Up ‘Cause I’m so Used to Feeling Nothing” — Generational Honesty and Angsty Expose with EYES ft. Rawska

As an adult (my age being the source of my societal disquiet for today), I often find myself pushing down existential dread. I'm a young Millennial, and if Gen X is the gen of punk apathy and Gen Z is the gen of sardonic humor and social consciousness, Millennials are the gen of angst. I …

“Are you willing to die for me, then?” — on processing, expressing, and forgiving (inspired by anime “Given”)

Think about your first love. Not your first crush. Not the first time someone caught your eye. Think about your first love. Have you been there yet? Now tell me, did it hurt? Please be aware that this post gets very honest, and it isn’t about only romance. The first time you're in a relationship, …

“You touch my hand as colors come alive.” –CMV/AMV Saturday (06/09/18)

Rarely does one find an AMV so well constructed and in which the song and anime mesh so well as to create something that nearly moves one to tears. Everything about this AMV by Emily McNeill makes it one of the best that I've seen. You may recall my musings on The Betrayal Knows My Name; …

The Contrary Musings of Iba Hachiro (Or, “a monster of the lascivious kind”) —Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms Drabble

"He bolts upright with a moan or a gasp..." A/N: This drabble is rated M. I don't read smut, and I don't write smut, but this arc is critical to the development of one of my favorite Hakuouki characters, and it couldn't *not* be touched upon if I hoped to do him justice. Like the …

“You aren’t me, Yuuri.” — Fanfiction Friday (3/9/18)

Fandom(s) featured this week: "Yuri!!! On Ice" Once and Future Kings Songbirdsara "Yuri!!! On Ice" -- Updating as of March 6, 2018; 13 (out of 18) chapters "Five years after returning to Hasetsu in defeat, Katsuki Yuuri is training in Detroit as the reigning Men's Figure Skating World Champion. Professionally, all of his dreams have …

Declines and Swells (a ficlet based on “Hakuouki” media) —HaraChi

Author's Note: Hakuouki is historically based, and as such one might look to history as a vague representation of what's to come. Is history a spoiler for canonical deaths? You tell me. I will say that this story is canonically based and does includes a major character death. I cannot say who this warning regards, …

What’s in a Name? (a ficlet based on “Wild Dance of Kyoto” and “Warrior Spirit of the Blue Sky”) -HijiChi

*surprisingly spoiler free* Author's Note: If you've seen the films mentioned above, you'll remember the significance of Hijikata's letter. If you haven't, that it is significant should prove obvious in my prose. However, I find that when watching Hakuouki, especially the movies, something even more significant jumps out at me. Hence, "What's in a Name?" …

It scrapes and breathes.

I'd like to say it rattles, but it's far too firm a grip for that; I'd like to say it pushes me to action, but all too often I find myself isolated and afraid. There's this monster inside of me, you see, and it can strike at any moment; it makes mountains out of mole …

A Heart Made Fullmetal: A Journey’s End — “FMAB” Post Series, Pt 1

*spoilers* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uq34TeWEdQ   My heart is... aching. I feel like I've visually experienced the nature of definition between these two boys and held fast to the triumphs and sorrows of so many others... Having devoured every episode of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood over the course of this week, I'm somehow, inexplicably left undone, as if the perfection that was this …