#[[ so much happened that day... got so much.... to put up.. hooo ]]

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

hooo boy, i watched miraculous when five or six episodes of first season aired (i was aware of it when it was only two)! it was really cool to see magical girl superhero in Paris, who has a (semi-related) crush to his classmate, who's also a superhero and partner to her superhero persona - who said crush HAS A CRUSH ON SUPERHERO SELF! i remember when theories flew on identity of Hawkmoth and who could possibly be (wiki was also ambiguous on that, based on the factor of the same va, which - i mean, one va can do multiple voices, that was earlier practise for budgeting reasons)! it was nice to see heroes thru everyday lives (well, how much normal is up to debate), everyday strugles, akuma of the episodes, ways how the main heroine solves it, and (some debatable) lessons of the day - girl magical show, y'all! (even tho it was called Tales of Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir)

and then the lore at the end got complicated at the end of seasons! and we got a little more of lore building, and different vibes and dynamics according to that! we got more lore on some episodes, but still not rocking the main status quo story of the season!

and then S4 and S5 happened.

to me, the problem was there undefined, until, in your previous posts, you put the name on it: the writers are incapable of juggling and merging stand-alone episodes and overarching story. they started with stand-alones, but saw that the continuous plot had more success with older audiences (c'mon, scrambled episodes were partialy their tactic, whether the actual s1 scrambling was their intention or truly an accident of tv broadcasts).

and since most of the audience are online, they think that providing additional and vague explanations and lore can - let's be frank, cover their asses. (which, hello, one show with overarching plot did almost the same with their actual lore, and only the hardcores picked up on it - bad idea if you want to make deeper sense to the story)

they tried marrying the storytelling formulas (stand-alones and overarched) in S2 and S3, but it wasn't noticeable, remarkable, and didn't raise the fandom's ire too much - still not rocking the actual important boat, which is offline view on the actual show (kids stand-alone, just turn your brain off and enjoy!) (which, in fairness, Thomas worked on Totally Spies, and that show had some success). it was egregious when it became obvious and contradicting (bc tying all the episodes's lore details is REALLY the true detective work), WHILE STILL WORKING WITH STAND-ALONE FORMULA! (some speculation on my part: some leaks didn't help with the writing process; different writers for different episodes (good idea for brainstorming, bad idea for the core characterisation and story); and... well, they certainly aren't good, or at all, detectives, or long-time planners - i mean, you plan several seasons, but not the finer details? the devils are in them, not in investors whims and wishes in order to get money).

but the desperate hope, masochistic curiosity and the endless possibilities of lore and story are already deep in our brains and hearts that we have to see thru the actual chaotic dumpster mess of the show and how it ends - some love it, some hate the ride, some cope with fanfics, some with rants, and some left the train and are somewhere else. the rest who remain... well hello there! make sure you get enough rests, snacks, beverages of your choice and some meditations (any kind) to witness all!

anyway, that's my pov.

The writers apparently always wanted to tell a more complex story, they just couldn't early on because they'd sold the show as not having one:

So Sebastien sold the Miraculous series to broadcasters as a formula show. A person gets angry, is akumatized, then marinette transforms into Ladybug then frees the person from the akumatization and… The End. It's also for this reason that Marinette tries to confess her love for Adrien in every episode, but is unable to do so. But he tried to go against what he had planned with TF1, by slipping little extra stories into certain episodes. Audiences were receptive to these slightly hidden stories. The TV channel even asked Sébastien if there really were hidden things in the series, but he denied everything. Thanks to the positive reception from the public, TF1 agreed to develop the characters of Marinette and Adrien and flesh out the universe a little more.

My tin foil hat theory is that this conflict is at the heart of Miraculous' problems. The writers keep trying to make the show they want to make instead of the show they can make within the limits set by the higher ups and so you end up with the worst of both worlds. A show that's too serious to just turn off your brain and have fun with, but a show that's also too underdeveloped to tell a serialized story well. (Supporting evidence for this theory: the script for Chat Blanc getting rejected for being "too dark" leading it to be in season three instead of season two.)

I get the frustration of being held back from telling the story you want to tell, I really do, but I'm of the opinion that you should tell the best story you can within the limits you set instead of trying and failing to tell the darker grittier story that you really want to tell, but can't because no one will pay for it.

Context for that last bit;

So Sébastien started working with Thomas Astruc (the man who wrote and created the "Ladybug" project). At first, he didn't want to work on this project because he found it complicated. Thomas wanted to make a series for adults, but at the time, it was very complicated to make a cartoon for adults. What's more, they didn't have enough money to take on such a project. Sébastien finally agreed, but there were some changes to be made, which Thomas accepted.

(Note this is from the same interview linked above.)

[ghost-bxrd]

I’ve been getting really into magical stuff recently and also DC so I’m just gonna drop this here:

Fae Dick Grayson

F A E

okay so fae stories are special to me because I grew up on hearing pagan folklore and fairytales about fae and fae adjacent creatures as good night stories so hooo boy yes I adore that trope! (I mean, I made Dick a Banshee in my fic Shuck so… hehe)

Anyway, Fae Dick Grayson! There’s just so many things you can do with it ✨

Robin appears from one day to the next, following in Batman’s shadow like a mischievous sprite, so honestly rumors have been going wild about him since day one. Robin actually being something non-human doesn’t really come as a surprise!

The fae folk are known for being awfully good at blending in with regular humans when they put their mind to it, the only thing that puts them apart (in most stories) is their otherworldly beauty, and Dick Grayson? Well, he’s definitely got that in abundance.

Just sometimes, when the light reflects off a surface in just the right way, when someone pours a glass of water and you happen to look right through the spray, or when you think you catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye and you spin around— but there’s only Dick Grayson, even if a second ago you could have sworn you saw eyes where there weren’t supposed to be any; colors that aren’t supposed to exist; feathers where only skin has any right to be.

And, gods, all the talking. Dick is terrifyingly good at talking to people without actually saying anything, to the point where you walk away from the conversation feeling utterly drained after spilling your entire life story but when you think back on it— you can’t remember him ever telling you anything about himself. You know there were the usual pleasantries of “hi” and “nice to meet you” and “how are you doing?” but anything beyond that just kinda… seemed to spill out of you? It’s very strange. It’s very unnerving. By the end of the evening you other convince yourself you’re overreacting or you simply push the incident out of your mind altogether.

And there’s another thing about Dick. His name.

He only ever introduces himself as Dick Grayson/Robin. Never Richard. Never. Especially not Richard John. Names are sacred for the fae folk, names have power, so while Richard John Grayson may not be Dick’s true name, he treats it as such to honor his parents. None are allowed to use it. None except Bruce or Alfred on special occasion.

Of course, Dick’s “true” name isn’t exactly a secret so when someone does happen to use it… well, Dick may be… other… but he’s still intrinsically good in a way many of his kind don’t have the patience to be. Dick judges on a case by case basis, just like his parents and Bruce taught him. And usually people do not mean it maliciously when they use his name so he kindly corrects them and that’s that. But oh man, if they still insist on calling him “Richard”? Well..

“Oh no, it seems your credit card is being declined, sir!”

“Sheesh, you tripped over a root? In Gotham?!”

“What do you mean ten birds flew into your window last night? You live on floor level!”

“Dude I’m telling you that rash doesn’t look normal.”

“I… don’t think crows are supposed to follow you like that.”

It’s little things (most of the time, unless you really pissed Dick off) but they keep piling up, slowly driving you insane. You feel like you’re being watched, but it’s just a bird sitting on the window sill again. You feel like someone moved all your furniture just slightly to the right even tho you checked all the cameras.

The fae are kind, but they are also vindictive when crossed.

(Thanks to Bruce, however, I think Dick’s bouts of “vengeance” rarely go much farther than that though.)

Dang ok that ended up being an entire rant… wow. Anyway, yeah. Fae.

[minty-mumbles]

Linked Universe Survey 2023

The long awaited results of the survey. Sorry it took me forever, making graphs is hard.

There were 452 responses to the survey as a whole, which is almost double what we got last year, so thank you to everyone who participated!

If you want to see the raw data, you can find that here. I had thoughts about the data, but compiling that into another post would be too much of a hassle. Feel free to send me asks about it though!

The rest of the post will be under a read more as it it large

Demographics

Other: Demigirl (4), Transmasc (3), Grey genderfluid, Unlabeled, Demiboy, Demiagender

Other: Omnisexual (4), Poly (2), Trixic, Abroromantic or Bellusromantic, Demisexual

General Questions

Other: Quotev, Discord, their own google docs

Other: Discord, Variations of "I haven't posted yet, but I pan to" and "I haven't posted my fics in ages",

Other: Wattpad, Deviantart, Discord

Other: Crochet dolls, Custom dolls, Roleplay blogs (2), Fan translations, Headcanons (2), Piano music

The purple section in the “Warriors vs Warrior” chart is supposed to read “Warrior.” I made a typo.

Favorites and Least Favorites

Selected Free Response Answers

im sorry warriors i just can't play your game (it is very very hard. i am stuck very early on in the game)

I love cats meow meow meow

was extremely tempted to put twilight for least favorite. unfortunately he is my favorite to write from the perspective of (he has taken over most of my wips. help) and that probably counts for something. WILD on the other hand. hooo boy how the hell do i characterize this gargoyle. why is he Like That. least favorite it is

Twiddy

very good fandom to be in :) everybody is very nice

It's a straight up crime that Wars lost the aesthetics poll so quickly. He has such a peak Link design with the best colors. Ugh I'm getting wistful.

FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. ALSO HAPPY PRIDE MONTH. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS.

I will fight Hylia herself and the next person who implies Twi can't handle spice. If we're going to lean into him being southern/Midwestern, which is an alright stero type for our rancher, please keep in mind the culture you're basing him off. The south and midwest can handle their spice, I assure you. Have you ever had authentic Louisiana gumbo? It will melt you tongue off. Or some good old fashion spicy fried chicken? I promise the real stuff has quite a kick. (In all seriousness, though. It's more important that you're having fun. And even I can admit the idea of Twi being an Ordonian who can't handle his spice is more than a little funny.)

I am an OoT Link edgelord and have been since early 2017. So, in September of that year, when an artist by the name of jojo56830 puts out a lineup of nine different Links and the Hero of Time is there – the oldest, no eye, Hero’s Shade armor? I saw that one sketch and just thought “oh this is gonna be bad.” Yeah of course he has the coolest design. By the way, it’s only a matter of time until Fierce Deity shows up in the comic and I have reason to believe it could be this current Dawn arc. Dawn … Dawn of a New Day … and who brought about the Dawn of a New Day? Fierce Deity. Twilight is recovering but still injured and what will happen if he falls again? Fierce Deity is coming and we need to be prepared. In this essay I will—

Remember that time when someone put the whole script of the bee movie in here? I’m not that dedicated, and I don’t have that time, but let us remember and hope someone else does it again this time. Cause someone is bound too. We’re all crazy enough to do it. Alright, love you and stay hydrated pls!

Hi! I joined this fandom really recent but i’ve always seen LU stuff on pinterest and elsewhere. Only recently have i actually took the time to understand the fandom and get back into LOZ stuff and i adore the characters and story! The more and more fanart, fanfics, and comics i see about the different Links the more i love them all. It’s such a pain to pick just one i like or one i don’t like because they’re all so unique. I love this fandom and hope to get more involved!! Have a wonderful rest of your day :]

Epona is an underrated queen

your mom

I really don't get why Zelda is called Artemis. Athena makes more sense???? It perplexes me

Anyone seeing this should check out Breanna’s E!Wild AU

Something something queer every Link into oblivion!

[scrubberhose]

Ya got any dialtown headcanons? :3

hooo boy. ive been chewing on this all day and I think i have a decent amount to say!

Spoilers for Dialtown!

Tw for mentions of suicidal ideation and religious guilt

Phone/Typegingi:

-Is aware of everything that happens in my fics but forgets

-is more aware of how people perceive them than people give them credit for, wants to make everyone happy

-has a strong fear of being alone, which is why they bother people so relentlessly. if they were to be fully ignored for an extended period of time they would have a breakdown

-Has both the phone and the typewriter head and can change them out at will, dont ask where they keep them.

-has bitten theoroar many, many times and will do so again. is even more fearful and hateful of him after the zoo explosion

-has a lot of love to give and genuinely prefers being around their friends

-has a level of intelligence that is genuinely sort of surprising sometimes. this intelligence is used at random

-is surprisingly easy and hard to kill at the same time

-the narrator is actually a separate entity to them who cares about them very much

-seems to be passively suicidal but no one can tell if theyre joking or not

-roger rabbit rules, whatever biology is funniest is what they have

-perceived height changes based off of this rule as well. no one notices.

-breaks into town hall once a month for funsies

-enjoys sweet things quite a bit

-autistic beast

Randy:

-is actually a decent cartoonist, but rarely draws due to hand pain. likes drawing gingi and oliver the most

-has a lot of religious guilt due to growing up catholic with a very very strict, religious father, left home as soon as he could. also why he is afraid to talk to God.(hobo)

-father harped on him his entire childhood about being a burden, now feels that he owes the world for existing. this is slowly healing.

-due to his upbringing hes still learning how to function as an adult, i.e cleaning, cooking for himself, things like that. hes working on it!

-has sensory issues, has ASD

-fear of cgi animals comes from having to watch weird religious propaganda films for kids when he was young. he is getting over it thanks to oliver.

-extremely observant and notices things a lot of people don't, but usually doesnt say anything for fear of being annoying

-knows shooty and stabby on a first name basis(not that he knows whos who)

-sees Norm as a father figure but would never admit that

-has a long list of phobias that hes working on recovering from, but is too nervous to go to therapy for

-has a LOT of plushies in the ticket booth that Oliver and Gingi have given him, refuses to get rid of any of them

-taking the bandage off wont instantly kill him, he doesn't know this.

-can skateboard, does not do this often

-gets sick very easily, has to be forced to rest as he tries to insist hes not sick

-is roommates with Oliver, they have a bunk bed

-got his number changed so the hotline wasnt tied to him anymore

-is actually a good singer, never sings due to thinking he sucks. Will hum to himself while working at the ticket booth

Karen;

-Has actually gotten fairly close to the other datables since the conclusion of the game, doesnt know how to express this

-Visits Dialtown for a few months out of the year to catch up and spend time with her friends

-part of her contract with helping rebuild was better wages for those who worked at the bank. It took a lot of arguing but she felt that no one should suffer like she did.

-expresses her love for her friends by making them ponysonas. Is a huge pegasister. will infodump about it for hours to anyone who will listen

-enjoys botanical illustrations the best, next to drawing horses

-draws horses with normal horse heads as a form of abstraction

-puts capsaicin oil in her paints so Gingi will stop drinking them. This did not work.

-enjoys vintage movies and game shows and talks at length with Oliver about them when they go out for coffee or dinner together.

-she and randy doodle together sometimes

-also has severe sensory issues and has safe outfits she wears. will cry if she has to touch certain fabrics. (LOOKING AT YOU CRUSHED VELVET)

-safe foods are microwave dinners and pasta, but she keeps her diet balanced.

-her and Norm get along now and will sometimes go for hikes and chat about life(and ways to wrangle gingi)

-allergic to shrimps

-can play piano

Oliver:

-Got a new therapist who doesnt think hes weird or annoying(it didnt phase him but thats not groovy to say to someone)

-has POTS, often needs to sit down at work so he doesnt faint.

-is a HUGE horror fan, could tell you everything about the behind the scenes of every major and minor horror movie to come out in the last decade.

-works as a haunt actor for the Dialtown Haunted House every single Halloween, wants to run it someday

-has a log of every new thing he notices about Gingis biology, the log is three books long now.

-Really wants to run a youtube channel where he does amateur ghost hunting with randy, has yet to convince randy that this is a good idea

-is very physically affectionate, though he does ask permission first before touching anyone!

-Has had top and bottom surgery and is comfortable where his transition is, thankfully his insurance under Mr. Dickens covered it! (Mingus isnt a TOTAL monster)

-has a digital scrap book of all his favorite memories with his friends

-makes rage comics unironically.

-favorite color is actually black, red just seems to be his thing!

-has been legally adopted by Mr. Dickens but decided to keep his last name as Swift because "it was rad."

-is actually friends with most of the ghosts and poltergeists that live in the cinema/scareshack

-kept the popcorn and soda dispensers, but got the soda dispensers to dispense SODA and not...whatever the fuck it was doing before.

-helped renovate the basement of the cinema into a haunted maze that he helped design, the theme changes once a year!

-got those unicycle lessons and knows how to juggle as well!

-likes rollerskating, has Heelys on all the time

-allergic to peanuts

-can play guitar

Norm:

-Is aware that Gingi sees the face on the sticky note change and thinks its sort of funny

-Is actually good friends with God and the two go out to lunch once or twice a month

-enjoys fishing and will take Randy and Oliver on fishing trips, Gingi usually follows regardless of invite.

-Sees himself as a father figure to most of the dateables, and is willing to fill in that role.

-apologized to Karen for his behavior by baking her fresh bread. is actually an extremely good cook

-irises and pupils are both void black due to exposure to the wormhole. He has not noticed this. Eyes used to be honey brown.

-Has to stop Mingus from doing a new evil scheme once a month, has a spray bottle for this purpose.

-does actually have other outfits for when the space suit needs to be washed, is never seen outside the house when this happens

-Oliver, Karen, and Randy have seen his real face, they were like "cool" as Gingi is just...far weirder.

-i imagine him as strawberry blonde. Short hair, either buzz cut or just short. maybe some stubble. I dont have a good image of what his face looks like, it is just bag to me

-not great at public speaking but REALLY good at pretending to be

-is actually very good at using technology but will sometimes pretend not to be just to tease Oliver.(it works every time)

-can also play guitar

Bigfoot:

-...no.

-okay okay i have one. You could use his fur to make yarn IF you washed it. You will never be able to get close enough to brush him though.

Misc headcanons:

-heads can be repurposed after death, like cadaver bones!

-the more popular headtype for modern business men and women is a laptop

-after what happened to Callum Crown, the answering machines function was completely separated from memory storage

-Snakes have syringes for heads

-peter and his wife are poly and want roger to be their third, but roger is as dense as a brick and peters too formal to just say it out loud.

-Harry and Jack are a couple in this universe, Jack is just a very odd boss to work for regardless

-Billy is Abel's kid. The mother is unknown. probably a one night stand.

-the swans miss randy :(

-there are a few headtypes that are banned for various reasons, one of which is having a megaphone AS your head.

-Roger is autistic and has a stutter, and sometimes has to use ASL to communicate. Peter knows ASL for this reason

-The Narrator could talk to the others, but only if it was an emergency

-all Dialtown OCs are canon. theyre in town somewhere, having fun and living their lives!

-Dialtown is bigger than shown in game, including the town square which has a fountain and a park surrounding it, as well as a skate park, rec center, arcade, a pizza place, etc.

-all the dateables have met satan at least once, they just didnt know thats who that was

-shooty and stabby are dating, theyre just very bromance about it. good for them...

-rotery phone heads are coming back in fashion as a sort of 'retro' vibe.

-getting prosthetics/emergency plastic surgery and medical care is actually quite accessible.

-jerry and his wife come visit dialtown every christmas soley so that gingi doesnt run all the way out there to visit them and get hopelessly lost. theyre doing quite well!

-there are competent members of the dialtown mob but they dont really do much other than hang out at the bar

if i think of anymore Ill let you know!! thanks for askin!

[beansterpie]

ES21 japanese volumes part 3/??

<< part 1 < part 2 ||

HAHAHA guess who found a site with japanese scans?? (Also yes hello it's been close to.... half a year??? (fuck) since my last post-- a big part of that is because taking clear pics of panels/pages on my phone was a pain in the ass so I kept procrastinating lol)

Now lets get back into it!

We left off at the end of Sena's unwilling first morning practice, where we got to see just how fast he's able to run. We were then informed that their first match is happening the following day... while only having 3 players :')

oh the lengths one must take to subdue Cerberos....

Panel 2 -> HIRUMA: We need 8 people by tomorrow's match! We'll split up to gather them! Panel 3 -> KURITA: 8 people? SENA: I thought you said that American Football requires 11 people...

You'd think he might catch on to what's happening after all the 'top speed in the NFL!' fuss at the end of the last chapter.... but our boy is not smart, your honor.

But Hiruma (seemingly) relents, saying how they each have to find at least 3 people to help out their team by the end of the day. Whoever finds the least amount of people faces whatever penalty game that Hiruma comes up with, so uh, there's reason to fear.

Panel 1 -> Basketball club Panel 2 -> SENA: Alright, I'll start here...! Panel 3 -> imaginary SENA: How would you like to play in an American Football match? Panel 4 -> imaginary SENA: We'll prepare all of the equipment! All you have to bring is your fighting spirit!!

imagination vs reality....

Panel 1 -> SENA: Um... excuse me Panel 2 -> SENA: So... I was wondering if maybe I could get you guys to play in an American Football match for us... or something... Panel 4 -> JERSEY #16: Ahh... I'll pass. JERSEY #8: Yeah, not interested. SENA: I-is that so... Panel 5 -> SENA: Aahh-- it's no good. Why do I always....

Ah poor Sena. But all those years of timidness and cowardice aren't going to up and disappear overnight because then we wouldn't have a story. Also, an aside, but in these earlier chapters Sena has this little... verbal tick, I guess? where he ends his sentences (usually requests) with "なんて…" (na-nn-te), shown in panel 2. A different form of the word is often used at the end of a joke, meaning essentially "just kidding!", and this is like... an uncommitted, spineless little version of that. He's asking them if they would please consider playing in a match, and basically ending it with: "haha jk...." 😔

I translated it as "or something..." because he ISN'T joking, he just can't help but say it because he's that non-confrontational, and I thought that might be confusing without context? Or perhaps I'm just over-explaining, but alas.

Panel 1 -> KURITA: Wanna play in an American Football match!? Panel 2 -> JERSEY #16 & #8: No! Panel 4 -> SENA: No, it's not over yet! This isn't the only sports club! Panel 5 -> SENA: I'll go around to all of 'em--! Panel 6 -> HIRUMA: You're playing in a match for the American Football club!

I had to put in all three of their uh, pitches? to the basketball club because I love this little sequence lol. It's such a fun way to show the differences in how each character approaches a problem, and visually displays their body language so well. It's like the funniest version of the three billy goats gruff story

Is this the first official appearance of Hiruma's little black book? It's funny, it's dastardly, and it's just as much for the sake of cartoon violence as his guns are lol. (Seriously, some of the stuff he uses to blackmail people has me side eyeing Hiruma (and Inagaki) real hard rip. The fact that you're not supposed to take any of it seriously is it's saving grace.)

Panel 1 -> JERSEY #16: Uwah, again!? JERSEY #8: Will you give it a rest!! We said we're not gonna play!! Panel 2 -> HIRUMA: Hooo~ that defiant attitude.... I take it you two are first years? Panel 3 -> HIRUMA: Hhmmmm, so Satake-kun from year 1 class 2, and Yamaoka-kun from class 5, huh? Panel 4 -> HIRUMA: Satake-kun is-- well well! The true culprit behind the underwear thefts of the swimming club! And Yamaoka-kun-- what's this? He gives a kiss to his poster of Ai Kago every morning? Whoow, isn't this painful! SATAKE: Wha-- YAMAOKA: How do you-- Panel 5 -> HIRUMA: Now, I think I'll just spread the word!!! SATAKE: Waahh w-we'll play, we'll play! YAMAOKA: Please let us play in the American Football match!!

The severity of the dirt seems pretty skewed to me, but I guess to a teenage anime boy from the early 00's, general embarrassment is just as bad as sexually harrassing your schoolmates 🙃

But anyway, now we know exactly why Hiruma is so feared by the general student body (and faculty)! A real menace to society <3 Btw, at the time Ai Kago was a girl in the pop idol group Morning Musume.

After going to every other sports club in Deimon, Sena finally comes into some luck at the track and field club....

ISHIMARU: An American Football match? Yeah sure, I'll play!

Ishimaru.... you're such a good guy..... 😭

Panel 1 -> SENA: R-really!? ISHIMARU: Yeah, and y'know-- Hiruma's probably gathering the first years, right? Panel 2 -> ISHIMARU: So if I play with them, I'll get to know their physical abilities, and I can invite any of the promising ones to the track and field club. Panel 3 -> ISHIMARU: That's ok, isn't it? As a give and take. SENA: O-of course!! Panel 4 -> SENA: (Yay, that's one person!) Then I'll be seeing you tomorrow! Panel 5 -> ISHIMARU: Tomorrow!!? That's impossible! SENA: What--!!? Panel 6 -> ISHIMARU: I work part time for the local magazine delivery-- I have to deliver them all by noon tomorrow so it'll be tight. Sorry

Poor boy can't catch a break. And enjoy Ishimaru in his like, first and last serious arc for the rest of the series..... :') you deserved better my boy.....

Ishimaru's fairly casual attitude towards Hirma makes me so curious about what he's like in class though lol. I guess for people that Hiruma has no direct use for, they end up flying under the radar and don't have a strong opinion on him? Maybe to some students in Deimon, Hiruma is just 'that eccentric guy in my grade' lol. Strange thought.

But you know, at least Hiruma managed to get some people to help out! Wow, such charisma.

Panel 1 -> (from left to right on the chart -> ): Sena, Kurita, Hiruma Panel 2 -> SENA: Amazing!! So many, just by himself...

Panel 1 -> SENA: Hiiee!? Panel 2 -> KURITA: Hey.... I guess you're also at zero, huh.... Panel 3 -> KURITA: Even Hiruma stopped after 7 people.... and all the sports clubs have already gone home.... It's no good, we're not going to make it in time for the tournament.... Panel 5 -> SENA: I-I'm going to make another round!

Like, ok. So I haven't actually read that many sports manga (mainly because they tend to not hold my attention very long), but Eyeshield's opening chapters are so charming and cute and like... well set up that I always love re-reading it. It might ultimately be a classic coming of age/underdog story, but at this point Sena isn't even interested in playing the damn sport lol (in fact playing the sport is the thing he's got the most reservations about). It's just that he's made friends with Kurita and wants to help him (and Hiruma) towards this goal they're so passionate about, and also wants to feel like a part of something. Idk, it's really successful in fleshing out Sena's personality imo, and manages to make this extremely cowardly kid very endearing (which I think is kind of a rare thing in a shounen manga protag, not to mention a sports manga one).

BUT anyway, he spots Ishimaru doing deliveries and jumps over the fence to reach him.

SENA: Please let me gopher-- no, I mean-- please let me help you!

His heart is in the right place! When you've been a doormat your whole life, it takes a minute to move past it!!

Anyway, skipping ahead a few pages because I've already used too many images on this chapter lol (not me straight up posting half the pages of this chapter so far 😭) -- Sena helps Ishimaru deliver half of the magazines and so they manage to hand them all out that night. Since that frees Ishimaru up the following day, he agrees to play in the match-- which means Sena managed to get one person!

He returns to the club room and tells Kurita the good news, but that still leaves them with.... 10 people.

Panel 2 -> KURITA: We're short.... one person.... Panel 3 -> KURITA: We were so close.... Panels 5 & 6 -> Sounds of the crowd cheering

Panel 1 -> SENA: U-um! Panel 2 -> SENA: For the last person, if I... if I participate...

Whenever Sena thinks about potentially playing American Football in these early chapters, I've always liked that the things he focuses on is the sound of the crowd, the... kinship, maybe? of being on a team. There's probably an element of the glory that appeals to him, but it mostly seems to be the ambience and passion and unity that he's drawn to. As opposed to like, Monta later on who (initially, anyway) really just wants the fame and adoration of being a popular player lol (and good for him, the heart wants what it wants). But for Sena, as the protagonist, it helps me connect to his wants at this point in the story a lot more organically as opposed to if his desire had always been "I wanna be The Best Sportsman™!!!" But again, that's a me thing lol.

Of course Hiruma has to interrupt before Sena commits one way or another lol

Panel 1 -> HIRUMA: That fucking konbini!! Running out of sugarless gum!! Not even flies would chew on that nasty-ass sweet gum!! Panel 2 -> HIRUMA: Oh damn, I forgot to put them up halfway through.

Hiruma's comically short temper that vanishes between one panel and the next will always be funny to me lol. Explosively coming into the club room, ranting about unimportant bullshit while tossing soda at to his teammates (which is quite thoughtful of him actually) and then casually revealing that he's taken care of everything....

Sometimes when I'm feeling unmotivated, I think to myself "what would Hiruma do?" the answer is usually 'several illegal things', but I can at least try to emulate his proactiveness lol.

Panel 2 -> SENA & KURITA: WE DID IIITT Panel 3 -> HIRUMA: We didn't do anything!!! I'm the one who ended up doing it all, you useless idiots!! Actually, give back my cola!! I don't have a single drop of fluid to spare for you morons!! Wilt and die!

Well. No one ever claimed Hiruma was gracious.

That's (more or less) the end of chapter 3! Finally!! The chapter ends with another character room, this time for Hiruma. I'm also putting Kurita's here, which was at the end of chapter 2 but didn't manage to squeeze in.

Page 1 Kurita Ryoukan 2nd Year Deimon Devilbats #77 Power: ***** Speed: * Technique: ** [upper corner: "My refrigerator" bottom left: "Bookshelf-- bursting with American Football magazines" bottom center: "Weights over 100kg"] Page 2 Hiruma Youichi 2nd Year Deimon Devilbats #1 Power: ** Speed: ** Technique: *****

When I read this manga for the first time back in highschool, I was SO frustrated that it just showed the club room instead of Hiruma's bedroom. Ngl I still feel a little cheated, but I guess they had to maintain that gremlin mystique somehow 😔

(Also join me as I puzzle over where the fuck Kurita keeps his futon.... 🤔)

------------

I was going to cover the next chapter as well, but I think I'll just end this part here-- the next chapter is more or less when the first match starts, so I figure I'll do those together! Honestly this chunk of the story didn't have any egregious translation errors in the fanscans so there wasn't too much to comment on that front lol. Enjoy my ramblings about how much I like these early chapters, they're so charming!

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

hiii😭 im so sorry its been ages since i was properly active on here - is there any chance i could get a recap on any sorta events that have happened n stuff like that? ive wanted to get back involved for a while but ive been too nervous to try and like insert myself back in lol 😅 i was here for like the beginning of summer camp but then got too busy w school to keep joining in so. yeah if theres anything going on that i could join back in with id be very much down!! but if not dont worry :)

hooo boy okay this might be a MONSTER of a recap so I'll put it under a cut lol. Happy to see you've returned! Never feel nervous to butt in here, its nice to have ANY interaction!

okay so Summer camp, yes. There were definitely a few things happening here and there, but the star of the show has to have been Estella ( @oozblob ), Áfonya ( @semifontos ) and Pepper ( @Pikaeggs ) seeing Definitely Not Cucurucho outside of their windows. Áfonya dissappeared and came back the next day rather shaken. Then, all three of them were taken by DNC and uh. Given the Quackity treatment. They forgot each other. Semi did some wonderful animations of this that I definitely recommend you take a look at! After all that, the date for the end of camp approached, and DNC declared that camp was going to extend indefinitely. aka, noone gets to leave. Of course everyone (i think) escaped from the Federation's clutches. Probably.

And then a few days later, after returning home, Poll got a sibling! His name is Tequilla and he doesn't remember anything :D. If you haven't seen him before I seriously recommend you go through his tag and look at the lore I've constructed, I'm rather proud!

And then finally on the more... canonically dubious side, Ms. Lion and Mr. Wolf from Summer Camp adopted an egg! well, they stole her from the Federation because she was a runt and Ms. Lion was scared she wouldn't make it. But that's BASICALLY adoption. Her name is Buttercup and she is a baby and I love her a lot.

as for upcoming events, There IS going to be an Egg OC tournament! The sign up post shouuuuld drop February 1st if all things go well. There will be opportunities to interact with your fellow huevos!

I'm glad to see you back mate, It's nice you're still here despite my lack of polls lol

Oh also if you wanna come in my inbox to ramble about your own egg or something i would absolutely love it hear it. tag me in their stuff or smth!

[arsenalgbt]

How we have not spoken about them hooking up yet is beyond me! Sex is what takes their feelings from friendship with a dash of lust to love with a whole helping of lust and it surprises them both when it happens. Declan likes to keep fit, he hates that he’s stuck working at a desk all day and that he’s in his car for ages in London traffic so he goes to the gym during the week and sometimes joins KT and his friends in playing a soccer match in the park for a laugh during the weekend. It’s late one Saturday afternoon when Dec returns home, stiff and sweaty and in desperate need of a massage. Kai hasn’t been wating for him to come home or anything, he was at Jurrien’s apartment until an hour before Dec got home but Kai’s happy to see him – he doesn’t like being home alone. Kai asks what’s when he notices Dec is uncomfortable, a sense of protectiveness coming over him, and when Dec says he needs a massage, Kai offers to roll out the knots between his shoulders. Saturday nights are their movie nights and Kai doesn’t want Dec to have to go to bed early or anything. Dec accepts the offer and removes his shirt and Kai gets to work, rubbing his hands expertly over Dec’s skin. He doesn’t expect Declan to moan, neither of them did, but suddenly it’s all Kai can think about as he starts putting more pressure on the area between his husband’s shoulder blades. Declan feels like his body is on fire, he has a newfound energy and when he moans again and hears Kai chuckle at him – he stands up and turns around with a sense of anger. He is not the type of person that Kai should be laughing at. It doesn’t take long for Declan to have Kai pressed up against the wall and for them to be making out. They don’t even make it to the bedroom, Declan fucks Kai for the first time in their living room. He also fucks him in there for a second time a little while later and a third time a little while after that before they decide to talk about it.

Kai does tell Jurrien and he doesn’t expect it to be a big deal. He’d been honest with Jurrien and told him that he’d have to fuck Declan eventually, Jurrien knew that Kai would have to get pregnant and keep getting pregnant until he had a son. Jurrien had managed to convince himself he was fine with all of it but now Kai’s telling him he slept with his husband and seems to be happy about it, like he enjoyed it rather than thinking of it as a duty. Jurrien feels like Kai has cheated on him.

Now, question for you, how do you think Ben, Leo and KT feel about Kai pre the baby thing? I feel like Ben and Leo would have an easier time with him and the marriage than Kieran would have. Kieran is still against marrying for business and while Leo, now agrees that it’s probably not the right thing to do, he still understands and accepts that Dec did it.

my dear anon my compadre my shenanigans enabler.......... many apologies I've been busy (writing ofc!!) so let me reply to you now!

literally 100% gonna write that as the reason why deckai fucked for the first time. yep. no notes!!! perfection!

however: ((( Jurrien knew that Kai would have to get pregnant and keep getting pregnant until he had a son. ))) now, I will have to see because I do have my own plot point that is kinda spicier I think lolllllllllll. but I love this different perspective! so never say never. jurrien, honey, u need to touch some grass cough

to answer ur question; agreed that ben and Leo were alright with deckai's arranged marriage - a very common practice among their circle of rich kids LOL. ben took one look at kai's picture, and commented on his immaculate sense of style. Leo said, "He seems... fragile." (hooo boy) and KT didn't have much opinion on it like after years of befriending this bunch of rich kids nothing surprises him anymore ajkskf

[ua-monoma]

.01.12

press conference live reaction

monoma neito.

@ua-todoroki

Are you watching it

Todoroki

Isn't everyone in Japan.

monoma neito.

Shut up

What do you think About what he just said

Todoroki

... Ugh. I don't even know. "Children are fragile." Sure is something for him to say.

monoma neito.

God Hahahahaa I'm gonna fucking throw up oh my god Man though... that's so wild... I wonder 🤔 Did he figure out children were fragile before or after he started trying to beat lessons into them

Todoroki

Even if he did know before it wouldn't have stopped him. Honestly. He probably knew it and used it to his advantage.

monoma neito.

Ew Wish I had more to say to that but just. ugh. ew

Todoroki

Not much else to say about him other than that. Surprised he even showed up to the conference. Wonder who on his team had to force him into that.

monoma neito.

Well, he has been showing up more to these kind of things, I suppose...

Todoroki

Guess he has to. Since he's number one. He has to replace All Might and do something to fill his place.

monoma neito.

Tch...

Todoroki

Kind of sad. Yeah. The instant he can make excuses to stop attending events again he will.

monoma neito.

Incredible. It really is... ... Hey, I don't know if you ever remember us talking about, like... Ah, what was it... It was a while ago... ... Getting back?...

Todoroki

..? No, apparently I'm not remembering.

monoma neito.

We were talking about quirk marriage (for some reason) and you were being defeatist about doing something about the matter. Even though you hate it so much.

Todoroki

Ah. Right.

monoma neito.

... And you hate your dad. And his position. ... Very blatantly. Why not do something about it...?

Todoroki

Like... what. Are you suggesting that I go public about how I was raised? Or what.

monoma neito.

A little bit. In the most basic sense. I'm sure there are other things that can be done if not that. I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud.

Todoroki

Fair. Maybe I will someday. Not now, though. Probably not even soon. I also just can't imagine taking away our number one hero a second time.

monoma neito.

Mm... ... He doesn't deserve to be it though... He's hardly fit for it. That hardly counts...

Todoroki

Nobody knows that, though. Nobody knows it doesn't count, so it's fine.

monoma neito.

That doesn't make it fine, that makes it all the more sickening...

Todoroki

Not to the thousands of people who trust him. That's what matters, I guess. All of the people we need to keep safe and who need to trust heroes compared to a few kids. That's kind of what the press conference is about, anyways. Making sure people have faith in our heroes. Having a scandal like that would just... rip all of that to pieces.

monoma neito.

... Ah. Tch. I guess so. ... That is pretty telling, though. For you to say something like that.

Todoroki

Something like what?

monoma neito.

Blah blah, keeping people safe at your own expense... I mean, it's that kind of tomfoolery that keeps getting your wretched class into trouble, is it not...?

Todoroki

Monoma, we're talking about, frankly, millions of people compared to you, me, my siblings, and my mother. An entire society built on trusting our top ranking heroes. And you want to tear that down for a second time. So close to All Might having to retire, no less.

monoma neito.

If it were me, I would. Absolutely. But it's not tearing down society, it's punishing someone who has done wrong based on what the existing society deemed wrong.

Todoroki

No. It's. No. He might have done something wrong, but the repercussions of everyone knowing that is exactly the thing that would make it a total disaster to actually expose it.

monoma neito.

How so.

Todoroki

Do we really need people losing their faith in heroes right now?

monoma neito.

He's not a hero. Tch...

Todoroki

He is to all of Japan. The whole world, actually. You know who he isn't a hero to? 6 people.

monoma neito.

And the second they all find out he's a child abuser, the whole world can catch up. Like, you do understand that people will find out. This isn't wishful thinking. It's going to get out. Might as well do it sooner rather than later!

Todoroki

The whole world would catch up and be devastated. Maybe they will. That's why I said someday, but not right now. Because All Mights retirement was so recent.

monoma neito.

Whatever... The longer it takes, the worse it's gonna be when it happens, honestly...

Todoroki

Can't be worse than if we do it now.

monoma neito.

I think it can. But, like I said, whatever...

Todoroki

Well, any way that it happens it'll be bad.

monoma neito.

Yeah. ... So there's no point in stalling it, honestly. But, yeah.

Todoroki

Ugh. Forgive me for not wanting to get into that mess when I'm already dealing with everything else going on right now. Jesus christ.

monoma neito.

I said whatever, it's fine. You're forgiven. Haha~...

Todoroki

Very funny.

monoma neito.

... Oh, look at that perfectly timed question.

Todoroki

Wow. Can't wait for the answer. Ugh.

monoma neito.

Mmmhm.

Todoroki

... funny how he says we can count on him keeping everyone safe.

monoma neito.

Mm. Everyone but the people that are supposedly the most important to him...

Todoroki

Yeah. That's great. Wonderful. I love it.

monoma neito.

It's fantastic. Hope it goes on all night, just like that. Really.

Todoroki

Yeah. That would be.. great. Just. Fucking. Great..

monoma neito.

... ah? Are you okay?...

Todoroki

I'm fine.

monoma neito.

... Now are you just saying that to be irritating or are you actually fine.

Todoroki

why would i just say it to be irritating?????

monoma neito.

Because you have an irritating personality and you love to bug me with it.

Todoroki

Oh yeah sorry i forgot that i love being fucking impossible to be around for a second.

monoma neito.

No, you've clearly remembered because you're doing it right now. Being fucking impossible. Where are you right now?

Todoroki

Thanks for reminding me. my room.

monoma neito.

Okay. I'm gonna ask this, once, since I know I hate when people suddenly burst in my room for any reason. Do you want me over there with you right now?

Todoroki

no. i'm fine.

monoma neito.

... Okay.

Todoroki

... Great.

monoma neito.

They don't know anything...

Todoroki

They should know enough to know that that was. an awful question.

monoma neito.

It's the paparazzi. They do it on purpose. They want to be awful, that's why they say it.

Todoroki

Do they get off on everyone hating them or something.

monoma neito.

Of course they do. They wouldn't be journalists if they didn't.

Todoroki

You could be a journalist.

monoma neito.

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Thanks.

Todoroki

ii'm going to throw up.

monoma neito.

... Maybe you should stop watching...

Todoroki

It's fine.

monoma neito.

Stop saying that...

Todoroki

It is.

monoma neito.

"You are expected to be an example to the rest of the country and the world. But not only that, you are a prime example of a parent who obviously knows what's right for their children." You really expect me to think you're fine after hearing that.

Todoroki

he barely even acknowledged it. why does all might LOOK at him like that. why does he RESPECT him.

monoma neito.

He doesn't know... You said that yourself, remember. Everyone respects him because they don't know.

Todoroki

fuck. FUCK.

monoma neito.

...

Todoroki

i hate this.

monoma neito.

I know... It sucks.

Todoroki

its. disgusting. i can't even. i don't. gh.

monoma neito.

Jesus.

Todoroki

what. the fuck.

monoma neito.

Todoroki I really think you should turn your television off. Like if you can just... listen to me for one damn moment today, please can it be about this- It's obviously only gonna get worse

Todoroki

but. i. no. god. fuck. i don't even. how did anyone find out.

monoma neito.

Someone at the hospital probably got paid out. It's not like it's hard to do...

Todoroki

for what some great fucking story about how the number one heroes son was fucking experimented on because his father was angry because i wasn't able to be enough or whatever the FUCK he thought,

monoma neito.

... yeah. that. exactly. ... can I come over please,,,

Todoroki

.. yeah.

monoma neito.

yay,,,

Todoroki

don't get too excited... probably won't be all that fun.

monoma neito.

What're you talking about?,, Trauma is fun,,,, wheeee,,,

Todoroki

Fun? Yeah. I'm having a great time.

monoma neito.

Same, I'm taking a tiny little detour actually and then I'll come over So don't freak out too much without mee... kay?

Todoroki

....? detour? For?

monoma neito.

Ah, fresh air Then again there is air between my room and yours, isnt there? Right yes I'll come straight over then

Todoroki

... Do you have anything to drink.

monoma neito.

Hm Yeah I'll bring it

Todoroki

Thanks.

[mvshortcut]

My dude, you got any advice for writing action/escape scenes? Brain is empty right now. Absolutely dry; no creative juices (well, some creative juices; it’s really just this one specific part of the plot that I’m wrestling with)

Hooo boy I am by no means an expert of any sort and I'm still pretty new to this whole writing thing! Plus I've definitely been winging it on every action/fight scene I've written before. But I'm delighted to ramble about it - hopefully you might find something helpful in here!

My favorite solution to "brain is empty" is to take a shower. Literally it's a free chance to daydream about your plot (and get ideas!) while you shampoo your hair. Alternatively I like to put on fun music and move around, possibly act out the action/escape scene.

Or alternatively, the good ol' [Character Escapes] in brackets, keep writing, and come back to it another day.

Also if you have one really specific detail that you want to write but are drawing a blank on what comes before/after it - just write that one bit, really spend time with it, and have fun! Leave the rest for another day.

I've always felt the build-up is the most important part! It can help you increase the tension as well as bring in key details that will come back later during the action scene.

Setting! Even though action scenes are generally pretty fast-paced, it really helps ground it if you can describe a few memorable details sensory about your setting, and then have your characters interact with/use the setting during the action.

One thing I like to do is chunking (there might be a technical term for this but idk what it is lol). So basically I find that dividing the action scene up into chunks helps me tackle it better. It might help to think of each "chunk" as its own individual mini-scene. Like maybe the location changes, and that's a new "chunk," or maybe it's just the next "step" of the action scene. Either way, I like to go back and really tighten up each chunk - like, did I really ground this in the setting? Does this help me get to the next part? etc

Also related - pacing! This can be done with the events of the scene itself (how fast are they happening? how much time do you spend describing something?) and also your writing itself (do you use really choppy words and kinda harsh syllables to speed it up? what about punctuation - em dash my beloved). If the whole thing is too fast it can get confusing - it's good to vary slow and fast-paced bits. This is where the "chunking" can become helpful!

I find that reading it aloud (or even just in my head) helps me to understand the pacing and see where I might need to speed it up/slow it down

The last one that I find helpful is looking at power dynamics. So, let's say you have an escape scene. If the person escaping is waaaay overpowered by the people they're being tracked down by, it's gonna be pretty difficult to write an action scene that doesn't end in like 5 seconds with the person being caught! (This goes for like. person vs environment/nature/etc as well.) Basically I just look at the strengths/weaknesses of everyone involved and say, is this generally balanced enough so that the audience is scared for our protagonist, but it's reasonable to hope that they might escape? If someone is overpowered, is there an obstacle I could use that knocks them down a peg? Is there some hidden ability our protagonist might have that allows them to gain an advantage or outsmart their opponent?

Anyways this got super long; my apologies! Again I'm still new to this whole thing so try some stuff out and see what clicks for you!!

[flowerfan2]

Chapter 10 - coda to episode 3.10, in which Ted and Trent have a talk about Roy... and Jamie.  

Read on A03 here; read from the beginning here.

----

“So, I wanted to run something by you,” Ted says, as he examines a head of lettuce.  They’re in the market, picking up food in a valiant attempt to actually cook for a change.  Trent’s game, although he’s also famished, which is not a great combination.

“Rethinking the menu already?” Trent asks.  “What happened to ‘let’s go wild, Julia Child?’”

Ted smiles and hip checks him.  “I love hearing you quote my words back at me.  But no, this is a non-gustatory non sequitur, nothing to do with dinner.  It’s about Roy.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently it’s Uncle’s Day soon, and Phoebe needs my advice.”

Trent stops in front of the display of canned tomato products and waits until Ted puts down the marinara sauce and looks at him.  “I didn’t understand any of that.  What is Uncle’s Day, and who is Phoebe?”

Ted holds out the jar of sauce for Trent’s approval – Trent doesn’t care much one way or the other about which one they get as long as he doesn’t have to chop any tomatoes himself– and nods.  “That’s fair,” Ted says.  “I’ll start from the beginning.”

“Good idea.”

Ted frowns at him.  “You’re hungry, aren’t you?   You get grouchy when you’re hungry.  I shoulda waited until after we ate to talk to you about this.”  

“Too late for that.  But I wouldn’t object if we moved this process along.  I’ll get the pasta and some bread, you get the chicken, and I’ll meet you up front.”

They part to finish their shopping, and Trent forgets completely about Ted’s question until they are walking back to Ted’s place.

“So you know Roy has a niece,” Ted says, pulling Trent away from thoughts of the delicious garlic bread he’s planning on making to go with their chicken cacciatore.

“Would that be Phoebe?”

“The only and only.  And Phoebe and her family have some very, well, <i>unique</i> holidays that they celebrate.”

Trent is beginning to catch on.  “One of which is, apparently, Uncle’s Day?”

“Yes!  So Dr. O’Sullivan called me-”

“Wait, who is Dr. O’Sullivan, and why did he call you?”

“Dr. Marina O’Sullivan is Phoebe’s mom, and <i>she</i> called me about Uncle’s Day.”  Ted swings a plastic bag of groceries at Trent.  “Wait one gosh darn second, are you pulling my leg?  You’re the journalist here, are you’re telling me you don’t know every family member of every Richmond player and coach?  I would have thought you’d have us all charted out, name, rank and serial number.  Maybe a pie graph.”

“Never put it past a journalist to ask a question they already know the answer to.  Sometimes you get the best information that way.”

“Smarty-pants.”

“Although I am still wondering how you know Phoebe’s mom.”

“Oh, Marina and I are old pals.  Ever since she patched up Dr. Sharon after her bicycle accident.  She actually thought we were together – wooo - hooo, that did not amuse Dr. Sharon, no it did not.  You’d love Marina – she’s got the best costume closet this side of the West End, great for role play of all sorts.”  Ted waggles his eyebrows at Trent and Trent can’t help but snort out a laugh.

“Do I need to be worried?”  Trent asks, and it’s Ted’s turn to laugh.

“Oh no, she’s not my type.  And I think Roy would have a conniption if I was interested in his sister <i>that</i> way.  Not that it’s any of his business who his sister dates…”

“No, of course not.”  Trent nods in agreement.  They’ve arrived at Ted’s flat, and he takes some of the bags out of Ted’s hands so Ted can open the door.  They go upstairs and set the groceries down, both of them ignoring the dinner making process in favor of pouring themselves some wine and making themselves comfortable on the couch.  It turns out that Trent isn’t so hungry that he’s going to turn down a chance for some gossip and getting tipsy with Ted.

“So, you were saying about Roy?” Trent prompts.

“Right!  Anyway, Marina called, and she said that Phoebe wants to invite Roy’s best friend to Roy’s Uncle’s Day party.  As a surprise.”

“Okay, that’s sweet.  So why did she call you?”

Ted smirks.  “Because Phoebe is convinced that Roy’s best friend is none other than he with the talented foot, our golden boy Jamie Tartt, and Marina needed his contact info.”

Trent nods solemnly.  “That sounds about right.”

“Trent, come on.  I know you were on the outside – still independent, as it were – back when I first joined the team, but Jamie and Roy were famous foes.  Arch enemies.  They hated each other.  Things have improved, sure, but I wouldn’t call them best friends.”

Trent finishes his glass of wine, and pours himself another, topping up Ted’s as well.  He brushes a kiss across Ted’s lips as he leans close, which earns him an eyelash flutter.  “Regardless, I’ve had a front row seat to their interactions this season, and I don’t think there’s anyone on the team Roy is closer to than Jamie.”

Ted studies him, and Trent warms under his gaze.  “You really think so?  I mean, I’ve been tickled pinker than Keeley’s favorite pom pom pen about how much our Jamie has come out of his shell lately.  He’s kinda awesome these days.  But Roy’s best friend?”

Trent clears his throat and begins to list off all of the evidence, starting with the one-on-one personal coaching Roy and Jamie have been doing for months.  By the time he gets to the pair’s overnight cycling adventure and windmill viewing in Amsterdam, Ted’s mouth is hanging open.

“All night??  They spent the whole night together, touring a romantic foreign city until the sun came up like characters in a rom-com?”

“Jamie even taught Roy how to ride a bike in the process.”  Trent waves his glass to emphasize his point.  “Surely, you believe me now.”

“Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.”

Trent bites down on a grin, but he can’t help it.  “I thought you said the uncle party was for Roy.”

[shorkbrian]

Rating

Okay you know what? dick rating udnerneath the cut. You have been warned.

KIRISHIMA

Has the biggest cock. Mans hung like a horse, doesn’t even have to try to make you feel good cause he hits so deep but also watch out, cause it might hurt. Seriously, he’s so big that if he doesn’t stretch you with like his entire hand before goin in, it’s gonna hurt. Absolutely a cervix kisser. Might even have to get  a bumper or thrust buffer so he doesn’t hurt you. Honey, please don’t even think about deep throating him - it’ll be hard enough to even suck the head he’s so big. His cock gets so flushed when he’s aroused, if you edge or tease him there’s gonna be so much blood pooling in there that it’s gonna be almost purple. curves up the slightest bit (instead of the to side) and it’s heaven when he’s fucking you cause it hits your g spot every. single. thrust. Like I said, he doesn’t even have to try. Unfair honestly. 20/10

BAKUGOU

Girthy boy. He’s a little bigger than average, which inflates his ego a bit, and he’s quite thick. Will stretch you out and you will feel it for days afterwards. Thing about Bakugou, he knows how to use what his mama gave him. Knows how to hit every single angle, will make you cry on his cock. Giving him blowjobs rocks because he’s circumcised and keeps himself very clean down there.  He’s very pink, has a stereotypical “pretty” dick. Isn’t shy about it, prides himself on it actually. 9.5/10

AIZAWA

Thick dick. Deliciously thick, very very wet when he gets aroused. There will be precum leaking everywhere, you might wanna put down a towel. He curves hard to the left, not exactly the best looking package out there but honestly that doesn’t really matter, not when he fucks you so well. Sucking on it is nice because he fills your mouth and throat so nicely. He’s a bit darker, the skin a bit more brown and wrinkly, especially around his balls. 8/10

TAMAKI

He will stab you in the guts with how long he is. Probably feels like you’re getting speared. Isn’t much to talk about girth wise, but hooo boy does he make up for it in length. Luckily, homeboy can make the texture of his dick into a lot of things, and will use that ability to cater to your specific tastes. Want a hentai tentacle monster? he’s your man. Want it to be all slippery and squirmy and pulpy like an oyster? Boom, done. Do you want bumps and lumps and ridges like a starfruit? Okay, sure. Just be warned that he will get a bit overwhelmed at times, and may or may not be unable to stop if you ask him to. 12/10

DENKI

A bit on the small side, nothing spectacular or particularly abnormal in size. Leans a bit to the left, has very nice veins and a deliciously defined glans. Oh man, would be so fun to suck him off with how well you can feel his glans, how you can feel all the veins and feel the blood pumping through him. Would want to cockwarm him in my throat at all hours. Would also want to give him hand jobs at every opportunity just to be able to feel his dick. Is a pleasure to tease and edge because you can tell when he’s about to cum cause his dick jumps. Very twitchy cock, feels a bit weird sometimes if he’s cockwarming you and then suddenly twitches. But idk that just adds to the appeal, doesn’t it? keeps you attentive. 7/10

SERO

Nice size, pretty average in terms of length and girth. He’s the type of closeted freak to take off his pants and reveal he has a reverse Prince Albert on his cock, and oh my lord, does that feel nice when he’s inside you. Would not want to feel that in my throat, but wouldn’t mind running my tongue alllll over and up and around the piercing. He’s got a decent lean to the left, gets all nice and red when you work him up. Cums a ton, so be prepared for lots of cleanup. 6/10

IZUKU

A grower through and through. Is quite small when he’s flaccid but once he starts getting in the mood he’ll fill out a bit. Still a little small, but what he doesn’t have in size he overcompensates for with enthusiasm. Is the easiest for blowjobs because he’s not crazy big, and he’s very sensitive. Will either go several rounds in a very short amount of time, or get overstimulated after cumming once and ask if he can finger you until you finish. He’s uncircumcised but keeps himself clean, not much to look at but feels pretty decent once he gets inside. 6/10

KEIGO

If there was a competition for “best looking cock”, Keigo would win. Is the golden standard for dicks, the best size, length, yada yada. His cock may be the prettiest, but he doesn’t use it quite that often, prefers having you suck him off or jerking into his hand while he eats you out. Probably models sex toys cause his dick is so nice. If he didn’t, I think he’d also have a piercing, probably something unique and gentle like a dydoe. ofc that would mean he has a nice glans. Overall just a very pretty dick, doesn’t use it often. 7/10

SHOUTO

He takes after his father, what more is there to say? You do not expect him to be Hung™️ but oh, is he. Has a dick that does not match the rest of his body, very thick and heavy. That alone is nice, add to it that he does his research and will actively search out how to make you feel the best? Amazing. And then on top of that he can control the frickin temperature? Although sometimes that can be a bit on the dangerous side. Shouto gets very... overcome with emotions and the sensations when he’s in the middle of fucking you and might loose control of his quirk. Could be dangerous. It’ll happen once and you’ll just be lucky he automatically goes for ice instead of fire. After that he works really hard at controlling himself, making sure you’re comfortable and feeling good. A very thoughtful man. 10/10

SHINDOU

His dick vibrates. End of story. No jk, he has a decent dick. The fact that he’s a living sex toy overshadows the fact that he’s a bit on the smaller side. But remember folks, it’s not the size that counts, but the way you use it. And we’ve already established that his dick vibrates. What more do you want? Be sure to tell him not to use his quirk while you’re sucking him off. Also is the best at non-penetrative sex. Will have you cumming in five seconds just from rubbing his dick along the outside of your hole. Once again, vibrating dick. 8/10

SHINSOU

Long and thin. Shinsou doesn’t mind though, he’s able to make you cum just using his words. Likes using sex toys too tho, will add a vibrating cock ring or a bullet vibe, maybe even some warming lube cause he likes a lot of sensation. Is hard to deep-throat, but nice for hand jobs. Has a nice length to work with and won’t strain your wrist. 7/10

[maddiewritesstucky]

Can I sluttily inquire what Jockverse’s favorite sexual acts to perform on and receive from one another are? 😌✨💖

Hooo boy. Okay. I fucking love this ask, and you knew I would, just like I’m sure you knew exactly how carried away with it I’d get.

I give you...

Settle in, this is detailed.

BUCKY BARNES

21yrs | English major | Wide receiver

LIKES TO RECEIVE...

Bucky is a slut for Steve’s mouth. In literally any capacity he can get it

From the moment they first drunkenly made out at a frat party, Bucky was hooked

The lips are fat, okay? They’re big and juicy and soft and so goddamn red, and Bucky didn’t think anything could feel better than having them wrapped around his dick...until Steve put them on his asshole

Bucky. LIVES. for the Steve Rogers Rim Job

This is his absolute favorite thing in the entire world. He would choose this over any sexual act ever, any day of the week

Steve eats it like he means it, has zero reservations about getting his face in it deep and putting in work. It’s borderline savage.

He gets those big hands on Bucky’s cheeks, is hella gropey with it while he Dines Out, squeezing Bucky’s hips and thighs and waist 

He’s noisy with it too, and not because he’s trying to rile Bucky up - he’s just that into it 

It’s all wet sounds and soft groans and muffled cussing, and it’s all entirely sincere. Sometimes he gets so carried away Bucky thinks Steve might come just from having his tongue in Bucky’s ass 

Also...

F A  C E    S I T T I N G

Riding the Steve Rogers Jawline Express all the way to Jizzville, USA

In summary - Bucky likes getting his cake ate

LIKES TO GIVE...

H e a d

Straight up. Bucky loves to suck cock

Specifically, he loves to suck Steve’s cock

Steve Rogers has the single most flawless dick Bucky has ever seen. He wants to take a photo of it and save it as the background on his phone, but apparently ‘tHat’s tOo fAR bUcK’ 🙄😒

It  was the closest thing to a religious experience Bucky ever had, the first  time he dropped to his knees in front of Steve in the locker room showers, and Steve said ‘do it’

He loves every single thing about it. He loves the way his mouth literally hurts trying to stretch around Steve, loves flicking his tongue up under the head and over the slit. He loves the battle of stuffing Steve down the back of his throat and trying to swallow, feeling the spit drip down his chin and the occasional tear slipping down his cheek from how damn much it is

It’s something Bucky knows he’s good at, has always been pretty confident in his abilities, been told many times that his mouth is made for it. But Jesus, the way Steve responds?

Steve crumbles for it. He makes these desperate little noises, looks down  at Bucky like he can’t fucking believe it’s happening. He gets his hands all tangled up in Bucky’s hair and his thighs shake and he moans like a shameless little whore for it, every fucking time

He always warns Bucky when he’s close, but it’s not because he thinks Bucky doesn’t want it in his mouth…

He just happens to know that Bucky wants it even more in the face

...Okay 🥵 Let’s hydrate, and move onto Steve, shall we? 

STEVE ROGERS

20yrs | PoliSci major | Quarterback

LIKES TO RECEIVE...

Not to be crass, but like...Steve is an Entire Weak Bitch for getting Bucky’s dick in him

No one has ever fucked Steve the way Bucky does. And Steve has been around.

Bucky is so unfathomably confident in his own body. Steve could see it well before they ever fell into this Thing they’ve got going

He sees it out on the field, he sees it in the way Bucky carries himself around campus...fuck, he sees it in the way Bucky dances, when he’s had enough to drink?

Bucky has total control over his movements, has a grace about him that also reads as entirely sexual, and Steve’s pretty sure Bucky knows it, too

Steve’s not much for making assumptions on a person’s sexual prowess based on this kinda thing, but goddamn did he feel vindicated on this one when he finally got Bucky inside him

Bucky caught on pretty quick to exactly what does it for Steve, and he’s     merciless in using it. He’s not here to play games, he’s here to get them both off as spectacularly as possible, and it shows

The fact that their connection is predominantly physical only seems to add to it, because he’s not trying to prove an emotional point. He wants to be  the best Steve’s ever had because he’s a cocky sonofabitch, and that’s that

I’m not gonna harp on foreplay here because I’m trying to focus on the     question at hand, but Bucky plays Steve’s body like an instrument, both before and after he gets inside him. By the time his cock’s rubbing up against Steve’s insides, Steve is usually drooling for it (often literally)

And fuck, the way Bucky’s mean. Steve didn’t even know he was into it until Bucky started mocking the sounds he was making one day when Bucky was balls deep inside him, and he almost came on the spot. 

Bucky’s not afraid to throw his weight around either, even goes so far as to treat  Steve like he’s smaller than Bucky sometimes (which he is definitely not) and god but that does it for Steve

Bucky manhandles him into positions that put Steve at his mercy and fucks orgasms out of him like it’s his job, and Steve finds himself on multiple occasions laying awake at 2am, googling the symptoms of sex addiction because he literally cannot stop thinking about it

LIKES TO GIVE...

I feel like Steve is just genuinely obsessed with every single opportunity he gets to touch Bucky’s body

Steve is a naturally tactile person, so physical intimacy is very deeply     rewarding and satisfying to him, in any context. It’s why he loves sex so much, and it’s certainly a big part of why he likes sex with Bucky so much, because there’s this understanding between them that this is the exact reason they spend time together - to touch and be touched

There’s no pretense between them, they know it’s about exploring and meeting their sexual needs, and it makes it weirdly pure, in a way

There’s a freedom in it that Steve’s not sure he would feel if he were having to think of all the other things that factor into building a deeper relationship, of trying to fit his life together with someone else’s

He can just be his body, for a while, and it feels so damn good

Steve is also a naturally giving person, and he gets off on his partner’s pleasure, so literally anything that feels good for Bucky, is good for him too

He loves rimming Bucky, just as much as Bucky loves to be rimmed. He loves sucking his cock and mouthing at his balls, loves when Bucky wants to be fucked and he gets inside him 

But if I had to pick a specific weakness?Fingering Bucky

Now, I think it’s not so much the act itself here, as it is the context in which it can happen. Yes, it feels incredible burying his fingers in that vice-tight heat, and watching Bucky squirm for it, but the where and when  is what gives it an edge for Steve

Fingering Bucky in a bathroom stall after practice, while their teammates are getting changed mere feet away from them? ✔️

Crowding Bucky into a dark corner at a frat party, and slipping his hand down the back of Bucky’s jeans? ✔️

That night he drove Bucky home after a team meeting ran late, and they pulled over on a side road so he could fingerfuck Bucky in the backseat? ✔️

It’s the versatility of it, ya know? An act he can whip out anywhere, if they’re discrete enough

Also, he likes that he can be looking at Bucky’s face while he does it. Likes to make intense eye contact and talk at him and bite at Bucky’s trembling lips. Because as much as Bucky loves to be in control, those moments when Steve can physically see and feel him give it over? Unparalleled.

...This ask is a blessing to the JockVerse, K. You have done the Fantasy Fuckball League a great service today.

[mmvalentine]

The Pianist pt 4 | Jurdan

Modern AU. Part 1 part 2 part 3 part 5

Jude woke up with a bad taste in her mouth and cotton wool in her brain. She groaned, groped around on the night stand for her phone and had to look at the screen through one eye because the light hurt her.

Does Cardan wake up like this every day? Jude wondered. And if so, how was he not dead?

Cardan. Shit.

Jude had a vague memory of kissing Cardan at Locke's party, but she was not entirely sure that she hadn't dreamt it. Fuck it. Cardan had been with so many girls she very much doubted one drunk kiss at a party would even register for him. Jude refused to be embarrassed.

In fact she was pretty sure that what she was actually feeling was annoyance, since he a) had managed to get under her skin even though she absolutely didn’t want him there and hadn’t invited him and b) was now striking up some exercises on the piano that sounded like he was playing them on the inside of her skull. Since when did Cardan start anything before lunch?

Jude tried to roll over and go back to sleep. Luckily for her, this was her one day a week off from all three of her jobs. Unluckily for her, Cardan was only just getting started.

Twenty minutes later, there was a pause. Jude sighed her relief as the infernal exercises finally stopped- only for a furious Baroque piece to begin. “No no no no,” Jude yelled. She flung back her covers, still dressed in the black dress from the night before, with bed hair and yesterday’s makeup, and stalked out the door barefoot.

Through the fire door, up one flight of steps, and down the hall to Cardan’s flat. She hammered her fist on his front door.

"Cardan!" she barked. "Cardan you insufferable ass!"

The piano stopped, and before he could get to her she yanked the door handle. It was unlocked, and Jude opened the door to a very surprised Cardan who was himself just reaching for the knob.

"Jude?"

"Yes Jude, hello it’s me your downstairs fucking neighbour who cannot sleep through this racket!"

Cardan just stood and stared at her. Some quiet part of Jude’s mind was sure she looked like a madwoman, but the louder part ignored it and continued the tirade.

"I mean for fuck’s sake Cardan what do you have against sleep?" She flung the words at him. “You keep me up all through the night because you refuse to operate during daylight hours like a normal person, and then the one time I want to sleep in, the one time- Cardan do you know I never ever ever sleep in? And then this one time I think maybe I’ll just relax a little, here you are like you’ve got some kind of personal vendetta against me getting a full eight hours!"

She paused to draw breath, and still Cardan just stood there. It was infuriating.

"Well?" She demanded.

And then Cardan put both his hands around her face, and pulled her mouth to his.

The heat was instant. Jude burned up under it in for a second, then realised what was happening and cut the kiss off.

But Cardan was having none of that. He pulled her right back to him, and Jude did not have enough willpower to break away a second time. The shocking fever of it wiped out all logical thought and the next thing she knew she was folding her arms around his neck. Cardan wrapped his own around her waist, stooping a little to reach her and then pulling her up against his body. He took a step back and Jude let him lead her into his apartment, the door closing softly behind them.

Cardan moved his mouth against hers and when his tongue lashed out she was only too eager to meet it. She scraped her nails against his neck as his hands slid into the tangle of her hair.

Jude took another step forward, and Cardan backed into a lamp. It toppled over noisily, but he didn’t let her stop the kiss. Just moved them to the side, where Jude’s back hit a shelf and two books fell out. Cardan didn‘t seem to care at all. Pushed her further into the wall while his teeth found her bottom lip, and knocked a frame down as his hand hit the plaster behind her.

Jude tugged him closer at the waist, and returned every one of his kisses. She might have kept kissing him all day, he tasted so good, but then in between one breath and the next he whispered her name, and she realised.

She was making out with Cardan.

Jude shoved him away, hard, and stormed out the door without a word.

////

Cardan didn't see Jude for a week after that.

It was strange, they had been in each other's proximity for a long time now and not had a lot to do with each other but now, somehow, he was quite sure she was avoiding him.

He didn't know quite what to feel about that kiss.

In his defence, she had started it. That night of Locke's party- no, before that. The night she started singing him to sleep through the air vents. She had floated into his life through his ears and now her absence chafed like a burr in his shoe. Of course, in the past days there was no singing. Not even when Cardan lay there for an hour, waiting to hear her voice.

Locke had seen her.

In spite of the mess that had been that party, and the morning after, it seemed that Jude had taken on Cardan's advice and agreed to meet with Locke for the play.

And according to Locke, things were going very well. He raved about Jude's voice, which irritated Cardan to no end. He had put his ear to the carpet just to hear her, and now he had to share her with Locke? Prick.

Locke, as always, had an easy time of assembling the rest of his cast. Cardan did not think him a bad writer, but he did suspect the queues for his casting call had more to do with who his father was than with his skills as a playwright.

He had been auditioning for a couple of weeks now, and with Jude in place, he was ready to call his first cast meeting. Cardan, Nicasia and Valerian were expected to attend too- Nicasia and Valerian never missed a chance to be on stage, and Cardan was invited for his "musical ear."

So there they all were, on a Friday evening, in the old theatre Locke's dad let him use. Waiting for the last few people to arrive. When Jude walked through the door she nodded to Locke, but avoided Cardan's gaze.

Fine, he thought. If she didn't want to talk to him, he certainly wasn't going to force her. He thought of the rant she had loosed on him that morning last week, and figured it was probably better this way.

Finally, Locke called them all to attention, and Cardan sat in the back row with Nicasia and Valerian as Locke addressed them all from the stage. Cardan put his feet up on the chair in front of him, and let Nicasia doze on his shoulder while Valerian picked things out of the soles of his boots with a pocket knife.

"So without further ado,' Locke was saying, may I present to you our stunning leading lady, Taryn."

Cardan looked up. The small group were politely clapping as a tall, thin woman stood and nodded at them all. She was all blonde hair and heroin chic, just Locke's type. But what about-

"And of course our vocalist, discovered by yours truly and pulled from the bowels of the subway tunnels, Jude!"

The group applauded mildly again, but Jude did not stand up. Locke continued. "Jude is going to provide the singing voice for Taryn, although I haven't decided whether we're going to pre-record or get her to sing live backstage."

What?

"What?" Jude demanded. The cast went quiet. "You want me to sing for Taryn?"

"Yes, of course," Locke said. "You've got a lovely voice, Jude, but Tarym looks more the part, don't you think?"

"Well you didn't fucking tell me that when I agreed to do this, Locke."

"Jude," Locke held up his hands. "Please stay calm. I'm sorry if you misunderstood."

"If I misunderstood? You lied to me. Why in the hell would I want to stand around behind a curtain so that someone prettier than me can get the credit?"

"Aw come on, Jude. It's not like that. This is a very common practice in show business," Locke insisted.

Now that the drama was amping up, Nicasia and Valerian were suddenly paying attention.

"Yeah come on, Jude," Valerian called down. "It's a compliment, you have a great face for recording!"

"Darling, these are all Juilliard trained performers," Nicasia added. "You didn't actually think you were going to be on stage did you?"

"I didn't ask to be here," Jude said, picking up her bag. "Fuck this, and fuck you guys slowly with a fork."

She strode out the door, right past their row.

"Jude, wait," Cardan said, scrambling out of his seat.

"You stay the hell away from me," Jude hissed, then the door slammed behind her and Nicasia burst into hysterical laughter. Cardan looked back down toward Locke, who was shaking his head tragically.

"This is why you never hire amateurs," he said sadly, and in that moment, Cardan hated them all.

****

Hooo boy okay a lot happened in this chapter! We are in a two week lockdown after a COVID break out so I guess you get lots of writing this weekend. Someone please hug them for meee

JURDAN MASTERLIST

TAGLIST: @asteria-of-mars @swankii-art-teacher @loosingdreams @feysand-loml @cityofbookish @story-scribbler

[someguynamedstevewrites]

My Roommate is an Apparition: An Apparition A-Pink-ciation of Culture

Based on characters created by @reddpenn

From the diary of Lily:

------------

When I was little, I used to talk to my stuffed animals all the time.  They were my soft, cuddly friends who were always there for me, and even though they never spoke a word, I always imagined I could hear what they wanted to say.  Even as an adult, I still treat inanimate objects like they’re people too.  In fact, everyone does at some point or another in their adult life.  Anyone who has ever argued with their car that refused to start knows what I mean.

But recently, I realized that sometimes people can do... well the opposite. That sometimes we don’t treat people (who are actual, real people) like they’re people.  It’s not something we consciously think about, but it’s more like we forget that, well, people are people.  I know this sounds really dumb, but I felt like I needed to write about this after a... well after an “argument” I had with my roommate.

I’ve lived with my roommate for a few months now, and I thought I had gotten to know them pretty well.   They like to watch cartoons (like, seriously LOVES them) and we had worked out a TV viewing schedule to make sure that we got along together.  But the other day, I realized that I wasn’t necessarily treating them like they were their own person.  I didn’t mean to do that, but it just kind of happened, and...

...well it gets really complicated because, technically, they aren’t a person.

I mean, they aren’t human; they’re an apparition.

It made me think about all those stories about monsters and ghosts.  Like a ghost used to be human, but then they died, and their spirit became a ghost.  Do we still treat the ghost like the person they were when they were alive?  Outside of a few exceptions, the answer’s a definite yes.

But what about an apparition? It’s kind of like a ghost, but it’s not. I mean, it’s not the soul of someone who died or anything. They just sort of exist. (Would Slimer from Ghostbusters be an apparition or a ghost?).

------------

So anyway, reason I’m bringing this all up is because of what happened last weekend. I was channel surfing through the Cable Guide and as I’m flipping through, I pass by Boomerang (you know, the cable channel that spun-off Cartoon Network to hold all the older cartoons?) and all of a sudden, my roommate appears out of nowhere (literally) and practically grabs the remote out from my hands.

“Hey! What gives!?” I say to them.

They immediately change over to Boomerang and my TV screen is suddenly filled up with the color pink. At the same time, my roommate starts “doot-ing” along with the song and goes, “Doo-Doot! Doo-Doot! Do-Doot-Do-Doot-Do-Doot Do-Doot-De-Dooooooooo-Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo-Doooot”. I have no idea what they’re doing, but then the cartoon starts up and it’s the Pink Panther.

Rhetorically, I go, “What’s this?”

“Pink... Panther...” my roomie says.

And then I make my first mistake by saying, “Huh. Never seen it before.”

Now if I had been paying attention to them, I probably would have seen the face of shock they were making. “You... NEVER... saw it!?” They gasped.

“Nope. Must have been before my time,” which was totally true. I mean, I later found out my Dad used to watch it when he was a kid. It wasn’t on TV when I was growing up. (Why am I defending myself for not watching a specific cartoon?)

Anyway, roomie asks, “Watch... with me?”

And then I, being a total dumbass, say, “Nah. Think I’ll get some dishes in,” before getting up and walking away.

If I had stayed put for just a few seconds longer, I would have heard them asking, “...please?” (In case you’re wondering, they told me about that later.)

------------

Yes, I hurt its feelings.  Yes, it was insensitive.  Yes, I am sorry.  But like I said, the thought didn’t even cross my mind back then.  As far as I knew, as long as my roommate had their cartoons, they were happy.  It didn’t occur to me that they cared about anything other than the cartoons themselves.

For the next week, my roommate made sure I knew, now and forever, that this was not true.

My first clue that they were mad at me was later that evening when I went to the living room to watch my usual shows.   It was my turn on the TV, and usually I have to pry my roommate away so I can watch what I want to watch. But that night, the instant I walked into the room, they changed the channel to what I wanted, put the remote down on the couch, and left the room without saying a word.  I thanked them, plopped myself down, and went straight into couch potato mode.

This should have thrown so many red flags in my head, but for some reason, it didn’t.  Maybe I was being too self-absorbed at the time? Maybe I was just tired and thinking, “Aww man, I gotta work tomorrow!”?  No matter the excuse, mistakes were made, and I started paying for them the very next morning.

My “haunting” kicked off with waking up to find most of my rock collection missing.  I have a particular affinity for pretty rocks and gems (I’m kind of a rock nerd) and have my favorites out on display.  But that morning, the only rocks that I could see were the pink ones.  Someone had pilfered almost every pebble from every pedestal to perturb me.   (I saw a chance for alliteration and took it! So sue me!)  I was still waking up and too tired to care about it at the time (me making excuses again) and had work, so I got ready to go and left.

Now I’m not sure how they did it, but my roommate did something to my car radio.   I turn it on and all I get are tunes by Henry Mancini.  Fifty percent of the time, it was the Pink Panther theme, twenty-five percent was the theme from A Shot In The Dark (I had to use Soundhound to figure out that one), and the rest was a mix of some of his other work.   It didn’t matter what station I tried changing it to!  Although I did learn that Mancini composed Baby Elephant Walk, so that’s something.

By now, I’d already figured out what was going on (roommate did it), but couldn’t really do anything about it because I still had work to go to.   As if the daily grind working at an art supply store wasn’t hard enough, I had to work while having the dang Pink Panther theme stuck in my head all day.  Not even the music that played over the store radio could get rid of it.  (Given the quote un-quote “music” they play over the speaker system, I eventually considered it a good thing.)

Then I came home, and that’s when things REALLY escalated.  First words out of my mouth after I walked in was, “Hey, I’m hoooOOOOOLY~!”  Every single wall in the apartment, from the living room, to the kitchen, to the bedroom, and even the bathroom...

PINK!

All of them were painted PINK!

Like strawberry frosted doughnut pink!

As I’m gawking at the interior design sugar rush nightmare, out walks my roommate from around the corner.  Immediately, the first thing I noticed was that they had feet. (Normally, they don’t have feet; they just kind of “hover” or “emerge from the ground” or something.) They had their eyes closed, head held up, and made a point of showing off these noodle legs they had constructed by skipping every other three steps.

They were doing the Pink Panther shuffle.

They walk out of my line of sight and I run over to have a word with them, but by then they disappeared.  I look around and all I see is more and more pink.  From behind me, I hear a mix of snickering slash wheezing.  Like you ever hear of this cartoon dog named Muttley?  They were laughing like him.  And of course, I turn around, and the only thing I see is more pink!

------------

I knew that my roommate could be ornery at times, like that time I tried to get an idea of their daily routine by setting up a webcam, but this...

I mean, where did she even get the paint?  (Upon reading back here, I realized I referred to them as a ‘she’ even though I’m not sure if they are a ‘she’ or not.  Yeah, I can edit it to a more neutral pronoun, but something tells me I ought to point this out instead of editing it, for some reason.)

I was half tempted to get back at them by painting the walls back to their original color (they do sell paint by the gallon where I work, and I get the employee discount), but realized they’d just paint(?) the walls pink again.  Like I’d turn around after thinking I finished only to find the work I did completely undone.  I could just picture my roommate doing that and finding it hysterical.

Anyway, tacky as the pink walls were, I didn’t get too angry about them.  For starters, my lease agreement said that I couldn’t paint the walls without landlord approval.  But my lease agreement also acknowledges that my apartment may be haunted.  If the landlord ever brought it up, I’d just tell them the “ghost” did it.  Second, these pranks my roommate was pulling were kind of amusing and didn’t really bother me that much.  (I mean sure, I wanted my rock collection back but I doubted my roommate would have thrown them away.  They know how much they mean to me.)

The one thing I was putting my foot down on was that I wasn’t going to ask my roommate what was wrong.  I got the hint, sure, but I wanted them to know that if something is bothering them, they need to, y’know, actually say something instead of leaving spooky pink clues.  They were being a butt, and my hope was that when they saw how much the pink wasn’t bothering me, then they’d finally open up.  This went on for about a week with me going about my daily routine only to be surprised by the occasional pink interruption.

Like on Wednesday, I go to the fridge to get something to drink, and all I find in there is Pink Lemonade.  It actually wasn’t that bad, but I have no idea how my roommate actually got it given that they never leave the apartment.  Thursday, I get a notification saying a package arrived, and find my roommate used my debit card to order the entire Pink Panther cartoon series on DVD.  And earlier on Tuesday, I got a call from my landlord asking if I knew why someone had called in an order, in their name, to have Owens Corning insulation installed.  In case you weren’t aware, that’s the pink insulation who has “you can guess who” as their mascot.

------------

So, Friday rolls around, and by now, the entire apartment is pink.  Like EVERYTHING.  The furniture, the electronics, the toilet, the sink, the appliances, the TV, and everything in between has been made pink somehow.  I’m not sure who out there still makes pink toilet paper, but apparently my roommate has either some special powers I don’t know about yet, or they got connections.

At this point, since my roommate had yet to approach me about “The Pink-ening”, I began playing the reverse-psychology card.  I came home and got to making dinner.  While some of this was a bit more expensive than what I usually spend on food, I figured it was worth it if it meant getting my roommate to talk to me.  My menu included delicious smoked pink salmon, some crab linguine with a nice amount of pink to it for a side dish, and some mashed red potatoes that turn out nice and pink if you got the right recipe.  To wash it down, I picked up a glass of pink lemonade from the fridge, and in the freezer, some strawberry sorbet.

I get down to eating at my pink table, with a pink wooden chair, pink napkins, pink silverware, pink glass of pink lemonade.  It took a little more effort to put this together, but I made an exaggerated point of showing off how good this pink meal was and how much I was just enjoying all this pink.

About halfway into my meal, I get a feeling that someone’s standing behind me.  It’s hard to put into words how you know someone’s there especially since my roommate doesn’t really eat or breath.  It’s like the hairs on the back of your neck become sensitive like cat whiskers and can just... feel that someone’s there.  Usually sends a chill down my spine when that happens, but this time, I was ready and waiting for it.

“Care to join me for dinner?” I say without turning around.  If I had, they probably would have vanished on me again like they had been doing all week.

“Looks... good...” they say in their ever so familiar by now raspy voice.

“Got something you want to talk about?” I ask between bites.  There’s a brief pause as my roommate thinks to themselves.

“...yes,” they finally answer.

“Okay.  Pull up a chair!  It’s been a while since we just, y’know, talked and stuff,” which was true.  

The instant I said that, I realized that even before the “week of pink” began, we hadn’t spent a whole lot of time together outside of our usual TV time.  I had long since figured out that my roommate wanted me to watch Pink Panther with them, but I just thought they wanted to show it to me to show off how (subjectively) good the cartoon was.  Only then did it hit me that they wanted me to watch it with them because they wanted to watch it together with me.  It was like they were hoping for some roommate bonding time or something like that.

Now, it wasn’t like we weren’t talking to each other before this.  I greeted them whenever I saw them, and let them know whenever I came home or was leaving. but we hadn’t actually talked, like... “talk-talk” in a few weeks.  Instead, the conversations over the last few weeks were like the kind of conversations a person would have with their pet cat or pet dog.  Like you’d talk to them, but not really expect an answer from them.

I had been treating her like a pet more than a person.  (Did it again!  I’m thinking I’ll ask them later what kind of pronouns they’d like me to use, or if they’ve even given any thought towards gender or anything).

My guess is that my roommate picked up on this themselves, and just like a disobedient pet who is bored, lonely, or other, they made a mess of the place.  Maybe they were thinking that if I was going to treat them like a pet, they would act like one too?

Of course, I didn’t mean to treat them like that.  I don’t think anyone really does mean it when they do.  It just kind of happens without thinking about it.  The whole reason I’m writing this down here in you, diary, is so that I can make a mental note slash reminder to be careful of doing that kind of thing.  It’s especially important to remember when interacting with other people, like my co-workers or the store customers.  (Unlike my roommate, they can’t get on my case by making my entire apartment pink.)

------------

Now where was I?  Oh yeah, our talk.  I think I remember the most important bits of it.  It went something like:

“So, whaddya wanna talk about?” I ask between bites of food.

“Pink...” they say to me.  I wait a moment, expecting them to say “panther” after that, but it when it doesn’t arrive, I step in.

“Yeah!  Pretty amazing what you did with the place!  I didn’t know things could even get this pink!” which was one-hundred percent true.

“...Thank...you...” they say with a smile.  I can tell that was not the answer they were expecting as I could have swore they turned and blushed.  Although I couldn’t tell because of how pink everything else was.

“Although,” I add, “I don’t think the landlord is going to like the apartment being this pink.  If it stays like this, they might kick me out.  And we wouldn’t want that, right?”

Now my roommate, the apparition, actually looks shocked for a moment.  The thought hadn’t entered their head, and for a moment, they looked a little scared.  “N-n-n-no...” they stuttered.

“Well, I’m sure together, we can get this place back to the way it was before the next time they have an apartment inspection.  Whenever that is,” I reassure them.

“Yeah...” my roommate nods.

“Say I got some time off this upcoming weekend.  Want to watch some Pink Panther with me?”  (Oh my God, you should have seen the smile on my roommate’s face when I asked this.)  “I see I have the DVD collection now, apparently,” I say with a wink, “and we can even watch the movies together too.”

“...movies?” they ask.

“Yeah, the Pink Panther was a movie first before it became a cartoon.  It was a live-action movie, but... well some of it’s like a cartoon here and there.  Lots of slapstick comedy that I think you might like.”  They were practically beaming and agreed immediately.  

After Friday’s dinner, we watched some of the cartoons (which are actually pretty funny) and for the upcoming weekend, we’re doing a Pink Panther movie marathon with cartoons mixed in to spice it up.  I also found out that my roommate doesn’t just watch the cartoons, but actually knows a thing or two about them.  Like how Friz Freleng, one of the directors and creative minds behind the original Looney Tunes cartoons, was involved in the Pink Panther’s creation along with a new studio after he left Warner Brothers.  I don’t know how my roommate came to know so much, but it’s pretty cool.

Anyway, I got me some sweet, pink treats to snack on during the movie marathon.  The apartment is still pink as can be, but my roommate said they’ll take care of it once the marathon’s over.  Exactly HOW they plan to take care of it, I have no idea.  Oh well.  No use pinking too hard about it.

(HA!)

[novasintheroom]

Hey its ray-jaykub! I saw that you did requests and i was wondering if i could get head-cannons on the turtles and what they like to do with their respective s/os

OMG I love you!!! Okay I gotta calm down hooo

Leo

·         Love love loves to carry you over rooftops and sit on high points to look over the city with you. This is one of his ways to calm down and think about things without his brothers’ around to stress him out, and having you there some nights, looking at the glitter of the lights – poetry for his heart

·         Speaking of poetry – you guys will have contests for who can make the worst poems. Just something to pass off to each other between visits, something you find in your bag or in his bed sheets. Cheesy, unrhythmic, stupid, whatever. You guys have cried laughing before b/c of this. However, every once in a while he’ll slap you with a real intimate and loving poem that just makes you melt.

·         You’ve started trying to sneak up on him. It doesn’t work. He still lets you do it, just so he can turn around and grab you at the last second. Sometimes he throws you on the nearest soft surface, sometimes he gives you a big kiss, sometimes he just starts carrying you around like a sack of potatoes – depends on his mood honestly. Your determination to spook him is cute.

·         Watching or listening to True Crime stuff becomes a quick couple’s hobby for you guys. Usually it’s playing in the background as you each do chores or work on some project, but you’ll each talk about the case throughout. You’ve hit him more than once for giving away what happened or who killed who. He’s too good at figuring this kind of stuff out!

·         He loves when you sit with him when he meditates. Even if you aren’t the meditating type, if you just sit quietly by him or read, he already feels much calmer. If he’s practicing balancing moves, he’ll sometimes grab you to hoist you up in the air, “to practice strength” at the same time. You’ve learned it’s a very bad idea to squirm when he’s got you planking above his head; he will start tickling you if you don’t keep still.

Raph

·         Once he gets a good enough disguise, he loves to ride around on his newly built motorcycle with you on the city streets. It’s fun to zip through cars and people and drive out to the sparser points of the city to watch ships come in and out of the bay or go to a park outside the city to watch the lights as they all turn on at dusk.

·         Loooovvess having movie nights with you. Seriously asks for it every week. You two get comfy on the couch with like 3 blankets thrown over your laps and watch something like Jurassic Park or Mad Max and gorge on buttery popcorn and chocolate. Sometimes you’ll slip in a chick flick like Pride and Prejudice. He acts like he doesn’t like it, but you’ve caught a goofy, happy smile on him more than once at the end of the movie, and then he starts lifting your hand like Mr. Darcy and adopting more “romantic” actions and it’s just *chef’s kiss*

·         You guys will spar together. It’s kinda required once you date him; he wants you to be able to kick butt if he can’t get to you fast enough. But these sessions usually end up with you and him wrestling/tickling each other and him holding you down with a foot while he lifts weights. Get comfy princess, he ain’t moving that foot ‘til he get 100 reps.

·         He has a really good eye for fashion and makeup. He’s actually the one that sews together all of his family’s clothes, as much as possible with the scraps they find around. It’s calming to make something instead of the stigma he has of destroying stuff. He’s the first person you SnapChat with an outfit just to make sure it looks good, and he sends back honest feedback, like “why do you still have that scarf, you know it doesn’t match anything in your closet,” or “try the red sweater with that long gold necklace you have.” Everyone compliments your outfits so much because of his input

·         Likes to go swimming with you. There’s a few clear, clean pools in the sewers (Donnie approved) where you guys go just to have a good swim. There’s usually some candles lit and music playing. More often than not, you’ll end up laying on his chest while he floats on the surface and just enjoy each other’s company. At least until he gets the idea to dunk you.

Donnie

·         Sneaking into the rafters of Broadway is a regular event for you guys. He manages to disable any security they have up around your “spot,” and you get a free show with your favorite person. He’ll be quoting his favorite lines for days after, all the while talking about the next show to see. He’d so be a theater kid if he had the chance.

·         One of the main things that got you guys together in the first place was you helping him put together tech he’s working on. It still continues now, since you have a steady hand and a willing ear to listen to his theories and ideas. You’ve even inspired him a few times with your comments! It’s a casual bonding activity for you both, and he values your thoughts.

·         Spontaneous dances are a must. Sometimes he’ll grab you and dance around the room – especially if an experiment of his goes well – sometimes it’ll be goofy dances to see how badly you two can embarrass anyone looking, and other times, you guys will just slow dance before you leave, just as a way to be close before having to part.

·         You guys form your own little potted plant collection in the lair. It’s both a hobby, and a way for you to check on how he’s doing. If he’s doing well, the plants are watered and taken care of. If he’s getting sucked into things and forgetting to care for himself, the plants suffer. He tries to get an auto-watering system for them, but you shut that down quick. It’s good to do some things yourself rather than rely on technology!

·         Cupcake Saturdays are a thing. He’ll take you to a bakery, where you’ll go in and get a box of cupcakes (extra frosting). You guys will then just chow down on them on the rooftop, often with him licking a lot of the frosting off the cupcakes before eating the actual “cake” part.

Mikey

·         Such a fan of trying every new restaurant you can find in NYC. It’s become a date-night tradition every Thursday to either order or pick up some hole-in-the-wall place’s food, meet up somewhere, and Gordon Ramsay the crap out of the food. He does a mean Ramsay impression, and you’ve snorted more than one ramen noodle out of your nose from laughing so hard.

·         If you aren’t a fan of video games, you will be once you date this guy. It’s not even just watching or playing video games with him, he’s just funny when he plays! He’ll make the most stupid comments about something going on in the storyline, or mess around, even glitch out a game. He’s managed to get out of the maps of Among Us more than once. You’re convinced if he started his own YouTube gaming channel, he’d be a quick star.

·         Game nights are a must for you guys. It usually turns into a family game night with you, the turtles, Splinter, April and Casey, which Mikey just adores because he gets to see everyone he loves having fun. You two will usually team up against the others, or turn on each other to stab the other in the back. Uno and Cover Your Assets have made you guys question your loyalty to each other more than once. That Uno Reverse card, man…

·         Arts and crafts are his favorite. Anytime a holiday is coming up, Mikey gets hyped ‘cause he knows you guys are gonna start making decorations for it. You guys will usually make decorations for each other. Mikey loves this, just because he feels like a normal person by having actual Halloween decorations around the lair instead of stuff he and his bros scraped together off the streets.

·         Loves to stargaze with you in the summer time. He’ll convince Donnie to let him drive the truck out of the city to the countryside of New York, bring you with him, and set up on the roof of the truck in the middle of a field (that he totally didn’t crash through a wood fence to get to). Fireflies will fly over your faces, and he’ll joke that they’re shooting stars and make a thousand and one wishes on each of them. He won’t tell you that all of those wishes are for you and him to be together forever, but it’s not hard to guess with how mushy he gets after each one.

[atruedonaldist]

ATD’s Mystery Skulls Future Analysis Post (SPOILERS INBOUND, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!)

Alright gang, here we go, welcome to my analysis of Mystery Skulls Future! I’ll be going over everything I noticed during the video that calls back to both previous videos and information found on MysteryBen27′s posts (about Mystery (the dog) and Shiromori! Another analysis of Arthur and Lewis’ side of the story along with Vivi and The Ancestor will come later.)

It’s highly possible that I may get things wrong, so please feel free to correct me or lend a voice if you spot anything!

Without further ado: let’s get this party started!

Alright first off: wanted to start off with Mystery because HOOO BOY. This doggo. This poor canine.

When Shiromori and Vivi start fighting, he watches in surprise--not lending a hand to either side.Instead, he watches them fight until Vivi gets cut.

That’s when Mystery gets off his laurels and throws Shiromori away (Team Rocket’s blasting off agaiiin!)

And here’s what I wanted to point out. Mystery decidedly did not get involved in their fight until one of them is about to, or gets hurt. Case in point, he didn’t transform until Vivi was nearly beheaded by Shiromori in the beginning, using his own blood as a lure.

After Shiromori blasts off again, he takes Vivi and they work together to defeat Shiromori--but where Vivi is firm and ready to take her life, Mystery looks sad.

He steps in Vivi’s way. Despite Shiromori wanting his blood, he doesn’t want her dead.

Vivi accepts this, but even as she walks away, she’s suspicious of Shiromori. Mystery just sends Shiromori a sad look... like he doesn’t want to leave her, but can’t stay either. Why?

Shiromori’s look is also interesting: she’s surprised, like she wasn’t expecting him to save her. She was surprised when during Hellbent she found him by Vivi’s side, seeing The Ancestor in her, but more on that later.

When Vivi and Mystery walk away, Shiromori is pissed. And she runs with her blade at Mystery again--only to be stopped by Vivi... and then Vivi gets hurt. For real. Not just a nick, this time.

And then Mystery loses it.

Oh would you look at that: Mystery now has eight tails.

Also note the green around his pupil and in his mouth for later, folks--also the bandaid where the blue light burst from.

And in his rage (also note the RAGE!), he attacks Shiromori... becoming injured.

And she’s crying. She drops her weapon, and she sheds a tear. Why?

Mystery tried to stop her, and showed her weakness--and Vivi took advantage.

But watch his reaction.

He’s horrified. More horrified than when Vivi got injured--he cares about Shiromori. And watch Shiromori’s actions too.

She reaches out for him--like she’s asking for help.

And she becomes what looks like (I forget the exact word for it, but they’re brought to life as soldier or such in japanese mythology. I’ll edit this post when I figure out what I’m thinking of, but just think of her as an animated figure like a golom.)

There’s the white light. Note the bandage, once again.

Oh, would you look at that: nine tails.

Oh boy. Generally from the little I’ve researched, Kitsune gain tails by how old they are and by how powerful they are. In Mystery’s case, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gains tails because of everything that he’s lost. I do remember reading somewhere that Kitsune can also gain tails by gaining wisdom, but I can’t find the source of that.

Now, I want to bring attention to the lights.

I think we can all agree that this is Mystery’s heart. Broken, battered, cracked and full of holes. If we take out the two lights we saw before, the blue and white, we have six lights... six tails. Add the original tail, and you’ve got seven during the beginning of Future.

In the original Mystery Skulls, we can see that Mystery had six tails.

But see this:

It’s a little hard to see, but you can count nine tails here. A flashback of The Ancestor that Shiromori sees when she first fights Vivi in Hellbent. Nine tails. We see the bandaids covering Mystery’s heart, exactly where two spots of light are. Important? I think so, but we’ll get back to that later.

I also recall seeing a gif of Mystery’s model where he has seven tails, a preview for either Freaking Out or Hellbent, but someone else will have to find that for me.

Now then: REMEMBER THE GREEN?

HOO BOY. MYSTERY. BUDDY. PAL. (also note: nine tails here as well!)

We also see Lewis and his deadbeatz covering their ears like it’s hurting them, and Arthur’s arm going haywire...

Now, this isn’t particularly hidden, but...

Pretty safe to assume that whatever possessed Arthur took advantage of his moment of a hurt heart. But we also know that it only possessed half of him... while for Mystery--

It took it all.

(also note the smile. Jesus, this thing likes smiling at despair.)

Just. Just. WhooOOOOO BOY.

His tails also reflect the colour of the lights... now, who wants to bet that the orange and the purple is Lewis and Arthur? Blue is Vivi of course, and the White being Shiromori.

Speaking of Shiromori, let’s rewind a bit back to Hellbent.

Here, we see Mystery looking at a flower. The forest around them is dead, devoid of life.

And then we see Mystery giving his blood to the flower...

And the forest, now in full bloom. Would you look at that: Nine tails. Wonder where those tails went, Mystery?

In the next scene in Hellbent, we also see The Ancesor and Mystery fighting... and Shiromori’s outrage when she sees him working beside Vivi. Somewhere along the way, either Mystery and The Ancestor became buds (evidence by the flashback with the Ancestor protecting Mystery) or The Ancestor chained Mystery somewhow. I’m putting my faith in the former, though.

And here’s what I wanted to bring to light.

It seems obvious that Shiromori was created by Mystery--or at least, nurtered to full bloom by him. And he cares for her too... but when she starts seeking out his blood actively, he’s forced to leave, to preserve his own life. Despite knowing how to kill her, he never does. Instead, he runs.

And remember how he looked when she was finally killed? And the way she reached out to him? It makes you think, doesn’t it? He didn’t want either of them (Vivi or Shiromori) to get hurt or killed. But they were at odds... and the bandaids holding together his heart finally broke.

How much of his actions were performed out of loneliness? He nurtered Shiromori, brought her to life... but in the end didn’t kill her, even though she wanted his blood. And even when she did slice him in Future, she cries. She cries for him, like she didn’t want it to come to this. Why?

Why did Mystery lose two of his tails? What are the other four lights, assuming that Arthur and Lewis are two of them? How did the fight between The Ancestor and Mystery end up with him accompanying Vivi?

There are so many questions and definitely not enough answers, and I don’t have the smarts to come up with theories for them all.

I hope this analysis helps some people, though! These were just a couple of things I noticed while watching about Shiromori and Mystery--Mystery especially because he’s been my favourite since day one, and I always wished he could get the limelight at some point... though not like this.

I also know I probably missed so many things about them, so if you catch any that I forgot or missed, please let me know! I hope you enjoyed reading!

EDIT: Wow, I thought I edited this but I guess it didn’t save. Thanks, tumblr.

Wanted to point out that I completely forgot to mention my previous thoughts about what Shiromori was--I believe she could be a jubokko.

According to folklore, it appears in former battlefields where many people have died, and its appearance does not differ that much from ordinary trees. Since it becomes a yōkai tree by sucking up large quantities of blood from the dead, it lives on human blood. When a human being happens to pass by, it supposedly captures the victim and, changing its branches into the shape of a tube, sucks the blood out of the victim. A Jubokko that sucks life out of human beings in such a way is said to always maintain a fresh appearance.

Of course she’d be feeding off of Mystery’s blood instead. This lends way to the theory that Shiromori wasn’t originally a creation of Mystery’s, but rather a creation of the graveyard of warriors that tried to attack Mystery in his forest safe haven, of sorts. Just a thought!