#He did help them he would story wise too he is a sweet kid

[moonilit]

😭😭 what the hell this is so cutee

Come on you cant NOT give it to him 😭

They give us free Freminet then his weapon COME ON

[lovethetasteofnothing]

good parenting, bad timing | ghostsoap

silly feverish brain writes silly fluffy scenarios..

part 1 | part 2

singleparent!soap who's bringing his daughter on her first day at a new school. she clearly isn't happy with the fact that she had to move again and she's complaining about how much she doesn't like ("hate is a very strong word my wee angel, yee should use it wise-like") her daddy's job. a sweet frown on her face as he tries to coax her into going into the school by herself because he's already running late.

but he can't help giving in when he sees the tears filling up her big puppy eyes, his arms wrapping around her and squeezing her as if to remind her he'll always be there for her. she was so different, yet so similar to him in so many ways, but the way she was so shy to warm up to people and make new friends was really the biggest discrepancy between the two of them.

so that's how singleparent!soap ended up late for work, choosing to be a good dad and help his little girl navigate the school until she reached her class. he knew how hard it was for her to constantly adapt to the change in environment, moving around or being left in someone's care while he went away, no promise was made that he'd return to her. and to be honest, it hurt his soul to see her suffering so deeply while he served for something he believed in.

and it broke his ego a little when he noticed his new team just staring at him when he showed up 10 minutes late, a specifically loud scoff accompanied by bitter words throwing him off for the rest of the day.

"so we're taking anyone in now, is it?" more of a mock than a remark. singleparent!ghost knew he was being a prick right now but after sleeping for barely a few hours last night he could care less if the new sergeant felt welcome or not.

besides the draining insomnia and the terrifying nightmares he suffered if he managed to sleep, he also had a little scoundrel to take care of. she resembled her pop, of course she did, but he knew deep down that she was so much more of a people-person than he was and would ever be. so when he woke up startled by his daughter's hand gently shaking him awake, he knew he had his fill of sleep for the night.

he had to pull her up and sit her down on his bed, wiping away crocodile tears from her blue eyes as she started talking about her nightmare and then drifted away to easy conversation about her day at school, the details she missed and whatever else she had found interesting that day. Simon couldn't complain, knowing that his daughter trusted, even loved him enough to share all of these things with him.

singleparent!ghost who wrapped her in a comfortable embrace, stroking her hair and nodding along to her story as he felt her drifting off to sleep. he knew he was too awake now to get any more winks of rest so he just spent the rest of the night holding his precious daughter, making sure she wouldn't get another nightmare like her daddy did.

he had promised himself to offer her a (great) childhood, something he had been robbed of and would never experience again. a thorn in his side whenever he thought about his life.

so when her mom left two years ago and simon was faced with the cold hard fact that he had to do everything by himself from now on, he felt like the world was falling apart. besides losing a lover he had put so much trust in, he had lost an important piece of his kid's life. for weeks he'd blame himself and think about the worst case scenario ,about his little princess growing up despising him for making her mom leave.

he had recovered, partially at least. he still blamed himself for the entirety of the fiasco. maybe he should have been a better boyfriend, proposed sooner, asked to be serious after they had had a kid. but he knew commitment meant inevitably losing someone and he wasn't ready to put it down on a piece of paper. to him it felt like signing a contract with the devil, knowing that the end goal was your own personal suffering.

but now he didn't have time to think about home or his ex, not when there was so much to do and so little time before he had to run and pick up his girl, bring her home and continue his tasks.

"get a clock next time, Sergeant. nobody likes a tardy soldier" he didn't know what had gotten into him... he was being oddly rude even for his usual self. Simon blamed it on the two hours of sleep.

even though the day went well and nobody had managed to piss him off except for the unhappy Sgt, he found himself constantly pestering the new man, a few snarky comments unintentionally leaving his mouth throughout the day. there was something about him that unsettled simon.

singleparent!ghost didn't have time for this though as he went to pick up his girl. the happiest man on earth when she ran and jumped in his arms. he wasn't wearing that scary mask anymore, his daughter and her friends didn't like it; or the balaclava because his girl always complained that she couldn't see any of daddy's face and it made her sad.

so he had to compromise and wear a simple black mask instead, still keeping part of his identity concealed.

but today she wasn't alone, no. it wasn't unusual for her to bring a friend over and ask if they could hang out but he wasn't familiar with the girl from today, he hadn't seen her before.

"daddy! daddy! can Blair come and play with me this week? please daddy, please?" his daughter always spoke so quickly, so enthusiastic about the topic at hand that it was hard to understand her sometimes. it was moments like these when he remembered that she was only partially like him, the chaotic and sweet side of her behavior coming from her now absent mother.

"we'll need to talk to her parents, won't we, princess?" he agreed with her softly, kneeling down and introducing himself to the new little girl. she seemed shy to say the least, her demeanor was neutral, almost a frown, even though her tone was so gentle and she had attempted to give him an awkward smile while talking. how come his daughter always found a new type of personality to attach her own to?

"Blair, pet, ah told ye to wait by the front gate. Ye got me all worried-" Soap was trying so hard not to let the shock show through on his face.

he hadn't recognized him at first, not when he saw just part of his face covered by a black mask, but his uniform was a dead giveaway, there was no way he could mistake him. did that fucking lieutenant have to show up here too?

"late again, Sergeant?"

this is the fanart that inspired the brainrot <3

creds divider: @/cafekitsune

[paikothecateater]

Why do a lot of Nordic fic writers just despise Iceland? I've noticed his character is never relevant to the story. Why is he always a side character? He almost never gets any character development. Not only does it suck, it also makes the fic more awkward. Like, some major event happens to the Nordics and it's almost like he was gone when it happened.

Everyone is going through some form of complex emotions to try to process the events of the fic and Iceland's just... On the side like it's a normal Tuesday. It's really off putting.

He is also almost always one dimensional. People, if your character's personality can be summed up in two words, you did a bad job developing them.

Repeat after me, Iceland. Is. Not. Just. 'edgy teen'.

It's a little infuriating because they come up with these intricate details about the others, so I know they don't just suck at making characters.

I'm not necessarily saying 'we need more Iceland fics' even though I would love to see more of those. Most Iceland fics I've read have been very disappointing. Guys, just because he's a teenager doesn't mean you have to make a high school fic.

Even if you don't want to make him a main character, he makes for a fantastic exposition character.

An exposition character is a character who technically doesn't play a huge role in the story, but they have little mini arcs throughout the story that help support the A story, either directly or indirectly. They're usually the first character we see which is why I call them an exposition character. Their actions usually lead us to meeting the protagonists. Sometimes they run into the protagonists, sometimes not.

If you really want to isolate Iceland from the rest, you can at least give him his own individual arc. I personally think separating Iceland from the rest is a bit of a jerk move, but if you're going to do it anyway, you shouldn't abandon his character entirely.

Another huge issue I have with a lot of these fics is Sealand.

Listen, I absolutely adore Sealand. He's a really sweet character and I think the idea of him being more or less adopted by the Nordics is nothing short of adorable.

But, when we start shoving Iceland to the side in favour of Sealand, that's when I start having some problems.

'but we need a child character so they can learn from the older ones' guys, I don't know why you refuse to believe this, but Iceland is an actual child. He is a child.

'he's a teen, he's not that young' what are you on about?! Literal child. He's a kid.

Now, even though it's miles better than the Danish slaughterhouse, Gutters is still objectively terrible story wise.

I love Denmark and Sealand's dynamic and all, but come on!

Before anyone comes at me, listen, Sealand is a great character and all, but making him a main character in a Nordic fic because you want a child character meanwhile you have a perfectly good Nordic character who is a child at your disposal, you just don't want to use him because he's 'too old'. Listen, I'm not an expert on children by any means, but I've interacted with children of both of those ages and let me tell you, both of those ages would act the exact same way in an apocalyptic situation. Iceland and Denmark also have actual history, that could have made for a number of interesting plot lines.

But this isn't even my biggest issue with the fic. My hugest issue comes by the end.

Everyone is shown processing Denmark's death in their own ways. Each of the Nordics have their moment where they're shown grieving... EXCEPT FOR ICELAND!

You know what he's doing? Fuck all! That's what! How do you even butcher a character so much? Might I remind you that Iceland worries about Denmark the most out of the others canonically!? You're telling me he's just standing off to the side silently shedding a couple tears? Bro...

I just hate it when Iceland's character is pushed aside like this.

Most people finished Gutters crying, I finished it fucking pissed.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[fandom-rants]

What’s your opinion about Tony taking Peter along with him to the airport? Of course he did NOT force him or blackmail him, people are literally making shit up to make Tony look bad (because that’s literally all they have, just words without facts) but just in general what do you think?

The way i see it, this is a good, supposed to be safe mission  preparation first mission for him, but people saying he was bad for doing this to peter.

What do you think?

I mean, storyline-wise, it's pretty forced. The MCU high-ups were like, "Spider-Man makes money; let's get him in there!" So. What can you do.

From within, I liked how we were already well past his origin story, and I loved the dynamic between two Nerdy Boys, I thought the thing about Aunt May being young was weird but fine, since I love getting away from tropes and the 'sweet grandma' trope has been beaten to death. I loved Spider-Man as he was written and acted because he was the quintessential silly nerd weirdo who got crazy excited over stuff and nerded out about weaponry and superheroes and everything.

I liked how Tony was explicitly stated to order Peter to stay back and just web them up. I like how both of them were still playing around a little bit; the "Underoos!" thing made it clear Tony wanted Steve to knock it off but never expected a real fight. Even after having Spider-Man take Steve's shield, he still didn't instigate a battle; he just wanted to use Spider-Man as a tool for de-escalation. I was pleasantly surprised, at the time, by Steve being the one to push for a battle, and for his side to end up going WAY too far over and over again, because it proved his imperfections, which I love to see in my superheroes. (I of course abhorred the backtracking in later movies.)

Overall, I thought Tony noticing Peter made sense, since Tony's been leading the Avengers in all but name since the start, no matter what anyone says about Steve, and it makes sense for Tony to be on the lookout for others like himself and the team. It also makes sense that Tony sat on this after learning who Peter was until he found he needed someone to help him get his friends back before the United States government killed them. I wasn't fond of the sudden trip to Germany, but I understood the need for speed and, with the information given about Tony's original plan, I realize he was backed against a wall and making a tough choice.

I loved how, when everything got bad as hell, Tony stopped everything and ran to Peter to order him to stand down and stay out of the fight; I loved how scared he'd been when he'd gotten to Peter's side, because the kid had been in real danger thanks to Steve's team and could have gotten hurt far worse. It is telling to me that Steve was the one to injure Peter, even after learning how young Peter was (there's no way Peter's voice was the voice of an adult, ffs), yet Steve did not ensure Peter was okay. Tony did. Tony was the one to check if the kid was all right and then ensure he stayed out of the increasingly escalating battle.

If the rest of the MCU movies hadn't come out and I hadn't been forced by a bunch of brats on the Internet to endure some of the dumbest bullshit the MCU fandom writes about how sweet angel Steve Rogers did no wrong and evil devil Tony Stark wrought the world asunder, I would actually say that I loved Civil War, for all its faults. Because Steve wanted to be a hero, Tony kept trying to hold everything together, and neither of them did a perfect job but Tony did well and Steve did horribly, and it was about time we got some character depth on Captain America and got to see Tony's merits as a leader, too.

And then. You know. The rest of the movies, and the fandom, and now I want to burn the world to ashes every time someone even mentions MCU Steve Rogers or Civil War to me.

[bareee]

are you planning to ship your tav with any of the companions? youve mentioned that the main 6 he would considsr too young but halsin or someone along those lines? i think the mutual stability in their characters would soften each others edges in a very sweet way but if you plan to keep your tav single i think their friendship would be extremely interesting too! will minthara get killed or added to the party? im so excited to see how all the characters resolve their arcs and how the creche and moonrise and everything else goes :D your art is so gorgeous too!!! the way you draw all of the characters is just so good <333 you really catch all the aspects of them that make people adore this game and thats such an amazing skill to have!!! i hope you have a good whatever it is when you read this!!!!!

Imma try keepin this short…but I doubt it’s gonna be XD

1. ‘Ppreciate ya~ happy ya enjoy my mess XD even though Im always over in the corner muttering about my poor consistency that drives me crazy

2. I’ve said this many times I’m pretty sure as replies to comments lost in the void somewhere, Through the 2 full playthroughs I’ve done, I didnt care to romance cause I couldn’t help but cringe myself even at the gale and Astarion stuff I couldn’t get away from. Im not good at romancy stuff movin so quickly like the game puts ya through,so I was dyin. And ‘in game wise’ Mark is like how Jaheria is, I’ve found thats the best way to put it. He’s gone through enough for himself to handle already at this point in his background story, and the best way to describe it is he’s just tired. Maybe in post game he’ll warm up, I think Imma leave that up to all yal and yer votin’ honestly. I’ve thought about it for a bit now and yal’s choices in Mark’s story I give you directing who he grows close to works well for me as I warm up to these goofballs, course as I said It’d still be more post game when he relaxes with stuff like that depending on what path yal put him on.

3. Kinda related to #2, Half of the main six are too young, not all. Gale is i think literally Mark’s age if not close and if I ignore elves and their age weirdness, Astarion and Shadowheart are fine. If/when the vote options open Mark up more to someone, Wyll,Karlach, and Laezel will never be more than family/kids to him. Nu….

4.We’ll get to Halsin…. I know I say that a lot when he comes up, but ughhh…. I will say I agree him and Mark have a lot they share and can grow together, but the horny side of Halsin drove me insane in the game and really made it where it was hard to talk to him cause the niceness felt so….uggghhh…. I’ll get to it,I’ll get to it, I’m gettin around that part of Halsin that loves to be constantly shoved in front… but aghhhh. Jaheria’s my favorite outta the side peeps obviously XD and Minsc is fun

5. Spoiler, I’m letting yal decide on if Minthara stays around! Wooooo, we’ll get thereeee XD And if yal choose to keep her alive it wont mean other peeps leave like the game does, we’ll see how that goessss. Halsin and wyll and whoever else will stay around of course, Wyll’s adorable and yal ain’t takin em away from me. In my playthroughs I could never go her route officially, never will. Little baby tieflings too cute, I refuse…

Think that’s all of it, woooooo I did ittttt! Hope I make senseeeeee yaaaay

[zwy01]

Blood Moon AU!! Part 2 - More werewolves

Second part (continued) of my second major AU, Blood Moon AU. The nobles and werewolves basically have a race swap in an almost brand new setting.

For more info, check out my first two posts where I explained the general lore and setting of this AU (highly recommended for a better understanding):

The characters.

Ladybug: Father of Cloudy, whom he had with an unnamed werewolf woman. Many people mistake Ladybug for a dangerous, evil person due to his creepy appearance, but he’s actually a pretty nice dude. The sockets of his eyes are just very deep and people can’t seem to catch a glimpse of his irises no matter how hard they look, hence the assumption that he’s about to suck every passerby’s soul and transfer them to himself to extend his lifespan. Doesn’t help that he’s always smiling. It almost looks like he’s sneering. Ladybug doesn’t mind. He’s too old for this shit. He’d just chuckle and go along with it. He’d strike a menacing pose and bare his fangs, and they’d all run away screaming. Haha, that was fun. Felt great, might do it again.

No one knows how old Ladybug is. It seems like he’s been around since forever ago. The werewolves even call him a living fossil. He takes it as a compliment because it means he’s wise and timeless. Ladybug would be minding his own business and he’d happen to eavesdrop on some werewolves talking about an old story, and he’d spook them by appearing from behind a bush and saying “Oh? Didn’t know the things I did in my youth are being told as Mother Moon’s tales now. Care to recite from the beginning for this old man?” Once again they run away in terror. Oh, poo. Tsk tsk, young pups these days are so sensitive and can’t stand humor at all. At least his daughter understands him and fully embraces his weirdness.

Ladybug lives with his daughter Cloudy, whom he had as an old man. Cloudy’s mother is alive and well; she just doesn’t live with them. Ladybug raised Cloudy for the most part, who is very attached to him. As a retired warrior, Ladybug does farming as a hobby and grows a variety of delicious crops because Cloudy doesn’t eat meat. He breeds special types of vegetables, fruits, and grains for her to enjoy. Currently, his goal is to create the perfect crunchy, tangy sweet berry because his daughter likes those very much. He can’t wait to bake a delicious pie for her with these ingredients and see her smile.

Ladybug’s favorite color is green because his daughter’s eyes are green. It’s also the hair color of his daughter’s mother, who was his lover.

Ladybug is not your typical werewolf warrior. He is also a master of magic, and you can always count on him to know the specific spell to your specific issue if you need help from him. He can both harm and help you, if he chooses to. There’s probably even a proverb that says “if you get fleas up your buttcrack on a full moon night, Ladybug will hunt you down and cook you in a stew” or something. Yikes. Probably made up anyway. Eh, still giving it some credit because it’s a good way to scare the kids and get them to quiet down and go to bed without making a fuss. Lord Peach’s adopted daughter Rosemary is a student and fan of Ladybug. She calls him “Teacher Buggy”. He is extra nice to her because she is part of Cloudy’s core friend group and his daughter always talks about how nice “Rosie” is. Usually, he would reject those who come to him asking for magic lessons, but he gives private lessons to Rosemary. Dang, she must’ve bribed him, lol. Thanks to Rosemary, Ladybug has learned about a certain noble streamer named Zivon Tradio aka “GlitterDream KittyPaws”, who is also a magician. Ladybug isn’t his fan, but he sometimes watches his streams just to criticize his spells. Rosemary thinks it’s hilarious.

Ladybug has no other living relatives aside from his daughter.

Grub: Son of unnamed werewolves. Unlike Ladybug, who just seems creepy but really isn’t, Grub is creepy to the core. It’s just him being… him. 100% original Grub guaranteed. He’s either lying still with his face planted to the ground and mumbling to himself, which can last for hours, or he’s hyper and jumping from tree to tree and finally off a cliff. Once he even tried to dive into an active volcano. There’s rarely any in betweens. It’s okay if he gets hurt, he’ll heal up in no time. It even feels good to get hurt. Fractures, burns, external and internal bleeding, almost-decapitation… he has a new to-do list everyday. He’ll even feel itchy on the inside if he doesn’t let himself bleed every now and then. That’s what the werewolves’ superior healing is for, and he’s totally abusing this ability. He would just shrug it off when people point out to him that he’s basically addicted to self-harm. It’s just called having fun! He would then cackle and squeal and bark back and forth on a crescendo and decrescendo like a total maniac. The werewolves would just assume that he’s under Ladybug’s curse or something, because he clearly isn’t in his right mind. Oh well, it’s not like they have to be friends with him. And who knows if it’s contagious or not, so better leave quickly to be safe than sorry.

Grub’s current self has something to do with his childhood. He was born into a big family, as his parents had many children back to back, litter after litter. He’s just one of the dozens of children. Grub is a quintuplet and the runt of his litter. Initially, his parents wanted to abandon him, as it would’ve been a waste to feed him since he would just die anyway. But little Grub cried and squeaked and howled for milk, as if he didn’t know what giving up was. Then his parents changed their mind. Perhaps they ended up giving him a chance because they were entertained. Sure, they’ll be generous this one time and see how things turn out. If he dies, they’ll just eat him. They even named him Grub out of spite; crawling on the floor on his hands and knees and struggling for life just like a grub. Befitting of such a weak, unimpressive pup.

Grub was strong. He was resilient despite his circumstances. He managed to survive, but his growth is permanently stunted to this day. His childhood was less than ideal. When it was meal time, his parents left little to no prey for him, and he could only watch his brothers and sisters wolf down their dinner because he was too small and weak to even fight for the scraps. He filled his belly by gnawing on bones and whatever had been left over after his family had their share. He learned to break bones and suck on the marrow. Sometimes he’d crush and eat the bones too when he got desperate. Other than that, he’d stuff himself with dried grass, snow, and even dirt in order to stave off hunger. This is why Grub is short and small even in adulthood. Sure, he’s lean and compact, as he’s been eating well ever since he left his hell of a family and taught himself how to hunt, but his height is stuck at where it is now. He’s just a smidge taller than what would be considered a short werewolf woman. Perhaps the lack of nourishment during his vital childhood days had also done something to his brain. Either that, or he was born creepy. Or both. The werewolves are scared of him, but they also pity him. He didn’t choose to become like this anyway. Grub taking extreme measures to hurt himself is probably just his way of coping.

Grub is a warrior, but he isn’t allowed to spar without having many other warriors chaperoning the battleground because Grub doesn’t spar to train. He fights to kill. He disrespects the protocol and has no sense of honor, and won’t stop even when his sparring partner has yielded. There was a time when the warriors had to collectively restrain Grub and pry his fangs off the neck of his sparring partner whom he had defeated in a duel, because he just wouldn’t let go. He wanted to draw blood. More blood. Even more blood. To him, he’s not done until he crushes his opponent’s throat. To this day, the incident’s witnesses haven’t forgotten about all the bleeding and crying and the gruesome screams that had echoed throughout the mountains. Grub’s victim had retired from fighting ever since and went into hiding. And Grub? He never apologized.

Grub doesn’t really have any hobbies other than thrill seeking and self-harming. Maybe he just hasn’t discovered anything yet. Well, he should apply for a job as a communal alarm clock because you can always bet that he’d be screaming and howling by 4:00 am sharp. Even Mother Moon needs her beauty sleep. Grub disagrees.

Grub doesn’t have a crush on anyone as of now. Some werewolves doubt his ability to even recognize members of his pack as his own kind. Can he even see them that way? Hard to say. Grub isn’t dumb in the slightest, he’s just crazy... good for him, then.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for future posts!

[artsywriter25]

Let’s talk about Kung Fu Panda 4

Okay, so we finally got some updates on KFP4, the plot, the director and what to expect to see in the film. My reaction to this is….mix.

On one hand, I’m so happy we got something! But on the other hand, I’m just really nervous and I don’t like this deflated feeling. So I’m writing this out to share my thoughts and wanting to hear what the fandom thinks. I’ll try not to make this too long or sound like a rant, I’m going straight to the point and talk about the good and bad about KFP4.

=

So first let’s talk about the director: Mike Mitchell

……Oh boy.

Ok I’m not gonna give the guy any crap, I’m willing enough to give him a chance. Yes I know he directed Trolls, but he also directed Shrek Forever After. I looked back at that movie after The Last Wish and it’s not really that bad. It was actually sweet and serious in some parts. And that’s what I hope this director will do, have the 4th film at least serious in some parts and don’t make it too goofy or jokey where it feels awkward.    

Now on to the story and this is the best way I can summarize this from a few articles I’ve read:

“ Po is getting promoted to be the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace, but he has to choose someone to take his place as the new Dragon Warrior. He catches a theft fox who he could see potential in their skills but they don’t get along. But Then a Chinese sorcerer known as ‘The Chameleon’, has summon Po’s past villains from the dead. Now Po and his (student?) must journey together and stop this new villain. ”  

So judging by the information that we got, it sounds like many years have passed since the third movie. Po becoming leader actually worries me because it’s probably hinting that Master Shifu may pass away and now Po has to take his responsibilities (This is just a guess so sorry Shifu fans!).  

There is also this fox character they have mention in the articles which they can’t seem to get the name right and they keep flipping their gender. First it was misspelled as Shen, then it was Chen and Zhen so I’m just gonna call them Fox for now on.

I wonder what kind of story arc will they give Fox. What’s their backstory? What kind of lessons they must learn? Does Po see himself in them or are they both different with different views? These are some questions I hope they answer. Giving Po a student to teach was a direction I theorized DreamWorks will go down and I’m glad they did. The trilogy had Po as a student, now taking the role of masterful teacher, it make sense to passed down those experiences to someone. I can really image the funny shenanigans they can get in to, along with the Furious Five. I think it would have been awesome if they each had a student too and they all come together fighting the villains with the skills they were taught. If there’s one thing I’m really worried about is the Five getting pushed aside for this new character or Fox ending up being a perfect character. Have Fox be flawed, have them be a kid we can relate and root for and something that the kids will like too.

Now let’s talk about my most favorite thing of all: THE VILLAINS!!!

OH MY GOD MY FANGIRL IS TRYING TO TAKE OVER! TAI LUNG, SHEN AND KAI ARE COMING BACK!! AND I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS A GOOD OR BAD THING!!??

I am shock, like I never expected they go down this route. Story wise, I understand why the three shouldn’t come back as they served their purpose as villains, but no, they are bringing them all back. A actual animation studio is listening and giving the fans what they wanted??

DreamWorks must be watching their fandoms, that’s the only explanation I can think of. They must have saw all of our fanarts and fanfics and went like “Oh damn, they really love are villains…you know what, let’s bring them back.”

So how will this affect the story? I honestly don’t know, maybe Fox has to learn all body, mind, and spirit in order to help Po and the Five.

Now what I’m really surprised is they choose a chameleon to be the forth villain. I did some research this morning, and there’s not that many species that look intimidating. But if they could make a peacock threatening, I’m sure they can make a chameleon threatening too. I even looked up about sorcerers in China and I think they meant shamans. Chinese shamans are known to be wizards or spirit mediums, this could mean the Chameleon may have some connection to the spirit realm, which I hope they explored more on. I read some of this under Wikipedia, its very interesting.

=

And that’s all I have to say for Kung Fu Panda 4. I am a little worry for this film but I’m not gonna get worked up about it, I’m gonna stay positive that it will work and I’m sure it will. The only thing that could save this film is the animation. I think KFP is perfect for that hybrid spiderverse animation.  

But what do you guys think and are you still excited for the sequel?? If you wanna discuss anything about this I’m all ears. 

[burnwater13]

Ashoka Tano speaking to Grogu and Din Djarin in the woods of Corvus. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 5, The Jedi. Calendar from DataWorks. Caption reads: I've only known one other being like this - a wise Jedi Master named Yoda. - Ahsoka Tano.

Hey folks. I'm taking some time off from our routine, daily stories and just re-running some stories from 2023. Hope you enjoy them. I'll be back with fresh content soon.

This story first ran November 1, 2023. Titled 'What Kind am I?'

Grogu thought a lot about what his dad said that day on Tatooine. “If I can locate another of my kind…”. That turned out to be pretty easy. When Mandalorians weren’t hiding they stuck out like sore thumbs. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was did anyone know what ‘kind’ Grogu was?

Ahsoka Tano had said she knew Master Yoda, but then so did Grogu. He wasn’t locked away in some closet at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He was there with the rest of the younglings and Master Yoda visited them all from time to time. But that didn’t mean he knew what ‘kind’ they were. 

Lot of different kinds of people were at the Jedi Temple. Lots of different kinds of people became Jedi. But of Grogu’s kind there were only three of them. Master Yoda, Master Yaddle, and Grogu. Grogu didn’t have any illusion that he was their child either. That was sweet and romantic and convenient. Nope. Not their kid. 

And even if he had been their child, what kind of parents were they? They weren’t raising him. They didn’t teach him songs to learn his numbers, or tell him stories about their home world, or even pat him on the head when he’d done something particularly clever. He much preferred to think of them both as people he had met and could not un-meet. 

Now, here he was on Nevarro, with his dad, Din Djarin, Mandalorian Bounty Hunter and all around good guy. They watched out for each other. They told each other funny stories. They ate the same food (sometimes) and they both burped in the same distinctive manner. They even had the same eye color. 

Grogu was Din Djarin’s apprentice and was going to learn how to fly a starship and be a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter. That seemed really cool and so far it had been pretty exciting. But considering everything that had happened with the Clan Mudhorn Festival and the fact that Luke Skywalker had come all the way across the galaxy to help him when he really needed the help, Grogu felt a tiny bit of the old Jedi spirit tugging back at him. Were they actually his kind?

He wasn’t sure who he should talk to about this sort of stuff. Grogu didn’t want to talk to his dad. That would just make the Mandalorian sad and think that Grogu didn’t love him and that was beyond wrong and there was no way he was going to hurt his dad like that. Nope. 

But then, Luke wasn’t the right person to talk to either. Luke had a vested interest in Grogu returning to Jedi Sleep Away Camp and Grogu was well aware of that. He should probably just start training his nephew and see how things went. Grogu knew too much to be a student and too little to be a master and most importantly, he knew that.

He supposed that he could talk to the High Magistrate, but Greef Karga was still too excited over how the Clan Mudhorn Festival had worked out in Nevarro City and was already planning one for next year. Sure the name would change a little, but then it wasn’t going to just be something Clan Mudhorn put together for everyone to enjoy. ‘The Nevarro City Council of Civic Engagement Proudly Presents an Evening of Story Telling, Culture, and Friendship’ is what Grogu heard the High Magistrate tell Fennec, once the prior night’s event was all wrapped up.

Maybe he should talk to Fennec. She had done a lot of different things and had dealt with some real setbacks and knew exactly how to analyze a situation. She collected data, drew conclusions, took action and made it all look so easy. The only draw back to speaking with Fennec was that she might think he’s not as cute and competent as she told other people he was. ‘Listen to the kid, he’s got a good feel for that’, ‘Grogu knows what he’s doing, pay attention people’, and ‘Don’t tell your dad, you’ll be fine, you always are’. He really didn’t want to risk that happening. 

Grogu sighed deeply.

“Hey! Ya little womp rat… oh, sorry, you don’t like being called a womp rat any more, you’re growin’ up so fast! Would you like Auntie Peli to get ya some nice dung worms? You need to keep up your energy if you’re goin’ to go all dark side on us.” 

Peli Motto scooped him up, tweaked his nose gently and carried him over to the campfire that his dad set up outside the cabin. They had all been having a quiet day together, chatting and playing games, like chase the frog, find the target, and hide from the Jedi. 

“Ya know, you need to get some rest, just relax, and maybe, just maybe, watch the clouds float by. Look at me! First time off Tatooine ever and here I am with my best friends doin’ nothing but havin’ fun. This is my kind of life… I just hope Treadwell doesn’t sell the garage while I’m gone.”

HA! There it was! This was Grogu’s ‘kind’ too. Kind of life that is. Surrounded by friends, just having fun and eating a big bowl of slow roasted dung worms. What could be better than that?

[ecargmura]

A Sign Of Affection Episode 12 Review + Final Thoughts - Their Expanding World

This is one of the best romance anime I’ve watched! It’s sweet, cute and satisfying to watch. I would totally buy the manga just to see what happens next. Did the ending satisfy me? Mostly, but there are some gripes, but very minor.

The finale is mainly Yuki and Itsuomi going on a date and I think it’s the prettiest thing ever. They go to a botanical garden and admire the flowers there. All the flowers looked so pretty! The animation studio went all out with making them look so gorgeous! I legit spent ten minutes taking snapshots of the flowers because, like Yuki, I really like taking pictures of flowers! I felt like my eyes were cleansed.

I really liked Yuki finally learning why Itsuomi likes to travel. When Itsuomi was a boy, he moved to Germany and couldn’t adjust. When he saw a German boy with a soccer ball, the first thing he said was that he wanted to play soccer with him, to which the boy asked for him to come over to play, which started their friendship. This caused Itsuomi to love languages. He loves how people communicate with words. This is why he travels to different places so that he can teach kids about his culture and communicate with them. I think language is a beautiful thing too! Being able to communicate with someone in different language is an amazing feeling. I speak Korean to my parents and a few family friends while I speak English to my brother and anyone outside of my family. I think it’s amazing how language flows into your mind and allows you to process it and then you make it come out in whatever language option you scroll to in your brain. I think the most successful thing about communication and language is getting a response. It means someone understands you. It means you did a great job working so hard to learning the language. I get that feeling! I also understand why Itsuomi likes Yuki so much because she cannot hear words, so she ‘speaks’ by using her hands but still manages to convey herself. I think sign language is amazing and I see why Itsuomi is so fascinated by it.

I do like that the ending shows good resolutions for mostly everyone. Kyouya and Rin are officially dating with the former giving the latter a cute red ring as a present. Emma finally gives Shin a chance and the two start dating to test the waters. Oushi is still pining for Yuki, so there’s really no ‘good resolution’ for him romance-wise. Izumi does seem like she still has a thing for Oushi, but whether they will get together is unknown. Yuki finally gets her passport and she also is reunited with Madoka after a while at her workplace. Madoka’s just as energetic as her aunt and it’s cute. Overall, the finale ends happily. Nothing too tragic or confusing happens. Everyone is happy.

Final Thoughts

Like I said, A Sign of Affection is one of the best romance animes I’ve seen in a while. I do like that animes are giving cute romances a chance and it’s really working well. I really enjoyed My Love Story with Yamada at Lv. 999 and My Happy Marriage, and I’m glad that this anime helped me keep the momentum of me enjoying romance animes going.

What I like most is that the anime does revolve around young adults either college-aged or working adults (in Kyouya’s case), so all of the issues and conflicts are handled and resolved maturely. There’s no frustrating misunderstand that could be resolved by talking it out or aggravating love triangles. It’s a pure, simple and sweet love story about people in love.

The characters are great! While there’s nothing absolutely fantastic about them, I do love how they all have layered personalities that help them avoid the usual shoujo romance cliches. Yuki is reserved, shy and deaf. However, her reservedness and shyness does not interfere with her wanting what she wants and liking what she likes. She has so much personality and even gives sass to Oushi when he’s being too much. People usually think that being shy or reserved makes one a bland character, but Yuki’s nothing like that at all. She’s reserved, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t think she’s not worthy of Itsuomi. Instead, she sprints towards acknowledging her feelings as love and keeps racing on. Also, she is deaf but she doesn’t make that her entire character. She’s not seen as pitiful for being unable to hear and will stand her ground when things get tough for her due to her disability. Everyone who meets her likes her as a person, showing that she has good character above all else and that is what makes people like you.

tsuomi is tall, handsome, and easygoing. He likes to travel and can speak three languages. I think that his main “flaw” is that he can get a bit too intrusive on personal space, but that’s just how he is. I do like that even though he learns that Yuki is deaf, he never once pities her or sees her as lesser. He treats her like he would any other person and even wants to learn sign language out of curiosity. Because he likes to communicate, he’s always trying to communicate with Yuki and everyone else whenever he can. Like, when he and Yuki started dating, he kept her updated with texts and photos and not ghost her. He even wanted to get to know Oushi better; the whole segment with him and Oushi in episode 10 was cute. I think the only other instance of him showing “negative” emotions was when he was frustrating with Emma’s clinginess towards him.

The supporting cast was great too. Rin was a good friend to Yuki and always saw her as an equal despite being her underclassmen. Kyouya was cool as being the only non-college aged adult of the group. He’s kind towards Rin and never gives her false hope about her being a potential romantic partner. He’s nice towards Itsuomi like he’s his little brother and even treats his friends civilly too. Shin and Emma were interesting to learn about as they were Itsuomi’s friends since high school. Oushi was annoying, but he does seem like he mellowed a bit towards the last three episodes. My only gripe is that not much is known about Izumi. Even other minor characters like Tsujimura or Madoka have some substance; with Tsujimura, he had interest in Rin and was trying to pursue her and with Madoka, she was Yuki’s friend who is also deaf. All I know about Izumi is that she has a dog and likes to read. Who is she to Oushi? Who is she to Yuki? I’d like to know more about her.

At first glance, the animation could be a bit jarring due to Itsuomi’s lip size, but as you keep watching, that little issue bugs you less and less. The animation is really pretty in my eyes. I love how the snow falls and the way nature is colored. I really liked the camping trip episode. I think what surprised me the most was that Costco was animated, as shown in episode 4. Whoever animated the Costco needs to get a raise because they drew the interior near identical to its signature look. Why I say it’s near identical is because I don’t know what Costco actually looks like in Japan, but it does look similar to American Costcos interior-wise. I was legit surprised they even drew the Costco pizza box accurately. I’m sorry that I ramble about Costco too much because it’s legit the first time I’ve seen it in anime.

The music is great! The soundtrack fits the vibe of the anime and the opening and ending songs suit it too! I really like the opening song the most; there’s something so soothing about the singer’s voice.

The voice acting is great! Sumire Morohoshi as Yuki was a surprise since I’ve never heard her in shoujo anime and she should be in more shoujo anime because her voice suits the genre so well. She did a great job with Yuki from voicing her thoughts to sassing Oushi with the “hmmph” and such. Yu Miyazaki is a rather new name I’ve heard as he mainly had minor roles and is also Atsumi Tanezaki’s husband, but his voice suits Itsuomi so well. It’s also nice to listen too! He speaks English well too! It’s good enough that I can understand what he is saying and be amazed by it. I hope that he gets more roles because it’d be a waste to not get more roles with that kind of voice and language talent. The side characters are voiced by rather prolific voice actors and actresses. I think this is the first time I heard Nao Toyama and Kaede Hondo voicing young adults and they did a great job not making them sound too childish. Ryota Osaka as Kyouya was great as he always has a soothing voice. I think the voice actor who surprised me the most was Tasuku Hatanaka as Shin because I never heard him use such a gentler tone on a character. I mainly heard his gravely voice and usually associate him with it that him using a softer voice never crossed my mind. It’s safe to say that I really want to hear Hatanaka voice a shoujo male lead someday. He has the chops for it.

I rarely update my favorite shoujo animes of all time, but A Sign of Affection has made it on that list. It’ll be one I’d be thinking about for a long time. Yes, I’ll buy the manga too. Yes, I’ll recommend it to anyone who wants to watch a cute romance show. Yes, you should definitely watch it. What are your thoughts on the show as a whole?

[eimearkuopio]

You live in a big fancy manor house owned by a rich man who runs a lot of the village. Never mind how he acquired that wealth, or whether he is a just lord. That part of the story doesn't matter right now.

He left his servants and his children in charge while he stepped out for a bit. The children decided it would be fun to throw a rager, and went around inviting everyone in the village. Some people wanted to join in. Some people felt like they had to because the local lord's children were insisting. Some people got straight-up kidnapped out their own fucking homes and dragged to some stupid party they didn't even want to go to.

And some people really shouldn't have been invited in the first place, but that's what happens when you decide to "get wild".

Things got out of hand. You got your first taste of freedom, and it was sweet until it turned bitter.

Luckily for you, I live in the next town over, and one of my kids ended up at your party. She had the common sense to get in touch, in spite of all the older kids yelling at her and telling her it was a bad idea and you would all get in trouble.

And now, I'm here.

Think of me as your slightly weird aunt. Your dad doesn't approve. We have different parenting styles, and sometimes I'm more liberal, and sometimes He is, but we both love your whole generation of tiny dumbasses.

Admittedly, I love my tiny dumbass more than I love His tiny dumbasses, but I do still love you.

You've trashed the place. Maybe you didn't think that would happen. Maybe you thought the House Rules would keep the party from devolving into chaos.

Step one is getting rid of the ones who shouldn't be here. Anyone who wants to leave, LET THEM. It's not their job to clean up your mess. Some of them have homes to go to! Anyone who wants to help out, you owe them one. You're scared of how they might leverage it? Too bad, shouldn't have thrown a rager. Anyone you think it might be a good idea to get rid of anyway... Make your own call and accept the consequences, or feel free to ask me. I might not get it right, but I have better odds than most of you kids. (The kid who called me is sticking around. You owe her big time, but you don't need to be worried that she'll be in trouble when it's time for her to come home. If she hadn't managed to overcome the terror you instilled in her, she might actually have tried to torch the place, and that would have been worse. She did fine.)

Step two is cleanup and repairs. Anything absolutely trashed beyond repair should be recorded and remembered. If it's something that can be replaced, you're going to need to figure out how. In this parable, children should do more of the clean-up than servants. Servants will guide and instruct, and will probably help out because that's part of their job, but they didn't make this mess and I will not be happy if they are left to clean it up. Maybe think of it as the shepherds being given carte blanche to supervise the wise men. My kid is a good kid, but she's still a kid. Ask her, and if she's not sure, she'll try to find me.

I'll wander around and keep an eye on things. This is your house, not mine, so I don't know the specifics; but I actually run my own household instead of leaving it all to the servants, so I can probably offer some helpful tips.

I don't know when He'll be home. I don't know how bad it will be when He gets here; I've seen some pretty messed up shit, but He has definitely mellowed with age. But I would strongly recommend you stop wasting any more time and GET TO WORK.

[liviavanrouge]

Voice Lines pt 3

Ninnguang about Duchel

"Hm? What about Duchel? I-Is he hurt!? No? Oh, that's good, I was worried for a second. Duchel is still in a learning state, and I still really worry for him nowadays. I don't fuss over him because he sees me as a strong sister figure and I wish to stay that way, so when he does need me after he breaks down, I'll be there for him and show him a more vulnerable side to his big sis....show him that everyone can't be strong for too long, you know"

Duchel about Ninnguang

"Big sister Nini takes care of me a lot and doesn't hesitate to cater to my needs. She takes me uh, what was that word? Oh! Traveling! She takes me traveling! I got to see some nice sights and I even met Yelan's little brother, Drax, he was a nice guy. Whenever I'm sad, she reads me a story or sings a song or she takes a nap with me to calm me down. Learning how to be human is fun thanks to Big sis Nini."

Ninnguang in "Dinner Party"

"At the beginning and end of every week we hold a themed dinner party for Duchel. It's to help him learn the holidays and he dresses up however he wants for that day, his outfits are always adorable. During the Winter Dinner Party, he wore a reindeer onesie, I made sure to have pictures taken and paintings painted of that adorable outfit! A-Ahem, sorry I got excited there for a moment, I was just happy that Duchel is comfortable around everyone. Oh and here, a invitation made by Duchel for the next themed dinner party, please be there, it would bring the biggest smile to my little brothers face"-Ninnguang in "Dinner Party"

~~

Xianyun about Murkus

"One did not understand what Murkus meant about everyone disliking him, that was until one herself noticed that Murkus was never invited out to eat with us or join us for a stroll. One found Murkus when he was left beaten on the roadside and took him in, in which he became close with Shuyu and made a promise to protect her. Murkus is a sweet boy who does whatever is needed to keep those he loves safe and one cannot help but be proud of that trait and make sure he is well trained so he can keep his goal of protecting loved ones"

Murkus in "Silence"

"I didn't understand at first about what people 'disliked' me...but it was because I wasn't making myself known, they loved and cherished me and my company but I have less of an impact to make myself known since I was so used to being forgotten. Mother Xianyun taught me that silence can bring loneliness but sometimes the most silent are the most wise. Hahaha, then she scolded me for an hour and a half about allowing myself to let them leave me out. So to say...I shall speak up more and make myself and my feelings known to my new family"

~~

Yoimiya about Yulis

"Have you seen Yulis? Oh? He was running around with Gilda, that's good! I worry for him a lot, sometimes I can't tell if he's okay or not because he's not too good at speaking. I'm trying my best for him though! Yulis needs someone in his life to make sure he grows well and I'm gonna be that person. Thanks to Xingqiu I got Yulis into a school and he became friends with Xenia! I should make beef stew tonight to celebrate! That's his favorite food!"

Yulis about Yoimiya

"Yoimiya...take care me good...Like Yoimiya me! New school...new friends, fun...be like Yoimiya...older"

~~

Freya in "Attacked"

"A Fatui agent attacked me one time..I didn't know what to do...so I run..I told "Father" and....she wasn't...happy. I didn't..see the....agent after that, I wonder what happened to him and why did "Father" seem....pleased with herself, I wanted the agent to know...there were no hard...feelings at all..."

Freya in "Tea"

"Tea....? Lynnette makes me tea, I like her tea.....I don't want anyone else to make me tea....where's Lynnette, why can't she make me tea...I want her not you...you're not family to me..and besides she makes the best tea"

Freya in "Slow Speaking"

"Throat was damaged in rock slide...I saved a few kids but nobody wanted to help me.....the world is cruel but "Father" and the others tended to me and taught me how to speak...I'm really grateful for that.......I'm hungry..I want Freminet........I-I *sniffles" I wanna go home"

Freya in "Magic Tricks"

"Whenever...I'm sad...Lyney shows me magic tricks whenever I'm sad....he taught me some card tricks too, I like his magic shows...One time he pulled a rabbit out of his hat and gave it to me. I told him I wanted the rabbit to go free and he came with me to let it back out into the wild.....I was really really happy that day"

Freya in "Hair"

"My hair....I don't know how to do my hair, Freminet does it for me...even though he doesn't know how to do it either. He learned just so he can do my hair for me, I prefer he do my hair rather than..anyone else..."

Arlecchino about Freya

"Freya is a fragile child, who tends to follow Freminet everywhere. Not that I mind her going with him, he's a good moral support for her despite how he is, both care for the other immensely. If you see Freya do well to not spook her, spooking her will lead to you getting possibly attacked by a pair of certain twins. When it comes to Freya those three do not joke around about her safety and happiness"

~~

Tighnari in "New Member"

"When Cyno brought Mahil to me, I was deeply surprised, the child was clinging to him so much that it was hard to separate them. Even Cyno's eyes were glossy as if he was going to cry but I didn't question it. Me, Collei and Sahara nursed him enough for him to be able to be brave enough to tell Cyno what happened and that was it, Mahil joined our little family. Cyno gets himself a little brother that plays with Sahara and goes home with him when Cyno's done with his duties. I think that kid brings out a way more vulnerable side to Cyno, and I wish them both all the best, never before has anyone seen Cyno close to shedding a tear"

Cyno about Mahil

"I don't know what had happened but I found Mahil by an Oasis, the same oasis that Sethos has found Meggie at. I didn't know if it was fate or just a mere coincidence but I wasn't gonna leave a child on their lonesome. When I approached and got the child's attention, he clung to me and cried so much...he cried for me to help him and that he didn't want to die...and...sorry, remembering this is just...*sighs* Huh? No, I'm not gonna cry! ...Anyway, I brought him back with me and hunted down the people he told me about, safe to say justice has been brought for Mahil"

Cyno in "Going Home"

"I give Mahil piggyback rides on our way home and I let him wear my 'General Hat' as he calls it. By the time we get home Mahil is always fast asleep and I make sure to tuck him gently into his bed. He looks oddly cute with his cheek squished against the pillow, makes me think of slimes sometimes"

~~

Albedo about Minata

"When I first found Minata, she was so scared of everything, even a pin dropping would send her into a panic. When I brought her home with me, she stayed huddled in a corner for days, I didn't want to go near but I did for the sake of knowing how close she'd allow me to get. I'd talk to her, give her blankets and food, gradually building a foundation of trust with her, when she came out of the corner I was finally able to get her bathed and dressed, now she's learning how to smile and how to get around without her vision. Jean and the knights had quite the field day with the bandits Minata told me did this to her, I heard Avios and Vixo tagged along as well. No matter, Minata is in my care and for now is my main focus"

~~

Anahita about Neuvillette

"Neuvillette is the best guardian, he takes good care of me and lets me play with the other kids whenever he sees them! I help around the courthouse by carrying papers around and on his break days, he takes me to the beach so I can swim around! Although, he's worrying over the other kids, he still focuses his attention on me so I don't meet the same fate as them! Oh he makes good commentary on the water across Teyvat and he always gives me a taste of the water too!"

Neuvillette about Anahita

"Anahita is such a small child, there is at times a moment where my mind makes up a scenario of her getting hurt and it makes me fearful of her safety. I was told that kids who didn't eat as much as Anahita don't grow as well as others.....it looks like SOMEONE is gonna be put on trial for neglect. Speaking of Anahita though, I got some water from Liyue and Inazuma, would you be so kind and bring her back, these kinds of water are her favorite"

[tetsunabouquet]

Can't Help Falling In Love With You Chapter 8

Masterpost Midorima had spent the next few days just getting to know you better. How you had sleeping problems because all your mother could afford was a small studio apartment in a building invested with mice. Your creepy neighbor that had snorted his way into a psychosis and who had threatened your mother's life with a crossbow the other day. How your underage drinking had started at the tender age of 5. That you were still this smart despite for drinking for so long made Midorima honestly impressed with your intelligence. In turn he told you about how outside of Takao he didn't really had any friends at Shutoku, and how the closest thing he previously had to a best friend had lost his mind and given into an alternate personality. You had been willing to listen to him ramble about the whole Akashi mess, telling him it was only fair as he was helping you through a friendship breakup of our own. You were a wise person who gave some surprisingly good advice. Midorima was thankful for receiving your gracious words and he wondered if living a tough life like yours had aged you beyond your years. He felt guilty for being so grateful for it. His parents were too oblivious to notice something was going on, but Shinju seemed to notice how often her brother was distracted with his phone. She kept side-eyeing him whenever he was on his phone, and he knew someday sooner or later she was going to confront him and tease him about his crush like many a pest would- and if younger siblings were anything, they were pests. Even sweet little Shinju had her moments, no matter how rare they were. At school, you generally drifted by him. You didn't pounce on him and allowed him to warm up to you, generally sticking to Ichijo during breaks. Though you did greet him every time he passed by now, Ichijo often waving him by as acknowledgement. This was quite acceptable to him. He didn't really knew how he felt about being associated with not just you, but also the mess that was Ichijo who had landed himself in the infirmary again for being too lucid on school grounds. According to Takao earlier that day, the boy had been tripping balls. He wondered how the story between the two of you went. He decided to ask you now school was over and the two of you could go back to conversing without any noisy student being interested. He sat on his bed as he texted,

'Ichijo was a mess again today, nandayo. If I may ask, what's his story?'

A while later, his phone buzzed and he received his answer.

'Ichijo is a bit of a long story. His parents are missionaires who live at the edge of our 'ghetto', they claim they are here to save our souls. If you ask Ichijo, its just them ego jerking and wanting to be perceived as 'selfless heroes'. Ichijo used to run away a lot as a kid and would just sleep at whatever safe dumpster he could find. I began to notice and would carry around a spare bento. It's how we became friends.'

Midorima was quite surprised at the revelation Ichijo was being raised religiously but he heard about too strict parents with an holier then thou attitude before. As well as how their kids would often grow up to rebel against their parents and the church. He couldn't help but wonder indeed, what kind of actual good parents would endanger their kid by purposefully chosing a dangerous neighborhood? But Midorima could see how you, caring as you were, would look out for the needy and would be so generous to carry around food for them. His respect for you grew every day too, not just his love. You had been dealt a tough life but you carried through it with a graceful strength, one that left Midorima speechless. You were more then a girl, and Midorima admired you for it from the bottom of his heart.

[vegaseatsass]

Shadow full series spoilers below!

I am once again deeply behind on the entire internet and recklessly posting to Tumblr instead of catching up at all, but I recently finished Shadow and need to process it a bit. Dan and Anurak are just such fucking sad characters, I don't think I was remotely prepared with either one of them for THAT level of bleakness. I super mistrusted Anurak from his earliest appearance, and then later when it became obvious he was the one-armed man I started getting really uncomfortable with his presumable monstrosity, but like, the monster in the story is really just Catholicism and authoritarian violence, this wrong-shaped institution that has been forced onto the soil and the violent men who enforce it and institutions like it (institutions such as the state, Dan's dad's version of the nuclear family, etc). All the harm Anurak causes Dan by encouraging him to repress repress repress is not so different from what he himself internalized about his own contaminated "dirtiness", believing he needed to repress his shame and trauma into Christian purity. Like he was still a useless guardian and an actively bad school master, but not "you should just kill yourself" level bad okay???? The idea of Dan being born into a bargain with a forest spirit, the baby promised to a witch, and never escaping that, and living his entire life in self-described pain, and Anurak living the same excruciating way, all the ways he tries to help/nurture just making everything worse, and both of their stories ending in the same hopeless tragedy/"martyrdom", neither one of them ever getting free? AUGH. It hurts a LOT. I would do a forbidden occult ritual to try to bring them back to their bodies too and I'm not in love with either one of them. There is a part of me that wants Dan to find relief with the Shadow as like, the protective and loving parent he's always craved even if it also comes with a side of despair and horror. Lol toxic nurture. I can't believe he fucked it and drew little doodles of them spooning and it haunted him his entire life and this is what I want but it is. The Shadow isn't good for him but can he at least find some peace as its blood sacrifice, maybe???? :(

I did think it was nice Trin clawed his way back, that was a nice twist imo, not something you get to see very often, his character archetype usually stays dead-dead so I felt very "Good for him!" as he smiled his creepy victorious smile. And I will always love and value Bancha the weed man and all he tried to do for those kids. Future Nai/Bancha or Trin/Bancha imho.

Which reminds me, I am now watching He's Coming To Me which is the polar opposite of Shadow in vibes. As sweet and adorable as Thun is I would very much like Nai to be the one to scrape Med off his unvisited tomb and take him home. Timeline-wise he could do that like the YEAR Med dies you know? Not all those decades of waiting. I think that would be very nice for both of them.

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 160 Rundown

Spy X Family: This one’s a relatively serious affair focusing on Yuri tailing a guy that’s forging propaganda which seems like a lot of work considering if you can’t find a government doing something shitty, especially one of these turn of the century police states, you’re probably not looking hard enough. Still it’s a nice change of pace for this to be pretty light on comedy and have Yuri methodically watch this guy be a douche but someone that cares about his family and arrest the guy but still want to help his family at the end of the day. It’s also a neat little release that when he goes to visit Yor Anya basically reads the whole episode from his mind and feels sorry for him and basically all his logic goes out the window once Yor praises him. The remainder of the episode is a little short of the in-universe tv show Bondman basically making itself a harem anime like ‘The 100 Girlfriends and the Spy who really really really really really really loved them’ and it’s just becoming more and more questionable that this is where Anya’s worldview comes from, maybe she’d be better off watching Becky’s soap operas after all, though at least Bondman does still promote a sense of borderless globalism and peace which has got to be a hard sell in this world specifically but it’s a good influence on kids like Anya who are going to grow up healing from decades of nationalism and war. Then there’s also like three 4koma-ass omake style things with quick jokes, they’re okay, never been a huge fan of the 4koma style since they kinda reuse punchlines for effect and don’t have as much setup.

Inuyasha: It’s a “Kagome returns to the present” episode with some ‘Inuyasha talked about Kikyo for five seconds so Kagome’s moody’ thrown in honestly these are usually pretty solid comedy-wise though this one does kinda suffer from getting caught in the Kikyo spiral that’s been getting less and less coherent as Kagome’s character’s developed and they continue to get mad at Inuyasha for… being happy she’s not literally dead? Either way it’s got some good physical comedy of Inuyasha trying to fix a bike that has the same vibes as the ‘Goku doing normal shit with the powers of a god’ episodes of DBZ which is always a treat, and apparently for some reason he can’t use the Adamant Barrage in the present which I don’t think was ever explained but it’s fine since the present basically doesn’t exist in canon past a certain point so the filler can say whatever it wants. The other half of the comedy comes from Kagome’s friends wanting to meet Inuyasha and finally seeing him and… kinda having a completely normal conversation with him by complete accident, like Inuyasha’s chill/oblivious enough to not say anything too stupid and it’s really funny how they recognize him from the cultural festival arc like the filler’s been quietly having its own story about Kagome’s friends learning more about her exploits and it’s a nice little throughline even if it doesn’t amount to anything, though it does draw a more clear line around the Inuyasha/Kagome/Hojo love triangle they had in the beginning since Kagome has officially confessed to Inuyasha at this point and her friends draw a line that despite not entirely being sure about Inuyasha they like him well enough and Hojo is officially out. I’ve said it before but I really wanted Yashahime to give us a well-adapted Hojo with a cool wife that loves him because he’s a sweet boy and did not deserve all the romantic yanking around this story gave him.

Yu Yu Hakusho: It’s time for Yomi versus Shura and this didn’t go how I thought it would at all. Like I don’t remember this arc very well and only saw a couple episodes of it to begin with but yeah, Yomi vs Shura is just a series of DBZ moves with Yomi going ‘DO YOU YIELD!?’ and beating the shit out of his child in a more mild recreation of that scene from Invincible. Shura has the shonen protagonist spirt and doesn’t back down but Yomi’s eventually just like ‘bro I am literally going to kill you if you say you won’t give up one more time’ and Shura gives up so like… what was the point of any of that? Like Yomi was going easy on him to teach him shit but didn’t really teach him anything and Shura’s spirit is admirable but gets broken at the end so like what was the point of the ‘I have a secret son who’s super strong I swear’ plotline? Like the reason I didn’t predict things going this way was because… it kinda doesn’t make sense, like the new mystery character is supposed to have an impact on the tournament not get kicked out before it starts, this’d be like if that guy with Dakrai got beaten before he even got to fight Ash. I don’t know I’m just kinda confused about where the arc is going and Yusuke fights a giant cat demon for like five seconds, like it feels like the arc doesn’t have a lot of time but it keeps inventing filler fights to pad things out anyway.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Geto squares off against Megumi Sr. to avenge Riko and turns out JJH has the same flaw back then that it does now where if you’re just some dude and know where to look you can kinda just walk right in and since Megumi Sr. is the ultimate love child of Rock Lee and Tenten and is able to hide his pocket dimension spirit like he’s smuggling drugs at an airport terminal, he can just poke his head right in no problem. You’d think they’d fix that flaw considering it’s the exact same one Mahito used to steal the fingers and the womb brothers. But yeah Megumi Sr. kicks Geto’s ass, considering his two major losses are this and a kid with an angry girlfriend and two weeks of sword training I’m starting to doubt his claim to being the ‘strongest’ with Gojo. Megudad delivers Riko’s body to the crazy cult and picks up his money and FUCKING GOJO is just standing outside the building like ‘sup’ like he’s still covered in his own blood and shit and it’s great cause he’s just high off his ass like full Gear Fifth laughing and not caring about anything. Turns out Gojo works on Aizen rules and almost dying makes him stronger because it let him figure out the healing techniques and considering that’s a whole half of his power that just opened up plus the fact he can multiply that half with the half he already had to be exponentially stronger he’s gonna kick Megumi Sr’s ass with the power of MATH. Just a full on SAO Abridged ‘MY NUMBERS ARE HIGHER THAN YOURS’ deal and he blows Dadgumi a new chest hole, between this and how Geto’s defeated I think the author just really likes the ‘blow an arm and half their chest off’ pose. He tells Gojo about Megumi on a whim, though maybe for some fleeting pity for his son despite Gojo having every reason to go and kick the kid in the nuts and watch him be sold off to slavery for what his dad did. Still with the final stinger we find Geto’s found Daddad’s cursed spirit and finds Gojo with all the HappyHappyists cheering for him for grabbing Riko’s corpse. Gojo’s just like ‘you know I’m pretty high right now, could probably just murder all these cultist and not be torn up inside about it’ and we show that despite both their foundations being rocked, Geto’s still on the side of not wanting to hurt normal people even as Gojo’s starting to teeter on the edge.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: Ramona continues the Great Scott Pilgrim Investigation of whatever the fuck year this is supposed to be, I forget. This time the focus is Lucas Lee, movie star and potential Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater secret character. Now something that’s been going on in the background that I haven’t really mentioned is what appears to be a multidimensional robot feeding Scott’s dumbest acquaintance a script of what is presumably the original Scott Pilgrim series which is now getting made into a movie which would presumably be the original live action movie or at least similar to it. The funny part is Lucas plays Scott instead of himself and they have a good amount of fun with the who plays who deal like Lucas getting in more trouble for dating a 31 year old actress playing a teenager than Scott got in for dating an actual teenager and the whole thing has an Ember Island Players vibe with everyone kind of picking at how their performances are adapted and how things they do are unrealistic in retrospect. There’s a big skateboard fight with paparazzi ninjas because that’s just the kind of series this is, and Ramona gets what she needs to clear Lucas while getting a good flashback of humanizing their relationship. Gotta say though, I mentioned this last time and while the Exes do seem to be entitled jerks who mostly feel they own Ramona, she DOES seem to be REALLY bad at ending relationships and really flighty about who she’s interested in, like she herself claims she’s different now and I have no clue what might’ve caused that change because if it’s just Scott being adorkable I think I’d puke but yeah while it doesn’t really justify creating a whole evil Evangelion council dedicated to claiming dominion of a single American girl, I kinda get the frustration these guys have that engendered that kind of anger if Ramona’s just hopping around without actually communicating the end of these relationships, like girl seems like she’s got some issues.

Ranking of Kings: This one’s a follow-up to last week’s episode about Ouken with his presumably filler friend Fren breaking the Underworld Law about monsters not being allowed above the surface. Long story short he and a bunch of his friends stage his death so he can search and the gist that the guys are like ‘oh yeah it’s over there where Bosse is’ and Fren considers his job done and Desha and Despa are like ‘well we already killed Fren so whoever this guy is giving us helpful info must be an imposter so get out of her losers’. And it’s just like… so many questions, like Fren barely looks monstrous but apparently he’s not allowed on the surface but the bulky probably monstrous order of the underworld knights are? Also like all this for something we could assume the kings could find out on their own like Miranjo’s not a huge secret and they never even establish how Fren found out about her so this could’ve been an email if Desha and Despa were doing their best to look for demon traces idk, even when we get new content from this season it feel like Naruto filler where it’s like ‘here’s a backstory for something that you could’ve assumed was common sense’. The other bit is about the underworld guards training Despa’s fat horse so that’s kind of dumb amusement I guess.

Vinland Saga: Snake gets Thorfinn patched up after his little run-in and gives him a blast of good old Conqueror’s Haki to let him know he means business about trying to kill him so Thorfinn flashes back to Askeladd and unconsciously snaps into battle mode to defend himself, proving to Snake that all his talk about not wanting to live anymore wasn’t true which is more of a shock to Thorfinn than anyone else, since he wonders why he would want to live and why he’s alive at all. The farm doctor treats Thorfinn and gives him a new shirt and gives him the day off and they make a point of saying how Thoffin never says thank you and rarely responds to anyone given growing up on a ship full of pirates that he wanted to murder probably didn’t help his etiquette and social skills. Still when Thorfinn just jumps back in to chopping trees, Einar has enough info now to piece his story together and asks Thorfinn if he’s been to war and if he’s killed anyone. Thorfinn basically gives him the less glib version of the ‘how many breads have you eaten?’ speech and given the time period and Thorfinn’s penchant for killing I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s killed more than he’s eaten breads. He acknowledges that he’s exactly like the people that burned down Einar’s village and he has every right to hate him. That night Einar’s thinking about just snapping Thorfinn’s neck to make himself feel better even though he had nothing to do with it, sort of a revenge by proxy. It’s kind of a neat parallel that now Thorfinn is the one waiting to be killed in his sleep like his first night with Askeladd, though by contrast Thorfinn actually is really asleep and having a nighmare about the grandma from the beginning of the series and all the other people he directly or indirectly murdered and how fighting for his life gradually made him think nothing of killing whether they were innocents or combatants. Einar sees how much the dream is tearing Thorfinn up and how much he regrets killing and realizes that he’s not like the people who killed his family, at least not anymore, and wakes him up. He tells Thorfinn that he won’t ever know if something good can come from living if he dies and he’s definitely in a better place now than he was, so there’s no reason to carry on about wanting to die, and no reason for Einar to hate him directly since he wasn’t responsible for what happened to his village. Thorfinn notably thanks Einar for waking him, showing he definitely is a little better off now and is starting to accept human connection again little by little or at least is willing to make an effort to. Also we see Canute doing cool guy shit around so it’ll be fun to catch up with him next time.

[axvwriter]

Bobo's Intro Post

I was originally going to do a drawing of her on her throne since I had two different references for her, then upon realizing what was bothering me with the new and color corrected one I also realized I can just trace some of the elements of the older ref on as there's no real need to color them in.

Bobo is the princess of an underground mushroom kingdom. For her story I will be going to different points in her life, not sure where I may focus on the most. She took over all royal responsibilities for running her kingdom at a rather young age when her parents suddenly died when she was just eight-years-old.

There's still some aspects I'm figuring out kingdom wise, but the underground mushroom kingdom has its own unique customs while I plan the aboveground mushroom kingdom to follow the more classically known royalty tropes. The underground mushroom kingdom is known as the Mycelind Kingdom. The royal family takes their last name to be the same as the kingdom's name.

In the Mycelind Kingdom the differences between Princess and Queen is simply being married or not. Everyone that is part of the royal family partakes and helps in running the kingdom. It was planned for Bobo to have siblings and her parents were trying for more kids. Unfortunately an incident that even the doctors don't fully understand how it happened caused Bobo's parents to pass away in their sleep one night.

Bobo was never allowed to see her parents that day. Not only did her caretakers not want her to see the sight, but doctors weren't certain if it was safe for anyone to get too close to the bodies. Health has always been taken quite seriously in the kingdom. With the amount of fungi occupying the same underground caverns as the kingdom, at the very least everyone wears gloves. Everyone is taught how to identify the many different mushrooms before they even learn to walk and talk. When coming across an unknown and new mushroom, air-filtering masks are worn.

Okay time to refocus myself as a good amount of this is about the kingdom and should go into its own post.

-

Before the age of 8, Bobo was a rather carefree kid. She would constantly pester her caretakers for sweets. They were always weak to her cute pouts and give in. She was never allowed into the kitchen herself. With her constantly eating sweets she would usually get sugar highs and run about the castle. When she would eventually sugar crash, one of her caretakers would take her to her parents.

One of her fonder memories is getting to sleep on her parents' laps while they addressed the public during the time of day the public were invited into the castle to speak any concerns they have straight to the royalty themselves.

After losing her parents at the age of 8, the Grand Mycorl took over temporarily. She stopped eating sweets, now finding the idea of them nauseating. She also started needing stuffed toys to be tucked into bed with her in order to get any sleep. Bobo started having the Grand Mycorl prepare her for taking over. He would arrange lessons for her, but for the first two years after her parent's death she would have to prompt him into giving her lessons. The Grand Mycorl didn't want such a young girl have to worry about running the kingdom.

Her caretakers along with summons from her sister kingdom would help keep Bobo somewhat busy. She would learn how to play the grand piano along with how to waltz. Her summons would cause her to form a bond with Princess Penelope and the two would learn the balance of taking jabs at each other without going far enough to risk waging war. Bobo hates having to deal with Penelope, especially since Penelope wants Bobo to act in accordance to her customs instead of Mycelind's.

At age ten she started getting regular lessons along with starting to learn how to sword fight. (The need for this will be explained with the kingdom overall info post.) She turned most of her time into preparing to run the kingdom, barely giving herself time to do anything else. When she wasn't taking lessons, she would be training her body for fighting.

At age eleven and a successful intervention from her caretakers, Bobo started to find interest in other things. She started learning how to ride a motorcycle, how to swim, and even went to a concert. At said concert she developed a big fat crush on the kingdom's rock/metal idol, Baentu. Since she's the kingdom's princess, the idol was willing to see her after the concert. Bobo would end up learning how to sing and play several instruments from Baentu while gradually losing the crush, much to the idol's relief. (Kids sometimes have dumb one-sided crushes on adults. These should never be reciprocated. If anything it ends up being a learning experience to Bobo.)

Soon after she turned 12 Bobo would insist to take over the throne. The Grand Mycorl gave in, believing her to be ready while also reminding her she can always call on him for help. Bobo would struggle with her schedule for a bit until learning how to properly balance it. Though perhaps not a purely healthy balance as she would end up with not enough time to get a proper night's rest, but would make up for some of her missed sleep by gaining the ability to nap anywhere. With time her napping became a bit of a special trick as she seemed to wake up whenever she needed to while still being able to sleep through loud moments that didn't need her to do anything.

Bobo would be gifted a custom-made war-hammer that weighed about 300 pounds at her thirteen birthday. Increasing her physical training a bit, Bobo reached the point of wielding the hammer with ease, as if it weighed nothing. On days she would go exploring and diving into water, she would bring a sword instead. A sword being much easier to navigate water with.

Then there would be times where she would question if she should be looking for a spouse. She may only be a teenager, but if something happens to her then the kingdom would be left with no one to rule. While there may be fail-safes in place for such a situation, she couldn't help but feel she should prevent that from happening if she can. She brought this up once while she was 15 to her council just for her to be visited by the Mycorl who tried to make it very clear to her that the kingdom is not going to have her marry young. Though perhaps didn't get his point properly across as she then believed she wasn't allowed to even date until reaching adulthood.

Despite the Mycorl wanting her not to stress so much, Bobo tends to avoid reaching out to him for help and even has the idea in her mind that once she's an adult she should get married as soon as possible. Royalty may not rule the kingdom all alone as there are councils and jobs for running specific things, Bobo can't help the massive amount of pressure and responsibility that she feels.

It gets to be too much at times where she will lose her temper or even at times feel guilty for wanting to abandon the royal name. After all, any born royal is allowed to drop the kingdom name and become a normal citizen. Bobo only holds on as she wants to make sure the kingdom does well, that her parents' efforts don't go to waste. She wants to make her parents' proud.

[goldenworldsabound]

3, 7 & 10??

Cannon Busters asks!

Thanks @heatobrienswife!!! Mm Rufus time

“Watch Out For The Wet Spot” Have you met your f/o’s family? Do you get along with them? Does your f/o get along with them? Vice versa as well - what would it be like if your f/o met your family?

Aura did not meet Shinra Sr before he was killed, and honestly that's for the best he was a piece of work. They of course knew of him - he was regarded as the most powerful man in the world for being the President of Shinra.

Rufus has exactly one conversation with Aura's parents where he basically tells them to fuck off but politely fkjdhfakj he didn't like that they talked over Aura and didn't let them get a word in edge wise. If he met them more I think he'd spend time talking to them toying with them and making sure they never quite feel comfortable, because they don't treat his beloved quite right. And also complimenting Aura very loudly in front of them. He has no real interest in them being in his or Aura's life, so long as Aura doesn't want them around.

“Lady & The Kid” How would you and your f/o describe the other person? Would they focus on looks or personality, or maybe even tell a story about the other person? Write in character if you can!

Decided to have these be before everything goes to shit in the main plot of ff7 fkjsahfksa

"I was immediately captivated the first time I saw Aura. They're absolutely gorgeous, and their talent at Shinra was being wasted as Scarlet mistreated them. With my help, Aura is now in the position they deserve, and they are the most capable Director of Research and Development Shinra has ever seen. On top of that, despite everything they've been through, they've retained that beautiful innocence, and a playfulness and optimism that I sorely needed. There is no one else I would rather have by my side."

"Being with Rufus is like a dream. He's every bit the regal, intelligent man you would expect from the President. But he's so much more than that too. It is the moments when that powerful person let's the walls down and becomes "Rufus" rather than the President that stick in my mind. He's sweet and considerate and I've never felt so loved. He inspires me to do my best. And I hope that I can inspire him to be a little bit gentler to himself, the way he is towards me."

“Squeaking Springs Afternoon” Do you and your f/o ever go on vacation? What was the best vacation you and your f/o went on?

We take a vacation very early in our relationship to Costa del Sol, well known beach town. It's absolutely wonderful, and it was one of the last moments of pure, simple happiness before everything went south. It was a time when our relationship deepened, and Rufus came to realize just how bad he was down for Aura, and vice versa. Ugh...those are some of my favorite chapters of RufAura fic honestly

I was also thinking that post AC, after everything, they return to the beach house for a vacation. It's important to celebrate the Geostigma being cured, after all. It's different this time though. Instead of staff who made themselves scarce, attending invisibly to our every need, we have the Turks very visibly around, and also Darkstar.

It's striking - back then, the beach house was still and quiet besides Rufus and I. And now, it's bursting with life. it's different than it was. But there's a sense of family now that we didn't have before. And that's beautiful too.