#Thomas & friends season 8

[cruiseskybird]

Thomas & friends season 8

Thomas's on-screen appearances in the TV series were developed by Britt Allcroft. Main articles: Thomas & Friends and Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go He was a fussy little engine, always pulling coaches about. He had six small wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy boiler and a short stumpy dome. ".a tank engine who lived at a Big Station. Thomas was described in the opening to "Thomas and Gordon", the first story in book number two, Thomas the Tank Engine, as: Thomas in The Railway Seriesĭespite becoming the most popular character in The Railway Series, Thomas did not feature in the first book, The Three Railway Engines. Reginald Dalby created the character, as he was responsible for illustrating books 3–11 and repainting the illustrations of books 1 and 2.Īlthough Thomas locomotives are seen today on various heritage railways, the locomotives are either unpowered decoys or converted from other locomotives, as all of the prototype LB&SCR E2 class locomotives were scrapped between 19. It had often been erroneously assumed that C. Payne was not credited for his illustrations at the time, and it is only since the publication of Brian Sibley's The Thomas the Tank Engine Man that he has started to receive major recognition. Thomas has always been shown with a curved front buffer beam in the television series. The accident, in Thomas Comes to Breakfast was partly devised as a means of correcting this. This was an illustrator's mistake that was perpetuated in subsequent books. Awdry was unsatisfied with one detail of the illustration - the fact that the front end of his footplate featured a downward slope, which meant that his front and back buffers were at different levels. Thomas as portrayed by Hornby and the TV series is based on one of six E2 class locomotives fitted with an extension to the front of the water tanks. This may have been chosen simply because Awdry had a photograph to hand. Awdry selected a real locomotive for Payne to work from to create authenticity: a Billinton designed 0-6-0 E2 Class of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. After Awdry's wife encouraged him to publish the stories, the publisher of the second book in The Railway Series, Thomas the Tank Engine, hired an illustrator named Reginald Payne.

Thomas wasn't originally based on a prototype rather, the initial stories were an accompaniment to the toy made for Christopher.

This engine looked rather different from the character in the books and television series, and carried the letters NW on its side tanks, which stood for "No Where" according to Awdry. When Awdry created Thomas, the engine existed only as a wooden toy made for his son Christopher. TV series and Hornby based Thomas on this prototype belonging to the LB&SCR E2 class The programme became an award-winning hit around the world, with a vast range of spinoff commercial products. In 1979, British writer/producer Britt Allcroft came across the books, and arranged a deal to bring the stories to life as the TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (later simplified to Thomas & Friends). Thomas's best friends are Percy and Toby, though he is also close friends with Edward. Thomas first appeared in 1946 in the second book in the series, Thomas the Tank Engine, and was the focus of the four short stories contained within. All of the vehicles in The Railway Series were based on prototypical engines Thomas's basis is the LB&SCR E2 class. Thomas is a blue steam engine and has a number 1 painted on his side. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, and is the titular protagonist in the accompanying television spin-off series Thomas & Friends. Thomas the Tank Engine is a British anthropomorphised fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945.

Ringo Starr (" The Official BBC Children in Need Medley").

John Bellis (original workprint of Thomas and the Magic Railroad).

Edward Glen ( Thomas and the Magic Railroad).

[bingwriterxo]

the shakespeare exhibit - part 8

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: in which you and tara both have things to talk about

warnings: mentions of stabbing, talks of substance abuse and verbal abuse

word count: 2700+

previous part | next part

Finals season was in full swing at Blackmore University, sending its students into poor sleep schedules and even worse diets as they attempted to cram a semester’s worth of information into their brains.

You and Tara, unfortunately, were no exception. For the past week, the two of you had holed yourselves up in either the library or one of your apartments, your noses stuck in your books and your hands fumbling around for an energy drink whenever you needed a pick-me-up.

The only time you had taken a break was to celebrate Tara’s 20th birthday, but even then it was hardly a celebration. You had gathered all of her friends at her apartment, had a small party consisting of drinks and movies, and then went right back to studying, Tara in tow.

Safe to say, the stress levels were at an all-time-high, especially for Tara, who was experiencing her first round of finals in university. You had offered her a few studying tips, since you had already gone through the struggles of freshman-year exams the year prior, before immersing yourself in your own revision.

You were in the midst of reviewing for your Romantic Literature course--the last final that you had for the semester--when your mother called you, leading you to slip out of Tara’s bedroom and into the hallway to speak to her.

Tara sat at her desk, grumbling as she tried to study for her Introduction to Literature course. This is just as stupid as it was when I was studying for the midterm, she thought, eyes scanning her notes about Emily Dickinson. Maybe it’s even more stupid now.

Your voice broke her concentration as you walked back into her room, and she twisted her chair around to face you. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll ask her, alright?” You rolled your eyes and pointed at your phone, mouthing, she talks so much. Tara giggled softly, extending her arms for you to stand between, and you sighed as you slid into place, her fingers rubbing over your hips. “Okay. Yup. Yeah, okay. Yeah. Right. Okay, bye, mom.”

“What was that all about?” Tara asked when you hung up, throwing your phone onto her desk. “Did Eddie pull another prank on the Dylan Thomas statue again?”

You chuckled, thinking about the photo that your brother had sent you the week before—he had put a wig, makeup, and a shaving-cream beard on the statue of your grandfather’s late friend. “No, no. The statue garden has gone untouched this week.”

She shook her head, a grin on her face. “I still can’t believe you guys have a statue garden,” she said. But of course her family does. Because why wouldn’t they?

“Well, my dad’s always been big into statues. Like, when he was younger, he--” You cut yourself off. “That’s not important. Anyway, my mom invited us to spend Christmas at the house.” Tara’s eyes lit up, a type of joy that she didn’t know existed rushing through her. Us? she thought. I’ve been invited to family Christmas? “Do you want to go--”

“Yes!” she exclaimed immediately, nodding her head fervently. “Please, yes.” Shit, I’ll need to buy presents. What the hell do you get for kids who could buy anything they’ve ever wanted?

You giggled at her enthusiasm and tilted your head. “Are you sure you and Sam aren’t going back to California for the holidays?” you asked.

Back to California? Back to…Woodsboro? She furrowed her eyebrows, biting her bottom lip. “Why would we go to Cali?”

You squirmed a little where you stood. What’s she so nervous about? she wondered. “I just thought you might want to see your mom?” Your voice pitched on the last word, and Tara tensed, her arms falling to her sides. You frowned and reached out, but she pulled back, swallowing.

“No, there’s--we’re not--no,” she stammered out, her voice short. She shook her head. “I’ll be here.”

You nodded. “Okay.”

Tara wanted the conversation to be over, but your lips were pursed like you still had something you wanted to say. “What?” she asked.

You shook your head. “Nothing!”

She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes at you. “No, you look like you have something to say. What?”

“I just…you’ve never spoken about her. Maybe we could--”

That’s because there’s nothing to say.” She’s good for nothing, she thought. “I don’t like to talk about her.” I’d rather read Shakespeare, which is really saying something.

“But--”

“No.” Her voice was stern, clear-cut, and she watched as you deflated a little, your eyes flitting around the room. She sighed, running a hand down her face. “I’m not doing this right now, okay? I’m not talking about her.”

“Tar…” The nickname came out as a coo, soft and careful and meant to be comforting, but it ignited a strange irritation beneath Tara’s skin, and something in her snapped.

“Listen, we can’t all have a perfect-fucking-family, okay?” she shouted, and you flinched, taking a step back, your eyes widening at her sudden outburst. “Just because you have parents who are there and who care doesn’t mean everyone does! I mean, Jesus, my mom didn’t even come to see me last year after--” After Amber stabbed me half-to-death, she finished in her head.

The air was tense, quiet. You stood in front of her, worrying your bottom lip between your teeth, and Tara cursed herself when she noticed that your hands were trembling slightly.

“Baby…” She reached out for you, but her fingers met open air as you shook your head and crossed the room to grab your things from her bed.

“It’s fine. I--I shouldn’t have pushed,” you rushed out, your voice shaking. You threw your notebook and laptop into your backpack hastily before hurrying to the door. Tara stood, desperate to do something to stop you from leaving, but she didn’t get the chance as you said, “I’m sorry.” Of course she’d apologize when I snapped at her. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”

The door shutting behind you pulled all the air from Tara’s lungs, and she fell back into her chair, holding her face in her hands.

“God fucking damnit,” she groaned. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

* * *

Hours later--during which Tara had sat in her bed and moped--there was a knock on her bedroom door. For a brief second, she thought it was you. But there would be no reason for her to come back after I got mad at her, she reminded herself, and any hope she had disappeared when Sam walked into the room, a frown on her face.

“I thought Y/N was staying for dinner so you two could study through it,” Sam said, bringing Tara’s attention right back to the fact that you had left. She stepped into the room, her arms crossed over her chest, and asked, “What happened? You’re all”--she gestured at Tara--“sad.”

Tara huffed, glaring at her sister. “Nothing,” she grumbled.

Sam scoffed. “Oh, please. You and Y/N have been attached at the hip since the start of finals.” She shook her head. “Scratch that--since you two began dating. So, what happened, Tara?”

Stupid Sam, being a good older sister. Tara sighed and relented. “She asked about mom.”

“Oh.” Sam frowned. “And what did you say?”

“I--” Was a bad girlfriend and got mad at her for no reason, Tara thought, shame seeping into her veins. “I snapped at her. I didn’t mean to. It’s just…mom’s a tough topic, and it’s even harder because Y/N’s family-life is so perfect.” She clenched her jaw and glanced away, ignoring the spark of jealous lighting in her chest. “She’s got two parents who are there, and they have money, and she’s just…” Perfect.

Sam tilted her head, walking over and sitting beside Tara. “You know, it wasn’t easy for me to tell Danny about mom, either. He’s in the same boat as Y/N--well, not the super rich family part, but his parents are together and there.” She shrugged. “It’s hard not to envy that, but she’s your girlfriend, so you’ll need to talk to her about mom at some point. She deserves to know.”

Tara nodded, hanging her head. “I know. I feel horrible for getting upset with her.” She gestured lamely at her phone. “I tried texting and calling her, but…” She pointed across the room, where your phone still sat on her desk. “Obviously that didn’t work.”

Sam hummed. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Tara. Maybe she just needed a minute.” She rested her hand on Tara’s shoulder. “Plus, she’ll need her phone.”

“What if she comes back and breaks up with me?” Tara asked, looking up at Sam with wide eyes. What if she never speaks to me again? she thought. What if this is it? What if--

“Every couple has arguments, Tara.” Sam smiled softly at her. “She’s not going to break up with you over this. That girl’s head over heels for you, even more than you are for her. It’s gonna be okay, okay?”

Tara bit the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, okay,” she said, not missing the sorrow in her own voice. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” Sam stood, her hands on her hips and her head tilted. “Now, should we get Chinese food or pizza?”

* * *

Sam was right: you did just need a minute.

It was as Tara was getting ready for bed that she heard a knock on the front door. Sam’ll deal with it, she decided as she climbed beneath her sheets, ready to lay in the darkness and wallow for a while. Just as she was reaching over to turn off her bedside lamp, a certain name caught her attention.

“Oh, hi, Y/N!” Sam said loudly from the living room, and Tara knew she had raised her voice so that she would know who was at the door. She sat up immediately. Y/N is here? What? There was some mumbling before Sam’s voice came again. “Yeah, she’s in her room. Go ahead.”

Moments later, there were soft knocks against her bedroom door, and Tara scrambled out of her bed, rushing across the room to open the door for you. There you stood, your lips pulled in a downturned smile and your eyes wide with worry.

“Hey, pretty girl,” you muttered. You were still wearing the same clothes from the day, and your backpack was still hanging off your shoulders. Did she not go home? she wondered, furrowing her eyebrows. You pulled your arm out from behind you, revealing a small bouquet of flowers. “Got you these.”

Tara blinked. She bought me flowers?!  “I--Thanks?” She took them from your outstretched hand. “What are you doing here?”

“I said I’d see you later, didn’t I?” you tried to joke, but your voice was strained, like you were trying to be careful, and Tara felt guilt prick at her knowing that she was the cause. “Could I come in?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course. Always,” she rushed out, moving to her bed to sit. She placed the flowers on her bedside table and watched as you sat in front of her, fingers playing with her blanket. “So, what’s up?” ‘What’s up?’ Really? That’s the best I can do?

You sighed, a shaky breath falling from your lips. “I want to apologize,” you said. “I didn’t mean to push you into talking about your mom earlier. I know she’s a touchy subject.”

Tara frowned. “Why are you apologizing? I’m sorry for shouting at you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

You shook your head, glancing up and finally making eye-contact with her. “No, it’s okay. You didn’t want to talk about her. And, that’s okay.” You shrugged and offered her a comforting smile. “You don’t have to tell me about her…ever, if you don’t want to.”

“I should, though. I mean, we should talk about her.”

“Tara, you really don’t have to--”

“No, I--I want to.” Want’s a strong word, she thought. But I should.

“Okay,” you said, nodding and giving her your full attention. “You have the floor.”

She sighed heavily. “Well, my dad left when I was 8. My mom started working more so that she could afford Sam and I, but it turned more into an obsession for her, I think. Next thing I knew, she was never there. Sam left home when I was 13, and it was just me.” She shrugged, glancing down and fiddling with her fingers. “Then, Sam came back after I was attacked, and my mom wouldn’t talk to her, so we made the choice to cut her off. I haven’t spoken to her since we moved.”

Tara clicked her tongue, looking back up at you. To her surprise, your face wasn’t full of the pity she was used to seeing after telling people about her past; you were watching her carefully, looking close to tears.

“So, that’s that,” she said awkwardly.

You inhaled sharply, blinking your glassy eyes away. “You didn’t deserve any of that, Tar, and I’m sorry that you had to deal with it.” You reached out, your hand cupping her cheek, and she leaned into your touch. “I’m so happy that you’ve found your family.”

Her heart fluttered at your words, her mind flashing to Sam and Mindy and Chad. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I am, too. I really love those guys.” And I’ve found you, too, she thought. You make it all complete.

You grinned, and she practically melted into her mattress. “Good. They’re good--all of them.”

She giggled. “C’mere.” She wrapped her arms around your shoulders and pulled you to lay down with her, your face nuzzled into her neck. She laughed at the feeling of your nose against her skin, and said, “I love you. Like, a lot.”

Your arms wrapped around her waist, and you squeezed lightly. “I love you, like, a lot, too.” You sighed into her. “And I’m sorry for leaving like that earlier. I just…I don’t do well with raised voices.”

Huh? Suddenly, she was on high alert. Why not? What happened? “Any particular reason?”

You twisted in her hold so that you could lay beside her, your gaze trained on the ceiling. She scooted down so that her head was level with yours and looked at you, tracing your side profile with her eyes. So pretty, she thought. Wait, stay on topic, Tara.

You clenched your jaw. “We’ve never talked about it, but, um, my dad…” You closed your eyes. “When I was younger, my dad had a big drinking problem.” Her eyebrows furrowed. Her dad? That man? Really? “He was never physical,” you said, shaking your head lightly. “But he had a temper when he was drunk, and everything I did was always wrong.”

“Oh, Y/N,” she sighed, intertwining her fingers with yours. Your grip was tight, like she would float away if you didn’t hold on.

“He’d yell a lot, at me, at my mom.” Oh, baby. Your thumb rubbed over the skin of her hand. “But he’s good now. He got better after the boys were born--got sober. He hasn’t had a drink since.” You turned your head, looking back at her.

“He’s not, like, obsessed with apples, or anything,” you said. What does that have to do with the conversation? she wondered. “But, he eats them a lot when we have parties. That was his thing--eat an apple when he wanted a drink. It stuck, so we keep the fridge stocked, and any time someone sees him even look in the direction of alcohol, we get him an apple.” You smiled. “He eats them begrudgingly, but he’ll never have an apple out of his own volition now.”

Tara chuckled softly. “I’m happy he’s better now, but I’m sorry you dealt with that. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

You shrugged, leaning closer so that your forehead rested against her cheek. “It’s okay now. I’m alright,” you promised. “Just…never buy that man an apple, alright?” you joked, easing the tension in the air.

“Deal,” she agreed, nudging your head up. She leaned in, kissed you, and said, “I guess no family’s perfect after all, huh?” when she pulled away.

“I guess not.” You grinned, leaning up on your elbow to hover over her. “But, maybe ours could be the first.”

Her heart practically stopped, and she couldn’t help the smile that took over her face. Ours? she thought. She felt like she wanted to burst from the amount of joy that came with that thought. Yeah. Ours.

“Okay.” She pushed herself up and kissed you again. “Ours will be the first.”

[stars-and-the-min]

☆ the wrong way to hard launch (8) | OP81

summary : oscar's girlfriend is a walking pr problem for literally everyone (including herself) social media au

pairing : oscar piastri x zhou!fem!singer!oc

a/n all aboard the speculation train

masterlist | last part | part 8 | next part

INSTAGRAM

selinabui

liked by oscarpiastri and 312,294 others

selinabui somehow @.rollingstone thought it would be an amazing idea to slap me on their cover?? anyways may 2024 🔜 it has an exclusive interview with urs truly p.s. whoever came up with that nickname for me deserves a raise ♥️♥️♥️ tagged: rollingstone, shotsbynadia, michealpollard, lilybeehair and jesszhang_

oscarpiastri Forgot how to breathe for a sec ↳ tina_kim @ oscarpiastri ur so real for this

linasgirl4 'the speakeasy siren'??? 😮‍💨

eb_jonno i'm confused by your dress ↳ selinabui @eb_jonno i was confused as well, don't worry about it, just admire how good i look

TWITTER

↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 49m fork found in kitchen, we had to wait over three years for a sophomore album, we'll live ↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 47m but then again... no 'new' music makes me think that lina is being sneaky again

oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 28m too many people talking about the 'no new music' bit of the interview and not enough talking about how oscar's going to drive lina to florence after imola ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 27m i didn't think it would be possible, but i think i just heard this woman giggle over a man through my phone via a printed interview

amie <3 @mieflrs · 2h it's actually so insane how smoothly the empty bottles pr team buried all the tommy talk. i didn't even notice bc they moved so naturally to 'chris and eb reunion??' and then the rolling stones cover + interview like they just dropped us better things to talk about ↳ amie <3 @mieflrs · 2h slay empty bottles pr team, i really appreciate y'all 🫶

REDDIT

r/EmptyBottles · Posted by u/luckyluna9364 5 hours ago Lina x Oscar Timeline

Has anyone worked out the relationship timeline for Lina and Oscar? I've been talking to some of my F1 friends, and there's so much confusion about how and when they met because these two people have barely been in the same country at the same time. This is, of course, if we go off the common perception that Zhou Guanyu was definitely the person who introduced them.

buisms84 · 4 hr. ago op i was literally just thinking about this!! lina's been pretty much stuck in california since the pandemic and oscar flies around for races all the time, it's pretty possible that they didn't meet first but rather started texting? but then when did they start going out because they clearly look familiar with each other. fantstic013 · 4 hr. ago streets are saying as early as silverstone 2023 👀 but we all know lina is super secretive about her current relationships (bar whatever mess thomas howard was)

summersweettea1389 · 3 hr. ago i think the confirmed timeline is what we've all been experiencing these past few months. like there seems to be no other indicator they were linked, even platonically, before that insane hard launch. luckyluna9364 OP · 3 hr. ago I know that Lina can be really sneaky but she also loves messing with us, so I'm convinced she was subtly soft-launching him and we all didn't notice. But you know what I found most strange? Right before the hard launch, a bunch of different new sites were publishing rumours, I'm not super online, but were there rumours earlier? whatthekermitdid · 3 hr. ago ur talking about the rumors of them over the holiday season when they both happened to be at the same party but that was debunked ages ago - they went with different ppl but they may have met there?

TWITTER

piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 5h no, i don't think u understand, i'm actually SCREECHING over oscar's answer to the 'texting the wrong person' question from the never have i ever video

↳ piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 5h I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM I SWEAR 🥹

↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 2h 'most awkward conversation of my life'??? 'not the best way to confess'??? SELINA WHAT DID U SAY TO THIS MAN 😭 ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 3h NO I NEEEED TO KNOW HOW SHE REACTED

lina !!! @EB_selina · 48m everyone keeps tagging/sending me the clip of oscar talking about accidentally texting me about me. guys, i was there, i know it happened, and i will be taking my reaction to the grave ↳ Oscar Piastri @ OscarPiastri · 12m She's embarrassed because she ghosted me for like a week ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 11m sir why are u lying???

june @linafesting · 2h finding out that oscalina's talking stage was oscar giggling and texting his friends how much he liked her and lina ghosting him after an accidental confession is pure comedy ↳ june @linafesting · 2h oscalina, the couple that keeps on giving us anything but photos together

↳ clovie @ luvyouvie · 57m wait where did lina mention oscar? ↳ li(n)a @meliabelrose · 44m rolling stone interview, she mentions him like 8 times

REDDIT

r/EmptyBottles · Posted by u/luckyluna9364 3 days ago Lina x Oscar Timeline [read new comments]

whatthekermitdid · 5 hr. ago ok so my f1 friend just told me that the never have i ever video was filmed like in february (or earlier) which means that oscalina were going out since at least then BUT (and maybe i'm delulu) i couldn't help but notice that he's v calm about it like it happened a long time ago which is really no help to this timeline

niaphilia283 · 3 hr. ago not to sound clinically insane but have we considered that they've been together for a lot longer than we imagined? thinking logically, selina isn't the type of person to so publically acknowledge a new boyfriend - she didn't even mention tommy until like seven months - and judging by her recent behaviour (the hard launch, the dedicated performance, the birthday instagram post) she's either down so astronomically bad she'll never recover from it OR they've been together for at least two years luckyluna9364 OP · 3 hr. ago if they've been tgt for even longer than ONE year i'd actually lose it bc there's noooo way lina would be that quiet about it niaphilia283 · 3 hr. ago wait i just remembered that two years ago would be around when tommy got engaged and lina def would've made a big deal about any relationship my bad

TWITTER

clara @ zgy24 · 2h these photoshoots have the same vibe and it was the first thing i thought of 😭

lina for elle china zhou for champion

↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 1h what a copycat @ZhouGuanyu24 😒 ↳ 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 @ZhouGuanyu24 · 1h I did it better

MESSAGES

from the phone of oscar piastri

TWITTER

lina !!! @EB_selina · 2h been feeling mean lately, how much trouble should i cause? ↳ EB BAR @theemptybottlesbar · 2h selina pls have mercy MERCY I BEG

kayla @luna_apocolypse · 1h it's been an hour since that cryptic ass tweet, i'm shaking lina what do you have up your sleeve

piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 32m OH MY GOD WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY????

EB BAR @theemptybottlesbar · 43m We'd like to extend our condolences to @ McLarenF1, we're working on getting her media training, but it doesn't seem to be working ↳ McLaren @ McLarenF1 · 39m We're all in this together 🥹 ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 42m WHAT DID SHE DO???? IS IT THE LIVE?? WHAT DID SHE SAY IM AT WORK SELINA HOW COULD U DO THIS TO ME

amie <3 @mieflrs · 29m i just know that pr team has being worked TO DEATH this past week like RIP

INSTAGRAM selinabui started a live video

MESSAGES

from the phone of selina bui

REDDIT

r/EmptyBottles · Posted by u/luckyluna9364 6 days ago Lina x Oscar Timeline [read new comments]

luckyluna9364 OP · 1 hr. ago this thread is getting super active after lina's livestream so i'm doing my best to summarise what ppl are saying: - a much longer relationship than anticipated is highly possible; lina was still pretty vague with the timing all she really said was 'long enough' what long enough is to her is up to debate (most are keeping the benchmark at 7mo) - lina mentioned her aunt (zhou guanyu's mother) has invited them to have dinner in shanghai which means that not only has lina's family known and met oscar but also that lina is stopping over in shanghai for a bit before performing in shenzhen (exciting news for the oscalina stans) - her freezing up suggests that she and oscar were keeping a lot of the relationship private or even secret for a while and it was genuinely a mistaken slip that wasn't at all supposed to happen (one can only wonder how oscar reacted) - a couple people think that EB planned the tour schedule around the F1 calendar (there are quite a few overlaps in races and shows) which would mean that they were together BEFORE tour announcement which was back in november - one user is betting their life savings that they met before oscar's f1 debut, for that user's sake i hope it's true.

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

taglist @ririyulife @ashy-kit @fionaschicken @namgification @cherry-piee @urfavsgf

[snitchcrimsonwrites]

Maybe pt. 1

Pairing: Norm MacLean X Female Reader or OC (3rd person perspective because I dislike writing in 2nd )

Former friends to a relationship?

Life is pretty easy in Vault 33 until you're trying to rekindle a former friendship and raiders attack. Now, our main characters are trying to navigate newfound feelings all while undercovering the mysteries of Vault 33. Stay tuned. Follows the main storyline of season 1; some events may be reordered for plot.

I was feeling the lack of Fallout series fics and decided to contribute. Enjoy :)

Part 2 Here Part 7 Here Part 12 Here

Part 3 Here Part 8 Here

Part 4 Here Part 9 Here

Part 5 Here Part 10 Here

Part 6 Here Part 11 Here

Another day, another performance review. And this one was going as well as the others; his dad will be pleased when he hears about this one. 

Norm shifted uncomfortably in his chair as the proceeding council reviewed their notes. Betty Pearson. Woody Thomas. Reg McPhee. These people would decide if he stayed on this current “career” track of information maintenance or if he was to be demoted once again. Not that it mattered. He didn’t mind working; on the contrary, it gave it him something to do with his day, but every job was the same. Janitorial. Kitchen duty. All lacking purpose, significance, meaning. Yes, these daily tasks kept the Vault Dwellers in 33 alive, but they were anything but fulfilling. Was this all to life in the Vault?

Woody looks up from his paperwork and begins to speak, breaking Norm’s existential train of thought. 

“Are you aware that, at every job you’ve been assigned to, your performance review has been “lacks enthusiasm?” 

Norm smirks. “No, but that sounds accurate.” 

Woody seems taken aback by the retort. They always are; no matter how many witty jabs Norm throws their way, it’s always a surprise for them. He guesses because no one else in the vault interacts this way. It’s out of the norm, unexpected, and breaks the conventions for how conversations are “supposed” to go in the vault. You’re supposed to follow the script, but that’s tedious and exhausting. Breaking it is much more entertaining. 

The former Overseer, Betty Pearson, spoke up next. “We’re trying to work with you, Norm. Find your best fit, make you the best version of yourself. You’ve currently been working with Computers and Information maintenance. How do you like that?” 

Another smirk. “I lack enthusiasm.” 

Now, it’s Betty’s turn to react. Her neutral smile drops to a frown, and her eyes shift off Norm as she breathes out an “uh-huh.”She has to have realized it by now, right? She’s not a dumb woman, but she has to know these motivation tactics won’t work. Norm decides he’s going to have to spell it out. 

“It’s a predicament, isn’t it? How do you demote someone who equally dislikes every job he’s ever worked?” 

“I suppose it is.” 

—---------------------------

He’s not entirely sure if the council let him off easy or if an additional chance at his performance review next week was their attempt at an act of torture. Either way, it doesn’t change anything; it just delays the inevitable. That thought carried him through his lunch break and distracted him from his to-do list for the morning. Another piece of evidence for that performance review, he thinks. Norm sighs and stretches his arms before he stands to make his way through the expanse of corridors down to the main cafeteria, where he gets into the lunch line. The vault dwellers move forward one by one, slow and orderly, until he’s at the front of a stack of metal trays. He picks up a tray that is cool to the touch and reaches up to the counter to grab the plate from the cafeteria staff. He doesn’t even have to look down to know what’s on his plate; he already knows. Every Monday the same. A helping of overly processed cram, alongside the assorted corn and vegetables grown in the vault and a table all to himself.

Norm grabs his usual seat and digs in, oblivious to the fact that someone has been awaiting his arrival. Distracted from thoughts of this morning, he doesn’t even hear her approach the opposite side of his table. Lost in thought, he doesn’t look up until he hears her clear her throat and ask if she can join him. When he finally does, he is surprised to see the face staring back at him. (Y/FN, LN). Their eyes meet, and she poses the question again. 

“Mind if I join you?” 

“Uhh, no. Not at all. Go ahead.” Norm gestures to the open seat. When was the last time he and (Y/N) shared lunch? It was so long ago. It had to be while they were still in school, before graduation. When they would enjoy their short period of freedom between history and math lessons together, maybe it's been longer. Those moments before adulthood felt like a different lifetime ago. 

While Norm was ruminating on the past (Y/N) pops the tab on her can of purified drinking water and takes a short sip before saying, “I heard about your performance review.”

“Word travels quickly around here. I suppose you’re here to scold me?” Norm offers with a playful smile. The exchange feels familiar, even though it’s not one they’ve had in a while. Some part of him wishes that wasn’t the case, but it's easier this way. 

“The opposite, actually.” 

Now, he’s the one confused—what a rarity. His smile drops, and Norm is sure his confusion is written all over his face. 

(Y/N) continues, not meeting his gaze. “I just wanted to say that, well, Norm, your defiance streak lately was kind of a wake-up call about how I’ve been feeling for so long, but I couldn’t place. I’m so tired of playing a character I’m not; life’s too short for that.” She looks up and laughs slightly, trying to lighten the mood. “ Look, I don’t want this to be that deep, but I wanted you to know that someone else feels the same way and has your back if you need it. We don’t have to suffer the toxic positivity of Vault 33 alone.” She doesn’t give him time to respond. Satisfied (Y/N) gathers her belongings and rises from the table, stopping before she turns away to shoot Norm a raised fist, a symbolic gesture of their supposed defiant solidarity, and a “See you around, okay?”  

“Yeah, definitely.” He manages back as she walks away. Well, there goes any chance of completing today’s to-do list, Norm thinks as he lets his forehead fall to the table. 

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

“Okay, let’s run through my application remarks one more time. I only have a couple more days to prepare,” Lucy says, shuffling her notecards at the family dinner table, in between bites of her Salisbury steak. “Alright, give it to us again. Norm and I will get our notes ready,” Hank responds, winking toward Norm.

Norm is only half listening; he’s heard Lucy’s marriage appeal for the Triennial Trade a half-dozen times. And her remarks don’t matter anyway. One, she’s the Overseer’s daughter, and the council would be nuts to deny her application request, and even if that weren’t the case; two, she’s basically the poster child for being raised in Vault 33. Checks every box. Everyone knows this except for Lucy. It’s a trait he admires in his sister: her humility. But he’s genuinely happy for his sister. At least someone is getting the life they want. 

While Norm was lost in thought for what felt like the millionth time today, Lucy and Hank had apparently finished their conversation regarding her remarks and since moved on to a different topic of dinner-time conversation. “So, I heard Norm had lunch with a girl today,” Lucy said playfully, emphasizing the word girl. Gaining Norm’s full attention as he shot daggers Lucy’s way. “There we go, Norm! Anyone I know?” Hank directed at Norm in a dad-joke-style attempt at humor. He’s the Overseer; of course, he knows her. 

“Uh, yeah. It was (Y/N).” 

“(Y/N). Lovely girl. Wasn’t she at the top of your class, Norm? Now, that would be a good match, especially since you two used to hang out so much as kids.” 

“It’s not like that; we were just talking about work.” 

“Uh-huh, “work.” Yeah, I get it,” Hank offers with another wink and a thumbs up. Earning an eye-roll from Norm and a chuckle from Lucy. “You forget that before I met your mother, I was quite an eligible bachelor in Vault 31.” “Please don’t,” Norm begged. “Fine, fine,” Hank resigned with his hands up, “but seriously, Norm, I haven’t seen that girl without a book in front of her face in a long time, and now, she’s chatting with you at lunch. That could be something.”

“Or it could be nothing; let’s drop this, please.” 

Once Hank’s attention shifted from his children to the remainder of his meal, Norm leaned in slowly towards Lucy and whispered, “Oh, by the way, I will be getting you back for that.” Lucy turned her body towards him and simply stuck out her tongue. Battle flags were raised, pistols at dawn.

[that-ghost-pal]

BEHOLD! My continued Adventures in Bookbinding!

Since my last post I have bound two more fics, completing the So You Want To Be A Demonologist series, Not What He Seems, and So Your Best Friend Is A Demon :3

I did NWHS first and I'm happy enough with how it turned out, the covers a little wonky but it does what it needs to and the inside (to me at least) is the really important part so I don't mind ^-^

I also did unique icons for each chapter like I did for Season Finale, tho I this the line art a little too thin so they didn't all looks as nice as I would have liked when I printed it (ah well, lesson learnt :p) (btw you can see all the art I did for both of these books over here ^-^)

Next up SYBFIAD plus Thomas and Elisha by ThisCat :D

I decided to include TaE in the one book because I pretty much always read it in tandem when rereading this fic (in-between chapters 7 and 8) so it just made sense to keep them together :3

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna start formatting the next fic to bind >:3c

[minaaaawaaaa]

Reblog/comment with your favorite things in South Park *fanon media. Here's some of mine, pairing-related separated since some people don't really care for that, which is totally fine

Craig being partly Peruvian (derived from Pandemic I & II); either not Thomas's or Laura's biological son and half-siblings with Tricia. Also him just being tall asf; I think his dad is supposed to be taller than the average adult male character. Also Craig balding early in adulthood LOL

Plot twist villain Cartman in larger-scale-plot fics

Also, Cartman still earning God's wrath when he really, really deserves it

Kyle being the absolute fussiest little shit you've ever seen, at any age, for good reason usually. This is pretty canon, but still it's important to maintain

I think it's never directly put out there in canon besides Tweek's name being so terrible, but the Tweaks have definitely had Tweek and half the town on meth for years

Tweek being super artsy and those practices helping him relax; visual arts, music, sewing/crotchet, etc.

Clyde Donovan, the most sensitive crybaby football player of All Time

Quarterback Stan, regardless of high school/college/NFL level

It's so sad but longtime-alcoholic-since-10 Stan :( I still love him

Not sure when/where it became popular as it isn't too evident in canon, but the weird Craig and Kenny often being pothead frenemies thing? Idk when or why it started but it's pretty fun

Burnout yet extremely dependable Kenny working a ton in high school and often shooting for custody of his little sister Karen once of legal age. Also him being a scientific/mathematical genius but never applying it to prioritize Karen's comfort and safety instead. Also him being super clean given his family situation

Stan being the 5-in-1 body wash friend and Kyle being a major skin care girlie

When ppl draw them in the show's style and when they make them actually look like they're 9

Adaptation of the wackier canon events into a more realistic context like maintaining Butters's eye injury through other means, Kenny being gone for extended periods of time, Stan secretly taking in animals, still playing superheroes. I recently read an anger management counseling fic where Cartman bit off a guy's finger in an argument which I assumed was a Scott Tenorman Must Die reference

Pairing-related

Tweek being closer to the Tuckers than his own parents; his own house being tidier but the Tuckers' being much more of a home

Craig's been gay since 2007, Season 11 episode 8, "Le Petit Tourette." No straight reason for asking to do "the coolest kid in the world's" laundry. Has a type for twitchy dudes--Thomas from that same episode and then his relationship with Tweek

Cartman's demented-ass crush on Kyle; Kyman shipper or not, that kid's got bigass issues. I do not ship Kyman but Eric's got a fucked up little obsession with Kyle. Bro saved his family from deadly L.A. smug because he couldn't live happily without having Kyle there to constantly argue with

Stan being the one to be super down bad for Kyle yet also be the one with more issues in the relationship. I love Stan but dude has way too much of Randy in him, he's gotta be a pain in the ass

Only Kenny calling Butters "Leo," with most characters not recognizing his actual name being Leopold; being sort of popular as a secretive background relationship and Kenny being very protective

[whirligig-girl]

The S282 from the train sim game Derail Valley, interpreted as a prop built in the first two or three seasons of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.

I tried to imagine how a prop builder would actually put something like this together on a children's TV series budget. Like the other original props, this one uses kitbashed parts from Marklin model trains as well as plastic card bodies and sculpted faces. The chassis is taken from a Marklin BR55 0-8-0 and the pilot and trailing wheels, and cylinders, modified from a Marklin BR78.

There are some design changes to make it just look more Thomas, like the thomas style headlamp, the flat prominent buffer beam, and the blocky red-sided footplate. The geometry has been simplified as it needed to be made out of folded, bent, and cut plastic card.

More details and alternate versions under the cut:

The actual locomotive as it appears in Derail Valley: Simulator. Note the much larger cylinders. They could have built more proportional cylinders--they did so when they built Murdoch in season 7, but I wanted it to fit in better with Henry and Gordon.

The valve gear shown is accurate to the BR55, not to the BR78 Gordon and Henry use nor the game model (which has much thicker rods)

Other details, like the air pump (not needed on sodor, which seems to use vacuum brakes), bell, and dynamo (again, not used on sodor) have been removed. The ladder detail on the running board has been simplified. A cowcatcher is not needed, but i kept it as more or less the only obviously foreign feature of the engine. The electric headlamp on the top of the S282's smokebox has been replaced with a white

The S282's tender is a four wheel tender on a pair of freight car trucks. The thomas version is a six wheel tender based on Gordon and Henry's.

The livery was changed to make it feel more Sodor. The sides of the running board were painted red, and red lining was added to the boiler bands, cab, and tender. And 282 was given as a number on the tender, in red-lined yellow text. The wheels retain the red paint of the model that contributed their wheels, but dulled a bit by weathering. The game model has black wheels with white walls and red counterweights, but that didn't look right with the small counterweights on most of the wheels and the one single large counterweight on the number three axle.

With so many red accents, the loco bears more than a passing resemblance to Hiro from the cgi series, though this is only a coincidence.

Here's a variant with a game-accurate livery. No striping, and the wheel spokes are black with white walls and red counterweights.

Here are squeaky clean versions of both liveries.

and here are NWR green, blue, and red variants. I actually made a texture pack for the previous major version of Derail Valley, before they updated the model and the UV maps changed. (obviously my texture pack did not go so far as to add faces)

Final variant, the ES&DT version. [sniff sniff] can you hear a guitar riff slowly building tempo?

[smirkingkitten]

Reading list November 2023

It's December and that doesn't just mean the Christmas season starts and it's the time for cozy evenings with candles, blankets and a hot chocolate, but also: it's time for another reading list.

It feels like it's been so long since Loki graced us with a new episode every week. I'm still not quite over the ending, although this interview did heal my poor heart a little, if only just a bit. I hope you're coping well with the ending. And now, happy reading.

✨And don't forget to reblog the storys you read to support all these lovely writers.✨

My other Reading lists can be found in my Fanfiction Bookshelf.

Series | Collections | Multi Parts

The Redbridge Hunts @fanficshiddles

8 Chapters (on going) | Vampire!Loki | fluff

prev. | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8

Summary: Claire moves to Demsdale to take up a new job as an assistant teacher for one Loki Laufeyson. She's also very intrigued with all of the rumours within the borough of Redbridge. However, as she starts to fall for Loki's charm and good looks, she also learns that all of the rumours might not just be rumours after all.

Double Cross @gigglingtiggerv2

12 chapters (on going) | Jaguar Villain!Tom | dark, smut

Summary: In Dante’s inferno, the Eighth Circle of Hell was reserved for liars, panderers, thieves and murderers.  For the criminal underworld it is an opulent London club, representing neutral territory where deals can be made, grievances aired and scores settled.

For the owner, Thomas Cross, it is his own private kingdom, one where he makes the rules and wields absolute authority. Recently, however, that authority has come under threat.  In order to maintain his standing and the Club’s ruthless reputation, it is imperative he find the perpetrator.

In this violent place, where lies are currency and everyone has their own agenda, who can he trust? Certainly not Verity Williams, the talented thief who has her own reasons for infiltrating his organisation. 

Neither can deny the sparks that fly whenever they’re together, but if he’s not careful, will those sparks burn down everything he’s created?

Déchiré @ijuststareatstuffhereok89

7 chapters (on going) | Loki, Bucky, Captain America | smut

You are a HYDRA agent sent to infiltrate the notorious Avengers, to tear them apart in the worst way possible in order to make them vulnerable to attack. In the midst of the wild heat you generate, three suitors take your bait.

One Shots

Firestarter @delaber

4,2k | AvengersMovie!Loki | smut, hatefucking

Rule Number One @just-the-hiddles

medium | Jonathan Pine | smut, dom/sub, daddy, spanking

Gorgeous @ghostofskywalker

1,2k | Avenger!Loki | fluff

Heavy Petting @wheredafandomat

800 | Loki | smut

I gave your girlfriend cunnilingus on my couch @wheredafandomat

short | Loki | smut, oral (f reserving)

Aftercare @sarahscribbles

680 | Loki | fluff, spicy

If I was your best friend @wheredafandomat

medium | Loki | smut

Worshiped by a God @sarahscribbles

1,1k | Loki | fluff, smut

Best of Friends @just-the-hiddles

long | Actor!Tom Hiddleston | fluff, friends to lovers

Duty of Care @muddyorbsblr

1,9k | Jonathan Pine | smut, fluff

Winter Warmers: A Winters Night on Asgard @lokischambermaid

930 | Asgard!Loki | fluff

The Sandwich Incident @holdmytesseract

1,2k | Tom Hiddleston | fluff, humour

My Girl @lokisgoodgirl

1,8k | Avenger!Loki | smut, man-bun

Lactation @viviluvssmut

1k | Loki | smut, oral (f reserving)

Drabbles

Don't Move, Darling @sarahscribbles

1,1k | Loki | smut, teasing, edging

Time slipping @wheredafandomat

600 | TVA Loki | smut, hurt/comfort

praise kink, gagging, hickies @ragnarachael

short | Jonathan Pine | smut, daddy kink

Headcanons

Loki and the Watcher @benevolentgodloki

✨Happy reading 😊✨

Back to my Fanfiction Bookshelf

Many of the fanfictions are 18+, so if you're under 18, don't read them.

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Hide & Seek references compendium

I put so many little easter eggs and hidden things in my Hide and Seek fic, so here is my little ongoing list of references I purposefully put in the fic for those of you who like this kind of thing idk man

Chapter 1, Disney's Hercules: "Hey, Mack! Ya wanna buy a sundial?" Disney's Jungle Cruise: “Trader Sam’s! Come shop at Trader Sam’s! He’ll give you a great deal on shrunken heads! Two of his heads for one of yours!” the Holmes Hotel, Hugh's Pies is a reference to Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron series, Lilo's Stitches and Embroidery is a nod to Disney's Lilo and Stitch, "Crusty the Crab" is a nod to Spongebob Squarepants, Chell's Portal Stop is a reference to the game series Portal, and the final scene is from the ROTTMNT episode "Hidden City's Most Wanted".

Though this is not technically a reference or Easter egg, I wanted to add this note… I made a point of referring to Splinter as Lou Jitsu when he was mad or angry or selfish, and as Hamato Yoshi when he was scared or sad.

Chapter 2, Leo's determination to have Raph call him "the world's greatest ninja" is a reference to the film, Leo's quote "Land safely!" is taken from the episode "Mystic Mayhem" as well as the episode "The Evil League of Mutants", Leo's complaining to be leader is a nod to his future role, Raph referring to his father as a "sewer monster" is a reference to the episode "Man vs. Sewer", Splinter has a flashback from the episode "Goyles, Goyles, Goyles" and the line "OW! Why, you little--!" is also taken from that same episode.

Chapter 3, Mikey's dream is obviously a nod to all that he will do in the future.

Chapter 4, The origin of Lace Face from the episode "Man vs. Sewer".

Chapter 5, Phineas and Ferb "Escape from Phineas Tower": "That's some mole!" The line "Raph! Your enormous body is crushing me!!” is a reference to Disney's Lilo and Stitch, "sweater town" is a reference to the Gravity Falls episode "The Hand that Rocks the Mabel", the line "I didn't want to believe it, but... *sigh* science." is taken directly from the ROTTMNT film as well as a moment when Leo mentions that Donnie was wrong, Donnie uses two really's, a reference from the episode "Breaking Purple", Donnie gives Leo the comic seen in the episode "Jupiter Jim Ahoy!"

Chapter 6, Splinter's tv flips through several channels which include clips from media. These include a Thomas Sanders vine with "Weatherman Al", the quote "My leg!" from Spongebob Squarepants, part of the Fairly Odd Parents' theme song, Mrs. Cuddles' catchphrase "Let's be friends forever!", "I've got bad feeling about this" is a quote from Star Wars, the fake show about "Goosey" is an easter egg to @gooeseyleo and her Gooseyleo series. When Leo goes onstage, he does "a few improvised dance moves", which is a nod to Ben Schwartz and some dance moves he did in the Netflix improv comedy special "Middleditch and Schwartz”. The Lou Jitsu play the boys perform is a parody of the Godzilla franchise and the Pacific Rim films. Donnie's line "I strive for accuracy" is a reference to @sleepis4theweak 's comic (which I think about every gosh darn day), Horsebot-3000 and Splinter's line "I liked Horsebot-3000" are references to the show Community, season 3 episode 7: "Studies in Modern Movement".

Chapter 7, in the illustration Leo and Donnie are wearing Transformer and Decepticon t-shirts, respectively, and in the background you can see spray paint that spells out "Atomic Lass", as well as a drawing of the turtles' weapons.

Chapter 8, a young BEBOP AND ROCKSTEADY make an appearance, as does a very young Harvey Hokum from the ROTTMNT comics. When Bebop tries to sell Leo, he calls him “Shelly”, a reference to my pet turtle of the same name. In the illustration you can see a goldfish on the shelf, which is meant to be Piebald.

Chapter 9, How It's Made, APRIL O'NEIIIIILLLL, Harvey Hokum, Warren Stone and Kendra are referenced, "Operation Blue Suede Shoes" contains the title of a song, a reference to how in the show there are several similar code-names used for the characters ("Purple Rain" for Donnie, "Yellow Submarine" for April, etc.) Leo says that Mikey has empathy amplified, a reference to the fanfiction of the same name written by @filsa-mek on AO3.

Chapter 10, the boys watch "Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit". Leo promises to never leave Raphael alone and to always find him. Raph offers several scenarios that actually happen in the future where Leo searches for Raph - sewer monsters (a reference to the episode Man Vs. Sewer), getting captured by bad guys (the episode Bug Busters), and aliens attacking (the events of the film). The chapter as a whole is also based off of a few sketches I made - one of which shows the boys watching the film with Splinter, and one where Raph has a bad dream and wakes up to seeing he hurt Leo, who offers to help and gets the bros together for a turtle pile.

Chapter 11, the episode is heavily inspired by an episode of the audio drama series Adventures in Odyssey, specifically the episode "Mandy's Debut". The line "Wow, the shortcake of death" is a reference taken from said same episode! During Leo's flashback, a reference to the meme "She knocked that smug look off my face, but fourtunately I had a smaller smug look underneath" when Leo takes off his sunglasses to reveal a cooler pair of sunglasses underneath. Leo and Raph make a note to the fact that Leo is not the eldest in this universe.

Chapter 12, Raph, Leo, and Mikey teach April a game they play in the episode "Late Fee". When using sign language, Donnie tells Leo to "Stop yelling at me", which is inspired by a moment in Spy Kids 4. April introduces Raph to Ghostbear's starting career. Mikey repeats a line from the episode "Bug Busters", which is "Remind me not to ask questions anymore." Mikey uses the phrase "hydrate or die-drate", which is taken from a meme but is also something I say constantly as well. When in the Hidden City, Splinter hears people calling out to customers, one uses the lyrics to the Fairly Odd Parents' theme song, another is selling Mary Poppins' umbrella, a third is selling the three mystery journals from Gravity Falls, the fourth is selling Cinderella's glass slippers, and the last one is selling the Stanley Parable bucket of reassurance. Ochimizu is a Japanese mythical elixir of eternal life. The introduction and origins of Loathsome Leonard and the Mud Dogs. Malicious Mickey uses the "creepy doctor" line from "Stuck on You".

Chapter 13, Donnie delirium is directly based off of my own experiences with delirium, as well as his and Leo's conversation about whether or not Leo would miss him when he dies (which was an actual conversation I had with my mother when I was sick with croup as a little girl). The second half of that conversation was adapted from a scrapped fic called "The Kids Are All Dying". Donnie references the song "Big Yellow Taxi". The seven-tailed fox comes from Japanese folklore, but specifically this one was a reference to Naruto! Mikey sings the first line of the "Wonderfilled" song by Owl City. The secret ingredient being a discontinued soda was inspired by the ending of the musical "Be More Chill". The toad yokai becomes Heinous Green.

Short story, in the illustration you can see several signatures and sketches on Leo's cast, such as Raph signing "Mad Dawgs" and Mikey drawing his stickers. On the wall behind Leo is an eye exam that has the words "RISE" and "PHOEBE" on it. There's also a computer monitor in the back with Leo's vitals on it, as well as a notification about the trackers, and a list of all Hamatos Donnie tagged.

I will update more when I post new chapters... ;)

[elleejayy]

A SIMS 3 LEGACY

TV SHOW LEGACY

The rules are simple: Complete all requirements for a generation to advance onto the next. Cheats to be used at your own discretion, though it’s more fun without.

GENERATION 1: ELENA GILBERT - THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

TRAITS: Over-Emotional, Dramatic, Brave, Family-Orientated, Hopeless Romantic. Any LTW, Any Career - Do NOT have to complete either.

Start in a fresh, untouched save.

Have 2 Best Friends.

Fall in love with a sim

Then fall in love with their sibling.

Have 2 children (2 boys) with second sim.

Die as an Adult. Accidental or on purpose.

Following your death, your partner has a One Night Stand that results in a baby.

GENERATION 2: DEAN WINCHESTER - SUPERNATURAL

TRAITS: Good Sense of Humour, Family-Orientated, Supernatural Sceptic, Flirty, Brave LTW: Surrounded by Family Any Career

Start as a teen, in a new town.

Never develop any close relationships with anyone except your younger brother.

Have a negative relationship with Father.

Meet your Half-Sibling as a Young Adult.

Move out with your younger brother.

Meet the love of your life at a bar.

Have 5 Children with her.

Have a One night stand with a Werewolf, results in an affair baby. (This will be your heir!)

GENERATION 3: NIKLAUS MIKAELSON - THE ORIGINALS

TRAITS: Mean Spirited, Brooding, Supernatural Fan, Kleptomaniac, Unstable LTW: Leader of the Pack No Career Allowed

Start as a teenager.

Have a negative relationship with father, step-mother and half-siblings.

Earn all money through collecting/hunting as a werewolf.

Have an affair with a siblings partner, affair baby comes from this. (This will be your heir!)

Adopt a teenager, turn them into a werewolf.

Only have a close relationship with your children.

GENERATION 4: JACE HERONDALE - SHADOWHUNTERS

TRAITS: Brave, Charismatic, Good Sense of Humour, Athletic, Daredevil LTW: World Renowned Surgeon CAREER: Medicine

If a werewolf, get cured. You don’t want to harm anyone.

As a young adult, disown your werewolf parent.

Meet the love of your life at work.

Have 2 children.

Have 2 children who are siblings, your adoptive family.

GENERATION 5: CLEO SERTORI - H20 JUST ADD WATER

TRAITS: Shy, Hydrophobic, Family-Orientated, Hopeless Romantic, Clumsy LTW: Resort Empire No Career Allowed

Start as a teen, ideally in Isla Paradiso.

Make 2 best friends.

Find the abandoned resort, buy it.

Fall in love with a visitor to the resort.

Have as many children as you desire.

Optional: Become a mermaid.

GENERATION 6: LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR - LUCIFER

TRAITS: Party Animal, Perceptive, Inappropriate, Flirty, Great Kisser LTW: Pervasive Private Eye CAREER: Private Investigator

Move town.

Master Mixology skill.

Become a Casanova/Natasha OR Slimeball.

Throw a party as least once a week.

Have as many children as you desire.

GENERATION 7: FALLON CARRINGTON - DYNASTY

TRAITS: Charismatic, Born Salesperson, Diva, Proper, Perfectionist LTW: CEO of a Mega-Corporation CAREER: Business

Master charisma skill.

Max Business career.

Throw a dinner party once a season.

Own 3 different venues in town.

Have 5 children, 4 boys & 1 girl.

GENERATION 8: THOMAS SHELBY - PEAKY BLINDERS

TRAITS: Athletic, Born Salesperson, Disciplined, Unlucky, Over-Emotional LTW: Master Romancer CAREER: Criminal

Master Athletic Skill.

Take up gambling, a few times a week. [Sims 3 Store]

Endless failed relationships, until you meet the one when you’re days away from being an adult.

Have a set of twins.

When the twins are teens, one must die (or disappear).

GENERATION 9: CHERYL BLOSSOM - RIVERDALE

TRAITS: Unstable, Great Kisser, Irresistible, Neurotic, Rebellious LTW: Super Popular Any Career.

Be best friend with your twin before they die/disappear.

Own a motorbike.

Max Rebel social group.

Final love as a young adult with another rebel.

Have as many children as you desire.

GENERATION 10: SHELDON COOPER - THE BIG BANG THEORY

TRAITS: Genius, Hydrophobic, Loser, Computer Whiz, Socially Awkward LTW: Perfect Student CAREER: Science

You’re smart, attending university is a must.

Honor roll as a child and teen, A+. Always complete homework.

Perfect GPA.

Master Science skill.

Master Logic skill.

Master Gardening skill.

Master Handiness Skill.

Master Fishing Skill.

Master Arcade Machine skill. [Hidden]

Have a Plant Sim baby.

Scientifically engineer a baby.

Have an Alien Baby. [This is your heir!]

Die a virgin.

GENERATION 11: MASTER CHIEF - HALO

TRAITS: Athletic, Brave, Genius, Ambitious, Hot-Headed LTW: Become an Astronaut CAREER: Military

Live in Lunar Lakes, or a Custom Alien World

Master Athletic skill.

Master Handiness Skill.

Find love with a Supernatural Sim.

Have as many hybrid children as you desire.

Have a Holo disc pet.

GENERATION 12: HOPE MIKAELSON - THE ORIGINALS/LEGACIES

TRAITS: Brave, Genius, Family-Orientated, Loner, Light Sleeper LTW: Alchemy Artisan CAREER: Alchemist

As a child, you’re sent to boarding school.

As a teenager, you focus on learning more about your supernatural abilities.

Master Alchemy skill.

Earn money from selling elixirs at the Consignment store.

Have as many children as you desire.

Accidentally leave a Bottled Curse of the Lycan out for your heir to drink.

GENERATION 13: DEREK HALE - TEEN WOLF

TRAITS: Grumpy, Brooding, Night Owl, Perceptive, Good LTW: Leader of the Pack Any Career.

Become a werewolf as a teenager.

Turn a few people on Full Moons.

Master Lycanthropy Skill.

Buy Alpha Wolf Lifetime Reward.

Have a single child later in life, as an older adult.

GENERATION 14: ALISON DILAURENTIS - PRETTY LITTLE LIARS

TRAITS: Ambitious, Charismatic, Dramatic, Snob, Family-Orientated Any LTW CAREER: Education

Optional: Cure Lycanthropy

Move to a new town after your parent has died of old age. (You can speed this up with Trigger Age Transition)

Have 4 Best Friends

Date and marry one of your best friends

Adopt one child, due to fertility issues.

GENERATION 15: RACHEL BERRY - GLEE

TRAITS: Star Quality, Snob, Natural Born Performer, Excitable, Diva LTW: Vocal Legend CAREER: Singer

Live in a New York-style world.

Master Singing skill. [Hidden]

Have 3 friends.

Be a 5-Star celebrity.

Marry someone with the Athletic trait.

Have as many children as you desire.

GENERATION 16: RICK GRIMES - THE WALKING DEAD

TRAITS: Brave, Charismatic, Brooding, Heavy Sleeper, Fmaily-Orientated LTW: International Super Spy CAREER: Law Enforcement

Move to a small town world.

Master logic skill.

Master Athletic skill.

Have 1 best friend.

Get married to a townie.

Have 1 child with the townie.

Your partner has an affair with your best friend, resulting in a baby.

Raise the baby as your own.

[wisteriagoesvroom]

Blind Date x Forgotten First Meeting AU landoscar

Hilarity of slightly mutual friend groups so they assume the other is the other half of the blind date (they aren’t 😂 friends assume they are too different to work) even tho they don’t *know* each other but one of them (A) remembers a very young encounter/friendship that really struck a cord in A and has been on their mind forever but assumes B has completely forgotten or it wasn’t as profound or B doesn’t realize the other component is A (would be funny if B talks about the friendship/encounter around A at some point but has no fucking clue the person B is talking about is right fucking there 😭😭😭)

As I was writing this it definitely felt like lando would be more B and oscar more A but I trust this in your hands wiz 🧡

Feel free to ignore blind date aspect if it flows better another way ✌🏻

Idea for very young encounter totally not ripped off from an episode of Bluey: they meet at a campsite locale to one of them as little kids and spend the entire week just getting along like a house on fire but eventually the week ends and the other has to go back to his country and they are too young to keep in contact. Bluey episode totally not for reference cause it’s really really cute 8 minutes 😭😭😭 https://www.bluey.tv/watch/season-1/camping/

-brooke <3

brooke/ @scuderiabs my friend i literally sat on this for so long cus i genuinely wasn’t sure what else i could add to your gourmet ask right here.

but! on the night of the blue suit oscar debut, it’s perfect because either of these would work beautifully… especially if oscar or lando met again at a friend’s wedding (alex albon’s is always gonna be my default setting for romcom-at-the-wedding AUs).

and obviously we gotta have some supporting visuals so here you go:

and ahoy… maybe a glimpse into this world.

snippet below:

————

“I didn’t think it was you.”

“Why?!”

“You look… the same. But different.” Oscar says, tapping the rim of his glass.

The evening light’s dipping into darkness, sky going blue and sooty. Yellow candlelight casts soft circles on Lando’s face. The years have been kind to him. He’s handsome, in a way that endears easily, draws people close to him in a way that works well for Alex’s large contingent of groomsmen.

“How different?”

“Older.”

“Well you look exactly the same as you did when I kicked your arse at tennis. Remember the instructor?”

“Yeah. Thomas was never subtle about the cigarette breaks behind the shed.”

“Pretty funny when your serve hit that citroën though.” Lando shakes his fists in the air dramatically.

“Arrêté!” Lando adds, in a poor imitation of Thomas, the very harried summer school tennis instructor.

Oscar snorts with undignified laughter. One of Alex’s stern Thai aunts looks at him disapprovingly.

“Sorry.” Oscar mumbles. This is far too much emotion for a communal setting. A flush creeps up his neck, and he wonders if he’s getting a food allergy. Maybe it’d be easier if he disappeared to the bathroom to play tetris on his phone and stay inconspicuous like he’d planned after all. Or maybe he could walk into a wall and take refuge in an ambulance.

“I think I saw a tennis court out there earlier.” Lando says, sipping his gin and tonic. There’s a sprig of boysenberry in Lando’s that somehow perfectly matches the cheery boutonnière on his brown suit. Oscar’s not sure how Lando got the bartender to do that up as a special, because it was presumably off menu from the carefully curated wedding drinks. (Probably Lando’s bizzare Prince-Charming-via-Clapham-Common act, and god knows the charm offensive has been working on him too. Nonetheless, it’s really the least of Oscar’s priorities at the moment.)

Because Oscar is looking at Lando’s face. At the quizzical slant of the other man’s brow. He’s watching as Lando leans in curiously, knee just microscopically close enough that they could touch. Though Lando stops just short of doing so, as if sensing that Oscar needs to come in willingly.

Oscar knows Lando has been flirting with him all night. Saying look at you in that amused voice, finding excuses to clink their glasses together far beyond the wedding toasts were over, with flimsy excuses to do so (“god save the queen!” “she’s long gone, mate.” “then god save us all!”).

They’ve also been reminiscing about that one summer camp from over a decade ago. From when they’d lost touch, and all the things that have happened in their lives since. Life in Australia, life in England. Finishing Engineering school. One dropping out of college to pursue music. Births and deaths and having to pay taxes now.

And of all the millions of possible places, of the skipped stops and lost connections in the world; of all the phone numbers and emails and social pages they’ve near-missed, they’ve met again, right here.

Oscar remembers summer sun. Shouting across the net, knocking elbows. Chocolate and marshmallows stuffed into a baguette, sticky on his hands. Dogeared detective novels passed back and forth. A blur of curly hair streaking past him, both of them jumping headfirst into a lake, surfacing to take in huge lungfuls of air.

“You fancy a rematch?” Oscar asks, sipping the last of his drink. He’s not sure if he’s talking only about tennis.

But he doesn’t break eye contact, and hopes Lando understands what he’s really asking.

Lando’s gaze stays steady at him.

A corner of Lando’s mouth tips up into a smile.

(Cicadas hum outside. It’s summer, again.)

“I thought you’d never ask.”

[cerenemuxse]

Have some 2x5, 4x22, and MollyxDuck!

Tried out something I've been wanting to do with the eyes for a while but I kept forgetting :p the final push was a really cool artist on IG, @/mino_4rtx. you should totally check them out btw, especially if ya like Sonic 👀 Eating up his art ajsdfhaslkj It's gorgeous

Closeups/separate sketches, along with the references, are below the cut /nwn/

SEPARATE SKETCHES

REFERENCES

4x22 sketch is based on this:

I used refs for the MollyxDuck sketch because I've been having trouble drawing those two in general, so here are the ones I used! (each image as a link embedded)

Thomas' Color Book (what's linked is the full image. the cropped image can be found in Molly's gallery)

used for Molly's eyebrows

Molly's Special Special (Promos) - Season 9 Episode 3

For posing and Molly's face. I also used it to reference Duck's height with the next one (left)

Best Friends - Season 12 Episode 20

Used for posing and height reference

Excellent Emily - Season 12 Episode 8

Used as a guide for his face (while also using a couple sketches I did as references too)

Because I'm trying to stick to their IRL basis as close as possible, I did some referencing on Rebecca, Gordon, Molly, and Duck (Edward and James are pretty much custom engines [somewhat])

For Duck, I referenced GWR 4612. I used the header image of this engine's "biography".

For Gordon, I referenced the Flying Scotsman. References came from that same place, as well as the blueprints on the GNR Gresley A3s.

For Molly, I referenced the preserved B12/3, LNER 8572, as she gets rebuilt into one by the time she meets Duck. (She's a B12/4 when she arrived, aka the sub-class designated to Scotland under the LNER.) I also used the blueprints of the B12/3.

For Rebecca, I used her IRL basis, BR 34102 Lapford. I just did a Google Search for this one as Lapford was not preserved BUT didn't get withdrawn until 1970, which led me to find full color pictures.

[theredengineapologist]

Now that you finished the classic era, what are your top ten favorite classic era episodes?

Apologies for this ask taking so long, but I wanted to take the time to answer your question in the detail that it deserves.

Before I begin, I just want to clarify that this is a list of my top 10 favorite episodes. This is not an indicative list of which Thomas episodes I think are necessarily written the best. They are ranked purely based on how much I enjoy them.

Anyway, Top 10 Classic Era Thomas Episodes, Let's GO!

10. S6 Ep15: "James and the Red Balloon"

Kicking off the list with a James episode (because favoritism ALWAYS wins in this house)! There's definitely a nostalgia factor to this episode, as it's one of the few episodes that I actually remember from childhood (I have the "James and the Red Balloon and Other Stories" vhs tape). But also I just love the irony of James getting jealous of another vehicle that is also red.

Also I love his sad face after he saves the balloon.

It's like "Congratulations James! You saved the day!" and then James is just like "But I didn't want to. The balloon's gonna take my job :(". I dunno, I just think it's funny. He's so silly.

Also the ending of James dreaming about flying like the red balloon is very cute.

9. S5 Ep13: "Stepney Gets Lost"

I gotta admit, I do have an interest in Thomas's darker episodes. I know that kids' shows aren't happy/pure/hunky-dory all the time, but it still surprises me when they aren't. Purely because even though I know that, I still don't expect it. And so it's always a pleasant surprise when kids' shows like Thomas and Friends are willing to venture into darker territory. Like, they LITERALLY showed an attempted murder on-screen. I gotta give them props for that.

8. S1 Ep9: "Troublesome Trucks" / "Foolish Freight Cars"

I adore James's whole character arc from the first season, but out of all the episodes from that arc, this one definitely takes the cake for being the best one. I feel like we really get to see all the facets of James' character at their best. Allow me to elaborate.

First of all, for as much flack as James gets for being "the vain one", he takes his mistakes harder than everybody. Look at him here! He's literally crying in the shed! Dude has seen the error of his ways and regrets it so hard. And that's honestly one of the things I love about James's character and that I'm glad stays consistent throughout the show. Yes he has his moments of being a jackass and a showboat. But the moment he sees that he's done something wrong, he will atone for it! He's not afraid to take accountability, and that's something very admirable.

Speaking of atoning for one's actions, I feel like being The Determinator (TvTropes lingo, means a character who never gives up in the face of hardship) is a character trait we more commonly associate with Edward or Thomas. But James sure is one too! No matter how many times the trucks make him stop, James keeps going! I love how encouraging his driver and fireman are being towards him during these moments too. Good to know he has that good support system.

Then we get to the part where James is puffing up Gordon's hill! And he's all like "omg this is so hard. how tall is this hill" and then suddenly it gets easier and he's like "Yippee! Yippee!", not knowing he's left his tail of trucks behind. Any time the engines go about their work smiling and happy unknowing that something bad just did or is about to happen is insanely funny to me.

Now we get to my favorite part of the episode, where James has to go back down for the rest of the trucks. Please excuse my 2x5 shipper brain coming out for this, but I love how Edward has always been a supportive figure throughout James's character arc. He offers to help James with his work. But then James just gives a polite "No thank you". And then Edward continues to support and encourage him to keep going. I love that! I love them!

I don't think it's a coincidence that it was Edward who brought Sir Topham Hatt to see James's triumph. Edward has been with James since his first day working after the accident. And so of course it would be Edward to bring Sir Topham Hatt to see James at his best. Like, this is such a satisfying episode and it's nice to see James win (because let's be real, the majority of his focus episodes going forward is just James taking Ls).

7. S7 Ep7: "James and the Queen of Sodor"

Look I'm gonna be honest, this one's just a really fun watch in my opinion. I love to see James try so hard to be important. Gordon really tried to trick him but James was like, "Nah, fuck you guys! I'm gonna stay ✨shiny and clean✨!" And he did! Up until the very end when Percy sneezed on him. But you know what, a win is a win (and that comes rarely for James as the series goes on).

Also I love this face Gordon makes when he asks if collecting the Queen of Sodor is important. Dude knows what he's doing and he's trying SO HARD not to be smug about it it's hilarious. XD

6. S1 Ep15: "Tenders and Turntables"

What can I say? I enjoy watching the Big Engines struggle. It's really funny XD I love how James makes fun of Gordon for getting stuck on the turntable only to immediately get spun round and round. The Island of Sodor really does have laser-guided karma, huh? XD

Also as a continuity thing, I like that we get to see how Thomas getting his branchline effects the other engines around him. It makes the events of each episode feel like they have a greater impact, something that I believe gets lost in later seasons.

5. S5 Ep10: "Toby and the Flood"

I don't think I ever mentioned it, but Toby is one of my top five favorite characters in the entire series. Right up there with James, Edward, and Thomas! Any time Toby gets a highlight episode, I know it's gonna be the highlight of the season. But this one, BY FAR, takes the cake as the BEST classic Toby episode.

For me, "Toby and the Flood" was the first episode that really made me think "Oh my god! The trains are in PERIL!" Like, this is a legit scary situation they put Toby in this time around. Not that past incidents like The Flying Kipper crash or James' multiple derailments weren't scary from the engine's perspectives. But train crashes kinda feel par for the course in the silly talking train show. Something about a natural disaster just hits different.

Like when Toby was floating in the water about to go over the waterfall, I was legitimately worried for him. Going into this blind, I had no clue how Toby was gonna get out of this. Logically, I knew they couldn't just kill Toby off. But at the same time, when Harold dropped the rope, I thought they were just gonna pull the driver up and leave Toby there. I was not sure how they were gonna save him but I'm so glad they did.

The Toby-Harold-Percy dynamic is ✨P E A K✨ here by the way. I loved seeing them work together and it's a shame we don't get to see more of it.

Aside from the story itself, the score is amazing as well. Really does a great job of setting the tone for this story.

Oh, and one more thing.

THE SETS ARE GORGEOUS!

Seriously, I think this is one of the best examples of just how GOOD the model series can look. The sets look so realistic. And when the dam broke and the water came spilling out? That was spectacular! I'd give this episode a 10/10 just for the visuals alone.

4. S3 Ep18: "All At Sea"

"All At Sea", in my opinion, is by far the most thought provoking episode in the entire classic series. After watching it for the first time, I was still thinking about it and contemplating its meaning for weeks afterwards. Even to this day, I still find myself going back to think about it from time to time.

For a while I remember I was going back and forth about whether I actually liked this episode or not. The lesson at the end is "sometimes, the best travels are the ones you can only dream about", and I wasn't sure what that meant. Growing up American, we were always taught to go out and chase our dreams, no matter the risk or the cost. But in Duck's case, not only is he not encouraged to go travel and see what's beyond the horizon. He is, in fact, actively discouraged from doing so. From a logical standpoint, it makes sense. What reason would an engine have to go sailing or travel the world. But it still got me thinking. Was it really so wrong for Duck to dream about greater things?

But after talking about it with my sibling (bless their heart for dealing with my incessant prattling on a daily basis), we came to the conclusion that it's not that it was wrong for Duck to have dreams. But instead, "All at Sea" is a story about why it's important to be content with where you are right now. Every one of us is going to have dreams. But the unfortunate reality is that not everyone is going to be able to achieve those dreams. Many of us, in fact, will not even have the opportunity to chase our dreams. And in such cases, perhaps it's best to simply be content with where we are right now. Understand that we still have a purpose in life at the place we are currently.

Dreaming is all fine and good. But understand that where you are right now is just as important and just as worthwhile.

3. S2 Ep13: "Dirty Work" / "Diesel's Devious Deed"

I love Duck's whole arc against Diesel. I think it's great. But if I'm being honest, the reason why the middle episode is my favorite out of the three-parter is because the Big Engines are absolutely ✨ICONIC✨ in this!

We get our very first utterance of "DISGRACEFUL! DISGUSTING! DESPICABLE!" in this episode. Not to mention this iconic roast:

"Duck called me a Galloping Sausage!" "Rusty Red Scrap Iron!" "I'm Old Square Wheels!" "Well Duck?" "I only wish sir, that I had thought of those names myself. If the dome fits!"

I just LOVE the drama of watching the engines be absolute Mean Girls to each other. You can't tell me that in an AU where Thomas and Friends is a high school show catered to young girls, that Gordon, James, and Henry wouldn't be the equivalent of The Plastics. I nicknamed them "The Railway Heathers" for a reason. XD

2. S1 Ep2: "Edward and Gordon" / "Edward Helps Out"

This was the episode that made me instantly like Edward. He wasn't someone that I really remembered liking or disliking as kid. But after re-watching this episode, he immediately skyrocketed to being my second favorite character.

The story does a great job of establishing exactly who Edward is with only about four minutes and thirty seconds. He's smaller than the others (though surprisingly, I noticed they don't actually mention that he's old until season 2), and is very kind. But he often doesn't get appreciated for all the hard work he does. It makes you really feel for the guy.

Thankfully, Edward gets many more wins later in the series, so it's all good!

1. S2 Ep5: "Old Iron"

Is it really a surprise to literally anyone that this is my favorite classic series episode? Of course not! It's literally the EPITOME Jameward episode.

My shipping preferences aside, I would also like to say that "Old Iron" is a fantastic James episode AND a fantastic Edward episode as well. Both characters are at their best here, and let me tell you why.

Starting with James first (because, say it with me now, favoritism rules in this house!). We all love James being a dumbass. And while he didn't directly cause his own karma this time around, we still get to see him be a little dumb of ass. Like, when he becomes a runaway at first he doesn't even realize there's anything wrong.

He just puffs along, laughing to himself going "What a lark! What a lark!"

Then of course, we gotta have the "Regretti Spaghetti" moment, in which he realizes "Oh shit! I don't have a driver! I can't stop!"

This is James's second time being a runaway. The first time, he was pushed by cars and derailed into a field. Those memories are probably still fresh at this point, except I'd argue this time is even worse because he's completely alone. No driver or fireman to check him over like last time. James is all by himself.

But who comes to save him? It's Edward!

Edward doesn't even hesitates. He's puffing and chuffing as fast as his wheels can carry him because he HAS to save James. He has to!

The chase scene is very intense. Even if you know how it ends, there's still this feeling of tension there that I'd say is palpable.

At last, Edward catches up to James! He's got him! And they're puffing along together.

"So, the Old Iron caught you after all."

Edward isn't even mad about James's insult to him. He just takes it in stride.

Still, we all know that James, for all of his faults, knows when to take accountability. When he knows he's in the wrong, he apologizes for it and makes up for it, no hesitation.

"I'm sorry. Thank you for saving me. You were splendid Edward."

Splendid is a word James usually reserves only for himself. The fact that he's giving it to Edward really means something special.

I love "Old Iron" because it shows James and Edward, my two favorite characters, at their absolute best. All their greatest characteristics are put on display right here. I would say, not only is "Old Iron" my favorite episode in the Classic Era, but it's also one of my favorite episodes of the entire series period. There's only one episode I like in the entire show more than "Old Iron", but we can talk about that another day (though feel free to place your guesses in the Ask Box).

That just about wraps up the countdown! Thank you Anon for this ask! It was so fun getting to go through my favorite episodes and talk about what makes them so great! I hope y'all enjoyed getting to hear my commentary. ❤ Until next time...

CHOO CHOO BITCHES! 🚂💨💨💨

[tkachunk]

Could we get a Josh/Thomas primer?

I'm not I'm the right person to do this/that there is enough out there to make a proper primer but have a short one below:

Josh Norris

#9, drafted 19th overall in 2017 by san jose. was traded to the sens by the sharks in the deal for erik karlsson so he never played a game for the sharks. came up through the USNTDP -> UMich pipeline with quinn hughes. played only 8 games in the 22-23 season due to a shoulder injury suffered during the sens' 5th game of the season

Thomas Chabot

#72, drafted 18th overall in 2015 by the sens. played juniors in the QMJHL and still raves about his time there. wears the A for the sens. was in my opinion the first big step the sens took in their rebuild. huge locker room guy. led the league in TOI last year.

Why the two of them together?

Chabby and Josh, along with Brady and Tim (and possibly Jake Sanderson), shouldcould be the core pieces to build the senators team around for the next decade, if pierre dorion does his job correctly. the sens are relying more and more on the leadership displayed by its young core, who are only gaining more experience as they play more games in the league

this video of thomas teaching josh some french and josh immediately asking him how to say "thomas is my best friend" and "i love you". and chabby teaching him without even questioning it.

this gif of the sens leaving the ice after their last game of the 21-22 season:

chabby coming in with the lethal combo of the hug, the almost kiss and the tender ear whisper

[cosmic--dandelion]

So what did I actually think of Helluva Boss Season 1, Episode 8: Queen Bee?

Things I liked:

⭐ Throughout the entire episode, the focus is entirely on Loona, and even though takes up a large chunk of the screen time in the latter half, it very much feels like Loona's story.

⭐ It's amazing how one episode can totally change your view on a character. Now, Loona is not and never has been on my top favorite character list. That said, it's pretty ironic that I feel like I learned so much more about her just by watching her struggling like hell to socialize at a party than I did in Seeing Stars, where we got to see her entire backstory.

Anyone who's ever been the new face at a giant, noisy blowout party where everyone else is part of a pre-established friend group knows what it's like when the guy who invited you leaves to get drinks and leaves you all alone in a sea of unfamiliar faces. It's easy to forget because of her in your face attitude, but Loona is actually pretty introverted. The episode handles the awkwardness just right, communicating Loona's shyness without turning her into a blushing, trembling mess.

⭐ Loona's humiliation and jealousy over Bee is written with a surprising amount of emotional realism for a quirky dark comedy like Helluva Boss. I love the fact that Bee's just a genuinely nice person rather than some stereotypical alpha bitch Loona has to "rescue" Tex from, but she's still gorgeous, rich, famous, popular, and has fucking MAGICAL POWERS. Poor girl just can't compete with that.

⭐️ Blitzø instantly out of his angst coma from the last episode and breaking every speed limit on the seven rings when Loona needs him. Helluva Boss is a bleak, cynical show about sweary, sex-obsessed demons who kill people for a living, including children, but Blitzø is far from a perfect man or a perfect father, but in every scene where they're together, you can tell how much he loves her. There's so much genuine human warmth and sincerity on display here that's completely missing from most animated adult comedies.

⭐️ This face.

⭐️ "Yeah, that's my dad!"

Seriously, I'm almost glad that this episode debuted after Seeing Stars because I would not have been able to handle watching all this character development and father-daughter bonding, then watch Loona knee the poor guy on the crotch from trying to hug her.

Also, Blitzø and Bee's drinking contest acting as an ice breaker for Loona to make some friends was a really clever touch.

⭐️ Bee's concern over Blitzø. I don't care what anyone says, making the sin of Gluttony an empathy/emotion eater who gets high of the energy of people overindulgence at parties is incredibly creative. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, gluttony isn't just about eating too much; it's about a deep, ardent longing for the pure sensory pleasure of sumptuous food and drink. Bee's motivations make sense here: Blitzø isn't drinking too much because the liquer tastes good or he enjoys being drunk, he's actively destroying himself and trying to kill every braincell that remembers what happened at Ozzy's. She can probably sense the pain he's trying to escape. Plus, he was in serious danger of drinking himself to death or getting molested, which would have put a damper on the party.

⭐️ Loona giving no fucks. Damn, girl, even Millie was scared to tangle with Asmodeus. She really comes across as if she has nothing to lose.

The fact that she backed down purely because she didn't want to make Vortex uncomfortable is cute. See, she is capable of being considerate sometimes.

⭐️ LOONA TAKING CARE OF HER DAD

This is seriously one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. I love how it takes time to build up the atmosphere. I love how the scene moves at a nature pace instead of Helluva Boss's usual permanent sugar high setting, allowing for quiet little moments like Loona putting a blanket over Blitzø.

This is the first time you really see Loona and Blitzø acting like equals instead of Blitzø coddling her and Loona shunning adult responsibilities. This is probably the most vulnerable and honest she's ever seen him, and instead of being angry or disgusted, she just gently reassures him that she'll never abandon him like so many others have.

⭐️ I loved the fun atmosphere and the bubbly, candy-coated aesthetic, especially after the 20 megaton angst nuke that was dropped on us in the last episode. The story is simple and compact with a clearly defined beginning; middle, and end; no loose plot threads; no unnecessary characters.it would have been a great way to end the season.

Things I didn't like:

💀Loona abruptly changing her mind about the party after this one dude flirts with her. Feels kind of contrived.

💀"Cotton Candy" is catchy enough and pretty on point for a Kesha song (unsurprisingly, considering that she wrote it herself, but it's very repetitive. This makes it all the more frustrating that an absolute banger like "Monster Ball" was languishing in the end credits.

Final score: 9/10

[claudia1829things]

Favorite Episodes of "THE ALIENIST: ANGEL OF DARKNESS" Season Two (2020)

Below is my ranking of the Season One episodes of "THE ALIENIST: ANGEL OF DARKNESS", the 2020 adaptation of Caleb Carr's 1997 novel, “The Angel of Darkness”.  Created by Jakob Verbruggen and Cary Fukunaga, the television series starred Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans and Dakota Fanning:

1.  (2.05) "Belly of the Beast" - The team races to find the killer responsible for murdering an employee at the Lying-In Hospital.

2.  (2.04) “Gilded Cage” - The clock is ticking for the team to locate baby Ana Linares, the infant daughter of the Spanish consul-general. Meanwhile, Sara Howard, now a private detective, is worried about her young undercover detective Bitsy Sussman.  William Randolph Hearst hosts a lavish ball celebrating his goddaughter Violet's engagement to John Moore, New York Times illustrator.

3.  (2.07) “Last Exit to Brooklyn” - Sara, Moore and alienist Laszlo Kreizler travel to Brooklyn in search of clues hidden in the killer's dark past.

4.  (2.01) “Ex Ore Infantium” - One year after Season One, Sara seeks out Dr. Kreizler's help in finding the kidnapped baby Ana.  Dr. Kreizler reunites with Moore and the rest of the original team.  And their search for the missing child brings them into contact with a mysterious woman with a murderous past, who is connected to a notorious gang.

5.  (2.08) “Better Angels” - Sara, Moore, and Kreizler have their final confrontation with the killer/kidnapper, and struggle with decisions about their future paths.

6.  (2.02) “Something Wicked” - Sara uncovers a clue at the Siegel-Cooper department store.  Moore struggles to balance his personal and professional life, as he investigates a link to New York's criminal underworld. Kreizler suspects dark goings-on at the Lying-In Hospital, while former police chief Thomas Byrnes plots against their investigations.

7.  (2.06) “Memento Mori” - Sara and John continue to search for information about Libby Hatch, a nurse at the Lying-In Hospital.  Kreizler is nearly ruined by a tragic accident. Sara and the team have to work with Byrnes to find a new missing child from the Vanderbilt family.

8.  (2.03) “Labrynith” - Sara persuades a young nurse to disclose what happens behind closed doors at the Lying-In Hospital.  Meanwhile, Kreizler is convinced that hypnosis might unlock Señora Linares’ traumatic memories of her daughter’s kidnapping.  Moore introduces Sara to a well-connected friend to further the investigation.