#and a lot of rando bugs too I guess.

[dividedsingularity]

Bug doodlings from a long-ago era. I loove the Collector but didn't really do them justice here, as usual when I just doodle from memory in class, heh.

[otakween]

Digimon Tamers - Episode 40

Woohoo! 40 episodes :D I feel accomplished

This episode was mostly upbeat with some ooky-spooky stuff thrown in there for good measure. This show has a lot of tonal whiplash. I truly have no idea where they're going with this plot, so that's exciting. Compared to Adventure and 02, this is definitely the most unpredictable season. (Well, I know it'll have a happily ever after because its a kid's show lol).

Notes:

Beelzebumon gets zapped by a buncha digimon until he de-digivolves. I interpreted that as him getting attacked on purpose? Maybe? All the bug-like digimon swarming him creeped me out.

Culumon's ultimate (hehe) purpose was to perform "shining evolution" which insta-digivolves all the digimon to ultimate (at least those that have an ultimate form lol). I guess it also just calls out to digimon that are already ultimate too since Jijimon and Babamon show up. (Wait, why didn't it affect the main digimon? Ah well)

I kind of thought the Gods would have wanted to keep Culumon around permanently, but I guess they only needed them to help fight the D-reaper? I thought Culumon had more of an everyday purpose with digivolution...

Kenta's future partner shows up and just loves him instantly for no apparent reason lol. I guess it's just like when a stray cat chooses you. MarineAngemon is a lot tinier than I expected based on the videogames...

It's hard for me to comment on what's going on with Juri because I have no idea. At first it seems like her puppet is possessed and then she goes behind a rock and becomes possessed herself? Is she being controlled by some nefarious digimon? The true big bad? Guess I'll find out! (The puppet suddenly talking on its own was effectively creepy).

Hirokazu assuming Juri was hiding to use the bathroom made me wonder...do the kids feel the urge to go to the bathroom ever? Does it go by the same, weird ~belief~ logic as hunger? If he made that assumption, they must have been going to the bathroom this whole time I guess (somehow lol).

It was kinda cool seeing a bunch of ultimate digimon gather for good (as opposed to an evil army). Hirokazu geeking out over them was a nice touch.

They played the dial up sound! The nostalgiaaaa

Their plan to request help from randos around the world via email would never work nowadays haha. Straight to spam.

The Gods being like "we got this, you can go home now" felt kinda like a unique plot beat for Digimon. Usually the kids and their digimon are the only ones who can save the day, but I guess they don't go by "chosen children" in Tamers. Of course, they'll probably still need to stay and fight...something.

[freshlybakedspiderbread]

Do you also have a favourite Stage 1 boss? And a Stage 2 fav too?

the stage 1 boss i probably think about the most is Larva. Firstly, her boss theme, A Midsummer Fairy's Dream, is my favourite among all stage 1 bosses, without contest. The mysterious tune of it goes hand in hand with the intrigue and implication that she is not just some butterfly fairy, but is or used to be a god who has beef with Okina who presumably came out on top in whatever old conflict they had.

I also really like her design. Embarrassingly, it must've taken a year or something after I first saw her before I realised her design incorporates an the entire lifecycle, featuring the aspects of a larva, a pupa and the butterfly all at once. That's really really cool...

It is the kind of thing where I think its actually totally for the best that she never really gets elaborated on ever, and its just up to the fans to fill in whatever gaps and decide how much truth there is to all those implications? In my mind, the fact that she can be either or both "colourful bug friend of cirno" or "depowered diety now making by as a bug" is really interesting 🦋

If I think really quickly among stage 2 bosses, the ones that pop to my head as potential fav the most is Kogasa. Hardworking but kinda pitiful cute umbrella who sucks at being scary and is liked by children... A character that makes me happy to just know she exists ☂ Close second might be Mystia, who i've been consistently fond of ever since she was fleshed out with both her lamprey stand and being in a band with Kyouko (also a stage 2 boss, funny enough). Also I really like the Mystia Izakaya game on steam n_n

tangent but its fun to think about the various stage 1 and 2 dorks collectively. Their role is often just some 'average' or random fodder/locals of whatever location the protagonists are passing by that day (sometimes the stage 3 or 4 boss is also that, while 50/50 chance of it being someone actually relevant to the plot). I think the biggest exception to that has been ufo (only one who wasnt part of the myourenji crew was stage 2 boss kogasa) and lolk (everyone is directly involved in the incident in someway, even if doremy's role is maybe tangential). And i like the general consensus that the first (windows) boss, Rumia, is the go-to example of a youkai 'some guy'. If some story needs a random youkai attack or some definitive example of a dangerous wild youkai, you use rumia. Cirno also used to be the 'some guy' for fairies, though now she's also a mascot for the whole series, which i guess is not mutually exclusive.

anyhow TLDR, my fav stage 1 boss on the basis of rando with a lot going on is Larva, and fav stage 2 by that same standard is probably Kogasa.

[fightingthetides]

More Random/Useless Muse Facts

Did they believe in Santa?: Hm... I'm inclined to say yes. I dare say he was taught about Saint Nicholas, who Santa is based off of. Saint Nicholas, a monk, was very much real, therefore, yes. Does he believe in the jolly old man who gives out gifts? No. They lived in seclusion, the very notion that some rando knew where they lived is not a positive thought.

Were they a dinosaur or rock kid?: I'm sure this refers to something specific, but I don't know what it was. I suppose you could say he was more of a rock kid, as I doubt he had many toys growing up that were sold to general public. Any toys he had were made by hand.

Bugs or slimy critters?: Maybe bugs? He doesn't like the feeling of slimy things, so he wouldn't want to be touched by a slimy critter, much less have to touch one. As for bugs, he's mostly okay with them, unless they bite/sting. It was something he couldn't risk in his younger years, for obvious [living in seclusion] reasons.

Do they fidget? How?: I can see him being more of a fidgeter when younger, but when he became an assassin, he had to train himself to stop that habit else be heard. If he does fidget, it goes to show that he's comfortable enough around you that he's dropped his guard to allow himself to fidget when nervous/anxious.

What were they frequently in trouble for as a child?: Not really. He was a relatively good boy who listened to his parents. He was a bit of a hassle, but it was more due to his energy and his personality where he took things too literally all the time. There were more days with him being a good boy than a naughty one. He did become more naughty as he grew older, sneaking out more often. He didn't get caught often, so he didn't get in trouble. Well-- until... you know.

What underwear do they like?: As long as it's functional and dark in color, he's content.

Designs on clothing or no?: No, because that stands out, and designs can make your outfits more recognizable should a witness have ever noticed you. If your clothing is plain, then it's a lot harder to pick you out from among a crowd.

Birthmarks?: A heart-shaped birthmark underneath his eye.

Do they have good self control?: He's learned to have better self-discipline, so yeah, I suppose you can say so.

Favorite franchise?: ? IDK he doesn't particularly follow anything. I guess if I had to choose... Disney? That should count?

Do they re-enact scenarios in the shower?: Like re-enacting scenes in your head? Like having flashbacks and the like? Yes. I know people sing in the shower, so if this is asking if Ravein act out scenes, then no.

Do they tell the waiter that their order is wrong?: I mean, he doesn't really go out and eat food in most of the verses he's in. IF he does ever go out to eat, and they got his order wrong, he might if it's a big issue, like giving him an entirely different order. If it's something like they added an extra ingredient or forgot to switch out a side- he'll just eat it. He won't cause a big scene. If he's with someone and they're too nervous about saying something about their order being wrong, he'll act on their behalf.

Stairs or elevator?: Stairs.

Are they an exaggerator when telling stories?: Ravein has an impeccable memory, so he can recount events as they happened from his perspective. He isn't the most expressive, especially in voice, so if he were to tell a story the most animated part about him may be his hand gestures or his facial expressions before his voice. The way you tell a story makes it more impactful and exaggerated. So he would not make a good story-teller for kids, no. Kek. As a person who gathers intelligence, it's important to relay information as they are or omit things. He wouldn't exaggerate, so he doesn't have a gabit of exaggerating.

Tagged by: @lured-into-wonderland Tagging: I don't tag

[icharchivist]

Complaining about the power of friendship in Granblue is like complaining about the fighting in Shounen manga

Why are they constantly fighting in Hero Aca? Idk maybe it's like a staple of the genre

That's like ordering a salad and then complaining about the green stuff in my food

It's part of it

And there's nothing wrong with that

I almost kinda want to ask these people what they even expected to happen at this point

The story is very Granblue. If you like that, that's great! If you don't like it, why are you here

Y'know

yeah completely agreed.

what really bugs me is that the "power of friendship" is a major lorepoint of the game to start with??? Like we discussed it, it's not even like how some shounen would say "my strength is in my friends" (which in itself isn't even bad, people just hate whimsy and earnest storylines), it's worked in a lore that since Skydwellers are mortals and limited they rely on one another more than Astrals would, and it's something that's brought up a lot in the lore for a lot of characters since they are troubled by the fact Bahamut is forcing them to live like that.

Like it feels so tonedeaf to me, it's just seeing the trope and handwaving it as bad just for being there, without taking the time to engage with why the trope is here to start with.

but also this theme shouldn't have to be this controversial of a take lmao like sorry but "actually learn to rely on one another" is a good message, sorry it's too "tropey" i guess.

Relink to me was really good at encompassing all type of storylines from the main game, from homages to themes coming back and stuff, and i find it so reductive that people just refuse to interreact with them because they recognize a trope vaguely.

but yeah anyway that's tiring as hell. I'm so glad Relink turned out the way it did personally and i care about my own feelings about a piece of work more than what randos on twitter may think, so *shrugs*. But if Twitter is going to only put those randos' thoughts on my TL i just will no longer use it. easy.

[indefinitelyjaded]

A Slight Detour (Super Sim Update)

I was worried about potentially getting bored with grinding rabbithole careers, and that's exactly what I found happening... not to mention, I just got Growing Together and am now also concerned about burnout.

So, I've taken Stella on a little detour.

That's right, we're going to university... x10, or so. If I get distinguished degrees to boost all the careers I have yet to do, I can start the careers near the top (Level 8/10, I think it is?), eliminating most of the "grinding" part and, hopefully, also avoiding burnout.

And to avoid giving myself burnout from repeating the university experience so many times, I'm using the Shorter University Degrees mod by PeridotSims to bring each degree down to just four classes - which still makes university a challenge, because there's absolutely no room for error to still get a good GPA. (I've discovered that this does take some finagling with the various versions of the mod to get the game to allow me to re-enroll. But it does work.)

Currently, Stella has earned Distinguished Degrees in Biology and Economics from Foxbury University, and she's currently enrolled in the Distinguished Degree for Fine Art at Britechester University. I'm sort of working on the Academic Aspiration while I'm at it, but not focusing on it too much, since I will eventually have to go back to uni for probably the regular length (or at least longer than just 4 classes) to do the Soccer Team and E-Sports Competitor "careers." And I'll probably want to join the secret society, too. You know, the whole college experience or whatever.

Another thing I've discovered about university is that Sims can no longer "cook" anything at college - not even salads when an appropriate refrigerator and counterspace are available. So that sucks.

(Speaking of cooking, WTF even is this bug?)

(These are "de-stressing potions" that NPCs are obsessed with making. They were coming onto my lot and using my grill, until I placed a huge planter in the way - now I guess they're going to the public grills accessible from my lot. I ended up using the "destroy object" cheat on these, because I already have like 15 of them in my fridge that were made on my lot.)

ANYWAY...

I didn't want any randos moving into Stella's house while she's away at uni, so her BFF, Aoi, moved in. And got engaged to one of Stella's exes, Nate, who I was considering having Stella get back together with instead of continuing with the married fiancé debacle, grrr...

But it's fine, everything is FINE. (It would be much easier to accept if they weren't so effing cute, you know?)

I mentioned I recently got Growing Together - I was looking forward to having a Kyle Kyleson stayover; however, I got my long-lost-cousin, India, instead.

After one day of this, Stella left for Britechester, so I don't know how that works for stayovers, but that's Aoi's problem now, isn't it? Maybe it's payback for getting engaged to Stella's ex... sigh

Speaking of Britechester, here's another fun bug - "swimming" in the river:

[orneryotter-greiverdhark]

Monster Hunter: the movie commentary.

So I'm finally watching the Monster Hunter movie, here's my thoughts as it went on: I... I'm pretty sure boats in MH don't sail through sand??? Is physics just not a thing in MH or is this movie just off to a special start? Maybe that’s in some of the MH games I haven’t seen... Goggles girl! Ooo lol fuck diablos This is so fuckin dramatic omg Oh yeah, identify our world by the litter. What a statement piece. This is such a dramatic film. The slo-mo. Crikey. Coulda cut about half of it and got the same effect. Also wtf I don't think MH had wierdo portal magic shit? Idk tho, I've only looked at like 3 games in the series. Oo I wonder how much sand they just ate. Poor actors. Ooo more dramatic shot on the top of the dunes. I kinda like this movie. Its terrible, but I like it. Kinda. That's a surprisingly anti-military song they're singing. Guess they didn't get funded by the US army for this motion picture. Oo, wonder what bones they are o geez so dramatic oof so much sand. I wonder how many times they had to stop because of sand gettting in the eyes. lol they don't even try to make that look like burrowing under the ground Those 2 guys don't seem too bothered about the whole wierdo world with monsters lol. Very chill. lol, now its on fire and chasing you. oo dangerous. any of those bullets could have gotten her. Also it didn't seem like shooting them did a whole lot before so why was it different when they popped on its head? her teeth are so white against her grubby face lol Now that I think about it I don't recognise those bug monsters at all, especially not as prolific monsters. Maybe from one of the games I haven't seen?

oh yeah, shout at the monsters.v helpful

you did not get a spark that easy fuck off.

oo more dramatic ranged shots

I hope the whole movie isn't just this rock... I mean, its a story I guess but half the joy of MH is the community, and one dude stuck on a mountain really aint that.

lol high diablos. He like 'uh? where's my dinner -disappointed face-'

uh pointless fighting because nobody can ever do introductions. such 

unnecessary hostility.

uh really, were gonna watch them be dicks to eachother for half an hour? I mean, its on point I guess, very American - survivor in a strange land, attack the first person they see.

Seriously, this is MONSTER HUNTER why are we watching half an hour of two randos fighting eachother????? ARE THERE NO MONSTERS THEY COULD BE FIGHTING WTF.

oh they're friends now are they? Just, had enough of the ointless fight now she's realised she actually doesn't want to kill him.

Oh yeah, eat this food, which is probably so foreign to your body it'll make you super sick. Really, its great.

Really, only one big one has come out? You're kidding there are like a million spiders in there, but they just waited till the hoomins took down the first one?

It's kinda annoying that they've gone with the whole 'can't communicate with eachother due to language barrier' as a thing. I know it makes sense that they wouldn't be able to communicate since they come from different worlds, but still.

I mean, it's got some MH elements in there I guess.

Oh, now we're more towards the MH we know and love.

lol bait.

Oooo Rathy.

lol firespinning

Uh, really not enjoying the representation of the people of MH

For a guy who learned this language 'as a study' his accent is very american.

Who's keeping those fires lit.

So even though there's a whole bunch of them, he's only gonna speak in english to her. I guess the rest of them don't need words.

I mean, could they not just find a way inside the tower rather than hang about waiting for Rathy to blast 'em?

Also, saying 'its vulnerable just before it breathes fire' don't mean shit if you don't have a plan to like, take advantage of that like 3 seconds of vulnerability.

Oh look, she cut its wing or smthn. A vulnerability they could also capitlise on.

All this slow-mo.

lol face first.

Lol Rathy followed you home. Can we keep him mommy?

oh no, he's eating everything.

oof, you ain't gon win an air battle against a Rathy.

I mean, you could try for a radio or something but no, why not just go one on one against Rathy?

I mean, the attacks are straight out of MH but they look so tacky lol.  Also wtf how is that the end of the movie? That doesn't end it! Ugh. I mean fair enough though that was kinda terrible.

O, a credit scene. 

Who da fuk is that meant to be? Also Palico!

[kessielrg]

[MMX] Future Me Hates Me: Part 3

Summary: After stumbling upon a Light Capsule, and having it erroneously refer to her as Kalinka, Aero seeks to figure out just what her family connection is to Doctor Light. Meanwhile, after the death of Iris, Zero vows to absolve himself of his past. However, as Aero becomes the target of a Maverick, Zero is forced into finding that not all bridges can easily be burned…

Rating: K+

word Count: 1,649 words

Part: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5

. . . .

The Maverick Hunters were on their trail now.That stupid pocket bug was supposed to shut down completely after the call, not allow some other data savvy rando to retrace the last data input. No matter. There was no time to lose now. For years they dug for the capsules, and now they had two potential victims who could open their secrets. Assuming they could sneak in on the red one. They might have to orchestrate an accident toward the human after the capsule was open.

But that was a matter for later. Right now, they needed to follow the human as she returned to her great-great-grandfather’s homeground. It would have to be in the shadows, for now, as to not raise the suspicions of the Maverick Hunter. Their footprint would be small. Barely noticeable.

For now, they could guide the human and Hunter into a trap. The exact coordinates of the Cossack vault could be guessed at -there was little doubt the human even knew the exact location either- which meant they could start there. It would have to be a makeshift lair due to the current time restraints. But it would be enough to slow them down- to wear them down into allowing their group to know the ultimate secrets of Reploids. To enter a Light Capsule was to know the old knowledge itself. Each one was always discovered by Mega Man X, like a moth to a flame. This time, they would reach the capsule before him and claim the knowledge inside.

They just had to have a little patience.

. . .

The air felt different here. It wasn’t exactly a ‘clean’ kind of difference, but not necessarily a ‘dirty’ one either. One thing was sure though, Aero was going to be taking a lot of allergy medicine in the next day or so. It was also a terrible time to realize that she had let her Russian get super rusty. The words to ‘thank you for your service’ came out in such a fumble, Aero feared the flight attendant would think she’s drunk. There was a small relief when the attendant gave a light laughter instead.

Aero decided that when she called her grandmother later, she was going to chew the old lady out for letting their family language die.

Not that she got very far in the airport before hearing a rather familiar voice bark, “Aero Lillian Sephira!”

Confused, but rolling with whatever the yeller wanted, Aero turned around to find that a rather focused Zero was coming her way.

“Hello, my enemy!” Aero gleefully said to him in Russian, waving at him as if he were her chaveur.

Zero’s face darkened. Once he was close enough, Zero roughly took her by the wrist and forced them into an unused hallway.

“Aero,” Zero hissed at her, “Are you not aware of the target on your back right now?!”

Although his question did strike her as odd, she chose to ignore it.

“Good morning to you too, Zero.” Aero instead greeted in complete calm. “Or is it almost night here? I’m not used to traveling across the world on a whim. But it’s a good thing you’re here, my conversational Russian is a bit rusty.”

Knowing that he couldn't hit her without serious repercussions, Zero instead punched the wall. It left behind a rather remarkable indentation in its wake. Aero looked on without any sense of emotion.

“Answer me, Aero!” he demanded. “Do you know someone is following you?”

Aero cocked an eyebrow before asking, “Besides yourself? Of course I don’t. How could I? I’ve had my phone off for the past 10 hours.”

Zero audibly growled. Aero looked him over, studying how more agitated he was than usual.

“Wait,” she said, “The Maverick Hunters didn’t actually send you here, did they? What’s going on?”

Zero pinched the bridge of his nose. Sure, he knew by now that Aero genuinely didn’t have a clue, but it didn’t make it any less irritating.

“A Maverick managed to hack into your household communications through Cyberspace.” Zero informed her. “It caught your conversation with your grandmother about coming to Russia to investigate a family vault. Using this knowledge, they’re seeking out the ‘ultimate Reploid,’ which somehow means tracking you in the process. Does any of this make sense to you?”

Aero continued to look him over like he was dense.

“As a Maverick Hunter,” Zero then went on, “I’m obligated to ask; what’s really happening, Aero? Mavericks don’t target humans directly unless they have a god complex, or are being manipulated by someone else with one. While you’re… special, it’s still a rare occurrence for something like this to happen to begin with. Doctor Cain never had this issue, for example.”

Aero looked down as she thought it over.

“What I told Gran on the phone,” she said as she thought it over, “Was because I found something weird while doing that publicity thing for Cain’s memorial. I had a small feeling and decided to pursue my family history a bit. I didn’t know I was being tracked, Zero. Genuinely.”

Zero’s hard expression did not change. “Normal humans don’t drop everything to travel to a different country entirely based on ‘a small feeling,’ Aero.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing a lot of people don’t  think I’m normal.” she shot back.

“And how does Doctor Light fit into this?” Zero continued to question. “Your grandmother mentioned a connection between him and her grandfather.”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Aero informed him. “That thing I found, it was some sort of capsule that called me Kalinka- my great-grandmother’s name. I want to go to the family vault to see just what that connection was, and even why (or if) Doctor Light had the energy to place random capsules for X.”

“Why didn’t you tell Maverick Hunter HQ about this capsule?”

“I did. X was apparently away on some limited access mission so he couldn’t uncover it further. That thing wasn’t my business, and I surely wasn’t going to lug back a torso part back to camp. You know how much explaining that would have taken?”

“Has no one ever told you that nothing good happens when you’re stuck in the past?!” Zero barked.

Aero immediately recoiled. She attempted to regain some of her composure before going on to ask, “Are you telling me, or yourself?”

A shot of pain hit Zero’s heart. Metaphorical, of course, but the sting felt similar enough regardless. Iris. He was thinking about Iris again. Why now? Why with her around? This whole debacle was because of Aero looking into her past not… not his. Zero’s head hurt, and he refused to let Aero know of it.

In the silence, the two simply glared at each other.

“So what now?” Aero eventually questioned. “Am I going to the vault with an escort, or am I heading home?”

Zero genuinely didn’t know. He took a step back from her and had to recollect the information over. A Light Capsule called Aero by her great-grandmother’s name, indicating a connection between her family and Doctor Light. A connection strong enough that Doctor Light assumed Kalinka would find the capsule and not a longer descendant. Some Maverick somewhere had been watching her, and was still doing so in pursuit of the secrets to ultimate Reploid. X, perhaps? Did someone want to recreate X from scratch for whatever reason? As much as Zero hated it, they had to move forward.

“Do you have coordinates to the vault?” Zero asked. 

Aero gave a nod.

“Good,” Zero replied. “Let’s get going, then. We’re not going to find out anything if we stay here.”

Aero looked dumbfounded for a moment. “Serious?”

“Serious.” Zero agreed with a nod. Almost impressed now, Aero stood a bit straighter and allowed Zero to lead the way out of the airport.

. . .

That little spat almost cost them. At this point, all of their resources were going into following this human and the Hunter. If the two had decided to part ways and go home, then they had to find a way to keep them here. But the odd duo were moving forward. That was good.

There was still good news to be had, however; their readings were indicating that another one of the capsules were buried close to where the Cossack family vault was. Had it not been for the password (how many kalinka variations did Doctor Cossack know? There were movies, songs, a national dance…) they might have been able to enter the vault before the interlopers got here. Not that the path before them was going to be easy either- all the traps were set. It could give them time to further crack the password. It may even make the human crack and tell them the password directly.

Why did waiting have to be so hard? All this time into finding the capsules, only to find that none could open them, was quickly undermined by a single human with an apparent bloodline to the Cossacks. Then, like a fool, she decided to investigate further while they kept a bug stationed at her house that tracked any communications going in and out. It was all that they needed while not being far near enough. Was this the thing that always stopped Sigma from doing more than being a recurring menace? Patience? The need to know why Mega Man X was so special, so unlike anything they had ever seen or will see, was a siren call to those who wished to pursue it. But… patience. There was so little of it when they were so close.

‘Come soon,’ they thought-wished to themselves, ‘Come soon so we can do what Sigma never could. We will build the ultimate Reploid. We will guide a new age with the entity. We will be kings.’

[just-a-creep-babe]

Hello, I am here with a request if that is ok, I was thinking about how would Eyeless jack, BEN Drowned, and our three favourite proxies react to an S/O who is very quiet and shy yet out of no where she defends herself easily out in the woods by herself without even knowing her lover was there, then when they ask her about how she did it she says that she got it from watching them

Oki poki so I’m not sure if this is what you wanted, but I hope it’s ok!! Also I changed like,,, the verb tense (is that even what you call it? Idk skdhdkdjdk) but I changed it a couple times n ahhhh I just don’t know, it might read kinda weird, I sowey 🥺👉👈 But I hope you enjoy nonetheless!!

~Requests are closed~

Masterlist: x

BEN Drowned

“Woah”

Is that his s/o he just witnessed??

His adorable little reserved s/o that just beat the crap out of some rando who was bugging her?

Boy’s absolutely amazed

He jumps out of her phone & immediately has a ~shit ton~ of questions because he’s blown away 

“Are you ok? Did he hurt you!? Holy shit, that was sick, (y/n)! Where’d you learn to do that?!”

When she explains herself, he honestly gets kinda flustered & bashful

But then his regular shit-eating grin returns and he tries to play it off like it’s nothing

“Of course you got it from me, I’m pretty badass” he scoffs

Honestly though, he’s super flattered & honored and just??

Like wowie, he doesn’t know what he did to deserve such an amazing s/o

A very proud ghost bf uwu

Eyeless Jack

Boy was following her scent through the forest so they could meet up & hang out

And, having lived in the mansion for quite some time now, he’s grown to be pretty unfazed by all manners of things that happen around him

But he really wasn’t expecting to stumble in on his shy little s/o pressing her foot into someone’s neck on the ground

And then she gives what sounds like a warning before letting them go, and the stranger scrambles off into the woods

His first instinct is to immediately race over & check her for any injuries—and he’s bIG TIME relieved when it turns out she’s fine

When she finally explains herself after, like, the 12th time of reassuring him she’s fine skdjdkl, his black heart swells with pride

He’s pretty stoic, so it’s hard to read what he’s feeling, but his protective instincts definitely have him sticking closer around her for the rest of the night

And later that evening, when he thinks back to what happened, he gets mad at himself for not being better for his little mate

He knows he can’t actually be there for her 24/7, but he wants to try to put in more effort to assure her overall safety

He’s super proud she defended herself this time, but what if the next creep is much stronger??

The whole thing just makes him stalk follow her around a lot more tbh, even when she might not realize it

He also starts second-guessing himself a lot more than he already did

Is he a bad influence? If she gets used to seeing his eating/hunting habits, will it affect her in the long run?

Boy ends up with lots of existential questions, and she has to reassure him a lot tbh :/

But honestly, homeboy should know by now that she doesn’t want a normal life if it means not being with him uwu

Masky

He sees his s/o pining someone down, and for a split second, he almost gets the wrong idea

Maybe she isn’t who he thinks she is—maybe she’s a lot more brazen and open and… unashamed

But then he realizes that she isn’t, in fact, cheating on him or anything like that, and he’s immediately ashamed of ever even thinking she’d betray him like that

He walks up to them and he is pissed

The stranger doesn’t stand a chance

After he deals with them, he pulls her impossibly close to him and asks a million questions all too suddenly

“Who was that? Where did they come from? How long have they been following you? How did you learn to do that?”

When she explains, he gets quiet for a moment, and again, because of the mask, it’s kinda be hard to tell what he’s thinking

It’s almost,, kinda scary ngl

But he just gets that way because he’s crazy worried for her

And he’s super proud she could defend herself, but he understands the risks of fighting almost better than anyone else

So he definitely wants to teach her more about self-defence—while also lowkey feeling soft that she originally learned from him without him even teaching her in the first place

He honestly feels kinda bad for not teaching her sooner—oop

Overall starts being more protective of her too, while also seeing her in a new light

Guess his cute little s/o is actually pretty damn badass, huh?

Hoodie

He‘d be trying to find his s/o when he hears someone else in the forest

So naturally, he decides to check it out

And when he sees his s/o kicking the shit out of some shady person, he gets this huge grin tugging at his lips because damn, that’s my babe

Like he’s pretty amused ngl skdjdjsls

He sticks around in the shadows for a while, watching until the creep eventually scrambles away with their tail between their legs

And then he sneaks up behind her & wraps his arms around her to nuzzle into her neck

Almost earning a punch to the gut but, c’mon, what’d he expect? Skdjdkl

When she tells him what happened & how she knew what to do, he offers teaching her more right away

Will arrange plenty of training/workout sessions, no further questions asked

He’s probably the most chill about what he saw tbh

Like he knows quiet people have it in them to be scary, being quiet himself, so it isn’t much of a cause for concern

And he doesn’t stress over it because, hey, they managed to beat them up, so she’s probably already stronger & better at fighting than most

Sprinkle in some extra prep & tips from a skilled stalker/killer?

Whew, boy knows his precious little s/o will become a force to be reckoned with

And he’s damn proud of it, too

Ticci Toby

Boy sees shit going down & immediately rushes over to knock the other person tf out

He acts on impulse cause not only is that what he’s used to doing—but also how dare someone even think of harming his perfectly adorable little s/o??

He has to stop himself from chopping them up right then & there

The only thing stopping him is his s/o, who he doesn’t wanna end up traumatizing :/

Like BEN and EJ, he asks a shit ton of questions while frantically looking her over for any kind of injuries

“Oh my f-fucking God, are you alright?! What ha—what happened?! Jesus, (y/n), y-you know I love you—I love you so fucking much, right!? Holy shit, you—you fucking kicked ass!!”

She earns the biggest bone-crushing hug ever combined with an excited squee! when she explains where she learned moves like that

He’s so damn proud that he has to resist smothering her in countless bouts of affection

Definitely finds some kind of way to celebrate later on that evening :3

And it’s only after his initial rush of joy that he realizes it could’ve ended badly

He’s lost a lot of people throughout his life & he doesn’t want the same thing happening to his s/o, so he’d ask around for advice on how to protect them better

He ends up teaching them more self defence stuff while also watching them a lil more closely too

But he’s sO damn proud, it honestly gives him a happy high for a good few days ngl <33

It’s like he’s your hero!!

The thought alone motivates him to keep treating you better because you really are one in a million uwu

[thankskenpenders]

And so that’s it... nearly 200 issues deep, we’re done with the contributions of original writer Michael Gallagher. I’ve been asked in the past about the possibility of writing an article going over Gallagher’s run, like what I did with Penders. And I might still do that. But for now, here’s a shorter postmortem summarizing my feelings on the work of the original writer for history’s longest-running video game comic

I think it’s easy to look back on Gallagher’s silly old stories with a lot of nostalgia, especially after seeing what the series would become in its Dark Age. I can’t blame anyone who feels this way. I feel that way sometimes, too. It was a simpler time, with short, self-contained stories and a ton of puns, and it was a lot more easily digestible than a lot of the teen melodrama and half-baked sci-fi that followed. But the thing is... that doesn’t mean that Gallagher’s writing was good

Gallagher was always an odd fit for Sonic. I can’t really blame the man for introducing lame concepts like Cal and Al that didn’t fit in with Sonic early on because it’s not like he had much to work with in the early days. The guy was expected to write a monthly comic series based on a couple 16-bit platformers with very little story and some snippets from a cartoon that wasn’t out yet. He also had no way of knowing that his work here would lay the foundation for the longest video game comic ever made. I don’t envy his job. Of course he’d do a goofball story where Sonic travels back to caveman times. It’s not like he had much else to do

But as the series progressed and the cartoons and games gave the comic writers more material to work with, Gallagher didn’t really play along. He gave us a few solid, fun stories like Mecha Madness, but for the most part he was off in his own world, trying to sell us on shoehorned characters like the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters or the Downunda Freedom Fighters who existed almost exclusively to deliver new flavors of lame pun. One time he even worked with Jim Valentino to make a naval-gazing parody of classic Guardians of the Galaxy so they could make lame puns about a comic they used to write (that very few children in 2001 reading Archie Sonic would be familiar with)

People generally pinpoint Penders as the guy who became obsessed with his own pet characters over the main cast as time went on, but really, Gallagher was just as guilty. And honestly, sometimes Gallagher doing it bugged me more. At least Penders had some prominent characters people actually liked, like Elias, Lara-Su, and Julie-Su, as well as some semblance of an overarching plot to work with. Meanwhile Gallagher was over here trying desperately to get people to care about a group of characters he had created exclusively as a vehicle for trite Australia jokes

Gallagher did introduce a few characters who stuck around, but he doesn’t really deserve much of the credit for that. Most notable would probably be Fiona Fox, who would become a major recurring character under later writers... except Gallagher only really invented her robotic doppelganger that Robotnik tricked Tails into falling in love with that one time. He created Knuckles’ grandfather Athair, the one comic character to somehow make it into a cartoon, but Penders helped out with that lore and did more with the character, meaning most people just assume he’s another Penders echidna. He created Tails’ parents, but Karl and Ian were the ones who actually did stuff with them. And he created the Ancient Walkers, who were kind of neat at first but quickly devolved into a tired plot device, only to be killed off by Ian almost immediately to cut down on the deus ex machinas. If you look at the list of characters Gallagher created, it’s mostly just randos he created for the sake of puns

And that’s really what most of it comes down to. Lame puns. I’m totally down for Sonic stories that go for a silly tone. I love Sonic Boom as much as the next fan, and I’ve been having a blast with the extremely goofy Sonic X comics. I’m not a cartoon snob who won’t watch a show that doesn’t have action and drama and lore, I’m out here watching shows like Apple & Onion. But while Gallagher could write good jokes sometimes, he mostly relied on groanworthy newspaper strip-level puns. (I guess it’s fitting, considering he’s related to both the guy who created Heathcliff AND his successor who makes those comics about the Garbage Ape.) I love me a good pun from time to time, and a lot of Gallagher’s are funnier when shared out of context, but when a story is just wall to wall puns it becomes agonizing. Puns should be a spice, not a main ingredient. And when Gallagher got a chance to follow an ACTUAL newspaper comic strip format in the Off Panel, he fared even worse. It was so rare for the Off Panels he wrote to actually be any funny

He WAS genuinely funny at times, though. I’ll give him credit for that. I don’t want it to seem like I hated ALL of his stories. (He did impress me with at least one political joke that’s sadly still relevant today, and in hindsight there’s something really funny on a meta level about the dark and gritty return of Cal and Al.) I think his best work came when he was paired with better artists. Scott Shaw’s more energetic Sonics really helped sell the cartoony comedy in the original miniseries, and obviously Spaziante’s work on Mecha Madness made that story legendary. When he was stuck with the less exciting Manak or Mawhinney, though, not so much

Beyond the puns, there was also this undercurrent of nastiness, meanness, and general grossness in his stories that I don’t see as many fans pick up on. This was mainly evident in the many odd decisions he made with the female cast

We had his take on Sally, who was treated as little more than Sonic’s annoying, moody, bossy girlfriend who bickered with him, sat on a big throne, and occasionally got to be a damsel in distress. He added Bunnie to the cast early on, but it felt like he didn’t have many ideas for what to do with her except make her the butt of jokes about her being a southern belle, including literally making her say “the South shall rise again!” We had Barby Koala’s extremely creepy flirting with Tails, who was half her age. We had that tone deaf Off-Panel joke about turning the special dedicated to the female readers into a swimsuit special (which isn’t far off from what everyone else actually did). And we also had that baffling story where Dulcy killed her mother. I have NO idea what the fuck he thought he was going for with that one.

It wasn’t just the girls, though--Antoine was somehow even more of a punching bag in Gallagher’s early stories than he was on SatAM. At least in the cartoon Sonic was responding to Antoine’s’ massive ego when he poked fun at him. In the early comics, Sonic would constantly rag on Antoine at any opportunity he got. It was VERY distracting in the early issues, and it made his Sonic come off as way more of a jerk

Later writers would often talk about needing to fix certain characters. Penders, for all his countless insufferable faults, used his early stories to steer Sally towards the version of the character fans knew from SatAM. (He then ruined Sally in his own special way, but, you know.) Just about every writer who touched him spent years and years trying to fix Antoine and make readers stop hating him. The unspoken part here is that the original incarnations of these characters that everyone had to work so hard to fix... were Gallagher’s

Again, Gallagher didn’t have an easy job as the first writer on this series, and most of his stories were... fine. Nothing I’d recommend to non-fans, but they had their moments. They make for an amusing read for their sheer absurdity. But a lot of it ranged from not very good to outright bad. We’ll always cut him some slack for having so little to work off of when he started and for writing stories that were, in hindsight, better (or at least less grating) than a lot of the melodramatic schlock that came later. I’ll always have some nostalgia for those simpler times. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Gallagher’s stuff was ever all that good

But I can’t hate the guy too much, because he gave me the greatest Sonic character of all time

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Miraculous World: New York

(The following review contains spoilers, and if you would like to not be spoiled, I would recommend watching the episode before reading)

(I had to pause a LOT to get through this special)

-Oh s*** Cosmo bug and Astro Noir. That is so cool.

-Okay maybe its my audio, but their voices seem a bit deeper. No big, just something I noticed.

-Okay the yellow flower was cute. Good on you kitty.

- Also, side note. This is very nice animation. Very crisp.

- Marinette is moving on... kinda. Well, she is trying. Its not easy getting over someone you have a thing for. I guess that means Miracle Queen did happen and I will need to suck it up. But.... I am not moving on yet either.

- The puppet show was perfection. And honestly on par with what you would expect from middle school projects. (I almost thought it was the adults showing them and was like WTF)

-BACK THE F***. Madame Bustier is PREGNANT! PREGNANT?! I am so lost? What is the story!? Who is the father! Is she married? Is it artificial insemination! Is it the principal?

-Adrien so moved by Marinette’s outburst of Friendship. Marinette ‘Just a friend’ Dupain-Cheng is going the Tia Gardner method of friendship. Lol

-Marinette ready to fight and Gabriel just like ‘Yea sure whatever’ (Gabriel’s smile murders puppies)

- Kagami trying to cheer adrien up. If you love adrigami, get that juice. (That looked like a kiss kiss, but the angle seemed off, so I am not counting it that way.)

- Kitty Clicker is wonderful. This entire scene is gold.

-  Gorrilla doesnt like planes, poor baby

- Plagg, you are a devious little s***. I love you so much. As a writer, his dialogue on how to convince adrien is so devilish its amazing. Using technicalities to tempt adrien.

-Lukanette shippers get your juice... even if it was still tainted a bit by Adrien inclusion. You still get a kiss.

- Okay, can we appreciate that Adrien is also having the same amount of trouble as Marinette moving on, but also include Guilt into the equation? I love this because you KNOW Chat noir is going to get an ear full later.

-Marinette has totally moved on from Adrien.... Oh my poor sweet little girl. You havent. You havent even a little. This ride is litterally the reverse of Startrain and its amazing. Alya is NOT helping. Also, give the person that drew Marinette’s Daydreams a f***ing raise. They earned it

-Marinette pulling herself OUT of the situation. Now adrien is slightly bummed out. Well i am sure that this is the last awkward experience with Adrien she will have. It isnt like the two of them will get lost in NY together... thats whats gonna happen isnt it?

-Marinette walking past all the couples sleeping together. JULROSE GET YOUR JUICE!!!

-Ah yes, nothing like watching the sunset with your good friend. Yes, you good pal, Adrien. Who is Just a friend. Wow, the realization that Marinette used the word friend in this movie more times then Adrien did in the entire series so far. (Or at the very least close)

- Adrien, STOP! Marinette is trying to move on from you! Stop making it so damn difficult for her. (I am not serious, i am eating this s*** up like Sushi)

-Nino confirms he loves Adrien. ADRINO COME GET YOUR JUICE! But yea, I feel alya and Nino’s pain. So they are going to help them both.

-Adrienette hugs. Yes, good.

-And thank goodness for Techno Pirate! Saving everyone from awkwardness by trying to bring down a plane... thats heading for NY...

-OH SWEET! BATMAN RIP OFF AND Captain Marvel rip off! And their sidekicks, Robin rip off and... Medusa girl? Okay Neat.

-Jokes aside, Majestia and Night Owl are boss as hell.

-Wow, I know that Ladybug and Chat noir got powerups now. But these United Heroes make their powers look so bland in comparison.

-Get rekt France!

-ADRIEN! DONT USE YOUR PHONE ON AN AIRPLANE! Well, unless he is using the in flight wifi, then he good.

-How come New York has a f*** ton of superheroes in this universe? America really gets all the cool stuff regardless of what fictional universe your in.

- Why are the superheroes so keen on watching over Marinette’s class? Do they know? Do they know Marinette and Adrien are there? Or is it like they just want to prevent an international incident. PLEASE LET IT BE THE LATER.

- I have only had Aeon for 15 seconds and I would violently murder anyone who harms her.

-Oh my Sabrina! GET YOURSELF AN AMERICAN BOY! ... And Chloé is going to ruin the fun. Oof tough break roomies.

-The entire class! I cant even! Not even a second after the door closes they out to party on the roof!

-Aeon, “See? They are made for eachother!”

- Damn, now that’s some guitar playing! Plus Her design is boss as heck. America really just has better versions of EVERYTHING.

-American boy basically snuck in to see Sabrina! GET IT GIRL!

-HOTDOG SUPERHERO! WITH MAGIC HOTDOGS!!!!!! BEST NEW YORK EVER!

-Nino and Alya be tag teaming this!

-Wow Zag, you stuffing me full of Adrinette goodness. Gorilla is a beautiful sunflower.

- Marinette and Adrien havent been in the US 24 hours and they already have two shippers of them. Also, what do doors have against them?

-Jess is Shipping it too hard. “Lets put them in danger!”

-Jess is having way too much fun with this.

-Hawkmoth akumatizing an actual Super villain. FINALLY!

- “Wouldn’t you rather have an Atomic Bomb?” I love Techno pirate.

-”Super Heroes should never use their powers for personal gain.”  Hmmm I wonder how this will back fire on everyone involved.

-”OH S*** HE STOLE THEIR CANNONS! BOOM GOES THE CANNONS!”

-Okay, I take back what I said, these heroes need some Miraculous asap.

- Ladybug is 100% justified in being angry with Chat Noir. It is his fault.

-AEON!!!! NO!!!!!!! Okay, guess i have to kill that techno pirate, and Chat noir

-MAJESTIA IS F***ING PISSED! WRECK HIM MAJESTIA!

- Seems they really hammering it in that Chat noir f***ed up. They right though, but at least Ladybug isnt angry enough to agree that Chat noir should give up his miraculous to some rando. FLEEING FROM THE LAW!

-So lucky charm can only fix damage due to specific villains. It cant fix things when the villain is gone or they are out of range. I always knew it had limitations, but damn. Chat noir REALLY screwed the pooch on this one.

-Adrien no! Oh s***! He cant just... I mean.... He can but...

__________

-Gabriel stole the Eagle! The Kwami of Freedom. The irony is so delicious here.

- So night Owl and Sparrow are both chick with Masculine superhero appearances. Thats actually pretty damn smart, great way to keep people off their identity.

-Welp, i am depressed. Adrien doesnt have Plagg.

-EVEN THE PRESIDENT IS A SUPER HERO! AMAZING!

- So an akumatized person can USE A MIRACULOUS WHILE AKUMATIZED! WHAT THE F*** THATS AWESOME. Also why didnt catalyst do that?

-Gabriel actually getting adrien out of there while before s*** hits the fan. That is actually kind of a decent parenting move. Granted he is going to cause it, but appreciate it.

-Marinette the bike thief is back! And she is an international criminal!

- She tried so hard. Welp I am glad that Marinette is clearly over... actually no. This trip made that clear.

-Liberation, Wow. That is the most American power I have ever seen. I LOVE IT.

- Okay, so I never thought i would say this. maybe there is such a thing as too much freedom? Or at least Freedom that lets you impede on Other people’s freedoms.

- I know what Zag is up to, and it is working. I want a tv series Of Jess and Aeon. They are wonderful.

-So Majestia can casually move the moon. Yea, thats amazing and terrifying! I love her.

-Quantum masking! So there is a glamor effect! I knew it! So Aeon knows who ladybug and Chat noir are.

-DID I F***ING MENTION I WOULD MURDER FOR AEON!

-aeon will never see Tikki or plagg. Thats so sad.

-At least Adrien learned an important lesson.

-Cute LADYNOIR REUNION

-The was clever, using the keychain

- Eagle jess is epic.

-and Majestia can catch missles. Considering she can move the moon. Not surprising.

-OH DAMN, Night owl and Sparrow are LEGACY HEROES! Thats like the Phantom, Or like Jojo.

-That was sweet of Marinette and the class.

-Oh so the guardian of those miraculous came back to claim it.

-But now sounds like the set up for a new series.

____________________________________________________________________

Overall, I did greatly enjoy this movie. Though there were times i wanted to know more, and times I wanted to know less. I know this takes place sometime during season 4, but the exact time is vague. It did tell a really cool story. It felt like a three episode saga combined into one. It was kind of interesting. And damn the drama was higher.

I give it a 7.5/10.

I would rate it up there with my favorite ML episodes.

[blackhyena]

gothank you @slutteryingreen for tagging me to uhhh. do this deep dive i guess.

1. Do you prefer writing with a black pen or blue pen? black ideally but like, whatever’s there in practice? i seem to have got hold of an aqua blue bastard right now and i feel somewhat foolish

2. Would you prefer to live in the country or city? i love the country but i need to be in a city where everything is convenient and it feels like im part of.... something at least. the idea of being far from amenities is quite frightening to me given how paranoid i can be lmao

3. If you could learn a new skill what would it be? i know i already play guitar but i would like to be actually genuinely good at it rather than mediocre. i also would like to be better at doing makeup, and i’d really love to be able to make my own clothes alas i can’t even work a sewing machine

4. Do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? i do not

5. What was your favourite book as a child? omg megan horrible histories is such a shout. i did love those dragonology/egyptology/pirateology books though i still have them somewhere cause im not throwing away QUALITY like that

6. Do you prefer baths or showers? showers 

7. If you could be a mythical creature, which one would it be? Oh To Be A Gender Non Conforming Vampire

8. Paper or electronic books? paper

9. What is your favourite item of clothing? my assorted flashy blazer collection

10. Do you like your name or would you like to change it? i mean.... it’s unusual, and i suppose that makes it feel very personal to me. but then also i love my nicknames/alternative names so much, i have genuinely considered changing it, but then i also like the idea of going by several variously

11. Who is a mentor to you? ummm. literally? my supervisor

12. Would you like to be famous and if so, what for?  i still daydream about being a musician, that hasnt changed since i was really small haha. though sometimes in my daydreams i am also a screenwriter/director maybe. i don’t know. id hate to be super famous though megan is on the money, gotta be niche

13. Are you a restless sleeper? hmm, i take ages to get to sleep but when im out i am OUT. as in people have to make sure im not dead out. 

14. Do you consider yourself a romantic person? in every sense of the word!

15. Which element best represents you?  this is probably just from astrology shit but i think air is also quite representative of me!

16. Who do you want to be closer to? oh to be close to someone! in this economy...

17. Do you miss someone at the moment?  SEE ABOVE. everyone!!!!!

18. Tell us about an early childhood memory: my two cousins arguing over who got to give me a horse-ride in my nana’s living room, meanwhile i’m crying in the corner begging them not to fight

19. What is the strangest thing you have eaten? oh take your pick! chicken hearts, ostrich, springbok.... all very delicious would recommend

20. What are you most thankful for? im very loved by my family and friends 🥺 even though i can get insecure and not realise it, it’s something i need to commit to heart more often. 

21. Do you like spicy food? yes but my body does not. doesn’t stop me though!

22. Have you ever met someone famous? ive met miles kane! and jason manford. and some randos from coronation street. oh and kate mulgrew. and lee mack, who was getting my train along with catherine tate. there’s probably more ive forgotten. 

23. Do you do you keep a diary or journal? lol NO but i do have a planner because if i didnt my life would have fallen apart completely by now. 

24. Do you prefer to use a pen or a pencil?  pen.

25. What is your star sign? libra

26. Do you like your cereal soggy or crunchy? crunchy... but i also don’t eat cereal. ive fully gone off milk (no pun intended)

27. What would you want your legacy to be? that i created something beautiful or though-provoking, or at least funny

28. Do you like reading, what was the last book you read? ahah if i didnt like reading doing what i do then id be FUCKED. i just finished reading the ebb-tide by robert louis stevenson!

29. How do you show someone you love them? i get them something nice... i suck at expressing it because i’m so nervous it won’t go down well. a gift does nicely to get around that.

30. Do you like ice in your drinks? i guess?

31. What are you afraid of? failing.... being forgotten.....rejection.... oh and wasps, hugely. bug sounds freak me the fuck out!!!!

32. What is your favourite scent? woody, earthy rain smells. and jasmine/honeysuckle too i suppose

33. Do you address older people by their name or surname? i... whatever they go by????

34. If money was not a factor, how would you live your life? my house would be so beautifully hideous and full of beautifully hideous clothes. 

35. Do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? pools, just cause i can’t be dealing with salt water in my nose where it has no business being

36. What would you do if you found £50 on the ground? i .... GUESS i would turn it in to see if anyone had lost it, but you can bet i’d be fuming

37. Have you ever seen a shooting star? no!!! i think i’m too short-sighted to pick most of them out. really mad about that actually why did you ask

38. What is the one thing you would want to teach your children? im not planning to have kids but i did come to a conclusion that, while formerly i would have simply told them to be kind, i would also tell them to be smart. because natural intelligence aside critical thinking is a GIFT and they should rightly question everything rather than taking it as gospel. 

39. If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? urgh i know exactly what i would get and if covid/money/parental expectations truly were no object i’d be getting little fragments of cathedral architecture from all the cities i’ve lived in tattooed on my wrists.

40. What can you hear now? the garage door creaking open under our flat

41. Where do you feel the safest? at home, with a cat curled up on my bed.

42. What is the one thing you want to overcome/conquer? insecurities yes.... anxieties.... fears.... all that. i should get therapy probably

43. If you could travel back to any era, what would it be? it would not be permanent because i do NOT want to live without modern niceties but i WOULD go back to the eighteenth century/regency.... and just meet some people i’ve been reading about in the flesh, and see if they live up to the hype.

44. What is your most used emoji?  red love heart emoji....

45. Describe yourself using one word. odd...

46. What do you regret the most?  not sticking up for people being bullied at school. i know it was a self preservation thing at the time and i was a kid and didnt necessarily know better but like.... i wish i hadnt tried to distance myself from it, i could have been a lot more empathetic and made the world a bit kinder for people going through it, you know?

47. Last movie you saw?  belle! 

48. Last tv show you watched? succession

49. Invent a word and it’s meaning. you know when you give your cat a gentle shove and it rolls over dramatically onto its back? that’s tipcat. 

i tag @ceolfriths @wutheringdyke  @mycravatundone @colubride @renfield @goblinmarquess​

[drunklander]

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 505

ADSOOO!!! AND CLAIRE!!! AND ADSOOOOO!!!

My floofer was not amused when I woke her up to show her the cat on the teevee. Bqhatevwr, boo boo, you’re stuck with me. #TeamSocialDistancing

Oh, I guess the voice overs are back in a big way. Super...

And also like, this whole running bit about God and stuff would work so much better if they’d included Jamie and Claire’s faith a bit more throughout the show. *cough Jamie’s prayer cough*

Do we have to pour one out for science!jizz? This is the book bit where the science!jizz happened, but maybe they’ll do it later? Probs not. Le sigh.

Marsali being all excited with Claire and Claire being all fuck yeah I found it gives me the warm fuzzies. I LOVE THE TWO OF THEM A LOT OK.

This montage makes me dizzy. Not a fan, tbh.

Oh hey, the old Hancock building! With a park that looks nothing like Boston, haha. But I appreciate the effort lol, my main office is like a block from the old Hancock building. Not that I’ll be seeing it any time soon. Living that work from home life until the plague times are over.

But for real, social distance. No joke. Stay the fuck home.

I love 60s Claire if only because damn girl, look at dem legsss.

Hi, I’m Der and I’m very shallow sometimes.

But Claire has objectively great legs.

Omfg, Roger, stop being a butthurt whiner. You suck at being a soldier. You know you suck at being a soldier. And instead of being like yeah, let me learn and get better, you just bitch about it.

Sam is gonna kick his horse in the head at some point. Why the fuck does he dismount like that. It’s literally bugged me since season one.

So they’re pardoning everyone. Probs not Murtz though. Cool that instead of doing a continuous ramp up to the inevitable confrontation, they’re going the book route of lol, jk, all this was kind of a waste of time for now...

Really, Knox, you did something excessive? Cool way to say murdered a dude.

Ok well if Knox is getting the Ardsmuir roll, then he’s def gonna die, right?

Jamie’s 100% gonna intentionally miss Murtz’s face.

Boom, called it.

I do not like spiders. Please move this VO along, Claire.

I’m fucking glad we finally get Doctor!Claire. We should have gotten more Doctor!Claire in season three. Jamie got to have all aspects of his 20 years examined but fucking Claire’s side was literally just about Fred and how shitty he is.

Fuck you, season three. Fuck yeah, Doctor!Claire!

“It’s my married name.” Lulz. And not the married name she wants...

GRAHAM SAYS THE THING JAMIE SAID WHEN CLAIRE WAS STITCHING HIM UP IN SEASON ONE AND I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT IT OK.

Graham makes me miss when the show was in Scotland like whoa. I miss the Squad. There are so many characters now that are like kind of always around but they’re not part of the Squad. And the main Squad is always separated. So like there’s barely any big group adventures anymore where we actually give a shit about everyone involved.

I JUST WANT THE FOLKS I CARE ABOUT TO HANG OUT MORE, OK!

Needle!jizz 2.0 is gonna be the closest we get to science!jizz, isn’t it. Whomps.

Can the show please just be a period procedural with Claire and Marsali being badass doctors? Thx.

Because for real though, Marsali being like “scalpel” is my favorite thing ever.

I feel you, Jemmy, I’d cry if I were stuck hanging out with Roger too.

I DO NOT LIKE SPIDERS, CLAIRE.

“My lass is more concerned wi’ words and deeds.” Which is why it baffles me that she’s still with you, bro, because your words and deeds fucking suck.

How Bonnet doesn’t accidentally swallow the diamond is beyond me.

Ok so if your wife was violently raped and you know she’s had some PTSD about it, because you’ve seen the drawings and stuff, you should maybe act completely the opposite way from how Roger is acting.

“And you kept it? A gift...from Bonnet.” Yes, you giant fuckwit, your traumatized wife went to hang with her rapist for shits and giggles and accepted a present because she really wants a memento to remember him by. They’re on such good terms and all. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! HOW IS HE SUCH A DOUCHECANOE?!

You do not get to judge or question how someone processes their trauma you raging asshat.

He is such a fucking Fred.

Do I think what Bree did was smart? Or a good decision? Hard no. But it’s what she thought she needed to do to move forward with her life. And so she can do whatever the fuck she wants. Yeah, words have consequences and it was a stupid move, but Roger needs to step all the fucking way off.

“You’ve never said as much to me.” “I didn’t think I needed to.” I HATE ROGER SO MUCH. I HATE HIM WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND FIERY SUNS. HOW DO THE WRITERS NOT REALIZE THAT THEY’RE MAKING THE CHARACTER WHO’S SUPPOSED TO BE THE SECOND ROMANTIC MALE LEAD AN IRREDEEMABLE PIECE OF SHIT. OH WAIT BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOTS OF PRACTICE FROM FRED 1.0 THAT FRED 2.0 IS JUST A NATURAL PROGRESSION.

Lol at this “Boston” priest sounding vaguely southern. Is he one of the pedos the archdioceses just kept shuffling around?

(I’m not a fan of organized religion and being forced to grow up Catholic sucked a lot for me. I did some therapy about it.)

Ok so is Claire’s knife on her belt the hand job antler knife? I mean, Jamie doesn’t give it to her until Echo, but I’m gonna pretend like it’s the hand job antler knife. Also, some witches use a white handled knife called a boline to cut herbs and stuff so it’s fitting that Claire constantly-being-witchy-to-her-own-detriment Beauchamp has a white handled knife for collecting herbs.

“Yeah, Frank and I... no, we had a very complicated marriage.” Well that’s one way to put it. *keeps rage bottled up on the inside*

“Frank and I, we still managed to make it work, for Bree’s sake.” Except it didn’t fucking work. He was terrible to you. You basically put up with 20 years of emotional abuse for the sake of your kid and then he used her as a weapon against you. Because he is garbage. Much like Roger.

Claire is always the bigger person. She was with Fred and now with Roger. Like, I’m still pissed that she never got to let out her side of things. She just keeps framing it through rose colored glasses, never speaking ill of Fred when he didn’t do that for her.

WE DO NOT DESERVE CLAIRE BEAUCHAMP AND NEITHER DO MOST OF THE MEN ON THIS SHOW.

Fergus deserves milady.

They’re really going hard with the Roger, Bree and Jemmy have to go back stuff. Are they gonna bump them going back up to the season finale this year? They bring it up basically every fucking episode. I’d be down with moving that along tbh. Except then we’d have to have just the two of them as their own story line and I hate that part from the books.

“We are but humble servants to the law.” Really, Javert Knox. Would you say your duty’s to the law?

“Those who follow the path of the righteous shall have their reward.” Yes, bible and shit, but also a veRY FAMOUS LINE FROM A VERY FAMOUS SONG FROM A VERY FAMOUS MUSICAL.

“Scotland, eh? I never stopped missing it.” HARD SAME, GRAHAM. HARD SAME.

Pledged their oaths to the militia. Not the governor. Miiiinor detail, haha.

“It is a relief, to finally put down the sword and pistol and pick up the axe and shovel.” So, Jamie, you’re saying you’re gonna walk behind the plough-share, you will put away the sword?

Oh hey, it’s Joe! Another person we should have spent more time with in season three.

“Something about Graham Menzies...” Maybe the fact that he could easily have been part of the OG Squad?

I MISS THE OG SQUAD.

“Principally that men like Fitzgibbons never change.” Really, Knox, men like [him] can never change? A man, such as [him]?

“OUR DUTY IS TO THE LAW. WE WILL SEE JUSTICE DONE.” OK BUT THEY’RE LIKE LITERALLY TRYING TO SHOEHORN IN ALL THE LES MIS LYRICS THEY CAN LIKE THE TIME I DID THAT WITH I’M ON A BOAT IN THAT ONE RECAP...

“What kind of deceitful devil wears the guise of honor and talks of justice and mercy?” Valjean Fraser, at last we see each other plain...

“Believe of me what you will,” there’s a duty that he’s sworn to do. Protect his Murtz.

“As god is my witness, I will do what must be done.” You never shall yield? ‘Til you come face to face?

“Damned if I’ll be in league with a traitor.” Would you rather live in the debt of a thief?

“But I will not stand by and watch my kin hunted like a dog.” Like a dog on the run, Jamie?

Called it! Broski needed to die. You’re not gonna make sure the letters are burned all the way, Jamie? Like didn’t that dude who brought in the letters see you there? This seems like it’s gonna backfire *rull* quick.

Also, speaking of dead bodies, is Rando McWhatshisface still in the basement?

Is Adso Gavroche in this scenario?

Jamie Fraser, murder to kitten snuggles in 0.3 seconds.

IF YOU HURT ONE HAIR ON MY LITTLE BEBE’S HEAD, I WILL END YOU, JAMIE.

Slash finally, I thought this episode was turning into Waiting for Gadsot...

(I made myself chuckle a little too hard at that one, tbh.)

“I found him in an alley, couldn’t leave him behind.” AKA how Jamie Fraser adopts all of his children, haha.

“How would you feel about taking a trip to London with me? Your father wanted to bring you there before he died.” You mean, when he threatened to steal your kid from you? It fucking speaks so highly of Claire that she won’t ruin Bree’s impression of Fred. Even though Bree knows by now that he was a terrible person.

“Thank you for my gift.” YOUR GIFT LOVES YOU TOO, CLAIRE!

(And I’m still a sucker for the Claire calling Jamie “soldier” bit.)

[evergreen-dryad]

thoughts about spook 65

...Although, it’s more like a stream of consciousness commentary. I try and fail not to make this too long as usual, so warning long post ahead.

Summary: Aidairo leaves us on that cliffhanger by giving us a break with tension-breaker Kou with his caring friends, more Mitsukou, and then dun dun dun they encounter a Wild Comic Relief of Universal Proportions Natsuhiko (poor fish and tarantula I hope they got back safe) and apparently Natsuhiko wants to capture No.6 like he’s the rarest pokemon of all and might have the secret key to the immortality fountain?? Will we ever know more about these mysterious man stay tuned next month. And oh yeah also No.6 always wanted to throw Aoi into the hole to rot away because he’s also a necromancer. Just great and swell here folks, don’t know how Nene and Akane are faring ~

whaaww Kou’s feeling really overwhelmed I mean this is a lot for like what a 13 year old boy

LMAO IS HE WIPING THE MOKKE OR DID HE READY A KERCHIEF FOR NENE

‘Teru-nii hasn’t been home recently’ -- hmmmmm? What’s he up to? Is he out on a journey to exorcise bigger fish out there?

...Or it could be just a field trip lmao

lol. out of context -- 👀

(I love that white-black juxtaposition between the two of them)

AWW WHAT GOOD BOIS

KOU HAS SUCH GOOD FRIENDS I’M MELTING HEREEEEE

ahahahahaha ofc Satou sugarboy here has his priorities right. ‘Get sweet drinks and sweets for us you simp’

awwww

I love it, we’re getting outside perspective from the supportive side characters. It’s the Arc for no1 Supportive Side Character Ao-chan after all!

ooooooohhhhh Satou’s the observant one here. Starting to love him now~

what a cheerful sandboy Yokoo is holding that carrot

oyo it’s Mitsuba but I’m just distracted wondering if those plants on the left side are mimosa plants, le touch-me-not

LMAO

MITSUBA YOU NEVER HOLD BACK

omg you just popped right outta the mirror like that. I would have screamed and flung my hands everywhere. Kou you have nerves of steel or in this case your brain is a steelwool scrubber right now

Yeah man that’s his job your man’s a ghost in case you forgot

AWW HE’S ALSO CONCERNED

MITSUBA DOING THE BLESSED WORK AROUND HERE HE JUST OUTRIGHT ASKED KOU WHAT’S UP

LMAO KOU

It is unbelievable to him since Mitsuba has always been such a prickly tsun before he’s probably never shown much common decency let alone common friend interaction like showing concern esp since Kou to him is a blokehead

Awww, Kou

(oh? oh? what was his wish again exactly, to be friends or for him to be human somehow?

and lmao Kou is going doki-doki when Mitsuba for the first time ever asks if he’s okay)

Aww, Mitsuba misses his Daikon-senpai, this is too cute guys I--

Nene your fantasy came true Mitsuba’s looking for you like a lost puppy

LMAO HANAKO IS THE BAD FRIEND IM SCREMINH BUT KOU HONEY YOU’RE RIGHT HE FIGHTS BEATS STABS PEOPLE UP AND INTRODUCES YOU TO PORN AND EVEN GOES YANDERE FOR AN ARC

really. why am I so intrigued Teru is gone. Where did he go. There must be a story somewhere.

oh whoa there goes Kou acting all otome ML again (callback to Hanako wanting Nene’s wish to come true too with the shoulder-clutching?)

HAHAHAHA YEAH HE DIDN’T LISTEN AT ALL. THIS SIMP. YOUR BI HIMBO. YOUR MORON.

Mitsuba’s face is sending me I swear

Yes Mitsuba he deserves that kick to the arse. Teach him to listen to you

There we go again~~ *Kou otome ML move count: 2*

A scream??? COULD IT BE---

BUGS AND TRASH PLS PLS BE OKAY

wow Mitsuba just suited up. our two superheroes on the move

AAAAAAAAAA

IT’S A FISH???? WHOSE LEGS ARE THOU TOO LONG?? DON’T TELL ME IT’S NATSUHIKO

also lmao these phat daikon arms. And these rando fish are all so cute. Look at this guy on the right. So smooth and chill like a seal

Ya jeez more and more apparitions are showing up y’all it’s becoming a yokai manga (I’m not complaining I love them all.)

Oh that dramatic foot in a spotlight, Natsuhiko you dramatic hoe, it’s you I’d know you anywhere (jokes aside I saw that Sailor Moon edit of him so)

HAHAH THE FISH LOOKS SO HAPPY. PEAK COMEDY THAT FOOT SILENTLY SLIPPING OUT OF SIGHT I--

HONESTLY HOW DOES NATSUHIKO KEEP GETTING INTO THESE SITUATIONS

Good shonen boy Kou finally jumping into action to the rescue, because god knows without Hanako around there’s no one to do the saving of damsels in distress around here

‘I want to join too’ -- AWWW LOL THIS IS SO CUTE

and off they go bullying a fish like it’s a game, so sad I liked that whalefrogfish

is it ded. rip.

oh wow Natsu you kissed fish gullet, look how red your face is wow. Also you really shouldn’t think that you’re too funny to let die. You survived being thrown into Nowhere, you’ll survive fish llke Jonah did. But fr did Sakura throw you into a fish trash pit or smth

LOL OH YEAH KOU DOESN’T KNOW AND YEAH HE IS THE NO1 AIRHEAD FOR MITSUBA NOT KOU LOL

OHMYGOD HE DID A DRAMATIC SELF-INTRODUCTION WITH THE FLASH STEP AND ALL I LOVE U YOU DORK. YOU HUGE SHONEN DORK OF INDESTRUSCTIBLE COMIC RELIEF PROPORTIONS

ohmygod he called himself an Onii-san. He wants Kou to call him Onii-san. I am crying. Teru come back your lil bro’s being propositioned (w hA T a tiME for YoU TO Be GonE eH)

HAHAH THAT IDOL POSE. NO WONDER SAILOR MOON I AM DECEASED

KOU BABY IS SUSPICIOUS IM CRYING YES AS YOU SHOULD BE HUN (that font is just perfect *chef’s kiss*)

Natsuhiko just awkwardly perched there in the background

Touchy touchy LOL MITSUBA YOU SAID WHAT I THOUGHT

and yikes Natsuhiko’s pulling the same moves as Nene to gain kouhais lolol, aaah I’m starting to see similarities between them

HAHAH OMG *Kou otome ML move count: 3*

ooh what a shady guy. Natsu what do u know tell us tell us tell us

omg y u like this. whY do you sound so threatening now. I take it back you’re not harmless

W H A T

Natsuhiko do you mean to tell me you’re immortal????? Is that why you survive all these ridiculous levels of eldritch horror????

Fml he really looks like a vampire in that lighting. Esp since I can like see all his individual teeth what on earth is this level of detail Aidairo for once Natsuhiko looks like the cool mysterious guy he was meant to be

Just realised he has like a dyed hair thing going on kinda like Tsuchigomori. Don’t tell me. Natsuhiko are you Tsuchigomori’s secret love child.

‘There’s a bad energy coming from here’ --- pFFFT. He sounds like he’s trying to be a fengshui expert now. A conman

hmmmm??? Oh that wasn’t a phone?? what is that it’s an onsen...?

wait that is probably a phone nvm. I’m just jumping at every little detail like 👀 

so huh I’m assuming Tsukasa can’t handle no6 on his own either, so....or possibly Natsuhiko is acting on his own??

Ooh cool blankets, everyone has different flowers!! (*squints* no stop you can’t go looking for flower meanings everywhere)

And yes that’s a phone. Naatsuhiko just canonically has an onsen symbol phonecase just to show he’s a Chill Bro

lol Mitsuba i don’t think you need to worry you’re not a whole soul anymore

D’AWWWW LOOK AT ALL THOSE LITTLE CUTIES (sheep, elephant, bunnies (multiple), rubber duckling)

You. Natsuhiko. You’re the one most like a cat.

omg what a braggart. what a chest-thumping man u are Natsu-senpai

OMG KOU NOOO WE WERE MAKING PROGRESS HE TAMED YOU ANYWAY

hahahahha I’m crying. Even Natsuhiko’s conscience is touched by Kou’s trusting naivete I can’t

oh my god. but thank god Teru-nii still comes first he still hasn’t completely seduced you over to the dark side just yet

awwww, Kou. Awww. He really, really wants to do his best to save them all. I--

Aw yay Natsu is touched to the point he’ll help!! Hopefully he wasn’t lying!! I hope there isn’t a sacrifice involved-

oh???

Onix (srsly I really love all the lotuses everywhere. really going Buddhist symbology there)

look at dat foot. it go.

oh!! we’re fresh at the battlescene!!

!!!!!!

IT’S ALIVEEEE

I guess these guys are too useful to let rot in the trashpit eh

?? For one moment I thought we were looking down into the trashpit at our missing 4 lmao. But why. No 6 you’re coming off as ...naturally innocent??? Dang. Let this cutie rest

I’m genuinely curious how on earth this no 6 is not a god on his own. (It’s funny to me that I’m coincidentally writing about a god like this as well at the same time.) How does he rank equal to the others. How is Hanako even his boss have they ever met before I demand a full show of Hanako’s powers one day. We’re not even sure what his boundary is. Or is it that he only has the power of life and death on those in his boundary?

(edit: just realised that if Tsukasa is behind Natsuhiko then no6 is basically Tsukasa’s dream power - necromancy. He could build all the Frankensteins his little heart ever wanted)

oof there go the minions. I love how they have little buds on their heads. Every minion of his is ‘living’! And they’re like the first with individuality I’ve seen...?

oh he thinks Aoi did this purposely? Pfft she got dragged in there

juijuirjfuerjcjkekerjckdediejdiedmwec. I am so worried. But fr this one panel of Aoi is so beautiful.

Huh the hole is a starburst shape? 6 points hmm --oh wait im dumb it’s closing up oh no

LOL KEIKAKU DOORI

But shiet really how did he see to that. By giving her power over those specific bugs?? Planting info of that hole in her?

IM SCREAMING THAT’S THE END OF IT THAT’S IT TILL NEXT MONTH

[merinnan]

DMBJ Ep 8

The Xiaoge Rescue Count at the start of ep 8 remains at 9 for Wu Xie, 13 for the protagonists, 14 for everyone. 

 The newly added Wu Xie Swoon Count remains at 4, since he didn't faint on the tree, he just lost his grip.

And can I just add, I was VERY DISAPPOINTED to have an entire episode without a Xiaoge rescue

- And we start with a brief flashback? recap? redo? of the last few moments of ep 7 

- In order to watch Wu Xie's oh so pretty fall from the tree, obvs

-Oooh, this time he's holding on to A-Ning for longer and hasn't fallen yet 

- And over to Sanshu and Pan Zi 

- Who have reached the surface 

- Because apparently this cavern was just fully open to the surface the entire time 

- And no-one noticed

- Okay, I just have to pause here because of how FUCKING RIDICULOUS the corpse-eaters look 

- It looks like a fucking cartoon alien or something 

- See?

- Okay, back to what's going on 

- Wu Xie being cutely self-sacrificial to try to save A-Ning from having the evil bug munch on her, and for once, she's willing to risk herself/her people for him instead

- "Don't worry, I've been vaccinated" she says, as if that will stop the flesh eating bug from EATING HER 

- NOW we get the oh-so-pretty fall 

- With the wide eyed look of surprise 

- That was a conveniently placed very large branch 

- That could have been a much nastier fall

-  Xiaoge's 'Wu Xie is in Danger' senses are tingling

- Go, Xiaoge, go! You know you want to! 

- Your future bf is in danger!

- Angry face! Again, Wu Xie seems to bring out the most emotion in Xiaoge

- Time for some bloodletting again 

- Xiaoge Rescue Count: 10 for Wu Xie, 14 for the protagonists, 15 for everyone

- Off the evil bugs scatter, leaving Xiaoge to be Very Concerned about Wu Xie

- VERY

- CONCERNED

- Sanshu and Pan Zi watching and now can feel better that Wu Xie is gonna be okay 

- Very convenient vine right there for Sanshu to throw down to A-Ning 

- Okay, now I should probably rewind a bit and see what they were saying while I was being distracted by these very close poses

- Ah, okay, the blood repellent is wearing off. Yeah, getting out would be good 

- But Wu Xie going no, no, I've been poisoned, leave me and go 

- Dammit Wu Xie 

- You just ate kirin blood 

- It's probably still good for a bit 

- I don't think you're going to die of poison anymore

- Hahahah, Pangzi, you said something to make me like you 

- Sure, you all came together, so all get poisoned and die together 

- Wu Xie managing to be partially sensible even while he's trying to sacrifice himself. Again.

- Okay, how come that vine has leaves on the surface, but no leaves in the cavern? It seems to magically get leaves once it gets hauled up. 

- Man, this is really not good for Pan Zi, trying to help haul someone up when he's still got a roughly bandaged gut wound

- And now they've got A-Ning up. 

- 3 out, 3 to go. 

- Xiaoge standing there watching Wu Xie get hauled up towards the exit

- Is that the hint of a smile I see?

- And that is a someone is about to get their shit fucked up look

- And now they have Wu Xie out, and he looks like he's about to pass out again 

- Sanshu finally remembers High Shao and Chengcheng and goes racing over to where they left them

- Okay, like, seriously, if they were THAT CLOSE to where they dug into the tomb, how did, like, no-one notice the HUGE FUCKING HOLE IN THE GROUND leading to a huge cavern filled with an underground tree?

- I can excuse the Wu party because they got distracted by the hole High Jr fell into and realising what that hole must be 

- But A-Ning's people have been skulking around the forest

- They should have noticed the HUGE FUCKING HOLE leading to the UNDERGROUND CAVERN RIGHT WHERE THE TOMB THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IS 

- Aaand A-Ning's guys apparently took High Jr, Chengcheng, & their computer equipment, but left behind the petrol cans that were taken from *their* camp

- As you do 

- And now Pangzi is up 

- That's a big tree and a lot of bugs. I'm not sure two cans of petrol is going to be enough to burn them all. 

- Also, you guys remember that Xiaoge is still down there, right? 

- ...you don't have a lighter or anything on you? 

- Really?

- Pangzi to the rescue 

- HOW THE FUCK did two cans of petrol create an explosion of that size? 

- Dude pulling a gun on Chengcheng. Please. Shoot her. I'm begging you. 

- ...and which ones are your friends, Chengcheng? 

- I have my suspicions

- Oh, NOW you remember the guy who has saved your life 10 times, Wu Xie 

- Awwww, Wu Xie is so worried about Xiaoge 

- WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE BEEN WORRIED BEFORE YOU SET EVERYTHING ON FIRE, WU XIE?

- Oh, there you are, Xiaoge. Lurking behind a tree watching your future bf worry about you and yell out your name trying to find you

- You tell him, Chengcheng. For once you're actually right. 

- Broken clock, twice a day, all that 

- I still want him to just fucking shoot you, though 

- Look, she even dared you to do it

- Please 

- Do it 

- Damn it, High Shao having to be the reasonable one and talk him down

- Awwww, he's so pleased to see A-Ning. The sheer delight on his face was just adorable. 

- A bit blurry, but there we go

- So you're just going to leave your entire campsite behind and not take any of it with you 

- At least A-Ning is doing the right thing & not trying to take Wu Xie & his friends prisoner. 

- No, don't do that stupid romantic music while Wu Xie & A-Ning look at each other 

- Boo hiss

- Wu Xie, did you really expect her to tell you? How many times has she told you she won't? 

- Shut up, Chengcheng 

- High Shao: "You look like you're going to faint" 

Wu Xie: *faints* 

High Shao: *surprised Pikachu face*

- Wu Xie Swoon Count: 5 

- And he wakes up back in the village hostel in the most ridiculous pyjamas 

- Covered in oranges, lemons, and bananas. And cherries? 

- Oh, no, just a top 

- Because he slept in jeans

- Dude 

- Could no-one find him more comfortable pants to sleep in?

- Of fucking course Pan Zi's wound got infected, with how roughly it was bandaged and then how much dirt and blood and soot and bark he got dragged around in 

- Yeah, someone yelling fire is never a good sign 

- And there's a huge fire on the mountain

- Yes, Wu Xie, that huge explosion & fire you set off probably DID cause that 

- You should have taken her into the tomb with you & thrown her at the bugs 

- Either they'd have eaten her, or they'd have found her so awful that they'd have stayed away from her 

- Either way, win win

- Pangzi first of all of them to be off helping out the fire effort. He's starting to make me hate him a little bit less 

- Oh yeah, you don't want those bugs getting out at all 

- Hahah, now they feel dumb

- This is why you ask the locals what you need to do instead of just haring off and trying to help while knowing shit all 

- Okay, Pangzi has got MUCH better in this episode compared to the entire rest of the season beforehand 

- Oh, is that what you were after, Chengcheng

- Wu Xie proving to Chengcheng that if you talk shit, you get hit 

 - Really, High Shao? Really? 

- You are such a 20-something boy 

- How do you know Xiaoge is a Zhang, Chengcheng? 

- I'm pretty sure that hasn't been mentioned so far, especially not to you  

- Trying to make Wu Xie suspicious of Xiaoge, I see 

- And trying to get them to stay away from him 

- Yeah, she knows Xiaoge is a threat to whatever she's up to 

- Good boy, Wu Xie. 

- Because yes 

- Xiaoge saved your life a lot. Over 10 times, in fact.

- Heheh, already planning to meet him again. Don't know when, just that you will 

- Dun dun dunnnn 

- Something's happened that High Shao and Chengcheng aren't allowed to know 

- Wow, THAT is Sanshu's house? 

- Didn't get a good look at it in the first ep

- Mmm, good question 

- Wu Xie, why do you immediately jump to Xiaoge? 

- Yes, thank you, how? 

- If you didn't find them suspicious, then maybe he's not suspicious? 

- Since there were, y'know, a whole bunch of other people also running around the tomb

- Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about the box Wu Xie put in his backpack 

- It's the Harry Potter music again 

- Wait, if the code was on the mercenary's belt buckle, then that would hint that they were looking for the box, & A-Ning saw Wu Xie take the box so why did she let him keep it?

- That was a lovely 'you idiot' look from Sanshu 

- Noooo, don't throw the fake manuscript away, it would make a great costume prop! 

- You are a good friend, High Shao 

- You know waaaaaay too much, Chengcheng

- That's a good response to finding your nephew & his rando friends just chilling in your house without an invitation 

- Sanshu knows you far too well, Wu Xie 

- Oh, now we get the first mention of the Nine Families 

- I'm guessing that's the three years of the torn out diary pages

- She is just echoing everything that Sanshu says 

- Sanshu, surely you should know your nephew better than that 

- Of course you do, bb. Of course you do 

- And there is the end of ep 8

Episode 8 ends with the Xiaoge Rescue Count at 10 for Wu Xie, 14 for the protagonists, 15 for everyone 

 And the Wu Xie Swoon Count at 5 

[gh0stbird]

Okay Now Do The Rest

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

Bright but argumentative. I was never afraid of pointing out things I didn’t feel were fair hfhddh

When we were learning numbers kids would often write 91 for nineteen, just flip them, y’know, and Ms. Potter yelled at the class for it. Baby Generiq went into it about how it was an understandable mix up because you do say the number first. In twenty-three you write the two first, so in nineteen it’s easy to assume you would write the nine first.

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

Tired.

8. movies or tv shows?

TV shows. Every book adaptation should also be a series not a movie. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

9. favorite smell in the summer?

Honeysuckle and sunshine

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

Floor hockey! My friend and I used to be brutal and swing at each other’s shins going after the ball. Also it was reminiscent of golf, which I competed in.

12. name of your favorite playlist?

I have an untitled playlist I cycle my current music in and out of, but Newton’s Third Law is my favorite named one!

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

I don’t- I guess the yellow smarties. Don’t come for me they taste like lemonade.

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

I assume this means assigned book and not the reports we got to pick for ourselves. Ah, Night was good. Lord of the Flies was fine but way overhyped. Again, don’t come for me.

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

If I can tuck my legs into the chair I am sitting in that is ideal!

18. ideal weather?

When you know it is going to rain and you get to stay home

19. sleeping position? (Skipped on accident)

I reeeally like pressure, so either against something or on my stomach.

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Phone notes and a notebook! Sometimes a blank document but I always find it strangely intimidating

21. obsession from childhood?

Warrior Cats, Percy Jackson, and Maximum Ride were my big three!

22. role model?

Aa I try to straw from people I want to copy, but there are talents I look up to. Rachel Chavkin is a brilliant director, and there are so many artists and authors I look up to and who inspire me.

24. favorite crystal?

Obsidian because it’s black like my hea- I’m kidding, I do love obsidian, but it’s Rose Quartz because it’s a very very pretty, soft pink and makes me happy.

25. first song you remember hearing?

The mobile above my crib played Imagine by John Lennon. My childhood room was themed after it as well!

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Swim or sit in the sunshine. Ben and I usually go driving with the top down as well.

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

Walking through fresh snow is amazing, so are snowball fights and building snowmen.

28. five songs to describe you?

Oh fuck yes

Hurricane - Hamilton

The Reckless and the Brave - All Time Low

Almost There - The Princess and the Frog

All This and Heaven Too - Florence + the Machine

Facade - Jekyll and Hyde: A Gothic Musical Thriller

30. places that you find sacred?

I don’t typically find places sacred, but certain headspaces are very special to me, and time spent with loved ones means more than enough to be considered sacred.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

A black blazer with a white button-down and a skirt.

32. top five favorite vines?

I am in Missouri (misery)

I love you, Bitch

I want a Church girl

Obama’s “I know because I won both of them”

I won’t hesitate, Bitch!

33. most used phrase in your phone?

“No worries”

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

That fucking PFI bandana boot sale I stg

35. average time you fall asleep?

Somewhere between 9:00 and three in the morning

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

Some girl doing bunny ears on her friend. I don’t remember what the caption was

38. lemonade or tea?

Both. Mixed together. It’s called an Arnold Palmer and it is my favorite drink

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

Lemon cake!

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

We duck taped out principal to the wall once. Also some kid broke their tray over another kid’s head at lunch one time.

41. last person you texted?

The family group chat, though Beau if Discord counts

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

I wear a lot of leggings so jacket pockets!

44. favorite scent for soap?

We had some Lily of the Valley hand soap that was amazing

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy, I think! I’ve never done super heavy into the other two. Though I definitely don’t want to ignore sci-fi because two of my favorite stories are a little science-fiction-y

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

A t-shirt and shorts

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

A banana. Generally accepted as a fruit and kind of just rolls with it, but is actually a berry

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

I fucking hate Hamilton-ing on main, but

“And when my prayers to god were met with indifference, I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance!”

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

That changes every time Beau and I play HetaOni together, but I have fucking lost it for at least five minutes the last two sessions.

51. current stresses?

I dunno, man, life? My hair could use a wash

52. favorite font?

Covered by your Grace and I’m a big Spectral baby. These are both google docs! I don’t know if that makes a difference.

54. what did you learn from your first job?

Patience is important when teaching material, but never be afraid to find another approach better suited to the person you’re tutoring.

55. favorite fairy tale?

Robin Hood!

56. favorite tradition?

My family does homemade Springfield cashew chicken for Christmas!

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Uhh lots of self-acceptance shit no one really wants to read

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

I can pop the joint at the center of my foot

That’s all

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

I sort of like my role as mom friend, so maybe I could keep that role in a sort of action-based anime that followed a group of friends

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

“I am not the protégé to waste your time on; I'm complete!” Jekyll and Hyde: GMT

62. seven characters you relate to?

Haha

Lisa Carew - Jekyll and Hyde: GMT

Japan - Hetalia/Oni

Garnett - Steven Universe

Hfhddh that’s all I can say that aren’t my own characters

63. five songs that would play in your club?

I Don’t Like Clubs, but

Overwhelmed - Royal + The Serpent

Backseat Serenade - All Time Low

Go Big or Go Home - American Authors

The Nights - Avicii

Tempo - Lizzo

64. favorite website from your childhood?

Webkinz!

65. any permanent scars?

Yep - One from a bad bike wreck. My body rejected the dissolvable stitches so it’s a lot bigger than it was supposed to be

66. favorite flower(s)?

Lily of the Valley, daisies, Day Lilies, and Dandelions! I also love honeysuckles but I don’t know if those count.

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

Accidentally drank rancid milk once!

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? (Haha, nice)

The fastest, free way to fill up your potions on Wizard101 is to play Potion Motion to level three.

70. left or right handed?

Right handed

71. least favorite pattern?

On myself, animal print

72. worst subject?

I’ve never been intuitively good at History, I do think it’s interesting though.

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

I don’t like to take it until I can’t move without it.

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

Kindergarten? I had mono and then scarlet fever twice, so my baby teeth were pretty much ruined and they all fell out very fast.

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Curly fries!

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

Kalanchoe’s, it literally Window’s Thrill. These babies are fairly temperamental outside and love partial sun, so the window is the perfect spot for them. And! If you keep them happy! They’ll bloom! My personal favorite is the pink bloom.

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

What’s wrong with coffee from a gas station? Also I don’t like seafood.

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Earth tones!

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

Lightning bugs

82. pc or console?

PC!

84. podcasts or talk radio?

Podcasts - talk radios actually tend to get under my skin for n o reason

84. barbie or polly pocket?

Barbie, but let it be known I was brutal with mine. We did human sacrifices and the like.

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Mythology!

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Cookies, but I’m a slut for whipped frosting

87. your greatest fear?

Losing control!

88. your greatest wish?

A life beyond where I am now. Haha Stop chasing new down the hallway you’re so sexy haha

90. luckiest mistake?

Logged into Omegle in like 2015 and some rando asked me to join their Doctor Who roleplay. Luckiest moment of my gd life.

91. boxes or bags?

Bags! They’re easier to store

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Sunlight! But in the late afternoon when everything is bathed in orange.

93. nicknames?

Mom is the most prevalent!

94. favorite season?

Fall into winter. Peak leaf crunch!

95. favorite app on your phone?

Discord or Notes