#i think I'd put this one probably in 4th

[deadliestpieceontheboard]

Incredible that in a single one shot Renee got herself in the top 5 iconic moments in the aftgverse with that peace sign to Riko.

[blackkatdraws2]

I'm involved in a Stanley Reblog Chain and put effort into these drawings so I'll post them here too.

[The other characters belong to insomniphic / beartitled / and marionette-j2x]

[Just me rambling underneath!] ↓

Tumblr has a tag limit and it grates my nerves to no end to know that I can't ramble as much as I'd like to...

Stanley and the bad bitch he pulled by being a loser. Imagine having a hot babe deform reality just to be together with you because he sensed you were feeling lonely without him. [WHEN IS IT MY TURN?!]

It's funny because with the general vibe of their AU, it would make sense for him to show up in the most flashy but also unnerving way possible. The Narrator's [Black's] arrival has to grab people's eyes since attention and views are what he's all about.

I wasn't sure what type of characterization they had so I just played it safe and [tried to] draw how my characters would respond instead of blindly guessing how the others would talk or act around each other. [My Stanley is antisocial and an anxiety-ridden freak.]

Also, I've been wondering what their height differences actually were when I saw my Stanley have to look up at Marionette's Narrator [since this guy is pretty damn tall] so I did a bit of digging and this was what I found.

I had a lot of fun making this by the way. It's been a while since I've participated in any Reblog Chains that involved character interactions and making comics, so it's a real throwback to when I first started posting TSP art in 2023.

Stanley here is an absolute social shutoff teehee, but he does talk back when talked to. His responses usually leave no openings to continue the conversation though. He's the type of guy to stay on the corner and watch everyone else.

As for the Narrator [Black] he's a bit strange. He's proper in public, but he doesn't think the other people are special [or not as special as he is at least]. He just doesn't care to be honest, he keeps to himself [along with Stanley] and that's it. It's a miracle for Stanley to have even pulled somebody like Black considering their personalities are the type to clash with one another. [They love each other though, genuinely. Despite how deranged they can be towards each other sometimes, that development took a long time to be nurtured into something healthier for those two.]

Also, 4th wall breaking in action!!!!!!!!!!!

Black didn't want to interrupt this comic since it was made for Stanley but after the other three came in he lost reservations and came in as well.

These two would probably just stay in their own spot [somewhere quiet and more alone]. This place is a bit too crowded for their liking. But I would be very happy to jump on any opportunity to make my guys interact with the others!!!!! Don't be afraid to throw a bone [prompt] for me to bite on, okay?

[Oh no, I just realized Black looks like he has boobs on the last picture. He DOES NOT have boobs!! Sorry man boob enjoyers, it's the lighting that made it look that way wuwuwu...]

[Copy and Pasting the tags of my other post because I am NOT re-writing all of this...]

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | March 4th-10th 2024

IT'S PREMIERE WEEK!!!!

Complete

🔥Eddie Diaz vs The Feelings by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (S6, Sexuality Crisis, Demisexual Eddie | 62K | Explicit): Eddie dives into the mysteries of attraction, romantic love, and asexuality because there's a good chance he's fallen in love with his best friend. AKA demisexual!Eddie figures out he’s demi and finds the happily ever after he’s been longing for

🔥 tell me that i’m all you want (even when i break your heart) by asteriasera/ @asteriasera (Post-S6, Exes to Lovers | 12K | Teen): Buck and Eddie kiss one night, fall in love and don’t say it, then forget to fall out of it when they break up and try to move on with their lives.

Buddie, You're Hot by chronicallystendan (Coming Out, Friends to Fiances | 1K | Teen): Buck is helping Eddie get ready for a date when he ends up outing himself as bi – something he thought Eddie already knew. Wasn't it obvious? - Eddie pursed his lips as he tried not to laugh. "Careful," he said. "That sounded a little bit gay." "A little?" Buck snorted. "Eddie, if you weren't straight, I would be all over you." Eddie's lips parted in surprise and his eyebrows pinched together slightly. "What?"

You Should've Just Kissed Me by chronicallystendan (Post S6E13: Mixed Feelings, Misunderstanding | 2K | Teen): Set after the Poker Date Night, Buck overhears Eddie talking about being set up on a date and wonders aloud why Eddie doesn't just explain that he's already in a relationship - with Buck. -

I'd shine up the old brown shoes, I'd put on a brand-new shirt by trysetmeonfire/ @try-set-me-on-fire (S7 Spec | 3K | Teen): Chris is going on his first date. Eddie calls Buck for backup.

how's your head? (haven't had any complaints) by bucksclipboard (Pre-Buddie | 2K | Mature): When he glanced over, Buck had already drifted off to sleep. He looked so innocent, Eddie almost couldn’t believe what had come out of his mouth mere seconds ago. Almost. Because he was 100 percent sure he’d heard it. or: you can’t just make this kind of joke and forget about it

a place where i feel at home by Tizniz/ @tizniz (Established Buddie | 3K | General): Moments like these remind Buck how much Eddie knows and loves him. Others would push and push Buck when he’s tired and struggling with his words, trying and failing to string together his thoughts, which he can barely do when he’s wide awake and alert. But Eddie never pushes. OR: Sleepy Buck wants cuddles with his boyfriend.

Cooperative Species of the Southern Coastal Husbro by Mad_Lori/ @madlori (Future Fic, Buddie Wedding, Outsider POV | 11K | Teen): In which Abby Clark attends Buck and Eddie's wedding. (Part 6 of Life Cycles of the Southern Coastal Husbro)

a madman and a minstrel by Maira/ @carrierofthepaperclips (Getting Together | 2K | Teen): ...or, the one where Eddie is drugged and confesses his feelings for Buck. To Buck.

and i always will by Maira/ @carrierofthepaperclips (Getting Together | 2K | Mature): ... or, the one where Eddie answers the wrong phone.

Through The Open Window by inkinmyheartandonthepage (Madney Wedding, Getting Together | 2K | General): At the reception of Maddie and Chimney wedding, Eddie stumbles across a Buckley sibling moment and overhears something he probably wasn't meant to hear just yet.

The Night Shift by Veronae (Getting Together | 2K | Teen): “I think I’m in love with Eddie.” Heart pounding against his breastbone, Eddie gripped the handrail of the staircase so hard his fingers turned numb. Buck. That was Buck’s voice.

lay your cards down, down, down by 42hrb/ @exhuastedpigeon (Post-S6, , Married in Vegas | 6K | Mature): Buck and Eddie get drunk at Chim's bachelor party and wake up married.

For the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) by JamesPearce911/ @diazsdimples (Post-S6, Established (secret) Buddie | 10K | General): OR Buck, Eddie and Christopher go to the zoo to see the baby hippo and Eddie gets all up in his feels about it.

normal again? by disasterbuckdiaz/ @disasterbuckdiaz (S7 Spec | 1K | General): Buck and Eddie talk in the gym about what happened at the cruise call

take my hand (take my whole life too) by Maira/ @carrierofthepaperclips (Magical Realism AU | 5K | Teen): ... or, the one where Buck thinks he's allergic to Eddie.

Fractals from the Lightning Bolt by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (One Shots Collection | 52/54 | 95K | Not Rated): A collection of oneshots, some originally posted on tumblr. Each chapter is individually rated.

52. Release the Swimmers (PWP, Explicit)

WIP

🔥 because we'll all arrive in heaven alive by callmenewbie/ @puppyboybuckley (Post-S6, Disaster Fic | 8/10 | 51K | Explicit): During a search and rescue, Eddie disappears without a trace, leaving Buck to grapple with the sudden possibility of a life without him.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon S1-S6, S7 Spec | 121/? | 369K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 Any Other Way by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon Divergent, S2 | 5/18 | 32K | Mature): In a switcheroo alternate universe, Buck spends young adulthood in the military, while Eddie, who has no idea Christopher exists, spends his twenties messing around, finally enjoying freedom away from his family’s expectations. When they both end up in Los Angeles, at the 118, some things are different, and others will be the same in any universe.

Kiss Me Once Cause You Know I Had A Long Night by I_still_dont_understand_13 / @sherlockcrossing (Prompt collection | 28/? | 18K | Teen): 100 kiss prompts.

28. 17. Sliding your hands down your lover's chest 

🔥 if i need to rearrange my particles — i will for you. by dylaesthetics (Post-S6, Identity Porn | 9/11 | 22K | Teen): OR Buck joins a support app for first responders and matches with a firefighter who has PTSD and a kid who likes giraffes, apparently.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/31/2024 Daily Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew Sightings; Watch Parties; OurFlagMeansDeadloch; LubeAsACrew; Stats; UK News; Upcoming Events; Other News; Favor To Ask; Love Notes; DailyDarby/Tonight's Taika

== Cast and Crew Sightings ==

Probably the cutest sighting would be Con O'Neill's dog Cooper

== How To Help ==

How to help docs have been updated with queerties and other stats!

How To Help Save OFMD Task List - US

How to Help Save OFMD Task List - Outside US

== Watch Parties ==

Today was Day 2, episodes 3 and 4 of Deadloch!

I realised I totally forgot to crew reactions up for Deadloch yesterday! Sorry all! Here's some from todays watch!

On to episodes 5/6 tomorrow! Same time same place!

== LubeAsACrew ==

The second Lube as a crew was widely successful! Trending at #7! Thanks for catching it @_irene_adler!

Everybody had a lot of fun with it, here's some highlights!

Our lovely friend over at @Astroglide left some fantastic tweets for us, I'm including a few that stood out.

== Stats ==

Some interesting stats today! Thank you @meowzawowza_ on twitter for these details!

More stats by @lucyrosebutler regarding How well OFMD is doing in the US!

== UK News ==

Reminder! 5 days until S2 airs in the UK!

Thanks as always to our lovely @lamentus1 for the update in the UK!

"I tweeted at 13 lucky TV Guide journalists in the UK all about Our Flag Means Death and the efforts of the fandom and also why the show is so great. I have a document with their twitters and email addresses. Email will be my next line of attack! If anyone wants access to the UK TV Guide press list let me know! We were thinking that we should introduce a spoiler free way for people who are starting to watch season 2 on the BBC to interact with the campaign on Twitter. I think it might be to encourage them to follow #OurFlagBBC while encouraging anyone posting spoilers under that hashtag to add #ofmd2spoilers so that people can avoid seeing spoilers. One other thing that’s coming up later in February is that Chxrlotte on our UK crew will be releasing an Our Flag Means Death inspired track on her label on 24 February! She has a ton of gorgeous tracks that are often inspired by shows like OFMD and Good Omens, and the new one is about Ed and Stede. I’ve had a preview of the new track and it’ll make you cry! @shutupchxrlotte's Twitter Her other stuff is on Apple Music and Spotify here"

Please have a listen!

== Upcoming Events ==

#StewAsACrew

Reminder! Feb 4th is National Homemade Soup Day! More deets! Be sure to share your soup/stew pics with these hashtags:

#StewAsACrew

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

Not a soup bitch but still want to help?

You can politely menace: @CambellSoupCo and @CampbellsChunky with our petition hashtags!

==New Watch Party!==

Muppet Treasure Island - Feb 7th 2024

4PM EST, 1PM PST, 9 PM GMT

Watch Party Hashtags:

#MuppetPirates

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

== Other News ==

Warner bros stock is still dropping! Sure looks like cancelling OFMD wasn't a very lucrative plan. Thanks @iamadequate_ for this!

Max still has billboards up for OFMD in Hollywood! Thanks @LeanneBrodie13 for catching this!

Also, @_irene_adler caught some audacity from Max in trying to monetize OFMD merch for Valentine's Day.

== Favor to Ask ==

I've been working on a bit of a side project of putting together an OFMD Renewal Repository for resources that doesn't require anyone to log into ... twitter, IG, tumblr, facebook, etc. It's still WIP but I'd love some constructive feedback if anyone would be willing to take a look and let me know what they think. I won't be replacing the tumblr recaps with it, but will be posting them there minus the gifs at the end so they can be shared to other platforms if needed.

My specific questions are:

Are there more categories / different information you'd like to have added?

Is it generally easy to find information?

Is this a bad idea? (too many places with this stuff already?)

Other feedback welcome!

I am totally cool with constructive feedback, feel free to dm me :)

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. Do you ever worry you're too much? Like you talk too much, or feel too much, or come off too strong? I know I do some days.

Just remember, on days you're feeling too much, you're probably shining your brightest. What other people think is too much is just you, and you're allowed to shine! Don't ever let their inability to see your worth stop you. Saw this on IG today and thought of you call. Gnight crew, all the love <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

These gifs go together, I don't make the rules.

[bubblegyu00]

zb1 as boyfriends 💋

a/n: thought i'd do one for jebe too 😋 YURA YURA BABY BABY also this is very rushed....

not proofread !

———————・✦

• jiwoong

boyfriend jiwoong is so " yes love? honey. sweetheart. princess " he's so perfect wtf

this man would be randomly talking and say " i would die for you " and mean that shit from the bottom of his heart

i feel like he's very manly and mature but he can not drink an ounce of alcohol or he's wasted. but when he's drunk he's genuinely the cutest thing ever. will cling onto you and giggle like a little kid but you can't even be mad at him because you love him sm

SUCH a gentleman. i don't even need to elaborate on this.

he's so husband material like i would drop my whole life for him to put a ring on my finger

loves loves loves to spoil you on holidays

" i bought you a present! "

" it's the 4th of july jiwoong... and you're korean. "

———————・✦

• hanbin

please do not even get me started with this man.

boyfriend!hanbin will literally revolve his whole world around you. if you think he adores that hamster plushie... take that times 1000 and that's his adoration for you

if he could take you on his tours he would. it literally tears him apart that he can't see you for that long of a period of time.

whenever he can't see you starts to literally hear your voice. he'll call you to get a flight to wherever he's at because he thinks he's delusional and needs to see you before he goes insane

will be your number one supporter at award shows, but when the camera pans to him he acts like he wasn't just screaming your fanchant

will do all of your chores for you even if you don't ask him to

" what're you doing? "

" sweeping "

" hanbin did you not just see me sweep the whole house? "

" well yeah but like- "

———————・✦

• zhanghao

boyfriend!zhanghao is so RGRBRBRHRHRGRGRH

if anyone of your fans goes to a " your biggest fan " contest, they're all losing because zhanghao is winning immediately

honestly was your biggest fan before you two started dating. he made the biggest foul out of himself when he saw you

like the guy started stuttering, turning red, and sweating profusely. you thought it was cute so you just started teasing him more

he's still a little intimidated by you, but he doesn't stutter, turn red, or sweat profusely. ( unless you start making out, cus then he basically has a stroke )

zhanghao is definitely the second best kisser. idk why it's just something about him.... like his lips also just look so soft ( does it show that i dream about him all the time? )

the amount of stuff he knew about you before you started dating is basically stalker level but it's okay cus you're obsessed too.

you two are the most judgmental people i've ever seen oml. like someone will pass by and you'll look at eachother and give them the most vile look ever made. like if i slipped up in front of you two id probably cry

" ew wtf look it's her "

" omg wasn't she the friend that dumped that one guy for no reason "

" yup "

" gross "

———————・✦

• matthew

boyfriend!matthew is so cute he makes me want to do a backflip into a pool of lava ( nichole wtf )

but anyways he's actually so perfect and sweet and perfect and also sweet with some perfect mixed in

wants to be in your arms 24/7, it literally kills him when he has to leave every morning for work. like he genuinely starts tweaking out

every time he goes to canada to visit his family, he takes you too because his mom and sister ADORE you sm. like whenever you're over his mom cooks a whole feast and will talk your ear off, but it's okay cus you love her

will be texting you with the stupidest smile on his face, it makes the members wanna gag. but he dosent notice cus he's to busy typing words to describe how much he misses you

the boys WILL NOT under any circumstances get too close to you or matthew will talk their ears off

" did you just touch her? "

" i passed her the remote?! "

" you know what gunwook i'm so sick and tired of- "

and then he rants for two hours.

———————・✦

• taerae

boyfriend!taerae is soooo bestie boo, like he is literally your hype man

i also think that taerae is basically a mindreader... like you could be craving something and two seconds later there's taerae at the door with whatever it is you wanted. or if you wanted to call him, he'd call you right before you even turn on your phone to call him

quite literally spams your company's emails to let you do a dance challenge tiktok together. and when i say spam, i mean this man genuinely sent them 5000 slideshows as to why you should do the challenge together

absolutely can not go two sentences without bringing you up. the members could literally be talking about plants and he would make it have to do something with you

sometimes he'll wake up and wonder how in the world he pulled you. like he genuinely thinks he is the chosen one because he thinks your so 😍

he loves when you compliment his singing sm. he literally wants to cry every time you tell him how beautiful his voice is, because he only needs your validation, not anyone else's

he's so obsessed with your scent. like he buys your perfume in bulk, and sprays it on his sheets and pillows

" just bought a hundred bottles of your perfume. "

" yeah and now they're all sold out rae "

" that sucks cus im not sharing. "

———————・✦

• ricky

boyfriend!ricky is claimed by me. no like i genuinely have him moved into my house and everything

he's the #1 kisser. like his make out game is STRONG omfg. he's literally just a natural wtf. like he doesn't even have a lot of experience, he's just so good at kissing it's wild

this man would probably try to buy you the world if you said you wanted it. but the thing about quanrui is that you could ask him for boba or something, and he'd buy you the whole franchise

whenever you're apart, he'll call you when you're about to go to sleep, and he won't even turn off the lights until he hears your soft snores

unpopular opinion—i believe that ricky is honestly really shy when it comes to you. like if you tell him that you love him, he'll get shy and clingy and while hide in the crook of your neck

his favorite thing in the world is when your laying in between his legs with your head on his chest. he'll play with your hair until you fall asleep

that's another thing about ricky; he feels guilty when he falls asleep first, because he hates the fact that you're lying awake basically alone

he's so delusional, he literally will lie in bed and plan out your wedding

" oh and your ring is gonna be soooo pretty baby "

" oh yeah? "

———————・✦

• gyuvin

boyfriend!gyuvin oh god.... yes those are tears you see in my eyes 😰

gyuvin likes to mess around and tease his members, but when it comes to you he's the sweetest, softest thing you've ever met

he gets sososo shy when you compliment his on his appearance at all. no like he genuinely covers his face and gets all smiley

the members always make fun of him because whenever you're around, he turns into this giant clingy simp

he honestly is really good about communication. like he absolutely will not let you go to sleep angry

do not break up with him. if you break up with him i'm pretty sure he'd go genuinely insane. he'd also be one of those stalker exes.....

you haven't seen clingly until you've met kim gyuvin. he literally wants to be physically attached to you at all times

" no come back! "

" gyu we've been cuddling for like six hours straight?!"

———————・✦

• gunwook

oh how i love boyfriend!gunwook....

gunwook is lowkey SUCH a gentleman. like if you two were on a date outside and it was sunny, he'd put a hand over your head to keep your eyes from hurting. or if your shoes were untied, he'd tie them without even thinking.

has you as his lockscreen and smiles every time he checks the time, or opens his phone ( it's a picture of you sleeping )

he buys you soooo many stuffed animals, but they're all teddy bears, and they're all named gunwook #1-#203. yeah... he really loves buying you plushies..

loves going to the arcade with you, cus he think you're so adorable when you're competitive/focused

you genuinely make him soooo happy and he smiles every time he looks at you. he could literally be having the worst day he's ever had, but the minute you walk in he has the biggest smile on his face

please compliment him or he'll cry. like your validation is a top priority, just like taerae. so if he's been working on his choreo extra and you notice, he's literally skipping around like a child

he definitely falls for your traps all the time

" do you think i look good today?? "

" yes of course baby "

" good not great? do you not even love me any more?! "

" WHAT?! "

———————・✦

• yujin

boyfriend!yujin is soooo confusing.

i say this because you minute he's bullying you, and the next he's cuddled up with you on the couch watching a movie

i think that he loves and adores you so much it confuses him sometimes since you two a young, and he dosent know what to do with himself

he's not the best at expressing his feeling and you have to understand that. he sometimes feels really bad when he treats you cold, but he doesn't want to admit it

but when he's in a good mood, he treats you so well. like he honestly treats you like you're royal

he sometimes has to ask his hyungs for advice because he doesn't know how to be a boyfriend. but he really tries that's all that matters

but yet again, when he's in a good mood he's clingy and smiley and won't let you out of his grasp for more than two minutes

" where are you going? :( "

" yujin i have to go pee "

" do you REALLY have to pee? "

" uhm.... yes "

" are you sure? "

" yujin- "

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I essentially tattled on my manager?

I (25FTM) recently got a new manager (late 50sF) at work. I've been working this particular retail job for almost 2yrs, and I've never had an issue with misgendering, including from my coworker (61M), and every prev manager. I understand that I don't pass very well, however my one request is that people *try*, and correct themselves when I point it out.

Tbh, this manager isn't particularly good at her job. She was brought in without any experience. She had 3 days before the prev manager left to train (she was supposed to have 4, but decided to take her one weekend off exactly then). She's been incredibly lazy - leaving merchandise any random place, including the floor; sitting down the moment she walks in the door even when there's customers or other work to do; she never cleans up even when she's alone on shift. She also takes offense to absolutely everything, including when I told her *I could help her by doing inter branch transfers*. In addition, I'm moving in a couple of weeks. I'm taking a total of 4 days off, including my once a month free weekend which I'm entitled to (last time I moved under a previous manager I got a full week off fyi). She told me I might not be able to take the time off because the person she contacted to replace me can only work morning shifts. This is a franchise with plenty of employees. It's simple: I'm taking less time than I need, and she still complained bc she's unwilling to put in the extra effort.

Today I came in for my evening shift to find that not only had she not finished unpacking new merchandise, something I would never leave for the evening shift. She said she didn't know where to put things cause there was no room (one basic thing that only a manager can do is make executive decisions on what to display and what not to...). I redo the entire display to fit in the new merchandise, thanklessly. She then spent a conversation misgendering me, 4 times in 1 minute. When I corrected her for the 4th time she yelled at me bc apparently all I do is criticize her. All I'd done is correct her, and during this fight she continues to misgender me. I told her that if this behavior continues I'll have no choice but to go to the regional manager. I did lose my temper and yelled back at her, but I think that was a natural reaction. I did also get angry at her once before for approving an online order before we had the items, but I immediately apologized and explained why that was a problem.

That said, I have an interview at a completely different job in two days. It's better paying, will probably be more accomodating of my disability, and I have experience. There's a very high chance I'll get the job imho. If I get the job, I probably won't complain, simply give in my notice.

But if I don't get the job, I'll probably ask to get transferred to another branch of the franchise. And if I do... WIBTA if I contact the regional manager and explain in detail why, instead of lying or giving an excuse?

What are these acronyms?

[wheels-of-despair]

The Case of the Missing Eddie Pairing: Eddie Munson x You Summary: Eddie disappears, and you freak the hell out. Contains: Panic, unhealthy coping mechanisms, murderous thoughts, Uncle Wayne, comfort, cheeseburgers. Word Count: 1.7k-ish Notes: Takes place near the end of the 1984-85 school year. Reader is a junior, Eddie is in Senior Year: Take 2. This was originally written for an event by newlips, but I picked at it for two weeks and still didn't like it enough to submit it, so now it's just a random entry in my Evil Woman universe. (As with all of those, can be read as a standalone.)

This features the prompt "If I believe in anything, it's you." from the 'A Quiet Love' list by soulprompts.

Eddie Munson was nowhere to be found.

You knew he had an appointment with Miss Kelley during 4th period that he'd pretended not to be nervous about. When the bell rang at the end of the day, you'd gone to meet him in the parking lot and find out how it went, but his van was gone. Did he go home sick? Did they find out what he did to the boys' locker room? Had the contents of his lunchbox been discovered? Your mind went wild with worry.

He probably just had errands to run, Gareth had said. It was Friday night, he'd definitely be back in time for Hellfire, Jeff had assured you. And yet, he was not. After waiting half an hour for their Dungeon Master to appear, the Hellfire Club finally packed up and went home.

You went to Eddie's.

Lights off, door locked, no van in sight.

Wedging a note that read "EDWARD. CALL ME." into the crack of the trailer door, you went home and continued worrying.

The next morning, when you knew Wayne would be getting home, you called.

"H'lo?"

"Hey, Wayne. Is Eddie there?"

"Hang on, I just walked in." You heard him put the phone down, walk away, and come back a few seconds later. "He's not here, darlin."

"Do you know if he came home at all last night?"

"Nope… anything I should know?"

"I haven't seen him since lunch yesterday... he was nervous about a meeting with Miss Kelley during 4th period."

"Aw, hell," Wayne grumbled. "If he shows up, I'll get him to call you."

"Thanks, Wayne."

He hummed in acknowledgment and hung up.

You hung up your own phone and banged your head against the wall next to it. What the hell, Eddie?

You waited.

And you waited.

And then you started cleaning.

The kind of cleaning that only happens when you're trying to take your mind off something that's worrying you.

Or someone you're going to kill for causing all this worry.

You hardly slept that night. You hadn't slept the night before either. You'd left your bedroom window cracked, even though it wasn't exactly sleeping-with-the-windows-open weather, hoping that it would summon him.

It did not.

On Sunday morning, approximately 30 seconds after you'd finally drifted off, the phone began to ring.

You leaped out of bed and tried to grab it, but you were so jittery and sleep-deprived, you fumbled it. When you finally got it to your ear, you heard Wayne.

"You alright, darlin'?"

"Yeah, just dropped the phone. Did you find him?"

"He's here, but it looks like he's sleepin' one off. I'd give him a while. Just wanted you to quit worryin'."

You breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling shaky.

"Thanks, Wayne. Can I come by and murder him in a few hours?"

He chuckled. "Go easy, sweetheart. Last time he disappeared like this was when he found out he'd failed."

Shit.

"Alright, Wayne. I'll spare him this time. Thanks again for calling."

"Sure thing. I'll leave the door unlocked for you." Wayne hung up.

Well, he's alive. For now, you think bitterly.

You managed to wait until 11:27 before heading out. You stopped by the only drive-thru in town and ordered Eddie's favorite burger combo, and one for Wayne too. Eddie's was to be used for either bribery or comfort. Wayne's was a thank-you.

You pulled into your usual spot and turned off the car, taking a moment to compose yourself. Breathe. You're not here to kill him for worrying you to death. You're here to find out what's wrong, and show him that you love him. There will be no murder today.

You entered quietly. Wayne, as promised, had left the door unlocked for you. At least one Munson Man can be counted on, said the devil on one shoulder. Go easy on him, he's having a hard time, said the angel on the other. Both of you need to shut the hell up, the annoyed brain in the middle thought. Wayne was sleeping, so you left the food on the table and approached Eddie's room cautiously.

Slipping in and easing the door shut behind you, you take a minute just to watch him breathe. He's alive. He's okay. He's face-down and sprawled out in nothing but his boxers, and you can smell the sweat and booze from the door.

You tiptoe through the mess of dirty clothes on the floor and sit on the edge of the bed. You rub a hand across his back, just grateful to be close to him again. Even if he does smell like a farm animal.

He begins to stir, turning his head in your direction and inching closer to your warmth. All of your anger begins to dissipate. Damn your soft spot for Sleepy Eddie. You reach up and gently brush his hair out of his face. He slowly opens his eyes, and smiles when he sees you.

And then he scrunches his eyes shut again, reaching for his head with a groan, and buries his face in the pillow. You smile, at his adorableness and not his misery, and exit the room. You return a minute later with a tall glass of water and a bottle of painkillers. Shaking out two pills into your palm as quietly as you can, you hold them out to him. You say his name softly, and once he realizes what you want, he sits up and pops them in his mouth, then drains the glass and hands it back to you.

"Another?" He shakes his head, and you place the glass on his bedside table. You want to give him time, and to tell him you love him, and to take it easy on him like Wayne asked you to. However, what comes out of your mouth is:

"What the fuck, Eddie?"

He looks at you quizzically, and his face clouds over when realizes what you're talking about. He sinks back down into the bed, flops onto his stomach, and hides his face in the pillow again. Maybe try a softer approach?

"I'm glad you're okay. But you scared the shit out of me. What the hell happened?"

He mumbles something that you can't quite make out.

"Wanna try that again?" you ask, raising an eyebrow that he can't see.

He turns his head in away from you and speaks to the wall.

"I failed," he croaks, "AGAIN."

As usual, Wayne was right. You wish you'd spent a little less time cleaning and a little more time figuring out how to handle this potential scenario. You take a deep breath.

"Go ahead and leave me, we both know it's coming."

"What?" you ask with an incredulous chuckle.

"You can do better than the dumb-ass Super Senior. Everybody knows it."

"Okay. So I should leave you because you suck at chemistry?"

"I suck at everything."

"Eddie, I say this with love… but shut the fuck up."

For once in his life, he does.

"You are good at so many things. It's not your fault that they're not things you get graded on." He doesn't respond, so you continue. "It's high school. It's not the end of the world."

"I'm gonna be the oldest fucking senior in the history of Indiana."

"Think they'll give you a trophy?"

He scoffs. Too soon, noted.

"You'll get there next year."

"Why bother? I'll just drop out like my old man did, let the cycle continue, everyone expects it anyway."

"No."

"No?"

"No. I'll beat your ass if you drop out, and then Wayne will probably want a turn, and if there's anything left of you, maybe we'll let Hellfire have a go."

You see his body twitch like he's fighting back either a sob or a chuckle, but he doesn't make a sound.

"Plus, you'll have an advantage next year that you didn't have this time."

"What?" he asks miserably.

"Me, doofus. I'll be a senior too. And I'm going to bully Miss Kelley into putting us in the same classes, so I can ride your ass and make sure you pass this time."

"All I heard was ride my ass."

You give the aforementioned ass a sharp smack, and he jumps from the impact.

"You're gonna get there next year. You're gonna walk that stage, flip Higgins the bird, and be free of Hawkins High forever."

"You seriously believe that?"

"If I believe in anything, it's you."

He's silent for a moment, then heaves a sigh and turns over to face you.

"That was extremely cheesy."

"So's the burger I brought you," you tease through the blush rising in your cheeks. It may have been a cheesy line, but it got the job done. "Get your ass up, wash this dead animal stench off, and maybe I'll let you eat it."

He smiles and extends a hand, as if he's going to let you pull him up. You stand up and reach for him, and he pulls you down. Into the bed. Where it smells like a drunk pig has been wallowing. Then he crawls on top of you. Rubbing his stupid face all over you. Spreading his stench with a wicked grin on his face. And you can't even yell at him, because you'll wake Wayne. He knows this. The rotten bastard.

"You're lucky I love you," you hiss through gritted teeth. He stills.

"I know," he says softly, looking up at you with those big sad eyes of his. You feel your heart break a little, and lean in for a kiss.

"Jesus Christ, can you get secondhand drunk? Is that a thing?" You wipe your mouth and shove him off you, and he laughs. You roll out of his bed and start pulling clean clothes out of the dresser, throwing them at him one garment at a time. A t-shirt hits him in the face before he realizes what you're doing, and he catches the rest. He gathers his clothes and heads for the door, stopping in front of you.

"Thank you," he whispers with a lingering kiss to your forehead. You pull back and look up at him with pure adoration in your eyes. And then that mischievous twinkle returns to his. "Jesus, you smell like you've been dumpster diving. When's the last time you bathed? You should probably come get in the shower with me." You laugh and give his smart ass a shove toward the bathroom.

God, you love him.

[karaokebearwithal]

Mutuals Mutuals Come one COME ALL!!!

Put your various sona's and appendages together for the unveiling of a lil' something I've been working on while being distracted from animating Dame Aylin's wings (Its long, hard, fun as all hell but the concentration required to do so seems physically impossible for a beast of my genus)

I drew all my moots tavs/pseudo-companions!!! It took a bit, but it was well worth it! Everyone's design is so unique and fun to figure out. (10 is a big number of moots)((which I am very grateful to have :3)) So without Further Ado!!! (there will be so much more Ado):

(page break cuz the images are 400x400 each but 10 times, I also go on for a bit about how much I like each Tav/pseudo-companion character) ((if anyone can give me tips on how to size pieces in a normal style digitally i'd be very grateful))

First of all is Sivvus the Fey Prince (he/him)! This elusive Eladrin Tav belongs to @thedomesticanthropologist! A gorgeous yet seemingly cold-hearted druid who tends to keep his cards close to his chest. Though if you want the challenge you can see for yourself if you can try and get close to him to see if Sivvus is as closed off as he seems to be. To be quite honest, Sivvus really grew on me. A very fancy Eladrin with a high society (fey society) upbringing ( with very good looking mood boards to match) and the like only for him to be thrust into the bg3 world with a worm to boot. He is charming! Also his backstory? <3 Defienetly go read it! 10/10 would draw the snob again :)

Second off we have Gum (He/They)! A Githyanki Cleric of Mystra. Being @piipaw's Tav you'd find this charming fruit lover trying to live a peaceful life after escaping from the creche that raised them. I like Gum a lot as the concept of a githyanki trying to find their own way in Faerun while also having no idea about any of the social customs is very gripping to me. I recommend greatly to check out the blog for Gum fics, fanart and a very cool moot . :)

Next is H'rayn of Verkos (she/her)! Now different from all the character's I drew, H'rayn is not a Tav! She's actually a pseudo-companion character with a lotta lore and history! She even has her own quest, party banter, approval and disapproval things. It's the whole deal!! @githkisser made an amazing post all about H'rayn . If you want a ton of indepth and fun info that's really really well documented, I cannot overstate how much you should it check out! I find myself going back to learn more about H'rayn as she really is as well thought out as in game companions! It's quite fun thinking up of ways tavs can interact with her and the art is mwah!!! very good indeed :3

4th! Tavern (Tav) the Bard! (they/them) This darling bard ran away from the circus.....from birth! Created by @avocado-writing, Tavern plays their way into your heart with their silly antics, warm heart and eldritch pocket dimension in their chest!

Tavern is a doll to doodle and I am amped to draw them even more in the future. The heterochromia and the inclusion of instruments does make them a fun challenge (i will draw instruments accuratley with these paws eventually). Go check them out!! :D

5th! Hvinidyr the Barbarian (he/him)! @star-bear-art (I just realised after all this we aren't actually mutuals. Which is funny since we kinda have the same name and theme with the bear thing XD) If you wanna see wonderous art of Hvinidyr as well as the other companions, go look right over here!

Winnie (Hvinidyr) has a lot of forms depending on the time period you wanna look at. The one I chose was the most recent with the large scar tissue all over the left (right? I'm horrible at directions, my paws don't make an L shape for me to tell). He was really fun to sketch out (and probably later colour in) and has a really unique design that I appreciate :)

6th Vierlin the Enchantment Wizard (and a lil' bit rouge)!!!(she/her) @sybaritick's Tav!!! Now!! This classic drow has a keen intrest in enchantment magic, teaching her crafts to nobles in Amn. After the whole tadpole fiasco, she also finds another use for her multitude of arcane skills. Most notabley depicted with a local wizard.

Now I won't get ahead of myself here but the fics that Sybaritick wrote about Vierlin are like....licking a warm pan of thickened maple syrup or a fancy meat meal with so much demi-glaze you're left smacking your lips for at least 20 mins after eating. Its indulgent. And I couldn't recommend it enough!! Read it!! (it took me a good 8 times to get the 'ie' part of Vierlin's name right, the letters look the same to me)

7th Fink the Spores Druid (they/them) belonging to @causticcontemplation! They're a pretty short Tav a 2.5ft and have a whole modern AU fic about them!!! You can read all about it here! (the pun name is amazing!)

I found it cool to use the fic to figure out how to colour them in, I ended up sending an anon ask instead and it helped great! Lovely Tav 10/10!

8th Korydass the Druid!! (She/her)!!! Conjured by @cfcreative, this seemingly non-emotive bronze dragonborn lights a spark in viewers as her tail and love for nature portrays otherwise. Art of Kory is many and also very good. Reading through her lore is fun watching her dynamics with the different origin characters change as she opens up to the party.

Now I do have slight bias, I like drawing Kory the most since her head shape is less humanoid. It's just so satifying, also her design is crazy awesome to work with so all around its great recommend I like her a lot :3

9th Asheera the Paladin (she/her) produced by @optiwashere.

To be quite honest I wouldn't even have a blog if it wasn't for Asheera's fics. They are EXCELLENT. If you want to go through a journey of a half orcs struggles, successes and gripping romance with Shadowheart, VAULT YOURSELF into Opti's A03 page and devour. You will have negative regrets about it just like I! Asheera is great I love her a lot I am the most normal about her.

(I'll keep it brief since this post is long enough to cross a river)

10th Quin the Bard (he/him) composed by @quinthebard (who'd have known?)

This darling plucky bard is the star of an ongoing comic that is very dynamic and very gripping. (My fave panel is this one). Despite being 100, Quin still maintains his joyful and kind nature when traveling with the tadpole gang.

Definetly one of the most friendlies Tavs out of all the ones i've drawn. (he was also the first i drew out of all of these!) He's a delight!! Go check him out! Thanks to all my moots for giving permission, having such great characters and being such lovely moots! <3 <3 <3

(Any pronouns or other changes that want be changed, feel free to DM about it. I love those! )

[kittyball23]

One of the major things I would like to see in a Trolls movie is Poppy being forced to make decisions as a Queen.

Like for example, the cost on one person’s life to save everyone else. I know she would try to save everyone but what if she can’t and it has to be this way.

What if she starts keeping secrets like her dad to keep everyone safe and Branch noticed and calls her out on it?

I can see the Broppy angst coming from that.

I might make a post about it later.

Ooo, I'd love to see your post if you make it! I think that this an interesting way that the franchise could proceed with a possible 4th movie. I'd be curious to see Poppy's reaction after she's put into her Peppy's shoes in the sense of facing a problem that she feels would hurt her loved ones, and feeling that there is no other way to handle it other than to withhold a secret. I think she would gain somewhat of an understanding for why he did what he did in regards to the music tribes and Viva.

Branch would be the one to point out that she is doing the same exact thing that she berated her father for doing to her, and Poppy would probably feel very guilty afterwards 🥺

I'd imagine though that they would want to work out a solution that would benefit everybody (A variation of the Keeping Secrets Suck trope could probably be utilized as well)

[longbobmckenzie]

THTH Season 2 Thoughts

Okay, it's been a while since I put together a thoughts post on THTH2, but I think one is warranted.

Anyone who likes LITG and hasn't played this yet needs to get on it. There's only 4 episodes left, so a 1-month Netflix subscription will be enough to play the whole thing, if you were waiting till it was almost done to play.

But... you might want to wait a bit longer till it's out in full, because you'll probably want to replay it - multiple times. The branching this season is SO much better than last season, like I literally just replayed a bunch of times trying to get onto a specific route. I'm thoroughly impressed. I had low expectations going in and was just hoping it wouldn't be as linear as Season 1, but Season 2 has blown me away.

There are only 4 OG LIs (compared to 7 last season), and I know a lot of people were annoyed at that, especially because the friend options are hotter (oh Santiago, what could have been), but it makes sense as there's more non-MC related storyline. And there are 4 bombshells, and at least 3 of them are LIs as well (not sure about the 4th yet because they come in next week but I have a feeling they will be).

As for the LIs, they're all great. Even if you don't like their looks, the personalities are so much more developed than S1 or the last few seasons of LITG. You get unique dialogue with every LI in just about every scene you get with them, you get to go on dates, you get to have intimate scenes (that are also unique from what I've been able to tell!!). You can even choose various interests for your MC and if they match up with a character, you get extra dialogue. The game is so replayable!

It also remembers your choices, so if you flirt with someone and then go for someone else, you'll get reactions from them. And your consequences can have actions! They may forgive you, but they may not.

I mentioned the branching, but once again, it's amazing. You're not forced into love triangles, but you can be messy af and date 3 people at once (just be careful, they might find out 🤭😏). The loyal routes are sooo good, there's a little drama on them that doesn't entirely make sense but the whole time, your LI is all for you. But if you're not loyal, those scenes can change! People will call you out for treating people wrong, or they might come asking you to give them another chance. You can break rules or keep them, and people will trust you accordingly. You can make a relationship official. There's probably an 'I love you' coming at some point, I'd think.

Oh, and there's no twin sister Amelia 🤭

Basically, it's got a lot of the things we've been asking for from Love Island, it's just a different reality show.

Oh, and there are no gem options or in-app purchases, just your monthly Netflix subscription. And when you replay, you can choose any episode to go back to, and there's a skip feature to skip to the next dialogue option or scene.

So if you can afford one month of Netflix, I definitely recommend giving it a try.

[milfygerard]

Do you think Gerard's comics are good? I haven't read all of them. I felt like the story doesn't really wrap up well and make sense good in the Killjoy comics or Umbrella Academy but maybe comics are just like that. Maybe they were imitating other writers I don't know about and I'm missing context. What are your thoughts

anon i am so deeply biased towards gerards comics but YES i do think theyre good! I think lots of the critiques are fair but i also think it leads to the fandom kind of underrating him as a comic author at times and dismissing the work out of hand. I especially see this for umbrella academy and to answer your other question yes i do think some of it is a matter of missing context! TUA was never...really made to be a popular and commercial comic? The satire and style are very inside baseball, mostly about x men, as well as later leaning more into a silver age style of both writing and illustration (which is why im soooo obsessed w hotel oblivion guys its so goood its so good i swear)

When it comes to other comic runs, I'd say killjoys comics tend to be the messiest but they are also deeply meaningful to me wnd natuonal anthem is so fucking gorgeous and interesting (controversial but im a natam ending defender even if i think the comic itself couldve used another issue or 2 to push the character writing more). I think gerard has one of the better doom patrol runs, Including milk wars i'd put it up there at maybe 3rd or 4th depending on how much i let personal bias into the equation. However doom patrol is also very Like That just as like a superhero group and can be kind of impenetrable if you arent down for genuinely bizarre and sometimes seemingly nonsensical writing, its kind of apart of the teams DNA as the "worlds strangest heroes". Milk wars is soso good and maybe one of my favorite Comic Things gerard has made/been involved with but its also best with looots of comic context bc its playing w both doom patrol history and the context of where DC as a company was during the time of its release. Its still relevant in many ways but probably feels impenetrable if you arent already into comics at least a bit.

Gerards style def isnt for everyone (and they do sometimes get bored and cheese the ending a bit though i defs tend to like them more than other ppl do) but i do think theyre extremely good at what rhey do and im soooo excited for paranoid gardens especially bc 1. gerard has always taken an extremely empathetic and nuanced and honest approach to writing about mental health and mental illnesses bith real and semi fictionalized and 2. the artist on board is an industry mainstay and has made some fucking incredible work! I didnt love the first issue cover dropped and was worried i wouldnt click w the artstyle but after properly checking out chris westons style im really excited!!!! gerard time

[random-twst-and-oc-stuff]

Birthday Jacket Interview - Quinn

Today's date, April 4th, marked a special occasion. The birthday of a certain individual named Quinn. Said birthday fella was standing in Ramshackle's lounge, swinging back and forth on their heels with their hands in the pockets of the jacket given to them for this special occasion. The outfit was rather comfy, they had to admit. As for the lounge, it was decorated with streamers and balloons, a sign with the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! hanging on a rather large window. On the table were baked sweets, courtesy of the dorm's prefect who had currently left them alone.

"Ah, it's finally my birthday." They acknowledged with a smile before pursing their lips and rubbing their hand absentmindedly. "Hm. Nicole said that I'd get a birthday interview by one of the students here. I wonder who it's gonna be though."

"Happy birthday, Quinn!" As if on que, a certain bat fae popped up upside down infront of them with a friendly smile as if he wasn't trying to scare the living daylights out of them. Which he succeeded in doing.

"AHHH!!" With a startled screech, Quinn instinctively aimed their fist to punch him. Fortunately, Lilia's reflexes were fast and he was able to block their punch on time. Quickly realizing who it was, they pulled their hand back, putting it on their hip. "Lilia? You're the one who's gonna be interviewin' me?"

"Fufufu. Your reactions never fail to amuse me." He admitted with an amused chuckle. "Yes, I'm going to be the one interviewing you on your special day. But first..." He disappeared for a split second before appearing on the floor, handing them what appeared to be a jewelry box. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't bring you a gift?"

Their expression turned into an interested one as they took the box from him. Curiosity taking the better of them, they opened the lid to see a small silver chain, a single bat shaped pendant attached to it, the black jewels it was filled with glistening in the light. Their emerald eyes widened in surprise, sparkling with amazement.

"I noticed that you sometimes wear a pair of bat earrings among other accessories you change daily and I thought it would be nice to give you something to go along with them. Seems like I was right on the money based on your reaction." Lilia explained, chuckling at their expression.

"Huh. Honestly, I ain't surprised you noticed that." Quinn admitted, chuckling. "Thanks though. I was actually savin' thaumarks on getting it, so your gesture is much appreciated." Then they walked to the table and put the box there before going back to the old fae.

"Oh, I'm glad I could be of help then. Even though it was unintentional." Lilia smiled, crossing his arms. "Now, are you ready to start the interview?"

They nodded rather eagerly. "Yessir! Bring me them questions!"

He chuckled at their excitement before asking the first question. "Alright. First question. If you could bring someone with you on a deserted island, who would it be? However, it can't be someone from your dorm."

"Deserted island, huh...?" They mumbled, fidgeting with the jacket's buttons thoughtfully, taking their sweet time to think of the answer. Good thing the bat fae was a patient individual. After a minute, they replied. "Hm... I'd probably bring you if I'm being honest."

"Oh?" He seemed intrigued by the answer, putting a hand on his chin as the other was tucked underneath his elbow. "And why is that?"

"Well, you just give me those vibes that you have great survival skills. And I trust you're gonna make sure neither of us fucks up. You can probably use your magic to teleport us back here, but if whatever reason you can't, maybe you didn't have your magestone or something and we know how dangerous that can be, I imagine Hornton sending a search party for us." Quinn explained, fidgeting with the bowtie on their outfit. Malleus, Lilia, Silver and Sebek were close like a family in Quinn's eyes. If there was one thing they learned, it was that family shouldn't turn their backs on each other.

"Hmm..." Lilia hummed in thought. "I'll admit those are some pretty valid points." He said before deciding to move on. "Anyway, next question. If you could transfer to any other dorm, which would it be?"

"An interesting question, I'll admit." They pursed their lips, their hand resting on their waist. "I'd say..." they trailed off, fingers tapping against their hip. "Probably Savanaclaw. And not only because their courtyard has enough space to let me practice my acrobatics without worrying about breaking anything. Except for my equipment or bones."

"Savanaclaw, huh? You answered that one faster than the last one." He noticed, chuckling. "Honestly, I can see you being in said dorm. You're quite the persistent individual and know how to put those territorial beastmen in their place."

"Damn right." Quinn replied in a sassy manner, nodding.

Lilia chuckled before his lips formed a mischievous smile. "Now, do you know what's coming?"

Luckily for Quinn, Nicole was considerate enough to tell them everything that was gonna go down in the interview. So, they were aware of what was coming after the questions. "The gift of good fortune?" They guessed, knowing they were right.

"Khee he he~ That's right!" He snickered as a paper plate with pink cream appeared in his hand. "Now, don't try to dodge or else your year is gonna be pretty unfortunate~" Lilia warned with a mischievous smirk and a playful glint in his wine red eyes before aiming to throw the cream at them.

While Quinn couldn't dodge, they could at least try to shield their face and hair. As Lilia threw the plate, they were quick to bring their arms up, making the cream stain the sleeves of the jacket, some of it managing to get on their chest.

[myloveforhergoeson]

i really think one of the craziest parts of btrtv was their school situation like. yeah we never see them in school after the second season but in theory they were getting an education and i simply think the writers handled it in the only way they could. let me explain.

typically young people in the entertainment industry are schooled either through the company they work for or through their parents. obviously, since btrtv was aimed at a younger audience they couldn't just not have the boys go to school - what kind of example would that set for the viewers? moving to hollywood equals never having to learn again?

while i was thinking about this topic earlier i was trying to come up with some different ways the show could have gone about this but managed only a few examples:

jennifer could homeschool them. but when? she's barely at the apartment as is and would have to juggle two different curriculums, one for the boys and one for katie. we already know thanks to bt school of rocque she also isn't caught up on modern schooling practices. plus i feel like, though she is their mother in many ways, she'd have difficulty controlling those 5 for 4 straight hours. i feel like they'd always be able to convince her to run off on a tangent instead of actually teaching them anything. next!

the boys could have been enrolled in regular high school. in theory, this would work for maybe a few months. until their first tour at the very least but after that i believe it would likely be dangerous for them to leave the sanctity of the palm woods or rocque records and venture out into the real world. while this could open up plotlines like people only wanting to be friends with them for their fame, crazy fans finding out where they learn, the boys being in trouble for being a genuine safety risk to other students when the paps follow them to school... seemed like more trouble than it's worth! also pretty similar to the plot of jonas which was airing at the same time on disney channel. next!

school at rocque records... had potential i believe. if gustavo had put the proper amount of funding to a quality space and quality teachers, i think the boys would have (aside from generally hating school) been alright there. while not ideal, it could have served it's purpose for the whole four hours they'd have to spend in school. it's very similar to how most industry kids learn now. in addition, they could have worked hard to graduate early, as many industry kids do, but i also believe this would have been a hard plot point to achieve. overall, i'd rank this option pretty high for the guys - it could have had everything they needed, except for the socialization they so desperately craved. next!

online school? in the early 2000's? yeah right. next!

this brings us to what i see as the final option, being of course, school at the palm woods. while not ideal, it does serve all of the boys needs to the best of the writers abilities. i do, however, feel the need to speak on the quality of education they are being granted. no shade to miss collins, i know that poor woman is doing her best and juggling probably six or seven grades worth of curriculum in her classroom, but as someone who was in a split grade class (4/5 when i was in 4th grade, 5/6 when i was in 5th grade!) i can assure you she was not giving her full attention to any of the grade levels she was trying to teach. i'm so sorry they set you up for failure queen.

while this probably worked out in the end for the guys (logan can snatch all A's and look amazing on college/med school applications and his friends could just coast by on the grades they need to pass) i think the episode in which they come back from tour and earn their final grades speaks the most to the education they're afforded. no way they (logan really) did weeks worth of work in one afternoon and earned straight c's lol. hope the band lasts forever and ever and ever after btrtv ends because if not... yikes.

but at the same time... i think this was the best option for schooling both from a writers perspective and the band's needs! socialization, check! normal school events like dancing, check! adequate enough education (how much do they really learn in four hours anyway?), check! it always fits into their working schedules. and it's union-approved! while not ideal, at the very least it's something.

in all, good luck boys! hope miss collins offers some office hours if you ever have questions... maybe there's a reason we never got to see them graduate <3

[remembertoeat]

Dinner Recipe: Orange Chicken

TIME: ★★✰✰

PRICE: ★★★✰

EASE: ★★★✰

CLEANUP: ★★★✰

The original recipe I learned off of is meant to be a dupe of a now discontinued Applebee's dish that I loved. It takes about 1 hr but I have since streamlined it so it takes more like 30-40 minutes. It flies by if you have your ingredients set up in advance! Even so, if you have the time or motivation, I'd recommend trying the original recipe as written first!

This recipe takes longer if you decide to fully fry the chicken, but you can totally skip the fry step and just cook it if you want!

While I like using a lot of fresh produce (I'm a veggie fiend,) you could easily cut down on the cost by using frozen stir fry veggies. Hoisin sauce is pretty important to this recipe though, and a bottle can be like $5. HIGHLY recommend having it in your fridge anyway, though, if you like Chinese food!

The recipe is fairly easy, though I think the original recipe makes it seem more complicated than it is. I can kind of wing it at this point, but it took a couple passes.

Cleanup can be fairly quick, but there will likely be things that touched raw chicken that need special attention and the sauce could be annoying to clean depending on what kinda pan you used.

Ingredients:

Chicken (I’ve made it with breast and thighs) 2 breasts? For leftovers.

Cornstarch

Oil for frying

Garlic

Preferred veg (broccoli, carrot, frozen peas, and bell pepper is what I use!) About 1-2 cups total, depending on how much you like.

Sliced almonds

Rice

IF you want to fry the chicken, you will also need an egg and flour (and more oil)

For the sauce

Orange juice (1 cup)

Hoisin sauce (½ cup)

Brown sugar (¼ cup)

1. Cut the chicken into preferred bite-sized cubes/strips.

If you want to fry it, mix a 1/2 cup of flour with 1/4th cup of corn starch in one cup. Then use a fork to whisk the egg in a separate bowl. Dunk each piece of chicken into the egg, then into the flour mixture before putting it into the pan. (You can do a light crisp instead of a fry by JUST coating your chicken in cornstarch. It takes a lot less time!)

Cook it up in a wide pan with about 1/4th"-1/2" vegetable oil, REMOVE THE CHICKEN FROM THE PAN (place it in a paper-towel lined bowl to absorb some of the residual oil)

2. Drain MOST OF (but not all of) the oil. Be sure the pan isn’t too hot, then cook some minced garlic (I do onion, too.) Once the garlic starts smelling good, add the sauce ingredients and simmer it until it begins to thicken.

3. Tossed your chopped veg into the sauce and cook it for a bit in there until the sauce begins to thicken around it. If I feel I didn’t make enough sauce, I’ll alternate between splashing some orange juice in and adding a little more hoisin sauce.

4. Add the cooked chicken back in and mix it with the veg/sauce. Serve it on rice. Top with almonds, orange slices, sesame seeds...or nothing! Whatever floats your boat!

Leftovers: This could make SO many leftovers depending on how much chicken and rice you add to it! But I wouldn't recommend freezing it! Try to eat within 3 days of cooking!

For the full, original recipe (probably with better instructions,) check out Applebee's Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl from Food . com

[hashashafashasha]

HLAGE FINALE SPOILERS

Alright alright I know nobody cares but I wanted to put my thoughts down so I'd be able to say "I told you so" if I'm right which i'm probably not BUT

I think the reason the gnome had so much power of the real world is because Wayne broke the 4th wall so much while talking to him. In HLVRAI Wayne makes little to no mention of the world outside the game, it's mainly coomer that acknowledges the 4th wall, and so Benrey has no effect on the world outside the game. Maybe

ALSO I think there's someone behind this. At the beginning of the first HLVRAI stream I believe he says Valve themselves sent him the "experimental copy" of Half-life but in the description for the videos it says he "discovered" it, and in the description for HLAGE Episode 1 it says that Wayne was linked a workshop page for the gnome, and goes on to say that Gabe Newell himself told people not to mod the code of the Gnome Run due to the "Myth". This is a new edit since the finale released too, and due to it's insistence on nobody else EVER playing the true Gnome Run, I don't believe whoever linked this mod to Wayne was just some random hacker.

The intelligence of the gnome is another matter. One thing that Benrey and the Gnome have in common is that, as Wayne gets nearer to the end of the game they become more and more reluctant to continue. Benrey doesn't want to hurt Gordon, or at least part of him doesn't, and the Gnome insists that they need to stop and go back repeatedly in the final act of HLAGE, but once Wayne reaches the Peppa Pig Movie (jesus christ I love all this bullshit) the gnome's tone is quite different, obviously leading to Wayne getting Gnomified. But during the Gnome's musical number he yet again sings a different tune, so to speak. I believe the combine did take his memories of his and Gordon's time together. We see him warming up to Gordon and some real character growth in the final act, but once Wayne makes his way through the vault the Gnome seems to be back to his old, derogatory way of speaking. As for the musical number i'm not quite sure, but perhaps seeing gnomified wayne and being in wayne's shoes causes him to change his mind and remember what they had together.

The person creating these mods is still a mystery, but if we connect this to the greater RTVSCU there are a few options. Tucker, the creator of the I. M. MEEN disc for example (not sure about this bit) not only shows the skills that he would need to do something like this, given Meen's AI and the ending, and he would know where Wayne lives, making him an actual threat. Wayne also breaks the 4th wall numerous times during the stream, which supports my previous theory. Of course, that doesn't answer how Wayne escaped from The Shining painting at the end, but this part of the theory is flimsy so it's fine. The most powerful AI character we've ever seen however, is Homer. The fact that this man constantly gets kidnapped by fictional characters is amazing to me. I'd have to rewatch the Simpsons stream, but I believe this metric of power could be important.

TL;DR Wayne breaking the 4th wall may have effects on the power of the self aware AI, somebody has got to be behind the Half Life AI mods, and this could extend into the entire RTVSCU as a whole

[gaysheep]

now my experiences might not be universal but as far as im concerned you asked far fewer questions about video games when you were a kid. the first time you encountered waluigi in mario tennis or mario party or whatever other mario spinoff you encountered him in for the first time because they only put him in spinoffs you didnt say "who's this goofster stomping around like he's a member of the crew?" you said oh ok that's waluigi i guess.

super smash bros melee the crossover fighting game starring all your favorite nintendo characters (well pikachu was second party but thats pikachu everyone knows who pikachu is) had a whole three characters who nobody in north america knew who the fuck they were, two of which were from games that weren't localized at all and one of which was from a game that was enough of a commercial failure in the united states hardly anyone remembered it a little under a decade later. now to be fair ness was in the one on the n64 also but its not like he'd gotten another game. "oh earthbound's failure was overexaggerated" you say that but my brother lived the super nintendo era and not a single one of his gaggle of friends had even heard of earthbound it was not on anyone's radar come on. but no one said "hey these aren't iconic nintendo characters" we all went "well i guess they can be here too" and now we say "you cant main a smash character if you havent played their game" like we werent saying "thats marth i dont know who the fuck he is but hes like a brother to me" in 2001

youd just go into the store and look at a game's boxart and decide you wanted that one and yknow what it usually worked out for you. i did this longer than you'd expect too i was in 7th or 8th grade and thought to myself "yknow i havent really played any console rpgs lately" so i looked up "rpgs for the wii" and i saw a gamefaqs rec thread or some shit where a guy went "well xenoblade is coming out." and i looked up xenoblade and found virtually no information about it other than that it was coming out and thought to myself "yeah xenoblade... that looks like an rpg i could get into." and you know what i did? i preordered it this may very well have been the first game i ever preordered i thought "well they were talking about it on gamefaqs so it must be a big deal i wanna make sure i can play it day 1" but i didnt need to reserve a copy of fucking xenoblade chronicles the store probably could have given me every copy in stock for no profit loss when i walked in there with my gir t shirt and my little receipt because i was one of all three and a half people in north america who played this game counting the gamefaqs guy. and xenoblade chronicles knocked me flat on my ass it was one of the best games i'd ever experienced i'd played plenty of story heavy rpgs before but this one hooked me in a way none of them ever had.

fast forward around 4 years the 4th smash game comes out but this one was different. this was when we really started to go in on the crossover fighters, character slots were now real estate that potential entrants had to earn the right to occupy as if one game ago they didnt make a failed NES peripheral a playable fighter and give it an emotional subplot in subspace emissary. no longer was it "cool i guess this guy is here" it had become "who the hell is this and what do they think they're doing in smash bros?"

and thus came that fateful night when amidst crazy new character reveals like the fucking wii fit trainer they unveil a cinematic trailer and announce that shulk from xenoblade chronicles was joining the fight. to which the unilateral reaction was "who the fuck is shulk why was this trailer framed like we already have a rapport with shulk i dont know this man why does he say stuff like 'im really feeling it?'"

but i knew who shulk was.