#we have similar goblin energy too.

[sonicasura]

Not sure if the Kaiju number 8 world is escapism for the characters, or me. Probably both. Somehow I always bring KNACK around to sad/weird.

Lucas looks up to Reno, who is older than him but has similar traits. Lucas is too young to join the Defense Force, but in the meantime, he's likely to hang out more and more in that universe and hear the stories. Reno is kind of like an older brother, which is a role Knack can occupy only sometimes.

Once Reno impresses on Lucas how dangerous Kaiju are and why Kafka's secret is so important to keep, poor Kafka feels teamed on when he gets two earfuls about being reckless instead of one.

Knack gets chewed out, too, because Lucas wants to keep him safe. Though Knack may at some point tell him to 'zip it!' When priorities change.

The safety of his friends and family is more important than Knack's own protection. In that respect, him and Kafka's tendencies align.

He burns through Sunstone energy like fire through gasoline, however, those times he gets involved in battle. Kaiju are *nothing* like humans and goblins. I wonder how he might mess with Kaiju sensors, if at all.

Kafka's fatherly tendencies have interesting effects on the KNACK boys. Lucas finally feels listened-to and valued by an adult, and after the boys figure out how Knack's portals work, Lucas feels less and less inclined to return home every visit. Especially after getting into arguments with the Doctor. I think Kafka recognizes this as a problem, but I'm not sure how he approaches it.

The weirder part might be Knack's temperament. Knack's been alive for less than a few years, and I headcanon that this is his only go around with the whole existing thing. So Knack has always been as he is. Kafka has only been half-kaiju for less than a year, but is in his thirties, as we know.

Knack asks Kafka how he handles being different, mistreated for his looks even though he's human. Knack probably made an assumption that Kafka has had his kaiju powers for longer than he really did. Lucas points out that Knack seemingly implied that Knack is human when he isn't. And Knack shuts down after that, only giving one-word answers or silence for the rest of the talk. That's why it's kinda weird and I'm not sure how to explain Knack's feelings. He likes how he is and the way he looks, so he's not ashamed of himself in that way. But he called himself human for some reason.

This just makes me think back to Knack 1 where the Doctor says that Charlotte was his better half alongside Lucas genuinely being an orphan(lost his mother and no father in the picture). He genuinely cares for the two but sometimes his interests get the better of him. I think that's why Knack alongside Lucas have been exploring on their own while Doctor and Charlotte were at the Monk Temple in Knack 2.

A massive argument which makes the older man realize both his assistants need time to grow as their own individuals while he needs to reflect on himself. They do separate on better terms though when Lucas' group ends up seeking the Doctor for help in Knack 2. Both our younger heroes definitely flourished during their personal journey.

It also makes senses why Lucas ends up losing it later on in Knack 2, he doesn't want to be pushed to the wayside and ignored again especially for his blocky brother figure. An irrational fear as Knack would never dare replace Lucas something reaffirmed once the two are stranded on that island together.

Reno and Kafka sorta just speed up the process of the eventual separation. Both give the younger boys that needed reassurance but also validation. Kafka and Knack cope with not being human alongside learning about themselves better. Lucas gets to really show off his ideas but actually feels seen due to Reno than just our favorite himbo. Both people allow our boys to truly grow into their own individuals.

You can say exploring the world of Kaiju No. 8 is like finally being able to leave the nest in my opinion.

[blackjackkent]

Time for more Durge adventures! We've got Gale and Lae'zel so time to head straight for the grove and pick up Wyll to complete Rakha's starting party. (This might adjust over time; realistically Jaheira might be taking Gale's place at some point bc I love Jaheira and also [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS], and it's entirely possible Rakha will surprise me with who else she decides to get along with. But this is the starting plan at least. XD )

This of course means we kick off by spilling some goblin guts, which should make the beast in Rakha's head happy. o.o;

Before that, though, we get the same extra dialogue options with Lae'zel and Gale that we got with Shadowheart, so might as well start getting a gauge on what they think about their new traveling companion.

"My past is a mystery to me. Could the parasite have caused that?"

I find Rakha's relationship with Lae'zel already quite interesting, because Lae'zel's tremendous assertiveness and decisiveness allows her to get shit done while Rakha is going off the rails - but also serves as focus and direction, an anchor point for Rakha's instincts towards rage and violence. If asked who of her current three companions would provide her the most trustworthy advice, Rakha would likely - at least at this moment - answer Lae'zel.

This is partly interesting because, as we know, Lae'zel is actually young as fuck and perhaps has more confidence and training than actual wisdom of experience.

She doesn't really have any good answers regarding Rakha's past, though.

"Ceremorphosis takes all of you - mind, body, soul. An ordinary tadpole would eat at your memories until they were lost to the void. But our tadpoles are far from ordinary. I wonder if another factor's in play."

(A side note: Lae'zel was not present when Gale popped the word ceremorphosis, which means that she knows this word in Common, which is actually pretty impressive. I love that there is more than one subtle hint in the way she is written indicating that Lae'zel is actually pretty fucking smart despite her 10INT on paper. This was one of the things Hector liked about her too.)

"I've had these urges. I want to kill. I want blood." Just as she was with Shadowheart, Rakha is matter-of-fact here. Little point in hiding the matter.

Lae'zel seemed unbothered by Rakha's burst of chaotic violence against the tieflings, and is no more phased by this admission either. "Many a good warrior savors the scent of blood in the air. There's no shame in a capricious murder now and again. Too many, though, and you waste energy and dull your weapon. My suggestion: attack with purpose and savor your kills. And if the urge proves too much... well, I'm sure we can find you a goblin or two to carve up."

This is not, strictly speaking, healthy advice from an outside perspective; however, Rakha listens with surprisingly rapt attention.

Attack with purpose. She carves the words on the inside of her own skull. Yes. This is what troubles her about what she has come to term "the beast" - the blinding gleeful destruction that takes over and relishes death for its own sake. Her own rage has its place; it will keep her alive, and those who seek to stand in her way will do her world no harm by leaving it. But the beast silences what little is left of her own mind. It controls her and uses her and seeks only blood, and blood, and blood, and blood, and blood...

Lae'zel's words carry the first truth she has been certain of since she woke up. Attack with purpose, and savor your kills.

Yes.

-----

Her similar conversation with Gale is a bit more of a mixed bag.

"My memories before the nautiloid are shrouded in darkness."

"Memory loss isn't usually a symptom of ceremorphosis. If it is, they've forgotten to write it down in any text I've read on the subject. Then again, our case isn't exactly usual. Perhaps whatever's causing our tadpoles to remain in stasis has also affected your mind. If ceremorphosis takes place, all trace of your former self will be subsumed into the mind flayer's hive. So to still be here, if a mite forgetful? Still a win in my book."

An optimistic outlook, under the circumstances. On some level, Rakha was hoping that Gale might have a more specific answer to what happened to her, and that he doesn't is disappointing. But as she doesn't have any other better explanation, she still assumes this whole mess is the tadpole's fault until she figures something else out.

"I have violent thoughts. Depraved thoughts. Ones that refuse to go away..."

"We all have those from time to time! I once wished a most impure demise on a colleague of mine who bought the last remaining copy of Etheril's Enchiridion of Enchanting Easements. First edition, too. As regards your own morbid little fantasies, I'm sure they're nothing to worry about - so long as they remain fantasies."

Rakha lost track of everything he was saying somewhere in the middle of this paragraph, but she picks it up again near the end, and frowns. She remembers the intellect devourer, newborn, crunching between her fingertips. That was no fantasy, whatever Gale might think she meant.

[littleshysheep-at-da]

Hello, I like your art can you share some Sasajima Kyouya/Wrath headcanons? He’s my favourite character.

OHMYGOSH THANK YOU SO MUCH???

*cracks knuckles* YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. Honestly he’s my Favorite too! A decent of my Headcanons for him revolve around my OT3 or the Demon Army Family so here we go!

This may contain vague Spoilers and I may edit this for grammar or to add more details…

Honestly consider this part 1 because if you ask again later I’d probably have even more written down lol.

(I’m ripping this from my KumoDesu Fanfic ideas Doc so if some of the wording is wonky that’s why btw THERE’S A LOT)

To start I’ve def said this before here: Things to note I’m obsessed with my headcannon of Shun x Katia x Kyouya as an OT3 and there is zero content but I have a million ideas but no energy. Also you can rip the headcannon of the demon army as family with Ariel x Shiraoi as the parents to Mera, Sophia, and Kyouya (and YES I have a long winded modern and other AUs shut up) from my cold dead hands.

Shiro and Kyouya Mother-Son: The Labyrinth and the Mountains are probably the 2 harshest environments in the world. So I like to think that because of growing up in these environments Shiro and Kyouya both have some weird but similar values. I’ve always kinda seen them very much as Mother and Son. The Labyrinth was harsher so she has some more insane survival methods and he sort of looks up to it. (Side note: I know some people Ship them and I never want to throw discourse, you’re allowed to ship whatever you want so don’t want to say much, but personally I hate it very much I could go into why but it’s mostly my character reads and taste). Ariel and Shiro give off so many Mom vibes when it comes to Mera, Kyouya, and Sophia to me lol (and yes they would be siblings in that order I don’t remember where but I think the LN said Goblins have shorter pregnancies so Kyouya is slightly older than Sophia lol). Sophia especially with Kyouya reads as the “no one is allowed to bully my Brother but me” vibes and I love it. Her and Kyouya also both definitely look up to Mera as someone who’s well put together.

For the hair of the non-human reincarnations: Shiro’s hair feels like silk. Fei’s hair feels like feathers. And Kyouya’s hair feels like soft animal down. I bet Katia asks to play with Kyouya’s hair and then has a flied day with how soft it is. I also like to think she tries to convince him to let her do his nails lol.

For lifespan: So Shiroai is immortal, I’m assuming Ariel has a long life span close to that (ignoring the end of the novel with Ariel spoilers), and Mera and Sophia are somewhere in the same boat or close to that… How long is Kyouya’s lifespan??? For most angst is he gonna outlive his human friends but die before his demon family???

Goblins are just Hamsters: The Goblins look like they’re based on Hamster so you can not take away from me the Headcanon they’re language is just Hamster noises. I like to think Kyouya teaches it to the others so they can use it as code. (The Demon Army can communicate purely with inhuman noises lol). I like to think Kyouya purrs instead or snores because of this as well. I also like to think because he grew up around the Goblins he just sees them as people and doesn’t get what everyone thinks they look like.

Kyouya’s height: Kyouya was a manlet before reincarnation it's cannon I’m living. Okay and technically speaking he probably is after reincarnation as well. Like they are in a European Fantasy setting and he’s only “considerably taller than he used to be” which was considerably short for a Japanese High Schooler. Also in Ex2 we see him standing next to a Puppet Taratect (which are all short af) yet they come up to his shoulder.

Housewife vibes: I think what Kyouya wants in life is to be a Housewife ngl. Like he was most satisfied working to support people he was close to both in his past life online game and the goblin village. Plus I think though he did that by making weapons he would prefer not to have to fight. What if he makes good knives and just starts cooking for people. Like I don’t have more words right now so this is short but I could go off here.

My OT3 Agenda: Background: I’m just saying Kyouya is really depressed and probably doesn’t have any plans for after the war but I could see Ariel having in him work in the human area with Shun and Katia (probably cause she feels a bit sad about him losing friends) because he’s in their upper ranks and unlike Sophia can actually deal with people. But I feel like Shun and Katia feel bad that they had each other and he had to grow up all alone so they try and reconnect. Shun, because he really clings to the connections he does have and because they were so close in their past lives, desperately wants to rebuild that. Katia because she seems similarly attached to people she considers friends she’s afraid of losing that and probably feels bad for writing Kyoua off as maybe an enemy and not being there for him like she was for Shun. Kyouya is just deeply confused that they still want anything to do with him and feels undeserving but is really happy. Confession: I think Katia knows about her feelings first but doesn’t say anything due to self esteem issues (except some flirting to test the waters). I think Kyouya has a realization ™ and feels unsure of what to do (also self esteem issues). But ends up visibly being a little off which Shun notices and brings up to Katia (she sorta noticed as well) so she confronts him which ends in a mutual confession between the two as they then decide how to tell Shun. Shun meanwhile worried what’s going irks Fei who decides to inform him of his very obvious (to everyone but him) crushes. Now realizing his feelings he’s very awkward about it until Katia and Kyouya confront him and confession ensues. Now realizing they all love each other: OT3 successful.

Taking this outta the tags: Not even kidding answering asks about KumoDesu because I’ve sort of come to be know as a KumoDesu blog is like,,, I’m living my dream right now. I haven’t even posted my Kumoko Cosplay or that much Art yet but people just wanna hear my opinion???? Literally these asks give me so much dopamine feel free to keep them coming.

[girlwiththepapatattoo]

The Unlikely Similarities Between Kittens and Vampires, Chapter 12

Warnings: minor character death, angst

Summary: Sable has a bad day.

Notes: I know this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the others, buuuuuuuuuuut I really liked how it turned out and I didn't want to add anything to it. Felt like it would ruin the mood it made. So I hope you enjoy! <3

Read on Ao3 here!

Previous Chapter | First Chapter

“I’m hunting for a vampire spawn.” 

Sable’s heart drops through the muddy ground beneath her feet. She doesn’t need to look at her lover to know it’s taking all of his acting skills to keep the emotion off his face. 

“His name is Astarion, but I fear he’s gone to ground. I was hoping the hag of these lands could help me flush him out…if I can afford her blood price, that is.” 

“I see. Are they very dangerous?” she asks him, trying her best to play the naive adventurer. 

“They’re only weak when compared with their masters,” Gandrel says, nodding. “Against the average person, they’re frightening creatures. I’d keep a watch at your camp tonight, were I you.” 

“We’ll be sure to do so,” Astarion says, his voice tight. 

The hunter nods. “Well, stay safe then, friends.” 

Sable feels like she’s watching herself speak all of a sudden. “Gandrel, this is a dangerous land, and you’re on a dangerous hunt. Please, let me do something to help you.” 

“Oh? What did you have in mind?” he asks, looking intrigued. 

Sable smiles, stepping forward. “Some druid magic that’s served me well. It will let you traverse the lands a bit more unseen.” 

“That sounds like some fine help. Please, go ahead.” 

“Sable, what-” Astarion hisses, but it’s too late. The druid presses her hand above the Gur’s heart. Her fingers spark with energy. His body goes rigid, his smile forever frozen, his eyes going blank, and he falls back, stone dead. 

“Holy shit,” Karlach blurts, gaping. “Soldier, you–” 

“What did you do to him?!” Wyll snaps, shocked. 

“A bit of electricity straight to the heart,” Gale says grimly. “Quick and painless. The man was dead before he knew it.” 

“Well done,” Lae’zel says approvingly. 

“You’re much more dangerous than I gave you credit for,” Shadowheart adds, sounding impressed. 

“People always underestimate druids,” Halsin says, his voice heavy. “They forget that the raw fury of lightning is part of nature. We don’t just talk to squirrels and hug trees.” 

But Astarion only has eyes for Sable, his own wide as he stares at her blank face. She’s staring at the body, her own completely frozen. “...come on, let’s go,” he says softly, his hand curving around the back of her bicep. And though he keeps his touch gentle, she still flinches. 

He knows it’s not personal. But that doesn’t stop it from hurting.

Gale glances up at the sky, back to Sable, then looks around to everyone. “It’ll be full dark soon. Let’s make camp, continue in the morning.” 

Murmurs of agreement filter from everyone, who step around Astarion and Sable, heading back to a mostly dry, safe spot to begin setting up. Sable doesn’t move a muscle, her eyes on the dead body before her. 

It’s not as if she hasn’t killed before. They’d just cleared out a camp of goblins to rescue Halsin, after all, and she’d killed her fair share. But she’s mostly a support caster, healing and helping her friends to fight better. All of her kills had been at a distance, with firebolts or frost rays or some such. 

Not…not this. Not within touching range. 

She could feel it. When his heart stopped beating in his chest. She saw the life drain out of his eyes, glazing over before he collapsed, like his body was just catching up to the fact that he was dead. The moment his soul crossed over. She hadn’t hesitated. She’d lied to him…and killed him. Simple as. 

She didn’t recognize herself anymore. 

When had she become so–

Her vision is suddenly obscured. Black leather armor, gentle fingers under her chin tilting her head up. Soft lips, a beautifully strong nose, those crimson eyes she could lose herself in for hours. 

“Talk to me, kitten,” he says softly, brow pinched in worry. “This is hardly the first…well, anything you’ve killed.” 

He echoes her thoughts well. She'd smile if she wasn't numb.

She takes a deep breath. It feels like she’s breathing through mud. “Never…been this close.” A breath. “He just.” Another, and a tear streaks down her skin. “He didn’t…” 

He softens. He can’t help but soften as he watches her stare at his armored chest, silent tears falling like rain. With anyone else, he’d say something like, “The man wasn’t worth your tears,” or, “I don’t know what you’re getting worked up about. It was him or me, and obviously I’m the right choice.” But he can’t bring himself to say such things to her. 

So he says the opposite. 

“Sable. My precious kitten…” He cups his hands ever so gently around her cheeks, gloved thumbs wiping her tears away. “I know that was the last thing you wanted to do. To you, I’m sure, that man seemed fine. Nice, even. But…you did what you felt you had to. You kept me safe. You don’t know what that means to me. I’m only sorry it’s brought you such pain…” 

“It hurts so much,” she whispers, “but…to save you, any of you really but especially you…I’d do it again.” 

“I know. I know you would, my sweet.” 

Away from the group, in the dark of the swamp, with Astarion’s arms wrapping around her, her face crumples and she sobs into his chest. 

The vampire holds her as she lets it out, his lips pressing to the top of her head, and he wonders. 

She’s the one sobbing her heart out. 

So why does his chest ache so much?

[thaumaturgekitchen]

Violence as a Way of Unmaking Someone

(with props to the Wildsea RPG, which has some kinda similar mechanics for damaging gear, traits, and pets that inspired this)

Here's an idea for violence in tabletop rpgs.

Take what makes someone uniquely them. "My radiant smile." "The strength of my back." "My faith in my friends."

We'll call these anchors. Jot down a few for each character. Maybe one external, tangible thing, one internal, mental thing, and one that sums up what they are on a base physical, bodily level (warm mortal blood, grinding cogs and servos, slick and rubbery goblin-flesh, a husk of bramble and bone...).

These are assets that can help you on your journey. (Think of them like skills, if you like)

They are also things that can be targeted, and harmed, and shattered.

If one of your anchors is shattered, you have a choice - yield, surrender, pass out, whatever - or push on and burn through your remaining anchors as fuel. Lose all your anchors and you’re gone for good - dead, lost, or unrecognizable.

Afterwards, if one of your anchors has been shattered, you have another choice. You can go try to mend and reforge it, or you can let it go and find something new to take its place.

This goes for monsters too.

Consider the following:

You don’t kill a dragon just by hitting it. You’ve got to find a way to clip its wings, and douse its breath, and break its teeth and claws, and take its hoard, and shatter its pride

If a creature just happens to be hungry, you can solve that easily enough by finding something for it to eat other than you. If, however, one of its anchors is "a vicious, gnawing hunger," then that's something deeper and more fundamental about who or what it is. Something that needs to be either broken or - perhaps - changed through great and sustained effort.

Say armor serves to protect specific anchors. Armor for "my quick and clever hands" is simple enough - just get some sturdy gauntlets and you're set. But what does armor for "my boundless curiosity" or "my faith in my friends" look like? A cherished book? A memento of your time together?

Given your base physical being is something that can repeatedly shatter and be replaced a dozen times over your travels, I like to think this is a world full of old ghosts and revenants and faded gods and cybernetics and whatnot, with still-living flesh-and-blood mortals something of a cherished rarity. Killing anyone with these rules feels a bit like exorcising a ghost, and possibly everyone and everything is a bit ghostly.

Say you break down somewhere wild and haunted and deadly. You could hope you'll live long enough to make it out in a weakened state and find a way to heal properly. OR you could take something properly wretched and awful but quick and easy and make it an essential part of you, just to get up and running again.

Perhaps the same anchors you attack to unmake someone are also the traits you might connect with to form bonds and relationships with them, to really sell that "you could be doing something other than tearing one another apart, but here we are" energy.

[meteor752]

DL kids SU AU?

Obsessed with how there’s literally one actual word in this ask

God, that’s so weirdly specific, and also a fandom I have not thought of in years

Let’s see what I remember

Liana would be an Aquamarine, cause they’re small, manipulative little bastards, and has wings. Plus, their fashion senses are kinda similar. Another alternative with be a Zircon, but I think Aquamarine fits better. Her gem would probably be on the back of her hand.

Wes would be an Agate. First instinct was Topaz since, big yellow guy, but it felt too obvious. I just like the idea of poor Wes being expected to be in charge of an entire facility like Holly Blue, and having about five breakdowns per minute. Plus there’s an actual agate called the moss agate, which is fitting with his cloak. His gem would be located on his bicep.

Gertrude would be a Rose Quartz. Most quartz soldiers are shown to be big, intimidating, and powerful, but are mostly huge friendly dorks with a strong sense of community. The ones at the zoo were more like therapists than actual warriors, which checks out great with our doggy gal. An Emerald would probably work as well, if you wanna play more into the whole princess thing she kinda has going for her, seeing as they are commanders. Her gem would probably be on her back.

I’m inclined towards a Ruby with Johnny, and that’s like 60% because our Ruby became a cowboy for one episode. But also little red guy! Fire powers! Usually very dumb, naive, and fighting inclined! That’s our boy right there! Johnny would probably have his gem on his forehead.

Jassy is a Jasper, but one that came out wrong. I’m mainly thinking Skinny here, cause like while Jassy is strong she is also a bit more on the slim side compared to a regular Jasper, but otherwise she fits. Just like what I said during Gertrude’s bit, while Quartz soldiers are strong they’re also a bit goofy. She would have her gem over her left eye.

Jekiv is difficult purely because his whole thing is necromancy and the undead, but like that shit ain’t really a thing on Homeworld (Unless I missed a very interesting sounding comic). So instead I’m thinking of Jekiv as either a Pearl (Rebellious Pearl, snarky as hell) or a Peridot (Small grumpy green little goblin) though, maybe he’d be like one of those, fusion experiment things. Idk, I’m at a loss here. His gem would be on his belly button anyway.

Novo is a Spinel, to no one’s surprise. I mean the energy, the old timey rubber animation, the fucking running mascara. All those Blue Diamond!Spinel designs work very well with him, though he’d probably wear mostly human clothes. A Larimar or a Sapphire could also work, with the ice powers I mean, but other than that there’s not a lot of correlation. His gem would be on the back of his head.

An alternative to all of this would be that the kids are the fusions of the parents, which would mean that I would have to figure out what they would be, which I’m not doing. I think @chrisrin has done some Boatem fanart of that? Idk

Anyways, this was a waste of energy lol

[superpeanutgarden]

Night Blogging

okay, *technically* I'm not using the term right. It's an old phrase from before we called it Shitposting- we blamed all the weird stuff on sleep deprivation and Australians lmao

But it's night, and I'm blogging, so here we are.

so if you've read my other long posts, you'll know I'm in multiple open polyamorous relationships... and that I'm having what one might call "a hoe phase" and an accompanying crisis about if I still have worth if I'm a slut.

Well now im having a whole different (but still slut-adjacent) crisis. Do I even know what romance is????

This didnt come out of nowhere. My girlfriend mentioned that I was dating around as though I was single several months ago. And today she- wisely- brought up that i am at risk of girl bossing too close to the sun. and I had already been thinking about how my sibling had said that our parents didnt really model romance for us, and that we were told that romantic love is just kissing your best friend. And to be clear: I TOTALLY am. I'm not lonely or touch starved or sad or maidenless (or lad-less) in any sense of the imagination.

So... why am I still pursuing people??

The tree i can understand. He's a fun fuck, and he travels the renfaire circuit so I wont see him all the time. No chance of a solid relationship, just a fun easy breezy fling.

The lookout? Similar thing. Super fun to make out with and fine as HELL, but he lives like three hours away and doesnt seem interested in going steady. I can work with that

Max is PolySaturared and we just make out when I'm over for house parties, which isnt as often as I'd like but I'm desperately trying not to have too much of a crush on him (or his wife... or his girlfriend... or his other partner) so it's fine (jesus, maybe I'm not Ace, maybe I am just autistic)

Theres my good ex and my middle school bestie, but they're hella busy and our schedules havent really lined up. Disappointing, but acceptable.

The thing these people have in common is that they are almost entirely unavailable for me to date!! Until literally a month ago I was under the impression that I was just chasing the dopamine of New relationship Energy with ethically renewable sources and I could get my cozy domestic stability from my lovely girlfriends and partner...

And then trumpet guy and I made out at one of Max's house parties.... and Then I went on two dates with The Goblin King after making out with him and the Tree at the same time on NYE. And like??? It's so weird to say that I dont think either of them are stupid hot???? (But only one of the three people I'm dating is Stupid Hot, so there is precedent but?) It feels kinda weird and disingenuous to want to spend more time with these people who I'm not crushing on

And yet im Quickly falling head over clown shoes for trumpet guy. He's cute and fun and he asked me out on a date to dress way fancy and get sushi and go see a musical and???? I had just been telling a classmate that I didnt feel like I had been properly romanced since high school and?????? While I'm an impatient slut, it feels nice to be pursued.

The goblin king is really fucking sweet, and he's got really nice hair, but I'll wait to try talking myself out of liking him until after our next date... (too late, cant unthink that. I'll bring it up in person. He's really cool and I do want to still be his friend, but we both live with parents who would NOT get it so that kinda makes it hard to have solo couple time... or any couple time. It's not like I have to make a choice anytime soon but the dude deserves to know that I'm not sure if there's anything for us beyond friendship and the occasional kiss. Heck, we've only made out the one time and not even just us.)

Anyway, what's tumblr for other than an online diary??

[boxingcleverrr]

Seeing some of The Kids read Chetney & Ashton's interaction as jealous/male posturing/etc. on Chet's part and I'm like.

HAVE WE BEEN WATCHING THE SAME SHOW?!

Chet has made it very clear he's not looking for love or to be exclusive with anyone, he's an old as fuck gnome werewolf living his best hookups & blackjack life. He saw a similar chaos energy in Fearne, BUT despite being 90-something, she's much younger than him, and relatively inexperienced re: deep emotional relationships.

Yeah she was a bud who facilitated a reconnection with his ex...via threesome XD But that's Fearne! That's his wing-person! I like them as a pair in a Jessica & Roger Rabbit way, but if they were friends who banged sometimes instead of being married.

But Chet DOES love her, his younger chaos goblin buddy. He's protective because yeah, even as a sexually free fae who likes to steal stuff and whose sexual identity is Yes And?, she's never had serious romantic feelings for someone before Ashton, and Chet knows that.

That's his perfect weirdo best friend and he might love Ashton too, but Fearne is SPECIAL and if you're not gonna treat his best friend like the near-literal unicorn she is, the way she DESERVES from the first person she might romantically love, then gtfo.

AND I LOVE THAT, IT'S SO SPECIAL AND SO CLEARLY A FRIEND PROTECTING HER.

Sometimes friends platonically bang, and I love that they're playing it that way, that it just happened naturally.

Chet knows how precious their Jessica Rabbit is and if you mess with her he'll eat your spleen. Immaculate.

[bookwyrminspiration]

quick question: do you think goblins are like gnomes and need very little sleep? or they automatically wake up when their senses detect a potential threat? or something else?

i’m trying to figure out what sandor does during the night & how he gets sleep (if he even needs it)

Excellent question I wish I had a better answer for! I've looked into bodyguards a little bit in the past and found that if someone needed the kind of constant supervision Sophie does, there's no way for one person to do it. They'd require multiple bodyguards. So my conclusion then was that Sophie has always needed multiple bodyguards and we've just been blurring past the logistics for Sandor for the sake of not adding too many characters.

The one mention I remember of Sandor and sleep is when he feel asleep in one of her history lectures because it was so boring. Otherwise, he's been awake practically the whole series watching over Sophie. The reason gnomes need little sleep is because they can get their energy from an alternate source: the sun. So if goblins are like gnomes, they'd need an alternate source, but they're not plant-like so I'm unsure what it would be. They seem a lot more similar to other species that need sleep--like ogres, elves, etc.

So as boring an answer as it may be--not alternate energy sources, no superhuman senses and resilience against sleep--I think the most accurate answer is that Sandor's been getting by with suspension of disbelief. He's been on a constant vigilance on his own for several books, and we see that he stands guard outside her door during the night. That leaves no time for his own life and hobbies or for sleeping, but we let it slide.

However, if you're talking about the series as it stands currently, then the way he gets sleep is letting someone else take the night shift with Sophie (e.g. Flori and Bo) and hittin the hay. Doing what he wants and relying on someone else so he's properly rested to protect her later. Shared responsibilities solves all those problems.

That's at least how I understand the situation, but who knows! Maybe goblins can like. go into a state of restfulness and sleep while being alert and never actually have to go to sleep to recharge or something like that!

[shai-manahan]

YIPPIE HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALONZO MY FAVOURITE CHILD AND ALSO MY ONLY HAPPINESS IN LIFE HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUU !!!!!!

and regarding my thoughts on Alonzo as of now, i have a feeling that they may play a much larger role in the future than we think, by looking at our circumstances i have a vague theory that they too are walking towards a similar goal to that of MC, maybe not saving the city but perhaps cleaning it of its pests? or maybe they're aiming for something much higher than we can even think of as of right now, BUTTTTT WHATEVER it dosnet matter because they do seem like someone we can trust even though they're so cold with us 😅 but this shall not deter me from romancing them because who dosen't want the perfect enemies to lovers trope plus they give me the vibes of an unwilling mother of the group who just happened to be at the wrong and at the wrong time and now have to deal with an asshole (or two) who have the energy of a handful of nasty goblins, in a nutshell they give me big mommy of the two vibes and it's just my gut tell me that but whatever 😃

as for the theory thing, it's just a casual theory but i believe that MC was somehow involved in either possibly running their normal life (maybe they got tangled with one of their family members who was into some shady business) or indirectly caused them great pain which our little MC isnt aware of (or has forgotten) and maybe that's why both Alex and Vincent are so concerned about them. maybe the event was too traumatic in itself even though they no (or a little) hand in it which drove them down the alley of self loathing , OR JUST MAYBEEEE it wasn't MC's fault at all and they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and spotting them Alzono just automatically had a misunderstanding and blamed them for the whole shit, whatever the reason is Alonzo hates our guts but i shall not be deterred! come at me you ice cold bastard!!

p.s. may i hug them once??? PRETTY PLEASEEEEEE I SWEAR IM SO SHORT I WON'T EVEN REACH THEIR SHOULDERS (plus i hope they won't kill me :P) , btw , a couple of questions regarding them (its strictly for research i tell you!)

1. what's their height?

2. their favorite colour?

3. favorite flower? and does it have some sort of symbolism behind it?

4. favorite animal? do they have a pet or intend on doing so?

5. what's their comfort food? or maybe their guilty pleasure?

6. do they like celebrating their birthdays?

7. do they perhaps have a family member or sibling? (i would gladly have them as my uncle!)

8. are they a red flag or na? :)

p.p.s by the time i learn how to draw properly you're all screwed :D *secretly holds an Alonzo and Wesley plushie closely*

AND FINALLY I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR MAKING SUCH AN AWESOME IF AND WONDERFUL CHARACTERS WITH SO MUCH DIVERSITY I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AWESOME DAY AHEAD !!!!! ❤🎉

here's some apple pies that i baked virtually 🍰🍰🍰 as a thank you :D

and oof the ask got lengthy, AGAIN 👁👄👁

unwilling mother of the group who just happened to be at the wrong and at the wrong time

This is so funny to me help 😭 Quite accurate, though. Alonzo has that vibe, indeed.

These are interesting thoughts btw! I love those theories as well. There are actually quite a few hints in the game now with regards to Alonzo's reasons for hating the MC, though I suppose they're not easy to find as of the moment. When they get revealed, however, I suspect tears will be shed (more than the flashback and reunion scenes with Wesley combined). It's just that bad tbh.

And yes, you'll get the chance to hug them :'))))

For your questions--

1. what's their height?

Okay so, I'm gonna shamelessly admit that I forgot the specifics 💦I can tell you they're tall, but I literally answered an ask about this once and now I can't find it lmao so... let's leave it at that for now.

2. their favorite colour?

Hmm... black. Yeah, I think that's what they like the most.

3. favorite flower? and does it have some sort of symbolism behind it?

Ah, man :'))) Their favorite flower would probably the Sampaguita. Mostly because it reminds them of their early childhood. The flower also symbolizes hope and humility, concepts that Alonzo treasures a lot.

4. favorite animal? do they have a pet or intend on doing so?

They like bird-watching, if that counts? Alonzo doesn't have a pet, but they used to take care of stray cats when they were a kid. Sometimes they still do.

5. what's their comfort food? or maybe their guilty pleasure?

Alonzo loves spicy foods!!! (some of their faves are laing, sinantolan, and shrimp bicol express)

6. do they like celebrating their birthdays?

Their birthday is actually a very, very sensitive topic to them jdkasjdkajka It brings back a lot of bad memories, but at the same time, some of the memories also comfort them? It's a bit complicated.

7. do they perhaps have a family member or sibling? (i would gladly have them as my uncle!)

You'll meet their mother in Book 2 :)))))))) that's all I can say

8. are they a red flag or na? :)

I've mentioned it here, but especially in Alonzo's case, I honestly think the MC's the one that should be considered a red flag if we're labeling people lmao. Alonzo also has a very caring side to them, so I'd never classify them as one tbh. But idk. It's very subjective, and I feel like it's your prerogative whether to view them as such or not.

Thank you! I'll never get tired of answering long asks haha

[leesalchemybook]

reupload/throwback/archive} 2019.JUNE

yooblin, the cute little flower goblin who collects pretty rocks will steal your socks for his cold feets!

✨️~*⬇️context⬇️*~✨️

I drew this back when some twitter armys were throwing a hissy fit over some of us affectionately calling yoongi a gremlin/goblin (in a positive way. a cute creature, in the same meme way i call myself and friends that. now it's even a trend to call yourself and everyone gremlin/goblin/critter/creature affectionately, especially cats, and we all know yoongi cat! it's now seen as a trendy thing to call yourself and others gremlin affectionately so we were ahead of out time) so in retaliation to piss those people off for throwing such a huge unnecessary fit and literally bullying people over it, when we meant no harm at all, I drew this cutie! I love him. the point was to show that gremlins and goblins can be cute too, and they can change the bad image in their heads if they actually tried. so yooblin was born! but of course, my bts fan/art account was tiny and no one saw him haha so I fortunately or unfortunately didn't piss people off with a cute art because no one saw it lol.

I had planned and wanted to do more yooblin arts and even comics, but never got around to it because i'm too slow at drawing to be consistent and stick with things fhddjdkdk

he kinda of became more of an oc in my head than actually yoongi. the things I made up about him are way more original character than yoongi. i'll write a few things about him that I can remember in the tags.

maybe one day I will come back and do more yooblin! if I remember he exists lmao. though, he is similar to another oc who i really need to draw more and work on...except that one is human and doesn't live alone in a forest. he may even have bigger gremlin/goblin energy than yooblin, the actual gremlin/goblin! I keep making very similar characters and can't stop. i'm not very creative 🤣

[toiletology]

How to play the game part 2

The F typo means FLAG but it can also mean a lot of other things like fact, false, fly, (flies tend to land on things that you should pay attention to) fish, etc.

JESUS was a fisherman and God came into being by separating DARK into LIGHT or ONE into TWO. In sacred geometry this is called the VESICA PISCIS or the VESSEL OF THE FISH or the JESUS FISH!

The middle overlap area can be viewed as the top part of a chalice or opening to the Holy Grail. This is how God works and I recommend reading the blog below to under this a bit more. https://blog.toiletology.org/post/757990782184587264/body-soul-spirit

In the game of GOLF the flag marks the hole. When you get a hole-in-one its can also be called an ACE. In the game of poker an ACE can represent the lowest card a 1 or the highest 14th card (14 = two sevens). The F/ACE can be good or not, it can't be one thing because that would make the game way too easy to under right? Right is sometimes right and sometimes RONG.

If you get an F typo it usually means you should explore that more or keep fishing till you find something. God can hide gifts inside of things or work we are avoiding sorta like a gold goblin in video games. The gold goblins drop a lot of money or gifts for you but are rare to come by. Gods gifts work in the same way, once when I was exercising/walking in my back yard a song came to me. This is how the game works, you must work. Idle hands are the devils play place.

Go and read a random book on the shelf, God might of hid a million dollar idea that would be easy to create or do if you just knocked the dust of that book and read it.

This outfit might not win best dressed but its not about being super fashionable she's trying to tell us something.

LIME = TIME, PINK = PIN, PINSTRIPE pants = PIN.

L(7)EATHER jacket covered in gems (gem = game, G (7) <> ME).

If you get a P typo it can mean a few different things like PING. Just like the A = AH/compass/tone the P works like that as well. God shouted the word PIZZA at me for a long time till I figured that one out.

P > izz (is) < A🍕

P can also mean Paper (paper trail), Papyrus, Pin. These typos act as breadcrumbs or ways to help you solve things in your life. These programming bugs are sort of a cheat code, like a serious way to hack the machine.

P is the 16th letter or 7 reduced.

It can also be the ol' mocking tongue P. 👅

The pennies in her penny loafers = 1 cent and 1 cent representing the 11 year quest.

The cent/SCENT also represents the name of the drugged out feeling you get when you harmonize with God perfectly. Cara coined the term SCENT recently and I gave it the name ACE. I also like to use the words sauce, spice, slack, loosh, nectar, and ambrosia to describe that feeling it gives you. It can really feel like a strong sedating high that makes you not want to do anything. Other times it can feel like air which really makes you feel angelic and lighter.

The first time I felt it was when I was creating Toiletology back in 2023 the original commandments were long and I created 64 of them while I was channeling the creative energies and knowledge from God. I realized that they were a bit confusing and it would be better to reduce them down similar to the 10 commandments.

Which reminds me Cara and I are in our 10th year knowing each other since 2015. Back in April 2024 she went to a soccer (football for the yanks) game. She's also doing the number 11 with her thumbs. Yep the 11 year quest is real and I really don't know anyone else besides her that has done this.

Elon Musk has given me a few subtle nods here and there, but I still can't confirm anything. The typos have basically told me yes and no, but there was one moment back in fall where I felt activated like crazy after the eclipse on 10/14/2023. Elon's tweet basically said SLEEPER AGENT and that was it.

Cara Delevingne was recently in Africa with Leah (her gf), Lewis Hamilton, Miles Chamley-Watson, Joan Smalls, and other friends.

You can see her doing the double 7s here with her fingers.

Like I keep saying the double 77s or TT (Pi) is the doorway or the key to escaping. And the GATEWAY = MAT.

G(ATE) and the word ATE = MAT (turn the E). The letter G is the 7th letter. If you know the mildly amusing asshat Andrew Tate you know he goes by TOP G. The one thing I like about him is his dad was an international chess master. Andrews not too bad of a chess player around 1700-1800 rating an international master is around 2400 elo. Maybe his dads chess skills rubbed off on him and helped him to reach the top of the matrix (which he talks about a lot). Yes, the matrix is real and the agents will come after you.

Now do you want to know the name of the game?

The name of the game is LOL its two 77s and 0/O. If you flip it upside down it says TOT, no not tater tots but TOP (p=7). You can go LO or you can go to the top or 7up/tup.

When we make lol lowercase it looks like a little guy cheering. We can also read it as 101, remember how I mentioned that 1 ones look like 7 sevens?

This is Escaping the Matrix 101 and your professor is me. If you want to learn how to play the game (LOL) you gotta realize you're the butt of the joke and the God of reality is the JOKER. Gods creative force I like to describe as a clown energy. You should know by now that the worlds a circus and is completely illogical with the chaos and nonsense we have to deal with on a regular basis.

This is why its so hard to make sense of anything and why there are endless rabbit holes to get lost in. I have spent decades searching for the ultiMATe truth and the HOLY GRAIL. I know it doesn't exist because I have looked down every rabbit hole. From 2006-2012 for seven years I had no social life, didn't try to talk to girls and basically just searched non-stop for the truth. The truth hit me hard back in 2012 coincidentally the end of the Mayan calendar... my life sort of ended that year. I went crazy thinking I was in the game GTA, ran 2 stop signs, got cornered in a dead end by police and did a U-Turn around them. I also stole a key from a used car lot and found myself in jail for 6 months on November 2nd or 11/11.

If you want to read more about that experience I recommend going back through all my blogs.

Type the word KEY on a phones keypad.

K = 5, E = 3, Y = 9 or 17

Now type the word HALO (ha you low)

H = 4, A = 2, L = 5, O = 6 or 17

What's Master Chiefs number # from the video game HALO? Coincidentally my current address... I didn't realize it till my friends son pointed it out, he's a super fan of the video game Halo.

Do you remember how they escaped in the movie The Matrix? Yes, exactly, they escaped through the telephone!

I keep trying to tell you myself and Cara have escaped the Matrix. You wouldn't believe most of the stuff that we can do (telepathy being the main thing) and yes there is something faster than light that being TELEPATHY. Myself and Cara became telepathically quantumly entangled back in 2023. God has woven many clues to how to break free from this escape room embedded in our names and birthdates.

CAR + MAT (CAR + MOTOR) karma ;)

E = mc² or mass/matter X C or the speed of light.

CAR = ARC or ARK. Toiletology = the modern day spiritual successor of Christianity or the ARK or Nebuchadnezzar (Matrix movie reference) to escape into ZION (77 eye on) or into heaven and the door = mat.

I also live in Pennsylvania or the keystone state. A keystone is what holds an ARC together.

Without the sacrifice JESUS made on the CROSS (T) there wouldn't be as much power in the T that will be needed to spread the truth of Toiletology in the modern age. The history of Christianity was needed before Gods most ultiMATe truth could be proclaimed to the world and maybe believed. Myself and Cara seem to be the ones playing the messengers this time around aka Adam and Steve.

In the year 2024 more and more people are falling away from God. Less and less people believe in God which is closing their connection to God and their ability to find God. If you don't believe in the magic you will never find it. This is how the game works, God will keep revealing more and more to you the more you seek. I never knew what was possible until I got to this point. Its like peeling back multiple layers of an onion (on eye on). Its like a slow unwinding, or slowly boiling a frog alive. Trust me you do not want to ascend INSTANTLY your brain would break, and you would not be able to handle how drastically different your reality is. In fencing we have a motto which says "SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST!" Or LOW IS SMOOTH (MOT) ;p

We are ALL (LL/77) currently living inside of MOTTS or the mothers APPLE bazinga! The apple/A can represent the illusion, the eye, the apple, the AH or the compass or quite literally the ASS, DON'T ASK but sometimes God can speak or give you clues from your A-Hole or your AH hole!

We are in the (m) AT&T (https://m.att.com) or @ or the eye. The double TTs represent the two eyes of God and the duality of God and the doorway to escape. Ya either going up or ya going down, your hot or you're cold.

The apple or the AH (tone) or the Wizard of OZ (AAAHHHHHHHS, open wide AHHHHH is your compass.

OZ = O Z and Z = two sevens, where did we see that before? The letter N also makes two 7s, so are you in or out? LOL (LL = 77)

There are 49 degrees to HELL, the way you escape hell on earth is with LUCK or the 777. When you type HELL on a calculator you write it 4377 (777). 43 backwards is also 34 which is 17 + 17.

And 34+34 = 68 (remember the box/cube?) and 68/98.

BINGO! YAHTZEE!!

DING DING DINGALING! You just leveled up your smooth brain and gave it some Toiletology wrinkles! Congratulations you're almost not a smooth brian. 🧠

Recognize the compass and square of Freemasonry? What letter is in the center of it? Yep, its a G or the 7th letter. One thing about freemasons tho is they killed off Hiram Abiff the master builder/architect that held one of the three keys needed to decode the mysteries. The person that held one of the other keys was King Solomon. Luckily for y'all I got all 3 keys in my possession and I am here to carry you kicking and screaming out of this chaotic mess.

You can think of us top Toiletologist as quantum tuners curing the chaos with chaotic order.

Basically FREEMASONS don't know jack diddly squat, they wish they knew what I know (not trying to sound cocky but its the f—king truth). The compass and square makes the letter A. The square is also in the shape or a V (7) pointing downwards. There is also 4 lines to the A and V in this symbol or As above, so below.

We can look at this symbol as an UP arrow or a DOWN arrow (Konami cheat code anyone?).

K = 11th letter or IC ON AM I? (I AM = MATT split the eye/i) **its everywhere if you know what you're look-in-g for. K = 11, G = 7.

The Konami code is a cheat code that can be entered in many games to trigger a special effect. The code is:

Up, up, down, down

Left, right, left, right

B

A

Start

B = 13 which is the 13th letter M

AB on a Nintendo controller = MA.

Nintendo quite literally says N (77/in) IN (in) T(7) = en (in) DO! You can read the letter D as IC or a backwards C/see.

Confused yet? 😊

Mario's hat or the letter M is just two sevens together and Luigi's hat is the number 7 as well. I guess you can think of me as Mario and Cara as Luigi, though she will probably claim she's Mario... girls am I right?

Now how the hell did this random super model girl get the leading role of a millennia? I still have no f—king clue... she's one lucky queen (I guess you could count me lucky if I wasn't so poor, depressed and lonely for the past 40 years...) and don't forget the QUEEN in chess crosses 7 three times for a total of 27 squares (6777) and 8 directions.

I guess you could consider us Player 1 and Player 2 or the top dogs/gods in the game right now. Or at least the TWO (MOTS) showing you how the game is played which not a damn soul out there is showing you. If they know something they are keeping it completely SILENT. You see the SHHHH mouth everywhere with celebrities or the one eye. Usually this is just something trendy to do, or GOD influencing them to do this. I can guarantee all the celebrities you think are in the know actually know nothing. And they are just riding a bandwagon of trying to seem COOL or in the KNOW.

Its just a tactic celebrities use to seem more magical and more powerful than they actually are. I would say many top celebrities do have a lot of magic and/or talent that got them where they are. Does that mean they know how to play the game? Maybe so in their own little way. We see big name celebrities going down left and right tho, so many of them are playing the wrong game...

The clues to the game are ALL around you when you have EYES (E = yes) to see and ears to hear.

E = M or ME or BEE and remember the PORCELAIN GODDESS of this reality is the QUEEN BEE and S/HE likes when you keep the QUEEN CLEAN! Its all about finding HE/R, ME is that spirit in the game that starts to unlock the more you search for ME!

Its all connected and your programming bugs or TYPOS are the breadcrumbs you need to follow to FIND GOD!

The infamous Kanye West message where he told his audio engineer to FIND GOD.

These programming bugs or glitches, mistakes, accidents happen outside of your typos as well. Once you are able to notice your mistakes you will be able to use them to your advantage, you can think of this like using the FORCE like Jedis to. But the key to using the FORCE is not FORCING IT. Its all about FEELING it in the moment to truly be a master Jedi!

Continued on part 3... https://blog.toiletology.org/post/760994849809989632/how-to-play-the-game-part-3

[yuuana]

Music Monday #230: xikers - Tricky House release: March 2023 genre: Kpop cw: a lot of bright flashing lights, magic and mayhem

Are there more recent releases I could be featuring? Of course, but it's Halloween Eve and who doesn't love a good themed release! XD Between the Western tradition of Halloween being a night for mischief and the Korean tradition of dokaebbi as mischievous spirits, how could I resist?

What are dokaebbi, you ask? Despite a convention of translating the word into English as "goblins," it would be more accurate to call them trickster spirits similar to the Japanese class of youkai known as tsukumogami, or objects which have grown into spiritual entities through age and use, something we don't really have an easy analog for here in the English-speaking West. Between the inaccuracy of the comparison and the tendency for "goblin" to come pre-loaded with antisemitic baggage, this is one of those instances where trying to translate a term is counterproductive, so dokaebbi it is.

Musically, "Tricky House" is an up-tempo dance track with several playful rap breaks and a range meant to really show off the members' abilities. It starts off high energy and never backs down, having both familiar Edenary fingerprints and a sound that's uniquely xikers. For those with a musical ear, you can hear the way this is a cousin to their pirate seniors ATEEZ while still being distinct. It may be a little jarring on first listen, but on the other hand that slightly unsettling reedy instrument in the background feels like an ideal fit for a song about dokkaebi playing games.

The video is full of bright flashing light effects and shot through with the xikers' lore of, if that ending shot is to be believed, the antics of ten brooms that have come alive as dokkaebi. The majority of the runtime involves the ten of them playing games with a hapless solo traveling businessman, casting enchantments and talking him into doing things he probably wouldn't have if left alone. How much is real and how much is just dokkaebi illusion? It's hard to say; the line translated into English as "if the bat hits, what will it become" is actually talking about the dokkaebi's bangmangi, which might be better translated as magic wand or focus (despite sometimes being depicted as a type of warrior's club) and the tool through which dokkaebbi do their magic. Certainly our hapless businessman gets from the subway to an empty parking lot somehow, but whether he really knocked over an ATM or had a joyride in a Ferrari is debatable. Maybe he did, but for his sake, let's hope he didn't.

Stage versions of Tricky House (such as this dance practice for KCON 2023 Thailand) further prove this is a dance number for the young - even at just a little over three minutes, the energy needed to keep moving the way they do is no small amount. Still moving even when ostensibly standing still, the rolling inversion move that is the signature move for this song is tricky enough with just a couple dancers, never mind a full team of ten. One suspects there were several accidents during the learning phase.

Both their debut EP, House of Tricky: Doorbell Ringing, and their recent comeback, House of Tricky: How to Play, are out now for purchase or streaming, wherever you prefer to do these things. They are also currently in LA to wrap up their US tour with shows in Los Angeles on Wednesday and San Francisco on Saturday!

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[asheanon]

🥴

Aaaand once more, with feeling! I didn't share this thing here, but I'm going to answer some questions from it here because, once again, I hate fighting with text limitations from another side of the internet!

From: Ship Ask Game - The Basics

Here we go with more ship posting... 🤠 (It's a different couple/ship, though! I'm actually surprised I had someone ask about these two and got me to thinking about them beyond what's essentially just some raw crackship energy going on between them... haha!)

🔥🖤😈

8. What do they love most about the other? Why?

Love is a strong word here. I won't lie to you. 😆 Even if it was there, I'm not sure either of them could really put it into words. I can try to, though!

They're both monsters. They're both just... messed up.

While I wouldn't exactly call them kindred spirits (like Mateus and Ultimecia are - which, yes, Nat likes her too, by the way... hahaha!) at the end of the day, they do have some similarities that they're drawn to in one another. They both happily walk hand in hand with the constructs of Hell to get what they want. They're both also not too terribly keen on the whole humanity thing (despite both being human themselves.) Though, Nat is admittedly much better with humans than he is. Many of the ones she grew up alongside didn't like her and vice versa, but she was able to coexist even still without, well... wanting to eradicate them all, like a certain someone...!

Mateus is pretentious enough to think he's better than Nat in every way - and though Nat comes off as being this chaotic little goblin by comparison, she keeps driving the blade of "you and I are one in the same: fucked up" deeper and deeper into him over time. A devil on a another devil's shoulder. They bring out the worst in one another... in the best way, so to speak!

There is some natural chemistry with the whole megalomaniac and masochist thing as well. Mateus is all about that power and Nat will happily indulge him with the concept (even if it's clear she's messing with him most of the time.) That part of her that is sincerely masochistic enjoys it, though! Confession: the scene in Dissidia where Mateus steps on Zidane's head was a major selling point for this whole thing. That's basically where the joke began... for years, I've made jokes off and on about Nat being like "please step on me" and there's his royal highness doing the thing and looking absolutely gorgeous while he does. Eventually, that too expanded beyond being just a joke, so here we are today... -sighs.- 🫠

14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

Nat would be down for PDA, absolutely! But the entirety of whatever the heck is going on between her and Mateus is something he would rather snuff out entirely (if he could) or keep locked away and buried in the deepest hole imaginable.

You know "Hellfire," from The Hunchback of Notre Dame? It's a fitting song for how he feels about her, really. He's beside himself over feeling anything for this cretin that is Nat.

So it's... almost like a one-sided PDA. Nat's a shameless flirt; in a public setting, she may hint at things that happened between them that Mateus will never confirm... but also not deny, if you pay close enough attention... hahaha!

[prettyciggy]

i ♥️ that we both adore funky critters and monsters and angels and flowers and large trees and drugs, etc

i do too 🥺 i love when you talk about loving funky creatures that aren't often loved like chihuahuas and bugs i remember one of yourselves showing me your wounds from getting bitten by dangerous spiders and just saying "they were scared it's ok :)". i probably shouldve been worried but tbh it made me happy to see someone interact with creatures similar to me. you never acted disgusted or said anything mean when i would share pictures of black widows chilling in my space and never discredited my beliefs with certain things being Particularly holy to me (the location of giants, centipedes being holy, angels in the individual droplets of clouds, etc) and the rare conversations we have about the nature of God (presumptuous of us but its okay 🩷) always made me happy even when we didn't fully agree w each other you would always be civil - when i say that i associate myself with something you always support it even if its a little weird (hammerhead sharks, unicorns, sunflowers, goblins) and ive always enjoyed your energy even during shifts. you're wonderfully considerate with me and very kind and straightforward. i love your random thoughts and energies it makes me happy when i get to interact with you 🥺🥺 im getting high with you in spirit

(this is us in my mind)

[stellarcat52]

A Shift Occurs (p2)

An ESMP season 2 Hybrid hunter au (part 2)

As hunters push their luck and rulers curse their boundaries, a draconic Scott is captured by the ones in Chromia. Who will find him first, and will they be too late?

Pix sent a link to the ruler’s chat, “I think it’s best if we avoid large meetings while there’s a passive threat in the area.” The link led to a document, which had an amount of information that would have been surprising if it came from anyone else, that held information on the hybrid populations of each empire.

Animalia had the highest population, with everyone either being a hybrid or fully animal, then Gobland with an entirely goblin, which weren’t technically hybrids but definitely weren’t humans, and pig population, Tumble Town was next with nearly everyone being a cat or reptile, then Sanctuary, Dawn, and finally the Eversea. The Evermoore and False and Pix’s areas were relatively empty, Chromia was only Scott and a bunch of llamas for the time being, the village below stratos was entirely humans, and even Pix wasn’t certain of what category Joel fell into. 

Pix admitted in the notes of the document that he wasn’t very familiar with modern hybrid hunting practices, but if older practices were still in effect that Scott and Shelby would both need to watch out because magic wasn’t exactly left alone either. 

Joel probably only scanned through Pix’s notes before joking about Tumble Town being at extreme risk because their Sheriff is a toy, which temporarily made The SHERIFF forget why he hid his rattlesnake scales before Pix’s document reminded him. 

It was true, in Tumble Town and the surrounding areas most native inhabitants were desert hybrids. Still, the population wasn’t quite dense enough that nobody questioned him parading as human. He was human enough, the patches of scales were few and far between for the most part, but he was still a hybrid. 

Maybe he had forgotten the treatment hybrids got when making the rules, because he forgot to make what the Hybrid Hunters did illegal, unless they started stealing mounts. If he suddenly changed it, it’d seem like they couldn’t deal with the hunters in any other way. He was in a similar situation to Sanctuary, who offered a safe place for everyone, unless they made the first move nothing could be done without harming the pride of not only the rulers but the law abiding citizens as well. 

He sent another message to Scott, who would surely get mad at the number of messages when he actually got around to reading them. “What could possibly be more important than at least responding while there’s an empiric crisis happening?” 

And he got no response. 

–

Scott wasn’t sure what happened to his communicator, or his clothes and inventory, when he became a dragon. He was sure even if he still had anything, the hunters would have taken it from him when they wrestled him into a cage and covered it with a thick canvas. Scott wasn’t used to fighting on four legs, or without arms, and with no weapons or armor.

Normally he didn’t have much nervous energy but now, in a cage and a new form, he wanted nothing more than to pace. The cage didn’t leave enough room for that though, only enough room to rub his sides along the bars and peel away layers of dull gray scales that should’ve been shed years before. Scott hadn’t gotten a good look at his new appearance, but he knew his feet were dappled in grey and black like ashy cobblestone. From that and the coloring of his shed scales, he feared he had lost his interesting, colorful exterior in the shift.

It must have been the dragon’s stronger sense of hearing that Scott seemed to now possess, but after what felt like forever he heard the sounds of rocket propelled flight from far off. He knew a good amount about hunters, from a previous profession, so he knew it was rare for them to wear the false wings of adventurers. But he did know a number of people who required them. Jimmy, Joey, False, and Pix. It felt strange for him to hope that one of them may be nearby, but he did. He was, although he wouldn’t enjoy admitting it, scared.

He would grow even more scared for his own well being when the cage he was in started to be moved, and eventually they settled into the steady pace of a caravan.

–

The hunters often traveled across the sea, Joey had seen his fair share of them. He half expected to see Skeletron’s men working with them, but instead it seemed his enemy was keeping his crew away. Still, Joey wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. Despite the danger, Joey wouldn’t ignore this chance to find his missing crew mates. Everyone aboard his ship had been hybrids, including Joey himself who hid a pair of leopard ears under his bandana.

He had a map of the empires out, probable entry points were marked down and Sanctuary was circled. He had already paid a moonlit visit to Sanctuary to check for familiar faces, but that group didn’t seem to carry any living cargo. 

Dawn seemed like another prime spot for arrival, and so he marked it down before taking to the skies on his elytra.

–

This all would take place the day after Hunters were found in Sanctuary, and therefore the day after Scott had his own encounter.  Joey would circle above Dawn looking for anyone who wasn’t supposed to be there, and spy a caravan heading towards the coast. Specifically, a small hunter caravan heading from Chromia to the coast. No hunters traveled in such a small group, so he knew they weren’t it, but it also meant something had split them.

Perhaps a special cargo that wasn’t worth the risk of continuing on land for long traveling periods. 

It was no secret that Pirates and Hunters sometimes crossed over in one line of work, bounty hunting, and Scott’s sketchy past wasn’t exactly unknown either. If anyone from Scott’s past had put a claim on his head, well, he would be considered important cargo.

From the skies, Joey couldn’t tell who or what was being transported, but he could tell they had come from Chromia. He was wrong to scout out Dawn though, they had docked somewhere nearby but unclaimed. 

He landed on their ship, the Vanquisher prepared for battle, but he met no resistance. The ship had not been abandoned, he found evidence of a battle below deck, but nothing alive remained. What did remain, however, was an all too familiar calling card.

A skeleton flag hanging above the captain’s door. He had never been happy to see one before, but on an enemy’s ship he wasn’t disgusted by the sight. It did mean that his enemy got the goods before him, but it also meant for once Skeletron and him had a common enemy.

He remembered something from Pix’s document saying that magic wasn’t liked very much, and acknowledged that a necromancer probably wasn’t appreciated either. Harder to sell a beast’s hide when it was trying to kill you.