#[[ with what he says and does x'D ]]

[pixelatedraindrops]

This is for @draconicsparkle as part of a Secret Santa event done in a Makoyuma server that I’m part of. Figured I’d try to participate.

(Wow for once I don’t draw sick art xD)

Further rambling

This was an idea I had after I read the recent chapter of Web of Truth, Kira’s Monster AU fic. Honestly the fact Makoto felt full and sleepy after just 2 pizza slices was both interesting and cute to me. So…what about a post Christmas sugar crash? And then this idea came up.

A Spider’s First Christmas

Short Story:

Yuma returns from a Christmas Eve party with his college friends, bringing home a platter of a variety of Christmas sweets leaving them on the kitchen counter for a later time since he already ate. As he goes to take a shower for about 20 minutes, brushes his teeth and changed into his wool pajamas and socks, he exits the bathroom and notices that someone else had eaten the entire platter.

Yuma nervously walks to his bedroom to find the culprit as a lump sleeping in his bed. Makoto is seen tucked in, a pair of his front arms sprawled on the bed while the other front pair gently rub his full stomach and various crumbs scattered on his face. He looked satisfied, like a predator who just cornered and devoured his prey. Except in this case, the prey was a plate of gingerbread cookies, candy canes, an entire loaf of fruitcake and a carton of eggnog.

Yuma is bewildered at first but then he gives a small smile. The sweet buffet was clearly a very heavy load, sending the spider-human hybrid into a very deep slumber. Likely his first ever sugar crash or food coma. He did have a much bigger appetite lately since trying various human foods. To Yuma’s surprise, the monster’s fangs retract, and a sweet and gentle smile is left on his face. He looked…oddly cute. Almost an innocent sleeping child waiting for the morning of Christmas to come. But he was clearly happy just to be warm, fed and sheltered from the cold outside. Yuma gives in and decides to sleep on the sofa for the night to not disturb his sleeping guest any further.

“…Merry Christmas Makoto.”

(okay I know yuma's not in his pjs in the art but ITS FINE XD)

I hope you like it c:

Tho my art style is too cutesy to draw this monster spider makoto again… And him having this many limbs is my worst nightmare since I already suck with proper body anatomy so I cheated by using the blanket to cover his other limbs lol I'm not good w drawing monsters...but I wasn't gonna dare try an android... x'D

Bonus w festive sweater :3

[countlessrealities]

Even more incorrect quotes || Accepting !

@mcltiples sent: ✏️ { For Evil Rick and my Weird Rick ! }

Evil Rick: I suppose you’re right. We really would be better off working together. Weird Rick: So, then… détente? Evil Rick: Agreed. Weird Rick: Understanding? Evil Rick: Possibly. Weird Rick: Cooperation? Evil Rick: Maybe. Weird Rick: Trust? Evil Rick: Out of the question.

Evil Rick: How petty can you get? Weird Rick: I once edited a Wikipedia article to win an argument I was wrong about.

Weird Rick: My ultimate goal is to punch God in the eye, just to spite him one last time. Evil Rick:Evil Rick: Whatever makes you feel better, Rick.

Weird Rick: I’ve been here in jail so long I think I’ve lost my mind. Weird Rick: The days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months. Weird Rick: How long have I been in here now? Almost a year? Evil Rick: This is Monopoly.

Weird Rick: Hey, I’m getting in the shower. Wanna help me out? Evil Rick: …Have you never taken a shower before?

Weird Rick: I would never say that my partner is a bitch and I don’t don’t like him. That’s not true… My partner is a bitch and I like him so much!

Weird Rick: Being gay is a constant battle between "I wish to sit on a window bench with my lover, our legs tangling as we listen to the birds" and "Hey, let's go throw rocks at fascists" and I think that's very sexy of us. Evil Rick: If the window's open and you time it right, you can do both.

[tenacquity]

Miss Sincaden probably didn’t realize (and most definitely wouldn’t believe Ryunosuke even if he told her upfront) that her perception of the Reaper of the Bailey actually assisted quite a lot with his own. Thing was, people talked. Oh, people loved to talk. And while Ryunosuke was far from being the type to listen to gossip—due in part to a general disinterest as well as a respect for the person about whom was being gossiped—it was sometimes hard to shake off the whispers when faced with behavior that made said whispers seem all the more true.

Lord van Zieks was painted in more shadows than light. Though he was lifted on a pedestal as a formidable and unshakeable opponent in court, he was simultaneously ridiculed for the assumptions—no, the suspicions—of what he truly reaped outside of law’s constraints. A mix of good and evil . . . typically dependent on where one was standing. As much as Ryunosuke could agree with the former, and had indeed faced that unflappable perfection time after time (what forced him to try all the harder for an acquittal), he had never been able to follow the latter—

He’d never been able to fully, wholeheartedly, without a trace of hesitation accept that the prosecutor was anything but a man of integrity. And a man who held so many secrets, so much beneath a veil of frigidity that Ryunosuke so frequently found himself wondering . . . 

Who are you really . . . ?

But the more he was given the pleasure of speaking with one of van Zieks’s maids—a delightful woman, at that—the more his original fears and trepidations dwindled. The more he saw the Reaper as less of a legend, but exceptionally human. And (save him) the more Ryunosuke’s curiosity and desire to pick him apart heightened to levels he could no longer ignore.

(That being said, he had to wonder . . . Were Miss Sincaden’s praises and loyalty to the prosecutor actually a good thing for Ryunosuke? Or was she just helping him dig this hole—grave, rather—for himself even deeper?)

Naturally, as she went on to explain the man’s behavior at home, Ryunosuke found himself clinging to every word, breath bated. Something . . . twinged in his chest, and perhaps another surefire sign (he’d realize in hindsight) that he’d not be giving up on the Reaper all that easily, but really. Really. Miss Sincaden seemed to have a good and reasonable head on her shoulders. If she was saying things like this . . .

“Yes—!” His voice cracked. So far into a thoughtful stupor, he’d almost forgotten to actually respond to the information she was giving him. “I-I mean . . . Yes. Good. I’m relieved to hear that you’re, ah . . . happy where you are. I can’t help wondering . . . Well, if the workers of a household are content, then that must say plenty about the person for whom they’re working, surely—?” Thinking out loud, now. Ryunosuke’s eyes slid sidelong while he contemplated, but his attention was swiftly brought back by the smile lighting up her features—

. . . seconds before it somewhat faded.

He studied her in a few beats of silence. Then, with a sympathetic twitch at one corner of his mouth, “I understand. I’ve only really seen the bare minimum, what with the investigation, but, ah . . . Do you imagine you might find the opportunity? In fact, if Lord van Zieks would allow it, I’d be delighted to have your company when I get the chance to truly enjoy it myself.”

Daedra's expression immediately shifted to one of concern, when she heard the young man speak of himself in such a fashion. Why would he think such a thing? Daedra thought he was doing an amazing job! From what she'd seen anyway - try as she might, she hadn't been able to make it to every recent court appearance van Zieks had been prosecuting in.

...Which strangely, also seemed to be with Ryunosuke as well.

Still, it was concerning to hear that he seemed quite rattled over it. Lord Barok was very intimidating, though to her, it died away the more she grew used to him. It was probably the same of others that knew the man. Still, she thought it quite terrible for Mr. Naruhodo to feel such a way. She thought he was doing an amazing job, even despite feeling as uneasy as he was!

"Well, I think you're handling yourself splendidly, Mr. Naruhodo," Daedra tried to cheer him up, with her most confidant tone. Despite his worries, he even seemed worried about her own dealings with her employer. What a nice person~ As far as she could tell, Ryunosuke had done nothing to warrant the rather cruel behavior he was getting. Terrible...

...To be judged on where you came from or what you claimed to be, over judgement based on your shown character merit. It made Daedra so terribly upset to think of it, for she certainly got her share time to time.

At the defense lawyer's concerns, the maid shook her head to ease his worries. "Oh, please don't worry about such things," she chirped merrily. Like a little songbird. "For how he acts in the courtroom, Lord van Zieks does not seem to dwell much on his disappointments once he leaves the Old Bailey. Atleast, he never seems to take out any unpleasantries on myself or the other servants," she assured.

Though Daedra did not agree with many of the things the aristocratic man did or how he chose to act, she still felt an amount of loyalty to defend him, too. As nerve wracking as her start of her service had been, Daedra could not recall a single time that Barok van Zieks had ever acted out of turn with her. He reprimanded and spoke firmly at times, but it had never been because it wasn't uncalled for.

"If I can be perfectly honest," Daedra began, her head turning as she seemed to speak lost in thought. "-I found it so strange to see him act as he did on trial. He's always very intense, but moreso in expression from my experience. I've never known him to not be polite or honorable. In fact, back at the manor... he almost seems so terribly somber. Almost strangely sad, in a way."

Even as she spoke, Daedra could picture him at the van Zieks manor. Silently sitting at his personal desk as he wrote. Going about his business and rarely speaking to she or her fellow servants unless he required something. But always with impeccable manners and a politeness. Daedra had worked for far more mean-spirted people by comparison.

With a shake of her head, the maid came back to the present. She offered Ryunosuke a bright smile, not wishing him to ponder too deeply on her wording.

"My apologies, Mr. Naruhodo! I didn't mean to dwell so deeply on the subject," Daedra offered. "As for myself," she happily moved to a different subject when he offered. "-I have no complaints to speak of! I'm very content as I am, and I have have heard of the great Exhibition!"

Her eagerness fell ever so slightly when she realized---well...

"I... haven't gotten the chance to go myself, yet, but everyone is so terribly excited! I've seen the main entrance and all the towers and high scaffolding going up---like the biggest, grandest fair! Which, I suppose it is!"

[diminuel]

Ayoo! Hope you're havin' great day!

Imagine during God Valley incident; Rocks is fighting against Roger and Garp at once, all three of them are really tired now, bruised and soaked in blood (their own and their enemies').

Garp is about to attack Rocks with Galaxy Impact but is stopped when Newgate shows up, not because he is particulary wary or afraid of Newgate, but because he is holding Garling like a squishy toy (he even makes the squeeky sound when Newgate squeezes hard enough!).

Newgate gives dumbfounded Rocks a puppy look, asking if they can keep Garling. Rocks is absolutely against it but Roger finds it hilarious enough. Garp doesn't know what to say and Garling is cursing Newgate's entire bloodline.

X'D Oh my! What does Newgate even want with Garling? He does look funny with his weird crescent hair. Maybe Newgate, with his crescent mustache feels a kinship with him.

But he's a stinky Celestial Dragon! Rocks would probably tell him to put him back where he found him!!

[sm-baby]

What does Able think of Paine

Hes like that homophobic family member at the family dinner thats trying really hard to hide his biases X'D says hes happy for you with a nervous smile

[ourlittleuluru]

Okay I gotta yap about the new Lost Signal memory as it just became claimable because the storyyyyyyy 😭 It's so good???? I love it so much.

In general,

I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING 😭 The script they have to readddd

And the voice acting! Good stuff! 🤣 XAVIER SOUNDS SO STIFF. The voice actors really did a good job, humu humu (/≧▽≦)

Overall story line is just... the two of them sharing some flirty moments but also action! and then the little goofy moments near the end too! (The BGM just adds so much to it) and i love it!

Gonna put the more specific stuff under the read-more (ヘ･_･)ヘ┳━┳ because there's like one specific detail that's interesting. Nothing that's too mind-blowing. 😅 (also spoilers, yep)

Him still asking for consent 🥺 even when it's not an actual kiss.... Just reminds me of the 21 days trailer, where he does the same

and then... of course, there's a whole action sequence! Because that's what this card is all about. AND I mean, I can't help it. Gotta love a battle couple. Though, after all that is said and done...

XAVIER SIR

I KNOW YOU RICH BUT DON'T??? 😭😭😭 he really just... He sounds soooo regretful and really wanted to make it up 🥺 But let the companies go through this with the right processes and procedures first??

But Mr Manager is quite the opportunist X'D

Um... Manager-san???? Xavi??? Really?? You call Xavier "Xavi" and "Xav"??? 🤣 in CN it sounded less awkward. But usually Xavier's nickname by "older" people is 小沈, but the Mane-san called him 小回 after Xavier tried to say his full name 😭 so cute????

Like... what, Xavier??? What are you gonna do??? Destroy more railcar windows???? 😭😭😭😭 Sleep constantly on the job????

First thing... "too BROKE to cook".... Haeh??? Broke? Cook? Xavier? What are you up to??? - was my first thought. Second was just him trying to find an excuse to be with MC... but the real reason... is in the later part

Okay but this whole part also has me cackling 🤣 MC please... your denseness! But Xavier still feeling so darn guilty!! (but one thing here. IDK why, in CN the broadcaster does say "ST" as the donator. Though in EN, the broadcaster says "X" so... not sure why the sub in EN isn't following the EN script :v;;; just localization things, I guess)

MC.... ALL THAT MONEY WAS XAVIER'S 🤣😭 Man is trying to fix his OWN mistakes

but the fact he donated for 15 years... so he pretty much started donating since the Chronorift Catastrophe (or about a year before that) 🤔 aside from running around as Lumiere... Interesting detail to note!

Xavier's habit of scratching his nose when he feels awkward or needs to dodge a conversation topic 🥺💕 (But MC... you're both praising Xavier and dissing him at the same time.... 😂)

Okay... I think this is all for my ramblings??? I'll add on if I happen to catch anything else then. Until then... I'll just listen to this over and over...

Aight, Chu, Signing out! (￣^￣)ゞ

[blackstarchanx3new]

DarkBlue ramble

ramble about today's update and Darkblue in genreal because I love them so much X'D

So Blue is 100% right in the fact Dark can just peek into his head to see what he feels about Dark. So Dark asking him up front is kinda "meaningless".

Blue and Dark are both ALREADY blushing before Blue says anything.

Dark is very much aware of Blue's feelings toward him.

But Blue is...Blue lmfao He's loud rude and can't deal with his own emotions.

Which is why when he ACTUALLY acknowledges he thinks Dark is "Cute" of all things (When the rant Dark went on doesn't have to do with that at all) is really funny to me/telling.

Because it's less that Blue thinks Dark is PHYSICALLY cute (I mean he does haha) but also cute in general.

Like THIS is the dude he's calling cute hahaha. (Just SOME of the weird ass faces Dark has made just aimed at Blue lmfao)

I think what's funny about Blue ending up at calling Dark "Cute" is you can take it a few ways.

Blue KNOWS Dark knows what he thinks. So trying to hide his affection towards him at this point is basically meaningless.

He can't deny the truth.

But you can tell from Dark's reaction he wasn't expecting Blue to go with THAT as his answer. He expected something diffrent.

Dark's response back is even funnier to me because it's more classic "Dark Link is super blunt" which is always funny to me.

He doesn't mess with Blue or tease him in response to him opening up about this feelings. (At least not on purpose haha)

Blue's clearly happy Dark thinks that about him.

Since Dark's previously called him "difficult" among other things haha.

They've come a long way since they first fought. XD

He comes off as teasing in page 961 since he honestly asked whether or not he should give Blue more than one kiss but Blue's response propelled him into kinda cheekily responding with "Haha I can read your thoughts, but can't read mine?"

Blue. Ya should have just said your caterpillars needed kisses bro. Dark was offering smh. 😔

It's OBVIOUS he likes em now if he's offering to kiss em you dope!!!

Anyway here's some dumb rambles about why I like Darkblue's dynamic because hur dee dur I've kept this in awhile

Something I enjoy about them compared to Blue and Red is that...well Dark Link doesn't pretend to be incapable.

Blue gets annoyed MANY times with how Red isn't that skilled of a fighter and ends up in deep shit because he's either not taking stuff seriously or is acting like an idiot.

Their FIRST meeting for Dark and Blue was that fight. Which Blue fucking started lmfao.

And Dark absolutely mopped the floor with him.

Dark in general is capable of handling his own shit and can be serious when it's asked for.

He actually understands Blue on an emotional level while the others tend to just get annoyed with how Blue acts. (Reasonably so dude's annoying lmfao XD)

But Dark offers understanding.

This is personally funny to me but Blue getting easily flustered around Dark in some part stems from the fact Dark's voice is very feminine and soft spoken.

I just personally think with the manga there's enough evidence to say Blue gets flustered around girls somewhat easily XD

What's really funny about the current convo is you could compare it to their previous one where Blue visited Dark in the headspace to ask if he was really "Difficult".

Dark was so dang happy to see him too haha.

Dark in general feels safe with Blue.

This is just one of those things Blue thinks about later in the comic, but even though Dark is ANGRY (Because of his own spiraling about his identity) he still saves Blue from Vaati's attack.

Blue's the one who not only convinced Dark to stay but asks him up front what HE actually wants out of life and pushes for Dark to live for himself a few times.

Lmao the second panel's "Compliment" might not seem like one but from a guy like Blue it absolutely is XD

Lol it's been brought up a few times that the reason Blue's been more laid back (Compared to the manga) is his guilt for hurting people and in general wanting to be a better person.

And Dark calling him out in their fight really made that a turn around for him.

Blue kinda at a certain point realized Dark tends to say stuff he doesn't fully mean (Due to his nature as a curse) So stops taking it THAT personally and defuses.

He explains it pretty well here lmfao.

What's better to me is that the reigning of each other in isn't one sided since when Blue's tweaking the fuck out after Vio pisses him off Dark's the one to ask him gently if he needs a break and consoles him while he just has a fit lmfao.

Overall I just really think they pair well together for their own arcs and bounce off each other well and I love them so much haha.

[drkineildwicks]

So we went and saw Sonic 3 in theaters....

Did it because my uncle paid for it

For context the very last movie I saw in theaters until this one was Sonic 1 so this was functionally the triumphant return

My honest thoughts:

*Crush 40 voice* YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I've been singing Sonic music, specifically Shadow's songs, ever since going that movie was excellent I loved it and Mom had to stop me several times from vibrating apart in my seat XD

Also Sonic movie 4 is confirmed??? 2027 let's gooooo

Seriously I was all excited for the new Palworld expansion but after this movie that one has to wait I'm replaying SA2 XD

And it beating Mufasa into the ground is absolutely hilarious to me XD

Now that I've seen it I'm listening to podcasts covering it and the fact that Sonic 3 is showing in fewer theaters and making double the money HA!

And disney trying to lie and getting completely trolled by the fans

Three d's or whatever the lady said that got her arrested but Sonic is handing broke disney its head and I am here for it

Spoilery stuff under the cut, if you haven't seen it yet go see it

Also fair warning this gets long

Okay let's open up by saying that whoever makes these movies are MASSIVE GameCube era fans

Because they were pulling from Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic Heroes

And Eggman's final outfit was his Sonic 06 one!

Was Gerald's Nega-Robotnik from the Rush games? IDK I only played the second one

They finally gave him his theme song as his ringtone!

I was elbowing Mom and pointing out what was from which game I did this with Sonic 2 as well

Sonic 1 when we came home from the theater I sat her down in front of the TV and booted up SA1 and SA2 and showed her the bits that the movie had pulled from

The guy in the Prison Island control room reminded me of the computer nerd from White House Down but Mom and I can't confirm yet

But he did have Omega on his computer console X'D

Shadow escaping from Prison Island

SHADOW MEETING TEAM SONIC AND BASICALLY REINACTING THE OPENING TO SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

SONIC 3 WITH A CHAO GARDEN SEGA COULD NEVER

Listen I LIVED in those gardens with SA1 and SA2 I was able to identify every single one of those Chao types XD

THEY HAVE CHEESE THE CHAO!

Me spending 90% of the movie pointing like Leo DiCaprio in that one movie like they did the thing! They said the line! and the rest just vibrating apart

I warned my uncle before going in, multiple times, that I would not be normal about this movie

I am not normal about this movie

And I keep joking with Mom that these movies were tailor-made for her XD

Reason being she liked movie 1 and ever since then they've been adding stuff she likes like Uptown Funk, Shemar Moore, Keanu Reeves, etc.

Now they added the Beach Boys X'D

Also Shadow joining Knuckles on the TV women deserve more respect couch

Seriously was that bit with Shadow and the telenovela a reference to Ghosts of the Future? Did they actually reference a fancomic???

Gerald Robotnik still being alive is interesting and framing it with him having one of Shadow's quills makes me wonder if that energy was what kept him alive

It would explain how Ivo Robotnik survived the end of Sonic 2

And with the fourth movie confirmed and Jim Carrey saying he loves the character, I'm left wondering if he's somehow going to come back again

Like realistically there should be no way but I said that about Sonic 2 as well

Also I love that he's retired but for playing Robotnik at this point X'D

That also makes me wonder if Sonic and company are rubbing off on Tom, Maddie and even Wade the same way

Like realistically Team Sonic was only gone for maybe two days? HOW did they get all that done in two days if they aren't operating at Sonic's speed honestly

Also SONIC HEROES REFERENCE

MULTIPLE Sonic Heroes references because when Tails carries the others it's how they do it in that game, Tails throws Sonic like he does in that game, Knuckles throws Tails like he does in that game, etc.

So I was wondering if they were going to bring in Silver so they could go into Sonic 06 but with introducing Metal Sonic and AMY ROSE they look like they're heading for a combo of Sonic CD and Sonic Heroes

More the latter because they've got like half the main cast of that game by now XD

Oh give me Team Chaotix

Also I'm glad they're evidently going with Amy's later characterizations of being a competent fighter instead of just running into danger because she's boy-crazy

Although when Knuckles was trying to talk Sonic down from using the Master Emerald in his enraged state (coupled with the Chaos energy Shadow could generate) I was wondering if that was leading into Chaos coming out of the Emerald and a SA1 adaptation

Also me telling Mom "he left it with Wade" for the movie to immediately hard-cut to Wade X'D

Knuckles series reference!

That show was good y'all just out here acting like it stole your firstborn you'd have never survived the 00s era

BLACK DOOM REFERENCE

I never finished Shadow the Hedgehog but him using a device that summons a black hole makes me think that was Black Doom tech

Shadow coming down in a meteor that looks like the big eye thing that follows you around if you take the evil route

And I find it interesting that they softened Maria's death from getting straight-up shot

I did not tell anyone in my family how she goes out until after the movie, btw

But arguably being that close to an explosion is worse and there's probably good reason she was in shadow in those scenes

GUN having to account for rings being able to take you anywhere you can visualize was a nice bit of worldbuilding

Didn't like the one lady tho

Don't know who the actress is but I don't think I'm fond of her either so that didn't help

I will say that I agree with Mom on the pacing of some of the jokes, I had that problem with the first two movies as well where a joke went for too long

But in listing the parts I would trim down (the two Robotniks dancing, the first telanovela scene, the bits in the gravity scene, etc.) it's all stuff that couldn't be thrown in because of all the work that had to go into it

Like Jim Carrey had to sit in a chair for hours with the Gerald makeup and then had to film it all twice

On that topic, the line with them hanging a lampshade on him playing two characters didn't need to be in there and made the scene run too long

Look, the biggest thing about comedy is that it has specific timing and if something runs too long or too short it throws the whole thing off

Although I kept expecting Stone to come up to Space Colony ARK with one of the Robotnik vehicles to save Robotnik

Eggman ends up broadcasting like he did before and it's to talk directly to Stone

And to be fair to Stone: after three movies of Robotnik saying he hates organics and only needs his machines, being upgraded to syco-friend is the best those two can do

Like dang Robotnik's out here like help me Max, I'm FEELING!

Robotnik's heart grew three sizes that day

They still managed to destroy the moon with the Eclipse Cannon XD

Shadow hurting so badly from what they did to Maria that he was willing to die firing said cannon and he was actively egging Sonic on and telling him to kill him...ouch

I do want to question them being able to have a whole chat on the moon considering there's no air and no atmosphere

Legit my first thought when they were doing that was Stitch and cousins from Lilo and Stitch: the Series because they didn't need suits either

And when I was picking it apart with Mom over breakfast this morning I eventually reasoned that the levels on Space Colony ARK towards the end of SA2 all do the same thing since if you miss a landing there you go, plummeting towards earth in a fireball

I love that of the three of them, Knuckles was the one who could handle the stress of reentry

My boi is as tough as he says

So is Tom apparently dude should not have survived that

Getting hit in the chest like that can stop your heart, as we found out with that football player a few years back--dude is very lucky his plot armor is thicker than the general's

I also like that Shadow, for all his planning to destroy the world and everything in it, looked like he felt genuinely bad for hurting Tom by mistake

And him and Sonic having that heart-to-heart

LIVE AND LEARN INTENSIFIES

Like they teased the song through the whole movie to have it BLARE OUT IN THE CLIMAX

Me trying to resist singing along in the theater X'D

Also petition to have the scene where Sonic and Shadow shake hands and clasp the others before going super be the new handshake meme

HAVING GUN ROBOTS COME OUT OF THE ARK

"Don't tell me you have your own catchphrase" X'D

Shadow with his motorcycle, casually doing a Ghost Rider straight up Tokyo Tower

Me elbowing Mom when Sonic follows: "I told you he could have run up the side of the Trans-American building in the first movie!"

Mom: "Oh yeah!"

They had the same posters in the background of the Tokyo shots as they did in the game YES

Also I noticed during one of the close-ups that Shadow's gloves have that same little smartphone-friendly patch that most modern gloves have??? In the seventies??? Dang Black Doom made sure he got the good gloves X'D

Like seriously I could pick apart this movie for YEARS it makes me so happy it was worth all the hype :D

I wasn't even expecting the first movie to be any good but three great movies and a TV show Sonic fans are eating good and apparently we're not done yet

I am SO ready \.o./

Anywho *goes back to running outside belting "Live and Learn" at the top of my lungs*

also good stuff for that one BH6 AU

[thunderxleafart]

headcanon for Douglas x Oliver. And also, Douglas is so beautiful

Ohhhh yes, Douggie and Oliver, I think I've got at least a few for them! x'D Buckle up, I'm boutta ramble LOLL ~ Headcanons for 10x11 ~ - They were pretty much smitten when they first met; Douglas thought Oliver was incredibly brave, strong and "an enterprising engine", while Oliver, ofc, was extremely grateful to Douglas for his rescue.

(Also cuz I mean look at "Escape", did you see the way they looked at each other? Instantly smitten for sure. xD) - Toad was/is the ultimate wingman (or wingvan?) for them.

-Things were a little rocky at first; Oliver was still unpacking quite a traumatic experience and dealing with a rough-ish start on Sodor. And he struggles with the nagging question of whether or not he liked Douglas because of who he was or just because he rescued him.

-Though it's a little awkward and uncertain, once they overcome the initial bumps and start talking they hit it off very well, easily becoming good friends. After that everything just sort of... falls into place.

-Literally everyone knew they liked each other (there were many a gushing rant from both of them about the other lol). - They don't really use "pet names" for each other. Though Oliver is one of only two engines on the island that's allowed to call Douglas "Douggie".

-Ironically, Oliver is way more protective of Douglas then vice versa, though Douglas does still have his moments.

-They spend whatever time they can get together just... talking. They talk endlessly about anything and everything. They love sharing in each others experiences, both past and present, and enjoy a solid sense of comradery.

-They understand each other better then almost anyone else, especially when it comes to their fears about scrap. They know they can always confide in the other about pretty much anything.

Their favourite things about each other are;

Douglas about Oliver: His determination, his unbreakable spirit, how reliable and trustworthy he is. Plus he's got such an adorable face. (and eyes that are very easy to get lost in xD)

Oliver about Douglas: His husky laugh (especially with the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles), the way he laughs at pretty much anything, how level-headed and patient he is, and especially that softer, sentimental side to him.

-Donald still teases Douglas to no end about "makin' goo-goo eyes at wee Ollie", but he's still incredibly supportive. He's mostly just happy his brother found someone who makes him so happy. uwu

-Donald has also told Oliver exactly what he'd do if he hurts his brother, but they were mostly just jokes... mostly. xD

~~~~~~~~~~~

There's probably more but it's safe to say that I think they're absolutely adorable! x'3

They can really understand each others traumas and experiences, and I 100% see them as just one of the sweetest, most affectionate, couples. (At least as far as trains can go xD)

But aw yeah, Douggie is quite a cutie, isn't he? <3

Just had to doodle him after all that LOLL

And one of these days I'll get around to drawing them together... probably. xD

Thank you for the question!! <3

[the-chessboard-is-personal]

people have hyped this up so much I'm scared (ii s2 post-s3 liveblog)

(/silly)

ahem. hi. post-watch Knight here, with a big tw: there is a suicide mention and intense death wishing at the end of this post. you can guess who it's directed towards but if you've already seen the episodes I don't think you'll get it wrong.

since there's only 3 episodes this one is going to work slightly differently, I'll have Big Text separating each of them and timestamp each different part of the liveblog. there will also be screenshots.

15:

(intro) wait Taco's trying to steal the win without even being a contestant? (4:48) "Don't Mention That Again" I've said it before it just feels like he speaks in capitalized words sometimes

(5:08) song?? THE SONG FUCKING SLAPS???

(8:02) hold on a moment I need to do someth[finds the song in isolation and adds it to the playlist Good Music]

(10:19) taco!! come on, bringing up beef at the show!

(12:48) "yes :)" oh what a bitch /affectionate

(15:49) tbh I agree with Knife here, if everyone respawns anyway, why is murder so bad? (<- building a death game in Minecraft)

(18:01) DAMNN holy shit, to think this isn't even canonically a scripted game, for Taco to say that?! aough

(19:45) HUH?? TACO CRACKED??? oh. OH she- she fucking died from stress- literally. oh shit. I- tbh I...can relate. I did that once. long story and I can't explain it here but.... holy shit.

(22:46) he's on a platform! MePad teleported him onto a platform!

(27:44) MePhone giving the "next time is the finale" speech rneanwhile there's two episode lef- oh shit

- after episode -

well that was a fucking cliffhanger. OH. MY. what!! WHAT!! COBS?? oh yeah also I don't hate Taco anymore. and the outro music slaps sdgkjhf

oh fuck I'm scared, onto the next episode!

16:

(1:00) HOKAY WELP RIGHT INTO ACTION. that was the same MePhone 3 from 4's memories wasn't it? were those other ones MePhone 2s??

(1:39) hough the parallels, I love this episode so far

(2:38) [his literal worst enemy is repeatedly trying to contact him directly] MePhone 4: [treats it like a minor annoyance]

oh also YIPPEE YINYANG IS THERE!!

(4:17) "are you offering?" lmao I wouldn't have even asked-

uhh

..? why is s3 so bad for Suitcase to hear about..?

(5:30) WHy is he HERE??

(7:28) what HEY IS PICKLE GONE FROM THE INTRO

(15:22) OH IT'S THE GUY. OH IT'S THE GUY o h OJ!! oagh but like. imagine that with humans. your friend starts panicking at something you can't hear or see, screams and then sUDDENLY THEIR FUCKING FACE IS GONE. that would be a neat analog horror actually

(18:32) he's just like me. he's just like me for real,, (<- also has trigger words)

(21:30) OH FUCK HE GOT NICKEL TOO

(23:42) wait- first Pickle then OJ, Nickel- no but OJ never got eliminated in s1. hm.

(25:30) wait- doesn't quite know what a frown looks like? d- does that rnean- wait wait nonono that was Cherry that yeeted Marshmallow-

(27:17) wait WAIT THIS HAPPENED WITH CABBY TOO DO NONE OF THEM HAVE PARENTS?? 27:27 no. nonon NO DON'T SAY IT DON'T YOU DARE DON';T YOU FCUKING DARE TELL ME [unpauses] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAKDSGJFK AGDFJKHAT'S WHY FAN GHLITCHEDD ADJKGF JAHLOUIAHF OSJHLKF HLA

- after episode -

OH MY HOUSEMATE WAS RIGH T I'M GONNA BR EA K OHH WHAT THE HELLfuck

hokay. okay. okayokayokaoyuayojoaykokoykaoykaokaoauuauhghhh

I am sane. I am normal. that's how he knows things. I need a break- okay so after like an hour, onto the next ep! wait is this the finale-

17:

(1:39) WHA- oh I misheard Knife as Knight.

(2:10) NO NOT TEST TUBE! (3:50) oh they're all going to-

(5:14) NO DON'T YOU DARE

,..,,.,why them,.., b.. but,theyre my favorites,,.

(11:34) wait they need to get that wire out of MePhone. that would stop MePhone X, right? but he doesn't know that..shit

(13:08) yeaAHHWHAT- oh. oh what

(15:14) let me guess Paintbrush got X'd while Fan was rambling. oh nvm. OH THE OTHER EGG IS PART OF MEPHONE 4?? oh that almost made me cry too- welp there goes lightbulb

(17:47) HUH??????????????? TOILET?????? wh a t .the fuck

(21:17) "cause that was pretty reductive!" oh they addressed it!

(22:48) o h. wh- what the HELL IS COBS'S PROBLEM?? LIKE WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM DOES HE NOT THINK MEPHONE4 IS ACTUALLY SENTIENT OR SOMETHING? DOES HE LIKE TORTURING HIM? EVERYONE'S FUCKING DEAD

(25:40) ohh no.. Bow probably can't be X'd anyway, does she really have to do. that. to someone .....sighhh. if Apple's okay with that happening (somehow) I guess it's not as scary. I won't understand the opinion but I don't really need to tbh.

(sorry no more timestamps I watched the whole rest of it speechless)

- after episode -

I- wh-

h-

but- he-

h-

h-

he- but he just- there was no- winner- Cobs- what about MePhone 3GS?? what abou-

h. hold on

hold on I need to. make an editr ealquick. just

relworld cursor editor almost crashed trying to save this

[s0ckh3adstudios]

so like there's gotta be something going on with Kinger right

sorry y'all after watching the pilot for The Amazing Digital Circus i'm gonna be insane for a bit. i have thoughts

(SPOILERS under the read more!!!!)

I was so so so excited to see more of Kinger because for some reason, just seeing him, I had a feeling he was going to be my favorite character. And, next to Caine, YEAH THAT HAPPENED I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

BUT ALSO??? I FEEL LIKE THERE IS MORE TO HIM???

As soon as I heard he's been in the circus the longest, I was like. hello.

but then. more interesting things about him kept showing up???

LIKE FIRST OF ALL. HEY DOES KINGER HAVE A WIFE?

or uh. had. i guess DID he use to have a wife. Based on a lot of the X'd out characters in the hallway, these are all characters who ended up getting abstracted. As soon as I saw a female queen counterpart for Kinger, I KNEW there HAD to be something more with that. like there has got to be a story behind this and it makes me SAD LIKE WERE THEY FRIENDS?? WERE THEY IN LOVE AS KING AND QUEEN???? KINGER'S ALREADY THE LOOPY ONE AROUND HERE DID LOSING HER JUST MAKE THAT WORSE????

Another interesting thing, at least to me, is how he refers to himself as royalty. Like, YES, clearly that's what his character is. He's the king chess piece, he has a royal little. cape thing. but i'm wondering whether or not that's just him feeding more into the character he's supposed to be or if that means something.

because him being the character who's been here the longest, and also supposedly being "royalty" is an interesting combination. but not ONLY that but i noticed this on my SECOND watch-through, but there's this one little conversation at the end that sort of starts to fade out

Where Kinger just starts explaining how no, nobody is really hungry, it's a digital world where they don't need to eat and only gives "the virtual sensation of eating". Jax then responds "lay off it. Since when are you an expert on the digital world?" where Kinger then gets a bit weird again and is like lmao what's a digital world

but THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO ME. AND YES IT SORT OF PLAYS OFF AS A JOKE AND JUST LEADS BACK TO KINGER BEING THE KINDA MENTALLY UNSTABLE ONE, HE... DID HAVE AN INTELLIGENT RESPONSE LIKE THAT.

So considering Kinger has been here the longest, is representing royalty, and seems knowledgeable on the digital world (though what he's saying could be obvious), I'm really wondering if there's something more going on. He could just know these things because he's been here the longest

but uhh crack theory time Kinger was the creator of the digital circus who got trapped in it and went insane /SILLY /JOKING

ok but it would be interesting if he did have something to do with it. i mean he HAS been here the LONGEST.

i dunno. i've got my eyes on Kinger (in a positive way i love him very much and i'm curious)

[anythingforstories]

Okay, so I liveblogged my reactions to reading LOTR; now I'm watching the movies and figured I'd share my reactions.

(I had planned to wait a bit before watching the movies, but I keep seeing screenshots that make me think different elements are pulled out and emphasized, and I'm fascinated to see how they take the same base story and present it in this different medium. So here I am. XD)

...

The Fellowship of the Ring

Ooh, I like the narrator lady's voice.

Is that an orc? They're terrifying!

Also, Sauron looks less terrifying than my mental image while reading the books showed.

I fear I might get jumpscared by Gollum. The way he flicked his head around? And they got the glow of his eyes so well!

(Also, it's so fitting that LOTR starts with several minutes of backstory infodumping. I think Tolkien would've been disappointed by anything less. XD)

Ahhhhhhh the hobbits seem extra charming!

"If you're referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved." OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH THAT'S A LOTR QUOTE!!

Ahhhhhh the Nazgûl are so creepy! I mean, I knew they were creepy in the books too, but they feel extra creepy now that I see them on screen.

Ahh! Got jumpscared by Gandalf. (I'm easily startled.)

Oooh! I was hoping they'd do this—mix in the scenes with Gandalf's meeting with Saruman instead of him just recapping it much later. I felt as I read the books that it would have been better pacing (or at least, I should say, better pacing to my modern sensibilities as a reader—I shouldn't assume that the original audience back then consumed media exactly the same way as people do now).

I need to rewatch part of this scene again because all I can do is chuckle at Merry-Go-Gandalf.

Annnnnnd just got startled by Merry and Pippin. X'D

My goodness they got to Bree quickly! *flashes back to weeks of reading* I feel that a lot of characterization got skipped over, but also, the movies may find other ways to thread that in—plus it may take a slightly different spin on the characters.

(Am slightly disappointed that Merry and Pippin did not get nearly eaten by a tree. Pity, that.)

But also, that lower, hobbit-sized window in the door? PRECIOUS!

SECOND BREAKFAST SCENE YESSSSSSSS

Hmm. The orcs are smaller than I'd imagined. (Still quite scary tho) Though I guess to a hobbit they would seem quite a bit larger.

I had wondered if Aragorn was going to look too kingly to pull of the Strider side of him, but he does it quite well!

The working conditions in Isengard are not OSHA compliant.

Oh, that's a— that's a big scary orc!

Arwen! I was not expecting that. Like, at all. (Movie Arwen is so epic. I love her.)

Ahhhhh! One does not simply walk into Mordor!

The Council of Elrond is much more chaotic than in the books. XD

AHHHH Bilbo gave me a half jumpscare there.

Their journey seems so much less cold and miserable in the movies compared to the books. XD

OSHA violations. OSHA violations everywhere. (I know they don't have OSHA there but I'd like to think they had a Middle Earth equivalent with the exact same requirements anyway because it adds a significant layer of mirth to the situation, so we are moving forward under the assumption that they do.) Look at this. Look at it.

I know Saruman is tall, but that guardrail can't be the required 42 inches. And I highly doubt that he filed the necessary paperwork for an exemption.

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH How did I miss the significance of the password being "Friend" in Elvish? Because it's a dwarven mine but the elves were friends—the way the movie hovered on Gimli for a second there made it hit me like a ton of bricks because I started wondering, "I wonder what this means for him?" I love how different storytelling forms can draw things out!

(Adding in a parenthetical while circling back after the first movie ended—I do wish they'd put a little more focus on Legolas and Gimli's relationship changing. But even so.)

CAVE TROLL JUMPSCARE! (Yes, yes, I know, I totally expected that... but it scared me nonetheless. I fear I would not do well watching a horror movie.)

The dwarves also have no regard for Middle Earth OSHA. No handrail at all on that bridge??

Also, THIS was much closer to my mental picture of the scene (prior to reading LOTR) than the book had. Perhaps I've seen enough screenshots over the years that it worked its way in. XD

I wasn't sure at first what I thought of Aragorn knowing that Frodo was going off alone and sending him off. But after thinking it over, I think that him letting the great source of power go away fits within the thematic context of the movie very well. That, and the fact that the movie has fewer layers of complexity surrounding their route make it just make sense that they handled it this way.

And also, it's twice now that I've cried during the death of Boromir.

I really like the way The Fellowship of the Ring ended here—I mean, yes, it's the same as the book. But the pacing and cinematography was great!

Also, beautiful credits music.

Overall, I really enjoyed this adaptation. It does remove some complexity, but it also adds some other details and complexities that the books just gloss over entirely. If I were looking for a 1:1 copy, I would probably find myself disappointed by the movies. But as it is, I'm happy as long as a movie holds true to the spirit of the source material. I think that the movies nicely take and build upon the themes of the books in a way that makes sense for the storytelling medium. And that's a good adaptation.

(Watched some scenes from the extended edition the next day. The extra scenes definitely hit on some of the character moments more! I like the tiny bits it shows between Legolas and Gimli.)

The Two Towers

Gandalf: A sword won't help you now Also Gandalf: *dramatically grabs sword while falling and proceeds to repeatedly whack the Balrog*

How deep did those dwarves dig??

Awww, poor Gimli, trying to keep up on his little legs

AHA! "They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!"

See this Saruman?

See the very nice guardrail system in Mordor? When MORDOR has better workplace safety standards than you, that means you're doing something wrong.

Ewwwww Grima is so creepy! (Excellently done.)

"We ain't had nothing by maggoty bread for three stinkin' days!" OOOOHHHH it's like the Sporks in VeggieTales Lord of the Beans (which, until I read the book mere weeks ago, was the most exposure I had to the entirety of the LOTR plot XD)

Can we talk about the environmental irresponsibility of leaving a bunch of still-burning orcs in the middle of the grasslands? Like, are they TRYING to start a wildfire??

(I think that watching it already knowing what happens next is making it much less scary and suspenseful. XD)

OH NO I DIDN'T EXPECT THEM TO GET CHASED BY ANOTHER ORC!!

SARUMAN!! Whaaaaaaaaa?

Oh, apparently not. Scratch that.

SHADOWFAX!! ❤️❤️❤️

The best anti-aging regimen is the Saruman cleanse

Now, see this? Complete lack of adequate fall arrest systems (as evidenced by the blurry man mid-fall).

With the elephant being just a little bit agitated, people are falling left and right, even without being shot first. Simply poor form in terms of personnel management—believe it or not, if your people are dying without the enemy even needing to be involved, it reduces your numbers. *mind blown*

I know some people dislike any deviation from the books, but I'm quite intrigued by Aragorn going cliff jumping. I honestly don't have any guesses about how or when he'll return, but I'm riveted.

One thing this is doing really well is showing the ugliness of war—especially as children are being outfitted with armor.

Was not expecting elves, not gonna lie.

Also, this lack of a handrail?

Middle Earth OSHA Inspector: *lets out deep sigh and rubs forehead*

(To be fair, they might actually have a pass as it's clearly meant for military use, and the military does not answer to OSHA. Saruman and the Dwarves, however, do not have a pass. Isengard might have raised up an army, but it was not a legal military entity.)

I'm not sure I like movie Faramir. His whole thing was not wanting the ring, y'know?

Oh, okay, good, he passed the test, all is good, he's a solid dude after all. Still prefer book Faramir.

WHAT, NO SPIDER LADY?? I MUST WAIT FOR SPIDER LADY?

(After watching the extended scenes, I like movie Faramir a touch more. But book Faramir is a paragon of virtue.)

The Return of the King

(I'm watching the extended edition right off for this one. Four hours, twenty-three minutes, five seconds, let's GOOOOOOOO!)

Worm. (Dat's me when I see a cool worm.)

The speed of how fast Smeagol was corrupted really puts into perspective how long Frodo and even Boromir held out.

(Also they way I felt during that whole bit of his backstory is proof that I REALLY wouldn't do well in horror movies X'D)

Oh good. I would've been disappointed if they'd cut out the scene with Merry and Pippin greeting them.

"I feel something. A slight tingle in my fingers! I think it's affecting me." "He can't hold his liqueur." *clunk* X'D

Sam is the MVP for sure. (Well, either Sam or Gollum's well-placed, ever-present loincloth. It has served us well.)

I can really feel for Elrond here. He wants nothing more than to protect Arwen, but she will never be happy if she lives an eternity of regret. </3 But she's his child.

"In fact, it's better if you don't speak at all." XD

Hmm, wonder what Pippin's up to.

If I was trying to do a sneak attack, I would simply not have torches lit. They don't even need that many torches. It's just for the vibe. (No trust me I'm on the edge of my seat here; just had to get that thought out.)

Oooooh, that's what Pippin's up to!

Poor Faramir :( Denethor's hateable side is really coming out here. Even the cinematography zooming in on the nice meal he's having in the safety of his castle while sending his son to likely death. Excellently done.

Oof, I would simply Not Sleep There. I mean, I sleep on a top bunk without a rail every night, but the stakes are much lower.

Gollum driving Frodo and Sam apart really adds to the tension (and hurts my heart!)

"War is the province of men, Éowyn." Mmmm, I love a good conversation where the people are talking about one thing but really talking about another.

Slightly disappointed that Merry isn't going to spend the two-day ride thinking Éowyn is some bloke named Dernhelm. But the smile of realization and the "My lady" made up for it.

*aggressively blows ghosts away*

You know, until I finished reading the books last month, I had NO IDEA that ghosts played such a pivotal role in LOTR. Or any role, actually. It just never made it into the spoilers.

Almost-buried-in-skulls is another LOTR thing I never knew about.

I actually didn't expect them to do the heads catapult thing in the movies. Another case of showing the horrors of war well!

Go Gandalf! (Seeing someone beat up Denethor is quite satisfying.)

See, an orc just fell off the side of that siege tower without even encountering battle. Why? No handrail. (Again, Middle Earth OSHA doesn't have jurisdiction here since it's an army, but even so, this is why there ought to be better safety systems all around.) AND THEN some soldiers of Gondor fell too! Handrails, people, HANDRAILS!

SPIDER LADY COMING SOON!! :D

SPIDERRRRRRR LADDDDYYYYYY!!!!

"It will soon be over." The depth of the portrayal of those lines </3

THE RETURN OF THE SPIDER LADY!!

YESSSSSSS I was worried for a few minutes there that the movie would gloss over Sam's moment of glory. I worried in vain!

(Watched through the entire rest of the battle with no recorded reactions because I was too busy being riveted and sometimes crying, so now I'm at the part with the orcs fighting in the tower and I SWEAR next time I watch this, I'm going to do a preventable-fall-death count.

Poor Sam. His whole role in the movie is running up stairs for Frodo.

THOSE ARE THE TWO MOST ADORABLE ORCS I HAVE EVER SEEN!

(Coming back later to add in: The FOR FRODO charge. The hope against all odds. The stubborn refusal to give up courage. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.)

I'll excuse the lack of fall prevention system inside Mt. Doom because it's ancient and Middle Earth OSHA didn't exist yet when it was built, probably, so it's grandfathered in.

Can't say much about the rest except that I cried a lot more than I thought I would. I think I'll have to make whole posts for each element instead of trying to include it here.

.

.

.

(Also despite my earlier predictions, I was not jumpscared by Gollum even one single time.)

[lilbardrhi]

Santa, Honey

Pairing: Phillip Graves x Original Character (Holly) CW: I've decided that "Graves" and "Phil" are two different personalities - not that Phillip Graves has DID, but that he has a facade for Shadow Company and it's very different compared to him back home... think of it as his version/his job field's version of a "customer service persona"; Santa found his Mrs. Claus?; suggestive content (we get a bit feral here, my b-) Author's Note: Happy holidays to my boyfriend! Graves was his special request when I told him I was doing these lol You say you're straight, bb, but the way you talk about some actors and fictional men makes me question that (affectionate). I love you and thank you for pretending to be Graves for me for a few minutes so I could get the beginning of this in my head lol <3 Also, this is apparently the debut for my new OC x'D

Today is the day! Shadow Company's mandatory participation Christmas Charity Event. Each year, Commander Graves handpicks a Santa and multiple elves to pass out gifts to the less fortunate children of San Antonio, Texas. It's always hosted at Rolling Oaks Mall, too.

"Commander Graves, sir...?" a hesitant voice calls from behind him.

"Yes?" Phil draws out the word with a charming smile. "How can I help you?" he asks as he turns.

Which Shadow is this? Toni? Tammi? Eh, oh well. She's shaking like a leaf-

"Um... Donny can't... be Santa... sir."

Oh. Oh.

Rage boils in Graves's blood and he takes a few long and deep breaths. He rolls his shoulders and runs his hand down his face.

"I'm going to do something. No one, not a single Shadow, will speak about this. Ever. If I catch even a whisper of it, I'll do you all worse than I did Vasqueros."

The Shadow nods quickly, clearly terrified.

"Now, quietly, go get me the Santa suit," Graves instructs.

Without another word, the Shadow is darting off to retrieve the Santa suit. Once they're out of sight and Graves is alone again, a smirk grows on his face.

"About time I got to wear the suit," he chuckles quietly.

Besides Donny being so hungover he can't open his eyes without rushing to the nearest toilet or garbage can, the charity event is going well! Lots of presents "delivered" to children and-

"Santa, baby, slip a sable under the tree... for me."

Phil immediately whips around to look for the source of that gorgeous voice. It doesn't take him long to find her. He knew there would be people performing on the small stage nearby all day. What he didn't expect was to hear and see the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

Her voice is smooth and a bit sultry, eyes a clear blue like ice, hair down and the deepest true-black Phil has ever seen as a hair color. Don't even get him started on her dress, my God-

She must have felt his eyes on her because suddenly, as she sang the line about "all the fellas she hasn't kissed", her eyes were locked on his. He's more than willing to check off her Christmas list. He would most difinitely trim her Christmas tree, too, just-

"Santa?" on of the Shadows elves whispers to him. "Santa, there's more kids waiting."

Phil clears his throat and turns back to the children with a Santa laugh.

"Well, I'm sorry, kiddos! Santa got a bit distracted," he says in his Santa voice.

"Is the Christmas Angel actually Mrs. Claus?" one of the younger children demands.

"Santa, baby, forgot to mention one little thing - a ring," the Christmas Angel - genuinely, according to the banners around her - continues singing.

Hell, she just may be Phil's new Mrs. Claus. And Phil gets what Phil wants.

"Can you keep a secret, kiddo?" Phil asks as he leans down to the child. The child, of course, nods enthusiastically. "She's the furture Mrs. Claus," he explains to the child.

The child beams up at Phil, excited to be in on the secret, before rushing off to their parents.

Not long after, Phil takes a break from being Santa. What's the first thing he does? Darts off to the nearest jewelry store in the mall. He finds a bracelet with cut gems that look similar to her eye color - Aquamarine, aoccriding to the store clerk - and immediately pays for it. He'll worry about the price much later. After the bracelet is gift-wrapped, he makes his way back towards the stage. There's only instrumental music playing over the speakers now so she must be on a break.

Perfect timing.

She's perched on the edge of the stage, legs crossed and hanging over the ledge, with her back to him as he approaches. Her head tips back as she sips from a bottle of water. Phil rounds the stage quickly and steps up next to her.

"Merry Christmas, Christmas Angel," he says to her with a smirk under the beard and gently hands her the wrapped jewelry box.

Her eyes land on the box then flash to his eyes. She looks ready to tell him off so he removes the beard - it's a downtime in the mall so there's no children running around that he'll ruin the magic for.

"Well, Kris Kringle," she smirks at him, "to what do I owe the honor of a hand-delivered gift?" Her hand delicately reaches out so her fingers slide over the box. She doesn't bother to make sure her fingers don't touch his.

"I've just come to ask Mrs. Claus why she's not at the North Pole." Phil's eyes rake over her dress, and he doesn't bother hiding that he is.

"Last I checked, Kringle," she counters with a seductive look in her eyes, "I'm your wife, not your property."

Fuuuuucking hell- think of something, Phil, or you're gonna to makes things awkward. Donny. That dumbass nearly fucked up the entire charity event and-

Had he been here, Phil wouldn't have met his new, future wife. Had Donny been in Phil's place...

Well, now he's just irritated.

"True," he chuckles. "But we could head back to the North Pole together pretty soon."

She scans his face for a moment then hums.

"Hand me your phone, Santa," she almost purrs.

He does as she asks, though, handing over his phone. As if at the speed of light, she enters her information into the phone and saves it under "Holly, the Christmas Angel". Then she hands his phone back.

"Merry Christmas, Santa," Holly winks at him then slides back so she can stand back up on the stage. Phil is left with a wink and a smirk before they're both pulled back to their stations.

A very merry Christmas indeed, Mrs. Claus.

CoD Christmas (Meet) Cuties Masterlist

[fizzingwizard]

I was genuinely looking forward to Lupin vs Holmes in part 6, but what a disappointment it was. Actually, disappointment is too weak a word. In my opinion, it was pretty much a disaster.

There were so many reasons to be hyped for that crossover. You've got Holmes, the greatest detective of his time, and Lupin, the greatest thief of his. They're both canny, eccentric, and always a step ahead of everyone else. They're also both independent and live by their own set of morals. Holmes picks which cases he'll take without concern for money, and lets people go even if they're guilty if his own convictions say they don't deserve punishment. Lupin always does what he wants, doesn't let himself get pushed around, and enjoys wreaking havoc among inhumane criminals just as much as he enjoys flouting the law.

They're even perfectly matched in the ways they're different. I was open to them either liking or disliking each other (though I feel convinced they'd definitely have respect for each other), because I can see either take making sense. Holmes is calculations with a pinch of chaos, Lupin is chaos with a measured dash of calculation. Holmes eschews relationships aside from a very few - Lupin enjoys social interaction (but prioritizes just a few). Holmes is functionally asexual. Lupin is never not horny.

Even the supporting cast was so promising! To tell the truth, from watching previous seasons I didn't really think the rest of the Lupin gang or Watson would have much to do. But I hoped they would because there was so much potential.

I mean Jigen and Watson are both war veterans in their own way. It's not the best comparison (Watson was a doctor, and got shot almost immediately... but he is also a "man of action" and does have a lot of fight and pluck, even if he's not going to be a match for Jigen in terms of marksmanship). And they're the right hand men of two pretty difficult geniuses... couldn't they spend a moment commiserating lmao.

It could have been awesome to see Fujiko interact with Holmes because her usual tricks wouldn't work on him. I admit it isn't unlikely the show would have been like "Ahh, but this time they do work on him, just like Irene Adler!" and totally ignored that book!Irene impressed Holmes with her wiliness and not her sexiness... But I'm talking about my fantasy here. And in my fantasy, Holmes would have had a similar reaction to Fujiko's manipulation and acting skills similar to how he did with Irene. It would have been pretty cool to see Fujiko interact with a man who was NOT into her, but was just as smart and brave and perhaps wiser than Lupin.

Even Goemon would have had something to do. He could have had a super cool kenjutsu vs baritsu ("what even is that?") battle with Holmes. Extra points if Goemon walks away saying "I respect the skill of that fellow warrior, even if he can't spell his own martial art correctly."

And of course Lestrade and Zenigata's shenanigans at Scotland Yard are a nobrainer. But serious bonus points if they both pine away with equal envy and admiration for their respective smart ass thorns in the side hahahahahahaha.

I mean. There was SO MUCH there. How, HOW do you mess that up???

(Answer: By knowing absolutely nothing about Sherlock Holmes to begin with and basing everything on your memories of inaccurate movies from fifty years ago x'D)

So instead we got: perpetually sad, somber Sherlock Holmes, who isn't working the job that he literally loves anymore in favor of looking miserable a lot and raising a child. And the child is Watson's kid, who Watson can't raise because he's fucking DEAD, and mom can't raise because SHE'S dead (just say Holmes is her mom. Come on. We're in the future. Just say it). Also Watson is dead because Lestrade killed him like WHAT. Of all the twists they could have gone one, they definitely surprised me with that one. Was it a fun surprise though? ... No, no it wasn't.

Add to that the extremely dull characterizations of everyone, the heavy reliance on the danger to a little girl who isn't even a canonical character but is very cute, and the slow, slow pace of the episodes... What a mess. It was memorable, sure, but for the wrong reasons.

Like the only thing I can think of that I didn't hate about the whole arc was Lily taking her first steps as Holmes's assistant at the very end. Fine, that's adorable, and makes me feel ever so slightly better about Watson being dead. And I'm desperate for something to like here so let's go with it.

("It's not really Sherlock Holmes anyway because of the generational difference, it's his great grandson who has his exact same name and job! Same with Watson and Lestrade and sexy Mrs Hudson and and and-" I'm gonna stop you right there we all know it's Holmes. Whatever excuses they make, no matter how they have to bend time and physics to make it happen, it is Holmes Prime in every way that matters lol.)

A melancholy sigh for the Coolest Crossover Ever That Wasn't. As a Lupin fan and a Sherlock Holmes fan, I'll regret it till the day I die.

[diminuel]

Luffy, begging his baba to give him more money. Meanwhile, Gramma Rocks, making it rain grandma style.

X'D The thing is that Crocodile is the one begging for Luffy to take the money he wants to give him but Luffy is a stubborn brat and doesn't want help from his family (not that he won't get it anyway in very dire situations.) If Luffy says "no Baba, I don't want your money!" (apart from the small allowance he gets that Crocodile and Dragon insisted on) then Crocodile will respect that but will try to sneak Luffy things anyway, little snacks, clothes that Luffy can't tell how expensive they are, things they might need.

Rocks is a pirate, he won't care, he does what he wants. Drops onto the ship, hands Luffy some gold, pinches Luffy's cheek and disappears again. Complaining to Crocodile about grandma also won't work. Nobody can do anything against Rocks.

[dracocheesecake]

What do you think Kai would do with a protective s/o? Like, does the all supreme warlord really need protection? Not really. Is she on his power level/fighting skill? Absolutely not, the thought’s nearly laughable (or at least, probably laughable to Kai anyways). But if anyone so much as poses half a threat to the bull, is she going to start going off into as much a war mode as she can muster to defend him? Yea, without a second thought.

I just think its funny, it’s like having a guard dog but you’re a navy seal and the guard dog in question is just like a very feisty chihuahua.

Oh my goodness this is a hilarious/adorable thought. Especially if we're going with Spirit Warrior Kai- an immortal- and a mortal s/o it becomes even more so. X'D Kai would definitely find it amusing andadorable, to say the least.

Now if we're going with warlord mortal Kai, then it's still an incredibly hilarious situation. Oogway cracking jokes about Kai's little "bodyguard". Kai would probably give her the title "lapdog", or "gnat". I can just imagine they're in a meeting with another general- a loose ally of sorts- and when the conversation gets more heated she starts hurling threats and insults the other general's way, while Kai's leaning back smirking the entire time. "You might want to be nicer to me. I could sic her on you."

She'll probably try to take care of whatever cuts and scrapes he accumulates, too, all while scolding him for being stupid...

No, no, hold it-drabble incoming:

"Do you think you're immortal?" She snapped, cleaning what many would have thought a small scratch on the bull's hide (especially the bull himself), but to her was a wound as severe as anything. Kai's ear twitched in her direction, and then he looked over his shoulder at her.

"What answer would make you more angry?" He asked, smirking.

She slapped his back, and he chuffed in amusement.

"Stop being stupid! What if you're wounded even worse next time?"

Kai shrugged, undoing some of her work- she was no healer, and the peeling bandages showed her painful efforts- vain in attempt, but not sentiment.

"No one has managed it so far."

She snorted in disgust, and the noise buried the worried sob that had actually been building; his arrogance was a danger, not only to his soldiers but his physical being. He really did think he was immortal. Still, for his sake she held herself together, focusing on her work.

She patched up the rest of the cuts and patted his back again. "Now go get some rest. You'll need it if you're going to lead the march tomorrow. We'll be crossing enemy lines, soon."

Kai rolled his eyes. "As if I need a wetnurse," he grumbled. There were notes of affection in his tone, though, poking through the exasperation, and despite his objections he obeyed.

She waited for his breath to even out, and then she reached forward and brushed her fingertips against one of the scars tracing across his ribs. Then another one, on his chest- and there!- A nick on his throat she had missed.

Kai was an excellent fighter, he was right, he didn't need her protection- but she thought about all the ways he could be hurt, about how his own carelessness could kill him, and tears welled in her eyes, knowing she could only do so little to protect him. One of Kai's hands reached up, clasping around her wrist, and she quickly blinked her tears away. She perked up as his eyes opened and steeled her voice.

"Sorry," she said, "I was just checking these scratches. I didn't mean to wake you."

Kai watched her for a moment, his eyes searching hers. Then his grip and gaze softened.

"...Does it bother you that much?" He asked.

She couldn't contain herself anymore. That spark-bright rage that had been known to jump to General Kai's defense the moment anyone even thought to cast him a ill glance now turned against him. Hot tears, now flooding over the dam of her restraint, poured down her cheeks.

"Of course!" She cried, "Do you know how hard it is, watching you march out to battle every day, you being as stupid and arrogant as you are, when I can't do anything to protect you? Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to be so weak?"

She may have barked much more such things at him, half unintelligible through her rageful sobs; she couldn't remember. She couldn't even remember exactly when he had taken her in his arms, or when she had finally lost her breath. All she knew was that she was now sobbing straight into his chest.

Kai just held her for a long while, and then he sighed, shrugging. "I told you that it's hard to care for me. Just ask Oogway."

That only made her more angry, and she sobbed even more. Kai must have realized his mistake, because he then continued, his tone turning slightly more apologetic, urgently so:

"-Not that I don't care! I'm not that stupid, or ungrateful...It's just...It's- you're only-"

She glared up at him, and Kai groaned, cursing, probably loud enough for the occupants of the nearest circle of tents to have heard it and woken from their sleep.

"I'm not trying to- I mean, I just- I don't...Dammit."

Kai held her closer, so much closer that it almost squeezed the breath from her, but then his grip relaxed. He snorted and then released her- but only to cup her face in his hands. His shoulders hunched somewhat, his attempt to make eye-contact on her level.

"I get it, you care about me, for some reason-stupid choice, really- and trying to look after me makes you feel better...but you're only a gnat."

He sighed and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Even so...thank you. For everything...And I will try to be more careful, if it means you won't go into hysterics and scare away all of me and Oogway's allies, or yell at me after every battle."

And then that smirk returned, though a little less mean-spirited than before; but she understood his meaning. Her tears dried, and she smiled a little. Then she reached forward and nipped at him, making him grin and lean away.

"You better!" She snapped, "Or else I'll do more than yell at you!- And you know General Hayou had it coming!"

Kai raised his brows. "He just sneezed in my direction."

"He could have made you sick! He deserved to get chewed out."

Kai snorted in amusement and leaned back onto his cot, pillowing his head on his hands. "I don't get sick. Besides, if it ever came to an actual fight, I think I can handle him."

"He's a crocodile almost twice your size, you arrogant cow!- See, this is why you need me!"

"What? To nibble the ankles of all my enemies?"

"Shut up and get some sleep!"

"You know- maybe we should put you on the front lines tomorrow, instead- you could glare at Fenhua's army, and they'll probably take off running. Would save us a lot of trouble."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "If they know what's good for them, they'll take one look at you and take off running- knowing that I'm right behind you, and knowing what I'll do if they even touch a single strand of your fur."

"What? Nibble their ankles? So scary!"

"And worse."

Kai laughed, finally settling himself down and closing his eyes. "I don't doubt it."