#2nd time we've gotten this thing!

[hellsitegenetics]

i'm only 14, however i didn't understand this gimmick blog last year, since i hadn't learned about it in school.

i bring great news, i have been enlightened bro

i can now enjoy this blog to the fullest extent.

i feel like a fish who had been trapped in a bowl introduced to the splendor that is his home, the ocean

thank you

String identified: ' , 't ta t gc g at a, c a't a at t c. g gat , a gt ca t g t t t tt. a a ta a tc t t tat , t ca ta

Closest match: Hermodice carunculata genome assembly, chromosome: 10 Common name: Bearded Fireworm

(image source)

[kakujis]

happy birthday, keisuke!

synopsis: you celebrate keisuke's day with toman.

warnings: gn!reader, swearing, this is fluffy and gross, yn can't bake for shit (me), not proofread, and that should be it!

ft: baji keisuke x reader, 1.2k

network: @enchantedforest-network

a/n: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LOML!!!!!!! i set aside my hw and all to get this finished hehe. it's still the 2nd in my area, but ik it's the 3rd elsewhere! i tried to keep it short and simple this time!! i won't get sappy or anything but i truly love baji so much!! happy birthday, kei, hope its a good one. ♡

with the amount of staring you’ve been doing, you must as well be losing your vision, the words on the screen blurred and hazy. you’ve scrolled through the ingredient and instruction list an obscene amount of times, and yet… things seem to always turn out like this. 

“i’ve got no fucking clue what i’m doing!” you huff, but the silver haired man besides you simply laughs in reply. “mitsuya, why does my cake look like one of y’all rolled it over with your motorbikes?” 

“to be honest,” he starts, snickering as he inspects it, “i have no idea. i mean, you followed the recipe and all didn’t you?” 

you nod, sadly staring at another failed attempt. he decides to take a piece and taste it, throwing it into his mouth, chewing with an unreadable expression.

“it’s not like it’s inedible, it’s miles better than your first attempt. it’s just a little dry and crumbly…” mitsuya says, brow furrowing, “alright, honestly, it’s pretty bad.” 

you sigh loudly, picking it up and throwing it into the trash, “i told you we should’ve gotten him a cake from the store!” all your attempts have been moot. instead of a fluffy and moist cake, it’s always flat and dry even with mitsuya’s help. 

kazutora pops his head into the kitchen at that moment, “i can run really fast if you want me to.” 

you shake your head, “...no. don’t… do that.” you point to your forehead, signaling him of the decorations stuck on his. 

he shrugs, pulling off a stray streamer, and walking in before he’s jumping up to sit on the counter.“how are we gonna have a birthday party with no cake?” 

you frown, whining, “man, i don’t know. mitsuya, what do we do?” 

he glances over at the clock, mouth pressed in a line, before he answers. “you could always stick a candle into his soba noodles, we've got tons of those.” 

“we are doomed.” you state, sighing as you slump against the counter. “sorry kei…” 

even though you know, deep down, that keisuke baji could give less than two shits about a cake, you really wanted to surprise him. you did the same for him on white day, all those years back in highschool when you finally confessed. he accepted it, shitty chocolate and all, as you hid your burnt bandaged fingers behind your back. he never mentioned it, but you assume he knew, when instead of kissing your lips, he dragged your hands out from behind you and kissed your them while your heart almost sprang out of your chest. 

“who’s doomed?” you hear a loud yet comforting voice coming from the hallway. you look up to see draken, smiling ear to ear as he holds a cake box. 

“draken!” the three of you giddily call in unison and he smiles wider. 

mikey isn’t far behind him, peeking out to say, “there’s no way you guys thought we were gonna eat a cake they made right? it’s literally y/n, we would’ve died. i think baji almost did when he ate your confession chocolate.” 

“i’m going to ignore that for now.♡︎” you chime, keeping the strained smile on your face. 

“you guys are so mean to my protégé.” mitsuya chides, giving you a pat on the back. “anyway, we’re running out of time before he gets home, let’s finish this up.” 

you all nod and run off to your places, with you cleaning up the kitchen, and yourself, as best you can before you head out to the living room. the decorations are strung up nicely, courtesy of emma and hina, although takemichi, chifuyu, and pah definitely tried their best. you’re a little nervous, heart fluttering, as the lights dim and everyone crouches in place. 

you wait a few moments, eyes adjusting to the now darkened room as you catch a wave from chifuyu right before the front door slams open. equally as loud as the slam shut, baji talks to his mom on the phone. 

“yeah ma, i just got home. thanks for hangin’ with me today. huh? oh yeah, i’ve got plans with the guys tonight…” he mutters, phone pressed up against one shoulder as he kicks his shoes off. “unfortunately, its just the guys, said they couldn’t get off work early enough..” he trails off, a solemn expression on his face and you bite back the urge to laugh. 

“alright, love you ma, talk to you later.” he says as he hangs up, placing his book bag onto the floor. as he hits the lights, you all pop up out of place. 

“happy birthday, baji!” you cheer out in unison. it’s an explosion of streamers, confetti, and colors with some of you using party poppers and some of you using the blowers. 

he jumps while breaking out in a shit-eating grin, his pearly canine teeth in full view. his eyes scan the room til they fall onto you, the excitement sparked behind them clear as he immediately makes his way over to you. 

“no fuckin’ way,” he laughs, throwing his arms around you, before peppering kisses on your cheeks. “should’ve known you were a liar.” 

you hug him back, but pull off slightly, when you suddenly feel the heavy eyes of everyone around you. “o-okay keisuke, that’s enough.”

he presses a final kiss to your forehead before turns and glares, “huh? you guys got a problem with this?” 

mikey glares back, “yeah. i do.”

baji releases you, walking over to “square up” with mikey. the two of them bickering about the importance of everyone showing up, but also, a significant other is important too, and besides, “i was about to greet everyone, it’s not my fault you can’t find a date.”  

“here we go,” draken sighs, before sliding onto the couch. “emma, can you get me something to drink?” 

you shrug, settling in next to kazutora who’s excitedly bringing out the games for the night. the rest of the party goes well, the laughter bouncing off the walls of your shared apartment. it’s a nice little life you’ve got with baji so far. while he studies his ass off in school, your work is good enough to support the both of you. it’s cozy, it’s everything you’ve wanted. 

as the night winds down and everyone clears out, you find yourself cleaning up. you tell keisuke not to worry about it, “it’s your night, i’ll finish up here.” but he tsks you away, shoving littered plastic forks and plates into a bag anyway. he finds you in the kitchen later on, washing a few trays that were used to set the food out. 

he snakes his arms around your waist, breath tickling your ear as he asks, “so where’s my cake?” 

“huh?” you giggle, turning off the sink. “what are you talking about? we ate it all earlier?” 

“no, not that one.” he grins, his pretty hair falling over your shoulder. “the one mikey told me you made.” 

you freeze, that little shit. “uh… honestly, we threw them away. even with mitsu’s help, i couldn’t make you anythin’ good.” 

“well, that’s no good.” he hums for a bit, before spinning you around, a devious smile on his face. 

“kei?” you ask, but you’re interrupted by his lips on yours. 

“guess i gotta settle for somethin’ even sweeter.” he murmurs, before his hands are cupping your cheeks as he kisses you again and again.

“you’re so fucking cheesy.” you giggle in between kisses, hands naturally coming around his waist. “happy birthday, keisuke.♡︎” 

[buffyfan145]

Word of warning we just got a ton of possible leaks about season 2 of "Rings of Power" coming from The One Ring Net source. However, I will point out while a few of these seem possible this reminds me a lot of other "leaked" things for my other fandoms, especially DC and Marvel movies/shows, and most of those turned out to be false and fans just posting things for their own enjoyment. However, this is how it first leaked that Halbrand was Sauron before season 1 aired. Some of these do match scoops/spoilers we've gotten from Fellowship of Fans an interviews with the cast, but some of these are so out of left field. I'll post a breakdown under a cut of the major ones but you can see the post in full here. But I will point out some of these would be massive changes to the lore that even I'd be shocked if they do it, so again we'll see.

So the first thing that matches what FOF and even Charlie Vickers teased is that season 2 is going to show a lot of Sauron flashbacks and tell his side of the story and that we'll be in on his plans the whole time. But according to this post the Mairon version is a separate actor and that Gavi is actually the Annatar version but Halbrand/Charlie is still the main one going forward.

They're saying the Tolkien estate gave Amazon more access to "The Silmarillion" and we will see all the Valar, Maiar, Eru (he's just a voice though so we won't see a person), Melkor/Morgoth, Mairon (even called this name), Gandalf/Mithrander (who is Daniel's The Stranger), and even Ungoliant as we get this full backstory in the show.

Halbrand will go back to the dwarves and reveal he's Mairon to them and they truth him because of Aule.

It'll be revealed that Sauron/Mairon had a son and Adar killed him, which was why the line Adar said about "a woman or a child" was said in s1. No idea who the boy's mother is but possibly Amelia Kenworthy's character. This is a huge departure but would be interesting to have Sauron/Mairon/Halbrand actually have been a father and the 2nd Maiar besides Melian to have children.

Gandalf/Mithrander will also have flashbacks, including that he almost sided with Mairon, and even introduce Shadowfax.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry will appear, which we already saw a leak about this possibly happening last year.

Supposedly Halbrand/Sauron does keep up his infatuation with Galadriel but actually goes back to Eregion not as just Annatar but as Celeborn!!! 😮 So they don't rescue Celeborn after all but it is Sauron/Halbrand and it's making it sound like there's romantic scenes between them but again it's actually Sauron/Halbrand with Galadriel and not Celeborn. I know some of us Haladriel shippers have written this exact thing in our fics and if this really does happen that again hints that Sauron/Halbrand really could be Celebrian's biological father which I would be shocked if the show did this even though I'd also love it. LOL Then add in if they do this change where Sauron had a son that died and possibly ends up having a daughter with Galadriel. It does sound like the real Celeborn does come back too at some point so if this happens this is going to be interesting, even though I know a lot of the purists and regular LOTR fans might hate it.

The season does end with Sauron forging the One Ring, which FOF has also been speculating. The thing is if Galadriel will be with him when he does as FOF reported on her being captured by Adar during the Battle of Eregion with this also confirms happens in the last 2 episodes.

They're also saying too that the season will also end with Galadriel making a choice to save either real Celeborn and/or Sauron/Halbrand as Celeborn, which again could point to above that she gets captured and then decides to stay with him. So this is going to be very interesting if any of these turn out to be true.

[guardian-angle22]

Tag Game Tuesday: 911 Lone Star Fandom Edition

Thank you for the tags! @thisbuildinghasfeelings @rmd-writes & @goldenskykaysani

When did you first start watching Lone Star? Who or what introduced you to the show?

I first started watching LS around the 2nd or 3rd episode of season 1 after seeing some adorable gifs of Owen & TK floating around on my tumblr feed.

I wish I could find out who patient zero was that first brought them to my attention from my follow list, but I think it must've been someone from the Skam fandom? maybe?

Which season is your favorite?

Season 3, baby!! and ngl, I highly doubt anything will top it at this point just based off where the plots have gone since.

Who is your favorite character? (Bonus: If you answered TK or Carlos, who is your favorite besides them?)

I mean - y'all knew what the answer would be to this one, right? Obviously Paul is my favorite. I do also really love TK. I know I have a reputation for loving Paul because I get very animated about him LOL... but I would like to put TK in my pocket and keep him safe forever, thank you.

Top five episodes. Go!

3.13

2.09

3.08

2.08

3.04

If you could pick any character to be given a "begins" episode, who would it be and what would that episode look like?

Paul. One hundred percent, I need it from Paul. I know everyone and their brother is going to or has answered Carlos for this and that tracks for a tarlos based fandom... but my unpopular opinion is that we've gotten quite a bit of character backstory for him this past season compared to some others like Nancy, Paul, and Marj. I feel like Paul has been part of the core group since the beginning but hasn't seen the amount of meaty plots as some of the others have. He's due!

What is a scenario or storyline that you would like to see in season 5?

Okay, I have two ideas for this: - an episode in which some of the characters who rarely interact are somehow trapped together due to some kind of emergency/disaster/storm and must navigate their way out together while the rest of the team helps from the outside. There are a few groupings we could use for it, but I personally would have the potential pairings be one of the following (or all three at once??): Paul & Tommy... TK & Grace... Judd & Carlos. I feel like these 3 pairings are people we don't get to see interact one-on-one often (or at all) and it would be super fun! - a true HEAT WAVE. they very briefly had that heat thing happen in 4x01 but I want a whole episode about a temperature heat wave and how first responders have to deal with them. this is TEXAS, c'mon. Plus the theme of heat throughout the episode could pop up in various character's stories. Tarlos = sexy heat. One of the firefighters = heat in the form of pressure in their job like a promotion of some kind. etc.

What do you think is going on in this still?

I have absolutely no fucking clue 😂 So I will instead direct you to this wonderful little spec fic by @littlemissmarianna As much as I hate everything to do with the Gabriel plot and tbh am not excited to see its continuation... if they manage to pull something off like that fic, I might actually enjoy some of it!

We all know about the elusive 5x05 spicy scene that has been teased, so what is your prediction for how it could possibly top 1x02?

... soooooooo I must confess something here...

*whispers* I don't actually know all about the elusive 5.05 spicy scene. someone needs to fill me in. I have not been paying attention to spoilers & speculation as much this time around since last season's speculation went so terribly for me 🤭🤣

Where was the Tarlos honeymoon in your mind?

Something about Carlos "getting homesick after a weekend in Branson" just tickles me. and the sarcastic way TK talks about the idea of Carlos wanting to travel the world also just amuses me to no end...

so this paired with the way the wedding went down, I think TK wouldn't want to make Carlos travel very far. or leave his mother so soon. I think TK wants his husband to feel as safe and comfortable as possible and so they spend a weekend at a nice spa/resort near Austin. Some place like this: Miraval Austin and then spend the rest of their honeymoon week bundled up together at home.

Shoutout one of your favorite fan creations.

for fics, I'm gonna be a little lazy here and link some of my previous themed fic rec lists:

but truly there are some wonderful fics in those lists!!! For some fanart: - this one by @whatsintheboxmh is one of my faves. ankle grab my beloved. 🥺🥰 - this one of s5 TK by @fitzherbertssmolder is so adorable! - this one of BUTTERCUP! by @greentealycheejelly is absolutely precious. - this one of Paul & Marjan!! by @heartstringsduet is amazingggg. give me all the paul fanart - this one of Grace by @yorit1 is stunning.

I'm not sure who has already done this, but I'm gonna tag some mutuals that I don't think I've seen it from yet (no pressure though!!) @lemonlyman-dotcom @herefortarlos @tkstrandreyes @three-drink-amy @littlemissmarianna @mikibwrites @alrightbuckaroo

[luke-hughes43]

hughes little sister and went second in the 2023 draft and maybe just her brothers realizing how much their sister has grown up and it’s not the little girl who use to hide in their beds when she was scared or would cling to them when they had to leave

oh yes!

she ends up at the ducks with trev (which scares luke and quinn and excites jack) and the boys are so happy for her.

after her draft party, the 4 of them end up in the same room, all semi drunk/tipsy, and cuddling on the same bed like they did when they were kids.

they all just have one big pile of each other and just reminise on their childhood and how much fun they had together. jack says, "remember when quinn ripped off my braces and y/n, you clung to me for days and refused to talk to quinn for like a week."

"i remember. and i remember me and luke always being paired up during mini sticks so you two could beat on us. it's why i became a forward. to be better than you jacky."

"how'd that work out 2nd overall?"

"pretty damn good. we all know it won't matter until games start. as long as my rookie year goes better than yours, i'll call it a win." y/n snides back at jack jokingly.

quinn and luke laugh while jack pouts. luke pulls y/n as close to him as he can. those two were inseperable growing up, being the youngest. luke says quietly to no one in particular, "this is the last time we're gonna be in the same room until next summer."

"no it's not. we have the rest of this trip and the rest of the summer."

"y/n you have dev camp in a few weeks so you'll be gone. i'm going to see dylan and a few of the guys for a few days beofre dad starts training. jack is going to new york to see trev. and quinn is going god knows where. we all have plans for the rest of the summer. and you guys won't be in new york/new jeresy at the same time, ever."

"i guess your right luke." quinn says.

there's a silence over the room that gets broken by y/n, "i'm gonna miss you guys. i wouldn't have gotten where i am and i don't know what i'm gonna do without you guys."

"we're gonna miss you too y/n."

"at least you'll have trevor in anahiema and quinn isn't that fair away and you'll see him 4 times next season." jack says trying to look at the bright side. y/n scoffs, "because having trevor around is supposed to make me feel better? i'll end up babysitting him."

"yea she has a point jacky." quinns says. luke stays quiet not wanting to think about losing his baby sister to the nhl. jack and quinn are the first pass out but y/n and luke can tell that they are both still awake. y/n can also tell that luke is lost in his thoughts.

"penny for your thoughts lukey?"

"i'm not ready to lose you yet. not to the likes of zegras anyways."

"you're not gonna lose me. especially not to trevor. luke, i'm your little sister, i'm always gonna be the biggest thorn in your side and your best friend at the same time. besides, who else am i gonna go to when there's a big spider in my room or who's bed am i gonna hide in during thunderstorms or who's gonna be my first call after my first game? it's gonna be you moose, my big brother who basically my twin. i'm not going anywhere."

"you're going to anahiem."

"i know. but this was the dream luke. we're finally living it. this is a good thing, i know it's sad in the moment but this is a good thing. we're finally living the dream that we've talked about for i don't know how long. we're always gonna have each other and we'll never really lose each other either."

"i know. i just hard seeing you grow up."

"i know. have i told you what number i want in anahiem?"

"no." he shakes shaking his head. she responds softly, "43."

"really?"

"yea. after my big brother, twin flame, and partner in crime."

there's no words said after that. both of them letting their exhaustion consume them. later on that night/early the next morning, ellen pops her head in to check on her kids and see them all cuddling in one bed like the used to when they were little. she snaps a few pictures before leaving them be.

she shows the pictures to jim and gishes about how her babies are all grown up now. jim just says softly, "we did good honey. we did real good. the rest is up to them."

once all the kids wake up, they decide to spend that day as a family and deal with their friends and thte media later. today was about the family and they loved the idea of that.

[fiendishneko]

Over-analysing Stormcast Eternal character design

So we've gotten a good look at the new AoS starter box, right? No? Well you should, because for even those 40k die-hards among you, there's some absolute gold here.

Now this is coming from someone who's been into Stormcasts conceptually since the first edition, but seeing the "flawed forging" narrative come to fruition is SO SATISFYING!

(Very big, mostly coherent post under the break)

So first off, I'm going to show you the main character models from the 1st and 2nd edition AoS boxes: Vandus Hammerhand and the Lord Arcanum:

So I don't think it's much of a stretch to say these characters are both "Hero Coded"; gleaming gold armour, weapons held aloft and sat atop a fearsome, yet noble looking steed. Hell, paint them entirely grey and they wouldn't look far removed from actual statuary we have in our world.

At this stage in the AoS timeline, the Stormcasts are still these nigh-impervious heroes, champions of Sigmar and civilisation itself, the flaws of their construction being apparent only to their creator himself. There's an underlying tone of something uncanny though, the human looking, but eyeless helmets feel familiar, but a little off...

Ah well, nothing to worry about, here comes 3rd edition, and champion of Sigmar, Yndrasta, along with it!

So that's different. She's certainly brandishing her weapons, but her armour is dull and tarnished compared to the gold of previous editions (this is due to her being of a different stormhost, but the lack of gleaming gold IS of note here). Additionally, not only does she not have a steed, but it's her counterpart in the box set, the Orruk Kruleboss that comes saddled up, almost aping this cliche hero pose we've become used to.

Add onto this how Yndrasta is characterised, not as a proud leader or wielder of magic, but as a hunter prone losing herself in the act of slaughtering her prey and dumping their severed heads in Sigmar's throneroom. And to put a cherry on top, here's how she is depicted in art form, gorgeous, radiant and FUCKING TERRIFYING.

So that leaves us at 4th edition, the Stormcast Eternals who have been killed and reforged so many times as to be nothing but a shadow of what they used to be are being called back into service against the Skaven. And who leads them this time?

Oh.

This is the Lord Vigilant. His weapon is lowered, his armour a dull, battered silver and his steed... oh his steed...

The side by side of this guy and the Lord Arcanum is pretty shocking to me. The mount of the Lord Arcanum is a Gryph Charger, and incorporates elements of horses and birds of prey like hawks and eagles. It reads as noble.

The Lord Vigilant rides a Gryph Stalker. It doesn't rear up like a knight's heraldry come to life, it stalks, hell it looks like it's staring you down through the screen! (Good job photography team, btw!) Like, I really need you to understand when I first looked at that thing, I was drawn straight to it's eyes and I got chills.

The use of colour here also feels like a natural conclusion. The bold colours have faded and worn, the armour's gold plating has been chipped and broken away from years of war, even the Gryph Stalker looks washed out.

Anyway, that's about as much as I can write on this subject without wanting to smack myself for being a pretentious art nerd, but there is a whole (half) box set of interesting model designs I'd be down to analyse if that's what you folks are into?

[littlesolo]

Thoughts about NCIS Hawaii getting 13 eps instead of 21?

The choice to have what I think is ten episodes this season (Vanessa said they finish filming April 2nd?) was forced due to the strikes, not ratings. They just don't have the time to film the usual season length. Season four should be back to our usual twenty two episode season.

This season feels rushed to me, but that's because in a lot of ways, it was. That we're getting ten episodes is amazing when you consider not only the cast, but the behind the scenes crew, transport, stylists. Everyone is working hard and long hours to give us this season.

Has it had an effect on the show? It feels like it has to me. What made this spin off different was the Ohana aspect and aside from drinks at Jane's, that's been missing. Sam Hanna could have been an interesting addition if we had a full season, but instead, he seems to take away from what made things special. The team is suspicious about him and we're spending time on that instead of scenes with Kate and Lucy at home, Wally and Hina being around, Jesse's family, Julie. The rush has forced all of that aside.

I do love what we've gotten so far, but there does feel like things are missing. That's what fanfic is for though and I'm enjoying all the fic we're getting from that.

On a side and sort of related note: NCIS Sydney was renewed and I'm celebrating that while I wait for Monday's episode!

[zizz-asdf-re-r-o-u]

blade's teeth + rei & blade

ok extremely weird thought time. why does blade have shark teeth?

real answer: the devs thought it looked cool and it was a way to distinguish him from Dramatical Murder's Clear.

LOOOOORE answer: he was created as an assassin automaton and every part of his body was utilized as a weapon. He doesn't need to eat food anyways and shark teeth probably aren't optimized for eating most human food. So a jaw full of triangle shaped fangs was probably for killing and/or threatening. Like c'mon, if Blade wasn't so cute, that'd be a slasher smile.

Bonus thoughts:

Does Blade have a hard time eating the human stuff he eats?

He can dislocate (and remove) his limbs- can he dislocate his jaw too? (We've gotten 2 mentions of Rei moving Blade's limbs in weird ways.... we need an in depth scene with Rei & Blade one day)

Would Blade pronounce things differently due to different teeth shape? His voice actor pronounces things normally (well as "normally" as Blade would), but like yknow in universe.

---

Bonus Rei & Blade analysis.

So has anyone noticed their dynamic is kind of interesting? Blade & Rei are very in sync with each other whenever they're onscreen- they bully Dante, Rei enables Blade's chaos, Blade listens to whatever Rei says, etc. They have a comfort with each other that seems to be chaotic BFF vibes.

Canon: Rei & Blade were both in Saia at some point in year 158. Rei's an inherited/2nd gen clan member and Blade was reset after failing to kill Huey. We can assume Rei joined in with Quincy & Kuya (and maaaybe Great Serpent? if GS was still alive by the time Rei was born?) for alter regulating. But Blade seemed to be on random sidequest missions with Huey (before getting abandoned).

After Rei joined Eiden's clan, at some point he disassembled Blade, and currently he still randomly experiments on Blade. During RN, they all shared each other's backstories with Saia.

Theeeeoories???

-Did Rei & Blade encounter each other while they were in Saia? (probably not)

-If Huey told the rest of the clan members he had an assassin bot side hoe from Saia chilling in the Dead Zone, Rei must've gotten interested and sought him out for ResearchTM, esp if he found out Blade was sent to take down Huey.

-Converted Blade is much more friendly and chaotic, so he must have been refreshing compared to the stuffier Huey clan members. I would not be surprised if Rei & Blade became friends during this time and then wound up becoming the chaotic duo they are today.

-At some point Rei joined the Council, most likely was on a team that experimented on Karu/Garu, eventually sabotaging it, mostly likely escaping with them. Is it possible Blade might have been their getaway car/support? Or was he too stuck in the Dead Zone at the time. Or perhaps

(Which btw, do Kuya & Quincy know that Blade was supposed to kill Huey? And had killed several Klein sorcerers when he arrived? Granted Kuya was just as ruthless back then so he probably didn't care. But Quincy probably cared back then).

[blakbonnet]

Hello! I try to understand the whole clowning situation but I can't find things 😕

Why do we think the renewal announcement is for tomorrow? I think I saw a post saying it would be for the 1st of january but why? What is going on?

Can you please explain/recap for people like me who didn't quite follow? 🥺

Hi! God I'm so sorry this must be incredibly confusing because honestly, there is no info 🤷🏽‍♀️ we use the 🤡 emoji next to these posts so people know that this is pure speculation, and most days, speculation is a kind word.

The last renewal hiatus lasted 69 days (hehe) and 2nd Jan was when the current renewal hiatus has gotten longer than that apparently. So we've been "clowning" every day hoping/praying that things that are being posted on socials by the cast and crew (David) is where they're are trying to subliminally tell us that the renewal is close 🤡

So last night, their official twitter account suddenly started liking stuff which happened last time when they dropped new merch but mainly when the trailer madness was going on. So the new 🤡 theory is that it's dropping today!

We have a lot of fun with clowning and coming up with unhinged theories, I wouldn't take it seriously tho lmao because when it gets renewed, I guarantee it'll be trending on tumblr so you'll know :)

[hellobitchlet]

Honestly, I feel like Fontaine has been really bad. Even by Genshin's nonexistent standards.

Outside of Furina's backstory, the writing is a step down from Sumeru instead of a step up, with 90% of the first 4 acts being filler and the handling of the terrible government being even worse than previous nations (bc the horrifying justice system would look bad on Furina, Focalors, Neuvillette, Clorinde, Chevreuse, Sigewinne, and Wriothesly if we admitted that it was bad). It's so bad that it falls apart if you know anything about human rights, slavery in prisons, capitalism, police corruption, or even the basic rules of detective fiction, when it comes to the first 2 acts.

And on top of that, everything about the oceanids were completely retconned and ignored...even though some of that retconned lore was given to us an update before Fontaine was released. Instead, oceanid lore was completely changed, used to make Neuvillette look cool, and then forgotten about after the main act except for like...1 world questline. That has nothing to do with playable characters. Even though it's super important to the story. Aka the npc problem also continues.

The underwater areas are cool, but the whole nation is about as empty and boring as the desert. There are a few highlights, but that's it. And not only is it significantly smaller than Sumeru for no reason, but it was shafted just to make ANOTHER addition to Liyue's map, which is bigger than Dragonspine, Chasm's Maw, and Stormterrors Lair combined. And it also doesn't utilize most of the giant space it has. We got our first separate, underground map since Inazuma, but it's even smaller than Enkanomiya, there's nothing interesting that I've found so far, and the map is hard to look at because of the way they make maps now.

Speaking of, they seriously thought that adding mini underground maps to the normal map was enough compensation for them making hard to navigate caves to let them get away with continuing to do that?? Why not just stop making them?? Is this not one of the reasons why your normal map looks so boring??

While Cyno suddenly got a 2nd story quest (which should've been his only one with how useless the 1st one was, but whatever), for the first time since the beta(?), the archon character didn't get 2 story quests. They could've chosen to give neither Furina or Neuvi a 2nd quest, give one of then a 2nd quest, or give both of them a 2nd quest. They went with the laziest option.

Instead, our 2nd weekly boss was Arlecchino in her own quest. This was honestly the first time I felt disappointed with a weekly boss. It had nothing that special about it gameplay-wise, and Arlecchino's boss form looks weird. It's just the barebones first part and the cool boss form last part. No big, unique mechanics that change how you fight it, no in between stage, no switching back and forth between the stages. Nothing.

Just like Inazuma, Fontaine wasn't allowed it's own Traveler quest. Instead, Bedtime Story was a continuation of Caribert that could've been released during Sumeru, as well as a lore dump and empty reassurance that the next Traveler quest will finally, actually start an actual Abyss Order + Dain plot. Not right now though. And the ending is literally a MLB identity reveal fakeout episode.

To make the obvious laziness even worse, this is the first time since interludes were introduced that we haven't gotten a yearly Interlude. That's ONE single act quest! There's no reason why you couldn't have made one! Fontaine has NO other storylines for the playable characters besides the main quest, despite all the npc storylines!

Additionally, while this is the first time we've gotten 5 skins per year instead of 4, it's also the first time we've been given a skin without it being used in an event. Which is...weird. And that's without mentioning how bad Ganyu, Shenhe, and Nilou's skins are imo.

I swear, the only good thing that has happened is that Mondstadt has been further solidified as The Witch Nation. And again, the underwater stuff is cool.

[feuqueerfire]

Unknown Live Blogging

I loveeeeee a younger pursuer character, especially when they've known each other for a while and the older is just like I love you kid (platonic/familial) while the younger is losing their mind with their crush/love/lust. Also, the fact that the novel it's adapted from is literally called Da Ge 大哥 ah, I've gotten more into adoptive or step-brothers trope since I got into live-action BL but I've only just watched Addicted/Stay With Me and Kiseki: Dear to Me 2nd couple, so it's exciting to add another one to the list.

This is also a novel from China that's being adapted in Taiwan so that they don't have to censor it, right? There are several other BLs currently in the works like this.

Anyway, seems like people really like this show (not counting the sex scene in ep 11 or something because I heard so much complaining about that lol), so my hopes are high.

Ep 1 (June 13)

ahhh crazy start/glimpse into future

starts when they're young but have been living together a while already

ahhhh trying to take care of things/the family/his ge by paying the bills using his gift money + some part time job maybe. isn't quite a grownup yet but he wants to be so bad

2007 - when they first met

oh fuck the child being hit with the metal pipe was scary and unexpected

oh man, Qian getting embroiled with gangs and doing their dirty work for money

oof, gonna have to win 3 boxing matches to leave the gang

Ep 2 (June 13)

the teacher saying an older brother is like a father

not them ganging up on Xiao Bao!

dang, Qian's mother hated him because he did well, that's wild

Qian is so attractive like woah

we've reached current year - 2016

Ep 3 (June 13)

Yuan to the rescue

Bao and Yuan's dynamic is so cuteee

damn, Qian mad as hell at Xiao Bao's outfit and it has a bit of the "proprietary" thing that so many father-daughter older brother-younger sister dynamics have (in media at least) but also most importantly it reminds him of their mother who they are both very traumatized by

I'm so nervous, I hope nothing bad happens to Xiao Bao (esp because we know this world has like gangsters and stuff)

Is this guy part of the gangsters? Does he know who Xiao Bao is?

Yuan recognizes the gangster oh no

Sam Lin as doctor, though I must say I would not recognize him if I wasn't already aware of this

sharing a bed

studying abroad mentioned

I don't wanna read thoughts of r/boyslove or look for gifsets on tumblr, I just wanna get to the next episode.

It feels like since they both scold/get upset at Xiao Bao in an attempt to protect her, she's not gonna retain any of the reasons they're worried about her but rather maybe rebel and end up in troublesome situations. please no rape storyline though plsplspls

Ep 4 (June 14)

Yuan's 18th birthday? adult Yuan alright

pls Qian thinking that Xiao Bao's saying Yuan watches porn

it's romantic stuff but is it yaoi/BL? because the one Sweet Summer or whatever novel seemed to be two guys on the cover?

Qian kinda reminds me of Na Jaemin (my NCT bias when I was into them) from some angles

I will forever love helping something with feet, whether it be shoelace tying, giving a massage/a foot bath, or now taking care of an ankle/foot injury. it's not even a foot kink, it's just... idek like lowering oneself... in aid of the other... taking care of them...

Yuan definitely doesn't wanna hear about them seperating and liking other people

this kiss must be in Yuan's imagination

so I guess Qian doesn't suspect Yuan's feelings toward him at all + also doesn't return the feelings (yet + he might be unconsciously feeling something but it's not as intense as Yuan's feelings). However, I'm unclear on whether he thinks Yuan likes boys? Like he saw Yuan's romance novel with 2 boys + asking about the high school class monitor...

Ep 5 (June 14)

I knew this was a daydream because of the dreamy filter + I kinda remember some post on reddit about Yuan's daydream but if I was watching this in real time, I would've lost my shit

oh oh my god okay. "Ge, do you already know that I like guys?" extremely forward and sudden, I wasn't expecting it

ahhh, I can't watch this, it's so T.T. like ik it's very Uncle Jim to Liming, looking out for their young(er) nephew/brother because being gay openly isn't easy but like T.T still

What year is this? 2016 right? while gay marriage became legal in Taiwan in 2019

I love a "it's my business who i like, not yours" or whatever

ah, Qian's nice to Yuan again, he likes gives him a little lecture but isn't like actually homophobic

Xiao Bao turns 18 too

damn, what's up with Qian? head hurts?

pls the colleague (is that San Pang? yeah right?) running into Qian's room to see him and Yuan in bed sleeping and cuddling and being like... hm

pls Qian himself being like "it's not what it looks like" before the other guy even says what it looks like

QIAN WHY ARE YOU TELLING HIM THAT YUAN LIKES GUYS?!

omg San Pang now coming over to talk to Yuan

pls I know why he's asking but the way he's talking about where Xiao Bao sleeps and where he sleeps like hey ! stop

that's her literal brother and they have no parents, I think it's fine if Xiao Bao climbs into her Dage's bed to sleep occasionally lmfao

oh I guess he was talking about Xiao Bao sleeping in Yuan's bed. whelp he'd have a point in that case I guess becuase Yuan def can like these siblings lol he just happens to not like the sister

pls Xiao Bao wants San Pang to ask about her, so whenever he talks about Yuan and Qian the way her eyes roll so hard that her whole head rotates, so funny

not the office fujos Noticing and Observing lol

ahh, Yuan's inner turmoil seeing his "future sister-in-law"

ah, San Pang straight up asking if the one Yuan likes is Qian

I just wanna know when the confession is gonna happen, is it gonna be next ep? because Yuan also has to go abroad (though I don't think that time skip takes too much airtime from what I've read). I want some stuff to happen after confession + after getting together too.

Ep 6 (June 14)

I wonder what role San Pang will play like will he help them figure it out or hinder all the way through? they're kinda hinting him with Lili, so he can't possibly be a "bad guy." I get him dissuading them now or giving them reasons why they shouldn't but once they do, I assume he'll be okay with it at least

"Don't tell me that guy also has some?" oh Qian

Qian feeling pity for Yuan and being like why do you have to like him... oh Qian, oh Yuan

aklsdfjalksdf ahhh Yuan about to me a drunken mess at this important work function plssss I'm nervous. but also... does the confession happen when Yuan's drunk? Is it gonna happen this ep?

Feng Ning is so cool I love her. if Yuan does anything that upsets her I'll get mad at him im negl

oh omg I have an image in my mind of when Yuan confesses maybe and it was not in this outfit and they were also maybe sitting, so the i like you and attempted kiss was like oh!

It also stressed me out that they're still at work

woahhh it hurts so good the way Qian not only punched Yuan but also didn't stop to care for his wounded hand

ahhh Qian avoiding Yuan and the home entirely

studying abroad plan on

Aw, Xiao Bao who is like ? wtf is going on, why are my brothers fighting and also Yuan literally going to NY

is that Yuan sitting on the floor with his paper on his face and crying? yes, same sweater stripes

The angst is done well. The situation must happen (I was anticipating the fallout from the confession so much!), it's not overdramatized (Qian reacts badly but then just avoids Yuan for the rest and Yuan tries to apologize a bunch but doesn't force anything when Qian ignores him), the acting-writing-directing are all good. I'm also liking the consequence of him moving away to a different country (for a few years?) because he's known Qian all his life and practically only talks to Qian, Lili, and sometimes people like San Pang or a classmate but he'll broaden his horizons now and it'll be less "he loves Qian because he only knows him"

Ep 7 (June 14)

damn, Qian's apparently been so apathetic that San Pang's like maybe I shouldn't made Yuan stay so that at least you wouldn't be like this

Qian's alcohol problem + his chronic headache bruh

San Pang straight up asking if Qian has feelings for Yuan too and Qian does not deny it

also it's been 2 years right? since it's 2018 now and 2017-2018 were blank for Yuan's height

Qian is truly so attractive. his face but also his mannerisms and expressions and gestures. woah. and of course my forever weakness: nice smile and there's a dimple too

2017 - 2023?! omg 6 years? that's a lot, I was expected 2-3 fr

Qian continues reading Yuan's texts but not replying to them. then impulsively calling Yuan and immediately hanging up again

first reciprocal contact in 6 years, if I was Yuan that call would've made me lose my whole entire mind fr

Bro, it's actally Qian who's losing his mind because he's sitting on Yuan's bed in Yuan's room and texting Yuan to come home if he misses it

Xiao Bao has truly become grown up model Lili

San Pang is at the office gathering, so who did she see at the door? would Yuan already be at home lmfao

ah, indeed Yuan's here lol

Yuan and Lili antics begin again, how fun

From a few Tumblr posts, I thought Lil iand San Pang's relationship was gonna get exposed? next ep i guess.

also saw some gifs that Yuan's gonna be petty toward Qian next ep and I'm so excited, how did people wait weekly for this? I can barely wait for tomorrow.

Ep 8 (June 15)

starting this around 7:30pm because I had to watch Wandee Goodday episode today. Hope I like this episode than I liked Wandee's

ah, Yuan's so bold now "Have you seen enough?"

The fact that Yuan made eye contact with Qian before handing the drink over to Xiong-ge. Qian expectantly holding out his hand but having to retreat and check afterwards that nobody else saw lmfao

It's killing me that Yuan keeps looking at the other two ges during the conversation while Qian keeps glancing at Yuan and can't keep his eyes off of him even when he tries

Yuan even thanking San Pang for making him go to the states...

the hickeys?!

Qian's incredulous look at 8:00 is really so Na Jaemin, why does he remind me so much of him

I would say Qian's slow for not catching on that they're together somehow but ig San Pang and Lili are LDR since she doesn't even live here anymore? and so Qian's not aware of it? but it's also funny to think his brain was barely working while Yuan wasn't here but managed to deduce it by glimpsing the hickeys as soon as Yuan came and Qian's brain started working again lmao

damn, Lili's literally shaking her head no, how dare San Pang make the executive decision to confess to Qian?

NOT THE BUTCHER KNIFE LMFAO

Yuan literally sitting back and eating fruits on the couch as he observes is so funny

and his smiles lmfaooo

and only inserting himself when Xiong-ge brings up Qian dating somebody else lmfao he's a menace

Yuan calling Qian as Wei Qian instead of ge is so .

Qian's mad because the two of them are dating and there's an age difference and San Pang's known Lili since she was a child and he figured it out through hickeys and he's the last to know and all those reasons but also... he's probably also mad that why isn't he with Yuan then? If those two can do it, why not him too?

Yuan knowssssss he's getting to Qian

I've seen a glimpse of a gif of Yuan feeding Qian ahh

and now that Yuan's indeed giving him his full attention at the table, Qian can't look at him

Qian's losing his mind and I along with him

Yuan's so bold now, it makes me nervous like chilllllll, move back like the way he kept walking toward Qian and nearly kissed him alksdfjla;ksfj

Yuan is suchhh a menace, the way he starting speaking loud and clear when he heard Qian at the door

my mom dragged me away right then but I'm back

plss he's talking about how he also likes somebody and both Xiao Bao and Ge know that person. lmfao. menace.

Xiao Bao reading from a script lmfaooo

Yuan truly is such a menace, sliding the family vacation into Lili's script pls

cryingggg Xiao Bao ditched the family trip to go to Milan

Yuan kept poking until Qian finally says to not keep feelings for him anymore, only to hit him back with "what makes you think i still like you?"

Yuan saying Wei Qian really does me in. "Wei Qian, don't you like Wei Zhiyuan?" was woah

agh, A'Le and gangsters next ep. hmph

I've been curious to see which other age gap older male/younger female ships I like because they usually give me major ick but I'm such a fan of age gap ships in m/m-f/f-noona romances. I think History 3: Trapped side side ship with the sister and bulter man is the only one I can think of and they barely existed lol. So I want to like San Pang and Lili, especially when she said she's the one who pursued him (I'm into that trope a lot too; like Yuan's also the younger one pursing the older one) but I wish San Pang wasn't a hypocrite/homophobe because if he's into Lili and has no problems getting with her but so disapproved and dissuaded Yuan, like the reason is homophobia yes? I wanted him to come to The Realization that Yuan liking Qian is... fine-ish when he developed feelings for Lili, not have him separate the two situations.

Ep 9 (June 15)

so many things to do but I'm watching this instead, goddammit. but been a little while since i've been so eager to binge and watch next ep (Kiseki and Triage last month I think)

Also, I saw a post that had a clip from the trailer that hasn't happened yet or something and I didn't watch it but there was text about how Qian looks Yuan in the eye when he confesses... omg now I'm so excited to see when that happens. I hadn't been thinking about how they'd actually come together but a confession must happen and I'd be very happy if Qian's the one who does it this time, even more so if he's very tortured about it

oh, abroad was 4 years ago? not 6

I like Yuan's whole spiel about I can't stop liking you but this is enough

Yuan calling Qian out on his bullshit, he can't kick Yuan out again

Qian can tell when Yuan's lying/hiding something

hmm they're calling Qian the snitch and the cops came back then... I feel like Qian didn't do it since he himself was involved

when's that napkin with the poem from?

what is the plan exactly? Lin's telling Yuan to remember that Qian cares about him...

damn, Yuan left for a trip with very short notice?

"You're acting like a wife trying to catch her cheating husband" read the room, San Pang. you can't tell this to Qian who is trying to not be in love with his didi

Dr. Lin so funny. also did We Best Love have eating raw noodles? I feel like it did...

Wei Zhiyuan means "belongs to Wei"

no but what was Yuan plan actually because mans just went to their lair, asked for Le-ge and now is just getting beat up lmfao

scary, Le-ge's got bullets

please why are we doing Russian Roulette rn T.T

Can't have a bullet in there if he's doing it on himself, right? I didn't see how many bullets he put in there. or is he just fucked up in the head enough to do it anyway lol

Qian hugging Yuan in desperation

omg that napkin was literally what Yuan wrote as he thought they were his last words stuck on a mountain during his study abroad. and Qian was avoiding speaking to him during that time godddd, what a tragedy it would have been

and it's a good time to reveal that since they just did the russian roulette for e/o

I don't wanna read ppls thoughts or look at gifsets, I wanna just watch the next episode omg but I won't look at anything after ep 10 until I finish the whole thing since ep 11-12 spoilers will also be there, so I should look at stuff now.

Ep 10 (June 16)

Qian remembering everything Yuan's said and done

nose bleed...

parallels w the hair drying and cuddling to sleep, it'd be funny if san pang woke them up again

does Qian think he'll die

lmaoooooo San Pangcame but unfortunaly Qian was aklready downstairs

i knew bout this blood clot

not the i wish i could tie you up with a rope

Idk how Qian thinks he could possibly hide this from Yuan lol I'm surprised he hadn't just listened in or bothered Lin about the info

the three of them just exchanging eye contact and the focus from San Pang -> Qian with a zoom! sound effect was very funny

Yuan is so funny to San Pang lmfao he keeps being like San Pang ge thank you <3 to the point of uncomfortableness

welp indeed Yuan figured it out on his own

ah, Yuan's mad that Qian hid it from him and keeps saying he'll deal with it on its own

Qian made all of Yuan's favourites to try to win him over askdf but Yuan's still mad

Yuan taking a brief break from ignoring Qian's existence to take away greasy food/beer and give him and San Pang salad instead

San Pang once again telling Qian to consider Yuan and getting with him seriously

Did he not that he wants Yuan to have a future without him?

I think I got a little lost about what exactly led to Yuan storming out but ahhh that convo, fuck. Qian's turmoil and inner conflict and Yuan being like it's mind to deal with, not yours but Qian not being able to let Yuan go.

Ep 11 (June 16/17)

I wanna binge these last 3 eps but it's Eid so I'm busy and gotta watch the rest later. I'm really excited for this ep since it's gonna have the confession and also the sex scene but I know it made everybody fucking mad because of the editing (they had flashbacks to them as kids?) + position top/bottom implications/confusions lmfaoo

The first time Qian took initiative to grab Yuan omg

wait, we're already going into the house okay

I need a pillow or stuffed animal to dig my nails into rn omg i keep grabbing air

what was the more correct translation of "I've been waiting all my life. This isn't fast at all." that made me lose my mind when I saw it and I hadn't even been watching the show back then

"You don't even know what I dream about you at night" hah. hahahah. haha. ok

hello why are we having flashbacks to a conversation from 5 minutes in between the sex scene instead of just... being linear??? I didn't know this happened bc it got drowned out w the other complaints ig lmao

yeah, interspliced scenes we haven't seen before + flashbacks of scenes we've seen during a sex scene are already annoying but then WHY ARE THERE CHILDHOOD FLASHBACKS. this is not the time to have kids on my damn screen wtf

also I just kinda took top Yuan from that, is it top Qian in the novel or something because I feel like people mentioned that it seemed one way but it wasn't supposed to be that way? or is it because the scene where Yuan had his bare legs splayed that gave the illusion of bottom Yuan and people didn't like that? I'm so curious

domestic morning kissing, they've really come all the way here

Lili's home?!

a fight? girl lmao ig Lili's the normal sibling who's not guessing that her other siblings are fucking, biologically related or not

what is this Le/Lin scene lmao

fancy dinner date at the same gangster restaurant as always lol but apparently Qian's reserved the whole place and made it romantic

Enough angles for one kiss!

restaurant owner gang uncle just witnessing all this lmfao I think it'd be hilarious if he gossips with Le-ge about Qian and his brother kissing

fuck, this nerve and surgery stuff is so scary fr

Okay, finished the last 10 minutes while having lunch the next day because I had to leave yesterday. Good to see both Yuan and Lili care about Qian and want to take care of him and such. Qian took up smoking again in all this stress. I still don't fully get all the mom stuff beyond she thoroughly abused him.

The sex scene was like... what??? and I'm glad I was already aware of its issues because I would've gone beserk if I was watching this weekly for 10 weeks and got that in return wtf. The whole show relies on their emotions and inner conflicts but it felt like neither aspect was truly explored in the scene and made worsened with the horrific editing.

Also I can't fucking reblog but this is maybe the post I was talking about with the translation during the sex scene. Yuan's line implies he's masturbated thinking about Qian which is like the most unsurprising thing ever.

Ep 12 (June 17)

Final episode, hope it at least ends well

Lili figures it out. she's kinda upset that she's the last one to know about it, her lines remind me of when Qian found out about her and San Pang haha

but what does she wanna say, why am I nervous that she's pregnant

lol Qian liking that Yuan's trying to help him out at work

I'm suddenly embarrassed, I really can't do office romances

Xiong-ge showing support in his awkward ways is nice

hehhehe Yuan coming to pick Qian up from work dressed up so nice and Qian kissing him outside after checking nobody's around

I got stressed out by Yuan kissing Qian at work omg in broad daylight with people around

yeah the office fujo will certainly keep this a secret lol as if a bunch of them weren't already gossiping like 4 years ago or whatever

I can't handle office romances guys my body shrivels up and my toes and fingers curl, I'm so embarrassed. can the employees stop squealing about it in public. I'm so stressed out by office gossip even if it's like shippy/supportive. also the excited fujo character can sometimes work for me in high school/college shows because it's like young characters but this in an office is like. no. their family and friends can know but i don't need to see their coworkers finding out unless it's meant to be a point of conflict

how can you be discussing top-bottom dynamics of your boss with your colleagues!! and asking your other boss about it !!!! let's get serious I hate this, I should skip through

HOW CAN YOU ASK THIS TO YOUR FUCKING BOSS?!?!?!?!? HOW CAN THIS BE A POSSIBLE THING?!?!?! this show is generally so grounded, even in it's more out-there aspects, that this is like... what world are we in? so inappropriate and also like probably homophobic because you would not be asking this if Qian was dating a woman

are they insinuating Qian's the top/tiger? That does not go with what I want form this trope so I'm ignoring it lmfao I can do verse because I can almost always ship verse but with the younger-guy-deeply-in-love-with-and-madly-pursues-older-guy-who-is-resistant-and-conflicted trope, I like a younger top

but i think people were also annoyed about this suggestion of top Qian lmfao, I think I remember reading comments about it

ah, Lili is indeed pregnant

aw, hug before the questioning but it's like genuine, not from anger. Especially important for them because their mother was terrible and they don't want a child to go through that again obvs

pls San Pang's also here loll I think it's good the ways they were all in different rooms

the panic when Xiao Bao knelt and the 3 of them also scrambling to kneel, especially when Qian also knelt

aw, Qian really was their da-ge, father, and mother all in one

Qian's afraid Lili will follow in their mother's footsteps (pregnant then married young) and be unhappy

why is this so good T.T

I can't believe the messy sex scene from last ep and the utter bullshit that was the office scene in this ep made me forget for a bit how good this show can be

Damn, they're really saving the surgery thing for the very last few minutes. anyway ik he doesn't die because everything would've gone up in flames if that happened

omg how much timeskip, there's a whole baby now

The office discussion actually made me so uncomfortable, it was so inappropriate and unnecessary, why didn't we take that time to... just show at least a bit of the surgery and aftermath or whatever? Like that was such a huge thing in the past 2-3 eps but it just... disappears and we assume it was successful bc of the ending

Overall:

I'm so glad I got over my pseudo-incest brother-lover aversion because I can now watch this stuff in delight. Though I must say, my favourite aspect of this show is the little family trio with Qian, Yuan, and Lili, with San Pang occasionally invited as well. I loved how they cared for each other and how though Lili was left out of the romantic duo inside their trio, it didn't feel like she was forgotten or sidelined. They each had specific relationships with each of the other people, their interactions had their own flavours and it was so good.

The romance itself hm I think the development was nice, especially from Yuan's side since we saw how he thought of Qian and how he supported him and such. We also saw a bit of how Qian was so lost when Yuan was gone that even San Pang was wondering whether Qian liked Yuan and it would've been better if they hadn't sent him away. It just feels like since there was so much angst and build-up for like 10 episodes, their actual coming together should have been grander. The sex feels a bit sudden, I don't think it should've happened right after that conversation because Qian was barely ready to admit whether he saw Yuan as more romantically than just a brother, and then the editing of it all was terrible.

The surgery stuff also kinda dwindled, if they'd brought it up, I wished they would've at least shown the direct aftermath or whatever. I despised how we had the office Yuan/Qian gossip for so long in episode 12, we could've used it for better things. At least we ended with the Lili pregnancy announcement and coming together over that, which reminded me just at the end why I liked the show.

Some other things I really loved: 1) Qian's face, holy shit. Qian is so beautiful, like incredibly attractive to me, woah. Reminds me of Na Jaemin who I was also taken by when I stanned NCT; is it the lower half of their faces/their mouths? 2) The 2 scenes where Qian finds out Lili and San Pang are dating in ep 8 + finds out Lili's pregnant in ep 12 and just going to kill San Pang lol (also loved how Yuan was enjoying it in ep 8 but was helping San Pang and Lili out in ep 12 lol). 3) The episodes, especially the earlier-middle ones, were so addictive, I didn't end up reading the on-air reddit threads because I was too into watching the next ep instead of reading about it.

In the end, I don't think I'll think about it often, especially not the Yuan/Qian ship unless just to remember the brother-lover trope and even then, Kiseki's Chen Yi/Ai Di gave me more intense brainworms for a similar trope I think. I'm disappointed that I didn't love the show, its flaws are at moments that are too important. So deeply conflicted about whether to give 6 or 6.5, I'll go with 6.5 for now.

Rating: 6.5/10

[studentbyday]

src: lo-fi for bears (only) 🐻

productivity:

finished + sent biochem group asst (finally! i wish i never have to do another group project in school again but that is a wish made in vain 😅)

finished + sent biochem discussion replies (i wish they would give us feedback on the ones we've done so far... 😣😣😣)

set up bujo for next week

watched psyc and mol bio module reviews

finished mol bio notes for this week

i still have the last half of psyc notes to finish but i'll do that on monday bc it's finally reading week and i'm taking the weekend off! 😌😌😌 (i really really really really hope that the 2nd half of the semester won't be super draining 🙏🙏🙏)

self-care:

tried a lower abs workout (we might not be where we wanna be yet but we're getting stronger every day we try 💪😤)

🤔 an honest review of the week: there was a lot more i wanted to do (really just 2 things, but they're kind of big and would've been spread out over the week), so i feel kinda disappointed about that. yet i wonder, even if i had not gotten distracted, would i have gotten to them? this week's content was kind of tough and i would have liked to take more real/rejuvenating breaks and just kind of...chill more so i don't feel the stress sm 😅 my daily phone time has been the highest it's ever been during a school week (and the fact that i have now regressed to spending at least 30 mins on it each when i wake up and b4 i go to sleep... 🙈 that should absolutely stop) and i could instead use that time to more intentionally relax and do self-care things, things that are neither school nor self-study, things that feed my soul and not just my career like playing piano, catching up on @zzzzzestforlife's fiction recs, catching up on my watch later, journalling... that is what "best me" would do...

[ffxiv-khitli]

Things we'd like to see more of on FFXIV (or less depending on the thing)

People playing the things we were talked into doing because "it's the right thing to do" - and NOT because it's the right thing to do, but because failing and wiping is a form of learning.

So IN THAT, we've noticed nobody queues for anything SHB and above, everyone's PF unsyncing. Like literally unrestricted unsyncing MSQ content.

I could understand the 5.3 trial, and I VALIDLY get fears of wiping- but damnit - if an Autistic/ADHD/DID/CPTSD person like myself can re-clear without carrying LATER ON - getting carried on ECHO/Level Sync NORMAL content -- you can make effort, it's OK!

I'm not saying this in a TOXIC "EVERYONE HAS TO DO THE HARD SHIT" - i'm not saying go do extremes, i'm not saying become week 1 clear.

What i'm saying is: Only reason I unsycned a bunch of ARR/HW content for shits and giggles with my partner was? I'd already done it, they'd done it on an alt.. and when we'd done it on Dynamis, we'd gotten toxic responses if we didn't remember mechanics..

Thing is: I'm not even asking you to STUDY mechs, i'm asking you to ENJOY the actual mechanics as part of the story - MSQ content the mechanics aren't just "DUNGEON MECHS" this is a story based MMORPG, and while i'm sure WoW is - Carrying people in dungeons isn't toxic.

IF YOU unsync basic content, you won't learn later on. This is why a whole generation of us in FFXIV don't know how to do Bahamut synced, because nobody wants to sync it with us.

You do you, i'm not shaming you for being scared of the content. I get it. I just cleared Heroes Gauntlet for likely the 2nd or 3rd time since playing SHB, and I am learning sage - I am extremely on edge when I have to wipe 5 + times.

But I would NEVER have wanted to unsync that, because I would miss key information about the storyline, (the first time that is) due to how the dungeon is set up.

Sure that one's HARD and i get POST content is harder than main. I Beleive in you. You got this. And if anyone on Dynamis bites you for not knowing Porta Decumana mechs...

Remind them: Not all of us had to queue for Porta after 6.1, and not all of us do our roulettes. I've gone THROUGH Dawntrail, but I have to admit "clearing" is different than being CARRIED by half your FC lol.

And there in itself: You CAN BE CARRIED by wonderful caring people in this game.

I'm in an FC with a bunch of savage raiders, nerds and twitch streamers - some of them somewhat famous and some of them like myself are bottom barrel lol.

We've all watched our FC leaders try and clear savage raids with Llamatodd...

If I can clear Heroes Gauntlet by wiping 10+ times with a caring party that came from Duty Finder...

Then I urge you to take up the strength, even if you do it unsync ONCE and then do it again later synced.. Learn the story, learn the mechs because of the story - don't just "STUDY" Them for some tier list..

The mechs sometimes really do have to do with the story.

And again, just like any thing: I'm saying this from a teaching, and caring perspective. I am not intending to be abelist in any format, if you NEED to unsync for any reason, i'm sure you have a valid one - but please if you're able to: do it synced.

You're an amazing WoL. I would hate to see you miss out <3

~ Khit'li L'ocar Crystal/Goblin Resident Lvl 100 Floor Samurai Lvl 92 Sage, Lvl 84 Vpr. Sasshat Crafter who WILL SCREECH if you zoom to the marketboard like their partner and buy crap before we can craft it for you. (Sadly i'm too low to be in Kiba Corp lol)

Edit: I'm now level 100 Sage. Several Crafters are level 100. Getting married in game to @cidolfus-garlond sept 27 2024 4pm PDT (After party starts at 6pm, i think i posted it on this blog or something i'll mention it gain before the time if y'all see this XD subathon and prizes on my twitch :D)

[fandomsaligninstories]

Year One: Day One

Chapter List WC: 2,413

2nd September, 1991

When the alarm first went off at 7am, Violet wanted to throw the thing against a wall. She hadn't noticed the alarms the night before, so one of the other girls had to of set one. She certainly didn't want to leave her warm and cosy bed, but she could hear the other girls already moving about.

She drew the curtains open and sat on the edge of the bed, watching all three of her roommates move around. Hannah was still in her pyjamas, pulling out a clean outfit from her trunk. The two other girls were taking turns in the bathroom. The first girl, who was brushing her teeth, had golden tan skin and straight blonde hair that fell to her waist. The other girl, who was trying to fix her tie into a proper knot, had deep brown skin and nearly black hair in tight, long braids. 

Violet pulled out her own outfit for the day, crawling back into her bed and closing the curtains to change. When she was done, she moved towards the now vacant bathroom.

"Morning!" The blonde chirped, her high-pitched voice shocking Violet, who spun around to see the girl leaning against the dorm entrance, "You're Violet, right? Hannah and Aimee already went down for breakfast. I'm Caroline Dodd, it's nice to meet you!" 

The girl was very chipper for it being so early, Violet couldn't help but feed off of her energy, "Hi! Nice to meet you too! I'll be just a moment, then we can walk down together?"

"Sure!" Caroline smiled widely, showing all her teeth.

Violet quickly finished getting ready for the day before following after Caroline, her heavy book bag slung across her back. 

Breakfast was just as exciting as dinner the night before. There were platters upon platters of food, including several types of eggs, fruit, sausage, cereal, kippers, bacon, fresh squeezed juice, toast with varying options of jam and marmalade, and more. 

The Great Hall was also louder than the night before, all the new and returning students catching up and introducing themselves. 

Violet listened quietly while the people around her talked. Aside from her three roommates, there was Cedric Diggory, a third-year who was a tall, well-built boy with short dark hair and bright green eyes, which rivalled Violet's own. He was the seeker on the Hufflepuff quidditch team; a popular school sport, Violet learned. And then there was Anthony Rickett, a fairly average boy with black hair, and Tamsin Applebee, a fairly average girl with blonde hair. The two were a couple, apparently, and both were third-years on the quidditch team.

"So, Violet, how are you finding Hogwarts so far?" Cedric asked, his gaze mesmerising as his eyes were practically glowing. 

"Oh, um," She laughed awkwardly, swallowing a mouthful of toast, "It's alright. Everyone so far has been nice, though I'm pretty sure I'm going to get lost on the way to my classes, this place is huge..."

Everyone around her laughed, Cedric nodding emphatically, "Don't worry, we've all gotten lost before. It gets easier with time. Most professors are lenient with first-years for the first few weeks when it comes to getting to lessons on time."

"Except for Snape," Anthony added, "He's a right arse. He teaches potions. Whatever you do, don't get his attention on you."

"Which one is Snape?" Aimee asked, glancing at the staff table.

"The one that looks like he hasn't showered in a month." Tamsin chuckled. In unison, the three first-years turned to observe the man.

Tamsin wasn't far off in her brief description, Violet saw. He was a lanky man, with shoulder length black hair that was so greasy it appeared to be shining, even from her seat halfway down the hall. He was glaring at anything and everything he looked at, from his plate to the people around him. 

"Avoid Snape, got it." Violet agreed, "Any other advise?"

Cedric replied, "Not really. Do your work, stay out of trouble, the usual."

Suddenly papers were flying through the air, each hovering in the air in front of students. Only the first-years, Violet saw. Then a paper stopped in front of her and she realised it was her timetable. 

She, Caroline, Hannah, and Aimee began to compare their schedules. 

"Hey, we all have the same schedules!" Aimee exclaimed.

"Did Gabriel not explain that?" Tamsin shook her head, "All students share the same classes first and second year with their own house, though some classes overlap with other houses. You'll likely have classes with Ravenclaw more than the others, but you'll surely have at least one with Gryffindor and Slytherin each."

"Right, okay..." Violet nodded, "We should probably get going if we're going to find our first class. Herbology?"

"That'll be Professor Sprout. She's also the head of Hufflepuff." Cedric said, standing up with the group of first-year girls, "She's out in the greenhouse behind the castle. My first class is that way, I'll walk you down there. Bye guys!" 

He waved to his friends before leading the girls out of the hall. They followed him through the castle, making small talk as they walked. 

Violet learned that Aimee, Caroline, and Cedric were considered "Purebloods", or having both parents be Witches/Wizards, while she and Hannah were "half-bloods", or having non-magical parents. Cedric was very assertive that blood status didn't matter, despite what some believe. He warned them against Slytherins, who were the worst of the houses, as they tended to be bullies and violent.

He led them halfway down to the greenhouse, wishing them luck on their first day before heading back inside for his own classes. 

The girls entered the greenhouse, glancing around at the fellow Hufflepuff first-years. There were also students who introduced themselves as Gryffindors. At the mention of the red-and-gold house, Violet began looking around for Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Upon finding them, she waved as they glanced over. They were on the other side of the long tables, so they had to speak up over the other students to hear each other. 

The raven-haired boy smiled, "Alright, Violet?"

"Alright, Harry." She returned. 

Before she could say anything else, an older woman walked in. She was a squat little witch, with short grey hair and a brown dress, which was covered in dirt, as were her hands. She smiled brightly at the students, briefly introducing herself as Professor Sprout before launching into her lesson.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

By the end of the day, Violet was exhausted by the overwhelming amount of information she'd gotten. 

She'd had five classes throughout the day, each lasting just over an hour. By the time her last lesson ended at 5:30pm and she was heading for dinner, she wasn't sure she could handle a single new fact. 

First was Herbology with the Gryffindors, then Potions with just Hufflepuffs. This was followed by an hour lunch, then History of Magic with Slytherins, who had been far beyond obnoxious.

The worst of them was the white-blonde boy that she'd met her first evening at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy. He and his friends, Crabbe and Goyle, were picking on the nervous first year Hufflepuffs. Throughout the, admittedly boring, lesson, they were constantly throwing bits of paper at other students. Anytime someone tried to walk by, they tripped them. And they constantly made rude comments about others' looks.

By the end of the lesson, Violet was ready to deck Draco in the face. In fact, she almost did.

Draco and his buddies were standing at the door after class ended, shoving students around as they exited. When Violet and her friends, Hannah and Aimee, tried to leave, Draco used some spell to tear open Aimee's bag and send her belongings flying.

"Why you little-" Violet lunged for Draco, stopping a few inches short when an arm banded around her waist and yanked her back away, "Why do you have to be such a right git?!"

Draco jumped further away from the girl, eyes wide in fear. "You were going to hit me!"

"You've done nothing but bully people all day! It's what you deserve!" She tried to push forward, scratching uselessly at the arm around her. She was seething, which was out of the ordinary for her usual calm demeanour.

"Get out of here, Malfoy. Just go!" A voice from behind Violet shouted. It jarred her out of her anger, releasing her hands from fists and slumping back. Draco rushed off with his friends, glancing back at Violet as if afraid she'd go after him.

"Can I let you go now?" The voice asked and she nodded. The arm dropped from around her waist and she spun around, "Sorry, I didn't think it wise for you to attack him. He's a Malfoy, you know?" 

"I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but thanks. I don't know what got into me..." She sighed, turning to find Aimee and Hannah staring at her with wide eyes. 

"Malfoy? They're one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families. One of the oldest, wealthiest families in the wizarding world. I'd stay away from him if I were you."

"Right, thanks, um..."

"Eddie Carmichael."

"Right, thanks Eddie. Well, I should get going now..."

"'Course, don't want to be late. See ya around." He winked before heading off.

"Violet!" Hannah whisper-shouted, following after Aimee as she started off towards their next class.

"I'm sorry, are you okay Aimee?" She asked, trailing after her friends. She felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. She had always been against violence, but something about that boy brought out the worst in her, it seemed.

"I'm alright. You didn't have to do that, you know." She shrugged, holding her books and things tightly. Her bag was ruined and she was struggling to hold everything. Violet took some of the items off the top, easing the load.

"No, I know, sorry. Something about that boy..." She huffed, trying to prevent her anger from bubbling up, "I don't like him. Not one bit."

"No one does," Aimee reassured her, "But you can't go after him like that. His family is bad news, and no one can touch him. Even Dumbledore can't control them."

"Would've been good to know earlier." She muttered as she entered their next class.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Luckily the rest of the day was uneventful. Charms and then flying lessons, both with the Ravenclaws. Afterwards, at dinner, Hannah and Aimee told the story of Violet's run-in with Draco to their friends. Caroline had separated from their little group, having been with Susan Bones since breakfast. Cedric and Anthony Rickett also sat with them, listening intently.

"And then she PUNCHED HIM!" Hannah was saying.

Violet gasped, "No I didn't! I almost punched him. Big difference."

"You attacked Draco? Draco Malfoy?" Anthony was appalled, Violet could tell from his facial expression, "Do you have a death wish?"

"Urgh!" She groaned, dropping her head into her hands, "It's not that bad, is it?"

A resounding "yes" came from those around her. She couldn't believe that she'd messed up so badly on her first day. Her first day of being a witch, and she attacks one of the most important students in the school. A student whose father could apparently have her removed from Hogwarts in an instant. 

She huffed in exasperation, "I have to apologise. Make it right, before he can tell on me." 

"Oh, I need to see this." Anthony laughed, shaking his head.

"Leave her alone, mate." Cedric shoved his friend with his shoulder, "Don't listen to them, Violet. It's bad, yes, but you'll be okay. No sane professor would believe any story Malfoy could make up over the truth."

"Right, okay, thanks." Violet moved to stand up, her appetite gone after only a few bites. How disappointing, she thought. There were fish and chips, her favourite. 

Hannah moved to get up with her, "Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to head down to the dorm, I'm knackered. I'll see you later, okay?"

Everyone bid their goodnights as she left. 

On her way out of the Great Hall, she risked a glance at the Slytherin table. A couple of first-years were glaring at her, but there was no Draco Malfoy in sight. Just outside the hall, Harry and Hermione were on their way in. 

"Hey! What's this about you attacking Malfoy?" Hermione asked, pulling her two friends off to the side, away from the open doors.

Harry gasped, "You attacked Malfoy?!" 

"I didn't- I mean, I did- He was bullying other first-years, and he used some spell to ruin my friend's bag and spill all her stuff. I just lost it! I tried to punch him, but a second-year stopped me." She ran her hands through her hair. It barely fell to her shoulders, having left it down for the day, something else she rarely did.

"He deserved it." Harry decided.

"Harry!" Hermione slapped his arm, "You shouldn't be attacking anyone, Violet. You're smarter than that!"

"Yeah, I know. It was stupid. He's a prat!"

"Still-" Hermione started, likely launching into a lecture, when Ron rounded the corner and waved at Violet.

"Hey, what'd I miss?"

Violet frowned, "Not much, I attacked Malfoy and now I'm going to be expelled."

"Bloody hell! I bet he deserved it." Ron laughed before Hermione's glare silenced him.

"Right, well, I'm heading to bed. It's been a long day." 

"Night!" The trio said as they continued into the Great Hall.

Violet was ready to drop by now. She had originally planned to get a head start on her Potions work that was due the next day, but now she could barely keep herself awake. She headed towards the stairs to go to the basement, but fate had other plans.

"Hey, you!" She spun around at the sudden shout. There, coming down the stairs, was none other than Malfoy.

Violet swore to herself before chastising herself. Her mother would be ashamed of such language.

"Who do you think you are?" He hissed as he moved closer to Violet, stopping barely a metre away, "Do you know who I am?"

"I didn't-" She started to snap, reminding herself to calm down, "About that. I wanted to apologise. I'm sorry I tried to hit you."

"You- what?" He pulled up short, shock written across his features. He was frozen a moment, as if he couldn't tell if she was being genuine.

"I'm sorry. No matter that you were being a prat, I shouldn't have responded violence with violence. It wasn't right."

"Uh," He stuttered, still shocked. All he could do was nod and slowly back away, staring at her as if she had grown a second head.

Violet turned and rushed down the stairs, not slowing until she was safely in her dorm. 

'There,' she decided, 'I've apologised. Whatever else happens is out of my hands. I just have to avoid him from now on.'

[willowandthyme]

The First Tribal Council is Bursting with Drama

It's the First Tribal Council and the Blue Tribe has won Immunity. Who will leave the island tonight?

Brennan and Ian are getting heated!

Charles is stirring up the group after his vote. What could he have said to make everyone so upset?

No love between Kinsley and Anahi at this Tribal Council.

Let's see how they voted:

Brennan: I'm voting for Ian. He came in second in the Challenge and I think he's my strongest competition. I need him out early.

Eden: I'm voting for Kinsley. She's trying to play at being all naive and innocent, but I see right through it. She'll stab you in the back at the first chance.

Kurt: I'm voting for Rory. Nothing personal, I just haven't gotten to know them as well as everyone else.

Olivia: I'm voting for Ian. We've got to take out the strongest competition first so we have a better chance at continuing to win immunity.

Anahi: I'm voting for Kevin. He hasn't done a single thing since he's been on the island and we can't have someone who isn't willing to pull their weight.

Catherine: I'm voting for Eden. All you've done since Day One is whine and complain. If you didn't want to be on an island, you shouldn't have come. It's time to pack your bags and take a hike.

Charles: My vote is for Anahi. I don't like that she looks like she can kick my ass. I want to stick around for a long time, and I don't think I can do that with her here.

Rory: I'm voting for Anahi. She hasn't really spoken to me since we've been here, so I'd rather foster better relationships.

Ian: My vote is Kevin. Dude, you didn't even participate in the challenge!

Kinsley: I'm voting for Eden because she was the worst at the challenge and has been a negative drain on the island.

Michelle: I pick Eden. Something about her just rubs me wrong.

Kevin: I'm voting for Anahi. She has made it clear she doesn't like me, and I don't like her either. Good Riddance.

The votes have been counted:

With 3 votes each, it's a tie between Anahi and Eden.

The remaining castaways will now cast their vote again a second time. This time they are voting for either Anahi or Eden.

Stay tuned for the 2nd round of voting!

[allastoredeer]

"Considering Pentagram City is boxed in by mountains, and the Ring doesn't expand past those mountains (well, as far as we've seen), I can't see there being more to the Pride Ring beyond what we've already been shown. I feel like if that were the case, it would've been alluded to in either Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss by now."

I'm not so sure about that. Wasn't one of the main reasons for having two shows set in the same universe supposed to be so each show could explore different parts of hell? Like, Helluva Boss is meant to explore the other six rings while Hazbin Hotel is meant to focus on the Pride Ring?

Yes, the main characters of HB all live/do business in Pride, but it's rare that we see any Pride Ring locations in Helluva Boss outside of the I.M.P office and Stolas' palace.

Sure, we've gotten brief glimpses of other places,

-Blitzø and Loona's apartment

-The M&M's apartment

-The fancy cafe, the abandoned mine, and Andrealphus' palace in Western Energy

-And the various locations Millie and Sallie May visited in the Hell's Belles short

But aside from the main characters' apartments (which are most likely in Imp City) it's very nebulous WHERE in the Pride Ring the other locations are. We can't even be certain where in Pride STOLAS lives. Helluva Boss isn't meant to explore the Pride Ring, that's supposed to be Hazbin Hotel's job. The other circles just haven't been as relevant to HB's plot as the other Rings have been.

Unfortunately, Hazbin Hotel also hasn't gotten to really explore the circles due to season one only getting eight episodes. There was no time to for any in depth world building that wasn't vital for telling the main story HH wanted to tell. It seems to be the same for even small background Easter eggs. All visual Easter eggs being reserved for either giving clues about Hazbin character lore or vaguely referencing the other Rings/Sins in ways that won't break copyright.

That's something else you have to take into consideration. Copyright.

I think it's safe to say that there will never be a Helluva Boss episode where the I.M.P. gang visit the Hazbin hotel. And I doubt we're ever going to see Charlie and Vaggie go on a date to the Lust Ring. Any location featured in detail in one show is automatically off the table for the other.

Since the I.M.P. gang and Hazbin crew all live in Pride, the Spindlehorse crew would have to be careful deciding which show gets to focus on which Circle. If an episode of Hazbin Hotel takes place primarily in, say, the Third Circle, that would eliminate any opportunity for Helluva Boss to have an episode that also visits the Third Circle, wouldn't it?

Yeah, I know the copyright thing will get in the way of what can and can be put in Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, but there have been instances where the same thing/characters have shown up, like Katie Killjoy, who shows up in Hazbin Hotel and a billboard in Helluva Boss. I don't know if that just slipped under the copywrites nose, but it's there LOL

But to refute the concept of I.M.P being in Imp City, and Imp City being a circle outside of the Pride Ring, a comment on one of my previous asks (thank you @tomboy014) brought up the fact that I.M.P has to be in the Pride Ring because their job is reliant on Sinners. They're whole marketing scheme is killing people on Earth that Sinners still have beef with. Furthermore, we've seen clients in their office building, like Martha Mayberry and Loopty.

I.M.P (and thus Imp City, where I.M.P is canonically set in) HAS to be set up in Pentagram City for Blitz, Moxxie, Millie, and Loona to even get clients, which then implies that the 2nd Circle is there too.

Additionally, we see that Pentagram City is boxed in by mountains, and when Stryker kidnapped Stolas, we saw those very same mountains. So either they were in Pentagram City, or every other Circle is also surrounded by mountains (perhaps as a means of keeping them separated if that is the case).

If we look at Andre's castle, that theory could hold up, unless his castle is merely set up somewhere within the mountain ranges surrounding Pentagram City.

I mean, the area around the castles does look barren as fuck. There are no other buildings, no people outside of Andre and Stella (not even any servants while they're having tea), and no hint of life whatsoever. It could be that since snow is just a drastic change from Hell's normally blistering hot temperature (or, at least, the Pride Rings hot temperature), he had to distance his castle from everyone else, which could explain why it looks so isolated and empty.

But even disregarding all of that, there are more ways to world-build outside of the characters explicitly going somewhere or saying something. Like the sign for Imp City telling us it's in Circle 2, no one outright said that, it's just a background detail that was there and then gone. There are plenty of opportunities to show us more about the world, and the 9 Circles, even if its something as simple as a poster on the wall.

I also disagree that it's Hazbin Hotel's job to be the one to explore the Pride Ring, but that's only in the case that the 9 Circles actually exist. I can't see the Circles coming up as often, considering most of the characters we meet are Sinners and they aren't allowed outside of Pentagram City, thus there's no reason for it to come up as its not even an option they can explore.

(I know the rule is that Sinners can't leave the Pride Ring, but if the other Circles do exist, and are part of the Pride Ring - and thus places the Sinners are allowed to go - there's no reason they couldn't have explored the other Circles while we were in Hazbin Hotel, even a little. Even if it was a passing glance. A split second blink and you'll miss it moment.)

Charlie and Lucifer would be the perfect characters to explore it for us, but they never do. Our first introduction to Lucifer would've been a fantastic place to sneak in the information that Lucifer lives in one of the other Circles, not Pentagram City. It could've been something as simple as a passing comment or a note on his desk.

But that never happened.

Helluva Boss, however, is the perfect place to explore the 9 Circles especially because their main base of operation is in the Pride Ring. Not only that, but they're the ones who have the freedom to move around and travel to different areas of Hell. They are the audiences' ticket to seeing more of the world, which has worked, because they're the reason we've seen more of the Rings at all. Blitz and Co are the perfect choice to explore the Circles, especially if they've already visited the other Circles.

But they never expand on it which leads me to doubt that the Pride Ring is made up of all 9 Circles, otherwise, why not expand on or allude to it???