#Episode 9 Stumped

[natequarter]

series 3 episode 1: this is the doctor and he is fob watched. watch martha unhuman him!

episode 2: this is the master and he is fob watched. and for the sake of my sanity let's imagine that the bbc can afford to hire derek jacobi for the whole series. martha will be sick of his stupid grin by the end of the series

episode 3: this is romana and she is fob watched. nothing bad happens in this episode to anyone. martha gets to talk to someone who can truly appreciate her without trying to blow her up and martha slowly realises that if she wants the doctor to like her back she needs to change her name to something beginning with r

episode 4: this is narvin and he is fob watched. he is absolutely furious when he's turned back into a time lord and demands to become a human again. martha kinda gets it tbh

episode 5: this is brax and he is fob watched. except he isn't, he was just faking it to fuck with the doctor. the doctor tries to strangle brax; brax tries to strangle the doctor; somewhere during this whole mess romana tries to kill herself. martha wants to go home

episode 6: this is susan and she is fob watched. the doctor gets a teary reunion, narvin gets a headache, and romana gets a therapist

episode 7: that's not the rani you piece of shit classic who fan... or is it? turns out for once it really is the rani and she is not happy about being fob watched. the master tries to do a silly plot only to get caught out by three separate people. martha still wants to go home

episode 8: this is borusa and he's fob watched. wait, borusa? yeah, somehow borusa has returned. no one is entirely sure how. the master considers doing a plot but is too embarrassed by the idea of confronting his former tutor to do so

episode 9: this is eris and he's fob watched. wait, what? what the fuck? who's eris??? ok narvin knows who he is, but the doctor is genuinely stumped. martha has given up on trying to go home with the doctor and has hitched a lift with romana

episode 10: this is the doctor and he's fob watched. a future version of him, yeah. no martha... old man master keeps on trying to launch silly plots... borusa is chasing after all those essays he never handed in... maybe it's time to run away again

episode 11: this is innocet and she's fob watched. i don't want to talk about it

episode 12: I SAID I DONT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, BRAX!

episode 13: this is ace mcshane and sh

[tanumaskoipond]

Natsume Yuujinchou Episode/Chapter Guide

Updated: 11/11/24

Episode Guide | mangadex (fan translations) (up to 113) | manga4life (offical translations) (up to 123)

*The special chapters may be numbered slightly differently between my list and these sites. (such as 19.5 vs 19.1 and vice versa)

Season 1:

Episode 1: Chapter 1

Episode 2: Chapter 2

Episode 3: Chapter 3

Episode 4: Chapter 5

Episode 5: Anime Original

Episode 6: Chapter 4

Episode 7: Chapters 15.1 (Special 1) & 22.5 (Special 5)

Episode 8: Chapter 10

Episode 9: Chapter 7

Episode 10: Chapter 8

Episode 11: Chapter 15.3 (Special 3), a lot of added anime original material

Episode 12: Chapter 6

Episode 13: Chapter 19.5 (Special 4), a lot of added anime original material

NOTE: There is a POV change in the anime. This chapter is from Tanuma’s POV.

Season 2 (zoku):

Episode 1: Chapter 9

Episode 2: Chapter 13

Episode 3: Chapter 14

Episode 4: Chapter 12

Episode 5: Chapter 22.6 (Special 6), a lot of added anime original material

Episodes 6 & 7: Chapters 17 & 18

Episode 8: Chapter 16

Episode 9: Chapter 15

Episode 10: Chapter 19

Episode 11: Chapter 11

NOTE: There are several changes to this chapter. Mainly, the crow youkai does not die in the manga.

Episodes 12 & 13: Chapters 20-22

NOTE: Taki & Tanuma do not meet until Chapter 27 in the manga (adapted into S3E09)

NOTE: The ending of this arc had a couple of changes.

Season 3 (san):

Episode 1: Chapter 48

Episode 2: Anime Original

Episode 3: Chapters 37 & 38

Episode 4: Chapter 15.2

Episode 5: Chapters 42 & 43

Episodes 6 & 7: Chapters 23-26

NOTE: The crow youkai from Chapter 11 (S2E11) is not the woman’s shiki in the manga.

Episode 8: Anime Original

Episode 9: Chapter 27

Episodes 10 & 11: Chapters 28 & 29

Episode 12: Chapters 30 & 31

Episode 13: Chapter 26.1 (Special 7)

Season 4 (shi):

Episodes 1 & 2: Chapters 34-36

NOTE: These chapters were changed quite a bit in the anime. It is a very, very loose adaptation.

Episode 3: Chapters 32 & 33

Episode 4: Chapter 47

Episode 5: Chapter 36.5 (Special 9)

Episodes 6 & 7: Chapters 49-51

NOTE: some dialogue got moved between characters in the anime.

Episode 8: Anime Original

Episodes 9 & 10: Chapters 39-41

Episodes 11-13: Chapters 44-46

OVA:

Natsume Yuujinchou LaLa Special - Nyanko-Sensei and the First Errand: Anime Original

Natsume Yuujinchou Itsuka no Hi ni: Anime Original

Season 5 (go):

Episode 1: Chapters 57-59

NOTE: A lot got cut from these chapters in the anime.

Episode 2: Chapter 56

Episodes 3 & 4: Chapters 52-54

NOTE: The conversation about forbidden techniques was taken from Chapter 62 (which was adapted into S6E04-5)

Episode 5: Chapters 64 & 65

Episode 6: Chapter 55

Episode 7: Chapters 66 & 67

Episode 8: Chapters 71.1 & 71.2 (Special 15)

Episode 9: Chapter 63

Episode 10: Chapter 63.5 (Special 14)

Episode 11: Chapter 59.5 (Special 12)

OVA:

One Night Sake Cup: Anime Original

Party of Fun & Games: Chapter 70

Season 6 (roku):

Episode 1: Chapter 78

Episode 2: Chapter 75

Episode 3: Chapter 74

Episodes 4 & 5: Chapters 60-62

Episode 6: Chapters 54.5 & 54.6 (Specials 10 & 11)

Episode 7: Chapter 76

Episode 8: Chapter 68 & 69

Episode 9: Chapter 79

Episodes 10 & 11: Chapters 72 & 73

OVA:

The Stump of the Suzunaru Tree: Anime Original

Fragments of Dreams (A Fragment of Fantasy): Chapter 73.5 (Special 16)

Season 7 (shichi)

Episode 1: Chapter 84

Episode 2: Chapter 81

Episode 3: Chapter 80

Episode 4: Chapter 83

Episode 5: Chapter 108

Episode 6: Chapters 89.5, 77

Episode 7: Chapters 95 & 96

Episode 8:

Episode 9:

Episode 10:

Episode 11:

Chapter 87

Chapters 88 & 89

MOVIES/Additional OVA:

Natsume's Book of Friends the Movie - Ephemeral Bond: Anime Original

Natsume's Book of Friends - The Waking Rock and the Suspicious Visitor: Chapters 82, 97 & 98

Chapters not adapted:

31.5 (Special 8), 67.5 (Special 14), 71, 85-86, 90-94, 99-107, 109-132

NOTE: as of 11/11/24, past chapter 123, chapters are untranslated

Chapter 84.5 (Special 17) is a continuum of Special 15

Chapters 85 & 86: The Face of the Noren arc

Chapters 88 & 89: Tell Me Your Name arc

Chapters 90 & 91: Tenjou-san arc

Chapters 92-94: Miharu arc

Chapters 95 & 96: Isamu arc

Chapters 100-105 (excluding 102.5): Homura arc

Chapters 106 & 107: Yorishima arc

Chapters 109 & 110: Master of the Name Calls arc

Chapters 113-116: Younger Cousin Saga

Chapters 117 & 118: By the Queens Invitation arc

Chapters 121-126: Portrait of a Girl arc

NOTE: chapter 120 is technically the same arc that begins in 121, but officially it is not listed that way.

Chapters 128-130: Sealed-off Storehouse arc

Chapters 131-?: Unfamiliar Home arc

[drezendragon]

V to UV Art by DonnyK9 Murder Drones AU Idea Rambling Alright this is a “Drezen Ramble” I watched Murder Drones as it was coming out and after the last episode had an idea for a AU that then spiraled out of control a bit. It took a long time to finally find someone to draw some stuff for it and hopefully I can find more people to comm stuff for this but here we go. Should probably note I copy pasted most of this from a conversation I had with a bud so sorry if it comes off as nonsense XD

Context: this idea was inspired by the last few episodes where we find out “Effective Drones were cloned more” and Cyn’s comment that N’s Team always surprised her along with the fact V was willing to make a deal with the solver and that V’s persona kind of a mask to deal with the horrors. 

Most of this little story would take place on a different world probably a few years before Copper 9 and the main plot. I mean the solver had to get through Copper's 1 to 8 after all plenty of space to fill so assume it takes place on one of those many outings. 

Basically this AU would center around a different V who went with a different persona to mask behind instead of canon V this AU V takes up the persona of a "Tomboy" (+ a little shonen protagism) this Persona of V basically sets out to try and make sure this Squad is a proper Team and not barely functional mess... Basically She and N use “Democracy” to vote out J as leader and put V in charge who then actually raises team efficiency (much to J's annoyance) by basically doing all she can to be N and J's friend attempting to give them both therapy while mediating their clash of Extrovert and Introvert. N she actually deals with the fact his brain is wiped although basically spoon feds him info (basically tells him the mansion stuff but not the Gala incident) and also kind of gently shuts down his crush on her because she can't really remember what it was like to be the Girl N fell for and she thinks he deserves someone who can take all the love he has in his big dumb heart (She does promise to wingman for him though if they ever find someone who meets his fancy). Becoming friends with J was a lot harder. The girl has so many walls up she basically lives in a mental fortress but together they actually get their job done much faster and making N less annoying for J to deal with they become actual friends.

The Team did so well they actually finished the job with a year to spare which they spent further bonding and talking about what they might do after..... then Cyn and the other J show up. The Team freaked out but they did their job and they did it well and V hopes that this means the deal she made of "Leave us in Peace" will be upheld which Cyn says it will... as she proceeds to rip one of V's arms off. This of course freaks them out and Cyn clarifies it is holding up its end of the deal to "Leave them in P-I-E-C-E giggle" in fact she is so happy with them she is extending the deal to "Pieces"  isn't she the best boss (Happy Sarcastic Tone) the Team panics and tries to fight back but doing so causes Cyn to kill N (guess he didn't want to be left in Pieces oh well hopefully the next back up is more of a team player) J (Team) fights J (Solver's Pet) kind of messes up the “Solver's Pet” to see herself fight back choosing her Team over Corporate... but she too goes down once Cyn gets bored with the resistance and uses Admin permissions to lock up the Team has her pet J finish off the other J and then Cyn takes time ripping V into pieces removing her arms, peg legs, smashing her visor face and shredding her voice box after V tries to curse her out/ scream to just annoy Cyn. In the end V is left just a torso with her upper leg stumps still attached, a smashed face and something that shouldn't be called a voice and due to Cyn being Admin she won't be regenerating. Cyn eats the planet but makes sure to leave the chunk with V and her team’s remains as untouched as she can after all would be rude to not let V keep her reward.

Cyn eventually leaves for the next planet and V is just kind of left she can't see or hear anything only feel the wind but even that eventually fads and she is left alone with her thoughts for a very long time.... until something finds her something finds a broken doll discarded by a cruel "god" V is not sure if she has gone mad but she tries to call out and whatever it is doesn't retreat from her distorted cries instead it seems to try and comfort her and she feels herself being gently picked up so long since she last felt kindness that she drifts off to sleep. When she wakes up she has been repaired.... mostly it seems whoever repaired her used the parts of her team leaving her with N's lower legs, J's voice box patching up her own (Basically she doesn’t sound like V or J her voice is either deeper or growly-raspy sounding), no idea whose arms she has since they all look so similar but her upper arms seem to be new parts, seemingly J’s unbound hair, no stinger tail and when she looks into a mirror she sees her eyes are now basically the color of UV lights and on closer inspection she swears she sees more eyes beneath her visor but before the panic of whatever that is about set in she notices another addition of…. Animal Ears in place of her Headband eyes with said ears expressing her current mood before twitching as she hears someone in the next room and with checking herself over done she leaves out the room to whatever awaits her next.

Notes:

She is nicknamed "UV" because of her eyes she never actually introduces herself to the person who put her back together so “UV” is just what they call her until she either introduces herself or picks out a name for herself.

Her lights were changed from yellow to purple by the person who put her back together both as a side effect of some of the alterations made when repairing her and also so that she hopefully wouldn’t freak out when seeing yellow drone eyes looking back at her when she looks in a mirror.

She is the admin of her own system Cyn’s Admin rights were replaced but despite that UV was unable to regenerate which is why she was repaired with available parts. The current status of her solver is UV has admin rights but the solver does not seem to work in any capacity. 

She can't use her arm weapons so has to carry actual weapons which after finding some Disassembly Drone arms with their Swords sticking out she takes the blades to make into actual swords she can wield. She also can’t use her wings anymore.

Her body has a few upgrades beyond the patch job repair due to the person who repaired her getting hit with inspiration while examining her but they stopped themselves from going overboard as they acknowledge UV is a person and any alterations should really be of her choice… granted this person also looked through her memories just to make sure they weren’t repairing a psycho.

Upgrades and modifications she now has are: Her new upper arm parts compensate for her lack of wings since they allow her arms to extend (Think Reg’s arms from Made in Abyss), her visor she can now customize things like the type or eye brows she has when she expresses along with a range of other options to help her be who she wants to be, She can eat human food being no longer reliant on oil but she can still eat it and other drone foods if she has to and probably a few other features relating to her new visor and ears that she didn’t bother to ask about once the shock of being rebuilt started to wear off.

Having her Teammates limbs attached to her has had a bit of an effect on her psyche causing her to take up some of their personality traits on top of her Tomboy Persona leading her to be more Chipper like N but also making her call the person who fixed her up "Boss" (thankfully she is spared using the mountain of corporate jargon that J does)

She has a lot of mental grief, having survivors guilt and refusing to get any further upgrades or better repairs to desperately hold onto what she has left of her friends which sometimes leads to her hallucinating them when alone or stressed out.

Character Inspirations: Murder Drones's V: Eldritch Robo, Fake it till you make it, Cloned Traumatized Killed Cloned again, Sacrifice her own happiness for her friends.

Fate's Mordred: Knight of Rebellion, Artificial Being Cloned from another, Tomboy, Traumatized but kind of dealing with it.

Underverse's Cross:  Quotes "Am I evil for what I did? Am I evil for what I am?" " What's the point of feeling useful and valid in a reality plagued by thousands of us...?" "Yes, our origin is an imitation... ready-made from another. But...our pride, our experiences... Maybe they make us authentic." Scrapnik Mecha Sonic: Haunted by the fight that left them in pieces, Shadow of their “maker” looming over them, feels like a misshapen thing with scraps for limbs, surprisingly dangerous for their current state of repair. 

[maculategiraffe]

baby's current top twenty favorite things to do at my house:

1. make rice on the stove

2. make popcorn on the stove

3. find the hole in the back yard where a bunny might live

4. find acorns on the ground and smash them with a hammer

5. make blueberry tea

6. watch the episode of the new adventures of winnie the pooh where they go to a movie about a giant spider and christopher robin accidentally drops his popcorn bucket on the movie usher's head*

7. play "christopher robin accidentally drops his popcorn on the movie usher's head," taking turns being christopher robin ("oh no I dropped my popcorn!!") and the movie usher ("lose your popcorn, kid?? this is a movie theater, not a playground!")

8. play "giant spider chases piglet around the house"

9. play "uncle boyfriend chases baby around the house and picks him up and flips him upside down and tosses him onto the sofa" five thousand times

10. jump back and forth between the mama tree stump and the baby tree stump in the yard

11. drink the costco brand of oat milk, which only tastes good at my house and not at mommy and daddy's

12. open and close the toaster oven doors

13. peek in at hildegard and ask "why is she a snake?"

14. steal uncle boyfriend's shoes while he's in the bathroom and hide them in the ash bucket

15. wear auntie mac's sunglasses that make everything look orange

16. laundry

17. play elevator (go behind floor length curtains and say 'going up' and 'going down')

18. sweep the pollen off the deck

19. play kitty cat (eat snacks from a round lidded container he has dubbed his kitty cat bowl)

20. replace any batteries and light bulbs that seem to need it

I don't even have any toys at my house

*this is the only episode we have ever watched or seem likely to ever watch

[u5an5]

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Masterlist

This is masterlist of summaries of things influencing how campaign goes (or at least should), which include trinkets, pacts, curses and sometimes clothes of and things already owned by characters (may or may not include what in-game time it is cause they are NOT keeping track)

.

! Fair warning, this post can contain SPOILERS. If you don't want to be spoiled, STOP READING !

.

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 1 | Circus to Circus

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 2 | Requiem for a Clown

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 3 | Let Them Eat Cake

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 4 | Lose Your Illusion

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 5 | Big Top Bop

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 6 | Guys' Night

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 7 | Tainted Love

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 8 | At a Snail's Pace

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 9 | When the Wagon's a Rockin'

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 10 | Raucous Revelry

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 11 | The Pixie Dust Plot

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 12 | Tunnel of Terror

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 13 | An Elf for All

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 14 | Sashay Away

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 15 | Four Weddings and a Funreal

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 16 | Monarch for a Day

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 17 | When the Hares Go Marching In

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 18 | Snakes & Burrows

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 19 | Bump in the Night

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 20 | Hot Jones

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 21 | Running Up That Hill

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 22 | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 23 | Stumped

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 24 | Slippery When Wet

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 25 | The One Where Fire Gets Purged

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 26 | Don't Lose Your Head

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 27 | Lord of the Flies

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 28 | A Comedy of Errors

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 29 | The Shopping Episode

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 30 | Phantom of the Hoppera

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 31 | Electrum Chef

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 32 | A Feast for Frogs

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 33 | Up the Wrong Tree

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 34 | A Change Of Heart

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 35 | Beware the Forest Mushrooms

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 36 | The Room Where It Happened

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 37 | Dread, Bath and Beyond

Of things obtained: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 38 | Unclog the Bog

.

Extras:

Things important that would be far too long for main posts

.

! Fair warning once again, this section contains SPOILERS. BIG spoiler. HUMONGOUS spoilers. If you don't want to be spoiled, STOP. READING !

.

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 12 | Fear Visions

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 17.1 | Delight from a Gift

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 17.2 | Swamp Visions

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 18 | Mist Vision

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 19.1 | First Initiative

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 19.2 | Mask Visions & Dream Vision

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 22 | Hare Fight

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 23 | Fomorian Spit

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 25 | Firefighters

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 28 | Duel of the Honks

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 29 | Unicorn Vision

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 33 | When the Forest Fights Back

Of things extra: Once Upon a Witchlight Ep. 38 | Pest Control

[thecreaturecodex]

Kami, Oxter

Image accessed at the Ultraman Wiki here

[I'm back! It's the start of a new school year, so I've been busy busy busy. I do hope to return to my summer schedule of one new monster a week.

And what a monster we start with! Oxter is one of the weirder designs in Return of Ultraman, but has connections to Ultra kaiju before and after. The plot of the episode, and Oxter's acidic powers, feels a lot like Stegon, who I've already statted up here. And the same author who wrote this episode wrote an episode of Ultraman Ace with another bovine kaiju, Cowra. The Cowra episode is notable not for the powers or appearance of the kaiju, which are fairly sedate by the standards of Ultraman Ace. But the way a character turns slowly into Cowra feels like it started out as transformation fetish porn, and then was repurposed into a kid's show about a giant silver alien/angel who punches monsters. The "writer's barely disguised fetish" trope goes way back.]

Kami, Oxter CR 19 N Outsider (native) This creature’s head resembles that of a cow, but its anatomy otherwise bears little resemblance to ordinary animals. It is bipedal, with a thick slug-like tail and stumpy legs. Its back has a high bony hump, and its head is set low on its shoulders. Instead of arms, it has large red horns, which articulate on jointed stumps. Its ears stick out at a wide angle, and a ribbon-like tongue flickers in its tusked mouth

An oxter is a bizarre kami that guards a site of mass animal death and protects their remains from desecration and disrespect. They can be found in any natural environment, from tar pits and volcanic craters to water holes that had dried up at an inopportune time. Oxters do not care much for the reasons their ward might be disturbed and respond to any disturbances with violence. From wizards seeking out supplies for necromancy or golem construction, to scientists studying the natural processes that occurred at the site, all are likely to find themselves subject to the oxter’s destructive scrutiny.

Oxters are slow and cumbersome on land, but they are surprisingly mobile in the water. As such, they often remain stationary and probe out disturbances using their supernaturally long tongues, which can extend for hundreds of feet. These tongues are coated in corrosive saliva, and anyone who gets close to an oxter will be sprayed by a torrent of acid. An oxter’s melee weapons are its horns, which are capable of surprising mobility and can strike repeatedly at multiple targets as if they were swords. Oxters have few spell-like abilities in comparison to other kami, but can use magic to move through impeding terrain or to smite interlopers in a particularly desperate battle. An oxter will fight to the death to protect their ward.

Because of their association with mass mortality events, oxters and stegons can be found in association with each other. Stegons are the only undead creatures oxters will tolerate, and the kami see such assemblages as a natural consequence of particularly serious disturbances. Oxters will permit other creatures to live in their wards, even sapient ones, as long as they respect the peace of the dead who lie there. They rarely associate with other kami unless their wards overlap, but in such cases the oxters tend to defer to their more intelligent kin, even if they are much physically weaker.

Kami, Oxter CR 19 XP 204,800 N Colossal outsider (kami, native) Init +9; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +26

Defense AC 34, touch 7, flat-footed 29(-8 size, +5 Dex, +27 natural) hp 330 (20d10+220); fast healing 15 Fort +19, Ref +19, Will +17 DR 15/cold iron and magic; Immune acid,bleed, mind-influencing effects, petrifaction, polymorph; Resist electricity 10, fire 10; SR 30

Offense Speed 40 ft., swim 80 ft. Melee gore +26/+21/+16/+11 (4d6+13), bite +24 (4d6+6 plus 2d6 acid) or gore +24/+24/+19/+19/+14/+14/+9 (4d6+13), bite +24 (4d6+6 plus 2d6 acid) or tongue +26 (2d8+13 plus 4d6 acid plus grab) Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft. (20 ft. with bite, 60 ft. with tongue) Special Attacks breath weapon (120 ft. cone, 20d6 acid, Ref DC 31, 1d4 rounds), constrict (2d8+19 plus 4d6 acid), extensible tongue (AC 23, 33 hp), trample (2d8+19, Ref DC 33) Spell-like Abilities CL 19th, concentration +23 3/day—commune with nature, freedom of movement, undeath to death (DC 21) 1/day—quickened divine power

Statistics Str 36, Dex 21, Con 32, Int 9, Wis 20, Cha 21Base Atk +20; CMB +41 (+45 grab); CMD 56 Feats Blind Fight, Double Slice, Great Fortitude, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Initiative, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Multiattack, Quicken SLA (divine power), Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (gore) Skills Knowledge (nature) +16, Perception +26, Sense Motive +22, Survival +22, Swim +37; Racial Bonuses +4 Perception, +4 Swim Languages Senzar, telepathy 100 ft. SQ articulated horns, merge with ward, ward (animal graveyard of 4 square km or less)

Ecology Environment any Organization solitary Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Horns (Ex) The horns of an oxter are capable of making iterative attacks as if they were manufactured weapons. An oxter can fight with both horns in the same turn as if using two manufactured weapons (and most oxters take Two Weapon Fighting and other feats for this purpose). In any round in which an oxter makes a melee attack with its articulated horns, it treats its other natural weapons as secondary natural attacks. Extensible Tongue (Ex/Su) An oxter treats its tongue as a primary natural attack that deals bludgeoning damage. It can make attacks with a reach of 60 feet ordinarily, but if the oxter spends a move action, it can extend its tongue 60 feet. It can continue to spend move actions to keep extending its tongue at a rate of 60 feet per round to a maximum of 1200 feet long. The tongue can attack around corners and even enter buildings; if the oxter cannot see what it’s attacking, the tongue can use the oxter’s blindsense. An oxter cannot use its tongue as a weapon in a round where it attacks with other natural weapons. The oxter’s tongue has hit points equal to 1/10 the oxter, and an AC of 10 + ½ the oxter’s natural armor bonus. It uses the oxter’s saving throws, resistances and immunities if attacked separately. The oxter’s tongue can make Stealth checks as a Medium creature, and is five feet in diameter. If an oxter’s tongue is reduced to 0 hp, it is shed, and the oxter grows a new tongue over the course of the next 24 hours.

[stone-stars]

so… i made a list of the first use of every song* in campaign 1 of naddpod, with timestamps. if you're wondering, it's 190 unique songs! * disclaimer: this list doesn't include royalty free songs, only emily's, and it's entirely possible i missed one or two.

i've put the list under the cut, separated by episode! edit: backdating on patreon has made it so that ALL timestamps are from the ad free episodes now!

(disclaimer that i determined the names of songs by cross-referencing what they were credited as across episodes, so some may be inaccurate. i noted those down in the list)

13 - City in the Clouds, 16:56 13 - Beverly's House, 34:18 13 - The Widow, 49:59

14 - Court of the Boy King, 17:48 14 - The Twinkling Lights of Galaderon, 1:20:41

15 - A Bastard No More, 23:21 * 15 - The Ruins of Cragwater, 2:00:09 * (note: "A Bastard No More" is called "Hardwon Takes the Wheel" after c1e70)

16 - Duergar Drudgery, 3:16 16 - Spooky Shafts, 5:13 16 - Heed the Mushroom's Call, 20:02 16 - Schubert's Song, 24:37 16 - Jolene the Green, 30:21 16 - Farewell to Fungen, 33:33 16 - The Mithril Miner's Shuffle, 37:48 16 - The Mithril's Run Dry, 51:37

17 - The Depths of the Dungeon, 1:07:29 17 - Conspiracy in the Clouds, 1:10:39

18 - The Revenant's Fate, 23:26 18 - A Fate Refused, 24:50 18 - Escape the Boy King's Brunch, 1:27:20

19 - The Purge, 10:49 19 - The Valiant Ol' Cobb, 50:13 19 - At the Last Minute, a First, 1:25:18 19 - Skybound, 1:28:17

20 - The Blows of a Friend, And Not a Foe, 58:58 20 - Forsaken, 1:03:08 20 - Apotheosis, 1:04:11 20 - A Haven Away From Home, 1:08:06

21 - Betrayal Below, 17:53 21 - The Gunslinger's Girl, 37:45 (loops) 21 - A Sign from Melora, 1:00:47 21 - Friend Turned Foe, 1:01:52 21 - Sumpin's a Mess Out West, 1:35:39

22 - Slumber in the Stump, 45:05 22 - The Sultan of Stone, 1:38:20 22 - Block Hop, 1:39:31

23 - The Mountain Meets the Sky, 42:34 23 - Trust the Gust, 57:55 23 - The Titan of Air, 1:09:39

24 - Sumpin's Asunder Down Under, 36:50 24 - Baptised, 39:43 24 - Steed of the Sea, 47:17 24 - Cetacean Farewell, 1:09:44 24 - Into the Flame, 1:12:29

25 - The Golden Sword, 51:24 25 - Cured by the Light, 56:30 25 - Hospitably Hostile, 1:01:47 25 - Mee Maw's Burden, 1:17:28

26 - The Grand Maw Tree, 8:20 26 - Into the Fog, 51:25 26 - A Hospitable Farewell, 57:20 26 - Befuddled and Befogged, 1:01:28 26 - Hazy Daze, 1:06:08

27 - Snake Skirmish, 3:06 27 - Greener Shades, 1:07:01 27 - Moonshine's Stump, 1:10:59 27 - Unknown Tome, 1:23:16

28 - Balnor's Bad Dream, 26:31 28 - Blessings of the Elementals, 1:10:45 * 28 - Elemental Energy, 1:13:47 * * (note: the two songs credited here are actually "Elemental Energy" and "Calling in a Favor", so the second song may be either name)

29 - The Prodigal Sister, 54:47 29 - A Rare Appearance, 57:37 29 - Oh, Melora!, 59:04 29 - A Tale's End, 1:04:41

31 - A Giant Among Men, 16:18 31 - Back Against the Wall, 26:35

32 - Behold! Treasure, 9:02 32 - Akarot's Letter, 22:21 32 - Shock at the Dock, 35:54 32 - Invisible But Not Invincible, 42:19 32 - Escape from Smuggler's Bounty, 47:27

33 - Tonathan Tinkle, 5:21 33 - Uku's Gift, 1:16:20

34 - Frostwind, 35:34 34 - A Humble Shopkeeper, 45:40 34 - Vinril's Gems, 1:01:16

35 - Balnor the Brave, 1:04:05

37 - Descending, 19:29 37 - A Tempting Offer, 40:11 37 - Desecrated, 47:18

39 - Incriminated, 32:08

41 - Tower of the Winter Wolves, 19:00 41 - Tundra Trudge, 1:22:08 41 - Valley of the Frigid Death, 1:15:31 * * (note: this song is used in ep 38 at 48:34, but not credited)

42 - Prey Don't Stand a Prayer, 41:03 42 - Yanoba, 1:06:07 * * (note: this song is also used in ep 38 at 1:07:13, but not credited)

45 - The Eye of Akarot, 12:59 45 - Bash at the Gash, 33:08 45 - The Bronzebeard Legacy, 43:40 45 - Kingshammer, 1:41:30 45 - A Sight For Sore Eyes, 1:44:32

46 - Fantastic & Fuddling, 38:59 * 46 - A Soft Landing, 56:18 * 46 - A Humble Farmer, 1:02:52 * 46 - The Court of the Bear Prince, 1:14:22 46 - Wooded Wonders, 1:40:52 * * (note: the four starred songs names have been used somewhat interchangeably, and "The Feywild" is sometimes used instead of "Fantastic & Fuddling")

47 - Puzzled, 7:34 47 - Mysterious Yet Familiar, 1:04:22 47 - Queen Cirilla, 1:10:17 47 - Frozen in Time, 1:12:42

49 - Gnome Man's Land, 1:03:54

50 - Rolling Deep, 13:10 50 - Neath a Ceiling of Stars, 30:36 50 - Sea Beast, 53:38 50 - Great Crone of the Sea, 1:11:05

51 - Alanis, 3:34 51 - The Nannerfly Effect, 14:35 * 51 - When You Wish Upon A Stone, 20:26 51 - Only the Ocean to Console Him, 45:27 * (note: throughout the Feywild, this song is called “The Nannerfly Effect”, and then later goes on to be credited as various versions of "wish stones")

54 - The Autumn Court, 3:35

55 - The Witch's Den, 58:57

56 - An Innocent Flirtation, 48:02 56 - Goblin Dirigible, 1:04:27 56 - Crash Landing, 1:15:21

57 - Tower in the Distance, 13:18 57 - Angels and Devils, 16:58 57 - King Lestibourne, 1:02:39 57 - All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web, 1:09:20 57 - Kiss of Life, 1:45:12

58 - Flying Through the Night, 25:18 58 - Bittersweet Sixteen, 59:34 58 - A Hard Goodbye, 1:26:52

59 - Shadowfell, 2:49 59 - Into the Mist, 5:34 59 - Grimhawk, 53:33 59 - Langston, 1:05:56

60 - Deadeye, 6:30 60 - The Fat Monk, 25:13

61 - The Red Fen, 20:54 61 - The Montgomerys, 40:11 61 - Growing Pains, 1:16:21 * 61 - Gutless, 1:29:37 * (note: “Growing Pains” is credited as “Drained” here, but the name changes later and is used consistently)

63 - Montgomery Manor, 1:14:22 63 - Shadowfell Sneak, 1:17:34 63 - Two for Tea, 1:21:08

66 - Unholy Pilgrimage, 22:22

67 - Bastard's Fate, 1:22:05 67 - Bastard's Cove, 1:30:06

70 - Lucanus Aer'Tea, 1:27:08 70 - A Miracle Child, 1:44:43 70 - The Thinking Cap, 1:49:53

71 - The Whisperwood, 27:30 71 - Gladeholm, 29:41 71 - The University, 56:36 71 - Qwiksus, 1:10:04 71 - A Wizard Tournament, 1:30:24 71 - Star Spawn, 2:10:23

73 - Summoning, 11:28 73 - Secret Basement, 32:21 73 - The Objective, 1:31:50 73 - Pandemonium, 1:34:22 73 - Lilith La Trix, 1:37:55

75 - Kingsguard, 22:17 75 - Speaking Stump, 27:19 75 - Irondeep, 1:18:40 - (note: these three songs are only used in this ep in c1)

76 - The Mindflayer's Lair, 59:48 76 - The Multiverse, 1:13:57 76 - Alone, 1:19:50 76 - The Vast Expanse, 1:22:21 76 - Into the Planar Pool, 1:27:28

77 - Deal with a Devil, 21:42 * 77 - Buzzer's Cutters, 25:28 77 - The Posse, 1:07:48 77 - The Bronze Bastard, 1:35:51 * (note: this song is also frequently called “Soul Coins”)

79 - Lust, 14:52 79 - The River Styx, 24:46 79 - Fierna, 32:36 79 - A Risky Gamble, 51:42 79 - The Honey Trap, 55:40

82 - The Seventh Circle of Hell, 14:58 82 - Demigod, 28:55

83 - Ilsed's Secret, 42:05

84 - Hellfire Crown, 1:26:11 86 - Torn Apart, 46:42 * * (note: technically "Torn Apart" is a part of “Hellfire Crown” and plays in ep 84 at 1:17:32, but the two have different instrumentation and “Torn Apart” is credited as such later, so I've split them)

91 - I Just Want to Know You're Taken Care Of, 21:37 91 - The Pact, 47:25 91 - Forest, 1:07:14

92 - Enlightened, 15:26 * * (note: this song isn't credited in this ep, its first credit as "Enlightened" is in ep96 at 36:47)

95 - Hole in the Sky, 1:01:12 95 - Pure Gold, 1:34:39

96 - The Glittering Lady, 15:51

97 - Fabric of Fate, 9:44 * 97 - Selfless, 12:48 97 - A Glittering Reunion, 22:18 * (note: this song is later called "Melora's Boon" in c3)

100 (pt. 1) - The Writing on the Wall, 28:55 100 (pt. 1) - Paradise, 46:04 100 (pt. 1) - A Memory, 1:03:17 100 (pt. 2) - One Big Bed, 1:46:57

[jacenbren]

How the Plant Room Incident in episode 9 SHOULD’VE gone:

Knives, standing over Vash, who’s screaming and crying and clutching the bloody stump of his arm: oh my god oh my god im so sorry please don’t tell mom

Vash, in hysterical tears: you STAB vashu?? you SLICE his ARM OFF?? OH!!! OH!!!! jail for big brother nai!!!! jail for big brother for One Thousand Years!!!!!!!!

[deerabigailhobbs]

What are some of the ways that Hannibal Lecter groomed Abigail Hobbs? If that is the correct word for his behavior.

First of all, most grooming victims are those who are at risk. In Abigail's case, her father had been murdering girls, killed her mother and then tried to kill her. On top of that, she's in the public eye, everyone knows about her and her father now, which is another layer of pressure on her. Her mental state is extremely vulnerable, which makes her the perfection target for someone like Hannibal to manipulate.

The first instance we see of this toxic relationship is in season 1, episode 3: Potage. Here, Abigail has just killed Nick Boyle. She's frazzled, eyes wide and shaky hands covered in blood. She walks aimlessly up the stairs and is greeted with Hannibal, who simply asks her to "show him what happened." He's calm and collected, not angry, which may put her nerves slightly at ease. He's showing her that he's someone she can trust.

Hannibal then plants this seed of doubt into Abigail's mind that this wasn't self defense, but he wasn't there. He didn't see Nicholas slam her up against the wall, someone who had previously threatened her with words of violence, why would she not think he was there to harm her? And in her already vunerable mental state, where it seems everyone is out to get her, she stabs him, gutting him out of instinct because that's what her father had taught her to do, not out of bloodlust, but to protect herself, which is clearly self defense.

Hannibal then moves onto a different approach, how the police and public will see her as an accomplice to her father's crimes. And to that, she's stumped. At this point, she's helpless to Hannibal's assistance.

And where Hannibal gets really sinister is explaining how helping her will affect him. He speaks how his "career" and "life" will be at great risk just by helping her, as is if he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart. Of course, the audience knows why he wants to help her, to get closer to Will and mold her into something she's not, a killer.

After this scene, pretty much every interaction is Hannibal grooming or being neglegent of Abigail's wellbeing. Giving her the affection she craves through physical touch, drugging her and putting her in a more vulnerable state than before, etc.

One more scene I'll go over is in Season 3: episode 9, And the Woman Clothed in the Sun. Here Hannibal brings out Garrett Jacobs body, and speaks to Abigail about how everything her father did to her, even when he harmed her, was out of love. Abigail pushes back at this notion, stating how cutting her throat was not love, and Hannibal pushes back harder, explaining how some families love differently.

I interpret this scene as a test for Abigail. This is Hannibal giving her a taste of her potential life with Will and Hannibal. They will be cruel, mean, they may hurt her, but to them, that is how they will love her. Can Abigail accept that? Can Abigail do the same?

And she passes this test when she slices her father's throat. She's hysterical yes, in need of comforting, but I really think Hannibal thought, in due time, he could mold her into what he wanted her to be. Abigail explained how she knew her father tried to be good to her, she accepted that. Could she accept that from Hannibal?

[becauseimanicequeen]

I binged the first three episodes of The Trainee last night (because I couldn't wait any longer due to the great reviews I've read in my feed).

I was stumped after the first episode...

Not in a good way...

Because that first episode was so. fucking. boring.

And I'm not talking about the slow pace (I love slow-paced shows). I just didn't care.

Normally, I would've connected with a character like Ryan (or in a crowd of these many characters presented so quickly, I would've at least found one to connect with), but I just didn't care. I was more interested in Ryan's sister, and all I got to see of her in the first ep was two (?) short scenes.

There were so many characters, and I just didn't care about any of them.

Also, I have never worked in an office (because I've always worked for myself), so that whole trainee thing and workplace environment is not relatable to me at all. (It's been interesting reading about other people's comments on the authenticity of the depiction of the workplace environment, though.)

The only things that kept me going were the pretty colors, the neon lights, and Off and Gun (who I can watch in practically anything even if I don't vibe with their characters).

The mere thought of having to finish another 9-ish hours of this (because I always finish what I start) felt like a fucking nightmare.

But, that's me, I always finish what I start.

And I'm so glad I continued.

It started to pick up by the end of the second episode (or around the time that scammer showed up and screwed Ryan over). At the end of the second episode, Ryan had my full attention and Jane started to work his magic on me. There were actually characters I started to care about now (almost as much as the pretty neon lights on all the fish tanks, which seem to be everywhere and constantly feed my obsession of getting a fish tank of my own).

Then I got to thoroughly enjoy the third episode, which was a very different experience from the first episode for me. (It seemed like I went on a roller coaster with this series last night, lol.)

Ryan showed how invaluable (and creative) he is. He did his job to the best of his ability. One small gesture of kindness from Jane (taping Ryan's shoelaces), and Ryan blossomed (which shows what a difference a small gesture of kindness and/or encouragement can make). It was just so palpable that Ryan was already gaining confidence in himself thanks to Jane's small gestures of kindness and encouragement. Ryan is such an important part of this team and everyone will realize that at some point (even Ryan himself).

And Jane, beautiful Jane. As many have already written, this is definitely Off's sexiest role so far. Jane could yell at me all fucking day, and I'd still stare at him with heart eyes. I'm completely bewitched by him, and I don't mind. I don't mind at all.

Don't ask me what the series is about, though (except trainees, obviously), because I mentally clocked out the first one-and-a-halfish episodes (out of boredom).

But now it's looking much brighter and I'm actually excited to see the rest of the 7-ish hours left of this series (because there are only 10 episodes, right?).

Please, just give me more of Jane (even if he's just reading an instructions manual for a printer). And Ryan excelling at his job. And Pah, too, because he's cute as fuck. And more neon lights (because I'm a slut for that shit).

[thisaintascenereviews]

10 Albums That Changed My Life: 2000s Emo Edition

For the past few days, I’ve been listening to an audiobook version of 2023’s Where Are Your Boys Tonight by Chris Payne, and the book chronicles the emo / pop-punk scene between 1999 and 2008. It’s about the rise and (unfortunate) fall of the genre’s mainstream success, but it metaphorically comes straight from the horse’s mouth. The book has interviews from loads of musicians and important folks from the “scene,” such as Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Geoff Rickley, Buddy Neilsen, Anthony Raneri, Hayley Williams, JT Woodruff, Chad Gilbert, Chris Carraba, Andrew MacMahon, and many others.

Because I’ve been listening to the book, I wanted to start a new series in which I talk about ten albums that changed my life, and I wanted to start with 00s pop-punk and emo. I was at the right age when emo broke into the mainstream, so a lot of the big bands at the time were like gods to me. Some of these albums aren’t necessarily some of my all time favorites, but I still love them. For all these episodes, I also wanted to include a “bonus pick,” where I include an album that’s a rather obvious pick, because it’s an album I love and talk about all the time. That way, I can talk about ten other albums that I may not have talk about as much.

The aim of this series is to highlight albums that are important to me, but these albums are in no particular order. I don’t rank these lists, because some of these albums aren’t necessarily more influential than another. Each one of these albums is important in some way, but I wanted to highlight them regardless.

Bonus Pick: Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High

For the first bonus pick, I wanted to start off with an obvious one. I’ve talked about Fall Out Boy’s third album, 2007’s Infinity On High quite a lot. This is the album that got me into music, and to make a long story short, I had listened to a few alternative albums beforehand, but I didn’t truly get into music until I heard that record. This isn’t the first album I picked up, but it was the most impacting one, because it truly blew my mind. This is still my favorite album, although it’s interchangeable with Michael Jackson’s Thriller, but this record really opened my eyes to how unique and awesome music can be, especially alternative, emo, and and pop-punk. I can say so much more about it, but this is the album that truly started it all for me. Little did I know that picking this album up at Target on the weekend of its release that it would change my life.

Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave

I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with the first couple of Fall Out Boy records, especially 2003’s Take This To Your Grave. Back before I would just order stuff online, or download music on iTunes, I would only buy music through retail stores, like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart. I remember finding Take This To Your Grave at Walmart for $9 back in 2012, and while I was a huge fan of them, I didn’t know their early stuff too well, especially their debut. I picked it up, and I absolutely fell in love with it.

Take This To Your Grave is the record that introduced me to the early 00s pop-punk scene, and it was a scene that I only vaguely knew. I was a little too young for it, but hearing their debut was mindblowing. In retrospect, Take This To Your Grave is a hardcore album disguised as a pop-punk album, because it has the ethos and energy of a hardcore record, but the songwriting of a pop-punk album. As a kid in my late teens when I really sunk my teeth into it, and with the “defend pop-punk” movement being huge, this record (and many more like it) worked for me. The lyrics just spoke to me, but I’ve always been a sucker for Wentz’s lyricism.

Over time, however, my relationship with the album soured a bit, partially because my taste in music was becoming more removed from the current pop-punk scene (and reckoning with the fact that a lot of that scene was very misogynistic, including some lyrics on the first couple Fall Out Boy albums), so I wasn’t as into them, and I championed more of the later work, as well as some of the post-hiatus albums. It’s come full circle now, because I really love Take This To Your Grave, warts and all. This is a record made by kids that just loved hardcore and pop-punk, so if you look at it as anything more, it’s doing the record a disservice.

Paramore - Riot

My first experience with Paramore wasn’t with 2007’s Riot, but it was with 2005’s All We Know Is Falling. That was the first album I downloaded on iTunes, back when iTunes was just exploding, but I somehow lost the album (I think it was due to losing my first account, or my hard drive crashed, something like that). I listened to the album pretty soon after, but in between that, Riot was released. Riot is the album that blew Paramore up to the upper echelons of the emo and pop-punk scene, and for good reason. I’m pretty sure I got this album at Walmart, but this record was the soundtrack to the summer of 2007. It came out right before my freshman year of high school, so I played it a lot.

Between Hayley Williams’ vocals improving tenfold between the debut and Riot, their sound having more of a “mainstream” sound, and emo / pop-punk being at the crux of its popularity, this record came out at the right time. It was lightning in a bottle, but they were truly something special. This record has some of the best hooks and vocal performances of any band in that scene at this time, rivaling Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance (the scene’s two biggest bands at that time, arguably). This is just a monster of a record, and one of the most pivotal and important records from that time, and it’s cool to see people still talking about them all these years later. They just won the first Grammy earlier this year for their 2023 record, so it’s awesome to see that success pay off.

The Academy Is - Almost Here

One of the most underrated bands in the emo / pop-punk scene of the 00s is Chicago’s The Academy Is. These guys didn’t get their time in the spotlight, or at the very least, they skirted with fame at the same level as labelmates and friends in Fall Out Boy. It feels like highway robbery almost, because their sound was just as good. Their first two albums really changed my life, but for different ways. I wanted to focus on their debut album, 2005’s Almost Here, because this album is arguably the more influential album compared to 2007’s Santi. Santi was a more eclectic and interesting album, but Almost Here was more influential, because it was a big influence to the mainstream rise to emo and pop-punk.

Vocalist William Beckett is one of my favorite frontmen of the scene, too, and he has such a good voice, especially here. Almost Here is a really catchy, clever, and accessible emo record that surely should have been bigger, but oddly wasn’t. I don’t know what happened, other than that the scene was just too saturated. There were just too many bands out there, and that’s one reason the scene began to disappear from the mainstream. There were so many bands that were vying for peoples’ attentions, but Almost Here is one of the best records of that era that not a lot of people, at least outside of people who were a huge fan of the scene itself, have heard.

Bayside - The Walking Wounded

Contrary to the belief of what “elder emo” TikTokers will tell you, there are more bands in the scene than Fall Out Boy, Paramore, MCR, and Panic. The scene is so much bigger than what you saw in the mainstream, and a lot of it began in New York, including the band Bayside. These guys got pretty big in the early to mid 00s, even playing some late night shows (a lot of bands did, which was super cool), and they’re still around now, but they’re not on the level they once were.

My introduction to them was 2007’s The Walking Wounded, which was their third album, but I found them through an Alternative Press compilation of with an acoustic version of a song from that album. I picked up the album, because I really enjoyed the song, especially Anthony Raneri’s lyrics and vocals, and the album surprised me quite a bit when I heard a pop-punk album with heavier guitar riffs than your average pop-punk album. This remains my favorite album from them today, although their newest album from this year is great, too, and really reminds me of the inventiveness I heard on that record. It showed me that pop-punk can be both catchy and heavy at the same time, and the record still rules today.

Forever The Sickest Kids - Underdog Alma Mater

In the late 00s, a lot of the emo / pop-punk in the mainstream started to disappear, and popularity waned for that style, despite a few bands still being popular. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic, and MCR still reigned as kings and queens of the genre. A new challenger emerged, at least in the underground, and that was neon pop-punk. Retrospectively named for its bright and colorful aesthetic, as well as how catchy and pop-focused the music was, neon pop-punk was the early 00s pop-punk fun-loving cousin that didn’t really take itself too seriously.

One of the most important albums of that movement, and while it’s probably not the first album that you could call neon pop-punk, Forever The Sickest Kids’ debut album, 2008’s Underdog Alma Mater, is a big moment for the genre. This album is catchy, slick, energetic, fun, and a little immature at times, but it also doesn’t take itself seriously and knows what it is. I always loved this record, because as catchy and synth-laden as their music, they had some good hooks and riffs to match. They were more than just a vapid pop-punk / pop-rock band, and this record shows it. They should have been a lot bigger, but they kind of fumbled the bag by releasing mediocre albums after and then just disappearing by the 2010s, so it’s unfortunate, but their debut is still one of my favorite albums from the scene.

New Found Glory - Sticks & Stones

Outside of Take This To Your Grave, I wasn’t familiar with a lot of early 00s pop/punk and emo, but where that album got me into that style of pop-punk, New Found Glory’s 2002 record, Sticks & Stones solidified it. Funnily though, this wasn’t the first NFG album I heard, that would be 2009’s Not Without A Fight, but it took me a few years to go back in their discography and listen to the album with their most iconic song “My Friends Over You.” This is easily one of my favorite 00s pop-punk records, and it’s kinda for that song alone. This record is so much fun, and it’s one of the first examples of easycore, where pop-punk and hardcore breakdowns met. You can hear it on this record a lot, and it’s awesome, but even after listening to this album for the first time in over a decade, I still enjoy it quite a bit.

Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends

Taking Back Sunday is one of the OG pop-punk and emo bands of the 00s, including New Found Glory, but I found their debut album, 2002’s Tell All Your Friends through word of mouth almost. This album was my all my favorite bands’ favorite album, especially in the 2010s “defend pop-punk” scene. Tell All Your Friends was a generation before mine, as I was too young when this record came out, but when I heard it, it blew my mind. I kept thinking, “This is what my favorite bands are influenced by? This is great!” There are loads of catchy hooks, one-liners, and mosh-ready instrumentation galore. These guys really helped to bring a new style of pop-punk to the forefront and you can hear the influence in a lot of records afterwards.

Panic! At The Disco - A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out

Panic! At The Disco’s debut album, 2005’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, is lightning in a bottle; this record could only have come out in the mid-00s. It has a really unique sound, especially for the time, but it helped to catapult emo to the mainstream. Hell, “I Write Sins” is one of the biggest songs from that era, and it’ll be a song that people always remember, let alone gets played at emo nights across the country. Fever is such an iconic record, but it’s also a unique and interesting album that showcases Panic wanting to aim higher in terms of emo and pop-punk. The album is split into two halves — an electronic first half and a baroque pop second half, but it doesn’t feel jarring or strange.

It’s funny, because I remember downloading only a few songs from this album at first on iTunes back in 2007. I found the band through the Alternative Press compilation I’ve mentioned over and over again. I heard a live version of album closer “Build God, Then We’ll Talk,” and I loved it. I ended up listening to the rest of the album sometime later, but Fever is still such an iconic and nostalgic album for me. It still holds up all these years later, too, especially for its unique sound.

MCR - The Black Parade

Talk about another nostalgic album, because The Black Parade is very much another album that defined not only my adolescence, but the entire scene during the mid-00s. Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, and My Chemical Romance were the big four of the scene at the time, but The Black Parade is really what cemented MCR on that list. Their first two albums were a darker version of the emo and pop-punk sounds that came slightly before them, and during their rise, but The Black Parade was a new sound entirely. Dubbed the emo Queen, these guys made an emo rock opera that really justified that description.

This record is huge, expansive, melodramatic, fun, dark, poignant, and incredibly interesting in all facets. I just absolutely love this record. I don’t remember how I found them, because I found them at the same time as Panic and Fall Out Boy (Paramore came last, as I found All We Know Is Falling a bit before Riot came out), but I was obsessed with this record as a kid. It’s one of those rare albums that I can listen to as an adult and still appreciate what it does on a purely technical and artistic level, because there are a lot of nuances that I didn’t pick up back then. It’s easily their best album to me, despite how they only put one more and disappeared (they still haven’t put out another album despite coming back a few years ago), and it’s the one that I always go back to.

The Cab - Whisper War

For my last pick, I wanted to include another “neon” album, but a bit of an obscure pick. The Cab were a band that were heavily involved with Fueled By Ramen, as well as Pete Wentz’s Decaydance imprint, even including both Patrick Stump and Brendon Urie on the main single for their debut album, 2008’s Whisper. Called “One Of THOSE Nights,” the song showcased what they were all about, and they had a really unique R&B and soulful take on neon pop-punk. Their vocalist had a lot of range, and reminded me a ton of Patrick Stump, but I just fell in love with how catchy and groovy that album was (and still is). It showed me that pop-punk could utilize more outside influences, and while The Cab never got as huge as the bands that they clearly were inspired by, they had a rather dedicated following in the scene, but they just never got as big as they really should have.

[itsguysnightitsironic]

INDEX

Once upon a Witchlight -- THE TITLE OF THE EP.

EXTRA CONTENT: . ILLUSTRATION (🧁) . COMIC (🎃) . VIDEO / ANIMATIC (🦢) . SHITPOST (🧚) If emojis are fuss together it's the two things ---> example: (🧚 / 🧁 ) SHITPOST AND ILLUSTRATION. If it's surrender by stars (⭐) it means it's an official LOA short that I was commissioned to animate.

We need some order in our life, not context, just order in the chaos.

EP. 1 CIRCUS TO CIRCUS

Remy Bonnaire from Tiger, Tiger comic??? In the dnd campaign? (🧚) ⭐Madryck Roslof living room. (🧁/🦢) ⭐

EP. 2 REQUIEM FOR A CLOWN

⭐ A little angry man in the void, what will he do? (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 3 LET THEM EAT CAKE

A very out-of-context Ep 3: Let them Eat Cake (🧚/🎃) ⭐ The Furries and Gideon (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 4 LOSE YOUR ILLUSION

EP. 5 BIG TOP BOP

The Only One (PART 1) (🦢 / 🧁) Gondolas are supposed to be calm and relaxing not.. Whatever this was. (🦢 / 🧚) A little angry man in the void, what will he do? (🦢 / 🧚) The Only One (PART 2) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 6 GUY'S NIGHT

Guys night! IT'S IRONIC, WE SWEAR-- (🧁/🧚) The Kremy's crew (🧚) They put a foot into the carnival and the Fae magic when: We need to be gay! Trust me gay is in, gay is hot, I want some gay, gay it's gonna be, NANDOR-- (🧚/🎃)

EP. 7 TAINTED LOVE

Would you blink already?!" (🎃) ⭐ A bright mind makes quicker hands (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 8 AT A SNAIL'S RACE

EP. 9 WHEN THE WAGON'S A ROCKIN'

EP. 10 RAUCOUS REVELRY

EP. 11 THE PIXIE DUST PLOT

EP. 12 SCARY MONSTERS AND SUPER CREEPS

EP. 13 AN ELF FOR ALL SEASONS

EP. 14 SASHAY AWAY

EP. 15 FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL

Payasos de rodeo (🧁) I'm sure the wedding was passed as a business expense. (🎃/🧁)

EP. 16 MONARCH FOR A DAY

Never forget what Prismir took from us. (🦢 / 🧚) "We have been, Carnival Lecroux. I love unicorns, and y'all own me one." (🦢) The Only One (PART 3) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 17 WHEN THE HARES GO MARCHING IN

What 24h in a carnival does to a man, ah? (🧚/ 🧁) The Only One (PART 4) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 18 SNAKES AND BURROWS

The Only One (PART 5) (🦢 / 🧁) Worse found (kidnapped into) family ever. (🧚 / 🎃) The Only One (PART 6) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 19 BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Lost things find their way into Prismir (🧚 / 🎃) Drink your fey milk (🦢 / 🧚) The inn on the end of the Road. (🧚) POV: You're getting adopted into a polycube after trying to murder them while on drugs (🧚)

EP. 20 HOT JONES

Fur coats and pumpkin labyrinths. (🎃)

EP. 21 RUNNING UP THAT HILL

EP. 22 HARE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

New phone, who diss? (🧁) H E R. (🦢 / 🧚)

EP. 23 STUMPED

EP.24 SLIPPERY WHEN WET

EP.25 THE ONE WHERE FIRE GETS PURGED

EP. 26 DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD

EP. 27 LORD OF FLIES

EP. 28 A COMEDY OF ERRORS

The cookie of true (🧚 / 🎃) ⭐ An animation is here. (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 29 THE SHOPPING EPISODE

Frankenstein of your own making. (🧁) Give that genasi a stick! A SEXY ONE! (🧚 / 🎃)

EP. 30 PHANTOM OF THE HOPPERA

EP. 31 ELECTRUM CHEF

EP. 32 A FEAST FOR FROGS

EP. 33 UP THE WRONG TREE

EP. 34 A CHANGE OF HEART

"¿Y cuáles deseos me was a dar?" (🧚 / 🎃)

EP. 35 BEWARE THE FOREST MUSHROOMS

"What's your favourite scary movie? Boo, you whore. That's not... That's not a scary movie" (🧁)

EP. 36 THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED

EP. 37 DREAD, BATH AND BEYOND

EP. 38 UNCLOG THE BOG

EP. 39 TOO MANY COOKS

EP. 40 STILL LIFE

EP. 41 THROWING SHADE

"That's life, That's what all the people say, You're riding high in April, shot down in May" (🦢)

EP. 42 ALL DOLLED UP

EP. 43 FUNGI'S NIGHT

EP. 44 MUSHROOM SAMBA

EP. 45 THROUGH THE HOURGLASS

"Eat your young before they eat you." (🎃)

EP. 46 THE JAWS THAT BITE

"Gresca i destrucció, riurem i ens penedirem, el cremarem el dimarts i patirem fins el diumenge." (🎃)

EP. 47 PLOT OF GREED

EP. 48 UP SHADE'S CREEK

EP. 49 THE LAST UNICORN

EP. 50

EP. 51

EP. 52

EP. 53

EP. 54

EP. 55

Born Guilty (🎃 / 🧁 )

🧚🧚🧚OH NO! 🧚🧚🧚🧚

🧚🧚Pixies are covering the way!🧚🧚🧚

OUTSIDE THE LOOP.

It takes two to trust, but only one to bleed. (🧁) Feliç dia de la Mercè, the weird sketchy carnival is in town. (🦢 / 🧚) What crisis are you on? (🧚) Kith and kin. /Aromantic week 2024/ (🎃) ---->ft. 🪻🪻BENEATH DARK WINGS🪻🪻 ---> ft. 💠💠ICEBOUND💠💠 ---> ft. 🥀🥀 EDGE OF MIDNIGHT🥀🥀 ---> ft.🌹CURSE OF STRAHDANYA🌹 ---> ft.✨✨STARDUST RHAPSODY ✨✨ ---> ft. 🌻🌻PRIME 🌻🌻 ⭐ They put the clown in the convention? (🦢 / 🧚) ⭐ If I don't go to hell when I die I might go to heaven (🎃) Te estoy amando locamente, Pero no sé cómo te lo voy a decir - LAS GRECAS (🧁) back to the office, baby (the last shift looks traumatized) (🧚/🎃) ---->ft. 🥀🥀 EDGE OF MIDNIGHT🥀🥀 It's pride month, baby! (2023) (🧚) Just, just don't go shopping, EVER (🧚/🎃) ---->ft. 🥀🥀 EDGE OF MIDNIGHT🥀🥀 Big Cat -- MORNING FROST (🧁) Some very out-of-context shitpost's. (🧚 / 🎃) A saint garden of lies and bones. (🎃 /🧁) Gideon Coal walked so buses would run (🧚) The 87 faces of a wagon. I PART 1I (🧁) Dental hygiene. (🧚 / 🎃) A blaze (🧁) OUT, just get out (🦢/🧚) "You made Uncle Kremy disappear? You took Uncle Kremy from Hootsie and left behind a doppelganger? OH, OH! JAIL FOR FATHER! JAIL FOR FATHER FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS!" (🧚) Falling into the background. (🧁) THE WAGON AT THE END OF THE ROAD (🧚 / 🎃) ---> ft.🌹CURSE OF STRAHDANYA🌹 Cold-Blooded surrounded by heat lamps (🧚 / 🎃) Some human skin and bone (🧁) Surviving enough to start living again. (🎃) RIP the OUAW gang, they would have loved Eurovision 2023. (🧚 /🧁) There's some video in the funny pictures (🧚 / 🦢) Have more of these charts, but the conflict edition (🧚) My favourite part of Once Upon a Witchlight was when the Witchlight said "Once Upon a Wicthlight!" and Oncing Uponing a Witchlighting all around. (🧚) "Would you so kindly call the accused not guilty?" (🧚/🎃/🦢)

[giggly-squiggily]

Squiggly! My go-to for seratonin! How are ya?!?! We have a mission! Seratonin is needed! So, (definitely for the good of the universe😌✌) Can I please request Switch! Anya and Switch! Loid fluff? For the good of the universe✨

*salutes* Agent Anon- thank you for the mission report! The good of the universe is our top priority here at Fluff Monster Agency; here is the much needed seratonin. Best of luck to you,

Agent Squiggily.

(keakrjkeajkrejk But really; Hey anon this prompt made my heart melt! I love it so much aherjeajkjra I've gotcha covered! :D)

Cloud 9 (Taglist)

@thatbigbisexual29, @dirtpie39, @duckymcdoorknob, @baby-tickles2022, @cupcake-spice13, @backy-san

“Anya, it’s time to study.”

The small girl didn’t respond, eyes glued to the rerun of Spy Wars playing on the TV. When he called for her again, she barely responded, mumbling something while Bondman flew over the screen.

Loid closed his eyes, resisting the urge to sigh. As of now her grades were…undecided. She wasn’t making Stella level scores- if anything she was just barely avoiding failure with each new test. 

Still- she was improving. It was little things, but Loid started seeing understanding in her gaze as she took in the problems before her. She still made mistakes, but now she seemed to understand why she made those mistakes. Loid was fairly proud.

Unfortunately, getting her to study was an entirely different battle.

“Anya, we had a deal.” Loid turned off the TV, earning a wide eyed look of shock from his daughter. “Come on, grab your books. I’ll make us some cocoa.”

“But Papa…” She started to whine, pouting when he gave her a look. “Okay…”

“Good girl.” He nodded, watching her go, putting the water on. He needed to find a way to make studying more effective for her. Even at the snail's pace they were going at- she was clearly starting to understand the material before her. It was the distressed expression she wore every time they sat down to work that left him stumped.

Did she not like studying? Was it him?

Maybe it was both.

‘Think, Twilight. She needs help- studying would go smoother if you can make it more enjoyable.’ He tapped his fingers as he brewed over the solution. How can he make it more enjoyable for her? He tried making a cartoon out of the information, but that took a large amount of time and wasn’t very fun-

Fun. That’s it!

“If I make it fun…she’ll learn better.” He mused out loud, taking the kettle off just before it could scream. “Now where do I begin?”

~~~

Anya shuffled out in a cloud of gloom, books in hand. She’d rather be watching Spy Wars- the episode was one of her favorites.

Well- they all were her favorites. But this one was her super duper ultra favorite!

Or was it? She’d have to figure that out later. It was time to study.

Looking up from her thoughts, she paused when she reached the table, finding not Papa but-

“Agent Penguin? What are you doing here?” She asked, immediately taking on her role upon seeing her plush ally. “What’s the situation?”

“Agent Anya- we have an emergency!” The penguin’s voice sounded funny- almost like Papa. “Agent Mama has been kidnapped by the evil wizard!”

“GAH!” She gasped, then covered her mouth. She was a Spy- she couldn’t show such emotion! “That’s not good. Did you see who took her?” She ran up to the table, tossing her books against it. Now was not the time for studying- she needed to save Mama!

“No, but he left a coded message!” On the table sat a piece of paper- a series of equations lined up neatly in two columns. “Only you can break the code, Agent Anya!”

The pink haired girl stared at her homework- expression blank. Ah. So they were studying. She looked up to say just that- but paused.

What if this really was the work of a wizard?

What if Agent Mama really was kidnapped?

Raising her chin, she squared her tiny shoulders, sitting down and taking her pencil. “Hang on, Agent Mama- I’m gonna save you!”

~~~

Loid would pat himself on the back had he not felt a tad embarrassed. A tiny recorder was pinned to the back of Agent Penguin, connecting to a wireless microphone he held in hand as he played his part. He felt bad for using Yor as a prop for his plan- his wife wouldn’t be home for a good chunk of the day, adding validity to his story.

Still- Anya didn’t seem too distressed. Her expression was one of concentration as she worked through the problems he wrote out- familiar ones she’d done before with one a few newer ones to test her skill. The last thing he wanted was her to get frustrated.

“The wizard’s code is proving rather hard.” She mumbled when she came across one of the newer ones. “But I won’t give up. Not for Agent Mama!” Something in Loid’s chest squeezed.

“What part of the equa-code is giving you problems, Agent Anya?” Loid asked, shifting his view just enough to see her page. The answer came to mind almost immediately, along with how to solve it. “I worked in code breaking back in Antarctica. I might be able to help.”

“What’s Anarca?” Anya blinked, looking up. Loid tried not to laugh.

“A really cooooold place.” He drew out the word, making her giggle. “I cracked codes to keep me warm!”

“Okay!” She stood and pointed at her work.

The studying continued.

~~~

“Done! Now what?” She asked, looking at the finished page. All the answers were written, now she just needed to decode it.

“Look, Agent Anya! On the back!” Agent Penguin’s voice made her turn it over, seeing a box drawn on the back. One row was all numbers while the other was all letters. “You have to write the code!”

So there WAS a wizard! Anya felt her heart race, cheeks warming with glee. “I can do this! Hang on, Agent Mama!” She took her pencil, flipping the paper back and forth while she matched word to number. Her adrenaline was racing as fast as her hands; in her head she heard the theme song to Spy Wars playing in the background. This was it! She was gonna save the world!

“What does it say?” Agent Penguin asked as she finished. To her, his flippers were flapping frantically, eyes big with excitement. She looked at her work.

“Wi-Wizawd Of Packles?” She read, brows furrowed in confusion. What did that even mean?

“Oh no…Agent Anya- The Wizard!” Agent Penguin sounded frantic. It was if-

“Muhaha! Found you, Agent Anya!” Someone grabbed her from behind, making her scream. When she saw who it was, she gasped.

“The Wizawd Of Packles!” She cried.

“Ah Ah, little Agent! I am The Wizard of Tickles!” He raised a gloved hand, fingers wiggling. “And with my awesome powers, I shall take over the world! Starting with defeating the greatest agent ever to exist!”

“Noooooo! Paapahahhahahahahhahhaa!” Anya cried as those wiggling fingers found her belly, the Wizard’s power too strong to fight back.

~~~

“Pahahahhahhapahahahhahahaha!” Anya cried in his arms, squirming to and from beneath his hand as he gently tickled her. “Sahahhahahahhve mehehehehehehe!”

“Who’s this ‘Papa’ you speak of? I am the great Wizard of Tickles!” Loid roared playfully, keeping up the gentle touch as she swatted at his chest, little legs kicking at his shoulder. “I have come to defeat the Great Agent Anya! Surrender!”

“Nehehehehhehever! Aahahhahahnya wihhiihihihll nehehehehehever gihiihive ihihihin!” She cried, ever the diligent Agent. “Whehehhehehere’s Aahahhehehehehgent Mahahahhahamhahahahaha?”

“Agent Mama is within my clutches! I’ll never return her!” He grinned, eyes bright with mischief. “Now I will make you give in! Take my ultimate attack!” He brought her up and blew a raspberry against her shirt, shaking with mirth at her shriek of laughter. “Give in, Agent?”

“Nohohohohoho! Ahhahhahahhagehehehehent Pahahhahahahapahahahha, hehehehehehelp!” She cried again, cheeks pink.

Feeling merciful- Loid eased up on his tickles, watching her gasp for breath. “Agent Papa, yes? I’ll have to grab him too! Tell you what- let’s make a deal, little Agent. Surrender to me and become my minion, and I’ll release your beloved Agent Mama!”

“Heh..hehe…y-you mehhehean it?” She asked, looking up at him with big eyes. “And you wohon’t take Papa eihither?”

“You have my word. I will return your agents.”

Anya seemed to consider this. Then she nodded. “Agent Anya will take their place.” She held out her hand, expression serious. “Release them.”

“Very well. You have a deal.” Loid took her small hand in his, giving it a shake. That’s when she smiled a rather devious smile. “Gotcha!”

~~~

“Gotcha-?” Before the Wizard could react, Anya pounced, jumping from his arms to the couch before latching onto his back, her tiny hands attacking his ribs from behind.

“Agent Anya fooled you, Wizawd! Anya took a magic pill that gives her her enemies powas!” She giggled as the great Wizard fell to his knees, shaking with barely restrained mirth. “Take that!”

“C-Clehehehver Agehehent!” He gasped out, giggling helplessly beneath her grabby hands. “Spahahahhare mehehehehe!”

“Hmm…no! Agent Anya has demands.” She nodded, crawling around and clawing at his belly, making him properly laugh.

“D-Demahhahahahahands?” He gasped out, falling on his back as she sat on him, tiny fingers poking and prodding his stomach. “Whahahaht demahhaahands?”

“Agent Anya wants Agents Mama and Papa returned immediately!” Anya nodded, raising her chin to keep up her act. “Anya also wants peanuts! And…that’s it. Do you accept these demands?”

“Ahehehehehahha yehehhehehes!” He gasped out, cheeks red and eyes growing misty. “I acehehhehehept!”

“Okay!” Anya stopped her tickles, smiling down at him as he gasped for breath. “Agent Anya has spared you. Now return my Agents!”

“Vehehery well…” He groaned, reaching up and covering her eyes.

~~~

“Agent Papa!” She cried with glee, hugging said man as Loid appeared before her eyes. The blonde laughed, tossing away his gloves as he held her close, running a hand through her hair. “I’m back. That mean old Wizard caught me by surprise. Thank you for saving me, Agent Anya.”

“I did! I saved you!” She smiled brightly at him. “He had a funny name- The Wizawd of Packles. What does that even mean?”

“I…don’t know.” Looks like she missed one. That’s alright- she got most of it, much to his satisfaction. “Looks like he won’t cause any more trouble for now though.”

“For now…” She murmured suspenseful, earning a chuckle. “Wait- where’s Agent Mama?”

Just as she said this, the front door opened, revealing none other than said woman. “Hello! I’m home-”

“Agent Mama!” Anya ran up to her, nearly taking her down with the strength and speed of her hug. “The Wizard gave you back!”

“The Wizard?” She looked up at Loid, smiling at the growing blush on his cheeks.

“Long story. Hey, why don’t we have that cocoa before I start dinner?” Loid asked, earning cheers from the girls.

Soon the Wizard of Packles became a regular during study nights.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Season 2 Rewatch Drabbles: 2x5 The Doctor

Summary:  A series of 100-500 word drabbles to accompany my rewatch of season 2 of Once Upon a Time as an attempt to finally jump start the muse again.  There will be a drabble–either a deleted scene, a “fix it” fic or a character musing for each episode of the season.  Focus will be on Emma, Henry, the Charmings and Killian–with an emphasis on the very beginnings of Captain Swan’s epic love story, as soon as a certain dashing pirate makes his appearance.  

Word Count: 491

Other Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (17.5) (18) (19) (20) (21-22) (22)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Emma, are you sure about this? Mary Margaret asked, brows furrowed. 

Emma stopped pacing and stared at her mother. Truth be told she wasn't sure about anything, hadn’t been, well, really since Henry knocked on her door back in Boston, but especially since she pulled the "blacksmith" out from under the pile of bodies. It was the strangest and most exhilarating thing she had ever experienced, a shoot of pure, unadulterated electricity running through her entire body as soon as she touched his hand. For one moment, one singular moment, everything came into focus, like a camera zooming in on its target.  It was like she'd suddenly found something that she didn't even know she was missing, like in one blinding flash of light, everything in her entire insane life just made sense.

 She'd blinked, let go of his hand and stepped back. The spell was broken.  She’d felt something else, too, when she’d looked into his eyes as he sat at the table, accepting the drink they’d brought him. She’d felt her superpower kick into high gear.  Whoever the hell this man was, he wasn’t a cowardly blacksmith who’d hidden under a pile of bodies to escape murder at Cora’s hands.

 "I'm sure," Emma said, her eyes hard. "He's lying. There's no doubt about it. We can't trust him, anymore than we can trust Cora. Mulan. Tie him to that tree until we can get him to talk."

The man protested weakly as Mulan complied, pulling him roughly with her, slamming him against the tree and binding his hand and stump behind his back. The other princess, Aurora, Emma thought it was, looked troubled, wringing her hands and shooting the man pitying looks. 

Snow pulled her aside and tried one more time.  “Emma, I know Cora.  I know what she’s capable of.  If this man is her victim, maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

Emma glanced over at the man again, saw the look of cowardice leave his eyes and a look of defiance take its place.  Her heart began racing again as her stomach swooped. She hadn't felt anything remotely like this since Neil, and she knew very well how that had ended up. In the space of a moment, Emma built up the walls around her heart thicker and higher and more unscalable than they'd ever been. Never again would she let herself be hurt like that period never again would a man destroy her like Neil had.

“Whether he’s her victim or her coconspirator, he’s going to give us answers, and he’s going to give them right now.”

Ruthlessly shoving the feelings this man inspired into a deep, dark, secret closet of her heart and then padlocking it, Emma clenched her fists and stomped over to him.  She was getting those answers and she was getting them now.  Then she was going home, far far away from piercing blue eyes and a devilishly handsome face.

                                                                                      NEXT CHAPTER-->

~*~*~*~*~*~

[smoshgoshbefosh]

jan 14th!!

Already, right off the bat, your birthday has ICONIC videos.

What Smosh Videos were Posted on Your Birthday?

2011:

Paranormal Easy Bake Oven- Smosh Main

2012:

Crazy Pokemon Killer- Smosh Pit

2013:

Dirty Gurls in Our Mail- Smosh Pit

Finding Easter Eggs (Why We're Single)- Smosh Games

The Lost Christmas Episode- Super Mari Fun Time

2014:

Eat Bubbles Mother F@#ckers (Backseat Gaming)- Smosh Games

2015:

Orcs In Da Hood (Gametime w/Smosh Games)

2016:

First Annual Stripper Run (Grand Theft Smosh)- Smosh Games

2017:

Terrible Prison Food w/Shayne- Smosh Pit

Extreme Scream Coaster (Cell Outs)- Smosh Games

2018:

Munchkin Epic Finale (Board AF)- Smosh Games

2019:

This Conspiracy Theory is Dumb- Smosh Main

2020:

Eat It or Yeet It 9: Drinks Only- Smosh Pit

The First Ever Meme Review Show (Never Been Done)- Smosh Games

2021:

No videos January 14

2022:

Can We Stump a Star Wars Expert? (Stan Vs Internet)- Smosh Games

2023:

No videos January 14

2024:

Has This Ever Happened to You? (Shorts)- Smosh Pit

Are We Relatable? (Board AF: What Do You Meme?)- Smosh Games

[dynjay]

I came up with a theory regarding Fionna and Cake.

So the series seems to be based off of the alternate realities created by wishes of others. In episode 6, the creators said that the Baby World universe was created out of BMO's wish, and given how much focus there is about wishes, I thought of something.

What if each world Fionna and Cake go through are wish fulfillment scenarios from various characters?

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

Ep 1: Betty's wish (and I guess Wyatt) (Granted by: Ice Crown and Prismo) This is Adventure Time's main universe. We saw from the ending that Betty wished to Simon safe, sane, and alive, and we're simply seeing the aftermath of the wish here. Wyatt also got a wish that we saw.

Ep 2: Cake's wish (Granted by: Simon) Episode 2 and 3 are a bit strange, but it still makes sense. Both Cake and Fionna craved to be in the land of magic and Cake got her wish first in this episode.

Ep 3: Fionna's wish (Granted by: Simon) This is the episode where Fionna got her wish and managed to reunite with Cake. Honestly, I think 2 and 3's wisher can be swapped because it'd hardly make a difference.

Ep 4: Prismo's wish (Granted by: Prismo and company) I feel like the episode speaks for itself, but Prismo wanted Fionna and Cake to exist and this episode was centered around keeping them and their world alive. And he succeeded! For now, at least.

Ep 5: Finn's wish (Granted by: Prismo) In a early episode of AT, Finn wished that the Lich never existed, creating the Farm World universe. Later in the show, the main Finn actually went back to this world to destroy the crown. We're seeing the aftermath of that here.

Ep 6: Bubblegum's wish (Granted by: Prismo and/or Bubblegum herself) This one's tricky to know for certain. There's a lot of characters missing here since we're focused on the duality of Winter King and Candy Queen, but I think that's a hint to whose wish this could be.

The only person we're shown to have the brains to potentially "fix" Simon's insanity is PB and it's suggested things went the same UNTIL around 100 years ago when Simon was "cured".

However, PB hates magic. She likes solving things with science and it's possible she wanted the most logical, least intrusive solution to cure Simon as naturally as possible, but was stumped on exactly how.

The wish in this case might've been to learn just the knowledge on how to get rid of Ice King's insanity, but it ended up being only that. Just getting rid of his insanity.

It'd line up pretty well with Prismo's monkey paw effect, considering what happened to both of them.

Ep 6 Ending: BMO's wish (Granted by: Prismo) The baby world was said to have been caused by BMO who wished they could watch over everyone in peace and safety. Unfortunately I can't find a direct source to this, but apparently the creator said this.

Ep 7: Marceline's wish (Granted by: Prismo) This one's also tricky. The biggest difference here's that Simon presumably managed to survive the Mushroom War, but had no defense against the vampires, causing him to die too soon to meet Marcy.

I think the implication here might be that Simon never found the crown, but found a bomb shelter to survive through the Mushroom War. Humanity found a way to survive the war, as we saw in Islands, so this would track.

If that's the case, this may imply that someone wished for Simon to never find the crown to become Ice King, but still survive the war with the rest of the humans.

The irony here's that he still died anyway from the vampires due to having little to no defense against them without the crown, which would line up nicely with what Marceline could've potentially wanted.

Ep 8: Lich's wish (Granted by: Prismo) Everything and everyone organic seems to be dead. This was the Lich's original wish before Jake changed it, and we're seeing the aftermath of it here.

Ep 9: Simon's wish (Granted by: Simon) This episode hasn't come out yet, but what was established was that Simon's been wanting to go see GolBetty since the beginning of the series, and the ending of episode 9 suggests that where they went.

Ep 10: ???'s wish If I were to take a guess, I think this would probably be Jake's wish in the sense that life for everyone continues in the original AT's universe; the one that Jake's wish managed to preserve.

What do you guys think?