#I don't even know where to begin in explaining it

[ms-demeanor]

hi, hopefully this isnt a stupid question -- this is only my second election i'm voting in, and i'm a little confused about results. is it actually confirmed that trump has won, or is it just almost certain based on the counted votes? bc i know that provisional ballots (like mine) probably arent immediately counted, and there was that thing about votes needing to be verified because of signatures, plus to my knowledge the electoral college doesnt vote til december? i'm probably just grasping at an infinitesimal chance of things not being shit, but also i do actually want to understand and google is not helping :( if you can't explain no worries, you just seem to be knowledgable & willing to answer questions haha

This is absolutely not a stupid question.

So everything is currently pointing at what is most likely, not at what is 100% certain, but it's like 99% certain. There are still votes being counted, but in the states where the election has been called it has been called either because enough of the ballots have been counted that the remaining count wouldn't change the results, or that the area is historically so strongly in favor of one party that it's exceptionally unlikely that they'd flip the other way (for example, they're still counting california's ballots but you're more likely to get struck by lightning five times today than california is to flip red in this election). The places that have not yet been called do not have enough electoral votes for Harris to win the election.

The electoral college is exceedingly unlikely to flip their votes against the state/district vote; "Faithless electors" is the term for members of the electoral college who would vote against the vote they are committed to for their region. It was something discussed in both the 2016 election and the 2020 election and flipping the electoral college without winning the election was the motivation behind J6. As shitty and bullshit as I think the electoral college is, if you're going to have one and you're going to have the rule of law, you can't hope for faithless electors because what you're hoping for at that point is that the people representing you are acting directly against the choice of the voters.

I want you to listen to me. I have been voting in presidential elections since 2004. Presidential elections always suck. Who the president is does matter, and does impact your life, but you genuinely do not have a ton of influence over that so you can't let it throw you into despair and inaction, because we should be active and political and protesting the wrongs of the world even if your favored political party wins. Vote in local elections, work with your local community, and if your local community sucks too, work with online communities to both give and get support.

Whenever something like this happens, people pass around the Mr. Rogers quote about looking to the helpers. I like that quote. I think it's good, I think it's hopeful, I think it helps! But I also think that sometimes it's even more effective if you look for how to help. Who are you the most scared for after this election? Who are you worried about in your community or among your friends? What can you do that might make their life easier? What can you do to protect people like that in your community? What don't you know that might make you better prepared to help them in the future?

One thing that I think is a fantastic way to prepare to help is to either begin or continue learning a language that you don't know. I am working hard on my Spanish because I live in California and there are a ton of Spanish speakers here who I might be able to help. Is it directly aiding anyone right at this second that I'm practicing conjugation? No. But it might help someone who is being harassed by a cop, or who is unhoused and needs help, or who is being abused by an employer at some point in the future, and I can get myself ready to help. Learn how to use naloxone and pick up up an inhaler; you might not need it now, but it'll make you ready to help someone who does need it. Order free covid tests every chance you get, even if you don't need them, because then you can give them out to people who do need them. Plan B has a multi-year shelf life. Pick some up so that you've got some on hand if someone needs it.

Maybe there's nothing you can do right at this exact second (though if you are able to donate to gender affirmation fundraisers, border kindness, abortion funds, bail funds, etc., you can absolutely do that), but you can get ready to help someone who will need you someday.

[quitepossiblyknot]

"quantum leap exchanged for a decent heading" - by Ekow Arthur $prismelanin *

Singularity, in carrying a single image, distal, gripping

Finger dithers, it soon is vestige, fits to what's augmented

An authentic position in getting the picture, switch first

Reaching the village, lungs filling, swelling of this worth

Sovereign, no longer impoverished, the coverage of what governs mental isn't obscured, what knowledge is stronger, pouring into her fixed cure

Ensure the lineage, to see a future with ya girl, leverage, which swirls a galaxy

Beginning of friends naturally, connection is a tapestry

Fist twirls to remove monitoring spirits, clearing the air, the feeling is weird of conquering appearances

Mask off, facing demons, slaying even ghosts, the impossible was finished

Shifting paradigm, pair of eyes remote view, paraphrase, phase loop, to go through a portal sorta scared

Time dilated, immortal here, all praise to free quince

Distorted lair, transported pair to a marble square where every fractal is a warp to stare in hyperspace

Hyper plane, parallel, imposition for the Cartesian points, important shares, no one cares about Elysian voiced, for the field is solely ours

So we scour to know da hours are nanoseconds, canon to apprehension, can't go to where average tech is

Fixture to flesh is atoms, Madame, over here we electron scattering, select how matter is, weapons shattered beyond fragmented, incandescent to select now

Gathering, reported fear so I recorded chairs in vestigial, preliminary, interosseous ligament to visual, isn't scary anymore

Marbling for every floor, figured out what you took my hand for, as tours of the universe in hyperdimension extended to this moment

Had to extrapolate at rates to gather the components

High off ya love, this is what a dose is

Every extract of channeling is a dosage

Deep conversations was the doses

Most is asleep to frequencies, however we entered where the frequenting of these speeds quantify as decent leaps

Quanta in the fourth

Marbles for a knob, remember all the keys I gave you, now we're at the door

Don't marvel at the stars, our ancestors stuck together for this momentous occasion, we made it here after all

Didn't make sense how you mentioned friends, it didn't connect then, koan to Zen when presented a message in text, lexicon of a kiss

Baby, you upper echelon with a twist

How do explain a rabbit hole and a trip?

The signet ring with its symbol evolved our subconscious to dissolve and what appeared before us was Cygnus Wall

Akashic records whispers tall, wherewithal of a knuckle to get this far

How'd we get here? At the knick of time when we hit 8 ball, enriched which corridor, to sink, installed, what you're afraid of is bliss with pause

It hits different when it's within walls, Richter, scale

If you cared as much as I do, next flight moves, dare light groove faster than our frequency

Frequenting your virgin Mary, symbolism of 8,000 nerves, masonry isn't scary in instances as profound as her depths, bending space to curve what's left of gravity

We slowed it down enough to access what would rapidly get us right, universe to verses, candidly in sight a momentum to where the hand is south of horizon like

Pisces on the cusp of Aries, prime meridian of eye, sine to tangent, wavicle for quantum slide, time of my life

Counted each variant to account for a tear in the sky, maybe anti-vertex was an exaggeration of why the two of us are inseparable to a vibe

Twin flames at the decan of Aquarius, the carriers of dragonflies to compare the signs is ecliptic to this disc inside what's squared to this square of mine

Circling four corners, boundaries made for borders, incantations as brick & mortar, stabilizing finally from dilation that distorted

Transposition of Rick & Morty, rook is little miss bun cake and Capricorn is king, my 10th house at the brink, vertex to the west for sagittal in plane, clear ya sinus just to think, Sagittarius in stellium, tropical to blink

Alchemizing helium, neon in the pink

Castor oil topical, told you to make room for the illogical

Eons in the brink, heaven too shall pass so I had gamma rays to waves, distinct to a particle

Magic in a computation, forwarded an article

Arxvis

Jargon might not be completely understood, knock on wood

Phase lock to the west, what's next to Scorpio is mood to the oud, so what's good?

Bear with me while Virgo is sigmoid to the hood, colon, ratio of unit for a move, we're growing in guiding

Souls realizing they're healthy for each other is a helping of another in the other world

Otherworldly motherboard, matrices to cover pearls

Never cast to swine

Axis vertebra, reverse the weight, reverberates to match divine

At the center of a nebula, don't you dare ask me the time

Unexpected brat fell in my lap, so now I share the shine, justified emanation, explanation for the beacon, steradian was seeking me in a sequence of preparing this to prime vertical, working both Leo and Cancer

Neo in answer, timeless is where passion and joy find themselves carried away

Yod of orb, five on the face of die, northeast to a trace of nigh

Gemini, my dear

Nadir

I fear we got too close

Closing this portal for the portico, the sorta soul to program hematite

Even I make mistakes, seems polite to forewarn

Energetic signature to your warm is more for what's universal

Taurus at the midheaven, northeast to our core

Hopefully you've caught on... How many months til u get it? Need four more? 👀

Toroid in her for sure

Two things for certain, working to unite entails that inner workings serve a purpose and the circling of purple is what works in stating service

Coloring uncovering auric field to serving what's magnetic in electric flux, who knew prime meridian was circuits to computation of selected touch to let in lovingly what a seed speaks to breed kinks

Ovulation

Contemplating higher realms, she's drawn to how I'm constellation, now we delve to discovering what it takes

Angstrom to oersted, undulate

Interatomic distances, forehead kisses, misses is instinctive with conscious decisions, skipping stones to asteroid belts, extract voids well enough to living poem, neutrino entelechy, spreading both her cheeks between a smile and the webbing

Sticky situation thinking of a title for the heading

Blogging something nuanced to seeing where she is headed

Felatio is head if sentence is in an ending, period near Sirius is Ceres at the wedding

Intentions as pure is this is seeing where I'm heading

Feeding curiosity to recently a sending of right ascension while ascending

I don't know how to express a micro-dose, my ascendent sign is your rise, what arises in a quest is how the best is face-to-face and why I'm tending to a poetic styling, the emphasis is finding out directly

Even if I'm teacher it doesn't mean I don't stand correcting, to plans erecting

Planets projecting what a section of an upgrade is, what phase is lunar to the sooner that we get it

** her favorite underdog

* for now, I only have love to give...

Quitepossiblyknot ©

The Cygnus Wall

[feroluce]

Oh my gosh the way the Pop-Up Shop event ended and what it hinted at that's going on rn, and what it might imply about what's in store for the next time we see Sampo, I'm so excited AAAAAAA

Because it seems it really IS our Sampo, and whereas before I was absolutely delighted by the thought that he was possibly getting fucked with by some outside influence, and that was why he was saying such strange things... There's nothing quite like that going on here. There's no memetic virus messing with his head. There's no imposter, no possession, no nothing.

Just Sampo, and the ominous, all-consuming dread that hangs over his head like a guillotine, as he willingly walks right into what he is sure is a trap. ♡

Because this event was weird right off the bat, yeah? Sampo invites us in on a business deal that won't make him any money? The hell???

And I was just waiting on pins and needles for it to make sense, and oh, I was not disappointed at all. Because I've got a nice meta post about it over here, but Sampo actually DOESN'T make a lot of money most of the time- but he does always get something out of his dealings. He works for favors and good will and networking, but never for nothing. And it was the same here!

Sampo didn't make any money with this little business venture because that wasn't what he needed from it. That was never his goal to begin with. He just needed something entertaining.

Sampo has the key to get into the tavern's basement where Sparkle has been keeping his mask for him, but he still needs to be let into the front door of the tavern itself. The fun stories he got from this event were his entry fee. He leaves at the end because he's probably already on his way to Epsilon, where the World's End Tavern should be.

So that explains part of what was so strange this event. It's the rest of his ooc tendencies that have me like foaming at the mouth though because AAAAAAAAAA

There's long been hints of...some? kind of strain between Sampo and the rest of the Masked Fools. Like it starts all the way back in Belobog's main quest with the big infamous fourth-wall breaking sequence, where Sampo talks some shit.

And it continues in the Aetherium Wars event, where we finally get the confirmation that Sampo is a Masked Fool and even get to see him interact with Giovanni, one of his brethren! And where Sampo talks more shit. He also leaves the trailblazer a warning against Sparkle, who they hadn't met yet, and probably the Masked Fools in general.

And for some strange reason, it seems to be popular fanon that Sampo like. Talks a lot of shit? Or is rude in general? Like I feel like I see a lot of jokes about if Hook says a cuss word, it was probably his fault. But Sampo is actually pretty polite with everyone. I think the only time we really see him be harsh is when he has to set some hard boundaries in the museum event. Otherwise, he conducts himself like a model friendly businessman. Like he IS super shady and slimy, but he's still polite about it. I'm pretty sure the only time he actually talks any shit, and so bluntly, is about the Masked Fools or Epsilon as a whole. He really seems to have some sort of beef with them.

There's also his hilarious relationship with Sparkle, which I'm including for consideration because we don't know how common people like her are in the Masked Fools, so she might represent how Sampo interacts with a lot of them. ...But I'm pretty sure Sampo's grudge with her runs deeper than that anyway jdksajfdkljas

She's so funny I hope she fucks with him more FJDKSJAKD

Anyway, the point is, Sampo doesn't seem to see eye-to-eye with a lot of the rest of Aha's followers. And it was never hinted at before the pop-up shop event, but now I'm wondering if it might be like. An actual dangerous sort of situation.

Because during those brief packaging sequences, you get some. Pretty wild text dropped on you. There was actually a really cool explanation for it by another user already! But basically, all of the phrases are more fourth-wall breakage. They're mostly in-game achievements...except for one.

"This must be a trap create"

We never get to see the rest of the phrase. Just "This must be a trap create."

That is the only one we don't have an explanation for yet, at least as far as I know.

AN EDIT: Thank you to @/kittaykattz for this one, because it looks like someone DID find the source of this line. Unfortunately, it only came up in my search after I looked for the full phrase. I couldn't find it on the wiki before orz And yet this somehow does NOT make it any less ominous ajfdklsjkl The full phrase is "This must be a trap created by a Masked Fool!" and it comes from another in-game achievement, "Boxes and Ladders." Which is really cool, because I had figured the last line must be something from Penacony, since it was the only area not represented so far. So in that way, it fits perfectly with the rest of the text. Now we have one achievement from every area of the game, which fits with the theme that Sampo has been following the Astral Express, the trailblazer specifically. It's the way that it doesn't fit that's the weird part though. Because the rest of the lines that come from in-game achievements are all titles; that's why they were so much easier to find. For some reason, Hoyo saw fit to single this one out. They didn't use a title. They specifically chose the line about falling into a trap set by a Masked Fool, a trap with seemingly no way out, where one's only choice is to take a leap of faith and pray to make it out ok in the end.

Love that. Absolutely love that. That's so fucking tasty, I will be daydreaming for days on end now about Sampo finding himself in a horrible situation with no way out where all he can do is make a desperate attempt and pray to whatever might listen (probably not Aha fjaksljdk) that he'll survive it WHEEEEEE

Because Sampo talks so strangely throughout the whole event, but it gets worse day by day, morose and morbid and dreading and sometimes even almost like he's warning the trailblazer against something about to happen.

I've already lovingly discussed it in an analysis about Sampo's name (alias included) but like. There certainly are some fun connections there. The Sampo of myth was smashed and lost to the sea. Poisson was flooded. Brueghel died suddenly and left a final painting of a storm at sea unfinished.

The Masked Fools are referred to with imagery of water and the sea. And frequently so.

And so I do wonder what Sampo knows, and what he's expecting to happen when he gets to that tavern at the end of the world. If maybe he thinks he's walking right into a trap, and is doing it willingly, doing it anyway, because, well.

Belobog is on the line.

And Sampo has already proven he seems so ready to do whatever it takes to protect it.

[vrystalius]

Yo! Hello its me again! Could i please request like a reverse isekai where the kny characters end up in reader's house? And maybe she is like Mad rich but like.. Not a spoiled brat she likes to do charity and make money for herself and maybe she is living with her cousins, she is smark but can be stupid (if you know what i mean) i don't know, you can do whatever you want, (there is not enough reverse isekai fanfictions😭), anyhow, hope you have a good day and you didn't get sick of my (a lot) requests😁🫶🏻👋🏻

Hashira getting reverse isekai’d

Your favourite hashira suddenly appeared inside your home! How will they react to your home and the modern world?

Pairing: Sanemi, Kyojuro, Giyu x gn!reader

Sanemi Shinazugawa

He will not adjust to this change quietly— he is ready to destroy and slice every single piece of tech that decides to randomly beep or talk to him. You once found Sanemi trying to get his katana out of your ceiling after throwing it with full force against your smoke detector, after it beeped to remind you to change battery. It scared the shit out of him, so he put an end to that thing. Often times when using your phone, Sanemi accidentally activates Siri. He first thought that a demon was speaking through the phone with some kind of blood demon art, then, after explaining to him what exactly Siri is and what she does, he just begins cursing her and cussing her out every time she activates on him. You once had to remind him not to grip it so tightly, or else your screen might crack.

A thing he really, really likes about your modern home though is your bathroom. The shower, the large mirror, sink, toilet… just everything about it. The first time he stepped into your shower and closed the glass door behind himself, Sanemi was first confused about the shower settings. He turned every knob that is able to be turned, both cooking himself alive and dodging the water in fear of freezing, achieving both of these things in one shower. Once he finally found the perfect temperature, it was time to test all of the products you have, and not sparingly. Shampoo, conditioner, hair masks, shower gel, body scrub and whatever else he could get his fingers on— once he got out of the shower and returned to you, his smell was almost overwhelming, but at least you know now that his har is somehow able to look even better than before.

After a long adjustment period, you sometimes catch Sanemi watching the TV. He made himself comfortable in a corner of your couch, cuddled up in heated blankets (he learned how to use the settings all by himself!) and watching one movie after another. He’s quite the binge-watcher apparently, watching one action movie after another for hours on end. At the end of such day, he’ll complain about his eyes burning up without having any idea how that happened.

“Hey, wanna join me? Blanket s’ warm and I found a movie about some weird metal things moving really, really fast and guys kicking each other’s asses— Huh? Cars? Are those these fast carriages sliding around on there?”

Kyojuro Rengoku

He is incredibly curious about every single thing and would try to understand how everything works. Kyojuro would inspect your microwave and press every button their is, watching the pizza pocket he threw into there react to the different settings and then grieving about how the once weird snacks he wanted to try turned into a piece of burnt remains. Despite being the most comfortable with the traditional meals he used to eat, Kyojuro would love to try any dish you even mentioned by name once! Since you can get your food delivered to your front door, Kyojuro can try as many different cultural dishes as he can get his hands on! Or as many as you can get delivered to tour home. Ordering food is something he always gets very excited about, like what do you mean you can order all kinds of cultural food in a matter of minutes? How do the restaurants have all the ingredients available and are always ready to serve customers? And why do you refuse to order a so-called Happy Meal for him? Isn’t it supposed to make one happy?

Another thing Kyojuro is very excited about is the gym. He accidentally stumbled upon a fitness center after returning from buying groceries, staring at the people training inside with those weird machines. The hashira spotted a couple of people build broader and stronger than him, making him realise that this may be some kind of modern training ground. He begged on his hands and knees for a membership so he can explore all these new machines and weight excursuses. Once Kyojuro got inside, he was like a child in a candyshop. He spend the whole day testing out every machine, noting his own limits and setting goals on how to get even stronger. Despite no demons terrorising your world, he still wants to keep his muscles and gain strength to offer nice pillows you can lay your head on and also have the ability to open sealed jars for you without struggling.

“Can we order sweet potato tonight? I miss eating it, and it’s my comfort dish…. Also, I believe I may have started to develop homesickness. I miss my brother the most, though… Not that I don’t like it here, I love it! I just miss my father and brother, that’s all.”

Giyu Tomioka

Staying true to his nature, Giyu would be silent and awkward in this new space. He’s scared of offending you in any way but simply taking his haori off or sitting down onto your couch since he has no idea about the manners and behaviours expected from him in this world, but at the same time doesn’t bother to ask you in order to not burden you in any way. So, he quietly followed you around the house in and inspect your furniture and decorations, sometimes curiously picking something up and inspecting its function. His favourite object so far is a rubix cube he found on your desk. You caught him turn the sides, trying to understand what the point of this thing is. Does it have something on the inside? Why are the colours all scrambled up? While watching his irritation grow because of not being able to sort the colours, you suggested that Giyu can keep it and try to solve it after giving him a small briefing on what the point of the cube is. Thanking you, he kept the rubix cube on his body to play around with it whenever he has time. He is seriously invested in it and really wants to solve it in order to prove to himself that he can solve a complex puzzle and to maybe even impress you a little.

Also, you discovered that Giyu likes noise-canceling headphones, music and e-books. You often find him cuddled up together on your sofa, his face illuminated by your Ipad in his hands. You could hear the faint sounds of soft and slow music from the headphones he was wearing. He looks incredibly invested in whatever he is reading, so you snuck up on him and glanced over his shoulder, reading a couple of lines. It wasn’t a fantasy story or a random novel like you thought, but Giyu was actually reading an article about the behaviour of cats. Adorable, you thought, so you left him be and went on with your day. The water hashira eyed your form as you left, sneakily switching tabs and returning to what he was actually reading: a fluffy romance novel. He looks over his shoulder twice, thrice, checking if you are still near before feeling comfortable enough to continue his reading in peace.

“Can I borrow your.. headphones? They���re called headphones, right? Yes, I’d like to borrow them again. I want to use them to have more silence, you are being very loud and I wanted to read something.”

💠

You never bother me with your requests! They are always so fun to write for!! Also, I hope it’s okay I kind of “simplified” your request— I hope you enjoyed this anyway. Also, I didn’t include Gyomei because I was unsure of what exactly to write for him, but I may update this tomorrow and a small scenario for him <3

Anyways, make sure to EAT, SLEEP and DRINK enough!!

Take care of yourselves <3

[goldsnek]

So, I saw the question about tips for aspiring comic artists and it actually reminded me that I am curious about the topic as well😅

I like to write stories and I like to draw so it seemed logically for me to try my hand at comics as well but I'm struggling extremely with the layout.

It's seems very daunting when you sit in front of the empty page and you have to consider how to arrange the panels.

I'm the kind of artist that sometimes does big changes to almost finished works, so the idea of having to make a final decision before I even start with the actual drawing process, is kind of terrifying for me.

Long story short, how do you put your drawings into panels?

Do you really have to make a final panel layout at the beginning, the way I've been attempting to, or are there other possibilities I simply haven't thought of?

Last but not least, I want you to know that I absolutely love your comic, both because of your spectacular art and the amazing story! ❤️

Hello! Okay this is going to be long but I'll try my best to explain and be concise (and truly sorry for the english!) So, the first rule you need to have in mind is that you don't imagine the scene PER PAGE but PER SEQUENCE. What I mean is, you don't have to imagine a comic (like ''what I'm putting in this page'') but you have to imagine it as a video in your head, like you're directing a movie ( movies and comics are a lot more similar than we think as a media) For example, try to imagine someone waking up and going to open their window, that's a full sequence. it can be done in various ways, depending on what your character is doing and what's the ''mood'' of the scene. Remember always that your character emotions sets the mood for the entire scene. A thing that helps me a lot is ( like I said XD) watching movies, I focus on the mini sequences, a kiss scene, a fight, I pause the movie and rewatch that scenes various times, trying to understand the mood of the scene and how is shot. A sequence can even take 3 or 4 pages or even 10, it depends from whats happening, even more if it's a fight! But like I said the number of pages comes later. another importart thing to remember is that your characters needs ''a place to live'' If you make a story and never show a single panel with a background, the story is gonna lack something 100%; and I know... backgrounds are hard (I hate them) but you need at least 1 panel where you show the places your characters are living in. That is called establishing shot and it needs to be used when your character are moving to other locations. (or if you're talking about other characters in your comic and they are somewhere else) I'll show u some establishing shots now:

Took 3 different comics (narratively and stylistic speaking) Bone, Batman and TinTin to show you that even if the setting of the panels is extremely different, they still all have an establishing shot. Now, of course you don't have to put this in EVERY page, but like I said at least at the start of your comic, or when the characters are moving somewhere else, it's very important to show that. Also remember that the biggest panel you need to have in your sequence is the one where the most important action is happening. For example, if two people are fighting and someone gets slapped, that's the most impactful scene, so that's the scene that will need the biggest panel on your sequence, because it's the most important. Another rule is to make the camera breathe. Let me explain this properly, you, as a comic artist, are like a movie director with a camera. You need to turn the camera in various ways, up and down left and right, but always remember this : Never make a page of faces only. example, here are character A and B having a conversation, a page like this is extremely wrong, because the camera is basically attached to the character face and the viewer/reader is going to feel like they're suffocating in the room with the story characters :

You as an artist have the power to zoom the camera in and out, showing extremely tiny details or making a big panel that shows how Idk... beautiful or eerie or mysterious the background is. The biggest advice I can give you is to read a lot of comics, try to find series you love and study them, see how they make the panels, how the sequence are shown etc. The last rule (there are a lot more so if you have more specific questions just ask) I can give you and this is about your question in specific is that: Yes. Unfortunately you have to make the structure first and that has to be your final decision, if you make a 10 pages comic for example and you decide you don't like some stuff anymore and decide to change all the pages, you're just gonna end up in a endless cycle of always fixing and fixing and never be satisfied. Remeber this: The sketches and layout of the pages are the MOST important thing in a comic. The coloring, lineart, etc... it's just decoration. So hang on and start making layouts, and focus only on those for a period of time and then when you're 100% satisfied with the structure, you go and start adding the ''decorations'' Hope this helps! I'm not very good at explaining , especially in another language, but I tried my best XD

[inor-8]

Regarding Lily's top 20 Pokemon video (Part 2):

Ok so most of my individual posts from the video are from this section. So, I'm gonna try my best to articulate my thoughts as well as I can.

Again, as much as we disagree with her, all her favourites are valid as everyone deserves an opinion. Even Lily Orchard.

So without further ado....

Number 10: Froslass

Ok so we start her top 10 and how does she begin this section? By complaining about gender specific evolutions, especially, Gallade.

I don't know how but Lily seems to have conjured up this crowd of "90's Pokemon fans" that hate Gardevoir because it's strong and feminine. And also that GameFreak has made Gallade specifically to appease this crowd.

And to that I say: Huh???? Lillian Orchard are you delusional??? As far as I've seen there's no one complaining about Gardevoir's feminity ever! In fact the whole community seems to love it. And you think Gardevoir being male is gonna deter fans? Lily??? Do you know how popular femboys are??? Male Gardevoirs are a treat for them if anything.

And I find it bizarre that she she seems male Gardevoirs can somehow not exist anymore? You do know that getting a Gallade needs a rare evolution stone right?

But moving on from that, let's get to Froslass. Now, as Lily hates gender specific evos, she also initially disliked her. But what made her warm up to the Pokemon is very disturbing to me. She seems to like it because it eats the souls of men. Now, don't get me wrong. She does mention her love for snow and ghosts but still... Hearing her say "It eats men!!!" with such glee is disgusting to me. I always suspected she was like those puritan twitter rad fems but this has just made my suspicions stronger. You really hate men, don't you? You little misandrist!

And what makes me sas is I love Froslass' design and the lore behind it. It's based on a yokai (a supernatural spirit in Japanese folklore) called Yuuki-Onna (snow woman). If you've grown up with Japanese cartoons like Doraemon, Shin-Chan or Ninja Hatori like I did, you'd have seen glimpses of this yokai in the episodes featuring snowstorms.

Yuuki-Onna is the spirit of a woman who died in a snowstorm and now hunts for travels who get lost in the snow. I absolutely love it. I even used it in Platinum and it one-shot Cynthia's Garchomp. It's so sad to see it reduced to "violent man eater".

Anyways moving on...

Number 9: Pidgeot

Now, there's really nothing to say here. She just explains why she likes it and honestly it's a solid mon.

Number 8: Magmortar

Same as Pidgeot, nothing really to day here.

So instead I'll leave you with a fun fact: Magmortar's Japanese name is Booburn.

Number 7: Sceptile

Now, this is where Lily's "I'm not like other girls" attitude shows up again and this time her victim are the other evolved starters of Ash.

I don't know what you've heard Lily but Sceptile is veeery popular and an awesome one of Ash's Pokemon. But you somehow take it not being the second coming of Pikachu as a crime.

She calls Charizard "Mr. Overrated". Cope and seethe, Lily. This is Charizard nation.

And Infernape as an "angry monkey man". Well, Lily as for why Infernape is so popular is because he had a whole arc about him. His initial trainer, Paul abandoning him for being weak, to Ash rescuing and training him, to him defeating Paul and proving his strength. That's why people love Infernape.

As for Greninja, I don't know man I didn't watch that far into the anime. Ask @voidshogun the number one Greninja fanatic.

Number 6: Agron

Now again, nothing out of the ordinary. Except the fact that Lily has only changed her rooster 5 times in 7 generations. Yeah we could tell, Lilian.

Number 5: Lilligant

Now, as is expected of her, Lily shits on gen 5's story. Wow You're so different and cool Lily!

Then, she says that Petlil needed to have an introductory scene like ralts because the whole area was filled with Sewaddle (how dare you belittle sewaddle in your video Lily?!?) And then she complained about a dex entry.

Now here comes another "I'm not like other girls" moment. She mentions how she doesn't use competitively viable Pokemon because she values design and trains her Pokemon like a real trainer should. Wow, Lily? People playing with their favourites? Who would have thought?!? God you're soooo cool!

Number 4: Milotic

Another garbage take of "GameFreak took gen one's shitty edgy adolescent designs and made them better in gen three!" No they didn't Lily, you're hallucinating.

This is where the whole "gyarados is a result of 90's gritty toxic masculinity" take is from. No it isn't, Lily. You purposefully ignore the lore behind these designs and undermine them. God i hate this woman. I've already said what I wanted to about the Gyarados comparison in a previous post, so I'll leave it there.

And then she says she's one of those weirdos that enjoys Pokemon contests. Oh wow! You're so #quirky🤪 for enjoying a feature that is in the game for you to enjoy. Real special thing you've got going on there, Lily.

Number 3: Mismagius

She complains about gen 2. Lily, ma'am you would have gotten to play with Misdreavous in Crystal, if you played fucking Kanto!!!

And then she says what a stubborn little bitch she was for playing competitive with her favourites instead of researching builds....

I'm not even gonna say it this time. How many "I'm not like other girls" moment have we had so far?

Number 2: Butterfree

More of "Oh! She's weak but I love her! Aren't I do different and cool!?"

She actually mentions Madhouse in this segment, so archive this video in case she decides to lie about it and deny she made that too. Not like having proof would make her admit she made it.

Now, to no one's surprise....

Number 1: Gardevoir

Oh I don't have much to say about this one.

Just look at some of my observations from this segment:

(i) Lily can't shut the fuck up about how powerful and mighty and strong Gardevoir is.

(ii) Lily depicts Gardevoir as a monstrous banshee because she's an edgelord and thinks it's cool instead of using it's canon depiction of a loyal protector as pointed out by @manilovescp166 in my asks.

(iii) Lily is so obsessed with Gardevoir that she bases her purchase of a Pokemon game on how easily and early she can get a ralts in said game.

(iv) Lily thinks Gardevoirs as a species have the deepest bonds with their trainers and are the best companions. (Okay, I guess?)

(v) Lily genuinely believes that "She (Gardevoir) is lowkey implied to be the single most powerful Pokemon in existence. Given that they have the ability to create black holes if they're desparate enough." (Sure buddy)

(vi) Lily believes that there's this insecure crowd of Gardevoir haters that hate it because it's feminine. (She made them up in her head)

(vii) Lily thinks it's shiny is bad, also she hates all shinies so there's one consistent thing I guess?

*Sigh* this is genuinely disturbing.... Just how fucking obsessed are you with Gardevoir, Lily?! I don't even have words. Honestly I think the observations are enough to tell you how deranged this woman is when it comes to Gardevoir.

[sourbites]

Can I request a Kirk smut!! Friends to lovers kinda thing. For instance yall are smoking weed at your place and feeling a bit insecure about still being single and he makes a move on you???

Can't Tell You Why

thank you for the request! this was a lot of fun to write. i chose to write this imagining early 80s kirk, just to really amp up that clumsy love that friends share. hope you enjoy :)

The tip of the joint crackles, embers glowing as you coax smoke down into your lungs. The atmosphere in your bedroom is thick, smogged with smoke and giggles. There's soft rock playing in the background — some band Kirk chose.

"You're avoiding the question," He laughs, all love-me-tender brown eyes and crooked white teeth. You're both having fun, he's teasing you, you're teasing him. But still, you hesitate, exhaling smoke from your nose thoughtfully.

"I don't know," You wipe one hand on the front of your jeans. "I've only done it, like, once. Wasn't that fun, either— we were in this tiny car, and there was so much bumping around."

You twist on your bed, leaning up against the wall. Kirk moves, too, leaning his weight on a hand. "Once?" He repeats, surprised.

"What's that supposed to mean? You think I've been around?" You laugh, although there's some discomfort at his reaction lurking around in your mind. His mortification catches up with him two beats later. Eyes wide, laughing nervously along with you.

"I didn't mean it like that," Kirk exhales, smoke floating and swirling around the both of you. It hazes everything up: the light from your lamps scatter differently. Shadows look hesitant. He mulls over how to explain himself, self-conscious as he adjusts his position again. "I— I just meant, that you," He swipes a hand over his face, groaning in embarrassment through those hesitant chuckles. "You're smart, and— and real pretty. And charming enough to get anyone you'd want, so— I dunno, I mean, I'd..." He trails off. He speaks unintelligible nonsense for a few moments, before trying again. "You get what I mean." He concludes.

"Do I?" You take the joint from him. Something within you makes you feel sick with a feeling you wouldn't like to meet.

Kirk, ever the conversationalist, gives you an eye-roll. "So who was he, anyway?" He gestures to you, his index and middle finger steadying the shrinking joint.

You shrug. "Just a friend of a friend. I already told you."

He didn't say anything after that. Just hid behind his curly bangs, working his fingers into your bedsheets. Honestly, you're unsure why you even entertained this conversation. It's not like you'd find camaraderie within Kirk, not these days— tons of women want his attention. They want to taste his plump lips, hold his baby face, and kiss the crease between his brows when he frowns. You want to claw this bitter taste from your mouth. Gut the barbed vines in your stomach. As cool as you want to present, it isn't the most brag-worthy thing. Your first and only time being a half-baked hookup in some cramped-ass Ford Pinto? Get out the confetti. Your train of thought became an internal train wreck.

"Well," Kirk begins to roll another. "Where would you rather it happened?" Just briefly, his brown eyes glance up at your face to read your expression.

"Where else could it happen?" You ask no one in particular, voice hushed and ironically smoky in your fogged-up bedroom. You hum thoughtfully, picking at the thin rolling papers sprawled out on your bed. "Is it boring if I say a bed? Nothing else I can think of sounds appealing."

For some reason, you're allowed first drags. Pouring over you, Kirk lights the fresh joint between your lips. "Not boring at all. It's a classic for a reason, real nice when it's done right." He speaks easily, shrugging slightly. He's trying to soothe you. His smile makes your insides twist— and you enjoy it, in some macabre way. Teeth vibrantly white against warm lamplight and fuzzy shadows and black curls. You want to eat his mouth.

"Right." You sigh. Smoke billows from your parted lips. "I suppose you have? Done it right?" You're not sure why you ask that. You just want something to say. Preferably not about your (totally lacking) sex life.

Finally, it's Kirk's turn to bristle hesitantly. Easing his nerves, you pass him the joint.

"I've had some good nights, yeah." His answer is guarded. Your eyes glitter. What's he hiding? You nudge his side with your knuckles.

"But...?" You invite.

Kirk watches you for a moment or two, concluding you won't let this go. "But," He echoes, nudging you back. "I wouldn't say I've done it right."

"Why not?" You lean in. Drinking up the smoke that rolls off of him. You can smell him in the air, too, smoke-smouldering something spicy and musky.

He tilts his head to see you better. "Can't tell you," He whispers, grinning, wholly contradicting the inviting way his body slants to indulge you.

"Kiiiiirk."

Sigh. He's giving you the eyes. The eyes. Round and big, brown eyes so sparkly that they disarm anyone he's gazing at. You lean to him, attentive as a statue. You could soak him up if you wanted to; you're that close. Discarded smoke, already exhaled with all that high-inducing goodness soaked up, swirls around the both of you, murky white tendrils making you want to sway with them, beckoning you to move. Speak. Breathe. Live.

"Ideally," He shifts again, wanting to reshuffle his atoms. "Ideally, it'd be a bed..." A warm palm brushes your wrist and sneaks the joint from your fingers. "With you..." Your heart pauses. You stare at him, bewildered. "And me..."

What. The. Fuck.

Kirk takes your silence as a sign you want him to keep going. One hand cups your cheek, so tenderly you're tricked into thinking you're made from glass. "C'mon. How many more hints do I need to drop?" He coos at you before taking a much-needed drag of the joint to ease his own racing heart.

The funny thing is, you've hoarded his name in your throat for months. You didn't realise he had been holding his own breath for you.

Why? Out of everyone— you?

Kirk runs his tongue over his teeth, getting antsy. Softly urging you, he brushes the pad of his thumb along your lower lip while you just stare at him, amazed. You watch him from beneath your eyelashes as if he hung the stars in the sky. It comes again: the longing. The desire with no name, because no one has yet given you the language to speak it in.

Wordlessly, you draw his hand into yours. "That, um. Sounds nice." You reply, with what limited cohesive brain cells you have left.

Testing the waters, Kirk brushes his lips against yours, his breath mingling with your own. And it's hands down the most intoxicating thing you've ever had— you want to swallow it down in handfuls. Your eyelashes flutter again, and you almost feel drunk. He holds your cheek with clumsy, gentle fingers. He puts a heat in you that you didn't think was possible. And it feels so unfathomably perfect to feel wanted.

It's slow. Gently, you gravitate towards Kirk as if you're floating. Your mouths connect with a little more certainty this time. He laughs softly against your mouth. There is no better taste than that, you decide. Someone's honeyed laugh on your tongue. You're dizzy— should you feel dizzy? You want this feeling to stay.

Restless, he abandons the joint in the ashtray. With both hands in use, they swipe over your back, worship your thighs by the handfuls, winding and sewing roots in your hair.

"Can I take care of you?" Kirk whispers into the edge of your face, right underneath your chin. His mouth- wet and wanting, marks the uncharted territory of the soft underside of your face with a slow, hot kiss that ripples through you, reshaping you into something with an emptiness that's hurting to be filled. His tongue is laving wet and dripping with eagerness, building a taste for your skin as it glosses his spit down your throat. He tilts in to suck below your ear.

"Fuck, Kirk. Yeah— yes." You stumble out, nodding, your hips squirming in their cage of your jeans. You sweep your aching palms along his back, mussing his curls. He tucks your earlobe between his teeth, grazing the bluntness of his front teeth slowly along your skin. His breath sends chills down your spine. He grinds both hands beneath the waistband of your jeans, reading your mind.

He's aching to get a taste of you. The softness of your inner thighs swath around his head, dark curls rasping against your skin. His hot mouth is drinking you up through your panties, nosing into your pelvis. He wants to breathe as many 'I love you's' as he can into your skin, he wants to rake his tongue against your slit, lick your cunt open. Kirk can tell you're soaked— arousal drooling through the fabric that covers you, teasing him with the cock-hardening punch of girl flavour that he loves so much, seeping along the edge of his mouth.

Your underwear is thumbed off, his face shoved right into your cunt, and yet you still want to steer him by the shoulders and pull him closer. He takes slow, indulgent sucks on your quickly throbbing clit, that snowball into big, broad licks, tongue flat and mopping up your slick from bottom to top. He sinks two fingers into you, each pump straight down to the knuckle, creating crude squelching noises with the purest, stickiest arousal simmering within you. It's all burning hot, hot, hot.

Kirk swoops down again, filling his starving mouth with what he thirsts for: your leaking pussy. His cute nose is smooshed against your pelvic bone, and every dirty lap of his searing tongue forces your hips to scatter restlessly and yanks a whine from your throat. He's wild and heartache and sin, and it leaves you reeling from his every touch, every curl of his fingers and every relentless, starved suck of your clit, until his cheeks hollow.

"Can't believe I went so long without this," He groans with lusty delight, releasing your aching clit with a pornographic, wet pop. He kisses your parted entrance, tips his head down and spits on your slit. Whatever honey-soft brown was left lingering in his baby-love eyes has been devoured by total blackness, glimmering in delight as he watches his work of art, your soaked, spit-slick sex. He goes back in, shoving his parched mouth onto you, sucking in a fold, nipping the other, thumbing at your throbbing, swollen clit. He wants to eat you whole. Every salacious lick of his neverending tongue thunders within you— your cunt, tight and hot and so adored by Kirk's divine mouth, squeezes of arousal building within you until they morph into full-body trembles, your abdomen clenching and un-clenching, taut.

He glances up at you, dark eyes glittering behind his curly bangs, eyeing the heave of your tits with each tremoring breath. He touches you where hands simply cannot. His thick tongue eagerly tastes your heat: flesh, sweetness, salt. His cock is bursting against his too-tight boxers. You roll your hips against his mouth, chasing every lap of his tongue, every brush of his calloused hands. Softly, he becomes endless in you, and the searing pleasure he paints for you becomes explosive. Your volatile hands fist into his hair and yank, grinding down against his pretty face as gasps block your airways. He's drinking your soul - stuffing his mouth with every morsel of your worship-worthy pleasure.

You wail through the orgasm, something deep within you awakened and booming; how you survived him, you don't know. Your cum, sticky and warm, ebbs down Kirk's plump lips, smearing on his chin as he laps you up, thumbs spreading your cunt open to ensure he's licked every part of you clean. Even then, the impish flicks of his tongue do not go unappreciated.

To get him to stop his (wonderfully feeling) assault on your cunt, you peel Kirk away from you, a hand in his hair and your other palming at his shoulder. "How'd," You breathe, stupefied, "How'd you learn to do that?"

Kirk hides behind his curly bangs as if he has the right to get coy after gorging on your pussy so filthily. His teeth, white and charmingly crooked, glitter as he grins flusteredly. He wipes his mouth of spit and slick with the back of his hand. You feel a pang of emptiness without both his hands somewhere on your overheating body. "I, uh, I have a thing for it, I guess."

Great. You sigh, lost for words.

"Can we keep going?" You murmur out, gingerly pressing a warm palm to his worn-soft denim jeans, which are all warped and taut from his hard bulge.

Kirk's hands, all slow tenderness to soothe you, cup your cheeks, fingers sweeping into your hair. He lays a kiss on your lips with his own hungry mouth, kissing away at your senses. "Of course, beautiful."

His bulge swells right beneath your pussy, your orgasm simmering away and dirtying his denim jeans. Handsy with it, he palms off his belt and throws his jeans and boxers somewhere in your room. You let one of your legs fall open while he scoops up the other, forcing your thigh high up his waist, his palm sliding down to grab a handful of your ass. He sinks inside the molten ache of your eaten-raw cunt. He kisses you into oblivion at the sight of his thick cock disappearing within you.

The odd thing is, it all feels so easy. You're choked with the sincerity of the moment. Kirk's hands are devoted worshippers, thumbs stroking along your skin where you tremble, holding you where your thigh and hip meet, cradling you. Weightlessly, and yet with heavy limbs, you lay into the bed. You're full of paradoxes tonight. Light, heavy, friend, lover. They're all the same.

Your hands glide up his taut biceps, sliding down the slope of his back, tracing along muscles and bone. You hook him in, keep him close. Kirk's biting down on his lower lip, his eyes lidded, fluttering at the dreamy feeling of your dripping cunt clenching down on him in searing hot pulses. You shift your hips a little— you can feel his cock smushed into your cervix. Kirk groans low near your ear.

This hot, fulfilling fullness seems to seep deeper and deeper within you, endless. With a hitching breath, Kirk's hips withdraw, taking his body-hot heat with him. Until it pours all over you again in waves, easing your abuse-swollen sex, his thumb dipping down to gather the sopping wetness of your slick, cum, and his drool, and stir it around your puffy clit in full circles. All while he takes you in long, eager strokes, delicious friction causing your hands to skirt around his shoulders, putting a cramping, throbbing, ache in your hips.

You shudder, going tight around him. Kirk presses his face where your shoulder meets your neck. You can feel his baby face, sweet cheeks and plump mouth, those fawn brown eyes of his squeezed shut. Those charming features on a man who is fucking you with so much impeccable spirit that you're surely driven crazy with every rock of his hips, snapping up to wallop into the tenderly sensitive skin of your inner thighs. Every wet sound of his mean cock scraping the velvet insides of your aching cunt draws sobs out from deep within your stuffed-full belly. Your heart feels like a bass pounding in your ears, surrounding you with so much noise, every throbbing thump causing your breaths to shake.

Tangled bodies feel like they're cooking with all the hot friction between them. It smoulders, threatening to ignite— as if the hazy smoke of your social chainsmoking wasn't enough to put you in an awestruck daze. You clench your teeth, scraping your nails up the hollow of Kirk's shoulder blades, your own back arching off the bed, (which he uses as an excuse to get another gropeful of your ass) while he works your throbbing clit even harder. You want to squirm and writhe, but that'd disrupt the gorgeous rhythm of his cock. He drags himself through your wound-tight pussy, sloppy, indescribably thorough whacks of his pelvic bone right on the beginning of your slit.

You forget who's air you're breathing. Or if you're breathing at all.

In carnal screams that scratch up your sore throat, you murmur something akin to more more more don't stop, Kirk. Please. Kirk. His pace stumbles, landing right on his high while you're already curling around him, nails anchored in his skin, cries spilling from your lips. You squeeze around him with so much zeal that Kirk quite literally cannot move for fear of splitting you in two. All epic highs have lows, however: you scrape your hands down, tracing where your cunt oozes out your climaxes, feeling the boiling heat settle down, watching Kirk's glistening cock withdraw from you.

Everything feels suspended. Mid-air, hanging on the edge of something. Maybe it's longing. By some phenomenal stroke of luck (maybe it's your lucky day), the joint you were sharing is still lit. Kirk takes a long drag, exhaling against your clammy, bare skin. His mouth reaches your shoulder, and he kisses it with that pretty, insatiable mouth until you feel faint.

"Fuck," You take the joint he offered to you. Although you're not sure that this moment can get softer and warmer. "That was definitely better than my first time."

Kirk grins at your words, grunting quietly as he lays beside you, guiding your splayed-out hair away from your neck. "Just you wait. That was just a warm-up."

[your-sweet-cookies]

Cheng shook his head. "No. He was my first and only crush ever since I was like 14 or something like that. We grew up together and went through quite a few things that altered our lives and made our bond grow stronger." He explained and moved to grab a plate and start portioning the omurice on it. "Maybe that's why I was so blinded to begin with... Since we were such good friends and so close, I just thought that maybe he felt the same way back, but no... Our sexual relationship we developed once we hit early adulthood was only a friends with benefits kind of deal for him. Nothing more and nothing less." The young man sighed and after decorating the plate with some fresh vegetables and some ketchup to go with the omurice, Cheng placed the plate in front of Hajoon.

"You know... Just because he's an idol now, I don't see why he would have a reason to reject you. You're a respectable young man, working to become a prosecutor. Nothing that would make you a bad catch in my opinion." Cheng shrugged. "If you truly liked or still like that Doyun guy, I think that you should try pursuing him again. You have the name of the band, so you can check when and where they have their next concert and who knows, maybe it'll turn out he actually likes you back." The blond then worked on prepping his own plate now that he finished with Hajoon's. "If you have the chance, I think you should take it. At least it wouldn't leave you with any regrets in the long run about not even trying and wondering if he didn't actually liked you back."

If there was one thing that Cheng didn't regret about that time his heart was broken was that at least he didn't live with the regret of never asking Xuan if he liked him back. Knowing the truth lifted that part of burden off his shoulders and even if it hurt, it set him free from a future of incertitude and regret that he never even tried. "I mean, if you went the extra mile of learning how to bake any kind of baked goods, I feel like this means Doyun meant a lot for you. You don't do this just cause you want to impress someone." Eventually Cheng sat down at the table and began eating. "Hope it's edible. Again, sorry if it might be a flop."

@seoulxsinners

Cheng shook his head. "I guess that judging by the conversation we had last night you can tell what's the answer to your question." He looked up at the shifter, a slightly sad smile gracing his soft features. "I loved him with all I had, but it wasn't mutual." A sigh followed and Cheng stirred into the rice to prevent it from sticking to the pan. "Guess it was indeed very foolish of me to allow myself to get lost so deeply into a love that was doomed from the start. He was my first love and for the longest time I thought that I will never love again. But who knows..." He stirred slowly and turned the omelet to cook on the other side too. "Well, to be fair, I'm still not sure if that changed, but I am willing to at least try to give a chance to developing a new connection now and see where it goes." This time Cheng made it clear he spoke about Hajoon and he smiled again at the other. Hajoon has managed to at least convince him to give this another try.

"Oh, is that so?" The young man reached out to grab one of the pastries. "I thought that you said all your past connections and interactions weren't meaningful. So you actually had a crush on one of your hook ups or....?" His blue eyes stared inquiringly at the shifter, curious about the answer. "And are they still a part of your life, since you're still baking?"

@seoulxsinners

[orangepanic]

Why do you think that Asami has no friends at the beginning? With Korra it’s because she grew up in isolation and with Mako and Bolin it’s because they were homeless- but why doesn’t Asami have any friends? A girl like her should’ve had a million friends

First of all, bless you, anon. I'd literally opened up a window to talk to some friends about how alone in fandom I feel these days because so many people have moved on or stopped creating and interacting. Then I saw this message! Don't underestimate how motivating it is to get asks about characters and headcanons, or even just to know someone else is interested in your thoughts and wants to talk about mutual interests. You really brightened my day. I hope I can do the same.

As for Asami, I have three theories. The most likely and most boring of these is that it's simply convenience on the part of the writers. In book 1 we didn't see much of her personal life outside of interacting with the Krew so there was no need to waste precious screen time on Asami's other friends. After the show got renewed the writers had to scramble for reasons Asami would still be around - because let's face it, who winds up hanging out with your ex and the girl he left you for as your main friend group? IMO there's zero reason for Asami to be in the show after the first season if she has other friends and sources of support.

A more interesting proposition and the one I mostly go with in my own fics is that Asami did have other friends initially, but that they all abandoned her after her father's arrest. She'd have gone to a fancy private school full of other rich kids with other rich and important parents who'd know that a connection to the daughter of a convicted felon was now social suicide. Suddenly nobody returns her calls, everyone is busy, that invite to Su Li Lim's party happens to go astray, etc. With so many social doors now shut to her, hanging out with the former Fire Ferrets makes more sense. She might even do it initially out of spite in a "well FINE, I'm gonna go be important to the Avatar and go fight crime and be awesome" kind of way.

My last theory is that Hiroshi Sato didn't really let Asami have friends. Acquaintances, sure, but he wouldn't want her growing too close to any dangerous benders and there wasn't an easy way to do this without it being obvious that's what he's doing so he didn't let her grow close to anyone. I think of this as the Victorian novel scenario where Asami is disincentivized from doing kid stuff to "take care of father" and from an early age assumes some of the duties her mom had taken on in terms of household management. She's somehow always too busy for friends. When the class field trip comes around her dad needs her for something important. This might also explain how an 18-year-old thought they were qualified to be CEO of a huge company. She's already managing half the staff at the estate as well as the vendor contracts. How hard could it be?

But what do you think?

[a-998h]

Emotional Storm

Well, this is not good. Vaggie and I just joined everyone else downstairs. What I'm now looking at is Charlie with red string, papers, and a multiple cork boards while she looks like she hasn't slept. He'll, she's not even fully put together as she only has her shirt, bootie, pants, and apparently suspenders on. She's mumbling about stuff relating to the hotel, but I can't hear her. We're all worried, especially Vaggie. I have no idea where Alastor is, but that takes a backseat to whatever is happening with Charlie.

"Charlie?...Sweetie, you, uh. You good?" Vaggie asks.

"Nope, no! Not really! Haha!" Charlie tells her.

That does nothing to reassure any of us. Charlie goes on about how she's trying to figure out why the hotel isn't working. As she rambles I feel the fucking hotel start to shake! Her hair briefly flairs up, and a pair of horns grows from her head and disappear just as fast. I give Charlie a hug, and she returns said hug in a manner that will either break my neck of suffocate me. As she starts spiraling once more, Vaggie speaks up.

"Maybe it's time..." Vaggie says.

"No," Charlie responds to the half finished sentence

"To ask..." Vaggie continues.

"Don't say it." Charlie begs.

"Your dad," Vaggie finishes.

Charlie groans as Vaggie finishes her sentence. Vaggie assures Charlie that as much as Charlie hates the idea, we need as many people on our side as we can get. My eyes widen as the only way for Charlie to be princess of Hell is if her dad is... Lucifer. My heart rate soars at the thought of seeing Lucifer himself. The only version of Lucifer I know is the hot version played by Tom Ellis. But, since Hell is now my new reality, I might actually get to meet the real Lucifer.

"He let the extermination happen to begin with. They just had a meeting and said, 'Go ahead and kill everyone!'" Charlie rants.

I highly doubt that's what actually happened, but Charlie knows he dad better than I do so I'll have to take her word for it. Charlie gasps, and says she has an idea. Vaggie asks if her idea is killing everyone, but Charlie shakes her head.

"He could get me a meeting with Heaven," Charlie explains cheerfully.

Vaggie reminds Charlie that there was a meeting with Heaven, lead by dickmaster, I mean Adam. Charlie says that it doesn't count cause Adam is an asshole, which seems like a fair observation. She reasons that Adam isn't in charge of all of Heaven, so there must be some angels who will listen. Charlie pulls out her phone and turns her back. Me and Husk can sense the hesitation in the air. Husk asks Charlie what the hold up is.

"You got daddy issues?" He asks.

Charlie explains that after her parents divorce she was never close with her dad, so basically admitting she has daddy issues. I kind of know how Charlie feels, except I have mommy issues. Everyone shares their excitement about meeting Lucifer, and Angel has to pull the knife out of Niffty's hand.

As Charlie calls her dad, I can tell things are rocky. As Charlie wads through this awkward conversation I give her a thumbs up and a smile. Charlie beats around the bush until she gains the courage to say what we need.

"I need to speak to Heaven. Well, whoever in charge up there, above Adam, above anybody. I need to go to the top!" Charlie asks.

I smile, happy that Charlie finally worked up the courage to ask for this giant favor. From the look her face, I can guess Mr.Lucifer said no. Charlie gets annoyed and starts practically begging for her dad's help. Vaggie grabs her hand and comforts her.

"Please, just come see what I'm trying to do. You'll see why it's a really good idea and Heaven is bound to agree if I get the chance to talk to them," Charlie begs her dad.

It hurts my heart seeing Charlie look so sad. But, her expression changes to a small smile before she pulls the phone away from her ear. So, we now have an hour before Lucifer, King of Hell, gets to the hotel. Vaggie goes toned down drill sergeant mode, holding a rolled up paper in a threating manner. I help where I can, mostly with setting up the food and drinks table. I'm still so nervous, and I guess it was visible on my face. By now, Charlie is fully dressed and ready.

"Hey, you ok?" Charlie asks me.

"Yeah, I'm just worried. I mean, you're dad is a big deal," I confess to her.

Charlie pats my head, assuring me that her dad will love me. Alastor has finally come down from his room. He asks me what's happening and I explain what's happening. The aura around him changes, and it makes me feel off. He pinches my cheeks and tells me to be on my best behavior. Something felt off, that ever present smile was hiding something.

"Ok everyone, it's show time!" Charlie tells us.

She opens the door and standing on the other side is a short guy with sharp teeth, wearing a large, white top hat and a red and white outfit similar to a ring master. Charlie greets her dad, who hugs her in what appears to be a bone crushing hug. The look in Alastor's eyes is not reflected in his smile. Apparently, the cat is named Keekee and the two demons that follow Charlie are Razzle and Dazzle. I never expected to the king of Hell to be so... silly. I keep these thoughts to myself cause the silliness might be a front.

"Wow, this place sure looks, uh... uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. It's got a lot of character," Lucifer says as he walks around the lobby.

It doesn't take him long to notice the werid bar spot. Alastor uses his werid shadow magic to appear near Lucifer, his voice dripping with contempt. The two throw jabs at each other, and this is the first time I hear Alastor swear and Angel begrudgingly hands me some money from our running bet about Alastor being incapable of swearing. Charlie separated the pair and showed her dad the parlor, praising Alastor for his contribution to the hotel.

"Charlie, dear, why don't you introduce me to your other friends?" Lucifer redirects.

Charlie starts off by introducing Vaggie, to which her dad makes it awkward by getting a tad overly excited. Vaggie brushes off the awkwardness and Charlie directs her dad's attention to me, Sir Pentious, and Angel.

"Your Majesty!" Sir Pentious says with a salute before landing face first into a tray of cookies.

Angel, using his flirty voice, calls Lucifer a short king.

"And this is Reader, our youngest guest," Charlie tells her dad.

Lucifer's POV

I look at the guess Charlie points out. They don't look any older than a teenager. Poor kid, but they must've done something to end up in Hell... wait, are those angel wings. I rush towards the kid, giving them a hug, I get a closer look at the wings. Yep, these are genuine angel wings... like the ones I have. Azrael has been sending me letters, and shared news of an angel who was put on trial for not only disobeying Heaven, but also having sex with a mortal... a mortal. Holy fuck, this kid isn't just any sinner, they're the kid of that angel! The poor thing probably doesn't know, and who knows if Heaven knows about them. They're happy here, and all of Heaven's rules and expectations would crush that joy... they don't deserve that. Don't worry duckling, I'll keep you safe.

"Hello, your Majesty," the duckling calls me.

I laugh it off, trying to put them at ease.

"You don't need to be so formal, you may call me, Lucifer!" I tell them.

They nod, that's good. Today it's Lucifer, in a few months it'll be dad!

Reader's POV

Charlie introduces Husk and Niffty to her dad. After Niffty says "I clean", the chandelier almost falls on Lucifer!

*Timeskip*

"Oh you tack piece of..." Lucifer sings before the front door is kicked open.

"It's me! Yes, it's me!! I know you were all waiting for me. I'm here, what a gas. Took a while but I'm present at last! It's me! It's me! Mimzzzyyyyyy!" Some random flapper lady sings.

"Who?" Lucifer asks.

She gets annoyed, and ask why everyone is staring at her. She thinks it's cause we think she's adorable, I'm staring because she just kicked to the door open and sang part of a musical number. Alastor walks to this Mimzy lady with open arms. It's clear the two know each other. They hug and Mimzy explains how "I was in the neighborhood". I highly doubt that but whatever. She calsl the hotel a "ritzy slob factory" and says that everyone is welcome here. Charlie is so happy to learn that Alastor has more friends.

"Oh, yeah. We go way back, ran in the same circles when we were alive. You know, this one use to frequent the club where I used to perform. He's the only one I know who could pound whiskey like a sailor then keep up with me on the dance floor," she says.

I look at Alastor and I just have a hard time imagining him getting shitfaced drunk. I've never seen him drink, so maybe he doesn't like Hell alcohol? Alastor praises and jokes about seeing Mimzy in her heyday, to which she says she's still in her prime as she pulls up the front of her dress. She turns her head and sees Lucifer. I see her push Sir Pentious out of her way as she walks over. She gives a curtesy before telling Alastor that, "You gotta warn a girl when she's in mixed company." Lucifer plays along before returning his attention to me.

"As much as I'd lobe to catch up, Charlie and I have a tour to continue," Alastor tells Mimzy.

Lucifer says that Charlie is capable of doing it herself, to which Alastor shuts that idea done. He tells Mimzy to stay with the rest of us here as he follow, Lucifer, Charlie, and Vaggie. Mimzy wanders over to the bar where Husk sounds very upset that Mimzy is here. Mimzy then turns her attention to Niffty, who is chasing after a roach. Husk, reluctantly, slips Mimzy a drink after he makes a martini for Angel and pours some juice for me.

"So, you and Alastor are like what? Friends?" Angel asks.

Mimzy says that's a fitting word for it. Sir Pentious, Angel, and I share a look of surprise. Mimzy ask why were all surprised, and Angel says that he didn't know Alastor had any friends, bring up how much of a mystery Alastor still is despite being here a long time.

Mimzy tells us how Alastor randomly showed up in Hell and was disregarded until heavy hitter overlords started going missing. No one knew what happened until a radio broadcast of the missing overlords screams appeared, and that he never lacked new voices to add once he reveled himself as the radio demon. Mimzy ends by saying that Alastor becomes a kitten if you give him "a couple fingers of rye" and play jazz muzic.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I knew Alastor wasn't one to be messed with, but this... holy fuck. Angel uses one of his hands to pet my hair, whispering comforting things to me.

"Shush, shush, it's ok bambino," he tells me.

Mimzy tries to downplay the scare factor of Alastor, saying that he hasn't done any of that for awhile. Husk is gone and Sir Pentious is also scared. I knew Alastor was dangerous based on what I was told, but this... this makes me fear for my safety. Tears prock the corners of my eyes as Angel tries his best to calm me down.

Extermination and Alastor being a psychotic murderer scares me, I'm so scared. Angel pulls me into a side hug, promising to bring me Fat Nuggets later. That makes me feel a bit better, and I thank Angel. Sir Pentious brings me the tray of the cookies he and Niffty baked. The cookies taste amazing and I thank him for sharing.

"This... This must be real scary for you, bambino?" Angel asks.

I nod, there's no point in hiding it. Angel reassures me that I'll be safe so long as I don't leave the hotel. This moment of warm, feels really, really nice. Sure, I'm in Hell, but I'm surrounded by decent ish folks who like me.

"My dear child, just know we'll make sure nothing happens to you," Sir Pentious syas. That makes me feel even better. This is a moment of comfort I never expected to experience in Hell, but here it is. I never want this warm moment to end. The moment is soon ruined by the hotel shaking.

"Mimzy, we know you're in there you lousy bitch!" A dep voice yells from outside.

I look at Mimzy as she slinks to the floor. Vaggie, Lucifer, and Charlie come through a portal and we all look to Mimzy for an explanation.

"I maaaaaaay be in some trouble with some loan shark's I may or may not have borrowed fifty grand from," she says. This is followed by more banging from the front door and Mimzy hiding next to Husk behind the bar. We can all hear the loan sharks yelling from outside, and they're out for blood.

"And I may have stolen a car... and crashed it... into the loan shark's girlfriend. But that bitch had it coming!" Mimzy says.

The loan sharks are still trying to batter down the door and I'm glaring at her. Rule one of loan sharks, dont fuck with them and she failed at that spectacularly! Fireballs come through the windows, which upsets Niffty. We all start panicking and trying to keep the hotel from falling apart while Lucifer is telling Charlie that she can't expect any better from sinners.

Vaggie gears up to fight, but Alastor stops her. He looks at me, telling me to cover my ears and close my eyes before he pats my head. The area glows green as black tentacles sprout from his back and his eyes turn to old fashioned radio dials. I hear the loan sharks screaming even as I have my eyes closed. I feel and hand on my shoulder and it's Angel pulling me behind and upturned couch. Charlie snaps, yelling at her father about how despite Alastor handling the situation more sadistically than she would like, Alastor is doing it for Charlie.

"How come he can have faith in me but my own father can't?" She asks, her tone sad.

Angel pulls a bag of popcorn from nowhere and is invested in this "drama".

Alastor's POV

"Oh, I missed getting to let off steam," I say to myself.

Hearing footsteps behind me I assume it's Charlie or mon petitange, but much to my dismay, it's Mimzy. Mimzy praises my display of violence, but I peek over her shoulder to see mon petit ange sharing popcorn with the spider and Husk. We'll, it's nice to see this incident didn't traumatize them. Mimzy "apologizes" and says that Charlie could take care of mess for me.

"I think you should fo Mimzy. Niw." I strenly tell her.

She laughs, clearly thinking I'm joking.

"I mean it. You deliberately brought danger to this place and mon petit ange just to have me clean up your mess. I can't have that here," I tell her.

She keeps thinking I'm joking,. She asks if I care about the hotel, while that is debatable, I do want mon petit ange out of danger. I warn her for the last time to leave and she storms off like a child throwing a tantrum.

Reader' POV

I chuckle as Mimzy storms off. Our attention is back on Charlie and Lucifer. Charlie is begging him to help and him turning it down.

*One Muiscal number later*

"Aww, that was sweet," Sir Pentious says with tears in his eyes.

I wipe my eyes. It reminds me of my own dad... the one I left behind when I died. Sir Pentious gives me a side hug, and Lucifer says that he can get Charlie the meeting. Charlie assures her dad that she'll be OK in Heaven. Once he has that assurance, he disappears in a swirl of gold and red magic. I give Charlie a strong hug, one that she returns.

"This next part is gonna be scary. You ready?" Vaggie asks Charlie.

Charlie pulls Vaggie into a hug, saying that she's ready cause she'll have Vaggie with her.

"In spirit, right?" Vaggie asks, clearly uneasy about this.

"In Heaven," Charlie declares.

Vaggies gives an uneasy yay, still trapped in the hug. Now, things are going to get scary and things are going to change. But, I'm ready now more than ever for change.

[jujujusillies]

doing deep breaths. deep breaths.

[tavina-writes]

CQL and Genre Intertextuality

I'm being bashed over the head with the "nhs's fan in CQL is made of xuantie/dark iron" thing again and @poorlittleyaoyao please understand that I am thinking of this constantly since you made that post talking about it because I'm just.

holding my head in my hands bc ye gods the cql show writers were genre savvy in ways that are hilarious but also make me feel like I've been hit upside the head with a waffle iron.

For those of us who are no longer damaged by the post or hadn't seen it (I don't actually know where it's gone bc the search feature doesn't work on this webbed site):

Xuantie/Dark Iron is a Jin Yong created metal that famously was used for the blade of the Dragon Slaying Sabre in the third novel of the Condor Trilogy, 倚天屠龍記/The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber.

The Heaven Reliant Sword 倚天劍 was created from Yang Guo and Xiao Longnv's Gentleman and Lady swords, whilst the Dragon Slaying Saber 屠龍刀 was created from Grandmaster Dugu Seeking-a-Loss's Dark Iron Sword.

Can we please all take a moment to appreciate how NHS's fan not his saber, NHS, from The Family With The Sabers, gets to shout about how his fan is made of xuantie. The most famous for being the metal that made up The Dragon Slaying Saber. His fan. Not his saber. his fan. dark iron. Dragon Slaying Saber. This is so funny I'm about to mcfucking lose it yet again while typing this.

Going back to Grandmaster Dugu Seeking-A-Loss (who appears in both Return of the Condor Heroes and Xiao Ao Jianghu) and his giant pet condor (sadly, only a ROCH feature) who might've been his one true soulmate for a second, this situation from episode 7, when the Yunmeng Siblings are leaving the Cloud Recesses:

Now, the subtitles here really DO NOT do this line justice because when I first saw it it took me FLAT THE FUCK OUT and I had to lie on the floor laughing for like, 80 seconds before I got my breath back.

Okay, what this line ACTUALLY says is "I am Dugu Qiubai (Grandmaster Dugu Seeking-A-Loss), what's wrong with seeking a match?"

Now, to understand this, we come to this backstory on Dugu Qiubai in XAJH:

“Senior master Dugu Seeking-A-Loss, who created this set of sword techniques, had a name ‘Seeking-A-Loss.’ He had been seeking a loss all his life and still couldn’t get one. Once the sword techniques were executed, he would become unmatched anywhere in the world. Why would he have to defend? If anyone could have forced him to draw his sword back and defend himself, the respectful master would have burst with joy and be delighted beyond measure.” Feng Qingyang said. “Dugu Seeking-A-Loss, Dugu Seeking-A-Loss,” Linghu Chong muttered as he imagined how the senior master had wandered about the Martial World, unmatched anywhere, with only his sword, and couldn’t even find a single one who was capable of forcing him into a defending stance. That was truly admirable.

from Chapter Ten of XAJH: Sword Training.

"If anyone could force him to draw his sword back to defend himself, the grandmaster would have burst with joy and be delighted beyond measure" DO YOU SEE WHY JC STARTED CALLING WWX SHAMELESS NOW. they're JUNIORS. WWX is calling himself "the greatest man of all, who'd sought the feeling of losing just ONCE being forced to defend himself just ONCE in a LIFETIME" and saying "LWJ might be my equal. my soulmate. the loss I was seeking my whole life."

All 15 years of it I'm sure, WWX.

I'm not going to get into finding martial arts manuals or a respected grandmaster who taught you incredible things in a cave bc 1) LHC and Feng Qingyang up there are sitting together, in a cave and LHC is being taught incredible things and 2) Duan Yu from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils once found the magic finger lasers of ultra laser in a cave. In front of the statue of a goddess. (don't talk about the dancing goddess statue now, Tav. We don't have time for that in this post.)

Not kidding the intertextuality of CQL and how much it plays with and against the tropes of its genre, especially other wuxia tv adaptations as well as wuxia novels is insane. There's other ones I'm missing for certain and these were just the most funny to me, personally, but! just! oh my god! insane! insane! SO funny, so clever in so many ways

[unproduciblesmackdown]

costume design, set mockup, and rehearsal photos from this guide to the show that's like really thorough in providing Context like, mini articles about the creators of the original movie, musical, and movie musical, about other versions of productions, the history, quotes of other commentary, interview quotes, context of other / preexisting genres like b movies, faustian stories, "what if a plant was weird" stories, glossary of terms (such as references that may generally be less obscure if you were in the '60s, e.g.), suggested further reading....haven't read it top to bottom but i think it's fantastic, link to the pdf as post source

[repurposedmeatlocker]

Pls don't ask me to recommend a season to watch of a long-running TV program. My ass is just going to say "I liked season 1 episode 1. It really grabbed me and made me want to see more."

[watery-melon-baller]

once again i am frustrated because i cannot understand this when it is not at all that difficult I wanna understand it so bad please please please

[spookydetective]

OH I FORGOT ABOUT THE TERRIFYING FUCKING SLEEP PARALYSIS I HAD THE OTHER NIGHT