#JUST GAH THESE INTERACTIONS ARE SO CUTE. THE SIBLINGS!

[northstarscowboyhat]

THE SIBLINGS THE SIBLINGS THE SIBLINGS THE SIBLINGS

HI @northstarscowboyhat SORRY AFTER I DESIGNED OLDER FLO I COULDN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT DRAWING THEM WITH YOUR OLDER AU CLOVER......

normal pair of siblings wanted by the law who collected their own families and will argue who has the better dad /j

(And of course Alexander was spawned by @capt-summer)

[gwaaaaar]

breaking my silence...

whoever told me the second half of death note was trash... YOURE WRONG YOURE WRONG YOURE WRONGGGGGG 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣 MELLO AND NEAR ARE WORTHY SUCCESSORS TO L YOURE JUST A STAN!!!!

near... sweet jesus baby they didnt deserve you !!! I was so pleasantly surprised to see how distinct he was despite people calling him "white haired L". LIKE hes a lot more cautious than L but isn't above being a sarcastic little shit and actively causing problems... i read a fan translation and he uses a lot of cuss words to refer to certain people he dislikes. I dont know if thats in the official translation as well but i do like the visual of this 7 yo saying "asshole" and "dickhead". I know hes 17-18 and this is average teenage behavior but gah hes so cute and moe and make little "vrooooom" noises when playing with his toys... 🥺 cant help but stan. Hes in his zone unbothered...

AND THE FACT HE CHALLENGES LIGHT IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE SO BLATANTLY... no mind games no time for light to make his next move just fuck it we ball. Also very fond of the scene where he drops hundred dollar bills off the SPK building. He's unpredictable just like Mello is but in a different way and its fascinating i love this guy. Also enjoy the fact that his flavor of justice is that he doesnt really have one hes just doing his job. The verbal beatdown he does at the end about how lights just a crazy serial killer... GET HIS ASS NEAR !!! Hes not pretentious and its just... its just good you know? L wasn't very pretentious but he does call himself justice sometimes and stuff along the like(?) Near drops all pretense... cant help but stan

Also really fond that he actually likes mello its just mello doesnt like him... I know canon never explicitly states their relationship with each other, like if its a brotherly relationship or not (altho isnt there some cain and abel parallels??? Not sure). But i really do see a siblinglike relationship between the two. Canon doesnt really put any angst on their relationship bc near doesnt care lolol, but the two do remind me of certain siblings that have a strained relationship because of the pressure put on one of them (or on both. Again fuck wammys house all my homies hate wammys AND WATARI!!! ME WHEN I GET YOU!!!) I really would love to see the two interact... and maybe just be happy by each other/pl. Because god it really terrible to see how much mello hates near and its not even nears fault :,). AND FUCK THE CHOCOLATE BAR HE EATS AT THE END TO HONOR MELLO???? STOPPPP IM GONNA CRY... near the man that you are... they dont deserve you baby...

And smello... mello mello mello... I've heard more positive things about him compared to near bc hes more "interesting" and i can see why people take that angle BUT. God they still undersell him so much??? I feel like hes one of the few characters to have a goal besides catching Kira (or not getting caught) because of his inferiority complex. I do not mean to undersell any of the other characters when i say this because theyre all very complex! They all have their driving goals and the like. Its just that i argue that Mello's is more persistent and that it is not centered around the conflict but rather himself. Even if he caught Kira perhaps he would still never be happy with himself because Near is always "going to be better" because of the shit he went through in wammys. Theres a whole discussion to be had abt the ethics of wammys house... but ill save that for another post wwww.

Mello is also someone that isnt pretentious about his idea of justice bc hes a fucking criminal. (BTW i love the two opposing sides of the successors... one that tries falling within the law but still doesnt give a shit and the other that doesnt give any shits at all and eventually helps the law.) And its so... I LOVE YOU RUTHLESS CHARACTERS I LOVE YOU CHARACTERS THAT STOP AT NOTHING TO GET WHAT THEY WANT.

And the thing is ... Mello does have his own sense of justice because its not as if he sacrifices innocent bystanders to get what he wants he just does what is necessary. LIKE ofc its fucked up that he kidnapped sayu (and traumatized her...), takada (and the stripping... but at least she got a blanket:,) honestly tho id blame that on the misogyny of the authors) and the director of the police im not about to be a mello apologist (yes i am/j). But a. He probably knew no one was going to get hurt in the first place because hes just that damn confident. b. His remorse for matt and soichiros deaths show that he doesnt intend on sacrificing anyone and when things go astray it saddens him a little. And c. THE FACT HE PROBABLY KNEW HE WAS GONNA DIE AND STILL SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO HELP NEAR... near would "win" but mello prioritized putting kira behind bars and while i cant guess his motive, from my end it does seem like in extension he prioritized doing the right thing, which would be to sacrifice his life and pride to help near get the final piece to catch mikami... wow what a man im so deathly ill

After typing all this, i must say... is L really as complex as years of DN fans have said?? I think im about to get crucified for this opinion, but legitimately is he??? I think he is complex most certainly just... maybe not as much as others have said... i might just be missing details about his past + lore from external media so maybe thats why i have this opinion. But i feel like the successors *are* toe to toe with him despite their split screen time... idk tho :3 this is just my thoughts meow

[aihoshiino]

chapter 128 thoughts!

a little late because i have been fighting for my life against sleepy bitch disease all week but HERE WE GO

Right off the bat, the little power level rankings for everyone are such a cute visual while also being a great way to quickly and immediately get across some super important and interesting info about everyone's capabilities going into the chapter. I won't comment on everything but there is some stuff I want to make a note of before going into things!

Ruby's acting skills being ranked as D and accordingly as her biggest weakness is pretty interesting. I was worried that might be left hanging but I'm glad to see the story continuing to acknowledge how much is riding on the movie's success and how Ruby's acting might not be able to bear that weight. That combined with One Other Thing really does have me start to seriously wonder if we won't have a lead actress switcharoo on our hands at some point in the future.

Melt's acting skill being ranked as B (the same level as Aqua, even!) made me go <3. He really has come such a long way from where he first started and the blood, sweat and tears he wrung out of himself during Tokyo Blade seems to have really paid off. Melt, my beloved!!!

Moving onto the chapter itself, I was really surprised to see Aqua playing Kamiki! I guess I shouldn't be with how hard that family resemblance has been played up but for some reason, I was really certain he was specifically playing Ryosuke, not Kamiki... I guess because it was originally stated he was 'the culprit'? Anyway, Aqua playing Kamiki is part of why I'm starting to wonder if either he or Ruby will end up backing out of their roles – having a pair of twin siblings play a real life couple who Definitely Fucked seems like the sort of things that uh, might put a dampener on the movie's intended reception, just from an in-universe perspective!

This chapter also finally gives us a name for the Crow Girl - Tsukuyomi! I felt SUCH a thrill when I saw her use that name because I had wondered last chapter if her pointed reference to the moon might be some indication that's who she was but at the time it felt like a stretch, so I didn't voice it. Gah, I should've put it in my chapter thoughts so I could be extra smug about calling it!

In general, I'm really surprised by how many of my long-term issues with OnK were specifically touched on in this chapter to a really eerily specific degree lol? But holy shit! Somebody actually acknowledging the huge bombshell of Aqua and Ruby's connection to Ai! Akane, specifically, finally fucking acknowledging that Ruby was also traumatized by her mother's death! Akane acknowledging Ruby exists at all!! Akane interacting with characters that aren't Aqua!!! Thank god!!!

I'm also becoming increasingly curious about the DVDs the kids saw. They're a pretty transparent retcon and I imagine we'll eventually see them for ourselves but I'm still itching to know wtf Aka was even cooking when he added them.

For all that was good about this chapter, though, I do have a pretty major issue with the way a lot of the emotional stuff is being skimmed over purely to not let the reader in on the content of the movie too early. This info isn't necessarily new to all the characters but there are some major bombshells about the culprit and Ai's relationship with him that we get no commentary on from the characters.

The biggest and most baffling missed opportunity here is Taiki, honestly??? Based on what Aqua says to him and the fact that Frill is going to be playing Airi Himekawa we can probably guess that her abuse of Kamiki will be laid bare in the movie. If that's the case then Taiki has just found out, possibly just from this fucking script, that his mother is a child rapist and he himself is a product of rape. The fact that we do not see any emotional response from him about this information beyond "that's on my mom you caught her slippin" genuinely fucking blows my mind! Completely insane!!! Was there really absolutely no space in the story for Taiki to have literally any time or room to process an incredibly traumatic dump of information like that???

that said, for my complaints... I won't pretend it didn't kick me in the gut to see Ruby all dressed up as Ai on that final page. Definitely her mom's daughter.

Break next week..........................................

[angelsdevils]

For Thanks & Giving can i please request kakucho. Kakucho is a single dad and has been dating reader a good while now. He thinks it’s time for reader to meet his daughter. Just plain fluff please! Thank you!

This is super cute! I hope you enjoy it! I may or may not have got carried away with this!

Word Count: 1.6K

Taglist:@omakeomuomu@thisbicc@galactict3a@rgtgt@chuuberrysworld@sattosugu@penguinlovestowrite@6-022-10-23@tobycisnt@coffee-and-chocolatesblog@k3rrpii@bontensbabygirl@ddeadcalm@smokandfire@artemis1862@obeymesimp11@ashwasherelol@oikawascutie@pinksilk@staymoarmyzen@leilalago@itzyunaa@black0pirate0cat @Reiners_milkbiddies @winterv-black

Kakucho listened as you talked about your recent trip to your sibling's home. You were going on about how adorable your nieces and nephews were. He knew how much you loved kids, and it warmed his heart a bit. The way your eyes brightened when you saw a mother pushing a stroller, or the kids who waved at you. The whole interaction made him smile. 

It’s about time. I think she is ready, my daughter wants to meet her too.

“And then (niece’s name) yelled at her brother to get down from the tree but he ended up falling. She smacked him upside his head as he started to cry. I had to buy them both ice cream so neither of them would cry anymore. Twins I tell ya…”

“(Y/N), I want you to meet my daughter.” 

“I am sorry what?” You asked shocked and he grabbed your hand gently. 

“I know I never told you about my daughter, but I didn’t know how you would react. But seeing how much you love kids, my daughter really wants to meet you.” 

“You… have a daughter?” You asked and Kakucho tensed a bit wondering if he messed up.

“Yeah, I am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” 

“You didn’t tell me you had a daughter? I could have been taking her shopping, bonding with her, and spoiling her… and you're just telling me?” You felt offended and Kakucho blinked surprised.

“Wait time out, you said she wants to meet me? She knows about me?” You asked again before he could speak again.

“Well, she grabbed my phone and saw a picture of you, and wanted to meet you. But I hadn’t told you yet, and even though I know you love kids. I wanted to make sure you were really okay with me having a kid of my own,” Kakucho said, and your eyes softened, “I wanted to protect her from any pain. But at the same time, I really love you and didn’t want you to leave.”

“Kaku~ I would never leave you,” you said. You gently cupped his cheeks and he sighed softly leaning into your touch.

“So, you aren’t upset that I didn’t tell you sooner?”

“I’m not, I get it. You wanted and needed to protect your little girl first. I am happy you want me to meet her now, and I can’t wait to do so.” 

You pressed a small kiss to his lips and he closed his eyes with a small smile. You parted and looked up at him and you had a wide smile.

“So… when can I meet her?” 

“Hmm, when are you able to?”

“Uh, now…” 

Kakucho laughed and got up after paying the bill for the coffees you two had. He held your hand and led you back to his house. 

“What’s her name?”

“Her name is Haruhi, she is seven years old.” 

“Gah I can’t wait to meet her…” you started to bounce up and down and he couldn’t help but laugh. He glanced down at you before looking ahead, a part of him was wondering how his daughter will react after meeting you. 

Once the two of you arrived, he walked into the house with you. You both removed your shoes, as small little feet were heard running.

“Daddy!” A small ball of brown hair turned the corner but she skidded to a stop as she looked up at her. She looked up at you with wide eyes and her head tilted. 

“Hey Princess, have you been good?” He asked and she quickly looked at Kakucho, nodding her hair.

“Yeah! Ran did my hair in pigtails, uncle Rin tried… but I looked terrible.” 

“You are home early, oh~,” Ran said and looked you up and down. 

“Don’t even think about it. You guys can leave now, I am staying.” He said as he picked his daughter up and Ran held his hands up.

“Alright, alright.” Ran winked at you before leaving with his brother. You followed Kakucho to the living room and he sat down with Haruhi on his lap. She went back to look at you and you waved with a smile. She looked at her dad, before at you.

“Daddy, you need to take better pictures of her… she is so much prettier in person. You suck.” She told her father, and Kaku’s mouth dropped open. You couldn’t help but cover your mouth and laugh as she hopped off of his lap and ran to you.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“My name is (L/N) (Y/N), just call me (Y/N) though…”

“Why are you dating daddy? He is lame… uncle Ran is better.”

“Hey!” He said offended and she looked at him and you chuckled. 

“Well, your father is such a gentleman, and really nice to me. Plus I love him a lot.” 

“You do? Dad, you better not hurt her, I like her. I want her to be my mommy so when I go to school I can tell everyone I have a mommy now.” 

“Haruhi! (Y/N), I am so sorry for her behavior.” Kakucho was a blushing mess, and he tried to grab his daughter but she ran away from him laughing. You laughed as he sighed and turned to you.

“I think she likes you more than me,” he grinned.

“Yep, I do! (Y/N), let’s play dolls!” She pulled you away from Kakucho and he chuckled just watching you two. You looked over at him, and he flashed you a smile. You focused on playing with Haruhi, and you were laughing. 

“I am going to get you guys something to drink. I will be back,” Kakucho said. You both nodded and when he was out of sight, she got up and shut the door. She leaned against the door and looked at you.

“Is everything okay?” You asked her and she nodded.

“Will you visit more often?”

“Of course.”

“So you won’t leave?” She asked again and you blinked slightly.

“Why would I leave?” You tilted your head with a small frown as she looked down at her feet. 

“So if my daddy marries you, will you be happy to be my mommy? My mommy didn’t want me, she left and I never met her.” 

“Honey come here…” you opened your arms and she sat down in your lap. She sniffled slightly and you hugged her tightly. 

Kakucho had come back to the room but noticed the door was closed. He leaned his ear against the door to hear his daughter talking. He felt his heart break as he heard the words that she was saying. It was true that his baby mama didn’t want Haruhi, but he tried to shield the truth from her. But he knew she was smart and didn’t help when she temporarily came into Haruhi’s life, only to call her an accident. Kakucho got pissed at her and demanded she never talks to Haruhi again. He was never one to hit women, but when she told Haruhi that he never wanted to hit someone so bad. 

He continued to listen to what was being said.

“I don’t know anything about your birth mommy. But if she was mean to you, then you don’t need her. Your dad loves you very much, and I will care for you as well. You are so precious and sweet, and anyone who leaves doesn’t deserve you. And I can’t speak about the future, I don’t know if I or your dad will get married. That is not a topic that ever came up.” 

“If he asked you would you say yes?” She asked looking up.

“I would tell him yes, in every language. And if that happened I would gladly sign papers to adopt you as my own daughter as well. But even if I don’t adopt you, I will always be there for you.”

“Even if dad somehow messes up?”

“You don’t have much faith in your dad do you?” You ask and she shook her head. 

“Well I doubt Kaku would ruin anything, but if by some unfortunate events things do turn south. I will still visit you, and we can do all the girly things together.” Her eyes brightened and she hugged your neck. You wrapped your arms around her.

I am going to marry her. I have to, she is so perfect.

Kaku walked in with the drinks, you and Haruhi looked at him and he raised an eyebrow.

“Are you giving all of my hugs away Princess?”

“Yep…” 

Suddenly she gasps at the realization.

“What’s wrong?” You and Kaku ask in unison.

“Uncle Ran bought me something and this is perfect now!” She got up from your lap and ran to the living room. Kakucho sat on the floor confused but he turned his head to you.

“Hey, I overheard the conversation…” he said to you and you looked at him.

“Oh really?” You asked, feeling your cheeks heat up and he grinned. 

“Yeah, but I want to thank you. Comforting her, she always felt a bit insecure because of things her mother said to her. I couldn’t get her confidence up.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. And I meant everything I said.”

“Everything?” 

“Everything.”

“So I can propose to you, and expect a yes in every language?”

“Maybe not every language but definitely expect a yes.” You said as Haruhi came in.

“Close your eyes daddy and (Y/N)...” 

You and Kakucho closed your eyes and you felt something placed on your head. 

“Okay, open them.” 

She was holding a small mirror in her hands, Kakucho was wearing a King's crown, you a Queen's crown, and she was wearing a Princess's crown.

“I am Daddy’s Princess, you are Daddy’s Queen, which makes him a King!” She giggled and you kissed his cheek before pulling her into a hug.

“I like the sound of that Haruhi. My Princess and My Queen.” He said with a hand on his chin.

He kissed his daughter’s head before pecking your lips. She kissed your cheek and you kissed the top of her head. 

© [@angelsdevils] all rights reserved. none of my posts or stories should be modified, reposted, etc. I do not own the character or the fanart, but I own the plots of these stories. All fanart goes to their appropriate owners.

[dendrograna]

Dear Venti,

Venti, my beloved, I mean this in the kindest way possible; you remind me of a pug, you are quite a scrunkly pug. You give so much serotonin and gah in the softest way imaginable I just wanna bite you, a very smol, tiny tiny t I n y nom. Cute aggression is oh so very real.. but I won't because I know getting bit by anything or anyone can h u r t (younger siblings + teething hurts so much oh my gods-)ANYWAY! enough about my cute aggression.. I am so glad that you are proud of the people of mond, I am proud of them as well, i am proud of everyone in fact; even if they are from K'ahanriah. I hope you enjoy your next drink, and I hope Diluc will let you try some of his wine!

Until we speak again, good-bye mon ami!

~🍫 Annon

Dandelion puff,

I know, I know, I'm cute! I get that a lot, hehe~ I've never had someone ask to bite me out of affection before though. Getting bit does hurt, but if it was for you I think I'd let you do it.

I'm very proud of Mondstadt's people, and I'm happy to see what they did with all the freedom I gave them. They take such good care of the city, and they're so resilient. They don't need me, and in my eyes that's a good thing.

You have younger siblings? You should tell me about them! Since I'm technically a wind spirit, I don't interact with human kids all that much save for hanging out with Klee sometimes (although that's pretty rare nowadays since last time Jean decided we were "too dangerous" together).

Oh! So you're saying if I show Master Diluc your letter, I can maybe convince him to give me some wine for free? That's a great idea, Your Grace! Surely he can't say no to you, right?

Thank you! I hope I'll get to hear from you again soon <3

Venti 🍷

--

(A/N: This event has ended, please don't send any more letters in)

[fandomlurker]

A Ponderous Rewatch: In the Garden of Mindy

So today’s episode is neither a regular Pinky and the Brain skit nor a mere cameo. Today’s episode is…different, as the opening that spoofs the 1980s CBS Special Presentations pops up.

Perhaps the Warner Siblings can shed some light on this?

“Hi. We’re the Warner Brothers.”

“…And the Warner Sister.”

Look at these smug little gremlin children. You just know something is wrong when they make faces like that.

“And we’d like to invite you and all the members of your household…”

“…to gather around the TV set and join us now…”

“…for a very special episode of Animaniacs.”

“And what’s so special about it?”

“I’m not wearing any pants!”

…Wakko, you’re never wearing any pants.

Okay, okay, so we have the usual opening song and then the real explanation comes along.

“Welcome to the Animaniacs test kitchen!”

Oh no…

“We’re cookin’ up something really different for today’s show. All we need are our ingredients!”

Oh, kids, no!

“A dash of Pinky and the Brain!~”

WARNERS, PLEASE!!!

Man, the mice look so worn out. Did they…try to escape the Warner Siblings to avoid this whole thing? Like, that’s the only reason I can think of for why they look so tired as opposed to surprised or nonchalant like the other characters: They’re exhausted from attempting to run away. And for Pinky to be tired out is very, very telling.

“A cup of Slappy Squirrel!~”

Slappy is resigned to her fate.

“A tablespoon of Goodfeathers~”

I’m sorry about the smear face I managed to capture on you, Yakko.

I love how Bobby’s smirking a little, Squit is grinning like usual, and Pesto is looking at both of them like “If this is in any way you guys’ fault, I swear to the Godpigeon you’re all in for a beaking.”

“Add Rita, Runt, then swirl!~”

Meanwhile, Rita and Runt are just baffled.

“We add a pinch of Hippos~”

Why do you only have one of them?

…Wait, this is a fat joke, isn’t it? Goddammit.

“Buttons and Mindy, too~”

“Now top it off with Skippy Squirrel~”

Buttons and Flavio right now:

“What’s that make?

Animaniacs Stew!~”

Well, okay. We can at least call everything that results from this by a catchy name: The Stew AU.

“What’d we come up with?”

“Just watch…”

Oooh, children. You’ve committed a culinary evil this day.

“They’re Mindy and the Brain~”

So we’re mixing up the Animaniacs cast of characters and shows today.

[sighs]

Okay, so I guess it’s time to explain the basic premise of the Buttons and Mindy shorts and why they’re not fondly remembered, huh?

Well, the whole thing with Buttons and Mindy is a variation on the Baby’s Day Out type of scenario. Buttons the family dog is put in charge of guarding and babysitting Mindy, a friendly and curious toddler, by the mother of the family. The mother leaves to go…somewhere, and Mindy inevitably wanders off to chase after a bug or something new and interesting that she sees. Buttons goes after her because he loves Mindy very much and wants to keep her safe and be a Good Dog, and Mindy naively and unknowingly wanders into increasingly dangerous and life-threatening situations that Buttons must save her from, all the while getting beaten and bruised by the situations that were threatening Mindy.

The shorts usually end with Mindy and Buttons somehow ending up back home with Buttons ragged from the abuse he’s endured and Mindy perfectly fine except for maybe not being tied to her tether or in her playpen or whatever. The mother comes home and sees that Mindy is not quite where she was when she left her, or the surrounding area is a mess or something equally not that terrible, and berates Buttons for not taking better care of Mindy and calling him a Bad Dog.

And that’s where it ends.

If you’re not busting a gut at that description, congratulations, you are just like 90% of the Animaniacs audience.

The reason these shorts just don’t work for a lot of viewers, myself included, is that this kind of scenario is only funny once or maybe twice. After that, you just end up feeling bad for Buttons and don’t want to see a cartoon dog go through a conga line of pain that he doesn’t deserve. Not to mention that the whole premise can be boiled down to “Severe Parental Anxiety: The Show”, and not a lot of people like feeling that way for ten minutes or so per cartoon episode.

The reason the scenario works for a comedy movie like the aforementioned Baby’s Day Out is because the people going after the baby in that movie are kidnappers and obviously terrible people who only look out for the child’s safety so they can hold the kid for ransom, thus the pain they go through while the child remains okay is funny. Trying to do the same thing with an innocent family dog that just wants to keep a toddler safe? Not very funny at all. It’s just sad.

“Mindy and the Brain!

One’s a small child,

And the other’s…the Brain!~”

So now we have a Buttons and Mindy episode with Brain filling in for Buttons. Already this is…not great, but I suppose it’s the only suitable fit for Brain because he’d have it so, so much worse if he was put in the cast of the other skits.

I like the Goodfeathers skits, but I feel like Bobby and Pesto wouldn’t put up with his world domination shtick and end up berating him and/or beating him up. And Squit? Squit’s a do-gooder but he definitely doesn’t have Pinky’s level of passive subordination. Brain would be completely out of his league.

This isn’t to say that I wouldn’t want to see Brain interacting with the Goodfeathers, because holy shit yes PLEASE I would love the chaos that would ensue. I just think Brain wouldn’t last on his own with them.

Brain would, again, be completely out of his element in a Slappy Squirrel cartoon. Slappy’s skits hinge on her being a senior Looney Toon-type who knows just how to handle absurd scenarios and villains. Brain gets lost and confused incredibly quickly when unexpected situations pop up. He’s not a quick thinker in general. He’d be toast.

Being inserted into a Rita and Runt skit… Well, Rita wouldn’t be a good partner for obvious reasons that will become even more apparent later. And Runt is kind and a bit dimwitted but he’s no Pinky. Runt isn’t the type to be interested in helping to take over the world. He just doesn’t have the skills to do…almost anything that Pinky can, and he doesn’t have the drive to do it. Runt just wants a home and that’s it.

As for the Hip Hippos, there’s a skit of theirs down the line where Brain is involved and it honestly turns out about as well as it does for Brain in this episode.

So, let’s see how Brain fares in a world without Pinky.

“He uses his lobe

To overthrow the globe!~”

Also, we’re again treated to TMS doing the animation, which certainly elevates this skit quite a bit.

��She’s whimsy,”

I love how Brain goes from shock and surprise to absolute petulant grumpiness after seeing that Mindy put him in a jar.

“They’re Mindy and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain!~”

If only this was the extent of your humiliation today, Brain. If only.

[Various raspberry and baby babbling noises]

“Hi, Lady!”

“It’s ‘Mom���.”

This is honestly the only joke I ever liked in the Buttons and Mindy shorts. Apparently it was based on something a real child of a friend of an Animaniacs creator would say to their mom.

“Now listen, honey, mommy has to go to a better parenting conference. You stay right here and play.”

A “better parenting conference”, huh? Lady, you need it more than you know. For many reasons.

“Okay Lady, I love you, buh-bye!~”

Is anyone else getting a horrid sense of foreboding and dread from Mindy’s doll looking like a simplified Elmyra?

“Now, Brain, you keep an eye on Mindy while I’m gone.”

Nothing like leaving a mouse in a cage in charge of a toddler, huh?

Gosh, brain’s so adorably chubby in this episode. Look at him. Look at that grumpy face and that pudgy belly.

“I always get an attitude from him…”

Yeah, he’s… Yeah. That’s Brain, all right.

“At last, that meddler is gone! I’m free to begin my plan to…conquer the world!”

I love that back shot of Brain so much. It’s perfect. That’s the perfect Brain proportions and I can only dream of being able to draw cartoons that well.

“First, I’ll use telepathy to open the cage.”

C-come again? “Telepathy”?

Brain, honey… You’re looking for the word “telekinesis”. You should know this.

Also I guess Pinky’s not the only one with telekinesis capabilities.

The fact that he cocks his head to the side when he turns the trowel with his mind is a nice little detail.

“Now to get Mindy…”

That strut, though. He’s a mouse on a mission.

“Come, Mindy, it’s time for us to conquer the world!”

...Okay, I’ll say it: Mindy is very cute in this shot.

Meanwhile Brain...looks like a gremlin.

“Why?”

“By right of superior intelligence, I am best suited to guide the destiny of this planet.”

Careful, Brain. You’re getting dangerously close to--

“Why?”

“My empirical powers give me the mandate.”

BRAIN, this is starting to sound like eugenics...!

“Why?”

“Because it’s something I want to do!”

Oh lord, without Pinky to reel him in and remind him of all the real reasons he wants to conquer the world, the Brain of this universe has devolved into a mouse driven purely by ego and spite.

His little tantrum is adorable, though.

“Okay, I love you! [MWAH~]”

“I am uncomfortable with that.”

The Brain be like: What is this...”affection” you speak of? This is new and scary to me.

“Now listen closely, Mindy: Using the gardener’s weed killer, manure, and a little zoysia grass,--”

Zoysia grass is an actual thing, by the way. It’s the kind of grass you see mostly on golf courses.

“--I will construct a powerful stink bomb!” 

GAH! No need to punctuate the term by making your eyes bulge, Brain.

“We’ll use the lawn mower engine to construct a rocket and fill it with the gas. When precisely launched, the prevailing winds will spread the gas across the world’s capitals.”

As impressed as I would be with you being able to make a rocket from a lawn mower engine, Brain, it’s kind of overshadowed by you doing that thing again where you make a drawing animate like a video. Another strange power to add to the list, I suppose.

“As the stench drives the government officials out into the streets, we will rush in and seize power!”

Good lord, Brain, calm down. You’re gonna break that pointing stick!

“You understand?”

“Mousey!~”

You’re...not very good with kids, are you, Brain?

“Pretty Brain mousey…!”

“I am mortified.”

I don’t see why, you look positively precious.

“Little mousey big head!”

Mindy, dear, I too wish to squish this cute little megalomaniacal mouse sometimes but you’re doing it way too hard.

“Put me down, Mindy, or I shall have to hurt you.”

“Okay, I love you, buh-bye!”

The Brain: [is a mouse with genius intellect and gadgetry know-how with the drive to take over the world]

Also The Brain: [gets dunked on by a toddler merely dropping him on the ground]

“I sense I’ve completed the first step of my plan: Finding manure.”

That’s one way to look on the bright side, I suppose.

Sweetie, you’ve got something stuck on your head still.

“Pungent aroma, if I do say so.”

“Now to construct the rocket…”

...Why would you take the mask off now? You’re still right over top of the stink bomb! Brain, have the fumes messed with your thinking abilities already?

I do like the animation of him tearing the mask off, though.

“Buggy! Buggy!”

“All right, Mindy: Bring me the mower!”

If you ever need a pose that sums up Brain perfectly, it’s this one right here. This is him distilled down to his purest form. God bless TMS for this.

“Soon the world will be mine!”

Uh, yeah, about that...

“Woooow! Buggy go fast! Wheeeeeee!~”

“Whoooooaaaa! GAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

“Beh, peh, EUGH!”

Brain’s plans go to shit really fast without Pinky around. Sometimes quite literally, it seems.

“Buggy go ‘round!”

[Running in the 90s starts playing]

“Ahahaha!”

Don’t worry folks. As always, Mindy is okay. Brain, however...

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

Something I missed on my first viewing of this episode: the grass around Brain’s feet as he walks around covered in his stinkbomb juice dies near instantly.

“Wahahahaha! Silly Brain!”

“This is most unexpected.”

Is it, though? Is it really, Brain?

So, uh, something that caught me off-guard while watching this for the first time is what happens next.

Pinky and the Brain is, obviously, a Warner Brothers cartoon with some Looney Toon sensibilities. Despite that, though, while there is the occasional being-flattened-like-a-pancake or being-covered-in-soot-after-an-explosion types of cartoon slapstick and such, it doesn’t really go much beyond that when it comes to cartoonish injuries and such. The worst I’d ever seen it get in this show is at the end of Opportunity Knox when Pinky and Brain are all wrapped up in bandages and some of their fur has been scraped off raw. Even then, that was surprisingly “graphic” for the show.

But this upcoming bit?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! D8

--was my reaction the first time. It’s not bloody and gory, but seeing Brain being sliced into sections by a lawn mower is just...startling, to put it mildly. To my knowledge (and well, it has been decades since I regularly watched the show, so take this with a grain of salt), the Pinky and the Brain Animaniacs sketches and the spinoff never does something this Looney Toons to them.

And what really gets me is that he’s not just cut into sections with his eyeballs popped out, it’s that there’s an obvious hole in the middle of each section??? For some reason??? What that to imply space for his skeleton?!? A creamy center filling?!?

TMS, you could have just animated him in sections like some kind of mousey marshmallow, why did you include the holes?!?

[Press F to Pay Respects]

“Bleh! Brain smell like poo-poo!”

“I must re-think my present career…”

Honestly, Brain? Without Pinky to help you, I’d say it’s a good idea to just try and escape this family first and then maybe try on your own to take over the world. You might have a slightly better chance then.

“What’s that horrible smell?! Is that you, Brain?! Have you been allowing Mindy to feed you old cheese again? Bad mouse! Bad, bad mouse!”

Wait, “again”?

“…I hate being chided.”

You know, it’s interesting how he says that about this human woman chiding him, but in the regular Pinky and the Brain universe Pinky will sometimes chide Brain for doing something dubiously immoral, and while he may hate it there too...he more often than not backs down and admits to his faults when it’s Pinky doing it.

“But she’ll be gone soon, then I can begin my plans for tomorrow: Another plot to take over the world!”

“But first: A bath.”

I mean, yeah. Priorities.

“He’s stinky,

They’re Mindy and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain!~”

Well, I never thought we’d get a Brain bath scene until the comics but here we are.

I wonder if Pinky would find it equally as appealing to watch as that one...

Okay, that sure was...an episode. Let’s see how the other half of the equation is doing.

“They’re Pinky and the Cat!

Yes, Pinky and the Cat!

Her name is Rita,~”

Oh NO... 

I love the contrast of these two shots. It’s as if Pinky’s self preservation instinct kicks in only long enough for him to be vaguely worried about having a cat in his cage...and his lack of attention span overtakes it and he does whatever the hell this is.

“He’s a lab rat!~”

“A mouse!”

At least he still has it in him to be offended enough to correct the Warners about his actual species.

“They live inside a cage,

Making less than minimum wage.~

Aww...

Oh, Pinky, sweetie... I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for what’s about to happen.

“It’s dinky,~”

“They’re Pinky and the Cat, Cat, Cat, Cat, Cat!~”

Pinky making faces in the reflection of the water bowl is another bit of animation that’s used in the spin-off’s opening theme. It’s kind of weird to pull something from this particular segment, but whatever.

“What do you want to do tonight, Rita?”

It was so difficult to get a shot of Pinky’s cute little coy stance here, but it was worth it. Look at this cute, naive little mouse. He just wants to be friends, Rita!

“I dunno, eat you for supper?”

[GULP]

[Press F to Pay Respects...Again]

“So far, this is my favourite episode.”

“Narf! Oh, roomy accommodations, Rita!”

Don’t worry, folks, he’s fine! Yup. He’s okay somehow.

Lord, I hope this didn’t awaken a vore fetish in anyone.

“She ate the rat

‘cause Rita is a cat, cat, cat, cat, cat!~”

So yeah, that’s the end of this little experiment by the Warner Siblings. Well, the end of what’s relevant to this blog series, anyway. There’s also a skit with Pesto and Runt trying to find a home, which is honestly the best one out of this whole bunch of AU one-shots.

Then there’s a Katie Ka-Boom and Chicken Boo crossover, which is as underwhelming as you can imagine.

There’s a short where Dot takes the place of Slappy Squirrel, which goes about as well as it can after the theme song repeatedly calls her “Dottie the Squirrel”.

Lastly, Slappy takes the place of Dot in a Warner Siblings skit (with a cameo with Flavio as Skippy) where the Warners barge in on a very thinly veiled parody of Saddam Hussein and, uh... Well, it’s about as awkward to watch as it sounds. Props to Slappy for not really being interested in any part of that skit, though.

Man, after this utterly bizarre set of skits, I think we really need that full episode length Pinky and the Brain episode, don’t we?

Soon, folks. Soon.

See you then!

[katiecomma]

Tell me the fandom deets on Macgyver, pretty please?

the first character i ever fell in love with: Jack Dalton - 100% - From the moment I first met him I was like: sassy ex Delta Force who loves everyone too much? MINE!

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Unpopular answer: Mac honestly. I love Mac. I love him a lot. I understand that he’s been through some shit. But some of his motivations in the last few seasons (fair warning: I’m not totally caught up on the show - this is one of the main reasons why I stopped watching) haven’t made a lot of sense to me. And the stuff with Nasha really made me mad... And I think if they would have given us the voice overs in S3 we would have been able to see more of his motivation and gotten into his head why he was doing/saying some of the things he was doing it would have helped. And from what I’ve seen... I don’t like who he is in a relationship with Desi (I don’t hate MacDesi, but I hate what they’ve done with it in the show from what I’ve seen)... so I just... I don’t know I feel like he’s not the same character from S1-2... and that’s my Mac honestly.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: I actually think I still love all of my ships from this show... there’s no ship that I don’t like anymore... Huh. But I don’t tend to give up on ships... I don’t know if I’ve ever changed my opinion drastically on a ship in a fandom like that ever.

my ultimate favourite character™: Jack Dalton again... I love him too much. He’s got the greatest lines... he’s charming and witty and loves all of his little found family so much it hurts.

prettiest character: I honestly have to say I think this is a tie between Riley and Mac. I have a bigger crush on Riley... but GAH they’re both so pretty. Like... ridiculously pretty.

my most hated character: James. He’s the worst. I even wrote an entire fic on the premise of Jack getting to punch him in the face. There was some other plot... but I honestly engineered the whole plot and everything around Jack getting to punch James in the face at the end. Worth it.

my OTP: MacDalton - I’m on this ship until it hits an iceberg and sinks. I love them so much. You go kaboom, I go kaboom?! Epic ship material. Coming back for another FUCKING TOUR IN AFGHANISTAN FOR MAC?! Epic ship material.

my NOTP: MacDesi (SORRY! This is not invalidating this ship for ANYONE ELSE - this is a personal opinion and I support you shipping them 100%) - again, fair warning that I’m not caught up on the series... but from everything I’ve seen... Desi is a very abusive SO. I think they had potential, but I really don’t like what they’ve done with it on the show. As for shipping outside of canon... I personally never saw the romantic connection based on their interactions before they got together. Very-Desi centric... the pink dress scene drove me crazy because I didn’t like the idea of Desi trying to win Mac over by doing something like that. Up to that point Desi struck me as the kind of woman to be herself and just wait for a man to make a move on her, or to just be bold and make a move on him. But strutting around in a revealing little dress and playing mating games - I was sad they took her character to that place... so I never really shipped them.

favourite episode: Mac + Jack (S2E12) - as a MacDalton shipped I love this for obvious reasons... but there’s just so much in this episode... I loved seeing Jack and Mac in the army... the way they first met and totally hated each other at first... fantastic. This episode also has my favourite line of all time... when Mac’s trying to defuse the bomb under the hummer... and Jack’s bothering him... Mac: Well, you know what, there is a quicker way to do this. Jack: Really? Mac: Yeah, it involves a loud boom and a bunch of shrapnel in your body. Close second place: Skull + Electromagnet (S2E5) - Harper Hayes is so awesome and badass. I love her a lot.

saddest death: Jill Morgan. I loved her so much. I remember sitting down to watch the S3 premiere and saying: As long as they don’t kill Jill, they really can’t let me down...

favourite season: 2 - I loved Cage. I loved all the dynamics. My favourite episodes are in this season. It’s solid from start to finish. I love this whole season.

least favourite season: I will say 3... because I didn’t watch enough of S4 to name it. But S3 really let me down. I hated the way things just faded away with Nasha. I wish they’d had a better end to that. I hated that we lost the voice overs, especially because some of the stuff Mac was doing and saying was obviously because he was messed up over what happened with Jill and Murdoc and all that, and if we’d had voice overs we could have understood what he was feeling. The same way we did in S1 when all the stuff with Nikki was going on. Jack left. Gross. And he left Mac behind with just that handshake. Before Jack left I hated the way he was treated - they made him into the comedic relief buffoon... and there were several episodes where Mac was making Jack the butt of jokes. Desi showed up and it was pretty obvious when she came on the scene that they were introducing her as a new love interest for Mac. I have 0 tolerance for female characters being introduced solely as a love interest - cause: gross. I hated the Riley/Billy breakup. I hated that they killed Jill.  I hated that Charlie died the way he did, and then that night when they got together for beers Mac was smiling and hitting on Desi And let’s not forget that DESI got a phone call from Jack when Charlie died... but Mac didn’t. WHY?! You really think Jack would find out that Charlie died the way he did and not immediately call his boy!? Bullshit Sorry for the rant... but there were a lot of things in this season I didn’t care for.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I guess Desi... though I wouldn’t say everyone else loves her. I just... there was so much potential with Desi as a character. Strong asian-American woman who’s the badass strong arm of their team... and they made her a love interest and made her kind of an abusive SO... and I just didn’t care for that. I think her and Mac as characters were both treated badly as a result. In conclusion: I really wanted to like her... I even have a huge crush on her... but I still just... don’t.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: I guess Murdoc?... Cause I love Murdoc a lot. And I was sad that they ruined the dynamic between him and Mac when he killed Jill. Killing Jill made it so their dynamic can never be the same. Mac didn’t like Murdoc before, but now he hates him on a personal level and will never forgive him.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Riley - she deserved for Ellwood to stick around. She deserved for Jack to stick around. She deserved for Billy to STICK AROUND. And she deserves to have Mac treat her his found sister and not try to get into her pants the way he seems to every other woman he’s EVER around. (AGAIN: I am not in any way saying MacRiley isn’t a valid ship. I can see the potential - ship to your heart’s content). All this talk of love triangles upsets me... I think they’ve waited too long to pull the trigger on MacRiley... because they’ve always very much had sibling vibes to me.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: I had originally written that I didn’t have one, but I TOTALLY DO!!! Jack/Harper Hayes!!! I have this series of fics where she’s basically his Murdoc and is totally stalking him and stuff... and I just... everything I’ve written around their sexual tension is very non-con... but I love them a lot and I DON’T KNOW WHY.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Mac/Jill - I kinda love them. I love the idea of them being nerds together. I think they would be adorable. Jill is into the spy life but not a field agent so there wouldn’t be as much stress for Mac about losing his girl to the life... etc... So I love them. I think they could have been happy together. And seeing Mac have a happy little home with someone he can still talk about spy stuff with I think would have been great. And yet as much as I love them I just still sit back and dream about it, but I haven’t written much for them. Thank you for the ASK!!! I love doing these!

[maccaillte]

Alright! Time to scream my love to my mutuals no matter how cringy it is! Cause happy birthday to DBH and the funky androids in it.

@rcprobate Silas my beanie babe! You are such an amazing writer and you bring so much depth and love to all of your muses. You have wonderful headcanons for each other that really speaks to the characters. Our DBH babes have grown so much since we first started rping together, we have Calvin and Seven who are first were ready to just give up and then decided to overthrow Markus but a little thing called love got in the way and now Calvin is so soft for Seven and can’t live without them and it makes my heart so full. Seven and Rupert!! Oh made these two are the sweetest beans ever! With their babies and how much they support one another it makes me so happy. These two getting married feels like something out of a dream and its really happening. I love your Connor, sweet boy, maybe some day Sev and him will meet on better terms then whats going down between them with Calvin involved. I love you very much and I’m so happy to have you in my life, you’re my beanie babe.

@theveryfirst Heather and sweet sweet angel Chloe! Chloe is by far the sweetest android ever she gives me freaking cavities. Her love and adoration for Seven just makes me so very happy. Her little danger muffin, only a joke we get. Chloe has and is such a beautiful positive thing in their life they’ll never stop loving her and happy she loves them back. Also mama bear Chloe has permission to kick Neige’s frosty ass.

@jericholeader Becca! Markus is best boy! Amazing boy! Badass boy! I’ll come clean and say that it was Markus’ story that got me into DBH. You write him so well and he’s such a caring character, gah I love him so much. Also thank you for blessing my dash with photos of Jesse Williams. YOU HEARD ME ONCE AND YOU’LL HEAR ME SAY IT AGAIN MARKUS SHOULD HAD BEEN THE SEXIEST DBH CHARACTER IN 2018 I’M JUST SAYING!! RKs got to stick together cause who else is gonna save each other from their stubborn asses?

@erregent || @uglyanswer​ SHI!!! My love! Your trash man ruined me!! RUINED ME!!! Now I love this stinky garbage man and can’t believe Seven fell so hard for his ass. Watching those two grow together was the most beautiful thing, how far the two come from Gavin barely caring who they were to now he can’t believe they love him and he loves them back. You’ve written Gavin so well and amazingly I love what you have done with him. You pointed to the character in the dumpster and was like ‘that one’ and we all love you for it! Also you’re other muses are quality! You writing Cas made my dumb heart remember how much I loved this angel and went back to watch Supernatural episodes again (mostly ones with Cas cause Cas is love) Keep being you you amazing incredible lovely person. Also if you ever need some good nip prices don’t be afraid to ask what the stonks are.

@rkainine It just looks like we can’t be rid of each other does it? Wouldn’t that mean we’ve known each other or met four years ago? Take your pick man I feel old but I’m so glad we found each other again and once again have basically the same muse dynamic! Tiny sweet bby and big scary tough one. I’m so happy Cain and Seven are back and they finally got that hug! Seven loves Cain and will make baby brother see it! Don’t deny their love Cain! Not this time!

@anarmyofme I still adore you Ren! I always will. I’m very happy Seven and Connor remain friends. I’ll always treasure their previous relationship but like real like people change and move on. You’re still a wonderful and amazing writer for Connor who struggles with a lot but thats what makes Connor so amazing! You keep being your funky machine maybe not machine self! 

@negotiiator ANDREW! God i love you so so so very much! Look at our bots and how much they’ve grown, the silly in love droids. Connor and Seven just make me so happy and gah Connor staying be Seven going through that rough time with their body failing. These two are here to stay forever and I’m loving all of it. Also Connor knows how frisky Seven actually is so cherish that secret >w> Seeing you on my dash is such a blessing and I’m so looking forward to Sev and Con being absolute dorks in love.

@313248317 Whats up with this little thing Con and Sev got going on i need the answers owo. But these two are super cute and so soft together, no matter what direction their relationship takes I’m here for it one hundred percent of the way! Sev always makes a happy gasp seeing you poke around in the inbox or on the dash like ‘theres my crush.’

@becomedeviant || @lightbringer I love both of your muses so much! From little shit Connor to little shit Lucifer, Ev/Sev have their hands full with these two. Seven always ready to love and protect Connor because he is baby brother. Ev and Lucifer is a surprise ship but now just makes me so soft!

@failedmission I have to just give major props to Evan’s little brother right here who supported them from day one with their baby. He is the best uncle ever and really if it wasn’t for our threads where I gather confidence in writing Evan expecting I don’t think Peach would have graced the dashboards. So big big thank you and I love you from me!

@deviatiions || @rkfinale​ So much love for Connor and Nines! They both have helped Seven so much and it warms my heart to see how much these two love and cherish their elder sibling. Also I love our human au angst, Peach baby will make everything alright don’t you worry! So much love and just happy emotions for you! And having a blast in ACNH, don’t be a stranger and come on over whenever you like.

@baddcop Rat stinky man! Poor Seven seems like all of our interactions always turned out bad for them but now they’re growing a spine and won’t take Gavin’s shit anymore so thank you for unlocking mouthy Seven. You have so much love and depth for the character your writing is amazing I just can’t get enough of it.

@blueroces Gah I know we’ve done a lot of discord stuff but Nines and Seven make my heart so full and happy! They’re so good for each other and just perfect! Love chatting with you when its like late at night for me but midday for you but thats timezones for ya rip. Can’t wait to keep writing more of this happy couple!

@carbonandiron Middy! I hope you are doing well and your comic is going great! You are such an amazing writer for all of your characters every single one is so perfectly written I just can’t get enough of them!

@plasticdetective  the quickest love story right here folks instant connection. what helped was Connor’s already undying love for Seven and we had barely even gotten to full on plotting. He just went ‘this is my sibling i will love and cherish forever!’ and then finding out we knew each other vaguely, well you knew me vaguely, i knew you through your art was mind blowing cause here is me this itty bitty person gushing over your art and then find out later you are them mind fucking blown. I love all of our interactions so much and enjoy the angst train we got going its a fun ride. Not for Seven and Connor but fun for us!

@flcwcdcode Conall: this RK700 is mine now. Basically what happened so I guess we’re now best friends by default. Seven needs Conall in their life, keep them from doing stupid shit like a dumb kitten trying to climb something too big for them. Keep your idiot tiny sibling alive Conall.

Here are some other lovelies have my heart eyes and loves and everything as well!

@rxmodel @aurumhearts @rebellionmatriarch @designerfai @detrcitmade @wasscared @ambitiouslyruthless @rkplaced @badgeburdened @perfectmachiine @systminstablty @vexeddetective

[bae-leth]

Pt 1: Imagine older Natalia and Artemis (around Academy age but for this scenario they're not in their uniforms) getting involved in some weird magic and ending up in the past during the pre-timeskip part of the game. And they're scrambling to keep their identities secret (uhh we're just visiting family! yeah that's it!) while trying to find their way back to their own time. And they get to interact with younger versions of their loved ones and meet others they only know from history books.

Pt 2: They're not used to seeing Felix at Dimitri's throat all the time or seeing the mask Dimitri wears. It takes all they have not to call them Father and Papa. Dedue treats them not only as strangers but potential threats with their sudden appearance, that breaks their hearts. And Byleth is way less emotional than they're used to. On a lighter note the Lions are surprised Sylvain isn't flirting with a girl as pretty as Natalia. Sylvain thought of it but for some reason felt like throwing up.

Last Pt: So it's Natalia and Artemis interacting with younger versions of their dads and their uncles and aunts while trying hard not to let anything major slip and trying to find their way home. Lots of potential for humor, cuteness, and heartbreak the whole time. Some of the main cast are super suspicious of the siblings, especially with how much they stare at Dimitri and Felix. Also, Natalia and Artemis struggling with not stopping the heartbreak to come cause they might not be born otherwise

i love this scenario so so much, but there’s so many ways this could go wrong and they let slip their identities!! so reading all this has left me in some weird sort of secondhand suspense LMAO

What if their Crests activate in battle? (who knows if your crest actually flashes up as an image when it activates in canon but uhh let’s pretend that it does) Natalia starts sweating because uhhh no?? of course she doesn’t have the Crest of Blaiddyd. Of course not. What are you talking about?

... considering how often the Crest of Fraldarius activates, though, I bet it’d be an even bigger problem for Artemis....

Happy interactions I can see would be interacting with Ashe (”oh my gods Artemis, Uncle Ashe had such chubby cheeks when he was our age! Why didn’t we know this?”) or Mercedes (”She’s still as kind as ever...”) or Annette (”Her hair!”). Perhaps even Sylvain, too, with all the trouble he gets himself into.

But the other Lions? Ouch. Watching how frayed their fathers’ relationship is would be utterly heartbreaking for them :( and Dedue!! not trusting them!! That’s so upsetting. Gah. That still doesn’t stop Natalia from throwing hands with the monks who gossip about Dedue behind his back

Byleth isn’t the archbishop who ruffles their hair and coaches them in swordsmanship whenever he comes over anymore... He’s far more blank-eyed, and they can’t read him at all. They probably have mixed feelings when they see Edelgard, too, since they know she’s going to start a war very soon. But their father always gets a regretful look when he talks about her...... Hm...

On a lighter note, imagine if they somehow bring along their Hero's Relics when they travel back to the past, a la Lucina with Falchion. Except they... really can't explain it. At all. Cue Natalia and Artemis trying to both lug around and also hide Areadhbar, the Aegis Shield and the Sword of Moralta, because they can't just leave them lying around!! but they also have to hide them, because how are they supposed to explain even having it???

[azureshadowmoon]

5.1 thoughts below the cut

- Starts off with a ‘problem’ being the aether of our friends is starting to become television static and we need to get them back asap. It’s going down by who arrived first. I’d  think this would mean death flags for Thancred but we’ve slotted him into the Eden raids so, no. This is gonna be a fixable issue, how we fix it tho...

- Exarch and Alisaie have crushes on the WoL and its too cute

- Stones?? Rocks??? We’re gonna auracite our friends, put them in a box and mail them home??? Someone is probably gonna steal that. Someone is definitely going to steal that. Dont steal our friend rocks please.

- The Grand Cosmos was... okay? It’s cute and the mechanics are new, but I got Dohn Mheg vibes. which... yeah, its fae folk, its gonna be cute and obnoxious. I liked it! But it was rather quick. I give it a 7/10 because the ballroom.

- Alphinaud and Alisaie interacting like siblings again makes me warm and happy. This expansion put them through a lot and to see Alisaie’s little soft smile and Alphys giggle, gah. So sweet. 

- Angelo??? the fucking artist??? did Alisaie name her mashed potato pig after an artist????

- please dont make the mashed potato pig a main character 

- actually, yes, lets bring angelo to the source. untemper Ga Bu and make him a main character. I want more beast tribe friends. let alisaie adopt the monkey.

- Halric makes me sad and creeps me out at the same time. The character design for him captures a lot. His first words are mother followed by tears, followed by him bewilderingly taking in his surroundings. Poor boy doesn’t even know where he is, does he even remember Tesleen? Alisaie? I sense memory jogging quests in the future.

- Its miss chai! My cat mom! I’m so glad Kai-Shirr is still around. And then mister chai out here being the Best Mayor and winning my heart all over again with his efforts to make Kholusia a better place. His character development is just the best. For Eulmore, indeed! 

- I know this is likely tying up loose ends now. Curing the light touched and ensuring Eulmore can stand on its own feet. Which means in future patches we’ll have to fix loose ends with the others, being Urianger and the pixies (titania content when??) and Y’Shtola and that rival cult tribe thats still out there somewhere. 

- I don’t trust Wrenden. I’m getting Ilberd vibes and I Dont Like That.

- Okay so not rocks. Yes rocks? I’m getting mixed signals are we sending the Scions to the source in a box or what. 

- Honestly, my first thought when it was mentioned the spell was the issue is to just... wake up our G’Raha Tia. If the crystal tower magick is what did it, we got another one on the source. 

- My second thought was how hilarious it’d be if we got the auracite stones mixed up and accidentally switched the scions bodies like? comedy gold. 

- Krile putting on the plot armor onto the sleeping scions so we can spend the next few patches trying to send them over, bless her. Bless tataru, I cant wait for the whole squad reunion. 

- Estinien?? Hello?? Actually, no, I’d be wierded out if you did greet me. I think I was already wierded out when he greeted Krile with a smile. “I havent seen you since heavensward thanks for saving my comatose ass” but I’ll just nod and smile. I think he got the message anyway.

- oh hey, double echo. Is krile viewing the same vision? Or is there like, lag or something? Does the echo have like, censored versions of itself? Or did we get the exact same version like a tv show rerun? 

- Gaius lived which, thank goodness. I’m looking forward to his character development. 

- The blue and red twins from Ghimlyt are still around? What even is their story other then being Varis’s butt buddies? they’ve been around and survived long enough that they’re becoming important characters. I don’t know if thats a good thing or not. 

- WE PLAY AS ESTINIEN???ESTINI???ESTININAN???vfsgebhfgbrgh 

- Ultima 2.0 looks ... like Eve from Nier Automata. That was my first impression. It’s cool looking, and different, but still an ultima weapon. Garlamold still hasnt given up that project, huh? Now they’re putting Garlean people into them. 

- “peer into my head did you?” dont be snippy with me, lets see you get these headaches like a youtube add in the middle of a video, see how you like it. 

- Anytime anyone mentions Minfillia’s passing, especially her mom, I’m like... I’m not sure? It didn’t feel like she passed, but the way they’re going about it make it seem like she did. I don’t think her story is over. She may be dead, but I don’t think its over, if that makes sense. 

- Civil war amongst the garleans makes me think we’re gonna be going there soon. With all the trouble going down, it’d be easy to sneak in there and find our man Gaius. 

- The white robed figure... Lahabrea? I don’t want to think so, but with the Ultima weapon 2.0 and Gaius spider senses going off, I think that’s our biggest suspect. Unless a new ascian is introduced. Zenos still has issues, this isnt new. But hey! At least we know we’re not his Prime Target anymore. No more Krile kidnapping, phew. 

- A little disappointed the black rose is gone just like that. And by Zenos hand. I don’t think thats the last of it, but it might be. I hope not. 

- Ardbert ... sounds like he did in heavensward. Is there time travel bullshit going on? Undead? Elidbus said he was gonna get warriors of light to hunt us down. Did he actually rip them from an alternate universe or...? 

- And thats a wrap. It was a enjoyable, a few laughs and sad moments, but it mostly felt like buildup for the next patch. I don’t mind. We finally got filled in on whats been happening while we’ve been on our little vacation. Predictions for the next patch? We’re going to continue helping with the spell to send our friends home, I’m hoping leading us to Ill Mheg where titania helps us, and some Y’Shtola content as well. I don’t think we’ll run into Ardbert so soon, but we might get an idea of why he’s in Eulmore (wrenden I don’t TRUST you) 

Also. The Nier raid? Good. 

[vantekay]

hi,can you do this thing where you tag your mutuals as members of bts and tell me why they remind you of them? I thought it would be fun!

gah sorry this took me so long! but here it is!I’m gonna do this in a bit of a different format than I’ve seen others do it because I can’t possibly pick just one mutual for each of the boys

my mutuals that remind me of namjoon would be @yoonoclock ​. mo just gives me major leader vibes. I feel like she takes charge in situations when someone needs to step up and lead the rest- and if we are being honest with ourselves- mo would make an absolutely amazing leader/role model. 

my mutuals that remind me of seokjin would be @sjtual ​ and @lilac-park-jimin because they are just so full of love and energy and are super funny people, but they also have their own struggles that they deal with and they never show that side- always wanting to be there for everyone else and making sure everyone around them is happy even if they are hurting, big soft energy from these two :(

my mutuals that remind me of yoongi would be @couture-kookie. it’s been a long while since we’ve talked but you’ve always given me the same vibes as yoongi gives me which is like, those silent-love giving older siblings who you always have looked up to with stars in your eyes and you always admire everything they do. you and yoongi both just give no shits and stick it to the man which is awesome ssksks.

my mutuals that remind me of hoseok would be @guktwt. I know we aren’t really too close, and we haven’t been mutuals for a long time but mara just really radiates big soft energy like hobi does :( someone who will also take the lead when needed, but also wants to make sure everyone around them is happy and that they feel comfortable at all times. not someone who really shares their personal struggles but will be the first person who wants to hear about yours. a big ol softie like hoseok :(

my mutuals that remind me of jimin would be @namiiy. nams is so positive and cheerful, always making sure that the people around her feel loved and appreciated and it’s so amazing. nams really really reminds me of jimin whenever she leaves me cute messages in my inbox or whenever I see her leave encouraging messages in other peoples inboxes. so full of love and never expects any back- even though she deserves all the love and more.

my mutuals that remind me of taehyung would be @whimsicalliethereal. cara’s heart is so big and full of love :( it really reminds me of taehyung. whenever we speak- it’s always full of love and praise and just all kinds of good things. you have a heart of gold, just like the man who has stolen our hearts and I hope you never forget that.

my mutuals that remind me of jungkook would be @gold-gguk. a true chaotic god, always full of fun and jokes and nothing but a good time. although talking and interacting with her is always full of fun, she’s also someone who has a lot of love in her heart as well :( just really radiates big baby energy like jungkook does (but in a good way) and @melonkooky. a super playful and careful person but also someone who cares a lot about the people around them (I feel like I’ve said that a million times already in this post lmao) and wants to take everyone else’s burdens for them. but also someone who knows how to have fun and create the fun loving atmosphere when in a group :)

[layton-fanfic-library]

Do you know any Luke/Arianna fics? They're really hard to find especially after the anime came out.

Hey, anon! That’s sad to hear… but I hope this list helps! Truth be told, a lot of these can be found by doing a quick filter search on AO3/FF.net, but this ship needs more love, so I don’t care!

Oneshots:

Misthallery’s Young Pianist (AO3)- ‘Arianna’s piano recital is coming next week and she is nervous because of that. Luckily for her, Luke knows how to calm her down.’ This is short and sweet and recent! There’s still some love left for this ship yet. 

Phone of the Wind (AO3) - ‘“This feels really weird,” he laughs, more to himself than her, twirling the telephone wire around his finger. “I mean, you can’t even hear me… Or can you? Arianna, can you hear me?”in which Luke tries to connect with Arianna one more time.’ A sad AU in which the Golden Garden doesn’t exist. This one hurt me.

The Brightest Star (FF.net) - ‘Luke is left distraught and turns to the Professor when he loses someone for the first time.’ This one HURT ME AS WELL. I’m seeing a theme here…

Luke’s Lonely Winter (AO3) - ‘Luke loves his life with Professor Layton and being his apprentice! But, as any child away from home would do, he misses his friends back at home. Especially one little girl with an ocarina…’ I should have recced this one at Christmas. It really captures Luke’s young voice. I just re-read and I just… gah, it’s amazing it made my heart melt. From the title and the description, you may think this is a simple story, and while the premise is simple and predictable, the writing style is so charming, please read it. It gives you exactly what your heart wants to see. 

Let’s Go To The Movies! (FF.net) - ‘Arianna and Tony are visiting London for the day and the professor proposes the group take a trip to the local cinema…’ That awkward moment when you try to go on a date with your crush and your whole family invites themselves…. 

Luke’s first dance (FF.net) - ‘Luke is feeling nervous about his very first dance with Arianna, can the professor calm his nerves? (LukeXArianna pairing) (Professor Layton/Luke father-son pairing).’ Who’s ready for super cute-awkward-beautifully-written dancing? (Also Layton is a proud DAD is this one, helping Luke dance with Arianna)

Happy Birthday, Luke! (Deviantart) - “I wish my friends and family can be here to celebrate with me.”

Multiple Chapters:

Why Can’t We Be Like That? (FF.net) - ‘Sort of sequel to Accidentally in Love, more info in the A/N :) Focusing more on the Luke/Arianna relationship than the Clive/Flora one Incredibly sorry for the infrequent updates, but I am trying to hopefully finish this soon! x’ Here it is - the LONGEST Luke/Arianna fic. (Note, Clive/Flora is referenced in this story and the previous one in the series, so I don’t want anyone complaining if they click the link. No attacking the author.) 

Return (FF.net) - ‘ Arianna has waited for her first crush to return to her since what has felt like a lifetime. Finally, that day has come, but things don’t go exactly according to plan…’ The formatting seems a bit off with the first chapter, but it improves immensely in the following chapters. It appears to be a complete fic at 3 chapters, based on the last author’s note. Another Luke/Arianna trope I’m noticing is when they reunite after a lengthy amount of time and I’m all here for that. The authors wastes no time getting to the romance in this fic. I also like Arianna and Tony’s sibling interactions in this fic… 

Futures (AO3) - ‘Today, as it happens, is Rory’s birthday. Who is Rory? Luke Triton’s ten-year-old daughter. And who’s celebrating it with her? Her puzzle-solving, animal-speaking, robot-building and bad-guy-punching extended family. Set roughly 25 years after Unwound Future.’ Sadly, there are only two chapters… but what is there gives the reader a ‘glimpse’ into a future that could have been (or could still BE, Luke’s still young in the anime) for Luke, Arianna and their family. 

Reset (AO3) - ‘Luke doesn’t want to say goodbye to the professor. He wishes he could relive their past adventures… with dire results.’ I’ve never played Ghost Trick, sadly, so I haven’t been following crossover. But Luke/Arianna are tagged and they have a lot of interactions in the first few chapters

Luke Triton & the Old Friend (FF.net) - ‘You decide what happens next! It’s been eight years since Luke had seen Arianna Barde, and now she’s visiting him in his new town five years after he actually moved into it. However, Luke’s neighbor and friend, Natalya, is suspicious of Arianna’s motives on why she’s really in town. But… maybe she’s just jealous…?’ (Incomplete at one chapter, hasn’t been updated since 2013, sadly…)

A Professor Layton Christmas Carol (FF.net) -  ‘It’s a Christmas disaster! Will the Professor, his number one apprentice, his old assistant, the golden apple, and an ex-convict be able to ban together to save Christmas? Even with all the disharmony and tension growing between them?’ Another Christmas fic, and this one’s complete. While Luke/Arianna isn’t the main focus of the story, they get some cute moments towards the end!

If you can think of anymore, please let me know! 

[firebirdsdaughter]

This is still ‘soon’…

… Right?

So! Let’s look at subbed Ryusoulger nigh immediately after raw Ryusoulger.

… Huh. I’m not sure about that sentence.

So, I got into one of my theory rambles at the end of this. In case anyone wants to just skip to the end and avoid the nonsensical bullet points. XD

In no order:

I love the angsty edgy bros w/ my whole heart and no one can stop me.

Touwa definitely sounds a little… I dunno, wistful? I really think he is lonely, and too read too much between the lines, this sort of seems to me like he may not know about the betrayal thing. I guess it just kind of seemed like there was an edge of questioning about it? Like he’s bringing up the topic of ‘friends’ in an effort to probe his brother’s reasons for being so against it? … Probably overthinking it.

Kou inconveniently makes a noise before I can learn anything about Banba’s opinion on the word ‘friends.’ Damnit, Kou. If you weren’t so cute…

He’s so happy, gods love him. Banba just stares incredulously at him, but Touwa rolls his eyes. Definitely the more expressive of the two. ^^

Banba does let Kou back up quite promptly, though. He may not trust people or want to work w/ them, but he’s not outright hostile, at least.

Important facts: Melto now gets to eat a banana w/out having to worry about being incriminated.

Kou just takes things, does he. XD There’s his mischievous side. ^^ Though I guess he did have a reason, and it was a clever tactic to get the other two’s attention.

Banba is somewhere offscreen like ‘damnit, Touwa, don’t make promises I don’t want to keep!’

Kou’s awkward ‘wait, this isn’t mine…’ moment when Touwa says he’d have to give them the map. XD

Okay. I love all these kids, and they’re all doing great. But what gets me in the opening shot of all of them screaming is that Tatsuya, Ichika, and Tsuna are all just going for it w/ the tragic drama, while Yuito and Hayate… Maybe it’s bc there’s no other context but they both kinda look like they’re almost smiling to me? Weird, I know. And probably just me.

And the problem children are officially at it. XD Drama babies.

I still don’t understand why the hell Touwa knows about that. Have you been hanging out w/ business men? Does Kou even know, for that matter?

I love Kou being super impressed until Touwa claims he won. It’s so adorable. ‘Wow, you’re actually really good––no, wait!’

Ah, Touwa acts all indifferent, but I think he’s definitely enjoying this. Kinda seemed like he suddenly realised he was having fun and immediately tried to backtrack. Like, really, when was the last time he got to behave like a kid? Like, we know Banba loves him, and I’m sure they played as children, but it’s a little different––probably esp after Banba started shutting himself off, depending on when that happened. Gah. It’s hard to explain. Like, why there’s the whole thing about how it’s good for children to play w/ kids their own age, and stuff like that.

They both keep doing the same thing. XD You boys are so similar. ^^ … Banba is going to kill you both.

The little green dancing knights and the little black dancing knights overlapped and it’s CUTE.

I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE FULL TEAM ROLLCALL I WILL CRY.

Poor Kou get’s interrupted on his announcement speech.

No, Kreuon, they don’t.

These two are gonna find ways to turn everything into competitions, aren’t they.

DORKS.

Aw, don’t worry, Touwa. He meant both of you.

Still a cool reveal shot. Also, damn, Banba got there fast. Does he have a ‘someone just pushed my brother in a fountain’ radar or something?

Actually, he probably does have a ‘brother in trouble’ radar.

Banba officially becomes the second person to actually formally trade blows w/ Tankjoh. And the last time, when Kou did it, he was riding adrenaline and rage from Master Red’s death. This is really cool.

Like, he was able to activate KataSoul in perfect timing to not get untransformed by the purple glowy slash. And it didn’t even really knock him back––he does a bloody flip and leaps clear. And while he’s a bit out of breath from it, he doesn’t seem that worse for wear. That was impressive! Even Tankjoh was kind of impressed!

XD These two dorks. Definitely already got the bickering down. ^^

‘Oops. Nii-san’s pissed.’ I love how even Kou is awkwardly looking down. XD

I love how it looks like this woman just carefully placed her purse down before falling unconscious.

Ah, yes. The universal Toku Hospital. Pretty sure this is where Geiz and Tsukuyomi took Sougo during the Ghost arc.

How… How would you tell if that was the Minusaur host. Like. Is it it just based on the toy gun? I’m beginning to wonder if Banba was just staring at Kou when he asked about killing the kid bc he could believe Kou was dumb enough to think he’d do that before being sure.

Or just for thinking that he’d do that already. It’s not like they want to kill people, they just think they’d have to.

Like, they’ve––well, definitely Banba, I think Touwa might have some left––lost all optimism. I don’t think Banba believes in the ‘power of hope and determination’ at this point. Boy needs to relearn his Sentai tropes. ^^ I mean, he’s definitely shut off most of his empathy. Like I know I’ve said before, and I’m so annoying I’ll say it again, I think he had the opposite reaction to trauma that the trio did. They choose to find hope and carry on in the memory of their Masters, and try to find happiness to help counteract the sorrow––whereas Banba seems to have reacted by deciding he’ll stop the pain by just feeling and connecting as little as possible. If that made any sense.

Banba says nothing, and he’s really stoic, but I think he’s also uncomfortable w/ that concept. Esp since it still seems like he raised his brother, I highly doubt he could actually harm a child w/out thinking of Touwa.

When did Kou stuff that down his shirt? And how did it stay there?

I love how Melto immediately chastises Kou for taking things. XD Definitely the mom friend.

Kou just looks confused.

Maybe I’m totally overreading Banba’s reaction to Melto suggesting they split up? But it’s the sort of thing that could very well be related to a betrayal, no? I dunno. Maybe he really was just looking for an opportunity to make someone else deal w/ Kou and Touwa’s competition.

Apparently, Asuna can’t read a map.

Oh, and don’t worry about him, dear. He’s just like that. I promise you, he’ll open up eventually.

Love how he’s very purposefully walking a certain amount of feet away from her.

Okay, but  the fact that TigerLance and MirNeedle really are stuck in their temple means so much to me. I can’t believe my goofy, über-tired joke theory came true.

I love how we’re all including each other in calls now. Like, before Asuna just called Kou. But apparently we all, I dunno, exchanged numbers? Is it possible to only call one person, or are they now just stuck on conference for life?

Banba will hate that if it’s true.

Touwa is vaguely concerned, aw. I really think he’s been a little lonely, what w/ Banba just having lost all faith in the rest of the world, so to speak, while he didn’t have the same experience; so the trio are growing on him faster, and he’s a little more open to the chance of connecting w/ others.

Also, the fact that Banba was the one to associate the Minusaur’s behaviour w/ an adult playing w/ a child. He seems like the last person that would be able to make that connection, but he’s also the one that we can confirm to actually have potentially interacted w/ a child in that way.

But even if I’m wondering if I’m overthinking Banba’s reaction to the splitting up suggestion, I really don’t think I’m overthinking Touwa’s reaction to the reveal about what created the Minusaur. It seems to have hit a nerve, and I think we can now be pretty certain that the boys have (presumably, though I guess it could have been their mother) dad issues of some kind. But… Well, I’ll get more into those ideas a little further down. See, there was this idea I had… I’ll get to it at the end.

I don’t think it’s that strange for Touwa to intercede. He has an idea to beat the Minusaur w/out killing anyone. The brothers don’t actually want to kill anyone. They just thought they’d have to if they couldn’t stop the monster in time.

Though I do definitely think there’s also something personal going on.

Cuties.

Banba’s comment, not only sets up his motivations for next episode, and make sit double clear how much Touwa means to him, but also reenforces my suspicion that the brothers have dad issues.

I love MirNeedle and his weird steamboat sound.

Also Banba almost smiling and kind of teasing his brother. ^^ Even more cuteness.

I love how the touching moment where Touwa admits that he’s kind of gotten fond of these fools is promptly followed by evidence of their utter incompetence and goofy melodrama. XD

Really excited for next week. XD I mean, it was already highly likely that they way they’d get Banba to start at least working w/ the team would be through Touwa, since Touwa is the only person he’s able to trust right now, but I’m excited for how they’re doing it. Usually stoic big siblings being distressed and frantic over injured little siblings is one of my jams. ^^

Seems like Tanjkoh is deliberately goading Kou, and it turns out to be a setup of some kind. Touwa ends up getting bitten by the Cerberus-based Minusaur, which seems to be some sort of rabid dog/werewolf type thing where the bite does something. And, naturally, Banba freaks out. Presumably after they get him calmed down enough to actually go after the Minusaur rather than just stabbing the nice animal lady (emotional Banba is not gonna be rational Banba), he eventually agrees to work w/ them in order to save his brother.

According to the website, his relationship w/ Kou also changes? So we’re starting the adoption process, I think. XD

Aaaah. While I do love the little Kishiryu running about on the book, I also would’ve loved if they’d done like LuPat where the preview kinda continued under the sponsor stuff, so we got to see a little more of the next ep. Mainly bc I am a big impatient baby. XD

That’s all folks! White chocolate rubber duck for anyone who read all that (go on, eat all of it, I dare you).

Anyway, onto that theory I promised to get to. So, when things were first getting revealed, and it turned out that Green and Black were brothers and we learned about Gaisorg/Gaisoulg, and how those three would be appearing in Strongest Battle, I had a thought that maybe Gaisorg was their father, who was either getting controlled by the Druidon (like Wolzard) or had gone evil for power, or something (like Ikkou and Isshu’s father). When it turned out that it was the armour, and esp when the brothers didn’t seem to recognise it, I pretty much ditched the idea. However. There have been developments. Someone picked up and took Gaisorg’s helmet away at the end of Strongets Battle. They’ve stated that Banba was betrayed in the past. This most recent ep indicated that Banba and Touwa have some kind of father issues––namely, that their father was likely rarely around, esp for Touwa. Banba’s line to the father about how there’s nothing more precious in the world than family. So now I’m wondering. Was their father the one who betrayed him/them? Maybe he wasn’t around bc he got obsessed w/ being stronger? Or maybe he betrayed them early, and Banba made the call to get away from him? Banba coming out of his usual stoicism to inform someone of the importance of family could just indicate he’s dealt w/ someone who failed in that regard, possibly in almost exactly the same way. A father who put duty (or maybe just plain power) before his children. Could also explain Banba’s desire to prove his own strength, prove he’s better than their father. And while he’s obsessively devoted to the mission (possibly after seeing his father lose sight of it?), it’s certain he would never put it above Touwa. His arc could partially be not just learning how to trust again and finding friends/a new family, but also getting away from their father in his own way.

Alternatively, I’m riding the high of the fact that my goofy ‘what if TigerLance and MirNeedle are trapped’ theory, and I’m running my mouth. But it does smack of a rather stock Sentai/Toku style, though in those the fathers usually turn out to be under the control of the bad guys, or it’s some sort of secret plan. But maybe we are pulling a KR here, and dad’s just plain a dickwad. Might be interesting.

[marcoacesabo]

Where Do Babies come from? Part II

The day started out like any other. For once the weather was in their favor, staying calm and clear, allowing the large boat to gently rock on the waves without much trouble.

The siblings had woken to the wonderful smells of bacon breakfast, the nurses had started nagging Pops for his drinking habits and Marco was peacefully watching from above enjoying the sounds of his family go about their lives.

His eyes gently roomed the top deck, smirking at the group of men who were sweet talking the nurses into a dance- the idiots always looking for a reason to party. 

“Peaceful isn’t it” Strong arms warped around him, causing the blond’s smirk to melt into a gentle smile. Ace’s naturally warm body heat was one of his favorite things in this world. 

He’s glad that’s it’s his privilege to enjoy it whenever he likes.

“Yes yoi.”  He leans back just to allow Ace to rest against his side. The raven hair man fits perfectly under his chin, due to his shorter hight- something he would never admit out loud to Ace. Marco liked being alive- and it’s so great to just exist with the other like this.

Watch duty during the day wasn’t as eventful as the night one since no one dared to attack the strongest man in the world and so they could enjoy hours of just them in the crow nest overlooking the family. At the same time, the horizon from where they stand looks like the sea is opening her arms to them, inviting them for an adventure and freedom.

It’s like a separate world, a little part to call their own.

With the man, he loves in his arms.

The thought makes Marco want to kiss Ace, but he knows his boyfriend is mesmerized by the view which means he wouldn’t be up to making up right now. Instead, he presses a kiss to Ace’s temple, earning him an honest to Sea Maiden giggle.

Marco stores that away in a part of his mind labeled “Adorable and cute”. He isn’t surprised that most of it is build around Ace.

“Thatch said there was going to be a party with guests soon? Some kind of tradition, apparently. Mind telling me about that?.” Ace whispers half hiding his warm cheeks and shy little smile into Marco’s chest. It’s a poor attempt to distract the older man from his ahem manly chuckle, but the older man is willing to play along.

“Yes. It’s something Pops started when one of his sons had a child. We basically pick an island and everyone allied with Pops meets there to celebrate being a family. Crewmember’s spouses and children show up too. ” Marco smiles softly thinking of the thousands and thousands of nieces and nephews eagerly waiting on the shore side.  “It’s actually really cute yoi.”

“Wow.” Ace breathes in a voice Marco hates. It the voice he uses when hears of basic interactions of a family that love each other. It’s almost as worse as the one he uses when Marco tells him I love you “That sounds amazing, to think-”

“Hi, misters! Where’s my daddy?.” 

Both males jump at the toddler that was suddenly standing right in front of them. A little blond boy whose bangs were pinned back with two bunny hairpins, wearing blue goggles over his eyes and smiling with a thousand watts up at them.

His bunny hairpins matched the one on his white t-shirt, though it looked odd under the black child tailcoat. His shorts were a nice light shade of blue. 

He was clutching the straps of his black bag while rocking on his heels, the railing groaning under the movement and that was dangerously close to the edge of a twenty-five-foot drop!

“Holy shit, get down from-” Ace started a big brother knee reflex to worry. He was already moving to grab onto the baby when the kid perked up at his words.

If possible the child’s smile got wider, cutting him off the frantic man with a cheerful “Holy shit!” 

He tilted backward when he spread his arms out with his shout. Marco saw his life flash before his eyes as he started to fall-

Moving so fast he may have shifted, the fireman snatched the baby out of the air, spinning around to carry the giggling child into his arms and away from certain death.

“Holy shit!” The strange little one says, kicking his feet “Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!”

“No.” Marco groans, shakingly falling onto his ass- he just lost ten years of his life-, watching as horror blossoms on Ace’s face. If there is one thing his boyfriend hates doing, it’s cussing in front of children. “No, don’t say that. That’s not what good little boys say”

The blond head tilts to the side, lips forming a pout. Its the only warning he gets before the kid bursts into tears. He starts screaming at the top of his lungs, reaching a pitch that a tiny body like his should not be able to reach- it makes both men ears ring “Wahhhh! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”

The Whitebeard commanders are not in their element. 

“Do something!” Ace screams over the toddler. He tries rocking the kid like a baby but it only works in making the little one more upset.He kicked his feet more franticly while waving his arms around, struggling in Ace’s hold. Tears and snot were rolling down his chubby face now, and it was turning an alarming shade of red. 

“What can I do yoi!?” 

“I don’t know! Just- make him stop!”

“How!?”

“DADDY!” 

Boom

The explosion shook the whole ship. The kid jerks to a stop, obviously scared and the two men are relieved to hear the silence before he picks up right where he started. This time sounded louder.

Marco jumps to his feet looking as another explosion rocks the ship, his family screaming. He jumps off the crew nest shifting into his Phoneix form just as the wind carries up the words they are shouting.

“There’s an intruder!”

“Someone stop him!” 

“Get a commander-watch out!” 

“Gah!”

“Tiger! Where are you!?” On the deck, a man Marco has never seen before screams, jumping over a sword, dodging a bullet and punching Ichigo in the face all the while desperately looking around.  “Tiger!”

Marco seeing everything he needs to see, he takes a dive rapidly approaching the blond with one of his talons. Just as he about to make contact the blond man spins around, parrying his strick with a Haki induced pipe.  

Livid blue eyes meet his own as the man sneers “Where the hell is Tiger!? What did you do to him!?”

The first commander’s response is to twist his waist and aim a kick to his unguarded side. He nails the intruder on the side of the head lunching the younger man into the main mass.

It’s only a few seconds later that he remembers Ace and the toddler are still up there. A loud wet shout of “DADDY!” echoes from above.

The blond man is on his feet in seconds, stands ready for battle but he looks pale and he keeps glancing up. Marco looks at him really looks at him taking in his blond hair, his black trench coat and oh. Okay, he sees what’s happening here now.

“Ace!” Marco calls weary eyes on the blond man.  “Come down- bring the kid”

The blond’s whole poster stiffens before he launches forward, swinging his pipe in a blind rage with a war cry “Give me back my son!”

Marco matches him blow for blow, he’s very impressed with the attacker. It’s no wondering the family was having a hard time with him. He’s on par with a commander easy and certainly doesn’t lack combat experience. 

If he was up against Ace, they would evenly match but the Phoniex is his opponent, and Marco had been a pirate for a good twenty years now. He is no wet behind the ears rookie commander like his boyfriend.  

No he’s the one that created the commander role.

A few attacks, a few close calls, and a few bruises later he has the other pin. He managed to slam his feet into the stranger’s knees, and had both arms in a tight grip behind his back, stopping all of his movement just as Ace landed.

 The toddler hiccuping loudly in his arms. “D-hic-addy!”

“Tiger!”  The man under Marco’s foot shouts. “ Don’t hurt him! He’s just a baby! Please!”

“We aren’t going to hurt him yoi” The blond commander says indifferently as more crewmembers start to gather around. They had cleared an area for the blonds earlier watching from the sidelines in case Marco needed saving. “Just calm down and stand down.”

Blue eyes flickered to him with a rebellious glare, causing him to wonder if the attacker would try to break out of his hold again. The toddler, which he thinks is named Tiger sobbed “Daddy! Sc-scare! Daddy!” causing the man to stiffen before slumping down in place admitting defeat.

Nobody moved for a moment before Marco nodded his head at Ace. The raven hair man gently puts the kid down, and the little one imminently rushed forwards. His chubby arms stretched out and he was gasping for air- poor kid must have been crying the whole time.

The blond lets the man go just as the little one gets close, picking up the pipe so the intruder doesn’t have a weapon anymore. The other doesn’t seem to care beacuse he scrambles to desperately hug the toddler to his chest, whispering reassurance to the distressed child.

Thier father walks over, as both blonds- one old and one- start crying into each other holds. The baby hiding his head in the older man’s shoulder.

“Well, when Dragon said you were a hand full I didn’t think he meant this,” Pops says smiling in satisfaction when the stranger jerks his son to the side, shielding him from the emperor.  “Now Sabo is it? I gave you permission to come aboard my ship as a favor to an old friend. I would hate to have to take back the invitation due to you attacking my children.”

“Don’t touch my child and we’re good...sir” the blond says slowly adding the sir as if though it pained him to do so.

Oh Marco likes this one. Fiesty. Kinda of like Ace when he first arrived, not to mention knows how to through a punch.

Pops grin “We understand each other then. Now, you asked to come here seeking one of my children but refused to explain any further. What could the Revolutionary Army’s Cheif of Staff Sabo-”

Next to Marco Ace made a strange choking sound

“-possibly want from my son?”

By now the sobbing of the little one had reduced to sniffs, his head tilted in a way that would indicate he was staring up at Whitebeard. The man hesitates to answer, glancing around the many curious eyes.  “Can we discuss this somewhere more priv-”

“Whatever you have to say you can say it in front of my children,” Pops says evenly causing the blond man’s lips to purse. The kid goes back to hiding his face.

Ace takes a shaky step towards the pair catching Marco’s attention. He looks away from his father and the stranger, to gently rest a hand on one tan shoulder. It shakes under his hold. “Ace, are you okay yoi?”

The other man doesn’t respond, wide eyes locked on the blond. 

Sabo looks like he’s counting to ten before he coos at the toddler until Tiger raises his head, then gently removes his goggles. They reveal a pair of silver eyes Marco has seen only one other person, though they are a little red and puffy it’s no denying the cany likeness. 

Since the goggles were so big on the child, they covered most of his cheeks but now the freckles he bore were standing out against his milk coffee toned skin a bright beacon grabbing attention.

Marco thinks back to when they first meet Tiger, and the large smile he sported. Now that he really stops to exam it, that smile holds a very family cure of the lips and a fine sense of mischevious glee he is very familiar with edged into the corners.

It’s almost like...

Holy shit.

“Okay fine..this may sound weird but...I need DNA from Portgas D Ace so our lab grown son can stay alive and I would really appreciate it if he like gave me some of his blood or something ” Sabo blurts out holding the little one to his chest. “Also this is Tiger...your grandson?” 

The deck is stone cold silent.

Thump

That’s why when Ace fainted, the sound of his body hitting the wood echoes across the waves. 

[pandoramusicbox09]

Just finished watching episode 4 of the Clear Card Arc

This episode was a good mix of funny and serious.  The ending of this episode killed me and made me scream “WHAT THE FUCK!?!” at my laptop though. XD

So it starts off with Sakura still thinking about the dream she had the night before and the mysterious figure she saw.  And of course, Toya knows something is going on but doesn’t say anything to her and proceeds to mess with his baby sister.  Honestly I love the relationship between Toya and Sakura.  It’s such a typical sibling relationship but we all know Toya worries about his little sister and wants to make sure she’s all right.  That sly comment about Sakura coming home completely wet the day before is such a Toya way of  showing his concern XD

Next comes the introduction to new Significant Character (TM).  Hahaha, as much as I love Cardcaptor Sakura, it’s not all THAT hard to figure out that a character is going to become important later on.  Also, seriously, the animation went all out on Akiho’s introduction; sparkles, flower silhouettes, close-ups of everyone’s reactions, both Tomoyo and Sakura commenting on how pretty she is.  It doesn’t really take a genius to realize this girl’s important.

Geez, this girl’s been around, literally.  Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy and England.  Are her parents diplomats or something?  Poor thing’s never had a chance to just settle down and make some friends.  Aaand Yamazaki strikes again XD.  And now not only Syaoran and Sakura but Akiho as well are being duped by this guy.  Although, what’s with the looks Syaoran keeps shooting towards Akiho and Sakura.  Boy, no need to be jealous, your girlfriend’s only got eyes on you.  Unless he knows something about Akiho that the rest don’t.  

And now, the appearance of a new card interrupts class.  Hahahaha, good call for Sakura and Tomoyo faking Sakura being sick so they can sneak out.  And of course, Tomoyo can’t resist dressing Sakura up and pulling out her camera.  Although, considering that trees are pulling themselves up from their roots and walking around, how is no one else hearing all this?  Sakura just happened to glance out the window and saw trees moving themselves and yet NO ONE seems to have realize this as well?  

Also, the image of lock-picking trees to get out of school is hilarious XD.  The trees somehow managed to shove their roots into a lock and maneuver just right to unlock the gate.  And yet, at no point do these trees figure to poke their roots or branches through the Siege card to escape, instead they try to sumo their way out.  

I was concerned when Sakura used Aqua while in the Siege card because, girl, you’re in an enclosed area and you’re going to fill it up with water?  But seriously, my girl’s got everything down to a science now.  The way she commanded Siege to become more flexible so it wouldn’t break and the way she commanded Aqua to clear a path for her so she could get close to the new card to seal it.  My girl Sakura has earned her right to be master of the cards and I couldn’t be prouder. 

And then Tomoyo getting upset that she didn’t get to film the capture was just hilarious.  Oh Tomoyo, my precious daughter, never change XD.

So Yue still can’t sense ANY magic from the new cards, even when they’re being activated?  Huh, curiouser and curiouser.  I have to say, Action is a pretty nifty card to have.  Need to move something heavy?  Action Card Release and BAM.  That little dialogue when Sakura is commanding the trees to walk slowly so no one would hear made me laugh.  Like, girl, no one heard these trees when they were uprooting themselves and making a mad dash towards the gates, I doubt anyone would hear them casually walking back to where they belong XD.  

And then Yue changing back to Yukito when he’s had enough of Kero is amazing XD.  I like how Yukito is aware of Yue’s existence but can’t actually interact with him.  It’s a bit DN Angel-esque.  Awww and of course he asks about Toya.  Sweet boy wanting to know how his boyfriend’s doing X3

And speaking of boyfriends, Syaoran calls Sakura and those two just have to CUTEST conversation.  Obviously Syaoran is all concerned about what Yue has to say about the new cards and Sakura is being her sweet, optimistic self and Syaoran pulls the “You’re really amazing, Sakura” line and Sakura just get SUPER flustered and going on about how amazing Syaoran is.  And then asks him if she can make a bento box for him.  Look at my girl being all sweet and wanting to pull the romantic moves for Syaoran too.  And then, my boy is just so sweet and reassuring that he’s looking forward to it.  And of course, the killer last few lines when Syaoran tells Sakura to call him if anything unusual happens, even at night.  Then Sakura, being the sweet girlfriend, asks Syaoran if she can call him even if nothing unusual is going on.  And Syaoran just saying “anytime” and both of them are smiling and blushing and OMG, THEY ARE SO GODDAMN CUTE!!!!!!!

But then, right after that adorable phone call, the plot thickens dramatically because SYAORAN HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH ERIOL THIS WHOLE GODDAMN TIME!  Eriol’s not picking up any bad vibes from Akiho so we don’t know what her importance is going to be.  All we know is that she’s going to be close to Sakura.  I’m pretty sure she’s going to be the mysterious figure in Sakura’s dreams but that doesn’t answer anything really.  Also WHAT THE HELL!?!?!  WHAT DO YOU MEAN SYAORAN CAME BACK TO JAPAN FOR “THAT TIME”?  WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S NOT THE RIGHT TIME?!?  THE RIGHT TIME FOR WHAT!?!  WHAT’S GOING ONE!?!  SYAORAN, YOU LITTLE SHIT, WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM SAKURA?!? 

Okay, so even more questions than before.  What is Akiho’s significance?  If she is the figure in Sakura’s dreams, then what is her agenda?  Is she responsible for the Sakura Cards becoming Clear?  The appearance of these new cards?  Why can’t Yue or Kero sense any magic from them?  What are Eriol and Syaoran hiding?  GAH!!!!!!!

All and all, a really good episode and I really like how the plot is moving along, even though all these questions are killing me.  The next episode looks a little slow but I’m still looking forward to it.  Also, I swear the show is looking for every opportunity to showcase how beautiful the animation is.  This show is freaking gorgeous.

[renee-walker]

So I’ve made it through three eps of Stranger Things 2 and these are my entirely unorganized, incomplete, and super random thoughts (in no particular logical order)

Whether or not this is good, Joyce treats Will exactly the way I would treat one of my kids if something like this ever happened to them. I understand every single second of her (over)protectiveness, and it breaks my heart.

I’m pretty sure I love Joyce and Hopper’s dynamic in this season so far even more than I did in S1. Omg, how much do I love that he calls her bf “Bob the Brain” but is also genuinely happy for her and we’re not fucking with any of that adolescent jealousy crap? Amazing! I ship these two like burning, but I’m smart enough to know I’m going to sob like a lost child when Bob dies.

Mike’s concern for Will melts me. And I love that all his friends are really trying.

Gah, Jonathan and Will. There are so many amazing relationships on this show, and I love basically all of them. But this one is extra special to me because siblings. The fact that Will is honest with Jonathan about how he feels treated like a freak makes me so warm and fuzzy.

I wasn’t super impressed with Max at first and even now I’m still not ready to throw my arms around her and embrace her as part of the crew, but she’s definitely growing on me.

Hopper and Eleven, omfg. When I saw her sitting at his table I made this ridiculous gasping squeaking noise of profound joy. If anything is going to destroy my soul this season, their relationship will be that thing. I have such an epic kink for created father/daughter relationships. (See also: Giles/Buffy, Adama/Kara, Phil/Daisy) I feel as if almost any other show would bash the viewer over the head with reminders of the fact that Hopper had a daughter who is now dead, but god fucking bless the subtlety with which they handle it. It’s always there, but just below the surface in the most painful, tangible way.

Nancy has never been my fave, but I tied myself in 32 knots watching her struggle with her guilt over Barb. The poor cupcake is about to crack. And I love that she has the smarts to question whether her “drunken outburst” was more than just that. You go girl.

Steve continues to make me like him, for which I want to fight someone;)

Dustin is on my last nerve with his love for this damn hellcreature. With everything that has happened, I’m like REALLY DUSTIN. And I love Dustin. But for serious.

ALSO. Why do Will’s friends keep leaving him alone all the time? This is a thing that actually chaps my ass a lot. I love Mike, but Mike knows Will has been struggling, and he still lets him head off on his own in search of the gross hellcreature. Not cool, guys.

Also not cool? The fact that we finally get another girl to add to the group and Eleven’s first reaction has to be jealousy. I get that in theory there’s the need for drama, but good lord do we not have enough of this manufactured crap in the world? They could have invented a better reason for El to run away before communicating with Mike, and I wish they had.

Paul Reiser keeps reminding me so much of Carter Burke in Aliens that I want to run screaming out of the room and never come back. God I fucking hate that guy. I’m assuming I’ll want him to be devoured by an alien in this show too, although I guess we’ll have to see.

Bob’s attempts to connect with the Byers boys are so cute. It just breaks me that he really got through to Will so much that Will TRIED his suggestion and well, where I left off it was looking as if Will should have kept running.

AND I KNOW I’M MISSING SO MANY THINGS, but those are a few way random thoughts for now.

What I am looking forward to: All the Eleven and Hopper, Eleven finally being reunited with Mike (what adorable pining cupcakes for serious), Joyce finally getting some answers about what’s happening with her baby, more Hopper and Joyce in any form, and any and all Byers family interactions.

Which reminds me, THANK YOU SHOW for giving Lucas and Dustin families this season. Actually the best!