#OK SPOILERS AHEAD. BUT

[lokh]

me seeing a dog in the film. immediately pausing and looking up doesthedogdie.com

[alicenpai]

the girl from the other side ✨ this series gave me hope a million times but simultaneously shattered my heart into the same amount of pieces </3 (flower symbolism under cut)

sticker sheet for anime north 🍀🥧🖤🤍

SPOILERS AHEAD

forget me not - obvious reference to the Black Children and how they eventually forget who they are as they near the end of their "life cycle".

white clover (in coffin) - white clovers typically symbolize innocence.

4 leaf clover - like I wrote in a previous post on my Witch Hat Atelier seasons piece, the 4 leaf clover symbolizes luck and good fortune. Like Coco, Shiva to her loved ones is a symbol of fortune, though to the Inside Kingdom, a symbol of misfortune.

sunflower - typically symbolize strength and warmth, a fitting flower for Shiva, the light illuminating Teacher's dark past.

nasturtium - another flower symbolizing strength, and has strong ties to the "victory" after battle. apparently soldiers used to don them as a sign of a long battle won. fun fact they are also edible (don't take my post for nutritional advice please) (ill probably write a bit more on this topic when my head is more clear)

[cutiesigh]

❤️🖤🩷

Wuthering Waves has taken over all of my free time recently, so here's a sketch of Scar!Ren I originally shared in da 14DWY Discord!!

[andy-clutterbuck]

1x04 - What We | The Ones Who Live

[ccomilk]

i return with more doodles of @vanillavengeance's fic Mystic Malfunction. i love this fic a normal amount (is shaking and frothing at the mouth)

[lewkwoodnco]

LOCKWOOD & CO. Episode 8 - Not The Eternal

[lalune9x]

SCTIR Side Story 117: The Time That Doesn't Disappear (1)

Warning: big spoilers for the side story plot, I guess?

How could he sulk over me not telling him about my condition, yet keep his mouth shut when it was the other way around?

Chapter translation under the cut.

---

Side Story 117: The Time That Doesn't Disappear (1)

As I stepped through the dungeon gate connected directly to the mini portal, my heart raced a little. Calm down. Don't get too excited just because this is the last time. Even if things seem like they might go wrong, don't push it. Just think, "It's okay, it might take a little longer," and move on.

I had already let the kids know I was safe, seen their faces, and spent the whole day with them. So, I engraved the phrase "safety first" into my heart once more.

I engraved it, but...

'...It feels like things are going wrong from the start.'

Where was I? I should've landed in the lobby of Sesung Guild, but instead, I found myself in a fog-filled, unfamiliar space. On top of that, I couldn't sense the kids. Yoohyun and Yerim had definitely entered the portal at almost the same time as me.

"Yoohyun~ Yerim~"

No response. Did I get separated from them? I waved my hand through the fog, then pulled out the Godslaying Spear. Black flames erupted, instantly pushing back the hazy mist, revealing the floor and walls. The ground and walls came into view. It wasn't outdoors—it seemed like I was indoors. As I intensified the flames, the fog thinned even more, revealing the interior more clearly.

It looked like I hadn't been thrown somewhere entirely different after all.

'It's Sesung, huh.'

To be precise, it was Sung Hyunje-ssi's house—the one I had blown up. The ceiling-high bookshelves, the large windows letting in dim light. The spines of the books were made of various materials, but none of them had any writing on them. The sight was a little eerie. If a world were to be consumed, I supposed this was how it might be erased. Not that we had to worry about that happening anymore. Our little Bin-ie wasn’t that much of a glutton.

With gentle flames surrounding me, I turned around. On the other side of the study, I noticed a figure sitting in a chair. If anyone were to appear here, who else would it be but a certain Mr. Sung? I took a few steps toward the figure lounging with his arms draped over the armrests, but then suddenly stopped in my tracks.

Something felt off. The way he looked at me, the slouch of his limbs, and the tilt of his neck—it all seemed strangely unnatural.

Because, when it came to Sung Hyunje-ssi, there was actually not a single person who could claim to know him better than I did. Though things were much more comfortable between us now, at first I had just been an F-rank beside an unpredictable and dangerous S-rank. Naturally, I'd had to stay on high alert, constantly trying to figure out what that guy was thinking and what he was going to do. Even after we got closer, Sung Hyunje’s unpredictability meant I never stopped observing him. If I'd written down all my observations in a diary and submitted it as a summer vacation assignment, I probably would've gotten five 'Great Job!' stickers from the teacher.

So, over time, I got to the point where I could tell things like, 'He’s tilting his head 5 degrees to the left, that means he’s losing interest,' or 'He's touching his left sleeve with his right hand, that means he’s not having fun but is willing to put up with it for a bit longer,' or 'His left foot is dragging slightly—he’s about to do something unexpected!' I’d become pretty familiar with Sung Hyunje-ssi’s behavior.

So I could tell that the thing sitting in that chair was a fake; just a shell that looked like him. For one thing, I had never seen Sung Hyunje sit like that before. His posture was off, with his back too close to the chair and his legs in the wrong position. Most notably, his hand was casually hanging off the armrest.

"There aren't many options to choose from, if I ask what you are. Are you a time fragment from before the regression?"

The thing wearing Sung Hyunje's form slowly opened its mouth.

"Correct."

"Oh, you can talk. Why are you wearing someone else's shell?"

"...My…?"

The time fragment hesitated, as if uncomfortable with referring to itself independently. It wasn't showing as much hostility toward me as I expected.

"For now, it is because this target retains most of... my… influence. The Sesung Guildmaster. Kang Soyoung would also qualify, but it is easier to borrow forms that are hazier in the current world's perception."

"Those two did remain mostly unchanged."

Yoohyun, Yerim, Peace, Director Song and most others had returned to their original positions, but Kang Soyoung and Sung Hyunje remained unchanged. And because Sung Hyunje-ssi stayed the same, Sigma and the Puppeteer couldn't go back either.

"Is it because his influence on Soyoung-ssi was especially strong? He did turn an A-rank into a born S-rank."[1]

"That's one reason, and Sung Hyunje also took on Park Yerim's distortion in her place."

".......Sung Hyunje-ssi, really."

I'd had a suspicion, and it had turned out to be true. Yerim had changed as much as Soyoung-ssi, but then had reverted in an instant.

"So he took on the distortion while taking on the role of the Ruler of Water?"

"Yes. That's why Kang Soyoung, who was connected to him, also remained the same."

…Reverting Yerim's distortion first was indeed the right decision given the situation. Since this dungeon was based on the Mermaid Queen's sea, Yerim being swayed by the time fragment would have been the most dangerous scenario. And if Yerim were my opponent, I would have hesitated to fight her. Even if she may have grown older on the outside, she was still a child inside.

'If I got hurt, Yerim would feel hurt too.'

With people like Sung Hyunje-ssi, Hyuna-ssi, and even Yoohyun, one could say 'as long as they're alive, it's okay' and charge forward.[2] But Yerim wasn't like that. Resolving Yerim's distortion had been the most urgent priority, but…

'How could he not say anything?'

I mean, there were probably reasons like him being worried that the time fragment would notice, but I was still somewhat upset. How could he sulk over me not telling him about my condition, yet keep his mouth shut when it was the other way around? There must have been some way he could've told me, so was this just his manner of making me understand how he had felt?

But come to think of it, this wasn't the first time that guy Sung Hyunje had done something like this. Right after the Gardener died, he went off and got captured by the Crescent Moon without saying a word. Would it have killed him to say "please save me" before getting captured?

I was upset for a moment because of all the grievances that had built up, but I calmed down and looked at the time fragment again. It was being surprisingly courteous. It even explained things well.

"You're pretty good at speaking. I thought you might have some intelligence since you've manipulated the system before, but you're more human-like than I expected."

"That is because intelligence comes from the accumulation of memories. The time fragments from before the regression are more precisely collections of memory. It is natural that intelligence would emerge when those discarded memories gathered together."

— 'That's right, hyung! Intelligent beings are essentially born when they develop a foundation for passing on and accumulating memories and records!'

A familiar voice suddenly burst out. Park Hayul–I was actually glad to hear from him right now!

— 'The most common form of record is writing, but there are other forms too! There are even memories built up through cannibalism!'

The voice came from much farther below than I expected. I quickly lowered my gaze to see a small, 30-40 cm tall flower walking toward me.

Sitting on the flower's head, in the middle of its round, open petals, was a tiny version of Sung Hyunje.

...What the heck?

— 'Because one needs to be able to write precise characters, fingers or tentacles are useful. Haneul said that if octopuses had nurtured their offspring, there might've been two intelligent species on Earth.'

That damn octopus again. I glared at the tiny Sung Hyunje who had appeared so shamelessly. 

Feeling my gaze, Sung Hyunje shrugged his shoulders and said, "Should I have given myself wings after all?"

"...What nonsense are you talking?"

"Because my dear partner is giving me a look as if he'll grab me and throw me at any moment."

"I'm more tempted to sew shut that mouth of yours for only ever spouting useless things. Either you don't say the things that need to be said, or you twist things around, or you laugh about things only you understand. And then you nag at me for not being honest with you? You really have no conscience."

At my words, Sung Hyunje adjusted his posture to sit more respectfully. Maybe he wasn't completely devoid of a conscience after all.

"In the future, if you're going to be kidnapped or lose your memories or arm or whatever, let me know in advance. The same goes for any similar situations. Then I'll find a way to save you somehow."

"I'll keep that in mind."

At least he answered well. Once Yoohyun got all his memories back, I would have to give him the same warning—no more running away; just talk things out. I should say the same to Yerim and the kids, too.

— 'If I give you a heads-up before getting kidnapped, will you also come save me, hyung?'

"Well, for now, yes. You've been helpful too, Hayul. But don't go staging a fake kidnapping."

— 'Hyung...!'

Park Hayul was touched and started dancing with joy, nearly dropping the tiny Sung Hyunje.

"So, what's the situation here? Are the others safe?"

— 'Yes, hyung. You're the only one who got transported somewhere else, so I came looking for you with the Sesung Guildmaster. The water has receded, but the side effect is that there's a lot of fog.'

So it wasn't just here that was foggy. The fog, based on the Mermaid Queen's sea, had made the mana flow unstable, so only the two administrators, Hayul and Sung Hyunje, could come searching for me. Yoohyun and Yerim were probably fine. Hopefully, Yilin and Coral weren't fighting again. With Hyuna-ssi and Director Song coming along this time, they should be okay.

"Anyway, it's good that we can have a talk." 

I turned back to the time fragment and spoke. 

"What do you want? All I want is to fix the distortion, return home safely, and live in peace. So let's try to settle this through conversation."

The time fragment shifted its gaze toward the tiny Sung Hyunje, looking slightly uncomfortable, before changing into Kang Soyoung's form. 

"We merely exist. Just like the past you had thought was gone, which still lingers and influences the present and future. That's all."

"That's all, huh?"

"The time fragments absorbed into people also still exert a subtle influence. Unless there is a significant trigger, they will proceed similarly towards the forgotten future; doing the same things, meeting the same people, and having the same children."

I'd heard something similar from Myungwoo and Haneul before.

"I, we, haven't changed from what we were. Only our influence has grown stronger. The distortions you speak of are a natural result of that."

— 'That's not exactly wrong! After all, the time before the regression is part of this world's timeline too. In a way, it's not so much a distortion as a potential outcome.'

That guy Hayul said something Transcendent-like. Hey, weren't you supposed to always be on my side?

"So, you don't particularly want anything? Can I assume you'll just disappear quietly?"

"As long as we exist, we naturally have an aversion to disappearing. It's more of a reflex than a conscious decision. And, Han Yoojin, we cannot disappear."

The fragment's deep blue eyes were fixed on me as it spoke.

"Because we are the future, but also the past. So long as there are those who look back on that past and sink into regret."

"...Are you talking about me?"

"All intelligent beings in this world."

"So you're saying you'll never truly disappear."

Did anyone truly exist who had never once thought, 'ah, if only things had gone differently back then'? We all had such regrets every day, even over something as small as ordering jjajangmyeon instead of jjamppong or thinking, "I should've woken up 10 minutes earlier."

I did, too. I still had regrets about the time before the regression. Even if I told myself that turning back time was the best choice, I still could have spent the remaining time with my younger brother better. We could have reconciled earlier and spent time together before saying goodbye. No, at the very least, I could have forced myself to visit one more time, called one more time, not blocked his number, and kept sending messages. Yoohyun would surely have read them all.

Perhaps it was impossible to completely shake off such regrets. After all, it was because of those lingering attachments that I had endured until now and learned to embrace those around me more closely.

I sighed deeply, my heart aching slightly as I forced a small smile.

"Yeah. You'll remain as you are, forever lingering. Because every now and then I'll look back and feel that longing. Until the very end, without forgetting."

If anything, if someone told me to forget or offered to erase my past, I would refuse.

"But we should still weaken you back to your original state. Hayul, if what it says is true, let's update the records to say we're 'purifying' the time fragments through dungeon clearing."

— 'I'll change it to 'purification.' It seems the time fragments will return to something closer to harmless, like before.'

"Good. Nothing much has changed, then. But why did you come out here to see me in person?"

The time fragment, still in Kang Soyoung's form, stumbled slightly as if unused to handling a human body. It smiled at me while awkwardly moving its muscles.

"After all, we were born because of you," it said. "We wanted to tell you about us. And we wanted to hear from you too."

Hearing it put that way made me feel a bit guilty about trying to erase them all this time.

"Well, thanks to you all coming into existence, I was able to get another chance. And thanks to that, I've made it this far, and things will probably go better from now on. So, uh... I guess what I'm saying is, thank you for being born?"

Was that right? 

The time fragment nodded at my words. "But since our time is striving to remain as it is, we cannot help you."

"If that's how it has to be, then it's okay. I can live with that." 

Since it was my–our–past, what could we do? The time fragment's form dispersed into the mist. Sung Hyunje-ssi gestured for me to follow him. It was time to complete the final quest.

---

Footnotes:

[1] I don't have context for what happened so I don't know which pronouns to use here. Feel free to tell me.

[2] Same issue; I don't have context so I don't know what the right pronouns are.

[seven-tastic]

luke's top up card summary: horny bonk

[re-colligere]

HMM…sadness and anxiety :3c

ohohoooo that's interesting! I do feel like Sadness and Anxiety could be friends in the aftermath of the 2nd movie, despite all the things Anxiety did to Sadness. Sadness is just...the most understanding out of every one of them, in my opinion. Sadness could give Anxie a place to vent, and that could help her process her thoughts better. Anxie probably learns a thing or two from Sadness and her empathy.

I sometimes wonder if Sadness saw a bit of Joy's old self in Anxiety, with how much Anxie tried to seize control for the good of Riley. I also think Anxie would try and make up for Sadness (like she would for the rest of the OG crew). They'd make some good tea together and have a little talk to wind down.

Mixing their emotions could be a little messy, because of Sadness's pessimism and Anxiety's tendency to catastrophize the future. There's a possibility that Riley could freeze up because it might look like she can't do anything and things look bleak...but when Sadness has the tendency to stop and wallow, I think Anxiety still has the motivation to power through and avoid the worst possibilities, maybe even because of how bad things seem to look. Because yeah despite her being an overthinking mess, I think Anxie's quite the determinator who doesn't really give up in her desire to protect Riley (well, for better or for worse,,, as we've seen in the climax of IO2). On the flip side, Sadness could help reel her in if Anxie's pushing Riley too hard, and maybe help her realize that maybe giving up in some situations could actually be the best course of action. It's a good mix of low energy/high energy emotion I think!!

[kirkwallguy]

ok im glad i got spoiled for the "secret ending" in advance because it's SO stupid i would not want to go into that blind. not actually surprised since it's kind of the epitome of what annoys me about dai/dav's narrative focus but also ??? are you insaaaaaaaane. did you get some kind of disease from not washing your hands after watching avengers endgame? is it contagious?

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 159 spoilers and thoughts below the cut yep just the usual

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JAVIERS FACE LMFAO "wow. these people are so weird. thank god im the only normal person here" jesus christ this entire estate is insane /aff

also i think im required to inform that i sent this panel to some of my irls because they're also civil engineers, and i asked if they recognized any of this and they said "oh god yeah"

so we can pleasantly confirm that the adaptor/artist are still referencing real civil engineering stuff!

while we're still here at the start of the ep/my thoughts i do wanna say, the whole "ugly" gag is getting. a little too well worn

it is really well drawn! the artist is very skilled at drawing exaggerated expressions and its always fun to see, but i think this is like the third or fourth time now that this has been used, and i think my brain is just tired of the repeated schtick. i dont hate it, but the funny has moved on for me

i really hope that in this next arc we see a return of a devilish or conniving lloyd, rather than silly "ugly" expressions; its funny when he looks stupid but id like a better balance, which means i want more instances of him looking cool and smart as hell!!!

of course these words will. probably fall on deaf ears its not like i can message the artist/adaptor directly lmfao but yknow its the thought that counts i guess. actually i might be using that phrase wrong not sure

ANYWAY ANYWAY verkis looks so pretty here,, i like that he confirmed lloyds intentions w the jewel of truth . truly a man who wants to do Nothing thats so real of him me too bud

AND THENNN my personal favorite peak of the episode THE SWORDMASTER SYNDROME KICKING IN AAAAAHHH AAAAHHHH

IT MAKES SENSE THAT LLOYD PUSHING HIS MANACIRCLES TO THE LIMIT WOULD BE THE LAST PUSH HE NEEDS TO BECOME A HIGH LEVEL SWORD EXPERT and now hes suffering the consequence of not dealing with this earlier </3 get overstim'd idiot shouldve taken a break before this happened bozo!!! /j

i really really REALLY love how the text and the effects were drawn in these panels and the following ones (thats three reallys!!!)!! the visual echo and then the sudden sharp jaggedness, it really shows how much OUCH and impact it has and i really really love it YEAHHHH PUT LLOYD THROUGH THE WRINGER YEAHHH YEAHHH

AND THEN JAVIER KEEPS LOOKING SO FUCKING HAPPY THROUGHOUT THIS EPISODE PLEASSEEJ LKAJDFLKSJDFLKJSDFLK JHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH he's having a grand ol time lmfao now his noble can experience what he had to go through!!!

ALSO ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THE VERY FIRST THING THAT LLOYD LOOKS AT WITH HIS NEW HEIGHTENED VISION IS JAVIERS FACE AND HOW PERFECT IT IS HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO you could have looked at anything else and yet the first thing you narrow in on is javiers face IM SHAKING YOU LLOYD

no seriously wow he's so pretty ALSO THE FUCKING. HAND POSE IM CRYING

also its really really fluffy nice that javier helped lloyd with getting used to his senses! though they couldnt really do anything abt his insomnia

i had heard that some really cute moments got cut from the novel in this little timeskip here which is like awww i wish we got to see it like, that short bit with the "ugly" gag could have been replaced with the moments from the novel and itd still fit the episode length! at least i think

(like i was told that lloyd gets called "good boy" by javier. like. WHAT. WHAT. GOOD BOY??? GOOD BOY??? AND THAT GOT CUT?????? GOOD BOY!?!?!?!? i told my irls abt this and we collectively had a stroke i wish it made it in bc javiers face when saying that and lloyds reaction wouldve been PRICELESSSS)

oh but also back to talking about javier helping lloyd out, i think its really really cute,,, i know its not explicitly said or shown but i want to think that javier is able to repay the lullaby in a sense by doing this. i really like that javier not only depends on lloyd, but lloyd depends on javier too, and they can rely on each other. thinking about that makes my heart warm and my feet kick and then i start giggling like a maniac

anyway few month timeskip and lloyd u look tired as hell im so sorry buddy

though honestly i really like how he looks in this panel for some reason HAHAHAHA idk him just looking grumpy and tired is fun bc u dont really see it that often u usually see him being silly or evil more so this is a nice panel to have heehee

disgruntled tired sleep deprived engineer now aint that the realest STEM experience ever,,, shaking ur hand lloyd i get u i understand

AND THEN THE END OF THE EP HI RAPHAEL the angel arc!! i guess!! idk the names of these arcs

i wonder how he'll try to enforce this,,, and i wonder how lloyd will get out of it,,, like did tkobai ever go over the angels and what they do? does lloyd know about them?

i did see pics of what he looks like from the novel and we were SO robbed of very pretty long wavy hair, it seems the artist just chopped it all off,,, uueueueueuee

i posted abt this on twitter already but my singular cope is that we actually just havent seen the rest of his hair and its just in a ponytail and its like really really thin and we'll see the rest of his hair soon trust <- copium pumping

and a bonus little illustration, happy chuseok!!!

thats all from me!!!!!!! IM REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THIS ANGEL ARC GOES and whether or not lupellan and wrot,,,, whatever his name was are going to interfere also,,, triple clash!!! also if he'll ever overcome his insomnia,,,

see yall next week :3

[lemongogo]

do i finish dunmesh tn ..

[screamting]

"this is impossible!" "oda just broke his lore!" stupid? idiot babies? getting paid for making exaggerated statements?

oda is saying EVERYONE can be free

luffy wants everyone to be free

you, too, can be free.

[sunflowersoap]

hey y'all ever think about the fact that at the start of the game if you used kel's pass follow up, the only one it'd just hit was omori. it just bonks him and makes him sad.

but later in the game when you're going around with kel more and becoming closer to him again, as he brings sunny out of his shell again THEN the attack becomes strong. and kel is the ONLY party member in headspace that can change omori's emotions iirc? am I reading too much into this. I dunno I really like it.

sunny is extremely jealous of kel, he pokes fun at him a lot in headspace. I think that after so long of not seeing him he'd started to twist what he was actually like, even though he still loved him so so so much. but when he sees him again, sees how kind and protective he is.

that version of kel in headspace goes away. he becomes less helplessly oblivious. he's cheering up aubrey and trying to help her in the search for basil (like he's currently doing with sunny), he still has times where he does the wrong thing but he's much more mature in headspace as the story progresses.

the bitterness sunny has about the fact kel has everything he needs starts to calm down even if it still hurts. and as he really learns who he is again, his headspace version changes.

interestingly, this is also reflected in the other characters. aubrey becomes more scared and prone to crying in headspace as sunny realizes how much pain the real aubrey is in. hero starts becoming more scared and serious too. sunny tries to suppress everything and keep the line between headspace and the real world separate, so he can have his escape, but it's all starting to blur.

this is probably just me reaching because I started rambling about kel and sunny and it accidentally became a lil more, oops

[a-skirmish-of-wit]

idk why but i wasn't expecting the preview for the last episode to be another angst forecast, the gals have just been crying for like an hour and could fill a small reservoir and you're telling me there's more angst on the way?

dude im not prepared for that, i thought we were getting the Big Resolution and could just chill out for the rest of the episode but now you're telling me The Men are going to be there again?

[flingza-roller]

OHH MY GOD I JUST COMPLETED THE LAST PALETTE. I NEED A MOMENT (gonna ramble in the tags)