#Tfw making too much money

[warcrimesimulator]

Oh fuck off Paypal

[uncanny-tranny]

A disability take I have been thinking about is that if companies refuse to provide accessibility options/adequate accessibility options (which is shitty, don't get me wrong), the very very least they can do is make it as easy as possible for people to make tools for accessibility possible. It's shitty enough when products are not accessible at its base (like a video game controller, for instance), but it's even worse when it's made as difficult as possible for people to do things to make accessibility an option.

[super-paper]

The Villains' Pastime: Gourmet Food Highlights

Another day, another event focused on the LOV and their targeted psychic attacks on Skeptic's blood pressure (+ ReDestro's wallet)

The event starts with the gang fully embracing the freeloader lifestyle: lounging around and playing cards, ordering premium food on the PLF's dime, and doing absolutely nothing to actually help out with running the organization they violently took over like a week ago.

Everyone praises Tomura for being good at cards, with Compress and Twice wondering how he can be so good at reading others even though most of them are wearing masks. Jin then proceeds to shout out what his hand is, solving part of the mystery behind Tomura's undefeated winning streak in record time.

They want to play another game, but Tomura shoots them down bc it's close to noon and he's hungry. They agree to stop playing cards and get some lunch, and start talking about what sort of gourmet (read: expensive) foods they should try next. Tomura breezily talks about how nice it is to finally have money to burn (he's the worst ♥️), which inevitably summons Skeptic from the fourth ring of hell to bitch everyone out about wasting the PLF's precious funds.

"Thanks a bunch~" If Skeptic murks you in your sleep, you really only have yourself to blame Mister.

No one does "endearing in a criminally insane way" quite like Tomura. 😬

Trumpet senses that things are about to get ugly (or that skeptic is about five seconds away from a full blown hypertensive crisis) and intervenes, suggesting that they play a game of cards-- If Tomura wins, the PLF will foot the bill. If Skeptic wins, they either have to pay for their own lunch or just go hungry.

Tomura (quite predictably) says "fuck that" and tells Spinner just to go buy them lunch at a convenience store.

>be me >be stuck in a secret base hidden deep in the mountains >be literally miles away from civilization and the nearest town >tfw warp gate is doing ten-to-life and warp sludge is being gatekept by the world's most toxic Ivo Robotnik cosplayer 😔 >my boss, fully aware of all the above, orders me to walk to the nearest town and buy him a frozen burrito from a gas station >mfw

IS THIS YOUR MAN, SPINNER.

Tomura lightly bullying his friends and making unreasonable requests is nothing new, but this one strikes me as hilariously mean spirited even by his standards bc it’s also implied Tomura expects Spinner to foot the bill on top of all that:

BRO FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE 😭

Trumpet eventually convinces Tomura that it would actually (read: obviously) be faster to just settle the issue with a game of cards-- Tomura finally gives in, and they settle on a game of blackjack.

Compress explains the rules of blackjack and offers to deal the cards-- Trumpet shuts this down immediately and says that HE will deal the cards, thank you very much:

As an aside, I love how utterly shameless they make Compress in these events lmao.

Tomura and Skeptic begin their game, and Tomura quickly makes it apparent that he approaches blackjack with the same suicidally reckless abandon as he does pretty much everything else:

Out of context MHA, eat your heart out.

Spinner, Compress, and Dabi all worry that Tomura has drawn too many cards and is gonna lose by default, but Jin and Himiko both express their faith in his abilities as an ill-gotten bread winner (<3)

Tomura and Skeptic both reveal their hands, and we hard cut to the aftermath where the LOV are gushing about all the high quality meat they bought on the PLF's dime while Skeptic seethes in the corner.

>Tomura

> making logical choices

well, there's your first mistake.

Trumpet tells Skeptic to stop being a hater and dig in, casually siding with the LOV now that they've won their premium beef:

Trumpet:

Like a true politician.

The lunch party continues until ReDestro enters the scene... gushing about some high quality meat he managed to get ahold of and asking the League if they'd like some hot pot. :) Skeptic realizes his life is a cosmic joke. The event ends.

Bonus Stuff:

This is starting to feel less like a case of the LOV simply liking sushi and more like a united effort to haze Dabi. Deserved, tbh.

Jin telling Himiko to eat her veggies and Compress fondly watching her eat her weight in meat......... they r SO cute wtf..................,😭

>I start joking about Tomura being the most rancid godawful tsundere in existence

>somewhere out there, apollo draws back his dodgeball arm

He sure complains a lot for someone who grumpily indulges their every whim, huh.

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 47 Yaoibachi Posting

Hokazono-sensei really slammed the gas this chapter, man. No search and rescue mini-arc here- just going back to the series' roots by having our good guys slaughter nameless mooks in suits. Excellent decision! But goodness it feels like he's trying to rush through this set-up to get to what he really wants to say this arc. I trust the emotional impact to land so I guess this really is the Kunishige lore/flashback arc since that's where the narrative focus went.

First off, I got the official arc name wrong last post. It's actually The Sword Bearer Assassination Arc. So, uh, maybe don't get too attached to any of the guys Chihiro will be trying to save. Might be difficult though if they're all as endearing as Uruha.

This Fucking Manga, Man

I just can't even this chapter. I CAN'T. I'm sitting here drafting this on Thursday and I'm in awe of the spreads. Cover and color pages? Stunning. Fanservice? Immaculate.

Yes, we got onsen fanservice after all!

Now accepting bets on who Uruha will be shipped with more: his personal guard guy or Kunishige.

Of course it pulls double duty to give us insight into Uruha and, by proxy, Kunishige. I was right on the money about Uruha being a free-spirited dude with a unique perspective last week... but I didn't imagine he'd basically be a wholesome AF version of Sojo. The Kunishige worship from this guy is off the fucking charts (and so are the Hakuri-Chihiro parallels)!

"This blade suits you" from Kunishige is a callback to Hakuri's words to Chihiro in chapter 20. I love it when authors do this shit. Can we infer that Chihiro felt the same level of awe for Hakuri? Probably not, but he did need to hear that affirmation quite badly, so it's still significant.

You don't get to comment on other guys being weirdly obsessive over a Rokuhira on sight like that, Hakuri.

THESE DUMBASS GOOBERS. Poor Chihiro's still collecting weirdos while Hakuri has no self-awareness at all. I'm in tears this is just too good. Hakuri, I love you. You're perfect.

I don't wanna get hyped after just one chapter for something that probably won't be happening. I get just about everything wrong week after week anyway! But I wouldn't mind Chihiro and Hakuri's relationship being compared to and developed through Uruha and Kunishige, just sayin'... Please... Hokazono-sensei went through the trouble of making sure we know that Uruha is obviously meant to parallel Hakuri, so that won't go to waste right?!

TFW the light of your life dies and leaves you behind.

'Cause this feels like a set up... I don't know, man. It's impossible to guess how the story's going to go but I get the sense that Uruha is going to have a lot to teach both of these guys- Hakuri in particular.

Neither Hakuri nor Uruha put a lot of value on their own lives until a Rokuhira showed up to praise them. And they're both freakishly devoted to the image of their savior to the point that they're willing to fight and possibly die for them. So we could be exploring that aspect of Hakuri's mindset as a subplot while the larger machinations swirl around them, since it's a pretty potent character flaw and all. I need Sazanami "defend to the death" Hakuri being convinced to give a shit about himself so, so badly.

Goddamnit, please stop hurting yourself.

Hakuri's also unable to use Isou due to burnout, as expected. Still wondering if the Kamunabi knows he can use two sorcery techniques but I won't hold my breath on getting answers for that. It's not necessary for this to be addressed unless it would cause some kind of friction, after all. And for as much as I would like to see the council's reaction to Hakuri and his circumstances, I don't think it'll be relevant. We'll just have to assume they either don't know his last name or are completely fine with a Sazanami being included in the plans. I wanna be wrong though. I really do.

Contract, Powerscaling, and Naming Conventions

We learned some interesting things this chapter. One, the theory of the Lifelong Contract erasing a Bearer's innate sorcery is confirmed. So if we are ever going to learn what Chihiro's sorcery is, Enten will have to be an exception to the other six swords, or he has two sorceries and the contract only nullifies one. I'm not sold on the second one since Hakuri only overworked the storehouse but is limited using both of his, implying there's a common pool of spirit energy they draw from. Looking forward to more details on how this works!

It also seems that the Bearers weren't tucked away in "safe" locations until Kunishige's death three years ago. So they probably got to live their lives as they wished until the Hishaku ruined things... which would explain how Sushi guy ended up at a restaurant. I feel like each location could have special meaning to each Bearer so hopefully we see more about how and why they ended up where they did.

Hiyuki also wasn't lying about the Kamunabi's forces being spread thin. Just 14 talented sorcerers to defend each Bearer, and even then Uruha would have felt more reassured if Azami or Hiyuki was there.

Nice going, Azami! So we know you're hella strong since Hiyuki's the best fighter in the Kamunabi- the only one in the force who can contend with Kunishige's WMDs (ch. 18). I think a Bearer would know how strong an enchanted blade is, so we can assume that Uruha's assessment of Azami's strength is accurate. Azami can't be sent out on the ground like the rank and file as a higher up now, but I'm highly anticipating him demonstrating that fearsome sorcery of his.

We also got another name! Kuregumo's original bearer was named Misaka (巳坂). This is most probably a family name like Uruha (more on him in a bit). 巳 (mi) means "snake" for wisdom and intelligence and 坂 (saka) means "slope/hill" or "embankment" for steady progress, a peaceful life, security, and/or strength and resilience. We'll definitely learn more about them- it's just a matter of when. The upside of Hokazono-sensei being stingy with names is that we all know to sit up and pay attention when one gets dropped.

We also got Uruha's given name this chapter (Youji [洋児]) and the name of his blade (Kumeyuri [酌揺]). Strange names for a strange fellow, but that's expected of someone whose family name implies a free-spirited nature with a unique outlook I guess. 洋 (you) is a kanji that specifically describes the ocean in an expansive, almost foreign sense. Not just the sea in general, but vast waters extending far away from one's current location. It has a ton of possible interpretations, naturally: courage, ambition, adaptability, limitless possibilities, harmony, inclusiveness... on and on. 児 (ji) means "child" in a straightforward way and carries connotations of joy, hope, and potential. So Uruha Youji [lacquer feather ocean child] is quite the character in his name alone.

Kumeyuri's name doesn't really give us any insights into it's potential abilities or theme, unless Kunishige was drunk (or wanted to be) when he made it. 酌 (kume) is the kanji used for pouring sake and implies generosity, abundance, and celebrating joy. 揺 (yuri) means to shake, sway, or jostle and connotes a sense of energy, playfulness, enthusiasm, and fun. I'm getting a lot of entertainment value trying to imagine how a sword named after a shaky pour of sake works, let me tell you. Somehow it seems very apt for Uruha already though.

Dead Dad Trivia

So Kunishige himself requested to hold on to the blades- it's very certain now that whatever happened during the war changed him into the man we met in chapter 1. Seitei war flashbacks please, I'm dying over here! But keep up the layering and scattering of little details! Don't feed me too fast! Make me wait and get all impatient every week! Torture me-

Curious that many people who seem to have known Kunishige doubted his potential as a father. Whether they see him as a savior or a selfish prick, most of them scoff a the idea of him having a kid. Maybe Kunishige was just a guy with layers like his son, so only those who actually knew him well would believe he could be a decent dad. We saw him goofing off with Shiba and Azami when they were Chihiro's age in chapter 12 so it's not like he was a stoic since birth (he said himself that Chihiro inherited that trait from his mom). We're going to slowly piece together the real Kunishige this arc and I can't wait!

Also a bit odd that few people see the resemblance between Chihiro and Kunishige until Chihiro's passion shines through or they get a good look at how he carries himself. Won't hang my hat on the blood test showing that Kunishige wasn't his bio dad after all, but the groundwork is there if it does. Regardless of what happens, though, it's pretty obvious that Chihiro is Kunishige's son thanks to the ideals he took to heart.

Hishaku Theory

RIP bandanna guy you were too cool to live.

Yeah, "enemies of the state" isn't a term you use for a regular criminal gang, no matter how threatening they are. I'm more convinced than ever that the Hishaku are primarily a political threat to all of Japan (though still very willing to admit that I might be reading too far into things).

Kyora's conversation with an unknown Hishaku member in chapter 22 referred to "dissidents". That's also a very pointed descriptor for people with differing political ideologies, especially ones agitating against the "legitimate" ruling group.

Could Soya come back to finish what his dad started? Meh.

This implies that Kyora and the Sazanami clan were aligned with the Hishaku's goals beyond merely business. The Hishaku probably have sympathizers in and outside of mainstream society, and likely within the Kamunabi itself as well. And then there's the kiku flower -which has strong ties to Imperial imagery- in the vase that's shown up twice now, arraigned alongside other flowers symbolizing deep desire and patience.

So I think the Hishaku lost the war and have been plotting their comeback for a long time now. How does this tie into Chihiro's personal journey beyond the revenge mission? We'll have to see. John Hishaku's goals and methods are shrouded in secrecy right now, so I look forward to learning about why he needed to foster Chihiro's hatred to enact his plans. Cool job making the core plot hook so compelling, author-san!

HakuHiro Brainrot

I have to, I'm sorry. This chapter was a godsend.

Give me an inch and I'll run a thousand miles with these two.

Chihiro acknowledging that Hakuri is special! Feels like a very deliberate reference to the language used in Chapter 33, especially by Tenri. Makes sense since Tenri was a parallel of Chihiro's devotion to his father and his legacy.

"Hakuri- my older brother by a year- is different." would have flowed a little better, but it's a clunky sentence no matter what...

The reference was probably made in order to imply that Chihiro sees Hakuri as a brother (or family in general) via the Tenri connection. However, that won't stop me from shipping them romantically because I'm illiterate as fuck.

ANYWAY.

FOOD IMAGERY WITH HAKURI FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ICE LADY!!

Hakuri's sharing snacks with Chihiro on the train- he feels so safe with his samurai! And this is the first time we've seen Chihiro accept food since he reluctantly (metaphorically) shared dango with Sojo in chapter 17! He's rejected Shiba's offers, provided one-sidedly for Char, resigned himself to connecting to Sojo to understand him, skipped getting ice cream, and missed the gaming session, but he accepted Hakuri's small gesture...! I'M GOING FERAL

Hakuri is canonically the only character Chihiro's accepted emotional comfort and support from since his dad died. On screen so far, at least.

Hakuri, who was deeply traumatized when he last tried to connect with someone, feels secure enough to do it with Chihiro...

Chihiro, who is only at ease with providing comfort, accepts it for the first time from Hakuri...

The first time we see them exchanging the comfort/security visual metaphor is while they're on their own...

And it's just so casual for them to do this...!

I sounded confident when I called Hakuri the heroine of Kagurabachi in that long-ass post I made a few months ago, but... I was actually right?! Hakuri is Chihiro's first and only emotional safe haven. He's got plot-related utility and can hold his own in a fight, but he's not going to be outshining the likes of Chihiro or Hiyuki any time soon. His faith in Chihiro has been his most valuable contribution to the story- even moreso than awakening to his storehouse ability. The only thing that's missing at this point is the chance of HakuHiro being canon! Seriously!

Alright void... thanks for letting me yap again. Definitely not going to go back to writing fan fiction for the first time in 10+ years because this stupid edgy sword manga broke me. Nope, never, not me...

[nikoofdeath]

So! Well I'm working on my tfw comic here's some info on the characters! Mostly red unless marked otherwise.

Spy: is tough love, he keeps others at a distance. But truly cares for the younger ones on the team (scout, runt, demo, sniper. [He isn't sure of pyro])

he will train them but push them to their limit. Rarely swears, but when he does it is in French.

Scout's mom is the only person to ever see through every disguise he has. She knows his body language and calling cards or quirks. When he would disguise himself to see Scout against his contract. She knew it was him every time and always found a way to kiss him.

Sniper: social to learn what the others quirks are. Would in theory betray them for half a peach.

Will steal items of the her mercs and hoard them. Can become obsessive sometimes.

Isn't interested in romance or sex, he'd rather observe others than get his hands dirty. But has strong friendships he refuses to admit are friendships.

Reads alot of books.

Climbs trees to get away from others will sleep anywhere. Has a habit of passing out in the middle of the day due to a poor sleep schedule.

Forgets to hydrate and eat, drives medic nuts.

Soldier: the only man to ever scare this brave American is heavy, has a respect for that man and will not cross him.

Made his wedding ring out of shrapnel from battles he and Zhanna have been in.

Speaking of Zhanna he loves her more then anything. If anyone slanders her they are dead. Very. Very. Dead.

His raccoons are his children. He thinks Pauling doesn't know about them, but Pauling is the oen that feeds them food that keeps them from getting ill form the poor diebt soldier gives.

Soldier can speak at least one other language, but no one knows what it is. He rather use it to easedrop on others then use it.

Collects things that remind him of his childhood and his wife for the possible prospect of children. "They will grow up as I did!"

Engie: when higher had a beard, pyro makes him shave it though as the comic gose.

Met Pyro before Pyro was given thr job. Was the one to tell Pauline about them.

Grew up with Leo in bee cave. Got him the job when Leo ran out of money for med school.

When is mad gets loud and stomps. Will drown self in work jf stressed.

Uses ductape for too much. Atheist 40% of his tech is reliant on duck tape somewhere on its body.

Pyro: is female.

Was daughter of someone who gave her skills to run a company.

Is very smart along the lines of Dell, tarvis, medic and Leo. But dosenr flaunt it. Sees it as nothing.

Has panic attacks. The mask helps with them liking being held tight and in smaller spaces.

Can read people well. Has those who are therapist of the crew check on those who are not ok. Knowing they are scary.

Collects taxidermy, runt gives them the failures if hers. Decorates the taxidermy in hats and doll clothing.

Can set anything on fire.

Demo: has made his own alcohol it sadly if touches the air will explode so uses it in bombs.

Loved Hawaiian shirts. Has always wanted to go but never had the time.

Is the one that tends to thr guardens of the base. Won't let pyro touch them after thr incident.

Is the therapist's friend but also the trouble maker will give you good life advice but also tell you to do something stupid. Thare is no invtween.

If it wasn't for heavy he would be the glue. Will talk to anyone. And helps cook most nights.

Has tattoos and feckless.

Scout: keeps a plush bear his dad gave him. Him. The others tease him but spy struggles not to tear up when he sees it.

Has a baseball his mom gave him when he got the job. Dosent know spy is the reason he got thr job. His mom begged him as their wasn't any Jobs for him.

Is forced to mentor runt. Iant a big fan of this but dose it for pauling.

Is more respectful than he acts. He acts loud and rude to seem cool. But his mother put a strict respectful streak in him.

Gave his dad a feather when he was 4 he doesn't remember. But Spy keeps it in his hat.

Heavy: is quiet gentle gient.

He is very smart and rather watch then talk.

Is very loyal and has had a..talk with soldier that if he ever hurts Zhanna he is a dead man. Soldier now refers to him as Sargent. He won't tell the others what he said.

Cooks well, but rather not do it. Not something he enjoys.

Is a artist. Paints in his free time.

Sings alot as well and plays five instruments.

Medic: is of Jewish descent. Doesn't..talk about his family or what happened in the war.

Has a gold ring he wears at all times on a necklace.

Dosenr talk much. Unless you get him talking about science. He loves to learn.

Is older than everyone. Rumor has it he knew the original mee teams. Uber has some interesting effects on life expectancy.

Guilty pleasure is anything chocolate.

Has money insecurities due to past. Will do anything for a bigger paycheck....anything

Leo: is medics apprentice. Has been working for 3 years.

Is quiet but loyal.

Has a gf back home. Sees runt as a little sister.

Runt and he have been pen pals for over ten years. A school project is how they ended up sending letters.

He knows what happened to Runt. He is the one who convinced Pauling to interview her.

Is shocked runt got the job was fully ready to tey to blackmail Pauling.

Runt: the youngest of the group. Only having a year of work under her belt.

Was trialed for six months before first battle.

Has alot to learn. But wants to do everything perfectly. Is rough on herself for this reason.

Can't lose this job. If she does she is sent back home or die. Has hallucinations so fears will be put into a loony bin if family finds out.

Is eldest of six. Loves her family.

Spy teaches her how to torture people. She enjoys it perhaps too much. For her she likes to know how people tick.

Blu engie (G): is quiet bur social.

Has a sadistic side. Will gutt you if given chance.

Second in command of Blu.

Was born without left hand, when engie lost his right he'd make jokes to his short cousin about it.

Is Dell's cousin. He is younger but taller.

Is patient and if mad gose silent. He dosent emote much unless he's with someone he likes or trusts..oddly enough..runt of red is one of those people

Pauling: finds scout cute but puts job first.

Is nerdy type. Has played dnd at least five or seven times.

Loves to collect rocks. Has a few scout and the mercs gave her.

Loves to read.

Has coffee more than anything else. Her hands shake because of this. Still is one of the best shots of the whole crew.

Teaches scout to read when they have days off.

Runt and her go out to get coffee and Runt gives her info she already knows but likes having a female friend.

Well that's it suffer I guess idk I got a comic to make!

[randomnameless]

Three houses get more representation in heroes because its popular ?

I guess?

My issue isn't with how popular or loved Fodlan is, but what FEH was supposed to be.

With FE Cipher, even if Fates and Awakening were very popular, we still had entire sets featuring FE6 characters. Ditto for FE4/5/8 (tfw a Bael got its own card).

CYL is a popularity contest, that much I understand.

And yet, I also understand FEH is supposed to be a celebration of the franchise itself - bla bla FEH is a main game because Vero is a paid DLC in Engage bla but would anyone really pay 60 bucks to play book 1 and 6 about Vero's story? Really ? If this is a main game , then the first warriors game is one too lol - so why are the same 3 games over represented ?

In Cipher, we had a Fates set, then a Jugdral set (featuring CIpher OCs?), then an Archanea set, then an awakening set, then a Valentia one, etc etc.

But if they follow the current FEH, it'd be one fodlan set, one thracia set, one fodlan set, one awakening set, one fodlan set, one tellius set, one fodlan set, one elibe set, one fodlan set etc.

I really get how popular units/games will always sell and the fan favourites are always represented, I played through 2 Tales gacha games lol, Links had basically a bajillion of Leons and Yuris while poor Caius barely existed, and Rowen never got a premium unit!

CYL is a fan event - for sure - but beyond CYL, it's just FEH that tires me - it's not a celebration of the FE series anymore, it's just a cashgrab to take money from some fans using their current obsession (Fateswakening in Year1-2, Fodlan now) so while it never concerned me in the first few years, I dgaf and moved on, wondering if the units I like would ever get a thing (and they did! Saias was released for free lol) but now with the state of powercreep the game has?

You have to roll for units, to get their skills and fodder them to units you care about, and even then, they might not be able to clean PVE content - I like when things are challenging, sure, but the last Seer's Snare was a cruel wake-up : even with the newest shiny skills and whatnot, Caineghis cannot compete with duo!Anna. P!Naesala has the WTA against them? Who gives a fig, he dies on initiation.

Hegemongard was just a prelude to what FEH would become lol - even if, with investment, old units could still put up a fight against her, but you had to get dedicated team to counter her.

Now? With a team with W!Mitris, L!Alear and A!Elincia? Good luck tanking anything lol - sure, Tina is a godsend and I find if hilarious how this random nobody from FE5 is supposed to counter the crazed current meta, but it's the same issue - sell ridiculous units, and sell ridiculous counters.

It's the essence of a gacha game.

Maybe the next A!Caineghis or maybe a L!Caineghis will make the character relevant again - at least if you want to play and use him, but... as far as FEH is concerned, no one gaf about Cain, so he might have gotten a refine and yet he'll not get another unit. Forgive him in you want to play PVE content - or roll for new premium units and field him as a cute mascot.

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 2x11 Rivals thoughts (rewatching, so possible future spoilers)

OH, YES, I've been looking forward to this one, the first step towards Miles-Julian friendship, right? :D (It's a Julian episode, care to guess how often I'm going to tell you I love him?... 😅 Too many times probably 😬)

Cold-open: oh yeah, I think I really enjoyed this scammer plotline too last time ^^

I shouldn't be quite so amused at Julian's accidental swearing at Miles, but it is right there.

Again, this manages to make so much sense after Julian's genetic engineering reveal - he beat a Vulcan! If I didn't know it was a lst-minute addition, I'd be praising how well they subtly wove it in for years before the plot happened!

Julian's such an awkward bean and I love him

...tfw your cellmate dies on you.

I love how deadpan this dude is, he's great

Oh, Miles <3

IT'S SO WEIRD Miles calling him Bashir, not Julian

Keiko, my love. This was a brief appearance but I appreciated seeing you.

I love Julian and Jadzia just being friends? I want to read more fic of them just being besties, cos they are

This entire scene is amazing; and the sauce not working? Perfection.

"That's too young to die!" You dramatic little so-and-so XD

Julian just wants to be friends with the chief, bless him, he's a good egg really!

'Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own' NAH, your suit is way better, Quark

HOW IS JULIAN THIS BAD AN ACTOR. My goodness, man you don't have to miss a shot by a mile to lose. I despair...

Quark so desperately trying to shut down this dude's business. "He's a con-artist, a crook." "One more won't make much difference." Really, Quark, what did you expect?

Quark is so shook up by Rom's departure...

"He shaves the latinum." "I do not... (offscreen) Not much!" These two I swear

SHE is a GREAT con artist and I am HERE FOR IT

"I slipped on the ball?" Julian ever the doctor wanting to check Miles out... <3

Oh, Julian sounds so sad about having to go and not wanting a rematch. He really wanted this to work. Sweetheart

"Tell me your problems, all of them." Oh Quark you just have to be the best at everything don't you? And of course you'll think of a scheme while you're at it.

"My terminal just self-destructed." Wow.

"You make your own luck" *off screen bump* DS9 has got this comedy thing down :P

And naturally, everyone hits the jackpot at once. Man, luck episodes are so much fun, I really am enjoying this one.

Julian and Miles' confused faces while Quark sets up the match. And their realisation it'll be hard to refuse once the war orphans are mentioned. Oh I love this so much!

Julian's really upset about this. I guess he has reasons for not wanting to play in front of folk, huh? In case someone spots how weirdly good he is, perhaps? > Maybe he's showing off with all his preparation and warm-up exercises - even for Miles - as some sort of explanation for his ability; "he just prepares well and is really into it all, honest!"

Julian's not quite as naïve as Quark thinks he is, and good for him!

Oh boy, he has had it with Quark's interference.

Aww, he's so pleased and surprised by the handshake! :3

Their confused faces at the ball not obeying physics! These two!

Okay so Miles looks like Thor, right, while he's just standing there waiting for the ball to get back in his hand XD

"Not impossible, just extremely improbable." Jadzia you gem

This last scene is ace, the crooks all getting their comeuppances and Quark's enjoyment of the whole situation while the dude (yeah I never learnt his name shh) still manages to get money out of him XD

Okay that episode is EXCELLENT, I thoroughly enjoy all plots in it, it's very very good.

[tjerra14]

Tfw you have to spend the money you wanted to invest in new glasses to pay the membership fee for your obligatory membership in the state’s vet association, which they kindly reminded you of in a passive-aggressive e-mail, pointing out the official announcement was made two months ago in the official vet association newspaper, which I had no time to read because I worked too much to make the money they now want

[local-magpie]

tfw you dont realize just how much youve been struggling with food insecurity until you set up for the week and suddenly realize you... don't have to worry about your meals. you have them ready or like, enough money to order out if you need to. you can just. eat. it doesnt have to be a whole song and dance of "oh god what CAN i eat what do i have do i have money can i get delivery should i go get something basic from the corner store instead"

literally felt a whole entire weight fall off my shoulders i didnt realize was even there. god. i very nearly started crying when i realized i had the money to order out every day this week if i really had to. im going to have so much more time to get things done, too, like prepping food i want to make. realized while talking to a friend that this is literally why ive gotten nothing done all last week and struggled the week before that. like. holy shit it really does make a difference to not spend hours trying to feed yourself and freaking out over how youre going to eat the next day

also im pretty sure i figured out why my body's been literally starving lately. i was wondering if its because the office is cold (probs doesnt help but i was helpfully informed its mostly negligible) but i realized it's how much more active i am there - whenever ive worked from home its been a struggle to stay out of bed, but at the office i just dont think about it until i go home. i think i suddenly just doubled my activity and my body started freaking out because i needed more calories/protein for that than i was eating Because I Wasnt Being "Active" Before. so im like fine now as long as i keep feeding myself steadily via like, protein shakes/soylent/snacks

(also if youre like "alex thats barely any activity i think youre overthinking it": maybe. but also consider that im super deconditioned to the point a 30 second brisk walk up an incline gave me an asthma attack. i think its reasonable for "being in bed 30-50% of the day" turning into "not being anywhere near a bed all day" to be a system shock in my condition; which is not GREAT but at least is manageable)

[siodium]

AFA!!! i haven't been to an event in so long and i was so excite about the idea of going that i couldn't sleep properly lakjsdklajs but it's ok my soul has been healed by bootiful cosplayers and merch ✨

luwi and i bought tickets for friday online and i thought that would allow us to skip the queue bUT NO we still had to queue for an hour before we could get our entry wristbands :// we got scammed

there were sooo many ppl in line to collect the wristbands and it didn't seem like they controlled the number of ppl going into the event hall so i mentally prepared myself to become a canned sardine the moment i enter but it was actually really spacious inside?? i didn't have much trouble walking around at all O:

my budget was particularly massive this time round bc i'm now a proper working adult (i earn money... to spend it!!) and there were no events for the past two years so i got to save up!!

still can't believe that some stuff i wanted were already sold out on the first day (இ﹏இ`｡) before 2 pm too????

anyways i'll post my humble haul soon!! pls look forward to it

we had a super late lunch at mos burg and i decided to do some accounting bc my dumbass was so engrossed in the shopping that i didn't even realise i was walking around with loose cASH in my hands in between the merch i bought and i was afraid i might have dropped something (i didn't,, thankfully)

also went on sunday as best jeanistinumaki with luwi as yuta~ her yuta is actually very hansum!! in a pretty boi way but still ♡♡♡

first time having so many ppl ask me for selfies aslk;asjdklsa i'm,,, shooketh,, must be the Luwi Effect

i was trying my very best to maintain a (sleepy) poker face throughout the event (Fake Face Tattoo Problems™) but it was so weird not smiling for pics HAHAHAH

found a merp!! idk the chara but very shuai 😙👌 haven't seen coopa in forever i hope he still remembers chi

tfw your bro just wants to be bros

decided to go chill at the sky garden for some fresh(???) air and to get better lighting for selfies lol

i'VE NEVER SEEN THAT MANY PPL IN THE SKY GARDEN BEFORE

a gojo coser came by and asked us for pics?? the way he asked was so cute (ಥ◡ಥ) he said something like "my students! would you like to take a photo with sensei?" aw

one of the things we wanted to do was to make tiktoks LMAO but we're too paiseh to do the thirst traps/dancing ones soooo

obligatory dorito chin/chad face bc we're cosing hansum jujutsu boisss

luwi and i managed to smuggle ourselves into the event hall with the wristbands that we acquired from merp and hf (thanks!!) when they were about to leave

absolutely had to show ban our coses in person before we changed out (・ε・｀) mission completed successfully

and since i was inside i decided to also do some last min merch shopping in case i missed something

i stuck around to wait for ban and midori to pack up so we could go have dinner together~~~ it was ramen and ramen bois share everything y'know

i was so tired by the end of the day but it was fun so worth it!!!

[mallardducksaysquack]

Tfw your ADHD brain craves strong stimuli but canot decide whether to:

a) Look at hardcore guro and then regret it when you end up feeling like an immoral failure and a menace to the society

b) Eat 1000 kcal in one sitting and regret it when the booba get fat

c) Drink too much caffeine and regret it when you can’t sleep at 3 AM

d) Sign up for 3 separate language courses optimistically assuming that when you run out of money, you’ll just borrow it from someone, and then regret being reliant on others

e) Spend hours trying to chose one of the options above and regret wasting the entire day

f) Write up this list so that people chose the answer for you because you were never allowed to make your own decisions by your controlling mother and now you have no idea how to do it

[layneascher]

TFW you’re accidentally too casual about things that were kinda abusive in your childhood and you really didn’t mean to make things awkward you thought you were just sharing a funny story.

Was playing Lorcana at my local game store, and was joking about how I’m an adult so my mom can’t complain about what I spend money on anymore. And then mentioned how when I was a kid she thought I spent too much money and time on YuGiOh. So when her coworker said her son was interested in playing, she forced me to sell 90% of my collection “that I wasn’t using anyways because it was just in a binder and not in your deck” for $40, when I had spent atleast $200 collecting them from birthday and Christmas money. She didn’t realize she messed up until she asked why I didn’t play with some of my friends anymore and I said because I don’t have cards to play with. And thus I became even more of an introverted recluse.

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

TFW your anxiety is so high you can barely function beyond getting outta bed.

I wanna finish my current quilt project so I can start on the next one. I have a dr appointment on Thursday that will make walking excruciatingly painful for several days thereafter. Sewing will not be doable because my feet will be in too much pain.

DO NOT SEND ADVICE!!!! I have been dealing with this every two weeks for nearly two months. Your advice WILL NOT HELP so keep that shit to yourself.

If you wanna help, as in meaningful help that does make a difference and won't make me angry or distressed, here's an option.

What has me stressed tf out?

Finances - we are single income household because I'm Disabled. I receive $877/month. Once a month, not weekly. Any other money I bring in is via donations or selling my quilts. This makes saving money extremely difficult, especially with the false scarcity creating bullshit price inflation.

Sleeping alone - our mattress cause my husband excruciating pain. He has been sleeping on a sofa since January because of this. I wake up in pain as well, but not as bad as what he's had to deal with. I also cannot sleep on a sofa because it's SO MUCH WORSE. Sleeping alone means my husband will not be able to feel when I'm seizing in my sleep nor will he be able to pull me out of the seizure because he's in another room, totally unaware. Baby monitors will not work because I make no sound aside from pushing all the air outta my lungs and grunting. My risk of SUDEP is extremely high because of this.

Saving for a new mattress - the money we had saved had to be used for bills and groceries. Currently the mattress we want/need is 75% off, putting it at $805. We cannot afford a monthly payment because we're still paying off vet bills and our water heater (the other one broke because it was 20 years old).

See the dilemma?

All I need and want right now is for people to buy the things I've made. I even made a coupon code, SLEEPCOMFY. It's gonna reduce how much I receive, but something is better than nothing right now.

On top of this, I have chronic medical fuckery that is finally being addressed. I couldn't do the two weak heart monitor thing though, because of my allergic reaction to the adhesive. They gave me hypoallergenic electrodes, but they still gave me a rash. It took only a few hours for thr itching to start, and 36 hours before I couldn't tolerate it anymore. Yeah, I developed hives. There is no other way to see what my heart is doing as I go about my day. This will make determining if i have POTS extremely difficult.

Then there's the other issue I've been dealing with for more than three years now, and has me extremely stressed, resentful, and angry. No, I will nor share wtf it is other than this: if someone says to get a specific product but the store doesn't have it, do not substitute it with something else. If the product has changed, call or text the person who sent you to buy the thing. Don't assume and then get upset because when shit goes sideways. I'm still dealing with this fuckery!!!

Good parts of my day? It's cloudy, humidity is up, and it's below 80 F; these will help control the wildfires. The air isn't as smoky, but I still can't breathe if I open any windows. The housenis stuffy, especially the bedroom. My husband started using a prescription pain med yesterday, one safe for folks without a gall bladder and is diabetes-friendly. He woke up feeling much better than he has in months. I made a necessary phone call and scheduled an appointment that is very much needed.

[anniejanuaryz]

.

[randomnameless]

The zombie ask made me remember a thought I had for SS's final chapter where anyone who got blood directly from Rhea would have been resurrected to protect her (their vision is like that horror game blurry where they can see enough to spot you but can't see you from across the map). Jerry and Willy are mini-bosses near Rhea to make the area around her dangerous. Jerry and Billy having a talk where Jerry says anything he wished he could've said in life‚ and Willy having convos with empire (1/3)

(2/3) and nabatean units. Like Willy saying to Seteth‚ "Cichol! How long has it been? About the shield-" and Seteth wondering if the Willy talking to him is actually there or it's Rhea perception of Willy talking. Willy's empire convos would lean towards Willy himself is talking‚ with him saying to Ferdinand‚ "I never thought I'd see the day that anyone related to Aegir would join Nemesis." Him mistaking Bernie for Indech. And Billy's would be Willy thinking they're Nemesis (3/3) "Despite my vision‚ I know that's you Nemesis. I don't know how you're alive but this time you're staying dead!"‚ and anyone related to the elites as "After Seiros sparred you all‚ you dare turn your blade against her?! Do you even know what your 'relic' is made from?" TL;DR: I wanted more WoH content despite Nopes giving some‚ and thinking about how can I jam in as much as I can with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Sorry for the long ask‚ wanted to get these thoughts out of my system.

No pbs anon!

I guess we all didn't like at all how the game bothered to bring back zombies but never wrote battle quotes against them (tfw Seteth'n'Flayn have no battle quote against Nemesis...)

I was going to hype zombie!Ionius, but he never got her blood directly, so he wouldn't have been resurrected :(

(let's be real, if zombie!Ionius was real and brought back in his prime, he would fold those Faerghian barbarians and those foreigners with his pinky, because he'd be that much of an awesome unit)

However, instead of them being "mistaken" because their resurrection failed about what's happening, I'd say let them get full awareness (as much as they can muster) about who they're fighting against!

I'd see a Jerry-Billy convo being a lot of apologies, especially since Billy accepted to take Rhea's mantle and was/is truly happy in the Monastery, something Jerry obviously wrote off when he ran away all those years, maybe we could have Jerry muse that it's weird how he was "brought back" to protect a Rhea who lost her mind know, and how ironic it is, when he should have stayed and maybe if he didn't ran away all those years ago, Billy would have led a happier life, and whatever Rhea's having right now wouldn't have happened. Billy ultimately putting his grievances to rest, saying that despite everything, they are still happy Jerry's their dad, and maybe ends with some "thank you Father" instead of calling them Jerry (in an AU where Billy is voiced, of course!).

Maybe a convo with Leonie too, where Jerry tries to goad her into killing him, saying she never got what it "takes" to be a merc, because she is a nice kid and isn't able to put her morals aside for a bag of money.

And with Alois, Jerry could encourage him, for the "first and last time", saying he'll make a fine Captain of the Knights, and to please not end up like him, mocking the wishes of his wife and not doing everything he could for the kid.

---

Emperor Willy himself wondering where the fuck he is, but if Seiros is in this form, then he has to protect her - and it this is the post Lycaon death AU* Willy isn't surprised at seeing Adrestia turn its blade against Seiros, because Adrestia is a failure and he lost faith in the world.

Against Cichol, Willy could open the convo with the shield, noticing how Cichol took "his" shield, Seteth tries to reply but it's useless, and asks him to stand aside, Willy says he cannot, even for him, his "brother" because Seiros is his priority, and if in that state she'll bring ruin to the world, then so be it, Seteth sighs, apologises (and rekts him).

I suppose Flayn would ask him to get the fuck out of the way, and Willy will refuse, but also apologise for what happened to her, and her mother too (and her cousin!), but crusts this world and its inhabitants are to blame.

Willy against Billy... well, Willy will think they're one of Nemesis's scion even if he thought the guy died childless- despite their hair color, he knows better after all! - and reveals he was on Macuil's side, and told Seiros mercy would be wasted on the likes of them (the Elites' families and, I suppose, Nemesis's potential fam?), but she didn't listen to him.

Willy against the Empire peeps would be hilarious though, because in the AU* Willy ditched it after Lycaon's death, so he'd be pretty pissed that the same Empire now tries to kill Seiros. Maybe he'd call Ferdie a scion of traitor, referring to Derrick, who pledged his loyalty to an usurper (Empress Hildegarde, who took the throne after Lycaon's death), raving about how he descends from a line of traitors, and he will put an end to this farce himself (with his stats? lol).

Willy'd also be pissed seeing Bernie, digusted at what Adrestia became if Bernie, as a noble, is what Adrestia's finest has to offer (maybe insert a fire joke or two) - Bernie could find the courage to fight back against this rando who insults her and tell him to shut up, because she wants to fight to protect people now.

Lin would maybe comment on Willy being, well, Willy, and wondering why the fuck is he fighting against the Empire, maybe with Willy telling him this is what he should have down instead, cutting off his own "blood"* for the sake of Fodlan, but he will correct this mistake right now.

Caspar would be interested in fighting this "strong warrior" from ancient times, if the fate of Fodlan wasn't at stake, Willy'd swore he came from an Elite family with a mindset like this, but only be digusted.

As for Petra, maybe we could get an ancient exemple of Adrestian assholery, like Willy saying he thought the people of "Eyvel" wouldn't be mindless allies of the Empire, and how mistaken he was, they're "savages" after all - only for Petra to reply with some "who are you? Get out of my way plz" (and she crits him and he dies).

And for Doro... I guess their convo would be the most important "lore wise", Doro immediately recognises him and wonder if he is here to avenge Edie - Willy immediately cuts her off, asking why he should even care about that person when no one avenged his son when he was murdered by his "bastard" siblings (confirming that Supreme Leader is not part lizard!).

*The AU I'm talking about is the AU I came up with, aka Lycaon being a half lizard, being named heir, murdered by his "human" half-siblings/nephews - Willy learns it and immediately bails out of Adrestia, having lost faith in Fodlan, humanity and well, most likely everything. After 80 years of chronic depression (while Rhea is now obsessed with bringing back Sothis, because she will make the world go round, and be safe anew for Nabateans living and the ones that would be brought back, humans, and even Lycaon who will obviously return - Willy doesn't believe it) he passes away after having found some sort of renewed faith in the world (seeing all those people coming to the Monastery and tending to their daily lives, looking after orphans, etc etc). So obviously, when he's brought back at the end of SS and sees Adrestia, targeting Seiros/Rhea, he loses it and becomes an extra kind of asshole (a tru hresvelg).

I agree with you though, maybe add a bit of "savages" and "ungrateful barbarians" here and there, but I don't think Willy is even going to listen to reason or even try to listen at all (like a tru hresvelg) anyone who descends from an Elite.

Maybe after those two mini-bosses, Seteth would say that those "persons" were not the ones they were in life, and how the Crest (crusts are to blame!) warped their personalities, only for Flayn to follow with a meaningful "..." - opening a lot redshit threads for fans to "give their own version" lol

---

And for extra useless completionist stuff, like, if you picked the "Nabatean" option in the Sothis paralogue when Supreme Leader asks you who was lived in the Red Canyon, got a C+ support with Supreme Leader and went to her coronation, fought her using Billy and the Nabateans (with the famous "your ears are pointy you cannot rule over humans"), have both Billy and the Nabateans fight against Thales and Billy had a A support with all Nabateans, after Jerry and Willy's death, Berserk!Rhea would unleash a large scripted AoE on the map, empty husk!Lycaon could appear on the map, maybe as a white beast like creature on steroids, but who looks more like the IO than a regular White Beast (he has arms and wings?), who starts on the opposite side of the map and goes in your direction, but unlike the other white beasts, damaged dealt on Rhea won't be reflected on him.

Obviously, if the party kills him, Berserk!Rhea suddenly gains "Wrath" - but if you stall too much, empty!husk Lycaon has stats to ruin your party (unlike Willy!). Also if he dies then A support or no A support Rhea doesn't survive.

(And maybe if you accidently kill him, Billy gets "!" box popping up, with a new use of "Divine Pulse" coming out from nowhere, as it's Sothis' way to ask them to find a way not to kill him)

Billy will reveal what that unit is, idk, maybe they're closing their eyes and say that they are only a body animated by idk, the resonating power of the IO's Crest - but their true spirit has been long gone, now only remains a body and the rage it had before passing away. Then Billy opens their eyes, and says they would have wanted to meet him under other circumstances (but who is talking? Billy? or Sothis?)

Flayn despairs seeing her "cousin" (confirming her ties to Rhea!) in this situation, apologises for not having been able to be there for him, idk, like she promised too, but this time, she will.

Seteth too is saddened and while he wonders how many members of his family he will have to kill today, he tells Lycaon that this is final lesson, so he better remember it.

Ah, and in this revamped SS finale (since we're in AU land!), Relics work like Devil Weapon against Rhea and Lycaon - damage isn't dealt to the foe, but to your unit instead! And if your unit survives, the Relic insta-breaks (as a gameplay mechanic like 0 uses left).

End of the fight, Rhea survives (?), there is some ending blurb about every White Beast who wasn't defeated vanished "as if they were finally put to rest", that S support is revamped to have Rhea more or less say she has to move on now and cannot be stuck in the past, and has to let the past "rest in peace" to finally move forward - both for her and the one shes so dearly misses (ending line would be Billy in brackets musing how rare it is to see Sothis smile).

Ultimate bonus if this is the last route you play (or finished all the other routes), and if you got this ending, you'd have a special scene at the end, of Rhea and Billy waving hands at an assembly composed of all BE students (some of them waving back! even Bernie!), members of staff/knights, some randoms, but also, 11 randos with green hair and pointy ears, idk, wearing tunics with their emblems to know who they are, Willy (back to his bright and stupid self) carrying kid!Lycaon (with his pointy ears!) on his shoulders, some other random woman next to Flayn with a matching haircut, Manu pulling at Seteth's pointy ear (if they got their A+ support, else he frowns like usual), ghost!Jerry and ghost!Sitri waving too, and adult!Sothis (all the ghosts are transparent like, save for adult!Sothis - again, it would have been made on purpose by the devs who wondered if that would have created fanwank about Sothis' state, dead or alive?).

Not to say ghosts are real in Fodlan, but it would be some sort of representation that both dead and living people are happy to see a world where both humans and Nabateans can live together - even if they're dead, their dreams live on, or some stuff like that.

But of course, to get this ending, you'd have to get the most out of Supreme Leader's beliefs and the general intolerance that permeated Fodlan since, well, the Red Canyon, but even before (the first agarthan war?).

[eirenical]

The Lost Tomb Reboot | Reunion: Sound of Providence | Dao Mu Bi Ji Chong Qi | 重啟之極海聽雷 | Season 1 Episode 2

TFW you’re gay, your nephew is also gay, and the one person in the direct bloodline who is actually into girls has fucked off to the back end of beyond and left you both playing hot potato with the responsibility of providing an heir for your family.  Someone’s going to have to take one for the team, but you’re older and have way more clout, so it really shouldn’t have to be you.

[Do not repost. Do not remove caption. Thank you!]

Bonus:

You know the drill... GIF IDs and meta behind the cut...

[ID: The first 10 gifs depict a scene, subtitled in English, from Reunion: Sound of the Providence, Season 1, Episode 2.  Wu Erbai and his nephew, Wu Xie, are standing on opposite sides of the counter in Wu Erbai’s kitchen.  Wu Erbai is wearing a white button shirt and a grey suit; Wu Xie is wearing a white fishermen’s sweater over a white collared shirt. Wu Erbai is trying to convince Wu Xie to marry and produce an heir for their family and shows Wu Xie a large pile of pictures of beautiful women, admonishing him to pick one, even offering to buy him a house and a car, if Wu Xie will just do this. Wu Xie fires back by saying that Wu Erbai is also still capable of producing an heir.  Wu Erbai is silent for a moment, then gets a bright smile on his face and says, “If you won’t listen to me, then lets do the math.”  (In the remainder of the scene, not represented here, Wu Erbai begins tallying up how much money Wu Xie owes to the family, implying that he can call in that debt at any time.)  A bonus gif follows the gifset caption which is a replica of the 8th gif where Wu Xie says “You are still healthy. You can have children, too” with the following added subtitles to represent Wu Erbai’s thoughts:

*record scratch* *freeze frame* (Oh no, he DIDN’T.) (Listen here, you little SHIT--)

Because sometimes, I think I’m funny.  ^_^  End ID]

(Disclaimer: I’ve only seen about... 5/6 of TLTR and read the first two translated novels.  I am neither Chinese nor of Chinese descent.)

OK, so I’ve been wanting to write about this scene ever since I first saw it, because it was the scene that made me fall in love with Ershu (...and with Wu Xie’s white waffle sweater, which I subsequently bought for myself, but THAT’S ANOTHER STORY XD).  And last night I finally had the spoons to gif it and I popped onto tumblr to post a teaser of the bonus gif... to find that @jockvillagersonly​, @momosandlemonsoda​, and @xcziel​ wrote an AMAZING meta between them in response to an ask sent by @gaiahenshin​ at... literally exactly the same time.  XD  It was about Wu Erbai and Wu Xie and the intersection of their queerness with Chinese culture and legal policies at the time the show would have been set (e.g., the One Child Policy) that I cannot HOPE to match but very much enjoyed reading just the same and I highly recommend it!  Here it is, for anyone interested.

I had planned a MUCH more tongue-in-cheek meta to accompany this gifset, because this show just brings it out in me, so... here we go?

When I first started watching this show, I knew I was going to be predisposed to like Wu Xie.  I absolutely have a character type and he unquestionably fits it (...and he’s played by Zhu Yilong, which certainly played a part in me loving him, too).  He’s snarky and he’s too smart for his own good, but he is loving and kind and Lord help you if you get on his bad side because he will DESTROY YOU... and probably your entire family line along with you.  What I did NOT expect was to fall just as hopelessly in love with Wu Xie’s uncle, Wu Erbai.  But I really shouldn’t have been surprised... BECAUSE ERSHU IS BASICALLY AN OLDER, MORE EXPERIENCED (...though less physically agile) VERSION OF WU XIE.  XD

So, of course, I hit this scene and there is Ershu, dressed to the nines, making his enemies wait while he finishes up a video game with his nephew before even deigning to talk to them, and then verbal ripping them to shreds before making said enemies run a gauntlet for his amusement.

...YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION.

Once the enemies are gone, and Wu Xie finally has his uncle alone, he tries to push his agenda forward only to have Ershu run right over him and start badgering him about marrying and producing an heir.  And up until then, I hadn’t given much thought to it really: Wu Xie is the only son of the first son of the family.  It makes sense that his uncle would pressure him to have a child... right?  And it did, up until Wu Xie threw it all back in his face with “But Ershu... you’re still healthy. Why don’t YOU do it?”

...oh.

OH.

With that one revelation, this becomes an entirely different ball game, doesn’t it?

Why isn’t Ershu married?  Why doesn’t he have children?  And then a thousand subconscious clues piled up and jumped on my head.  Ershu is GAY.  Ershu is SO GAY.  And everything he did from that point on just cemented it for me.  The fashionable way he dresses, even when exploring tombs.  The stunningly designed house.  The impeccable manners combined with his wonderfully chaotic energy.  The way he treats his nephew like the child he assumes he won’t have.  Being a queer aunt, myself, I suddenly saw a LOT of myself in him and that was it, I was GONE.

And now this scene just becomes that much funnier.  It’s a verbal sparring match or (I was going to say “passing the buck” here, but @kholran​ called it hot potato, and that’s so much better XD) a game of hot potato that these two poor gay disasters throw back and forth between them yelling “NOT IT” every time it lands in their hands.  And in the MOST tongue-in-cheek way possible, that adds an entirely new dimension to why they’re both so desperate to get Wu Sanxing back... HE’S THE ONLY STRAIGHT BOY IN THEIR ENTIRE TWO GENERATION SPREAD.  (...minus Wu Xie’s father, one presumes.)  If they get him back, then NEITHER of them has to produce an heir.  ;D

In short?  I love Ershu a PERFECTLY NORMAL AMOUNT and we really should be talking about this amazingly distinguished Elder Gay far, far more.  ^_^