#There is something especially about their father that bugs me. But I can't put my finger on it

[chill-vibes-but-rainbow-panic]

So this is most likely not going to be the finished look for them, but I thought a WIP of the Flim Flam brothers' parents so far might be nice to see

[tiny-space-platypus]

Part 4 Miscommunication

(Damien's POV)

Previous

School had started now and a new kid came to the academy today. A girl roughly his age but a little shorter. This girl was loud and obnoxious, gathering quite a crowd of friends on her first day. That was fine though, Damian didn't exactly want to have to talk to another brainless civilian. Though Grayson did say he needed to make more friends. Explaining that not having friends would blow his cover.

Before Damian decided what to do the girl who was just with a group of his classmates was now behind him, startling him. Startling Him. Damian had been trained by assassins, by his mother, father, and siblings to always be acutely aware of his surroundings yet this girl scared him? Damian needed to understand how.

The girl who introduced herself as Dani Nightingale giggled.

Damian: "You startled me"

Dani: "yeah I do that"

Their classmates are cheering no one has ever managed to sneak up on Damian and now this new girl has. Great this girl was now going to be another nuisance to him. Then the girl frowned at him and apologized softly before avoiding him for the rest of the day. Odd.

Damian also found that this girl was very smart. She was great at science, math, and knew so many languages that it was just impressive. She was odd.

Dani avoided Damian for the rest of the day. She fucked up, she fucked up big time, even if he doesn't show it she can still feel his emotions. She wants to fall in for the floor and disappear but she can't do that. So instead she decided to focus on the school day. Answering and doing as much as she can to avoid Damian. The boy she accidentally made hate her. She can't wait for today to be over. The end of the day rolled around and Danny was there to pick her up. Just as she ran up to Danny, Damian did the same. Damian got to Danny first.

Damian: "Todd, what are you doing here?"

Dani running into Danny and giving him a massive hug. "Danny!"

Danny (confused) "sorry kid, but I'm not whoever Todd is?"

Damian now also confused and looking closely at Danny because his brother was laughing and smiling and not normal. Then he looked at the scars on the man's arms and neck and mannerisms. That wasn't Jason but just looked like him, odd.

Dick and Tim now confused that Damian didn't come to the car, walk over and react the same way Damian did though more extreme. "Jason??"

Danny (sighing): "No my name's Danny. Nice to meet you" (looks at Tim) "or re-meet you, how was your debate thing or whatever? I assume that was why you were in a suit?"

Tim (confused before remembering the coffee shop) "oh! Um yeah everything went well"

Dick smiling while internally screaming about seeing someone who looked like a happy version of his brother. "It's nice to meet you too"

Both Nightingales feeling the turmoil and odd feeling from the 3 and decided. Nope! Not my circus not my monkeys even if he does maybe look like he belongs to that circus. Not his, nope, they have enough problems, whatever this family has is not also his.

Danny: "anyways we've got to go, I'm sure we'll see you around"

Danny left with Dani and went home with her neither aware of the tracker Damian had left on Dani.

----------------------------------------------------------

Danny and Elle having a normal night doing homework, having dinner together, all that jazz while being watched by Robin and RR who had now taken a special in this family. Especially after Tim could find almost nothing on any of the Nightingales past a few months ago when they came to Gotham or when their sister went to Stanford. They watch Danny put Elle to bed then begin tinkering with a side project (he is an engineer after all). They seemed normal but something still bugged the both of them about the Nightingales. Something was still off, they'd have to keep investigat- Danny pulled out the 2 trackers that were were placed on both him and Elle and sat them on the table in front of him. He knew about the trackers. Maybe he was a threat.

Danny had of course found the tracker on him immediately and decided to fuck around making it go absolutely everywhere far too quickly till he realized where the tracker was from. It was shaped as a bat of course it came from Batman and his spawn. SIGH he supposed he couldn't avoid the bats and birds if they were already tailing him, might as well try to make friends first. The fact that they were looking for them was only solidified when he found another on Elle's school bag. 1) how dare they put one on his little sister. 2) who the hell put it there?? Was it suit boy again? Or was it one of the others? He'd have to tell Elle to be careful around them from now on. He'll have to be more careful now. Welp might as well try to reverse engineer these trackers so he can make something to scramble them when those guys eventually try again. He and to at least protect Elle.

(Things I thought of but didn't know how to add it yet soo)

Dani goes by both Dani and Elle depending on if her brother is around. Its confusing when they're both being refused to as Danny after all.

Tim is going feral because he can't find anything on them, like they didn't exist before this summer.

Oracle is also going insane because her cameras can't pick the two up. Every time she tries to focus on them the camera feed glitches out till they're gone.

The next part will be about Jason getting caught with GIW because they think it's Danny (and Elle maybe.) Still writing.

Next

[hollowed-theory-hall]

re.: the weasleys + parenting

what's always bugged me most abt percy's fight with arthur (especially in the fandom, where everyone's like 'oh, he turned his back on harry and betrayed his family to side w the ministry) is that. that's hardly what the fight is about at all. the fight is about the fact that percy, an 18yo kid who just got promoted to his dream job instead of straight up losing any chance at ever being Minister (because they tried to scapegoat him into taking the blame for the crouch business even though he managed to keep the whole department running while his boss wasn't even there), comes home all excited to tell his parents that "Hey, he's not unemployed and bereft of any and all hope for his biggest dream", but rather that his skills and competence got recognized by The Most Important Man In The Government, and molly and arthur look him straight in the face and go—"no you didn't."

there is no mention whatsoever that they even try to be gentle about it, that they congratulate him first and then bring it up later like "just be careful around Fudge, he's always looking for people to get information from and you are the best of both worlds, close to the action and actually good at the job he hired you for", nothing of the sort. they straight up don't even consider how any of those factors might've weighed in Fudge's decision to hire him.

and, perhaps worst of all, they have no faith in Percy. he tells them "I'm working for the minister", and not only do they not spare a second to be happy for him over this frankly momentous achievement (or at the very least concern for the position it puts him in), they jump straight to conjectures and accusations. "you only got this because of Harry" has got to crush Percy, who was raised to believe that good things come to honest, hard-working people and who has been working for this since he was a small child. and it digs the knife deeper when you realize that most of his siblings have basically replaced him with Harry. Harry, who also plays Quidditch and also keeps throwing himself into death-defying dangers and overalls fits much better into the family dynamic than Percy ever has.

and there's just this. crystal clear implication that they do believe Percy would spy on them. he's so Different and Other and Un-Weasley/Gryffindor-like and they've alienated themselves from him so absolutely that they can't see any reasons he wouldn't willingly and consciously jeopardize his parents' livelihood and Harry & his siblings safety just to stay in the Minister's good graces, when if anyone's actually at risk of losing their job for siding with Dumbledore is his father, who's still working there quite merrily and continues to so for a long time afterwards.

Percy, who runs into a freezing lake mid-February while attending an international event as Crouch's replacement to make sure Ron is alright, who pesters Ginny to eat and have a pepper-up potion most of her first year bc she doesnt look well, who tails Harry and Ron a lot of their second and third years bc there's something petrifying kids and then Dementors on the grounds and a mass murderer on the loose and they all just think he's being willfully bothersome like no you idiots he's worried.

of course he left. of course he left. what did he have to gain by staying at the Burrow, beyond fresh home cooked meals harassment and disagreements? why wouldn't he leave?

sorry I have a lot of feelings about this.

No need to apologize, this is brilliantly written!

I don't even feel like I need to add anything as you summed up the Percy situation perfectly.

But I can't help myself because I love discussing the Weasley family dynamics, so it's a bit more rumbley than my usual...

Percy cares so much for his family. When Voldemort is revealed and the war actually starts, he puts all his disagreements with his parents aside to come and help and make sure they're okay, because he cares. And still, he is being shunned and treated like an outsider.

Arthur and Molly Weasley are just really good at alienating their kids because it isn't just Percy.

Somehow all of them succeded in feeling like outsiders in a family of 9. Bill shows frustration with his parents and only returns to Britain because of the war, Charlie's in Romania for most of the series. Fred and George run away the moment they can and are treated like trouble by their parents most of the time (Molly and Arthur assume they are selling stolen goods from Mundungus when they hear they have money, not that they, idk, somehow earned it), Ron has a whole complex of low self-esteem and a tendency to blame himself for everything. Ginny is isolated from her brothers as the only girl and youngest...

And Percy cares and tries to be the best and most responsible sibling and gets scorned in turn.

Harry and Ron do acknowledge Arthur's and Molly's accusation towards Percy was awful and that he was right to respond negatively in OOTP. Ron is just sensitive about their family's financial state which soured Percy to him after Percy blew up at their dad (rightfully so, honestly, I'd say way worse to Arthur if it was me).

The thing is, Percy also gets scorned by his siblings, not just his parents (like Fred and George do). He gets grief for trying to be responsible and for wanting his siblings to do well in school and not get in trouble, Fred and George lock him in a pyramid...

That being said, do I think Percy is perfect? No, he is pretentious and overbearing at times, but he is a child in a large family who tries to find a place to fit himself in. According to child psychology, usually when it comes to siblings, the eldest would usually (at least in childhood) try to be everything the parents want (Bill), and then each next sibling will carve a different niche for themselves, and we see this with the Weasleys. I think the twins being born right after Percy and demanding a lot of attention from their parents from a young age as they were little troublemakers from the start is a big reason why Percy chose the niche of being bookish, ambitious, and responsible for himself. To contrast himself with them and his older brothers and get some attention from their parents.

I'm not a fan of the epilog (like everyone), but I find it hard to imagine Percy being close to his family post-books. I think he never fully got over the sting of not being seen as skilled and competent and that his parents believed he'd turn on them all without a second thought. Nor do I think he should just get over it.

Like, I'm really salty that Percy was the only one to apologize:

“I was a fool!” Percy roared, so loudly that Lupin nearly dropped his photograph. “I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a—a—” “Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron.” said Fred. Percy swallowed. “Yes, I was!” “Well, you can’t say fairer that that,” said Fred, holding out his hand to Percy. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She ran forward, pushed Fred aside, and pulled Percy into a strangling hug, while he patted her on the back, his eyes on his father. “I’m sorry, Dad.” Percy said.

(Deathly Hollows, pages 512-513)

Like, yes, it's great he was smart enough to realize the ministry is corrupt, but this demand only for him to apologize when Molly and Arthur Weasley were just as much in the wrong. Fred and George weren't beacons of sainthood here either. But none of them have apologies demanded of them. None of them are demanded to confess they are "morons". Just Percy.

Who even after his apology is still an outsider. Probably always will be one.

You said it best: "Why wouldn't he leave?"

And that's what we see him do (if temporarily).

[yourhighness6]

NATLA Debrief: Episode 3 (by yours truly)

Hi again! If any of ya'll are interested here's episodes 1 and 2. Thank you to those who have been following these deranged, unorganized posts, especially @phoebester (Just an fyi this will be hella long, just like the other two)

First of all, the way they framed the opening resistence scene was genuinely so cool because I immediately thought back to the cold open for the first episode. The streets are so similar that's where my mind went RIGHT AWAY and if that is not good set design and filming I don't know what is.

The resistance scene was so powerful for so many reasons besides those small details, too. The concept of a resistance within the FN was never addressed at all within the cartoon and I can't express how glad I am that they added this. It just makes logical sense that some people would resist, especially while so many are dying in war, and it really serves to humanize the FN people in a way that's reminiscent of book 3 ATLA. Perfect way to expand on the source material and introduce core themes earlier in the show (M Nite should be taking notes).

It was also a perfect way to introduce both Ozai and Azula's characters. Ozai is this menacing figure stepping out of the shadows (quite literally), an almost larger than life villain who seems to have every move planned and everything calculated. He's brutal and efficient and we can see that. Azula is conniving and smart, the kind of girl who can fool anyone and come out on top, but is ultimately still a weapon under her father's control. You can tell from the moment Ozai mentions Zuko that she is the underdog, but she is determined that it will not stay that way, and she seems just terrifying enough to succeed. (also idc what anyone says Elizabeth Yu has mastered Azula's look and general vibe. I feel like the whole 'miscasting' debacle was a mix of fatphobia and being shown the wrong stills before the show came out. She looked sort of sweet and innocent in those but I get absolutely none of that from this scene)

Ugh the exposition was great and then they have to give us this. What the absolute hell did they do to my Katara? Like there was a whole ass episode in the cartoon devoted to her getting mad because she wasn't progressing as fast as Aang and then in this fucking adaptation the maddest she sounds is when she emotionlessly declares, "I don't get it" to convey mild frustration. I'm sorry Kiawentiio, you're acting is great but the writers clearly have no fucking idea how to put your emotional range to good use. The same problem was present in the last episode and I just don't see them being able to fix it significantly enough at this point, even if they have a desire to. Not to undermine that, but there were a couple good points in this scene: Aang mentions something about bending being "beyond thought" which gives bending a more spiritual aspect that I like, and Katara's PTSD is brought up again in an intelligent way, but still, that doesn't matter if they're going to completely butcher her character. (side note: when is Aang going to learn waterbending? they haven't shown him training at all and I'm getting worried)

This scene was fine or whatever but what in the absolute fuck is going on with Zuko and Zhao? Are they not going to do the agni kai? Like I know there's still animosity there but they were really just sitting there (semi)-calmly enjoying a cup of tea and demonstrating only mild dislike for each other. All I have to say is if they remove the agni kai altogether I'm gonna be so fucking pissed it'll bug me forever and I'll be fucking insufferable.

Also Zuko is so mean to Luitenient Jee for no reason. I know it's because his abuse makes him see any kind of comradery as weakness so it's a good detail if that's what they're going for but ngl I also find it a bit funny. Like what did he ever do to you? And Zhao taking three tries to pass his officer exam is so perfect too like what a fucking looser lmao.

Ba Sing Se looks beautiful. There's something so mystical about it, especially in the way Aang describes it as they walk up to the gate. It's this hub of culture and science and art, but it's also incredibly militaristic and so changed due to war it's almost unrecognizable to someone who was there a hundred years ago. The adaptation of cultures during times of change is something ATLA does so well and I'm glad to see that it's continuing in the LA.

AHH Katara was so awkward during this whole scene and I loved it. For one thing Sokka's commentary was absolutely hilarious but it's also this reminder that Katara has been relatively isolated from other children her age and her brain is like "cute boy flirt how" and its so fucking funny. It might not be the same Katara as the cartoon who is effortlessly comfortable wherever she goes but this is so much more realistic and if she's going to be a bit different this is probably the best thing for them to change (now keep the awkwardness and give her back her anger Netflix I'm begging you)

I am slightly concerned because it looks to me like they're trying to condense at least four episodes into one and I'm not sure if that's going to be a cohesive plotline or a complete mess or not but if handled carefully I think they might be able to pull it off.

Ooooh the explosion was super unexpected and totally cray cray thanks for keeping me on my toes. I'm assuming it was Jet that planted the bomb although I cannot for the life of me think why. Anyways Teo was adorable I'm adopting him.

Also I am so so so happy that they gave him a little more depth beyond just 'happy glider kid' and gave a bit more nuance to his character. Of COURSE kids who grew up in war are going to be desensitized to the bloodshed OF COURSE they're going to be a little vengeful and be thinking about ways to win the war OF COURSE Aang is going to be uncomfortable with that because he didn't grow up with that militaristic mindset even if he did loose everything OF COURSE that's not going to change the fact that kids grow up hearing about death and experiencing loss as extremely young children versus Aang being suddenly thrust into this responsibility and grief because he didn't grow up like that he grew up in peacetime it just makes sense. Good job Netflix this was wonderful this was perfect I loved it.

Okay don't get me wrong I love the way Aang wears his heart on his sleeve I love how their in-the-face storytelling makes a bit more sense with how open and emotional of a person he is it's just part of his character that was improved upon by the LA in my opinion but this is also just... such a misunderstanding of the group dynamic. Like why isn't Katara seeing these people and thinking "I can help with this I have to help with this" and Aang giving this speech to Sokka jumping on the bandwagon? I would even accept them seeing the destruction together and mutually deciding that they need to help the people there (this would probably be best as it allows us to see both character's compassion) or Aang saying something about it and Katara immediately being like "ur absolutely right" but of course they can't do that all we need is a lengthy speech from the protagonist while Katara stands there like robot girl. My mistake.

STOP because her mocking face is so fucking perfect I love Elizabeth Yu she's perfect. Anyway, I think that they're kind of... adjusting her trauma a bit? I mentioned earlier how I feel like she's shown as a little more scrappy and an underdog as opposed to perfectly calculating and not a hair out of place, but after this scene I feel the need to expand on that. In the cartoon, Azula's abuse from her father centers around his unattainably high expectations for her that eventually cause her ultimate breakdown and the conclusion to her devastating character arc. But in the LA, they're portraying her as less of a prodigy and more of a hard worker. She still has incredibly high expectations, but in this version, she never meets them all the time. Her brother is almost leveraged against her in a way. Even if she feels like she is the best and has the constant need to prove she is the best to her father, there's always going to be this nagging insecurity that she won't be good enough to measure up to her brother. She's not being told she's worthless like Zuko, but she's not reaching every goal like cartoon Azula, either. This also might explain why she has arrows. In the cartoon, weapons are viewed with disdain by firebenders, making Zuko using them so controversial, but Azula definetely doesn't seem to be hiding her talent for the bow and arrow and even if it was a her-sneaking-away-to-practice sort of situation that's not very in character and I don't think she would do that. I think in this version she probably has them because she's trying to find every possible way to prove herself to her father beyond just firebending, and mastering a weapon is a way to do that. I'm not sure how I feel about these changes but she is clearly a different character in this version than in the cartoon and moving forward I'm going to treat her as such. (I've noticed this a bit with all of the characters except possibly Sokka: they're different people. I think this actually might be intentional. [even so I still don't like their characterization of Katara her trauma hasn't changed very much to my knowledge she should still have the same core drives and character traits])

As well done as Azula was, there was relatively nothing in the Ty Lee and Mai department. They're just kind of existing, watching her train. Ty Lee is vaguely cheerful (and her costume is great btw) and Mai has one line about exploring the world that gives a bit of insight into her character and has a monotone voice. They're both clearly a little scared of Azula but that's basically it. Hopefully we get more on them soon.

Back in Ba Sing Se, I noticed a bit of a parallel between Teo and Katara. The Mechanist mentions that they lost his mother due to the war, which reminded me specifically of Katara. Throughout this scene, we see that Teo remembers his mother's philosophy and adopts it into his own mindset far more than his father's. Their situation is different because while Katara is arguing for compassion Teo is arguing for fighting back, but they are both fundamentally saying the same thing. It's not enough just to accept their lot in life and try to survive or fight, it's about the big picture, and about defending the things they love. While Katara and Teo both approach this subject from a very different front, the core idea is the same. It's also telling how they are dismissed initially as idealistic for their values when they are really upholding what their mothers stood for in their eyes: for Teo, a symbol of hope in her retellings of the stories of the avatar, and for Katara, a symbol of kindness in her reminders to remain empathetic despite the horrors of war. Make of this what you will, I just thought it was a nice little parallel.

Anyway, allow me to have a few words on the whole Jet thing (in bullet points because I don't have enough brain power to do this)

I'm glad Jet got his freedom fighters outfit. I was a bit worried when I saw what he was wearing in the first scene he was in because the fit is iconic, and so are the swords

God he's so fucking dramatic "they call me Jet" while the sun glints off his swords and he turns slightly for affect it was so funny I laughed out loud

He and Kia have no on-screen chemistry I'm sorry. Like even the fight scene was so awkward and every time they speak to each other they sound so stiff. They're good actors independently but whoever was watching their chemistry check (I'm assuming they had one pre-production but judging by this crap I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't) was either asleep or it was their first day because there is NOTHING there

What the hell did they do to the Freedom Fighters? They're so cheesy and the costumes are so bad (especially Smellerbee's). Like seriously that entire fight scene was so awkward idk what the hell happened there but it was nowhere near the quality of the rest of the episode so far

Overall, I'm not a huge fan. Also where is Sokka I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be there somewhere

Okay here's Sokka finally. Are they just taking him out of the Jet shenanigans entirely? I wouldn't be surprised considering how many episodes they had to condense but still I would have liked to see that. Oh well, I guess they had to have Katara do something in this episode instead of just stand around while her brother and Aang have huge plot points. Anyway, this scene was very interesting to me. Sokka and the Mechanist bonded in the og but not to this extent, and I honestly liked that they did something a bit deeper with it considering they don't have as much screentime to establish Sokka's daddy issues (for lack of a better word). Anywho the Mechanist mentioning that there are other career paths to take besides just being a warrior was super cool and I think we can glean a lot from it about Sokka's future character arc. Maybe in this version he doesn't perfectly live up to his dad's expectations and instead finds his own way? It was nice to see Hakoda proud of him in the original but if they go down this path I definitely won't be mad. It's interesting while staying true to the character, it's just a different direction.

The scene with Aang and Teo was cute. They're both good actors who play off of each other nicely, and Teo talking about how he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps lends a bit of insight to the conversation the Mechanist had with Sokka. He probably mentioned Sokka's dad because he wondered if his parents were engineers too and maybe is looking for a bit of an apprentice since his son doesn't take after him as much. This is also another way Teo conflicts with the Mechanist's way of life and may be more similar to his mother.

The jetara scenes at the Freedom Fighter camp had a much better dynamic. I think the fight scene was probably just them figuring each other out as actors, it just sucks that it seeped into the final take. I confess I was a bit disappointed that the Freedom Fighters didn't live up in the trees, but I guess that would be a bit difficult to engineer. I also noticed how Jet repeated Teo's "if not us, then who?" statement, which is probably just your basic commentary on how the future generations are our hope blah blah blah. It's a major theme so I shouldn't be as disinterested as I am in it but as it stands I'm still not totally thrilled with the Jet plotline as a whole and I think that may be affecting it. I feel like Sokka should be here to add some variety and spice things up a bit it's kind of boring.

The last jetara scene was definitely the best yet. I can't get over how happy I was to hear Jet say his mother taught him to fight. So often we hear how dads or older brothers are teaching the women in their family to fight but here we have a canonically badass male character saying that an older female relative was the one who taught him. One of the major complaints I have from the cartoon was how for all its talk about women being able to fight and its supposed feminist message, there were no women of the older generation fighting at all except for Jun, who wasn't even a particularly moral character like all these older men. We do have to remember that the cartoon started production over twenty years ago so it is a product of its time, when feminist issues weren't very mainstream. Another factor that might have contributed to the lack of feminism in the original was the generational discrepancies; millennials were the first to have widely accepted equal educational opportunities in the US, and even though educational opportunities are still affected by sexism, college became the norm for both male and female students at that time. This isn't to say women older than millennials didn't go to college, but this is around the time women and men started to become relatively equal as of percentage seeking higher education. Basically, they were the first generation of women expected to have careers, and therefore the writer's minds were probably shaped alongside a similar number of female peers, but primarily by men. This could have contributed to the lack of older women, but as times changed, so to did the amount of older women in professional fields. This line is a reflection of that, and I hope we continue to see more badass older women and older warrior women and women in power as the LA continues.

Other than that, I did take my shipping goggles out during this scene at the "sunrise" bit, and it wasn't about jetara. I heard from other fans in the zutara tag that the "you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" line was removed but I keep thinking about how Katara is legitimately drawing power from remembering the sun rising, a time when the opposite element, Zuko's element, becomes more powerful. I know I'm reaching, but while I mourn the loss of our beloved "you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" I have to find a new version. Anyway I think we should call this sunrisegate lol

Also, the way Katara is extremely hesitant to talk about her trauma whereas Jet seems completely fine with being emotional and dumping out exactly what he was feeling may have been a device but it does remind me of something I read about how ppl with PTSD will often react very differently when sharing their trauma and the same is true for many other trauma induced disorders. It was probably unintentional but I still thought it was a nice detail.

Anyway on a less serious note Iroh and Zuko's dynamic is still top tier. I've seen a lot of people complaining about Iroh's character but I don't see anything wrong up to this point. I might be in for a shock in future episodes but I have genuinely no idea what they find so off putting. He's a great actor and the character has legitimately not changed. The line above was a bit undercut by the fact that he's standing in the middle of an enemy city with a cloth half wrapped around his face to keep part of his face from being seen, but I'm just gonna take it at face value (haha pun). I think the thing Zuko despises most is cowardice, and it affects his perception of the war in a huge way. He calls Aang a coward for escaping from prison because he was running away or whatever and I've never considered Zuko a particularly logical character but it's like... bruh he's outnumbered like fifty to one what he is gonna do? Anyway his definition of cowardice is directly tied to his honor and his perception of it in relation to his trauma and the way he held back in the agni kai and him perceiving that as cowardice maybe... Ya'll got me? This isn't fully formed because I obviously haven't seen this new rendition of the agni kai but I'm guessing the events are basically the same. Do with it what you will.

I skipped over the Azula and Zhao scene because I don't have any groundbreaking commentary except to say that I liked it. It ties Azula into the story nicely and gives Zhao something actually interesting about him (I don't hate him as much as I did in the cartoon so whenever he comes up on screen I just sort of yawn).

Anyway, it was nice to see Katara get a bit angry. I think this captured the gaang dynamic pretty well. Aang being relatively neutral/ quiet while the siblings argue and Katara gets twice as mad as Sokka. Also he may have had the last word but she had the last laugh:

Again, the sibling dynamic was really great but I didn't feel like Katara was carrying it as much as in previous episodes. Sokka actually played his part in making it interesting and realistic. I don't think this single argument is enough to redeem Katara's characterization in my eyes but at least we know now there is a little spark there.

AHH THE SCARF SCENE! Scarfgate was everything I could have asked for and more. Like why does he appear directly behind her like that unless he's trying to fight her? Why does he just let her go by like that? Why does he hold out his hand in the first place? Truly is the Watergate of our time it deserves that name. (also in the same episode as the whole sunrise thing? come on) I'm probably being baited but at least I'm enjoying it.

So I was right about the bombings! I can't believe all those cute little kids are terrorists but I couldn't believe it in the cartoon either so I guess that checks out. Either way I find the bombing far less forgivable than trying to take out the Mechanist. Innocent civilians were hurt and even though I know there was a real possibility that civilians could have been hurt in the attempted bombing for whatever reason it just seems... more brutal somehow. Like the first one was in the center of town, you know? Anyway terrorism is wrong I hope Jet finds his way.

(I was worried about how they were going to tie all the seemingly unrelated plotlines together but I think they pulled it off. Again my main problems were all concentrated around the Jet plotline but when the Mechanist was tied in it became a lot more interesting)

When I heard this I was like "son ur about to get ur ass kicked" but the funny part is he was kind of right. Like when neither of them were bending he was winning. I guess in all fairness he is a lot bigger than Aang but I don't feel like that was an accidental detail. Anyway, I think this fight scene was the most entertaining yet and so much better than jetara against the firebenders earlier. Maybe the affects for water are just worse than air and fire (it feels slower somehow) but I'm very partial to this fight. And that's saying something because I usually fast-forward through fight scenes or just kind of tune them out or barely watch, so you know it was really good.

I think the reason I liked it so much was that it was funny, honestly, not in the same way or to the same degree the cartoon was but I laughed out loud a couple times. For instance Zuko gets hit in the face three times in the span of ten seconds, once with a plate, once with a wicker basket, and once with his own little stick thing. Aang also put a basket over his head and some random ass lady started whacking him with a fan. Kudos to whoever choreographed that it was the best.

Also I liked how Sokka and Katara saved the day together. Cute sibling bonding excersize. And it ended on a cliffhanger with the characters separated! My favorite kind of cliffhanger! It definitely left me wanting more.

Anyway, to recap, things I didn't like:

No Zuko and Zhao agni kai

Mai and Ty Lee were just sort of there

Katara's characterization is still so-so

Jetara plot line was boring and chemistry was not the best

It was kind of a lot for one episode, even if they managed to do it well

Things I did like:

Opening scene

Azula characterization

Teo

The Mechanist plotline

Teo and Katara parallel

Katara DID actually seem a little bit more firey in this episode

SCARFGATE

Zuko and Aang fight scene

Surprisingly good handling of all those loose ends

Cliffhanger

Overall, I would give it a 9/10. That's the highest score I've given an episode so far and I'm standing by it. I know others might have a very different opinion on it since it was condensed so much and differed a lot from the cartoon, but I agreed with many of the changes they made. One thing I would urge everyone to remember is that these are different characters from the cartoon. They're going to act slightly different and have slightly different journys and that's okay. I think it is worth comparing to the original, as it is an adaptation, but we need to remember that an adaptation is not an exact replica, nor should it be. That in no way means that we should make allowances for anything we found negative or mediocre, but it is going to be different and change in it of itself isn't a bad thing. Anyway thank you guys so much for sticking with me! I'll probably have the next episode's debrief up by tomorrow.

[chericherixo]

Could you do like a fluff fic about Mattheo bugging y/n during class? But like he's just being silly goofy and eventually y/n humours him once they're given time to work. Thank you!!

Ofc!! I love that thank you :) I kind of got carried away so I'll probably write a sequel, and I'm sorry if Mattheo isn't as edgy as he usually is but hope you like it!

Danish [fluff]

- Classmates/Acquaintances - Reader's house not mentioned --Read the Request Above!--

It was your first class of the day, and you were already feeling your lack of sleep from the night before. You trudged to your seat and set your books down on the corner of the table. The only good thing that you could see was Mattheo's absence.

You felt relived as you bent over to grab a pencil from your bag. When you sat back up though, Mattheo was sitting annoyingly close, with a stupid smirk on his face.

"Dammit! When did you get here?" You yelped, startled.

"I just sat down, were you worried about me?"

"Never." You said disgusted and turned your attention to the front of the room as the professor walked in. He started talking about transfigurations, but try as you might to focus, you couldn't help but notice Mattheo's shameless stare towards you.

You snapped your head to look at him, "Can you stop fucking staring at me? Is there something wrong?" You whispered harshly,

"Sorry." He said but didn't turn his gaze away. You scoffed and shifted in your seat uncomfortably. After a few moments, he whispered in your ear.

"What'd you have for breakfast? Because I tried those new danishes and they were- amazing." He practically moaned in your ear.

"Oh my god Mattheo- why did you do that?"

"What? They were really good." He sat back in his chair with a hurt expression on his face. You rolled your eyes as he made another comment, "So? What did you have for breakfast?"

"Um- nothing. I kind of lost track of time before class, I'll get something later." He was silent for a moment.

"I have danish left; it's all wrapped nicely and everything. Do you want it?"

"Knowing you, you probably put a love potion in it, with how much you seem to want my attention."

He scoffed, "I'm offering you the last of my stash of the most delicious pastry I've ever had the pleasure of tasting, and you still treat me like this?" He covered his mouth with his hand and pretended to cry.

"Would you shut up- we'll get in tr-"

"Miss l/n! Care to explain why you're disrupting my teaching so- loudly?"

"I'm sorry professor, it won't happen again." Your face flushed with embarrassment as Mattheo snickered to the right of you.

For the rest of the lesson, you stared directly at the front and ignored any attempt of Mattheo to distract you. After awhile, the professor gave the class time to work.

He stared down at the desk, "I don't know why I'm in this class, I mean- you're way smarter than me. I guess because my dad expects me to be the top of my class. As soon as he finds out my grade is slipping- he'll probably pull me out." Your face turned concerned at his sudden confession. "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble, it's not your fault I can't focus."

"Thanks.. it's okay. Maybe I'll try a danish tomorrow, if they're as good as you say."

"They are!" As Mattheo was about to say something, the teacher passed back the tests you had taken the week before. Yours landed on the table showing a solid A+, whereas Mattheo's was covered in red ink and marked with a D-. He cringed at the sight of his grade.

"I mean- you didn't fail?" He scoffed,

"Anything below an A is failing for my father." Then, his eyes widened, "What if tutored me?" He said suddenly,

"Would you even listen?" You said, yet not totally shutting down the idea.

"Yes, yes I would. Especially if it's you- I don't know why, but I can actually focus on what you're saying. So, please?"

"..Ok. But if your grade doesn't improve, I don't want to waste my time."

"I'll pay you- I know you're busy."

"I- ok." You agreed to Mattheo's proposal. 'Why am I agreeing to this? Maybe it's because, whether I'd like to admit it or not, he's stupidly charming.' You thought.

The bell rang and Mattheo gathered his things, "I'll see tomorrow?"

"Yea, sounds good." You smiled softly, "Library?"

"Mhm." I waved and walked out of the classroom, leaving you with a blush and a smile that you couldn't wipe of your face.

(pt 2??)

[eleanorfenyx]

I have finished Mysterious Lotus Casebook, and here are some of my thoughts! (Obviously not spoiler free)

The cases are absolutely batshit insane and I loved it every single time they were like 'we totally collected this evidence that incriminates a secret suspect, just believe us and also don't question when the fuck we had the time to do this or when we figured out that we needed to look for it'. 10/10 no notes, that's a hilarious way to have a genius detective. Show us nothing, tell us everything, YES king.

That being said, I could have done with a lot less standing around having the supporting cast repeat whatever Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing announce, maybe in an attempt to make sure their genius is clear for the audience? I get it, but at the same time it felt a little too hand-holdy for me, especially in scenes where LLH and FDB had already discussed their findings between themselves before presenting them to the concerned bystanders. I can read between the lines (or else understand what has just been explicitly stated) without having every conclusion filtered through a slightly different sentence structure to make sure I got it.

Di Feisheng amnesia arc my fuckin beloved

Di Feisheng destroying his 'father' and freeing everyone in Di manor in a vicious act of catharsis that tied nicely into the main Nanyin bug-mind-control-thing narrative my beloved

Di Feisheng my beloved

The amount of times I was like...genuinely surprised he and Li Lianhua didn't kiss is both embarrassing (because I do in fact understand censorship and what I sign up for with these dramas and yet and yet) and numerous enough that I could...possibly...theoretically..write a 5+1 fic of every time I want them to kiss about it. No one hold me to that but it's something I think I'd like to do.

Re: the above point: because what the FUCK was that ending?!!! EXCUSE ME?! I gotta FIX THAT SHIT.

There will come a day when the strength of my hope for an unambiguously happy ending in a queer(-coded? is the source originally bl or is this its own thing?) wuxia drama is rewarded....but it is not this day. I must fix this myself.

Jiao Liqiao's laugh is one of the most annoying things I've ever heard. I was reaaaaally hoping someone would just up and stab her during one of her little evil laughing fits. At one point I was shouting "KILL HER, KILL HER" at my screen because I could NOT take anymore of her (unfortunately, I did in fact have to take more of her).

I still think her insistence on being obsessed with DFS is hysterical when he is so VISIBLY only interested in LLH. Explicitly STATES that his only life purpose is to fuck fight LLH again. Babygirl (derogatory) he is so fucking gay let's get you a nice knife to the gut instead, okay?

I thought the whole Shan Gudao plot was interesting, going from looking desperately for his body -> putting him to rest -> hunting for his murderer -> finding out he's alive/the mastermind behind everything going wrong (which I was proud of myself for realizing before the reveal, I'm normally bad at that) -> thwarting him with sass and superior martial arts at every possible turn -> killing him stone fuckin dead with beginner level skills because he's so up his own hole he can't see that's what's happening - was really fun!

He also has a SUPER annoying laugh he can fuck off

OH OH OH MARTIAL ARTS SKILL OF TRANS YOUR GENDER?! I MARRIED HER SO HER AFFAIRS ARE MY BUSINESS NOT YOURS??? ASKING YOUR WIFE FOR HER FORGIVENESS AND UNDERSTANDING AS YOU LAY DYING AND SHE GIVES IT TO YOU?????? OKAYYYYYYY

The twist at the end that LLH is the one with royal blood was so funny to me. Like it's a good twist and I love that Shan Gudao was just quite literally always a fuckin try-hard loser in ways he didn't even know, but also it was SO funny. Granny coming in clutch at the last fuckin minute with secret knowledge she just literally never shared.

LLH is such a smooth motherfucker. Shame about his insistence on dying when quite literally everyone (bar the people who suck) is begging this man to just live. Just LIVE DAMN IT!!!!! I really liked it when FDB begs him to just consider his own life as important for ONCE and remember that people care about him because YES his self-sacrificing and committment to Chilling Out Farmer Style was not the mercy he thought it was!

LIVE AND GROW OLD WITH DI FEISHENG YOU DAMN IDIOT (the likelihood of me resisting the urge to write at least the one fic for them is zero to none)

Unironically love spitting up blood as a plot device and this show is no different. The Drama. The Panache. The desperation of everyone around you because you have BLOOD coming out of your MOUTH and you are FAINTING. Poison acting up? Spit blood. Someone bitch slap you with their magical palm ability? Spit blood. Get stressed? Spit blood. Get stabbed? Spit blood. It's always good!

Okay I think that might be all I've got for now, if I think of anything else I'll add them in a reblog. I thoroughly enjoyed it, would definitely recommend!

[munsons-hellfire]

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

SUMMARY: You moved back to Hawkins for a fresh start, but meeting your brothers biker gang takes things for an interesting loop especially when your trying to escape the past you want to leave behind.

PAIRINGS: Biker!Eddie Munson x Teacher!Fem!Reader

PART 1 IN THE DARK PARADISE SERIES

CONTENT WARNINGS: SFW, Biker!Eddie Munson, Teacher!Reader, no use of y/n, modern take (thought a modern setting best fit the plot), implied pet names (sweetheart, princess), bug is used as a name, she her pronouns but barley used, Reader is 24 (turning 25 soon), Eddie is 26, post-upside down, vecna is defeated (will be mentioned in later parts)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so this is actually for sure my first series here on Tumblr. I am looking forward to the later parts. I got this idea when I was reading a short story about a biker and a girl. I then got a thought about Eddie as a biker and well I shared it with funsonmunson-again. I hadn't seen anything with this type of idea but I definitely thought it would be cool to write. I can't wait to build the relationship between Eddie and Reader as I get further through the series. Please let me know what you think and what you might want to see as we get further into it. This is also a modern take because I when I pictured it I just saw it taking place in our time. The canon events of the show do happen but they defeat Vecna and close all the gates. The other members of the show will be in this series, most will come in later on. Also I decided to go with a teacher!reader because my mom herself is a teacher and I think they are important so I wanted a chance to write something where the reader was a teacher.

WORD COUNT: 3.2K Words

THE DARK PARADISE SERIES MASTERLIST

Hawkins Indiana had always been your home since you could remember. But when your parents divorced and your mom moved out of the state you and your brother had to go live with your mom. Eventually your brother moved back with your father and you visited them whenever you were allowed too.

Now heading into adulthood you were standing in front of the apartment you had just rented out. It would be your home for the next few months, at least that's what you hoped. Things had gone sideways with your job back home, not to mention you weren't a fan of your new stepdad your mother had married.

The man wasn't the nicest man in the world but more so to you. He made your life a living hell and you couldn't live with him or your mother anymore, even when considering the fact that she wouldn't put her foot down. In hindsight you probably should've just moved back in with your dad and brother long before your mother had married your step father.

You could see the red flags that so clearly flew around his face but in the beginning you simply wanted to ignore it because you were going to school to be a teacher. Now that you had graduated with your masters degree there was nothing really holding you back and that included your mother.

When you FaceTimed with your older brother after graduating and told him that you had saved enough money up, that you wanted to move out of your mothers house, that you wanted to leave everything you had in New York and come back to Indiana where they lived. And your brother had the most simplistic answer to it all.

"Then if that's what your heart and mind is telling you, then come back to Hawkins. I wouldn't mind having my sister by my side and dad would love to see you again."

After Sam had mentioned those words to you, you gave him a bright smile and a quick nod. That night you began packing your belongings. You and your brother had discussed where you could live, he had pointed out the safest apartments in Hawkins. You filled up your car until none of your personal belongings were left in your mothers house.

The downside to starting over meant that you had to get new furniture, but you were lucky considering you had saved enough money for an apartment and new things as well. You had planned this out well before you brought it up to Sam. Without saying goodbye to your mother or step father you left New York and drove back home.

It took you 11 hours to drive from New York to Indiana. You had made a few stops along the way but it hadn't impacted your time on the road much. You had already rented out an apartment that wasn't far from where your brother and dad lived. They still lived with each other so it would make it easier if you wanted to do something with them.

Along the drive down to Hawkins your brother had called you and told you that a few of his friends would be helping you move your boxes from your car into your apartment. And then they would help with anything heavier once it was bought. For the first few nights you would be sleeping on an air mattress which didn't really bother you.

It would do until you could go out and get a bed. You had arrived just before nightfall, the sun was setting in the distance. It made a pretty view and one that you didn't know you missed until you moved back to Hawkins. You had just gotten your key to your apartment and were waiting for brother and dad to arrive along with a few of Sam's friends.

Your dad was actually the first to arrive, he pulled his truck up next to your four door Sedan. It was blue, one of your top three favorite colors. Looking down at your phone you saw a text from Sam saying that they would be there shortly. Placing your phone in the back of your pants pocket you walked towards your dad's truck as he climbed out and shut the door.

"There's my sweet baby!" Your dad said excitedly, with the brightest happiest smile plastered onto his lips.

"Hi, dad!" You spoke. Soon enough his arms were encased around your body as he pulled you in for a tight hug, one that you hadn't felt in a few years. "I missed you." You mumbled into his chest, with your eyes closed.

"Aw, I missed you too, princess." Your dad had no shame in calling you any kind of pet name. But you had and always would be his little princess. "I'm glad you're here now."

"Me too, dad." You pulled back from the hug and stared up at your father. He was still holding the smile on his lips as he continued to look down at you.

"How's your mother doing?" Allen questioned, his face had become serious but it was clear to you that sometimes it still hurt to talk about his ex-wife. He thought your mother was the love of his life and he thought he was hers. Though to you it seemed that your mother never really loved your father and she was just taking him along for the joy ride because they had Sam and then 2 years later had you.

"She's fine, she's with her boy toy. They're so perfect for each other it's disgusting. I had to get out of there before things got worse."

Your dad raised an eyebrow at the way you had mentioned that last sentence. "He didn't try to hurt you or anything like that did he?"

"No, god, no. He was just an ass who only cared about mom and wanted to make my life a living hell because I was a 24 year old still living with her mother. I'm just happy that I'll be starting out year 25 in my own apartment with a teaching job and I'll be closer to my dad and brother again." You tried your hardest to smile, but you knew your dad was picking up on the pain that was leaving your voice.

"If there's one thing in life I regret its that I didn't fight hard enough to get custody over you so you could live with your brother and I."

"It's okay, dad. Mom didn't want the responsibility of taking care of Sam because he was a troublemaker and difficult for her to work with. Apparently I was just easy for her."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short because your mother did. I'm so proud of the things you've accomplished in this past year alone and I can't wait to see what you'll do in the future, and I can't wait to see the impact you'll have in those kids' lives when you start teaching."

"Thank you dad." You smiled again, in the distance bikes could be heard which meant that your brother was now here. It was no secret that your brother was part of a biker club, you didn't have anything negative to say about it simply because the one he was a part of did a lot of good things not only for the community in Hawkins but surrounding communities as well.

"Your brother's here, let's get moving." Your dad walked towards your car and opened up your back door to start with that. Your phone buzzed in your pocket. Pulling it out you looked down to see a contact that you were trying to avoid at all cost and it wasn't your mother. After you find a teaching position you planned to get a new phone number so your ex could stop calling you.

You had gone the distance and blocked her from all social media that you did have, but you weren't too worried about it considering you felt you didn't have time to be on it. But you weren't so sure that would be enough of a cause for her to stop trying to contact you. She seemed to be a force to be reckoned with and she made your life far worse than the things your step father had said to you.

You only wished you had seen just who she truly was before it had gone down the wrong path. But you knew that maybe just maybe Hawkins could truly be the fresh start that you desperately needed. You looked away from your phone seeing your brother and a few of his friends pulling up next to your father's truck. Putting on a tight lipped smile you locked your phone and shoved it back in your pocket.

"Sam." You called out walking over to him as he pulled his helmet off his head. His brown hair fell from the helmet and you could instantly see the smile that fell onto his lips and how his eyes brightened when you called his name. He climbed off his bike and walked over to you pulling you in for a hug.

"I missed you so much, Bug." Sam said, you groaned at the nickname. Sam was never not going to call you Bug. When you were little you went through a very long phase and were obsessed with all kinds of bugs and had a lot of knowledge on them. You still to this day talk about certain bugs. But Sam started calling you Bug one day and never dropped it. Even sometimes the nickname would slip from your father's lips and your mother's lips.

"I missed you too," you pulled back from the hug as two of his friends walked over to you.

"I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. This is Steve Harrington, and Eddie Munson. Guys this is my sister, I like to call her Bug so I am giving you permission to call her that too." Sam smirked at you while you rolled your eyes.

"It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Steve. Sam here wouldn't shut up about his little sister coming back home." Steve said, as he shook your hand. You took in Steve's look, his hair was great, far better than what you had seen in New York. He had on tight jeans, with a polo shirt (which kind of shocked you to say the least), and he topped it off with a leather jacket, covered for the most part in patches.

On the front right side of the jacket rested the name of the club they were in. "The Wolves", seemed to fight the look they all had going on. Your brother talked about his biker club as much as you would let him so you knew most of the members without having to meet them.

"Oh, I'm sure. He's probably more excited about me being here than I am." You chuckled afterwards, then your eyes landed on the tall curly haired man who you assumed was Eddie Munson.

You were already swooning over the way his hair was styled, the bangs that rested over his forehead really seemed to fit his personality. Well, at least whatever you could pick up just from looking at him. After meeting your ex-girlfriend and learning more about her you started to get better at reading people which had been part of the reason why you started to see things you didn't see before you started dating.

Eddie was wearing ripped jeans that went with the black boots he had on his feet. Your eyes drifted to his shirt to see that he had been wearing a slightly worn out Metallica shirt. Like Steve he had been wearing a leather jacket as well. But most of the patches he had on his were on the denim jacket that rested over the leather jacket. The club logo rested on the right side as well and it was surrounded by band patches and pins.

It really helped complete his look and you couldn't keep your eyes off Eddie. Something he smirked at because he had noticed your face. Finally your hand found its way to Eddie's and the two of you shook hands. He hadn't said anything to you yet, but you were sure you felt a jolt of electricity run through your hand. And for a moment you were almost certain that he had felt the same thing, especially when you had looked into his soft brown eyes.

"It's very nice to meet you, Bug." Eddie said, with a gentle smile following behind his words.

"Come on, boys, we don't got all night." Allen called out to the three.

You and Eddie removed your hands from each other. You walked back towards your car, and opened the door. Just as you started to reach for one of your boxes you had packed your phone buzzed again in your pocket. Only this time it was a simple buzz indicating that you had received a text message from someone.

With an exhale you let go of the box holding it up by your leg. Eddie watched from the other side of your car as you pulled your phone out to look at who had texted you. You thought that maybe there was a chance it would be your mom asking where you had gone. As you unlocked your phone, you felt your blood run cold when you stared directly at the message.

It read, "I'm going to find you, and you're coming back home with me." You had an annoyed look on your face that mixed with anger and fear. Eddie was still staring at you while you looked down at the phone, he could tell just by your posture and facial expression that something was off. You knew that most likely you were going to have to take this to court eventually. Which is something you didn't want to do, in all honesty that was the last thing you wanted.

"Hey, you okay?" Eddie's voice ran through your ears and it suddenly felt comforting to hear his voice again. You looked up from your phone and placed your eyes on him as he held onto one of your boxes. Somewhere in between he had managed to pull his curly locks back into a low bun so his hair was out of the way.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." You knew it was a lie because you were in fact not okay. But you didn't feel as though you could tell him let alone your brother or dad. The idea of telling anyone what was actually going on made you feel like you were being a burden to them. You didn't want to bother them with your problems because you knew you could solve them on your own.

Your brother and father couldn't know the real reason you had decided to up and leave your mother's house in the middle of the night. Sure you didn't like the way they talked to you but that was just a cover up for the simple fact that you were trying to escape another crazy ex, only this time it was your ex-girlfriend. She had made things a lot worse for you and more complicated than you wanted them to be.

Your ex was trying to make it clear to you that you were soulmates, but you disagreed with her time and time again. You weren't looking to settle down not yet anyway. You liked the idea of being in a relationship to a certain extent. Most of your relationships didn't last longer than 6 months at most. Though you had a thought that if something happened between you and Eddie he was going to be the one you married.

Well that's what you hoped for deep deep down. Eddie took notice once again of how lost in thought you had gotten. He wondered if this was an often occurrence or if it only happened in stressful situations like this one where you moved across the country. The metalhead could tell that something was definitely off, and it seemed whatever it was had to do with this move.

Eddie was going to make it his top priority that he figure out what it was that made you move back to your hometown, what made you decide to leave the city and head to a quiet town. He also knew one thing for certain, and it was that the second he laid his eyes on you that he wanted nothing more than to keep you safe from the horrors of the world; whatever they may be.

When Sam started talking about how you were thinking of moving back to Hawkins to be close to your dad and him, Eddie couldn't help but start to form a crush on you. The pictures that Sam had shown to him just didn't do enough justice. Your hair was longer than what it had been in the picture that had been taken. You had beautiful eyes that he felt that he could get lost in no matter what time of day.

And he thought that you looked super adorable in any type of clothes you'd wear. Right now you had jeans, and a pain blue t-shirt on, with a jacket covering your arms. You were also sporting a red pair of converse that looked a little to beat, like they had seen a lot of years. But the outfit looked really good on you. The only thing that Eddie really wanted to do was rip it off so he could see all of you.

Seeing you here now in front of him on the other side of your car, he knew there was no chance he'd be able to control himself around you. With a heavy sigh you shoved your phone back into your pocket and grabbed a hold of the box that rested on your leg. Before taking a step away from the car towards the apartment you stared up at it.

"I'm okay, I'll be okay. She can't do anything to me." You whispered to yourself, though Eddie had definitely heard you. It was enough for him to know that he was for sure going to keep you safe. He would just have to get more intel about why you were here and who you were running from so he could better prepare himself.

Eddie caught up with you as you walked towards your new apartment. You dreaded the future because of what could happen if your ex found where you had gone. But you also looked forward to it, you hoped Eddie might become something more than just your brother's friend. You already knew there was something about him that you liked and it wasn't because he was in the Wolves with your brother.

It had something to do with the spark that you had felt shoot through your hands. You weren't one to believe in all that lovey dovey crap but you could see something with Eddie, whether it ended up in a bad place or it ended up in a good place. You internally groaned knowing very well that this next year could either make or break you.

You weren't looking forward to all the possible outcomes of what could or might not happen. You only hoped that someone out there was watching over you. That there was someone out there helping to guide you in the direction you needed to go.

TAGS: @funsonmunson-again @inhumanssxx

[da-rulah]

I LOVED the final part of confessional so much!! Could you share some of your headcanons about Terzo pretty please? I loved the little glimpses we saw of him in Confessional and I am a sucker for more Terzo 💜

hey bestie! thank you so much for reading it, it genuinely made my day when I saw your notifications as I love your work...

'Confessional' based Terzo headcanons? Let's get into it...

Terzo is a pervert, through and through. But like... charming.

Call him a pervert though, and he'll have a tantrum.

"Me?! No, no, no, cara mio... you have me all wrong! I am but a romantic fool, no?"

He will flirt with anything with a pulse and a pair of legs. Gender, age and physical body type do not matter to him. If you're legal and living, he'll flirt.

But... he's a sensitive little thing, too.

He'll listen to anyone's problems, his office door always open to any siblings of sin who might need to vent.

He'll offer wit and flirtation to fix any problem you're having - maybe threaten someone with sacrifice should the occasion call for it.

He's a gossip too... Especially when it comes to the affairs of the clergy.

*gasp* "She did not... Then what did he say?!"

Crying women are his kryptonite. He panics and flaps at any crying woman.

"There, there..." and awkward head pats.

Obviously his father wasn't around as a kid, and he was dragged up by a mix of his brothers Primo & Secondo - who had very different parenting styles.

Then came Copia, who he thought needed 'character building', and so he teased him mercilessly - and still does.

Just the usual... tricked him into eating dirt, put bugs in his bed, teased him about his crushes, tripped him in front of all the other kids and teenagers throughout adolescence.. that sort of thing

Maybe he took it too far, because Copia never seemed to build the same hardness to ridicule that he and his brothers had. And yes, he definitely felt guilty for that.

But he was proud of his fratellino.

He'd never show it, but he wanted nothing more than for the Ministry to take him seriously.

Terzo struggles with authority, always has.

"You can't tell me what to do" kind of attitude - probably the lack of authority in his childhood

Maybe that's why he let the power of Papacy go to his head...

Generally, he is an overgrown, excitable toddler.

His sense of humour matches that. It's part of his charm.

Dad jokes. Oh my, the dad jokes...

Think Dreamworks' "Boss Baby", but a 50-something year old Italian man. And, y'know... a slut.

He likes to get in everyone's business. A shit-stirrer, if you will.

It doesn't always work out, but when it does, no one ever hears the end of it.

"I told you so..." was like a catchphrase of his.

Basically, he's a little shit with a heart of gold and a labido that cannot be quenched.

[hypexion]

There is a new Miraculous special London: At the Edge of Time. It mostly takes place in Paris and an extra-temporal location, neither of which are London. This is to be expected in a show by the French.

Anyhow let's consider how the characters are Going Through It this time around.

Marinette: It turns out that if your boyfriend's father kills himself in front of you that leads to sub-optimal decision making. So many people are in on The Big Lie that it seems like it will inevitably fall apart. This includes Neo Hawk Moth, although to be fair to Marinette she didn't know that when she commited to the plan. Also everyone she tells the plan to is like "hmm sounds dubious but I benefit sooooo I guess it's okay". Plus Marinette's opsec is shot to pieces with a whole bunch of people knowing her secret identity now.

Of course, doing The Big Lie is in fact very bad, especially if The Consequences apply at any point. If not it just becomes another weird thing the writers added to undermine any kind of positive ending. This is like the third one!

But really in this situation I'd probably be like "well the Wish got me into this problem so it's time to Wish my way out" so I guess I can't fault Marinette too much. I would be a bad superhero.

(also it's still incredibly unclear as to whether Marinette knows the Sentitruth)

Adrien: Kind of bad that Adrien is mostly not in the immediate aftermath of his father's defeat. I'm glad that the theories that Adrien would get akumatized over learning the true truth didn't pan out, because that would be a) a repeat of things that happened already b) super awful as a way to justify The Big Lie.

Nathalie: Well someone had to dodge the consequences of their actions and that winner is Nathalie. Once again I feel the need to point out that if she actually wanted to stop Gabriel, she had everything she needed for a while.

Gabriel: I'm glad this guy is dead. Wow he healed Nathalie, simply so she and Marinette could clean up his mess. RIP bozo, don't come back.

Lila/Cerise: The new main villain decides to put on an incredibly strong opening performance. In like ten minutes she accomplishes something that took Gabriel five seasons. Timestalker and Spectral Looter are both great designs, and make for a lovely pair of S-Tier akumas. Overall it's a very clever plan, and writing-wise it's a fun way to do a more subtle time-travel based threat, that also makes sense as something Gabriel wouldn't do.

I guess the downside here is that now Cerise's threat level has to suddenly drop, because if she stays at this level of menace she's basically unstoppable. Also for my sanity's sake I'm assuming Timestalker is limited to either a specific window of time, or is only capable of time-stalking Bug Noire.

Conclusion: I feel like some of this stuff should have been in Re-creation. Especially the bit about the universe not being destroyed by Gabriel's wish. Also the quiet fights like a meter away from people were a little ridiculous. But overall fairly standard Miraculous action I suppose.

[13leaguestories]

February 2023 Forecast

I am writing this with my back and neck in horrible pain. Worse way to start your morning is to get up, stretch, and then pull something. I feel bed ridden.

"T, are you done with your break?" No idea. Define break. My brain is slowly coming back to me so good news is I'm not quitting lmfao. My brain almost had me in the first half ... and most of the second. When I do return though, I'm implementing a new writing process called "write what I want to fucking write when I want to fucking write it."

"T, did you need to add all those expletives?" No. But you know how a lot of folks be like 'as I get older I'm going to curse less?' I'm the opposite. I curse more. It makes me feel all tingly inside.

Alright, welcome to the second best month, purely because it's my birthday month, that's literally it. You know I share this month with both my brother and my father, plus my parents and my brother's anniversaries. Like, the shortest month is basically the busiest for my family in terms of celebrations. Why did they do this? I don't know, no one uses sense in this family besides me.

MOVING ON! Bout to enter into a All My Woes episode.

Superstition S3

Still on break. Do not ask me when it's coming back. Because I'm going to do what I should've done (and what you guys thought I do already) and actually write a good bit of it. I'll probably put up a poll asking if you guys want to keep the bi-weekly schedule or if I just update it as the episodes are complete.

Throne of Ashes

Working on updating the demo with Makaio's finished demo and some bug fixes for the other routes. Nour is next and Ozara will be following them on that upload schedule.

Insight

Because unlike its cousin, For the Crown, Insight is not 100% dead, it's more like on life support. But I'll be updating it with the new UI that I have to bring it in line with the others. Also an additional chapter will be added so now the demo will end at Ch5.

Future T here. I've already updated it with the new UI and the first bug fix. A bigger one is coming so still, if you find any bugs, hold off on sending them in. Bug reports make me depressed and you guys don't want to see that, right? RIGHT?!

Horizon: Sea of Stars

Per my "do what ya want" lifestyle, yes, Tierra has done it again. She has said fuck it to common sense and those two friends out of ten that said don't do it, and she went and made a new project. I blame eight friends who inspire me in the most negative ways because I never blame myself. Never blame yourselves, you're never toxic, it's those around you. (That's a lie, do not quote me. My god.)

This is a scif-fi project (because I needed to have the holy trinity of the best genres out there to make myself feel complete (jokes on me I still feel empty)). The MC is like Phoenix MC in some ways where this is not exactly 100% self-insert friendly, there are a few traits included and mindsets that you as the reader can't change. 6 romances, 2 males, 2 females, and 2 nonbinary. 5 of the 6 are aliens. And art is on it's way with two of the characters already done. I have art of the alien species as well because I know how difficult it can be to picture an alien based off of descriptions alone. They will be included in story to further help.

This is me just telling you guys, I'll post all of the info of the book itself with the demo like I normally do. Especially when I figure out where I want the demo to stop at. It's still pretty much in alpha mode with only one chapter done and even that is still seeing edits.

Also if any of you have got this far and know an artist or you are someone who can do really nice colorful covers and are good with backgrounds then tell me because I'm still searching for a cover artist.

. . .

There is also now a Light Mode on some stories. If it's not there then it's being worked on. Don't look at Superstition, it's not there.

Alright, I think that's it. I'm going to go lie down and scream at the heavens about my neck.

Future T again. My neck is better but if I look over my shoulder it's like "naw girl, stop that."

[crimswnred]

these hc are so cute ! maybe what halloween costume the Li would wear individually and in a couples costume 💓💓💓

HI YES YES YES I LOVE THIS QUESTION

I'm so excited!! ok, ok, without any further ado:

what the season 2 lis would wear for halloween (individually and in a couple)

bobby.

individually: look me in the eye right now and tell me he wouldn't dress up as spider-man. especially now with the spider-verse movies.

couple: he's a silly guy so I'm thinking he could wear literally anything after a little convincing, but ultimately, I'm saying:

beast boy & raven or robin & starfire (teen titans)

scott pilgrim and ramona flowers (scott pilgrim vs the world)

shark boy and lava girl

this has gotten way too long!! pls check out more under the cut 👇

gary.

individually: most likely a star war reference. or something funny. definitely something tight

couple: again, another silly guy who would wear anything you ask him, but here are my picks:

han solo and princess leia (and he absolutely loves it)

bowser and peach, not mario tho because that's too basic

bob and helen parr (the incredibles)

ibrahim.

individually: violet man. ok, let's say violet man isn't a real thing (like, well, it isn't). he's DEFINITELY dressing as another superhero. my guess? either superman or batman.

couple: he's gonna rock the best geek couple costumes ever and he'll show off. together, you guys will either serve cunt or die trying. here are some ideas:

batman and catwoman (the batman)

wanda maximoff and vision (wandavison)

jean gray and scott summers (the x-men)

noah.

individually: he would probably wear something that's more halloween than costume party, if you get what i mean? he prolly loves the holiday 'cause of his siblings and REALLY commits to the bit. fred krueger, jason, chuck, ghost face...

couple: like I said, he commits to the bit and goes all the way but he's sticking to the horror pattern because that's how it should go. some ideas include:

emily and victor (corpse bride)

other mother and other father (coraline)

beetlejuice and lydia (yes, the red wedding dress)

lucas.

individually: something sexy but that he doesn't need to put much effort in, like a vampire or something. i can't see him going all out for halloween, i'm sorry 😭

couple: now, when in a couple, it's a tad different... he's making sure you look good together and when i say good, i mean GOOD. you guys would probably be the hottest couple at any halloween party, here are some ideas:

gomez and morticia addams (let's put that stache to use, shall we?)

mr and mrs smith

tony montana and elvira hancock (scarface)

henrik.

individually: TARZAN. and he loves wearing nothing but a thong the whole night.

couple: I bet on something fun and easy, but also cute! he just wanna have fun with you and party for a bit, so I don't think he would propose something super complex. some ideas:

johnny and mavis (hotel transylvania)

daphne and fred (scooby-doo)

lola and bugs bunny (space jam)

kassam.

individually: I'm thinking classic and boring. doesn't care much when he's on his own. classic halloween stuff.

couple: HEAR ME OUT — iconic moments from pop culture. what do I mean by that? well, I mean:

britney spears and justin timberlake in matching jeans outfits

xtina and eminem (at the ICONIC vmas)

sony and cher (like halsey did!)

carl.

individually: spock! a little on the nose for him but COME ON. he's always dressing up as a star trek character, switching up every year. I can see him wearing something marvel related too.

couple: yeah, some star trek reference for sure but since that's not my breed of nerd (sorry not sorry), I'm saying:

jessie and james (pokemon)

loki and sylvie (loki series)

link and zelda (the legend of zelda)

ahh!! this was so much fun to do!! thanks for asking, anon 💝 I had a blast with your question!!

(!) I don't know enough about the missing LIs to add them to this list. if you'd like to ask for a specific islander that didn't make the list, don't be afraid to drop your request in my inbox.

more headcanons.

[thepeanutbutterwizard]

Idea for Dr.Julien:

Wu met Julien before the latter died.They talked about prophecy and Zane's role in it.Julien was confused,but trusted Wu.

Years later when Wu found amnesiac Zane he was confused.He went to the forest where he met Julien before and found out that he died and that Zane is nindroid.

options:

Julien gets resurrected for the purpose of having someone able to repair Zane just in case.When Wu gets enough influence over Borg to have him repair and/or modify Zane without questions he either gets rid of Julien or still has him around for different purpose. Julien had tried to get to Zane through falcon,but Wu got rid of it and threatened Julien that if he tries something like that again, Zane will get hurt.Julien is too afraid to risk anything.

Another option:Julien stays dead.

Another option:Julien gets resurrected or doesn't die similar to option 1,but Wu actually tricks him.Magic,tea,lying and all the other stuff.

I appreciate the ideas, but my problem with Dr Julien isn't about where to fit him into everything, it's a matter of characterization

Like, they way everything with him is framed and the way all the other characters talk about him in cannon tells me the writers intended for him to be a very good person and outstanding father, but there are a few things that he actually does that, well, rub me the wrong way to say the least.

First off, there's Echo. I know that from a meta perspective he was left behind bc everything after S2 is a retcon, and the writers needed to give Jay a team of allies to fight Nadakhan with and didn't seem to fully think the implications of 'a rusty Zane clone that Dr Julien decided to never mention has been in the lighthouses hidden basement since the last time the ninja were there' through. 

But that leaves us, in universe, with the father of one of our main characters building a copy of his son, presumably due to loneliness, and then never acknowledging this copies existence once he got the original back in his life, abandoning him in an environment that is actively harmful for him.

Next, the memory switch. There are two big things that bug me about the memory switch.

A) Why install a memory switch in the first place? I can't think of a good, not-creepy reason to add a switch to my robo-son that literally turns his memories on and off. Was it specifically for when he died, bc he wasn't like super old when he first completed Zane, and the flashbacks seem to imply that Zane and Dr Julien lived in the treelab for a few decades. If it wasn't to try and spare Zane the grief of losing him, than what could have possibly motivated Dr Julien to instal it?

and B) Dr Juliens outright refusal to remove the memory switch when Zane asked him to. Not only did Dr Julien completely ignore Zanes very reasonable concerns (having a memory switch is a massive liability that could have easily been used against him and his team), he denied Zane his own bodily autonomy bc he felt Zane was perfect the way Dr Julien built him. And if the guy who made him thinks he's perfect, than who cares how Zane feels about the body he's stuck in? ((As a trans person with parents who don't support that part of me, this issue really hits close to home. Can you tell?))

All of this put together gives me a picture of a man who see's Zane as an extension of himself and his accomplishments, and doesn't truly see Zane as his own person. Which doesn’t exactly jive with what cannon is going for, and could lead to things going much differently, especially since I think I’m going with a route where Zane hasn’t regained his memories or even confirmed he’s an android by the time Dr Julien is found.

So that’s my issue with Dr Julien. Do I go with him being the good man that cannon frames him as, or do I lean into the more accidently shady traits that the writers gave him? Bc the way I end up going with him could lead to some major changes, especially for Zane.

And it will also influence whether Echo exists.

[heartbrake-hotel]

Ugh. You won't believe this. I'm sorry to bug you, but I just needed to vent.

I saw some idiot on twitter saying that when E met Priscilla he had an eleven year old girl living with him in Germany. They mentioned Scotty Moore said that in his book so I looked it up. What he said was at the time E met Cilla, he had an "even younger German girl" (his words) living in the house with his father and grandmother. Except...well, I can't find any proof of this; there’s no evidence nor mention of this girl (or how old she was) anywhere else in the book nor in any other books written about him. No proof he had anyone else like that living with him in Germany.

So I don’t think that claim is true. Where do people come up with this stuff anyway? How do you not get into an argument with these idiots? Because it's super annoying.

ugh, believe it or not, baby, im not surprised at all. but you could never bug me !!! 💖 sorry it took me so long to answer this, but rest assured i haven't calmed down about this any since you first sent it 😅

a couple notes‐ honestly, i'm inclined to believe scotty. NOT TWITTER to clarify lol.. eleven seems young for him even if you are looking to view e through the most unflattering light possible 😬 but it seems likely to me that he had another teenage girl maybe not uh. officially on the lease or anything but staying over most nights ! more than ONE even sounds plausible.. we all know that someone didn't like his bed cold.!

people who claim to hate elvis sure spend an awful lot of time reviling him on the internet, especially by regurgitating half-remembered anecdotal evidence without citing their sources. 🙄 on the other hand, it's also easy to fall into the trap of too-faithful elvis historian; by that i mean that the fact that so much of his life is documented sometimes makes us complacent in our belief that if it can't be verified by multiple primary sources that it must not have happened. but we can't always say, and getting too involved as if the historical accuracy of one particular proposed event is the end-all be-all of elvis fandom can get exhausting.!

i wouldn't be surprised to find out either way, that this was or wasn't true. but you're free to make up your own mind, and if it distresses you, then fwiw i think you Totally have a leg to stand on affirming it never happened, like you said !! ultimately, it doesn't have much bearing on right now- if you like elvis, this vague and nebulous criticism probably isn't the thing that'll make you stop liking elvis, and if you hate elvis, you're probably determined to keep doing that regardless.

regarding the twitdiots- while looking into this claim i found a lady on there who legitimately believed that agent elvis tells the true story of how e was experimented on and mind controlled into drug abuse by the government.. like she said That with her whooole chest. so i don't put much stock in public opinion over there 😂😂💀

i want to fight those people extremely often (they're not just on twitter, either- it seems to have died down a little praise GOD but especially in early days after the movie there was a wave of ppl on here who would put their elvis hate in the main tags. WHICH DROVE ME BATTY), but i come from the "don't feed the trolls" era of fandom. as much as id like to rip 'em a new one when they rehash the same two issues over and over and OVER again ad nauseum, i content myself with the fact that they're living a pathetic existence in which they actively choose to fill their life with something they dislike for... no discernable reason.?

no one who spends their time bringing up a dead celebrity at all opportunities just to bash them is actually open to a discussion. and i do think there is a discussion to be had- his life was certainly very troubled, and i think there are a lot of nuanced issues that benefit from being spoken about openly !!!

but i like to debate bc i like to WIN- so jackasses tend to be a waste of my time 😘

[gnattyplayssims]

1959 Pt2 - Jameson Reed

"Mizrahi? Any connection to the HCR?"

"I thought so but her father left Henford in the 30's. Lives in Copperdale now. Not rich enough to bother with a ransom. Sofia's practically useless to me."

"Sofia?! Why didn't you say so...She's the one we've been looking for."

"The kid with the cypher?"

"Not a kid any more."

Don smirked, "Not after I was done with her."

"She wouldn't know she has it, it's just a regular book to her, but there's no way she'd entrust someone like you with the information. We need someone to gain her trust."

"Who the plumb is this?"

"Don, meet Jameson Reed my most trusted agent. He specializes in undercover missions. He'll get the cypher."

"Forget it! She's mine, I don't part with my property for free."

"Oh don't worry, you'll be compensated. But you'll have to play along."

Jameson spoke for the first time. "Tell me a bit about this girl. What does she like?"

"Stupid fairy tales and her brat. Especially the brat. She won't shut up about her. If you swoop in like a fairy tale prince and keep the focus on the kid, she'll never suspect a thing."

Jameson Reed had settled into his mission a bit too comfortably for his liking. Getting married had not been the plan but it had been the only way to keep Sofia's focus on him like the sweet innocent dove she was. He'd kept her and the house bugged so he knew she was onto him.

"Going somewhere?"

"Oh um, Ava had a nightmare and Thomas was fussy...I was gonna make some hot chocolate."

"Ava hasn't had a nightmare in years and Thomas is a self-soother and doesn't like being held."

"Oh well, some hot chocolate still sounds nice. Would you like some?"

Jamal smiled that same smile that used to bring her such comfort and now sent a chill through her. "How bout you make some for you and Ava and I put Thomas back to bed."

"Oh...okay...thank you."

"Don't take long, Okay Baby?"

"Of course sweetie. I'll be right there."

Sofia yawned exaggeratedly as he entered the room but he pinned her to the mirror in the way that used to make her heart pound in anticipation...now it was pounding for a completely different reason. "What's going on with you?"

She removed his shirt, "What do you mean?"

He quickly undressed her pressing her against the mirror. "Don't think you're getting away with this."

"With what?"

"Using your body against me. I know there's something you're not telling me."

Her heart was pounding but not from his touch as she pressed a kiss to his lips.

Things steadily got worse as Sofia became more desperate to get her and the children out and Jamal let his mask slip more and more. He began nagging her about her duties as a wife and mother, working later shifts and berating her for not satisfying him the way she used to.

"I want a divorce Sofia, I already got the papers you just need to sign them." Hope filled Sofia for just a moment before he tore it away, "And I'll be taking Thomas."

"What? No! You can't take my son."

"He's my son too and I'm the one who can provide for him."

While Sofia crumbled beneath his words, Ava had a different approach. Seeing her mother pinned against the wall was too much and Ava snapped, biting his leg, chest and neck like a feral animal. Jamal finally pulled her off, yanking her off and tossing her back in the bedroom.

Jamal chuckled "You really are too easy. So weak you need a child to protect you. Don't worry, I won't break your pretty face like Don did. It'll be rather painless. Like drifting to sleep."

"Jamal please."

"I will say this for you, I will miss that pretty mouth."

Suddenly Jamal was pulled off her and she collapsed to the floor as someone forced Jamal against the wall. "Jameson Reed, you're under arrest for assault, attempted murder and purgery in 7 worlds. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be used against you."

Jameson was escourted off the premises with only a little fight. The Detective dropped to his knees at Sofia's side. "Hey Sof, can you sit up?"

"Nikolas?"

"It's okay, he's gone."

"But...how?"

"You never did bother to ask about my degree...or my career. A bit rude honestly."

She groaned as he sat her up and her eyes fell on the bookshelves, "I think he's keeping someone in there. I don't know if they're alive. It's been months!"

"Ok. I'll check it out" He scooped her up

"The kids."

"Safe. Sofia you're safe now."

"No, he's just another nightmare."

Nikolas carried her to the bedroom. Past the wedding pictures he wanted to just tear from the wall. He found the bedroom and lay her on the bed before returning to the bookshelf. It didn't take him long to find the book that triggered the mechanism and the room opened.

Ava had come out of her room again and watched as the door swung open. "Mr Nik?"

"Stay there kiddo."

"What's in there?"

"That's what I'm going to find out." He stepped toward the door. "Alright Mr. Reed. What exactly have you been hiding. Something incriminating I hope."

Nikolas had expected drugs, maybe weapons, perhaps files on those he'd done deals with. But this was so far beyond anything he could comprehend. He wouldn't know where to start with technology like this and the jars lining the ceiling gave him an errie feeling.

"What are you?"

1960 Pt1 - Interrogation

[drowninnoodles]

get unfinished writing in ur inbox'd!

The storm

Bzzt… Bzzt… Bzzt… My phone was buzzing. It was probably the nook miles app, i had just caught a bug- Oh wait. No, its my actual phone. Silly me. Itll stop buzzing in a second, then i can get back to playing. But it didnt stop. I went over and picked it up, and it was another emergency alert. This is what, the third this year? A stark contrast from the 0 in the past maybe 3 years. And its only february. The alert is so long, it barely fits on my screen. It says that a cyclone is coming, which i knew,  that there would be high winds, which i also knew, but theres also a paragraph saying that schools will be closed. Why on earth they would feel the need to bug someone with something like this is a mystery to me. It’s nigh-impossible to miss anything about the storms these days, especially after that time. My parents say its to keep everyone safe, but its getting far to annoying. Before getting back to my game, I switch my phone to do not disturb. I bet everyone will be freaking out about it.

However, even after silencing the phone, I still hear a buzzing sound. I look around the room looking for the source of the sound. As I get closer to my closet, the sound gets louder

I put my ear to the closet and listen.

"Hello?" I hear a quiet voice in the closet

"Barry?" Someone answers

"Adam?"

Oan you believe this is happening?

I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Very proud. Ma! I got a thing going here.

- You got lint on your fuzz.

- Ow! That's me!

- Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000.

- Bye! Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house!

- Hey, Adam.

- Hey, Barry.

- Is that fuzz gel?

- A little. Special day, graduation. Never thought I'd make it. Three days grade school, three days high school. Those were awkward. Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. You did come back different.

- Hi, Barry.

- Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good.

- Hear about Frankie?

- Yeah.

- You going to the funeral?

- No, I'm not going. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. I love this incorporating an amusement park into our day. That's why we don't need vacations. Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances.

- Well, Adam, today we are men.

- We are!

- Bee-men.

- Amen! Hallelujah! Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of... ...9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Will we pick ourjob today? I heard it's just orientation. Heads up! Here we go. Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times.

- Wonder what it'll be like?

[theshiningprofessor-fir]

Hello! Figured it was about time I did one of these :]

1. Johto! Ecruteak City specifically

2. Alomomola! 🐠🐠

3. I have! I visit Sinnoh on occasion to visit friends and for research, but I mainly go back and forth between Unova and Johto to visit my mother 💖

4. I'd love to visit Ancient Sinnoh/Hisui! I'd also love to revisit Alola sometime; revisit Little Johto there 🥰

5. I'll consider Johto to be my home region, as I spent my childhood there; I used to be terrified of Ho-Oh striking me down as a child. No clue why. Especially because Raikou frequented our practical backyard. A much more realistic threat. 😅

6. I've always been intrigued by stories of Unovas great dragon (and heartbroken that Kyruem is often left out of the legend)! Now that all three have been revived, I wonder if they'll ever return to their joined form in my lifetime 🤔

7. OHHH id love to have a Dark type gym!! that shows of the gorgeous Shiny colors of Dark types... With my shiny Absol, Abigail, as the star of the show.... 🤩 Perhaps the challenge would not just be to beat me in battle but to spot the difference between some very similar shiny/non-shiny pairs, such as Gengar and Garchomp 🤔🤔

8. I prefer to battle for fun! I tend to shake uncontrollably under pressure, even if I don't actively feel nervous. Competitive just isn't meant for me, I think.😅

9. If anything, I obsess over type advantages and move coverage! A team that covers each others blind spots and vulnerabilities is an unshakable one! 🤩💕

10. I'm a bit biased (living in Unova) but Champion Iris always puts on an astonishing performance! You can really tell that she's perfectly in sync with her mons, and loves them dearly. Same goes to Champion Cynthia!

11. Favorite Gym Leader is probably Roxie or Morty! Roxie brings a contagious energy to both the stage AND the battlefield, and a great sense of style to boot! (I once caught her pick during a concert). Morty was just starting out as gym leader when I was a kid, and growing up in the town he watched over was some of the best days of my life! Ghost, Poison, and Dark pokémon all get such an unfair bad rap! 🤬🤬🤬

12. Can't stand Whitney of the Johto circuit. Something about her just gets on my nerves, and she's a sore loser to boot. And her Miltank is terrifying.😰

13. Overall decent. A little disappointed that Johto has to share a League with Kanto, but whatever. I don't have a particularly strong opinion about it.

14. Apparently a Revavroom got loose in the Nimbasa Battle Subway and had been trying to race the trains :/

15. My knee-jerk reaction is to say Absol, as it's my species of choice, but I think a Dartrix or even a Midday Lycanroc would also work!

16. Love the smooth, cool-to-the-touch feeling of a Moon Stone. The divots and craters are very satisfying to stim with during long lectures. 🌜

17. Ah, I don't decorate mine much. My father's old Braviary, Birdie, has a pokéball carved with my father's name, from back when he was a teen. I prefer to use Quick Balls (good for capturing surprise shinies), but Luxury Balls are what I prefer to keep long-term or permanent catches in. :] Quick Balls are great for catch and release!

18. Oh no they're quite distinct! You can see this very obviously in how they respectively interact with Flying types.

19. They are distinct as well. Unlike Rock/Ground though, they're distinct in how the pokémon within those types present. What would you propose we call the combined group if we lumped them together? "Grass and also bugs"? In the same vein as Rock/Ground, however, look at how they interact with Psychic types.

20. They are quite similar, but looking at Fire (particularly magma) and Rock, two separate types are allowed to be formed from different states of the same matter. Is Ice just frozen Water? Yes. In the same way magma is just liquid rock. And again, they have different interactions with, say, Dragon.

21. My Zorua, Arkham, has a little blue handkerchief he likes to wear! Abigail has a beautiful necklace with Absolite on it my mother gifted her (I don't use mega evolution, I don't like putting my pokémon under that kind of stress), and my Gyarados, Ruby, has a saddle that she actually loves to wear; she'll throw a tantrum if she's decided we haven't done enough riding for the day! ...Which is uh. Very dangerous.

22. Arkham handkerchief was actually part of an old blanket he used to drag around as a baby! Again, Ruby loves her saddle. And King (my Emboar) has an obsession with a pink prop umbrella we got from the Pokémon Musical in Nimbasa 🥺 it's so cute

23. Occasionally! King and Ruby usually take the lead, with Abigail as support if I'm challenged to a triple or rotation battle. Arkham is not battle trained (he's more of a lap mon, or perhaps an annoying toddler) (/affectionate), and Birdie is a bit too old to battle much these days haha

24. I would of course enter Abigail in a Beauty contest because of course she would immediately win... Even if she hadn't been eating dry poffins since she hatched

25. Most of my pokémon, including myself, love Sweet food! Ruby loves Pecha berries, and we'll often share one beside the Charizard Bridge. Abigail prefers Dry food, and Arkham will steal any and all Spicy berries, even from directly under King's nose! 🤣

26. Curry... Galar food got exactly one thing right

27. My first pokémon was King (a Tepig then), whom my father sent over to Johto from where he was staying in Unova for work! I guess it was sort of a way to convince me to spend the summer in Unova before heading out on my journey haha... King and I have been together since I was 10! (I've known Birdie all my life, but he didn't come into my care until my father passed away)

28. Arkham, my Zorua! I adopted him from a rescue shelter, where they'd had a huge egg bust recently. He has 1,004 siblings! Some trainer had been hatching for IVs or something, and had been leaving the eggs in an abandoned barn out near Striaton. A hiker came across the board and notified the authorities; it was all over the news a few months ago. So uh... If you see a lot more Zorua around that's probably why.

29. Dark types for the win!

30. I'm not particularly fond of Psychic types (often they creep me out) but I certainly don't feel any ill will towards them. It's not their fault they have unnerving psychic powers.

31. Hmm... Probably the original Red Gyarados from the TV show I used to watch back in the day. I'd love to meet her!

32. Well, since I'm all about encountering Shiny pokémon, I'll leave those out! Besides encountering Raikou in my youth, I've also had a run-in with what I believe was Cresselia while on a solo Bridge Tour of Unova, haha!

33. Ruby was the most difficult by far. Joined the Magikarp/Gyarados Fanclub of Unova (MGFU) for tips and preparing for her evolution, and even then it took years! Doesn't help that every Magikarp is different lol

34. A shiny Chewtle that came into my care the other day was doing some training and nearly evolved, and the poor thing was so shaken up after... I ordered an Everstone on Ama-zong 🔔 (is that how you spell it??) right away for the lil guy

35. Surprisingly, no! Even Ruby has been an angel after evolving; her tantrums, although still dangerous, are more pout-y or annoyed than angry.

36. Arkham for sure. As I mentioned earlier, he didn't exactly come from the most loving beginnings; he didn't even have any Zoroark watching over him and the other pups and eggs. It took a lot of late nights, patience, and cheri berries to get him to warm up to me. Abigail was a big help, and often curled up next to Arkham to help him sleep 🥺💖💕

37. Not particularly...? I do like the idea of naming pokémon after their final evolution, or just naming them a simple nickname derived from their species name. A little boring, i guess. 😅

38. Meowth 💀 surely, you'd think, a pokémon who's signature move literally generates money would be more rare, right? Wrong. They're incredibly adaptive and are found nearly everywhere that humans have built cities. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Meowth variant of every Type at this point.

39. I technically have 8 badges? Four from Johto, four from Unova... My favorite, though, is the Fog Badge. Felt... Important; going back to my hometown and finally taking on the gym leader i'd admired from afar since childhood felt particularly special :]

40. I love Abigail's fluffy coat! I brush it every day, twice a day (once in the morning and once before bed), and always after battles. She loves to be pampered and purrs so enthusiastically that she'll often drool! Very silly. Love my baby girl!!! 💕✨

Phew! That was a lot! If you read this far, thanks a lot! Hope to see you around!

Pokéblr Ask Game

General Questions 1-20, Pokémon Specific Questions 21-40

What region are you from? What town? 

What’s your Unovan horoscope? 

Have you visited other regions?

What region would you most like to visit if ever given the chance?

Thoughts on the legendaries of your home region?

Thoughts on the legendaries of another region?

If you were a gym leader, what kind of gym would you run? If you are already a gym leader or gym trainer, what’s your gym like?

Which do you prefer, competitive battling or battling for fun?

What type of battle strategy do you tend to use with your Pokémon? If you do contests or something else with your Pokémon, what is your preferred approach to that?

Favorite Pokémon League champion?

Favorite gym leader?

Give us a random celebrity (gym leader, tv personality, musician, etc.) you can’t stand and why.

Thoughts on your home region’s Pokémon League?

Weirdest recent local news story?

If you had to pick a Pokémon to represent you, what Pokémon would you pick? 

Favorite evolutionary stone?

Do you prefer to hand decorate your Pokéballs? Do you have a preference for any specialty Pokéballs?

Do you think Rock and Ground are distinctly different Pokémon types, or largely the same and incorrectly categorized? 

Do you think Grass and Bug are distinctly different Pokémon types, or largely the same and incorrectly categorized? 

Do you think Water and Ice are distinctly different Pokémon types, or largely the same and incorrectly categorized? 

Do your Pokémon wear any fun accessories?

Does your Pokémon have a favorite item?

Do your Pokémon battle? 

Would you ever enter one of your Pokémon in a contest? Which one?

What type of food do your Pokémon prefer? What flavors?

Pokéblocks, Poké Puffs, Poffins, Poké Beans, Curry, or Sandwiches?

Who was your first Pokémon? How did you get them? How long have you had them?

What is your most recently obtained Pokémon? 

What is your favorite Pokémon type? 

What is your least favorite Pokémon type?

If you could have any Pokémon in the world to add to your team, what Pokémon would it be?

Have you encountered any rare or unusual Pokémon?

Have any of your Pokémon evolved? If so, what was in your opinion the most difficult one to evolve? 

Do you have a Pokémon that refuses to evolve?

Did any of your Pokémon have temperament issues when they first evolved? How did you handle it?

Which Pokémon took you the longest to bond with?

Do you have a naming convention for your Pokémon?

What Pokémon did you grow up thinking was rare only to find out they’re common elsewhere?

Do you and your Pokémon have any badges or contest ribbons? Which one are you most proud of?

Favorite thing about your partner Pokémon?