#Turtle Rock Studios

[musicalueion]

Metalized Tank Theme

Artist: Xenogenocide

Original Composer: Mike Morasky

Original Work: Left 4 Dead - Tank

[lodgeofthecat]

Please Alt-Tab Responsibly

[a-bluedream-posts]

Holly by maltoniko

[poz-patrol]

Back 4 Blood

[savingcontent]

It's a "River of Blood" for Back 4 Blood as the third expansion is available now with Trial of the Worm made available for all

It’s a “River of Blood” for Back 4 Blood as the third expansion is available now with Trial of the Worm made available for all

(more…)

[risestarkissomega]

now that you've voiced your thoughts on canon!Peepaw Donnie, how about canon!Peepaw Raph? methinks he's rocking the outfit, eyepatch (& "eyeliner" hsisjwjs) so well!

I love it! And here's why...

When it comes to fashion, in my humble opinion, Raph seems to gravitate towards a more simple yet functional fit.

His clothes serve a purpose. Actually, I've always theorized that he wouldn't wear clothing if it wasn't for a specific reason, which helps to explain why in "Man vs. Sewer," Raphael was the only turtle not wearing swim trunks or a beach outfit. Because, why?

There's no need for swimming gear when he's already perfectly suited to go swimming as is...

Anyways, my point is this:

When you compare the future outfits of Donnie, Leo, and Raph, their tastes in clothing have not changed in the slightest!

Donnie's clothing choice makes a huge statement and leaves a lasting impression, as per usual. 😌😅💜

Meanwhile, Leo's design is grandiose and flashy with his ascot-cape combo. It screams "hero." It screams "main character." It screams, Leo. 😂💙

But, what about Raphael?

He's wearing the least common dominator in the form of his regulation pants and the standard "Mad Dogs" belt, the only addition being his eyepatch.

It's simple, straight-forward, and it serves it's purpose.

It's perfectly Raph. 😌😁❤️

(Additionally, if you'd like my thoughts on his luscious lashes, I made a "Rise Rambling" about 'em here. 😊)

○○○○ 💜 RiseStarKiss Studios on Youtube | My Kofi Tip Jar 💜

[acrossmultiplefandoms]

Ya’ll I JUST found out that Lego Monkie Kid

And Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

were animated by the same studio

THESE ARE MY FAVOURITE 2D ANIMATED SHOWS OF ALL TIME AND I LOVE THEIR ANIMATION BECAUSE ITS SO SMOOTH AND IT FUCKING ROCKS, ALSO THEY HAVE THE BEST MOST DYNAMIC FIGHT SCENES EVER

AND SOMEHOW

I NEVER CONNECTED THE DOTS

But you know, in hindsight

It was so painfully obvious

And also have I mentioned their fight scenes? Fucking GOLD

(The studio is Flying Bark Productions by the way)

[appaloosawhims]

sims 3 barbie legacy challenge

this is pretty much a conversation from the sims 4 barbie legacy challenge by @sims-himbo but i did change up some of the generations as well just to use more features from ts3 that arent in ts4 as add some extra optional ones for occult/supernatural players

mods i recommend downloading

• nraas porter (for moving towns without traveler file bloat)

• nraas master controller

• family secrets (in case you wanna add drama)

rules

• all heirs must be female and named barbie

• you can use money cheats just starting out but nothing after that

• do not sell the future portal that is summoned when you first start a save, to get rid of it “testingcheatsenabled true > shift click > delete” no free money here

gen one: housewife barbie

• complete the surrounded by family lifetime wish

• you must never get a job, earn money through opportunities, painting, playing the guitar for tips, etc

• have at least one pet

• must have the family oriented and nurturing traits

gen two: business barbie

• complete the ceo of a mega corporation lifetime wish

• be worth at least 50k simeoleans

• master logic and charisma skills

• must have ambitious and born saleswoman traits

gen three: equestrian barbie

• complete the ark builder aspiration

• dont have an actual job and make money through horse riding competitions

• all of your children must have a small pet of their own (by small i mean snake, lizard, turtle, etc)

• must have the equestrian trait

gen four: sea pearl barbie

• move to isla paradiso

• become a mermaid

• master the grand explorer lifetime wish

• live on a houseboat

• master the scuba diving and logic skills

• must have the loves to swim trait

gen five: best seller barbie

• complete the professional author lifetime wish

• max writing skill

• master the journalism career

• must have the artistic, bookworm and virtuoso traits

gen six: academic barbie

• complete the perfect studio lifetime wish

• max out the nerds social group

• master the science and painting skills

• earn a fine arts degree

• must have the socially awkward and genius traits

gen seven: movie star barbie

• complete the superstar actor lifetime wish

• become a 5 star celebrity

• have a secret affair with a fellow actor

• master the film career (acting branch)

• fall in love with a non celebrity

• master the charisma skill

• must have the star quality, schmoozer and charismatic traits

gen eight: rockstar barbie

• complete the one sim one band lifetime wish

• master the music career (rock star branch)

• must have the virtuoso trait

gen nine: president barbie

• complete the leader of the free world lifetime wish

• be the richest sim in town

• max the politics career

• never be lower than a 2 star celebrity

• must have the charismatic trait

gen ten: time traveling barbie

• complete the made the most of my time lifetime wish

• become best friends with emit relevant

• build a plumbot

• master the bot building, advanced technology, and handiness skills

• own a jetpack

• must have the ambitious and bot fan traits

optional generations

gen eleven: vampire barbie

• move to midnight hollow

• complete the turn the town lifetime wish

• must have the proper and night owl traits

gen twelve: fairy barbie

• move to moonlight falls and live their for the rest of the legacy

• complete the mystic healer lifetime wish

• marry and fall in love with a werewolf since fairies live longer do not get into another relationship after they die

• must have the gatherer trait

gen thirteen: werewolf barbie

• complete the leader of the pack lifetime wish

• purchase the alpha wolf lifetime reward

• must have the loves the outdoors trait

gen fourteen: witch barbie

• complete the greener gardens lifetime wish

• master the fortune teller career (scam artist branch)

• master the charmisa, logic, gardening, and alchemy skills

• must have the evil and green thumb traits

[kakashixhatakesxwhore]

CAN WE GET A ALBUMS YHEY WOULD FUCK WITH PART TWO? any characters u want!!

teehee i didn't know y'all rocked w the first - lmk if i missed anyone, or if you want a girls version/an akatsuki version - thank you so much for the request!! :)

Albums I Think They Would Fuck With 2

They: Choji, Kiba, Shino, Sai, Neji, Lee, Kankuro, Gaara, Shisui, Gai, Asuma, Yamato, Jiraiya

Summary: Which of my fav albums I think each of my fav Naruto men would enjoy the most - also a classic rock recommendation list (if you rock w the character, you'd probably get down to the album)

Fav not here? Try part 1, or send me a request!

Masterlist💿

Choji

Without a Net (Live) by The Grateful Dead

Choji would be soooo salty that he never got to go to a Dead show, because he doesn't think their studio albums hold a candle to their live performances. That said, he would adore the Grateful Dead, without long and experimental their songs are (there's something to appreciate about not having to flip the record for an hour, instead of forty minutes).

Kiba

Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys

Deadass, he would think Pet Sounds is a much better album than Sgt. Pepper, and there is no way to convince him otherwise. Kiba would want to be a Wilson brother.

Shino

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme by Simon & Garfunkel

Ugh, so relaxing, so dreamy, and so easy to sing along. Shino would so love this album, because it would relax him in a way that only Si & Garf could.

Sai

Begin Here by The Zombies

Sai would love the shredding vocals and how full the music is, even the sad songs - the lyrics from multiple songs off this album would speak to him on multiple levels.

Neji

Deliver by The Mamas and The Papas

Melancholic but gentle, while still delivering strong, hopeful messages? Yeah, pen Neji down rn.

Lee

Love Grows & Other Gems by Edison Lighthouse

Screaming and crying over this - Lee would be so taken by the love songs, and he'd be whistling the darling melodies all the time. Even the ballads, Lee would be singing so beautifully.

Kankuro

Thirty Three & 1/3 by George Harrison

Would love the jazz, love the symbolism, love George Harrison. Kankuro would find this album chock-full of bangers. Not one of these tunes would be skipped, not until Kankuro has experienced it (he also will turn back the needle if he felt he wasn't appreciating a song properly).

Gaara

The Stranger (Legacy Edition) by Billy Joel

Needs to be the Legacy Edition, because Gaara fucks with the B-side heaviest (y'all need to indulge rn). He literally cries to Billy Joel's voice, and loves to forget about things while he listens to this album.

Shisui

Moving by Peter, Paul and Mary

Happy cries to this album over memories that aren't even his. He wouldn't be able to stop himself from singing along, especially to Puff and Tiny Sparrow.

Gai

Tommy by The Who

He would go an see the live show - and he would think that Tommy was a real person (before he sits down to chew on the possibility of a deaf, dumb, and blind kid being a pinball champion). Gai would still find the spirit of Tommy to be an inspiration and a testament to the power of youth.

Asuma

Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin

Hot damn, what is there to say? Asuma would literally wish he was John Bonham (Jimmy Page would be a far too ambitious pick, and he would know that, but never admit it).

Yamato

It Ain't Me Babe by The Turtles

Awe, sweetie!!! He would love this album for the love songs, but tell everyone he loved it for the revolution ballads (also lowk hates the stereo recordings, but finds mono too boring).

Jiraiya

Monty Python Sings by the Monty Python troupe

Oh, he fucks with regular music too, of course. But these. These songs would make him laugh so hard, on top of being so strangely good, and he would fuck with the Monty Python movies so hard.

[picturejasper20]

I'm with you, a lot of big studios seem to be terrified of giving their female protagonists actual flaws.

I remember one of the creators of FOPANW did an interview and one of the things she mentioned was that Hazel was originally conceptualized as a much weirder person but Nickelodeon and Netflix were both very against it and wanted her to be more "aspirational" and "put together" (???).

Heck, they weren't even allowed to describe her as "weird", only "quirky" 🙄

Yeah, i found that part of the interview:

Even after taking the risk of making a little black girl the lead character, we also wanted to showcase that, yes, little girls can be weird, too. They can be a little offbeat in what they like and what they play with. She loves anime, she collects rocks. Lindsay and I, we’re both big weirdo kids. I remember in my interview for this job I was telling them the story of how I used to collect the reflector lights in the roads while I was a kid growing up in Seattle. I used to collect those off of the ground. [both laugh] I would keep them on my back porch on our deck and I would name them. Those were my pets. We called them turtles in Seattle, so I was like, “These are my pet turtles.” Our pilot episode begins with Hazel talking to her pet rocks; that came from me. We wanted to be able to show a little weirdo — except we can’t even say “weirdo” anymore. We had to call her “quirky.” (..) That was another learning curve. They have a global audience, so we had to be mindful of the entire world when approaching character and story. There was a time where they asked, “Well, can’t Hazel be more aspirational? She should be—” perfect, is what they were saying, because kids are going to want to be that. “She needs to be a little more put together. She needs to not be so out there.” We were like, “Well, in order for her to get fairy godparents, she has to be a bit miserable.” With Netflix, we had to pull back even more to show that even though she’s quirky and fun, she’s still someone that kids can relate to.

Link: https://www.skwigly.co.uk/fairly-oddparents-a-new-wish-ashleigh-crystal-hairston/

Which is like, how are kids going to relate to a protagonist is perfect all the time?? This is something that Lauren Faust has talked a lot of times about in past- that a lot of older animated series aimed for girls could feel shallow because the female characters felt too flat. That's why she is interested in writing girl characters that are flawed in her shows, why do you think MLP FIM became so popular?

At least with Hazel Wells she is one of those cases that she is a main female lead that is well written as character and she can be funny too. She changes through the season and you see her grew from all these changes she faces. A lot of fans really like her, specially because of characteristics that can be read as neurodivergent. Some even saying they prefer her over Timmy Lol

It is simply something i don't understand? Like, ok, your main protagonist doesn't have to be a terrible asshole but it doesn't mean they should be pushed back from having proper character flaws- even less if it is your main lead character!

[thecreaturecodex]

Zap Kraken

Image © Turtle Rock Studios

[Sponsored by Soluman Blevins. The second of the Evolve monsters I've done, other than the warpwraith. Mechanically, the Kraken is interesting, but design wise, it's a little drab. Because it's just a Cthulhu. The lightning bolt wings are a cool touch, but otherwise, it's very much a Cthulhu. And in a game that already has Cthulhu and his star-spawn, I wanted to differentiate it a bit. So I tied it to one of my favorite one-shot weirdo monsters from the 3e era.]

Zap Kraken CR 16 CE Aberration This immense creature has a roughly dinosaur-like body and the head of a colossal cephalopod. A vertical maw stretches between its beard of tentacles, and two large jointed appendages grow from its back and crackle with electricity. Its long tail is segmented like the vertebral column of a great beast.

Zap krakens are rare aberrant creatures that use electrical energy for both offense and mobility. Although they are enormous, they fly with surprising grace by manipulating electricity, essentially creating wings of lightning that hold them aloft. They are remarkably stealthy for their size, and can sneak up on prey from above before dropping to melee or merely blasting away with channeled lightning bolts.

Zap krakens are territorial, and maintain their territory by creating banshee mines, so called for the shriek of their explosions. These mines home in on creatures that get too close, and the zap kraken can also visit them to see what it has seen, similar to a prying eyes spell. Although zap krakens typically view other creatures as prey first and foremost, they have a mutual fondness for zeugalaks. Both species have tentacled maws and an affinity for electricity, and sages speculate that they are related to each other. A zap kraken often views zeugalaks the way a nobleman views their prized hunting hounds, using them to flush out prey or occupy melee combatants. 

Zap Kraken CR 16 XP 76,800 CE Gargantuan aberration Init +7; Senses blindsense 120 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +17

Defense AC 30, touch 14, flat-footed 22 (-4 size, +7 Dex, +1 dodge, +16 natural) hp 225 (18d8+144) Fort +14, Ref +13, Will +15 DR 10/magic; Immune cold, electricity; SR 26

Offense Speed 50 ft., fly 100 ft. (good) Melee 2 claws +18 (2d6+8), tentacles +17 (4d4+8), 2 wings +16 (2d6+4 plus 1d6 electricity) Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft. (30 ft. with tentacles) Special Attacks banshee mines, lightning strike, shock pulse

Statistics Str 26, Dex 24, Con 28, Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 19 Base Atk +16; CMB +28; CMD 46 Feats Blind-fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Hover (B), Mobility, Multiattack, Stand Still, Weapon Focus (claw) Skills Acrobatics +20 (+28 when jumping), Fly +21, Intimidate +17, Perception +17, Stealth +16, Survival +17; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth Languages Aklo

Ecology Environment warm hills Organization solitary or band (1 plus 1-4 zeugalaks) Treasure standard

Special Abilities Banshee Mines (Su) As a standard action, a zap kraken can create up to three animated mines. Treat these as the eyes generated by the prying eyes spell, only when a creature approaches within 30 feet of them (all creatures or of a type set by the zap kraken on creation), they fly towards that creature and explode. Treat this as a ranged touch attack using the zap kraken’s modifiers (+19 for a typical specimen). If it hits, the creature struck takes 4d6 points of electricity damage and 4d6 points of sonic damage. Whether the mine hits or not, it explodes, dealing this damage in a 5 foot radius (Reflex DC 23 halves). A zap kraken knows when one of its mines has detonated as long as it is within 1 mile of the mine. A zap kraken can create up to nine mines a day, but can have a maximum of three in existence at a time. The save DC is Charisma based. Lightning Strike (Su) As a standard action, a zap kraken can call down a bolt of lightning within 160 feet. It fills a column 60 feet high with a 20 foot radius, dealing 16d8 points of electricity damage to all creatures in the area (Reflex DC 23 halves). A zap kraken can use this ability once every 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma based. Shock Wave (Su) As a standard action, a zap kraken can release an electrical pulse in a 60 foot radius centered on its body. All creatures in the area take 16d4 points of electricity damage and are pushed back 10 feet. A successful DC 27 Reflex save halves the damage and resists the knockback effect. A zap kraken can use this ability every other round. The save DC is Constitution based.  Tentacles (Ex) The tentacles of a zap kraken are treated as a single primary natural weapon

[musicalueion]

Left 4 Dead - Tank

Artist: Mike Morasky

[accio-victuuri]

winter solstice happiness 🥟❄️

aside from their studios posting very close to each other, which is something we will now be monitoring lol. seriously. they just did it last 12/15 and now again? hahahahahaha! i like the idea tho that some are saying, how this is a reward for bxgs who are working hard for these damn weibo tickets! anyway, here are other things we have noticed from today.

nothing serious, just good old clowning! ✌🏼

last time i talked about people knowing what songs wyb is listening to, so fans are saying it’s wyb’s qq music and those who are friends with his real account can view some of his songs & playlist. they said he is listening to the following tracks:

interesting choices. cause isn’t wyb supposed to be into rock music lately? so why is he listening to this kind lately? we do know tho that xz prefers this type as well, so maybe wyb is playing this while he is with xz. 🤍

from the caption in ybo’s post “looking at everything”. this has actually been talked about before, but xz and xzs are fond of using the world everything/all things. so it’s 👀 when we saw it. of course the whole song and concept of wyb’s new single may be different and have more meaning as we get the lyrics and all that. but this one tiny thing is interesting.

there is also the bit in the preview that mentions loving the old & new. does this mean his “old” and “new” self since there has been changes in wyb’s life and who he is the public eye. some are comparing this to xz’s interview where he said there are 2 xiao zhans. again, this is a very early interpretation based on a small fraction of what we will have when we get the song but it’s fun to speculate 🤷🏻‍♀️

i’m personally curious tho why it’s moved to 12/29 when it has always been 12/30 release date? i guess we will have the answer at the right time.

I also already mentioned this one, in C position is this b&w photo. We all know how WYB is fond of taking b&w photos lately so this is making me happy. Most likely not taken by WYB of course but the b&w that stands out in the middle is 🤍. He is also using the fan wyb gave him and then his phone where you can see that he is still using the card case. Maybe they used it as a break from all the professional photos in the grid but ofc our turtle brain is telling us otherwise.

fans are also joking around cause xz’s photos show the left side of his face. which is his “good side”? sure. but why not the right? don’t you want us to compare it from this one???? 🤣🤣🤣

ANYWAY, WE ARE SO LUCKY! BXGs have it real good. WYB’s new song on 12/29 and in between we might have some LOCH wrap content. Then for NYE, hopefully XZ will go to Dragon TV as rumored. WYB on the other hand will be with CCTV and then Hunan TV. It’s gonna be busy for us before the year ends! Let’s gooooo!!!!!! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

source.

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette scrolled through her contacts, struggling to keep herself covered by her blanket with one hand whilst using her phone with the other. She kept the hand just barely outside of the blanket, enough for her to see but without sticking it too far out of the cocoon of warmth she'd crafted for herself.

It was freezing, and moving was not an option, As she was sitting on her chaise lounge with her bed's blanket around her, she couldn't go to her computer nor do any of her usual hobbies that involved—well, anything. She could've downloaded a game on her phone to play, but she didn't need to end up becoming addicted. The last thing she wanted was to be featured in an article titled Paris Goes Up in Flames While Ladybug Works On Her Fictional Hamster Restaurant.

She'd just have to call someone. Her contacts were vast with all the people she'd gotten to know or needed to exchange numbers with, but the actual options were limited. There were certain expectations of what kind of call she'd get depending on the person, so instead of the name of the person, she pictured what she expected to get if she called them.

Drama, anxiety, gossip, more anxiety, crafts—ah—!

She stopped on one contact in particular, tipping her head back and letting out a triumphant exhale. It was after sunset, so she knew he wouldn't be working. She could only hope that he didn't mind being called.

Putting the phone to her ear, she waited. The rocking ringtone had her bouncing a bit, but she was careful not to move so much that it undid her cocoon.

Eventually, a click followed and Luka's familiar voice greeted, "Hey, Marinette."

She hummed contentedly, already feeling soothed. "Hi. Sorry if I interrupted anything."

"No. I left my phone on my bed when I went to get a drink," he explained, having already guessed (correctly) that it was the amount of time it took for him to pick up that concerned her. "How are you?"

"Nnngh," she whined at the mention. "Cold. My parents went away for the weekend and I don't want to warm up the whole house just for me." Pouting, she added with spite, "I think the space heater's in their bedroom, but they locked the door before they left."

"Ah." She could practically hear the sympathetic frown. "...You could break in?"

She snorted, knowing exactly what he was referencing, "I'm only an expert in sneaking into TV studios, not breaking into people's bedrooms. Besides, it's too cold to move anyway. Maybe the lock is frozen."

"Can I help?" He sounded genuine in the request despite not being there himself. The question made sense since she'd called: either she needed something from him or just wanted a distraction.

Marinette stalled on answering. Thinking it was one thing, but she feared it might sound embarrassing coming out of her mouth. A friend could say it to another friend without them feeling like it was weird, right?

"Uh, well... you already are?" She curled in further on herself, like a turtle trying to draw into its shell. "I thought it'd help with the cold if I called someone, and you... were the warmest person I could think of...?"

There was a sound on the other line - it could've been a word, could've been a choke, could've meant nothing at all - but then there was only silence. Marinette pulled the phone away to check the call, confirming that it was still going.

Finally, Luka spoke again, "I'll come over."

"W-what?" She put the phone back to her ear. "Right now?"

She could faintly hear footsteps as he replied, "I can help you stay warm."

"Wait—" She cut herself off when she heard a noise as if Luka had hit or stumbled over something, but he didn't make any acknowledgment or yelp over it. "Luka, you can't! It's too cold outside!"

"Maybe," he acknowledged, "but then I'll be at the warmest place I could be."

And then the call cut off, presumably as Luka hung up to leave. Marinette gaped at her phone's screen, then outright dropped her phone into her cocoon and fully submerged herself into it.

He called me warm!

Things had been like that ever since he had confessed to her, or maybe ever since they'd started work on the music video. She wasn't quite sure, but they'd definitely spoken and done more with each other as of late.

Either way, he was coming and she finally had something motivating enough to make her get up, taking the blanket with her.

——

Marinette was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, feeling strange about being close to the bakery without the warmth coming with it, when there was finally a knock at the side door. Her head jerked up, seeing Luka past the glass, and hurried to open the door for him.

A gust of cold wind blew in, sapping the warmth from her and causing her teeth to chatter, but Luka was quick to come in so they could close it as soon as possible.

"It's even colder out there than I thought..." Marinette trailed off, taking Luka in. "...Where's your coat?"

"I c-couldn't find it," he replied, movements notably slower than usual as he pulled at the strap of his duffel bag to bring it in front of him, "b-but I grabbed everything that might help with the cold—"

She reached up, his voice cutting out as she touched his cheek. It was like ice against her fingertips, earning a gasp out of her. "You're freezing!"

He might've said something in defense of himself, but she wasn't listening. She knocked the duffel bag strap from his shoulder, grasped the far edges of her blanket, and immediately went in for a hug.

The cold coming off of Luka bit her in return, but she didn't let go. He'd gone through all the effort to come by and she'd been raised better than to leave a guest to be cold.

Besides, two friends could share a little body heat, and he would've refused if she'd offered the entire blanket since it would've left her cold. In that respect, it was a genius idea that only Ladybug could come up with on the fly.

He was stiff, his heart racing from what she'd assumed was him having run there, but then he hugged her back. She'd been anticipating all of the cold, yet it wasn't all bad. He was still warm in the traditional Luka way.

——

After ensuring that he had recovered enough from the cold and had put his duffel bag back on, Marinette insisted that he share the blanket with her. There was a bit of back and forth over it considering the stairs, but ultimately they squished together and took the top corner on their side to pull towards their chest to keep at least their backs covered. There was no way the blanket would wrap fully around both of them, but they managed.

It probably wasn't doing a very good job of blanketing them, but it was equal and the only thing they could agree on. Surprisingly easily, they also went up the stairs in sync, as if stepping to a beat that only they could hear.

"Marinette," Luka began as they reached the top, looking around curiously, "did your power go out?"

"Hm? No."

While the lights were off and it was after sunset, it was still early enough that the light from the windows still made things visible enough. Besides, she had a plan in mind.

Pushing open the door to reveal the living room and kitchen, Marinette grinned in satisfaction at the feeling it brought her. She'd set up battery-powered candles strategically around the area, explaining as much to him, "Candles feel so much warmer than normal lights. I thought that if we couldn't deal with the real cold, we could deal with the cold in our minds. Atmosphere helps, you know?"

Luka stared - really stared - at their surroundings, taking in the full scope of her efforts. His mouth opened when he met her eyes like he had something to ask her, but stopped short and shook his head instead.

"Luka?"

"It looks great," he praised. "I feel bad that the food I brought doesn't match the tune though."

"Hm?" She glanced at his bag, reminded of what he'd said earlier. "Oh yeah! What'd you bring?"

Determined not to release the blanket, he fumbled with the bag one-handed until she used her free hand to hold it in place so he could pull the zipper back. Inside was something large and fluffy, as well as two cups of instant noodles, each in different flavors.

Regretfully, he admitted, "We were out of hot chocolate."

"No no, this'll work!" She hovered a hand over the two, but hesitated. "Uh, can I pick either?"

"I picked two in case you didn't like one of them."

"Oh." That reassured her that Luka was happy with either, so she snatched the one she preferred. "We should have an electric kettle somewhere to heat the water."

Which, of course, led to another problem: they'd committed to the blanket by then and thus didn't have both of their hands free to actually work anything. Marinette didn't doubt that she could do it all one-handed in a pinch, but it'd be a pain.

Then, remembering what they'd done with the duffel bag just a moment ago, she glanced at her hand and Luka's, noting amusedly, "We have two hands between the both of us?"

He snorted, raising his free hand to show his approval at the ridiculousness of it all.

——

In the end, they worked together after all. Luka would open the cupboard, Marinette would get the kettle, he would turn on the sink while she held it, and so on. They struggled most getting the protective plastic off of the ramen cups, but it was fun and they managed with their level of teamwork.

She chuckled internally at the situation, imagining telling her partner as Ladybug that he was being replaced. Knowing him, that might be the one time he took something seriously, but it was funny to think about.

They did a little bit of clean-up while waiting for the ramen to be done, then carried both cups - utensils included - up to her room. Marinette had it set up in the same way as the kitchen, so there were more candles placed around to provide the perfect amount of warm lighting.

"Hold on," Luka requested. To Marinette's shock, he let his side of the blanket drop along with his duffel bag, putting his cup of ramen aside so he could slowly coax the large fluffy fabric out with both hands.

It was another blanket. She almost asked him why he hadn't used it before - not that she'd taken any issue with the results - but then the sound of something hitting the floor with a 'clack' got her attention. Searching for the source, she saw a large, unwieldy cable coming out from a spot in the fabric.

Ah. It was an electric blanket.

He laid it down on the floor and went to plug it in while she abandoned their original blanket on her chaise lounge. They both seemed to wordlessly agree that it was a better idea to sit on a harder and flatter surface to ensure that they didn't cause any spills with their cups.

When Luka returned from setting things up, they both sat on the blanket and fashioned the rest to go across as much of their lower body as possible. While it left their upper bodies exposed, they needed more room around their front to eat anyway and the ramen would likely do well enough in warming them.

"How is it?" Marinette asked while gathering up a good bit of her own with her utensil.

He hadn't actually eaten any yet, so she waited for him to take a bite. He chewed the ramen more slowly than expected, but she supposed he wanted to give her a proper answer.

"It's good." He glanced at hers as well. "What about yours?"

She took the bite, having been waiting for him to ask. It tasted good and everything, just as his did, but her takeaway was a pleased, "Warm."

They had a bit of a laugh before focusing on the food again. Marinette figured that she could've pulled out her phone and found something for them to watch while they ate, but it was actually nice just sitting with him and eating together.

While they ate, she found her gaze wandering to his ramen rather than hers, even though the only difference visually was the broth's color. It was strange how she'd been the one who got the first pick of the flavors, yet suddenly his was looking more appealing to her.

She kind of wanted to try it, but wouldn't it be rude to ask? It was only right that she make an offer first so things were fair.

"Luka," she called, preparing another bite of ramen. When he looked over to see what she wanted, she held it out to him. "Want some?"

His gaze went to the bite, then her, then back to the bite again. At first, she thought he might refuse her, but then he leaned in, opening his mouth and claiming what she'd offered him. The content hum that he let out afterward made her skeptical of his earlier implication that he liked both flavors equally.

Licking his lips in satisfaction, he asked in return, "Do you want some too?"

"Mhm~" She leaned in advance, trying to look prepared, not eager.

She didn't often have ramen, but she knew she'd tried the one that he'd had before. They must've changed the recipe too as, when she let him feed it to her, it tasted better than she remembered it being.

As she was chewing to savor it, Luka averted his gaze from her, though not looking at anything in particular. There was clearly something on his mind and she wondered if it had anything to do with what he stopped himself from saying earlier.

"...Marinette," he began slowly, "are you... comfortable with me?"

She tilted her head, having had no idea that had ever been a question for him. "Yeah, of course I am? Aren't you comfortable with me?"

He nodded. "I've always been comfortable with you, but I wouldn't blame you if you felt awkward after what I said at the TV studio."

"At the TV..." She blushed, the memory springing to mind immediately. "That? No, no way, why would I?"

He didn't answer, but she could tell that he didn't have a problem with what they were doing. He was just trying to understand, but understand what? She didn't get it. He'd confessed to her, sure, but they'd grown closer if anything else, so there was nothing to be confused by. She not only was doing everything he was doing on their little hang out in her home, but first, so if anything it was her who you'd think had the...

Marinette froze, even though she hadn't felt cold since Luka had gotten there. To say that a final puzzle piece was put in its rightful place wouldn't be accurate, as it was more like she'd been only playing with one when the entire rest of the puzzle dropped down to complete everything.

She hugged him for warmth for far longer than she should have, she pressed up against him and eagerly shared a blanket, she made sure that they continued sharing the blanket, she fed him and even wanted a bite of his food, and then there was the little detail of setting up candlelight.

Luka had been so befuddled by all of this because he'd confessed and she only got closer to him in response without explicitly telling him why that was. He could make assumptions, certainly, but he never liked to.

She stared down into the broth of her ramen, swirling it around while she gathered her thoughts. At the same time though, if she stayed quiet long enough, then Luka would no doubt change the subject to give her a way out.

She didn't want that.

"Do—" She pressed her lips into a thin line, mulling over the question once more. "...Do you want another taste?"

It sounded like a switch in topic and Luka treated it as one, nodding as if the discussion had never happened. He leaned towards her to prepare for another bite, but she silently set aside her cup of ramen. She took his as well, letting the two cups sit next to each other to leave their hands free.

Without another word, she took his confused face in her hands and kissed him. The salty taste of the ramen still lingered on his lips and hers, but she didn't care. She held him there, only able to hope that the gesture got her whole point across.

Especially because, as soon as she pulled away from his blushing face, she made a break for it. Leaving the electric blanket's warmth behind, she fled to the chaise lounge to her abandoned blanket and dove underneath, surrounding herself with it until it was like she'd made a protective dome around herself.

"I'm sorry!" she let out, even though it would sound slightly muffled to his ears.

There was a shuffling noise, followed by rapid footsteps that indicated Luka's approach. He sounded cautious, wondering aloud, "You're sorry... for kissing me?"

"No." Her answer was immediate. "Just... I-I wasn't used to things like this being like this."

Despite the nonsensical phrasing, he - being the fascinatingly understanding boy he was - somehow made sense of it. "...Being in love?"

"Mm," she hummed affirmatively. The chaise lounge's cushion underneath her shifted from the weight distribution and she knew that Luka must've sat down near her, so it was okay to be quieter as she elaborated, "It's never been comfortable before."

It sounded bizarre even though it'd come from her own mouth, but it was true. She'd done all manner of things for what she'd thought was love, most of them ending in either failure, outright humiliating herself, or both.

Yet, when Luka came along, the word "failure" didn't have a meaning in her relationship with him and she wasn't so anxious as to make a fool out of herself. They had already bonded as friends and he was happy with that - they both were - so where was the risk?

There wasn't any; just two teens who loved each other as both friends and lovers.

"You don't have to apologize," Luka assured. A lightness returning to his voice, he added, "But... I want to give you a taste too."

Marinette's face burned, and not entirely out of embarrassment. She'd come up with that line on the fly and he was actually rolling with it.

Slowly, she reached out for the edge of the blanket closest to Luka, lifting it up just enough to let some light pour in. He slid his hand right in front of the newly-made opening and, feeling prepared, she reached out and covered his hand with hers.

Pushing herself up with her other hand, she sat up and brushed the blanket back so it fell over her shoulders. Luka smiled fondly at her, grabbing at the electric blanket he'd brought with him on his lap so he could move and face her better. She helped him adjust until they were side-by-side against the chaise lounge's backrest, both laying on and being surrounded by the blanket's warmth.

Happy to fulfill his request, she let him caress her cheek and return her earlier kiss, all thoughts of ever having been cold before he arrived long forgotten.

[new-employeeamillion]

I still foolishly dabble in Twitter to see what some of my fellow animation enthusiasts are saying, and one particular SpongeBob tweet annoyed me so much that I’m not even gonna talk about it on that app. It was quoting a segment of the Season 12 episode Shell Games, a fairly standard and innocuous episode, and saying that the plot is an insult to Stephen Hillenburg’s legacy. That was the final straw for me. I can no longer trust the people who aren’t diehard SpongeBob geniuses with Stephen Hillenburg’s name. Especially when they’re blue checkmarks who can benefit from the clout SpongeBob fans will give them.

What was so insulting about Shell Games? Them revealing Patrick’s rock was actually a turtle shell, for one episode, out of nearly 600. I swear, you have less of a reason to be upset over The Principal and the Pauper, and even that’s been an overreaction. I’m not gonna say Shell Games is one of my all time favourites, but I think it’s got enough character with the turtles to make it memorable.

But the gall of that user to transparently have no idea what the show is like now, and still feel the need to stuff the late creator’s name into their opinion to feel better about it. It isn’t 2019 anymore, when Kamp Koral had just been announced and no one had the concrete information on Stephen’s awareness of it. Even back then, my stance on post-Hillenburg SpongeBob stuff has always been “I may not like a lot of it, but I salute the people who he knew continuing to work on it.” How is that such a hard stance to take? Can’t these blue checkmark people have empathy for working class animation teams?

I miss 2015-2018 when the SpongeBob community was more stable. When a Post-Sequel episode aired that the fandom didn’t like, we didn’t jump to “Stephen didn’t want this! Legacy tarnished!”, we discussed what we didn’t like about it and hoped the next episode would be better. A lot of fans still do that, but certainly not the normal people who haven’t even watched the show since they were kids. Fair enough, but if that’s the case, don’t act like an expert out of nowhere. If you were a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, and every single thing made for the past 94 years has had people going “Arthur Conan Doyle didn’t want this! Legacy tarnished!”, you’d understand my antipathy.

Never mind the irony of all this - Stephen Hillenburg was alive when Shell Games was produced. It was the 4th-to-last episode to enter production before he stopped coming in to the studio. Community notes sorted that out quickly. And let me say, you don’t have to like every episode he personally contributed to or oversaw. But come on, why am I expecting nuanced thinking from someone giving Elon Musk their money?

Twitter’s never been a great website, but now, it feels like all the worst people have cracked the code. Only the loudest and angriest voices get the attention, which gets more dangerous the more sensitive the topic is. And then, even if you agree with the sentiment, you will despise the personalities of the very people you’re agreeing with. It’s a platform that encourages all the worst human behaviours. Whenever I so much as make a joke on there, I feel like I’m walking on eggshells. It’ll hurt to see less from accounts I really respect, but I’ll offload it for a little while, because it’s not been good for my mood.

And I’m really sorry that this is yet another long angsty blogpost so soon. It’s been those times for me, and I hope you got some sort of useful lesson from what I’ve typed out.

[thenightling]

I don't understand why so many people seem surprised or reluctant at the idea of horror musicals. It has occurred to me that there are more horror themed musicals than any other genre within the musical format. Note: Some of these are stage musicals, some are movies, and some are both. Little Shop of Horrors Sweeney Todd: The Demon barber of Fleet Street Phantom of The Opera Phantom of The Opera: Love Never Dies The Rocky Horror Show Shock Treatment Evil Dead: The Musical Carrie White Lestat (Two very different versions but same cast) Dracula: The musical Dance of the Vampires (Tanz der Vampire) Jekyll and Hyde Richard Campbell's Frankenstein The metal opera Frankenstein: The New Musical Young Frankenstein Dead Man's Party (performed at Six Flags every Halloween season) Beetlejuice: The musical Beetlejuice: Graveyard Revue (Universal Studios) Edward Scissorhands (The ballet) Teeth The Lost Boys (in workshop now) Death Note: The Musical The Canterville Ghost Dorian! The Remarkable Mr. Gray Bat Boy: The Musical Hocus Pocus Spooktacular stage show Hocus Pocus the musical (in development) Ghost: The musical The Addams Family (Broadway musical) The Princess and the Goblin Bad Cinderella Labyrinth The Black Labyrinth (unofficial Labyrinth sequel) The Wizard of Oz Wicked Over The Garden Wall Something Wicked This way Comes: The musical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming out of Their Shells Lazarus The Nightmare before Christmas Corpse Bride Monster Mash: The Musical Rockula Red Riding Hood (direct to video musical) Into The Woods The Little Mermaid Frozen Alvin and the Chipmunks meet The Wolfman Alvin and the Chipmunks meet Frankenstein Repo! The Genetic Opera The Devil's Carnival The Hunchback of Notre Dame Monster High: The Movie Monster High: The Movie 2 Descendants Descendants 2 Descendants 3 Descendants: The Rise of Red Zombies Zombies 2 Zombies 3 Zombies 4 Hadestown Scooby Doo and The Witch's Ghost Faust: The Rock musical The Crucible Stage Fright Frank Wildhorn's Dracula The Musical Frankenstein: A Rock Opera Dracula: The Rock Opera Admittedly some of these might count as scifi or just supernatural / fantasy but they still had Gothic or horror elements. I can name more horror musicals than I can mother other genres of musicals that are performed in the English language.