#also the more I think about it the more I am convinced that the contested nola meeting is actually contested like in the books

[in-kyblogs]

.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Humans are not perfectly vigilant

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in BOSTON with Randall "XKCD" Munroe (Apr 11), then PROVIDENCE (Apr 12), and beyond!

Here's a fun AI story: a security researcher noticed that large companies' AI-authored source-code repeatedly referenced a nonexistent library (an AI "hallucination"), so he created a (defanged) malicious library with that name and uploaded it, and thousands of developers automatically downloaded and incorporated it as they compiled the code:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ai_bots_hallucinate_software_packages/

These "hallucinations" are a stubbornly persistent feature of large language models, because these models only give the illusion of understanding; in reality, they are just sophisticated forms of autocomplete, drawing on huge databases to make shrewd (but reliably fallible) guesses about which word comes next:

https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442188.3445922

Guessing the next word without understanding the meaning of the resulting sentence makes unsupervised LLMs unsuitable for high-stakes tasks. The whole AI bubble is based on convincing investors that one or more of the following is true:

There are low-stakes, high-value tasks that will recoup the massive costs of AI training and operation;

There are high-stakes, high-value tasks that can be made cheaper by adding an AI to a human operator;

Adding more training data to an AI will make it stop hallucinating, so that it can take over high-stakes, high-value tasks without a "human in the loop."

These are dubious propositions. There's a universe of low-stakes, low-value tasks – political disinformation, spam, fraud, academic cheating, nonconsensual porn, dialog for video-game NPCs – but none of them seem likely to generate enough revenue for AI companies to justify the billions spent on models, nor the trillions in valuation attributed to AI companies:

https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/

The proposition that increasing training data will decrease hallucinations is hotly contested among AI practitioners. I confess that I don't know enough about AI to evaluate opposing sides' claims, but even if you stipulate that adding lots of human-generated training data will make the software a better guesser, there's a serious problem. All those low-value, low-stakes applications are flooding the internet with botshit. After all, the one thing AI is unarguably very good at is producing bullshit at scale. As the web becomes an anaerobic lagoon for botshit, the quantum of human-generated "content" in any internet core sample is dwindling to homeopathic levels:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/14/inhuman-centipede/#enshittibottification

This means that adding another order of magnitude more training data to AI won't just add massive computational expense – the data will be many orders of magnitude more expensive to acquire, even without factoring in the additional liability arising from new legal theories about scraping:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/

That leaves us with "humans in the loop" – the idea that an AI's business model is selling software to businesses that will pair it with human operators who will closely scrutinize the code's guesses. There's a version of this that sounds plausible – the one in which the human operator is in charge, and the AI acts as an eternally vigilant "sanity check" on the human's activities.

For example, my car has a system that notices when I activate my blinker while there's another car in my blind-spot. I'm pretty consistent about checking my blind spot, but I'm also a fallible human and there've been a couple times where the alert saved me from making a potentially dangerous maneuver. As disciplined as I am, I'm also sometimes forgetful about turning off lights, or waking up in time for work, or remembering someone's phone number (or birthday). I like having an automated system that does the robotically perfect trick of never forgetting something important.

There's a name for this in automation circles: a "centaur." I'm the human head, and I've fused with a powerful robot body that supports me, doing things that humans are innately bad at.

That's the good kind of automation, and we all benefit from it. But it only takes a small twist to turn this good automation into a nightmare. I'm speaking here of the reverse-centaur: automation in which the computer is in charge, bossing a human around so it can get its job done. Think of Amazon warehouse workers, who wear haptic bracelets and are continuously observed by AI cameras as autonomous shelves shuttle in front of them and demand that they pick and pack items at a pace that destroys their bodies and drives them mad:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

Automation centaurs are great: they relieve humans of drudgework and let them focus on the creative and satisfying parts of their jobs. That's how AI-assisted coding is pitched: rather than looking up tricky syntax and other tedious programming tasks, an AI "co-pilot" is billed as freeing up its human "pilot" to focus on the creative puzzle-solving that makes coding so satisfying.

But an hallucinating AI is a terrible co-pilot. It's just good enough to get the job done much of the time, but it also sneakily inserts booby-traps that are statistically guaranteed to look as plausible as the good code (that's what a next-word-guessing program does: guesses the statistically most likely word).

This turns AI-"assisted" coders into reverse centaurs. The AI can churn out code at superhuman speed, and you, the human in the loop, must maintain perfect vigilance and attention as you review that code, spotting the cleverly disguised hooks for malicious code that the AI can't be prevented from inserting into its code. As "Lena" writes, "code review [is] difficult relative to writing new code":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773779967521780169

Why is that? "Passively reading someone else's code just doesn't engage my brain in the same way. It's harder to do properly":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773780355708764665

There's a name for this phenomenon: "automation blindness." Humans are just not equipped for eternal vigilance. We get good at spotting patterns that occur frequently – so good that we miss the anomalies. That's why TSA agents are so good at spotting harmless shampoo bottles on X-rays, even as they miss nearly every gun and bomb that a red team smuggles through their checkpoints:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/23/automation-blindness/#humans-in-the-loop

"Lena"'s thread points out that this is as true for AI-assisted driving as it is for AI-assisted coding: "self-driving cars replace the experience of driving with the experience of being a driving instructor":

https://twitter.com/qntm/status/1773841546753831283

In other words, they turn you into a reverse-centaur. Whereas my blind-spot double-checking robot allows me to make maneuvers at human speed and points out the things I've missed, a "supervised" self-driving car makes maneuvers at a computer's frantic pace, and demands that its human supervisor tirelessly and perfectly assesses each of those maneuvers. No wonder Cruise's murderous "self-driving" taxis replaced each low-waged driver with 1.5 high-waged technical robot supervisors:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

AI radiology programs are said to be able to spot cancerous masses that human radiologists miss. A centaur-based AI-assisted radiology program would keep the same number of radiologists in the field, but they would get less done: every time they assessed an X-ray, the AI would give them a second opinion. If the human and the AI disagreed, the human would go back and re-assess the X-ray. We'd get better radiology, at a higher price (the price of the AI software, plus the additional hours the radiologist would work).

But back to making the AI bubble pay off: for AI to pay off, the human in the loop has to reduce the costs of the business buying an AI. No one who invests in an AI company believes that their returns will come from business customers to agree to increase their costs. The AI can't do your job, but the AI salesman can convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI anyway – that pitch is the most successful form of AI disinformation in the world.

An AI that "hallucinates" bad advice to fliers can't replace human customer service reps, but airlines are firing reps and replacing them with chatbots:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know

An AI that "hallucinates" bad legal advice to New Yorkers can't replace city services, but Mayor Adams still tells New Yorkers to get their legal advice from his chatbots:

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/03/nycs-government-chatbot-is-lying-about-city-laws-and-regulations/

The only reason bosses want to buy robots is to fire humans and lower their costs. That's why "AI art" is such a pisser. There are plenty of harmless ways to automate art production with software – everything from a "healing brush" in Photoshop to deepfake tools that let a video-editor alter the eye-lines of all the extras in a scene to shift the focus. A graphic novelist who models a room in The Sims and then moves the camera around to get traceable geometry for different angles is a centaur – they are genuinely offloading some finicky drudgework onto a robot that is perfectly attentive and vigilant.

But the pitch from "AI art" companies is "fire your graphic artists and replace them with botshit." They're pitching a world where the robots get to do all the creative stuff (badly) and humans have to work at robotic pace, with robotic vigilance, in order to catch the mistakes that the robots make at superhuman speed.

Reverse centaurism is brutal. That's not news: Charlie Chaplin documented the problems of reverse centaurs nearly 100 years ago:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_(film)

As ever, the problem with a gadget isn't what it does: it's who it does it for and who it does it to. There are plenty of benefits from being a centaur – lots of ways that automation can help workers. But the only path to AI profitability lies in reverse centaurs, automation that turns the human in the loop into the crumple-zone for a robot:

https://estsjournal.org/index.php/ests/article/view/260

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/01/human-in-the-loop/#monkey-in-the-middle

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Jorge Royan (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Munich_-_Two_boys_playing_in_a_park_-_7328.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

--

Noah Wulf (modified) https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thunderbirds_at_Attention_Next_to_Thunderbird_1_-_Aviation_Nation_2019.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[wheneverfeasible]

🧠🪱Wiggly Wednesday🪱🧠

Thank you for the tags @scoops-aboy86 and @endlessmusings1801!

Okay so hear me out. This was a worm I’ve been thinking about lately, which is bizarre, because it isn’t inherently Steddie…

But we get all kinds of fics of if Eddie and/or Robin were pulled into things earlier than their seasons. But…

What if Tommy and Carol were pulled into things with Steve? Like, picture it…

Instead of ditching Steve after his fight with Jonathan, Steve and Tommy and Carol hash it out a bit more, get into a bigger argument maybe even, and maybe they do separate for a bit. But then they’re still friends, so maybe they huff and puff about it but they talk things out too. Maybe Steve even gets to somewhat convince them that they should all apologize, even if Tommy and Carol don’t really want to or care all that much.

So all three of them go to do so, and all three of them see the demogorgon, and all three of them have that life altering paradigm shift. Maybe Carol and Tommy don’t change completely, at least not immediately, but they’re forced to confront that there’s more than just high school popularity contests, and maybe they become just that little bit of better people.

Maybe Carol and Nancy have a genuine talk, genuinely open up to each other, and no one can ever replace Barb of course, but it’s nice to have another female friend, even if they’re pretty much polar opposites.

Tommy isn’t fond of Jonathan at all, because demogorgon aside, it was creep behavior taking photos of them like that. Tommy helps pitch in to get Jonathan his new camera though, because he egged on Steve’s insecurities (brought on by the fact that Steve’s dad has cheated on his mom so he’s really sensitive to potential cheating in partners) and he guesses he’s partly to blame. He rolls his eyes about it, but Steve is happy he has his friend beside him still.

Tommy and Carol don’t really take to the kids much, but Carol does secretly enjoy getting into bitching sessions with Mike, and later Erica.

When Billy shows up, maybe Tommy and Carol start backsliding. Maybe they have to have a big blowup. Maybe they aren’t there when Steve gets dragged in helping Dustin, at least not immediately, but maybe they hear about Steve dealing with that without them because they chose Billy and they just…they…

They can’t believe they left Steve to deal with that horror by himself. They feel guilty and terrible and they tell Billy off. They can’t believe they chose some stupid popularity that doesn’t even matter over the guy that literally went to bat for them. They’re at the end with him, apologizing for not being there before, and they become even better people.

They come around to lovingly tease Steve at his job at Scoops, wheedling free ice cream out of him. And who knows, maybe telling Billy off changes the third season, maybe them being there, better people and supportive of Steve changes things, maybe the three of them can even change Billy to an extent. Maybe, Steve and Tommy and Carol and Billy hashing it all out and coming to terms with the toxicity of high school and judgemental parents and a society that believes you need to be a certain way to matter…maybe it changes things for the better.

Idk. I’ve just always wondered how things would have gone if Tommy and Carol had been exposed to the truth the first season.

And then blah blah blah, Steve and Eddie eventually fuck about it. Because I am nothing if not a Steddie truther in everything. And who knows…maybe Robin and Carol fuck about it also 😏

-

Hostage tag: @derythcorvinus

Co-Hostage tag for this: @katyawriteswhump

No pressure participation tag: @stervrucht (I know you’ve been tagged already but lmao I’m tagging YOU first this time anyways lmaoooo) @fkinkindagauche @steddiecameraroll @henderdads @queenie-ofthe-void

[just-dreaming-marvel]

LEGACY ~ 12

LEGACY MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,240ish

Summary: Steve worries about you. Tony opens your files.

Warning(s): Talk of torture / abuse

Notes: We're going to continue to see major differences from my original character fic LEGACY. I hope you all are enjoying them!

Over the course of the next few weeks, you felt like Tony was pulling away from you more and more. He seemed to have a lot more Stark Industries meetings than normal and a lot less time for you. There were many times when you asked FRIDAY to get a hold of Tony or tell you where he was, and the AI refused. You also began to notice that security at the Tower and the new Avengers facility–mostly when it came to you–was getting more and more intense. This made you angry. You decided to channel your anger into school work, training, and your Stark Industries work. You started to spend half of your week at the Tower and the other half at the update facility. The Team members at the facility could tell that Tony was seemingly pushing you away, but none of them could get you or Tony to talk about it.

One night, you were up late in the facility kitchen, finishing up some classwork, when Steve walked in.

“Hey,” he greeted. 

“Hi,” you responded, not looking up from your work.

“It’s a little late for homework, don’t you think?”

“And it’s a little late for you to be up, old man.”

“Ouch.” Steve leaned against the counter, watching you as you worked across the kitchen island. “Y/N?”

“Mhm?”

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re almost… manic. It seems like you’re constantly go, go, go. Always trying to keep busy.”

“I just have a lot to do.”

“You and I both know that’s not the reason. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Steve, I’m fine.” You didn’t see him reach across the kitchen island before he had pulled your classwork away from you. “Hey!”

“You can get it back once you start talking.”

“There’s nothing going on.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

After a short staring contest, you gave in. You explained how you lost the flash drive with your files on it. How you knew that you could reach out to Fury for them, but hadn’t convinced yourself to just yet. You then talked about how you felt like Tony was pulling away and how security seemed to be tightening around you.

“It’s beginning to worry me, Steve,” you admitted. “What if–” You cut yourself off, squeezing your eyes shut to try and stop the threatening tears.

“What if what, Y/N?” Steve asked after a few moments.

“What if he doesn’t want me anymore?” You whispered, voice cracking. “I mean, my real parents didn’t want me. So why would he?”

Steve moved quickly around the island, his hands going to your upper arms as you hung your head. “Y/N, don’t ever speak like that again, you hear me?” You met his gaze and all the seriousness that it held. “Of course Tony wants you. He loves you. You are his daughter, his favorite person. Tony just… well, he’s Tony. He struggles show that he cares.”

“He’s never had that problem with me…”

Steve sighed. “I’m sure that he’s going through something. I will try to reach out. I need you to promise me something though, Y/N… Promise me that if you ever start doubting if you are wanted again, you come to me. Immediately. No matter where I am, I’ll answer. Alright?”

“Alright.”

“Good.” He leaned in and kissed your forehead, his lips lingering a bit longer than they probably should have. “Now, let’s get you off to bed. And I expect you to sleep in, no early morning training for you.”

You nodded and slowly stood up. The exhaustion was finally hitting you. You took a few steps before stumbling and almost falling. Steve was quick to catch you, hoisting you up in his arms.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered, almost like a promise.

You closed your eyes and leaned into his chest as Steve carried you to your bedroom. He kindly tucked you into bed and kissed your cheek before leaving. You quickly fell asleep after.

~~~

Tony hadn’t slept in three days. He was reading over your files for the hundredth time. His eyes were skimming the pages, skipping from line to next random line, not able to focus.

1996 

The fetus was injected with the serum mixture. Both the fetus and the host are showing no signs of symptoms.

The subject was born healthy. So far no signs of any abilities.

1997

Today the child manifested remarkable strength for being one year old. The child is now showing signs of super strength.

The child fell while trying to walk, resulting in a few bleeding scrapes. Before the child could be taken to medical, the scrapes had been healed. The child was then cut with a small blade to further test the occurrence. The child completely healed within minutes.

The host agent finally decided upon a name: Y/N.

1998

During today’s lesson, Y/N didn’t get her way. The instructor suddenly changed their mind as Y/N continued to fight. A new instructor was brought in with the same result.

Y/N was put through trials to test her mind control. During the trials, multiple instructors began feeling emotions that weren’t their’s. As the trials continued, instructor’s started to notice that other instructor’s emotions were being manipulated. 

1999

Despite her age, Y/N has started daily education courses on math, science, technology, and languages. The languages that will be focused on first will be English, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin, and French. After full mastery of those languages, she will undergo instruction on other languages. 

Y/N’s education will be closely monitored to ensure high standards and so that she will be able to seamlessly blend into any environment HYDRA may need her to.

We have begun to do regular studies on her brain. We are using any method available.

2000

The Winter Soldier was brought in to help instruct Y/N on weapons and fighting styles. The Asset has been instructed to not take it easy on Y/N. Her age does not matter.

2001

Y/N has begun to grow defiant. Y/N will begin to have her memories routinely wiped, like the Winter Soldier.

2005

Alexander Pierce came to inspect Y/N for the first time. She exhibited most of her abilities: strength, healing of the Winter Soldier, and mind control. She attacked Alexander Pierce. The Winter Soldier had to stop her. Pierce was impressed, ordering for her memories to be wiped and her training to increase.

2011

A female HYDRA agent has begun teaching Y/N the art of seduction.

Y/N’s art of seduction lessons went as planned for the first week.

Y/N has been fighting her instructors. As punishment, her memory will be wiped and she will be kept in the cage for a week.

Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, and SHIELD broke into the facility in which Y/N was being held. She was taken.

Y/N has been placed with a foster family in California. She will be closely monitored.

An agent disguised as a SHIELD social worker paid her a visit to her school. She claims to not remember anything before her rescue.

2012

Tony Stark has adopted Y/N.

2013

Y/N moved to New York City with Stark. She is living in the Avengers Tower. She is no longer attending public school, she is taking online classes.

A HYDRA agent on assignment as a SHIELD agent got a hold of Y/N’s SHIELD file. She does not remember her past.

Y/N has been regularly training. It is clear that her subconscious remembers some of the HYDRA training on fighting techniques.

Tony pulled his eyes away from his scattered reading. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the tears from coming. HYDRA was still watching your every move. And the things they did to you… Tony wanted to wipe every member of HYDRA off of the face of the planet. That was his goal. 

Unknown to everyone else, Tony had been rerunning background checks on every person that worked for the Avengers Initiative and Stark Industries. He had fired every person that looked even remotely suspicious but couldn't find anyone that was actually HYDRA. Tony was even going out on secret missions, trying to finish off HYDRA loose ends. He knew that he should tell someone—tell you—about your files and what he had been doing, but he didn’t know who he could trust anymore. Including you.

Tony’s chest tightened, his breathing started to become laborious, and he began shaking. 

“Shit,” Tony muttered. “Not now.”

“It seems like you are having a panic attack, sir,” FRIDAY stated.

“You—You th–think?”

“Do you need me to call someone for you?”

“Nnnn—nnnoooo…”

Tony believed that he could handle it. All of it.

~~~

“I’ll come with you. Maybe someone else needs to talk some sense into Tony.

“That’s what Pepper’s for, Steve,” you responded. The two of you were walking out toward where the quinjets were parked. “I’ll be fine. I’m only going to be gone for a few days, then I’ll be right back here.”

“Let me just fly you.”

“Steve, you taught me how to fly the quinjet, besides FRIDAY’s going to pilot the whole 30 minute flight because I want a nap before I need to work.”

“Y/N.” Steve got in front of your path and stopped. 

“I appreciate the concern, but I’ve got this. Okay?”

He waited a beat before responding. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you in a few days.” You walked past him and turned around to walk backwards. “If I remember correctly, there was some mention of a birthday party.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Your friend Sam doesn’t do well with surprises.”

“Clearly. Call me when you land.”

“Will do.”

You turned back around and headed for the quinjet. You got it off the ground, waving to Steve, before turning on autopilot. You honestly had mixed feelings about going back to the Tower. The Compound was feeling more like home than the Tower now. You knew that Tony would be okay if you moved into the Compound full time, but you didn’t want him to feel like you were abandoning him. And you didn’t know if you were ready to be away from your father for that much. Though, it did seem that Tony was okay with it since he was pushing you away.

You set up a cot in the back of the quinjet and curled up for a nap. You needed to sleep, especially if you were going to do what Pepper needed you to do and if you were going to run into Tony.

“Miss Stark, we’ve landed,” FRIDAY announced, waking you from your nap.

“Thanks, FRI,” you yawned, sitting up with a stretch. “Is, uh, is Dad home?”

“Mr. Stark is home and in his lab. I have already informed him of your arrival.”

“Great,” you muttered.

Grabbing your things, you took a deep breath before walking off the plane and heading inside. You leaned up against the wall of the elevator upon entry and watched the floor numbers move. You groaned when you realized you weren’t being taken to your floor.

“FRIDAY?”

“Sorry, Miss. The Boss told me to drop you off at his lab.”

You sighed. You were hoping that there was going to be a few hours before you ran into Tony. But if he wanted to see you, maybe something was going to change. You left your bags in the elevator and stepped out into Tony’s personal lab. Tony’s head spun towards the sound of my footsteps.

“Hey, kid!” He greeted you with a smile. You noted that his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Not to mention, the dark circles that seemed to have grown since the last time you saw him.

“Hi, Dad,” you replied. You glanced at the holograms he was working on. It was a watch, in which he had a replica of it on his wrist. “What are you working on?”

“Some new nanotechnology.” He turned off the holotable and gave you his full attention. 

You nodded. “Well, FRIDAY brought me here on your request. I’ve got a lot of things to do for Pepper so if we could hurry this along that would be great.”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. I feel like we haven’t seen too much of each other lately.”

“Well, that’s not exactly my fault now, is it?”

Tony was a bit taken back by your tone, but not by your words. He had been busy trying to protect you. “I admit I have been busy. But you have been spending more time at the new facility so it’s really both of our faults.”

“Are you serious?” Tony didn’t immediately respond. He looked away like he was nervous. “What are you hiding from me? Why are you hiding from me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything’s fine.”

“Bullshit.”

“We’ve both just been busy, kid.”

“Usually people aren’t too busy for their kids… You know what?” You shook your head. “Nevermind. I can’t do this right now. I really need to go to work.” 

You turned around and headed for the elevator. You wished that your dad would call after you, to stop and talk about whatever was going on with him. But he never did, letting the elevator close between the two of you.

next chapter >

[husbandograveyard]

This drabble is part of my summer celebration collection! Prompt: Pool Characters featured: Zoro (One Piece), 2nd person GN Reader Requested by: @rivvd-art [a/n]: The final one is here! Closing off with possibly the longest drabble I have written for this collection, it's not even an actual drabble anymore, already ficlet leaning. It's also technically the 22nd of September, but not yet everywhere in the world, so I am still counting this as done within the deadline. Enjoy!

It was a rare moment where you didn’t have to keep your guard up on an island. No marines, no enemies. It was a day off, of sorts, and you and your fellow strawhats were enjoying it by a pool. Sanji was serving cocktails and snacks, Robin was reading a book, floating on a pool air mattress, Luffy and Usopp had found some water pistols… and you? You were currently trying to convince your boyfriend that sure, there was some peace and quiet, but there were better things to do right now than napping in a new location. 

You had had a playful moment where he threatened to toss you in the pool if you kept pestering him, and you had dared him to do so, thinking that if you could get him to stand up to toss you, you might as well try to get him to swim a little with you. He couldn’t really sleep anyway, with Luffy accidentally (or not?) spraying him down with his water gun twice already. 

You didn’t really think he was serious about tossing you either, it was a little quib, a way to keep talking to you and in his special way, spend time with you even though he pretended that a nap was superior to your company at the moment. That was, until he actually stood up, swiftly picking you up in his arms, so smoothly and so fast that you barely had time to register what happened. You immediately tried clinging onto his neck, but to little avail. 

Once he reached the poolside, he lifted you a little more with ease, changing form for the ultimate toss. What he didn’t take into account was that you would grab onto his shirt in a kneejerk reaction, a slight panic overtaking even though you knew that Zoro would never let you get hurt in any way. And what he also didn’t take into account, was that his water gun soaked shirt, much like other fabrics, wasn’t really prone to ripping when wet. The strength with which he tossed you and the fact that he didn’t really see your reaction coming, combined into a beautiful chain reaction of him losing his balance and toppling over, following you into the pool with a loud splash. 

You laughed loudly, both at the toss and the chain reaction that followed. 

“See? You should’ve just joined me the normal way.” He only grumbled something in response, looking a little angry, but you knew him better than that. You could see the small smile playing on his lips. “And ehm, it’s actually quite nice that you join me like that. You’d win a wet t-shirt contest immediately.”

[norazingrid]

Testmic analysis because people don’t get their relationship, like, at all

I’ll go over these points below

why test tube and microphone aren’t actually toxic

test tubes character arc and how it involves mic

their great potential and similarities with each other

conclusion

OKAY FIRST UP I WANT TO GET SOME THINGS CLEAR

I do NOT ship these two because they’re both “girls” and I am NOT picturing them as “what if they didn’t hate each other”

I've always considered their complex relationship and so called “hatred” towards each other, but I’ll explain more of it below

Test tube and microphone don’t actually have a “toxic” relationship

Now the word “toxic” can be a very strong word when describing a dynamic and I personally think that it is not the right one to use when describing their relationship because the both of them haven’t shown actual deep hatred towards each other. Sure, their dynamic isn’t exactly on “good terms” and test tube has made it pretty clear that she hates microphone, but has microphone actually shown any hatred back? No. She has always stayed quiet whenever test tube complains about her, which could be a sign on guilt. That means microphone knows the reason why she hurt test tube and understands why she’s upset about that. The lab and inventions were very dear to test tube, and microphone was convinced to steal from her and somehow “leak” her secret lab, but its pretty clear microphone regrets all of those things, and therefore she does not hate test tube.

And I would like to talk about how test tube would actually be able to forgive microphone at some point in the future, I’ll go over it in-

test tubes character arc and how it involves mic

Test tube’s character is very interesting to me because it has changed a lot during the seasons, but I’ll try to summarise it as quickly as possible. In s3 she has been seen to be pretty average and calmed down from the events that happened in episode 14, which is understandable since it happened a long time ago, but this started to change when cabby and test tube started to develop their rivalry. I’m not gonna dig too deep into this but I want to focus on how test tube STILL forgave cabby after learning her true intentions at the end of the season and I believe this could be a sign of how test tube stars acknowledging that she could learn not to judge everyone right away if they did something wrong, and I believe test tube could be starting to feel guilty aswell, not only for how she treated microphone but basically all bad moments she has had in past situations with other contestants. May I also remind u guys that test tube is stated to be socially awkward, so I don’t want to blame her for the way she acted with other contestants, but there’s always room for improvement and I would be happy to see test tube prove herself more, just like she did after forgiving cabby and voting for her to win iii.

their great potential and similarities with each other

Now I personally think that their arc could be one of the most interesting ones in the series if just given some more chance, because these two are actually very similar if you think about it. They both have been somewhat been turned down by their teammates, which gives them more willingness to prove them wrong. Test tube has been seen to be too “into the role” especially in episode 14, which might also be because her best friend was literally kidnapped by aliens, but when fan was saved, she was still not satisfied, which destroyed her respect she had from others. And the reason why she wasn’t satisfied is because microphone got all the credit. But microphone didn’t mean to steal her reputation, since she was against hurting anyone in the first place. The plot-twists in their arc’s are so entertaining, it makes it even more fun to study. And if we get to see these two characters making up somewhere in the future, it would complete their arc perfectly. Happy ending yay

Conclusion

Microphone doesn’t hate test tube, but rather feels guilty for what she did to her.

Test tube has now proved us that she is willing to forgive someone if knowing all point of views.

Their arc hasn’t ended yet, and much more depth could come out in the future between these two characters.

thanx for reading please correct me if there were any mistakes in my takes 😁

end of analysis✌️

[helshollowhalls]

I have some thoughts. On Mysta's graduation. And the current state of Nijisanji in general.

At the end of the day, I am not surprised. I expected someone else to graduate first, hell I even expected Niji to keep more of an iron grip on their money makers aka Luxiem in order to milk them for more cash, but I digress.

Mysta is graduating and it only goes to show that their 'money first, talent... third? last?' approach comes back to bite them in the arse. This might be the potential wakeup call for everyone who has yet to realize that the entire English branch of Nijisanji is crumbling away in record time because of the absolutely abysmal talent management and treatment of the livers.

I refrained from speculating who would be the next ones to graduate after Nina - simply because I will leave that job to the anonymous leakers on the site/platform that shall not be named here. Apparently Shu and Vox were brought up as the potential next people to graduate (this is according to a recent Depressed Nousagi stream but he didn't show any screenshots so take that with a massive bucket of salt.) Mysta was allegedly also mentioned down the line, but he seemingly wasn't the first choice.

Honestly, if you think about it the entirety of Luxiem must be so done mentally. They didn't know what to expect when they signed up to become Nijisanji's first male English-speaking Vtuber group. They waltz onto the scene, explode in popularity all over the world out of nowhere basically and suddenly they're Niji EN's favorite child. The company is milking them for all they have because OH BOI do they rake in the cash - not to mention from a target audience that was completely ignored before in the EN corporate sphere - female viewers.

In a lot of things the boys weren't given any choice. Jazz On The Clock? The first ever second unit song in Niji EN ever and it was released even before their anniversary. With Luxiem being the fourth EN wave in total it felt a little counterintuitive - Wouldn't they start another potential wave of unit songs with LazuLight, their first wave? Well, now that Light Me Up is out and Pomu talked about the entire fiasco of LazuLight basically fighting management tooth and nail to be allowed a second unit song, I think most of us can guess how things are going at Anycolor. And in case you're not entirely convinced, just look at the amount of Luxiem merch Niji has put out compared to any other EN wave.

It's not just JotC, but their anniversary/irl Japan meetup stream as well. That stream was something that personally really rubbed me the wrong way because it felt very inauthentic. It felt like the five of them were just shoved into a room at the Niji HQ to play Smash and do some batsus while the executives and managers proceeded to lock the doors and breath down their necks for the entirety of the stream. The stream had a very different feel to it - Comparing it to other Luxiem collab streams or even other anniversary streams. Management didn't consider it necessary to order Obsydia or Ethyria to Japan and record their anniversary streams at the Niji HQ - Well, that would be because none of them make the company as much sweet sweet cash as Luxiem - Closest would maybe be Selen. And even she has been public about the management fuck-ups - I am talking about her outfit design contest here, of course.

But back to Luxiem. I don't follow them as closely as I used to in the beginning, infact I am only subscribed to Shu out of the five, so let's start from here.

The entire wave collectively tweeted very salty and sarcastic remarks about the official announcement of the EN 3D Live Concert being "postponed due to COVID" earlier this year. But out of all of them, it seemingly hit Shu the hardest. I noticed that he was streaming less and less, infact he still isn't streaming as much as he used to.

Ike... oh boi, where do I even begin. Judging from his spontaneous irl hangout with Vox recently and the amount of projects he has been involved in as a vocal mixer, not to mention his two recent songs of which one is an original, this man seems to be working 30 hours a day and is stressed to the max.

Mysta made his personal situation and his ongoing burnout/lack of goals to work towards very clear in his graduation announcement stream, so I won't go into detail.

Vox has also been streaming less frequently. During the course of his employment at Nijisanji he got diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD (I believe), started therapy and medication, had a panic attack during an ASMR stream, started new projects and also some personal issues in his private life to deal with.

I have to be honest about Luca - I don't really know anything about what is going on with him apart from the fact that he planned to move again and got a puppy.

In conclusion, I could see reasons for anyone of them graduating anytime soon. Management isn't treating them well - Management isn't treating anyone in EN well, it seems - and at some point that fact doesn't warrant staying with the company anymore. Plus, money isn't really an issue for any of them at this point I assume - Especially Vox and Mysta. Both of them have enough money to fulfill their potential aspirations as indies or under another agency or manager.

Infact, apart from a couple of livers I can see anyone graduating next because of how Nijisanji handles things.

Some may argue that it all started going downhill when they kicked Yugo or when Zaion got terminated - Regardless of what you think, at the end of the day, the entire branch is seemingly falling apart right in front of us and Nijisanji's reputation is tanking, especially with the English-speaking fanbase, while Hololive idly sits by and watches the drama unfold.

The consequences of Mysta leaving and the message it sends about Nijisanji and how they treat their livers can't be understated.

[sphaxcca]

My Candy Love New Gen ep. 4 Review

Here I am after finishing the last episode of MCL New Gen ready to give my honest and unasked opinion about it. Fasten your seatbelts cause we are about to start and i'm not gonna be gentle

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT...

So the episode opens with Elenda who's basically trying to drag us so bad to the Cosey Bear because apparently Castiel was serving there ( No judgement toward Elenda, i wanted to see my husband too). Unfortunately for me and her, he already had left when we showed up to the Cafe. >3>.

Seeing Lynn animated was so cute and a little bit nostalgic but nothing compared to the GASP I emitted when she started talking to Thomas and he told her he was in love with her. GEEEEZ, now i get why that kid was a pain in the ass and RUINED my pic-nic date with Tomato head, THE DOTS CONNECTED. Btw it was a very cute scene and a tribute to Iris that I hope she will show up in Thomas' route.

Moving on, inspired by Thomas' love confession, everybody starts talking about their love life (expected since the episode's name is hearts looking for love). And this is where things went horribly cringe and outrageous: Ofc i'm not talking about Elenda and Devon ( It was cute to know that she had a crush on Devon and, about him, a little peak to where the story is possibly going to lead - a busy man that works his ass off so bad for Devenementiel and has no time to date)or Amanda but about ROY and BRUNE.

Hoooooly shit, the chill of second hand embarassment that I got just by reading the interractions between these two was undescribable I swear( Elenda became basically my guide spirit: her reaction was the same i had. ). Everything was so outofcontext and nonsense that I'm actually wondering why Beemov decided it was a great idea to give space to something so....childish? I mean, we're talking about (almost) 30yo people.. and they got together because they were...desperate??????? - "Yeah with my exes things weren't doing good so we decided to date even tho we don't talk, don't touch and fell uncomfortable with each other" - COOOME ON, BFR, you guys ok? Also, I really hope that we're gonna discover something deeper about Roy (or that he's going to get a development at least) that makes him more that what i can pick up and feel from him right now: childish Gymrat fixed on pool that give us nothing. I'm genuine deluded about the way they handled this.

Moving on to JASON PART. He basically shows up when we're still talking sitted by the table. I was obviously expecting the part where he was going to be pointed out as a "womanizer" but what I DID NOT EXPECT was the reaction he had when he overhears our conversation: I felt him being sarcastic as usual but at the end i felt he was kinda....hurt??? idk if you get what i mean, he literally said he had REASONS why he doesn't want to be in full term relationship and this opens my mind to an INFINITE AMOUNT OF THEORIES

Connected to what I've read on some theories here, someone said it's because of the condition ( or the pathology) that made his hair go white...

This is a really good point but I genuine think about something else that is connected to this and the SHOCK NUMBER 2: Why Devenementiel hates Jason so much?

Apparently our "proud and superior" man with an incredible fragile ego had PLAGIARIZED the project the would have helped Devon to found Devenementiel and, because of that, he was fired and disqualified by the contest. So...first things first: PIECE OF SHIT. Secondly, I genuine would have never thought about him doing something like this and that's the reason why i don't think he did it because he wanted to but perphaps he WAS PUSHED to do so.

Another theorie said that probably he was helped by a third person that played dirty and suggested him the same project Devon did

And I have to admit that this is something very likely, but stil don't really convince me too much.

We can clearly see that Jason has a lot of money, A LOT, and by the way he has so much money i'm assuming he comes from a family that at least has the same amount of capital he has now. We got told that he was basically working as an employer (if i remember correctly) so why trying to steal something from others if you are satisfied and don't need a job? perhaps because you NEED that first place to REDEEM yourself and PROVE someone wrong at least so that.. THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS. That's where his family and the white hair make their part: A Dad Ceo that basically disgraced his Son because he couldn't follow or keep up with the family business or - he wasn't good enough- for the role ( and that's why the white hair, because of the stress) . Another thing that might prove this is the fact that Devon told us that he had "private investors" and...i mean, if you're broke, i don't think you can find them just by snapping your fingers and make them appear in front of you, especially when you get fired and disqualified in a competition. He could have use the "family" name and hi charisma to persuade the investors to help him found Goldreamz. And THIS leads me to the last point: Why no long term relationship? Because his family has to end with him and he's scared of the consequences that a partner can have in his life. This reminded me so much Simon from Bridgerton btw. So yeah...I might be wrong (99%) but i want to think that he's a piece of shit just because he's hurt.

His special scene was normal i guess, i love the way my candy was looking at the instagram photos be like - "i'm just studying the enemy...not doing something wrong..maybe".

In the end i decided to try for the Thomas illustration and nothing to complain about, the scene was genuine one of the most cute one in the game so fare and the ilusstration 10/10 chef's kiss and handshake by the president.

[glitchedtravel]

TRAVERSE - Chapter ³

(manhwas x reader)

When you woke up, you have bandages all around your torso and were in someone's room to which you recognise as Han Yoojin's room. 'Wait why am I in his room..?' You questioned. The door to your left suddenly opened and low and behold, who would've guessed it's the main character itself.

"Oh you're awake! I'm glad!" Han Yoojin exclaimed happily. You sat up from your laying position quickly, forgetting you were not supposed to show any strength. He flinched and quickly walk towards you to stop you from sitting up, "Ahh don't sit up so quickly! You're still hurt..!"

You winced at his caring nature but quickly faked a sweet smile at him. "It's fine, it doesn't hurt that much!" What a liar you are but this is light compare to the last story. Han Yoojin frown at your dismissal and you quickly changed the subject, "Where is the girl from before?"

"Ah- she's at training room right now. I'm about to check up on her!" He said. "Hyung, are you ready?" Someone called from out of the room and you immediately know who it is. The calling out 'hyung' is obvious as well. The person then entered the room and- 'He looks as majestic as Yoo Joonghyuk, that's not fair!' It's Han Yoohyun, Han Yoojin's famous little brother, "What are you doing?" You could feel his intimidating gaze directed towards you.

"Ah, I'm just checking on [name]..." It seems that he can also feel the pressure of the gaze from his younger brother. "I see." That reply from Han Yoohyun makes you shiver but you should used to it by now by how much characters you have met with the same gaze. You decided to break the awkward silence and one-sided staring contest with the man, "Take me with you. I'm going to visit the girl as well.." Han Yoojin's eyes widened a bit in concern and surprise, "I think it's better that you should stay in bed—" You cut him off with a chuckle, "Don't underestimate me so much.. I'm not that weak."

Safe to say that you managed to convince him in the end and now you're in the elevator with the two brothers, with Han Yoojin in the middle - separating you and his brother. You glance at Han Yoohyun while he conversed with Han Yoojin, 'Why are you wearing something so extra...' You and Han Yoojin are wearing normal comfortable yet presentable clothes while Han Yoohyun wears a whole fancy outfit, looking like he's going to a meeting. Suddenly and unfortunately, the latter made eye contact with you, making you flinch and avert your gaze instantly. 'Geez I hate you!' You mentally screamed at Han Yoohyun. Once you three arrived at the training room floor, it's all... been absolutely wrecked out with ice everywhere. "...What was that about withstanding S-rank attacks?" You snickered at Han Yoojin's comment, hiding it behind your hand.

The three of you look at the damaged done before you then saw Bak Yerim in a blue hoodie and doing a flip in the air. Landing on the ground crouching, then standing up to attack the poor punching bag with some more ice coming out of her fist. You can see her mouth moving but you can't hear what she said. She then slammed her foot on the ground as shadows starts to stretch and form far and wide, grabbing at everything it can reach. She activated her skill and the grips of the shadows tightened to which Han Yoojin freaked out at, while you just... stepped to the side a bit.

Then, she once again stomped her foot on the floor but this time, it cracked under the pressure like the rest of the surrounding. She runs forward, each step create more and more damage until she stop to punch the floor and ruin it while saying 'Bazinga." near you three. It was within hearing range so you cringed a bit at that, 'I know you were going to say that but I was hoping you wouldn't.'

You hold back a laugh seeing the state Han Yoojin is in, looking like he's about to die shriveled up. You crouch down beside him to poke at his cheek while Han Yoohyun yelling at his brother seem to caught the busy girl's attention. Bak Yerim flinched in shock at him as Han Yoojin complimented the girl faintly and Han Yoohyun is acting like his brother is about to die while you're still poking at his cheek. When Bak Yerim took off her hood and asked if Han Yoojin was okay, the latter is surprise to see her new haircut. Sparkles surround you when you saw how pretty she looks, not minding the fact that Han Yoojin almost seemed to panic at her new change. They exchanged a more words to each other, as you stand there with a small smile.

The girl glance to Han Yoojin's side and saw you to which she beamed more brightly. "It's you!" She grabbed your hands enthusiastically, "I'm so glad to see you awake- Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't introduce myself! I'm Back Yerim!" cutting herself off to introduce herself with a boyish grin. "Are you feeling okay? You're not feeling any pain right? What's your name?" She bombarded you with questions and you try your best to catch up, chuckling at her antics, "I'm [Name], it's nice to see you again, Bak Yerim. I'm okay, don't worry!" Unknowingly leaving the two brothers in the dark watching you two interact. "Um...?" Han Yoojin tries to politely interrupt the interaction. "Oh right! My registration!" She lets go of your hand, to which you sigh in relief quietly as to not offend her. The two of them continue to converse amongst themselves.

"I thought you like physical touch?" The system asked. You shook your head 'non' lightly, "It's confusing. Don't worry too much about it," you whispered. You feel Han Yoojin bump into you and you stepped back as well, grabbing his waist on instinct. "Ah! Sorry [Name]!" His face flushed when you grabbed his waist but he dismiss it and just apologise instead. "No no I'm sorry for grabbing onto you like that," You let go of your hands with a smile even if you feel like you just commit a crime on the inside. While you and Han Yoojin have a pleasant conversation of dismissing each other's apologies just to apologise again, the other pair kept on arguing.

"Host, you are going to be convincing the protagonist on staying later to make dinner and, or clean as disguise. We will be discussing an unfortunate change in our mission." The system interrupted your moment with a serious tone. Your face twitched, knowing what's going to incurred again...

[lemonxlimee]

Okay well I'm bored so here's some of my osc headcanons

Outdated as of May 29th 2024

Sibling/Family

Pencil and Pen are siblings. Pencil is older by a few years, and Pen has trouble being apart from her for too long due to his RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). Marker is their cousin, he's younger than them both.

Tree, Leafy, Flower and Grassy (in that order) are siblings. They usually don't acknowledge this because the age gaps between them are so big, but Flower and Leafy have a propensity to favour each other since their ages are closer and they grew up together. Their ages in BFB are: Tree: 27, Leafy: 19, Flower: 18, Grassy: 6

Woody is a cousin. He's 17 in BFB.

Silver Spoon and Knife are brothers. They don't know that; Silver Spoon was raised in a rich neighbourhood by their mother, and Knife was "raised" by his "father" somewhere else.

Firey and Match are half-siblings. Firey is a little older than Match.

Firey Jr is the result of a failed Firey recovery. The former likes to think of them as brothers, but Firey would rather not think about the little one.

I also agree with the idea that Firey is a fireafy child, but I don't like fireafy so I choose to ignore it.

Paintbrush and Broomer are cousins, and they have lunch over their art every other weekend. Paintbrush is The Broomer Boys' album artist.

Gelatin and Lollipop are not related, but they think of each other as their sibling. Gelatin is younger than Lolly.

Fan and Paper are cousins.

Coiny and Nickel (bfb) are twins, but Nickel is younger.

If they were to be humans, Yin and Yang would be conjoined twins.

Book, Journal and Casey are siblings.

Fan and Fanny are siblings.

General

Black Hole has alexithymia. That means he has trouble identifying his emotions and often feels as if he doesn't have them.

Liy used to be an assassin; that's why she found so much joy and fulfilment in being part of Death PACT.

Because of his RAD, Pen has convinced himself he and Eraser are soulmates.

Two's birthday is 2/2/2002. They're the third-youngest Numeric Algebralien, the only younger being Four (4/12/2004) and X (7/28/2008).

Golf Ball made herself prosthetic arms, but she rarely uses them as she finds them to be "a hassle." Tennis Ball wears him, though, only because he feels an obligation to use GB's invention (since she made it for him, and it would be rude not to accept a gift!)

all the Electric contestants (Remote, TV, Robot Flower, Lightning and Fanny) are in an alliance. Price Tag and Profily are honorary members.

Coiny is dyslexic. That means he has trouble identifying words and letters and often spells and reads things incorrectly.

Bell loves Christmas music and often forces her teammates to go carolling with her every morning in December.

Blocky is great at physics (some of his pranks wouldn't work unless he carefully calculated them first, so he needs to be at least a little smart). One time, while helping nanny one of Rocky and Grassy's playdates, he noticed GB building a contraption where the support beams were slightly too small, and he helped her fix them. Much to the surprise of everyone involved, Blocky ended up being an asset to the scientists.

Firey speaks Spanish, and Taco is fluent in Mexican Spanish; they often can be heard muttering to each other about their respective Grrrs. Neither Leafy nor the rest of TLTDBGSI know this.

Pie wakes up at 3:14 AM every single day. Since Fanny is a light sleeper, it bothered her for the entire 6 months they had to room.

Fanny isn't much more grateful for having to bunk with Marker, either -- if it were up to her, he'd be sleeping in the yard.

Needle was the kid who tries way too hard in gym class but no one complained because WOW can she kick that ball

Like all metal and electric-based characters, Nickel can zap people by touching them, if the conditions are right. The only exceptions to this are Balloon and Goo since they are made of rubber-based materials.

Pillow smells like lavender

Match has autism

Book speaks 5 languages - English, French, Latin, Greek and German

Firey Jr is very skilled in lockpicking. He usually uses this to get into Firey's gas stash (their equivalent to candy).

Genders

Leafy is bigender, she/it

Golf Ball is unlabelled (who has time for silly things like this when there's more important things (science) to be done??)

Book is mtf

Pillow uses she/it

All the algebraliens are agender

One uses he/she Two uses they/he Four uses he/they/it Five uses she/they Six uses she/he/they Seven uses he/it Eight uses he/they Nine uses any/all Ten uses he/they Fourteen uses it/he Fifteen uses she/he X uses he/they Pi, tau, euler, and i all use they/it

Lollipop is mtf

Fanny is a demigirl

all the mechanical minds are agender and just go with whatever pronouns

Pie (canonically?) Uses she/they

Pen is ftm

Sexualities (there's a lot here)

(INHALE)

8 ball is aroace Balloony is gay Barf Bag is asexual panromantic Basketball is lesbian Bell is ace lesbian Black Hole is aroace/gay Blocky is gay Bomby is aroace Book is lesbian Bottle is pan Bracelety is VERY lesbian Bubble is lesbian Cake is gay Clock is demi/bi Cloudy is gay Coiny is bisexual David is ??? Donut is pan Dora is ??? Eggy is demi lesbian Eraser is bicurious (thought he was gay for AGES until Teardrop) Fanny is demi/pan Firey is straight Flower is lesbian Foldy is straight Fries is straight Gaty is unlabelled (sexuality doesn't matter to her as long as she has friends, and if she falls in love, oh well!) Gelatin is aroace Golf Ball is unlabelled (who has time for silly things like this when there's more important things (science) to be done??) Ice Cube is unlabelled (too focused on REVENGE >:D) Leafy is bi Liy is demi/ace Lollipop is lesbian (obviously) Loser is gay Marker is asexual Match is lesbian Naily is bicurious Needle is bi Nickel is gay Pen is gay Pencil is lesbian Pillow is lesbian Pin is bi Price Tag is unlabelled (rimshot) Profily is aroace Puffball is pan Remote is unlabelled/asexual Robot Flower is unlabelled (what is sex.?) Roboty is aroace Ruby is lesbian Saw is lesbian Snowball is straight Spongy is aromantic but wouldn't pass up on an opportunity to have any relationship Stapy is straight Taco is demiro/demisexual Teardrop is bi Tennis Ball is straight Tree is pan TV is aroace Winner is gay/ace Woody is bi/ace Yellow Face is ??? All the Speaker Boxes are aroace Four is bi Two is unlabelled X is bi

[lu-lus-dicks]

@huskers-bar x @nunalastor chapter 4

Tags: enemies to lovers, angst?, eventual fluff, yearning?, soft huskers-bar, both mods are separate people, no beta we die like i do, minor character death, ooc, au: hellaverse (hazbin hotel), nunalastor is head of the marketing department, jealousy?, huskers-bar is an employee at voxtek, lulu as a villain, huskers-bar is a liar, secret dating?

chapter: 4/? / chapter Word count: 2,484 / total word count: 7,426

nunalastor as a single entity is nunalastor, traumatized mod dickmaster and cursed mod nun. and huskers-bar just husk/huskers. babygirl anon will be babygirl anon. I will be lulu. Angie will be angie but is meant to be read as angel dust.

A/N: pure lore this chapter. Almost none of the funny :( sorry. i've decided that as an apology for not being active at all today, the entirety of the next chapter is just going to be nunalastor fucking. I will also stop talking about plot from now on, cuz i'm just bullshitting my way through at this point.

"Hi" Lulu greeted. The room fell into an awkward silence, and the air thickened with palpable tension. Lulu locked his gaze with Alastor's, refusing to look away. The seconds stretched into minutes, elongating the unspoken battle of wills and determination, a staring contest neither wanted to lose, although Lulu was undeniably unaware of the game and was just being a menace.

"how may I assist you today?" Alastor finally spoke, his voice punctuated by a forced smile that failed to reach his eyes. The constant staring wasn't enough to get him to blink even once, but the mundane nature of just staring at Lulu was more than reason enough for Alastor to interject their five extremely long minutes of silence. Plus he didn't need the other members of the hotel to start asking questions. they were too persistent anyway.

Lulu snapped out of his reverie, jolted back to reality by Alastor's question. He rummaged through his bag, shuffling items aside in search of something specific, his actions conveying a sense of excitement. Ugh, he could've been a living vibrator with how jarring the immediate mood shift was. "Ah, right," He mumbled, his attention divided between the bag and Alastor. "I'm here to try and convince you to help me... Again."

Alastor let an exasperated sigh slip, pinching the bridge of his nose. This had been the third time lulu approached him this week alone and this feral... whatever that thing was, wasn't giving up on it "we've already went over this lulu, I am not going to help you steal Lucifers blood"

Lulu pouted, letting out a saddened squeak, his hands immediately stopping their search for the list of reasons Alastor should let Lulu steal Lucifers blood "Not even for 75 souls? Really cute ones?" He bargained, shoulders slumping and posture generally turning a lot more depressed, just like the owner of those shoulders probably was.

"No." Alastor reiterated, "No amount of souls is going to cut it."

The very annoyed and pissed expression on lulus face was honestly disgusting. Lulu leaned in closer, as if the proximity would convince Alastor. oh how wrong he was.

"Dear, why don't you just stop with this nonsense?" Alastor said, the corners of his trademark fake smile twitching in irritation. He put his hands back behind him and stepped away. The more distance between this creature and him the more comfortable he felt.

"what if it was the entire west side of the pentagram?" Lulu offered, sort of as a last ditch attempt... for today at least. Lulu was not exactly sane enough to know when to quit.

"I highly doubt a creature such as yourself is going to be able to achieve such a thing" Alastor answered, mostly as a jab to Lulus pathetic self, but the idea of him gathering so many souls was an amusing one.

However, Lulu didn't think so. Lulus eyes lit up with mischief, immediately switching from that almost-scowl to a smirk even the devil wouldn't be able to mimic. He jumped from the realization, "so that is a maybe! progress"

Alastor shouldn't be surprised but he is. Why is Lulu so obsessed with lucifers blood? sure it tasted good but not that good. Alastor sighed, shaking his head in disbelief and spoke "if that was all you came here for than you're welcome to leave"

"yeah, okay-" Lulu cut himself off as soon as he noticed a sexy four armed hottie walking by the door. "woah! who's that sexy thing over there?"

"excuse me?" Angie turned his head at the directed voice at him. he looked left and right, as if to make sure it was really him that this random imp looking creature was talking to. Once he was sure there was no one else, he put on his trademark seductive smile "oh, are you one of my fans?"

"no, never seen you in my life. what's a beautiful thing like you doing here?" Lulu said casually, running up to Angie and circling around him. The concept of personal space must've been a heaven thing because Lulu was prodding at absolutely every part of Angie.

"oh, that's a first." Angie chuckled nervously as he watched Lulu welcome himself to his body. "well the names angie"

"the names lulu." Lulu answered in a heartbeat. He finally relented the assault and turned to Alastor, waving "Bye Alastor, I'll be stealing your bitches"

"what?"

~

"he's the most precious thing I have with me here at the hotel!" Angie said petting the pig in question. Little fat nuggets was very comfortably set in his lap and was napping.

"he is a cute pig, i'll admit." Lulu said, laughing along and staring at the adorable little creature. He tapped his fingers against the nearest surface, humming to himself. "hmm... say though, what is it that you actually desire? surely there's more to your existence than just taking care of fat nuggets?"

Angie slumped at that question, he didn't like being reminded of work, especially not when he's supposed to be relaxing. HE looked away, scratching the back of his head "oh, that's complicated"

"how so?" Lulu pried, crossing his legs, picking up his teacup and taking one sip. "It's tea time, and tea needs spillin"

Angie shrugged, reaching out one of his four arms to grab his own cup. he blew on it before taking a sip and sighing. "well, I kinda sold my soul to a blind prick" He began

"ah, gotcha" Lulu nodded, "go on, what's this prick like?" he pried, observing him with a keen eye.

That was all it took for Angie to start going off. "he's a real asshole, and not the sexy kind. he has no sense of personal space and is so insistent on always having me around. it's pathetic really-"

As Angie continued his rambling about how unbearable val was, Lulu listened attentively, observing him with a keen eye. Sensing Angie's frustration and dissatisfaction, Lulu formulated a surprising proposal. "What if I told you," Lulu interjected, his voice filled with intrigue, "that I could help you with that?"

"You're serious?" Angie asked, his voice tinged with both skepticism and caution, but he wasn't too against the idea, who would be?

Lulu nodded, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Absolutely. I have been trying to find a way to gain status you see, and what better way than to steal the porn overlords most prized bitch?"

Angie leaned forward, his attention fully captured by Lulu's proposition. "And what would you want in return? I've learned the hard way that nothing comes without a price. Not making that mistake again"

Lulu's smile widened as he raised his teacup to his lips, savoring another sip before placing it back on the table. "you're absolutely right. The thing is, the plan I have in mind isn't one I can carry out on my own. I need a helping hand. A partner in crime" Lulu said, letting the rest be left unspoken.

"i'm not helping you kill someone" Angie said, crossing his first set of arms over his chest and wrapping the second around fat nuggets almost like a shield.

"kill? nonsense" Lulu said, waving his hand in dismissal, as if even the mere idea of it was ridiculous. |I need you to help me collect souls. souls that will give me a name. nothing more. I can guarantee I will not be harming any soul that I collect"

That sounded very sketchy. On one hand, yes it made sense, collecting souls was how other overlords became overlords, but most overlords were also assholes. Angie couldn't let another one like valentino exist in the world. But the offer was too tempting... "how do I know you ain't lying?"

Lulu got up, extending a hand over to angie, pausing first in confusion. He was having trouble deciding which hand would need shaking "uh..." He shook it off. "I'll make a contract. In exchange for your assistance, I promise to free you from valentino grasp. In addition, I promise that I will not harm a single soul in the process"

Angie was sold. That was enough a reason to think this guy wasn't fucking around. "As you already know, I've already sold a part of my soul. no need for the deal. I'll help you"

"wonderful. I'll be discussing the plan with you two weeks before the next extermination"

~

Vox stared at Huskers, his crimson eyes narrowing as he processed the situation. Alastor, the infamous Radio Demon, had broken another of Vox's employees watches. His anger was palpable and causing static to appear between his antennas. "That fucking bastard?!"

Husk shifted uncomfortably under Vox's gaze. The pitch shift in Vox's voice was stupid but a little intimidating. "I'm sorry. I didn't get to talk to him, I went to this hotel after Angie offered, and I just stumbled upon him there"

Vox looked like he was about to blow a fuse but for a moment Vox's anger got replaced with a smirk. He paced back and forth across his office, his sharp claws clicking against the marble floor. The gears in his mind (literally) spun rapidly, taking into account every single opportunity he had now that husk was attending the hotel.

"Hmm," Vox muttered, his screen displaying a smirk worthy of the sexiest man on twitter. "Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. Someone to gather intel on my dear Alastor-I mean, that asshole!" He turned his attention back to Huskers, his gaze piercing. "It has failed once, but to be fair, that Pentious was a complete idiot." Vox paused, putting a finger up to his face. "Do they trust you?"

Husker hesitated, unsure how to respond. "Uh... not particularly," they admitted. Sure, they were in hell, but they were almost killed on the first day, that can't be a sign of trust.

Vox waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Unimportant. From now on, you are free from all other duties," He declared, his voice full of pure adulterated joy, one only a horny man like vox could make. "Your primary job will be to gather intel on that radio prick. I want to know his every move, his every plan. What he eats. Where he sleeps. What his favorite color is. What time he goes to sleep. What his hooves look like-"

"But sir—" Husker began, his voice tinged with hesitation.

Vox's eyes narrowed, his patience wearing thin. "Do not even try to negotiate with me on this," he warned, his voice laced with a dangerous edge. "I own your soul" He reminded.

Husker's shoulders slumped, defeated. "Okay," he muttered, his voice barely audible. It would be fine. He saw Alastor once the entire day anyway and that was when he needed to break his tech. He wouldn't even get the opportunities to gather intel anyway.

"good" Vox turned away, his mind already racing with schemes and plots. He had been blindsided by Alastor once, but this time would be different. He would have his dear Alastor tied up and begging for mercy!

~

"and that concludes today's exercises! you're free to go about your days as usual now!" Charlie clapped, signaling everyone's dismissal. She turned to huskers and called out before they could leave "Huskers, may I have a moment?"

"yes, your... highness?"

Charlie chuckled, shaking her head. "Just Charlie," she corrected, her warm smile putting Huskers slightly at ease. "You know we have rooms at the hotel for you to stay at, right? I think it would be beneficial for all of us if you were available as soon as we started, and if it's something you'd like?"

Huskers' shoulders slumped and they sighed. "I mean, it's not entirely up to me, Princess. I'd have to consult with my boss first," They explained. It wouldn't be everyday that Vox showed mercy.

Charlie's expression turned thoughtful, and she nodded understandingly. "Alright, we'll let you talk it out with him and hopefully we can get you here!"

Charlie's excitement died down quickly though, realizing that due to short staff (literally), they were out of rooms where people could actually survive. "Unfortunately, we only have one empty and clean room at the hotel right now, and it's up with our marketing staff."

Huskers eyes lit up. The marketing staff? That's Nunalastor!

"And they tend to get messy at nigh-"

"I'll do it!" they far too quickly accepted, not wanting to miss the opportunity. "I don't mind at all. I'd love to take the room! I'm sure nu-the marketing staff are lovely!" they chuckled nervously, making it way too obvious what their intentions were.

Charlie, bless her heart, either didn't notice or didn't mention it. Her eyes sparkled with joy. "Wow, such enthusiasm! See, I knew I was right about you!"

~

Alastor hummed to himself as he traveled up the stairs. He couldn't help but overhear huskers little interaction with charlie and he just couldn't let the opportunity for some chaos and fun pass. He approached the door to Dickmasters and Nuns room and knocked thrice. Some thumping could be heard on the other side before the door opened in front of him.

Dickmaster answered "yes?"

"greetings, cohorts" Alastor greeted with that charming smile of his. Both Nun and Dickmaster collectively rolled their eyes.

"do you mind? we're in the middle of a fucking..." Dickmaster trailed off.

"we are not fucking, they're just too dumb to finish that sentence" Nun shouted from behind the room. The fact that they were sprawled across the bed in nothing but a shirt on wasn't helping the situation.

Alastor chose to not comment on it. He didn't care. His eyes gleamed with mischief as he began to speak "I have a favor. you see this new resident of ours is here to make my life miserable. I can hear vox's pathetic begging almost from across the pentagram, and they're a spy of his. I'm sure of it, however I don't view them as a threat"

Dickmaster raised a brow, unamused. "uhm, congrats? what's that gotta do with us?"

Alastor chuckled, leaning in font of them, hands resting on his cane. "oh, nothing much. I simply ask that you make their life miserable with your charming little quirks"

Nun and Dickmaster exchanged glances, contemplating Alastor's request. It wouldn't be hard and could prove to be quite entertaining. Plus, Nun wanted to stick it to that guy for some reason. After a brief silence, they smirked and nodded. "oh, will do at some point. What's in it for us though?"

"Entertainment"

"that's hardly a fair deal"

"By the looks of things, that isn't going to stop you." Alastor doesn't wait for a response and starts to melt away into his shadow. "they'll be staying in the room across from you." is the words he left with.

"fuck that guy with his own cane, seriously"

[pinbitch]

"and i am CONVINCED that it was azazel scheming to put someone else on the throne of hell to BLOCK lucifer’s ascension from the cage" literally stopped and stared bc i've never heard this one before, can you please elaborate

oh yes! i love this theory! be prepared for a LONG ANSWER

so basically imo the boyking and lucifer’s vessel arcs don’t entirely mesh. why go through all the trouble of creating all the special children and having them compete when sam is the one who HAS to be lucifer’s vessel? what’s the point of creating a monarch who is powerful enough and motivated to rule hell in their own right if they’re just gonna be possessed by lucifer? and why still be feeding babies demon blood in series 1? we know lucifer told azazel to find a child, to find his vessel, but having that child rule hell as the demons were expecting per the boyking comment doesn’t make sense. why would the winner of azazel’s contest ever give up their power and their BODY to be lucifer’s puppet? it doesn’t make sense

so, what does? (or at least is fun and interesting to think about)

i’ve always though demons as a whole should have been more conniving. the hell politics we got were always too simplistic. where are the SCHEMES. surely crowley wasn’t the only one who realised that lucifer had an even lower opinion of demons than of humanity and didn’t want him ruling?

azazel knew lucifer personally, was created by lucifer personally. he knows exactly what lucifer is like, so why wouldn’t he have an accurate understanding of how fucked demonkind would be if lucifer came back and the apocalypse started? also, he’s running hell, why would he want to give up that power? but he’d also want plausible deniability, both so he could control the demons who still support lucifer (like lilith and his own daughter meg!) and also on the off chance he failed and lucifer did rise

which leads us to the special children. this is where i get more into the realm of headcanon in terms of what hell is actually like, but i still think it tracks with the show. the descriptions of hell and the visuals of hell we get are all wildly different. crowley’s queue, dean’s pit, sam’s medieval dungeon, meg’s bone and blood and pain. they’re different enough that i think hell changes based in your perception. either to what will make you suffer the most (dean and meg), or if you’re powerful enough what you tell it to be (crowley very much on purpose, sam subconsciously. he created hell into somewhere he could relatively easily rescue bobby from)

all this to say that hell is a living thing. it can accept or reject a ruler, and the more accepted they are the harder it is for a ruler to be deposed. if they’re integrated with hell enough they simply can’t be. lucifer as the creator of demonkind and original ruler should be the best fit and the most accepted, but lucifer doesn’t want hell, he’ll always resent being there instead of heaven, so hell will never completely accept him. and a demon will never truly be accepted either, because they’re not lucifer and they’re not an angel, so they’re not enough like him to be a fully effective substitute

but a human with demon blood? they’re closer to the divine than a demon, but they don’t know heaven to long for it. there’s every possibility that hell would accept that special child more than azazel and more than lucifer, and because that child has the full power and support of the creature that is hell they might be able to hold the cage closed even with lilith’s death, or simply stop lucifer from taking power in hell once he’s risen, or even outright kill lucifer

so with that in mind, of course sam is the favourite. azazel is gambling here so he’s keeping his options open with multiple candidates, but lucifer’s true vessel is always gonna have the best chance of being accepted by hell and taking lucifer’s place. as long as he can control sam he’s coming up roses

but then azazel dies, and i don't see him trusting his true plans and motivations to any other demon, so they all just play out the apocalypse like they thought they were supposed to from the start. except for the crowleys (and in my headcanon ruby but that’s a question for when i finally finish and publish kindred instruments rip) who are smart enough to figure out that lucifer views them as vaguely useful cockroaches

obviously this is a watsonian answer to a doylist question, but i always find those the most fun anyway

[girlactionfigure]

🟤 Fri morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

✡️ Erev (before) Shabbat - Parshat Kedoshim - Leviticus 19:1-20:27 - “You shall be holy, for I, the L‑rd your G‑d, am holy” followed by dozens of mitzvot (commandments) through which a Jew sanctifies him/herself and relates to the holiness of G‑d.  These include: prohibition against idolatry, charity, equality before the law, Shabbat, intimate morality, honesty in business, honor one’s parents, and the sacredness of life.

💩U.S. ARMS - THE JUSTIFICATION PHASE.. 

.. US State Department: We think that the Rafah operation will weaken Israel's position in the negotiations for the deal and its position in the world.  

.. The White House stated the United States provided Israel with alternatives for action against Hamas, and that Biden directed his team to continue working to inflict a "lasting defeat" on Hamas. (( Israel tried the U.S. suggestion, but was unable to convince the unicorns to enter the tunnels. ))

▪️LAG B’OMER IN MERON - CANCELLED.. due to the security situation and attacks by Hezbollah, Lag b’Omer celebrations by the Tomb of Rashbi are fully cancelled. 

▪️WEEKEND PRO-DEAL PROTESTS.. in Tel Aviv, much smaller than last week.  Still thousands, loud, fires (this time flares).  As has become the practice, the protestors also broke out of their protest zone and blocked and lit fires in additional areas.

▪️EUROVISION.. is a big cultural deal for Israel.  Israel’s contestant, Eden Golan, has made the finals!

▪️THE AID PIER STILL HELD UP.. CNN: many weather delays - the US humanitarian wharf for Gaza suffers from challenges regarding the manpower to operate it. Britain changed its mind and withdrew from a plan to station armed soldiers in Gaza to unload aid due to security concerns.

🔸DEAL ACTIVITY..  Egypt calls on the delegations of Hamas and Israel, which left Cairo, to "show flexibility" in the negotiations.

.. CNN: In talks in Cairo, Hamas demanded that Israel agree in advance to a ceasefire and a pause of 12 weeks, not 6 weeks.

⚠️NORTH TO GET HOTTER.. Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, close to Hezbollah: Iran gave an order to Hezbollah to step up against Israel, even at the cost of starting an all-out war.

♦️IDF ATTACKS.. IDF: during the last day the Air Force attacked and destroyed about 40 terrorist targets throughout Gaza including: military buildings, observation posts, terrorist squads and other military infrastructure.

♦️EAST RAFAH.. In east Rafah, troops located tunnel shafts, while the Armored Brigade killed gunmen in close-quarters combat and by calling in airstrikes in the area of the Rafah Crossing with Egypt.

♦️GAZANS EVACUATE.. Gazans: large numbers leaving Rafah, much more than what is reported on Al-Jazeera.  Gazans also leaving Rafah from areas not yet warned by the IDF, with the understanding that the operation would advance.

⭕ IRAQI THREAT FROM SYRIA.. the Iraqi Najabaa movement (a pro-Iranian Shiite militia) published that it will respond strongly to the Israeli attack this morning on its building in the Sayyidah Zaynab area in southern Damascus (Syria).

⭕ ANTI-TANK MISSILES.. fired into Israel, miss but started fires near Maayan Baruch.

⭕ HAMAS ROCKETS.. at Sufa, Holit.  It appears they have only short range from Rafah in recent attacks.

▪️BRAZIL CANCELS WEAPONS ORDER.. with Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit, because Israel bad.

▪️UNRWA: We decided to close our offices in East Jerusalem after Israelis set fire to the compound twice.

[quodekash]

msp and bbs parallels (mostly soundwin related bc the brainworms said so) in the form of the same meme template over and over again cos i said so 

it’s so specific but it works for both of them and i dont understand 

—- —-

again, it’s so specific BUT IT HAPPENED FOR BOTH OF THEM

—- —-

win is a sound engineer! 

—- —-

i know sound is predominantly an actor but he does these things as well 

—- —-

again, i know sound is predominantly an actor, but apparently pat is too and i ahd to include that here (and also they’re both so multi-talented how) 

—- —-

sometimes i am convinced that sound and pran are actually the exact same person just from different universes. this is one of those times. 

—- —-

AGAIN, IT’S THE SPECIFICS OF IT. PATPRAN MADE THE BET AT THE END OF EPISODE 6 (and if you just think about it for a sec then you realise them making the bet was them agreeing that the final goal is to fall in love, ergo they both want the other to fall in love with them, ergo they have both fallen in love already, ergo by making the bet they both lost immediately). SOUND SANG THE SONG AT THE END OF EPISODE 9, AND HE ARRIVED IN THE SHOW IN EPISODE 4, MEANING IT WAS HIS SIXTH FLIPPING EPISODE 

NO I AM NOT OKAY 

—- —-

it’s something about the three-letter w-names 

—- —-

shut up korn likes wai for most of the show and i refuse any other opinion 

—- —-

again, it’s SO SPECIFIC but it WORKS 

in the beginning, pran really didnt like pat and gun really didn’t like tinn. but already sound hated tinn more than gun ever did, and wai hated pat more than pran ever did. but wai was super supportive of pran and sound was super supportive of gun, and NEITHER OF THEM KNEW about tinngun/patpran 

—- —-

the scene with the canned drinks was korn hitting on wai after realising the architecture-engineering rivalry doesnt matter anymore and i refuse any other opinion. i wil gladly write an essay on why if you need proof. it’s very obvious that korn is deeply in love with wai. 

—- —-

again, the SPECIFICS 

in wai’s third episode (the third episode of the show), he sits down and gives pran some tips for writing the song for the freshy music contest (which leads into “the world’s one and only handsome pick” and “you cant surpress a smile when you think of someone you like”) 

in sound’s third episode (episode 6), he sits down and tells gun to think of a way to get into the song (which leads into gun thinking about tinn and smiling) 

—- —-

this one isn’t technically canonical for photjanee, but in episode 9 when she seemed to be suspecting it i guessed that she’s not homophobic but she’s never rly liked gun cos he’s not well behaved or whatever so she just doesnt like the thought of tinn dating gun specifically and i was wrong about that but ive already made this meme so im not getting rid of it 

—- —-

AND IT WORKS. FOR ALL OF THEM. 

HOW 

—- —-

okay last one now 

[howdidiendupshippingthispoll]

Have you known that a ship exists, but you have never thought of it that much until one day you realize you ship it and you don't know how it happened? Or have you thought that a ship wouldn't work but then somehow were convinced otherwise? Or you didn't know about a ship and suddenly said ship is everywhere and you can't help but fall in love with it? Well, then this contest is for you!

Shipping is a very funny part of any media! There are ships and ships, some cannon you love or hate, some no-cannon that you wish they had ended up together... and ships you don't know how you ended up shipping.

Really, there are ships you don't know how you ended up shipping! One day you are chill, happy with your life, and the next you are obsessing with a ship you might not even have known that it existed. In fact, that has happened to me twice just this year, so I decided to create a contest for those ships!

Rules:

Please, be respectful to everyone. Don't be rude to someone just because you don't like the ship or be mean in the tags or reblogs. Let everyone enjoy what they enjoy.

Propaganda is allowed and encouraged as long as you follow the first rule!

You can submit any ship you want, however, because I am not very familiar with a lot of media, I will ask you to please refrain from submitting any ship that you think might cause controversy or if they come from a very controversial media (like Harry Potter or South Park). You will be helping me a lot if you do this!

There are three exceptions to the above rule is that you CAN'T submit an illegal ship, nothing that features an adult with an underage. These ships will be instantly banned.

Also, for this contest, I will not accept OC's as part of the ship.

And last but not least, nothing that features real people. Singers, actors, youtubers, streamers, NO-ONE of flesh and meat.

The ship doesn't have to be cannon, they might not even interact in cannon, who cares? As long as you don't know how you ended up shipping them, then you can submit it! You can even submit characters from different media!

You can submit as many ships as you want but don't submit the same ship twice. Number of entries will not have that much of an influence in deciding if a ship enters or not.

Instead, I added a question for you to tell how you realized you shipped this. It can be anything! You didn't know about the ship but one day you saw a cute fanart of them and OMG they are adorable together; you didn't think of them as a couple but someone convinced you that they are pretty cute together and know you are ready to sink with the ship; or you know that the ship isn't that good in the story they are from, but my god, how could you not ship them?

This is not mandatory, of course, but the funniest and most interesting stories will have a better chance of entering the tournament.

Most important rule... have fun!

Here is the submission link for anyone interested:

They will close on Sunday June 4 at ECT time/GMT-5. If there are too many submission I will close earlier.

Some blogs that have inspired me are @controversial-blorbo-bracket, @weirdass-shiptournament, @guess-that-ship, @found-family-tournament, @died-but-not-dead-tournament and many more! Thank you for bringing joy with your polls!

[night-heron-writes]

My Thoughts on Spy x Family Chapter 75

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Chapter 75 of the manga

Firstly, the stellas were very much deserved all around. All four of them were very brave the entire time, and even though I think Anya and Damian each deserved an extra stella for the bomb collars around their necks, I wouldn't be surprised if Eden has a policy of not giving out more than one stella at a time to each student.

Becky wanting to use the event to launch her singing career is hysterical and honestly a very 6-year-old thing to do.

Now for the parents' reactions:

Mr. Blackbell wins 2nd place in the Most Concerned Parent Contest. He was literally ready to go to war for her and started bawling the moment she was safe.

The Anya/Yor reunion was sweet and went down pretty much as I expected. I am glad Anya got to break down and cry now that she and everyone else are safe.

Twilight's reaction was kinda underwhelming, but I'm banking on him just absolutely breaking down once he gets back home. He's probably still running on adrenaline and hasn't really processed anything yet.

But Melinda. Holy shit. This woman is complicated. Where do I even start with her?

I'm noticing how the positive, caring thoughts/emotions come first, and then are followed by the appallingly cold stuff. It's like her first, instinctual reaction is to love and worry for Damian, but she's desperately trying to convince herself she doesn't care.

Interestingly enough, the way she's talking here makes me wonder if she is Donovan's second wife. Not once has Melinda ever mentioned Demetrius, even with the Mommy Club. She did, however, bring up Damian in conversation with Yor.

If she is indeed Mrs. Desmond No. 2, then I'm very curious ab what might have happened to her predecessor. Her being Donovan's second wife would potentially explain the seemingly large age gap between Demetrius and Damian.

It also seems like she didn't want children, or at least didn't want to have children in this particular relationship. Given what we know of Donovan and what we now know of Melinda's psyche, I think its safe to say he is at the very least emotionally abusing his family and quite possibly doing much worse. He seems like the type to pull some messed up psychological shit. It would make sense imo for Melinda to not want to bring kids into that kind of household. But I can imagine her wishes not being respected, partly bc of societal pressure and partly bc Donovan doesn't seem to care what anyone else wants.

That might explain her abrupt attitude switch, if she has loads of Donovan-related trauma. She literally went from Yuri-levels of devotion to and obsession over her son to wishing he'd died in the hijacking within like 0.1 seconds after Donovan was mentioned. She even calls him "that man" instead of "my husband" or "your father", which is honestly very telling.

I wonder if Melinda trying to convince herself she doesn't care about Damian is so that Donovan can't use him against her. If this is the case, then Donovan getting wind of her actual feelings towards Damian could be disastrous for them both. This of course doesn't excuse her behavior in the slightest, but is one interesting theory to explain her mental and emotional state.

Melinda seems to think that Damian's existence traps her in the Donovan household. She both loves him because he's her son and resents him because he keeps her tied to a waking nightmare, hence her wishing he'd died in the hijacking. She probably thinks that if he'd died, they'd both be free. If she didn't have him to worry about, she would likely run away to the in-universe equivalent of Italy or something. I can't imagine her being happy in her current situation.

All in all, I'm starting to think that living in the dorms is really the safest, healthiest option for the Desmond kids. They may face ridiculously high expectations, but at least they have a solid routine and aren't in a house where they have to wonder if their parents actually care for their well-being.

I think it would be fascinating if at some point Melinda suffers a breakdown and ends up a patient of everybody's favorite psychiatrist, Loid Forger. What other kinds of issues lurk beneath the surface of her mind?