#and now i have a headache woohoo

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

I did something completely out of my comfort zone and I lived!

[leezuhh]

why does the human body have to be like "oho... you're extremely stressed out because you have four major assignments due tomorrow and nobody in one of your group project groups is saying anything? well.... i have just the thing for you ;)" [inflicts poison damage]

[milo-is-rambling]

Weight talk tw I guess idk how to describe the post sorry im a little high

It’s so weird being around people who talk about weight problems (IOP) and like idk it brings up weird shit in my brain almost anxiety that I should feel bad about myself somehow like I’m doing this wrong being confident idk. Weird self doubt thing that happens when you’ve loved yourself (hmm. Rephrase. I don’t care about being fat. let’s say that.) and then you’re in a room full of people having a group discussion about how they avoid living their life in happy ways because they don’t want to become like you. But you love yourself. But everyone in your life since you were little has been dieting and talking about weight and specific numbers (someone was anxious about gaining seven pounds! SEVEN. If they saw my scale they would shit themselves. I put on seven pounds taking a big bong rip Jesus fucking Christ seven pounds. I wanted to rip my hair out.)

Next time weight issues come up in IOP I’m stepping out of the room. Like idk how to explain it cause it’s like not a trigger but I guess it is ? But it’s just so weird like the way I’m triggered makes me want to cry why does the world hate me for being fat what the fuck !!!!

[fizzyapplecandy]

Ateez as Romance Tropes

The one with the one night stand

Other members

Seonghwa x Fem reader

Word count: 3.7k

Genres and warnings; accidental pregnancy, wrap it before you tap it!, minors dni, mild smut, mature language, fluff, humor, strangers to lovers

One night of passion brings you more than you can handle, but luckily Seognhwa is there to ease your jumbled mind.

"Oh God."

You stared at the two bright pink lines.

The lines that were about to change your whole life around.

"Oh my fucking God! Jongho!"

You rushed out of your bathroom and ran into the living room where your best friend was waiting, eyes wide with anticipation.

"So?" He asked, frozen in his spot when he noticed how frantic you were.

"It's... It's positive."

Both of your gazes dropped to your stomach, and you slowly lifted your hand to feel around it.

There was a tiny... Something inside of you. Something you never really thought about having, but weren't opposed to. But that something came too soon, too rushed.

"So... I don't mean to be that person, but... Is it, you know? Is it his?" Jongho questioned, being careful not to say the man's name out loud.

Your eyes widened, just now realizing what you have gotten yourself into.

"Oh no."

.

.

.

One month ago

"Woohoo!"

"Get down from the chair Wooyoung!"

You tried grabbing your friend's arm to pull him down, but he was too into the song to stay still. Luckily, his boyfriend knew how to handle him in situations like these.

"Come on now Woo, you're giving the poor girl a headache." San put his strong arms around his waist and lowered him to the ground.

"You guys don't know how to have fun!" A pouty Wooyoung shouted, placing kisses all over San's face. You just shook your head and went to the bar to get another drink.

It was a Saturday, and you always went out to your usual club with the boys. Jongho was deep into an arm wrestling contest with Yeosang, San and Wooyoung were now all lovey dovey in the corner, Mingi and Yunho were showing off their amazing dance moves, but Hongjoong was nowhere to be seen.

He usually stayed by your side, watching over the friend group, but he told you he was going to be late tonight. Hongjoong went on a business trip recently and met another aspiring designer along the way. You forgot his name, but you knew your friend was bringing him over tonight to meet you all.

You weren't in the mood, to be honest. Maybe it was because you had a tough week at work, trying not to strangle your new boss, or maybe because you were watching couples being all loved up. Honestly, you yearned for someone to hold onto at night, but it just wasn't meant to be yet.

"Why so sad, sugar?"

You turned around, surprised to hear his voice, even though you knew he was coming tonight.

"Hongjoong!"

He wrapped his arms around you, lifting you up and giggling along with you.

"Hey there! I missed you!"

"I missed you too! Gosh, I can't parent these kids no more!"

You laughed, but he understood how stressed you must have felt.

"No worries, daddy Hongjoong is back!"

"Joong, I'm glad, but please don't say it like that!"

You grimaced, and your friend only chuckled at your expression. It seemed like Hongjoong suddenly remembered something, because he turned around and waved someone over.

"Y/N, I want you to meet Park Seonghwa, the new friend I was telling you about."

"Hi there."

Goodness gracious. Park Seonghwa had to be the most handsome man on planet earth. His dark hair was cut short, but some of the longer strands fell over his eyes. He was dressed to the nines in something you probably couldn't afford to look at, and his stance was confident.

Almost borderline cocky, if you were being completely honest.

"O-Oh... Hello."

"You must be Y/N, right? Hongjoong has told me a lot about you, but I must say..."

He leaned over, whispering the next sentence in your ear.

"... I get why he calls you sugar, because you look like a real sweet treat."

Ah. There it is. You knew something must be wrong about such a handsome man. Of course he was a fuckboy.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm gonna go now, you two enjoy your night! Joong, come catch-up with us later!"

You blew a kiss to a confused Hongjoong, leaving him with Seonghwa and walking over to the rest of the group. They've settled down at the table in the meantime, and you were glad the chaos was over.

For now at least.

"Major fuckboy alert!"

Mingi gasped.

"Who's competing with me?"

You scoffed, pointing at the arm he had wrapped around Yunho.

"Please, be serious. You haven't left Yunho's side in how long now?"

Mingi pouted, leaning into his boyfriend's side.

"... Five years in August."

"That's right." You nodded, plating yourself beside Jongho.

The younger tapped you on the shoulder to make you look at him.

"What's up?"

You sighed, sipping on your vodka.

"Hongjoong's new friend is to die for, until he opens his mouth."

Jongho pointed his finger, making you follow along.

"You mean that one? They already said hi to us before going to the bar to find you, he was really cool."

"Yeah, maybe to you."

You wanted to continue your rant, but the very man you were gossiping about approached with Hongjoong.

"Finally! Come on people, make room. We're about to get this party started!"

Hongjoong sat opposite you, making the only free seat available the one next to you. Seonghwa planted himself there, throwing his arm around the back of your chair.

"So, what's your story sugar?" He whispered into your ear.

You jerked away from him, surprised he got so close to you. The other thing that surprised you was how nervous you got.

"I don't have a story. And don't call me that, we just met."

Seonghwa looked confused for a second. He wasn't used to the cold shoulder from girls, but he figured you weren't his usual type.

Not that he particularly had one, but being in the fashion industry only lets you meet a certain amount of people. Fake people, only interested in your connections.

However, you were someone real. Someone who wasn't about to give into his charms so easily. Seonghwa was hooked before he realised it.

The night went on like this - you running away and being rude, while a desperate Seonghwa tried to get a smidge of your attention. The other boys found it hilarious, and Seonghwa seemed to fit right into your little group.

The other thing that certainly progressed was your drink intake. Maybe you were frustrated with the fact that you were warming up to the handsome fellow, and you tried to drown it with vodka.

A hefty amount of it, too.

It seemed like everybody was on the same page, because two hours later, Seonghwa was a blushing mess who couldn't stop giggling at Yunho's bad jokes.

The smile on his face brought out a small one of your own. He didn't seem so bad when he was like this. Or was it just your mushy brain convincing you?

It didn't matter anyway, because before you knew it, you were hollered up in a corner, making out with him.

"You finally warmed up to me, huh?"

"Stop talking."

You grabbed his face and brought his lips to yours again, continuing the dance between your teeth, tongue and lips. Seonghwa's hands explored your body, staying respectful despite the fact you were literally pressed up against each other.

"Wanna get out of here?" He asked before putting his lips back onto yours.

"Hell yeah."

The ride to his new place was spent giggling into each other's mouths as you tried to continue kissing, the poor taxi driver having to listen to your antics.

The elevator ride was something else, because you managed to unbuckle his belt while he accidentally ripped one of your dress straps.

It was hot, heavy, and you couldn't wait to take his clothes off.

No time was wasted when your back finally hit his king sized bed. Your hands were all over each other, squeezing and caressing places that made you both moan out in pleasure.

Once he finally entered you, the look on his face changed. Seonghwa was taking it slow, trying to set a good pace because he knew he'd come too soon. You just felt that heavenly around him.

"I like you, Y/N. It's crazy how much, knowing we just met."

You wanted to respond, but his thrusts sped up and you could only sigh while wrapping your arms around his broad shoulders.

"I-I'm close. Harder, Seognhwa, please."

"Yes, yes... Anything you need, sugar."

You hit your climax before you even realised it, Seonghwa following soon after.

He slowly pulled out, laying on his side and wrapping you up in his arms.

"That was..."

"Yeah..." You said, exhausted, but incredibly satisfied.

The night went on like this after you both caught your breath for a moment.

When you were both finally spent, Seognhwa made sure to clean you up before settling back into his bed. For some reason, you couldn't fall asleep even after he drifted off.

So, you sneaked out of his place as the sun went up, feeling guiltier than you should. You only just met him, and he didn't really leave the best first impression, but the spark between you was undeniable.

You had no idea how badly you messed up until the next time he came to a friendly gathering at Hongjoong's place. Seonghwa acted as if nothing happened, and you were devastated.

It was your fault, honestly, but you were still a bit hurt about it. There was no point in ruining the fun for everyone, so you just went along with the situation.

You weren't aware just how much your lives would change in a month's time.

.

.

.

Present day

"Did you use protection?" Jongho asked, holding onto your hand as you sat next to each other on your couch.

"We... I think we did, I don't know? I was too drunk, and besides, I'm on the pill... I thought..."

"Hey, hey, I'm not judging you. I'm just asking, it's a valid question." He tried to calm you down, but it wasn't working. Tears were already falling down your cheeks, and the positive test on the coffee table was starting back at you like it was about to consume you.

"What... What am I going to do now? This is so messed up Jongho." You cried, placing your head into your hands.

"Oh baby... We'll figure something out, okay?"

That's when you heard your doorbell go off. You snapped your head up, looking at Jongho who seemed too calm about everything.

"Don't worry, I know who it is." He stood up, going over to let the person in.

"Y/N?" Hongjoong asked, coming to kneel in front of you. You glanced at Jongho who just shrugged.

"I had to call for back up. I know he can be of better help than me."

"Y/N, is it true?"

You looked at Hongjoong before throwing yourself into his arms. He only sneezed you tight, patting your back as you sobbed.

"Oh sweetie... It's okay, you know that? We'll figure something out."

"B-But Joong... You're going to hate me when I tell you who... You know." You cried, refusing to let go of him.

"Y/N, look at me. Come on, I know already."

You froze, slowly detaching yourself from him. He didn't look mad, or even disappointed. On the contrary, he had a small smile on his face.

"Hwa couldn't keep it to himself, but he made me promise not to tell you. The man has been devastated about fucking up his chance with you."

"He what?" You mumbled, not believing him.

He only nodded and continued.

"Yeah, he really likes you. Why did you run off on him?"

"I... Well... I don't know, okay! We had such an amazing night, and then we did what we did, and I don't know... I got scared."

"At least now you have a good enough reason to talk to him again." Both your and Hongjoong's head snapped towards Jongho, and the poor boy looked frightened.

"Sorry, I told you I'm not good at this."

You laughed, the tears slowly drying up.

"It's okay, thank you. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you both."

You spent the rest of the evening sandwiched between the two men, considering all of your options.

"I take it you want to keep the baby?" Hongjoong asked while peeling an orange for you. You've told them how sick you've been feeling for the past week, and oranges were the only thing you could stomach easily.

"Yeah... I think I do. I don't know, I've always wanted to have a family, and this baby is here for a reason. I just don't know how I'm going to manage being a single mom."

"A single mom? What about Seonghwa?" Jongho asked, continuing to run his fingers through your hair.

"Oh come one, he's a designer for god sakes. He's traveling all the time, and he's not about to drop all of that to become a dad. Be for real."

"You haven't even talked to him yet, how can you know?"

"Jongho... I can't get my hopes up in any way, so please, let's not talk about this anymore."

Hongjoong stayed silent throughout your debate with Jongho, itching to tell you how wrong you were.

Seonghwa was constantly pestering his friend about you, day and night. He was so into you it hurt, but he wasn't sure how to approach you after the night you shared. The one where you left him without a word, and never mentioned anything again.

"Okay, here's your orange. I'm going to run you a bath, and then we can watch a movie. We'll think of a plan along the way. You're not alone in this, that baby already has seven amazing people out here who will gladly be of help whenever you need."

You looked at Hongjoong, thankful to have such an amazing friend by your side.

"Let's... Let's not tell anyone else before I talk to Seonghwa, okay? I don't want him finding out because Mingi couldn't keep his big mouth shut."

The two men laughed, agreeing it was for the best. The rest of the evening was spent on the couch, in the comforting arms of your two friends as your brain went haywire.

Your life was about to become much more complicated, and you still had to do the toughest thing of them all - Tell Seonghwa.

.

.

"Y/N? Hey there... Where's Hongjoong?"

A confused Seonghwa stood by your table as you gestured for him to sit on the chair opposite you. Your tea was cold, hands wrapped around the mug only there to keep you grounded.

"Hi. Hongjoong won't be joining us today. I have to... I have to talk to you about something, so I asked Joong to call you. I wasn't sure if you'd show up otherwise."

"Oh..." Seognhwa was confused. Why would you all of the sudden want to talk to him? It's been a month since you two shared a wonderful night together, but you made it clear it was just that. One night.

The waitress came and took his order, and you took the chance to rummage through your bag for the little black and white photo. You hid it under the table, waiting for him to settle in.

"So, what's this about? I know we aren't exactly on speaking terms..." He wandered off, his eyes never meeting yours as he spoke.

"Listen, there is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to... Well..."

You placed the little photo at the center of the table, pushing it slightly towards him.

"This right here is... Our little blip. I know it's yours because I haven't been with anybody for a while, and after our night as well. So... Yeah."

It took a while for him to react. His eyes were still glued on the tiny sonogram photo you took, not even sure where exactly he should be looking.

"You're... You're pregnant?" He whispered, slowly moving his fingers over the edges of the photo.

"I am. I'm sorry, truly. We were kind of... Careless that night. I'm keeping the baby, it's something I want to do, but you won't be obligated to do anything you don't want. I'm fully prepared to tackle this by myself. I just wanted you to know."

He seemed... Angry all of the sudden.

"Obligated? What are you talking about? This is my blip too! I'm not letting you do this by yourself. We'll... Work something out."

You sighed, finally looking straight into his eyes. You couldn't quite decipher his feelings about everything, but there was a strong determination behind his intense gaze.

"Are you sure? Seonghwa, this is something life changing, you know? We don't exactly... Know each other the best. You don't have to decide this instant."

"I am absolutely positive. I won't let you go through this alone. I'm as much responsible as you are, so we're in this together. Besides, this way you won't run off on me, again."

Silence enveloped you after he said that. He was right, you had to give him that. You sighed, giving him a shy smile afterwards.

"I guess you're right."

"How do we... How do we do this? Do we move in together? What should we do?"

You noticed how flustered he suddenly got, probably realizing what you'd have to figure out in the span of nine months.

"Relax, Seonghwa, it's still early to think about that. Besides, I have a room in my apartment that can be transformed into a nursery, and I really don't want to move right now. So, we'll go from there and, I don't know, see how things progress?"

You shrugged, while he only nodded along.

"Okay, fair enough. When's your next appointment? I assume you have weekly or monthly check ups?"

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I want to. I think I made it clear by now that I really want to be a part of this. So, when is it?"

The way he looked at you suddenly made you blush, but you blamed the hormones for your reaction.

"Next Thursday."

"Great, I'll be there."

The two of you spent another half hour discussing your predicament before you started feeling too tired to speak. Seonghwa noticed your change in mood quickly.

"Want me to take you home?"

"I really want to be polite and decline but I'm too exhausted to do so."

Seonghwa chuckled, gesturing for you to go ahead. You exited the cafe and made your way towards his car. For some reason, he was staring at you intensely while you walked.

Once the two of you settled into his car, you turned towards him.

"Okay, spill. You're being really weird."

"Well..."

He sighed, glancing where your hands laid out on your stomach.

"I... I just can't believe I'm going to be a dad soon. I mean, I've always wanted a family, I just didn't think it would be so soon."

He noticed how you frowned and quickly corrected himself.

"Not that I mind! Don't get me wrong, please. I can't wait to meet our little blip, I just have a bad way with words. And... You make me kind of nervous."

Your eyes widened.

"Me? Make you nervous? Why is that?"

"Well..."

He kept silent after that, building up the courage to finally get his feelings off his chest. Almost a month has passed since your night together, and he tried pretending like it never happened for his own sake.

"Seonghwa? You're kind of leaving me hanging over here." You chuckled, lightly pushing his shoulder to make him snap out of his trance. He shook his head and started the car.

"Listen, I know this is not the moment, but we have to talk about that night. I need to know if... If you felt the same about it as I did."

His eyes were focused on the road, but you could tell it was easier for him not to look at you right now.

"And how would that be?" You asked, subconsciously putting your hands over your stomach.

"I... Something clicked, Y/N. Something in my mind, and my heart, telling me you're the one. Is that crazy? I know it probably sounds like it, but I just... I can't stop thinking about you, sugar."

"Is that why you're so calm about the baby?"

Seognhwa smiled lightly, glancing at how you cuddled into yourself.

"Maybe. I've always wanted to be a dad, and knowing you're going to be the mother of my child... I can't be mad about that. I can only feel... Excited."

"Oh, Seonghwa... We'll make this thing work, I promise." You reached over the console and placed your outstretched palm for him to grasp. He did so without thinking twice, happy to finally clear the air with you.

The rest of the ride went by smoothly, and you were in front of your building before you knew it.

"Here you go guys, you're home." Seonghwa said, looking at your belly before bringing his eyes to yours. You smiled, amused by the way he addressed both of you.

"Thank you, daddy."

His face made you burst out into laughter.

"Oh, lighten up! It's a sweet thing to say!"

Seonghwa shook his head, chuckling along with you.

"You're going to be the death of me. Go rest, our blip needs it."

"Seonghwa..." You said, cautious about the way you should approach him.

"Do you want to come with us? I mean, that's what blip's asking, you know."

He stayed silent for a moment, watching as a rosy hue printed your cheeks. Using your child was definitely a way of avoiding showing your true feelings for now, but he understood you needed more time to open up. However, he was not about to decline such a nice invite.

"You know what? Tell blip I'd love to hang out some more. But..." He stalled, looking into your eyes, the smile on his face mirroring yours. He leaned over, close to your ear. Your cheeks brushed against each other, his lips grazing your ear lightly.

"You can also tell our blip I'd like to spend some time with mommy as well."

Oh yes, this would truly be the most interesting and exciting experience of your life.

You could only be thankful someone like Seonghwa would be a part of it.

.

.

[hannie-dul-set]

STAR STUDDED BAGGAGE [1].

SYNOPSIS. the saying “never meet your idols” exists for a reason. you just didn’t expect the reason to be because said idols would end up declaring that you’re their alleged lover from a past life (past lives, rather). now you have three big celebrities vying for your attention, and it’s not as dreamlike as you imagined it to be.

PAIRINGS. choi yeonjun, choi soobin, choi beomgyu x female! reader. GENRES. reincarnation! au, celebrity! au (soloist! yeonjun, actor! soobin, rock band member! beomgyu), slight college! au, slight historical! au, rom-com, angst if you squint, reverse harem woohoo. WARNINGS. swearing, secondhand stress HHAHAHAH. WORD COUNT. 2.9k.

TAGLIST. @seokgyuu @spjhyn @bat-shark-repellant @writingmeraki @lotties-readings @jenodreamer @gyuspeach @lexawoah13 @dvalitaes @agustdiv1ne @enhacatalog @soobs-things @tocupid @wonsays @kgneptun @sarang-ae @peaceout97 @outrologist @prettypei @luv4cheol @captivq @kueey @matcha-binz @loveherrschxr @haechology @bitehee @laylasbunbunny

NOTE. and so it begins!! grabbed seventeen’s “second life” and gave it to beomgyu’s band, by the way. future chapters will be a lot longer bcs this one is sort of just an introduction. please lmk what u think so far!!

MASTERLIST | NEXT >

CHAPTER 1 — the consequences of working with a choi.

One.

“I told you I won’t do any romance dramas!”

Choi Soobin isn’t usually one to throw tantrums. He’s gentleness itself, says the media. The loveliest, most humble and soft-spoken angel to have ever graced South Korea’s entertainment industry. Interviewees praise him for being so kind and warm. Award-winning actor Lee Minyuk decided to adopt him the day they first met while working on a drama just a year ago.

He’s so nice, so sweet, so lovely— a stark contrast to the roles he usually plays, but that doesn’t take away from the songs of praise that articles and Twitter posts usually string along with Choi Soobin’s name.

All of this is true of course. As long as you’re not contractually obligated to babysit his whiny, picky, six foot tall ass every single day.

“Soobin, why don’t you give it another—”

“This is ridiculous,” he huffs, crossed armed on the sofa with a tattered script sitting on the low coffee table before him. Manager Lee feels a headache kicking in. Why is this bastard acting up when the interns are in the office? Those two simply wanted to deliver the scripts for Soobin to pick from, but they are looking at his actor’s surprising behavior with wide eyes. Now, it’s going to be his job to make sure that they don’t run their mouths about the nation’s alleged first love actually being a spoiled brat.

“Soobin,” Manager Lee exhales for the nth time. This script is from Writer Kang. The Writer Kang! She wrote this script with you in mind as the lead. Can you at least maybe reconsider—”

“I’m not doing it.” Soobin won’t budge. He’s got a visibly troubled and offended look on his face and his manager wants to smack him upside in the head. How could he not understand that this is an opportunity of a lifetime? “Hyung, you know the reason why I even signed to this company in the first place. I’m not doing it. Absolutely not.”

He picks up the script like it’s a dirty rag— disgusted expression to match— only to reveal a page that suddenly prompts him to throw the entire thing across the room. The two interns flinch. Manager Lee feels his hair turning gray by the second.

“There’s a kissing sce— agh! Gosh! What will my soulmate think if she sees me kissing another woman?!”

“Soul...soulmate?” unfortunate intern number one voices out hesitantly.

“Is...Choi Soobin seeing someone right now?” asks number two, and Manager Lee wants to retire early. His actor is still ranting on and on about how there’s no way in hell he’s taking on this role. He doesn’t really wanna deal with that right now.

“No. He’s not seeing anybody. He’s never been in a relationship before.”

Manager Lee knows this because he’s been Soobin’s manager since the young star was still seventeen, when he was still as nice and well-behaved as the tabloids made him out to be. That same kid is now a grown adult and shuddering over a possible kissing scene in a screenplay. “Ahh. I can’t do this, I seriously can’t do this, hyung!” Fame does change people. Manager Lee wants seventeen year-old Soobin back.

“Then...then who is his soulmate…?”

It’s hard to imagine that an A-List star like Choi Soobin is suffering from unrequited love. “A woman from his past life,” answers Manager Lee. “Or so he says.” The interns look at him. Come—come again? their expressions seem to say. Manager Lee lets out an exasperated sigh. This one’s even harder to comprehend.

“Hyung,” Soobin finally calls out for him. Lee returns his attention to his artist, who’s now flipping through the other scripts on the table with an even more disgruntled expression. “Hyung, are these all the offers I have? They’re all romance! Don’t we have other options?!”

“The CEO wants you to expand your roles, Soobin,” Manager Lee flatly replies. “Your fans too. You can’t keep doing action-mystery-thrillers forever. It’s a waste of your visuals. They want to see you in lighter things too.” He walks over to pick up the first rejected script from the floor, dropping it in front of Soobin, who is currently a deflated balloon.

He’s changed. But sometimes it feels as though his artist hasn’t grown up ever since they first met.

“If you take Writer Kang’s drama, you’ll get even bigger, Soobin.”

“I’m not interested in fame,” Soobin mumbles, shoulders slacked and dejected. “I just want—”

“If you gain ever more fame, expand your reach, won’t that mean your soulmate can find you sooner as well?” Soobin takes the bait. He flinches upon hearing the word he’s been chasing after ever since, a glimpse of consideration flashing through his expression as he nips down his bottom lip. Manager Kim lands a hand on his shoulder. “Think about it, kid. You shouldn’t waste opportunities like this.”

Soobin lets out a breath. “I’ll...I’ll give it some thought.”

Dear god, finally. Manager Lee ushers out a sulky and troubled Soobin out into the hall with the script hugged against his chest and tells him to relax for the day. “Don’t overthink it. Just do what you want to do,” he says, after gaslighting him into positively considering the role. Still, Soobin needs this. He’s been stagnating since his last project, Study Group. He needs to switch up genres if he wants to improve.

“Wow,” intern number two exhales the moment Soobin leaves the premises. “You really are a veteran, sir. But does Choi Soobin’s soulmate really exist? Who is he looking for?”

Manager Lee shrugs and drops onto the sofa with a grunt. “Beats me. He doesn’t even know her name.”

*

Two.

“Yeonjun! Choi Yeonjun, look over here!”

“Choi Yeonjun, you look good today as well!”

“Please give a heart to the camera!”

“Fuck! Choi Yeonjun, you’re so fucking hot!”

That last one made Yeonjun’s mouth twitch into a smirk, and the screaming instantly became louder. Unintentional, but he relishes in the attention, anyway. He flips down his sunglasses to block the flashing lights from the cameras (causing another unintentional pandemonium), and his manager (Kim Noona, he likes to affectionately call when she’s about to yank out his hair roots for misbehaving) quickly ushers him into van before his rabid fans break through the bodyguards’ defenses and jump him.

“Good work today,” says Manager Kim as they start to drive away from the fansign venue. Yeonjun has his window rolled down and is blowing air kisses to the crowd. Ignorance is bliss, Manager Kim decides. “However, you don’t have time to run a catwalk on the way to the van tomorrow since you have another schedule immediately after the fansign. Try to strut for two minutes max tomorrow, please.”

“‘Kayyy,” Yeonjun hums, rolling the tinted windows back up and leaning back into the car seat with a satisfied groan. They’re on the way back to his apartment now. Time for him to start his routine. “Noona, do you have all the letters I got today?”

“Look to your left.” 

And there it is indeed— a stack of notes and envelopes and perfume-drenched messages of love and adoring affection. He flits through each one, skimming over every note and every letter like he’s looking for something. “Sleep early tonight,” Manager Kim tells him as he knits his brows, nearing the end of the stack. “You have a shoot in the morning, in case you forgot.” 

Yeonjun is back at the first letter he started with. Nothing, he lets out a sigh. Not one that he’s looking for.”

“Noona,” he calls out. “I’m going live right now.”

There’s a bump on the road.

“No, wait—”

[🔴 yawnzzn is live].

“Hehe. Yeonjunnie is here—!”

Manager Kim abruptly stops the car. Thank fucking god the road isn’t too crowded. She watches Yeonjun from the rearview mirror as he smiles at the outstretched camera and makes casual greetings and hello’s to the viewers, heart racing in fear. “Right now? I’m on the way back home. Can’t wait to get a nice shower once I get back.” Okay, she lets in a deep breath, starting the car once more. Yeonjun isn’t doing anything weird yet. Better to drop him off as soon as possible.

“Nooo, I haven’t had dinner yet, I’ll order once I get home. What do you guys recommend?”

He’s being normal. He’s acting fine. This is good.

“Ramen? That sounds good. Kimchi jjigae is also yummy.”

Maybe he just wanted to interact more with his fans, yes. He’s always been like that. Maybe he won’t say anything rash this time.

“Oh! The video with Mark Lee from NCT? Did you see us hugging? Hehe, Mark and I look good together?” They’re almost at his apartment building. They’re almost here. Once they arrive, Yeonjun will turn off the livestream and Manager Kim can finally fucking retire for the day. “That’s cute. But it’s too bad. I’m already interested in someone else.”

Screeeech!

The car stops. “Yeonjun.” But Yeonjun’s live stream is still ongoing. “Turn off the live.”

Yeonjun is smiling at his phone in painful ignorance. Manager Kim doesn’t miss the one second glance he spares at her. One second. One mere second before he starts inciting chaos even more. “Who? That’s a secretttt. I don’t want to tell you.”

Manager Kim’s phone starts buzzing. “Yeonjun, turn it off.” The buzzing won’t stop. Her personal phone starts going off as well

“Ah. Should I give you a hint?”

There’s an incoming call now.

“Choi Yeonjun, turn off the god damned—”

“Okay!” Yeonjun suddenly exclaims. He flashes a knowing smile to the camera, but his dearly stressed and overworked manager knows that it’s directed to her rather than the thousands of people witnessing the artist she’s in charge of stirring his third rumor of the week. Her phone won’t stop buzzing, it can be used as a fucking vibrator at this point. Choi Yeonjun is lucky he rakes in most of the agency’s profits— otherwise his contract would be terminated by now. “I have to go. My manager looks like she’s about to fire me, hehe. See you all tomorrow! Mwah!”

Just like that, the live stream ends, but Manager Kim’s phone is still incessantly ringing and beeping and giving the signal that Choi Yeonjun will once again go trending on Twitter— not in the way the company wants. Again. “Kim Noona?” Yeonjun calls out. “The light is green. The cars behind are honking at us.”

Manager Kim’s grip on the steering wheel tightens. “Yeonjun.” And they start moving again. “What are you gonna do once you get home?”

“Post a damage control photo. Got it.”

He knows. He knows yet he keeps pulling the same shit every week.

“Good...good— just,” his manager lets out a sigh, and they arrive at the front of his building. “No matter what I tell you, you won’t stop pulling these stunts, aren’t you?”

“Nope.” Yeonjun flashes her a grin, unbuckling his seatbelt, ready to slide the door open. “Thanks, noona! See you tomorrow!”

With that, Yeonjun leaves with a bounce in his step right after the mess he just made.

The problem is, Manager Kim can’t tell him to stop either after knowing exactly why he’s doing all of these scandal-bait, potentially career damaging things. It’s not something she can believe in, and it’s definitely not within the realm of reality. But after seeing the look on her artist’s eyes when he said— how many more headlines must he make until you can finally find your way back to him?

Well. All Manager Kim can do is work PR to their deaths for damage control.

*

Three.

“Why don’t we kick it off by listening to your latest single?”

Studio lights burn the set. Five seats are settled in place, four against one for an interview with one of the hottest K-Rock groups of the generation. Yeong-Il released a new single just earlier in the week, and it’s topped the charts ever since release. 

If I am given a second life I may live and breathe differently compared to now

Lee Heeseung looks happy to be here. So do Yang Jeongin and Lim Jimin. Choi Beomgyu, on the other hand, looks like he’d rather be anywhere else but here right now, complete with the faraway look on his face as he’s clearly not paying attention to the comments the host is making, instead drowning in melody and lyrics hummed by the speakers.

Among the streets we’ll walk past each other without knowing

“It’s quite different from our usual music, no?” Heeseung laughs.

I hope we remember each other

“Right!” Jeongin chimes in. “But I think we should hear from the man who produced and wrote this.”

Even in our next life Even at that time, I’ll go to you

“Choi Beomgyu!”

Even in our next life Even at that time, I’ll go to you

“Beomgyu, are you awake?”

Even if a second life That’s different from now comes to me The one thing I can say is That I’m going to be by your side

“Beomgyu!”

“Ah.” Beomgyu finally wakes up. He catches the concerned and nervous glances of his friends-slash-bandmates. Beomgyu takes the microphone from Jimin, tapping it once, before saying, “What do I do? It’s a little embarrassing to talk about this by myself.” Jeongin fails to hold back a snort at his lack of sincerity. Jimin sends him a nudge with his elbow. 

“Hey, this isn’t the first time you’ve written a song. Quit acting coy,” Heeseung manages to salvage the conversation, invisible sweat dripping down the side of his face. Beomgyu finally decides to stop stalling and answers the question.

“Well, anyhow, I think you can tell from the lyrics. Second Life is about a love that extends beyond lifetimes— promising that even after we’ve lived, died, and reborn as different people, there is still no one I’d love but you.” There’s some coughs from his bandmates. Beomgyu presses his lips into a smile. “That’s it.” And passes the microphone back to whoever reaches out for it first.

This kind of behavior from Yeong-il’s guitarist and vocalist isn’t new. 

The problem is, even though his team and fans are used to it, not everyone is, so the show’s host is taken aback by Beomgyu’s complete lack of care, unaffected and impenetrable. He stifles out a cough, flits through his cue cards. “O—oh, how romantic!” he exclaims. “I’ve noticed that a lot of your other songs that Choi Beomgyu-ssi has written seem to have a similar theme. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, it’s not really a secret, and it’s honestly pretty obvious,” Beomgyu answers, earning another nudge from Jimin. 

“He doesn’t seem like it, but Beomgyu is the biggest romanticist out of all of us,” Heeseung saves the day once more. Choi Beomgyu has been once dubbed as the biggest hurdle in every interviewer’s career. Nobody knows if he’s doing it on purpose, or if he really is just like that.

“We—well, can we ask what your inspiration is for writing this kind of music?”

It’s not a new question. It’s a question asked interview after interview to Choi Beomgyu whenever they release one of his songs riddled with his signatures of reincarnation, second lives, and first loves. But he’s always avoided answering them, sometimes going as far as outright telling the host that he doesn’t want to answer.

Though his bandmates are indeed both dreading and looking forward to the day Beomgyu would finally make a public answer to that million dollar question—

“Myself.”

—they certainly did not expect him to answer with the truth.

“What?”

“The tracks were inspired by myself,” he says, face flat, free from any sign of humor or jest. “I’m still waiting for my first love from my first life. There must be a reason why I still remember her and the life we shared. Doesn’t that mean we’re both destined to meet again?”

Silence washes over. Everyone on set is looking at Beomgyu, waiting for him to laugh or smile or crack a joke or some shit just to give an indication that he wasn’t at all serious with that statement. Their managers are frozen. They’re all looking at Heeseung to finally and neatly wrap things up before the mood gets worse.

Heeseung gets the signal. He quickly snatches the microphone from his friend and starts making bullshit up and praying to god that this part gets edited out. “Aha—ahaha, Beomgyu really likes to remain in character! That’s how much he takes his music seriously! Anyway—”

The rest of the interview turns up normally. No unexpected backstory reveals or trauma-dumps. No mentions of possible supernatural phenomena whatsoever and that’s mostly because Beomgyu decided to keep quiet for the rest of it.

He’s seriously a ticking time bomb, all but him share the same thought upon exiting the studio, until Heeseung finally confronts him about it when they reach the van.

“Dude, what the hell was that?”

“I know, I know. You don’t have to nag me,” Beomgyu groans. “We can ask them not to air that part, anyway. I’m just getting impatient.”

Impatience.

That’s a mutual feeling shared by all three of them. 

Twenty years. That’s how long they’ve been waiting. Centuries, if you count the period in between their previous lives and now. But when the person they’ve been waiting for finally shows up— patience will be a virtue that they’ll need to learn to strengthen. Patience. They’ll need to be a hell of a lot more patient if they want to take back what they lost.

STAR STUDDED BAGGAGE. © hannie-dul-set, 2023.

[eli0004]

Any Levi headcanons you’d like to share with the audience 🥹

Whew😮‍💨 Anon, as a dedicated Levi stan of multiple years, you know i do!

Pairing: Levi x GN! Reader

Synopsis: Random relationship hcs!!! Woohoo!

Warnings: Levi struggling with emotions, gossiping, mentions of substance use, very slight nsfw implication

Levi isn’t really someone who cares too much about what music he listens to. He’ll listen to whatever you put on, even if it’s like…loud angry metal, he’ll sit there like 😬 Yes this is great i love it and i’m absolutely not horribly overstimulated right now. He just likes to see you happy.

This man is made of 100% husband material. He thrives living the quiet married life, and feeling appreciated and loved for doing the simplest, most menial household chores.

For the most part, if you were to ask him if he wants children i think he would say no, but then he watches you interact with children and it patches up this broken place inside of him, and suddenly he’s dreaming of little feet pattering around the house.

If he accidentally hurts your feelings with some dumb joke he made, he will feel intensely guilty. It will eat him alive, he can’t believe himself. But he also has no idea how to say that, so he’ll just make you tea and torture himself over it.

Even if you’re years into your relationship with him and living together, he still gets butterflies when he sees you again after a long day. You’re his solitude, his safe place, his home isn’t a home without you there in it.

He likes to listen to you gossip with your friends. Every once in a while he’ll pipe in and share his thoughts on something, and you’re like…? Since when did you start paying attention to this?

He has a high tolerance for alcohol, but half an edible has him absolutely faded. It’s actually ridiculous. And high Levi is so soft and sleepy, and he seems so genuinely relaxed, it’s a blessing to be able to witness him in that state.

Levi is hardly interested in status symbols, and values practicality over luxury. In a modern AU he probably drives a slightly beat up older classic car, but has no idea it’s a classic, so when car people compliment it he’s like ??? Tf

He’s a slightly picky eater, but if you make dinner one night and it doesn’t look appetizing to him, he’ll gather every ounce of courage in his body to take a bite and try it for you, since you went out of your way to make him something.

He has a keen sense of smell, and he loves fresh, fragrant aromas. He definitely stops in the candle aisle in the grocery store to smell all of them, and then gives himself a massive headache.

When you get out of the shower and smell all nice and clean, that shit gets him so bricked up.

I mentioned this before in another post, but if you ask him to pick something up from the store and it’s on a shelf he can’t reach, he will literally leave that store and go to a different one. He’s not going to ask the 16 year old cashier girl to help him reach it, and he’s definitely not climbing the shelves like a mad man. You’ll just have to wait a while longer.

Literally blushes from ear to ear when you call him pretty, or cute. If he gets compliments on his physical appearance, it’s usually said that he’s “sexy” or “handsome” which are still great things to hear, but it’s about the loving adoration in your eyes and the gentleness with which you touch his face. The genuine honesty behind your compliments, and the way it feels like you see something in him that nobody else does.

[blackjackkent]

Patch 8 Highlights!

As has become my habit, time for my personal highlight reel of things I found most interest or funny in the Patch 8 patch notes!

First, of course, the big hype items:

Photo mode! (I'm honestly uncertain whether I will end up using this compared to the existing freecam Otis camera mod that plugs into Reshade, but it will be fun to mess around with what the game now provides for free. And now console friends can take pretty pictures!)

New subclasses! (I'm not much of a buildcrafter but these will be fun to mess around with. And of course, ask me about my incredibly niche Jaheira Circle of Stars headcanons. XD )

Crossplay! (Woohoo. This feels like it probably drove someone at Larian crazy and I'm proud of them.)

Significant fixes and QoL improvements:

When you succeed a Perception check, the spotted item will now ping on the minimap and be listed in the combat log.

Fixed a savegame issue where you wouldn't get the appropriate amount of Umbral Gems for the Gauntlet of Shar. (This happened to me on my modded young Jaheira playthrough and I was SO confused.)

Minthara now comments on the Emperor's reveal.

Reminded Minthara that 'knocked out' does not mean 'dead', so she'll more reliably appear in Moonrise Towers.

Minthara is now willing to talk to you after you tell her to wait in the torture chamber. (I wonder if this also fixes the issue I recently ran into where she wouldn't talk after fighting her torturers.)

Discovered and available (non-hostile, alive, etc.) traders are now shown on the world map regardless of how far away you are from them.

Fixed a tooltip bug while trading where hovering over any equipped item would display a faulty tooltip, but trying a second time would magically fix it. The tooltips now populate correctly the first time around.

Fixed an issue where you couldn't use Sneak Attack again on your next turn if the enemy before you in the Initiative Order was killed.

A certain plaque in the Thorm Mausoleum now correctly mentions who the coffin belongs to. (THANK YOU, THIS HAS BEEN DRIVING ME FUCKING CRAZY.)

Ringmistress Lucretious may now join your fight against 'Dribbles' & Co. at the circus.

Ensured that the 'Steal a Githyanki Egg' quest isn't left open in the journal if you pass a point of no return and can't return to the Crèche to complete it.

Added a Memorial Portrait to the streets of Rivington. (Memorial for who, I wonder. Will have to go look around.)

And the funny bugs:

Neutral and friendly NPCs will no longer become hostile when, outside of combat, they walk into surfaces created during combat that trigger passives (like electrified surfaces triggering Thunderbolt Strike). Take it easy, lads.

Fixed a bug with the moving platform in the Gauntlet of Shar that would sometimes leave you behind, causing you to plummet to your death.

Fixed an Honour Mode issue at High Hall where all party members would die when reaching the top of the stem if anyone in the party was being dominated by an enemy, causing a Game Over. 

Fixed a bug causing non-Dark-Urge avatars to say Dark Urge lines. You're not all obliged to be wretched things with headaches. (This would crack me up SO much when switching from Rakha to Hector without closing the game. XD )

Cerys will stop getting involved in combats with Minthara from across the region. An eager beaver no longer.

Minthara no longer gets stuck babysitting Thaniel in Act II. (A pity, because watching him slowly edge her out of her own tent into a nearby end table was hilarious.)

Fixed the footwear slot in the Character Sheet deciding to just not show up.

Added a new spot where the easter egg song plays. Happy hunting! (Huh?)

Shadowheart has agreed to stop repeatedly changing her hair colour during certain intimate moments.

Healing Vapours no longer immediately makes creatures Wet in addition to creating a Water surface.

Fixed an Undead Harper in the Shadow-Cursed Lands looking like Harper Skywin's identical twin. Nothing to see here, move along.

In Honour Mode, the papa owlbear will now correctly gain Owlbear's Rage when the mama owlbear or their cub dies. (THERE'S A PAPA IN HONOR MODE?????)

Gave the Shadow-Cursed Shambling Mound some bifidobacteria-rich yoghurt to regulate its Digestive Juices. The condition now makes the target Vulnerable to Bludgeoning damage as advertised.

In the Knights of the Shield combat, the Gate Masters will no longer bring reinforcements after the portals are closed. The infinite supply of githyanki spawning from nowhere was a little disconcerting.

Gortash was overenthusiastically using Tyrant's Bindings, so we made him less eager about it when other actions would make more sense.

Reminded enemy NPCs that it's okay to kill the unconscious party after they commit a crime.

Prevented Fast Travel - like going to camp via the hotbar - while on moving platforms like the cable car up by Rosymorn, which could cause your characters to plummet to their death in the interim.

Fixed reflected damage knocking out player characters when non-lethal damage is toggled on. 

A couple of chests will no longer unlock things as though they're keys.

You now have to actually have a shovel in your inventory in order to start digging with it.

Fixed another (all together now!) trade exploit. This one let you take items from traders by moving them from a bag in their inventory to a corpse in your inventory. No more packing dead squirrels with goods.

Fixed a split screen bug where clouds wouldn't show up for Player 2.

Fixed a bug where hurling a healing potion as a rogue in what is presumably an attempt to heal a target would trigger Sneak Attack and sometimes damage or even kill the target. (I seem to remember having issues with this with Hector, and I guess his three levels in rogue were responsible. :O )

Alfira will now join in on your performance of the Deluxe Edition songs. (Aw.)

Tweaked the drop table for Derryth Bonecloak so she doesn't conveniently sell the Timmask Spores and Tongue of Madness you need for the 'Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite' quest.

You can no longer use Silence to keep the protective dome over Last Light from collapsing if Shadowheart kills Nightsong.

Wild-Shaped druids are no longer instantly arrested by the army of the Absolute when following the road to Baldur's Gate from the Shadow-Cursed Lands. (lolol what?)

Fixed an issue with Shadowheart's parents that would cause them to sometimes turn hostile when they shouldn't.

Fixed a bug where killing hostile NPCs in Wyrm's Rock with non-lethal attacks on would be too confusing for them and they'd become unresponsive.

Steel Watchers can no longer get Drunk.

Fixed a flow issue in the epilogue letting you say 'My home is with Gale' to Jaheira even if you were never in a relationship with him.

Fixed a bug where ignoring Gale and his mirror image at camp would lead to his double hanging around in the morning.

Saved some players who were stuck sleeping at camp.

Jaheira no longer trades items at camp as though she's a merchant while she's still in the party - this led to strange interactions at camp. If you engaged in trade with her and left items on her, you can get them back by just taking them out of her inventory the normal way.

Fixed an issue with the Shadowheart vs Lae'zel fight night where the defeated character could still survive the night and would hang around without being able to join the party.

Fixed some cases where the night would literally never end (careful what you wish for) because a party member not in the active party was in a dialogue while everyone else was snoozin'.

Fixed a dialogue flow issue where asking Shadowheart about the fight with Lae'zel would make her talk about Astarion. Focus, Shadowheart.

Fixed a case where the non-summoned version of Scratch had no dialogue at camp. Balance is restored.

Fixed Sceleritas sometimes referring to the Dark Urge using the wrong pronouns when talking to other party members. Also fixed him sometimes repeating his lines.

Fixed companions talking about being in the swamp from Act I even if they're not. It's rude to call people's homes 'stinking swamps', Astarion.

Gale should no longer tell you to join Elminster at camp if you're already at camp.

Gale will no longer demand to eat your magical trinkets if you don't even have him recruited to the party.

Minthara no longer insists on repeating herself about the Emperor's illithidity.

Shadowheart should no longer bang on the chapel door while talking. That's manners.

Removed a particular overhead line in the Adamantine Forge that suggested the hammer was just starting to move when it, in fact, had just stopped moving.

Fixed an issue where Sovereign Glut could join the party as follower after being killed and refuse to leave.

Added a missing dialogue option to leave the dialogue with Bex and Danis a little earlier if their repulsively adorable chatter about getting a pet is too much for you.

Fixed a bug where unlocking the Emerald Grove Environs waypoint before triggering the cinematic at the front gate of the Emerald Grove would cause Memnon and Arka to forgo mourning Kanon.

Hostile Last Light Inn residents will now become neutral again when the hostility is caused by an erroneous reaction to Minthara. (Is THAT why I couldn't trigger Wulbren's dialogue in Last Light on Rakha's run because the area had a combat readiness state enabled? Everyone thought Minthara was invading?)

Shadowheart will no longer immediately turn hostile and act like you committed a crime in the Shadowfell if you tell her 'You want to fight? Fine.' While she's not afraid of a good brawl, she'll finish saying what she has to say first.

Fixed an issue where a dead Shadowheart could still trigger a dialogue at camp with Nightsong.

If you're playing as Karlach, you'll no longer miraculously come back to the Elfsong after burning out or going to Avernus after defeating the Netherbrain when you have multiple romantic partners.

Fixed a flow issue where if Halsin was your romance partner and you chose to go with him at the end of the game, during the epilogue he would act as though you didn't.

Fixed a bug where Scratch could escape the kennels by the Sword Coast Couriers through the power of fetch. Look, a bug is a bug, okay?

Fixed an issue where Flaming First Madigan could get stuck in an infinite dialogue loop, desperately trying to send you back to prison.

Fixed a flow issue where if you were playing as Gale and you didn't become the God of Ambition, you could still find yourself looking and acting pretty godlike in the epilogue.

Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause Zanner Toobin to just stand in the doorway to the Steel Watch Foundry if you walked out of the building while he was your follower. He will now always return to the office and wait for you to come back. Guess he likes it in there.

Fixed the Emperor thinking you don't have all the Netherstones if one of them is in a camp chest.

Withers will no longer let you ask if you can dismiss your hirelings at High Hall, given that he doesn't actually offer that service in dangerous areas like that.

The Emperor now joins the Gather Your Allies moment when your rousing speech doesn't ignite the fighting spirit you were expecting.

Roger Highberry will no longer follow Cora's corpse to mourn in front of it if you move it outside the boundaries of the wine festival. This will prevent Roger from, for example, appearing at your camp if you move Cora's corpse to your Traveller's Chest.

The courier informed us that he found a lost letter from the Grove that was meant to arrive at an important party. It's now been sent on its rightful way.

Minsc will no longer mention the Zhent taking over the Guildhall in the epilogue when Nine-Fingers is still in power. Silly Minsc seeing into alternate timelines.

Lae'zel will no longer have trouble deciding whether she recognises Avatar Astarion in some greetings if he's disguised.

When talking to Jaheira about her Rite of the Timeless Body, you could tell her your race lived longer than hers, regardless of facts or logic. Now this only applies if your race does, canonically, live longer. 

Wyll's greeting after entering the city will now be more appropriate to your Attitude rating. If it's below 20, no more Mr Nice Guy.

Other characters should no longer show up during Gale's contemplations about surviving the end of Act II after departing. (It amused me a lot when Karlach came over to lurk during this conversation for no reason. XD )

Fixed some lopsided and upside-down chairs letting you sit on them anyway.

Moved the hirelings' spawnpoints to prevent them from spawning in Shadowheart's tent. 

Tightened He Who Was' belt so it fits him better around the chest. We're pretty sure he could have tightened it himself, but he insisted someone else do it.

Adjusted the Dark Justiciar Half-Plate for female characters, which, when worn without underwear underneath it, was letting the nips peek through.

Gave Bunny and Blossom - two very much human children in the Lower City - clothes fit for humans. Without tail holes.

Updated several boots that were making githyanki knees disappear when equipped.

Updated the Teal Slimfit Outfit to correctly show a tiefling body instead of a human body when equipped by tieflings.

Fixed Lae'zel's hair looking like it was badly crimped in a romantic scene with Gale.

Fixed one of the tendrils of the jester hat vibrating ominously when worn by female dragonborn characters. Also fixed all the tendrils standing up stiffly when worn by dwarves.

Fixed Oliver's limbs sometimes getting all stretchy during Hide and Seek and looking a little too Slender Man for our liking.

Reminded the Spectator that its rays should come out of its eyestalks, not its mouth.

Fixed a bug causing Ketheric to sport Mizora's hair.

You'll no longer be able to literally see through the hips of large female characters when they're wearing Shadowheart's camp clothes.

Fixed an inappropriately dramatic music change in the endgame cinematic after Gale sacrifices himself and the githyanki depart.

Fixed the combat music failing to trigger if you initiate the combat with the Entombed Scribes in the Dank Crypt by trying to pick them up, presumably to cradle them in your arms.

Fixed a rock in the Shadow-Cursed Lands camp that would make the environmental music stop playing if you walked on it and then off it again.

Fixed avatar genitals sometimes showing up during Astral lovemaking with Gale when they shouldn't.

Added an additional head animation for Scratch so he continues to hold his ball correctly in his mouth. Whosagoodboy!

Asked Jaheira to kindly look at Lae'zel when she's talking to her.

Female gnomes who choose to slap Gale's hand away at the start of the game will now actually slap his hand instead of swiping confidently at the air.

Fixed a shot in Gale's recruitment dialogue where, if you decided to draw your weapon, you'd act it out very threateningly but not actually be holding anything in your hands. Gale always took your game of make-believe very seriously, though. (Rakha did this and it made me laugh. XD )

Fixed your character dramatically whipping their head to the side at a dangerous speed in the dialogue with Astarion, Petras, and Dalyria in Wyrm's Crossing.

Barcus is no longer Mike Wazowski'd by various items like cauldrons and bottles, blocking him from view when you talk to him at Last Light.

Fixed a bug where githyanki players who lose the duel against Lae'zel would later overlap with Lae'zel's body during a tender moment.

Fixed an issue so that Lae'zel's eyes no longer appear totally emotionless before stabbing Orpheus. She didn't even look her usual level of angwy.

Fixed female halfling and dragonborn characters' eyes clipping through their eyelids in delight while getting jiggy with Mizora.

Fixed Astarion's forearms looking like they've detached from his body in the dialogue at High Hall.

Fixed Mizora snapping her head around like a bobblehead if you reject her when she's enticing you with the pleasures of the Hells.

Fixed a bug where choosing to hug Minsc in the epilogue as a large-bodied character, like Karlach, would cause you to repeatedly attempt to hug him, even if you miss the mark.

Made sure Shadowheart won't be wearing a helmet when she asks you what you think of her new hair. Kinda makes it difficult to give an opinion.

[venusiinfurss]

give me fic rec! fic rec me. fic rec now. me a fic rec needing a lot now!!! (please ❤ 😘)

AUGH. well.

okay i've been wanting to do a general fic rec post because there is so much talent in this fandom so you have probably/certainly/definitely read some of these and some of these are repeats from your post LOL but AH OKAY

wonderful nothing by quixoti- such a beautifully done fic that illustrates dennis's mental health issues so well. intense and dark and so so lovely- i love explorations of dennis's interiority and this is by far one of the best i've seen. (explicit)

constant headache by quixoti- this one is so interesting to me because i think it demonstrates mac and dennis's dynamic in a really interesting way, particularly their relationship in the early seasons. sex as a vehicle for character exploration is so interesting!! (explicit)

fade into you by myfavouritesweater- forever mourning chardee... this was written before time's up for the gang and imagines the aftermath of the gang misses the boat... very lovely and a beautiful look at chardee

guardians of a rare thing by yennefers- this is another one that i think depicts and explores dennis's character really well. this fic really helped me understand dennis (as have many fics on this list) and as i've said before made me realize i might have anger issues lol. i also really enjoy it plot-wise! (explicit)

temper my hatred with peace by orphan_account- dee character study woohoo!! i adore this look at dee's character. she has so much potential for analysis and i feel like it's underutilized!! also a look at highschooldee. dee reynolds lesbian truthers rise up!!

always summer by yennefers- very very sweet (mature)

summer gods by jbolle89- amazing look at dennis's character. really captures his voice and interiority. also a really interesting look at charlie! not a charden truther but this fic is awesome. (explicit)

i'm just a moth (who wants to share your light) by lohoron- i'm a total sucker for precanon macdennis (and the whole gang tbh) and this fic is so beautiful! confirms (maybe) my hypothesis that if the gang was able to overcome their repression maybe they would have gotten farther in life. (explicit)

too much like feeling by hellsandhandbasket- oooh the dynamic the dynamic augh augh. set during mac and dennis move to the surburbs. (explicit)

there's definitely more but these are my favorites!! person who is reading this also read @ratcoffin69 entire catalog because they write dennis SO WELL and are such an amazing writer in general. their fics are canon TO ME!! i'm not trying to get comfortable (I'm trying to turn you on) is their relationship dynamic and characterization laid out so perfectly! that is THEM <3

[animatorweirdo]

How to kidnap yourself a dark lord husband? Part 2

Part 1

(Second part for the crack fic. I hope you enjoy this one)

Warnings: Reader being a headache to her family, Sauron just dealing with her antics, Melkor getting robbed of his lieutenant and Manwe not getting paid enough to deal with this.

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

Nerdanel: *Sobbing* I can't believe our daughter would disappear again. What has Melkor's servant done to her mind to make her act like this?

Feanor: *Visibly angry* This is why the valars can't be trusted. They allowed something like this to occur to my only daughter. 

You: *Kicks the door open* Naneth! Atar! I'm home, and I have news for you! 

Nerdanel: *Startled* (Name)! Where have you been? And who is that beneath your arm?

You: *Carrying Sauron beneath your arm like a potato sack* My new husband! 

Your whole family: YOUR WHAT?!!!

Sauron: *Waving at them awkwardly* Uhm... hey. 

***

Feanor: (Name)! You can't just decide to marry someone you have only known for like a month! And he's one of the Ainur!

You: Don't worry. Mairon's a rogue, so he doesn't belong with the valar. 

Feanor: That's not what I meant! Why would you want to marry him anyway?!

You: One, he's less loud than all of you. Two, he's hot, and three, he gave me a dog— something you have refused to give me for centuries! 

Feanor: Seriously? 

You: *Holding Carna* Dead seriously!

Carna: Woof!

Feanor: (Name)!

Your brothers: *Glaring at Sauron* Hurt her, and you're dead. 

Sauron: *Deadpan* I'm literally the one that got kidnapped. 

***

Melkor: Well, well, well... now this is something I didn't expect to happen. 

Sauron: Hello, master. 

Melkor: So, what's your plan with Feanor's daughter? Did you seduce her? Did you brainwash her? Is your plan to have power over Feanor's house by marriage? 

Sauron: No. She just decided we should be married and forced me to come here. By the way, I've been meaning to talk to you about something. 

Melkor: Huh?

Sauron: *Slides in a resignation letter* 

Melkor: You want to quit? Why! Is it because you suddenly got a wife now?

Sauron: Master... it's literally been like 300 years since we even spoke. Everyone has literally gone in their own ways. 

Melkor: What? 

Sauron: Yeah. There's no one at Angband. We assumed you would never come back, so we didn't see a point to continue.

Melkor: Seriously? 

Sauron: No hard feelings. I might come back if you come up with something, but for now, I have different things to deal with. *Leaves*

You: *Grinning at Melkor* Haha! Fuck you, your lieutenant is mine now!

Melkor: *Silence*

Melkor: Oh dear– I got robbed of my lieutenant before I could rob her father’s silmarils. 

***

Your family: *Arguing with you in front of the valars*

You: *Arguing back* 

Manwe: *Having an headache*

Manwe: Alright! Settle down. I have a proposition that might help both of you in this matter! 

You & your family: *Look at him silently*

Manwe: (Name) Since your family wants you to stay, but you do not want to break your relationship with Sauron. How about this? During winter years, you shall spend your time with Sauron in Middle Earth, and during spring years, you will spend your time with your family in Valinor. 

You: *Thinks about it* Yeah, sounds good to me. 

Your family: Wait, it's the start of autumn. 

You: Woohoo! Which means half a year without you!

You: *Grap Sauron and began leaving* Bye! I see you in spring! 

Your family: *Sobs* (Name)!

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 5

Notes: Woohoo! New chapter!! Forgive my very poor explanation of parallel universes and all things science. I have a small brain but a big heart.

Summary: Sonic, Tails and Shadow discuss who Shadow is, how he got there, and what to do about it.

Chapter Select: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 6

Support me on my Ao3!

Start:

“So you’re seriously suggesting this Shadow isn’t our Shadow??“

Sonic doesn’t seem very happy about this. He’s now looking at Shadow skeptically as well as with an enormous amount of concern.

“Impossible,” Shadow says simply, “There’s only one Ultimate Lifeform.”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s definitely concrete proof right there,” Tails says sarcastically, his arms crossed as he looks at Shadow, “Plus, by my understanding, there’s two Ultimate Lifeforms. You and Sonic.

“Oh, we are soo not getting into that right now,” Sonic groans before Shadow can comment, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he shuts his eyes and tilts his head down, “I’m getting a headache..”

“Join the club,” Shadow mutters, his arms crossed now as he leans back on the couch.

“So let’s say this Shadow isn’t our Shadow..,” Sonic says, lifting his eyes once more to Tails, “How the heck does that even work?? Where did he come from??? And where did my Shadow go??”

My Shadow.

Not our.

My.

That stands out to the ebony hedgehog, but he doesn’t comment.

”I have some theories..,” Tails ponders, rubbing his chin with his fingers, “None are a sure thing, but they are possible.”

“Well, I’m all ears,” Sonic says with a frown, panic evident in his wide eyes and how he’s fidgeting with his his fingers.

Why’s he so distressed???

“For starters, we do know that scientifically speaking, if one existence occurs in an alternate timeline, it must be replaced with another of the same kind,” Tails says simply, looking at Shadow and Sonic who just blink at him silently.

Tails sighs and dumbs it down, “If new Shadow is here, old Shadow is there.”

“You don’t live in some dangerous, apocalyptic universe, do you???” Sonic asks worriedly to Shadow, Shadow rolling his eyes with a shake of his head.

“No.”

“Oh thank Gaia..,” Sonic breathes.

“That was a few years ago..”

“WHAT?!”

“Don’t get so jumpy, Hedgehog,” Shadow huffs, narrowing his eyes at the blue blur who looks like he could be ill, “Any version of myself is more than capable of facing any obstacle he may stumble upon.”

Sonic just pouts a bit at this, his ears folding back as he thinks on Shadow’s words and tries to believe in them.

Shadow can see that’s not going to stop his stress anytime soon, though.

“Okay. So we know my Shadow is okay somewhere then.”

“Most likely,” Shadow agrees with a nod.

“HE IS,” Sonic assists with a glare before breathing a sigh and, “..So how do we switch them back??”

“That’s gonna be the tricky part..,” Tails rubs the back of his neck, his face scrunched in thought, “If I had to make an estimated guess on how this all came to be, I’d say it was due to both Shadow’s forcing artificial Chaos Control at the same time in their separate worlds. The fact it wasn’t organic probably caused a disturbance in the balance of the multiverse— which this is all just phenomenal proof it exists, by the way—!”

“Tails. Focus. Nerd out later.”

“Right. Anyway. They likely created a rift in the place between universes. A massive amount of self-made energy that created a tear between time and space from both sides.. The theory of the multiverse is there’s infinite universes that exist alongside each other. Our universes must just be parallel to one another, touching but not interacting— well.. until now.”

“Okay..,” Sonic nods, trying to take this in and understand it as he looks at the ground in thought, “Okay, so-.. so if there’s a tear, then can’t we just—“

He motions to Shadow and then moves his arms as if to push him through something.

Tails snorts, “Well, it’s not quite that simple.”

“Never is..,” Shadow mutters to himself, staying quiet for the most part so he himself can process his current situation.

“Why not??” Sonic’s brows knit, looking to his brother now.

“Well that energy itself was Chaos Energy. Which means—“

“The laws of time and space don’t matter to it,” Shadow finishes, now understanding a bit better.

Tails nods, “Exactly. It happened in less than an instant— not even an instant! Chaos Control is when time stops completely, and the user is briefly able to manipulate it before it returns right back to normal.”

“So the tear is closed?” Sonic frowns, ears lowering as his body slouches.

“Tear is closed..,” Tails confirms with an apologetic nod. He then offers a little smile, “But! We know it’s possible, now. Which means it’s possible to make it happen again.”

“How do we do that if the energy has to come from both sides of the multiverse??” Shadow questions, now much more collected since he knows why everything and everyone is acting so weird. As long as he has a reason, he can be reasonable in response.

“Well.. that’s what’ll take time,” Tails says with a scratch behind his ear, “I’ll have to work on that. Do some research. But if I had to guess, I’d say our best bet is to try and connect with our parallel universe and find a way to contact our Shadow.”

Sonic nods a bit hopefully at that, seeming eager at the idea of contacting this universe’s Ultimate Lifeform.

“And are you the most suitable for such a feat as this??” Shadow questions, his brow quirking at the fox.

Tails furrows his brows at Shadow, tightening his fists at his sides with a determined expression on his face, “I can do it.”

Shadow hums, seeming satisfied with this.

“It’ll take time. But I’ll have to be on this twenty-four, seven. Who knows what this sort of anomaly could cause! Defects in gravity, collisions of realities— heck, our whole world could be swallowed up if the multiverse tries to fix itself before we can!”

Both Shadow and Sonic’s eyes widen, their arms and jaws dropping at this information.

“…Great! Swell. Well, you get on that then, buddy,” Sonic beams with that obnoxious go-getter attitude of his, approaching Tails with a pat on the back before squeezing his shoulder with a little shake, “Because the world collapsing could really put a damper on my plans to live the way past coolest life ever.”

“Right..,” Tails chuckles a bit nervously, the weight of this task seeming to settle itself on his shoulders.

‘Good,’ Shadow thinks, ‘This needs to be taken seriously by someone.’

“Hey,” Sonic says, crouching down to get Tails’ attention. The fox’s eyes raise to his older brother’s again, nervousness and fear now replacing the determination he had previously shown.

“You got this,” Sonic assures with a smile, “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Tails offers a small smile at that, the confidence of his guardian seeming to be enough to make that spark return, “Thanks, Sonic..”

“Besides,” Sonic adds with a grin, “I know that the Tails in the other universe will be working his butt off to fix this too.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure..,” Shadow says with a frown, now pondering a whole other problem with this entire situation.

Sonic frowns, looking to Shadow with a tilt of his head, “How come?”

“The Miles Prower in my universe isn’t exactly..,” he pauses, choosing his words on how to put this, “On the best of terms with me.”

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Could you do headcanons for how the sv + sve bachelorettes get when they're a bit tipsy

I actually wrote earlier (like a year ago) on a similar ask, only it was almost all vanilla residents without Expanded mod. But I don't mind repeating it, it'll just be a little different! Thanks for the question, dear anon 😊❤️

_________________________________________

Given that Penny hates all alcohol and has sworn never to drink anything strong, she became intoxicated by accident, drinking a cocktail that the young teacher mistook for fruit juice. And she doesn't like this state. She feels tired, sleepy, dizzy... Why is she staggering around? How can her mother drink beer and like this condition? Penny wants to go home, to sleep and finally get rid of the feeling of intoxication. Oh, she doesn't enjoy drinking, that's for sure.

The party for Abigail was just beginning, woohoo! After a couple of delicious cocktails based on hard liquor, the purple-haired girl felt a huge rush of energy and euphoria. She was ready to drag Sebastian to the dance floor, challenge Sam to a duel in an arcade machine, or something else crazy. But also when drinking alcohol, Abby could be a little aggressive. It even got to the point where she threatened a rude tourist with a sword (now there's a "No swords" sign in the Saloon. Sorry, Farmer).

Haley doesn't often go to the Saloon, preferring to drink liqueurs and martinis at home. In principle, two small glasses of sweet, strong alcohol are enough for a girl to tell herself to stop. In light intoxication, she becomes chatty, cheerful and flirtatious, sometimes a little capricious. But if she miscalculates and drinks too much, she gets sad and tearful (then nauseous and headachey. Ugh, hangovers suck).

Maru was very curious about what the strawberry wine she had been given for her birthday tasted like... Just a quarter of the bottle, and the young inventor left the rest for later, as she treats alcohol responsibly. With the alcohol in her blood, Maru became very talkative: a whole stream of words about her future inventions seemed to know no end. And she would talk even if no one was listening and until intoxication made her sleepy. So the most common condition is talkativeness and sleepiness.

Leah usually prefers to have a couple of glasses of wine at home, alone, after a finished sculpture or painting. Or in the company of a dinner of fresh salad or delicate goat cheese at the Saloon. Alcohol always makes her feel relaxed, and the ginger haired artist will gladly surrender to the hands of calm and serenity during a well-deserved break. Leah is pretty well tempered in terms of drinking, but always drinks in moderation as she's not too fond of losing her motor coordination.

A couple of speciality cocktails, the recipes of which were invented by Emily herself - and the blue haired girl will turn from an energetic and joyful person into a more energetic and joyful person. She can't sit still, she needs to move, she needs to have fun and she needs others to have fun too. No aggression, just a lot of movement. Most of the time Emily goes straight to the direction of the dance floor. Tolerates strong alcohol quite well, but she rarely drinks and doesn't allow herself to do so at work in the Saloon.

Sophia owns a Bluemoon vineyard, works there alone, and naturally also tastes the wine she makes before bottling it. Just a little bit, but enough to make her feel quite normal from a couple of three strong cocktails in the Saloon with friends. Sophia can get a little louder and more chatty, sometimes she might giggle loudly at some funny joke or wave her arms around, but overall alcohol doesn't change her too much.

As with Penny, Claire has no tolerance for alcohol and would rather have a cup of tea than wine or whiskey. And so it came to pass that Claire also accidentally took a sip of some strong drink, mistaking it for something else, and what she feared - a headache - began. A severe, unbearable headache from even the smallest amount of alcohol in the body. So when she drank alcohol, Claire's face would be creased with a dull ache, and she would be weak, sad, and slightly irritable.

No strong wine in the Ferngill Republic can make Olivia lose her ability to adequately assess her state of mind or darken her eloquence. She doesn't drink several bottles of dry red wine in one sitting, of course not, but the former Joja accountant has been visiting many wineries since she was 20 years old to try out different types of wine. Some people might think that Olivia gets a little impatient (even flirtatious for some) after the fourth glass, but no wine will make her say or do anything indecent.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s6 episode 15 "arcadia" thoughts

hehehe… i’m looking forward to this one. i've seen some screenshots.

giggling and kicking my feet.

okay. let me center myself.

i woke up early so i could edit my notes for yesterday’s episode and watch this one today. i will make the most of my weekends, let it be known!

so! let us see where this brings us. i’m in the mood for spooky and sweet. which s6 has been pretty good at delivering so far. with a few headache-inducing moments to balance it out.

post-episode thoughts: nods in approval. haha... YES! YEAH!!!!!!! i have so many thoughts, but i just feel like that meme of the dude looking in through the window! HAHA!!!!! YEAH!

and the next episode has an evil dog! woohoo!! yeah!!! let’s go!!!

okay!!! i need to lock in. 

we begin in california. it seems quite beautiful. a gated community!! that requires a code!!! when you enter the code, it knows who you are and announces it, which i think is creepy. 

far too many waving and smiling neighbors watering the california grass. girl. the forest fires…

mr. kline gets his mail, and paint on his hands as his neighbor painted his mailbox. 

LMAO mr. kline is FURIOUS the neighbor painted the mailbox LMAOOOOO. and i would be too! but there is a weird package on the floor…..

rip it open, mr. kline. but please be careful. i’m suspicious. there might be razors in there!!! it’s... a little thingy of a guy chopping wood!!!

(the proper term is later revealed to be a "whirligig"- isn't that extraordinary?)

mrs. kline declares the neighbors would hate it, and so it goes on display. 

it makes a tapping noise, but it stops at night. and they hear the floorboards creaking……

mr. kline gets a trophy to bash someone over the head with. not sure that is the most effective weapon. at least get a bat.

and it’s so dark!! curse you, season 6! why is there liquid on the floor?!!!

something comes up behind him and he screams!!! it looks like a dude made out of… like, bees or something?

mrs. kline hears his screams and cowers in bed!! but the mystery thing gets her, too!! with a terrible scream!!!

intro time…

ooooo, looks like we have a beast. of some sort. a man-beast. not bigfoot. but maybe a cousin. i mean, it LOOKED like it was made of bugs, but it was really dark and hard to tell. so who knows?

full intro... you are my best friend!!!

okay, so 7 months have passed since… whatever went down with the klines. and now a neighbor has a gift for the new residents! the petries. 

LMAOOOOO MULDER WITH HIS JACKET WRAPPED AROUND HIS NECK, CALLING SCULLY “HONEY”…. “is this place us or what?!” <-i’m giggling already

it is not them. it is so not them. 

LMAO they have to use fake names. rob and laura petrie. scully has not said a word so far, but the giant gift basket has been thrust into her arms.

i wonder if the strategy is to let him do most of the talking since she can have some… difficulty lying. but! sometimes she can pull it off!! maybe she just needs to get really in character to do so!

"WE PRONOUNCE IT PEE-TREE ACTUALLY" "LIKE THE DISH" LMAOOOO!!!!!!! FUCKING NERDS……

hey guys. what’s going on here? i’ve been here for 3 minutes. am i imagining this?

the lady who is presenting scully with the giant gift basket is pat. and she tells them that they will not make the 6 o clock cut off!! all move-ins are required to be completed by 6. girl. what kind of rule is that?

HE SAYS HE WORKS MOSTLY AT HOME WHICH IS GOOD FOR LAURA BECAUSE “SHE GETS ME ALL TO HERSELF” (pulls her in for the side hug) LMFAOOOOOO stop. oh lord. 

i’m gonna need so many minutes. 

they’re clearly trying to sniff out information on the previous owners- scully wants to send a thank you note to them for leaving the place SO clean- but pat gets uncomfortable and changes the subject. oh! something weird is going on here!!!!! deeply so!!

LMAOOOO THE WAY SCULLY STIFFENS UP AND LOWKEY SHOVES MULDER OFF OF HER WHEN PAT LEAVES...........

she said do NOT get used to that, buddy!

(this is actually so funny to me. because. like. we KNOW they have feelings for each other. but scully does not feel comfortable performing that. and why do you think this is? because it feels so forced? they seem like pretty touchy people in general, but maybe she does NOT want to be touchy in that way? maybe she is anti-PDA. or maybe she is anti-inauthentic PDA.

we don't really ever see her in a committed relationship to know how she feel when it comes to domestic sidehugs. maybe she is firmly against them.

maybe she thinks he's playing a joke on her and she doesn't want to be a part of that. maybe she thinks he's taking advantage of their circumstances to indulge in his own crush, and she doesn't want to process that when there is crime to solve. maybe she thinks it's making a mockery of whatever it is they do have between them. turn it around in your brain and pick the most exciting option to headcanon!)

((but really, it's reminding me of this time i was a teenager, and i had a hopelessly unrequited crush on someone who was really cool and beautiful. and a mutual friend made a joke about how we should kiss. so i feigned disgust. "eww!", i said, "i do NOT want to do that!" <-reader, i was lying. and i feel great solidarity with scully))

the whole town is here to move them in by 6. including the neighbor who previously was painting the mailbox for the klines!! his name is win. 

i would not want all these people in my house. who are they trying to please by getting everything done by 6?!

does the beast eat the people that break the rules? is that why they ate the klines? because of their lumberjack accessory??

a neighbor knocks over the box labeled “china”!!! that scully wanted to carry herself!!! he says he is so sorry. there is great distress upon her face. this dude is named mike. he is immediately my suspect for no real reason other than we got his name early on.

cami, win’s wife, helps her haul the china in. which i don’t believe is actually china at all.

mulder wants to bring a basketball hoop, but win says this is NOT ALLOWED!! unless he can get special permission from mr. gogolak, the president of the HOA. but until then… it must go in the garage.

it's cruel to deny this man his basketball.

(giggling at the mental image... did they have any sort of background on this case that nonconformity would lead to being eaten, or was mulder told he had to do an undercover gig and he said "skinner, i am NOT doing this without a basketball hoop"... fun to imagine)

mulder’s jacket that was previously stored around his neck and his polo both have the crocodile logo. hold on. i have to google something.

it is a brand called lacoste. a luxury sportswear line! okay. so this is fancy and suburban. kinda ralph lauren adjacent? or maybe more tommy hilfiger? i don’t know the brand lore. he’s rich and he’s trendy in a way that blends right into suburbia. i’m picking up what is being put down. pink polo man. 

ah, you never know how much you appreciate a man's trusty leather jacket until it has been taken from you

right at 6, all of the neighbors leave.

they wave goodbye. “oh yeah, nothing weird going on around here” <-LMAOOOO

“hey, oooh, wait a minute, you didn’t let me carry you over the threshold” he says to scully as they walk inside. and he is having too much fun with this.

she takes off her jacket and asks if he’s ready- “let’s get it on, honey” (JAIL FOR THAT ONE!) and she hands him some rubber gloves with a grin. LMAO. 

okay, she’s having fun too. don’t let her fool you. she wants to solve crime and he wants to play house. their interests align.

nooo!!! mike broke the box that had tools for “fluorescein bloodstain enhancement”! mike… my suspicions of you grow… you can’t take away scully's science toys!!!

she has a camcorder. she says it’s february 24th!!! so this happened soon after scully’s brush with death in new york?!?! like. right after she was shot and nearly killed in tithonus?!

unless we jumped ahead a year again, of course. in which case this might be taking place BEFORE the rain king, which was in the summer. 

uh… well. who knows? what a fool i am to assume that the episodes are chronological (heavy on the /s)

anyway, i need to shut up. she’s VLOGGING.

the klines were the third couple to disappear since 1991, which was when this place was built!!

her in that sweater looks so fundamentally wrong LMAO... give her a powersuit or a sweatshirt or a big old jacket, but this purple floral piece just seems incorrect!!!

back to the camcorder vlog. all of the missing people were stable professionals with no history of mental illness or discord, and it took a family member or employee to realize they were gone!!! damn… they’re def hiding something in this place. maybe a blood sacrifice? to the HOA gods??

and their cars and some items were taken from the people who vanished!!! the police had enough, so they turned to the FBI!!

given how many autopsies she has to do voice recordings for, it’s perhaps not surprising that she takes naturally to the vlog, but it is still endearing. especially when mulder interrupts. 

SKINNER ASSIGNED THEM TO THIS. oh. skinner is plotting. perhaps the very first MSR shipper.

STOP HITTING ON HER (sprays him with water when he makes a joke about the "honeymoon film")

she wants to choose the names next time, and also, she doesn’t think he’s taking this seriously. but he says he is! he just doesn’t understand why they’re on it! it’s their first case back on the x files after they were on general for so long!! but it’s not an x file!!

(i did not entirely consider the implications of the line that she "wants to choose the names next time", which implies that HE chose them out. and i can imagine this scene in great detail: him typing up their aliases and a biography for each of them before they leave, and handing her the detailed file in the car. the way her eyebrow shoots up when she turns to look at him. and he's grinning, his eyes on the road, when she asks if he really thinks she looks like a laura)

she says it’s unexplained. “what do you want? aliens? tractor beams?” LMAO

HE SAYS SHE JUST WANTS TO PLAY HOUSE!! AND WHEN HE DOES A SILLY VOICE AND TELLS HER TO MAKE HIM A SANDWICH, SHE THROWS HER GLOVES AT HIM..... LMAOOO

who is at the door??? it’s mike!! with lots of china!! he says he has more than he needs. “i just usually use one and then… wash it” yes king ❤️ that is how they work, those dishes!

he lives the next street over. and he has something i thought was a cross necklace around his neck.

but doctor scully notices it’s a caduceus! well, of course she’d know that. but would laura petrie?! is she going to blow her cover nerding out?!

he says he’s a vet. and he would be happy to examine any of their pets. but the pet better not be over 16 pounds!!!! it violates the rules!

(i know that she previously had a little dog, but i feel that scully needs a medium to large size mutt to sit on the couch with and read. and also throw lots of sticks for. i have felt this way since ice and i still do so. need to write the AU where literally everything in canon is exactly the same, but she goes home with the border collie from ice)

she says it was so kind of him to bring this china over- everyone is so neighborly, she’s unsure why the klines ever left! that was their name, right? the klines? and he says... he has to leave.

she calls to mulder and he responds with “the name… is rob” <-LMAOOOOOO 

i know his ass was staring in the mirror to get into character. thinking, "what would rob do in such a circumstance?"

i thought he was fixing a lightbulb, which would have been funny in its own right, but he found some sort of blood and muck on the ceiling fan!!! must have been a hell of an impact to get up there.

cutscene to the gogolak residence. at 7:59. pat is reporting to them on the new neighbors!!! and the others declare them to be a cute couple. well, yes!

mr. gogolak says “ladies, my compliments to the chef” and all the women leave???????

very creepy. did not enjoy this.

he asks if the “pee-trees” will play ball, and win says that he is keeping his eye on them!!

big mike suggests that perhaps they tell them. win says they don’t know if they can trust them. 

but big mike says that there are so many rules- maybe they could keep up with them better if they knew what happened if they don’t. oh. is big mike an ally to our agents?!? despite breaking the science equipment? was it perhaps a mere accident?

he says it’s the neighborly thing to do… i now have a feeling he will not make it through the episode. mr. gogolak says “godspeed”. and big mike asks to use the bathroom. gordy is sent after to make sure he finds it. 

win says he can talk big mike out of this. but gogolak says he’s a weak link, and a strong chain cannot survive without a weak link. 

you stay AWAY from my friend mike!!!

mike is watching a documentary on a tribal culture and the expulsion of outcasts. his light goes out!!! 

he runs and fixes it, wincing as he does so. but something approaches???

it looks like he’s covered in blood!!!

the beast comes, and he loudly declares that he fixed it, he fixed it!!! but this makes no difference. he is…. well. i’m not sure what the verb for what happened to him is. but a large blood splatter appears everywhere.

win sprays it down in the morning. when mulder and scully arrive!!! i was wondering if the blood would wash onto their shoes, but this possibility isn't addressed.

how was your first night? win asks. “oh it was wonderful; we just spooned up and fell asleep like little baby cats” <- JDVSJBDMSBS

i can’t tell if bro is committed to the bit, living a fantasy, or a former theatre kid DETERMINED to not fuck up their cover story. probably all three in a sick way.

the pet names are SICKENING. oh my god. 

win says mike had to leave town on business. veterinarian business, i guess. he leaves for weeks at a time. suuuuuure.

mulder wants to leave the china at mike's place, but win says he’ll take the box. oh! get him with the "aesthetically pleasing" jab, mulder.

oh no, win invites them over for dinner at 6. which sounds most unpleasant. and mulder asks who he needs to talk to get up the basketball hoop. 

that is gonna be mr. gogolak. who has some sort of statue in his home. and he consults the rule book.

THEY’RE CUDDLED UP ON HIS COUCH LMAOOOOO and mr. gogolak declares a basketball hoop is NOT ALLOWED

the sweater vest on him is CRAZY, bahahahaha!!! and scully’s wearing a sweater now that still seems wrong, but less so than that purple number before. scully grabs his hand at this very sad news of their basketball hoop-less life. see? she can roll with the punches!

it seems his house is filled with masks or sculptures or something. 

he sets the rule book down on a special stand… as if it has religious significance. hmm. a clue as to the nature of our beast?

mulder says he loves the decor; is it occidental? mr. gogolak says it’s nepalese and tibetan, actually. he goes there twice a year on business. he runs pier nine imports. he can get them a great deal on rattan furniture. INDOOR ONLY! no outdoor furniture allowed.

they nod and smile at him. 

we are now at dinner with win and cami. win shoos away a dog and asks if cami used the dolphin-safe tuna. how… progressive?

HE MAKES A JOKE ABOUT EATING DOLPHINS AND SCULLY HAS TO FAKE LAUGH WHEN THEY’RE GAGGED, LMAOOOO

win asks where they met. mulder says at a UFO conference. he says she’s a new ager!! and she’s sitting there suffering.

i once again need to see the character biographies i know he made for them. 

OH! mulder says he doesn’t think it’s true that big mike is out on business!!! he called his office!! they wanted advice on getting a dog!!!

ohhh, scully’s coming in with the kill. “do you know where he is, win?” she asks, with the most cheery expression. cami is glaring at win.

and mulder proposes that it has to be something freaky for him to lie about it like that- maybe he has a secret life. oh, they are a pretty well-oiled machine at the end of the day... occasional awkwardness aside.

win assures them that their gated community does NOT have a dark underbelly as mulder had proposed. mulder sips his wine. interesting. i wonder if he is a wine snob.

LMAOOOO.... CAMI GETS UP TO WALK THE DOG AND SCULLY OFFERS TO COME, BUT SHE DOES THIS SAD LITTLE AIR KISS BEFORE MULDER CAN PROPERLY SMOOCH HER… oh, the rumors about these two are going to be FLYING around town!!! she didn't even let him SMOOCH!! are they truly in love?! is he cheating?! a lavender marriage, perhaps?!

as they walk the dog in the dark, scully asks cami if it’s really the american dream living here. she hesitates. cami denies being worried about mike. but the dog runs down the sewers!!! and then the barking stops!!!! LET THE DOG LIVE.

scully pulls out a flashlight…. and finds mike’s necklace!!!! but before she can grab it, the dog returns. he is covered in some kind of blood and/or goop that scully wipes off with a handkerchief. FOR ANALYSIS!

but as they leave, the sewer grate starts rising!!

oh!! she WAS able to snatch mike's necklace!!

back at home, mulder is shedding his shirt and tossing it on the bed, which gives scully pause. LMAO. she insists he calls her laura now. 

LMAOOOOO she bullies him for how he squeezes his toothpaste. and for leaving up the toilet seat. which would piss me off bad tbh, so i get that.

LMAOOOOO SHE COMES OUT IN A GREEN FACE MASK AND HE GASPS!!!! AS SHE ASKS HIM ABOUT MOTIVES AND THEN TOSSES HIS SHIRT BACK TO HIM, BAHAHA

he tries to get her to come into bed saying “come on, laura, we’re married now” and she stares and says “scully, mulder” which makes him take his pillow and leave 

LMFAO???? bro………….. 

he wanted to do wild stuff even if she was covered in green goo and it scared him at first.

sex jokes aside, it's really fucking funny how he didn't expect her to come out green, but then immediately played it cool. and the fact that they feel comfortable enough in each other's presence, for better or for worse, for him to toss his clothes around and her to do her skincare.

had he not made that joke, i wonder if they really would have gotten into bed together and had awkward, 100% totally platonic sleepover time. it looked pretty big and comfy! but we do know he is no stranger to sleeping on the couch.

i need to pause and take a deep breath. LMAO oh god. yeah. domestic bliss really is NOT in their future, huh? i could have predicted that. certainly you could have also predicted that! but i’m sure some fans were chomping at the bit to see it anyway.

fans have a tendency to superimpose domestic bliss on any character dynamic, even when it doesn't seem like it would work at all. like, they have to solve crime for a living. not sure if there is time for making pancakes and dancing in the kitchen- no matter how fun it is to imagine.

i can’t really see them living together, really, unless a lot of stuff changed. she is very organized!! it would drive them both crazy!!! she likes to be cozy and he sleeps on a couch! and that is IF he can even fall asleep! because it seems that half of the time he doesn't, and she's probably in bed by 11 most nights!

regardless of mulder’s abrupt advances through the guise of committing to the cover story, he says he has a foolproof way to get an answer as to what is going down. and she says she has to leave to get the stuff from the ceiling fan and the dog tested. so i presume disaster will strike when they are apart.

LMAO HIS PLAN IS TO PUT UP ONE PINK FLAMINGO... BAHAHA

bro drinks straight out of the orange juice carton and awaits confrontation. but it appears the flamingo has vanished on its own!!!

so he kicks the mailbox over at a strange angle and leaves it open and splashes the orange juice on it. he must have been mad as hell at that point. and he waits by the door. 

he clearly considers going to the bathroom in the carton in order to avoid leaving his perch by the front door, but when he chooses sense and runs to the toilet instead, the mailbox is fixed upon his return!!!! and it contains a single letter.

"be like the others before it gets dark"

DO NOT like that.

LMAOOOO, he’s outside at night bouncing his basketball as cami BEGS win to make him stop.

win comes over to try and get his basketball hoop put away, but mulder asks what will happen if he doesn’t!! cami is watching….. but something is following her!!!!!

mulder runs into action as something goes to get her!!!!!! he manages to chase it off????? but their lightbulb is cracked………

so. he hauls the basketball hoop in. just as scully arrives in a mini van. which is wild. she does not give off "i drive a mini van" vibes to me. and she has a shopping bag filled with... blood test results?

there is something creaking upstairs. but when she calls out for mulder, he doesn’t reply. 

ohhhh, she gets the fire poker…. she means business! but mulder is still outside with a flashlight!!! he nearly falls into a sinkhole. he rips it open……

scully is armed with her poker as something clatters. she goes down the stairs… but something is inside…….

AH!!!!! she nearly beheads him as he makes a surprise entrance.

someone is in their house, cleaning up. oh! so he did NOT put the basketball hoop away. someone else did it for them. which is very creepy. can anyone just... waltz in when they want?!

he says he got a look at the scary thing, and it IS an x file!!!

win asks mr. gogolak what it is they did wrong!!!!!! he seems to be accusing him of being the source of whatever is going on. but he says win needs to rethink that theory. 

no. he says that mulder is the problem.

he’s currently outside digging in the dirt, where he thinks a huge creature lives.

“do you care to hear what i think?” “always” <- oh…. he is so down bad…

turns out the blood they found is not really blood!! it is brake fluid, ketchup, and bristles!!! so is this a beast made of garbage?? and maybe that is why everything has to be organized? lest they fuel him?

the dog’s muzzle was covered in coffee grounds, eggshells, and motor oil… and 50 other things. plus color.

the whole place has been built on a landfill!!! hmm, that isn't too surprising. bet the land was really cheap. and all the chemicals would seep out, maybe make some sort of radioactive beast...

she doesn’t see how this has to do with the disappearances, but he insists they must be connected. what if the klines are still here? buried in the yard? 

of course, they cannot start a forensic investigation, lest their cover be blown. mulder ponders…

AND THEN A BIG EXCAVATOR IS BROUGHT IN

“what if god’s name are you doing?!” “putting in a pool” “in the front YARD?!” <- LMAOOOO

HE SAID THERE ARE NO RULES AGAINST PUTTING IN A REFLECTING POOL LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO

bro has graduated from polos to a grey t shirt and jeans, LMAOOO. he can no longer tolerate the lacoste and cover stories. mr. gogolak says to let him dig his own grave.

funny how he was so eager to commit to the bit, but was the first to depart with appearances. he needed results.

you don’t know what that man can do, buddy. maybe he can defeat the beast. he has defeated other beasts in the past!

at night, scully comes out to look in the hole. WAIT. she’s talking to him. who is IN THE HOLE. LMAO. she says the klines aren’t down there and he should go to bed. 

but he sees something in the equipment!!! the little lumberjack from the klines!!!

FROM PIER 9 IMPORTS!!! ...GOGOLAK!!

he declares scully must get an excavation team, and he runs off to go confront gogolak. i think.

THE THING!!!! it’s bubbling!!!! a hand emerges!!!

scully dials an excavation team. but the beast approaches. and her gun is gone!!!! it’s climbing up the stairs!!!

someone grabs her!!! whoever it is says "it’s coming for you laura, you can’t make a noise"… is it mike?!?? yes!!! he’s covered in the goop!!! and he says she has to get out of there!!!

he says they asked for it, and now they can’t stop it….

he says the ubermenscher wants YOU, laura. her husband has broken too many rules. he shoves her in the closet and takes the gun…. and he fires the whole clip into it!!! but it still runs forward!!!!

mulder is arresting gogolak, saying he is responsible for the death of the klines. by giving them the whirligig.

OHHHHHH, he tries to be all “won’t the judge think that sounds silly?” but don’t try and out occult him!!! he’s gonna tell them it was a tulpa that did it!!! a tibetan thought form!!! he thinks he picked it up on his journeys to asia!!!

gogolak says it’s important that people fit in. but he couldn’t control it. just to hope to stay out of its way.

“son, my lawyers are going to make you sound so stupid, that not only will i never see the inside of a jail cell, but you’ll be signing all your paychecks straight to me” <- LMAOOOO. okay. bet.

he grabs gogolak and takes him to the big yard pile. where he notices that all of the lights are off. and he locks gogolak up outside!!!!!!! who yells out to win that he has two FBI agents for neighbors- but not for long!!!

the house is filled with mystery stains, and mulder calls out to scully. she yells to him from the closet!!!!

win does not help gogolak as he is tied to the front of the house… cami says he deserves what he gets. well!

the thing is eating gogolak, and mulder runs outside!!!!! he’s totally dead!!!

mulder looks really fascinated more than scared as it approaches him. because it crumbles to pieces!!! he must have known it couldn't have survived without gogolak!

scully made her way out of the closet!!!

the next morning, they leave, with scully narrating that several people have blamed the deaths on gogolak. but each person in the gated community denies that they are all somewhat responsible for his death.

the code of silence continues as they move away.

ooooooo…..

interesting. very interesting.

i mean, we all had to know there is something sinister about those planned communities. the amount of pesticides, water waste, americana, levittown, etc... it's so nuclear, so fake. so i think it's a great setting for exploring the dark side of the so-called american dream, conformity, and the environmental consequences. you can practically smell the DDT in the place.

interesting, then, in an episode centering on american homogeneity, the big bad villain would be a creature from asian folklore. i think the message was supposed to be about the dangers of trying so hard to blend in, but it leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth that the evil thing that forced them all to blend in wasn't a homegrown beast. you can easily choose to interpret that in a xenophobic light. even though the problem was gogolak trying to control everyone, can you see how the optics look a bit... problematic, for lack of a better word?

i don't think the writers came in with the goal of telling a spooky scary story of something scary from TIBET ruining the AMERICAN DREAM, but you could choose to interpret it that way.

nonetheless, it is comparably tame when it comes to the cultural insensitivies of this show. i genuinely don't think they intended it to come off like that at all. but then again, i guess you could also make the argument that it is the cultural appropriation for evil purposes done by gogolak that makes the creature, intended for a very different purpose in its original context, into a murdering machine.

so. with all that being said.

(giggling and kicking my feet resumes in earnest)

you hug scully? you hug scully like wife? oh! jail! jail for mulder for 10,000 years!

a very interesting look into their dynamic. man, i just know the MSR girlies were pumping their fists in the air when s6 was dropping.

so, do i think they would make good roommates? absolutely not. do i still find myself wishing to see more scenes of semi-domesticity as they glove up to hunt for clues in their shared house and then snuggle on the bad guy's couch? yes! i am only human!

and scully said she would pick the names the next time they went undercover. which means it WILL happen again. good news for a freak like me.

hehehe...... this was a very good episode. it was enjoyable on the surface level, but also left me with many things to ponder, which i always cherish.

in addition to my many questions regarding scully's distaste for sidehugs, here are some other thoughts floating around in my brain: did skinner know what he was doing when he assigned them to this? i mean, he had to have known. is skinner rooting for them? or is that gonna be an HR problem? did they have to buy new wardrobes just for this purpose? does mulder really fantasize about spooning like kittens? under which circumstances can scully tell a convincing lie?

for those interested in sipping from the waters of angst, do you think his constant joking flirtations make her feel sad because he never quite seems authentic? or do you think she knows that he means it after his triangle confession, but won't mention it because... why risk damaging what they have? why risk crossing that line they tiptoe over and over again but never fully cross, especially when they're both so engrossed in their work and they're pretty much the only person they have?

do you think he feels like he's pushing it when he flirts with her, but that it's as real as they'll ever get, so he might as well indulge? do they both sit there and think the other is too busy with work to ever make time and space for me, so it would be best to steal what we can from this codependent partnership that we have grown accustomed to and never expect anything more? they have both at times mentioned a desire to "settle down"- do they really mean it? or is it what they think they want because that is just what you do? what would happen if they DID try to?

ha! this is excellent. i enjoy thinking about these sort of discussion questions. like a book club, sort of.

please let me know what you think! to any of my questions, or your thoughts on the episode, or how you reacted when you saw it for the first time! there is still so much to mull over, but there is no rush to get it all done right away. that's the beauty of letting something stick with you, i suppose. i can gnaw on it in my brain for years and find new things each time i return to it.

[acroagoraphobe]

I NEED MOAAAAR HC'S OF JOSHUA PRE-BURNS PLEASE AND THANK YOU

WOOHOO GLADLY!!

Only cooked his own food so it would fit his very specific requirements (He can't trust food given to him by other people) [Now he just doesn't care because he's not as much of a prissy bitch.]

Couldve been pretty good at sewing, but he didn't have the patience.

Constant headaches because the legion is a bunch of stupid children.

Never heard him yell but when you did, Whole world goes silent. When everything goes silent randomly, you know Joshua was PISSED. (Still applies)

Constantly readjusting his clothes making sure he always looked like he was about to go to church.

Would 100% wipe his boots off on the corpses of people he considered lesser.

Just generally worse, like he used to be "Im better and smarter than everyone here, theyre all scumbags."

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

the oddest thing just happened.

so for a while now i've been getting a few really bad headaches a month around my cycle, which also happened to my mom when she was my age. i never thought they were migraines since the only symptom is head pain, but she said that migraine medication helped her back in the day, so okay, i mentioned it to my doctor. the headaches are in frequent but bad enough that the morphine i take for fibromyalgia didn't do shit.

my doctor gave me some samples of migraine medications, and holy fuck. one qulipta just poofs the headache away like it was never there, without even making me groggy or anything. it's like a miracle.

the sample packs were pretty much enough to last me between visits, which was good because qulipta seemed to be crazy expensive. my doctor was happy to keep giving me samples, but unfortunately i forgot them last time. so okay, i'd found a savings card, let's just try filling it with this card so i have 30 pills and don't have to worry about samples anymore.

that starts a whole song and dance with a prior authorization, which i can't fill the prescription without, and takes weeks because the lady who handles it at my doctor's is terribly overworked. finally, yesterday we get a call from the pharmacy saying it's ready, and what's more, with the card it costs $0! woohoo!

ran out to pick it up this evening. no problems. ran a couple other quick errands. got home, got the mail. in the mail was a letter from my insurance saying the prior authorization had been denied because i'm not officially diagnosed with a migraine condition and therefore the medication is not "medically necessary".

so. if i couldn't get it without the prior authorization, and the prior authorization was denied... how the fuck did i get it, much less for no cost? is this what socialized medicine is like, you just... get the medication you need without having to jump through a million hoops?

[natabear-sims]

🌼 Mod Diary #2 - The Juice System 🌼

Now that I've shared more about the gameplay mod I'm working on, I wanna dive deeper into the "Juice" feature part of it. ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ

There are 3 stages to the intoxication system that I've created:

1. Tipsy

When Sims drink "juice" from the bar, they'll become tipsy. This stage only lasts for 60 minutes, and not a lot changes for the Sim. They'll have a temporary boost in happiness until it wears off and they enter the drunk stage.

2. Drunk

After a period of being tipsy, Sims will then become drunk. They'll stay drunk for roughly 6 hours before it wears off. There are multiple drunken states: flirty, angry, fun, and generic.

Generic Drunk - Sims will be dazed and a little bit dizzy. They'll wanna party, but nothing specific.

Flirty Drunk - Sims will be in a flirty mood, they'll want to party and have more desire to do romantic interactions. I have not added any sort of autonomous woohoo. I don't want to take consent away from you or your sim, but you're free to initiate those things yourself!

Angry Drunk - Sims will be dazed but angry, and have a bit of a headache. They'll stomp around and be irritated, and can even initiate fights with other Sims.

Fun Drunk - Sims will be dazed but in a happy and playful mood. They'll find everything funny, and just want to party and have fun!

I've made Sims Dazed instead of Angry/Playful/etc. to avoid emotional deaths. I'll likely disable Autonomy for kicking over trash cans too because it annoys the crap out of me.

3. Sobering Up

Once the juice wears off, Sims will start to sober up. This stage lasts for about 90 minutes. They'll have two possible outcomes:

Neutral - Sims will have a little bit of a headache, but they've otherwise made it out unscathed!

Rough - Sims have a nasty hangover. They're nauseous, they have a headache, and they'll even throw up. The juice was not kind to them.

Townie Sims will also go through these stages whenever they drink from the bar. You'll notice that they become dazed and show signs of their drunken state.

Sims that are pregnant will instead receive a small bonus buff for drinking a yummy mocktail, and they won't go through the intoxication phases.

Sims can also drink a cup of coffee to quickly snap themselves out of their tipsy/drunk/sober state.

I'd love to hear your feedback!

[octopuscityblues]

The Octopus Hunter

August 2024 Update

Rustday, Newt 7, 244 Day 13 of the Containment Experiment

Played poker with Dr. Fidge and the others. Vermin was obviously cheating but Walls kept jumping to his defense. I don't know what she sees in a sleazy creep like him but I suppose it's none of my business.

Dr. Fidge said that the experiment is going well and the Field is holding. He tried to explain it to me again, but it went in one ear and out the other. All I got is that the experiment is now part of the prestigious Tiny Teams conference and that's apparently a really good thing? Woohoo, I guess...

Fleaday, Newt 8, 244 Day 14

Stuck on guard duty with Stutter again. There's not much to talk about. Vermin and Walls finally finished synthesizing and animating all the required "graveyard sprites": visual attachment points to draw the ectoplasm entities into the Containment Field. "The sprites make the Field come to life and feel like a real ectoplasm habitat", as Walls put it.

I have a terrible headache and can't sleep. Wonder how Mom's doing...

Smogday, Newt 9, 244 Day 15

Dr. Fidge asked me to gear up and enter the Field. Not the best way to start the day, but it's not like I have a choice. Today they were demoing the experiment to a group of military commanders. How many times do we have to update the experiment's parameters for these demonstrations?

We did manage to correct a long-standing fault in the Field's boundaries that occasionally prevented it from responding to the controller's input, so it's not all bad.

Gruelday, Newt 10, 244 Day 16

I had a medical checkup with Dr. Henrietta today. She said there's nothing wrong with me physically, but gave me some sleeping pills.

Something's definitely wrong with Dr. Fidge. Stutter asked him about the experiment's end date and Fidge got visibly upset. "We're all doing our best here! I'll have a date for you soon enough". I wonder what's eating him?

Mossday, Newt 11, 244 Day 17

Apparently they extracted part of the ectoplasm and packaged it into a miniature field with its own dedicated page on the Steam academic publishing platform. The marketing folks even recorded a new "trailer" for it, like it's the latest summer blockbuster.

Walls and Dr. Fidge keep arguing. She thinks the ectoplasm extraction will weaken the Field's structural integrity. Dr. Fidge said he's under a lot of pressure and had to give the Ghost in a Bottle shareholders something to market.

Oh, and the pills worked. I slept like a slime baby, although I still feel terrible.

Rustday, Newt 17, 244 Day 23

No time to update this diary. Really sick and also dealing with the Containment breach. We laid Vermin and Walls to rest today. This isn't what I signed up for...

Smogday, Newt 19, 244 Day 25

I woke up feeling funny. Another tooth fell off. Stutter, Dr. Fidge, and I are quarantined. Dr. Henrietta says it will be alright, but I don't trust her.

Gruelday, Undead 5, 244 Day ??

They're all dead. Dr. Fidge was the last one. I'm sorry. Too hungry. The Field is unstable. Rips in the universe...

I'm coming home, Mom...