#bc I misspelled it on all the cards

[mothmanbussy420]

PHAN INCOHEARENT CARD CREDITS

hi everyone! mothmanbussy here. so every card was submitted by a different person but in the vid THE CREDITS GOT CROPPED so here's a list of every card that was in the video with proper credit:

"hay putt tee yuen land on - hey buddy you in london?" by Vi @wdapteo

~

2. "a lore nut sing - all or nothing!" by Grace @ironyscleverer

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3. "owe pain key eon - open can" by Victoria @deepnpeep

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4. "tow inc deaf cry seas - twink death crisis" by Phoebe @corgihill

EDIT: updated url is @seriouslyimagine!

~

5. "walk-on eyes aye - what can i say" by Eli @toomanystairs

~

6. "calm inn mile eighty dore - come in my lady door" by Rae @philsmeatylegss

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7. "eye amp each lace - i am peachless" by B @oldphanny

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8. "dough net crikey raft - don't cry, craft" by J @goingpheral

~

9. "cyst hurt and you'll - sister daniel" by Sandra (no username given)

EDIT: Sandra is @personthattoleratesme!

~

10. "half tugger etch two eggs cyst - have the courage to exist" by Alexis @dandp

~ fin ~

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED CARDS!!! I wish every single card (there are 50 of them) could have been in the video, they are all excellent!! if you want to check out the rest of the cards or make or order a deck for yourself, check out the Google Drive! to see more images of the physical cards and well as me handing them off to dan and phil at a meet & greet, see this post!

peace and love,

mint @mothmanbussy420

[dizzybizz]

what a goofy gooper. what a goopy goober. what a goopy gooper. whouphfh oghhf aughfh goop goopyg ooper-

[volfoss]

the nature of volfoss is they will make translating proper nouns actually the most hellish thing int eh world.

[akkivee]

hello vee.

@/twogallonhats on twitter made this iceberg, and now i am subjecting you to this. Explain to the best of your knowledge, good luck.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh okay sure

idk why rhyme anima is listed tbh it’s just a zany anime version of hypmic but that very well may be the reason lol like it gave us a man by the name of tom whisper weathercock lol

there’s always a prolific push for your fav to win the drb lol. iirc during the championship round in the 1st drb there was a fan?? fans??? who gave money to some guy with a following to post a video of him asking everyone to vote for mtc lol. jp fans for the second got together and made eng/kor/ch instructions on how to vote in the vr battles it’s a time can’t wait for that to kick off next year 😬

arb is technically not canon and therefore ooc lol

idk what hypmic tictok sounds mean. i can tell you of a few times hypmic was trending on tiktok tho lol

idk if they were even a soundcloud rapper, but some soundcloud rapper fell in love with hypmic and decided to make ichiro his oc/persona and put himself on a team with jyushi and samatoki and they were california division lol

back in 2018???? hypmic posted a christmas video except it was just champagne gold and base hifumi.png in a santa hat slid across the screen truly graphic design is hypmic’s passion lol

i mean there was a brief time there were rp accounts on twt so ig that’s what it

kimura loves black people so much and wants to be black so bad he felt the need to bl@ckface for one of his album drops. fandom asked he take down the posts, he didn’t, fans called him out on it, he blocked them

around the time when there was rumblings that gbr was exiting uhhhhh the eu i think, a dice cosplayer had a video of themselves popping mentos in a coke bottle go viral. someone in british politics used it as a metaphor for whatever stance they had on brexit lol

lol i’m lumping hypstage and hypnama together since i don’t think there’s a real reason they’re listed other than occasionally being points of discussion

hifumi was the original tbh creature

asmr tubers vibe with hypmic characters being their yandere bfs

idk if it’s more than memeing on hitoya but that hitoya card in the pic was clowned on so hard LOL

i couldn’t tell you a specific instance of it but hypmic jank includes frequent misspellings lol

lol i also don’t know if there’s actual controversy behind oridivis besides them getting thanos snapped

*rio voice* curry friday and the mtc seiyuu used to celebrate it lol

there was a collab with some instant curry company (probably called curry meshi lol) and they had the leaders rap a song for it. the songs’ are fun and what’s even funnier is that the song has the leaders sharing this curry and kuukou technically didn’t eat the curry bc it was all gone by the time the cup reached him (and jakurai ate most of it LOL)

i have no fcking clue what weenor busujima is lol

the fact hyprice is a thing is a damn good reason to be here lol. ogs know a hypmic series producer made the joke in 2018 during a hypnama that spawned the concept years later lmao

there was a typo on kuukou’s introductory bio that said he was 68cm LOL

akuma no hana is indeed a song about sex idk what else to tell ya lol

throwback to the hypmic bathtubs they had a live for crazy ass hypmic merch moments lol

the hangout streams are located in this building called mixalive. instead tagging that building’s twt for one of their events, hypnosis flava iirc, they mistakenly tagged a porn twt lol

there was an art trend a few years ago where artists drew their bde faves (and even real people got in on the trend) balancing a shampoo bottle on their big 🍆. ichiro was unfortunately the face of the trend

stage hitoya went viral for that pic used in the iceberg and i had to see randos calling him a two face ass character ONLY HYPMICS ARE ALLOWED TO BULLY HITOYA DAMN YOU

the seiyuu are always getting up to shit backstage lmao tradition is ishiya-san and amasaki-san prowling up on the mtc seiyuu menacingly lmao

if there’s drama or anything of relevance outside of yes stream discords exist, ion know about it lol

a few songs are inspired by/interpolate from other songs. this a normal thing in the music industry (let’s get physical by olivia newton john and physical by dua lipa comes to mind) but hypmic caught a lot of flack for ‘stealing’ from black artists. shinogi dead pools is kendrick lamar’s drank swimming pools bar for bar lol but again, it’s very normal lol the whole kendrick vs drake rap battle that happened this year literally was them using each other’s sound to diss them

some european(?) indie film had an actor wearing ichiro’s jacket

there was a brief trend in jp where they made snow sculptures of their characters as means of attractions and hypmic jumped in on it. it produced the ugliest kuukou known to man he was so unflatteringly scrunckly i loved him LOL

????? bat seiyuu family???? i’m sure what i have in mind is not what they have in mind lol but i mean yeah it’s a running joke that the bat seiyuu consider each other family lol shoutout to sakakihara-san randomly calling hayama-san his ‘onii-chan’ and both hayama-san and sakakihara-san bullying tf outta takeuchi-san by calling him ‘papa’ lol

ariana grande is based about samatoki and there’s proof lol

hypmic vs crsm rap battle was REAL and fumiya wanted to EAT THEM

kamio-san has taken to slapping kuroda-san’s ass and kuroda-san has taken to trying to murder him for it 😌

quite recently lol mtr’s album art was leaked ahead of the hangout stream in a post meant to advertise the fan meeting lol

british dice was a theory i didn’t pay attention to bc i kinda thought just the concept was dumb *wheeze* i think it had something to do with a mistranslation about dice’s father

the rest of that tier i have no fcking clue about lol

in a camera transition during the 9th live, someone’s desktop background was on screen instead of the yknow, livestreaming concert lmao

they got some ddb members to make choreography to move your body til you die!!! i tried i didn’t think it was too bad but the pace of the dance needed to be slowed down eventually lol

if this isn’t poking fun at sensei saying men should automatically know how to rap idk what that is lol

if there’s a trip the mtc seiyuu have taken that stands out from the others, i don’t know about it lol

the hypmic cafe that’s going on rn have these stickers??? standees??? for sale and someone stole all of samatoki’s LOL

[geometricalien]

1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 16, 20, 23, 24 & 27 for Kōki Furihata - feel free to choose just a few from these if you feel these are too much 😊

nah man imma answer them allll thank you for sending your ask!! <3<3

1 - My first impression of them - … I thought he was shallow… HE JOINS A TEAM WITH AMBITIONS TO BE THE BEST BECAUSE OF A WEAK ASS GOAL “a girl said she would date me if I was the best in something lol” !! BOY!! 

2 - When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you've sent me a character I don't like) - I think I finally warmed up to him when he and the other first years said that they wanted to play on the court too, so that’s around?? The streetball tournament? And then we get to know him more during winter cup and he is hella relatable

3 - A song(s) that reminds me of them -

Hercules by Sara Bareilles, i’ve been obsessed with this since I first heard it over a year, it encapsulates the core emotional drive behind Kouki in my greek wip, “‘cause I have sent for a hero from on my knees, make me a Hercules, I was meant to be a warrior please, make me a Hercules”

Mree’s cover of Face My Fears, it just makes me imagine him walking up this huge staircase to the palace of the emperor preparing to do the unthinkable

Romantic by Lauryn Marie, Kouki is ouuuurrrr romantic

I also have this playlist I made full of songs that either remind me of him or songs I think he would listen to

6 - My least favorite ship of them - oh uh hmm I haven’t thought about this before uh let me pull up a character sheet fjdsklf (I’m not including teams unrelated to the GOM bc I literally don’t remember enough about them to say conclusively one way or the other if a ship would be bad or my new otp (veerryyyy unlikely that would happen but who knows) similarly with minor characters from GOM’s teams- besides seirin and rakuzan) okay, I entertained this for far longer than I should because Kouki is fairly similar to Yamaguchi from haikyuu however while Kouki has the ability for snark he isn’t mean like Yams. so Haizaki and Hanamiya are in the running for least favorite ships. Vibes alone, Hyuuga and Kouki don’t mesh well. Tsuchida has a girlfriend so he’s out. And lastly, I think Kouki is too nice and considerate to be a compelling ship with Midorima. He needs someone who will push him beyond his boundaries and Kouki wouldn’t do that. And that’s what I’ll say on that jfdsakljf

Sidenote: I unexpectedly like the rivalry that could crop up between Kouki and Sakurai in their third year bc I think they would be interesting parallels

10 - Describe the character in one sentence - Unassuming man doesn’t know how beautiful and kind he is in this cruel world.

12 - Sexuality hc! Bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bi bib ib ib ib bibibibibi

16 - A childhood headcanon - Kouki wanted to be a mangaka when he was a kid, he read all the shonen jumps as soon as they came out and had dreams of making the next big manga. He even made some prototype manga chapters full of wobbly characters and overdrawn colors and misspelled words that his mother proudly kept and eagerly plans to show his partner (coughAkashicough) when they come to visit

20 - A weird headcanon - He picks and tears at his fingernails instead of clipping them. It’s half out of nerves and half out of boredom 

23 - Future headcanon - Besides him being the captain their 3rd year- When he has a stable job he updates his wardrobe, little known fact, Kouki is very fashionable, so he likes to be on top of fashion trends (cough and when he gets with a certain rich redhead he takes full advantage of their gift giving love language and his little black credit card for certain expensive brands cough) I also think that during the pandemic shut down he went a little crazy trying new recipes and his kitchen was an utter mess with no less than 3 failed dough starters spread across his countertops

24 - What do you think is a secret they have that they never told anyone? - He deeply enjoys all of the soapy romance dramas his mother watches. He’ll enter the living room on the dot of eight and put up a farce of “what is this? The emperor’s love? Guess I’ll watch this with you… if you insist” His whole family has picked up on this and besides some gentle ribbing from his elder brother, no one blinks an eye. His mother records the episodes now in case his practice runs late. When the girls in his class talk about the shows he has to physically restrain himself from commenting thinking everyone will think its weird that a guy likes those sappy shows (he doesn’t know that being able to share and relate with the girls about something will make him more liked though)

27 - If they could meet a character from another show/movie/etc, who would be the most fun for them to meet? - is it a cop out answer to say thomas the tank engine? I think he and Yamaguchi would be good friends

[thenotsosecretdiaryofbiyu]

2024年7月17日-- FULBRIGHT & 順益台灣原住民博物館 (Fulbright & The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines)

Today we went to the Fulbright commission in Taiwan (this is a note to myself to mind the spelling bc I was misspelling it and using two ‘l’s for the longest time lol)! I had a lot of fun there and speaking with all of the members of the commission there helped me to feel more confident about the application process, my qualifications, and the steps I need to take to make sure everything goes smoothly!

I also really liked the 便當 that was provided to us (although I know a few of my buds weren’t too sure on the seasonings for themselves)! That reminds me that I’m really glad that I’m acclimating to the flavors/seasonings here in Taiwan! When we first arrived, I was culture shocked by how much less seasoning (mainly just salt really) is used in the cuisine here compared to The States. I remember trying the scrambled eggs on my first day and not loving them because they had little to no salt. But yesterday I tried them again and I liked them just fine! And today with my breakfast I had some cereal that I’m pretty sure was much less sweet than the ones back at home and I also liked it just fine! Today as well with the 便當, I know for a fact if I had tried that a year ago, I probably would have had to dump a gallon of salt on everything before eating it lol, but today I liked it a lot!

Although in general I’ve noticed I’m growing up taste-wise I think– I no longer drink sweet tea (plz don’t let my childhood friends and neighbors know, they will revoke my fake-southern card ;_;). I also have been switching to drinking unsweetened lattes, and anytime I try a drink with sugar, I almost always think it needs less after taking a few sips.

In the afternoon, we met back up with our tour guide Peter, and we went to the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines! We took a bus there, and it was my first time on a Taiwanese bus! Unfortunately, the AC was broken and so we “enjoyed” a makeshift sauna while we rode for about twenty minutes over to our destination. Thankfully, the bus back had working 冷氣, so there was no more suffering after the museum hehe. The museum was super cool! I love learning about indigenous peoples, especially about their beliefs systems, religions, and holidays. What was really cool was learning about some of these things and noticing the similarities they hold with other cultures I’m familiar with. For example, I came across a museum label detailing a story from the Atayal tribe, which speaks about how there used to be two suns, and that warriors shot one down– killing it and making it the moon. Although I believe the sun dying and becoming the moon is absent from the following myth, the shooting down of suns is very much an aspect of the Chinese myth of Hou Yi and Chang’e!

Amy and I got to do the little irl dance minigame on the top floor, and I won by a landslide! (although technically it was through cheating because I have big feet and the points were based on you touching the lit up footsteps, which would trigger the sensor to award you points. So in reality, I only won because I have big feet and I just so happened to be clumsy but in the right direction– and would brush the sensors on the edges LOL).

Academic reflection:

The first thing that I would like to discuss is the article’s discussion of the outflow of indigenous peoples from their tribes/villages to the city for better work and life opportunities. This stuck out to me the most because this is a pressing issue that affects so many parts of the world, not only in Taiwan but also in China. During a project for my Advanced Chinese class, I learned about the matriarchal society of the Mosuo People (摩梭族). Long story short, it was incredibly distressing to discover that its culture, like many other minority cultures around the world, are at risk of eventual extinction.

I remember my professor for Second Language Acquisition telling my class about how she had a colleague who helped discover a plant that was fundamental for a cure of a particular sickness ONLY because they were able to extract that information through analyzing the language of the locals in the area. Languages are special and they are not only infused with culture and a people’s values, but also with crucial information about the area that the language formed and developed within.

The sad thing is that languages are going extinct at an alarming rate, in large part because most of the global economy functions on capitalistic tendencies which require people to go out and work to earn money to survive. However, the only way to work within an economy is to know the language that that economy is functioning within. In Taiwan’s case, it’s Mandarin Chinese. Furthermore, with English being the lingua franca, it has become the standard that forces many academics to study it to professional fluency and publish their research within it if they want even the slightest chance for their work to be broadly noticed or accepted within academia. With this in mind, if one was to want to provide the best life for themselves, or say their children, their best bet would be to immerse yourself within either the local language or one of the massive global languages to give yourself the best opportunities. This is all fine and dandy, except this often means forgetting your own original culture and language, because let’s face it, it’s hard work to maintain fluency in multiple languages and record information of your own history (especially if most of that history was told to you as a child by your grandparents or family by word of mouth).

In many ways, having English as a mother tongue is a massive privilege that affords many opportunities to its speakers, many of which (from my experience) its speakers take for granted. Many are unaware of why it’s important to preserve languages and why pushing one language as the end-all-be-all for all global functions (although convenient) is detrimental to the preservation of cultures and its languages. Furthermore, in Taiwan (and China too), having Mandarin as the main working language which every facet of government and society functions through, sets up these indigenous cultures for extinction as members of these peoples continue to choose a better life for themselves and their families.

But on a brighter note, I loved that the little film we watched incorporated parts of one of the indigenous languages. It's wonderful to see that there is media infused with it and that resources are being expended to try and record, preserve, and restore the languages in Taiwan. I just hope there’s linguists who are being funded to actively go out and record as many of the languages as possible, especially the ones without orthography. I also loved seeing on the map at the museum entrance where the Austronesian language family covers the globe!

(You can tell this is something I feel very passionately about because I started rambling LOL）

[steampunkagumon]

The first "I love you" - Vandals x reader

TW for Riot's section (for implied/referenced child abuse) also getting dangerously close to co-dependency there, buckaroo

ER

Bro was comin' off the ketamine

Like, need I say more

There's whole viral videos about the things people can say when they just start waking up from anesthesia

So you decide to mess with him and go “Oh, I like Timmy now.”

“B-but I gave you Goldfish!”

“He gave me a cookie.”

“Whoa, a whole cookie?…”

Grayson

His frustrated screams can be heard clear from the hall. You peek your head into the computer lab to check on him, and find him fuming over some code he's working on

“I've been staring at this for over a week, and I can't find the line that's making everything go all screwy! UGH, this is a disaster…”

You walk over and give everything a quick glance, and you immediately spot the problem. Maybe a word was misspelled or something was set to “:true” instead of “:false”, something simple that he would normally feel stupid for missing.

He taps a few keys, and everything's working again! He pulls you in, planting a big kiss right on your cheek, before hugging you and practically sobbing into your shoulder. “YOU SEXY RUBBER DUCK, I LOVE YOU!!!”

yep it's the comic I reblogged the other day

Riot

One Discord convo I distinctly remember is it getting debunked that Riot is autistic bc Pyro doesn't know if he's autistic and didn't want to misrepresent

Point is, I think their sexualities (demi) would also match up for similar reasons

So you'd have to get to know each other and really form a bond first, which is fine bc I think he'd really appreciate you as a friend

But once he falls he falls HARD

When you two are hanging out, it's almost always at your place. You only ever go back to his when his uncle isn't home

And, one day, you do learn why that is

You walked him home that night, and as you were leaving, you heard them get into an argument about him coming home so late. There was an impacting noise, a grunt, and the sounds of various metals falling and breaking

You asked him about it the next time you saw him, and he told you everything. But before you could run off and do something about it, he stopped you, grabbing you by the wrist, begging you not to tell anyone

“Why not?!”

He was quiet for a moment. “'Cuz I don't wanna go… A-and if I can wait to say anything about it 'til I'm 18, they can't put me in the system.” Tears welling up in his eyes, he hugged you as tight as he could. “I don't wanna lose you! I love you, dammit!”

Reiner

Y'know that antisocial's fear of accidentally saying “you too” to the waiter when they bring your food?

It's like that

You wrap up a call with your mom as you get your noodles from the food truck and absent-mindedly say “Gotta go, love you!”

And you stand there with your fancy bluetooth earpiece like a deer in headlights at the realization of what just happened

There's a chuckle from the window

“I love you too.” *winks*

And you see, that's where the trouble began. That smile. That darn smile.

Gary

You work as a barista at the coffee shop in town, and you're probably the best one there at handling bigger orders

You see this guy reading the order off his phone, absolutely winded. You can tell he's already had a rough day, so you slide the card back to him. “Consider it on the house.”

You'll probably get in trouble for that but who knows?

It genuinely surprises him how fast you get the order done, that he might actually be on time for once, and it just kinda… slips

“I love you. —!”

Hand slapped over his mouth and his face turning bright red, he took the drinks and ran. You didn't think much of it, though. Just laughed it off and went on with your day

[curiosity-killed]

I am a hot mess today with the emphasis on ‘mess’

[tellatoast]

This could either go two ways:

1. Young Steve misspells ‘Santa’ and writes ‘Dear Satan’ and he receives what he wanted (his parents to spend the holiday with him finally) but it’s not what he wanted, they’re fighting all throughout the day and this Christmas feels forced when gift opening comes around. Even tho he’s too old for the toys he got, he has to pretend to like it because he doesn’t want to deal with them nitpicking anymore.

Later on when his parents are asleep, he writes another letter to “Santa”.

“Dear Satan, thank you for bringing my parents home, I really appreciated it! But next time, could you maybe just tell them to send a card please? Don’t get me wrong, I like having them home but I hate when they’re home. They fight all the time and make me feel terrible whenever they find something they don’t like about me. So next year, could you maybe just have them stay wherever they are and send a card. I don’t think I can ever like Christmas the way I used to, but writing to you helps me feel better! Thank you Satan for everything. I hope you liked the cookies I made for you! I got them right this time just in time for Christmas for you!

Love Steve.”

And Eddie receives the letter (bc he’s Satan), and makes sure to always send Steve gifts that are appropriate for his age and keeps the letters from Steve close to him.

He likes this Steve kid and later down the line when Steve is older and good looking and Eddie happens to meet him, well… save a horse, ride Satan😈😈

2. Young Eddie purposely writes to Satan bc he doesn’t think he’s been good this year bc of how he’s been treating Wayne. He just moved in with his uncle after his dad went to prison and his momma passed away.

Since living with Wayne, he has tried and tried to make the man hate him bc he’s too scared of getting close to him.

So this year, he’ll write to Satan to make sure he knows he’s not getting any gifts bc he’s been so mean and bad.

“Dear Satan, I know you probably don’t get many letters admitting what people did, so I’ll be the first. I know I’m not gonna get any presents this year. I’ve already accepted that. I’ve been very mean to my nice uncle Wayne, and I don’t deserve any gifts bc of that. If I could ask for one thing tho, it’s to be with my uncle Wayne on Christmas. He’s been working so many hours at the plant and taking care of me, he deserves a break! Hopefully you’ll understand, but if you don’t, that’s ok. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

From Eddie Munson.”

Uncle Wayne gets a Christmas bonus and Christmas Day off from the plant along with 2 extra days off. He spends the whole 3 days with Eddie, making beautiful memories and new traditions. Eddie also receives 3 gifts, 2 from Wayne and 1 unknown.

Eddie decides that he’ll write to Satan every Christmas.

Steve(Satan) has a very sweet heart even if he’s the devil. Later on, he’ll meet Eddie through a string of events that cracks the small town of Hawkins in the middle.

____________________________________________

I don’t like how I ended the Devil!Eddie one but that’s ok. I love this prompt tho!!

AU Steddie meet-cute idea.

[inkedmyths]

S1: E16 “Shadow”

Brought to you by Kayla made Shark watch an episode of Supernatural and feel things so I'm morally obligated to watch another episode. And also this fudge I'm eating.

This episode featuring: The Dark from The Magnus Archives, passionate feelings involving Spirit Halloween, Dean trying to help his sad brother get laid, and Unown (the Pokemon)

[ Crepe says I'll like this one, because Meg is back. ]

Oh shit blonde chick? Weird stabby blonde chick?

[ Shark says we love a weird stabby blonde chick. Kayla and Crepe agree. ]

The earbuds stopping functioning is probably a bad sign

Woooooshy wooshy

Oh shit its Pitch Black from popular movie Rise of the Guardians!

I don't think that's going to work against the spooky

The shadow looks like the Spirit Halloween mascot

[ Kayla says this should be an edit. Crepe responds about a video. ]

Oh hey this really has the same energy as that one TMA Dark ep

The one where the camera guy gets killed by shadows

"Ours! You think credit card fraud is easy?"

"Your alarm is about as useful as boobs on a man" LESS USEFUL. BOOBS ON A MAN HAVE THE USE OF BEING SEXY. EDUCATE YOURSELF WOMAN

Also I love the little cursive names on them. Their little nametags

[ It is at this point that everything gets derailed by a question. ]

[ Crepe is from Brazil. Spirit Halloween is not in Brazil. We all scramble in an attempt to explain. This is further derailed. ]

[ Discussion hereon includes Kayla's passion for Halloween, debate on the age of Halloween, apparently issues with a Halloween event in Korea, explaining what Spirit Halloween is, the Prime Minister of Japan, misspelling countries as "cluntries", and Sky Children of the Light. ]

[ Also, this edit. ]

[ It takes over 10 minutes. I am 6 minutes into the episode. ]

Ok so chick was in pieces. All over the place

Dean stop being weird about the officer

[ Kayla says he has a thing for men in uniform. Crepe agrees. I said he was talking about a lady, but fair. Kayla says he's bi so it still applies. This tracks. ]

... THIS REALLY IS LIKE TMA THE DARK.

LIKE ROBERT WHATSINAME WITH THE HEARTS. AND THE SHADOWS.

Taping between blood stains?

That looks like an Unown

This is literally what was on the ground

[ Kayla asks why it's got legs. Crepe says so it can walk. Unown floats. ]

Congrats Dean you got her number. Back to the murder dumbass

Sam whatcha doing

OH. MEG

"What are the odds"..... yeah......... not sus at all

OUCH. She really just went right for Dean's metaphorical throat. When's she going to go for his actual throat, because I get the feeling she will

Oh good Sam is sus about her

DEAN stop being bitter

"Yeah, it happens, but not to us" hes so true

LMAO Dean please stop. Not everyone wants to get laid contantly

[ Kayla says to let him whore in peace. I say sure, he can, but I don't get the impression Sam wants to. In her opinion, Kayla says that Dean is trying to help his brother stop being so sad by getting laid. I'll buy it, to be honest. I don't think Sam appreciates it much, though. ]

"Invite her to a poetry reading" lmao

Zorro Astrian or whatever

NAME THE LAST BOOK YOU READ AND DEAN DOESN'T ANSWER. LMAO

Dean: I love sucking and fucking so much so obviously this is what my sad brother needs

LMAO RIP SAM

Sam stop being a weird stalker. Yes she's weird but cmon

Subtlety? What subtlety

OH yeah thats fucking creepy ok maybe stalking her was the right call

Sam drop down run run get the fuck out

.... orrr sneak up and see what that shit all is I guess.

Sam if she tries to ritual sacrifice you that's on you buddy

Oh yep that demonic mark. A connection

IN SYNC LMAO

"Dude I need to talk to you" in unison. Weirdos

Oh! Oh a connection!

Lawrence Kansas?

Everything circles back to Lawrence

Oh they want their dad there to help. He probably won't show up tho bc hes terrible

Big night!

No no nobody's nervous at all why would they be

Oh Sam wants to go back once he takes care of the thing that killed their mom. Dean though, he's never known everything else.

Dean just missed the three of them being together :(

YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAAAAAAAY

LMAO now they're both hanging on the weird little fence

Sneak 100

NEVERMIND NOT SO MUCH

There it is the Spirit Halloween demon

Oh now they are tied up

"Your girlfriend is a bitch" oh Dean

Yeah it was all a set up. To lure them in

OH IS SHE TRYING TO GET THEIR DAD

Yep yep weakness is the kids ofc

Loyalty to whom ma'am

Ohhh I do not like that please fuck off

Oh so close Dean

YEAH go Sam

These things don't like being bossed around

DHDHDHDH find a girl who's not so crazy so true

She's not actually dead is she

OH HEY YOU ACTUALLY SHOWED UP

Hello Mr. Winchester its a shocker 2 see u

Ohh so its trying to get him out of the picture, luring him in

BUDDY THEY ARE ALREADY IN THE CROSSFIRE

Men Having Feelings But Also Pretending They Don't

OH SHIT

I KNEW IT SHES NOT DEAD

NEVER. TURN. YOUR. BACK. ON. THE. BODY.

Oh good weakness to light that makes sense

Men covered in their own blood

Men Feeling Feelings And Being Bad At It

"This fight is just starting" yeah Sam don't you know its only Season 1

Your guy's faces are fucked uuuuup

Off they go

You're too late Meg they got away

DAMN alright ok that was an ep

-

Crepe asked me what I think Meg's deal is. My guess is either a witch, or the daughter of a demon, or maybe both. I don't know yet.

This one was a long one because we're all stupid.

One more edit for the road.

[allhailklisz]

foreign-language versions of cards whose flavor text mention compleation are hilarious bc like, “compleat” is just an archaic spelling of “complete” in english*, so in foreign languages they just take a regular word for “complete” there. but they still de-italicize it for emphasis like they do with ‘compleation’ in english. (except in Whipflare where the translations of “incompleat” stay italic, and the german version of whipflare in particular translates ‘the incompleat’ as ‘den Unkompleatierten’ - altering the word komplettieren ‘to complete’ by changing the first t to an a to match the english ‘compleat’ - despite the fact that 'compleat’ itself is translated with ‘vervollkomnet’ in Phyresis in the same set, so you’d expect ‘den Unvervollkommnete’ or smth. the much more recent card Malicious Malfunction - the only other card to have ‘incompleat’ in its english flavor text - uses ‘unvollendetes’, matching the apparently revised translation of ‘compleat’ to the shorter ‘vollendet’ in the DMU printing of Negate, as well as ‘Vollendung’ for ‘compleation’ in Rona, Sheoldred’s Faithful. also interesting regarding Malicious Malfunction is that ‘incompleat’ and its translations aren’t deitalicized even in English. oh and also while first making this post I forgot to check the compleated walkers lmao, my scryfall search was just ��flavor:compleat’ bc I forgot that compleated was also a keyword now)

* MTG wiki claims that “The word "compleat" is an archaic English term meaning "having all necessary or desired elements or skills".[6] It is not a misspelling of the more common "complete".” but the linked source (Merriam-Webster’s entry on compleat) explicitly says, in its history and etymology section, “archaic variant of complete” lmao. so yeah it’s not strictly speaking a misspelling but the wiki claim feels misleading since calling it “an archaic term” implies the term as a whole is archaic, rather than just the spelling

[sgpsketch]

The Machine of Death: JIM SMITH SOCIETY

I recently realised I hadn't finished reading the second Machine of Death anthology, so I remedied that... and got inspired to FINALLY finish one of the two stories (worth finishing) I had started writing for a (non-existent) third anthology and, lacking anything else to do with it, figured I'd post it here. I doubt I'll work up the interest in finishing the second given the amount of work it required (title hint that I've prolly misspelled bc now that I look, I can't even FIND the other story: KLUBDEJLIT), but here's the one!

Notes:

1. I borrowed some names from various sources to give a vague mental suggestion for each named entity, but they are used fictionally. You could honestly do a "Find > Replace" for each one, and the story wouldn't change (well, except Jim Smith, the JSS actually exists but I've never participated, for a reason, though even that, I could argue a good case for an "[any name here] Society" existing, for any such name).

2. The guy with the card seems like a non-sequitur, but one of the original requirements for MoD included the title MUST refer to a RELEVANT death, whether or not it's shown during the story. Otherwise, that section could be cut from mine with no consequence.

3. There USED to be a Tumblr w/ two of my other FINISHED (rejected) stories, but they seem to have been completely taken down... I did find that I'm the first item on this list, tho, which is flattering! (and I should fix the formatting on those, plus hunt down the other two)

---

"This still feels weird," Fox admitted, running a hand through his hair. He preferred keeping it as short as possible for work, but Shelly always protested whenever he mentioned setting up an appointment, so he tended to put it off until regulations required it.

"Well, we WERE invited," Shelly reminded him, ruffling his hair just as he'd straightened it out. "Rich eccentric offers to pay our way to National Harbor, why WOULDN'T we take them up on the offer? You and I both need a vacation, anyway!"

Hiding his annoyance, Fox brushed his hair back again. "Yeah, but... a whole convention of people with our name?" He glanced around, wondering if he was the only James Fox Smith, and his wife the only James Sheldon Smith, all the while still feeling like they didn't belong there.

"Embrace the weirdness!" Shelly punched him in the arm. "I mean, you married ME, didn't you?"

"A couple with the same name is one thing. Almost 2,000 people?"

Shelly shrugged. "So we have a common name."

"NOW we do. Not sure why you didn't want to keep your unmarried name."

She gave him a mischievous grin. "Because it's more fun that way!"

Fox choked back a groan. "Not fun when it comes to sorting the post."

"As if it isn't all junk anyway. Who even uses post anymore?"

As they approached the front desk, Fox nudged Shelly, pointing at someone with worn clothes and a dazed look. He seemed even more out of place than Fox felt. "What's he doing?"

Shelly glanced at him. "He seems lost. Let's go help him."

Fox worried about that but followed his wife anyway. As she approached and waved, Shelly asked if he wanted help finding something. Here, the man stared at her with a blank expression. Sounds tumbled out of his mouth but Fox couldn't understand them. 

Then he noticed the man had a card in his hand with words on it, typed in block letters: JIM SMITH SOCIETY.

"Oh, you're in luck!" Shelly noted. "The convention is this way!" She took his hand and led him toward the registration kiosk. Again, the man babbled something incoherent, but Shelly seemed convinced that she had helped him and turned back toward the front desk. "Let's get checked in, then."

Fox had a strange feeling just then, but he didn't know how to act on it. Indecision won out, and he joined Shelly to get their hotel keys.

...

After they dropped off their bags, Fox and Shelly returned to the meeting registration kiosk to sign in. Neither could see the man from before. Fox wondered if they would find him again at one of the events, but he quickly forgot the matter once they reached the front of the line.

"Next," said one of the two clerks at the kiosk.

Shelly pushed Fox forward. "Age before beauty."

"Haha," Fox snapped. "Who was the one who proposed, again?"

"I didn't hear you complain about accepting."

Fox just shook his head and stepped forward. "Welcome, James," the clerk greeted.

"Uh, I actually go by Fox," he noted.

The clerk shrugged. "Doesn't matter, we aren't really issuing name badges. The organiser just wants everyone to get a prediction."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

She twirled a finger in the air. "You know, the thing going around, about the cause-of-death prediction machines?" Here, the clerk slapped a machine next to her. "The organiser has a theory to test, involving everyone with the name 'James Smith' and their predictions. They think every James Smith has a unique prediction and wants evidence to support that theory. Therefore, your prediction is your name badge."

Fox frowned. He had heard of the machines, certainly, but he hesitated to try it out. "...is it mandatory?" he asked.

Shelly prodded him. "What's the holdup?"

Fox turned around. "I don't want a machine to predict how I'll die!"

"Why not?"

This side to his wife startled him. Shelly had always expressed her anxiety whenever he went on flights. Having it possibly confirmed that a flight could do him in might mean--

"Aren't you the one always freaking out at my stunts? What if it says IMMELMANN TURN or SPLIT S?"

"Then we'll KNOW, and you can get a career change, if you're gonna be such a coward."

"And you? What if RABID DOG is in your future?"

Shelly shrugged. "I got all MY shots!"

The clerk coughed. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to keep the line moving, please. Also, if you don't get the card, the organiser won't pay your travel fees as promised."

Fox considered this. "It didn't cost THAT much to drive here, and the hotel is affordable--"

"FOX." 

Shelly gave him one of Those Looks, the one that said he would sleep in the hotel lobby tonight. The Look he got when he said the suit she made him wear today felt stuffy. The Look when he wanted manageable hair. All of it accumulated into a crushing feeling that didn't go away until the Li'l Miss had her way.

"FINE," Fox grunted, holding out his hand.

The clerk pulled off the cover of the machine and inserted a fresh, sterile-sealed needle, wiping down the front with IPA. "Put your finger in the hole," she directed.

Fox considered, wary as he put his pinky inside. A sharp prick, and a buzzing sound as a card ejected from the slot on the device. He snatched it up and immediately felt a jolt as he read the words.

"EROTIC ASPHYXIATION...?" he murmured. "Wha--"

"SERIOUSLY?" Shelly snatched the card from his hand. "Oh wow, I guess the hardcore stuff is out now."

Fox sputtered. "You're happy about this??"

"It means your flights will all be fine!"

A shocking thought occurred to him. "No, it only means I won't DIE in one."

Shelly rolled her eyes. "Here, let me register, then, and I'll show you nothing's wrong."

The clerk raised a hand. "Uh, this is the Jim Smith Society?" she stated, albeit with hesitation.

"Sure is," Shelly agreed. "And?"

"Well... you're a woman."

Shelly glowered at her. "AND??"

"Don't be a bigot, Maude," the other clerk chided. "There are plenty of people with uteruses with variants of 'Jim' or 'James' registered. Remember that lady author you like, her birth name was Howard."

"No way, De'sha, you're trolling me."

"Check the wiki if you doubt me. Anyway, just do the job."

"I didn't--"

"It's fine," Shelly assured them, waving her hands as she calmed down. "I'm used to it after twenty-some years, believe me. Here, I can show you my license to prove it." She did so with such ridiculous speed that it proved just how much she got questioned on it. Fox still didn't get how his in-laws could foist the name on their daughter.

"Yes, I'm sorry." The clerk switched out the needle with a sterile one and gave the device a quick wipe down with IPA before replacing the cover. Fox thought it reminded him of his mother's diabetes monitor. "Anyway, please place your finger in the slot, ma'am."

Shelly did so, and the device spat out another card, HAPPENSTANCE, which she held up for Fox. "See? Nothing to get worked up about!"

Fox frowned. "Yeah, because yours doesn't mean anything. There's no real information given, so you have just as little reason to worry as before."

"OR, you're making a big deal out of nothing!"

"Erotic ASPHYXIATION?"

"It's not a plane crash or anything! You'll see it coming!"

Will I, though? Fox worried, suddenly having visions of spontaneously feeling randy while losing cabin pressure at high altitudes.

...

The main events wouldn't begin for an hour or two, so the couple returned to their room to relax. Fox admitted he could use a nap, but as he lay on the bed, Shelly cozied up to him in that way she did, all but shouting her current state of arousal. She had done so on a frequency that Fox had found difficult to meet, and while he hated leaving her frustrated, he couldn't deny it heaped an added stress on top of the usual amount.

"Mmm," she purred, pressing her face into his side, moving downward. "Bed's okay, but I like the pillows better."

Unconsciously, Fox found himself nudging Shelly away. She immediately stiffened up, and he could FEEL her disapproval without even opening his eyes.

"What was THAT?" she huffed.

"It's been a long drive," Fox countered. "I just want to relax."

Shelly hurled a psychic burst of anger at him, or he got that impression from her tone. "You fly for longer than we drove!"

"Yeah, and after those flights, I get tired."

"MISTER SMITH."

Fox opened his eyes, certain to be destroyed in an outburst. He wouldn't die from it, of course, but pain still hurt. "Shelly..." he whimpered.

"We finally get a nice hotel room for the first time in a long time, and you want to ACTUALLY sleep??"

He raised a hand. "Hello, Old Man Smith here."

"YOU'RE TWENTY-FIVE."

Fox dreaded a fight, but physical and mental exhaustion called to him with more force than usual. "Did you know George is already completely grey? What little of his hair is left? HE'S twenty-five. And the convention is three days! We have plenty of time to ruin the sheets."

"But I've waited all day for this!"

"Can't you wait a little longer?"

Shelly didn't respond so much as glare at him with That Look.

That Terrible Look.

That oppressive,

suffocating... 

LOOK.

No more.

Fox felt something snap inside him, unable to stand another second in the same room as his wife. He literally felt like gasping for air, unable to breathe, like the room had been filling with carbon monoxide. He had to escape and find life-giving oxygen. With a start, he leaped to his feet and just barely thought to grab his room key before bursting out the door.

"HEY!"

Sheer adrenaline carried him down the hallway like a marathon runner in the final stretch, neck and neck with his competitors. He heard Shelly struggling to catch up as he rounded a few bends and pushed open the doors to the stairwell as a feint before quietly ducking behind an ice machine.

"YOU SAID YOU WERE TIRED!!" echoed through the hallway.

...

Fox slumped against the ice machine, the exhaustion becoming less as his wife's screams died out and he allowed himself to breathe. It hurt to push his wife away like that, but he had for the first time felt... afraid? Of HER?

He shook his head in disbelief. It didn't make any sense. Shelly just wanted attention, regardless of how tired it made him. Yet it felt like an insurmountable hurdle, the attention he could give a mere trickle to the woman who could consume the oceans.

After all sounds from the immediate area fell away, Fox stood, stretching. A walk would clear his head. He wanted to check out some of the events, anyway, if they went to the trouble of coming all the way out to National Harbor. If nothing else, the waterfront would be relaxing (he hoped).

Fox located an alternate stairwell after noticing a crowd gathering at the lifts. Strange, he thought, wondering if they had a particularly popular event for the Jim Smith Society. The stairs remained happily vacant, though, so he made his way down. At the bottom loomed a huge crowd, the likes of which he had never seen before, much less indoors.

As he stepped into the hallway, a loud voice cried out, "FOX!" He started as someone in a large bird costume raced toward him. "FOX!"

"Huh??" Fox stared at the costume bird, waving its wings at him in excitement.

"Can I get a picture with you?"

Fox flushed in embarrassment as a photographer walked up, camera in hand. He looked around and noticed, seemingly out of nowhere, more than half the people there had on some kind of costume or other outrageous outfit. Fox flushed again, remembering how Shelly had made him dress like THAT Fox. Did the bird really think...

"O...kay?" Fox agreed with some hesitation, turning toward the camera.

"FIGHT ME!" the bird cried, taking up a battle pose.

Instinct made Fox back into a defensive pose, when the cameraperson snapped the photo.

"Yeah, thanks so much!" the bird cried, running off.

No sooner had the bird stepped away than another costumed character walked up, this time a person with wild orange hair and some kind of Japanese outfit complete with enormous (hopefully fake?) sword. "Can I get a picture as well?"

Fox felt embarrassed at the attention but agreed again. "Sure!" This time he posed with the swordsman more like a meeting of pals, though he would've laughed to see any of his actual friends wear such clothing.

He slowly made his way through the crowd as every so often someone would give him a high five or ask for a photo, and after so many encounters, it even started to give him a bit of a swelled head. None of them could possibly have mistaken him for the "real" Fox Carradine, or they would ask for autographs instead. Yet he realised, most of them would never have gotten to meet THAT Fox. Maybe, he thought as he finally recognised one costume as a popular movie character with a cape and hammer, he was THEIR Fox.

Sure, he could spread a bit of joy, and it felt good, even if he piggybacked off someone else's thunder. It filled a void with a little cheer that otherwise wouldn't exist. What harm did it do? He even thought about asking for a photo with a girl dressed in a slinky red dress and purple opera gloves like the heartthrob in his favourite movie, but he loathed the idea of Shelly happening to come across it.

Shelly... he reflected on the turbulence in their marriage and how freeing this felt by comparison, the absence of expectations and shallowest of connections he shared with these convention goers. Not that he wanted to forge deep friendships with any of them purely on the basis of existing (although he wouldn't refuse new friendships), but somehow... just *existing* seemed to give new meaning to him, in this new context. It felt strange and magical all at once, like escaping from a cage he hadn't known existed.

Finally he grew tired of the excitement and wandered back to the staircase, heading all the way up to the top floor and finding an overlook above the main atrium. It amazed him just how many people had gotten together for... this couldn't be the Jim Smith Society?

"'sup, James," said a curious voice, like a lady masquerading as a gentleman.

Fox turned to see someone dressed as the angel... from that show about omens, he thought. "How did you know my real name?" he asked, forgetting the meet-up at the moment.

She shrugged. "Lucky guess. Saw all these regular folks running around with prediction cards instead of name badges and asked a few what was up with that. Couple mentioned the Jim Smith Society was having a meet the same time as the game fest, and it seemed likely you were with them."

"Ah. Makes sense." Two conventions in the same place? No wonder... Fox felt the blood rush to his face as he tapped his card. "Everyone's been assuming I'm in costume, but mine's a coincidence."

"I was wondering about that. Didn't imagine anyone wearing the prediction as part of a cosplay, even if that IS how he went out."

"Yeah." Fox sighed. "You know, I can't say it's a walk in the park having everyone think of you only in THAT way, as though all the other things that define me don't matter, just the embarrassing way I finally leave."

Angel chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll have ULCERATIVE COLITIS. I have to use humour to get through the day, that it's BUTTS DISEASE that will be my downfall."

"Heh," Fox snorted at the absurdity of it. "That's a good idea! How could I pretty mine up? BREATHTAKING SEX or something... well, that's kind of the same, I guess."

"Could be a choke hold!"

Fox grimaced. "My wife isn't THAT strong. She gonna buff up?"

"Whatever floats your boat! It IS supposed to be erotic."

"Well, I haven't had feelings for anyone but her, ever. I doubt it will be at anyone else's hand."

"Really?" Angel cocked their head. "True monogamy in this day and age is practically unheard of."

Fox found himself flushing at the realisation. "...it's almost oppressive how monogamous we are."

"How do you mean? You ace and she's nonstop?"

"Ace?"

"Asexual. No drive."

He squirmed at the idea of opening up to a complete stranger like this, but at the same time, it felt... liberating. He could finally put words to the thoughts clouding up his addled mind. "Maybe? I mean, it feels good, usually, but lately it feels like she's pressuring me to go farther than I want. Like, pushing for a kid, and I'm not completely onboard with that yet. Not that I wouldn't some day, just... we're still young, I feel like."

"Damn, Jim." Angel exhaled in astonishment. "I really think you need to tell her this, not me."

"I know, it's just... she can be PERSISTENT, and frightening."

"...do I need to give you the hotline?"

"Eh?"

"Domestic abuse hotline?" Angel reached in a pocket. "Not like wives can't also be abusive to their spouses."

Fox started to dismiss them, but a spot of panic told him that maybe he should listen when someone reaches out. "...maybe I'll hang onto it, in case."

Angel scratched out the number on the back of a card. The reverse side was Angel's name and website, specialising in cosplay. Fox accepted it gladly. "Thanks... Kamui."

"Haha, that's my business's name. Mine's Svetlana."

Oh. "Thank you, Svetlana."

"I hope it's just enthusiasm, but even with your spouse, you shouldn't be pressured into anything you don't want."

Fox nodded. "You've opened my eyes, certainly. Thank you."

With a wave, Fox left the angel behind and decided to return to the room, his shyness kicking in again after all the hoopla.

...

He hesitated at the door, the card key a hair's breadth from the lock. They would definitely have an awkward conversation as soon as he entered; he didn't imagine Shelly would spend that much time wandering around to look for him when he would eventually have to return to the room. With a sigh, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"So where were you," Shelly droned, staring at her phone while feigning disinterest. Even from the door, Fox could tell she only just held back her emotions, from her lack of interaction with the phone.

"Walked around," he responded with the plainest truth possible, "gathered my thoughts."

"What were you thinking about?"

He sighed again. "Us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Her flatness of tone startled Fox, but for the time being he preferred it to the angry outburst he had feared she might throw. "I'm just saying a few things occurred to me today."

"Like what."

He touched Angel's card for support and took a deep breath. It felt like he would have to give a separate dissertation for each retort Shelly was likely to throw at him, investing an order of magnitude more energy consoling her than she spent inventing slights.

"I can't do it."

Shelly glared at him, The Look piercing his soul. "Do WHAT."

"You want intimacy literally every second we're together. I can't keep up. I am physically incapable of what you want from me."

Shelly stared at him like he was an idiot. It gave him a stabbing feeling in his chest that she didn't even protest, just give... The Look.

"Look, work is tiring. Play is ALSO tiring. We made love late into last night AND I had to drive us here. I'm tired, period. If you want more out of me this exact instant, you will get it literally out of my dead body, because it will literally kill me, and I'm using 'literally' as intended and not hyperbolically, need I remind you." He tapped the card on his lapel for emphasis.

Fox felt unnerved as Shelly's Look deteriorated ever so imperceptibly into a sorrowful one. "I thought you wanted to start a family with me," she whispered after several tense minutes of silence, curling up in the chair.

He raised his hands in a pleading gesture, taking Shelly's hand in his as he approaches her. "I do want kids with you someday. Well... one, anyway. It's just that it still *feels* like we're both barely out of school and hardly established in our respective jobs, and have you even seen how expensive kid stuff is? Not to mention healthcare here is terrible."

Shelly frowned at him, shaking her head in disbelief. "I feel like you're just giving me excuses."

"Maybe they are excuses! Maybe I'm just nervous about the reality of having children now. These days they do active shooter drills in kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN! Could you bear it if our child ended up in a shooting?"

"Stop trying to scare me," Shelly scolded, nevertheless looking away. "You make it sound like there will never be a good time to have kids."

"I'm not saying never, Shell. Just..." Fox rubbed the back of his head, knowing no "good" timeline existed. "I wanted to at least know I have some job security before making a kid depend partly on my livelihood. Stunt flying isn't exactly a regular job like yours. And before this prediction business, it was as likely I would end up buying the farm before the kid was even old enough to know I was ever alive. Regardless of my feelings about kids, I couldn't live with myself if I saddled you with one, alone."

Shelly couldn't look him in the eye for several minutes. "Does this mean you'll change jobs, or--"

"The odds are extremely low that flying will kill me." Fox chuckled. "I don't love flying THAT much! But as I said, it's not a secure line of work, either. I don't know if I want to go back to school and look into a different field where I'd stay on the ground, but I'd rather have a few steady options if we're going to go ahead with children."

"But that doesn't mean we can't fool around in the meantime!"

Fox cringed. Everything hinged on this point, for better or worse. "I gotta be honest with you, Shell," he continued, a hot flush crossing in his face as he brought forth the words he couldn't bring himself to so much as THINK before. "...even before this diagnosis, I'll call it, I'd been having second thoughts."

"You want a divorce?" Shelly cried, jumping straight to the worst case scenario.

"No, no... really, no." He took a deep breath, inhaling calm and exhaling anxiety. "I do love you, I'm sure. I just... don't know if I love you ALL the time."

"What does that even m--"

Fox steeled his nerves. "Please let me finish. Just once, no interruptions." He glared at her until she remained still. "You're... no, let me rephrase. When you want to make love every day, twice a day, three times a day... I can't keep up. I love you, and I don't want to be with anyone else, but every time, I feel like I have to rally the troops lest I face your disappointment."

Shelly started to interrupt, but Fox raised a hand. "I'm not done yet." She glowered but didn't speak.

"It's not that I don't love you, Shell. It's that, like I said, I'm TIRED. Everybody needs rest. I like having a good time, but I still need sleep! I need to recharge! I don't have unlimited ammunition to keep firing nonstop!"

He kept a finger raised when she looked like she would interrupt.

"I don't want you to feel like my rejection of you is an indictment of who you are. If I had the same drive as you do, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Yet I can't feel comfortable letting you down. It's all I can do to hide my struggle from you, even though it hurts me to make these great efforts to please you. It just feels neverending, a chore rather than a pleasure. I'm SUFFOCATING."

He paused both to collect himself and to assess Shelly's reaction. She had stared into his eyes this entire time, but now her eyes drifted to the floor, her feet scuffing the carpet.

"I'm not saying never again. I'm saying it's currently too much. I'm also not sure what the solution is. If you genuinely need more than I can give..." Here he trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to suggest either a sidepiece or a separation. Instead, he gestured at Shelly to let her have a turn. "...let's talk about it."

She stayed quiet, the silence so eerie that Fox started to shiver. Finally, Shelly looked up at him again, tears forming in her eyes. "I've never wanted anyone but you," she insisted. "I don't want anyone else to fill in, either sometimes or permanently. I guess..." Her voice cracked a bit. "When we were growing up together, I always worried that someone else would steal you away from me, and I don't want that to happen."

Fox choked back a laugh. "Who would steal me?"

Shelly glared at him in frustration. "Are you daft? You look like a young version of the OTHER Fox, and you don't think anyone would steal you from me?"

With a tinge of guilt, he thought of the game convention goers and their unexpected fascination with his accidental cosplay. "Love is more than a mutual physical interest. No one else has the same history we have, the same personalities, the shared trust. Anyone who could 'steal' me just from their looks or voice would have to be a literal siren."

Shelly furrowed her brow in bemusement.

"The mythical women who lure sailors to their deaths with their songs?"

"Oh, THAT!" She laughed. "I was wondering what you saw in klaxons!"

Fox snorted. "NOBODY likes klaxons, sorry."

"Haha... well, while making love to you nonstop would be AMAZING, I do also admit it's messy, and sometimes I wonder if it's worth the prep time and clean-up. Not to mention that I'm not yet ready to poop out a kid or three if we're not careful." She looked deeply into his eyes, this time with a look of sympathy. "We can still snuggle, though?"

Fox smirked. "Yeah, snuggling's fantastic."

Shelly smiled at him with a touch of chagrin on her face as she rubbed his shoulder, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, Fox felt an intense... comfort. Where before he has been gasping for air, now he could breathe freely.

Then he doubled over with laughter.

"What is it?" Shelly asked, confused.

Fox wiped a tear from his eye. "Ironic. My death prediction just may have saved my life."

[whoslaurapalmer]

AND THE WINNER IS, THE SALAD DRESSING 🥗 still stunned. and now, the backstory ✏️

-i myself said 'there's a literary term for that'. we had learned many literary terms junior year and I was going to put them to USE. I did not carry the bedford glossary of critical and literary terms around for nothing!!! I did not get a 4 on the ap lang exam for nothing!!!!!

-towards the end of our senior year, much of our film class would avoid film lab by playing cards in the library. which was RIGHT NEXT TO the film lab. now the thing is I can't remember if they played go fish or poker. I think go fish, for a big group, but the ap guys also for sure played poker in ap lang if our teacher wasn't there (I once mediated one of the games. I do not know how to play poker.) I did not participate in the card games, bc I was usually, ACTUALLY IN FILM LAB. wondering where everyone else was. and then I still usually wound up in the library, working on, fanfic.

-I knew a guy who avoided gym by hiding in our ap lang teacher's class. because he wanted to finish working out a chemistry problem. I had to go looking for him because we were both in the same senior superlative category and it was picture day and found him in her classroom. Does it surprise you to know he's an ap science teacher now. anyway, lots of us hung out in her classroom, especially after the ap exams, and even into our senior year, when she wasn't even our teacher anymore. I in fact did once cut film and chill in her classroom (it was right before winter break, all of us cut film class that afternoon). she had BEAN BAG CHAIRS in her classroom.

-i ALSO shouted vocabulary words at friends, junior year. to alternating delight and massive irritation. why??? .......I really. do not know.

friend: AUGGG LULU STOP

me: oh! are you feeling ⭐️BELLICOSE⭐️??

friend: IS THAT WORD EVEN ON THIS WEEK'S TEST???

me: NOPE :)

-i watched a friend literally take a whole entire jar of jif peanut butter out of his tennis bag, and a calculator, while looking for homework in ap lit. tennis kids.

-one of my best friends and the sweetest man in the whole world carried the salad dressing. He has always been an Eternally Prepared Man. It was, I believe, strawberry balsamic. to this day, fifteen years later, there are STILL remnants of it on one of my notebooks, after another friend got ahold of it and sprayed it with reckless abandon at lunch.

-we did not necessarily heckle but we were allowed to watch the tournament after being eliminated and definitely Made Faces. this was sophomore year, and the seniors who also stopped by to watch as well DEFINITELY heckled.....our teacher.

-so sophomore year starts ap classes, and also, eventually, SAT prep. so in our honors english class, we had weekly vocabulary, to help prepare for all the Intense words we'd have to know for later ap exams and the SAT. (In truth, I never encountered any of the words on the exams or the SAT, but I did hear two vocabulary words.....while watching 60s batman.) anyway, if you aced enough vocab tests (i....did not) you could participate in the vocabulary tournament at the end of the year, which was actually a spelling bee of the vocabulary words, and once that list was exhausted they did most commonly misspelled words. It even had a stuffed animal mascot, and a very long title (that did basically amount to To The Death) where every time our teacher said it, the class was to erupt into dramatic music. There's just something about high school vocab that makes teachers Very Intense, i guess. one student swears, years later, that the tournament was actually rigged, to allow a certain student to win.

-junior year, in ap lang, we had MORE vocabulary, culminating in a bingo game (where you only got the match if you could supply the word definition) which, I did in fact win (i did much better at junior year vocabulary!!), bc I remembered the most definitions. my prize.....was a duck call whistle.

-one student did try to do shakespeare off-book during our freshman year shakespeare unit, when we read romeo and juliet out loud, to everyone else's pain, bc he did not entirely remember the words. he was, even by ap kid AND theater kid standards, Very Strange. (actually, though, he was a choir kid.)

[kati-the-archer]

THE SABIAN SYMBOLS [Symbols of the Degrees of the Zodiac]

I have seen that the interest in zodiac degrees has increased in the tumblr community so i thought it will be a good idea to introduce you to this topic that some astrologers use as a tool when reading a chart and show the different ways in which the degrees can be interpreted.

★I apologize for any misspelling★

THE SYMBOLIC DEGREES (x)

✨The symbolic images associated with each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac, also called "monomeric".

✨They come from various sources, the most ancient one being the Thebaic calendar.

✨It is believed that monomers date back to a millennium BC, but some authors believe that they were already known in the time of Ramses II.

✨In addition to these Thebaic degrees of Egyptian origins, there are also Hindu degrees

which Sepharial passed down to us with his translation of the Volasfera

✨Both degrees, Thebaic and Hindu, belong to the traditional astrology.

✨In the 20th century, much more modern symbolic degrees appeared: the Marc Edmund Jones degrees, also called Sabian Symbols degrees (Saba symbols in reference to the queen of Saba).

✨Its origin is the result of a cooperation with the psychic Elsie Wheeler. He picked up a set of 360 blank cards where they wrote a note and a degree on the back.

✨Neither she nor Marc Edmund Jones knew the degree involved during the lectures. they only took into account what the seer was experiencing.

✨Marc Edmund Jones discovered the structure that emerges from the 360 symbols, and their relationship.

✨Rudhyar, upon discovering Jones's book, gains a great interest in the subject.

✨He asked Jones for permission to include a version in his book "The Astrology of Personality," published in 1936. This publication introduces Jones's Sabian symbols to a wider audience.

More than a dozen astrologers have, through their own musings or with help of intutitives, come up with lists of zodiacal symbols worthy of consideration, the most well-known are:

La Volasfera - Antonio Borelli, translated by Sepharial pseudonym of Walter E. Gorn Old

The Symbolic degrees of Charubel pseudonym of John Thomas [Welsh astrologer, clairvoyant and healer]

Symbols of Isidore Kozminsky [esoteric author and occultist]

The Sabian Symbols - Elsie May Wheeler [psychic-medium] and Marc Edmund Jones [astrologer]

HOW TO READ THEM:

📝To understand the meaning of the symbolic degrees in any given chart, please read the description first.

📝With the symbol in front of them, the reader can practice their own interpretations

📝 Symbolic degrees must never be taken literally.❗❗❗

📝The images describe certain details of an individual in small dashes which could be likened to impressionist painting.

📝Each word used in the description of an image has its own value.

📝Let yourself be soaked with the words and the actions described, and that you abandon yourself to their inspiration and dynamism. This is how you can grasp people's motivations and environment.

📝The meaning of an image taken as a whole may not necessarily apply.

📝When dealing with several descriptions, it is the sum of similar words and the recurrence of analogous bits of sentence which indicate the nature of the prevailing influence.

📝Try to infer the main energies from the text and identify repeated or converging trends.

📝Attention should be paid to repeated words, and that synonyms or similar meanings, and even similar sounds ought to be put together.

📝Do the sum of the analogies found and, if the total is significant, you can draw the conclusion that its influence is active.

📝In order of importance: [but you can do as you please lol

1- Sun-Moon

2- AS MC DS IM be cautious about their accurateness may not be reliable, since a four minute gap in the time of birth moves the angles by one degree.

3- Mercury, Venus and Mars

4- Jupiter and Saturn

5-Uranus, Neptune and Pluto

⚠️ A very important disclaimer: ⚠️

❗symbolic degrees belong to a branch of fatalistic astrology.

❗Their interpretation must be regarded with the utmost caution

❗especially given the fact that different authors give different meanings to symbolic degrees.

from time to time we receive new infomation about the symbolization of the zodiacal degrees, wondering if "they are reliable"

It is impossible to affirm that they all are, since we don't have a knowledge of 360 different people, each born under a different degree.

so...HERE IS AN EXAMPLE!

🌼 18-19 VIRGO 🌼

LA VOLASFERA :

« A husbandman or cattle-dealer holding a stock -whip in his hand »

SEPHARIAL : [who claimed his symbol set was a translation of La Volasfera, by Antonio Borelli.]

“It indicates a rough and rustic nature, with a taste for excitement of the chase, or for the breeding of cattle. The nature is rugged, but genuine; lacking in suavity; critical, but invested with unequivocal sincerity, which will cause him to be respected.” The native will prefer country life and its freedom to the more varied but less thorough liberties of the town.. It is a degree of ROBUSTNESS.

CHARUBEL :

Symbol: A strong farmer’s cart, and a horse to match. The cart is loaded with farmyard manure.

Meaning: Denotes a frugal, industrious person. An agriculturist, and one who studies that branch scientifically.

KOZMINSKY :

Symbol:  A rough fire mountain, from several parts of which smoke is rising. On one of the slopes laborers are working.

Meaning: Denotes one who exercises patience and persistence in his life’s work, and whose position is often attended with much worry and personal danger. His soul is full of enterprise. He is magnetic,psychic, and extremely active. It is a symbol of Endeavor.

WHEELER :

Symbol: A OUIJA BOARD.

KEYNOTE: The ability to contact deeper recesses of the unconscious psyche and sensitiveness to psychic intimations and omens.

Meaning: The ouija board is to be considered here a modern device similar to many ancient instruments used for divination and prophecy. Certain states of threshold consciousness are stimulated by such a use, and what the experience produces may vary greatly in quality and in origin. The release of unconscious material has lost the explosive force pictorialized in the preceding symbol, yet at this stage there is still no conscious and willful control over what reaches the ego-consciousness.

This is the third stage of the thirty-fourth sequence of symbolic phases in the life process. It is at best a stage of transition which stresses a passive openness to the unknown. The glamour of it may subtly pervert the mind of the aspirant; but in some cases, this can be the first manifestation of INNER GUIDANCE. The difficulty is to correctly evaluate what or who does the guiding

It is important to read into the description based on the nature of the planet in question

For example, let's take the case of a moon in the 3° of scorpio:

🌙 LA VOLASFERA:

«A lyre, upon the arm of which there hangs a wreath of laurels»

🌙 SEPHARIAL:

–So you can say that this person will choose to express in a creative way the depth of their emotions that the moon in scorpio gives.

This is indicative of a nature almost wholly given to the pursuit and cultivation of the fine arts. The mind is harmonious, generous and peaceable. The life will be free from disquieting and distressful elements, and the inherent harmony and refinement of this character will be reflected in all his works. He will strive by the use of the gentle arts as well as by the more liberal, to illustrate and interpret the finer emotions of the soul. In art or the drama he will meet with great distinction.

if you want to know more about this topic...

You can check the rest of the 360 degrees here:

http://docshare04.docshare.tips/files/23078/230782881.pdf

http://rockymountainastrologer.com/DegreeSymbols/SabianSymbols.html

https://hominycreekhoroscopy.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/la-volasfera.pdf

A list of books :

https://www.astrolearn.com/astrology-articles/booksondegrees/

[hlvraik]

Does Gordon ever just lie on the floor and try not cry? Or do the kids ever push him to the point he's actually upset? Like maybe explosives or something and he yells at them or fully starts crying? What would their reactions be? (bc I love the trope of choatic people/person and the 'normal' (in comparision) one who then gets upset enough and the person apologises or tries to do something to make it up and the person realises they actually care a lot about the chaotic one ghdjhfdkjs)

(Dhdjdkkdldls I know how you feel-)

At least at one point in their journey, Gordon did, but not on purpose, snap at the kids. (He didn't mean any ill intentions, he was just so tired, stressed, and a little fed-up and he couldn't take it anymore, causing his emotions to get the best of him.)

I would like to believe what caused his outbursts was just the science team being chaotic and out of control, all at once; Bubby setting things on fire while Coomer encouraged him and contributing to property damage, Benrey with his sweet voice, and Tommy playing and running around with Sunkist. This proves to be all just too much for Gordon as he just wants to make it through Black Mesa with them alive and in one piece. (And it's kind of hard to make it out of an alien infested lab facility while babysitting four kids-)

So with that, Gordon just kind of snaps and yells, almost to the brink of tears, and like stated earlier, he didn't mean any ill intentions, like at all, it's just that he cares too much for them and if anything were to happen to them, he would blame everything on himself. No exception.And after his little outburst, everything, and more importantly everyone, went silent.

Gordon then proceeds to quietly apologizes before suggesting that they should carry on.As they continue on, everythings just dead silence as nobody knows how to make light of what just happened; Gordon's still feeling remorse and guilt for letting his emotions get the best of him and taking it out on the gang, and the science team are still in a state of shock as they never expected/saw Gordon actually get fustrated before. (And trust me, they want to apologize, but they don't know where or how to start, as the atmosphere around them is just so tense, but after a while of whispering and quiet discussions, they know what they have to do.)

After a while, Gordon finds a good resting point, and suggests that the team take a quick nap, which the group agrees to (as it would help out drastically with their plan and would make it so much easier). So with that, they all pretended to fall asleep (which was pretty difficult), and after realizing that Gordon was asleep, the rest of the team immediately got up and sneaked around the facility, looking for any undamaged vending machines that they could find to make their apology gift to Gordon. (They also stole a bunch of markers, highlighters, and printer paper in order to make a card and you know it.)

Once Gordon woke up, he was greeted to hugs and a bunch of 'we're sorry's (some sounding more meaningful than others.) The gang then proceed to show Gordon their gift, which was basically a mountain of coke and snacks and hand him their card. (WHICH HAS DRAWINGS OF EVERYONE AND THINGS ARE HORRIBLY MISSPELLED AND WORDS ARE MARKED OUT-) while they continue to express how bad they felt for pushing Gordon to his limit.

After checking out the card, and taking another glance at the pile of snacks, Gordon chuckled and a smile begin to form on his face. He then pulls everyone into a tight group hug and also apologizes, stating that he would never, ever, yell at them again. After countless apologies and hugging sessions, Gordon asks the group if they should continue on, but not before comically asks what they're going to do with all the snacks.

Bonus: Gordon kept their card and it's now in one of his desk's drawers his room, and every once in a while he would look back at just to get a quick laugh, but he also smiles as he remembers the fond memory.

[sillyguyhotline]

the joe character ask

i’ve been responding to the prompts so slowly bc school but here’s the one for joe that i didn’t put in the previous ask 

Joe

Why I Like Him-

Honestly, this shouldn’t even be a question at this point, he’s hands down my favorite character. I adore the dynamic that he has with Sara, I adore his cheerful and peppy personality, and I adore the fact that he still undergoes realistic questioning of his morals despite being such a kind and generally “good person.” And, as I’ve stated many times before, I think that his death came at the perfect time to impact Sara’s development while also letting him go through a character arc and become a significant enough character for his death to hurt. I,,, I love him so much dhfbhdfbd

Why I Don’t-

There isn’t really a lot here; like I’ve said, he’s just generally a really good character! If I had to pick something, though, I’d say that there are a lot of unresolved suspicions surrounding him from the get-go and I don’t like that they haven’t been resolved yet. Considering how cheerful and trusting he is otherwise, he’s oddly suspicious of Keiji and the others right from the beginning, and is the first to suggest the possibility of a traitor- rather uncharacteristic for what we know of him. Was it just part of his character arc to make him dying due to the Sacrifice card even more sympathetic, or is there more to him? I, personally, really want the “Mr. Policeman is Joe’s dad” theory to be true, so I’m hoping that if we get that reveal, his initial suspicions will tie into that. I’ll be sort of disappointed if they continue to go unresolved.

Favorite Scene-

Honestly, I’ve always adored the scene where Joe and Sara walk home together. In only around 5 minutes, Nankidai is able to characterize them both perfectly (especially Joe), to portray them as close friends who enjoy teasing each other, and to establish that they’re still good friends even though Joe is dating Ryoko. Especially when you go back and play through the game without the initial worry of whether Joe is going to betray you, it’s easy to realize how genuinely sweet and well-written that scene is. I love it a lot :))

Favorite Line-

Because I’m very shitty at remembering lines, I’ll go with the classic one: “I love ya, Sara! You’re my best friend!” I also thought his AI’s line of “I’ll always follow you- just like a dog!” is a pretty funny one. 

Favorite Outfit-

I probably won’t include this with everyone else’s but I just want to take a minute to appreciate Joe’s gaudy-ass outfit. He has style. Period. Those earrings? That hairclip? Absolutely iconic, there’s a reason Sara cries every time she sees them after 1-2. 

OTP-

LMAO are you kidding me?? Joesara all the way. I also like the concept of Ryojoesara, but I just love their dynamic in-game and how close they are to each other, romantic or platonic. And… I just honestly adore the idea of the two of them together! I love the friends to lovers trope, and their personalities complement each other so well! They’re very sweet.

Brotp-

For this, I’d have to choose between either Gin or Shin. Joe leaning into the “big bro Joe” assignment is so precious, and I’ve always been a sucker for their little exchange where Gin promises to kick his ass in Mario Kart or something. I think he’d make a great big brother to Gin; they could bond over their love of dogs :) I’ve also seen a lot of Nankidai’s sketches of Joe and Shin together, and honestly I think they’d make for great friends- Joe could help pull Shin out of his “loner” persona and they could be buddies! If only </3

Headcanon-

Like I’ve said, I’m really bad at coming up with specific headcanons, but… I hc Joe as bi, he just gives off those vibes. He also probably has Tiktok and tried to get Sara and Ryoko to do Tiktok dances with him for awhile before giving up. Also!! He probably still sleeps with at least one stuffed animal (a stuffed dog would be very on-brand for him) but is self-conscious as hell about it and has only told Sara.

Unpopular Opinion-

This seems to be a pretty unpopular opinion because of how much people love to talk about it, but I really dislike the Mastermind Joe theory. I’ve talked about this before, but I think it’s very implausible; Nankidai’s writing is centric around character development, not the shock value of plot twists. Sacrificing all of Sara’s development throughout Chapter 2 (which consisted of her reacting realistically to her grief and was handled very well imo) would be so counterproductive and it would make the game feel so much cheaper. Perhaps Joe’s AI might be weaponized against her again or it might make future appearances, but I doubt the living Joe will turn out to be evil, much less a conspirator or even mastermind with ASUNARO. It just wouldn’t make sense, and it would honestly ruin his character.

A Wish-

I’ve already mentioned that I want the “Mr. Policeman is Joe’s Dad” theory to be true, so I’m gonna say that I really want my theory about the AI to come true as well. I really want Sara to end up going home with Joe’s AI if she survives, and I want the emotional distress of seeing the fake version of her dead best friend to be evident. Give me that angst, PLEASE </3

An Oh-God-Please-Don’t-Ever-Happen:

Mastermind Joe Theory!! Please don’t ruin his character.

5 Words To Describe Him-

Gaudy Dog Boy Deserved Better

 My Nickname for Him-

I don’t really have a lot, but I think I misspelled his name as “hoe” in a conversation once and ever since I think of him as “Hoe Tazuna.”