#but also i don't remember are they really related

[sprachspieler]

Good morning and thank you for the picture of the bee! I didn't know anything about carpenter bees, but they are quite interesting.

Structuring the posts is probably a good idea. So I'll start with some minor comments, then there's the main section about money creation, and lastly a brief note about money-as-power.

Minor comments

You see both check and cheque in NZ. For that sort of word, I think generally older people use the British spelling and older people the American spelling. Though it's sort of a moot point, since they've pretty much entirely disappeared in the last few years.

A note about small transactions: I can definitely see that it'd be difficult to get the police to go after someone for stealing a small amount. My disagreement is that I don't think this makes sense as a cause of inflation. I doubt any firm (or whoever sets the prices) has thought, "Oh, there's a lot of money around nowadays. The government won't be able to enforce the value of all of it. I'd better raise prices." Possibly it works as an abstract interpretation of what inflation represents, like a sort of metaphor. But then we get into very philosophical questions about how theories relate to the world.

Money creation

I'm not really sure if you don't understand how commercial banks create (non-physical) money or if you do understand the process but just view it differently, so I'll try to cover both possibilities.

Say Alice, Bob, and Carol all have an (at the moment) empty bank account with the same bank. The government prints $100 and gives it to Alice (I suppose she works for the government). She deposits the $100 in the bank, so the bank records $100 in Alice's account. The bank might then loan Bob $50, which it does by just recording in its ledgers that Bob has $50 in his account and owes the bank $50 at a later point in time. Alice and Bob then buy goods from Carol, which costs them all their money. The bank records that Carol has $150 and Alice and Bob have $0 each.

The crucial step for commercial bank money creation is the loan to Bob. When a bank lends, it just declares that the borrower has however much money in their account. They need to have enough currency in their possession to allow for withdrawals, but beyond that the sum of demand deposits is not limited by currency. That's how money is created.

I think you probably view the extra $50 as fake? I argue that a definition of money where that's the case is suboptimal* because (1) people can actually spend it to buy goods and services (favours if you want to be an engineer about it), (2) they can do this simultaneously (without the extra $50 being backed by an extra $50 of currency), and (3) it comprises the majority of money in our economies and is the way in which most transactions take place** (and the definition of money ought to recognise how transactions actually occur).

*I think definitions can't really be false, but they can be worse in various ways.

**It might differ in the US, but I don't even remember the last time that I used cash.

There is a sense in which the money is in a superposition of states that might collapse (or something; I don't know physics), but that is specifically if Alice and Bob want to convert their money into currency. As long as they're happy to keep it in a demand deposit, it's all fine. (And I wouldn't characterise money in a bank account as being unobserved, since it can still be spent, as above.)

Summarising, my contention is that:

Banks create more demand deposits than the amount of currency that exists.

Even when multiple people's money 'comes from' the same currency, they can still spend all of that money.

Because this money can be spent, it is 'real' money.

So not all 'real' money is created by the government.

Last bit

I think also I might've been conflating your theories about power/money and those about where money comes from. I don't have much of a specific disagreement with the former, but I have a technical disagreement (or maybe it's just semantics) with the latter. There is some connection between the two, but I don't think they're the same. You can still understand money as power without asserting it is all created by the government.

It's so weird to me when people are like 'but that will cost the government money!' So what? They're the government, they're supposed to be spending money. What, you want them to take your tax dollars and then do nothing with it? Lock it all up in a big government vault and just look at it? Why are you so scared of giving a third grader lunch or a homeless person a house.

[colossrat]

So, Billy is actually Bruce's biological son.

Marylyn married CC when she was already pregnant, CC knew and was okay with it, they really love each other and Bruce was just an accident? I don't know.

A few years later, Ebezener tries to sell this information, someone from the Waynes or Kanes, I don't know about that side of the lore… Are the Kanes still alive? Sorry, I'm ignorant in that area. SOMEONE is going to pay him to shut up. So they sell Billy again to a bunch of bad guys who are going to sell him AGAIN to somewhere, I don't know, far away from Gotham.

Well, but Billy is kind of like "oh my Gods, why this is my life", so he uses his powers, leaves the place as Cap and, as a bonus, he even gets Ebezener's money, the one the Kanes give him to shut up.

Kate, Batwoman, finds out, tells Bruce about this whole crap situation and now Batman is opening an operation to find this secret biological son, who was apparently sold to someone, but a mysterious magical person came there and saved him and the other children who were also being trafficked, but who??? This is a very secret operation, of course, only Wonder Woman, Superman and the Batfam are there to really know the details.

Well, but one day, like, YEARS after all this suffering, because Bruce never managed to locate this secret child that he now thinks is DEAD, boom, a child shows up on a mission, 15, 16 years old maybe, the age his secret son would be… blue eyes, dark hair, pale as paper, skinny, but yeah, it's pretty obvious. It's something immediate, but before he can say anything, someone else shows up, hugging the kid and saying that he was really worried.

Yeah, guys, Cap and Billy got separate cliche, but well, the JL, needed help, so they went to help them like this.

Billy is Billy, 16 year old Billy, and Marvel doesn't look like CC Batson, but rather like an adult version of Billy. Bodytpe less like Superman and more like Nightwing.

And then they introduce themselves as CAPTAIN MARVEL'S ADOPTED CHILDREN. Yes, we have Recruit (Billy) and Lightning (Thavma).

And so yes, they are helping the League, guiding them out of that evil, magical cave, and the League keeps asking questions.

Recruit, sitting on Lightning's shoulder: Uh… yeah, so, actually I… was going to… get taken by a metahuman taffricking ring, Lightning saved me and after that we really didn't want to be apart, he convinces Cap to adopt me too, and now he helps me with my magic training and everything. But I'm Lightning's… sidekick. Not Marvel's, that's why you guys and I have never really met.

Flash: Yeah, but like, even if we never met you since your hero job its not Marvel related, how come we never met Lightning? It feels like he's been a hero for a few years or more.

Lightning: I don't really like being seen. Im more of an underground hero? I want to help, but I honestly don't know how to deal with the public like Cap does. So I help in the shadows. I help, and then I'm gone. Maybe I'm more of a vigilante..? Not a hero.

And Batman's like, "I want to adopt you two now," but he's also like, "My baby found a good, powerful family, what right do I have to tell him about our kinship? What if this ruins everything for him? He's fine. He doesn't need me," but it destroys him.

He sees the way Recruit fights, remembers him of little Dick, jumping around and doing silly stunts. And his smile, so bright, so hopeful, so happy.

He hears his laugh and it calms something inside him.

"He's fine. He's happy, that's enough for me."

Billy and Cap actually take a long time to undo the magic spell that separated them, so they end up covering Marvel for other missions, and one day, Billy kind of spills the beans.

Kon: So, about your birth parents… Are they dead? Didn't they come after you were rescued from trafficking? Recruit: Uh, so… My parents are dead, but my dad was not my biological father, or something… My shitty uncle sold that information to my bio "family", I guess, and they're super rich, so they probably didn't want me to ruin their image in high society as some bastard orphan, so they were the ones who cut me out of that circle from the start. From what I heard when I was in the ring, my... Progenitor, has a lot of bastards already, and the family was happy to be able to stop another one from coming to steal their fortune or something. assholes, I never wanted to meet them in the first place, even if my uncle had dropped me with them, I wouldn't stay, I'd rather live on the streets again.

And some of the batfam, who know all about this "he's the one" thing, are there, listening, and they already know that these words are breaking Bruce from the inside out.

Lightning: You're being mean. We don't even know if they sold you out. The… Big guy seems to like adopting and doesn't care about their background. I believe it was a decision by the old conservative family heads.

Recruit: Don't sugarcoat it for the rich, they already pay people to do it. yeah, i know, maybe this is that "no he wouldn't do that" thing, but i wanted to write a sadder au with angst and misunderstandings and a sentimental bruce who longs to be a present father with a bonus of thavma and billy being brothers :D

[unluckilyimnot]

Hi!! Can you do bofurin boys with reader who has an iron deficiency?

S/o / crush with iron deficiency – Sakura, kiryuu, kaji, umemiya, suo

Note: my gf almost has anemia, I know VERY WELL what it is, she's never taking her iron tablets she'll be the death of me

around 0.7k each, slight miscommunication for kaji

m.list | rules

Sakura

The first thing that makes Sakura tick is the fact that Nirei always has hot pads in his pocket or his bag for you. Your hands are always cold, and you vent about it a lot, everybody knows it but nobody asks why. Maybe because they know. But Sakura doesn't, and he also doesn't know how to ask you if it's related to something in particular, or if you're just sensitive to the cold.

Then comes the fact that you're always out of breath, which is a problem when you have a friends' group like them who wander outside a lot. There's not a day without one of them suddenly running after some weird guy or a cat. You rarely follow, taking your time to meet them again later or Suo and Nirei stay with you – it depends. That makes him ten times more curious about it, but he doesn't see himself just ask you why. You're not close enough. Or are you ? He's not so sure.

That's around a rather calm break in a park, in the corner of a little fight, that he built the courage to ask you. Suo has been taking one of the tea bottles away from you when you asked for it and he didn't like being kept out of the general knowledge anymore.

"Why can't you drink tea ?" he asks shyly, his voice barely loud enough for you to hear. You giggle at his question.

"I have an iron deficiency, so it's not recommended to drink tea after eating," you explain, still trying to steal the bottle away from Suo but he's quicker than you, every time. You accepted your fate in the end, which made him smile. Instead, he handed you a lemonade that you reluctantly took.

"It sucks," was all he could think of as an answer at first, not really connecting the dots but he'll search it up. "What else does it do to you ?"

You fake reflection for a second, bringing a finger to your lips. "I feel weak sometimes, so I need to sit out of nowhere because the world spins, you know." You imitate a circle with that same finger.

"My hands are cold and I can't get up too quickly without consequences,” you laugh, “but that's mostly it. I don't have anemia, says my doctor, even if it feels like it," you smile at him when he nods slowly, showing he understood what you just told him.

You didn't expect much after that. It was fair, you even thought that you should've told him earlier since everybody knew already. You thought it would leave his mind quickly, no-one ever thinks about that every day – it's more like they remember every now and then, when you have to sit back immediately after getting up or when you grab someone's arm because the world starts spinning. Apart from Nirei, he's extra careful for some reason.

To your surprise, after the conversation, he got more careful when it comes to you. He might not seem like it, but as a leader now, he takes time out and waits for you more, so everybody does as well.

He stands by your side a lot more when you take a break and sit, you can tell he's trying to do well even if he's not sure. You appreciate it. Every part of it. From him telling everyone to slow down to when he crouches in front of you when you feel weak.

"Y–you alright ? I can hold you back to the station..." he's shy when he tries to help, always. There's people around, his face is all red and he can't meet your eyes – but you can tell by his voice he means it. And it never fails to make you smile

"I'm alright, Sakura, but thank you," even you can get a little shy. "I appreciate it."

He nods, standing up quickly and, after a moment, he holds his arms out for you.

"If you feel weak again, just take my arm ok ?!"

He's a little aggressive, certainly because Suo cooed when he heard him after giggling to himself, but Sakura tries to ignore it. What you can't ignore however, is how hot your cheeks feel at the moment. You take his arm anyway and get up as well, holding it firmly but with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Sakura."

"Yeah, whatever." Again, aggressive but the way he bringed you a little closer tells everything you need to know. That he cares about you, and it warms up your heart.

Suo (afab!reader)

Hanging out alone with Suo is always so relaxing. After spending time with so many people, who run around a lot, staying in silence for a bit is always nice. He's always careful anyway, and he knows that – as much as you love them – you need some alone time, or with him, after spending an afternoon with them. 

As soon as he noticed you were a little too much behind, he checked on you instantly. Kindly ask you if you're tired with a soft smile, one you can't send any hint of malice in. It didn't take more than that for you two to leave and take the road to his place. 

"Your hands are cold again," he mentioned on the way when your hand brushed against his, like taking note to himself. You simply nod, you get used to it even if it isn't nice. It is what it is. 

"I'll make you something hot," Suo doesn't waste time and leaves you the living room as soon as you arrive. Sitting there in silence, you take out your phone and scroll through the thousand of messages they've sent on the group chat – messing with Sakura again because he's too slow to answer. 

Suo comes back quickly with some snacks first, he carefully puts them on your side of the table. Then a second time with two fuming cups. He left the white one in front of you, filled with hot chocolate. You frown but still take a look at his cup, to find out its tea. A pout show on your face ; you wanted tea as well. 

"Why are you the only one having tea ? I wanted tea too," you shake his sleeve in the process. 

He doesn't seem to care, putting the cup to his lips and taking a sip. 

"If I recall well, you're on your period, right ?" 

You fell silent for a second, before sighing. Of course he remembers.

"Yes..." 

"Then no tea for you, my darling," he's a little too satisfied to turn you down, even if it's to take care of you. You want to rip the silly smile off his lips. 

"Just a sip," you begged quietly but he shook his head, putting his cup away from you. 

"Don't be silly. You'll have some in a few days," his hot hand gently cradles your cheek before kissing your forehead. "Warm up your hands." 

It's a soft command and you obey without giving it a second thought. Your ice cold hands warmed up in a minute with the hot cup between them and you lay on his shoulder for extra comfort. It feels nice. His hearing slightly brushing your cheek, tickling a little but you don't mind, his seemingly stiff appearance is soft around you and you couldn't ask for a better afternoon’s end.

Kiryuu

If there is one thing you love more than anything, it’s spending time at Kotoha’s place with the boys. It’s simple, you spend the afternoon drinking tea and talking – so much you could mistake it for a girls’ meeting if it wasn’t for the sappy jokes only boys can make. You laugh anyway, all afternoon, until the corner of your mouth and cheeks hurt. Enough for your head to hurt. Between the lack of sleep last night and not eating enough at lunch, blood was pounding in your head painfully.

“Are you ok ?” Kiryu, who was sitting across from you, asked while Nirei and Sakura were arguing again.

“Headache,”you said simply, putting your hand on your forehead. “It’s nothing, but I might leave soon.”

“I’ll get you some water first. I’ll walk you home,” he smiled before getting up slowly. It wasn’t a question, you didn't have the choice here but you weren’t arguing. You felt weak for no particular reason, it was a day without and didn’t want to tempt the devil; you had one or two bad experiences.

He was back quickly with a glass of water and, after you finished it, he took his jacket and gave you his hand to hold. You waved everyone goodbye before taking the road to your parent’s house. The walk is silent for a while, you don’t have much to say neither does he it seems like but it’s fine for you. You’re just comfortable around him. He knows when there’s something wrong and he’s by your side all the time, you just love having him around. He’s a really good friend.

Yeah. Friend.

Suddenly, you lose balance. You didn’t trip on something, like you thought at first, no, no. The world starts spinning out of nowhere, your vision is filled with stars in a second and if it wasn’t for the arm around your waist, you would probably have hit the wall. Warm got to your cheeks instantly when he held you even closer, when you realized your fingers wrapped around his jacket like your life depends on it. You push him away, but not too fast to not rush your body.

“I’m so sorry, Kiryu, I didn’t mean to–”

“Are you ok ?” He doesn’t want to let you go, still holding your clothes firmly – his voice laced with worry.

“Yeah, it just happens sometimes…” you’re feeling shy now. You never wanted to make him worry, but it wouldn’t be helped now, right ? You didn’t miss the frown on his face before he smiles softly your way again.

“I’m never letting you leave alone then,” he joked, voice light and he made you giggle a little. But his arm hooked with yours and he didn’t let go before you were a step into your home. Safe.

“Thank you again, Kiryu. I appreciate it.”

“Always, don’t be scared to ask. I’ll always answer.”

Your heart skips a beat at his words, and your cheeks feel red once again. The way his eyes are soft when he looks at you, longing a little more than he should maybe but he doesn’t move.

“I will.” Your voice is barely above a whisper, only for him to hear and that’s enough to him. He leans in and ruffles your hair.“Rest now, see you tomorrow !” And just like that, he leaves you on your porch, not knowing what to do with your heart beating way too fast.

Kaji

When you know Kaji’s on patrol around your school, you always take a walk with him and his friends during your break. It became a habit, you can’t help but do it now – even if it rains. You just came back from the local store, a bag of lollipops in your hands. He ran out and, as you needed something to eat as well, you told him you’ll get some. 

Handing it to him, your hand brushed against his. It’s not the first time. You already hold hands once to help you run away from a situation, but it never fails to make your heartbeat speed up a little. You were about to look away, trying to push the feeling away. 

“I fucking hate it,” Kaji spits out. It’s not even in your way, he’s cursing under his breath but you can’t help but take it for yourself. 

“Excuse me ?!” you yelled, ready to throw hands. You just handed him the lollipop’s bag he asked you, that you kindly brought him on your break time for that ? Not even a thank you.

“Because my hand brushed yours ?! What, you think I've got the plague ?”

He’s too stunned to speak for a second, looking at you with widened eyes before frowning at you. 

“It’s always freaking cold ! I hate it !” Right after saying it, he knows he fucked up. 

He didn’t mean it like that. But it’s too late. You scoff loudly. You need to take a step back, sending him daggers. 

“Oh because you think I like that ? It ruins my life but I am really sorry it bothers you. I’ll think twice before having a deficiency next time,” you sarcastically answer, rolling your eyes. You’re speaking so fast, he can’t even hope to talk back. “I’ll make sure to never touch you again !”

“Let me speak !” he barked, getting up so quickly you barely had time to take another step back. Before he can do anything your phone rang, cutting him and telling you it was time to go back. 

He kept his hand for himself, not looking at you as you left without another word but Gods he hates it. All of it. You leave angry, because he knows you’re gonna think about it all afternoon, and he feels like shit, because he can’t even speak when he has to. 

He came back to your school’s gate by the end of your day and sat on the bench in front of it, waiting to see your pretty, probably upset, face walk out. He’s not supposed to be there, Umemiya asked them to come back for a meeting but at the moment he couldn’t care less. He had to fix this. His hands in his pocket, he waits patiently until he catches your silhouette coming closer. 

Kaji gets up and walks to the front of the gate. You’re glaring at him again, walking past him without a second look. Your jaw clenches when you hear him following you.

“For the record, I don’t want to see your face right now. Let alone talk to you, so lea–”

“Don't look at me the ! Just take this,” he voice is soft despite all the emotions rushing inside his mind at the moment, but he knows better than to listen to it. 

Softly, he catches your wrist and slips a hand warmer between your fingers. It was already warm, meaning he broke it before giving it to you and it takes everything in you to turn around and apologize. Your heart skips a beat when his fingers hold onto you a second too long. 

“I didn’t mean it like that, you know,” you turned around to look at him, not strong enough to ignore him when he’s speaking his mind. It’s hard enough for him. He looks away when he catches your eyes. “I’m just angry that I can't help it,” he confesses, louder than he wanted to but kept his chin up, not showing any sign of embarrassment. 

Beside his red cheeks, but you won’t mention it.

“Then, think before speaking next time,” you say as you look at the ground, but not upset anymore. 

“I’m sorry.” 

You nod, not thinking about it anymore. Your hands are warmer and his didn’t leave your wrist, better, he’s almost holding your hand and that gives you much more things to think about.

Umemiya (based on a real date with my gf)

Looking around this gigantic book shop is always so nice. Umemiya and you love books, so it's always a good idea to take a look around here, even if you don't buy anything. It's a cute date, as simple as it is.

You like how he stops behind you to read above your shoulder before asking you what it is about as if he doesn't know yet. There's so many books, comics, manga, you don't know where to look ! And you two always go through the 3 floors to be sure you see it all – even you already know the pace by heart.

"Oh look," Umemiya gasped.

You hum as you turn around to see him showing you a red cover you know too well.

"It's still there ! And Hiragi was worried he wouldn't find it for my birthday..." He took a second to stare at it, finding the details again with the shadow of a smile on his lips, making you smile as well.

"Ok my turn," you say, making your way to him and grabbing his arms to lead him to the manga section. You looked around the shelf, looking for soothing in particular before gasping softly. "There."

"See that ? Remember the cover please, I'd love to have it for my birthday! You know, it's like Tokyo Revengers, but they're just high schoolers fighting to protect their neighborhood."

"Sounds like something I'll do," he jokes, taking the book in your hand to take a better look. You giggle.

"That's why I like it."

After you get around your manga selection, and ask approximately 30 times if he remembered well, you two go to the underground level, consisting of books in foreign languages and research books. You like to read your book in English, even if it takes a lot of time, you want to get better at it so you often end up down there. Umemiya never finds his happiness, but he's happy as long as you do ! Instead, he spends more time around the research side – who knows, he might as well develop a passion for ships while reading a summary.

It hasn't happened yet, though.

If there's no book you're looking for, you honestly don't spend much time there. You feel bad to make him wait longer than necessary. Yet, you take your time, looking more than you needed, feeling a little weak at the moment. Grabbing the shelf behind you for a second, the time you steady yourself and take a breath, then you're ready to go.

"Let's go, Ume ?" You ask as you turn to the other side of the room but not too loud. You don't need to, because he's next to you in a second.

"Yeah, I need to pay for this then we're done."

You nod. You didn't plan anything to do after that, and you're glad because as you walk up the stairs you can feel your head spinning before your sigh completely black out once you reach the 1st floor. Grounding yourself on the first shelf you can feel, you close your eyes for a second – you're about to pass out seriously.

Umemiya calls out your name but you don't answer, being a little too slow at the moment. But you can hear him coming quickly next to you and his hands find your waist, holding you back to him as he moves you away to not bother anyone.

"Sorry..." you whisper, trying to blink the dark and stars away.

He shook his head, "It's ok, we have time."

You two fall into a comfortable silence, people are talking and walking around, not really caring about you two and it's better like that. You slowly got your vision back.

You push him away carefully once its fully back, but he's not letting go of you, not after that. You two make your way to the cashier, his arm holding yours as of his life depends in it ; more like the opposite if someone asks you. Yet you're glad, because you actually feel how weak your legs are. He's quick but polite, smiling for the few minutes he talked with him. Without even realizing it, you're already outside, the fresh air doing wonders to your body.

"We're gonna grab something to eat now," he giggles but you can feel in his voice he's worried.

"Sure," you nod, you're definitely not saying no to a sweet treat right now.

[storkmuffin]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE2N3upSBMK/?igsh=MWo5c3Z2Z3ppMm1zeg==

What did yeosang say to mingi in the end and why was he offended by it?

This is about an on-stage mistake that Mingi made at some point (I don't know when, but I'm sure others do) during a performance of the song Turbulence (Korean: 야간 비행).

The lyric in korean is this:

I wanna be where you at/fix on/ 목적지를 몰라, 헤매다 쓰러져

The translation on the genius site (which, predictably, I don't like) puts it likethis:

[Interlude: Mingi] I want to be where you at / Fix on / Don't know the destination, falls after wandering around

I would put it as :

I wanna be where you're at/ fix on/ I wander till I collapse because I don't know the destination

Ok so the error that Mingi made was instead of rapping,

헤메다 쓰러져 (hae-mae-da ssu-ro-jo)

he flippled the first two syllable of each 3 syllable word:

쓰러다 헤메져 (ssu-ro-da hae-mae-jo)

The translation in the screencapture above has it right. Instead of saying Falls and Wanders, he ended up saying, Walls -and-Fanders (though not in exact transliteration).

Ateez, being what they are, will torture him forever about this and have. The below clip includes the raw footage of Mingi making the mistake on stage, and everyone reacting.

Yunho and HJ imitate him on that Idol Radio episode, roasting him to death. Then Mingi is shown saying that because he's just constantly had this error 쓰러다 헤메져 repeated at him, he now gets actively confused when he gets to that line in the song. And he's made more than one Walls-and-Fanders error about this particular line. He's rapped 쎄메다 쓰러져. He says he never realized it would become just an issue (an everlasting meme). Wooyoung says that even though HongJoong is really exceptional at holding on to laughter on stage, when the Walls-and-Fanders bit hapened, he lost it completely. Hongjoong says that it took about two more phrases for the reality of what had happened to sink in, and then it got too funny to keep a pokerface. Mingi then relates that HongJoong gave him an extremely understanding, consoling nod during the song performance. I presume that made it even worse. The live footage shows San being like (sadthoughtsSadThoughtsSADTHOUGHTS) and Wooyoung turning entirely away (Can't look at him) etc. The clip ends with Seonghwa wondering, Why does this sort of thing only happen to Mingi?

K-Atiny, being what we are, also torture him forever about this, and have.

During day 1 of the Seoul concert in March 2025, Wooyoung went out into the audience to find this poster with the Walls-and-Fanders line, and brings it to Mingi, who immediately acts (or is?) provoked, and wants to go 'find' the Atiny.' San says, Don't be scary! and blocks his way. Mingi keeps being like, I want to see her face!! Who is it??The back of the posterboard says, "Seduce Me" as a sort of apology, but Mingi is like, "That second message might not even be for me. They just wanted to mock me!" to which Yunho gives him a little smack and says, "Why are you saying that?" as in, Of course both messages are for you. The 'internal booklet' is addressed to everyone else, though - wishing Yunho a happy birthday, making Topaz touch faces, asking HJ if he wants to be a genius or an angel (he chooses angel). When he sees what's inside, Mingi screams, See, it's not for meee! I was there for this concert, so what happened after this bit was that Mingi was the one to bring that fan poster back to the Atiny, and told her, "You're dressed so pretty today. I am going to remember your face!" and he gave her hearts and blew kisses and it was very very charming.

OH and by the way, it wasn't Yeosang who brought up this funny-but-never-allowed-to-heal point. It was Yunho. That's who Mingi is looking at like this:

Yunho knows where to strike, and is also the only one who would survive doing such a thing to Mingi.

Before this brings the wrath of the Mingi Protectoresses clogging up my inbox again, I will say that this entire content is an example of how extremely rough Ateez play with each other nonstop. They all know exactly what will aggravate the others. At least, San knows it for Yunho and Yeosang: Yunho has to win at everything, especially gaming, so the thing that's said to hurt him is, I could beat you at a video game and he's immediately not amused. Yeosang very much wants to be a doberman, so San is like, Everyone thinks you're a Maltese but you're the only one who insists you're a doberman. Yeosang KO'ed. Mingi makes it slightly worse for himself by boasting, I don't get hurt by provocations! And actually, what San says first says more about San than Mingi - "Your actual gift is rapping, but you keep trying to sing!" San's gift is singing, and he can't rap, see, so I think this is San's feeling a tiny bit threatened coming out. And Mingi was right insofar as this statement doesn't have any effect on him whatsoever. He's a vocalist of a different type than San, but he's right to be confident in his abilities. And that's when Yunho comes in with the one major error of Mingi's performance life, stopping him in his tracks.

[a-vibing-potato]

Absolutely love this imagery, and the Philippines has some of my favorite folklore of all time, but I'm going to lovingly go off on a tangent about something that happened to me that barely relates lmao. (I am going through my drafts which was starting to grow a collection tonight, so this thought is also from like at least a month or two ago now but I made a note to do this then so I guess here I am).

One day, I was at work, and I was working the drive thru. Typical for me, everything's pretty normal and chill.

I hand the guy in the car the tablet we use for him to sign his name so he can pick up his stuff, and I'm patiently waiting for him because it takes a minute for people to sign their names. Totally fine, I just busy myself by looking around, and looking past him and his car where the road goes right down the middle of town and by my work and everything.

And wouldn't you know it, as I'm watching all the cars go by, I see... well, it wasn't the exact thing and I'm not good with cars, but something really similar to a 1967 Chevy Impala. I think it had to be a Chevy Impala, just maybe not the '67, because if I remember right (which I probably don't because this happened to me like two months ago lol) it looked a little... shorter? Squatter? Wider? I don't know how to describe it, and I was looking from a distance and was keeping one eye on the customer, waiting for him to finish up, but it just looked different. BUT it was black, and it looked close enough that I'm dead sure it was an Impala, even as a teenage girl who knows jack about cars.

So yeah, Sam and Dean were in my neighborhood and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a worrisome thought or two cross my mind.

I'mma be real with ya'll. If I ever see a 67 Chevy Impala around, I'm severely cooked. I would leave. You will never see me again

I live in the Philippines, I'm not ready to find out what fucked up mythical beast the Winchesters are out to get here and confirm are real

Like, most mythological creatures here can be placated by just turning your shirt inside out, or just saying "Tabi Tabi po!" (just passing through) when you go somewhere unfamiliar. Sam I feel like would be nice about it, but Dean is gonna get his ass handed to him by HorseMan (Tikbalang) and SmokeGiant (Kapre) for saying fuck you to a tree. Man would end up cursed with warts the second those boots hit the ground

Then there's the fucking ghosts

Yeah, how the fuck are they gonna burn a body incased in cament? Good fucking luck trying to subtly desecrate the grave yards here.

Have fun finding a mananangal's (Filipino Vampire) lower half and not traumatizing someone's husband

Castiel alone would bring an entire city of mothers to their knees to be blessed by him if he showed up full angel. Man would never leave the church, ever

[nightghoul381]

S-Tier Mission: Sadistic & Sweet

Ellis Twilight ~ Chapter 1

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Villains. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Premium End | Epilogue

Ellis always spoiled me.

Like marshmallows in hot chocolate, my body and mind would melt away—

Before I knew it, like the bitterness of chocolate, the thorns had become a part of me.

Kate: “Ellis, I’m glad your wound has healed nicely.”

Roger had just confirmed the diagnosis that he was fine after suffering injuries during a recent mission.

Ellis: “Yeah. The injury wasn’t serious, but I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Kate: “No don't be, I’m very glad that you weren’t seriously injured, Ellis.”

(…Even though I said that.)

If I was being honest, I didn’t think I’d ever get used to witnessing the bloody scenes on missions.

Ellis made sure that I didn’t get involved in situations where someone got hurt.

(But as Crown’s Fairytale Keeper, I can’t just be shielded like that…)

Kate: “…I need to be more responsible.”

Ellis: “Huh?”

(Oh, I said that out loud.)

Kate: “If I get stronger, maybe I can protect you too, Ellis.”

Kate: “I want to improve more, so I figure I have to work harder.”

Ellis: “Kate, I think you’re still doing your best…”

Ellis: “If that’s what you want to do, I’ll support you.”

As we walked, his large hand gently embraced mine.

I was always spoiled by this kind of warmth and kindness.

Ellis: “If there’s anything I can do for you, would you please tell me?”

--

Victor: “Well then, here it comes—The mission you’ve all been waiting for!”

Victor: “I’m calling it an ‘S-class mission’! Wow, that’s exciting!”

Kate: “S-class… is it really that difficult?”

Victor: “Nice to hear from you, Miss Kate.”

Victor: “The ‘S’ stands for… ‘Sexy’ and ‘Sweet’, so it’s the perfect mission for you!”

Harrison: “…How dare you say something so embarrassing.”

Ellis: “You think? I agree with him.”

Kate: “!?”

Victor: “Really? I knew Ellis would understand!”

Victor: “There have been a lot of kidnappings and murders targeting women recently.”

Harrison: “It seems the police have already determined that the series of crimes were committed by the same perpetrator.”

Harrison: “But it also seems that powerful people with connections to higher-ups are involved in the incidents, and the details are being covered up internally.”

Harrison: “So, instead of the police who aren’t taking action, we at Crown will carry out the purge.”

(They want me for such an important mission?)

Kate: “Um, what exactly is the plan?”

Victor: “Yes, yes, of course you’re curious!”

Victor: “First, I want to get more information about the mastermind behind these incidents.”

Victor: “So we must make contact with the key man—Oliver Robbins.”

Harrison: “All the women involved in the incidents have been wooed by him.”

Victor: “So, with your charm—”

Victor: “Can you get any clues from the guy?”

Ellis: “…!”

Kate: “I’m to get clues…”

(Can I get close to my opponent… without them realizing my plans?)

Ellis: “…”

Noticing Ellis’ gaze, I remembered our previous conversation.

--Flashback—

Ellis: “Kate, I think you’re still doing your best…”

Ellis: “If that’s what you want to do, I’ll support you.”

--End Flashback—

(This time, I’m not only expected to act as a fairytale keeper, but also as a member of the mission’s team.)

(This might be my chance.)

Kate: “Okay. I’ll do my best!”

Ellis: “I’ll support you. That’s okay, right Victor?”

Victor: “Oh, of course, that was intended. And Roger too.”

Roger: “Me?”

Victor: “Roger, you’re willing to use your enhanced hearing ability to keep watch of their surroundings, right?”

Roger: “Well, I guess that can’t be helped. But in return, I expect a lot of money.”

Kate: “I look forward to working with you, Roger and Ellis.”

Victor: “Kate, once you complete the mission successfully, I’ll have to give you a special reward. This is an S-rank mission after all.”

Victor: “To be honest, I’d like to accompany you and help you out as well, but…”

Roger: “Don’t be greedy, Victor. You have plenty of work to do, Mr. Queen’s Aide.”

Roger: “Besides, isn’t there someone more qualified to protect and evaluate Kate?”

Victor: “Yes, you’re right. Ellis, could you do me a favor?”

Ellis: “So you’re saying I’ll be protecting Kate… what do you mean by evaluating?”

Victor: “’Sweet’ or ‘Severe’…”

Victor: “I look forward to hearing about it.”

Leaving the dining hall, I exchanged glances with Ellis.

Kate: “…I never thought I’d be evaluated by you, Ellis.”

Ellis: “Yeah. But I was already going to support your efforts.”

Ellis: “I want to be the closest person to watch over you, so this is good.”

Ellis: “To be honest, I feel like I’ll be giving you perfect scores for trying your best on your mission.”

Kate: “N-No, Ellis. You’re not allowed to pamper me like that just because you’re my boyfriend.”

Ellis: “…Really? Why not?”

I felt like I was being drawn into his twilight-colored eyes that were staring intently at me, but I held myself back.

Kate: “I-I appreciate your kind thoughts, but this is also a chance for me to train myself, so you have to be strict with me.”

Ellis: “Okay, I get it. But then can I help you try to train yourself?”

Kate: “?”

Ellis: “If you perform well, I’ll give you a sweet reward.”

Kate: “…Well, what if I don’t do well?”

Ellis: “If that happens… I guess I’ll have to punish you.”

Kate: “What?”

I was startled by Ellis’ mischievous smile.

Ellis: “Let’s do our best, Kate.”

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Premium End | Epilogue

[starkdirewolflove]

Went to see Thunderbolts* today and it was a great movie. Lots of laughs as well as action and some heavy emotional stuff.

Yelena was definitely the main character in this ensemble cast and she lead it well. The confrontation where the four antiheroes each try to kill each other was entertaining and a cool fight scene. That's also where we first meet Bob ("who's pyjama boy?" my dad asking the important questions lol).

The name for the Thunderbolts actually comes from Yelena's childhood girls soccer team, they never won a game but they had fun.

Alexei is such a dad, he's by turns embarrassing and supportive. He is ride or die for Yelena and excited to be back in the game and join a hero team with his daughter and her new friends.

Walker is back and his life has turned into more of a disaster after the events of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, he's still so full of himself and thinks he's so superior to everyone around him but I think he mellows out a bit by the end of the movie and learns to work more equally with everyone.

The Ghost was really good, don't remember seeing her since Antman and The Wasp. I think she took a real shine to Yelena, maybe a new bestie for the black widow. Ava was a really good fighter and helped save the team a good few times.

Congressman Barnes has no head for politics, at the first sign of trouble Bucky is armed up and on his motorbike like the terminator. He sort of becomes leader/co leader of the team with Yelena. They both have a dark past but they want to be better and do some good in the world now that Steve and Nat aren't here anymore.

Bob is sort of the everyman character, an ordinary person thrust into the crazy superhero world but woefully unprepared to deal with it. The way they show his struggles with mental health, addiction and a dysfunctional childhood makes him more sympathetic and relatable than most characters would be. Also his moments with Yelena were so sweet, like she wants to protect him from being used as a weapon the way no one did for her when she was a child.

Valentina gets her time to shine as a villainous, diva after all her cameo appearances in the MCU shows and movies. I think they'll keep her around for a while as an antagonist to the heroes since she's in the CIA (I wonder if she's had dealings with Sharon Carter aka the Power Broker). She's not an outright villain but she's not a good guy either, Valentina has the potential to be a valuable ally in the future.

The final post credit scene included a time jump, a fractured friendship with Bucky and Sam and a tie in to an upcoming MCU film which is probably gonna lead up to Doomsday.

[lies-unfurl]

On Thunderbolts*

I honestly don't know how to rate this. I feel like if I was a casual fan, it would be a solid 8/10, but obviously I'm not that. It was a tight story that cohered well and had some strong character dynamics. It also had issues, particularly with regards to how it related to the larger MCU, that I have a lot of thoughts on.

What I liked:

Yelena. Just in general.

More specifically, the way Yelena's depression was portrayed resonated with me a lot, mostly in ways that I don't feel like discussing in a movie review on tumblr dot com.

I honestly don't know how anyone could watch this and come away thinking John did nothing wrong, lol. Props to Wyatt Russell for playing him so unlikable.

I generally enjoyed the character dynamics. The scene in the back of the truck where Yelena and Ava were making fun of John's guns worked really well.

Overall, besides literally the last minute before the credits, the story felt like it was put together well. The pacing worked and events flowed in a way that made sense.

I liked Val as a villain, though I wish we'd get more of her motivations.

The scenes inside the Void were really cool. The second one with Yelena and her younger self was one of my favorites in the whole movie.

I obviously want Bucky to survive Doomsday, but if he goes out, at least he's got a banging costume and hairstyle for it.

What I want to be a hater about:

I have mixed feelings on Bucky's role in this. I think it makes sense for him to be in a more stable place than the rest of the group. My overall issue is that we're given no info whatsoever on how he went from TFATWS to where he is now. With Yelena, I can easily see how her character moves from Hawkeye, where we saw her last, to now. Ava, idk, sure, it's not explained how she ended up working for Val, but I can see how Val would take advantage of someone who has her abilities and probably not a lot of other job prospects. But Bucky? There's just nothing to foreshadow him going into politics in TFATWS. If the end of TFATWS sets up anything, it's him and Sam working together in the future. So how did we get here? Like, I do genuinely think it's kind of funny that the MCU didn't even try to explain things, but it's also bad writing. And yeah, I do wish we'd gotten more of Bucky. idk. It's an ensemble film, but they could have inserted a Void sequence for him without fucking up the flow too bad. Also, he just looks so unhappy for most of the movie, and I want to know why! Just the circumstances? The fact that he really hates politics? SebStan not enjoying himself? idk.

The pacing worked; the timeline didn't. How the fuck did Alexei get from NYC to Utah overnight in that limo. (Bucky maybe flew himself and his motorcycle in, but Alexei obviously didn't.)

I don't like Alexei in general. I feel like the movie missed a chance to reckon with his responsibility for what the Widows went through by just treating him as either comic relief or a supportive father for Yelena.

It was also a little weird that no one mentioned Melina?

I'm ambivalent about Taskmaster's death. I'm not that mad about it, but part of me feels like it was done mainly to appease the fanboys angry about her not being Tony Masters.

Bob was fine? idk, I didn't feel too strongly about him one way or another. I see some people in the tags blorbofying him, which isn't surprising, but... I just keep thinking about how he was supposed to be played by Steven Yeun. And I know Sentry was white in the comics, but sorry, it's a little weird to me that they replaced an Asian-American actor with a white guy. Val's whole thing with dyeing his hair blond would've hit much differently.

We should've gotten a Sam mention before the post-credits scene. It makes no sense for Val to say there are no superheroes around when Sam has been Captain America for years at this point, and he's been working for the government! When you pair that line with the implications of the hair dye, with apparently no one remembering that there are existing heroes who work for the government, it's... telling. And that's something that could've been brought to the forefront more by just having someone remember that Sam Wilson is Captain America.

I already wrote my thoughts on the post-credit scene, and they haven't really changed upon seeing the movie. That said, I do feel like the ending undermines the movie somewhat by falling into the same old trap where every MCU movie is an advertisement for the next movie. It just like... doesn't work? for Yelena to have the "We own you" line, and then the end credits and the PCS all confirm that actually, no one respects the New Avengers, so like... what's the point of them working with/for Val. And this will probably get expanded on somewhat in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars, but the casts for those movies are so bloated, I'm not sure how much consideration that element will get.

So, yeah. I don't know. I think it was a good movie on a technical level, but as a (reluctant) MCU fan, I don't know how much I enjoyed it. I feel like I can't form a full opinion because it ultimately doesn't feel like a movie that stands on its own; it's going to depend on how upcoming movies contextualize it.

[mekanikaltrifle]

So I'm actually kind of curious because I was always under the assumption that calking a Scottish person English or British wasn't right, but then ive had Scottish people downright argue with me that they are, in fact, one or the other because they're part of england or part of the British isles. I assume the answer is just kind of "there is no single correct answer" but I'm really curious about your thoughts on this specifically.

So, this is gonna get wordy. Be warned!

I would like to start off saying that any Scot telling you to call them English is probably English, rather than Scottish.

Otherwise, being British or Scottish specifically and preferring either name is very often a political statement, more notably after the 2014 independence referendum. People in Scotland who want to be called British are much more likely to be Unionists, or sympathetic to the union status quo-- might even be Conservative! Unionists are known in Scotland for being more Conservative than their anti Unionist counterparts. I'm not a unionist so I won't be explaining why they like the union.

Meanwhile, someone who places emphasis on being Scottish before British is more likely to be anti-Union, having voted to leave the UK in 2014. This isn't a definitive one or the other answer, because like you said there isn't necessarily a single correct answer. That said, many people in Scotland are more left leaning than our English counterparts, and politically many of us place some weight to that. On top of that, the Acts of Union never annexed us the way Wales was, instead merging the governance of the two sovereign kingdoms (Scotland, and England/Wales), and in doing so there were some agreements in these Acts that we would be an 'equal nation' of sorts. This... hasn't always been the case in the UK, and a lot of different people who care about that have their own nitpick with the inequality of the United Kingdom as it relates to living here. There's a fucktonne of reading to do on that, I assure you.

Also, many people know how atrocious the British Empire was, over here, and don't want anything to do with it as far as we can manage. Hating the existence of the remnants of empire is a pretty valid reason to not want to be 'British', imo.

Also, I want to reiterate that no part of Scotland is in England, we are not a region of England. A Scot is only English if he's also, well, English. This is important to remember, because it's important to people. Plus, England spent centuries trying to invade and conquer us, so yknow. They did some pretty awful things to historical Scots in doing so, including banning our instruments and languages to the point that there's an entire historical genre of Scottish music performed a capella, because all we could use was our voices.

All this and more is why someone in Scotland probably won't take kindly to being called English by a stranger. Plus, honestly, it's just a bit ignorant and may just come off offensive. I doubt a French man would enjoy being called German, you know?

In general, it's important to listen to what the person you're talking to would rather be called, cause isn't that the same for everything? We've got preferred names, pronouns, titles, roles; some places like here we've also got preferred terms for our identity within our countries. This also isn't uncommon in certain regions of Europe at all, so I've a feeling this may resonate more with people from Catalonia or the Tyrol, so on and so forth.

Anyway it's 4 am so I'll cut the ramble short, but I hope that helps you! If someone's Scottish online I would caution against calling them English in general, especially given American users having sometimes just... really unpleasant jokes and attitudes towards people in the UK. So hope that's helpful to you and take care of yourselves, etc. Have a lovely day or night or whatever solar configuration you've got.

[irithiadourden]

Please tell us more about your Mpreg Azris HC 😏

Oh Anon...ok, ok.

Firstly, I don't really see it as an Alpha, Beta, Omega situation per se, my canon is more that the High Lords (and some other fairly powerful male High Fae) can get pregnant as a magic related thing. Magic adjusts their bodies accordingly, not the part I really pay the most attention to.

NOW, since same sex couples are generally not that strange, but also since there has not been an openly gay High Lord for many years (except for Thessan), there is not that much information about it, it is not a knowledge that is commonly talked about.

So imagine Eris' surprise when his body suddenly began to change. At first he attributed it to his new life as a mated male, more settled, less stress, gaining weight is normal. Also, Azriel has a terrible sweet tooth, so he probably picked it up. The morning sickness was strange, but it must have something to do with the fact that he can't stop eating spiced caramel apple tart, right?

What was strange was the way his favourite smokehound (Nebula) started following him around like she did when she was a puppy. And with an unfriendly attitude towards anyone who tried to get too close. She even growled at Azriel (and Nebula LOVES Azriel).

Again, he didn't think it was possible, so they were still isolated incidents. Until his mother visits him at the Forest House for tea and a chat. As the food is brought in, Eris mentions that he's been eating spiced caramel tart non stop for two months and Narine (former LoA now Lady of Day) starts to connect the dots. It's his mother, she knows him like the back of her hand, and of course Eris is different, his stomach is barely round, his complexion looks more radiant than usual and... he has the same craving she had for her seven children.

Of course, she doesn't want to frighten him without being absolutely sure, so she suggests they visit Thessan (to congratulate him after his mating ceremony). While they are there, Narine takes the opportunity to look for some books of Dawn's healers with information on the subject, which is not much, but at least it is more than what can be found in other courts. Thessan, knowing that such a possibility exists, says nothing, but makes sure that all books with relevant data are available to her without any problem (Thessan is kind and considerate, no one can tell me otherwise).

So when they return to Autumn, Eris is totally weirded out when his mother takes him to his room and casts a shield so no one can hear them, before she starts asking him the strangest questions.

"Eris… my son, do you remember anything from when I was pregnant with your brothers?"

Again he doesn't understand anything, but he begins to tell her what he does remember.

"And Eudora used to cook all the time…"

"Spiced caramel apple tart, Eris."

At that moment, his brain goes into a state of shock. He finally understood what his mother had been trying to tell him. Eris, who is a very cultured male, tries to recall if he ever read anything about it, trying to get his thoughts in order. He's very excited and very scared, but he also can't believe it.

After that, a few days go by in which he avoids Azriel, wanting to be sure before telling him anything. He reads all the books Narine left him, realises that all the symptoms are there, and goes to see his personal healer, the same one who has known him since he was a fireling with skinned knees. She confirms that he is indeed pregnant, which is rare but wonderful, and gives him some tips for dealing with morning sickness and other possible discomforts.

Now comes the part that gets him most agitated: talking to Azriel. He's his mate, so he knows something's wrong with Eris, but he doesn't know what, and when Eris makes him sit down on the bed and starts pacing the room, basically rambling and talking about a bunch of things that don't make sense, he grabs him by the waist and pulls him close so he'll stand still and look at him.

"Fireheart, what's wrong?"

Eris doesn't know how to say it, so he pulls him closer until Azriel's head is resting against his abdomen. Azriel lets him and stands there for a moment, not knowing what the gesture means, until he becomes very, very still and hugs him. His eyes are wide open.

There is a heartbeat. A heartbeat that is not Eris's. It's softer, so easy to miss if you don't know it's there, but now it's as clear as day.

Everything fits together for him too. And now that he has him so close and hears this, this wonderful little impossibility, he also notices the slight change in his scent: something sweet and fresh, like the fruit trees of autumn, very subtle, but definitely not there before.

"How?"

Eris explains what she knows, and they are both amazed and very happy. Over time, Azriel becomes so overprotective that Eris sometimes wants to kill him, but when night comes and Azriel falls asleep hugging his hip so he can hear his daughter (yes, their first child is a girl), he can't stay angry.

They're so scared it's funny, but they're also both sure of one thing: their daughter will know she's loved from the moment she comes into the world, even before, because they remind her every day by talking to Eris' growing belly. The past is definitely something that weighs on them, but they will never let it get the better of them, in fact, they seem to be redoubling their efforts to be good parents.

Velta is the spitting image of Azriel, but with the eyes of Eris, and he is a little outraged, but at the same time he knows that this girl will be his weakness forever. Nothing is impossible if his daughter asks for it.

The thing is that magic is something unpredictable, and the texts say that this kind of pregnancy is something strange, it is spoken of as a unique event, only mentioning the case of a former Lord of Spring who had two children with his male mate. So the second time (when Velta is still small) it is a surprise, but highly celebrated.

The third time (when Velta and Astraia are already six years old) was not really expected. Fintan looks so much like Eris that when he turned ten and they made a portrait of him to put next to the rest of the family, everyone could have said it was Eris as a child and not his son.

Eris remembers perfectly the night Ignatius was conceived, at the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of his mating ceremony. The date is a perfect match, and Lucien and Cassian remember it for several years, as they were the ones who found them on the balcony of the Forest House. Fortunately, all they saw was Azriel's back and his wings covering Eris.

The twins, on the other hand, arrived when they truly believed it would never happen again, about fifty years after they had accepted the bond. Apparently, the Vanserra's were incredibly fertile. Sorin and Ilkay were proof of that.

The time Eris really got angry, and threatened to cut off a part of Azriel's body he actually liked very much, was only three years later. Seven. With Elaia they were now the parents of seven, and he couldn't believe it. And even though he was complaining about having to deal with the symptoms again and a mate who barely let him go to the bathroom by himself, he was as happy as he'd ever been in his life.

So...here's my hc on Azris mpreg. Probably corny beyond your expectations, but...I can make another post if you want the juicier details.

Also let me know if you want to know more about Vesta, Astraia, Fintan, Ignatius, Sorin, Ilkay and Elaia. They are adorable, although Uncle Lucien says he dreads every time he has to look after them. Aunt Nesta is the one who spoils them the most, but no one has proof.

Edit:

Part 2 (some saucy details)

[bunniebubbleswrites]

KATE IS IN THE NEW EPISODE. I REPEAT KATE LETHBRIDGE STEWART IS IN THE NEW EPISODE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL PEOPLE!

Spoliers below the cut :) Also please forgive any spelling errors and inconsistencies it's like 3am when I'm writing this, also this might just be me rambling.

Not super happy that it seems that they're deciding to go with her being in a romantic relation ship with Colonel Ibrahim, but I guess I'll just have to deal.

Anyways this episode was fucking crazy. I have so many thoughts but no words.

To start, I love the fact that Ruby is just no okay after her time with the doctor. All the other companions seems to be doing just fine from what I've seen.

It's honestly kind of refreshing to see that not all of the doctors companions seems to walk away seemingly okay.

Conrad is such a well written bad-guy- if that's what you want to call him- I really did hate him through out the episode and I think that just goes to show how well Jonah Hauer - King portrayed him.

Corand decives, not only us as the watcher but Ruby as well. He betrays her. It makes sense that at the end of the episode that he goes after Conrad. Conrand hurt his friend, he hurt Ruby.

Anyways time to talk about Kate!

Jemma was amazing in this episode, as she usually is.

Her outfit at the begining of the episode was just -chef's kiss,- perfect. I didn't know I needed to see her in a turtle neck until I saw it. Thank you to the people who do wardrobe.

And we know that Kate dose not fuck around. So she took that stunt as an actually threat, which isn't suprising.

Conrad starts to make false statments about UNIT and of course she gets mad. It's not only her life's work but her fathers.

Also UNIT being under fire. It always shocks me when people don't remember certain things. And maybe i've missed this but how do people not remember the giggle? Can some explain that to me, because with how many times I'v watched that speical alone (it's my favorite one so far) that's never been explained. I don't think it was explained in any of the later episodes.

Anyways-

Later on in the episode when Conrad infultrates the UNIT building with a gun. Kate goes full mom mode. Which has to be one of my favorite scenes from the episode.

Conrad points the gun at Ruby and she steps in front of her, to keep her safe. He also insulted the fucking brigadier. Thats what I think sent Kate over the edge. Also after the Shreek is back in it's containment and everyone has been taking to the hospital. Kate talks to Ruby and comforts her. Which was a really sweet moment.

I love the comment that Shirely makes about Ruby collecting moms.

She fully was going to let Conrad get attacked to prove a point. It was kind of off putting, but I loved it. It showed us a side of Kate that we don't really ever see. She was ready to prove to the world that everything UNIT did/does is imporant to their protection.

And to be honest I would've just let the Shreek take Conrad. I think that's what Kate was going to but Ruby stopped it.

The Doctor is so much better than me because I would have given Conrad to the Shreek, but that's what makes the doctor, The Doctor.

I think I've voice all my thoughts but I'm sure I'll have more.

[eponadolls]

To be fair, I could be wrong on how many people work for Fairyland! I think the bulk of the employees are in the manufacturing side, where there is very few that are behind the sculpting, painting, photography, and makeup side of things - I remember hearing Fairyland being small and around 30-40 people, but I honestly don't remember exactly where I heard that. So I could be totally wrong! It's also possible the numbers might have changed year to year, too. I tried poking around on their website and I couldn't really find anything about their size but it's possible it could have been something mentioned in their old website. The SatoriaJ-Iplehouse connection wouldn't surprise me, either! I know Raccoon Doll was founded by Sang Yoon Choi, who was a former sculptor for Iplehouse too, though! I wouldn't be surprised if Creature Doll was in a similar boat - their aesthetics remind me a lot of Iplehouse and company - but sadly Creature Doll went defunct :( Their dolls came out just a little bit before mature fashion minis got popular and I think "Creature Doll" just translated out to sound really vague and, as a result, didn't get good traction because so many other things could come up. I do find it interesting how interconnected so many of the companies are, though!

Though... not related to their size, but I do know that when the Korean companies and their Chinese dealers were working together in 2018, that one of the companies - I think it was Cocoriang? - had it figured that there was millions of dollars made off of Fairyland's stolen products alone. That was in 2018... After that, we had a lot of things, including the pandemic and Cocoriang - who I believe was leading a lot of the lawsuit - was split into two entities (they were a married couple and the wife, who was the sculptor, founded Kumukuku after their divorce). I have not heard anything about the case sense. :(

I wish instagram kept their tags for a multitude of reasons, but especially since a lot of the posts were made with #downwithluoligui which are not easily viewable/searchable anymore.

Counterfeit Goods Hurt All BJD Artists

I can't tell and demand what anyone else spreads their money on, but if there is anything I hate the most, it's blatant falsehoods being paraded around as fact. I won't name names since I'm not interested in brigading since spamming someone is never going to productively change someone's mind, but as a reminder: recasts (counterfeit ball jointed dolls) hurt all artists. To pretend that it's OK to participate in the theft and exploitations of BJD artists because "the companies [they work for] exploit the artists because they don't get royalties and are only given a one off payment" is wildly inaccurate for the majority (if not all) BJD companies. The BJD hobby is a global hobby and how one company may operate from another may vary wildly from company to company, country to country, as local laws may dictate artist's rights to their work in specific ways as well as specific employment contracts. By no means is this a end-all, be-all, but most BJD artists are the company. Sometimes the company is solely the BJD artist and whomever they may hire to help with doll production. Sometimes the artist, like Bimong, participates in casting and cleaning up the dolls. Other times they might not have those skills and may need to hire fellow employees or commission another BJD company to do the casting for them - many artists use Harucasting, Resinsoul, Island Doll, Fdoll, and so on for their casting services, for example.

Sometimes the artist also haves on apprentices - have you ever noticed that Supiadoll and Limhwa's works look similar to Bimong? They studied under him. I am unsure if Limhwa casts their own dolls, but I know Supiadoll (as of the last few years) uses Withdoll to cast their dolls (with at least one collaboration doll between the two of them, Xion). The BJD hobby is small and many companies have artists who will leave and start their own company, in time - Cerberus Project (Fairyland) used to work under Luts, Resinsoul and Bobobie are sister-companies, Xagadoll and Asleep Eidolon are sister-companies, Dollits (J Baek) used to work for Doll in Mind, went independent, and for a time Dollits worked with Darak-i under the brand "Macaron Doll" and shared a workspace... Would it even surprise you to hear that the most infamous recaster, who had probably done the most harm in this hobby, used to work as an employee under Xagadoll before he was found to be stealing from them and subsequently fired? The BJD world is small and through a cruel twist of irony, the only properly "large" BJD company probably IS that recaster specifically: Luo. (Quenifs, Shuga Fairy, and whatever other monikers he decides to use for himself)

Needless to say, the average BJD operation is probably 1-4 people. But if the artist isn't the owner of the company, sometimes they are able to take their sculpts with them - whether it's because they still retain ownership or they are able to buy the rights to their dolls, I cannot say with certainty without asking them myself, but when Cerberus Project left Luts to make Fairyland, they also took several of their sculpts with them, too - that's why Luts can't make a Delf Soony anymore, even though it was originally produced under the Luts name. J Baek was a sculptor for Doll in Mind, and when he left them to create Dollits, he took several of his sculpts with him, too - SooHee comes to mind, but she wasn't the only doll.

Some BJD companies are "bigger," Fairyland floats around 40 people all-in-all and Volks - of legitimate companies - ...may be the biggest company, when taking account the Dollfie and Doll Dream branches? I am not sure if we've ever gotten a quote of how many employees Volks employs in that section of their company.

Again, I cannot say what another person can and cannot do with their money. However, if you're pro-recast, you can defend recasts all you want, but you don't need to spout inaccuracies as fact. It's much more respectable to just say you want a cheaper doll, no matter the "actual cost" to the hobby as a whole.

Funding recasts just gives recast companies the funds to steal even more dolls, including from those little single-artist teams like Lillycat, even though sometimes those recasts might not even be particularly profitable for the recasters. (Even Hujoo Freya was stolen, and she a $40 plastic bjd that was widely available at the time!)

It's OK if you think a doll is overpriced and "not worth" the value the company/artist has set for their work, but that doesn't mean artists deserve to have their work stolen. These are small companies, not massive cooperation that can easily weather theft, counterfeit products hurt all legitimate artists. It's just a matter of when. No one needs a doll but BJDs have become more and more accessible as the years have gone by, and will probably continue down this path as STL sharing and printers become better and better. Sometimes we cannot help but support things that perpetrate harm due to needs demanded in our society, but no one needs a doll, and I certainly wouldn't want to hurt someone (or multiple people) because I wanted a doll and damn the consequences to anyone else about me getting the "best deal" I could get (aka: paying the least amount of money possible). To wrap this discussion up... please remember, if you purchased recasts in the past, it's never to late to stop and start purchasing legit dolls, secondhand or directly. How someone "shifts" their collection from recast or legit is an entirely personal choice: personally, I think it's more than OK to keep your recasts and keep them out of the secondhand market and enjoy them as they are, as long as you don't pass them off as legits, and stop supporting the primary and secondhand recast market.

[starlingfawn]

as i watched you return from the rising water's edge

[remcadll]

Wow crazy how it’s been two months since mha ended. what the hell was that btw

[wewontbesleeping]

"I've never wanted to make an album full of happy songs. I don't think that's ever going to happen."

[startswith0]

Shinichi : these are a few of my favourite things!

Football/soccer!

Detective mystery novels!

Singing! Even tho he's tone-deaf

And, Ran Mouri! 🌸🌸