#especially now that the bugs have shown up

[mo-ok]

why was sun vulcan so easy to watch but i need 5 business days between each episode of go busters

[goldkirk]

I DON'T HAVE TO LIE ANYMORE!

[nakama-narratives]

Headcanon: cuddling

Characters: Mihawk, Crocodile

A.N: My second post... I'm starting to like it ^-^ even if reader insert is still unfamiliar to me ^-^". If you have any suggestions or wishes, please write to me :)

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Mihawk 🗡

- Mihawk sees cuddling and physical closeness in general as useless and pathetic, a waste of time. He sleeps alone and doesn't need anyone. At least that's how he saw it until you came into his life. At first, he gave in to your desires for physical closeness just to do you a favor (and to get you to stop bugging him), but after he got used to himself and your closeness, he started to enjoy it. However, no matter how much he likes it, he would never admit it.

- Just like Benn Beckman, Mihawk doesn't like public affection and you know it. But if you snuggle up to him, because you're in a difficult emotional situation or just need his closeness, he'll let you cuddle him - but don't expect him to like it.

- In the evening, when you two are alone in his room at the Cross Guild headquarters on Karai Bari Island, the usually stoic Mihawk seeks your closeness.

As he does every evening, Mihawk sits down on the cozy two-seater sofa, crosses his legs, rests one arm on the back of the sofa and looks expectantly at you. And as you do every evening, you smile at the non-verbal invitation and sit down next to him. Mihawk immediately puts his arm around you and pulls you closer to him. You rest your head against Mihawk's chest and Mihawk begins to gently stroke your head and through your hair.

Crocodile 🪝

- Crocodile is always busy and has little time for you. When he does have some time to spare, he doesn't waste it on useless cuddling, as he would call it. In his opinion, cuddling makes you weak, and weakness is something he can't stand.

- In public, however, things are different. Crocodile loves to show off, and he especially loves to show you off. He likes to have you by his side.

During conversations, he tends to grab you at some point and sit you on his lap. He always has one arm around you, possessive and proud.

At first it was strange for you to be shown off like this, but now you've gotten used to it and don't mind it anymore. Even if Crocodile likes to show off, you are with him and can cuddle with him like you want.

[soshirohoshinasimp]

I dare you to make emotionaless Freader X Hoshina Soshiro 😎😎

The sun: Soshiro Hoshina

AHH! Thank you for this request, I LOVE this trope so much. I have been waiting to do this one, because I wasn’t sure have to start it (also procrastinating) 

Summary: Emotionless Female Reader and Sunshine Soshiro Hoshina. 

Wc: 600

The sun, also known as Soshiro Hoshina. 

Soshiro Hoshina was a burst of sunshine in a world that often felt cold to you. Loud, cheerful, and affectionate, he seemed determined to break your ice facade by showering you with affection, even though you weren't officially dating... yet.

"(Name)-chan! (Name)-chan, Hii!" Soshiro would greet you with a grin, always appearing with some surprise in hand—a gesture of his overflowing affection. Since you became a platoon leader in the third division a few months back, he had latched onto you like glue. Despite your stoic demeanor, you didn't mind his company.

What first drew him to you was your assertiveness, the way you commanded respect while occasionally letting your sharp tongue loose on the battlefield. You saluted him when he approached, your face set in its usual unreadable expression.

"Is something the matter, sir?" you asked, a hint of curiosity softening your tone.

"Nothing~ Just got ya something!" He handed over a container of cinnamon rolls with a shy flush creeping up his cheeks. "You said you liked sweets," he added, his gaze fixed on you.

You accepted the gift with a nod and a polite thank you. "I'm surprised you paid attention. Thank you, sir."

This kind of thing happened often—him surprising you with hugs from behind (a hug bug, as you called him), holding your hand, or pinching your cheeks (especially if your face is chubby) . He'd boop your nose affectionately or bring you small gifts, all while you rarely reciprocated.

The one time you did, it left him rivaling a ripe tomato. (Currently he is more used to your touch) It was late, and you found him training as usual. Leaning against the doorway, you remarked, "Still training this late, Vice-captain?"

"(Name)-chan~!! Shouldn’t ya be sleeping? It's really late, come on, I’ll walk ya to your room." His face lit up when he saw you, and he forgot his tiredness momentarily. 

As he came closer to hug you, you surprised him by leaning in and kissing his forehead gently. His reaction was priceless—eyes wide with shock, cheeks turning redder than ever.

"Wha-what why who-would you do that?!" he stammered, touching the spot where your lips had just brushed.

With your usual icy facade intact, you replied softly, "Darlin’, please go to sleep. It’s like three am."

"Darling?!" he echoed in surprise, his whole face now crimson.

Taking his wrist in your hand, you led him towards his room. "Uh... um, goodnight," he managed to say, trying to hide his flustered face.

But you surprised him again, pulling him into another kiss—this time on the lips. His initial shock melted into a moment of tender connection, he leaned into the kiss,  though after a few minutes, he gently pulled away, blushing furiously.

"S-stop..." He opened his bedroom door, clearly embarrassed but leaving it slightly ajar. 

“Honey, Aren’t ya coming inside?” He asked, his voice peaking in curiosity. 

Taking the cue, you stepped inside and closed the door behind you. In the privacy of his room, the usually boisterous Soshiro seemed surprisingly shy under your touch.

From that night on, while you may not have shown it openly, your ice- facade started to melt at the sight of the sun. 

Soshiro Hoshina.

Note: Sorry for any mistakes!

[changes]

Friday, July 28th, 2023

🌟 New

We’ve updated the text for the blog setting that said it would “hide your blog from search results”. Unfortunately, we’ve never been able to guarantee hiding content from search crawlers, unless they play nice with the standard prevention measures of robots.txt and noindex. With this in mind, we’ve changed the text of that setting to be more accurate, insofar as we discourage them, but cannot prevent search indexing. If you want to completely isolate your blog from the outside internet and require only logged in folks to see your blog, then that’s the separate “Hide [blog] from people without an account” setting, which does prevent search engines from indexing your blog.

When creating a poll on the web, you can now have 12 poll options instead of 10. Wow.

For folks using the Android app, if you get a push notification that a blog you’re subscribed to has a new post, that push will take you to the post itself, instead of the blog view.

For those of you seeing the new desktop website layout, we’ve eased up the spacing between columns a bit to hopefully make things feel less cramped. Thanks to everyone who sent in feedback about this! We’re still triaging more feedback as the experiment continues.

🛠 Fixed

While experimenting with new dashboard tab configuration options, we accidentally broke dashboard tabs that had been enabled via Tumblr Labs, like the Blog Subs tab. We’ve rolled back that change to fix those tabs.

We’ve fixed more problems with how we choose what content goes into blogs’ RSS feeds. This time we’ve fixed a few issues with how answer post content is shown as RSS items.

We’ve also fixed some layout issues with the new desktop website navigation, especially glitches caused when resizing the browser window.

Fixed a visual glitch in the new activity redesign experiment on web that was making unread activity items difficult to read in some color palettes.

Fixed a bug in Safari that was preventing mature content from being blurred properly.

When using Tumblr on a mobile phone browser, the hamburger menu icon will now have an indicator when you have an unread ask or submission in your Inbox.

🚧 Ongoing

Nothing to report here today.

🌱 Upcoming

We hear it’s crab day tomorrow on Tumblr. 🦀

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Experiencing an issue? File a Support Request and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

Want to share your feedback about something? Check out our Work in Progress blog and start a discussion with the community.

[lfghughes]

Can you do an imagine where jack’s wife (reader) and kids are at the game when he gets hurt and then after when they bring him home?? A little angst ending in lots of fluff

a/n: y'all i am not good at writing an angry jack because all i can think of when i see him is just a small bean

Your heart was in your throat when Jack went down on the ice, the hit had been a hard one and you knew Jack well enough to know that if he was staying down it was because he was hurt. But you also were trying to not react too much because you had your six year old daughter and your one year old son with you.

Your daughter especially was at the age where she started to question certain things and she picked up on emotions really well. So even if you weren’t reacting she knew something was wrong with her dad but you had to stay calm to keep her calm. “Mommy..is daddy okay?” She asked and you nodded your head. “Daddy is okay, the doctor is just going to check him.” You told her as he skated off the ice.

It didn’t take long until someone who worked for the team found you, and you were sure it was because Jack had sent them which was a pretty good indication this game was done for him. Your stomach was in knots as you held onto your one year old and your six year old. The minute Jack came out of the locker room you could tell he was pissed which meant the news really wasn’t good.

Your daughters hand slipped from yours as she ran up to Jack “Daddy!!” She exclaimed forgetting all her nervousness from earlier and just excited to see him. “Not right now little bug.” He told her as he placed a gentle hand on her head, leading her back to you. “Let’s go home.” He told you, his voice rough which only made that pit in your stomach grow more.

You hated when Jack was upset. When you got to the car the both of you helped strap the little ones to their car seats and then you went towards the drivers seat “I’ll drive.” You told him and immediately a frown grew on his lips. “I’m literally fine, stop treating me like I’m going to break.” He snapped at you out of nowhere. “Jack, I’m not doing this right now. Get in the car.”

It was a clear warning and you were just happy he listened and went to his side. Once you got home you didn’t say another word to Jack, instead you got started on the kids bedtime routine which included baths. This alone took what felt like forever with the two of them and without Jacks help it only felt like it took longer.

But once your one year old was down for bed you moved onto your six year old and in between all of this Luke had shown up to check on his brother. Your daughter before you could convince her otherwise had walked over to Jack. “Daddy can you read me a story tonight?” And with a shake of his head Jack responded “Not tonight.” And with that your six year old returned to you disappointed.

Once you had her in bed you could hear the faint conversation Jack was having with Luke and it didn’t sound great. The last thing you heard was Luke mutter to his brother “You don’t have to be such an ass.” Before you heard your front door shut. “Mommy will be back, pick out a book.” And with those words you went and found Jack.

Your husband sat at the kitchen counter, his head in his hands and your heart sank once again. You walked over to him, your arms wrapping around him and you could feel him soften under your touch. “Your brother isn’t wrong but I get why you’re upset.” You whispered to him. “I’m sorry, baby.” And you could tell it was a genuine apology and that finally everything was catching up to him.

“I just hate letting the team down and you guys.” He whispered to you. “Well right now you have a six year old upstairs who just wants her dad to read her a story.” You reminded him and he just nodded his head. “You’re her hero, Jack. Just remember that next time.” And with those words you saw something shift in Jack and you knew that tonight wouldn’t be repeated again.

[auspicioustidings]

Ae Fond Kiss - Part 3

Brose and Butter

Summary: You finally return the favour and look after Simon while he is breaking and a long building tension breaks. Words: 3k TWs: cheating

Parts: 1 2 3 4

The new place was nice. Bigger than the old one, better area. It wasn’t like you and Johnny had planned to live where you had been forever, you had been looking at houses before he died. Lots of bedrooms. There had been plans to fill them.

This house didn’t have as many bedrooms as he had dreamt about. One master bedroom with an en-suite, 2 other bedrooms and a bathroom on the top floor. A nice open plan ground floor with a kitchen and living area plus a toilet. A garage big enough to have a little workshop in it since Simon enjoyed working on bikes. 

Because he was living there too. It had been an argument you had lost when he had insisted on paying a lot of money into the house but having the deed be entirely yours. It felt like you were taking advantage somehow given that you knew he adored Joseph so had never really went back to his own flat after he had started living with you. It was supposed to be temporary.

But it made sense in a way. He was gone half of the time anyway, so his flat was laying empty for months. This way he always came home to a warm house instead of an impersonal, dusty museum. And J was always so happy when he was home. It was nice to have the help around the house too.

You tried to ignore the amount of justifications you both came up with for the situation. You and Simon Riley did not like one another. You could not like one another. It didn’t matter if you sometimes got caught in his eyes (or that you swore they flickered to your lips, to your body). It didn’t matter if your mind wandered sometimes to imagine how he might kiss you (hard you thought, the first blow in a brawl that begged for retaliation).

The master bedroom was yours. It felt lonely, especially now that J stayed in the nursery. Too quiet, or at least it used to be. Before Simon had left for work a fortnight ago he had given you a little white noise machine. The thing had about a million settings, but in the end you found that the low sounds of snowfall on the window and a log fire always settled the anxious beat of your broken heart enough for you to sleep.

He was due back today. Not that you kept track given that he was just a housemate. Not that last time he wasn’t home when you thought he was meant to be you made yourself so ill with anxiety that Kyle’s partner had to come round to stay with you. Price had shown up a few days later to check in and explain Simon and Kyle had been delayed a week in a location with no signal but they were ok and it wasn’t anything to worry about.

You suspected he only showed up in person because Kyle’s partner had contacted him. You didn’t know what the deal was there if you were honest, the two of them had a strange relationship but whenever you asked about it from them or Kyle you got nothing but pained smiles and gentle dismissals. 

God you hoped he was back as planned. It had been embarrassing enough before although everyone was happy to play it off that you had a stomach bug and that’s why you were completely strung out, hadn’t been sleeping and had been throwing up. You had almost managed to convince yourself of it at this point. 

When you heard the door open and the thunk of heavy boots you should have really just continued on with mixing the brownie mix (you just felt like making them you supposed, coincidence that they were his favourite). Instead you smiled and wiped your hands off on your jeans, going to the door to see him hopping on one foot as he untied his laces to get a boot off. 

“If you’re going to fall over I’d prefer you wait until J is up from his nap so he can watch.”

He swore and nearly did fall, but just about managed to keep himself upright by leaning on the wall to get the boot off. He was in black sweats, hoodie and his balaclava as he usually was when he came home. Only there was something wrong in the set of his shoulders. There was something haunted in his eyes. 

“Simon?”

Your voice was gentle now, soothing. Bad deployment you thought. You had been with Johnny long enough to know that they happened, but he had been so different. When Johnny was on a bad deployment he came back with his blood up. You knew how it had went by how hard he fucked you. 

And you had always taken it. Even when it got bad and he warned you off, you would open yourself up to him and let him use your body to exorcise whatever demons were lingering. His anger you had known how to deal with, you had learned how to take orders, go to your knees and take it with a ‘thank you sir’ to help it burn off. It was scary and it was painful but you would take a thousand days of that strange angry (and make no mistake, devastatingly hot) version of the man you loved if it gave you one more minute with him.

Simon was different. He didn’t seem angry at all, he seemed sad. You felt your heart lurch when he dropped his bag and stumbled across to you, going to his knees for you. He looked up at you as if you were the only thing in the world then. And you don’t know what instinct it was that drove you, but you gently pushed down his hood and pulled off his mask. 

He let you. He stayed still on his knees even as you ran fingers through his hair to fix it back in place. It always was a mess when he took his balaclava off. Fuck. Having Johnny who was usually fun loving and completely willing to let you direct the action turn to an animalistic dominant beast was one thing, but it could never have prepared you for having Simon who you had only ever known as strong and domineering on his knees with his eyes wide and trusting and waiting for orders.

It was a reminder of how impossible the idea of liking this man would be. He was nothing like the man you had lost, the one you had loved. The one you still did. You didn’t think there would ever come a day when you were able to stop.

And still you spread your fingers across his cheekbones to tilt his head up and give him a stern look, one that said that he was going to be okay because you would accept nothing else. He had freckles you realised with a start. He let out a shaky sigh and seemed to take your touch as permission, falling forward to hug you, head resting heavily on your stomach.

You kept petting his hair, feeling like your brain was fuzzing out. You just wanted to take care of him for once. It was always him taking care of you. It didn’t have to mean anything did it? He was sad and you could be what he needed right now without it meaning anything. 

“You’re ok Si, hm?”

“I’m ok.”

“There, that’s good. Come on, you need to help me finish the brownies before J wakes up. He’ll be happy to see you.”

Finishing off the brownies was done in a strange haze as Simon slowly came back to himself. He kept close, almost always having at least one point of contact between you. Warm hand on your waist, the heat spreading out and making your skin feel prickly. A touch of your hair that you felt from scalp to toes. A brush of his thigh on yours that had your pussy clenching. You had forgotten it could do that at such little provocation. You hadn’t thought it would ever do it again after everything.

For one mad moment as the kitchen was tidied and the brownies taken out to cool you were sure you would kiss him. Fuck, you wanted him. You wanted Simon fucking Riley.

And for one mad moment as Simon fucking Riley was dragged out of a trauma spiral instead of languishing in it for days as he had become accustomed to, he was sure he would put you on the kitchen island and taste you. You, the annoying fucking princess who did nothing but make fun of him and have obnoxious taste in almost everything. Fuck. 

The cry of a newly awakened and hungry almost 1 year old broke both of you from what was surely a bout of madness. 

“Do you want to…?”

“Ye, be nice to see him.”

You followed behind, guilt poisoning the brief excitement at watching J react to seeing Simon back. He was getting so good at recognising different people now, his reactions bigger and emotions clearer. 

He was signing already, you had taught him ‘mama’ and ‘more’ and ‘hungry’. God you could burst with pride at how inquisitive he was. A little late with his words but the doctors weren’t too worried about it. You showed him photos of his dad, tried to teach him how to say dada. You wanted so badly for it to be his first word. The poisoning guilt turned viscerally painful when you realised you hoped Simon would be there to hear it.

You just needed someone there to see that Johnny wasn’t forgotten about. You still felt like you were burning up anytime his family called to check in. Joseph was healthy and happy but everything still felt like somehow you were failing him. Failing Johnny.

That familiar guilt slowly settled as it always did, becoming a manageable, dull throb. You likened it to a headache really. Sometimes it was debilitating like a migraine, sometimes it was barely noticeable. When Simon returned it always spiked but quickly dulled down as he settled back in. 

That night, after Joseph was put down with a goodnight kiss from both you and Simon, you went to bed feeling off balance. You about stopped breathing when the door clicked open and a body almost gingerly settled in next to you. 

He had just been in Las Almas he told you. It wasn’t for anything difficult, the mission didn’t go wrong and he even got to see some old friends. But in the dark he bled out his grief that in such a familiar place, Johnny wasn’t there. 

Much like everything else between you two, something changed without it being stated. Simon slept in your bed with you from then on.

–

Joseph’s first word was dada. He hadn’t been looking at the photo when he said it. 

–

Simon heard the thunk of fist on flesh before he felt it. His anger flared and he grabbed Gaz by the collar, growling at him. 

“The fuck was that Garrick?!”

Only for once Gaz didn’t immediately look to diffuse the situation as he always did when the 141 came to blows. This time he bared his teeth.

“Are you fucking her?”

Simon pulled at his collar before shoving him back, anger mixing with confusion mixing with guilt. He hadn’t fucked you. He fucking wanted to. And he was starting to think it was only a matter of time. It was an exquisite kind of torture holding you through the night as he had been everytime he was home for the last 6 months. 

“Not that it’s your business Garrick, but no, I’m not fucking her” he hissed, hating that he even had to say it out loud because it felt like a lie even if it wasn’t.

“But you are sleeping in her bed.”

“That a problem?”

God of course he would think it was. Johnny had died in the line of duty and here he was living his life. The life Simon never thought to want with the beautiful, clever, funny and infuriating woman and the baby who looked at him like he hung the stars. 

Gaz laughed derisively, running a hand through his hair in disgusted disbelief. 

“It’s not… like that” Simon tried.

It was.

“Fuck Ghost, I never took you for a saint but I at least thought you had a shred of humanity left.”

“You think I don’t know it’s wrong to settle in with Johnny’s fucking widow?! With his baby? Christ Sergeant I’m well aware I may as well be pissing on his bloody grave!”

“You-” Gaz choked out, looking angrier than Simon had ever seen him. “You think this is about you betraying him? That’s what you’re worried about?”

“You think I wouldn’t be good to her?”

Simon couldn’t believe this is where the conversation was going. Was he really trying to convince someone he could love you? Out loud? He knew he couldn’t, he knew there was nothing he could say that would make it better. But he wanted you so much. 

“Like you were in Las Almas?”

His blood ran cold. 

“What’re you…?”

“Oh fuck off you twat. You weren’t subtle and I’m not an idiot.”

“It wasn’t… it was one time Gaz. They weren’t… he hadn’t proposed or anything yet.”

He hated himself. He hated Johnny. He wanted to throw up when those words left his mouth, as if a ring on your finger made any difference. 

“She’s my friend. She’s my friend and I had to keep it to myself because I loved Johnny. Because I love you. I fucking picked you two over her. And now what? You can’t fuck him anymore so you’ll take the next best thing?”

His heart twisted and twisted until it was disfigured into something dark and cold. He was a monster. He was a monster because you weren’t the next best thing. He was a monster because if Johnny showed up tomorrow, he wouldn’t let you go. He would fight him for you if he had to. 

“...I’m in love with her.”

“Fuck.” 

Kyle Garrick was no stranger to how love fucked up everything. He hated this situation, but if Simon loved you, if you loved Simon? He couldn’t ruin it with a betrayal from years ago. Maybe that made him a terrible person. But Johnny was dead, what good would it do to ruin your chance at happiness after him and ruin your perception of him at the same time? He hoped it wasn’t the wrong decision to make. 

“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you myself Lieutenant. And don’t think Captain and the gorgeous little psychopath waiting for me to come home won’t help.”

Simon knew he would as well. But now that he had finally stopped lying to himself about what he felt for you there was nothing he could do to stop the feral possessiveness that demanded he claim you.

–

“You’re just being sensitive princess.”

Oh you could strangle him. Simon had been off when you had gotten back from dropping J with Kyle’s partner. Price had been there and you had not asked why. Kyle was off as well you thought, eyes darting between you and Simon before hugging you and heading off. 

It was only the second time J had stayed without you overnight. You were less a mess this time than you had been the first time at least. You needed it. You loved that kid more than anything else in the world, but you needed a break. A full night’s sleep. A night to relax which was being ruined by Simon being a bloody dick because you had asked what was up.

“Top form tonight, that why someone clocked you?”

He’d probably have a black eye tomorrow based on how the skin was already puffy and discolouring. You assumed it must have been Kyle. Right now you wished he was still here so you could thank him. 

“Thinking of taking a swing? Don’t think you could reach but I’ll crouch if you ask nicely.”

“If I ever ask nicely for anything from you then I can only hope someone takes me out back and puts me out of my misery.”

You were getting angry. Of course you were. Because it was… well it was Simon. Nobody could wind you up anywhere near as easily as he did. You thought maybe it was mutual as he sneered and got up in your face, looming over you as you crossed your arms and glowered up at him. Stupid, tall fucker.

“You think I couldn’t make you ask nicely princess?”

“And you really think you could casper?”

He leaned down, arms caging you to the kitchen island, teeth seeming sharper somehow, like at any moment he might sink them into your throat.

“I could have you begging like a bitch in heat” he whispered in your ear.

It affected you. Of course it did. But you could hear the huskiness of his voice and you could feel the heat of him. You weren’t the only one affected. 

“Yeah? Prove it Riley.”

The tension that had been slowly tightening for the last year snapped violently. You tasted blood on his lips when you bit into them, you felt bruises form from how roughly he gripped your hips as he hauled you onto the counter. 

Two brutal and torturous hours later, thoroughly fucked every which way and still not having been allowed to cum, you did beg. You begged and cried and thanked him when he finally sent you into an earth shattering orgasm. Another hour and you were begging and crying again for him to stop. He laughed darkly and wrung two more orgasms from you even when you told him you couldn’t cum again. Only when you truly had nothing more to give did he feed you brose and butter.

The last thing you remembered before passing out, exhausted, sated, cleaned and cuddled up, was mumbling hoarsely to Simon that you loved him. Maybe it was just your head being muddled from the events of the evening, but you swore you heard him say it back as you drifted off. You swore he apologised for it.

[swordlike]

Why I think Muu has NPD !

with more information from trial 3 this might change, but i have npd and for now i think this bug has it too. BTW if your weird abt people with personality disorders in the notes im stealing shit from your house ! take everything with a grain of salt, im not a therapist and disorders present differently for different people, this is just for fun. so lets get into it, all the translations are from the milgram wiki <3

belief in her own superiority, you can especially see this in one of the repeat lines in its not my fault. the imagery of the mv is also very tied to the idea of this, we know the mvs are biased, meaning this is how muu sees it herself, her being queen is only natural. 

next is muu’s sureness of her own innocence, this is of course, readily apparent. this ties into several npd traits, but mainly lack of empathy and self importance. she defends herself at every opportunity, in both audio dramas and her songs. 

while i’d consider these definitely major factors, i’m more interested in these lines from its not my fault,

her fear of being found guilty, of being caught out or wrong, is very common in those with npd, the way shes trying to set up es as special and understanding to manipulate them into not hating her out of this fear is really telling (you can also see her do this in both her audio dramas). the way she repeatedly asserts her innocence and status is also a common self soothing tactic to maintain ones ego, if she was “wrong” she would have to acknowledge that she isnt as perfect as she thinks, and this fear keeps her from even acknowledging the possibility. which is to say, i think muu is slipping into the queen bee role and imagery in the mv out of the fear she is wrong, as how npd functions is the grandiose self is a coping mechanism for poor self esteem and deep rooted shame.

manipulative tendencies, muu spends a lot of her interogations talking around es to get them to see muu as innocent, in her second interrogation with es its especially clear that shes trying to talk circles around them to get them to believe in her innocence. Also this.

she also is in the habit of using others. in the not my fault amv you can very clearly see the other girls bringing muu "honey", and one can’t so she immediately gets rid of her, for people with npd this is a common maladaptive defense mechanism, if someone stops providing you with praise or status theyll cut them out to protect themselves and thusly their ego.

people with npd, are unable to regulate their self esteem on their own and as such rely on outside praise or personal success to maintain their egos, know as "supply", which is one way you can interpret the honey in this reading.

belief others are jealous of her or out to hurt her. at multiple points across milgram muu accuses others of being jealous of her and thus out to get her, which is a common symptom of npd.

due to their belief in their own superiority and suspecting others of jealousy, people with npd are prone to hierarchical thinking and can often use putting others down as a way of maintaining their position, which would make sense since we know muu was a bully.

lack of empathy, people with npd struggle with affective empathy in particular (feeling stressed or anxious in response to others negative emotions), note muu’s lack of distress over others being hurt or upset.

avoidance of situations she doesn't like, while this may seem vague, this ties into multiple symptoms, having a large sense of self importance often can mean viewing certain tasks as bellow you or being extra adverse to things you don’t want to do regardless of consequences. she often is shown shoving her work off on other people, theres SO many examples of this one but heres just a few.

black and white thinking, not much to say about this one, this set of dialogue is also her trying to talk es into thinking she's innocent.

theres also her situation with haruka which ties into several things ive mentioned, lack of empathy, using others, etc. It's worth noting she says it makes her feel that they're friends, this probably reaffirms her own importance to her

dont really know where to put this one but. its very funny how she dodges the question.

as for how i think this could affect trial three, i think muu will either completely crash and burn and despise herself (narc crash moment) or she'll lean even harder on her grandioseness to cope.

anyways theres more i could say but this post was already getting long, maybe ill add more in an rb sometime, but in conclusion:

[poproccks]

John Dory Headcannons!

★ Glove is a compression glove for an old injury; a major burn scar that lines his fingers, palm, and paw pads on his left hand. (Inspired by @teaOwOstache’s comic – I am currently writing a one-shot for them based on their amazing comic.)

★ Has about an inch of white hair from the sheer power of Crimp’s vacuum. I, personally, believe that the vacuum’s power accelerated the talent-leaching tremendously and caused physical effects to show sooner. (Also shown on Bruce and Clay)

★ Various scars from his years of camping, foraging, cooking, hunting, and other things related to the nomad life.

★ He is the third tallest of his brothers, being almost the same height as Bruce. Second shortest of Brozone.

★ He was left-handed before the burn incident – and had to reteach himself how to write with his right hand instead since his left hand shakes too badly to write properly now. His handwriting, while improved, still isn't as good as it used to be.

★ Has nightmares occasionally like Branch. I like to imagine they bond slightly over that fact once they do get closer – obviously, it's still nothing like Branch’s and Floyd's relationship.

★ Building off the last point, JD tries not to feel too bitter about the close relationship they have. He realizes that the fractured relationships he has with all of his brothers are his own doing. He’s doing his best to get to know them all now and learn about their interests and hobbies. JD still walks on eggshells around them all about 60% of the time after a few more major blow ups between them. He is John Dory, however, so he still crosses lines many times by accident.

★ Thickest and fluffiest tail of Brozone (more of a general HC but, tail hair/fur can move like Troll head hair/fur.)

★ Very active, and regularly takes walks, runs, etc around Pop Village to keep up his fitness.

★ Found Rhonda when he was in his early 20’s and she was a much smaller bug bus. (Inspired by @ohposhers) She grew rather quickly after that and they became inseparable. John Dory handles all of her repairs and anything to do with her healthcare. He becomes very anxious when he has to pass that responsibility to anyone else. Branch took care of an ailing Rhonda once because he was the only one in the village with the needed materials and ingredients for the medicine. (“Who's crazy now? Me. Crazy prepared,) The dull-toned troll basically had to beat John off with a stick to get him to listen/let him help the poor bus, basically like a Helicopter parent. I genuinely believe without her, John Dory would absolutely crumble. Troll dust.

★ Stay’s in Branch’s bunker the most of the four others, besides Floyd who decided to move to Pop Village. When he’s feeling especially bad or wants to be alone, he will still retreat into Rhonda. She is basically an oversized security blanket.

★ Smells like either dust, fresh dirt, or rain. Definitely smells like something naturey. Branch smells like things similar, but it’s noticeably different.

★ Usually ALWAYS has something stuck in his hair or tail, no matter how small. Dust bunnies from exploring or helping clean, leaves, branches (ha), and other miscellaneous things.

★ Usually has the following in his hair pocket dimension; 2-3 bandaids, an extra glove, chapstick that he always loses, granola bars, and a small thing of water; just in case. Oh, and treats for Rhonda.

★ Carries an old family photo of his brothers and Grandma Rosiepuff from right after Branch hatched. His parents were also in it, but have long been torn out.

★ His goggles, past and present, were from his father (Also inspired by @teaOwOstache) and so he takes begrudgingly good and meticulous care of them.

★ Definitely a victim of parentification/older sibling syndrome. (I’m not projecting, you are.)

★ The order of brothers he bonds or reconnects with the easiest to hardest; Floyd, Bruce, Clay, Branch.

★ Suffers from aches and pains when it's cold or rainy out. He refuses to admit it is because of age.

★ Self soothes by pulling at his jacket, running his fingers along the zipper teeth, or adjusting his goggles when anxious.

★ If he doesn’t want to make eye contact or is crying or about to, he’ll pull his goggles on. It’s easier to hide than to explain. He gets better about talking about it but emotions are always a sore subject and difficult for him.

★ Like most Trolls, John Dory can hiss, growl, and purr.

★ Dark blue paw pads, with blunt nails with chipped polish.

★ When he went back to the troll tree pod, after mourning what could have been, he collected mementos of his brothers and his grandma; Branch’s old baby blanket, Floyd’s old plushie, Bruce’s old hoodie, One of Clay’s old books and a blacket Rosiepuff knitted long ago. They’re hidden in a box on Rhonda.

[roxasbooth]

To add onto the post about Dash/Paulina/Star/Kwan-

I think the existence of bullies in media is unnecessary

Especially when they're shown to be capable of change and working on the protagonist's side

Even if it's for a brief moment

Like I acknowledge and understand that bullies exist in real life

But I don't think the bullies need to stay as they are, that just feels like lazy writing to me

Like yes I realize that some people never grow out of it, but most of them do, most of them become better people

You don't need a bully chasing your protagonist 24/7 for them to have a meaningful story

Like alright, have the bully be there for say

A season and a half

Then make them REALIZE what they're doing is WRONG

And have a side arc to redeem them and make them now be friends/cool with the protagonist that they bullied before

It'll give the bully a new sense of character and ALSO add more potential for interactions between them and the protagonist

Now to make it more specific to Danny Phantom-

Dash is shown to work alongside Danny in the episode where young blud and Ember team up

So tell me Why O' Why does he go back to being the bully that he previously was like none of that ever happened 😭

That could've been a great point of return for Dash to actually become friends with Danny, but nope, it all went out the window

Now I'm not trying to make this that serious, it's a kids' show

But WHEN Vlad and Dan are getting redeemed

It's kinda has me wondering why Dash shouldn't get redeemed as well

Make him realize that "yeah Fenton is also a pretty chill dude"

Not "oh, the guy I used to bully has superpowers, he's so cool, but I also can't bully him anymore"

Like, I get it. Maybe that wasn't the thought process. Maybe Dash thought: "Oh, Fenton is pretty cool, he just doesn't show it!" BUT MAN IT'S BUGGING ME OKAY-😭😂

Idk I think if they became friends at some point rather than having the consistent relationship of one being bullied by the other, it would've added more to the plot

Sorry this got so long oh gosh💀✋

[lorem-ipsum-2099]

Symbiote Spider-Man 2099 is a Gross Misrepresentation of Miguel O’Hara

Spoiler Warning: Symbiote Spider-Man 2099 Issues #1-#5

I am sick and tired of Marvel’s writers and their fear of writing a character outside of their comfort zone. There is no character where this is more apparent than Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara. The progressive disintegration of his character has been evident for a while now, starting (in my opinion) with 2099 : Manifest Destiny, but the most recent installment of his comic has been especially bad.

Symbiote Spider-Man 2099 had an unexpected, but well-anticipated, lead up with the return of original series author Peter David. Additionally, the symbiote mini-series was to pick up where David left off Miguel’s original run before the comic was canceled in 1996. Unsurprisingly, we were all excited for David’s return and hopeful for a return to form with the original characterization of our favorite bug.

However, this was not the case...

The series starts out exactly where the 96’ left off, with Nueva York flooding due to the invasion of the Neo-Atlanteans led by a now Venomized Sub Mariner. Spider-Man 2099 quickly shows up to save the day and the apparently large-scale threat of the invasion of the Neo-Atlanteans is solved within a page with said defeat reintroducing a vengeful Venom 2099 into the ocean. Upon returning to Nueva York, the symbiote is reunited with Kron Stone and promptly ends Punisher 2099 and now has their sights set on Miguel. Kron, who was recently beaten down upon by Miguel, is eager to accept the Symbiote’s conditions and sets out toward Alchemax.

Here’s when things start getting tricky.

Meanwhile at Alchemax, Miguel is not taking to being CEO very well. He is frustrated at the new responsibility placed upon his shoulders as he wants to use the company’s resources for good. However, things take a turn when a rogue researcher attempts to bargain with a new unnamed blue symbiote but is quickly thwarted by Miguel. Unfortunately, this scuffle results in Miguel’s bond with the symbiote as he is accepted as a host.

The symbiote, by the way, remains unnamed for the rest of the series despite being a new unique symbiote variant that spontaneously split from Venom when it was captive. From this point forward I will be referring to the Symbiote as Rapture, its fandom given name. 

Several more back and forths happen until the eventual confrontation of Miguel and Kron with their symbiote suits. Rapture has already been quietly feeding off Miguel’s frustrations and Kron tries to convince Miguel to join him in order to become more powerful. Rapture whispers to Miguel and tempts him with the prospect of a freedom of responsibilities, from being CEO, and from being Spider-Man in order to live the life he’s “entitled” to. WIthin the same page, Miguel accepts the offer.

For a character known for their stubbornness and will, Miguel did not really put up much of a fight. I understand he’s frustrated and Rapture is likely to be influencing his mind but COME ON!!! The romp that follows is arguably embarrassing.

Miguel and Kron take to the streets with their symbiotes and are suddenly all buddy-buddy with each other? Did we forget that Kron is responsible for Dana’s death? A death that, within the timeline of the comics, was not that long ago. But no, Miguel is completely okay with him now as they have a joyride through the streets of Nueva York terrorizing the citizens and even leading to injury and death of others. While Kron is enjoying himself, Miguel only voices a small amount of hesitation but makes no other effort to stop himself or Kron. It is frustrating to see Miguel playing around with his fiance’s murderer, his own attempted murderer, and overall awful person with minimal push back. I understand Rapture is likely influencing his decisions but that is hardly shown at all. Instead of getting overly aggressive, Miguel simply becomes passive.

AND even worse, Kron later kills Gabriel and THAT’s what sets Miguel off and he finally succumbs to Rapture’s murderous desires. After convincing Venom, you know the symbiote that absolutely hates his guts, to leave Kron and bond with him he lets Kron fall with the intention of killing him…

And then the two primary antagonists are defeated with a simple suit gimmick and Miguel is freed from TWO SYMBIOTES with little to no trouble.

Miguel, a character who has been established to have a strong will and desire to do good despite the burden of responsibility, is much too passive in this series. 

Like I’ve said previously, his modern adaptations feel more like a watered down Peter Parker rather than Miguel O’Hara. This is especially disappointing considering that PETER DAVID created this character’s personality only to leave him to the wolves. Having the influence of Rapture could’ve been a compelling story! Part of Miguel’s journey as Spider-Man has been owning up to the past actions working for Alchemax and finally paying attention to those who need help in the world. He is certainly no Peter Parker. Peter is a good guy who already knew of the good in people and value of Spider-man, Miguel had to learn through trial and error, and his self reflection of his past actions. 

The inclusion of a symbiote who pressures Miguel to let go and allow himself to indulge in his more destructive tendencies or perhaps a break from being a hero could be compelling! Especially since Rapture seems a lot more charismatic than other symbiotes with a ‘quieter’ and manipulative approach. Also, in my personal opinion, I wish the comic focused less on Kron and more on Miguel’s growing pains as he takes on the new responsibility of Alchemax and his role as Spider-Man under Doom’s government (oh yeah cuz Doom in this too). 

Overall, the comic was disappointing. While I’m not above character deaths, Gabriel’s death seemed anticlimactic and shoehorned in and was the ultimate nail in the coffin. AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE POSSIBILITY OF KRON STILL BEING ALIVE!

At the end of the day, these are my own grievances with the series. Rating wise, I would have to give it a 3/10. However, I would love to hear everyone else’s thoughts as well. Is there anything you felt I did not go over, got wrong, or want to add? Let's start a conversion! (please start a conversation i am starving for meegle content).

(Apologies for my rusty media critique, I’m a bit rusty. Consider this as my dusting of cobwebs lol. I hope I can provide more compelling 2099 takes in the future.)

[spiderrmax]

main four + arachnophobic!reader

request: [...] i really like your work and was wondering if you could do a Main 4 x arachnophobic reader? author's note: sorry for the wait nonny :) i hope this is what you wanted!

Stan Marsh

Consistently, Stan is shown to be an animal lover, empathetic to their struggles. He doesn’t fear animals, and wants them to thrive when the world constantly abuses them.

So, he doesn’t really understand your fear. Not to say he’s apathetic, and won’t help calm your nerves or remove the stressor, he just doesn’t get it.

Before he knew about it, he never really felt pressured to remove spiders from his room. He definitely thought that since they weren’t bothering him, they were okay to stay.

Seeing you freak out over a spider in his room made him panic, and he was quick to slide the spider under a cup to remove it from your sight. 

Even after that, you are still freaking out and he isn’t sure what to do. He asks if it’s okay for him to hug you, and once he gets your confirmation, he has you pulled into him.

You need to express to him your fear and its severity, because Stan tends to be a little dense. He doesn’t mean to lack care, but he tends to miss the small things. Communication is vital to keep you relaxed and for him to continue to remove the threats.

After you talk, he buys bug spray, and carries one on his key ring. He doesn’t make a big deal about changing his routine for you. Now that he knows the extent of your fear, the extra weight doesn’t bother him; especially when he compares it to how heavy your fear is.

Will always hug and comfort you after he’s carried out a spider. (He doesn’t have the heart to kill them).

Kyle Broflovski

Kyle is very apathetic to spiders. Sure, he knows they are vital to the ecosystem, but he doesn’t want to be sharing a space with them. Sue him.

So, already, he is keeping his room tidy to remove the potential of spiders trying to make home in his room. On the off chance they do get in, he shows little hesitance to kill them.

He probably has noticed your fear before you tell him. Seeing how you tense up occasionally, the way your eyes scan an area before you sit down. He probably eventually asks you about it – especially if you’re dating. The guy probably thinks it’s something he has done, and wants to find a solution.

When you admit it to him, he is relieved that he didn’t do something wrong. However, he is quick to backtrack and say he isn’t thankful for your horrendous fear, and will do whatever it takes to keep you safe from your fear.

Kyle’s house is already stocked with bug spray due to the nature of his mother, and since it is rarely used, she doesn’t notice when he relocates it to his room. He doesn’t say anything to you about it, not wanting to make it a big deal. He

Kyle holds no hesitation with killing the pests. He tries to remove them humanely, but if there are no cups or plates he doesn’t think before using a tissue to grab the thing and squeeze it between his fingers. He just wants to get it out of his room swiftly before your panic can rise.

If he isn’t fast enough and you are nearing a panic attack, he will do his best to comfort you. He will hold you close until you aren’t breathing as heavily. He tries his hardest to be what you need. 

If you were ever mocked for the fear (something you would be vulnerable for with being so close to Cartman) he would jump into your defense. He won’t let others make you think you’re being overly anxious.

Eric Cartman

I am so sorry for how this man originally treats your fear. In his mind, it’s something to make a joke about. He probably has evil plans to put fake spiders in your locker and will laugh anytime you spot a spider and freak out.

However this does eventually change when his feelings for you grow. Many of the South Park Kids have no issue with helping you out by killing/removing the bug, and Eric has never thought to step up.

Until Kyle does it for you, with a stupid smile and a gentle, “don’t worry about it.”

It’s jealousy, but also, Eric has grown a soft spot for you and no longer finds as much amusement in tormenting you like he did in the early days of your friendship.

Eric will not let anyone kill a spider for you. It’ll prolong the process, but he is your knight in shining armor. No one else gets to save you.

He makes a grand deal about it, as he uses a tissue to grab the bug. It’s a better alternative to the cruel pranks. Eric also expects a thank you for his work (often, a kiss or some other type of affection. Occasionally, he wants you to buy him a snack.)

One time, he was too slow grabbing the bug. And he’s not too afraid of insects, but after that he was also screaming and Kyle had to step in again which was a heavy blow to Cartman’s ego.

After that he buys bug spray. Unlike Stan and Kyle, Eric is apathetic to spider’s and what they do for the ecosystem. He prioritizes your safety and his appearance over the bug.

He doesn’t get the severity of it until he draws out the process a bit too long and you’re hyperventilating and sobbing.

Eric is super awkward with comforting others, and will need you to guide him if you want affection or proximity. Giving credit where credit is due, he is very good at hugs and will keep you close, helping ground you. Don’t expect a lot of sweet words or an apology, they are not his area.

However, the next time you encounter a spider, he doesn’t kill it in a drawn out way. It is swiftly removed. He still expects a kiss and hug for his troubles, though.

Kenny McCormick

Kenny does not understand your fear at first.

Due to the messy nature of his house, he has grown used to bugs and spiders. He never cared to remove them, and like Stan, is a big believer in not killing them since they aren’t typically bothering him.

That’s not to say he’s an asshole like Cartman! Karen used to be scared of bugs, and as her older brother, would remove them carefully. He’s not super sympathetic to the spider, either, and may try to save them, but in most cases he’s using a paper towel.

He probably doesn’t make it as big of a deal as the other boys. He doesn’t see a need to go out and buy bug spray, and whenever it is needed, will use a napkin or his shoe. If you have bug spray, and would prefer he’d use that, he will listen to your request. He just won’t go out of his way to buy it.

If he isn’t fast enough at getting rid of the bug, and you are severely panicking, he will be a little lost. Again, he’s not that afraid, and Karen probably wasn’t either. He will try his best!

Will probably use physical affection as a way of comforting, if you are comfortable with that. Pulls you in close, and will just be quiet until your sobs have quieted down. May run his hand through your hair, or up and down your back. Won’t pull away until you do.

When you are okay, he’ll make a joke about how he knows how to handle bad guys due to his superhero alter ego to try and make you laugh. It’s often a lame joke, but it’s enough to ground you back down after a panic attack.

Kenny might not get it, but he won’t ever make you feel bad.

[bibibbon]

I think even the "its realistic!" excuse doesnt work on its own terms - cause yeah, for everyone of the 20 people to allways meet up isnt real life, but to atleast have one good friend from school, especially after going through live and die situations?

like Deku and Kachan were astranged childhood friends, who after all that made up, and also Kachan felt a lot of guilt about being a piece of shit and that Deku lost his quirk - it seems atleast those two should meet up, even do to guilt/pity Kachan now feels.

Or Ida, who is charachterised as cartoonishly proper and robotic - even he would probably see it as his duty to not abandon a friend and check on him every few months.

And Tsuy was charachterised as super caring, so after all the bonding and the fact Deku saved her from death at the start at the series, would make it seem that she would want to stay in contact - especially when she was shown to connect quickly to people.

Guess the one realistic one could be Ochako, if they did kinda try dating in highschool and it didnt work out, so it could feel awkard to then try to stay friends and all - yet then the fairytale reunion of 20 top heroes all saving some minor landslide again looks awkard.

And also its unrealistc that everyone besides Deku stayed in the hero life - especially when Jiro had the whole conflict of maybe wanting to do music instead, or the fact nobody moved overseas or did change their outfits enough to not be recognizable, etc

The real truth is that Hori feels depressed about his life and projected it, hence why the awkward happy ending that framed everything came at the last pages - a power fantasy.

It just shows how Hori, like Deku, didnt ever evolve his mindset, and stayed at the childish level of "I wanna be cool like spiderman!!" - cause if he didnt he would show Deku fulfilled as a teacher, giving the next gen the skills to actually change shit, and not see it as "setteling", with a sad expression of "alas, my dream of wearing goofy spandex suits and screaming attack names is dead😔"

The "it's realistic" excuse can work depending on the context. However, there's nothing normal or realistic about 1A and what happend in 430 (surrounding Izuku and 1A that is). It's incredibly understandable that not all 20 members of 1A were going to keep in contact and be incredibly close to eachother. Heck even in UA some 1A members weren't close to eachother and it's even stated by denki that he was never close to izuku in the vigilante arc but that he wanted to help him.

However, I have mentioned this multiple times (and you even brought it up) it's annoying that we don't see izuku hanging out with his close friends outside of hero costumes or UA uniforms. Them not doing so literally paints a picture that they aren't close at all and the whole theme of WE are heroes and power of friendship ends up failing due to this.

Look I know Iam not a huge bakugo fan but taking this into the perspective that bakugo got a satisfactory redemption arc him and izuku should keep in contact from time to time. Something that's bugged me is that after Izuku loses his quirk it seems like his interactions with bakugo are non existent, almost like izuku being a hero and having a quirk is all that their relationship is: a rivalry between who would be the best hero (kind of contradicting bakugo supposed development).

Or take for example shoto todoroki who izuku was close to but they don't seem to interact at all. Or asui. Or iida who very much helped izuku and truly cared for him. Heck tokoyami has also voiced his care for izuku multiple times and so has yuuga but we don't see any of them hang out outside of UA or heroics. Heck this chapter doesn't even give us a glimpse of maybe Izuku texting his friends in a group chat or anything. To me this all seems too bleak. What do you mean the kids who went through trauma together and had an entire theme of helping eachother and sticking together (a theme that carried the final act and fight) somehow not even hang out with eachother outside of heroics or school?

Lastly, I have no intention of making any comment about horis life unless it was stated by a credible source but it does seem like hori might of just got burnt out and he went too far with the story to give it a good ending (a well written one).

Alas, the ending was horrible.

[wolfgang1097]

Disclaimer: I do not condone in anything disturbing nor inappropriate with any of the subject matter involved. I also do not condone in any trolling either.

"White Spy is the Snow White of Spy vs. Spy," White is pure and wholesome," and blah blah blah...

You've got to be kidding! I'm sorry, but if you think and even headcanon that White Spy is pure and wholesome and even portray him as a hero all the time while treating Black like he's a spawn of Satan, then you're living in a fart bubble! Just because White is great with animals, especially dogs, does not mean that he's a "good boy," and I have proof of why every single claim about White Spy being "angelic" is all a bunch of bullcrap:

Plus, there's this part when he threatens the plastic surgeon into making a clone of himself just before that one graphically violent scene that I exposed back in late-January or early-February:

Then there's this scene where he thinks this random old lady is Black in disguise and tries to attack her, only for the old lady to kick his ass:

In my honest opinion, White deserved it. In another paperback strip he forces a Black Embassy geisha at gunpoint to have a clam form a pearl around a bugged microphone. It is from a paperback that I don't have a physical copy of as of yet, but that one is from "The Fourth Declassified Files of Spy vs. Spy," which was later reprinted as "Missions of Madness," I think. Once I have saved up enough, I'll be looking forward to buying it off of Amazon just like I did with my only paperback (as of now), "Masters of Mayhem," back in January. Also, there was a strip called "Operation: Altered Ego," from the paperback "The Third Dossier of Spy vs. Spy," where White plays a really cruel (and very disturbing) prank on Black after the former read "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." This results in Black turning into a Mr. Hyde version of himself and ends up being taken to the nut house, all thanks to White using his love for literature to his own advantage despite that it has been used against him on other multiple occasions. That incident is proof that White has set up harsher, more callous, and disturbing traps for Black, and I am not surprised as I am beyond positive that this obviously isn't the only time he has pulled even more callous pranks on Black; remember what he did in "Operation: Maid of Steel" (which was made into animated short towards the end of the first season of MADtv 23-24 years later) from the same paperback?

Anyway, this is my point and I am dead serious: stop calling White Spy wholesome, pure, and good because I have evidence that proves otherwise! He may be great with animals (*cough**cough*Operation: Operation*cough**cough*) and can be a softy deep down inside, which shows that he does have standards, but that does not mean he is pure and wholesome!

No, I am not defending Black Spy either. Though I am sure he probably has standards as well, and might be a softy deep down inside, too. I mean, according to the wiki (which may not be 100% valid, of course, though), Black has been shown to be empathetic towards civilians, which is something White usually exploits at any given opportunity. Not to mention that Black also seems to be great with children, apparently. To anybody who loves antagonizing Black Spy, when you say you love White Spy better yet have tons of artwork torturing Black nonstop more than artwork of White, you are openly proving that you're a hypocrite, so why don't y'all do a lot of us this favor: cut the crap and leave Black alone!

This post was not meant to antagonize White Spy; this post was meant to expose him. Neither spy is good nor evil because the comics were not supposed to have the good vs. evil element; they were intended to represent that war is worthless. Both Black Spy and White Spy were meant to be equally sadistic, psychotic, and callous towards each other. Don't get me wrong. I mean, I love both Black Spy and White Spy equally because I think they're both simultaneously adorable and insane at the same time. Either way, I am sick and tired of people portraying one spy as good and the other as evil. I mean, this whole "white is good" and "black is evil" misconception and stereotype is nothing but a bunch of stupid crap. Seriously, this whole good vs. evil element headcanon in the Spy vs. Spy fandom gets on my nerves and it needs to end NOW.

I do not claim ownership of any content. Spy vs. Spy belongs to the defunct MAD Magazine and the late, great Antonio Prohías.

[gravitycircuit]

Gravity Circuit has recently hit 60K total units sold!

Never in our wildest dreams did we expect the game to sell as much as it has done in just a few short months. As such, we thought this was a moment to celebrate, with new art provided by @jmanvelez!

Now, you might be asking: why are we taking a moment to celebrate such a specific number? Well, in truth, we were planning on doing a celebratory announcement earlier, at 50K. We were on track to hit that in December, but then the holiday sales happened. Thanks to the holiday sales on various storefronts, we essentially skyrocketed past 50K, climbing all the way up to 60K before the sales were over, so didn't have the time to prepare for it! Goodness, the sales performance just continues to surprise us. All in all, the reception and feedback we have received over these past months have been overwhelming, and we can't thank you, the players, enough. You are the best. Now, you might be curious about the sales distribution among the platforms? Fret not, we have prepared a pie chart for you (based on sales as of January 18th, 2024):

Note: PS4 and PS5 are coupled together due to crossbuy. This means that if you purchased the game on one, you can download it on the same account for the other at no extra cost.

On PC, the game is available on Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, as well as Stove (Korea). Out of these, Steam is the most popular storefront.

On consoles, the game is available on Nintendo Switch and Sony's PlayStation 4 and 5. The game is also physically available on afore-mentioned consoles, by Pix'n'Love (PEGI), Red Art Games (ESRB) and Oizumi Amuzio (Japan).

Given the amount of wishlists on Steam before the game's release, as well as us getting Steam Deck verified by Valve, PC outselling the other platforms is not a wholly unexpected outcome. Steam is a huge storefront, after all.

But after all the sales across these platforms, what about the reception? Well, even on that front, Gravity Circuit has performed better than even our wildest expectations, as shown by the collage below:

Truthfully, before the game's release some six months ago, we weren't sure about what the reception ultimately would be. As a developer, it can be difficult to distance yourself from whatever project you have been working on for so long, to see the game for what it is. So, ultimately, it was up to you, the players, to determine the game's overall quality. Needless to say, we didn't expect the majority opinion to be this good, both from critics and players alike!

To provide some background: throughout the development, there were a plentiful of sleepless nights, fueled by stress, energy drinks, boatloads of work, and constant lingering doubts about the game's potential success. Creative endeavors while on a deadline are never easy, but we soldiered on, so to try and complete the game to the best of our abilities. Now, months after release, it has been a truly humbling experience that players have enjoyed Gravity Circuit as much as they have. Such a warm reception has made all that effort behind the game worth it. Again, we can't thank you all enough.

Of course, it might go without saying that even with all this positive feedback, the game hasn't been without its own sets of issues. Especially around the game's launch we had to do multiple quick rounds of bug fixes, so to address various situations and oversights that had slipped past us during development and Q&A. While doing all this was taxing, it's perhaps thanks to these rapid, quick responses that have helped minimize any lasting impact that the various game crashes and bugs could have otherwise had.

Essentially, on that point, our policy has been to accept any and all feedback from players with open arms. Whether positive or negative, we have read all points of feedback, and even responded to them wherever we have been able. Ultimately, this back-and-forth discussion with players has then resulted in us implementing various additions and changes post-launch (Speedrun Mode, Armor Paints, Boss Rush, small quality of life additions, etc), completely free of charge. And while we do try, it's not exactly realistic to act or respond to every bit of feedback without fundamentally changing some of the game's DNA. Nevertheless, we do try our best -- and perhaps hold onto the lessons learned for any future endeavors.

In the meanwhile, we at Domesticated Ant Games want to thank you all for all the support so far from the bottom of our hearts -- and we wish you all a good start to 2024!

[onenicebugperday]

I'm getting fed up with people who hate bugs. I know that the way to deal with it is education and patience, and I've been doing that my whole life, but there comes a certain point where it just feels like bad will on their part. I showed my friend a new little (5mm) spider living OUTSIDE my CLOSED window and they said "ew you should kill it". It's just the fact that society's disgust at bugs can seemingly allow you to cross normal politeness lines? In no other case can you, when shown something by someone who likes it, say you want to destroy it. Why would they think that was OK to say to me, an entomologist, who talks about loving bugs a lot?

I'm sorry this just turned into a rant, do you have any insight on this or should I just only hang out with bug enthusiasts from now on? Your blog is a very nice antidote to this frustration.

Yes, sometimes it does feel like bad will, especially when people go out of their way to comment on posts that they just don't need to interact with. That's why I block people liberally. I'm here for a positive good time and I don't often have the patience for it unless I think someone is open to being educated. Some days I'm more annoyed by it than others.

If there's a way to get people in real life to chill with the bug hatred, I haven't found it. I just try not to bring it up to people who I know will react negatively, but I've definitely found people who will happily learn things about bugs even if they're a little squeamish. I've gotten some family members to be more positive about them, and now they even ask after my pet bugs.