#labby references

[honkbird]

so is coop elden ring where horo’s horny tuber problem from wednesday was about or is there something else getting cooked up

There's probably some minor bloopers in terms of art n code n testing stuff horo's gunna talk about some time ehehe but yeah.

For reference I did all of the pngs in 2 sets-- one group i did in a day was entirely drafts for a proof of concept and then after a 4 day burnout period i redrew them all in another afternoon for all the talk sprites, mute sprites, etcetc

but yeah the silly png thing on wednesday was the expressions were a little too 'im getting railed' which was Very funny to realize. Though on the Elden topic I might vent here a bit.

onto the venty stuff: I am a very shy person. Whenever I have a post that gets too much traffic, I shut down entirely. I had a bluesky one that did numbers and I proceeded not to touch that account for days from social anxiety, if that says anything about my resilience.

Castle Crashers a long while ago with horo and space was an . experience, and for the most part I held up fine I guess. I was mute as usual, occasionally I was shaking, typed Sometimes in chat, etc

Elden Ring wasss . worse? The act of playing it was the same (mute, nervous sweat, shakes, rare typing-- i said maybe 20 things in a 7 hour stream) but I had a teensie weensie panic attack and had to leave the voice call slightly prematurely in the end of stream ehehe. I dont know if they noticed because it was super fucking late but thats the best outcome I could've asked for. Heavy breathing, high heart rate that I could feel all over, the Usual. I'm thinking of Maybe stepping out and getting someone to replace me because I genuinely can't handle any form of presence. I like horo I like space I have a work relation to Labby but , yeagh.

I don't mean to be a downer! It was fun most of the time! It's just that I end up feeling "live on camera" every now and then (specifically to communicate meaninfully i needed to type in space's live 450+ viewer chat) and my guts twist and my hands shake; but for the most part I could at least handwave and say I was bad at the game to cover up.

Not sure what the point of spilling my innards publicly is but yesh sorry for all that. I'll either be missing the next Elden Ring stream or maybe I might work out a system to minimize my meta exposure to the stream.

[lumpofwhump]

For Usalmy, Sarah, and Koutoujian:

be honest: did they deserve it?

what do you think about caretaker?

do you have a preferred title or would you rather victims call you by name?

have you ever killed? would you?

For Lenavee and Harlowe as both whumpees and caretakers:

what do you think about whumpee?

what do you think about whumper?

what do you think about caretaker?

have you ever killed? would you?

All five of these characters have multiple whumpers, whumpees, caretakers, or all three. I'm going to assume this is in the present day in the Kohat continuity.

Usalmy

Be honest… did they deserve it?

She would say that no, Morton absolutely didn’t deserve how much she’s done for him over the years. Trying to help him eat healthily, providing constant reassurances with no improvement in his mindset, making sure he so much as cleaned himself, and so the list goes on. She would vehemently deny mistreating him for most of that time, if it even occurred to her that the question could be interpreted that way.

What do you think about caretaker?

There's several caretakers that could be referred to here: Kybel, Lenavee, and Harlowe.

Kybel and Lenavee she both thinks are trying to steal Morton from her (even as she tells him that no one would want him or he's too difficult for anyone to put up with). Kybel she sees at getting involved in things that are not his business, namely her marriage. With Lenavee, Usalmy seemingly manages to assume that she's both an airhead and that she's conniving and exploitative. She also hates Kybel for being gay, and she hates Lenavee for being Hiukree.

Meanwhile, she thinks Harlowe needs to be in prison for her violent tendencies (which Usalmy doesn't realize are almost exclusively directed at people like her, who abuse others)... and only because it isn't possible to send her back to the labs, because they don't exist anymore.

Do you have a preferred title or would you rather victims call you by name?

Usalmy would bristle at the description of Morton as a victim of hers. "He'd call be my own name," she'd say testily. "He is my husband, after all."

Have you ever killed? Would you?

“Of course not, why would you ask that?” Usalmy asks, very affronted.

To be fair, Usalmy doesn’t actually kill Lenavee when she throws her down a flight of stairs and stomps on her antennae repeatedly. That’s not for lack of trying, though.

And she’s all but literally hid the bodies for someone else, namely…

Sarah

Be honest… did they deserve it?

"Of course they do," Sarah says, referring to the young adults that have been sent to Usalmy's school for so-called emotional growth. "They're troubled kids. They weren't sent to summer camp here. A little tough love is the least they deserve." Her expression becomes a twisted grin at the word love.

"Or... oh, you mean them?" she asks, referring to Usalmy and Morton, and laughs. "They allowed me to do what I want as long as it didn't touch them. How can they say that they don't deserve it now that it has?"

What do you think about caretaker?

Sarah is amused by them, especially Zail, despite his best efforts to protect the people trapped in either of Usalmy's operations, because he's so bad at it. And he makes such sounds. Sounds of frustration, mostly, but the startled noises are the best. Harlowe also amuses her, because while she's more dangerous than Zail, Sarah has also been able to get one over on her multiple times... she's all frontal attack, and fights like she expects everyone else to, even when she knows Sarah plays dirty.

Do you have a preferred title or would you rather victims call you by name?

“Nah,” Sarah says after a beat. “Though calling me a labby will make life much more difficult for you. Shorter as well.”

Have you ever killed? Would you?

“It was self-defense,” Sarah says with a shrug. “She came at me with a knife."

Of course, she neglects to mention the fact that Feraye Nersesis never stood a chance before Sarah ran her through with her own knife and threw her over the second-floor railing. And all the other people she’s killed over the years.

Koutoujian

Be honest… did they deserve it?

The short answer is yes. Koutoujian has so many fucking victims to choose from. As far as some of yours are concerned... she thinks her sister, Nell, should count herself lucky to have not been thrown in a state institution again and left to rot. Drulovic she definitely believes deserves it, as she was not only a terrorist, but a difficult prisoner to control, choosing to make her own life more difficult without reason. The latter is how she justifies a lot of her abuse of prisoners, including of Mizner, Harlowe and even Topher and Zail for their refusal to give up information.

What do you think about caretaker?

"The sooner they send her back to the labs, the better," Koutoujian says of Harlowe with a hateful expression. "Better yet, they should just put her down and be done with it already."

Do you have a preferred title or would you rather victims call you by name?

"Sir" is fine with her. "Interrogator Koutoujian" she'll also accept. Most other things people call her will get her boot in their face.

Have you ever killed? Would you?

“Well, I don’t try to, but in my business, mistakes happen,” Koutoujian says defensively. “You never know how little some people can take until you’ve already done it.”

Lenavee

What do you think about whumpee?

"Mr. Groninger's always been really good to me," Lenavee chirps. "He helped get me out of all the stuff from before, y'know, I went to prison and all. Real nice guy, y'know? I just hope he's okay, now that he's offworld and all."

She won't let on the slightest bit that she loves him and would do pretty much anything to help him... if only behind the scenes, so he'd never find out.

What do you think about whumper?

She's had a ton of whumpers herself since a young age, from the people who stole her from her home and trafficked her as a young girl onward, but I'll pick Usalmy because Usalmy whumps both Lenavee and Morton.

She smiles and nods when Morton talks about Usalmy positively, but she absolutely loathes Usalmy. Almost entirely because of how she treats Morton, but also a bit because Usalmy mistreated her in one of their brief encounters (even before the aforementioned one where Usalmy nearly kills her). She wouldn't admit it, but she enjoys the fact that she has something over Usalmy, namely Usalmy's infidelity, and that Usalmy knows she has that power over her. She would never use it, though.

What do you think about caretaker?

"You mean Arianne and Harlowe?" she asks with a blink. "They're wonderful friends. I wish I was closer with them, but, y'know, they're not much the type to let anyone in. I guess you could also count Mr. - I mean, Wes, as one of those. He's a good friend, I just... I want him to stop judging my other friends, y'know?"

Have you ever killed? Would you?

“I…” Her expression clouds over. “I wouldn’ta done that, just, the guy had a big gun, so…” Her voice nearly breaks, thinking about the attempted mugging, the six shots she fired at the mugger, and everything that followed from it.

She doesn’t even get to thinking about the second part of the question. The answer is that she would absolutely kill someone to protect the people she loves, and make sure no one ever found the body, much less suspected her of it.

Harlowe

What do you think about whumpee?

She's caretaker to so many people, at least in a defender/rescuer sense. A consistent theme with her, though, is that she sees a lot of them (see, for instance, Lenavee and Nell) as innocent and in need of protection... including from herself. This belief not only leads her to keep herself at arms' length from people who care about her and very much want to get to know her, but it also keeps her from seeing her friends for what they really are rather than what she needs them to be. For instance, she fails to recognize how dangerous Lenavee can be, or realize that Zail (and Nell, maybe...?) is in love with her.

What do you think about whumper?

Whumpers in positions of authority like Usalmy and Koutoujian bring out the worst in her, and she likes needling them whenever she's not actively fighting them to defend someone else. Meanwhile, she thinks Sarah in particular is a traitor, for having helped put down the uprising in the labs that Harlowe had a hand in leading as a young adult.

What do you think about caretaker?

Harlowe doesn't have caretakers so much as she has allies and comrades. Mizner (yes, her last-namesake) and Drulovic are the two most obvious examples of this. She trusts them more than anyone else for two reasons. First of all, they've had her back at crucial points when no one else did. Also, they both have proven that they don't see her as a monster despite how both of them have seen what she's capable of when provoked.

Have you ever killed? would you?

“Yes,” Harlowe says, not specifying which question she’s answering. The answer is both. She keeps it quick and clean when she can, but sometimes circumstances haven’t allowed for that.

[iamturningaround]

This is my moment 🤩 I'm not normally online at the right time for Tank's streams, but I was for this one, AND I was taking notes for a friend, so -

* As we know, Tank is now trying to learn the drum parts for EC, this is as a result of David being unable to play on their recent tour, and according to Tank, ALL the crew are learning various parts so they can be prepared to step in. * Tank intends to organise a foot cam when he's practicing drums so we can see his work there. * He was listening to EC's recordings from Pol'and'rock, and the tracks were separated in terms of instruments (provided to Tank by....??? Labbi???) which Tank had great fun playing with and isolating the different parts. * Tank: Daniel's attention to their synths is wild (Me: no shit 😂) * My observation: listening to David's drumming in isolation is amazing * Tank: *mimes drumming techniques while listening to music* *smacks microphone* 😂 * Tank noticed that David often changes from one tempo/style of beat to another within songs, and he referred to one of them as a disco beat. * Tank tells us that all drummers have a different feel to them (in reference to different flairs they bring to their playing) * Tank hypothesised what songs might get dropped from the new tour playlist, but was VERY CLEAR that he DOESN'T KNOW and these are just his guesses: Hate/Love CxS Parasite Hurrikan Mindreader MC Thunder pt 2 * He doesn't like Fuckboi, it's a song he's never been able to get into * He'd be shocked if tracks like Ratatata / Tekkno Train were dropped. * Tank showed what plays in in-ears so EC know when they have to start up for the next song. There's a voice counting them in (1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4 - in English) and then the clicks. * Tank: David usually has the clicks playing, I've just turned them off for now. Chat: How does he not go insane? * Tank played with CxS and all the different layers in it - amazing how much detail is in these songs - as he was looking at just the guitar bits, Pascal and Dan were both playing the same thing for this part of the song, and their audio tracks are almost perfectly in sync - There was one part I thought Pascal was accidentally joining in a bit late, but actually when Tank included Daniel's bass as well, there's the same delay for him to start as well, so it's a deliberate build up of the sound. * Chat: Do Dan & Pascal play the same thing for the whole show? Tank: Not the WHOLE show. (But it works well, they create a surround sound, they build the atmosphere & energy) * Tank then demonstrated that it does make a difference to have both guitars playing vs just one, in addition their location onstage/location of their instruments in the mix output, and also parts where they harmonise the guitars.

* Tank: the sound of the show from side stage is SHIT, the best place to be during a show is FOH * EC institute a 'closed stage' policy, they don't allow anyone side/back stage - no guests etc because it's just shit Chat: how about Christian? Tank: Christian can do whatever he likes * Tank: we had someone wander side stage during the Brisbane show, and I nearly said something but then realised it was Munky from Korn, and I was ok with that. * Tank: if any of the band or crew brought a guest to a show, and the guest did something wrong, I'd treat them like the band/crew member did the wrong thing. * Ingrid busted into the room (offscreen) and was playing with Tank's drumkit. Chat: Ingrid's getting ready to be backup for David next time. * Tank was really impressed by some drumming technique that Ingrid was capable of and that he can't do 😂 * Tank: nothing on David's kit is triggered, everything you're hearing is raw. * Tank could hear David yell "Kurwa" at the end of Hurrikan in this recording 😂 It took him a few goes to isolate it, because obviously David doesn't have a mic set up to catch his voice 😂 * Tank: David's one of the cleanest and most consistent drummers I've ever toured with. (Honestly, this makes the fact that Frank Zummo did such a good job even more amazing 😍❤️) * Tank explained & demonstrated that the cymbals in Hate/Love are very complicated. * Some people in chat made comments that Dan's guitar solo in MC Thunder is prerecorded/backing, and so Tank turned off ALL OTHER TRACKS to just show what Dan was playing, and holy crap, I already knew it was good, but 💀❤️ * Tank & chat are noticing how Dan is inspired by video games for his synths 😂 Nerd (lovingly) * I became a bit distracted at this time, and Tank needed to go to a small child's birthday party, so the stream got wrapped up around there. A really enjoyable stream, I'm so interested in being able to listen to the isolated parts - like there are some of the synths that are so detailed by themselves, but almost completely drowned out in the full mix.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ENJOY!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yesterday Tank was on twitch early and ofc my notifications didn't work like they should - so I came on late, I missed the first 40 minutes

And the whole stream was him listening to EC liveshow tracks (from Pol'and'Rock) and turning off layers and marvelliing over the synths you can't really hear underneath but they make all the difference - and probably blabbing all kinds of stuff about EC

But because it was out of his usual schedule now it's not available to rewatch 😭😭😭 And even from the time I was there I barely remember anything to write down, bc I was so sure I'll be able to go back and go through it properly

I only know once more I pestered him to invite over Dan for an interview 🤭 few more pokes and he will cave in!

[verfound]

Fic: MLB: Peachy (Lukanette)

Title: “Peachy”

Rating: K Plus / PG / General Audiences

Characters/Pairings: Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Summary: The only reason Luka was at the bakery was because he was craving some macarons.  Not because he had the feeling Marinette was avoiding him and he missed her or anything. (Companion to WM2019: Hope.)

Author’s Notes/Warnings: This is technically a companion piece for Ch15 of the Writer’s Month ficlets (Aug 21: Hope) – more specifically it’s the bit where Luka goes to talk to Marinette.  That was written before Reflekdoll & Desperada aired, so this pretty much ignores those two eps, but that ficlet should probably be read before this one.  (The gist: Juleka is a Concerned Baby Sister and tells Marinette to stay away from Luka if she still loves Adrien.  Marinette respects her wishes; Luka doesn’t.)  This also follows the Day 10 theme of Lukanette month (Baked Goods).  I’ve got like an hour to kill between work and class on T/R, so I wrote this up then because the one scene would not get out of my head, and it just tied in perfectly with Hope.  (There are so many cheesy Labyrinth jokes ahead of y’all, but if you haven’t serenaded your crush with Labby!Bowie what are you even doing with your life?)

Luka Couffaine was annoyed.

…no, that wasn’t right.  He wasn’t annoyed. He was…not upset, not really. Perplexed?  Maybe.  Agitated. Concerned and trying to keep the concern from turning into worry.  A little afraid.  A little lonely, too, if he was being honest.

The point was he didn’t feel good, and in a city where feeling bad can lead to looking like Daft Punk and stealing voices he felt keeping his emotions on the positive was a decent priority.  He’d been watching the road by the river for over an hour now, the confusing tumble of negative emotions getting worse the longer he picked at his guitar.  

[abirddogmoment]

I am not an authority in dog sports or dog training or anything but listen, if you have to heavily correct your dog at a fun run the day before a trial, maybe your dog isn't ready to trial quite yet.

[defiant-firefly]

Damn I’ve done a @/arrtemisia and made a funny idea angsty whoops

[apex-academy]

Chapter 5 Trial: What You Are in the Dark (#10)

“Who got to look over the study hall area on the first floor?”

“I did...!”

“Like, a lil bit?”

“Personally, I thought the labby part was more exciting!”

“Well, I’m actually referring to that, too.”

“The broken bottle of acid was near the door to Arthur’s study hall—specifically, pieces of it were all the way up to the wall.”

“So Tsunyasha cut her fingers on that...?”

“Unlikely.”

“Right. It’s not the glass I’m worried about so much as the damage to the plaster.”

“The wall itself...?”

I nod.

“The parts where the acid obviously splattered onto it are a little yellowed.”

“But wasn’t the actual stuff totally see-through? Like, the liquid?”

“Nitric acid does actually leave yellow stains on clothing and such! If it’s not enough to eat through the fabric, of course.”

“It’s terrible to try to wash out...”

Sounds like personal experience to me. Is this the real reason why “chemistry isn’t his forte”?

“So there was a buncha acid on her clothes?”

“That’s why she snuck out?! To do acid?!”

There are too many things wrong with that statement to cover them all.

“We already established she was going to her study hall.”

“She musta got lost reeeal bad, then.”

“...”

“But the stains are on the back of her clothing, yes?”

“Right. Hard to say for the scarf-thing since she’s wearing it differently now...”

“......”

“...but I don’t think she was the one playing with chemicals.”

“Then who was?”

“Someone who must have come after Tsunyasha with the bottle.”

“Come after...?”

“You mean they... attacked her?”

“That’s what it’s looking like.”

“..............”

But why was she attacked? What did she actually witness? We won’t be hearing it from her anytime soon.

But there has to be a way to figure it out for ourselves.

[NEXT]

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

dudee all for us by zendaya and labyrinth reminds me of the league of villains

I've just listened to the song and OMG THERE ARE SOME PARTS THAT MADE ME SCREAMED. AND THE SONG, BEING CALLED ALL FOR US, IT COULD BE A REFERENCE TO TOMURA'S VERSION OF ALL FOR ONE BEING ALL FOR HIS LEAGUE.

I couldn't stop thinking about Tomura while listening to this part:

Ay, just for your love, yeah

I'll give you the world

Mona Lisa's smile, hey

Hell, I'll do twenty-five to life

If it makes me your king

A star in your eyes

And this part remind me of the League after Kamino and Kurogiri getting captured:

Too much in my system (famine, famine)

Money MIA (pockets hella empty)

Do it for my homegrowns (sisters, brothers)

Do it for the fam (yeah, so tell 'em, Labby)

And this one remind me of how often the sacrifice themselves to protect each other:

Guilty or innocent

My love is infinite, I'm giving it

No need for prisoners

And finally, this one makes me think of Tomura being possessed by AFO. I really wish we could get the League rescuing him (Spinner please):

When it all comes down to it

I hope one of you come back

To remind me of who I was

When I go disappear

Into that good night

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Okay while on the Strikers salt train, can we also bring up how iron man what's his face has like, the same damn concepts as themes as akechi, right down to the featherman references? It's already bad enough that akechi's stuck in spoiler character purgatory and can't appear, but to have a new character add nothing new and just recycle all of that feels like spitting in the eye of fans, especially akechi fans

Gonna be heading out on my 6 hour car ride back but....I wanna answer really fast.

Don't worry I won't be getting off the salt train for awhile.

I wanna state again, I haven't gotten to his dungeon yet (I just finished dungeon 3)......and while I have no hope left for the game (Sophia and Zenkichi are fun at least). So I can't really......bag on Tony Stark yet (not that I PLAN to, I don't WANT to....but it'll probably happen orz judging by the rate the game is going).

Tbf Goro doesn't have the monopoly on Featherman references. Jun and Ken (two chars that have similar key points to Goro), also have those as well (with Goro having the black theme and antagonist to party member in common with the former, and the more similar background and shared arcana and ironically similar looks, AND same birth year and month with the latter).

And iirc (it's been awhile) I thought that he wasn't a reference to Featherman but that the show was similar but not as popular (just another unrelated sentai anime). But it's been awhile since I read it and I'll keep an eye out for it when I get there to verify it.

THAT BEING SAID, I get it.

I think P5S would've been......it could've been better had Atlus waited. Not because I'm arbitrary in the right, and only I know what's best for P5 (heavy sarcasm there in case you didn't catch it). But because.......looking at the fandom, I think it's fair to say they wanted more.

I do think P5's spinoffs aren't planned well compared to P4's (let's be freaking fair, it was P3/4's >.> but I'll still say 4 out of laziness). I will argue that P4's quality is better for a number of reasons but for the biggest one is that they had a plan. You can see it. The melding of themes and a connection.

Arena had Labby, Sho foreshadowing, wondering why P3/4 trusted each other so easily, and questions on Labby's mom. Followed by PQ1, which explained the trust, added to P3/4 with it's B plots on both sides, and heavily hinted at Rei being the Labby mom plot (which connected back to Labby) (and ALSO it gave us a little taste of what the P5 dungeons would be like, with a treasure at the end, didn't know it at the time but it's cool looking back). WHICH THEN led into Ultimax (the glorious mess that it is), which finished the Labby (and her mom) arc (tbh it gave us some good closure on a lot of P3/4 kids arcs), introduced Sho, made Sho a great shadow archetype to not only Labby but also Yu and Adachi as well, and introduced Kagutsuchi (more what he represented rather than execution but he was like....fine, generic but fine). THen we have P4D, which is a big celebration of all the P4 music and one final send off, but the big thing is the straight up contrast between Kagutsuchi and Mikuratana. WHich is awesome for them to do, showing the exact opposite side of the bonds spectrum. Kagu being about "screw bonds, reject EVERYONE" and Miku being like "I want ALL the bonds, I don't care if I have to FORCE them." Which was really interesting (now if we can just have.....toxic bonds...or at least bonds used in a negative sense *glares at Goro and the Conspiracy/P5* You had such a good set up gdi).

P4 era spinoffs ebbed, flowed, and melded into each other. Building off of it. Miku being all about forced bonds is cool on its own, but having JUST come after the big bad who wanted to reject all bonds? It draws your attention just a biiiiiit more. It's not mind blowing, but couple with them mixing and mashing P3 and P4's themes at the same time? Building off each other? Some real thought was put into it.

P5's spinoffs.....aren't that. Which is a shame. Scramble, regardless if it had old game Persona users in it or not, could've been a great follow up for Goro and Sumi (or even Maruki).

I'm just hoping they don't dance and dangle Goro around like they do the P3MC (and whatever Liz is gonna do with him). Just do the arc don't leave it open for gd years. It's not building suspense, it's annoying the fans. It's really frustrating Atlus keeps doing a dick move after dick move with Goro I really feel sorry for his fans.

I didn't mean to go on that little P4 spinoff rant alkfjdsakfj it's almost 3 am and I still need to leave orz sorry it's a bit....uhh scrambled -shot- but I gotta head out now.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #477: Hot Springs Stories (Persona 4 Arena)

8:15 p.m. at an All You Can Eat Restaurant.......

Labrys: Damn.....That all really happened to you guys?

Kanji: ('Sigh') Yeah.......We kept getting pelted by towel baskets twice. Neither of which was any of our faults.

Teddie: ('Sigh Sadly') We tried so hard to tell them it was all a misunderstanding, but alas, they never believed us.....They even called us perverts and everything.

Labrys: That's crazy talk, 'hon. I don't think you and Kanji-Kun are perverts at all.

Ken: Yeah.....That was pretty rude of the girls to do that to you guys over a misunderstanding.... (Takes a Sip of his Drink)

Kanji: Tell me about it. The worst part of it all is that not a single one of them apologise about it the next day and onward except for Narukami's Little Cousin, Nanako. The others on the other hand, act like they forget about the whole thing and left us remembering everything.

Teddie: Hot Springs are a blessing and a curse in disguise.....

Labrys: Yeesh.....That was cold. Even for them.

Kanji: It was. (Shrugged) But it is what it is. (Chuckles Lightly) I remember being so pissed off at all of them that I actually gave the girls the silent treatment for almost an entire day.

Labrys: (Snickering) Oh shit. Seriously?

Teddie: (Giggles Softly) You guys should've seen him during the time. He was so determined about it and everything.

Kanji: Yeah I was.....'Till Rise had to go in and give that Sad Puppy Dog look on me to speak to them again.

Labrys: (Smirks Playfully) I could definitely see Rise-Chan doing somethin' like that.

Ken: You know......your Hot Spring story kinda of reminds me of the one Junpei told me a while back.

Kanji: For real?

Ken: Yeah. It all took place a few years ago where everyone in the dorm, except for me and Koromaru, went on a field trip with their classmates to the Resort Suite. I don't really know much about the entire details of what went down, but from what I heard, Mitsuru-Senpai literally froze Junpei and others frozen solid once they were spotted by her and the rest of the girls.

Kanji: SERIOUSLY?!!

Teddie: (Eyes Widened in Fear and Shock) Oh my!!!

Labrys: (Eyes Widened in Completely Shock) NO WAY!!!! Our Mitsuru-Senpai did all of that?!!!

Ken: That's what Junpei told me. He said was their punishment....Or to mom's case, it was their "Execution".

Teddie/Kanji: EXECUTION?!!!!!!!!

Labrys: Wait a minute. I-Isn't her whole "Execution" shtick suppose to be used during fights or taking out shadows?

Ken: (Nodded) Yeah. But it's also used whenever someone or something provokes her. (Shudders at the Time He Saw Mitsuru was Angry) It can be pretty terrifying if you ask me.....

Kanji: No shit......I mean, I know that lady's tough and everything, but I had no idea she would take this whole "Execution" thing to a whole new level! And also, who was this "mom" person, you mentioned a second ago?

Ken: I was......(Starts Blushing a Little) Referring to Mitsuru-Senpai......

Labrys: (Whispers into Teddie's Ear While Giggling) The kiddo think of senpai as his actual mom. It's pretty cute~

Teddie: Awwwwwwww!!~

Ken: (Blushes in Embarrassment) ANYWHO! As I was saying, this is one of the big reasons why mom-I mean...Mitsuru-Senpai is the last person anyone would want to upset. She can be pretty scary when she wants to be.....

Kanji: Well......Guess I know who not piss off in the future.....

Teddie: ('Gulp') Yeah.....Me too....

Labrys: You know....All these Hot Springs related stories got me thinking....

Ken: About what, Labrys?

Labrys: About how there's no way I'd be crazy enough to attack people in the springs just cause of misunderstanding.

Kanji: Seriously?

Labrys: Yeah. I mean....If I were ever in a situation where some guy accidentally walk in on butt naked, I would at least give him a chance to explain himself before I start doing some crazy stuff like.... Throwing some random baskets or executing them with ice powers or whatever.

Teddie: (Smiles Brightly Towards His Girlfriend) You're too kind, Labby-Chan~

Labrys: (Chuckles Lightly While She Bops On the Top of Teddie's Nose) And you're too cute for ya own good, 'hon~

Teddie: (Giggles Softly While Blushing) Did I forget to mention how beautiful you really are to me?~ Because that's what I think you are everyday~ (Gives Labrys a Wink)

Labrys: That's it. C'mere, you!~ (Pulls Teddie Into a Loving Hug While Kissing All Over His Cheeks) Momma's ('Mwah') Gonna ('Mwah') Show you ('Mwah') Some loving tonight!~ ('Mwaaah')

Teddie: (Giggles Ticklishly by each of Labrys' Kisses) Labby-Channn!~ C'mon! That tickles!~

Kanji: (Watches The Couple From his Side of their Seat) Look at them....('Sigh') It hasn't even been desert time yet and those two are already starting to act all cutesy to each other.

Ken: (Chuckles Lightly) True. But you do gotta admit. They are pretty cute together as a couple.

Kanji: Yeah..... There's no argument in that.......(Turns to Ken) So....... Is Kirijo-Senpai actually your mom or......

Ken: Not exactly. She and others did technically raised me when I was younger. It honestly took me until recently to realize that they're like family.

Kanji: (Smiles a Little) Nice. I'm kinda happy for ya, kiddo.

Ken: (Smiles Softly) Thanks, Kanji-san. By the way, if you don't mind me asking, how's Naoto-san been doing as of late.

Kanji: Pretty good. (Starts Rubbing the Back of his Head Back and Forth While Blushing a Little) To tell you truth, we uhhh.....started dating for a while now.....

Ken: (Eyes Widened in Surprise) Seriously? That's great! Congratulations!

Kanji: Thanks. (Frowns a Little) Though, the only down side to this is that our relationship is long distance, since she started her detective career not too long ago.

Ken: Oh. I'm.....guessing that's means you're starting to miss her, huh?

Kanji: Like crazy.....I know I should be happy for her following her own dreams and all, hell, I supported her all the way, I guess I couldn't help but to miss her sometimes, ya know?

Ken: (Gives Kanji a Reassuring Smile) Hey. I know it's hard to miss someone who's close to you, from a long distance. But I'm sure you two will see each other again sometime. You just have to be a little more patient.

Kanji: (Sighs While Smiling Again) Yeah..... It's a long ass road, but.....I guess it wouldn't hurt to wait a little while longer.

@princeoflions123

@keyenuta

@26shann

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

@miki-13

[universecipher]

[undermaze] hiya, I love the adorable comic you’re doing! 💜 so many fun characters all going to school together, and the art is adorable! Just wanted to let you know! Sidenote-you can ignore this if you want, I’m sure you get a lot of this- could my boi Labby join the class? KEEP UP THE AWESOME COMIC 💜💜💜

Hiii!! Thank you so much 💙💙💙

To be honest I don’t get messages like this a lot so thank you

Yes Labby can join the class just submit their reference and tell me about them

[lumpofwhump]

Find the Word Tag Game

I got a couple of tags for this one -- Thanks!

@whumpsday gave me the words Please, Thank, Hardly, and Softly.

@soheavyaburden gave me the words Burn, Damn, Wince, and Silent.

So, here goes!

Please (Kohat RP with @soheavyaburden):

"The first day that Zail been able to walk without stumbling, even while still leaning against the wall in order to do so, the guards had come to his cell and hauled him, quite easily, by the elbow into the bolted-down chair in the corner of the room without explanation. Before he even could ask what was happening, he heard a snip, and felt the sudden cold of the room against the back of his neck as the hair covering it fell to the floor. He’d broken down completely the first time he'd felt a cut directly to the side of one of his antennae, thrashing wildly even as he realized the danger in doing so. "NO! No! STOP! Please! I'll - I'll tell you anything," he'd promised. 'I'll do anything! Whatever you want, let me -'

The guards paused briefly, as if considering, as he lost the ability to continue speaking, but in the end pulled him back against the chair as he sobbed mutely."

--

Thank (Enclave RP with @skinofafish):

"Topher nods, still looking uncomfortable at the way Richardson describes subjects. However, he figures that, unlike Fletcher (hopefully), the director is too set in his ways to be convinced on this. 'Thank you. I’ll take good care of… of Clay. That’s what he prefers to be called, right?' It would take some adjusting. Alaric and the others generally referred to him by spitting his last name out like an epithet."

--

Hardly (The Scavenger & the Forgotten, Part 6):

"'Nice try,' the man said casually, ignoring Clee as she sputtered to defend herself against the accusation, right before one of the soldiers fired a shot directly into the other woman's head. She collapsed to the ground with hardly a sound, while Radu yelped and jumped back, his clothes now coated in blood."

--

Softly (Kohat RP):

"Lenavee went to Sid’s cell. After a brief look toward her own cell, confirming Erukah wasn't there, she knocked softly on the door."

--

Burn (Enclave RP):

“Barclay stared at Zail warily, half-expecting that this stranger was part of another of Katie’s sick games. When Zail briefly met his eyes, he looked away, his face burning."

--

Damn (Enclave RP):

"'DON’T!' Harlowe yelled. She knew how this ended, when they didn’t play by the rules set by the guards. Seeing her warning was pointless, though, and seeing Koutoujian raising her gun, Harlowe charged the senior guard, bracing for the worst. She took one shot, two shots, three shots, and felt none of them. Not yet. She jumped over the low partition separating the guards from the Scrap Heap and flung herself at Koutoujian, head butting her, taking her to the floor, and then sinking her teeth into Koutoujian’s shoulder.

Koutoujian already had her at point-blank range, though, and shot her to the chest. Damn. Less precise than she’d like, but the labby would bleed out fast enough, even if she hadn’t hit anything vital."

—

Wince (Kohat RP):

"Harlowe abruptly tore off toward Wes Madaus’s apartment building. She could get into the building easily enough. That was a bad sign.

A better sign, though not for her, was that when she picked the lock, she promptly got a fist to the face.

Rather than stopping there, Fiona Madaus kneed her hard to the gut. 'YOU COULD’VE FUCKING KNOCKED,' Fiona fumed.

Harlowe shook her head with a wince. 'Needed to check.'"

--

Silent (Kohat RP):

"'Now let's see,' Kageki said, moving slowly and deliberately through the crowd of stunned and panicked onlookers. 'I can only spend so long here. Lots of things to see, lots of things to do before my time's up. So, apologies, but I can only spend my time on the people important enough to be worth killing.' He pulled a gun out of his coat with his offhand and pointed it at the head of the other barista. 'How about you,' he said, just loud enough to cut through the sound of screaming. 'How many people will miss you when you're gone?'

The crowd went nearly silent, and people looked to one another, whispering, trying to figure out what to do. The barista whimpered and looked around for support, and her fearful expression intensified into a look of betrayal. She wailed."

--

@skinofafish @wolfeyedwitch @kira-the-whump-enthusiast

Not sure if any of you have already done this one (in the recent past...), but if you have time, spoons and interest, here are four words for you to find!

Tear, Hold, Miss, Bury

[fountainpenguin]

I'm really curious about both Rupert and Keefe. You got any interesting facts to share on them?

Mmm... Probably not much that hasn’t been said in-story. Let me think.

RUPERT ROEBEAM

- As a reminder, Rupert is the very lighthearted, teasing drone who appears in both Origin and Knots. He has dysolfactya and can’t read pheromone cues. He used to be a stage actor.

- Rupert is intended as a slight foil to Anti-Cosmo. A.C. is frequently described as “A Fairy in an Anti-Fairy’s body” because of his alleged Divus displacement disorder. Rupert is “an Anti-Fairy in a Fairy’s body” because he can’t read pheromones.

- Rupert also has poor eyesight (all ishigaq do). Poor sense of smell AND poor eyesight. It’s a wonder he’s lasted so long in a world where a single misstep can send you tumbling to the planet below.

- Rupert was originally designed with green hair and I constantly forget he’s blond now. The only reason I changed it was so he didn’t have the same hair color as Mickey Peridot, another side character in Knots, and Schnozmo, who’s also a manipulative slimeball. I’ve probably had to go back and change his hair color more than I’ve had to change a physical detail about any other character. If you catch me saying it’s green, please let me know.

- I’ve said this before, but Starla Roebeam was given her last name first because I drafted Origin Chapter 37 before a single word of Knots. I accidentally reused the surname Roebeam when Rupert appeared in Knots because I liked the alliteration. Because of the coincidence, I retroactively made Rupert Starla’s son

- Rupert is the youngest of the Roebeam triplets. Roxanne is the middle sibling; she was actually planned before Rice. Rice is the oldest. This has nothing to do with Rupert, but Roxanne’s been robbed of several planned scenes, I’m so sorry sweet daughter.

- Rupert and Rice were designed as ishigaq individually. It was pure lucky coincidence that Rice happened to be the same species as Starla, who had her species revealed in Chapter 6.

- Rupert is married to Rice’s ex-wife. He takes good care of his niece/daughter, when he sees her.

- He’s pretty large, especially for a drone (Takes after his father, Custer Arrowdive).

- Something I want to point out is that Rupert never actually met H.P.’s high school rival Ian Fairytwirl (he was too young) despite his playful insistence that he used to live with Ian (in the Origin chapter “Almost”). That’s not a mistake- I let him say that deliberately and I’ve been wondering if that would confuse anyone. Don’t believe half of what Rupert says when he’s showing off. He is just Like That.

- You might recall me explaining why the pixie Smith is “a doubly attractive gyne;” his pheromones are very strong and drones are drawn to him; even the other pixies take interest in him when not exposed regularly to H.P.’s pheromones. Smith is a little lazy and is very used to being fawned over by everyone. Then he met Rupert and realized he needed to develop an actual personality (a nice one at that). We’ll see how that plays out in Origin Chapter 41, “Letters and Numbers.”

- Rupert’s second-biggest weakness is that he’s a pretty-boy; he doesn’t like getting his hair messed up. His biggest weakness is his niece/daughter, Emma. He’ll do anything for her. He sings a lot of lullabies and is a very good dad to her when he’s around.

- I have no clue if Rupert enjoys the drone lifestyle or dislikes it. I lean towards him putting up with it and showing an exaggerated happy attitude to hide his pains.To be clear, he doesn’t necessarily mind the lifestyle, he just hates when gynes are jerks to him.

- Rupert has more of a moral compass than Rice. You might not have guessed that at this point in the story, but keep that in mind.

- I’m pretty sure Rupert was the LAST drone I designed, including future pixie kids and flashback characters (I count designs when I give them names, a basic personality, and a place in the world, so I count all the pixies as “designed” already).

- If I remember correctly, Rupert has an obsession with grilled cheese and the Fae equivalent of a bad smoking habit

- Anti-Rupert is a big nobody, but if you look closely, you’ll spot him in the background of Anti-Fairy World

.

WALTER KEEFE

- Keefe, like Rupert, has dysolfactya and can’t organize scents correctly

- Keefe is one of the first pixies I designed; in fact, I think I designed him before I even designed Longwood (because I wrote the ending to Baby, You’re a Rich Man before the bar scene in Chapter 9 and Keefe appears in that chapter).

- Specifically, I think I went Jardine > Wilcox > Madigan > Rosencrantz > Hawkins > Keefe > Finley > Wolfram > Kaufman > Cinna > Carmichael > Thane > Longwood > Springs > Faust > Hamilton > Bayard > Michaels > Hirschi > Smith > Saddler > Palomar > Cavatina > Blackwood > Mullins and Tolbert > Everybody else. Some of those names might surprise you, but I remember who my early kids were (I wasn’t joking when I said I remember Thane more quickly than I remember Bayard). Maybe it will make more sense when you remember I started drafting the 130 Prompts the same month I started Rich Man. These guys show up in “Make You Proud,” “Rain Dance,” and “Terrible Timing”!

- Keefe is one of Fergus’s three offspring to have been birthed naturally (though he came to be through in-vitro fertilization). The other two are Commelina (obviously) and Cherry (if you dare count him). Keefe is the only in-vitro pixie (Despite their plans, the cherubs never got around to testing any others)

- Keefe and Springs are very close and sometimes refer to each other as twins even though they aren’t. H.P. knows perfectly well they aren’t twins, but he also refers to them as such on occasion (particularly when they were young). They’re the “fraternal twins” in contrast to Mullins and Tolbert being “identical” (despite all the pixies being genetically identical)

- Keefe is on the smaller side for a pixie (though he’s still taller than Sanderson). Pretty distinct height difference between scrawny Keefe and beanpole Springs!

- Keefe’s always been one of my grumpiest pixies (Grumpy, but not as stubborn as H.P., Finley, or Sanderson). Writing him as an innocent child in Origin has been a strange experience.

- Keefe runs the Labyrinth (single-handedly until his sons enter the picture, if I recall correctly). He’s EXCESSIVELY organized even for a pixie and EXTREMELY paranoid about how the files are arranged

- That said, he’s also a little lazy. He does his job by keeping organized, but he’ll let you help him by putting your stuff on the shelves according to his system. If you mess anything up, you’ll get an earful.

- Keefe likes the Labyrinth because it’s a place you navigate by sight or practice rather than by smell, and because it’s an underground library, there’s nowhere to fall off the cloud. As much as he prides himself in keeping Labby organized, he also delights in being one of few people who can navigate it effectively (and will silently laugh if you get lost)

- He is just. constantly exhausted. Though a little lazy off the clock, he works hard when he’s on duty. He does too much too fast and pushes himself to the point of exhaustion.

- I have a handful of pixies who are interested in experimenting with romance and such, but Keefe’s always been a firm “No” on that.

- Keefe’s loyalty to H.P. is incredibly fierce, owing largely to the fact that he can’t be swayed by pheromones. He doesn’t like being bossed around and can be pretty snippy with Longwood. H.P. is his One True Boss and he doesn’t enjoy taking orders from anyone else.

- Keefe is probably one of the pixies who has the closest relationship with H.P. (after Sanderson, Madigan, Palomar, Commelina, and arguably Longwood). Keefe is pretty closed-off and not very talkative, which would probably annoy H.P. if they lived in a fully corporate society with a purely boss/employee relationship and didn’t have that faint familial connection. But H.P. likes Keefe as a person and they get along fine.

- Keefe is also one of H.P.’s favorite drones to preen with for absolutely selfish reasons (See also, “Can’t read pheromone cues”). Keefe doesn’t really “get” preening, but he doesn’t really mind. He can’t operate in a retinue circle (tends to crash into other drones) and can only preen effectively alone, though.

- Keefe and Sanderson don’t get along very well because, predictably, Sanderson gets very jealous of the attention H.P. gives him. Plus, Sanderson tends to be annoying in general and Keefe has a short fuse.

- If I’m remembering right, Keefe is raising two sons during Devil’s Backbone (at least two... I think it’s just two). His oldest is named Graham.

I guess that was more facts than I thought! Hope that satisfies your curiosity

[the-spiritual-tarot]

Labradorite

photo via crystal muse 

Its amazing how writing can relieve your mind. I slept so much better after writing about my recent nightmares. All of my anxiety seemed to go away once I had fully released it. 

There’s a lesson here.... things seem so much scarier when you’re obsessing over them. talking and/or writing really is therapeutic. there’s something about sharing your thoughts that takes the power away from what ever fear you’re holding on to. just something to remember. 

I also slept with my labradorite crystal last night. its a smooth palm stone, big and heavy, and one of my favorite crystals. I realized after writing about my nightmares (and wondering why my sleep has been so disturbed) that i haven’t been sleeping with my usual crystals for the last week. i did a deep clean of my room before the full moon and I had moved them all, with the intention of creating new grids and setting new intentions. I haven’t felt clear guidance on what i should focus on and so the crystals haven’t been on my bedside table. I can see now what comfort and energetic protection they provide me when I sleep. I have known for a while that they are totally necessary for me to have good quality, restful sleep, but sometimes its good to be reminded that they are really working for you. 

With my labradorite with me, i still had dreams, but they were not violent and honestly i don’t remember the details. I woke up this morning feeling a lot better and just rested. 

I am going to do a separate post about crystals for dreams/sleeping... 

photo via vanir-nebulae

I thought I would share my thoughts on Labradorite: 

Its one of my favorites because its gentle, grounding, but still activates the higher chakras. This means (in my own personal experience) that it aids you in your sleep/meditations, but doesn’t leave you feeling ungrounded. Since I naturally am always dissociating from my body.... I’m very spacey and tend to drift off ALL the time, i don’t like a lot of high vibe crystals because they make me feel light headed and woozy... help me get to the astral? bitch I’m there all the time!! haha - anyways, my point is that everyone needs different crystals for different things, and it just depends on your natural tendencies. I have such a hard time staying grounded, so light colored crystals - especially clear quartz, which is an ‘Amplifier’ makes me super anxious. I have actually never really had good experience with clear quartz, even though its one of the most common crystals. Weird, I know!

Back to our friend Labby. Labradorite feels magical. Many times the stone has mirrorlike prisms of color inside, which makes it a great stone to crystal gaze with. I personally like it under my pillow at night, to hold while meditating or reading tarot, or to just carry in my pocket. It has a calming energy. 

photo via 90377 

Since I have the stone sitting on my chest, I think I might just channel it and ask what its gifts are. This is coming directly from the spirit of my crystal, and is my interpretation... so it might vary from the traditional meanings of the stone:

A Message from Labradorite: “its job is to uplift, uplift your spirits. it enhances your natural gifts, especially when dealing with the spirit realm. It helps you notice tension in your body. it helps when activating energy and interpreting dreams. can help when walking through the dream world and in shamanism. it is very in tune with your body and can aid in healing. Supports all the chakras, great for learning about balance. Aquarius’s stone.” its energy tends to move in a circle, and when meditating you might feel or see light spinning. I also have been getting a lot of pictures of water and references to bodies of water. 

Thanks for reading

original post by Hannah @the-spiritual-tarot​

[oldguy56-world]

Take This Job and Shove It

Recently I had my bi-annual test for colon cancer. Without going into graphic details it does involve sending 'samples' gathered over three days in an envelope off to a lab for analysis. Inconvenient, yes, but it beats the alternative which involves a doctor shoving what feels like a baseball bat up your rectum. (rectum, damn near killed 'em. sorry about that but couldn't resist) Anyway, this process got me thinking that there is some poor labbie at the other end (no pun intended) who has the fun task of collecting the mail every day, and opening these envelopes up to see what treats have arrived. Maybe I could do this for a couple of days, but to think someone is making a career out of it just doesn't seem right.

I realize there must be other jobs out there that would be equally distasteful to my delicate sensibilities. (cut me some slack on this as I am trying to make a point). Here are some other jobs that are out there, and I do not believe I would be very good at, or for that matter, would want to be.

Pimple Popper. Didn't know this even existed but there is actually a tv show about this, and the person is a doctor!!! I watched it out of curiosity one day, and this patient had something the size of a small child growing on their back. In case you are eating while you are reading, that's all I will say about this. As a side note I would have thought that being a pimpologist involved street corners and women of questionable character, not a medical license.

Driving Instructor. Every day I see on the road what people are like after getting their license. (refer to my early blog: Driving Miss Daisy. Do it dammit). I can only imagine what it is like to get these people in your car before they know what they are doing. This job better have a drug plan to cover pills for high blood pressure, and an attorney on retainer just in case you strangle one of the students.

Nanny for Superman's kids. Would you want to change a diaper with what would come firing out of the baby at super speed? I have great respect for Ma and Pa Kent in dealing with little Clark. I heard they only fed him beans once, learned their lesson, fixed the wall in the nursery, and never spoke of it again.

Trump PR person. Who would want a job where people call you a liar every day, you know you are, but have to come up with fresh ideas of what he really meant to say. It would be much better to be his advisor, as you can make up anything you want to tell him, and he will either a) completely ignore you, or b) think it is so outrageous he has to repeat it for the next three and a half days.

A hole digger for the city. I am talking about the actual person that digs the hole, not the five guys you see stand there and watch him. Only good thing is that it is a seniority thing, and eventually you will be one of the chosen five and you can watch the new guy work.

Cannabis quality control. Sounds like a great job, but there is too much opportunity for your boss not to pay you, claim he did, and you would never be sure. Also your grocery bills go way up from all the munchies, and with having no pay, you go into debt, are out on the street, and have to now buy weed at street prices. A vicious circle. Do not be lured by the short term glamour of the job.

New drug tester. They pay you good money which you will have to use on elective surgery to remove that unidentifiable growth under your armpit.

Hotel maid. I try not to think of the nasty 'messes' that have to be cleaned up after an evening of fun. I would love to hear some stories, but would want to be spared any photo evidence.

Spy. This is a cool job, but you can't tell anyone. What good is that? If I am doing great things I want the world to know, or at least my family so they did not think I was a dull businessman. It might also be too tempting to make some people who annoy you disappear. Fun, but could scar your daughters if they continuously have boyfriends stop calling for no reason, and they waste time looking for the creep. (the more I think of this, maybe it would be worth it. When I am done here I will look at enrolling in spy school. Apparently they are everywhere if you know what to look for)

If these blogs suddenly stop, someone I have annoyed took up the last option. If not, talk to you next week.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: If you hate your job and there is nothing else you know how to do, learn to do something else.

[poppun-chan]

The Year of Keroro Challenge Update 5 (Yes Sir)

We’re Back! Actually this one was much easier than the last when I actually had the chance to work on it. Either way I’m going to be doing this a little bit differently, the end result will still be the same it’s more a difference in the production process so it will be easier to catch up.

On that note I had a bit of a surprise, I thought I was going to have several bits of writing to cover between the “Room of Reflection” and Labbie’s dry erase board on uses for bread crusts, but now it turns out both of those were more or less covered by Funimation (A few of the room of reflection notes seem to have been missed) so I have a whole bunch of unexpected free space now which I’d like to use to thank everyone who has been following my updates....And to give a special mention to DeadofFrogs who has been commenting on all of them, I just wanted to let you know that I do read and appreciate your comments, even if I can’t always think of something to say in response.

And now as usual, the plan count:

Serious Plans: K66:18 D66:1 MMK:1 TMM:1 (The anime one was a bit hard to classify since it could also be a funding one)

Funding Plans: K66:2

It’s a plan, I Swear!: K66:6 (I threw the birthday one in for good measure) 

Oh look! Progress!: K66:3

Also I somehow forgot to bring this up last time but in regards to episode 22, has anyone else realised this? It’s a bit odd that Tamama made such a big deal out of being leader since, unless he’d have to cross Momoka in the process, he technically has an army of sorts at his disposal already in the form of Momoka’s bodyguards (speaking of which, I wonder how he kept everything from that episode from getting back to her)

Episode 29: Oh goodness this episode is just full of fun little easter eggs....And Keroro’s acting, that’s just hilarious. Either way the first is Keroro parody Chigusa Tsukikage, the acting mentor from the shoujo manga “Glass Mask” who has a similar hairstyle to the one Keroro wears in the episode to hide the burn marks on her face. Rabbie’s bit about uses for bread crusts is a nod to a trope in Japan that a staple food for poor characters is the bread crusts that bakeries throw away when making their sandwiches (They sell crust-less sandwiches)

I remember somebody mentioning that the members of the Newspaper club are likely inspired by the human children from Doraemon (less Nobita), and I can sort of see that; but more than that has anyone else noticed the small animal they test the device on looks a bit like Ryo-ohki from the Tenchi series? No really, look at it.

Episode 30: Now let’s all be honest with our ourselves, this episode represents our worst case scenario when meeting our online friends; we all say it’s finding out the other person is really a creep twice our age sporting a moose hat or a serial killer or something like that, but after several years we can assume such people would have lost patience. No, secretly the thing we dread the most is having the other person meet the people we see everyday and reference all the times we’ve vented our frustrations over things they’ve done. 

Oh! One thing I noticed was that Taruru mentions being the representative of the 4th year group, not the kindergarten group....granted that doesn’t really tell us that much; in Japan only elementary school has a 4th year, but since Keron is a different planet altogether they could have a fourth year of middle school or high school, or it could be a system where the first year of training starts much later than you’d except (maybe around 11 or 12). Another is at the end Tamama says “Our Generation’s Turn”, not “Your Generation”, but the Funimation release’s subtitles fixed that anyway (my guess it is was a typo, it does make more sense with “Our” though since the age gap between the two doesn’t seem to be that big)

Moving along to part b, regardless of your stance on these sort of things and whether we should show developing characters being insecure about their appearances and working through it or whether we should have them always be satisfied with it no matter what (I lean more towards the former, it covers the people who arrive at insecurities on their own), can we just take a moment to look at Momoka’s Mother? She more or less looks the way Momoka wants to and considering the other ways she takes after her Mother, just waiting a few years to see what happens seems a viable option (Though I have to admit I never understood when other girls compared their appearances to adult women; it’s like comparing a kitten and a cat, you’re a similar thing but you’re not there yet). I have to admit I never really went through this though, my parents didn’t really draw much attention to these things and there’s quite a lot I didn’t notice about my appearance until I turned 20 (Plus I had a back brace I wore most of the day from ages 9-15 because my back muscles weren’t strong enough and after it came off most of the major changes had already happened, like a butterfly)

Episode 31: Aww! This one was quite cute, really there’s no other way I can describe it, this episode has a lot of really adorable moments between Keroro’s excitement over his space craft, the effort he goes through to make it back with his souveneer, and the moments with the narrator. And of course the two sweetest moments of the episode: the interaction with the Mojajin had the same sort of charm as seeing somebody pay a backhanded, yet sincere compliment and seeing Natsumi go searching for Keroro was adorable as well. I’m going to admit, when I first watched the series Natsumi’s way of handling the aliens rubbed me the wrong way and it still does, especially when she does the authoritarian “I’m forbidding it and expect you to just accept it” bit (honestly, I can’t condone that behaviour in anyone), so the opening was a bit dicey for me but the ending makes up for it. Really Keroro and Natsumi have one of the most tumultuous relationships in the show, so the rare moments when we get to see that they do care about each other are always nice to see.

And as a side note, the moment with the frog was absolutely hilarious; I always love it when you see characters based on an animal species interacting with that animal (Honestly, I’m shocked that after four movies Equestria Girls still hasn’t done a “Pony meets Horse” joke)

Episode 32: I’m going to take a moment to ask the one question that’s been burning in the back of my mind since I first saw this episode and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s wondered this: What would happen if they used this thing on a frog? Would it turn into a Human or a Keronian? There’s the potential for quite a few humour moments with this one and I would have loved to see that explored a bit. Also does anyone else find it funny that when Keroro explains why a Panda would make a good ally he basically describes a role that’s already filled by Tamama? Having a cute appearance, but becoming violent when you get too close. Actually Pandas aren’t especially aggressive towards humans, they have attacked them, but usually out of irritation (Dolphins would fit the cute yet deadly bit better than a Panda, some species such as the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin hunt for sport).

Having said that I’m guessing the Zoo they visit is based on the Ueno Zoo since that Zoo is located in Tokyo and did have a Panda at the time; though that Panda was male, also the Elephants they had during the war died of starvation, there’s a memorial, and a historically inaccurate picture book about it and everything

Episode 33: Now this one is interesting, my goal is to be a director/producer of animation (I’ve actually been working on a story board for a fan project) so I always enjoy a peek into the production process, especially for shows. It’s doubly interesting since the process they show is very different from in North America where the voice acting is typically done first, while the method shown here has it as the last step (it must make dubbing foreign shows easier though, if you usually do something similar anyway)

Though there are a couple of options for a difficult to draw pose that weren’t in here that I remember from the classes I took, one is taking a picture so you don’t have to have a model standing for as long. The other is a bit controversial considering the sensibilities I’ve seen from some fan artists, but it’s something called a swipe file. Basically it’s a collection of pictures that that catch your interest that you can use for inspiration, reference and things you can’t get to look right. I know some people don’t approve, but some professionals do actually trace poses and details they have trouble with, especially if it’s something like key animation where you have to make a large number of drawings in a short period of time with nothing to work off of (in-between animation is easier since you’re working off the key drawings and most of the image is the same once you figure out how the character will go from pose a to pose b, and the inking stage of cel animation even more so, enough that Walt Disney replaced the entire inking depart with photocopy machines after Sleeping Beauty released in theaters because the film did poorly and the studio was in financial trouble as a result). If nothing else it’s a good way to practice since you can build muscle memory.

I just wanted to mention this since I remember a while back in another fandom that a lot of people were scandalised when it came out that one artist known for drawing comics had been using screenshots to get the basic pose he built the character on top of and I thought people’s reactions were a bit unfair given how quickly he had been putting his comics together. Especially since nobody was bothered by vector tracing and it’s apparently something that the animation industry has done for years (Some actually do more than that, I remember reading a book from overseas that mentioned a possible shortcut for monochrome pieces of keeping a stack of travel and real estate brochures and catelogues to cut out background from. That I don’t know if you’d be able to do here though) 

Episode 34: Oh I remember this one, to be honest I prefer the ending in the anime version, not just because everyone gets to go, but also because it acknowledges the fact that Keroro never needed a ticket to begin with (on a side note, I feel the Tamama shaped canon on Momoka’s powered suit is a fun little touch). 

As for part 2, actually I don’t think I’ve watched either part of this episode very many times, but watching it again I’m surprised that one Duet with Keroro & Fuyuki doesn’t play, the one about finding a pebble while walking....Having said that I remember back when I first watched the series, the song boulevard of broken dreams played on the radio a lot and I think this episode was the reason for a parody that always popped into my head of Keroro singing it as “Boulevard of broken plates” (By the way, the best way to fix ceramics is to moisten it and use crazy glue; it needs moisture to stick so running it under the faucet should work)

Episode 35: It’s the birthday episode! I remember this inspiring an entire discussion trying to work out the approximate Birthdays of each character based on astrology (Fuyuki & Momoka have actual hints since we see their birthdays celebrated; Fuyuki’s is likely mid-October and Momoka’s in late March) we actually worked out a few, though I remember we had trouble with Dororo, Mois, Koyuki & Saburo & I’m not sure what we ultimately settled on.

Having said that Keroro’s does fit really well, there’s one person my family knows (the mother of my closest friend growing up) who has her birthday the day before Keroro’s and there are certain....similarities in their behaviour (To give you an idea, my mom first met her when I was in kindergarten and she asked my mom to be the emergency contact for her son who was in my class and my mom agreed to avoid her asking someone dangerous)

Also the gifts Giroro gives Natsumi are space versions of the items the title character of Kaguya Hime asks five suitors (one per suitor) to bring her to win her hand in marriage, in the end all of them fail since the tasks were supposed to be near impossible (it was more to stop them bothering her parents). Either way Giroro’s comment that he casually picked them up for her would probably have been a bit more believable if he had taken that claw/fang out of his head first....just a thought.