#man... first the hk thing now this?

[theinfinitedivides]

TABBER?????? WHAT THE F*CK????????

[sanzaibian]

“Sir, here are the Beatty files.” The young woman told me, handing a USB key.

I have heard a lot about these files. They were intercepted in the town after which they’re named by the secret services a while ago, but were encrypted in such a puzzling way that only now can we view them. And of course, I am the first one to be able to review its content.

I know a lot of things, as it is my job to be informed of anything and everything happening around the world. I know the plans of China over Taiwan, the successor to the Ayatollah, the contents of the talks between Putin and Kim Jong-un, and all the current US military strategy. In my line of work, everything can happen, yet at no single point could I make sense of the Beatty files. Nor could anyone else for that matter.

I excused the young woman, bidding to her my thanks for the deciphering team, and went to the unused laptop I had prepared. When it comes to matters of national security, I cannot afford to be careless, and let anyone unlicensed to get access to this. So brand new laptop, created by us, which has never been opened, to open these files.

And so I fiddled with the parameters a bit, entering the secret code, and inserted the USB key to view its contents. Inside were a few files, all of which videos. Their names were not informative, since I know for a fact that their original names were not recovered, so I just opened the first file in the list.

The video opened looking down in a white cubic room, meaning it was very likely a security camera recording. In addition, there was the time indicated on the bottom right, yet something felt weird about how it was displayed… 15:58… 15:59… 15:60 ???... 16:01, etc. Why is it not counting time correctly ? Nobody indicates time like this ! It’s wrong, it’s incorrect ! I just opened it and there’s already something I cannot in any way explain !

Taking a deep breath, I look at the center of the screen, in which I have a good view of a man sat in a chair. He has tanned skin, black hair and black stubble, and a very developed musculature. He looks to be a very attractive middle-eastern man, although I cannot say which ethnicity he precisely has.

The chair he’s sitting on is quite massive, and he looks almost as if he is… restrained in it ? Yes, there seems to be little handcuffs tethering him to the armchairs. But most striking are the numerous tubes going out from his arms, legs, torso and even head, linked to some types of medical appliances I cannot recognize, as well as to a sort of glass tank.

Suddenly, I notice the deep voice of a man. I up the volume, and hear… a language I cannot understand.

“Tzai en 19/03, 2:17, en tzoujkbruoi odogattzion program en Scipio Labratory. Ny hse Hk. Adtem, tzai widt nyn hskadiais, Sjd. Fingtrosy ÿ Sd. Vagohs, ÿ naum wom fill no tzoujketvÿsn ekspÿrians widt no #1073 bymarjen.”

At first I get some German vibes from it, but then it seems to be Polish, and then French… Whatever that language might be, it is not one I have ever heard. The man in the chair looks around, seemingly half-dazed, as if he was drugged. I don’t know what will happen to him, yet I get the feeling that it won’t be a desirable fate.

Suddenly, another voice, that of a woman by the looks of things, speaking in that same strange language.

“Hsüzmalhsÿv drël en im.”

Then a buzzer sound. There seems to be some white substance flowing inside the man’s body, through the tubes from the medical appliances. As it flows, I can see his eyes starting to become more droopy, before fluttering, and then closing. At the same time, his body starts floundering in the restraints, as if he was keeping himself from falling asleep. But as time went on and the white liquid ran dry, all of his muscles were relaxing and his stance become limp, like that of a dysfunctional robot. However, looking at his accelerating breathing rhythm, it seems to my trained eye that he is not actually asleep. It’s only his body refusing to function correctly.

“Drël ingkatzt. Etvÿsn harjimÿll.” Says another voice, deeper than the last one, but not as deep as the first one.

I don’t really know what’s happening. If the counter on the bottom-right of the screen wasn’t ticking up, I would have thought that the image was frozen. But then, suddenly, I can hear a low sound in the recording. And that sounds starts creeping higher and higher, as if something was charging up… Yeah, definitively charging up, since I almost saw some lightning sparks going off from the chair…

I don’t know what’s happening, but it seems to be malfunctioning. The sparks make themselves more and more intense, and it almost seems as if the machine is ready to explode...

Just as I say that, the first deep voice makes itself heard once again, but this time more in a frustrated or worried tone than an official one.

“Sel heont havy… Go huop sel hstill pÿrdont...”

But suddenly, the sparks stop, and while the sound doesn’t stop, beige liquid start flowing into the pipes… from the man to the tank ? What is that thing ? I don’t understand ! However, I can hear cries of rejoice in the audience, with all three voices I’ve heard since then saying incomprehensible stuff that I wouldn’t even be able to transcribe. I guess they also didn’t think… whatever this is would work ?

I take a drink from my water bottle as I keep an eye on the video. However, since I need to reach my bag, I cannot actively monitor it. Besides, according to what I hear, nothing of note seems to be happening... But when I have put down the bottle, I stop the video. I rub my eyes, but even then, I still see it.

The man seems smaller.

Somehow.

I go back in the video to the time where the man with the deepest voice sounded worried and… Yeah, looking like that, it’s even more apparent. The man has been losing mass. And the tanks have been filled by this beige skin-color liquid… Heh, if I didn’t know I was in reality, I would have said that this is muscle-juice, but this is ridiculous…

Especially since the body mass hasn’t been the only thing to change.

As I play back the video and continue through the long haul of high-pitch noise and not much else, I notice that the man’s stubble seems to be disappearing… and his head hair growing as well, somehow ? It almost seems as if he’s becoming less masculine by the second, if it even makes any sense, even though nothing about this video actually makesanysense. If I didn’t know who supplied it to me, I would have said this was a fake…

As his pecs were shrinking, his arms were thinning, his waist narrowing and his legs slimming, his stance almost seemed to be relaxing further – if it’s even possible. I mean, I don’t know ! It’s just the impression that I’m getting ! As the last of his stubble vanishes, at least according to what I can see through the pixels, he almost seems to be getting cuter ? Whence more relaxed ? Fuck, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever…

Oh. I know why I get this impression. It’s not anymore weird or nonsensical, but at least in this context it seems to make sense… I think he also is losing height. Yes, actually. Height. It’s almost as if someone took the textbook definition of a “twink” and decided to impart its characteristic on this poor fellow – don’t ask me why I know what it is.

As I continue watching in horror, the woman’s voice says, gleefully :

“Entzony as hen !”

How can they sound so… happy ? Happy to torture a man like this ? To, quite visibly, drain his muscles into those tanks that look more and more full ? It just goes beyond me ! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my fair share of horrible and unethical treatments, and a ton of unethical human experiments. But this by far takes the cake of the most disturbing thing I have ever seen ! They’re taking away what he is, his identity ! Him ! That’s the most cruel violation of human rights I have ever seen ! To gleefully disfigure someone like that…

The tanks have finished filling up, and the sound starts lowering in intensity. The man left looks only like a shadow of who he was. He still looks like himself, except devoid of any… meat, may I say ? When the machine was well and truly turned off, the deep voice rejoiced, seemingly announcing the success of that terrible plot.

“Fÿstyfuroll ! Oll fod havy kotzvong !”

Funnily enough, the first word made me think of “feast for all”, which just feels wrong given the context. On that, they all seem to have left the premises, as a nurse came in and untethered the poor man from all the equipment, and taking with her the tanks filled of muscle juice.

I continued watching, hoping that I would get to see the young man wake up.

And wake up he did, looking around, before standing up… and immediately falling. Presumably due to him not expecting to be this skinny. He then looked at himself, and had an utterly horrified look in his eyes, as if he was processing the fact that he was irremediably different.

He crawled towards the wall, and using that, he climbed back to standing, managing to take a position so that he could be looking at the camera.

And on that, the video suddenly stopped, leaving me on this freeze frame :

I absolutely don’t know what to do with that. Now I not only understand, but also feel how confused the secret services were by intercepting this message. It just seems wrong in so many ways, so much that… it might not even have occurred on Earth for all I know ! The language is unknown, but familiar. The way to count time is disturbing, but otherwise identical to ours. The events depicted are of typical mad experimentation, but in a manner that is unthinkable in my knowledge of the world.

I don’t have the strength to view any of the other videos, since they’re likely all the same amount of disturbing. So I close the laptop, and already starts asking myself the question I need to give an answer for my superiors :

Just what the hell are the Beatty files ?!

[qilingxiong]

九龍城寨之圍城 | Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024)

I've rewatched this movie more than once, since seeing it in theatres back in August, and each time was just as good as the first if not better. Given that, I now have many thoughts so I'm subjecting y'all to listening to why you should watch it:

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (九龍城寨之圍城 or gau2 lung4 sing4 zaai6 zi1 wai4 sing4) is a martial arts action/crime film directed by Soi Cheang. It is an adaptation of the manhua City of Darkness by Andy Seto, and its source novel of the same name by Yuyi. The film's cast has established Hong Kong names folded in with newer-generation actors, starring Raymond Lam, Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Richie Jen, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, German Cheung, and Tony Wu (Aaron Kwok gets a cameo role, too).

At a broad glance, the movie follows several major triads in 1980s Hong Kong and their power struggle to control the Kowloon Walled City (a densely populated urban enclave, which for decades evaded direct governance by either the British colonial or Chinese powers in the area). We're introduced to the KWC and the triads' major players through the eyes of Chan Lok-Kwan (Raymond Lam), a man fleeing Vietnam and attempting to make a life for himself in HK. He winds up seeking refuge in the KWC, and comes to call both the city and the people he meets in it a home worth defending.

The narrative itself is not the most complex, but if you enjoy '80s Hong Kong films in these genres, it's solid fare and a harkening back to that decade. All the major themes like brotherhood (and brotherhood vs blood), vengeance, and struggle with conflicting loyalties are there, alongside an internal search for identity and belonging within Hong Kong. But the highlight in it is that the plot connects feast after feast of utterly stunning fight choreography, made all the more impressive by the fact that, according to Louis Koo, quite a few major cast members had never filmed this kind of action before. All their training was done just for TotW, and oh, does it pay off. I can't make good gifs, so you'll have to watch and see for yourself. It's not action for action's sake, either; listening to the head stunt choreographer discuss how different characters' fighting styles were crafted shows off how fight scenes aren't breaks in the story, they tell the story, and deepen our understanding of the characters.

The setting of the Kowloon Walled City truly makes the action in TotW stand out. It's a unique space to stage all these major fights, as the KWC's buildings at the time were packed together close enough to resemble a singular block from the outside. Once inside, it's a stacked, dark maze of uneven paths, stairs, and rickety roofs, with electrical and television cabling snaking over/around/through everything. Fight scenes in these streets feel thrillingly claustrophobic, with lots of acrobatics and near-dodges as characters navigate these tight alleys of the KWC. Each impact as a character goes flying into a wall, or is launched down a flight of stairs or onto a roof, is wonderfully visceral to watch.

All credit and hopefully awards are due to the production and set design teams for their work, in crafting this environment for the story and its fights. The visual/spatial representation of the KWC is the film's other glorious highlight, alongside the choreography. Whole streets of the KWC were recreated for this, filled with every mundane, period-accurate detail from the lives of ordinary people who would have lived there. It's impossible to catch all the intricacies put into making the KWC come to life again onscreen, just from watching the film. Shots like the credits sequence offer close-ups of harder-to-see details, and videos like a tour of the KWC set by Terrance Lau, acting as his character Shin, show off things from the drinks in the fridge at the corner store to the scribbled writing on the walls by the public taps. This film was designed with a drive to faithfully represent what the Kowloon Walled City had been like, how it looked when it was lived in, and they achieved it to an incredible degree.

That dedication extends to more than just the sets, though. The emotional core of TotW revolves around the KWC's inhabitants, and how they were the ones who made the city what it was, a home for about 35,000 people at a time. The film doesn't treat the KWC as just an eye-catching location to stage some fights; its characters might be fictional and overloaded with jianghu powers, but it goes out of its way to show how ordinary people might have lived, worked, and socialized within the historic city. It shows off why, despite its (not unwarranted) dark reputation, so many chose to live in a place that was once the densest urban center on the planet.

And this brings us to the acting, because the cast all do a very good job bringing their characters to life as the heart of the KWC. Louis Koo is fucking fantastic and arguably the scene stealer of the film as Cyclone, the triad leader in current charge of the KWC. He's grumpy, magnetic, and dangerous when he must be, but he also cares so very, very deeply about the inhabitants within his jurisdiction. Terrance Lau's Shin acts as his charismatic and capable right hand man, as well as protégé to Cyclone, befriending Chan Lok-Kwan and helping him become accustomed to life in the KWC. These two, along with the snarky Twelfth Master (Tony Wu) and the masked + imposing AV (German Cheung) become a quartet with great chemistry and friendship, the next generation to watch over and protect the Kowloon Walled City. Outside the KWC cast, antagonist figures like Sammo Hung, Philip Ng, and Richie Jen's characters are intimidating and compelling as threats to the city, and the lives people have etched out within its walls.

All of these things put together, and Twilight of the Warriors is a deeply fun, enjoyable, and rewatchable film (so good, in fact, that Hong Kong has submitted it as its nomination for the 2025 Oscars). The movie doesn't lose its emotional throughline in the promise of an action-packed ride it fully delivers on, and it uses its narrative, setting, and choreography to pay tribute to an earlier era of Hong Kong, as well as highlight + humanize a piece of the region's history that might not be quite as well known to some.

(The Kowloon Walled City was demolished and its inhabitants relocated in 1993. The area where it once stood is now a park, with some historic buildings preserved. If you're curious about people in the KWC before demolition, City Of Darkness: Life In Kowloon Walled City (1993) by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot is a collection of photographs and first-hand recountings from residents, recording their lives and stories. I'm in the midst of reading it right now.)

If anything I've said has piqued your interest whatsoever, I say to give Twilight of the Warriors a try, if you have a free two hours to spare. Something in it will be worth it for you. And if I've failed to convince you with any of this, or you need one more push, here's the trailer for the film:

And if I did manage to actually get anyone to seek out this movie, please tell me! I'd love to know your thoughts.

[peargor]

Not quite sure if sent the message cause bad internet connection so i'll just paste the whole thing here again incase:

Hey peargor!(donno if you're still using tumblr bt whatever) Let me Congrats ya for your coming completion on Touhou project first (yay恭喜)

Here's the wandering dude from mainland china(typical netizen lol)and randomly clicked into ya website while visiting webrings & link collections.Lotta ideas jump through my head and letme say a few words below: BoTWR's really a good series from my perspective,like,Dispite having gaps when understanding the lore,i still can kinda understand the characters,from core to spirit(Cantonese's partly cognizable for mandarin viewers so it kinda fun when lookin' zoey swearing lol)I guess a variety of mainland audience would like it too.Like,it even inspired me to have a look back into the history and mess 'n hongkong on the "great firewall" and made me sorta think deeply about all these mess……but anyways,here's imaginary non medal stickers：

"Mandarin approved"and

"i concerned for la nation"(just kidding),

and i'll keep focusing on the series(actually the others' quite adorable too,sure it took me a while to realize that you actually deeply involve in internet meme culture,after the shock when i found you do made the pogchamp meme gosh)

Btw Just wondering,did the reading disorder cause you to use more english in written form stuff?

Looking forward for the upcoming new chapters yet a few more words:

1:LIT ' O TOMMIE DESERVES ＢＥＴＴＥＲ Yo

Poor tommy,hope he 'll get a chance to be a man

2:mmm how and what would zoey's dad be…… He's sorta a villain for now but i hope he's just a dude who failed to correct his own fault by force or "internal error"?

3:that color can be some exposure of one's emotion thing.yeah classic "into head" thingy but perhaps it means more deep than what it seems?Maybe Blue represents the sadness,niche thoughts,hopeless rational thinking,Yellow's cheerfully craziness,Red's cruelly dialectical greedin' justice,and BLACK's something unresist-able unless you learn some real floyd's philosophy thing?

You can get some new referencing idea from the old HK's TVB show like "大时代"(The Greed of a man),also some new from mainland that accidentally have more coverage report on hk which apple dailys' doesn't(?),Trust me,gotta be good for setting both character and lore

Whatever,Best wishes on not getting perished by cops!(pretty sure you won't be cause you probably haven't spoke something politically for at least 2 years on the public internet and you won't be caught for drawing "china virus girl?" and political comments too early haha)

PS:Try to get yourself a fan-base besides the old social meida the X,patron,like a mewe,discord group somethin' alike for a better place for talks 'n discussion i suppose?

Hi fellow netizen! I'm sure the mainland would like to read the comics but that really opens up a can of worms that I'm not prepared to deal with yet, so for now I'll refrain from translating the comics.

1: Tommy has the happiest life compared to the rest of the main cast I wouldn't worry too much about him lol

2: mm it's much more complicated, I also think my audience expects a political opinion from me. It ties to my own experiences with asian culture in general. I am very critical, but I think the public expectation to what I'm critical of is kinda skewed at the moment. There's so much nuance to this story I hope people have a healthy discussion over the conclusion of Zoey's arc in the future.

3: Yellow, Blue and Red are the key colours. What they represent is up to your own interpretation. To me yellow is the self/your values, blue is career/ambition, and red is religion/community/family. There's more colours down the road but these are the most important ones. If there's going to be discussions over the story please feel free to create those spaces! I haven't done so because I am the main writer and I would like these things to happen naturally in the future. It feels wrong for me to create a space as someone with complete authority over the story.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on IWBTWR! Sorry it took so long to respond, I've been trying to find the words to convery my thoughts properly.

[rolameny]

i played through nine sols a second time and now i am going to talk about it. full spoilers!!

this is one of those works that tells you a lot of things about its world from the jump, only without giving you the context to interpret those statements. it makes a second visit so rewarding. going back through and knowing exactly what each monument means / the things yi is talking around.... really really good.

heng is fantastic on a replay. the first time around till you get the final message i thought yi was haunted. i also thought the ji reveal would be that he was heng and not an adult man

"neither of us made a mistake. we both made different choices" says yi, a man who has made so very many mistakes

game so good it makes you go "man i should learn more about taoism so i can better understand its themes"

it's wild how much this game draws on hollow knight and yet stands on its own as a totally different thing. like, mechanically, the jades are charms. the charged attack is a great slash. the full movement kit is monarch wings and mothwing cloak. the geo/artifacts economy. and you're a little guy who can't quite manage to die fighting your way through a series of bosses and some brightly hued corruption to sacrifice yourself at the end. it's just straightforwardly true that RCG pulled a great deal from HK, and it was enough to make me go aha!!! in recognition many times, but it's completely its own thing. own gameplay feel, own world, own story.

own protag: i love the silent protag in hollow knight but yi is such a lovable bitch [affectionate/derogatory]. guy who sucks so bad. guy it took over five hundred years to internalize a single social-emotional lesson.

it's so fascinating watching him react to the different sols. who does he get angry with. who does he make an offer of mercy to. because kuafu is so much the guy who is there i forgot yi also considered lady e the other reasonable person on the council, right up till he namedrops her when yelling at eigong.

the anger and spite to treat goumang as he did!! and even in the true ending you see neither he nor kuafu thought about her. there are some gaps of consideration in the true ending that i think of as "well we don't have time for that but you get it" -- any other potential apemen on new kunlun (peach blossom village is the 95th livestock pen. girl where are the others), the like 300-odd of 100k solarians left remaining in cryosleep who might like to at least live a little on earth before dying. imo the narrative is just skimming over them, we reach the emotional point of it with the people we know (kuafu and the gang). and it would be a whole narrative diversion to grab her. but the true ending makes sure to show us that goumang is still down there, rather than skimming over her fate. even when he grows a little yi still sucks so much dude [affectionate]. and kuafu's passivity coming to the fore here as well!

kuafu is so compelling because he is The Nice Guy but he is absolutely not necessarily The Kind Guy as well. he was just chill with the whole council plan and didn't do anything except be kind of bummed when yi died. (iirc he does just think yi's head did that. could have thought that one through a little more.) at the ending he pushes back against the idea of saving the apemen!

lady ethereal my beloved elizabeth holmes as a lynx furry. there's a fight that made me nod sagely and go Ah, Nightmare King Grimm. here's a place where i felt a little dissonance -- the full screen huge face digital flashing between normal/happy and manic evil laughter is a horror classic but it didn't quite hit it for lady e imo. huge face crying or snarling would have worked better i think, which i say even though i get the manic laughter through panic beat. idk. i love that in her bossfight she is presenting herself as the villain she thinks she is -- she gets out her heaving-est pushup bra for this one. sorry about it, girl. maybe next time if you know you're consigning a hundred thousand people to slow madness within their cryochambers maybe speak up about it.

speaking of people who learned no lessons. ji like okay well i've seen a lot of horror and so i elect to do nothing about it except contribute my cells to possibly the worst cause on earth. i will continue to wander this grotto for five hundred years while it gets worse. 👍 i'm having meaningful discussions about the tao with your man in the tentacle hole and i am not sorry, ji.

i understand the anglo readability argument for transliterating li er as lear but i, the anglophone in the room, did have to look at the fanwiki to understand that we were not dipping into shakespeare for a single guy. 😔

kanghui is such a fantastic element of this game. you get just enough about him to add to the horror of what eigong was doing, and what the jies are doing, and what the fuck is up with penglai to begin with. his inclusion makes ji make more sense to me as well. it's not that ji is a once in a millennium impossibility. it's that penglai is so so so weird. ji and yi pull up little chairs in front of kanghui's torture contraption for immortality group therapy.

like that one post says. CHIYOU best character CHIYOU

the siscon stuff in this game is so funny. [looking at the fengs] gang what's wrong with you [looking at yi and heng] gang what's wrong with you. congrats to the other characters on not having siblings and therefore having slightly more normal psychosexual hangups such as "getting off to body modification and torture."

RCG funding for one million years please 🙏🙏🙏 i know they said it took them five years to make this one but even with that timeline it's crazy that they went from narrative horror game to a genuinely best-in-class feeling Sekirollow Knight. they are so good at this shit.

okay. i have exorcised my thoughts and feelings about this game. playing a twenty-hour game twice in like 2-3 weeks is normal right.

[dairyfreenugget]

There are also a few species of human in my AU, though I am still developing them

Because I went in a direction of speculative evolution for this setting but still wanted to keep some weird traits for certain human species, I've decided that some of their lineages were altered by ancient gods through magic that's been (thankfully) forgotten to time.

Homo sapiens would just be most bugs gijinka equivalent and most common human species. Here called Homo sapiens vulgaris (common thinking man) since they're the most widespread of homo species.

Homo sapiens major (greater thinking man) is a subspecies of homo sapiens that's bigger and has greater muscle mass, making them overall stronger. They also have quite different societal norms, as majority of them are females and generally females are stronger than males, and mostly form matiarchal societies. They're equivalent to ants and termites. Maybe bees and wasps too but I haven't decided

Homo hyperboreus (man from the Arctic region) is a species of human living in the far north region. A direct descendant from the first saphont humans, as humans in this AU originated from the arctic regions. They're very similar to homo sapiens but have way more hair covering their bodies, which also tends to be light in colour. They're also all mostly dark skinned, to protect from the light bouncing off the snow. No bug equivalent, I just thought it'd be cool to have them here.

Homo gracilipes (slender-footed man) is split into two sub-species; H. Gracilipes Pictus (painted slender-footed man) and H. Gracilipes Hispidus (shaggy slender-footed man). They're one of the lineages that have been altered by old gods. They're digitigrade, posess antennae-like feelers on their heads, have sharp ears, and typically are more magically-inclinned. H. Gracilipes Pictus are diurnal and taller, while H. Gracilipes Hispidus are nocturnal, generally shorter, and with more hair on their bodies. Both species don't have strong sexual dimorphism, with the only thing setting the two sexes apart is the fact that male's feelers are usually longer or fluffier. Pictus are equivalent of butterflies and Hispidus are equivalent of moths.

Homo Sapiens Humilis (small thinking man) are a small species of human originating from a small island archipelago, which is what caused their size (island dwarfism). Another species lineage affected by the ancient gods, some of their members grow hard keratin sheets over their bodies. Bug equivalent are snails and slugs.

Homo Silvestris (man from the forest) are one of the modified species. They are a large, strictly carnivorous human with large, segmented mouths that extend down their throat, sharp teeth, pointy ears, and arms covered in hair, with long claws. Bug equivalent are most arachnids.

Homo Silveris Virosus (poisonous man from the forest) are a modified subspecies of the previously listed human. They're smaller with smaller mouths but are highly venomous. They're carnivorous and hematophagous. Bug equivalent are scorpions.

Now not exactly humans, but very closely related species that are still sapient

Anthropotimidus aquaticus (timid man found near water) is a species of homoids adapted to living in humid caves. Their skin is pale, almost translucent, and they lack body hair. They live in matiarchal societies and mostly keep to themselves. Bug equivalent are flukes and flatworms.

Anthronothos (false/wrong human), a large, cave-dwelling/nocturnal hominid species, evolved to feed on other humans. They live in small communities but are highly aggressive to any other species. HK equivalent of the nosk.

Anthronothos grandi, a subspecies of the aforementioned homonid but much, much larger. Because I can't help myself making biologically-accurate giants.

[hirocimacruiser]

What are old cars like to drive now?

Mazda Familia 3 door full time 4WD1600DOHC turbo review.

The second generation FF Familia tends to be overshadowed by the success of the first FF Familia. The Familia underwent a Key Concept model change in 1985, and the sports version of the 1.6 (twin cam turbo + full-time 4WD) became popular. Yasushi Shimono drove to Osaka for the later model after minor changes.

Text | Yasushi Shimono Photos Chihiro Abe

The other day, I rented a Familia car in Takamatsu, Shikoku. If you see Nippon Rent-a-Car, Toyota Rent-a-Car, and Nissan Rent-A-Car lined up at the counter in the airport lobby, if you're a car fan, you should probably rent a Mazda Rent-A-Car at this time of year.

It's a personal choice, but the Familia 1500AT I rented was actually very nice. The engine and suspension have the solid feel of a German car, and it feels great. Even though I've already driven over 20,000km, I can barely see any wear and tear.

During my summer vacation two years ago, I took a Familia rental car at the station in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, and it was a great ride, and my family was happy with it.

For test drives, members of the media always ride in the manufacturer's so-called PR vehicles.

However, when they later try the same car in a rental car, they are often disappointed to varying degrees. I don't have the space to write about the reasons in detail here, but Familia is an extremely rare example of people rediscovering their charm through rental cars. It feels like a very seriously made car.

I am holding this.

FULLY MASCULINE NOUN CAR

In downtown Osaka, I was given a ride on a nostalgic Familia. 1988 model 3 door twin cam turbo 4W.D. It is a full-time 4WD high-performance model that was part of the second-generation FF Familia series that debuted in 1985.

I splurged on expensive 200,000 yen 0Z racing aluminum wheels for the car I bought this spring. There is a bright red mudflap in the wheel arches.

The guard hangs down. The hobby of the owner, Mr. M (35 years old), who really wants to drive a Lancia Delta Integrale, seems to be depicted on the outside.

The inside can also be customized.

It is. The front seats are BRIDE bucket seats. The handle is MOMO's Prototipo. At the tip of the shift lever is a plastic shift knob that looks like a white ball.

The main body of the 1.6LDOHC turbo engine has not been modified, but the muffler and air cleaner have been replaced with "HKS''. The suspension also uses Mazda genuine sports springs combined with GAB dampers. I'm not Kiyoshi Nishikawa, but I get the strong impression that he was trying to do things one by one, starting with what he could do. Mr. M, who works as a tire wholesaler, is a pleasant young man. It is the year of the year. When I pushed in the tape whose head was peeking out from the set, it played Mr. Children, which doesn't really suit Osaka (?).

However, once it started running, the Familia Integrale was a much more radical car than the standard.

First of all, the suspension is much harder than you might imagine from the specs. The ride quality is almost that of a competition vehicle, reacting honestly to the bumps and undulations of the road surface and transmitting short, jerky vibrations.

I didn't think it was power steering at first either. I slowly turned the steering wheel to turn off the engine and realized for the first time that it had power assist. That's how responsive it is. Basically, the normal engine is so energetic that it's hard to believe. Power is already 140 yen on NET display. However, it is more powerful than the face value, and at the signal Grand Prix the acceleration of all four wheels is like that of a rabbit.

I'll show you.

Even though it is a turbo, it starts to crash immediately after idling.

Delivers comfortable torque. The response in the low rotation range is also not bad. Tachometer red zone from 7000rpm. However, the latest 4-valve It's not as smooth and light as the unit.

It has been replaced with an air cleaner for competition. So, at the top end of 6500 or higher, the engine noise, mainly the intake noise, becomes louder.

Air conditioner control panels, air vents, and

-Dark areas where stereo units, ashtrays, etc. are crowded.

There was a designer who once described the center part of the dash as ``the most expensive part of the car's interior,'' but this car has a panel that says ``FULLTIME 4WD'' embedded in part of it. There is. It was kind of noisy. There is also a shiny silver switch inside the spring, and this is for locking the center differential. The owner once benefited from being muddy.

Apparently there is.

The turbo is effective without any noticeable bumps.

It starts to work, and what's more, it works like a turbo. I miss the way the green snail lights up in the instrument panel every time the turbo kick explodes. What's more, every time I shift up and release the accelerator, I hear the resonant whine of the turbine, which is nostalgic. I wasn't able to do it this time due to time constraints, but I was able to drive on mountain passes and some dirt roads, and it still looked really interesting. Manly and sweaty, a perfect masculine noun.

It's Luma.

Of course, the current Familia, which no longer has a sports model in its lineup, is not such a macho car. However, the Familia has always been a car that has not had a fancy feel to it for generations. Fancy is something like ``a womanly thing that a man has come up with.'' I like the character, which is unusual for domestically produced vehicles, but I'm sure there are people who say that's why it doesn't sell well.

PIC CAPTIONS

The second generation FF Familia underwent a full model change in January 1985. It has a 3/5-door hatch and a 4-door sedan body. Initially, it started with 1.3ℓ and 1.5ℓ NA and turbo units, but a 1.6ℓ turbo unit was soon added. The photo is of the later model. The body size is: total length x width x height = 3990 x 1645 x 1405mm. Wheelbase 2400mm.

The steering wheel has been replaced with "MOMO" and the seat has been replaced with "BRIDE". When the New Familia was announced, the company emphasized the improved quality of the interior, saying, ``If the packaging is the same, the quality of the interior is important.''

With minor changes in 8 years, NA unit

The remaining old E-type units were wiped out and replaced by B-type units. Photo of 1597cc 16V DOHC turbo with 140ps @ 6000rpm and 19.0kgm torque @ 5000rpm

Mr. M's Delta Familia has a majestic red mudguard. The ``GAB'' and ``HKS'' stickers and white OZ wheels clearly reflect the owner's taste.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I got to thinking about that "Hawk Moth does the Villain with Good Publicity" angle idea and I love it but it needs some tweaks to work I think.

1: He needs to know there is a Guardian and suspect they are in Paris, rather than rely on the "Chaos will reveal the Black Cat & Ladybug" angle, he's specifically trying to get at another human & coax them out.

2: He needs to collab with the media, mayor and more, so he's likely out in public as himself at first and does a lot more public perception handling than Ladybug or Chat ever did to help maintain his public profile.

Plan:

With that in mind he likely stages and or orchestrates several accidents and criminal situations. Some of which definitely target Chloe cos why break the habit of a life time. & he uses these to establish himself as the Heroic Hawk Moth!

Adrien being at school is so helpful for this.

Fu is suspicious cos he can sense rancid vibes but the guy hasn't done anything wrong yet or even seems to know about Akuma. He ends up tracking him down when transformed to talk & hinges turn ugly when HK reveals' he wants the LB & BC.

Hawk Moth uses a civilian, again maybe Chloe, to goad Fu into attacking him, they have a fight and Fu saves the civilian and gets away but is pursued by Nathalie, turns out Gabriel was just hiding his Akuma. Still, Fu gets away, but they know his general area.

HK claims to have been ambushed and severely wounded by a 'thief;. He claims himself to be the Guardian of the Miraculous & that while injured he can now create champions. The mayor is all "We must do all we can to help our beloved hero Hawk Moth!"

So, Paris is looking all over for a short older man who might have the Miraculous. Police are poking around all over, Hawk Moth's champions are on the move & Fu realizes he needs allies.

Story thoughts:

The thing here is that this totally changes the dynamic and type of story being told. The powers that would be useful to hand out, even how many people Fu would want active given he's specifically being hunted. Let alone how public perception and such would effect things and more to the point the heroes strategies and motives and methods!

Hell, Fu may well end up looking for entirely different personalities and people for this task. Or find himself pulling from whoever is left over from conspiracy theorists to the universally contrarian, to people who were caught up in Hawk Moth's staged crimes but came away suspicious.

So yeah, that'd be my set up anyway.

Honestly a fun part of this could be that as Chloé was targeted, she'd know the truth.

And Gabe doesn't think much of her as anything but a tool, so he'd never expect her campaigning against him to ever get off the ground. But it's enough for a small rebellion.

[domwho11]

Revan sat on the floor and stared at nothing. His hair was matted and tangled, his eyes were bloodshot, his face was a mass of self inflicted bruises. When he had lost the Force, it was like a part of him had died as well. From a distance Revan could hear the sounds of people entering the Ebon Hawk. The former Sith Lord gradually became aware of someone in the room with him. It was Carth.

"We've uncovered the last Star Map and we now know the location of the Star Forge." said Carth.

Revan said nothing.

Carth scratched his head awkwardly.

"Look... I don't pretend to know what you're going through right now but the crew needs you. Bastila still needs you. I'm not much good at this kind of thing but you can still fight, even without your powers, right? You can try."

Revan said nothing.

"If you need me I'll be in the cockpit." said Carth.

"And... take care."

Carth walked out of the room. Revan was left alone. By and by, T3-M4 rolled up to him, bleeping and blooping. Revan gave a half smile and patted T3 on his head. T3 got to work cleaning up the room. As T3 did so, Zaalbar entered and engulfed Revan in a huge hug. Revan found himself hugging Zaalbar back.

"Thanks Big Z." Revan whispered.

Zaalbar handed Revan a bunch of grenades.

"<I still believe in you, Revan.>" he said.

"<You rescued me from those slavers.>"

"That goes for me too."

Mission was there. She flipped Revan a lazy salute.

"Big Z and me will stick by you to the end."

HK-47 entered the room. He carried two Sith troopers' severed heads. The assassin droid proceeded to put on a short play (doing voices for each severed head) about the futility of life and how the only real purpose of it was to kill meatbags. When he had finished Revan, Mission and Zaalbar gave an awkward smattering of applause. HK lapped this up and exited the room saying something about being the first great droid playwright.

Mission gave Revan a hug.

"I gotta get going, but I'll be here if you need me."

Mission left the room. Zaalbar squeezed Revan's shoulder in a bone-crushing grip.

"<Be well my friend.>" he said.

Then he left. Revan was left alone. After a little while he located his old lightsaber. Revan switched the laser sword on. A blood-red beam of light blazed forth. Revan felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Was this how he would always be remembered? A brutal, conquering Sith? Revan attempted some saber forms. Without the Force to guide him Revan was slow and clunky. He still had to try though.

"Be careful! You'll put your eye out with that!"

Revan turned. Jolee was there, a slight smile on his face.

"If I'm going to save Bastila and stop Malak I have to remember how to use this." said Revan.

Jolee snorted.

"There are other ways to fight. Let me tell you a little story..."

"Could you please skip to whatever advice..." began Revan.

"Shush!" said Jolee.

"Now where was I. Ah yes, the story. A long time ago, there was a certain, shall we say, less than legal fighting ring on the planet Quarzite. The only rule was, the combatants had to fight unarmed. No blasters, no lightsabers, that kind of thing. Anyway, the dueling ring's champion was a giant of a man named Janus. He could crush his opponents' skulls with one hand, and frequently did. One day Janus' opponent entered the ring, and he and the crowd burst out laughing. His opponent only had one arm. The cocky Janus thought it would be a walk in the park to defeat this one-armed competitor. So they locked up, but try as he might Janus could not outmaneuver this other man. He tried everything he could and he still couldn't beat him. The one-armed man flipped Janus to the ground and won the fight. Do you know why?"

"Why?" said Revan.

Jolee smiled.

"Because the one-armed man's Master only taught him one move. The only way to defend against that move was to grab your opponent's left arm. Which of course poor Janus could not do, as the man he was fighting only had one arm."

Revan smiled.

"That's interesting, but what's the point?"

"The point is; there is strength in weakness and weakness in strength." said Jolee.

"And there's more than one way to win a fight."

"I..."

Revan paused.

"I need time to think about this."

"Fair enough. But don't take too long. The galaxy isn't going to save itself you know."

With that Jolee was gone. Revan was left to think on his words. He did not have long to think as Canderous strode into the dorm.

"I'm not one for pretty words so I'll just come out and say it; get your head out of your ass." he said.

"I'll try and do that." said Revan.

Canderous snorted.

"Ha! A real warrior never tries. A real warrior does, or does not do."

The big Mandalorian tossed a small pouch to Revan, who tried to catch it but failed.

"These are some stims for when you feel like leading us again. You don't have to thank me. I'm here if you want something done right."

Canderous left. Revan opened the pouch. A dozen silver needles stared back at him, like tiny swords. Revan thought that if he just injected them all at once he would be free of this nightmare. (No.) He still had to try to finish what he had started.

"Excuse me, Padawan."

Juhani's soft, accented voice made Revan turn around. He smiled when he saw her (when was the last time he had smiled?).

"Hey Juhani."

"I just wanted to tell you... I will never lose faith in you. Even though you have lost faith in yourself. You saved me from the Mandalorians. And from the dark side. I trust that you will save us once more."

"I'm no saviour, Juhani." said Revan.

"Neither is Bastila. Neither is Malak. It's up to everyone, Jedi or not, to help make the galaxy the place we want it to be."

Juhani looked slightly taken aback. Revan went to her and touched her shoulder.

"I'm sorry if that came across as harsh. What I mean is, I'm not going to give up on you. Or on any of the crew. Even Malak. There has to be a way I can save both him and Bastila."

Juhani brightened.

"So you will fight alongside us once more?"

"Yeah. I may not have Force powers anymore but..."

Juhani hugged Revan. Revan was surprised, but he returned the hug. After a few minutes they broke apart.

"Come on." smiled Revan.

"We've got work to do."

[demonicnarwhale]

I've been going through some drawings of like "the first drawing I completed of The Felt" members and then I wanna compare them to how I draw them now (and HK's there too because seeing her half-assed design made me wheeze)

Deadass all of these first timers are just Tricotiana based/inspired

Starting off with Die geheheee, 2021 and now. Jesus fucking christ

gewh mf looked like a damn kid. Get that 2021 shit outta here, also the hair. eel didn't understand curly hair (i still dont but it's better than that)

haha 2021 HK wow. i

Yay Crowbar, another 2021 moment. oh, i love that half-assed shoe

woah a 2022 (guh huh get it) moment???

Geheeee 2021 gaugh man Fin my boi...

2021 Traceee oaugh man.

2021 Yay. Itchy.

2022 I had no idea how I wanted to draw Cans. I still don't but I wanted to attempt to mess around with beards annnddddd. Thinking about his hair, like short or to his shoulders??? hrmmmm. Also he's the only one with a mustache in The Felt gwehehe

2022 Sawbucks!!! YEAHHHHH. Like Cans I kinda just messed around with his hair as the previous designs were pretty similar to the others like Trace with the wave back part.

Also this 2020-2021 portraits thing!!! I could've used these instead of the other drawings but that's boring

[neptuniadoesstuff]

Major spoilers for my hk universe, KoD

Idk click reading too the spoiler. Beware, it's kinda... horrifying.

Hyphen finally meets his dad again after many years of not seeing him, but when he does... half of his father's face is missing, almost like completely black, & he's crying out some orange stuff. Quirrel is somehow... still alive? & somehow still breathing even though he's infected, turns out the Radiance is actually still alive, but due to her being still alive (Even tho homegirl literally had her frikin face ripped off when Dwell first met her) she forcably infected the surv8vors of the infection as a last attempt of revenge against the PK. Quirrel was clearly trying to fight it off but he became so weak that he eventually succumbed to if. Hyphen, not wanting his father to literally die, takes him home, but only after quarantining himself & his father before taken back to the lab. However the vaccine he had atm apparently... didn't work? As this was a more advanced infection.

It was many weeks untill smtn eventually happened, weeks of Quirrel begging his own kid to kill him just so he wouldn't suffer anymore, Hyphen didn't want his own father to suffer & doing everything in his power to at least make things comfortable for his old man. But then... a visitor to Haekunola arrived.. This man was... Strange to say. He had brown fur on his antennas & head, green eyes, & a tan-brown colored body that covers him minus the many tiny spots that covers his face, he eventually introduced himself as dr Varrow. Dr. Varrow was willing to help Hyphen's father, saying he might know what to do about this as he had seen it before. Hyphen was quite skeptical but allowed him anyway... What else could he do?

A sample of the infection was taken from Quirrel & infused with different plants (which takes away pain), Lifeblood, & a strange purple/black liquid. This mixture was then mixed with the vaccine & injected into Quirrel. This mixture did take a while to make, which made sense to Hyphen as well... The vaccine he made also took quite a while. After a few days Quirrel was fine, while he was still aching from the infection, it did seem to slow down, slowly & steadily the infection went away. While yes the infection did cost Quirrel's face to be half missing, he was all good new now.

Hyphen thanked the doctor in qeustion. Varrow thanked him back & went his marry way, but before he went he gave Hyphen the blueprints to the serum & said "if you ever need me again, I'll always be in a medical camp nearby, no worries. & I'm proud of you for trusting me.. I know you were skeptical of me first, but then again I was just a stranger. Hope I'll meet you again when you're ready.."

So yeh that all da lore for this thing. Doesn't make much sense ig? But then again I h8 writing.

[burnwater13]

The Moon, as seen from Central Florida on March 12, 2023, at night. Photo taken by me.

“Hello, there. My name is Seb Ta’low. I see you’ve met the droids. How may I help you?”

Din Djarin didn’t know what to think or what to say. It was one thing to try to pry information out of a mech and droid. He hadn’t actually been surprised to meet the Toydarian. Many of them in Mos Eisley managed access to the various docking spaces around the city. But he hadn’t expected to meet a Jedi. The clothing and the lightsaber at his hip were a dead giveaway. 

Grogu coo’d and waved his hands and took over the conversation. When he jumped into Seb Ta’low’s arms to continue his diatribe, Djarin found his voice again.

“Put the kid down.”

Seb Ta’low did as he was instructed, despite what was obviously a quick commentary from Grogu that his dad just didn’t understand what was going on. 

“I mean him no harm. I mean no harm to you either, Din Djarin. How may I help you?”

“I was hoping to find Lacc Straso. I was told that he would be here.”

“Ahh. Understandable mistake. Lacc was here. He’s in Mos Kadhus. I expect him back anytime now. Is there something I can do to help?”

The Mandalorian looked at the man with the grizzled ginger hair and matching full beard. His eyes were green, which reminded him of someone else he knew but he couldn’t put a name to that face. 

“I’m looking for passage to Naboo. Private passage. For me and the little one. I’ve known Lacc for a long time and I was hoping that he could assist me.”

“I see. Grogu has told me that you need a replacement part for your N-1 starfighter. You might find the part you need on Corellia. We were going there first. But, Naboo is on the way, more or less. Do you have contacts there who can source the part for you?”

Din Djarin sighed. At least this Seb Ta’low person hadn’t pretended that he didn’t understand Grogu or hadn’t gotten his name. That was a plus. 

“I don’t. At least half of the ship is made up of after market parts that Peli Motto sourced for me. Do you know her?”

The Mandalorian tried to ask the question innocently. He doubted it would work, but he had to try. If this ‘Jedi’ knew her, then Djarin could talk to her and get more information on him. He knew he could also get information from Lacc, but since he didn’t know exactly when he would be back, he was going to gamble that talking to Peli might help for a change.

“About so high, curly brown hair, penchant for cheating at sabacc? Yes, I’ve met her several times. Typically at that cantina she likes. My daughter is an excellent mechanic, so we do our own repairs. Plus, Thirty, who you’ve met, handles the routine maintenance.”

“And the droid? Security?” Djarin asked. He thought an ancient assassin droid was strange before. Now he thought it was down right crazy. 

Seb had the grace to at least smile at that notion. 

“Yes, and no. HK was a gift from an old friend. They worried that my daughter might face too much unwanted attention as we traveled the galaxy. I was told off for being too focused on other things. That’s probably true. Even so, the droid has been useful and pilots our ship when necessary. Tell me, would you like to join me for a meal, while we wait for Lacc to show up? I have to check on his passenger and make sure she’s still secured.”

Din Djarin had forgotten for the moment that Lacc had been transporting the person who had given Grogu the cursed mudhorn charm back to Ordo. He supposed that the assassin droid would be useful to them all in that regard.

“Thank you. I would like that and I’m sure Grogu would like that as well. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you come to know Lacc? You don’t seem like the sort of person who would spend a lot of time with Mandalorians.”

The Mandalorian asked the question but didn���t take a step in any direction. He wasn’t just going to follow a Jedi anywhere. Grogu groused at him but Djarin ignored the complaints. He’d heard them all before and Din Djarin was always going to err on the side of caution when it came to the people that Grogu instantly took on as friends. 

“Do those people really look a certain way?” Seb smiled at them both. “Although you do have a point,” the older man continued, “not many people know even one Mandalorian. I have had the good fortune to have spent a fair amount of time on Ordo. When there, you can’t help but meet Mandalorians from all backgrounds. That is where I met Lacc. He came into the Cin Vhetin when I was there and we struck up a conversation. He has been a good friend over the years.”

Din Djarin nodded his head. That did sound like Lacc. Go into a tavern, seek out the person who seemed most out place and make friends with them. Djarin had often used a variation of that tactic over his career as a bounty hunter. It had been useful in many situations, although the last few years with Grogu, he hadn’t found it particularly necessary. People either gravitated to his youngling or they were trying to hurt him and Din Djarin wasn’t going to let that happen again. Ever.

“That’s Lacc. He was my training officer. He sees the good in people and helps draw it out. It’s a useful trait to have.”

“Yes. It’s why he could see the good in a former Jedi and I could see the good in a retired Mandalorian Flying corps leader. It didn’t hurt that when we met he’d already claimed my daughter as his own adopted daughter. She has more parents than a tangle of loth cats.”

Djarin laughed at that. He knew just what that felt like.

“Your daughter should meet Grogu… he has the same affect on people.” Din Djarin commented as he finally followed Seb into the landing bay proper and found himself looking at a YT-1300 light freighter. It was obviously kept in painstakingly perfect condition. He wondered if that was due to the mech or the daughter. He couldn’t imagine Grogu enjoying that sort of work.

“I don’t doubt that. I’m sure they would get along very well. It isn’t easy being the parent of a unique child, but it has always been worthy.”

Yes. The Mandalorian could agree with that. Being Grogu’s dad had never been easy, but it had always been worthy. 

To be continued…

[udunie]

Those Rackham faeries have always creeped me out! The humanoid little guy with giant balls and a dick dragging the ground is both hilarious and horrifying.

Love the other suggestions for the horrible ritual of pregnancy to create a new form for HK to continue his reign of terror. It's very fairy tale logic. The idea of him bringing increasingly weird things for the boy bride to eat - first it is weird fruit but soon it is stones and pearls and horrible stuff he's forced to swallow. Don't eat the fae food but definitely don't eat the fae rocks, you're not gonna have a good time.

Maybe early on, the boy tries to escape. His failure must be punished. Maybe the threat of being given to some kind of hellhound from the underworld, maybe just a good beating from HK and a collar on a chain. Just another way to emphasize the isolation and hopelessness of his situation. All his torment, all the violations, all the body changes are still probably better than being eaten alive by a monster...

Taking the boy to the underworld feels like SUCH a good ending, after the fresh new HK has sprung forth and drunk his fill.

Ohhh maybe we could add a few more fairy tale tropes? Like all the presents he brings to the boy are tools to control him? (think like og snowhite where she gets a girdle that squeezes her to death and a necklace that chokes her - or something like that, I'm not sure I remember all the details)

Anyway! like, maybe before he catches with child (I imagine that HK would try to rape him the first night, but of course his whole - enormous - cock wouldn't fit all the way, so he would leave, then the next night he could force in half his cock, and then the third night he could finally have him all the way) HK gives him a corset/girdle whatever that is always as tight as it can be, and whenever he misbehaves, it squeezes him tighter, and a beautiful diamond choker that is literally choking him if he doesn't speak to his 'husband' the right way and maybe some other things?

The boy is not able to take any of the stuff off himself, and he is just being controlled more and more by HK...

Huh, now that I think about it, maybe the whole process is also part of the deal in a different way. Like, after he gets pregnant (the corset/girdle would adjust to his belly) he would get morning sickness, and he would get it especially bad since HK is feeding him mud and clay and pebbles but every time he throws up, it would be diamonds and precious stones and gold nuggets - that the servants dutifully collect to pass along to his family?

So in that way he could also be the goose that lays golden eggs?

Oh man, there are a lot of possibilities :D

[weird-dere-writes]

Also thinking about the first time Sadira and Mydei met.

She's disguised in her travel/reconnaissance fit bc she is infiltrating Castrum Kremnos for something she is sure wouldn't be given over easily.

Her plan was to get in, collect a sample of energy from Nikador's sword at the heart of the city, then get out, undetected.

She had managed to make it to the large ampitheatere where it resided without being seen or captured.

Sadira should be in a rush to get what she needs and leave, but she can't help but find herself stepping on the long way toward the sword slowly. Quite honestly she was in awe. It was so huge. And it's energy flowed out in waves filling the space. It made the marks on her body tingle. It was almost suffocating it felt like. Not that it was ACTUALLY causing that level of pressure, but it took her breath away. She had heard so many stories of this thing, but to actually see it...

Getting closer and closer to the center, she finally manages to look down and see a red throne made of crystals. It's beautiful, yet ominous. She stops in her tracks just before it as she thinks. It is abundantly clear that was not something built there by Kremnoans past.

"That's strange... This-"

"-Shouldn't be here."

Sadira is shocked, but in no way indicates it. She most definitely wasn't expecting someone to finish her thought. But she has a feeling what they were saying wasn't about the seat in front of her.

Unfortunately, she's been spotted.

She hesitates, but she turns around to face the voice, not wanting to let him get too close and act on his discovery of her.

She says nothing as she inspects him from a distance. The man she's looking at appears stronger than any other she's seen in the city. His aura is domineering as he stops a few feet in front of her. The red markings decorating his skin remind her much of her own.

He's tall. The sun makes his hair glow as if ablaze. He scowls at her. Something about the look of his eyes feels primal.

He speaks up, "What you choose to wear gives me the impression you aren't exactly here for a friendly visit... Who are you? And what is it that you want?"

She hesitates for a moment, but ultimately decides not to use her voice. She will not reveal who she is. Not now. It's not as if he's revealed his identity either. But who is she to demand such a thing as an intruder?

She takes two steps back and stares at him, before nodding her head back toward Nikador's blade.

He huffs an almost amused laugh, "You want the Sword of Strife? Really?"

She thinks to shake her head no, but that would only lead her in a circle of him asking the same question. And she isn't sure her true her answer keeps her safe. So she elects not to elaborate and instead turns back around and walks closer to the sword and throne.

He hasn't a clue what she's trying, but he doesn't exactly take kindly to being ignored. "Hey... Hey!"

She keeps walking.

Not knowing her intentions, only leads him to assume the worst, and so he darts into action, initiating battle between the two of them. But what should have been a clear hit, never came. It doesn't matter what he tried, she was able to avoid every single attack masterfully.

He notices she doesn't fight back. Whether it's because her ability to dodge makes her feel she doesn't need to, or because it's a show of good faith, or because she's trying to make evident a gap in their power, or to mock him, he doesn't know. But it's starting to piss him off.

"So you want to take something from me, but won't even engage me in a proper fight?"

He only gets more silence from this cloaked figure as a response.

He scoffs softly, "HKS..."

Now that had her eye twitching and had her having to bite back her tongue. Between Kremnoan and Propodasi, that is one of the terms that stayed pretty much the same through the language evolution.

Before she knew what she was doing one of her middle fingers was giving him a salute.

He perks up a bit at that, the slightest smirk gracing his face.

"So you speak Kremnoan?"

She could escape this situation, but she refuses to leave without what she came for. Her home depends on it. So she supposed the only way forward now was to start talking.

"...Something like that."

"She speaks."

She has to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"I don't want the sword. Obviously, that isn't for the taking."

No way in hell she would be able to drag that thing out of here even if she wanted to.

"Then what do you want?"

She pauses for a long moment before giving it up.

"I need a small reserve of it's energy. Nothing more."

"For what purpose?"

"That, I can't answer."

He crosses his arms, "Then it seems we are at an impasse."

She lets out a quiet, belabored sigh. If there was no other way, then so be it.

"...Draw your sword."

Without a word, he conjures it. She conjures a staff from beneath her cloak and holds it standing up beside her.

Both are steeled and prepared for anything. Without a word, they begin truly sparring. The two are a deft and deadly match, it would seem. One cannot seem to overthrow the other.

Mydei begins trying to shift the odds by using his blood crystals, but they aren't effective. If she has any magic of her own to speak of, she doesn't use it. Her mind is still clearly on one thing. From time to time during the battle she will come close to Nikador's blade only to be parried by Mydei.

It isn't until Phainon comes running in wielding his blade and asking what's going on that the exchange stops.

She clenches her fist as the two men talk to each other. As much as she hated to admit it, this was getting tiring. And she did not feel like attempting a two on one with yet another powerful stranger.

She will be back. She will explore this kingdom and figure out who this red fury is before she returns.

Just as the two turn their attention back to her, she begins walking toward the edge of the bridge they're on.

They ask her what she's doing but she does not answer. Wordlessly, she steps off the bridge and hurls herself into the endless abyss below. The two panic and race after her once they realize what's happening. She was an intruder, but she didn't need to die!

It's too late, though. She is gone.

It leaves the two perplexed, and a somewhat melancholic.

What they don't know is that Sadira did not in fact end it all, and that they would be seeing her again in the future.

After her display, Phainon and Mydei are now left to wonder if something is coming.

[ibusukiss]

Boueibu Rewatch

Thursday's for the Boys! 10

Happy Kiss! Episodes 1-3

ITS TIME FOR HAPPY KISS LETS GOOOO

Episode 1

I had to pause the episode to start typing this out bc im so in love with these characters i cant take my eyes off of them LOL

Immediately I am reminded why HK is my favorite - it is SO much more character interaction focused than love. Dont get me wrong - i love the s1 boys a lot, but the show doesnt give them their moments to interact with eachother as much as HK does - everyone gets Their Moment to interact with the other characters, not just the ones the show is 'shipping' with them! and I love this season for it!

Nanao is so fascinating, bc all the other characters kinda have their S1 equivalent e-

ATA IS ON SCREEN OMG ITS HIM

ok anyway - except for Nanao - hes also seems more nuanced than the others somehow? idk hes just neat

this seitokai is soooo mean girls

it is a CRIME that they made such cute designs for Karls and Fura as humans and theyre hardly ever in their human forms the whole show T_T

I also appreciate this season knows that we are very familiar with the formula of Boueibu already and they get straight to the point

I love how mad kyochan gets at karls XD

This monster is just having his twink death crisis

I do love these transformations - though I have always wondered why they seem to have put a filter over it? The colors just look a bit dark/muted?

God, when I first saw these costumes I loved them but thought they were so dumb - I still think that now LOL - my picky things are I think Nanao and Taishi's hair colors clash too much with their knight colors, and overall the saturation on all their designs could be turned down a bit haha

theyre breaking the fourth wall so much i kinda forgot abt that

its also refreshing that they have to convince kyochan to lead them, since yumoto is such a charismatic leader for 2 seasons, its a nice change to have kind of a useless leader

hot take all music from HK slaps no i dont take criticism

they rly do acknowledge and then glance over the fact that Karls and Fura are like...drafting them into a war for power lmao

Episode 2

It is the BEST that they all know eachother from the beginning - and the fact that the only characters taking it seriously are Ata and Fura (and Karls but not to the same extent)

Ah yes Honyalaland - i have built such a beautiful AU around it that reflects NOTHING of what is actually in the show

hkjksdjkns kyoata interactions save me

headcanon that ata has trouble sleeping until he starts sleeping next to kyochan and then he sleeps really well

I know theyre trying to show that Kyochan is oblivious that Ata doesnt like him but I like to see it as he is just more mature than Ata, and he wants to still be friends with him, so he isnt gonna get upset with ata speaking his mind

omg fura tying up ata with vines sounds like one of my fanfics but its CANON

human fura rly is pretty man

I say this will all the love in my heart - edelstein has the weakest transformation BUT that doesnt stop me from loving it anyway

this ep always makes me crave karaage bento

I have dragon age brainrot rn so all I can think of when I hear 'Neve Kiss' is Neve Gallus kiss, and u know what? i would.

Is this the most evil Taiju is the whole season? LOL

Episode 3

This is probs one of my favorite episodes in all three seasons - it was the episode that proved to me that HK is my favorite season

GOD there is so much unspoken history between Nanao and Taiju- theyre clearly close friends but we never realllyyy learn when or how they met, we just know theyve known eachother since at least their 1st year of high school

toshiyuki toyonaga is SO good in this ep

ok...im dumb, i just got that maasa's reaction to ice cream boy insisting on calling something by its full name was due to his discomfort with his birth name..im dumb

Ata is such a little freak I love himmmm

i guess i like this ep bc it feels kinda OVA-ish

ponytail nanao so cute

maasa and ata sitting together rly just look like mean preps lmao

Bag closure monster is BEST monster. BEST!

this also taught me a lot of japanese words for random things

also Tyndall effect (chindaru genshou) just reminds me of the bit in Uramichi Onisan with miyano mamoru laughing at dick jokes

KDNSJK Taiju and Nanao on ice cream date is so good AND THEM CALLING EACH OTHER ENEMY!!!!

im so glad we're on HK :D and this much closer to the movie release!!!!!!!!!!

[dropout-ninja]

The Hollow Knight, Bretta, Nightmare King Grimm

One of these is solely because I want to see you admit your favorite ship on main, I cannot stop myself

I think I need to not attempt ask games because I am too talkative and make long ass posts help

The Hollow Knight: What was the saddest part of the game for you? Which ending is the most sad to you?

All of it

But seriously, so many moments. I’ll throw the Nosk Den out as one, alongside the Abyss. A lot of the settings give feels, like the empty basin. The White Palace’s everything always makes me feel Emotions. A lot of the ghosts make me sad. MARMU. Agh. 

Which ending isn’t sad? That said, I am going to go with Sealed Siblings as the worst feeling ending. It feels like the one that has the most damage caused and the least hope. Dream No More is a ‘good’ ending, though, but it gives many sad feelings (just of a different nature than the long scream of SS/THK ending)

Bretta: Favorite Hollow Knight ship? Favorite fanfic?

Why you do this

I have so many ships, because I’m the type of person to read what looks like a crackship and if it’s written with crunch then now I’m shipping it (hi grimmnet). It doesn’t take much and I don’t tend to have notps, my personality is a continuous shrug (me out here sometimes reading pale nightmare and causing you unknowing psychic indigestion) 

Grollow was my first HK ship and I’d probably call it my favorite. I also really like Pale King/White Lady. Some of the more cursed ships I favor are Pale King/Radiance (or PK/Radi/WL) and Radiance/The Hollow Knight, exceptionally messy and toxic. There you go, Ashe, get me on main saying it all. 

All of yours are the answer XD (I mean it). From Eyes to W&G/Red Sky to Butterfly, sorry not sorry. Other favorites are Soul of God, Form of Moth by @basilbellona, which has been my favorite HK fic since April 2022, and In Defiance of Time (and associated oneshots) by @ganondorf--apologist. 

Now for a list of absolutely random things I’ve got in my bookmarks, which are excluding the multiple HK fics I have open but am still reading. I’m going to make too long a post just because I always want fics to get more love. Some of my other non-Ashyr favorites from bookmarks (no specific order and genre) are: Captivated, Until Dawn Shall Break, Not Too Late for Second Chances, Hold The Future With Silver Hands, Camouflage of Great Renown, It’s All Well Above Wonder Anyway, The Clock Stopped Ticking Forever Ago, Pale Revival, A Tribe Betrayed, Void Given Focus, Workshop Safety, To Reclaim A Dream, To Love A Lamprey, Moving Onward, Will Terribly, If You Will At All, I Swore I’d Have No More Knights In Shining Armor, We’re So Close But So Distant

Someday I’ll have even more to recommend when I finish reading the fics open in my tags (hi Tori fics, hello)

Nightmare King Grimm: Which boss battle was the most intense for you? The most satisfying to defeat?

What if I said Nightmare King Grimm

Each one I came across the first time I played faskfsdaf. I’m going to go with Absolute Radiance just because I remember the noises I was making on stream when I accidentally beat her in P5 the first time. But in terms of my favorite boss fight/the one I’m most satisfied about my skills in, I’ll go with the cliche of the NKG fight XD My one skill in this game is being able to absolutely bully the man and kill him hitless before the best part of his song plays. I put all my irl XP points into getting good at him. Other favorite fights are Sisters of Battle, and probably Pure Vessel even though they are gatekeeping me so hard in my all bindings P4 run and so I cry.