#oops this got long lol

[sagesolsticewrites]

for xmas prompts! #7 - Gingerbread house competition & 20 - Fake dating for Christmas Ball

for 7 im expecting signature sage fluff but for 20 i challenge you to exercise ur angst skills 😈 (high key also want to do that one lol)

(but do whatever u want ofc 💗)

-@burninlovebutler 🥀😘

Oooh Mel 👀 challenge accepted hehehe 😈 (also yes I’d love to see your take on it omg 👀)

Just a warning, this ask will be a little longer than usual because I wanna do these as separate stories lol

7.) Gingerbread house competition

“Austin those were mine!”

“Nope, sorry honey, they were clearly on my side of the counter.”

“No, they very much were not!”

Your bickering and banter had gotten surprisingly heated as you entered the final five minutes of your gingerbread house competition.

Okay wait, rewind.

It started when Austin came home having accidentally bought the same gingerbread house kit as you, the both of you wanting to surprise the other with what you thought would be a fun couple activity for your first Christmas together. He had been embarrassed at first, but you thought it was sweet that the two of you had the same idea, and it was actually you who brought up the idea of making it a competition in the first place.

Looking back now, you had no idea it would turn into this.

“Fine, I’ll take these then.” You retorted, snatching the plastic bag of gumdrops from his side of the counter in retaliation.

“Hey!” He protested with a pout.

“All’s fair in love and gingerbread houses, sweetie,” you singsonged, popping a gumdrop into your mouth with a smug smile and grimacing at the overly sweet taste.

The kitchen timer went off as the two of you hurriedly placed the final touches on each of your houses and spin them around to reveal them with a flourish…

and you both immediately burst out laughing at how utter awful they look.

“Why are half of your lights on the ground?” You ask, gesturing to the array of candy lightbulbs that appear to have fallen from the roof where he originally placed them.

“It’s for artistic effect!” Austin insists, “And what about your frosting, it’s a mess!” He gestures to the bits of icing dangling from the gingerbread roof.

“They’re icicles!” You gasp, mock-offended, then quickly drop your competitive persona to really take in how terrible both of your houses look. “Wow, we both did awful, didn’t we,” you laugh.

“Yeah, these definitely aren’t winning any handshakes from Paul Hollywood anytime soon,” Austin agrees. “This was fun though,” he adds, giving you a soft smile, “I can’t wait to do this next year.”

“Next year?” You ask, a growing smile on your face at the thought of Austin being so immediately secure in your relationship.

If Austin’s at all alarmed by what he just admitted, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he just nods, with that same soft smile on his face as he confirms, “Next year.”

And now #20: Fake dating

“Austin, there you are!”

He hears your voice before he sees you, and as he looks up he’s not prepared at all for what he sees: you coming down the hallway decked out in an absolutely gorgeous red dress, makeup and hair done to perfection, a blinding smile on your face. His heart skips a beat as he takes you in— his childhood best friend and fake girlfriend looking even more stunning than he could’ve ever imagined.

“-stin? Aus, did you hear literally anything is just said?”

He blinks out of his stunned stupor to see you looking at him expectantly, and winces. “Uh… sorry, say that again?”

With a sigh, you start over. “Sarah—” your other friend, one from college, he recalls, “just told me that she overheard Josh—” your ex, who had just dumped you, the reason for this elaborate fake dating scheme in the first place, “telling someone that he wants to get back together! It worked!” You beam expectantly up at him, and he has no choice but to force a smile back.

“That’s great, Y/N.”

You nod, seemingly oblivious to his unenthusiastic response, “All we need to do is plan a breakup scenario, and then Josh and I are back together!” You take a breath, seeming to calm down for a moment, and take his hands in yours with a grateful smile. “Aus, I really can’t thank you enough for going along with this. It means a lot to me.”

His heart stutters at the earnest smile on your face, and it takes a second longer than usual for him for force out the words, “Of course. Anything for you, Y/N, you know that.”

“Now,” you step back after a moment, suddenly all business, “I have some ideas for breakup scenarios that make it seem like we realized we’re just better off as friends — that seems like the best route to go for this — but if you have ideas, I’m absolutely all ears.”

Austin nods along numbly as you begin listing your ideal scenarios to end this fake dating situation, unable to stop his mind from drifting back to the almost-kiss you two had the night before on the balcony. He had almost told you how he felt, then.

Looking at how happy you are now, though, at the idea of being back together with your ex — he hates to admit it, but Josh was actually a pretty good guy, which somehow makes this whole thing worse — he resigns himself to never having the chance to.

Send me xmas drabble prompts!

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

Actor Au!

Where Batman and Co. are the most popular TV series and they’re currently filming Jason’s death.

Only Bruce goes so deep into acting he breaks down for real upon the part where he arrives at the warehouse and digs through the rubble for his child.

[mingwrites]

Yunho + Watch ⌚ because everytime I see watches I think of how incredibly pretty it'd look on Yunho's big slender hands 😔

babe your thots are valid and i’m here to validate them…

~

you had always noticed your boss’s hands. they were incredibly sexy on their own, not to mention the expensive rings and watches he adorned them with-symbols of his power and wealth. sometimes you would sit at your desk and think about his hands-the way they were so big and capable, the speed with which they moved when he typed, how they would be able to fill you up so easily…

no more fantasizing, not now that you were getting the real thing. mr. jeong had you sat upon his desk, your legs forced far apart as two of his long, slender fingers disappeared within your core. he looked focused, like he was just doing his job, making you unravel to the point of ecstasy in his less-than-humble office. “dirty girl,” his low voice resonated just above a whisper. “i bet this is what you think about all day at your desk, hm?” just then, his fingertips pressed against your sweet spot just right, and the coil inside you snapped.

your pussy spasmed and throbbed as you came hard before your boss. he watched your expression, moans harmonizing with yours as he continued thrusting his fingers into all the right spots. then something caused him to look down, and when you saw the look of surprise, you knew what had happened. the man chuckled, looking back at your face. “do you always squirt or are my fingers just that good?”

as your orgasm began to subside, he removed his fingers and quickly sucked them clean before he let out a disappointed groan. “shit, baby, you ruined my new watch.” you looked at the flashy object, probably worth thousands, and covered your mouth, mortified. it was dripping with your pleasure, thickly coated in the sticky substance along with most of the man’s arm. “don’t worry, doll, this can be fixed,” he assured you. “but i never knew you’d be such a dirty, messy little slut.”

[kayomin]

fanart of the fic Washed Up by @slicedmayonnaise

[esperastra]

random avalance gifs [12|∞]

[coffeesleep-ooc]

Essay on heartbreak points

Just thinking of LBH pining over SQQ along the novel before he finally gets the man

Pre-abyss LBH wants SQQ, but the thing i see in him is not just wanting him, carnally sexually or otherwise, he wants SQQ’s attention and approval bc he admires him, its as simple as that. Og goods already had his admiration just bc he was a great cultivator, he was elegant and beautiful and worked hard af, it was like…if a polished stone like jade was used to hurt rather than be the soft, warm and flawless concept of beauty - that chinese media usually uses -. But then the cold showed a soft inner core! Yes! Our dear transmigrator took over and confused the hell out of t he poor LBH that still struggled to excuse SJ’s behavior. Then though, SY took care of him with love and with smiles, using mdoern sensibilities to measure things like care and affection…and I think that some of those discrepancies between a hellish setting and a soft oblivious SY must have been quite jarring to LBH. He sees someone that believes in inherent good and is passionate and silly, knowledgeable and kind, and can’t help but want to be close! He admires him so much!!

Still pre-abyss, not only LBH admires the heck out of SY, he is also his shizun, and i don’t forget about his teacher kink but im talking about the dynamics of it instead of anything sexual. LBH knows and firmly believes that his position is way below that of SQQ’s, he is protected and cared for, but he longs to protect and care for as well right? Because he has seen that SQQ is powerful but not above everything, because he is knowledgeable but not all-seeing, because he may be taken advantage of by someone crafty that doesn’t deserve his kindness. LBH pretends to fall and be weak and helpless when it’s convenient for him, but he knows he has to take every advantage he can bc he needs to be strong enough to protect SQQ, because the world has shown him that there are many dangers and that someone not of a peak lord’s status isn’t worth to marry (idk how much about this airplane would have put into his work, but lets remember that ancient chinese marriages were a very foemal and important thing that involved status and wealth, not just love). Let’s remember our bun has also been a street rat and probably saw many things at one point or another! We can only speculate and write fics about that last point, but the street is not a good place to be, especially in a PIDW setting. Also, bc he wasn’t strong enough, quick enough, bc his family had no power or money his mother died, it’s as hurtful and as plain as that for him, even if he knows (does he though?) that it’s not his fault.

Onwards to the abyss! It’s shit. That’s what it is. Shizun who he admires, respects and loves above everything, who told him that nobody was intolerable for the heavens went against every fucking shit he said and coldly forced LBH into the abyss. What the actual fuck SQQ (affectionate), you gave him so many issues fr. I can only imagine how confused the poor LBH must have felt when his Shizun yet again changed tune like this in a way he can’t fully explain this time, even more so, he could try, but it wouldn’t change the fact that LBH is currently in the worst place ever because the person he loves with his whole heart threw him there (and possibly wanted him to stay down there? to become one of its creatures? To die? He has no idea???). LBH has strived to be good, to be worthy in his teacher’s eyes since he entered the sect and he has just gotten proof that he isn’t and will never be even though he had the hope of getting there despite everything. It’s just filled with heartbreak and i think that the system only deducted SQQ’s current total points bc he literally had to die to be deducted any more and LBH can’t have him dead and the system knows that extremely well! It also gave SQQ a scenario push remember? And that was only for LBH’s benefit istg, SQQ had no idea.

and talking about death! Funny thing isn’t it? It’s ridiculous that SQQ dies so many times (srsly bro, wtf - again affectionate) but I believe that the first was the most traumatic for LBH. SQQ doesn’t sneer at him like a disgusting mucus but instead is afraid of him! LBH worked hard to just see SQQ again, to reunite the courage to talk to him and ask him if he regretted what he did, to show him he was a good person and that he had power now, that he could impress him and protect him (he has lost a lot of his own self-esteem base and i do believe that’s part of where heartbreak points come from) the person whom he values the opinion of the most -the only one even- thinks him a beast and an unredeemable demon…and when he tries to peove himself not that, the only thing SQQ does is run away from him, to decide to be silent and refuse even LBH’s (biased) kindness. He wouldn’t even take LBH’s robe! Imagine that you love someone and that someone hates your guts and refuses to even acknowledge that they hurt you, oh, and all this while an evil sword is fighting to take advantage of your negative feelings. Post-abyss is also shit, just a bit better bc LBH has the illusion of control, he thinks he can still control the situation and is slowly losing hope of shizun understanding him. But the illusion shatters when SQQ self-detonates to save him. The one he supposedly hates. LBH is probably just eternally confused in sv now that i think about it lmao *pats consolingly*

post death 1 (actually 2 for SY): LBH thought he knew shizun, then he realized he couldn’t explain everything shizun did. Then he tried to ask, not even for a full explanation, just to know if shizun really did hate him (bc LBH truly doesn’t care at that point what SQQ does or what SQQ’s reasons and actions were as long as he still loves him, smhw he is so…) and got instead a blow up in his face, coupled with other ppl’s accounts of SQQ mourning him like he was actually truly dead, missing him and finally he sees SQQ sacrificing himself for him. This surely must be enough fpr LBH right? Well…not really, SQQ could have been sacrificing himself to protect the ppl around him - LQG is there and we all know that LBH is mildly sus of him at this point, it will get worse later when LQG is the one coming by every fucking day to retrieve SQQ’s corpse so mhm…its possible LBH thought they had something (not necessarily romantic) at some point, or that LQG and the other ppl were important enough to sacrifice his life for. Not only that, but shizun was not rejoicing when he came back, he never said anything. He killed himself in everyone’s pov -but SQH’s-without explanation, in the most tragic and confusing way of all, saying he would repay LBH…lets also remember that repaying someone can mean completely cutting ties and leaving with a clean slate. And the only actual thing he did was show LBH he didn’t have actual control over the situation and that it was possible to be completely powerful and still lose the ones you love and care about. Idk (or don’t remember haha…) the moment LBH started building the bamboo house in the demonic realm, but it says a lot about what he wants and what he dreams about, the most probable things he is feeling at this point is desperation and melancholy, nostalgia. He longs for the days where he was secure in the knowledge of Shizun’s affection for him, no matter what kind of affection it was, but at the same time is bittersweet because he knows that shizun will never love him foe who he is and that drives him mad with heartbreak that is just building up over time. He will also feel incredibly guilty over SQQ repaying him with his life, because all he ever wanted was basic communication but Shen ‘i am so emotionally repressed i can’t even tell what I’m actually feeling’ Qingqiu obviously thought he was being hunted for revenge. So rip LBH, he wanted an explanation or just a simple ‘i regret it’ but what he gets is confusion, a corpse he has to reanimate asap, and incredible guilt + more damage to his self esteem

Then SQQ comes back and doesn’t even try to search fpr him? And everything becomes a huge mess quite quickly. But. Luo Binghe watches his shizun go back to his martial family and interact with them in a way that he doesn’t interact with LBH anymore. LBH gets his face rubbed with the fact that what he strongly wishes for (going back) is impossible because he made the mistake of being born. Which, would demoralize the strongest of us honestly. And uta been so long since i read sv that I don’t remember much, but im sure that LBH can’t even think that SQQ does care for him, the trauma and insecurity, the abandonment issues have grown so big that they are like a bull in a china shop, ready to shatter everything in short range. Its only when SQQ gives his life (LBH does not know this but he is aware that SQQ would not have used papapa to save the world with just everyone) and gives him something he kept for so long - and that LBH himself thinks is precious despite being worthless - that he understands a bit that shozun may not hate him so much. I’m surprised that heartbreak points weren’t so used or that we didn’t get reminded of them through the story, because it would have given us an inkling of how LBH was feeling, but also spoilers and SQQ’s obliviousness, i imagine that at the end of sv they would have been lower than what they were (in truth) at the IAC but not completely gone

finally, i think that heartbreak points could be used to gauge how traumatized poor LBH was at eaxh point in time, but also to measure the state of his self esteem and the level of hope he had according to the way SQQ acted along the novel. I think that the points were all gone at some point (i eont remember anymore -cries- ) but i fullly believe that post canon Binghe still has heartbreak points and a whole lot of issuws that start to slowly disappear as thwir relationahip progresses. The only thing is that LBH still ties his own worth to SQQ’s opinion of him, and he will have heartbreak points again if he misunderstands SQQ st any point (unlikely but still).

Anyways…

THIS POOR BABY BREAKS MY HEART! He was terrible but he was also very human and truly, he deserves good.

Sorry about the rambling essay! :D

[year2000electronics]

And of course Super Paper Mario and 4. Convince me to give this game another try perhaps :]

4. …why you should choose to check out the world of this story and choose three gifs that should underline my point.

NOTE: i will be forgoing the GIF part and using pictures instead because every single GIF search result has been clogged up with mouth-breathers on the internet who have been arguing over whether SPM is good or bad and have been doing it in GIF form for years. don't believe me? search "super paper mario" on discord's gif search. you'll see it. you always see it.

oh jesus. see the thing about liking super paper mario is that there's a lot of SPM fans out there who really like the game but can't really connect a very important dot as to Why they like the game. (HINT: THEY PLAYED IT WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG AND ARE NOSTALGIC FOR IT SO THE FLAWS IT HAS IS WAY LESS FOR THEM, AND BY PROXY, ME.) IM self aware. i will never be able to hate the game, but i am incredibly aware that the gameplay can be fairly lacking sometimes. if the story doesnt already grip you, it probably wont ever be worth it to go through the gameplay. thats my bit. thats my piece.

(but then youll have people who see how SPM defenders dont like to critique it when it deserves to be critiqued and start going after stuff like "oh the story isnt even that good"? MAN WHY DID YOU BRING THE STORY INTO THIS.)

but i digress. the life of a paper mario fan is a long and hard one.

POINT THE FIRST. MARIO'S "EXPERIMENTAL" ERA.

you can argue that ttyd also fits this bill, and i think it does, but this is about SPM so im focusing on that. if the mario series has never really Gripped you or you havent really been a lifelong fan, i always think the gamecube-wii era of mario has been one of its more interesting moments. the switch renaissance has allowed a breath of creativity to come back into mario, and mario's allowed to be Weird again, but gamecube-wii mario is weird in a really SCUFFED way and i love it. the gamecube's flagship mario game was a LUIGI game where he cant even jump. super paper mario came out before mario galaxy or NSMBwii. that was our mario rep on the wii for a while. mario games get a little crazy, a little weird here. and so what you get is a more melancholic story about the end of all worlds, and exploring what it really means to be a hero, and the closest many games will get to acknowledging that the mario characters can have emotions that arent Perfect. its just such a fascinating era for such a perfectly-marketable franchise and i adore it. it's a testament to what mario can Be, for me. Mario Is Weird. say it with me now!

POINT THE SECOND. GOODBYE TO A WORLD.

i just really like the theme of All Worlds Coming To An End. usually in these sort of things, it's "save the world so the world doesnt end!" but in this game, it really feels like "the world is ending and you have to fight even to have a chance to succeed". it colours the tone of the game in such a fantastic way. many songs in the OST have a ticking clock in them. the inescapable void is even in the hub world. it's like the majora's mask of paper mario. many people talk this up but the fact that in chapter 6, you're beholden to the traditions of a silly king who REFUSES to believe the world is ending even when HIS ENTIRE SKY IS PURPLE, and youre trying so hard to beat this 100-man duel faster and faster, only for the world to end and then youre forced to go back into the chapter and see this GRAVEYARD. it makes it so much more tangible. THIS is what will happen if you fail. and this overhanging melancholy paints the themes of love so much stronger. it's not just a love story, it's a love story in adversity. love conquers all, but what is the "all" in question? well, this. bleakness. sometimes the bleakness is part of the love. sometimes you make a sacrifice in the name of love, and nobody likes it, but you know it must be. the whole game is actually a love story between bleck and tippi and it just grips me so. it's such a multi-faceted depiction of love and loss that it feels so much more real to me, that love isn't always the Magical Solution. love is a sword, a shield, a prayer, a wish, a curse, a blessing, an order, an act of cowardice, an act of bravery, a sacrifice.

(you see what i mean? i can literally only be talking like this because i grew up with this stupid ass game)

POINT THE THIRD. FUCK ALL THAT THOUGH LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BLECK MINIONS.

so, the whole kind of crux of this game is that it's a love story between bleck, the main antagonist, and tippi, your companion, right. if you can't flesh both of them out you're in a bad way. obviously for tippi, she's hanging around you all the time, and you get to hear her journey play out throughout the entire game. BUT WHAT OF BLECK? HE'S HIDING IN HIS CASTLE! how are we supposed to know more about him and learn his story if he is IN HIS CASTLE? well that's why after every chapter, there's this interlude where we CHECK UP ON THE BAD GUYS.

i blame this game entirely for my love of villains. this gang of baddies has so much quirks and personality that i find it hard NOT to love them. they're not just gormless minions of the count- each shows their own personality in their relationship with him. mimi has a puppy-love crush on him, o'chunks has a sort of warrior's bond with him, nastasia pledges herself to him and almost uses the minions she controls as a conduit for her dedication to him, dimentio is like a cat in a bird store, and mr l clearly isnt supposed to be here but i dont think he knows that. the minions bicker amongst themselves but clearly have a bond of cameraderie because it all feels like teasing of people who've known each other for a long time.

you fight each minion at least twice, and even though the lackluster gameplay kinda comes in full force again, you get to see so much PERSONALITY in these guys. mimi is super-bratty but seems to know most people would see her as a monster so leans into it, dimentio is playful and jovial while also having his own motives, o'chunks is bold and brash but asks you to finish him off the second time he fails, mr. l is cocky to a fault and reeks of insecurity. i just love having these guys we can always check up on. it's like lord crump but MOOOOORE.

and through a combo of you inferring things about these people and some of the Deeper Lore (flopside bar stories), you kinda come to learn that these minions were kinda manipulated by bleck when they were at their lowest. mimi is a failed creation of SOMETHING. o'chunks' men all died because there was a traitor in his midst. nastasia was saved from a cage by bleck. and the more you learn about bleck the more you see that he is a man grieving the woman he loved, apathetically trying to end all worlds so the pain would end. he lies to the minion, he says he aims to make perfect new worlds, and they believe him, and they love him, because he saved them.

this sort of birth of a relationship through bleck's pain and manipulation comes through by the end, as the love the minions have for bleck is a KEY part of the final act. and idk it's a bunch of deeply-hurting misfits binding together and accidentally finding love in a world they found loveless. i think thats really cool. i think THEYRE really cool. such an awesome cast of villains.

but yknow. again. this is my childhood game. the special feeling i have for it can't really just be put into words. it's my diamond in the rough and nothing can really change that. it's Home.

[mystical-salamander]

rules — shuffle your “on repeat playlist” and list the first ten songs, then tag ten people

Thanks for the tag @friendly-jester !!

New Genesis – Ado

Mortal Reminder – Pentakill

The Whole "Being Dead Thing" – Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording

That Beautiful Sound – Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording

Prologue: Invisible – Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording

Rell, The Iron Maiden – League of Legends

Money – Mystery Skulls

Dead Mom – Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording

Backlight– Ado

A Pizza the Action - The Stupendium

No pressure tagging: @digital-gargoyle @thatonegreyghost @astudyinpanda @astralalmighty @foxxxtransformer123 @seth-shitposts @never-ending-fanfic @ahsoka-its-all-of-us and anyone else who wants to play

[juustozzi]

for the Sports Anime Olympics week, day 3... Ina11 Superpesis AU!

pesäpallo (a mix of baseball and a local game "kuningaspallo" from late 1800s) is the national sport of Finland, and Superpesis is the highest national league here. ig started suggesting me superpesis videos a while ago, so when the prompts were up for the week, I instantly knew what I wanted to draw for the AU!

my own knowledge is mostly based on playing pesis in elementary school gym lessons, but it's said to be paced faster than baseball, and apparently the pro players dive a lot? and home runs require a bit more tactic since you can't just blast off the ball with all your strenght.

ngl, the outifts look a bit simple to my own eye since all the superpesis outfits have a lot of ad logos which I was too lazy to draw.. but it was fun turning the soccer outfits into pesis uniforms!

and now the main reason for this AU: among the pesis videos I've seen, there's a specific place with the best videos: a stadium/play field in the west called "island field" where a river parts and goes past two sides of the small island the field is on. knowing that 1) there are no fences around the field, 2) if the ball hits in on the first bouce it basically won't be out no matter how far it goes, and 3) they have cameras set specifically to the river... it tells a lot what sometimes happens there:

here is the og video (and you can also find other cool clips on that account if you want to see pesis in action! they post mainly official league stuff, but the video side is partly curated for curious people)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Superpesis (@superpesis)

[hiphopcherrrypop]

55! My lucky number

lalalalala i like u!

this one uhmmmm.. halloween even tho it's december josuyasu 👍

except i realized too late that i was thinking of lovey dovey mv LOL.. but whatever they can be roly poly too i guess

[megantronusprime]

y'all ever think about the 10 years engie spent as a roughneck in the oilpatch? because I do.

Like, do you think he was trying to break away from the family legacy of becoming a mercenary? that maybe that boy in the picture, trying his father's goggles wanted nothing more than to be an engineer just like his daddy - even had a natural knack for it too, said his dad, just like him and his father before him - and was too young to see clearly the toll it took on him and his family? do you think that, as he got older, he would begin to recognize the extremes his father and grandfather went to for their work, obsessing over it, even experimenting on their own bodies. do you think he came across his mother crying at the kitchen table late one night, unable to recognize the loving man she married who now never came home and obsessed over his work, and decided right then and there that he wasn't going to be that man to his family? that he was going to forge his own path - be his own man, and break free from the Conagher family curse?

so, maybe, at the age of 18, he began working as a roughneck in the oilfields of west Texas. It was hard manual labour, long days spent on drilling rigs with the Texas sun beating down on him, but it was good money, and though some of his coworkers were rough most of them were good enough guys and he along with most of 'em. and hey, sometimes maybe there were even on-the-spot practical problems to be solved - issues with the drill that in a fast-paced environment like that couldn't wait for a proper tech to come around and solve? and in those moments, engie would step in and fix the issue quickly, working without hesitation, like it was second nature to him. And maybe his coworkers would always remark upon his natural aptitude? ("you're in the wrong line of work, Dell.") Maybe he would shrug it off, say it weren't nothin' - just hung around his father a lot growin' up and learned a thing or two - but deep inside, he hoped for more of those opportunities to fix things, and maybe those little moments of on-the-spot fixes were the very things he looked forward to most. And maybe, even as he gained a reputation for being a mr. fix-it amongst his coworkers, given odd things outside of work to tinker on, it wasn't enough. maybe slowly, over the years, with each thing he worked on, the flames of his intellectual curiosity were stoked more and more, until eventually, he went back home and visited his mom, during his week off. And, late one night, against his better judgement, he went into his father's workshop - untouched, everything covered in a layer of dust (he hadn't been home in years). he knew he shouldn't. He could feel the gnawing at him, the voice demanding him to give in to his intellectual curiosity and follow in his father's footsteps getting louder. He had been trying to fight it, but he finally reached his breaking point and went into his father's blueprints. that was what tipped him over the edge. He spent the whole night, locked away in his father's workshop, poring over each design, his mind racing with ideas of how he could make it better. He couldn't stand it anymore, he needed more. When the sun came back up again, Dell informed his mother that after 10 years, he was quitting his job and enrolling for university. and although he was certain that he would not become the same man his father and grandfather was, as sure as he would be an engineer, but do it differently and not succumb to the family curse. And although his mother smiled, ever gentle and encouraging of her son, coffee mug in hand, there was a sadness in her eyes. Because she knew that Dell always had the same tenacity and obsessive intellectual curiosity his father has. And if Dell was going to do this, there was no moderation. He was going to fling himself into it completely, lose sleep, lose focus of everything else. And she was right.

...

OR maybe he always knew he was going to be an engineer and was like, "well, I'm going to do a whole lot of schooling, so what's the best way to save up for tuition? oh yeah! work in the oilfield for a few years :)" lol

[bergoop]

The fact that Shane said that people who touch/fondle their hair a lot most likely have a hair pulling kink when THIS MAN IS ALWAYS RUNNING HIS HANDS THROUGH HIS HAIR??! Shane?? The call is coming from inside the house, I’m afraid.

Hi Anon!

OK so... did he know he was telling on himself so bad? Because you're right! Shane plays with his own hair more than anybody else I can think of. Even when he's not playing with it, sometimes the video will be edited/cut to a different time and its been messed up, so you KNOW he's been doing it off-camera.

i think he's proud of his hair! and to be fair, it IS very nice hair. it looks soft and smooth and i'd like to touch it and tug it, too who said that

anyway back to the call coming from inside the house. i think he doesn't know. it seems kind of like an unconscious action, so he probably thinks he doesn't do it too much, when in reality, he's touching it all the time!

im not saying shane has a hair pulling kink... but im not NOT saying it. (disclaimer: we like to have fun here! this is not too serious. and now, i will get weirder.)

I'd also like to talk briefly about... his forcefulness.

He was NOT gentle with it in prev post and that's not the only example!

Take a look at this bit from a 2020 BFU video:

sir what are you doing that is a straight up TUG.

this might be my imagination, but he gets an interesting expression after he pulls it - like he was really enjoying it.

and i'd like to say that's where he was like, oh, i should probably stop pulling my hair on camera because it feels a little too good. except… he goes in AGAIN right after!

He really can't keep his hands off!

He seems to enjoy/be used to pulling it HARD. and if prev post is any indication… he's quick to have other people pull on it too :3c

OK thanks for coming to my Hair Pull TED talk. love you bye

[fish-bowl-2]

That moment in your obsession with Ed Edd n Eddy where you have a hard time finding the character design remotely as ugly as some people frame it to be.

[blindmagdalena]

When I first watched the Boys and seen Homelander and continued to watch this man fall from grace while trying to keep it together and then pretty much accepting he was going to be the bad guy (my opinion)

The song Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths comes to my head whenever I see Homelander. It is an amazing song and I feel like Homelander just fits it’s so well.

ohhh my god the way i was OBSESSED with this song. it was #1 in my spotify wrapped in 2022.

absolutely love how the song is an internal battle. he's begging himself down off the roof, but everything around him only pushes him closer to the edge.

Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, come down Won't you get up off, get up off the roof? The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken Remember the pact of our youth Where you go, I'm going, so jump and I'm jumping Since there is no me without you Soldier on, Achilles, Achilles, come down Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?

and then this next verse in particular just guts me

Loathe the way they light candles in Rome But love the sweet air of the votives Hurt and grieve but don't suffer alone Engage with the pain as a motive Today, of all days, see How the most dangerous thing is to love How you will heal and you'll rise above

we know he craves love and to be celebrated, but loathes the rituals he endures to obtain it. still, he does it. he obeys. he lights the candles. he genuinely believes this is how he will heal. how he will be loved.

but of course it isn't. and that sentiment only sours the longer he pursues it. insecurities fester. his loneliness worsens. there is a voice that urges him on, but so too is there a voice that hisses, they don't love you. they never will.

Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, jump now You are absent of cause or excuse So self-indulgent and self-referential No audience could ever want you You crave the applause yet hate the attention Then miss it, your act is a ruse It is empty, Achilles, so end it all now It's a pointless resistance for you

they both grow and grow and grow until finally those two voices in his head are so distinct, they may as well be their own identities.

You want the acclaim, the mother of mothers (it's not worth it, Achilles) More poignant than fame or the taste of another (don't listen, Achilles) But be real and just jump, you dense motherfucker (you're worth more, Achilles) You will not be more than a rat in the gutter (so much more than a rat) You want my opinion, my opinion you've got (no one asked your opinion) You asked for my counsel, I gave you my thoughts (no one asked for your thoughts) Be done with this now and jump off the roof (be done with this now and get off the roof) Can you hear me, Achilles? I'm talking to you

UGGGHHHH just listening to this song again made me cry. man, it's SO good, and applying it to Homelander tears me to ribbons.

[carcarrot]

you'll be pleased to know that on my first day back at my job after my two week vacation i am already in one of my semi-regular Job Crises where i feel like if i dont find a new, better job soon im going to explode into 5 billion pieces

[delta-orionis]

Some of my assorted theories and headcanons about iterators:

In no particular order:

I think that overseers are all part of one large iterator organ rather than discrete individuals.

A microscopic, thread-like structure similar to mycelium can be found all throughout an iterator's surrounding complex. It spreads through tiny gaps in soil, rock, and metal. All the threads are connected directly to an iterator like a nervous system that extends far outside their cans.

Overseers are a bit like the fruiting bodies of a fungus; they're able to emerge from this network of threads via small holes in surfaces. Similar to nerve endings, they can collect stimuli about the outside world, and send signals down the threads similar to the way nerve impulses move down a nerve.

The majority of overseers are found on the outside of an iterator's can and in the surrounding area, becoming less common farther away. However, with some effort, an iterator can extend this network beyond the normal limits of their complex (seen in the fact that Seven Red Suns is able to send an overseer all the way over to Five Pebbles and Look's to the Moon's complex in order to follow Spearmaster).

Iterators have many more pearls than the ones seen in their puppet chambers.

I personally think data pearls are analogous to files on a computer, or maybe USB drives, which move data between systems. Given the fact that iterators are capable of running many different processes at once, it makes sense to assume that they have much more storage for data than the pearls that can be found in their chambers.

The majority of pearls an iterator uses are probably stored somewhere inaccessible in the game. However, the Light Yellow pearl can be found in Looks to the Moon's Memory Conflux, suggesting that pearls are used in that area as well. I believe iterators are able to access the data stored on pearls in their memory conflux without needing to bring them into their puppet chamber. If you bring the Light Yellow pearl to Moon, she remarks that it contains her personal notes, but suddenly forgets what they are about, and then asks you to put the pearl back where you found it. This suggests to me that moving the pearl from its intended location prevents Moon from accessing those memories.

Iterators are probably able to move pearls around the interior of their cans, most likely through the use of purposed organisms. These organisms can sort through pearls in storage and carry them from one location to another. I'm not sure what they look like, but I'm going to call them Couriers. They might be a distant relative of slugcats, albeit much more specialized. They might have appendages similar to a slugcat's arms for sorting through pearl caches, and are capable of storing pearls in their stomachs for transport. Couriers might move through a system of pipes and can deliver pearls directly to and from an iterator's puppet chamber. Kind of like getting your mail via pneumatic tube. Fwoop.

The pearls in an iterator's puppet chamber are likely there because they are actively using the information stored on it for some process, or they are altering the data stored on it. Pearls might be an equivalent to non-volatile computer memory (such as in a hard drive), used for long-term storage. Perhaps the data stored in pearls can only be altered by an iterator's puppet, so if they need to change something, the pearl needs to be transported to their chamber.

I also think that iterator puppets are analogous to a computer's I/O devices.

When you use a computer, you use a mouse and keyboard, and look at information on a screen. However, the actual computing takes place in the computer's processors. If you unplug the mouse, keyboard, and monitor from a computer, it can still compute just fine, but you as a user lose the ability to interact meaningfully with the data stored within. These peripherals are called Input/Output (or I/O) devices.

Similarly, an iterator is much more than their puppet; both their biological and mechanical processes are carried out in the larger superstructure as well as the outside area surrounding it. However, if their creators want to be able to utilize these processes, they need something to interact with: an I/O device. Similar to how a computer monitor turns ones and zeroes into pixels on a screen, iterator puppets communicate via body language and speech. Puppets can also observe and interpret things in their chamber, like how a keyboard and mouse interpret inputs from a user into information the computer can use.

Iterator puppets aren't perfectly analogous to a computer screen, however. I think the puppets (and the rooms surrounding the puppet chamber) also function similarly to a human brain, which is the most important part of the central nervous system. Obviously humans are much more than their brains, but they also can't function without them.

The rooms surrounding Moon's chamber are called the "Neural Terminus", which supports this theory. The analogous rooms in Five Pebbles are called the "General Systems Bus"; in computers the System Bus connects the major parts of a computer, allowing the CPU, memory, and I/O devices to communicate with each other. This supports the theory that puppets also function as I/O devices. The Neural Terminus and General Systems Bus serve very similar functions, but their different names probably reflect the differences in Five Pebbles' and Moon's construction. (Note: in Rivulet's campaign when Pebbles is overtaken with Rot, the General Systems Bus is replaced with the Primary Cortex, which sounds a lot more similar to Moon's Neural Terminus. I personally think that the General Systems Bus and Primary Cortex are next to or near each other in Pebbles' superstructure, but the Primary Cortex is inaccessible in earlier campaigns, and the General Systems Bus is blocked off by rot in Rivulet's campaign. They likely serve similar purposes.)

The music heard in the General Systems Bus/Neural Terminus is diegetic and reflects an iterator's thoughts and state of mind.

I made a post earlier about how Random Gods, the theme heard in Five Pebbles' General Systems Bus, is the sound of Five Pebbles performing a sorting algorithm. I was mostly joking, but I do think that theory holds some weight.

I've seen people theorize before that Random Gods is literally the sound of Five Pebbles thinking, and I really like that idea. It makes sense that you would hear it in the General Systems Bus, which is basically his brain. Similarly, Reflection of the Moon, which plays in Moon's Neural Terminus, is also the sound of Moon's thoughts.

Random Gods is cacophonous and frenetic, which I think reflects Pebbles' obsessive nature. Reflection of the Moon, on the other hand, is much more melodic, which I think represents how Moon is much more levelheaded. However, the sound of a ticking clock can also be heard, which I think represents the fear Moon feels about her imminent collapse. After she collapses, Reflection of the Moon becomes Moondown, which I also think is diegetic. It reflect's Moon's severely damaged state and her inability to function or think like she was able to before.

I think every iterator has a unique theme that plays in their General Systems Bus (or the equivalent), which reflects their personality, thoughts, and state of mind.

My iterator oc, Three Stars Above Clouds, was built primarily to collect astronomical data, and they spend most of their time sifting through this data and analyzing it. Because of this, I think their analogue to Random Gods would be fast paced but repetitive, representing their ability to process a lot of data at once, and performing repetitive analyses on it extremely quickly.

I heard the song "The Dream Is Always The Same" by Tangerine Dream recently, and I think it captures the feeling I was thinking about. TSAC's Random Gods equivalent probably sounds very similar to this, with repetitive synths as they access files over and over and over.

(I listened to the entire album earlier and honestly I think the whole thing is pretty iteratorcore, listen to it if you like retro synths that evoke what a computer thinking would sound like.)

.... that's probably enough thoughts for one post. I could go on. I really like thinking about iterators and how they work, Rain World does a very good job of establishing them as enormous, complex, thinking, and breathing machines. I'll probably post more thoughts at some point.