#shows used to drop an episode a week. miss those days

[hurglewurm]

i watched almost human nine years ago,

[damiansgoodgirll]

can you please write McIntyre using the strap on reader as she got excited watching him beating punk? it doesn’t have to be smut, only if you want to 😩🙏🥵

drew mcintyre x reader

likes, comments and reblogs are always welcomed!

‼️not 100% smut but smut, we’re close lol, mention of safeword, belt !!!!!!!

marks

watching your boyfriend and punk using belts and straps on each others was something you’ve never expected to see. especially since when drew got back to your shared apartment and his back was full of red bruises and cuts.

you told him how worried you were, that he might have gone too far but he reassured you, saying that he got worse during his whole career.

so you believed him.

but another week passed and you saw punk and drew using belts on each other. you didn’t want to watch anymore but the way your boyfriend was hitting punk, the way he forcibly removed his belts from his jeans, sweat dripping down his naked chest and the way his hand strongly e the belt, made you feel butterflies all over your body.

you and drew weren’t one of those kinky couples. you used cuffs and ropes a couple of times but drew always feared he would hurt you so he never pushed himself much. he respected you too much to degrade you or making you in some uncomfortable position so you’ve never asked him again.

he was a caring lover, always making you cum first in bed, prioritising you over his own pleasure. he knew how to be sensual and seductive, he knew how to make you crazy and beg for him but he was a softie after all, so you didn’t know what to expect from him if you asked him to use the belt on you.

but the sight of him looking so powerful and dominant made you wet.

the worst he could say to your proposal was no, right?

so you waited till the next day, until he got back home and during that period of time you actually thought about how you were going to ask him. there wasn’t a way of actually asking someone if they could use their belt on your ass so you thought about just asking him the way you would ask him about his day.

it was night when he got home. you were already in bed, reading something on instagram when you saw him smiling at you.

“hey” you greeted him returning a smile.

he dropped his work bag on the floor and immediately jumped in bed next to you, making you laugh.

“hey love, i missed you” he moved closer to your body so now his head was laying on your chest while your hands was playing with his long hair.

“missed you too” you whispered, enjoying the comfort of the moment.

“did you watch the episode?” he asked even if he already knew the answer.

“of course” you laughed.

he noticed that you were dozing off, that your mind was thinking of something else and he was curious to know about it “is everything okay love?”

“uh? oh yes, don’t worry…i was just thinking”

“yeah, i can see that…do you mind let me in?” he moved a little on the bed so now he was facing you.

“it’s stupid…it’s just a thought that i had” if you were sure before, now you were completely backing off, thinking of how crazy you would have sounded if you asked him to use the strap on you.

“it’s not stupid if you’re distracted” he replied with a smirk, making you roll your eyes.

“i was thinking about you and the show…just the way you manhandled punk with the belt” you were getting shy and drew understood what you were going to say.

“go on…” he whispered.

“i - well, i just thought that you looked good using the belt on him, and i was wondering if we could try…you know, using the belt on me?” you asked, your cheeks completely red from embarrassment.

drew thought about it for a minute. he knew he was strong and he didn’t want to hurt you. but at the same time he knew he wouldn’t have used as much force as he used with punk and the thought of having you face down and ass up wasn’t so bad after all.

“you sure? i don’t wanna hurt you” he wanted to be sure.

“positive…i will let you know in case it gets too much for me”

“i need a safeword” he was serious about it.

you thought for a minute about a simple word that you would easily remember “claymore” you said and he laughed.

“seriously?”

“what? it’s short and easy for me to remember” you joked.

“fine…come here…” he said before letting you sit on his lap. his lips met yours in a passionate yet gentle kiss, his beard grazing over your cheeks making you shiver “if i’m hurting you i need you to say so” he whispered again your lips and you nodded.

his hands pushed your hips down, making you slowly grind against his now evident erection. a moan escaped his lips, making you wanting to grind your hips again “don’t play with me princess” he smiled, his lips leaving soft kisses against your neck and collarbone “lift your hips up for me” you did as he said and in one move he was able to remove your shorts and panties.

“take your shirt off please…” you begged him, needing to see him in all of his glory.

“as you wish” he smirked, removing his shirt so you could touch his muscular chest. the smiled, feeling your soft hands on his bruised chest, touching him softly.

one of his hands moved to touch your naked cunt, teasing your lips before his thumb slowly circled your clit “you’re so wet already…and all because of a belt” he captured your lips again, biting them softly, making you moan “ass up and face down baby…” he smirked seeing how eager you were to comply.

in a swift move you saw him removing his belt from his jeans and you felt yourself burning. he helped you positioning yourself over the pillows, making sure that your face and your elbows wouldn’t feel any pain.

“you good?” he asked and you nodded “promise me to let me know if it hurts okay?”

“i promise you drew…” you smiled at him and before you could say anything else, you felt his hand smacking your add, making you slightly jump from the surprise.

you felt becoming wetter and he noticed that from the way you tried to close your legs. his strong arms made impossible for you to do so as he gently massaged your cheek before bringing the hard material of the belt over your ass. he didn’t hit you, he wanted you to get used to the feeling before doing anything.

you shivered a little when you felt the cold material against your body but it was likeable.

before you could say anything, you felt a strong whipping against your ass “oh fuck…” you moaned, closing your eyes slightly from the burning sensation that it caused you.

“do you want me to stop?” drew asked a little worried. his eyes were still looking at your face, trying to see if there was any discomfort showing.

“absolutely not!” you said making him chuckle. he had no idea there was this kinky side in you. you’ve always been the vanilla type, or so he thought.

without warning, you felt another hit on your ass. a little less strong than the other one but still firm, knowing that by the end of the night, you would probably struggle to sit.

drew thought about a way for you to make it more enjoyable for you. he knew that you would probably get tired of it after five or six hits and he was having too much fun to end so quickly.

he brought his middle finger back to your cunt, positioning himself behind you, losing your face sight but imagining your eyes closing when you felt his finger touching your clit once again.

his belt touched your ass once again, but the fact that his fingers were working on your clit, it made the pain less painful and you were actually enjoying this more. the contrast from pain and pleasure, the way you felt your ass burning but at the same time your core getting wetter and wetter , you loved every second of it.

he noticed that you were enjoying it. from the way your legs began to shake, from your moans and whimpers. he knew you were close, his hands working magic both on your cunt and ass. with one last strong whip, he hit your ass before stroking your clit faster, making you cum right on the spot “oh fuck fuck fuck…” you mumbled against the pillows, your head almost suffocating between the comfort “oh shit…” you felt your body go numb and falling down on the bed.

drew making sure that you were okay, softly turned you to face him. he threw the belt somewhere on the back of the room and his hands tried to move the hair that got stuck on your face.

your eyes were closed and your mouth a little open, still trying to catch your breath.

“love” he softly whispered in your ear, making you open your eyes “are you okay love?” his lips met your cheeks and you softly nodded “i need words love”

you chuckled “i’m okay”

“did i hurt you?”

“no…i enjoyed it actually…a lot” you smirked, making him laugh.

“well…i think that’s enough for you tonight…you did so good baby, i’m impressed”

“shut up” you softly punched him making him laugh.

before you could move, drew went to the bathroom and got some lotion to put on your very red ass. the cold cream made you hiss for a second when it came in contact with your skin. drew was careful, trying not to hurt you, not more than he already did at least.

“you should sleep on your stomach tonight…at least until the cream is absorbed” he suggested making you nod your head.

you were tired, and he definitely wore you out. drew removed his jeans and stayed in just his underwear before coming back to bed with you. he gently helped you making you more comfortable and relaxed on the bed, knowing that the position you were in wasn’t helping. you had your head over his chest and his hands gently rubbing your back.

“goodnight love” he whispered but your eyes were already closed and you were slowly drifting off to sleep, dreaming about all the kinky things you would ask drew to try with you once you woke up.

[stuffnonsenseandotherthings]

In my spare time, when I'm not watching dramas I'm either reading books or watching people talking about books on YouTube. One tradition I've always really enjoyed is their "Mid-Year Freak Out" tag, especially because I like the idea of getting a chance to reflect on the year so far as well as look to the year ahead.

This year I thought I'd combine my two passions and use (and in some cases alter) the prompts for my own use, i.e. so that I can talk about dramas rather than books.

The only rule: answer the questions (and go wild I guess).

And we start the list with the biggest risk! No The Trainee is nowhere near finished and, no I have no idea how it's going to finish (it's GMMTV it could drop the ball through the floor and into the earth's core for all I know) but, if it manages to keep going the way it's going, I'm going to absolutely love it. I've mentioned before that The Trainee reminds me a lot of Misaeng, what I haven't said is that Misaeng is my (tied) favourite drama of all time and if The Trainee can get anywhere close to making me feel like I did the first time I watched Misaeng (which it is so far) then it's on to a winning formula.

So far it's got everything I look for in a drama: a solid cast with excellent chemistry, a plot that focuses on the little battles of everyday life, and an excellent mix of fast friendship and slow burn romance with plenty of character development along the way. It also doesn't hurt that it's got the balance between slapstick-funny and emotional tension pretty much bang on either.

I can't get this drama or it's characters out of my head and I am deeply, deeply, invested in where things are going next so, as a nod to the hold it has on me and my hope that I've found a new all-time fave, The Trainee is my favourite drama so far so GMMTV DO NOT LET ME DOWN.

Thai BL opening themes can be very hit or miss for me (I won't lie, I have skipped many an opening sequence because I can't stand the song) but Wandee Goodday's "Fan With Benefit" caught my ear the first time I heard it and refused to leave me alone after that. I think I listened to it on repeat for at least 2 weeks and then at least once a day after that.

It's fun, it's flirty, it's got a chorus I like to dance to and it has now found itself on my "Songs to Cook Dinner To" playlist (I don't know if that says more about the song or how I cook dinner).

Now if only the drama lived up to its theme song...

Last Twilight would have been on this list had I not dropped it in December and, as a result, rendered it ineligible for a 2024 drama. I'm still absolutely fuming about how badly it let its audience down and how terribly it handled an extremely nuisanced topic to the point its final messaging was almost harmful.

I'm not going to get into this in too much detail because my frustrations have been voiced much more eloquently by people @lurkingshan and @twig-tea. I will say, however, that I loved the first 6(?) episodes of Wandee Goodday and I'm really sad about how much I didn't enjoy the rest of the drama.

There were a lot of things to like (and a lot of potential) right from the start: two couples with great chemistry, an ace character with actual depth and dimension, really sweet relationships (both familial and friendships), and the foundations for some interesting explorations of various interpersonal dynamics. Unfortunately none of these things really got followed through on and instead Wandee decided to go dark (with topics like mental health, sexual assault, loss and grief, parental neglect and abandonment to name a few) and do it badly. I don't mind if a show wants to explore difficult topics, in fact I really appreciate it, but what I won't tolerate is a drama introducing those topics as central plot points and then skimming over them in the most superficial way possible.

If you can't be bothered to put in the effort to properly research/explore difficult topics, do not include them in your drama.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SHOW SINCE IT FIRST GOT ANNOUNCED. Which unfortunate because I was so excited for it I got stressed about it living up to my expectations (or not) and then couldn't watch it when it came out. It's annoying, it happens, I know how to fix it.

Anyway, I've given it some space, I've dealt with the other things that were making me stressed and I am now ready to devour it give it a go.

I have long been a fan of Ahn Pan Seok's works and I really appreciate his directorial style, the themes he chooses to tackle, and the way in which he explores his topics of choice. I will fully acknowledge his work is not for everyone; he favours slow (extremely slow) stories with characters and plots who are realistic to a frustrating (and sometimes infuriating) degree. You also need to have a pretty in depth understanding of Korean society and its problems, taboos and concerns to fully understand the underlying messages of his dramas and the structures/beliefs/views he's critiquing. That being said, for me that is the perfect recipe for a drama that's going to claw itself into my brain and stay there.

Secret Love Affair, One Spring Night, and Something in the Rain all had a lasting impact on me and, thanks to @lurkingshan's posts, I'm pretty sure Midnight Romance in Hagwon will join them.

It may come as a surprise after the last entry but I actually try quite hard to not get hyped about upcoming releases, mainly to avoid creating any expectations which can then be disappointed. I like to go in with as open a mind as possible.

As a result, there are a few upcoming releases I'm keeping an eye on but none I'd say I'm properly "anticipating" (á la Midnight Romance in Hagwon). The closest I can get is Monster Next Door which I am genuinely excited for and which I plan to watch from day 1.

I'm not completely sure why I'm looking forward to it so much, I think it's because I do love a good opposites attract, foes-to-hoes dynamic and Monster Next Door seems like it's going to offer that to me in spades alongside a serving of comedy and a sprinkling of heat. Bring the introvert-extrovert pairing and let me watch them be stupidly whipped for each other, it's all I need for now.

Technically all of the dramas on my Want to Watch list because I want to clear it but I'm aware that that's a bit of a reach.... If anyone can spot any dramas on here that you think I should prioritize (or dramas you think I should scrap), recommendations would be appreciated.

I also want to watch more Japanese BLs. The few I've got through, I've enjoyed and, for a lot of them, I've already read and loved the source manga so I know I'll enjoy the plot. Unfortunately I really struggle with the short episodes (30 minutes is not long enough for me to get invested) and that I have to commit to binging them and can't watch them while they're airing, which is a whole other issue. I'm thinking of focussing on Japanese GL for now as a hook (I'm not enjoying the current Thai GL line up and I'm running out of Korean GL I can find online) so I guess the dramas I "need" to watch are She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat and Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko.

* Biggest surprise

* Newest favourite actor/director/writer/producer

* Most beautiful drama

* Newest fictional crush

* Newest favourite character

* A drama that made you cry

* A drama that made you happy

And there you have it! Lightly tagging @lurkingshan @twig-tea and @italianpersonwithashippersheart but no pressure! Anyone else who wants to do this, feel free! Just tag me so I can gather more recs to make my To Watch list even longer.

[fukutomichi]

It's RAMBLE TIIIME!!! Okay, I think I can talk about it now, probably most have seen the episodes. It's a bit longish! Here we go!

That first episode is so far my favorite, because above all else, I'm a GIGANTIC fan of visual storytelling and show-don'tell, and that first episode had me FEASTING. You can probably tell by my gifsets that I love when actors emote and act without dialog using only emotions and facial expressions to get the message out. Episode 1 gave us so much of it. And dare I say bordering a bit on horror/gore a bit, those first few minutes with Sauron in his "desk job era" had me surprised by how brutal it got quickly.

If people are wondering if they're gonna do the Celebrimbor thing, and if THAT is gonna be too brutal to show, this might confirm that they may not shy away from it at all.

I love the fact that they took the criticism that was mentioned for the first two-three episodes in Season 1, when I was actually kinda worried that the pace was going a bit TOO slow and it took three weeks, when the story moves to Númenor , for the series to fully kick in gear. This time they were like, lets get the set-up out of the way, all at once, and then release week after week. Lets see if this decision pays of in the next weeks ahead.

So lets get this out of the way. I had a hunch with Nazanin Boniadi missing from promos and interviews that they are gonna off her character right away. Turns out that there was even an announcement before that I've completely missed and I was gutted when I found out, but in the end of the day, a job is still a job, and if it affects you in anyway, it's probably best to leave it. I have had a first hand experience in this and no matter how high the pay was, my health was much more important than anything and had to quit. I'm gonna miss her and wish her the best!

Arondir and Theo's relationship gets back to square one, so I'm interested to see in what way or IF it gets mended cause man, I dunno how they can pull it off this time. BUT I do LOVE that they've paired Theo alongside Isildur which is a character he can empathize with so I wanna see where that leads. My friends immidiatelly groaned when they heard "Gawddd the ARROW really?? =___="...and then remembered about a tiny movie called The Hobbit and what happened to Kili. We had to go to Hobbit logic to explain it away and move on lol.

The new character Estrid, was IMMEDIATELY suss as HELL to me. Even after she burned her sigil on her back so she can hide it. I've been listening to her soundtrack theme, and almost like as if its made from two layers, feels almost TOO magical for her even. But this is just my hunch. Isildur is still too wide-eyed and naive so maybe she will serve some purpose in him getting a bit jaded later on.

ORC BABIES!! HELLO!! I love that we're getting deeper into the orcish origins and probably everyone's favorite topic, are they redeemable?? Can they be??? I also love that we got to have two Adars. Season 1 we had Joseph Mawle with an almost vulnerable portrayal and what seemed like a suicide mission for him. Now for Season 2 we get Sam Hazledine, with his goal complete AND him still alive, a more driven and focused character...but is he gonna survive THIS season?? 😭

We know Adar also mentions how he meets Sauron for the first time...but that doesn't stop me from AGAIN, thinking that he IS MAGLOR. Come one maaaan, the hand!!! "In the eldest of the Elder days" you don't just drop a line like that causally. DROP THAT REVEAL!!!

WE NEED MORE OF THE HARFOOTS!!! WE NEED MORE WIZARDS!!! These 3 eps were not enough for me lol. I'm just beyond excited for Tom Bombadil!! Please have Goldberry, please have Goldberry!!

Disa and Durin are still relationship goals. UGHHH!! They will have me stressed!

I ain't gonna lie. When that giant eagle landed before Pharazôn, there were a few seconds where I was buttclenching thinking he was gonna pull his sword and swing it on the bird...but then Manwë would probably descend and obliterate Númenor in seconds and the series would be over lol. Númenor will have me stresseeeed. The Petty Lord and his Queen WILL RUIN MEEEH!! 😭 😭 😭

Ben Daniels as Cirdan is an A+++ casting choice. Kinda bummed that he hasn't talked properly with Gil-Galad tho. Make different characters interact more with each other damn iiiiit!!! Let us see them establish connections!!

That being said, my favorite part so far, and are probably gonna be the central focus of this season, are the elves. Their strive for perfection, thinking themselves SO infallible, beyond prideful, are gonna be the very things that bite them in the ass...again lol.

And it's important for us to see that, cause THAT is the extent of Sauron's evil, we need to witness just how much he can mess you up and how much he enjoys playing the game, in the same time thinking himself savior and deserving of love. How much PURE good you have to be to resist him. Elrond so far has proven able to resist, given his past.

Galadriel is on the brink. If listening to "The Last Temptation" tells me something...Galadriel so far hasn't learned her lesson and thinking herself able to resist.

I believe there's a gut-punch coming up in the finale and I'm not gonna be ready for it. And yet, as much as I don't like it, WE NEED TO SEE IT! We need to see how evil can be tempting and irresistible, that even an infallible being can fail.

After all, it's all downhill from here.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Hello! I know you're one of the people who ship Moon and Solar (TSAMS) And y'all have gotten me into the ship as well! XD I'm not caught up on the lore of the show(s) So i haven't even seen Solar IN SHOW before (i am very behind to before Lunar was Sun and Moons brother :' D) But I have some ideas I'm debating writing for the ship buttt....I have no clue how Canon Solar acts??? Do you know if theres somewhere I could find a Summary on his personality? (and I suppose...new Moon?) I'll probably unintentionally make them OOC...never written for anything TSAMS related, but i'll try!

And is there a ship names thats...like used for them instead of Solar X Moon or is it just called that?

Anywho, I hope you have a good day/night!!! You make awesome stuff! (And I know theres been some people making drama over the ship, I hope you don't let them get to you too much tho!! <3 /P)

🦈Anon

AWESOME!

Heheheh. Thank you. I've been shipping these two since June 2023 so I'm glad I can share the brainrot and some people are more welcoming and cool then I expect. (mostly the ones who can't think critically are the youtube audience but that's expected. Since a lot of the youtube target audience are... like.. minors or really young adults who can't conceive the concept.)

I rewatch that Episode where Solar changes his name and rebuilds the Daycare in a week just for Moon constantly cause it's just... so much admiration and appreciation Moon has for Solar in that episode. I swear I don't know if it was a flub on the actor's part... but I swear Moon calls him 'sexy' as he's dragging him to charge. the stock sound effect of "OOOOH" doesn't help my APD and I've listened so many times and I have no possible idea what Moon could be saying to Solar other then 'come here you stupid, sexy-...." (trails off) sooo... idk. I might have misheard that severely but that's just what I'm hearing.

Like, in terms of New Lore of the show, it gets pretty complicated.

So complicated in fact, TSAMS themselves released a new video on the subject.... But it's NOT a very good guide, as it misses a lot of things. (and no I don't mean the stupid guest cameo stuff) this is more or less an abridged take on what happens with no emotional impact:

Like, this is a good starting point if you want the barest of bones, but it misses so much stuff. I think they don't even mention how Solar gets introduced into this family. lol. Just like "yeah Im here and I helped kill Eclipse" fheahehf. It's a super well made video though, and I don't mind the editing mistakes (clearly when the actors change the avatar on screen.... whoops. Happens a few times)

There is also the Fan Wiki, but as of now, it is incomplete, (@twinanimatronics is working tirelessly on updating the wiki and I wish they got more reconignition from the tsams community as a whole ) but it does give a decent look into Solar

There is also the huge TSAMS Lore Document, which Ceph(twinanimatronics) also worked on which contains a further detailed explanation of the story so far, for those who don't have time to watch 2 years worth of youtube content that aren't in a concrete playlist. (TSAMS. PLAYLIST YOUR STUFF PROPERLY. YOU HAVE TWO YEARS OF LORE HERE)

Liike.... yeah... this is okay but like..

This is VRchat. Aka the lore. Which also includes when they play videogames in VRchat, which don't impact the story... Like Uno, Amongus and SCP stuff.....

And it doesn't divide the arcs. Something that TSAMS severely needs more then any other SB Show channel.

Also, in the early days, the gameplay videos USED to be part of the lore. As the concept of Eclipse itself, being a rouge evil ai that lived in Sun's head (as it was presented initially but we know the truth it was the killcode moon planted in Sun when they separated.)

These days, they kinda dropped the gameplay videos being directly connected to the over arching plot. Other then just saying that their vids are pre-recorded or "we're back" after an annual halloween takeover.

Not to mention... When Earth and Lunar got a show, they became intertwined with the Sun and Moon show. LAES is very much it's own thing, but it's the ONLY Security Breach Show that consists of two Original Characters spawned from the Sun and Moon show. A rarity. So their lore continues off from the Sun and moon show, giving more info on Lunar these days and Earth (their sister)

Then you have the Monty and Foxy show (which is my least favorite of the shows... Personal Preference. I try not to complain cus I know some people like it. But I do not like the plot points in that show, or the character writing and weird directions they take while being connected to the same universe.)

And Monty is a character voiced by Davis, who also voices Sun. So Monty started out as a prominent character on the Sun and Moon Show, and then got his OWN show... at a point in TSAMS history after Eclipse got the star and killed Lunar.

So yeah. I wish the playlists were better organized here. So we knew when each era starts.

(people say Matpat should get on this show lore... And noooooooo no thanks. Keep him away. We got you covered. Ceph honestly has enough info to make a video guide at this point.)

But long story short, Solar is a "Good Eclipse" from another dimension that the Old Moon introduced to Lunar, when Lunar was struggling with his trauma of leaving Eclipse. Good Eclipse and Lunar become friends.

Anyway, here are some key episodes that outline NewMoon and Solar's relationship, as Solar had never met the Old Moon.

Old Moon had never met Solar. It was New Moon who introduced himself to Solar to help defeating Eclipse once and for all. (and by this point lunar had died)

He was actually surprised that this Moon was a chill Moon and could be reasoned with and talked to, considering he was living a rather oppressive life from his own Moon.

There's also a whole episode saga of just these two bantering and talking while they work on the satellite together. I can't remember which specific episodes those are.

You can also see the difference between the Evil Eclipse and Good Eclipse here in one of my all time favorite episodes:

Moon saving Solar's life: (also the death of the bad Eclipse)

Everything is good and happy after Eclipse dies for awhile. (aside of Ruin and Bloodmoon wrecking shit) He goes back to his own dimension... and you get to see what his sad life is like:

From his Moon calling him "byproduct" and failure very often.

But... Something happens and Solar is forced to come to Moon's dimension

here's Solar at his poor little meow meow "I have nowhere to go" stage and just... thought to go to Moon immediately due to their history.

Moon's only question about Solar moving in, is that if he wanted him to blacklist his dimension once he heard what was going on with his Moon.

And immediately, Solar jumps in to help Moon with his problems.

Also during the halloween takeover part 2 electric boogaloo, Solar was the one to help get Sun and Moon back after being teleported to a different dimension with no hopes of returning

Also, after Ruin was cured and Bloodmon ran off, Solar rebuilt the ruined Daycare in a week. And Moon is so grateful for it. (i rewatch this episode a lot. It cemented the ship in my mind and built the commodity that they've been building up for months)

We also get what Solar's daily life is like so far... How out of place he feels, being someone from a different dimension, despite the Brothers (and sister's) insistence, he still doesn't really feel like he's part of the family. He feels like an outsider. (He also has less opportunities to hang out with Lunar. As he expressed interest in playing games with him like the good old days, and as of recently, they have not yet)

also a good example of the Celestial family changing minds on family dynamics because they are robots. Lunar flat out rejected Vegeta-Animatronic is his brother even if he technically is. Like, they're robots. They can change their relationships to each other based on their word. I like to see it more flexible then it is in reality with actual people/humans.

Moon also trying to make Solar feel comfortable and feel like he's adjusting well here. Expressing his concern for him doing so much for him and his family. And hoping to not pressure him into so much work.

As of recently, his Sun died, and he killed his Moon. And in his therapy session (on the Lunar and Earth Show) he expressed regret over "Leaving" them...

But he has not properly told anyone about this.

My reasoning is that he probably thinks that the family will jump on the chance to call him "Evil" .....They don't have good luck with Eclipses.... and every Eclipse they met other than him has been Evil. (that must weigh on you. Every version of yourself is deemed as evil across every dimension. You are the only good one. Maybe there is something wrong with you)

I'm already at the video limit, but on Lunar and Earth show, there is an interesting episode where Lunar goes into Solar's head, and his mindscape looks like the Willy Wonka TV room, because it was a movie he watched with his Sun before they separated and Sun died. Showing that he did care about his Sun a whole lot... Which is probably why he doesn't interact with our Sun that much alone.

He also compartmentalizes everything before he can feel emotions, playing his own memories in third person as if he's not experiencing them.

Not to mention, he organizes and separates his thoughts on NewMoon and HIS Moon, just so he won't associate the two.

I also missed what episode it was, but Solar is always the first to call Moon out when he's being angry, or irrational, and Sun admits in his therapy session, that Solar is the only person who can calm Moon down. (mainly cus he's used to it, but unlike his old moon, this moon listens)

Anyway...

I love Solar a lot, can you tell?

[7surreality7]

Surviving the VMin drought (again)

Why am I suddenly missing VMin so much?

Honestly the first half of 2024 sans Vmin (and tannies) wasn't as horrible as I had expected. The boys had worked hard and left us many things to cherish and admire and not feel their absence so intensely. I think I was gloomy the first two or so weeks after their enlistment but things started to get better afterwards. Excitement started building up when MUSE was announced and while patiently waiting for it, we got the surprise of our lives!

On Jin's discharge day, not only did we see all the members together which was true sight for sore eyes but guess what...we witnessed the daddy of all hugs, THE VMin hug which went viral immediately. No one, and I mean no one can ever come close in expressing love and longing, the way these two express their emotions towards each other. It spreads so much joy just looking at the two wrapped up in each other while the world around them became a mere blur for those several seconds. I mean I don't know about others but that hug added a few years to my life, haha.

Then, AYS ran up until September, and keeping aside the insane amount of hate generated online towards VMin because of whatever idiotic delusions of the Xkook ships/ haters/ antis. it was a bonus for Vminnies. To our great joy Tae was there too in Jeju and those three episodes kept us afloat in the middle of the year. Honestly watching Vmin in the first Jeju episode made me actually cackle at how easily and often they just drift away and get locked in their own bubble even with JK around who they both adore, treat like a baby and prioritize often. They kind of even snubbed him lightly inside the play area (whatever it was called) and made it all about each other the whole time. Watching them like this in front of JK (who seemed all too used to this kind of behavior from VMin) convinced me that these two are capable of making even God feel like the third wheel, was he to come in front of them, Lol!

I do know that something changed in episode 2 and 3 and Tae seemed a little aloof. To me it seemed like at least a 180 shift in behavior, from both Tae and JM towards each other. I have a theory off course it's just something that I think might have happened .(Nothing serious but sort of JM and Tae both realizing OR being reminded what the main concept of the show was and who/ what should be the focus and hence altering their behavior on the show to being less clingy and more aware) But, all in all AYS was great for Viminnies.

I don't know...something about October ending without a VMin sighting (or hearing/ reading anything from them as a duo) has got me. I was just hung up on last year's October so much that this year's October felt like a VMin anniversary. Of some kind. And when the anniversary passed with pin drop silence from the main cast I experienced withdrawal symptoms, Lmao!

I also seem to have come to a 100% realization there won't be any VMin sightings shortly either. Until their reunion in June, anyway. So I have no hope of any messages from Jimin on Tae's birthday.

Off course all this also sounds pretty selfish you know? And entitled, too? Like why would VMin feel obligated to write to each other on Soc for the fans (shippers?) They can very well talk to each other, write messages and see each other's face everyday and might be even doing it all, we just have no way to know. So, off course they'll wish each other privately this year but there won't be any SM posts. Unless...unless..we are surprised yet again just like it happened in June (seriously I am actually going to cry for real if that happens) but yeah gotta keep expectations super duper low. I have a nagging feeling the remaining months are going to be the drought we dreaded and need to find ways and means to survive this. 7 months of labor pain.

God bless V for his Christmas collab gift to us that's coming out soon. This is a kind of song which seems to be tailor made for his voice. I am so looking forward!

[collabpartners]

The Cuphead Show Season Four Ep. 2

*Chapter Summary: Mugman, Cuphead, and Chalice go on a quest to find the thief that took the book from them and defeat their first foe: Goopy Le Grande.* 

*A/N: Hey guys! We're back with another chapter/episode! This is published on August 6, 2024. If you guys like this episode/chapter, don't be afraid to vote and comment. That would be greatly appreciated! Enjoy and have a blessed day.*

Episode Two: Mismatched Boxing

The next morning is like any other morning. 

Elder Kettle flips some pancakes while Mugman, Cuphead, and Chalice sit in awkward silence. They look to see where the book is missing in the kitchen and then back at Elder Kettle.

“Should we tell him about what happened last night?” Cuphead asks Mugman and Chalice. 

“Keep him distracted. I’ll go look for Cassidy,” Chalice whispers to the boys before turning into a ghost and disappearing. 

The brothers glance at each other in fear and then back at Elder Kettle. 

“So, uh, got any, uh, chores for us today?” Mugman asks.

Cuphead throws a withering glare at his brother until Elder Kettle turns around, putting pancakes on the plates. 

“Chores? You boys are supposed to be collecting soul debts from the debtors right now,” Elder Kettle says while arching a brow. “You got a day until the Peashooter fades from your bodies.”

“A day?!” the boys gasp in shock.

“Yes, a day. However, if that’s not enough time, you boys can make the potions yourself. Just gather the ingredients listed from the book—” Elder Kettle points at the empty spot by the open window and notices the book is missing. “Huh, I could’ve sworn that book is always right there. Did you boys take the book?” 

“Uh…no…” Cuphead utters nervously. 

“Don’t tell me that someone stole the book last night,” Elder Kettle whines. “I already have enough to deal with you kids gamblin’ away your souls to the Devil, the plants need water, and the fence needs paintin’. Wait, where’s Chalice?”

Chalice appears from the side as a ghost and then turns into her physical side. “I can’t find Cassidy and the book in Porkrind’s shop.” 

Then she notices Elder Kettle widening his eyes in shock. Elder Kettle drops the plates that has the pancakes on it. The glass plates shatter on the floor as Elder Kettle collapses from the fear of the ghost. 

Chalice shifts her withering glare at the boys. “You ding dongs are supposed to distract him.” 

“Well, Mugman brought up the chores,” Cuphead points at Mugman childishly.

“Well, you left the window open,” Mugman growls.

“This ain’t the time to point fingers,” Chalice responds. “Look, I asked Porkrind where she’s at and he wouldn’t give me a straight answer. So I looked into the wagon and found nothing. So, Cassidy is off somewhere with the book—”

“We need to get that book,” Mugman urges. “We got a day until our powers fade.” 

“Aw, shucks! And we got three weeks to return the debtors’ souls to the Devil!” Chalice panics. “We gotta go now!” 

“Couldn’t agree more,” Cuphead responds. 

The three cups get up from the seats and rush out of the house before Elder Kettle wakes up from his black-out. 

“Uh, boys…?” Elder Kettle groans awake. 

~.~

“Where could she be?” Cuphead groans after searching through the woods for thirty minutes for Cassidy. 

“She must be hidin’ somewhere,” Chalice responds with her fists on her hips. 

“Like a coward,” Mugman growls. 

“Hey, while we’re searchin’ for our thief, we should look over the list of the debtors we gotta take souls from,” Chalice suggests to the boys. 

Mugman takes out the list and looks at it with a sigh. “Okay, let’s see. We got Goopy Le Grande...T-The Root Pack?!” 

Cuphead gasps. “The Root Pack!” 

“Oh yeah, I heard they’re nasty. Bunch of party animals if ya ask me,” Chalice says with a smirk. 

“They ain’t the only ones we know that owed the Devil their souls,” Mugman panics. “Ribby and Croaks! Baroness Von Bon Bon! Captain Brineybeard! Cala Maria! Sally Stageplay! And Werner Werman!” 

“Oh boy, do we have to face those guys?” Cuphead groans. 

“Well, if we want to save ourselves from the mess you’ve created, then yes! We have to face those guys!” Mugman says with a growl at his brother. 

Chalice notices a brown hooded creature exchanging money at the booth where she recognizes that Bowlboy is selling food products. “Say, ain’t that our thief?” 

The cups look up from reading the list and notice the brown hooded creature walking away. 

Cuphead growls and rushes off to charge towards the thief, tackling the thief down onto the ground. “Aha! Got ya!” 

He realizes that there’s an unfamiliar cup girl underneath him with a pink nose and brown bubbled hair. She screams and he screams back at her. He immediately jumps off of her, causing her to scramble up on her feet. 

“Sorry, sorry—”

“Ew! Why did you tackle me into the dirt, peasant?!” the girl growls angrily. 

“Hey, who are you callin’ peasant?” Cuphead snarls back. 

Mugman and Chalice catch up to him. 

“We’re sorry. We thought you’re our thief,” Chalice says with a polite smile. 

“Wow. I guess dressing myself as a lower-class peasant can make me look like a thief, huh?” 

“I never said that, girly,” Chalice says to the cup girl. 

“I know.” The girl takes off her hood to reveal her bubbled hair. “Ugh, Cassi has a terrible fashion sense.” 

“Wait, you knew Cassidy?!” Cuphead questions.

“Uh, yeah, why?” Natalie responds. “Wait, are you her new business partners? Ugh, I told her that she has to let me know who she’s doin’ business with—”

“No, she stole something from us,” Mugman answers desperately. 

The girl huffs up a laugh. “Heh, typical.”

“Do you happen to know where she is?” Chalice asks the cup girl. 

The girl crosses her arms. “She never reveals where she’s goin’. Nor do I care where she goes. She asks me if I know a translator and that’s the end of that.” 

“Why?” Chalice probes.

“I dunno. Your best bet of findin’ her would either be in the city…or in the woods…or in Porkrind’s shop. That’s all I can say,” the cup girl says with a shrug. 

“Let’s try for the city,” Chalice suggests the boys. Then she turns to the cup girl. “Thanks for your help, girly. Catch ya later.” 

The cup girl watches the three cups walking away while Bowlboy seems to witness everything in the conversation. 

“Uh, Nat, why didn’t you just tell them that she’s with Jerry?” Bowlboy asks the cup girl, Natalie.

“They don’t even know who Jerry is, Bowlboy,” Natalie says while walking away with a scoff. “Ugh, I’m getting myself a new disguise. This one is disgusting.” 

~.~

The three cups arrive at the big city, searching down every alleyway in the city. They ask some shop owners and some citizens. All of them either shake their heads to say they don’t know or they shrug and go about their days. 

After three hours of searching, Cuphead, Mugman, and Chalice takes a break in one of the alleyways that is close to the bad side of town. 

“Well, I’ll give Cassidy credit where credit is due. She’s good at hidin’,” Chalice says.

“She might be back at Porkrind’s by now,” Cuphead responds. “You think Porkrind would hide her or something?” 

“Well, she is his daughter after all…it’s suspicious that he never reveals that he has a daughter who’s just a no-good common thief—” 

Chalice looks to the side as Mugman smack talks about Cassidy and notices a familiar tall figure with the dark green trench coat and a blue scarf covering his mouth. 

Chalice focuses on the figure known as Jerry. 

Jerry looks around in the market, hiding something under his coat. He subtly opens his coat to talk to one of the random shopkeepers, with Cassidy slipping out from under the coat and sneaking through the market to steal jewelry and gems to sell. 

Chalice blinks in shock and then smirks. “Huh. Well, ain’t you a troublemaker?”

“What?” the boys ask.

“Looks like I found our thief,” Chalice says, her smirk widening. 

The boys crowd around her to find Cassidy sneaking through the market to steal an apple that looks good and takes a bite. 

“Let’s get her,” Cuphead determines.

Chalice and Mugman nod their heads in agreement. 

Cassidy is about done stealing items as she heads back and waits for Jerry to stop talking to the shopkeeper. 

However, Chalice appears behind her in her ghost form. “Hiya, girly!” 

Cassidy whirls around and finds Chalice in her ghost form in more shock. 

“You got something of ours?” Chalice responds with a smirk.

Jerry notices this encounter and sees the boys are about to jump on her. He strides towards Cassidy and shoves Cuphead and Mugman away from her before they can jump her. He pulls out the ghost spray and spray it on Chalice, causing her to scream in pain. Then he takes out a smoke bomb and throws it on the ground, creating a smoke around them. 

Jerry picks Cassidy up in the smoke while the kids are coughing. Once the smoke clears, they see that Jerry and Cassidy disappear. They look at the shopkeeper, who has his eyes widen in pure shock. The shopkeeper points to ahead of him, letting the kids turn to the direction where they find Jerry running with Cassidy in his arms.

“Hey!” Mugman shouts as the three cups run after them. 

Jerry carries Cassidy through the city. “What are they after you for?” 

Cassidy holds onto Jerry’s coat. “You know that book that I had last night?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I stole it from them.” 

“Oh.” Jerry looks over his shoulder to find the three cups chasing them. 

“Come back! We just want the book!” Chalice shouts. 

Jerry sharply turns down the alleyway, unaware of the cops walking by and seeing this scene unfold. The chief bee woman of police glances at the mug shots of Cuphead and Mugman. 

“That’s them!” the cop gasps.

“Get ‘em!” the chief shouts. 

Jerry rushes down the alleyway with Cassidy on his shoulders. He turns a sharp corner and takes out a wooden bat. When the kids are about to turn down the corner where Jerry turns, Jerry swings at them. Chalice changes into a ghost and phase through the bat. However, Mugman and Cuphead are hit in the head. 

Cassidy and Jerry look at the cups, noticing cartoon stars dancing above their heads. They look to find Chalice turning around as a ghost. 

“HEY!” the chief of the police shouts before Chalice can charge at Jerry and Cassidy.

Jerry picks up Cassidy and hurries over into the darkness of the alleyway. Chalice is stuck between chasing after them and rescuing the blacked-out cups from being handcuffed. She groans to herself and flies into the chief’s body, smacking her and the other cop with her baton and knocking them both out. 

Chalice phases out of the chief’s body and possesses Mugman, getting him to pick up Cuphead in his arms. As Mugman, she manages make him run through the alleyway with Cuphead in Mugman’s arms before more cops show up. Looking around, Mugman sees Jerry and Cassidy running down another alleyway. He chases after Jerry and Cassidy, attempting to catch up to them. 

Jerry and Cassidy enter into an empty house. Jerry shuts the door as they share a sigh in relief. 

“I think we lost them,” Cassidy says. 

On cue, Mugman jumps through the window with Cuphead in his arms, breaking through the glass. 

“WHAT THE—?!” Jerry shouts. 

Mugman whirls around and holds up his finger gun. “Alright! Where’s that book?!”

Cassidy and Jerry notice Mugman’s eyes glowing blue. They exchange gazes with each other and then back at Mugman. Jerry whips out the can of ghost spray and sprays it into Mugman’s eyes. 

Chalice jumps out of Mugman’s body with a yelp in pain. Her ghost form immediately reverts back to her physical form. “OW! AGAIN?!” 

Mugman covers his eyes. “AH! PEPPERSPRAY!”

Jerry puts his arm over Cassidy, holding out the ghost spray with narrowed brows. 

“Stay back!” Jerry growls. 

“We ain’t going anywhere until we have the book back!” Chalice snarls.

“We don’t have the book!” Cassidy shouts. 

“Are you saying Mugman is a liar?” Chalice asks with the glare. 

“No. She means that we don’t have the book because we gave it to a scholar to translate the text for us,” Jerry clarifies. 

Chalice softens her stare. “What?”

“The text is in Latin,” Cassidy explains. “I was gonna give it back to you guys after he’s done translating it.”

“Girly, you could’ve just ask us if you can borrow the book if ya need it that bad,” Chalice points out. 

Cassidy flattens her ears. 

“We didn’t think you would give it to us so easily,” Jerry replies.

Mugman and Cuphead start to wake up. 

“Ugh, my head…” Cuphead groans and looks up to find Chalice standing between him and Cassidy and Jerry. He stands up quick and aims his finger gun. “Where’s the book?!” 

Mugman jumps from Cuphead’s shout, his eyes red from the ghost spray. 

Chalice whirls around to face Cuphead. “Whoa there, Cups! They gave it to a scholar.”

“A scholar? Why?!” Mugman questions harshly.

Jerry lets out a tired sigh. “Because the book is written in Latin. We need someone to translate the text.”

“Oh,” Cuphead utters. “Huh, why didn’t you just ask us to borrow it?”

“Cuphead!” Mugman shouts. “We don’t just give the most important book to anyone willy nilly!”

Cassidy smirks and looks at Cuphead. “Does that answer your question, Cuphead?”

“You shut it!” Mugman growls, glaring at the red feline. “Why would you need this book?! It’s not like you owed the Devil your soul like us.” 

Jerry widens his eyes and turns to Cassidy. “Them too?!” 

“What do you mean by that?” Chalice asks suspiciously.

Jerry and Cassidy look at each other. Then they glance back at the three cups. Jerry pulls out a smoke bomb and throws it down, creating gray smoke around them. The cups cough and swipe the smoke away to find that Jerry and Cassidy disappear. 

“Aw, come on!” Cuphead groans. 

Chalice rolls her eyes. “Let’s not waste time with them. They gave it to some scholar but they won’t tell us who.” 

“Our powers are gonna fade if we don’t find that book soon,” Mugman responds. “We got three weeks to collect the soul contracts.” 

“And that’s why we don’t want to waste time doin’ this game of chase…yet,” Chalice says. “Let’s deal with one of the debtors before your powers fade.”

“Okay,” Cuphead responds. “Who’s first?”

Mugman unrolls the parchment. “Uh…Goopy Le Grande.”

“Let’s hurry to find him before your powers fade,” Chalice urges the boys.

The cups exit the empty house, unaware that Jerry and Cassidy are hiding in the closet.

Jerry and Cassidy exchange glances in concern. 

“That scholar better hurry up with the translation,” Jerry determines. 

Cassidy nods in agreement. 

~.~

The three cups hurry through the woods, looking for their first opponent. 

“You think Goopy lives here?” Cuphead asks. 

Chalice shrugs. “Probably. We have to watch our step though. I hear he can duplicate himself into smaller slime balls—”

Squish. 

The kids turn swiftly to find Mugman’s foot accidentally stepping on the blue small slime ball. 

Mugman’s pupils shrink when he notices that they are surrounded by blue slime balls. “Uh oh.”

They feel the earth shaking under their feet. They look up to see the bushes rustling in front of them. It appears like something monstrous is bouncing towards them. 

Then a small blue slime appears through the bushes with a small red nose. 

Mugman relaxes and smiles. “Aww, well, aren’t you a cute fella?” 

The slime narrows his eyes. “Cute is a fancy way of calling someone weak.” 

The cups widen their eyes in shock. 

“Are you Goopy Le Grande?” Chalice asks with a brow raised. 

“The one and only,” Goopy, the slime ball, answers. “Are you lookin’ to fight me?” 

“Should we tell him why we’re looking for him?” Mugman whispers to the others, who shrug their shoulders. 

“We’re lookin’ to get your soul contract,” Cuphead replies with his fists clench. 

Goopy smirks. “I figure there will be a day where the Devil sends out his little ‘minions’ to retrieve my soul contract.” 

The cups notice the blue slimes slowly crawling into Goopy, letting him tower over the cups. His arms pop out from the sides and his red boxer gloves at the ready. His eyebrows pop above his eyelids, narrowed at the cups. 

“If you want my soul contract so bad, you’re going to have go through me,” Goopy says, now his voice deeper.

Cuphead and Mugman leak milk from their straws while Chalice’s eyes turn pale at the size of Goopy. 

The cups scream and turn to run the other direction. Goopy laughs and bounces over them, blocking their exit. 

“Where d’ya think you’re going?” Goopy says with a mocking smile. 

The cups scream before Cuphead raises his finger gun and shoots the blue glowing bullet at Goopy. Goopy takes the hit with a grunt, glaring at the cup. He starts bouncing towards them, causing them to raise their finger guns at him and dodging out of the way. 

Chalice turns into a ghost and flies into Goopy, attempting to possess him.

“Get him boys!” Chalice shouts through Goopy’s voice. 

Cuphead and Mugman start shooting the blue bullets out of their fingertips. 

Goopy manages to throw Chalice’s ghost body out of his and bounces after the brothers. 

Cuphead and Mugman dodge the giant slimeball, firing blue bullets until their powers fade suddenly. 

“Oh no,” Cuphead utters in fear. 

Goopy swings his fist and punches Cuphead, causing the cup to fly across the woods and hit the tree behind him. 

Mugman clenches his teeth and begins to shake now. “What are you?”

“I’m a handsome slime bringing pain—one bounce at a time,” Goopy growls with an evil smirk. 

Before Mugman starts to run away, Goopy grabs him by the ankle and throws him down on the dirt. Mugman tumbles until he hits another tree. He can barely move his body, cracks appearing on his porcelain face. His vision is blurry, but he does know that Goopy creeps closer and closer to him. 

“You kids are not even a challenge,” Goopy says with a sadistic grin, taking Mugman by the ankle and dragging him across the ground to throw him in front of Cuphead and Chalice. 

Chalice breathes heavily in panic as she zooms back into Goopy’s body to pull him away from Mugman. But Goopy manages to pull Chalice out of his body and throw her away from him. 

“You think you can possess the greatest boxer alive? I don’t think so. Now, let’s see what to do with the Devil’s little minions,” Goopy says while glancing at Mugman. He raises his fist up while Cuphead is watching the whole thing. Cuphead struggles to lift his finger gun in an attempt to save his brother. 

Goopy is about to slam his fists down to shatter Mugman’s head until a bolt doused in dark green liquid flies towards the blue slime with an explosive attached to it. Once the arrowhead pierces into Goopy’s blue skin, the explosive is set off, blowing up Goopy’s arm. Goopy screams in pain and stumbles back from Mugman. 

Cuphead blinks and glances at his finger in confusion. He notices Cassidy rushing beside him, helping him up on his feet with the quiver of bolts attached to her back. 

“Are you okay?” Cassidy asks, but her voice is muffled. 

Chalice approaches besides Cassidy with a bright grin. “Hey, you came back.” 

“Take Cuphead to Jerry. I’ll get Mugman,” Cassidy commands, taking out her crossbow. 

Chalice hurries to do what Cassidy instructs and possesses Cuphead to get out of the dangerous situation.

Cassidy attaches the bolt onto the crossbow again and pulls out the small ball of red potion to pour it over the bolt. Goopy glares at Cassidy and starts charging towards her. She pulls up her crossbow and fires her bolt again. The bolt divides itself into three and pierces into Goopy, causing him to stumble towards them. She swiftly moves herself and Mugman out of the way before Goopy can accidentally collapse on top of them. 

In his blurred vision, Mugman sees the red feline with some bright light behind her, like an angel sent down from Heaven to rescue him. 

She glances down at him with a small smirk. “Give me a moment, big blue.” 

“B-Big Blue?” Mugman utters in confusion before blacking out. 

Cassidy puts her crossbow away and takes out a smoke bomb, throwing it down to create the gray smoke. Goopy backs away from the smoke while swiping the whiffs away. Once the smoke clears, Cassidy and Mugman disappear. 

Goopy looks around to find Cassidy carrying injured Mugman on her back and running through the woods. The blue slime ball growls and hops after Cassidy and Mugman. Cassidy hurries through the woods with Mugman groaning in pain. She reaches through the woods while Goopy notices her hurrying towards Jerry’s car that has Chalice and Cuphead in it. 

Cassidy hops into the car with Mugman. “Step on it!” 

Jerry steps on the gas pedal, speeding away from Goopy’s forest. 

Goopy growls. “You can run. But you can’t run forever.” With that he gives an evil laugh. 

Meanwhile, Cassidy sighs in relief while Jerry drives away from the forest.

Chalice puts her fist on her hips. “Well, you showed up at the right time. Thanks for savin’ us back there.”

“No problem,” the red cat in overalls says. 

“W-Why did you save us?” Cuphead questions Cassidy. “You stole the book from us last night and now you saved us…?” 

“Oh, speaking of that,” Cassidy replies before handing the book she stole from the group back. “Here you go.”

“Wow! Thanks!” Cuphead chirps in excitement while taking the book that has the translations inside. 

“But that doesn’t answer his question…why did you save us back there?” Chalice questions Cassidy’s motives. 

“C’mon, you guys are nearly shattered by Goopy Le Grande’s hands. You think I was gonna give the book back to a bunch of dead corpses?” Cassidy responds to the question. “Besides, the book you have here is valuable. If it were any other thief, you wouldn’t have it back.”

“So…why are you planning on giving it back to us?” Chalice asks the feline. 

Cassidy and Jerry exchange glances at each other. Jerry nods to her, staring back at the road. Cassidy shifts her attention to Chalice. 

“I’ll explain everything when we get to Elder Kettle’s house,” Cassidy says.

~.~

Mugman groans awake, realizing he’s been sleeping in the red couch with Natalie tending to his wounds. They both scream for a second until Natalie groans in discouragement. 

“Hold still, idiot! You’ll stretch your wounds,” Natalie says while applying bandages. “I didn’t think you’ll wake up this soon.”

Mugman glances around to find he’s in Elder Kettle’s house. “How did I end up…here?”

Cassidy walks into the living room. “Hey, big blue.”

“Oh, not you again,” Mugman groans. 

“You’re lucky she saved your life back there,” Porkrind pipes up from behind Cassidy. “You morons would’ve been squashed by Goopy!” 

“What?” Mugman asks in confusion. “Y-You saved me?”

“You’re welcome,” Cassidy answers with a small cheeky smile. “Now, you owe me one.”

“What?!” Mugman shouts while sitting up, despite Natalie’s protest for him to sit down. “Whoa, whoa, no! You stole the book from us!”

“And I gave it back like I said I would,” Cassidy says while putting her paw over her heart and her other paw up as if she is swearing an oath. “I’m a cat of my own word.” 

“WE’RE MAKING THE INGREDIENTS RIGHT NOW!” Elder Kettle calls from the kitchen. 

Cassidy tilts her head to the kitchen to make a reference. “See?” 

Mugman grumbles, crossing his arms with a pout. 

Natalie manages to bandage his wounds with a sigh. “Finally, done.”

“Thanks, Nat,” Cassidy says when her friend approaches beside her. 

“It’s not often I bandage up peasants for free,” Natalie responds with a scoff. 

Cassidy gives her a small money pouch. “How’s that?” 

Natalie looks at the pouch and nods. “Good enough, I suppose.” 

“Where did you get the money?” Mugman inquires.

“I earned it,” Cassidy answers without hesitation. 

“Doing what?” Mugman probes. 

“Her job,” Porkrind says with a gruff.

Cuphead and Chalice enter the living room, bandaged up too.

“You okay, Mugsy?” Cuphead asks worriedly.

“I guess…” Mugman says while rubbing the bandages.

Natalie notices him messing with his bandages and swipes at his hands. “Don’t mess with it.”

Mugman draws his hand away from his wounds. “Sorry.”

Cassidy wags her tail a bit, thumping it against the wall while leaning against the arm of the couch. “Sooooo, did you dream up anything while you blacked out, big blue?” 

“Uh…no…wait, are you callin’ me fat?” Mugman asks her.

“What?”

“You’re callin’ me big blue.”

“Would you rather me call you sippy cup?” 

“Now, you’re calling me a big baby?” 

“Well, when you put it like that, maybe. Besides, I got a bunch of nicknames for you,” Cassidy says with a teasing smile. 

“Well, I got a bunch for you too, ya pussy cat!” Mugman growls at her.

“Say that again,” Cassidy growls.

“Uh oh,” Natalie mutters. 

Porkrind crosses his arms with a small glare thrown at Mugman. 

“You heard what I said, pussy cat,” Mugman says.

Cassidy rolls up her sleeves. “Okay, Mug boy.” 

“He signed his own death warrant,” Natalie utters while filing her nails. Cuphead and Chalice glance at her in confusion. 

Cassidy leaps at Mugman with a yowl, a puff smoke created with stars popping out of the smoke while they are punching each other. 

“Hey! Hey!” Porkrind shouts, getting them to stop by his harsh tone. “If you two are going to fight, take it outside!” 

Cassidy and Mugman exchange glances and then move outside of the house to continue their fight. Porkrind follows them outside while Cuphead, Chalice, and Natalie stand idly in the living room. 

Meanwhile, Jerry notices Porkrind going outside and hurries out of the front door to find the pig watching Cassidy and Mugman fighting across the front yard. 

“Uh…should we stop the fight?” Jerry questions the pig.

“Hang on, I think she’s winning,” Porkrind says as he points at Cassidy stuffing Mugman’s face into the grass. 

“Eat grass, Mug boy! Eat it!!!” Cassidy snarls at him. 

“Suffocate him, honey!” Porkrind cheers. 

Jerry nudges Porkrind’s arm with a scolding stare. 

“What?” Porkrind responds. “He deserves it!” 

Jerry sighs and walks over to Cassidy. He picks her up from Mugman as she struggles in his hold. 

“Let me at him! Let me at him!” Cassidy shouts. 

Mugman growls at her with a bruised face while the rest of the gang hurry outside. 

“You crazy diva—!”

Cassidy leaps out of Jerry’s hold and attacks Mugman again, creating more smoke and stars as they are punching each other.

Cuphead hurries between Mugman and Cassidy and disperses them with his arm and foot. “Hey, hey! There ain’t a need for a fight!” 

“Get out of the way, Cuphead,” Mugman growls. 

“Had enough, sippy cup?” Cassidy snarls, her black-eye showing. 

Mugman clenches his teeth angrily. “Oh, I’ll show you sippy cup--!”

“Hey!” Cuphead shouts mostly at Mugman. “She’s in the same pickle as we are!” 

“Wait, what?” Mugman utters. 

“Yeah, she owes the Devil her soul too, right?” Cuphead glances at the red feline, who wipes the blood off of her lips. 

“Uh, yeah, along with Natalie,” Cassidy responds.

Natalie rolls her eyes and looks away. 

“Hey, we can help each other out,” Chalice says with a smile. 

Elder Kettle nods in agreement. “Porkrind and, uh—”

“John Smith—”

Porkrind nudges the shady’s creature’s arm. 

Jerry groans. “Fine, Jerry.” 

Elder Kettle turns back to the kids. “—and Jerry here explained that Cassidy owed the Devil her soul as well and they’re trying to get her out of it like you guys are. You know, this gives me the idea here. I think we should all work together. We’re going to need more arms if the peashooter lasts a day for us.”

“Are you serious?!” Mugman shouts.

Cassidy crosses her arms. “Yeah, I’m not too thrilled about it either.”

He snarls at her. “Okay, you know what—”

“That means—” Elder Kettle emphasizes before Mugman can pick a fight with the feline. “—there’s no fighting! None!” He looks at Cassidy, Porkrind, and Jerry. “No stealing from each other and—” He glances at Natalie. “—no rude comments like calling people peasants!” 

Natalie rolls her eyes and files her nails. “Ugh, fine.” 

“Do we have a deal?” Elder Kettle says to everyone. 

After a moment of silence, Porkrind sighs in defeat. “Fine, I’m game. But this is a one time thing.”

“Yeah,” Jerry responds in agreement with his arms crossed. 

Elder Kettle glances at the kids to see if they’ll accept the deal. 

Natalie crosses her arms. “Alright. Just as long as he doesn’t tackle me into the ground again.”

“It was one time!” Cuphead bickers. 

Mugman and Cassidy exchange glances. Finally, Mugman sighs in defeat and puts his hand out to shake as if he’s calling a truce. Cassidy looks at his hand and then spits into her paw, putting it out there for Mugman to shake.

“Ew,” Mugman utters in disgust, recoiling back a bit. 

“Well, aren’t ya gonna shake it or not?” Cassidy urges.

Mugman glares at her paw and spits into his hand, slapping his wet hand against hers to shake it. 

“Alright! Looks like we got ourselves a team!” Elder Kettle says with a beam. 

Cassidy and Mugman let go and wipe their hands on their clothes. 

“The potions should be ready by now,” Elder Kettle informs. “Who’s first on the list?”

Chalice looks at the list. “Uh, Goopy Le Grande.”

“Then you better get collecting,” Elder Kettle determines. 

~.~

Mugman and Cuphead are back at it again after drinking the Peashooter potion again. Chalice accompanies them along with Cassidy and Natalie throughout the forest. 

“Soooo, why are you comin’ along?” Cuphead asks Natalie.

“Uh, if any of you cups get hurt, I bandaged your wounds,” Natalie says with a huff in annoyance. 

“She’s the medic of the team,” Cassidy whispers to Cuphead. “As she likes to put it.”

“Well, somebody’s gotta keep you all alive,” Natalie replies. 

“And we appreciate that, girly,” Chalice adds with a smile. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Natalie grumbles, filing her nails. 

Cuphead arches a brow. “You’re really going to file your nails at a time like this?” 

“Uh, yeah. Gotta keep ‘em pretty,” Natalie responds with sass. “I suggest you do the same.” 

Cuphead perks his head. “Why? What’s wrong with my nails?” 

“How do I put it to you this way? They are dirty and filthy. You can use some soap when washing your hands and…well, your aim might be better if they’re clean,” Natalie replies. 

“Huh?” Cuphead utters in confusion.

“Do you know what ‘clean’ means?” Natalie probes. 

“Hey, I ain’t that dumb!” Cuphead responds defensively.

“I never said that. You assumed yourself to be dumb. And I say you’re right about your assumption,” Natalie says.

“HEY!” Cuphead yells in offense. 

“Guys, quiet,” Mugman commands in a hushed tone. “We’ll attract Goopy’s attention if we—”

“Watch out!” Cassidy warns and puts her arm out to prevent Mugman from walking further. Mugman appears confused for a second until he realizes that she is preventing him from stepping on the idle blue slime. 

The others notice this and look ahead of them in the forest. 

“He’s close,” Cassidy says while she sneaks around the blue slime balls with the others following her. They are careful to not step on the blue slime balls as they finally approach the bushes. They peer over the bushes to see Goopy smaller than he was when they first meet him. He has gold medals on the trees surrounding him, a shrine with his black and white photograph back when he’s young.

“Is that a shrine?” Cassidy murmurs. 

“Of himself?” Mugman adds with a whisper.

Goopy wipes the portrait and sighs to himself. The music plays in the background as he bounces towards his gold medals. He looks up to see his reflection in the gold as he starts to sing. 

“I was once a small slime with a big dream.

Now, I was one of the greatest boxers alive.

But the only thing tying me to the living is the story

Of all the winnings that I’ve gained over the years.”

Goopy passes by the newspapers with headlines such as: Goopy wins another fight!, Goopy beats an all-time record of fighting 75 opponents, and, his least favorite with the photograph of him wrinkled and nearly beaten by another foe, Can Goopy not fight anymore?

Goopy continues to sing with a frown at the last newspaper.

“There’s a grave with my name,

And the coffin is open for me.

No, I refuse to let my legend fade.

The Devil and his minions may want my soul, 

But I won’t let them take me to the fire.”

The beat drops as Goopy bounces away from the newspaper, passing by his gold medals while seeing his reflection in each of them. He sings the chorus with passion. 

“I’m just handsome slime bringing pain!

Is it a crime to keep up with a face like mine?

All of those medals are useless if I don’t keep living.

As good-looking as I am, I should’ve known that it’s a ruse

To sign the Devil’s contract. 

Should I be aware of the grave situation 

Of the heat melting the ooze out of me?”

Goopy sighs and sings more while looking into the forest. 

“They say to reap what I sow.

But that’s not what I’ll be doing,

‘Cause in the end all I want is to keep tellin’ my story.”

Goopy bounces by the pictures of past boxers who he’s inspired by with a small smile, and then a frown approaches him as he sing again. 

“I’ve watched the greatest boxers in their prime

Fall from grace and fade into nothingness,

But that’s not going to be me.” 

Goopy gestures towards his awards and the newspaper with a prideful smile. He croons again with desire seeping in his voice. 

“I’ll keep the paparazzi snapping pictures.

More headlines will tell stories of my winnings forever.

If I don't keep going, I'll surely die.  

Everyone will remember the name of Goopy Le Grande!”

Goopy grows bigger and bounces heavier. The kids dodge the slime balls rolling through the forest to get to Goopy as he grows larger than last time. Goopy sings more aggressively.

“But there’s a grave with my name,

And its coffin is open and ready for me.

But I refuse to hop in and watch my story fade.

As hard as they may try,

I’ll keep fighting and fighting for my contract.”

Goopy chuckles and picks up his red boxer gloves to put them on, raising his fists up with a loud voice. 

“I’m just a handsome slime bringing pain!

Is it a sin to cheat death to keep up with a face like mine?

All of those medals mean nothing if I die tomorrow.

As smashing as I appear to be, my youth is just a ruse

To keep me healthy and breathing.

Should I be aware of the grave situation 

Of the heat melting the ooze out of me?” 

Goopy softens his gaze at the black and white photographs of himself winning the fights against his opponents. The music softens along with his features, the violin playing in the background. A wistful sigh escapes his lips while he picks up the photograph to stare at himself.

“Oh, what I would give for a second chance,

To relive my life.

To cement my legacy forever.

If there’s a fountain of youth, I won't have to sign up for this.” 

Goopy holds the photograph close to his heart while singing dreamily. 

“Let me be remembered for centuries,

With fans and admirers dreaming of being me.

I can inspire a new generation of fighters,

Who want the same as me.” 

He sings the final chorus with confidence while putting his photograph down on the ground. The music grows more intense for the final verse while he bounces through the forest, passing by the kids hiding in the bushes. 

“I’m just a handsome slime bringing pain!

Is it wrong to desire living to keep up with a face like mine?

All of those awards will mean something someday.

As attractive as I am, in the end, this will all be a ruse

To keep myself alive for as long as I can.

This grave situation will only get smaller,

The more I get away from the heat melting the ooze out of me.”

Goopy sighs and looks through the forest, the music ending in a softer note. 

The kids gaze at Goopy with sympathetic stares. 

“Are we sure we should fight him for his soul contract?” Mugman whispers to the others. “Maybe there’s a way to talk him into giving us the soul contract.”

“Didn’t he beat the living daylights out of you when I save your life?” Cassidy questions Mugman with a brow raised. 

Mugman rolls his eyes. “That’s because our powers ran out.”

“Now, you got more than enough time to take him down,” Natalie adds. “Don’t waste it on talking some sense into him.”

“I hate to say it, but I agree with the princess over here,” Cuphead responds with a sigh, earning a scoff and an eye-roll from Natalie. “We have three weeks to get all the soul contracts. We can’t waste time now.” 

“But how do we take him down?” Chalice questions while rubbing her chin. “I can possess him, but not for very long.” 

Cassidy looks at the shrine and glances at Mugman. “If you really want to talk some sense into him, you can use his shrine as a bargaining chip.”

“Wait, what?” Mugman questions her tactics.

Cassidy takes out her crossbow. “I can attach a grenade on the bolt and shoot it into the shrine when he refuses to give you the soul contract.”

“Wouldn’t that just make him angrier?” Cuphead asks. 

“If you don’t show that you’re bigger than him, he will smash you guys into pieces. So, show him that you’re bigger than him. In fact, it might make him more afraid of you if you threaten him,” Cassidy responds logically, and then she smirks mischievously. “Or you can pretend you are the grim reaper. He gave us his fears in his little musical number. Use it to your advantage and make him afraid of you. Get a casket and bury him alive until he gives you his soul contract. That’ll make him think you’re bigger than him.”

The cups’ faces turn pale at Cassidy’s detailed plan. 

“Or we fight him,” Cuphead utters.

“Yeah…” Mugman scoots away from Cassidy.

“Aw, oh, well. It’s fun to come up with ideas while it lasted,” Cassidy says. “Now, go kick his butt out there.”

Cuphead, Mugman, and Chalice make their way through the bushes. Cassidy and Natalie watches from afar while Cassidy gets out a brown bag. 

“Wanna help me while they take Goopy’s contract?” Cassidy asks.

“Ugh, no,” Natalie denies.

Cassidy nods. She sneaks around towards the shrine.

~.~

The three cups approach Goopy, who notices them with a grand smile.

“Coming back for round two?” Goopy asks while taking out his boxing gloves.

“Look, this doesn’t have to end like this,” Mugman begs, pointing his finger gun. “We just need the soul contract to get ourselves out of the debt of the Devil.”

“Somehow, I don’t feel sorry for the three of you,��� Goopy says with a jeer. “As I said before, you’re going to have to fight me to get it.”

“Fine, then we’ll fight ya!” Cuphead shouts before dipping his index finger into the orange potion that has the charge symbol on it. He points it at Goopy, letting the orange glow brighter until it releases from Cuphead’s finger by accident. The orange glowing bullet pierces into Goopy, causing him to yelp in pain. 

Cuphead looks at his hand in confusion for a second until he smiles at the advantage. “HAHAHAHAHA! YEAH!!” He dips his finger from other hand and fires the charged glowing bullets at the boxer. Mugman dips his finger in the red potion he bought the day before and fires it, watching the red bullets multiply into three and hitting the slime at a close range. Mugman gasps in shock and dips his other finger into the red potion, firing multiple red triangle bullets at Goopy.

Goopy keeps throwing punches despite being shot at, but Chalice phases into him as a ghost to hold him down. However, he manages to throw himself to the side to get her out of his body. She tumbles into the shrine and notices Cassidy collecting the medals. The girls freeze up awkwardly. 

“Need help with that, girly?” Chalice asks the red feline.

“Uh, okay…” Cassidy responds awkwardly before Chalice joins her in stealing the medals and awards from Goopy’s shrine. 

Meanwhile, Cuphead and Mugman notice Goopy getting tired of swinging his fists at them and missing them. 

“Mugsy! Give me a boost!” Cuphead commands.

Mugman nods his head and boosts his brother over the large blue slime. When Goopy glances up, Cuphead flips through the air to aim his finger guns at the slime from above. He fires the charged bullets at Goopy, hitting him in the head. Goopy falls over from the amount of the bullets hitting him. Goopy grows dizzy until a tombstone appears from the ground with his face on it and crushes him. 

Goopy disappears, but he now possesses the tombstone moving side to side. The tombstone slams down to get Mugman, but the blue-strawed cup moves out of the way. 

“What the heck?!” Mugman gasps in shock. He keeps firing his multitude of triangle bullets while Cuphead joins his brother in attacking the tombstone. 

“Quit moving around!” Cuphead yells at the tombstone. 

The tombstone stops and slams down at the cups, but they dodge at it. Finally, Mugman closes his eyes and fires at it, tearing the gravestone in half. 

The tombstone stops moving while Goopy’s pupils turns into x’s to indicate that he’s dead now. 

“D-Did we kill him?” Mugman questions in horror. 

The gold contract appears before the boys as Cuphead snatches it and looks at it to see Goopy’s signature in it. 

“We got it! We got it!” Cuphead cheers in excitement.

“We killed him,” Mugman utters in horror. 

“We did great!” 

“And we killed him.”

“If we get more of the potions to power-up our shots, we might take down the rest of the debtors.”

“AND WE KILLED HIM!” Mugman shouts in horror. “He’s dead, Cuphead!” 

Natalie comes out from the bushes, dusting herself off. “Well, he did sign his soul away to the Devil.” 

“Yeah…R.I.P,” Cuphead says, reading the tombstone.

Cassidy and Chalice appear beside the boys. 

“Okay, we got the loot that’ll make us rich!” Cassidy announces in excitement.

“What loot?” Mugman questions. 

The kids shift their glances at the shrine that is now empty except for the photographs of Goopy Le Grande. 

Mugman glances at Cassidy’s bag full of awards and medals. “Are you serious?” 

“What? It’s not like he’s going to use them,” Cassidy argues. 

Chalice crosses out Goopy’s name on the parchment. “One down. A lot more to go….and the sun is going down.” 

“Well, it’s been a great day. Gotta get home now. Goodnight!” Cassidy greets while taking off through the forest with the loot. 

“At least, we got one contract. Maybe by tomorrow, we’ll get more than one,” Chalice says with a wink. 

“Hopefully,” Mugman utters as the sun sets above them. 

To Be Continued...

[prettysymbiosis]

frank vs. russia

starting the episode in media res and the circular storytelling!! the writing in this episode is really good overall, just so clever and inventive and effective. go off megan

“you ARE ready. everything you need is already inside you” sunny is ready to do a gay, gay-ass love story you guys. the gays are already inside it

titling it frank vs. russia when that’s clearly the b-plot? because we’re burying the lead? because we’re telling lies???

the denny’s shirt…

“aren’t you like 60?” misogyny is so sad 😞

dennis ANYBODY can get a guy to bang them ONCE reynolds

everyone wants dennis’ help but who will help dennis? :(

when mac says “it’s VERY romantic” dennis literally smacks the counter like… yikes

“one day he will and it is going to be hot” - I choose to believe this means that rcg think old man yaoi is hot and they are excited to show it :)

sunnyblr university is producing so many brilliant scholars who understand the significance of the beads as a metaphor for queerness and whether the audience is in or out and how it doesn’t matter because the queerness is all the way in and as of this episode it’s been turned up to full blast and leads us to a resounding victory. I’m just rehashing what others have said but I wanted to make sure I include it with my notes from this episode because it really is such a central idea and yet one that can be so easily missed by someone who isn’t reading the show like this... ugh the duality of sunny will never cease to confound me

dee calling mac out like yes bitch get his ass!! (so to speak)

uncle fucking jack walks in saying “they dropped all those charges weeks ago” - playdate EW - “I don’t– I don’t have any ice cream” - “shut UP dude, that’s gross, man”

charlie is so PRECIOUS in his little outfit and glasses

is he schizophrenic? I wonder if that will come up again or if it was just a throwaway joke

violent heterosexual shushing from dennis

the backing track of the sinned system/date scene is “in the hall of the mountain king” and it’s just so fucking classic sunny and so perfect

how did mac show patrick that he needed his power? and how did he engage physically?? we need to know these things!!!

kaitlin’s whole performance in the date scene is so fucking good

“the person who made him feel powerful, but also powerless.” the macdennis of it all is truly overwhelming sometimes

 the person whose validation he’s been seeking his entire life :/

“it worked” jesus christ mac

“well yeah but listen, the dennis system is a system for getting a woman. this is a system for getting a man, and that’s why sinned is actually dennis backwards!!” when I first watched this episode I was high as balls and sick with anticipation and this whole bit nearly pushed me over the edge. I mean he basically just straight up says that it’s bad for him to like men (sin) after explaining a tried-and-true system for getting them???

and then mac and dee are like “what are the chances??” and dennis is like HIGH >:( because they don’t see it. they don’t see it even though it’s been plain as day the whole time :(

dennis: “I’m still buzzin from last night” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

AND I HAVE TO BE WITH HIM oh baby boy I pray you will be

the nastiness in dennis’ voice when he says “well no, see, that’s the thing – johnny doesn’t love you. he doesn’t even like you.” glenn I’m scared of you

“they ARE my favorite” he wanted mac to realize :( and yes the crabs are deeply metaphorical

“yeah, because I AM johnny” “then who’s dennis?” “what do you mean?!” “well if you’re johnny, then who– who’s you?” one of the best sunny exchanges of all time!!!!!!!! I cannot overstate how much I love this dialogue. it just captures so much about them so succinctly go off megan!!!!!

“I can’t engage with you on this right now” great delivery rob, so funny

does dennis want to control frank like a pawn bc he felt like that’s what frank did to him? or he’s just frustrated at mac and wants a situation he feels in control of?

kaitlin’s “... yeah” when dennis asks if dee has more pills is just so funny I keep remembering it and laughing randomly

“we’re gonna need to turn the lights out.” GLENN I’M SCARED OF YOU

the POV Being Frank throwback! I love the tossing of the clothes and the blackness and the sound of the door, cool little sequence

charlie’s such a good cheerleader 🥹 his little point is so funny

do you ever wonder what danny devito might be doing with his career if he wasn’t pretending to be split in half by giant vibrating anal beads on it’s always sunny in philadelphia??

“you don’t have to do this” this one speaks for itself I think.

dennis and uncle jack, two sexual deviants having a laugh in the van :| (also the van situation is so classic sunny obvs)

mrs. mac saying “nice” god there are just so many hilarious little character beats in this episode

“I DON’T KNOW HOW ELSE TO TELL YOU!!!” :( what’s in the texts rcgm

macdennis fightin :)

the full-blast alarm sound effect just gets me every time like to me that is peak comedy

The Burning Heart by Survivor is kind of macdennis coded tbh… “It's a primitive clash venting years of frustrations / Bravely we hope against all hope / There is so much at stake” “Does the crowd understand?” “Though his body says ‘stop!’ his spirit cries ‘never!’ (omg) / Deep in our soul a quiet ember knows it's you against you” like sorry if this song was supposed to be for straight people but it’s not anymore

so there’s something there about what’s acceptable and going full blast. the mommy issues are now explicit. dennis is bisexual. and he chose to have a romantic and sexual relationship with mac while pretending to be someone else, to the point that mac was in love with this other version of him. and he was so mad mac didn’t realize that he actually played his hand and told him, and mac still couldn’t accept it, upsetting dennis further. wtf man these homos are INSANE

[eirabach]

An End Has a Start [1/1]

An episode coda for 7x04. Bucktommy with implied Buddie, rated T for language. Also on ao3.

You don't work for the city, any city, for long before you realize there's a lot of money changing hands. Money that possibly, even probably, shouldn't even be in the possession of the first pair of hands, never mind wherever it ends up. It's just part of the daily drag of poverty wage civil servants; watching men in tailored suits gamble with their jobs and lives and communities, rolling the dice on whether the local elementary really needs a pool when their own pockets are only triple lined.

All of which is to say: politicos gamble.

Firefighters gamble more.

And from the moment Lucy had clocked Tommy's new and sudden interest in hanging out off duty with the 118 she'd had opinions.

Opinions that used to make Tommy laugh, but now, actually – kinda don't.

“You're late,” she says. She's sitting with her elbows propped up on the canteen table, a plate of greasy fries and half eaten sandwich in front of her, and with a twenty dollar bill dangling loose from two fingers that he very studiously ignores.

Tommy makes a show of checking his watch as he drops into the seat opposite her.

“By – oh, one minute!” He reaches over to steal a fry, but she slaps his hand away. “Crosstown traffic.”

Lucy hums. “Still a minute later than Mr Military usually is. You were crosstown?”

“You my mother?” He hooks a fry from the edge of the plate. “Yeah, I was crosstown. I had basketball with Eddie today.”

“And that's all you've been up to?”

Tommy raises an eyebrow at her. Her eyes are glinting, her smile slyly fox-like. She's his best friend in this place and a walking fucking nightmare.

"He's got a girlfriend," he says for what feels like the hundredth time this week.

Lucy narrows her eyes and rips another bite from her sandwich.

"And? You had a girlfriend once."

Tommy concedes by nodding and swiping another fry from her plate.

"I did," he hums, letting his eyes go all glassy and wiping a fake tear from under his eye. "And she had a seven inch dick. I miss that girl."

Lucy rolls her eyes. "Besides the fucking point. So Diaz has a girlfriend so you think he's straight? This is bisexual erasure, Thomas."

Tommy doesn't think anything about Eddie, actually. It's not his place. Not when there's a girl with a pretty smile and nothing to say watching him leave night after night. Not when there's the faintest tang of beer still lingering at the corner of his mouth, the ghost of stubble against his lip, any thoughts at all struggling to surface from the sheer, thrilling oh of hearing your attention.

"If I could erase you, Donato, I would have done it years ago."

Lucy sticks her tongue out, crumbs and all, and he throws the half chewed fry in her smirking face.

"Buckley's single," she offers, chucking it straight back. "And kinda easy. In a cute way."

Tommy scoffs, but he must pause for a half breath too long first because Lucy's eyes go wider than he thinks he's ever seen them, the twenty fluttering from her fingers as she slams her hands down on the table between them.

“Buckley?! Christ.” She sits back, blowing her fringe off her forehead with an exaggerated huff. “Well damn. I'm not surprised, I guess.”

Tommy takes a deep breath. “I think – I think he was. So don't –.” Tell. God, he really thought those days were behind him.

“Who the fuck do you take me for?” Lucy asks, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest.

Tommy offers her a sarcastically sympathetic head tilt. “Gee, I don't know. Someone who's been betting on whether I'd fuck his taken best friend?”

She rolls her eyes extravagantly. “Please. That's different. Diaz always looked at me like I'd crapped in his bed. Buck's sweet.”

Tommy reaches out and pockets the twenty. “If you say so. I'll take this as an apology shall I?”

Lucy's nose crinkles up in disgust. “Put it towards your medical bills when Diaz finds out you've touched his man, that's all I'm saying.”

Tommy narrowly avoids sticking his tongue out at her. “Believe it or not, we're actual grown adults. Eddie's not going to have a problem with it.”

Lucy laughs, and it must send bits of half masticated sandwich the wrong way because she launches into a coughing fit so violent Tommy sees a couple of the paramedics' heads pop up from their hiding places like so many meerkats with medical fetishes.

“Jesus Christ,” she moans once she's caught her breath. “Rather you than me.”

Tommy quite agrees, honestly, because he's had exactly thirty four seconds of Evan Buckley’s mouth and he's already not particularly inclined to share, but he waits for her to knock back a couple of gulps of Powerade because he's a good friend.

He thinks he's a good friend.

He wants to be.

“You think – you think he will have a problem with it?”

Lucy wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, and sighs.

“I think the 118 is – a different kind of place to what maybe we're used to, you know? When I first started there I thought it would be great, and it was, but I never – I never really got it. The family history.” She shakes her head. “Diaz wasn't even there then. And yet he was everywhere. ” She fixes Tommy with the same sharp, searching look he's used to seeing beside him in the air. “I don't think it's going to be good for you.”

I don't think Buck's going to be good for you, she doesn't say, but Tommy's been closeted longer than he's been out. He's learned to read between the lines. To know when to lean in. When to back away. When it's his lips or his mouth or his teeth or his fists he needs to be quick with.

Evan's aren't the first pair of pretty blue eyes he's ever seen go shocked and wet and desperate. And maybe Evan's ribcage is going to be far from the last he's felt still and shudder and expand under his hand. Maybe he's setting himself up for the inevitable fall of being first.

Maybe, in the most important ways, in the ways that matter, he isn't first at all.

But it's not his place to ask. And if he doesn't ask – well. He can't see that Eddie's ever going to tell.

And sometimes, hey. It's better to seek forgiveness than permission. Fake mouth static or no.

He pulls the twenty back from his pocket, and adds another on top. Just because he can. Because he wants.

Because he's a minute late, but damn. What a minute.

“Wanna bet?”

[llamaisllama777]

LAES,TSAMS,MGAFS Weekly*/Daily* review 👏 👏 👏

Congratulations 🎊 👏 💐 🥳

Earth and Lunar did it! 100k subscribers! 👏 👏 well done, you both! And well done, Kat and Reed. They all have worked so hard... it's not even funny how hard they've worked. I like how we got a trip down memory lane in this episode, just them talking about how their lives have been and all they've gone through. Lunar and Earth DESERVE that party!

Drop was just an absolute menace in this episode! I loved every minute of it, especially when he melted all the rubber balls together and Sun was like "I just want to talk to him. I just want to talk to him. I just want to talk to him. I just want to kill him. I just want to kill him." I loved the reference.🤣 all that was missing was the shotgun and it would have been even better.

I thought that Drop would stick around a bit, I was thinking, 🤔"Hmm, him and Jack would make great friends." KA-BOOM!

"Never mind." 😃 probably for the best they killed Drop. This episode also made me realize, I feel so bad for both Sun and Moon. Moon was back for what? Three days? A week? And now people are starting to drop all their problems on him. Not like Sun and or the rest of the family but like Puppet and Monty and look I get it, they are in way over their heads here but still he's back for a week and now he's gotta...

* checks list *

Help Sun with the daycare, help build an anti-puppter device, destroy Ruin's negative star power generator, make Dazzle a new body, maybe make Molten a new body, stop Nexus and Dark Sun, stop Creator, help Lunar with the Astrals, and possibly defend himself in court against the Astrals. So, ya, I'd say he's got a full plate!

And I feel bad for Sun cause now Drop wrecked the daycare. What a surprise another one of Moon's inventions hurt Sun in some way. Just someone help these two also LUNAR WHY DID YOU DRINK BLEACH?! YOU KNEW IT WAS IN THE SODA MACHINE?!?!?!!?!?!?

Aww, F.C.'s jealous, that's actually kinda cute, he really loves his new Puppet mom. Speaking of Puppet mom, Puppet, didn't you just disown Jack? Make up your mind! I love Jack and F.c.'s interactions. Jack's just being his spinny self and F.C.'s is plotting his murder also...

GOTHIC TREASURE BOX IS ACTUALLY CANNON!

I am now just learning this! I was talking to someone the other day, and they said Foxy and Puppet were a couple, and I believed them, but I wanted to be a 100% sure... welp needless to say, I am 110% sure. Add this to the list of ships.

F.c and Jack actually make great friends l, you did good with those two Puppet.... and now Jack,F.C. and Vageta are now friends... evacuate the city.

12/10 <- Cause it's a special day for Lunar and Earth! Congratulations to everyone involved with the making of the show!

We really do appreciate all the hard work you guys put into it. The writers,the actors, the thumbnail artist, the editors, you all are amazing! Thank you for the wonderful show you have given us. I don't think any of them will see this, but if they do, I hope you know we appreciate you.

-Llama

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites in Mighty Solars Issue #4: “Fighting for Family” Ch. 4

A Week Later…

Miss Frankie is waiting for someone like Jesse did in the Wooden City episode while looking down depressingly

Monique: Hey Frankie! Saw the court vid! You doing good?

Miss Frankie: Don’t care.

Ms. Paris: Congratulations on getting your ass kick.

Miss Frankie: Go fuck yourself.

Then, Miss Frankie sees Principal Cooke and Ms. Perez with Kevin, Jamie, Darcy and their friend Trevor as she waves at they head over there.

Miss Frankie: Wait. Darcy?

Darcy: Hey Frankie. It’s been awhile since graduation from college.

Miss Frankie: Sorry I was late. I had a court day.

Jamie: Court day? What happened?

Principal Cooke: No need for us to tell her. We saw Frankie on the video getting arrested after calling a judge a bitch, a big fucked up bitch and nothing but a bitch!

Kevin tries not to laugh.

Miss Frankie: She couldn’t handle that she literally sucks fat shit! Now I gotta wear this! shows them a device on her foot Plus, I’m in a boat load of car rent because of my stupid fucked up car!

Ms. Perez: We’re so sorry…

Trevor: Man that is fucked up. Sorry to hear about that. Also, I’m glad you guys came to my girlfriend Louise’s cafe. You already known her since middle school, like we did. Right?

Miss Frankie: Yeah, we did.

Ms. Perez: Yeah. Poor thing has been raising her daughter for 4 years since her wife Maude passed away in the car accident. I’m glad she’s doing better.

Then, the adults sees Phoebe walking with human Yumyulack and Human Jesse. Human Yumyulack however is depressed about something.

Principal Cooke: Yumyulack?

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: What’s wrong Yummybear? You look down in the dumps today.

Human Yumyulack Solar-Opposites: Oh, I changed my name into Baxter Cool to make myself stand out at school, but it turns there is a kid named Baxter Badass. So, now those guys call me Baxter C. and then Mark recognize me.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: How?

Human Yumyulack shrugs.

Human Yumyulack Solar-Opposites: I don’t know. I guess the voice is a dead give away and… suddenly sees Stacy G, now a teen waitress Holy shit, is that Stacy G of the Stacies?

Human Jesse is confused but looks and blushes.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Holy shit! What happened to her? Her hair is now tanish brown instead of red and is all puffy and what happened to her looks? She looks like Keri Russel from the Waitress movie.

Human Yumyulack: I don’t know but we should talk to her.

Phoebe MacCarthy: Must’ve realize that her friends are a toxic influence. Glad you kids don’t hang out with those mean kids.

Then, while writing down an order, Stacy G sees Human Jesse and gasp as she drops her journal. Stacy G then looks lovingly at Human Jesse as a romantic pinky background appears. Human Jesse goes up to Stacy G.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Hey Stacy G. It’s been awhile since you’ve been in the woods searching for Slender Man.

Stacy G: Yeah, I kinda lied about that. I just need to get away from my ex-friends.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: What?! You hate being a Stacy?

Human Yumyulack Solar-Opposites: But why?

Stacy G sighs.

Stacy G: When I moved here two years after my other mom Maude died, I tried making friends and when I heard two girls Stacy K and Stacy F are a duo, I decided to join them. But I was wrong. They were jerks. They were even mean to unpopular girls. The last straw came on Valentines’ Day. The Headphone Guys and Stacy K and Stacy F teamed up and played a mean prank on me saying Annie wanted me to be my Valentine but it turned out to be a mean prank… that got cockroaches to fly out. After I got heartbroken, I found out the Stacies replaced me with Stacy H and I decided to not be friends with them anymore.

Human Yumyulack starts crying.

Stacy G: Are you crying?

Human Yumyulack Solar-Opposites: A little. sniffs

Phoebe MacCarthy: Hey there. I’m Phoebe MacCarthy. I’m the kids’ nanny.

Stacy G: Oh hey. So, I’m going back to school in two weeks. But, I will no longer be with the Stacies. And luckily I can still work on Tuesday, Thursdays and Sundays.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Oh my god. I am so sorry. No wonder you didn’t came to school the other day during the fungus thing. You were trying to make friends, but it ended badly. It broke you heart, didn’t it Stacy?

Stacy G nods and sheds a tear.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Well, I would like to be your friend.

Stacy G: You do?

Human Jesse giggles.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Of course. You deserve a real one, plus I think Monica would like you too. sees Janice and Randall walking towards the grown ups Holy geez, is that Randall?

Randall remorsefully comes up the grown ups while Louise sees her old friends and her boyfriend.

Randall: Hey. Guys. It’s great to meet you guys after all these years.

Jamie: No way! Randall?!

Randall: Uh hey uh guys. I wanna say it’s nice to meet you all, and I’m sorry for turning into a psychopath that hates children, got greedy for money and for nearly killing one of neighbors Korvo-

Kevin: It’s okay man. No big.

Jamie: Yeah. We heard about the new stand. Nice business.

Principal Cooke: Wait. You almost killed Korvo?!

Randall: I’m sorry! The last few years have been hell for me ever since I had a horrible Halloween as a kid! I really do have problems! cries hysterically while Janice comforts him Also, I didn’t mean to try to kill my neighbor.

Janice: H’no, it’s okay, y’know.

Trevor: Yeesh. sees Louise heading outside Oh hey baby.

Louise: Hi, Trevor.

The couple kiss while they then see Phoebe with the human Replicants.

Louise: walks over to Stacy G while Monica arrives Hey sweetie. Glad to see you patching things up with your classmates.

Stacy G: Thanks, mom.

Miss Frankie: So why do you wanna meet here?

Jamie: Oh. Something about the Solars turning human, also Quasarblast decided to take a break after that stressful ceremony. Glad he deserved it. I saw his text. But it looks it’s up to us guys.

Darcy: We also saw Terry as a human at our dinner party

Suddenly, Human Terry appear.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Huh? hides behind the wall but then receives a text from Pupa Aw man, another dog refuses to fuck? How dare they? Coming Pupa!

Stacy G: Wait, what? No way, Jesse and Yumyulack Solar? Is that you what happened?!

Human Yumyulack and Human Jesse awkwardly look at each other.

Human Yumyulack Solar-Opposites: Long story. But, I think we should go looking for Korvo. He’s been gone for a week.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Yeah. I think he still feels pretty bad about a something lately.

This gave the adults an idea.

Principal Cooke: That’s it! Korvo! He can help us! He can invent something to stop La Smaragdus!

Darcy: But isn’t Korvo still mad at us for the past things we did to him?

Randall: Aw cheer up guys. I’m sure he’s changed back by now. I bet he’s home right now.

But when the grown ups along Human Yumyulack, Human Jesse, Stacy G, Monica and Phoebe arrived home, they see dogs all over the place.

Principal Cooke: What the hell? Why are there dogs everywhere?!

Human Jesse: Sweet grapes!

The group head inside and gasp upon seeing the dogs while Human Terry is in a pimp outfit and counting down money next to human Pupa with a security guard. A dog took the device off of Miss Frankie, who scream a bit.

Phoebe MacCarthy: For God’s sake, Terry.

Security Guard: Hey! Humans are not allowed in here! I keep telling you, this is a brothel for dogs!

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Hey, man. It’s cool. I know them.

Then, a space mound spider came and starts sucking on the man who began to feel relax.

Jamie: It’s okay Terry. We know it’s you. And we won’t tell anyone over something your husband doesn’t want to tell us.

Human Terry smiles.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Actually I have been wondering where Korvo is. Can you guys go find him, while the kids and I check the neighborhood?

The grown ups thought about it.

Three hours later…

Cooke, Frankie, Perez, Jamie, Darcy, Kevin and his family, Randall, Louise, Trevor and Janice arrived at Night Club with sexy people. Music in background:

Kevin’s Wife: Woah. What the fuck is this place?

Waitress: The Earth-4 Night Club. A place for the grooviest fucking sexy people alive.

Jamie: I believe you are describing me. Darcy slaps him on the back Sorry honey.

Darcy smiles then the grown ups and two kids walk by the place while looking around.

Principal Cooke: What the fuck is Yumyulack and Jesse’s dad doing at a fucked place like this?

Kevin: Maybe he turned human and he is like a sex dancer or something.

Human Korvo: offscreen Well well well.

All: Huh?

Ms. Perez: What?!

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: My human neighbors and mortal enemies. What a surprise.

Principal Cooke and Miss Frankie: Korvo?!

Jamie faints while Kevin’s wife drops a glass of wine in shock. To everyone’s shock, Human Korvo looks different. He is now wearing a ponytail with a hair tie with an emerald on it that looks like his robe crystal, he is wearing icy blue lipstick makeup on his lips, his ruined robe is now fixed and turn into a suit jacket, his Shlorp boots have been turned into lady high heels and he is now wearing a black shirt with a purple word that says “Bitchin’” on it. Music in this background:

Janice: H’no, you turn into the most gorgeous human we have ever seen y’know.

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: Aw, thank you.

Jamie: Damn, what happened to you? You look different, especially with your new clothes.

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: Not bad right. It’s been a good couple of days. So I probably bet you’re here to say I told you so about being a human.

Darcy: Damn. You’re hot.

Ms. Perez: What?! No! We actually need your help Korv-

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: It’s Korey.

Miss Frankie: What? Why the human name change? And…. Oh… it’s you and your new family’s civilian identities huh?

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: Yes and… suddenly realized what they said You guys… need my help?

Miss Frankie: Yes! Terry needs you!

Principal Cooke: Yes! Quasarblast is not here! He’s on break! We gotta create something to stop La Smaragdus- hears a gasp

It turns out Human Terry, Human Yumyulack, Human Jesse, Human Pupa, Phoebe, Monica and Stacy G have arrived as they ran up to Human Korvo while Human Terry kneels down in recoiled shock.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: K-Korvy!

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: laughs nervously Hey, Terry.

Principal Cooke: Uh Terry, we can explain.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: You never looked more beautiful!

Human Korvo blushes. The two husbands then kiss while Human Korvo picks up Human Terry and carries him while kissing.

Stacy G: Wait, that’s Korvo? How?

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Uh…

Human Pupa Solar-Opposites: Korvo! hugs Human Korvo I miss you.

Human Yumyulack Solar-Opposites: No way! You look hot! Where have you been K-Dog?

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: Well…

Later, while Human Korvo was buying a new bus turned into a space ship…

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Wow. That explains a lot but it’s okay honey. You’re beautiful both Shlorpian and human to me. I still can’t believe you got caught up on the biz like I did.

Human Korvo however is still remorseful for making his family worried sick about him.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Are you really upset about the whole thing?

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: No. Not the fact that we can shapeshift into humans now and can’t walk the Earth as aliens anymore. But, it’s because I didn’t tell you where I was and made you all worried about me.

Human Terry sighs.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Aw, it’s okay Korvy. We know why you did that.

Human Korvo smiles.

Human Jesse Solar-Opposites: Yeah. We’re really glad you got into some human culture.

Human Yumyulack Solar-Opposites: We’re just glad you’re alright.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Plus, is it true that you miss us?

Human Korvo starts sobbing.

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: sobbing It’s true. I’m so sorry Terry, I got caught up with my new look and-

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Aw Korvy. hugs human Korvo while comforting him and soothing him Shh… it’s okay… I’m here.

Human Korvo keeps sobbing as mascara runs down his face and blows his nose into Human Terry’s shirt.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: There. Let it out honey. soothes Human Korvo’s face in a comforting manner

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: smiles Oh Terry, I love you. Also, I’m so grateful you all came for me. Thank you.

The two human husbands kiss. As they keep kissing, the kids, Phoebe, Monica, Stacy G and the other human adults hug the two husbands. Then, Human Korvo sees Stacy G and grows confused.

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: Who’s that?

Louise: Oh, that’s my teenage daughter. Stacy G.

Human Terry Solar-Opposites: Hi!

Stacy G: Hey. So, what’s the plan Mr. Opposites?

Human Korvo then got an idea as he makes a genius smirk.

Human Korvo Solar-Opposites: I think I just came up with one. the group then huddle together Now, here is our plan.

Special thanks to @avaveevo, @asikreading, @themagicwolf6677, @king-of-squishmallows and all of my watchers for their ideas and support.

[koffeinvergiftung]

Tips for studying as a struggling adult

I often see tips for studying and building routines, but they often help me for only a day or two, but never long run. Most of them are also oriented towards students, and the schedule won't work if you have a full time job while studying.

Note: I am neurodivergent (AuDHD), and have been struggling with mental and physical health for most of my student years, to the point where I had to drop out of University to focus on myself. These tips will be a mixture of what has helped me in high school, and what helps me now.

1. Having a routine is good, but missing your 'checklist' is not the end of the world

Having a full time job means there is a 'must do' every day, no matter what other plans I might have. What I usually do is try to work my study plans around my work schedule.

Morning shift: I come home around 1.30, so at around 3 I will start with revision, or new lecture (depending on the day). During revision, I will take a break after every 'section' (for example: vocab practice - break - sentence practice - break - revision review). If I'm starting a new lecture, I will usually take a break every 45 minutes, to mimic the classroom schedule I had when I was in school. Usually I will do my Duolingo lecture on the to, during my break, or before bed.

Afternoon shift: I try to wake up around 9, and I do my Duolingo practice while having breakfast. After that I do my revision/new lecture, and I try to study until at least 11-11.30. After work I will do some more revision, and get ready for bed.

I always spend my evenings on call with my partner, so I will also use that time to ask for help with grammar or pronunciation.

This routine helps me, BUT, there will always be days when I don't feel like doing anything, especially is work has been extra tiring that day. Then I will just do my Duolingo daily quests, and if I'm feeling like it, some vocab review.

It's okay to not be okay, if you feel like you need a break, please take some time for yourself. There is always tomorrow, or even next week. Go easy on yourself ♡

2. Make your free time count

With work and studying, it's easy to forget about your hobbies and social life. To avoid the burnout, try to fine some time every day to do what you enjoy (drawing, reading, gaming etc.) Even if you spend more time on your hobbies than studying, that's okay.

Another thing I do is take a few minutes every say to tidy up around my room. Somehow ( no idea how), trash such as papers quickly acclimate in my room, so if I don't deal with trash on a daily basis, it eventually turns into a depression room. And those are nearly impossible to deal with for me.

Make sure to keep in touch with your friends, too! I try to go out at least once a week, and sometimes turn that coffee into a study session. Those often help me stay focused, and we also talk about the material while studying.

3. Mental health matters more than your studies

I often see posts that romanticise 'working until you drop', sleep deprivation, caffeine overdose and similar. Please, please, PLEASE, take care of yourself! I used to be that way in high school, and sure, passing my classes with an A, felt amazing, but you know what didn't? Suffering a complete burnout, mental breakdown, and major issues with physical health, all withing less than six months. All due to overworking myself in highschool, all due to not taking care of myself. Remember, you can always retake the exam, or redo a year; you cannot redo your life.

When I'm feeling a burnout coming, I make sure to take a day or two just for myself; no studying, to revision, just me and myself. On those days you can do whatever makes you feel happy, relaxed and content. I usually watch a few episodes of a show, spend some time playing video games, and spend some time outside. Especially if it's a nice day outside, try to catch a few rays of sunshine every day, and especially if you're not feeling well (don't forget to wear sun protection!)

These are the tips that help me now, but most of these I couldn't really implement while I was in high school. I will do another post on how I studied before (over 5 years ago 🫣), and how I raised my grades. I'm also planning on writing (and maybe illustrating) about the way I study now, including taking notes and revising.

[picturejasper20]

Speaking about Moon Girl series, the format that Disney has been using for this show dropping 5 episodes in one day per month on Disney+ instead of weekly has been really hurting any possibilty of this show building an actual fandom.

The show premiere was back on February and the Season 1 finale was today, on April. That is two months of dropping and airing the entire season 1. The fandom barely had any time to come up with theories or interact before Season 1 was done.

I miss those days a show would drop one episode per week and fans would discuss and react to the episode, coming up with predictions of what was going to happen next week. Now people have to consume the episodes quickly and the discussion dies in 3-4 days. And that it is terrible for fandom.

[magnumpihq]

Ratings and articles about ratings.

Here’s a longer guide to ratings, what they mean and why we shouldn’t panic about them as well as the articles.

During the save campaign a media outlet has reported that renewal will come down to ratings and Magnum P.I. gathering new viewers and better ratings. That statement is a bid of a double-edged sword.

The show has gathered new viewers, mainly seen on social media as new friends slide into the new warm and fuzzy blanket that is the comfort show called Magnum P.I. We also left some viewers behind on CBS, which is perfectly natural. CBS is known to be a ratings giant, in large part to the general audience CBS gathers that simply turns CBS on no matter what is on. Think background music that consist of explosions and gunshots. These viewers are the ones we haven’t managed to bring over to NBC and we weren’t going to be able to bring them over anyway.

But let’s look at some things in more detail.

What are ratings?

Ratings are a measuring system, by which networks gage the audiences interest in their shows. Based on ratings advertisers also decide what ads to place and potentially how much they pay for it, which is income for the networks. The sales demographic (18-49) is specifically interesting to those. Networks as well as the companies have access to far more data than the simple sales

Are our ratings bad?

Simply said, no. For a Sunday show on NBC in our timeslot our ratings are solid. Even the recent ‘drop’ in numbers is just a reflection of the competition currently on. Sundays are some of the weaker days in terms of ratings. At the moment Sundays generally don’t gather stellar ratings across the board. Every show and network suffers from this downturn (Hello streamer competition, anyone?)

Why did we suffer a drop in ratings in the recent weeks?

Simply said: Competition and natural viewing behavior.

March Madness is an event people watch live (as are Oscars, but March Madness much more so). These people record their shows instead of missing the game. March Madness also consistently ran overtime a little. People don’t just switch to other channels to catch half an episode. If they haven’t set a recording they will watch on Peacock.

It’s also somewhat natural for shows to lose a few viewers along the way. The reasons are as many as you can possibly imagine. Some lose interest, some have a different working schedule, lose access to NBC, aren’t in the right mindset to watch, have to go to the hospital, stubbed their toe, die (yeah, people annoyingly do that in which case their rating isn’t counted).

Where is everyone who saved the show and why aren’t they watching?

It’s a frequent complain and one that is perhaps the most stinging to the fans that have become active to try and save the show. It’s also an unfair question. A little over 14000 people signed the petition, only a fraction of those have donated to the fund, a handful have organized initiatives (billboard, anyone). You will have to subtract international viewers here, who have made up a large portion of that number. As you can see those specific fans are around – if they can. The international fans have no way of contributing to ratings other than social media engagement.

What ratings do we need to get renewed?

Impossible for us to tell. Ratings are only one factor in a large grid of data that NBC has access to and we don’t. We like having control, I know, but in this case we don’t have any.

Data we don’t have but that factors into renewal decisions:

Production cost (including rent for stages, compensation for cast, crew and so on)

How much money the ads actually make

How much money product placement in the show brings in

Number of people streaming

Contract requirements for the ads

Social media engagement (beyond the cold numbers) and the value they put into it

Projected ratings and expectations

To make it simple: A show that has high production cost and high ratings can still be canceled if the income the show brings doesn’t match the cost of producing it. Shows with lower ratings can still be renewed if there’s a solid profit.

Why do ratings look so different on a Sunday than a Friday?

Viewer behavior and circumstance. Friday is the beginning of the weekend, a lot more people have time to just kick back and watch TV, whereas Sundays people prepare for the new work week, maybe go to bed early. The reasons are endless, but it comes down to this: Sunday ratings and Friday ratings are wildly different overall. More people watch Friday in general, so our numbers would be higher there, too, but our Sunday ratings do reflect the higher ratings we would have on a Friday, translated to the circumstances on a Sunday.

We would have better ratings on a Friday, why doesn’t NBC put us back on a Friday?

It comes back to the data we don’t have. Yes, we performed well on a Friday, but NBC has analysts who thought it would be most beneficial to have Magnum P.I. on a Sunday. They had a reason to put it there. Also we would have likely experienced a rating drop on Fridays, too. Mainly because, as pointed out, the people who habitually watch CBS, wouldn’t watch NBC now.

CBS has a much higher rating than we do. Should we be worried?

No. NBC won’t make renewal decisions based on what CBS does. NBC makes decisions based on how their own shows do. Ultimately the shows that bring (and are projected to continue to bring) good profit, not ratings, are likely the ones that will be renewed. So don’t look to other networks, we’re not in direct competition with them for a timeslot at NBC, we’re in competition with other NBC shows. And among them we’re far from the worst performer. (And again, we have very little data in order to gage profitability)

Why are articles reporting so negatively about the shows ratings?

It’s simple journalism. Similar to shows, articles have a bit of a rating system behind them: Clicks. Highly clicked articles = more income.

Now as yourself which headline are you more likely to click and which article are you more likely to read through:

Magnum P.I. plummets to a new all-time low.

Or

Magnum P.I. has 0.5mil viewers less this week than last week.

You’re more likely to click the first one, because it tickles your emotions, in this case in a negative way. The same way the content does. This type of language grabs you more, which increases click rates and the chance that you read the entire thing through, which is what they want.

Ultimately they pick the language to manipulate you into a reaction, not because it reflects their opinion or the meaning of the ratings. The content is the same, though: The ratings dropped.

Matt, who almost writes daily articles about Magnum P.I., is a great example for it. I am sure we all remember when he had headlines during the save announcing statements by a star of the show only to click the article and realize it was just talking about a recent social media post by a cast member which we had already seen. The objective here is, like with every other website: Gather clicks. In this case by tickling your curiosity. It’s nothing more, nothing less.

The reason why the articles sound negative is simply to get you to react. They in no way reflect NBCs opinions, nor are they able to tap into more data than we do, which is the ratings. All they have is a bit of experience with previous shows, but when it comes down to that, they consistently point out that Mangum P.I.s ratings are a win for NBCs Sunday line-up.

Why aren’t streaming numbers released?

Internal decision, but maybe this quiets your mind: Procedurals like Magnum P.I. are known to have great streaming numbers. They’re one of the best performing genres on streaming platforms. One of the reasons for that is how easy one can get into the plot at any point due to the stories contained within an episode. Magnum P.I. and all the other procedurals are a show where you can watch an episode without context of previous seasons and still enjoy it due to the mystery of the day. From there maybe the serialized aspect makes viewers go back. Or they continue to watch. But our streaming numbers could very well be good.

Does the drop mean it looks bad for renewal?

No. Right now what you want to look at is context: Magnum P.I. brought NBC the strongest Sunday ratings in years. Our decline is happening within the context of a sport event/natural decline and NBC will have expected it. Other than that our ratings are stable.

We also consistently adjust upward from the preliminary ratings we get on a Monday to the final ones we get the week after. That means something.

Ultimately we will not be able to judge our renewal chances on the ratings alone, due to the multitude of factors (and there could be more) I already mentioned.

There is no point in getting overly worried about ratings. We can’t control them! No matter how much we want to.

What we can control is this: If we can watch it and have our view counted, do. Engaged with the official accounts on social media and enjoy the show. There’s really nothing more we can do.

[canmom]

fall 2024 anime 0 very very briefly

this anime season was looking like pretty slim pickings at first, but suddenly it got interesting... admittedly mostly with sequels to stuff I was enjoying before. anyway i've barely started watching it all so this is less reviews and more just like a statement of intent but...

elusive samurai - just watched s1e1. way more of a gorefest than I knew to expect, but that's those wacky samurai for ya! a lot of fun playful meta stuff in the way it's presented, definitely curious where they're going with this. the colour design is absolutely fantastic, in a way that's far too rare these days. well-chosen flat colours > pile of digital filters any day of the week.

oshi no ko s2 - haven't started this yet but it's oshi no ko, and this stage-acting focused arc of the manga should be pretty fascinating in animation. MTBB dropped it but someone's doing some automated cleanup on the hidive subs, which ought to help a lot.

nier automata ver 1.1a - last season i liveblogged this up to episode 8 when the production fell apart and they had a huge hiatus. but they are back now! so I guess it's time to catch up on the last four eps of the prev season that I missed, and see where they take the new one. despite the severe production problems and many aesthetic choices that never really convinced me, this show has managed to hit the NieR vibe more than I first expected. I look forward to seeing how they're gonna fuck with us this time around.

one upside of the hiatus is that there's now a complete fansub of the first season by a one-project group calling themselves [GLORY]. looks real nice, glad to see it get some proper love.

i'll have more to say once I've caught up a bit...

[jorality]

I watched Lolirock and I gotta say what interesting timing.

So there I was having the most cursed 2 weeks of my life, my (only) cornea fucking split open rendering me blinder than I already am, my dog literally went missing for a week and during that week Aunt Flo decided that 30 would be the age she would finally kill me. Cornea is still better, I have my dog back and for once Aunt Flo only lasted the promised 7 days, but I'm pretty sure I'm anemic now. Can't bounce back from immense blood loss like I used to.

ANYWAY, between putting a thousand eye drops in, having my throat close up due to stress and cramps I found Lolirock's youtube channel and decided to give it a go. I like watching cartoons because even if my glasses don't work I can see cartoons well enough without them. Lolirock's distinctive artstyle was super easy to see so I binged seasons 1 and 2. I had been kinda aware of the show but it never fully got on my radar. At first I thought it was a Canadian cartoon, but it's French, which explains why I kept thinking about Miraculous Ladybug every time the opening theme played. i also saw that it aired while I was in college. It was on Netflix but again it somehow avoided my radar, which is for the best because season 3 was announced last year which is awesome because season 2 ended with the perfect set up for a third season and I was surprised there wasn't a season 3 despite the show's age.

So here are some of my thoughts:

I was glad my hunch about Aunt Ellen was right, can't believe the reveal took so long tho.

I really thought they were going to find a way to make Nate into a fighter or something. Like when the twins unleashed that spell that made all those dark crystal spikes capture people I thought Amaru was gonna swoop in and scoop him up. Though Nate will probably be the main focus of Praxina's rage in season 3, so let's see if he'll get a chance to use magic. If not, I love a male damsel in distress. Too bad he forgot about everything after Iris turned back time with Izira's...brooch? Brooch.

Speaking of love interests, bring back Kyle, I was so surprised to see him and Mark come back. More on Talia and Auriana's love lives please! Can't let Iris have ALL the smooches.

I truly hope Mephisto is alive. I definitely preferred him over Praxina, and the episode where Praxina lost her memories threw me for a loop. I was low-key hoping Mephisto would take the opportunity to defect from Gramorr because frankly it seems like his heart wasn't really in it when it came to being evil. With Praxina's bloodlust lowered I'm sure the princesses would've accepted their help, but alas. He mentions getting a reward from Gramorr in the season finale but Gramorr ignores him.

Also, who the fuck is Banes? That is the shiftiest big cat in animation since Scar. He is absolutely primed to be the ultimate Big Bad, once the princesses fix Praxina and reunite her with Mephisto they can all take down Banes. (Not sure if that's really the route they'd go since Banes is supposed to be more like a familiar the way Amaru is)

I would also love to know Mephisto and Praxina's backstory, in the episode where Mephisto uses their family heirloom Praxina mentions the relative it belonged to was the Court jester.

(Also, sorry about not knowing episode names as mentioned above I could see the art but I couldn't read.)

Doug came out of nowhere but I like him.

I like the songs, although Celebrate seems to be in the wrong key during the chorus. Other than that the songs are super fun, I especially like Higher, Party Talking and Reach the Stars.

I'm interested in the lore, can't wait for that to be expanded. I poked around the fandom a lil bit, will be poking again.