#so grandmas methods it is

[mirawhat]

got some nasty virus and my nose is leaking nonstop, and the worst part isnt even that im too lazy/not feeling good enough to go to the poliklinika to have a sick leave and have to pretend im working. the worst part is that i have 0 potatoes rn and cant even cook some, add garlick, cover myself with a blanket to breathe the steam in 🙄 smh

[good-to-drive]

George would have been such a menace if he'd been able to text... texting Tom Petty at 3 am to tell him he's beautiful and leaving Paul on read for days straight

[hanakihan]

I’m still not over jinchul interacting with kyung hye (I literally brainrotted over it), jinchul definitely being respectful to previous empress while kyung hye being genuinely nice to him without demanding anything back

jinchul just walking around palace trying to familiarize himself with layout of it until he notices a group of palace girls escorting someone. he’s not announcing his presence and just silently observes, finally noticing woman’s face when she slightly turns. she’s frail and ill looking but nonetheless beautiful and gentle and oh, current ruling emperor absolutely took his beauty after his mother. jicnhul notices how she walks with support of her ladies in waiting, how she struggles with keeping herself going straight. and will all that in mind it’s weird to see such thick makeup on her, it contrasts with her relatively simple robes.

next time they see each other properly is when he and jinwoo encounter her in one of palace gardens, she still looks ill but at least she walks on her own without support of her maids. and yet again jinchul notices too thick layer of makeup for someone in such condition. jinwoo introduces them to each other and after a small pleasant exchange jinchul notices that it’s not common for ill people to wear such makeup even if she’s the former empress. even more, some maids looked nervous when they approached former empress and kept stealing glances at her, as if to see if she’ll say something unnecessary.

jinwoo tells jinchul about his mother’s unknown illness that keeps eating her health away, and apparently even royal doctor (and on top of that jinwoo’s best healing summon) can’t fix whatever is wrong - even after treatment she gets better only to get worse after couple of days. apparently when passing them by, jinchul informs jinwoo of slight medical alcohol smell, yet something doesn’t click. jinchul is no doctor but he knows that medical alcohol is used to treat skin and high temperature in most cases and both aren’t the cases in kyung hye’s case according to royal doctor and jinah.

jinwoo says that jinah multiple times inspected what medicine their mother receives and what is used to clean her after episodes. jinah, jinchul and royal doctor hold an investigation because apparently some sort of medicine is circulating in palace and has found it’s way to previous empress.

jinchul has his suspicions with slight alcoholic smell. while royal doctor informs that it isn’t his prescription, there’s no harm in rubbing it on skin since it’s cleans away dirt and other stuff. while jinchul agrees with that point, he and jinah deem it an unnecessary addition from maids that still prefer to keep their empress looking properly groomed and mostly to cover scent of illness.

one day jinchul visits bedridden kyung hye after one of her episodes, asking her about her medical routine. he’s extremely interested in schedule of rubbing alcohol on skin since it’s the suspicious thing here. he asks if she knows where maids store it, and she points to medical cabinet where other medicine is kept. for time being he asks her to refuse rubbing alcohol especially considering it’s now what doctor prescribed for some days.

after that her condition slightly improves and stays so without any detour. jinchul, who had taken a bottle of that alcohol asked jinah and doctor’s assistance in trying to understand if it’s an actual alcohol or poisonous one. with help of jongin and his expertise in fire truth came out and jinchul asked jinwoo to get rid of all alcohol in palace for time being. just as he went to check on kyung hye later he saw her maids rubbing alcohol on barely conscious empress and in fit of anger confronts them. turns out head maid brought this supposedly good cosmetic alcohol to keep empress’ appearance despite her illness and to mask awful stench of illness and they proceeded to do so because after jinchul’s advice she refused procedure and now everything became worse. jinchul is furious and grabs that bottle, forcing maid’s mouth open and threatening to spill it all into it.

‘do you even realize that what you brought is an actual poison? do you realize that you slowly was rubbing it into her skin keeping her constantly poisoned? what do you think will happen if I’ll spill it all in one go? in best case you’ll go blind, in worst you’ll die in less that a hour.’

after that he just kicks all of them out and asks other servants to bring royal doctor and jinah here as fast as they can while he starts to work on countermeasures.

who would’ve thought someone will be dumb enough in this palace to almost fall for same stupid poisoning trick. there’s been so many cases of nobles dying in agony at celebrations and meetings after drinking alcohol and he’s not having a kind woman dying on him especially when he knows what to do.

[scarabeegrandma]

Little void kitty for @tofupixel :3

[moonspower]

speaking of condiments im sharing a recipe of chow chow that i like—it’s not as good as my grandma’s but lgjd. anyway chow chow is like. a southern, redneck version of kimchi. i say that but all sorts of races down here luv the stuff.

https://juliassimplysouthern.com/2021/08/homemade-chow-chow-relish.html

[thehmn]

I want to apologize to my friends and family who have children for low key treating their kids like dogs but the standard methods for training dogs are even more effective of them because they actually understand language and are better at reasoning.

Positive reinforcement is amazingly effective, like I saw my nephew poking their cat so I sternly told him no, he stopped and I immediately changed my demeanor and cheerfully told him thank you and how happy I was that he listened to me instead of staying angry at him and he got this strange “Oh…It actually does make a difference wether I’m naughty or not” and later my sister in law asked why he’s so polite around me.

That’s literally what works best on dogs. Let them know when you don’t like what they’re doing but also let them know when you’re happy with them even if that means changing your demeanor on a dime (and even if you’re still a bit mad at them for doing it in the first place).

Oh and little treats. I skipped the aunt phase and is already turning into a grandma who has candy in her pockets for the kiddos for good behavior.

[buddiesmutslut]

My uncle forgot we were supposed to go car shopping today & I have spent most of the day locked in my room with my dog bc the new dog is a crazy puppy that wants to play for hours & my baby is a curmudgeon old woman whose joints ache in the cold & does not have the patience for his shenanigans.

[dragoninahumancostume]

It's hard to figure out which sounds are from the real world, which are from the song in my headphones, and which ones I think I'm hearing. Like it's divided in a 60-30-10 way I think it'd be accurate enough to say, but even when I KNOW it's real and I just heard it it's always hard to tell from where it's coming from or what the sound even is so I'll end up worried anyway

[kaijuno]

Idk if this works for men with dementia (probably not) but I did this with both my grandma and my aunt and it worked. Basically all you have to do when they’re having a rough one is give them a stuffed animal or a baby doll (preferably a baby doll). My grandma would immediately calm herself so she could take care of the baby. My aunt loved to color pictures with her baby doll. Like something about being given a task like that helps people hold themselves together. Also this has to work in tandem with other methods of caring for someone with dementia but like. Quickest method of calm down was the baby doll.

[andwordsarefutiledevicess]

press relations

stanford!artdonaldson x sportsjournalist!reader

summary: assigned to write a profile of stanford's rising tennis star, you get to know art better. much better.

warnings: smut, dry humping, b0ner alert, implied consent

a/n: this does have a *hint* of art x patrick x reader undertones at the end! any (constructive) feedback is appreciated :)

you get the message as you exit the lecture hall and head to the cafeteria for lunch. “other writers are busy. can you take the art donaldson profile?” reads the text from your editor. having written for the stanford daily as a sports reporter for the past year, you’re no stranger to turning a dull interview with a rather dim-witted football player into an oh-so-riveting piece. however, this is out of your comfort zone.

tennis is…boring. sure, you’d happily tagged along to a couple of tashi duncan’s matches, unwilling to pass up the opportunity to see an olympic-bound athlete in her prime, but it isn’t your ideal way to spend a saturday afternoon. 

and yet, that is exactly what you are doing. the donaldson interview is lined up for directly after his match with a ucla player. “he’s got a tight schedule, so we need to accommodate him,” said your editor when you questioned why you had to sit through a match and then manage to cram in an interview in the men’s fucking lockerroom. 

art donaldson is a year above you, living in the same dorm. you recognize most athletes at this point—in part because they’re constantly (obnoxiously) sporting team merch, and because of your job—but art is known by most for his friendship with tashi duncan. neither are particularly social, keeping their circle tight amongst fellow tennis players, both at stanford and professionals. 

it’s difficult not to stick out in the bleachers. while other players, including a brown-haired boy cheering quite loudly, observe the game, it’s by no means packed. as donaldson pauses for water after the first set, he catches your gaze, giving an awkward wave in acknowledgement as he wipes the sweat from his face. you silently pray that he knows you’re the reporter he’s supposed to speak to, and doesn’t just think you’re some crazed tashi duncan fangirl. 

his playing is statuesque, long limbs sweeping across the court (but not entirely stripped of the boyish energy that defined his success as a high school student). after beating his opponent 2-0, donaldson steps off the court, dramatically embraced by the brown-haired spectator, who you have since realized is his former doubles partner, patrick zweig, and you take this as a signal to get this interview started before he becomes swept up in celebrations. 

climbing down the bleachers, you see art duck down into the hallway, making his way into the locker rooms. in all your time as a sports reporter, you hadn’t had such an…unconventional… interview location, and you feel a bit sick as the sound of the shower draws closer. 

“art donaldson?” you say, standing just outside the open door of the locker room. 

“yeah” he calls back, as though he was expecting you, but not entirely welcoming the intrusion. the shower turns off, and the soft sound of his steps on the tiles echo. “well, come in,” he calls again. 

you step into the steam-filled space with your eyes directed down. “i understand you have physical therapy shortly, so i’ll try to keep this quick—,” you say, taken aback as you finally draw your eyes upward. he’s managed to pull on a pair of checkered boxers, fabric sticking to his still-damp body. 

you can’t imagine you look particularly composed, hair sticking to your face from the steam with a burning blush spread across your cheeks. you watch as art bites his cheek and awkwardly motions for you to sit on the bench across from him as he methodically changes the overgrip on his racket. 

“so,” you say, clearing your throat, “how did you first become interested in tennis?” he glances up from his task. “my parents needed someone to watch me, and my grandma was busy, so they stuck me in a local tennis camp. i doubt they realized that they were signing up for over a decade of tennis running my—and their—lives.”

you hum in agreement. “and what specific areas of your game are you hoping to improve on this season?” you follow up. his gaze becomes more intent—more focused. setting the racket to his side, art stands, before quickly realizing he’s still only boxer-clad. you stare at the opposite wall, hoping to save him the embarrassment, and you see him fumble to slip on shorts out of the corner of your eye. he clears his throat. “ – um – yeah, i’m trying to get faster on my feet. sorry, i—” he says, before you cut him off in protest. “no, no, i should have given you a moment to clean up after your match, it’s my fault,” you say, rising off of the bench awkwardly, avoiding his gaze. 

but with the lingering steam, and your downward gaze, your fumble to exit the locker room instead lands you into direct contact with his chest. “shit! sorry,” you exclaim, drawing your chin up. a wash of heat cascades from your head, nipples taut, despite the warmth of the room, as your body reacts to the sudden proximity. art is equally flushed, pink lips slightly parted and chest rocking as he concentrates on breathing deeply, trying to lower his racing heart. you can smell him, fresh with a hint of that post-game sweat, a droplet of water falling from a blonde curl. 

he brings a calloused hand to your hair, brushing it behind your shoulder, as if to ask permission. the slight nod and glaze of your tongue over your lips is enough for him to understand, his breath heavy against your face as your noses are close enough to touch. that final centimeter is finally closed, and it’s as though air rushes back into you while inhibition is tossed out. without thinking, your hair tangles into his mess of damp hair, and you feel his soft moan against your lips. you gasp as his hand grabs your ass, drawing you into contact with his erection (for how much of that interview was he hard?). 

“you—ah—you have physical th-therapy,” you say, breathless as he works his mouth down your jaw and neck. “just…five more minutes,” he says in between kisses, like a teenager wishing to sleep in, causing you to chuckle. bringing your left knee up, your hips are suddenly flush against his, and the new contact sends you both reeling, his cock twitching in his shorts. you tentatively rock, again, against his groin, and you both seem to realize that that hit the spot. pushing your back against a locker, art draws his groin against yours again, and again, his soft pants becoming near whimpers as your lips meet for a desperate, sloppy kiss. 

you’re lost in the rhythm the two of you have found, ignoring the rattle of the lockers with each thrust. fuck you’re embarrassingly close (that’s what a two month dry spell will do for you) but before you have to worry about coming too early, you hear his strangled voice in your ear. “ – f-fuck, s-sorry i’m close, was so pent up.” before you’re able to reply, your body has taken this as permission to let the orgasm wash over you at last. still reeling from your own orgasm, you feel the warm spread of art’s cum seep through the thin fabric of his shorts, as he continues to rut against you. 

bringing your arms up to hurriedly fix your now-tangled hair, you draw away from art. a fresh blush comes to your cheeks at the realization of how silly you feel, grinding like a pubescent teen. art seems tired, yes, but not embarrassed, slipping off his pants and boxers and replacing them with clean ones. before he’s got his wits back, you’re out the door, praying no one managed to overhear the encounter. to your dismay, patrick zweig, smug as ever, sits outside the locker room.

[todorkihoe]

little things they do during intimacy

characters: geto, gojo, nanami, toji, sukuna 

genre: suggestive

content warnings: mentions of biting/marking (sukuna), mentions of rough sex (toji)

word count: 0.5k

synopsis: just a collection of slight little details of the things jjk men do during sex

a/n: wrote this on my phone at my grandmas house

suguru geto:

suguru always gently runs his hands up and down your back and then slips his fingers under the clasp of your bra to feel the skin there. such a small patch of skin he loves to touch, one of the most rarely touched parts of your body. the feeling of his slender fingers tracing circles under the fabric, drawing out the moments before he takes it off, always draws shivers up out of you. even after he finally removes all of your clothing, his fingers gravitate back to that spot. when you lay on your stomach, his hips pressing into you from behind, he’ll lean down and press a soft kiss to that skin.

satoru gojo:

satoru likes to play with your bottom lip, brushing his thumb along it, tugging it down into a pout to tease you before he kisses you. he’ll often toy with it and you until you grow into an impatient, whining mess and pull him into a desperate kiss. oftentimes, he’ll pull back from thrusting into you to tease your lower lip again, making your eyes flutter. he loves to lean in and press kisses to your open mouth and it drives him just as crazy when you do it back to him. though, he doesn’t take as kindly to teasing as you do.

kento nanami:

whenever your hair falls in your face and covers your eyes, nanami will brush it out of the way so that he can see all of your expressions. he most prefers the positions where he can look at your face, gauge your reactions, kiss you, admire you, and everything else. when you inevitably mess your hair up, maybe from tossing your head back in pleasure, he grips your chin gently and uses his other hand to push the hair out of your eyes. the intense eye contact racks through your body and if not for his hands still holding your face, you’d probably shy away from his loving gaze.

toji fushiguro:

toji probably doesn’t even notice he does it, but he’ll pause in the midst of his roughness to give you a soft look of admiration. in between the rough thrusts and pinning of wrists, he takes a moment to gaze down at you, almost reverently. It always brings warmth to your cheeks, followed by a slight grin to his lips. sometimes will even go as far as to reach down and trace his fingers along your cheek. the gentleness never lasts for more than a few passing moments, but it makes you cherish their occurrences all the more.

ryomen sukuna:

it’s no secret that sukuna enjoys leaving his marks all over you; your neck, chest, thighs, and anywhere else he can reach. one of the things you enjoy most though, is the kisses he places on each mark before, during, and after. he always kisses the spot before he digs his teeth in, presses a fierce kiss to the mark while it stings and reddens, and later soothes the pain with a soft touch of his tongue and lips. each and every bruise and bite receives the same treatment in a methodical, caring routine.

[hvlplvss]

| still around

summary: in which colby manages to communicate to his childhood best friend through cody and satori.

warnings: angsty tbh, this is a best!friend!colby x reader btw, mentions of death

authors note: kinda short and i lowkey don’t like this

hell week had just begun for sam and colby. not even fifteen minutes ago, cody and satori had explained and begun to showcase their methods of communicating to spirits. which immediately baffled the duo.

a spirit named abigail arnold, had come through. she was called a friendly spirit, the matriarch of the conjuring house. she’d also managed to bring sam’s grandma through, libby golbach. this of course, freaked sam and the boys took a break, to which the spirits agreed.

as sam had recovered from the contact with his late grandma. the two walked back into the living room of the house. cody and satori checked in on sam, before continuing once again.

the workers connected their hands, by holding one another’s wrists. “hi,” satori began, footsteps echoed a moment after, “is this abigail i’m talking to?” the spirit responded with one step. “great! thank you abigail. is there anything else you need to tell me, or tell sam and colby?”

the ghost responded with two footsteps, satori nodded, beginning to spell out the alphabet. it began to spell out your name.

colby’s eyes widened and his hands dropped to his sides. sam recognised the name from when colby first spoke about the loss of his childhood friend at only 14 years old. sam immediately panned the camera towards colby.

eventually, satori had spelt out your entire name. y/n y/l/n. satori and cody turned to look at the boys and noticed colby’s watery eyes. “does that name mean something..?” satori asked carefully.

colby nodded slowly, trying to take a calming breath, “she’s was my bestfriend. uh- she passed when i was fourteen,” colby explained a slight pause between words, reminiscing the thought of the girl.

satori nodded, turning back to cody and grabbing onto him, “abigail, is there anything y/n wants colby to know?” there was silence for a few moments, colby looking up with hopeful eyes, while sam and the camera watched him.

there were five footsteps around the living room. cody and satori nodded, sharing one glance as satori began saying the alphabet.

always watching

the sentence began with. colby’s hand reached up to wipe away the stray tears that seeped from his eyes.

and loving you.

colby stood up and let a few more tears leak from his eyes. satori noticed this and asked abigail for a break, checking that it was okay with y/n as well, who agreed.

colby walked outside with colby following after him, just like they had already done not long ago after they got through to libby.

“dude, how you feeling?” sam asked, turning the camera light on.

colby stood there, wiping both his eyes with one hand. “it’s… it’s just pretty crazy. like we spoke to your grandma, and now y/n?” colby whispered, his voice hoarse. “and i’ve never spoke about her. anywhere. she’s always been apart of my like private life and i’ve only really told you about her, so it’s just crazy to think that she’s there and she’s safe,” colby explained.

sam agreed, turning the camera so he was now also in frame with colby, “and just to think that my grandma and y/n, who are some of the most important people in our lives, are together. it’s sad but so nice to think and know,”

throughout the week, when satori and cody communicated with abigail, y/n was always there. when satori would ask if any other spirits were there, y/n’s name always popped up.

usually, she didn’t have another message for sam or colby. by every so often, she’d warn the boys about what lurks in the house, wanting to keep the boys safe. but sam and colby being sam and colby of course ignored the warning signs from both abigail and y/n.

ever since the first interaction with y/n, colby had begun opening up to the viewers about y/n and her passing. he’d mentioned her on his social media, sharing that she was the one who gave him the idea to create a channel in the future. she never specified what, but she’d put the idea in his head and he’d forever be grateful for the girl he once knew.

when entering places as the basement and they’d ask for abigail’s protection, he’d quietly mutter to y/n, praying for her to stay by his side.

[saturnshifts]

WHAT THE FUCK I SHIFTED TO A PARALLEL REALITY AGAIN???

so I was reading @sheeezu tutorial/method while listening to subliminals and stuff

I get up to get something and I notice a painting in my grandma's house who was NEVER THERE

and I go:

Me: grandma is this new?

Grandma: no?

Me: Seriously?? I NEVER saw it there- are you sure?

Grandma: it was here since you where born!

And I got like:

[wonfilms]

bf! heeseung who ties up your laces for you even if you're both in a hurry, he's well aware you don't need him to ,obviously, but he just likes doing it to hear you complain and huff that you can do it yourself~

gets down on his knee tying them up cutely in a little bow before looking up at you with the prettiest little smile

still uses the complicated delicate method his grandma taught him when he was little, even though he taught himself the usual way... because it reminds him of her and he wants to share that little part of her in him with you too.

bf! heeseung who takes you to hotpot restaurants and lets you cook the meat, as much as he wants to swoop in 'n treat you like a princess because he likes how excited you get doing it yourself and serving it to him proudly

he buys you frozen yogurt afterwards, and buys you the yummy toppings even though they are heavy and they are gonna charge him extra at the till because he doesn't care about his poor financial decisions if you're giggling and smiling over yogurt.

bf! heeseung who lets you put makeup on him, and doll him up all prettily so you can practice on him

when you pout and say he's prettier than you now, he pulls you in for a huge kiss with his perfectly glossed lips (due to your gorgeous choice of lipstick) and leaves a soft red stain on yours, saying "now we're both pretty girls, but you were pretty before anyways.. "

bf! heeseung who likes being the little spoon sometimes even though he's so tall and strong, feels a bit out of place at first but melts right into your arms with a gooey smile on his face

a/n: i love bf! heeseung

[optimisticmosquito]

Guys hear me out on this svsss au idea.

Sower Shen yuan. SY transmigrating into a young sower child and having to learn sower and demon culture. One large difference to his old life is that his diet now consists of rotten flesh. He has a lot of feelings about that. It's raw flesh! It's rotting! It's the worst every world has to offer!

Curse you system for placing him here! He must be the unluckiest transmigrator to ever exist! Or maybe not the unluckiest, he could have been transmigrating into some low iq villain and destined to be killed off by the protagonist. His new life is definitely preferable to that! Barely.

He might grumble but he's learning a lot of new things that were never mentioned in PIDW! After all cultivators don't know much about sowers, and higher demons don't care about what's going on in sower society as long as they follow orders.

They are natural scavengers, their food needing to be at least somewhat deteriorated for them to digest it properly. Every sower is born with the ability to rot flesh, it's kinda needed after all if you want to survive. But as they age sowers can cultivate their ability, creating faster ways to rot flesh, or methods that are more effective on different types of flesh. The most talented ones are even able to create diseases that can affect and rot still living flesh.

Of course the better one's technique is, the easier it is to get food. So most sowers would be hesitant to share their techniques outside direct family. This would create sower lineages with uniquely cultivated diseases.

It's all very interesting! SY would be vibrating with excitement if he didn't have to experience it firsthand.

This all without mentioning human meat as a delicacy among demons. SY refuses to participate, but even he can't decline when his caring grandma was able to procure some just for her beloved grandkids, as a rare treat.

The worst part is his body actually likes the taste, despite how revolting it looks. He has a lot if internal crises about it.

You could of course spin this into a bingyuan. Luo Binghe just out of the endless abyss meeting this nice sower and falling head over heels. Making a lowly sower his empress after he takes over the demon realm.

But I'm thinking of going another direction, either jiuyuan or liushen.

SY's forced to go into the human side of the borderlands because of food scarcity on the demon side. He's not stupid about it! He knows some cultivators patrol the area so he's gotten himself a bracelet of disguise to hide his demonic traits.

While there he comes across a head disciple from Cang Qiong Mountain Sect and ends up entangled in their mission. They help eachother out, shares laughs and near death moments, creating a bond that should surely last even after the mission ends.

If not for the fact SY is a demon. He desperately hides his identity, making sure his new friend doesn't touch his skin by accident as he has cultivated enough for his touch to be dangerous to normal humans. He isn't sure it would be dangerous to cultivator disciples, but he doesn't want to take any chances.

And then the worst happens, he is revealed as a sower and his new friend mistakenly assumes he was tricking them so he could kill and eat them later. Angry with themselves over being tricked, disgusted by any good feelings still harbored towards a man-eating demon. Only a moment of quick thinking on SYs part saves them from having to kill SY. SY returns home heartbroken and without any food for his family, abd stays listless and sad for a long time.

Years later he'll come across a peak lord, looking for a cure to a deadly sower disease spread on behalf of the old demon emperor.

If anyone feels inspired please write it! I'd really want to read a sower!SY au as well!

[respectthepetty]

Petty, I have a wild ass Jack and Joker theory, and I need to know what you think because we often end up in the clown car together, lol.

There's been a lot of talk/fears about Joke (and Toi Ting), now that we know character death is on the table - I'm not worried Joke will die (I am terrified they will gut us with Toi Ting but oh I hope not). I'm not saying that Joke isn't about to feel so responsible for what has happened that he's gonna get reckless with his life, because I absolutely think he will.

I think he's absolutely about to do some very stupid shit that could be his life in real danger as penance.

But I've been thinking for a while - since your initial posts about Hope and Save and their names - that Save is going to die. And now that I just skimmed a post that basically said that Joke and Save are the same character in different fonts and Save's guilt in episode 10, I'm absolutely positive.

Save is going to die.

Hope will live, because he has too. Without hope, we have nothing. (I also have a tangential theory that Save will die to save Hope, so...)

Thoughts?

Why not a third secret option? Why can’t everyone live? Since the show killed Jennie’s character, and the man who tried to run away with his few dollar bills died too, let’s just believe everyone remaining will survive! Even more, if Boss survives, then everyone BETTER live because no shitty father should survive when the possibility of a child dying is on the table. So I'm going to aim high because

Fortune Favors the Monkey King

Move over, Kitty! I'm driving this clown car straight to the opera house.

Because this is a Chinese opera.

We already know there is a Chinese influence in this story, as @veemark pointed out about the meal Joke ate with Jack and his grandma.

So with that in mind, in the fourth episode, when Nang punished the men for hurting her people, she drew the "09" stick (but she said nine-zero), which meant the men had to perform the Chinese opera of the Monkey King, which people in the tags thought was sooooo ridiculous!

In that same episode, Jack received his fortune, which was number 9 and stated, "When the fool changes black to white, the fate of the forgiver will change"

Now, skip to episode 9 when Joke gets "The Fool" card and changes the fate of Jack, the person who forgave him, so Jack's fortune was right.

Now, in episode 9, we also get the iconic team name "The Four Little Pigs"

And this is where the light bulb turned on because this is Journey to the West.

Journey to the West is an epic Chinese story that is 100 chapters long about a group of heroes having to complete a certain amount of tasks to achieve enlightenment.

The main character is Tang Sanzang who is basically a saint who wants to bring good to all the land and who everyone is in love with and wants to marry. We are introduced to him in chapter 9 of the story. He is the heart.

The first person he meets on his journey is the Monkey King, aka Sun Wukong, who was so great at being the best trickster that he became overconfident and ended up getting put in heavenly jail for 500 years. The first chapters of the story are actually about him. He is foolish, but he is also the mastermind.

He has a daughter, Yuebei Xing. She has her own story, Journey to the South. She is a badass. She fights monsters and lives to tell the tale.

The Monkey King is easily the most powerful of the bunch, but Tang Sanzang doesn't like the Monkey King's methods because they are immoral, so there is a gold ring involved that keeps him in check.

Or maybe it's this ring.

I think it's the second ring because a goddess, who keeps helping them along the way, helps them with the ring too. She is also cool.

Along the journey, they meet Zhu Wuneng, aka Pig. He is a smart fighter but he is greedy and selfish so he keeps taking shit he isn't supposed to, which constantly gets them in trouble. He is human nature (the world).

There is Sha Wujing aka Sandy, who was once a god, but shattered a crystal and ended up banished to earth to be a mortal. He is conformity without thought (the moon).

And finally, there is Bai Long Ma, who is a horse that they ride for transportation. He is human will (the star).

There is also a princess somewhere in there who must be saved from a marriage.

The group meets obstacles along the way, and lots of crazy shit goes down, but after 14 YEARS they finally come to the end of their journey.

And on their journey to achieve enlightenment they meet a squire whose loved one is kidnapped with the possibility of murder and another squire who is murdered and his wife is pissed about it because she did everything to make sure he wouldn't be harmed.

Now, if you gasped because you think Hope (or Save) will die, well . . . the number 14 fortune was Hope's.

The fortune was given in episode four which is the same episode Jack got his fortune, but it seemed like Hope's fortune played out in the same episode when he found Joke right across the hall staying with Jack.

But the thing is, in the Chinese story, regardless of which squire it is, they don't just need the Monkey King; they need the Monkey King's help.

So the Monkey King goes to the underworld to get the loved one back and succeeds (both times). But he still needs to save our saint!

Remember, the group has to do a certain number of deeds to bring peace to the land, so the group goes in to save their leader, and the ONLY reason they make it out is because all of the people they have helped along the way (especially the people the Monkey King has helped) return the favor and save them.

By saving others, they saved themselves.

So . . . I don't think anyone else is dying. However, it's been YEARS since I read a very condensed version of this story in Asian Rhetorics, and @journeytothewestresearch's blog helped me piece some of what I forgot together.

So I could be wrong, and everyone dies.

But I don't think so.

*fingers crossed that fortune favors the bold Monkey King*