#these little robots live in my thoughts rent free

[gravityglitch-blog]

I'll just leave this bit of nonsense here.

All I could think of was...

[siblingshuffle]

Day 21: Heart

TW: Death (kinda?), Robot-Gore (not graphic in the image but I do describe the damage a little more to really drive home the fear and worry.)

“Why build a robot with a heart you can break? Why build a robot that can break yours?”

———————————————————————

…We as a fandom really don’t talk about Dr. LaLinde enough

Like. Can you imagine just your daughter dying while you’re only a short distance away? Can you imagine not being able to stop it? Can you imagine holding her broken body in your arms, knowing that if she hadn’t been drilling there in the first place - if you hadn’t upgraded her to help you work, if you hadn’t sent a child in place of a tool - this wouldn’t have happened? Like. That’s horrifying. There’s no way that doesn’t stick to her, too.

————————————————————————

Lore:

Fixing Tempo took a few months. Part of her synthetic skin had been damaged (it’s only her skin; nothing too bad… a patch of synthetic skin can be replaced. Like it never happened.). Her helmet had cracked (thank goodness it hadn’t crushed her processor… a helmet can be replaced. Good as new.). One of her pauldrons was missing a chunk of it (it was replaceable. It could’ve been worse.). Her left arm was partially crushed (I can replace it. It’ll be like nothing happened). A particularly heavy rock had torn one of her legs clean off at the knee (But it did happen. She’d died. What kind of mother would allow that?). When she inspected Tempo’s processor for damage, she found nothing too serious. Still… she should examine Tempo’s IC Chip. (That can’t be replaced.)

During that time, Dr. LaLinde started getting nightmares. What if the cave-in had rendered Tempo unfixable? What would she have done then?

(Tempo isn’t replaceable.)

When it came time to reinsert Tempo’s IC chip, a thought crossed Dr. LaLinde’s mind: she was having an awful time - nightmares, numbness, anxiety, grief - and she wasn’t even the one who had died that day. How much worse would it be for Tempo?

What kind of mother would she be if she let her daughter suffer?

…it’s better this way… right?

—————————————————

Notes:

I wasn’t really satisfied copying the actual panel. It communicates everything fine, but I felt like I could go a bit harder. So I messed up Tempo’s hair a bit, cracked her armor, threw a bunch of dirt on there, and then thought “eh… yeah let’s put a gash across her face as well.”

This took literal hours. I made myself cry a little bit. To be fair, that might’ve been in part due to listening to Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens on loop while drawing…

they live rent free in my brain & i’m not even mad about it. i do have to make you guys suffer for it tho. sorry.

[whattraintracks]

HPI 1.03 Colin-maillard, or Blind Man's Bluff, has some of my favorite early Morgane and Karadec interactions. Given this was the basis for the brand new High Potential episode 1.04 Survival Mode, I thought it might be fun to make a list of differences and similarities.

Things High Potential 1.04 did differently that I liked:

sleep-deprived Morgan! Ya girl hasn't slept in days. I appreciate the consistency about her overactive mind not letting her sleep, and it played into her insecurities and exacerbated how personally she took the case in a neat way

the synopsis said this case would hit close to home for Morgan and they definitely showed it. Things got really personal for her and I liked seeing her both extra affectionate with her kids and extra shouty at the team

her id card badge! This was unexpectedly cute and the whole team being unsurprised that she ran off without signing for it was gold

Karadec breaking protocol and Soto says "she's [Morgan] rubbing off on you" WRONG he's been like this the whole time he's just better at hiding it

Interviewee: "I'm sorry, who is she?" Karadec: "Morgan."

the ransom scenes are some of my favorite in HPI 1.03 and I am mostly bummed they were so different here. I do love that Morgan texted Karadec directly, though (the way he looked at her when she said she'd want him here if it were her kids) ((abc write that case or I will))

that Morgan is the one who desperately yells at Karadec to open the trunk

the badge again! Tie-backs, my beloveds. Karadec not only found her lost badge, he put it on her himself 🤭

"Get some rest, Detective" He's been upgraded from police robot!

Things I wish had been included from HPI 1.03:

Karadec tells her to stay. She does not.

Morgane's cleaning lady trick with the alcohol (random detail but it's vivid in my mind)

Super Poulet

Karadec stopping by her house first thing in the morning with apology treats after he yelled at her the day before (and unexpectedly interfering with Morgane's poorly thought out plans)

Karadec's initial indecisiveness about the ransom swap in the garage and Morgane shouting "KARADEC" lives in my brain rent free

"I'm not sulking, Morgane. I'm furious!" he says it so forcefully it echoes and literally ruffles her. I like that early on they get on each other's nerves so completely and that HPI Karadec has a fierce temper

how impressed Morgane is when she figures out he put the car tracker in the money bag (he doesn't tell them outright)

Mehdi Nebbou. My gosh, that man plays one heck of an interrogator

we didn't get my fav "we're supposed to work hand in hand. when will you start trusting me?" line instead we got a silly goofy thanks for trusting me let's never do this again lol

the original pacing. Some of the details of the case, particularly when the culprit was revealed felt a little rushed in this new ep.

The Looks™

Things I'm glad stayed:

the book aided search and rescue! (in HPI this was a nice pay off because Karadec got on her a couple times for reading it during the case)

Eliott/Elliot's hyperfixations providing important clues (permaculture!)

Karadec appreciation: immediately pegging the driver's lie, taking the fall for the swap with Soto, crack shot Karadec

that Karadec does the professional talking-to-people part of interviews while Morgan/e snoops around people's houses; the time honored tradition of letting your consultant go off (in more ways than one)

the hug with Ava/Théa

[sukunastits]

Weaponized Incompetence

Weaponized Incompetence 2/?

John ‘Soap’ MacTavish x Reader

Warnings: none? other than my near endless supply of stupid shit that can be said to make men think you’re stupid. Sfw

Part 1

You were entirely blameless for the next incident. Truly, you had been minding your business, avoiding responsibilities like any good non-commissioned officer. Secluded in one of the far off storage rooms on the west side of the complex, counting boxes of paper towels - far enough out of the way that Sgt. MacTavish had to have come looking for you, specifically. Adorable man, you thought giddily, watching him situate himself in the metal fold out chair next to you. 

He wasn’t a tall man, maybe the shorter end of average, but you figured he made up for it by being the general size of a wide-load tractor trailer. Which was to say, when he slid the chair - legs scraping against the concrete ground - closer to you, he invaded like the tide. “Listen, lass,” he started, like you couldn’t smell his cologne over the stale, dusty air. Tobacco and vanilla, maybe. A little slutty, combined with the eyes and the facial hair and the accent. 

Maybe you were just projecting. 

“Ah get that you come from tae city,” he continued, phone in one hand while he braced the other one on the back of your chair. A part of you wondered if you should be worried; cornered in a far off room by a commanding officer wasn't the best start to happily ever after, but whatever. You were here to drive him up a metaphorical wall, not a white picket fence. “And ye probably never had tae deal with farm animals, but ye can’t go ‘roond spoutin’ nonsense like the other day.” 

Was he still on that? You had hit him with that well before the weekend, and he hadn’t wasted time with cornering you. It was Monday. God, you thought, I am blessed to live rent free in the Scottish Highlands. 

He wiggled the phone entreatingly. 

Staring back from the screen was Google, “are eggs dairy” typed into the search bar. Pressing your lips together, you slanted a sideways glance at him. He looked back, expectant. 

The nice thing would be to let him win this, you knew. A little tee hee, so sorry sergeant, let it die down before you hit him with some other out of pocket shit. But you hadn’t gotten this far in life by letting men win, even pretty ones. 

Especially the pretty ones. 

“Ohh,” you breathed, nodding to yourself like you’d had a world breaking - egg cracking, even - revelation. Sgt. MacTavish smiled, broad shoulders relaxing as he leant back, dipping back out of your personal space. “I get it now.”

“An easy mistake,” he placated. You both knew it wasn’t. 

“No, yeah. You still think birds are real.”

An atom bombed dropped slower than his smile did; there one moment, gone the next. Total annihilation. You would have to play this one carefully. Not laughing hysterically would be a herculean effort, but so worth it. 

“What tae fu -”

“No let me explain,” you cut in, flapping your hand at the wrist. It annoyed men, for some reason, a floppy wrist. Like a weak handshake, it triggered their little neanderthal brain. “I get that it sounds weird out of context. But like, okay. So in the, like, 1970s, in America? They had this President, right, Ronald Reagan?” Wrong. “And he, like, hated birds. So he formed the CIA,” made even funnier by the Task Force tangentially being CIA controlled, “And had them capture and kill all the wild birds, right? Except obviously people would have noticed if all the birds just disappeared, so he had them replaced with robots.” 

You stared at him for a moment, waiting to see if he was keeping up. He stared back, lips pressed together and nostrils flared. “Or androids? I don’t really know. Are they different? I think they’re synonymous. Anyways, he had robot birds made so that he could spy on the American people during the Cold War. And, like. He couldn’t do it with domesticated food birds, so he had them sterilized. And cows evolved to make eggs because birds couldn’t.” 

You nodded, and smiled, empty. Vacant. Not a thought in this head. “So I guess you used to be right,” you finished, patting his arm like it was a consolation. 

MacTavish opened his mouth, closed it. Let out a breath through his nose like an angry bull. For a moment, you wondered if this was it. Was this really all it took? The Birds Aren’t Real Conspiracy? You had so many more. GMOs. Bananas. You could be a very convincing Flat Earther. Buffalos. God, you loved the buffalo bit. 

“Who,” he stopped. Started again. “Who told ye that?” 

“My Governments teacher,” you answered immediately. “Mr. Schumacher. I loved his class, he taught us soo much.” 

“He lied.” MacTavished butted in, voice low. You bet he sounded like a blender in the morning, all gravely bass. You wanted to coo at him, at how cute he was, all ruffled. Instead, you did your best sure, Jan and shrugged. 

“I mean, I think a teacher would know better than the internet, but if you say so, sergeant,” you agreed placidly.

Stressed, he rubbed a hand over his mohawk. And then, phone still in hand, he pointed at you, and left. 

You watched him go, agreeable with the way his jeans sat on his ass. You wondered if he ever wore those bedazzled Buckle jeans. You wondered if you could ever get him into a pair either way. The door slammed behind him, shaking a layer of dust off the ceiling tiles. After a moment, when you were sure he wouldn’t be coming back, you tossed your package of paper towels into the nearest box. 

You needed a new hiding spot. 

[ryuichirou]

OruVil HCs

Anonymous asked:

i know you don't play the game, but have you watched the new years event (the with vil)? i've recently been into your oruvil stuff and the way he dotes on and so clearly favors ortho made me think of that hehe. do you have any hcs for them? fluffy, spicy, or otherwise? (hope you're having a good day) :D

Anonymous asked:

Any thoughts on human Ortho with Vil?

Sorry for the wait, Anons, it took me some time to reply…

First of all! That New Year’s Event Vil card lives in my head not only rent-free, I pay it with my mental currency so it stays there forever. We haven’t watched this New Year’s Event (only the one with Kalim and Deuce), but we’re definitely going to do it one day. This year’s lineup is bonkers, and Sebek’s design was also great… But of course Vil is the queen lol

The fact that Vil keeps favouring Ortho and doting on him!! Thank you for lettins us know, Anon, this is the best. It makes me happy…

Alight, headcanons! Two versions, although the first bunch could work with either version of Ortho, to be honest. Maybe there was no reason to separate these two lists…

Regular Ortho

Vil really helps Ortho with his emotional development, both with the way he expresses himself and with his feelings in general. They talk about Ortho’s feelings a lot, sometimes it’s almost like Vil is both Ortho’s mentor and therapist lol But whenever Ortho suddenly starts talking about how much he likes spending time with Vil and how he wants to be closer to him, it’s always very unexpected and makes Vil’s heart beat faster.

It’s very unusual for Ortho to watch movies at the cinema and watch theatre performances, and he experienced both of these things with Vil. And while he can’t really feel pinpoint what makes the atmosphere so different and special (to him it’s all the same – just the environment is different), he has a lot of tropes in his head that he borrowed from the movies. So he’ll definitely at some point try holding Vil’s hand or even get clingy with him while watching a movie.

When Ortho got his own room, he was so excited that he invited Vil over to see it, which felt at the same time very childish and very sus of him: “let me show you my room” could have very conflicting connotations… Vil just wanted to treat him, so of course he agreed. Needless to say, the nerd den that is Ignihyde was shook to the core that day, because no one expected to see a gorgeous looking and amazingly smelling Pomefiore housewarden so up-close... the virgin igni boys got so STRESSED over the fact that Ortho brought him over, the theories ran wild for at least a week after that. Did they fuck? Did SOMEONE FUCK in THEIR DORM? The Virgin den?! Ortho, you’re such a fuckboy..!

Ortho blocks Mira sometimes. Vil doesn’t use her when Ortho is around anyway, but Ortho still doesn’t really like Mira lol Sometimes it’s almost like they have this weird rivalry.

Human Ortho

Ortho loves it when Vil styles him: wardrobe really transformed with Vil’s influence. They talk about clothes and shoes a lot, and spend a lot of time shopping together. A lot of times Vil spoils Ortho by buying him cool sneakers and jackets, but Ortho surprised Vil with designer clothes too: he’s kind of much richer than Vil anyway, so it’s only fair… and it made Vil happy…

Ortho is very clingy. Compared to the regular robot!Ortho, human!Ortho hugs Vil all the time. And it pisses everyone off, because Ortho could just sneak in, hug Vil from behind, rest his chin on Vil’s shoulder and stand like this while Vil’s explaining something to rest of the film research club. Even when Vil pushes Ortho away, he always does it in a weirdly gentle way: he scratches his head a little and then pushes him like a cat would do. While still explaining stuff to the rest of the film research club…

Ortho adores roleplay. Not only in a sexy way, but even just regularly: the moment he learned what improv was, he started to do it all the time with Vil. Of course, Vil doesn’t play along all the time, because there is time and place for everything, but he actually enjoys Ortho’s spontaneous nature when it comes to acting. Whenever Vil feels playful and gives him a “yes, and…”, Ortho gets very excited. They could play for hours… well, could’ve, but Vil is too busy for that :(

Ortho was lucky enough to receive a blowjob from Vil once, it was his birthday present (well, one of, there is no way Vil wouldn’t gifted him something else). And despite being “the hornier of two Shrouds”, it never even occurred to him how Vil would look with a dick in his mouth before. He was so happy… and way too smug afterwards lol

Despite the fact that Vil is more experienced, Ortho kind of overwhelms him when it comes to sex. He is a very fast learner, very enthusiastic, energetic and eager. Vil has a good stamina, but Ortho still leaves him absolutely exhausted after sex.

[moodymisty]

yoo I see requests are open 👀 Grievous is currently living in my head rent free so feel free to ignore the Star Wars if you're not feeling it or ya just don't write for him yes.

hhhh anywho goodness not sure what to ask. maybe some headcanons on what Grievous is like when he falls for someone. he strikes me as someone who would be majorly in denial for a long time lol. gentler (for him) actions and protectiveness not always matching harsh words. like a majorly burnt, kinda stale marshmallow, with a gooey, mostly edible center XD rambling aside or maybe some jealousy headcanons? those are always fun. whichever one might strike your fancy at all.

well I never know how to end these things lol hope you're doing well ✨

Who doesn't love the Angry Lung Cancer Robot? Not me for sure, I love that ugly thing since I first watched the prequels. I'll always be just a lil' spiteful that TCW turned him into a running gag. Sorry if these headcanons are a little less 'professional' than my usual, I couldn't form my thoughts in a way I liked so I figured you'd enjoy it more if I just vomited them out wholesale. And you've waited long enough :'3

---

He definitely strikes me as the 'affection is when I stand 3 centimeters closer' type of person. Like it's going to be just sort of an undertone throughout the ship of like 'yeah the General prefers them/asks for them to do things instead of anyone else, we don't talk about it'. It probably persists for months before anything comes of it.

If you somehow manage to notice it, it's probably a battle of deciding what in the galaxy to do about it if anything. (is getting the attention of a warmonger cyborg a good thing?) If anything you might not do anything about it just so you feel a little safer on the ship. It's not like Grievous has the lowest causality rate, though it's mostly droids.

I don't think he would have the emotional intelligence to really ever realize, someone would have to point it out to him. Perhaps like you said maybe months later he would, but that would be a pipe dream. He's not an easy guy, that's for sure.

Perhaps he'll realize, but he'll excuse it more so as he prefers you for your competency, rather than something a bit deeper. Droids get programmed to report nonemergency issues to you, because not only does he not get infuriated by them as much, he trusts your ability to solve issues just a modicum more than others aboard. A good thing? Maybe. You can deal the negotiations, he'll just stand behind you, menacingly. If things fall through, then he'll be there to make sure you don't get hurt. For strategical reasons, of course.

As for jealousy? Given the previous points I made and your own I think it would be pretty obvious that a jealous Grievous is a Grievous you want to be miles away from. He's more than likely the type that would use violence or threats of in order to keep people away.

He might also deliver things to your directly, or even make your office/barrack/personal quarters towards the bridge of the ship closer to his. It's a mix of both subtle, and horribly unsubtle things.

Anyways, Grevious is a mess. But we never said we could fix him, and that's the fun part. (give the killer cyborg a smooch and tell him he's the best general in the separatist army, he deserves it)

[lagblowz]

WARNING! V_KNOWLEDGE.dat could not be located!

Mounting DECEIT.dat… successful!

Executing DECEIT.exe…

Shadow Milk Cookie! He still isn’t playable, but he’s still living in my head rent free.

Thought it’d be a fun challenge to reinterpret his design as a robot, guess that’s just my equivalent of drawing gijinka (there’s got to be to a term for that, gijinka but it’s making characters/things robots). Think it came out rather good, had fun adding some little details to it :3

Who knows, might end up making this an au if I come up with more

[hot-take-tournament]

HOT TAKE TOURNAMENT

VOCALOID RECOMMENDATIONS MASTER POST

I've been collecting all your vocaloid recommendations in one place, so everyone can take a listen!

And if like me you knew nothing about vocaloid before that nuclear discourse, maybe you'll find a hidden gem you wouldn't have found otherwise! <3

Submitted anonymously

Thought I'd add to the Vocaloid discourse by pointing out that several "irl" bands actually started out by using vocaloids. You can find a few who talk about it in the Hatsune Miku live concerts (super cool use of holo developed for those too!). That's really the crux of what sets vocaloid apart from much of the machine discourse; it's CREATED oppourtunities for small musicians instead of taking it away. Specifically by not just supplying a synthetic voice program to work with, but by tying a star identity to each voicebank that makes people more willing to explore obscure artist music. It also distincts the works made by the vb's from the artists who were paid to voice them, so you can't make them say things that sounds like you're putting bad takes in the original artist's mouth. Everyone knows and understands it's a fake version for the purpose of artistic creativity, not an attempt to steal the voice of the original singer.

Anyway since we're doing Vocaloid recommends now:

Giga - BRING IT ON (Inferiority superiority) ft. Kagamine Rin & Len

"Hop! Step! Instant Death! A Happiness Dance Death-Trap" and "The Path to Eternal Happiness...I Found It" both by Utata-P

Entomologists, Appetite of a people pleaser and Rotary Dial by GHOST

VIRAL ft. Meika Hime and Melancolia ft. GUMI by QueenPb

(note - Melancolia contains flashing images right from the start)

And last but not least, my personal Vocaloid feels song, TELL YOUR WORLD by kz, who sums up some of the beauty of the Vocaloid fandom pretty well

Submitted anonymously

Ok, I know the blog was kinda overflown of vocaloid discurse asks. So instead of discussing I brought RECOMMENDATIONS❗

Because, like, Defoko is pretty known in the Utau world, but she may be one of the worst examples of "human-like voice".

So to bring some counter examples of voicebanks that do not have much of a robotic vibe, I have here:

Some utuaus

【Namine Ritsu】-ERROR 2018ver.【UTAU Cover】

【Sukone Tei】Love Me, Love Me, Love Me (Music box ver.) 【UTAUカバー】

Some not so known vocaloids

[Aoki Lapis] Circus Monster [VOCALOID]

[Mayu] VOCALOID 3 ~Kodoku no Bannin~ Guard of Loneliness

【Galaco】 The Beast. 【Vocaloid3 Cover】

【MEIKA Mikoto】 Cantarella 【カバー】

And some slow songs, that require whisper-like tuning <3

【24 VOCALOIDS CHORUS】 Hirari, Hirari ひらり、ひらり 【HD】

Kamui Gakupo A Doll's Voice

Submitted by @indigo-flightly-falls

Oh!!!

If we're doing vocaloid recs, I'm here to suggest A Crow's Trial!

Vane - A Crow's Trial (ft. Dex & Gumi Eng.)【Vocaloid Original】

it's one of my favorites and has some Vibes. It's a bit hard to understand the story but the last verse lives in my head rent free :D

Submitted anonymously

speaking about the vocaloid debate- they haven't submitted the playlist yet, but if they listened to English songs using Japanese/Chinese/other voicebanks then it'll inherently sound a little off. different languages and different voicebanks have different pronunciations needed for speech, and are thus recorded for the voicebank. use a Japanese voicebank for an English song and you won't get the right words pronounced right, or you'll get an accent, etc etc.

also some vocaloids only have one or two voicebanks and that's it. Big Al only has one (i might be wrong on that, but i know his is for V2 software), whereas Hatsune Miku has every single voicebank made over the years (V1-V5) and has versions made to sing in Japanese, Chinese, and English. she has so, so much more variety than other vocaloids and can be more fluent and clear compared to lesser known vocaloids.

and since we're sharing favorite vocaloid songs to convert the submitter, here's two of mine because i have too many favorites to share:

Carnivore - OrgansDotOrg

this one has Big Al as supporting vocals and it absolutely slaps, also OrgansDotOrg is my-all time favorite artist pleaseee go support them!!!

Seraphim on the Ring - Mitchie M

seriously, if you're looking for realistic vocaloid vocals then go listen to Mitchie-M!! Katio and Len just speaking in this one sound just like real people

Fools are attracted to anomaly - Utsu-P

vocaloid is not all pop and 'kawaii', vocaloid metal is some of my favorite to listen to

some other producers i also like:

tart

Ferry

Riproducer

PinocchioP

Kikuo

SweetSoSweet

KakyuuKei

KaitsukoP

Submitted by @ssilly--ssadass

utau is underrated. not a hot take just my segway into giving you utau covers [also covers cuz nobody gives anybody but teto good originals. pick up the slack people. also sidenote no teto. cuz i was priortizing other utaus only to realize i added too many songs and couldnt fit a teto one in. sorryn't]

Aishite (covered by Defoko)

GHOST RULE (covered by Defoko)

Bug (covered by Chanchopin V1 and Giga Lacan)

Darling (covered by I think Darling- I dont know this utau and am going off the description being like "lmao Darling utau covers Darling maretu heehoo")

Corpse Dance (covered by Defoko)

ECHO (covered by Defoko)

(note - ECHO contains flashing images)

Submitted anonymously

really funny hearing the take about how vocaloids/voice synths can't have singing styles when there's multiple voice synths explicitly modelled after particular styles. prima (opera), sachiko (enka), and maiko hakaine (screamo metal) are just the ones i can list off the top of my head. and even if a voice synth isn't modelled after a singing style, they can still be tuned that way!

anyway, for song recommendations! gothic and loneliness is breathtaking (it's also a nightmare in project diva lol)

Gothic and Loneliness [Kagamine Rin] - Narushima Takashi

Submitted anonymously

oh wait can we still send in vocaloid recommendations? if so…

• koisuru beam by kyaami/cillia : this song is so cute and rin’s tuning here is some of the best i’ve heard

•jitterbug by hachiya nanashi - goes hard as hell and i adore the mv the song has

•lost and found by sasakure.uk - i only recently heard of it (idk how i only just found it) and it’s mesmerising i love it

uhh i can’t think of anymore right now but uhh i hope that if u hear these u will like them

<3 <3 <3

[salendola]

Thoughts on the New Borderlands 4 Trailer

I ended up watching the new trailer that came out during The Game Awards last night, and I have to admit I am cautiously optimistic.

More under the cut since it's kinda wordy and I don't wanna clog up yer feeds, my beans.

Some things that stould out to me in a positive light were: 1) The chance that melee might be an actual thing in this game One of the characters wields two laser swords of some description, which has me hoping that maybe - just maybe - melee is viable. Of course, I can already hear the people in the back saying that "Borderlands is all about guns", and they're not wrong. They did try with Amara a bit, but if they're taking it more seriously this time, I think it could be a welcome addition for a more diverse set of play styles. 2) The travel/traversal options This is coming from both the trailer and this IGN Nordic article referencing Gearbox's own blurb on the subject, but a vehicle we can spawn wherever? Some form of grappling hook to get to high places? Sounds rad to me! If they keep mantling in, which I assume they will, this makes for some excellent gameplay potential. 3) Improved skill trees This also coming from Gearbox themselves, we're looking at getting "the deepest and most diverse [...] skill trees of any Borderlands title yet". I don't know what that's going to look like, and as a Path of Exile player I highly doubt they're gonna go that hard on skill trees, but I'm definitely curious what exactly they mean by this statement and look forward to seeing it in action. 4) Zane Flynt, Innkeeper I'm a Zane fan. I haven't been very active on that front in the past year, granted, but the boy lives rent-free in the recesses of my aged heart and refuses to be evicted. When I saw his new design, I have to admit I was sad to see him lose the boots but glad that he's apparently prominent enough in this game to warrant inclusion in this trailer. If we're gonna get "Talk to Zane at the Bullseye Saloon" or something similar, I am 100% there for it. 5) The baddies

We're presented with these two factions: a bandit faction lead by Callis, a queen with arms for days, (like, literally, big robot arms, good,) and some funky scrunculous called The Timekeeper, who leads a group called The Order and is apparently mad that the order's been thrown into disarray because moon Elpis is Having a Day. I wonder if we're siding with either of them or if we're gonna be everyone's favourite: the third option. Regardless, I think there's a lot of potential for an interesting story to be told, so my fingers are crossed that the game is gonna deliver on that rather than the lot of us having to resort to fanfic. Okay, that's it for the good stuff. The one thing I have to admit I'm feeling a bit mid about are the Vaulthunters themselves. I think they could've stood to have more diverse colour schemes, but part of that is also because the trailer does little to distinguish them from one another by lighting, backdrop, etc. They're literally just a bunch of people and I think they should've given their personalities more space during this trailer. I'm hoping they'll fix that in the future through some character intro videos, but at first glance I'm feeling a tad underwhelmed by the presentation. Guess we'll have to see how much we're gonna get in future updates.

[heyclickadee]

Thoughts on “Faster”

1. THAT’S MY BOY!! THAT’S MY BOY!! MY BEAUTIFUL NERDY BOY!!! 2. I love that Echo and Hunter were out delivering space door dash. I joked about that with my sister once; I didn’t think it would actually be canon. 

3. Even though I missed seeing Hunter and Echo (and Crosshair), I don’t think this episode would have worked with them in it. I’m not sure Hunter would have agreed to going with Cid in the first place, and even if he had, there’s no way he would have let Tech on that race track. They would absolutely shut down the shenanigans. I’d pay cash money to see his face when they all get back. 

4. I know a lot of people are calling this one filler, and while I don’t agree seeing as how there was plot development or at least set up for plot development as well as some lovely character development for Tech, I’m glad this one was a bit more lighthearted than the first three. You can only delve so far into the angst before the audience becomes numb to it. You need to let them (and the characters) breathe a little before going any farther with it. I’m genuinely glad they just got to have a good (albeit dangerous) time. 

5. Tech, seeing riot racing for the first time: It would appear that anything goes out there.

Tech internally: If I do not get out on that track within one standard hour I will perish.  6. I LOVE how, in contrast to the first season, which highlighted the batch as a team and what their roles on the team were, this season is focusing more on the batch as individuals. It’s less about what the team will do and more about what each member of the team might want. For Tech, that seems to mean opening his eyes to the possibility of life outside of war and combat, not just for himself but to the idea that there’s so much of the galaxy that existed before and outside of the war that he’s never thought about, as well as presenting him with the idea that he’s good for something besides fighting. And given the conflict between Hunter and Echo (who ultimately want the same thing but are looking to get there in different ways), I’d say that’s going to be really important later on down the line. 

7. Along those same lines, I’m adoring the throughline between Crosshair’s desperation to stay relevant using the only skills he thinks he has, Echo’s determination to fight back using the only skillset (being a soldier) he thinks he has, and Tech’s frustration with Cid wasting their skills on things like space door dash. They were designed to do one specific thing, and the republic they were designed to do it for no longer exists. They’re all floundering and struggling to find their own sense of purpose, the same way Hunter seemed to find his back in season one. 

8. TAY-0 was. Oh boy. 

9. Obnoxious. Eminently punchable. The irony of casting Sonic the Hedgehog as the blue racing robot was not lost on me, but besides the “Gotta go fast,” aspect of that, casting Ben Schwartz as an egotistical, aggressively dramatic theater kid always works. He always plays that part well. 

10. You could feel Tech was exactly 0.35 seconds from punching TAY-0 in his stupid metal face from pretty much the moment they met. That deadpan glare when TAY-0 told Tech to stop fixing him the wrong way? I felt that in my bones. The way Tech sighed and shook his head when TAY-0 said that Tech didn’t have strategy or skill? Dude was pissed and it’s almost like he’s had to mask his whole life. The, “Don’t try me right now, I’m done and I’m doing what I want,” look when Tech said he was going to be the one to race? Yes. Good. 

11. The way that Tech clearly didn’t know how to respond to the crowd chanting his name because he’s not used to that kind of recognition, so he gave that little awkward half salute is going to live rent free in my head for a while. As is the fact that Tech did listen to everyone giving him advice but ultimately trusted his own judgement. 

12. “Tech, you have to be in front to win!” “I know what I’m doing. It’s called strategy.” “No, it’s called losing!” I’m dying. I’m literally dead. 

13. So...Tech doesn’t trust Cid. Which, he shouldn’t, of course. Besides Millegi’s warning at the end, the way Cid was acting all the way through this episode makes me think she’s definitely got something shady in store for the boys. And the thing is, I don’t think it’s something she’s planning on doing--I think it’s something she’s already done. I suspect she actually sold them out to some extent way back, maybe back in season one, in a way that’s going to get them in big trouble this season, and that she’s maybe starting to regret it because a part of her actually likes them. 

14. Wrecker and Omega playing chess at the beginning of the episode! Omega putting things on the line to help Cid! Wrecker and Omega being so happy when Tech won! Tech with his hand on Omega’s shoulder and Wrecker doing that affectionate shoulder punch! I love them!

15. The poor guy who got shot at during the race at the beginning of the episode. I know this was a much lighter episode than the last few, but dang. That’s...kinda dark. 

16. I cracked up when the announcer lampshaded how odd clone names are in-universe, especially when they don’t have the “they’re a clone” context. 

[hotforharrison]

I initially missed the public records update document, but as of this afternoon, all of the divorce documents have been filed with the court. The final decree has been sent to the judge to go over. They told me to call back this coming week to check if she signed it.

My only concern about her signing it is that my ex-husband gets the house. We couldn't afford a lawyer, so we've just had a verbal agreement that we plan on getting onto paper and notarized that I can stay here without paying rent or utilities for a few years while I get my life sorted out (find a secure and stable job that pays enough that I can live on and pay off my debt), in lieu of selling the house and getting half. I'm also not asking him for spousal support.

Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of the day we got engaged, all of four days before we got married back in 2010. Monday would have been our 14th wedding anniversary. It would be kind of ironic if the judge signs the decree on Monday, the beginning and the end on September 16.

One of my cats, Indy, has an open wound on his ear that I'm hoping I don't have to take him to the vet for. (I will if it is necessary, though. I talked to my ex-husband about it, and he came over and looked at Indy's ear himself to see what he thought. We adopted Indy when he was 11 weeks old in July 2015. He's not just "my" cat.)

I've been flushing Indy's wound with saline 3 times a day. It had scabbed over. He's been wearing a cone I got on Amazon that's made of foam material and seems to be comfortable for him. However, during a much needed nap I took earlier, his ginger brother, Ripley, licked the scab off and cleaned the area, opening it back up. I wasn't happy.

I have a Litter Robot and a regular litter box. Indy can't use the Litter Robot because of the cone not fitting through the entrance. Ripley can't use the Litter Robot because he is chonky and can't fit inside very well. (I'm trying to work on that, but there's a major issue of my third cat, Little Kitty, not wanting to eat on a schedule. She goes on a hunger strike when the food isn't free fed.)

My mom was kind enough to get me a regular litter box and some extra litter and wound wash on Amazon to be overnight delivered between 4am and 8am, so I can tend to Indy's wound better and separate Indy and Ripley when I'm not able to supervise them.

The state vocational rehabilitation program was supposed to pay for my tuition for my medical billing and coding program. They have not done that yet. I have an appointment next week with the counselor there to discuss that, but it's really stressing me out because I don't have $12,000 sitting around to pay for the tuition before the deadline.

Anyway, combining those things, I am coping poorly. I did manage to get my coursework done for the week, though, by some small miracle. It was kind of a lot, since the modules are only 8 weeks long over the course of 12 months. The program has a shorter length but larger load. I needed it that way because I'm operating on a deadline.

School is my overall highest priority right now, securing my future. I only have a few years to sort my life out before I have to pay for rent and utilities.

I'm not sue where I'll end up after the period of not paying rent or utilities ends. Maybe here, if I can find roommate(s) and afford it.

Rent has gone up astronomically since my ex-husband and I rented in 2013. Our very nice and large 2 bedroom was $900 a month then.

Now, that gets you a much less nice studio or MAYBE a one bedroom in this area.

My primary concern is the roommate(s) situation.

I'm not going to rush to move in with a guy because that's unwise in a variety of ways. My ex-husband and I dated for over 3 years before we got married and moved in together. (Those things were tied together because he was lower enlisted in the Army at the time and had to be married to live off post.)

We had roommates twice during our time living together, and both situations panned out very poorly in terms of living up to the terms we set out and payment of rent -- especially the latter.

Our second roommate paid us rent exactly twice out of the ten months she was there, and we also paid for her moving costs because she was moving in with us from out of state. It was always one excuse after another, until we finally had enough and told her she had to find somewhere else to stay.

The clean up after she left of the room she rented plus the bathroom she used took me 16+ hours. It was disgusting. We let her use a very expensive and nice mattress that had been gifted to me when I got married, and she destroyed it. She didn't use sheets for some reason, and the smell was gag worthy and there were stains on it.

But I don't know if I'll be in a position to afford the full rent and utilities without a roommate.

The average Medical Billing And Coding Entry Level salary in Texas is $42,340 as of August 27, 2024, but the range typically falls between $38,329 and $46,557.

If I make on the lowest end of that, I can afford $950 a month in rent if 30% of my income goes to rent.

As far as staying in what used to be my martial home goes, if my ex-husband even charges me just the cost of the mortgage without any extra added on, that would be $300-400 more than I could afford if the roommate situation didn't work out.

I don't think he'd leave me homeless, but finding reliable roommate(s) would be extremely stressful, since it would ultimately be up to me to find them. I don't think he'd put up with a revolving door of me trying to find reliable roommate(s) and failing.

And I wouldn't blame him either. He eventually wanted to rent out this house long-term, and it shouldn't cost him money to rent it out. He should be bringing in a profit on a rental property.

I find myself wondering if maybe it would be "easier" to find a small one bedroom or studio where I don't have to worry about roommates causing me financial issues.

I don't know. My long-term plans are up in the air right now.

[mechanicalowls]

howdy folks, here is, completely unprompted, my top 5 terrornoss songs with my explanation why they're terrornoss-y to me

5. Somebody That I Used to Know (pgp cover) by Mayday Parade

I feel like this one speaks for itself, but if you aren't aware;

The way Brian and Evan met over YouTube was through a parody of this song that Brian made for Black Ops 2 called "Tryhard That I Used to Know". According to Brian, Evan liked the song so much he slid into his dms and asked to play together, and the rest was history. I've specifically chosen the Mayday Parade version because I just need to feed the little edgy emo kid I wanted to be when I was younger lol, and I just think it fits them better anyways.

4. Wonderwall by Oasis

Yea yea, get wonderwalled. But I do have a reason. In the past, Brian recorded a cover of Wonderwall. It's lived rent-free in my head ever since I heard it, and naturally my brainrot associates it with bird boy and robot man. One of the biggest reasons for this is based on an old fanfic I've read hundreds of times (which I will not be naming due to the contents of said fanfic being less than ok). The opening chapter refers to Evan as Brian's "savior", due to his part in making him quit his job and become a full time youtuber. And although it's obviously exaggerated for fanfictions sake, I can't help but feel it's partially true, and Wonderwall kinda defines it perfectly in my humble opinion.

3. You Spin Me Round (cover) by Dope

I'm gonna be honest, I don't really have a reason for this one, despite being in the middle of my list. Just this particular cover makes me think of them. Maybe partially because of them being a disaster couple in my opinion.

2. Play Date by Melanie Martinez

Cringe culture is dead ladies and gentlemen, we can admit to liking Melanie Martinez now. Play Date is my pick here because it really strikes me as a good jealousy/pre-relationship song. On the pre-relationship end we have Brian's constant tsundere-esque pining for Evan, who has the most minimal relationship experience so he doesn't realize until he's told directly that Brian likes him. On the jealousy end we enter the post Lui return era, where Brian is completely and utterly jealous that Lui has essentially took his spot in Evan's life; feigning disinterest and hostility while also being a salty and jealous bitch that just wants his bestie (and boy crush) back.

1. First Date by blink-182

Considering I just named my most recent fic after this song, it should be no surprise that this is my top pick. It just screams their name to me. Both care alot about what each other think of them on their first official date, despite knowing each other back to front for years. And the song just kinda sounds like back and forth internal dialogue to me.

"Is it cool if I hold your hand?"

"Is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?"

"Do you like my stupid hair?"

"Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?"

Anyway yea, cringe posting hours who up, feel free to reblog with your own thoughts and your own ships

[sea-salted-wolverine]

P, Q, T 👀

*insert grumble mumble while I hunt down which questions those are*

P- invent random AU for a fandom.

Uhhh... Klondike gold rush era Alaska. 1890s and there's money coming out of the ground at the ends of the earth. The corners of the map have all been filled in but there is one last frontier to explore. The mounties are making your characters carry 3 years worth of supplies up the chilkoot pass. They have more money than God in a place where there is nothing to buy. Wump opportunities galore. The only people actually turning a profit are the outfitters and the whores. The closest version of western civilization is a tent city in a swamp run by gangs stealing luggage. (Anchorage mention) Robert Service is writing poetry about a frozen zombie mailman. Jack London is writing about murder dogs.

Yeah.

I am not optimistic about the quality of a gold rush AU written for fan fic purposes because its a super niche thing that would require assloads of research, but its an incredibly rich setting and frankly a fucking insane period of history. Go read the Cremation of Sam Mcgee and slot in whoever you feel would fit. Tag it as #wouldn't it be fucked up if

Q- i don't so much abandon ships as I put them in drydock and forget about them. I have a habit of latching onto underdeveloped characters in mediocre media that are never going to get any more fleshed out than "cute naive love interest" or "comic relief character #2" and then I'm vaguely dissapointed when the mediocre media wraps up and is content to leave them as accessories of the plot. I have a handful of fics that started as ships, and I did so much work extrapolating personalities and fleshing out the characters that it just became original fiction. The worst offenders are usually Shonen Manga and action movies because while there is a solid chunk of my media taste that is a 9 year old boy who wants to see explosions and superpowers and giant rock-em sock-em robots, those are generally not the kinds of stories that have much in the way of character depth.

Though, sometimes I am surprised and a ship I had thought was moldering away in the back, ready to be scuttled for artificial reef building, comes charging up to the forefront guns blazing and colors flying. Usually when someone has an opinion about Christopher Eccleston. NineRose doesn't so much live in my head rent free as it chewed a hole in the wall and pops out at random moments.

T- do I have any headcannons i will die defending?

I have a bit of a unique approach to head cannons. If it makes the story work better If it makes the story work better then everything is fair even if its contradictory. Senshi is the equivalent of a 20-year-old with a full beard and a 1000 yd stare is supported by canon and contradicted by the supplemental material, but thats not the thing that makes or breaks the headcannon. Its hilarious and fits the themes, despite the fact its not the authors intent.

I do get protective over intentional allegory especially unstated intentional allegory. Just because there isn't a great big banner stating that Pacific Rim, the movie about giant monsters from the ocean, rated on a 1 to 5 category system, showing up specifically because of rising CO2 levels and a warming atmosphere, that the goverment decides to fight for a little bit and then ignore and slap an in effective seawall on it and just let everyone on the coast get fucked, is about hurricanes, doesn't mean that I'm making things up when I say it's about hurricanes. The same with reading the Matrix as a trans allegory. The Wachowski Brothers were the Wachowski Sisters by the time they finished making a trilogy about taking a pill to remain comfortable in the status quo or taking a different pill to make some difficult changes and see the world as it is. So denying any queer interpretation of those movies is somewhere between willful ignorance and illiteracy, especially when the pills are color coded to zanax and oral estrogen.

[south-sea]

ask game stuff yahooo

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

baby's first favorite character ever. i think. definitely the first one who properly stuck with me, anyway. thank you 4kids reruns of the SA2 arc of Sonic X burning certain parts of those episodes into my brain for the rest of eternity. it has been almost nineteen years and my attachment to him never really went away.

i don't know how to describe it other than i was just endlessly fascinated by him as a kid. these days it's about gradually discovering and exploring ways his backstory and company has an impact on him as a person, and how it might differ depending on those circumstances.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

i would say he's fine right where he's at, but that's a trick answer considering in my AU that means "literally anywhere, since it's the multiverse". maybe that's just the answer; he's hard to imagine tied down to any one specific place.

maybe the closest equivalent then would be the game Starbound? but if i had to pick something still in-universe for him, i want a still-pixel remake of Sonic Battle with him included. like just keep all the other assets the same and add him onto the playable roster with a new story arc and such.

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

easiest thing in the world. he's a very well-mannered quiet little guy. usually. and i mean he's already been living rent free in my head for nearly nineteen years already so what's the difference,

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

i don't know about emojis, but metal in the context of second chance au canonically sends the most bizarre memes and such only he really understands the intention behind.

like metal. buddy. what the hell does any of this mean

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

you're going to have to wait 1-3 business days for the drawn response to a similar ask game prompt anon

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

love love love writing from metal's point of view and how his manner of processing information influences the narrative style/generally just how he sees the world. the sky is blue because that's the way light works, and it is not pretty, etc. everything's always just about the science and logic.

shadow's narrative style is not very unique by comparison. it's more about the implications and nuances in her actions rather than about internal thoughts. i guess it just comes down to the fact i don't have to think too hard about writing for him.

there's nothing i particularly dislike when it comes to writing for either of them.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

way back when, i didn't have the full picture of SA2, only what those Sonic X episodes showed, so my understanding of shadow was that i didn't understand him at all. i couldn't wrap my head around what his motives were, didn't have a good grasp on his character traits, hardly even knew who maria was, and that fascinated me. he was the ultimate mystery.

in a way, that's still true when i look at canon shadow, but not in a particularly good way. i see inconsistencies and loopholes and frankly prefer to just turn away and look at the interpretations that make sense to me, like SA2, Battle, Rivals, and 06. hence "semi-modern" being what he is.

for metal, my first introduction to him was the OVA. and all i have to say about that is looking back, it's pretty clear where my appreciation for robotic characters came from, among certain other relevant trends. the amount of narrative nuance/angst/exploration that can fit into one little guy is impressive. now i just want him to be content if nothing else.

mephiles is probably the weirdest one on the list, seeing as my first time seeing him was in the 06 fandub. so i latched onto the parody interpretation first, even ending up with my own before anything else (that would be ros). i've done some dabbling in canon, and like all stories, i end up invested in my own little corner of what-ifs that got away from me completely. and now the character i view as "mephiles" vs their canon counterpart is still different, for completely different reasons now.

it's probably safe to say i never fully had a chance to appreciate canon mephiles for what he is, and instead kept rerouting into parodies and eventually AU elements so much i doubt my appreciation for canon mephiles as a concept even really counts. i'm more invested in everything but canon mephiles. which is not to say i dislike him in canon or anything, i just never had a chance to interact with him firsthand so to speak.

i don't think my versions are "better" or "should be considered canon" or whatever. using the foundation already there but exploring my own story routes/backstory elements/etc is just how my brain works when it comes to staying invested in a character.

[clarktooncrossing]

Giraffe's Eye View: Christmas Specials Special (2023) | A Christmas Special: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost is nipping at your nose. Mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again. All the dogs in the neighborhood somehow learned to bark Jingle Bells in sync. Yet retail workers are still more annoyed with Mariah Carey. Snow is getting shoveled, tossed, and formed into sentient beings leading parades without permits. It makes for an excellent distraction as the Krampus abducts children for bad behavior. Fruitcake is exchanged only to find its permanent home in the garbage. Terrorists have hijacked the Holiday office party right before your boss can give you a Jelly of the Month Club membership as your bonus. And of course, the Turducken has returned to wreak its fiery vengeance upon an unsuspecting world! If all this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, perhaps these following Holiday specials will!

Greetings people of today and robots of tomorrow! It is I, Santa Clark, your geeky giraffe friend with a deep love of Christmas! My obsession for the yuletide is rivaled only by Maleficent’s hatred for it, which is saying a lot considering she once teamed up with Mad Madam Mim to kidnap the literal Spirit of Christmas. Yes, that really happened. I know this due to my annual pilgrimage to the Island of Misfit Specials, home to obscure or nerdy festive media ranging from movies, TV episodes, and comics. It’s no easy journey. Constantly I find myself confronted by sinister snowmen, genocidal gingerbread men, and worst of all, crappy commercials. Getting stabbed in the foot by a candy-cane wielding cookie is one thing, but I swear I’ve seen that ad for Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium more times than I’ve seen Miracle on 34th Street! Sometimes at night I catch myself reciting that jingle. Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium: Where Christmas meets Convenience! Huh, maybe Maleficent had a point.

Nah, my deep-rooted appreciation for this time of year can weather even the most moronic marketing! It helps that most of the merry media I’ve seen have put me in the perfect Holiday mood! Examples include the time a Ninja Turtle found himself trapped in a truck full of stollen toys, a drunk department store Santa stumbling onto a wish-granting magic bag, Big Bird nearly becoming a popsicle, Gwenpool waking up in a world where Galactus took the place of jolly ol’ Saint Nicholas, a terrifying tree stump trying to slaughter some saps over a stupid ship war, and the year when Death gave the Little Match Girl the greatest gift of all. Needless to say, I thought I had seen it all. That is, until I took my friends on a trip to the Island, tasking them to find me new, strange, seasonal specials to review! Some of them were fair, finding me festive favorites as comforting as coco in front of the fireplace. Others were fiendish, wanting to feed off my misery like Gremlins after midnight. Regardless of how naughty or nice my companions were, I’ve compiled all of their suggestions into a makeshift advent calendar! So stay tuned everyday until Christmas to see how badly my buddies can shred what little sanity I have left.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my buddies gave to me...

I am a geek. Yes, surprising innit? There’s a lot of dorky information about various things that live in my head rent free. Miraculous Ladybug is not one of them. My only exposure to this show has been the copious amount of fanart littering deviantART, otherwise I have no absolutely no connection to it. So naturally you can imagine my confusion when my companion Fluffy (xXFluffyPachirisuXx) asked me to check out the episode A Christmas Special: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. The confusion only grew after reading that title. Were the writers being paid by word? Did they think fans would be confused if it was simply called A Miraculous Ladybug Christmas? Why not go the extra mile by adding ‘Dawn of Justice’ or ‘Giant Monsters All-Out Attack’? I don’t know and I don’t care, for this title is très magnifique! Seriously, somebody give these peeps an award just for how ridiculously long that is! No kidding, this is actually how it’s listed on Netflix. Disney+ had the common sense to shorten it to Santa Claws, a more fitting name as you’ll soon see. Just a reminder, I’ve never seen any other Ladybug adventures before, so forgive me if I get a few details wrong.

We open with the titular Ladybug in her civilian identity Marinette (Cristina Valenzuela), passing out treats in her parents’ bakery while singing one of five subpar songs sprinkled throughout this episode. The first one is about Marionette's secret love for her friend Adrien (Bryce Papenbrook), her hidden desires on par with the title in terms of subtlety. Or at least, I presume that’s what she’s singing about. Much like a majority of the dialogue, it’s delivered so quickly that I barely have any time to register what was said. Was The Flash the vocal coach on this production? My only guess as to why everyone’s reads are so rapid is due to this show being Parisian, meaning they have to dub everything in English later. With French being the fast-paced language that it is, it’s no wonder all the characters are speaking at sixty syllables per second. I’ll have to go to a hospital when this is over due to how badly I suffered whiplash. 

Time to slow down is given when we are introduced to Adrien, having a notably less joyeux noel at home. His mom has recently passed away and his dad is too busy sulking in his office to mourn alongside his son. Realizing he’d rather not spend Christmas Eve alone in a mansion, Adrien activates a Sailor Moon transformation, becoming Cat Noir to spend Christmas Eve alone outside. Personally I would’ve just put on Die Hard, especially if it meant I didn’t have to go out in that skin-tight supersuit. People say Black Cat’s costume is senseless, but at least hers doesn’t come a pointless tail in the back. Bad guys must stomp on that thing all the time! It’s impressive how impractical this kid’s suit is. My mocking remarks can be applied to Mary’s form-fitting ladybug onesie too, having switched into it to find her runaway romantic interest. She finds him soon enough, having calmed down long enough to befriend a mysterious mall Santa. Aw, that’s nice. Ladybug proceeds to pummel the crap outta the old man. Our hero, folks! She assumes the jolly stranger is secretly under the control of  their enemy, Hawkmoth (Keith Silverstein), Adrien protesting that wasn’t the case. Ironically, it’s only after Bugbutt assaults this kindly elder that he’s mutated into a monster by the aforementioned fiend.

Gotta give Hawkmoth credit, his corrupted Claus looks more like the Grinch than Illumination’s iteration did. Now it’s up to the combined might of Cat and Bug to stop Santa Claws before he does something evil or something. All he ends up doing is riding around repeating the same song before having his reindeer eat some spoiled millennial’s presents. That twisted bastard! His sled can fly, yet the story goes nowhere, that being the major issue I have here.

Plot points are presented, then never given any proper conclusion. Mary gives Adrien a gift, he never tells her thank you. Adrien runs away, returning with some stranger dressed like Père Noël and everybody’s apparently cool with it. Hawkmoth corrupts the Claus, it’s fixed almost immediately. All that time spent coming up with that confusing title couldn’t have been spent streamlining the story? I know you folks only have eighteen-minutes but ease up on the gas please! Twenty-second Christmas commercials have better pacing, most of them delivering payoffs to whatever stories they started. Having said all that, there are aspects I liked. The characters themselves seem likable, I dig the idea of setting a superhero series in Paris since not a lot take place outside the States, and the animation style I thought would be awkward actually worked well for the action sequences. Overall this wasn’t bad, but it didn’t miraculously turn me into a fan. Maybe what I need are some different teenagers with attitude.

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[somerandomdudelmao]

Okay, I'm drawing robots again~

Inspired by "Carapace" https://archiveofourown.org/works/41655078/chapters/104487663

This fanfic lives in my head rent free and when I read about the robots Donny built for his brothers, I knew I just had to try to draw them

In fact, there's a little research behind these artwork that I put both of my brain cells into.

I noticed that Future!Leo's prosthetic fingers and wrist have a darker color than the rest of the prosthetic. Given Raphael's fighting style, I think this dark green material is a specially reinforced part. You know. To crush and smash in the style of Raph's fists.

Then, I thought

Leo and Mikey don't fight as roughly. They're acrobats, not tanks, so they probably don't need heavy fists. But they do need sturdy, tenacious fingers, so I left their fingers reinforced so the boys could grasp things:)