#why does it look like a prawn and why is that not mentioned in the song

[rabbivolesolo]

[milkcanned]

your disease

an alternate route where trafalgar law is effected by the feminization disease a little longer

ft. female!trafalgar law x afab!reader

switching, cunniIingus/oral, tribbing, heavily implied wlw/sapphic reader (duh??), ngl it gets right into the prawn

word count: 1215

a.n: i need her... him? so bad. self indulgent fic

Law honestly had no idea what to do in this situation. At all. How does a captain, stuck as the opposite gender, go about asking one of two of his only female crewmates about feminine urges. Feminine urges even as a doctor he could not have fully understood without having the body of a woman.

You seemed like the obvious choice to go to. He's seen you with girls before, right? Women stumbling to your cabin and promptly leaving a mess. Not to mention, leaving him completely dumbstruck and flustered, because how long have you been doing this and how good are you, exactly!?

Normally, he'd tell you off, like any other time he'd catch a crewmate sneaking in strangers for a quick fuck. But he didn't. And he never knew why.

Until now.

He's standing in front of the door to your room, hesitating to knock on the door. It's been a day after the fight and he's still, well, stuck as a woman. He's frustrated. Angry. Embarrassed. What the fuck is happening!?

He lets out a sigh and musters up a solid three knocks. A beat goes, and then your door creaks open. And wow, was there a sight to see. Law, in all his —her— glory, looking down at you with a slight tint of red on her cheeks. She's beautiful, and you hadn't realized until she was right in front of you. Her tattoos look delicate on her skin, her supple chest straining against the white tank top she adorns.

"Captain! Can I help you?" You giggle, batting your eyes. You know she caught you staring. You don't care.

"You fuck women, don't you?" She spits monotonously at you. You nearly double over in laughter. "How forward! Let me take you out to dinner at least!" You smirk, leaning forward.

"Don't act dumb." God, Law's a bitchy girl isn't she? You grab her wrist and lead her into your room. "Okay, yeah. So what." You huff, eyeing your captain.

"I," Law starts, a little embarrassed. "You.. Show me." Your eyes shoot out, and you manage to sputter a 'WHAT!' as you flop on your bed.

"You heard me!" She barks, arms crossed as she advances towards you. "The fuck Law!? You think because you're a woman now that you can be some girl pervert?" You accuse her, pointing a finger into her chest.

"No! I just," She's defeated. There's really not an excuse. Since she's been turned, though, she's felt so frustrated and angry. You can read her like a book.

"Oh."

You smirk, grabbing her wrist and leading her onto your bed. "I'll treat you. Get against my pillows." She complies, still a little embarrassed to be in this situation.

"Could you take off your pants?" She nods, wiggling out of her jeans, which takes some effort. Damn. Your breath hitches as you come face to face with her pussy. "No undies huh?" ... "No shit. My boxers are too big at the moment." She rolls her eyes. Yeah, that's still Law all right.

You bring a finger up to her clit to test how sensitive she is, starting to rub slowly. "How's that feel? You've never felt this before, huh." Law's thighs attempt to close at the feeling of your finger, but you hold them open. "Feels nice." She admits.

You smile, lowering your head to lick a stripe along her slit. You feel her shudder as you put her legs over your shoulders. She looks down at you with half-lidded eyes, already looking absolutely debauched. You dive in, pressing sloppy kisses to her cunt and tracing her hole with your index finger. "Oh, fuck." She groans, clutching the sheets when you slip a finger into her pussy.

"And, I bet it feels really good when I do this, right?" You start to curl your finger inwards, looking for that spongy spot that makes girls squeal. "This is the G-spot, but I'm sure you already knew that." You mumble, diving back into her pussy. You slip another finger in and start to go in and out with the rhythm of your slurping. "Don't you dare stop that." Law barks, groaning at every little touch on that special spot. You mumble a mhmm, which sends vibrations right through her core. "Oh, I'm." She pants, "Something's.. I'm gonna come." You vocalize another approving mumble, giving her a shock of pleasure. You speed up your fingers plunging inside her, and circle your tongue around her clit.

You feel her spasm around your fingers, and are met with a surprise when she drenches your face. You pull away from her pussy and slow down your fingers, gradually bringing her down. "Wow."

"I did not know I would do that." Law admits, still flustered from her orgasm. You sit up to wriggle out of your own pants. "No shit." You crawl over to her, straddling her hips. You reach out an arm to tug on her tank top, signaling that you want it off. She brings it over her torso and you're breathless. You have never really taken a chance to admire Law's tattoos until now. Every intricate line around the curves of her breasts.

You move back a little to bring one of her legs spread to the side, angling your pussy over hers. You look at her through your lashes, a silent gesture to see how she feels. She gives you a slow blink back, giving you the go ahead. You grind down onto her pussy, finding a rhythm as you reach up to fondle one of her tattooed breasts. "Mm, fuck." You moan, picking up pace a bit and alternating angles to rub against her cunt.

You're absolutely taken aback when, in the midst of your grinding, she props herself up onto her elbows to slide her hands under your shirt. "Law!" You moan, still slotting your slits against each other's. She tears off your shirt and latches onto your nipple, swirling her tongue around it as you rut against her insatiably. "I'm," huff "I'm supposed to be treating you!" you spit out, whining when your clit catches along hers. "Mmf." Is all she says back, with those dark lidded eyes.

She bucks her hips up to meet yours, both rutting against each other now in the race for orgasmic bliss. She releases your nipple with a pop, letting out a deep groan. "I'm not gonna make it much longer. You're a damn good fuck." She sighs, grinding up against you. "Me neither!" You moan, leaning forward to pant. She lurches her head towards you, bringing you into a sloppy kiss. Your rutting becomes choppy as you feel yourself coming, moaning into Law's mouth. She follows shortly after, wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you slotted against her pussy. "Oh, fuck."

You crawl off of her to head to your bathroom, dampening a cloth with water to clean the two of you up.

But when you come back into your room, you're not met with the nude girl you just fucked. No, you're met with the nude guy you technically just fucked. Your fucking captain. And he's met with one of his crewmates. Post-orgasm clarity hit the two of you hard, apparently.

"So, let's not talk about this again?"

"Yeah. Good idea."

[ewingstan]

Halloween and cringetober may be behind us, yet I remain, coughing this up onto your back porch. Alec Lisa and Aisha were the only ones who enjoyed the costume party. Individuals and costume explanations below the cut:

Aisha and Brian: Power and Aki Hayakawa Chainsaw Man

This one goes out to the nine-year old I work with who wore a Denji costume for the school Halloween parade. Shoutout to you guy I don't know how you're allowed to watch that its the blood and sexual fantasies show.

I feel like miss suiciding-baiting-people-on-4chan would like Power. Aki works for Brian as they carry the "supposedly normal responsible one of their batshit group who very clearly has something wrong with him" niche of their series.

I feel like CSM is something that Brian and Alec would put on in the background when they were hanging out together. It's not really either of their thing, but it good pizza night fodder. Brian freaks out when Aisha mentions watching it.

Brian agreed to be Aki after he learned he could just wear a suit instead of making a real costume. Brian obviously likes objectively ridiculous costumes but it has to be something strained through 5 layers of machismo and a 17-year-old's idea of professionalism. He'll dress like something that gets painted onto a van but if there's too much whimsy or fun he'll start to freak. So halloween costumes would be weird for him. Aki just wearing a suit and a sword seemed like a good solution for this right up until the point where he had to explain what it was. Its from, hm, y'know, uhhhh this anime that my sister likes I'm just here to match with her.

Whenever he pulls the "I'm just in costume for my sister" thing Aisha makes everyone forget she exists. No escaping the weeb allegations for you Brian.

Taylor and Lisa: Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi, Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Don't know if I need to explain this one, Worm/Madoka comparisons are almost cliche at this point

The costumes were Lisa's idea. Obviously.

The costumes were also Lisa's purchases, and enough was spent on them to make a veteran cosplayer weep. Her refusal to die her hair black would also make them weep but for different reasons.

After taking a look at herself Taylor enveloped herself in a particularly dense bug swarm for the whole night.

She eventually retreated to some side-room she found Brian hiding in and chatted with him for the rest of the party. On the condition that he make a darkness cloud for her.

She started choking on a prawn half an hour in after remembering he could see through his darkness clouds.

Rachel and Alec: Jade Harley and Dirk Strider, Homestuck

They are not going as a matching pair. Rachel does not know that she and Alec are wearing costumes from the same comic. She does not know what Homestuck is. This is one of the many ways she's better than us.

Rachel thinks she should've just been able to wear her usual dog mask for this party. Its a costume. What do you mean it doesn't count.

And why is her usual mask not enough, but the dog ears Cassie was really excited to loan her are fine? Aren't ears less costume than a full mask?

Admittedly apart from the pseudo-mind-control Alec and Dirk don't have a lot in common. Alec probably thinks he's more like Dirk than he actually is.

Dirk is if the concept of being in your own head was a guy, nay several guys, while Alec literally has to outsource getting in touch with his emotions to other bodies. Honestly the closest worm character to Dirk would probably be Krouse, considering the whole "chessmaster-manipulator who puts everything on himself and overmanages all his relationships while self-identifying as the person who can handle being the bad guy" thing, which Alec doesn't have going on at all. However:

It let me put Alec in a silly little fancylad outfit.

(Also they're both SB&HJ fans, so honestly I think its the perfect choice).

[crepes-suzette-373]

What if Sea (Prism) Stones are organic/biological matter?

So, the Japanese name for the Sea (Prism) Stone doesn't really mean anything. 海楼石 Kairouseki translates to something like "sea-tower-stone", and that just makes no sense.

But, we know that there's a lot of puns in One Piece. Zoro's attack is named Onigiri (riceballs). It's written in fancy kanji that changes its literal meaning, but it still sounds like "riceball". And the regions in Wano that are homonyms for various food (Ringo = apple, Kuri = chestnut, etc), but written in different kanji that looks nicer.

"Kairou" happens to be a possible alternate reading for 海老, which means lobsters. Normally 海老 is jointly read as "ebi", but if you read it kanji by kanji 海 can be read as kai and 老 is rou. The same "kai" kanji is preserved in Kairouseki the stone, and an example of the "rou" reading is in words like 不老 fu-rou.

*) The "ebi" that means the small prawns is written differently (「蝦」「魵」「鰕」). 海老 is lobster.

Another word choice prooftext is that Pagaya explains that the component of the Kairouseki, Pyrobloin, is a "keratinous/corneous particle" 角質の粒子. Kakushitsu 角質 in general refers to "crusty organic substance", usually related to humans or animals, not plants or trees. It includes keratin, but not necessarily that specific substance. Kanji just tend to have broader range of meaning.

Either way, I've not seen the term 角質 used for rocks or metal either as far as I know.

What the biological matter is, I don't know. 角質 as a substance can refer to a lot of things, like skin, hooves, horn, etc.

Even if the kanji 海老 can be read as "kairou", I've not necessarily seen the term 角質 used to describe lobsters specifically. I've seen it described as a component in a tortoise shell, though, or insect's "shell"/skin. Both tortoise shell and insect skin/shells are included in the broad category of "exoskeleton" along with crustacean carapace, so it's still related in a sense.

I have some guesses, but it's still conjecture with no real solid proof from the series that I can really point to.

Conspiracy theories below:

Possibility 1: Kairouseki is the shedding of some kind of lobster shell. Or the fossil of a ridiculously gigantic lobster.

Taking the direct analysis of the 海老 kanji.

Kairouseki originates from Wano. I mentioned that Wano seems to have connection to the moon, and I know that some people have made theories about the lobster image in the ancient wall painting in the moon that Enel saw.

Might they be related?

As explained above, 海老 "ebi" means lobster. The express lobsters on Skypiea are huge. We don't really know yet if the size indicate different species, or if they just grow bigger and bigger as they get older. Maybe there's an ancient lobster that's monstrously huge, which is the source of the Sea (Prism) Stones.

Lobsters in real life was said to never stop growing, after all. Maybe the Sea Stone lobster is an ancient lobster, and it's since grown humongous.

Possibility 2: It's the shell of a giant tortoise

The counter to the magical moon lobster would be the description that Sea (Prism) Stone is "the sea in solid form", which is why it could block Fruit powers. If this is actually a moon/sky animal, then why does it have the property of the seas?

Then maybe it's just something from "Earth"/inside the sea.

The kanji 海老 originates from a phrase that translates to "old one of the sea", so it's possible that within the world of One Piece, Oda-sensei intends to twist the meaning a little into a different creature and not lobster.

A tortoise has been for a long time described as a creature that represents longevity in Japan, and it's true that tortoises can live for very very long time (the oldest tortoise in the world today is currently some 190 years old).

As mentioned above, tortoise shell has been described in scientific literature as being composed of 角質.

The map of Wano actually somewhat resembles a tortoise as well.

The current Wano is newly built on the side of Mount Fuji after the old one drowned, but perhaps the Wano people who made the new Wano created the new land in this shape on purpose as a hint/reminder of an ancient secret of the land.

Another slight reach is that the Koudzuki family crest appears to be based on the Japanese crest that represents "crane". Crane and tortoise are symbols commonly paired together, making a symbol of longevity. The shogun with the crane symbol, and the land itself the tortoise symbol.

What's this all about, then?

This is a bit of a reach, but I mentioned in the moon theory post that Koudzuki family narrative seems to allude to Susanoo, the god of the sea and storms.

Susanoo was a god who descended from the "heaven" to "earth". Similar to the Kaguya legend of a celestial entity descending to Earth and residing there.

It might be a hint, at least, that there's a connection between "the moon" and "the sea". The "sea" that hates the Devil Fruits (possibly representing "the sun") does not seem to dislike "the moon".

It bolsters my budding theory that there is a "triumvirate" of the Sun, the Moon, and the Sea. I still need more info, though, so this "triumvirate of powers" theory is something I need to shelve for later.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

In Europe, Pringles has 34 active flavours in seven can sizes (one of which is called “David” for reasons no one can explain). Not all of these flavours are available in every European country – prawn cocktail only really sells in the UK and Ireland, while bacon is found in most places except Belgium, the Netherlands and strongholds of vegetarianism Austria, Denmark and Sweden. Salt and vinegar has spread everywhere except Norway and Italy. “They don’t have the habit of doing vinegar on their crisps; they just eat them plain with salt,” says Julie Merzougui, lead food designer at Kellanova. If an employee in Italy wanted to explore bringing salt and vinegar to the market, they could – they’d simply have to ask. As of yet, they haven’t.

Multiple times a year, Pringles releases limited-edition flavours known internally as “insanely accurate analogues” – Merzougui and Peremans come up with these for Europe. “People think we have the dream job,” Merzougui says (she has dark hair, round glasses and an easy laugh, a personality akin to an experimental flavour – perhaps a chorizo Pringle). Peremans, who has worked at the company for 26 years, has a salt and pepper beard and a Salt & Shake personality. He speaks quietly and pragmatically, but has a subtle playful streak: “My young son, he wants to become my successor.”

Like Lay’s, Pringles starts with data – in Asia, the company uses a Tinder-like tool with 200 consumers at a time, asking them to swipe left or right on potential flavours. Lucia Sudjalim, a senior Pringles developer in Asia, says she does a lot of “social media listening”, observing trends among influencers and bloggers. Kellanova also uses AI, which Merzougui says can predict trends up to 10 years in advance. Things aren’t always this sophisticated though – both Lay’s and Pringles also look at what’s on the shelves in countries they want to break into, copying flavours and identifying gaps to fill.

Yet just because the world wants a flavour doesn’t mean it’s made. In December 2020, scotch egg sales soared in the UK after Conservative ministers ruled the snack a “substantial meal” (providing punters with an excuse to be in the pub under Covid-19 lockdown rules). Peremans was challenged to make scotch egg Pringles and pulled it off; Merzougui says they tasted “really authentic”. Ultimately, however, the potential order volume was not high enough to justify a production run. (This, incidentally, is why it’s hard to get Salt & Pepper Pringles in the UK, even though they’re delicious.)

Another unreleased flavour was part of a collaboration with Nando’s that petered out for reasons Peremans is unsure about. Sometimes, logistics get in the way: the perfectly blended seasoning might clog the machines or create too much dust, causing sneezing fits in the factory. Belgian legislation mandates that every seasoning has to be put through a dust explosion test – it is set alight in controlled conditions to ensure it won’t blow up.

Inside the plant, manager Van Batenburg shows me giant cube-shaped bags of seasonings that arrive ready to be cascaded on to the crisps. At the end of his video presentation, he made a passing comment that rocked my world. We were talking about other crisp companies, big name competitors. “In essence,” he said, “they’re using the same seasoning houses we do.”

I leave Belgium with the names of three seasoning houses Pringles work with. At home, I discover that their websites are obscure – they speak of flavours and trends, but don’t even mention Pringles. I haven’t so much stumbled upon a conspiracy as been invited into it, but I am still shocked. After two months’ cajoling by the Pringles team, two representatives from a seasoning house agree to speak – but only on the condition of total anonymity, in line with their contractual obligations.

“It’s quite secretive,” food scientist Reuben admits via Zoom, wearing a pink shirt and a thoughtful expression (the only crisp I can compare him to is a Quaver). “Everyone has their own crown jewels that they protect.”

As a marketer, Peggy has always found the company’s secrecy “strange”. She speaks clearly, in a way that is reminiscent of a teacher or a steadfast multigrain snack. “It’s always been a bit of a puzzle to me … I was like, ‘Why aren’t we shouting about this?’ But I was told, ‘Oh, no, we have to keep it very quiet.’”

This is because – just as Van Batenburg hinted in Belgium – the seasoning house Reuben and Peggy work for provides flavours for Pringles and Lay’s, as well as other brands. When asked whether their clients know, Reuben says, “They do and they don’t.” “It’s just not really talked about,” Peggy adds. However, this doesn’t mean that a Salt & Vinegar Pringle is flavoured with the same seasoning as a Salt & Vinegar Lay’s. In fact, the seasoning house is strictly siloed to guarantee exclusivity. Reuben’s team work on the Pringles account; the team making flavours for PepsiCo is in an entirely different country. “So the recipe, if you will, of the Pringles salt and vinegar can’t be seen by the other team,” Reuben says.

[mirandamckenni1]

I'm scared about this... Looking for more info mentioned in this video? My social media? How to support this channel? Just click "show more" below! ヽ(´･ω･`)､ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ▼▼▼ SUPPORT AND SUBSCRIBE ▼▼▼ Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EvieLupine My Patreon: https://ift.tt/WhrVb5t & For 1:1 Chats, Advice & Video Calls: https://ift.tt/kCc1hHG Twitter: @EvieLupine Watch me LIVE on Twitch! https://ift.tt/y8czdZR Looking to meet kinky people? Try Feeld*: feeld.pxf.io/9gLNnQ Want Even MORE BDSM Education? Check Out Dom Sub Living*: https://ift.tt/bYnKH96 https://ift.tt/INAXZpM FREE resource Library: https://ift.tt/Q8fbWgi My BDSM Merch Store: https://ift.tt/fkFEiPq Business Inquiries ONLY: lupineventide@gmail.com [DO NOT SEND YOUR PERSONAL QUESTIONS HERE] ▼▼▼ RELATED VIDEOS ▼▼▼ Libs of TikTok Is Doxxing the BDSM Community: https://youtu.be/fGPCOqsJcJ8 Tumblr Doesn't Understand BDSM: https://youtu.be/QmML3aupPqE Twitter Discovered CNC: https://youtu.be/5EyGx-jDXds Are Women Being Brainwashed into Polyamory?: https://youtu.be/578GIfKKVG0 The Choking Epidemic: https://youtu.be/8WVCZPQMuRw "Help, My Coworker Won't Stop Talking About Kink!": https://youtu.be/F8e9B_S_AMM I Found the Submissive Version of Christian Grey: https://youtu.be/WrwazOtd-xQ ▼▼▼ VIDEO INFORMATION ▼▼▼ FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. All of my videos are intended to provide safety information for adults who engage in these activities and combat stereotypes and misinformation. In addition, these videos may contain educational commentary on queer issues, pop culture, and news items. No portion of my content is meant to be used for gratification, nor is it intentionally salacious. This video is a bit of a ramble, a bit of a waffle if you will. I've been researching some heavy topics lately and noticing some trends, and it's making me uncomfortable. What does the future look like for kink and polyamory? Will we ever be accepted, or are things just going backward? Let's talk about it. 00:00 - introduction 04:10 - remember the 50 Shades era? 05:55 - collars are cringe now? 10:30 - why do we always blame the kink or polyamory? 17:15 - "it's a white/straight person thing" 20:25 - "everything is prawn!" 24:10 - why is this happening? 29:30 - "ew cringy and yucky" 34:45 - final thoughts ▼▼▼ EVERYTHING ELSE ▼▼▼ Art by: @animositi on Instagram Credits/Attribution (Music): Artist: Audionautix Website: http://audionautix.com/ Track: Transportation Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://ift.tt/AFHYi7o) All content used falls within fair use guidelines for education and commentary purposes. * = affiliate link ▼▼▼ P.O BOX ▼▼▼ Evie Lupine 4233 SE 182nd Ave # 357 Gresham, OR 97030 via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=781yQIyUlyc

[theprocessofthought]

Why we as humans can't have nice things.

District 9 is a film directed by Neill Blomkamp in 2005 and personally one of the more infuriating films I’ve had the chance to view. I’ll return to why that is in a moment. The film follows the arrival of a massive alien ship appearing over Johannesburg, South Africa in 1982. On this ship are a multitude of bedraggled alien creatures, which in the years to come become known as “prawns” due to their shellfish like features. These aliens are initially welcomed in by the humans but as is the case with any type of guest that welcome soon fades. These “prawns” live in refugee camps that as the years go by become a militarized ghetto known as District 9. The “prawns” are stuck between a wall and a hard place. Their “home” is under constant military scrutiny, as well as having an African mafia right besides them as well. Both sides hope to use and abuse these “prawns” for their abilities and weapons. After we the audience understand this, we are introduced to the film’s catalyst, ( I refuse to see him as a character and not simply a means to an end) Wikus Van der Merwe. He is introduced via a film that we later learn was unsuccessfully redacted. He was hired as the head of the group tasked with forcibly evicting the aliens from the camp. Here is where as I mentioned I consider this film to be one of the most infuriating. The introduction of an ignorant character with little to no hope of making them a better person. Allow me to paint this picture. Wikus is a pencil pusher, he works at a desk, a simple task where you interact with normal persons daily. Now he has to interact with groups that are completely separated from what he considers normal. I say groups because he also interacts with the African mafia of that area. (something you should never do regardless of where you are) The audience is expected to feel care and pity for a man who set fire to a house of alien eggs and compares it to the sound of pop corn as if he’s a child around a campfire. During this time however we are introduced to the real protagonist of the film, Christopher a prawn along with his son CJ and friend Paul. This small group has been constantly looking for materials in order to fuel their ship and return home. When they manage to gather enough fuel to do so who comes around to throw a wrench in the plan. If you guessed Wikus you’re right, a small and simple plan takes the worlds longest detour because some human decided to mishandle something they know nothing about. Make note of this, it’s not the first time he’ll do something like this. Wikus is contaminated and starts transforming, Paul is killed. From here the film makes an attempt to make Wikus out to be a victim. He is taken in and upon seeing his transformation is experimented on. Just like the aliens he was trying to evict earlier. Here’s a chance for a naive character learn about the world outside of themselves and make a difference. Does this happen to Wikus, sadly no. He helps retain the vial (which might I remind you is his fault for being in the military’s hold currently) by threatening the African mafia for guns that they took from aliens. Once receiving the guns, he chooses to let the leader live, because surely that wouldn’t come back to bite him in the butt later. Oh wait, it does because that same leader now wants to eat him in hope of gaining his alien abilities.  That’s not even the best part, upon hearing that it will take three years to cure him he betrays Christopher and attempts to fly to the mothership, which he fails to do and crashes. In his defense he does try to regain some form of dignity when he tries to sacrifice himself so Christopher and his son can leave. Christopher promises to return in three years and Wikus fully transforms. The audience learns that all that they have seen is from redacted footage done by one the team members that worked with Wikus.

[punjabigrillbali]

Bringing India to Bali: A Guide to Bali’s Famous Indian Restaurant

Bali is one of the most famous islands in Indonesia. It has a rich, vibrant culture and offers diverse activities to tourists. This is why Bali has been one of the hottest tourist destinations for quite some time now.

But what about the food? If you are on vacation on the stunning island of Bali and are looking for some delicious Indian food to gorge on, we’ve got you covered. Punjabi Grill is a famous Indian restaurant in Bali that offers mouth-watering delicacies from Punjab and other parts of the subcontinent. This restaurant does justice to the rich and sumptuous flavors of Indian cuisine by serving you the most authentic dishes.

Before we look at what the best family restaurant in Balihas to offer, let us delve into why Indian cuisine is so popular all over the world.

Flavor: Indian food is famous for its rich, wholesome flavors, ranging from spicy to sweet and sour, bitter and tangy. These diverse flavors add to its brilliant taste.

Taste: Indian cuisine offers delicacies that are vastly diverse in taste, but all equally rich and aromatic. There are dishes to suit everyone’s palate.

Ingredients: Indian recipes have been passed down the generations over hundreds of years. These recipes use ingredients which are known for their health benefits, taste and aroma. The authentic spices used in Indian food are unlike no other.

Health benefits: As mentioned above, the ingredients used in Indian dishes have many scientific uses and health benefits. Several Indian recipes employ the ancient science of Ayurveda to bring the healthiest and most balanced meal to the table.

Hence Indian cuisine is famous not only in the subcontinent but also all over the world. So if you crave some Indian food while on vacation in Bali, Punjabi Grill is the ideal option. It boasts recipes with signature spices and authentic taste, that are sure to linger on your taste buds.

Here is a detailed guide to this famous Indian restaurant in Bali and what it offers on its menu:

Soups and Raita: Punjabi Grill stirs up some of the most delicious soups, like chicken clear soup, tomato soup, dal shorba and mushroom pudina. It also offers raita options which are incredible for digestion, like cucumber raita, mixed raita and boondi raita.

Tandoori dishes: Punjabi Grill offers authentic smoky flavors directly from their tandoor, with dishes like tandoori chicken, Afghani chicken, tangri kebab, kalmi kebab and burnt garlic tikka.

Vegetarian dishes: If you are strictly vegetarian, this restaurant also has some delicious vegetarian dishes like paneer banjara tikka, veg platter, dal makhani, aloo matter and navratan kurma.

Non-vegetarian dishes: Punjabi Grill has some of the best Indian non-veg delicacies like chicken do pyaza, kadai chicken, mutton vindaloo, prawn curry, fish tikka masala and egg curry.

Rice and Indian bread: This eatery has various options for rice, such as vegetable pulao, chicken fried rice and vegetable biryani. Flatbread choices include garlic naan, stuffed naan, Amritsari missi roti, lacha paratha and many more.

Indo-Chinese dishes: If you think Punjabi Grill simply has North-Indian options, you’re mistaken. If you crave Indo-Chinese, this restaurant has some amazing options for that too. They offer Schezwan fried rice, Veg Manchurian, Chicken 65 and other dishes.

Conclusion

Punjabi Grill has professionally trained and skilled Indian chefs who bring the authentic flavors of India to you through their diverse delicacies. This restaurant offers you the most famous dishes from India, their rich and aromatic flavors genuinely unparalleled. With courteous staff and a beautiful ambiance, Punjabi Grill is your go-to if you are looking for the best family restaurant in Bali for a sumptuous dinner on the island.

[necrospellbinder]

Say My Name

Title: Say My Name

Rating: T

Description: Sometimes, you just need someone to say your name, your actual name. Not Wizard. Keep reading for more. 

Part 1: Prawn to the King’s Forth

You were promised a vacation by the Arcanum. You were promised some well deserved time off. Time alone to yourself…And yet here you are, heading to the Arcanum’s calls immediately after dismissing you.

What luck; another promise broken.

You step into the Arcanum, bracing yourself for whatever condescending smart remarks Librarian Fitzhume throws at you. You grumble under your breath as you take each step, ranting about how everyone the Arcanum seems to treat you like a pitiful child, even though you’ve saved the spiral from collateral catastrophe…thrice. Ione and the fore mentioned Fitzhume especially seem to think of you as incompetent.

As you approach the pompous Librarian, he sneers at you as he speaks, “Oh, look, it’s the hero of Unicorn Way.” You stare back at him with a snarl, your eyebrows raised and your teeth clenched.

“What? I’m a librarian; I do my research!” Fitzhume retorts back. “But seriously, nice job saving us from cataclysmic doom.”

You raise your eyebrow further, not sure whether he is being serious or mocking you. But you shrug your shoulders as he continues to speak in his annoyingly posh accent. “You and I are a lot alike, you know. We’re both made to perform tasks we didn’t sign up for, and we never get the credit we deserve.”

You relax your eyebrows, realizing that he was being serious and not at all condescending. But you quickly raise them up again when you begin to wonder what exactly the Arcanum is up to this time. He wouldn’t just praise you if he didn’t want something.

“For instance, after the Musiocology Scholar blew up his office, who managed the clean up and do all the paperwork move him into a new one?” Fitzhume asks.

Since when does the Arcanum have a Musiocology Scholar?

“Me!” Fitzhume answers his own question. “And when Ione needs someone to fix her problems - or was it a mole problem? Yes…fix her mole problem, who does she run to?”

Prospector Zeke? At this point, you’re convinced that anything’s possible, that anyone could be your next enemy. Who do you trust? Who is your friend? Who knows-

“That’s right, me!” Fitzhume answers again, snapping you back into reality. “LIBRARIAN Fitzhume. I’m two millennia’s worth of books to Dewey decimalize, yet Princess Ione makes me call the exterminator!”

Right, that’s where you come in, of course.

“‘Hero of the Arcanum’ is what they should call me!” Fitzhume complains. “Oh well; you should probably help Ione before that mole makes too big of a mess.”

You begrudgingly nod your head, dreading the absolute worst to happen. Whether that be from the cabal, or a new threat entirely, only time will tell.

-

You immediately rush into Scholar Ione Virga’s office, to the surprise of absolutely no one.

“Ah, Wizard; welcome back.” Ione greets you, already knowing what you are about to say. “What you’ve heard is true. The Arcanum has a mole.”

Better get this over with then, you think to yourself.

“But first, we must attend to the matter of your rank.” Ione adds. “Besting your primordial powers of creation and saving all life goes well beyond the responsibilities of an Understudy.”

That’s only putting it lightly, of course.

“In addition, your work to unite the factious forces of Light and Shadow, as well as the Arcanum and the Council of Light, deserves special recognition.” Ione continues as she hands you a bag of items inside. “Thus, I hereby promote you to Arcanum Liaison and grant you the appropriate uniform.”

What, is what your wearing too casual for the Arcanum? Rude. Nobody really ever appreciates all that you do, and it makes you feel like you are personally unwanted. No, not the savior persona you’ve had to put on for everyone; the real, honest you.

“I also wish to personally extend an earnest…thank you.” Ione nervously adds, before immediately moving onto the main reason why you have been sent here in the first place.

“Now, onto the mole issue.” Ione nods her head. “Following Grandfather Spider’s retirement, we’ve been monitoring Cabal communications for attempted retribution. Unfortunately, we traced many of the communications right back here to the Arcanum. The Musiocology Department, to be precise.”

Again, since when did the Arcanum have a Musiocology Department?

“After the Medulla Headache, we ask that you, the Arcanum Liaison, be the first to confront Scholar Von Trap. For liability reasons, of course.”

So much for the heartfelt, earnest thank you, Ione.

-

With Von Trap’s new office being next to your Arcanum Office/Apartment, you barge in to find the Mole in question humming a merry tune.

Not caring for his musical antics, you forcefully demand the Cabalist Mole to surrender now, or else.

Shocked, Von Trap turns to you and responds in a thick, olde fashioned Karamelle accent, “Surrender Cabalist Mole? Such an odd greeting-”

Realization strikes in quickly as to why you have confronted him. “Oooh, I think I see what is going on here. Come, let us speak.”

You sigh aloud, complying with this Mole’s request. You might as well hear him out before you blast him to smithereens.

“First with the Introductions, I am Maulwurf Von Trap, Scholar of Musciology!” The Mole, Maulwurf introduces himself to you. He seems polite enough, almost to a suspicious degree. “A very exciting magical discipline in which we have no time to discuss.”

When is there ever any time to discuss such trivialities?

Maulwurf continues talking by explaining, “As you have observed, I am mole, but not of the sneaky-sneaky-infiltraty variety, no, no! In fact, it is I who has uncovered the latest Cabal plot!”

You raise your eyebrow in suspicion, but remain silent to hear what exactly this Mole has discovered.

“Indeed, Grandfather Spider may be silenced forever, but his former underlings still carry his old, shadowy tune!” Maulwurf continues. “As we speak, a fiend named the Scarlet Shrimpenel is plotting to retake Khrysalis!”

Khrysalis…now that’s a place you remember. Not only did you spend a considerable amount of time there, but that’s where you defeated the Shadow Queen after failing to save Azteca from Xiabalba. It’s also where you freed Grandfather under Taylor Coleridge’s influence. That Rat got off Scott free for what he did…

How much has Khrysalis changed since you freed it from the Umbra Legion?

You press Maulwurf for more details.

“He plans to assassinate King Pyat MourningSword and seize the throne!” Maulwurf explains, complying with your request. “You know this world, yes? Then you must go to Bastion and thwart him!”

He doesn’t need to tell you twice; there’s a king in danger, and a world that needs defending. Same old song and dance, same old boring routine. Best get going, then.

-

You arrive in Bastion as quickly as you can; somehow, the Spiral Door is still not fixed. Perhaps it’s a security measure to prevent unwanted guests from entering? Not that it matters, because you’ve been spotted by someone; someone with a strong sense of perception and awareness.

A silhouette runs in the distance, coming closer towards you.

“Halt!” The figure ahead immediately yells, stopping you from moving any further. As he comes closer, his features become more recognizable; the long ears, the antlers on his helmet, the tail, those eyes and that deep, authoritative voice…

That mouse is Dyvim Whitehart; the first true ally you made in Khrysalis.

“No one may enter Khrysalis without-” The Mouse Knight immediately stops in his tracks as he takes a closer look at you. He remembers you, and a bright smile arises from his lips (or the mouse equivalent of lips).

His eyes light up with excitement, and his voice turns from stern to jolly.

“Oh, Spellbinder, it’s you!” The mouse cheers, happy to see you once more. A weak smile rises from your lips; it’s good to know that he still remembers you.

Of course he does…why wouldn’t he?

As far as allies go, he was one of the more helpful and pleasant ones to have by your side, that’s for sure. In fact, you could consider him a friend; he certainly seems to consider you one. But he, like everyone else in the Spiral, has never said your name out loud.

To him, you must just still be “Wizard”, or, more accurately, “The Spellbinder”. That’s what he’s more excited about, not you personally, you tell yourself.

“Is this a social visit, or has a new calamity returned you to our world?” Dyvim asks out of peeked curiosity. You hesitantly nod your head at the latter, as you explain to him what you’ve been told. His face goes white.

“A shadowy cabal agent named the Scarlet Shrimpenel is here in Bastion, and he stalks our king?” Dyvim asks, relaying everything told to him. You nod again in confirmation. “No, that’s impossible!”

Well, it’s always possible Maulwurf is lying. But your duty as the Spiral’s hero requires you to act in good faith.

“I’ve personally verified each and every person that has come through this world door.” Dyvim responds back to you. He looks off the the door in question, lost in thought. “Unless…”

Unless…?

“…there was a conspicuously large delivery of seafood that came through recently.” Dyvim theorizes. He looks back at you again with intense vigor you recognize from your past adventures with him. “Perhaps those crates were packed with more than just imported fish. I made note of the delivery’s final destination. Follow me!”

You nod in response, following Dyvim as he leads you to where the suspicious seafood was supposedly delivered. As the two of you walk closer, the stench of smelly Polarian fish draws closer.

“Do you smell that?” Dyvim asks you as he sniffs the putrid fish musk. You nod. “It’s the stench of evil…and shellfish.” Dyvim was never one to hide his true feelings. If he had something to say, then he was going to say it!

It must be nice, to feel so intensely as he does. But your feelings…your feelings feel subdued. Pacified.

“Once again, old friend, let us save Khrysalis.” Dyvim responds back in a heartfelt, compassionate tone, placing a hand, or a rather a paw, on your shoulder. You look back at him, the fire in his eyes burning bright. “Together. Kiai!”

-

Inside the two of you barge inside the building to find Cabal Arachna talking about dinner. They notice you and Dyvim, and beam with twisted excitement.

“Ooh, it seems someone has ordered lunch for us!” The Arachna Cabalist cheers. “Rebuilding a Shadow Empire on the ashes of this new Khrysalis is hard work! Let’s eat!”

At least they aren’t Cannibal Mice. Are those Barbarians from the Khonda Desert still Cannibals? Guess you’ll just have to ask Dyvim later, if you get the chance to or even remember to.

As Dyvim draws his sword to launch an arial attack on both Cabalist, you cast a spell on Dyvim to amplify the power of his attack tenfold. His attack easily lands on the Cabalists, and they fall to the ground, now sliced in half. Those Arachna didn’t even try to fight back.

Either that, or you’ve become too powerful for your own good.

“I’d forgotten the thrill of fighting at your side, Spellbinder!” Dyvim responds to you, lifting his sword back up from the remains of the Arachna Cabalists. His smile is unwavering, his ability to persevere still unrivaled. No fear in him whatsoever. “Let us press on!”

You nod, as you follow him upstairs. When you both arrive, you find the Scarlet Schrimpenel in his glory. Or lack thereof.

He notices the both of you, and mockingly monologues to himself. “Well, well. Look what the rat dragged in; the Divine Paradox.”

Great…He’s one of those enemies is he? Not that it matters; he’ll be defeated in a moment’s notice.

You silently prepare to cast a spell of devastating power on the Scarlet Schrimpenel as he continues to monologue. “Before you, the Cabal had a purpose, a unity, a dream; to restore the first world! But now we’re fragmented, disjointed, searching for lost power, and forced to kowtow to one whose ambitions would destroy all that we are!”

Does he ever stop talking? Apparently not, because he doesn’t realize the nasty spell you’re about to cast on him.

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Shrimpy asks mockingly. “A new leader has emerged in Spider’s wake. An Old One, ever watching. He has such plans for you. He will-”

Dyvim cuts him off, striking at him with his blade in hand. Clearly, he’s had enough of this clown as much as you have. “Ugh, enough talk you malodorous monster! To battle, Kiai!”

It’s not going to be much of a battle, you think to yourself as you finally cast your spell on Shrimpy. It lands on him, immediately striking the pathetic Cabalist Specimen. With your attack and Dyvim’s fierce and swift strikes, Shrimpy is overwhelmed and falls in defeat. As predicted.

On his knees, Shrimpy continues to monologue. “I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling Divine Paradox! How did you even know where to find me?!” He stops, before cursing Maulwurf’s name aloud.

“The old mole in the Arcanum…” Shrimpy adds. “Figures he’d side with the Old One.”

You and Dyvim both look at him with annoyance before looking back at each other with mutual understanding. Mutually agreeing that this Shrimp is an eyesore and a nuisance.

“What? I know he’s literally a mole. He’s also a Spy!” Shrimpy adds again, to the amusement of absolutely no one.

Yes, that has already been established. The Mole is a Mole. In other news, water is wet, and the Spiral is a Spiral.

A group of assigned Burrower Knights arrive upstairs to detain the Scarlet Schrimpenel. Realizing this, Schrimpenel becomes unhinged and rants, “We’re everywhere! You’ll never win!” As he is handcuffed and detained by the Burrower Knights, he retracts his false statement. “Or…you’ll never win any additional times! The law of averages is on our side; you have to lose eventually!”

“My word, he’s a talkative one.” Dyvim sighs loudly as he watches the Burrowers take Shrimpy away. He continues to rant and rave, yet each every word that comes from that Shrimp’s mouth has nothing of value.

Dyvim sighs once more, this time of relief. He adds, “He’s the Palace Guard’s problem now.”

Of course, the Shrimp is talking now, but wait until he’s out to the question. Then he’ll be as quiet as a mouse-err, rat.

“Come, Wizard. This place reeks.” You nod in agreement, and follow Dyvim outside.

-

The both of you step outside, basking in the fresh air away from the evil stench of shellfish. Well, evil to Dyvim anyway.

You, however, have smelled much more fowl things and people…His Rancidness, the Trash King included. Yuck.

Dyvim looks at you with sincere eyes and a wide smile curled on his lips, “As wonderful as it was to fight alongside you again, Spellbinder, maybe next time we could just share some cheese and a laugh, eh?” You smile as he laughs to that thought.

A cheese and a laugh does sound nice, doesn’t it? If only…

Dyvim’s smile fades a little as he realizes that your adventure with him ends here. As much as you both want to shriek your duties to catch up and just generally hang out, fate has other plans for the both of you.

So this is where you both draw the line; this is where you both say goodbye. For all you know, you may never see Dyvim again after this. If fate wills it so…

Dyvim adds in authoritative tone, “Until then, you must alert your Arcanum compatriots to what the Shrimpman said about the spy, Maulwurf.”

He places a paw on your shoulder again; you look back at him as he adds in a confident, yet reassuring tone of voice, “May the light guide you, my friend.”

You brace yourself for how Ione will react to the current tide of events. And as you make your way back to Khrysalis’s Spiral door, a deep longing in your heart begins to grow. You take a quick look back at Dyvim; the fire in his eyes has seemed to fizzle out.

From Khrysalis back to the Arcanum, your thoughts remain stuck on Dyvim Whitehart.

-

“Wizard, you return.” Ione coldly states manner of fact as you approach her in her office once more. “Finally…I am pleased. What news of the Mole Situation?”

Deep down, you want to walk out of the trouble your in, because you’re not sure where to even begin. But there’s there’s nowhere for you to go.

You explain the situation to Ione as quickly and briefly as you can, wasting no time on pleasantries and trivialities. Just on the duty at hand.

“Scholar Von Trap is spying on the Arcanum and the Cabal?” Ione asks, puzzled by the sudden revelation. “A double double agent. I find this…confusing.” Ione shakes her head, casting aside her confusion and doubt back to Arcanum business at hand. “When you left for Khrysalis, Maulwurf went to his Musciology Studio to prepare a, quote, ‘surprise for you’. No doubt a trap.”

A trap? From Maulwurf Von Trap? No way, it couldn’t be! Is what you would say to Ione if you weren’t afraid of having your Arcanum privileges revoked, but you hold your tongue.

Ione continues with explaining your next objective. “But you must spring it. Apprehend Maulwurf and bring him to me. Then he will learn that I, too, can be…persuasive.”

You nod, preparing for a grand fight against Maulwurf, or whatever else he has in store for you in his studio. You rush inside the studio near his office, and are greeted by a friendly smile on the mole’s face.

“Wizard, you are back!” Maulwurf cheerfully responds to your arrival. “Has the Scarlet Schrimpenel been…dealt with?”

You nod, confirming Shrimpy’s defeat.

“Wunderbar!” Maulwurf exclaims. “He was just going to get in our way. Now, for your reward…”

As Maulwurf finishes setting up your ‘reward’, you contemplate what exactly he’s going to throw at you. Will it be an ambush of Cabal Soldiers? An unholy monster from the depths of Tartarus or the Edge of the Spiral itself? The third resurrection of Rattlebones?

No, instead, it is a Boombox. With a tongue. That’s shaped like a chest. Basically, a musical Mimmic.

“You must face the Doombox, and you must face it NOW!” Maulwurf yells from the recording booth. “PLAY!”

Intense music starts playing as the Doombox charges at you at maximum power. Luckily for you, the Doombox’s best is nowhere near your level of skill.

To the beat and groove of the rhythm, you and the Doombox blast spells back and fourth at each other, in sync in a powerful duet of spellbinding. But like all songs, your duel with the Doombox comes to an end as you fire your last spell at the device. And with that, the music accompanying your duel stops.

“Do you feel the music, Wizard?” Maulwurf asks as you stand triumphant against the cursed Doombox. “Coursing through you like electricity? If not, we shall have to do this again.”

You nod in response. You’ve had enough.

“Good!” Maulwurf responds back. “This rhythm will syncopate with your magic to create a new spell! A small token of gratitude for dealing with the stinky Schrimpenel!”

Oh right, you almost forgot; Maulwurf is a Cabalist Mole.

“What?! Me…a Cabal Spy?!” Maulwurf exclaims, astonished by your sudden hostility as you confront him once more. “Herrrr Shrimpy spilled the Jellybeans, didn’t he?”

You nod again.

“Well then, OK. I confess.” Maulwurf admits in defeat. “I am indeed a Mole. Also the Mole. I multi-task.” He sighs a deep sigh of relief and wipes the sweat dripping off his forehead. “Whew! Feels good to say that out loud!”

You raise a suspicious eyebrow at the Mole, glaring at him as intensely as a Bolt of Insane Intensity.

“But please know that I have only the best of intentions!” Maulwurf adds. “Come, come! Let us March to my office and discuss this further!”

-

Inside of Maulwurf’s office, Ione awaits near the office’s desk, ready to attack at any time.

But instead of attacking she just...she threatens Maulwurf with words, “Bite your tongue, traitor.”

Maulwurf sighs aloud, “You see, this is our problem. Always with the fighty words. Is it not time we move the discussion forward? Come, let us speak of something new.”

You raise an eyebrow. What does he mean by new, you wonder?

“Well, I say something new…” Maulwurf adds. “First we must discuss something far older than our silly little schism…the Great Old One himself.”

Grandfather Spider? Grandfather Bartelby? Merle Ambrose? How come you haven’t heard of this name until now-actually, you’re not surprised. It seems like a lot of names just come out of nowhere, doesn’t it?

“The Great Old One is just a myth!” Ione retorts back in a hostile tone. “There is no ‘secret author of history, always watching, always nudging.’ That is pure Cabal propaganda.”

“Oh you are quite wrong,” Maulwurf confidently argues back. “The Old One is just reclusive. At least, he was until Grandfather Spider went kaput. Now, he speaks out for a change.”

You and Ione exchange mutual suspicious glances at each other before letting Maulwurf continue with what else he has to say about the Old One.

“The Great Old One has established the grand summit; a conference to unite all Cabal factions under one common goal: peace with the Arcanum!” Maulwurf explains. “Ione makes the scrunchy suspicious face, but the summit will be hosted in the sweetest world in all the Spiral: Karamelle! My beloved home.”

Ione pauses to recollect her thoughts, process her opinion on Maulwurf and the Cabal’s supposed peace treaty.

“Karamelle is famous for it’s peaceful neutrality.” Ione states aloud. “Just thinking of it makes me want to…smile.” Ione manages to crack a small, sincere smile at both you and Maulwurf. “As Arcanum Liaison, you shall represent us, Wizard.”

“Wunderbar!” Maulwurf cheers. He turns towards you and adds, “Meet me in Karamelle City, and I will escort you to my home! Because the summit is at my house. Not because it is a trap!”

You nod and breathe a sigh of both relief and sorrow as you step out of Maulwurf’s office. A heavy weight still hangs over your head like a rain cloud.

Dyvim. It’s been so long since you saw him, and yet you had to leave him so soon…you’re not sure why you are constantly thinking of him specifically today. After all, there’s so many other people in Spiral you could be thinking of.

But it’s starting to gnaw into your heart.

-

Part 2: Breath of Bastion

The Peace Summit didn’t go as planned. To no one’s surprise, another threat to the Spiral is yours to handle. As to how, though, that would be tricky. How do you fight what you can’t even understand? You fought yourself, or your evil twin doppelgänger. But what happens now?

And what about the Old One? What happened to him?

“Lemuria…” You swear, you hear a feint voice call out to you…but you can’t see anything. You sigh, going back to what you were doing; sorting out your mail.

You notice you have a letter addressed to you in your mailbox. A recent letter, too, with today’s date on it, The handwriting is unfamiliar, but familiar at the same time. Addressed to you, the Wizard. A curious paradox in your mind; you decide you want to look into the letter further.

You hastily tear the envelope open to get to the actual letter itself.

It reads:

“Dear Spellbinder,

If you have the time, I would like to invite you to my Burrow for lunch. Thanks to some modifications and innovations made to Khrysalis’s security system and means of transportation, I finally have the means to send this letter to your address! Stop by whenever you please.

Sincerely, Dyvim Whitehart”

You’re not sure how he managed to find your address…well actually that’s not true. He probably could have gotten it from someone at Ravenwood or Zaltanna or someone else he knows. But wait…was this is even really him? This could be a trap from whoever or whatever wants you dead.

What if it is Dyvim and he wants you dead? You did free Grandfather Spider after all. Yes, Spider retired but you’re still responsible. 

But what’s the best case scenario? You get a much needed break. It’s not much but it’s something, right? But...

Wait. That voice, you hear it again. “Lemuria”…Lemuria it calls…

Lunch break with Dyvim it is.

-

You quickly arrive in Bastion, now raining since the last time you visited; Dyvim’s already standing by the door; he’s been eagerly waiting for your arrival.

“Spellbinder!” Dyvim cheerfully greets you. “Did you get my letter?” You nod in response as silent raindrops fall on you. The almost empty, muted stare in your eyes alerts Dyvim a little, his initial excitement drops a little.

But Dyvim still smiles back at you. “Good. But before we can go to my Burrow, I just need to set up the Penumbra Barrier. Wait one moment, please!”

With the snap of a finger, the old Penumbra Barrier you destroyed when you first entered Bastion magically appears behind you and Dyvim.

“Zaltanna taught me,” Dyvim immediately explains. “With the threat of the Cabal and remnants of the Umbra Legion, we have to employ more measures secure Khrysalis’s safety.”

Makes sense. Can’t argue with that.

Dyvim adds in a softer, hushed tone, “But enough of that; shall I lead the way?”

You nod once more; the rain pouring harder and harder the longer you two stand outside.

-

The two of you arrive at Dyvim’s abode in the Silent Market, a place that now hardly lives up to it’s name. As you step inside, you notice just how spacious the place is. It’s so grand and yet so…cozy at the same time. A welcome change from the rain pouring outside.

The place is also rather spotless; most likely, Dyvim did some cleaning to make the place look nice for potential visitors such as yourself. How very thoughtful of him!

Too bad he’ll have to do more cleaning after this, though.

“This Burrow belonged to my family for generations,” Dyvim explains as he shows you around. “Before the Hundred Year War. After the restoration of Bastion, I was able to reclaim my family’s old home. Although at the moment, I am the only resident living here. It gets to be a little tiresome to manage this place all by myself, but I make it work.” He tours you through his Burrow in each room, from the Living Room filled to the brim with books and scrolls neatly tucked away in a neat bookshelf to his own resting quarters with more books and scrolls. After the Guest Bedroom, The last stop is the dining room, all set up and ready for meals to be served.

“Stay right here,” Dyvim says aloud. “I’ll be right back; please, make yourself comfortable!” You nod as you take a seat on one of the Ornate Chairs.

You’re not sure if you can make yourself feel comfortable, but it would be rude not to try, wouldn’t it?

Inside the dining room itself, as you wait for Dyvim to return, you notice a particular set of armor and sword on display. It looks a lot like type of gear that the Burrowers use, except it’s more ornate and decorative. The cape even has special decor attached to it, reminding you of Ravenwood. It matches your chosen field of magic as well!

Noticing that you have noticed what’s in front of you, Dyvim, while holding a tray of various cheese related snacks, smiles at you and says, “Well, what do you think? It’s a gift from me to you, my friend!”

You smile back in appreciation; the amount of thought and care that he must have put into this set ought to be commended.

“It’s nothing compared to everything you have done for me and my people, but I’m glad that my present is to your liking!” Dyvim adds in a slightly flustered tone, as he carefully places the tray of food right in the center of the dining table. “Although, I suppose I shouldn’t be taking all of the credit for what you see here; the people of Khrysalis as a whole came together to make what you see here.”

You are usually a person of few words, but this time you decide to speak aloud. “How long did it take to make this?” That is what you decide to ask as you grab a handful of delectable cheesy goods for you to munch on.

While it’s not the most amazing food you’ve ever had, it’s rather well made. The presentation helps improve the flavor of the meal.

“Not too long, actually.” Dyvim responds back, grabbing a seat across from you as well as grabbing some grub for himself.

He’s a little surprised to hear you speak like that, since you are usually so soft spoken. But he’s surprised in a pleasant way. He adds, quickly explaining, “I had commissioned it as soon as you had left Khrysalis, and got the results back almost immediately afterwards. It’s been sitting here, waiting for you to claim it ever since.”

“What about the food?” You ask back, taking another bite into your lunch. “Did you make this?”

“Yes, this I made.” Dyvim answers back after swallowing a bite of his food. “To be honest with you, this is very basic Burrower Cuisine. I don’t know what you like, so I decided it would be best to just stick with the basics.”

That makes sense.

“Do you like it?” Dyvim asks, a little bit of concern starting to show itself clearly in his voice. “If you don’t, I can make something else.”

You shake your head; you are pleased with what you have.

Dyvim noticed your refusal at his offer to make something different. “As long as you are satisfied, than that’s all that matters.” Dyvim responds back, taking another bite of food.

-

The two of you talk a little bit, briefly catching up on stuff you’ve both been up to. You ask about the Barbarian Mice, and Dyvim tells you that they are still the same as they were before. You ask about the Dragonfly you and Dorian hatched in Tyrian Gorge; he tells you Dorian has named the Dragonfly Princess Waffles and has started breeding Dragonflies for the Burrowers and the Mantises to use as mounts. The name Princess Waffles got a little chuckle out of you; Dyvim seems to think the name is pretty amusing too.

You let Dyvim do most of the talking, as you don’t feel comfortable speaking about yourself. He seems content, but also he seems to be observing you. 

Then...

There’s a brief silence between the two of you as you eat, the both of you occasionally glancing at each other. In his eyes, you can sense that he can sense something amiss.

Something amiss with you.

“By the way, Spellbinder, may I ask you something?” Dyvim finally asks you in a tender voice, breaking the silence. You nod as you chew on your food. “I realized that for all this time I’ve been calling you Spellbinder, I never asked for your name. Please forgive me for not asking sooner, my friend.”

You freeze in place.

Your name…

Your name…

Not once has anyone ever called you by your name. Of course, your memories of life before Ravenwood are fuzzy and hard to recall…Perhaps, you don’t even have a name at all; your name is “Wizard”. Or it’s nothing. Because that’s all there is to you; nothing.

No, that’s not true. You have a name…you have a name!

“Spellbinder?” Dyvim asks in a concerned tone, snapping you back into reality. In the pit of his stomach, he worries that he’s struck a nerve. “Spellbinder, you look as pale as a ghost; are you alright?”

“My name…” You mutter in response. “My name is…” You hesitantly state your name aloud. “No one has ever called me by my own name before…”

“Y/N…” Dyvim whispers, grabbing onto your trembling hands. “Is…is it alright that I call you that?”

You give a quick nod, as you stare off into the distance, lost in your intrusive thoughts.

You realize now…Karamelle has made a mess out of you. You just wanted to attend a quick, friendly peace summit. 

Instead you got stuck with cleaning cavities, shattering the fractured Cabal even further, and overthrowing a corporation with another one. One that will, realistically, probably become just as reprehensible as Nana’s Karamelle Delights.

The Cavities, the Paradoxes…it’s just as Judge Veg said; You are not guilty, but you are responsible. As such, you have to clean up this mess. And yet you wonder….why? Is it because you feel so incomplete, so empty? Is it because you want to be something more than “The Wizard”, or the “Divine Paradox?” Could all of this been prevented if you had just…didn’t think, didn’t feel at all, just acted?

“Spellbinder?” Dyvim asks again, now extremely concerned for your well-being. He tries to get your attention by staring in front of your line of sight. “Y/N…can you hear me?”

You’ve put your feelings away but lately it’s been becoming too much. Feelings of anger, sorrow, confusion, fear, even joy…

The tears you have tried so hard to suppress for so long start to stream down your face as so much comes flooding back to you. You didn’t cry when you witnessed Malistaire Drake die. You didn’t cry when you watched Azteca fall. You didn’t even cry when Dyvim was poisoned by the late Broodmother, or when he awoke from his catatonic state. You…you can’t remember the last time you have ever cried.

You feel yourself pulled suddenly close to Dyvim as he holds you in his arms. His embrace is warm; you can hear his heart pounding through his chest. You can’t remember the last time someone has comforted you like this, if anyone has at all.

And as you weep, Dyvim wonders just how long you’ve been holding onto these feelings alone, how long your skin felt so cold and clammy, so touch starved. He wonders just how long it’s been since you’ve woken up with the light on your face.

You struggle to put the words in your mouth that you want to say aloud; tears still fogging up your throat. You don’t know why hearing your name is what caused you to break down like this, to leave you so vulnerable, but what you do know is that you don’t want to be alone.

Dyvim continues to hold you close as you pour out your heart and spill out your soul. He listens as he begins to understand just how daunting the responsibility of being the Spiral’s Savior is. He understood to a degree about the responsibility that comes with being a leader, but not to this extent.

You’ve been through so much in so little time, and he realizes now that you feel like you are nothing.

He eventually lifts your chin up, wiping the fresh tears still dripping sore on your face. “Y/N…There is beauty all around us. You may not recognize it, yet what you do, what you create, brings more joy to this Spiral than you realize. There is still good to be done, both small and grand.”

Dyvim believes in you. He doesn’t want you to surrender; he wants you to keep fighting. And he’ll do anything to make you see that you are more than just the Savior of the Spiral, The Child of Light and Shadow, or the Divine Paradox.

“You are you, Y/N. You are irreplaceable to me.” Dyvim tells you, sincere and true with every word he says aloud. “Back in the Khonda Desert, when I said we were fast friends, forever, I meant it. Y/N, it doesn’t matter how far apart we are. I’ll always be there for you, my friend. That’s a promise.”

Your tears begin to dry up as you realize that out there in the big, seemingly endless Spiral, there’s someone out there who cares about you for you.

And how can you tell? He called you by your name.

-

[Author’s Note:

4/13/22: THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE LEMURIA!!!Actually I don’t even remember when I wrote this. But I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for too long and fuck it. No Beta, we die like Sylvia Drake. Perfectionism, be damned!!!

…anyway. In a way, I sort of wrote this for myself, as I am someone who’s constantly trying to suppress my own emotions and not let things bother me. I’m also not very good at reaching out to other people and asking them for help dealing with my feelings, lmao. I kind of like to imagine that after this, when the Wizard and Bootleg Old One go searching for Stallion Quartermane, that scene in the Lemuria Prequests where Old One asks if the Wizard and him will still be friends is just him parroting the Wizard’s feelings.

So...I wrote this all on my phone initially, mostly because I’m not writing on my Computer when my Computer Mouse is going to be all finnicky and glitchy on me. I need to get a new Computer Mouse, and Computer for that matter. By the way, I ended up getting a really nice Anon message that I stole and put in this fanfic. I hope you don’t mind me doing that Anon, but what you said was really kind and made me feel better. =D

I also listened to Light of my Life and Real Life from Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter writing part of this. Well I listen to a lot of songs when I write stuff but I’m mentioning that those songs because I sort of implemented the lyrics into the writing? I don’t know how else to explain it. But go listen to those songs, they are good.

By the way, If KI ends up having Dyvim betray us or whatever I am going to be so pissed. Or if he dies again, that would also be awful. But if KI gives him a canon love interest…Polyamory! That or Dyvim and Love Interest TM adopts you and becomes parental figures, depending on how old your Wizard is idk.

Well, anyways, thank you very much for reading! Any comments would be appreciated. Or if you are reading this on Tumblr (which is probably more likely let’s be honest here), any likes, reblogs, and/or messages would be appreciated! Let me know what you liked, what you didn’t, all of that is good.

Take care, and remember that someone out there really cares about you!]

[maisietheweltoncow]

The Dead Poets As Things My Friends Have Said Part 2

Todd: Why do neurotypical people talk about autism so weirdly like they never say it directly they always say on the spectrum really weirdly like if they mention it's name it will appear in the night to steal their children.

Meeks: I just heard lightning and someone scream outside my house.

Nevermind it was just my dad, he was screaming because they're losing in cricket on the TV.

Pitts: Guys I stuck my head out the window because raining vibes and I got wiped out by a huge wave of wind and my retainer flew out my mouth.

Charlie: I so kin King Julien

Neil: I read gender as Gerard

Knox: Roses are red, violets are straight, I'm here to tell you that I'm not gay.

I'm swag and straight.

Cameron: This HAS to be a cult activity.

Charlie: New aesthetic: viking core

Pitts: Cameron when a man makes eye contact with him today 😈🔪

Neil: OZYMANDIAS STARTED COVID CONFIRMED

Charlie: Remember Charlie, billy corgan is bald.

Cameron: Low-key very satisfying to watch myself suffer.

Neil: I'm really starting to think Satan did not want MCR to reunite.

Cameron: *talking about Hermione Granger* She's kind of a snob. Like calm down no need to recite the 127th times table. yeah no shit he's being put in an arena with a dragon and you all come to watch him die.

Charlie: T I T T I E S GO BRRRRR

Knox: Vibrating titties literally Ariana grande could never.

Meeks: I read that as 'a teacher that fucked us'

Pitts: 🙅🏼LAWSUIT BRRRING BRRRING VICODIN 🙅🏼

Charlie: I secrete that energy and the toxic fumes probably fill up your airways. In fact, you had a dream about Gerard Way and his bubble butt you've been poisoned already.

Charlie: Ayo Nico your ass is a dam snacc but you're gay so I run away.

I should say flat ass.

Nico has no ass but he's still cute, like Frank with his fucking concave ass.

Frank Zhang has no ass.

I can't look at Frank's ass because it's a valley.

Todd: Please honey my entire existence is an air quote generator.

Todd: Alcohol, it's crippiling. Be strong, keep drinking.

(the spelling mistake was intentional)

Meeks: I think my brain is saying bisexual but I say 🙅🏼

Neil: Why do I dwell on stupid things that are never gonna happen. Neil, Billy Joe will never let you on stage to play jesus of suburbia no matter how hard you practice it.

Meeks: OKAY GOTTA DISAGREE WITH YOU ANDREW GARFIELD IS THE WORST SPIDERMAN

Neil to Charlie: Yes hunny do your self discovery shit.

Pitts: PLS MEEKS WE HAVE PROBLEMS

Charlie: yeah whatevs, presents meatballs look at these fucking balls man.

*Trigger warning for self harm*

Cameron: what did he sh with, a fucking chainsaw?

Todd: Low-key feel like that's why I stopped rping with Neil. cba to deal with your self harming character who literally does it every other day but to the extent they're almost dead.

*you're all good now :)*

Cameron to Charlie: Pls why is that such a you thing.

Todd: For me it would probably be

⚠️STEP AWAY FROM THE FANFICTION⚠️

*Food mention below*

Todd: ok are you ever just not having a good time for no particular reason and it’s food time so you’re hoping that it’s just something familiar and single flavoured and textured in general but it’s the one day your parents decided to order chinese takeaway from a new place you’ve never eaten from before and you don’t know what to eat because you don’t definitely know what it’s like so you just eat the one thing that is always consistent between chinese takeaways but now you feel sick because you ate too many fucking prawn crackers

*the food mention is over*

Todd to Neil: I'm fine they said, Todd did not believe them.

Ok I'm done but I have years worth of this stuff, I could probably make another one.

Part 1

Tagging some mutuals:

@mendesxruel @mentalthisone @totallynotmrkeating @freckledcameron @neil-perry-is-alive @academic-on-a-midnight-dreary @caffieneandconstellations @deadreamersociety @she-nuwanda @aedan-mills @therichardcameron @therealchrisnoel @niknokplsstop @duh-itsalampmeeks @beeisnothere @justredistributingmatter sorry if I missed anyone out I didn't mean to :)

[bedbellyandbeyond]

The Straw

(Story Post)

After a long day of work, the last thing Sydryn wanted to see was their refrigerator items strewn across the kitchen counters and floor while their sibling took a nap at the kitchen table. There were also several grocery bags among the catastrophe, heaped and overflowing with countless fluffy pink pastries. “What in the world is going on here?” Sydryn demanded, loud and stern enough to startle Seranan awake. “Sissy! What, oh…” Seranan sat up and looked around. “Oh, yes. I was just doing some reorganising… But then I got tired and took a nap, I guess.” “Reorganising my refrigerator? Full of my food?” Sydryn snarled. “Why in the world would you do this? Not to mention, you left the refrigerator door wide open!” “D'uh. How else would I access it during lengthy grocery reorganisation?” Seranan asked, propping up their head. “And I did it to fit in my groceries.” Sydryn picked up one of the shopping bags and held it open. “This is entirely roll cakes!” “Yes. Disgusting, I know. You can blame your little angel for introducing me. Now I have a wicked craving all the time,” Seranan groaned. “Don't blame Köbi for this! When did you even go out and get nine bags of these? You're not to leave the house!” Seranan rolled their eyes and tapped their phone on the table. “They have grocery delivery apps now. Join us in the 21st century, Sissy.” Sydryn fumed. “You of all dragons did not just tell me to modernise...” “Just because I'm a history hoarder does not mean I don't know how to use the internet,” Seranan huffed. Sydryn threw the grocery bag down and pointed to the hall. “Get out of my kitchen immediately!” Seranan rolled their eyes and got up, cradling their underbelly like it was such a struggle. “I bought them for you too, you know. The angel said they’re your favourite.” “Stop talking to Köbi!” Sydryn snarled.

“You should be happy we get along at all...” Seranan shrugged. “All your little pets typically piss me off.” “Köbi is not my pet, he is my employee,” Sydryn growled. “That kind of talk is exactly why I do not want you talking to him.” “Where is the little ‘employee’, anyway?” Seranan huffed. “He should be here to help clean up this mess...” “First of all, he is my assistant, not your maid. Second of all, I was going to ask you the same thing. I had to work late, so he should've been home over an hour ago.” Seranan shrugged. “I haven't seen him.” Sydryn sighed and stepped out into the hall. “Köbi?” they called up the stairs. Köbi poked his head out of the powder room just down the hall. “Yes?” “Ah. You are home. Seranan said they hadn't seen you.” “Huh?” Köbi walked over and looked into the kitchen. “You don't remember me coming in?” Seranan waved a hand. “How am I supposed to pay attention to what you’re doing all the time?” “But you asked for me the minute I got home. We had a whole conversation about where Syd buys their roll cakes,” Köbi reminded. “I thought that was yesterday.” “It was definitely today, because they would've been closed yesterday.” Seranan waved a hand. “Unimportant. Must have slipped my mind. Anyway, your employer's home. Shouldn't you have dinner prepared by now?” “You specifically asked me not to come into the kitchen since you would be occupying it during your delivery,” Köbi reminded. “Several times, I checked back to see if I could get dinner started, but you hissed me away." Seranan frowned and shrugged. Sydryn groaned and grabbed Seranan by the braid. “Clean up this mess immediately, or I will burn all of these desserts and you won't have any dinner tonight!” Seranan whined. “My tail! Sissy, that's so mean! You wouldn't starve a pregnant dragon, would you?” “Starve?” Sydryn motioned the plastic wrappers strewn across the kitchen table. “You've eaten twenty of these already!” “They hold absolutely no nutritional value, though...” “Then stop eating them!” “It's a craving! I can't help it!” Köbi waded through the sea of plastic grocery bags to get to the fridge. “I was going to make a roast, but I don’t really think there’s enough time, so how about…fettuccine?” “Absolutely not. I will vomit if I eat another beet coloured pink pasta noodle,” Seranan declared. Sydryn yanked their sibling’s hair again. “You’ll eat what you’re served.” They looked to Köbi, though. “I need meat.” “Okay… Uh, how about smoked meat sandwiches?” Köbi suggested. “Perfect. Thank you.” Seranan rolled their eyes. “Everything’s always smoked meat, pink pasta, rose tea, salmon, prawns, grapefruit…” With another swift yank, Sydryn spun their sibling around grabbed their wrist tightly. “Are you mocking my hoard?” Seranan snarled, scaling up under Sydryn’s grip. “…You’re hurting me, Sissy.” “Syd, let’s calm down…” Köbi said, reaching out to take the dragon’s arm. Sydryn flinched away. “Don’t! My sibling, whom I so graciously have been putting up and feeding while they escape prosecution for dracocide, seems to think they can have an opinion on how I run my house.” Seranan glared at Sydryn. “Colours are for children. Your hoard is stupid.” Sydryn’s eyes widened, a wild look of pure and concentrated wrath set ablaze inside them. “Syd! No!” A split second later, Köbi was between them, his hands up, his stance wide. Seranan was in shock, having been pushed back down into the kitchen chair, their sibling’s grip relinquished. Sydryn’s crazed look was gone, instead replaced with surprise and distress as they stared at the angel. Light dripped from his cheek as Köbi reached out and placed a hand on Sydryn’s shoulder. “Sleep.” “Köbi—” Before Sydryn could finish, they passed out, falling into the angel’s arms. Köbi grunted under the weight then sighed as they picked up the pregnant dragon bridal style. “You’re hurt,” Seranan finally emitted, slowly standing up. “They struck you.” “I’m fine. Just a little scratch.” Köbi wiped his cheek on his shoulder and the injury completely disappeared. “Better me than you.” “I would’ve been fine,” Seranan stated, straightening up. “Dragons can scar other dragons,” Köbi reminded. “And it’s Syd I’m concerned about. They’re strung out and emotional right now. If they really hurt you, I don’t think they could forgive themself.” Seranan frowned. “So, what are you going to do? They must be heavy…” “I’m going to put them to bed for now,” Köbi said, shaking his head. “But don’t worry about what I’m doing… If I were you, I’d consider cleaning things up around here a bit. Syd won’t stay asleep long. And I think after a long day, waking up to a meal made by family would just make my day. Wouldn’t you agree?” Seranan scrunched their nose. “…You can’t tell me what to do.” “I can’t. I can only make suggestions.” Köbi carried the slumbering dragon out to the hall. “I’ll come back in a minute to help.” The red dragon barely dignified that with a huff. Köbi just continued on, taking Syd up to their bedroom. As soon as they were tucked in, Sydryn began to wake up. “...Köbi.” They looked at the angel standing beside their bed. “Did I... Did I hurt you?” “No.” Köbi shook their head. “Must've been a bad dream.” “Angels shouldn't lie...” Sydryn sighed, rubbing their eyes. “I'm so sorry...” “No, I'm sorry for sleeping you without permission,” Köbi said. “I’m not supposed to touch you...” “You did what you had to,” Syd insisted. “It could have been bad... Is Seranan alright?” Köbi nodded. “Yeah. They're perfectly fine. Don't worry about them. Tell me about your day. What's got you so riled up?” Sydryn sighed and sat up. “Everything. I have patients who shouldn't be getting pregnant getting pregnant, almost getting pregnant, and I'm pregnant, and I also have to keep an eye on Gardi, even though he wants more responsibilities, and Ix and I are supposed to be collaborating on the celestial pregnancy research, but beyond that, they hardly say a word to me and I wonder if somehow I've upset them in some way... I don't know. I genuinely enjoy working with them, but not when they won't even look me in the eyes.” “Oh. Oh, um...” Köbi rubbed his neck. “Well, if you're worried about Ix, I think you should just talk to them about it. With Reid, from what I can tell, he's pretty much fully recovered. If you trusted him to manage your practice while you were away in the Fall, I think you can trust him now. And as for all the patients, maybe giving Reid more responsibilities would be a good thing. You really need a break. You're putting a lot of stress on yourself.” Sydryn shook their head. “I can't take a break. There's too much going on and even if I let Gardi have more responsibilities, he can't take all of them on.” Köbi tilted his head. “Well, right now, you really should just rest. When dinner's ready, I'll bring it up.” “No, I should probably come down and apologise to Seranan,” Sydryn decided. Köbi shook his head. “I don't think you're ready for that. Wait for them to come to you.” Syd sighed, laying their head down. “...Alright. Thank you, Köbi.” “Don't mention it.” Köbi made his way back down the kitchen where Seranan was now trying to stuff away their groceries into any empty cupboard space they could find. Kobi noticed some bread and meat had been pulled out and placed on the kitchen table as well. “Looks like you got started,” Köbi said delighted. “I’ll get the rest out, and—” “I don’t need your help, I am perfectly capable of constructing a few sandwiches…” Seranan growled. “Go about your business.” “Okay… I just wanted to add, um…” Köbi rubbed his neck. “I’m sorry I prioritised Syd in the situation when they lashed out. After what you’ve been through before, I can understand if this situation was…difficult for you.” Seranan’s eyes narrowed as they turned their gaze onto the angel in disgust. “If you’re trying to suggest that any of my experiences have left me weak with ‘emotional trauma’ or some kind of ‘victim complex’, you are sorely mistaken.” “Alright. Well, just so you know, you can always talk to me,” Köbi stated. “Actually, I’ve been explicitly told not to talk to you, and from this point on, I plan to follow along.” “Okay.” Köbi shrugged. “Well, I like pickles with my smoked meat sandwiches.” “I fail to see the one who asked!” Köbi chuckled before backing out. “Talk to you later, then.” “You will not!”

[disastermages]

[read it on ao3]

cw for cheating, but with each other, not on each other

--

"Wei-xiong, have you heard about Lan Wangji?"

Nie Huaisang's voice is clear and pressing through the phone as Wei Wuxian leans one shoulder against the door of his apartment, the bag of groceries still hanging in the other hand while he searches for his keys.

The last time Wei Wuxian had seen Lan Wangji had been in his hotel room, they hadn't been able to go to Wei Wuxian’s place, he'd still been sharing an apartment with Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and their little cousin. It would have killed the mood entirely.

"I still have his number blocked, Nie-xiong." Wei Wuxian answers honestly, the door finally giving in with just enough bargaining.

Both Lan Wangji’s arms and his bed had been warm until Lan Wangji’s phone rang, and he'd told the person on the other end, his husband on the other end, that he was alone, and suddenly, Lan Wangji’s bed had nearly frozen Wei Wuxian in place.

He'd waited until Lan Wangji had hung up to climb out of it, pulling the sheet around himself, even as Lan Wangji's suddenly too heavy arms wrapped around his middle.

"Wei Ying, come back?" A steady line of kisses had started down Wei Wuxian’s back, but he'd pulled away and wrapped the sheet tighter around himself before he turned and smiled sadly down at Lan Wangji.

"Lan Zhan, listen, I'm going to shower, and then I'm going home." Lan Wangji did not and does not love his husband, Wei Wuxian knew it, but it hadn't made it any easier to choke down what they had just done.

Anyone who didn't know him wouldn't have been able to see the change in Lan Wangji’s face, but Wei Wuxian had watched sadness creep into his eyes. He hadn't had the heart to stop Lan Wangji from grabbing onto his wrist. "It is too late and dangerous for you to go back, stay here." With me, hadn't been said, but it had been there all the same when Wei Wuxian had begun the task of peeling Lan Wangji’s hand off of him.

"You know I can't, Lan Zhan, your husband wouldn't like it." His words had been cruel, but Wei Wuxian had still tucked a lock of hair behind Lan Wangji’s ear, though he hadn't set that hand on his cheek the way he might have in any other situation. "I'll message you, so you'll know I got home alright, but you won't be able to message me back."

"Why not?" Lan Wangji had looked far too hurt and far too young right then. It had nearly broken Wei Wuxian’s resolve.

"Because I'm going to block you, on everything." He couldn't leave any possibilities, Wei Wuxian had known that first, before anything else.

"Wei Ying,"

"That's enough, Lan Zhan."

When Wei Wuxian had left, Lan Wangji had trailed behind him, all the way to the sidewalk outside of the hotel, as if he had hoped Wei Wuxian would change his mind at the last minute.

He almost had.

Now, there's a pause from Nie Huaisang, his end of the call going almost completely silent, save for the sound of him tapping his fan against something.

"His divorce was finalized." Nie Huaisang says finally, the words running together as if he'd been holding his breath.

They startle Wei Wuxian enough to make him run into the coffee table, his shin smarting while he swears and Nie Huaisang calls his name.

"I heard Er-ge talking to Da-ge about it, Er-ge said that Lan Wangji mentioned you, but then I got caught." Despite everything, Wei Wuxian still chuckles at Nie Huaisang's flippancy. It hadn't changed between high school, college, or post-grad, Wei Wuxian is grateful for it.

"He hasn't been divorced for a month yet, Nie-xiong, I don't think he'll come knocking at my door to whisk me away any time soon." Lan Wangji might not come for him at all, and Wei Wuxian doesn't want that thought to hurt as much as it does, but it's easily pushed back down while he puts his groceries away.

It isn’t until later, while Wei Wuxian is cooking his dinner, when he hears a knock at his door, and it sounds all too familiar not to make him freeze where he stands. He thinks about standing in place until whoever is at his door leaves, but the sizzling of the prawns in the pan pulls Wei Wuxian back to the present. He turns down the heat until it hovers, small and blue, before he wipes his hands on a towel and walks towards the door.

He doesn’t need to look through the peephole to know who was standing on the other side.

“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji offers in way of greeting, surprise lightening his eyes to something soft. Wei Wuxian feels something twist in his chest.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian hears his own voice, but he doesn’t feel his mouth move, “you cut your hair.” Lan Wangji’s hair had been a dark waterfall down his back the last time Wei Wuxian had seen him, but now it’s cropped short, and Wei Wuxian wants to mourn the length it had been.

“You grew yours out.” Lan Wangji doesn’t take a step into his apartment, but he does start to reach for Wei Wuxian, his hand coming up slowly to catch the long end and run his thumb over it. This time, Wei Wuxian feels his mouth open and close, trying and failing to find something to say, but the point of contact is too much, and his words catch in his throat.

Something crackling and sputtering on the stove stops them both, and Lan Wangji’s hand drops back down to his side.

“My stove is still on.” Wei Wuxian says dumbly, pointing backwards into the apartment.

“Wei Ying has learned to cook?” There’s genuine surprise and curiosity in Lan Wangji’s voice, and Wei Wuxian barks a rough laugh. He hadn’t been able to cook anything without burning it hopelessly and over spicing it the last time Lan Wangji had allowed Wei Wuxian to try to cook for him. He’d had to take over less than halfway through.

“Only a little,” Wei Wuxian assures Lan Wangji, stepping back to allow him inside, though he knows he shouldn’t, “I’m still not as good as Shijie, but it’s okay, no one is.”

Lan Wangji’s cooking had been close, though.

Wei Wuxian doesn’t look back to see if Lan Wangji is following him into the kitchen, he knows he is, and it still sends a shiver down his back, even as Lan Wangji lingers in the doorway behind him. “See! It’s not even a little burned!” That wasn’t completely true, the prawns and the green onions had started to burn, but Wei Wuxian had managed to save them at the last minute, a feat he isn’t sure would have been possible without Lan Wangji on his heels. “Have you eaten yet? The prawns are already cooked, but I haven’t added the tofu yet, I could still make something vegetarian for you.”

What was he doing? He’d sworn he wouldn’t go running back to Lan Wangji again, but now he was inviting him to dinner.

But Lan Wangji had been a married man when Wei Wuxian had promised himself that he wouldn’t go back to him.

Lan Wangji was no longer a married man, though.

Turning to look at him, he catches sight of something soft and molten in Lan Wangji’s eyes, his hand braced tight against the doorway, as if he felt faint.

For a moment, all they can do is stare at one another while Wei Wuxian feels himself begin to soften too, his lips parting.

Finally, Lan Wangji speaks, “I will help Wei Ying cook.”

Everything Wei Wuxian had ever learned about playing host rises up then, he shouldn’t allow Lan Wangji to help, he was a guest, if anything, Wei Wuxian should push him back out into the living room and make him wait on the couch while he finishes up. Lan Wangji is already opening Wei Wuxian’s refrigerator and pulling out various vegetables, though, and he gives Wei Wuxian a look when he sees the state of what had once been a nice head of broccoli.

There’s comfort and familiarity in that particular look.

Wei Wuxian’s kitchen is barely large enough for his own chaos while cooking, but with the two of them working, it’s impossible not to feel the heat coming off Lan Wangji’s back against his own. He wants to press himself into it, just like he used to.

They work in silence, passing the cutting board back and forth awkwardly in the small space. Lan Wangji’s cuts and his knife skills are good, they always had been, but it’s with a smug satisfaction that Wei Wuxian notes that their skills at cutting up vegetables are evenly matched.

Lan Wangji lingers behind him, even after he’s finished his task, his eyes bearing into the back of Wei Wuxian’s head.

Before, Lan Wangji would have wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian from behind, his nose would have nuzzled into his neck, and Wei Wuxian would have been greedy for it. It’s almost a comfort to know that he and Lan Wangji are just as unsure of each other now.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says softly, his fingers ghosting along the sleeve of Wei Wuxian’s hoodie, but not touching just yet, “come back to Gusu with me.”

A bitter laugh catches against the lump in Wei Wuxian’s throat, but they knock the words forward, “You haven’t been divorced that long, Er-gege, don’t you want to see if I’m really what you want? You don’t want to think about it?”

This isn’t a conversation they should be having in the kitchen, Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to argue in this kitchen.

“I have only thought of Wei Ying for six years, I know you are who I want. I do not need to think about it.”

“The plates are in the cabinet behind you, could you grab them, Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian asks, instead of answering. Filling his mouth with silken tofu and prawns and all the vegetables Lan Wangji had tipped into Wei Wuxian’s pan would keep him from literally and physically jumping into Lan Wangji’s arms.

If Wei Wuxian were to turn around, he’s almost certain that he would see hurt in Lan Wangji’s eyes now, but he takes the plates from him blindly, murmuring thanks under his breath before he starts plating their dinner and directing Lan Wangji to the drawer of utensils.

Lan Wangji doesn’t fumble and open the drawer full of sauce packets and napkins first, he opens the right drawer on the first try.

“Your uncle won’t like it.” Wei Wuxian says, continuing the conversation after their empty plates have been stacked on top of each other on the coffee table. Lan Wangji hadn’t objected to eating on the couch with the TV playing on a low volume.

To his surprise, Lan Wangji deflates, “I followed my uncle’s wishes for eight years, but it did not change anything. I love you, Wei Ying. That is all there is.”

They hadn’t used that word for it before, Wei Wuxian hadn’t allowed it, because Lan Wangji had been married to someone else, but now, Lan Wangji wraps both of his hands possessively around one of Wei Wuxian’s, his thumbs stroking back and forth. It’s a plea, Wei Wuxian knows it is.

His mouth hangs open again, but this time Wei Wuxian does not reach and scrabble for the words, “It’s too late for you to go home, Lan Zhan, stay here tonight.” Wei Wuxian knows he shouldn’t, but he leans in close, his free hand coming to rest on Lan Wangji’s forearm.

“Will Wei Ying be here when I wake up?” Lan Wangji leans in, unafraid of what Wei Wuxian might do because of it.

“This is my apartment, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian laughs, and Lan Wangji’s hands tighten, squeezing and hopeful, “shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”

“You should.” Lan Wangji agrees, allowing their lips to brush as he speaks.

“Lan Zhan, will you be here when I wake up?” Wei Wuxian asks, only half serious as he closes the distance left between them, his hand coming away from Lan Wangji’s forearm to rest on his neck, just like it used to.

“I will be here when Wei Ying wakes up.” Lan Wangji sounds breathless when they pull apart, but he makes his promise all the same, sealing it with another kiss, far sweeter than the one that had come before it.

There’s comfort and familiarity in it.

[hermits-that-craft]

In My Dreams (Will You Remember Me?)

Flower Husbands Fic - Chapter Four - The hues in our hair compliment one another

Ao3 in the comments

Jimmy watches as the guests walk in, gawking at the decorations that he, Katherine and Gem put so much effort into. Pride fills his chest - a week of hard work paying off in happy citizens and rulers alike. Jimmy nods politely to Iris as they walk in, he knows that being one of Pix’s advisors means that the dryad doesn’t get much time off, so he hopes that they enjoy themself.

A group of dryads bow to him before they disappear into the crowd, which makes him happy - he’s still recognisable with the mask that Katherine gave him. It’s a standard masquerade mask, though it has small cod painted on it in bronze paint, though it has a white veil attached the the lower half to cover his face. It was nice of Katherine, to remember that he prefers to hide his face.

He feels safe with his face hidden.

Jimmy watches as a young woman in a black cloak comes in, and an axolotl hybrid from his empire chats with a man from Mezalea. He’s glad that they opened to ball not only to the leaders of the empires but their citizens as well, and a fae man in a forest green vest dances with a spirit in a ribbon skirt.

The doors open, distracting Jimmy from people watching for a moment.

Lizzie walks in, the necklace around her neck shimmering in the glow from the purple lanterns. Jimmy watches as everyone gawks at the wedding gift that he gave her - it’s rare to see her wear it out of battle. The necklace has two axolotls, one made of rose quartz and the other of red jasper, curled around a pearl and inset in silver. It was handcrafted by the finest artisans of the Cod Empire, and Jimmy himself carefully enchanted it with healing and protection.

The best wedding gift she received, if Jimmy does say so himself.

“You clean up nicely, did Katherine give you that suit?” Lizzie teases, pointedly ignoring the stares she receives as she walks across the room to him.

“You’ll find that your husband did, for your wedding.” Jimmy smiles. “Though I did get it altered slightly for the party.”

“You didn’t put slime in it, did you?”

“Lizzie!” Jimmy gasps, pushing his sisters arm in rage. She laughs, ignoring his fake rage.

“I’m very glad you ditched the cod head.” She says. “I think Katherine would have killed you.”

“She actually gave me this mask.” Jimmy admits. 

“Ohh, look at Scott’s outfit.” Lizzie says, and Jimmy turns back to the crowd. 

Scott stands next to Joey, looking mildly uncomfortable. The king of the lost empire wears a red suit with a black crown, rubies and jaspers adorning it. But Joey’s outfit pales in comparison to the one that Scott wears.

Scott’s wearing an intricate white top, with long sleeves that bell out at the end. He has a high waisted skirt, fading from a sky blue into a deep, ocean blue. He looks like he’s stepped out of a high fantasy story, a golden crown shimmering in his blue hair. He looks stunning, making Jimmy feel almost as though he’s underdressed.

Scott makes eye contact with Joey, an emotion Jimmy doesn’t understand flashes in Scott’s eyes as he walks over to Jimmy.

“Lizzie, I think I’ve made him angry.” Jimmy mumbles, breaking eye contact with Scott. 

“He’s your land boy, you work it out.” Lizzie says. “I need to go find my land boy.”

“Scott isn’t mine, Lizzie - Don’t leave me!” Jimmy protests, but it’s already too late, the queen of the ocean has left Jimmy to whatever fate Scott has planned for him.

Hopefully Lizzie will hold a nice funeral for him.

“You look nice.” Scott says softly, barely audible over the music.

“Oh, thank you.” Jimmy says, the back of his neck reddening. “You clearly outclass everyone here.”

“You really think so?” Scott asks, his face red. Poor Scott, he mustn’t get complimented often. 

“I know so.” Jimmy smiles, though the man can’t see it.

“Could I ask you to dance?” Scott asks, offering Jimmy his hand. Jimmy blinks in surprise, looking into Scott’s eyes in shock. The elven man’s eyes glitter in the lantern light, light and full of something Jimmy can’t quite place.

Even so, Jimmy puts his hand into Scott’s, and lets the man pull him into a dance.

Scott’s hand rests on Jimmy’s waist, and Jimmy puts his hand on Scott’s shoulder, letting him lead. Scott, thankfully, doesn’t mention when Jimmy steps on his feet, the king just mumbling instructions to Jimmy as he leads them.

“You teach dances like this often?” Jimmy asks breathlessly, trying to concentrate on not stepping on Scott’s feet.

“No, I don’t. I don’t think I’m even teaching you this correctly.” Scott admits. “I’m not even sure this is a real dance.”

“This feels pretty real to me.” Jimmy says, his heart picking up. “Kind of familiar, like I’ve done it in a dream, but real?”

“This is dreamlike?” Scott asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Jimmy admits. “Do you think we could spin with this dance.”

“If you want to, then of course.” Scott says, spinning Jimmy around.

Jimmy giggles slightly, breathless as his hand falls onto Scott’s shoulder again. Scott leads them again, and Jimmy lets his feet go without thinking. It’s like the dance he had in his nightmare, with his shadow husband. Scott’s hand on his waist is comforting, a promise of safety, in a party of peace.

The music slows and they stop, breathless and hearts hammering. Jimmy takes his hand off of Scott’s shoulder, pulling away from his dance partner.

“I’m going to get a drink, you coming?” Jimmy offers. Maybe this could end with a new ally, a new friend.

“I need some air.” Scott admits, rubbing the back of his neck as though he’s nervous. “I’ll see you later?”

“See you soon.” Jimmy promises, smiling brightly at the elf.

The other man just nods, walking out of the room and up the stairs. Jimmy moves off of the dancefloor, avoiding bumping into people as he makes his way to the table, picking a prawn off of the table to eat while he looks for something to drink.

“Enjoying the food?” Pearl asks, startling Jimmy.

“It’s nice.” Jimmy says. “I love the prawns.”

“Thank you! I was hoping to get something from every empire.” Pearl says. “I’m glad I got something for you and Lizzie. Your empires were the hardest.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I could have helped.” Jimmy apologises.

“Don’t be. Be more sorry that you didn’t tell Katherine about you and Scott. She’s rather excited that the prospect of you two being together.”

“What?” Jimmy asks, blinking.

“Oh, if it’s supposed to be a secret I’ll tell her to leave you two alone.” Pearl says, laughing. “Next time, though, don’t dance in a public ball like that. Rumours will spread!”

Jimmy stands confused, staring at the space that Pearl used to be in. He must be tired, why would anyone start a rumour about him and Scott? There’s nothing to talk about. They’re potentially friends, barely aquantinces. 

“I should find Scott.” Jimmy mumbles, walking in a daze towards the stairs. Scott must be on the balcony, right?

“Jimmy!” Pixl says, relief on his face. “You need to come with me. We’re leaving.”

“What?” Jimmy asks incredulously. “Why are we leaving?”

“Emergency at Lizzie’s empire, she’s asked that we both attend.” Pixl says, grabbing Jimmy’s hand and dragging him out. 

“What’s the emergency?” Jimmy asks, waving goodbye to Pearl and Gem at the door. The two of them share relieved looks as Pixl drags Jimmy further away.

Lizzie and Joel stand in the middle of the courtyard, holding a spare pair of elytra that they put of Jimmy’s shoulders as Pixl straps himself into his own elytra. Jimmy straps the elytra on, wriggling uncomfortably.

“What’s going on?”

“Gem told us to go home.” Lizzie says. “Sausage and Fwip are up to no good, apparently.” 

“Pixl said that there was an emergency at your empire?”

“I lied.” Pixl says. “Don’t look at me like that, you wouldn’t have come otherwise!”

“Look as funny as this is we have to go.” Joel says, pushing Jimmy and Pixl slightly.

The group takes off, flying into the sky. Guilt eats at Jimmy the further they fly away, and he turns back to look at the hall. Did anyone warn Scott that Sausage and Fwip were up to something?

He broke his promise to Scott.

----

“You look cute in the bunker.” The shadow says, sitting on the roof. Jimmy can just barely see out of it, and he knows that his husband wouldn’t be able to see at all.

“Shouldn’t you be preparing for battle?” Jimmy asks. “You don’t want to die.”

“I’m on my green life. I’m fine.” His husband says. “You’re the one we’ve got to worry about. Burning Dogwarts banner, really poppy?”

“I don’t want to see you sacrificed on any altar, petal.” Jimmy responds easily. “I’ll be fine, the bunker is safe and there’s an emergency exit.”

“Promise me you’ll come home.” His husband asks, standing up. 

“For you? Of course.” Jimmy responds. “In sickness and health. You’ll always have me by your side.”

Jimmy watches as the shadow people fight. It’s dreamlike, unreal to him. Swords clash and fires spread across a desert stained in blood. The dogwarts banner flies and burns and his allies are so outnumber it won’t ever be fair.

And a scream tears from his throat as his husband is shot.

His body dissipates, he’s not dead. Not permanently, but something is wrong. This world mustn’t have respawn, not the infinite respawn that it’s supposed to. Green life. First life. 

The love of his life is dead. He will come back, but he’s dead now.

“We want that banner!” A man yells, an enemy. There isn’t any winning this. He needs to get to him, to his husband, to his petal.

He’s shot through the throat on the ladder to the escape route.

Jimmy's screams echo through his empire. Not for the first time does he long for the embrace of someone who isn't even real

[technofantasia]

Rise of the TMNT Timeline

Alright, by piecing together some clues from the show and making some educated guesses, I’ve put together a tentative chronology for Rise!

(Note: not all episodes are included, just a couple that either have timeline evidence or are somehow plot notable. This is assuming the canonical episode order is also chronological order.)

[EDIT] Added some more information (namely Splinter’s birthday month).

1600s-ish: The Shredder was created and sealed away September 1960: Splinter was born 1966: Splinter’s mother left (Finale part 1 flashback) 1979: Splinter left for America (Finale part 1 flashback) 1980-1984: Splinter became an action film star, dated around 1984: Splinter started dating Big Mama 1987: Splinter’s “Hot Soup: the Game” was released 1989: Splinter proposed to Big Mama, was imprisoned in Battle Nexus November 2002: April was born April-August 2003: (Presumably) Raph was born April-August 2004: (Presumably) Leo and Donnie were born April-August 2005: (Presumably) Mikey was born October 2005: Splinter and the Turtles were mutated February 2014: The first Lair Games was held 2014-2016: Donnie made his first battleshell, goggles, and tech bracer Early 2018: Piebald was flushed August 2018: Mystic Mayhem (the series begins), Down with the Sickness September 2018: The Turtle Tank was created (The Fast and the Furriest), Bug Busters, Hypno part Deux October 2018: Bullhop,  Evil League of Mutants, Shelldon was first created (Smart Lair), Shadow of Evil November 2018: April’s 16th Birthday (Warren and Hypno), April meets Sunita (Operation: Normal) December 2018: Snow Day January 2019: S1 Finale February 2019: The sixth Lair Games was held (Lair Games), Repairin’ the Baron March 2019: Air Turtle April-May 2019: S2 Finale

(Reasoning below the cut!)

So. Assuming that the episodes occur in chronological order, we can reasonably assume that the course of the show proper takes around or slightly less than a year.

In Hypno Part Deux, April is going to a homecoming dance; homecoming dances happen usually around the beginning of the school year, in late September or early October. Since she is canonically 15 at the time (she says she’s 16 in Always Be Brownies, which happens after her birthday) and has a birthday that comes after homecoming, that would likely make her a high school junior! That’s not important, just a fun fact. Placing the beginning of the series around August makes sense, then, since it’d be before April started school and during flu season, giving Splinter a good reason for catching the rat flu in Down with the Sickness.

The other solid time marker we have is Snow Day, which obviously takes place during snow season in New York (which is usually December to March). It’d likely be closer to December, since I’d like to imagine that they would have gone out to have fun in the snow as soon as they could have, potentially even at first snow. Since Lair Games comes chronologically after Snow Day and confirms the year as being 2019, we can assume that most episodes that happen before Snow Day happened in 2018 while those after happened in 2019.

Another, slightly more tenuous time marker is Bullhop, where a calendar is shown that says the 21st of the month was on a Sunday; by our previous assumption, this is 2018, so a calendar shows this must have been during the month of October, which falls in line with the rest of our timeline here! Neat. The 2018-2019 NBA season went from October 6 to April 10, so, since Air Turtle presumably showed a late season game with potential for turnaround, early March seems like a fair bet. All of those episodes combined give a pretty good sense of time throughout the series, spanning from probably around August 2018 to Mid-2019. The finale could have happened any time after March and before June (when high school would end, meaning Sloppy Joe wouldn’t have had to be working Draxum’s kitchen). Because there were quite a few episodes that should have happened before the finale, though, I’ll split the difference and say the S2 finale happened in or around May.

Fun detail: by this timeline, April’s birthday is sometime between October and December/January, likely November (seeing as it comes after Bullhop but before Snow Day, and judging by the fall colors of the foliage in Operation Normal which comes directly after her birthday episode.)

As for the brothers, we can assume that they might have different birthdays judging by how in Lair Games, Mikey says that one of his favorite days is “my birthday”; if they all shared a birthday, he might have been more likely to say “our birthday”. They were mutated sometime close to October, but since they didn’t seem to see the date of their mutation as anything special in ELoM, we can assume they don’t celebrate it as their birthday. We know that at the beginning of the show, Mikey is 13, Leo and Donnie are 14, and Raph is 15; at no point during the show do any of them have a birthday, which leads me to assume that they are the same ages by the S2 finale. They COULD have had a birthday offscreen, but since birthdays are a pretty big thing for teenagers, I’d think that if one of them had a birthday it would be pretty noteworthy. I’ll just guess and say they didn’t have one. If that’s the case, then all of their birthdays would be some time between April-ish and August-ish. By the time the show starts, then, they would have already had their birthdays, confirming for us their (probably only guessed anyway but whatever) birth years as 2003, 2004, and 2005. Realistically, Splinter probably didn’t know how much older Raph was from any of the others or anything like that, but the years are still somewhat important for age calculation purposes. I could try to guess their birthday months by saying they might all have wanted a unique birthday month, but that would be complete conjecture on my part (as compared to the rest of this which is just mostly conjecture), and would honestly be more headcanon territory than an educated guess? So for the timeline I’ll just say that their birthdays are between April and August.

Now, reaching further backwards to figure out Splinter’s life timeline!

In Splinter’s memories in E-turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we see a clip of a teenage Splinter. Said “teenage splinter” looks to be on the older side of teenager, as he seems to have his own apartment and just looks older besides, so I’d place him at either 18 or 19 (leaning towards 19). Additionally, taking a look around his room, it looks like he might be using a Sony Walkman (first made in 1979), and has what looks to be a Star Wars poster on his wall (1977). Additionally, he has a TV in his room that looks to be a Toshiba Blackstripe model that was popular in the mid-to-late 70s. While I can’t tell if he does actually have a walkman or not, I’d probably place this scene as being 1978 or 1979 anyway, so let’s just say it’s 1979. If he was 19 in 1979, that would place Splinter’s birth year as 1960, which is nice and even so I’m keeping it. That would make Splinter 58-59 during the course of the show, which seems to track! He has a birthday in Mascot Melee (the turtles are buying him a new robe as a birthday present), which, according to my episode timeline, puts his birthday around early September.

The flashback of Splinter as a kid is a little bit tricky, since he looks to be about five or six judging by how he acts in the scene? But he’s also holding a Kamen Rider doll, and that show didn’t exist until 1971. I nonetheless place the scene in 1966, since this is a cartoon and hey, maybe the Kamen Rider equivalent came out a few years earlier in this world, who cares. The bottle flip challenge already apparently happened in 2014 here, why not move some other stuff around? This exercise has already had me comparing calendar days, I will not be deterred

In Many Unhappy Returns, the clapperboard for the film “Crouching Shrimp, Hidden Tiger Prawn” in Splinter’s flashback shows that it was 1984 when he first met Big Mama, meaning that he was not only Lou Jitsu by then (at just 24 years old!), but that he had been making movies for at least a few years. After all, he and Big Mama were supposedly inseparable after meeting, and in The Shadow of Evil, it’s shown that Splinter did date around a bit as a star. Assuming that rat dad isn’t the cheating type, that would have had to be before meeting Big Mama. In Fists of Furry, Splinter mentions that he hasn’t seen any of his dojos in thirty years; while he may not have meant literally thirty years on the dot, assuming he’s at least close, that would mean that he was first abducted around 1989 (age 29). At that point, he and Big Mama would have been dating for around 5 years, which seems like a reasonable amount of time for him to wait before proposing. He also would have had time to build up quite a bit of fame as a movie star; the game he had of him looks to be on a system similar to the Atari 2600 and in fact looks pretty similar to the real life game “Kung Fu Master” that came out on Atari in 1987, a year which would have been the prime of his career. Sure, that date works as well as any. After that point, we know he was imprisoned in the Battle Nexus until Baron Draxum kidnapped him in order to use his DNA to mutate the turtles 13 years before The Evil League of Mutants. That would have placed his kidnapping and their mutations at around October of 2005, judging by the monthly timeline of the show. So, Splinter would have been around 45 when he adopted the turtles, after having been imprisoned and forced to fight for ~16 straight years. Dang.

Finally, I figured that the whole deal with Shredder and Karai would have happened at some point in the 1600s as it was 18 generations ago, judging by the number of “greats” in Karai’s grandma title, and if you average out a generation to be about 20-25 years, that lands you in the range of the 15th century. That works especially because Ninja apparently first started becoming a thing in the 15th century, so the timing checks out well enough.

(and, just as an extra fun note for the timeline, the lair games was said to have been going on for 6 years as of early 2019, meaning it must have started in 2014. We see that, in 2014 (year 1 of the Lair Games), Donnie doesn’t have his goggles or battleshell and is instead wearing glasses. In 2016 (year 3), though, he looks about the same as he does in the present, meaning he must have created all his tech that he wears on him (battleshell, goggles, tech bracer) between 2014 and 2016.)

So, the above timeline is a guesstimated and shoved around compilation of all this totally meaningless investigation, typed in a form that makes some kind of chronological sense! I hope that someone finds it useful, or just fun to think about :D

[cinnaminsvga]

🌸 social media au where y/n posts a fake boyfriend application on twitter as a dare but ends up seeking something real in the long run (aka how to fall in love the zillennial way) 🌸

A/N: RIP Jungkook... When will he catch a break, I wonder? Who is Hoseok to him anyway? Much to think about... Also I’m just gonna say this, but Jungkook is literally the most unreliable narrator I’ve ever had to write, so take that in mind when you read this. Enjoy! || W.C. 2K

prev // part 14 of ? // next masterlist here.

[updates every 6PM PST]

It takes another 10 minutes or so until the maintenance guy manages to rescue both Jungkook and Namjoon out of the elevator. Luckily, the elevator didn’t stop midway between floors so they didn’t have to crawl or climb out, so getting out is a quick and easy ordeal once the doors are opened. Jungkook breathes a sigh of relief, but that moment of calm is short-lived when he hears Namjoon clear his throat behind him.

“Umm… Jungkook-ssi, right?” Namjoon addresses him by his name for the first time. Jungkook jumps up in surprise, though he should have known that you would have ratted him out when you found out he was intentionally ignoring the taller boy.

“I… Yeah. And you’re Namjoon,” Jungkook doesn’t even bother tacking on the question mark at the end, too worn out mentally to bother pretending like he’d only suddenly realized. He rubs the back of his neck, thankful that he’s turned away from Namjoon so that he doesn’t see the flash of annoyance across his face.

Without another word, Jungkook begins climbing the last two flights of stairs to reach your shared apartment. He doesn’t turn to see if Namjoon follows, though he does hear the extra pair of footsteps close by.

When they file into your shared home, the awkward tension magnifies tenfold. While Namjoon and Jungkook had been gone, it seems that Hoseok has already made himself comfortable, laughing jovially at something you said as he helps you bring the last remaining pairs of cutlery to the table. Jungkook looks over at the new visitor from the corner of his eye and notices the way Hoseok has his gaze locked fervently on you as you fussed over everyone’s seating arrangements.

“Oh, Jungkook! Namjoon!” You shove Yoongi’s plate towards him the moment you hear the door open, sprinting over to the two of them. Your hair is in complete disarray, slightly frizzy in places even after you had painstakingly taken an hour this morning trying to look presentable. Even so, Jungkook can’t help the way his heart beats a little faster when you envelop him in a tight hug, as you’ve always looked cute to him no matter what. When he wraps his arms around you to return the embrace, he feels you lower your lips near his ears. “You’re in big fucking trouble, mister. We’re talking after all of this is over,” you whisper darkly. He gulps audibly when you separate, the smile on your face is eerily present.

Thankfully, you don’t hug Namjoon as well, though an apology is out of your mouth before Jungkook can distract you. “Namjoon, I’m so sorry again. I wish I had warned you about the elevator sooner,” you pout, but Namjoon is quick to waive your concerns.

“Hey, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. All that matters is that we’re here now.” He smiles warmly, his dimples on full display. You clear your throat, staring wide-eyed at him, no doubt dumbstruck by his handsome features. Jungkook tries to relax the tick in his jaw, but to no avail. Instead, he marches past the two blushing fools, eager to get away.

Since your apartment is quite small, you set most of the food onto the coffee table, with everyone either sitting on the floor or on the couch. Jungkook is quick to take a seat next to you on the couch, but that also forces him to have Seokjin on his other side. The elder winks salaciously at him, which Jungkook pointedly ignores.

Namjoon and Hoseok take a tentative seat on the other side of the coffee table. Namjoon’s gangly legs make it difficult for him to fold himself in properly, so you offer to switch places with him instead, much to Jungkook’s dread. Namjoon glances at him for a moment before hesitantly accepting your offer, squishing himself on Jungkook’s right side on their small, sunken couch. He can feel rather than hear Seokjin’s attempts to mask his nefarious giggles.

You seat yourself beside Hoseok, who smiles widely back at you. “Sorry, I totally forgot to introduce myself. I’m Y/N! I’ve heard all about you from Namjoon.”

“Really? Well, I hope it’s only been good things,” he says. “To be honest, I don’t think I’d see you again after that time in––“

“I’m going to fucking start eating now!” Jungkook interrupts, stabbing his chopsticks into the mountain of pork that you had prepared. Somewhere in Busan, he’s sure his mother is cringing at his terrible manners.

For a moment, you seem startled by his sudden proclamation, but you’re quick to shake it off. “Alright everyone! Please dig in,” you say, clapping your hands with a large grin on your face. Jimin is the first to dive into the food, popping a piece of kimbap into his mouth and moaning loudly in satisfaction.

“Y/N, I don’t know what type of crack you put into your food, but MAN this is delicious,” he says, already piling up his plate with anything he can get his hands on. Yoongi is slightly more reserved when he takes a prawn and chews it softly, nodding in agreement with Jimin’s statement.

“Thank you for this meal, Y/N. You must have worked really hard,” Namjoon says, reaching over for some food as well. Jungkook watches as he nearly bumps the plate of ssam off the edge of the table. “Oh, whoops.”

Hoseok laughs loudly, the sudden noise surprising everyone around him. He doesn’t look all that embarrassed, however. “I’ll have to apologize for Joon in advance. He’s a bit of a clumsy guy.” He smiles kindly at Y/N. “You’re gonna have to get used to that eventually, I suppose.”

Jungkook notices the soft blush rising up your neck. His grip on his chopsticks tightens as he takes a particularly rough bite out of his food. “I, um, suppose I will,” you laugh shyly, rubbing the back of your neck while keeping your gaze off Namjoon. You accidentally make eye contact with Jungkook instead, who didn’t have enough time to erase the annoyance out of his expression. You flinch slightly, before softening your voice in that tone you use whenever Jungkook felt a little stressed out. “Jungkook? Are you okay? Is the meat too tough or something?”

Seokjin snorts beside him, nearly choking as he was in the middle of taking a big swig of water. Jungkook hates that he knows that the bastard is enjoying this way too much. Jungkook’s frustration is easy for anyone to see, with only you being left unaware as to why he was so agitated. Your cluelessness only adds to his bubbling anger. “Yeah, Jungkook. Are you alright? Bet you wished there were less people at the table, huh?”

Jungkook is quick to stomp on his foot, causing the prick to yelp in pain. He’s too busy pinching Seokjin in the tit that he misses the way Namjoon’s face falls, dejectedly looking at his food with a deep furrow in his brow.

“Oh? Are you becoming self-aware? Maybe you should take a page out of your book and leave before I kick you out myself,” you huff, scowling at Seokjin. You must have misinterpreted his little side comment, though Jungkook isn’t sure if he should be thankful for that or not. You turn to Taehyung, who has been mysteriously quiet this entire time. “And you. I know I said you could bring a friend over, but I didn’t expect you to bring this soggy testicle!”

Taehyung just shrugs, his attention focused on his phone. “What?” He doesn’t look up, his fingers furiously occupied with something else. “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Won’t do it again.” When he finishes his text, Seokjin’s phone dings soon right after. Jungkook’s eyes narrow suspiciously at the two, but neither of them seems to care.

You’re beginning to look flustered, mouth opening and closing as you figure out a way to salvage this mess of a dinner. If Jungkook had been slightly less preoccupied with his own swirling thoughts, he might have thought to comfort you or say something to alleviate the tension. Instead, he has his head bowed in shame, the bitter taste in his mouth unwilling to leave until the boy to his right decides to leave first.

“Anyway,” Yoongi clears his throat, causing Jimin to jump beside him. Normally, Yoongi never spoke all that often when they got together, usually content with eating and listening to the younger ones joke around. He isn’t looking at Jungkook, but he knows that Yoongi must have read his mind. He waves his chopsticks around vaguely at Namjoon. “You. You like woodworking, right?”

Startled from being directly addressed, Namjoon’s posture straightens slightly at the mention of his favorite activity. “Y-yes. It’s a bit of a side hobby that I do when I’m not busy with school or work. I’m… not very good. Just a novice, really.” He laughs, nervously propping his glasses up his nose until they’re nearly up to his forehead.

“Oh, hush! Namjoon is fantastic! I got him to make little wooden figurines to decorate the cafe over the summer, isn’t that right?” Seokjin interjects, reaching over Jungkook to slap Namjoon on the back.

“That’s right! Namjoon, I’ve seen your photos on Instagram! You’re definitely good at what you do,” you say, eyes sparkling with amazement. Namjoon coughs shyly into his hand, but it doesn’t hide the blush painting his cheeks.

Jungkook feels his blood pressure boiling, but he grits his teeth instead. “Interesting stuff,” he murmurs sarcastically, soft enough that only you wouldn’t hear. He senses Namjoon sagging back into his seat, but he doesn’t even feel remotely guilty that he had heard him. Even without looking up, he knows that Yoongi is sending him a warning look in response.

“Namjoon, that’s really cool. I’m an interior design major, so I’d love to see what you might think about the wood pieces I’m thinking of purchasing for an upcoming exhibit,” Yoongi says, trying to salvage the situation. Jungkook glares at him, but the elder doesn’t back down. Instead, he quirks a brow up, as if challenging him to say something.

Jimin gasps, a few bits of rice falling out of his mouth and into the plate of ssamjang. “That’s right! Yoongi, didn’t you say you needed something interesting as a center piece for the dining table? Maybe Namjoon can help you with that!”

Namjoon flushes, waving his hands and shaking his head fervently. “Ah, no! I don’t think I can help you with that. I’m sure you can ask plenty of other professionals who are more capable than I am.”

“No, Namjoon. You should help them,” Hoseok quips. He’s got a pout on his face, causing his cheeks to bunch up cutely. Like a fucked up squirrel, Jungkook thinks petulantly, hating how childish he was being but unable to stop. He steals a look at you to see that you’re staring at Hoseok, too. Hoseok pumps his fist up, “Namjoon’s great! He’s just being humble, that’s all.”

“I’ll be sure to ask you for help then, Namjoon.” Yoongi smiles wide, his pink gums appearing for the first time that night. It’s the kind of smile that makes you feel good, like being praised without words. Emboldened by Yoongi’s kindness, Namjoon smiles back, his previously dejection slowly washing away.

Jungkook feels betrayed. He can’t stand sitting in this room anymore, not when all his friends, most especially you, were being so buddy-buddy with this new unwelcome addition to your party. He puts down his chopsticks onto his dish, standing up and making his way over to the kitchen sink.

“Kook? What’s wrong?” You stand up as well, walking towards him. When you reach out to touch his shoulder, he accidentally slaps your hand away on instinct, head fuzzy with too many thoughts. You gasp, cradling your hand to your chest even though he hadn’t hit you that hard. You were mostly shocked, not used to seeing Jungkook so… touchy, and for seemingly no apparent reason. If only you knew, he thinks to himself.

“I have to go. Stomach ache,” is all he says before he’s grabbing his coat from the rack and shoving on his boots. He grabs his car keys, unwilling to turn around to see the expressions on all your faces. “I’m heading to the pharmacy. See you.” He slams the door shut behind him, leaving you more confused and hurt than ever before.

“Well, this sucks, huh?” Seokjin nudges Taehyung with his foot. Taehyung, to his credit, jabs Seokjin straight in the balls.

“Back to the drawing board,” he sighs to himself, rubbing his temples as the elder groans obscenities back at him. This is going to be harder than he thought.

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 40 - Appeal for buzzword of the year.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru with this week's episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san, welcome. Oh, thats noisy! *Adjusting chair*

J: Haha

K: How noisy.

J: I feel like I've been seeing you every day.

K: Yeah, what could that be?

T: Yeah.

J: Yeah, its strange.

K: Yeh, I feel like I saw you yesterday.

J: Thats right.

T: Yeah.

K: Did something happen, I wonder?

J: Yeah, something might have...

K: Haha.

J: Anyhow, I drank too much last night, and I have quite a hangover today.

K: Oh really? Yeh, your face somehow looks a bit swollen.

J: Right?

K: Haha

J: *To Tasai* Have you been drinking? For the end of the year?

T: Not at all.

J: Oh, you havn't? How about you Kaoru?

K: Oh, I have.

J: Have you? Not too much though?

K: No, I've been ok.

Kami: *sneezes*

J: I just heard a sneeze!

K,T: Hahaha.

J: Kami sneezed like, 'Ahhchoo'. Haha, what great timing to sneeze.

K: Ok, so this week, its still a little early, but lets  go with this topic. Joe, could you..?

J: Yes. 'Early predictions for buzzword of the year. The most symbolic word of the year is...?' Well, there have already been 30 nominations released for the buzzword of the year. But, well, there are predictions, and most of the words for 2020 are corona related. At the moment the prediction for #1 is 'social distance', #2 is 'the Three C's', #3 is 'Stay Home', #4 is 'Covid crisis', #6 is 'Abe no mask', #9 is 'Amaebi'..

K: Its 'Amabie'. (*This is the name of a spirit which is believed to ward off plagues*)

J: Ah, Amabie, yes. What did I say?

K: Ama ebi (*sweet shrimp*).

T: Very delicious stuff will come.

J: That sounds odd.

K: haha

J: Uh, #10 is 'State of Emergency'. 8 out of the top 10 are corona related. There are also others such as 'Go To Campaign', 'PCR test', and 'Self-restraint police' etc within the nominations.

K: I see.

J: What do you two think about a buzzword for this year?

T: Was there something..?

J: In terms of this show?

K: Oh, on this show?

J: Yeh, something from this show.

K: Well, there should be something.

J: Haha, yeah.

K: A lot of things were said off the cuff.

T: Yeah, haha.

J: I've a feeling our buzzword of the year might be something that Kami has said, haha.

T: There must be so many things, but..

K: You somehow can't remember, right?

T: Yeah, I can't remember.

J: Yeh, I can't remember either.

T: Its strange.

J: Does this mean the stuff Kami has said has left no impression on me?

K: Haha

J: Even though he talks a lot..

T: Yeah.

K: There must be something..

T: Yeah, there must be.

Kami: I say a lot of good stuff.

J: Good stuff?

Kami: Yeah, I say good stuff.

J: Im sorry Kami, you havn't left much of an impression. 

Kami: I havn't?

J: Sorry.

K: He changes quite a lot doesn't he?

J: Yeah, he has no sense of consistency.

T: Haha, thats true.

J: ???*1

T: There is like '¥1000 p/h' with Kami.

J: '¥1000 p/h'!

T: One of Kami's words.

K: Or 'Night-shift'.

J: Oh, 'Night-shift', right.

T: He kinda has a 'Kani kōsen/The Crab Cannery Ship' feel to him. (*A 1929 proletarian novel by Kobayashi Takiji*)

J: Haha, he has a sense of Kobayashi Takiji, right?

T: Yeah, haha.

J: But as for this show, we did mention Hanshin quite a bit.

K: Hmmm, well...

J: Not enough to make it a buzzword of the year?

K: Sometimes.

J: Only sometimes? Does Tokyo Sports have anything, like articles that were a big hit, outside of corona?

T: Well, there was a surprising amount of negative news.

J: Right?

T: Things about all the suffering that took place this year.

J: Wasn't there any really silly Tokyo Sportsy stories that took off?

T: I don't think there was this year.

J: Wasn't there?

T: Because its always been about Tenryu.(*Former Pro-wrestler*)

K: Hahaha.

T: Sorry about that everyone, this new Reiwa era has been...

J: Is Tenryu still active?

T: Haha, no..

K: No, he's not.

T: The viewers might be ??? *2

J: By Tenryu, you mean Tenryu Genichiro, right?

T: Yes.

K: But he does appear on TV quite a bit.

T: For any one who doesn't know what we're taking about, we'll just say he's on tv sometimes.

K: Choshu san too, right? (*Former Pro-wrestler*)

T: Yeah.

J: Ah, Choshu san? Yeah. 

T: We run stories about the secret 'Tenryu metal bat' incident, and stuff.

K: But we want that kind of thing, right?

J: Yeh, everyone expects its to be corona corona corona, but on the other hand if you go with Tenryu..

K: Haha, Tenryu for buzzword of the year??

J: Yeah, haha. Wouldn't it be great if our buzzword for the year was 'Tenryu'?

T: I think it would be for Tokyo Sports...Tenryu, or..'Big boobs' or something like that.

J: Ahh. Well, we need something for this show, The Freedom of Expression. Like, 'Night shift'?

T: Hmm, 'night shift' or..I feel like you've said quite a few puns, Joe.

J: I probably have.

K: But actually, last time...Kami was saying 'small boobs' quite a lot.

J, T: Hahaha

J: He was! The buzzword of the year: Small boobs?

T: There's quite a lot of things 'lacking' about this show too though, isn't there? Haha.

K: Yeh, lacking good taste. It can't be helped.

J: Well, yeh, Kami is vulgar. We can't change that. Isn't there anything you can think of, Kaoru? Anything unforgettable..a symbol of 2020?

K: I feel like there should be.

T: Oh, but there was Hosojimaya too!

J: Hosojimaya, yeh. Carbohydrate + carbohydrate.

K: That was your..

T: Your favourite set meal right?

J: I always end up saying that...Carbs + carbs.

T: Oh, I remember one. When Kaoru was eating ramen at Hosojimaya, he said 'I'm collecting all the onions in one spoon'.

K: Hahaha

J: Collecting all the onions in one spoon?

T: It was that delicious.

J: When you were drinking the soup?

K: Yeah.

T: Yeh, he was like, 'The onions are so good, I can get them all into one spoon!'. That one stands out for me.

J: Haha 'Collecting the onions in one spoon', the buzzword for 2020?

K: But I do sit there eating that for a long time, the onions and stuff.

T: Yeh, you were saying, 'This is so good'.

J: Why is that? You are not remembering being poor as a kid?

K: I just like onions.

J: You like onions?

T: They are delicious.

J: I like them too. I still go to Hosojimaya sometimes.

K: Oh, do you?

J: Yeah.They said they've had a few customers who saw the restaurant on this show. So thank you for that.

K: It'd be nice to go to some other places lIke that. A Chinese restaurant or something.

J: Yeah, it would. I wanna go to Chinese restaurants so much that the buzzword for the show next year will be 'Chinese restaurants'!

T: Haha

K: Im not sure about that just yet...

J: Oh, is that a bit too much? haha. But, I don't know why I said 'Sweet prawn' (amaebi), instead of Amabie. When I shake my head, I can feel the alcohol sploshing around.

K: But when this came out at first, we didn't know anything about it, did we?

T: I still don't really. What is it?

K: Im not that sure..

J: Its like a spirit to protect against infectious disease. I don't know where this came from. Its like a strange looking character. Amabie..

T: But Joe-style is Ama ebi.

K: Was sweet prawn a thing this year? haha.

J: I messed up..

K: Its the first I've heard of it!

T: Haha, yeh.

J: Well, yeh, sweet prawn didn't really come up in our lives during 2020. But don't you wanna come up with something that is unrelated to corona?

T: Yeah.

K: Well, yeh.

J: Kami, do you have any ideas?

Kami: As for me? I kinda want this one to do well...'Ojikun' (*A trend of younger women falling for middle aged men*). Its not in the nominations, is it?

T: Oh, Ojikyun, yeah.

J: What is Ojikyun?

T: There was this tv drama with a bunch of middle aged men, and the younger women thought they were cute. Like they fell for them.

K: Oh, I remember something like that.

T: Yeah, it was a manga too.

J: Ojikyun...that sounds good.

K: *points at Joe* You think you are old enough for Ojikyun?

J: I really want that to happen.

K: Well, that makes us all Ojikyun.

J: Haha, no no, thats totally me.

T: Joe, you are still young!

J: No no, really. Lets go with 'Ojikyun'.

K: You keep saying we should go with everything, haha.

J: Well, you see, the alcohol is affecting me today, it really is.

K: Ok, lets appeal for suggestions...

J: Oh, yeah.

K:...for this show's buzzword of the year.

T: Ah, I see.

K: Lets see which things have left an impression on the viewers.

T: Well, for me its Kaoru collecting all those onions. So, we want to know what other things have stood out to the viewers.

J: Yeah. I liked the hoodie.

T: Oh, the Tokyo Sports hoodie?

J: Yes.

T: Oh, thank you.

J: Tokyo Sports hoodie. Is it a buzzword, or maybe a trending item?

T: Oh, that makes me so happy.

K:  Is it selling?

T: Well, thanks to this show, and Joe modelling it..

J: No no no.

T: Joe, the fashion leader.

J: Im not a fashion leader at all. I only ever wear black.

K: Hahaha

T: Is it Kyary pamyu pamyu or Joe Yokomizu? haha

J: What are you talking about? haha. Okay, I'll go with 'Tokyo Sports Hoodie' for the buzzword.

T: Thank you. ??? *3

J: Haha. Thank you ???

T: Yeah.

J: So, lets ask the viewers for thier suggestions.

K: Yeah, lets.

J: Which was the best word on the show this year, or the most symbolic.

T: Sounds good.

K: So, should we choose the one with the most votes as the winner?

J: I guess thats how it would go.

T: Well, we can't forget about what Kami wants..

K: So, like we can choose one, and if we remember it...We won't just go by which had the most suggestions.

T, J: Yeh, yeh, yeh.

K: And we can give one of the radio stickers as a present to that person.

J: Oh, those stickers! Thats a good idea.

Kami: Um, this might be a bit different from a buzzword, but Dir en grey did that online live show, right?

T, K, J: Yes.

Kami: Not the online live, I mean the streamed setlist chosen by members.

T, K, J: Oh yes

Kami: When the new song 'World of Mercy' was played, everyone said, 'Its Tashiro!'. (*Controvesial former tv star Tashiro Masashi, nicknamed 'Marcy', prosecuted for filming up womens' skirts and drug use. Marcy/マーシー and Mercy/マーシー have the same pronunciation in Japanese.*)

T: Ah, I see, haha.

K: Oh, that. Marcy..

Kami: Yes, Marcy/Mercy, its Tashiro. Could that be a buzzword?

T: I mean, what can we say about that?

J: I guess it is...

K: Well, it is, but if a regular person saw it, they would think of that Marcy (*as opposed to Dir's Mercy).

J: Haha, 'that Marcy'? Should we include 'Tashiro'?

T: I mean, it is a thing amongst the fans.

Kami: Within this show...Tashiro.

T: Online slang is pretty interesting, right?

J: Yeah.

K: Lets just put this Mercy/Marcy talk to one side, shall we? Haha.

J: Really. We ended up talking about this kind of thing before we even realised it.

K: But yeah, Id like to decide on a buzzword for the year for the Freedom of Expression, so please send us your suggestions.

J: Where should they send them to?

K: Er, in the comments for this vid, or on my twitter. I'll write a tweet about this, so people can reply to that. Ok, well, lets finish here this week. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.

*1,2,3 - Either couldn't hear, or couldn't figure out.