#yeah i forgot 4/5 of these even exist it be like that

[thatdeadaquarius]

SAGAU / Isekai Genshin:

You can still use your characters! ... as in possessing them 👻

(all art by me down below, hope its decent lol - did it for u guys and myself i mean what )

Edit 9/7/23: 1,500+ NOTES??? BRO WHAT!! THABK YOU <3

Edit 12/24/23 + 4/5/24:

☆

My dumbass forgot to put this here .-.

Anywya this is a full length fanfic now ;)

PART 1 (you're here!) / Part 2

So.

You got sucked into a video game. 

Crazy, but it happens ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

yknow how it issss

...you very quickly discover that unfortunately video game rules still apply...

which wouldn't normally be an issue! like, needing to use the bathroom in the middle of a fight? Nope! minor cuts and bruises like papercuts, only actual enemies or fall damage counting? hell yeah that'd be great (theoretically no chronic pains if you got that?? hmmmm unsure)

see the issue comes when you realize, you as a player, don't have a "character" that's all your own

there's aether/lumine yeah.. but bc the game's real now, they're their own people, and you didn't wake up to find yourself as a blonde twin...

the closest you can describe your form as is .. like a seelie?

or like the way ghosts look in game?

but a lot more "starry"

like your specterlike, but you look like you got filled up with stars and the milky way, maybe a reference of you being from another universe/world? (aether/lumine/dainsleif/khaenriah star symbol reference secret thEORY-)

but yah.

you also got just, white eyes.

like, not iris, not pupil. like your pupil and iris got erased

you gotta admit, at least you look really aesthetic now.

(u also got a little cape and hood on at all times, and you cant take it off to see your starrified hair >:/ ,very Blue Diamond-esque, look up Steven Universe, Blue Diamond if you dont know who im talking about)

so needless to say, as soon as you sort of glitched your way into existence you were HYPE

i mean ur ACTUALLY IN TEYVAT WITH THE BOYSSSS

...then you realize your a spooky-no-character-to-pilot-around-thus-no-character-model-body-for-you thingy

and that you cant touch stuff!! >:(

like wth!!!

thats just downright unfair.

so, you figure if you got no body to be.... you gotta find a new "character" to pilot >:)

...

I choose you, yellow fungi!

...

....

you're in the fucking woods (Sumeru somewhere obv, u knew that the moment you opened ur eyes),

what'd you expect?? an archon??

..wait a minute. can you possess an archon-

these kinda thoughts plague your first few days of irl genshin impact playing

a rishabold tiger? yep.

a sumpter beast? kinda slow and heavy feeling but yeah.

...you also try a ruin machine LOL

by far, the fungi and ruin machines are the best to possess, mostly because you can remain upright with those

(tho u did find some type of flying monkey that wasnt in game, but its like,, a real world and jungle now so that makes sense there'd be more complexity + stuff)

you do eventually think you should try and possess a person at this point... but ur kinda nervous 👉👈

its ur first time doin this okay nobody explained the basics to you youve been winging for a week now!

will your mind be replaced with theirs? it hasn't been so far with the creatures/bots

and as far as you can tell, they kinda just-

forget what happened or "wake up" after you possess them

(the tiger you were for a day looked confused as hell when it realized that there was a new pile of fruit next to it when it "woke up", it was your way of saying thank you to the animals of the jungle, u left them little piles of food you collected running around as them)

so THEORHETICALLY-

you should be good to go and possess a random poor eremite

... you figure you want to possess something human-like eventually even if you get a puppet body like wanderer/raiden so...

here goes nothing...

♤

so it's been 2 weeks since you've been forcefully yanked into teyvat, and by the second week, you were trying to possess eremites

which! worked out!

mostly..!

you kinda convinced the entirety of two eremite camps that a certain part one of sumeru's forests is hella haunted bc ppl keep "blacking out" and doing things they don't remember doing, yknow... like possesssion LMAO

they kinda ran off to escape you but, hey!

experiment #2: people possession, success!!

now you were kinda convinced of this when you realized no matter the angle the animals and machines of sumeru didnt react to you getting super close to them (you dont have to touch something to posses it, just look at it really, but you wanted to test limits, so you walked up to sumpter beasts and fungi and ruin machines)

but no one can see you.

you don't have a "character" most of the time, you can float and glide around the ground like scaramouche lol

you cant touch stuff bc of this, you cant smell stuff (u saw the eremites campfires & couldnt smell the smoke until you were them)

you cant eat stuff w/o a body, so.. it makes sense that the eremites and passing merchants, cant see you when you float around, trying to reorient yourself after 2 weeks of experimenting

:( ur only a lil sad about it... but mostly not bc lol u got possession powers so trade off u guess

the first time you see a vision-bearer you literally scream

LMAO

ur so lucky u cant be seen or heard

bc Collei would have def screamed back lol

needless to say u stalk the forest ranger- ALL DAY.

Collei goes on patrol around the woods? you go on a patrol.

collei goes to visit other forest rangers? you "visit" other forest rangers at base (lol u def possess a guy who was asleep on a bench nearby & wake up to go talk to Collei "in-person", poor guy was so worried he sleep walked/talked so hard he went to see Tighnari an hour later lmao)

welp, you decide this is your life now, follow Collei everywhere, talk one-sided to Collei until you can possess a forest ranger w/o it being suspicious (dont wanna turn the poor rangers into the terrified eremites from a week or two ago...)

then, after you get the courage and erase the paranoia that tighnari can just... somehow hear your ghostly bullshit-

u do the same to Tighnari (then Cyno when he visits! no u didnt squeal, so what, nobody can hear you- )

♧

Tighnari begins to get suspicious about 3 weeks into this routine.

he's been starting to collect and start a file on all the rangers or nearby villagers that've started randomly "blacking out/sleep walking" in the evenings usually

(u possess as close to nighttime as u can so it seems like sleepwalking)

So when Cyno comes back from a mission gone wrong,

having nearly been decapitated by a rogue flying ruin machine, only to black out and come to standing calmly 10 feet further than he remembered being 1 minute ago...

Tighnari's suspicions are confirmed, and he launches into researching this phenomenon.

his first thought is something like the aranara, but that doesn't account for the effect this thing is having on people

after all, what little forest spirit is strong enough to-

-control humans??

Tighnari begins to get the sense he's in over his head after he finds himself pushed into going into Sumeru City in order to collect more library books or ask around if the blackouts have spread to the city people

he answer is negative, on both accounts.

and he spends about one half of the day walking around, and the other reading up all he can on mythical creatures or ailments

Tighnari gives up for the day, and as he makes his way back to Ghandarvaville, he almost gets ambushed by some particularly nasty muggers

...and then he wakes up 20 feet away, his denro vision thrumming with power, full of worry and fondness for himself??, (just like Cyno said he felt happen to him..)

...Tighnari decides he needs reinforcements.

YOU GUYS-

UR LOCAL ZODIAC SIGN OBSESSED W/GENSHIN HIT A CHARACTER LIMIT ON A POST FINALLY. 😦

??? THIS WOULDVE BEEN LONGER BUT I BARELY GOT SPACE FOR THIS- I- EVEN THE QIQI POST DIDNT HIT LIMIT-

uh cya ig!!

Safe travels lmao,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist @revonie / @hat-on-a-cat / @takottai / @sickly-falling (?) / @iruiji

(Sorry about the late tag! I forgot to update my taglist before i posted this 💀 my bad guys)

Also if the people who got put there who i couldnt find a blog for see this, idk what went wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - maybe check and see if ur setting for "being able to be searched/looked up" is turned on?? Idk man

[mixelation]

How about... Akatsuki partner ships ranked? 👀

yeah okay. worst to best

6. Pein/Konan - Look, they have the devotion thing down. You want angst? They have angst, and also a vaguely punk rock aesthetic that seems like it shouldn't exist in universe, which is at least visually interesting. However, Kishimoto forgot to give either of them personalities. They both appear to be the same flavor of Mildly Morose. You would think being leaders of a terrorist organization aiming to end the world's magical military forces via snatching up all the weapons of mass destruction for themselves would make for an interesting power couple, but it just..... doesn't? This ship is bereft of content because even the most versatile shippers don't know what to do with it.

5. Kisame/Itachi - Listen, I know this one will be controversial. I know this one has some very dedicated fans. And I am here to inform those fans that this ship is boring. Look. You just have to accept it. It's okay. Do you know how much MinaKushi I write? I'm not judging you. Sometimes you just want something boring and unchallenging. Their canon dynamic is largely Kisame just doing whatever Itachi wants, and fans are usually too cowardly to let Itachi act insane enough for the dynamic to be interesting. This ship is for people who think black pepper is spicy.

4. Orochimaru/Sasori - I wanted to rank this one higher. Do you know how potentially insane this ship is? Do you understand? Do you know how many nonconsensual surgeries of third parties this ship involves? The stolen bones? The crimes against humanity? The fall out and betrayal and obsession? This should be the greatest, most insane ship of all time. But I've read how it's written. This ship will only disappoint you. Only pain lies here.

3. Tobi/Deidara - This one also seems like it should make for a deeply insane ship, and yet is rarely delivered on. Their canon dynamic is fun, and also its implications turn completely mind-blowingly bonkers post identity reveal. Like what is Obito even doing here? I can only assume his crush on Deidara was just strong enough he got distracted from taking over the world for like six months in order to harass him. Cannot rank higher because fanon Obito is too annoying to read for more than a couple thousand words, and people who ship Deidara with men keep turning him into a sad little uwu bean. You will find some fun things, but also you will find the most annoying OOC content on the planet.

2. Kakuzu/Hidan - They! Are! Married! Bizarrely, the pair that have the most cooperative and supportive on-screen dynamic, which gets them to second place. Unfortunately fans think Kakuzu's entire personality is scamming people for money, and not even in a fun Ed Edd n Eddy way. Also Hidan is usually just like. Protestant with extra steps. How did this happen? We don't know. Fortunately there's a least a small amount of good content out there for them and their married life. They're happy. Hundreds are dead, but they are having a good time.

1.Sasori/Deidara - Genuinely confused about how this one won first. Like I like this ship, okay. It just seems like it shouldn't be number one, and yet here it is. They have a well-established canon dynamic that's a little bit spicy but also leaves room for cooperation. They're both small pretty boys so fans are less determined to sort them into the gender binary of "dark chuckling sex god" and "sad precious uwu bean." There's a wealth of content that doesn't suck and even maybe sometimes gets a little interesting. You will have to read the most cardboard, unnuanced dialogue about art, but it's not like canon was churning out high quality dialogue there either.

[melrosing]

MBO Robert's Rebellion: Season 2 Episode 4

what the fuck is this: it's me drafting a fake robert's rebellion tv show through a series of bullet points. there will be two seasons of ten episodes each

SEASON ONE: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10

SEASON TWO: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4

prev: 2.03

next: tbc

so I did fully try to see if I could get that fishing boat scene out of here but in the end I decided I couldn’t and also now I’ve decided I’ve found meaning in it after all. I’ve found meaning in Ned’s fishing boat adventure

also I am finding the Rhaegar/Elia and Rhaegar/Lyanna the most difficult to try and suss out but I’m feeling a lot clearer on them now at least in terms of how I personally want to interpret them so…. yeah this has been fun for that

title for this one: who else completely forgot gulltown existed

A raven flies to the Eyrie; inside Jon Arryn’s solar, we see Jon, Ned and Robert all assembled, apparently having slept there waiting for this missive. Jon reads aloud for the three of them, and so they learn of what has become of Rickard and Brandon Stark. Ned is frozen in the sudden onslaught of grief. Robert asks what news of Lyanna. Ned tells him without needing to hear it: she wasn’t even there. The missive ends as Aerys demands Jon’s fealty, and the heads of his wards. Robert and Ned look to Jon, suddenly aware of their vulnerability here. Jon asks if they truly doubt him - they are as good as sons to him, he says, and better than any he might have had. They are each the heads of their houses now, and must lead them for Lyanna. He goes then to Ned and comforts him as he falls apart

Lyanna awakens beside the embers of a campfire, Rhaegar’s cloak wrapped about her. She has been dreaming again, and senses something terrible has happened - but can’t think what. Rhaegar returns from between the trees from watering the horses. Lyanna asks him if it is strange that she’s hardly thought of her father since she left his camp? How frightened he must be. Suddenly frantic, she tells Rhaegar she needs to go back, and tell her father she’s alright. She’s meant to be at Brandon’s wedding. It will be any day now.Rhaegar looks at her sadly, and Lyanna realises she remembers the dream she’s been pushing to the back of her mind. She looks to Rhaegar. ‘It’s true, isn’t it?’ Rhaegar looks back sadly. Lyanna collapses into his arms

Rip

Jaime walks into the throne room to relieve Lewyn Martell at the foot of Aerys’ throne. He looks up at the king with disgust and trepidation. Aerys sits at the top, gnawing at his fingernails - last night felt so good so right, yet now he’s more frightened than ever. He asks Merryweather if they’ve received word from Jon Arryn. Merryweather, uneasy, says there is still time

Maester at the Eyrie writes missives to the lords of the Vale, rallying them against the crown. The ravens fly out in different directions across the region

A call to arms lands in the hands of Lord Grafton, who reads it with a sullen look. His maester asks how he should like to reply. Grafton considers this a moment, before announcing that House Grafton remains loyal to the crown, and what the prince has done with some northern girl is no concern for men of the Vale

Lyanna riding through the woods, her eyes distant. Rain chucking it down. Rhaegar rides beside her in silence. After some time, he tells her that it wasn’t her fault what had happened to her father and brother. Lyanna wonders how it could be anyone’s fault but hers. Even now, she doesn’t know why she’s still running - she should’ve married Robert Baratheon as her father had wanted, and then perhaps Lord Rickard and Brandon would still be alive. Rhaegar reaches over to turn her face to his, and tells her that Robert Baratheon is not her fate. He never was. Lyanna, shocked at Rhaegar’s sudden intensity, asks again where it is that they are going

Lewyn Martell with Elia in Maegor’s Holdfast. Elia asks after the King; Lewyn says that the King is well. Elia says that’s not what she means. Lewyn pauses, then says he wouldn’t let anything happen to his sister’s daughter; it was the last thing he promised Loreza. Elia says that in life Loreza had thought marrying her to the Prince would be the best thing she could do for her daughter - though spiting Tywin Lannister was no small part of it. But this isn’t a safe place, and she isn’t happy; no-one laughs here, and her children have no idea where their father is. Neither does she, for that matter. Hesitating, Elia says she supposes the Prince is a friend of Lewyn’s, and asks his forgiveness for speaking ill. Lewyn says that he doesn’t think the Prince had friends, not even Arthur for all the time he spent by his side. Elia ponders that, then reveals that for the first year she’d thought she loved Rhaegar - he was hard to know but he said he’d seen her in his dreams. How could she not love that? Only now, she thinks perhaps he’d dreamt wrong. He thinks this northern girl is - she doesn’t know what he thinks she is. But she finds herself despising Lyanna - isn’t that foolish? That she hates this child, and yet still some part of her clings to Rhaegar. Lewyn says he doesn’t think it is foolish to have loved the Prince; many women have. Elia agrees, and says she knows now that she was just another

In Jon Arryn’s solar with Ned and Robert (are they ever getting out of there? stay tuned). Jon Arryn tells the boys he’s received messages of solidarity from many of his vassals - but not all. Lord Grafton has written back declaring his fealty to the crown, and though he has always esteemed Jon’s intelligence, he suspects it falters here. He recommends Jon send Aerys his wards’ heads before the King claims his. Robert says it’s a given then - they must march on Gulltown, and see who gets to keep their head. A rare smirk from Jon Arryn; they have enough men to take on Gulltown, but this will be only the first of their battles. He turns to Ned. He is Lord Stark now; what does he wish to do? Ned says he wants Lyanna back. Jon nods; then they’ll have need of his northmen - how fast can he rally them?

Robert and Ned say goodbye as Ned prepares to traverse the Mountains of the Moon; Robert will march to Gulltown with Jon in the meantime, gathering men as they go. Robert says that if they’re Jon’s sons, then Ned is his brother, and when they get Lyanna back they will make it law. Ned nods, slightly tearful, and the two go their separate ways

Rhaegar and Lyanna approach Summerhall. Lyanna’s eyes shine at the sight of the ruin: it is sad, beautiful, and altogether ethereal. She dismounts her horse, and wanders towards it on foot. There are flowers growing in between the wreckage, and amongst them her favourite, winter roses. Lyanna is confused, telling Rhaegar that she has only known them to grow in the North. Rhaegar tells her he’s come to these ruins since he was a boy; here, the music comes to him, and he sees things in waking dreams. For some time now, he reveals, he has seen her. That’s really it for Lyanna; they kiss

One week later. Robert marching through the Stormlands, Gulltown on the horizon. Bit of tooting from the war trumpets idk. Jon Arryn tells Robert that cannot hope to have caught Grafton unawares; Robert says he certainly hopes not

Ned meanwhile, wearing a Daemon hood: he’s about to cross the Bite. He boards a fisherman’s boat, paying handsomely for the man’s silence. The fisherman warns that there is a storm coming, and Ned pays him more - they have to depart now

Grafton’s men emerge from the walls of Gulltown. Jon reminds Robert that this is real war now, not a melee. Robert like ‘depends how you look at it’ and leads the charge, bellowing

From the fishing boat, Ned looks up at the rapidly darkening skies. The waves grow taller, and Ned tells the fisherman he’s sorry for ever forcing him to ride such a storm. Fisherman reveals he knows who Ned is, and he knows where he’s going. He himself used to be a Duskendale man, till Aerys did for good lord Denys, so fuck the king etc he’ll get Ned across the Bite if it’s the last thing he does. Anyway it literally is bc two seconds later he’s been thrown overboard and Ned’s knocked out as he collides with the side of the boat. I’m sparing my imaginary production crew the trouble of filming this basically

Robert amidst the chaos of battle at Gulltown. He spies Marq Grafton and charges at him. As Robert makes his first strike at Grafton…

We cut abruptly to Ned, waking up on the beached fisherman’s boat. The fisherman’s daughter is clearing the detritus from the deck. Ned asks where her father is, but the girl won’t look at him. She tells him she has gotten him to the Three Sisters, like they promised they would; if it’s to be worth her father’s life, he’d best do what he came to do

Aerys at his supper table alongside Rhaella; Varys leans in to whisper news of Gulltown. We don’t hear it ourselves, but we can tell what the news is as we slowly zoom on Aerys’ face, terror on Rhaella’s in the periphery

Robert at the seat of House Grafton, accepting the surrender of his opposition, and the fealty of one Lyn Corbray. He looks delighted with himself. Jon Arryn praises him quietly but reminds him that this battle was only the first - and the first of many, he fears. Robert like, so be it. He wants his bride back

Rhaegar and Lyanna stand beneath a heart tree. All about them are the charred remains of trees burnt decades ago, but this one survived. Rhaegar ties cloth about their hands himself as they look deep into each other’s eyes. Together they say the words, and it is done

[damianwayne0]

Minecraft || (3)

(part 3) part 1 | part 2 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6

Tim and Dick finally finds Damian after 2 whole Minecraft days , at a cave behind Y/ns house .

Tim : YOU DEMON BRAT! GIVE IT BACK!

Damian, who was mining for 5 days straight after Y/n kicked him out the house, got startled. : WHAT THE- DRAKE!?

Tim : GIVE THOSE BACK!! *

Damian : AND GRAYSON!?

Dick , giving nervous laugh: heyy?

Damian: what the fuck you imbeciles doing here?

Tim, taking out his diamond sword with a evil look says : I know you took them and you better give them all back and when I say all I mean all six stacks of them.

Damian, unfazed : what stacks?

Dick : someone apparently stole his 6 stacks of cobble stones and ever since then he is acting crazy.

Damian: well I didn't steal your cobble stones .

Tim , attacking with a diamond sword Damian: I know you took them ! You took revenge after I blew up your chicken!

Damian, pulling out his sword: oh, so you were the one who killed Mrs. Peck!?

Dick : Mrs. Peck?🥺

As Damian pull out his diamond enchanted sword with sharpness 5 , Tim almost forgot about his 6 stacks of cobble stones.

Dick : NO NO STOP! NO FIGHTING ALLOWED!

Damian : >tt< You are a fool to think that we would actually listen to you.

Dick, dramatically putting his hands on his chests : I am offended.

Damian: And?

Tim , who had been searching Damians chest while he and dick were talking and : I knew it! You did take it!

Dick & Damian: what?

Dick and Damian hurried up to Tim .

Dick, after seeing the chest : really?

Damian : are u blind, drake?

In the chest dick and Damian saw 10 stacks of stones and half stack diamonds and some bread . And yep not any existent of cobble stones .

Tim : He definitely smelted my cobble stones into stones!

Damian, who was already irritated with these imbeciles interrupting his mining , just dove his hands into his inventory and brought out a pickaxe with slik touch : ....

Dick : And didn't you say you had only 6 stacks?

Tim , giving a small nervous laugh: oh yeah hehe.

Damian, offended : And how would you guys even think that I would steal something and that to from drake? The things he touches becomes a cursed object.

Tim : uhh thank you?

Dick, feeling guilty: we are sorry Damian

Tim : we?

Dick , glaring at Tim: We are sorry Damian

Tim, now scared: Yeah we are sorry Damian

Damian : Yeah whatever >tt<

Tim : but I still didn't find those!!!!

Dick : Maybe we should look for Jason, maybe he knows something?

Tim : Yeah ur right. Let's go then what are we waiting for?

Dick , to Damian: do you wanna also come with us?

Damian, rolling his eyes: >tt< whatever ( translates to yeah sure )

Dick : let's go then!

Notes • Hope you guys liked it and don't forget to like if you liked it ^⁠_⁠^✨ and part 4 will be coming soon I hope .

[rallentando1011]

Somnambulant Soulmates (rise Donnie x gn reader)

rise Donnie x gn reader

Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Word Count: 4873

Content: movie night, fight scene, brief text messages (it was a doozy to write but still really fun!)

Chapter Artwork: Here

Waking up before noon was a chore. 

Not necessarily because you stayed up late, also not because you forgot to set an alarm, but the combination of the two made last night’s sleep enticingly prisonlike. 

You only awoke when your bedroom seemed suspiciously bright, your rest suspiciously long. Having work at noon and not wanting to miss it, you shot up in bed, frantically padding for your phone in its place beside you.

Checking the time revealed that it was a comfortable while away from when you had to be at work, not even eleven yet.

Checking your telephone also revealed numerous notifications filling up the screen.

Not that it was odd for you to wake up to a bunch of text messages, but yeah, it was.

When you opened your phone, you saw that the group chat that had been made at April’s birthday party was the culprit.

Shoot. You’d almost forgotten that it even existed. Outside of the pictures from April’s party and a few memes, not much had been sent.

That was, until last night, apparently.

You scrolled to the top of the new messages, getting to work on reading through the slew of them awaiting you.

Today 1:58 AM

Leo: so I recognize that we’re all busy people/yōkai/mutants/unspecified, but we’ve got some free time tonight if you guys would be game for a movie night?

Mikey: Yeah baby! I’m SO down!

Leo: …

Leo: we’re the ones inviting people over so this was more for everyone else, you know?

Mikey: oh. right. knew that.

Today 3:17 AM

April: I’m game! After like seven because your girl has work :))

Donnie: Aren’t you on your fifth job this week?

April: Isn’t your forehead on its fifth inch?

Raph: f

Leo: f

Mikey: f

Today 4:23 AM

Casey: HECK YEAH, I’LL BRING SNAKCS.

Casey: *SNAKCN.

Sunita: You can do it Cass

Casey: **SNACKS!!!

Sunita: It’s a yes from me btw

Casey: Your sarcasm is not appreciated, goopy one.

Casey: Junior is with me right now. I hope you find it suitable that I have invited him along.

Leo: wait, Jr’s not in here? lemme add him rq

Leo added an Unknown number

Maybe Junior: A movie night sounds great! I’m assuming we already have plans to get pizza? If not, I’ll gladly pick some up.

Mikey: You /know/ we’ve got pizza covered, baby! All you need to do is show up

Maybe Junior: Sounds great!

As you caught up on the conversation, you thought about your schedule for the day. Sure, you had work, but only until six, and you didn’t have anything the next day. Some social interaction sounded nice, even if all of the people you were hanging out with all seemed to stay up until ungodly hours.

Today 10:48 AM

You: gosh dang are all of you nocturnal?

You: also yes, I’m absolutely down for a movie night! where at?

April: Remember that one patisserie we ate at in SoHo? Just meet me outside of there and I’ll lead you the rest of the way ;)

You: bet

With that, you rolled yourself off your mattress, slapped on some jeans, a shirt, beanie, fanny pack, boots, snagged some breakfast for the road, and started off on your way to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day at work proved drudgerous.

Thankfully, nothing terrible happened, and you didn’t have many bad interactions with customers, but it was so painfully dull. It had been insipid, realistically, since April had left, but it provided a steady pay and got you by. Such is the life of a retail worker.

The boredom you experienced at work was quickly warped into excitement as your shift ended and your walk to meet with your best pal began.

After a brisk journey, you landed in front of the patisserie that you and April had visited only a few weeks prior. You scanned the area, grinning as your eyes landed on her leaning against the brick wall by the building’s entrance. No sooner than you noticed her, she did the same with you.

“Hey!” April waved you over.

“Hey!” you responded as you walked over to her, taking in the familiar area around you. Coffee shops, hot pot stops, standard commercial buildings and advertisements galore, but not many residences.

“Hey April, where do these pals of yours live anyways?” you asked, still surveilling the nearby edifices.

“Oh. About that…” she started, and you looked at her. 

She seemed nervous, almost.

“It’s fine if they live a while away. I could use the exercise.” 

She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth anxiously. So it wasn’t that.

“What is it?” you asked, the smile you had slowly draining from your face.

“It’s nothing bad, just- let me show you.”

April slipped around the corner and into a dim, adjacent alley while you trailed her like a confused sheep. When she stopped abruptly and looked at the ground, you came up beside her and followed her gaze.

You started rethinking everything that had brought you to this point as you both stared down a slightly ajar manhole.

“The sewers.”

“The sewers,” she confirmed grimly.

“No, you’ve got to be kidding right now. Wherever the hidden cameras-slash-film crew are, they can come out now…”  You paused. You didn’t truly expect anyone or anything to happen, but it sure would’ve made you feel better if it did. However, after a moment filled with the distant sounds of cars and people, you met her eyes again. “We’re really going in there?”

“Yep.”

“Does it not smell like, I don’t know, sewage?”

April snorted. “Oh, no. There are measures put in place to spruce the lair up. We’re talking industrial-grade air fresheners. I helped Donnie put ‘em up years ago.”

“... So it did smell?”

“Man, just get in the sewers!”

With that impetus, you cautiously helped her kick the cover askew, then open, and tentatively placed yourself on the first rung of a ladder built in a wall. Before you continued your descent, you narrowed your eyes at your companion.

“If this is some kind of trick, I swear-”

This time April didn’t indulge you with words. One sight of her deadpan sent you carefully yet swiftly working your way down into the sewers.

Despite being underneath the ground, it was still bright enough to see in front of you, see the rungs methodically moving up as you went down. You attributed your ability to see to the light creeping in through the entrance above, so when April followed you down and worked the cover back in place, you were immediately plunged into darkness.

“Woah, it’s, uh, a bit dark down here,” you called, definitely not clinging desperately to the ladder.

“Oh, right! You’re not really used to this,” April laughed lightly.

“You could say that.”

“Here.” After a moment, a bright light shone from above you. April’s flashlight. In the now illuminated cement structure, you looked up to see her flash you a smile. You mustered up an uneasy one back at her and crept the rest of the way down.

You almost collapsed in relief at being back on solid, albeit sewer-water-dampened, ground. At least it didn’t smell like sewage, just like she had said.

April landed beside you swiftly, giving you a nudge before bounding down a tunnel. “Come on. It’s this way!”

You sighed before coming up beside her.

“Once again, I feel I just need to ask for legal purposes, this isn’t an elaborate hoax or scheme for my demise, right?”

“I promise! Look, just relax.This’ll be fun!”

“Alright.”

You two meandered through the tunnels in a comfortable silence, the only sound coming from the echoes of your steps and the constant drips of faraway water. With how many chambers you had moved through, you contemplated confirming that she knew the way, but the confidence with which she walked convinced you well enough.

Eventually, a light came into view at the end of the passageway, and you could faintly discern the sound of indistinguishable chatter.

“Right here,” April exulted, jogging up to the exit and stepping out into the light. 

You tailed her. As you drank in the scene around you, it was drastically contrary to what you would expect of a sewer dwelling.

The room had the spaciousness and height of a gothic church, though the decor was certainly less ornate. In lieu of flying buttresses or stained glass, the architecture in the lair consisted of graffitied walls, string lights and drainage pipes, which presumably led to more rooms. For an underground home, it was very bright and comely. The most notable feature of the room, however, was the huge skate ramp in the center of the room, the deck almost reaching the ceiling.

“See? Not a slaughterhouse.” April grinned.

You playfully raised a brow. “The night’s still young.”

You took to surveying the ground floor for anyone else.

Off to the side of the grand atrium stood Raph, Casey, and some kid who you’d never seen before. You could only presume him to be that ‘Junior’ character from the group chat.

Well, maybe you weren’t giving him enough credit. He wasn’t a kid, per say, as his built physique and the stubble on his chin made evident, but his bright eyes and how exuberantly he spoke to Casey accentuated his youthful appearance.

“Hey y’all!” April called as you walked over to the three.

Raph and Casey both greeted you with enthusiastic grins, Casey additionally giving you a light slug on the arm.

The new one, however, had a much more interesting reaction. His eyes widened upon seeing you, but maybe he just wasn’t expecting to see a new person. Reasonable, you supposed.

You decided to put your best foot forward, offering a hand shake and your name.

After a moment of just staring at you blankly, he blinked himself back into the present and shook your hand firmly.

“Casey Jones. Nice to see- or, meet, you,” he smiled widely.

“So you’re Casey?” you looked Cassandra mischievously. “And you’re Casey? Are you two related or is that just a coincidence?”

All ongoing conversation stopped for all of them to exchange a look.

April cleared her throat. “Well, about that-”

They proceeded to tell you the craziest story you’d heard in your life. They detailed how when, a couple years back, the Krang invaded and ransacked the city, the kid before you had been portaled from the future by older versions of your current turtle friends. The icing on top of the cake? Casey, the new one, is Cassandra’s son.

“What in the back to the future- you’re from the future?! Dude, you are from the future. That’s the most- I don’t want to say ridiculous but- it’s the wildest thing I’ve ever heard. Did you know me? Ooh, am I cool? I hope I’m cool. Also, no pressure to answer anything, just know that this is literally the most excited I’ve been all day.”

“Yeah, I knew you,” he nodded exuberantly with a bittersweet gleam in his eye. “The coolest commander I ever knew, aside from Commander O’Neil.”

“Commander?! Man, that’s wicked! Sorry if bringing this stuff up is weird or sad.”

“It’s fine,” he reassured. “It is odd seeing you, but I’ve gotten used to it. And it’s sort of nice.”

You smiled warmly at him just as the others’ conversation caught your attention. Casey mentioned something about everyone already being in the projector room, then April brought something up about getting this movie night on the road. You couldn’t agree more.

“So, should we head over there?” you proposed.

“We’ll grab the snacks and meet up with you!” Raph flashed you a toothy grin before smirking at Casey. Original Casey, not Jr. “Race you to the kitchen!”

“You’re going down, reptile!”

The two bounded off. You, April, and other Casey stood stupefied.

“Us too, future boy!” April challenged before breaking into a sprint after Raph and Casey. Casey Jr. shook his head lightheartedly before racing after them.

Just as you thought you’d be left standing like a deer in headlights until they returned, two giggling figures emerged from the sewer tunnel you’d come through, one blue, one orange.

“Hey Mikey, Leo!” you waved

“What’s up?” Leo smiled.

“Not much- woah!” you exclaimed. Mikey had already ran up to you and was currently squeezing your ribs in a tight hug.

“Hi,” he said, grinning widely.

“Hello.” You patted his back once, twice, awkwardly. “I think everyone’s either grabbing snacks or already went to the projector room, wherever that is.”

“We’ll show you the way!” Mikey was practically bouncing. “We’re gonna watch that new JJ movie! It’s a sequel to Pluto Vacation Part 77, but a prequel to Part 4,” Mikey explained exuberantly as he all but dragged you toward the projector room.

“Arguably the worst JJ movie, but let’s not delve into that right now,” Leo muttered.

“JJ?” you slanted your head.

“Jupiter Jim!” Mikey clarified. He let out an audible gasp and stopped walking when he saw you were still confused. “You don’t know Jupiter Jim! Omigosh! Wha- How? I thought I knew you!” The box turtle shook your shoulders.

“Easy, Miguel,” Leo moved Mikey’s hands off of your arms. “It’s not their fault they’re uneducated.”

Your stupefied expression soured. “I was about to thank you for coming to my defense, but I think you just made it worse.”

“Shhh, it’s alright. Don’t you fret, we’ll get you fixed up in about 800 films, reboots, and comics. Onward!” The two brothers started back up on their way to the movie.

“What? How many?” you asked, exasperated. You did not have the time nor attention span for that.

Leo and Mikey continued walking with you tagging along. The red eared slider just shrugged. “Chill, we’re not getting through all of them tonight. We’ll marathon as many as we can, though. I think the one we’re starting on works well enough chronologically.”

“I’ll take your word on it.”

You entered the projector room. The only person who was currently there was Sunita, though you almost didn’t recognize her in her yōkai form at first. You’d only seen it one other time at April’s, and you had lost your mind when she turned into a sludgy green puddle of googlyschmootz. You’d thought that she’d spontaneously combusted, but nope. That was just her insanely cool true form.

She was seated on the ground, eagerly staring at the projection of the menu screen of the Jupiter Jim movie on the wall. Behind her sat an orange, worn out sofa, and to the right of it was a gray bean bag chair.

“Sunita!” Mikey exclaimed, ran up to her, and took a seat beside her while Leo covered himself with a blanket on the couch and scrolled on his phone. “How long have you been watching the menu screen?”

“An hour,” she said nonchalantly, still not daring to take her eye off of it. “The score is just so good! I physically cannot look away.”

You squinted. “But you don’t need to look to hear the- nevermind.” You settled down in front of the bean bag, using the chair as support for your back.

Once you were seated, the sound of footsteps fastly approaching signaled the arrival of more people. 

Casey ran in first, bags of popcorn tucked under her arms, followed by April, with chips, Casey Jr., soda that certainly wouldn’t explode once it was opened, and finally Raph, arms full of candy. All of them were out of breath; you inferred they raced here like they had earlier. Casey boasting about her superior skills proved your hypothesis.

Raph muttered something about having the most to carry as he sulkily plopped down on the couch. Casey landed between him and Leo, still smiling victoriously. 

Casey Jr. set down the ticking time bomb that was the carbonated beverages he had sprinted through the lair with on the ground beside him as he took a seat by Mikey.

April clicked a couple of finger guns your way and sat beside you. She also decided to use the bean bag chair to rest against.

You were about to propose starting the movie before you realized someone was missing.

“Wait, where’s Donnie?” you whispered to April.

“Probably in his lab. Push comes to shove, we send Mikey to sucker him out of his room.”

“Is the lab here?”

“Yep. Just on the other side of the lair.”

“I might be reconsidering my whole stance on the whole ‘living in the sewers’ thing.”

April laughed lightly.

Suddenly, you felt the bean bag you two were resting against gain another commuter, the action bouncing you both.

You tipped your head back, meeting eyes with a nonchalant Donatello resting behind you.

“Personally, I recommend it. Technically not tax evasion if the government can’t find you,” he shrugged.

“It also helps that they don’t know you exist,” April jabbed lightheartedly.

“For legal reasons, I’m gonna pretend I heard none of that,” you averted your gaze jokingly, slowly tipping your head back down.

You heard your companions snicker, then joined them in their laughter. 

Soon, once Raph saw that everyone was present, he hit the buttons on the projector until the movie started playing.

While the movie opened up on, you guessed it, Pluto, snacks and drinks began to proliferate throughout the room and even eventually made their way to you three on the bean bag.

The movie was fairly obviously made on a low budget, as the shoddy camera direction and presence of a boom microphone for five minutes showed, but it was self aware about its campiness. Sure, the lore and character relationships were an absolute cluster, but it was still entertaining. Plus, the prosthetics used for the aliens looked phenomenal, and some scenes were genuinely eerie.

All in all, it was an enjoyable watch, made even more so by April’s occasional humorous comment and Donnie researching behind the scenes facts when something seemed intriguing to him.

As the credits rolled, you took a big stretch.

“That was a bit creepier than I thought a Jupiter Jim movie would be. Consider my timbers, shivered,” you admitted.

“I thought we reserved ‘shivering timbers’ for nautical excursions, same as ‘ahoy,’” Donnie commented. Man, he could really work sarcasm into any conversation. It was impressive, really.

“Hey, you can just drop it now, Don-Tron… That ship’s sailed.” Leo smirked.

“Wow. Boat puns. Stooping low today.” Donnie crossed his arms.

“Please, if we were stooping low, we’d bring up your internet history,” Mikey jumped in on the shenanigans. “But I’d much rudder keep this civil.”

“...” 

“Continuing on,” Raph changed the subject. “I guess Pluto Vacation IV makes the most logical sense?”

Donnie and April cheered. Mikey and Leo groaned. 

“Hey!” April exclaimed. “We agreed not to trash on each other’s favorites.” She then gestured to you. “Plus, they’ve never seen it, so we’re doing this. Got it?”

“Fine,” Leo and Mikey spoke unison, the former rolling his eyes as Raph placed in the DVD and started the film.

The film started, once again, with a killer score, just as Sunita had said. Maybe she had a point about not being able to peel your vision from the screen-

Suddenly, a horrendous beeping noise shrieked from right behind your head, causing you to snap your head around immediately. 

“What is that horrible- oh wait that’s me.” Donnie tapped on the tech gauntlet on his forearm and made the alarm cease. At the same time, someone paused the movie.

“What was that?” you exclaimed, cautiously uncovering your ears.

“Hmm,” the turtle hummed. “Seems like we’ve got a 2100-47 in progress.”

Somewhere in the distance, you could hear crickets chirp.

“Oh, right, no one reads the manual. Art heist, going on right now, Hudson Street.” 

You looked around the room, wondering what the heck any of that meant, but everyone else seemed determined, ready, like superheroes.

“Wait wait wait, what just happened? What was that look?” Silence met you. “Wait, you guys are trying to fight crime? Right now? Seriously?”

You looked to April, who only smirked in response.

“Dang you guys are not slash j right now,” you remarked, gaining a small laugh from the soft shell behind you. “Do I have to stay here or..?”

“I don’t think so,” April spoke up.

“There are plenty of us. What could happen?” Leo pitched in.

“Besides, in the future, you were always able to hold your own,” Casey Jr. beamed. Okay, if you had him backing you up, the guy who knew a future version of you, you couldn’t let him down.

“Alright. I’m ready. At the very least, I’ll be moral support,” you shrugged.

“That’s the spirit!” Casey shouted. “Now let’s go!”

Just like that, your peaceful movie night turned into all of you rushing through the main room of the lair, those with weapons and masks grabbing their respective tools, and climbing up to the surface.

Immediately, Raph, Casey, and Sunita began scaling the rooftops in the direction of Hudson. Leo used his blades to form an electric blue portal, leaving a tingling sensation in the air after he leapt through. Mikey took out a chained instrument and, after latching it to lampposts, swung through the night. The mechanical shell on Donnie’s back converted into a jet pack-adjacent piece of technology with a seat, allowing for him and April to whirl off in the direction of the fighting.

You stood still. You had nary a clue what to do or where to go or- just about anything, really.

You looked over at the only person still beside you and wondered how Casey Jr. planned to get over there.

He looked back at you brightly and stepped beside you.

“Hold on!” Before you could question why, the youth revealed a grappling hook-esque contraption on his wrist, tucked the other arm around you, aimed at a lamppost, and sent you two soaring through the air.

You instinctively clung to the poor lad, who was somehow managing his own and your weight. The wind lashed at your face harshly as you dipped and soared, swinging off of every suitable lamppost or rooftop you passed.

As soon as you started to feel ill, you two landed on solid ground in an alleyway. However, the dread from that was quickly replaced by what you saw there.

Numerous goons were there, some loading crates of presumably stolen items into a large vehicle. The others were already engaged in fighting off your friends.

Their faces seemed unnatural, borderline demonic, and the fact that all of the creatures  had the same exact face did not make it any less uncanny.

The Caseys and April were steadily beating them down with hockey sticks and a baseball bat respectively. Raph and Sunita had seemed to head straight for the truck to salvage the stolen art. Donnie, Leo, and Mikey appeared to be pure agents of chaos, distracting and fighting goons with any means necessary.

“Standard goons. We’ve so got this.” Leo confidently utilized his blades, trapping one of the enemy in particular in a loop of falling infinitely to dizzy them. You weren’t so sure. There were a lot of them, and you were almost getting taken out by your own side.

“Heads up!”

You barely had time to duck out of the way of Mikey’s weapon, a ball attached to chains that were literally on fire, as it whipped just over your head.

“Heads down would be more appropriate!” you called.

You stumbled forward in an attempt to catch your balance. You were barely able to prevent yourself from falling, but you managed to stay upright. No sooner than you steadied yourself, a low hum emitted from the space right in front of you. The air vibrated tensely; it reminded you of how Leo’s portal felt earlier, but that turtle in particular was already busy behind you.

Just as everything clicked in your brain, another portal tore through the air in front of you. This one was colossal, filling up the entire alleyway in its amber glow.

Your breath quickened as you cumbersomely took one step back, then another. Your wide eyes remained transfixed on the gateway in front of you.

Out of the otherworldly portal emerged a ginormous spider, about as tall as the portal itself, four legs acting as legs, the others similar to arms. Well, as similar as spindly spider limbs can be to arms. The arachnid’s six glowing red eyes bore deeply into yours, her jagged teeth curled delightfully into a wicked grin.

Perspiration permeated every pore of your being. Every limb went stiff, each muscle rendered taut. You probably would have screamed if not for fear of bile rising up your throat instead.

“Big Mama…”

“Oh, what a delectable surprise!” Big Mama delighted, her uppity, whimsical tone in such stark contrast with her imposing demeanor. “So many turtle-y boos, and- oh, this is pos-a-bubbly splendiferous!”

Her eyes narrowed in on you, but she didn’t take any action. She simply surveyed you, then the damage her lackeys had taken so far, then what all had been recovered, before they fell back on you.

“Come now, my minions!” The spider ordered coolly, almost excitedly. “We have far more pertinent prerogatives.”

Obediently, immediately, the identical servants ceased their fighting with everyone and filed through the portal behind Big Mama.

With one last nefarious smirk, she disappeared just as she had emerged: in a flash of auburn light.

All of you stood tensely. No one so much as breathed as if an action as insignificant as that would somehow summon the gargantuan spider and her lackeys again.

“So…” Leo’s lighthearted timbre cut through the atmosphere, “who’s up for Part 79?”

“Leo, not the time!” Raph corrected, and the two started to squabble.

“I think I’m gonna call it a night,” you said shakily.

“You okay?” April placed a hand on your shoulder

“Yeah. I’m all good! Just had enough excitement,” you shrugged coolly out of her touch, hoping that you were concealing your panic better than you thought you were. “I’m right around the corner so I can just walk over-”

“I could walk with you.”

You paused, looked at who had said that. Donnie. You tilted your head at him, fairly certain that everyone else was just as perplexed.

He retracted about as much as he could into his shell at the attention. “For safety, of course. Because, you know, that was a really oddly timed exit and they could be waiting nearby and-”

“I get it, I get it,” you reassured, sparing him from digging a deeper grave. “I’ll gladly take the escort.” You turned to address the rest of the bunch. “Thank you very much for having me over, guys, it’s been real. A-A little too real, maybe, but fun either way. Goodnight, gang!”

You waved goodbyes and exited the alleyway, a purple-clad turtle in tow. You walked silently, still hardly processing what you had just witnessed. His presence was still pleasant, even if no words were exchanged.

Only when you were about a block away from your home did you speak. “So, do you guys experience stuff like that all the time or is the physical embodiment of arachnophobia a special occurrence?”

“Yeah, that was pretty much the usual, but Big Mama’s just about the worst of them. It used to be Baron Draxum, the warrior-alchemist-sheep man who made us, but he’s been rehabilitated.”

“Pardon? Your dad’s a sheep man?”

“No, my dad’s actually a rat. Draxum’s just my creator, father at best.”

“Oh, okay.” You nodded along as if you grasped any of that. But if he was a turtle, then how would a rat or a sheep- oh, you were reading into it too much. It didn’t matter though, as you had already arrived in front of your complex. You walked up to the porch and turned toward him.

“Thanks for walking me back. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it.”

You two paused. Were you supposed to walk away? Have more conversation?

After a moment of just looking at him, you gave him a small salute. “I’ll see you around, ‘Tello-”

“Wait!” he said before speaking more quietly. “I made a prototype of the technology I told you about at the library, if you want to come over and check it out sometime?”

“Oh, would I?” you beamed. “That sounds wonderful. I’m free tomorrow morning, if that works for you?”

“Y-Yeah, tomorrow’s great.” He smiled brightly back. “Great!”

“Does eleven sound good?”

“Eleven works.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.” He clicked his tongue, rocked back and forth on his heels.

“I’ll see you then.” You did finger guns, internally cursing yourself for it.

“I bid you adieu.”

“Right back at you. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight.” He finally made his way off the porch before shooting off into the sky with his battle shell, and you could finally head up to your place.

That was quite possibly the most awkward farewell you’d ever had. Very sweet, yes, but awkward nonetheless.

At the very least, you’d made it home in one piece. You couldn’t wait to see him- you meant, see his invention tomorrow.

Taglist~

@rottmntsimp

[thewayuarent]

Boston is the worst

And how we get into stupid game of compared morality that doesn’t actually exist

This moment got me thinking. A lot. Mostly something like “Sand, honey, are you okay?” but also about how it doesn’t make sense for Sand to say that. Like even Ray was like “Hmmm, babe, actually, no”.

And then I got it. It’s not about why Sand says it, it’s about why narrative implies it so often.

But why is it constantly implied by narrative that Boston is the worst? Not just bad, or shitty, but actually the worst of all of them? And I kind of feel that I got it. But first, let’s go through the whole list of Boston saying be gay do crimes and compare it to other characters. And yes, I know that all those situations and motivations were different. I understand that this is not the same situation playing out the same way every time.

1. Boston recorded Ray and Mew intimate moment.

So as Nick recorded Boston and Top and Top recorded Sand and Ray. And Drake’s character I forgot his name again did with Boston.

2. Boston shared it with Top.

So as Nick, Sand, Ray and Mew did with BostonTop tape and Mew did with TonDrake clip (I kind of get Ray a half-free pass in that cause in my opinion he was more a tool than active participant but I still remember him).

3. Boston manipulated Nick’s feelings for his own goals.

So as Mew did with Ray on several occasions, and Sand did with Ray that one time to hurt Top, and Mew did with Top and the whole using sex as a test thing. (Also Ray kind of tried it with Sand but Ray sucks at manipulation and failed miserably).

4. Boston slept with Top when Top was in a relationship with Mew.

So as Top probably (?) did with Boeing. And you know who also did this? Yep, Sand. With Ray. Who also was with Mew.

5. Boston chased Top against his will.

So as Ray constantly chased Sand since ep 2, and Top constantly did with Mew since they broke up. And Nick did with Boston at the Halloween party. And Atom now doing it with Boston.

(Honestly, the only normal reaction to that in my opinion was from Ton who was like fuck off to Nick and Atom. But it kinda worked for both Sand and Mew so good for them I guess?)

6. Boston took an advantage of Top on several occasions.

So as Ray with Mew - twice, Ray with Sand (seriously bro stop it) and Top with Mew (and yes, hugging your unconscious ex who can’t give his consent and who told you several times to fuck off is not okay, I’m sorry. Try to put yourself in Mew’s place - not cool)

7. Boston outed Ray’s personal information.

And so as Ray did to everyone in the bar, and Mew did with Top and Ton in the Halloween disaster party TM.

8. Boston gets violent with Nick.

And so as Sand and Top, and Mew with Ray, and Sand with Ray, and Ray with Boston, and Top and Ray, and Mew and Boston, and literally everyone to everyone except Nick who is apparently hippie.

9. We all know that Boston didn’t cheat on Nick, right? Their relationship was communicated pretty clear. But I’ve seen those takes so.

Yeah, Top and Ray both did it with Mew.

10. And don’t even let me start to talk about slutshaming and purity culture. Ton is constantly dragged down for his active sex life both by other characters (Mew, Cheum, Ray, Nick) and the audience.

And yeah, Top is the same, and Sand is the same, and they never told us about Ray but did you see that guy? He’s the same.

And what distinguishes Boston from others is that he actually always - since the very beginning of the show - owns his shit. He’s almost never remorseful (for now), because he knows who he is. Bitch and proud, I would say. And I believe that it’s actually the case - because it’s way easier to feel superior towards someone who’s not denying their wrongs.

And this is about characters, but also about the audience. Every week, whatever happens in the show, Boston gets his amount of hate. Ray was winning after episode 8, but somehow Boston was still there. Boston, who actually didn’t do anything since episode five. It’s nine episodes aired already, can we leave him alone, please?

Every character in this show does shitty stuff. And it doesn’t make any of them bad irredeemable people. It makes them complicated, and young, and stupid, but not evil. This is not the “who’s the worst” competition. But somehow, for whatever reason, Boston keeps winning it.

Because the audience kind of get used to it. Because he doesn’t look remorseful. And who cares that he was punished by narrative way more than once, right? That he is isolated from his friends group - the only friends he has, and we can see that it affects him. That he was betrayed by Nick who he trusted. That he was a victim on revenge porn not once, but twice. That he did his best to clarify his boundaries but still get the creepy stalker behavior both from Nick and now from Atom.

Why does he need to change his personality to get some level of understanding and compassion? Why is he’s the only one who doesn’t deserve it? Because he’s a slut. And a bitch. And a bad person. Because while we have Boston it’s so much easier to apologize whatever other character we want. Because while Bostons exist it’s way easier to compare ourselves with them and keep winning some moral high ground points.

Because instead of thinking about these characters as complicated and trying to understand the motivation behind their sometimes morally wrong and questionable behavior, it’s so much easier to brush it off saying “Well, at least they are not Boston”, right?

[starry-blue-echoes]

Okay, I just got here. Sorry for intruding and I'm kind of freaking out about part 4 of Star Swap.

Because there are two Jotaros. Why is nobody talking about the fact that there are two Jotaros? Am I missing something??? 

Unless I am completely failing in Star Swap lore, in order to not become super convoluted and insane, a universe is localized to a Swap… probably? Anyway from what I understand three universes have an event happening in them and Star Swap is a series… except there's also an OLDER Jotaro here in Part 4! which would be the same Jotaro that experienced part 4 as Josuke! Which is causing problems in my brain.

… I was thinking it's either Joseph and Giono is the exception -Thanks to Hermit Purple Rrequiem- and swaps actually jumps across universes making Older Part 4 Jotaro have that Canon backstory.

…Or… hear me out..

 JoJo

 Specifically, Jotaro gets some of that Time Jumpy Amnesia and has not a single fucking clue what happened to himself.

JUST HIM 

No one else

He is the sole one that gets bonk with a forgot stick

For all Jotaro knows: he blacked out, got possessed, and went to Egypt. Everything went well. His mom got cured and people survived, but STILL. said person that possessed him made a bunch of friends and now Jotaro has to deal with them. HE has to rely on other people's information to figure out what the hell HAPPENED.

Jotaro still gets that Battle Experience in and gets those cryptic forgotten fog of memories from the trip But Yeah

Jotaro has no idea what happened to him when that guy was possessing him. Jotaro doesn't know! he doesn't remember shit!!! All people got is theories.

I have a lot of thoughts and this is probably not even an issue.ARGGGG

.. I'm here thinking that for The Star Swap parts 3 and 4 to connect in an interesting way is Memory Blockage or else Part 4 Older Jotaro would have to walk on fucking eggshells if something wasn't blocking his memories because if he talks or says anything that doesn't link up then he breaks time. Jotaro's fault for actively getting involved!

Probably. I don't know!!! I'm just thinking!!! 

you're correct, Parts 3 and 4 have been criminally neglected amongst all this chaos, so this is p e r f e c t

to clarify the universe shenanigans of everything: I've always been thinking that each "set" exists in its own universe. 1 and 6, 2 and 5, and then 3 and 4 all exist in their own sort of "pocket universe" just so we don't need to keep track of of all the inevitable changes and how they influence each other

that being said, funnily enough what you've brought up with Jotaro is REALLY close to what I've been imagining too!

Jotaro is So Fucking Lost when he wakes up back home. He feels like complete and utter shit and is covered in more bandages than he's ever had before. The last thing he remembers is his mom leaving after visiting him in the prison cell after he tried to shoot himself with Star Platinum

only...... when did Star Platinum have a name? When had it stopped being an evil spirit?

when had he stopped being scared of it?

Kakyoin and Joseph are of course INCREDIBLY worried by Jotaro's apparent and very sudden shift in personality. And of course, this panic only multiplies when they find they think Jotaro's stand has been changed as well. They immediately think it's a Stand attack......

but then Holly steps forward and denies this. That this is how Jotaro normally acts and more importantly, that she remembers seeing Star in the jail

now, technically this might be bending the rules a little bit, but I think it would be interesting to give Holly some..... memory weirdness. Maybe we can tie it into her Stand somehow, or maybe it's just For The Plot, but Holly has two distinct sets of memories before she collapsed from her illness

One where Jotaro comes home with her, quiet and awkward and open in a way he hadn't been since he was a child. And another where he refused to leave and shot himself in an attempt to goad a spirit hovering over his shoulder

this then raises the incredibly uncomfortable idea that the Jotaro they'd gone to Egypt with was the imposter. That there had been a fake in their midst the entire time and they never knew. Was he working with Dio? Another group? What was his goal? Why had he done it? And of course, the biggest question of all, where was Jotaro the entire time and why doesn't he remember?

because it's obvious Jotaro was somewhere. He has skills and knowledge he hadn't before. He's different, he's grown in some ways, but has receded in others

Electricity and loud sounds terrify him in a way that can't be described as simple fear

they do what they can to help and figure things out, but they can never find any leads. It actually during these investigations that Jotaro decides to start working with the Speedwagon Foundation on the side and "rekindles" his friendships with the Crusaders

(he finds himself drawn to Kakyoin at times. Or to be more specific, he's drawn to his Stand. The colors and shapes and eyes all feel so tantalizingly familiar, and sometimes he finds himself talking to the being as if expecting a response)

years go by, and the fog around his memories stays. It bothers him less as more time passes and he makes new memories with people who had a headstart on their relationship, but there's always a quiet niggling in the back of his mind about what could've happened

and then a decade later he finds a boy with a different face but identical Stand and temperament to match

[nightghoul381]

Ellis Twilight~ Main Route Chapter 5

Disclaimer for route warnings | Masterlist

Additional Content Warnings: None

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Villains. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

The next morning- When I reported yesterday’s incident, Jude had received similar information.

Victor: “A ‘circus’?...”

Jude: “The circus group seems to have disbanded a long time ago.”

Kate: “Huh!?”

Ellis: “Disbanded…?”

Jude: “The Grace Circus Troupe”

Jude: “After a successful run in London, the maggots who flock to success cheated him outta his money, put him in debt and everything went up in flames.”

Jude: “The troupe disbanded quickly.”

(Well then…)

Kate: “We heard that Mr. Bill’s missing friend had been ‘recruited’”

Kate: “It’s impossible for someone to be recruited to a circus group that’s been disbanded. The recruitment has nothing to do with the kidnapping, right?”

Ellis: “Or someone is lying and pretending to be recruiting for a circus group to lure in victims.”

Victor: “I wonder if the Grace Circus Troupe still exists behind the scenes, even if it’s outwardly disbanded.”

Victor: “Or maybe it’s the work of someone pretending to be the Grace Circus Troupe…”

Victor: “…It seems that additional investigation is needed, including in that area.”

Victor: “Jude, Ellis, Kate, thank you for the information.”

Victor: “The fair ended yesterday so please take a break for now.”

I take a deep breath as I stare at Victor’s back as he leaves, his long hair fluttering behind him.

(As Fairytale Keeper, perhaps all I’m required to do is write down the crimes of the Crown members…)

(But I wish I could help stop this incident before there are more victims.)

(--That’s right, the report!)

As a storyteller, I try to think back on whether I had witnessed a crime that I could write about.

(Hmm… Ellis and Jude didn’t commit any crimes, did they?)

(Come to think of it, I wonder if Ellis would ever commit a crime that I could write about in the report…)

(…Maybe it would be easier to write down Jude’s sins, since he’s so hated that his life is threatened.)

Jude: “What, don’t act like yer thinkin’ somethin’ rude.”

Kate: “What!? N-no I wasn’t!”

Jude: “So ya really had the courage to go on stage ‘n put yer body on the line?”

Part 2

Jude: “So ya really got the courage to go on stage ‘n put yer body on the line, do ya?”

Kate: “Why did you say that?”

Ellis: “Did you see it?”

Jude: “Yer at a fair, ya can’t help but see a big stage like that.”

Jude: “I thought she’d have refused the escort if she was a troublesome woman who was scared to death at every turn.”

Jude narrows his eyes as if he’s inspecting me again.

Jude: “Ya got guts, if ya want, you can come along.”

Kate: “Y…yes.”

(Does that mean you approve of me a little?)

Jude: “Ellis, yer the one who got her involved in the first place. Yer in charge.”

Ellis: “Yeah, I know. Good for you, Kate.”

(This was good…I guess.)

And so—I ended up spending my days following Jude and Ellis’ work.

We were attacked by business rivals and thugs once every three days,

A few days passed as I wrote in my notebook about the two people who would get revenge for even more outrageous behavior.

Then, when the “fairytale keeper’ work for the day was finished…

Ellis: “Kate, I’ve found a nice restaurant, would you like to stop off and go home?”

Ellis always called out to me.

Today it was a restaurant and yesterday I was invited to a place where I could see a beautiful sunset to eat crepes.

Kate: “Ellis, you’ve been taking me too many delicious restaurants lately…”

Ellis: “Too many…?”

Kate: “It feels like my body is getting a little bit…heavy.”

Ellis: “I don’t think it’s changed at all…but then, should we stop?”

--Choices--

Maybe not today

**2. …we can go. +4 +4 **

3. Let me think about it for a minute. (I had selected this option and forgot to get screenshots for the correct answer >n<)

Kate: “Let me think about it for a minute.

Ellis: “Sure.”

Ellis stands there, staring at me intently, like a faithful dog waiting for his master’s commands.

Kate: “I suppose we can go.”

Ellis: “Good, I thought you would like the restaurant, Kate.”

Ellis: “I wanted to take you with me.”

And spending time with Ellis wasn’t just about eating delicious food together--.

Kate: “Huh? Ellis, this book is…”

There was a book on the chair I always sat on in the common room.

Ellis: “Oh, yeah… I thought that was the one you said you wanted to read, right?”

Part 3

Ellis: “Oh, yeah… I thought that was the one you said you wanted to read, right?”

Kate: “That’s right…! Thank you… How much did it cost?”

Ellis: “Don’t worry about it, it’s a gift.”

Ellis: “You bought me some cranberry jam the other day, so I wanted to return the favor.”

Kate: “That was as thanks for the restaurant before that.”

Ellis: “Then, as a thank you for this…let me know what you think when you finish reading it.”

(I gave him cranberry jam in return for the restaurant, and he gave me this book in return…)

(And as thanks you want me to tell you what I think of this book?)

Kate: “…That’s the way you’d like me to thank you?”

Ellis: “Yeah. I like listening to you.”

Kate: “You’re saying stuff like that again…”

(Ellis is too good at spoiling me…)

--However, the one strange thing is the question that Ellis sometimes asks me.

Ellis: “Hey, Kate… How happy are you right now?”

He wants to know what makes me happy and what satisfies me.

Ellis sometimes asks strange questions like that, as if he really wants to know.

Usually when he asks me this, it’s when I’m feeling happy.

He asked the questions as if he could see right through me, as if confirming that I was happy.

It’s like an exchange between lovers… and it always makes my heart skip.

Kate: “Hmmm… I guess as happy as when I’m taking a nap on my bed in the sun on my first vacation in a while.”

I feel like I’ve gotten better at expressing ‘happiness’, probably due to always being asked this question.

Ellis: “…”

As usual, he would smile immediately after blinking.

Ellis: “…I’d like to see that. Would you like to take a nap with me next time?”

Kate: “T-together?”

Ellis: “Yeah. Think about it.”

Ellis: “Well then, Kate, see you tomorrow.”

(together…)

The kindness that Ellis showers on me is so limitless that I feel almost conceited.

But…

(Ah, I feel like I’m going to be ruined from too much pampering…)

Perhaps driven by this sense of crisis, I’ve been waking up early lately.

(I’m supposed to be doing a job that my life depends on, but I’m enjoying it more than I used to.)

(It’s all thanks to Ellis for trying to make me happy, but…)

I took the plunge and asked Jude, who happened to be reading the newspaper by himself at the early morning breakfast table.

Kate: “Is there a reason that Ellis is so particular about happiness?”

Part 4

Kate: “Is there a reason that Ellis is so particular about happiness?”

Jude: “……What, ya gonna do somethin’ if ya know?”

Kate: “Eh? No, it’s just a question.”

Kate: “He’s so kind to me that I’m starting to worry…”

What I gradually came to understand after spending time with Ellis is—

He says he ‘prioritizes what the other person wants to do, not himself.’

(As Ellis had said before.)

(It’s as if Ellis has no feelings or desires of his own.)

Kate: “As much as I think Ellis is person who genuinely enjoys the happiness of others.”

Kate: “There are bound to be things that Ellis himself wants to do or doesn’t want to do.”

Kate: “I’m a little worried that I’m not holding back.”

Jude: “…Well, look at you.”

Jude snorted a laugh while looking down at the newspaper, seemingly uninterested.

Jude: “So, ya think there’s a hidden side to his kindness, and ya can’t trust him?”

(Uh…)

Kate: “I didn’t say that.”

For a moment I was at a loss for words because I realized what Jude was saying.

Jude: “Same thing.”

Jude: “’I don’t know if I should be happy to be pampered because I can’t read his true feelings.’ Isn’t that what yer sayin’?”

(…now that you say that, it might be true.)

(I’m suspicious of Ellis…?)

He’s the type of person who would do anything to cheer me up.

Maybe I’m afraid of becoming complacent with that kindness and missing out on the feelings behind it.

Jude: “There’s no such thing as genuine kindness so leave that assumption aside.”

Jude: “I’m sure his kindness isn’t just due to simple favoritism.”

Kate: “….?”

Jude: “Well if he doesn’t have a special obsession with ya, then it’ll be fine.”

Kate: “It sounds like there are circumstances that make it not okay if he does become particularly attached…”

Jude: “Ha, yer smarter than I thought.”

Jude raised an eyebrow and continued.

Jude: “But if ya knew that much, wouldn’t a smart young lady know what to do?”

Jude looks down at the newspaper as if he didn’t feel like explaining any further.

There’s no such thing as genuine kindness.

It’s okay as long as he doesn’t get too attached.

Even knowing that, I still only have a vague idea.

That’s why I don’t know anything specific about what will happen if I stay with Ellis from now on.

(…I wonder what this pain is.)

It’s like reaching out to touch a beautiful rose and a tiny thorn stings my fingertips—my heart aches.

Ellis: “Good morning, Jude, Kate.”

(Wah!)

Kate: “Ellis! Good morning.”

My heart skipped a beat and my hand instinctively reached for the silverware on the table.

Ellis: “…Did something happen?”

Part 5

Ellis: “…Did something happen?”

His gentle colored eyes look at me with concern.

Kate: “No, it’s nothing.”

Jude: “She was just squealin’ ‘bout bein’ hungry.”

Ellis: “…I see. Then let’s eat breakfast.”

Ellis smiles and takes his seat.

(What Jude was saying earlier is… I should keep my distance so he doesn’t get seriously attached to me.)

(But… I can’t just be aloof now after he’s shown me all this kindness.)

So as usual, I smiled and spoke with him.

Kate: “Ah, I spread a lot of butter on the toast before it got cold.”

Ellis: “Mine too? … You did.”

Kate: “Thank you, as always.”

Ellis: “Thank you, Kate.”

(When Ellis smiles happily, I feel happy too.)

I’m sure no one will leave Ellis alone.

Because he’s such a wonderful person.

(I’m sure there’s no way he’ll be particularly attached to me.)

(This is just how I repay the kindness I’ve received.)

(I should spend the rest of the month trying not to be too easy on Ellis.)

I shouldn’t misjudge the sense of distance—that’s what I vowed to do as soon as I came here.

(Every time I’m treated kindly, I feel like I’m forgetting that commandment.)

Since then, his kindness has seeped into the cracks of the commandments and the distance between our hearts has narrowed…

I’m sure I’ve reached a point where I can’t turn back.

(I can’t make any more mistakes…)

Maybe, surely—I can’t make a mistake.

After finishing breakfast and Kate left to get ready to go out, Ellis looked at Jude.

Ellis: “Hey, Jude.”

Jude: “If it’s bullshit I don’t wanna hear it.”

Jude makes a noise with the newspaper as if to interrupt the voice.

Ellis: “Do you think it’s possible to make Kate the happiest she’s been in her life, within the month?”

Jude: “Dunno.”

Ellis: “If she has a moment like that, I would want to make it last forever.”

Ellis: “Because she’s such a nice person.”

Jude glanced up and saw that Ellis had a very serious expression on his face.

Jude: “…Ha, yer as crazy as ever.”

Ellis: “I don’t think so.”

Ellis: “I… I just don’t like seeing people I care about become unhappy.”

Jude: “….”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, things took a turn in the kidnapping case—

William wandered in and saw Jude and Ellis discussing the next day’s meeting,

Then he smiled at me as I took notes on the proceedings.

William: “We’ve received new information from Alfons regarding the kidnapping incidents.”

Next Chapter

[acaribeau]

Levi’s dolls

A little creepy shortfic based in a chat. A little crack-horror fic but it's mostly a hc.

gn!reader-platonic or romantic, SFW, 1.3k words

I went to Levi’s room when he called me. He had asked me to help him move the real size figurine that he had ordered from Akuzon by accident without Lucifer noticing. I knocked his door.

“Password”

“It’s me Levi”

“Are you alone?”

“Yeah”

He opened the door and quickly pulled me inside.

“Did someone see you?”

“I don’t think… Woah! that is huge. It’s over 2 meters.”

“I know! I didn’t see the measurements! My Seraphina looks so beautiful in that hunting pose that I just bought it in an instant”

“It is really detailed… and with so little clothes… So, how are we supposed to move this to the entry without being noticed?”

“We won’t. Barbatos will open a portal in my door in… 5 min.”

“Won’t he tell Lucifer?”

“No, I bribed him… but it cost me extra…”

“Is that possible? How much did it cost you? “ He looked really gloomy. It would have cost him a fortune.

“It wasn’t money… I’ll show you later, it’s time.” He opened the door to show a turquoise portal ”Help me with that side, I’ll guide”

This was heavier than I thought.

“So… *pant* Where are we moving it? *pant* Purgatory Hall?”

“No, Lucifer would know. I’m putting it in my castle.”

“In your WHAT?”

I felt the floor disappear under my feet and the sensation of losing a step in a stair made me jump a little. I put the statue on the floor and looked at Levi.

“Did you say castle? Do you have a castle?”

I looked around. This was like staying in a well illuminated cave, a little chill and the floor was polished directly from the same rock that the roof and walls were made of.

“Yeah, each of us have a castle in their ring. They don’t come often to mine because it’s underwater, who would want to come to this humid and stinky place, right?”

Moments like this remind me that my demons are lords and how filthy rich they are. The room was even bigger than the dining room in the house of lamentation, 5 rows of glass shelves filled with all types of collectibles that I could imagine.

“Your collection is incredible Levi… And this place is so beautiful”

“Do you think?” He was flushed and avoiding my gaze “C-Come on, he-help me put it in its place, the portal will close in an hour and I have to go for Barbatos’ bribe”

We moved the figure to the row closer to the wall, close to another one even bigger than this.

“Wait here, ok? You know my rules, you can see whatever you want, but don’t touch anything”

“I know, I know, don’t worry” I was already looking at all the interesting things. He had 5 katanas!

He jogged to the back of the room, and then he turned quickly.

“Ah! almost forgot. Whatever happens, don’t touch the water!” and then left the room, as if he didn’t just tell me something so ominous…

I continued my exploration. Levi really had one of everything, three of some. Posters, mangas, figurines, he even had a center of entertainment with a gigantic tv and all the consoles I knew in existence in Devildom and earth and some I didn’t even know.

This place was awesome, I couldn’t figure where the lights were, and I felt observed in each step. I supposed it was the little fishes that were swimming in a section of the wall that appeared to be an aquarium without glass.

A little sound distracted me from the colorful 4-eyed fishes

“Hello?” I could just hear my echo… This place was really quiet, even the water didn’t make a sound. Just when I was about to return my atencion to the fishes, I heard it again.

To my left, a little more back in the room, was a heavy orange curtain. Maybe the sound came from there.

When I pulled aside the curtain, I found a couple more statues. An old man with a big white beard that looked from an epic fantasy and a magical girl smiling and posing with her wand. Wow, and I thought the Seraphina was detailed. I could almost see each pore in her skin, her eyes so realistic I felt like she was watching me. The sound began again really close, it sounded… as someone with a gag trying to speak. This thing was definitely moving its eyes!! 

It was looking between me and… something behind me. I turned back…

.

.

.

“Oh! you found my dolls” pfff it was just Levi in demon form “Do you like them?” 

“They are so realistic… Are they enchanted to move?” I could feel a little of magic coming from them.

“No no, the contrary! I have to paralyze them each time I’m out or they cause trouble. I designed her dress myself based on the dress of Yuriko in Magi Magi Police Sun first season. She was the best VA the original series had, her remplacement never got the high notes… Her death was really a tragedy, she got hit by a soup truck. A really ironic death if you consider the mock in chapter 138 season 3… Tho, it was a good luck struck that she decided to kill her best friend for assuring her stellar just a couple of days before the accident… She came directly to my arms as if she were destined to be mine. She is the most valuable anime merchandise I have”

“So… this is the real voice actress?” A chill ran through my body while kept staring at me with her frozen smile. 

“Yeah! If you want to play with her, she could even sing you a private concert! She knows all the routines, even the ones that came after her death, I made sure of that!” 

I saw the curtain that extended through all the wall as far as I could see, a bunch of other “dolls” all in display behind it.

“Are they humans?”

“No no, the correct term is damned. Almost all of them are from my ring, but I traded some. Like this one! He was the author of “The epic of the red goblins”, a classic from the 30’s. I had to fight with Satan for him, but it was worth it! Oh, I could tell you the story of each one of them!... only if you want of course… you don’t find them creepy, right? Mammon says they are scary… as if a normie could understand the passion of an otaku!”

“What is that!?” I was so focused in the dolls that I hadn’t seen before the bright orange thing moving in his hands. It appeared as little tentacles covered in blossoms, its movements were erratic and… a little hypnotic.

“Ah! its Glory coral snake, Barbatos wants to make them tea… It was painful to cut them up, it takes more than 500 hundred years to grow a centimeter… Right! we have to go, the portal will close soon.”

He closed the curtain with his tail and we went to the door.

“All of them are so jealous of you...but… well… who wouldn't? I mean… you are… you”

My sweet snake demon was all flustered all over again. I brushed her cheek with the back of my hand and saw him in the eyes, smiling.

“Come on, you can tell me all about them later, ok?”

He beamed his smile and his eyes sparkled.

“We can begin the anime tonight! You know? Magi Magi Police Sun was the anime's first deconstruction of magical girls and the legendary inspiration for Hana Ruri…”

Bonus:

That afternoon watching Magi Magi Police Sun.

“And what would have happened if I had touched the water?”

“Oh, that would have woken up Lotan”

“Noooo, I wanted to pet Lotan!!!!”

“I already told you, Lotan isn’t a pet. He doesn't want to be petted!”

“Everyone wants to be petted” 😡

I finished a thing!! See guys? and you told me to sleep in the poll... I work better after 20h awake

If you liked my work, please like, reblog and comment. Don't repost please. I'm not native speaker, if you see any typo let me know. My asks and messages are always open for anything!

[dragons-and-magic]

More question time, lol!

Other than James, is there any other hybrid dragons?

How do dragons react to lemon? (LOL)

What’s Emily’s origin?

Other than villain dragons and humans, are there anymore rivals or villains they face against like wolves?

Is Henry gentle to the forest animals and acts like a Father Nature type?

Is there any dragons that loves the beach or the coastal region?

OH MY GOSH. I'M ABOUT TO DROP SO MUCH LORE. THIS WAS MY EXACT REACTION WHILE MAKING THIS.👇 I AM UNHINGED. :D

Anyone reading this, you're gonna want to pull up a seat! This is gonna be long! Lol!

Other than James, is there any other hybrid dragons?: I would say yes. But they are very far and few between. At first. Let me explain a few things! So, in the golden days of dragons, there were many species. And they were all sorted into different classes. Titan, Standard, Dwarf, and Fey. (And there's Leviathan Class, but it's too big to show here.) In addition, they are subclasses like Seadragons, Serpents, Wyverns, Drakes, (Normal) Dragons, Fey Dragons, and Longs (Eastern Dragons). They sometimes also are sorted if they had any kind of magical abilities. And each of these would almost always mate only within their own species.

But then something happened. Humans got even smarter and started using tougher and more deadly weapons. Slowly dragon numbers began to dwindle and dragons began to migrate out of their usual habitats and into other species. These dragons started to find mates from other species in the areas they wandered to. Sometimes it was simply a matter of their species just dying out. Or the smaller territories crossing over. Either way, Hybrids were the results. They weren't super common at first. But by the time this AU's version of Journey Beyond Sodor comes around, they're WAY more common. In fact, Hurricane is a cross between a Titan Class (Gordon's Class) and a Standard Class (Thomas's Class)! EDIT: I forgot to mention! For this same reason, clans made up of multiple species also started to occur. Before, Dragon Clans were usually made up of only one species. But after families got separated and almost whole species killed off by humans, dragons began to bond with others outside their kind. Found family baby! :D

2. How do dragons react to lemon?: Weeeeeeeell...

That's a definite NOPE from Thomas.🤣 Yeah, I don't like they would like them much. Lol!

3. What’s Emily’s origin?: Okay, so here's the thing. She is literally NESSIE. Aka The Loch Ness Monster!

Well, she's what started the legend anyway. Albeit accidental. Lol. Here's the story. Emily is chilling in her Loch one day, minding her own business. She had just gotten up, so she isn't really paying attention to her surroundings. A camera flashes. Emily freezes and looks toward the shore. Two very nervous photographers are standing there. She panics and dives back down! But, she's a bit too late. Because, blurry as it is, that photo is enough to start a whole monster hunting craze. Suddenly the Loch is swimming with boats and flashing cameras, and Emily's whole clan has to relocate! And that's how she ended up on Sodor.😂

4. Other than villain dragons and humans, are there anymore rivals or villains they face against like wolves?: Do ghosts count? Sailor John is a pirate ghost in this story! But he disguises himself as a normal hooman. He has to find his old treasure chest, so he can become mortal again and rain terror across the seas again! Also, there's a few dangerous monsters and such. Trolls, Rock Monsters, Sand Worms, etc. (Beresford the crane is a bridge troll in this!) Sodor is actually part of an archipelago called The Golden Isles. So there's plenty of habitats for monsters to dwell. As for wolves, that's not such a bad idea! Perhaps something like Wargs could exist. They're the giant evil wolves from Lord Of The Rings. Something like that maybe.

5. Is Henry gentle to the forest animals and acts like a Father Nature type?: Absolutely! He loves the animals! And knows a lot about them! Because he's closer to animals than the others, he doesn't like to partake in hunting. And he has a more vegetarian diet.

Of course, most dragons are predators, and need food to survive. And of course, if there was too many prey animals, the ecosystem would be unbalanced. So there has been a compromise made. Any animal located within fifty feet of Henry's den, (Located under the Wishing Tree!) is safe from hunting. Also, one more cool fact about him is he has plant magic! He can grow plants, and has something called Root Connection. He can basically telepathically sync up with the trees communication signals and find out what's going on anywhere in the forest! His horns and eyes get all glowy and everything!

6. Is there any dragons that loves the beach or the coastal region?: Definitely! There's three whole clans that live by the beach! Salty's clan is on the Southern Coast of the island. And you know Salty loves the ocean! His clan is made up of himself, Porter, Cranky, and eventually Big Mickey and Carly. Cranky is a big Leviathan Class Seadragon as you can see. Porter and Salty can ride him.

And then there's Belle's Clan! (This AU's version of the Sodor search and rescue team!) They live on the northern coast and watch out for incoming dragons and ships! They're like the watch men of the island! They live on a sea mount called The Roost! Her clan is made up of Flynn, Harold, Captain, Butch, and Rocky. Don't have designs for them yet. Sorry.😅 (Flynn x Belle is thing in this too!)

And then lastly, we have Duck's clan. And while they live more inland than the others, they are still located on the northern coast! Duck's clan has Donald, Douglas, Oliver, Skiff, Daisy, and Ryan!

I don't have concepts for everyone yet. But here's Ryan, Daisy, and Duck's prototype designs! (Oh, and Ryan x Daisy is a thing in this!❤️)

And that's everything! For now.😉

Thanks for sending in so many questions! I had a ton of fun making this!

[ulquichaan]

Miraculous Ladybug - my thoughts.

Hello!

It's been a while, I know. But I come back to rant yet again! I'm sorry for any mistakes in advance - its 2am and the thoughts won't let me sleep so I have to get them out there somewhere. If you don't want to waste your time - skip it. If you actually want to read it, I'll have a cookie waiting for you at the end of this. :3

My journey with MLB.

Miraculous was that one show that I got to know about through a parody of it on polish yt channel called Surreactor. I didn't know what it was about but it looked interesting and that was a point in time when season 3 was just starting to come out. Sooo, as the curious child I was - I gave it a go. And it captured me very easily.

At first all I wanted is for Adrien and Mari to finally get together. I never had big thoughts about it. Then I got bored between new episodes and just... forgot about it.

After some time however I came back to it. It was somewhere around 4th season airing. I returned to it, watched it all over again and it captured me yet again. I completely fell in love with Adrien as character and started to read loads of fanfiction about the two main heroes. I got invested, started to draw the characters in different settings and what not. I started even posting here on tumblr the rants that blew out about Adrien and about Black Cat holders as a whole just because I was frustrated on how little love he got or that I couldn't find any theories that would make sense.

I made new friend, started to plan stories more than I did before, returned to RP with my old friend through messenger and more.

It was a blow of creativity of mine at that time. You maybe you know of "Sky Is The Limit"? That was the point for me where I had so many ideas that I had to do something with at least one of them. Talking about an overload, right?

Season 4 finale - the best finale in this show in my honest opinion. Though I am based so who cares.

The point is - I deeply fell in love with this fandom for the most part.

And then... season 5 happened.

At first I was hooked. Really. I felt that it was going in the right direction and I even wanted to watch it later so I could see it in order.

Oh boy, did I get disappointed. Very disappointed.

I was never a Senti-Adrien fan, let's be real. But the execution? Even worse.

The finale? The fight yea, fun. But why cut out Adrien out of it???

Chloe as mayor? ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL? It's losing braincells more and more.

And I know the plot armor was always evident in this show and all.... but i feel like it was knocked up 10 times or more in season 5 to the point it could beat Game of Thrones seasons 7 and 8. (Yeah, I know what should compare two shows where one is fenomenal and the other has always been trash, but you can't argue with me that seasons 7 and 8 weren't rushed and had very poor execution)

To say that I was angry is an understatement. I HATED season 5 with every fiber of my existence. I still do, but I'm far more calm about it than I was originally. Believe it or not.

I saw all the drama in the fandom. When people complained about the show and other people came in to defend it. And I have to say - I can see where both sides are coming from.

To the people who enjoy it, all of it - I'm glad you do! I really am!

However.

I can clearly see where the hate is coming from and anytime I saw a valid critique I couldn't help but agree with it. There were some awesome responses to that critique even from people who do enjoy the show still, but there were always people who I'll call "white knights".

Aka people who will ride-or-die for the show and always say there is nothing wrong with it!

Oh how I hate this way of thinking....

Little message to those white knights - yes there are pure haters that hate just to hate, but in the spectrum of people who are critiquing the show are also people who loved it and got disappointed. When people are angry/dissapointed they usually feel the need to express themselves and forums like Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, are just perfect for ranting. I have spent fair share in the horse gaming community to know that every flop will have a retaliation and shutting up people will make them only more angry. :|

I stopped liking the show. Why am I coming back to it?

That's a question that started to bother me just as I was going to sleep.

I have watched Hazbin Hotel (Lucifer my beloved) and fell deeply in love with it. I always liked Vivzie's Hellaverse being it Helluva Boss and now Hazbin, but there is something that just came back to me.

I started yet again imagining Adrien and Marinette but in the helllaverse. Or what if I merged hellaverse and Miraculous together in some way. Or other crazy ideas that will never see the light of day.

It's always those two characters for the most part. But the moment those two show up, the rest of Miraculous cast does too.

I fell put of the show. I don't like it. Why do I keep coming back?

My thought is - the fandom and the work it did for the characters.

I have always loved to read fanfiction even it came to miraculous. And it's always SO MANY! With many different variants of the world or entirely different settings. Ofc there are some bad fics, but the good ones are those that captured my heart and made me love the characters even more.

Let's put in some examples (and recommendations if you want to check them out):

Happiness by Somewhere_Out_Here

Once a Thief, always a Thief by @saijspellhart

Bakery Enemies by @buggachat

Heaven in hiding by @livinglittlelie

I'll guess your heart, if you guess mine by PurpleHeartsOne

Chat Blanc's Moon Waltz by @rileyclaw

The comic dubs by PhantomSavage

The little comics like "Passionate Kiss" by @edendaphne

All of these are just very few examples from multitude of content I devoured when I was in the love stage for MLB. And those things are STILL SO GOOD. (You have to check it out if you haven't already)

The point is - the fandom fell in love with the concept and if not that, then the characters. Yes, they aren't perfect. Some would say they are very much Mary Sue-ish. Some would say they are badly written. While the fact is - the characters themselves aren't badly written, the plot is just badly handled.

I can see why people love Marinette, she is quirky, funny and her ideas, while absurd most of the time, they work. And that's fine! She is supposed to be creative and what not. A great friend to have in corner, that for sure :3

Adrien on the other hand is supposed to be a bundle of issues that come with living a sheltered life and the want to be free.

(The movie handled Marinette much better than the show, let's be real here)

Sad fact - the writers of the show couldn't handle all of the potential they set up. But the fandom could and that's what's beautiful in my opinion.

The show may not be a masterpiece but they made some aspects of it so enjoyable and investing (love-square) that other people decided to execute those good things in their own stories and create something else.

The characters are just so easy to put into other stories too. Because they are written in the way they are (even if poorly handled at times) the aspects of them are very flexible, which in turn makes them easy to incorporate into other AUs.

For me it proves that you don't need a very complicated and deep character to make your story memorable. Even tho that certainly helps depending on your story. Miraculous was really lucky it got that creative fandom in the first place.

And this is what is beautiful.

Ending, some plans of mine that who knows if they will see the light of day. :]

This is only for those who are interested what I have been up to and what do i plan with this blog:

I am not quitting tumblr, oh no. I'll be probably reposting some stuff that I like from time to time.

I am returning to write "Sky Is The Limit", however I am completely rewriting it for the.... 7th time? Something like that. I doubt I'll finish it anytime soon at this rate and if I get the need to draw I might draw few characters from there or designs I have planned.

I have a very big project in mind that I might probably make a new blog for. It's still just an idea but I getting closer to actually being made so stay tuned.

I will start posting stuff from Hazbin Hotel. I fell deeply in love with Lucifer's character and you can't unglue me from that duck man!!

Other than that I went to university and I'm enjoying my time here so yeah.

And here is your cookie for reading all that! You're a legend!

(I'm open for any discussions as long as they stay respectful. Feel free to DM me :>)

[fictionalmenaremytype]

Percy Jackson episode 7 spoilers!!!

First of all, that cliff hanger is more cruel than the actual cliffhanger...okay maybe not but you get the point.

- WE GOT CRUSTY'S. If I'm honest though I wasn't really disappointed when I thought he wasn't in it.

- I am sad we didn't get DOA records but the fact that they didn't fare with Charon tells me DOA does still exist they just used a different entrance so I'm hoping for it to be used in a different season. Would be funny if Nico used it in the 5th season with Percy.

- Annabeth's "Dude, don't make me come back out there!" Tell him, WiseGirl!

- Oh my god Percy and Sally at his first boarding school is so sad but when I tell you I cheered when he locked that car door! Persassy at his finest.

- "not in Kansas" "Hey focus, we left kansas four days ago." "Yeah, I-" so it's basically Canon they were going to see the Wizard of Oz in BotL then yeah??

- Percy is so polite with all the souls! "We're all dying...to some extent."

- The boys bribing Charon and Annabeth is staring at them like they are about to get them in trouble again.

- "You can buy a new whistle" I cackled

- AWW CERBERUS...I mean Ahhhh Cerberus!

- Annabeth is so smart but Grover getting eaten?? Was scared he wouldn't come back.

- I feel bad for Aryan being covered in that gloopy stuff that looked gross.

- She just chucks Percy the ball to get herself up! INGENIUS!

- Aww Annabeth's little sad backstop moment and Percy wasn't even listening!

- The way Grover lost the pearl is very clever! I wasn't expecting that but it makes more sense than Poseidon forgetting about Sally.

- New Information?!?!? Mate you could have sent an email!!!! I'm sorry but maybe the fact he was on the school gymnasium roof probably suggests that the school wasn't keeping a good enough watch on him!!! Report the school!!!

- HOMESCHOOL??!?!?! Of course Sally can't do that she's barely able to support her, Percy, and Gabe as is! But Percy seeing all of that is so sad.

- That soul is terrifying I never want to watch the fields of Asphodel scene again (I've watched it four times)

- Annabeth getting stuck because of her regret (which I'm assuming is regret leaving home) I was scared for her. Completely forgot about the pearl.

- I really thought the sound were going to do some Weeping Angel level scary stuff.

- She's so smart using the pearl

- I thought the desert was another dream sequence but nope! How did I forget!

- Sad we didn't get the tartar sauce line but I'm also glad we didn't.

- I am convinced they only came off of Grover's hooves because he has hooves and not feet. If his foot filled the shoe properly he would have been dragged to Kronos.

- "is this?" "No!" "Well it looks like-" "it absolutely is not" "Okay, so what is it then?" "Yeah that's the master bolt." "I mean, I think so right??" I love how they show it takes them longer to get to the truth without Annabeth.

- return the bolt ❌️ Take the bolt to the person you think stole it ✅️

- The café scene is so sad what! "I would never do this to you." Has me sobbing. my favourite thing about the show is all the extra scenes we're getting that explains how difficult it was for Sally to raise Percy, it just adds to why there's so many year-round campers.

- that elevator is badass

- I love how Hades tries to connect with Percy with the nautical reference. He's so funny. I want a scene in season 4 or 5 of Nico just ranting in Italian and Hades sat on his thrown like "Yeah yeah I know."

- PERCY DEFINITELY PANICKED SEEING HIS MUM IM GOLD BECAUSE WHEN HE WAS IN GOLD HE ALMOST SUFFOCATED TO DEATH AND SALLY HAS BEEN LIKE THIS FOR FAR LONGER. HE'S PANICING THAT SALLY IS EXPERIENCING WHAT HE DID.

- "huh?"..."the bolt is my brothers drama I don't want anything to do with it." Spoken like a true middle child.

- "my helm!" "Your what?" So funny. Percy knows loads of stuff about Greek mythology but not about the helm.

- Oh my god, the way this is setting Annabeth up to be the traitor??? The helm turns people invisible like her hat. Percy realised he was supposed to be dragged to Tartarus, which would make sense why she saved him from the chair...he knows someone partnered with Ares, and both Annabeth and Ares were upset with Athena when Ares arrived!! Kind of suspicious...

- "Kronos." chills.

- Hades helping them in exchange for the bolt makes sense now because he only wants to defend his land. He's thinking he's the closest to Tartarus, so he will experience his father's wrath first and therefore needs the strongest weapon.

- "Nice pearl?"

- "Hold fast mum."

- Sally burning the milkshake as an offering is so smart but WHAT CAFÉ HAS MATCHED IN THE SUGAR BOWL?!?!?

- The way Poseidon just turned up because Sally needed him <3 (couldn't do that for Percy though could you mate?)

- "it's a him, he saw it." I cackled.

- Poseidon and Sally having that kind of relationship where they put feelings aside to help the other person. It's giving besties with a child.

- "one day...one day when he's ready...when he knows who he is...and where he belongs...and fate has revealed to him his true path...and that day..." And that day is next Wednesday because surprise! Its a cliff hanger! And the end of the episode!

- The way they looked at eachother when they realised what was about to happen though has set them up to be such a perfect trio.

- I will never get over how cool Ares is!

- And riptide/anaklusmos (which for non book readers is the name of Percy's sword) looked so sick.

This episode was so good and I'm so glad it wasn't like a 25 minute episode. Even though the actual content only took 36 minutes, it felt well spaced and gave time to understand what was happening. I am a little teensy bit worried for how the last episode will go as there's quite a lot to cram in. They have to find the Helm and fight Ares and then they have to return to camp so I'm a little bit worried but I have faith that Rick, Aryan, Leah and Walker will pull it off.

[thefcguy]

Thomas Astruc Newest Interview:

Thomas Astruc and Zag recently had an interview which they talked about things from season 6 specials and so on…

I am not 100% sure how official they are, so, don’t take this 100% seriously.

Spoilers below:

1- Vesperia isn’t forgotten by the writters.

They said that she hasn’t appeared in any posters yet because her model isn’t complete, and that she is important, and that the team does care about her…

(Wow, the team cares about Zoe/Vesperia? The girl that they added in season 4 and threw under the bus the moment they got rid of Queen Bee? The girl that didn’t even get a Kitty Noir transformation? The girl whose plot in Representation about getting a girlfriend that I forgot the name was deleted due to the runtime? Keep telling your lies, Astruc… keep telling your lies…).

(No, I don’t agree with the hate she gets. I like Zoe. But Astruc saying he cares about her, even after all he did is a bit… annoying to me).

2- The Japan Special is the next one:

They haven’t confirmed anything, but, since Zag said that Lady Tiger will be very important, cause she will be their first hero with cancer, and that we will meet her very soon, it’s very clear that this teasing indicates Japan special is next. And Rio Special is forgotten once again (wow, as a Brazillian, “thanks”, Thomas).

(I am also worried about how they will handle cancer, considering they didn’t even make what Rose’s sickness clear).

3- Samg won’t be returning:

Yeah, that’s it. Their lost work is the London Special. The artstyle will change, and they will try to keep the animating on France only due to the leaks.

4- Season 6 will be filled with hints that the audience will look with new eyes on Season 7:

They said that, once we start seeing season 7, out view on season 6 will change completely, and that these hints will be bombastic.

(right, they are “very good” with foreshadowing. And by “foreshadowing” I mean either blatant teasing for future events, or retcons).

5- They are considering a Live Action for Miraculous… again:

They said they still need to rethink and see if their budget can handle it… I hope not, it would be probably really bad with bad CGI.

6- Other Magical Creatures:

They said that there probably are other magical creatures besides kwamis and renlings out there.

(wow, we barely know 10% of the kwamis that exist, and they want to create more magical creature. I will just say I hate when people create more and more elements before flashing out their older ones. It’s lazy, it leaves many questions open and, summing up, just not nice).

7- The reason why Lila has become a villain and wants the miraculi was already revealed:

They said that they have already left enough hints to why Lila has become the new Hawk Moth, it’s just that we, the audience, didn’t pay enough attention to it.

(I wonder this time what will be the retcon. Lila is as old as Master Fu and is a rebel from the Order of Guardians? She is Manon from the future? Either way, I doubt it will be convincing. Except if it is that she is an orphan that wants her parents back).

8- Thomas Astruc already created many miraculous AUs:

Yeah, even the show’s own creator likes to make AUs about it. His favorite one is where Ladybug is similar to Sailor Moon and she leads her own super hero team. In this AU, there is also no romance.

(I wonder if any of his AUs are better than the canon he writes).

9- The Melody Movie I back on production I guess:

Zag explained about the movie synopsis, which is about a girl needing to learn how to trust herself with the power of music (yes, it’s pretty generic), and the main character will be voiced by Katy Perry.

10- Chloe will be back:

And no, she won’t be getting a redemption. Astruc said that they try to write their characters on a logical way, so that they are consistent. And, no matter how hard they try, they found no way of Chloe regretting her actions and be like “Oh, Marinette, I was so mean to you!”, so, it doesn’t matter what he wants, it’s Chloe’s fault she doesn’t want to get better…

(I am not even a Chloe stan and this angers me beyond relief. First, they try to write their characters with consistence. WHEN? ‘Kagami’s friendship with Lila, Felix’s redemption, the whole amok plot, anything related to Lila on season 5, the fact they changed why Marinette broke up with Luka, the concept of the bee’ are anything but consistent. And say that Chloe can’t get a redemption? There are many ways for a character to get a redemption. Amity and Hunter from Owl House, Peridot and Lapis from SU, Sasha from Amphibia, and Zuko from Avatar all got a redemption. If you guys don’t want to give her a redemption, fine, but don’t try this whole “she can’t”, she is a character! And you guys are writing her!)

(Also, bringing Chloe back? I though you guys were trying to break the formula with the season 5’s wish, not go back to it).

11- The Story will change:

Not because of a reboot or anything, they just want to make it more serious and gradual.

(No comments here).

12- The Team has ideas for how 12 series of miraculous would be like:

They know for sure the 6, 7, 8 and 9 arc, and are also still unsure of what to do with the opening.

(12 seasons… when shows like Steven Universe gets 5, the Owl House gets 3, and many others get only 1).

13- Andre will get a redemption arc:

Thomas said that, unlike Chloe, he clearly wants to change, and the scene in Collution was a big character point for him. They also want to, someway, somehow, tell about his and Gabriel’s backstory someday.

14- Fun Facts:

The Supreme (the bad guy from Shadybug’s universe), will make a comeback at the series; Zoe’s crush at Marinette was due to love at first sight at the bakery (I think this is cute); the writers love Rolland because he was inspired by Thomas grandfather (and Simplifier is their favorite episode due to this fact); Akumatized!Marinette is a possibility; the writing for season 6 is at is peak, and a better version of season 5 (wonder which criminal boy will be redeemed and which girl won’t get the same treatment and be sent to live with her abusive parent).

15- The whole story we saw until now is only 5% of all he showed Zag when he pitched the show:

You heard that right, miraculous has still 95% of stories to give to us.

(I know that Superheroes usually have many arcs and stories they face, but that’s mostly because they are usually on comic format. I am not sure if it’s worth telling so many stories in a cartoon series).

Now, I leave to my miraculous mutuals @natedogx15 @nerd-chocolate and @artzychic27

to share their opinions. They might even change my mind for season 6.

[undyingdevotion]

reasons to live except theyre actually convincing

1. youre gonna let king charles outlive you????

2. damn youre not even gonna TRY to outlive your enemies?

3. you get NO BITCHES if youre dead.

4. some people ABSOLUTELY want you dead. live out of SPITE. make them MISERABLE by existing near them.

5. youre just gonna MISS 4/20/69?

6. somebody is gonna have to clean up your blood man...

7. you cant let trump outlive you.

8. SOMEBODY is gonna go through your phone.

9. your wattpad/ao3 account...... yikes.....

10. your family is probably gonna use you as a sympathy card.

11. you might be on the news. what if a fucking HIDEOUS photo of you is used?

12. markiplier COULD be president.

13. they dress you up in some ugly clothes.......

14. your enemies are gonna act like they liked you.

15. your money is going to your sibling or parents.

16. undeleted embarrassing posts/photos you know SOMEONE is gonna look at.

17. people will see your side profile.

18. the morticians and funeral directors are gonna see you naked.... yikes....

19. YOU WONT GET YOUR GLOW UP???????????

20. your ex is gonna find out and think you did it because of them. imagine someone thinking they have THAT MUCH power over you. nuh uh. no.

21. yknow it would be really sad to miss out on trumps downfall.

22. cant bully kids on roblox if youre dead. :(

23. that shits PERMANENT man...

24. hey you know that one song you forgot the name of? yeah, whats it called? oh yeah you wouldnt know youre DEAD.

25. you wont get to be dramatically murdered as an act of vengeance for a detective to figure out.

26. nuh uh

27. people will tell your partner “they wouldve wanted you to move on!!” or some bullshit.

28. your partners new partner…..

29. its expensive. a failed attempt will make you WISH you were successful.

30. abusers may try and convince people that you deserved to die.

31. the people who never listened to you will swear they did EVERYTHING THEY COULD to help and understand you.

32. nobody will tell your story truthfully.

33. cant get revenge on bitches if youre dead.

34. i wonder what happens in the next season of that one show youve been watching.

35. sleep is the free trial of death. juuust go do that???

36. q-tip in ear feel good.

37. you have to see if your celebrity crush will age well or not.

38. when you die, your muscles completely relax and you WILL piss/shit yourself. people you know might see that…… embarrassing….. 

39. theres no garlic bread in the afterlife.

40. you wont be able to win arguments anymore.

41. you wont get to become a milf/dilf??????

42. all that school for NOTHING.

43. you havent tried all the pasta yet. :(

44. your inside jokes will WITHER AWAY and DIE just like YOU DID.

45. you havent seen a female US president yet.

46. SO MANY PEOPLE will dig through your personal stuff and find things you do not want them to see.

47. step on crunchy leaf.

48. that OOONEEE person you havent seen in AWHILE that you have no idea what happened to.

49. youll one day be allowed to do things you arent allowed to do now and youre gonna MISS OUT ON THAT???

50. getting out of there.

51. getting that diagnosis or answer you were looking for.

52. at least youre not elon musk...?

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️The Brunch Of Trauma☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 5 “Baking My Heart”

...last time on Disventure Camp I screwed over Nick and caused his elimination because I put him in the heading.

DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT CAUSING JAKE'S ELIMINATION THIS EPISODE. (I hope)

I'm pretty certain it's not him this episode. He's not a target for anybody, at least for now. That and I think it's gonna be Lilly this episode, so...

Yeah. I'm playing my heading card smart this time. King deserves it from last episode.

...oh god what if I DID cause his elimination?

"Goddammit Golden! Why'd you put me in the heading, huh?!"

Alright, let us continue with our journey!

OMG THE PHONE! I FORGOT

PLEEEAAASSEE tell me they take advantage of this!

ALSO, not even a second into the episode and I already caught the fruity boy staring at a certain someone.

YES THEY'RE CALLING! I'm excited!

"Dad! It's me! How are you?"

"Fine, I guess... what do you want?"

Oh he does not sound thrilled.

"Are you taking care of my plants? How are my cats my little birds my fireflies my spiders my iguanas my fish and my crabs?"

GEEZ THAT'S A LOT

I mean I'm not surprised Gabby has a whole zoo at her house. Sounds in character.

Girl has more pets than my own partner.

"Yes... everything you just said is fine... no need to rush home."

Okay, so Gabby having a neglectful family that is annoyed by her existence is canon.

"Do you want to meet my new friends?"

"I have to go attend some business. Bye."

YOU DON'T DESERVE GABBY SIR

Girlie, here you go

"Hi Gretchen! How's it going out there?"

Gretchen? I mean I guess it makes sense she has a nickname, but I just liked saying Grett.

"Did you know that your brother won the football championship? I'm so proud of him sweetie!"

"Guess what's happening today? Your brother's getting a certificate of honor for his high grades in university."

"What does that matter?!"

"I'm just so happy that someone in this family is actually successful!"

OH MY GOD.

I'm actually hurt for Grett.

I would say "Yes, Grett characterization, let's go queen!" But my gosh I feel so bad for her.

I'm so happy we actually get a motive for her now. I knew I could stan her!

'Grett: Overthrow family disappointment'

Add that to the list of motives I made in Episode 4.

"You making a call Tom?"

"Oh... I don't think so, my family isn't home."

Tom... do you have a family? Cause it sounds like you don't.

And that's really sad to hear.

"Is mom home?"

"Oh, they're not here, they went shopping."

WHAT ARE ALL THESE PHONE CALLS?!

Why does everyone have such neglectful families?!

"I'm just... I'm fed up."

Aw, Grett...

"From what?"

"My mom can't go a single day without mentioning my stupid brother!"

"Well, you're not the only one who feels left out in your family..."

Bonding?

I'm loving this scene.

"SHUT UP! You and I are nothing alike! Don't call me friend. We are not friends, and we never will be!"

"Okay, calm down!"

"Just leave me alone!"

Ouch... I do see Grett's POV though. Yeah she's awful, but I guess in her mind she's so inferior to her sibling that she feels the need to be dirty with her tactics.

"We should've listened to Will."

YA THINK?!

If Lilly really is the one gone this episode, you're all alone Ashley. You gotta step up for them!

"Don't give up Lill! It's not over till the rooster crows!"

I like her, she's such an optomist.

"Do you want to go first?"

"I have no one to call."

...what?

No one?

You don't have a spouse? Kids? Grandkids? No one?

"Quit being a nosy brat!"

Lady, he was being a gentlemen and offering you to go first!

Where you pulling this 'brat' shit from?

"Fine, I'll go!"

And right after I say that he gives attitude.

Go call your grandma Jake. Tell her how you love her and you're gonna help her with the money.

Maybe this one will be a bit wholesome.

"Hey Shawn!"

"Hey... Jake..."

...

What...?

"What's up? Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry..."

*I covered my mouth to hold back a gasp*

"A couple of days ago... grandma passed away..."

OH MY GOD NOOOOOOO

*I'm actually upset for him*

Oh my god...

OH MY GOD HE'S CRYING. OH MY GOD.

"Mom told me not to tell you till you came back... but I had to..."

He's still going. Oh my god...

"You're lying..."

"She was conscious for a few hours before she got worse..."

JUST STOP. JUST STOP TALKING.

"She wrote a letter... I'll give it to you when you get back... I'm sorry man..."

JAKE, I'M SO SORRY. THAT'S AWFUL!!

I'm actually hurt as well!

AND THEN TOM COMFORTS HIM?!??! AWWWWW 😢

I thought he was here to help her! I didn't think she was gonna die before he can even get back! That's horrible!

YOU ALL BETTER GIVE HIM VIRTUAL HUGS.

FOR HIM AND FOR HIS GRANDMA.

Okay, okay, I'm calming down, I'm calming down...

GOD. DAMN. IT. ME.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE PUT JAKE IN THE HEADING!

I KILLED HIS GRANDMA!!

I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!

Jake, if you hate me for this, I understand. I deserve it.

"Why won't you take the slay pass?!"

"Because slaying killed my grandma, okay?!"

(I'm sorry)

"Teal Team I hope you enjoyed your call home!"

BRUH. NO. DON'T EVEN.

"We made sure the ingredients are... what's the word... DISGUSTING."

Knew it.

I'm calling this reaction the Brunch of Trauma. As a callback to Total Drama's 'The Brunch Of Disgustingness'

"How are we supposed to get chicken guts?"

By killing a chicken. Duh.

"I can't eat cockroaches! They have feelings!"

No they don't Gabby. No they don't.

"I don't think Jake's in the mood to run around looking for ingredients."

Thank you Tom. Thank you for being so supportive of him and understanding his situation.

"Does anyone know how to cook?"

No.

"Do I have to?!"

"Do you want to win?"

"Fine."

Why is Fiore so grumpy all of a sudden?

"The winning team will send a representative from their team to tonight's elimination ceremony! Where they will get the sole vote to pick an extra person from the losing team."

It was the slay pass I gave Jake that he threw away.

Who wants it? It was sent by me.

"The team that attends the elimination will lose TWO people tonight!"

OH SHIT.

...it's gotta be Teal that loses then, right? Purple's already down a member, and that'll make numbers REALLY uneven.

Oh god did I cause Jake's elimination by putting him in the heading?!

Look, Purple, if you get this marker, even if your name is Fiore, you leave Gabby Grett and Jake out of this. You have my permission to use this marker, but ONLY to use it on Dan.

Dan's the only one on that team I wouldn't really care gets sent home.

Dan and I guess Miriam. I'm sorry Miriam.

Cause there's no way they're gonna make Purple lose here and make the team HALF the size of the other. Right? There's no way.

"Ever since I heard from home this morning, I've been wondering if there's even a point in being here. Should I leave?"

I feel so bad for Jake.

What did this precious bean do to you writers?! Why'd you have to break his heart like this?!

But yeah, what even is his motive now? It's down the drain now that she's gone.

"Jake, are you okay?"

Oh, so now you care.

"Since when do you care?"

And he said the same thing I said.

"You're always telling me to shut up and leave."

Facts.

"You don't need to pity me."

"I know it's hard, but remember that she'll always be in your heart and in your memories. We can always honor our loves ones by keeping their legacy alive. By lovingly remembering them."

...guys, I didn't start watching this show to cry. I'm gonna be honest.

"I'm saying this because I've been there before."

Oh?

*cuts away*

GOSH DARN IT NO I WANTED TO HEAR THAT! COME ON!

"'The hillbilly girl and wrinkles have no idea what I did' I can't believe it. She's been plotting against us this whole time."

I'm not surprised.

"How could a little girl do this?"

Demon child. CLEAR upbringing issues.

"We have to tell Ellie and Alec!"

"Are they going to believe us?"

They already do!

Though, you can probably get through to Ellie. I can hear her screaming on the inside about her being roped into a villain alliance.

"Do you even cook for your family?"

"Not recently to tell you the truth. Hard to make meals when we're going through a rough patch right now."

You're broke?

The Bucket family?

"I haven't told anyone about this..."

"You can talk to me."

Please talk. We're already eating up a lot of trauma for dinner tonight.

"A couple of years ago, on my husband's birthday, I wanted to surprise him with a cheesecake..."

Oh no from the other episode... I know where this is going.

He died from the cake, didn't he?

"So I told my son to take him to the mall, maybe buy his dad a gift while I baked... but when I had the desert ready, I called them to come back but they never did."

They both died?!

"Apparently a drunk driver hit their car... a head collision... no survivors."

Shit... that's awful.

Why is there so much trauma in this episode?!

"It took me to a dark place for a long time, those two were the only ones I had..."

"I'm so sorry, Miriam."

"It's never easy to lose someone you love. When I heard what happened to your grandmother, it all came flooding back..."

YES. HUG. PLEASE.

PLEEEAASSE WE NEED SOMETHING COMFORTING IN THE MIDST OF THIS HEARTBEAK

Okay how many virtual hugs can we get by the end of this episode?

Is Miriam gonna be nicer to Jake from here on out? I hope so.

"Don't worry. Everything is under control."

I am so bloody confused by these hosts plotline, I'm gonna be honest.

What are you talking about?

I know Tom stole the dude's ID, but why? Is he a criminal?

"Let's say... they didn't send the smartest spy they had."

Oh they ARE talking about Tom.

So Tom does know stuff and he's sus as shit.

So he's not a ninja... I was thinking it would be spy too.

So he's not on the show to win. He's here to stop... whatever these guys are doing.

Also YEAH, they DIDN'T send the smartest spy.

Cause hum diddly hum, I wonder which one among the cast is the impostor? Maybe it's the one guy who never shows his face.

ALSO, he SAW Tom running.

"He didn't see me! I was wearing black! And I was out in the night! I was practically Batman!"

"Yeah but you stick out like a sore thumb during the day and in the sun."

"BUT IT'S THE SUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN"

"Jake thinks it was Dan and Dan thinks it was Jake."

That's not what they said. I distinctly remember that's not what they said.

"Grett won't let me talk to you."

Yeah it really sucks they're on different teams, cause they seem to get along well.

"Why? She shouldn't get to control you like that."

Thank you Ellie.

She's a good bean and she'll do the right thing when time comes. I'm sure.

"I know, but it's the only way to save myself."

Yeah, being outcasted SUCKS.

I mean, I get it, I've been there in my past. Everyone found me annoying and hated me and would say it to my face. But also, you can't get people walk all over you Gabby.

As a Grett stan, you have permission to leave her behind.

"Let me know if you need someone to talk about it with."

Yes, confide in Ellie. She's a good person too.

Despite, you know, the alliance she's in not being the best choice.

Side with the heroes. You can side with Lilly and Ashley and get rid of Fiore. You'll be one happy family and they'll take you in.

"I like you Gabby. You aren't afraid to speak your mind."

Is that a platonic compliment, or...?

Actually, I can see it.

"Here's an idea, if my team wins, I can offer myself as the representative to make sure you're not in danger."

That sounds like a great plan actually! Do it!

But Ellie I swear to god you leave Jake out of this. Use the pen on Dan!

That pen is the slay pass I granted in the game, and I tell you how you use it!

"And if your team wins, you can do the same."

"You can save me from Fiore using the pen! And I'll be free! It'll be a glorious victory!"

In dream land where everything works out perfectly, that's what happens.

They're actually really sweet. I love that Gabby has a friend to confide with.

I love that Gabby gets to be happy in this miserable world where everyone is traumatized beyond belief!

NO NOT THE CHICKEN

I'm sorry Ashley, but you need to get clotheslined by a clothesline.

Even the birds are bullying Dan.

Awww their little chef wear, that's so cute on them!

"You've done this before?"

"Thank you... I used to cook with my grandmother a lot."

I'm glad he's staying strong for her.

Even Fiore is like "I'm glad I'm not your child!"

"I think we screwed up."

What are you talking about? It's supposed to be screwed up.

You're doing it perfectly.

Idk how fair this is considering one team has more members eating.

Yeah Teal's gotta lose here, right? They have more members...

It also might come at the expense of Miriam if I'm being honest. Just when I was starting to like her.

But that happens. Once you start to like a character on Total Drama, they get eliminated.

"I can't believe what I'm about to say, but... this is delicious!"

Alright, who put DJ's Mama Spice in the mix?!

This face XD

Aaaaaannnnddd we get vomit rockets...

I'm not showing that.

SO... my prediction was completely wrong.

That ended a lot faster than I thought it would.

How are that team gonna function with just three?

"Cooking is my passion. And when Jake and I cooked, I haven't felt that normal in a long time. I guess I judged the boy too soon."

I'm glad Miriam is coming around.

Gabby's the representative, as we established.

"I wanted to use the slay pass you gave me last episode, Golden!"

I'll give it to you sweetie. Use it for whoever. If you want to slay Fiore with it, go right ahead.

"It was convenient for everyone that Gabby volunteered. No one wants to make enemies right now."

You guys all blew your chance of making her an ally a long time ago.

Lilly and Ashley are being very blunt about this. I like it.

"Fiore has been sabotaging our team! And she can't get away with it!"

"Wow..."

What do you mean wow? You know this already.

"Well, who cares?!"

"Not me."

BRUH

"Ellie, you have to help us!"

YES ELLIE! JOIN THEM! GET HER OUT!

"They're just saying that cause they're desperate. Did they reach out to you when they were making their original alliance?"

What's it matter now? Ellie was desperate too back then.

"How did this happen? I went from being in the worst position to deciding the vote! It feels good to have this power."

Ellie... this is gonna sound really bad, but... I can't trust you with a slay pass.

"What do you mean Golden isn't on my side?!"

"SURPRISE BITCHES!!"

QUEEN 👑

"Remember when you vote me out at the first day?!"

"AND HERE I AM. REVENGE IS MINE."

"Gabby has a red marker. She will write the name of one of you and when I read the name of that one unlucky contestant, that person is immediately out!"

"It was a slay pass granted from Golden to Gabby because whoever Gabby hates probably deserves it."

I know how these shows work.

I have the gut feeling...

Ellie's not gonna side with the good guys.

Yep. I was right from the start of this. They're voting Lilly.

"I'm voting for you so you can crawl back to whatever Disney movie your wrinkled which face came from."

Why does she look so evil?

"See, that's why you have bad taste Golden. All the favs you picked are evil and/or have serious issues!"

'LILL'

Yep. We know.

'FIORE'

I feel like it would be hilarious if Gabby wrote Fiore's name.

Ellie would be like, "See, that's what makes me the swing vote! Good or Evil? I choose NEITHER."

'LILL'

'FIORE'

It's Lilly.

RIP.

Ashley, it's up to you cowgirlie! You gotta take up the mantle and survive!

...WELP, YOU SURVIVED FOR TWO SECONDS.

GODDAMMIT.

I had a feeling she was gonna do that.

ELLIE. WHYYYYYYYYYYYY

And why did Gabby use the slay pass on Ashley! I specifically told you to use it on Fiore!!

"I'll give it to you sweetie. Use it for whoever."

I feel like I should blame myself for this happening.

SLAY PASS MISFIRE

"Ellie, why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry Lill, we were getting down to the wire and Fiore could be helpful if we reached the merge."

How would she help you in the merge exactly?! She's a KID. She has limitations! She's not exactly a good alliance member to have.

And who's to say she's not just gonna ditch you after this?

I'm sorry Ellie, but I'm calling you out cause I do not see your logic there.

"Not to throw a hissy fit, but this is seriously unfair!"

I feel like Ashley is saying that to ME specifically.

"GOLDEN YOU LUNATIC REACTIONARY! WHY WOULD YOU GIVE ANYONE A SLAY PASS WILLY NILLY?! AND IT CAME AT THE EXPENSE OF ME!"

"There's three of us and only two of you. Even a six year old can do better math than you."

Fiore secretly takes Algebra. The highest level. And she's a straight A honor roll student.

"Y'all WILL regret this decision!"

Specifically Ellie. She's gonna regret this, I can already tell.

Honestly, Ashley was robbed. I get it, limited episodes, but really? That's how she's eliminated?

Awwwwwwww 💗

At least they're besties till the end.

"Okay, Fiore tricked us. But if she managed to do that with us, she can do the same with the other team."

AND she can do the same to YOU.

"Luckily Ellie and Alec didn't fall for their desperate attempt to throw me under the bus."

They DO know. Alec just doesn't care, and Ellie apparently knows what she's doing.

Honestly, I still feel like Ellie can redeem herself from this, especially if she's merging. She can be the swing vote, see the light, and join the good guys. I don't think she's a bad person at all, she's just playing the cards she's dealt.

I don't have to approve of her plan, but I understand why she has to do it.

I don't blame Gabby either. That was my fault. I'll take the blame for her. I forgive her.

Plus it's also, you know, karma for that alliance.

I was expecting that alliance to lose like, two members before the merge, but DAMN, it COMPLETELY collapsed pre-merge!

Reality TV's Stupidest Alliance everyone!

I was thinking Ashley would lose Lilly, her last ally, and be the outlier of her team trying to survive. Even if she wouldn't last long merge-wise. But when the Tribal Council started I realized, "Nah, Ashley's screwed."

I do feel like she was robbed though and they could do more with her. If she's in Season 3. The red marker is kind of a bullshit move to boot someone, ngl. But I get it, there's only 13 episodes so they had to do a double elimination. The TD Reboot had to do that as well. But really? That's how Ashley gets booted?

I liked her. She was the one reasonable fellow of that alliance.

Lilly... Well, I predicted her pre-merge boot from the very beginning, and I was completely right. And I think she works as plainly that. A pre-merge boot, AKA, an early elimination, with a one note personality that wasn't bitchy. She was also kinda the mom of that group.

I feel like they have to scramble up the teams now, right? Cause Purple has 3 and Teal has 6. It's not really fair that one team has DOUBLE the amount of teammates.

Or maybe because of that they throw someone from Teal to put them on Purple. My bet would be Gabby.

"Gabby, congrats, you're on the Purple Team now."

4-5, and it's a little better.

That would really screw Grett over though. I love her and I love the characterization given to her this episode, but also, I don't expect her to win at all.

If you guys want me to continue these reactions, be sure to let me know.

[badwolfwho1]

It's halfway through the year? Got any favorite albums/books/tv shows/whatever to recommend?

So for the first time I have actually been keeping a spreadsheet with the intent of ranking all the things this year to keep track of what I've read/watched etc and not rely on my memory so in theory this should be easy but in truth I've only been updating it for movies and books so I will have to rely on my memory after all.

Albums

I do not keep track of the albums I've been listening but I have been listening to Avantasia's discography lately and it's all been hitting for me, I think the Wicked Symphony especially was my favourite of their work.

I also listened to The Moody Blues' 'Days of Future Passed' just today so I'll mention that as well, I enjoyed it. (I fully intended to come back here and write some more later but I guess I didn't, it's neat I guess)

Judging based off my liked songs on Spotify I really liked most of Deep Purple's album 'House of Blue Light' and both of Savage Garden's albums.

For a perennial I still love The Bangles' third album "Everything", my first listen I had a few standouts like "In Your Room", "Be With You", "Something to Believe In" but I currently adore pretty much every track on there.

Have I listened to much modern this year? Alas no I am cursed by most of my current listening habits coming from deciding to check out whatever is being referenced in the current episode of Jojo that I'm rewatching and since I just reached Part 5 that means at best they'll be 25 years old.

Books

I've actually kept track of my books so this should be easy, 'Catch 22'; It's a classic for a reason, it's just really really good.

The Adrian Tchaikovsky zone; I read 'City of Last Chances', its sequel 'House of Open Wounds' and the final part of the Final Architecture trilogy 'Lords of Uncreation' this year, all phenomenal (2, 3 and 4 on my books of the year list), City of Last Chances slightly pips the others (and as the opener to a series is the easiest rec). You get a huge and diverse range of points of view all over a city under imperial occupation, great worldbuilding as I always expect from him. There's even a giant centipede what more can you ask for? (I'm also reading his Alien Clay right now, that's a stand alone novel starring a scientist exiled to a work camp on another planet because of his political activism, real good so far, love all the weird alien life it has. It'll probably be joining the Tchaikovsky zone unsure where at though yet)

Oh I've just noticed Bret Hart's biography isn't on my list so I gotta say "Hitman", incredible. The life of a wrestler is wild and Bret Hart especially has had quite the life. So much I didn't know about. The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be (but not the best on my list).

The rest of my top ten, CL Clarke's 'The Unbroken' and 'The Faithless', Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's 'This is How You Lose the Time War', AK Larkwood's 'The Ten Thousand Eyes' and Garth Marenghi's Terrortome

Games

I feel like I've barely played any games this year. Slay the Spire is still the only Roguelike you'll ever need. I'll be replaying Slay the Princess when Pristine Cut comes out later this year so I'll throw that in here, that's an incredible horror visual novel, tons of branching paths, all voice acted to perfection. I'm in the middle of a Freedom Planet replay, so if you like classic 2D Sonic games this is a really good Soniclike

(Me from after I wrote all this) Oh yeah Hades II exists and I somehow forgot about it I have no idea how that happened. Yeah Supergiant (I always have to double check that in case I write Supermassive) always hits, every single one of their games is gold, Hades II continues that trend. It might still be Early Access but it quite comfortably surpasses release Hades I in content so I am incredibly excited to see how it grows.

Movies

Number 1 at my list is Godzilla Minus One, it's so good, I watched it last year, I watched it this year I'll probably watch it again in the Minus Colour version. I'm a Godzilla mark (I still have at least some objectivity Godzilla x Kong sitting at 12 hasn't even broken into my top 10, wait Oppenheimer isn't on here probably 13 then) and while I've definitely not even nearly seen of all Godzilla's filmography I think this is him comfortably at his best. As in all of his best films as a metaphor as well as a giant radioactive dinosaur.

I watched Rashomon the other day and it feels like a real basic thing to say but yeah Rashomon's really good, as with Catch-22 it's a classic for a reason. Not good enough to surpass a radioactive dinosaur apparently but what can?

And my number three on my list, Asteroid City, great framing device, great set design. Just a genuinely fascinating movie, had complete hold of my interest at all times.

The rest of my top ten in order The Banshees of Inisherin, Monster, Speed, The Menu, Happy Death Day, Scream, Scream 2 (Maybe Happy Death Day should be lower than the Screams actually) Oppenheimer is probably going to land somewhere in that top 10 as well.

TV

Delicious in Dungeon is good, everyone knows Delicious in Dungeon is good, everyone's watching it. World building, funny, great cast its all there, I should read the manga some time. I should definitely read more manga in general.

I've also watched The 8 Show, a Korean Drama show. Eight strangers are offered a chance to participate in a psuedo game show where they live on eight seperate floors and are paid money for the length of time the show goes on. The ones living on the lower floors earn less money and the ones on the higher ones earn more. (Shockingly it's a metaphor for capitalism). Things fairly rapidly degenerate. You'll obviously think of Squid Game watching this and its not as good as Squid Game but its still pretty good.

And obvs you know I'm still on that Buffy watch, on the cusp of finishing Series 6 of Buffy, the most frustrating so far in that it has some good ideas dragged down by a number of terrible decisions; magic becoming a metaphor for drugs, having to see those three nerds on screen frequently, that death etc etc.

Oh yeah I'm watching the Acolyte, I'm not gonna say its great but like its shockingly decent. Falls far short of Andor but aside from that its probably one of the best Star Wars shows they've made. If you like Star Wars this is one of the better shows to check out.

(Somehow I forgot I watched all of Hacks this year!?!?!?!) Great stuff, love those two. Hope they continue to be weird about each other forever.

Other

I'd love to rec a manga but I cantinue to only read two manga which are Hajime no Ippo and Jojo and they're both over 30 years old and still going and I cannot recommend something that long. Last time I mentioned Ippo was like at least six months ago I think I said it was slowly moving towards a conclusion it has moved no closer to a conclusion since then I think it's gonna be another decade. I still love it my favourite character is probably going to have his character arc finished by the end of the current arc, Mashiba's is going to become world champion, he is going to be respected rather than just feared, he's going to have friends, he is going to defeat the personification of the dirty boxing style that carried him through most of his career and he's going to stop being so overprotective over his sister. Either that or he'll get injured and have to retire from boxing forever in a karmic callback to his original sin in boxing when he broke Miyata's foot like thirtyodd years ago. Hopefully the first one.