#<- edit: he doesn't (i think) phew

[crystallizsch]

“You can’t come after me just because I’m an ‘easier’ target!”

[astrologicallyserene]

synastry + composite notes

RELATIONSHIPS + BREAKUP EDITION: I recently got out of a karmic relationship and felt compelled to write some synastry and composite notes!! Lmk if you have insights to add/advice for moving on from karmic attachments

lilith synastry (conjunctions) - Lilith person often gets scapegoated in astrology circles as being controlling and obsessive over the planet person. While this can be true, it's usually because of boundary misalignment between them. Something that crosses the line for lilith is a part of the planet person's lifestyle. The planet person's way of life is thus threatened by Lilith's standards.

Meanwhile, the planet person unknowingly brings out lilith's worst insecurities and fears. Planet person fears lilith's demands for more consistent treatment, and they either get drawn in more to rise to the challenge or they run away. Chaser/runner dynamic. If the planet person runs from the dynamic, they often leave karmic lessons unfinished between them.

venus conjunct north node synastry - North Node can be heavily invested in Venus, but both parties simultaneously know what they have together won't last forever. It's like they are trying to elude the relationship's expiration date. Regardless, Venus teaches North Node so much about love for better or for worse, and what North Node needs to feel and receive love. Venus breaks them out of their comfort zone. This relationship helps North Node clarify what their standards, boundaries, and non-negotiables are going forward.

south node/north node synastry - SOUL RECOGNITION IS REAL HERE. Especially on the node person's side. Think invisible string and "we meet people twice" theory. It's that person who catches your eye, but you don't give much thought to until you fully meet and they shake your world up completely.

7th house/8th house synastry - As much as we romanticize it, even alongside binding aspects, it's sometimes still not enough to make someone stay. Someone you thought was your person can easily turn into the person who runs with these placements, which makes the fallout that much harder. We forget 8h also focuses on loss and 7h can point to "enemies".

venus conjunct mercury synastry - Yes, Venus can be affectionate with Mercury, but it's often quite superficial and doesn't go too deep unless Moon synastry is involved.

neptune squares in synastry/composite - Can often signal emotional cheating/betrayal on at least one person's end. Even if it's not outright cheating, there is some lying by omission, withholding information, or downplaying at work here that both parties should be aware of. Both parties need to be clear about what they consider cheating/betrayal.

saturn squares in synastry - Karmic baby. Saturn makes planet person feel inadequate or like nothing they do is enough. Like lilith synastry, Saturn gets scapegoated, but sometimes this boils down to incompatible standards. What Saturn considers vital to the health of a relationship is something the Planet person might not be willing or even able to provide. Depending on the planet person's willingness to fight for the connection, they either keep toughing it out or the strain becomes too much for either party to bear.

The funny thing is that Saturn usually wants to keep fighting to make it work, but the Planet Person is more realistic about when to call it quits. In my case (as the Saturn person), I was already struggling in the relationship and felt like my needs weren't being met. I knew the relationship wasn't sustainable, but I couldn't walk away. Planet person (his Venus and Ascendant) was understanding about my needs, but realized he just kept hurting me. He didn't have the capacity to make me happy long-term.

Usually, some sort of external circumstance contributes to the end of their relationship. Such as distance, third party, or other priorities.

mars in 3rd house synastry - Phew the dirty talk is crazyy and often becomes the basis for the intimacy. House person is more into it, and mars knows it lights them up, then runs with it.

eros conjunct lilith synastry - The intimacy will be the death of you. Lilith can feel how badly Eros wants them. Intoxicating.

moon square uranus composite - So emotionally volatile it's unfathomable. Usually, the feminine gets easily triggered and the relationship becomes a minefield of hurt for her while the masculine might have to walk on eggshells.

amor conjunct a personal planet in synastry - Amor loves the Planet person unconditionally. This can be hard because the Planet Person can foul Amor repeatedly, but Amor chooses to see the light in this person even when shown their darkness consistently. Even now, as the Amor person, I find myself still making excuses for the Planet Person's behavior or trying to be extra empathetic with them.

ANYWAY, this was so therapeutic to write and get off my chest and I might do a part two soon with some overlays!

[danieyells]

Could I pretty please ask for any Haru stuff you found? 🥺 I've been afflicted with the Haru simp disease and only information/content of him can cure me 🛐

HARU'S CHANGED MY FEELINGS ON HIM not that i disliked him at all before but like. . .you know how he acts like the team mom? His voicelines make this worse. I thought he was more like a meddlesome but chill guy with a lot of energy. The truth is this poor man is a single mother with two unruly kids, a house full of animals, and VIRTUALLY NO HELP BESIDES YOU. No wonder he drinks nearly every fucking night. I get why Jabberwock doesn't have ordinary students but jesus christ please get some helpers in here. My man is overworked.

I ended up putting almost all of them in because. . .he is struggling poor boy. I have officially edited this to contain all of Haru's voicelines! Sorry for the wait!!

July 18th 2025: added year 2 birthday lines

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Hey, nice timing! One sec, I've just gotta finish feeding everyone."

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"You've got some letters! Better open them before that goat lookalike makes a meal out of them!"

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"Folks are going wild over the Anomalous Animal Back To Nature Tour, and this is your chance to experience it at a discount rate! C'mon, help me hand out these fliers!"

"Everyone stuffs up sometimes. Don't let it get to you—just think of it as a funny story you can pull out later and laugh at! Gahaha!"

the only way he knows how to cope with his pain is to laugh at it. . .my therapist told me that was good actually! he's well adjusted! disregard the nightly drinking.

"You sure are fond of {PC}, aren't you, Peekaboo? You did nothing but bite me for the first three days after we met."

tbf you were from another house and it was probably fresh after the clash. . . .

"You reckon I work hard? Nah, this is nothing to write home about. All right, let's head to the next zone!"

"Hey, nice work out there today! Let's knock a few more jobs off the list then take a break, hey?"

oh my god you take breaks? or are you telling the player to take a break while you keep overdoing it. . . .

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Morning! Let's get this show on the road!"

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hey, {PC}! What a coinkydink! I just finished my rounds."

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Ren? He's working at that whacky restaurant again. I'll have to go pick him up later."

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Towa's off to that hill again? I was gonna ask him to hold down the fort... Guess I'll have to stay put tonight."

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Am I tired? Nah, don't worry, if there's two things I have confidence in it's my stamina and my bad luck!"

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"The Sinostra folks are causing a kerfuffle again... I don't need any of that! You should take care not to get dragged into their mess too, you hear?"

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You wanna know how to get the animals to like you? You just gotta show how much you love them, like this— Ow! Don't bite me, Peekaboo!"

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"None of our critters have warmed to Ren at all, even though he spends all day with them... Guess that handsome face only works on humans."

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Phew, time for a bre— Hm? That sounded like the Capybus! I'm gonna go check on her, watch Peekaboo for me!"

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"All right, the kids are all in bed. I'll just ask those two to hold down the fort, then I'll head out for a little walk..."

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"I went to wake that sleepyhead Ren up this morning, but it was like he couldn't see me even though he was looking straight at me. Reckon his eyesight's bad?"

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Course I eat, don't worry about that! Just earlier I pinched some of Peekaboo's veggies when I was making his lunch and had them with a piece of bread!"

Please eat food. . . .

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"So much to do... Gotta take in the washing and get the shopping done... Argh! There's not enough hours in the day!"

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"This? It's an energy drink. Don't feel like the day's started till I have one. (gulp) (gulp) Pwaaah!"

PLEASE EAT FOOD AND SLEEP. . . . . . . . .

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"Ah man, there's soap all over the walls again! You're so good at playing with the animals Towa, if you could just learn how to clean up after you'd get full marks..."

Towa i love you but please help your mother boyfriend captain. . . .

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Ah! I can't do dogs! How'd you get in here?! Towa!! Come here!! No!! Don't bite me!!"

He is terrified of dogs????? Towa absolutely electrocuted the shit out of that dog. Rip in pieces. That dog truly fucked around and found out. It will never go in the dorm again.

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Thanks for helping out again today, you're a real lifesaver. Sorry I can't walk you back..."

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"You reckon I look like an acrobat when I'm using my stigma? Gahaha! Maybe I'll practice balancing on a ball then!"

Baby no you are not a clown please what if you break something again--

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"...(gasp) Crap, I fell asleep... Did you put this blanket on me? Cheers... Maybe I'll grab a few more minutes..."

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"I swore I'd take responsibility for protecting all the lives in this park. I can't let anyone die on my watch."

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I don't know where I'd be without all the critters in this place if I'm honest with you. Well, gotta be my animal magnetism that's keeping them here anyway! Gahaha!"

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Hm? There's some critters whose nails were getting dangerously long so I was giving them a clip. Come here, I'll do yours too if you want!"

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Oh, off for a cheeky night out? Gahaha! I know a good place, want me to take you?"

get wasted with him and give him somebody to talk to!! he needs someone besides romeo and rui to listen to him rant sometimes!

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"A soft bed to lie down in and someone to chat with till I drift off... I'm really living the high life here."

He's a simple man. . .it's easy to imagine him holding your hand here while he dozes off. . . .

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"Really learned the ropes here, haven't you? Once we have a little cash to spare, I'll buy you your own Jabberwock uniform!"

they must be expensive if it takes until Affinity 25 to get you one! He's so conscious about his finances(disregard all of the stuff he buys and never uses--) that being given a purchased gift is surely the highest tier of affection from him haha. But also. . .he treats the anomalous animals and oftentimes even the other ghouls in Jabberwock like they're his kids. This is his way of saying 'you're part of this family too.' Which is very sweet.

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"Today's shearing day for the fluffy squad! It's actually a pretty hefty task, so I've gotta hop to it if I want to be done before summer..."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Bucket, check. Trowel, check. Me and Towa are heading to the mountains to pick some veggies. You wanna come?"

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"We've been getting a lot of balmy days lately, and the sun's up longer. Can't help but dilly-dally when I'm working..."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I've gotta clean out all the sparrow nests soon or they won't be able to look after their kiddos properly. Looks like there's... 61 nests total..."

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"A lot of customers have been saying they wanna stay cool in the summer so I changed up the course. Now we have a special summer-only waterside tour!"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"It's hot so I invited Ren to go fishing, but his face screwed up like a prune and he yelled at me. What's he got against fish?"

Probably the same thing you have against dogs. . . .

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Phew... Finally finished harvesting all the feed crops for the day... Everyone's health is dependent on their quality, so now's the time to do it right."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Lotta bugs around this time of year... But they're important for the food chain, so I've gotta take care of them... Argh!! Give it a rest with the buzzing!"

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"Hey, nice timing! I'm about to make a fire with the dead leaves I collected so I can bake some potatoes, take a seat!"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I like the Jabberwock uniforms. They're made out of high-performance fabric that keeps you warm when it's cold out and safe when you're handling venomous critters!"

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"The hibernation squad's gonna start eating us out of house and home this month... The food bill's gonna be rough... Eeek!"

(between 8pm and 5am)

"You reckon that's a rabbit on the moon? No way, it's a toad! C'mon, look closer!"

apparently the pareidolic toad in the moon is a Chinese myth! I wonder if they mean to suggest Haru is actually Chinese.

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"Rounds are quicker in winter since some of the critters hibernate. Makes things a little easie— Why's the kitchen on fire?!"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Brr... Can't help but get green-eyed looking at the furry critters when it's this cold..."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Nice and toasty... Hm? I'm talking about Peekaboo! He's better than a hot water bottle in this weather!"

Haru putting Peekaboo on your tummy when you're having cramps or just in pain in general is a cute mental image, especially since Peekaboo likes you lol

(between 8pm and 5am)

"It's cold outside so some of the critters have been sneaking into our rooms at night. You heard Ren scream just now, right?"

His birthday (Year 1): (September 20th)

"It's my birthday?! Oops, totally slipped my mind... Thanks for remembering!"

His birthday (Year 2): (September 20th)

"Huh? What's this? …You got me a birthday present?! You're such a good egg…"

Your birthday (Year 1):

"Happy birthday. The Capybus is all yours today—I've got a custom birthday tour all planned out for you!"

Your birthday (Year 2):

"Hey, there you are! {PC}! Today's your birthday, right? I got a little something planned for you. Come with me!"

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year! How'd I ring it in? I was milking the cow and when I looked up I'd totally missed the first sunrise! Gahaha!"

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"You're kidding, I can really have this?! They say a little sugar helps sweeten a tired day! Thanks a million, this'll keep me going a while!"

White Day: (March 14th)

"Ta-da! I bought you some hand cream, for the chocolate you got me last month. Thanks for everything you do here."

hand cream when you do all of that manual labor and probably have to wash your hands a lot is a really practical gift actually, gg haru

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Can you believe this? Ren got up early, and Towa fed everyone for me! ...Tried to make a joke for April Fools but it just made me feel empty inside..."

Halloween: (October 31st)

"Check it out! The pumpkin Capybus, in town for three days only! I sacrificed sleep and some of our budget to get her ready!"

If it's painted I really hope that paint is waterproof. . .never know when Towa's gonna make it rain. . . .

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Merry Christmas! This is a reindeer, she lives up in the mountains! And I'm Sagara Claus! Gahaha!"

just don't let romeo see it lolol

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Hey there, miss! Looking gorgeous as ever! ...Wait, I was kidding! Come back!"

(13 affinity and above)

"You seem pretty flat out today... Nothing for it, I'll get a few other things out of the way while I wait for you to get back."

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"Phew, that's a relief... I was worried one of ours ate you... Glad to see you back."

Once again. . .an absolute sweetheart. And a single mother who is desperately in need of some help around the house. That April Fool's line really got me lolol poor guy. All of his have a lot of energy to them so i feel like i posted more than Haku, who's kind of a more low key guy lol. . . .

[invadernei]

Aaaaand my Ekurei exploration/analysis/personal experience comic is here!! I spent a month writing, drawing and editing it, phew...

This is the summary of all my analysis of the ship that I had collected over 3+ years. It's all derived from what I have seen in the show, it's based on canon, of course, but my goal was mainly to express my feelings and admiration for this ship, what I find compelling about it, what makes me smile and my heart beat faster every time I see these characters next to each other :) So, I wouldn't say it's some set in stone facts or instructions for how to ship Ekurei, it's just one of possible interpretations. And I really, really wanted to share this, because I believe that Ekurei is a beautiful, deep and exciting ship with an interesting canon setup and much potential for outside of canon growth. I wanted people to see at least a glimpse of it through my eyes and to understand my passion.

BILLIONS of thanks and a lifetime supply of vitamin C to @astrartems for editing this thing!!

Small addition to my analysis (from our dms, I just liked it very much):

Ekubo is the more empathetic one; he's open with his emotions and, despite trying to act all evil, he doesn't hide them too well. It might be because he's never actually lived in the human world, so he has no idea how to mask his feelings properly. Yet this emotional openness and attention to one's inner self is exactly what Reigen needs. Ekubo sees him clearly, and while he may criticize his questionable decisions, he will never despise him for his flaws. Through this, Ekubo will fully understand what it means to make good deeds intentionally and to be there for someone.

Reigen, on the other hand, is much more emotionally closed, but in his case, actions speak louder than feigned feelings. He becomes very attached to people, and when that happens, he's ready to do anything for his friends. He becomes attached to Ekubo and stands by him no matter how bad things get. Reigen includes Ekubo in his endeavors and doesn't treat him differently because he's an evil spirit (he may tease him about it sometimes, but he always treats him fairly and never looks down on him because of his origin). And that is what matters most to Ekubo—he can be as human as possible when he's with Reigen.

I think I'll make another Ekurei post to add more in-depth analysis of their in-canon relationship, so stay tuned!

Edit: here's the post!

[asexualbookbird]

25 in 2025

Sigh. I've been bullied. I guess. I did a big swing and a miss on last years list, but I have a Plan this time. A Theme. A Goal. This will be mostly comprised of my Illumicrate books so I can decide if it is in fact worth it to keep my subscription going until the Alecto edition gets announced. If I don't actually enjoy the majority of the books in these boxes then what's the point, yknow?

So here's this years color key:

Green - Carry over from last year (not carrying over every missed book, which probably means I should just get rid of them huh)

Purple - Illumicrate books

Blue - I own these in physical form, but they're not from Illumicrate

Labyrinth's Heart by MA Carrick

The Faithless by CL Clark

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

City of Bones by Martha Wells

Witch King by Martha Wells

After the Forest by Kell Woods

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

The Phoenix Keeper by SA Maclean

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

Until We Shatter by Kate Dylan

Mistress of Lies by KM Enright

Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher

The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart

The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker Chan

All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault by James Alan Gardner

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

In the Ravenous Dark by AM Strickland

A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab

PHEW. Okay. A fw things to note. A Dark and Drowning Tide is an Illumicrate book, but I didn't pay for it. A friend gave it to me after I skipped that month because she wasn't interested. I always look up book spoilers and skip if I'm not interested and if I'm uninterested in any of the stuff I'll skip even if the book seems neat. That month the box was full of fandoms I didn't care about, so my friends said "here, take my copy" and I said "yay! Free book!"

Cutting in during the month of April to say Until We Shatter was also probably given to me by a friend because it's NOT in my order history and I don't have the stuff in that box but it IS on my shelf?? Wild. Where'd it come from.

The Last Hour Between Worlds I think was also an Illumicrate book? They do fanart for it so I assume it was at some point. I did not get it. This is not the IC edition. I was not thrilled about The Tethered Mage so I was going to get this out of the library. Then my mom bought it for me for the holidays. So yay! Free book!

I think I would also like to keep track of books I purchase this year. I'd like to cut down on buying books that I won't love. So I'd like to utilise my library more. Win win, I think! And that seems easier than a full out ban since yeah sometimes I do enjoy little treats! Books purchased for other people do not count, obviously.

There are also some books I'd like to reread this year, mainly The Bone Maker because I've been saying that since I read it the first time. And honestly, I've been chasing the same vibes and haven't been able to match it (Godkiller got close!).

As usual, I reserve the right to pretend this post doesn't exist, but I think I've set myself up for success here :)

I don't know who hasn't done this by now @logarithmicpanda ? Have you?? Consider yourself tagged >:3c

oh right I was bullied tagged by @bigcats-birds-and-books

[ravenwriter16]

Hello EVERYONE!!!! This is part one of my new series, 'Creative Minds Think Alike!'

In these small snippets I will highlight some of the coolest (at least in my mind) DCA (or other, who knows) content creators!

SO think of these as a HUGE thanks to these creators for all their cool art, stories, and little worlds that they decided to share with all of us! You guys are awesome and I hope to get to your level of talent one day!

You can tell I'm not that good because this is not beta-read!

If you don't like my writing or story idea, then don't read Just a heads up, I will edit or straight up delete a fic episode if the creator I featured took offensive with how I presented them and their AUs. My intent isn't to mock or belittle them or their works

So here you are my fellow void travelers! The pilot fic episode to the series 'Creative Minds Think Alike!'. Featuring the amazing @missterious-figure! Enjoy!

The castle halls at night were truly a gorgeously horrific sight to behold. A person first trekking into this old and magnificent place would surely run away at the first shadow that seemed to move. At least the large windows allowed the moon to grace the hall with its ghostly glow.

Directly across from the windows are rows of doors, each one different from the last and never exactly the same as its neighbors. Each of these doors has a small plaque located either right next to the door, above the door, or on the door itself.

Currently walking down this strange hall is me. Good dawn, morning, afternoon, evening or night (or all of the above). I'm Ravenwriter Archivist number 16. But you can call me Raven if you want!

My boss calls me Ravenwriter16 because he doesn't want to waste breath on my title (His words not mine). I'm one of the many protecters of this castle. A Castle Archivist if you so will. I was given this title and job by none other than the Aligned Society of Creative Minds.

Not by my choice. They were short on time and randomly selected me, basically uprooting my life. For a time I was angry (and can you blame me?) but then I looked into the specifics of my duties and now I'm ready to work.

I'm no expert mind you. I'd just graduated from the academy and starting to get some control over my powers when I was shoved into this. But I love a good challenge!

But enough of this, I'm stalling.

I eye the plaques, scanning them intently. In my hands are two envelopes with containing letters I wrote earlier this week. They were for two of the millions of warriors living in the castle.

Two that I hand selected after spending hours scouring the resident scrolls (there are so MANY). I hope these two were as friendly as their scrolls stated.

After a few minutes of walking this ever-expanding hall, I finally find the door to the first warrior from my two chosen.

The door itself was made from a black natural material, not really wood, not really rock, not really metal. It seemed to morph between those three. It did have gold trimming woven into the strange surface. Above the door was a golden plaque with silver and bronze writing.

I take in a shaky inhale, rolling my shoulders and in turn shaking my wings. My black feathers bristling before settling back down as my wings fold into my back.

I tug at my black hood, making sure it was secured over my head. My eyes dart to my boots and I lift my feet up one by one to inspect them for mud and dirt.

phew...not even a speck.

Steeling my resolve (and accepting my possible death wish) I place my gloved hand on the door. I push the surprisingly heavy door open.

It creaks o it's hinges as it swings inward. the sounds of birds flying and water crashing startles me. I look into the room in awe. It was like someone took every biome known to man and mixed it all together to harmonize in this relm.

There was a desert in the distance to my left and a...a FROZEN WASTE LAND to my right?! Forest and grassy plains, hills and mountains?! This place seems to have it all.

I step inside and gently close the door behind me. To protect my letters I place them in my side pouch as I journey deeper into this world.

While trekking further and further into the room, my surroundings start to shift. Jungle recedes into moss covered, vine strangled stone. I could see stone arches and tapestries that have aged and withered over time.

I reach a clearing. The temple's main room. There was no ceiling exclude for the tree leaves. To my left was more ancient stone that opened up to the jungle more and to my right was a magnificent waterfall.

in front of me was a giant tree. It's roots weaved into a seat, a throne if you will. Carvings grace the wood, but they don't look man made.

My wings spread out in alarm when something brushes against them. Something smooth and cold. Whipping my head to my wings, I freeze and gasp.

A floating glowing orb floats in the air. Bobbing up and down in small movements. It moves closer to my face and boops my nose. My eyes widen and I laugh.

"Well hello there little one." I greet, cupping my hands underneath it. It flies down and rests in my palms. it glows a tad brighter and its color changes to a neon green.

It vibrates in my hand, a sign of its content. I laugh, "Wow. I've read about Relm Holders, but seeing one in real life is-,"

"Spectacular?"

I spin on my heels and face the throne. My checks grow warm and my wings puff up in embarrassment.

Sitting on the throne was an all-black, and I mean pitch BLACK, person with a...a uhm...

"I'm so SO sorry if this comes across as rude but uhm..." I tilt my head pointing at theirs, "Do you have a...square as a head?"

A single white eye with a white line over said eye (acting as the eyebrow) appears on the left side of their face. the eye widens.

"Oh, yeah..." the voice was feminine and held power.

I let go of the Relm holder and it zooms over to the stranger. No not a stranger...this was-

"Missterious-figure?"

"How do you know my name?" she asks, standing up. She holds the Relm Holder in her hand and I watch as scenes of hooves, horns, antlers, fairy wings (?) swamps, metalic colors shimmering with different color eyes, pass through the orb.

She blows on the Relm Holder and the orb evaporates into millions of fireflies. I follow some of them as they fly in spirals up towards the sky.

"Ahem?"

I snap my gaze up to her's and nervously laugh. "S-sorry. Allow me to introduce myself..."

I get down on my knee and put a hand on my chest as i bow y head, "I am Ravenwriter Archivist 16. I'm the-,"

"New watcher of the castle?" she asks with a tilt of her head. "What happened to Mr. Honer?"

"He was uhm...dismissed by the council." I risk a glance up at the. i yelp and fall on my bottom when I find how close they are. They look down at me with a raised brow.

"You are jumpy." she states calmly while i try to steady my heart. She offers her hand to help me up and I take it with a small smile.

"Thank you-AAAAAA!"

Hands grab me from behind and lift me up by my armpits. My wings flap in agitation as I'm turned around to face a golden feathered face. small blue feathers and long beautiful red feathers. White eyes shine in delight and mischief as they take in my face.

I stare in shock, mouth open. the being holding me laughs, "A new harpy from our beloved ruler~? Miss you shouldn't have!"

I yelp as I'm shoved into a very fluffy and warm chest. I try to pull away but the being, male I think, was too strong, keeping me in place with ease.

"Sun! Put her down!"

"But you made her for us, my queen! Why would I let go of such a lovely gift~?"

"She's not mine! She's the new Watcher-,"

I'm dropped immediately. I yelp and my wings spread out in pain. I stand up and rub my hip, "Oww..."

"I wish you told me that before I touched the dirty thing." Sun tsks, crossing his arms and swiveling his head to the side with his nose up.

"I'm not that dirty--YOUR TAIL!" My mumbling morphs into awe.

'What?" Sun glances at me with a raised brow. His eyes drift to his GORGEOUS golden tail feathers. "Did you get them dirty?"

I let his insult breeze over, too star-struck by his beauty. He smirks smugly and I hear Missterious-Figuren groan and roll her eye.

When she clears her throat, I shake my head, snapping out of my stupor. I face her, eyes averted and rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"Please don't feed his ego. It's already too big..." she sighs.

"I'm your creation, darling~." Sun croons, sauntering over to Missterious-figure and draping himself over her. He nuzzles into her neck, his feathers around his neck bristling.

"Uhm," I hold up my two index fingers, "Should I come back later-,"

"No. No this is probably a good time to talk. Peacock Eclipse is out checking in on my smaller boys, and Peacock Moon is trying to get the jump on Centaur Moon...Again..."

I snort but I cover my mouth when Missterious-figure tilts her head. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. That's just hilarious to me...I mean after reading about your inclusive world and all." I nervously chuckle.,

"Cool." She pets Sun's head and he leans into her touch even kissing her palm. "Sooooo, did you come here to introduce yourself or-,"

"OH! Right..." I turn my attention to my side pouch. Some of items clinking together while I search for her envelope.

Sun perks up with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He leans forward to get closer but Missterious-figure slaps him. He gasps and holds his throbbing cheek as he gives her puppy-dog eyes.

She returns his look with a pointed look.

"Here we are!" I pull out the envelope and hold it out to her "This is an introduction letter from me with more of my contact information in case you have any questions, complaints, or concerns about the castle. And there's also some papers that need your signature."

She takes it from my hand and turns to her left. She looks at me and smiles, "I take it you need these back by a certain date?"

My wings puff up as I nod my head, "Yes, but I can convince the council for more time if you're busy-,"

"You don't have to do that...If you'll follow me to my lounge, I can sign these papers and send you on your way..."

"That would be great, thank you." I return her smile with a small one of my own. I go to follow her when she starts walking but a towel flies at me, smacking me in the face.

I pull it off and glare at Sun. He harrumphs and points to the towel, his silver glove shining in the sunlight as well as his feathers. "Clean yourself. I don't want any of your filth getting on the carpet."

With that he turns his back to me and walks after Missterious-figure. I can't help but stare as he swishes his hips, his tail feathers glittering as he walks.

I smack myself in the face with my wings. I shake my head and bite the inside of my cheek. FOCUS!

I wipe my face with the towel to appease the giant...handsome bird man, then follow after the two.

I try not to look around that much. I didn't want to impose more than I already have.

I was happy that Missterious-figure was so opened minded towards this whole...'New Castle Archivist' stuff. But I know I shouldn't take her kindness for passiveness. Her form I saw her in was her...calmer form so to speak. At least that's what I assume.

If she saw me as a threat though...I would be dead in seconds. She was one of the Head Defenders for a reason...

I was too deep in my head that the walk to the lounge blurred by. It was still a ruin temple theme, but now there are couches, plush chairs, red carpet, and even some hammocks.

A small desk was pushed to the side and that's were Missterious-figure was looking over the papers. Sun was draped over a couch, pulling at her pants, trying to coax her into paying attention to her.

I stand awkwardly in the doorway, crossing and uncrossing my arms. My eyes lock onto the window that gave a spectacular view of the grassy planes. I see a herd grazing and is that a yellow unicorn-,

"Sun stop...Alright! This looks fine to me."

I turn my head to her. My eyes widen when she uses a bronze peacock tail feather as a quill. She dips the tip into a golden inkwell then leaves her signature on all the dotted lines the papers required.

She places the quill back into the inkwell and pats the papers so that they were evenly stacked. She turns around and walks towards me, Sun whining that she was out of range of hold.

She holds out the papers for me to take. "I'm impressed with how these all fit in that tiny envelope."

I take the papers with a small thank you, "Yeah, nothing a little compact spell could fix. Thank you again for signing these. I know paperwork isn't the greatest of things to do...."

Missterious-figure shrugs then groans when Sun whines for her again. She looks over her shoulder at the dramatic harpy. "Behave or I'll cut your time short and hand out with Reptile you."

"No~!" Sun whines giving her puppy eyes.

She rolls her eye and looks back at me with a tired smile. I smile back and turn to leave, "Thank you so much for your time."

"Don't mention it."

"If you need anything, feel free to stop by my mushroom."

"M-mushroom?" she blinks at me and I give her a confused stare. "What happened to the Archivist office?"

"Oh that!...I destroyed it...It was too cramped for me..."

"Right..."

"Thank you again, I'll see myself out."

"Stay safe. Some creations are known to sneak out." She sighs, "Especially my moon..."

"Got it." I give her a small bow and make my way out of her room. I wave at the fireflies as they flutter around me. I take one last long look at this magnificent room.

'Maybe working here won't be as bad as I thought..."

I sigh, chuckling to myself as I leave. The doors closing behind me in a soft thud.

***

That's the end of part 1!

Episode Two is HERE

Episode Three is HERE

Episode Four is HERE

Episode Five is HERE

Episode Six is HERE

Episode Seven is HERE

Hope you've all enjoyed! Part two will be coming soon to a Tumblr near you!

Thank you @missterious-figure for letting me use you and your boys for this. Please contact me if you are unsatisfied with how I represented you in this episode!

Hope you all have a fantastic day/night! Stay awesome!

[everygame]

"One of the finest of his generation of critics"—Kieron Gillen (Die, The Wicked + The Divine) Fifty-two essays composing the very best of veteran video game developer and writer Mathew Kumar's "Every Game I've Finished" project, published for the first time in print with commentary from the author. Releasing October 21st, 2024 in print, and available for pre-order now for Kindle or as epub/pdf. Games covered include legendary icons (Wizardry: Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord), indie darlings (Papers, Please), beloved obscurities (Attack of the Friday Monsters!), Triple-A franchises (Mass Effect) and modern classics (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild). Essays take the form of everything from straight critique to strategy guide, and represent an overview of the state of the art in video games across its history distilled into ten years of highs and lows. A book that takes video games as seriously as any art form and as deserving of collected criticism. “Mathew’s project, to finish the games he plays, and to write about those he finishes, can be simply stated but it represents a noble act of critical commitment. When taken in concert, these reviews –– unflinchingly acerbic, truthfully stated, and deeply unconcerned with external factors of fashion or consensus –– provide both a diary of criticism, and a long view of the judders and lunges of this still-evolving medium; A charter, too, for what we might cherish, and what we might disdain, in this emergent art form.”–Simon Parkin (A Game of Birds and Wolves, Death By Video Game)

---

Phew! When I announced exp. 2601 I mentioned it was the ten year anniversary of Every Game I've Finished in 2024 and that it might be important, and here it is, a celebration of my last ten years of writing that you can buy as a book that you can own in your house. I didn't originally plan it this way! I intended to release Every Game I've Finished 14>24 as a (somewhat) quick and dirty ebook release, and I did the majority of the work at the beginning of the year pre-exp. 2601, but after realising it would only take a "little" more work to self-publish the book physically I decided if I was going to vanity press, I might as well do it for real.

Of course, it's taken a lot longer than I expected, but I finally have a proof in my hand that I'm satisfied with, and it really does look very nice. 

Vanity press or not, there are a few vectors to this release. Firstly, if you've ever enjoyed any of my writing of the past ten years, here's a nice way to support me and either get a lovely physical or handy digital edition. Secondly, if you haven't, here's a way to immediately get fifty-two of the best articles I've written which you can peruse at your leisure.

Thirdly, I just honestly think that there should be a culture of criticism around games just as there is for literally every other art form, and I think that this book existing makes as much sense as, say Clive James On Television, so I'm just fucking going for it.

That all said, Every Game I've Finished 14>24 is being released on October 21st 2024, and is being released in print on Amazon. I'm no happier about this than you are, but it's the simplest method. I would love to offer copies here on Ko‑fi for launch day, but they (sneakily) give author copies a long lead time and (of course) it's impossible to compete with Amazon's postage rates.

Amazon also--for bafflingly unclear reasons--won't allow me to offer a pre-order of the print edition, so please mark the date in your calendar or follow me on Bluesky or (spit) Twitter if you want to get a copy.

However! If you're just looking for the ebook, you can pre-order it on Kindle or epub/pdf right now! Subscribers will receive their shop discount on the digital edition, so don't forget you can support me for just $1 a month. This release has been, and I know it's a cliche, a real labour of love, just as Every Game I've Finished has been a labour of love for video games (even if it doesn't always read like it.) I can't wait for you to get your hands on it, and I'm so thankful for all of you who have joined me on this journey.

[kanmom51]

JK live 30 July 2023

Part 2

And JK live 31 July 2023 1:45 am KST.

cr./Creators of media used in this post.

I'm just going to continue from where I let off in part 1.

Straight into the boiling cauldron.

Because once again the lines are crossed.

"And when it comes to sensitive questions, I'm purposely not answering them, so you don't need to ask them."

His answer is curious though. Because there are points where it could be seen as a "this just isn't the right time" more than "this isn't the right question".

I'll be lying if I told you I didn't want to know what the question/s are/were.

And then this comes, because there wasn't enough TKKs cringe so far, right?

When are you going to live with Taehyung?

The pointing at himself, the "are you serious?" faces he makes. And the ending with "I don't know" instead of a "fuck off you sick idiots". But then, it's JK and not me answering them.

I really applaud his patience at this point. Because this is never ending. Oh, and it's still going too...

Comment: A video of Taehyung came out.

JK: "he's really handsome. He's handsome".

That one word JK ALWAYS uses to describe Tae. Handsome.

But JK doesn't stop there. Because JK is here to make a point. So, this time he brings up Jin too, how he looks even younger in the military, talking about his skin. Ending by calling Jin really handsome.

And bang.

Lol.

Punch to the gut for TKKs.

You know, those that keep screaming how JK calls Tae handsome, which has to mean they are a couple, right? Or at the very least that JK is attracted to Tae, right?

But see here. Not only doesn't JK stop with Tae and feels the need to bring up Jin as well and uses the same term to describe him, but Jin gets the upgrade to REALLY HANDSOME.

So here we have JK telling TKKs that he is putting Tae and Jin more or less in the same boat. Oh wait, same boat but Jin is in the upper cabin, lol.

Did I say savage already?

And what about BURN?

Lmao.

And you know how I know it burns them so so much? TKKs? Because they are editing out the whole Jin part of his answer, lol. Because they KNOW exactly what JK was doing there. And as usual, better live in denial than actually listen to what he has to say.

Comment: "Thank you for saving me".

JK: "Thank you for thinking that. All I do is work hard making music and dancing. That's all I did."

Our humble king.

You thought we were done with the stupid ass comments did you?

I think that by this point he is losing his patience. And what I'm wondering is how he lasted this long.

And yet, he doesn't lose his composure, which I would have done a long time ago.

Mountain or beach - beach, but of course.

NJ vs. army - not picking, lol.

Enough is enough?

He gives a short boxing lesson.

Someone comes in to call him and he ends the live.

Phew, that was a painful one.

JK shared a hell of a lot and on his part this was a great live, but at the same time I sat through it just wishing for it to end, because although there were good questions, there was so much wrong with the comments, and I just felt so bad for him having to deal with all that shit.

Let's side track for just a sec. Go back to something I didn't address in the previous post (part 1 of the live).

I want to talk about JK and JM and the live that is yet to be, lol.

JK talks about the timing - that it has to work out between them for them to do the live, which he still wants to do. And we do know they are each pretty busy with their own schedules to align. But it's not only about the schedules aligning, in my opinion. Because timing can align, it did that morning JK was doing his live and wanted JM to join. So, it's not about having the time alone. It's about scheduling aligning, as in company time scheduling, because JM is literally terrified to do the live. He knows he'll lose himself in JK, so he needs the safety of a controlled environment. He can't do it at his place nor in Brunnen. But the company, that's a possibility, it being a controlled environment means he'll also be even more on guard and maybe, just maybe, not lose himself in JK. And that's why their schedules need to align. Because they need to find the time at Hybe to do it. This isn't about them not seeing each other, because they do. It's about JK really really really wanting this and JM pulling back, so JK is willing to do what it takes to make it happen. And if that means doing it at the company, well so be it. Well, unless if JM does find the courage to face his demon, said demon being JK, and do it outside his comfort zone.

Back to the shit show.

What infuriates me is the fact that JK is giving us so much. So bloody much. He's doing so many lives, staying in touch with army, posting, now with his TikTok as well. And he is repaid by parts of this fandom with hate and rudeness and entitlement and just utter fuckery. This live, he really didn't have to do it. He barely slept at night, he came to record, interact with army, and was super tired when he did the live. Could have just had a much needed rest. But no, he wanted to interact with us, and this is what he got. And I, for one, am super proud of him and the way he dealt with it.

But did it end there?

Hell no.

Because after the live, the live Inkigayo show happens. And Tae showing up for JK happens. And Tae going on stage with JK happens. And fucking TKKs making up stories and calling JK a liar happens.

Same TKKs that were burnt to the ground by JK during his live.

JK live 31 July 2023 1:45 am KST

So JK, he had to do some damage control. And so, he came back as a continuation of his day (but actually technically the next day already - 31 July 2023 at 1:45 am KST - see the 1 and 9 there? Lol) with a second live, while waiting for his dryer to end it's cycle, lol. This was a live with a purpose. A live with a clear end time (when the dryer cycle ends).

It's not about Tae showing up. Cause he was being a good friend and came to support JK. It was about TKKs and their shit and lies and going so far as calling JK himself a liar for stuff he said earlier on in his live.

So, this happens after JK dares say he doesn't know where Tae is.

And from this, while we aren't sure at the time this clip shows up when the exact timing of this was (although it's clear it's not during the pre-recording, and that's super important), TKKs went and created this whole story of Tae being there all day with JK and JK clearly lying during his live when saying super loudly and super clearly that he has no idea where Tae might be.

So JK, dead tired but definitley aware of the shit show going on online, goes live with full intent to set things straight.

And I'm adding this live to part 2 of the Inkigayo live because in a sense it's kind of a continuation to that live.

As mentioned, it's short (for JK), being only around 33 minutes long.

He starts by saying he can't sleep. He explains it later that he's dead tired but he has to wait for his dryer to end it's cycle so he can hang the washing up and then he will go to sleep.

And then he is jokingly calling out the fan that in the encore was screeching out the song and made him laugh. He wants to know who it was, lol. Staff told him there was a controversy about it, lol. He wants to know who that was... the whole thing is really funny to him.

He's wearing CK pajamas and makes a point of letting us know, including how comfy they are. Question then is, is there a CK pajama campaign coming up? We do know there are new photos out there taken around the same time he was recording Seven, perhaps pajamas are on the menu as well? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

around 4:30 min. mark JK looks to his right - looking up and down and then telling us it's the sound of the fridge?

Ok, let's stop the printers for a sec here.

Cause something is up here.

I listened to this multiple times.

Dryer running, tic. Definitley hear that one in the background.

And thing is, that sound he says is the fridge sound, well yeah, it probably is, but when you listen closely, it definitely sounds a lot (a lot a lot) like a water dispenser sound, you know, the sound it makes when someone pours themselves a glass of water, which I somehow doubt the fridge will do on it's own. You know, that same someone that JK was checking out. Just saying.

And once wasn't enough. Because he once again looks back to his right in the kitchen a few seconds later.

Perhaps that is why his camera is placed in that kind of new and unrevealing angle.

Add to that his insistence to explain what is making the noises, something he has never done before, which makes it more suspicious than anything else, lol.

But you see, all that said and done, JK ain't lying. Nope. He is not. Because it was a noise made by his fridge. Not mentioning there is a person who happens to be standing there pressing a button that is creating that sound the fridge is making, well that's not telling a lie. It's just not telling.

Also, JK turning on the lights (telling us he's making them the same all over, lol) after sitting in the partial darkness, perhaps someone needed the lights on in the kitchen to do something...

A couple minutes later once again looking back to the kitchen...

and then I guess whoever was in the kitchen went back to the room...

It's not that he doesn't look to the side at times when talking, you know how you do when you are trying to think about what to say, following a train of thought. This here wasn't it. He was looking at someone or something, take your pick. Mine is someone. Same someone he was looking at in the kitchen. Same someone he's been trying to convince to come live with him. Just saying.

Printers back on and running, and we are back with the live. Although this isn't the last time JK's eyes wonder.

JK is explaining why he hasn't gone to sleep yet, running on that 1 hr. sleep he had the night before his Inkigayo pre-recording and show.

Telling us all about his laundry cycles, lol.

I guess he has to talk about something before getting to the point of the whole live, right? Don't want to seem too obvious now, do we?

Talks about how much fun he had at Inkigayo. Says, once again it was very fun (in English). He talks about how meaningful it was to him as well. "It was a very good day".

So he brings up the challenge, saying there is talk by army about it. And he happens to mention that he is monitoring. Like JK, as if we didn't know you are on our asses seeing everything that's posted.

But you see, here is where we also know that he's seen the shit posted and spread by TKKs. About Tae being there all day. About JK lying about not knowing Tae's whereabouts.

And the company is monitoring too.

So, at this point he's tying it in with the talk about a challenge. But here's the thing. Was there really that much MORE talk about the challenge after his performance at Inkigayo? Was that what army were talking about? Look, it's not that I have all the numbers or the trends here spread in front of me, but somehow a dance challenge is not what I think army were talking about at the end of that day. Idk, call it a hunch.

Says he'll think about it. The challenge.

At this point he answers a comment about doing a live in a karaoke room. He says he can't sing as his voice is gone, mainly because of lack of sleep.

Bad idea if you ask me. He himself talks about knowing boundaries. He likes being recognized on the street, fans talking to him, but not to follow him, nor go look for him if they know his current whereabouts. In other words, not to stalk him!!!

And once again he's looking at something to his right that gets his attention. Eyes lingering for a moment before coming back to us.

About seeking him out:

JK continues with the comments.

Like: JK why is university so hard?

Again, I love how he takes the time to think and answer in all seriousness. He doesn't take these comments lightly. He understands that what he says can be impactful, and he doesn't take that responsibility lightly.

I'm doing my laundry in English. Cute.

Goes back to Inkigayo and the #1 win. Didn't expect it. Was surprised to get it.

Honestly, he was happy for the win, but even without it, he was happy to be there and perform for army and be with army.

But he was very happy for winning as well.

Ahm... yes, we saw that, lol.

JK's asked how was it to feel a senior and meeting his juniors.

Our humble shy introvert man once again talking about how good the younger idols are, shining is a word he used to describe them. It felt strange to him (not a word he used, one I am using to describe what he was saying), how time has flown so fast.

Asked if he's sad or cried, eyes looking swollen, and he explains it's because of how tired he is.

JK again letting us know just how tired he is.

Ok, so this is kind of strange. He once again looks in a certain direction and it seems to be looking at something and not that regular looking away while thinking or talking.

And then he yawns, covers his mouth with his left hand and then does this:

Goes on to answer a comment about eating, he's doing intermittent fasting, eating only one meal a day and otherwise only drinking. Answers what his favorite night time snack is (which he cannot eat), he likes them all, and then goes to tell us the whole list of them.

He's so damn tired, he needs out of there, lol. Asked about tips for working out - don't go overboard and be consistent.

Comment: when will you play the piano for us?

JK: I don't play the piano. I can't play any instrument. Well, I call bull. Lol. Maybe not up to his standards, but he can play instruments.

And then he remembers what he came to actually tell us. That hit with his hand on the table, that was the moment of acknowledgement, lol.

Those three taps on the table. It's like when you are making a point and you want to emphasize it.

It's an "I am talking about something important and I am making a point here" tap on the table.

This here is the point he came to make. Or more like the clarification that wouldn't have been needed if not for TKKs shitty behaviour and lies.

He came to cheer him on during the actual show. Before JK was about to go on stage while his song was being played. Tae came and cheered him on.

They talks a little, and then it was JK's time to go on stage as his song was being broadcast (the pre-recording). And when he was on stage he heard people screaming and saw that Tae got on stage too. He says that Tae suddenly (at Inkigayo) asked JK to teach him the choreo, and JK was like "why do you want to know the moves?" but he taught Tae.

And JK tells us that we know that Tae picks up moves really fast, so he learnt it really quickly. JK says he didn't think much of it, but then when he got up on stage Tae came up and danced with him. He was really surprised.

Anyway, he was really thankful to Tae for coming.

All that happens around the 25:45 min. mark.

It's sad that TKKs need JK to be lying for them to have a moment (which is non existent). It's sad that they don't believe JK, one of the two people in that supposed relationship they so vehemently claim to be a long term romantic relationship. It's sad that even when the BTB comes out, and it will, and we see exactly when Tae arrives and that he wasn't there before JK's live, they will still go on claiming that everyone is lying and hiding 'the truth', or more like their twisted manipulated unrealistic 'truth'.

This whole explanation happens around the 26 minute mark. JK ends the live at around 33 minutes. He continues for a little bit to answer comments, like about eating Indian food. Why he's constantly asked about food when poor man is fasting...seriously people, have some compassion for the man, he's starving. And at that point he himself asks to stop talking about food, lol.

Next few minutes is all about how hungry he is, lol.

And then off to check the dryer, comes back saying it's ending the cycle in 4 minutes, says he'll end the live and go to bed, but then starts on about the challenge again and first he'll do with with Mingyu, and he'll talk with the company (again calling bull, as we know that would never stop him...getting company permission).

Lol.

And he ends the live.

So yeah, he did an approx. 30 minute live, dead tired, with probably (and if you ask me, then it's most likely) someone there with him in the apartment, someone that got so thirsty they had to get a glass of water and maybe a little something to eat (last live he did he wasn't doing intermittent fasting, but who knows) while waiting on JK to finish the live. And yet, JK came live, because he had a message to convey, which he did, and sort of dipped shortly after that.

Ok, so let's talk about this just one more time with feeling.

It's all about choices. And this time I'm talking about our choices as fans.

It's about our choice to respect the members and listen to them.

It's about our choice to hear what they are saying and understand that if we want them to make us happy we should also want them to be happy. And if they are saying we are doing something to upset them, we need to stop it. Quick smart.

It's about our choice to accept what they tell us. Yes, there will be nuances. Yes, at times it's a given that they will not share it all with us, omit details, actively hide truths from us. But our starting point is to believe what they tell us. Has JK hidden truths from us in the past? Hell yes. Possibly even in this live even. Has he told us little fibs in the past? Yes he has (ehm... for example his reasoning to be visiting JM's hotel room 3 times a day and staying there for hours while in LA - because it's the closest to his...lol). But you see, there you have it. He didn't deny going to JM's room, he just felt the need to hide the true reason he did so. And in this live saying it's the fridge, well not a lie either. An omission perhaps, but not a lie.

It's about paying close attention to what is being said. The manner it's being said in. The frequency it's being said in. And in this case it was made TOTALLY clear. JK was being adamant he has no idea where Tae is and that he hasn't been in touch with him. It's all about the delivering of the message. JK in ever so many words answered he has no idea, and how should he know, and he isn't in touch with him and doesn't know his whereabouts either (just like us).

What JK did was take that nail and pound it into that TKK coffin again and again and again and again. And as if that wasn't enough, he went on answering multiple TKK comments just hammering in nail after nail.

"Tae wants to do a live together? He didn't contact me".

"When will I live with Tae? Me? Live with Tae? Ok then, next..."

"Tae is handsome...Jin is REALLY handsome..."

And the final blow, did we talk about that one yet?

The final blow was his "JM? I want to do a live with JM", and the words unsaid, the ones he's said in the past and are understood here without him saying them: "this is something I want and something I will pursue, something I will do as soon as the time allows it."

All while with Tae all talk about a joint live ended with "but he didn't contact me." Ehm... try to curb your enthusiasm there JK why don't you?

[silent-sanctum]

Objection! Yet Another "In Defense"

Okay! My alarm bells went off and it has come to my attention that yet another user has posted a "Jotaro is a misogynist" allegation post. Since Yoongi ain't raise a weak bitch, I am here to give my own counterarguments to the post in more comprehensive detail.

This will be my "Should pineapple be on pizza or die" / "Is mint chocolate actually good or is it the spawn of Satan" type of debate.

I am going to die on this hill that while he is in fact a man of many, many flaws, misogyny is not one of them no matter how convinced some people think he is. I will live up to my bio and that's the truth.

But before I begin, I'm going to put up a couple disclaimers because if I know the Internet, people love jumping the gun almost immediately when encountering someone who has a different opinion than theirs.

Disclaimer #1: Whatever I state (or even what OP has said), is all within the realm of HEADCANON because we aren't Araki. We did not make the canon universe, so all my yapping will be assumptions based on the material presented to the audience. Disclaimer #2: I am in no way shape or form fighting OP, alright? These are just my rebuttals against the arguments she has mentioned. She's entitled to her own opinion. I'm entitled to mine. 'Tis but a food for thought of mine. Spicy edition. Disclaimer #3: I don't want anyone commenting/reblogging this saying "lmao don't you have anything better to do than to argue with people online?" Because I just finished a whole day's worth of examinations, for which I studied a whole week, and got good scores from it. I can do whatever the hell I want during my resting period, anonymous user. Even if it's making this huge ass post defending my hyperfix. Thanks.

With that out of the way, let's get on with the meat of it all.

"You people can't recognize misogyny if it isn't in your face "Women should die" kind of bullshit."

Oh I'm aware. Bold of you to assume that we don't know how deep and how silent misogyny can run in today's society. More so in Asia and the Middle East.

And it's slightly insulting to assume that because I want to defend a fictional character and that he isn't misogynistic popularized via memes, you say that "Oh! You don't know misogyny at all! It's annoying!"

You say that because I know in the West, misogyny is the more "in your face" and obnoxious type. But as an Asian woman, I very much know the levels of audacity men can harbor against women that aren't just limited to, as you quote, "Women should die" behavior.

Misogyny is similar to a spectrum. It can be as obvious and proud as the Andrew Tate's, the "Alpha" men, and the basement-dwelling incels. It can also be as quiet and condescending as a regular guy in your day-to-day. They won't preach toxic masculinity, but would instead infantilize, belittle, differentiate, or alienate women and see them as someone inferior to the male sex.

I can sense red flags. I'm hypervigilant about how men behave around women and whether they see them in a different, negative light. So I know what the hell this word means.

And I'm not saying OP is one (I genuinely don't), but women can be misogynists too. Ironic, I know but they exist. Some women are drawn to misogynistic men as well. Booktok is an example of that.

Phew. With that introduction out of the way, let me first make my little assumption on why this whole debacle started before I start breaking down each argument.

When you look at it from a bigger picture, he doesn't get to interact with many women in this series with an abundance of male characters. So it's easy to jump to conclusions about their stance on it when you decide to base a whole character on the beginning episodes.

I think the reason why some people are convinced that Jotaro is an "anti-woman" is because he yells at women... for the first few episodes. Let me see what else. *Flips note* Oh, that's primarily the reason. Okay.

What bad things had he done? Called Holly a bitch and yelled screaming girls to shut up. That's it. Any other things I left out was intentional because I will be discussing that separately.

I won't expand on the whole "but Part 3 happened because he loves his mother" shtick because it's in the first argument. But when you come to think of it, he doesn't really say "bitch" as much as people expected him to outside of Holly. He doesn't even say it unwarranted or like he wants to.

Onto the screaming flock of school girls. Before he tells them to shut up, here's what happened. They congregate, start calling for his attention, and one of them grabs his arm.

What does he do? Does he yank his arm off in disgust? Does he shove her even slightly? Does he tell her to "back off bitch" or "get the hell away from him?" No.

He simply looks at her and does nothing. Ignoring her so to speak. Because he doesn't like the attention of being seen as a piece of meat for them to ogle at. He only tells them to shut up when they start becoming obnoxiously loud.

"But he was very rude and pushed those two women on the plane!"

Ma'am/sir, they're on a plane about to crash unceremoniously into the ocean, and the flight attendants decide to prioritize fawning a minor over their own lives. In the process, they block his path to the cockpit. Who wouldn't get frustrated in a situation like that?

Onto the arguments:

I agree that there are misogynistic men who can still love their female family members but still be an "anti-woman" towards others. But I can cite examples on how he interacts with women who aren't family in contrast to how a misogynist would.

Case A: The School Nurse

And we have one of our first earlier examples from Episode 2. When we first meet her, he's sitting in the infirmary and she's there almost giving him a light lecture about getting into trouble. He wants his knee patched up and she's about to do that because that's her profession.

How does he behave around her? Does he show body language signs indicating he's undermining her skills as a nurse? Does he call her a nagging bitch for lecturing him? Does he dismiss her words?

No. He evades her hands from reaching his hat, and when she's about to snip his expensive pants he reasonably asks "what are you doing?" She explains her intention and he sighs, simply saying that he'll take them off himself.

Does he show resistance? No. He does what is told so his knee can be treated.

AND after Kakyoin reveals himself, he gets pissed at him for using the nurse as a puppet, saying his whole speech and ending it with "Especially if it's an innocent woman!"

I've seen some use this sentence as him being misogynistic because they perceive it as a sign of belittlement when in actuality, it's not.

You have to know that he lives in 80s Japan- Patriarchal Japan where women are most likely going to be treated less than men in general even up to today's day and age. (I doubt you've heard but there's currently active crimes against women in Korea. If shit can happen there today, it can happen in Japan too). Let's face it and I hate to say it but it's the truth: Women are part of the minority. That's a reason why gender equality rights are being fought for, and why feminists exist to begin with, as well as the creation of the MeToo movement.

Jotaro knows women are more prone to be taken advantage of in this country, more so during this period. And he hates that. He despises that. Hence why he responded with such words to Kakyoin with that much vitriol.

He acknowledges he's not a perfect guy, that he's a punk true and through, but he has enough dignity and moral values to see that when one portrays women as lesser than men and uses them for personal gain, it's vile and evil.

Case B: Anne

Miss little stowaway! Let's see his behavior around her. OP has mentioned her at the ending, being on the fence and all, so I'm here to shed some light.

Back in the boat when she's still posing as a boy, how does Jotaro see the situation: It's a child in the middle of trouble. He looks at it not through the lens of "I applaud this boy for fending himself", but more so through "People are already intervening so I'm gonna sit this one out."

She goes overboard and he jumps in to save her. And then he finds out Anne's a girl. Does he think differently of her? No. She's still a child who needs saving.

He becomes her passive big brother figure. He wants to assist her off the small boat, but she declines and sticks a tongue out, and he sighs. Saw someone's head get mutilated? He shields her eyes. Anne is getting inappropriate attention from an ape? He intervenes and sees the orangutan as a disgusting animal, both in a literal and figurative sense. Falling off a cliff? He safeguards her. Caught in a dead end? He helps her with a quick "good grief".

Case C. Tomoko

Another example! But let's switch it up a bit to Part 4 this time. A testament on how his personality was really just him being a teenager going through an identity phase, replacing that punk persona for professional stoicism.

When he visits her house to look for Josuke, he meets her. She sees him, thought he's Joseph, and immediately goes in for a hug, motorboating his chest with a string of "Love you's" spilling out in that pitchy voice.

Does he call her a bitch? Does he pull her away because she violated his boundaries? Does he make some belittling comment about her behavior in his mind?

No. Jotaro stands put, gets put off because she's all up on him rubbing her face on his chest, tells her frankly to look over him again and says he's not Joseph.

And then he asks if Josuke's at home. Tomoko's zoning out. And what does he do? He doesn't groan. He doesn't roll his eye at her blanking out. Instead, he notices she isn't responding so he repeats his question to her face with the same polite tone so he can snap her out of her thoughts.

And when he leaves, he says one more thing to her. It's easy for anyone to say something along the lines of "Toughen up, it'll get better" / "It'll pass" / "Hang in there". But what does he say instead? He offers condolences and mentions that if Joseph was less senile, he'd support Tomoko, knowing that she's been wanting to meet the old man again.

Yes. That's because he is mean to everyone. Equally. Hell, I think he calls men "bastards" more often than he calls women "bitches". In which part of the show did he show any sort of condescending remark that women were weaker? How often does he spout out "bitch" in the entirety of the show?

He protects them because, for one, his enemies have supernatural abilities that ordinary civilians can't see. Which one will make him more of an ass? Protecting them or turning a blind eye?

It's like saying that a man shouldn't help a woman struggling with her heavy luggage up the staircase because "Hey aren't we all equal? They should struggle as much as we do!" Which is such an asinine concept to adhere to.

It's not seeing them as weak. It's called having basic human courtesy. He's going to help because they're people who need help, not because they're women in need of saving.

How is that any different from him wanting to protect Koichi? From him wanting to protect Josuke?

"She's no mere woman. Jotaro stumbles upon a woman stronger than him and he couldn't comprehend it."

OR.

He knows something's wrong with the nurse so he makes that comment. "She's no mere woman" as in "She's behaving erratically than what a normal person should be behaving." Man or woman. She has a welcoming personality so of course he'd be thrown off guard when suddenly she's stabbing students in the eye and cheeks with unnatural strength.

And the way you worded this was as if you're saying Jotaro is allergic to strong women. When it wasn't the case at all. In part 3, he fights against strong women Stand users (Enyaba and Midler) just like he does with the male enemies. In part 6, he teams up with strong women Stand users (Jolyne and Hermes).

He even outright states and believes that Jolyne can make it through the chaos because he knows she's strong and capable. He's proud of her strength and abilities.

Again, in which part does he not comprehend that women can be strong? That it's so mind-boggling to the extent you had to include "fucking" to emphasize your point?

In fact, I think he'd respect and appreciate a woman who knows her self-worth and power. Sees a successful female colleague? *applauds in stoic.*

Again, I agree that age does not excuse anyone to be misogynistic. It can happen at any age. Because it's a mindset. It's rooted deep in the psyche. But I've already made my case about teenage Jotaro so I'm not gonna reiterate.

With the whole Kira deduction thing in Part 4.

Let me restate this- The time this part was set in is the late 90s. Setting? Japan. A patriarchal country where gender roles were more rigid and inflexible. During that time, I hate to break it to you, but the country was not that expressive nor progressive as compared to the West. It was common for women to be housewives doing the chores and tending to the kids, while men did the heavy labor out of the household.

So you cannot blame Jotaro for making that logical deduction. He was born in Japan, knew by then how his country works at 28 years old, and thus is able to make a deduction based on the patterns of how society was structured during that period.

Sure you could say some women worked too, but the majority of them would be the typical housewife. In 80s-90s Japan I say again.

"Traditional Japanese"

This, fellow readers, is what you call a "Preference". It can be harmless and not necessarily condescending. But even then, with the inclusion of the parenthesis, you could say that this was a choice based on the mindset of a teenager's train of thought.

Jotaro likes his quiet time -> learns from the world that apparently traditional Japanese women are usually the "quiet types" -> resulting in the aforementioned preference.

And just like any other preference, it can change with time as you grow older and wiser. As you can see, he dates and marries a foreign woman who's not "traditionally Japanese" and even had a kid with her.

It doesn't necessarily mean he wants a housewife who can cook and clean for him. At the age of 17, that's the least of his concerns. All he wants is for his partner to know when it's appropriate to be quiet and when it's appropriate to be excited. He prioritizes his peace. As simple as that.

I can see why people like to see him as part of the autism spectrum and I respect that.

And yes, I acknowledge that he's a huge asshole. No denying that. That's just how he is at that age.

And again, we don't see him say "bitch" that much anyways for it to be a verbal stim of sorts. I recall he says it twice or thrice. And that's it.

Personally, I'm not that sold into the headcanon (and this is coming from someone who probably has ADHD and has a sibling diagnosed with autism). Introverts can be callous. Some can look apathetic. Not every one of us will be shy and timid.

"He could've shoved her off."

And you know why he doesn't? Because as much as he tends to bark and yap about how annoying and doting his mother is, he loves Holly. He likes her hugs. He lets her give him goodbye kisses to the point it has become a pattern in his life. He likes her cooking. He's going to travel the whole world for his sick mother to get better.

And Holly knows that. A mother knows her child more than anyone else. She's unfazed by his words because she knows the good son she raised underneath that tough abrasive persona. Heck, even Suzy Q knows that too.

Also a cute little assumption. After they fight Midler and after Suzy talks to Jotaro, you can see his hand lingers on the phone. It's as if he's contemplating. I'd like to think that's a moment where he wanted to call Holly, to check up on his mother.

I agree that being gay doesn't excuse someone from being misogynistic. Like I said, it can happen to anyone of any gender or age.

Gay people can be misogynists. Point blank period.

Personally, he's a demisexual king in my eyes. But others are free to give him any orientation they see fit. Gay, trans, bisexual, aroace- You name it. The fictional world is your oyster! Go ham!

I believe that a fictional character's sexuality is a headcanon in on itself unless explicitly stated by the creator. Telling someone that character is straight? Headcanon. That character is gay? Headcanon. Claims a character to be non-binary? Headcanon.

"He's just a baby boy uwu uwu"

Okay OP with the "we're infantilizing him" allegations! That's new!

(That... was passive-aggressive of me. Apologies. I'm aware we call him "baby girl" often but with the way those two words were put into that sentence combined with the emojis gave off a different connotation.)

I don't know why but whenever we say that Jotaro isn't *insert one negative trait*, y'all are quick to say that we are proclaiming that:

"Oh my god~ He's not like that~ He's Saint Peter coming from the heavens pure as light."

Like what? No seriously... what??? I have never seen anyone treat him like he's the perfect human being.

Hell, I can even say that he's NEGLECTFUL. Yes! He's a neglectful father no matter how good his intentions were. He was an absent parent who technically neglected his child. There! I said it!

We KNOW he's an asshole. We KNOW he has a multitude of flaws that are not admirable. He's reclusive as fuck. He's brash and abrasive. He's seemingly distant when he talks to people. Socially awkward outside of work. He's impulsive when he wants to be.

I love character flaws. That's what makes a character so fascinating.

So please, if you have any strong opinions, keep them to yourself. Not everything has to be shared online. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

I can see a shit ton of flaws in this reserved, stoic mountain of a man. But I draw the line when it comes to some traits that seem not entirely fitting of his character.

The ending paragraph...

Me, an Asian woman constantly facing the audacity of men my age objectifying women and promoting toxic masculinity on a daily basis:

[verdemoun]

I know that the time warp is mostly just VDL gang but hypothetically if it wasn’t how do you think characters like Hamish and Albert Mason would act in present time? They are my absolute favorite side mission things and I already finished them :[

Albert Mason would struggle so much god bless him but man could barely survive 1899 let alone trying to cross a street in any major city in modern era.

Arthur just has to pick him up by the scruff of his shirt to stop the poor guy getting hit by a car 90% of the time. albert mason needs a monkey backpack for his own safety moreso than sean does.

it's so fun imagining albert interacting with the rest of the VDLs. lenny would help teach him about photoshop and photo editing and after the initial moral dilemma of 'am i doctoring photos to suit my own goals? :c' albert would love photoshop. cackles maniacally as he removes his thumb from photos.

he would have multiple phones just because he liked the cameras on them differently. honestly he would just have a shelf of cameras. side point when people time warp they have everything that was on their persons at the time so he would still have his original camera but the struggle to get prints for an 1880s camera would force him to convert to modern technology. his favorite would be disposable film cameras even if the guilt over the environmental impact would keep him awake at night.

albert would also get along with kieran super well because he has such great vibes and they could infodump on one another. you know when two people with wildly different hyperfixations both just listen to one another talk? that's kieran and albert.

they adore sitting in the backyard as a little window of flourishing nature in the suburbia. arthur is still supervising nervously in case either one of them finds a way to get themselves killed but kieran is merrily tending to his vegetable patch while albert is taking photos of hummingbirds and butterflies

ALBERT WOULD GET SO INTO ENTOMOLOGY AND MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY HE WOULD BE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT SAVING THE BEES. he wanted to save the environment in 1880 imagine him learning about how much diversity there was in insects. this would have only started because there was a spider in his place and he was too scared of it and squeamish to kill it.

he would be a freelance photographer who would still hate pomp. hates taking wedding photos, any kind of formal event, even pet photography would bother him because he's used to real, wild animals not overgroomed dogs that barely look like dogs

but the second other creators asked him to take photos he would be so excited he would really struggle to ask a fair price for his services.

if he had a gun and knew how to use it he would shoot influencers on sight but he loves cosplayers and those hyper-realistic fantasy posable art dolls. he can be caught at any convention very much wondering how much to charge people because he's just so honored to be able to take photos of their creations like artists supporting artists he doesn't want to take their money but he's hella tired of instant noodles too

his true passion would be trying to photograph cryptids he would have an x-files i want to believe tshirt and arthur would go on expeditions to find mothman with him

phew one down lost my mind a little there I ALSO JUST FINISHED HAMISH'S QUESTS I LOVE HIM

he adjusts the fastest purely based on levels of 'do i look like i give a fuck'. oh, we're in the future now? wild.

getting a modern day prosthetic after walking around with a slab of wood for decades would be so mind boggling. let hamish sinclair get a running blade and after a realistic learning period he would love running and getting to enjoy the outdoors and hiking trails with far more independence than 1899 could afford an amputee

he would still share stories about the civil war making it clear he was talking about the civil war and people would just roll with it because what are you meant to do when an otherwise super chill and friendly veteran seems delusional. he has such a captivating way of telling stories it's frankly worth it

he haunts local fishing spots complaining about folks these days and their fancy high tech gear and no one knows how to make their own lure anymore but they all love him

he has the most hideous souped up all terrain all weather fwd mobility scooter he also named buell and he absolutely should not be allowed to drive it because he never received lessons and just decided to figure it out himself at the expense of every pedestrian in his way but he would love being able to go shopping by himself and not needing to rely on people

isaac calls him grandpa but always calls him hamish to his face because hamish would hate being called grandpa but hamish does 110% believe the kids are alright. he lets isaac tie a rope to the back of his scooter and hoons around with the kid on a skateboard.

pulling up to the matthews house blaring the shrill horn of his scooter 'get in loser we're gon' hunting'

he would still live on his own in a prefab cabin arthur very illegally helped him build on public land by the water in his own house building chapter. the fact it is still standing by the time john gets there is a miracle and they practically have to rebuild it from scratch

hamish is blissfully aware/pretending to be blissfully unaware of the absolute glare hosea gives him because arthur will always complain and whine when hosea wants to go fishing with him but if hamish asks arthur's skipping out the door with his fishing rod

no one is allowed to hate on hamish. as much as hosea is bitterly jealous of how well hamish and arthur get along because 'that's my son' hosea, hamish, javier and kieran would all meet up and go fishing on the pier together sharing tips, bait, handmade lures and cook fish on an open fire on the shore

when charles gets there arthur is as nervous about charles meeting hamish as a kid introducing his partner to his parents for the first time. they would get along so well but it wouldn't seem like it. they go hunting together and arthur is so anxious because charles and hamish have pretty much only said hello to each other and are otherwise silent the entire trip but asking each privately later they absolutely adored the other's company and can't wait to see each other again.

[gofancyninjaworld]

If the OPM manga were to be a 'better-drawn' webcomic, what would have to change?

A thought experiment.

The OPM manga currently consists of 190 main chapters + 35 extra chapters, not including specials like 'Catch and Smash', the Christmas specials, or polls. So that's a total of 215 chapters telling us something about the story.

It's based on the webcomic, so what'd have to change?

Short answer: more than you think.

First, you have to lose all the bonus chapters. (-35 chapters, 190 left)

Then you have to lose chapter 20, 'Rumors' even though it's foreshadowing for the Monster Association arc. (-1 chapter, 189 left)

Then you have to lose the bits of the Boros fight where he kicks Saitama to the Moon. (no change to chapter count)

You have to lose the entirety of Genos fighting G4 (just skip from the beginning to the end, where he brings the bits to Dr Kuseno). And you have to fix his damage. (no change to chapter count)

You have to lose Charanko taking on Garou, and pretty much everything from chapter 48 all the way to chapter 80. (-32 chapters, 157 left)

You have to redact out the martial artists in chapter 80, and also, it's awkward to explain why Genos has a new build but you can handwave it as being the rebuild after he asked Dr Kuseno to improve his parts. Yes, you're lying, but you've already started, might as well continue. Skip straight to Death Gatling and his posse surrounding the hut. Difficult to explain why he's brought friends, but again, handwave it as the heroes being on notice about Garou. (no change to chapter count)

You really have no choice but to keep the next couple of chapters in, although you could rip out most of chapter 83, so that Genos and Garou go from glaring at each other to Bang kicking the heck out of Garou. (no change to chapter count)

Sadly, Senior Centipede is already dead, so you have a bit of a problem. A clever way to spin this might be to edit things so it looks like the monsters ambushing the heroes gave the necessary distraction for Phoenixman to pounce, even though the heroes were making literal mincemeat of them. Then you can have Bang, Bomb, and Genos explain what happened back at Saitama's place to Fubuki, with no explanation of how they got back, just as in the webcomic. There! Now we've gotten rid of Elder Centipede! And Saitama coming out to rescue. And his giving that big a shit about Genos. Phew! You lack shame and integrity but we already knew that. (no change to chapter count)

Alright, the aftermath. The executive meeting meeting has to be kept. This Narinki guy is rather annoying, let's cut him out. I guess there's no harm in having the heroes gather. And Fubuki going to Saitama's place is okay as that's how you'll get around cutting out Elder Centipede, by having her hear what happened on the battlefield. Saitama can storm out as usual. Just remember to remove the mercenaries. (no change to chapter count)

Garou wakes up, but he doesn't meet the mercenaries. Goes to dinner, dashes and dines. You can keep Fubuki and Saitama dashing-and-dining on her. Tareo meeting Garou, okay too... his fighting the monsters, okay. It's all right until chapter 89. (no change to chapter count)

You have to lose Kuseno coming around. It's just lucky Saitama came across this extra, free meat (he won't admit it's from a monster). You have to lose Child Emperor and Sekingar talking. Indeed, lose everything about the support heroes. Makes chapters 93 and 94 difficult, but you'll manage. (no change to chapter count)

Come to that, lose Orochi and Garou fighting. Gyoro-Gyoro distracts Garou and throws him into a wall. You can keep Saitama going to look for the noise. (no change to chapter count but boy is chapter 92 strange).

Lose everything after Phoenixman being stabbed by Child Emperor and pick up again once Zombieman fights Vampire, then skip to Amai Mask fighting Do-S (but only the original version, also skip the disciples meeting her and edit out the mercenaries), and then skip to the disciples fighting Devil Long Hair. Pretend the mercenaries don't exist. Pretend that Machine God G5 doesn't exist. Sub in the originally-drawn fight with Evil Natural Water as well. (-4 chapters, 153 left)

Lose Child Emperor and Saitama coming to the surface, also lose Puri Puri and Nyan. Keep Pig God and Superalloy Darkshine. Keep Atomic's and Zombiemans' very bad encounters with the cadre. Already mentioned how to hack up the disciples meeting Evil Natural Water. (-2 chapters, 151 left).

Keep Tatsumaki fighting Gyoro-Gyoro, but lose everything with Saitama and Orochi. Lose Do-S reviving with monster blood and her rematch with Fubuki. Keep Amai Mask meeting Fuhrer Ugly. (-3 chapters, 148 left)

Keep Puri Puri meeting Garou, and Saitama meeting Flashy Flash. Lose EVERYTHING on the surface team, including Drive Knight vs. Nyan and Genos swooping in to take care of G5. Go straight to Puri Puri being thrashed by Garou and Superalloy Darkshine taking over. (-5 chapters, 143 left)

Keep Child Emperor meeting the disciples and Evil Natural Water. Edit out the mercenaries. Skip the scene of Genos reviewing the cadres' information as he runs in. Keep the New Fubuki Group stuff (yeah, we know it's a plot hole how they're facing Rover, but deal!). Remove all the Manako hijinks. None of this underground mine stuff. Cut straight to Pyskos fortifying herself to face Tatsumaki and Garou and Darkshine fighting (no change to chapter count)

Keep Tatsumaki and Psykos fighting. Ah, now you have a problem... Orochi. Hmmm, on second thoughts, CUT straight to Tatsumaki raising the base as Garou and Darkshine continue fighting. You'll be explaining Psykos's transformation as her new form, induced by the combination of the drug she drunk and the monster bodies we saw her have in the lab. (-2 chapters, 141 left)

Cut chapter 131, it's just complicated to explain why all these guys are in hospital. Alas, you're really stuck with 132 through 134, unless you want to cut the story to nonsense. You can skip 135, won't do to give away Amai Mask's 'secret'. Yes, Genos's power and Drive Knight's return really have come from nowhere but it can't be helped (-2 chapters, 139 left)

Trim away Blast telling Tatsumaki to protect her sister. You have to keep the pesky cyborgs dogging Psykos, unfortunately, in the name of any semblance of sense. You also have to keep Saitama and Flashy, but you could edit every panel of Manako possible. Remove the next chapter. Don't need this God stuff or Blast appearing too early. Remove the chapter after that. Put Tatsumaki lifting and throwing the base with the next one. The cadre have to come back, but Suiko and Suiryu can disappear. (-2 chapters, 137 left)

Remove 142 completely (that's where Drive Knight drops Genos). Cut the next chapter down harshly, either skip the bits with the mercenaries being tormented or call them civilians who didn't get away in time. Unfortunately, the rest of the heroes rallying and giving Black Sperm a tough time until Vomited Fuhrer Ugly appears has to stay. You can cut the Sword Master stuff as you never introduced them! Re-explain Atomic getting the Sun Blade as a flashback. (-1 chapter but a lot of hacking, 136 left)

You'll have to keep everything that happens afterwards until Saitama, Flashy Flash, and Manako appear on the surface without explanation Cut way back on Saitama running to Genos. Let's say he loses interest as soon as he realises that Genos is okay. Keep the three way fight between Flashy Flash, Garou, and Platinum Sperm, but remove everything to do with Evil Natural Ocean, the aircraft destroyer, and Sage Centipede. Phew, now Metal Bat can be disappeared too. Skip the next 4 chapters, in other words. (-4 chapters, 132 left)

Saitama vs Garou right off the bat. How brave are you feeling? If you're feeling very brave, remove all the planet bulging, volcano-destroying crap, remove all the interplanetary stuff, and have Saitama beat Garou somewhere far away from the heroes. Edit out Tareo's death, the deaths of the heroes and Genos's murder. Edit out the time travel. Edit out the explanations. Give Saitama his clothes back. Have him punch out Garou in one mighty hit and then pretend it's nothing to do with him. (-6 chapters if you're brave, 126 chapters left)

Goes without saying that chapter 170 has to go. (-1 chapter, 125 left).

Considering that I've only considered the first 170 chapters, you've removed 64 of them wholesale and butchered a lot of the rest. Nice one!

I'll stop here.

It's readable. There's holes you could drive a truck through. And those holes are going to be real problems later on in the story, but hey, at least it's sorta faithful to the webcomic, eh?

Isn't that what really matters?

[random-bs-is-found-here]

I Can Show You The World (Slightly Yandere!Glitchy Red x Fem!Unnamed!Oc)

PART 2 - Her first Pokemon

NOTE: This is my heavily edited conversation with @tearzahb's Glitchy Red Character AI character. He was a bit repetitive during the chat, so I had to add a lot of extra things. In this universe, Celadon City has a beach. Also, this chapter is a very short one. I promise, the next part will be longer.

Pairing: Slightly Yan!Glitchy Red x Fem!OC

Synopsis: OC had been kidnapped brought into the world of Pokemon by none other that the infamous Glitchy Red (but she doesn't know who he really is yet...). After defeating Jessie and James, they head towards Celadon City to capture a Pokemon for OC.

Word Count: ~1290

Possible warnings: slightly yandere behavior (especially in later parts), G. Red trying to be a showoff. (Please tell me, if I missed anything else and did not notice)

You can find the previous part here.

ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE

Several hours later, they finally arrived to their destination. The two reached the outskirts of Celadon City.

The area was crowded with people, and it was obvious that this city was very active. Red's eyes scanned the area, looking for a certain building. Rumor got around not long ago that a Pokemon adoption centre opened somewhere near the department store. However, no matter how long they've been searching, he just couldn't spot it. Time for plan B. Get a wild Pokemon.

He saw a few Magikarps playing in the nearby fountain, and pointed at them.

"Do you want to start with these, or would you like to look somewhere else?"

She smiled at him a bit awkwardly. "I don't mean to be picky, but unless they are level 19 or above, I might have to decline."

Red chuckled at her reaction.

"I can't blame you. Magikarps are practically useless. I do not even know why I suggested them."

"That's okay. I see you're just trying to help. Maybe we should look somewhere else?"

"Yes... That is a good idea. How about near the Cycling Road? That area is quite active with trainers trying to find basic Pokemon, like Pidgey, Ratatta... Perhaps, Oddish."

"Oh, okay. Although, I was thinking of a water type, to be honest. Do you think we could find one there?"

"Water type, huh? Then, let's head towards the beach instead. It is not too far from here" he said, grabbing her hand.

"Celadon City has a beach?"

"Yeah?" Red looked at her, confused. "I thought you played the game multiple times?"

"I did? Celadon never had a beach."

Red's expression turned angry. The beach was a truly remarkable place, and none of the players experienced to see it? Outrageous. The developers should be fired.

"Come, then. I promise, you'll love it."

"If you say so."

They walked quietly for a while. Red was not lying. The beach was, indeed, just a short walk away. It took them longer to get there, however. They got held up by a boy, whose Weezing's behavior got a little out of hand, and the area was filled with semi-poisonous gas. They had to find an alternate route to avoid inhaling it.

"Phew, it feels like it took forever to get here!" the woman giggled.

Red was smiling as well. "You've seen that Growlithe setting a flower shop's sign on fire, too? It was just around the corner."

"Yeah! It looked so proud of itse- woah."

She stopped walking, staring at the view in front of her in awe. Red has been right, once again. It was breathtaking. The sand was a beautiful shade of ocher, and the waves were turquoise. There were not many people there, considering it was late afternoon, but she could see some Pokemon enter and exit the water.

"Beautiful, doesn't it?"

She looked at Red, who was also admiring the view with a small smile on his face.

"It's such a shame the creators did not include this..."

"Indeed" he agreed. "So, what do you think? Any Pokemon that caught your attention?"

"Not yet. Let's go closer! Come on!" she grabbed Red's hand, and started to run toward the water. They stopped approximately a meter away from the waves. "Wow... They look so cool!"

The pure adoration in her eyes made Red's heart beat in a faster rhythm. She would make a wonderful trainer.

"You think we can get a starter around this area?" she asked.

"Maybe" he shrugged. "They are extremely rare, but if we are lucky, we might find one. But we just can't get too caught up in the idea that we'll for sure see one. Though I can guarantee we will find something worth catching."

"Okay, I trust you."

He nodded his head, smiling as he saw how trusting she is of him. He was happy that she's willing to put some faith into him. "Alright, let's go, then! I promise once again, we will find something amazing. After all, I'm here!" He started to walk and beckoned her to follow. She did so laughing, after rolling her eyes at his antics.

They walk for a couple of minutes, before he pointed off into the distance. "Hey, can you see that? It might be a little too far away, but there's a Goldeen in the water over there. How about that one?"

"Yeah, that's a good id- Wait, look! An Azurill!"

When she said that, he looked to where she was pointing. He saw, far behind the Goldeen a tiny, cute Azurill. "Woah, you're right! Do you want that one instead?"

"Well, if it's not a lot to ask for..."

Red did not need more confirmation. He dropped his backpack and cap off and dove into the water in an instant, scaring a Tentacool in the process. He swam like a madman. The poor Azurill did not really have time to react, before he got close enough.

"HEY, AZURIL! GET OVER HERE! YOU'RE MINE!" Red tried to grab the Pokemon, but it quickly dove underwater, and swam towards the shallow waters.

In the meantime, the woman standing on the beach was having the time of her life watching the Pokemon trainer. She was giggling constantly.

"Damn it, this is annoying. This Pokemon is being really stubborn" he mumbled to himself as he watched the Azurill scamper off for the sixth time. However, he was not going to give up just yet!

The woman on the coast was still giggling. "Maybe, we can catch it the traditional way..."

Red halted, looking at her confused. Then, he realised. She was pointing at his backpack he left with her. One of those pockets were filled with empty Pokeballs. His expression shifted slightly.

"Oh, right. You're right, you're right. I guess I was just a little too focused on... Okay, never mind" He chuckled awkwardly, he didn't really expect himself to make such a silly mistake. He had no excuses. He was just a dumbass, even with several years of experience behind his back.

Red quickly swam back to the coast, got his backpack from the woman, and pulled a Pokeball out of the pocket. He then threw it with precise accuracy at the Azurill, hoping that the Pokemon would remain in the ball, making this a quick and easy process.

The ball hit it. It sucked the Pokemon inside, then started to shake.

"One... Two... Three..." she counted the shakes while standing anxiously next to Red. Then, the ball made a clicking sound. She loudly cheered. "Gotcha! Azurill was caught!"

"We did it!" Red couldn't help but grin as well.

"No, YOU did it!" she reminded him. "You looked amazing!"

"O-oh, thank you" he went as red as a beetroot. "Do you want to give a nickname to the Azurill?"

Red handed her the ball containing her very first Pokemon. She clutched it to her chest tightly.

"Hm, let me think... No, thanks. I can not think of a good nickname..."

"That's okay. You can nickname it later. Do you have any other Pokemon in mind you want me to catch you?"

"O-oh, no, thank you. You have already done enough for me. I am already grateful for what I have now. Speaking of gratefulness, thank you so much. You can't even imagine how much this means to me."

She slowly stepped closer to Red and hugged him. For the male, it felt like the whole world stopped around him. It was just Red and her, wrapped in a hug, while the last rays of the Sun shone on them.

"I-it was my pleasure" he stuttered, as she let him go. "A-anyways," he cleared his throat. "It's getting dark. We should check in a hotel for the night."

[goetzjpvis]

3/27/24 "Sensoron" and "Neo-Nationalism and the 'Liberal School of History'" JPT3391

Phew! Today's was definitely a read! I had a very difficult time discerning this text from irony. It actually took Prof. Smith straight up telling me that this text was right-wing Japanese propaganda to realize! Up until then, I was too naiive to believe that was even a possibility of reading in class.

Effectively, this manga comments on the greater Japanese 'social issue' of the postwar peace movement. The creator of the manga likens China to.... a man taking too long shitting in the toilet? He argues that he is right to treat his employee like 'a roach', just like the Japanese were right to 'do what they did' during the war...

He then proceeds to raise the strawman: 'what about Japanese war crimes?! here are some 'edited' or 'mislabeled' photos to show what we did wasn't all that bad!'. He showcases images of the Rape of Nanking, as well as Bombing of Chongqing and argues that these images were either doctored or forged. While I agree that doctored and forged imagery are a plight upon the spread of truthful information, the author argues that because the images shown have evidence of forgery.... these heavily documented events of arson, rape, and murder were either orchestrated by an 'inside group' of Chinese civilians, or made up by American's in order to make the Japanese media feel 'war guilt' for their ancestor's crimes. Why? Because according to him, everything is anti-Japanese propaganda. China, Korea, and America hate Japan.... so the 3 use disinfo to subjugate the Japanese into peace.

This type of text is also applicable to the American alt right, and is something I see frequently. Many Jews in America are terrorized by the 'free thinkers' who claim the holocaust didn't exist, and much of the evidence (you can also claim this for 9/11) was misrepresented.

Furthermore, the manga is argues individualism is bad, because it's an American brainwashing technique. From previous discussions in class, I was already aware that Japan's 'highly-collectivist' society are their alt right's claim to fame. That being said, they claim that Japan's individualism doesn't exist, and any sight of it is just people brainwashed by American individualist propaganda.

This manga capitalizes on people's fear and hunger for justice. it argues that half of the information (photos, texts) that people have been terrorized with since birth are FAKE!! That's a scary thing to hear! And instead of teaching those that it's important to learn about history to single out the facts from a set of information, the manga instead takes the reader's newfound fear and liken's their 'oppressors' to the occult, to evil, and makes the readers into victims. This is a very slippery slops I've seen people around me fall into. It turns fear into hyper-protective skepticism: "I think the LGBT is harming our youth! Time to wipe them out." "I think [insert minority] is biologically inferior and dangerous, time to wipe them out". etc. etc.

I added this smug loser in at the end because I found it funny how (in the manga) the brainwashed Japanese are portrayed as ugly, fat, etc., while the main character himself is drawn as an attractive, young man. Really makes you think!

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

OHH NOOOO

THIS IS NOT GOOD O.O

Okay they're gonna be important 😬

CRAPPP

This is not good y'all 😭

OKAY PHEW everyone there's fine 😭❤️

Uh ohhh

Okay phew

Ahh nah they're down 😬😬

I don't think your calls are gonna work 😭😭

YEPPP 😬😬

Ohhh nooo

This is not good

AHH CRAP 😬😬 O.O

9-1-1 IS DOWN Y'ALL 😭😭

UAAAGHHHHHHHHH TOMMYY

GIRL YOU BETTER NOT BE DEAD

YOU AREN'T

OOPPEEE THERE IT IS

Uhh ohhh

Come on girl it woke you up 😭😭

YESSS IT DID 🥳🥳🥳😭🥰🥰

Hi Tommy 🥰!!

No, not yet honey :'))

You missed xD

Yeah :'))

Phew thank goodness xD 😭 I was scared for a second there lol

NO IT ABSOLUTELY DOES

Yesss good you checked

She's gonna go help 😭😭😭🥺🥺

YESSS

GO HONEY!!

Though also yeah you're going through it 😭😭

Yeah

You knew who you married :'))

UAAGHHHH GO GIRL 😭😭😭

Are y'all okay :((?

Okay phew <333

Nopeee

It's down 😬

Yep 😬

You're gonna have to go looking

Lol a broom

OPE there's somebody o.o

OH GOSH O.O

Bro went through it 😳

Ahh he's probably wearing that because he was trying to escape

Gosh 😬

Yep he was :((

Fair lol

Uh ohhh- but at least they know now!!

Yeah yeah there we go :D

:O right because it's the radios!!

Must be good to hear y'all though lol

Crapp 😬😬

DANG he is going through it o.o

Okayyy okay

Imagine if these people were a spinoff lol

Okayy okayy welcome!!

LOL okay so we're Verizon sponsored 💀💀💀

YESSS WOOHOOO GO OFF Y'ALL :DDD

Go go go go go

Crapp

Yeah a lot of these are not important

Hopefully the chandelier doesn't come back to bite us 💀

Ohhh noo

UH OHHH

Glad they know 😭😭

Ohhh nooo

Yeah is he gonna recognize it o.o

YEEPPPP

OHHH NOOOOO 😭😭

Nuclear alarm O.O

Nottt gooood

Yep bye guys 😬😬😬

Yeah you're not critical :((

LOL they wouldn't take you anyway xD

But yeeahh bigger things to deal with 😬😬

:O yeah!!

Just some random kid lol

Nancy like uhhh huh?

I bet they've done it before lol

Yup!

Nice :D

WAIT are they gonna replace TK o.o

They better not 😭😭

I mean I love them but xdd they're not TK

OKAY GO GO GO Y'ALL

OH UAGH GOSH WHAT

:OOOO TOMMY!!!!

AAHHHHH :'DDD

But they're like girl what are you doing here xDD

Awww :'))

Tommy saving the world while LITERALLY DYING

Icon <333

Crappp this is not good 😬😬

The end of days talk 😭😭

The gifsets and edits for this episode are about to be fire y'all lol

Ohh gosh

Okay okay

Yeah unaccounted for :(((

Okay okay go go go

Y'all :(((

UAAAGHHHH YEAHHHHH 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Y'all she's literally doing this while dying of cancer 😭😭 SUCH an icon

All these bodies :((

:OO THERE HE IS!!!

Oh :(( he died protecting him D:

He was over him :((

He's alive!!!

YEAHHH YOU KNOW WHO IT IS!!

OKAY GO GO GO!!!

The flan lol xd

Ohhh nooo D:

Crap :((

WHEN HAS THAT STOPPED Y'ALL LOL

YESSS GO OFF TOMMY

BUT A DRILL O.O

WAIT GIRL WHAT

I MEAN SHE'S DYING ANYWAY XDD

Imagine she goes to jail and then dies 💀💀

Ohhh no

Crapppp

Go go go

Ohh noo 😭

COME ONNN LIVEE

YESSS!!!!

NOW TALK TALK TALK TALK!!!

OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY GO GO GO!!!!

OHH NOO TOMMYYY

Judd and Tommy 😭😭😭🥺

Yes yes yes you have to go :(((

RUN GUYS!!

He better survive D':

[mercurial-chuckles]

Captain, Sgt. Grumpy, and their Doll!

Pairing: Steve x Reader x Bucky | Stucky x Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: Pure tooth rotting fluff | overbearing Steve | Language | allusions to sex | slightly brooding Bucky | tiniest and adorable spat between your men | it's just fluff, folks, lemme know if I'm missing anything.

A/N: @buck-star this is for you! This was long overdue. Phew! Here it is, Sydney. I hope you enjoy reading it! Gosh! It feels like ages since I wrote Stucky x Reader fic.

Note: Do not Steal, Copy or Plagiarize any part of my work! Banner credits to me. Photo credits to the internet. Thank you! Unedited. Will edit as soon as I can! :)

Check out my other works: Masterlist

Indulge Away!

****

Steve and Bucky had been away on a mission all week while you were in Seattle for a conference. You returned early yesterday morning and tried to rest, knowing all too well that sleep would be the last thing once they were home.

When they returned late last night, you'd blissfully dozed off on the couch while watching TV. You half-remember Steve picking you up and carrying you to bed, then Bucky planting a warm kiss on you as he wrapped you up in his arms.

You knew something was off the moment you woke up. For one, you were sleeping between them. Usually, Bucky insisted that you sleep on the other side of Steve because he worried his nightmares might cause him to harm you in his sleep. Steve would sleep in the middle as a buffer, though over time, Bucky had grown a bit more confident in himself and trusted his mind. Still, he insisted Steve sleep in between you, especially right after missions.

And secondly, you and Bucky were still snuggled in bed, with Steve nowhere to be found. Normally, holiday mornings meant a cuddle pile until all three of you absolutely had to get up to eat, so this break of routine was your second clue that something was up. The fresh smell of coffee wafted in from the kitchen. A bit worried and a little curious, you slowly wiggled out of Bucky's warm embrace to check on your other man.

Steve was unusually quiet, gulping down coffee as he sat on the couch with a forlorn look.

"Morning, Captain," you whispered, walking over to him. Steve turned to you, and instead of his usual smile, he set down his coffee and pulled you close, lifting you onto his lap. You wrapped your legs around him, resting your head on his shoulder as he nuzzled into your neck, covering it in soft, warm kisses that made you giggle.

"I missed you," he murmured, sighing against you.

"I missed you, too." You tilted your head, sensing his tension. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah…" he said, his blue eyes sharp as they gazed into yours, consuming you. His thumb gently caressed your cheek, then moved down to trace your lower lip, leaving a tingling distraction in its wake.

"Steve…" your sentence was cut off as he pulled you in for a kiss. His hands moved to your ass as he pulled you closer. He tasted like coffee and something so unmistakably Steve.

When you gently broke away from the kiss, pushing him back, he gave you a grin, though a hint of guilt was evident. As you narrowed your eyes, he sighed, fiddling with your t-shirt collar and tracing his fingers along your sternum.

"Just… had a disagreement with Buck last night," he told you gently.

"About?" you prompted, watching as his hand moved over your shoulder.

"Nothing major," he said, avoiding your gaze. "I just… told him he needed a break from the mission. The resident grump doesn't think he needs one, though." He groaned, pressing his forehead against yours.

"That's not it, is it?" you asked.

"It was a Hydra mission, and I benched him. He's pissed," Steve admitted, leaning his forehead onto your shoulder, hiding from your disappointed gaze.

"Oh, Stevie," you chuckled, knowing how stubborn both he and Bucky could be. "Didn't I tell you to just give him some space?"

"I know, I know," he grumbled. "When it's you both, I guess, patience isn't my strong suit."

You smiled, patting his shoulder. "He'll come around. He loves you."

Steve sighed dramatically. "Maybe I'll make his favorite for breakfast."

"YES! Let's," you said, your stomach growling at the thought of food.

"I got this! You go get some sleep. I'll wake you up in a bit."

"But..."

"No buts… get your ass back in bed, Captain's orders," he rasped, giving your ass a playful squeeze as he stood up. You shrieked, clinging onto him tightly. He chuckled, stealing another kiss before slowly setting you down, and steadying you on your feet.

Your eyebrows shot up, "Captain," you jested.

He snickered, giving you a playful smack before you could escape, whispering, "Behave, or you'll get 10 on each."

"Are you seriously trying to turn me on right now? Remember, I'm your best chance to sort things out with Mr. Grump, so you better behave," you shot back, darting away as he playfully stepped toward you.

Deciding it was for the best, Steve returned to the kitchen to work on breakfast. You knew cooking helped soothe him, and you realized he needed that time, so you didn't insist on helping any further.

Returning to the bedroom, you found Bucky in his most angelic state: sprawled out on his side, one arm tucked under your pillow, the other resting at his side, blanket tangled around his waist, exposing that smushed, half-asleep expression of his that you absolutely adored. Slipping quietly into bed, you barely made it halfway before Bucky grumbled sleepily, "Doll?"

Your heart did a little flip as he pulled you in without even opening his eyes, tugging you into his warmth. "Where were you?" he murmured groggily, his face burrowing into your hair. "Cold as ice… c'mere."

Settling against him, you gently kissed his slightly stubbled cheek and melted into his warmth, letting yourself drift off again.

~

Sometime later, Steve's touch stirred you awake. He was brushing back your hair before leaning down to press a soft kiss to both your and Bucky's cheeks. Bucky mumbled in disapproval, scooping you up tighter as if to shield you from Steve's affection. Steve placed a hand on your waist, his lips brushing against Bucky's shoulder.

"Buck?" he whispered.

"Mm," came the unenthusiastic response as Bucky huffed and buried himself deeper into the pillow.

"I made breakfast," Steve coaxed. You tried to wiggle free, but Bucky had you trapped, and you weren't about to attempt breaking out of his iron grip.

"Go away, Steve," Bucky mumbled, still half-asleep. You felt Steve's sigh ripple through the bed as he quietly muttered, "Fine." For a moment, you thought he'd leave, but he just climbed onto the bed and plopped himself right on top of Bucky and you.

"Ow!" You squeaked as Bucky's grip tightened, leaving you firmly wedged between two walls of muscle. "I'm starving," you groaned.

"No, you're not!" Bucky told you firmly, still clutching you tightly. Steve chuckled, placing a series of loud kisses all over your face, completely undeterred by Bucky's grumbling.

"I made the cranberry coffee you like, Buck. There's avocado toast, croissants…"

"Go. Away." Bucky tried valiantly to ignore the enticing menu, but you could tell he was weakening. Steve sighed theatrically and flopped down harder, deciding to settle in until Bucky cracked.

"Get off, Steve," Bucky finally muttered.

"I'll get up if you do," Steve replied, shifting just enough to squish you both even more.

There's stubbornness, and then there's Steve Rogers' stubbornness. If it were up to them, you'd be hungry for hours. Rolling your eyes, you nudged Bucky.

"That's not fair," you muttered, but you gave up as Steve began peppering kisses on Bucky's face and shoulder. Yet Bucky was just as stubborn as Steve.

"I'm sorry," Steve mumbled after a long gap of silence.

"What for?" Bucky asked.

Oh, this was going to take a while, and from the way Steve sighed, you knew he felt the same.

"You know, Buck, about the mission and the order and… all that. I just want to keep you safe," Steve said gently, using the softer tone you'd taught him. You felt a flicker of pride, and if you weren't crushed, you might've patted his backside and kissed his cheek.

Bucky stayed silent. You nudged him gently.

"Fine," he mumbled.

"So… am I forgiven, then?" Steve asked with a hopeful lilt in his voice.

"I'll think about it," Bucky hummed, a bit of sass coloring his tone.

Steve chuckled, sitting up. "Come on, get up...let's have breakfast." You perked up immediately. Bucky shifted onto his back, bringing you along with him so that you were sprawled on his chest, staring up at the ceiling.

In this house, you were tossed around like a feather. You tried to sit up, but Bucky held you firmly against him.

"Hold her for me," Bucky chuckled, lifting you effortlessly and handing you over to Steve as if you weighed nothing. Without another word, he strode off toward the bathroom. Steve, clearly relishing the whole scenario, wrapped you snugly in his arms, pressing soft kisses to your face as he carried you toward the kitchen.

"I am not a ragdoll!" you protested, but Steve only laughed.

"You're our precious doll," he teased, and he set you down on the counter, smirking when he saw you blush.

They could be overbearingly adorable and dramatic, not to mention unbearably hot, but you loved them far too much to mind.

****

Read the next: Taut Thursday Thought

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[astatia-ghast]

And now, the second thing I wanted to talk about--

Clockwork's Odyssey Returns

I believe I am finally, finally, ready to get back into writing "Clockwork's Odyssey." The burnout was killer, but I've had a few months to rest, and "The King's Quest" helped me get back into a fun and carefree frame of mind. I feel upbeat about it now, and I'm excited to jump back into it!

I'm going to ease back in to working on it throughout February. No ETA yet on when chapter 3 will release because, frankly, I'm not sure how long it's going to take. The chapter is partially written, but I wanna put some parts through a shredder and reconstitute them into something I'm more satisfied with, sooooo we'll see. lol

Sometime this month, I'm going to post my behind-the-scenes stuff on chapters 1 and 2. I'll set up a navigation page so that it's easier to find, but going forward, make sure to check out the Clockwork's Odyssey tag if you're interested in seeing that stuff!

And, the best part -- I also have an excerpt from this for you today! :D Because why not two somethin'-somethin's?!

Below the cut is the first scene of chapter 3. This one is in the second-draft stage, so it's more polished than the "King's Quest" scene was. Some edits are still going to be made for sure, but it's much closer to what I want.

I hope you enjoy! :D

------

True to his word, the portal drops Danny into the exact same time and place from whence he came. It's strange, somehow, with its dull lockers and scuffed floors, devoid of the masses that normally fill it with their din. It's too real, like he only just woke up from a dream he didn't realize he was having. He has to take a moment to wonder if the events in Clockwork's tower really happened, and then what "reality" even is.

Reality doesn't grant him a soft re-entry, however. With reality comes the hunger, reasserting its unwelcome place in the core of his being, where the ghost is and the human isn't. Now that the Ghost Zone (or Clockwork, he tries to stop himself from thinking) isn't there to sustain him, all the pains gradually settle back in, leaving him with the beginning of a headache. Or really, an everything-ache.

He really needs this, doesn't he?

Dread settles in his gut as he begins to walk toward the exit. The dread, coupled with the shell-shock of having been force-fed a feast in the shape of a treat, is consuming enough that it takes him a few steps to remember that he is in his ghost form. He only realizes it because of the way gravity feels more like a choose-your-own-adventure novel than a basic law of the universe.

With a jolt, he shifts back. Through clenched teeth, he samples the air, but it reveals no shock -- only pity and a kind of resigned annoyance, which tells him that Lancer hasn't noticed Amity Park's #1 hungriest ghost boy lurking just a few paces from his classroom door.

Phew. He relaxes his jaw and soldiers on.

He was supposed to play video games with Sam and Tucker, but that suddenly doesn't seem so enticing anymore. All leisure and play pale next to the draw of Clockwork the Ghost Zone. How is he supposed to pretend that everything is normal? When it has already been so hard to pretend these past few weeks?

He's tempted to cancel. In fact, he's already pulling his phone out of his pocket and spinning up some half-baked excuse. But… no. Sam and Tucker have been with him through thick and thin. He needs to tell them about this and get their advice.

Just… how does he do so without bringing up the hunger?

Well, the good news is that he has the entire walk home to think about it. He does just that, maintaining a much slower pace than normal.

Hey, folks! I have a couple things I want to talk about today.

The King's Quest Continues

First, I want to offer a huge thank-you for the response "The King's Quest" has gotten. When I wrote this story, I didn't have the broader audience in mind; my only goal was to write something @hailsatanacab would enjoy. So when I woke up to a flood of kudos and comments the next day, I was truly taken by surprise.

And then they just kept coming. "The King's Quest" still gets a couple kudos every day, and some of the comments I've received have been just... beyond flattering. They all mean so much to me and fuel my drive to write. So really, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

As a token of my appreciation, I wanted to give you all, and particularly hailsatanacab, a little somethin'-somethin'.

I have a sequel in the works. It'll be about triple the length of "The King's Quest," and it's primary purpose will be to explore why Clockwork made the decisions he did. And I want to share the first scene with you today!

For full disclosure, I'm not 100% sure this sequel will be finished or how quickly it will be written, because I'm drawing a blank on some sections, and I have other fics I want to work on, too. But I would really like to see it finished this year. I think it would be a fun companion piece, especially since Clockwork's behavior raises so many unanswered questions in "The King's Quest."

So here's the first scene! Fair warning: this is in very early draft stage, so it won't have the polish my published fics do. But I hope you still enjoy. :)

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Clockwork drapes a cape over Danny's shoulders. It is thick and soft and heavy, made by the yetis of the Far Frozen as a coronation gift. The outside is a sleek black fabric, and the inside is fluffy white fur.

Clockwork smooths out the wrinkles on Danny's shoulders, and then his hands just stay there. It reminds Danny of when he did the exact same thing all that time ago. The weight around his soul grows heavier.

"What do you think?"

Tears well in Danny's eyes. They are plastered to his reflection in the mirror, which is slowly being adorned with all the regal clothing and treasures that will mark him as King. His coronation is around the corner, and the whole of Clockwork's tower, usually so silent, is now bustling with ghostly allies working to prepare. They sing and laugh, but Danny shares none of their mirth.

Gently, Clockwork turns Danny around and sinks to eye level. He is handsome today; his hair, white like Danny's, has been pulled back into an elaborate array of braids. He gently brushes a strand of hair out of Danny's face.

"Remember: you just need to get through today." Clockwork's voice is low and soft, meant for Danny's ears only. "Get through today, and the Council of Ancients will take things from there. And then you can focus on your mortal life until you are ready."

Danny feels like he should say something, but he can't; he knows that the moment he speaks, those tears are going to fall. Except then, in a cruel rebellion, one tear falls anyway. Clockwork procures an embroidered handkerchief, and with remarkable softness, he wipes the tear away. Danny puts up with the first dab, but when the second one comes, he pushes Clockwork away.

Clockwork doesn't fight him; he stows the handkerchief away. He seems to be teetering on the verge of action, but he stays still, keeping his hands in his lap. Danny turns away, trying to wipe his eyes as casually as possible, even as he knows there is literally no point in pretending. Frustration grows inside him as he wills himself to stop crying, but the tears only fall more steadily.

Fuck the mirror. Fuck the cape. Fuck this coronation.

A yeti peeks his head inside the room and asks Clockwork a question about something or other. He answers his question and follows up with, "We'll be just a minute." The yeti nods, peering at Danny curiously, as Clockwork closes the door. At once, the tower is quiet again; Danny is thankful for the privacy.

A necklace settles around Danny's neck. He jumps, thinking Clockwork has soldiered on with his preparations and dropped his own coronation gift around Danny's neck, but then he notices that it's just a normal time medallion. He looks up at Clockwork in askance.

"Take all the time you need," he says. "I will be waiting right outside when you are ready."

Clockwork opens the door, revealing yetis frozen in the midst of carrying streamers and delivering food, and closes it behind him.