#I did a google and it routed me back to this... there is only one cake. but it's a very good cake. lol

[blagueofchaos]

I just read a really sweet one yeah!

is there a fic about small elena freeing enzo from her dad’s torture basement? if yes, please direct me towards it and if no, why not

[holdmytesseract]

moodboard by @chennqingg divider by @fictive-sl0th

Biker!Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader | No Outbreak AU

Warnings for this Chapter: swear words, Merle being Merle, a few suggestive comments (Merle), slight fluff, thirst!!!

Word Count: 2,8k

a/n: This is one of my favourite chapters. I hope you like it as much as I do. 🤗

《 M a s t e r l i s t 》

《 Chapter Eleven 》 《 Chapter Thirteen 》

Chapter Twelve...

...in which you make a life-changing decision and hope it takes you down the right path...

You'll stumble over this song while reading. It has just a small appearance, but I love it. It fits so well in my head.

gif by @dixons-sunshine

Tell me if I'm wrong Tell me if I'm right Tell me if you need a loving hand To help you fall asleep tonight Tell me if I know Tell me if I do Tell me how to fall in love the way you want me to

'Cold Coffee' by Ed Sheeran

You couldn't believe you were doing this.

That one voice in your head screamed at you; asking if you were a few screws short of hardware store. It sounded suspiciously like Tess. And you knew it. You had been asking yourself that question ever since you sat in that damn car and headed for Georgia.

Was it really the right thing to do? Giving Daryl another chance and hoping to not get burnt a second time? You didn't know - but apparently your heart did.

Deep down you knew that the burning fire which Daryl had lit inside you had been never extinguished. Reduced to a flicker and a mere tea light candle flame, but never extinguished. You tried to... God knew you tried, but in vain. Your feelings were still there. Neatly tucked away for quite some time; buried deep, but definitely there. You couldn't deny that.

You just hoped that listening to your heart again wouldn't leave you bleeding a second time.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to get those nagging thoughts out of your head and instead fully concentrate on the traffic - which was the better option anyway.

You turned the radio louder and checked Google Maps on your phone once again; making sure that you were still driving on the correct route. Luckily, you were and did not miss a turn or something, while sunken in thoughts.

Taking another deep breath, you wiggled your cold fingertips around in the fingerless gloves you wore, in order to keep them from freezing. It hat gotten cold outside; a thin layer of snow covering the ground. No wonder... It was December; Christmas in two weeks. And unfortunately was your sweet, little car a bit older and therefore the heater slower and not as good as it used to be. It wasn't much of a problem for you, though. You wore a warm winter jacket, some thick sweatpants and a beanie. Coldness couldn't kick your butt - except your fingertips. It was one of these moments where you regretted buying fingerless gloves...

Concentrating on taking the right turn and lane, you switched from route 75 to route 475. About two more hours to go...

About three-quarters on your way from one Gainesville to the other, you made a quick food and gas stop; refilling your stomach and the car's tank. You were still slurping on your strawberry milkshake when you pulled back on the freeway; continuing your journey. Traffic was surprisingly pleasant and not too stressful. Probably because you decided to not drive straight through Atlanta and to rather avoid the state capital of Georgia. About an hour later, you finally reached your destination... Gainesville - a city you had never been to before. Therefore, you pulled your car on a small parking lot and decided to check out where you had to drive to from this point.

Of course, you had absolutely no idea where Daryl exactly lived - only that he was from Gainesville. So, where to start? Well... You and Daryl hadn't talked much about his origin; let alone his past - which was totally cool with you, but he did mention that he worked at his brother's workshop. That's where you started. Within seconds gave you Google Maps your new destination, and so you got on your way; hoping that it was the right workshop and that you'd find Daryl there...

Daryl wiped his nose with the back of his hand after getting back on his feet. The biker had just retied his boots and was now redoing the buttons on his blue overall again, after exchanging the dark blue shirt he had worn underneath with a warm sweater. It had gotten fucking cold within the last days. The snow falling gently from the sky outside was the proof.

Once finished, he checked if the portable radiator was still plucked in and working. Without that damn old thing, he would've likely frozen to the concrete floor already... All of the guys working here had one, luckily. It was the least Merle could provide for them in the winter. After all, had his big brother complained about the coldness as well.

Readjusting the fabric around his thighs of the overall he wore, Daryl squatted down and sat his ass on the creeper, before laying down and rolling back underneath the truck he was working on. During spring and summer, motorcycles were the only 'patients' being tend to in the workshop, but in fall and winter it were cars, too. Mostly trucks, though. The 'heavier' stuff.

'California Love' by 2Pac, Roger and Dr.Dre had just started to blare from the speakers through the workshop, when footsteps approached the biker. "Daryl." His brother's voice urged to his ears and he felt Merle's boot tapping his knee. "Whatcha want?" He asked; slightly muffled by the flashlight he was holding between his lips. "Got a visitor, baby brother. If you'd see what I see, ya would've moved yer ass already out there," Merle chuckled; voice dripping with suggestiveness.

Daryl rolled his eyes and moved to roll out from under the truck; fully expecting to see Leah or any other girl who had once warmed his bed, but he had certainly not expected to witness what his eyes saw... You.

There you stood - truthfully stood, beside Merle; hands stuffed in the pockets of your puffy, slighty too big winter jacket, baggy sweatpants, boots and a beanie - ever so softly smiling down at him. The flashlight fell from between his lips as his jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. He had to check twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't, was he? Or did Merle mix some other stuff as well in the cigarettes he rolled this mor-

"Hey, Daryl."

Your voice... Oh God's your voice... It would've brought him down to his knees, if he hadn't been on the floor already. All his body was able to do was staring for a good minute; trying to get a grip - until Merle's laugh brought him back down to earth with a jolt. "Did ya turn into a fucking fish now, Darlina? Get yer shit together, c'mon. I bet your sweetheart ain't got time all day for ya."

Daryl blinked and hastily got to his feet; clearing his throat.

Merle was right... He had to get his shit together, goddamn.

"Hey, Y/N," he jutted his chin into your direction and leaned casually against the truck; definitely trying to play it cool in front of his brother. You could tell how nervous he really was. You had seen it almost three months ago before. Internally, he was shitting his pants. You couldn't help yourself but to feel a little sorry for him and honestly? It was kinda cute.

Not that you would've minded anyways. You were quite a bit distracted by his undoubtedly hot look. Why did a fucking overall look that good on him? It truly wasn't fair.

You swallowed and redirected your eyes up to his; giving him another soft smile. "Can we, uh, can we talk?" The biker quickly nodded, "O-Of course we can talk." and immediately went to grab the familiar red rug from his back pocket to wipe his hands, before he turned to the older Dixon. "Merle, get lost, will ya?" Merle gave him a dirty smile, "Whatever ya say, baby brother." and started to walk away. "But no fuckin' in the car - unless I can join." "Shuddup, Merle!" You watched the two brothers bickering; smiling but also blushing. Merle was very... blunt and bold and had certainly no brain to mouth filter.

"Sorry 'bout that," Daryl instantly apologised and redirected your attention on him. "Merle's a goddamn jerk." "But he's your brother," you said with a small smile; knowing very well how big siblings could be. But after all, none less loved. "Yeah..." Daryl just said; his eyes trained on you as if he was still trying to grasp that you were here - something you couldn't and definitely wouldn't blame him for. Not after the brush-off you gave him three months back.

Still a bit overwhelmed yourself of seeing him again after quite some time, you stayed silent for a few moments yourself, before you spoke up - but the words you had formed in your head weren't the ones that left your lips... "Aren't you freezing in that flimsy thing?" Of course, you referred to the overall. Internally squeezing your eyes shut, you scolded yourself for starting this important conversation so... dumbly and random. Apparently was the primal part of you brain still in control and busy with ogling and drooling over the man in front of you.

Gods, like a schoolgirl... Are you done now, Y/N?

"Nah, I, uh, 'm wearin' a warm sweater underneath, so... 'S fine," Daryl shrugged and looked down himself; handling your weird question like a pro. You nodded, "Good. I was just wondering..." and tried to turn the tide; steering this conversation into the direction you wanted it to be.

Clearing your throat, you took a step closer.

"Daryl, I... I've been thinking a lot... About this. About us... About everything that happened..." He swallowed hard. "I listened to my heart, tried to figure out what it wants and... I... It wants me to give you a second chance. It wasn't an easy decision - given the circumstances and I thoroughly hope that I'm not going to regret it."

Daryl's eyes widened at your words; heart hammering quickly against his ribcage. He could hardly believe his luck. You were here - and you had just granted him a second chance. "Ya really wanna...?" You nodded; biting your lip. "Just don't make me regret it, please." The biker vehemently shook his head. "Won't, I promise. I mean it. I do. I love ya." You nodded. "I know. You told me so, but... You gotta proof it. You have to earn my trust. I can't just give it away freely. Not again. Not after what happened." Daryl understood. Hell, of course he did.

"Anything, Y/N. Jus' tell me whatcha have in mind." You took a deep breath. "A fresh start. We do this properly this time. Get to know each other better, go on dates... You know what I'm talking about." Daryl nodded; chewing on the inside of his bottom lip. "Two weeks. I promised my family to be home by Christmas, but until then, I am all yours. We should make the most out of those two weeks. You should, Dar. Show me that this is what you truly want and that I'm not just for your pleasure."

The last sentence nagged at his heart, because he knew now that you were anything but that. And damnit, he certainly wanted to make the most out of the time you gifted him to spent with you. He fully intended on showing you - even if it meant for him to leave his comfort zone and jump over his shadow. Daryl couldn't let go of you again. It would entirely break him.

"I promise, Y/N. Yer all I want, 'n 'm gonna show ya." You gave him a sweet, honest smile, "I'll see you around then." and turned to walk away - but Daryl stopped you after a few moments. "Whatcha say if I take ya out for dinner tonight? That too, uh, bold?" "No. Dinner sounds just fine. At seven?" Daryl nodded. "Gonna pick ya up, a'right? Where ya stayin' anyway?" "Uh, in that motel close to the medical centre." The biker nodded once again. "Yeah, I know what ya mean. Know where tha' is." "Perfect." You gave him another soft smile. "See you later then." "Yeah, see ya."

He watched you walk away and out of the workshop. Once thing was certain... Daryl definitely needed a moment to process and realise what just happened.

Grabbing your purse from the bedside table and sliding it in the pocket of your fluffy winter jacket, you walked over to the door of your motel room and got inside your shoes. After a deep breath and a last look in the mirror, you left the room; locking it behind you.

A cocktail of emotions was flowing through your veins. Nervosity, excitement, uncertainty, anticipation and even some fear. Everything seemed so... familiar and yet so strange. You still hoped that you gave the scar on your heart enough time to heal and that the stitches wouldn't get ripped open again - but when you stepped out of the building and saw Daryl standing there; leaning against a - presumably his truck, your heart skipped a beat - and the positivity suddenly outweighed the negativity.

The biker straightened once he saw you; shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his - wait a second... Did your eyes betray you? You blinked; had to look twice. No... They didn't. It was real. He truly wore black slacks, boots, a blue woollen, cosy looking sweater and - suspenders.

Your jaw dropped. You had never see him wear something 'fancy' like that.

"Daryl?" He gave you a small, nervous smile. "Hey." You blinked again; clearly surprised and mind-blown. "That truly you?" You asked in (positive) disbelief; giving him a once-over. The man across from you blushed hard. Even the tips of his ears glowed red. "T-Too much?" He looked down himself; completely uncertain and clearly insecure. "'M lookin' like a damn idiot, right?" Daryl muttered under his breath and ducked his head.

You immediately shook your head. "No! No, you don't! It's just..." You bit your lip, "Different..." and added quickly: "But I like it, Dar! I really do. You look super cute. A real cutie patootie."

"Cute?" He grumbled and immediately tried to regain his composure to play it cool; lifting his head again. He scoffed. "Ain't cute. 'M a real t-" "A real tough biker boy, I know..." You started to smile. "But not right now. Right now, you're the cutest guy I have ever seen."

Daryl just stared at you for a moment, before a shy smile crept its way on his face. "Well, uh... In that case..." He looked down himself once again. "'M glad ya like it."

Silence settled over the both of you, since you had just answered him with another smile. Before said silence could get awkward, Daryl stepped in and gestured to his truck. "Shall we?" You nodded. "Please. It's getting cold out here. How the hell aren't you freezing?" The biker shrugged his shoulders and went to open the passenger door of the vehicle for you - all gentlemen-like and shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Guess 'm just used to the cold. 'Sides, I mostly wear a few layers underneath." "Valid point." You sat inside. "Thanks." The man gave you a nod and closed the door, before he rounded the car and sat in the driver's seat; starting the engine.

"Thought you only drive bikes?" You asked him after he had pulled off on the road. "Yeah, well, nah. Drivin' a bike in the snow's unfortunately not quite workin' out, so I have to settle on this one fer the winter season." You smiled; admiring the interior of the truck. "I like it." "Yeah?" "Uh.Huh. Suits you." Daryl didn't say anything, but the small twitch of the corners of his mouth was answer enough.

Fifteen minutes later, you were sat in the not too fancy, but definitely cosy restaurant; food and drinks ordered. You would've lied if you said that it wasn't awkward at first; the conversations kinda weird and uncomfortable, but once both - you and Daryl had 'warmed up' to each other again, it was pleasant and familiar.

"So yer studying in Florida now?" "Uh.Huh," you mumbled from behind your hand and swallowed down the remaining food in your mouth, before you continued to speak. "Yes. I kind of always had that dream to study agricultural economics. I grew up with it, so... Animals and farming always were and forever will be a part of my life. Had to earn enough money to study first, though." Daryl nodded. "'S why ya were workin' at yer uncle's - right? - ranch." You took a sip of your cola. "Exactly." The man sitting across from you gave you a smile. "'S amazin', really. 'M, uh, happy for ya tha' you could follow yer dream." You reciprocated his smile and watched him take a bite out of his burger. "Thanks."

After your first proper date with Daryl, you laid in the not super comfortable bed of the motel; staring at the ceiling.

You wouldn't say it was the best date you ever had, but it was definitely a good start in the new beginning. It really felt like everything was put back to zero and you both got to know each other anew again.

It felt like a step in the (hopefully) right direction.

Tags: @dixons-sunshine @angelwings-crossbowstrings @bigbaldheadname @making-the-most-0f-it @imadisneyprincessiswear @loz-3 @fictive-sl0th @erebus-et-eigengrau @belitoxx @coleigh-1205-blog @chaoticevilbakugo @dixonsdarkelf @ffsjustletmesleep @marvelcasey05 @whore4romance @stitchintimefan @km-ffluv @0-aubrie0 @sweetz1919 @dilfdixon @secretsicanthideanymore @mikaela-granger @txtttttttttttttt @cakesandtom @mayday2007 @huntedmusicgardenn

If you want to be added or removed from this taglist, please let me know!

[l4lenthusiast]

First date with early seasons!JJ? 🫶🫶

First date with Jennifer Jareau⊹ ࣪ ˖

Media liaison/early seasons Jennifer Jareau x bau f!reader

Warnings: A bit of internalized homophobia from jj, creepy guy asks out jj, One kiss not explained in detail.

A/n I got my Star Trek knowledge from Google so if it's incorrect, whoops!

When she finally came to the conclusion she was going to ask you out, her idea of a first date was taking you to her favorite football game. So after most people left the bureau, she sat at her desk and started calling places, hoping to get tickets.

"Sorry for leaving you on hold there." The muffled voice spoke off the phone. "How can I assist you?"

JJ scoffed before mumbling out, "It's only been the 10th time tonight." Before repeating the same speech she's said all night, "Yes I would like to know if you have any Washington Redskins football game tickets left?"

Right then Derek opened the door with an obvious smirk on his face, "You're taking her to a football game she barely knows about on your first date?" Now JJ would never ask Morgan for dating advice because he seems to have a new girl every week, but she was desperate and probably not getting those tickets.

After talking about you and what you like (profiling what you like), they decided that berry picking seemed like a good idea.

Asking you was the second step. JJ thought she wouldn't be nervous because with her job she had lots of experience talking to people, but when you smiled at her walking towards you she started to worry what if you say no, what if you don't like girls, what if this was all wrong? what if you just don't like her?

When she got to you, you were sitting with Spencer listening to him explain how Star Trek was mostly scientifically correct.

"For example, antimatter reactors and warp drive, while not yet fully realized, have a basis in theoretical physics." Spencer spoke, moving his hands along to demonstrate.

"Mhm." You nodded along turning around to find an escape route until you saw jj.

"jj! Come over here!" You motioned her over watching Derek pull Spencer over behind the door to jj's office. "Derek- no I wasn't done talking!"

"Now is not the time, Reid!" He shut the door and opened the blinds.

"What's all that about?" You spoke sitting on your nearby desk smiling at her.

"Not sure," she smiled back before it faltered, then faded. "So I came to ask you something."

"Are you okay? What is it?" You worried, did you do something?

She let out a dry chuckle then averted her gaze to the office door where Morgan, Reid, Elle and Garcia were huddled up stairing right at you. "No, no, you didn't do anything. I was wondering if you would go out with me?" She looked back up at you.

You smiled at her, "Like a date?"

She nodded "Yes. Unless you don't want it to be."

You shook your head "No I want it to be."

That's how you both ended up on your hands and knees with baskets in hand, picking blueberries and strawberries.

"Here." You wiped your red stained hands on your already stained shirt and tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and pulled back her ponytail.

"Thanks." She smiled and popped a blueberry in your mouth.

After you filled your baskets, you sat at a picnic table together to talk and eat some berries.

"Do you think Hotch knows we're here?" You asked jokingly, taking a bite out of your strawberry.

"I think everyone knows Garcia probably told them before I even asked." She laughed.

"Hey," a guy in his 30s approached your table with a smirk too confident.

"Blondie, what's your name? My phone needs it for your number." He said, his much younger friend Howelled from across the field.

"I think your phone will be okay without it." You gave him a sarcastic smile, and he scoffed before walking away.

She thanked you and leaned in for a kiss, which you happily returned.

You left the field with four baskets of berries and jj as your girlfriend, prepared for the endless teasing from Morgan and hugs from Garcia.

[nerdykorgi]

QUICK YAP SESH: Location of Gravesfield from The Owl House

so uhm, while I am finishing the rest other art things I did decide at like 3 am to find the supposed "actual" location of Gravesfield. At least, what town would most likely be Gravesfield if it were real.

I used a lot of info from the wiki and that cool official Gravesfield Website Mock-Up that John Bailey Owen posted. (this thing in case no one knows what im talking about)

Anyways to get started, here's this poorly done thing i made in google draw lol, hopefully you can actually read some of it oof. Its color coded to the info below:

Firstly, I do find it interesting how Conneticut was actually the FIRST colony with a relatively large witch panic in the American colonies, happening 40 years before the infamous Salem Witch Trials.

To start off I think the most poorly backed-up possibility is Hamden.

The reason im suggesting Hamden is because it is Dana's hometown and she said she has taken a lot of major inspiration from it. Like churches and graveyards.

However, the reason I'm not drawn to it is because not only was it founded 1786, way over a decade Gravesfield was said to be founded, I also couldn't find too much about Hamden having Witch trials, but if they did it definitely wasn't as big as Wethersfield's or Hartford.

Now I'm basically stuck between Litchfield and Wethersfield.

Litchfield:

Litchfield I was drawn to because of its name really. It means Field of Corpses and that's basically the same thing as Gravesfield lol. On top of that, it also holds the county seat of Litchfield County, something Gravesfield supposedly is as well. (In modern day context of course.)

Also Gravesfield was said to be along Conneticut Route 109, putting right along either Washington pr Litchfield (which J. B. Owen said was probably false on the Washington part but at the same time he uses an image of Washington's river as stated below)

The thing is though, like Hamden it wasnt founded until the 18th century, and there was no witch trial things that i could find. :/

Which then led me to Wethersfield:

Now Wethersfield is WAY more appropriate in both time, setting, and history. Wethersfield was one of the first colonies to be pop-up around the correct time for the Wittebane brothers to arrive in Connecticut. Wethersfield was founded in 1633-34 and Gravesfield in 1635 (Mind the brothers were said to arrive in 1613 I think it was, either this was a continuity error or they were among the very first settlers in Gravesfield.)

Random but it was also called Watertowne before it was changed to Wethersfield.

Anyways, In the Mock-up website we can see at the top, a banner picture of a winding river. Now i did google search this image and it is actually Washington Ct, womp womp, but I think it could actually be pointing to another more prominent river in Connecticut and that's the actual Connecticut River, which Wethersfield is conveniently placed right next to.

Now lets look at a map of Wethersfield:

river, check check, and HOLY SHIT THAT COULD BE THE FLOODED GRAVEYARD LOL (where i circled) Sadly, Its not actually, but it shows how similiar the geography possibly is.

I think last and most importantly however is the fact that Wethersfield is known to have some of the earliest of the witch trials in Connecticut at the time. (There were 9 documented accusations and only 3 executions, one of which was a woman who openly admitted to using to witch craft, Mary Johnson, and a married couple name Joan and John Carrington.) This goes very well with the whole Witch Hunting thing.

Lastly I think the cherry on top would be that they both just look incredibly similar lol:

Also fun fact, If the Wittebane brothers did actually arrive in 1613~ they would have been among the Dutch settlers rather than the British, whom were the ones to found Wethersfield. Take that information how you will but I am certainly going to make some kind of headcannon out of it lol

Anyways more art soon once i actually finish it, but please, Let me know your guy's thoughts :D !

[lambypop]

so uhm imma just be writting down stuff cause yes (PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMENT)

My principal 2 ideas

how this could start is either way patrol goes bad or a Mission with the JL or both combined and everyone is mad at Bruce because yes his paranoia IS a problem but they all could have reacted better beacause THEY KNOW BETTER, Bruce has dedicated his life to try and teach them better than what he knew himself and also had TRIED to keep them out of the "Heroism" beacuse i need to do the reminder that most of them were the ones that started as vigilantes and not Bruce pushing them into that.

his children (imma go more in deep here cause this is the rout i will probably go for):

Dick started because dude has enraged cause his parents died and wanted to track down their killer, and B trained him so he (dick) didnt get killed. Jason was happy being robing cause "it gave him magic" (IT DID, but when a ray of sunshine is to bright the world destroys it)

Tim didn't even wanted to be robin in the first place, i mean ofc he wanted but the baby had many issues, so he looked for Dick and quite literally asked him to "pls be robin again, bat is angy and bein mean to people" by mean i meant HES PUTTING PEOPLE INTO EMERGENCY CARE, eventually i think Dick and Bruce got into troble with BANE and fucking alfred gave the robin suit to an UNTRAINED child and told him "Yo go save them chum" and Tim in his rational mind went to save 2 vigilantes as a child and untrained (alfred IS also the problem),

yes, i havent forgot that Tim did kinda blackmailed Bruce and half-"man-handle" him into self and kind of mental health in some comics, Bruce didn't wanted Tim to be Robin because he still couldn't forget Jason's death wich still haunted him and still does. then Tim almost fckin dies and he needs to stay in bed rest and then

Stephanie is Robin for like a while and then she wither quits or Bruce fires her i think, and she comes back as Batgirl and the Spoiler

Cassandra is literally there by choice, she says it in the comics "Im Batman's Daughter By choice" also she's a trained assasin, she wants to be there, she wants to help and She does not kill.

Duke is Adopted cause of his parents situation (they are jokerized) and he's a meta (also the only bat that does patrols at Daytime) and he was the lider of the ROBINS club, bro literally had a mini gang of people calling themself's Robins to help Batman (i havent read stuff in a while so FEEL FREE TO CORRECT ME)

Barbara was there from the start and even before Dick in some characterizations (or shes as old as Bruce, as she sould be) Girl has gotten DE-aged so many times just to be shipped, GIRL DESERVES BETTER, so she should be older than him atleast by 7 years plssss, and when she started as Batgirl she didn't even worked for bruce.

then there is Maps (Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi) WHICH I will make her appear in the story (she's a student from Gotham Academy, she's also the founder of the "Detective's club") "Her journey as Robin is explored through various comics, including Batman: Black and White. Batman's perspective on Maps' role is officially revealed in The Brave and the Bold #12. Maps isn't just any sidekick; she's a named Robin in Batman's eyes as of 2024." -Google chrome and me cause i read the comic

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

it resolves in everyone (exept some) snapping at Bruce and making him for the first time in a LONG time think about throw in the Cowl, yes. imma make it so gutrenching angst and also very fluffy, because Bruce has started to go once a month to a therapy session with Dinah either in person or bya Zoom or somtheing like that and its been doing okay, and the thing is those sessions are just a follow up from the previous stuff he was doing cause in Tim made him go to therapy at first (cause of Jasons death and Bruce's other issues) and this event is just gonna make Bruce just go to france to have a very well needed stayacion.

and well everyone is worried asf beacuse BRUCE WAYNE has dissapeared

WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS MONDAY AND HE HASN'T FELL INTO A FOUNTAIN?!

what do you mean he isn't there for the WEEKLY meeting with his workers were he's there just praising how well they work (he has never NOT come)

what do you mean he isnt there for FAMILY DINNER?

what do you mean he is not there for the JL obligatory meet up

what do you mean he isn't on a crazy Yacht party

what do you mean he isn't there when scarecrow gases gotham again? (even tho they can do it perfectly)

what do you mean he isn't at the kent farm like he usually does when he's stressed and he need that pie from Ma' kent

What do you mean he isn't with clark or louis?

What do you mean he isn't with oliver queen doing stupid stuff

What are you in when the Bat-kids (Damian) call the LOA (The League of Assasins) asking if casually they have Bruce (Damian calls Talia to ask if she got her "Beloved" with her)

What do you mean even Ra's Al Ghul is taken aback with the news that his Daughter gave him

Why are the Gotham Villians being nicer???? (B isnt there and they are worried kinda)

What do you mean Bruce Wayne is spotted in DISNEYLAND PARIS with a GROW UP normal child on his shoulder and smiling brighter than a thousand suns with pure and entire Happyness looking at that kid as if it was his entire world??

What do you mean he looks happier without them (he isn't but he really needs a fucking break)

[monsterswithimagines]

Undisclosed Desires - Part 5

Joe Goldberg x female!Reader

Summary: Twenty minutes before he would have met Guinevere Beck, Joe meets you instead. You intruige him, but it will soon become clear that there is something off about you.

Words: 781

Masterlist

Let me tell you what I've learned about you these last two weeks.

I know at which store you buy your groceries (TV dinners and twizzlers), and that you spend far too much money on Starbucks coffee (a White Café Mocha in the morning, a Caramel Frappe sometime during the afternoon). You work in an office building. According to our friend Google, the building is shared by an online marketing agency and a large fashion retailer. I want to say you must be in fashion, but I'm just not sure.

What else? You didn't lie to me. You haven't made many friends here. During your free time, you drift through New York all on your lonesome, and you don't seem to mind it. You never seem to know exactly where you're going, and you don't ask anyone for directions. You don't talk to strangers at all - I was an exception, then, and that makes me feel good - and you get lost in crowds, and sometimes I want to approach you and pretend it's random, but I don't want that glassy, dreamy look to go out of your eyes. It's the same look you had the first time we met, before you found Stephen King.

There is so much you can find out about a person, once you know where they live. I'm finding out so much about you, (Y/n).

And yet, I’m having trouble finding an in.

You are not predictable. You don’t get your coffees at the same time every day and you never walk the exact same route twice. Getting breakfast at the same place two days in a row must have been a fluke, because I never catch you following any sort of routine except for when you go to work.

You never go to any other bookstore except Mooney’s, though. I wait for you there whenever I’m working, except for when I know you’re also at work. I feel like a puppy, and I don’t like it. This is what you’re doing to me.

My reward for all this waiting? Your smile.

You walk into the bookstore again, just like you did that first time only now your eyes immediately find mine, and you smile at me and I can’t help but smile back. You approach me, and you say: “Hey, Joe.”

“Hi, (Y/n),” I answer, copying your tone.

“So I was thinking,” you say, leaning your elbows on the counter between us. “We never hang out.”

“Oh?” I say. I can’t sound too interested, but I am, (Y/n), I am! “What do you mean, exactly?”

“We text, occasionally,” you say, and I can tell this is something you’ve practised. You’ve been thinking about what to say because you think about me. You’re obsessed with me. Why else do you come here so often, if not to see me? “And we see each other here, when you’re working. We should hang out some other time, when you’re not. Working, I mean.”

“That could be fun,” I say. Are you asking me on a date? “What did you have in mind?”

“Coffee?” you offer. “Or lunch.”

You are! You’re asking me on a date!

I can’t believe my luck, (Y/n). I’ve been trying so hard to find a way into your life and here you are, finally, opening the door for me. If I’d known it was going to be this easy, I wouldn’t have had to follow you around so much. But then, I’m glad I did, because it means I know to say:

“Saturday? One pm? We can meet here.”

“Yes,” you say, because you don’t work on Saturday and of course you don’t have plans. You pull a hand through your messy hair and you smile with your teeth and you add: “It’s a date.” And it is! It really is!

I’ve been working so hard, (Y/n), and it’s all seemed so impossible so far. But I should have known you were testing me. You wanted to know how long I was willing to wait. For you, I’d wait an eternity.

“Well, the books are calling me,” you say, leaning back. You tilt your head to the side. “Do you hear them?”

“For sure,” I say, even though all I’m hearing is happy music. “Go find your next novel to devour.”

You disappear into the stacks and I stare after you. I can’t wait for our date, (Y/n). We’ll get coffee and I’ll take you on a walk, one of those long walks you enjoy that have no specific direction. We’ll talk about anything and everything, and at the end of the night you’ll love me. You really will.

[cherryrikis]

SUMMER ISNT OVER

PAIRING s2l park sunghoon x fem reader

WARNINGS eric makes a kinda offensive joke

GENRE strangers to lovers, romance/drama, summer love

SYNOPSIS driving to anaheim with your cousins was meant to be a fun trip away from the rest of the family. but when you knocked on the door of the wrong hotel room, the whole course of your trip would change.. and you’d find yourself missing a certain someone when its time to go home.

authors note - definitely longer than my standard fics (bc @hannicorpse wrote this with me !! ) but it’s only 4k ish😊

growing up in a big family meant your aunties and uncles had kids generally close to you in age. but more than anyone else, you always stuck with the same 3 of your cousins. danielle, eric, and karina. so now, you’d be stuck together for the next week as you drove through la.

“i don’t get why the drive is sooo long. like, it’s barely 40 miles from here.” eric complained as he saw the route on google maps. it was nearly 2 hours from his house in pasadena to the hotel in anaheim.

“how do you think we feel? we pretty much drove the same distance in the opposite direction just to pick you up!” danielle scoffed.

“maybe if you didn’t pop a tire and just slept at auntie’s house like we did, we could’ve been in anaheim by now.” karina. snickered.

“it wasn’t my fault! who just leaves a bunch of broken glass in MY driveway? and besides. i am not driving to long beach in this traffic.”

“you’re the one who decided to move up and out when we all stayed.” karina commented yet again.

“not my fault i didn’t wanna stay coastal. or in the hills.” “kinda is.”

with all the back and forth arguing coming from your cousins, it was getting harder and harder for you to focus on the road. you tried to ignore it, until you couldn’t anymore.

“can you guys just stop bickering? i can barely hear myself think, i literally just missed that last exit to the freeway. if anything, eric should be driving since he’s the second oldest, he’s the only boy, and he made us go out of the way to get him!” you announced in frustration.

hesitantly, eric reached out to tap your shoulder. “what now?” you sighed. “can you go to that gas station over there? i forgot to use the bathroom..” “eric sohn!” you groaned in annoyance, before reluctantly doing so.

despite taking an unusual amount of time to use the bathroom, eric did make up for his incompetence by driving the rest of the way like you suggested early on.

one minute, you’re closing your eyes to take a nap. and before you knew it, you were in anaheim, arriving at the marriott hotel.

the amount of luggage between you three girls was ungodly, especially since you’d be here for so long. yet somehow, eric probably packed more than then the three of you combined.

after finally checking in and hauling all the bags into the hotel elevator (since karina refused to get a luggage cart because she didn’t want to have to put it back), you were able to enter your rooms and relax.

you got two connected rooms instead of one big one, because it had a better deal. eric and karina shared the first room, 2343, while you and danielle shared the second room, 2345.

the singular hotel rooms alone weren’t really big, but it would still suffice. not a full kitchen, or a ‘real’ living room. on the other hand, both bedrooms were roomy and the bathroom was nice. so that was a plus.

during those first few hours after you had arrived, it was mainly spent going around grocery markets to get food and snacks to stock up the room.

but you all were starting to get hungry, craving some korean barbecue or hotpot. so, you were sat in some korean barbecue restaurant in buena park, cooking the meat before karina began to talk.

“you know, the pool is pretty nice and big. we should go check it out later.” she suggested, slightly looking up from the grill. you and danielle hummed in response.

when you got back to the hotel, turns out there were no towels at the pool. you had to ask for them at the front desk. so being the youngest, (and also being the one who accidentally burnt half of the brisket), you were forced to go and retrieve the towels.

“how many?” the receptionist asked. “uhh.. 5 pool towels please. actually.. sorry, i meant 4.” “sure thing, just let me go grab them from the storage room.”

you silently thanked the employee as she handed you the towels, before taking the elevator back up.

as the lights flashed floor 23, you walked to your room, smiling at any stranger who walked past you.

realizing you forgot the room key, you knocked loudly on the door as you waited for danielle to open up.

but when the door opened, it was in fact, not danielle. yet a handsome boy, around your age, with a charming accent. australian, maybe?

you slightly froze as the australian boy, along with three others behind him, stared at you.

“i- i am so sorry. i thought this was 2345.” you apologized, your cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment.

“ah yeah. this is 2347. i guess your room is next door. but uh, no worries. im jake, by the way.” he smiled at your shy figure. “so, what are you doing with all those towels? gonna go swim?” “oh, yeah. me and the people i’m with are gonna go see the pool later tonight.”

you awkwardly rubbed the back of your neck, scanning his room through the door frame. it was bigger than yours, but similar for the most part. two bedrooms, a full kitchen and living room. clearly, they paid for the suite. you noticed a pale boy sitting on the couch, staring at you. he was pretty cute. maybe even gorgeous. few moles, nice hair. practically porcelain skin.

you zoned out onto his face, pausing for a moment before returning your gaze back to the aussie who you now knew as jake.

“oh, you can come in if you want? you seem a little out of it.. uhh..” he stopped, waiting for you to say your name.

his words immediately brought you back to reality. “huh? oh. it’s uh, y/n. it’s okay i’ll just go back to my room. sorry again.” you mumble another apology, before leaving to go back to the correct room.

jake closed the door just as you left, letting out a laugh he didn’t was holding back. “she was so funny. she looked so scared.”

“who was that?” sunghoon asked. “some girl next door. her name was y/n or something.” jake answered.

“she’s kinda hot.” jay chuckled, nudging sunghoon with his elbow. jake and heeseung agreed, quickly discussing you and wondering if you had any friends with you. sunghoon quietly nodded in agreement. but, he couldn’t get you out of his mind. the thoughts in his head were practically louder than the voices around him. and he just hoped he didn’t accidentally mention it out loud.

however, the one thing he did say out loud, was suggesting to go to the pool. (in hopes of seeing you).

when you got to your room, you distributed the pool towels to each of them, then keeping one for yourself. you talked about how you went to the wrong room and laughed it off, but you left out the fact that all you could think about when jake spoke to you, was his cute friend with those moles.

eric scolded you for ‘disturbing the neighbors and their peace’ but honestly, you couldn’t care less. karina defended you anyway. it was kinda her and eric’s thing to just always bicker. they were more like brother and sister than your other cousins who were actually siblings.

later that night, you made your way to the pool. around 7:30pm. much to your surprise, jake and his friends were already there. “hey beautiful.” he teased, coming up to you from the pool, while his friends remained in the water.

“oh hey, i know you. were you waiting for me? didn’t take you for the flirtatious type.” you joked. “who’re your friends?” asked eric, not noticing the way heeseung had his eyes set on karina.

“right,” jake nodded. “oh, boyfriend?” he paused and asked you, interrupting himself. “older cousin..” eric grimaced.

“oohh.. um. sorry.. anyway, the one with the dark red hair is heeseung. the one with the dark blue trunks is jay. and the one with the moles is sunghoon.”

“do heeseung and sunghoon speak english?” eric halfheartedly joked.

“dude.” karina scoffed, slapping his bare chest.

“yeah..? we were all born here, in la.” jake raised an eyebrow. “so i assume you’re all cousins then?” he continued awkwardly.

“yeah.” you nodded. “that’s eric. the one next to me is karina, and the one next to her is danielle.” karina and danielle waved at jake after the introductions, but eric refused.

“don’t get any ideas.” eric crossed his arms, finally noticing how karina and heeseung were pretty much fawning over one another.

the atmosphere felt thick, and it was silent for a long while, before jake had broken the barrier.

“uh.. anyway. you’re welcome to hang out with us..” he shrugged, gesturing to their chairs before hopping back into the water.

taking up on his offer, you placed your belongings next to jake and his friends’ seats. you sat down for a moment, barely listening to how karina told eric can’t he just ask questions like that.

soon after, you moved to sit on the very edge of the pool, sticking your feet into the 10ft deep water.

you looked at sunghoon, watching as he had a contest with jay to see who could hold their breath the longest.

you noticed his habit of licking his fangs. you noticed how he’d often touch his eyebrows. you also noticed how he looked at you every so often, before hesitantly swimming up to you where you still sat.

“why aren’t you getting in?” he asked as he held onto the edge of the pool, his hands on either side of you.

“i will in a bit.” you paused. “so, sunghoon, right? one of jake’s friends?” “yeah.” he smiled, flashing his canines. “and you’re y/n, the girl who came knocking on the wrong door?” “yeah.” you grinned, mirroring him.

sunghoon hoisted himself up out the water, moving to sit next to you on the deck. luckily, he covered you in time as karina and danielle jumped in with a big splash.

“when did you guys get here?” he asked, finally looking into your eyes up close.

“just this afternoon. but we leave by the end of the week.” “yeah. us too.”

“so where are you from?” you question.

“west hollywood.”

“don’t tell me you’re one of those trashy hollywood kids.” you joke.

sunghoon playfully pouts, before breaking his act and laughing. “not even. i think i was raised pretty well.” he smiled. “but what about you? where are you from?”

“i live in long beach. but i was born and raised in beverly hills.”

“ew! don’t tell me you’re one of those trashy country club kids.” he jokes, clutching his chest.

you gasp, kicking water at him. he paused for a moment, before splashing you.

you and sunghoon were so immersed in each other and your conversations. you almost didn’t hear your cousins and his friends say they were going back up, after two hours of being in the pool.

the two of you stayed until closing time at 11pm, and even a little beyond that. you couldn’t think of a time you had that much fun with a guy.

“i had so much fun today.” sunghoon smiled with a genuine look of adoration, as he helped you up.

“i did too.” you blush before going to grab your tote bag. “we should hang out more often.”

“yeah, definitely. uhm, do ya think- do you think that i could like, you know. get your number? i mean, it’s okay if not. because like, if you’re not interested i totally get it. or if you just wanna be like friends that’s okay too. but like-”

you cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips. “of course you can.” you smiled brightly, taking his phone to dial in your number, pressing the call so you could also have his number saved on your phone.

“now we could call or text each other anytime.”

he smiled. and that was enough for you.

you walked back to your rooms together, but sunghoon paused before going in. “see you tomorrow?” “yeah, of course.”

“goodnight sunghoon.”

“goodnight y/n.”

you did in fact see each other tomorrow. while both of your groups went out, you two stayed behind to spend some time together. with so much spare time (and no car), you settled to just watch a movie in sunghoon’s room.

“what movie is this?” you asked.

“the notebook.” “oh. i never watched it.” and his jaw immediately dropped in shock. “there is no way you never watched this cinematic masterpiece. now you have to watch it! pay attention.” sunghoon exclaimed, pulling you closer to him by your waist.

by the end of the movie, you were barely awake. it was good, you could definitely agree. but, in the same sense, it was so comforting, it quickly put you to sleep.

you leaned closer into sunghoon, placing your head on his shoulder. almost in the crook of his neck.

his heart swelled when he looked down at you, watching how you struggled to stay awake. why do i feel this way? i mean sure, she is really pretty. but i barely met her yesterday.. he thought.

it really put things into perspective for you both.

despite this fact, he couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to press a soft kiss on your lower cheek, a centimeter or two away from your lips.

“kissing me on the first date?” you mumbled tiredly. “hey, we’re hardly here for 6 more days. let’s make it count.”

and you did exactly that, you were making every last moment count.

the next day, you went to the glendale galleria together. “i haven’t been here in so long.” you sighed, forgetting just how big the shopping center was. “it’s almost like this mall i visited up in san jose.”

you gasped as you saw a beautiful necklace. it had a dainty gold chain and a stunning pendant. “sunghoon? don’t you think this would look gorgeous with my white sweetheart top?” “i don’t know much about women’s clothing, but i know you’ll look good in anything.” he replied smugly.

“aw thank you! but- oh. nevermind it’s way too expensive.” you shrugged, going to put it back. but sunghoon stopped you.

“i’ll buy it for you.” “it’s okay, really. it’s too much.” “for that necklace? $150 is not a lot.” “but to me it is.”

he ignored you, swiping his card anyway.

sunghoon nearly bought everything you slightly stared at, despite all your protests. that night, you came home with bags of clothes, snacks, makeup, and just random items you didn’t even really need.

you felt so guilty, thinking it was a waste of his money. you wanted to pay him back but surely, there was no way you could afford it. yet sunghoon didn’t care. he wanted to see you happy.

you settled for buying him a slice of pizza from the food court or generally just any food he wanted. and that was enough for him.

on the next day, you even went to disney california adventures together. because you and your cousins just so happened to go the same day as sunghoon and his friends.

most of your time at the theme park was spent with him, often making your groups uneven. or, one of your cousins had to be with one of his friends.

you loved going into random gift shops with sunghoon, taking pictures while trying on mickey ears and random headbands. he even bought you two matching ones.

the radiator springs ride in cars land was jay and sunghoon’s favorite. sunghoon loved how he felt butterflies in his stomach. not only from how steep the slope was, but also from how you tightly squeezed his hand in fear.

the drop tower was a memorable moment to everyone. the picture that was displayed at the exit of the ride, revealed eric was actually clinging onto jake and karina the entire time.

“do not save that. if you guys actually buy this souvenir picture i’ll literally run away from home.” he grumbled in embarrassment.

“it’s okay dude. stop stressing, because you’re gonna end up grabbing onto me again when we go on the incredicoaster.” jake joked.

you all laughed at eric’s humiliation but quickly bribed him with a pretzel from the pym test kitchen (even though it was insanely dry).

you couldn’t forget about your last ride of the day, the classic, the ferris wheel. karina, danielle, heeseung, and jay, decided to go in a rocking cart. you and sunghoon, along with eric and jake, decided to stay in a normal carriage. but eric refused to ride with jake, settling for going by himself.

eric was one of the only boys in your family, so being around sunghoon and his friends seemed to make him feel a little unwanted. but you understood.

you laughed as you heard danielle and karina’s screams while their carriage practically turned upside down.

at the very peak of the ferris wheel, was where you and sunghoon had your first real kiss while the sun set in the background. “this is so pinterest worthy.” you whisper. “don’t ruin this beautiful moment for me.” he mumbled, turning to watch the view after you pulled away from him.

by the end of it, you were giggling like a bunch of high school kids.

when you walked out the park, passing one last gift shop before the exit, sunghoon quickly ran inside. and he came out with two matching stuffed animals. a baby stitch plush, and a baby angel plush.

of course, you were angel, and he was stitch.

the beach day was one of your personal favorites.

you had picked up food from a local restaurant along with some snacks to bring to the beach, like a picnic. after you had finished eating, you all went for a swim.

you and the girls were the first to get out of the ocean, watching how the boys attempted to drown each other. you murmured a few sentences between one another that evening. however, it was clear nobody was listening to each other. “no way..” you whispered to yourself as you looked beside you.

heeseung and karina were practically making heart eyes at each other, not caring about the people around them. danielle’s cheeks puffed up as she held in her laughter.

but, you couldn’t say much either. the whole time, your eyes only ever remained on park sunghoon. the man who had caught your attention from the start.

the tension between the pair was obvious. so, you and sunghoon came up with the ultimate plan.

sunghoon would complain about how he was sore from wrestling in the water, so he asked if karina could hold his bags. but, he knew heeseung would quickly come to take it from her.

after getting everything and everyone into the car, you set course back to the hotel. sunghoon drove single handed, with his right arm resting in your grasp as you played with his rings.

you gave each other a knowing look before turning around to see almost everyone else had completely fallen asleep.

there sat heeseung, with karina’s head buried in his neck. jake remained isolated next to them, his headphones on full blast, as danielle, jay, and eric rested peacefully in the row behind him.

you smiled at sunghoon, even if he couldn’t see it. but you both knew your mission was accomplished.

by day 6, you were back in sunghoon’s room again. just lying down in his bed, speaking out gently and peacefully as you held each other.

“if you stayed in beverly hills earlier on, maybe we’d have known each other earlier.” said sunghoon.

“probably. my uncle, dani’s dad, is a realtor, and he always sold houses in your neighborhood. maybe i really would have known you sooner.”

“this whole trip has gone by way too fast.” he sighed, his face buried in your hair. “at least we still have tomorrow.” you mutter.

“will we keep in touch?” “if this whole time really mattered to you, you’ll know. but, we’ll worry about it tomorrow.”

as your words slowly began to die down, sunghoon figured you had fallen asleep.

he held you tighter, bringing you closer to him. sunghoon pressed a kiss onto your lips softly, before he too fell into a wakeless dream.

technically, sunghoon’s room was really jake’s room too since they always had to share a bed. but, seeing you two together and understanding the situation, he decided to take one for the team and sleep on the couch (only after heeseung did him a favor and brought him a blanket).

and before you knew it, it was your last day together. you were sitting by the pool where you met. your feet and lower legs dipped into the cold water as you felt the warm anaheim breeze. same position, same spot.

"it's been a good week. best week i ever had. this whole trip feels like a long dream and i haven't waken up yet. like, im still in long beach, tanning in my aunties backyard." you say.

the moment felt still, everything was paused, before sunghoon spoke. "you'll visit me up in the hills won't you?"

"of course i will. you trashy hollywood kid. and you'll visit me down in long beach?" "course i will." and he pressed his lips onto yours.

a part of you wished you met sooner, and that you had more time.

when sunghoon pulled away, you didn’t want to let go. you brought yourself up to kiss him again, holding him as if you’d never see him again. because who knows when you really will?

you almost sob when it's time to go home, you think you really have fallen in love this time around.

sunghoon refused to let you go, as if you’d vanish into thin air if you’re not within his grasp. and you felt the exact same way. despite not being together for long, now you really don’t know how you’ll go on without him.

because now, the summer was over.

you two were inseparable in the moment, jake and jay literally had to pry and rip sunghoon off of you.

they were gone before you could cry, but not before he could kiss you for the last time.

“make sure to call me!” he exclaimed from the car, after jay forced him inside. “i love you y/n!” sunghoon shouted out loud, as they started to drive off.

“i’ll call you every night! i love you too sunghoon!” you called back. “more than you know..” but the last part barely came out above a whisper, as his car was gone into the horizon.

and after that, was when you finally let it all out. all the longing, and the heartbreak.

the downside of summer love, never knowing if you’ll meet again.

you sobbed quietly in the backseat alone, refusing to let your cousins see you like this. you couldn’t handle being around them right now.

for you, the amount of time you knew each other didn’t matter. it was the way you understood each other, made each other feel. the way you cared for each other, some might even say it was in the way you loved each other.

but now, it was time to return to your normal lives, go on with your jobs or school. your endless summer has reached its finale. but how could it end like this?

one minute you’re bawling your eyes out in the back of karina’s jeep. your eyes swelled up as you clutched your chest with a heavy heart. the next minute, you wake up in your driveway, watching as your cousins hauled your luggage out to your doorstep for you.

before you knew it, now you were in despair as you hugged your pillow tightly. your silk pillowcase was almost as soft as his milky skin. it was unfair. you had no idea if you’d truly keep contact, or even ever see him again. maybe this whole summer fling thing was stupid.

one good moment wouldn’t make up for all the bad that followed after. you began to think, maybe it didn’t mean as much to him as it did to you. he’s handsome. he probably gets around. i’m not the only girl.

you lay awake that night, torn between the feeling of his lips on yours, and if whether or not it’s something you’ll ever get to experience again.

but by the next morning, someone was frantically knocking, pounding, on your front door. it was much to your surprise when you saw who it was. park sunghoon.

“holy shit, you scared me! what are you doing here..?” you gasped out, still processing the moment.

“you’re fucking crazy if you think i’ll just leave you like that, angel.” he muttered, before pulling you in by the waist to reunite your lips in a desperate kiss.

you suppose whatever you were thinking of last night can be disposed of. he did come back for you, and you do get to experience his lips on yours again.

last night, you were crying to the point there was no water left in your body. only dried tear stains and your red eyes remained as evidence. but now? by the following morning, your lover boy was already at your door.

and when he finally moved in to kiss you again, you smiled, reaching up to softly stroke his warm cheek.

you realized, all doubts you had about him were insecurities. false scenarios your mind made up to keep you questioning.

because sunghoon knew he would never leave you. he’d say it a thousand times over again to let you know just how much he loves you.

the summer wasn’t over yet. not until the two of you were through. because everyday with sunghoon felt like summer.

[letmesleeponu4sumtime]

‘Sweet’ came on over the speakers and it reminded me of this..

In Kyoto in September of last year, I decided to go to a bar. I had spent the previous few days in a daze, staying out until early morning, chain-smoking, and drinking more drinks than I could count on my hands. I would wake up late in the afternoon as the sky began to dim. It was hot and humid out, but I liked the feeling. In Kyoto, I didn’t take public transport once. I walked everywhere; the bar was 20-ish minutes away, and it was around 11:30 p.m. when I had decided to go after rallying myself up. The bar was nondescript and inconspicuous; you couldn’t find it just wandering around. There was no signage. I made my way through a dark alley, unsure of the route Google Maps was prompting me to take. I passed by the spot and circled back around a moment later after looking at the reviews. Thankfully, someone had left a review detailing how to locate the place. I took a set of steep, narrow stairs to the second or third level, I don’t remember. The door was ominous, dimly lit with a single light above the frame. 

This was the place; I knew it. 

I stood in the stairwell taking a few deep breaths to calm my nerves before I quietly pulled open the door. Low music enveloped the space; it was dark, lit only with tea-light candles. I was greeted pleasantly once my figure came into the low light. They guided me through where to put my bag and encouraged me to sit. I took a seat in the corner between the bathroom and the bar. There were 2 open seats next to me, but the corner felt right. There were a few other guests: a man sitting alone who was chatting up the bartender and owner whilst snacking on popcorn. A couple who were partly engaging in the man’s conversation and a group of foreigners in the back; I could hear their rowdiness. I ordered a gin and tonic. The bartender placed a bowl of popcorn in front of me too. I remember being quite hungry; I ended up eating 3 bowls of popcorn and drinking 3 gin and tonics that night. I listened to the man’s conversation; he was talking passionately about anime. He spoke fast, so it was hard to fully understand the conversation, but I tuned in nonetheless. A while later, the man left, and so did the couple. The owner encouraged me to move closer; he said I was too far away and looked a little uncomfortable. I laughed and obliged. We talked for a long while about many things in a mix of Japanese and English. He told me there was a song he loved but didn’t understand; he was going to play it for me and wanted to know if it was a sad song. I nodded and lit up the end of my cigarette. Sweet by Cigarettes After Sex played in a low hum over the speakers. I smiled softly; he asked if I knew it.

I said, ‘Of course, this is a great song. One of my favorites.’ He nodded, striking up his cigarette and blowing the smoke out the open window.

He left me alone for the duration of the song; I think he could tell I just wanted to soak in the moment. I recorded a short voice memo of the track over the speakers and sent an excited text to my dear friend J. When the song ended, he asked if it was sad. I took a moment to answer before I replied, ‘Not inherently. It’s melancholic because of the melody, but it’s a love song. You have good taste.’ He smiled softly at me and asked if the music well suited the space. I enjoyed the music, how it fluidly switched up from something like ‘Sweet’ to minimal techno. He seemed satisfied by my answer. He let me play a few songs for him. Somewhere in our conversation, my hobby of DJing came up, and he asked to hear one of my sets. I told him it was on SoundCloud, and he promised me that he’d figure out how to use the app and play one of my sets in the bar one day. I was a little flustered at the thought and assured him it was nothing special and he shouldn’t bother, but he was adamant and insisted. I stayed a while longer and made small talk with a few other patrons. A man came in alone somewhere in the middle of my conversation with the owner. He had 2 drinks before he left without saying more than 3 words. I tried not to stare too much, but I wanted to talk to him. Something about him intrigued me. Not to mention he was very handsome. I didn’t end up saying anything. I was too nervous and didn’t want to come off weird. What would I even say? How would he react to being approached by a foreign girl who clearly just wanted to be alone with him? I'm not the type to approach a man anyway. He passed me once to go to the restroom, he didn’t even blink in my direction despite my lingering gaze. I took that as a sign not to bother him. He seemed quite content all to himself a few seats away from me. 

When it was my turn to leave, the bartender turned on a dim flashlight to ensure I made it out without toppling over. He and the owner waved and shouted after me with well wishes. I thanked them graciously, bowing repeatedly with deep appreciation until the door shut behind me.

[steamberrystudio]

08/06/2025 Devlog

Hello everyone! Back to update here again though it's been longer than it should be. I really thought I'd updated here like...a couple of weeks ago but turns out...no.

It's been over a month. How it's been a whole month, I don't know. That timeline does not make sense in my brain.

So you might be asking why I don't just set up reminders for myself. And the answer to that, my friend, is...I have reminders. The problem with regular automatic reminders is that over time they stop being effective. I literally do not notice them.

And that's kind of where my google calendar reminders are at the moment. I get them and my brain refuses to acknowledge them. I do update Patreon weekly (most of the time. I won't pretend I don't occasionally forget over there too) and Itch monthly. It's just that juggling multiple update avenues is tricky.

ANYWAY. I went through recently to clean up some of my reminders because I hope that getting fewer of them will make it so I actually notice the ones I'm getting.

We'll see.

Life with ADHD. Huzzah.

But let's jump into the actual update.

Summary Bullets:

Finished both new sprites for Chapter 6

Released the Chapter 6 beta

Made some corrections based on testing

Worked on the Ch 6 game guide

Made a Ch 6 teaser *points*

Finished Yren's character teaser.

Started somewhat working on Ch 7 here and there to get a head start.

Art:

Since my last update, the big "art things" I've done include - finishing the character teasers. I don't even know which was the last one I posted here. I may have only posted like...two on tumblr. But they all exist so there's that!

I finished the teaser for Chapter 6...Again. *points*

And I completed the two sprites I needed for Chapter 6.

Since Ch 6 doesn't have any CGs, I didn't have to worry about doing any of those so I've been able to focus elsewhere but there wasn't, ultimately, much art to worry about this time around in the first place.

Writing:

Finished and coded all of the POV scenes - about 10,000 words of content total.

The POV scenes this time around revolve around the love interests reflecting on the events of Chapter 5 and how they are beginning to feel (or how they have been feeling for a while now) about the MC.

The Chapter 6 update - including the bonus scenes - ends up bringing around 43,000 words of new content to the game, pushing the total released content to over 250,000 words.

A bit under 50% of the current total.

Of course, because the scenes are tied to Chapter 5, you have to replay to unlock them. I still haven't figured out how to do that retroactively yet. Since I haven't even decided what all the bonus scenes will be or where they will go.

Though I guess a slightly clunky method does come to mind.

Anyway, that's a problem for Future!Me.

Other Stuff:

Since my last update, I obviously did a ton of coding - finished all the sprite expressions, finished setting up the flowchart, finished glossary articles and translations and all of that. And just basically got the route fully functional.

I also fixed some errors and bugs - like one that was breaking the glossary.

I added a new toggle for the sound notification for the glossary articles. Because there are now glossary articles with descriptive text that unlock for every location and person you meet (for accessibility reasons), the sound notification is a bit intense at the start of the game. So I thought it was best to allow people to turn it off.

And of course, the fact that I released the beta version to testers on Patreon means I have been correcting some typos in that as well.

Fortunately it doesn't seem like there are any huge bugs this time around.

...SO FAR. LoL

But it's only been a week so...who knows?

Upcoming Weeks:

I will probably be releasing the EA version before my next update here even if I post the update on time. I am thinking within a week or so.

I need to focus on getting the game guides done before EA so that will be my main focus for the next couple of days, and beyond that I'll continue to fix any errors or mistakes testers find.

And, of course, also getting the preliminary parts of Chapter 7 set up in advance of really buckling down to work on it..

(Currently working on staging the sprite positions and appearances in Chapter 7)

If Chapter 6 is the set up for upcoming plot events, Chapter 7 is where things start falling into place and some of the many, many theories people have come up with start being proven or disproved.

Chapter 6 is likely to be the shortest episode I release. I had thought about releasing it along with Ch 5 or with Ch 7. But the problem is that Chapter 5 and Chapter 7 are both *really long*

Chapter 9 is technically shorter than Chapter 6 but I think I'm going to release Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 together.

If I do that, it means 4 more episodes and each one will be...really big.

Chapter 7 - 75k

Chapters 8 & 9 - 90k

Chapter 10 - 89k

Chapters 11, 11, & 13 - 114k

And that's without any bonus scenes or additional endings or anything.

I think it's a nice breathing space for me before we get into the monster episodes which is...all that's left (unless I break up the two multi-chapter episodes, which I may end up doing for sanity. WHO KNOWS. There are pros and cons either way.)

Anyway. That is all for now.

I will see you guys in a few weeks. *wave*

[kings-highway]

48 or 43 with ushiten mayhaps<33 i recall u mentioning a pokemon trainer au at some point as well🤭💕

AAHHhhehehe I sure do have a Pokemon AU 😁 and Ushi and Tendou are two of my favourite characters from that AU so this was a delightful excuse to show them and the 'mons off. Did I answer the prompt? Only barely. Hehehehehehehehehe. Do you know I have a many-page google docs with pokemon teams laid out, including levels, moves, natures and other applicable details? I am currently deeply in love with Pokemon. (Sidenote I recently started playing HeartGold and am wondering why they ever got rid of the pokemon running around behind you that is the best feature ever.)

I'm not going to explain the worldbuilding too much but I lean heavily on satirizing and including game mechanics 😁😁

“Satoshi cap, or the black and white one?” Tendou says, swapping between two different ball caps that seemed relatively similar function wise. He’s focused on the mirror, checking himself out and seeming a little bit indecisive. 

“Black and white, it’s more distinctive to you,” Ushijima replied. He, however, is not getting ready to go out. He’s sitting on the floor, with his back against the bunkbed, playing with the paws of his Wigglytuff like a stuffed animal. It seems to enjoy this very much, trilling back at him with a smile. 

“You didn’t even look,” Tendou complains, turning to face him. 

“I don’t need to look, I know what you and both caps look like.” 

“You’re useless.” 

“Mhm.”

“I need a jacket as well,” Tendou says, turning in a circle for a bit before suddenly finding himself getting his usual school jacket thrown in his face. Infernape was a wonderful partner pokemon, and also completely disregarding of his physical safety. Tendou pulls the jacket off his face, looking down at the singed and somewhat destroyed fabric. “You’ve burned this,” he says, glancing up at his pokemon. “Bad monkey.”

Infernape screams back at him, which makes Wigglytuff flinch in alarm, which triggers Ushijima to scowl up at the monkey scoldingly. Infernape has the sense to look embarrassed, and slink back on the top bunk to avoid being looked at by Ushijima.

Tendou stares up at him for a moment, before saying: “Anyhoo, I don’t like wearing my school jacket anyway, it makes me look like a kid. I am not a kid, I need a better jacket.” 

“It is going to be fairly warm today,” Ushijima comments. “Are you sure the jacket will be necessary? I do not like to imagine you overheating.”

“It is necessary,” Tendou says. “The single-battle trainer spots are all in the damn woods and deep in the shade. It’s so chilly. You know, if you came along, the double-battle spots are located across the park and have more direct sunlight. I’d be nice and warm then, and I wouldn’t need a jacket at all.” 

Ushijima frowns. “I am not a trainer,” he says, lifting his hands up to play with Wigglytuff’s ears. “I would not qualify to be a route trainer even if I wanted to."

“Look, I heard Birch is back in the lab, we could walk down there tomorrow and get you signed up, he probably wouldn’t even make you take a starter. Then you could come be a doubles’ trainer with me, and we’d wipe the floor with every wannabe champion that came through our eyeline. And do it somewhere I’m not freezing to death.” 

Ushijima shakes his head, patting down Wigglytuff’s fur. “No, no,” he says. “Wigglytuff doesn’t fight.” The fluffy pokemon makes a trilling noise of agreement, wiggling around to look at Tendou has if offended at the mere insinuation it do any kind of combat. 

“Oh, please,” Tendou says. “You’ve helped me train before. I know you’ve got Solar Beam on that thing, you blasted Slowbrow into Giratina’s dimension.”

Ushijima sets his chin down on top of Wigglytuff, shrugging. “You should not have set up Sunny Day.” 

Tendou scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I’m just saying, work would be a lot more fun if we could go stand and spin in circles together. In the sun. You know, I hear some days, Sunny Day takes effect in the double trainer spaces no matter what. You could do a lot of damage.”

“This seems like a lot of work to avoid standing in the shade.” 

“It’s cold.”

“You have a fire monkey.”

“We’re not allowed to have our partners out while at work!”

Ushijima stares at him for a moment, before moving Wigglytuff off his lap and pushing himself up to his feet. “Okay,” he says, wandering over to their tiny, shared closet, to pull out his own jacket and offer it to Tendou. “Use this, then.” 

Tendou pouts, then reaches over to snatch the black jacket. “It does fit with the hat,” he says, before adding: “But it’s like three sizes too big, you massive man.”

“It’s a cute look.”

Tendou scowls at him. “I’m not going for cute.”

“Then be cold.” 

Tendou scoffed, before tugging the jacket over his shoulders. “You’re annoying.” 

Ushijima reached forward, adjusting Tendou’s hat on his head and brushing hair back from his eyes to tuck it away properly. 

“I’ll come keep you company after I finish the schoolwork I have,” he says. 

Tendou groaned, but nodded. “Fine. Okay. I’ll hold you to that. But bring lunch.”

“I’ll bring lunch.”

Infernape barks, hanging off the edge of the bunkbed and getting ready to leave with his trainer. 

“Yes I will bring lunch for you too,” Ushijima replies. “Don’t light my bed on fire.”

[xxfaithlynxx]

Bridge to Somewhere

Word Count: 5.9k

- Ao3 -

Hearts in The Static

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Isekai, OC insert, Polyamory / Polyamorous Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Chronic Illness, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, Found Family, Emotional Healing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, body image issues, Unreliable Narration, Protective Male Characters, rivals to lovers (sort of), past trauma, Everyone Loves Her But She Doesn’t Know Why, Heavy Angst, Fix-It Fic (but of the soul) Mental Health Themes (Depression, ADHD, pcos, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), Suicidal ideation (past), Self-Harm Mention (Non-Graphic Flashback), Emotional Abuse (Referenced past) - Freeform, Body Dysmorphia, Trauma Recovery, Discussion of Medical Symptoms, feelings of worthlessness, Slow Healing & Difficult Conversations, themes of death, Survival, and identity

Image found on Google.

╰──────༺♡༻──────╯

Chapter One:

The wind doesn’t care that I’m here.

Neither does the world. I figured that out a long time ago.

It’s the kind of cold that settles under your skin—not sharp enough to sting, just… dull. Familiar. Like the way people’s eyes slide past me on sidewalks. Like silence in a crowded room. Like how the world pretends you don’t exist until you disappear for good.

I’m standing on this bridge, fingers curled around the railing. It's chipped, rust-stained, sticky with the faint smell of old metal and exhaust. Below me, the river reflects the city lights in broken lines. Pretty, in a way. Shattered things always seem to catch the light better. I wonder if I will, too.

My name is Aven Vale.  Not that it matters. No one calls me by it unless it’s to mark attendance or remind me I’ve been forgotten again. Sometimes I hear it in my own head and it sounds like someone else.

The cars below sound muffled, distant. People pass behind me on the sidewalk, but no one really looks. I could be a shadow or a lamppost for all they care. I breathe in the cold and let it settle in my lungs. It doesn’t burn. I wish it did.

My coat is thin, and the zipper's broken. I pull it tighter anyway, more out of habit than anything else. The stillness tonight is eerie—not peaceful, just hollow. Like a stage after the show is over.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, but I ignore it. There’s no one left who would call me for a reason that matters. Just reminders—bills, shift changes, people pretending to care. I already silenced everything important.

Except one thing.

The pinned notification from Love and Deepspace is still there. Of course it is.

I swipe it open. Not because I want to, but because it’s automatic now—like breathing.

The soft theme music plays. God, it hurts. It really hurts. It’s the only sound lately that feels like it sees me.

Five men appear on the screen, backlit by stars, smiling like they know me. Fictional. Digital. Designed to fall in love with someone else. But they looked at me when no one else did. They said the things I’ve never heard in real life. Things like you matter, you’re not alone, I see you.

I finished the last route yesterday, Sylus' and Zayne’s newest story. After that, I just sat on the floor. Lights off. Arms around my knees. Empty.

Today, I woke up knowing I didn’t want to do it again.

"Thank you," I whisper. It's not dramatic. Not poetic. Just honest. That game… those voices… they gave me something. Not enough to fix me. But enough to keep me here for a while.

I close the app.  Lock the screen.  Place the phone gently on the edge of the bridge beside me, like an offering. Like a goodbye letter without words.

Then I climb the railing.

It doesn’t feel brave. Or tragic. It feels like exhaling.

I don’t shake. I don’t cry. I don’t look back.

The stars overhead don’t blink.  The wind doesn’t move.  No one calls out.

And for the first time in my life, the silence feels like permission.

So I let go.

╰──────༺♡༻──────╯

Two Days Earlier

The register light flickered above me like it couldn’t decide whether to die or hold on.

Kind of relatable.

I wiped the countertop for the third time in ten minutes, not because it was dirty, but because it gave me something to do with my hands. The smell of burnt espresso and old fryer oil clung to everything—my uniform, my hair, even the skin under my fingernails. No one tells you that depression doesn’t look like tears or screaming into the void. Sometimes it just looks like over-wiping a clean counter while customers pretend you don’t exist.

"Can I get a half-sweet, oat milk, double-shot, no-foam cappuccino?" a woman snapped her order at me without looking up from her phone.

"Sure thing," I said, because that’s what you say. Even when your throat feels like sand and your chest is a locked box of glass.

The barista next to me—Tasha, or maybe Tanya, I could never remember—gave me a pity-smile when the woman walked away. I hated that look. The 'oh honey' look. Like people could sense you breaking but wouldn’t ask.

My manager yelled something from the back about an inventory shipment. I didn’t catch the words, just the tone. Sharp. Dismissive. Like always.

I stared at the order screen. My brain fogged over. I forgot the steps.

Milk. Steam. Pull shots. Cup size.

It was a stupid cappuccino. Why did my hands feel heavy?

"Aven, you good?" someone asked. Maybe Tanya. Maybe God. Didn’t matter.

"Yeah," I lied, forcing a smile. "Just zoning out."

She nodded like she understood. No one ever does.

I made the drink. I gave it to the woman. She didn’t say thank you.

It was just another shift. Just another day where no one noticed I was fading.

I told myself I'd walk home later. Sit in the dark like usual. Maybe open Love and Deepspace, just for a little while. Let someone—anyone—pretend I mattered, even if they weren’t real. Then I’d close the app and stare at the wall until the stillness inside me was louder than the silence outside. And maybe, if I was lucky, I’d sleep. If not, well… I’d just lie there and breathe until morning made me do it all again.

"Order up!" my manager barked again from behind the kitchen window. I flinched, even though I knew it wasn’t really for me. That didn’t stop my heart from jumping like I’d been caught doing something wrong.

I glanced at the clock. Three more hours.

The line surged. A dozen new faces. All of them looked through me like I was glass. I moved automatically—smile, nod, take the order, punch the screen. My jaw ached from clenching. My head pounded beneath the café lights. Everything smelled like desperation and caramel drizzle.

Someone spilled something. Another customer yelled about a wrong order. My manager scolded Tanya for chatting too long. Through it all, I just moved cups, wiped counters, filled syrups.

When I finally took my ten-minute break, I sank into the hard plastic chair in the back hallway like I could dissolve into it. I didn’t even pull out my phone. I just closed my eyes and breathed like I could exhale the weight pressing into my ribs.

When the shift ended, I clocked out in silence. No goodbyes. No see-you-tomorrows. Just the beep of the finger scanner and the door clicking shut behind me.

Outside, it had started to pour. Not just a drizzle or a moody mist, but a full, heavy downpour—like the sky was finally feeling something I couldn’t let out.

Fat drops soaked through my coat in seconds. My hair clung to my face, water sliding down the bridge of my nose like tears I hadn’t cried in years. The sound of it hitting pavement was deafening and still not loud enough to drown out my thoughts.

I stood there a moment, blinking up at the sky like it might offer some sort of answer. The clouds were thick, swollen, heavy with something unsaid. Like me.

But I didn’t break. I didn’t scream or sob or fall to my knees like in the movies. I just kept walking—soaked, exhausted, and invisible.

I tugged my hood up against the rain, not that it helped much. The downpour pelted my shoulders like it was trying to bruise me, like it was asking why I hadn’t broken yet. The world was grey, every streetlight and car headlight smeared behind a curtain of water. I slipped my earbuds in and hit shuffle, letting music drown everything else out—industrial beats, sad synthpop, anything with enough bass to push the thoughts away.

My breath fogged in the cold, catching on the fabric of my jacket. The puddles soaked through my shoes. Every step felt like dragging myself through mud and ghosts.

Halfway home, I felt a familiar tug. My jacket’s zipper, old and cheap, had snagged near the middle. I tried to adjust it with numb fingers, and the whole slider snapped off in my hand.

"Of course," I muttered.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t curse. I just pushed the jacket tighter with both arms and kept walking through the storm like a ghost pretending to be a girl.

My apartment building came into view at the end of the block—a squat, grey thing with flaking paint and windows that stared blankly back at me. Third floor, corner unit. A place that was too quiet and always smelled faintly of damp drywall and whatever my neighbors were reheating at 2 a.m.

No one waited for me there. No lights left on. No voices calling from the kitchen, no pet bounding to greet me at the door.

I used to have a cat. A fat solid gray cat, named Ragnar. He died four winters ago from kidney failure. I couldn’t afford to do anything except hold him and apologize as he went.

Before that, I had a rabbit. Then a fish. All gone. I stopped trying after Ragnar.

The silence inside my apartment used to ache. Now, it just existed—a constant presence like background static. Something you don’t hear until it swells.

I pulled my keys from my bag with hands that barely felt anything and climbed the cracked stairs one at a time, music still pulsing against my ears.

Still soaked. Still invisible.

I stopped outside my apartment door and just stood there, dripping onto the carpet like a leaking pipe someone forgot to fix. My keys felt too heavy in my hand. The music had ended in my ears, but I hadn’t noticed. The hallway was dim, too quiet—the kind of silence that presses in around your ribs and dares you to break it.

There was no one inside waiting for me. No laughter, no footsteps, no warmth behind that door. Just cold walls and an old couch and two bedrooms I barely used. The second one was supposed to be for guests or crafts or something domestic. Instead, it held boxes of things I didn’t have the heart to unpack.

I thought of Ragnar again, of how he used to greet me at the door even if he didn’t move much toward the end. How his motor like purrs had once filled this silence.

Now, even his ghost was gone.

I finally slid the key into the lock and turned it. The door creaked open, releasing a gust of stale air and the familiar emptiness I knew too well.

I stepped inside. Kicked off my shoes. Shut the door behind me.

And the quiet swallowed me whole.

I peeled off my soaked jacket and let it fall in a crumpled heap by the door. The zipper clattered against the tile, useless now. My jeans were plastered to my legs. My socks made that awful squelch as I stepped out of them. Every part of me felt heavy and raw, like I was dragging a storm inside my skin.

I undressed in the hallway without bothering to turn on the lights, making my way to the bathroom where I threw everything into the laundry hamper and stood in front of the mirror for a second too long. My reflection looked ghost-pale in the dim glow from the hallway—wet hair clinging to my cheeks, eyes ringed with shadows. I didn’t look broken. I didn’t look anything.

I changed into an oversized hoodie and threadbare sweatpants. Dry clothes didn’t make me feel any better, but at least I wasn’t freezing anymore.

The living room was dark except for the faint glow of the router lights. I didn’t bother with the main light switch. I knew where everything was. The couch groaned under my weight as I sank into it. It was too small to stretch out on, but I curled into the cushions like I belonged to them anyway.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. My fingers hesitated.

Then I tapped the screen and opened Love and Deepspace.

The screen faded to white, and then the familiar black lettering appeared: Loading... 0%... 7%... 21%... 43%... My eyes followed the numbers without thinking. 67%... 82%... 99%...

100%.

The first thing I saw was that white chair in the backdrop—the interior of Destiny Cafe bathed in warm, ambient light.

And then he appeared.

Sylus.

Wearing his Magnum Opus 5-Star card outfit—a slate gray sweater that clung just right, light pleated dress pants that made him look like he belonged in some perfect, distant dream. He was casual and cinematic at once, every line of his figure gentle but deliberate.

He looked at me with that lopsided smile that had unraveled me more than once.

"I could've made a lot of things disappear while I was waiting for you," he said softly, voice low and velvet-smooth.

I stared at him a moment longer than I should have. Then, like always, my thumb moved almost on its own. I navigated out of the greeting screen and into the event tab. Caleb's birthday event was still running. I hadn't won the birthday card. I probably wouldn’t.

I sighed through my nose and moved to the Agenda tab. Log-in. Done. Core Hunt. Skipped. Interact with him, complete a Bounty Hunt, upgrade a memory. It was a ritual now. Familiar. Comforting. Empty.

When the checkmarks were filled and the gems and items were collected, I scrolled through the memories archive until I found it.

Valleydream Bloom.

I tapped the icon and let the scene unfold. His voice came through the speakers in a hush, low and warm like embers.

A mountain breeze. Late spring. That sweater again.

"This is the perfect place for dragon tales," he started off saying onscreen, the camera just barely swaying like the breath of wind between them.

I clutched the phone that much tighter.

His voice continued to thread through the stillness of my apartment, filling it with something that wasn’t noise. The screen softened—the wildflowers swaying in slow motion, a golden hue kissing the edges of Sylus’s expression.

"If a dragon knows it will die soon," he said, gaze flickering down to something just offscreen, "It flies to a valley far from its kin and waits alone."

The wind rustled through his hair in the video. His smile didn’t seem programmed. It seemed… tired. Kind.

I already knew the lines. I had looked them up once on the fan wiki. This card, Valleydream Bloom, wasn’t about grandeur. It was about peace. About quiet, grounded things.

The scene shifted—flowers blooming through sun-bleached bones, the vast skeleton of a dragon resting beneath an open sky. Sylus moved slowly through the overgrown grave, reverent, the petals brushing his hands like memories.

"If a dragon knows it will die soon," he said, voice low, "it flies to a valley far from its kin and waits alone. But even in death, life finds it again."

The screen panned to the nest of blossoms around the dragon’s ribcage. Sylus turned to the camera—turned to her—his smile soft but weighty.

"If every petal could receive this kind of reward..."

He leaned in, brushing a kiss to a pink flower petal that had landed on the MC’s forearm, then another to her cheek.

"Then this dragon will wait every night longing for the wind and petals to arrive."

The music swelled as the sky turned brighter—clouds drifting lazily across soft blue. The final shot was of Sylus kissing her in the center of the dragon’s nest, wildflowers blooming all around them.

My throat tightened. Something deep and aching curled tighter beneath my ribs.

I watched the whole thing through without skipping. Not because I believed in the fantasy—but because for a moment, in a dragon's grave blooming with wildflowers, it felt like someone saw the softest parts of me and didn’t flinch. Like longing was allowed. Like love didn’t have to be earned, just quietly waited for. Even if it came from pixels on a screen, the ache was real.

And that ache was better than nothing.

And tonight, that was enough to keep the worst thoughts waiting at the door.

But I didn’t stop there.

I scrolled back through the archive, fingers hovering before tapping into the others.

Painful Signal — Caleb’s 5-Star memory.  A sterile room bathed in cold overhead light. Caleb sat on the edge of a medical bed, turned away from MC. His shoulders hunched, the soft, broken, "...Stay back" spilling from him like breath he didn’t want to release. Cords and mechanical tubing trailed from a machine beside him. A dispassionate, mechanical voice said, "Repair complete."

He exhaled slowly, not turning around as she approached. “I almost forgot... you never listen to me during times like these.”

When MC stepped closer, he didn’t move—just sighed again. “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just didn’t expect you to find out like this.”

She sat beside him and asked, gently, if it hurt.

“I barely feel any pain. Unless it’s under repair. But…” His cybernetic hand lifted, hovering uncertainly. “I can’t even feel you anymore.”

Her fingers wrapped around his.

“I sometimes wish you were always in pain,” her response text said—not cruel, just honest. He looked at her, startled.

And then he took her hand in both of his—his real and synthetic fingers intertwining with hers.

“If that’s what it takes to feel you, I’ll accept it.”

She smiled through the ache and told him she wished, mostly, that his pain could be lessened.

MC stood to leave, and he followed her. His voice cracked.

“It’s even more painful… when you take risks for my sake.”

She turned back. In a blink, she was in his arms, pulling him into a hug he hadn’t expected. He stumbled slightly, arms going around her as if it hurt more not to.

“You’re the only one... who can ease my pain,” he whispered.

And something in me just… broke.

Because I knew what it was to be stitched together by someone’s voice. To hurt quietly, until the only solace was knowing someone would choose your wounds. Not run from them.

My fingers shook as I gripped the phone. That kind of pain? The kind you accept because it’s the only way you can still feel something real?

That was mine too.

And I had no one to say those words to. Or hear them from.

But for a few minutes, through flickering pixels and aching dialogue—I wasn’t the only one.

Outcast’s Voyage — Xavier’s 5-Star memory. A distant forest, pulsing with ominous light. Xavier stood in the heart of it, consumed. His eyes were blank—haunted by something that didn’t belong to him. The forest around him seemed to breathe, its hunger thick in the air. MC gripped his shoulders, her hands trembling as she cupped his face, trying to pull him back.

His eyes flickered. That dull lifelessness cracked open for just a second—light returning. And then he collapsed, her arms barely catching him.

She whispered if he was hurt. He tried to push her away.

“Run,” he told her, voice breaking. “Before it takes you too.”

Her evol flared, desperate, trying to reach him—but it didn’t work. He looked up at her, barely holding on.

“...It’s okay. Starfall Forest… will stop once it has enough power… It will…. I couldn’t… I didn’t protect you before. At least… it chose me this time.”

And then the scene shifted—MC pouring all of herself into Xavier, into the forest. After Xavier called her reckless, he collapsed against her shoulder as the camera panned out slowly, Xavier unconscious in her lap, her power a halo of grief and determination.

I couldn’t hold it together.

My hand covered my mouth, eyes stinging. That desperation—of being the reason someone suffered, of being helpless to stop it—that was mine. That had been my every day growing up. Watching someone unravel and knowing you were the excuse, or the witness. Or worse—the one who couldn’t do anything.

The way she held him. The way she refused to leave.

I wanted someone to stay like that. Even once. Just once.

My body shook with a sob that barely made a sound.

He wasn’t real. But that pain was.

Everlasting Wish— Zayne’s 5-Star memory. The city skyline glittered across the river, fireworks blooming silently in the distance. Zayne stood beside the MC in a red plaid suit, the sparkler in his hand trailing light as he drew a four-leaf clover in the air. The date hadn’t gone as planned—but they were still here, still together.

The scene shifted. They were walking hand in hand along a quiet pier, their steps in sync. The MC turned to him, asking him how the night had made him feel.

Zayne looked up at her, “I don’t want this to end,” he said, the words soft and almost boyish. “And I don’t want to go home.”

He wrapped his arms around her middle, burying his face against her stomach from her higher vantage. “I don’t want to leave you.”

The final shot—MC sitting at the edge of the pier, staring out at the water as Zayne stepped behind her. He reached down, gently lifting her chin. “Wait, there’s still something to say…”

His voice cracked slightly. “I want to spend the next decade with you.” As he leaned in and kissed her.

My chest clenched. The kind of ache that wasn’t pain—just longing, deep and tender. I wrapped my arms around my knees tighter, the warmth of the blanket not enough to fight the chill that bloomed in my ribs.

He hadn’t said it to me—but it felt like someone out there believed I was worth staying for. Worth holding. Worth a future.

And God, that almost broke me.

Sparkling Traces — Rafayel’s 5-Star memory.  The shoreline of Whitesand Bay shimmered in the background, soft waves rolling in under a sky just beginning to melt into dusk. Rafayel walked beside the MC with that effortless charm he always carried, his hands tucked casually in his pockets.

"I'd like to exchange my voucher for every one of your bad moods in the future," he said lightly, but his eyes held something more.

There was a pause. A silence as MC's response texts flit over the screen.

Then he added, softer, "Don't worry. No matter how many there are, I can take them, because... just seeing you smile is enough to brighten my day."

My breath caught. It wasn’t about romance. It was about being carried when you couldn’t carry yourself. About someone choosing your worst days, not just your best.

I pressed the screen like I could hold on to that.

And for a flicker of a moment, I felt a little less unlovable.

Each video ended, but I stayed where I was, curling into the silence like it might hold me tighter if I didn’t move.

Back on the home screen, Sylus still stood—pixel-perfect in that gray sweater and pleated slacks, his silver-white hair falling just right, those crimson eyes seeming to peer past the screen and directly into me.

There was something in his stare that always made me hesitate. Like he saw more than I let on. Like if I spoke, he’d know exactly how hollow I really was.

I stared back.

What was I even doing?

I was so tired of being alone. Of being the afterthought. The girl who smiled so no one would ask why it didn’t reach her eyes.

If only things had been different.

If only someone had stopped me when I needed them to. If only someone had cared enough to pull me back.

But they didn’t.

And now here I was—clinging to pixels and scripted comfort because it was the only thing that didn’t look away.

My fingers hovered over the screen, then fell away into my lap.

╰──────༺♡༻──────╯

I must’ve fallen asleep sitting up. The weight of everything pressed into my spine, my head slumped forward. The cheap throw blanket I’d pulled over my shoulders had slipped halfway to the floor. My phone rested against my chest, screen down, still faintly warm.

Outside, morning didn’t so much arrive as creep in—gray light filtered through rain-streaked windows, just enough to blur the edges of the world. My body ached like I’d been holding tension even in sleep.

But for once, I had the day off. And for a fleeting second, I actually felt it—relief. Not joy. Not peace. Just a soft, empty space where dread usually sat.

I peeled myself off the couch, joints creaking as I stretched. The shower took a while to heat up, the water clunking in the pipes like it resented being summoned. I stepped in anyway, letting the spray hit my face until I could breathe again.

When I got out, I wiped the fog off the mirror and stared. Splotchy skin. Tired eyes. A frame just shy of 5'2", a little pudgy in places that clothes always tried to smooth out. I wasn’t ugly, not exactly—but I wasn’t the kind of girl people looked at twice either.

I ran my hands over my face, then down my arms, grounding myself in the feeling. The morning routine wasn’t glamorous, but it was mine.

And today, at least for now, I had time.

I wandered barefoot into the kitchen and opened the fridge, standing there for a long moment like the light might offer answers. It didn’t. I cobbled together something vaguely resembling breakfast—half a piece of toast, a bruised banana, and the last few swallows of milk from the carton. Pathetic. But it was something.

The kettle clicked off behind me as I reached for a chipped mug when my phone buzzed sharply on the counter.

I jumped, nearly sloshing the water.

My boss’s name lit up the screen.

Anxiety twisted in my gut as I answered. “Hello?”

“Aven? Where are you? You were supposed to be in an hour ago.”

My stomach dropped. “What? No, I—today’s my day off.”

“No, you swapped with Kelsey last week. She said you agreed to cover her shift this morning.”

Ice bloomed in my veins. “I never agreed to that.”

“Well, she says you did. So now we’re short-staffed and scrambling.”

My mouth went dry. I didn’t even have the energy to argue. Of course she did. Of course no one checked.

“I—I’ll be there soon,” I said, throat tight.

“Make it quick.”

The line went dead. I stood there, blinking, toast in one hand, dread curling like smoke through my chest.

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes—unbidden, unwanted. I bit down hard, forcing the breath through my nose, holding it all back like I always did. There wasn’t time. There was never time.

I tossed the toast onto the counter, half-eaten and soggy, then turned and bolted toward the bedroom. My hands moved on autopilot—grabbing my wrinkled uniform off the hook behind the door, my phone, my worn wallet, and the damned jacket with the busted zipper.

Everything felt louder—my heartbeat, the ticking of the kitchen clock, the rain still falling outside.

I shoved my arms into the sleeves, muttering curses as the zipper caught and jammed halfway. I didn’t have time to fix it. Didn’t have time for anything.

The weight settled back over my shoulders before I even made it out the door.

I locked the apartment out of habit, the click of the deadbolt loud in the hush of the hallway. Some part of me scoffed internally—there was nothing in there worth stealing. Just leftovers of a life no one wanted, least of all me.

The stairwell was dim and slightly musty, the kind of place where the lighting always flickered and the paint peeled in corners no one bothered to fix. I trudged down all three flights, the rubber soles of my shoes hitting each step with dull finality. No elevator, of course. Just more stairs and the same old silence.

The rain hadn’t let up.

I pulled my hood up again, even though it barely stayed put anymore, and started toward the café. The usual route. The usual emptiness.

My face stayed neutral, unreadable. A wall. That same quiet complacency people always mistook for being 'fine.' Let them. Let them all keep thinking I was okay.

It was easier that way.

By the time I stepped into the café, damp around the edges and barely holding it together, my manager was already fuming.

"You're late," she snapped before I’d even crossed fully into the lobby. "Again."

My jaw clenched. “I didn’t know I was on today. Kelsey—”

“I don’t care what she said,” my boss cut in, waving a hand as if brushing me off like lint. “It’s your responsibility to double-check. You screw up again and we’ll be having a different conversation—one that ends with you jobless.”

She turned away before I could say anything else, already barking at another employee.

I stood frozen for a beat. The heat in my face wasn’t from embarrassment. It was fury and helplessness and the ache of being treated like a mistake just for existing.

I didn’t cry. I just turned and made my way to the staff room.

My locker was tucked into the back corner—the one people always mistook for the broom cupboard. More than once I’d caught a mop or cleaning supplies shoved inside. No name tag. No one remembered it was mine.

Fitting, really.

I changed quickly, stuffing my things into the cramped metal box, the door creaking on its hinges as I shut it. The moment I stepped back into the front, it was like a switch flipped.

Everything was already a disaster.

Customers were lined up out the door, voices raised, complaints spewing like steam from a boiling kettle. Someone was furious over the foam on their cappuccino. Another was yelling about an order mix-up that hadn’t even been mine.

Behind the counter, the other staff member was dragging their feet, half-wiping down tables and ignoring the growing pile of dirty dishes.

My boss’s eyes found me constantly, like lasers tracking a target. Every small mistake—real or imagined—was another strike. The register glitched. She glared at me. Someone spilled their drink near the cream station. My fault somehow.

Then came the worst part.

The bathroom backed up. The stench wafted into the hallway, sharp and unmistakable. I’d barely started mopping the spill near the pastry case when she snapped her fingers at me.

“Handle the bathroom. Now. And keep the lobby clean while you're at it.”

My hands stilled on the mop.

Was I supposed to be in two places at once?

But I nodded. Because what else was there to do?

I wasn’t allowed to say no.

As I wrung out the mop head with aching hands, something strange happened.

The radio, which usually buzzed in and out with static or played mindless top-forty drivel, suddenly shifted. A soft piano intro filtered through the crackling speakers, delicate and familiar. I froze, recognizing the melody before the vocals even started.

“Till I Meet You.”

It was from the game. Love and Deepspace.

My throat caught. Of all the songs to play in this dump of a café, that one?

For a brief second—barely even a full breath—I felt something lift. Like my heart had remembered it wasn’t always broken. That someone, somewhere, had once said something beautiful to me, even if it was only scripted. Even if it had only ever been pixels and fantasy.

Then the mop bucket tipped over.

Water spread fast across the tiles.

A customer shrieked about slipping.

And my boss’s voice cut through the music like a knife.

“Are you kidding me, Aven? Get it together!”

The weight slammed back down, harder than before. But the song lingered in the background, soft and persistent. Like a voice I couldn’t quite forget.

By the time my break rolled around, my body was screaming for rest, my hands raw from bleach and the mop handle. But instead of retreating to the back room for ten quiet minutes on my phone like I usually did—headphones in, world off—I was handed a plunger and a pair of gloves.

“Bathroom’s still a mess,” my boss said without even looking at me. “Use your break to finish it.”

I wanted to scream. Or cry. Or just curl into the mop closet and not come out.

But I just nodded, teeth clenched.

So instead of hiding in a corner and losing myself in something soft, I spent the entire hour scrubbing floors and trying not to gag from the smell. The door kept opening, coworkers popping in and out without a word, like I wasn’t even there. Like I was just another fixture to ignore.

When I finally emerged, my break long gone and my arms aching, I didn’t even look at the clock. I just walked back behind the counter and resumed taking orders.

Because what else was I supposed to do?

It all unraveled quickly after that.

A customer dumped their drink on the counter and demanded a full refund—never mind that they’d already finished half of it. The espresso machine jammed mid-pour. The other employee took a smoke break and just... didn’t come back. And my boss? She hovered. Always watching. Always judging.

I was juggling too many tasks when a tray slipped from my hands and shattered across the floor—ceramic shards skittering like angry little ghosts. Gasps echoed around the café.

My boss stormed over, red-faced and loud.

“Jesus, Aven! What the hell is wrong with you today?”

Something snapped.

I stared at the mess, breathing heavy, the sharp sting of bile clawing at the back of my throat. My hands trembled. My chest tightened.

And then I stood.

“I’m done,” I whispered, too soft at first. Then louder. “I’m done.”

I untied my apron, dropped it onto the counter, and walked—past the spilled drink, the gaping mouths, the stunned silence.

Out the front door.

Into the rain.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t care who was watching.

I kept walking. Past the café windows, past the flickering streetlamps and shuttered storefronts, my footsteps splashing through puddles like I had somewhere to be. But I didn’t.

I didn’t go home.

I didn’t want to.

The thought of unlocking that empty apartment, peeling off this soaked jacket, sitting back down on that too-small couch with the silence pressing in from all sides—it made my chest constrict.

So I marched. Nowhere in particular. No direction. Just motion. Just away.

Rain poured from the sky in sheets, soaking through what little my jacket still covered. But I didn’t stop. Didn’t flinch. My face stayed numb. My thoughts buzzed with the echo of shattered ceramics and shouted words.

I walked until the streets blurred, until headlights shimmered like stars in puddles. I walked because stopping meant feeling. And I couldn’t afford that. Not tonight.

I don’t know how long I wandered before the metal rails of the bridge came into view—tall, weather-worn, streaked black by decades of storms. My feet had brought me here without permission, without thought.

The wind picked up near the water, cutting through my soaked jacket, slicing into skin that already felt numb.

My feet dragged to a stop, and I moved to the railing, palms braced on the cold metal, rain dripping from my lashes. The wind whipped past my ears, drowning out the noise of the city behind me. Below, the river churned in slow, black ripples, reflecting fractured bits of streetlight and clouded sky.

╰──────༺♡༻──────╯

[wombywoo]

how did you come up with good names for your original characters? it's something I struggle with, especially the last names :'DD

I honestly love coming up with character names, it's one of my fave parts of character creation 🥰 As for my own boys, I think Vincent's name came to me immediately, while I struggled with Quinn a bit--I actually had his last name first so that helped; I kept the name Lacey in the back of my mind and wanted to pair it with something monosyllabic. And for Vince's last name, I think I considered Croft but went with Craft instead because it corresponds with aircraft and witchcraft, etc, and I liked the vibe~ For some of my other characters, I came up with given names first then did some research for last names...

Suggested research: everyone and their mother knows about fantasy name generator (which I do highly recommend) They have so many categories which can be great for just picking one at random if you're not too fussy, and it can be fun to browse all the options; great time-waster if you're bored 👍

My other option is a site I've become obsessed with called forebears, which is a database for real names across the globe. It's a really neat site that allows you to see how common names are and where they're most prevalent! (fun fact--only 42 people share my married surname!) I honestly spend way too much time on here looking up trivial info, it's addicting 🤫

They even have a feature where you can click specific areas on the map. Here's me googling my own fictional boy to see how common his name is in England:

Turns out there are only 4 Quinns born in South Yorkshire as of 2014....what will I do with this data??? (nothing)

Some more useless insight into which countries have the most Vincents

Tragic news...the french have claimed him 😔🥖

Anyway! if I'm looking for a good surname for an English character, I might peruse this list here and find a suitable choice~ And they have this for every country !!!!! Seriously, it's addicting!

I like to be somewhat ~authentic~ in naming characters from specific countries/cultures, so a bit of side research into naming practices in different regions doesn't hurt. You also don't want to go the jkrowling route and just pick stupidly stereotypical names for your characters either 😅

I would say your best bet is to peruse sites like this, or wait for a sudden moment of clarity where the perfect name is bequeathed to your subconscious (I also rely on this method sometimes)

Also just... let your character's vibe guide you~ Sometimes the best name is one that simply feels like them 👍

[gren-arlio]

This is what the people wanted. You ask, I'll try my best to give. Welcome to Episode 15 of Waku Puyo Extras, Super Schezo Edition. I've been waiting for this.

(I saved this for this exact moment.)

Hey guys, Gren here, and welcome to Episode 15 of Waku Puyo Extras, this time a pinned edition for the time being. A post this long deserves some limelight, you know? This took me so, SO many months to write...

If you want the Google Doc version of this (Has more photos), you can find it here.

And here:

I've been doing this stuff for about a year now, and the poll from about...August of 2024... told me to do this exact thing, and thus, I'll do this exact thing: Schezo and his many, MANY friendships throughout the entire series. My apologies for such a long wait, not only is this post pretty long... I kinda began college as well, so I have less time on my hands than usual, but alas. I post like one to three times a month anyways. I should change that someday. This is far and away my longest project ever.

This entire thing will cover Schezo's friendships and encounters throughout the series, and I do want to mention his meaningful friendships, people who can properly interact with the guy and talk to, and actually have stuff to TALK about, while also mentioning some characters that have moments with him, while not exactly having a big dynamic. Imagine this as both looking back at history and me explaining what I think about it.

Oh, and don't treat my words as absolute. This is a guy merely mentioning stuff he knows about and whatnot. I'm not the Be All End All. As well, this stuff also has my personal opinion in it. If my opinion of a character clashes with yours, I'm sorry.

Also, and this'll become more apparent throughout the work itself, I CANNOT COVER EVERY GAME AND POSSIBLE INTERACTION. Not only will that absolutely execute me, but not every interaction is meaningful or has something funny to it. I'm sorry to the Puyo Puyo Chronicle fans that realize that their game isn't talked about as much as… let's say Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, but going through everything will be a herculean task I won't be able to do. My apologies. As well, there could be a mistake here and there, there’s so much to cover that I’m bound to flub something up. Human nature, after all.

This also covers Puzzle Pop, so major spoilers for that.

With that, I hope you enjoy. This is...a super long post. This is for sure gonna be pinned until I finish Arle's Route. Jesus Christ, this took...too many months. Blame college, finals, and a whooooooole lot of essay writing.

Dear God, why did I do this, he's like my 5th favorite character, lmao

---- So where do we begin with the guy?

Amazing question. Honestly, for those who ain't gonna read the entire thing, and I don't blame you, there's going to be so much stuff to read that you'd probably die from boredom, but here's some characters that'll be covered throughout this entire post:

This'll be broken down into sections, since there's going to be many, MANY characters covered (Much to my hands dismay of typing all of this), so I'm going to sorta make a table of contents for this stuff. I'll try to keep this clean. No promises though.

And I'll just mention here, I know I write a lot about Waku Puyo, but all of this post will be about the games as a whole, not JUST Waku Puyo, so...heads up on that.

Well, Here's a table of contents for people who want to see a specific dynamic (or what's in store) :

Compile Characters:

Arle & Carbuncle

Rulue (And Minotauros by proxy)

Satan (Woah, the ARS...)

Lagnus Bisashi

Witch

Draco

Serilly

The Kikimora's

Suketoudara

Honey Bee (Mostly a manga thing.)

Incubus/Succubus

Skeleton-T

Doppelganger Schezo (Waku Puyo spoilers but like... it's a 26 year old Japanese exclusive game.)

Runelord

SEGA Characters:

Ringo And Ecolo

Amitie

Klug and Sig

Lemres

Now...that's a lot of characters, isn't it? About 20 or so named ones that are relevant to this, not including miscellaneous stuff. Just letting you know once again, I CANNOT COVER EVERYTHING. There's way too much. As well, each entry will cover as many notable interactions they had throughout the series, and then at the end of each entry, covering any differences throughout, and I’ll explain what I think each dynamic is as a whole at the end, and what I personally think of their dynamic. There’s a lot to cover, but this thing is already going to be long enough. But I think a good place to start is the man himself.

Who IS Schezo Wegey?

(Ah. This guy.)

Schezo, someone who's written to be sometimes a joke, sometimes serious, whatever it is, it attracts people. What can I say about this guy that probably hasn't already been said? Probably not much, but I can sure as hell recant stuff.

The guy's a gifted person, no doubt about that. In most terms of the word, he's a prodigy at what he does, a talented mage who usually knows what he's doing with his magic. However, most people know him for his major slip ups in wording, his innuendos are basically his legacy at this point. From the simple eras of "I want you!" to whatever in the world he's saying to people in Puzzle Pop, it's what people know him for inside and outside the community. I mean, do we need to mention how we was in Puyo Puyo Tetris?

This was probably most of our introduction to the guy, and it for sure left a mark on most of us. Sure as hell did for me. Now look at me, writing this because people asked.

Besides that, he's quite the loner, preferring to be by himself rather than being with a group of people, though he's not against talking to people. How else would he have friends? He does strive to become stronger, though back then, he used to do it by just taking other people's magic and tries to take Arle's all the time, but alas, nowadays he just sorta trains, which I thinks alludes to the point that he's trying to make his own power for the most part.

He's usually blunt, being pretty serious about most things he talks about. I mean, most of the time people run into the guy, he's doing his own thing and asks what in the WORLD do they want from him now, which can lead into teasing from close friends. Though usually, he's not opposed to working with others if the cause is big enough. Think wanting to beat up Satan with Arle in Puyo 20th Anniversary, or working with Arle in Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 and 2. Or if you want to go even further back, when him, Arle, and Rulue team up against the Phantom God in Chaotic Final Exam. Granted that ended with him making a realm by himself and then him getting zapped by something, get called presumed dead, and then we're told he was just sent to the start of the dungeon with no memory of the current events...so I'd say the threat was pretty big, yeah.

I say usually because Madou Saturn continues to be the odd one out. He's lazy, doesn't want to help people, and is more of a legit pervert who sometimes messes up his words than... a man who messes up his words all the time, but has a totally well-mannered meaning...for the most part. He does get better at the last third of the game though, when he DOES properly join you.

Despite all this apparently aloofness and whatnot, I think he's by a good margin the most bullied and teased dude in the entire series, probably next to Satan. With everything mentioned + his pretty mixed wording when he gets excited, it becomes stupid easy to tease him. Arle and Rulue do it on an almost weekly basis, Witch follows in his steps in some games (and we're told to think she might be more serious about what she's saying than Schezo,) Satan and him insult each other all the time, list goes on. Despite the demeanor, the dude is very likely to get bullied. And do I even need to mention how ANYONE and EVERYONE can/will call him a pervert? He really can't catch a break no matter how hard he really tries.

But as we know, he's not just a blunt man who fumbles his wording every so often. As history has shown us, he loves cute animals as a whole. Tenori Zoh in Madou Monogatari: Tower of the Magician (TOTM), Onion Pixie and Dongurigaeru from SEGA Puyo are three examples. Even powerful people can't resist cute creatures.

Schezo is a character that’s best for getting beaten down, or somehow having the odds stacked against him, yet still persists through. Yeah, he’s seen as a joke to most of his friends and rivals, but there’s no joking matter when it comes to his skills and talents. He’s already strong on his own, yet even then, while trying to get others' powers to fuel his own, he’s already quite talented. It’s just that in Puyo, that… won’t exactly get you far.

Now with all of that info...Lets talk about his friendships and interactions with others. You may have noticed that I didn't bring up the games much, and that's due to all of that going into these entries. Trust me, it'll make sense later. Now, we start with...

Arle & Carbuncle:

(The benefits of this stuff being based off, what, 30 years of history? I can use many-a-photos from different eras.)

The protagonist of Compile, the main face of the series, what other things do I really need to describe Arle? Probably a whole lot more, but we don't have to worry about all of that, we're talking FRIENDSHIPS here, folks. Dynamics, if you will.

On Arle's end, she's an energetic gal who's always up for an adventure, but also just gets thrown into a lot of stuff just because said adventure is always going to end and be something wild. She always has that darn Carbuncle guy around her at all times, too. Witty, sarcastic at times, jokes around a bit, honestly I like her character. She's probably my favorite of the A girls, then it's probably Ringo. Despite what I've stated, yes, she does in fact have friends, and is a pretty kind person overall. She's willing to help someone if they really need it, but oftentimes she's seen as a more whimsical and carefree person than anything. Modern games tend to make her more of a straight-man to the cast than usual, often being the voice of reason compared to most of the lunatics in the series, Schezo being no different, but much less insane. Doesn't mean she herself isn't silly, far from it.

It's pretty clear from throughout the games that...it differs quite a bit, but there's underlying elements that stay the same. Stuff like Schezo wanting to take Arle's latent magical abilities, Arle teasing Schezo over his fumbles, that sorta stuff, that's been consistent for like 20 years at this point. However, the interactions they have throughout the series at least demonstrate that they're good friends. He cares for Arle, he just doesn't want to say it. However, modern games has Schezo just wanting some peace and quiet in his life, and Arle oftentimes just running into him by chance at this point. They're willing to work together too if the job demands it. Here, he proves that he's actually a pretty smart guy.

With Carbuncle... He's a very jolly fellow. As for being the original pet of Satan that's now gone to Arle, Carbuncle kinda just brings along some sorta hijinks due to the amount of random circumstances. And with Schezo hating Satan and trying to get Arle's magic... I mean, my point should stand, right?

COMPILE:

We can skip over Madou 2 for the most part, since there's not exactly much to cover besides it being the originator of Schezo being called a pervert, as well as his famous PC98 decapitation screen (Which is treated more like a gag than anything. PC98 was odd.)

However, he WAS still a villain in a way for Madou 2. I will say that. But we can instead talk about games that I DO have knowledge in, as well as how the dynamics are. Starting with...Madou Saturn.

Now, some of us know that Schezo's writing in the game ranges from genuinely great to some of the worst we've seen. IMO, he's alright, some parts don't make sense, but others work just fine. I enjoy the aspect of him being sorta a gray ground for most of the game, before turning to your side when there's absolutely no other choice, it's nice that he does that. And in this game, Arle does try to go to Schezo for help, since...you know, the world is kinda in the midst of danger because of course it is, and Schezo just kinda declines it all. He sees it all as a waste of time, something he shouldn't be concerning himself over for a majority of the game.

The acts of heroicness she sometimes sees him do, or giving tips/advice to Arle, isn't even Schezo himself doing it for the most part, if any part, but rather Lagnus taking control of his body for limited periods of time. Since he's a pure dark mage and Lagnus can only withstand his magic for so long. So his acts of goodness is from a completely different person who's controlling his body, but Arle still sees it as Schezo being odd for quite a good bit of the game.

(And even then, he still doesn't care as much as Arle, Rulue, and Lagnus does. Or at the very least, doesn't care/know much about how bad it can truly be.)

He only learns to give a damn after he realizes that maybe this Yoggus thing WILL end the world as he knows it, and maybe he should actually help Arle, Rulue, and Lagnus (Who we'll get to later). He's selfish, leaving problems to be solved by other people because simply put, why should he care? It doesn't concern him. It's not his problem. He only grows to care because he realizes that it COULD affect him, and then he finally decides to help. He doesn't care much, if at all about Arle, and Arle kinda just sees him as a jerk who's willing to help when it's needed, but is happy when he finally caves in. Though she WAS confused throughout due to Lagnus shenanigans, so there's that.

But that's just one real outing of the guy. He's not always going to be like this. Lets be real, there's many, MANY other games where he's notable or at least is vastly different compared to this game. In Puyo SUN, while they don't work together, they do have a common goal: Stop Satan's hooliganry with the sun because it's NOT going well for everyone else, have you seen the horrors that Draco had to go through? Sure, Arle and Schezo still fight, but at least they had a common goal. In Arle's Travel Log, he takes the role of the leader of the Shinsengumi, you can read up on it here. (Made by yours truly.) In Game Gear Madou, he keeps appearing more and more tired before he just falls down and collapses. He's willing to help when the time comes down to it like in Saturn/Chaotic Final Exam. So he's not ALL gloom and doom.

Here's Waku Puyo:

How about we look at the game I always talk about? Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon, a game that...well, if you follow me around, probably know. Arle and Schezo are there for different reasons; Arle to just play around and have fun, Schezo to regain his lost magic after the Space-Time Crystal took almost all of it to become Doppelganger Schezo. Their first interaction, before the game even starts, has Schezo wondering why she's even here, while Arle merely asks why he's going alone. They're there for different reasons, yet somehow met up in this amusement park. Schezo briefly mentions the fact that if you do all the attractions, you'll get a "Great Magical Item", before simply leaving Arle be and entering the park.

A majority of the time Schezo meets Arle, there's no real animosity with them, with more or less the banter we expect from them, what with Arle teasing him for small stuff, and Schezo getting upset at it because he finds it annoying. Or even just some silly stuff. A notable example is when Schezo sees Arle, and goes deep into thought about why he always has trouble with women, realizing why he has this trouble, says he's ready to take Arle's magic, and BAM. Carbuncle shoots him with a beam, shocking Arle. Stuff like that happens in this game.

When the Ultimate Tower is finally rises after collecting every orb (as well as doing every single route and completing the Satan boss fight...Yikes.), there's quite a good amount of dialog to go around with many of the Compile cast I plan to cover, but Arle's proves to be an interesting one. They run into each other once again, but Arle is still clueless about what exactly Schezo is looking for. He tries to explain but stops himself midway through, and Arle calls it out and asks why. Agitated, Schezo merely leaves, realizing he doesn't want to waste time.

But the second talk is much more interesting. Schezo asks Arle why she even WANTS the treasure, and she replies by saying: "I'm not here for the treasure, I'm just here to have fun." And this...really annoys Schezo, even more so when she jokingly says that maybe she'll search as well. He coldly tells her that he doesn't care for her anymore, and now ARLE is annoyed at Schezo, saying something's been off about him the entire time.

Schezo, annoyed as well, mentions that he's here to find his lost self (the magic), and doesn't need to be nagged by a girl who's merely here to have fun and play around. Both annoyed, she leaves, calling Schezo a massive jerk, before Schezo realizes that he came off as harsh. Alone, he apologies to Arle, trying to say something, but realizing it's fruitless. The end of the game, after PuyoPuyo Land literally BLOWS UP due to Doppelganger Schezo, Schezo seemingly is relived that Arle and the others are okay, and Arle says that he's not really a pervert. Just a...really, really weird guy who blew up the park that she wanted to play around in more. After Schezo calls Carbuncle annoying after arguing with Rulue AND Satan, all three of them chase the guy down after he says he has no time to deal with stuff like this, shouting what's going on in pure confusion.

Here, he doesn't hate Arle, merely finding her a little annoying at times. He has enough empathy to care about how she feels near the end of the game, at least after he yells at her for just being there to play. Arle on the other hand...is here to play, and gets annoyed when Schezo blows up the entire park. But she doesn't HATE him, rather just seeing him as odd. This is even reflected upon in Arle's route (Which as of writing this, I've yet to finish writing up.) where Arle merely sees Schezo as odd, wondering why he's even at Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, though jokes about the fact that he might be there to pick up women.

SEGA Era:

Now that we finally reached the SEGA era after...god knows how many paragraphs of info (And a whole lot more that I'm missing, Yon, BOX...I'm just trying to include stuff that has a lot to cover).

A good place to begin would be, well, 15th Anniversary, where they finally see each other again after god knows how long. I am skipping Minna because...it's just kinda Arle being a douche to Schezo. But 15th is just a reunion for the guys, since he was absent from the Fever games and she made it in. And truth be told, in Arle's route at least she's happy to see him, even IF it's Schezo. She even asks him to repeat his classic "I want you" line for old times sake. It's kinda just...nice.

Lets just say in Schezo's story, "Cafe Au Lait" really is a delicacy.

(I love how so many of the image quality range from pretty decent to abysmal. Welcome to Tumblr.)

Fast forward to 20th Anniversary, the dynamic is more or less back to what it was beforehand. No real animosity, just teasing on Arle end. much to Schezo's annoyance. They do sort of team up to figure out what Satan's up to in both their routes and in the final story, once again showing that level of trust towards each other underneath the bickering. This sorta stuff continues throughout most of the other games; Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 has them team up to help save Rulue, and even tells her that Satan isn't even the enemy this time. Sure, she doesn't believe him at first, but he's pretty confident in his assumption and is right on it too.

Schezo also appears again as an illusion during some training arc for the A Girls and Tetra crew, alongside Satan and Rulue as well. Here, Schezo says that they're basically rivals, and beats Satan and Rulue in Rock Paper Scissors, truly rocking their world. Just a fun little convo.

Puyo Tetris 2 does the same thing but adds so much more to the dynamic, it's very fun. Schezo meets Arle and realizes that Schezo himself is just... well, himself, rather than possessed like everyone else. With the classic banter and Schezo telling people he's legit trying to get better at wording, he accompanies Arle throughout a bit of the story. After saving Witch, he tells her that he did in fact meet Marle, and that she was strong, but he was stronger, yet felt like she held back. She probably did. He even continues to accompany her since Marle is doing something awful: Ruining his quiet time.

Even when encountering Rulue, he maintains an air of respect, which is insane. And when the entire team has to do some sorta challenges before meeting Squares, Schezo and Arle have to fight again for said challenge, with Schezo adamantly saying they're rivals and Arle... saying otherwise, much to his shock and sadness. Progress. Finally.

God, Tetris 2 was such a good step in the right direction...

Puzzle Pop also helps with their dynamic so much more. Arle runs into Schezo while everyone is in the Dream World created by Meena, and while talking, Schezo was able to deduce a good amount of the story: Someone for sure asked for some power by another person, but because of said power, nobody is really able to leave either, surprising Arle, as she forgot he can legit be really smart and catch onto things easily. He’s even doing better on catching HIMSELF from his innuendos. She also accuses him of being someone else, as per the plot of the game, but he’s the real deal, and decides to tag along with her since he can help.

While wondering who could be the culprit of this whole dream world nonsense, they have an idea of who it could be… Rulue. Kinda. Schezo devises the Rulue Finding Plan, and makes Arle say some embarrassing nonsense about Satan for her to appear instantly. The oldest tricks in the books never fail anyone.

After ALL of that, Schezo wonders something that Arle feared: What if Carbuncle himself is the culprit of all of this? Now it’s just a theory for Schezo, but it never hurts to wonder and ask. And Arle does the investigation herself into if Carby is guilty or not, and jury comes out… and he’s innocent.

They even run into Ecolo for this thing… but I’ll save that up for Ecolo himself. After some things I’ll mention in that part of this entire thing, Arle says he’s not the culprit, but he is in a way, and after everything, Schezo heads off on his own accord, mostly to get intel on his own and he doesn’t like groups. Which Arle is fine with, and even knows he’ll be OK.

Carbuncle Section:

As Arle is always seen with Carbuncle, while there's not too much to discuss, I do want to mention that Schezo sometimes takes curiosity in Carbuncle, or Carbuncle decides to act silly and goofy and completely ruin or question his day overall. What do I mean by this, I hear you ask?

Well this is the only time I'll really mention it, the Puyo SUN shorts had a funny little thing between them. Schezo falls asleep because he's just one tired guy, and when he wakes up, he can't exactly find his sword, and looks all over for it. Arle walks on by and wonders what Schezo is looking for, and he makes an excuse to run away. Arle looks at Carbuncle, and while she's brushing it off, she sees the Dark Sword shaped object inside of Carbuncle, and is understandably confused.

And another funny little instance is Carbuncle just casually shooting a laser at Schezo in Waku Puyo. In one interaction, Schezo wonders what's wrong with everything whenever he's around, and sees Arle minding her business, and comes to the conclusion... His problem is Women. But he's still gonna try and take her power because of course he is. And when he tries... well, Carbuncle blasts a laser at him, basically taking him out of commission. Arle tells Carby off for that, though 2nd guesses herself because... well, it's Schezo. I like that this creature ruins Schezo's day in two different occasions.

In 20th Anniversary and even Puzzle Pop, it's less Carbuncle being up to some silly nonsense and more... Schezo wondering why he and Arle aren't together. They're always together, so them being distant makes Schezo somewhat concerned for Arle's safety, though despite that, he tends to think Arle is alright because... It's Arle, she usually is.

So, what's the TLDR? Basically, they ARE good friends in Puyo, just more of a case of "Friends who show their friendship via insulting each other" sorta look. They'll never say they care for each other, but their actions do indeed prove it. In Madou, it's a mixed bag. Sometimes they're allies for the same cause (mostly if Schezo HAS to do something), or they just DESPISE each other just because. Nothing really in the middle unless it's something like Waku Puyo, SUN, Yon, that sorta deal.

The dynamic throughout the Compile changes so much yet stays similar at it's core that it's honestly impressive to see. Take Madou Saturn, where Arle doesn't really like Schezo and vice versa, but she still goes to him for help, even if it's because of Lagnus. But in Waku Puyo, she doesn't mind the guy because of a partial mutual respect for each other. Yet in both times, it's still very similar to most of their dynamics in general. I like it at times, and hate it others mostly because there's times where Schezo is just...really unreasonable or annoying for no good reason.

SEGA Puyo is a whole different can of worms and I love it for that. They're willing to go beyond the fact that they're friends, and are willing to help out if the time is needed, showing legit concern for their friends and helping them out if needed. He's sincere enough to accompany Arle throughout part of the story, and while there's a one-sided rivalry like usual, it's not the focal point, and GOD I love that. Hell, he cares for her a lot deep down, take the Drama CD where she begins to lose her memories, and Schezo is genuinely concerned. However, Puzzle Pop probably has my favorite dynamic of them in current time, as they can actually work together very well, and bounce off of each other’s personality pretty easily. It’s genuinely amazing how well they do together.

With Carbuncle? It’s mostly just that dude confusing the hell outta Schezo, and Schezo taking Carbuncle being alone as an ominous sign that Arle is absolutely somewhere else, or at the very least, close by. There’s not… that much for us to discuss between these two.

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Rulue (And Minotauros IG):

(It never hit me how often this pose was used back then.)

As we finally wrap up Arle's stuff, (Fun fact! That took a month to write because of college) we walk right into another woman Schezo finds himself around quite often that has...a lot to cover. I'm truly living the dream here. The R of the ARS, she also has quite a good bit to cover considering she was also a protag for quite a while... until, ya know, she got sidelined pretty badly. But alas, what can we do?

Rulue herself is a headstrong person, confident in her own abilities, to the point of possible arrogance. She's always trying to one-up Arle, and be better than her because she REALLY loves Satan, who likes Arle in a nostalgic sense rather than a romantical sense. She's no slouch though, she's known as the Fighting Queen for a reason, and consistently holds her own against people like Arle and Schezo, and even then, she and Schezo train.

Lets start with the basics: They respect each other in terms of power, and are at times pretty friendly to each other, but man they argue a lot. And I mean a lot. Waku Puyo, they argue about any menial thing while Minotauros is there for the ride, Puyo SUN, Schezo gets mad at the insinuation of Rulue saying he likes men, 15th Anniversary they argue about Satan, Puyo Tetris 1 they argue about Satan, Madou Saturn, they argue about Schezo being super unhelpful and lazy about the situation, need I go on? Most of it IS Satan related, though. It's a duality of man moment, Schezo's been hating this dudes guts for God knows how long, and Rulue has been loving Satan for...well, God knows how long. Schezo doesn't understand the appeal of Satan (Neither do I) and Rulue thinks the exact opposite, remember the PPT1 cutscene where she just RAMBLES about him?

Good times. I remember seeing this cutscene for the very first time and it cemented my thought of the PPT Dub being STUPID good.

It's not always this, however. A good friendship may be signified about the dumb arguments you can get into, but the moments where you do in fact get along. They train with each other in the light novels, Schezo doesn't really have any ill will against Rulue besides the whole Satan thing, the whole reason why the scene even occurs is because Arle mentions that Rulue has been acting super odd and blames Satan, and Schezo basically goes "Well damn. Satan isn't the issue, but this woman sure is." and goes to help her out. There's an element of kindness in there hidden between the 10 Satan arguments. Trust me, I'll explain more in later sections.

I kind of went over Schezo's actions during the Arle section in Madou Saturn, and well, Rulue sorta feels the same way as Arle about the whole thing, just add on a few insults here and there and a lot of "Man he's annoying" into the mix, and boom, you have their dynamic during that entire game.

COMPILE:

This section itself will be fairly smaller compared to others because despite being the R and the S of the team, there's not too many moments of them working together or talking much in a relevant manner. Things like that matter, y'see. If I wanted to mention something like Madou Sugoroku (Do they even interact in that game?) they have to have at least a relevant or interesting conversation, which sadly isn't the case sometimes.

However, it's not all gloom and doom at the very least, because by then I talk a bit more about Madou Saturn, since Rulue actually plays a key part in the game, being one of the protags after all. To get into the cow meat and bones of this, she hates Schezo. REALLY hates Schezo in this game. Since he never wants to help people out, let alone the two girls who cause him the most annoy the absolute hell out of him, there's a good reason why he never wants to do anything with them in the game at least. However, when the Yogs start invading and people are getting possessed, this man DOES NOT care at all, and just finds everything to be annoying as all hell.

I'm happy to say he at least tries to turn over a new leaf near the tail end of the game. However, truth be told, he doesn't really want to help, but since it could result in their world going buh-bye, he kinda doesn't have much of a choice. And even THEN, Rulue doesn't like this guy at all. And neither does most of the community. The dynamic here... if I can call it one, is one of malice and hatred tbh, they don't really respect each other, and will take any opportunity to insult and bring each other down, and then Arle and Lagnus have to pick up the mess. Well, mostly the mess Schezo makes everywhere he goes.

And with that, we gotta mention ooooone other thing before we got into Waku Puyo. SUN. It's a fairly short thing to note but we may as well, since it's a little funny. In Schezo's storyline, they do run into each other when Rulue is sunbathing and Schezo is out to get Satan for his misdeeds. Rulue mentions why he's not into her, and Schezo states that he doesn't really care about that sorta things. This in turn, makes Rulue think he doesn't like women, but rather...something else, much to Schezo's anger and clearing up the misunderstanding. Just a funny little moment in the mainline series.

Waku Puyo :

You're gonna hear this game quite a lot because well...it's what I cover most of the time, really. My bad, bros. As of the time of writing this, I haven't gotten anywhere near Rulue's story (Yeah Arle's story...has been on hiatus for quite some time now, thanks college...) but we do have interactions with them during Schezo's story. And well, it's more or less the same.

Rulue is there to get the prize for being every attraction, Schezo is there to reclaim his lost powers. Once they see each other, it's almost on sight, as they start insulting each other, making Rulue call Minotauros to beat Schezo, and he retreats. This happens I believe two to three times. This is one of those games where they just HATE each other, seemingly, no ounce of respect in sight. Even near the end of the game, Rulue doesn't really pay much mind to the guy UNTIL the park gets blown up, and as such, gets mad at him for ruining her chances of getting magic to beat Arle.

Oh yea Mino too:

However, we CAN talk about what happens when Minotauros is around. In all seriousness, Schezo at the very start doesn't like him as much as he doesn't like Rulue, calling him all sorts of insults throughout his journey. However, late into the game, Schezo feels pity for the guy not because they get along, but because Minotauros is a victim of workplace abuse from Rulue. He still insults Mino, but he does indeed feel bad/pity for the dude. Shame they basically never interact again after this game. And I'd feel bad too if I had to be the worker of Rulue and she treated me like that. OSHA would have a field day with her.

Their dynamic can best be described as “Orders are orders and you’re insulting my boss”, sorta deal. Minotauros is just doing his job, and when Rulue tells him to attack, he attacks. It’s kinda as simple as that.

SEGA Era:

As Mino fades into dust during current times (We'll see him again, hopefully), Rulue and Schezo still very much bicker and argue as much as they used to. Thankfully, with an undertone of respect rather than just seemingly pure spite. As stated prior, they do interact in Rulue's story in 20th Anniversary, and while I think Schezo's isn't anything overly noteworthy, I do want to note Rulue's side of things.

This is where some of the respect comes from, besides 15th Anniversary where Schezo oddly wishes Rulue good luck on her Satan endeavors. Here, Schezo does note that in a world of magic, Rulue can absolutely hold her own with just martial arts, but he too would be scared as hell to deal with her the way Satan does. Sure, she gets livid at the statement, but he was trying to be at least a LITTLE respectful to her.

(Granted, this IS the DS translation and this is as high quality as it'll go [480p], but I just prefer the line so much more than the Wii one. And I just sorta prefer DS 20th compared to Wii 20th. The Wii one says "I, too, would be terrified to meddle with someone like that." btw.)

As we already mentioned PPT, PPT2 had them at least interact a little more in general, as the game actually had solid writing compared to the last two games. While it's not too much, Schezo does point out that Rulue might actually just be being herself for once, and explains off screen what the situation's about, adding on that Satan might know a thing or two (Spoiler: He does), and Rulue is already on board with the idea of getting him. Schezo, not even shocked that the word Satan triggered neurons in her brain, continues to help Arle track down Marle.

And in the side chapters, Schezo laments about training, as he felt like he could've been stronger before this entire ordeal. Rulue shares the sentiment, and they both spar just to get better. Schezo wins this spar because we're playing as him, and Rulue says she can do this all day, no Captain America, but Schezo says there's better things to do now at the moment and dips, leaving her a bit frustrated if anything.

Puzzle Pop sort of has them talking to each other once more, even if it’s because Arle and Schezo tag along in Arle’s story as mentioned prior. However, he also appears in Rulue’s storyline, where long story short, she’s trying to find her beloved Satan, while also somewhat trying to figure out what’s going on. Running into Schezo, she seriously sticks to the bit of loving Satan a lot, while also annoying Schezo to no end, and after asking what he wants in romance, he replies with “Considerable, muscular strength.” when he really means powerful people. He doesn’t care about romance, really. After Rulue says they can’t be compatible, Schezo just asks her for a battle, and loses. Rulue rubs it in, saying that beating him wouldn’t really lead to anything, and runs off, leaving Schezo not only with a loss, but realizing he lost to a girl who’s too into the bit.

What I do like about SEGA compared to Compile is their willingness to actually make advancements to the dynamic these two have. Magical vs Physical is a tale as old as time, and these two have been bickering for quite some time now, but it's honestly great to see that they do in fact get along. Tetris 2 and Puzzle Pop were major steps in the right direction, and it’s a pleasure to see, I like when my characters have more than one gimmick to their interactions. Coming from the guy who goes through Waku Puyo Dungeon a lot, it's very much the opposite there. So seeing them respect each other in THIS day and age? We love to see it.

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Satan:

(You know, this has been an amazing amalgamation of images throughout the series.)

The two biggest haters towards each other, you love to see it. Satan has always been a character I've had mixed feelings on, but never truly hated. I like the guy, so don't get it twisted at all. The mutual hatred between these two can't be understated, I think they've been opps longer than some of us (Myself included) have been alive, it's next level. I think there's been a whole four instances where they worked together.

Let's quickly talk about Satan himself. He's the biggest guyfail in the world to say the very least. He's powerful, probably the strongest character in the series, and always has ways to create things and places just because he can. PuyoPuyo Land, The dimension thing in PPT1, Moving the DAMN SUN, stuff like that he's able to do just because. However, instead of being a textbook evil guy, he just wants the attention of Arle and Carbuncle. And because of that, not only are they always at odds, but so is Schezo.

Both want something from Arle; Schezo wants her power to become stronger (at least back then), Satan wants her to be his fiancé back then, or take Carbuncle, or just doing it for the love of the game, there's several interpretations of it. But there's always one thing in common: They HATE each other.

COMPILE:

No, Waku Puyo won't get its own section.

The Compile stuff isn't exactly as deep as some people want it or make it out to be, sadly. This series was never about being super in depth and whatnot, but we still try anyways because we love the series that much. The beef has been generational, to say the least. Hating someone from the day you met them is a sort of talent I need in my life.

Now, why do they hate each other so much? Amazing question, it's because of Arle. They both want her for something and that goes against each others ideals, and boom, beef. Just add on that Satan is a cheeky bastard and Schezo hates the idea that Satan is a thing, and bam, you have generational hate right there.

Now, lets take Puyo SUN, I've mentioned this funny little game a few times already, more than I ever have in this entire blog alone. Fascinating, innit? Satan enlarges the sun and brings it closer, and while this SHOULD spell the end of humanity because of how gravity and space works, Puyo characters are simply better than that. But they still hate the heat, and I do as well. Lets cut straight to it, Satan gets a bald spot from Schezo.

I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemies. Being bald a gateway to the worst roasts you'll ever hear, next to being short. After the entire journey, this is what he does.

This sorta hatred towards each other is continued onto the other games, lets take Waku Puyo for example. In here, Satan makes his appearance more as a ominous voice, but Schezo doesn't take it seriously at all, straight up saying that the voice has to be one ugly dude if he can't show himself, which Satan takes pretty clear offense to. This sorta activity is basically their entire banter throughout the game, up until when Satan reveals himself and says he has NO idea what the Ultimate Tower (Basically the endgame) is, but in classic Satan fashion of "Yeah I know! It's...uh... well, just know that I know." Something interesting does happen though. Before Schezo enters the tower, Satan wishes him good luck and to not get overconfident, as that'll be his downfall. Schezo, understandably, is very confused about his talk, and mentions if he's gone mad. Satan denies the claim, just saying that he felt like saying that. Even when they hate each others guts, there's a small, VERY small air of respect for the guy.

SEGA Era:

For being two of the most popular male characters in the series, I can only really find a handful of moments where they interact in any meaningful manner. They don't really interact at all in 15th Anniversary or even Puyo 7, they finally talk to each other in 20th. And how does that happen? In both Arle and Schezo's stories (Since they're basically connected), they go after Satan. Why? For Arle, she feels like he's up to no good. For Schezo, he just wants to beat him up. Duality of man.

And well, they sorta do just that, with Schezo's story making him sense Ecolo, much to the blobs surprise. You guys think Schezo can sense energy like Dragon Ball people sense ki. They also interact in the final story, where it's mostly just Schezo not trusting a thing Satan is doing, and isn't having any sort of his nonsense, before telling Arle that he and possibly Ecolo might be up to something. One notable thing I like to mention about the final story in 20th is when Arle fights Satan, he uses her battle theme, but when Schezo steps up to the plate, it goes into Satan's theme instead. It's just a nice little thing to note.

One thing I like about this whole dynamic is how little it changes, besides some very few instances. These two straight up don't like each other much, if at all, and are not afraid to really mention it to each other. Spiteful haters, the lot of them. But damn it, they're really good at it.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 does change it a tiny bit, but nothing super noteworthy. During the whole "Three girls are possessed for some reason" Plotline, Arle once again blames Satan for the whole debacle, and Satan runs away crying. Schezo tells her later on that Satan for ONCE IN THEIR LIVES isn't the main culprit, but rather some unknown entity that they don't know. Arle is more surprised than anything, but at least Schezo knows that Satan isn't always at fault. He just usually is.

And because he’s seemingly always at fault, that’s mostly his story mode in Puzzle Pop. Ecolo just kinda tags along with him because why the hell not, and because Schezo notices that Satan and him are talking and near each other again, they HAVE to be up to no good. Satan is annoyed that nobody believes that he’s the culprit, and fight’s Schezo because of it, and wins because it’s his story.

And after all of that, he then says that he hopes Schezo has a nice time in the Puyo Underworld for a false allegation, which he… is more surprised that he was wrong rather than going to hell. I’m serious when I say Schezo seemingly didn’t even mind the fact that he had the high possibility of literally going to hell, he’s more surprised that he was wrong about his thoughts, since he was right at first, then somehow twisted it into being wrong again. And I just love the fact that he was more surprised at that, it’s actually peak comedy that he cares more about his accusation falling flat than literally anything else. But with the allegations cleared, Satan tells him to move aside, as he’s actually trying to figure out what is even going on, and is NOT the culprit of this entire thing.

I like that in here, while it’s kinda clear they still don’t really like each other, Schezo can actually admit when he’s wrong in something, and Satan can actually argue back against the guy. Most of the time it devolves into insults, and while the banter is still there in classic fashion, I enjoy the mixups.

So what did we gather? These two guys hate each other lol But really, their arguing and mutual dislike for each other is painfully apparent throughout the series, but at the very least, even Schezo has limits of how much he blames Satan for things, such as Puyo Puyo Tetris 1 and 2. Sometimes you can only blame the Prince of the Puyo Underworld so much before it falls flat at least once.

-----

Lagnus Bishasi:

(Come on, it's super fitting. Also Lagnus there is spelt Sungal. lol.)

Ah, Lagnus/Ragnus/Sungal, where do I begin with you? You're such an interesting character; A joke in Puyo, the real deal in Madou Saturn and whatever Kenji Oda was cooking back then with the novels. But alas, we're here to talk about the guy, and how he's a pretty interesting contrast to Schezo. This stuff will mostly just cover COMPILE, since they barely, if ever interact in SEGA Era stuff. And hey, some prefer it that way, others don't.

If we quickly go over Lagnus, he's a traditional hero in every sense of the word, only cranked up to 11 for the sake of comedy. Cares for justice, wants to stop evil, talks about level ups and exp, that entire thing. It's been like that since SUN. He's trying his best. However, if we move over to Madou Saturn for a second, he's still a traditional hero, but in a much more down-to-earth sense. He feels like a legit RPG character for once, and that's because he IS in one. However in every iteration, he's cursed by something to randomly convert into a 10 year old. (He's usually 17.)

Lagnus can easily be seen as the antithesis of Schezo in a plentitude of ways: Their armor, their types of spells, personality, sense of heroicness/justice, interactions with other people, the list does indeed go on for quite a good period of time. But unlike a few of my friends, I am NOT the biggest Lagnus fan in the world, I'm somewhere in the top 20 at least.

They do first interact in SUN, where Lagnus is just the butt of a joke like he's kinda supposed to in Puyo. He tries to attack Schezo, he dodges, Lagnus falls and turns into a kid. Quite simple.

But continuing with the antithesis claim, the series (at least back then) sorta set them up as such, but it's not really TOLD, per-se. It's just a connect-the-dots sorta thing, which is fine. Compared to Schezo's aloofness, Lagnus actually does actually talk to people, least in Madou Saturn, and holds great respect for people like Arle and Rulue during the events of the game. Lagnus is a Light Warrior who's immune to dark spells in his game, compared to Schezo being called the Dark Mage, Schezo cares about himself while Lagnus cares about justice and dishing it out in spades, stuff like that. And compared to Schezo in Saturn, Arle and Rulue actually like to talk to Lagnus compared to the bum Schezo.

And how can we talk about these two without mentioning that during the events of Saturn.

For those unaware, in the start of the game, Lagnus is put into a crystal by I believe Satan just to preserve his damn body, so Lagnus sorta wanders around as a spirit, and notably, possesses Schezo for periods of time. He can't do it all the time because of the darkness that comes with being Schezo, but whenever he's able to, he tries his best to help Arle and crew, and occasionally find clues about things himself. However, Schezo is none the wiser about the stuff Lagnus does, and when Lagnus is eventually kicked out, Schezo has little idea what even happened, 90% of the time being annoyed that he just ends up someplace else.

When Lagnus gets his body back and reverts to a kid due to the little power he has, when lore dumping the entirety of the game to the ARS, Schezo is just straight up annoyed that Lagnus even did the possession things to begin with, and I kinda understand to an extent. But it's clear as day he doesn't like Lagnus, and does resort to insulting him sometimes, but Lagnus actually has a backbone and is able to clap back with his own insults. And yet after everything, Schezo at least understands the danger at hand and FINALLY is willing to help Arle/Rulue/Lagnus out. And then doesn't join the final boss because you're only allowed 3 party members and Lagnus joins instead at full power. Because yeah, it actually DOES make sense. They really are polar opposites.

I'd also take this opportunity to talk about the Waku Puyo Manga, but they don't really interact much there. Lagnus tries to fight Schezo, he stumbles on a rock, gets pressed because dude, not a good idea, and gets insulted. Really, it's that simple.

Lagnus himself actually has a lot of moments in the manga, but it's not exactly pertained to him with Schezo, more inner conflicts and having a bad case of "3 people in 1" Syndrome, and it's interesting. Yeah the manga basically got canceled after he almost wrapped up his own story, but alas. We gotta ball anyways.

Despite being quite literally a joke in any Puyo game ever, it's kinda amazing that the one game that's not Puyo related is actually the one where he gets the most respect because he's in the genre he's actually supposed to be in. They're supposed to kinda be antithesis to one another, but once again, never said, just kinda shown without saying all to much. At least Arle respected both at some point.

-----

Witch:

(Well boys. We are back to where we started.)

Once again, we loop back to this girl who seemingly is the face of my entire blog, how fun. Wonder how boring it gets hearing the same info from me over and over again at times, but alas, we gotta do what we gotta do. (Also they're like 2 of my favorite characters in the series so it's kinda easy to yap.)

Lets talk about Witch. Confident in her skills, rival to a few characters, and a master of making potions that are completely worthless. She can make real ones just fine, but she just finds making them boring. She's one mischievous gal herself, often trying to become a better witch in general, as well as to get better at making potions. Not only that, compared to even most of the cast, she's a pretty hyperactive girl herself, always laughing and just being a bit too silly for our own good. Which makes sense to an extent, she's like 13-15 in most games.

Witch and Schezo's dynamic...really ranges for some reason, which is kinda funny since everyone we've covered has been a protagonist in a large scale game, or is the main (or major) antagonist in said games with Satan's case. Witch...is a side character. She's never really the big boss of anything, or the protag in anything major. I say major because I AM counting things like PuyOlympics and the Comet Summoner, but they're not...y'know. Waku Puyo or Saturn scale in terms of the game. But she's still a protag.

COMPILE:

The first place I want to start at is actually Tower of the Magician. Thank god I'm partially versed in that game due to other Extra Episodes. You can find the big write up here.

At first, Witch legit thought Schezo was an illusion created by her grandmother for the exam, before she realized he was the real deal and had his own motives to be there. In a way, the dynamic shifts to one where they bicker almost like siblings, what with them arguing, but Schezo still solving the puzzles inside of the tower so Witch can go on through just because he's there for HIS reason, and is helping her on accident.

When the game progresses, and Witch is slowly more and more concerned for her grandmother due to story events, Schezo does have the chance to brush her off like he always does, but instead, does try to help her out. He tries to calm her down, and near the final floor, they walk as a duo to make sure everything goes well. And when Witch sees Wish, she bolts, with Schezo being confused if anything.

When the game gets to the end, Wish (her grandma) is possessed by Dark Matter, and a defeated Witch gives Schezo HER magic to help him fight Dark Matter. Schezo takes it, wins against Dark Matter and a possessed Wish, saving her. Interestingly, he gives the magic back and asks if Wish is OK, and Witch says she's fine.

But he's there for HIS motive: To take her energy and become stronger. And he has the perfect chance to, Wish even allows him to if he wanted it that badly. Yet with all that, he doesn't do it because he wants to take it properly, AND because Dark Matter took so much from her to begin with. Fight her at full power, sorta deal. And then never does. (oh yea witch also fails the exam ig)

(He does say "I'm giving back your magic because I don't want to damage my own!!", least that's how I read it, since their types of magic are so different.) But seriously, this game is such an outlier for the dynamic, yet I love it so much. Schezo doesn't exactly care much for Witch herself, and neither does Witch to him, but when the ideals collide, they do team up, at least for a bit. I think the fact that Witch gave Schezo her magic to become stronger means at the very least, desperate times will call for desperate measures, but I love that Schezo gives the magic BACK to her. He had a clear choice to keep it, but because he didn't get it through the means he wants, he just...gives it back. While he does kinda give a BS excuse, it's a nice moment for the two.

...And then we get to every other game.

Where do I even begin with these two? We can start with Puyo SUN at the very least, where the whole thing saying "I want you!" and other innuendos kinda came from. With this, simple misunderstanding, she wants his clothes, nothing too serious about that in the world of Puyo, yeah? I wish I was right but I'm so fucking wrong.

If we fast forward allllll the way to Madou Saturn, she's basically just being herself until Kikimora mentions Schezo without naming him after Arle and Co. save Kiki from Yoggus Smoke. Witch takes an interest in the person she described, and Rulue says to not get her hopes up, since Schezo is a known perv. Yet this only fuels her curiosity. All to say when they finally meet if she can touch him. And I'm trying to save images, but imagine Schezo looking pissed the hell off that someone even said that.

PuyOlympics is the same dance to an extent. To save MORE images and time, just take a gander at the time I actually covered the game. But otherwise: Witch teases Schezo all about his clothing and robe, saying he looks like a perv with it on, so he takes it off to wear the proper uniform. Much to his surprise, Witch goes on about how he looks really nice, before just shouting that he's one handsome fellow, and he runs away while she chases him. Classic behavior.

However, there comes points that are a bit more interesting to note, one of them being from Serilly’s Happy Birthday, a Disc Station game that’s incredibly text heavy. Think about it like Princess Maker, if you will. I actually wrote about this game a while ago if you’re curious about that, even if it’s shorter than most of my stuff I tend to write about. One of the key things to point out is that Schezo is acting funky because of some curse, and saying “I want you” to… 100 girls, and doing so will remove the curse. Yeah, that’s his curse. Quite the horrific one, if I say so myself.

Because of this, Schezo asked her to make a charm to make any girl fall for him to get rid of the stupid thing, but she declines that offer and instead tries to make a potion with Serilly to help fix Schezo. This is mostly the start of Witch’s “Confidant” with Serilly, as her story is mostly about helping the guy out alongside other things that aren’t important to this thing, fun time though.

Witch isn’t all that impressed with Schezo in this one, calling him creepy because of this entire thing and getting upset that he was even saying this stuff to her and Serilly, but really, she’s thankful that he’s going back to normal at least sometime. See? She cares for him, sorta. I like that she even considered doing that, as more often than not, she’d probably just leave him be, but for once she intervened and helped not only Schezo, but also Serilly. It’s a nice sight to see. It’s something that we don’t see her do very often, and because we do see it for once, it’s a breath of fresh air, and even having her get development with Serilly of all people is incredibly interesting.

And now we get into the game that made my entire blog.

Wooo Waku Puyo yeaaaaa:

Even I get a little tired of talking about the same events over and over again and expecting different results, the guy from Far Cry 3 told me so, after all. But honestly just to recap some of the events that go down JUST to save time, energy, and my damn sanity:

We'll start with something I haven't exactly covered much, a small interaction between the two and Incubus inside the area where Kikimora works. Basically, they're there to teach you how to fuse items, and they kinda make it into a duo show of them playing along and just having a good time. While Schezo is confused by it, they do get their point across, it's cute. And here we go again with the stuff I've covered for a while now.

Witch's entire gig is to get this guys clothes. When they first meet, she's the boss of the Horror House, and he's confused about her wanting "It", up to the point of saying he's never really met someone who acts the way she does, up until Witch says it's the clothes, and she'll get them even if she has to rip them.

Nothing happens until the end of the game, where Schezo can check in with almost every character with lines. I will say that the interesting fact is that Witch appears where the major and main characters are, the front of the Ultimate Tower. So that's neat.

In the first situation, Witch says she wants to tag along with Schezo to get the magical item that the tower has, and Schezo declines, since he works solo, usually. But she insists and says she'll do her absolute best, to which Schezo tells her that she doesn't have to try at all, because she's NOT coming.

The second situation has her giggling to herself after Schezo asks her why she's so desperate for the clothing he has, and she just replies that she wants them. That's it. Nothing more to the story. Grindset tbh Schezo says that he has no good women near him at any times, and Witch just sorta laughs it off, saying that he'll take off his robes eventually. He then asks himself (or us depending on how you read the text), if she's more of a pervert than he's made out to be.

And a final interaction was about Schezo getting Witch's Meteor Grimoire, and she spots him with it, but gets to her usual business. Schezo says he's not stripping for the love of the game, and she says roughly: "I want the book but the clothes would also be a nice extra." They trade books, since she for some reason has Schezo's Areiado Grimoire, and bam. There we go.

Worlds scariest teenage year old girl for a white haired man to go through.

SEGA Puyo:

Now that we've basically covered what we've covered a thousand times in the past and probably future, we can discuss things I probably HAVEN'T talked about. These two have a handful of interactions throughout SEGA Puyo, but not as much as Compile did throughout the years. The most notable of the bunch mostly being from Witch's storyline in 20th Anniversary, as well as Puyo Tetris 2. I've covered the Tetris 2 one as a joke but alas.

20th Anniversary doesn't exactly have Schezo interact with Witch, more vise versa than anything. She's trying to make a potion, a one her grandmother made once (Wish canon bros truuuuust), and one of the ingredients she needs is a bit of hair from... well, lets just say Schezo of all people. After mostly taunting and having their classic back and fourth bickering from the classic duo of IDIOTS, a Puyo battle emerges and Witch wins, while also quickly taking a bit of his hair to boot. Curiously, I believe this is the only ingredient that doesn't have to be swapped out.

And Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 has mostly her being possessed by Marle and reawakening the Ghost of Compile Past, where now she's the one doing the crazy ass innuendos, as well as wanting to have "Fun" for basically eternally. Not only does Schezo show legit concern for her as well as clear up a misunderstanding for Arle, they do in fact save her and make sure that she's alright, and lines her story up with others who had a similar fate.

However, we do see what happened beforehand, and how it all went down. What with Witch helping Marle, and then her feeling some sort of restlessness after the fact. After seeing Schezo, he notes that he saw some sorta girl and she challenged her to a battle, and basically no diffed her. The word "Battle" runs through her mind like a simulation, and she asks Schezo for battle out of the blue.

After winning, she basically wants more battling, and doesn't want to leave Schezo alone now because she wants to keep battling him and having fun. Queue the whole "If you're not coming to me, I'll just come to you" line and a whole lot of "Thank God I have my headphones on right now..."

(Getting footage and rehearing this stuff is...quite the ride.) Oh, and during what's basically the filler arc of PPT2, the whole pageant thing goes down, shoutout to Maguro for making it fun and also keeping the situation under control Witch's nominates Schezo for the "Most Handsome" side of things, citing that his name means "The Gorgeous Adonis that Defies the Gods." HOW IN THE WORLD she knew that is anyone's guess, but it was funny nevertheless.

She even appears in Schezo’s story in Puzzle Pop as the first opponent he faces. Schezo is pretty much talking to himself about Meena and her powers, and realizes that if someone takes her powers, he’ll be much stronger than ever before. But before he can reach that thought, he’s stopped by Witch, who simply greets him, and he already sounds tired of her. When asking her about what’s going on and about Meena, Witch at first brushes it off, saying that even if this situation is as odd as it is, she’s still going to enjoy every minute of it.

However, she’s not all jokes and laughs, as she does mention that her spellbook does mention something about The Dream Guide (Meena), and when Schezo asks for more details, she holds the info hostage for a Puyo battle that she loses. According to her GRANDMOTHER (Wish is real and IN the house), The Dream Guide has the ability to see into someone’s heart and also their desires…and that’s all she mostly wrote. However, Witch suggests to try and find more old books about the topic, which Schezo thinks is a good idea…and runs into Klug for that. We’ll get there when we get there.

What is all jokes and laughs is her side story. It’s her being the world's worst seller of the worlds most “Wait these actually sound nice” potions that always goes wrong, and Schezo was the last of the buyers. He instantly shuts down the idea of him getting a potion from her, as she’s nothing but trouble and mischief, but suddenly changes his tone when Witch mentions an Anti-Misunderstanding potion that he takes. I mean it works, but Schezo is now meowing, and is pretty mad at Witch. After she wins and he returns to normal, she tries to sell another potion, but Schezo swings his sword, furious with her as she runs away, and HE chases HER instead. Oh, Compile Witch, you WISH that was you.

So what do these things mean? Well, while there's nothing of particular note for the 20th Anniversary thing that we haven't covered already, I do like that in the modern games, Schezo actually doesn't mind Witch's company all too much, and shows direct concern for her over getting possessed by Marle, and even though they still bicker...a lot, there's still that underlying amount of respect, concern, and overall bullying that we like to see from these two. I do find it kinda funny that in PPT2, it just feels like Compile but much better at times, and I absolutely love that. Teaser gets teased, vice versa happens, it’s peak comedy. And nowadays, I kinda enjoy that Schezo just sorta sees her as a “Week. RUINED.” sort of gal. While she can easily provide pretty nice info to help him, take Puzzle Pop for example. She also really likes to annoy him to death, such as 20th Anni and kinda sorta Puyo Tetris 2. And it’s still amazing, to be honest.

-----

Draco Centauros:

(Ignore that the name is Doraco. Old works be like that, thanks Disc Station.)

With a character that has a lot of work for them because they're always near the damn dude, we now have... someone who's kinda the opposite of that. Despite being in the same series and knowing each other (kinda sorta) for years at this point, we don't actually have many interactions with these two goofballs. Which to me, is kinda surprising, I thought there would be more than I thought. It's kinda unfortunate, but Draco just happens to be the unfortunate one.

Let me put this in simple terms by explaining her character. Draco is an idiot. A very big idiot. Ok but really, she's not the wisest person out there, oftentimes just being whimsical and carefree. Or just trying to find beauty pageants to go to because why not. She's not exactly a slouch when it comes to terms of combat itself, but we all know her infamous AI at this point and how she can't rotate. Fun, huh? Despite that, Draco usually means well. She's not exactly a jerk to anyone, she's just being herself and being the best she can be. Which lets be real, that's the best we can ask her to do. I'm very proud of her.

Truth be told, there's not much to cover with Draco besides three things. Which is sorta unfortunate, for how much these two have been in the same game together, they never really talk to each other… ever. For example: Madou Saturn doesn’t really have them interacting with each other at all, she talks to Jan of all characters more than Schezo, because they DON’T talk to each other. 

Waku Puyo:

Yes, I get to mention this game for the 1000th time. Shame on me for choosing this game as the game of my choice to comb over with a fine brush. Draco herself appears as a boss in the game, being one of the few bosses that we actually see throughout most of the series, which is very nice. Schezo needs tickets to get into Fire Mountain, the place where she "Works", and halts him from progressing any further. Schezo says that he does in fact have the tickets without really showing her, and she just...believes it. Yeah, I'm serious.

Then after that, she's the boss for the dungeon. Draco mentions how she's surprised Schezo got that far, and if he's ready for "It". This in turn surprises Schezo, since he never really hears this stuff and asks her what she means, only to hear her say "Well, a battle!", to Schezo's surprise... again. He calls himself stupid for thinking it was anything BUT that. Schezo can run into her again after beating the dungeon, and she's training for the next person who comes over, as well as Schezo if he ever comes back, which surprises Schezo, as he at least semi-respects the fact that she trains. Also, fun fact. She can drag Schezo into training because of side quests inside of the game itself. Fun little thing.

Like everyone so far in Waku Puyo, you can meet her in Endgame as well, mostly just more casual banter between the two. Schezo runs into her, and notes that he's always so moody and gloomy, and that he should have more pep in his step to woo women. Schezo says he doesn't care about that, and Draco assumes that he likes guys, which he adamantly denies. She then says he's "Girl-conscious", like an incubus would, confusing the hell out of Schezo, as he wonders what cruel things he did to be called one.

And with their final talk, Draco asks why Schezo returned, and wonders if it was because of her, which Schezo bluntly says no to. This hurts The Gao's feeling, and tells him straight up that he does have a pretty face and is popular with girls, but doesn't understand girls at all. All Schezo understood was that he's popular, confusing and shocking him.

Draco's an idiot, yes, she's a kindhearted idiot. Here, Schezo doesn't actually mind her much, mostly keeping it neutral with her, as well as just accepting that she's kinda stupid. Not only that, Draco's willing to ask Schezo silly questions just because she wants to, and does in fact feel like he COULD be a better person and would woo people... if he just wasn't an asshole to people at times. They don't even interact in Saturn.

SEGAAAAAAAA... Man... :

As we approach the SEGA Era stuff of things again, we run into a major problem. Draco and Schezo interact twice, and it's such a nothingburger for the most part. Here, the dynamic they have changes quite a lot, to the point where it's not Schezo just thinking she's stupid but doesn't mind her that much, he just straight up doesn't like Draco at this point.

A prime example is in Puyo 20th Anniversary in Draco’s story. Her story is all about trying to find some sorta clothing that’ll make her even prettier, and ruining everyone’s days in the meantime and making them incredibly mad at her. Schezo is one of those characters that gets their day ruined by… Ruining his supply of running water that he’s had for apparently a while, years even, and battles Draco over said water supply getting ruined.

After he loses, Draco somehow slips on the water and falls out of the cave, into a flower field. I can’t even make this up. It’s pure comedy and I’ll be there no matter what, but a real interaction wouldn’t hurt that much. I love these two, and I do want to see what else they can do together.

Even in Puyo Chronicles, yes, the game I've barely mentioned throughout this write up, has that as the dynamic. He doesn't like her, and she just doesn't mind much, if at all. It’s genuinely really unfortunate that it stays the exact same as it was in 20th Anniversary, though you can partially blame the writing of the game itself. It had a rough cycle, apparently there was no real writing director, so it was apparently pretty difficult to even make something happen. The games development as a whole seemed sorta rough, but we really dunno much about it as a whole, unfortunately. And the two don’t even interact in Puzzle Pop, which is kinda depressing. But at least they had some interactions.

Yeah...that's about it for SEGA stuff. Personally, I prefer what they were going for in Waku Puyo, mostly because there was actually a bit of stuff going on between the two rather than just Schezo hating the girl more than she usually does. It's... interesting, I guess, but sadly there's not a lot to cover between these two. Maybe in Quest, they talk more, but that’s a whole other can that’ll take forever to open.

-----

Serilly:

(I HAVE AN EXCUSE TO USE THESE)

If you told me about 3 years ago that these two even spoke in a legitimate manner, I wouldn't believe you at all, there's no way that they do...right? Well, she's here for a reason, and that reason is Waku Puyo, where a lot of interesting things happens between the two. And frankly, I'm for it, Serilly needs more people to talk to. Ironically, this is really the ONLY game they speak in, which is very...interesting.

So, what goes on in the game? And well, the manga too but it's a retelling of the event I'll be mentioning with some extra details here and there. Still will covering it though.

Serilly herself is quite the sad, pathetic creature, but I love her to bits anyways. Shy and afraid of almost anything, she's quite the crybaby and oftentimes avoid people because of a rumor going around that eating people like her can grant stuff like immortality and whatnot. So she has a REASON to basically be a soaking wet cat who cannot fight back. However, when she does make a friend or two, she's usually just happy that they don't really hate her or don't mind her company for the most part.

At least in the game, Schezo runs into her before entering Water Paradise, the dungeon she's the boss of. It's mostly just banter with Suketoudara, but they leave, with Schezo being mostly unamused.

When he gets to the final floor, they... don't even fight. Well, inn Schezo's story at least, she's the main boss of the place and you do fight her in Arle and Rulue's routes.

Instead, she seemingly thinks Schezo's there to bully her, and that he's put in quite a lot of effort into doing so, AKA going through the tower. Schezo, however, says that if she doesn't want to fight or stand in his way, why would he call her an enemy? Yet Serilly takes this as him wanting to be her friend, which he says no to at first, leaving her confused as to what he wants. The player is then given an option to be her friend or not.

It actually doesn't matter what you even say in this situation, there'll be slight differences in a few text boxes but the general thing stays the exact same.

Serilly continues to be hard on herself, to the point of crying a lot about it. Schezo, mostly annoyed that she's doing that, tells her to stop being so damn hard on herself for little reason. He mentions that there's two paths in life she can take: The one she's currently on, where she'll accomplish nothing besides moping around and being upset, or follow a path he's on, where despite many problems and adversities, he can still move on with his head high.

This surprises Serilly quite a good bit, and yet Schezo still continues with one more thing; If she can try to follow the path he's taking, he'll actually try to be her friend. Or well, at least he SAYS that, if he believes it is another ordeal...kinda. But Serilly agrees to it completely for the chance of a new friend, and thanks him.

For a character that hasn't spoken much, if at all to Schezo until this, it's a lot. Schezo somewhat being willing to be friends with someone to help her be a better person isn't something we saw, if ever saw, in the games. He even admits that she's not really an enemy or threat. Meanwhile, Serilly is going through her own moment of having someone not hate her, which is nice.

Now, like with a couple of characters (I think almost all) I've mentioned, the end of the game has some moments that I'd like to cover. Schezo runs back into Serilly, and she's really happy to see him again, asking if he's here for her, which he gets flustered with. Realizing the situation, and well... his rep, he asks if Serilly is afraid of him still, and she promptly says no, as they're friends. On the other hand, Schezo is having an internal crisis, wondering how much he's changed as a person since losing his powers at the start of the game.

Now, like with a couple of characters (I think almost all) I've mentioned, the end of the game has some moments that I'd like to cover. Schezo runs back into Serilly, and she's really happy to see him again, asking if he's here for her, which he gets flustered with. Realizing the situation, and well... his rep, he asks if Serilly is afraid of him still, and she promptly says no, as they're friends. On the other hand, Schezo is having an internal crisis, wondering how much he's changed as a person since losing his powers at the start of the game.

(He's basically saying "I've... changed since I lost my powers... Do I have to get even stronger to regain the me I've lost?" It looks odd because of my god awful editing skills, as well as Serilly hitting us with a "...?" as well.)

Serilly, understandably confused by the situation, tells him the advice he told her, and says that maybe he's thinking backwards, and that's not the Schezo she knows. This kinda surprises him, and she apologizes foe sounding harsh, yet Schezo admits that she's right, and thanks her.

And in their final talk, Serilly goes to Schezo to mention that he seems more distant than usual, like the person she knew is going away slowly as she begins to cry. Schezo reaffirms her, saying that he's right here, and that he won't be vanishing anytime soon, and tells her to stop crying, as it'll get her nowhere. A realization hits him, basically saying that he of all people, telling a girl to not cry? Something HAS truly changed about him.

That moment is why I love this game so much. The series before always shown Schezo to be kinda aloof, not really caring much about what others think of him, and saying what he wants to say. Yet here he is, concerned over a girl's emotions, and telling her to stop crying not from annoyance, but almost as a friend, and that shakes him to his core. Not only that, but him seemingly having a minor crisis about himself and Serilly being the one to get him to stop thinking about it, that's something we never see again. And Schezo doesn't go all tsundere either and say that he didn't need the help, no, he just straight up thanks her for everything.

Manga:

The Waku Puyo manga covers the same beats as the game, but is still different enough to talk about. Here, Serilly was brought to being the “boss” of the area mostly because she assumed Satan was her friend, and she was willing to do what a friend wanted her to do because… let's be real, she doesn't really have friends. And the scary part is, she was ready to stay there for as long as it took for Satan to do his stuff because she was under the assumption that they were friends. At least, that’s the background before she meets Schezo and Honey Bee.

Obviously, Schezo’s here to get the orb and Serilly is defending it, but even he can tell she’s not really hostile. Honey Bee thinks otherwise, and both ask for the blue orb, and with weapons in hand, they do ask her for her, but she gets terrified for obvious reasons. Bee tries to threaten her, and Schezo smacks Bee aside as well as giving her his sword to not scare off Serilly, and it works somehow, though of course, it doesn’t work COMPLETELY.

It’s here that Serilly mentions that Satan made her do this because they’re friends and everything I said above, but Schezo is calling her out on Satan not being a friend, because he believes friends shouldn’t do that at all. He thinks Satan is a fake friend, telling her to do this because of course he can. Serilly does mention that Satan is her only real friend (Ignoring the Suketoudara in the room), and genuinely feels hopeless that she’ll never have friends. 

That’s when Schezo does his thing of telling Serilly what a friend really is, and even Bee is agreeing with him, seemingly being as serious as she can be for once in her life. This leads to Serilly wondering if they want to be friends, which Schezo embarrassingly agrees to. Suketoudara walks in, sees this hooliganry, and that brings the page of Schezo saving Serilly after she saves him from getting drowned, doing the cliche look away when they see each other and Schezo carrying her like a princess, all that good stuff, and even gives Schezo the key to the blue orb because… well, he did a lot. The final scene has Serilly ask if Schezo will ever visit her again, to which he replies that he’ll think about it when what he’s doing is all done.

I like the manga. If you want more panels, look at when I covered this for the first time, if you want. What I love so much about their dynamic is how different it is compared to what we’re used to from Schezo himself. We’ve always seen him as an aloof guy who cares mostly about himself, and himself only, and Serilly in a way directly clashes with that ideology because she struggles so hard to even care about herself. She’s always worried about what might happen to her, how she might be unable to make real friends, list goes on. And in a moment of need for Serilly, Schezo is willing to lay down his often cold demeanor and even admit that she’s not really an enemy if she doesn’t want to fight him, and talk some genuine sense into her. And the best part, it actually WORKS. Serilly slowly but surely becomes more and more confident in herself, and when they meet again, the roles are swapped.

Now SCHEZO is the one having the doubts about himself (considering how much he’s changed throughout the story), and when talking to Serilly about him always going to be there for her, he realizes that he’s changed, and wonders if he’ll ever become the person he once was again. And with the info he gave Serilly, she spits it back in her own way, which hits Schezo pretty hard, and realizes that moping around and being concerned about who he is was never his style. It’s genuinely amazing, and I’d say it’s one of the best we’ve seen from the guy. It helps that he’s also genuine with Serilly, something we don’t always see from the guy.

And after that entire thing and how peak Waku Puyo writing can really be, we spiral back into Serilly's Happy Birthday, I noted in Witch's section that they do in fact interact, if only because Schezo is cursed. Here, Serilly is genuinely scared of the guy because in this version, they dunno each other and he's just randomly hitting on her, while Serilly herself is clueless to the entire curse thing until Witch steps in to help her. With these things, I do want to mention that they could've gone this route because it's Schezo, of course they'd go the comedic route. BUT THEY DIDN'T, THANK GOD.

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The Kikimoras:

(I wonder who really cared about these two for the longest time. But hey, now I'm one of those... I dunno, ten Kikimora fans globally.)

And now we've reached the section that surprises me the most. The Kikimoras weren't ever really on my radar for such a long time before I even got into Waku Puyo, I used to think Black Kikimora was just a really bad card in Quest and nothing more until I began to look into this game. I combined their pages since not only does it save me time, but they both only have Waku Puyo to really talk about. Oh, and because they're both Kikimora's. That too... they had their own game, fun fact. I did a write up a looong time ago... It's not good nowadays but hey, it was a start.

The Kikimora's are characters... people don't really think about much. And I don't blame them, they're usually people that people look once at and leave it as such, a relic of old times. Her personality revolved around cleaning, whole lot of cleaning, and hating dirtiness and whatnot. Black Kikimora (Who I'll refer to as Biki) is supposed to be the antithesis of her, who makes things more or less dirty for the love of the game. One thing is for sure, Kikimora is stupid strong... and hates being called old. However in Waku Puyo (and Saturn for Kikimora), they have more personality then ever before, mostly Kiki. The original Kikimora is much more supportive, acting more or less as a guide for people, helping out whenever she can, which oftentimes isn't a lot. She's much more outgoing than Biki, who's much more reserved until provoked or insulted, where she starts yelling and insults people. However, if anything, Kikimora can be emotional as well... which I'll get into.

Waku Puyo: Kikimora

This is really the only game worth mentioning for the two being together, since Saturn is just her mentioning what Schezo looked like and telling Arle and crew where he went. Nothing more to it.

A majority of the talks between the two...or three really, comes from the Information Booth and the Horror House, since Biki is mostly there as a midboss. We'll start with Kikimora, since she has much more.

As stated earlier, Schezo runs into her in the Information Booth, a place that basically serves as the way to... well, get info about the game, it's mechanics, etc, as well as side quests and random character interactions that are a little charming. Schezo at the start asks Kikimora all sort of questions about PuyoPuyo Land, and while she tries her best to answer the questions, she notes that she can only do so much as a mere usher of the place, and apologizes for the fact that she's unable to answer everything. This in turn makes Schezo call her useless, which greatly... hurts her, as she legit feels upset that she wasn't able to help, and apologizes. Schezo then retracts his statement, saying he was talking about something else, and to chin up, as she forgives him. Schezo though, wonders why he's even apologizing, as he thinks he's in the right.

Throughout the course of the game, Schezo slowly but surely warms up to Kikimora as a person, though he's still harsh at the start. However, Kiki still comes to him for help, such as dealing with Succubus and her nonsensical fliers, and starts to cry as she's unable to answer Schezo's question of "You're the Usher. Shouldn't YOU know this stuff?" He tells her to stop crying at least, and that he'll help, but he does in fact want to see Succubus. As he does and beats her up, she's thankful Schezo took care of the issue, and gives him tickets while leaving. On the other side, Schezo doesn't recall doing something to help Kiki to warrant a thanks.

As the game progresses, they warm up to each other, even shooting a joke here and there, as well as Kikimora congratulating Schezo on specific occasions. Sure, she tells the info to others because that's her job, but she still at least doesn't mind Schezo's harshness and is very, very nice to him, and even he can give the feelings back. While it may be professional, at least they're on semi-good terms. Kiki is just somehow to make Schezo treat her with just a biiiit more respect than he usually does with everyone else. Kudos to her.

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Waku Puyo: Black Kikimora

As we reach the other side of the Kikimoras, we get very different interactions compared to what we just talked about not even a paragraph ago. As stated prior, Biki is much more reserved than Kiki, never really initiating a convo, and if she's ever IN a convo, she tries to keep it brief, or speak just stays quiet until she gets prompted to talk. Of course, she's not always like that, she can talk properly just fine, but she prefers not to. However, compared to Kikimora, Biki is a lot more short tempered, and oddly has great hearing for absolutely no reason. When she hears someone insult them, she WILL yell back at them, shocking them to their core at times, notably Schezo.

Schezo and Biki can run into each other while doing tutorial stuff for the game itself. Here, Biki is shown as a willingly reserved person, but when its time to help Schezo, she barely does, shrugs it off, and leaves him to learn by himself. And when Schezo barely makes it out of there, she's somewhat surprised, but admits the tutorial for that is done and leaves it at that. Schezo, annoyed, decides to insult how she looks under his breath, saying she's kinda ugly compared to others, and in turn, gets smacked pretty hard with a broom as she yells right back at him, shocking Schezo that she even heard that.

Their next interactions aren't exactly the most dissectible or noteworthy, but it's the Kiki's, they need anything they could get from this. When Schezo tries to enter the Horror House, Biki could be there, just kinda looking around for no real reason, and as Schezo asks if he can, she doesn't really pay him any mind, and says that yeah, he could enter if he really wants. She doesn't care about this man at all. And finally, at the end of the game before the Ultimate Tower, they can have two talks with each other. One is Schezo being confused about Biki's... everything, and once again insulting her under his breath, to the same results. Apparently she has a nickname because of her good hearing, but I kinda sorta dunno what to call it. Back then it was "Hells Ears" but honestly, maybe she's just good at hearing. And then the final talk they have is... less of a talk and more of a "Who talks first" contest, which Schezo wins and Biki gets mad at. It's such a trivial thing, but I like that even Biki can have a small bit of fun despite the fact that she's mostly quiet until provoked.

While it's not exactly a lot compared to the others, I'm glad that they even get some sorta dynamic with Schezo. What with his aloofness and attitude problems clashing with their professionalism and Biki's temper problem, it's just a breath of fresh air because we never see these two really interact again. Though that's because we never really see much Kikimora related stuff after these games.

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Suketoudara:

(I think this might be the one time I'll like...properly talk about him.)

This is the one section I was kinda dreading as the months went by, not because I think this section was going to be tough to write... more because I'm just not exactly the biggest fan of Suketoudara myself, he's always just been a whatever character to me. Sorry Suke fans, I'll be trying to make this a bit more brief than most.

Lets begin with Suke's character, as we do with everyone else on this list. He's usually a carefree sort of person, mostly doing his own thing while everything else is going on. Once a side character, always a side character, I suppose. Though the main thing about Suke that we all know besides the way he plays Puyo... is his love for dancing. The guy loves to dance, and is very confident about it, and gets pretty upset when someone insults his form of dance... Schezo and Arle being the most vocal about it, at the very least. However, an aspect I'll touch on is his crush on Serilly, which is never really felt back. Trust me, it'll be important later.

COMPILE:

Despite the fact that these two have been in the same games for years on end at this point, they don't exactly have many, if any meaningful interactions. It's probably because there wasn't too many times we could even play as Schezo, or COMPILE always doing some crazy shit, but who knows?

The main one I'll be covering is Waku Puyo, because Schezo actually talks about the guy and we can make a Waku Puyo manga thing as well alongside it. It's not that much but it's something. Similar to Serilly, he's met at Water Paradise, where he serves mostly as a midboss than anything, but Schezo does in fact see him talking to Serilly beforehand, mostly trying to make her feel happier about herself, as Schezo questions what the hells going on and realizes he's allowed to enter the place. (Side note: I've called these places all sorts of names; Dungeons, Labyrinths, Palaces, Zones... I know they're called Dungeons but still)

The talk these two have is much more simple than almost anything I've covered so far. Suketoudara is dancing, and Schezo calls it stupid and pretty distracting. Suke asks Schezo to tell that again THREE MORE TIMES as he does so, until he's fed up and says "Alright can we just fight now!?" and then threatens to turn him into food. That's kinda it. The manga kinda goes into deeper detail, adding that Serilly isn't exactly known for being a dangerous person... or even a threat, so he tells Schezo that after defeat.

They do run into each other again near the end of the game, like almost every other character. It's once again Suke dancing and wanting to teach Schezo HOW to dance... but he just finds him annoying and leaves. And the second interaction, Suke gets mad at Schezo for knowing where Serilly is but not telling him, getting Suke mad and storms off to find her... leaving Schezo to ask what the hell did he do.

Here, it's just simple how much Schezo does not care for this guy at all. As Suke is more hyperactive than most and talks a whole lot more ALONGSIDE the dancing, Schezo just finds him... annoying at best. I don't think there's a single person who even respects Suke besides Serilly. It doesn't help that (At least in the manga), Serilly seems to like Schezo more. Quite comedic.

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SEGAAAAAAAA:

Ah, the beauty of SEGA right now is that they only talk like... once ever. And that's in 15th Anniversary, where now it's Schezo being the joke as he always has been. Not so fun when you're on the other side, huh? But yes, in 15th Anniversary, they do meet in Suke's story, and Suke is honestly quite surprised that Schezo's even here, but at least he recognizes someone. Suke actually teases Schezo at his inability to dance compared to him, and Schezo says he can dance, and will prove it with a Puyo battle... and that's it. No, seriously... that's like everything noteworthy. I genuinely wish I was kidding but there's really nothing else.

What I appreciate is that Suketoudara at least maintains his air of carefreeness about the entire situation. Sure, he may be in a different world, but he's going to at least have a good time here before anything else. And I guess bullying Schezo is something anyone can do, even the fish.

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Honey Bee:

(...Why is she plot relevant in the manga...)

As we begin to border near the more niche characters of COMPILE, we reach Honey Bee, a character I'm 95% certain nobody would give a damn about if it wasn't for the manga. And because of that, we'll cover her... little personality that we can go off of, and then explain the manga because that's the only time she's ever been relevant in her almost 25+ years of being in this series. Nobody is saying that she's their favorite character in the series unironically. This is also the section where documenting gets shorter and shorter because there's less and less to talk about. Sad, IK.

Honey Bee... is a character, alright. She's not the sharpest tool in the shed despite her two stingers, and uh... I'll be real there's like nothing to talk about with her.

I apologize to all Honey Bee fans, she could very much be your GOAT, the one you cheer for whenever she appears, have her cards in Quest, all that. I like her a lot, but there's not much to go with. She likes to sting people and watches samurai movies. That's basically her character. At least until we get into the manga.

While we have to admit it's not really canon and whatnot, it's really fun to talk about, and also gives some extra stuff to characters, notably Incubus, Lagnus, and the woman of this section... Honey Bee.

Schezo runs into her when he's trying to get some orb at a different dungeon compared to Arle and Rulue, and runs into... well, Honey Bee. At first, they straight up hate each other, before Honey Bee decides that he's actually quite pretty up close, and...tags along with him for the rest of the time. I don't really agree with her, but when the guy's etymology for his name literally says he's pretty, then I guess you can go ahead.

Truth be told, while she's there quite often, she doesn't exactly amount to that much at the end of the day. She's mostly comic relief for Schezo, who kinda needs it because he was supposed to go on a solo journey, and she also really doesn't like when girls (or incubus) talk to him. She's delusional enough to think they're in a relationship, so that's fun. This is more often shown when she's talking to Serilly, where Schezo has to knock her out several times just to talk to Serilly and calm her down, but she does comply with such things, such as taking Schezo's sword at his command to make Serilly ease up. So she's not all that worthless. She even tries to help Schezo bandage up a wound... to no success.

She does in fact do something when Schezo gets possessed by Incubus' magic, and tries to get help... but the manga never finishes up because it only had three volumes. Sad, but what can we really do about it? She REALLY hates Incubus though, since he's always up in her business. Speaking of Incubus...

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Incubus (And Succubus too):

(You know, I was planning on using the WWPPD manga pages, but realized that I probably shouldn't risk Succubus' pages because I don't think it'd be... right. I'll put it on the Google Doc version.)

Ah, these two, those low level personas you get just because they're low leveled, but they help with the first boss so you can't hate on them too much. I'm not exactly a huge fan of either, but I can understand the appeal at the very least. I've just never been apart of it. This would be the case if this was Persona, but it's not.

Now to explain these two characters can be pretty simple compared to most I've covered already. There's a lot more than say... I dunno, Honey Bee, or The Kikimoras, but it'll pale compared to anyone who's really worthwhile in this long ass post. I wish I could get paid for this, but what can we do? Incubus and Succubus, as their name implies, are... an incubus and and succubus, people who allure others with their charm, only to (usually) take something from them, their stuff, their life, their soul, whatever the writers feel like doing in that set moment. However, since we really can't have that in Puyo, they're much more comedic compared to what I just mentioned. Incubus just wants to impress women with his charm (failing to do so many times).

Succubus wants to charm men, though we only really see this with Schezo and on an off-chance, Arle. They're still not really good people, but you can only do so much with such characters in such a series. You can only go so far, too.

Incubus:

To begin I feel like we should talk about the Tenori Zoh in the room: Tower of the Magician. Glad to bring up this game again, if only briefly. Incubus appears and is attempting to flirt with Witch and to give her Tenori Zoh as a gift to be with him, something that she's not on board with. Schezo comes by and Incubus takes it as Schezo trying HIS luck to do something, when he's just trying to scale the dang tower, and fights him over Witch. He loses and runs away, and for the spoils of his victory, Schezo claims Tenori Zoh for himself, which he seems quite proud of and also fond of. Here, Incubus doesn't really serve much of a purpose other than to be another Jobber for Schezo to beat, but he's trying his best.

For Waku Puyo, the extent of how much Incubus and Schezo interact mostly varies... on if you're reading a manga or if you decide to play the game. God, good luck with that. But really, both Waku Puyo in the manga and the games are vastly different, as Incubus can range from a guy Schezo can fight and talk to just because why not, or a major villain inside of the manga because we really needed all that Incubus stuff, totally. Same with Honey Bee.

Incubus in the game version of Waku Puyo isn't anything too special on his own, but he does do something neat with Witch. Synthesizing, or Fusion as I like to call it, is a pretty big element of the game, and it's really good for getting better gear for later on during the game. Incubus and Witch do in fact talk to Schezo (and I believe Arle and Rulue in their own routes) about said mechanic, and helps elaborate on it much more. They're basically a walking tutorial for the guy, but the main difference is how they act towards Schezo. In it, they put on a much more theatrical role... just because, and it makes Schezo wonder why they're even doing it. But it's helpful nevertheless.

The other interaction they can have is inside dungeons as a boss, however it's nothing all that special, as it's just Incubus being mad that Schezo is there for the orbs that are needed to get through the game, and Schezo wants them, so they fight. It's really boring. The REAL fun begins is during the Waku Puyo manga, where he's a pretty big antagonist for Schezo, constantly trying to "seduce" him (in reality, mind control the guy and take everything from him), and Schezo just fighting back and saying no every time because he doesn't really swing that way. However, the possession finally works, we see Schezo terrorize some people, Bee goes to get help... and then the manga never got finished. Here, Schezo hates him, like everything else on this planet. But I think it's one of the few times he and Bee can come to the agreement that this person is not only ANNOYING, but also sucks to be around. And hey, he's doing his job but that doesn't mean I can't hate him, because I DO hate him in this manga, and probably in general. But that's neither here or there.

Through every interaction in Waku Puyo, one thing is clear, least for the games. They hate each other. Like they really do not like each other at all. Not only because Schezo is a man, but Incubus is just a really petty person in general. He was also searching for the orbs, and Schezo has a majority of them, so Incubus just plans to hog one just because. You can’t really hate that hard on a man who’s willing to hate that much. In the manga… I mean he’s pretty calculating, but man, did Incubus really need that many pages for himself?

Succubus:

Succubus on the other hand... I still don't like much, but only a bit better than Incubus. She goes after Schezo more often than not in media that we've seen mostly because he's the main playable guy most of the time, and there's also the fact that her job is to literally seduce men. Y'know, that sorta stuff.

I think one of her most well known versions of her is the way she is in Madou Saturn, which I can't really say much for Incubus in terms of interactions with Schezo. Schezo, possessed by Lagnus during this time, is is getting whipped by Succubus for the usual, becoming a servant for her as she kidnapped the males in a village for said thing (and also because of a friendly competition with Incubus.), before Lagnus has to let go of the body, awakening Schezo. Man is in PAIN, screaming that this stuff hurts like hell, while Arle and Rulue wonder why Schezo went from somewhat heroic to a screaming baby. I also just want to add Harpy was brought along for this ride forcibly by Rulue. One of the few times I'll feel bad for her. But alas, because of Arle and crew's save, she fights them and tells them about Incubus as well. There's not exactly much to say but it's for sure something.

Waku Puyo on the other hand is much more comedic than anything. During Schezo's route, she puts up fliers about her services all across the amusement park because... well, how else is she going to do her job? Kikimora tells Schezo and he goes off to the races because he wants to meet Succubus, you can take a guess as to why. (Schezo never really thinks THAT ahead in this game to be fair). Meeting up with her, Succubus wonders if he's there to become her servant, which Schezo just kinda says no to because he doesn't serve anyone but himself, and she gets pretty upset at that since to her, he's a handsome man, she should have said handsome man because it's her moral right. Schezo isn't one to fight about who deserves what, because he deserves his magic to be back after getting stolen, and as such, he doesn't care.

They can run into each other again at the Battle Tower, where Succubus decides that she's not going to sell her business in a random amusement park, but to be an usher for the tower... I mean a career choice is always alright. Here, there's not much to discuss as she's more-or-less the blurb you're required to read to understand the Battle Tower, but she does ask why Schezo wanted to meet her again, to which he says that he's not here for her, he promises that much. Succubus then laughs and says he's easy to tease, which is true. He is the second most bullyable man in the series next to Satan for the cast.

It's sorta what you expect from a Succubus, them trying to seduce men and getting mad when the men resist. And Schezo apparently is really good at resisting them, but she can still find room to just troll the guy at least a little bit. Man, ANYONE can bully this guy.

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Skeleton-T:

(Once the coolest dude ever, forever the coolest dude ever.)

Skeleton-T, oh this goofy guy. He's been with us since the very start at this point, and has sadly faded away into someone that not as many people remember, despite the fact that he's a pretty funny skeleton. We had two skeletons take over Tumblr a few years back, so it isn't anything that special, though. But Skeleton-T really is a real one. I personally really like the guy despite the fairly minimal roles he's usually played throughout the series.

How do I explain THIS funny skeleton, I hear you ask. I'm glad the voices that don't exist have asked such a question, and I'll be very happy to answer... Skeleton-T is just a really chill skeleton who likes tea. He offers it to people often, and gets mad when they say no to it, which plays a key role in uh... every single thing he does ever. Other than that, he's pretty chill, even if he gets a grand total of one customer a day. And I like that about him. So what does he even do relating to Schezo? ...It's Waku Puyo, what'd you expect? Something NEW? If only.

Skeleton-T and Schezo... I mean Schezo doesn't actually hate the guy, really. He can find him annoying with the tea thing, but he's never really mad at the guy, all things considered. He's the first boss of the game, as expected with most of the encounters with Skeleton-T, where he asks Schezo if he wants a cup of tea. If Schezo declines, he does in fact get mad at you and the boss begins, though clicking yes I believe leads to a different result. After this fight, Skeleton-T can be seen just kinda wandering PuyoPuyo Land, having a fun time just doing what he wants... until he gets kicked outta some store because of Succubus.

Yeah, when Succubus begins posting her fliers all over the place, Skeleton-T kinda sorta got kicked outta the store he was working at, though I like to pretend that it was a Subway and his sandwich was just that ass, but besides the jokes, he does in fact tell Schezo that some woman (Succubus) kinda threw him out of his store, and Schezo wonders if Skeleton-T was just slacking off if anything, considering he doesn't seem like that sort of person. Either way, Schezo's not really mad at the guy, he was just wondering deep down if Skeleton-T is either a slacker or he legit got booted outta a store. Which he sadly did, that DAMN Succubus ruining a man's 9-5...

Schezo can run into Skeleton-T sometimes in the dungeon's he explores, and oftentimes heals your HP and MP if you sit down and actually drink his tea alongside him. One notable instance can be in the Horror House, where he mentions that for once, he had another customer, a blonde girl who laughed quite often, and Schezo realizes that his two biggest enemies (Arle and Rulue) do in fact, NOT have blonde hair, so he wonders who's the mystery person in this case. I wonder as well...

Schezo runs into him one more time when the Ultimate Tower emerges, where Skeleton-T is freaking out because not ONLY did a tower appear outta nowhere, but even his tea spilled... quite the sad fate, and one fate that leaves Schezo confused at where his priorities really land. And their last talk mostly has Skeleton-T mention that Schezo should sit down and relax a bit with some tea, to which Schezo jokes that the guys brain as well as tea gotta just be green at this point. Skeleton-T takes this as Schezo asking for green tea, which he stops for a bit and wonders for a bit, with Schezo internally saying "...I was joking."

The thing is when it comes to this funny little guy is that his interactions will always involve tea. Talks with Arle, Schezo, even Ringo when he appeared with two other random dudes in Puyo 7 involve tea, it's who he is. But what I like is that the guy here is just... kinda casual about it until someone says no. Granted, Schezo is neutral with the guy and is frankly wondering where the hell his priorities are, but he can sit down every so often and be his only customer, if only because you're playing as Schezo. Go support the local tea business, man.

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Doppelganger Schezo:

(I just really like these lines. And there's not many good Doppel Schezo images to begin because he's niche.)

Doppelganger Schezo, Doppelganger Arle, Lilith, what do these three even have in common? Besides the fact that they're the perfect characters to create headcanons with because they don't even do much, Doppelganger Schezo strikes to me as more interesting of the entire bunch, as there's actually something to him in this game, and I really like what they went with in Schezo's route, it's genuinely something that's really fun to discuss with a grand total of... what, four people? So I get to share this with the class, which is going to be very fun.

So who IS Doppelganger Schezo, where did he come from? It's a good place to start, considering that I'll discuss his personality later. To begin, he's what is called "The Space-Time Crystal", the actual "prize" of PuyoPuyo Land, he's what the entire crew is searching for the entire game, might I add. How he came to be was actually quite simple; Schezo was exploring a labyrinth that always changed its layout when he left the place, so every time would take longer and longer because he'd never know what the layout will be. After finally reaching the crystal, it begins to talk to him, and begins to sap him of all his energy, as Schezo himself before the game properly begins is actually impressively strong. Schezo runs out, conserving what little energy he has left, and is the reason why he starts off weak to begin with. He's THE reason Schezo goes to the place to begin with, to restore his lost powers.

Throughout the entire game, Doppelganger Schezo lurks in the shadows, as we never see his full design until the very end of the game after all three characters have beaten Satan... which is a very tall task in of itself. In this time, he constantly berates Schezo in a menacing and foreboding tone, but is surprised when Schezo does in fact continue on through the dungeons and getting stronger. He's even surprised when Schezo beats Satan.

Finally seeing his full design, Schezo realizes that the voice taunting him was none other than a clone of himself. And it's everything that Schezo was back at the start of the game: Arrogant, confident, a man who will mock you because he knows he's stronger than you. He's proud to take Schezo's magic, taunting him about that fact, stating he wonders who siphoned his magic with a cheeky smirk, before Schezo begins to think about how he knows that his powers got taken. The lines you see him saying are (at least how I interpret and write it):

"Really? The so called "Dark Mage" is going to "defeat" me, of all people? Are you going to go all out, or is that "Dark Mage" nothing but a bluff?"

He's every negative Schezo has. Yet how does that relate to Schezo himself? It's because he's the way to show how much Schezo has grown throughout the entire game. The Doppelganger we see is nothing more than someone trying to be Schezo's past self, and we know through the course of the game that Schezo has grown as a person, whether he likes to admit it or not. He's willing to talk more to people, help them out if he wants to, and even support people when they need some help. He grows to care at least a bit for Kikimora, telling her to not cry and apologizes for his mistakes, becomes friends with Serilly and eases to her greatly, adding on that he's willing to help her if she truly needs it. He takes the precautions Satan says seriously, he feels bad for yelling at Arle. These moments show that yes, Schezo himself has grown greatly as a person (even if he thinks he's going insane), not to mention becoming even stronger as a whole. And Doppelganger Schezo represents what he was before, and something he must finally overcome.

And he does so after a hard-fought battle. Doppelganger Schezo begins to collapse, his body being unable to maintain itself, the tower, all of PuyoPuyo Land. He admits that he's nothing but a clone, someone replicating Schezo, as Schezo himself realizes that the voice in that labyrinth he was at was none other than Doppel, and that he's the one who stole his powers. As Schezo says it's time to regain his old powers back, Doppelganger Schezo stops him, saying that there's no need for such limited power, as Schezo has shattered his own limits and has become even stronger, siphoning him wouldn't do any favors. As the amusement park begins to collapse, Doppel admits that everything will be gone, including him, and with one final sendoff and smirk, teleports everyone who was in the amusement park away, while he and the entire place explode.

As Schezo wakes up again, realizing everything is gone, he realizes that Doppelganger Schezo was more than just a clone, but his old self. The old self that he beat on his own, on his own merit and powers HE gained for himself. As Arle, Satan, and Rulue show up to ask if he's OK, Schezo is surprised at the fact that Doppelganger Schezo even did such a thing for everyone, yet can't help but feel an underlying respect for him.

I love these scenes, as we see everything the game was pushing for Schezo's route, his growth as a person and as a fighter. No matter what, Doppelganger Schezo was just that; A doppelganger who was able to steal someone's abilities, yet that person worked back up to the top to break their limits. He's such a fascinating character, and I'm surprised there's even this much to talk about. Do NOT ask how he's back in Puyo Puyo Box though, I cannot answer that question.

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Runelord:

(Wooo, yeah this guy...)

Runelord. GOD I do not like him at all, he's supposed to be important for Schezo's story and whatnot, but I swear it feels like the most nothing thing despite it being genuinely important. But alas, he's important and I have to talk about him, despite all my rage.

So who is this guy, anyways? Truth be told, there's like three versions of him because why not via the novels, so it's kinda conflicting. In the game he's in though, he's a 200 year old mage who was sealed away by a great hero. That hero is implied to be Lagnus, I believe, but don't take my word for that. He tries to find the next user of the Dark Sword, or better known as Schezo's Sword. Y'see where this is going?

He's ONLY in Madou S, and is the final boss of the route. Throughout the game, he tries to make a then 14 year old Schezo become the next Dark Mage, though Schezo keeps declining and resisting the urge to say yes. He's on a field trip after all. However, at the end of the game, Schezo succumbs to the temptation, and well. We know what he becomes throughout the series.

...That's kinda it for the guy. There's tons of other lore questions that we're bound to ask, but that involves going into True Madou Monogatari, which isn't... canon, at all. I remember when we all thought it was until we learned by the actual people who knew the series that no, it wasn't canon and was just a cool name. Yet that's why people think Lilith is super interesting, so there's that. But seriously, there's not too much to cover with him, besides the fact that he's the reason Schezo holds the sword he does.

It's IMPORTANT, no doubt, but he's a one-off enemy in a game, even Count makes more appearances compared to this guy. There's really not that much.

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Ringo and Ecolo:

(As of writing this section, it's February 13th. I began this on August 22nd.)

Ah, Ringo. Only the third A Girl that gets shafted more often than I like to imagine, second being Atari due to her little circumstance of being in a Japanese only game, and then Ally… who’s been shafted ever since her inception, she’s not even a real thing in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, but rather just some side mission where she says she loves Marle and the himejoshi’s went wild. (As did most of the fanbase.) And Ecolo, that guy sure exists. Yeah.

But I’m getting off track, we’re talking about Ringo here… as well as Ecolo but alas, there brings a problem… there’s not exactly much TO mention, sadly. Schezo didn’t exist in SEGA Puyo until Puyo 7 decided to bring him back from the dead right after he went missing… and then nothing with him because he’s not really all too plot relevant. We're reaching the segments where some entries will be decently long, and then others (like these two) will become dreadfully short. These two will become dreadfully short.

So to describe these two folks, Ringo and Ecolo, those two people. Ringo herself is the most down-to-earth person in the main cast, as she's basically what we get when we throw in a teenage girl who's too into mathematics into the world of Puyo, and she does her job decently well. She's the one that plays almost everything straight... and Ecolo is the exact opposite of that. He's always the one randomly causing issues, or if there's a problem, he probably knows because... Deus-Ex Machina's idk. (It's in reality because he travels space a lot and can see a lot, but prefers to do chaotic nonsense for the love of the game.)

Ringo's interaction only really extends up to Puyo 7 and 20th Anni, where he's one of the first people she runs into during the third act, The World Wonders arc as I like to call it, where she has to travel across the world to find every wonder, which included Egypt. WHY Schezo was teleported to Egypt is my own guess, but we don't gotta worry about that, just know that his cape is top tier now. What matters is that he's hungry, very hungry for being stranded in the middle of Egypt out of literally nowhere, and asks for Ringo's apple, but phrases it as him wanting her, the classic blunder. Ringo, understandably concerned, fights him off, and he just leaves in anger because he couldn't get the apple. Little did he know though, that was all he was going to do the entire story. Quite fun.

Ringo also appears in Schezo's story, when he's trying to find Satan and kick his ass just because he's really upset at the guy. Ringo throws the pervert allegations directly at him without him saying anything crazy to her, so much so that both he and Arle herself have to mention that it's JUST the power Arle has, not even Arle herself. Ringo doesn't really care, as she finds the guy as a whole weird as hell, they fight, and she leaves, calling the guy a pervert again. Schezo then hates the fact that all he is considered to some is just that; Some random ass pervert.

There's not really a major dynamic to talk about with these two, it's mostly just Ringo seeing this guy as a massive freak, but also apparently one of Arle's friends by 20th anniversary, while also still thinking that he's just one big freak. Schezo doesn't really seem to like her much, either. Ecolo's section is even shorter. In 20th, he just senses Ecolo after the end of is story and Ecolo is impressed. However, during the final story, Schezo does appear to fight Satan, and then notify to both Arle and Ringo that he senses that something bad is going to happen considering that Satan and Ecolo are planning something together, which for our A Duo, spells big trouble.

In Puzzle Pop, there's more interactions at the very least. In Arle's story route, Arle and Schezo do run into Ecolo, who was also dragged into this entire dream world, and blame him for the whole dimension thing, because who wouldn't blame someone who can cross through spacetime easily? Ecolo does mention that he could try and leave, but it's not something he can casually do, and acts clueless about knowing about Meena, before Arle and Schezo fight him. After the fight, it turns out that (of course), Ecolo knows everything about who the culprit is, laughs it off, and tells the two to rendezvous with their friends.

Now why did I even focus on these people despite the fact they have next to nothing on them? Good question, it's because it really goes to show how little these Suzuran people get in terms of interaction with others not really named Ringo. I WISH they interacted more, but they tend to be much more comfortable making each era of games talk to only said era of games, and don't really expand beyond that. But Puzzle Pop changing that makes me at least a bit more content with that. But alas, we gotta make do with what we have.

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Amitie:

(I got two images left, I gotta make these count.)

Here is the other A Girl, the second one in line to the now FIVE we have, and Ally still forever gets shafted no matter how hard we try. It's just the rules of the land that Ally will never ever get anything remotely cool despite it always being so dang close. I like Amitie nowadays, though she took quite some time to get used to, but eventually I got used to the bundle of energy and stupidity that she is and can also be sometimes. But that's fine.

What do we really know about Amitie as a whole? Well, we've known her for well over 20 years at this point (the game came out in 2003, I wasn't even a concept when it dropped), but she's been pretty consistent throughout the series. She's incredibly energetic and upbeat, always having some sorta positive attitude about things as a whole, and aspires to be a great magician. She's been reminding us of that for said 20 years, by the way. Yeah she can be pretty clueless about some more deeper stuff, but her heart is always in the right place. Now how does this relate to Schezo Wegey, who's kinda the exact opposite of what I just mentioned? I'm glad I asked myself, because they interact about three times in the entire series. Which is more than Ringo, ain't that a bit unfortunate.

The first time they talk is in 15th Anni, where Schezo is actually the last fight of Amitie's story, so that's fun. AND he has a good theme to boot. But besides that, Amitie doesn't really recognize Schezo at all, and neither does he, since he's from a completely different place than her. However, something he does notice is Amitie's red Puyo cap, and mentions that it has some latent powers, and that she doesn't really see it, before asking for her (cap). Amitie, understandably, is freaked out by this, and calls him a weirdo, before he has to clarify that he meant the cap, not her, yet he's still called a weirdo. Such is the whims of fate. They then again talk in Puyo 7, where it's actually kinda more or less the same thing, where he talks about wanting Amitie's power (and hat), before she very obviously freaks out and calls him out. Not really much to discuss here to begin with, since it's kinda the same talk in two different games. Schezo is still pretty keen when it comes to latent powers and what can go on, but he still sucks at wording everything that he does or say, ergo, he's always going to fail. Amitie on the other hand, is concerned that some dude with a sword and white hair is asking for her (cap), which is understandable, I'd be scared as hell too.

The final time they really... interact is during the DLC chapter of Puyo Puyo Tetris, where she's in the way of Schezo, who's pursuing Sig for his hand, and attempts to fend off Schezo to the best of her ability. However, because he's the playable character and not her, she loses, and accidentally tells Schezo where Sig might be, while he heads off. A rookie mistake by her, if I say so myself.

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Sig and Klug:

(I'm REALLY running outta images, man. But hey, this has both of them, Schezo, AND Satan for the love of the game.)

These two are going to be talked about in a joint entry for a couple of reasons. The first one being that I can condense these sort of things a lot easier, as when characters have a bit less to talk about, I can simply combine some entries to make my writing shorter, more condense, the three miles. Learned that one in college...

The second and more important reason is because they're often paired together in terms of talking, and they do have some things in common with each other and Schezo as a whole, so I think it'd be fitting to at least discuss them together. At the very least, Klug has more interesting things than Sig in that aspect. And third of all... Puyo Puyo Tetris.

But ANYWHO, Sig and Klug. I like these guys, they're pretty decent to me, which is a fall off for Sig because when I first got into the series he was my favorite, then fell out when PPT1/2 dropped because it turns out that he felt a bit stale for me. Klug has always been someone I liked though, at least. But lets explain these folks.

Sig himself is a very... spacey sorta person. He seems aware of the things around him, but never tends to care much in general, or tends to never understand the gravity of it because he's off in his own little world doing his own thing, usually being collecting insects because he likes them so much. (Is there a lore reason why Sig collects bugs? Is he stupid?) He does things at his own pace, if you will. However, the main claim to fame besides this is his left arm, which is a very distinct red, seemingly corrupted by SOMETHING. Because of that, he has latent powers inside of them, something that's been explored quite a bit when it comes to how it works. If anything, it seems like more of a curse than anything, but he doesn't mind it at all for the most part. Sure that arm can lead into horrors beyond all comprehension, but it's fine, he'll survive.

However, his hand can indeed cause problems, such as... uh, the entirety of Puzzle Pop as a whole. Because Sig was willing to work with Meena mostly because they considered each other friends, the spirit of the hand got to him and he became much more cold and ruthless compared to what he usually is, which is...the exact opposite of that.

When it comes to Klug, there's actually quite a lot of similarities with him and Schezo. The constant need to get better at what they do, both being users of dark magic (kinda sorta), the fact they're annoyed by the titular A girl and have a massive rivalry with the R girl, them both being cursed in some way or form (Possessed Klug is rearing his stupid head), there's actually quite a good bit. Klug himself is pretty different compared to Schezo. A guy who is actually pretty mid by himself, the most average joe to ever average in the Puyo World. As such, he works himself to the bone to be the top of his class, and as such, uses the book he has to make himself stronger... even if the book is actually holding a spirit that can possess him and take over his body. But sometimes we gotta take calculated risks to get better, even if the results end up with you no longer having control of your body. Happens to the best of us.

(Mostly) Klug:

For Klug standalone, there is two interaction, Puzzle Pop as well as 20th Anniversary. In Schezo's story, Klug runs into the cave that Schezo resides in, mostly there for the crystals that apparently give more power to his magic, while Schezo tells him to leave his cave, and since Klug refuses, a battle happens that he loses and runs away from, making Schezo more annoyed than anything.

For Sig and Klug together, the main moment everyone points to is the DLC chapter for Schezo in Tetris 1, where Schezo chases around Sig for his hand and latent powers, and Sig... well, he finds him to be a freak, and runs away from the guy. Meanwhile with Klug, when Schezo runs into him, he's yelling at his book to shut up. Schezo, confused as one should be, tells him to move aside and asks why bro is yelling at a book, and Klug notes that ever since Sig ran by, his book has been chattering, before realizing that the voices are back (The spirit itself). He begins to yell at the book, telling it all the evil things he will do to it... such as leaving it in the bathroom, and creasing the pages on the upper-right corners. The sheer horrors of what Akuma will have to do for that book, and also that spirit itself.

After Schezo helps with the book, Klug asks why he even wants to approach Sig, since he's running from... well, Schezo. He replies with the classic "I just want to examine him all over!" line, and Klug glosses through that before realizing The Implications and runs off as well.

Their interaction in Puzzle Pop is slightly different, with Klug realizing that the book that he holds has a lot of latent power, and Schezo was looking for Klug BECAUSE of that book, and asks him to hand it over because he thinks it'll have knowledge about Meena. As expected, Klug is NOT gonna give the book, as he states that it's quite literally one with him, and fights Schezo to defend the book. After Klug's loss, when Schezo asks again for the book, Klug hits the classic "There's a UFO in the sky" and Schezo falls for the trick as he runs.

What do I gather from these talks? Despite the parallels that are given, Schezo is mostly annoyed by Klug if anything, and vise versa, the feeling is mutual. There's a slight comedy in figuring out that Schezo is beefing with a literal schoolboy over a book on TWO different occasion, and the other was because he was annoying Schezo's quiet time. Like I stated prior, the parallel's are kinda there, but we know deep down they won't do much with them. I like both, I really do, and I'm hoping for a little more between them another time.

Sig:

The main discussion point people want to talk about is Sig, and it's kinda obvious as to why, they're probably the two most popular characters in the Western fandom, and still pretty damn popular in Japan. The entire Chapter 9 story happens because of the fact that Schezo wants to examine Sig's hand and learn about it and gets it power. As such, Sig runs away from him for the entire chapter and Schezo goes by several people he knows and considers his friends (or for the case of Lemres, someone he just knows).At the end of the story, Schezo finally gets to Sig, and states that Sig's hand is now his and to give it to him, and a battle ensues. After Sig loses, we see him in the saddest state we've seen him be in ever, as he realizes that he has to leave all of his bug friends on his hand (Side note, imagine how awful that'd feel for so many people), and when Schezo realizes it, he calls off the entire search.

This entire thing was the basis of the story summed up into a single paragraph. If you're looking at this paper and expecting me to psychoanalyze Chapter 9 for what it holds when deep down it's a comedy chapter, you'd be half-right. For people like Klug, I do it because it's their ONLY interaction together. But Sig has another one in Puzzle Pop, which is more interesting.

Schezo in his own story spends the entire time chasing around Meena, this time to figure out what's going on and to take her powers, sound familiar? While doing so, he runs into many illusions of his friends for his desire to fight powerful opponents, but he finally catches up to Meena. Just as he's about to take her powers, Sig appears outta nowhere and tells Schezo to back off, which confuses him. The Sig he's hearing is much more aggressive and fierce than the one he knows, and this Sig doesn't want Schezo to interfere with anything that he and Meena are planning.

After fighting Schezo, Meena escapes and Sig laughs it off, saying he has no further business with Schezo, leaving as he does so. Schezo then deduces that what Lemres told him (I'll explain in the next entry) was true, and that Sig is most likely the culprit in this entire problem they're in, as well as seeming much stronger than he ever seemed, and realizes he has to dig deeper to truly get to understanding this entire thing.

What's so interesting about this is the fact that Schezo interacts with two completely different Sigs, the one that we see in Puyo Tetris that doesn't like him at all and runs away from him and doesn't like him at all, and the much more confrontational Sig that we see in Puzzle Pop. Schezo reacts in completely different ways too, from his confident self to realizing Sig is just kinda an innocent kid in Tetris, to being surprised that Sig would defend Meena and realize that he's most likely the culprit of the game, taking the situation more seriously than he ever has beforehand. I'm glad it's strayed away from wanting Sig's latent power and the normal wacky hijinks that always happens with these two into something that could be a lot more interesting to just look at, and I'm grateful that it's moving elsewhere.

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Lemres:

(Saving him for last because he's my personal fave. Schezo is...my 5th favorite.)

Lemres, this guy is pretty much my favorite character in the series despite my blog being all about old Compile nonsense as well as some Quest stuff here and there. Despite me being... well, the guy that mentions Waku Puyo a ton, I do hold a very soft spot for Fever and Suzuran, because I like a lotta things about Puyo, not just one era. And way to end it with a popular character, huh?

The guy has his fans, I'm one of them, and many insane fans, I am not one of them. But the appeal for the guy is very much there, he's a very chill person with a lot of mystery around him and surprising lore. Y'know, the stuff about him first being a dark mage, but since he didn't like it and his parents forced him to do be such things, he ran away from home and became a Comet Warlock. He's a prodigy in that aspect, and is insanely respected by Klug and Feli... to maybe concerning degrees. His magic runs on sweets, ergo, why he always has so many and is good at making them. There's quite a good bit we dunno about the guy, and that draws people in. And the parts we do know draw more people in. And that's why he's so beloved. Kinda funny that he shares a Voice Actor with Sig (Ben Diskin), who's also incredibly popular.

But enough about the guy. You've reached so far in this thing, I may as well give you one last hurrah with this stuff.

The first time these two ever meet is in Schezo's story of 15th Anniversary. Lemres was told to be the light by Feli, and Schezo must be an assassin of darkness...in his very first fight. When they meet, Schezo realizes that this is the fabled Lemres that she was talking about, and Lemres notes that he's a dark mage off a bit of sensing it as a Comet Warlock. As Schezo boasts that Feli fought admirably, Lemres tells him that he's not going to get any candy since he bullied Feli... which makes Schezo think that Lemres himself is a perv. Lemres takes this rather casually, saying he's never been called that before, and even says he doesn't swing that way to Schezo after he asked him to be his desire, before Schezo clarifies he meant Lemres's power, not Lemres himself. I really like how casual Lemres is about all of this, most people freak out or call Schezo a pervert, but he just shrugs it off and wonders about why he was called one for offering candy. Then again, if most people offer free candy, there might be a bit more to that deal.

Their next interactions is actually in Lemres's storyline in 20th Anniversary. Throughout the entire thing, Lemres has been out of energy because he hasn't been having enough sweets, and most things have not been working well at all. He passed out from salt, and almost passed out again from exhaustion, he was going through the wringer. He randomly stumbles into Schezo's cave and realizes that he SOMEHOW baked an entire cake for himself. Lemres, delusional, jumps Schezo because of that. After he wins, he comments that the cake was alright, but nowhere good as his, yet thanks him and leaves. Compared to the last interaction... I mean we're dealing with a Lemres with exhaustion, the interaction is much more deliberately comedic. That's not to say the 15th Anni talk wasn't, but in a way, it was more subdued, and even flipped the script a bit of Schezo asking Lemres the question instead, and him replying back pretty casually all things considered. I'm not really a big fan of the interaction personally, but I don't think it's bad.

What I DO think isn't a good interaction (IMO) is their talk in Puyo Puyo Tetris, least on Schezo's end. Once again, we run back to Chapter 9, where Schezo is running for Sig and runs into Lemres, who's "Just taking a stroll". They exchange names via their titles, and Schezo thinks Lemres is hiding something from him. On the other hand, Lemres offers him a lollipop just because he seems angry, and they fight due to Schezo's being a bit too angry and him needing some manners. (Oh and the insert whatever you like innuendo is there too ig.)

After the fight, Lemres casually admits that he hopes he delayed Schezo long enough, and that it'd be pretty bad if he and Sig crossed paths...even if it was in a dream. This confuses the hell outta Schezo, who wants answers, but Lemres strolls away, asking for another battle when he wakes up. Schezo just wonders what he meant by a dream, and that if it was the case, everyone else would also be asleep, including Lemres. And they're not sleeping together for sure.

Despite what I said about me not really liking this interaction much, again, it's only really for the Schezo side. He's just agitated and kinda out there to yell and throw out an innuendo, while Lemres just kinda stalls and asks him if he wants a lollipop, least for the first part. The second part does interest me a bit though, what with Lemres saying all that dream nonsense, refuses to elaborate, and just leaves after saying he'd like to battle again sometime. The guy is both confusing and a troll and I'm all for it.

After the fight, Schezo begrudgingly tells Lemres a theory he has: Sure it could very much be Satan or Ecolo up to no good again, but what if it's not them for once? He notes that this sort of power shouldn't be possible by just Meena, so she must've had help from someone. Noting the kid with the red hand (Sig), he finishes his theory and leaves after Lemres asks if he wants candy again. Connecting the dots, Lemres decides to seek out Sig.

What I like about this interaction so much is that Lemres constantly plays the straight man to Schezo's typical antics, though this time, they're both playing it straight. Schezo doesn't trust Lemres, who really just wants answers for what's going on, and they play the roles really damn well. Also helps that they're both smart in-lore, and Schezo continues to prove that Puzzle Pop is his best SEGA outing ever.

With Schezo's story, it's very different due to the fact that it's somewhat similar to Puyo Tetris 1's interaction. Lemres this time is stalling for Meena, mostly because if we want to go off of his story, Meena isn't actually all that dangerous, plus Schezo tends to get physical with people he tries to get. Sound familiar? Schezo takes this as Lemres working for Meena when in reality he just doesn't want Schezo to actually hurt Meena. However, something I do want to mention is Lemres mentioning the whole “Never run into Sig, even if it's a dream” thing. In Puzzle Pop, they kinda ARE in a dream, a collective one at the least. Now I doubt that SEGA was actually planning to make Puzzle Pop and then tie into that little interaction they had together, because that'd be some Aizen level foreshadowing. And as much as I love Puyo, I doubt it's one of those series with foreshadowing like THAT.

Yet as stated prior, the way these two act towards each other has people on their knees for more. The laid-back, almost suspicious and mysterious demeanor of Lemres compared to the usually more brash Schezo, they clash very well for being opposites of one another in terms of skill sets. They're both smart guys, they both understand the situations they're thrown in (save for 20th anni), and despite Schezo often seeing Lemres as some sorta roadblock that always seems to stand in his way, he still respects the guys talent and title, they do only call each other by their titles.  That’s kinda sick.

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Conclusion.

So, after all of that text, all that lore dumping, talking about dynamics, who each character is and how they interact with Schezo, what did we learn? Well, what I hope I taught you is that the dynamics of a character can shift so heavily within almost 30-ish years of being a thing. For a personality that's stay relatively the same since his inception, Schezo is a pretty layered character, and his interactions with everyone he meets can be so different, so unique. That by in part is also because the characters he interacts with are also incredibly interesting in their own right, and seeing each of them bounce off one another is really fun.

Schezo at his core is an aloof swordsman who's actually quite smart, even with a major tendency to flub his words and make people assume he's a perv. And look where that went. I covered many characters in this, and there's STILL some I'm probably missing that are either too short to cover or the like. (Characters such as Sasori Man come to mind, alongside others like maybe Feli.) Yet here we are, about 26K words into this, at the very end of this all. Even comedy can have layers, and Puyo is no different. At it's core it's a silly "Blob go pop" game, but there's actually quite a lot to uncover underneath that surface. From the genuinely nice talks he can have with Serilly, to the rivalry between Arle and Rulue, to the parallels like Lagnus and Klug, to flipping his role on his head with Lemres and Witch, there's was quite a lot to mention...and quite a bit I missed. After all, I can only do so much. I didn't even mention some games such as Chronicle or Quest much, that'd still be quite the herculean task. But I do genuinely hope this at least made you learn something new, and that's a win in my books.

And Thanks.

With that, I'm also here to say thanks. Thank you for reading all of this, or at the very least, skimming through some parts to what interested you, I do want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone.

I also want to give my heartfelt thanks to my friends, the people who proofread this, who helped me get information I otherwise would've missed, the people who cheered me on despite the fact there were in fact a couple of times I just wanted to quit this because of the length... I have quite a list of people I want to thank for everything. Just on Tumblr, at least:

I want to thank specifically:

@kirstenonic05, basically my coworker and the person who helped me get so damn far to begin with.

@dremyink06, For helping me get some vital info for characters such as Lagnus.

@enfoe-afiend, @somegalnamedristet, @sbaily, @therealprincesalde, @redamity I'm listing them all at once because not only did they help with quite a lot of editing, but they also helped cheered me on when it was getting kinda tiring to write.

And...a whole lot more people who don't have Tumblr's or I'm unsure have them, but are still very much my friends nevertheless. There are quite a lot of you, y'know. Thank you all. This was in no way in hell a solo project, and you made this project a lot more enjoyable than it could've been. I may have missed a few things, or even messed up a detail, but I hope that this work can help people learn more about... my 5th favorite character in the series. My Tumblr followers and other voters really said "Make the long ass document about Schezo", and I sure as hell did. And it only took 1 and a half college semesters. Thanks for tuning in. Have a nice day. Adios for now.

[neechees]

Hi! You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, that's totally fine! But you talking about Orville Peck's appropriation of indigenous culture with his fashion choices made me realize that I had never considered that there might be some aspects of "cowboy clothes" that white ppl shouldn't wear and that was super wrong of me. Again, you totally don't have to answer this, but I was just wondering what ways a white person could wear "cowboy clothes" in a manner that wasn't disrespectful? Or perhaps, should we not wear them at all? I can't afford T yet, but when I can finally get it I was planning on getting a cowboy outfit to embrace my trans mascness, but if that would be wrong of me I can scrap that plan no problem!

Ehhh again this is actually SUPER HARD to answer because almost everything about cowboy fashion & the cowboy "aesthetics" are lifted directly from Native American fashion and culture, either because a lot of cowboys back in the day were Native American themselves (including Afro-Natives & Indigenous Mexican vaqueros) or they were White & just kinda. stole the look from the Native cowboys due to a number of factors.

If you google "cowboy jewelry" the first thing that comes up is silverwork & belts & turquoise jewelry, which is taken from Navajo metalwork. Fringed leather clothing? Again, many Native tribes did that (& in some tribes the fringes could mean something, its not just for looks), most popularily with vests, jackets, and pants. A lot if the leather jackets were a result of Native women just sewing their clothes the same but in a European styled cut. Compare this "cowboy" look below to a Lakota war shirt: both have hair embellishments dangling from the arms.

Studded belts? Inspired by Cheyenne mirror belts, which often also have metal studs in them & you'll still see Native pow wow dancers have this in their regalia. Floral vests? A lot of the inspiration comes from Plains floral beadwork. Geometric patterns and blankets? Came from Southwest or Mexican Native American blankets & designs, ask any Navajo weaver & they'll tell you the same. Feathers in cowboy hats? Who else is famous for wearing feathers on their heads--? Native Americans. The look is still popular with older Native men.

Hell, if you visit this site that sells Western/cowboy fashion, you'll see a SHITTON of appropriation going on, taking Native imagery & designs, including one taken from Native American ledger art, all on White models.

The appropriation of Native culture and fashion in the cowboy/western sphere is ongoing, and the influence that Native fashion & culture has in Western/cowboy fashion as it is is absolutely MASSIVE. I once said in another post that the cowboy/western aesthetic essentially belongs to Native Americans, Latines (especially Mexicans), and Black people. And the history of White cowboys has been one largely of colonialism, racism, and displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the masculinity associated with White cowboys especially is also steeped into racism & American patriotism (think John Wayne. There's a reason he's an American icon who played cowboys & killing Indians in films.). I think the only thing that isn't influenced from either appropriation or colonization is like, jeans. Even the style of cowboy boots themselves and potentially chaps were influenced from vaqueros.

So if you're White I'm not sure that'd exactly be a good route to take because trying to seperate Indigenous elements from this fashion/look (nevermind the problematic history of White cowboys) is almost impossible. Obviously I can't force you to do anything, but honestly if I were you, I'd try a different direction, because otherwise I think you'll find trying to do this will be very hard.

[harrysmimi]

Maybe If You're Lucky

Synopsis: One where Harry is smitten like a kitten

More of my work | Based on this ask

Harry had been so smitten lately. He thinks he might be in love even!

So it all started when he met this girl who was apparently new to town and was asking for directions to him, also apparently her google map was confusing her and she was joining her new job that day. He of course helped her out that day, never thinking that she would take the same route everyday to work from then.

One day he finally gathered up enough courage to to go approach her. Yes, he is more shy when he's not on the stage.

Turned out she did seemed to know who he was and what he did for living, in fact she said she was a One Direction fan at some point but, soon enough Taylor Swift took over her life, which is fair enough. Now she does listens to few of his solo songs, his debute solo album is her most favourite she told him.

Now he got to know she moved to London for her new job as the assistant manager at the headquarters of her firm. It was a big day for her, which Harry gladly saved.

Now he's got himself a date with her!

Her nervously got ready, in just a simple black dress shirt, with a pair of pants, he had let his hair be messy. He quickly put on a nice pair of dress shoes and threw on a coat before he was out of the door. He drove directly to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet up. He only had to wait exactly two minutes before his date was jogging upto the restaurant.

Her bag thrown over her shoulder, a beanie on her head and glove covered hands. She was trying to walk as quickly as she can, huffing put of breath. Harry decided to walk upto her even though he have to walk back towards the restaurant.

"Hey," he greeted her with a big smile.

"Hi," he huffed, and slowed down her her pace. "Sorry, I am really not used to walking."

"That's alright, let's fo in and get you some water first." He grabbed a gentle hold of her hand, he knew she was at work. She had some extra work so she was working on Saturday. That's why their lunch date became a dinner date. Just as they were about to get into the restaurant, YN gasped.

"I swear I was on the same bus, why did I got down like 10 minutes away!" She groaned in frustration, earning a giggle from Harry.

"You'll learn, come on now." He urged her inside, it was warmer and she needs water. They finally sat down and waiter served them some water. "I'll take it your day at work was good then?"

"Oh yeah!" She nodded taking a big sip of her water, "I thought I'd enjoy it more here, meeting new people and all, it's someone as worse as back home. Sorry I am complaining. How was your day?"

"No you're not!" He defended, "my day was pretty good, very productive day." She smiled in reply on hearing about his day.

Soon they ordered their food, and hot know more about one another. Just the mandatory first date things, he got to know few little things and that was pretty much it. Harry could see she was getting overwhelmed. Of course, she has been working all day and she is most definitely tired.

"Come on I'll drop you to your place." Harry suggested as he helped her put on her coat.

"Oh you don't have to really, I can take the bus." She said politely, "thanks though."

"You sure? It's quite late." He pointed out. To be honest he did not wanted the night with her to come to an end. He really did enjoyed the time spent with her. "I insist."

"Okay, thank you." She accepted his offer. Harry so kindly got the door her like a gentleman he is. He drove her to her place, it was a safe neighborhood in a complex. He stopped just right by her building and got out with her. "I had a good evening with you, Harry, thank you for being such a gentleman."

"Thank you for giving me your time," he blushed, "hope we could do this again sometime?"

"Yeah." She beamed a rather contained smile.

There was going to be a second date!

......................................................................

It's been three months, the second date happened.

It was a picnic. She brought some delicious home cooked food which reminded her of home. But it's been a good month and half since they both saw one another. Harry had to be in New York for work.

Harry was dying to see her again, hug her again. He was invited over to hers for lunch when he gets back to London.

YN on the other hand was trying her best to get accustomed to the new country and people around her, Harry definitely helped alot and she made a few friends. Her neighbour, Nina was definitely one those people for her who introduced her to her friends. Her weekends were hardly ever spent at home since. Harry said he looked forward to seeing hearing about her weekends on Monday when they have a nice little call during her lunch break.

YN adjusting to her work was really nothing out of blue, she definitely did got the promotion a couple of months before she got to know they needed her at the headquarters. She was used to the work load and pressure. And her colleagues seemed have not to like her much as someone superior at work.

Well, her dad is the CMO at the branch back home, she had joined at junior executive at the age of 18 and made her way up. Did her dad being CMO helped her growth? You can say that. And she is clearly aware of that fact. But her own superiors did not gave a crap about her dad being CMO at the headquarters or at the branch back home, and she worked hard to be where she is. She gave ten years of her life to the company.

And with her sharing these tid bits with her parents had them have a surprise visit to her place. It ruined her plan with Harry. She haven't told her parents about him yet, though they had a idea there was a boy involved. She doesn't even have the heart to tell Harry the truth.

She was at work and her parents and brother were out that dah exploring the city on a Monday. Harry had went in to visit YN. He looked all cosy and snuggly in his winter clothes and a visitors pass hanging around his neck. He'd brought in lunch for YN.

"Hey!" He greeted her the first thing with a hug as she approached him in the waiting area.

"Hi," she hugged him back, "you look handsome!"

"Thanks, love." He smiled shyly, "you look pretty." He tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ear and fixed the fringes she impulsively got last weekend. No she wasn't drunk.

"Thank you." She had a hold her his arm as if she is nervous to tell him something. It was like when she her parents found out that she snuck a kitten in her school back pack on her way home a day after she did pretty badly on a test. "I have to tell you something."

"Yeah, you want to tell me over the lunch?" He suggested, "it's getting cold."

"Oh, yeah, yeah." She realised he was holding a paper bag with take out food containers. She showed him the way to cafeteria and they both sat down at the table farthest away in the corner.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" He brought up the topic.

"So, my parents are here." She started but paused for his reaction. He isn't really surprised, he really didn't know how to react.

"And...?" He asked.

"I am sorry we'll have to postpone the lunch, they're staying for two weeks." She shared.

"That's fine, love," he shrugged it off, "don't worry about it."

"I haven't told them about you and I, yet..."

"That's completely fine too." This took YN by surprise. But he's told his entire family about her, he had told his mother about her even though they haven't even made it official yet. Hell, they've only been on two dates.

It's a different story that Harry is completely head over heels for her already, that he ended up telling his mum about her and hence his sister and dad and step mother too. She doesn't have to do the same.

"I don't know what to tell them." She shrugged, "the last time I told them I am seeing this guy in junior college, they grounded me!" She let out a chuckled sigh, feeling embarrassed. And here too, it's a different story she was being delusional just to late find out that boy already was double dating two other girls. So her grounding was to really ground her.

"Hey," Harry switched seats to sit next to her. "It's alright, I know we haven't made things official yet but we haven't had the chance to have that conversation yet."

"Do you want to make it official?" She asked carefully, looking at him through her lashes. "It's been pretty official to me."

"I'd love nothing more than that!" He grinned a toothy smile as he placed a kiss on the apple of her cheek. She held up her pinky, he hooked his own around hers. "But do take your time to tell your parents about me and us, there is no rush."

"You're just too perfect, stop!" She hugged his arm making him giggle. She was honestly too nervous about telling him that her parents do jot have any idea about him, but no more than telling the people who birthed her that she is dating a white man. A British white man to be exact!

"I try." He giggled.

They had a good time during her lunch break. YN went back home that evening and decided to tell her parents while she prepared for dinner with her dad. Well, surprisingly her dad was the easiest to handle, he doesn't get angry easily. Her mother on the other hand, she is a tough time. So she decided to tell her dad who will later handle his wife in his own way, he can take all her wrath for his only daughter.

"Well, I knew." Her dad told her, "Jerin told me that there was a lad visiting you today on lunch." He emphasised on the word 'lad' making her chuckle. "Why don't you invite him over for dinner this weekend? Of course, if he is ready."

"You sure?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah. I'll tell you mother later on." He assured her.

......................................................................

It was Saturday, and least to say YN's mother was just dealing with it. Given the fact her daughter is dating a British guy. She did not approved that. She would rather her daughter marry an Indian guy from a well sophisticated family. But she was willing to put up with this dinner for YN.

Harry on the other hand was lowkey panicking. He had been ranting about this to his therapist for entire week. His nerves were all time high, though he was pretty good at hiding it. He had picked out a pretty semi formal outfit for the evening, a baby blue dress shirt, and black dress pants, with a pair or his faux leather shoes, he chose to wear just few of his rings leaving out his initials rings. He didn't wanted to seem narcissistic on the first meeting with his girlfriend's parents.

He picked up a bouquet of flowers for the mother of his lady, and a rose for her. When he finally got upto her flat, he could hear the laughs and commotion coming from inside of the house. It definitely did calmed his nerves down a bit. Her family seemed a little inviting already, even though he is just a door away from them. He rung the bell, and a few seconds later a young man opened the door.

"You must be Harry?" He said, "I am Veer, YN's brother. Come on in!" He moved aside so Harry can get in. "Please take off your shoes, YN just cleaned her entire flat today."

"Oh, okay." He nodded. And just as they entered the living room, he saw YN on standing on the edge of the backrest of her sofa which was pushed against the wall, hanging up pictures frames. She clearly looked a bit frustrated, her eye bags gave it away. She still looked gorgeous, dressed in an oversized beige jumper and a pair of loose fit jeans and her Cars socks. Her hair tied up with a claw clip on the back of her head. She had just one of the picture hug up before Harry caught her eye and she turned red in embarrassment. There was still a pile of frames stacked up on the coffee table.

Her flat was pretty small for four people to live in, but perfectly too bit for one person. Given all he knows her family is staying with her at her place. The living room was small and cosy, and door which lead to the bedroom. A kitchen which he missed by the hallway. It was all cute, and interior reflected YN's personality in it.

YN quickly got down from the sofa and approached him. "I am sorry about that."

"It's alright, love." He told her calmly.

"This is my mother, Harry. And Mumma this is Harry." YN introduced both of them. Harry went to approach her mother carefully and have her the bouquet of flowers.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. YLN."

"Thank you for these Harry, and like wise." The lady smiled. Which took YN by surprise. "And this is Veer, YN's brother."

"Yeah, we met at the door." Veer said, "go on, why don't tou meet dad he's in the kitchen."

"Oh, yes!" YN grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him back towards the hallway he just came in from and to the kitchen.

There the man was, a look alike of his girlfriend. Gray hair and beard kept clean and nice, a pink appron wrapped around his waist as he cooked up some amazing food.

"Papa, meet Harry!" YN announced, "Harry this is my dad."

"Hello sir, nice to meet you!" Harry smiled shyly as he approached with a handshake, but YN's dad surprised him with a hug.

"Nice to meet you too Harry." YN's dad said patting his back. "So Harry, do you like to cook?"

"I am not very well at cooking I'm afraid, but I can cook some pasta dishes." He shared, "this smells very fragrant, I should say!"

"Papa is the best cook ever," YN started, "his best dish is the Chicken Pulao he makes, since you're vegetarian he's just making veg today."

"That's very considerate, thank you!" He again smiled shyly.

"You kids go out and have fun, food is almost ready." YN's dad suggested, "we'll have a chat over dinner."

"Sure, you want any help?" YN asked to which her dad declined. She took a hold of Harry's hand and walked him out.

"Harry you want to see YN's baby pictures?" Veer announced.

"Oh god!" YN groaned rolling her eyes as she followed Harry to the sofa, he quietly handed her the rose he got her.

He sat down as Veer shared back stories of each of YN's baby pictures. He got to know YN is the youngest, she's got yet another older brother is stuck at work unfortunately. There was a family picture frame where YN seemed to be around 22-23, she had worn a gorgeous black sparkly saree with a slick back bun and a bold burgundy lip. Oh how Harry was smitten again!

Another picture from the same day with both of her brothers. And a few other pictures pf her with her niece and baby nephew. The reason behind all these pictures was her mother who didn't wanted her daughter to feel alone all the way in another continent. Which is very sweet in Harry's opinion. It's a rather good option to stay grounded when you can see pictures of people who you love and who love you everyday.

Soon the dinner was ready and least to say, Harry felt very welcomed in her family. He felt all his worries melt away the more he got to know her parents. Yeah, her mum is a little tough but she is like a marshmallow inside who loves her daughter dearly.

Harry also noticed YN had the tose he got her tucked over her right ear nicely. She looked adorable that way.

Again he did not wanted the night to come to an end but he had to leave, he's got to go studio the very next morning. YN walked him back to his car.

"It was fun meeting your parents, your dad is amazing!" Harry shared.

"Seems he already likes you, more than me might I add." YN giggled.

"What about your mum, she did not seemed much impressed by me, did I do something wrong?"

"Don't worry about her, she'll come around." YN assured him. "I don't want you to go though!"

"Trust me baby, I don't want to leave either." Harry sighed as he leaned back on his car reaching out to pull her closer with his hands on her hips. "We'll spend the next weekend together, yeah?"

"Yup!" She nodded, "thank you for the flower, it's very pretty!"

"You make it look prettier." He swears he's falling in with this girl every passing micro second, he's just too nervous confess just yet. His compliment made her blush though, "anyway, will I be able to see you in a saree in person?"

She squinted her eyes as if she is thinking hard. "Maybe if you're lucky. One day, yeah."

"Oh if I am lucky?" He raised his eyebrows acting surprised, "aren't I lucky now? Have got you in my arms."

YN's awkward senses kicked in as her nose scrunched up to mock him, "you are lucky, yeah!"

Harry let put a defeated sigh, "I don't want to leave."

"You have got an album to make." YN pouted sadly looking at him with puppy eyes behind her glasses. "I have be up early tomorrow as well, apparently my dad's got a surprise which requires getting up early."

"Well do share with me what the surprise is." He said to which she nodded, they stayed in silence for a couple of minutes before he impulsively asked her, "can I kiss you?" It's shocking? Not really, they haven't kissed yet. Well, they hardly saw one another.

YN reaction was holding back an embarassed laugh covering her mouth, "I haven't done before, so sorry if I suck. But yes, you can kiss me!" That made Harry giggle.

"You are adorable!" He went in for the kiss sliding up one his hand on the back of her head. He pressed his lips on hers gently, in a closed mouth lips which lingered longer than YN anticipated. "See it was amazing!" He announced again making her hide her fave in his chest. "Alright, you're making it harder for me to leave now."

"It's working then." She mumbled again the fabric of his shirt. "Okay, okay I'll let you go now. But text me when you get home yeah?"

"You know I will." He pressed a kiss on her hair. She reluctantly pulled away from him and took a few steps backwards before she was running back into her building.

......................................................................

Now it's been a couple of more months. Harry birthday passed by. He got to finally take YN to see his mum and sister, he said he'd take her to see his dad some other time as he seemed to be busy around that time.

Harry was invited to one his best friend's birthday and album released party. Ed Sheeran, his best friend. To which of course he decided to go, he asked his girlfriend to be his date. It was going to big party at one Ed's Villa. It was a themed party, everyone was supposed to wear something black.

So Harry put on one his simpler suit, styled up his hair and put on some nice cologne, got a rose for on the way. He went over to pick up his girl. He went upto her flat instead amd what he saw left him in complete and utter awh!

There she was wearing the same saree he saw her wearing in those pictures few months ago. She looked exactly as stunning in those pictures, or somehow even more. This time she had her hair pulled up in a low slick bun, and wore a smokey eye look and the same bold burgundy lip. God he could kiss her right then and there!

So he did, he pulled her in a big smooch on her mouth. "God, you look stunning baby!"

"Thank you!" She smiled shyly, "oh can you please help me get this?" She turned around and there was a top hook left opened which she couldn't get, so he helped her with it.

"Also, I'm gonna do this." He placed the rose carefully on the side of bun. He'd especially asked the florist to cut the stem short because he's figured YN loved wearing roses he gets her.

"Aw, that's cute, I'm gonna go look at it!" She bunny jogged to her bedroom and came back out just as quickly. "It looks so nice!"

"It does indeed." He agreed grinning ear to ear.

"Okay let me wear my shoes and we can leave." She clapped her hands silently and was hopping her way to her shoe rack before he stopped her.

"And where is your coat, miss?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't need that. It'll ruin my look!" She whined as she looked for her shoes.

"Nuh-uh, we're not going anywhere unless you wear your coat. It's fucking freezing outside, don't want you getting sick. Get your coat or a cardigan at least." He insisted, but firmly. He seriously wouldn't budge, he'd got to know her well in these five months that she gets sick way too easily. Like every month she has to catch a fever or a cold.

She slump walked to her room and got a coat, which he helped put on. And once she put on her shoes they were headed out. Harry drove her to the party.

"I can't believe I am casually going to Ed Sheeran's birthday party!" She fangirled in the car. And even told Harry about how she impulsively bought very expensive looking tickets to his shows, two of them so she is not alone and can drag her friend along. She had just started her new job at the very minimal salary. More than half of her monthly salary went into buying those tickets (the nosebleeds!!) and she gradually saved up enough to book a hotel room and train tickets as the concert was in another city. Those were best chaotic three months of her life.

Finally Harry stopped in front of the venue. It was a party thrown by Ed's manager and least to say the mans did not shy back on spending money. There were valet for every guest. YN felt at ease now knowing she won't be over dressed.

She enjoyed the party would be an understatement, she had a blast. Especially Harry introduced her to Ed in person, her inner fangirl did not shy off. YN was bursting with joy when they left the party.

"Oh my god! I actually got to meet him!" She fangirled on her way back to Harry's car with a little hop to her walk.

Harry was just happy to see her happy and bubbly. They finally stopped by his car by the passenger side, he pulled in close with his hands on her back, under her coat softly caressing her exposed skin.

"Did you enjoyed yourself?" He asked, moving in closer.

"I actually had a blast!" She exclaimed again making him giggle.

"Haven't got to kiss you all day." He pouted sharing. He was actually hesitant of ruining her makeup, thinking her lipstick might smudge or something.

"I was with you the whole evening, why didn't you?" She looked at him confused but could feel her heart melt.

"Don't want to ruin your makeup and smudge up your lipstick." He looked at her with puppy eyes.

"You know I wouldn't have mind, plus my lipstick is tranfer proof." She shared watching his fave lit up.

"Why didn't you tell me that before!" He gasped, and the next thing YN knew was feeling his lips on hers in a needy kiss.

In that moment he knew, he loved her.

[call-me-chips]

Could you make Headcanons for Class 1-A as Villains with Villain names if they were Pro Villains instead of Heroes? Just curious. (Cause Villain Shoto would be Awesome ngl.)

Took me way too long to get to this one lol

I went to answer it a while ago, but tumblr reset the page and deleted everything, so I left it out of frustration 😅

Finally answering it 🙏

Getting this out of the way first; the thing about both heroes and villains is that they use essentially the same naming practices. They both typically either use a name relating to their quirk or abilities, a stage name, just their name, or a combination of these

So for this reason, I think a good bit of the students' names would be the same if they became villains instead of heroes

That being said, here's what I came up with:

Aoyama can keep his I Cannot Stop Twinkling because he's extra like that (totally not because I can't think of a better one) I'm giving Mina back her Alien Queen title. That's the name she WOULD have chosen if Midnight wasn't such a butt. Also the reason Alien Queen was rejected by her was because it was already the name of a giant evil-looking monster, so I feel like it fits I'm giving Tsu the name Dendroby, named after the scientific name for the black and green poison dart frog (pls love this one i think it's cute loll) Iida's villain upbringing will likely determine which villain name he chooses. If his backstory involves Tensei falling to Stain, and many of his actions and motives are driven by a desire to avenge his brother, he would likely choose the name Ingenium in respect and honour for him. If his villain upbringing was brought upon by another factor, I could see him using something like Kickback, after one of his signature moves being a powerfully boosted kick Ochako can keep Uravity because it works and I don't see a reason to change it As much as it pains me, Ojirou is keeping Tailman because I can't think of another good name Now, Kaminari could keel Chargebolt, but Crackshot is another possibility Kirishima would likely still use Red Riot, still naming himself after the person who inspires him to be strong and fight for what he believes in Giving Kouda the name Wild Call because Anima makes no sense and Wild Call both sounds cool and fits his quirk and abilities Satou can keep Sugarman because it's self explanatory and I don't want to change it Can't think of anything for Shouji, so he can keep his Tentacole for now Wow, really lacking on creativity rn, but for Jirou I can think of possibly Vibrave, which kinda works Sero would keep Cellophane because the only other option I can think of is "Tapeman" and he deserves better than that Tokoyami will keep Tsukuyomi because it fits pretty well and sounds cool As much as I'd really like to give Shouto a cool villain name, I feel like he would likely just use his name, because I can't see him coming up with a name relating to either of his quirks (unless MAYBE if he took the Touya route and gave himself a new name to use as a villain name but that's unoriginal) (I'm sure there are better names, but I can't think rn lol) The only thing I could think of for Hagakure was Pretty Phantom Now Bakugou, irdc, I can't think of anything special for him other than the fandom-given name Ground Zero, so let's go with that lol I think Midoriya would still use Deku because it's a childhood nickname meaning something along the lines of "useless puppet", so I feel like him using the name would be a good motivator for him to prove that name wrong, especially if he hopes to get revenge against his now pro hero childhood bully Assigning Min*ta the name Sticky Balls because I can Giving Momo the name Phaena, based on Phanes, the God of creation in Greek mythology (or so google says) (Tho the name kinda has a double meaning, because the same is similar to one of the Charities worshipped in sparta, Phaenna) (or so google says) (idk i did like 15 minutes of research)

More apologies for being late, this was sent in on may 26th 😅😅😅 but it's here now so I can stop stressing about it lol