#and to keep up the act of the evil mastermind

[cherrydoodle]

Kokichi Ouma, Ultimate Gamer

It's easy to pretend this is all a meaningless game. He's the Ultimate Gamer, after all! Negative emotions are just status effects. Conversations are just dialogue trees. Motives are just quests. Yes, it's all just game mechanics he can master. He doesn't have to get attached. All he has to do is beat the game, just like he's done countless times before.

(That's what he tells himself, anyway. It's what he has to believe, to save them all. He can be the final boss for them, if that's what it takes. He has his own objectives—and he'll beat the true final boss, even if it means GAME OVER.)

[razzberrycorner]

"START SMILING ALREADY!" (Forsaken tickle fic)

A/N: The Forsaken addiction is only getting stronger. Gotta get in that non dw grind💪💪 (live laugh love lee bluudud)

I made a drawin' and I wanted to make a fic based around it. So here ya go

Plot: C00lkidd and Pr3ttypriincess notice that Bluudud hasn't been smiling much. So they decide to engage in a little.. let's say, family bonding.

-🔷🔴🩷-

Bluudud grumbled to himself again, shutting the doors of his quarters after losing yet another match. Now he just rarely ever smiles, because when he does... it's just this large, teethy, cringy looking grin.

Of course it does. He's the eldest sibling. The grumpy one. The... Ugh. Nevermind.

As he got in his bed, he believed it just keeps getting worse. And guess what? His siblings probably already noticed it already. How limp he gets, how his thoughts lack any coherence. He's just completely tired. Of what? Every. Single. Match.

Well, maybe, just maybe, he needs to have fun...-oh come on, he barely has that on the matches now! What's the big idea with fun?! It's only fun when he wins!

Meanwhile with his siblings, they're concocting a plan to get him back in shape. He just doesn't know it yet. And it will work—hopefully.

"You noticed, didn't you?" Pr3ttypriincess was the first to speak. The child with the large pink bow sat on a pink beanbag chair on her room's pristine table. She looked unusually serious, her head placed on top of her hands.

"...Yeah. He's been acting so weird." C00lkidd sat on the opposite side of the table on a red beanbag, carrying the same unusual seriousness, his hands placed on top of his arms. "Isn't that... Agh! C'mon! He's serious, but not THAT serious! Something's up!"

"I know, right?!" She said, banging her fists in he table for dramatic effect. "If only there was a way to make him happier..."

The two children sat in thought, until an idea came to mind. Pr3ttypriincess stood up with an excited smile on her face. The type of smile that said 'ohoho, this is gonna be so good.'

"Waaaaaaait." The pink child said as she rose from her chair. "What if we tickled him into submission?"

C00lkidd stared at her with a look of puzzlement on his face before realization hit, resulting in him saying, "Yeah! ...I can do the thing, right?" Restraining usually was a bore to him, as he didn't get any part of the action if he did that!

"Sure!" His older sister replied. "But only if you win a game of rock paper scissors!" Pr3ttypriincess was highly convinced she was an all-around better tickler than her younger brother. She was proven wrong, and still thinks it. As she likes to say, she gets better every day.

"Ugh, fine!" C00lkidd groaned.

They put their fists in front of each other, put them down, and...

"Scissors cuts paper! I WIN!" He cheered, practically excited to get to work.

"Aw, man. So that means I'll get to work in making sure he does NOT escape us!"

Well, he usually is pretty slippery when the thing is done to him, so that would make for a pretty hard game of tag. In situations like this, restraining is fair. But he still thinks it's plain boring. Eh, it is what it is.

"Well... It's a deal then!"

They then shook hands as if they were business partners, fully engrossed in their mission as their older brother was fully and completely unaware of his fate.

Back with the blue child—well, pre-teen—he was waddling in his own thoughts when he heard footsteps.

Four feet were stepping on the ground, meaning two people were nearing his area. One male and one female. Exactly like he guessed, his two younger siblings immediately barged into his room.

"Hi Bluu!" Pr3ttypriincess said her voice sugary sweet. "You haven't been smiling so much, so me and C00lio decided we should fix that!"

Pr3ttypriincess then started making way for C00lkidd who looked anything but not evil, rubbing his hands like a villainous mastermind. He knew what that meant.

"You two. Don't you DARE-"

Before Bluudud could even react, Pr3ttypriincess went behind him and restrained his arms. "Nuh-uh-uh! You're not getting out of this one, silly!~"

"Plus, seeing you like this is too much of a bore!" C00lkidd said. "START SMILING ALREADY!" With that, the red child latched over to his brother's sides.

"DON'T YOU DARE—"

"Too late!" And so, the tickling started. What they got in response was nothing short of priceless: their older sibling... holding it in, much to their disapointment.

"What's wrong? You don't want us to see that you're weak?~" C00lkidd said in a rather teasy tone. This gets him real fast, according to Pr3ttypriincess.

"PFF—...Hehehe—eHEHEH..-"

Welp. Turns out, she was right.

"Come on... just a biiit more...!" The red child said before going towards his ribs and causing the blue pre-teen to crack.

"Hehehe...gehehehah! GAHAHAH!"

Boom. There it is. It did take a while for them to get it, but they got the sound of his laughter—boisterous, loud, shrieky, and pretty much the most glorious thing they've ever laid their ears upon.

Not to mention, the most sickeningly adorable thing they've ever seen too. And his smile... Oh my goodness, his smile... Normally it was creepy to look at, but like this? It's so... endearing.

"There we go! Isn't that much better?~" said Pr3ttypriincess with a sweet smile.

"NOHO IT'S NAHAHT!" Bluudud shrieked as he tried yet failed to shove them away. "YOHOU'RE GONNA REGREHET THIHIS!!"

"No, we won't!" C00lkidd said. "Plus, you're just so...ugh, CUTE like that!" He can't believe he just said the word 'cute'!

"All silly, and loud and giddy, and—"

"Yeah, we get it. And C00lio, it's not cute. It's adorable!~" His older sister followed, causing the pre-teen to screech due to being unable to handle the amount of teasing from them.

That, and the fact C00lkidd went to the one spot between his ribs and armpits and back to the sides again.

"SHUHUT UHUHUP!!"

C00lkidd then moved from his sides to his ribs, causing a loud shriek to get out of him. "HAHANDS OFF!! HANDS OFF OF THEHERE!!"

"What's this? You seem particularly finicky with this spot..." Pr3ttypriincess said with a knowing smile. "Shall we go a bit higher with the stakes?~"

"Right away!"

After he said that, C00lkidd started nuzzling his face into his older sibling's stomach, going to his armpits and back to his sides again, causing another shriek from him.

Outside the room, 007n7 was coming home after a long, tiring day of doing his favorite thing in the world: scripting. But you've got to admit, sometimes it gets... just straight-up mundane.

He was confused to hear loud laughter. Probably just the kids again, having fun. Or another tickle fight, so the scripter shouldn't be surprised by that. But back on topic.

"Man, being a scripter is boring sometimes." 007n7 then took a deep breath and said, "Maybe I should take the day off toda—"

The scripter was then interrupted by a loud shriek that came from Bluudud's room after they hit a particularly good spot, causing him to get startled, and the burger on his head to fall over.

Thanks to his strong reflexes however, he catches it fully intact and returns it to his head in one piece.

"NOHOT THE PIHITS—EHEHAHAHAH-"

Is that just him or was that Bluu? ...Maybe he should check in on his three children. It's never a bad idea, after all.

The door opens, and lo and behold, the scene before him was... rather something. To him, Bluudud was in a... precarious position, to say the least. He was screaming with laughter, face flushing in a light blue tone.

"You okay, kids?" 007n7 hesitatingly asked.

"We're doing great, dad!" C00lkidd said between the loud giggling before nuzzling into his older brother's stomach as he tickled his sides for what felt like the billionth time, causing yet another giggle fit.

"IHI'M GOHONNA— I'M GONNA KIHILL YOHOU FOR THIHIS—GAHAHAHAH!"

So, it's not just him. Their father smiled as he looked at the cute scene, taking notes mentally. Closing the door behind him, he mumbled "I guess, scripting would be kind of fun."

About a couple minutes later they ceased their ministrations, letting the blue pre-teen catch his breath for once. Through pants and residual giggles, he mumbled "You're not getting away with this... Ihi'm... Gonna kill yohou soho bad.."

Exactly then, he glared at his younger siblings. You better believe they knew that glare.

"Uh oh." C00lkidd said.

"O-oh, crap." Pr3ttypriincess mumbled under her breath.

The red child looked at the pink child, his eyes devoid of any bravery he had left. "...Do we start running, or—"

"Oh, you better. GET OVER HERE!"

Both kids came out of the room, screaming and scrambling for their lives. 007n7 stared with a tired smile as the children played around the house.

Maybe, just maybe, the day wouldn't be so bad.

-🔷🔴🩷-

Please don't say I went ooc, I wrote them for the first time + I see them as these extremely chaotic siblings more than anything else—

And to the ppl saying, "erm actually, their parents are-" I hc that 007n7 SOMEHOW adopted bluu and priin so there ya have it <3

Don't worry guys, I'll still post Dandy's World stuff, the fic motivation hits during random ass times and idk why-

[thatbloodymuggle]

MASTERMIND

PROLOGUE

SUMMARY: a child of light and dark, you are the Night Court’s best kept secret. After decades spent in hiding, you yearn to stretch your wings. But you quickly learn that freedom comes with a price, as you find yourself trying to outfox the fox in his own den.

PAIRING: eris vanserra x reader

WORD COUNT: 1k

SERIES MASTERLIST

WARNINGS: none for now

The Night Court was home to Prythian’s oldest and darkest secrets. Perhaps it was the rippling terror of the Court of Nightmares, or the nightfall darker than any other region, that granted it the ability to house so many enigmas. However, from the city of Velaris to the Ouroboros, each secret had its expiration date. As the old saying goes, there are no secrets that time does not reveal—and in an immortal world, time was a fickle thing. But few knew of the Night Court’s best kept secret.

She was the bastard child of Keir, the Steward of Hewn City, and Marjorie, a high fae librarian of the Day Court. Born from an unwilling affair between the two immortals, she was kept hidden from her father. For nearly two decades, Marjorie used every last drop of her powers to conceal her pregnancy and her child. The Day Court faerie knew that if her abuser ever gained knowledge of his child’s existence, it would be a death sentence. Marjorie raised her daughter alone. She grew up concealed among the infinite bookshelves of the Day Court’s libraries. She learned to read before she could walk, and speak in ancient tongues at the ripe age of five. Despite her haunting ability to sink into the shadows, a gift bestowed upon her by her ignorant father, she was a child of the Day Court, through and through. It wasn’t her spell-cleaving ability or the tendrils of light she could summon at her fingertips that made her a child of the Day; rather, it was her thirst for knowledge and sharp intelligence that even the Cauldron itself marveled. 

Morrigan, the third in command of the Night Court, was the first to find her. As the threat of Amarantha’s rise dispersed through the courts of Prythian, Marjorie knew she had to act quickly. Driven by the fear of her precious child landing in the hands of Kier, the librarian wrote to the only family she trusted to keep her daughter out of harm’s way. Despite the shock of her half-sister’s existence, Morrigan acted without hesitation. The third in command took her sister to the safety of Velaris without hesitation. Marjorie promised her weeping daughter that she would one day return; that they would meet again when all evil had been righted. But she knew. She knew in her heart that it would be the last time she would see her mother. Despite the terror that Amarantha’s invasion instilled in Marjorie, she died peacefully knowing that her pride and joy was out of evil’s grasp.

The inner circle of the Night Court was the next to learn of her existence. They were at first wary, due to the threat of war growing through Prythian. But the doe eyes identical to Morrigan’s were a window into the goodness of her soul. Rhysand didn’t need to tap into the cobblestone barriers of her mind to see her striking erudition, sharp tongue, and despite its intricacies, her pure heart. But time, in all its futility, was against him. As he travelled to Under the Mountain, where he would remain for the next half-century, she found solace in the library of Velaris. Although not as vast as her once home in the Day Court, she valued the wealth of literature and treated it with a level of admiration Clotho hadn’t witnessed in centuries.

When she wasn’t browsing through the rows and rows of titles, she found herself growing close with the other members of the Night Court’s inner circle. Amren took a liking to her quick wit. Azriel found himself drawn to the gentle curiosity, rather than fear, that graced her features when she first studied his scarred hands. Cassian admired the unrelenting fearlessness she carried from fickle debates to the training ring. And Morrigan found a piece of her heart she hadn’t known was missing since the day her father dropped her at the borders of the Forest House in the Autumn Court. She had found her sister. A sister not only bound to her by choice, but by blood. Through the constant fear of Rhysand’s absence and Amarantha’s rule, she was the silver lining; the flickering flame that wouldn’t go out, no matter how hard the winds of evil blew. 

Nearly a decade into her stay in Velaris, she began to grow restless. She had spent the first twenty years of her existence cooped up in the libraries of the Day Court. She appreciated the change of scenery that Velaris brought. But there was an incessant itch in the back of her brain she could not scratch. She had read thousands of books detailing the histories, landscapes, and people of Prythian. Yet she had never set foot into the vast world surrounding her. She was a caged bird, yearning to stretch her wings. So, she concocted a plan. Rhysand’s last ditch effort to keep Velaris safe only forced his inner circle to remain within the limits of the city.

She became Athena Ellesmere: a merchant and cartographer’s daughter, sent to each court to engage in tradings and research the vast lands and seas of Prythian. She forged relationships with citizens of each court���farmers, vendors, lower-level employees of the High Lords. She gathered intel on the inner-workings of each court, the sentiment of its people, and the status of Amarantha’s cruel grasp. She became an asset to the Night Court during the queen’s rule of terror. Upon Rhysand’s return decades later, she was officially inducted into his inner circle as the Liaison of the Night Court. During the war against Hybern, her role as a liaison was critical for reaching parts of Prythian the Spymaster’s shadows could not through conversation. Her fluency in literature and ancient tongues was invaluable in helping Amren crack the code of the book. Her allegiance to those who had saved her from certain doom at the hands of her father was unwavering. And when the famed Archeron sisters took residence in Velaris, she vowed to protect them as her Night Court family had protected her.

To Prythian, she was a merchant and cartographer’s daughter. To the inner circle, she was their best kept secret. But as the old saying goes, there are no secrets that time does not reveal.

[yanderes-galore]

pathetic yanderes my beloveds... This immediately reminded me of Dwight Fairfield (DBD). And now I want to see more content for this lil guy (～￣▽￣)～

Can you write yandere concept for him? :>

Yandere! Dwight Fairfield Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Clingy behavior, Stalking, Slight manipulation, Blood, Drugging, Yandere is STRETCHING IT..., Dubious relationship.

Let's be honest, I doubt Dwight is that much of a threat as a yandere.

He isn't going to murder anyone and even kidnapping seems... far-fetched.

He isn't some sort of manipulative mastermind.

He's more like someone who would follow his crush around like a lost puppy.

For example maybe he falls for a fellow coworker, or maybe he finds himself fond of a fellow Survivor choosing to help him through the Entity's realm?

Out of all the Survivors in DBD, who are usually quite tame, Dwight is one of the tamest.

You could trust Dwight with a lot and he wouldn't ever want to betray your trust once he has it.

I wouldn't even call him that possessive.

He's more likely to be jealous and quietly stew in it rather than act out on it.

Most of the time Dwight would keep his obsession to himself.

He doesn't want to worry you and is probably aware of how wrong such feelings are.

He doesn't want to inconvenience his love.

Dwight is very submissive and doesn't like getting in the way.

He's a yandere who can be easily controlled or just isn't a problem for you at all.

Pretty sure any murder from him would be by accident.

Maybe he does something such as attempted sabotage on another person to keep them away from you.

Only for something to go wrong and now he has blood on his hands.

He seems more likely to panic if he murdered someone than anything.

Like, he seems like the type to faint at the sight of blood before he went into The Fog.

The closest you get to stalking is Dwight following you around like he's lost.

He gets shy about telling you he wants to hang out, just consuming any sort of attention you throw at him.

You could be the meanest person ever to him and he'd probably thank you.

The most evil thing Dwight could probably do is sabotage.

Things like drugging drinks like in his tome or attempting to spread rumors.

Which... isn't too harmful unless he messed something up.

To make Dwight a worse yandere however, he may also take secret pictures of you.

He's really just a pathetic stalker... so many other yanderes are bigger threats.

If you just talked to him and gave him attention he's literally no real danger.

He's someone you could start a relationship with and nothing bad happens.

He's just your pathetic nerd boyfriend who tries his best to be sweet to you.

His weirdest quirks would be his constant following you around and his... questionable pictures on his camera roll.

Traditional yandere things are where he fails at, he's no mastermind.

He's just... jealous and scared you'll find someone better than him....

Which often leads to him clinging to you.

However... If you want me to make this darker....

Maybe you try to teach Dwight to be more confident in himself... and it backfires.

Maybe you encourage him?

He tells you he's been struggling with his thoughts... fighting with a decision in his mind for a while.

Seeing it as innocent, since he seems innocent, you encourage him with his thoughts because you care.

Only for Dwight to slip sleeping pills into your drink and for you to wake up tied in your room later on.

Perhaps... He has more skeletons in his closet than you thought....

Although, he'd probably immediately want to back out of it when he sees you upset.

It was just a game! Or... his strange way of flirting...

He's sorry...

Please tell him you still like him...?

Of course, that's before The Fog.

He's practically nearly harmless in The Fog.

Sure, maybe he could get some other poor fool sacrificed to be petty about them being around you.

But let's be honest... He has such sad puppy energy?

Dwight could probably win your heart by being pathetic.

No murder or kidnapping needed.

It's overkill and he'd mess it up somehow anyways.

Instead, he'll show you he's your best option.

He's a great leader, he can protect you, he can tend to your every need.

All you need to do... is love him!

Dwight fails at being a yandere except for some odd quirks... and would probably still win!

Although... if someone was trying to charm you away from him...

He'll try his best to grow a backbone and deal with them... can't guarantee he'll be fully successful though.

[samsayswhatever]

Episode thoughts ramble, you can ignore

I personally think that they definitely both wanted it. Like, it freaks them out, but I don't think on Lochlan's part it's solely about wanting to do what Saxon would want to make him happy.

The trailer is making it seem like Lochlan's going to try to be less of a people pleaser? Or he might try to distance from Saxon? But I don't think that this was a situation that he was fully taken advantage of or that he was a "evil mastermind". They're both fucked up and should just fuck about it.

Thank you! I love a good ramble, so please excuse my full-on legit-essay of a ramble in response 😅 I just live for character analysis

First, "They're both fucked up and should just fuck about it," is an excellent line. 😂 If they just had a sober sexual interaction they could confirm if they like each other romantically, and start the process of figuring out what to about it.

Second, I agree that this threesome isn't just because Loch is a people pleaser. Loch didn't jerk him off to make Saxon happy. He did it to make himself happy because what makes Loch happy is attention and closeness. Lochlan seems happiest when he's touching Saxon, or just finished touching him (like after the second kiss in ep 5, and when he was jerking him off with that big smile on his face.)

I think that for the start of the next ep he's going to give Saxon a little distance because he's going to need a second to process and mentally spiral about how Saxon must hate him now. However, I think he won't be able to stay in that Monastery thinking about this all night. The silence and the not knowing are going to drive him crazy. He seems to want answers - like how he asked piper about her virginity. However, since she left when he asked that, he might be inclined to hold back his questions.

No one here is an evil mastermind. They were both confused when they remembered, and Saxon even threw up. If Saxon was intentionally grooming him, he would have been happy, not looking like death. If Loch spit the pill and planned this all out, then he wouldn't have looked so uncomfortable and afraid when he realized what happened.

I think that their parents didn't raise them in an open, loving, understanding environment where they felt comfortable asking questions about sex and sexuality. And I think that contributed to Saxon's fixation on sex, and Loch's ignorance about it. And because of their age gap keeping them from living together for the last decade or so, I don't think they have talked much about sex before. Loch seemed pretty shocked when Saxon brought up porn, but he'll never say no to attention, so he didn't shut it down like piper would have.

Saxon is trying to change how he acts towards Lochlan now that Loch is 18. Saxon doesn't want to treat him like a kid anymore, but he doesn't know how to treat him like an adult. He wants to help Loch figure out his future, and he wants Loch to look up to him. And They both really want to be closer to each other, but they don't have much in common, so they are trying to reach each other by bonding over sex, since Saxon is obsessed with sex (and likely has been since he was a teen,) and thinks all teen boys must be obsessed with sex too.

And now they've taken "bonding over sex" to an extreme, and it's starting to become apparent that this is NOT how siblings get closer; this is different, and strange, and overall not normal. But over the next episode or two, they are going to have to face WHY they took it so far. Like Chelsea said, "I don't think there is a drug in the world that would make me get with my brother." And I think that's how most people feel. So they will have to face why they wanted to have this sexual exchange, and why their feelings are deeper than just wanting each others love and respect like 99.99999999% percent of siblings.

[lefaystrent]

Janus stumbles upon a tiny black kitten.

It's just sitting there, a tiny ball of adorable floof on the sidewalk edge. Janus glances around, as if someone will miraculously appear on the abandoned street to claim ownership. But he's in the mindscape, and honestly the street only goes in a square around Thomas's apartment building. There's only so much real estate you can fit into one man's head. At any rate, the other sides hardly venture out here. This kitten is totes fucked unless Janus does something.

"Oh I couldn't possibly," Janus demures at the narrator. "Besides, it's imaginary. I'm sure it'll be fine on its own."

"Mew," chirps the ball of floof and emerges out of its loafing position to waddle in Janus's direction.

Janus, lord of the lies and all things deception, evil mastermind extradonaire, feels his breath hitch.

Just look at the little paws.

"No!" Janus exclaims, shaking out of his cute-induced stupor. "The last pet I had was Sacagawea the hamster, and we all know what happened to her! Not that I care about teacup sized critters. Begone, little beast."

"Mew," another plaintive meow comes as the kitten reaches his ankles. It swats at him with its stubby claws, trying and failing to climb his pants leg.

"I am a gentleman of standards," Janus tells the cat seriously.

The puny kitten looks up at him imploringly with round-saucer like eyes.

Janus drops to the ground and coos, "Oh no, you're meeting all of my standards!"

The kitten starts up a punitive-engine of a purr as Janus scoops it up in his gloved hands. It chirps intermittently and Janus's ice-cold snake heart melts.

"I'm not keeping you," Janus promises fondly. "This doesn't go beyond a simple scratching. Do I make myself clear?"

"Meeew," the kitten squeaks and Janus nearly falls over himself to bring the kitten's face to his so he can rub their noses together.

The next day the sides are in the midst of filming a video with Thomas in his living room when Logan cuts himself off in the middle of citing his sources to say, "What was that noise?"

"Sorry, I ate burritos earlier," Remus apologizes, not appearing very apologetic.

"No, it sounded like–" Logan cuts himself off again as everyone hears the sound this time.

A muffled mewing.

All eyes fall on Janus in his corner. He stands there, seemingly unaffected, but upon closer inspection with eyeballs, one can see how stiff his posture is.

Patton peers closer with his balls of eyes. "Jan...is this that mewing trend all the kids are doing nowadays?"

"That is not what that means," Roman says, but he's mostly distracted with staring at Janus. "Wanna tell us something, Cat in the Hat?"

The deceitful side bristles. "I haven't the foggiest what you mean."

Janus's hat meows. More than that, there's something shuffling underneath.

Thomas's mouth is slightly agape as he asks, "Janus, did your hat just meow?"

"It did nothing of the sort."

"Kiddo, do you have a kitty cat under there or are you just happy to see us?"

"I– since when do you make jokes like that?"

"Jokes like what?" Patton blinks back.

Janus rolls his eyes and brushes imaginary lint off his imaginary shoulder. "Nevermind. Weren't we discussing Thomas's never-ending cycle of conundrums?"

"Yeeeah," Virgil drags the word out. "You can't just act like we all can't see your hat moving."

"Yes, and we all heard it meowing," Logan muses, ignoring Janus's automatic hissing of, "You heard nothing!"

"But why the hat?" Thomas ponders.

Logan nods, also curious, "Is this a coping mechanism after the loss of Sacagawea the hamster?"

"May she rest in peace, amen," Patton prays while Roman performs a Catholic cross over himself.

Thomas glances at all of them, "You guys know that I never actually owned a pet hamster, right?"

"Dude, too soon," Virgil chides him, and Thomas has the consideration to look abashed.

Janus crosses his arms to look cool. He doesn't. He keeps tipping his head this way and that to keep his hat from toppling over.

"This is a perfectly normal way for me to stand," Janus says.

Roman secretly slides Remus five bucks. Remus dives onto the floor and army crawls behind Janus. Somehow everyone but Janus sees it.

"By all means, do keep staring," Janus says, guarded and on edge and his rolls definitely tootsied. What.

Remus rises up behind him. Off comes the hat.

"Mew!"

"Oh my goodness, that's so precious!!" Patton squeals.

The kitten is belly flopped on top of Janus's head. It's so small that it almost gets lost in the hair, if not for the stark contrast against Janus's lighter color.

"Hey Virgil, it looks just like you!" Roman crows, earning himself a well deserved middle finger.

"Drat, you've uncovered my secret," Janus drones and gives Remus a withering look that promises they will exchange words later. Remus is too wrapped up in giving little chin scritches to the kitty to be bothered.

Thomas also inevitably succumbs to cuteness overload, but he does manage to ask why the heck Janus felt like he needed to keep the cat a secret.

"Because Thomas," Janus throws his arm out to make his cloak flare out. For the drama. Then he flourishes his hand towards the cat on his head. "You weren't ready to meet this new side of yourself, but I guess the cat is out of the bag."

"The cat was under a hat, to clarify."

"LITERALLY NO ONE ASKED YOU, LOGAN!"

"No one ever does, and yet that would solve over half of Thomas's problems."

"When you mean new side, does that mean...?" Thomas asks Janus, his voice filling with wonder. His eyes are getting that crazed glint in his eyes, like he's five seconds away from becoming a Florida Man meme. The background music ramps up into a crescendo at this new epiphany. Thomas knew there were more sides he hadn't met, but to think–!

"No, no, no," Logan says, waving his hands in an X motion. "This is a misunderstanding created from Janus's misleading statement. Don't do this–whatever it is you're doing. Stop it."

Virgil weighs in as well, "Hate to break it to you, but your most animal side is Janus."

"Does this mean Thomas is a furry?" Remus gasps.

"Yesss," Janus hisses out. Then he thinks about it. "I mean no. I mean– what?"

"So what's the baby's name?" Patton asks. He has come close too to join Remus in the giving of scratchies. A noble cause!

"It's a black cat, so why not Catman?" Roman offers. "I am the darkness. I am the night. I am...Catman!"

"Very original," Virgil praises, but it's just subtly sarcastic enough that Roman gives an heartfelt, "Thank you!"

"Can I pet?" Thomas asks, hand reaching out hopefully.

The sides grimace and wince.

"Oooh, yeah, about that..."

"Sorry, man."

"You can't actually..."

"Imaginary, remember?"

"Maybe if you think really hard and imagine touching fur..."

"Don't patronize him. Not with this."

"Yeah, kitty buisness is serious buisness."

"Are we ever going to return to the original topic?"

"Cats take priority. Don't you know that?"

"By what parameters? And by whom?"

"It's like when a cat falls asleep in your lap. By law, you cannot disturb it. On pain of death."

"A bit overdramatic, but not wrong. It's an actual thing."

"Achoo!"

"Bless you."

"Thank you!"

"Patton, why are you petting a cat when you know you're allergic?"

"You would think that imaginary cats wouldn't agitate allergies."

"Thomas has a really vivid imagination."

"Why does everything innocent sound dirty coming out of your mouth?"

"Speaking of mouths and coming–"

Thomas, Patton, and Roman all shove their hands over their ears and scream, "LA LA LA!"

With everyone distracted (as part of Janus's master plan), Janus uses the moment of ensuing chaos to skeddadle away.

They never do learn the kitty's name, but they do eventually discover a horde of cats in Janus's room at some point, but that's another story.

[iconsumedmygoldfish]

i do not trust whit young.

spoilers for drdt. like, all of it so far. as of ch2 ep16.

whit as a character just isn't adding up for me. his reactions to things have been wrong up until now, or at least not as prominent as other characters. not necessarily saying he's a mastermind, or evil, or a david-chiem-type character, but i don't think he's who we think he id

whit has been shown to struggle to hold in his laughter in the middle of a class trial about the murder of one of his classmates, which is definitely an inappropriate reaction, but the fact that he's holding back a laugh at an unintentional joke shows that he isn't forcing amusement in the complete wrong situation. charles seems used to it by now to be honest, but uhhh idk

he's also become a fan favourite, being paired alongside charles as a good ship dynamic. understandably, whit has become a lovable character, serving (slaying) as some form of comic relief. but his reactions seriously give me a weird feeling. even if he's masking his emotions, to do it to this level, in this situation, feels wrong to me. it might just be a personal feeling about him, i do think he's funny and i like whit, but cmon man that is THE MOST SUSPICIOUS MAN IVE EVER SEEN

for example:

whit appears nonchalant after the gruelling, emotional class trial that him and his classmates have sat through for hours? hours game time and real time, i believe. whit is so casual here, and it bothers me - he doesn't look tired at all, worn out, he doesn't even seem to CARE.

more of whit's apathy:

this is the most concern i remember whit showing until this point, and it's directed towards charles. and not their classmate who has just been shot and is, like, violently bleeding out.. it's a bit inappropriate? he doesn't express shock about levi's sacrifice, he just seems to be anxious for charles.

this makes me wonder if whit is maybe more detached than other characters? sure he acts as a comedic character, but is he doing this deliberately? it's not making the mood better, no matter how much he tries, he should've figured that out by now. how is he capable of just keeping a mostly straight face (or, well, happy face) throughout two whole class trials? and an execution (one one so far)

then, there's the first instance of something extreme from whit:

im not sure what to interpret this emotion as. i initially took it as whit being utterly shocked, taken aback, maybe he has claustrophobia? looking into it more i still don't know what to think. he might be hateful, or having some sort of flashback or whatever, but whatever it is it looks dangerous.

this is more emotion than he shows towards xander's death, min's execution, arei's death, levi's sacrifice. and it's towards a locked door. that's why he could have claustrophobia, maybe some that's trauma-related. this could be explored further in the upcoming chapters if we're lucky. :)

sorry if im going into too much detail!!! he's just sus to me at the moment!!! and i miss levi and i miss ace and i am a very very very sad person and i want them BACK!!!!!!!! anyway hope this was fun to read i guess idk maybe perhaps

[terapsina]

Now that the writers and actors strike is about to begin being felt (and as we wait for those greedy billion dollar companies who are refusing to negotiate fair pay and conditions to give up) here's 10 of my favorite (all around best) fully finished older series you should definitely check out if you haven't watched.

I mean it, these are the shows with continuously great writing and a satisfying endings that manage to actually deliver on their promises.

-----

1. Leverage - (containing 5 seasons, or 77 episodes) - trailer here.

Hitter, Hacker, Grifter, Thief and Mastermind. Heists and cons. Stealing from the rich and giving to their victims. They provide... leverage.

Meant for anyone who enjoys bad guys being the best good guys, who will burn down the lives of evil CEOs and then gloat in the background. Very satisfying.

Hands down the best example of a found family trope I've ever seen on screen. Barring none.

2. Killjoys - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Space Bounty Hunters. Another case of found family trope. Bisexual space princess assassin. Quippy sentient ship. Green alien goo. Evil lesbians (but like... in a good way). The warrant is all.

More seriously though, it's a story about three killjoys and the bounties they go after. Initially. And then they have to save the entire Quad from some very terrifying... stuff.

Contains one of the best friendships I've ever seen on television.

3. Orphan Black - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Found family trope but with clones.

Low level grifter sees a woman who looks exactly like her kill herself and plans to take over her identity long enough to cash out. Except then there's two other women who also look exactly like her. And apparently they're all clones and someone's killing them.

Enter a global conspiracy. Human experimentation. Lots of clone shenanigans. Some serial killings. And a few murders 💖.

4. Person of Interest - (containing 5 seasons, or 103 episodes) - trailer here.

Okay I'm beginning to see how I might have a found family trope issue.

Former CIA agent gets recruited by a reclusive billionaire computer programmer who developed a... machine that can predict acts of terror before they happen. But it also predicts 'irrelevant' acts of violence that will result in someone's death.

Unless someone interferes.

I'd really like to spoil some stuff to get you all to watch this one. But I'm going to maintain self control and just mention that early on they get a dog named Bear. Bear is a very good boy. Watch it for Bear.

Also for excellent commentary on rights of privacy, government surveillance and what does 'greater good' even mean? But mostly Bear.

5. 12 Monkeys - (containing 4 seasons, or 47 episodes) - trailer here.

The very best time travel show out there. What starts out as a confusing mess of causality basically exploding, by the end of the series all makes complete and total sense.

(when that final timey-whimey loop slid into place and revealed the entire pattern it was like a choir of angels started singing in the back of my head. It was freaking glorious).

Anyway, a man from a post apocalyptic future travels into the past to stop a plague from decimating nearly the entire world population.

He has the name of the man who released the virus and it's supposed to be a single trip. One trip. One bullet. Simple. Done.

Except then things keep escalating, and escalating until time begins eating its own tail and it might start looking like the end of the world might be a better ending than erasing all of time and space from reality.

Because when our guys screw it up, they screw it up GOOD.

And oh yeah... found family.

6. The Good Place - (containing 4 seasons, or 53 episodes) - trailer here.

A self-proclaimed Arizona dirtbag opens her eyes and finds out that she's dead and got accepted in the Good Place. Except that as soon as she arrives the Good Place starts glitching, and she really, REALLY needs to become a better person before she can be found out and kicked out to the Bad Place.

Luckily her assigned soulmate was a professor of ethics and moral philosophy.

One of the funniest, most thoughtful and clever comedies I've ever watched. Ever. The characters are delightful and by the time the final minute rolled around I had sobbed my heart out multiple times (which, as we all know, is a sign of the very best comedies out there).

As for the question of whether or not this too contains Found Fami- Yes! Obviously, yes.

7. Avatar: the Last Airbender - (containing 3 seasons, or 61 episodes) - intro here (couldn't locate the trailer but it's basically the same thing in this case).

The four nations lived in harmony. Until the Fire Nation attacked.

It's been a hundred years since the beginning of the war when two kids from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy frozen in ice and wake him up. A boy who's able to bend all four elements... though not very well.

Enter multi-nation flying road trip (thank you Appa, we love you most of all) as they try to find teachers for the Avatar and save the world.

Includes found family (shut up), amazing fight scenes, the most heartfelt and vivid characters ever, and the best example of a redemption arc actually done well.

8. Love Between Fairy and Devil - (containing 1 season, or 36 episodes) - trailer here.

This one gutted me. I'm saying this as a compliment. But it had to be said. Completely destroyed me. I just haven't been the same.

A love story between an Orchid Fairy and the leader of the Moon Tribe that starts out with her accidentally releasing him from millennia long imprisonment and then takes you through the caleidoscope of all possible human emotions (it's a body-swap comedy through the first part, then a romcom, then a dramatic romantic tale, and finally a tragic love story).

But it's such a satisfying slow burn.

And it carries this... humanity through the whole thing that makes it so visceral.

If you're a romantic who's very tired of instalove and characters dropping all their morals because 'ooh, attractive person' then you've got to watch this. Because this story does NOT take the easy road there.

(my more extensive rec for this series can be found here)

9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - (containing 7 seasons, or 133 episodes) - fanmade trailer here (it was better than any of the official ones).

This series did so much. Introduced Ahsoka Tano, and made us love her. Gave names and faces and souls to the Clone Troopers (okay, it's the same face but you know what I mean), to a point where their endings during Order 66 destroyed me just as much as the ending of the Jedi Order. And somehow made me both love Anakin AND be a million times more angry with him.

There are some arcs in this series that might be a bit weaker. But there were some... god, there's a reason I love Clone Wars more than any other series or trilogy in this universe. And I'm not even a little ashamed to say it.

Must watch for Disaster Lineage shenanigans; for the vod'e; AND for the Jedi (who did their best okay? They always did their best 😭💔).

(and on the subject of found family... do I even need to comment)

10. Nikita - (containing 4 seasons, or 73 episodes) - trailer here.

A rogue assassin that escaped Division - covert government agency that takes recruits out of prison, fakes their deaths and then forces them to become spies and assassins - has come back to take it down. Brick by brick if she has to. With guns and explosives too when that works better.

Contains soooo many cool fight scenes. Is full of incredible characters you'll fall in love with (and hate with) very quickly. And most of all has an incredibly complex relationship of mentorship and friendship between two women that holds both great admiration and betrayal, real care and love as well as rage and hatred, forgiveness, mutual respect and an unbreakable kind of bond that so very rarely involves even one female character on TV, let alone two.

(as usual, found family tropes up the wazzoo).

-----

In conclusion. We all know there's going to be a large space between seasons of our favorite shows now (and some shows that aren't going to survive it). Let's fill that space with some excellent TV we haven't had a chance to see yet.

And direct the blame for the wait towards the right place (i.e. the studios).

[pensbridge]

I think the view that the Bridgerton women have to be some evil witches and to make a point on your personal stance, you must pit their faults against each other, acting like one is an angel and the other has manipulative motives is just WRONG on so many levels.

Marina tried to trap a man and she said some horrible offensive things to Penelope, who did nothing wrong at that point.

Marina was an alone pregnant woman, driven to desperate measures in an attempt to protect herself, AND she was an 18 year old who thought that she was mature and used her words against her cousin who she felt couldn't understand in her times of stress.

Eloise sticks her nose into other people's business and she was also getting herself into trouble seeing the worker at the print shop.

Eloise is characterized as headstrong, so thinks she knows best. She is 19 and teenagers think they can do, say, and know everything more than anyone else.

Penelope is manipulative. She's just bitter and she could have handled the situation better. Why didn't she?

Penelope is a 19 year old, who didn't know who to turn to for help (at 17), so tried to take matters into her own hands. She's someone who we know has difficulty speaking up so it makes sense her inability to do so as she tried to tell Colin.

Edwina is so dumb. How could she not see what was right in front of her face? She's wrong for going forward with Anthony when she did not know anything that was happening between them. Unknowing, she's keeping them apart; I hate her!

Blame the writers, blame the producers; I don't know. This one is crazy to me how someone who did nothing wrong gets blame as if this plot called for her to be some conniving mastermind. guess 2 South Asian women of color can't be built up. Also she is 18!

See a pattern? These are teenagers! They are naive and in belief that that know more! Everyone is this universe is morally wrong at times. Everyone does things based on their personal beliefs at the time and individual motivations. Everyone has been selfish. That's what makes them humanly written.

Also as a note, the way female characters are written on this show seems to be based on an interest in complicated female relationships and how they can break apart but come back together, while having no contrary feelings to love toward one another.

-Edwina and Kate

-Eloise and Penelope

-Penelope and Marina

(I see it as there can be fights; there can be jealousy; there can be betrayals, but these in-universe characters would not hate the other the way some fans feel angry for them).

[scaryspears]

Finn and Sage's Wasted Potential

Am I the only one that was peeved that Finn was killed because I did find him pretty interesting. Like, his younger siblings are all fine being evil masterminds and stuff, but not him. It doesn't mean he's better, but he does have standards. He had potential, even more so with the fact that he had a relationship with Sage of all people. The same woman who taught Damon to use people as play things and not just food. It makes you wonder.

You'd think that Damon would see Sage as some kind of teacher figure, or that Sage was his Lexi in a way. I'm not saying Damon would have loyalty to her, but be more reluctant when it comes to killing Finn because it means going against Sage.

It could also address the fact that Damon was once like Finn, in a way. I don't remember a lot because it's been years, so bear with me. If I remember correctly, it's Damon that didn't want to turn and was fine with dying, pretty much loathing his own existence, but Stefan forced him to drink blood. Damon's only reason for turning was to be with Katherine, and Katherine not only preferred Stefan, but got Damon on some kind of wild goose chase.

Fast forward to Augustine, and turning off his emotions, leading to the Damon we have today. Granted, the writers probably didn't come up with Augustine during the 3rd season, but it's a thought.

Sure, Damon has had enjoyable banter with a lot of the Mikaelsons, but Finn could've been the one that actually posed a threat to Damon. Emotionally and psychologically. Elijah is the calm and composed one, but Finn is all no nonsense and full of rage. Finn cannot be reasoned with, but does have sense. He isn't the fear mongering Klaus, the reserved Elijah, the invading and reshaping Rebekah, or the chaotic Kol, but Finn is a force of his own. No matter how obvious he seems, he's a mystery.

If they couldn't make Finn interesting on his own, then they could've given him something to work with by giving him a history with another character.

What could've made it better is that Finn isn't like the others. If anyone says something out of pocket or offensive, he doesn't act violently, nor does he threaten them. It could show just how mature he actually is. I didn't fully watch the Originals, so maybe his already existing character contradicts this.

Back to my Damon ramble, Finn could've been something new for him. Unpredictable. He doesn't operate on self-importance like his siblings (and other vampires), but self loathing. You never really know what's going to trigger him, and you don't know if he's going to be an enemy or ally. Finn could've been a catalyst to Damon questioning his own morals and stuff. He keeps giving himself to people who don't appreciate it, and it was seen right in Dangerous Liasons. Damon goes out of his way to protect and fight for people who don't see that, which sort of puts him on the Bonnie boat. What I mean is that Damon almost became like his abusers. Using people, or letting himself be used. Usually the latter. Why does Damon do this to people? Why does Damon do this for people? Why is Damon willing to die for these people? That kind of thing.

Finn doesn't let himself be used (unless it's his mother), nor does he use people. He finds no purpose in it. Damon would be going against a man that would find no enjoyment in 'teaching him a lesson'. Damon wouldn't be sure what to do against a man that barely reacts to his jabs.

Also, Finn seemed to be the only one that didn't care that Kol got his arse handed to him, just curious. The other Mikaelsons looked mildly offended at the blatant disrespect, yet Finn wasn't the least bit bothered.

It just makes me wonder what kind of person he is, and what could've been. Why he fell in love with Sage, a person that taught Damon to be disregarding of human life. I've got many questions.

[alicia-hizumi]

The Bangkok Boy unfiltered thoughts as I watch episode 4 (updated by the minute)

📣 Sad cute girl smoking alert - my heart can't with that

📣 The motorcycle daddy is here but I can only stare at Mei, the gay in me is so strong today, help

📣 Finger Thug better stay away from Mei or I will get pissed 😡

📣 I know we should not like Finger Thug but his buttocks are buttocking in those pants 😭

📣 Bonsai daddy is sitting in his mafia kitsch room drinking ominously

📣 Ahh effing silver apples 😂 The set designer needs a raise, because silver apples are peak of art

📣 Another weird act of violence spotted - gold bars, excuse me mister

📣 Sun turned around looked at Peace thinking: That's some fine Korean boy we got here, be a shame if someone else seized him 😂🔥

📣 Sun and Peace just shine in scenes together, I cannot 💖

📣🔥JUNHO IS HERE PTERODACTYL SCREECHING NOISES🔥

📣 Jinhoo (the evil Korean Mastermind) also kinda slays in this episode. They cranked up the hot somehow

📣 I'm sorry guys but I like the gold bar violence I'm just a Tarantino girlie ☺️

📣 Madame Yao in pink lingerie is sending me to HELL

📣 FINGER THUG IS DOING WHAT TO MADAME YAO SEND HELP PEOPLE 📢🔥

📣 I know we should not like Mr. Joe (Bonsai Daddy) but he's doing a great job at being a gang leader

📣 Yes, the darkness in me thinks it's perfectly romantic to chat up someone you like while he tries to jump off a bridge.

📣 Sun just being so beautiful to Peach/Peace these two characters are starting to get into my heart 😭

📣 Sun literally changing Peace's life with his words now 😭Two murderers and such different outlook on atonement

📣 Guys, Peace is in love ok

📣 Good, old, fall on someone BL kiss 💋😘💋😘💋 Perfection

📣 Sun as he saves Peace's phone number: I like my boys Korean and suicidal ✨🤷‍♀️

📣 Ahhh the cutie pies are chatting 😭 IT WAS SO WORTH IT waiting for a lil' romance

📣 The music video hurt my brain 😭

📣 Sawasdee app has an airport game too? Niceeee 🤣

📣 Kawin and Nut are hot, everyone is hot 🔥

📣 Mr. Joe says I LIKE IT, GOOD SKILLS! Can't agree more Mr. Joe

📣 The bestest date ever I love them 😍

📣 Mei where the frick are you?!!!

📣 Finger Thug is called Aim 🎉. FINALLY A NAME!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Love this, keeps getting better and better! I cannot wait for next week's episode!

FAVORITE SHOT:

[numberonetacostan]

I've returned with another Taco headcanon, I feel like Taco does LIKE making people laugh to an extent. She comments on how she finds naming her team "Chicken Leg" was hillarious. I feel like post canon she would realize that people don't like when she's 100% serious, and that she comes off more threatening then she means too. She notices Nickle getting more friends then her, she tries sarcasm. She notices that (SOMETIMES) people will laugh at Cheesy's jokes, so she'll try those too, trying to make herself more likeable. Though similar to Box, I feel like she wouldn't have a good grasp on humor because of her isolation. She didn't try and be funny beyhond random words and a bit of comedic timing. A lot of her jokes come off as violent, or weird, like when she jokes about "overthrowing the community/hotel", stealing something, etc. - Moldy (ty for the nickname i luv it)

Hi Moldy!!!!^^ I'm glad you like your nickname!!! Welcome back, and thank you for sending in your hc!!!! :]

I think she would like making people laugh, assuming she was doing it on purpose!!!^^ She'd like the positive attention :3 and she'd also like seeing her favorite people happy!!!!^^ She'd try harder to make them laugh ;).

Post-canon she is sooo workshopping her personality too. She's been playing up her evil mastermind persona for so long, trying to just be her normal self while also trying to become a better person!!!! I think she'd lean too hard into trying to make herself good and likeable at first, and end up not only performing an act again instead of being herself but also stressing herself wayyyyy out in keeping it up all the time. She genuinely wants connection this time, unlike when she was acting in s1, and wants people to actually like and accept her, and know she's still acting and not getting that would be so awful for her. angst angst angst!!!! >:D

Anyways yeah!! I like her sarcasm, I think it's so sassy and I love that for her. Also she's quite quick witted, so she would be good with puns too, yeah? I think her joking about violence or like burning down the hotel is so funny, but only on a meta level not to the actual characters. It's extra funny if she has to clarify that's she's joking because she doesn't get the tone quite right. I think she'd give up on those jokes pretty quick. Box might find them funny though, lol.

[fiery-emblems]

So, Soren is a character who's all full of "what if?" scenarios, which i'm pretty sure is one of the reasons we all like him so much. And of course the biggest "what if?" is "what is Soren had been raised by his father as the Daein prince??"

I've observed that the most popular take on this is poor abused baby prince just waiting for his knight in shining armor Ike to rescue him.💖💖💖

(That's some good stuff right there)

If I'm being honest though I'm 100% sure that if Ashnard had kept his kid around Soren would have grown up to be EVIL. That's not because I think Soren is evil by nature or evil without Ike or anything, but Ashnard's entire purpose behind marrying a dragon was to try and create a monster so a prince of Daein Soren would likely be....a monster.

So! Design under the cut!

My thinking is, Ashnard's kid would be growing up in an environment of "might is right, the weak are meat" but Soren is not very strong so he likely would have been forced to assert his dominance through cunning and daily acts of cruelty towards other people. Imagine a Black Butler type evil mastermind young master...yikes!

This is a face that says "You peons are beneath me and I better prove it or my father is going to beat me to death". Also he has a knife because Soren deserves to have a knife in every universe.

"But OP!" You're saying "doesn't he look a little too....boyish?" Yes, you're right. Imagine though, that if the little prince is being raised by Ashnard, he's also being raised by Almedha. From her perspective as a dragon it must look as though her little baby is aging rapidly. Much more rapidly than is natural to her. So I figure she would end up coddling him to an extreme degree and trying to keep him as baby for as long as possible. Normal Soren makes an effort to appear older than he is, in this scenario it would be the opposite.

Last note on hairstyle: I feel like the long hair is tied to his background as a mage, and I don't remember there being many Daein men with long hair (That seems more like a Laguz thing ironically) so I decided to do the short hair.

TLDR: If Soren had been raised by his parents you would probably end up with a bratty, cruel, genius brained, knife wielding maniac. I picture him being that boss you have to fight like 4 times and you hate him because his maps all have extremely difficult gimmicks.

[thearcaneuniversity]

I mentioned recently that I needed to write a post exploring the similarities between Anakin Skywalker and Hwang In-ho... well, the time has come!

(or, in other words, I'm on the clock rn and needed a little escape from the joy that is my job today)

Before diving into the main comparison, I want to share a bit about what initially drew me to the character of the Frontman, so if you'd rather skip my self-indulgent ramblings and go straight to the point, feel free to scroll past this preface.

I was captivated by the Frontman the moment I watched the first season of Squid Game. It took me a while to get around to it, though, as I only watched it in early 2024, curious to explore Korean media and see if it might inspire me to learn the language. Ironically, when something becomes a massive cultural phenomenon, I tend to avoid it until another impulse finally pushes me toward it.

What immediately hooked me was the mystery. I’ve always loved enigmatic characters who hide behind masks... whether they’re heroes, villains, or something in between. The intrigue, the secrets, the slow unraveling - simply delicious! They pull me in every single time. I had my suspicions early on that the Frontman would turn out to be Jun-ho’s long-lost brother, so I was extremely excited for the reveal long before it came. And when it did? Boy, did it deliver.

My first reaction to seeing Lee Byung-hun’s face was purely superficial - what a ridiculously handsome man, but what truly won me over was the acting. My favourite type of acting: the subtle performances, the blink and you'll miss it type of acting, where everything is stored in the microexpressions. Seeing In-ho so conflicted, broken and yet still determined to go through with it - with shooting his own brother... it was a such a powerful and compelling scene full of angst, I knew in an instant that I had hit the jackpot on a new hyperfixation. After finishing Squid Game, I dove headfirst into Lee Byung-hun’s filmography and haven’t stopped since.

Before starting the Season 2 binge, I glimpsed a spoiler saying that the Frontman would join the games this season - I didn't truly believe it. The shock and excitement by the end of the third episode were through the roof and I was glued to the screen. And then the season brought something even crazier: its main theme centered on a battle of ideologies between these two amazing characters, with the Frontman becoming Gi-hun’s foil!

Even in the middle of that juicy, juicy old men yaoi battle-of-wills I was still pretty much mindful about each and every scrap of information we got on In-ho, Jun-ho and their family. While at first the parallels between In-ho and Anakin seemed more surface-level, sparked by black masks and villainous introductions, Season 2 delivered an insurmountable ammount of parallels that simply keep piling up...

Let's start with the obvious:

both Vader and the Frontman are introduced as villains, but it soon becomes clear that they’re not the true masterminds. They’re enforcers for more powerful figures: Anakin under Emperor Palpatine, In-ho under the VIPs and Oh Il-nam. They wear the mask of control, yet remain puppets to greater evils.

they both come from humble beginnings: Anakin was a slave, while In-ho was a middle-class police officer. Their masters, in contrast, are politicians and the ultra-rich. Despite their power, both Anakin and In-ho remain pawns in systems built to exploit them.

both began as defenders of justice within institutions that served as their world’s law enforcement: Anakin as a Jedi, In-ho as a cop. But those institutions themselves are morally compromised. The Jedi, led by their Council, the supposed 'peacekeepers', become generals in a galactic war. The police force, meant to protect, turns a blind eye when it's convenient. Both men become agents of systems that claim moral high ground while perpetuating corruption, upholding the status quo.

we eventually learn they’re not lone figures: they have a past, a family. Anakin and Luke. In-ho and Jun-ho.

both men were good: Anakin - the compassionate boy turned general who fought alongside his troops, always trying to save everyone, risking it all for a friend or a loved one. In-ho, the devoted brother and husband who donated a kidney and raised Jun-ho with love and care, risking it all for his loved ones, a decorated police officer.

their loved ones fight to reach them: Luke tries to save his father and Jun-ho searches for his brother - willing to lie and to risk everything to save him. Luke and Leia, Jun-ho and Gi-hun - flawed characters on arcs of their own, full of heart, unwilling to give up on those lost to the dark, fighting to stop the cycle of violence by bringing down the evil that enslaved them (the Empire and the games).

both Anakin and In-ho had pregnant wives who died - a grief that shattered their morality and pushed them to the brink, a loss that acted as the final straw in their complete descent into cruelty. Anakin’s prophecy of Padmé dying in childbirth, and In-ho’s knowledge of his wife’s illness, are what first pushed them toward unspeakable acts in the first place. And while their tragedies don’t justify their actions, they do give them meaning.

to survive, both men cling to delusions: Anakin convinces himself the Jedi betrayed him, that Padmé abandoned him. In-ho believes the Games are fair, that people are worthless animals, that he’s somehow helping them by giving them an opportunity at a better life. They were betrayed, they are right, what they're doing is good, these people deserve it, etc.

in their unacknowledged pain, they retreat to isolated places steeped in their own pain: Anakin in his fortress on Mustafar, In-ho on the Game’s remote island.

and yet, a spark remains: Anakin dreams once of returning to the Jedi, to Obi-wan, only to crush that thought - this reality is all that there is, there is no going back. In-ho avoids his wife’s grave, his brother, his step-mom, hides behind a mask, kills Jung-bae to teach Gi-hun a lesson - because this is all there is, he has to make a point, he has to prove to Gi-hun - and to himself - that what he's doing is right.

eventually, someone reaches out: Luke refuses to kill his father and helps him destroy Palpatine - his slaver - and free himself. Jun-ho never stops believing in his brother. But Jun-ho alone won’t be enough, just as Ahsoka wasn’t enough to save Anakin. She represented a past he wanted to erase. He didn't want to kill her, but he had to. Similarly, In-ho doesn’t kill Jun-ho, but he pushes him away.

just like Anakin needed Luke, In-ho may need Gi-hun. There are differences, of course, in their situations and relationships, but when it comes to the roles they play, Gi-hun is to In-ho what Luke was to Anakin: a beacon of hope, a stranger who sees the humanity even at its darkest point and still reaches out with compassion.

Neither Luke nor Gi-hun knew the man before the fall - but both meet him at his worst, and choose to believe in forgiveness and redemption. Because in the end, what is most important is to stop the cancer at its core. They pause and say: you are worth it. You can make another call. Let's stop this sensless death. Let's turn back and find another way. You can and should be good. The way forward may be the only way through, but that doesn't mean that there is only one path to get there or that you cannot change it.

There is always hope.

[honestlyboringperson]

This alliance dissolved faster than sugar in hot water. (Persona 5 AU)

Also I know Bigb and Lizzie have similar outfits and themes and Ren is more red than Pearl, who’s codename is literally just another word for “red”. Eh, oh well.

Southlanders

Team B.E.S.T.

The Scottage + Gem

Magic Mountain + Cub

More under the cut!

Lizzie - “Flora” - The Tower Arcana - Carabosse/Persephone

Once the leader of a sorority and with sky-high academics, Lizzie has since fallen from grace after allegations of foul play were revealed. Even if Lizzie didn’t commit such actions, the label stuck and she has since been outcasted from the student body and now spends her days in the shadows, taking care of quite a few stray cats. Despite these setbacks, she still retains her gleam of authority and tries to help lead the phantom thieves, using some of her old connections & IOUs from her days as an honour student. She’s in an active and loving relationship with a certain former delinquent.

Within the metaverse, Lizzie uses Carabosse. Carabosse is more well known as “Maleficent” or the thirteenth fairy from sleeping beauty. As revenge for not being invited to a party, she curses the newborn princess to prick her finger and die, which another fairy changes to simply falling asleep after pricking her finger. I wanted to combine the two aesthetics and themes Lizzie finds herself in; cutesy fairy and supervillain mastermind.

Her Ultimate persona is Persephone. Persephone is the wife of Hades, and queen of the underworld and goddess of spring. Persephone is often equated and conflated with Despoina, who’s real name isn’t revealed to anyone but those who initiate her mysteries. She is noted to be so terrifying, one must never utter her by name out loud unless they want to catch her attention. This is heavily contrasted by the later interpretations of Persephone as a simple spring goddess.

Ren - “King” - The Emperor Arcana - Arthur/Fenrir

Ren is a prodigy actor at a local theatre, with his acting skills being matched by no one in the theatre. He specializes in dramatic characters with flowery speech and theatrical monologues, to the point whenever he’s in the metaverse, he LARPs as an Evil King. He helps hook the Phantom Thieves up with a weapons expert, who for some reason wears a goat mask 24/7. Upbeat and Loud, he and Skizz helps keep morale high in the phantom thieves. He’s very close with Martyn, despite Martyn insisting he’s just using them as pawns. Whether or not this is true or not is yet to be determined.

His persona is Arthur, namely King Arthur. He is a famed king, known for his sword Excalibur and his large entourage of knights. His story lives on through media, be it through simple books to as grand as whole stage plays. He is often portrayed as a well meaning king who defends the land from both human and supernatural threats. Although his legend has changed throughout history, his story is one bedecked by both tragedy and grandeur.

His Ultimate Persona is Fenrir, a key figure in Ragnarok and killer of Odin. A child of Loki, he and his siblings were foretold to bring the end of the universe and in Odin’s attempt to escape this prophecy, he ends up giving them the power and motives needed to enact the tragedy. In Fenrir’s case, he was brought up the wolf in their home where only Tyr had the courage to approach him to give him food, which sparked a friendship between the two. However, due to his rapid growth everyday the gods made three leg cuffs and had Tyr helped trick Fenrir into putting the cuffs on. When he realizes the trick, he bites Tyr’s hand off. In Ragnarok,he breaks free of his chains and swallow Odin whole, killing him.

BigB - “Spectre” - The Temperance Arcana - Winchester/Eshu

A velvet room attendant who is currently abandoning his duties as an Attendant in the first place. Since the new velvet room manifested, he has since been shirking his duties to explore the outside world, never really returning to the Velvet Room. He still speaks in a somewhat strange manner but is polite and charismatic, making him well liked by the people around him. He initially joins the Phantom Thieves to keep Watch of Grian, as he is aware of his true nature, but eventually finds more reasons he desires to stay. He is especially gifted with persuasive speech and helps come up with alibis for the Phantom Thieves whenever they get into shady business. He has an odd habit of exiting rooms through doors that weren’t originally there.

His persona is Winchester, both the person and the mansion. Sarah Winchester was the wife of the inventor of the Winchester rifle. After she was widowed, she was told she would be haunted by those whose lives were stolen by the rifle her husband created. In order to prevent the ghosts from harming her as well as to possibly contact the ghosts of her lost loved ones, she turned her farmhouse into a strange, maze like mansion with doors and windows that lead to nowhere, stairs that end in ceilings, trapdoors, and barred windows.

His Ultimate Persona is Eshu or Èṣù, a Yoruba Orisha who specializes in divination and acts as a messenger between heaven and earth. He was known to have tricked Ifa out of his secrets of divination, and another where he frees Ifa from his imprisonment within a palm tree and casts him as a founder of the Ifa religion.

[t-allyitup]

core traits

edd:

dark trait is manipulation (hear me out) i really do think one of edd's biggest dark area traits is that he ultimately wants everyone to get along to the point of destruction, i did post about this a bit ago in relation to my fic but i feel like this desire would lead him to bending his morals and sacrificing his own sanity/peace for everyone to get along. i feel like he could easily go down the road of either 1. manipulating, blackmailing, etc etc people into staying on good terms/keeping the peace or 2. letting himself get walked all over or used or something in order to keep tension at a stasis point

as for light traits definitely his humanism, he genuinely cares about his friends and people on the cul de sac and in multiple episodes despite his participation (and sometimes masterminding) the scams he tends to prioritize safety and comfort initially, even if the sentiment is lost during the actual scam

grey traits in my opinion would be his unquestioning loyalty/blindness to failure in authority figures (his parents mainly, this isn't necessarily a bad thing it can just become very stressful and dangerous) and obsessive/compulsive nature (can be a good thing when he's concerned about safety, can be a bad thing when it drives him to be controlling (containing vs restraining))

ed:

ed's dark trait is spitefulness. hear me out! again! ed rarely shows negative emotion outside of sadness, but when he does get angry or upset, he tends to get that way as a reaction to the behavior of others. he went back and forth with double d calling him "stinky hat" when double d wanted to take his cheese, and when he got that rock in his shoe he tried to annihilate eddy because eddy was fed up and insulting him. ed reacts out of spite, not always, but it's a pretty clear trait.

light trait is his acceptance of others and openness to experience, which combine with each other well. he has a broad emotional pool and is seen "communicating" (acting responsively) to plank in a few episodes. he is validating of his friend's choices and participates in their scams/activities

grey area is his response to change. he clearly harbors some kind of difficulties with this, just various comments throughout the show and some inferences shows that he seems uncomfortable with it (cheese episode again but he would not let go of that mf)

eddy:

dark traits with eddy is a where do i even start situation. he shows lots of the qualities of machiavellianism, egoism, self interest, and spitefullness. i think in my opinion his trait is self interest. i think eddy does feel bad about what he does to the other cul de sac kids but self interest is his obsessive desire and he has a massive preoccupation with his need to fit in/feel seen so self interest is the one.

light trait is, as you probably guessed, his charisma. it is one of his most magnetic qualities and occasionally the only redeeming quality about him in general. he is compelling and direct in his approaches, genuine or not, and he channels his charisma effectively even if he uses it for evil sometimes

grey area would have to be his seeming emotional detachment from things. could lean to psychopathy, could lean to a trauma-informed response to his situations in the past. either way it creates a lower level of empathy but a higher level of protection for himself so maybe it's a grey area trait