#guess it can be a “despite everything it's still you” kind of thing in terms of. art and design and just everything in general

[oceanwaves-mp3]

redraw of my first dsmp fanart back in 2020, this is it with and without the filter <:)

i look back at the original and cringe a lot, but this was really fun to do and it's nice to see just how much i've improved in the course of 4 years

[idyllwave]

There is No Law that Emperors Must be Fair

Emperor ! Jing Yuan x Princess ! Reader

Chapter 8 | An Aeon

Summary | You are set to marry the Emperor, Jing Yuan. In order to break the engagement, you stage an accident and fake having amnesia. But now, your own cruel, cold, and distant fiancé, who seemed to not want anything to do with you, is now acting all lovey dovey!

want to be a part of the taglist? then pls go to taglist ^-^

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When you wake up, your mind feels kind of fuzzy. Almost as if you were missing something.

“Something the matter?”

You felt your soul leave your body at the sudden voice causing him to laugh. Snapping your head to the side, you noticed it was the man from before. The one who erased your death- wait, your death? And that was when it hit you. You couldn’t remember how you died or the pain that you felt. It was like-

“It never even happened?”

You gave him a weary look, causing him to chuckle softly at both your expression and how you were acting.

“There is no need to fret, you know? I am not going to hurt you.”

“What- what are you doing here?”

You ended up ignoring his lighthearted words and gestured to the library. You were still on the couch, and the book you were holding had fallen to the floor.

The man mused to himself, his smile light and warm.

“I suppose it was quite rude of me to task you finding my name.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because my name hasn’t existed in the sense that you know of.”

“…I don’t understand.”

Sunday turned a little and patted his lap. Despite not remembering your death, you did remember how you met him. So you crawled to him, moving some of the cushions in your way and laid sideways, your head nuzzled comfortably in his lap which allowed him to run his fingers through your hair once again.

“My name is Sunday, and I existed not too long ago. However, my reign was short lived thanks to that Emperor. And to worsen my pride, he went and erased my very existence by taking out everything that had any relevance to me.”

“Sunday…?”

You let his name roll off your tongue. The name wasn’t familiar.

“So you fought and lost against the Emperor?”

“I did. I suppose I wanted to see if I still existed somewhere. Anywhere. Though, if I don’t even exist in the Emperor’s library, well, then my name wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

“Why did you fight against him?”

“For my own beliefs. Much like everyone else.”

“What exactly are you anyway?”

“I’m just Sunday. An older brother. A friend. A leader of sorts. And someone who failed in the end.”

“How are you here now then?”

Your voice was soft as you spoke and when Sunday looked down at you, you wondered how someone so angelic could look so sad but still have that soft smile on his face.

“I guess you could say I got lucky with how supposedly died… if shorter terms, I became an aeon.”

“An aeon…huh? And what was that kiss you placed on my forehead? Ever since you did it, I have been having trouble remembering some things.”

“A kiss on the forehead erases pain and misery, so I kiss your forehead, however, a kiss on the forehead can also erase memory. I suppose…, I just didn’t want you to remember the pain you felt when you died.”

“Why?”

Sunday smiled at your question, “because I wanted to, do I need any other reason?”

You hummed at his answer, your eyes glancing back to the library door. You don’t remember closing, maybe Blade did?

“So now that I know your name, what am I supposed to do now?”

“Well,” Sunday started, “you still want to go home, don’t you? Find a way to do that.”

“But how? I kind of died the last time I tried.”

Sunday shook his head as he tried to keep himself from laughing, “don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find a way. And don’t worry about the rest. If you do die again, I’ll simply erase everything all over again.”

You nodded to his words, but yawned once more, despite sleeping for so long, you were still so impossibly tired which was when Sunday gently bent down to kiss both of your eyelids.

“A kiss to your eyelids, to erase your tiredness.”

And it was true, the sleep that was beckoning gradually left and just as you were about to say something to him, he was already gone. Your head was no longer on his lap and instead rested on a bunch of cushions, and just as you were about to sit up, the library door opened.

“You’re still lying down,” Blade said, an obvious hint of annoyance rested within his tone causing you to frown at him as you sat up.

“I was getting up,” you argued which caused Blade to roll his eyes.

“Whatever…, are you planning to stay here all day princess?”

Huffing at his attitude, you stood up while completely forgetting about the book you had been reading, “I get it, ok? I’m leaving right now.”

Stomping your way out of the library, Blade followed not so quietly after you.

“Woke up on the wrong side of the couch, did we?”

“Oh shut it you…,” your voice trailed off when your stomping slowly slowed to a stop as you looked out to the field where there were a few people riding horses.

A new idea soon forming in your mind.

“Blade.”

“What?”

“I want to go horseback riding.”

taglist pt 1

@danae-misfortune @frogsasfrogs @openthenyoor01 @zuhaine @ughlostmyotherac @joyfulnightprincess @thechibifoxcub @ceaether @satanisasofties @thetwinkims @yanrandom @honeybunbun @superdonkeypatroleggs @ohmyfinggod @baboon-milk333 @zareri @kclremin @rains-mae @yccoffeesimp @bloomiesty @moon-taffy @superdark-soul @pinkismyfavcolor @isa-l0v3r @its-astrotea-love @reapersan @junephantom21 @erisfayred @greyrain23 @justadekusimp @uzxotic @alisstaa @avalordream @unlivingdisaster @pix-stuff @sleepyxion14 @pillows-blankets @anicega @junni-berry @niaainthere @sorachitsuki @dyingsweetmackerel @rosariymchapter @immahuman @fluffy-koalala @momoniq @orphiclueur @insightedly

[dippindaz]

Relationship HCs

Still unsure of how I wanna write the Sinners characters so forgive me if these are a bit choppy, I'm working on it!

Warnings: Mentions of blood, death, and very slight arson, brief mention of sexual talk(Stack), mentions of crime, brief mention of a gun(Smoke), mention of stalking(Remmick obvi), manipulation(Remmick), control(Remmick), kinda gaslighting(Also Remmick, damn this guy's a catch), AFAB reader in mind though it's mostly gender neutral, I think that's it

Characters: Smoke, Stack, and Remmick

Elijah "Smoke" Moore

His life has been full of corruption, backdoor deals, and distrust in the system. That's just how it is for men like him. Smoke reads people like newspapers, and you earn his trust slowly. If you're "not from around here," he watches you like a hawk at first.

On the other hand, Smoke doesn’t "date"—he courts. Expect slow-burn tension built through lingering glances, quiet walks through town at dusk, and handwritten notes left tucked in a book. It’s old-fashioned in the most soul-stirring way.

He doesn’t open up quickly. Early on, he watches you more than he speaks to you—measuring your words, your reactions, your soul. But once Smoke trusts you, his emotional depth is staggering. He doesn’t say "I love you" often, but when he does, it lands like scripture.

He isn’t the type to grandstand. He protects you with subtleties—walking on the side closest to traffic, checking the locks twice, noticing when your mood shifts even if you don’t say a word. He’s like a steady hand on your lower back guiding you through a crowd. And he'd kill for you without a second thought. But you’d never know—his threats are silent. Just a hard stare, a slow stand, a calm "We done here?"

Smoke doesn’t announce his anger. He doesn’t rant, or threaten. He watches. Measures. Files it away. If someone hurts you—really hurts you—he doesn’t need to raise his voice. He’ll simply make sure that person’s luck runs out. Even if that's simply pulling out his pistol.

Smoke likes smalls rituals. Consistency. Getting up at the same time, making the bed, making coffee, sitting down to eat. He’ll invite you to share those rituals, not to control you, but because sharing sacred things is how he shows love.

You'll never have to guess what he wants. Despite not being a talker, Smoke isn’t a game player. But you will need to read between silences. In return, you get loyalty and devotion that feels elemental.

He's not PDA-heavy, but behind closed doors? Smoke’s hands say everything his mouth doesn’t. He holds you like he’s grounding himself. It's deliberate, reverent. Like he's memorizing every part of you.

Elias "Stack" Moore

Stack falls fast and hard—if he's into you, everyone knows. He’ll drag you into a whirlwind of chaotic plans, late-night drives, half-baked schemes, and sweet nothings mumbled against your neck at 3AM.

If anyone so much as looks at you wrong, he’s ready to throw down. You're his, and though he’d never cage you, he makes damn sure you feel claimed—in the best, most delicious way.

He can sweet-talk you into anything—an argument, a kiss, a stupid adventure. But beneath the charisma is someone who feels everything too much, all the time. You’ll be the calm in his storm, but Stack needs someone who isn’t afraid to stand up to him, too.

He’s the kind of guy who says "I love you" mid-fight, throws his jacket over a puddle for you, and would absolutely get you anything you ask for, even if it's mentioned in passing.

A stolen locket. A nice coat he bought for you. A flower plucked from the cemetery fence. He shows love like a fox bringing gifts to your doorstep—part concerning, part suspicious, but still all sweet.

Physical affection is constant with Stack. Arms slung over your shoulders, kisses on your temple mid-sentence, rough hands tangled in your hair. Stack loves hard, and he needs to feel close to you to function.

He uses every possible term of endearment for you—"doll," "sugar," "honeybee," "sweetheart," "babygirl," "pretty thing." He’ll call you "trouble" with a grin and whisper sexual things under his breath in front of others just to see you blush.

You spend most nights at the Juke joint together. He thrives in low-lights with the blues playing and whiskey flowing. He’ll take your hand and twirl you through a crowd like you’re the only person alive. He might get into a fight. He'll likely win. He’ll definitely make it look like it was for you—even if it wasn’t.

Stack takes things personally. You cry? He’s already on his way to break somebody’s jaw. He doesn’t think first. He reacts. Wildly, passionately. His love is loud, so his vengeance is louder.

Stack's temper is a match waiting for a strike. But with you? He softens. Even during the fights you may have, he'll barely raise his voice, if at all.

He is feral about making sure you’re taken care of. He grew up knowing pain and hunger, and you’ll never feel it if he can help it. Even if it means going back to a life of crime.

Remmick

At first, he waits. Watches. Learns what you like, what you dislike before you ever know his name. Then, Remmick woos like a gentleman—pulls out your chair, quotes poetry, knows exactly when to laugh, when to lean in, when to say your name like it means everything. But it’s never just romance—it’s strategy. Your reactions are data. Your affection is leverage. At least, that's how it started.

Everyone else is expendable, usable. But you? You’re different. Once you’re his, he doesn’t let go. He might test you, manipulate you, but it always comes with that unsettling devotion. You’re not part of his plan. You are the plan.

He'll act like some upper class man in most scenarios, folks trust easier that way. But when it comes down to it, he fights like someone who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Because truthfully, he did. That duality is part of his draw—and his danger.

With enough motivation, he can find anyone. And if they hurt you or insult you, you won’t hear a word about it after the fact. You’ll just see a headline the next day about a new missing person. And his only comment? "I warned 'em."

Whether you have money or not means nothing to Remmick, he doesn't want that. He wants your loyalty. Not the easy kind. The kind forged through shared secrets and dangerous truths. If he has your trust and you have his, he’ll kill the whole town for you. Burn the world for you.

He's possessive, but not always openly. You won’t always see it. But you’ll feel it when someone else touches your hand too long. That cold silence. The next day, the person is gone. "They had debts," "Shame, really."

Remmick doesn’t control in obvious ways—he guides. He convinces. Suddenly you’re wearing what he likes, avoiding who he hates, echoing things he’s said. But he frames it like care. And maybe to some extent, he believes that's what it is.

He doesn’t believe in second chances. Betrayal is met with ruin. But if you wrong him—hurt him, lie to him—he can’t let go. Not really. He might punish, withdraw, twist the knife—but he won’t walk away. You’ve been branded into his soul, and he hates that as much as he craves it.

Someone talks bad about you? They’re scared shitless later that night. Touches you without permission? Their business burns down. Hurts you? They vanish. He doesn’t just get even—he erases.

He trusts almost no one. Most people he keeps close are pawns and usually not even people. But you? You’re the one person he doesn’t use, even if he manipulates the world around you. He’d kill for you. He’d die for you. And though he'd never let it happen, he expects the same devotion.

You’ll never get the full story (At least not while you're human). Not until it’s too late. You’ll know pieces: his banjo, the letter in a foreign language he hides, the night he came home covered in blood with calm eyes. You’re not sure if he’s trying to protect you—or protect himself from what you might think.

[stillness-in-green]

Some thoughts on The Discourse about the last BNHA cover

(Note: This Discourse was on Twitter. I don’t know how much of this may have been said here on Tumblr, so consider this either my contribution or just me reporting back on drama from other fronts.)

So, I saw a lot of back and forth over there between people who didn’t like the cover and people who did, and I spent a little while mulling it over. It seemed to me that the people who didn’t like it had a good point, but one they were not articulating particularly well, possibly thanks to the character limit and possibly also because the people talking about it tended to phrase their objections in sarcastic, consciously exaggerated terms because that’s the language months and months of dealing with the truly insufferable Horikoshi Defense Squad on Twitter primed them to use.

So what is the point?  Basically this: In going for the lazy/easy callback in both the cover design and Dai (plate-hair kid)'s role in the final chapter more generally, Horikoshi landed on an "everything comes full circle" ending when what the story desperately needed was an indicator of change.

We didn't need to know that a kid with low self-confidence and nothing to speak of in the quirk department can still become a Pro Hero if he[1] wants to.  We already knew that because it's what the whole story of BNHA was about!  Deku passing the torch/paying it forward is nice if all you care about is Deku's personal arc, but it's sheer reductiveness if you care about literally anything else.  If there was going to be a kid getting Deku's encouragement and help at the end, if that's the ending Hori was absolutely set on, it shouldn't have been the Deku Redux kid; it shouldn't have been the weak kid who has already been metaphorically proven capable of becoming a Hero.

1: And of course it would be a boy.

It should have been the troubled kid, the one from the bad family situation, the one who isn't sure whether he even believes in this Hero thing.  It should have been the kid who, if nothing about Hero Society had changed, would’ve been rejected by the whole corrupt system—in so many words, the Tenko Redux kid.  That's the one who we saw could not become a Hero under the previous system.  That's who we needed to demonstrate the system's improvement.

Instead, all we get is Deku helping himself.  And it fits, I guess, because “himself” is the only sort of person Deku ever wanted to save anyway—remember that in the very first chapter, Deku tells All Might that he wants to be a Hero because he was never “saved” as a kid and so he thinks saving is the coolest thing ever.  Implicitly, then, Deku wanted to be the kind of Hero who could have saved the kid he was, and that tendency to reserve his compassion for people he can recognize himself in—the crying children and the Hero wannabes—is consistent throughout the series.  Dai, then, simply becomes the very last of these examples, the chance for Deku to tell his middle school self that he, too, can be a great Hero.

And that’s quite a choice, isn’t it?  Take a second to consider the implications there. The metaphorical parallel Deku helps is his middle school self, not his childhood self—there’s no evidence that Dai was bullied on the same level young Izuku was, and we sure didn’t see anyone telling him to jump off a roof.  So, who does save those children, then, in this grand, improved version of Hero Society?  Does anyone?

Well, not really. Not that we’re shown. Indeed, the child who was the closest analogue to young Izuku—a weak and seemingly quirkless boy who stuck his neck out for other rejected children, who still stubbornly wanted to be a Hero despite a parent's disapproval—was Tenko, and Deku pointedly did not save him.

To be clear, I don’t mean that just in the sense that Deku failed to save the adult Tenko became, but even in the emotional sense that the series clearly wants me to believe Deku succeeded at, the saving of the boy's heart? I don’t think Deku even managed that.  Sure, he might have protected the echo of that child from a few memories, might have held his hands for a few exchanges of dialogue, but then the boy transformed back into the form of the Villain he'd become and was swallowed down the spiritual maw of the man from whom society failed to save Tenko to begin with! And what was Deku doing as this happened? Absolutely nothing but yelling impotently as he got blown backward and out of the mindscape.

Imagine that Deku had found some way to cheer up Izumi Kouta only for Muscular to kill the kid thirty seconds later.  No one would be saying, “I think Deku still saved him—his heart, anyway,” if Deku got Kouta to smile and admit that Heroes were actually pretty cool only to do nothing but scream helplessly as he watched Muscular pulverize Kouta’s ribcage with one gentle squeeze.[2]

2: Mind you, this comparison is flawed!  Unlike AFO’s vestige, Muscular doesn’t turn up to kill a child as a direct result of Deku’s own actions. Also unlike the events of the final battle, Deku doesn't jump up and personally administer the killing blow to the still-screaming victim, either.

It just leaves me thinking about some of the stuff @codenamesazanka has said about how the narrative treats Shigaraki and Deku helping him: not as something Deku has a duty to do, not something Hero Society on the whole owes Shigaraki (and all the other metaphorical expy/future Shigarakis), but rather a bonus, a nice extra, a demonstration to shine up Deku's Hero cred because he's making efforts no one else would bother with and that no one would reasonably expect him to make. It's not Deku’s job to save the Tenkos or the young Izukus of the world; apparently that just falls to society at large.

So then, what was the point of making Tenko/Tomura such an extreme case of someone who started in a similar place to Deku?  Why make him, also, a weak kid who was told he couldn't be a Hero, if you're not going to have Deku save him in the way no one saved Deku himself?

From where I'm sitting, the answer is, "It seemed like a good idea to Horikoshi at the time, but proved to be poorly thought out."  But if Deku failing to save his own closest childhood analogue was where the story was going the whole time, then Shigaraki should never have been used to parallel Deku to begin with.  It's just a damned waste of Shigaraki as a character, an insult to everything he represented, to use him for ~the parallels~ throughout the entirety of the story except the very beginning and the very end.

Anyway, Pro Heroes are bullshit and the ending should have been them being radically reconceived from the ground up with input from all the people they failed to save.  But again, if you have to still have Heroes-qua-Heroes at the end, and you have to have some stupid thematic echo because you as an author think callbacks are the single most compelling storytelling tool of all time, then everything we got on Dai should have been for Scissors-kun instead, and here I am very much including Dai's scene before the first war. An unsettling scene of a strange child with his mouth sewn shut, stuck in a straitjacket in a dark room should have been the last thing we saw before launching into the day of the raids, an apparent element for the future in the same way that so many future Villains were first shown in the wake of Stain's arrest.

See, Shigaraki’s own destructiveness is what ultimately frees Scissors-kun from the basement, “saving” this rejected, abused child in a way no Hero ever managed or even knew to try, just as Shigaraki brought light and a strange sort of hope to the lives of so many others whom Heroes failed.  However, Shigaraki couldn't carry his ambitions through to the end. He was never able to meet the kid he indirectly saved, never able to offer that appallingly abused victim an avenue for his signature brand of rough justice. Heroes stopped him from doing so. So then, who will help Scissors-kun?

If we’re to believe that the story's protagonist has made a real difference, that Deku and his classmates have changed the world for the better, then we don't need to see them helping a kid who we already know is going to turn out fine because “he” aleady did. We need to see them help the people that previously only Villains would have helped, picking up the torch they struck from Shigaraki’s hands.

So sure, keep the scene with Granny Evil and Scissors-kun if you must, to show that it’s not only Heroes but also the broader Hero Society that’s changed. After that, though, show Deku stepping in.  Show him taking an interest in this kid as a way to keep his promises—to Shigaraki, that the rejection and obliviousness that he sought to destroy have indeed been destroyed and will remain so, and to Spinner, that Deku will remember Shigaraki for the rest of his life. 

When Deku is older and in a position to give advice to a kid who’s floundering and uncertain of what to do with his life because of what people around him say about him, make that character echo the characters the old system failed to save, not the character who the entire story proved would do just fine.

For god's sake, ditch Deku Redux.

Now, I know the obvious rejoinder here: We can’t use Deku’s story to say that BNHA already showed us that Dai would be fine because Dai has a quirk where Deku did not, therefore Deku’s path would not be open to Dai.  To this, I would reply that neither Deku nor Dai specify that Dai wants/is able to be a top Hero, merely that he be the kind of Hero people can admire—which the story has also already proven true!

Ojiro got into UA with nothing but one (1) extra limb.

Manual has a perfectly middling quirk that turned out to be absolutely crucial in two different wars because it was the right quirk at the right time.

Wash’s quirk makes strong bubbles. 

Like, this list is not short.  Manifest Plates might or might not make Dai Hero Billboard material, but one of the major points of the endgame was the sublime and noble value of helping when you can, in the way that you can.  So to reiterate, we didn’t need that to be proven again in the epilogue.

If anything, going the route of retreading the same story makes the epilogue much worse! Not only do we not get to see how this society is helping the people the old society most profoundly failed—victims who fall through the cracks and become Villains—but in seeing yet another a weak kid being mocked for his heroic aspirations, we find that we’ve barely moved a step beyond the exact same place we started.

That’s the message Horikoshi chose to go with, for both the closing chapters of the story and the story’s final volume cover.  Truly, as art that summarizes the story goes, it’s a masterful choice!  And that's the whole problem. The cover of Volume 42 is a perfect illustration of the self-absorbed, cynical, cyclical nature of BNHA's endgame. Little wonder, then, that it's hated by the same people who hated said endgame.

[yanderefarm]

How did ares wedding/proposal go with us

🐀

cw;; violence mentioned, yandere tendencies, murder, hurt/comfort

i think this was the ask that originally had me revealing that you and ares aren't actually married yet. but here's a proposal? kind of. im sure he made you do a big fancy one eventually but!! still.

you have lived with ares for a while now and despite his knack for violence it's been domestic bliss. you go to work, come home, and get adored by your boyfriend. well, boyfriend is a weird term for it. technically you two are boyfriends but somehow ares seemed to have skipped that step. whenever he would introduce himself to people in your life he would call himself your wife and you were his husband. you even got so used to calling him wife you forgot you two weren't actually married.

the only thing that reminded you of your unmarried status was that pretty golden ring around your lover's finger. you were holding his hand, your thumb mindlessly playing with the band while some trashy reality tv show played in the background. you looked at the ring as you started to slide it up his finger.

"....have you ever thought about actually getting married? ..... i mean like to me."

ares turned his head to look at you with confusion. "we're married?"

"no. we're not."

"you're playing with my wedding ring."

"yeah. the wedding ring from your ex husband."

he blinked and then looked down at his hand, his brows furrowed. "oh."

"...so? have you ever thought about marrying me?"

he looked between the ring and your face before smiling softly. "of course I want to marry you. you're my husband."

"but I'm not." you didn't realize just how deeply this was bothering you until you were pouting.

"yes you are."

"no. that stupid... that guy is still your husband. he got you first."

"are you jealous?" ares asked in his flirtatious way, a finger going up to twirl his hair.

"no. i mean... yes but I don't want you to get that way about it. I'm serious."

ares dropped his hand and shifted to face you. "you know I don't care about that man anymore, don't you?"

"i... i guess?" you let out a sigh and looked away from him. "why do you... keep so much stuff that reminds you of him?"

"it doesn't remind me of him." ares reached out and cupped your face in his soft hand, pulling you to look at him again.

you found yourself leaning into his hand. "it's his wedding ring... his heart... you still have some of his clothes."

"i got rid of the hearts like you wanted."

"god, don't say it like that i feel like I'm being unreasonable."

he chuckled. "i want to gouge out the eyes of everyone who looks at you but you're unreasonable?"

you let out a little huff and leaned against his forehead. "maybe we're both unreasonable."

"i don't want you to feel bad, honey bunny. tell me what you need from me and I'll do my best to give you it."

"what if i want to burn down this house with all of his belongings and your ring and run away together?"

"i could arrange that."

you chuckled letting your head fall to his shoulder. "i just... i wish i knew you didn't love him anymore... sometimes i.. i worry you're going to get bored of me, cheat, and kill me."

his fingers ran through your hair coaxing you closer into him until your nose nestled against his neck.

"you're nothing like him. he didn't love me... he was just scared of me all the time. he knew what I was doing and he hated me for it... you would never treat me like that."

"i think most people would be scared of you killing people..."

he pouted. "you're not. you love me."

"yeah because im crazy. and you're crazy."

"I'll never find someone else who loves my crazy like you."

"can i take it off?" you started to slide his ring off as you leaned in for a kiss.

"please. i only want yours. burn away everything. burn him from my skin until only you remain."

you finally caught his lips, his wedding ring discarded somewhere as you began kissing passionately. the next morning you started picking out rings together.

[cozymochi]

Hey Cozy! Saw your most recently answered ask about Nyoka and wondered. How much would someone or thing have to push him to actually show or use his fangs? Or use his unique magic on them. Basically, how much would it take for him to actually go off? Since he's not a hot head, I assume it would be a lot.

Also, what about Emilio and Cecil or Tia? How much would it take for them to go off on someone, and would they use their unique magic/Grim (or any physical object within reaching distance for the lovely magicless Tia) in that situation?

(Apologies if this has been answered before! I couldn't remember if it was or not.)

Anyway, thank you for sharing these wonderful characters with us! And for putting up with us and our questions. 😌 Hope you have a wonderful day/night!

(i like questions, they keep me sustained 😭💖 I was gonna draw for everything but I kinda. Hurt. Anyway-) Prev Ask in question /// Unique Magic/Signature Spells

I’m not sure… he puts up with a lot already every day. It’s very hard to get him to bear fangs at all, he’s just not going to no matter how much he’s goaded. He’ll certainly threaten it, but he doesn’t want to actually do it. He puts being dignified above that. That’s a last resort defense if truly cornered, and he would be very unhappy (and lowkey embarrassed) if it resorted to that without a justifiable reason. He’d have to really be taken by surprise, which also isn’t easy to do. Unless, like…. Someone like Grim was suddenly lobbed at his head out of nowhere—

Who can prep for that? But, I suppose it would vary. He’s not as bite-happy as one would think.

Nyoka’s UM in itself isn’t very practical in terms of being beneficial to him consistently, so there isn’t much incentive for him to use it. Unless he was playing very dirty for some reason and knows what kind of person he’s targeting— and don’t get me wrong, he’s not above that sort of thing. There’s just no reason for him to want to use it. It’s just not subtle enough and risky. Somebody else more ambitious might find making others act unscrupulous against their will useful though.

Cecil mostly takes the any of the shit given to him with sarcasm or grumbles to himself, but he’s an opportunist. IF given the shot to retaliate in a dirty way, and he isn’t having a second-guessing moment then he is more than willing to shut somebody up via freezing them like a statue. They won’t be having a good time when their eyes dry out from not being able to blink /hj. God forbid being on the receiving end of a spell screw-up from him too at that. With how sarcastic he is, it seems like everything bothers him all the time to some degree.

Emilio is already a mess, stepping on his boots might be enough to get him upset to the point of retaliation /hj. Like Cecil, he’s an opportunist so if there’s a chance to play dirty he will. His UM is not useful in this kind of scenario though. If Emilio feels his abilities in some way are being underestimated or disregarded it’ll probably just turn into a stupid competition to prove his superiority. Despite how he wants to present himself he is a bit hot-headed and his retaliations might be disproportionate in scale. “This person touched my coffee mug, so I took their kidneys” headass. (Disclaimer: not literal, but that’s the energy)

The first thing Tia did when summoned to Twisted Wonderland - aside from run from Grim - was scream and lob nearby objects at Crowley when he found her. He still holds this act of violence against him to this day. Tia gets bothered pretty easily and will speak up about it or try defending herself in some way. She also hates being underestimated and thanks to her tunnel-vision may jump into situations she’s not equipped for at all just to prove a point— then regret it almost immediately. She tries to stay composed and usually she will be, but she can get cranky if pushed too far.

She’s the prefect, I think the “what” in this scenario speaks for itself. She’s at NRC. Her friends are the principle cast. It’s over.

[anachronistic-falsehood]

i. don’t really know what to think about the whole forever situation. because i have seen people say “he’s addressed this a long time ago so why are we bringing it up” but i haven’t seen WHERE he’s addressed it in the past. nary a tweet or clip of anywhere he may have talked about it, but i would love to see an older clip of him talking about this if possible

I’ve seen people say “his tweets and messages were translated in bad faith to give english speakers a bad perception” which. ok yeah understandable but if that’s the case i still don’t know what exactly the situation is or how serious it is

“she was 13” “she was 15” OK WHICH IS IT!!! both are bad but one is still significantly grosser than the other and i don’t know which is true!! or are there multiple girls!!! i don’t know!!!

“he met a fan for flirtatious/sexual reasons” “he met a fan for normal content creator reasons” WHICH IS IT!!!! I DON’T KNOW!!! i guess only he and the fan would know what the intent was when they met, and even then i don’t know if they met alone or if it was a normal ass fan meetup with multiple other people there

“it’s been 7-8 years, he’s changed” ok. now we are making some sense. he has not exhibited this kind of behaviour in years it seems and he appears to be the kind of person who would not say or do these things now. no one is irredeemable and no one is beyond change. still, it is important for some people to know. many fans would rather know this and make the educated choice on whether to support him or not than continue to support him in blind blissful ignorance. even though it’s stressing me out and i’m still clueless about a lot of it, i’m glad i know anyway.

“what about the past transphobia and the ableism and the and the and the-” That Is Not Relevant To This Conversation. this is a different situation. he has apologized for his past opinions and everyone has had ample time to come to terms with them and make peace with supporting him despite his past beliefs.

“he’s deleting past tweets” i mean if someone was digging around my account for things i’ve said that i no longer stand by, i would delete shit too. sure as hell doesn’t make him look innocent but i would do the same. i HAVE done the same, albeit for much more minor and trivial reasons for posts i made when i was like 15, but still

“he apologized and said he’s getting a lawyer!! no guilty person would do that!!” your content creator is not an angel. guilty people take their accusers to court all the time and get away with it. also, it is up to everyone individually to decide whether to believe him or not. you cannot push others to believe your side but you can give context to some things

there’s nuance to this like there is with everything, and people are jumping to conclusions saying either “he’s an innocent little lamb how dare you!” or “he should be deplatformed and we should never speak of him again!” i will never fault anyone for supporting the alleged victim. if your decision is to stop watching him immediately or even stop supporting the qsmp itself, no one should ever fault you for that. it is ultimately up to you to make that decision. the situation is not clear enough for me to make a decision, so i will withhold judgement for now. i will not doompost about it, and i will not call out people for defending or dropping him.

but for the love of god, just. everybody keep your cool. especially english speakers, we may not have full proper translations for the messages and tweets. take a deep breath. if you want to find more info to form an opinion now and spread information that people don’t already have, go ahead. if you want to step back and not think about it for now, go ahead. there is no shame in taking a step back and thinking about other things. you are not morally obligated to be invested in this situation. you are not morally obligated to drop him immediately and you are also not morally obligated to keep supporting him just because he’s friends with your favs. stick to your gut and do what you feel is right. you will be okay. this is not the end of the world.

[miffy-00]

I love ur writinggg do u think u could write enemies to lovers hc for jean?

tysmm !! and ofc i can 💕💕

i definitely think enemies to lovers with jean would be a long term thing. he can definitely hold a grudge

i’m thinking childhood enemies to lovers OOOOOO

and you guys were forced to be friends because your families were

and your personalities just didn’t mesh. he was conceited and sarcastic. you were more in touch with your emotions. jean saw it more of a weakness and teased you relentlessly. despite all this you guys still had to grow up with each other.

the final straw was when he broke your treasured music box… and he didn’t even apologise and instead made YOU feel bad about it. “it was by accident ! i don’t know why you’re so upset..gosh..you’re so sensitive…” and you’re fighting back tears :((

after that you guys just kept your distance and only interacted when you needed to.

so fast forward a couple years later. you guys are older, more mature and you guys are both back for summer

and because your families are so close you’re being forced to go to jeans for a bbq. AND YOU ARE DREADINGGG IT. you’re begging to not go. but it’s not use.

and he’s in the garden helping his dad grill some meat or whatever and you’re thinking, “maybe i can avoid him..for the whole day…”

you join the conversation between your mum and jeans mum. you’ve always loved jeans mum, despite never getting along with her son. she treated you like her own daughter.

“jean ! guess who’s here !!” uh oh

your plan of avoiding him clearly failed as you hear footsteps approaching

“what are you doing here ?” he laughs but you meet him back with a glare “and just when i thought this day couldn’t get any better” and he slings his arm around your shoulder, dragging you to the garden.

“so..what’s been new in your life…softie?” you could sense the teasing and mocking tone in his voice.

“how many times have i told you not to call me that.”

“hmm, gee i can’t remember softie”

“goodbye jean.” you weren’t going to do this again. you weren’t going to snap and give him what he wanted. you were tired of his condescension.

you were just about to turn around to leave when jean wraps his hand around your wrist. it wasn’t hard or anything but more firm, almost like he was so pleading for you to stay “what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“my bad, i didn’t realise softie pissed you off that much. look, i’ll stop okay? just don’t walk off. again” again??? was this guy serious. was he completely ignoring everything he had said and done to you ??? walking off was the only thing that allowed you to keep your sanity

but despite that you couldn’t help look at his kind eyes. feel his gentle touch. he was even taller than you remembered. stubble grazed his chin and you didn’t even THINK he could grow facial hair. he grew his sandy hair out like he always said he would. who was this boy-no man in front of you? and why did he-

“softie…hello…?” his hand was waving in front of your face. “are you still with me..?”

“ yeah..i am..it’s just um..it’s hot outside so-”

“oh okay. we can go to my room then. i have a fan.” he says walking ahead of you. “cmon softie, i don’t want to leave you behind” why was he being so genuine and nice?

so you guys are in his room. it hadn’t changed AT ALL.

same posters, same scratches and scuffs on the wall. the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling are now peeling off.

you could even see his childhood teddy, peeking out from under his pillow, which made you smile just a tiny bit.

but the room felt smaller. jean had changed. you’ve changed.

but it’s peaceful. not awkward or tense. just soothing.

you guys are both on the floor. you’re lying on your stomach, the fan blowing cold air into your face. jean lying next to you on his back bouncing a ball of the wall.

you didn’t want to run. instead you wanted to stay with him..

“softie?”

“…what.” you pause to compose yourself and prevent another argument.

“do you still hate me?”

“um..i don’t know..a bit i guess..” you were taken aback by the question. it’s hard to ever get jean to be honest and vulnerable but here he was.

he laughs but it seems forced and stilted. “i know i did a lot of stupid shit..but i didn’t mean to hurt you alright? i just…didn’t think it mattered i guess.”

you turn to see him to see jeans eyes are stuck on you. “you were young and stupid. i mean, you still are but i don’t know…i’m holding out hope for a more maturer version of you”

“who says i haven’t already? you know..matured.”

you roll your eyes and scoff “i’ll believe it when i see it jean.”

he sits up and leans closer into you. you even catch the faint snell of his cologne mixed in with his coconut shower gel. his voice just above a whisper, “you’ll see it eventually. just trust me..okay?”

you didn’t know how to respond. but you weren’t about to respond with vitriol. you didn’t want to leave his presence, it was comforting. you were in his old room, with his fan humming lowly in the background. jeans rhythmic bouncing of the ball. his eyes tracing over you. maybe this could be okay.

because jean had changed.

a/n: AAAAA i hope you like it anon it was very fun but stressful to write !! i don’t think i can write short pieces OMDS 😭😭 and tbh this is more a drabble in headcanon/bullet point form + it’s more slowburn BUT i just hope you guys like it i might write more if it’s well received 😜

[chaifootsteps]

does the 'we're only halfway through' squad realize that half of a show is more than enough time to expect actual character development to happen? because it hasn't and I suspect it won't, because Viv is terrible at actually making character changes stick

Blitzo - he's fared the best of everyone but it's still not much to look at - he's still an impulsive jerk who's mean to Moxxie. He's decided to stop butting in on M&M not because he respects either of their boundaries more now but because he's pining for Stolas for no adequately explained reason. His relationship with Loona hasn't changed, he's still a bit overbearing and overprotective. He's made up with Fizz but it doesn't really feel like he's changed meaningfully to become a person who wouldn't make the same mistake again because the first mistake was just an accident he couldn't have foreseen. Regressed in some ways because Stolas has totally wrecked his confidence and made him behave out of character by making Loona, his beloved daughter, burn taxidermy owls and neglected to pay his employees i.e. hurt the people who should matter to pine over his abuser.

On his end he's treated rephrensibly by the people who are supposed to love him - Stolas obviously, but also treated poorly by Fizz, M&M and Loona as not one of them think how Stolas treated him is messed up. IMP in particular are actively aware of Stolas being the meal ticket and assume it's fine to pimp out their boss since he's not complaining about it?

Moxxie - learns he needs to be confident in his own skills. Repeatedly. Occasionally calls Blitzo by first name but still uses 'sir' often, so he hasn't really changed there. No relationship to speak of with Loona. Mostly happy together with Millie

Millie - her only plots are helping the men get their shit together. Stopped calling Loona hellhound for no explained reason

Loona - made a friend in Tex, kind of. No change in most of her relationships with the cast because she barely has one

Via - repeating the same 'why does dad keep neglecting me' arc until she cuts him off, at which point he'll probably win her back in five minutes (then go right back to ignoring her)

Stolas - developed to learn the deal was wrong but not really since he's ending it principally because Blitzo wouldn't date him at the same time as Stolas was sexually extorting him. Still treats Blitzo like an object whose feelings inconvenience him. Still neglects his daughter. Learnt to stand up to Stella out of nowhere, so there's that I guess. Regressed harder than anyone else in terms of development since he's incapable of ever admitting when he's done wrong - it's not cheating since he says so, and gives lip service to the idea he's hurt Blitzo before being Shocked and Appalled whenever Blitzo confirms outright 'you hurt me'. Still talks down to imps. Has yet to acknowledge any of the members of IMP by name or show gratitude for them saving his life. A waste of flesh and screentime

Fizz - changed from a chaotic sassy king to a scared abused woobie. Managed to get free of Mammon in the space of one episode. Made up with Blitzo. Feels bad about not being equal to Ozzie but we're going to sweep that under the rug since classism storylines are a problem for making stol1tz happen

Striker - went from a legitimately scary antagonist who had a point, tempted Blitzo with great chemistry to a laughing stock who not only always loses but is called a supremacist despite only having ever pointed out the rich have all the power and mistreat the poor (a thing the show has proven him right about time and again). Goes from smooth seductor to joke with a hygiene problem

like, we can admit this is a tiny amount of development for two whole seasons and 50% of the entire show, right?

You can really tell the people in this fandom who actually watch other forms of media from the ones who don't, and by that I mean "haters expecting everything to be revealed in episode one." Shows don't reveal or even necessarily plan everything from day one, but I can't think of another cartoon that wobbles around as much as HB does.

[raziiyah]

I have a question: why did SO MANY people think Randall had a crush on Johnny? I mean, how come Randall supposedly sees Johnny not as the grown up spoiled brat he needs to think for ? Randall literally abandoned Johnny completely and just saved his own ass and escaped from prison himself.

honestly i feel like the idea of randall having a crush on johnny comes from headcanons over what's shown in canon for the most part

i mean i see where it comes from, in all monsters media, johnny is like the only person that randall's been shown to actually like. yes he was mike's friend but i think their current relationship goes without saying, and sulley is, well, self explanatory. but them aside, randall either hates or, at best, is indifferent towards everyone else. he has been shown having a few positive interactions with other monsters, but they are either very early on in mu when he was friendly or lasted for like 2 seconds

on the other hand, randall wanted to join the cool kids from day one, who johnny was the leader of, so he already admired and wanted to be friends with him from the very start. then, he actually did become part of his circle, and so they had some kind of relationship there that could be speculated on. you could go the route of saying that randall was johnny's friend, or that randall would do things to "impress" johnny by doing tasks that would make him more likable in his eyes, etc. then you have maw making it so that randall supposedly rejoined ror and they actually became best buds, and supposedly were on good terms for several years. i feel like their dynamic involves a lot of speculation because they didn't actually interact with each other on screen very much, so their dynamic is mostly based off of the viewers perception. isn't it fcking insane we only saw johnny talk to randall directly only like twice in mu like randall didn't even say anything back

and randall's referral to johnny as his bestie could be one-sided, but maw johnny does actually seem to genuinely enjoy his company and he pushes away his former right-hand man chet in favor of randall so i mean there is some truth to that

also randall did abandon johnny in prison, but i suppose everything up until that point he was pretty loyal to johnny. and im sure he stayed with johnny bc he owed him and wanted power and payback for what sulley and mike did to him blah blah blah but even so, if randall can escape prison, than he could certainly leave johnny if he wanted to. but he stayed, upholding his promise, and he looked to have a good time doing it. and randall just says he owed johnny one as an explanation for working with johnny so he could've been the one to suggest staying with him. randall and johnny genuinely looked like they enjoyed each others' company too and randall looked happier than ever which im ngl was nice to see (but made me laugh the first time bc i thought randall would've hated johnny after mu 😭) also randall could've spent his nights somewhere at fear co and hid out there but there could be a tiny chance johnny could've let randall stay at his house (though i don't agree with this because i don't think johnny would let this literal criminal stay in the house with his wife and kids also there)

don't get me wrong their relationship isn't the strongest at all 😭 and yeah randall did abandon johnny; and i'd be surprised if he came back for him, but for randall, this is the closest relationship he's been in (onscreen) plus the aspects that make their relationship toxic or messy etc could make the ship for interesting or appealing for some

i guess one way you could say that randall doesn't see johnny as a spoiled brat is bc even though he certainly got a head start with his family name, johnny is still naturally talented and was initially shown to value honest hardwork and skill (just think of how he reacted to sulley' bad grades in mu despite his family name) and being a ceo of a major company is respectable. and randall also is shown to value genuine skill as he got offended when mike accused him of cheating to get his scream numbers up. taking maw into account they had also become quite likeminded. they were both shitty but maybe that's why they deserve each other. aside from randall being some kind of a friend to johnny, randall could've also been blinded by his admiration to think of johnny in a negative light, he looked up to him already, not to mention the fact johnny possibly saved his life after randall got banished and was the only one there for him

their stories also intertwine with each other as they greatly affected each other's fates and wouldn't be the same monster if it weren't for each other's influence (i made a post about this here) before randall met johnny, he was sweet, timid and friendly, and before randall was revealed to be working with johnny, johnny was deemed as respectful, honest business and family man. but in the end they both ended up as criminals, their names both forever tainted. and considering randall left without johnny as soon as he wasn't useful they were never truly in it together. doomed yaoi for real/j

here's the kicker: tbh i uh also kinda had the hc that randall did have a lil crush on johnny at some point 💀 i honestly don't know where it came from though lol like i think i was exposed to enough ship art a long time ago that i just made up that hc and it just stayed lmao. don't get me wrong though i don't actually ship them; i just see it as a former little one sided thing from randall's side and nothing too serious. canonically i wouldn't say for sure that randall did or does have a crush on johnny but i occasionally like some of the ship stuff of them

and i know at some point even back then i began to hc randall as bi but between all the ship art of him with dudes like sulley, mike, fungus, whoever, randall x johnny was like the only mlm ship with randall where i could see him actually liking the other person so that could also be why

though i didn't really like much of the dynamic of their ship back then which is probs why i saw it as a one sided crush, i felt like most fan content of it at least at the time was just johnny being manipulative to a young freshman randy which i wasn't fond of

though i'll say this, i think i like more of the art of randall and johnny's maw selves together better. firstly maw gave their relationship a lil more background and actually provided more content for the ship. like now we know that johnny's implied to have forgave randall and gave him a second chance, so they were friends in uni for much longer, they would've grew to be close friends, maintained that relationship years later, and worked together for a while. plus they feel more equal now idk, and i like their partners in crime thing more than what they had going on in mu (canonically) even though i don't personally ship them for real i do have a bit of nostalgia?¿? for it (idk what word to use) and so i still personally like to hc that at some point randall had a lil crush on johnny. plus i like to joke about the ship at times

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

I have a translation question for you! 

In Chapter 3 of the official translation, Meng Mo says the following: 

“With time, your power could overturn and sweep away the entirety of the three realms, and the heavens and earth within—and it would all be simple!” 

The way I interpret this quote in English, “the entirety of the three realms” and “the heavens and the earth within” are separate things. 

While we don’t have all the PIDW details, the three ‘realms’ that Bingge successfully unites certainly seem to be the mortal realm, the demon realm and the cultivation world. (I’m under the impression the word translated as ‘realm’ is 界 or ‘jie’, which can also mean a kingdom or group, not just literal dimension. As such the cultivation world, which considers itself separate from mortal governance, could still count as a ‘realm’ despite not having its own separate dimension.) 

If the three realms are as I mentioned, then naturally the heavens and ‘the earth within’ (presumably the underworld) would be separate things. 

As I don't actually know Chinese characters, my interpretations here could be totally wrong though! That’s why I’d like you to weigh in, if you’re willing to do so. 

听他语气转冷,梦魔有点火光:“修魔有什么 不好?若你能修魔,你身上那一层东西,将于你的 修为有大大裨益,一日千里!凌驾万人之上,绝非 空谈,假以时日,纵横三界翻天覆地所向披靡,绝 不在话下!”

Hearing his voice turn cold, Meng Mo's anger flared, "What's wrong with learning demonic cultivation? If you can cultivate demonically, that thing in your body will greatly benefit your cultivation base, you will be able to grow by leaps and bounds! Overcoming ten thousand people, these aren't empty words! In time, you can cleave and bend the three realms unhindered so the heavens and earth will be turned upside down, everything will be at your feet!

Chapter 18 (SVSSS web serialization)

Okay okay... so... the sevenseas kind of compacted two, technically three I guess, different idioms here,

纵横三界, zòng héng sān jiè, to warp and weft (literally like the weaving techniques), crisscross and move unhindered (which comes from The School of Diplomacy for war tactics and strategies during the Warring States period)

翻天覆地, fān tiān fù dì: to turn the heavens and earth upside down (idiom) to cause total confusion

所向披靡,suǒ xiàng pī mǐ: sweep everything before ones self, be unstoppable,invincible

So WHOOO lots of background and a LOT of flowery language from Meng Mo to convince Luo Binghe to be "one of the cool kids".

Essentially he is saying, Luo Binghe has the potential to change the world up to the point of (metaphorical) heavenly upheaval. He is leaving it to the mortal type of obstacles Luo Binghe faces, right now with humans, immortal cultivators and demonic beings, as he is choosing to stick to uhhh... I got a lack of a better term here, but appealing to that Chūnibyō rhetoric.

[star-gazer101]

What's a Honeymoon Phase?

Part 1

Pairing(s): 5012 x Reader, Casper x Reader

Characters: 5012 and Casper

Warnings: Slight teasing of Australia, 5012 can't romance, 5012 and Casper having a sort of dick measuring contest. Reapers can sort of lie as a treat. Slight Beyond the Bet DLC.

AN: I'm still not sure how this will go, but I'll try my best!

(Also, apologies to Australia. I'm sure your country is a very nice place to live! ^^;)

-

So, first impressions: Not so good. 

After the big marriage shock that you can’t recall (which you did NOT consent to–you hoped), you were starting to come to terms with this whole ordeal. And of course, your new husband of choice looked like he was slowly coming to terms that he, himself, might have made the biggest mistake of his life.

Probably was the same as when you first met him. Heh. Imagine that. Why did he marry you anyway?

Ah. Right. Spur of the moment. Should have ran while he had the chance.

With all things considered, you suppose Kai wasn’t all that bad. Aside from his face being permanently stuck on ‘pissed off’, Kai is…weird. 

One moment, he can cook you a pretty decent meal, though his seasoning could use a little more work. Then the next, he has complications with…almost everything else.

TVs, household appliances–you name it–Kai would almost break them. You even saw him having a one-sided argument with your dishwasher of all things.

But that wasn’t the weirdest part!

During one day at work, a work friend had told you your husband had come to give you flowers, to show you his affections…

And he did…But…

They weren’t exactly the same flowers you were thinking…

Five sacks of ‘flours’ were brought to your desk. Much to the confusion of your peers…

Were you actually on a prank show right now???

When you did manage to confront him about his weirdness and where he even came from, did things even get more confusing.

With the straightest look you have ever seen, he deadass said with his whole chest:

“I’m from Australia.”  

Yep. It’s official. Real life is an illusion and you are actually a brain in a jar.

No offense to Australians, but this guy did not look like he was from there!

Speaking of which, Kai kind of reminds you of a certain ‘generic white haired anime boy’ back in college…

The very same dear friend that you were meeting with for lunch at this moment.

-

“So, I heard you got married. I guess a ‘congratulations’ is in order.”

Good ol’ Casper the ‘not exactly friendly ghost’ that you met back in college. And the two of you have been very close ever since…Not by choice at first…

Funny thing is, during the first four years you’ve stayed together was a bit of an accident. And by that, you remembered that by some mistake, your name, despite being gender neutral, was placed on a list with other potential male dormmates.

Thus, that is how you met Casper and the rest, as they say, was history.

“Please don’t, Casp,” You pleaded. “I don’t need a reminder on how I sold my hand in marriage to a complete weirdo.”

“That bad, huh?” Casper had the nerve to smile at your misery. If he weren’t such a good friend, you would have strangled him by now. “Care to share with your much more capable friend, Sunshine?”

And why did he have to give you that nickname? It should be a crime for him to make you feel all warm and gooey!

In the end, you told Casper about your husband. Unsurprisingly, he took your side. Just like he always does.

“He sounds horrible. Who doesn’t know how to use a dishwasher?”

“Hello pot. Meet kettle. Didn’t you struggle with a lot of things when we were last roommates?”

Busted. “...At least I know what flowers are?”

You scoffed. “Nice save. But you are still just as bad Mr. ‘I-come-from-a-far-away-continent.’

Casper tried to defend himself. “I told you, Sunshine!  Australia is not what it seems!”

…

…Wait a minute…

“Funny. Kai told me he came from Australia, too…Do you guys happen to know each other? Or–”

Casper quickly slid over his tray of fries to place your focus elsewhere. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, Sunshine. Just keep eating. And maybe when we’re done, I’ll get you something to cheer you up.”

Free fries AND a free gift? Casper knows you all too well! 

And you suppose you can let this one slide. For now.

-

Words could not explain how there were far too many issues in regard to this so-called plan. It may have worked for higher ranked devils, but this was ridiculous.

Giving a mortal the best day of their life before they die is one thing, but being forced to marry the mortal that reapers were supposed to kill is another glaring issue.

And to top it all off with the various paperwork that needs to be done in the Underworld is not making 5012’s situation any better.

Reapers were already starting to question their existence. And he did not need to pile all that while playing “house” with a mortal who doesn’t trust him.

The Demon King is undoubtedly laughing at his misery.

Just stay focused. All in good time, the mortal’s soul will be his for the taking.

5012’s phone vibrated on his desk, reminding him of an upcoming message. The sender was from the numbers 8394.

Suspicious. Reaper 8394 never calls him for anything…

With a sigh, 5012 picked up his phone to read the text. What he saw was a image of you happily holding a bouquet of sunflowers with a note attached that reads: these are the kinds of flowers mortals prefer >:D

…Oh…

So that’s how it is.

Unfortunately for you, 8394, that soul will be his.

[fayevalcntine]

Anyway I've been kind of following the press releases for The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) (French) movie and some potential spoilers that I kind of want to air out:

The film seems to be marketed as "much darker" in terms of focusing on the revenge aspect, which I don't mind, but some other stuff give me pause as to how they're gonna handle The Count as a character because the way the actors talk about him, he almost sounds weirdly irredeemable, or rather just completely incapable of still loving and caring about people? Which is the exact opposite of how he behaves in the book..... he wants to be cold and completely detached but fails each time because he a) forms close connections with people like Haydée and Maximilien, even comes to deeply respect Albert despite trying to talk himself into not caring about the boy and b) is meant to question his own revenge plot because it inadvertently causes the death of an innocent child

Apparently Haydée is 'torn between her loyalty for the Count and the love of her life' with said love of her life being.....guess who? Albert de Morcerf. There's no mention of a court scene so far where she accuses Fernand of being a traitorous officer and murdering her father, instead Edmond apparently gets her to seduce Albert but then Haydée falls in love with him for real? I once wrote a post complaining about this type of idea I've seen others mention as a "potential fix" for the plot but taking aside my issue with Albert/Haydée as a pairing in any sense, in this context it's almost doubly bizarre and I feel like the writers took so many different elements from the book, namely Albert's blind trust and admiration towards the Count and the forbidden love story between Maximilien and Valentine, and decided to go for a much more digestible change for the story, I guess? The actress who plays Haydée also mentions that she wants to "break free from the Count's psychological grip", which..... you can say a lot of stuff about Edmond/Haydée as an overall dynamic, particularly in him inserting her in his plan for revenge, but the big thing noted in the book is that Haydée makes the decision herself to testify against Fernand, and even thinks that the Count will disapprove of her for this. He also does genuinely care for her and wanted her to inherit everything he owns should he die.... the whole point of him taking her in is that he wanted her to have the life she was entitled to before Fernand's actions stripped it away from her.

The film also seems to have merged several different characters related to Villefort into one, namely Benedetto/Andrea and Bertuccio, since Andrea (in the film) is also under the Count's wing and seems to accompany him as a possible servant in some scenes. This isn't a bad idea in theory, though I'm pretty sure that he ends up dying when he goes after Villefort at the court house, so I presume he's also supposed to represent Edouard's death? My main question is when this scene even happens in the film because apparently, there's a final sword fight (likely the one between Fernand and Edmond), so the death that makes Edmond question his entire plot isn't even at the end of his plan?

This brings me to my next point which is why are Fernand and Edmond even doing a sword duel in the first place.... apparently the film has Fernand come from a rich family already, and he's known and been friends with Edmond prior to his imprisonment, so w/e, classic trope of CoMC adaptations at this point. But the duel and Haydée's 'seduction' plot just makes me think that for all the apparent attempts at centering her as a character more, these writers took out a significant scene related to her character that means a lot FOR her, namely the court scene, and instead centered Edmond's feelings of betrayal towards Fernand. I know that this is likely to also focus a lot on Edmond's lost life with Mercedes, but Fernand isn't even such a significant focus of Edmond's ire in the book as much as the other two men are.

The movie doesn't seem to end with Mercedes and Edmond getting back together, which I at least appreciate if this Edmond is "much darker" than even in the book, but if he isn't with her or isn't dead by the end, what exactly is the point of him going off alone? I presume this is the ending if Haydée/Albert are supposed to represent Maximilien/Valentine and the Count "gives them support" for being together, but Edmond was pretty much contemplating suicide until Haydée stopped him in the book. The point is that his focus on avenging the past was his only assumed reason for living, but there's a chance for him to simply live on with those who genuinely care about him as he is now. Without him trying to make amends through Maximilien and Valentine and Haydée indicating she will only live if he lives, I can't really see the film making a good argument for why Edmond wouldn't contemplate suicide instead of living on.

Apparently Villefort has a Bonapartist sister (I presume this character is meant to replace his father in the film) whom I also think Edmond saves from a shipwreck that has been shown in the trailers. I've zero clue how this movie is going to fit a new character in this while doing all of this to the other more significant characters, but that seems to be a general trend with this scriptwriter duo.

Only minor positive thing so far is that Eugenie IS included for once, and they didn't omit her being a lesbian.

[ladyaislinn]

Rufus Sewell Says He 'Struggled' Being Cast as the Bad Guy But Jokes It 'Suited the Shape of My Face'

The 'Diplomat' star tells PEOPLE that, for "a long period" in his career, "I would be sent a lot of, if not evil, kind of stoic and silent personages"

Rufus Sewell doesn’t think he has the swag of a lot of the bad guys he’s played.

“I'm not naturally assured,” Sewell, 57, tells PEOPLE. “I actually have a frenetic nervous, people-pleasing disposition. I'm not a cool guy. I'm quite warm.”

Still, the British actor has found himself playing a lot of not-so-angelic characters, including his latest roles as Prince Andrew in Scoop and Hal Wyler in The Diplomat.

“When I first started working, the kind of roles that I usually did were very, very, very far from me,” Sewell says. “When I left drama school, I'd always played little old men and a hunchback. That's how it made my mark. There was a long period when I would be sent a lot of, if not evil, kind of stoic and silent personages.”

Sewell didn’t think those roles played to his strengths, though.

“That category of part didn't actually suit what I was best at,” Sewell says. “But it kind of suited the shape of my face, so I kept my mouth shut. It's only ever been irritating when people who should know better in the industry send me scripts according to something that I really struggled to do.”

Sewell shares that when he did take on villainous roles, he felt like he “could do something different” with them. “It felt like I was trying to make the best of the same kind of category of part for a long time,” he continues. The father of two says he found playing Prince Andrew “easier, in a way” than previous roles because “there wasn't any expectation that it was my kind of thing.”

“I think the opposite is often true with parts that I'm casting because of other parts that I've told,” Sewell says. “People might think that things are just what I'm like when really it takes a lot of work.”

Sewell confesses he hasn’t gotten “anywhere near” the kinds of roles he really wants to take on. “I suppose you could say I love it when people think they're miscasting me,” he says. “I really, really enjoyed doing theater and comedy, and Hal has a bit of both. That's why it's so much fun, because it's got a bit of everything.” Hence why, ahead of the release of The Diplomat’s second season, Sewell says he feels secure in his career for the first time.

“This is the only time, really, that I feel safe,” he adds. “It's only the third show I've ever done that has had a possibility of continuing, the third long-term thing I've ever done. There's an anxiety that you need to keep an eye on the writing because it could change, the voices could change so it makes for periods when you don't sleep in the same way. Now I look forward to getting scripts because I don't care what happens story-wise because I completely trust that what the show is.”

Despite more than 30 years in Hollywood, Sewell says he doesn’t always get recognized while out and about, for which he considers himself “quite lucky.” “I get recognized a lot in the couple of months after something I'm in has been out, and then it just kind of recedes, which is very nice,” he says. “You get people coming up and saying nice things, but it doesn't really hinder my progress around town. What happens more often, which I always try to be nice about, is when people come up and ask me to tell them where they know me from.”

Related: Why The Diplomat Is Getting a Shorter 6-Episode Season 2

Sewell can usually guess. “I can often tell if maybe people recognize me as Jasper from The Holiday or if they're gonna recognize me from The Man in the High Castle where I play an American Nazi,” he says. “But most of the time I fail to come up with what they know me from and I send them on their way as in as friendly a fashion as I can. But it doesn't bother me at all.” In fact, being unrecognizable to many makes it easy for Sewell to enjoy his favorite type of day off: grabbing a coffee and diving into a good book.

“I always have a pile of books that I read one after another. If I did have time off, I like to find little cafes and where I can just sit in the corner,” Sewell, who's currently filming The Diplomat season 3 in New York City, says. “That's why it's quite nice that most people don't recognize me. That's totally fine.”

people.com Oct.2024

[liquid-bonhomme]

i love that the lily critical tards are going less and less after lily and it became this huge group glazing sai because she's the biggest of yall nobodies. yall glaze her so much just for a white american women that said the n word.

Yeah, so, obviously this is still just the same old anon who's been crying in my DMs for days again-- they aren't going to give a fuck about whatever I answer. They're making noise. But this is as good of an excuse as any to talk about this.

Sai and I do know each other. I'd feel weird calling her my friend-- we're really not that close. But we interact on some degree of frequency in a jovial manner. I'd call her . . . A buddy. I guess. We're like two people who will shoot the shit at the watering hole if we are both there, enjoy each other's company, but I would not consider the degree of closeness to be "friend" level. At least not a friend in the most casual sense of the term.

I do like Sai, and I enjoy her company. I know people REACT certain ways to women who don't always phrase themselves in the most amiable ways possible-- but I can tell you she's not nearly as stubborn and aggressive and lacking in compassion as some of you think she is evidently.

Her communication style is very forwards, which can be a double-edged sword. And I get it-- the internet confuses a polite tone for civility. You fuckers will pearl clutch like a anti-vax Christian mom caught in a pride parade less someone be too forward and blunt-- even if what they're saying is a valid point.

If any of you have somehow failed to notice I don't consider rudeness an unforgivable sin.

I do avoid really engaging in just dickriding or defending her in general. I know that's a one way ticket to bring expected to answer for everything that comes out of her mouth until the end of time-- despite the fact that there's tons of things I do disagree with her on.

Disagreements I will voice. Though no one seems to notice that.

The last post I made mentioning her by name I'm literally both defending her and criticizing her.

It does genuinely amaze me how bothered some of you are by the idea that some of us aren't wholly put off by someone speaking generally in an assertive tone.

You know what sort of people genuinely do twist my titties? Dishonest people. Snakes. Liars. The willfully obtuse. The two-faced. Cowards. Weasels. Bad faith actors. Manipulators. Cry bullies. Bullshitters and shiteaters of all shapes and kinds.

A bigot is a bigot whether they're being blatant or couching it in progressive-coded language.

A predator is a predator in a trenchcoat in the ally way or putting on a performance of a trusted friend.

An idiot is an idiot no matter how many big words they use or academic sources they superficially cite.

A friend is not a friend if they whisper sweet nothings while stabbing you in the back.

An honest person can still be an asshole, but a dishonest person is always.

I don't know how long it's going to take some of you to get that "but she said xyz in the mean way that hurt my feefees," is not the iron proof you think it is that Sai is the devil incarnate.

And frankly I worry some of you are genuinely so fucking clueless you actually think every bad person is going to reveal themselves to you with full transparency-- when it's the ones who don't that you need to watch for.

[cassandra-silver]

Now that Jorge posted the trailer, let's talk about my hopes for the Ithaca saga

I didn't really do this for the Vengeance saga, despite that being the first saga I actually watched on release day. But for that saga, my expectations were a lot vaguer; I kind of just went into it expecting nothing and everything ... and honestly, by this point enough time has passed that I can confidently and without recency bias say that the Vengeance saga is my favorite saga to date.

Honestly, I could sit here and talk about expectations such as "let Athena reappear and reconcile with Odysseus", "flesh out Penelope and give us insight in her yearning for Odysseus", or "give us more background and characterization on Antinous and the suitors" but honestly, that feels a bit superfluous because I trust Jorge to do those things anyway (especially the last two.)

So, I'm going to talk about some expectations that are a lot vaguer and bolder instead ... Which is why I call them "hopes" in the title, rather than expectations.

Before anything else, I'll talk about my thematic expectations here. Namely how, if I were to guess the theme for the Ithaca saga, I would guess "the necessity of forgiveness and acceptance", contrasting the Vengeance saga's "the unnecessity of vengeance and resentment."

This would make the last two sagas two sides of the same coin, in the same way that Thunder and Wisdom are (one explores a formerly merciful character trying out ruthlessness, the other a formerly ruthless character trying out mercy.)

There is also so much room to explore this theme, not just in terms of how Odysseus' family receives him. In the way he might have to accept the changes in his family and his life since he left, in how he might start showing signs of accepting himself and his own changes, and also in the way he might interact with the suitors.

First, I actually want to talk about a character from the Odyssey who I, against all odds, really hope shows up because his inclusion would be so perfect for EPIC's themes and exploring the complexity of Odysseus' character: Amphinomus.

Disclaimer: I haven't read the Odyssey in ages and while I did some research for this post, please correct me if anything I say is wrong.

Now, in case you don't know, in the Odyssey, Amphinomus was one of the suitors, and specifically described as the most decent man among them. He would occasionally try to restrain the other suitors from their more aggressive or inappropriate behavior, showed kindness to Odysseus when he was disguised as a beggar, and demonstrated better judgment and more respectful behavior compared to the other suitors.

Because of this, Homer's Odysseus actually tries to warn him, and convince him to leave while still disguised, so that he wouldn't get caught up in the slaughter. However, he does not heed this warning and stays ... because of divine intervention: Homer apparently specifically mentions that Athena had "bound him to death".

It is ultimately Telemachus, fighting at his father's side, who kills him along with all of the others.

Now, again, if any of that recount was wrong, please correct me, but also ultimately it doesn't matter that much because EPIC isn't the Odyssey. I don't expect or want it to play out the exact same way in EPIC ... Actually, I'd be pretty disappointed if it does. I want him to be included in EPIC for a completely different reason, on which I will elaborate shortly.

For the Odyssey, it makes perfect sense for it to end badly for him. From what I know, in the moral framework of the ancient Greek world, his participation in the suitor's actions and his being part of their group, regardless of his personal character, made him culpable along with them. Individual accountability wasn't a focus of ancient Greek stories the way that it is in modern stories.

In EPIC, however, he could be such a great example specifically to portray individual accountability and complexity. Now, in terms of how it plays out for him, it could go a couple of different ways.

He could straight up survive, either by being warned or spared in the end by Odysseus, to show Odysseus' dual nature as both merciful and ruthless. For EPIC's Athena it would make no sense to condemn him to death since she has embraced mercy, and for EPIC's Odysseus it would make no sense to kill him if he conveys that ruthlessness isn't required to deal with him.

I'd personally be very much for this route since it provides a great opportunity to show Odysseus showing mercy in a moment otherwise dominated by ruthlessness (the suitor slaughter); this is probably how I would write it.

He could be killed by the other suitors instead of Odysseus and Telemachus. This route falls more in line with the tragedy, but it could be a great way to escalate the dynamic among the suitors and portray them as individuals as opposed to just a unanimous group with one mind. Honestly, his sheer inclusion would already do this, but an outcome like this even more.

He could be killed by Odysseus or Telemachus for a justifiable reason, as opposed to divine intervention. Maybe it would be self-defense, or maybe Amphinomus himself is portrayed as more morally gray. While having some decency he still does something that makes it clear that ruthlessness is necessary to deal with him ... such as, for example, not heed Odysseus' warning of his own accord and instead of begging for mercy, insist on wanting his throne and Penelope's hand either way.

He could be killed by Odysseus or Telemachus because of divine intervention from another god. This is honestly my least favorite option because it takes agency away from the characters, when we seem to have reached a point in the story where agency has seemingly been reclaimed. It could probably be made to work, but at that point it would almost be a wasted opportunity.

Honestly, I could probably come up with a few more of these scenarios, all of which depend on how exactly he would be portrayed in EPIC. But ultimately, these are the main few that I can think of. We'll just have to wait and see.

Overall, I'd just think not including him in a story as heavily focused on moral complexity and nuance as EPIC would be a missed opportunity since his entire existence is kind of an expression of complexity—specifically among the group of suitors who are, in my opinion, in great need of more nuance.

Amphinomus and the suitors aside, something else I am hoping to see very much is a nuanced and satisfying portrayal of Odysseus' newfound dual nature.

Something that makes it absolutely clear that Odysseus is neither "just a man" nor "a monster" anymore, but rather something in between. A being capable of both ruthlessness and mercy. For example, a scene showing him be merciful in one moment and ruthless in the next, both being entirely justified and correct approaches to two separate cases.

At least a hint toward a beginning of a self-acceptance arc. So far, we've only seen Odysseus blame himself, demonize himself, judge himself more than he has ever judged anyone else (I talked about this a little in my "Monster" analysis essay, if you're interested.) It feels like a natural final step in his character arc to at least attempt giving himself more leeway, maybe with the help of his family and their acceptance (also oddly in line with the "Next to my wife" line, if you think about it.)

A callback to "I am neither man nor mythical", the line first brought up by @glisten-inthedark as likely having been foreshadowing (I agree with this heavily.) You might even adjust this slightly, to be "I am neither man nor monster" and it gives us exactly what he has become now. Don't give me another "Just a man" reprise, and don't give me a "No longer you" or "Monster" reprise either. Give me a "Remember them" reprise instead.

If you have to give me a "Just a man" or "Monster" reprise, make it clear that he is neither anymore. He's not the man who would use "I am just a man" as an excuse in act 1, and he is not the monster who would act ruthlessly in every situation. Similarly, if you have to give me a "No longer you" reprise, please make it finally clear that Odysseus is most certainly still "himself". He may no longer be the same man he was when he met Tiresias but putting it like that is highly misleading and I just have a personal problem with "No longer you" for this reason. Objectively, it's a great song. Subjectively, I can actually not stand it.

Alright, I think that's enough setting up expectations that can now be disappointed for myself for one essay 😂😂 I hope you enjoyed! And if any of these won't happen, well I might be disappointed, but Jorge might also give us something entirely different that will be surprising in a good way as well, so I'm definitely open for anything.

Please feel free to share your thoughts down below through a reblog or comment and see you all in Ithaca saga!