#i enjoy when characters get surprise arcs

[ittybittyfanblog]

Error 404: (Self-Aware!AU, Sylus Edition) – Pt. 6

Summary: A LADS self-aware!AU featuring Sylus and a (!) player. That’s it, that’s the plot. Tags: player!reader x sylus, fem!reader x sylus, reader x lads, self-aware!au, strong language, you get your very own samantha from her (2013) lol, time skips as a plot device!, this has an arc i promise, if anybody here plays disco elysium you’ll find that i took concepts of “the pale” as inspo at some points in this chapter lmao A/N: Oof this one’s a little longer than any of the previous chapters. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! <3 (and just a heads up, this might be the last chapter I post before I kick it off for the holidays. advance happy holidays! if you guys celebrate that sort of thing.) 

Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4 - Pt. 5 - Pt 6 - Pt. 7 - Pt. 8 - Pt. 9 - Pt. 10 - Epilogue

There’s a quiet stillness brought by the morning after that makes the problems of a heavier night seem like a fairly distant memory. 

For at least a few minutes past the moment you blink away the stubborn grit in your eyes – you don’t remember the last time you’ve been this well-rested in ages – you lie, listless, on the soft powder-blue bedding of your twin-size mattress, watching specks of dander and dust drift from the amber sunlight that filters through the cracked panes of the casement window. 

It floats aimlessly, unhurried. Much like you.

The echoes of last night’s events return to you in sporadic flashes—jumbled and fragmented. The whispered exchanges, the playful banter between you and your unlikely conversation partner play back in your mind, like some half-finished supercut. 

And the more you recall, the more awake you feel, chipping away the last traces of daytime lethargy weighing you down. 

“So, what happens now?”

The sound of a car backfiring breaks through from the outside, like a starting pistol signalling the beginning of another day. A familiar, heavy weight presses against your side, and you thread your fingers through the scraggly fur of the purring feline who’s taken the empty space on your left, just above the covers. 

You breathe in deeply, closing your eyes. 

“I wish I had an answer. I’m still trying to figure that out myself.”

You realize how many questions still linger, a lot more left unanswered. Far more than what you were able to glean, at least. From what little you’ve learned, an entirely new moral dilemma emerges—one you never imagined you'd have to contend with. 

There’s a lot of things you’ve never expected to happen. Yet here you are. 

“Seems we’re at an impasse.” 

It’s an odd thing in itself. You keep waiting for the disbelief to catch up, for a shred of sanity to surface and make you reject the situation you’ve found yourself entangled in. You should be feeling the same, pesky feelings that pulled you sharply out of your flight of fancy last night, a sense of trepidation for what lies ahead in this precarious game of two. 

But instead, you’re here. Now fully awake, and already looking forward to the day with wary acceptance. Looking forward to resuming where you’ve left off with that charming anomaly who’s upended your world, and left you suspended in an exhilarating limbo of uncertainty and excitement.

“...Indeed.”

You crave it—like the first stirrings of a neophyte druggie teetering on the edge of an irreversible habit. 

You need another hit. 

“Why the long face, little dove?”

Because if desire could manifest into being, it would’ve been Sylus. 

“We can figure this out together, can’t we?” 

You pick up your phone. 

––––

“You’re here? Make yourself at home.” 

You look at him, deadpan. He looks back at you serenely. 

Your voice takes on a dry monotone when you respond, “Keep talking like that, I’m about to cum.” 

There’s a shocked silence; then—

Sylus barks out a surprised laugh, immediately breaking character. 

You snort. “Good morning to you too, I guess.” 

He meets your gaze with a look of scandalized amusement, his smile wide enough to flash teeth. 

"Good morning, indeed."

––––

You two fall into a natural rhythm even before the day comes to a close. Perceptive as he is, Sylus hasn’t let you linger in the unease left over from last night any longer than necessary; which to say, should be left buried and forgotten, past its provenance. 

“So you could, like– hypothetically, top up my ascension materials… indefinitely?” There’s a manic shine to your eyes when you confront him back at the home screen, gleeful and triumphant after you boost almost all the 5-star cards you have of him up to max level. “Like an infinite glitch?” 

He’s content to just simply listen to your excited chatter from his languid perch on the seat, one palm resting against the side of his face as he watches you, half-lidded and relaxed. Utterly entertained by your antics.

The slight twitching of his mouth, the subtle tilt of his head… each minute shift in his expression makes a whole world of difference from the version you’ve known him longest—almost a lifetime ago. 

Now he acts so human, so alive, that it’s almost unreal. 

(It’s almost imperceptible, but you swear the air also feels different; like the pixelated space around him is bending, stretching, to accommodate this newer him.) 

“Sure,” he shrugs, lips quirking up into a half-smile as he notices the deep crease forming between your brows. 

He knows the question you’re about to ask, curious thing that you are.

“How, though? Like, what are ‘materials’ to you?” You make air quotes with your fingers, making you appear all the more endearing to him look at, in your process to make sense of a world that’s unfamiliar to you.

“Think of it as upgrades,” Sylus explains patiently. “You place the order to modify the equipment I use, in whichever situation calls for it.”

“And Memory Cards?”

“... A video reel, maybe. Or a restricted case file—locked until you’ve got enough to trade for the information you want.”

“And I suppose the dealer in question here is you?”

He arches an eyebrow. “Who else?”

“Huh,” you say, considering. “So, Deepspace Trials. That’s something you do on the daily? Because I… make you?”

“More or less.”

“And you never thought to question that?” 

“Mm, maybe I’ll start charging for my services this time around.”

You roll your eyes, already accepting his analogy for what it is. “Oh, please. With the amount of money I’ve spent on this game, consider yourself paid in full.” 

––––

You were right about your earlier prediction—this new Sylus in combat mode is something else. 

For starters, he’s a lot chattier.

“Ouch, kitten– don’t charge in like that.”

“Why are you using a sword? Don’t you like the guns I’ve given you specifically for this?” 

“What are you waiting for? Make her resonate with me now.” 

And, instead of sticking to his lines and responding to whatever the MC’s programmed to say during battle, he focuses on whatever you’re fussing over—no matter how… moronic it is.

“Ah, fuck! I hate that spinning thing!” 

“Move, then. Let me handle it.” 

“Block it, block it!”

“I would, if you weren’t halfway across the field. Stick closer to your partner next time, yeah?” 

He doesn’t say any of his usual lines. Nothing from his scripted prompts. When all Wanderers are defeated, there’s no post-battle banter between him and the MC. 

“Goddamn, you’re strong!” You whoop giddily, completely energized by straight winning almost twelve Orbit trials in a row. I guess that’s what a fully awakened Solar pair gets you, huh? 

Sylus lets out a chuckle, infected by your enthusiasm. He doesn’t sound the least bit winded, despite all the damned fighting you’ve put him through.

“We make a good team,” he allows. And because he likes the little nose scrunch you do when you’re annoyed— “Although your dodging really needs more practice, sweetie.” 

Before you could think of a comeback, the pop-up window for the next stage comes up. Ass.

––––

Come Monday morning and you’re once again swamped with work. 

You barely have enough time to scrounge something up for lunch—if it weren’t for the persistent reminders from Sylus, chiming in every five minutes once the digital clock on your phone had hit eleven-thirty, you’d probably skip eating altogether.

And make something else than just boiling a pot of instant ramen, sweetheart. You’re on track for an early grave at this rate. 

“I could… add an egg?” You suggest, unsure. “Maybe cut up some tofu, make it gourmet?”  

He doesn’t even dignify the egg suggestion with a response. Tofu’s a good start. Now, what else do you have in your pantry that has nutritional value? 

“I despise that,” you mutter, but start rifling through the cupboards anyway. 

After amassing enough ingredients—or what looks more like a sad pile—that might, with some effort, turn into something healthier than your usual go-to fix, you start Googling recipes online.

‘tofu easy lunch recipe’

‘10 mins tofu recipes’   

‘begginer recipe using tofu frozen dory mixed veg—’ Ping!

… Really, kitten? 

You don’t even have to see him to know he’s giving you that look, the one that’s practically dripping with judgment over your dubious life choices. 

(You know it all too well. Personally, in fact. You see it on some relatives' faces at the family get-togethers you’re always required to attend.) 

Great. Heat creeps up your face as you mumble defensively, “Stop. Not everyone’s a culinary genius, okay?”

After that, he lets you be – something you’re thankful for, really. He’s being too distracting anyway. 

Swallowing down the–stubborn and suffocating–embarrassment that's now stuck in your throat, you keep scrolling through Tasty dot co, praying you can whip up something edible with what (little) you have. You’re fully aware that you’re a grown-ass woman who can’t manage a basic life skill and that you’re probably about to burn down your kitchen—

Another notification pops up.

Pull up your tabs, sweetie. I think you’ll find something there that we could put together easily.

Confused, you do as he says. Sure enough, four tofu-related recipes are neatly grouped together in your Chrome browser, ready to be tried and tested.  

Your eyes widen. “Wait—you did this? How?”

He doesn’t answer your question. He does, however, offer: Want me to coach you through it? Cooking’s more fun done with a partner, I’d say. 

-

-

In the end, you manage to make something that tasted way better than you thought you could do by yourself. You have him to thank for that.

“You happy with it?” Sylus asks, grinning at the satisfied look on your face.

“Mhm!” you hum around a mouthful of food. “Fanks, Sy.”

“Anytime, darling.”

––––

“Do you really have to call me ‘kitten’? You sound like a Discord mod.” 

Sylus has no idea what a Discord mod is, but judging by the contempt in your voice, it’s clear that you’re not giving him a compliment.

"What do you prefer, then? Princess? Poppet? Sweet thing?" He pauses, tilting his head. "Baby?"

You blush and look away. "...Ugh, whatever. Kitten's fine."

––––

Your routine with Sylus settles into a seamless, effortless flow as the days go by; it’s almost second nature, talking to him. So much so that you’d think nothing could faze you anymore.

Well. Almost nothing. 

A message bubble from an unknown number appears on your lock screen: Hi, sweetheart. X

You almost ignore it – brushing it off as some dumb prank from a bored rando – when, not even five seconds later, another text pops up. 

+0063-XXXXXX: Its Sylus.

… Huh? 

“Is someone fucking with me right now, or…” 

+0063-XXXXXX: Nobodys ‘fucking with you,’ kitten. 

Then–

+0063-XXXXXX: Send a reply so I can see how it shows up on my end.

Your jaw drops. “Holy shit– you can text?? How are you doing that?” and, “Did you just cuss...?” 

+0063-XXXXXX: 👍

+0063-XXXXXX: And Ill let you know if you text me the question 🙄

So you do. You tack on a now spill?? at the end for good measure. 

You watch the “typing…” bubble appear, holding your breath.

+0063-XXXXXX: Its a complex mix of technical code and harnessing the energy from a dormant protofield Ive discovered, just south of Vagrants Land.  

+0063-XXXXXX: The energy I got from it felt different somehow from your normal protofield. I figured I could put it to good use. 

+0063-XXXXXX: Oddly enough, theres an… indescribable effect to oneself when youre nearing the centre of disturbance, shall we say. 

+0063-XXXXXX: I can only decrypt the waveforms by the rarefield border surrounding the AoR. Any further and Im afraid the adverse effects may do more harm than good.

+0063-XXXXXX: But if amplified, it seems responsive to the filament of what connects your signal from deep space to this planet.

+0063-XXXXXX: Who knew it could act as a transmitter to send you something as rudimentary as a telegraph? 

… Sometimes you forget how smart Sylus really is. 

You: that’s pretty amazing ?? wtf sylus  

+0063-XXXXXX: I get by OK. 

You could practically feel his smugness radiating from those four words. You scoff, shaking your head in a mix of awe and begrudging admiration.

He sends two more messages. 

+0063-XXXXXX: Im just glad we can communicate through other means, sweetie. 

Sy-Sy (??): Now save my number. Sy Sy will suffice 😉

––––

Since your latest discovery that Sylus can now text (!!), you’ve been talking to him outside the game non-stop. It’s like talking to a very active friend who never leaves you on read, and you couldn’t be more ecstatic. 

You: so no one else in ur universe knows anything abt ur situation?

You: no one else acting funny or sumn ? >.>

Sy-Sy (??): None that I know of, no. I prefer to keep it under wraps. 

Sy-Sy (??): Now that you mention it, Mephisto has been acting quite suspicious lately. 

You: ?? suspicious-suspicious or just reg suspicious??

Sy-Sy (??): Hes with his other crow friends now. They might be attempting a murder. 

You: ………. is that…. supposed 2 be a joke……….

Sy-Sy (??): Im running on 3 hours of sleep, give me a break.   

Sy-Sy (??): Also your textspeak is horrendous, sweetie. 

"Um, hello–?" 

Your gaze snaps back to the—very real, very present—person sitting across from you at the table, sporting box-dyed blue hair and a frown. You're at the Annex House; a sleek, new-age Japandi-style bar downtown, just an easy five stations away from your place. You both decided to try it for their infamous Rotten Apple cocktail and, of course, your weekly catch-up.

Khol, your friend of eight years since college, is currently giving you a mildly annoyed look.

Oops. 

They point at you accusingly while complaining, "Ugh, we don’t use our phones when we’re hanging out! That’s the rule!"

You smile at them, sheepish, pocketing your phone as discreetly as you could. “I know, I know. Sorry.” 

Then, puffing out your cheeks, you meekly ask, “You were talking about Anna...?”

They roll their eyes but go over the gossip a second time, much to your benefit. Phew.

Your phone vibrates. Twice. 

…

You sneak a quick, final peek.

Sy-Sy (??): Enjoy your night out, darling ❤️ 

Sy-Sy (??): You let me know when youre back home, OK? 

Biting back a grin, you send out one last text in reply. 

You: will do !:9 

Sy-Sy (??): Good girl. 

––––

"Um–so this is my cat, Maru," you say by way of introduction, holding the plump, orange tabby in front of your phone that’s propped up against a carton of Koko Krunch. There’s a slight struggle in lifting his left paw between your fingers to wave at the man on the other side of the screen. "Say hi, Maru."

“Hello, Maru,” Sylus greets amicably in return, watching the both of you with clear amusement in his eyes. “Care to tell me the origin of this proud beast?” 

You recount the story where you’ve first seen Maru five years ago, nothing more than a scraggly little runt at the time, hiding in the gap between a dumpster and the interstice of a cragged wall. You were walking home from a night out drinking with your uni buddies, when you heard the incessant meowing. 

It drew you in like a siren’s call. If the siren in question had the vocal prowess of a warbling whale on the brink of death.

Upon closer inspection, the grimy fluffball revealed a stubby, crooked tail and wide, beady eyes. In your alcohol-fueled haze, you briefly wondered if you were staring at a tiny ginger rat.

“Well, it’s definitely all cat,” your friend Bee declared by noon the following day, calmly retracting a scratched and bloodied hand from the disgruntled feline, which promptly hissed and darted right back under the bed.

You hummed in agreement, passing her a wad of tissue. 

"I couldn’t decide between Nospurratu and Catpin Meow," you say matter-of-factly, giving your capricious son a scritch under his chin. "Bee suggested I stick to something simpler, like Maru. Hence the name."

Your explanation is punctuated by an offended nip on your pointer finger. 

Sylus is covering his mouth, but nods solemnly. “I think Maru is a nice name.” 

There’s a moment where the two seem locked in a silent standoff, neither breaking eye contact nor making any sort of outward reaction. Just as you’re about to step in and interrupt the bizarre staring contest, Maru gives a slow, deliberate blink.

Sylus takes it as a sign of victory—or perhaps a ceremonial seal of approval.

 With a faint smirk on his lips, he offers the cat a small bow in respect.

––––

You’ve practically emptied the entire arcade of plushies – enough to put it out of business if it were actually, you know, real – and you’re bored to tears. 

“Another round of Kitty Cards, perhaps?” Sylus suggests, but a single glance at your face is enough to let him know that you’d rather gnaw off your own hand. Or his. He might just let you.

Sighing dramatically, you complain about the limited playability of the “mini-games” in-game.

“There’s literally nothing else to do. Same old shit, over and over again.” There’s a pout on your face that Sylus wants to nibble on, not that you’re aware of the forming thoughts in his head. “No new banners. I’m stuck between Kitty Cards and the claw machines... I’m bored, Syyyyy,” you whine, stretching the last syllable for effect.  

To be fair, he has tried to make it a bit more challenging for you. He stopped fucking around during Kitty Cards – no more extra two cards in exchange for one of yours, no longer placing different colored kitties deliberately in the wrong cups. 

After six straight losses, your frustration is palpable. The fun is gone.

He makes audible commentaries during each of your six tries at the claw machine. Every time you manage to snag a plushie, he praises you for a job well done (It flusters you, not that he needs to know that). When your luck runs out and you grab onto nothing but air, he wryly points it out through some slight ribbing, but nothing that’s actually hurtful (This flusters you too—again, not that he needs to know any of this).   

There’s nothing else to do. It’s like you’ve exhausted all you could in this small, curated window of his that you’re privy to. If only there’s a way to leave the mini-games behind, to do something new, perhaps outside of what the game has to offer…

Oh, wait. 

“Hey, Sy,” you call the man to attention. “Wanna try something out?” 

-

-

You beat him at Words with Friends by a small margin.

“Ha! That’s thirty-nine points, buddy.” You crow proudly, after putting down Devotees in a straight column.

He eviscerates you at Zynga Poker. 

“... How are you so good at this??” 

“Comes with the package, sweetie,” he says with faux-modesty after revealing (yet another!!) full house, winking like he hasn’t just wiped the floor with you.

By the end of it, both of you are in high spirits—except, maybe, for your bruised ego.

––––

“Say my name, say my name… If no one is around you, say baby I love you…”

“It’s nice to know that we have another thing in common, little dove.”

 

It takes you a moment to process what he’s implying. 

You stop singing, affronted. “Wh—how dare you.” 

––––

“Are you having fun?” Sylus asks, his tone droll as he stands there, hands on his hips and a small scowl on his face. You’re too busy spinning him around, thoroughly entertained by the number of outfits and accessories you’ve forced upon your slightly reluctant model in the photoshoot that's currently taking place.

It’s more amusing, knowing that he’s fully-aware of what’s happening. And that you know he’s aware of what’s happening. 

He’s like your personal, sentient Ken doll; if Ken had ashy grey hair, red eyes, and a mercurial attitude.

“I am, actually,” you shoot back, grinning as you plop a tomato stuffie on top of his head. “Look, you two match!” 

He exhales a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head in mock exasperation.

Not that it stops you. Fluffy bunny ears, a fish headband, an uncharacteristic halo—you’re relentless. “Hey, can you try a different pose?”

“That depends on the pose… and how nicely you ask.”

“Dear Sylus,” you sing, jutting your bottom lip forward and fluttering your eyelashes exaggeratedly, “could you please, pretty please, flip the camera off?”

He snorts but obliges, raising his hand to deliver the most effortlessly cool middle finger you’ve ever seen. “Happy?”

Woah. That’s… hot. “Oh! Uh. Yeah. Yeah, that’s—”

He raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by your reaction. You giggle nervously. “You look… hot.”

“Mm?” His smirk grows, teasing and predatory. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” you blurt out, but the pinking of your cheeks betrays you. He’s definitely enjoying this now.

“I could be convinced to do another one,” he murmurs, voice pitching a little lower.

You bite the inside of your cheek, fighting the urge to say the first thing that comes to mind. Stop, you whore. 

Your nerves get the best of you. Without thinking, you switch to putting the MC back on screen. 

Sylus blinks, red eyes narrowing as he looks at you, perplexed. 

“Uh,” you shift your gaze between her frozen stance and his idle figure. The sudden silence hangs a little heavy in the air. “Would–would you like to do poses? With her?”

He opens his mouth, an automatic response—but he stops, expression flickering into something unreadable. Confusion? Hesitation? 

His brows knit together, and for a short while, he just studies you, the space between you thick with unspoken questions. 

“Do you want me to?” he asks finally, his voice quieter, almost careful.

No–I don’t want you to— To pose with someone who looks so-–

perfectperfectperfect by your side—I only want to see you—

I want to see you––

Why do I care–?

I don’t care––I care, I care so much–– 

“Why not?” you choke out, the forced cheer in your voice grating even to your own ears. You shrug, nonchalant in all the ways you’re not. “I’ll dress her up real nice, and then—” You slap a pink bow onto his head. “You can try to keep up.” 

He doesn’t move, not paying the offending accessory any attention. His gaze is solely locked onto yours. 

I don’t care. I don’t. 

You take the first shot. 

____

“What’s the song you’re playing?”

You pause mid-mop, cocking your head to the side in slight surprise. 

“Uhh– Pedestal,” you answer unsurely. “By Portishead. You like it?” 

He hums, eyes glinting with interest. “I do. Play the rest.” 

And just like that, you’re introducing Sylus to modern twenty-first century music—and to Spotify.

____

From that point on, Sylus begins using your Spotify account to discover a whole new world of music—quite literally, in his case. Sometimes he steals the control from you, overriding what you’re currently listening to, just to hear the most random track play from your speakers.

In the middle of a mundane afternoon while you're completely locked in at work—hyperpop synths blaring in your ears—you’re suddenly jolted by the sound of heavy mandolins as an honest-to-god Russian military march blasts through your headphones, shattering your focus like a damn rhino in a china shop. 

And so with the level of patience that could put the Virgin Mary to shame, you painstakingly explain to your friend the courtesy of not stealing the proverbial AUX cord from the “driver,” especially when it’s their turn on the radio. 

The two of you reach a compromise, and thus the birth of your “shared” playlist. Sylus reluctantly agrees to explore on his own time—when you’re not using the app. Like when you’re busy with other things. Or when you're asleep. 

-

-

-

You wake up to the first strings of a Muse song. One of your favorites, in fact. 

Sy-Sy (??): Good morning, sweetie. 

Sy-Sy (??): Last night was enlightening. I have you to thank for that.

Sy-Sy (??): Oh, and I hope you could indulge me. I added some songs to our playlist. I think youll like them. We both seem to have a thing for alt-rock.

Sy-Sy (??): Give me time and Im sure Ill acquire a taste for electronic music too. Be patient. 

You huff out a laugh, lazily rolling over as you check your shared playlist. Sure enough, there’s twelve new songs on it.   

You: awe that’s great sy :)) and these songz r rly good !! u got sum of my faves here

You: based on what u like maybe u can try looking up sum david bowie, probz massive attack idk 

You: i’ll add stuff later for u to listen 2!!! <2

You: <3* 

Sy-Sy (??): Alright, sweetheart. Im looking forward to it. 

Sy-Sy (??): ♥️

____

From the outside, the studio is just another unit among endless rows of dull grey—small and unassuming. Tucked away on the sixth floor of a nondescript building, it’s built as unremarkable as the rest.

Through a window stained with a mix of corrosive ochre and burnt sienna, there’s a quiet hum; the presence of something that wasn’t there a week ago. Life has shifted, ever so subtly, from an oppressive achroma to a much warmer vibrancy.  

There’s a faint hint of movement. Inside, the young woman wears an almost-permanent smile, her phone an extension of her hand as she taps away with no semblance of rhyme nor rhythm—only in a continuous staccato. Her eyes are locked on the screen, as if drawn by an invisible force.

It’s elusive; this connection. Something beyond. Supranatural. It weaves through the room like whispered secrets shared in the dead of the night, beneath a city blanketed in deep ultramarine. Soft, like a wind brushing through a still everglade. 

The apartment, once steeped in a self-inflicted solitude – one that went by unnoticed for a long period of time – comes alive as an intangible presence fills its nooks and crannies with the steady warmth of companionship. There’s a gentle heat to the space now, like the glow of an invisible hearth. 

The flickering of the string lights, the muted laughter shared with a voice through the tinny speakers of a handheld device, a slight signal interference… all feel like the genesis of an impossible story.

Outside, the evening sky is fading into twilight.

And as one looks out onto the street below from the sixth floor window, it’s almost as if the world outside doesn’t quite matter anymore. 

Inside, the air is full of life, in ways it has never been. 

____

“Come to me, just in a dream

Come on and rescue me

Yes, I know I can be wrong

And maybe you’re too headstrong

Our love is––”

Tagging: @xxfaithlynxx @beewilko @browneyedgirl22 @yournextdoorhousewitch @sunsethw4 @stxrrielle @mangooes @hrts4hanniehae @buggs-1 @michiluvddr @ssetsuka @i2sannie @imm0rtalbutterfly @the-golden-jhope @slyfoxtsu @beomluvrr @milkandstarlight @bookfreakk @ally-the-artistic-turtle @tinyweebsstuff @sapphic-daze @sarahthemage @cchiiwinkle @madam8 @slownoise @raendarkfaerie @sylusdarling @luminaaaz @greeenbeean

(if..... for some damn reason..... the tags still don't work i rly don't know what i'm doing wrong T_T i'm posting this from a macbook is that it, is the ghost of steve jobs fucking with me rn)

[yumeka-sxf]

Was not expecting a Yuri/Yor chapter, but it was a pleasant surprise! First thing I want to mention is the fact that Yor is not wearing her usual Thorn Princess earrings, but instead has rose earrings similar to the button on her red blouse.

I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first time we've seen her with different earrings. Perhaps it's an indication that she's feeling more "at ease" as far as her relationship with her Thorn Princess identity, since we know that her usual earrings function as weapons if needed. Maybe she doesn't feel as much of a need to be "on guard" all the time as she used to be.

As for the bulk of this chapter, it featured great character development for the Briar siblings. What stood out to me the most is how hard it is for Yuri to understand that Yor's happiness truly does come from the happiness of others, plus the fact that she has very few desires for herself, especially materialistic ones that can be bought at a store. It's hard for him to grasp because he spent his whole life watching her selflessly sacrifice her own childhood to take care of the both of them, so he feels he has to overcompensate. But again, because he can't fathom that she actually enjoys taking care of others, the only explanation he can come up with for her lack of wanting things for herself is that the Forgers are "controlling" her somehow (also due to his own bias, lol).

It was amusing how Yuri's attempts to frame Loid and Anya as "brainwashing" Yor failed miserably...it only served to highlight how much she cares about them, especially Anya. I loved the below panel ❤️ She's such a mom.

By the way, this next panel cracked me up the most 🤣 I was curious what the "go at it" part was in the Japanese version, and it turns out to be the verb 絡む ("karamu"). It has several meanings, but mainly it means "to be entangled with" either with physical things like vines or wires, but also to be entangled with a person in a problematic way, such as by quarreling. I can only imagine how Yuri interpreted this 😂

In the latter part of the chapter, Yor finally made it clear to Yuri that he doesn't need to keep pitying her. She states that she enjoyed the time she spent taking care of him, and whatever negative feelings she had after he left her are in the past, so he doesn't have to keep trying to compensate for it.

For a brief moment, Yuri daydreams about the two of them going back to their hometown to live peaceful lives before ultimately realizing that they have responsibilities in the city that they can't just abandon. The emphasis on their respective "real" jobs that they can't reveal to each other, plus the later scene of Yuri lamenting that he feels distant from Yor because he can't show her who he's really become, definitely gave me a feeling of foreboding. Plus the fact that the chapter ends with him possibly being assigned a new job.

Even though the rest of the Forgers didn't appear in this chapter, we did get this precious little panel when Yuri was musing about why he feels so lonely. So thank you for this Yuri and your rolodex wheel of anxious thoughts 😂

I think it's still too soon for any kind of big, story-shattering reveal, but I feel like Yuri's next assignment could be something akin to the mole hunt arc, where something big almost happens...the fandom focuses a lot on a Twilight/Thorn Princess reveal, but a Briar sibling reveal would be just as major in my opinion, which is the vibe I got from this chapter. Since Yuri already had an encounter with Twilight, what if he had some kind of run-in with Garden next? 👀

...or maybe this was just a standalone chapter and we'll never find out what Yuri's next assignment is because it's not important and the next chapter will move on to something else 😅 I'd say it's 50/50 at this point, lol.

[theeroins]

If I say that I'm not used to people misinterpreting my favorite characters, I'd be lying. But the way they get so many things wrong about Inho's character is kinda pissing me off because you KNOW that most of them do it to cancel out the possibility of InHun being *something* more than what's shown so far. You don't ship them, that's fair, frankly I don't care. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion UNTIL your opinion is wrong.

Let's talk about a couple of things I've seen being talked about on tiktok (🙄)

“Inho joined the games because ilnam said that it'd basically be more fun to play than to watch so he followed his example." loud incorrect buzzer ! Inho has joined the games before, and not only that, he's also a previous winner, so therefore he's very much aware of what it's like to be a part of it, he's experienced them first hand, just like he's experienced the atrocities of it. they've changed him for the worst and possibly caused him a huge trauma —they're the reason he's lost faith in humanity after all— so, why would he crave to relive it just for the thrill of it? i, personally doubt he even enjoys watching the game.

“Inho didn't look at Gihun with love, he likes to watch him suffer” Short answer is no. He doesn't like to watch him suffer, neither he looked at him with love, not the pure kind of love at least. Two things can be true at once. Inho spent half the season staring at Gihun because everything about the man intrigued him; His determination, his stubbornness, his kindness, his hope, his heart that's full of love despite the pain he suffered, even the pain in his eyes every time someone got eliminated in front of him as if it was the first time it had happened, as if the cruelty of it all surprised him every damn time. How can someone, who's been through the same things Inho has been through, be the polar opposite of him?

now, the reason(s) that I think Inho actually joined the games for..

(yes I am an Inhun shipper, does that make my opinion a little biased? maybe. do i still believe I'm right? absofuckinglutely.)

Let me clarify this: Inho is NOT a good man, no matter the redemption arc he might get in s3, he'll continue to be a terrible person because nothing will ever erase the blood he's spilled and the evil men he's worked for. BUT at the same time, he's not ALL bad, not like the VIPS and ilnam. See, Inhun are the average "yin-yang" trope in fictional romance, (which I eat up every time and I find it very interesting when it's done the right way, don't get me wrong) Inho is bad but there's some goodness somewhere deep inside him. And the only person who's brought it to the surface is Gihun. Sure, he does think Gihun is naive, but he's also the only person who's actually challenged him, who's "forced" him to get his stupid head out of the dirt and look around him, even for a short while and Inho definitely liked what he saw. Honestly, it wasn't even that hard for Gihun to do so because the goodness in Inho wanted and waited for someone to pull him out of the dirt, he wished for someone, something to give him hope for humanity or.. anything. Anything that'll help him escape from his misery.

You can definitely argue that he joined the games to befriend Gihun, to gain his trust and stop his plans when the time comes, which is half true. But keep in mind that he needed to justify his choice to join the games. He's not a VIP nor the mastermind to simply get to do that without consequences. He's the frontman, the one who controls and manages everything. He's needed for the games to work and go by smoothly and successfully without unnecessary losses and problems. Gihun would only cause problems, Inho knew that very well and yet he chose to put him in it once again. He recklessly made that choice, risking pretty much everything because of his inner conflict. A part of him wanted Gihun to prove himself to him, that there's indeed good that'll save the world and the rest of him wanted to prove to Gihun that everything he so strongly believes in is merely a fantasy.

Joining the games and befriending Gihun was the only way for Inho to see the real him, without the heroic mask he puts on every time he faces the frontman. I think he believed that someone as extraordinary as Gihun will either break in front of him and he will end up disappointed by the human kind once again, or Gihun will change everything about the way he thinks for the better. But the problem is that Inho hopes for both of those things at the same time.

And that was Inho's arc in season 2. His inner conflict and how it will affect him, the game and Gihun later on.

[bengiyo]

Heesu in Class 2: Maybe It’s Time to Stop Calling Myself a BL Viewer

After finishing Heesu in Class 2, it’s been surprising to feel like I’m in the minority for enjoying it. We’ve seen a great deal of concerted posting from fans of the webtoon about how this show betrayed its source material with its adaptation changes. Over the last few weeks, I’ve read the original webtoon to gather my own thoughts. After reading through @my-rose-tinted-glasses post on why this project didn’t work for her, I decided to sit with it for a while. I then came across this tweet from Dr. Thomas Baudinette:

I respect Dr. Baudinette’s academic interest in the genre and the useful insider insight he brings to the table. However, I will say plainly that I think this is a grossly disingenuous take, grounded in the idea that stories about queer romance take precedence over other queer stories. Additionally, it deeply misreads the adaptation choices and insinuates that a queer show that includes heterosexuality in it is somehow betraying the BL audience. There’s a lot to unpack here, but I will say plainly that I will go back to just being a queer cinephile who dabbles in BL instead of advocating for BL if this is who we are.

I am a queer person here for stories about queer truth. BL is a romance genre. While I respect BL viewers who are here to get their feelings from swoony moments, I cannot abide the presumption that a story that is inherently about the coming out experience somehow let its source material down for maintaining that connection. Every year we get into a big fight about what is or isn’t BL (see: 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us, Love in the Big City, What Did You Eat Yesterday?, etc.), often arguing that BL is a branding term used to get romance viewers to show up and support queer works. I think it’s fine enough to argue that Heesu in Class 2 isn’t a BL because it uses Korean drama frameworks (@lurkingshan) for its story instead of sandblasting you in the face with pop music as two boys stare at each other, but I think there’s real value in what the show is doing for mainstream viewers.

I’ve avoided discussing the webtoon too much in my commentary, but now that I have read it I will say firmly that this would have sucked as a TV show. We know that about 40-50% of the shows we get each year are based on their source material. The webtoon is adorable and well-intentioned. It’s also a very simple narrative in which we are primarily in Heesu’s point of view, and any time we leave his point of view it’s to see only what other people are thinking about him. In my opinion, simpler narratives like the Heesu webtoon work best as films and not as dramas. 

We recently went through this with Living With Him, in which a really short manga got stretched to eight episodes and had to add contrivances to the middle to pad out the time that eventually hurt the core narrative. Thai BL is rife with secondary, tertiary, and quaternary couples to pad out time to meet the long run time demands of the airing schedule. When you’re adapting a fairly simple story, you either have to add depth or bloat. Oftentimes we get both. In the case of Heesu, it’s clear that they were only adapting the first season of the webtoon, and so they added depth.

The constant refrain from detractors of this webtoon is that it deprioritized the queer characters and their narrative in favor of straight narratives. I wholeheartedly disagree. Every single straight story in this show (and the gay ones) are meant to add context to the queer struggles Hee Su and Seung Won face, from Ji Yu and Chan Young to all three of his sisters.

Ji Yu’s music arc hearkens to the queer fear of being public with yourself and facing judgment and scrutiny. Chan Young’s tennis arc features real parental abandonment consequences that many a queer person fears. Hee Sin exemplifies how easy it is to fall for people and also deal with the constant rejection of most people not being into you (because they’re straight). Hee Jae exemplifies how toxic a relationship with your best friend can be when the romantic feelings aren’t fully reciprocal. Hee Yeong shows us what it means to be brave and face your friend after you’ve let them down romantically. Ho Sik highlights how easy it is for straight people to express and pursue their romances, and then be public with them. None of these plots exist in a vacuum; they’re meant to add context to the tension between Hee Su and Seung Won.

On the queer front, the show expanded on the initial lesbian advice plotline as a way for Hee Su to open the discussion about queerness with his siblings. The look shared between the sisters, their careful responses, and the way they treat him in the final episode after Hee Su comes out to Hee Sin shows that they talked to each other. Hee Sin clearly pulled on her prior knowledge when she insisted to Hee Su that she still loves him. Hee Jae, the grumpiest sister, was especially direct about praising Hee Su when he offered to help them take Hee Yeong to the airport. Hee Yeong told him plainly that he must remember that she is always on his side and will support him. Seung Won’s mom acknowledged that her own coming out affected him, and let him decide how open to be about his family.

The coming out sequence with Hee Sin was so powerful. He made it clear that this isn’t a gay-for-you situation. He said plainly that his crushes are on guys, and will probably always be on guys. Hee Sin’s response took me back to this incredible scene from The Fosters, in which Lena’s dad apologizes to her for saying “I still love you.” He rejects it as something horrible, in which you confirm to your kid that you could possibly stop loving them. He says he wishes he had instead said, “Thank you for telling me something so important about yourself, and I can’t wait to meet the person you want to share your life with.” 

I’m also annoyed about the insistence that the straights were given priority in this narrative in which everyone gets about the same level of on-screen intimacy. This is a show that managed to avoid getting an R rating, which means that it’ll be accessible to a much wider range of viewers without needing additional parental controls. The straights getting time means that when the gays throw the ease at which they pursued romance back in their faces, it’s actually grounded in events that transpired in the narrative. I will also say that I did NOT like the way Jiyu and Chanyoung meddled with Heesu in the webtoon, and thought conspiring with Seung Won was not kind to Heesu. I like that the drama instead uses their stories to support the queer themes as Ji Yu directly supports Seung Won.

I’d also like to say that all the Chan Young commentary troubles me. Hee Su has been in love with this boy for ten years. I actually think the show needs to spend time fleshing him out into a real person for the audience to understand why Hee Su likes him so much. He’s charming and friendly. He’s kind and thoughtful. He wants to help the people he cares about. He also trusts Hee Su implicitly. 

I do not blame him for being overwhelmed and surprised when Hee Su suddenly confessed to him, and I think there is real value in him botching that moment. So many viewers who might not have spent a lot of time thinking about how they would handle queer people coming out to them will benefit from seeing Chan Young flub that moment. What’s more important is that he did eventually talk to Hee Su and begin to repair the break in their friendship. It isn’t about being right every single time; it’s about always doing the work required to make things right. 

Finally, I really loved that Hee Su got to be mad at Seung Won for confusing him all this time. It was fun to see Hee Su, who I think was way out of line for always interfering in Chan Young’s life, face the reality that he had also been subject to that kind of behavior. This worked so well for me because we understood that what Seung Won liked so much about Hee Su was how warm and open he was. I will have more to say in the future about how many shows we’ve already had this year reject one-sided pining as inherently pure.

In the end, it’s just a really dissonant experience for me to see such a kind show getting such an energetic negative response. Like anyone else who’s watched over 300 BLs since 2016, I like seeing cute boys kiss each other and make face as much as anyone else. However, if we’re unable to appreciate using a webtoon with clear ideas about the difficulty of coming out when you’re in love with a friend in a format that far more viewers are used to, I don’t think I can rock with this anymore. I can’t even find myself associated with the kinds of people who would have called Degrassi homophobic because it wasn’t exclusively gay. 

[gh0stly-mp3]

Faz um headcannons de um male!reader!Bllk player aonde o reader não é tão agressivo na maioria das partidas mas quando irritado começa a agir que nem um monstro? Pode ser um headcannon geral com os times do NEL

Nunca pensei que iria ver um Br q escreve Bllk x m!reader, principalmente aqui no Tumblr 😭😭 amei teus trabalhos, continue ;DD

Mto mto obg! Tô muito feliz q meu primeiro pedido veio de um BR ♡ - Espero q goste! Pelo q entendi vc sabe inglês, mas se quiser a versão em pt-br, só me mandar msg ou outro pedido :D

(Thank u so much! Im really happy that my first request was made by a brazillian ♡ - I hope you'll like it! From what I understand you know English, but if you want the br version, just send me a message or other request :D)

Rage burst -> NEL hcs

neo egoist league teams x bllk male!reader

synopsis: you, a calm and collected player, suddenly have an outburst and get really angry

tags: bllk characters reactions, headcanons, NEL arc, soccer rage, calm to angry reader

warnings: manga spoilers, mature language, suggestive comments, pet names (kiddo, good boy, etc)

a/n: hey! requests are open! (if you speak the language you can send the request in pt, but i"ll do it in english :D)

masterlist.

Hcs scenario

The game was intense, the ball switching sides between the two teams at an impressive speed. Your team was holding up, but it seemed to feel the pressure of the match. You were on the field, with your usual calm expression, absorbing every move.

Then, at some point, you were knocked down hard by one of your opponents. It wasn’t something too serious, but you, usually so calm, got up with a different expression, clearly angry at this dirty move.

The anger in your eyes was something new, something no one would want to face. The opponents were tense, trying to organize their defense as you regained the ball, but the speed at which you advanced was unimaginable.

Finally, with a strong and accurate shot, you sent the ball straight into the goal, beating the entire defense and stopping only in the net.

You simply looked at the field, the anger still pulsing in your chest, but with a smile subtly appearing. When you let go, there were no limits to what could happen. And this time, it was for the victory.

Bastard München

Noa was observing the pace of your run with a serious expression. "This is what we need." - He thought, clearly satisfied with the burst of energy you brought to the team after your goal.

Isagi's eyes widened; the last thing he would have considered in his plan was you getting angry. But soon, a sense of satisfaction took over his face, along with a touch of curiosity. He approached and said, - "You never told me you had that kind of strength in you, I'm impressed!"

Yukimiya quickly joined you and let out a soft laugh, placing a hand on Isagi's shoulder. "He's good even when he's angry. Now, let's see how far this rage can take him."

"Yeah, I really liked the way you acted, it was a great goal" - Hiori commented, showing no surprise, but with a slight admiration.

The rest of the players were also slightly surprised, especially Ness and Kurona. They had never seen you lose your temper like that. They knew you were a composed player, but that fierce anger was something they never imagined seeing.

At last, Kaiser and Kunigami remained silent, but Kaiser looked at the scene with a smirk. "Now, that's what I call attitude" - He thought, enjoying the aggression radiating from you.

FC Barcha

The whole team cheers as they watch your goal! Both Bachira and Lavinho break into wide smiles when they see you in action. Bachira runs to you after the goal and grabs you, celebrating. - "Yippie! I didn't know you could get that angry! That was amazing!"

Meanwhile, Otoya, noticing your aggressive movement, runs along the sideline to keep up with your play. He also celebrated when he saw you score, and soon after ran over to congratulate you.

"Caralho [fuck]! That's ma boy!" - Lavinho shouted, he was really surprised, after all, he didn’t expect this from you, always so calm and composed. It was a great surprise! The whole FC Barcha team would be very warm in celebrating your goal.

Paris X Gen

The team wasn't too surprised, except for Shidou and Charles, who were extremely excited by your sudden burst of anger! - "Wow! So that idiot can have explosions! I like that~" - Shidou exclaimed.

Karasu immediately flashed a sly grin and repositioned himself to get involved in your play, while trying to figure out what you were thinking. Loki also smiled, but this time it was more of an "I knew it" kind of smile.

Charles and Shidou were the ones who celebrated your goal the most, lifting you up and shouting nonsense like two idiots. - "Yippie! Do that again, ya?" - Charles shouted.

Manshine City

Chris was the first to comment: "That was awesome! You really got those legs working, huh? Everyone, take notes!" - examining which muscles were used and, of course, turned to the cameras of BLTV, the rest of the team was stunned.

Chigiri had tried to follow up on your attack, in vain. - "Good boy! But I'm still faster than you" - He could only congratulate your attention to the field, which didn't let your speed back down while crossing through the flock of enemy players. He was amazed.

But even more were Reo and Nagi. They chit-chatted away from you, but their wide eyes didn't hide a thing: the shock was a lot. Reo studied your movements to later repeat such beautiful agression, and Nagi thought how - or even if - he could take a pass from you.

Ubers

Your sudden disattachment to the "teamwork" ideals made Snuffy initially worried, but that wasn't all that he payed attention to. Your anger was evident. He came to you, put a hand on your shoulder and asked: - "Are you alright, kiddo?" - and then, you nodded. He seemed to get the mensage, and was happy to see your potential in action.

"Tsch...Not bad." - Barou said, with a grin. He seemed a bit jealous of such a violent goal, but also satisfied. Lorenzo, on the other hand, didn't say anything, but was clearly paying attention to the entire play. Maybe, he found an even stronger spark of strenght in you.

Aiku cheered for you, messing you hair a bit. He was surprised, as was everyone else. In a rare momento, you could see Niko's expression behind the hair. A mixture of shock, fear and excitement. If you were on the enemy team, you would have been a huge problem. But here, you could be one of the Ubers' secret surprises.

[linkspooky]

ONCE MORE, I THINK I'LL LIVE FOR OTHERS

So of all the characters in Jujutsu Kaisen Megumi has turned out to be one of the most controversial and hotly debated characters. There's nothing the internet hates more than a boy with trauma, I guess. Jujutsu Kaisen is a controversial work in general so it's not surprising that the ending wasn't super well received by the fans, especially in the way it decided to conclude Megumi's character arc.

There are many people accusing Gege of giving Megumi no character development. Of Megumi just choosing to replace Tsumiki with Yuji. Lots of complaints about Megumi never finishing his domain expansion among other things. Of Megumi being nothing more than a damsel for Yuji to rescue in the end. I'm here to say I think Megumi does have a complete character arc even if it didn't end the way I would have liked, and under the cut I'll be giving my thoughts for Megumi's ending and JJK's ending in general.

I CAN ONLY SAVE THOSE WHO ARE PREPARED TO BE SAVED

If you were to ask me what the most important arc in Jujutsu Kaisen is, it would be Hidden Inventory. Hidden Inventroy covers the inciting incident which leads to all the conflicts in the main story, Riko's death, Geto's defection, Tengen's merger failing, and Gojo's decision to adopt Megumi.

However, it also shows us what motivates Gojo in the main series, mainly his desire to raise this generation of students into strong and intelligent allies because of his inability to save his closest friend when it most counted.

If the quote that summarizes the central theme of Jujutsu Kaisen Zero is "Love is the most twisted curse of them all."

Then I put forward that the quote that summarizes the theme of the main series is what Gojo said to Yaga post Geto's defection, "Being strong isn't enough, I can only save those who are prepared to be saved."

Just like Hidden Inventory is centered around Geto and Gojo's relationship in their youth, the main manga itself centers around Megumi and Itadori's relationship. The manga itself starts with their first meeting. Yuji devours the finger in order to try to help Megumi. Megumi requests Gojo help save Yuji from execution because he didn't want to see another good person die.

Megumi and Itadori are also a deliberate parallel to Geto and Gojo's friendship in the past. To begin with Gojo tried to nurture these relatoinships in his students so they COULD get along and enjoy their youths the way he remembers doing so with Geto in his three springtime of youth.

He not only encourages Megumi to selfishly try to save Yuji even though it is against the rules of sorcery and poses a risk to other people, he also encourages them to socialize at every opportunity.

The strong and intense friendship that Megumi and Yuji enjoy is not only a clear parallel to Geto and Gojo's special connection with one another, but also the fact that a strong reocurring motif in Megumi and Yuji's friendship is their strong desire to save each other. Which is a clear parallel to Gojo's inability to save Geto in the past.

As I said for a long time Yuji and Megumi were being set up as this generation's version of the "strongest duo" except they were going to be able to break the cycle. Whether it be by Megumi saving Yuji, or Yuji saving Megumi, they wouldn't be driven apart by the corruption in the Jujutsu World the way that Geto and Gojo were.

As I said the central question of Jujutsu Kaisen especially in regards to Megumi and Yuji's friendship is if it's possible to save someone who doesn't want to be saved. Which is why Megumi and Yuji both wanting to save each other is something that happens again and again at different parts of the manga. Whether it be the ending of Origin of Obedience where Megumi and Yuji are both unable to talk to each other because they want to try to protect the other from information that might harm them. Megumi hiding the fact that he knows resonance between the Sukuna fingers awakened the curses. Yuji hiding the fact that Megumi's decision to save Yuji has caused strong curses to awaken and kill other people.

Just as often as these two try to save each other, they fail. Megumi watches Yuji die early on when Yuji takes back control from Sukuna and decides to die without a heart.

Megumi spends the entirety of the culling games clinging to Yuji's side no matter how Yuji tries to push him away because he knows Sukuna has plans for him. However, Megumi is afraid to leave Yuji alone because he knows Yuji is in a dark place after the Shibuya massacre and that if he's left alone Yuji might just find some way to off himself in a heroic sacrifice to try to atone for the people lost at Shibuya.

Only for Megumi's insistence on clinging to Yuji to backfire because Sukuna ends up taking his body from him in a critical moment. When Sukuna takes his body their circumstances swap and Megumi is the one who's body is being used to kill people by Sukuna. When Megumi has to live with the guilt of Sukuna using his body to kill both his sister and his teacher, he's not able to live with it anymore.

Then their positions swap completely and it's Megumi who wants to die to atone for the guilt, and it's Yuji who doesn't want to let go of Megumi and will do anything to save Megumi from both Sukuna and the other sorcerers even if the right thing to do is just kill both him and Sukuna and letting him live means putting the whole rest of the world at risk.

As you can see not only is saving each other a common theme of Megumi and Yuji's relationship, but at different points of the story both of them are trying to save the other even when the other doesn't value their own life.

Gojo's relationship with Geto is defined by his inability to reach his friend in time, and how he was "left behind" in the end.

Gojo explicitly waited a year after learning about Megumi being sold to the Zen'in clan to do anything, and only decided to intervene after Geto's defection. Gojo's decision to mentor Megumi was inspired by Geto leaving. He even said "Don't get left behind."

His hope in taking in students like Megumi, Yuta and Yuji was twofold first that he'd be able to handpick and raise several strong students who would eventually replace the elders and reform the Jujutsu World. The second and more personal motivation is that he wanted these students to be able to support each other and be strong allies to one another so they wouldn't end up alone like Gojo did in his youth.

Gojo's intentions were good however, Gojo has a very flawed understanding of how people and relationships work. In Gojo's books "strong=good" and almost everything can be solved by strength. Notice just one chapter ago Gojo said that being strong wasn't enough, he can only save those who are prepared to be saved and yet one chapter later he tells Megumi that he needs to get strong otherwise he'll be left behind.

So, even when Gojo knows that being strong isn't enough and didn't make a difference with Geto, that's still the only real advice he can offer Megumi.

A big theme of Jujutsu Kaisen is the failures of the past generation affecting the present. A lot of people in trying to put Gojo on a pedestal fail to realize one of the central themes of this manga is GOJO WAS WRONG. The way Gojo went about doing several things wasn't the right way. Gojo wants the next generation to succeed him and do better than him, because Gojo himself knows that he was wrong and he's a part of the past generation.

I think a big part of the reason the conclusion to Megumi's character arc is poorly received is that Megumi didn't end his arc the way that Gojo set out for him.

Scenes like this led the audience to believe that Megumi's character arc was going to be completed by him learning to be more selfish and living up to the potential that Gojo saw in him. That we were going to get a completed domain expansion. That Megumi was going to become stronger than Gojo because the ten shadows was the only technique to ever beat a wielder of the limitless and the six eyes.

I understand wanting to see Megumi living for himself, and how cool it might be to see Megumi's complete domain expansion after Gege teased us with this twice but I have to ask this.

If Gojo was the strongest sorcerer in the world, and that still wasn't good enough to save Geto. Then how would Megumi reaching his full potential as a sorcerer in any way help Megumi avoid making the same mistakes that Gojo did?

HAVEN'T WE HAD ENOUGH OF GOJO SATORU

I think a lot of dissatisfaction in Megumi's character development comes from he didn't really follow the path that Gojo set out for him. He didn't unlock his full domain expansion, he didn't learn to live more selfishly. They say that Megumi simply choosing to live for Yuji isn't him learning to stand on his own two feet because he's just hinging his self worth on someone else the same way he did with Tsumiki.

However, I have to ask.

How exactly would Megumi becoming more like Gojo or more like Sukuna be any better?

A big recurring theme in Megumi's arc is his lack of agency, and how many different adult figures have tried to mould him to their own selfish ends.

In the same chapter where Megumi has the flashback where Gojo encourages him to become more selfish, Sukuna has his hands wrapped around Megumi's neck in the colored page. Sukuna was never actually trying to mentor Megumi.

He only had an interest in Megumi because his ten shadows techniques was a way to bypass Gojo's infinity. Henever actually cared about Megumi reaching his full potential. He was grooming Megumi in the long term so he could snatch his body and turn him into a weapon against Gojo Satoru. The same way that Gojo only decided to take Megumi in and mentor him in the first place because his technique meant he had great potential as a sorcerer and a future ally in Gojo's crusade against the elders.

Megumi's life is defined by every adult in his life trying to mould him or use him selfishly for his own gains. His father sold him to the Zen'in clan for gambling money and abandoned him. Gojo only was interested in a strong ally against the elders. Sukuna is just one in a long line of people who are trying to shape Megumi into something he's not for their own selfish desires.

Ngl, the fushiguro girlies are kinda onto something with their characterization of Sukuna’s possession as the physical embodiment of his lifelong struggle for self determination and autonomy and how others have always pupeteered his fate for their own devices and he’s thusly never put himself first ─ his selfishness functioning ultimately as platitudes which still center others and his consideration for them. [SOURCE]

So if all of Megumi's various abusers have tried to make Megumi into something he's not and robbed him of his agency in the process, then is the best ending for Megumi really to become more selfish like Gojo or Sukuna?

If Megumi ended his character arc by using a complete domain expansion, and reaching Gojo's level of power wouldn't that be validating the way Gojo stole Megumi's entire childhood from him in order to make him a strong sorcerer. Wouldn't it look like the narrative was going, yeah, it was wrong for Gojo to groom Megumi like that, but look how strong it made him!

We already have a version of Megumi who learned to live only for himself, someone who broke the chains of fate and became entirely free.

Toji shows us a version of Megumi who lived up to his full potential as a sorcerer, became someone strong enough to threaten Satoru Gojo, and who put himself above everyone else and... Toji's fucking miserable.

Toji is the bad ending of Megumi. He's strong but that's all he is. The narration refers to him as a puppet of carnage, only living to fight the strongest around. In fact, Toji dies BECAUSE he wanted to feel validated as the strongest. The decision to say and fight against Gojo when Gojo unlocks reverse cursed technique leads to his death. Being the strongest and his desire to be validated as someone strong is nothing more than a curse for Toji and what allows him to escape the cycle is not strength, but rather seeing that his son has succesfully escaped the abuse of the Zen'in clan.

So having Megumi live up to his full potential as a sorcerer, or living selfishly the way that Gojo or Sukuna wanted him to wouldn't really be breaking the cycle, because it'd be Megumi acting the way his abusers wanted him to act. If anything it' be Gojo's long term grooming of Megumi finally succeeding.

I understand that Megumi fighting back on Sukuna from within with one use of ten shadows to create a puddle underneath Sukuna's feet isn't the most dramatic way to signal his journey of self-realization, but sometimes the flashy, dramatic, and satisfying thing isn't always the right thing.

if the central relationship of the series is Megumi and Yuji, and the central question of that relationship was "is it possible to save someone who doesn't want to be saved-" then resolving both Megumi and Yuji's character arcs requires answering that question. That's the most important part. How are we going to break the cycle and have Megumi and Yuji save each other in a way that Geto and Gojo weren't be able to.

Yes, I understand wanting Megumi to be his own person and stand on his own two feet, but before he's a person Megumi is a fictional character. Megumi and Yuji are characters intentionally designed to be each other's other half. The same way that Geto is designed to be the other half of Gojo. They both represent a yin / yang pair. They both represent the shadow and the light, the sun and the moon.

People also talk about wanting Gojo to learn to be his own person outside of Geto, but that's also missing the point. Gojo isn't a person to begin with he's a character designed to be the other half of Geto. All of those parallels that exist between them, both of them getting their bodies stolen from them, both of them becoming monsters (geto slaughtering the village, Gojo slaughtering the elders), both of them dying on the same day. Those are intentional, because they're fictional characters meant to represent the concept of yin and yang and balance. Gojo cannot exist without Geto, Geto's body causes Gojo to get boxed, Gojo dies within a year of killing Geto, because they're meant to represent the taoist concept of BALANCE in a manga that's about BALANCE. Gojo cannot achieve balance with the character that symbolizes his yin. Whereas, Megumi's way of achieving balance is to find a way to make things work with his other half Yuji in a way that Geto and Gojo failed to.

As someone who used to be the biggest Megumi Corruption Arc truther, I've come around in my thinking and I can at least understand why Gege didn't go that direction. Megumi learning to be selfish like Gojo would be changing too much of Megumi's inner nature, because as much as Megumi pretends to be selfish as an excuse he still is someone who wants to help people.

There's nothing wrong with Megumi wanting to help people, or wanting to be a team player. It was Megumi deciding to hinge his entire self worth on just his ability to help one person. It's why he couldn't go on when Tsumiki died, not just because he was grieving his sister, but because he decided to make protecting his sister his entire reason to live and genuinely saw no other reason to keep on living.

A lot of people say that Megumi is just deciding to make Yuji into an emotional crutch the same way he once did with Tsumiki, however, I don't think these lines of dialogue really indicate that.

"The world is full of people besides myself. Once more I think I'll live for others."

To begin with, Megumi says that the world is filled with lots of people. Megumi didn't want to go on because he didn't think he'd ever love someone as much as he loved his sister. That there was nothing in the world worth living for if his sister was gone.

However, now Megumi is acknowledging that there are more people in the world than just Tsumiki. That he might come to love them the same way that he loved her. That he shouldn't give up on life just because he lost one person, no matter how important that person was.

Megumi's words run contrary to the idea that he's just going to use Yuji as his next living emotional crutch, because he says the world is full of people. There's more people than just him, there's more people than just Yuji, as long as Megumi makes the choice to continue living then he can go out into the world and meet them.

Jujutsu Kaisen is a very individualist manga, and I understand we also exist in an individualist society so we want to see Megumi stand on his own two feet and live for himself, but I don't think Megumi deciding he'll live for others is a bad thing. This is just a few chapters after Yuji said that what makes life meaningful is the memories you leave behind with other people. Which is the exact same sentiment.

Yuji is able to break free from the cog mindset when he realizes that all the people he connected to in his life gave his life meaning, even if they died tragically, even if he only knew them for a short time. Choso's final words are "Thank you for being my little brother" and that connection was incredibly important even though they only knew each other for about a month. Yuji's life became meaningful because he went out into the world and made all these important connections.

Now Megumi is doing the same thing. He's resolved that even though his sister is dead the world is full of people he can connect with. That he can come to love other people the same way that he did. That his life is still worth living because he can find new people to love. Is Megumi deciding he can try to live for the other people in his life and his connection to those people even after the loss of his sister made him feel like his life is worthless and he'll never love anybody that way again, really that different from Yuji deciding that the people he made connections too gave his life value?

Jujutsu Kaisen lifts from other manga, this is pretty common knowledge. Killua and Shinji Ikari are probably the two biggest inspirations for Megumi and both are two very passive characters who are entirely reactive. They don't decide, they don't act, they react to the decisions of people around him.

Killua's ultimate moment of character development isn't beating his abusive big brother, or his abusive parents in a physical fight after getting a power up. Killua's greatest moment of character development is accepting Nanika as a part of Alluka. Something he was too afraid to do because it would mean that his family would continue to try to exploit Alluka for her wish granting abilities.

Killua finishes his arc with the resolution to protect both Alluka and Nanika from the rest of his family. Considering that Killua has been centering his entire self worth around his usefulness to Gon by this point you could call it Killua is just replacing Alluka with Gon as a crutch if you were cynical. Or you could just say that Killua, like Megumi is someone who lives for their loved ones and finds value in the bonds he makes with other people.

Shinji Ikari spends the entire 26 episode run of Neon Genesis Evangelion not making a single decision, and his final moment of character development isn't really that much character development. He simply makes the decision to reject instrumentality and try again. To go back to the real world and try to be a person in the world again, because as long as you're alive there's still a chance to be happy.

Megumi like Killua, never really changes. It's in Megumi and Killua's nature to be a protector / a nurturer. They want to take care of the loved ones in their lives. Megumi and Shinji both have an arc where it takes the entire anime / manga to take the very first step. Their arc is there to depict how hard it can be to take that first step on the journey to change when you're as traumatized as someone like Shinji or Megumi.

Megumi's arc especially is about him making his very first decision in the whole manga. As I said the central question of Megumi and Yuji's relationship is can you save someone who doesn't want to be saved and Yuji eventually finds you that you can't.

Yuji's greatest moment of character development and empathy for Fushiguro is realizing he can't force savlation on Fushiguro if Megumi doesn't want it. He can't force Megumi to live. He can't just tell Megumi to be stronger.

In doing so Yuji does something that no one has ever done to Megumi in his life, and offered him a choice. Gojo expected Megumi to be as strong as him and saw him as a mini-gojo never once taking his opinion into the matter. As I said above Gojo sees being strong as the soliution to all of life's problems. His adivce to Megumi was don't be weak, otherwise you'll be left behind.

Yuji allows Megumi to be weak. He says that Megumi doesn't have to be strong and suck it all up. The metaphor of Yuji and his grandfather works well to show how Yuji truly understood Megumi in a way Gojo never did. Gojo expected Megumi to be as strong as him. Gojo encouraged Megumi to grow up into another Gojo. Gojo failed to understand Megumi in many ways because he wasn't Gojo, and enjoy Jujutsu and being a sorcerer the way that Gojo did.

Yuji relates the story of his grandfather rejecting chemo treatment. At the time he didn't understand why his father would refuse the treatment just because it was painful, because Yuji being young would have been very easily able to handle the pain. However, after Yuji went through trauma and started dealing with suicidal ideation in the aftermath of Shibuya he understood why some people wouldn't want to keep fighting.

Yuji knows what it's like to be weak and want to give up so he doesn't want to force Megumi to be strong. Gojo projected himself onto Megumi and expected Megumi to always be strong and to love Jujutsu like he did, and didn't understand the ways Megumi was different than him. Yuji on the other hand accepted Megumi for who he was with those words, even though Megumi was weak and didn't want to continue living Yuji didn't crticize him he accepted that Megumi was different from him. He accepted the fact he didn't really understand Megumi's pain. He validated Megumi's pain and didn't try to dismiss it.

This parallel to Gojo and Megumi's first meeting is so important, because Gojo showed up in that child's life only to exploit him. While Yuji gave Megumi a choice. Even if it meant that Yuji would be lonely and heartbroken, he still gave Megumi a choice on whether or not he wanted to live.

In the end Yuji gave Megumi a choice, and Megumi made that choice to keep living. Just like Shinji, Megumi's entire character arc was just leading him up to taking the first step on his journey. Just like Shinji, Megumi's entire arc is defined by his choices being taken away from him but the very first choice he makes is his most important one: the choice to live.

So yes, a Megumi corruption arc would have been really cool but I think the answer of "You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved, but you can still love them" is a beautiful one.

[yan-randomfandom]

HIHIHI ITS OKIII I get why he isnt that popular, but he's from IDW Megatron Origin #2 comic, where he's basically like a rlly corrupt politician lol

While i was stretching out the idea where i'd go with the soft yan/obsessed senator ratbat- (cus at first i didnt think much, i just want to smooch his senator form lol) i realized i may have made him too soft and probably a character arc too 😔😔 so just consider it soft obsessed

Ok so it starts out a pretty normal day for you. You're just making some tea for yourself when you heard rummaging noises outside your home. You thought it might be some cats- and you ignored it at first. But then, it gets louder. So you finally decided to check it out. And you found.. a big metal bat. What.

Still, after the initial surprise, You came close to it. It seems even more panicked when you approached but you immediately tried soothing it and putting in some mechanic knowledge you do have to stop his shiny (probably alien blood) liquid leaking. Its eventually calms down and you took him inside. Its weight is sure no joke.

Its only when inside when you put the metal bat down on your couch does it falm down entirely. And it shared his name. "Ratbat". Huh. Who would've guess eh?

For the next few days you continue looking after it, making sure his injuries aren't too bad. You quickly found out that Ratbat, is one of a cuddly fella. He loves sleeping close to you and you find yourself not minding it, despite the claws. The next day, he's already gone. But he surprises you by visiting during the evening. And it becomes a habit to see ratbat visiting in almost everyday and to cuddle while you sleep.

For Ratbat, he was just happy to find a friendly human who had helped him, and the fact that you're fine with cuddling him. He enjoys physical touch, you absentmindedly running your fingers against his plating.. He'd fly from the base just to visit you often after he recovered. It was a routine he can get used to.

But one day, something changed.

It was just like any other day, you and ratbat began settling in the bed for the night. And he fell into recharge, ready to repeat the cycle again tomorrow, with you. Just you and him. Him as your "big weird alient metal bat".

The next morning, ratbat was the one who woke up first. And he feels.. odd.

He feels his own frame's weight is heavy. he suddenly feels too aware of every shift in his plating- his claws twitchs.. and it feels too big, heavy, and- and wrong.

what?

His optics snapped open. He feels a warm body beside him and- ah. Of course.. he remembers.

He's in your home.

He shifts a little to see your smaller form, still sleeping next to him, peaceful. Unaware of the massive stranger in your bed now.

His breath hitchs.

What if you woke up- not to your small, cuddly and affectionate (not that he'd be any less if you'd allow it in this form..) little weird alien metal bat.

What if you woke up and quickly realized something is amiss? And your eyes would darted to him- and what happens when you looked at him and-

You flinch? Eyes widen in realization, horror and fear?

A small part of him tells him- it's logical. Of course you'd be afraid. He's no longer reduced to a small helpless thing, who relies on others to survive. He should be happy- delighted to have his old body back. Because it means he has his power back.

But why does it feel so wrong now? Why does it have to happen now? Just when he thought he can finally have something- a someone, someone nice- someone kind, to spend time with?

Why is his processor thinking that no. No. He should be small- like last night, where everything is just him- Ratbat and you.

Not Senator Ratbat.

He should someone who is be able to fit in your embrace-

not someone who is too big for your bed.

Before his thoughts can go any further- he hears you mumbling and shifting. His optics darts back at you, slowing opening your eyes, and blinking up at him.

He does not blink back.

And you just mumbled,

"Hey.. ratbat... you got big."

He swore he nearly short cuircuited.

TEHEHEEHSHHWHEHE if you can't tell i looove writing in his POV 🤭🤭💖💖💞

Andd I'd totally love to see your take on soft yan/obsessed bots !!!!! Ty for letting me ramble hihihihi <333 💗💞✨️

-🪴 Anon

Obsessed!Senator Ratbat x Human!Reader

a/n: yes. senator ratbat. ratbat as in soundwave's casssette. also if you're 🪴 anon GO TO THE BOTTOM RN!!!

— This is written as a continuation from anon's ask! Please read it first hehehehe it's so cute — 🦇

After a few struggles involving a window, a screwdriver, dishwashing soap, and a hammer—Ratbat finally got out of your house.

[Granted, he could have just mass-shifted or transformed to fit in the hole, but watching you come up with ideas and struggle was too good to pass up—along with other reasons, such as not wanting to reveal his abilities yet.]

Now, he sits beside the broken window, legs folded over his chassis. Ratbat looks up, his optics registering that the day has barely started. A tauntful gradient sky stretches above him, a quiet reminder of how much time he still has with you.

Which would be the usual. But considering the circumstances—his unexpected form, the schedule may have changed a little.

From whatever this is, Soundwave's reaction is most unpredictable. Would he slaughter Ratbat right there and then, or turn him back to his cassette form? Even the possibility of keeping him in this state is viable. He knows he doesn't stand a chance against him or his leader, Megatron.

His optics narrow. There's also the likelihood that they intended to turn him back to his root mode. This sort of thing doesn't happen for no reason. Maybe Shockwave has something to do with it. Did they notice him taking more time away from the crew?

"I'm back," you beam, walking into the window view with a towel between your hands. He feels a small, giddy jump at his spark, but he forcefully shoves it down. "You doing okay, Ratbat?"

He only nods, opting not to respond verbally. Many thoughts and questions are storming in his processor, too overwhelming to put into words.

A light, patting touch on his hand earns his already-given attention. He tilts his head to you, the warmest expression on your face—an expression he's never been given by anyone else before.

"Were you ever gonna tell me you can turn into this?" you chuckle, the sound subtly fluttering Ratbat's wings. "You look different. Handsome? Beautiful? Let's say lovely."

His vents turn on from the inside, a gentle hum whirring from the fans. It's not too loud, but it's still an incredibly embarrassing display—he's just glad you don't know too much about Cybertronians.

Ratbat lifts a servo and gently pokes your cheek, bringing out an amused smile from you. His engine purrs at your reaction.

You hold his finger with both hands, slightly turning your head away, feeling the metal texture. "Okay, okay. I guess you'll be going now, then?"

He pauses.

Hmm. No, not yet. Not now.

"I'll stay for a little more," he murmurs, watching your smile widen and how you affectionately rub his giant finger.

now he just doesn't wanna leave you 😭 but alas there'll be consequences

-

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----------

hi 🪴 anon

giving you a big fat kiss on the forehead (with consent), BECAUSE THIS TOOK FOREVER IM SO SORRY (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠) I wanted to read the comic full first before touching your ask omg 😭😭

my first thought on reading this, by the way, are you not a writer already?? you're fantastic!! gimme ur account if u do have one!! i love it!!

please ramble anytime you want ..... im all in for it, even if i take forever to respond 😭 AAAAA THANK YOU FOR SHARING ME THISSSS 💕💕💕 RATBAT IS SO SILLLYYYYYYYTT UAAURGRJAURGUAHRJ he's so,,, he just wants to rest for real 😔 with you 😔😔😔😔 just wanna be held fr 😔😔

[edmundosmustache]

best buddie episodes and why:

2x01 under pressure- duh. buck’s bi panic was so funny to watch and him folding immediately after eddie looks at him with his big brown eyes is peak

3x03 the searchers- the tsunami arc has always been that girl. the christopher eddie reunification scene paired with “there’s nobody in this world i trust with my son more than you” like pls just kiss already IM TIRED

3x15 eddie begins- i’ve been watching since the show has been on air, and there has been maybe two episodes that top this one. this was the episode when i started seriously shipping buddie. buck going absolutely apeshit when eddie got buried and most of eddies flashbacks including buck was what really sealed the deal for me.

4x03 future tense- this one is just so domestic. the scene where buck and chris are playing video games on the couch and buck buying an expensive coffee maker solely to prank eddie… they’re so married it makes me sick

4x14 survivors- this is top 3 buddie episodes of all time. sniper arc you will always be famous!!! eddie asking buck if he’s hurt, the physical touch, BUCK CALLING EDDIE “EDS” oh that boy is down so bad. the will scene takes the cake though. I think this episode is the best one in terms of buddie’s relationship progression.

5x06 brawl in cell block 911- the main parts of this episode that i really love are when buck gets very protective over christopher OR when he thinks eddie gets shot (again.) season 5 was probably the slowest buddie season, but there are still soooo many good moments sprinkled in

6x10 in a flash- again, very obvious. “alright cowboy go get em!” kills me every time. this episode is why i can’t decide whether i want a buck nde or an eddie nde in 8b. i want to see eddie DISTRAUGHT again… him trying to pull buck up towards him screaming is just too good

7x04 buck, bothered and bewildered- another peak buddie episode. even tommy knew that buck was trying to get eddies attention the whole time. i’m honestly surprised that this wasn’t bucks realization arc. The entire episode was focused on eddie. even when tommy came over to flirt with buck he STILL found a way to talk about eddie, multiple times. bi buck canon was also life changing and this episode is top 3 for that reason.

7x05 you don’t know me- season 7 has banger after banger episodes. watching the trailer for this episode and seeing eddie crash bucktommy’s date was the icing on the cake tbh. this ep is how i knew marisol and eddie were not going to last. eddie stop terrorizing the women of LA challenge (level: impossible.) the coming out scene is also just one of the best buddie scenes they’ve ever done, it’s so raw and emotional and captures their characters so well.

7x06 there goes the groom- another season seven episode but it has to be included because of the bachelor party. bachelor party buddie is going to be nearly impossible to top. it’s also cute how they don’t leave each others side for most of this episode.

8x06 confessions- i think this episode is top 3 for buddie relationship development. it’s very bucktommy centric but we get hot priest talking to eddie and bucktommy bones. AND how could we forget the risky business scene. i think this episode is when they put buddie canon in motion. eddie dealing w his catholic/regular guilt and saying he’s straight smells like a gay arc to me. buck immediately going to eddie after breaking up with his boyfriend, AND interrupting eddie’s activity that is supposed to bring him pure joy just seems too obvious. at this point we are past subtext and now getting into true buddie canon territory.

anyway! hope this was enjoyed. if anyone has other episodes they think should be added please share!!! there are so many good episodes i probably missed <3

[wingsoffirenews]

At Mike Holmes' recent book signing, he stated:

Mike explains that he enjoyed illustrating Darkstalker's scenes in Talons of Power: Graphic Novel because he's a complicated character and he wanted to bring out his emotions and the parts that "you hate to love him or love to hate him." He's interested to see how readers react to those scenes and said he had fun illustrating it.

He describes Turtle as a very complicated character because he's not necessarily "heroic" like past POVs, and he's interested to see how readers react to his scenes as well.

He says the further the series goes, the deeper he gets into it and he finds it interesting to see how characters "bounce off" of each other and believes Tui makes their relationships work, which makes it fun for him to draw.

He says that the last frame from Escaping Peril: Graphic Novel with Darkstalker in it had to be redrawn 3-4 times because he kept thinking the drawings weren't right. The final frame we got he kept because he felt it had the right amount of fantasy (I think this is the word he said) and surprise.

He hasn't looked much into illustrating the third arc because as of now he's only set to do the rest of the second arc. He's trying not to look into it too much so he can focus on the books he's illustrating now.

He's just started drawing illustrations for Darkness of Dragons: Graphic Novel, saying he loves the way the story raps up (noting when he finished the first arc it felt like a "big weight off his shoulders") but is focusing on one book at a time despite his excitement for the second arc to end so that he doesn't become confused due to thinking about multiple books at once.

He says if he were a dragon tribe from Wings of Fire, he's thought long and hard about the fact he'd be a RainWing because he likes naps, and sometimes between drawing he takes naps and breaks. He appreciates that the RainWings are underestimated by a lot of the other tribes, and he feels that as he grew up there were things about himself that people underestimated due to him being smaller as a kid/teen, and people didnt expect much of him. He thinks the RainWings' powers are amazing despite the other tribes thinking they're lazy.

When he started illustrating the Wings of Fire graphic novels, he used his pets as models to try and put their energy and emotion into the characters.

His favorite duo to draw is Winter and Qibli (whom he pronounces Kibli because he's never asked Tui how it's pronounced) because he thinks it's really fun how they cancel out each other. He describes Qibli as living his life while Winter is more sheltered.

He also mentions Peril and Turtle as a duo he enjoyed drawing, thinking they couldn't be more opposites of each other. He describes Peril as always being used her whole life as a weapon which she's trying to move on from, but she's always at the forefront. He says Turtle was in the background his whole life despite his powers and nobody expected anything from him, but Peril's power has always been front and center and everyone knows what she's capable of. He says it's interesting to see how they bounce off each other, seeing how Peril pulls Turtle out of his shell while Turtle shows her how she can soften her approach. Mike believes the things they say to each other is funny.

He says he hopes everytime he draws for the Wings of Fire series that it'll cause a good reaction from readers.

Here's the video!

[wasppette64]

Im sorry, I know this is but a simple rb blog but I need to rant about this to SOMETHING.

End of ch4 DELTARUNE spoilers and rant under cut

Why are people acting like sans having a fling with Toriel is some new, out of character thing? Did we play the same undertale? The same Deltarune? Of course Sans is a bastard that dates your divorced mom. i feel like even though it must be hard for Kris to move on from the divorce it’s perfectly understandable for Toriel to seek something more and move on from Asgore, is it sad? Yeah, is it reasonable, also yes! Everyone is focused on Sans in this interaction, I barley see people talking about how Toriel feels. She ended a relationship some time ago and ever since her dead beat ex husband has been trying to get her back and she’s so over it, THAT day Asgore tried to offer her flowers, I wouldn’t be surprised if Toriel was fed up with it and when Sans (presumably) started flirting with her (LIKE HE DOES) she let him. Toriel is not a sailor being encapsulated by a siren’s song, she let sans in, she invited him over and offered him a drink. Sans is not some terrible guy here, he is just a guy flirting with a single woman. Is that what you’re mad about? Really?

Sans was probably aware of Toriel’s and Asgore’s relationship, and in that yes it is a kind of bitch move to flirt with a somewhat recently divorced woman BUT this isnt outside of his character, since Undertale he has been a troll and a bastard, even in Deltarune he has some pretty prick-ish tendencies. I think a lot of people are forgetting that.

Anyways, yeah I feel terrible for Kris, I have a divorced mom and when my (now ex) stepdad came into the picture I hated him so much and never once called him dad or considered him family, so I know how it feels, but I think its good for Kris to move on from their parents being… together. I think especially after chp3 Kris has a problem with moving on, and I think Sans and Toriel being together is a genuinely good plot point to force Kris into moving on from Asgore and Toriel. Which, who knows what that might lead too.

LIKE Kris obviously struggles too move on, in chp4 we get the info that even if placed in the same location, dark fountains alter based on the emotions felt at the time, and Tenna’s whole thing is that he cant move on. He cant move on from cable becoming irrelevant, he cant move on from Kris and Asriel moving on, he cant move on, and thats shows how Kris feels about moving on from their childhood, So Sans and Toriel becoming a thing might help Kris understand that they HAVE too move on, and might even help Asgore too

The whole game has a theme of “moving on” in the sense that every main character (Kris, Susie, Noelle, Berdly, and Ralsei)

Kris has to move on from their childhood, Ralsei needs to move on from the prophecy and his ‘purpose’, Susie needs to move on from her mean ways and tough personality to be more like herself, Noelle needs to move on from Dess and Berdly has to move on from Noelle and the idea that hes not actually as likeable as he pretends to be

That being said, (besides Noelle) all of these are being actively challenged, Berdly getting rejected and kinda like put in his place, Susie is having a whole character arc with Ralsei, who in turn is also learning to be more selfish and see himself as his own being, and Kris gets to move on from their mom moving on.

Sorry this is just rambling and ranting but I’m sick and tired, also this somehow devolved into a theory at the end? I dont know, I have so many thoughts I cant barley catch them to type them out. I hope you enjoyed, if even a single person is reading this

[xia01i]

what i find really interesting is that when qiao ling was possessed, she talked about punishment and the "game" restarting due to breaking the "rules"

but you know the only other character that really talks about punishment:

which is odd to me, meaning that the Red Eyes we saw in S1 cannot be the same red eyes as in S2, because if that truly was the case, Li Tianchen technically should enjoy killing and know about this "game" or so-called punishment throughout S2. Moreover, the killing styles are different since Li Tianchen kills others through suicide and specifically remembers his first kill as such.

however, i find it interesting when Red Eyes makes these claims because throughout S2, we never see Li Tianchen address this ever again or try to take Cheng Xiaoshi's powers via death which we see when qiao ling gets hers from li tianxi or when cheng xiaoshi died in the previous timelines. this means that Red Eyes already knows of the existence of other powers, i.e., probably lu guang, and how to take them as well; either from their own knowledge, or perhaps someone else (i'm looking at you, liu xiao). it could also explain lu guang's surprise when he learns about "someone having the ability possess spirits" as he probably never reached this far into a dive (assuming this actually takes place in 22/10/2021). this is also supported by the fact that in the yingdu/bridon arc when lu guang had a nightmare, cheng xiaoshi didn't say anything about the xu shanshan case.

and the only way to reset the "game" is technically to kill off the one who keeps doing that and the one who possesses the powers to dive back in time.

[muzetrigger]

In celebration of Nevermore S2, I feel the need to explain why I’m hoping for more Ada page time/development and why she’s my absolute favorite character, despite the series being absolutely stuffed with quality.

Oh and also why MorellAda is peak. I WILL TAKE NO ARGUMENTS ON THIS POINT.

So yeah, MAJOR SPOILERS Y’ALL

Okay, so when we’re first introduced Ada, she’s a minor antagonist, not just in the sense that she’s not the main villain, but that literally, she’s just kind of an annoyance to both Lenore and Prospero. That being said, shortly after the Labyrinth arc, we see her genuinely impressed with Lenore and trying to make amends.

Now at that point, there’s no real reason for us to believe that Ada is telling the truth. Yeah, she seems like she’s being genuine, but so far, we also know that she’s been playing some social games to get ahead.

That’s where we get this first piece of insight into her character (not actually the first piece but whatever):

Ada chooses caviar as her last meal, despite not liking it, or ever having had it before. She is the only student who doesn’t enjoy her final meal, and that tells us that one, Ada doesn’t know what’s good for her; two, that she probably comes from a lower class background that never would have had access to caviar; and three, that she aspires to that upper class position. She is exactly what Morella would call a “phony” but while her phoniness impacts her social behavior in the ways that Morella criticizes, she’s also lying to herself without even realizing it.

Okay, but that’s a bit of subtle character development, so Red and Flynn hit us with this:

(In case you didn’t hate Montressor already)

This moment is so critical to understanding Ada because it shows that she has absolutely no limits when it comes to proving her worth to other people. Why? Because Ada has no sense of self-worth. She is completely dependent on other people’s thoughts to feel adequate. That’s why she clings so hard to Prospero and Annabel Lee, which makes this preceding exchange even more brutal.

Ada reaches out to Annabel for support, and Annabel ignores her.

Annabel BETRAYS her, and this is going to become something of a running theme for Ada.

Now, of course, Annabel has problems, but this is COLD.

So cold even Prospero is surprised, and this sets up why Ada crumbles so easily, because the one person she thought was her friend at this school, literally her roommate (and we know what happens when you’re not on good terms with your roommate), the person who gave her (fake) love advice, just left her out in the rain.

No one is on her side, not Annabel who’s ignoring her, not Prospero (who is rightly) annoyed with her clinginess, not Will who is supporting Montresor, and certainly not Montresor who is verbally abusing her.

The only person by Ada’s side is Morella, partly because she’s being targeted too, but also because Morella is trying to protect Ada.

(Look at that hug. That is a small puppy trying to cheer up her depressed friend.)

Chapter 39-40 firmly cemented Ada as my favorite character because we get a deconstruction of this preppy, pompous, phony personality into someone with crippling self-worth issues, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I relate HARD to those feelings of inadequacy and needing external validation. Will might be the doppelgänger, but Ada is the one with Imposter Syndrome.

Anyway, now we’re going to have to skip a few chapters, because while the haunted house arc is great, it doesn’t really do much with Ada’s character. We do learn that Ada was almost definitely a servant in her past life because she’s able to navigate the house’s secret passages, and we learn that yes, she’s a romantic who clearly doesn’t understand TPO (time, place, and occasion).

Those details are important to understanding Ada, because they help contextualize why her confidence is so abysmal (servants aren’t to be seen or heard) and why she clings so strongly to ideas of ladyhood and romance (the women she served would certainly have appeared to be more comfortable than her, though I’m sure Lenore and Annabel would disagree).

We also get this feast for the MorellAda shippers:

At this point, it’s implied that Morella has stonewalled dozens of students into Prospero’s death trap, but she makes one exception that she will not stand for, and it’s Ada.

At first, I thought this was a little weird, because why wouldn’t Morella protect Lenore? I mean, she’s the protagonist and clearly treats Morella better, but looking back, it’s telling that Ada is the one who Morella chooses.

Morella’s whole deal is that she wants to protect people, and Lenore isn’t vulnerable, Ada is.

Red and Flynn do a lot of excellent foil work in Nevermore, most prominently with Lenore and Annabel, but the contrast between Ada’s dependence on what other people think of her and Morella’s dependence on what she can do for other people is just another reason why I think MorellAda is so good.

But the real interesting events happen post-house.

Prospero has had it.

Now, was Ada being clingy? Yes.

Was she being totally oblivious to all of Prospero’s signals? Yes.

Did she deserve to be told directly that Prospero was just not that into her? Hell. Yes.

But did she deserve THAT much of a verbal beat down? Probably not, especially keeping in mind that Annabel told her this:

So now that I’ve thrown Annabel under the bus for her hand in this disaster, I want to look at one line from Prospero in particular:

“Nothing you say will make you good enough.”

It’s not the final line of Prospero’s diatribe, but it’s definitely the one that hits the hardest for Ada. She is trying SO hard to play the part of a lady in order to be loved, and she is being told that at a fundamental level, she is inadequate.

And she takes that about as well as someone who’s had this happen to them could:

A hatchet to the stomach’s going to ruin anyone’s day, but we can reasonably infer that the person who axe’d Ada was probably the young master she was serving and was having an affair with, and that he aimed for her stomach to abort any kind of child she might have carried.

Again, we see this theme of betrayal and rejection. Ada might not have been able to be a lady, but in an affair, she might been able to pretend that she genuinely had her master’s affection, even though she was just there at his convenience.

This was foreshadowed all the way back with Ada’s first confrontation with Montressor and it’s a great example of how thoroughly planned Red and Flynn’s writing is (Annabel Lee’s panic attack at Lenore’s death in the Labyrinth and the House Fire is another amazing example).

But, it’s also super traumatic which means we finally get Ada’s Spectre!

First, let me gush about how AMAZING this design is. Just aesthetically, it’s great. But it’s also amazing because of how it showcases so much of Ada’s identity. If you look at the spectre’s skirt, you’ll notice it has two distinct parts, a larger back that mimics a lady’s hoop skirt, and a pleated miniskirt, which wouldn’t be out of place in a skimpy maid costume. In her spectre form, we can clearly see Ada attempting to match a lady’s silhouette but upon closer inspection, we can also see the part of Ada that might have sparked her fatal affair, this symbol of risqué servantile behavior.

It’s also worth mentioning what ISN’T in the Banshee’s design, her abdomen. Obviously, this might be a reference to the fact that she was killed by a hatchet to the gut, but if we get dark with it (and it’s Nevermore, we can’t not get dark with it), what men traditionally (and unfortunately still do if the 2024 US elections are anything to go by…) value in a woman, her reproductive ability, is absent.

Ada, who places so much importance on what others think of her, is literally is worthless to them. (I want to clarify, I DON’T personally believe that, but from a 19th-20th century male perspective, that tracks.)

We could also read her abdomen’s absence as another attempt for Ada to play into feminine expectations. Because she’s missing her stomach, she has a tight hourglass figure. I don’t personally believe Ada has an eating disorder, but as the last dinner scene clearly indicates, she has a complicated relationship with food and what stigmas are attached to specific cuisines, and unfortunately many people do metaphorically throw away their stomachs to pursue beauty goals like Ada’s spectre does literally.

Stepping away from design, I also love how Ada acts immediately after getting the slightest bit of power.

She is PETTY.

She taunts Prospero (and let’s face it, you cheered. Don’t lie to me!), which I find so interesting because suddenly, Ada is the one giving opinions.

Ada is finally allowed to express herself.

Here, she takes it out on Annabel, which makes total sense. Annabel abandoned her and is the embodiment of what Ada craves outwardly. But Ada also recognizes that she herself is a servant who was forced to serve people like Annabel and denied their comforts because of her status. If Ada hadn’t been a maid, if maybe she had been a noble or a “true lady”, maybe should would have been allowed a romance or allowed to keep her child or at least allowed to live.

The Banshee is such a perfect moment, because until this scene, Ada has bottled up her insecurities and played the part of a loyal lackey and been this “phony”. As a servant, her entire livelihood would have revolved around keeping up appearances (or disappearances) around her masters, but as a ghost, Ada is more genuine than she has ever been.

And that’s so wonderfully displayed by how Annabel defuses the situation:

To the very end, we see Ada being vulnerable. Annabel takes advantage of her insecurities, and as the Banshee, Ada doesn’t try to hide the fact that it devastates her.

If the Montressor moment didn’t guarantee a place in my heart for Ada, Episode 71 definitely did. I’m not going to argue that characters in Nevermore haven’t experienced worse, but I will argue that no character in season one ever gets close to how pathetic and distraught Ada is here.

And what’s so heart-wrenching about this for me is that Ada is aware of how pathetic she is. She knows she’s been acting like an idiot and throwing a tantrum like a child, which is a surprising amount of insight and maturity for someone we have been led to believe is quite frankly an idiot. And yeah, I relate to those feelings of self-loathing and not knowing what to do or even where to start triaging a disaster I made myself.

Now, Montressor takes advantage of this like the abuser he is by swooping in and wooing Ada, but before that, I’m going to rewind like the shipper I am to replay this:

Again, we see Morella trying to help Ada! And obviously, that’s not what Ada needs at that moment, but it’s worth keeping in mind that out of everyone in the lecture hall then, Morella is the first and really only one to reach out to Ada. (Montressor is a manipulator. He doesn’t count.)

Last time skip, I promise!

The end of the Wall arc doesn’t quite reach the highs (or is it lows?) of Ada’s character development, but I’m so excited for what it sets up in season two.

So, Lenore and the gang find where Montressor has Cask of Amantillado’d Duke and they dig their favorite French man out while beating the shit out of our cowboy(?). There’s a ton of great moments (hell yeah, Pluto! Get him!) but the battle really swings in the misfits’ favor when Duke hypnotizes Ada to traumatize Montresor.

One, this is just an amazing display of Duke’s spectre, two, it shows that Montressor has reasons (maybe not great reasons but at least they’re reasons) for being such an asshole, and three, it shows us that mental spectre powers are straight up busted.

We already knew from Prospero that Ada’s fear factor could trap a person inside a vision of their own trauma so realistic they can feel the physical effects of it, but she can also send a man with a broken Fibula into a full blown frenzy, AND Duke’s hypnosis is something even he can’t dispel.

(Does this look like the face of a man who has things under control?)

It also sets up this exchange:

Morella is able to break through Duke’s hypnosis, and she does it without attacking Ada’s insecurities like Annabel did. Now, I’m a hopeless MorellAda shipper, so of course I reading into this, but even then, it showcases how important Morella is to Ada. After all, Morella is basically the only person who has stuck by Ada’s side this whole time.

…At least until this happens:

Morella has had enough of Ada’s excuses, and just like Prospero basically tells her to shove off.

But the painfully ironic part about this is, Ada is telling the truth. This ONE time, it really isn’t her fault. It’s Duke’s.

But Morella won’t let her get a word in and I love how Flynn drew Ada’s face. It’s a different kind of fear than when Ada was groveling in front of Montresor or reeling from Prospero’s rejection. Here, she isn’t afraid of being abandoned by Morella; she’s afraid of losing Morella.

I know that difference might sound REALLY contrived to some people, but in this case, Ada has a way to keep Morella in her life that doesn’t involve debasing herself and believes that Morella will listen to her. For the first time ever, Ada thinks she has a little control over the situation together with a friend, not an enemy. They can talk things out, and that really shows how close her connection with Morella is and how that connection can be the catalyst for Ada to start developing some self-respect.

Except Morella totally shuts her down.

Of course, I’m disappointed that there’s this “divorce arc” but it makes sense in context and it’s healthier for Morella to make a clean break from the posh crew (even though Ada clearly needs her wife more than ever, like come on, don’t leave her in Monstresor’s clutches!)

Speaking of which, I’m much more disappointed with how Ada immediately crawls back to Montresor and Annabel after being chastised. If there’s one thing I have on my season two checklist, it’s Ada learning to have some confidence in herself (and maybe tossing Montresor to the Hunt).

And I really want an apology from Morella and Duke to Ada. Now THAT’S delusional, and I might be the only one who thinks Ada deserves those apologies, because let’s face it, Ada is a wreck, but it would be nice, especially if she gives out the several dozen apologies she owes the misfit crew too, so that she can hang with them and spend more time with her wife Morella.

Anyway, yeah.

I really like Nevermore.

And I really like Ada. I think she’s severely underrated.

Of course I love Lenore and Annabel, and Morella is a precious and badass cinnamon roll, and Duke is so SO cool, and Pluto is cute as hell, and Eulalie is basically manga-Orihime (which is amazing), but there’s something so HUMAN about Ada.

I empathize with her in ways that I just can’t with the rest of the cast because… they’re just too awesome. I have difficulty believing Lenore or Annabel will ever feel something as fundamentally devastating as Ada has. At their core, they’re just stronger people. Ada is someone who needs more support and it’s nice to see those weaker characters treated with the same amount of care as a protagonist who we typically see stumble a lot but ultimately succeed. With side characters, there’s a genuine chance that they fail permanently and that adds so much to Ada’s stakes.

And honestly? I’ll say it. I think a lot of the students had alright lives or even good lives, they just happened to be cut short traumatically. Exceptions for Lenore (obviously) and Pluto (baby, you deserved so much better than your deadbeat dad), possibly Eulalie for having to live through WWII, but you’re not going to tell me that Montresor didn’t have a good run being awful, Duke didn’t have a successful performance career, and Prospero wasn’t a wealthy bastard. But who knows? We haven’t delved too much into the others’ backstories, so I could be very wrong.

Anyway, I guess this was just a very long-winded way of me saying I love Ada because I’m a total girl-failure and also I’m super excited for season two.

[minik0u]

A New Dawn 𓈒ㅤׂ 𝜗𝜚 | Chapter one

🍮 Various!MyStreet X Reader

When you move in with your best friend Kawaii~Chan and two new roommates, out of convenience to move out of your brother's apartment.

This fanfic will follow the events of season one of mystreet but quite differently! The characters will be the same but with a few headcanon's sprinkled in! some characters will go through different arcs that they didn't go through season one *cough* laurance and garroth learning not to be creeps towards aphmau *cough*

I really hope yall enjoy my passion project!

WC: 7,000k

“Wow, this place is amazing!”

You could not help but agree with Kawaii~Chan this is certainly the nicest place you ever lived in.

“I know, right? It’s so big and nice looking.” You smile complimenting the exterior of the house. It looked newly built ( it probably was ) The house had two stories and was made out of brick.

Oh, and the grass was so green too!

“I’m glad you guys like it so much!” Aphmau smiled, admiring the new house she purchased with the help of her friends.

Katlyn looks at the house skeptically “Are you sure we can even afford this place?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Aphmau replies immediately.

“What do you even do for a living?���

“Uh well-” aphmau stumbles on her words “It's a night job..”

Aphmau notices how Katlyn looked at her and tries to clarify. “I don’t want word getting around on where exactly I work… it’s a part of my contract.”

But Aphmau's vague answer doesn’t seem to satisfy Katlyn’s curiosity “That’s weird? Never heard of that before.”

“Trust me the whole job is weird.”

Both you and Kawaii~Chan look at each other, raising your eyebrows at the strange situation.

“Weird, how?” Kawaii~Chan asks.

You knew how nosy your best friend was. If she doesn't know the answer to something, she’ll ask millions of questions or unintentionally annoy them till she finds out.

“No comment..” Aphmau leaves the conversation at that.

“Wahhhh! You can't trust us?!”

Aphmau sighs, “Kawaii~Chan! You're the one who was snapping pictures of me and Aaron on the side! Of course, I don't trust you! But I'll live with you.”

“Aww, poo…” kawaii~chan pouts.

Katelyn chuckles “Heh, fine, keep it a secret. We live with you now, so we'll find out eventually.”

“B-but, Katelyn~Sama! Kawaii~Chan wants to know now!” Kawaii~Chan wines.

“Patience, Kawaii~Chan. Let's play Aphmau's game. If she's keeping it a secret, then this is gonna be good.” Katelyn gets one last snarky remark before walking inside the new house.

Aphmau looks baffled at Katelyn’s statement. “Uh.... okay...What did she mean by that?”

“I’m sure she’s just playing around?” You suggest but honestly, you had no idea what she meant by that either...

Granted, you didn’t know Katelyn that well.. heck you didn’t even know Aphmau that well either.. Your first time meeting her was last week to talk about the whole rent situation.

The only reason why you moved in with them was because Kawaii~Chan so kindly suggested you to aphmau as their fourth roommate knowing how desperately you wanted to move out of your brother's apartment.

It’s not that you hated your brother.. quite the opposite you adored him. But he’s already in the stage of his life where he has a child and a fiancé, you just didn’t wanna feel like you were freeloading off of them.

Kawaii~Chan nods in agreement with your suggestion “Oooh, you know Katelyn~Sama... she just likes to get in a snarky remark.”

“Anywho, Aphmau~Senpai! You should have the biggest room! Katelyn~Sama, Y/N-Chan, and Kawaii~Chan all agreed before we came out here, that since Aphmau~Senpai is paying more on rent, you should get the biggest room!” Kawaii~Chan explains excitedly.

Aphmau looks at Kawaii~Chan in surprise “Uh, what? No, no. Kawaii~Chan, I-I'm fine with whatever!”

“Nono you deserve it! You did all the work to find the house and you’d even let me live with you, without even knowing me well.. the least you deserve Is the biggest room,” you added, you wanted Aphmau to know that her having the biggest room is just a gift of gratitude from all of you for her for setting all of this up.

Aphmau looked genuinely touched by your words, and she placed a hand on your shoulder. Her eyes gleamed with gratitude, and her words were soft and sincere. “Thank you, Y/N, seriously. I appreciate your offer, but I truly don’t mind which room I end up getting. Plus, you’re a pretty cool person to hang out with, so I don’t mind you living with me.”

You smile at Aphmau, appreciating her kind words.

Kawaii~Chan lightly pushes Aphmau towards the house. “Now, go on and pick! Kawaii~Chan is going to be here to get her stuff down!”

Then Kawaii~Chan goes into the van and gestures for you to follow.. and you do.

Aphmau gives you and Kawaii~Chan one final grateful smile, before grabbing her stuff and heading inside the house. While you help Kawaii~Chan get the boxes out of the van.

You smile at Kawaii~Chan, taking out your first box from the van. “I can’t believe we’re living together! I’m so excited.. this is the first time I’m living without one of my siblings.”

Kawaii~Chan returns your smile, as she puts a box onto the ground too. “It’s such a huge upgrade from your old place.”

“I know! It was so cramped living with my brother and his fiancé.. it was nice— don’t get me wrong but I felt out of place. Y’know?” You explain trying not to come off as ungrateful towards your brother for even lending you his space.

Kawaii~Chan nods in understanding, her expression soft and empathetic. “Having personal space is one of the best things about moving out. But kawaii~Chan is sure your brother and his fiancé appreciated having Y/N~Chan around.” She chuckled, picking up another box. “Although, Kawaii~Chan is sure they needed some privacy too—”

Kawaii~Chan winked at you, giggling to herself.

You roll your eyes at your best friend, not wanting to think about the implications of her joke. “Though, I’m sure they never do with their son running around.”

“Oh yeah, kids can be quite the barrier when it comes to that.” Kawaii~Chan laughed in agreement, taking one of your last boxes out of the van.

While you pull one of your many paintings out of the van.

Kawaii~Chan smirked teasingly and glanced at the painting in your hand. “Ooh, is that another painting? Can Kawaii~Chan see?”

You hand Kawaii~Chan the painting, “Sure even though I’m sure, I’ve already shown you it before.”

Kawaii~Chan carefully takes the painting from you and inspects it closely. The expression on her face lights up as she looks at the art, and lets out a quiet ‘whoa’.

“Geez, Kawaii~Chan swears, how is your art always so good?! Like, Kawaii~Chan is pretty sure you’ve definitely shown her this painting, but no matter how many times she sees it, it never fails to impress her.”

You blush at your best friend's compliment. “you say that every time.”

Kawaii~Chan laughs in return and continues to admire the painting for a few more seconds, before handing it back to you. “Of course Kawaii~Chan does! She is not lying when she says you have a talent. Kawaii~Chan is serious, if you opened an art shop, you’d be rich in seconds.”

“It’s just a hobby.. y’know that! Plus I’d be way too shy to ever do something like that.”

Kawaii~Chan nods, knowing exactly how introverted you can be. You know she can't help but feel a bit worried about it since you have such a difficult time making friends or even socializing properly.

“Kawaii~Chan knows. But still, she wishes you were more confident. It would be so good for you if you put yourself out there a bit more, and maybe get yourself a man in the process?”

You scoff at your friend “Nana.. men don’t even notice me.”

Kawaii~Chan rolls her eyes, and gently punches your shoulder. “Men are just blind and have no taste, that’s the problem. You’re perfect! Well… except for you being a social recluse, that's a problem. But honestly, you’re a catch! Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

“Nana, that's really sweet..” you smile, getting the last of your paintings out of the van.

“Wanna check the house with me?” You ask

Kawaii~Chan shakes her head no, probably because she has a few more boxes to take out of the van. “You go ahead, Kawaii~Chan still needs to take care of a few things.”

“Kawaii~Chan, come to find you when she’s done here, so try not to get lost, okay?” She chuckled while wiping some sweat off her forehead.

“no promises!” You tease grabbing your boxes and paintings before heading inside the house.

⋆˙⟡♡

You place everything down in your room. It wasn't the biggest but it was more than enough to hold all your stuff.

You open your biggest box named “room decorations.”

It was mostly fake plants, posters, and tiny anime figures...

You had a massive collecting problem..

And that brings a dent in your wallet with your librarian salary...

You wouldn’t be able to set up any of your figures today because your desk and all your bigger items wouldn’t be here till later this evening...

You sigh just deciding to decorate your room with posters till then...

You pulled out a few of them from the box, most of them were posters from your favorite game series, Animal Crossing, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy..

You weren’t the biggest gamer.. You’ve always been more into books rather than games but you quickly got into those franchises once your sister introduced you to them.

Since your sister introduced you to games you in return begged her to read some books that you thought maybe she would love.

She agreed.. Even if it took a while, she ended up loving it.

Ever since then it’s been a tradition between the two of you to recommend each other video games or books.

You smile at the memory fondly.. reminding yourself to text your sister later about the move.

Suddenly you hear Katlyn’s crazy laugh running down stairs as Aphmau chases her.

You walk out your room to figure out what’s happening to only see Katelyn nowhere in sight and aphmau trying to catch her breath by the stairs .

You walk down the steps and you hear

Aphmau mutters “Geez, Katelyn, get back here! I- I swear, Katelyn, I just- ugh-”

You were about to ask Aphmau what happened exactly, only to be shocked by Kawaii~Chan's voice.. you didn’t see her in the kitchen.

“Aphmau~Senpai! Y/N-Chan let's go introduce ourselves to the neighbors! Come on!”

Aphmau lets out a groan, looking at Kawaii~Chan with slight irritation. Her jet, black hair is messy, and she looks out of breath and extremely annoyed.

“Y-yeah, sure, we can introduce ourselves.”

Aphmau sighs in defeat, before a small smile appears on her face. “But we’ll have to be quick, I think I need a mini break after all that.”

“But do we have something to give them?” You ask

Kawaii~Chan picks up a fruit bowl from the counter.

“Here, Kawaii~Chan has a fruit bowl. She only has one, so we can only meet one neighbor.”

“Uh, alright. I guess that's better than nothing. Come on, let's go.” Aphmau says before just leaving through the front door expecting yall the follow along.

⋆˙⟡♡

Aphmau points at a house

“Let's go over there.”

You look at many houses, they all look the same but slightly different but you guess that’s just how all suburban neighborhoods look.

“this whole neighborhood looks really nice!” Kawaii~Chan exclaims looking around in child-like wonder.

You smile at your friend's excitement and nod in agreement, “Every house here is so fancy..”

Aphmau nods, glancing at the houses she passes by, “Yeah… it looks better than what I expected. I guess we just picked the good side of the neighborhood, huh?”

Once you were at the front door, Aphmau stopped in front of it, and turned towards you and Kawaii~Chan.

“Alright… So who's going to ring the doorbell?”

Both you and Kawaii~Chan look at aphmau shaking your head no..

Aphmau does it with a sigh, The door opens behind her, and she turns to see a guy with black hair and green eyes at the door.

“Well well well. I didn't know cute girls were delivering pizza these days.” Your neighbor flirts with yall with a smile.. but it came off as more dorky than anything else.

“Are you serious? You live here, Brendan?” Aphmau sighs.

“You know this guy?”

You meant to say that softly towards aphmau but it was accidentally loud enough that everyone heard.

Brendan turns his head towards you, before turning back to Aphmau with a look that clearly says 'is she with you?’

Aphmau crosses her arms.

“Yeah… this is Brendan, he's a friend of mine and he’s also an idiot.”

Brendan rolls his eyes, clearly not amused by her statement. “Oh c’mon, don’t be rude, Aph. At least I’m a charming idiot.”

“Hahaha, um, no, anyway we actually just, uh, moved next door. Kawaii~Chan and Y—“

“BRENDAN~KUN! LONG TIME NO SEE!” Kawaii~Chan interrupts Aphmau, seemingly happy to see this guy.

“K-K-K-K-K-KAWAII~CHAN! I DIDN'T THINK Y-YOU WOULD BE—”

Then he faints..

You and Aphmau both jump a bit in surprise, not exactly expecting Brendan to suddenly just… fall on the ground. Aphmau quickly shakes off the shock, and crouches down next to him.

“Oh jeez, he just… fainted.”

Aphmau lets out a small huff, glancing at Kawaii~Chan.

You all turn when you hear noise and look across the street.

There was another moving van by the house across from you

“Huh? Uh, someone's moving in right across from us. The same day we are? What a coincidence! Come on, we should go say hi.” Aphmau suggest

“Maybe we should bring the unconscious man into his house first?” You look at the unconscious man on his own doorstep.

Aphmau looks down at Brendan’s still unconscious body, and her expression shows a hint of disbelief. “You’re right… We should probably get him in his house. I would hate for him to wake up on the ground, that can’t be comfortable.”

She stands up, and turns to you and Kawaii~Chan. “Can you guys help me out here? I’m way too weak to carry him on my own.”

You and Kawaii~Chan nod, and go over to Brendan’s body, each grabbing one of his arms and hoisting him up from the ground. You try your best to carry him into his house, though he’s pretty heavy.

You got him onto his couch .. and you caught your breath. This was definitely the most athletic thing you did all year.

“I hope he’s okay.. I’ve never seen someone just faint like that”

“Yeah, I hope so too. But knowing Brendan, he’ll probably be okay in a few hours? He’s a lot tougher than he looks… which is kind of sad.” Aphmau walks out of Brendan's house then turns to you.

Aphmau waves at you and Kawaii~Chan to follow her. “Come on, we can check on him later. Right now we have new neighbors to greet.”

⋆˙⟡♡

“Hey there, new neighbors. My name is Aphmau, and this is— Garroth?! Dante?! Laurence?! Uh—”

Aphmau looks at the mystery men in shock.

You're just shocked you’ve never seen such beautiful men before..

Well you have but only in movies, not in real life.

The first guy you laid eyes on, had the most striking appearance in your opinion.. He had medium-length, dark brown hair, and a captivating shade of blue or green you couldn't exactly tell.. but it really matched his tan skin!

Oh! And he was stylish too, wearing a sorta dark academia type of outfit.

The guy in the middle was a total hottie too!

He had a very noble appearance. Like he’d be a knight or as a prince in a fantasy novel? Maybe even both.

He had short neatly kept blonde hair that compliments his strong facial features. His eyes are very striking blue, and he was tall and muscular..

The last guy was cute too!

He had a more approachable appearance, He has longer dark blue hair but it looked more dyed then your roommate's more natural blue. That didn’t mean you hated his hair, you loved it actually! It reminded you of the emo hair you’d seen on tumbler.

His whole vibe just screamed “I’m in a band.”

Especially since he had so many piercings. You noticed a lip piercing, an eyebrow piercing, and from what you can see a few ear piercings also.

You blush a little.. shaming yourself for looking at these men like eye candy..

Your twenty-four for Irene sake!

Pull yourself together!

“Yo!” The guy with the dark academia vibe said to aphmau.

“Wow.. Do you guys just know everybody in this neighborhood?” You ask Kawaii~Chan but she just shrugs her shoulders without giving any clear answer.

“Hey, Kawaii~Chan. Let me ask you, do you think I'm handsome?” The guy with blue hair ask

“Huh? Why do you ask such a question?”

“Hm, just trying to prove a point.”

“Well, Kawaii~Chan thinks Dante~Kun is cute, but... she can't see her shipping you with Aphmau~Senpai or anything like that.”

“W-What!?” Dante looked shocked by Kawaii~Chan words and the other men just laughed.

“Told you he was no threat.” The brunette man gloats.

“D-don't you start with me!” Dante argues

Kawaii~Chan chuckles awkwardly “Speaking of shipping, uh, Kawaii~Chan has to go set up her... uh, never mind! Be back, and don't follow me! Especially you, Aphmau~Senpai!”

“Uh, well, that was weird.” Aphmau glances back at the road where Kawaii~Chan went down, a bit confused.

Aphmau turns back to the boys, and crosses her arms, giving them a bit of a frown. “So, why are you guys all here? This isn’t exactly where any of you live.”

“Now now, we can explain... you see, since you were moving, we... uh, decided to move as well! And uh... this place just so happened to catch our eyes, and uh... so we moved here! W-we had no idea you were moving here as well!” The man with brown hair rambles, refusing to make eye contact with Aphmau.

“Laurance, look me in the eyes. Are you lying to me?” Aphmau asks Laurance.

“Lie? To you? Pft, No, never! I mean, you know what, G-Garroth can answer that. GARROTH!” Laurance runs into the house, leaving Aphmau to walk up to Garroth with you in hand.

“Garroth.”

“Garroth, did you guys find out I was moving here, and decide to move here as well?” Aphmau ask again

“Y-Ye-NO! Dante was the one who moved us here because he was um... he set up the viewing this morning! YEAH! THAT'S IT! GO... TALK TO HIM!”

Garroth runs into the house too, just leaving you, Aphmau, and Dante..

“I— Garroth, Garroth! Ugh! Oh my gosh, rgh! I swear, these guys are just—” aphmau takes a breath “Fine. You know what, I will go talk to Dante. Dante!”

Dante walks over to you and aphmau with a smile, “Why hello there Aphmau” then looks at you “oh! And her very cute friend”

You blush at his compliment, not used to people, noticing you at all.

Aphmau scowls when Dante starts to turn his attention towards you, giving him a glare.

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not getting distracted. I’m not done talking to you. You’re going to give me a straight answer, right now, mister. “

Aphmau taps her foot on the ground with impatience.

Dante flinches, and holds his hands up in surrender, a nervous smile on his face.

“Okay, okay! Jeez, you’re intimidating when you want to be, you know that?”

Aphmau rolls her eyes, “Yes, I do know that. Now. No more distractions. Did you all move here because you knew I was moving here?”

“I did... you know why? Because I wanted to be next to the two most beautiful girls in the world.”

Dante blows kisses specifically looking at you and you feel like your heart is going to explode.

Aphmau rolls her eyes once again, becoming annoyed by Dante’s flirty tendencies. She glances over at you, and huffs a bit.

“Dante, stop it. You’re embarrassing Y/N…”

Dante chuckles, and shrugs his shoulders. “ Aww, come on. I’m just complimenting her. Plus look at her. She’s cute when she’s blushing, don’t you think?”

Aphmau’s expression deadpans, not amused by his words. “I see you’re being as persistent as usual. You know I'm not happy about this, right? I mean, you all just decided to move here, with no warning or anything, just because I’M here.”

“What can I say? I love looking at beautiful things.”

“Anyway I’m ordering pizza tonight, I’d love to see everyone there.” Then Dante looks at you with a smile “Especially you cutie! But seriously it's just going to be a nice housewarming party and a treaty for you not to kill me aph.”

Aphmau sighs, and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Oh my gosh… Alright, alright. We’ll come, but keep your hands to yourself, got it? You can’t just flirt with Y/N. Or me, for that matter.”

Dante pouts a bit, and lets out an exaggerated sigh. “I can’t even flirt? Not even a little?”

Aphmau gives him a look, and crosses her arms.

“No. Absolutely not.”

Dante pouts a bit more, clearly not happy by the fact he can’t flirt. Before putting on his signature smirk.

“Aw, you’re no fun, you know that?”

Aphmau rolls her eyes yet again

“Yeah, and you’re a pain.”

With that you and Aphmau walked off back to your guys house..

Aphmau walks along with you, holding your hand as she gently rubbed her thumb against it.

“I’m so sorry about Dante. He can be so… annoying at times.”

“Nono it’s fine.. I’m just flustered..”

Aphmau nods her head, and gently squeezes your hand. “Yeah, I get that. Dante, and hell all the boys really, can be pretty flirtatious. They don’t know when to back off sometimes.”

“I’m sure most of them are only flirty with you though.. I mean you are very pretty” you suggest

Aphmau flushes a bit

“Oh, stop. You’re just saying that. And besides, I don’t think I’m that pretty… They don’t flirt because they think I’m pretty. It’s just because I’m a girl.”

After Aphmau words yall just silently walked the rest of the way home hand in hand.

⋆˙⟡♡

You ask Kawaii~Chan to help you pick out your outfit for tonight at Dante’s house.

She excitedly helped you, being more than happy to assist with anything to do with fashion. You and Kawaii~Chan sat on your floor with a few different outfits spread all across the carpet.

You wanted to find the most perfect outfit to wear to Dante’s housewarming party to make a good first impression.

You cringe about how silent you were earlier when you first met him.. He probably thinks you are so weird.

“So have you picked an outfit yet, Y/N~Chan?” Kawaii~Chan asks, her words break you out of your train of thought..

You liked all the outfits on the carpet but you didn’t think any of them were good enough.

“I don’t know which to choose.. I don’t want to make a bad first impression”

Kawaii~Chan picks up an outfit, and holds it up for you to see. It was a simple white dress with matching shoes and hairpins.

“You’re overthinking it, Y/N~Chan. Even if you wear your PJs to that party, kawaii~Chan guarantees the boys are just gonna think you’re as cute as always.”

“Nana, I’ve just never hung out with anybody besides you.. I’m just a little nervous”

Kawaii~Chan smiles, and sets the outfit back on the floor. She grabs your hands, and squeezes them gently. “Don’t worry, Y/N~Chan. It’s going to be fine, she promises . The boys are really nice. They won’t think anything bad of you! Besides, kawaii~Chan will be there the whole time!”

“you will?” You ask

Kawaii~Chan nods.

“Of course she will! You’re her best friend, kawaii~Chan wouldn’t just leave you by yourself.”

The two of you continued to go through your boxes, laughing to each other as you searched through the mountains of clothing.

“You have so many clothes, Y/N~Chan! Have you ever even worn half of these?” Kawaii-Chan picks up another piece of clothing.. and after inspecting it, she seems not to like it, she then throws it to the side of your room.

“Not all of them.. most of it is my sister's old clothes she didn’t want anymore..”

Kawaii Chan nods her head, a smile on her face.

“Makes sense. kawaii~Chan has a bunch of clothes she doesn't wear anymore too. But kawaii~Chan don’t think she has nearly as much as you do.”

Kawaii~Chan starts to go through a box in the back, pausing as she pulls out something.

“Oh~! What’s this?”

Kawaii~Chan holds up a black and white dress, and looks at it with a curious expression.

“Have you ever worn this, Y/N~Chan?”

“A few times.. I use to be obsessed with stripes back in highschool”

Kawaii~Chan laughs, holding the outfit up to you.

“kawaii~Chan can see why you look so cute in stripes. You should wear this tonight!”

“Really?” You replied

Kawaii~Chan nods her head, a big smile on her face.

“You look adorable in it! Try it on, go on!”

You go into your closet and put on your old dress.. With a few accessories you added. A red beret with some funky tights and a long brown boot!

You thought it gave tumblr girl vibes.

You walk out the closet and you hear your best friend clap her hands together and grins as she sees the finished outfit. She let out a small squeal.

“Cute! Adorable! You look amazing, Y/N~Chan!”

“I.. I do?” You questioned.

Kawaii~Chan nods her head again, her grin only growing.

“Definitely! You look super pretty!”

“I bet everyone love your outfit too, Nana” you says softly

Kawaii~Chan grins once again, and twirls around in her own dress.

“You think so? kawaii~Chan did try to look her cutest tonight.”

You loved, Kawaii~Chan style. It's so unique.

“and you did a great job!”

You hear a scream from down stairs. It definitely sounds like Katelyn.

“Hurry up! I’m ready to go eat, I'm starving!”

Kawaii~Chan giggles at Katelyn’s demand.

“Oh boy, Kawaii~Chan guessing someone’s getting a bit impatient.”

Kawaii~Chan grabs your hand, and leads you down the stairs.

⋆˙⟡♡

When you finished walking downstairs you saw Katelyn was wearing a red tank top with black shorts, and casual sneakers. Aphmau on the other hand, was wearing a black long sleeve crop top, and matching leggings with a pair of black combat boots. Both of them turn to look at the two.

“Oh, you guys look cute. Ready to go?” Aphmau compliments, gesturing towards the door.

Both you and Kawaii~Chan nod your heads, then the four of you leave outside to walk to the house next to yours.

When you get there aphmau knocks on the door.. The group waits for only a few minutes before Dante throws the door open, the same signature smirk on his face.

“There you all are! I thought you would never get here!”

Dante ushers you all inside, seemingly excited to spend time with you all.

When you're all inside the house you see Laurance and Garroth casually playing Mario kart. Once they noticed your presence they looked over their couch and smiled after seeing everyone but especially Aphmau.

Laurence and Garroth pause their game and get up from the couch, quickly moving over to greet the group of girls.

“Hey, you guys made it!” Garroth greets you all warmly

Laurence slings his arm around Aphmau’s shoulders, and smirks a bit. “It took you all forever to get here, we were starting to think you all were ditching us.”

“Nono, just some people took forever to get ready…” Katelyn says, looking at you and Kawaii~Chan.

Both you and Kawaii~Chan roll your eyes at Katelyn’s comment, giving her a look. The guys chuckle a bit, and Dante pipes up with a smirk.

“Well I think both of you look great. You took just the perfect amount of time to get ready!”

“oh um thank you?” You responded sorta hiding behind Kawaii~Chan.

Dante looks over at you, “Wait, now that I think about it, I never caught your name. Mind giving it to me, beautiful?”

“Y/N..”

Dante smirks and nods his head.

“That's a pretty name, Y/N. It definitely fits someone as cute as you.”

Dante notices Aphmau’s look, and just smirks at her, trying to get under her skin. Laurence seems to notice all this, and gently taps Dante on the shoulder.

“Dude, knock it off. You’re gonna piss her off again.”

Laurence turns to look at you, and gives you a smile. “Hey, I don’t think we ever properly met this morning. I’m Laurence.”

He gives you a small smile, and extends his hand out for you to shake.

And you accept it by shaking his hand..

It surprise you how firm his grip was

“it’s nice to meet you..”

Laurence gently lets go of your hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Y/N. Hopefully we’ll be able to make your first real hang out with us guys a good one.”

You nod in agreement..

Hopefully you do have a fun night tonight

laurance pushes garroth forward probably for him to introduce himself also.

Garroth gives you a quick, awkward smile

“Oh, um, hi. I’m Garroth. It’s nice to meet you, Y/N.”

“Same..”

Now that formalities were out the way Garroth asked the whole group a question “Since we’re all here, you guys wanna play Mario Kart?”

Kawaii~Chan smiles a bit, and gently pat you on the back. You two loved playing games together even if you both weren’t the best at it.

“Hell yeah. We’re totally gonna kick all three of your asses.” Aphmau started competitively.

Dante looks at all the girls, a smug expression on his face.

“Ha, as if that’s ever gonna happen! I know none of you can out race me.”

Laurence rolls his eyes at Dante’s comment, obviously disagreeing.

“Please, Dante. You get last in every match, there’s no chance you can beat any of us.”

“It’s true, bro. You almost always lose.” Garroth laughs, agreeing with Laurence.

“Oh whatever, all of you guys are just jealous of my Mario Kart skills. I could totally kick all of your asses if I wasn’t so nice and let you guys win.”

⋆˙⟡♡

You and Kawaii~Chan cuddle on the couch with a blanket. Next to you was Dante and at the end of the couch was Katelyn.

While Laurance, Garroth, and Aphmau sit on the floor with the Wii remotes.

“I’m not that good at mario kart..” you tell Kawaii~Chan.

Dante turns to look at you, and jokingly rolls his eyes.

“You'll be just fine. Trust me, the game is easy as crap. All you have to do is not crash, which really isn’t very hard!”

“but everyone says you suck at this game?” You questioned.

Dante looks at you with a fake offended look on his face, before laughing.

“First of all, rude. Secondly, that is not true! They’re all liars, don’t listen to them! I’m a Mario Kart legend!”

Aphmau throws a pillow at Dante.

“Dante, we all know damn well that you can’t race in Mario Kart to save your life.”

Laurence and Garroth burst out laughing, Dante just looked at them all with a pout, annoyed that they were all ganging up on him.

⋆˙⟡♡

You played Mario Kart for at least an hour, the game consists of constant screaming and yelling.

And occasionally Aphmau would flip off one of the guys if they beat her in a race and they typically didn’t..

She was like really good

Everyone had their main and there own playing style

Dante only played as Mairo because he said “Playing as the main character will get me plot armor” He explained to you and kawaii-Chan that’s the way to get first place..

But he constantly got last place.

Kawaii~Chan just played princess peach because she’s pink and cute. She didn’t really care about winning the game; she was there for the vibes.

Aphmau played Rosalina, and absolutely killed it.. the lowest she got was second place but consistently kicked everyone’s asses

And since she’s so competitive she wouldn’t let it go that she was in fact Mario Kart legend and Dante’s wasn't.

Katelyn played toad, she was also extremely competitive but not as bad as the rest but she constantly threw the green shells at laurance to piss him off.

laurance played Luigi, you were surprised on how competitive he was he seemed so laid back but no he constantly looked like he was one Banana peel slip away from throwing the controller across the room.

Garroth played Bowser, for the most part he was chill and actually gave you a few pointers on what you should do during the game. He was very helpful.

and you played Daisy cause you felt like she was underrated.

Though you feel like you didn’t do your girl justice cause you constantly got last place.. and often not even finishing the course.

Though you still had a good time playing with the others and watching them all get riled up over a simple video game.

Once the pizza came ( That Laurance very kindly paid for. ) Everyone started eating in their own groups.. Laurance and Garroth stay close to Aphmau eating on the couch, while Katelyn and kawaii Chan chat sitting at the table.

So that left you and Dante eating pizza together on the kitchen counter.

You sat on top of the counter criss-cross while Dante just stood.

You looked around the house realizing how furnished the house was already.

They had pictures on their walls, their tv set up, already built their couch and kitchen table and chairs..

It looked lived in versus your house it was still so empty in comparison.

“Your house is very furnished for only being here for less than a day.”

Dante looks at you and shrugs, taking a bite from his pizza.

“Eh, Laurence and I like things to be organized and clean, and I guess we also like our furniture, ya know? We might have just moved in, but all my stuff is from my apartment before that, and Laurence had most of his stuff from home before too.”

“What about the other guy?” You ask

“Garroth? Hah, you have no idea. That guy’s so damn picky with all his stuff and how things look. He was practically nitpicking everything Laurence and I were bringing in while we were moving everything in.” Dante rambles.

“I would’ve never guessed that he seems very chill? If not a little awkward.”

“Yeah, he’s a good bro, but when it comes to his stuff and his looks, he’s the total opposite. You should’ve seen his face when he saw a single scratch on one of his desks. He damn near freaked out! It was hilarious.” Dante snickers as he takes another slice of pizza.

You laugh “you all seem to know each other so well.”

“Well, we've all been friends since high school. The three of us just clicked, and became super good friends. The guys even let me move in the house with them when my old apartment got too expensive.” Dante chuckles a bit, taking a bite of his pizza slice.

“they seem like good friends”

Dante nods, setting his other pizza down.

“They’re the best friends I could ask for.” He takes a sip from his soda. “Hey, I realized I never asked, but how are you friends with the girls? I’ve never seen you around before…”

“Uh.. I know of aphmau and Katelyn through Kawaii~Chan.. she’s my best friend” you clarified

Dante looks surprised for a moment, but then smiles a little. “Oh, okay. So you and Kawaii~Chan have known each other for a while, I’m guessing?”

“Since college.. My sister was her dorm mate my freshman year and I would often crash there cause I hated my roommates.. Me and Kawaii~Chan got pretty close from there even after she graduated we still stayed in contact.” You explained

Dante nods his head, “Ah, I see.. I didn’t know you had any siblings.. Is she still in college, or is she out too?”

“Oh she’s my triplet.. She’s off living in New York with her best friend Ava” you stated

Dante raises an eyebrow at that, looking a bit amazed by your words. “Triplet, huh? Man, is it true that people who are triplets get some kind of weird triplet connection thing?”

You giggle “That be cool but no”

Dante chuckles a bit at that.

“ Damn, that’s a shame. I was hoping you could read each other's minds or something. That would’ve been cool as hell.”

“Sorry, it’s not as cool as you imagined. Total let down.” You joked, acting hurt by his words.

“You’re not a let down, I swear. I think you’re plenty cool, especially for a girl who supposedly sucks at Mario Kart.” Dante smirks at you, and leans in a bit.

“I got last place every round..” you lean in

Dante chuckles a little, and gently pats your head.

“Yeah you did, and honestly, it was hilarious. You do not have the skills to become a professional Mario Kart player, sweetheart.”

You place a hand on your chest acting wounded “Aww man.. my dreams of being a professional Mario kart player are crushed..”

Dante laughs again, amused by your response.

“Yeah, I’m so sorry to break it to you, but it wasn’t looking good for you. I’ll start a go fund me for you.”

“thanks, I need it desperately”

You look over at the other boys and Aphmau and they look downright obsessed with her.

They were truly in a whole other world with her..heart eyes and all.

“Wow.. those two are really into aphmau they have been hogging up her attention all night” you blurted, not meaning to say it out loud.

You place your hand on your face in embarrassment but Dante looks over in the there direction, and smirks a bit.

“You’re just noticing that now? It’s pretty damn obvious that those guys are in love with her. They keep fighting each other over her attention, and honestly, it’s pretty funny to watch.”

“Do you think she’s into them?” You ask curiously.

Dante shrugs, and looks back over at them.

“Honestly, who knows. She seems a little oblivious to their flirting most of the time. I honestly doubt she likes either of them, but with those two dumbasses fighting over her every chance they get, we might never know for sure.”

You hum in response leaving the conversation at that.

Dante pulls out a blunt and light it, gesturing to you if you want to try it but you simply shake your head no.

“oh.. I don’t smoke.”

Dante takes a puff from the blunt, and nods his head. “Ah, okay, that’s cool.”

He blows the smoke out into the air, and turns a bit to face you

“I’m guessing you probably don’t drink too, do you?”

“nope” you answer immediately.

Dante chuckles a bit, probably not finding it surprising.

“Damn, you’re pretty straight edge. So I’m guessing you don’t go to many parties then, huh?”

“never been too one”

Dante nearly chokes at your response, honestly looking stunned.

“Wait, seriously?! Goddamn, you really are straight edge. You’ve never been to a single party? At all?”

you shrug your shoulders “it’s not my scene..”

Dante nods his head, and takes another small puff from the blunt. “I get what you’re saying, but damn, never going to a single party ever seems a little excessive. Like, you should at least go to one, live a little ya know?”

You shake your head in disagreement “I’m very much living my life at home”

Dante smirks a bit, leaning forward so he’s facing you more.

“And what kind of life is that, huh? Never having any fun, never going to a single party? That’s a pretty dull life, sweetheart.”

“maybe for you.. I quite enjoy my life, it's peaceful” you counter his response.

“Peaceful? What, do you sit at home, watch tv all day, and knit or something?” Dante huffs a bit, and shakes his head.

You don’t look Dante in the eyes anymore, looking anywhere but him.

Dante bursts out laughing.

“Are you telling me you’re really like, little miss perfect? You actually sit at home and knit or something dumb like that?”

“It's not dumb..”

Dante snickers, and takes another puff from his blunt. He thought this was the funniest thing he ever heard.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, you’re right, it’s not dumb, it’s hilarious.”

Dante looks behind you and then taps a bit on your leg.

“Hey, hey, look at that. I think the girls are about to head out.”

You turn around and you see the girls getting their stuff to head out, so you get off the counter.

“Oh really? It feels like we just got here”

Dante nods in agreement “Yeah, I know what you mean. Time really does fly by when everyone’s talking, huh?”

“mhm, it really dose”

Dante looks back over at the other specifically garroth and laurance.

“Yeah. The guys are gonna be pretty bummed that they won’t get to drool over aphmau much longer.”

Dante jokes taking a final puff from the blunt.

“Well I’m sure they’ll see her soon. We are neighbors after all..” you say before turning to leave but turn back because you forgot to say something.

“Dante.. I had a lot of fun tonight talking to you”

Dante’s eyes widened a little at your comment, “Yeah, I had a ton of fun chatting to you too. You’re pretty cool.”

“Well.. see you later?”

Dante smiles at you one last time then nods his head.

[bonefall]

I’ve only seen glances of it but Tigerheartstar being so terrible to people this book neither surprises me yet shocks me at the same time. I can see him being a rude leader, but getting mad at his mom for helping encourage his kid to do something he and Dovewing did? Talking about how Birchfeather and Tawnypelt are being disloyal to their clan?? Hello? Did the Erins forget what he was up to in OOTS? That he thought clan loyalty was stupid?

I'm a bit torn on it.

For full context, I finished the book but im still writing chapter summaries over on my sideblog since ppl seem to appreciate them. So lemmie real quick catch up everyone on what happened;

SkyClan is in crisis again due to a poisoned river. They ask for the borders to be a bit more lenient, just so that any prey they chase over the line can still be theirs.

Tigerheartstar AND Squilfstar say no. Bruh :/

Tiger also decides to tighten security to make SURE they don't.

(I am choosing to interpret this as partially being his longstanding grudge against SkyClan, and partially being petty payback for how Leafstar responded to him trying to hold RiverClan together in the last arc)

Birchfeather admits his love for Ridgeglow to Tawnypelt, after her scent is picked up at the border and is causing tensions.

Tawny encourages Birchfeather to share his feelings.

This backfires and Birchfeather announces to his parents that he's leaving. Everyone involved is completely shocked and caught off-guard by this. Tawny absolutely did not anticipate this going down this way.

All of ShadowClan is upset when they gather to say goodbye. Everyone. Dovewing and Tigerheartstar are the only two who don't show up.

Tawnypelt goes to drag them out to say goodbye; they are huddled in the den, Dovewing is very upset.

Narration emphasises that they are being unreasonable because of Rowankit's death and that their son is leaving now.

Still, Tawnypelt points out the hypocrisy since they were cross-clan lovers themselves.

Dove and Tiger come to say goodbye but in a very overly formal way which is clearly cold.

Tawny walks her grandson to the border and continues to meet up with him when she has a chance. She even offers to relay messages.

Tigerheartstar decides (even interrupting and speaking over Dovewing) that they are practicing "tough love" and will not acknowledge him until he returns.

Tawnypelt fights with her son several times, culminating in her gently helping Birchfeather pass a trial and feed SkyClan by chasing a rabbit over the border. For this, Tiger calls her disloyal.

Tigerheartstar admits that his plan is to give Birchfeather the cold shoulder until he either fails his trials or decides to come home, and accuses Tawnypelt of overstepping her boundaries as a grandparent.

He's being an extremely unsupportive parent, here. Clearly. The narrative keeps emphasising that his behavior is fuelled by losing his child in the last arc, and that he had become particularly overprotective of the surviving son.

So, part of me enjoys the family drama here. I like Tigerheartstar because he is messy and biased. His position on Clan Loyalty has shifted in the past (oots speeches vs avos loyalty punishments for example) and he's possessive enough of his family for him to act very unreasonably when faced with a situation where he might be separated from another kid.

That said-- WOW he's acting gross in the later chapters. The way he cuts off Dovewing when she tries to speak especially makes my blood boil. He straightup admitted to Tawnypelt that he hopes to manipulate his kid into returning home with the same kind of emotional abuse Bramblestar does when he's having a temper tantrum.

Now, I don't think it would be in-character of him to just happily support Birchfeather shifting Clans, especially to a group ShadowClan has had beef with for several arcs. But, something feels off.

It's hard to accept he's not making a big scene about this, explaining exactly why he doesn't want to see Birchfeather go to his son's face. I guess it's not that I don't expect Tiggy to act manipulative, but he should be a different type of manipulative imo. The guilt tripper, the "you're breaking your mother's heart" guy.

I also would have preferred better buildup towards how nasty he's being towards his mother-- or at least a little hint towards which previous incidents were fuelling this.

The writers are notorious for forgetting events and details from previous books. Is this resentment coming from how outspoken Tawnypelt was against him in the last arc? Her comparing him to his grandfather, a cat she named him after? Her failure to protect any of his siblings? Are ANY of these situations contributing at all, or are they just flying by the seat of their pants again

In a nutshell, there could be interesting reasons for him to be acting like this. Still, it can be hard to read, and something feels a little wonky. The writing has my attention, but not a fully formed opinion from me as of yet.

[wendeeesaucy]

"And what do you want?"

I absolutely love this momentary shift in his expression. It's so boba eyes soft and it's so well meaning to his arcs throughout BG3. Since a big part of his story is finding freedom and autonomy, having tav/durge be able to give him those chances to really decide things is so important.

It's why I really feel enamored by the romance. Sure, it's very vampire romancey (I've always been a fan of vampires and the intricacies of romances surrounding them) and it has the level of spice you expect from it, but Astarion in ways subvert it in his story and character as a whole.

He's honestly very soft deep down. Like don't get me wrong, he's a vampire and he definitely wasn't the best person even before he turned, but there's still humanity in him despite what he goes through. He's flawed, he gets vulnerable, he acts irritational. But I keep finding him a favorite of mine because of moments like this.

It's not so much a 'I can fix him' romance, it's a 'I see you' romance. I see you deep down, I see you for what you are, I see you as a person. There are so many times he tries to put himself down as some kind of tool or monster meant to serve the group as a worthy ally to keep. A lot of times in act 1, everyone is saying that exact thing so he's not wrong to just play the part and go with the flow of his script of wooing and bedding people.

So when you have tav/durge constantly checking on his well-being or asking him about his wants or needs, it cracks the facade. He loosens his theatrical, flirty expressions and just becomes that.

He's surprised at tav/durge asking that. They've gotten this far and have already established what they were about to do, yet they ask that. Despite tav/durge in ways having more power in this situation since they're the leader and could effectively turn the group against him should they choose, they're the one giving him an opportunity to say his piece without repercussion.

Like why ask him that unless tav/durge doesn't mind the fact that he could change his mind?

I don't think it was common for his targets to ask him that sort of thing because of his reaction. They probably took what they could, saw he was a "willing" participant and went through the motions with no hesitation.

Another thing is tav/durge could be asking what he enjoys in terms of intimacy based on the dialogue before this option, which already seems like a level of care that probably no one gave him anyways.

I think it depends on how you play out your tav/durge but for me I made my tav Seraphina have a past where she's been self sacrificial for others' well-beings, both physically and emotionally. She's a sweet, hopeless romantic and she wants to make sure Astarion is okay with this. At this point, she's already falling for him and she's willing to put him first because that's how she is.

Despite the fact that she can tell there are levels of manipulation and that he can be a bit prickly at times, she still finds herself drawn to him. She knows she could ultimately have her heart broken by him but if there is even a small moment she was able to soften him like in this moment, it would be enough.

[atailof2kitties]

Saw you said you were seeing Harold Fry last Saturday. Would love to know your thoughts!

Omg hi!

So yes I booked this production because of Jack Wolfe's casting, but I also recently finished reading the book, thoroughly enjoyed it, and was looking forward to seeing how they’d adapt it.

First time going to Chichester for a show and it felt perfectly suited to its venue. It's a lovely, intimate theatre surrounded by greenery. If you know your UK regional producing theatres, it reminds me of the Watermill in Newbury but designed with far better sight-lines and though still intimate, less 'snug'! There's room for actors and audience to breathe haha.

I think maybe the Balladeer role could have been better clarified. He’s in this odd space as the show stands at the moment, where he begins the show, but is a narrator, has small interactions with Harold but not with any other character, until he suddenly turns on Harold.

I think because we’ve seen Jack in a role like this before, it gets away with it, but I don't know if the act 1 ending plot twist works as it stands.

This is also because the musical decides on an act 1 end plot twist, which doesn’t actually feel like much of a twist. Maybe because it’s two twists in one— Jack is not only the narrator, but also Harold’s son, who is dead, it’s maybe too much information at once? In the book the fact that David is dead and has been the whole time is revealed only very near the end, and I think the show could have been worked to have David’s death revealed in ‘Dear Girl in the Garage’.

I wish there were more interactions between Jenna Russell and Jack. I loved their duet of Beautiful in Sondheim on Sondheim, and it feels odd that yes, she has her own character arc, but she feels quite secondary. I actually think if Jack as Balladeer responded when Maureen talked to David might've sorted out a few issues. I love that the Balladeer is on stage for almost the entirety of Act 1, but I think more could've been done.

I loved the fleshing out of David. I of course (because I'm me and I record nearly every show I see!) recorded audio and ended up exporting the individual songs onto my apple music, but I keep having such an urge to relisten to more of Jack’s straight acting. Scene about his parents missing his graduation, devastatingly flippant. The disappointment he’s concealing.

And ‘where is it then? All this everything.’ Which I've realised Jack intones differently in my recording than the other audio.

I prefer it this way. David's characterised by this forced flippancy. He's very honest, but maybe afraid of coming off too sincere? So he talks like it's all a joke.

But yes, ultimately I got everything I wanted out of the show. It's a near-perfect adaptation, and I think even my issues could be reworked if it had a future life (maybe uk tour if not a London transfer?).

Jack was lovely at stage door. Came out much later than everyone else and seemed pleasantly surprised and humbled that people were waiting. He came out, saw the (four haha!) fans waiting and immediately apologised saying he didn't realise anyone was waiting. He’s also well aware and can find humour in the incredibly specific type casting that’s happened haha.