#these two need to be less...just less gdi

[ronearoundblindly]

No Promises (2)

Lloyd Hansen x rival assassin!Reader

Don't Be Blue, Bunny Boy (see previous or LH Masterlist)

Summary: Lloyd underestimates how dangerous you are when he finds you wrapped like a gift in his hotel room.

Warnings for smut, but it's Lloyd so there's a knife, a gun, name-calling, cursing, drugging, dubcon due to somno, two a**holes in competition, unprotected sex (honestly, just never do anything Lloyd would do, okay? great. excellent. good chat), and possibly the best banter I've ever written gdi. Darkfic...but, like, funny??? For the love of everything, MINORS DNI. I have plenty else for you on my Light Masterlist, but this is not for you! WC 2k 🫣

*This CT 2024 Challenge work can be read completely out-of-context from the rest of the mini-series (which isn't even written yet anyway, lalalahhhh).

It’s bad enough you took the keycard off that fat fuck of a target first, but failing to follow you smacks Lloyd’s ego in just the wrong way. By the time he gets back to his luxurious hotel room, he’s fuming and itching to shoot something. You don’t need to be a mind-reader to know this; the man is still a man, after all, no matter how trained and controlled he thinks he is.

That’s why you’re here, trussed up in a sapphire blue bodysuit, smirking at the irritation radiating off of your rival as his eyes rake the length of your mostly-bare figure.

“Darling,” you burst, posing like a ‘50s housewife by the armchair, playful and sickeningly sweet. “You’re home! I was so worried.”

Anger quivers his lip coat till he vaguely resembles a pouting porcupine. God, you hate mustaches. You’re willing to bet—if you really put your back into it—you could hump his face with such friction, it’d rub him smooth. There are less-worthwhile endeavors that you’ve completely only today. Why not experiment?

“You have some fucking nerve, bitch.”

Lloyd keeps his steps forward into the room slow and casual, though his ire is obvious. He stops halfway across the carpet, unzips his leather jacket, and tosses it onto the foot of the bed.

He seems surprised when you strut over without hesitation; he hasn’t handed over any weapons, but you haven’t asked for a reason. Lloyd’s reputation is cocky, commanding, and curious—in that order—so he won’t start speculating till it’s too late.

Indeed, what possible harm could you inflict wearing this lil’ ol’ thing, huh?

As you get closer, his hand reaches out instinctually.

“Ah, ah, ah,” you tsk in warning. “If you rip my lace, I will gut you like a fish. Understood?”

“Can’t make any promises, but…”

Lloyd, undeterred, clamps his hand between your legs and runs a finger through your folds, proving the crotchless lingerie isn’t in danger of typical snags.

The pad of his digit is rough and teasing.

“I think we can work with that,” he growls.

Oh yes, he’s definitely, perfectly, and predictably cocky. What fun you’ll have.

You make a show of gasping when he starts dipping two fingers into your heat, rolling your head as if truly undone by the minimal effort, and wait for him to watch his own ministrations, distracted.

Then you strike.

You grab his wrist, twisting harshly, yanking the arm behind him, straddling his shoulders so your legs pinch over his neck, and he turns slightly to nip at your thigh. You’re not surprised he still thinks he’ll win.

His steely eye winks as he looks up.

“Bet I can make you cum first.”

A dramatic sigh escapes you. You release his arm to sensually smooth your palm down his body, bending to whisper, “that implies I give a shit if you come at all.”

You fling yourself backwards, using the momentum to catapult him over you and into the side of the bed.

The mustache emphasizes his sneer when Lloyd pushes up on an elbow.

“I, too, like using a firm hand when breaking bitches’ spirits,” he mutters, reaching for his switchblade which you present instead, wiggling it in your hand with a grin.

“Oh, bunny boy, were you too firm to notice my gentle caress?” You deftly unlatch and expose the knife’s edge. “Now, strip.”

You tick the blade quickly for effect.

“Show me some skin so I can mark my two points so far. I know how you love to keep score.”

Lloyd rights himself, peeling his black turtleneck over his head and smoothing his hair into place calmly. “I can kill you just as easily naked as I can clothed.”

“Of course, cutie pie, and I’m counting on many little deaths.” You look at the knife in your hand, concerned. “Please tell me this isn’t the biggest weapon you're packing, or I’ll be so disappointed.”

He’s smug while unbuckling his belt and shucking off his pants. Lloyd Hansen now proudly stands stark nude.

You let your eyes go comically wide, but then your brow furrows and you shrug.

“You’re welcome to keep talking while I sit on your face, but otherwise… I’m unimpressed.”

Lloyd huffs with indignation.

“Fuck you.”

Like the footballer he used to be, he rushes you.

“Promise?” you coo, dodging him and landing a sharp smack to his butt cheek. It’s spectacularly sculpted, plump, and rock hard all at once.

“Oh my! Darling, you did not lead with your best asset…” You notice the faint scar on his pale skin and giggle. “Little prick got pricked, I see.”

Your amusement gives him a split second to grab you, and Lloyd uses the opportunity to shove you back into the window so violently the thick glass rattles its frame.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” he spits viciously, not so cocky as before.

“Isn’t that what I’ve been begging you to do for me, sweetheart?”

Mouth hanging open in a taunt, one hand strokes him, the other warns. The tip of the knife you still wield barely grazes the notch between ribs where you could swiftly puncture his lung. Lloyd watches, fuming and mesmerized, until you transfer the pooling saliva to your palm and resume jerking his cock.

“A firm hand really does make you harder, doesn’t it?”

That snaps him out of it.

He scrambles to bend you over that same armchair you started at, and Lloyd’s version of prep is a single, perfunctory dig of two fingers into your cunt.

To his credit, you are dripping wet for him, so, though his need to check before chaffing himself wasn’t necessary, he rewards you with a beautifully debauched moan as he sinks to the hilt with one thrust.

Lloyd’s got something to prove.

Good.

He’s so focused on groping around to your breasts beneath the stretchy lace that you stick the switchblade deep into the chair’s cushion and hold on; whatever else you’re doing is irrelevant to him. There is only fucking. There is only feeling as if he owns you in this moment.

You let out a high whine and goad him. “Love it when you’re gentle with me, sweetie.”

That earns you an unhinged snarl and the pummeling slap of his hips against your thighs.

He’s so easy to motivate, a majestic maniac on a mission to turn you stupid, if only until the stench of sex dissipates. If the idiot would just reach down to your clit, you’d spare him, but Lloyd is a man.

A selfish, egotistical princeling who’s a good marksman and a shit human. Good, for the business you two are in. But not as good as you.

You sigh like you’re bored, sinking your chin to rest on your outstretched arms.

He stops moving, grunting as he pulls out of you and snapping one of your shoulder straps.

“Fine. You wanna put in the work, sunshine? You go for it.” Lloyd flops onto the bed, face up, his arms spread wide and high.

Of course, he’s going for the gun under the pillow. You know it, you’ve anticipated it, and you decided it would be a nice safety blanket to leave him, to keep him feeling comfortable.

So you crawl on top of him anyway, rocking yourself against his cock for a few seconds before shifting higher. You giggle for emphasis.

You’re just here to fuck him. You’re just here to fuck with him. That’s the truth, and he knows it. Lloyd simply doesn’t know the conditions of both your releases…yet.

“Such a desperate slut,” he rumbles as you settle above his face.

Before you cover your view of him, you pinch at his jaw and smirk.

“Only munches wear a fucking mustache.”

His cheek gets a condescending pat when he smiles back.

He’s cute when he’s having fun, apparently.

Lloyd licks his lips and slowly lifts his head to swipe at your entrance. “You owe me that fucking keycard.” He delicately kisses your folds before his tongue darts out to circle your clit. “And I’ll get it from you one way or another.”

You can hear the rustle of his hand over the sheet. Not even a solid suck on your cunt, and he’s already going for the gun…

“Oh, come on,” you plead, ignoring his threat. “Finish your meal, champ. I know you can do it.”

His eyes narrow, peeking past your mound as he growls, gripping your thighs hard enough for you to collapse forward.

Sloppy. The best word to describe Lloyd eating pussy is sloppy. He contributes as much as you do to the glide of his whole face over every intimate inch of skin. Because you’re sitting with weight mostly on him—some of it still rests on your knees—each movement pushes his nose, lips, tongue, and stache around with enough fervor to polish your raw nerves.

Honestly, it’s a shame he ruins the moment by slipping his hand under the pillow and pressing the silencer's muzzle to your side.

Petulance dialed to maximum, you whimper, “you said I could come first!”

Your hand falls below your navel, clutching the lace like he’s already wounded you, and Lloyd proceeds to laugh right into your cunt.

He doesn’t have time to form a comeback once you peel the sheer, protective layer away from the patch of fabric a mere inch above the opening of the bodysuit. If he’d have paid any proper attention to you, he’d’ve found it, but he didn’t.

The fumes of chloroform-drenched cobalt engulf Lloyd in the suffocating proximity of the bed and your body. He has nowhere to go but under.

The gun falls away once his limbs go lax.

You sit directly on his chest for the few seconds it takes to realign the inner and outer barriers of your dainty, chemical warfare, then you shimmy off of him.

He actually looks quite peaceful this way.

His features are carefree, his broad, smooth chest rises and falls steadily, and his…

Well.

Lloyd’s dick lays erect and proud on his stomach, unfazed by unconsciousness. It’d be an even greater shame to waste that.

“It’s ok, peanut,” you whisper out of habit now, forced to imagine the twitch of his lip, the pop of the vein in his neck. “This is your chance to make it up to me.”

It’s not difficult to take him into your still-sopping core, and once you angle yourself to grind on the cut of his abs, all Lloyd’s previous buildup rushes back. His ass may be the star of the show, but his dick is no fluffer act. He’s packing enough to nudge at that perfect spot relentlessly as you ride him, and you openly mewl as you approach the height of your orgasm.

You imagine he’d say you sound so pretty and pathetic.

He’d probably ask if this is the best you can do, but that makes you fuck him harder until you crash into a wall of pleasure, sweaty, exhausted, resting against that broad chest.

You catch your breath after a short while, skin humming with excitement. Absently, your hands paw at his sides for a tiny bit of comfort.

That thought gets buried in a tense heartbeat, and you climb off the bed, pleased to notice the sheer amount of cum and his softening dick means he finished, too.

You’ll leave that as a souvenir.

The plan was to carve a little message on him—nothing that would permanently scar—but you can’t bring yourself to mar such a glorious ass. That would be akin to treason. Seriously, if he had simply walked around you in a bathing suit with that thing, you would have slipped the keycard into his waistband and thanked him for his service to your wet dreams.

A bit of dried cum smeared all over his pelvis and dripping down his balls, his useless pistol still in-hand, will do fine as a statement.

You clean yourself up, snatching your real clothes from the closet where you hung them tidily beside his own, and give a gentle grip to his immobile knee where it hangs off the bed.

“Sweet dreams, bunny boy. Maybe I'll let you win next time.”

[Next Part: I Left You Something On The Body]

[Main Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

This work was written for the amazing and inspirational Cum Together Extravaganza hosted by @stargazingfangirl18 and @labella420, but a special thanks to @buckymorelikefuckme for the earworm that would not quit. Poppy, you dark enabler you... I fucking love you!

Prompts: "Bet I can make you cum first." || Somnophilia || enemies-to-lovers || Characters A + B cum together at the same time

dividers by @/saradika-graphics (blue art deco) and @/cafekitsune

[whywasthissohardtomake]

oooooo!! (I could do a lightning bolt in the background. Adding more rim lighting & different shadows if i wanted)

oh god the opalescence 🫠. Ill make it look good! I will! I will not be defeated!!!

(maybe have clive with moons & stars?) Okay but if 4 people have sky-ish backgrounds then sophie & neal definitely need em, also arghhh i really like my sophie pose but all the others are more serious so that one might have to be for the future. (I do reaaally like the thought of a pt 2 of Team Biscuit Portraits where theyre like having fun, i think itd be cute. I COULD HAVE SOPHIE IN A CAGE FIGHT LIKE SHE WAS DOING IN EURESH. Itd also be more complex backgrounds which would be fun!!)

Getting ahead of myself!! (& maybe once ive done that ill start doing little comics from scenes, like the one with clive being grumpy & shouting at jason to leave him be)

I wish i wasnt so busy 🫠. Ill have to do these piecemeal because i have school mon-thurs, work fri-sun & dnd on both fri & sun. & im DM for sun one so prep work too. I WILL DO IT THO!! EVENTUALLY!!!

what settings do yall associate w/ humphrey? I cant seem to think of what his background should be. Any thoughts?

edit: from books 1-8 specifically. Im not any farther than that

[threepandas]

YANDERE!All For One.

A horrifying concept! Thanks, we (love) hate it!

He is ALREADY dangerous enough. Unhinged enough. Having his complete and undivided attention? His INTEREST? His fucked up, Machiavellian, sociopathic lil squirrel brain, COMPLETELY focused on the task of hunting you for sport?

Ha ha... *deep inhale* *starts screaming, never stops*

The man was already a living horror movie monster. Making him a yandere makes him WORSE~☆. Which is GREAT. For us, specifically. The readers. Not for the victim. THEY are fuuuuuuucked. Possibly in the literal sense, but unlikely.

Mind games and power plays are more fun.

The pointless struggle. Possession of something. The resemblance to Self. Because HE is perfect. Other people? Abhorrent. They're Rats. Vermin. Less, even, then that. They are nothing but occasionally interesting Quirks with meat attached to them. Sometimes useful servants and peons, born to be ruled.

But respective PARTNERS?

Gods NO. Don't be disgusting.

He is PERFECT. Powerful. He pulled himself up from the ruins of the early Quirk riots, the first days of those ugly wars, and became something MORE. Ascended. A Dark Lord, meant to rule, BORN to rule, over this new age of Man. It all makes perfect sense to him. He has plans within plans. Stretching out for centuries.

He just needs to get his brother BACK.

End this little rebellion.

It's a set back. Just a set back. And he's being PERFECTLY reasonable about his brothers Quirk. Utterly sane. He's ALWAYS been level headed and rational about family... is what he tells himself.

But he's NOT. He's Yandere AF.

His parents? He doesn't care AT ALL about. They nominally were supposed to control HIM. Uninterested, thanks. But? His weaker little brother? We SAW how he reacted. So I propose? You gotta be RELATED to him. And THEN the Bad Touch Instinct flips on.

Do you ACTUALLY have to share blood with him? No. But it would seriously help your survival chances. But the more you LOOK like him? The closer your Quirk to his? The more you are "him but weaker somehow"? The more INTERESTED he is.

The sort of Yandere he is? Is almost entirely dependent on HOW he learns of your existence. Cause? There is no way in HELL he had sex. At least not with ANOTHER PERSON. He has thousands of Quirks, thank you very much, any need he has? He can settle HIMSELF. Don't touch him.

Keep your filthy, filthy, disgusting paws to yourself.

So if someone SOMEHOW managed to get PREGNANT with his child? :) Well, now. :) he Certainly does have some Very Violent QUESTIONS. For EVERYONE involved. Starting with: How did you get his DNA? And did you touch him?

And once THEY are brutally dismembered corpses? You know, AFTER the child is born. Yandere time! They will want for nothing and KNOW nothing but him. Vault baby 2.0!

But?

Let us say? That the "mother" isn't an idiot. She KNOWS that she Oop's'd a baby with a Fuckin Psycho. Time to RUN. Let's EVEN give that kiddo Self Insert Powers! Cause WHOOPS? "Mummy... mummy I think I stole a quirk." (At least that random toddler seems WAY happier?) Oh SHIT! That's, KINDA DISTINCT.

Uuuuuuuuh *frantic maternal mental math* my babyyyyy.... has.... a....

SUPPRESSION Quirk! Yep, JUST like great *garbled cough* Aiko! Runs in the family, real rare. Looks like a two touch. Once to "suppress" and again to "UN-suppress" RIGHT, honey? *confused child nodding* yep! See! That's EXACTLY what it is. Nothing to see here.

Now PUT IT ON THE FUCKING FORMS.

And? That probably WORKS. For a while. Cause Mother moved them to the DEAD CENTER OF NOWHERE. Where her Quirk won't get her panic pregnant by any SUPERVILLIANS at a fucking Super Strength Thrown down (gdi, what even IS her life?!). But? Really only takes ONE(1) person, don't it?

One person to notice... waaaait a minute.

I've felt this before.

When AfO gave me my Quirk. *Looks at person in front of them*

And? Male? Female? Non-binary? Doesn't matter. He'd be INSTANTLY so, so horror movie creepy.

Suddenly EVERYONE AROUND YOU knows who you are. Is very polite. Your hotel is immaculate. Your food gourmet. People watching without watching. But are you imagining it? You haven't changed anything from yesterday. Why all of a sudden?

He gets the test results.

You Are His.

Suddenly the watchers are GONE. There is only ONE(1) watcher. Tall, broad, pale. An immaculate suit no matter how out of place. Red eyes. A placid face that might as well be carved from stone, for all the genuine human expression it shows. Never there when you turn your head.

Across the street. Atop buildings. In the shadows of alleys.

You can't tell if you're paranoid or your eyes just aren't quick enough. Was there someone just outside the window? Was that REALLY a shadow you saw, cast from the otherside of the door? You live in a safe neighborhood... don't you?

You can't tell if it's your reflection you're seeing or NOT.

Your gut says it isn't. (Says RUN.)

One by one, he'd pick off those around you. What information do they have? Who amongst his loyal can he replace them with? Isolate, isolate. Slowly, ever so slowly. Like a spider weaving a web.

Shhhhhh, shhhhh. Can't let you startle. Have you NOTICE. You'll fight. Hurt yourself pointlessly struggling. Things aren't ready yet. We must continue to play pretend. Go about our little lies. Enjoying the "freedom" he allows. All while he observes. Learns. Refines his plans accordingly.

People can adapt to damn near anything. As long as it doesn't hurt them. Sometimes even when it hurts them. A watcher? That... that never DOES anything? Maybe it's just some Quirk you unknowingly picked up. It's a crowded place, the city. It could happen.

Would explain why it went from lots of them to just one! You got control of it. Yeah. Yeah that makes more sense. (We rationalize away SO MUCH, in this age of Quirks.)

Which makes the fear so, SO much more real. So much SHARPER. When you jerk awake. In your bed. In your room, in your apartment. Where you SHOULD be alone. To a powerful hand, clamped like steel across your lower face. A familiar hole humming against your lips, dead center of a strangers palm.

That's your Quirk.

Why does-?! Eyes flick up as you struggle to breathe. Red, red eyes. White hair. Your face but older, watching you struggle, coldly handsome and deeply masculine. There's only one person he COULD be. All For One. You panic. Have to escape, but you can't get leverage. Scrambling pointlessly at the hand effortlessly pinning you to your bed. Crushing you too it.

Your fingers catch at his suit, his expensive watch, but despite your frantic efforts nothing draws blood. No amount of bucking so much as rocks him. He waits you out. Watching you panic yourself nearly unconscious. Not enough air. Can't breathe. Can't BREATHE!

Coughing, confused, and struggling to suck in air, you finally go limp.

He breaks into a grin. It is the stuff of nightmares. Croons down at you, like praising a pet, that you did good. Calls you by NAME. Oh god, he knows who you ARE. You don't have a lot of Quirks, never wanted to be like him. But you're SCARED. Your hands shake as they come back up.

As though you're going to try and pull his hand away, again.

Palms against skin. You... you try to RIP as many Quirks out of him as you can. Hopefully it hurts. M-Maybe it'll stun him?

He jerks. The grip on your face turns brutal, crushing, then relaxes back to suffocating. For a brief, terrible moment, you were certain you were about to LOSE your lower jaw. He shudders above you. Eyes sliding close he seems to revel in the sensation he just experienced.

Lifting a hand, he runs it through his hair, down his face, his neck. Lightly. Slowly. A shudder. As though he can't keep his hands off himself after that. Please God, let that not be what you think it is, starting to press against you through your covers.

His eyes, when he opens them, BURN.

A hand braced next to your head. The choking scent of his cologne, spiced and musky, burning at your nose. It mixes, like the calling card of something DANGEROUS, with his sharp aftershave. He leans down with the sort of ease that speaks of incredible muscle control. The movement utterly fluid.

A hungry grin, getting closer and closer. Then nothing but mad, crimson eyes filling your view. Your view of him blurs. Tears. All your long muttered plans for anger and sass abandoning you, now that the moment has come. You... you don't feel terribly brave. You feel cornered.

His hand move from clamped over your mouth to holding your face still.

He enjoys the view. Watching you cry for him. Muses in a low voice, just for you, that he wonders... will you try and fight next? His brother did. And you have far more Quirks then he possessed. Should he rip them out one by one? Or all at once? He could give you MORE. Share some of the interesting ones.

But, ah, you'd have to EARN that. Now wouldn't you?

You truely are his child. Covetous and greedy, just like him. Tell him... did it feel GOOD? Did you HUNGER? Want his power for yourself? His greedy little thing~♡

Is he a platonic Yandere? Does he want to screw you through the decadent king sized mattress? Yes. Somehow both. Somehow neither. Honestly? You can pick! He is EXACTLY that level of Weird about it. Just like with his brother.

He wants to croon and cage. Tie them up and discuss the newest research papers. Cuddle like equals yet have them at his feet. He wants to fuck himself. But only his PAST, WEAKER self, whom he can dominate. And while it's PREFERABLE they be into that? He doesn't give a shit if they aren't. Obviously... outside of a quirk? This is not possible.

(God knows he's probably TRYING.)

So the next best thing? Someone who LOOKS very, very similar! He would be OBSESSED. And the harder it was to get them? The more CONTROL he had? The closer they were to being LIKE him? The deeper his Obsession.

This has been my Yandere AfO Talk. If ya'll write anything, for the LOVE OF GOD, LINK ME.

[theharmonious13]

329 - Morning Announcements: Day 3

Wada liking rainy weather makes sense

Hama enrolling for classes, ooo sounds fun

330 - Dance Practice

Hama is the older parent who is trying so badly to understand his younger daughter's modern inters/modern world 😭😂

I like the fire sound effect, and the editing red overlay for it

Omg the acoustic music??? Are we getting a Watari AMV???

I want a script style description of what the dance is gdi

Also someone (including me) HAS to use this music for either a Watari or Chapter 4 animatic video istg

I only just realised Watari's sprite is jumping/stomping lol, sounds like a very passionate dance I love it

I need Watari on a STAGE and I need to see her live in concert gdi

Omg Hama gushing about Watari's performance and Watari being giddy about it LET'S GO

Watari officially cast in the next Avatar the Last Air Bender spin off jk

I saw someone comment on the YouTube video "Fire is my bitch" ~ Watari I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GOING TO BE A REAL QUOTE-

Watari honey, you are also great with words dw

That said I love how she finds movement a great away to communicate with other people

Watari saying she's great with movement better not be relevant later if she's a murderer

Dancing is badass ✨

Watari is going delusional/burning out real time

331 - Seclude

Oh no don't tell me all three of the quiet boys (Ojima, Wada and Hasegawa) ARE ALL AFRAID OF THE DARK 😩😩😩

We are diagnosing the whole cast with anxiety at lighting speedTM

Is this triggering any tragic backstory- abuse memories?

Hiroaki is Ojima dies while you're guarding him I'm going to kill you- I mean what?

332 - Paranoia

Tamba has Ibuki Mioda levels of super hearing? Eyebrow raise

Tamba is also losing itTM

I didn't know this motive would be THIS devastating for the cast

Guys what room are they in? I need to take notes so bad 😩

333 - After School Special

I like this new version of the student council (I'm totally not biased) <Hama is better than Okazaki confirmed>

At this rate Watari literally has fire powers lmao

The most structured meeting yet, all we had to do was wait for seven people to die 😭😂

How are they going to cover everything? Alot of topics and less than ten minutes watch time to get through them all

37% attendance and majority are on the staff ✨

I love Hama's attitude of 'if one person cares about what I teach then that's enough for me' lmao

Wada wanted do something on his own terms (+1 relatability point)

Oh no the muteness is still happening 😩

Omg if Wada is the victim, gets stressed out and can't scream via panic voice strain we are so doomed

I love Watari wanting Yanagi to do the school cafe but not add him to the staff lmao

Project Eden's Garden flashbacks

Hama and Mai better get the chance to play darts together 😤

Omg Wada wielding the PC like Chihiro + Alter Ego hehe

334 - Short Program

All I got was 'Practicing steps' I'm about to not understand any of the lingo Yanagi is about to use 😭

Okay I now get the difference between the two different categories that's good

'It's all about control' Yanagi you better not kill someone istg

How points are calculated is where you lost me Yanagi 😭

Aww he's stuttering, Hayashigeki man 🥺

SHE'S GOING TO WATCH HIM COMPETE!? HE'S FLUSTERED, REPEAT LINE ABOVE ^^^

"Do you think they'd give us a literal ice rink if we asked nicely?" Mai 😭😂

~~~

"(My coach) would call me an idiot" Yanagi

"Good point, moving on." Mai

Mai coming in with the sass 😂

Mai called Yanagi a giant nerd 🥺

Mai becoming the figure skating coach like a girlboss ✨

On one condition? Ooo this is about to be good

~~~

Student Spotlight: Ojima Takeshi

I watched this one out of order, I saw the length of the video and had to know wtf was going on

He inhales DIDN'T SHOW UP?

I didn't know that was a thing you could do 😭

I had thought initially it would be an act of defiance instead of spacing out, but both reasons are very amusing nonetheless lol

Monomoko Voice: "You are not Ojima Takeshi" 😭😂♥️

I love Hama coming in, this is the most memeable episode ever lmfao

I love the way Monomoko says "What?" in this scene

We finally rallied to get Ojima and this is out reward gdi

335 - Headspace

Bro you OFFERED OUT OF KINDNESS TO GUARD HIM DO NOT LEAVE HIM ALONE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

336 - Spicy

Title was red and featured my absolute favourite rarepair, I admit to watching this one out of order too. Prepare for an excited Watari style ramble/essay about this packed three minute episode

My irl initial reaction to seeing watching this episode was high pitched fangirl screaming once the episode ended 😭♥️

Words can't summarise how much I love these two interacting, they can literally say ANYTHING to each other and I'm still happy. They match each other's energies super well

Watari's compliments to Mai 🥺

My heart is aflutter at Watari's romantic ramble to Mai... she's so sweet 😭♥️

Mai's response 😭😭♥️

I want to print the dialogue of this whole episode on my wall istg

Inhales

OMG WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY GOT AN EXPLICIT EPISODE TO INTERACT TOGETHER AND WATARI BASICALLY CONFESSED HER FEELINGS/ADMIRATION TO MAI

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WATARI LOVES MAI SO MUCH SHE FALLS INTO 'I DON'T THINK YOUR LGBT SO YOU'LL NEVER LIKE ME AND AS LONG AS YOU'RE HAPPY I'M HAPPY' TROPE!?

I love how the title has a perfect double meaning. Going into I thought it would just be the romance side, but I forgot Watari loves spicy food haha. It feels like a blessing/fanservice to my delusional self that she finally got to try Mai's notorious spicy dish. It was also the ABSOLUTE perfect set up for Watari to talk to Mai about her feelings

The yuri angst when Watari said 'you don't have to respond' after confessing in a roundabout way

And then Mai responded after some silence 'you shouldn't sell yourself short'

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I am an absolute SUCKER for pay offs like this, and for the three way love triangle between Mai, Yanagi and Watari (I know Watari and Yanagi don't have any romantic chemistry because obviously Watari is a lesbian but they're love rivals, and they have GREAT platonic chemistry). I will always talk about Chary Dance being one of my favourite Tetro episodes EVEN BEFORE I GREW TO LOVE WATARI AND YANAGI AS CHARACTERS IDC <3. Also also Yanagi at your service and those group of episodes are also my everything for these three.

I feel like the fire dancer and figure (ice) skater both falling for the same person is iconic. Mai is the perfect partner for both of them, and what I'm about to say is cheesy but idc, I'm passionate about these three. Mai's ice cold exterior and fiery passion to do what's right by her/protect others is a perfect combination of both Watari and Yanagi in a round about way. They both love her cooking, and they both genuinely love and care for who Mai unapologetically is. I can't even ramble enough to summarise my feelings on why I think these duos/trio works so well.

Literally Yanagi and Watari both got an episode featuring them practicing their talents, how symbolic/iconic is that?

If Mai dies this chapter (which I have predicted to happen) before anything more happens with Yanagi or Watari I WILL cry

[factorialsotherfandoms]

hi factorial friend! fic writer asks: 2, 22, 29?

2. a character whose POV you’re currently exploring

I am currently attempting to prod Balu with a stick! Outside of the silly month challange stuff, anyway. He's not responding well to stick poking. Honestly I think I need to flesh his background out more than we got in canon, but I don't wanna, I wanna finish the fics I started. You see the issue.

22. do you ever worry about public reaction to what you’re writing? how do you get past that?

Oooooooooo 1am honestly hours here! I get horrific anxiety about fics, and it can make it extremely difficult to finish them - especially chapter fic. A chapter fic I haven't finished getting less comments one chapter to the next? I know it happens, I'm a reader gdi I've been there I've missed commenting on bits, but it still makes me antsy and depressed and makes it hard to continue.

But more generally, as chapter fic I either generally don't do or finish prior to posting to avoid that...

There's kinda two sides of the same coin in dealing with it? So. I cannot emotionally handle betas. I avoid events that require them like the plague - unless I'm having a good month mental health wise /and/ I've got someone within fandom who will beta for me (or the one irl I read to is free), but that's a tricky combo. Which... You've read enough of my nonsense to possibly have picked up on this? Either my fics sit in editting hell for months, or I post them with barely a spellcheck - not even that, if I post to tumblr first. This is entirely related to this. Either the perfectionism kicks in (more common but not exclusive to longer fics, especially as longer ones often /need/ the editting as I'll need to stitch together scenes) OR in an attempt to avoid it I go 'of course it's not getting attention/will go down poorly, I bet I haven't even put my verbs and adverbs in the right order, I did this myself so that's fine'. It's a control thing. If I didn't put the effort into the edit, then I didn't mind about it getting lost in fic sea, and so it's fine if it doesn't go down well. It's the ones I /do/ put the effort into and put months of my life into that are most upsetting. Usually they go down fine enough, but I've one I'm /really/ struggling to finish atm as it's both difficult and it feels unwanted, and that SUCKS.

Oh and the third option is sometimes I post on anon. I may or may not deanon later. That's mostly when I'm just writing like a one off fic in a new fandom and don't intend to be back, but is also a thing. I'll also sometimes do it with exchange fic if I think the recipient will like it but I'm less sure about people generally.

29. how easy is it for you to come up with titles?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

If the fic is under 1000 words, I can nearly guarantee I spent longer on the title than the fic. If it's over it varies. Kodacolor and Electricity in Technichrome and the only fics where I've done in the last year or so (I need to swing back to those two characters not that I've really swung away rather been busy but you know) where I had the title before finishing the fic. The paired fics were relatively okay as I'd already picked out a few lines from a song. The rest? Hell hell hell hell hell

[roboticromantic]

I was inspired to do my own pinata assignments for some of my f/os after seeing @bugsband do so! I fell in love with VP as a little kid when I could only play the original demo version of it on the Xbox 360 arcade disc and it only grew when I finally got an actual copy of the game as a gift. A few years ago I bought my own xbox and got copies of both the original AND trouble in paradise for myself and while I def don’t play it as much as I want to, it’s still a favorite of mine 💛

Some of these are definitely based just on Vibes than anything else so some might not be as accurate lol but this was still fun. Under the cut because I typed too much-

This section I did first because they definitely seem the most accurate and understandable lol maybe kinda on the nose for some but that’s what makes it fun!

Present Mic (MHA) - Candary

Aizawa (MHA) - Crowla

Roman Torchwick (RWBY) - Pretztail

Hypnos (Hades) - Goobaa

Lysandre (Pokémon) - Roario

Kiryu (Yakuza) - Draganache

Present Mic and Aizawa are pretty self explanatory, especially if you compare the candary to how Mic looks in the flashbacks to when they were in High School lol. Aizawa probably wishes he was a kittyfloss but the crowla was calling his name. The crowla’s ability to distract Dastardos and save your piñatas from him temporarily feels fitting too. 

Roman being a pretztail is also self explanatory, the pretztail is well known for being sneaky and crafty and those are two things Roman does very well as a thief. 

Hypnos is a goobaa because. Sheep. Counting sheep. Yeah? Not to mention “the Goobaa is famous for its accommodating nature and dreams of world peace”.

Lysandre is literally lion themed. He has a lion. He is a lion. Thus, Roario. Not much more explanation needed.

Kiryu is the Dragon of Dojima. He is also a pain in the ass. Leaving it at that.

This section is a little less on the nose, but I still like the assignments anyways! Prismo was a toughie because I really wanted to assign him a pink pinata but I didn’t think many of them actually fit, except for maybe the pink flutterscotch.

Mordin Solus (Mass Effect) - Sweetle

Nihlus Kryik (Mass Effect) - Sour S’morepion

Prismo (Adventure Time) - Parrybo or Pink Flutterscotch

Mordin is a sweetle because they look similar 🥰 I also really wanted to include him since I was including Nihlus. Fun fact: I have personal beef with sweetles. The tutorial stuff drives me insane and I hate having to catch one. Same thing with the bispotti. Fuck those guys.

Nihlus obviously matches the sour s’morepion in terms of aesthetics, the hard plating of the scorpion and the deep red color, but Nihlus also kinda sucks (Which I say with as much love as I can physically give). These two belong together.

Prismo doesn’t actually really match the parrybo much but idk. There’s just something about that little dude that calls out to me. Pink Flutterscotch might be a better match because it’s pink and Prismo also makes me think of kisses. Anyways who said that-

And, because I’m legally obligated to do so. The Viva Pinata self ships themselves!

Leafos - Syrupent

Miss Petula - Tigermisu

Langston - Lickatoad

I should note that Petula is specifically a familial ship, in case people don’t feel like looking at my carrd, and Langston is more of a little side/not serious ship for me (I have a human design for him that I think is super cute though) BUT. It was too funny to pass up, okay?

Langston is obvious for obvious reasons, yeah. But I put tigermisu instead of a kittyfloss for Petula because gdi that poor girl deserves some respect and by god is she going to get it!!! She’s not a kitten, she’s a big ass cat.

And I say Leafos is a syrupent as nicely as I can even though it kinda sounds like an insult. I prommy it isn’t I love her 💚 but she can be a little bit of a snake 💚 love u girl 💚

Anyways yeah!! Pinatas!!! You should ask me about my favorite piñatas.

[blizzardsuplex]

Sunday Six!

Hey hey! Tagged by @sybilius/@fang-revives :) Have wayyyy more than six sentences of the Kyle O'Reilly/reDRagon time travel AU (but on the other hand GDI I have written so many words I want to share ejcjejfrje)!

Tagging...honestly I'm pretty sure Syb hit everyone so: if you haven't been tagged but want to participate, this is your chance!

"I have to talk to Kenny. In person. Admin stuff."

Swerve makes a little scoffing sound.

"...I see," Keith says carefully. So is the hand he places on Kyle's shoulder that's as large as his head. "You might have to delay your meeting a little longer, then, considering the man in question is out with an injury as well."

Crap. Something may have made everyone accept he's here (wherever—or whenever—he is), but it wouldn't save him from close scrutiny when he had no proper cover story to show. He needs to find a reason to slip away from these two, pronto. "Oh," he replies. "Did I say Kenny? I meant Tony. Sorry, I feel like I'm on another planet these days." He forces a chuckle. "These painkillers, you know?"

More than a bit lame, but maybe that works in his favor: the pair seem taken aback by how flimsy the excuse is, long enough that he can gather the strength to push himself up—and Keith's hand gently off. "Anyway," Kyle continues, "I'm...gonna go now. Thanks for the concern, though."

Without waiting, he turns and hops out of the ring. '"Another planet'?" he catches Strickland mutter. "More like another galaxy. He could've just said he's here for…"

~~~~~~

"Bobby," he says as the door slams shut with a deep metallic boom behind him. "Don't leave!"

The person in question, sitting on a bench with one leg stretched out along its length, just blinks at him, more or less nonplussed. For a second or two, Kyle's about as confused as he expected the other to be; then he remembers. Timeline-wide Jedi mind trick. Right.

"I'm not planning to," Bobby says while continuing to stretch. "I have a match up."

"I mean the company."

Maybe to anyone else the man's expression doesn't change, doesn't flicker like fire in the wind—but Kyle O'Reilly is not just anyone else where Bobby Fish is concerned. "Oh," he replies after a moment, completely level. "You know."

[reinelefey]

Okay, but listen. I better learned to cope with my autism, ADHD, and my h-eds /from/ tiktok.

There IS valuable information. IF. like Tumblr, you curate your fucking experience. I know they're a shit company. They're ALL SHIT COMPANIES. I agree. They need more regulation.

They need to take less information. They need to share less information.

But the creative people who use tiktok as an outlet to give KNOWLEDGE where it might not otherwise reach people. Like. Verify. Do your research, like ALL the internet information you find from an unverified source. But there are also VERIFIED sources. Doctors you can look up, and actually find information on. Doctors who HELP people. Patients like me.

I CAN'T get adequate healthcare. I am taking care of myself based on generalized advice given by medical professionals that have knowledge about my disorders.

This is invaluable to me. I do not have access to those same sources here. There are MANY faults to tiktok.

SO MANY.

But gdi, there is so much GOOD there too. So can we PLEASE. Just ask for reasonable reforms to policy instead of acting like everyone who uses this app is a brainless fucking idiot without two brain cells to rub together? Because... Every time I see a post like this, I agree with the distaste of the company. But I get so ANGRY on behalf of the creators who care.

theyre in love

[ksbwnotes]

Chapter 9, Part 1

Ahhhh...poor son of a bitch.

1. Heyyyyy, green tape

Hmmmn, Koogi seems to use green a lot...is that just more common a color for duct tape in Korea? But thing is, her main outfit for Bum is green tones. And he likes froggies, which are green. 

Also, we never do see Sangwoo use this tape with CEO daughter girl (just ropes, a cloth for her mouth, and this weird metal thing to cover her eyes). Or with Bum, for that matter (I only saw it so far used with Koogi’s illustrations, which are a different matter altogether...I might be mistaken, I won’t skip to that part, but Sangwoo might have used it on Bum in the last chapters, which could signify how far his mentality has deteriorated). 

But this guy is different. Sangwoo has no emotional attachment to him.  The duct tape could be, in a way, signifying how worthless this person is to Sangwoo. That he’s nothing more than a box full of unsavory memories he would rather tape shut forever and throw away to rot.

2. Ooohp. Bastard’s bringing out his iconic apron

Sangwoo the butcher.

But this is something new that we haven’t seen before. Again, Sangwoo has never once wore this with Bum. So that means Sangwoo truly has no intentions of going easy on this guy. Blood is going to be pretty much spurting every-the-fuck-where. 

So even though Sangwoo doesn’t consciously plan to kill someone, he has his habits and ideas down to a pat so that once he does get into that territory, he can more or less get right down to it. Sangwoo seems to do what he can to ‘separate’ himself from his atrocious acts, but also fulfilling an ‘aesthetic’ that fits with the atrocity he has become. 

Like, that apron.  Too risky to wear regular clothes, so apron is the next best thing and can act as a barrier of some sort once the blood goes flying. It’ll reduce how much splatters onto his skin and how much of his body he has to actually clean. It’s also just keep things less gross and more sanitary that way lol.

3. I am the type to find this funny and really be amused by Sangwoo’s smartass-ness

I suck at being a smartass and I can’t do it, so I really appreciate it whenever someone else can, even if it’s mean lol. But if it’s mean, it’s a guilty pleasure for me, like right now. x’D

4. Honestly, Sangwoo, how did you get yourself into this situation...

Oh!  So he was able to get out of the blow job. Nice. The guy was actually respectful. If Sangwoo were sane, he’d understand this and just run away instead of luring this guy in to kill him. 

But, really, why did Sangwoo put himself into this position?  I don’t have anything foolproof as evidence, but I really don’t think Sangwoo is the type who actually needs to kill at specific intervals as an outlet.

If anything, Sangwoo has a more...instinctual response to sexual situations, like Bum. For Bum, he becomes hyper-aroused and zeroes in on the pleasure to a point that it overrides his more logical line of thinking. The “he’s a killer I should be scared” becomes “it feels so good and nothing else can exist but this pleasure”.

For Sangwoo, he has two modes. The first one is passive, where he’s just following his partner’s whims and saying that he’s enjoying things but he’s actually just powerless to resist. It’s his instinctual reaction after being forced to just...take his mom’s advances. He feels empty, like a doll that is just meant to be used and taken for pleasure. It’s no better than being a corpse that is fulfilling another’s necrophilic tendencies.

The second mode, I believe, came to be as a self-defense mechanism to the first mode. In order to avoid ever feeling like that, he is in control of everything. He has complete dominance over his partner. In a way, the extreme violence is the only way he can genuinely feel pleasure because he’s ‘safe’. He can literally go one way or the other, his trauma has made it impossible for him to have any other mode than ‘docile’ or ‘predator’. 

5. Well, even without the possibility of murdering someone, Sangwoo choosing an alias is no surprise

He did go into a gay bar, lol.

I also find it interesting that this is where we get a look into Bum’s thoughts. And it’s regarding Sangwoo’s alias. 

Also, now I am wondering if Sangwoo ever resorted to using aliases with his other prey. Because if he had, then this does add a whole other layer of premeditation to his serial killing. Even if he’s not purposefully scouting for prey, it would at least mean he’s always prepared in the event that he comes across prey. 

That is what makes Jieun such an outlier and also Sangwoo’s downfall in terms of getting caught. Jieun knows Sangwoo personally. There is a connection between them. And her disappearance could easily be traced back to him. Sangwoo isn’t an idiot. He knows how to pick and choose his prey and he probably makes sure to never make it so that the prey can call him by name. 

That is also what makes Bum such an interesting outlier. Because Sangwoo is risking A LOT just to keep him--someone who knows Sangwoo’s real name and actually has witnessed his personal life, both in the outside world and behind closed doors. Sangwoo chose him over the girl. Sangwoo broke his legs, not only to keep Bum from escaping, but to keep Bum with him. 

This does suggest that Sangwoo is not serial killing for the thrill of it (at least, not just for that), but because he’s in search for something that could replace the kills. Sangwoo doesn’t want a pile of dead bodies under his feet--he wants one alive body to stay by his side and love him, in spite of those dead bodies. 

6. ....cute motherfucker

Koogi, I resent you so much for making him this cute...

Honestly though, it just strikes me how Sangwoo keeps trying to keep on a carefree and happy facade even during times like these. We do later see him doing that as a habit as a child, so it fits that he does that on steroids during his adult years, especially considering the things he does. I’ll refer back to this when we get to Jieun’s death scene.

7. Shows of weakness

Ah damn I’m going to have to revisit this part. I have a lot of thoughts on it, but I’m too sleep deprived to actually make sense of it. But this part is important in understanding Sangwoo’s mentality and the ways he tries to train Bum to fit a certain image.

Aaaaaand today is a new day!!  So going forth:

During the times Bum showed fear and was trembling, I do think a major part of why Sangwoo hates it so much is because it reminds him of how much of a monster he is. But I also think it’s because it reminds him of his mom, which he does say about Bum’s trembling. Because no matter what happened to his mom, she never learned her lesson. If she were able to change, then Sangwoo’s childhood would be less painful. 

But Bum being quiet and looking scared, but still able to meet Sangwoo’s eyes...that reminds Sangwoo of what he was while with his parents. And even though Sangwoo does hate himself--to a point where he doesn’t want to change because he has no belief he can be better--I do think he’s grieving for that child who had no clue that things will just get worse and worse from there. 

Especially since, from what I’m assuming, he knew how to manipulate his image so that he could avoid being beaten and locked up like his mother. So he would hold more respect towards his conditioned response versus his mother’s conditioned response. He probably refused to admit to himself how he felt back then, because obviously that’s a cruel thought to have and Sangwoo’s level of empathy was still average to high at the time. But it still doesn’t erase his resentment towards her inability to be better (I think this also contributed to why Sangwoo presumably felt ‘free’ after his first kill).

I think I’ll have a better grasp over my thoughts once we get to Jieun’s death >_< 

8. *opens mouth, then silently closes it*

That first sentence probably is not meant to sound the way Sangwoo makes it sound. xD  Which is a bit too gay for someone who firmly claims he is wholly hetero.

Oh actually this is funny. Since the only other person in the basement is a guy, the card dude probably thinks Sangwoo really is gay or internalized-antigay or something. But the truth is a lot more complex and sinister than what it appears to be on the surface.

9. Ooooooh, high stakes indeed

Lol, this does drive home the idea to me that Sangwoo is really pissed at Bum. Because, again, he would’ve never went to that gay bar had it not been for Bum. So, in a way, even though Sangwoo internally knows Bum isn’t the one going out in a body bag, this instillation of fear is a punishment for making him question his sexuality in a way that triggered Sangwoo’s trauma. Because there is literally no safe way for Sangwoo to explore his sexuality considering his past and his current lifestyle.

On the other end of the spectrum, I wonder how Bum is feeling about this. He probably genuinely believes that Sangwoo is genuinely putting Bum’s life on the line, in a way that if he fails the card game, he’ll die. Like. I definitely would. No matter what past form of affection Sangwoo showed, if he says he’ll kill me, I would full-heartedly be like “Yeah. Yeah, I don’t doubt you, hun.”

And, still, Bum knows better now than to complain or beg. Because unlike his mother, despite his own mental issues, Bum can be trained and that is why Sangwoo keeps him around.

10. Where do you come up with these things, you bastard

I mean, seriously, he has so many ideas on how to break a person. These are more psychopathic than sociopathic tendencies, I think, so that’s why Sangwoo right now, is a high-functioning sociopath.

11. Oh my fkkn god tho, this smart boi XD

Or maybe I’m just dumb and have no clue how to play cards. 

Or maybe Sangwoo has been spending time with Bum playing cards.

Or maybe Bum is just good at cards and has spent his time practicing them.

Either way, the fact that Bum is able to fkkn pay attention during these times shows that his own trauma and mental issues have no bearing on how smart he actually is. He doesn’t have strong observation skills and is slow to understand people, but that’s more of a natural character trait, even if it is more emphasized by his mental disorders...mmmn, I do kinda wonder if Bum could have some traits shared with autism but I’m too neruotypical and untrained to say whether or not he does.

12. No seriously, we have creative Sangwoo here with this card game from hell...

...Then we have Bum here able to pull out logical conclusions like his mind is clear despite the immense anxiety and pressure of the situation. There’s a reason why Bum is still alive. For some reason, the longer Bum is stuck in his situation, the more 

13. Seriously, I could stab him in the eye for being so cute despite being revolting, it’s not RIGHT KOOGI

Stab stab stab stab

14. It probably doesn’t mean much, but I still can’t help but point out how Sangwoo is making sure to be close to Card!dude and facing Bum

This would be the most logical choice since it will ensure his victim doesn’t try to escape. And even if he does, he can quickly do shit like pulling back his hair if he tries to be ‘bratty’. Also, being behind someone like this is meant to represent a menacing appearance and being the ‘controller’ behind the scenes. Sangwoo has the upperhand since card!dude can’t see him and Sangwoo can do whatever he wants to the guy. 

But this also puts Sangwoo and Bum on more equal ground. Sort of like “partners in crime” because they can face each other and communicate via body language. In a way, Sangwoo can help Bum or make Bum do things, influencing his next move. While, at the same time, keeping a literal eye on Bum but without the upperhand he has on card!dude--because Bum can also keep an eye out on him. 

15. I’d probably laugh if I were Sangwoo too lol

I bet you Sangwoo didn’t expect Bum to actually get the goddamn ace. The fact that Bum is this fkkn lucky is indicative of how Bum is lucky enough to even be alive at this point. Bum has been able to avoid his ‘fate of death’ over and over again that, honestly, the sheer disbelief of it is ridiculous. But it’s also like Sangwoo is saying ‘Of course you’d get the goddamn ace. Of course you would, you little shit, why am I even still surprised by you at this point’.

In a way, Sangwoo might also be thinking that ‘Huh, it’s like I meant to mess with the cards so that’d they be in your favor.’ But of course, he can’t have that because Bum being ‘too’ happy about things means he won’t be able to control Bum. So, for Bum’s case, he’s doing a second round to train Bum further, rather than to fuck with him before he kills him (like what he’s doing with card!dude).

Other than that, this is also indicative of just how well Bum is dealing with the anxiety of this moment. Card!dude might have done better (though he can’t have that much control over the cards) under normal circumstances, but between the both of them, Bum is actually calm enough to think things through. It says a lot about his capabilities lol. It makes me wonder what kind of person he could’ve been had he been raised well.

ALSO, AGAIN WITH YOU BEING CUTE SANGWOO. NO. ESPECIALLY NOT UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES YOU ASSHOLE. STOP IT.

16. Lol, even though this is a throwaway line, I think this is indicative of who Sangwoo has already chosen

This is really like a “come on, partner in crime, get up to my level here and let’s fuck with this fucker together”. But the thing is, Bum is just as much a victim as this guy. There is literally no way for Bum to think any other way but Sangwoo fucking with both of them, not just card!dude. 

Because the thing is, if Bum forgot himself and reacted the same way as card!dude, Sangwoo would kill him, along with card!dude.

But yeah, it does make me think of how Sangwoo would’ve reacted if card!dude actually won. How would his script go? Would he still do a practice round? Or would that have been enough for Sangwoo, and he would’ve skipped to the next part of his plan?

I don’t think this second round was something Sangwoo expected. And that really drove home to him how Bum keeps surpassing his expectations again and again. 

17. *wince* Oohp.

The trembling and slight protest. Definitely not what Sangwoo wants to see. I can’t blame Bum for responding like this, BECAUSE A FKKN SERIAL KILLER IS PRETTY MUCH TRYING TO SCREW HIM OVER, but at the same time, he should know better than to respond this way. 

I also do think, other than the threat to his life, Bum is perceiving this as Sangwoo ‘choosing�� card!dude over Bum. It’s like a rejection and that probably hits Bum’s rejection sensitivity. If it was just a threat to his life, Bum would probably be able to still stay silent at this point (uh, most likely not because again, life is on the line, but still maybe). However, there’s also this sense that Sangwoo doesn’t actually want him to live--that the card game is just an excuse to kill Bum.

18.  think it says a lot that Sangwoo still responds to Bum’s protest via ‘patting’ him on the head rather than pulling on his hair. 

If card!dude was more intuitive, then he probably would’ve noticed that something was off in the way Sangwoo was treating Bum. More leniently. Because any small variation in treatment is not a promising outlook for card!dude.

But the thing is--now that I know how the ending is--Sangwoo is just doing this as a way to fuck with the other dude.  Actually he was probably proud of Bum winning so that he could further fuck with card!dude and make him taste the bitterness of false hope. Sort of like a “heh, you did better than I thought you would”. 

Sangwoo does want him to live because this card game is not about ‘who’ to choose. Sangwoo has already chosen Bum. This is just a matter of how much satisfaction Sangwoo can get against his revenge on the other guy.

Though, Bum is genuinely worried because why would he think that lol. There is also this thing where Sangwoo chose to kill a pretty girl and keep him, a skinny male loser, alive. So from his stand point, Sangwoo’s choices are difficult to pinpoint. Bum also won’t see himself as more ‘attractive’ than card!dude, so he most likely was scared that Sangwoo’s choices has changed once again and he would be thrown away like CEO daughter.

19. Hmmmn...

Now that card!dude has been given a second chance and can see Sangwoo’s willingness as a show of ‘favorability’, he has more control over his anxiety (which I do think is different from Bum, who has this sort of ‘on-off’ button for his anxiety, versus card!dude who seems to have more of a ‘reduction-enlargement’ slider). He probably feels more confident. 

And this is probably exactly what Sangwoo wanted, because then that will make the fall so much sweeter, the look of horror that much more gratifying.

20. Really, and there were people who wanted Sangwoo and Bum to have a happily ever after

The psychological warfare Sangwoo is putting onto Bum is so brutal that it’s really difficult to keep reading. Again, Koogi making it so that Sangwoo got better, then got worse when he realized he couldn’t handle what it means to ‘improve’, and then die...it made me respect this work so much, because nothing about this is romanticized.  And furthermore, Bum didn’t die, but at the same time, he was scars that will never be able to heal. His mentality was worse in the end than it was in the beginning, which is a goddamn feat because there wasn’t much left for him to fall.

Another alternative that I saw float around was Bum and Sangwoo dying together and...no. No no no. That’s too romanticized as well. And Bum being left alive while Sangwoo dies has this very...god I don’t even know how to explain. It’s not a happy ending. For me, there’s no vindication for it because I got to see just how deeply Sangwoo was suffering, which made it impossible for me to enjoy his death despite every incredibly shitty thing he has done. It was literally just...a masterpiece. One that showed just how, really, there are places on earth that truly have no hope and the suffering only ends with death. 

I usually never like nihilistic stories like these. Like seriously, there’s a reason why I avoided Killing Stalking like the plague. But after so many stories where things have a happy ending just because they MUST, it doesn’t only get tiring, but destructive for me. 

And Killing Stalking is special to me because instead of showing that everything was hopeless in the beginning just BECAUSE life is hopeless, period...it shows that things could’ve gone differently because Sangwoo and Bum were never truly without hope in the beginning. Sangwoo wasn’t a classic serial killer. Bum just needed better guidance. They just needed to be given a goddamn chance, like so many people in the world in general.

Instead of outright nihilism, it’s more in line with existentialism and that things reach the point of no return if nothing is changed. Or that if there are changes, it’s the type of change that makes things worse and doesn’t allow for healing.

Anyways, I don’t quite have all my thoughts on this together, so this is something I have to revisit once I’m done reading KS.

[beingfacetious]

please give us the correct negative Ted lasso review

Oh my God. This feels like a trap but I can't help it

update from the other side, this is no joke 2k words long and it's not uh happy lmao so dead dove do not eat

TL;DR:

Bill Lawrence's involvement lessened every season and it fuckin' shows

There were arcs and plot points established over the first two seasons that the writers very obviously just changed their minds about for this season

Takes about this season being dark/ending sad on purpose are MUCH too generous. like giving WAY too much credit.

It turns out most of my feelings boil down to "it's not aggressively bad it's just nonsensical"

How tf was every episode twice as long as in previous seasons but everything important happened offscreen

FIRST OF ALL, since MONTHS before the season started airing, I've nursed a conspiracy theory that Bill Lawrence left the show because of creative differences with Jason Sudeikis and that therefore this season would be significantly less good than previous seasons. This started when I saw Bill tweet that he was going home, basically, and I figured we'd get "season 3 is in post" news shortly thereafter but instead there was that weird stuff about things being delayed because of rewrites...? Anyway, that is mostly to say that I was ready to think this season was worse because I love Bill Lawrence's storytelling and have forever and you should give Cougar Town a shot if you haven't yet it's no Scrubs but it's sweet

There were interviews early in the show in which I swear Jason/Brendan/whoever said they pitched the show to Bill because he's fuckin' good at TV and he basically said "this is a great idea but you're writing to the wrong ending, it should be this," and they were like "wow you're right that is a better ending." I can't find that now but I did find this from a more recent Bill interview:

I ran that show the first year because Jason was still shooting movies while we were doing the writers room. Then, at the end of that year, much like Gary with me, I was like, “Ah, I’ll spend a couple of months teaching him how to edit.” But after like a day or two, he’s like, “Yeah, I got it.” (Laughs.) So, the second year, we ran it together, and I’m only able to do other things now because that guy ran the show himself the third year, as it should be. It’s his voice and his world this season.

Now look, Bill Lawrence is obviously not trying to throw shade here because he's lovely and also this is a Hollywood Reporter article and how immature would that be, but I can throw shade for him and I will: Jason Sudeikis is a talented comedic actor and seems like a very nice man and he had a good idea for a show, and his instincts to involve an extremely experienced showrunner with an insane talent for feelsy found family sitcoms were good and he should have stuck to them!! Telling Bill Lawrence you're good after two days of editing instruction or whatever is stupid!! Insisting on your voice and your world when BILL LAWRENCE'S VOICE IS AVAILABLE TO YOU and also you CO-CREATED THE WORLD whatever gdi

OK fine I'll do Ted/Rebecca next. Obviously I was in for Ted/Rebecca. I wanted them to put their faces together. But look, I'm not a shipper over all else; over all else I want a good storyteller to tell me the story they want to tell. If I expect things or see them coming, that's not bad! That's good! If I'm surprised by things, that's good too as long as it holds together! "Subverting expectations" shouldn't look like spiting the audience, a lie is not a twist, etc. SO. If Ted and Rebecca were meant to be platonic soulmates, that's fine!!! I don't NEED them to kiss!!! But I do not believe these people are even friends in season 3, after season 1 and tbh most of my favorite parts of season 2 were about how much they impact each other's lives. That's a dropped ball and there's NO REASON to have not made time for them to interact meaningfully because every episode was so fucking long. Instead I guess we had to know how super sad Rebecca was about not being able to have children but not need to talk to anyone about it and immediately be fully over it. Also see a lot of lingering shots of Rebecca...looking at a matchbook...

sfjbkfgs early in the season they very obviously established that Rebecca's arc was going to be realizing she actually loves the team and wants to support them and see them succeed because of her own heart and not to spite Rupert, and I guess that happened but why didn't it happen gradually in ways I could see, why did it happen in an episode in which I'm supposed to have known all along that this has to do with her childhood self ?? and in which Rupert has a FULL personality change to facilitate her sudden realization. In what fucking world would he invite her to that meeting, because she's smart or because she brings ~diversity or because maybe he wants to sleep with her again? None of it tracks at all lmao but it was also the episode in which I really enjoyed Tony Head so whatever

speaking of not tracking, Nate.........I've never been invested in Nate especially but he was SO cartoonishly evil at the start and then kind of never again. I was braced for a redemption arc I wouldn't care about but that didn't even really happen?? he got a girlfriend and realized Rupert was a bad role model? it turns out his dad thinks he was a prodigy and always just wanted him to be happy, which, lmao WHAT where????? and what am I supposed to believe about Jade changing her mind about him btw because she's seen people be terrible to him at that very table before AND she has to know he loves the place and the food because he's there all the time, so what was the revelation that turned her from relatable-via-Nate-ambivalence to suddenly heart-eyes just fdslelugatw so much of my feeling about this season isn't even like it's bad it's just it's nonsense

One of my big complaints about the season is just Keeley's whole deal. Separating her from the team/rest of the cast was a wild choice. Barbara is fine but I also would have been perfectly fine without her and none of the other new characters for the PR side story added anything to the show. Especially if at the end Rebecca is just going to write Keeley a check for the chump change she needs to run the agency. Why didn't we just do that to begin with??? I guess this season I'm supposed to think Keeley ~learned to be independent in various ways but, again, I don't ?? And her needing to not be with Roy I guess as part of that and then get back together offscreen but then not really be together maybe but then also possibly having throuple vibes later that never get acknowledged feels, whatever, like something Bill Lawrence didn't write sdfjlsefaj,lwte I know this is my unsupportable argument that post I RBed was making fun of but idc

also Jamie wanting to be with Keeley at the end of the show feels extremely Harry Potter epilogue to me lmao Jamie you don't have to marry someone you went to high school with there are so many people

Roy was fine this season. He didn't have much to do but that's probably for the best lol. Him taking Ted's job is probably the only main character ending I feel like makes sense for this season and the overall show. Him training and begrudgingly becoming friends with Jamie was always funny.

OK one of the wrong reviews was basically like if you don't appreciate this season you don't appreciate classic tragic structure. Fuck off with that. First of all this was a sitcom about soccer so even if they were going for a classic tragedy in season 3 that's stupid and they shouldn't have been. But I also just don't think that's what was happening ??? I think I'm supposed to believe everyone gets a happy ending and I just don't. Like the whole oh it's sad that Ted ends up where he started and it's about how persistent optimism and kindness can burn you out or whatever, that's...if that's what they were going for, again, why tf, and also could we have seen that like. at all. Ted barely Teds for anyone this season (frex the previously mentioned never talking to Rebecca). ROY Teds more than Ted in season 3. If we got to see Ted trying to Ted even, like, twice, and either not being able to dig down and find the positivity or I guess noticing that he needs someone to be that for him, OK, fine. A Ted/Keeley scene would have been a PERFECT vehicle for this. Didn't happen. idk if we're supposed to think he's getting back together with Michelle but that would be so...so bad ??? like what about Tan Lines??? why even have Tan Lines??? even if not, we just left completely unaddressed her starting a relationship with their marriage counselor, which is also BAD lmao. God why did I have to see so much of Michelle this season. Michelle video calls every other episode and two lines for Dr. Sharon. Nonsense. lol one of my friends summarized Ted's ending as "yeah going back to the unfulfilling life that didn't work before the show started is a victory for our protagonist"

Even the soccer of it all re that whole thing was silly. Oh marriage counselor boyfriend is a bad guy because he doesn't care about the soccer game. Oh Ted is happy now because he's coaching Henry's rec league soccer team. like it's fine that EVERYONE is still together in Richmond but he's "home" now and still around soccer which is good because we definitely saw him learn to love soccer during the course of the show. sure Jan

(to be fair I am not the audience for "it's about the kid" plots so even if I felt like it worked from the start of the show for Ted to choose moving back to where Henry is, which I don't, I wouldn't care for it, so maybe those criticisms aren't especially valid) (I didn't care about JD's kid either)

speaking of the soccer though every single scene that revolved around the actual soccer team was essentially perfect. Great use of so many of those boys. Very few notes. Sam in particular had a few nice things this season and of course Colin. Another incorrect review by a critic I actually like very much was complaining about Colin's story this season and it being tired and overdone and not caring about Trent's or Isaac's parts of it, but I actually really disagree! It was well done and it was nice to see in the context of professional sports where, sorry, coming out and being received well is not a cliche thing that happens a lot! Also, hot take! Zava was a good part of this season! Nice contained little story that impacted some characters I actually care about plus he was legit funny! Sometimes things in a comedy should be funny! I'd honestly watch three more seasons of Richmond-focused half-hour episodes with idk probably Brett Goldstein in charge

I haven't mentioned Beard because I just never understood what I was supposed to think about him lmao. By far the funniest character overall but I never felt settled on whether he was meant to be a manic pixie comic relief BFF or if he was like...a real person?? It strikes me as potentially bad that he was so worried about Ted's mental state all the time and never really mentioned his own and that was sort of a thing in the weird s2 episode but then not again? I felt so much ire about so much else I didn't have any for him marrying Jane lmao but I do understand the people who are upset about that because that sure seemed pretty toxic, but wasn't it supposed to be played for laughs? Does that fit in a show that's supposed to mainly be about people treating each other well because we're all we've got? idk, RIP Beard, sorry your best friend in the world wasn't at your wedding because it would have been narratively underwhelming to see him leave and then see him back at a future major event or whatever

idk idk, season 1 Rebecca was one of my favorite characters ever and I was so angry in the middleish of the season about how much I felt like she was being wasted, but by the end I was just like...I mean, what's to be mad at. She's not even her anymore. Ted wasn't Ted anymore. Nate I guess literally reverted back to season 1 Nate which also is that...okay...him ending up lower than he started out feels not great

Good for Mae and the bar boys though, used just the right amount this and every season and always a damn delight

OK this is ridiculous I'm going to be done now. I do want to say I enjoyed several episodes this season a lot! A couple top 10 potentials! I really enjoyed the Amsterdam one actually because it reminded me of like a Nancy Meyers movie, very nice and warm, but it feels worth noting that that is not a feeling I would describe as being struck by fucking lightning :))))))

in conclusion maybe we as a nation can move on now from giving SNL alumni we find charming huge budgets and ethereally talented casts and collaborators and letting them get us emotionally invested in their midlife crises sandbox playing

[abbidavisart]

The Sailor Quartet aka The Asteroid Senshi aka Crystal Tokyo’s Sailor Scouts! As always, infodump below the cut

AIGHT So I know the popular idea is that the Asteroid Senshi (Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas) kind of take the place of the Solar Senshi (Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus) with an older Chibi Moon acting as Leader/Princess BUT because the Solar Senshi are still around in 30th Century Crystal Tokyo I see them less as stand-ins and more as an independent team fulfilling a similar role like the Shitennou. In conjunction I don’t think Chibiusa will take on the Sailor Moon moniker as is; rather I think she would take on a variant that’s more unique to her. I haven’t really decided what her title would be though. I also think she’d develop a color scheme closer to Usagi’s because while All Pink works for a kid character I don’t think it holds up as well for an Adult Chibiusa. (I also haven’t settled on a color scheme for her though lol woops. Maybe something with violet as a reference to King Endymion?) As for Chibiusa’s powers, I know she’s supposed to be basically just like Usagi, but she’s got two parents gdi and I think she’d have several of her dad’s traits as well. I can see her with some rose themed attacks, and being an empath like Mamoru. Physically while she is mostly like Usagi I think she’d be slightly taller and ever so slightly leaner; as well as wearing glasses like her dad. Also shes in dating both Helios AND Hotaru fite me

Vesta (red) is the second in command after Ceres (pink). If Ceres is the Venus of the group Vesta is the Mars; Juno (Green) and Pallas (Blue) are thus the Jupiter and Mercury, respectively. Pallas is the least similar to her Solar counterpart; rather than being an intelligent tactician she’s more of an emotional anchor. Of the four she’s the least like an “older sister” to Chibiusa. Like Jupiter, Juno is the heavy hitter and is more “delinquent-like” than the other girls, but she doesn’t have the same girlish side that Makoto does. I gave her a darker skin tone and made her hair a combination of braids and afro-puffs, mostly cause I thought it’d be cute. Vesta is hotheaded like Mars, but with less “lady-like” elegance. She’s straight forward and blunt. Ceres acts as Chibiusa’s body double on the odd occasion they ever need one, so I’ve made her just taller than Chibiusa with a slightly slimmer figure and a similarly pale skintone. I’ve made their Sailor Fuku slightly more individualized, bringing in elements from their Amazoness outfits as well as a few details I thought would fit them. Hotaru is Chibiusa’s goth girlfriend. She’s a death themed lesbian to Chibiusa’s life/heart themed bisexual. She was raised by her 3 queer parents and something something time shenanigans so she and Chibiusa can be grown together. Helios is also there he’s in the background being the malewife to Chibiusa and Hotaru’s girlboss or something idk I just don’t think he’s super interesting ok I didn’t add her to this lineup, but I also headcanon the next incarnation of Sailor Pluto (Not a Setsuna reincarnation, a new girl to inherit her powers after her death in 30th Century Crystal Tokyo) to join the team as their younger “senshi in-training” counterpart.

[laurenmm62017]

Codywan Week Day 1!!

Hello! This is my first ever Codywan piece! I hope that I did them a little justice~

The prompt I chose was Fix-It.

Please note that I am not an expert on what happens after a war. i just want them to be happy gdi

Summary: Obi-Wan and Cody argue over baby names a few years after the end of the war.

@codywanweek

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32828329

The war ended swiftly, in Cody's opinion. One moment Generals Kenobi and Skywalker are on their way to rescue the kidnapped Chancellor, and the next the two of them come back without said Chancellor and claim that he was the Sith Lord that they've spent the past two years trying to find. Force, does he need a drink. Maybe Dynamo still has some of his homemade brew left.

So, both Republic and Separatist leaders are out of the equation. Grevious retreated to Utapau, with the 212th in pursuit and the 501st returned to Mandalore to assist Ahsoka and Bo-Katan arrest Maul.

General Kenobi had infiltrated the Separatist base as a distraction, giving the rest of the 212th the chance to slowly advance into Pau City from both sides and take down the droids as they retreated towards where the General was confronting Grevious.

In less than a few hours, the droids in Pau City were reduced to scrap and Grevious was dead. His General, the same man who always said, "Your lightsaber is your life" to his former Padawan, had dropped his lightsaber off a frelling cliff for Cody to find right at the beginning of their confrontation. He had gotten to the fight just as his General used a blaster to shoot lasers into Grevious' chest cavity, permanently killing him.

Cody smiled under his helmet as he held out his General's lightsaber to him. "Excellent job, sir."

"Thank you, Cody." His General smiled gratefully at him as he took back his weapon. Their hands brushed for a brief second and a spark of something traveled up his arm, warming his cheeks under his helmet. "Let's end this war, Commander."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

~

Cody stood next to his General in their makeshift command center in the town hall. They were finishing up coordinating clean up in various sections of the city that had non-functioning droids and collateral damage to homes and other structures.

Intelligence said that the remnants of Separatist leadership retreated to the volcanic planet of Mustafar. General Windu and his troops were on their way there now.

They were recalled to Courasant once clean up was complete and Separatist leadership was arrested. It is honestly a blur of politics and procedure for a long time after that and by the time the dust settled, Cody found himself burnt out and lying across his desk in the office that he shared with his General, who was in a similar position at his desk.

"So, the war is finally over." Cody muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Indeed, it is. To be honest, I hadn't expected it to end so suddenly, though I had always hoped it would have ended sooner."

"Now what, sir?"

"What do you mean, Cody?"

"We have been in meetings about the remaining Seppie leaders, new Chancellor, how the Separatist systems will be integrated back into the Republic. But... what about us clones?"

"Oh, you mean... no one has told you yet?"

"No, sir. Told us what?" Cody asked, shaking himself a bit more awake for this, while his General remained slumped over his desk and blindly reaching for a separate datapad.

"My apologies, my dear. That is a mistake on my part." He typed something out on his datapad and Cody's own datapad lit up.

Cody read what his general sent, eyes growing wider and wider, while Obi-wan explained to him. "A few other senators and I have been working on this proposal for quite a while. By next cycle you and the rest of the clones will be free beings. Certainly, the GAR will still exist and you're welcome to stay, but the Republic is sponsoring any job transition, education, and initial housing for any soldier who wants it. I know it won't be an easy decision, but-"

"General, us clones have had a long time to think about what we want to do. 'When the war is over' is like a prayer and promise. We've all decided what we're going to do a long time ago." A pause. "Well, except for the shinies, of course. But now, thanks to you, they have time. If they want to go out to explore the galaxy, they can. If they want to begin an education, they can. If they want to stay here, they can. I... I can't thank you enough for that, General." During this speech, Cody had stood up and walked over to Obi-wan's desk, kneeling in front of his chair so that they were nearly eye to eye. "And I, for one, will be right here, by your side. I will be here for you, no matter what, until you no longer want me around."

"I will always want you around, Cody. Trust me on this."

"Alright, fine. But believe me, we know what we want, and thanks to all of your hard work, we can have that. So, thank you, Obi-wan." Then, he pressed his forehead up against Obi-wan's and they stayed there, just for a bit.

The war was over.

~

Four years later​

"What about Mara?" Cody suggested from his place at the dining table, a list of baby names open on his datapad.

"Mmmm, no, that's not it either." Obi-wan hummed from his place at the stove.

A month after the war, the Clone Rights Act was ratified into law, giving every clone trooper citizenship within the Republic. Some took off to the stars and never looked back. Some found jobs on other planets. A vast majority decided to stay in the GAR, and were given a salary and benefits befitting of the protectors of the Republic. A good amount enrolled in a variety of trade schools. In fact, while Obi-wan resumed being a Jedi Master, Cody moved into his own apartment a mere five minute's walk from the temple and began taking classes alongside a few of his fellow clones.

About two years after the end of the war, Cody completed school and earned a position with a reputable security company, and finally began to make his own credits. For the first time in his life, he had his own credits to spend as he pleased. He could open a bank account and start saving up for… whatever he wanted. He’s already imagining spending the rest of his life with Obi-wan.

Speaking of Obi-wan, the two became an official couple on that last night of the war, in their shared office. Between Cody’s schoolwork and Obi-wan’s duties as a master of the Jedi Order, they don’t have much time together besides sleeping together in Cody’s apartment. But they make it work because they have time now.

Present day, they’re getting a second bedroom ready for a tiny baby girl. Because a family was something Cody and Obi-wan began to want three years into their relationship. The mother of this child had previously decided to put her up for adoption and they were finally, finally, bringing her home in a few short days.

However, they still haven’t chosen a name for her.

“We need to choose a name soon, darling. Or at least have a list of names to choose from, but you reject every name I suggest.” Cody complained.

“I’ll know the right name when you say it, my dear.” Obi-wan reassured him, taking the pot off the stove and smoothly dividing its contents into two bowls.

“What if I just read off names until you hear the right one?” Cody joked.

“That will take a while, maybe even until she gets here.” Obi-wan smiled, bringing the two bowls over to the table. Cody locked the datapad, guided the two bowls to the table, and stole a kiss.

“I’m fine with that if you are.”

And he was. Because they have time.

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 23

Seriously, how useless are these two right now? The puppets all dropped dead around them, yet none of them run up to help Wei Wuxian. I think we saw Lan Wangji running, but he just had dramatic close-up shots for the first few minutes as well. Like, stop looking dumbfounded and stop just providing facial reactions to things, and get up there! Act like you're in a war, gdi! They're reacting to seeing Wen Ruohan stabbed, which I chose not to cap for obvious reasons.

So even though I knew the story from the book, I still think this moment is pretty cool when they reveal that it's Jin Guangyao who has stabbed Wen Ruohan literally and figuratively in the back. The last time we saw him, poor Nie Mingjue was getting the crap beat out of him by Jin Guangyao, so seeing this here--like, ooh! Double-double-cross! Triple-cross!! It's fun to see a twist that doesn't make you groan! Because, of course, you want to root for Jin Guangyao because he's a bastard and has always been looked down on everyone. Now you see that he was not a villain at all, and he was actually helping the good guys by double-crossing Wen Ruohan! Of course, we know he really is a villain and all, but most of that really doesn't come until later in the story haha.

I do enjoy the light parallels here between Lan Xichen and his brother. We see both of them willing to give their best friends the benefit of the doubt and protect them from those who are less willing, let's say. And both of them are even willing to stand up to other people they know and trust. Nie Mingjue is one of Lan Xichen's closest friends, and we see Lan Wangji stand up to his own uncle. If you're looking at CQL without the romance angle (which, why would you?), this parallel is a bit more striking. You basically have two sets of bosom friends. Obviously one set crumbles at the end, but there are definitely a lot of parallels and comparisons to make. And sorry, for a show that couldn't have any gay characters, they sure made it seem like Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao had a thing for each other (even though neither of them is gay in the book, mind you). A weird sort of change--I don't even ship them, but their early scenes seemed very shippy. Maybe it's my American lens, I don't know.

But speaking of weird changes, allow me to go on a tangent. Wen Qing's role expansion doesn't bother me, not really. I kind of say it does, but it's not really the expansion that gets to me. It's the fact that she was going to be a love interest for Wei Wuxian that bothers me. Wei Wuxian is gay. He's gay. Lan Wangji is also gay--if not gayer. Her being a love interest for either one of them means they are no longer gay. Bi, maybe, but what that would have done was erase their canon sexuality. It would have also turned their relationship into that horribly tropey brothers-in-arms or whatever name you want to give it--basically JUST FRIENDS who want to defend each other's honor. You can certainly read CQL that way, but if you are, I don't think you're paying attention to Wang Yibo's performance at all. And if you're not paying attention to the second lead, then why are you watching this show at all? So, changing their sexuality changes the whole show (which already is so tropey, from what I understand) into something so derivative, I wouldn't even want to bother watching it. One of the things I think you take away from CQL is Lan Wangji's, frankly, undying love for Wei Wuxian. If he goes and has a fling with Wen Qing at any point, that cheapens his character dramatically in my opinion. Lots of people can say this better than me, and probably have, but I'm very grateful to those passionate fans (and to Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo) for helping to change the script from the original drafts, which were frankly no better than a junky harlequin romance, having Wen Qing passed around like a piece of meat, which is so far from her character in the novel, and definitely a disservice to her.

Not gonna lie, it's adorable to think that Jiang Yanli and Lan Wangji have been talking over the past few days, maybe having tea together, while Wei Wuxian is in a coma. I feel Lan Wangji was a very calming presence for Jiang Yanli, because she was probably very worried and fretful over Wei Wuxian. I like the idea of him playing the guqin for Wei Wuxian, and then having tea and a quiet chat with Jiang Yanli before leaving. Also very cute that Wei Wuxian is half-heartedly trying to badmouth Lan Wangji, by calling him boring and uninteresting, but he can't even get through the sentence without smiling to himself. Obviously he's loving the idea that Lan Wangji has been at his side every day, worrying over him and slowly doing his part to nurse him back to health.

I love his expression here: shock and relief and joy, all mixed together upon seeing that Wei Wuxian has woken up. Obviously he knew he'd wake up eventually, but he didn't expect it so soon and I don't think he expected his heart to be in his throat and to be so indescribably happy to see Wei Wuxian awake.

Wei Wuxian, of course, can't really meet his eyes, and Jiang Yanli makes a swift exit (she knows what's up--these boys need to talk). And Lan Wangji just has love in his eyes: Heart-guang Jun. I mean, imagine how he must be feeling right now. He had just gotten Wei Wuxian back from what seemed like certain death, finally reconciled, and then Wei Wuxian is in a coma! He must have been terrified of losing him again. It's probably all he can do right now to not hug Wei Wuxian.

I seriously love everything about this scene. I love the colors, the cinematography, the longing glances Wei Wuxian gives Lan Wangji, the way Lan Wangji quietly scolds him while still playing the guqin because he's a professional. But really, I just find this scene very pretty and moving and emotional. I enjoy seeing Lan Wangji getting to take care of him and even more that Wei Wuxian lets him and puts up with it. I think most of us are quick to retort a good old, "I'm fine" when asked how we are, but in this case, Wei Wuxian is not fine, and he has no ground to stand on if he's trying to prove that. It's hard for Wei Wuxian at this point, though, to really lean on anyone, even Lan Wangji who is his best friend. He certainly can't lean on Jiang Cheng for reasons I don't think I need to go into again. He kind of leans on Yanli, but at the same time, he can't (and doesn't wish to) burdon her either. Lan Wangji is really the one person he should be able to lean on and seek comfort from, but he feels awkward and uncomfortable, because of the dark spiritual energy and giving up the sword, and Lan Wangji's crusade to help him.

"Who is good and who is evil?" Wei Wuxian is struggling with a moral dilemma: is it right to round up the Wens and kill them/hold them captive? The Wens did horrible things, after all, and this is the reality of war. Of course, we've just seen Lan Xichen struggling with it as well. Why capture the women and children and elderly, who have nothing to do with the war? He's only met with the fact that it's not just the male cultivators who are dangerous. Still, his mind is only placated by the lie that the people will just be interrogated and sent to a labor camp--then cut to the blood on the floor. So Wei Wuxian is not only struggling with what the Jin Clan and other clans are doing, but he's also thinking about his own deeds--how many people did he kill? How many did he brutally murder in the name of revenge? Because of the things he's done, is he good or evil? Is good and evil so black and white? Does it just depend on whose lens you're viewing it through?

Lan Wangji looks at Wei Wuxian with all of this knowledge and doesn't know what to think. He's afraid of what Wei Wuxian has become, afraid he'll end up like Wen Ruohan--he's afraid of losing him entirely. But the situation is not black and white, and good and evil is not so easily defined. You can only know once you know that person's heart, and Wei Wuxian isn't really letting Lan Wangji in anymore. He's trying to convince him with his words, but that is simply not good enough.

I think if Lan Wangji hadn't stopped him here, Wei Wuxian would have played that flute and tried to end all of the Jin "hunting party" (sorry, that was a little dark). His emotions were already high after the conversation with Lan Wangji on the cliff, and we've already seen him feeling disturbed by how the Wens are being chased and rounded up. I, for one, wouldn't have complained if Jin Zixuan's cousin bit the dust earlier. I think his name is Jin Zixun. Is that it? See, even I don't remember him.

I love how even though they are far apart, this scene still feels very intimate. It's very moving, and the music and the cinematography help to cultivate that feeling. I like how Wei Wuxian perks up when he hears Lan Wangji pluck the first few notes, and Lan Wangji does the same when he hears the sound of Wei Wuxian's flute. I feel like they are spiritually connected here as they play this haunting duet. And I think it's a connection they haven't felt for a long time. There has been so much tension between them for so long, and this scene feels like a big sigh from both of them. While I still feel like there is tension present, there is a bit of a release here--at least, that's how I feel as a viewer.

Ah, yes, the awkward period where Jiang Cheng has become leader of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, wants to control Wei Wuxian, but doesn't know how. He's new at this, so I can't blame him for being a bit awkward as he figures out what he's supposed to be doing. As a young man, he basically nagged Wei Wuxian for doing inappropriate things, but now when Wei Wuxian misbehaves, Jiang Cheng is in part responsible for that behavior. At some point or another, the two of them grew up. Wei Wuxian's misbehavior isn't precocious anymore--it's serious and it has consequences, and just as in Gusu, Jiang Cheng sees that those actions are a reflection of the Jiang Clan. Only now, they aren't just a reflection of the clan, they're also a reflection of Jiang Cheng, himself, and his leadership (or lack thereof).

And speaking of awkward...Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have some...unresolved...stuff to deal with. But God forbid they actually talk right now. How can they? They're at this stuffy banquet that neither one of them want to be at. I feel for them both. Wei Wuxian is hurt because he thinks Lan Wangji doesn't trust him. Lan Wangji feels terrible because he wants to help Wei Wuxian, but the latter won't really let him in and allow him to do so. I feel myself just on pins and needles during these scenes with all these glances, but at the same time, I love it because DRAMA and ANGST! And they're just so in love lolol.

Nie Mingjue has to be that guy that always wants a certain table. The waiter leads him over and says, "Is this table okay?" expecting the answer to be yes, but nope--not Nie Mingjue. He'll request a different table. XD

I love this little conversation--it's like they're both measuring each other up. I think they each have a healthy distrust of the other. Although Wei Wuxian has always been kind to Jin Guangyao, I don't think that discounts the whole demonic cultivation thing in his mind. He knows Wei Wuxian is smart and clever and, most importantly, capable. And as for Wei Wuxian, I don't think the ease in which Jin Guangyao manipulated Wen Ruohan is lost on him.Essentially the downfall of this great cultivator and enemy of all the other clans was due to one man: Jin Guangyao. I think Wei Wuxian is thinking the same thing I am: he's extremely clever, devious, and potentially dangerous if you get on his bad side. His rise to power within the Jin Clan is kind of amazing. His estranged father admits to Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen that Jin Guangyao is his son, his station has improved drastically in a short amount of time. He sure as hell is dangerous.

Jiang Yanli can hardly contain her excitement when Jin Guangshan brings up her former engagement to his son. Just kidding, of course. I'm kind of horrified for her that he's bringing this up now in front of all these people. It feels very much like he's pressuring not only her, but also his son to get engaged again. First of all, Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan agreed at the time to let the children decide whether they wanted to get married or not. Second, if you're going to talk about this, at least do it in private! Third, this is not letting the kids decide. God, this would be humiliating! And I also totally expected Jiang Cheng to speak for his sister here, so I'm glad he didn't do that. It's really none of his business either.

Lol! The weird cutoff here! Who's speaking??? I don't know!!! I mean, obviously, it's Wei Wuxian, but it's like they don't expect us to recognize his voice hahahahaha.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

[themurphyzone]

PatB: Snowball Ep Talk

You know, I really do love the episode Snowball (my personal favorite AKOM episode) but I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it here much, and if I did it’s probably really only because of the flashback sequence. 

Okay so all looks good so far. Chain letter scheme and superstition, a standard introduction to Brain’s latest plot of world domination. All looks good. Plus I just like this shot of Pinky. Don’t mind me, just starting off light here with a smushed Pinky. 

I just like Pinky’s pose here. He’s so cute. 

You will bow before Troz.

“I met a Snowball today! Right here in the lab!” -Pinky

You know, I just find the implications of this line hysterical. This means that Snowball was in the lab that day, waiting for the moment to strike, and he definitely pushed his stolen chain letter through the mail slot. 

And then he lets Pinky see him, and no it’s not just a passing glance either cause Pinky specifically describes a tattoo with an A and a circle and points to his leg. Which means Snowball deliberately lifted the fur on his leg and showed his tattoo to Pinky. 

Like, wow. 

“It means, Pinky, that evil lurks among us. By the name of Snowball! SNOWBALLLLLLLL!” -Brain 

Talk about a bad breakup. *Alexa play Bad Blood*

Personally I think one of the interesting visual cues is that Snowball purposely plants himself into the mice’s space. There’s a lot of that in this episode. He knows how to rile up Brain and hit him where it hurts, namely through Pinky. 

Brain values his personal space, and he values a sense of control. When Snowball invades that space, Brain loses control, and his anger can lead him to make some very ill-informed decisions. Which is exactly what Snowball aims for. 

“You think Pinky is an asset?” 

“Anything I can take from you is an asset.”

Ah yes, Snowball’s mission statement. Crush everything Brain has into dust. 

The flashback sequence. Dear God this flashback sequence. They were both so cute! 

You know, it’s really sad that a younger Brain acted more like Pinky. Making silly faces and trying to get someone to laugh are such Pinky things to do. I know canon is loose but if you consider this flashback taking place shortly after Brain was captured from the wild, then young Brain didn’t gain a grasp on what happened to him until after the gene splicer.  

Ok but Brain was literally right there when the gene splicer exploded. Imagine having your cranium size dramatically increase, you’re injured, you’ve suddenly gained sentience, and as if all that wasn’t enough, you see the gene splicer explode with your only friend inside. 

Oh, and said friend’s mind was probably damaged in the explosion and now he hates your guts. And though you’re angry with him for his betrayal, some part of you will never stop caring about him. 

Once again, Snowball needs to learn to keep his hands to himself. 

This conversation here establishes Snowball as the perfect third character. He appears only in a handful of eps, but he’s fun to watch and love to hate. Snowball challenges the mice’s relationship. Snowball sees the weak points; the insults, the reliance on each other, and twists them to his advantage. And Pinky even admits he’s hurt by Brain’s insults occasionally, though he still loves being around him. 

“Pinky, the Brain doesn’t care about you. He’s just using you.” 

“No, he’s not.”

It’s really interesting to me how Pinky denies Snowball’s statement, yet his ears go down to show that he’s affected by the idea of being used. Pinky and the Brain may be night and day, but one thing they do have in common is their tendency to deny certain things. Brain with emotions and affection and Pinky with concepts he’d rather not admit the possibility of. 

Coming back to this later. 

Non plot related but Brain is teeny tiny and I love how he just trusts Pinky to catch him

Side note: I apologize if any of these screenshots look weird. It’s an AKOM ep. 

WHY ARE YOU TWO SO BAD AT SNEAKING AROUND. 

I just find it hilarious how they clearly run around where Snowball can see and hear them. Like they just shout Snowball’s name in the middle of the room. You’re terrible at being sneaky little mice. Please. 

Those dang boomers and their old timey 90s computers. Technology is ruining boomers. Can’t even hold a conversation anymore cause they keep looking at their screens. 

No touchy! 

Well, it’s awful nice of Snowball to engage in nepotism and offer Brain a position in his administration...and then tempt Pinky with an amusement park when he refuses. 

You really gotta appreciate the complexity of Snowball’s plans. Stealing the chain letter fails->plant seeds of doubt in Pinky’s mind, even if this doesn’t work right off the bat, the idea will still be there-> take over a corporation->impersonate Bill Gates->When the mice show up, offer to co-rule the world on expectations that Brain will refuse->make co-ruler offer to Pinky->wait for Brain to open his big mouth and drive Pinky away. 

All to take everything Brain has. His dignity, Pinky, his meager resources. Like holy Snowball, Batman.  

And then Snowball reveals the amusement park he had specifically built for Pinky. 

And here we have the most heartbreaking line of the ep. If I had the ability video edit I would’ve put the entire line on audio because Brain’s tone is very important here. It’s about 12:38 to 12:57 in the ep if you want to see for yourself. 

“Oh, go ahead, Pinky. I don’t need you. What did you think, I just have you around so I can steal your brilliant ideas and claim them as my own? That I’m just using you, Pinky? Oh yes, I’m using you for your brilliance!” 

First of all, very poor word choice, especially to someone who has trouble understanding sarcasm. I just want to dissect this statement here. 

The Literal Meaning: You’re an idiot to think you were ever more than an assistant. 

This is what Pinky hears. 

But if you listen to Brain’s tone rather than just reading the line, he sounds genuinely hurt that Pinky would ever be tempted by something as frivolous as an amusement park. It’s Pinky, so he just sees ‘ooh fun rides, cotton candy, and carnival games’! 

But Brain is perfectly aware that this is Snowball’s well-crafted method of taking away the only thing he truly has, and he knows it’s working. And he’s hurt. 

The Actual Meaning: Snowball’s trying to separate us and you’re falling for it, Pinky. You may be an idiot, but many of my plans never would’ve come to fruition without you. You’re much more than an assistant. You’re my friend and my world.  

Unfortunately, all Pinky hears is that Brain was only using him. That Brain values him for manual labor and an extra hand only, rather than a treasured companion. The fact that Brain often falls short of making Pinky feel appreciated just adds to this. 

And now that he no longer has Pinky, Brain’s spirit is crushed. Brain is persistent, but without Pinky, he has no reason to be. 

As far as he knows, his only two friends have turned their backs on him and couldn’t care less if he has nowhere else to go. 

Poor thing. He needs hugs. 

“I didn’t think it was possible. Humanity has actually gotten dumber.” -Brain

OK I think this one shot establishes what the world would be like under Snowball. His name is everywhere, and he tells the population to do stupid things just to bask in his own superiority. 

However, I can’t see Brain putting his name on every building so frivolously like this if he ruled the world. Sure, he’d name a bunch of things after himself and Pinky, but it would be more meaningful to them. 

Brain wants humanity to advance, not regress. 

Poor Pinky. Despite all this new extravagance and luxury, he’s also lonely. The room and bed are large, but it lacks personality. He’s sleeping with an ACME Labs snow globe, and other than a reference to Citizen Kane, it also shows that he’s not happy with this. 

The worst thing in the world for these mice is separation from each other. 

Suicide by cat. 

Poor little guy can’t make it on his own. Luckily, he snaps out of it. 

“My world. I must save MY world!” 

Said while looking at a picture of Pinky. Real subtle there Brain. 

“Look, you fool. You have no brilliant ideas. I’m only using you to get at him! So just stay quiet!” -Snowball

“You’re...using me?” -Pinky

He was just a bargaining chip. Never a friend. 

“What do you want?” 

“My friend. And MY world!”

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

He makes martial arts noises like a dork. I love him. 

I love how their characters are reflected in the mecha designs (also I had no idea Snowball was Iron Man!) 

Snowball’s is overall the more efficient design. It’s also much more combat ready and violent. In comparison, Brain’s suit is simply operated with a bunch of levers. It’s alright for peaceful situations like getting around faster or simply blending with a human population, but in a straight up fight the levers take too much time to operate. 

Snowball is more efficient than Brain, and while he’s got the ego, he lacks the insecurities that hold Brain back. His confidence makes him such an effective foe. And more importantly, Snowball doesn’t value Pinky’s companionship. He’s a tool and nothing more. Compare that to Brain. While Brain struggles at showing it, he ultimately wants Pinky’s input and values his jumbo-sized heart. 

Somewhat off topic, but I feel like the reboot missed this aspect of Brain and made him too overly edgy and violent (reboot!Brain would probably prefer Snowball’s mecha design over his counterpart’s). The only time Brain should become violent, if not for comedy, is when he’s protecting Pinky. His plans should have a level of restraint to them, and Pinky is the moral compass.  

I just like this shit-eating grin right here (I mean, he did eat shit in Welcome to the Jungle so...lol)

This is such an insanely clever move for Pinky. I feel like Brain would be like ‘oh my god Pinky!’ and then ‘wow, that’s actually brilliant what the heck is this tingling feeling’. 

ACME LABS IS IN NEW YORK CITY??????

I know this is a case of Where the Hell is Springfield but gdi aren’t they supposed to be in southern California. 

Ok fine I realize the ending to this ep is a reference to North by Northwest cause they somehow got to Mt. Rushmore but still 

Weird tangent but North by Northwest’s ending bothers me (not gonna fault this ep as it’s just a parody)? I’m sorry the girl is barely hanging onto Mt. Rushmore, the dude pulls her up, and then they have sex in a car. The sudden transition always seemed weird to me. 

I am ending this analysis post with a weird shot of Snowball cause i can and it’s his episode. 

[kamari333]

Got tagged by @starsgivemehp for this meme!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

I'll go backwards from last update, if thats okay? First paragraph of each first chapter...

mind the tags and be responsible <3

iNVaDeR FeLL: The Nightmare Begins :: The Irken Empire (which had retained its name even after the shift in management brought about by the events of Operation Impending Doom I) was more alive than it had been in years. Signs replayed message after message redirecting convention-goers how and where to attend the Great Assigning in the Main Convention Hall on Conventia, one of the many planets conquered and repurposed for the good of the Empire. The teleporter ring was blazing almost as brightly as it once did before OID1, only this time, it brought to the surface not Irkens, but Monsters; creatures of every shape and size. They came not only from the 'kingdom' that had overtaken Irk (they called themselves 'Fell'), but those from the 'kingdoms' of conquered worlds as well, which had been expeditiously subjugated in a fashion worthy of the Irken Empire.

How Dance Got a Picture of Lust Covered in Kittens :: "there's sammaches in th' fridge," Red mumbled, feeling the lunchbox lid click shut under his claws. "'r if ya want some'n lighter, there's soup in th' freezer. just gotta nuke it..."

Burlesque Noir :: Lust peeked around the curtain to look out at the crowd, as he had done so many times before the last few days. The speakeasy was full and vibrant and alive as it was every night, as swanky a joint as Grillby could make it and still keep it safe. As packed as it was, however, Lust didn't see any sign of his favorite patron.

It Could be Worse :: Life... Could be worse.

An Anthology of Dreams :: Sans was at his desk, as always, analyzing his latest attempt at a synthetic soul compound. His last two-thousand-and-twenty trials had been devastating failures, but even Dr Gaster was intrigued by his steady progress.

The EMV Anthology :: Red had a love-hate relationship with the holiday season.

An Anthology of Nightmares :: Sans stumbled out of his room just in time to escape. He had no idea what was coming, he only knew his years of fighting for his life underground was screaming that he had to move his bony ass if he wanted to live. Just as he crossed the threshold of his bedroom into the hallway, there was a loud crash. When he looked back, his whole room was gone.

A Growing Future :: Red stumbled out of the house, squinting at the glare of sunrise peaking like a glinting knife over the neighbor's rooftops. The air had a crisp chill to it, made all the more shocking by his lack of a shirt, but he knew it would be overly warm in only a few hours, and there was a lot of work to do.

Kinktober 2020 : Kamari333 Edition :: HI FOLKS! Beyond this point you will find 72.5k words of pure, unadulterated, self indulgent, Undertail-themed SIN, ~57.7k of which was prewritten in September, the rest in October, all written and published for Kinktober2020. This year, due to conflicting schedules, the sin was written in September, to be published on time in October. Please note that there may be plenty of typos, although I will/have since gone back and fixed some of them since I'm garbage and read my own stuff, and this year I have been indulging in the use of my lovely betas!

A Night in the Woods :: Red bit back a curse as he once again had to detangle his phalanges from the flimsy tent material. Stupid-ass cheap plastic bullshit, so thin he could breathe on it wrong and watch it disintegrate, but the packaging said it somehow kept out wind and rain, and that was honestly all he could have asked for. That, and perhaps that the piece of shit stop snagging on his claws every five god damn mother fucking seconds, fuck-

Arum :: The room was pitch black, save for a nearly indiscernible ambiance that glowed low and dim like the twilight right before the true darkness of night. The walls and floor of the room oozed with a viscous substance that stank of fermentation and rubber. At the end of the room, upon a throne of black stone, sat a diminutive figure from whence the slime seemed to originate, itself drenched in it to the point of blackness save for the singular glow of one lavender eyelight, shining like poison in the darkness.

Poignance :: Sans Blueberry pulled on his modified gloves, rolling his shoulders to make sure his makeshift pauldrons were cinched tight enough. The scalemail he wore under his chestplate made a soft noise, not quite the clink of chainmail, but not quite the hiss of cloth or leather either. He fingered at the tiny plates over his torso before pulling his bandanna back on around his neck, grateful to Alphys again for donating her sheds, and Undyne for reinforcing them so they wouldn't turn to dust.

Those Feelings at the Bottom of a Bottle :: Ink carefully managed his supply of emotions, keeping his usual level of orange (excitement) and yellow (happiness) as he made his way back through the house. The crowd of people, with their ever-vivid colors and gold-glittered eyes, made it easy to blend in and keep himself inconspicuous to the ever watchful guardian. It was like a game of hide-and-seek: Ink hid, and Dream looked for anything potentially amiss.

A Skeleton Plague Doctor in Lord Dream's Court :: Falsi woke up from a restful sleep on his examination table, shifting under his thick black blanket (one of the few luxuries he was allowed, usually kept hidden away in his bedroom with all the other small luxuries he had managed to keep, like his collection of skulls, his beast fur pelt, his mask, and the tapes and videos of a more personal nature he had collected over the years). He slid down to the floor, thankful once again for the mercy of a windowless apartment, as he folded his blanket and stumbled into the adjacent room: his bedroom.

Bad Day :: Edge was used to getting ominous messages from Red at odd times. It was just the nature of any relationship Red was involved in.

Burlesque (Censored) & (Uncensored) :: Of all the bars Red frequented in Ebott City, this was his favorite.

Happily Ever Laughter :: It was almost midnight. Papyrus had been sitting at Muffet's bar, enjoying his third (or was it fourth? Fifth? Hard to say) glass of Spider Cider, when he got the call. He pulled out his phone, surprised. That was his brother's ringtone. He flipped it open. "heya, bro. wazzup?"

Egg on Arrival :: Slinky could feel it in his bones: the hum of his future, the tremble of his soul. Even if it was still cold as balls outside the nest, his internal clock said it was spring.

I think I'm Paranoid :: Red came back into the livingroom, popcorn in one hand and a six-pack of coke in the other. He lingered, taking in the scene in front of him.

Another Me :: Lust fiddled with the TV remote idly as he mentally went through the available channels in his head. He didn't dare cable surf, not when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was so prominent, and Pink's relentless job searching made his schedule so erratic that he could show up at any minute. The sight of the blackout curtain over the bookshelf (which served as the house's movie collection's honored display) reminded him of how understanding Papyrus had been of the need for temporary censorship.

...oh my some of these are terrible for catching the readers attention XD (why are all my hooks like 3 paragraphs in gdi).

EDIT: i forgot to tag folks! um... @deku-lily @silverryu25 @bonerpuns @msmkcreates @jellyficsnfucks @jellyfish-swims-through-gold @tkwolf45 @nanenna @dana-chan325 @skerbaderbadoo @keelywolfe ...im terrible with names and can't remember anyone else's handles ;-;

[fonulyn]

Man, I was so worried about being the only one to dislike Leon's casting. I'm glad it's not just me. Don't get me wrong, Avan's gorgeous in his own right, but like... That's not Leon. It's never GONNA be Leon. Leon is a pasty Italian pretty boy with sleek blonde hair and classic blue eyes. It's part of his charm to me. I honestly feel bad for not being able to vibe with the casting, like I'm somehow betraying my own POC-ness by not liking it. Anyways, it's a relief to know I'm not alone!

yeah he absolutely looks great! but he just isn't Leon.

this is why I don't think even making live-action things is a good idea to begin with, because they're such established characters that have had their signature looks for nearly two decades, and now suddenly changing that just feels ...wrong. it's not that the actors are bad or anything, it's just this discrepancy between how the character has been portrayed and the new look. and with live action it's always gonna be there, more or less.

i mean, i'm a pasty white finn lol so I can't say I feel exactly as you do, but i do feel bad, too. i wanted to like the casting and the whole thing so badly. but it is what it is. i'm probably gonna pretend this reboot thing doesn't even exist and live on in my own imaginary world :'D

i do hope we'll get at least season 2 for Infinite Darkness, or a new animated movie or something, instead of them going more and more for the live action route from now on. (or hey how about that revelations 3?? show us what the characters are up to between main games gdi it's like they just shove them in a cupboard and then dust them off when needed)