#99% sure he came to my school at one point

[momo-ceros]

the convenience store at the corner || ken ryuguji/reader

summary; there is a small konbini on the way to musashi shrine that belongs to your grandmother. forced to help out, at least there are cute boys to look at. one in particular

tags; sfw, reader is a year older than draken, draken is a simp, teenage boys being teenage boys

author’s note; momo writing something in the holy year of 2023? impossible. i wanna start writing more i think so feel free to send in requests.

You were working at a small shop owned by your grandmother after school, which just so happened to lay on the path between his and Mikey‘s school and Musashi Shrine. Despite their rowdy reputation, you always greeted them with a kind smile but also did not shy away from using a sterner tone, particularly when Mikey made grabby hands at the Takoyaki behind the counter.

His crush on you made him feel ridiculous. He was the fearsome vice president of the Tokyo Manji Gang yet uttering more than a ‚hello‘ and ‚thank you‘ towards you seemed like an impossible task. He rather take on entire gangs all himself before you knew.

How unfortunate that you did. Whatever made teenage boys think they were slick about their crushes, you didn‘t know but you wish you had that kind of self confidence in other matters. You weren‘t blind, of course you saw the way the tip of his ears flushed in a deep red when he came to the counter. Honestly, it was kind of endearing.

You didn‘t know a whole lot about him, not more than what was told on the streets. You were a year older than him, he was some high ranking member in the teenage toddler group that were delinquent gangs and certainly seemed to be the most mature. Certainly more than his little friend who seemed to love drawing dick on the review notepad meant for customers. You were certain that Draken was 99% of his impulse control.

‚Draken‘ you had heard his friends call him on numerous occasions. That and ‚Ken-chin‘, but he did not seem to appreciate that nickname too much, judging my his reaction.

‘He was sorta cute’, you concluded as you sat behind the counter, your eyes following him, as him and his friends made their way through the store, laughing and joking around.

“They are still 150¥”, you chastised in a monotone voice, looking up from your magazine as Mikey flinched and moved his hand back from the pastries in front of the store.

“But we are regulars!”, he complained loudly pouting.

“No. He is a regular”, you said, pointing at Draken, who immediately flushed faintly, trying to keep his posture, “he is a regular. You have never payed for a single thing in your life here.”

Mikey grumbled, unable to deny the fact that Draken brought everything here anyway while he just picked what he wanted to have.

“Fine. Since I am unwanted here I am going to leave”, he said, leaving Draken alone to pay for their snacks with you.

“Sorry about him”, Draken apologised, rubbing his neck nervously as he placed the items on the counter.

You started to scan the items, taking your sweet time.

“Its fine. I’ve gotten used to it. Must be annoying for you to always be on baby sitting duty.”

“He can be annoying. Real annoying. But imma still follow him”, Draken said earnestly.

“How unfortunate”, you hummed, a glint of humour in eyes as you grabbed a milk bun.

“I didn’t-“

“Free of charge. For being a loyal costumer”, you said, winking at him.

Draken gulped and dropped the sweaty yen coins onto the table.

“Thank you. I am sure he will appreciate it.”

You mulled over the thought that just came for you before shrugging. Might as well go for it.

“One more thing”, you said as you rang up his change and scribbled something on a piece of paper before handing both to him.

Draken stared in confusion at the string of random numbers.

“Uh… thanks?”

You leaned forward, resting your head on your hands.

“Thats my number, dragon boy. Free of charge. Give me a ring sometime”, you teased with a wink.

A deep, scarlet blush spread across his cheeks as Draken stuttered out a thank you before speedwalking out of the store, pushing instead of pulling the door, quickly rejoining his friends. How fun.

You watched him stumble, rejoining the group of his friends who, upon hearing the recent development, cheered for him. Boys. It was kind of adorable actually.

You stretched, staring at the clock. 2 more hours. Maybe you would close your shift and the shop to a message.

[britishassistant]

An Act Of Infinite Optimism

Trucy notices it first.

Of course she does. Polly, for all he’s quick on the uptake, can still be kinda oblivious at times!

Honestly, she wouldn’t know what he’d do without her help in court, he’d be—! Well, not hopeless, but certainly more sweaty than he already is!

Trucy’s been a magician for years, and helping Daddy win poker games for even longer. She’s had far more time to practice at perceiving than Polly has, so she can’t really fault him, can she?

The point is, Trucy perceives a lot about the world around her. Little things, hidden things, things that other people don’t notice.

She’s like, the best at that. Even better than Polly (though he is catching up.)

But when he’s pulling apart Lamiroir’s testimony on the stand and shocking the singer so much that her veil flies up when she rears back in surprise, Trucy can’t help thinking as she watches, “Huh, doesn’t Lamiroir’s jaw look a lot like Polly’s?”

And of course, once she’s thought that, she kind of can’t stop?

It’s not just the jaw that resembles Polly. They both have the same long-fingered hands, the same pale brown hair, the same slight stature, heck, even the same Chords of Steel when Lamiroir calls out Daryan Crescend!

Sure, Polly has a darker complexion and brown eyes instead of blue, but Trucy’s doing biology in school! Maybe she can’t remember what the square with all the rabbits is called, but she knows brown eyes are more likely to show up even in the kids of blue eyed people.

Still, she tells herself, she can’t just jump to conclusions like this! She learned that lesson at Ashley’s pool party not long after she became a Wright. She doesn’t know Polly’s family situation, doesn’t know if he has relatives in Borginia that Lamiroir might secretly be part of. For all she knows, Lamiroir’s a distant aunt or something! A distant aunt who, for some inexplicable reason, looks scarily a whole lot like Polly.

Yeah.

Which is why, when they get back to the Agency after the trial, Trucy subtly segues from talking about Daddy’s secret mission to, “What about you Polly? Were your parents away on business a lot when you were a kid?”

Polly stops.

Only for a moment, not long enough that anyone who isn’t Trucy would notice. To anyone else, he’s moving stuff into neat piles on the sofa.

But Trucy watches as his hand creeps towards his other wrist between stacking, fidgeting with the gold bangle there.

“Ah, that’s kinda complicated?” He attempts to evade. “And it’s not all that interesting, so.”

“C’mon, Polly!” She presses. “You’re one of the Wrights now, so we gotta know! It’d be super rude if we invited you to Thanksgiving, but there’s a whole family of Pollys we left out on accident! I gotta know how many places we need at the table! We might even need to buy more chairs!”

One of the Wright Anything Agency, she means.

She’s not sure why it came out like it did.

But Polly’s eyes are shining slightly, and he actually stops fidgeting for a moment to swipe a shirt sleeve across them. Maybe he got dust in them?

“No, I, ah.” He lets out a laugh that sounds more sad than anything. “I don’t really have anyone else? I mean, I only came to the States when I was eight, and I was fostered before that, and, and after too, but—! There’s not really any, no bio and my fosters were never really—! It’s just me, I mean. If, if I do have an invite.”

!!!

Uncle Valant then bursts in, so Trucy kinda has to put a pin in this to deal with a blast from her own past, but!!

Polly was fostered. Polly only came to the States when he was eight.

Polly doesn’t know who his bio mom is!!

It’s practically guaranteed, so sure a bet that she’d be willing to go all in on it, but she needs to be certain. 99% isn’t 100, but she can’t provide that last 1% herself.

She needs someone else to see it. A witness.

Her first instinct is Daddy, but Daddy is so busy with his secret mission he barely stops by long enough to press a kiss to Trucy’s forehead before he’s gone again. Also, he’s never seen Lamioir before, so he can’t really speak decisively on the matter.

Uncle Valant is also an option, but. But even if he knows Lamiroir, he doesn’t know Polly. He can’t give unbiased testimony based on one conversation, even if he is a magician.

Someone who’s observed Polly and Lamiroir for long enough apart to make a solid judgement comparing them together…

She could kiss Polly when he takes them to Prosecutor Gavin’s office to eavesdrop.

She lets the boys have their fun as they poke around, but makes an announcement in the hall when Polly decides it’s time to leave.

“I need to use the bathroom! It’s that time of month, you know!” Is enough to leave Polly red-faced and spluttering as she flounces around the corner, then takes two lefts and a right that lead her right back to Prosecutor Gavin’s office.

Thank heavens for Uncle Miles and field trips to visit him with Daddy before he left again for Europe.

“Fraulein Magician?” Prosecutor Gavin looks amused as she slips inside the door. “I believe the ladies’ room is back—“

“Shh!” She whisper-scolds. “I need to talk to you about something important! And secret!”

“An important secret?” To his credit, the prosecutor does grow a bit more serious at that. “Well, danke for your trust, Fraulein. Consider me all ears.”

Trucy takes a deep breath.

“I think Lamiroir might secretly be Polly’s bio mom.”

Prosecutor Gavin stares at her for a few moments. The corners of his eyes twitch, and his lips press together.

The amusement is back in full force, barely held back by Prosecutor Gavin’s wavering self-control.

“Before you laugh or say it’s impossible or whatever!” Trucy draws herself up, does her best imitation of Uncle Miles’ scary stare. “Think about Polly and Lamiroir, for a second. Everything you know about them. Isn’t it weird how similar they are, especially if they aren’t related somehow?”

The amusement is fading slightly from Prosecutor Gavin’s face as he considers it. “Yes, but Fraulein, Herr Forehead is American. How exactly could Lamiroir, a native of Borginia, have a son in this country when it’s her first time here? One she has completely failed to acknowledge every time they’ve spoken, no less.”

Trucy smirks.

“Polly wasn’t born in America. He told me he came to the states when he was little, that he’s been fostered ever since. Plus, hasn’t Lamiroir said over and over she can’t remember any of her past beyond performing with Matchi? Well, what if part of that not remembering is not remembering that she’s not Borginian? Or that she already had a son and had to give him up?”

Prosecutor Gavin doesn’t do what she’d like him to do, which is collapse into his plush desk chair crying, “Mein Gott, you’re right! How could you be so intelligent and beautiful, Fraulein Trucy Wright?!”

But she sees her words hit the mark. The indulgent amusement is all gone, a deep and pensive frown on his face as he messes with his bangs.

“It is an astute observation, Fraulein Magician.” He finally says. “But, as I’ve told Herr Forehead countless times, theories do not a case make. Nein, what we need is evidence.”

Trucy can hear Polly calling for her, voice leaning into concerned, but one word makes her pause as she goes to slip out of Prosecutor Gavin’s office.

“We?”

“Ja, Fraulein Magician.” Klavier Gavin’s eyes glitter with a mischievous determination reflected on Trucy’s own face. “We.”

[fandoomrants]

Okay, so I'm fully into my HP obsession again (honestly, I don't care what anyone says or how much the world tries to cancel this fandom. This is my childhood, it's a part of me that's always there and I eventually go back to between the other things) and therefore, the Marauders era's obsession.

And like, I've always loved them for some reason. Honestly, when I found fandoms and stuff and saw they're actually almost a fandom on it's own, I was so happy and relieved that I'm not the only one. (I realised at one point that I love HP yet I've never read a fic that's not about them from this fandom...)

But I've been thinking about some things and also came across some random videos summarizing what we know about them (because there are so many hcs that most people accept as common that it's easy to forget the real facts) and now I have so many thoughts I need to share because they haunt me.

-They were like... Big jerks. Especially James and Sirius. Mostly them, tbh. Like, not only because we see them from Snape's perspective in memories and he hates them but because, well, they were mean. Especially Sirius (he's my absolutely favourite character but still), he's done pretty shitty things. I think James mostly had beef with Snape but they were overall kinda bullies.

-Even though I love Wolfstar just as much as 90% of this fandom (I mean the Marauders era), I think they're a famous ship just because we get to see interactions between them while alive and not just flashbacks but I don't think they were really close back in the days. James and Sirius were the ones extremely close and maybe if we had seen extended Marauders' interactions or they were eventually all alive, then most likely Wolfstar wouldn't have been that popular.

-I'm 99% sure that the great friendship between Lily and Remus is completely fan-made. I believe Remus was the most reasonable (but nobody can convince me he wasn't the mastermind behind 99% of their pranks at the same time) and wasn't into being mean with anyone so it's possible that they were interacting on much better terms than her and James (I mean, until they got together) but I don't think they could have ever been called friends.

-In fact, canonly, Sirius was taller than Remus. (What a shock, right?)

-Lots of people say stuff like "Who was the fifth guy in their dorm?" and there are many theories about it but do we even have a proof that the four of them were in the same dorm at all? Nope.

-Now that's my personal opinion but... I absolutely believe they were really good friends and while at school at least, nobody was left out intentionally but... Maybe Peter betrays them in the end because of some build up stuff throughout the years. We know James and Sirius meet on Hogwarts Express and immediately become best friends. We don't know when Remus and Peter join exactly but it must have been shortly after, I think Peter is pretty much the last who joins. Seeing how some of the people are very good friends, it's a bit hard to truly feel a part of a friend group and might make you feel a bit left out at times (but that's basically a rule in every friend group, tbh. There are the two best friends and well... the other, still close friends).There's also the fact that Peter canonly wears the Sorting hat for over five minutes so here you have another episode of feeling kind of left out. Then later they learn about Remus and they all decide to support him and even learn how to transform and Peter is the last to learn how to do it too. Then even later, James and his family take Sirius in. What I'm trying to say is, we have no canon information of any of them doing anything for Peter and I'm not saying that they weren't good friends, it's just that he was exposed to them doing stuff for each other, and like, really big stuff too (granted, it was really all about helping a friend in a big need) but he was never the center of it + some occasions that might have left him feel kind of uncertain and uneasy about himself like not being sorted for a longer time or needing help to transform. And the result might be feeling emotionally distant from the group and with desire to prove himself worthy of something. So, that's maybe why he finally turns to Voldemort.

-They canonly don't trust Remus much by the end and even suspect he might be Voldemort's spy.

-There is a big chance that Harry and Remus really meet when Harry is 13, meaning that he never saw him as a baby.

-Speaking of feeling left out earlier... I think Remus might have also felt so more often than not. I think they were all into innocent pranks but he wasn't into actively being a jerk, especially considering that he was someone who would have gotten lots of hate if people knew about the werewolf thing. The stupid prank in 5th year must have been a real punch in the gut too. The fact that he gets to stop interacting with them and they even start mistrusting him. Lots of things, really. AND HE STILL NEVER BETRAYED THEM, WAS NEVER A JERK TO ANY OF THEM, AND GOT TO LIVE FOR 12 YEARS BELIEVING THAT ONE OF HIS BEST FRIENDS KILLED THE OTHER TWO!!!

Okay. I made myself enough sad for one evening. Might add more to this.

[malt-rants-and-stuff]

OKAY FUCKERS WE HAVE REACHED 100!!! SOMEONE POP OUT THE HEARTS

this chapter was honestly what I should've expected. mitsukouers we have been fed and are probably going to be put into the closet once more going forwards so let us say thanks for these last few chapters, as well as all the other 99 chapters that came before this one. it's been amazing and I hope it continues to be so!!

now, I'm not one for making long posts myself. however!! this makes for a special occasion so I will have to make do :)

!!! SPOILERS FOR TOILET BOUND HANAKO-KUN CHAPTER 100 !!!

So,

this chapter was great! Though as always I wished that there had been more, what we got was a... pretty satisfying close to this arc.

I will say, as much as I loved what did happen, it felt like it was missing something. Like there was a part of this chapter bring held back. (and no I don't mean that there wasn't a mitsukou kiss this chapter, though that of course was missed as well)

I feel like they really needed to talk more about... well... fucking everything I guess? but, then again, it is so like them to not say shit even when its so important for them to communicate about it (i.e. the way they refuse to address the way they are both for sure going insane at this point, kou seemingly giving up on thinking about his morality when it comes to caring for mitsuba, mitsuba clearly only wanting kou to exorcize him regardless of the bs he said about teru being fine too, tsukasa, etc etc). I would've loved to see them have some proper talks about all of that and more, but also I can't see them doing that in anyway that wouldn't feel ooc and wrong for them.

Mitsuba and Kou just don't do that.

Or at least, not anymore.

Before, I'm sure there would have been some sort of talking. Something just shy of an argument maybe or a full on breakdown.

But now I think it's a bit late for that.

They were both already teetering off and on the edge by the time the severance happened and I think after all of that I think any chance of having proper communication about all the shit they've been through together, for each other, and what bullshit they'll pull going into the future is off the god damn ledge kou jumped from in That One Chapter.

The ending of this chapter solidified this for me more than anything else I think. We got Kou basically asking Mitsuba to live if only to come with him to the school festival, if for nothing else, which is for sure going to be the next Big Event Thing. and then at the very end Mitsuba mentions being hungry and Kou replies with silence which makes me think that their night isn't over yet, and Kou is beyond prepared to get his hands dirtier to help him. This probably won't be addressed, at least not by these two directly after last chapter. If anything I'm kinda hoping Teru will be the one to do it but that's neither here nor there.

All in all, this was a pretty useless ramble of me basically saying I love mitsukou (derogatory) and that they are every reason for my unwell mind.

Anyways mitsukou is canon I'm the heart Mitsuba ate thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[talesfrommedinastation]

In Defense of Tech's Hairline

It breaks my heart when I see fan art of Tech with a full head of hair. 

While I don’t mind seeing different versions of him (darker skin and different features to better resemble Temuera Morrison is awesome, and I love it!), it does seem as if fans are trying to override a critical part of aging for many adults. 

After all, 50% of biological men will lose their hair before 50, 25% of them before the age of 21. 21! 

So, when people change Tech’s hairline, it makes me feel quite sad. It’s something that many people go through, and it’s as if the message is: “If you’re balding, you’re not handsome enough. I need to fix that.”  

(Tech's skin, bone structure, and puppy dog eyes prove that statement is wrong, as seen above).

Which is far from the truth. There’s plenty of incredibly handsome folks with less hair, but even so, it’s a part of aging that many people are incredibly insecure and embarrassed about, because society sees thick hair as beautiful, and receding or balding as old or silly. 

Look, I’m a lady with long blond hair in real life. So why am I worked up about this? 

Well, let me tell a quick story, namely, of a guy I know who reminds me so much of Tech. 

That guy is my husband of almost a decade. 

A chief systems engineer with a graduate degree in science, my husband is an adrenaline junkie, an Eagle Scout, a gaming geek, and an absolute loving papa bear to our daughters. He’s Tech IRL, and it’s part of the reason I fell head over heels in love with that member of Clone Force 99. 

(Above: Tech, but I'm sure my spouse has said that to me when I've asked when we're finally going on vacation to Hawai'i).

My husband and I met in graduate school, when he was 23 and  I was 24. He wrestled in high school, and did competitive jiu-jitsu throughout undergrad and graduate school as well. As a result, his fair hair was always buzzed, making it impossible to grab during a grapple. But there was another reason he kept his hair very short.

My then-boyfriend was already going bald, in his early 20’s. 

He could have been sensitive about it, but, ever the stoic cowboy type (I married a Texan, what can I say?) he just shrugged it off, and kept his hair barely above stubble, so few noticed. Eventually, he grew it out, but his receding hairline still bothered him.

He made up for it by growing a magnificently sculpted beard, but snarky remarks from friends and strangers still came through, ranging from how he looked older than me, to asking who he was cursed by to have so much facial hair but none on his head. 

Finally, the inevitable ‘halo’ happened, shortly after our wedding. You know what I’m talking about:

 My husband was not even 30. When he noticed the inevitable full loss of his hair, because of a friend’s unflattering picture of him on Facebook, the clippers came out, and he’s had a fully buzzed and shaved head (a la Captain Picard) ever since. 

Once in a while, he lets his hair grow back…and that hairline comes out, along with the halo on his crown. And guess who happened to be on the screen when my toddler and I were scrolling through Disney + one fine day? 

Sure enough, my almost two year old actually pointed at the screen and screamed, “DADA!” when Tech appeared. The fact that it was a scene where Tech was happily ignoring everyone and tapping away on his data pad was pure kismet--that was my husband on the screen!

My youngest and I got hooked on the show ever since. 

My husband is a dashing, handsome, confident guy who knows he’s smart and that he’s loved.

Just like Tech. 

Seeing the internet go donkey bonkers for him and that hairline of his makes me grin nonstop. (We will not discuss the finale on season 2 here and no, I have not let my toddler watch it either) I like knowing that a ton of people are absolutely simping and crushing on a guy with a receding hairline.

It gives me hope that many who are not feeling confident due to hair loss can see someone like Tech, and suddenly think: “The man is self-assured as all heck, and he has hair like me. Maybe I should be more like him!”

We do not talk as much about hair loss, because, ironically enough, Tech has a quote about it: "It is a fundamental part of life."

So, when I see Tech redrawn with a full head of hair, I just think of the heartache my poor honey went through as a young guy in his 20’s, already facing an inevitable part of aging the vast majority do not look forward to. 

It's inevitable, but there's plenty of handsome dudes with little to no hair, ranging from Picard to Jason Statham and now, our animated neurodivergent prince of the Marauder. I love his hairline.

 Besides, we all can’t be Howzer, dang it, with his flawless fade and mop of glorious hair.

("Howzer deserves his own issue of Tiger Beat," - Reddit)

[hoperays-song]

Sing 1 Commentary and Review Pt. 2

Welcome back to the madness loves!!! Also, I tried to tone down the commentary so I get further in the movie this time (I say while making at ton of random comments at the restaurant. Is this an elaborate plan to distract me from my fic being with my beta reader? Yes! Am I using it for content? Also yes! Enjoy!

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Eddie is just like me in the last months of school fr fr.

Mood, chicken. Mood.

✨Deja Vu.✨

We get to see Buster's expenses list! He's bought two sandwiches and cookies, but I'm way more interested in where in the world he found printer ink for only $15!!!

Actually, I am a 100% sure that is not how prosthetic eyes work.

Top ten anime moments before disaster (could apply to like 99% of this movie tbh).

(Don't have a screen shot but update: The Lance puntable moments counter is now at 6.)

Ok, Johnny having to jump to reach the door handle is adorable. He's so small. Like it's obvious one of his family members opened it so they can clearly reach that, and yet Johnny's over here channeling his inner bouncy ball to reach.

Friendly reminder that at this point, we have no proof of Johnny's dad disapproving of a music career besides Johnny hiding the flyer. So I'm sticking with my theory that he has no problem with it and never has, Johnny's just terrified of disappointing him (starting strong with the queer allegory here aren't we?) and how his dad sees him changing.

RIP Rosita's house phone. You will be missed.

(PS: If anyone makes or has made a gif of Buster poking his head out of his drawer like a meerkat right before the auditions start, please send it to me, it just is so cute and yet so so goofy.)

His first reaction was to succeeding call Eddie, that's bloody adorable.

ICON. THE ICON HAS LANDED. EVERYONE BOW DOWN TO THE ICON, GUNTER.

OK OK OK, ADORABLE HEADCANON. Some of Rosita's kids have skateboards guys. Like after they meet Johnny, they beg him to teach them tricks and how to skate better and he does. They follow him around the skatepark like duckings.

They are the mother-son duo of the series, just look at them, so cute!

The lesbians are back + a rare sighting of a 13 year old who says "bro" all day.

The face of "I'm gonna become a father figure to a scary teenager wether she agrees to this or not".

Lance puntable moments counter: 8

Writer 1: Hey, which kid should we call the rebel?

Writer 2: I was thinking Johnny.

Writer 1: Oh! You mean the kid who actively told his dad when he was leaving to singing auditions and came back within a reasonable amount of time?

Writer 2: Yeah, that's the one!

But seriously, he doesn't even sneak out. He legit tells his dad when he leaves that he's leaving. He doesn't say the location of where he's going but still, worst rebel of the century. He doesn't even have to sneak out!

Also, Marcus and him are clearly close enough and Marcus trusts Johnny enough for him to leave to go who knows where for hours at a time. They're nice to each other and (besides the singing instead of robbing bit) they seem to communicate with each other really well. Father-son duo of the year everyone.

I completely forgot Rosita was stuck in line behind Mike. The poor thing. Rosita, you have my sympathies.

Who is this and what have the done with the evil mouse man???

Also... Mike puntable moments counter: 9

This is giving me Toddlers & Tiaras flashbacks. 😬

The bestest boy. So awkward, so sweet, such wet cat stumbling over it's own feet energy.

Mike, this is what NOT to do when a teenager is having a panic attack. I feel so bad for Meena here, really, She did not deserve Mike being an absolute tosser in the slightest.

Also... Mike puntable moments counter: 17 (I don't like bullies)

Hat Man!!!

I completely forget that four whole members of the troupe were not first round picks. Johnny, Rosita, Gunter, and Meena all were either picked second, afterwards, or fell into the role eventually. Buster did not originally plan on having Johnny and Meena in the singing competition at all even.

Number 1 supportive boyfriend right there, love him.

Ok, this moment. This is the exact moment where Eddie suggests that Buster and him do something together instead of the theatre. His exact words are "i don't know, maybe we could do something together."

... Look at that face. There is no heterosexual explanation for saying that with that face.

Eddie coming in with the best "my boyfriend's gonna be in jail by the end of this" expression of all time.

Yeah... Marcus, Stan, and Barry definitely know that Johnny wants to be a singer. They definitely know he was going to the theatre. Why you ask? BECAUSE IT WAS ON THE BLOODY NEWS!!!

Lance... what to say here? Oh yeah!

Lance puntable moments counter: 14

Street saxophone players, attention please. DO NOT DO THIS. This is how you get pepper sprayed! 😊

Look at my boys!!! Planning a robbery as a family! Bonding! I'm so proud of them. <3

Also, in the plan they deliberately state they're avoiding the guards entirely. So no, they were never canonically violent until the second movie and that was in self defense. They don't hurt the people they're stealing from. They are genuinely good people and absolutely were non violent offenders.

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

Ok ok, more self restraint with the screenshots next time, I know. Be right back! - <3 Gooseless

[youreallyshouldtalkmore]

Other Options

A.N: This takes place just after SDC and just before Book 6. Something that has always been on my mind since reading Book 5, so here is a Vil with my TWST OC Mia moment. 

Twisted Wonderland Masterlist  

—————————————————-

Mia was walking back to Ramshackle Dorm and decided to take a more scenic route, leading her through the garden with the well. She slowed down, when she saw Vil sitting on the bench, legs crossed and hand holding his phone loosely. He would have made a picturesque sight, if not for the heated glare the grass besides him was receiving. 

She would have kept walking, but it hadn’t been long since SDC ended. She was having war flashbacks already with the look on his face. In addition, Vil was usually aware of his surroundings. As close as she was, he should have looked up, instead the grass was the recipient of his ire. 

So she spoke up, “Whatever happened, I’m 99% sure that it wasn’t the grass’ fault.” 

She watched, as it seemed that Vil suddenly snapped back to himself.  

She mentally applauded him for being able to pivot so quickly as he calmly, he looked up at her, “Ahh, spudling….was there something you need?” 

She looked amused at this, “Not really, just passing through. Are you okay?” 

“I am fine, prefect.” 

Mia bounced her head once, “You sure?” 

Vil exhaled once, “I’m sure.” 

Once again, his agent called about a job and once again, it was for the same old villain part. Vil was half tempted to fire this agent for his lack of comprehension. What part of, he wanted to focus on his schooling, did they not understand? What part of he was tired o the same old villain routine, did they fail to comprehend? Did the words he speak, go in one ear and out the other?  

He supposed he was too deep in thought that he didn’t realize another student had seen him simmering. He quashed down his embarrassment. Vil knew he should have kept this behind close doors, but they ranged him at an inopportune moment, leading to this scenario.

Vil was surprised to see Mia looking at him once he came back to himself. He supposed there were worse students to get caught by. He could see the concern and caution in her eyes. It hadn’t been long since his SDC overblot, and he was sure that was partly the reason she was looking at him in censure. 

However, Vil could tell that Mia didn’t buy his words as she narrowed his eyes at him.  But she won silent points in his book when she slowly turned and was intending on continuing on her way without another word anyway. 

He exhaled silently out of his nose, as a few thoughts rose in his head, “Mia!” 

She pivoted on her heel to look at him. Vil was used to commanding others full attention, but it was nice to see the concern in her eyes and not adoration as she gazed at him. 

“Did you have a minute?” 

Mia gave a single nod. 

“I’m curious about something. Have you ever seen any of my movies?”

Mia raised an eyebrow, “Rook insisted on a movie night at Ramshackle once he heard I had never seen any of your movies. So, Epel, Rook and I watched one. It was the first time I saw one.” 

“Oh? And your thoughts? You are from a different world, yes? Perhaps you will have a bit more of a bias opinion.” 

“I thought it was cool. I liked it. Very riveting. I got chills from your part, actually. I can see why it’s so popular.” 

Vil fought not to roll his eyes. He had heard this before, “Thank you. So tell me, as well as you liked or didn’t like my part in the movie, could you see me as a hero like Neige?” 

“Yes.” 

Mia answered so fast, Vil got whiplash. He blinked comically for a minute before he gripped his phone, his nose flaring, “Spudling, I expect an honest answer. Do not say words you do not mean, to coddle my feelings!” 

To his shock, Mia laughed once, “Okay, I’m sorry. Can I see you as a hero like Neige, that’s the question, correct?” 

“Yes, spudling.”

“Okay and this is the answer…..” a pause, “....yes!” 

Vil just stared at her, making her come over and plop down next to him. He just continued to stare at her, unable to comprehend her words. She had to be lying. Why was he even asking her again? 

Could he chalk it up to an emotional moment on his part? 

Ah, he really needed to evaluate himself again. Ever since his overblot, he hadn’t quite found his footing again. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

At Vil’s nod, Mia continued, “It’s never been the right time to ask, but it’s passed through my mind. You are always typecast as the villain, correct, but you want to do a hero role, right? Soooo why don’t you again?” She held up her hand when he opened his mouth, “I know you are subject to this world’s directors and scriptwriters and all that, but that’s not what I mean. I mean, you're Vil Schoenheit, why can’t you make a movie you want to star in yourself?” 

Vil stared at her.

What? 

She continued on quickly, “I mean, I know you probably want the bigwigs to make the script and let you be the hero, but I guess no one’s listening so far. I mean, I’m making assumptions here, but you have money and connections, surely you can hire a scriptwriter to make a script you want to see.”

“Also, does the movie have to come from the bigwigs? Couldn’t you use the Film Studies Club and make a movie with a hero part you want to see? And then if you do that, does it have to go to the big theaters? Could you put it on MagicTube? I don’t know if this world has film festivals, but if they do, couldn’t you send the movie there?” 

Mia blew a frustrated breath, aware she was rambling by now, “The point I’m trying to make is…”

Vil was half amused, although he didn’t show it, as she tried to copy his signature hand move, as she finished, “You're Vil Schoenheit, don’t you have other options if no one is listening?” 

A prolong silence descended as Vil took time to process all that Mia had said. She looked away from him, embarrassed, while he just sat unblinkingly. 

Finally….

Mia looked uneasily back at him, “I’m sorry. It’s probably not my place to say all that. You clearly know what you are doing.” 

“I’m not going to accept that apology, prefect. I said I wanted your opinion, whatever it may be. And honestly, after my overblot, can you really say I clearly know what I’m doing?” 

“You had moment. Everyone has moments. It’s just since ya’ll are magical, it turns into a physical manifestation that us non-magical people do not have.” 

Vil eyed her, “Are you trying to assuage me?” 

“Heaven forbid! But since, I’m already in hot water. I may as well make it scalding…” 

Vil just raised an eyebrow. The short time he had spent with her doing SDC, he realized that she had a flair for the dramatics. Not as bad as Rook, but she had a way with words and could generally hold her own around the other students.  

“You are a good actor and whatever part you play, needs skills. So yes, I do think you would make a great hero. However, you aren’t going to be a hero exactly like Neige. He has his own brand of heroism. You need to figure out what yours will be and look like.” 

Mia saw a small quirk of a smile on Vil’s face as he spoke, “Wow, is this you trying to give me a pep talk? Not many have the gall.” 

Mia stood to her feet, “I was going to go on my way, you called me and ask my opinion. You got it. Now, anything else?” 

“No.” 

“Cool…so the can grass will be free of your ire, correct?” 

She didn’t even remark that she heard Vil chuckle once. 

—

Two days later, Mia opened the door to Ramshackle Dorm, to be promptly greeted with a long slue of French. 

Mia blinked up at Rook, and after he was done, she said blankly, “Thank you. Thank you very much!” 

“Mademoiselle Trickster! I don’t know what words were exchanged, but Roi de Poision’s heart has been set ablaze! He has suddenly announced in Film Studies Club that he wish to create a new script, where he will debut a new faucet of himself as a hero! Beaute! I had grown concern after Roi de Poision’s overblot that he hadn’t quite returned to himself, but it was like watching a moth emerging from a cocoon! I only wished I could have witnessed the defining moment. I, too, feel I have been born anew, by his new passion, and shall do whatever necessary to aid in this endeavor.” 

Mia had been leaning on the door with arms crossed, amused, “Really? That’s great to hear! I’m glad he’s exploring another option.” 

Rook grinned and took Mia’s hand, bringing his lips to the back of her hand, “Merci, prefect! You have shown me yet another side of beauty, and you have my utmost thanks.” 

Mia laughed, once used to his dramatics by now, “Thank you, Rook!” 

With one last kiss, Rook let go of her hand, “Indeed! Now I must fly! I do have some business to take care of! I only wanted to stop by to convey the feelings in my heart.” 

“You should be able to fly after saying that much.” Mia giggled. 

Rook winked at her with a way, “Yes, indeed. Au revoir, à la prochaine, prefect!” 

“Seeya around, Rook!” 

[monsterhunting]

hii omg directors commentary for the "with great power" scene of jonathan and steve spider-man kissing!

[with great power; from this ask meme]

hello!! hehe okay so. i think i mentioned this in the notes for that fic on ao3, but the stoncy steve!spider-man au came to be because my good pal Sharon texted me that i should write a stoncy spider-man fic and i was like “hmmmm maybe? what would that entail, give me ideas” and

[dated Nov 4, 2022]

side note: now i’m rereading the rest of our texts abt the fic and we actually texted back and forth quite a bit of ideas before i actually started it, and at one point i was like, “omg how long is this gonna be? because I don’t have another 50k fic in me”

reader: the stoncy Spider-Man au was 64k.

ANYWAY! back on topic.

so because the Stonathan upside down spiderman kiss kickstarted all my other ideas for this fic, I am 99% sure that the Stonathan upside down spiderman kiss was the first scene I actually wrote after I’d outlined and stuff. Not the full scene as it’s presented in the fic obviously, but at the very least, a rough draft of the dialogue to the lead-in and a bit of the actual kiss. even though it turned out the kiss wouldn’t happen until halfway through the fic. Oops.

Obviously, it was a rough draft scene and i edited it a lot and added in more details and context before publishing the version that is on ao3. Like, Jonathan’s little internal monologue before the kiss was written way later. But steve (as spider-man) saving jonathan from bad guys in the rain was written early on, or at least outlined. and the “Are you going to let me thank you?” exchange was written very early on also. The whole “jonathan kissing steve and ending it early and trying to apologize bc he thinks Steve isn’t into it only for steve to cut him off and kiss him again” was always part of the plan too.

[…] Jonathan reaches for his mask before he can start to regret it.

“Wait,” Spider-Man blurts, sounding suddenly anxious. “Don’t – ”

“I know. I won’t,” Jonathan says, and his face burns with how embarrassingly tender his own voice sounds as he rolls up Spider-Man’s mask so that it rests just over his nose, only revealing the bottom half of his face.

This part — or a rough version of it — was always in the initial version of the scene because i wanted to highlight that Steve did want to kiss Jonathan but until that moment, he didn’t quite put two and two together that kissing jonathan would mean taking his mask off at least partially. So on instinct he panics a little because Jonathan could easily take off the mask and figure out who steve is, which steve very much does not want. But i had Jonathan reassure steve before steve can even finish asking him not to take off the mask because of course jonathan already knows what Spider-Man is going to say and of course jonathan wouldn’t take the mask off. Even if he wanted to know who Spider-Man is — which i mean. yeah he kinda does — that’s secondary to making sure he doesn’t betray spider-man’s trust. Because jonathan cares about Spider-Man! A lot! In a very scary way! And obviously there’s already trust there that could be betrayed because of course, spider-man already trusts Jonathan. because spider-man is Steve. and it’s jonathan. So!

I wrote a vague description of the lower half of spider-man’s face after Jonathan removes the mask from jonathan’s pov. I think i do that earlier in the fic too, when he’s eating soup in Jonathan’s apartment? Anyway. both times I almost included that spider-man has moles because like. Yeah. Obviously. But then i was like “okay, no. that is too obvious. Jonathan can’t clock that in the moment and then not know it’s steve. He isn’t that much of an idiot. Probably.” So i took it out

In high school, there was a girl in his homeroom he kissed once at a party, and in college, there was a guy who worked at the nearby pizza restaurant he fooled around with a couple of times, but other than that there’s been practically no one.

The pizza restaurant guy was argyle lmao in case that wasn’t obvious

[…] Spider-Man doesn’t move once. He just sort of lets himself be kissed as Jonathan awkwardly stands there, dripping rain, probably looking like a wet dog,

I thought the wet dog part was funny

They kiss twice because I thought it would be ironic and funny and very very romantic if Jonathan’s internal monologue during the entire first kiss is “shit shit shit I’m so bad at this” but when he pulls back to apologize Steve automatically goes in for a re-do and kisses him even more thoroughly because even if the kiss was bad the first time, steve was too dazed to think about it, or really think anything at all other than “oh my god oh my god oh my god holy shit”

And even though the rain still makes the kiss awkwardly wet, it’s harder to notice any of that when Spider-Man’s mouth feels so soft against his, when Spider-Man raises his hand to Jonathan’s face and brushes his thumb across Jonathan’s jaw carefully, almost reverently, and it’s only later that Jonathan will feel embarrassed about the sigh that escapes his mouth as he presses forward and kisses Spider-Man back.

Ok so full transparency — I used to hate writing kissing scenes. Every time i included one in a fic i would just leave a note like [enter kissing scene here] and then I’d come back to it later. It was almost always the very last thing i wrote. And I never really liked the kissing scenes I wrote either. I guess I just never thought I was good at writing them and that they were bad. (tbh, they probably were.)

However, I used to write fic really sporadically, but in the past couple of years I’ve been writing very consistently…and most of my fics in the past couple of years have consistently had kissing scenes in them lmao. So, essentially: I’ve had a lot of practice. Now, do I think my kissing scenes are good now? Idk! That is for the reader to decide! But i do feel like they’re easier for me to write and i no longer read them back and think “yikes!!! that is terrible.”

All of that to say; I am actually very proud of this scene, I think? I’ve never thought that much about what I would consider my favorite kissing scene that I’ve written. But if I were to consider it, I think it would be this one.

HOWEVER. I must confess: I feel embarrassed when I write kissing scenes sometimes!!! I feel like they’re a vulnerable thing to put out there and as I’m writing them I get hit with the “Oh God. People are going to read this.” Which is the POINT but sometimes i get embarrassed about it anyway. I also feel embarrassed talking about writing kissing scenes. “But grace that is what you’ve been doing for this entire post” yes. i realize that.

And like i know it’s stupid because people will write absolute smutfests with zero shame. as they should! But meanwhile im like “ummmmm 😳 so umm 😳 they k 😳 they k*ssed on the mouth 🙈 shit sorry this is so cringe 😭 umm -”

but anyway. I am powering through. I definitely had to switch tabs and take a break after i typed out the word “reverently” though.

Spider-Man says, “That was a pretty decent thank you.”

Jonathan laughs, stupid and incredulous. “Decent?”

“Decent,” Spider-Man confirms. “Like, six out of ten, I’d say.”

I thought this was funny too

And then Jonathan sees Spider-Man smile for the first time, lopsided and familiar,

Gee i wonder why it’s familiar… it’s anyone’s guess…

Also it was important to me for jonathan to note this was his first time seeing what spider-man’s smile looked like because i felt like jonathan would have a lot of feelings about that.

That is all my commentary i think!!! Thank you for asking, this was fun!

[final-girl96]

Joseph Quinn’s upside-down year

He’s gone from hustling for bit parts to playing a beloved character in one of the biggest shows on TV, thirsted after by fans and fellow celebrities alike. Inside the surreal year of 2022’s buzziest British breakout

By Jack King

5 December 2022

Coat, £1,970, Jil Sander by Lucie and Luke Meier. T-shirt, £7.90, Uniqlo. Hat, £325, Lock & Co. Hatters.Ben Parks

When Joseph Quinn took the call that would come to change his life for good, he was standing in his kitchen in South London. His agent was on the other end of the phone. “He called me, like, ‘Who’s that?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ So he goes, ‘I’m sorry, is that Eddie from Stranger Things?’” Quinn recalls. “I literally fell to my knees. Like, What? Are you sure? It felt like it’d just fallen out of the fucking sky.” It was November 2019. Only three weeks prior, in the very same flat, he’d recorded his first self-tape for the hit Netflix series with the help of his then-girlfriend and flatmate. “Obviously, at that point, I’m just fucking suspicious about the whole thing. This never happens. And here we are.”

Flash forward to today: after storming into the public consciousness as the sci-fi throwback’s latest anointed breakout, starring as punkish pariah Eddie Munson in Stranger Things series four, the 28-year-old has just flown out to LA for the third time in his what-the-fuck year. It’s a rhythm he’s still very much getting used to. Resultantly, we’re chatting over Zoom, myself in London’s Mile End, a short swim down the Thames from the unassuming world of his adolescence. “I love South London. I still live there – you get accused of heresy if you leave,” he jokes. “I might want to branch out somewhere different, because you don’t want to feel stagnant. But my life’s there: I went to school there, it’s where I met all of my friends.”

Jacket, £1,400 and trousers, £725, Etro. Shirt, £99, Boss. Boots, £1,750, Dior. Ben Parks

He scored his first job, on the 2015 TV drama Dickensian, in his third year at LAMDA (“I was a jammy fucker,” he says), the hallowed Hammersmith drama school where British acting royalty – Cumberbatch, Cox, Ejiofor – cut their teeth. It was while he was in his graduating class, in fact, that he met Fabien Frankel, then a first year, now enjoying his own rise apropos of the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon.

“It’s fucking hilarious,” Quinn says of Frankel’s new-found stardom. “We’ve shared similar anxieties about the ridiculousness of our situations.” The two are good friends; Frankel, for his part, brims with praise. “As much as it pains me to say, he was always just a brilliant actor,” he says of Quinn. “There was always some magic on stage. Sadly we’ve never got to work together, but we’ve always stayed close.”

Quinn’s early luck with Dickensian, as it turns out, was a touch premature; after that show ran its course, Quinn didn’t work for nearly a year. But an influx of parts eventually came his way: first a gig as a Stark soldier in an episode of Game of Thrones, then, suddenly, a job on stage opposite Olivia Colman at the National Theatre. “He is utterly joyful, naughty, and fun,” Colman says of Quinn. “He puts the work in. You know you’re in safe hands.”

Coat, £3,200, shirt, £1,950 and trousers, £1,300, Prada. Shoes, £980, Church’s. Ben Parks

A steady trickle of work followed: BBC’s Howards End mini series, opposite Matthew Macfadyen; as the tragic revolutionary Enjolras in the Beeb’s not-a-musical adaptation of Les Mis, reuniting with Colman; under Steve McQueen in the first part of his critically acclaimed anthology film series, Small Axe. “I’ve been so lucky that I’ve not had to graft, and wait tables, and do the traditional catering jobs in between to keep the lights on,” Quinn says. “I’ve been fortunate enough, and savvy enough with my money just about, when things are looking a bit bleak, to book another gig. And that keeps the wolves from the door.” It was around the time of the London Film Festival premiere of his first major indie film, the psychosexual slow-burner Make Up, that he sent in his Stranger Things audition tape.

A few days after the call came in, he met the sibling duo who puppeteer Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers, over Skype. “They were very nice, and very kind,” Quinn remembers. “I was very disarmed by the whole thing. Kind of like, ‘Are you sure?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, we really want you to do it.’” In total, 287 actors read for the part, according to the Duffers, who describe the process as one of the longest casting searches they’ve ever had. “At one point, we remember getting nervous,” they say. Munson was abrasive and unlikeable on the page; they needed him to be lovable, without wanting to be loved. That confluence of traits seemed an impossible bullseye, until Quinn’s reels arrived. “Joe was hilarious and charming, but with an unpredictable, wild edge about him,” they recall. It was a no-brainer. The call was a formality. “He’s a director’s dream because he takes what’s on the page and sprints with it.”

Blazer, £2,360, and shirt, £500, Gucci. Ben Parks

Quinn’s anecdotes from those early days are cut with the sincere self-deprecation you might expect of a guy still scrambling to catch up with his own ascent. This is the stuff that Faustian bargains are made of, after all: over a billion hours’ worth of Stranger Things series four was watched within the first month of release. That’s a lot of eyeballs. “I was talking to Dan Cohen, the [executive] producer of Stranger Things, about it,” he says. “He talked about the over-nightness of these experiences now, with these streaming platforms. One moment you’re fine, and then it drops. It’s on in millions and millions of houses. After that, it just kind of snowballs.”

The first table read came next. “It was a very weird experience. I was sat next to the lovely Jamie Campbell Bower, who’s had experience in these bigger shows before,” he remembers. “Obviously, because everything has to be documented on this show, they were filming the table read to keep the fans satiated. The setup was that the pre-existing cast were on a very long table, and we were behind them, being kept secret from the cameras. We were shouting, delivering the lines to the back of the cast’s heads, which felt very odd.” Both he and Campbell Bower, as Quinn recalls, were “shitting it”. Following that, he had weeks of fittings, kitting him out in the idiosyncratic metalhead threads that form Munson’s outcast armour. He had his first day of shooting, and then… whiplash. “[Stranger Things co-director] Shawn Levy came out at the end of the day and said we’re going into… a lockdown of some kind,” he says. “A hiatus of two weeks. Which would’ve been nice.” It would be another six months before Quinn returned to set.

Shirt, £500, Gucci. Trousers, £924 and loafers, £650, Dolce & Gabbana. Ben Parks

What felt to him like a decade later, the show finally bowed to the masses. He watched the Stranger Things series four finale, wherein Munson goes out with self-sacrificial aplomb, with his little sister, dad, and his dad’s wife. Do they treat him differently now? “No, definitely within your immediate circle you hope nothing changes. It’s a very weird thing to comment on… [if] you take into consideration the actual fucking fresh hell that people are going through now, it feels like an arbitrary thing to feel threatened by,” he says. “Eighty per cent of it is amazing. Professionally, 100 per cent is amazing. 20 per cent of it is… fucking bizarre.”

Somewhere within that 20 per cent: the online drama between co-star Noah Schnapp and Doja Cat soon after the season aired, when the former publicly shared a DM from the rapper asking Schnapp to play Cupid between her and Quinn. “I’m kind of hesitant to talk about it really, because I didn’t do anything,” Quinn notes. “It’s not something that I put out into the world. But I do think she’s an incredible artist. It’s flattering.” This intrusive level of public scrutiny obviously comes part and parcel with sudden, incandescent fame. The tyranny of Instagram gossip and fans reading telescopic paparazzi photos like tea leaves are the unfortunate by-products of being at the top of the screen-acting game. Nevertheless, it must be difficult to adjust to. “People will weave narratives about you that aren’t true, I guess,” he says. “And I think accepting your powerlessness over that [is best]. If you’re going to correct people constantly, you’re going to end up exhausted.”

Blazer, £2,360, shirt, £500, trousers, £890 and boots, £1,230, Gucci. Ben Parks

But being famous, a term he loathes to use for himself, isn’t all bad. Take the sudden groundswell of cultish Munsonmania, perhaps no better demonstrated than at London Film and Comic Con this summer. “It was the first time I’d ever encountered the fandom,” he recalls. There were rumours that Quinn was “mistreated” by the staff during a meet and greet, blindsided by the sheer number of Munsonites, but he was quick to debunk them, a point he reiterates now. “It was very overwhelming. I don’t think the Con were prepared for the numbers. I certainly wasn’t.” In a viral video widely shared online at the time, a fan expressed their impassioned gratitude: for Quinn’s time at the Con, for bringing Munson to life. Quinn seemed emotionally overwhelmed, dabbing away tears with the inside of his elbow, barely conjuring a murmur. An outsider might conclude this to be the moment that the pin dropped. “I don’t want to sound too saccharine about it, but it is moving,” he says. “If you have a curiosity about people and storytelling, for a character you’ve created with the help of others… for that to resonate with people, it feels very profound, you know?”

And then there are the holy-shit moments. First up: in late July, he made his chat-show debut on Jimmy Fallon, though that came within a whisker of being cancelled. “I was sick before I went on,” he says. “I stupidly had oysters for lunch on the day, thinking that I needed some vigour and vitality and that’d get me through it.” Turns out his mind was playing tricks: that stir in the pit of his gut was the product of acute anxiety, per the show’s backstage nurse. But he still went on. He met Kevin Hart, “a consummate pro,” in the green room backstage. “The nerves just bounce off him, I think, whereas they were just leaving bullet holes in me,” Quinn says. A month before our interview, he was named one of Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch for 2022. Patton Oswalt introduced himself to Quinn at the swanky brunch coronation thereafter. “He just feels so many miles away from my life. For him to come up to me was very weird.”

Jumper, £1,050 and shirt, £680, Dior. Ben Parks

Stratospheric parts like Eddie Munson are a “lottery ticket,” as Quinn puts it. And at the end of it all, he’s effectively coming away with a blank check. Is he going to put his energy into indie roles, like the drama he finished shooting over the summer, Hoard, or is he marching up to the Broccolis to demand Bond? “Yeah, I’ve just got off a Zoom with Barbara, actually…” he jokes. “I don’t know. It’s such a fucking cliché, but it’s about connection to the material. With Hoard, I’m specifically excited for the director, Luna Carmoon, and the lead, Saura Lightfoot Leon. That’s a lovely experience, completely different to these behemoth sets. But you want range.” A judicious answer. Really though: Bond? “I think I’d be fucking stupid to say no to that,” he says, laughing. “But, come on, it’s not even worth entertaining.”

Even that is on the presumption that Munson’s Stranger Things journey is over. “Yeah, I’ve said I don’t know because I really don’t know,” Quinn says. “Shawn Levy has said it publicly. I think [his return] would be very, very, very unlikely. He seems pretty fucking dead to me,” he says, punctuated by a sharp chortle. He takes a moment.

“It’s just a beautifully written arc. The beginning, middle and end are so powerful as it stands, so I think to just crowbar him into a narrative… you don’t want him to overstay his welcome,” he continues, ever the diplomat, seemingly wary of disappointing the legion of fans who made him. But a sense of certitude undergirds his prudence; the feeling that, after years of cohabitation, he’s ready to let Munson go.

“He did the job that the Duffers wanted him to do,” Quinn says. “By no means am I ruling it out. That’s a decision for the grown-ups to make. But Stranger Things was doing fine without Eddie. I think they’ll be fine next season without him, too.”

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Photographs by Ben Parks

Styling by Fabio Immediato

Grooming by Brady Lee

Jacket, £239, shirt, £99 and Boss Bottled parfum, £86, Boss. Ben Parks

[myorgansaremelting]

ALRIGHT this is the lore of the conversation i am 99% sure was what everything in my life came to

When I was in 5th grade I was told we were going to Alaska on a cruise, I was 10 years old

I decided this would be my reason not to die, it wasn’t quite an effective one, because despite that, I still attempted suicide many time in the following years, but that’s not important. The point was, this was my big thing to live for. And after that, there would be nothing to live for. I made this up at 10 years old, think about that.

The cruise gets delayed because of Covid.

It’s the summer before 9th grade, I have a girlfriend, her name is Brenya. My parents know we’re dating, so they decide I’ll go to cyber school next year. They take away my phones so I can’t talk to anyone. So I go maybe two or three weeks without talking to anyone, until I get my phone back, assuming to be trusted. It’s the day before the cruise. I message Brenya. We fight. I get my phone taken away again.

It’s the day we leave for the cruise. I don’t talk to anyone.

The cruise happens, I meet some friends. Among them is a boy named Royce. He’s 17, diabetic, and is an anime fan. This was all I ever learned about him, because he never talked, just sat and drew in this big notebook.

It’s a day of the cruise, we’re all out till midnight, except for May. Natalie and this other guy I forget the name of sneak somewhere, I find later they made out in tiny part of the ship, this isn’t important.

So Royce and I are sitting there, in silence. He asks me a bit about school, and somehow, the conversation leads to the fact that I think I’m going to go home and kill myself. I tell him I’ve already decided it. There’s nothing to stay alive for anymore, and I hate my girlfriend, and my parents, and in all honesty, I’d really rather just be dead.

And he tells me it’s not the end of my life

He tells me that my girlfriend and I will break up

That I’ll find a new girlfriend or boyfriend sometime, and maybe we’ll break up too, maybe not, he doesn’t know, but if we do break up, I’ll find someone else. He tells me that I’ll make new friends, that I’ll find soemthing else to live for, that one day I’ll wake up and not need to find something to live for because one day maybe I’ll like being alive and he doesn’t say that’s a reason to stay alive he says it likes it’s a fact, and it is a fact.

One day, I’ll wake up, and I won’t try to find anything to stay alive for, because I’ll like being alive.

So after the cruise, I went home and didn’t kill myself.

I didn’t even try to kill myself.

It didn’t fix everything, in all honesty, what Royce told me didn’t fix anything. But he was right. I wouldn’t go home and kill myself. I didn’t even want to.

[beardedmrbean]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/technology/chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-universities.html

Professor : *gives bullshit essay assignments that interest no one*

Disinterested student : *uses a new text generating tool*

Professor : *gasp* First drafts ! Explain your modifications ! Monitor all computer use ! BAN COMPUTERS !!!

I mean, I can understand that they're scared chatGPT will go for the juggular or something. But if your class can easily be passed just by giving a prompt to what is essentially a bunch of math with a lot of fine tuned parameters, is that really the math's fault ?

Those essays could be pretty much GPT-proof if there was more freedom for the students to write about something they care about. For example, my english class just had us make presentations about a topic related to AI or data science, as that's our major. I come from a math background so I made an animated presentation about a very specific maths topic and how to apply it to training models more efficiently. Another guy came back to school after working retail, so he talked about recommendation systems and how they compare to human-based recommendations. Point is, every presentation was unique because it was something people cared about and were able to talk about in great detail.

Instead of forcing first drafts or requiring handwritten essays (which, uh, accessibility ??), give more freedom for students to write about something they care about, unless your course is called "History and cultural meaning of wheat in the 14th century" that's not a hard thing to do, and have students defend their essays. If the student writes about something they care about, they shouldn't have any problem defending it. And if the student manages to do that, who cares if they used an AI as a base ? They clearly know the subject enough to pass. Do that, and 99% of the problem goes away.

Sorry, I ended up rambling again, but there's so much I hate about this (case in point, let people ramble and they will do it), the arguments are the exact same as the wikipedia scare a few years ago, and the computer scare even more years ago, and there are people willing to bring down their students into a dark age of technology because they live in constant fear of a chatbot.

You're fine on the rambling, I do it all the time as I'm sure you've noticed.

You're forgetting the ego factor, depending on the subject the people teaching it can have a tendency to be massive assholes on a daily basis.

butthurt that their class assignment can "easily be passed just by giving a prompt to what is essentially a bunch of math with a lot of fine tuned parameters" will be driving some of this, there's gonna be ones that actually want to ensure their students learn too.

that bit about computers monitoring the in class computers is gonna be a waste too, unless they collect all other electronic devices beforehand.

I think my biggest problem here is that this will soak up a ton of classroom time that could be used for teaching, as for the accessibility bit speaking as someone with atrocious hand writing hopefully they take that into account.

[the-rice-farm]

99: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I sat in Mr. Singh’s history class, reviewing for our French Revolution quiz minutes away from it. I turned my head to the empty seat next to me. Our school spent way too much money on its architecture, perfecting the classroom setup so it was more like a college lecture hall with raised levels of rows rather than an eleventh-grade private school classroom. The clock said there were forty more minutes until class ended, which reminded me to fix my wristwatch to tell the correct time as well. Bored, I took a newspaper from the rack Mr. Singh kept at the back and skimmed through it. 

I read the headline silently. 

Heise Zhang, Taiwanese CEO of ILTech Agency, sues its rival for 1.2 million USD. Reporters discuss the possible law firm Mr. Zhang turns to with a high possibility of being Infinity Law, a close partner. 

I looked at the pictures next to the small fonts of words, refraining from tearing up the photo of Infinity, my father’s employer. Instead, I scan over the family portrait of the CEO’s family, reading the caption underneath. 

Heise Zhang stands with his wife, Hanako Zhang, renowned fashion designer and mother of two kids: Maya Harumi Zhang and Daniel Liwei Zhang, who are both said to be enrolling in a private school in Illinois. 

“Students, I hope you make your new classmate welcome here.” I was so engrossed in the newspaper that I didn’t realize Mr. Singh had introduced the newcomer, who’d arrived late to the first period. I looked up, then looked down, and then looked up again to make sure I was seeing things right. Mr. Singh pointed to the back, where my seat was, the only empty seat after the first three weeks of school. I set the newspaper back neatly and internally groaned.

Great, now I had a deskmate for every class. 

“Now that our last student has arrived, we can take attendance before I hand your quiz out. Miller, Celeste? Kit, Ava? Park, Dylan? Harrison, Luca?”

I listened as he went through the names formally– last name then first name– and watched as the student stood there, waiting for his name before he could sit down next to me. 

“Kimura, Akari?” I raised my hand and saw everyone’s smiles and smirks. 

“And lastly, Zhang, Daniel. As you know, you’ll be sitting next to Akari. Please ask her if you have trouble with anything. Akari, raise your hand once again so Daniel can find his seat.” I did and watched as Daniel walked up the stairs, showing no emotion toward all the waving coming in his direction. He took the polite measure of offering me a handshake, though he didn’t seem very happy or pleased to be here. I waved at him instead of returning the handshake. He rolled his eyes as he sat down and everyone laughed at me. 

“One of the smartest students at this school who has the highest GPA is self-centered. Who would’ve thought?” He muttered. Snickers came from the desk in front of us, and I wanted to tell him to shut up. 

I wonder how he knew.

As Mr. Singh handed out the quizzes, I silently prayed to myself. 

Please don’t let him be good at history please don’t let him be good at history please don’t let him be good at history please don’t-

“I can see you’re egotistic, but even that’s too low. I’ll do my best.” Daniel scowled at me. Confused, I looked down at my notebook, realizing that I had subconsciously scribbled down my inner thoughts.

Damnit, Akari. 

I filled out the test and glanced at my deskmate. He was already done with the first page. 

I was screwed. 

I waited for Mr. Singh to finish grading the papers of his smallest history class. I fiddled with my pencil, pushing the lead in and out of it as he handed us our papers. My heart raced as I flipped mine over. I sighed in disappointment and internally cursed myself.

99. Second rank. 

I looked over at Daniel’s paper. 

100. First.

The bell rang and I threw my test in the recycling and started the journey to chemistry. And then English. And then math. And then Biology.

Turns out, Daniel sits next to me in practically every class, because the seat next to me is always empty since I chose to sit alone at the beginning of the year. As I do every year. 

He even sits at my assigned table at lunch. 

I really thought I could get away with sitting alone. 

Daniel asked a few questions and was extremely smart. I wrote down answers for all of them, and he thought that I thought I was too good to speak to anyone else. 

Well, Daniel, I’m sorry you’re so hypercritical. 

I’d cut off all communication since second grade, and the only person I talked to was Ms. Hana. 

In my first year with her, I stepped into her classroom on my first day and looked around in awe. Her biology classroom was comforting and homey. Instead of the raised levels of seats, there were tables in groups, which I wasn’t too happy about, but I learned to manage. There were tapestries and decorations everywhere, along with a ginormous money plant in the corner. She was really nice and pretty if I was telling the truth. She told us that her dream on the first day was to be a pediatrician, and she came to teach fresh out of college so she could pay for her younger sister’s early tuition. She said she was hoping to apply for a scholarship to medical school, and meanwhile taught as a side job.

I hoped she would get in. 

When she asked for my name, I wrote it down on a sticky note for her, but instead of giving me weird looks like the rest of the teachers did, she just smiled and told me what a wonderful name it was. 

“Akari, could you see me after school?” I agreed, scared that I was going to get in trouble. Instead, we ended up at a clinic and she had me take a few tests. 

“Ms. Hayashi, we’ve diagnosed Akari Kimura with selective mutism, a severe anxiety disorder-” I listened to what was “wrong” with me. So that’s why it was so hard to talk. Ms. Hana and I both got ice cream after and she even got me to talk to her. 

“I hate when people call me Ms. Hayashi, so you can call me Ms. Hana. Or even just Hana.”

I didn’t tell her much about my situation at home, but she did become my favorite teacher from then on. 

Ms. Hana was from Japan, like me, so we often got along and talked about culture sometimes. 

I told her that I was born in Osaka and then later moved to Tokyo and then immigrated to Chicago after my dad got a job offer. 

Back to the present. 

I checked my grade statuses on my Chromebook and slammed it closed. Mr. Singh already updated the scores.

~~~

I took a deep breath before unlocking the door to my house, praying I could run up to my room unnoticed. Instead, I was greeted with a harsh slap to my face.

Here we go again.

“Can’t you f*cking grasp the fact that you should always be first?! You should have perfect scores, not 99s and second ranks! I don’t care if it’s one point– you’re never getting into an ivy league with your performance!” He said as he slapped me again.

Jokes on you, I don’t even want to go to an Ivy anymore because of this.

He whipped me with his belt and I felt the sting of the metal buckle on my back, wishing it would be over. 

It finally was and I winced as I walked up to my room and threw my school bag in the corner. It seems like the maid went home, so no dinner for today. 

My father is slowly killing my sanity, just like he killed my mother. 

Okay, to be fair, maybe he didn’t kill her, but he might as well did. 

Hiyori Kimura, my mother, committed suicide eight years ago due to domestic violence. 

Guess from who. 

The story of how my family became so messed up is for another day. 

I slid under the covers of my bed after I changed out of my uniform, telling myself I’d just do my homework tomorrow during breakfast. 

Sometimes, I wish I could permanently go to sleep.

~~~ I can’t believe I’m actually doing it. Hope you all enjoy! 🍚

[jackexmachina]

Dean breaks the news about Sam’s ‘friends’

image description: scenes from supernatural episodes “After School Special,” “It’s a Terrible Life,” “99 Problems,” and “The Devil You Know”

4x13

In a flashback, Sam kneels to quickly help Barry pick up his books and pencil case from the hallway floor. As they gather his things, Barry says, “Thanks, Sam.” Sam replies, “Great school.” Barry says, “I don't care. Three years, and I'm out of here. I'm going to Michigan State. They got the best vet program in the country.” Sam asks, “You like animals?” Barry answers, “They're a lot nicer than people.” Sam nods.

In the present, Sam and Dean stand in the school hallway, dressed as a janitor and gym teacher, respectively. Dean reads from a paper, telling Sam, “So, there was only one death on campus. It was a suicide back in '98. Some kid named Barry Cook.” Sam grabs the paper from him and asks, “What?” Sam doesn't look up, but sighs and says, “I knew him.” Dean looks surprised as Sam asks, “How'd he die?” Dean answers, “He slit his wrists in the first-floor girls' bathroom.” Sam looks up, processing this.

4x17

In their break room, Sam hands Ian a coffee, and Ian starts, “So, Sam...Had any of those dreams lately?” He makes a pouty face as Sam turns around with a slight bitch face. Ian continues, “What? Don't be like that! Come on, it's the highlight of my day.” Sam rolls his eyes, saying, “I never should've told you in the first place.”

Dean stands talking to police in the hallway, he tells them, “No, I– I followed him into the bathroom. He was– He was standing there in front of the mirror, and then...” Dean sees Sam, who is watching as the coroner rolls Ian away in a body bag. Sam and Dean make brief eye contact before he finishes, “And, uh, he stabbed himself in the neck, I'm sorry.”

5x17

Sam sits at the bar as Paul stands behind it, leaning across to talk to him. Paul tells him, “There's sure as hell demons. And maybe there is a god, I don't know. Fine. But I'm not a hypocrite.” Sam nods, watching him, as he finishes, “I never prayed before and I ain't starting now. If I go to hell, I'm going honest.” Sam nods again, looking down and away. He looks back up when Paul asks, “How ‘bout you?” He shakes his head, confused, and smiles a little before asking, “What about me?”

Sam gets up when Dean enters their motel room, saying, “We went out looking for–” He notices blood all over Dean's hands, and asks, “You alright?” Dean looks up from his hands, shaky, saying, “Yeah, it's... it's not my blood. Paul's dead.” Sam, shocked, asks, “What?” Dean starts to explain, “Jane shot him.” when Castiel interrupts, “It's starting.” Then Sam turns to look at him.

5x20

Sam and Dean stand in a run-down cabin, Dean between Sam and a demon he has tied up with a bag over his head. Dean tells Sam, “I'm doing this 'cause I trust you.” Sam asks, “Trust me to what?” Dean hesitates and then the man speaks, saying, “Sam? Sam, is that you?” They both turn to look at him, Sam confused, before Dean pulls the bag from over his head. He is covered in blood and shakes his head, disoriented. Sam recognizes him, asking, “Brady?” Brady looks up at him and grins.

Brady looks up at Sam with his head turned to the side, telling him, “Brady, here, he was a good kid. Straight arrow, I mean, your best friend, really. Perfect point of access.” Sam responds, clipped, “Thanksgiving.” Brady enthusiastically answers, “Yes, sir. Remember when I came back from break all messed up— Dropped out of pre-med, the drugs, the bitches?” Sam looks away with a pained smile, nodding slightly. Brady finishes smugly, “That was the new Brady. That was me.”

[victorluvsalice]

Sims 4 Valicer Outfit Fun

So, as I said at the end of last week’s “episode” of the Chill Valicer Save, the next scheduled update, of the gang celebrating SimCity Founding in San Sequoia, is actually better-suited to be posted NEXT week, as it would fall then between 4th of July (the holiday SimCity Founding is based on) and Victor and Alice’s wedding date (for reasons to be explained in the update ;) ). So this week, I’m doing a post showcasing some new Smiler looks I made recently while saving an all-human Valicer trio to my Gallery (with the Smiler I mentioned curing of vampirism with MC Command Center back in the “Happy Smiler Creation Day” post), along with a couple of Victor and Alice looks! :)

First up, we have another variant on the Valicer In The Dark AU Smiler look -- this time we have the black hat, the yellow vest, AND the yellow shoes! And also that one bracelet that seriously looks a bit like something they’d make as official Smiler merch. XD I think this is pretty much the “final” VITD look for Smiler, though don’t quote me on that. :p

Here’s another idea for a “formal” Smiler look I came up with while playing around with some of the new clothes from the recent packs -- I’m like 99% certain that ruffled yellow shirt is from High School Years. It’s got some good vibes, but I’m not sure about the pure black shoes paired with those pure black pants. It feels a little too samey. Plus I wish the top hat was in a swatch other than “brown.”

There’s a similar problem with this “fancy party” Smiler look -- I really like the fancy purple vest and yellow tie combo, but those black pants and shoes. . .little too plain for my liking! That being said, I like the eye makeup I gave Smiler in this outfit --

Something about that soft pinkish-purple “glow” really suits them, I think! Though maybe for this outfit it should be a tad darker. . .we’ll see what happens as I continue playing around with stuff!

An “athletic” Smiler, with a neon-yellow hoodie and bright yellow sneakers I knew I had to use for them. I’ve been trying to get them more “yellow and black” looks to go with The Smiler’s official color scheme -- a process hindered by the fact that The Sims 4 doesn’t have a lot of great yellow swatches. And sometimes a really good item in yellow is paired with another item in a not-so-good color. *sigh* I really wish layered items, like shirts and vests, had swatches you could customize separately! Meh.

On the other hand, the sweater in this winter look is totally them. XD Not totally sold on the pants, but the bright yellow boots are nice, and of course I like the hat, given I used it earlier in their VITD look. :p

And here’s a very casual Smiler more appropriate for the summer heat -- perhaps the shirt is a bit paler than I’d like, but it’s got a good “chill” vibe! And I like the black sneakers with the colorful shiny stripes on them. :)

Onto some Victor looks, with one that I was playing around with trying to find a VITD outfit for him. It’s a little monochrome (which, uh, I guess DOES suit his source material), but it’s got a good vibe of “was once more formal, is now a little more casual“ with the open collar and whatnot. I tend to lean toward vest-based outfits for Victor, given he’s originally from a Victorian-esque film and sometimes it can be hard for me to picture him in more casual wear.

Case in point, I’m not sold on the belted jeans here, but the blue vest with its little stripey tie works for me! I tend to default to putting Victor in blue if he’s not in black or grey -- he feels like a “blue” person to me.

Okay, I’m not sure this one is really Victor, but I honestly love how silly he looks, especially with the shades. XD It’s like, he’s trying just that little bit too hard to be cool. In all senses of the word. XD

And now onto Alice looks -- though this first one, as you can see, is less of a “look” and more be playing around with body details. Specifically, this is me slapping on one of the new birthmarks in “skin details” on her shoulder because I think, in that particular color variant, it might sub nicely for the burn scar I’ve always headcanoned her having there. The actual body scars from Werewolves never fit because those were explicitly claw and bite marks, but this. . .yeah, it at least has the right vibes! Though, of course, if anyone can point me to any actual scars that might look more like burn scars, I’m all ears.

This was a “party” look I played around with for her -- I’m not totally sold on it, but I do kind of like how this dress, at least on the top, has sort of the opposite vibes from her standard Wonderland outfit. And it’s a good color combo for her!

And here we have a summer look for a more modern Alice -- I think this is a dress she’d wear, and the white-framed sunglasses go well with it! Though I just realized, the color scheme actually roughly matches Victor’s summer outfit above. XD Well, they do say that couples do tend to start dressing alike. . .

And yeah, that is your lookbook for this week! Hope you enjoyed, and hopefully I shall see you next week for SimCity Founding shenanigans in the Chill Valicer Save! :)

[thelittledudeok]

The Cross-Dimension Body Swap|Ch. 1

Before you read, I want you to know that this is one of the first times i've written, so please tell me if I did anything wrong. I will accept brutal honesty.

Jenny is what some people call an NPC. She has never had an original idea her whole life except for her online username. When she went to school, the only time she would talk is if the teacher called on her. Even though Jenny never cared for anything, she loved collecting loose change… pennies, preferably. 

She knew that pennies were useless, but her father collected them before he died. Before that, Jenny thought it was stupid. She wasn’t ever happy except when searching. But today she found one that instead of the usual copper, was more yellow. It said on the front, “Do Not Flip.”

It was flipped without hesitation.

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

Bob has what some people call rizz. At least 99% of the girls at the school had a crush on him. The reason It wasn’t 100, was because the other 1% were lesbian. His parents also own a huge factory to mine 2 rare resources. The first was salt. Salt was so rare, there were only 4 salt mines in the world! The other resource was some weird copper that the ruler wanted for some reason.

Don’t even think about the rich-handsome-boy-is-a-stupid-bully stereotype. He wasn’t stupid. He had only A+ grades. As for the bully part? Absolutely! That is what made everything so bad. One of his victims snuck in over the legal limit of salt(5 grains) into his cauldron while he wasn’t looking. He looked back as his pink demon-healing potion into a green…something potion.

The next thing he knew, he saw a flash of green light, and he was unconscious.

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

Hatty wasn’t sad that his friend, Vase, died. If anything, he was slightly annoyed. All Hatty had to do was press a button on the Recovery Center. Vase came back, good as new! He started looking for Boot, his favorite person in this whole show! A few weeks ago, Hatty was created for the sole purpose of playing in a fun competition against other objects. The host, who was an entire deck of cards, would be arriving soon to decide who goes to what team.

Hatty heard Tire popping, so he decided to recover him. But the Recovery Center was broken! It’s okay, Hatty thought, I’ll just plug then unplug! But he didn’t find the plug. Instead, he found batteries in the back. “We need AA batteries over here!”, he shouted. He was taking the 12th battery out when suddenly he got zapped with Recovery Center electricity! This isn’t good! He’ll either survive and never die again, or die and never come back. 

Then, everything went black.

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

When Jenny woke up, she didn’t feel right. Like, she was fine, but she felt different. Then she looked down and saw that she was a man.

“He’s awake! I thought I killed Bob for sure!”

She stood up and felt hi- he- the face that was being used by Jenny. When she felt pointed ears she knew what had happened. She had her body swapped with a real-life witch.

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

When Bob woke up, he didn’t feel right. When he went to put a hand to his head because of a headache, he couldn’t. He had no arms. And he was a hat.

“He’s alive! I thought Hatty was dead for sure!”

He looked down at a giant boot holding him up, then a deck of cards showed up, and said to split into 2 groups of 10. That’s when he knew. He had joined an object show.

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

When Hatty woke up, he didn’t feel right. Actually, he could feel more than usual. He then looked at the hands. That was attached to his body. That he could move.

“She’s alive! I thought Jane Doe here was dead!”

Hatty ran away as fast as he could away, but not before he shouted “My name is Hatty!”.

That’s when he knew. Dying permanently wasn’t that bad!

[architects-hidden-archives]

Solo Leveling Ragnarok Chapter 167

Link to 166

Looking back at the past, Suho's school days were always filled with boredom.

A square desk.

A square blackboard.

A square classroom.

A place where people who wore the same clothes gathered together.

A world where everyone learned the same thing.

This was all Suho remembered from his school days.

How boring… Looking back, there were many moments where he would always yawn and feel bored. I need something... Something with a little more heart beating. A nostalgic feeling kept telling him he once knew a lot of amazing things.

When that feeling came, he couldn't stand it anymore and then—

Tick.

Time stopped.

An unbelievable sight unfolded in Suho's eyes.

The students that walked out of school.

The students that were doing sports.

The car that passed through the driveway.

The people that passed through the sidewalk.

And the ball in mid-air.

Everything that once moved now stopped.

'That thing' appeared.

A gate.

A round black hole suddenly morphed at the back of the classroom like a door made from pitch colors of the darkness that swirled, ready to suck anyone in who approached it.

This would have been enough to frighten a normal kid, but instead of crying or screaming, Suho put a hand on his chest.

Badum, badum, badum!

His heart was pounding.

Maybe, maybe he had been expecting something like this for a long time.

Mom would always say I resemble dad.

If I were to think like him… what would he have done in this situation?

The answer was within him all along.

Suho jumped into the gate without hesitation.

And so, arguably, the most intense and fierce moment of his entire life started like this. A terrifying dream.

Aaaaa!

Kyaa oh oh oh!!

Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

In said dream, Suho died and was injured countless times. Either way, he still ran forward to defeat the numerous magic beasts that attacked him.

Finally, when he reached the end, Suho would encounter him. He was a man who wore a hood in order to be unrecognizable. A man whose pressure suffocated all of Suho's body.

But now I know. Who that man was.

Father?

Suho couldn't help but be embarrassed to see his father's — Sung Jin-Woo's — appearance right in front of him.

He knows, of course I know, that this was all just an illusion.

It wasn't possible for his father, who was supposed to be in outer space right now, to turn up here. Then the one in front of him is a fake.

But.

He was still worried about him.

Can I win against my father now?

Suho gulped, swallowing some dry saliva.

Looking back, he was level 99 in his dream and yet he was still knocked out in one hit. His current lever is even lower than that.

But my father also won't be as strong as he was back then since he is just an illusion now.

Suho was sure of it, there was no way for a mere demonic illusionist to produce the same amount of power the Shadow Monarch had. This is a good balance for him.

But still, isn't this too much pressure for him to produce?

Around him a merciless force surrounded the arena. Just how amazing was the magic of a demonic tribe member, that from the moment his father's illusion appeared, Suho's stats began to fluctuate like crazy? He knew it was clearly a fake, and yet Suho couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat at the pressure that weighed on his entire body.

[Hahaha ha! Why I never thought there would be someone who has such a good memory of the Shadow Monarch!]

Then, Javier’s senses belatedly came back as he burst into madness. It was only at that moment when he realized what was going on. Javier pointed at Suho while shouting.

[You bastard! You must have encountered the Shadow Monarch somewhere before! How!? The Shadow Monarch is a nightmare in itself!]

Javier, the demonic illusionist, had only seen the Shadow Monarch once, even if it was from a distance. He was only able to survive that day because he ran away as soon as he saw him. However even from far off in the distance, the memory of that day was still a horrifying and cursed image engraved in his mind.

At the same time, seeing him again was nothing of a surprise.

This was the true aura of death that the Shadow Monarch exuded!

If only he could bring out the true extent of power he felt still engraved in his memory, I will even be able to have the Shadow Monarch as my subordinate!

Conjuring Memories. It was the type of illusion magic Javier had devoted his whole life to. Of course it won't be the exact thing, but if you can still succeed in projecting a version of the Shadow Monarch then your soul will achieve a tremendous level of transcendence in power!

Unfortunately his illusion failed, or to be more precise he had only half-succeeded in creating the Shadow Monarch. His magic had completed the Monarch's appearance well, but his power was a fleeting essence compared to the real deal Javier had witnessed first-hand.

With such a small pool of data as materials, he hadn't been able to create an illusion of the Shadow Monarch before.

[And to think I would find more data this way!]

Although it was a well known fact that the Shadow Monarch had been living on earth for a long time, he didn't think that there would be a soul among the humans that knew the Shadow Monarch so up close!

Javier greedily gazed at Suho while licking his lips.

[You are mine now kid! I will bind your soul and use it as material to summon the illusion of the Shadow Monarch forever!]

In a cruel voice he commanded the Shadow Monarch who kept emitting a terrible aura.

[Listen Shadow Monarch! I, your master Javier, command you to kill that human in front of you and bring his soul to me as an offering!]

At those words, Suho raised the mana from his whole body with a nervous expression.

Let 's do this.

So far, the most effective countermeasure against the illusion was to directly aim at the illusionist instead. Unfortunately the illusionist never revealed himself openly. Only Javier's voice could be heard as he kept hiding somewhere else.

Suho tried to expand his sensory vision to capture his mana, but strangely he felt it all over the place.

"Honey…"

"Dear, I'm sorry… I did this to you, with my own hands…"

Javier was everywhere, in the fantasies of countless other hunters, even in the fantasy of Lim Tae-Gyu's wife, and the hunter could only face her with a tearful expression.

[Heh, you are quite quick-witted.]

Even the Shadow Monarch Sung Jin-Woo that stood in front of him was embedded with Javier's mana.

[All of these fantasies that you see here are me, even the Shadow Monarch that you summoned!]

Javier's laugh echoed in the distance.

Until all of a sudden, a panicked voice came from Javier.

[Huh?!]

Suho also noticed something strange at the same time. His father— No, the fake Sung Jin-Woo. He who seemed like he was ready to launch an intense attack with such overwhelming power, suddenly looked at Suho's face and smiled.

Smiled as if he met a cute thing.

—So you're still weak.—

!?

In a moment, Suho felt something strange. The magic of the demons was truly something amazing if it was able to conjure the same atmosphere and voice of his real father. The only difference was that his father was an illusion attacking him in a dream.

However…

[Wait? What?! Why can't I move on my own?!]

Something appeared to be even more strange now, why was this? For some reason Javier's voice was greatly perplexed about the situation at hand.

—Hmmm.—

'Sung Jin-Woo' turned his attention away from Suho to look around the place with a chilled attitude

Kwaaaaahhhh!!

They were inside a violent sandstorm. All the hunters around them were facing an illusion with painful expressions. 'Sung Jin-Woo' finished searching the scene before nodding and opening his mouth again.

—Oh, so I'm an illusion right now.—

"Huh?"

[What the!?]

Javier stood in shock as something unbelievable just happened. To think that the illusion has gained sentience about his own creation!

[Such a thing like this… It's impossible!]

—No, it's not.—

[!!!]

—Nothing is impossible for me.—

At those words, Javier trembled, goosebumps appearing everywhere. Sung Jin-Woo's illusion was talking to him, looking straight at him even though he was hidden in the sandstorm.

'That man' smiled and asked Javier a question.

—Do you know how many demons have become my shadow soldiers so far?—

[Wait I…]

An ominous feeling came over Javier. It wasn't a question he wanted to hear the answer to as he immediately realized the intent behind it. Just how many of his own people died at the hands of the Shadow Monarch during the fierce war? How many of them were incorporated? How many of those soldiers were still studying and practicing witchcraft like a demon tribe?

And now that they've become servants of the Shadow Monarch…

—Because of them, I've gotten quite used to the Demonic Tribe's witchcraft.—

'Sung Jin-Woo' then expressed his sincere gratitude to Javier.

—But I guess I'll praise you. After all, your skills are quite useful in this situation.—

Suddenly, he looked up at the sky, obscured by a sandstorm where nothing could be seen. His unconcerned gaze quietly stared at the beyond, a vast universe that spread out farther than his own existence.

—Beru.—

[Kiehek!!]

Beru, who had disappeared after the sandstorm hit, suddenly reappeared through it. And upon recognizing his master, Sung Jin-Woo, he burst into tears.

[My liege!!]

An illusion of the real thing, however in Beru's eyes that were still connected to Sung Jin-Woo, he was able to find a trace of his sentence that was connected precisely through that illusion.

—Beru, you've lost all your strength.—

Sung Jin-Woo clicked his tongue as he recognized Beru's condition with a single glance.

—Well, it doesn't matter.—

Jin-Woo raised his hand and placed it on Beru’s head.

—Notice this, shadow soldiers share all senses with their monarch. That's the function in the 2nd Level of the Shadow Storage skill.—

He muttered this to Suho, who kept watching and listening.

—And when you combine the witchcraft of the Demonic Tribe in moderation this is also possible.—

Fwa!

Black energy started to swirl from 'his' hand and seep into Beru. Feeling such a familiar touch after a long time, Beru closed his eyes pleasantly.

T-ring!

[Your quest has arrived.]

"This is?"

Suho's eyes widened at the sudden pop up message from the system. Before checking the contents of it, he turned his gaze towards his father's illusion, who in response grinned back.

—It's a bit old but the quest were originally created this way.—

The level up system: a high level sorcery that had been created by the Great magician of the demon tribe, Kandiaru, had one purpose.

—You will be rewarded with the next skill of the Shadow Power.—

'Sung Jin-Woo said this to his son with a slightly mischievous smile.

—So prove your qualifications.—

[Do you accept this quest?]

(Y/N)