#I swear I'm not projecting this time I actually have evidence

[librasstraydog]

Sumi info dump!!!

I was talking to some friends on discord about Sumi bc I love her. TLDR: Sumi, the “manic pixie dream girl” trope, and possible signs of BPD.... (Im just gonna copy n paste everything on here wooo,, lemme know what you think)

so first and foremost, i wanna talk about sumi as a character. After the death of her sister Kasumi, Sumire takes on her personality and basically becomes Kasumi thanks to Dr. Maruki. Of course in 3rd sem she realizes that she is not Kasumi (and has a hard time dealing with that), but through her own strength she comes to terms with accepting who she is and what happened <3 

NOW LETS BRING OUT THE HEAT LAMP,,, ahem. I call sumi my manic pixie dream girl bc essentially,, that's what she is. However this is just,, bpd. And it makes sense! she literally saw her sister die right in front of her,, she blames herself for it. The trauma associated with that could cause bpd no prob,,, However... you could agrue that she had bpd even before Kasumi died. This is sorta out there but tbh... She's always grappled with her self worth and confidence. She's an incredibly skilled gymnast but feels incompetent (bc she thinks she'll never be as good as Kasumi) despite Kasumi and her coach telling her all the time that she's amazing,,, Kasumi literally said that they'd take over the gymnastics world together! That "together" part is important, it shows that Kasumi really does recognize Sumi's talent. So basically, the only person who doesn't recognize her talent is Sumi herself. As for present day (after Kasumi death but before 3rd sem), she literally gets 3rd place in a meet but only thinks she should've done better,,,  which shows just how disconnected from reality she is (however the school teachers were being assholes to her and saying that she shoulda got first place too, just a small note). Then, she meets Akira. She basically latched on to him right away (their third time meeting i believe), but the real evidence of this is shown in her... Phantom Thief attire! lets take a look at Akira n sumi's fits for a sec...

As you can see, they're VERY similar. Phantom thief attire is based on that character's perception of rebellion, or what a rebel looks like. When she awakened she had already seen Joker's thief attire, and she already really valued Akira as her senpai (this awakening would've happened regardless of where you are in Sumi's confidant. So you coulda never spent time with her AT ALL and it will still play out like this). SO, when she awakened, her attire reflected her idealized version of what a "true rebel" looks like,,, which ended up being Joker... yea, yea, yea (valuation).

more evidence of bpd,,, after 3rd sem happens she really just,, goes about her life. Like she overvalued Akira while she was in a fragile state but after 3rd sem she just,, moves on. She never visited akira before he left, never gave akira a parting gift like every other maxed confidant did or anything. We just kinda just.,,, bump into her at the train station where she says "keep ur head up, you taught me that" then she walks away. Its actually a canon fact that if you romance Sumi, she’ll literally just ghost Akira on valentines day lol (which is post 3rd sem!!). So basically,, devaluation (I love her so much).

I also wanna talk about her role in the story too. So for persona characters, you can interpret a lot about their character based on their arcana and persona. Sumi has the Faith arcana,, which is from an archaic tarot deck mind you (ok atlus). Upright, it represents belief in others and in oneself, and in religion or science. On the other hand, reversed, it can represent blind faith misplaced in something that does not deserve trust. It can also mean false idols, or overconfidence (ripped this straight from google lol). Sumi had a lot of faith in her sister, which she then lost. Devastated, she then put that faith in Dr. Maruki (a false idol who she shouldn't have trusted) to become Kasumi,, then did it AGAIN with Akira (just some guy fr /j). Of course, her whole growth is her putting that faith not in others, but in herself! so yea, that's her story! 

As for her persona... eh. It's Cendrillon aka Cinderella. Essentially the narrative is that Maruki acts as the "fairy godmother" by enacting a miracle... but then that means Akira acts as her prince charming here to save her. It's super cute in theory, but my issue is in the og cinderella story, the prince is literally her saving grace. Like Cinderella would've never left her abusive step family had he not searched for her, found her, and married her. Basically, cinderella's salvation is granted solely bc of the prince's efforts (you could agrue that she helped via leaving her shoe but like,, she didn't leave that thing on purpose sooo). So what this is saying is "Kasumi is saved from Maruki solely bc of Akira’s efforst",, which is ,,, no. She overcame the trauma from losing her sister because of HER own strength, not Akira's. Yes there was a brief moment in Maruki's palace where she was so desperate to keep living as Kasumi that she fought Akira,, but in the end, she made the decision to move forward herself (this is shown in how AFTER that moment, she's briefly unable to call her persona,, but then finds the resolve to actually do it).

(the whole cinderella allegory is also why she gets a sailor moon transformation and everyone else doesn't btw) 

so yea,,, im not much a fan of how atlus chose cinderella to represent her since it devalues her own efforts to save herself and instead attributes it all to Akira,, but i do see why they did it.

in conclusion, I love sumi so bad SHE IS MY DAUGHTER FR!!!

[wonfilms]

looking after enhypen [౨ৎ] when they’re sick

( rbs are very appreciated !! ) | pairing. ot7! x fem reader wc. 0.9k cw. sick ppl (jst fevers and colds!) genre. fluff a/n- i loved writing niki's sm idk why, i hope u guys enjoy this, this is mostly bc i'm sick rn and i'm projecting

lee heeseung:

heeseung’s so pouty when you try to look after him, trying to insist that he’s completely okay despite his flushed cheeks and very evident fever

mumbling under his breath about something along the lines of, "don’t worry about me baby" when all you can do is worry when he’s been tucked in bed all day, napping

begging you for another blanket to stay cosy, even though it's gonna make him feel warmer and worse, till you cave and swaddle him up

lets you feed him soup and press kisses to his forehead even though he’s complaining about how you’re gonna catch his cold too, (he’d be lying if it didn’t make him feel so loved and cared for, he’s already plotting how he’ll make it up to you when he's feeling better)

park jongseong

jay’s already trying his best to take care of himself , sleepily attempting to make some soup when you arrive back home in a rush, arms decked with supplies to help him feel better.

hates to complain, he's practically insisting he's absolutely fine even though he's so tired

giving him the princess treatment, even though he insists that’s usually his job. 

letting him lean on your shoulder, combing his soft hair as you feed him the little warm dumplings you bought for him as a treat :(

kissing his forehead telling him about your day while he dozes off slightly on your chest just because he likes to hear your soft voice lulling him to sleep

keeps saying thank you over and over even though you told him to rest his voice, because he appreciates you looking after him so so much sim jaeyun

so cute n whiny about it actually lets you tuck him in bed and put on a movie while he's plowing his way through a box of tissues..

swears that he's going to pass away from his little cold, and it's cute even though he's been a little drama queen just for your attention

says he can't move just so you can feed him, another man who deserves princess treatment

won't let you kiss him though, doesn't want you to get sick!! but he knows he'll fold if you keep asking,

whenever you say he's getting hot, his go to response is "aren't i always baby?"

keeps up the flirting even though he swears he's on his 'deathbed'

park sunghoon

he never gets sick, he’s always somehow at the peak of health, usually it’s his job to look after you when you catch colds but this time it’s his turn to be coddled, quite unlike his usual taste

cheeks and nose all red and he’s clinging to you, even though he swears he’ll be okay in a day (he was not)

hugs you from behind as you make him something warm to drink because he just wants to be close

even tries to insist he’ll sleep on the sofa because he doesn’t wanna get you sick, pouts when you shut that idea down before he can even finish explaining himself

gets really irritable and groans about how much he could be doing right now if he wasn’t all ill and if it wasn’t for the fact you’ve put him to bedrest for a while

kim sunoo

very much a little drama queen like jake but sunoo’s sweet about it. insists on trying to take care of himself, failing miserably when he almost falls asleep trying to make toast and having to call you to help him

sunoo very much enjoys the coddling and princess treatment you’re giving him, but does promise he’ll make it up to you even though you’re only doing it because you love him

running him a warm steamy bath to clear up his sniffly nose and making warm herbal tea to share~

he loves you so much, constantly mumbling about how much he does in his delirious state

yang jungwon

tries to be productive even when he’s coughing his lungs out and half lucid, that’s always been his issue

complies when you drag him to bed because he loves you too much to go against your words

does complain about it though, saying he’ll be okay and it’s just a cold.

almost falls asleep as soon as you start brushing his hair gently 

even though you’re scolding him for not taking care of himself, he can’t help but smile at how much you care for him

cuddles you tight, even after saying he doesn’t want you ill too, because he doesn’t wanna be apart right now

“you look adorable all bundled up like this” “hehe yeah <3”, 

nishimura niki

is an absolute brat, in all honesty

complains the medicine tastes bad, and you have to plead and beg for him to take it.

“just take it niki” ”what will i get if i do?” “you’ll get better, that’s what you’ll get”

whines complaining how he can’t kiss you now, tries to sneak in a couple cheek kisses though

bundling him up in 3 blankets because he’s shivering.

won’t give up the drip even though he’s sick.. he’s gotta keep up hot boy appearances and let everyone know that his hot girlfriend has a hot boyfriend too

 taking him on a walk and hes trying to leave his coat at home because it ruins his outfit.

moans about the fact he looks like a kid, when you pull a coat, scarf and a hat around him before you take him out, making him look so so cuddly

takes a nap on your chest after you get home, when he finally shuts up and calms down <33

[normal-internet-user]

could you do a oneshot with rise donnie and gn reader where around other people they’re always fighting and never get along but in secret they’re dating and get along perfectly? love your writing <3

Yes. Just. Yes- Also tysm! I am literally so happy people enjoy my writing.

ACT

♡~~♡~~♡~~♡~~♡

Summary: You and Donnie decided to keep your relashonship a secret, so around his brothers you act like you can't stand each other.

Warnings: very minor swearing

Requested: Yep!

GN Reader!

.........................................

"Here we go." Leo groaned as the bickering from the kitchen grew closer.

"-least I'm smart enough to understand basic math."

"Ok, number one, it wasn't 'BaSiC MaTh', it was advanced calculus, and number two, at least I'm able to comprehend the concept of multi-universal travel."

Donnie laughed bitterly, "Scoff! (Name), we have discussed this. The idea of multi-universal travel is such an impossible concept-"

"YOU INTRODUCED THE CONCEPT TO ME YOU-"

"Ok, you two. That's enough, don't make me get the Getting Along shirt." Raph scowled at the two of you.

You crossed your arms, and glared at Donnie, with him scowling at you in turn. You had to admit, the two of you were incredible actors. Of course you didn't actually hate each other, this was simply theatrics to throw his family off the scent of your relashonship.

The two of you had agreed to keep your dating statis on the down-low, knowing that his brothers could be a bit... essentric.

In actuality, the two of you were quite sweet to each other when you were alone, having no need to keep up the act.

Raph sighed, "You two need to learn to get along. Maybe some time in the Lab would do you guy's some good." He then muttered, "And then we wouldn't have to listen to you argue."

"Fine." Donnie scoffed, then he looked at you, "But don't move anything. If you try to reorginize my toolbox again I swear to the pizza supreme-"

"Relax, smartass, I won't move your stuff."

The two of you began to walk to the Lab, Donnie continuing to glare at you, "That's what you said last time, then you put my blowtorch on shelf #7 instead of shelf #3."

You rolled your eyes, "A small mistake that has only occured once."

The Lab doors closed behind you, and you kissed Donnie on the cheek, "And I apologize."

Donnie cleared his throat, his face darker with his blush, "Well, I suppose you can be forgiven."

You nodded with a small smile, then flipped over a chalkboard to reveal the blueprints and plans for another A.I., a small project you two had been working on based on S.H.E.L.D.O.N's new found loneliness.

"So I was thinking that maybe, our current issue lies in the motherboards programming." you started, "Perhaps, with the proper examination, we could trace the bugs back to a faulty motherboard."

Donnie hummed, looking over the motherboard that lay among the other parts scattered on the table, "Good, observation my dear. I'll give it a quick check just to make sure."

You nodded, turning back to the chalkboard to double check the equations on the blueprints. The only noise in the room was the buzz of Donnie's goggles behind you, and you frowned.

The two of you worked best with music in the backround, this much silence was distracting in a way.

"Would you mind some music, Love?"

You and Donnie blinked at each other, then began giggling. You had moments like that often, where your minds just seemed to meld together.

Before either of you could say a thing, however, the loud voice of Leo cut through the air, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"

You and Donnie whipped your heads around, your gazes meeting the incredulous ones of his three brothers.

Leo looked horrified at the concept of you and Donnie getting along. And "Love" ???

Raph and Mikey looked at the two of you, confusion evident on their features.

"But- I thought you two hated... each other..?" Mikey said, confused.

You looked at Donnie, the two of you having a silent conversation. He sighed and looked at his brothers, "Well, the jig is, as they say, up. We're dating. surprise!" you giggled as he made the jazz hands gesture, and Leo's mouth opened wider.

"Woah, woah- wait. wait wait WAIT. You two, are dating? when did that happen?"

Donnie looked at you, signaling it was your turn, "Uhm- like, last year? sometime in August."

"WHAT?"

You chuckled, and Donnie sighed, "Alright, we have work to do, so, out out. Shoo!"

Donnie pushed his protesting brothers out the door, promising to answer questions later, then all but slammed the door in their face.

He turned to you, his cheeks once again darker with his blush.

"Well, at least we don't have to pretend to hate each other anymore."

Donnie laughed, shaking his head as he sat back down, "You realize they won't leave us alone for like, the next 10 years, correct?"

You nodded and pulled your swivel chair to sit next to him, "I am well aware that's a possible outcome of the situation."

With a sigh, Donnie layed his head on your shoulder, and you smiled. Yes, perhaps the jig was indeed up, but at least now, you could burn that stupid script.

.........................................

There you go Anon! srry the ending kinda sucks, but I really enjoyed writing this one!

[the-alakazam-attraction]

OKAY HEAR ME OUT

So, I have a theory about Undertale & Deltarune...

So... Basically, Deltarune is a prequel to Undertale

NOW BEFORE YOU SCROLL PAST HEAR ME OUT

So, I have no "hard" evidence or proof (Wait no! Don't go!) BUT, it would kind of make sense from how Undertale was even made.

So, yeah, Undertale was made first, but Toby said (through various sources that, to be blunt, I'm too lazy to find) that it was made as a "test to see if one person [with some help with art and stuff] could even make a full game" and he did! He made Undertale!

HOWEVER!!!

It was not his final project. It was, as he said, a test.

And Deltarune is the game he actually wants to make.

But why do I think Undertale is a "sequel" to Deltarune?

Well... The most prominent example (and well known queen killer and sexyman) is Sans.

AND NO THIS ISN'T "Sans is all powerful and all knowing and the lord of Undertale and its fanbase blah blah blah" Like i've occasional seen people say similar crap cause "Oh its THAT god damn overly popular"

But the line in particular I'm referring to is when he says "I gave up trying to go back a long time ago"

Plus the Q & A with Papyrus where Sans very deliberately cuts it short when Papyrus is talking about "where they're from before Snowdin"

And I know every facet of Sans has been discussed to death, but why do I think that line he's referring to Deltarune? Or perhaps more accurately Hometown?

Well... It's a simple line said by Toriel in the Ruins in Undertale.

"It may come as a surprise to you but... I've always wanted to be a teacher! Well... That may not be that surprising..."

AND THAT RIGHT THERE

Is another part of why I think Undertale is a "sequel" or at the very least some kind of spinoff to Deltarune.

Because in Deltarune she IS a teacher.

So... It's been a while since I played Undertale (i'm actually playing it right now which is why I suddenly had the urge to write this all out lol) but I'm certain that if you go through Undertale you can see some parallels to Deltarune.

But I'm calling it right now.

Deltarune is a prequel.

That could also explain why Deltarune (originally) only had one ending. That ending (some-fucking-how) leading to the creation of Undertale and it's world.

Hell, maybe Undertale is after the roaring or whatever... Cause in Deltarune the main bosses and such talk about "reforging the world" and maybe that's because of Kris. Maybe Kris successfully reforged the world in their own image. With their parents (Toriel and Asgore) becoming the rulers of Monsters, and (this one is mostly speculation but-) Kris' hate for humans led to the banishment of Monsterkind, and it kind of line's up strangely well...

And maybe a lot of things don't line up, sure, but Deltarune isn't even fully out yet.

I'm calling it right now. Deltarune is a prequel and Undertale is Kris' reforging of the world through darkness and darkworld fountains or something.

I SWEAR TO GOD IF I'M RIGHT I'M GONNA BE FUCKING ECSTATIC XD

(Also sans is 100% Ness /j)

BUT HEY! THAT'S JUST A THEORY!

A GAME THEORY!!!!

Rest in peace mat pat (i know he's not dead, but in internet terms he might as well be lol)

[saintsenara]

there is so much new stuff on your blog that i need to catch up with omg and i swear i will get to it BUT. BUT FIRST. i have a question (which, funnily, is really relevant to my actual offline life rn): if tom riddle was a doctor, what specialty would he practice? [he gives me major neurosurgery vibes] and, more laterally, what do you think makes a good surgeon? as in, what kind of personality types fare the best in a surgical program?

now this is the sort of content i like to see!

while i can certainly see good old dr riddle [bmbch oxon] very much enjoying having a rummage around in a patient's cranium, he strikes me as someone who would prefer specialties on the medical, rather than surgical, spectrum - and, especially, would like specialties which require a lot of sifting through evidence and solving mysteries. he's clearly a puzzle girly [why else would he spend his teenage years coming up with anagrams of his own name?] and so i think he'd very much like the parts of his job which allowed him to spend half his time running a lot of invasive tests on people and the other half skulking in a lab getting an enormous amount of money to run research projects...

so he's applying for:

haematology

aka: staring at blood - which is right up his alley. his particular interest is coagulation disorders in pregnant women - and their contribution to these women dying in childbirth.

histopathology

aka: staring at slices of tissue. he's determined to find out whether or not the soul resides in the liver.

neuropathology

i think we can all picture him presiding over a collection of brains preserved in formalin. one of them is dumbledore's.

forensic pathology

cutting up corpses by order of the state? he's in! his team of graduate students have conned several million out of the wellcome trust and are spending it trying to reanimate their specimens.

forensic psychiatry

because while if you want to be a good psychiatrist you need an iron will and well-developed sense of empathy, if you want to be a bad one you need to be able to gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss. and our tom's got that nailed...

now.

the above flippancy is about to make me look quite bad, because i am also a puzzle girly, and i like medicine precisely for the sort of mystery solving and research paper publishing it enables. but i'm not a mass-murderer, which i feel it's important to clarify...

i'm not a surgeon either - i didn't struggle with the gory bits of the work, i just didn't find any of the surgical specialties i shadowed during my training particularly compelling in re: that element of mystery.

while the reputation they sometimes have - especially on tv - for being scalpel-wielding jocks isn't accurate, it's certainly true that the defining trait you need as a surgeon is total, unshakeable conviction. in all medical specialities outside of emergency medicine you have the option to adopt a wait-and-see approach a lot of the time - but you do not have this option if you've got someone open on the table in front of you. you need to be enormously decisive, capable of tunnel-vision, incredibly good under pressure, and also a little bit arrogant - the only way you can get through the terror of knowing that you're responsible for slicing and dicing someone [particularly in specialties like neonatal surgery or neurosurgery] is to believe unquestioningly that you're going to smash it.

these are probably all traits you already possess - they're certainly something it benefits all doctors to have, in moderation - and they can also be learned and honed through practise, but they're going to be most crucial in surgery because - the vast majority of the time - your issue won't be working out what's wrong with a patient, it'll be pulling off the operation without a hitch.

surgeons still get to do academic work, clinical research and so on, but if you think you want to be a surgeon, you really have to like that slicing and dicing, in-and-out aspect of the work. if you can't see yourself performing thousands upon thousands of the same operation, it's not for you.

[iloveschiaparelli]

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: My Love Letter Part 1

Okay okay okay SO Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes longpost time just my whole opinion/analysis/love letter for the whole film beginning with my Wes Ball backstory so skip to the Ruin screencap if you want to skim past all that.

I haven't talked about it on tumblr yet but I'm actually like a huge fat fan of the Maze Runner cinematic series directed by Wes Ball. Really I'm just a fan of Wes Ball. It not only singlehandedly got me through my first year of high school but also became the reason I ended up entering the film industry. I've watched all 3 movies at least 4-5 times each. Probably like 20-30 for Scorch Trials at this point because it's my favorite. I can quote probably at least half of it from memory. I've watched all of the BTS content that was on the DVDs + the bloopers on youtube like i was obsessed ok.

2019 was like the second worst year of my life so imagine my distress in january 2019 when I found out about Wes Ball's next movie, Mouse Guard, got Super Hyped Up for the multimillion dollar mice-with-swords movie (I eventually read some of the comics btw it's insanely good) And then within the same week found out Disney pulled the plug on the project after acquiring 20th Century Fox. TWO weeks before production was scheduled to begin. I was livid. I'm still bitter about it. Wes Ball then released the demo reel for the film to the public which iirc also had temp music.

So anyway yeah that was awful but then! I think it was later in 2020 that it was announced that Wes Ball was going to be directing the 4th POTA movie. This kicked off me seeing the original 1968 film and then the trilogy and wow did doing so increase my excitement. In my opinion Rupert Wyatt/Matt Reeves' directing styles and Wes Ball's were/are very compatible. I also took the time to get caught up on as much of Wes Ball's old projects as I could get my hands on at the time, including his animated short Ruin (screencap below). Which is fantastic BTW and apparently was purchased by Fox for a feature film that was never made (???) I swear, filmmakers have their past works splattered all over the internet like body parts after a landmine explosion: Good luck finding everything.

Now, Finally Finally FINALLY!!!!!!!! Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is out. I meant to see it on the premier night but my boyfriend broke up with me 2 days before so I forgot. I saw it tonight instead! So now with the backstory out of the way I can finally talk about the actual movie.

First of all, the beginning of the film absolutely WOWed me!!!! It honestly feels like a callback to Ruin, the way that the buildings are overgrown and the post-apocalyptic setting is super evident and feels so delightfully reclaimed by nature. It's also really neat to see how far VFX has come since Ruin was released if you compare the opening shots of the movie with the wide shots in Ruin. Wes Ball himself is also a VFX artist, so it's really neat to see how that affects his work especially since Planet of the Apes is by nature a very vfx-heavy franchise. This movie absoutely popped off in that area but we'll get to that.

Secondly, I forgot how much I missed Ball's directing! Oh my goodness, the performances he gets out of the actors are always so authentic. I still have yet to see a performance by Dylan O'Brien that was as raw and believable as in the Maze Runner movies, and I'm like halfway through Teen Wolf already. In the action scenes especially, I love how characters in Ball's movies, you can really feel their pain. Since pain and physical discomfort aren't communicated directly through film, we often forget just how hard it is to get back up again after getting kicked down, but with Wes Ball you never forget. Ugh, when Noa was getting beat up on top of the bunker at the end of the movie, I caught myself catching my own breath when he coughed up blood. Like, yeowch!

Additionally, everything this man makes is just, like, a masterpiece? On a technical level at least. That's really the mark of a good director, whose job is not only to evoke a performance from the actors, but also to tie together the whole crew. And KOTPOTA really showed off how well the team worked together. Just the establishing shots alone in a lot of these scenes! Oh. My. Word. You can clearly see the fruits of labor of not only the concept artists, but also the VFX artists and production designers, and how they worked with the DP and actors to get the shot. Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

There are more that I'm thinking of, but unfortunately without a digital release available yet there's a limit to the screencaps that I'm able to obtain. The shot where Noa is walking up the escalator following Raka and you see the plane in the background indicating that Raka lives in an airport is one of them. There's also one or two establishing shots in nature that just show off the setting. The opening shots, of course. And then the shot where it pans up and you see Eagle Village for the first time. There's also an aerial of Proximus Caesar's camp, but I'm unable to find that one as well. The main one I want to look at is the telescope.

Just, like, Hello???? It looks like an art piece. This screencap is a little closer in than I'd like, but in the full frame you can see the absolute mastery of composition that it is, you can totally imagine it as a painting. Which in my experiences usually means there's a painting behind it somewhere in the process, lol. Let's go concept artists!!! But then you see how the colors are just, perfectly balanced, the plant growth is realistic and accentuating the set, and so on and so forth. It was just absolutely breathtaking to see for the first time. I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped. I did a lot of stimming during this movie just to stay quiet and not start babbling about the film pipeline to my father in theater auditorium.

Even more magic happens when Noa steps onto the set, and starts messing with the telescope. Suddenly it's real, it's tangible, it's touchable. Transforming what was likely a matte painting at one point into a set that the actors can interact with, and then into a shot where almost everything is overlaid with VFX, and having it look so real like that is truly magic.

The ship also had me dumbstruck, but slightly less so because we saw a similar setting in The Maze Runner: The Death Cure in 2018. Although it was slightly different for sure. What had me going even more in this movie was how much the characters interacted with the ship, moving in and around it, and trading glances with one another from on the ground and up inside. In TMR:DTC, you really only see the decrepit ships in the background, and one is referenced as a plot point but the characters never actually physically interact with any of them. So it's much easier for our brains to categorize the ships as gimmicks to help us believe the scene.

It's when props like these are woven into the scene as tangible objects that our brains start to shut up about the CGI and really start to believe what's happening onscreen! and KOTPOTA did an amazing job at this. Please bear in mind like, I literally have zero specialization in VFX, it's not my field and although I draw, I've never done concept art for film. I honestly believe that I'm simply in an appropriate level of awe for what this film accomplished.

The other thing that amazed me was how stylized the setting was. The greenery was so green, the ocean felt like a painting, the ship was red, the telescope shot is very, very blue. Several of the shapes used in the ape's costume design are simplified. And yet, despite the stylization, it never feels cartoony or polygonal, it still feels completely grounded in reality, and I could really believe I'd see it in real life. I think this owes partly to the fact that we rarely inspect any of these simplified items at a close distance, aside from Raka's necklace which appears to be made of either bone or whittled wood. It also owes to absolute geniuses in color grading that kept the stylized colors realistic enough for our brains to believe. Overall I'd take the visual style of the film to be Impressionist. I love impressionism.

My main interest in filmmaking is writing/directing. However, most of my experience lies in costume design (Student films rarely need costume "design" so its usually coordination) and production design. As a result I spent a good deal of my time watching KOTPOTA zeroed in on the production design.

I love post-apocalyptic science-fiction/fantasy worlds like this partly precisely because of how much you can learn from the production design alone. When Mae enters Trevathan's room for the first time I swear I was eating it up. Every single prop in this movie was carefully thought out by the PD, which is why his room absolutely stood out from the rest of the setting that we had seen up to that point. It was distinctly "human-centric" as opposed to the rest of the movie. I remember seeing it in the theater earlier today, laying eyes first on the bed by the door, thinking that it must be something they set up for Mae, but then wondering why or how the apes would know or want to set up a human-style bed for Mae when we're so many generations removed from human-dominated society.

Next it was on many miscellaneous table objects, thinking to myself "That looks like how a human would treat a space. Apes are generally too big to decorate at that scale." and then my eyes roved on to the furniture, seeing a human-sized table, human-sized chair, human-sized junk everywhere! Slowly, by observing the room, I gained a stronger and stronger sense of "there is another human here," which upon observing the rows and rows of books became "a smart human like Mae, who unlike her can read" (Remember at this point we still believed that Mae and her mother were the only smart humans that Mae had known growing up, and that she had been pursuing the opportunity to meet other smart humans and join them).

It was only upon the instant of realizing that this was a smart human that Trevathan spoke and appeared on the stairs. It was absolutely perfect timing. THIS, guys, is exceptional production design. It was honestly my absolute favorite piece of production design in the entire film, especially because of how much it contrasted what we've become used to seeing in the series as humans have diminished in population and apes and nature have taken over the space instead.

That exact sense of change or "otherness", that noticeability of contrast upon seeing what is honestly a pretty "normal" human space if you look at it in the context of our existing society, is only present because of how well PD treats the rest of the movie. In order to make a completely normal space feel strange, you have to change literally every other space to something alien but consistent with itself. And KOTPOTA does just that. The job was begun in the original trilogy, with the decline of humanity depicted across decades, nature taking over the gas station and the dam and even the city. But this movie had the biggest challenge because of simply how many years had passed before the story even began. Society as we know it today is completely and totally obliviated in KOTPOTA's setting. In every set that the characters interacted with in any way, PD had to fabricate a space where humans had been but the virus, decades of decay and post-apocalyptic living, and ape encroachment had transformed it.

This also brings me into the subject of the rich culture we see emerging in the world of the apes through this movie. The original trilogy, especially the first and second film, was all about the ape's identity. In the first film Caesar wonders whether he is human or ape, and whether apes are pets or equals to humans. He eventually comes to the realization that humans are never going to look out for apes the way that apes will and decides to become that person. In the second film, Caesar and the other characters involved have to figure out what being an ape means. Does it mean strength is power? That humans are always an enemy to defeated? Or a similar species to live alongside? It's about establishing what the ape race's relationship is to the human race. The third film I didn't get to rewatch before seeing KOTPOTA, but iirc it was about whether humans and apes could ever coexist, which is a theme we see continued in this movie, albeit in a slightly different way. Either that or more likely it was about whether apes will repeat the same mistakes as humans.

Anyway, I digress. In the script we already see a rich culture emerging in hints, right from the start of the movie. It's in the hunt for the eagle eggs at the beginning with mentions of some kind of coming-of-age ceremony, followed by Noa reminding Anaya and Soona that they must "leave one egg always. It is the law." Already in the first five minutes we've established that this particular ape civilization not only has cultural traditions surrounding youth and coming-of-age, but also rituals and laws surrounding their relationship with and the conservation of nature. And through dialogue we extrapolate that these apes have bonded animals (eagles). It honestly felt like a crossover between Native American Indian hunting practices and How To Train Your Dragon, which is wild I know. (Also can we talk about how the eagles in this movie actually made eagle sounds???? And not falcon sounds! Finally we're breaking the bad habit of making up animal noises to sound cooler when the original already sounded super cool by itself.)

So in just a few minutes guys!! We already have so much. Then the trio heads back to the village and has their first encounter with the Echoes (Ekos? If anyone could get spelling on that for me that would be fantastic) but are too afraid (or law-bound) to get too close to or cross through the tunnel "into the valley below". So through these we establish that there is a taboo around not just humans but also around leaving the village. The clan has taken an isolationist approach wherein they not only forbid their young clan members from leaving but also withhold information about the outsiders from them until they've come of age. Guys the cultural system arising here is absolutely wild. Like sorry not sorry but I eat this stuff up. (Screenwriters-- this is prime example material of "show don't tell")

There's also all of the ape social communication rules that we've already gotten used to, mainly a variation of the palm-up/palm-down gesture as a means of showing respect (submission) and asking for permission/approval.

In this movie however the hands are mostly closed and the palms are down for the sub as well as the ape they're seeking approval from, as opposed to the trilogy in which the submitting ape always had their palm up. At first I chalked this up to cultural differences among clans since we learned that this clan is not the clan descended from Caesar's apes in the trilogy, but then Caesar's descendants were doing it this way too? So I don't really know what to make of it but I'm going to decide that it's just global cultural evolution (at least, as global as the real-world evolution of Old English into modern English).

Through the production design of the beginning sequence in Eagle Village, we see that the eagles catch fish and then the vast quantities of fish and the smokehouse indicate that fish caught by the eagles are the main source of food for the Eagle Clan. We also see feathers as a motif throughout, worn especially by the parents and the elders as a sign of social status (we know it's social status bc Sylva rips it off of one of the elders as an intimidation tactic and everyone audibly gasps, indicating it worked). That last bit is honestly more costume design, they popped off too but one thing at a time or I'm going to become incomprehensible. I will repeat myself. It is inevitable.

Then throughout the film we learn that not only do they adhere strictly to the "law", but that that law is set by the elders alone. We also learn that they primarily relate to their eagles by singing to them which!!! is just!!!! so!!! metal!!! I love it. The way it plays into the end scene with Proximus just AGHRGHJHRHGR GROWL BARK BARK FERAL NOISES>

ahem

Also we see them building nests at home for their eagles and they've figured out falconry tools for the aerie and everything on their own like??

Then in contrast we see what's left of Caesar's clan, it's descendants. Proximus Caesar, we learn later from Trevathan, has gone completely fangirl over the ancient roman empire and decided to emulate it because "he likes it" and it makes him "feel good" (yeah he's probably the most textbook tyrant I've ever seen in media), choosing to morph Caesar's teachings into his own new worldview rather than adhering to them properly.

So the culture of Caesar's clan is very heavily roman-influenced, often copying practices outright such as the insitution of slavery, a lot of the fashion choices and even the way that banners are put up around the camp and the way that Proximus dines at a low-set table filled with an overabundance of food. And he has a throne and crown, and there are roman numerals inscribed on both his and Sylva's necklaces. But we still see influences of Caesar's original society, most noticeably the persistence of the window symbol and the architecture of the dam. The architecture wouldn't be significant at all, instead being noted as a stylistic choice for the whole series, if it weren't for the fact that it's different from Eagle Clan's architecture.

If Eagle Village resembles those spaghetti bridges that engineers build for class, with thatched roofs, then the dam at Caesar Clan's camp is much more brutalist by comparison. Eagle Clan was very spindly and focused on height and lightness of building materials: many of the logs were thinner and longer, more spaced out, and sometimes rounded at the ends. By contrast, Caesar Clan's dam is built with stumpier logs, closer together, and spiked at the top. The dam is also shored up with soil and other materials. Which yeah, is typical of beaver dams but is also typical of the structures in the original Caesar's village in the trilogy.

Unfortunately, there's only one image currently available of Eagle Village and it's after it was burned down. But you can still see how it differs from Caesar's village, instead of being chaotic it's more organized, allowing for a more lightweight structure.

This (below) is the closest I could get to having a picture of the dam's architecture, but you can still tell how it's more similar to OG Caesar's architecture than it is to Eagle Clan's, even though it's using a completely different building material (scrap metal instead of hewn trees).

Eagle Clan's architecture is also a further effect of how their society revolves around making a life bond with eagles, which are flying creatures. So of course they would be inclined to taller structures, especially ones that are more lightweight and have structural patterns, imitating the way that birds are built (see above).

I'll continue in part 2 as a reblog because it's 1 am and I'm running out of steam but YALL I need you to understand: It's been 6 years since the last time I had a Wes Ball film to overanalyze and rave about. I have SO MUCH to say about this film.

[no-pilots-please]

The Dinner Date [ The Dry Spell Part II ]

[ A few people asked for it, so here we go. Clearly I have set this up to be a series. 4 parts, probably. I know where I want it to go but I don't quite know how to get there. I just know I wanted a more mature, confident woman in the readers place to contrast a lot of great fics Ive read so far. Can you tell I'm 30something? ]

⚠️Warnings: Minors, do not engage. 18+ content. Smut. Oral(female receiving), swearing (duh), mentions of alcohol, allusions to sexting, confident characters all around.

Part I: The Dry Spell

Part III: The Interruption 

. . . .

You hadn't taken Hangman seriously when he asked for a date.  

You were naked in the shower after your one night stand, and you thought he was just feigning interest.  He gave some reasons why he had to get back to the base for an early morning, but Hangman was insistent on getting your number before he left.  He went so far as to text you right then and there, seeing your phone light up with the message to ensure it was, in fact, the right number.  

You didn't think he'd actually call, so you were almost confused when his callsign showed up your lock screen two days later.  It was around 11am and you were just getting in the door after a run along the beach.  You were even more shocked that you answered.

"Hey there" - His voice was casual.  It sounded like he was in the car.  "Are you free tonight?"

You paused.  When he said he wanted dinner you figured a late night drink on another Friday, barely a step above a booty call, was what he really meant.  

"Please say yes."  He chuckled softly on the other end of the call.  

Truth is, you were free.  You didn't have to go in until late on Monday now that work had slowed down for a bit.  Your entire office was taking an extended weekend in celebration of completing the project from hell.  All that was left for your day were domestic chores.  Dinner with the pilot hottie sounded way better.

"hmm...I could be..." you trailed off, your tone playful.  You were almost mad at the smile that tugged at corner of your lips. 

" 'Atta girl.  I'll pick you up at 6."

"See you then, Hangman."

"Wear something pretty."  Click.

.     .     . .

At 6 pm, you lock the door to your apartment and head down to the street in front of your apartment, figuring that the pilot wouldn’t remember exactly which way to turn to get to your unit.  You feel your phone buzzing in your parking lot as you look around, spotting Hangman leaning against his truck, phone pressed to his ear as his head swivels around.  Fuck, he looks good.  He looks surprisingly rugged out of his uniform.  Tonight the pilot had chosen a green flannel shirt rolled at the sleeves, jeans, and boots.  His eyes finally find you and he laughs, gesturing to the phone he was just using to call you.  You flash him a smile as you approach.

"Nailed the assignment, honey.  You look pretty."  His megawatt smile beams at you and you can’t help but smile sweetly back.  On any other first date, the pet names would tick you off.  But they just suit the slight Texan drawl in his voice and come off as endearing.  You two embrace in a gentle hug, the nerves of a date evident between you two.  It's odd to be nervous around someone you've already slept with, but for some reason that feeling simmers below the surface.  

"Thanks Hangman.  You look good too.  I see you chose against the uniform this time."  You respond, a teasing tone in your voice.  The night you two met he had been head to toe in Navy-issued khakis, which proved an invisible barrier to any PDA.  

"Please, it's Jake."  He corrects you.  The last time he did that was in the shower when he asked you out, but you had blown him off, not expecting the himbo would ever call you for a date.  "It'd be pretty weird for me to wear that on a random Sunday date, wouldn't it?"  He shakes his head playfully, turning to open the passenger door for you.  "After you, gorgeous."  Taking his hand, you hop up into the pickup.  

He climbs into the driver's seat next to you, turning the ignition and driving.  "If you're down, I want to take you to this restaurant nearby that Phoenix recommended...she's one of my classmates.  Said it's got a good vibe, not too loud."  You nod, smiling at him.  You can't help but watch his strong hands on the steering wheel and shifter, remembering their touch across your body just a few nights ago.  The thought gives you goosebumps and you shift slightly in the passenger seat.  

After parking the car, you two walk into a cute little american cafe and settle onto the restaurant  patio, hoping to enjoy the warm early autumn air and the sunset.  

"You didn't think I'd call."  Jake observes when you sit down.  He's wearing that well-practiced smirk.  

"Nope, I didn't." You respond in kind, a smirk of your own playing across your features.  If he wanted you to gush about how happy you were that he called, he was in for a rude awakening.  He looks down and smiles to himself ever so slightly at your response.

"You'd mentioned the other night you were working a ton.  What do you do exactly?"  Hangman changes the subject.  You took some time to explain the 1000ft view of your work, and he nods along, asking questions here and there to put together a better picture of your day to day. You're surprised he's such an active listener.  

"Where are you originally from?"  He asks next.  You reveal that you grew up in Arizona, but fell in love with southern California during family vacations and sought a job out here right after college.  "I've been here almost ten years."  You reveal, sipping the glass of white wine you had ordered.

"I haven't been in any one place that long.  I haven't been in any one place for more than three years since the academy."  He remarks thoughtfully, sitting back in his chair.  He takes a sip of his beer.  

"So, how long have you been in the Navy, conquesting across the world, Hangman?"

"I've been in for twelve years now.  It's my second time back at Top Gun."  You nod.  He had mentioned something about Top Gun School, and you were vaguely familiar with it.  You knew they took the best of the best, but you didn't know that people came through twice.  Curious, you thought for a moment about asking why, exactly, he was back, but you knew the military was very secretive and inferred that something so uncommon was not going to be revealed to you on a first (second?) date.

"That's a long time to be bouncing from place to place.  I don't know that I could do that."  You answer instead, thinking about being so unsettled.  When you moved one state over for college it was a real jarring experience for you.  You had to start over with a new job, new friends, a new grocery store, everything was foreign and took so much mental energy.  Nothing came easy in those first six months.  To do that over and over again had to be exhausting, right?

Hangman casts a glance at you which you can barely register.  He tries to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.  

"You get used to it.  Come's with the territory."  He runs a hand through his dark blond locks, pushing them back off his face.  You notice the shift in his tone, and accept a bit of silence as you both sip your beverages, stealing a little liquid courage.  You wonder what about the last exchange caused the shift.  

"So, Hangman--"

"Jake-" he interjects.  

"So, Jake, how long are you at Miramar for?"  You couldn’t help yourself.

He goes on to kind of explain the situation at hand, dancing around most of the details.   He's here to brush up on some training for a mission in a few weeks.  That's all you really get.  It's understandable.  The situations are usually top secret, and there's no real reason a civilian he's on a first date with needs any more info.  All you gather is that it's pretty strenuous, and that Hangman needs to be one of the best.  You're not surprised.  The man had an ego you spotted a mile away the other night, and you were sure it carried with him through every facet of his day.  Not just at bars getting girls.  

"I'm not gonna lie, you sort of struck a nerve the other day."  Jake admits suddenly, looking at you with some intensity masked by a playful tilt of the head.  Your brow knit together in slight confusion.  He leans in towards the table, continuing, eyes finding yours as that cocky smirk dances across his features.  "Besides the fact it was the single, sexiest thing I have ever been privileged to witness-" he glances around to make sure the wait staff isn't approaching "-you were totally fucking right.  I have my routine, I kind of go through the motions wherever I go.  But incase you haven't quite figured this out about me yet, I don't take well to being bad at things.  No one has called me on that particular thing before."

Politely, the waiter interrupts your conversation, placing each entree before you.  The distraction was welcome.  You weren't expecting any level of honesty from the pilot.  Truthfully, even though he was levelling with you in this moment, you only sort of believed him.  You taste a forkful of the entree before you, and it's delicious.  The Phoenix chick has great taste.  

"Anyway, you were right.  And I am a little mad that you were."  His green eyes flash with a hint of ~something~.  The look sends heat to your core.  This was the swaggering man you met at the bar.  Not someone who got nervous on a date.

"I'm sure people have at least called you on your arrogance, right?"  

"All the time, sweetheart.  Rarely bothers me though.  Not like the other night." He drawls, grinning at you.  

All you can do is roll your eyes as you take another sip of wine.  At least he knows himself.  You figure a man in his early 30s is under no pretenses about his behavior, and you appreciate that the blond acknowledges his tendencies.  It's surprisingly refreshing, despite being a little tiring.  

"I want to see you while I am here."  Jake sets his fork down gently, looking at you.  His expression is surprisingly warm.  Honest.  

"That so?"  You set your silverware down, gaze finding his.  There's a bit of a challenge in your tone.

"Yes."  He is emphatic.  "I needed an ego check.  One that actually got through to me.  This mission, this environment, I can't be getting wrapped up in the dick measuring contest of it.  The competition, it's getting me distracted.  Just a few weeks while I'm here, and then I'm out of your hair.  Keep me in line."  It's a proposition.  A sexual one at that, with the way his voice lowers and his eyes darken.  Heat builds between your legs, against your better judgement.  Jake Seresin is the golden boy; Hollywood good looks, amazing physique, and the ability to charm the scales off a snake.  You'd be an idiot to give that up for the next few weeks, but you also guess no one has said no to him before.  In that moment, part of you wanted to check his ego.  But he was receptive, and more importantly, he was honest.  What more you could really ask for in a fling?  

"So you want me to play girlfriend for six weeks so you can do a good job at work?"  You put him on blast, asking with an incredulous tone.  

"Call it your civic duty.  Don't you support the troops?"  You can't help but toss your head back in a hearty laugh at the ridiculousness of the statement.  He smiles that big, full face smile that crinkles the corner of his eyes and sends big dimples tugging across his face.  The one that's way more genuine than the usual smirk.

"I like that smile way better than the flyboy smirk".  You remark. 

Jake's eyes light up, golden flecks in green irises.  "So that's a yes, then?"  

"I won't literally pretend to be your girlfriend, Jake.  But if we're both free and you want to hang out, get out of the bubble, take me on more nice dinners, I could be open to that."

You take a sip of your wine, eyes peeking coyly out from behind your glass.  The in-charge woman from Friday night was making her appearance again, after shaking off the nerves with the help of a glass of wine.  You lower the glass.

"However...there are some things we need to work on."  Your mouth quirks in the slightest suggestive smile.  

"Let me make it up to you.”  The words ring confident, unworried.  “I'm a fast learner, and I always rise to the challenge."  Despite your mild insult, Jake's machismo comes swaggering back.  He gently pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, drawing your attention to his mouth.  You notice that he shifts his hips in his seat, as if adjusting something.  Your eyes glance down, suddenly very frustrated at the table between you two.  

"Are you rising to the challenge right now?" You finish the last sip of your wine, cocking an eyebrow in suggestion.  

Jake's eyes run across you hungrily.  "Let's get the check."

.     .     .

No longer constrained by the invisible, but very real restrictions of the Naval uniform, Hangman’s hands are all over you.  In the car his hand is on your thigh, fingers skimming the bare skin just below the hem of your dress.  On the way to your apartment, a firm hand guides your lower back.  On the dimly lit porch as you fumble with the lock, both hands grip your hips as he presses himself against your back, trailing soft kisses up the side of your neck.  “I’m never going to get us in the door if you don’t stop distracting me-” you say, and it takes everything to stifle a moan in response to his teasing.  Finally you manage to get the old door unlocked.  

The moment you are inside, his hands grip your hips and pull you tightly to him. Jake dips his head, lips finding yours as he pulls you into a rough, hungry kiss.  Your fingers tangle in the dark blonde hair at the back of his head, gently guiding him towards the couch in the living room you’ve barely finished entering.  You throw your bag on the floor and a box of leftovers on an entryway table, barely looking to make sure they land.  The air outside was crisp and cool, but inside your apartment you are generating heat.  Starting a fire.  

Jake guides you to lie on the couch, hardly pausing the fervent kissing that has not ceased since the door shut behind you.  He props his hands on either side of your head, and you can’t help but admire the ripple of muscle in his forearms that frame you.  His  frame seems to dwarf yours in this moment, exuding masculinity in the broad muscled shoulders, defined forearms, and narrow hips that position slightly between your own.  You cannot help yourself, hands tracing the hem of his shirt before touching the bare, warm skin above his waistband.  He hums gently at the sensation, head dipping to return to the teasing kisses alongside your neck. 

This time, without the distraction of keys and doors, you let out a soft, breathy moan. 

“Mmm, see I told you I would learn fast.  Learn what really makes you moan, like this.”  He parts his lips on the delicate side of your neck, just below your ear, and sucks gently.  Bruising kisses down to your collar bone.  The sensation is electric, flying from your head to your center.  Your hips roll up into his.  A sign for him to keep going that he reads loud and clear.  

He keeps the kisses coming, lower now, across your chest.  He shifts his weight to free one hand to run along your body, tugging the hem of your dress up unceremoniously.  You eagerly raise one leg up around his body to grant him access to what he has unveiled.  A broad hand grips your bare thigh, tugging it into him as he humps into you on the couch.  It elicits another soft moan from you.  Your eyes shut, focused solely on the sensations.

“I bet you’re so wet for me, girl.  I told you I am a fast learner, I’m going to make you feel so good.  So fucking good.  You’re never going to second guess what I can do in bed ever again.”  His hips are gyrating across you, denim against the thin spandex of your underwear.  In that moment, you believe him.  You are fully confident that this man will unravel you, finding the right thread to pull before you are undone.  His confidence, cockiness, ego, whatever you want to call it has totally convinced you right now that he would make good on his promise.  

His hand moves from your outer thigh to your inner thigh, skimming and stroking as he makes his way to your clothed center.  He can feel your slick ruining the fabric already.  Jake places a flat palm against your core and your hips buck.

“So eager, hm sweetheart?  Okay.”  his hand relocates to the waist band of your underwear and he peels them from your body, discarding them somewhere in your living room.  Your hands are tugging at his back, mouth hungry for his kiss as he comes back to meet you.

Down below, Jake drags his middle finger through your folds, feeling just how wet his touch has gotten you.  You break from the kiss, mouth falling open slightly at the sensation.  It feels so good.  He moves one finger to start to trace slow, large circles on your clit. 

“Fuck, Jake. Yes.”  Hearing his name from your lips sets a groan loose from deep within his chest.  

“I’m not going to.  Not tonight.”  He says, voice gravelly and drawling.  He sees the slight look of confusion on your face.  

“Fuck you, I’m not going to fuck you.”  He returns back to kissing the side of your neck, causing your back to arch at the sensations above and below.  He is learning your buttons, fast.  “I told you I have some apologizing to do for Friday night...”

His kisses dip lower as his body moves towards your hips.  He removes his hand from your clit and moves.  Hooking both arms under your thighs, he grips your legs apart tightly and you are captive.  

Locked between your legs and looking up at you with dark eyes, green hardly noticeable, his voice rasps.  “I’m going to eat this pretty pussy until you come for me.  I’m going to figure out exactly what makes you moan, and do it over and over.”

Although he’s got all the power over you in this moment, pinning you to the sofa half naked and dripping wet from the slightest touch, you can’t help but keep some semblance of control.  He’s so sexy and you’re so sure this is a great fucking idea, but you can’t surrender fully to a man you barely know.  That’s not your style.  You need to maintain some edge, some control in the dynamic.  This was just a fun (very fun) arrangement for a few weeks.   Instead of moan and beg yes please, you answer: “I hope you’re as fast a learner as you say, Jake.”  

“You’re about to find out.  Lucky girl.”  

The smirk disappears below the front of your own body and he licks up your slit.  Involuntarily your toes curl as the sensations radiates from your core outward.  Your fingers find purchase on his back and shoulders, enjoying the feel of supple muscle that seems to cover the pilot in every right place.  

His tongue flickers across your entrance, your nerves alight with every touch and tap.  Your breath hitches, chest heaving as your breathing begins to labor.  From the grip he has wrapped around your thighs, his right hand moves to return to gentle circles around your clit.  The touch on the sensitive bundle of nerves sends your eyes rolling back and your back arching into the cushions.  

“God, thats sexy as hell when you moan like that.”  Jake takes notice again of the reactions.  His cock is straining painfully tight against his jeans and he presses his his down into the couch for some relief, trying to remind himself that he was making good on a promise.  The mission tonight was your pleasure, not his.  And Jake “Hangman” Seresin always finishes the mission.  

In a moment his hand is replaced by his mouth, tongue flicking across your clit.  You gasp in surprise.  While you knew he wanted to learn, you didn’t realize that he would have had such a strong starting point eating pussy.  You figured a man like him got head pretty often, but rarely gave.  Never before have you been so happy to be proven wrong.  His tongue picks up flicking and lapping, his eyes trained across your body to read all the signals elicited by his illicit touch.  The man could make micro adjustments flying a jet at the speed of sound.  Of course he could figure out how to hone in on his partner’s pleasure.  

Heat builds in your body as the green eyed pilot picks up his assault on your clit.  He shifts from licking and lapping to sucking and you are seeing stars.  The sensations heightens, winding you up deeper.

“That’s it, Jake.  Just like that.”  Your encouragement is staggered and breathy as you begin breathing deeper and more raggedly.  If he does keep it up just like that, you’re not long for your orgasm.  You notice his eyes light up with something, mischief or pride, its hard to tell.  The blond releases a hand from his grip parting your thighs to place a finger at your entrance.  Your hips buck to try to take him deeper.   

“Yes.”  He doesn’t ask, but you answer.  It’s nearly a demand, you are so wound up and feral.  Wild with desire as your orgasm approaches quickly.

Without so much as a taunt, keeping his mouth occupied dutifully on your swollen clit, he slides two fingers into your dripping pussy.  Reflexively, your walls close and grasp around him, hips bucking and hands moving to his hair to pull for more pressure against your clit.  You are panting and he is relentless as he sucks and fucks his hands into you.  

With one curl of his fingers against your g-spot, everything wound up within you snaps.  You’re moans and sighs and fuckyesdontstops are music to his ears as your orgasm rips forth and he is consumed by you.  Your hands pulling at his hair, your thighs clamping around his head, your walls gripping his fingers as you flood.  Fuck.  He kind of forgot how hot that could be.  Or maybe he didn’t realize how hot it could be when the woman was not putting on a show or he wasn’t just spending a little time on her to get to the good stuff.

When he put the idea of fucking out of his mind, he realized, giving some oral could be really good stuff.  Another revelation.  

You shift out from his loosening grip and let out a content sigh. Jake sits back on his heels, wiping your slick from his mouth and weekend stubble with the back of his hand.  He looks sexy as fuck, neat hair tousled by your tugging and his face flush with the effort.  You don’t exactly trust that the act of service wasn’t self-serving.  Maybe proving that he could do it, that he could please you was self-serving in it’s own way.  Not as direct as a means to the end of sex, but still driven by his own ego and desires.  

“Are you sure that is all you have in mind for tonight, Jake?”  You sit up, eyeing him suspiciously and adjusting your dress that was roughly pushed up around your waist.  

He lets out a soft chuckle, leaning forward to give you a chaste peck on the cheek.  You think it is surprisingly tender for someone you seem to mostly be using for sex.  “Yeah, it is.  I told you I’d make it up to you, no strings attached.  Not tonight, anyway.  I don’t make a habit of this.  But I’ve got to get to base.  We’ve got an 0500 start tomorrow and I need to be sharp.”

With the main event over, you both rise up off of the couch, collecting yourselves and your articles of clothing that have strewn across the living room.  He makes small talk about he training mission for tomorrow (”Shoot others down and don’t get shot down” he says the gist is) and you nod along.  Of course he has to leave early.  The swaggering movie-smile pilot you took home Friday night has become a fleshed out character over the course of your shared meal.  Suddenly you can attribute some depth to him.  You understand some of why the confidence and swagger must exist, and you realize that his work is tough, and important, and obviously it comes first.  You’re unbothered that he needs to leave.  Hell, you admire his dedication.  

“Well thank you, Jake.  Thanks for tonight.  Text me if you want to get together again.  Or, if you need to take matters in your own hands tonight so you can be sharp tomorrow.  Maybe I can provide some visual aid...” your eyes glint at him suggestively.

Yep, he thinks.  She’s a total tease.  A woman who knows exactly how to play to her strengths and get the response she wants out of the man in front of her. He respects it. He's even turned on by it. Fuck. Right now he was regretting his promise to her, he was still so spun up. Her offer was tempting, and she knew he couldn't resist.

He loves it.

“You’re welcome, gorgeous.  And I will.  Trust me.”  

You part with a kiss before closing the door behind him.  Trust me.  After he made good on his promise like that, you trusted him completely.  This was going to be a great few weeks.

[diabolocracy]

I'm sure a similar list has already been compiled but I'm procrastinating and want to waste my time listing off the various observations where I've seen fanpol pull a religious conservatoid move.

They both ignore scientific and psychological evidence. With conservatoids it's the APA, medical community, science in general...With fanpol it's the APA, the medical community, and science in general. They often come armed with biased sources and consider scientific papers as "Woke" science / whatever the fanpol equivalent is.

If you sin in your thoughts you sin in real life. If you read something taboo that means you want to or you're going to commit a felony.

"This media will invite demons into your life!" / "This media will make you want to commit [insert crime here]!"

It's fine to expose kids to ultraviolence but god forbid you show them anything remotely sexual (am I the only one who remembers the wide berth of dark and/or sexual jokes in kids programming...? It was a game to see what creators to get through the censors).

It's fine to ENJOY ultraviolence but as soon as it becomes remotely sexual to you or turns you on that must mean you want to commit violent sexual assault.

'Deviant' sex / kinky-in-the-wrong-way sex is bad terrible wrong and people who have 'deviant' or kinky-in-th-wrong-way sex is also bad terrible wrong. (In some cases, all kink is wrong.)

Alternatively, it's fine to sexualize violence / partake in kinky sex, but YOU and YOUR GROUP are the sole persons who are capable of doing it without making it 'weird' or 'creepy' ...somehow.

They love to call people who are not those things pedos and/or groomers as a way to try shutting them down. They either do not realize or embrace how this is a literal 1940s-era Nazi tactic against Queerfolk / 'degeneracy'.

General Authoritarian behavior.

Projection. They smear the outgroup as harboring groomers/pedos. Meanwhile, they protect or ignore (or put on a pedestal) the actual predators within their own groups. They ignore how their structures foster such dynamics. "I'm a safe adult, look how I attack taboo fiction, you can trust me. :)" "I'm a priest, I talk to Our Holy Father, you can trust me. :)" (Granted, "fandom moms" - specifically those who call them such to obfuscate their true nature as predators - aren't just a fanti thing. I'm aware.)

I swear I had more but I'm getting tired of typing. Bye

[counter-culture-christian]

ANTICHRIST/CHRISTOPHOBIA

Many people who speak about Christianity speak in a way that makes me think that they really don't know what they're talking about. Not only do they not know what they're talking about regarding true Christianity and what a Christian is actually considered from Scripture but they're absolutely obstinate in their ideologies, opinions and speak from a place of hatred, fallacy and real ignorance. I've come to realize that those types have made up their mind about Christians and Christianity, about Christ Jesus as well and will debate without even considering logic nor common sense. I've realized you can give them all the non biblical evidence or whatever they're asking for and they'll willingly choose to reject it (even after you've given them the truth) because they've decided to change the goal posts they're using to measure their subjectivity against. The concept of somebody professing to be a Christian or professing to be anything other than what or who they truly are as a disguise to commit vile acts against people goes completely off their heads, I swear they either aren't able to comprehend that something like that is possible or they're just wasting time with their "intellectual" or "liberal" stances on it. Sometimes I read their posts and wonder do they even know what they're writing? Do they understand what they themselves are writing? Christianity has been used by evil people and is now a scapegoat to take the blame. The very people who left Christianity cannot seem to leave it alone as they still continue to talk about it and what they experienced, they're stuck, unable to move on, to let go. No, they hold on, and don't forgive because if they let go, they cannot justify their hatred towards Christians or Christianity. Then who else will they blame for not being able to move on when it's their decision not to. They mock Christians, and persecute them because they cannot acknowledge the truth, it disturbs them so much to the point of hysteria. Well, the Bible mentioned this would happen in the last days, I'm hardly surprised. They cannot sympathize with Christians nor empathize because in their pursuit of their hatred towards Christians their love has grown cold. The depth of darkness they're in, is a cave they're stuck in for lack of wanting to be helped out because they're in denial about the place they're in. They take offense and project their own misunderstanding of everything onto Christians when they're told to repent and seek God. We know that our fight is not against flesh and blood but they don't even recognize their true enemy. They hate Christians and Christianity because in their minds Christians are evil. Woe to them that take good for evil and evil for good.

[ciitrinitas]

F, O, R, W

in response to this!

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom.

i tend to be pretty multi-fandom and thus all over the place in terms of activity levels, so this might vary depending on how you define being in a fandom. but for me, having some level of involvement on the fannish side and maintaining a fondness for the canon is sufficient to say i'm in the fandom, so i'd have to give it to ffviii. it was my first real game (and by that i mean that i technically fiddled with some nes/snes games before, but ffviii was the first one that really interested me and made me stick with it because holy shit was i bad at mario), so happy twenty or so years of me having the utmost affection for this hot mess of a game.

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of.

throwing my music library on shuffle yielded jenny by studio killers, and wow! massive alicent vibes. i don't have any real strong ships for her in part because she doesn't come across as being romantically interested in men, but also because rhaenyra isn't nearly as interesting as her, so rhaenicent mostly just exists to me. but holy shit is this massive vibes for them. comphet lesbian! is one of the very few cases where i actually agree with there being potential canonical evidence for said comphet lmao.

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships.

i sometimes trick myself into the most random ships and then get invested because oh no, it works. i did it with hod/yesod, and i did it, too, with mel/cait in arcane. unsurprisingly, vijinx is my ship of choice in that fandom, and vi/cait did not do very much for me, so i was sort of speculating what alternatives would feel feasible to me, and mel/cait activated my almonds, roasted them thoroughly. mel is ultimately a well-intentioned person, but she does like to have the upper hand in situations, and her relationship with jayce had a bit of a "this is my pet project where i get to mostly feel moral and good." cait is very keen in her own naive, rich-girl way to do Something Good for her home. they could very feasibly meet one another with both cait's mother and mel being on the council, so let them vibe a bit, and well, cait's family isn't about to complain about her making connections with someone so influential. and while mel would let cait have something similar to the taskforce she gets under jayce, but mel wouldn't want cait actually endangered. cait would get to look and feel useful while staying safe, and if maybe she starts to feel less like she is making a difference, mel is cunning enough to be able to shift cait's pov around for the most part. everyone wins! : )

W - 5 favorite ships and 5 kinks you like best for said ships.

1. bamchel - CHOKING. I WANT THEM TO CHOKE EACH OTHER. 2. asaden - ...i also want them to get a chance to choke each other. 3. yoruasa - look, i swear i have thoughts other than choking, but these are the first ships coming to mind and i've partly written choking fic for both bamchel and yoruasa. 4. ayin/angela - degradation. i just want them both to feel like complete shit when they fuck. angela isn't carmen, and ayin isn't even himself like 1% of the time anymore, and the deep, deep, deeply complicated emotions they feel for each other just bubble over in how inextricable they both are to each other. it's horrible, and i want them to feel horrible. <3 5. hod/yesod - mentioned it above, so i might as well include it! gaslighting and everything that comes included in that package. <3

[krisb-writing-blog]

Chapter 4: She Took the Midnight Train Going Anywhere

Start date: 07/10/22

End date: 07/18/22

TW: implication of m**d*r

Rating: PG (mature themes implied)

@choicesficwriterscreations

▪︎ __________ 🌷 __________ ▪︎

A month had passed since three of the four women scorned by Sam Dalton put their plan into motion, and it had worked so far. Marianne was unstoppable at work with the case and the detectives had found a lot of leads that actually bore fruit, Sofia bombarded Sam with extra work and projects until he could barely see over the mountain of proposals, and Hannah helped distract him in her own way, using dinners and movie nights with the kids to buy Marianne some time when she worked late nights. But finally, a tip from a witness all those years ago paid off, and the trio met up while Sam was at work.

"Mom! Sofia is here!" Mickey yelled, answering the door.

"That's no way to greet the woman who was almost your stepmother." Sofia beckoned, walking in.

"You're right. There's alternate terms that could be used in place of your name but we have a swear jar now after a brutal game night." Mason scoffed as he walked by.

"Thanks, you two. If you need help with your homework, just come get Hannah or me and we'll be right there." Marianne sat a food platter on the dining room table.

Once the kids went to their rooms, and Marianne double checked to make sure Ainsley was asleep on the baby monitor, the women caught each other up on what happened.

"Just out of curiosity, why are you working when Marianne is in the apartment today?" Sofia asked Hannah.

"Because I'm looking at the evidence today and I don't know how to explain why the suspect board has the father of my child and stepchildren on top of it, so she keeps them occupied while I work." Marianne answered for Hannah.

"Please tell me that's the only thing he's on top of." Sofia winked, sipping her tea.

"Eww. Also, since I'm pretending to be okay with that part of the scheme, I have to second that." Marianne replied.

"It's mostly just talk, I told him that I want to take things slow and he bought it." Hannah reassured them.

"Well, how's the investigation going? Anything that would shock the business world yet?" Sofia asked.

"I can't reveal much, but I can say that the tip we recovered said that Sam was the last one seen with Addison at a subway station before she disappeared. The techs are recovering security footage, but that's going to take a little while since it's been so long and the technology wasn't as great then as it is now. They're supposed to tell me later, but that's just the technical explanation." Marianne put something on her plate.

"Well what's the other explanation? Am I gonna have to help you look in the attic, because I already helped my roommate do that after we watched the Annabelle movies." Hannah shared.

"DNA was found in their old car, which was abandoned at the Dalton storage unit. It's Addison's, and it couldn't have gotten there unless she laid down in the backseat. I was hoping she'd be alive for the twins' sakes, but it's looking unlikely." Marianne sighed, taking a bite of a bagel.

Before anyone could say anything, Sam came home and walked into the dining room to see the three women conversing.

"Well if it isn't my wife, nanny, and ex-fiancee. What brings you three together?" Sam was curious, and quite frankly a little suspicious.

"Business. I'm hosting a ladies lunch and I was originally going to just invite your wife, but I'm fascinated by your nanny's passion for chemistry that I've extended it to her as well. She could be very crucial to Russo Industries if she wants a different career path." Sofia covered for them.

"I thought you said that you had a degree in communication and public relations?" Sam proved that he wasn't listening.

"Nope, chemistry." Hannah reminded him.

"Well I don't think they'll be able to get out of work to go, so I'm afraid they can't attend." Sam was nervous.

"My office is handling the case load just fine, and the kids can come with us, so you will have the office and the apartment to yourself." Marianne stood up to her husband.

When Sofia left, the day went on as it normally would. After putting the kids to bed, Hannah left and was in the elevator when she got a call from Marianne.

"Hello? Did I leave something in the apartment?" Hannah asked.

"No, but the lab got the footage back. Addison and Sam argued at the train station, and she got on alone. How her DNA could've been in the back of that car is still a mystery, but the credit card statements show that Sam rented a boat the afternoon that she went missing. The dive team is gonna investigate some more, but as far as we know she's still missing." Marianne whispered.

"So Sam knows more about the disappearance than what he's told the cops, and you're not letting him know any of this why?" Hannah asked.

"The element of surprise. If we find something, his reaction will be just as useful as any evidence." Marianne whispered.

"Alright. I'm gonna be in a little late tomorrow, my neighbors are gonna help me and my roommate with our stupid wifi issues, but I won't be too late. If I hear anything from Sam or Sofia I'll text you." Hannah told her.

"Got it. See you tomorrow." Marianne hung up.

[manygalaxiesinone]

Panty & Stocking: Disgaea AU Pt. 1, The meeting...

((I planned on making this for a while now, but with the announcement of a new Panty & Stocking project, I think it's more appropriate that I start this thing now. Let me know how much you guys enjoy this. BTW, in case you're wondering, it's going to take place around the events of Disgaea 1: Hour of Darkness. Anywho, enjoy.))

Celestia...a heavenly plane where angels roam. Everything that resides within this world are composed of all things pure and divine from the plants to its people...or so many would have you believe.

Vulcanus: "Master Lamington! Master Lamington, are you here?!"

Lamington: Appears before Vulcanus. "Must you create so much noise Vulcanus? I was in the middle of reading."

Vulcanus: "With all due respect, your poetry books can be put on hold! This is an important matter!"

Lamington: "Let me guess, it involves the Anarchy sisters again?"

Vulcanus: "Naturally..."

Lamington: "What have they done this time?"

Vulcanus: "What haven't they done?! The elder sibling alone has done enough to make a 50 page essay! But let's start with how she placed images of my glorious face on all of the training dummies! Or her intolerable smell. Her entire body recked of the stench of lust!"

Lamington: "..."

Vulcanus: "And it's not just her. The younger sibling is just as foul and devious. After all, she stolen and consumed 40 cakes that were prepared in the bakeries all over Celestia! 40! I highly suspect that those two ar-"

Lamington: "Vulcanus? Let me ask you the same thing the last time you wanted to discuss their behavior. What sort of evidence do you have for these accusations?"

Vulcanus: "E-Evidence?! Who else could it have possibly been?! All other Celestians are of pure heart except for those heathens!"

Lamington: "You are aware that we angels aren't the only ones who reside here, correct? As far as I'm concerned, it may have been a prinny who stole the cakes and planted those photos. As for the smell, the elder sibling trains vigorously on her own, since other angels tend not to go near her. The scent could be from her sweat."

Vulcanus: "Are you actually going to defend those two again, Master Lamington?!"

Lamington: "I'm not defending them. I wish to treat all matters such as this as fair as possible. Unless if you can actually prove they are responsible, I'm afraid those two are to be left alone, understood?" Fades away.

Vulcanus: "Rrrr. Fine! If it's evidence he wants, that's just what he'll get! By the end of this, those two will be banished from Celestia for all eternity! This I swear!" leaves

-later...-

Flonne: Hums while watering plants.

Vulcanus: "Ah, there you are Flonne."

Flonne: "Oh, Master Vulcanus. What brings you by?"

Vulcanus: "Flonne, you know those hero shows and books that you adore so much? Haven't you always want to become one?"

Flonne: *Gasps* "Yes! Absolutely!"

Vulcanus: "Hmhmm...now's your chance. I need you to investigate something for me. Are you familiar with the Anarchy Sisters?"

Flonne: "Well...I heard about them from the other angels, but I've never seen them in person before. They always warned me to stay away from them."

Vulcanus: "You are wise to heed them, but this is an exceptional matter. I need you to provide me with substantial evidence of any wrongdoings in Celestia. Photos, recordings, DNA samples, I don't care. Anything will do. Understood?"

Flonne: "Yes but if you mind me asking...why have me do it? I'm still just a trainee after all."

Vulcanus: "That's exactly the reason. If I send anyone else, they'll know we're on to something. With your innocent nature however, they likely won't suspect a thing. Do this, and I'll make sure that Lamington increases your rank."

Flonne: "Well...okay. I'll see what I can do."

Vulcanus: "Perfect. I give you one week. Don't disappoint me." leaves

-later...-

Flonne: "This is the place Master Vulcanus mentioned. Hmm...it doesn't look all that different compared to the rest of Celestia. Everyone called it a dirty, foul corner of the world, but everything seems well kept for the most part. Hmm...Now that I think about it, is it really okay for me to be doing this? Spying on other angels just to get them in trouble? Master Vulcanus says it's to protect the peace, but I'll be invading someone's privacy by doing this. Besides, are they really as bad as everyone says? They're often compared to demons, but I never met a demon before either so...ooh. I don't know. What should I do? Master Lamington, please guide me..."

Older Blonde angel: "Hey, do done talking to yourself there?"

Flonne: "Waaaaaaah!" Tackles the angel.

Older blonde angel: "Ow! What the hell's wrong with you?!"

Flonne: "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. Are you okay?"

Older blonde angel: "Ugh, I'm fine. You're lucky I'm not wearing anything good today." Gets up. "So, what's a trainee like you doing out here?"

Flonne: "Uh...nothing important. I-I'm looking for the Anarchy Sisters."

Older blonde angel: "Really? You got some package on you delivery girl? Or are you here because of those rumors spread around by the other angels in this place?"

Flonne: "R-Rumors?"

Older blonde angel: "You know the ones. "The sisters are bad to the bone. They sneak people into their homes and have their way with them before robbing them blind. They eat you out of house and home, attack your pets, ruin relationships, and delete the save files on your favorite video games if you even look at them funny. They're worst than demons!" You here to see if any of it's true?"

Flonne: (They really said all of that?) "No. I just wanted to meet them. After all, it's wrong to judge someone before fully getting to know them first...right? I guess you can say I'm a little curious."

Older blonde angel: "Curious huh? I see..." Points one of her guns at Flonne, getting her to step back a little. "Anyone ever told you that "curiosity killed the cat"? There are some mysteries that are better left unsolved, because one wrong turn...bang. Catch my drift?"

Flonne: "Uuuhhh..."

Older blonde angel: "Pfffft! Hahahahaha! You should see the look on your face right now!" Puts the gun away and wipes a tear from her face. "Oh man, I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard."

Flonne: "Ah, you were joking...phew."

Goth angel: Opens the house door. "Sis, could you quit scaring the poor girl help me with clean up for once in your life?"

Older blonde angel: "Yeah, yeah. Be there in a bit."

Flonne: "Sis? So...you two are..."

Panty: "Yup. Those Anarchy Sisters you were looking for? You just found 'em. Name's Panty, and the b@#$& over there's my little sister, Stocking."

Flonne: (Such profanity...) "My name's Flonne. It's very nice to meet the two of you."

Stocking: "Wow, you're the first one who ever said that to us in centuries, even after Panty pointed a gun in your forehead."

Panty: "You're acting like I was actually going to shoot her. You really think I'm dumb enough to shoot an angel with Vulcanus sniffing our asses like a hellhound?"

Stocking: "Considering the stunts you pulled in the past, yes."

Panty: "Ugh, whatever. It's not like you're all that innocent yourself, c$%#."

Stocking: "So are you coming inside or am I going to leave your ass out here overnight while I do all of the chores AGAIN?"

Panty: "I said I'm coming! Quit your b@#$&ing!" Starts walking towards the house, but then looks at Flonne. "Oh yeah. Flonne, right? You want to come in? You said you wanted to get to know us."

Flonne: "Sure, as long as you don't mind."

Stocking: "It has been a long time since we had an actual guest here. Just don't let my s#$%& of a sister trick you into doing her chores for her."

Panty: "You really have no faith in me, do you?"

Stocking: "You give me no reason to."

The three of them go inside the house.

[goblinselfshippr]

2/2 of me projecting onto a game and character that really isnt that deep (it is to ME) i think this is way longer than the first sorry. (Part 1 here)

PS- if it isn't clear at this point I'm saying that wizard training causes c-ptsd because that cannot be good for your health. So "Delusion" being a prerequisite to Conjuring (I have no idea if this is a "correct" term, I personally take no offense to it, but lmk if you do, I guess). Some evidence: you can summon minions to help fight with you if you choose- which was the main reason I kept Myth when I took the personality quiz instead of switching to Ice (previously my fave school). Now these minions are common enemies in the game like haunted dolls, trolls, and Cyclops (does that have a plural?? Idk) with one main difference: the ones you summon look different from the actual enemies. Most notable is that the minions aren't as big as the actual enemies. There are slight color differences too, but their height is way more noticeable. Cyclops are usually like 2 players tall, but Cyclops Minions are maybe 1.3 players tall.

And yeah yeah yeah its to differentiate between the spells. Shut up. We are choosing to ignore reality. ANYWAY.

Conjuration is described as "where shadowy forms of thought become real" and "when imagination becomes too fanciful and whimsical these dreams take on life and run loose." SO LIKE. All the Myth bosses and allies must've been somebody's imaginary friends at one time. It would explain why there are bosses or characters with familiar names but don't quite fit their tales- for example, Apollo is a rooster who fucks your shit UP.

Yes I swear we are coming back around to Cyrus, I can't control how my brain categorizes things. There's not a lot said about his family other than they aren't really there. He's left alone from presumably a young age because his father is some big name battlemage, there's zero mention of a mother figure, and his brother would rather play in a graveyard (also convinced Cyrus was afraid of his own shadow as a kid bc I wouldn't put it past Mal to actually summon a demon under his bed). He hides in his room and either paints his daydreams or reads fantasy novels.

Omg he just like me fr except instead of painting I write fanfic that no one ever reads. It’s for my eyes only

From my own experience, you get lonely and bored, and you want friends, but never learn. And his father doesn't sound like the most supportive guy in the world- he seems kind of salty that neither of his kids want to practice Pyromancy like him. So poor Cy was probably just dismissed and ignored and had to go back to his sanctuary.

Cyrus doesn't actually become interested in any sort of spell casting until he's like 18-19, and Mal gets his ass kicked by a Conjurer. Bro really said "damn I can make my daydreams fight for me?" And just did that for the rest of his life, LOL. Wish that were me.

Cyrus is (admittedly) not the best teacher. Like, yeah, he's a dick but most people can think of at least one teacher in their life that everyone called an asshole that they eventually grew to appreciate even if it wasn't personally true. Cyrus, on the other hand, straight up begs you to leave him alone (same). Like the only time he speaks to you is when you irritate him enough or he suddenly remembers you exist. And I'm pretty sure at one point he even tells you he forgot you were in his class. -1000/10 teacher. Problematic fave. I would either hate him or only like him because he leaves me the hell alone. So what is he doing if not dutifully teaching his students?

According to his about page, enjoying the quiet or researching. Doubt. But then, daydreaming until you summon something could likely count as research for Myth. So yeah I think the reason why he's a massive douchebag is because he found a way to profit off his maladaptive daydreaming, and the only downside is he has to tell a couple of kids to scram every now and then. I guess I could have just lead with that. Rip.

[destinygoldenstar]

Rei Takeo/Cure GoldenAsh Being A Mood (Sketched Artistry Pretty Cure) (Part 1)

Episode 1:

*Keiko and Rei bump into each other*

Rei: "What the-?!! Watch where you're going!"

Keiko: “I am so sorry!!"

*Keiko tries to pick up her book*

Rei: “Don't touch my stuff!”

Keiko: “I'm sorry! A-at least let me help you up.”

Rei: "You… You don't know who I am..." 

Keiko: “I don't see how that matters. Sakura Keiko, if you're wondering." Rei: “Takeo Rei..." 

*Rei gets helped up. Awkward stare between the two*

Keiko: “I'll uh... I'll leave you alone."

Rei: “Is that yours?”

Keiko: "Huh? Yeah, that's... that's mine." 

Rei: “Your wings are small. They need to be the main focus of your paper, so you really want to maximize every edge and every line."

Keiko: “Uh... Thanks." 

Rei: “Don't mention it.”

*Rei leaves*

(She’s not in Episode 2 at all)

Episode 3: 

Ichiro: “A sun doodle?! Are you crazy or just, really terrible at making art?"

Rei: “I could ask you the latter!"

Punk: “Excuse me?!”

Ichiro: “Look girl, no one asked for you to jump in! Scram!"

Rei: “You're telling me?! This girl was minding her own business, and so should you!" 

Punk: “And for what reason should we?"

*gets his wrist twisted*

Rei: “Because you'll regret it if you don't listen to me,"

Ichiro: "Please! For a bad tempered burn to the head, you just have to be annoying as well!"

*gets a book chugged at his head*

Rei: "Who's next?"

*Ichiro and the punks runs away*

Keiko: "Takeo-San..."

Rei: "You don't want to end up like that, I suggest you watch where you're going." 

Keiko: “U-uh... Yeah, sure, sure... thanks."

*Rei walks away* *She comes back to grab her school bag*

~

Teacher: “Takeo-San, we're turning in the storyboard today, you have yours?"

Rei: “Here. Go ahead and tear it apart." 

Teacher: “Why would I do that?!"

Rei: "I told you I can't write! Besides, it's kind of your job."

*Students fall off their seats*

~

Sora: “It takes a long time to even become competent, Keiko. I didn't even get a perfect score on this, nobody is going to have that talent-"

Rei: “Seriously?!! You have to do that to me?!" 

Teacher: “I think it's something you should consider, Takeo-San..."

Rei: "I did not ask for this score!" "

Teacher: “You are being hard on yourself.��

Rei: “Look, I respect you, so I don't actually expect you to like it!"

Someone: “Well, what'd you even get?!" 

Rei: “It's not your business!”

*throws the paper away*

Sora: “Maybe you're not the only one who failed?"

~

*Rei is minding her own business*

*Keiko sneaks up from behind her*

*Rei nearly hits her, but sees her*

Rei: "Oh. You."

Keiko: “Takeo-San. Remember me? From the museum? I uh... thank you for helping me this morning, first of all." 

*Rei stares at Keiko*

Keiko: "I-I have your book! You didn't pick it up after you helped me, so I wanted to give it back to you."

Rei: “Um... Thanks. Did you read it?"

Keiko: "What?" 

Rei: “Did you read the book?! Yes or no?!" 

Keiko: “U-uh, no! No, I did not!" 

*Rei stares her down*

Keiko: "I swear I didn't!"

Rei: "Someone who actually respects privacy, I'm impressed."

*Rei walks off*

*Keiko follows her*

Keiko: "Wait! Hold on, shouldn't we, uh, talk this over? We are partners on this project, and I can really use your help on this sort of thing." 

Rei: “Careful with your words Sakura-San, you don't want to gain a reputation as a stalker."

Keiko: “I'm trying to get to know you, Takeo-San, I'm not trying to steal from you or anything."

Rei: "You... wait, you don't want to hurt me?" 

Keiko: “Why on earth would I want to do that?"

Rei: "Everyone does." 

Keiko: “I'm sorry.”

Rei: “Don't be, I'm not worth that pity." 

Keiko: “Okay… Where'd you get the book?" 

Rei: “That's not your business!"

*Rei walks away*

*Keiko follows her, seeing Rei taking out a pen*

Keiko: "You wrote that book yourself!!"

Rei: "Please stop following me!"

Keiko: “No, wait! That's awesome, Takeo-San! No one said you were a writer!" 

Rei: “That's not really evidence to anything.”

Keiko: “You got a hundred on the storyboarding. You brushed off that step of the process like it was nothing, and you're writing a whole novel by yourself! I mean, I am a pretty decent painter, but still!"

Rei: “Is this a trick? Are you getting close so you can staple my seat?" 

Keiko: “No! I'm just ecstatic! The known tough girl of the school, the lawful strength that sets hearts on fire, is actually a novelist! You should really be showing off that dedication! Let alone be proud of it! Maybe people can do the same!"

*more judging stares at Keiko*

Rei: “You poor doomed childish soul.”

*attempts to walk off but stops*

Rei: “You know... We are working on this project together, and since you clearly don't understand the success of art..." 

Keiko: “Let me try! I know it's a lot to ask, but you're just the partner I need for this! Just please teach the ways of writing!!"

Rei: "Fine, just don't set the papers on fire and we can converse at the café."

~

Rei: "You're excited for no reason.”

Keiko: "No reason?! This is great for both of us!" 

Rei: “I don't know about that. Some people will never rise to greatness." 

Keiko: “Oh ha ha, I suppose I'm meant to be nervous instead."

Rei: “Well, given our personalities, our life experiences, and everything we've been through to get to this moment... yeah."

~

Ichiro: "Hey precious."

Rei: “Convenient yourself, Ichiro.”

Keiko: “Wait, you know each other?!"

Rei: "Leave us be, and I'll leave you alone." 

Ichiro: “You won't anyway! I do the slightest thing and you have to come in and break my wrist every time!" 

Rei: “Because what you do for jokes are wrong! Treating me and others like a pet, lying, pushing other people around." 

Ichiro: “You are a great pet though! Just another pawn to the game." 

Rei: “I am NOT your pawn! And I belong to no one!"

~

*Ichiro slips over a water spill*

Rei: "Come on Sakura-San!" 

*They both leave*

Keiko: “Takeo-San..."

Rei: "He's tried to play me since the fourth grade! And ever since he's never respected anybody's boundaries, and does the most irresponsible things just to lure me in and anger me to my core! He doesn't think stealing from people and bullying them is wrong no matter what I do to convince him, he thinks it's funny!" *sped up*

Keiko: “Just... How do you deal with that?" 

Rei: “Oh you get used to it. When everyone follows in trying to destroy you, you get used to it."

~

Rei: “Sakura-San, what do you have so far?" 

Keiko: “Oh uh… Wait, what do you have?" 

Rei: “I threw mine away, remember?"

~

Rei: "Do you have note cards?"

Keiko: “Note cards?"

*pulls out a ton of note cards*

Rei: “First step in the writing process is coming up with an idea, jolt them down on paper."

Keiko: “And then we write?"

Rei: "No, then we organize all these notes to fit in a pyramid structure, essentially, what comes first, what comes next?"

Keiko: “And then we write?"

Rei: “No. Then we double check, plot it all down, and THEN we write... the first draft, then we have to edit and do it again."

~

Rei: “Okay, so you're completely disorganized with your concept, I guess we’re starting from there."

Keiko: “Whoa, hey, I am NOT disorganized!"

Rei: "Oh yeah? Then identify the conflict in this."

*tries*

Rei: “Not the conflict." 

*tries*

Rei: “No." 

*tries*

Rei: “Nope." 

*tries*

Rei: “Nope." 

*tries*

Rei: “Nope." 

*tries*

Rei: “No." 

*tries*

Rei: “Tried that spot already."

~

Rei: “For some reason, I don't believe that whatsoever."

~

*Keiko is asleep. Rei pokes at her. She doesn’t wake up. Rei groans*

~

Keiko: "That was beautiful, Takeo-San."

Rei: “I-it's nothing. Really, we're done anyway, it's getting late."

~

Sora: "Are you alright?" 

Keiko: “What are you talking about? I'm fine. I was just working with my new, super great partner over here. We're really close now."

*Awkward silence*

*Rei face palms*

Keiko: “That did not sound as good as it did in my head."

~

Sora: “Everyone knows you don't mess with Takeo-San, not if you know what's good for you."

Keiko: “What? But she's-"

Rei: “None taken!"

~

Keiko: "This is my friend, Ayano Sora, Sora, Takeo Rei, Takeo-San, Sora." 

Sora: “Hello..."

*Rei crosses her arms*

Keiko: “Uh..."

~

Keiko: "She has it! She has the thing!"

Rei: "Boy does that sound subtle."

~

Rei: “Monster!!!!"

Noir: "Are you talking to me?"

Rei: "Yes I am!!!"

~

Cherry: “Uh, Rei-Chan...."

Rei: "Yeah hi Sakura-San."

~

*gets her PreCure Palette*

Rei: “What is this toy?!!"

~

Cherry: “We're not letting you do all the work, Cure G."

GoldenAsh: “Cure G? Really?" Azure: “Cherry..." 

Cherry: “I-I just think it's cute and less syllables."

~

Keiko: “Hey, Takeo-San, how did you know about us?" 

Rei: “Oh, that?” *eye roll* “It's a cliché in every superhero book ever. I knew since we were at the café together. Like, originality? Anyone?"  ~

Keiko: “Hey, at least she didn't know everything! She didn't know Orenji can talk-"

Rei: “I knew that too."

*Imaginary stamp smacks Keiko in the head*

~

Rei: "Yeah... I love writing, so what?"

*Keiko squeals*

Rei: "I guess this means I can call you Keiko, right?"

Keiko: "Of course, Rei-Chan!"

*Keiko hugs Reis arm, continuing to squeal. Rei plugs one of her ears*

Rei: "This is going to take some getting used to..."

Episode 4:

*Cherry and GoldenAsh purify an Inkling from in a water tank*

*The purification launches Azure into a clone of that Inkling*

*Cherry runs off to help her*

GoldenAsh: *groans* "Not again!!!" 

*She runs off as well*

~

*GoldenAsh and Azure purify an Inkling*

*Cherry missed her strike and slips*

Cherry: "No no no no no-!" 

*She slides off and head butts with another Inkling*

*Azure runs off to help*

*GoldenAsh face palms*

~

*Arrows get shot at them*

*Azure tries to block it with a shield while Cherry and GoldenAsh are on the ground covering their heads*

GoldenAsh: "What did I do to deserve this?!!"

~

*Cherry and GoldenAsh purify an Inkling together*

*Cherry attempts to high five GoldenAsh, but she instead looks behind them and rolls her eyes*

*Theres a blue frog*

*Cherry uses her pen to turn the frog back to Azure*

Azure: "What just happened?!!!"

GoldenAsh: "Everything, Sora! Everything in your worst dreams!" 

*Cherry laughs. GoldenAsh groans and stomps away*

~

*Cherry, Azure, and GoldenAsh are floating. Azure is trying to blast a finisher downwards. GoldenAsh has her arms crossed, bitterly staring at Cherry. Cherry grins nervously at her.*

~

*Cherry, Azure, and GoldenAsh are stuck in ice*

*GoldenAsh uses her fire spell to break them all out and she starts shivering*

Cherry: "I'm at you fiend!!" 

*Throws a paint bomb that hits GoldenAsh in the back of the head. It explodes and covers her in pink paint*

*Cherry hides het hands behind her back*

GoldenAsh: "Ow!!" 

*Cherry starts laughing it off and wraps her arm around GoldenAsh*

*As they walk away, GoldenAsh slouches and gives a death glare behind her*

~

*Cherry pulls out an electrical pole*

GoldenAsh: “Cherry, wait-!" 

*Cherry throws the pole at the Inkling. It only makes the Inkling’s fire bigger, and it smacks a charging Azure to the side*

GoldenAsh: "Did you forget it absorbs electricity?!"

Cherry: "…Yes."

~

Azure: “I'm going to mark that as 'Fire Monster The Third.'"

GoldenAsh: “Oh wow," *eye roll* "How did you come up with such an original name?"

Azure: “Uh... Am I missing something?" 

Cherry: “We won the match, Cure G! What's wrong with you?" GoldenAsh: “What's wrong with me?! What's wrong?! I'm tired of all this useless filler, that makes us act stupid! ‘What does that Inkling do?' It absorbs electricity to get stronger? 'I have a plan! Let's throw electricity at it!'" 

Cherry: “It's not filler, it's... a breath of fresh air and a daily workout."

GoldenAsh: “So my daily workout is going to involve nearly burning to literal ash?"

Cherry: "Maybe...?"

~

GoldenAsh: "This is what I'm trying to say! We wait for a monster to come during the week and cause collateral damage, we step in, we have hour long transformations, and we avoid getting defeated long enough to shoot paint at its face!"

~

GoldenAsh: "So we don't need to change at all?! It's completely fine for you to almost get your teammates killed?!" 

Cherry: “What? No, no, that's not what I'm saying at all! My plan didn't work the way I thought it would, that happens sometimes-"

GoldenAsh: “You didn't even think! For the past two weeks you haven't thought anything through before jumping into a plan! Whose idea was it to jump right into the sheep wool? Whose idea was it to get hit by the anti-gravity ray to make an 'air attack?!' Whose idea was it to feed to the Inklings?!"

Cherry: “I know what I'm doing!"

GoldenAsh: "If you knew what you were doing, you'd actually be smart!" 

Cherry: “Did you just call me dense?!" 

GoldenAsh: “Yes. Yes I did.”

Cherry: "You've just been arguing and not helping us!" 

GoldenAsh: “Not helping?! I purified the past four Inklings! How am I not helping?!"

~

*Azure motions GoldenAsh to apologize*

GoldenAsh: "Really?"

Cherry: "You're agreeing it's my fault? I think you're just misunderstanding what I'm trying to say-"

GoldenAsh: “Are we?! I don't hear an apology!" 

Cherry: “What do I have to apologize for?!"

Azure: "Rei..." 

GoldenAsh: “What?!!"

Azure: “Rei..." 

GoldenAsh: “I meant what I said! She needs to hear that. I'm giving her advice!"

~

Orenji: “So why don't we calm down, and regroup ourselves before we discuss our next move."

GoldenAsh: “Fine by me.”

*GoldenAsh walks away*

Cherry: "Wait, where are you going?!" 

GoldenAsh: “Like Orenji said, I need some air, and some sleep."

~

Katara Takeo: “How was school?" Rei: “Fine.”

*Tosses her bag aside and throws her body on the couch*

Katara Takeo: “I assume something's wrong?"

Rei: "Same old, tired."

~

Katara Takeo: “You have a gift, and I'm not just saying that, you have a passionate gift with your skills, I don't know why you didn't want to pursue it." 

Rei: “And look where door designing got you.”

~

Keiko: *whining* “I'm sorry, Rei-Chan!"

Rei: "What's going on?" 

Keiko: “I'm so sorry about before! I-you-you were right, I was being impatient, I messed up, and I-I'm sorry! I got carried away!"

Rei: “H-hey... I accept your apology." 

Keiko: “Really?!"

Rei: "Yeah... please stop squeezing my hand."

~

Sora: “And what do you plan to do?"

Orenji: "I... don't know."

Rei: "We're gonna lose..."

~

Orenji: “You know your shapes, right?"

Rei: "I don't know, did we pass kindergarten?”

*gets smacked in the face with a pen*

~

Rei: “I feel like this is a pointless demonstration of the toy palettes.”

Keiko: "They're not toys Rei, they're sources of magic." 

Rei: “A toy, got it."

~

Rei: “I thought this came natural on television."

~

Rei: “Congratulations, we learned how to be freaks on the street."

Sora: “Now what?"

Orenji: "Want to go over your attacks?" 

Sora & Rei: “NO!!!"

Keiko: "Yes!"

~

Keiko: “Let's make a banner! A banner resembling all three of us!"

Rei: "Who cares?"

~

Rei: “This is just filler, I'm telling you."

~

Sora: “Maybe we should reconsider our team name.”

Keiko: "It's fine." 

Rei: “I'm so beyond saying things are fine.”

~

Keiko: “How long have we been working on this?"

Rei: "Enough for the sun to hate us."

~

Keiko: “Are you picky?"

Rei: "What makes you say that?!" 

Keiko: “You scrapped off the onions. You're picky." 

Rei: “We all have foods we don't like! That doesn't make me picky!" 

Keiko: “Overreaction. Typically picky."

Rei: “I am not picky!!"

Keiko: "Just asking, I just noticed how small your plate is." 

Rei: “Oh, that? That's because you're attempting an overload of cannibalism."

Keiko: “Excuse me?!!"

~

Keiko: “I know I don't know how to be a Pretty Cure, let alone any sort of leader-“

Rei: "I can tell." 

Keiko: “I don't know your ways of doing art, I don't know when or when not to listen to you, it all just blurs in my head-“

Rei: “I can tell that too."  ~

Rei: “Further more, are you going to stop throwing torches at monsters heads?"

Keiko: "Your head's already a torch."

Rei: "A torch?!!!"

~

Keiko: “Don't worry, we can salvage this-"

*spills black paint everywhere*

*Rei slams her paintbrush on the ground, standing up with a fist clenched.*

*Her fist loosens after a break, and she walks away*

Keiko: "Wait, Rei!!! Rei-Chan! I'm sorry!!!! Rei!!!!"

~

Cherry: “Cure G! I'm sorry about what happened, okay?! You were-" 

GoldenAsh: “Save it for when we finish this thing!"

*runs off* ~

Noir: “And how do you think you're going to save them?" 

Azure: “She will!"

GoldenAsh: *struggling* "Even if she doesn't, we can get out ourselves!"

*they’re stuck in paper good*

GoldenAsh: "…This is tight."

~

*Cherry throws the Inkling back. GoldenAsh and Azure are stuck to it and nearly get slammed into the ground*

GoldenAsh: "Will you be careful?!!"

~

Azure: “A yen?!!"

GoldenAsh: "The savior's tool! Of course!"

Episode 5:

Keiko: “Yeah right, like a sophomore is going to walk up to us and be daring-"

Stranger: “You three!"

*Keiko shoves Orenji in a bag*

Rei: "That's what you get for opening your mouth.”

Stranger: “Move.”

Rei: "Why?" 

Stranger: “You're in our spot. We always sit here." 

Rei: “Don't start that with me! We got here first!" 

Stranger: “We're older than you.”

Rei: "That makes no difference!"

~

Rei: “If you want the senpai so much, why don't you ask her?"

Keiko: “I will!" 

*runs off*

Rei: "I was joking!"

~

*GoldenAsh gets her fist trapped in tin foil*

GoldenAsh: "What a rip off!"

Episode 6:

Keiko: “Guys! I have some news!"

Rei: “Do not say that you came up with a new banner design!"

Keiko: "Nope! Though, that's not a bad idea..." 

Rei: “What's your point?!"

~

Keiko: “She's perfect! She's everything we need for our team! She's calm, humble, elegant, intellectual, and-"

Rei: “-Everything you're not?"

~

Akemi: “I have a show to attend this week, plus I have my chorus classes and dance lessons, and that acrobat class you guys found me in, so... I really don't have the time to play dress up."

Rei: “You play dress up all the time, what's the difference?"

Sora: "It's not dress up! I mean... okay it's a part of it, but the outfits are an awesome bonus!" 

Midori: “Gina-san, we're heroes! We transform using these palettes, and we fight monsters that drain color, we're trying to... what's our goal again?" 

Rei: “Exactly. That's great convincing."

Akemi: “So you have toys as well?"

Rei: "THANK YOU!! I've been saying that since the first time I saw it!"

~

Rei: “We just gave you our biggest secrets of all time, and you say no?!!"

~

Rei: “Well... That plan could have gone better."

~

Rei: “So... Miss perfect is also rich." 

*Keiko and Midori run off to the limo.*

Rei: "Aren't you rich too?"

*Sora shrugs*

~

*The girls are in a limo. Rei is bored and on her phone*

~

Keiko: “Sora can help with her costume! Rei can do character studies with you to further get into it.” *Whispers to Akemi* “Though she is kind of bossy." 

Rei: “I heard that!"  ~

Rei: “You are fire. You are a lone hunter whose main desire is to find light. Why do you want to find light?" 

Akemi: “Because the script says so.”

Rei: "No! Never let that be the answer! You have to be into your character! You have to express the character using your acting skill, find a motivation that's not written in stone!"

*Rei gets up in Akemi’s face. Akemi crawls away from her*

~

Rei: “Tell you what? We can stretch it out, clear our minds." Akemi: “Uh... O-okay." 

*Akemi does a vertical split on the floor. Rei only gets halfway*

Rei: "I-I can't move..."

Akemi: “You need help?"

Rei: "No, no... I-I got it..."

*Still can’t move*

~

Rei: “It was just one misstep no one noticed until she stopped, what's the problem?" ~

Midori: “She does not hate you. Akemi isn't someone to get mad about small slip ups like this, that's how I describe Rei." 

Rei: “I get it guys! I'm really trying here!"  ~

Noir: “Nope! Still wrong!"

GoldenAsh: "That's not fair, you baited her!" 

Noir: “And she fell for it! That's her fault!"

GoldenAsh: “Okay... No way to tell the difference which one is real?" 

*One Inkling clone almost tackles her*

GoldenAsh: "Forget it!”

Episode 7: 

Sora: “Shouldn't we form some sort of plan, like, what this lady's plan is or-"

Rei: “Isn't it obvious? She left us to rot."  ~

Rei: “Well we learned something, genius. Don't touch weird things!"

~

*Akemi and Keiko scream at the sight of Master Shokyo*

*Rei throws a rock at him.*

*The rock bounces off the beast with no faze*

Midori: "...nice shot.” ~

Rei: “How else can we get rid of these things?!"

*She uses her pen to blow fire at the bird Inklings.*

*They are unaffected, and they tackle her*

Keiko: “Rei-Chan!" 

*Keiko uses her pen to shoot paint at the birds. All but one retreat*

*Rei punches the last bird off of her. That bird is unaffected and gleams at her*

*Rei yelps and gets behind Keiko*

Rei: "Never mind! Let's just run!!"  ~

Keiko: “See where I'm going with this?"

Rei: "That you're just spilling out basic logic?"  ~

*GoldenAsh’s fire attack misses Anka*

Anka: “I knew you were dumb, but wow..."

*GoldenAsh is smiling*

*The fire attack hits Azures mirror, turning the fire into a hotter blue color and reflecting it to hit Anka in the back. A tower of blue fire adds onto it*

GoldenAsh: “We must be total idiots then.”

~

Rei: “We're alive! We. Are. Alive!!"

~

Akemi: “I do not feel like we were trapped there for eight and a half hours."

Rei: “Who cares?! We're alive!!!!"

~

Orenji: “I'm a bird. What can I do-?"

Rei: “Everything!" 

Episode 8:

*Keiko is half asleep. Midori is wide awake. Sora and Akemi have coffee. Rei is cranky*

~

Orenji: “Now, I have analyzed all your schedules and put together a routine for all of us at once! You will follow this and talk to me if there's any issue with something you may have that I missed. Otherwise, I will not take no for an answer!"

Rei: "No."

Orenji: “Push ups!!!"

Rei: "What?! W-what did I do-?!" 

Orenji: “I heard that! Push ups! Now!"

*Rei obeys*

~

*Rei punches a hole in a tree*

Midori: “That tree suffered such an unfortunate fate..." ~

Orenji: “I told you five to sleep, and you didn't! There's no reason for that!" 

Rei: “Sorry we have homework. Brought to us by the education system provided. No sleeping on the job."

~

Orenji: “Why are your hands bandaged?"

Keiko: “I cut myself.”

Orenji: "That many times?!!" 

Sora: “Yes! She-uh- a part of her homework was stitching, and she... she pricked her fingers on the needles over and over again."

Rei: “That's putting it lightly.”

Keiko: "Rei-Chan!"

~

Orenji: “Twenty times twelve times eight!" 

Rei: “A thousand eight hundred thirty.”

Orenji: "I can't hear you!" 

Rei: “A thousand eight hundred thirty! I need to know math to fight monsters!" 

Orenji: “You don't! But we're keeping your minds sharp! And that's not even the right answer!"

Keiko: “You're not good at math, Rei?"

*Rei has no more face*

Orenji: "Keiko! Ten times one times four!" 

*Keiko tries to take out paper, but gets a whistle blown in her face*

Orenji: "Ten times one times four!"

Keiko: “Uh... Ten!" 

*Whistle blown*

Keiko: "Four!"

*Whistle blown*

Keiko: “…ten times one times four!"

*Whistle blown. Keiko falls off her seat*

Sora: "Forty!"

Rei: "Don't make fun of me when you're just as bad."

~

Orenji: “Wrong leg!" 

Rei: “You said left!"

*Whistle blown*

*Rei snatches the whistle*

Rei: "Enough with that thing!"

~

Midori: “Really?! Oh gosh! Akemi! Where did she go?!"

Akemi: “Midori...?"

Midori: "That tree just spoke to me, did you hear what I heard?"

Rei: “Can you hear my phrase right now?"

*She trips over*

Orenji: “Okay! Enough playing around! Someone took my whistle, and I really don't want to saturate my voice."

*Coughs at Rei*

~

Midori: “You're clearly tired as well, Orenji.”

Sora: "Yeah, you've been doing so much work in helping us by the looks of it." 

Rei: “Guys, he's causing this-"

Akemi: “We're fine, Orenji. Really."

~

Rei: “Well, unless I find my folders, I guess I have nothing better to do other than, I don't know, sleep?! Something I forgot how to do!"

Midori: “Wait... You lost your folders too?" 

Rei: “Yeah, so? I can live with that."

~

GoldenAsh: *slapping herself in the face* “Snap... out of it..."

*passes out*

~

*GoldenAsh yanks her hair*

GoldenAsh: "SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!"

*Slaps Cherry in the face to wake her up*

GoldenAsh: *holding her nose* "You need to get up and stop smelling the flowers, got it?!!”*gasp* “Orenji is your partner, right?!” *gasp* “Would a partner let each other down, especially when he pulled a new trick on the spot to save you...?!"*gasp*”You can't...” *gasp* “…let that bird down..."*is about to pass out*

*Cherry slaps her, then starts shaking her*

Cherry: *holding her nose* “You can't either, Cure G!!” *gasp* “You're his partner as well, and I don't care what insult you have to give him, he is worth saving!!!!” *gasp* “I am not going to take this training and this role solo over here!!!"*gasp* "Besides...” *gasp* “…if you're gonna...” *gasp* “…smell the flowers...” *gasp* “…do it in style..." *is about to pass out*

*GoldenAsh slaps her, then starts shaking her*

GoldenAsh: "I know how to smell flowers just fine, Cherry!!! So don't you dare do this on your own, and don't you leave me in the back again!!!"

Cherry: “Like with the math?" 

GoldenAsh: “Oh no, I'm not as bad as you."

~

Keiko: “We should all sleep this weekend, replenish and find better training, even for our little assistant here."

Rei: "About time."

Episode 9:

Sora: “You mean you lived here? It's... actually functional for a bird, fruit trees, trees in general, water, privacy."

Rei: "Keep up all those basic facts, Sora-Chan. I couldn't have guessed that."

~

Sora: “I didn't know birds give each other names.”

Rei: "Oh? You expected them to refer to each other as macaw 1, macaw 2, and macaw 918131?"

~

*Rei and Midori are playing volleyball together*

*Midori slams the ball in the sand and wins*

Rei: "Cheats!"

~

*Rei and Midori continue to play volleyball.*

*Midori wins again*

Rei: "How are you so good...?"

*a wave crashes onto Rei*

~

Keiko: “I'm sure they're just beating it at the sun without us. Which is why the sun will guide us to them!"

*A cloud floats over and blocks the sun.*

Rei: “Wow. The sun hates you." ~

Worker: “What are you doing here?"

Rei: "Uh..."

Keiko: “Magic."

Worker: “…okay.”

*he walks away*

Rei: “How did that work-?!"

Keiko: "I have no idea!"

~

Akemi: “Where are they?!"

Rei: "Let me guess, they got kidnapped."

*Noir appears*

Noir: “By me!"

Rei: "Yeah, I figured.” ~

*Inkling roars in their faces*

Rei: "Hello conflict.” ~

*Cherry, GoldenAsh, and Crimson charge at the Inkling*

*Then they run away as the Inkling chases them*

~

Cherry: “Aha!!"

*gets on the Inkling to ride it, but it tries to buck her off* 

Cherry: “Guys?!"

GoldenAsh: "That's on you!!"

*GoldenAsh and Crimson are still running*

GoldenAsh: “Crimson! Do you... I don't know, have any logic on how these chase sequences usually end in movie land?!"

Crimson: "Usually... They would last... as long as they need to... before one side gets an advantage..."

*Crimson grabs a vine*

GoldenAsh: "How much forest does this island have?!!!"

~

*GoldenAsh and Cherry go over a canyon, hugging each other as they scream*

*Crimson saves them with her star glyphs*

*They both get repelled and crash into the trees*

~

Crimson: “GoldenAsh! Help me cut this!" 

*GoldenAsh sends a flaming karate chop on the bridge rope*

*It doesn’t break. She’s wincing in pain from her swelling hand*

GoldenAsh: “Ow!! What are these ropes made of? Steel?!"

Noir: “Yes.” ~

Sora: “Are you girls okay?!"

GoldenAsh: "Oh, we're fine. Just normal casualties is all."

*Cherry crashes behind them*

*They don’t turn around*

GoldenAsh: “Anyway... Why don't we get you out of here?" ~

Crimson: “We're not gonna make it!"

Cherry: "Yes! I believe it!!" 

GoldenAsh: “Great! I believe that we're not gonna make it!" ~

GoldenAsh: “Eh?! You turned us into birds?!"

~

Cherry: “We're coming guys!" 

*Jumps to fly…*

*Then crashes back down*

GoldenAsh: “You're a pro.” ~

Crimson: “They'd use ropes to hover the actors, to make it look like they're flying!"

GoldenAsh: “I'm sure we all have that experience, Crimson!" 

Cherry: “How can you complain when we're flying?"

~

GoldenAsh: "I know her name's Cure Cherry, but I think you'd rather taste fire!" 

*The two zip around the Inkling to distract it*

Cherry: "What's tastier than a cherry, huh Cure G?!"

GoldenAsh: "How about a strawberry?"

Cherry: "Nah, I think cherries are a tastier fruit..." 

GoldenAsh: “I think not! With those seeds..." 

Cherry: “Strawberries have seeds too!" 

GoldenAsh: “All fruits have seeds, are you dense?!" 

Cherry: “No, t-that's not true! Uh... papayas don't!" 

GoldenAsh: “Wow, you've never had papaya before!" 

Cherry: “Then how about mango?" 

GoldenAsh: “Yes, they have seeds." 

Cherry: “Apples?" 

GoldenAsh: “Yes.”

Cherry: “Oranges?" 

GoldenAsh: “Yes.”

Cherry: “Blueberries?" 

GoldenAsh: “Yes.”

Cherry: “When they're that small?!!!"

*Everyone else, especially the Inkling, are dizzy out of their minds*

Cherry: "Bananas!" *flies down to a tree*

GoldenAsh: “Bananas? Bananas... Wait, do they have seeds?"

*Cherry comes back with a banana*

Cherry: “No! But these can sprout back our friends!"

Episode 10:

Rei: “You two hiding?"

Keiko: “Rei-Chan! Yeah, I'm ready! I-I was just working on a certain painting..." 

*Keiko shows it to Rei, who turns red*

Keiko: “You like it?"

Rei: “You want the truth? It looks awful, what were you even trying to accomplish with that?"

Sora: “Maybe you could be more specific?" 

Keiko: “I mean, I did speed it... Oh well, it was... a try."

Rei: “And when you don't speed something, it looks better, right?"

Keiko: “Yes. It does... I... i-it's... I don't..."

*Keiko trails off, eyes on Rei*

Rei: “Keiko? You alive?"

Keiko: “Not much longer… I-I mean yes! Yes, I'm alive! You ready for this?"

Rei: “I wouldn't be standing here if I wasn't. Come on, Sora-Chan."

~

Rei: “You're Keiko's family, right?"

Ahmya Sakura: "Yeah... You know Keiko?"

Rei: “We're tight.”

Sora: "By 'tight,' you mean..."

~

Katara Takeo: “Rei-Chan!"

Rei: "Mom..."

*She gets bear hugged*

Katara Takeo: “Hi, I'm Takeo Katara!"

Asahi Sakura: "Nice to meet you." Katara Takeo: I'm just thrilled to see my kid make some good friends in this school!"

Rei: "Mom, they're just people I hang out with."

~

Keiko: “So, what do you think?"

Katara Takeo: "You could use improvement, definitely.”

Rei: "That's taking things lightly."

Keiko: “Uh... Okay...?"

~

Katara Takeo: “So where's your booth, Rei?"

Rei: "I uh- I-I didn't make one."

Katara: “What? But you have such talent, you should be showing off!"

Fumiko Sakura: “Maybe she doesn't want to reveal her true identity.”

Rei: “Yeah, because that's exactly what I said."

~

Asahi Sakura: “You two know her?!"

Keiko: “We uh- We're... business partners."

Rei: “How did you get your hands on a grill?!"

~

Fumiko Sakura: “‘You will reach a successful career one day, and your siblings will be jealous.’”

Rei: "What kind of fortune is that?!!"

~

Keiko: “‘You have a style that no one will understand but yourself.’”

Rei: “I mean, that's not wrong.”

Keiko: “You're one to talk! Not even making a booth!"

Rei: "Am I?"

*Arrows are in Keiko’s heart*

Fumiko Sakura: “I'll be at your wedding.”

Keiko: “So do you think this sketch looks good?"

Rei: "How should I know? You haven't made it yet."

Keiko: *blushes* "I must have been distracted."

~

Ahmya Sakura: “Isn't that impressive?"

Keiko: “It's... It's accurate."

Rei: “Oh really? I-Cure GoldenAsh does not act like that!"

*She has the same position as the picture*

~

Fumiko Sakura: “Cure Cherry on the other hand... I don't know about her."

*Keikos devastated*

Rei: “I feel the same way.” *puts an arm around Keiko*

Keiko: *is dying inside* “And I think it's a great impression of those Cures!"

~

Katara Takeo: “Aren't you glad you're an only child?"

*Rei nods yes*

*Ichiro forces a seat next to her*

Rei: "No..."

Katara Takeo: “I assume you're Ichiro?"

Ichiro: "You know me?"

Katara Takeo: "My daughter told me all about you." 

Rei: “Mom!"

Ichiro: "I assume she's said great, loving things about me."

Katara Takeo: “She told me you put staples on her chair two months ago, and then you denied it, and the teachers didn't believe her." 

Ichiro: “I did no such thing! She likes me, she just doesn't understand what a joke is."

Rei: “I get a joke perfectly fine, Ichiro! And if you really want me, you wouldn't be pushing me around, every. single. day!!"

Ichiro: “Touchy. I guess you're just blind."

*Rei throws hot sauce at Ichiro’s face*

Katara Takeo: “Rei?!"

Rei: "We're moving!"

Katara Takeo: “Rei, why did you do that?!"

Rei: “He deserved it!"

Katara Takeo: "He's just trying to know you!"

Rei: “Know me?! Mom, I told you! Boys don't actually like me! And I'm not even into guys, okay?! I can choose myself who I want to hang out with!"

*throws her food in the trash and stomps away*

Ichiro: “You're hot sauce in of itself, Takeo-san!! A piece of work!! I'll reach your heart!!!"

~

Rei: “Keiko..." 

Keiko: “Oh, hi Rei-Chan! I uh-I didn't mean to drop that, I just-"

Rei: “Keiko.”

Keiko: “I was just-"

Rei: “Keiko.”

Keiko: “I was trying to-"

Rei: “Will you-"

Keiko: “I was going to, anyway-"

Rei: “Listen-?"

Keiko: “I was wondering if-"

Rei: “KEIKO-CHAN!"

Keiko: "Will you help me fix that flower?"

Rei: "What? What's wrong with it?"

Keiko: “Nothing! It's just, I-I don't know, I just want to fix it."

Rei: “Who said you had to 'fix it?'"

Keiko: "I did! So? You do it all the time!"

Rei: “Okay, wait-"

Keiko: “I made it-"

Rei: “I don't-"

Keiko: “For my parents-"

Rei: “I'm not like-"

Keiko: “And I'm just-"

Rei: “I'm not trying to put you down-"

Keiko: “I don't know."

Rei: “You don't know?"

Keiko: "No."

Rei: “What do you not know?"

Keiko: “I don't know.”

Rei: “You don't know what you don't know?"

Keiko: “No.”

Rei: “No what? You think I'm just not going to know how to respond?"

Keiko: “No!"

Rei: “My answer is no! Cause I don't! I'm just trying to have a good day, I get trampled by the creep that is Ichiro-san, and you're asking for something you don't know what to ask about-"

Keiko: “Do you think my parents will like that flower?"

Rei: "How should I know? I'm not your mom!"

Keiko: “You might as well be..."

Rei: *blushing* "Well I'm not! Okay?!"

~

Keiko: “Girls, let's deal with this Inkling!" 

Midori, Akemi, & Sora: “Right!"

Rei: “I don't know..." 

*everyone stares at her*

Rei: "I didn't say I wasn't gonna help him! I'm not brutal, I'm just honest."

Episode 11:

Sora: “She got detention for spilling paint and staining the floors. Honestly what did they expect from her?" 

Rei: “This is an art school. Getting punished for something common is dumb."

~

Orenji: “I'm not completely sure... but I think there's Neon Pens in this thing."

Sora: "How?!"

Rei: "Why does that have to be convenient?!"

~

*Midori is trying to break the crystal*

Akemi: “Midori-"

*Rei snatches the crystal from Midori*

*Midori falls in the fountain*

Rei: “Midori, you can't just do that to a very important plot device!"

~

Rei: “‘I am passionate that a rock will give me superpowers!'"

Orenji: “Keiko, you could join us!"

Rei: "You sure are late."

Keiko: “Sorry... I dozed off during class, so I spilled a jar of paint. The teacher made me clean it during lunch." 

Rei: “I still think that's a weird reason to get detention.”

~

Sora: “What if we accidentally turn someone into a frog or something?"

Rei: "If it's Ichiro, I'll be happy." Midori: “That'd be neat. We could make cookies that turn people into frogs."

Rei: “I hope I get turned into a frog then..." 

Keiko: "Me too!"

Rei: “Okay, you know what my suggestion is?"

*draws on the board*

Keiko: “Where does the door go?"

Rei: "Away from here."

*walks away and stuffs her face with noodles*

Keiko: “You know what, it's Rei.”

~

Sora: “If the villains come in to try and take from us, or if an outside force barges in, we should have several measures like cameras, traps, alarms, backup plans...."

*Keikos playing with her origami, Midori is half asleep, Rei is eating*

Sora: "Is that boring?"

Rei: *mouth full* "What? Sorry, wasn't paying attention, my food was more interesting than that stuff."

Sora: “Why are you like this?"

~

*Rei has earbuds on*

Sora: "Rei-Chan.”

*Rei removes a bud*

Rei: "Read a textbook, memorize it, spit its words on the exam, got it."

Sora: “Okay, there's more to studying than that, and you can't just block stuff you don't want to hear with those plugs."

*Rei puts the bud back in*

Sora: "Okay... maybe you can..."

~

Rei: “Those don't look anything like our designs.”

Keiko: "I know, just... it's nice to reimagine every once in awhile, you know?" 

Rei: “Well you make me look cool, so I can't complain.”

~

Keiko: “Karen has done us dirty coloring mud?"

Rei: "No."

~

Rei: “My head hurts. I guess that's a good sign."

~

Keiko: “In the rain? He could get a cold!"

Sora, Rei, & Akemi: “Birds can't get colds!"

~

Rei: “So what you're saying is that this is a trap, but we're gonna fall right into it anyway?!”

~

*GoldenAsh pokes her pen at Anka to get her off of Cherry*

GoldenAsh: “You mess with her, you mess with me! Give Orenji back! We're not asking you again!!"

~

Teal: “So the gem is white instead of black?!"

GoldenAsh: "Who cares?!"

~

Azure: “I think that whitener powers the Inklings up, making it immune to our attacks!"

GoldenAsh: “Thanks obvious! So what do we do to stop it?!"

~

*A bird is flying away with Reis earbuds. Rei is chasing it*

~

Midori: “Rei-!"

*Rei and the bird accidentally knock over a streamer*

Rei: *holding her earbuds* "I got them! They're mine!"

Episode 12:

TV Character: “So you see... One time you misplaced your paint brush... when it was right in front of the desk!!"

Rei: *laughs hysterically*

Sora: “That's just completely off topic to the situation..."

Orenji: "The kid made a history film that the teacher doesn't like, kept the outline a secret, and now there's a riot about nitpicks?"

Rei: “And this is supposed to help 'change lives!' This is so bad..."

~

Orenji: “Art schools are strict, but to this degree, I'm concerned."

*Rei is laughing* 

Sora: "How is this funny, Rei-Chan? It's an awful video."

Rei: “That's WHY it's funny! The lesson isn't 'research because it's helpful,' it's 'research because otherwise you'll be punished with extra schoolwork." 

*Starts laughing to tears*

Rei: “You guys don't get my sense of humor.” ~

Sora: “Hi, Keiko-Chan.”

Keiko: "Hi, how are you guys?"

Rei: “Watching a bad video.”

Keiko: "If it's bad, why watch it?"

Sora: “Apparently it's so people can rant about how bad it is... or just to laugh at it."

*Reis smile drops*

Keiko: "Would you guys laugh at my work if it was terrible?"

Sora & Orenji: “What? No!"

Rei: "Depends."

*They look at Rei*

Rei: "What? Depends if it's the hilarious kind of garbage."

Orenji: “You're really supportive, Rei.”

~

Keiko: “Well I can't get Akemi-Chan for the project, she has a show. I already asked her." 

Sora: “Then hire Rei..." 

*Rei is scrolling through the comment section and laughing*

Rei: "’This video is so inspirational. It taught me to value books with my life.’” 

Sora: “Actually, no. Don't even think about asking Rei for help on this."

~

Keiko: “Hey, it's okay, she's not scary, she's just... I don't know how else to finish that." 

Rei: “Wow, thanks.”

*Keiko puts her arm around Rei*

Keiko: “Rei-Chan, this is Yasuhiro Jiro, my old friend. Jiro-Chan, this is Rei-Chan, my new friend... We're all super close here."

*Rei blushes*

Jiro: “That sounds weird.”

Keiko: “Everything I say sounds weird." 

*Keiko puts a finger over Reis lips*

Keiko: "You do not need to confirm that."

~

Rei: “Hey, can I order a plate of mochi?"

Keiko: *mocking* “No."

Midori: "What flavor?" 

Rei: “Vanilla.”

Keiko: “Strawberry."

Keiko: "You're boring."

~

Jiro: “There’s also different editing between different camera shots, where you take every single one separately..."

*Keiko and Rei space out. Rei slams her head on the table*

Jiro: “And... yeah, that's what it's about. You guys have a copy too, I think."

Rei: "I burned my copy just as good as you burned my brain."

Jiro: “Oh... I'm sorry, I-I have a problem." 

Rei: “What? No you don't! You just... okay, yes, you have a problem, but it's your problem, so you should be proud of your... enthusiasm for drawings in motion."

Keiko: “You call that an apology?"

Rei: "I don't know what that is."

Keiko: “You're fine, Jiro.”

~

Rei: "I'm not really good at writing..."

Keiko: "What are you talking about? Writing is your specialty!"

Rei: “You have no proof.”

Keiko: "Your writing got us an A on the creative writing project."

Jiro: "Wait, you're a writer?"

Rei: “It's-it's private writing!"

Midori: "At least act a scene.”

*Rei smirks and snatches the mochi plate, laughing maniacally*

Rei: "At long last, my vengeance against mochi is behind me! I finally get a taste of the sweetness of my own, ALL the mochi in my grasp to be savored in my mouth. And NO ONE is here to stop me or have a bite of their own!"

Keiko: "No... I want a mochi..."

*Midori pulls out a chopstick*

Rei: "Who dares cross my path?!"

Midori: "Only the great savior of mochi. I am Mochi Pan!"

*Rains powder*

Rei: "And yet you use a chopstick against me?! I say we settle this like real men, on the mochi arena!"

Keiko: “Can I join?"

Rei: "Fine.”

*All three of them pick up a chopstick as if it’s gonna be a fight…*

*but they instead snatch a mochi to eat and start laughing. It’s a fun tone killer to the scene*

~

Rei: “I don't think it has lens on the back of its head.”

~

GoldenAsh: “Remind me not to watch cringe on a daily basis.”

~

GoldenAsh: “I hate taking pictures!"

~

Jiro: “Sorry, sorry, it's just-"

Rei: “He's freaking out.”

Jiro: "I'm not freaking out! I'm taking it in, with an unhealthy way of doing so."

Rei: “Yeah, he's freaking out. I think we just doomed ourselves."

~

Shiro: “So this is the place where you hold students prisoners and make them work their childhoods away?"

*Everyone else is silent. Rei laughs*

Rei: “I'm sorry... But I've been saying that since fourth grade! Thank you!"

(I both love and hate this character)

[parisstreet]

How To Write A Song Called 'Wax Fruit'

The newest Paris Street EP, Brief Feelings, is out now. As I've occasionally done with Paris Street releases, I'm going to spend this week rambling a bit about each song on the EP. Enjoy!

The song: Wax Fruit

Original song title: ‘The Warehouse Rave Song’. In the early stages of recording this version, it was changed to ‘Ravers’, then to ‘Wax Fruit’.

When was it written? Fuck, man, this thing’s been laying around since 2007.

Where was it recorded? I have an acoustic demo of the original version of this song that is dated January 16, 2008. That was recorded in Nashville, and was actually released as part of the Paris Street Podcast, which I swear to God was a real thing that pre-dates almost all other podcasts (not to brag). I did 13 episodes, presenting new songs and alternate versions of old songs throughout. Is there any evidence at all that this actually existed? Nope. The podcast network disappeared ages ago. Plus, I have a tendency for nuking projects off the internet once I’m tired of them (ask me about The Opening Acts).

Anyway, this song has been laying around for a while, existing in a state of ‘just not good enough’ (musically – I’ve always like the lyrics). That finally changed last year when I rediscovered a short instrumental idea that had been buried in my hard drive since 2019. It was saved under the name ‘Bad Dumb Shit’.

But bad dumb shit turned to good smart shit when I realized that the words to ‘The Warehouse Rave Song’ fit into the music for ‘Bad Dumb Shit’. From there things fell quickly into pla—ha ha, no, this might have been the most agonizing recording process I’ve ever gone through. Love the end result, though.

To answer the question, all this agonizing recording took place in Sacramento.

The instruments: All LMMS for this one.

What’s it about? This is essentially a song about feeling old – about reaching a point where you realize you’re only going to certain social functions because it seems like it’s what you’re supposed to do, even though it’s no longer what you want to do. It’s not really based on any real-life moment – I think I just wanted to use ‘irascible’ in a lyric – although I did go to a party around the time of writing this song that did feature many white kids dancing poorly, ‘the way upper class kids do’.

It amuses me that I wrote a song about feeling old when I was barely 30, with so much more oldness still to come. I’m 46 now, and despite the occasional lower back flare-up, have yet to really feel that oldness (the secret is not having kids - you'll die alone, but your joints will all work and your skin will look amazing).

Anything else to say about this song? I filmed a video for this song but have had way too much going on in my life – good and bad – to find time to edit it. Maybe next week.

Brief Feelings can be found on Bandcamp, Spotify, Amazon Music, and all other streamers of note.

[dragondemoness]

Ooh how about a scenario with yan!mastermind byakuya, where it’s revealed that he’s the mastermind and nobody suspected it because he was participating in the killing game as well? And basically just how he treats the reader since he’s obsessed, but she doesn’t like him?

Love your blog btw!!! You’re amazing!

Thank you! I appreciate the compliment!

Yandere!Mastermind Byakuya Togami x Reader

Warnings: angst, character death, yandere behavior

When you met Byakuya, you absolutely hated his guts

You hated his spoiled rich boy attitude, his lack of sensitivity or sympathy towards his classmates

But most of all, the way he treated the whole situation like a game

It was as if he got some kind of sadistic pleasure out of watching people die, then gathering evidence and sharing it during a class trial

Which, essentially, is what it is

Especially considering how he desecrated Chihiro's corpse during Chapter Two

Even though you hated him, he didn't seem to mind you

You were the only one he seemed to tolerate.

Maybe he even liked you

He always paired up with you for investigations, which you begrudgingly agreed to

Though you were really the only one focusing on investigating

Sometimes you caught him staring at you

He still kept his stone-faced expression, but you could swear that you saw some sort of obsessive lust in his ice blue eyes

His pupils were smaller when he looked at you, and he had the slightest hint of a smirk on his face

You decided to just avoid him after that

He was honestly starting to freak you out

But that wouldn't do you any good in the long run

He knew you hated him

But that didn't matter

Byakuya will stop at nothing to make you his

And that all came down to the final trial

When he would finally reveal himself...

"And the mastermind is... Byakuya Togami!"

When Makoto called out his accusation, you almost wanted to laugh.

There was no way someone like him would be the mastermind.

He enjoyed the game too much to ever kill.

You would even say that he was harmless.

But that was thrown out the window when a twisted smirk grew on his face.

"Well, well. Smarter than I thought you were, Naegi."

Everyone turned to face him in shock. Even Kyoko was surprised, and Toko just stared at him in confusion.

"M-Master? W-W-What are you t-talking about?" Toko stuttered out. Byakuya shot her a glare.

"Silence, you invasive parasite. Only one individual has rights to that name."

He turned to look at you.

"And that would be (Name)."

Now all eyes were on you.

You froze.

"What?" Was all you could force out. He smirked at you. Toko was at a complete loss for words. She was always jealous that Byakuya always focused on you, even though you didn't even like him.

She even threatened you a few times, but backed off after Byakuya ordered her to stay away from you.

And she obliged with no complaints.

But she always continued to cling to Byakuya.

She can have him, you always thought.

Snapping back to reality, you shook your head.

"There's no way you can be the mastermind, Togami. You were having way too much fun with the killing game to actually kill anyone," you stated.

He let out a dark chuckle.

"But that was enough to prevent you from suspecting me, was it not?" He asked with a low tone of voice. The way he stared at you made your skin crawl with repulsion.

Asahina shook her head. "There's no way! How can you participate in the killing game and man Monokuma at the same time?" She questioned.

Byakuya huffed. "Simple. Monokuma is an artificial intelligence."

Gasps and looks of confusion filled the trial room as everyone stared at the blonde with confusion and horror.

Byakuya sighed. "Is it really so hard to understand? Monokuma is entirely automatic, there is no one controlling it. I had Fujisaki program the artificial intelligence before the killing game began. I admit, I'm quite proud of my little project," he finished with a sickening grin.

Toko started towards him, her eyes full of hurt. "Master... Why?"

Byakuya glared at her. "Ah, but it appears we haven't yet reached the end. What kind of killing game would it be if it didn't end with a grand finale? Starting with Fukawa."

Before Toko could speak, Byakuya pulled out a remote with a red button on it.

"I reserved this one specifically for you. Consider it a gift for our anniversary... of despair."

When Byakuya pressed the button, a chain gripped Toko's neck and pulled her to a dark chamber.

Toko ran to the door and frantically banged on it, but stopped when she saw a light.

She turned to see Byakuya, standing in the middle of the chamber with a spotlight shining on him.

With no hesitation, she immediately started running towards him.

You shook your head. Even after all this time, she just couldn't stop loving him.

But before she could reach him, a gigantic steamroller appeared between the two of them.

As the roller began heading towards her, Toko once again started towards the door.

But before she reached it, the steamroller had gotten to her first.

The force and speed of the roller completely crushed her body, and there was nothing left but blood.

(Fun fact, that's actually Toko's unused execution!)

All of you were frozen in horror as you were forced to watch. But you all quickly returned to reality when Byakuya let out a dark chuckle

"Oh, love hurts, doesn't it, dear Toko?" He mocked, letting out another chuckle.

Your terror was washed away by rage as you started towards him and struck him in the face with the back of your hand.

Byakuya stumbled backward, holding a hand to his swelling cheek as he stared at you with surprise and anger. Your classmates stared at you with shock.

"You monster! How could you do this to us?! Toko was the only one who ever loved you, and you get rid of her like this?!"

Byakuya's angry expression once again changed to a twisted smile.

"Oh. (Name), surely you understand by now? I don't care about my so-called classmates, or that filthy parasite, or anyone else for that matter..."

His eyes narrowed with lust as he said his next few words.

"All that matters is you."

You stare at him with wide eyes as he pulled another button out of his pocket.

"And now that my project has reached its ending, I think it's time to say goodbye."

Before he pressed the button, he turned to the others.

"Farewell, plebeians."

And he pressed the button.

You could only look away as your classmates were sent off to their respective executions.

Byakuya started towards you, grip your chin and tilting your head up to face him.

"Now that they're all out of the way, are you ready to become my little pet?" He asked with a smirk.

"No! I'll never love a monster like you!"

Byakuya tightly wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you close to him.

"You don't think I know that? Nothing will stop me from making you mine. You belong to me now. I will break and toy with you until you are but a shell of your former shell.”

He leaned in close and whispered in your ear.

"Whether you want it or not, you will be my pet."