#also technically. he is here albeit only once

[thedogwhoisachair]

HENRYYYY (and also his wonderful wife alex) (she's mad at william in the last pic dw)

[enderlovez]

Late-Night Genius

Spencer Reid x Female BAU Reader WORD COUNT: 1500+

Summary: During a late night in the BAU, reader finds Spencer hunched over his desk muttering to himself about the deranged killer on the loose, and decides that in the midst of all this carnage, he needs someone to look after him, too.

Content Warning: mentions of death, mutilation of the human body, blood and murder, pocket knife used as a murder weapon, intentional sleep deprivation, strangulation, overworking yourself

────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ──────

Nine people are already dead, and nobody has a single piece of useful information on the unsub, only that they are — possibly, not definitely — an old white man, which sums up half the human population.

Most of the team, including yourself, have been staying in the office until stupid hours of the morning recently, to try and figure out what you're missing before this mysterious killer takes another victim.

Some believe he's already done so, but the bodies are still unfound.

There are no connections between the victims, except for the fact that each of them are from out of town, but each of them were killed in similar fashions — strangled with a noose made of fishing line, then their throats jaggedly sliced open post-mortem.

All of them were also missing both hands and both feet, hacked off poorly by a pocket knife found near the crime scene. That, however, was not post-mortem, meaning that these poor people were mutilated while still alive, possibly fully aware of what was happening.

It should be impossible that the unsub left no trace with something such as this, but here you are, struggling in the behavioral analysis unit at two in the bloody morning, to come up with what should be the most basic details.

You sigh dejectedly as you relax into your chair, pressing your palm into your nose with a little more force than necessary and tiredly rubbing your shut eyes with your thumb and pointer finger.

Right now, you think you'd do just about anything to be back home in bed — not that you technically can't go home, you're free to go home anytime you please as long as you're back in... later this morning, but you feel an uncomfortable sense of duty to this case.

A sound draws you out of your half-asleep state on the chair, a soft mumbling from the desk adjacent to yours. You begrudgingly peel your eyes open to find Spencer Reid hunched over his desk in a way that definitely can't be good for his back.

His face is twisted up in concentration as his finger runs up and down the page he's reading.

"You're going to give yourself back problems, Spencer," you mumble, using your hands as leverage to push yourself up from your seat. He doesn't look away from the paper in front of him, but hums in acknowledgement, though you're not entirely sure he heard you.

It's probably a really bad idea to be overworking yourself so much, tiring out your body to the point of exhaustion, considering your line of work. But you don't plan on stopping until this killer is behind bars, and apparently as it turns out, neither does Spencer — you can sleep once the risk of another person dying is handled.

With another near-silent sigh, rubbing your hands over your face once more, you grab a few things out of your bag and start making your way towards the exit.

Spencer doesn't ask where you're going, but you feel the need to specify anyway, albeit vaguely.

"I'm heading out for a bit," you whisper over your shoulder, waving your hand around limply. Realistically, you know you should head home like Hotch suggested, catch some sleep before you're back at work, but you just... can't. Exhausted as you may be, you don't think you could sleep even if you tried.

The cool early-morning air against your skin soothes the heat lingering just beneath as you slowly trudge towards your car, hopping into the drivers seat and pulling away from the building. You shouldn't be driving in this state, but you desperately need something to eat.

If Spencer were here, he'd be telling you all about how many people die while driving tired. Probably lightly scold you and insist on driving, even though he's just as, if not more tired than you are.

You're only half-aware as the car takes you away from the building, mind zeroing in on the music playing quietly over the radio. Boring, not something you would ever listen to on your own.

It's a miracle that you're able to reach your destination without getting pulled over — a little twenty-four hour café you frequently visit. Granted, it's usually at more appropriate hours of the morning.

The girl behind the counter looks bored and tired, just over everything and likely wanting to be at home in bed, much like you. As you shuffle up to the register and see her smile falter, you feel pity.

Poor girl probably doesn't get paid enough for this.

"Hello, welcome to Pine and Pastry," she says in a flat voice. "What can I get for you this morning?"

"Hi there, Caroline," you whisper, eyes halfway shut. For a moment she looks surprised that you know her name, before you point to the nametag pinned to her apron.

She writes down your order in sloppy handwriting as you speak — a plain black coffee with a crap ton of sugar for Spencer, and a hazelnut latte for yourself, along with some extra espresso shots in a cup just in case. You also get a couple of breakfast bagels and a box of cinnamon rolls.

It takes her maybe ten minutes to get everything ready, making the coffee, and even going the extra mile to warm up the cinnamon rolls.

"Your total is $34.79," she says, rubbing her eyes with one hand as you place a fifty dollar bill into her other, murmuring a quiet 'keep the change' and grabbing a handful of sugar packets before collecting your things and stepping back outside.

The drive back to work is easier, you're more aware of your surroundings now that you've been off your ass for a little while.

"You're back," Spencer comments softly as you walk back into the office, though he doesn't even look up from the page — a different one than before, but still one he's looked over hundreds of times.

"I'm back," you agree as you set everything down on your desk. He glances up at you once as you place the coffee and breakfast bagel on his side. "I got you some coffee and something to eat."

He watches you for a second before offering a quiet 'thank you', picking up the bagel and taking a bite out of it — still hunched over.

Spencer's eyes widen when you're suddenly beside him, ushering him out of that horrid position and into a chair, holding him up straight for a moment before returning to your own desk.

"You need to take better care of yourself, Spence," you demand softly, looking down at your own files, fully aware of how intently he's staring at you. "It's bad enough that we're keeping ourselves awake at all hours of the night and into the morning, you can't just not eat."

If you're being honest, you've always had a bit of a thing for the genius boy, so seeing him doing so... not well upsets you a lot little.

A small smile appears on his lips as he takes a sip of his coffee. "You already take such good care of me, though," he snipes back playfully, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "You really shouldn't drive while this tired, it can actually be worse than—"

"—Worse than driving intoxicated, I know, Spence," you finish for him, rolling your eyes and taking a bite of your own bagel. "I think Hotch might put us on mandatory rest, if we don't get some sleep soon."

Spencer hums in agreement, looking back to the files on the desk in front of him, making a sudden thought spark in your mind.

He doesn't look at you as you stand up again, rounding the desks so you're back on his side, but he does give you a side-eye when you place your hands on his shoulders and start pushing his head down towards the desk.

"What are you doing?" he asks, though he doesn't make any moves to stop your ministrations, folding his arms on the hard surface and letting the side of his head rest atop them.

"You've been working so hard," you whisper soothingly, gently squeezing his shoulders in what you hope is a comforting gesture, "just give your mind a minute to rest — and I know you'll say you don't need it, but maybe it'll help you think better."

He bites his bottom lip a little before giving in, letting his eyes close. "Maybe if it's just a minute," he agrees quietly, voice already drifting off into silence. He's out like a light before he can stop it.

With a small, tender smile on your face, you use your finger to brush some of his hair out of his face and let your thumb briefly stroke over his temple.

He's so absolutely, heartbreakingly adorable when he's sleeping, you realize, heart stuttering and eyes watering at the sight before you. His face is no longer twisted in concentration, rather soft and peaceful.

Just because you're tired, doesn't mean poor Spencer needs to be, not if you have any say in the matter.

He might be slightly upset with you when he wakes up, even if it's only brief, but all of that's fine if it means he'll get at least a little bit of sleep.

Humming a quiet little tune to yourself, you return to your desk and continue your work where you left off.

[drysdalesworld]

loving this Eklund family series! Would love to hear about Oskar going to a game!

oskar, papa’s #1 fan!

series masterlist

pairing(s): mom!reader x son!oc x dad!william eklund

genre: fluff

warning(s): usual hockey stuff (fights, penalties, etc.). also, oskar is well spoken for a 3 ½ year old in this blurb, so let’s just ignore that & say he’s just advanced in his speech abilities

note(s): it’s like you’ve read my mind. i was planning on doing something like this & now, here it is! this is also a really long blurb. technically it can count as an imagine, but i didn’t want to transfer everything onto a google doc & then onto here to get a word count lol. ending’s a little shit, but hope you enjoy it!

The early morning skate had been a success for the Eklund boys.

William had managed to convince Ryan Warsofsky, his head coach, to allow Oskar to tag along for the teams morning skate.

The whole team had been excited to have the boy skated up on the ice. Albeit him being so young and tiny, he had pretty good balance on the ice, only falling or tripping over his feet a handful of times.

Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith had taken it upon themselves to entertain the young Eklund boy during practice. They played tag with him during water breaks, pretending to trip over their feet so the three-and-a-half year old could tag them. They passed pucks between his legs and practiced their stick handling skills, making the little boy giggle as he chased the rubber pucks. Macklin even held Oskar in his arms at one point, the child sideways as the teenager skated, the two making casual conversation.

Oskar had a blast to say the least.

When the two had arrived home an hour after you woke up, the child began talking about how much fun he had and how he couldn’t wait to do it again (mostly gushing about the two teenagers who played with him the entire practice). He promptly passed out on the couch after he ate his second breakfast of the day. William had joined his son not too long afterwards, both Eklund boys asleep on opposite ends of the furniture.

William had quietly left the house after he woke from his nap a couple of hours before he needed to be at the rink again. He placed a gentle kiss on the crown of Oskar’s head before softly kissing your lips, a silent goodbye to the both of you so as to not wake up the sleeping boy.

Getting Oskar ready wasn’t as much as a hassle as it usually is. He didn’t fuss or pout as you got him dressed and ready, proudly wearing his custom jersey.

“Ready to see Papa play?” You asked, holding his much smaller hand in yours as you both walked into the bustling arena, Felicia Wennberg trailing behind the two of you with her own children.

“Yeah!” Oskar exclaimed, excitement clear and buzzing.

He always loves seeing his Dad play and make plays out on the ice. He thought it was enchanting to watch him play. Oskar always complimented how he liked the way his Father skated out on the ice, as if he was floating. Everything about his Father, even his job, seemed surreal and amazing. He truly looked up to him in more ways than one.

“You think he’ll score tonight?” You questioned, picking him up to make it easier to maneuver your way to your designated seats.

“Of course! Papa’s a good scorer, Mama,” Oskar replied, head on your shoulder as he watched other fans of the Sharks and Bruins alike walk around. “Or he’ll get a pass”.

Oskar’s hockey terminology isn’t up to par with William or yours, so you know that he’s referring to an assist when he mumbles pass.

The two of you, including Felicia and her two kids, finally made it to your saved and designated seats by the other wives and girlfriends. It wasn’t too close to the glass but not far off where William wouldn’t be able to spot you both from the ice.

“Hope the boys break the Bruins win streak,” Felicia hopefully muttered to you once you all sat down, the two of you shoulder to shoulder while Oskar sat on the left of you and her children sat on the right of her.

You nodded in agreement. “I hope so too. It’d be good to get another win on the board”.

Conversation between the two of you flowed easily, both of your children also following into chatting as all five of you wait for warmups to start.

Warmups were Oskars favorite part of hockey games. He liked seeing all the things each individual player did before a game, especially whatever routine his Father decided to do that night.

“Mama?” Oskar asked, standing up in his seat as he leaned over to get your attention. “Can we go down to see Papa?”

“Of course! We always do, Ossie bear” you replied, swooping him in your arms as you kissed his pink cheeks.

By the time the five of you made it down to the glass, players had begun to skate out, flying by fans banging on the barrier separating them from the players.

Oskar had immediately began to bang on the glass with his palms, yelling for his Father, trying to catch his attention.

Macklin Celebrini had been the one to beeline towards the Eklund boy. A big smile spread on the tees lips, waving to Oskar as he held a puck in his hands, tossing it up over the glass for Oskar to catch.

“Hey, buddy!” Macklin exclaimed, tapping the glass with his gloved finger.

Oskar shrieked in excitement, holding the puck close to his chest as he slapped the glass. “Mack! Mack!”

Spotting his teammate animatedly talking to his son and wife, William grinned and made his way to the center player.

William gently collided with Macklin, wrapping his arms around the front of the teen, the both of them bouncing off the glass and spinning slightly.

“Papa!” Oskar shouted, hand slapping on the glass even harder. “Look! I got a puck!”

The young blond boy held up the puck that Mack tossed the child, grin so wide all of his teeth showed.

William smiled back at his son, rustling Macklin’s hair before the teen skated off to continue his warmup routine.

“I see that, bud! That was nice of him,” he commented, tapping the glass like the teen before him did.

His eyes darted up to you, the familiar look of adoration painted on his face as he watched you interact with Felicia and your son. William loved seeing the two of you at his games. It’s essentially what he lived for—seeing the two most important people in his life support him through every game and milestone in his career.

“Want to stay for media tonight, bud?” William asked, tossing pucks to fans near the two of you. “We can get gräddglass (ice cream) afterwards.”

At the mention of ice cream, Oskar nodded in agreement and you shot your husband a look, telling him that no matter the result of tonight’s game, he was in charge of taking care of Oskar during his sugar rush.

William only smiled, pressing some of his gloved fingers to his lips and putting them on the glass, his usual tell of ‘I love you’ before skating off. You and your son copied his action, eyes following as he ran off to join the others in their warmups.

“Hi, I’m so sorry” a voice piqued, catching your attention as you turned towards the direction of where the voice came from. “But would it be possible for me to get a picture with you? You’re just—You’re the coolest WAG ever!”

You chuckled a little, nodding as you adjusted Oskar in your arms.

The girl smiles widely and takes out her phone, leaning in a little and snapping the picture, all three of you smiling.

———

It had been a stressful first period.

The Sharks were shooting every chance they got, but none of them were successful. The game was tied at 0-0 for both teams going into the first intermission.

But within minutes of the second period, William had received a pass from Macklin, rushing down the ice as no one one the other team had been on defense. A Bruins player tried to block William’s shot, but his, and the goalies, efforts were in vain as the puck made contact with the net, the loud buzzer sound erupted throughout the arena.

Oskar jumped up from his seat, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Oh my God!” Felicia screamed, jumping up and down along with her children. “He scored!”

You had been standing up the second William’s stick touched the puck this period. You cheered alongside your son and close friend, embracing your son as you lightly shook him in your hold.

“Papa scored! Papa scored!” Oskar cheered, toothy smile on his face as he pumped his hands in the air in excitement.

As chaos and cheers erupted from the stands and ice, William took a moment from his celebration and pointed at the two of you, his gloved fingers touching his lips beforehand. He smiled widely up at you and Oskar, smoothly gliding across the ice on his way back to the bench.

You returned the favor and smiled back just as big, your son still cheering in your arms.

It was moments like this that made it all the more worth it to support your husband in his dreams. You knew every goal was dedicated not just to you and Oskar, but everyone else who supported him in his endeavors.

“Looks like Ossie’s staying for media tonight,” Felicia muttered to you, smiles still decorating your faces.

You laughed at her comment, nodding to it as Oskar continued to celebrate his Fathers first goal of the night.

“There was no shot he wasn’t going to do it. He’s going to steal all the spotlight from William,” you added, your son now perched in his seat, adamantly watching the game on the ice.

It was moments like these that you thanked whatever higher power that you had the life you had. You were forever grateful that you landed in William’s life and that he made it all worthwhile.

[theside-b]

BL Review: Top Form 🇹🇭

Weirdly enough it was exactly when Japan left the BL scene that Thailand decided to finally to come through with a solid adaptation of a japanese property. After some stumbles Top Form not only delivers a great show but also elevates the source material with some inspired choices from the writers and amazing duo of actors.

Boom has always been a very reliable actor, competent and talented, but here he gets to show everything he got, use all the weapons on his arsenal; Akin is a mess of a human being, always on the verge of a mental breakdown, but also "unintentionally" funny, needy and amorous when finally stripped from his emotional barriers — part of the fun was watching Boom freak out, burst into tears or blush like a maiden (sometimes all at once) during the live reactions with Smart. Speaking of which... Smart as Jin, the apprentice with a mean streak, and hands down the best twist of the show.

In Dakaichi: I'm Being Harassed by the Sexiest Man of the Year the manga which Top Form is based on, the character of Jin is quite different, with the predatory nature of the original being toned down and the entire dynamic between the couple presented in a way healthier package with a shift towards a more 'protective' persona for Jin; and while the show waters down quite a lot it still gives room for Smart to deliver great moments tapping into Jin's darker side, possessiveness and violence always brewing when someone dares to come near Akin. The major downside here is with the character of Johnny, now presented as the only predator around, albeit in a more "playful" manner, whereas in the original him and Jin were cut from the same cloth and one could see why they would immediately butt-heads, so much so that this version has to make it's way around certain story beats in order to cause drama that does not occur in the manga. A lot of the rejection for Johnny's characters amongst the audience stems from the fact that Jin is a very good person here, had he been 2/4 of the messed up version we see in the book this conversation would be quite different.

A good point of the adaptation is the nature of the conflict: in a way the first half of the story is intrinsic to Japan, with the actors ranking system and all its variants, something that doesn't play out (at least not to the same extent) in Thailand, but the second half presents the brand pair system in which the situation reverses. Top Form sheds light in some intricacies that the target audience might already be clued in, for example actors playing a couple on a BL show are expected to play a couple but not actually be a couple, with Top Form being one of the very few to dare head towards more unsavory practices seeing in the industry— it's even more inspired that the show within the show that gets Jin and Akin under scrutiny is a wuxia very similar to the unreleased C-Drama Immortality, which was a partnership between Tencent and Top Form's very own producer WeTV — and while it never goes there it still ballsy enough to not make it all that easy for it's protagonists.

A lot of the strengths of the show are pulled from the parallels that can be drawn with actors' real life relationship, for those who follow him Boom is one of those thai actors who just never had the luck of finding the right partner (or simply never chose one) to solidify his position on the thai-BL landscape and here he seems to have struck gold with Smart, so much so that even before the show was done producers were already throwing ideas for a next project for the two of them. As for Smart he got himself a mentor, and one of the best really, and while Smart himself is still a long ways to catch up with his partner at least he does not embarrass himself mostly due inspired moments, like every time Jin got mischief in his eyes, or was ready to throw hands, any of the more 'darker' sides of his came out to play Smart seemed more in tune, angel wings notwithstanding.

Technically speaking this show has impressive feats; the NC scenes in particular were quite something, and it's raised the bar for the upcoming productions and I'm not limiting to just BL shows, what they did here to safeguard the actors was impeccable while still delivering memorable moments. Production value is also top notch, even simpler scenes looked expensive through the lenses of director Boss Wasakorn.

In the void left by JBLs Top Form comes strong with a superb ensemble, inspired writing and woefully direction that sets the bar really high for the next thai producer who is brave enough to tackle a japanese IP.

[shanblackrx]

Ok, first of all, I have just rewatched the special episode and although I already knew how it'd end, the moment the credits went up I literally buried my face in my hands and SOBBED. It's not that hard to make me cry with media, but I usually just tear up and nothing more. The last time I remember sobbing like this was with the end of Chimera Ants arc of Hunter x Hunter manga, which is a completely different type of story and media whatsoever, back in 2012. And I didn't know the end. Spectacular manga btw go read it

That said, I'm freshly out of it so here's a few of my considerations, personal opinions and also my theory. I'm not diving into the analysis of the episode itself for now, as I like to make these for more specific things I find in the work so they deserve a separate post for each, though I will be analyzing the post-credits scene because we don't have answers so we need to speculate.

Looooong text with almost no pictures ahead, just my yapping:

I expected the special episode to be really just Jack and Joke's cute little established relationship, which we did get to see (they're so disgustingly sappy, oh my god. I love them) for a good chunk of the episode. But we all also expected the wedding which, technically, did happen, just not how we wanted.

I think a lot of us just wanted only the happy part of it, maybe just a small conflict that would resolve within the story, which is what special episodes usually offer, especially because the original series wraps up perfectly and doesn't really give that much room for a continuation. And I think that because a lot of people expected this, they were utterly disappointed with it, even mad (that and also killing off one of the leads, like. Yeah I get it lol).

And I understand. Jack & Joker is perfectly balanced, with a nice and perfect ending. If I could choose, I wouldn't want a continuation either - you know, the chances of ruining a perfectly good show increases if you extend it for more than it should, and J&J is already perfect the way it is.

But I was offered the special episode, and now I have to work with it.

The first time I watched it I thought it was a bit rushed and confusing, albeit very intense (in a positive way). In my much calmer (as one can be), much less stressed out and anxious mood of my rewatch, I could feel it better. And I think it's way more seamless than I thought at first. Curiously, I also had the same feeling with the og series; it got so, so much better once I've rewatched it, and it kept getting better with all the small details I caught in every new watch.

It still has all the essence of J&J. The absurd comedy, the action, the romance, the heavy angst, the visuals, the lack of canon tattooaran even if it's heavily hinted. So all in all it was still a complete J&J experience.

I really do like the fact Save is not a perfect boss - he's basically just a math kid. He's not prepared to take care of a whole neighborhood like he did with bank accounts. Variables - people - were not in the system of his little bank computer. Taking care of a whole community is no easy task, especially since he is no mafia, he doesn't have the kind of experience and intimidation to keep bad apples in check. And even so, he still worked his hardest; and even so, it's still not enough.

So having criminals that were under Alice's thumb but now scattered like cockroaches searching for another ditch make having control over these fires they set even harder. I think it's a nice and coherent touch, and stuff happening because of it makes sense.

Also, although the uwu language JackJoke used throughout the moments they were out and about making everyone unwilling witnesses of their disgusting love was extremely funny and cute, it was really nice to see their heartfelt conversation when they were alone in Jack's room. It felt much more like they were baring their hearts for the other to hold, a genuine moment of intimacy, especially since they were making their wedding invites individually and by hand. It bore such a huge significance to their relationship I really can't begin to tell you how much I loved this scene. (they're also wearing shirts of complementary colors 😭💚)

I wasn't really expecting Carbon to make a comeback. But his explanation on why makes sense, and once again it hints that money and power walk together. It also gives him a more definite end (dying, finally. bitch) to take him out the picture for good since he could just eventually walk out the prison and go after them once again.

The casino mission was SUCH a delightful surprise to me! It's such a heavy wave to the pilot episode and it was really thrilling. Joke playing and cheating on poker was one of the sexiest things he could've ever done in his life lmao also even when he's cheating he manages to be gay af with his little ace and jack cards.

Admittedly, I was a bit underwhelmed with the fighting scenes. A lot of them were subpar compared to the ones in the og show, it not only lacked intensity but it was also awkward to see people in the background waiting to join the fight instead of throwing themselves into it, much like Jack's rampaging into Boss' office, which is one of my absolute favorite scenes in the og show, that's what I was expecting of them. However it was super nice to see the other piggies fighting with what they had, showing they were better prepared. Aran here takes the cake for me.

After that it was downhill. Joke not letting other people decide his destiny is one of the most Joke things in the entire show. With all that was happening it was rather predictable, but then again J&J does its thing and takes the predictability for a twist. "กูรักมึงที่รัก" ???? Using tirak in this situation when every other situation it was used was extremely, sickeningly sweet? Devastating. These words in that tone will be branded on my brain forever.

The whole thing with Jack going through the stages of grief and the ghost wedding destroyed me, even more so in my rewatch. Once again I'm here EATING UP Yin's crying scenes (one of my most favorite scenes in any BL ever is Vee crying under the rain at the bridge). I know everyone talks about War's acting when it comes to crying and obviously he always nails it, but I still think Yin should have more recognition in these kind of scenes too, because he always manage to make it so heartbreaking, and it wasn't different here.

The swings scene with him hallucinating Joke to be able to accept his presumed death was one of the most beautiful, most heartbreaking 'endings' I've seen in a Thai BL.

HOWEVER. I absolutely refused to believe they'd actually end in that note. It could be as devastatingly beautiful as it gets but I genuinely thought if they ended it like that it'd be SUCH a huge stab in the back of fans. Jack and Joke barely managed to live a happy life to then be yanked from it. It really didn't feel fair, that they gave us such a perfect little ending in the og show to then just say 'how about no?'. I was honestly in shock and denial. I was really thinking like 'I really, genuinely don't think they'd do this. I will only believe it ends like this when the episode reaches the end and stops playing by itself.'

And I'm glad I thought like that because they really didn't let me down. Some Marvel level of post-credits scene this is. The relief to see Joke isn't actually dead. The enormous cliffhanger.

I still am of the opinion that J&J didn't need a continuation, but now that it's out there, I just hope it's as good as the og show. And that maybe we don't have to wait for another 2 years, although I will gladly do so if that means they will deliver another sublime experience.

But I also hope it ends with that and they manage to move on to other, new things, because they've already proven they can do anything they want and it will be good. I really, really want them to take over the Thai BL world as a power couple with their independent productions, because they showed everyone they can.

Now, to the post-credits scene. Here goes my theory:

Reading all theories and also frying my brain to come up with what will they do with that cliffhanger, I thought of something that might make sense. This, however, would only work (well) in a full 10-12 eps season rather than another special episode or movie.

First of all, I think it's a new character (and that's why I think this will only work with a full season, because introducing a new character just for a short episode will give no substance to it). It's no one we know and I tell you why I think that: Joke had someone specific in mind. I don't think he's talking about Carbon here. Especially because everyone in the conversation knows Carbon very personally, he could just say his name.

So having this in mind, he might've been referring to this new character. So the fact this person is the one... 'housing' Joke, and who tended to his wounds, and also for his shock, this person might be either an old cellmate or someone else that's been incarcerated and Joke knows about or personally. Maybe a rival thief. So he's talking about this person here.

Also, VERY important missing information in the subs: Joke says "someone like me" in the sense of 'has the same abilities/did/does the same things'. This is crucial information that is in several other subs but not in the English one. Because the English subs on this ep are dogshit, lbr.

So I think one option that could happen:

This person wants Joke to either work for or with them. After all, you can't just wipe an alias like "legendary thief" in a year. Whatever it is that they want him for, it might be convenient for them that Joke's deemed dead, or they actually needed Joke to "die" for it to work. They might be in cahoots with someone we already know, or they might be acting alone.

This can be a double-edged sword because the person can be good, neutral or evil and we might not know until the very last minute.

Now one thing that caught my attention: The black shirt in the background.

Absolutely nothing when it's about clothes is Just There in J&J. There's always a lot of subtle storytelling in their clothes, especially when it comes to black and white. And specifically a black shirt hanging in so openly there and no other piece of clothing while Joke is wearing white? This is deliberate.

Do you remember Jack's red ticket? When the joker turns black to white, etc? This might be the opposite of that. This might mean starting from square one, undoing everything up to that point, or it might also mean Joke's darkening arc. Joke's wearing white, so washing this away to taint it black. It might also mean someone who's opposite of him if the shirt is referring to this new character, but I'm not too sold on this idea since black is mainly Jack's motif, especially in relation to Joke. Also, maybe this is the 'enemies' Nang was talking about.

And maybe because Joke has no choice but to do what he's told, whether if it's under threat or because maybe Jack would be in danger if he doesn't because that's their thing, or both, probably both, he can't show up to Jack or any of the piggies, and that is the main conflict of the season.

This can tie with the whole 'moving on' thing about Jack that everyone is terrified of. I don't think that even if it might seem so to add to the tension, Jack will ever actually move on; not FROM Joke at least. He can move on from the pain, make peace with the idea he's not coming back, but not from what he feels for Joke. If Joke appeared in front of him be it tomorrow or in 10 years, he'd probably just resume their lives together (after coming back from the shock of seeing him alive which can take some time). He himself said Joke is the one he loves the most. And some people change you so viscerally and completely that they'll always mean the same to you, forever, which is definitely the case for both.

Maybe if we're going through this route because J&J's classic angst and pain, Joke's gonna watch him from afar going on with his life, then that lack of self-worth he has that I'm pretty sure doesn't just vanish in such a short time even if he's found love and some healing, might keep him from approaching Jack even if he wants to and can do so; he wouldn't want to ruin whatever Jack has built without him so far.

If that's the case, if this really happened, I'd want Jack to find out and tackle Joke on the ground when he's being watched just like their first encounter after the 5 years. It'd be one of the most poetic cinema cycle closing one could pull off with this possible new season. But that's just my wishful thinking.

It can also be something completely different and I'm all for it as long as it retains J&J vibe, quality and unpredictable turns.

And also many more YinWar kissies, there's never enough of those.

[gotham-daydreams]

For your Not [] I was wondering how would Alfred and Y/n's relationship post kidnapped will go? Down the drain? Sure, they may have some reprieve from the rest of the family with Alfred, but would they resent Alfred for causing them to come back to the manor? After gathering the clues it was Alfred that pushed them to find you.

Also would Y/n have eventually gotten back into contact with Alfred after taking their much needed break away from the family, to help figure out and find themselves?

Well, that's the thing, I suppose!

I have thought about their relationship post kidnapping, and honestly I don't even know if the reader will ever logically know the extent of what Alfred has done to ensure that they stay in the position they're in. Especially, well, considering how I plan for Chapter 4 to go.

Of course at some point they'll definitely be able to deduce that he did something- they'll be able to tell from the things some of the Batfam says and just generally how Alfred acts, even if said things they catch with Alfred aren't all as they seem. But if they'll know the full extent of it? How much he played a part in what happened? In what ends up happening? Maybe not, not everything but maybe enough to be afraid. To get a peak into the ruin and shitty mess that is their life, and the true extent of that ruin. But a glance is only a glance, y'know?

I guess that's the scary thing - for me personally, anyways - that they won't know right away. That even when it happens they'll have no idea, and for those moments where they remain ignorant, unaware, and blind- Alfred is their saving grace. The only sane person amongst the endless sea of madness and derange that is the Batfam. The only person that seems to under their side, that not only comforts them but someone they actually feel comfortable and safe with. Alfred is the only one they trust, and... well, I rather not spoil how he feels about that.

Though, for the reader- from the little they put together and the little they know, its heartbreaking all the same. They don’t want to accept it- who would? The only person after being stripping and taken from their life- is just as insane as the rest? The only person they felt like they could confide in? That they could trust? That they could allow themselves to be vulnerable with when the others were away? That person is just as insane? Just as cunning and- and tricked them too?

It ruins them, and even if I won't say much else as it will be shown when I have it written- I think what I've said here is a good enough image of how badly things get from there once the reader even gets an idea of what Alfred may have potentially done. Though even if they did reach out now, they would probably still hold the whole "everything is fine" attitude they've got going on, and just try to talk to him normally- if not then at least passively mention how the family is sort of being weird and giving you a hard time (will that cause him to stop them? Not at all, but maybe things could've turned out differently. Which may be a recurring thing?? Well- it sort of already is but yk!)

As for the reader reaching out- I think I mentioned this in an previous (albeit older) post a bit in passing, but the reader has technically been in touch with Alfred! Just... not in a way he prefers. They are technically communicating with him, but it's very one sided (which is by design) and... well, may or may not be one of the reasons Alfred kick started this mess.

If this didn't answer your question then I apologize! Feel free to send in another ask if you want, and I can clarify anything you have any questions about!

[tender-rosiey]

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓 | gojo x f!reader

| pt 10 (fluff ending) |— [SERIES MASTERLIST]

a/n: WOHOOO FLUFF ENDING IS HERE! so technically this series is done, but I am working on angst for my angst lovers >:)) thank you all so much for all your support; this series wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without you guys and you all made it much more fun to write! once again, thank you all so much and I hope you enjoyed the series <333

shoko sends him back home that night, telling him that she needs to be alone so she can take proper care of you and ensure that you’re fully healed.

the moment he steps into his house, he heads to the bathroom. he hurriedly opens the faucet and starts washing his hands, time after time, each time getting more aggressive. he still sees the blood; he feels it.

after what feels like forever, he closes the faucet and rests his forehead on the cold mirror.

the fabric of the blindfold is suffocating to him.

he is torn between taking it off or keeping it on to stop his brain from intensifying what he still sees: your bloodied form.

you were smiling and so relaxed too. he never wants you to pass on with regrets, but what about him? you fade away and what happens to him now?

his fist collides with the mirror, but he couldn’t get himself to care. it could be replaced anytime; his wealth allows that.

you, on the other hand, can’t be replaced, and no amount of money will do. and so he slips into his bed, but sleep does near him for the night.

with the first ray of sunlight, gojo teleports to the infirmary. he sees shoko there, but now, she is merely doing some paperwork.

your figure is no longer covered in blood, but your eyes are closed. she finally looks up at him, “yo.”

“why isn’t she awake?”

she takes a deep breath, “satoru—“

“shoko, why isn’t she awake?”

she knows he is scared, worried, and all of that jumble of suffocating feels. you’re right there but still so far way.

she gets it, “she is okay, but I don’t how long will this state of unconsciousness last. considering the damage she sustained, it will take a while. her body needs rest.”

he is sitting right beside you, hand holding onto your own.

“…what happened?” she asks. She only knew the brief: something happened to yuuji and the moment you shifted your attention to the boy, the curse attacked viciously.

“sukuna did something to yuuji; I am guessing he wanted to take control, but I don’t know why,” satoru says, voice monotone or rather calm, eerily so.

shoko nods and shifts her attention to the door, “yuuji, you come in.”

the boy opens the door slowly, guilt painting his usually bright and smiley face, “is she okay?”

shoko nods with a small smile, “she just needs some rest. don’t worry, y/n is strong,” she says while discreetly patting gojo’s back. he nods at her, but he can’t find the energy to smile, at least not right now.

shoko walks to the door with a silent wave and yuuji follows suit, knowing his teacher would want some time alone with you. he was always empathetic that way.

gojo sighs softly and brings your hand to his lips, pressing soft kisses over your knuckles. he also finally takes his blindfold off; he wants to take you all in.

you’re alive and he can feel your cursed energy, albeit light, but it is still there. you’re alive and it’s enough, for now.

after that, he is able to go back to being all smiles and jokes with no problem. though, his students notice how he looks off to a distance and they know why.

and from then, weeks pass by like a blur. every day goes the same way: exorcise, teach, visit, and repeat. he does not let a day go by without visiting you, sometimes with his students, others with his friends, but mostly alone.

as the days go by, he also finds himself admiring you more and more. somehow, his yearning grows even more and he wants nothing but to hold you close and tell you how he feels, over and over again so you don’t forget.

truthfully, he doesn’t know how will things play out when you wake up, will you ignore him? give him a chance? he is not sure, but he would be damned if he doesn’t do his best to make you like him again.

an today was like any other day, he had just finished the classes and is planning to stay with you till dawn breaks. his hand is holding yours and his thumb slowly rubs your hand.

he sighs, “you know, in the beginning, I did start talking to you because of your technique. it excited me that someone could finally be on par with me to the point of being able to break my infinity,” he chuckles lightly.

he continues, “but as we started spending time together, I saw parts of you that I was blind to. it caught me off guard and next thing I knew, I fell for you. I don’t think I have the right to, especially with how shit I treated you back then.”

“also thinking back about it now, it was so hot of you to beat up the higher-ups,” he laughs, and it’s genuine, “who am I kidding though? I always thought you were attractive, but I just didn’t want to accept nor admit in the beginning. loser behaviour on my part, sorry.”

his hand leaves yours and his knuckles brush your cheek lightly, “so I want to lay it out now: I, the one only gojo satoru, am in love with you, and I don’t think that will change—ever to be honest.”

his chest feels lighter, much lighter. turns out that talking about everything that bothers you and letting it all out does help, who would’ve thought?

he feels something pinch his arm, “HEY! THE HELL?—“

“fucking coward, you were waiting for me to be unconscious to say that?”

satoru gives you no time to say anything else as he latches onto you. he buries his face in your hair and lets out a shaky breath.

he doesn’t cry right now, but he does feel his heart bursting in his chest.

“ow, ow, ow, ow,” you hurriedly say and he quickly softens his hold on you with a small mumble of a ‘sorry’.

he pulls back with a pout, “you were awake all of that time and didn’t even say anything? that is so mean!”

“I gotta make you suffer for everything you made me go through,” you cheekily reply and he whines. you flick his forehead, “you still have things to make up for so don’t think I let you off the hook, completely.”

he laughs it off and grins, “so do you at least feel the same way?”

you smile and shrug, “who knows?”

“hey now, i laid my heart out here—“

panda smashes through the door, “I HEARD Y/N SPEAK!” he gasps when he sees you waving, “Y/N IS AWAKEEEE!”

“Y/N-SENSEI!” you hear nobara and yuuji wail before they tackle you in a hug, knocking their teacher out of their way, “WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! GOJO-SENSEI IS SUCH A LOSER TO BE AROUND!”

“at least wait until I get out or something,” he grumbles but quickly smiles when he hears you chuckle.

“ooo, down bad,” panda teases and gojo nods, proudly.

maki, toge, and megumi finally enter. maki grins, “welcome back!”

megumi walks towards you, ignoring everyone else and hugging you, “I was��worried you wouldn’t make it.”

you knock on his head lightly, “hey, don’t underestimate me and I missed you too.”

megumi pulls back, cool as ever then looks at his friends who are all still shocked from what they just saw.

gojo just chuckles, “didn’t you guys know that y/n and megumi are pretty close? it makes me jealous sometimes.”

you ruffle megumi’s hair, giggling, “my little boy.”

he sighs, pink coating his cheeks, and looking away.

gojo pulls him back by the scruff—they’re like cats you note. then gojo gets close to you and with a snap teleports you somewhere.

you look around, cherry blossoms and flowers.

you’re in kyoto.

you raise an eyebrow, “really now?”

he is wearing a hat-sized flower on his head, “I have to go all out; plus, I was never one for mundane, things!”

he is quiet for a moment, “I am sorry for everything.”

“it will be okay,” you softly say.

it’s a start so he will take it.

he looks at you intently, a smile plastered on his silly (pretty) face.

you deadpan, “I am not kissing you with that flower thing on your head.”

he pouts, “y/nnnnn!”

“no!”

he pulls you closer and starts tickling you, “always so mean! won’t even give me a chance!”

you squeal with laughter and try to push him away, “let me go!”

he smirks, evil man, “never!”

you both calm down after a moment. you look at him with a smile.

you press a quick peck to his lips and look away, a little embarrassed, “that’s all you’re getting.”

he chuckles and the grin never leaves his face.

“so you did kiss me with the ‘flower thing’ on my head.”

“oh shut up.”

“shut me up yourself,” he smirks and you roll your eyes.

in the end, he was the one who had to wait; if it was up to him, the wait was really worth it.

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do not copy or plagiarize or you will be reported

[forsaken-headcanons]

Hm…I wonder who my favourite unreleased killers are? Gonna have to sit down and think for this one.

I honestly don’t think Whistle Occurrence/Flowers is evil, especially considering how that term can only really apply to humans. I see them more as a cryptid that’s just been around for a long time.

While it prefers to be a spectator, WO usually becomes aggressive towards those who invade its personal space, which unfortunately happens to be whatever game it’s living in currently. They’re constantly hopping from game to game in an attempt to avoid the admins, after all.

They honestly don’t really mind what you call them pronouns-wise, but with a slight preference towards nonbinary ones. They/Them, It/Its and the like.

Technically an AI? I mean- they were born from Roblox’s code, and has a close connection with it. It even has the ability to use admin commands, albeit sparingly.

They speak in whistles and clicks (and somehow the Killers can understand them.) However, the frequency of those noises has the nasty side effect of causing seizures in younger robloxians. (Lavender Town Syndrome ahhh-)

The spectre didn’t even bring it here. It just stumbled across the spectre’s domain one day, and has been trapped within ever since.

c00lkidd was the first one to find them after they got stuck in Forsaken, and they’ve since become close friends. It’s pretty common to see them playing together between rounds.

Kidd was actually the one to give them the name Flowers (in this timeline, at least). He got the idea after he saw WO picking whatever flowers it came across.

Flowers has no idea if killers can respawn or not, and thus hasn’t spoken a peep around c00lkidd. It’d hate to hurt their one friend.

Vocal cord deformities are unfortunately very common amongst Guests. Doesn’t help that it’s a hereditary thing, too. At best, guests can speak with raspy voices. At worst, they’re completely mute. 

Not being able to speak AND pre-existing anger issues didn’t bode well for Guest 666. He lived quite the isolated life before Noob came along.

Noob would act as an interpreter for 666 most of the time, but he also carried around a notepad. He never had the patience to learn a sign language.

There’d be times where 666 would spiral, thinking that he was ‘undeserving of friends’ in the first place. But he’d never show that part of himself around Noob.

No idea what would justify the banning of an entire group of people, but to Noob, Guest just. Vanished one day. Just poof. He didn’t even know what was going on. One minute, 666 was minding his own business. The next, he’s in a void alongside the rest of the guests.

‘Well, shoot.’ He thinks. ‘I’m sure Noob will appeal my ban. I just know it!’ And so he waited. And waited, and waited, and waited some more. And the more he waited, the angrier he got. Angrier at himself. At Noob. At the world. Just SEETHING.

That’s when he was approached by none other than the Demon King (yes, I see him as a separate character). DK offered him his freedom AND his voice, but for a price. I’m sure you can tell what Guest’s response was. That’s how he got to be the monster he is today.

What he didn’t know is that DK had already been made into one of the Spectre’s pawns. Guest had great killer potential, after all. Even more so after his literal deal with the devil. So once the deal was struck, he was ‘freed’ from banishment…straight into Forsaken.

He had to be separated from the other killers for a while due to him being much more animal-like and violent. He eventually came to his senses, but retained some animalistic urges and instincts.

Voice claim is the ink demon from BATDR because I love that game sm <3

— Respawn Anon

The Whistle Occurence ones are surprisingly sweet and the Guest 666 ones are very interesting. The Respawn anon cooks once more.

[gunnrblze]

do you have any thoughts on the dynamic between Rorke and fed Logan?🧐

I have too many thoughts about it cause im insane over it, thanks for asking may. I also have a moodboard for the occasion💀 perf time to post before my rant about them below

My main thoughts start with the fact that we know Logan was in the pit at the end of the game, and knowing what we know about Rorke, the man works fast…the implication being that Logan would’ve been getting brainwashed and tortured long before the gang finds him (if they ever do), thus I think he’d already be in the process of being turned into a real fed/Rorke’s evil twin, i.e Rorke’s evil conniving plan works. He would ensure nothing would foil that plan once he has Logan in his clutches, cause again, what do we know about that determined mf…💀

Rorke was brainwashed and tortured for years to be turned into the federations puppet, no doubt he’d spend a similar, but probably less amount of years, working on Logan until he breaks. I think a tenet of Logan’s brainwashing would include Hesh and Elias somehow being crafted into traitors, similar to how they did with Rorke and the other ghosts (specifically the part in devils breath where they had Rorke believing Ajax shot him) I think Rorke would probably manufacture some kind of little lie like that to sprinkle in tbh. Any and everything to pit the team against Logan. Because technically, Hesh didn’t do anything to Rorke (other than being a ghost lmfao), that’s just one of Elias’ little brats, so I think it’d help Rorke to come up with some little deception for Logan to believe about his own personal brotherly relationship with Hesh.

But he wouldn’t have to lie about much, because he already believes the ghosts are the enemy, obviously. He believes they were traitors to him, and all he really has to do is get Logan to “see the light” if you will. I just think, to add insult to injury, he’d try and pit the ghost of Elias (pun intended) against Logan to make it sting even more. Why? Because im getting a surrogate father type of vibe here, let me cook though lol.

Many ppl have discussed the parallels between Elias and Logan vs Rorke and Hesh, including myself (im insane about this smh). Like many, I also think Rorke saw Elias in Logan, and wanted jr all to himself. The question “why did Rorke take Logan instead of Hesh” I think is answered pretty well by this idea. Hesh is hotheaded and snarky like Rorke, and probably reminds him of himself. He also probably clocked Hesh’s parentification and his deep seated need to protect Logan at all costs, and wanted to stir that pot even more, make it hurt all the worse for Hesh (cause he’s wicked lmfao).

I love to ship Rorke and Elias (obviously💀), but regardless of their relationship status when Rorke was a ghost, there’s no denying they were obviously close as captain and lieutenant. I think part of Rorke would not only want Logan to be his right hand man, but like a son in a way. Bcause he lost his former right hand man, the kids father, and was “betrayed” by him…but I like to think Rorke would take it further. A sort of “your father’s dead, guess who’s even better than that bastard though…😏” type vibe. I just think they’d naturally form a father/son type bond after Logan is successfully turned, and I could see Rorke using it to taunt Hesh. Albeit, it’d be an insane-fucked up-hand crafted-manipulated lie type bond…but nonetheless…😭

Regardless, I can only imagine how close of a bond they’d have after Logan’s brainwashed though. They’re like, the only two people alive that have gone through all that in the same manner, what would bring two people together more…💀 this is where the father/son type of thing comes in for me. I think Rorke would almost start to take pride in turning Logan and training him all over again. At the end of the game when he says “there ain’t gonna be any ghosts, we’re gonna destroy them together” dude was ALREADY laying out his game plan lmfao, you could hear the conviction in his voice. As soon as he started dragging Logan away, he knew he had him, knew he had his perfect partner in crime.

And on the flip side, I think Logan would def latch onto Rorke after the brainwashing, because he’s similar to Hesh in the way that they both had an older male figure they kinda hung onto, Logan’s literally being Hesh, Hesh’s being Elias (imo. Older brother Hesh was like a lifeline for Logan, and I think Hesh would’ve clawed his eyes out for more fatherly validation from Elias…) therefore I think Logan would really have no problem (or choice) but to look up to Rorke, especially when they really start to form a bond and Rorke trains him even more to hunt the ghosts.

I also think the Rorke/Logan ship is quite interesting. While I don’t necessarily ship them myself (but I could im ngl…I could ship anybody if I tried💀), I think adding some kind of romantic or even sexual bond to that would just complicate it all the more, which is probably the main part of that ship that could appeal to me lol.

I’m insane about Fed Logan tbh, and as much as I hate (and desperately love) Rorke, I also love the idea of them being literal menaces to society together 💋

[eri-pl]

Sauron's "pretty privilege"

This is the first of a series I called "dark side of the Legendarium". Those aren't anti-Valar or extremely depressing, or something like that, but will explore evil characters (the main evil characters) doing terrible evil things and we'll discuss the technical details of those things. Deeper than I had done before. All will be tagged "#dark side of the legendarium".

This post is mild. Sad but not particularly creepy, except mentioning late Númenor and what Sauron did in there. The other one is … ugly. The third other one is… even the pre-cut list of TWs is a lot. And the post is much more.

There may be more posts in this series eventually, I'm not sure.

OK, so we all know how it went, right? Sauron manipulated Ar-Pharazôn, got him to invade Valinor, there was a direct divine intervention reshaping the world and removing Sauron's ability to look pretty.

Simple, right?

Except that's kind of stupid. Sure, Sauron being unable to look fair again does fit the story. But the whole mechanism makes Eru look a bit petty. And sure, the drowning of Númenor itself is controversial, even if Biblicaly-inspired, but let's assume it was the best way to protect the Númenoreans from themselves. Also, I think the island shouldn't have at all been made in the first place. But that's for the drowning. Making Sauron ugly? Seems petty.

And at some point I got an idea, two ideas precisely:

What if it wasn't exactly "cannot turn into anything beautiful", but "cannot comprehend the concept of beauty anymore"? FA Sauron knew beauty, he could recognize Lúthien was exceptional (probably not only because his master wanted to have her), he could take fair forms, and same in Second Age, he could alco forge beautiful rings. But in Third Age all he can make are fell beasts, black armors and ugly fortresses.

What if this inability isn't something externally imposed on him, what if it's just a natural consequence of his choices?

At first I thought of "trying to repress the fact that a divine intervention is happening" but then I realized it makes sense for it to have happened even earlier. The intervention at the Fall of Númenor is very distant, he wouldn't necessarily feel it. It's not a holy wave, it's just a normal (albeit miracle-caused) tsunami. Probably. I have mixed HCs here.

Anyway, all the things Sauron did in Númenor could surely require him to desensitize himself, blind himself, even, to a lot. And this may have included the concept of beauty itself (after all, it is said among the wise that beauty, truth and strangeness goodness are closely related).

But his form is unchanged, he made it once, some years ago, it works, he sticks to it.

Or maybe even it changes, reflecting his degeneration. But Ar-Pharazôn does not ask what lies behind his advisor's gold mask nowadays. Or maybe he does not notice, being similarly blind. And people are afraid to ask, and the Faithful (the only possibility of historical record later) do not see Sauron face-to-face and survive. So the change is not recorded anywhere.

Hmm, now editing this draft, I'm having more thoughts. But if I'll write them down, it'll be a separate post,— Oh. I wonder how many people will feel offended with the reference, but I feel like I may need to reread "Till we have faces". Yes, it is not the same. But doesn't feel unrelated either.

[archivalofsins]

Guess what's coming up in a few days! It's Mikoto's birthday~ (Well technically here now.)

So, in preparation let's talk about the many shades of Mikoto Kayano!

But before we do I'm gonna need everyone on the same page.

So, please take a look at these images, if you will-

Now, I would like for everyone to focus on the coloring of the tips of Mikoto's hair. I would like you all to note the color you see here. As this is the most direct and accurate to reality depiction of the prisoners we have.

Even aligning with their portrayal in Es music video Undercover.

Something that seems to be a creative rendition of Es looking over the prisoner incarceration records. Something that Es is alluded to be doing in their voice drama.

Sakurai, Haruka?

"I’m so lonesome, please love me." - "He's making a somber expression, isn't he? Well good thing is, if you open up his heart, you'll hear lots from him."

It is further implied that during Jackalope's tour of the prison Es was looking over the prisoners papers through the climax of the voice drama. It begins with the bell ringing as the ending of many of the voice dramas do then Jackalope stating,

"It's time. The prisoners are gonna wake up. Time to meet them face-to-face!"

And then ending with mechanical noises being heard, Jackalope giving a few more encouraging words then Es walking off after stating,

Sure. Let's do my first job as the prison guard.

Their footsteps being heard before they introduce themselves to the prisoners proper with,

"Good day, prisoners. My name is Es. I'm the prison guard. This place is Milgram Prison. It exists to judge your sins, the ten of you. I don't know much about you lot. What I do know is that all of you are killers that's it. From now on, I'll have you all enlighten me about yourselves. Once again, welcome to Milgram. Have a nice life in prison."

The first anniversary art possibly being a rendition of this introduction taken from Es' perspective.

As it seems to be from the perspective of someone just entering the room.

I've mentioned before that the Anniversary images seem to be telling a story albeit in a disjointed order- Though that's quite normal for Milgram.

First Anniversary: Introduction to Es (Shown Above)

Second Anniversary: Incarceration/Stained with Sin (Ruined Reputation)

Third Anniversary: Moments after the crime/ Es Stained by Their Sins (Mirroring the prisoners stained hands from the second anniversary. Also alludes to Es' ruined reputation through association with the prisoners. As well as their muddled or strained morality due to this.)

Fourth Anniversary: Victim's Funerals/ Memorial of Sin

All the prisoners shadows and Es' creating what look like jail bars over the image of flowers in the back creating this atrmospher of entrapment. That works to say there's no way back now.

Basically it reiterates this statement from Harrow,

"Every time death comes the soul moves forward."

In this case implying one moves forward because there is no longer anywhere to go back to. The placements of the characters even making a curved arrow as though pointing at the only direction left to go.

Outside of all that. The reason that I believe the images of the prisoners provided on the Milgram website and within the Undercover music video are the most accurate physical depictions of the prisoners is because unlike the imagery provided. Outside of the fact that there physical depictions with the music videos are not always true to life. Is due to the imagery provided on the website remaining consistent, as well as the Undercover video taking the depictions of the prisoners from that.

Along with Backdraft even portraying the validity of those same depictions,

This brings up another bias the music video plays on. That being how people perceive themselves physically will always differ from how people perceive them in reality. These sort of contrasting self-perceptions are typically discussed when it comes to things like eating disorders.

I.E some individuals with eating disorders tending to perceive themselves as weighing more than they do at times. There are many other instances in which someone's mental image of themselves may not align with how they look in reality outside of those cases as well. Yet, that was the most common framing I heard this concept discussed under growing up.

A more Milgram related example outside of the one that will be discussed later on. Is how Mu visualizes herself as an insect in It's Not My Fault, Mahiru visualizes herself as significantly younger in I Love You, Haruka visualizes himself younger in Weakness, Futa visualizes himself as a knight in Bring It On then a hooligan in Backdraft, the multiple different versions of Yuno and Amane etc.

So, the representations of the prisoners within the music videos have never be true to reality. However how other prisoners and Es view them will tend to be more rooted in reality. Leading those perceptions to align more heavily with the information provided through the website. Creating this idea of consistency.

At least that's what I believe is occurring here. So, I'm working under the website sprites and Es' depictions of the prisoners within undercover being the most accurate and up to date physical images of the prisoners we get from trial to trial.

Alright, now with that explanation and small tangent out of the way.

May we all agree that the tips of Mikoto's hair as depicted in these instances are a sandy brown perhaps even leaning a bit towards sandy blonde? Something that has remained a consistent depiction of his dye job even when his hair grew further out. Such as in his trial two depiction.

Is it possible to come to a consensus that the color he dyed his hair is somewhere around this color of dye job?

Okay, since it's impossible for anyone to answer this- I'm going to move forward under the assumption that most people continuing to read this can generally agree with that statement.

That or at least want to see where this is going exactly. Considering that when Mikoto and colors are discussed it's usually for a reason completely unrelated to his hair.

So let's discuss the different shades of Mikoto Kayano with this handy image made by @doctorbunny

He went through the trouble of color picking the color of Mikoto's highlights over the course of Milgram. Comparatively with his skin tone and the shadow applied on the the art itself.

I'd like to focus on the ones from MeMe and Double.

As one can see the images in MeMe have two distinct highlight colors-

The greenish tint and the redish-pink tint. These aren't the only changes that exist but we'll be focusing on this first. Now the use of red and green within Milgram isn't really new territory for anyone. Especially when it comes to Mikoto's case. However the more subtle ways it's used throughout his music videos tends to go understated.

The colors red and green are used within Milgram to denote innocence and guilt.

From the website-

to the videos,

Not just in Mikoto's but other prisoners videos as well. Using red to denote guilt and green innocence has become quite synonymous with Milgram over the years.

Yet these variations and more subtle use of these hues tend to be overlooked.

Which is probably a part of the reason it was made more glaringly obvious in Double. Outside of green showing up more prominently due to the focus being on Mikoto (John) and not Mikoto such was the case in MeMe. Hence the hair difference and more prominent use of red.

While red for the majority of Double takes more of a backseat role. Not being the star of the show as much as it was previously. Being used more as an accent color. Yet the parts they choose to have it take center stage at are very telling-

"Doesn't matter if you didn't wish for it. Can't get rid of me now."

Along with running in fear for his life being incredible instances for the staff to choose to have the color red appear. Outside of ya know the blood accenting everything. At least with the running for his life thing green is there as well.

But picking at the design choices of Double is like trying to read in a dream. It breaks the immersion and your brain can only do it a few times before things get weird. There's a lot of colors here in this segment alone.

Even still that doesn't change how Red and Green specifically has been used over the whole of Milgram.

I just think it's neat to point out the difference in this mental perception of Mikoto's own hair. Since how one views themselves can be heavily impacted by dissociative tendencies. Which is first visually highlighted through MeMe,

Also admittedly when he's brushing his teeth here his hair seems to be the right color,

Though it could be off given the lighting in this shot in particular which segues me into my next point. This issue is in the thumbnail as well. Now this could be a compression thing too.

But given how every color looks a bit lighter in the thumbnail image it seems like it was just brightened to me. But yeah that's a fun little fact about MeMe and Double.

Plus there are other changes with their hair throughout MeMe including this one,

Where it does turn lighter and looks more reminiscent to how it's portrayed on the website.

Like just visually flashes through these two different shades seemingly purposefully but it could be an animation error. Yet the expression work on Mikoto where these change in color occurs leads me to think it's intentional.

Something that when put side by side in the way above makes it look more like a back and forth conversation between the two. The thing which is implied to be happening through MeMe through other directing choices.

Also during this part of the video is one of the few times that Mikoto isn't making direct eye contact with the camera. Instead looking at someone seemingly offscreen.

The other time is when he's looking at the mirror after seeing the other one,

Which are the few times in MeMe where we get a side shot with Mikoto looking at something else while in this space. The other being the pan over when he's looking at the ground and the side shots during the attacks and other parts that take place outside of this space.

Outside of that I find it difficult to believe that no one caught this before it was uploaded. Unless it was caused by uploading it which it could have been who knows. However, it's pretty obvious when watching the video regardless of what quality it's on. Even though it goes by rather fast. Plus, we know from the Yuno Tear Drop early release that they upload and unlist/private videos for before the premiere.

So unless they had a different system back then they had ample time to check, do fixes or delay it like they have with other music videos before.

It would make sense if this was put in to allude to a conversation taking place between the two at the end of MeMe. Since there are things within that video that already imply that without this tidbit being added on. Such as the snapping that the Mikoto sitting on the couch was not in the position to do or even moving to do himself at the time.

As well as a card being slid across the table and then picked up by someone else.

Someone else Mikoto promptly lifts the head up of and punches square in the face without even pausing. With zero hesitation-

MeMe: 3:31 to 3:44

So again seems like a back and forth was going on there already. That is reiterated in Double.

Also really makes me understand why Mono Poisoner was just such a good and fun fit for Mikoto as this scene really can bring to mind the line,

"With my fist balled up from our little game of 'rock, paper, scissors', I hit you square across the face."

This entire time I've felt like I've just been repeating myself. Like all of this is stuff I've said before here. Though since I've been info dumping in private about it so much it's difficult to remember if I ever posted about it or if I've just talked about it too much generally. We'll all find out because I'm going through the trouble of linking every pertinent Mikoto post I've made at the bottom of this one.

Hooray... This took a while. I hope a few people enjoy this. Now I'm gonna go try to celebrate and catch up with responding to messages.

Well, good bye and hopefully everyone has a good weekend! And something finally interesting instead of more set up happens in the portal timeline. Because I can't take more set up.

Also here's a master list of all the other posts I've made or worked on regarding Mikoto,

Past Mikoto Posts

Tarot Cards

Spread One: January 16, 2023

Spread One Continued: July 24, 2023

The Murders, Music Videos, and Voice Dramas

The Incidents: March 18, 2023

The Incidents Part 2: April 29, 2023

The Vape Pen 1: May 26, 2023

Tidbits from MeMe: July 3, 2023

Difference in Speaking habits: August 2, 2023

Swing and...A Miss!: August 7, 2023

The Vape Pen 2: September 23, 2023

Highlight Colors 1: October 18, 2023

Highlight Colors 2: October 19, 2023

That's Just Advertising!: December 8, 2023

Dreams Vs. Reality: December 18, 2023

Difference in Signatures: January 10, 2024

Order of Events: February 9, 2024

Comments on the Viewers: February 20, 2024

Difference in Habits and Clothing: March 14, 2024

The Callback: March 22, 2024

Joke about the trial 2 end report statement : July 17, 2024 (Side note: This never fails to make me laugh. I always imagine the skeletons going in a decrepit squeaky voice saying "We were". Bro people will be out here like I got skeletons in my closet, bodies under my belt then show those skeletons and others will still go I don't see it. Meanwhile some will be like I know, I see it, I hear you, and I forgive you anyway this is objectively fucking hilarious.)

Jackalope Bias??? Towards him?!: July 19, 2024

Character Parallels & Dynamics

Mahiru and Mikoto: June 29, 2023

Yuno and Mikoto: September 2, 2023

Minor Yuno and Mikoto Parallel: June 10, 2024

Yuno, Mu, and Mikoto: July 9, 2024

Futa and Mikoto Dynamic: May 22, 2024

Mikoto and Kotoko Pairing: January 17, 2024

Mikoto (John) and Mikoto's dynamic: September 9, 2024

Kazui and Mikoto: August 5, 2024

[kitzatara]

My full Zatanna Bring Down The House Review!

(spoiler filled, you have been warned!)

First of all I really enjoyed it, it is a very good characterization of Zatanna. We see her heroism and her innate desire to help people, even strangers, and people she doesn’t trust. Helping the magic users, and seeing her desire to do what’s right. She was determined and doesn’t hesitate to help, just like the hero she is.

She had a dry sense of humor, a showman personality and love of performing, her stubborn will and her temper as well. These are all traits that I have seen and consider to be consistent in Zee over the years. So seeing them be core to her in this book was very much appreciated.

I do have a couple narrative nitpicks, 1) she’s never killed anyone, ever. So the decision to have her accidentally kill a kid in the story was a shame to me. I don’t like the breaking of that 60 year record. My only comfort is that it technically isn’t canon. So technically her record is still intact.

2) is the casters doing logomancy. I think that should be something only Zataras can do. It’s such a unique style of spellcasting, and having other magic users be able to do it sort’ve undermines this unique concept. The original reason the Zataras spoke backwards was because they were descendants of Da Vinci. So others should find it extremely difficult to do if they can do it at all.

I’ve mixed opinions about the casters & bunnies in general. They remind me of the Homo Magi, And I couldn’t help but feel that making Zatara part of a secret magic group was just taking from Sindella’s origin. Which has already happened by making Zatara a Homo Magi, I think the casters easily could’ve been swapped for the Homo Magi. But they were interesting, warring factions of magic is always a fun concept.

One problem I have, that isn’t exclusive to this book, was having her not use magic much until the end. It’s very common for magic users to have this trope of powerlessness. Especially at the start of a hero’s journey. So, I recognize the story format but I’m tired of seeing it.

We’ve now have had 6 stories follow a similar route (7 soldiers, come together, Mystik U, Jewel of gravesend, mystery of the meanest teacher) also absolute power, and technically both JLD runs also begin similarly. Seeing Zatanna constantly at square one no longer serves her character, her story, and discards her history. We should move past stories centered on her not using magic and start moving on to stories of her being a fully realized sorceress.

My final big problem with the story is constantine’s inclusion. I’ve made posts on other platforms about how poorly he treats her and will eventually post one here. But in Bring Down The House he is once again made a part of her origin and revealed to be manipulating things behind the scenes, keeping secrets from her, and even lying to her because he knows better and is trying to “keep her safe.” It’s just an example of sexist tropes like him manipulating and infantilizing her. Which I am also sick of seeing.

That all being said the conclusion is the crown jewel of the story. It’s immensely satisfying. We got to see her transfiguring an army of demons easily. A powerful ability in her tool kit that I feel isn’t utilized as much as it used to be. The bunnies as allies was also fun, and having magical bunnies as allies and a part of her show is a fun and whimsical addition to her lore that I’ve wanted to see.

It was dare I say almost worth the typical and repetitive hero’s journey. While the decision to make Zatara the villain of this story was interesting, albeit not one I would have made. His defeat was wonderful and spectacular. It was emotional, impactful and bad ass. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Finally, it must be said and cannot be understated how beautiful the art was. It was colorful, whimsical, and just perfect for her story. It wove with the narrative seamlessly. I loved the artwork in this book. Truly blew me away.

So even though I have my criticisms and nitpicks, it was still a really fun and beautiful read, with a perfect ending. I wish the series was an ongoing, or led to a solo title for her because reading this showed how fun her story could be. All in all to me it was a 4/5.

Thank you for reading

Eht dne!

[dark-is-d3ad]

OK, I'm moving soon, and I'm currently sitting in the middle of my ravaged flat surrounded by boxes, jars, and all sorts of things you never know you even had before it's time to go pack them up.

So here's a bunch of soapghost headcanons about moving in together.

• They end up helping each other to pack things. The flat they chose is a two-bed in Epping, really close to the forest. Easy to get to when they come back for a break, technically still in London, but in a quieter area on the outskirts of the city. Ghost checked for a multitude of things, including ways to get in and to retreat, hidden cameras, and he's making a custom surveillance system for it. You can never be too safe, right?

• The second bedroom is going to become Johnny's art studio. Ghost has dibs on the living room, he's got a huge TV and a PS5. And his humongous bookshelf will also go in there. They plan it out perfectly, so that they can spend time together, but also can have their alone time without bothering each other.

• Ghost refuses help at first, but then Johny just shows up with his portable speaker, and hangs out with him. It's a little distracting, and he has way too many books, they run out of boxes. Ghost never tells him, but he's grateful, it was getting overwhelming.

• Ghost's place looks neat, if not a little barren, his things are all sorted to perfection. He's got a collection of shotguns, too. And a huge table, perfect size to work on them comfortably. Cleaning and servicing guns never fails to calm him down. His favourite is an older one, a Benelli M2. It's in pristine condition albeit a little worn, its barrel needs to be changed because it can only last through so much shots, but Ghost kinda wants to keep it as it is, even though it's not practical. He's sentimental about it. They spend a lot of time packing them all up carefully.

• Johny actually asks him to come over, because his adhd gets unmanageable when he goes through all his things, and it's easier if a very specific person makes him stay on track, otherwise he'd be still stuck there reading his diaries and going through his pile of sketchbooks, and oh, the drawing supplies, he has the urge to use that beautiful box of designer gouache his sister gifted to him literally right now because he forgot about it, and now it's so tempting. Ghost thinks of it as of a mission, so he comes up with a strategy and keeps it tactical. And he makes Soap take breaks every once in a while.

• Soap's stuff doesn't fit into the van. Even with the furniture dismantled and packed, he's got so much things, a lot of them art supplies, a huge easel, half-finished paintings, canvases he forgot about or he hadn't had time to come back to. And his bed is freaking huge. They finally cram it in, but it's a really tight squeeze. Comparing to this, Ghost's was half-empty. Thank god their new place is on the bigger side.

• Ghost gets distracted, too, when they pack the paintings. He's not an artsy kinda guy, yet they are so good, he's entranced. It's Johnny's turn to make him focus. Soap doesn't think much of his art, and Ghost makes a mental note to compliment it more often. He really wants to see more. Hell, he'd even pose, if Soap ever asks for it. He won't tell him though.

• There's a "do not touch" black sketchbook with a little white scull drawn on the cover, and Soap flushes deep red and packs it away in record times. Ghost is intrigued beyond measure. He has assumptions of what's in there, and he sneakily checks it out when Soap goes to pack his clothes. It's full of sketches of him. Soap actually took his time to study him, he thinks, even the tattoos are all looking exactly right. The ones from the shower make him wonder if Soap actually memorised him that well or he got some sneaky reference pics (how did he manage that, the bastard). It's got notes, too. It takes an effort not to read them, but Ghost feels like he already intruded a bit too much, so he puts the sketchbook back where it was. Just in time, because Soap pops out with an absolutely ridiculous coat in his hands, and goes "hey, look what I used to wear when I was 18!"

• Ghost has a freaking lot of random jars. They're all empty. When asked about it, he confesses that he wanted to make jam, his grandfather used to make a lot of it every summer. It's one of the good memories he has, and there's not so many of them. He tried to make it once, but failed, and had to throw away the whole batch. They keep each and every one, although it seems stupid.

• Johnny's art stuff is a whole lot. He's got tree branches and clay, and a fucking mannequin (it scares Ghost every time he walks in Soap's living room, because his side vision registers it as a person, and he can't get over it). The mannequin has a crooked smiley face drawn on it with a sharpie. There's sheets of metal, fabric, a lot of acrylic, and a ton of instruments. He was trying to get into modern sculpture, Soap says, it didn't really work out. Needs more 3d thinking. Ghosts proposes to try again after they move. He's good at fixing stuff, and he's really good at guerilla warfare, they'll find a way to make even the weirdest thing Soap comes up with hold together.

• Soap's got little led garlands wrapped on every vertical thing at his place. At first Ghost thinks it's stupid, but when the night comes, and Soap lights all of them up, it actually feels almost magical. They sit on the floor with mugs of tea and coffee, and, although it's messy and everything is moved out of place, it's still beatiful, and it feels so safe. Ghost finds himself feeling more like a 5 y o than he probably ever did, sitting there just watching lights slowly light up and fade. He's never been good at making his places cozy. He'll ask Soap to work on their new flat to make it more like that. He really wants the lights there, too.

• Johnny's mugs are all different. He's got the "guns and coffee" with a redrawn Starbucks logo, the mermaid holds two pistols. Ghost gets the "under all your tattoos you're still a mainstream cunt" one when it's Johnny's turn to make tea. He pretends to be offended. There is a pink one with "unt" on it. It makes sense when Soap turns it, and the handle finishes the word. There's one with lots of bees, and it reads "bear daddy". Ghost makes the stupidest jokes about it.

• Ghost hasn't got a lot of kitchenware, and all his plates and mugs are white, the cheapest ones from IKEA. And he's only got one chair. No guests - no need. Johnny finds it a little depressing, but says nothing.

• Johnny's spicerack is probably the second biggest collection he has after his art stuff. He likes cooking, and he likes trying new recipes. His favourite go-tos sit separately on the kitchen counter. Ghost has to admit that he's really good. Ghost's spices are just salt and pepper, which gets him "and you live like that? Lt!" from Soap.

• When they finally move their stuff in, a call from Price comes. There's things to do like right now, get ready in 5, be at base in an hour and a half. Ghost likes his work, yet he can't help but get a little grumpy. He really wanted to get it over with. And to see what comes out of it with all things in place. And to have a chill evening with Johnny, watching these little lights again with some quiet ambient playing on the background. "It's OK," Soap says, "we'll get it sorted when we come back."

OK, that's gonna be it for now, I have a sad option and a silly option to go for, but I'd rather make a part two and separate them.

[adobe-outdesign]

Review Kyrri? My first neopet.

Kyrii are vaguely weasel-like, but that's probably not what you remember them for. If you're like me, you remember them for A) having extremely luxurious manes, and B) being smug and vaguely conniving. The design itself is fine albeit somewhat plain, but it's those additional traits that help them stand out a bit. (They're also allergic to apples—not the only species with an allergy to a certain food, but I feel like they get it played up the most.)

Visually, Kyrii have a standard bipedal pose with a complimentary lighter tint of the main color used for the underbelly, including the jaw, and the inside of their ears, which have a nice teardrop shape to them. The mane, arguably the driving concept behind the species, is also very pretty, having lots of curves and swishes to it that really give it that full, rich look. I also like how the tail and the mane are one unit, so the tail looks like the hair and vice versa.

In terms of customization, Kyrii got the short of the stick. They're not the worst by a long shot, but the big problem here is the face. It's too short, too wide, a little too round, and it doesn't taper the way it should. Technically speaking it's a subtle difference, but it really does majorly change the way the species looks, and not in a good way. They also lost that vaguely smug look, possibly due to having the head turned upwards more.

On top of the face, the body also got a bit screwed up, as both the stomach and forearms became too bulky, whereas originally the Kyrii was a pretty lanky species. Other odd decisions including running the underbelly up onto the jaw, which kind of affects the way the mouth reads even if it has a nice shape to it, and reducing the amount of shine in the mane. On the plus side, the mane itself at least looks better—it's much fuller than it was originally and the really janky shape of the fur on top of the head has been majorly improved.

Favorite Colours:

Royal: Royal Kyrii are a good example of how badly customization messed up the species, as they went from being quite beautiful to incredibly awkward, in part due to their faces being too wide and round and in part due to some weird decisions on the clothing (such as the Royal Boy loosing his cape and large sleeves and the Royal Girl loosing the entire back of her dress in addition to her hair braids no longer wrapping around the back of her head).

However, the original designs are fantastic! Both versions are good and have their own unique flavor (something royal pets sometimes struggle with). The Royal Girl has a lovely elegant look with a long muzzle, pretty dress, and a very nice turquoise and white color palette. The Royal Boy has a primarily maroon palette with an extra over-the-top mane and a vaguely swordsman-like outfit.

The poses are also full of personality, especially with the long-defunct battledome art bring us these gems:

10/10 no notes.

Pastel: Pastel pets are usually just taking a pet and applying pastel colors to the design as-is, so the pastel Kyrii really stands out by having the addition of stripes added to its mane. This gives it a very distinct look and adds a fun rainbow aspect to the design. The palette itself is also nice, juggling five colors at once without it feeling overwhelming or too busy. Just really nice!

Water: Water is a very hit-or-miss colour and it depends entirely on how good the art is, but thankfully they really nailed it with the water Kyrii. The white-foam mane draws attention to the most important part of the design and has a good amount of depth, especially int he darker areas at the base, while the body has a nice subtle gradient, highlights, bubbles, and ripples to give it that water-y feeling.

[shads-shipposts]

Another small fight scene before Trevor once again gives Shadow a migraine. He really enjoys being a plot device as it gives him free rein to be a menace, honestly. But at least I got to wrestle with Allan a bit, as mutual ass-kicking really is a bonding activity for me lol. Also, at this point (2019) I wasn't aware of my gender dysphoria so there are red flags all over the place, plus its the reason I'm still going by she/her while in later books I go by they/them. 

If Tintin and Sakharine seem a bit shallow, there's actually an in-universe explanation. Given this story technically takes place in my fic universe, where I didn't even think about Sakharine and Tintin yet or even Haddock, they are pretty "basic" as far as characterizations go. The sailors are really the only ones that get complexity. As someone from my story discord put it, the sailors are origami while the other "main" movie characters are cardboard cutouts. But the main characters (Ivan, Haddock, and Tintin) have plenty of fics focused on them, so its all good. 

Hope you enjoyed, and as always leave a comment/like if you did!

Beginning: Here Previous: Here Next: Here Ao3: Here Masterlist:  Here

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

A hiss and explosion of smoke thankfully disproved Neil’s initial theory, but it still left us all with sore throats and watery eyes.

Not that it stopped one sailor.

A shoulder slammed into my stomach, driving me back into the wall. I brought my elbow down, hitting the tender spot between the shoulder blade and neck, but the man grabbed me as he fell and we both went down. Arms tightened around my middle, whoever it was trying to pin me to the ground.

Allan, judging by the feel of rolled up sleeves.

He brought his full weight down, nearly knocking the breath from me and almost causing my arms to buckle. The man was heavy!

I said refrigerator as a joke!

I didn’t expect him to actually be as heavy as one!

The hell you eat?!

A hand grabbed one elbow, yanking it back, and down I went. I rolled as I fell, teeth aimed for his shoulder. I missed the bulk of it, but managed to at least catch the cloth.

Tasted and smelled heavily like tobacco and what I assumed was some time of smokey yet sweet alcohol. Bourbon, maybe?

Writer brain off, Fighter brain on!

“Damn it, kid, quit bitin’!” came the raspy yell, but I couldn’t tell if it was anger or smoke that caused his tone.

“Nien!” I growled through a mouthful of shirt.

He rolled us both out of the alley onto the sidewalk, out of the smoke. I ended up on top as we came to a stop right by the curb, but before I could strike, a hand snatched my arm and wrenched me away from Allan.

“Time to go, Shadow!”

“Trevor?!” I demanded, trying to look behind me. “Get off-!”

“Let’s go, let’s go, no time for slow!” Trevor sang, yanking me to my feet before turning to Allan. The hair all along my body stood on end just before Trevor hit him square in the chest with a small blast of lightning.

It sent Allan back to the sidewalk, and damn near sent me into shock.

“Trevor, are you tryin’ to fuckin’ kill him?!” I screamed, frozen as Allan laid groaning on the ground.

“Relax, he’s fine!” Trevor yanked me down the road, away from the alley and the docks. “C’mon!”

I still hesitated, not wanting to wake up with a hollow pit in my stomach after Allan died due to Trevor’s shenanigans.

“Ok!” Trevor chirped. “Plan B!”

“What are you- Trevor!” I screamed as he scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder.

“Roll out!”

No amount of wriggling or punching the back of his thick skull did any good, but thankfully I could see Allan get up, albeit slowly, before Trevor turned a corner and I lost sight of him.

I couldn’t see where Trevor was going, but with his random corner turns I wondered if he even had an end destination in mind.

At one turn, I saw the edge of the marketplace from the movie and filed it away for later as Trevor continued on.

Gotta admit, his runnin’ form is very smooth. Unless he’s just glidin’ across things like a glitched character model?

I looked down.

Nope, he’s running.

Eventually, he unceremoniously dumped me onto the sidewalk then stood proudly with his hands on his hips as he flashed me a grin.

“Ta da!”

I immediately jumped to my feet and slammed him against the wall. “You could have killed Allan!”

“But I didn’t! It was just a little zap, people in Star Wars survive that all the time!”

“We ain’t in Star Wars!”

“Eh, technically we are since your fanfiction did overlap fandoms.”

“Cut the shit!” I spat, slamming him against the wall again.

“I thought you wanted to get away from ‘em!”

“Not if it involved shootin’ lightnin’ at Allan! Trevor, that kills people!”

“He’s fine! Not the first time he survived gettin’ struck by lightning anyway.”

Wait, Allan’s been hit by lightning before?

That wasn’t in my fanfiction.

Guess that’s dream liberties.

I’ll have to use that though, and research any lasting effects of bein’ struck by lightnin’ because there’s gotta be some.

“That doesn’t mean you can just zap him!”

“We had to keep this plot rollin’ somehow!”

“Trevor, I swear to fuck-!”

The door opened to the store beside me and it was then I noticed the writing on the door, thankfully in English: Police.

Piss.

I let go of Trevor as a man with light skin in his mid forties stuck his head out the door.

“Is… everythin’ alright?”

I groaned. “Yeah, just a minor argument.”

He looked even more concerned, bushy eyebrows furrowing as he stepped outside with me. “Argument with…?”

“Trev-” I turned and found myself alone. “Or.” I inhaled deeply, letting it out through gritted teeth. “Of course he’d split.”

Why can he phase in and out of scenes? I should be able to do the same, it’s my head!

“Was there someone else here, son?”

“Son?” I glanced at my chest. “I know I’m flat but c’mon.”

His brows shifted up, and I found myself reminded of the fisherman dad from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. “Oh, sorry, ma’am.”

I waved him off. “Eh, ain’t the first and won’t be the last. Besides, it’s deliberate. Attracts less trouble.”

“Speaking of trouble.”

Oh boy.

“Did you come from the docks, per chance?”

I stiffened. “Why?”

“Because I just received a report from a man that he nearly struck two dockworkers. One matched your…” His eyes drifted to my hair. “Description.”

I do like the color purple, but perhaps it gives me too strong of main character energy. At least I don’t have a tragic backstory. Just the typical emotional hangups that come from military parents who hail from the deep hills of Appalachia where mental illness like anxiety and ADD don’t exist and people would rather die than actually address their emotions.

“So the fucker can drag his fancy ass down ‘ere but can’t stop to say “sorry” when he almost runs someone over?” I scoffed. “What’s the world comin’ to?”

“What was a young lady such as yourself doin’ at the docks? It can be very dangerous there.”

“I was…”

Think think! Can’t get them in trouble, dream or not.

“Meetin’ some old friends.”

“Old friends?” he asked, frowning. “How does that lead to you being in the street?” He peered closer, brows shifting up again at the cut on the underside of my forearm. “And you’re cut?”

“Eh, we like to wrestle. Mutual asskickin’ is how I show affection.” I wiped my arm on my pants. “This is my bad, don’t worry about it.”

His frown shifted into a puzzled but amused smile. “Certainly unusual for a young lady, but not unheard of.”

Oh thank goodness this man ain’t sexist. Well, he kinda is, but for this time period I suppose he’s got a point.

“I take it you don’t want to file a report yourself, then?”

I quickly shook my head. “No no no, that isn’t necessary. It was just me and some old friends, that’s all.”

“Ah. In the future, I suggest keepin’ it at the docks. People get the wrong idea pretty easily, and I wouldn’t want a report filed if it doesn’t need to be.”

I’ll file that away for the next dream.

“I’ll keep it in mind. If that’s all, can I…?” I jerked my thumb down the street. “Go?”

He nodded. “As you were. I’ll take it off the books, miss…?”

“Call me Shadow.”

“Miss Shadow-“

“Just Shadow,” I corrected. “I don’t really like gendered terms, ya know?”

“Very well, Shadow. I’ll file it as resolved.”

I headed past him, back towards the marketplace. “Thanks!” I called over my shoulder before focusing forward again. As I walked away from the station, a frown dug into the corners of my mouth and my salt level rose.

First Trevor spooks me, then I smack poor Neil, then I had to leg it after making Allan all types of suspicious, then I got into a backalley brawl, and then I get stopped by a very persistent cop whom I have to lie to about the fight.

Reaching the edge of the marketplace and wading into the sea of people and knick-knacks, my irritation only grew.

And now I got fucking sensory overload!

“Some days it don’t pay to get outta bed,” I muttered through gritted teeth, trying to get through the crowded marketplace to Tintin before he and Sakharine split.

Because, maybe if I tempted Sakharine, he’d invite me to Marlinspike and I’d get to see the sailors again. For whatever reason, this dream hadn’t shifted yet and an inkling of hope had sparked in me that I still could get myself on that ship.

What the hell are we doing? We just escaped the sailors, why are we trying to worm our way back to them?

Because we didn’t willingly escape, Trevor dragged us away.

We were in the middle of fighting them!

Yes, and it’s the most fun I’ve had in a dream in forever.

What I’d say, I had no idea. Where they were, I had no idea. How I’d get a ticket to Marlinspike, I had no idea.

Why I was acting like a dumbass moth to flame, I had no idea.

But it’d been a long time since I had a dream this good of the boys. Perhaps most would be distraught at having to physically fight their favorite characters, but it wouldn’t be the first time my enjoyable dreams of characters involved throwing hands. Or wrestling. Or a good ol’ chase.

Mutual asskicking really was how I showed affection, and that was just the way the cookie crumbled when you grew up with mostly guy best friends.

Concern had started to gnaw at me, admittedly, the longer this dream continued in a linear fashion. Dreams… they didn’t flow this smoothly.

Ever.

Not for me at least.

By now I would either be on the ship, or the ship would have turned into a literal submarine like that one time, or Allan and co would have accepted me into their motley crew, or I’d be on some random ass adventure with Allan and Tom, or the bunch would have morphed into different characters entirely.

Or a convoluted mix of all of the above.

My dreams were just like that.

The alternative of course was I had literally, body and soul, been yeeted across realities and found myself in the actual middle of one of my earliest fanfiction timelines with the crew and was now stuck here.

Which just wasn’t possible.

Wasn’t probable.

Wasn’t comprehensible.

It’s inconceivable, and I’m pretty damn sure that word is used correctly in this case!

Luckily, I had a few saving graces that kept me grounded in the reality that it was just a very, very vivid dream.

The first of course was the utter lack of pain. Real life, even in other realities, had pain. Granted the movie had somewhat slapstick physics at times, but still. I should have felt something as I tumbled down those crates.

Trevor phasing in and out of existence like a glitchy Skyrim character on my old Xbox360 also banished any chance of this being my fanfiction. Because that was not something that happened in any sort of reality, and certainly not in Tintin’s canon or my alternate timelines.

Sure there were aliens, but this was… something else.

The third of course was the fact the sailors knew Scarlett. She was my creation through and through, and while I didn’t know exactly how they knew her, the fact they did at all convinced me this was a dream.

And so I calmed my nerves and focused on completing my task before I woke up, weaving through the markets and trying to play a demented game of geoguesser with the buildings and the near perfect memory I had of the movie.

Were it a VHS, I’d have worn it out with how much I watched it.

No questions asked.

VHS? Ugh, now I feel old too. I shouldn’t feel this old at 19.

Tell that to our sixty year old back pain.

We sit like a shrimp and sleep like one of those Family Guy fall animations. Of course we got back pain.

Finally, I spotted my target.

Good timing, too, for Tintin had the ship in hand and was squaring off against Sakharine.

I stopped a little ways away.

Am I really gonna throw myself at this Ruskie for the chance to grapple with the sailors again?

Tintin looked ready to march away, his grip tightening on the model ship.

Of course I am!

“Hey!” I called, cursing when my accent drew the attention of some market-goers.

Quitchyer gawkin’. What’s the matter, ain’t heard the result of Kentucky parents and a southern upbringing?

“Tintin, there you are!” I said, jogging up to him and Sakharine.

Tintin turned to face me, surprise in his blue eyes.

Why does everyone in this movie have blue eyes? Just like why the hell is everyone in this movie so aggressively British? Sakharine is supposed to be a Ruskie! Mister Ivan Ivanovic Sakharine, can’t get more Russian with that.

What do you have against Russians? Our first and only hardcore reader for years was Russian, she even sent you pictures of her snowy backyard.

Oh I got nothing against ‘em. I’m just an equal opportunity irritant. Like Looney Tunes. Everyone catching these verbal hands, I don’t discriminate.

“Shadow!” he exclaimed. “Where have you been?”

He knows us?

We had that info dump courtesy of Trevor this morning, of course he knows us.

Tintin looked me up and down as Snowy came close and circled me, sniffing at my leg.. “What happened?”

I looked down, frowning at the muddy hems of my pants, a ripped patch at the knee, my bloody forearm, and a streak of what must have been a mix of mud and oil up the side of my shirt.

“Hell, look like I’ve been to war,” I muttered. “No wonder the cop stopped me.”

Aside from me yelling at air.

“You were stopped by police?” Tintin asked. “What ever were you doing?”

“May or may not have run into some buds at the docks. And you know me!” I think. “It’s not a hello without a friendly bodyslam. We got a bit carried away and caused some issues for a driver that apparently tattled to the cops.” I shook my head. “But I’m fine!”

“Are you certain?”

“Aye, I’m good!” I gave him two thumbs up. “Fit as a fiddle!”

His brows furrowed. “What does that even mean?”

“Ya know, I ain’t sure.” I turned to Sakharine. “Sorry to interrupt.” Not. “But wanted to catch Tintin ‘fore he left.”

Sakharine looked me up and down, a noticeable twitch at the corners of his mouth like he wanted to frown distastefully but also wanted to save face. “You are quite brave, getting into scraps with dockworkers. Those types of men can be quite vulgar and dangerous to young ladies.”

Oh, you’re one of those aristocrats. Grand.

“Maybe ‘round ‘ere, but in the states we Tomboys are quite common,” I said with a shrug, then turned my attention to the model ship. “Oh, neat! Looks like the Unicorn from that old pirate tale.”

Both Tintin and Sakharine looked at me with more interest. Especially Sakharine.

“You know of this ship?” Tintin asked.

“Aye! Pirate and sailor nerd, remember?”

“I was just about to go to the library to research it. Could I borrow your notes instead?”

“Ah, sorry mate. It’s more of just passin’ stuff I know, ain’t got the main source.” I couldn’t help myself as Snowy yipped questioningly, and I knelt down to rub the little terrier’s ears. “The library’s a good start,” I said as Snowy leaned into my hand, his stubby tail wagging like mad.

Man you’re adorable and cute for a menace.

“Would you like to accompany me?” Tintin asked.

“Ah, actually think imma wander ‘round the market for a bit.”

“Are you certain?”

“Aye,” I said, watching Snowy scamped off in pursuit of something in the marketplace. I stood, smiling at Tintin. “I’ll catch up later!”

It didn’t take long after he left for Sakharine to clear his throat. “You said you knew of the Unicorn?”

I turned to him. “That I do. Bit of a tragedy, if not an interestin’ one. Pirates, fatal clashes, hidden treasures. Sounds like something out of an old comic book, don’t it?”

Should we really be teasing this man? He had a guy killed for getting too involved.

Yeah, but what’s the worst that could happen? We’re dreamin’. Gunfights, rabid monsters, apocalyptic fallouts. We’ve survived it all.

“You know of the treasure then?”

“Heard rumors, aye. Talk about fascinatin’! Reckoned there may be something at Marlinspike, it was the old estate of the Haddocks, but don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to rummage ‘round there.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “What use would you have for such an archaic tale?”

“Writer stuff.”

His gaze sharpened. “You are a reporter?”

I shook my head. “I don’t like people nearly enough for that mess. Nah, I’m just a fiction writer. Pirates are my jam.” At his blank look, I added, “I have a few characters who are pirates. They’re just interestin’, and the sea? Man, what I wouldn’t give for a chance to get out there on the water.”

Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the bait.

The suspicion turned to a look of false friendliness. “Why, if it is Marlinspike you desire, might I offer a tour?”

I straightened up.

Fool, you fell victim to one of the classic blunders!

“You know the guy who owns it now?”

He smiled, but it was far from comforting. It was amiable, sure, but given I knew the intent behind it I wanted to scrub myself with a wire-brush and bleach. Or maybe even Drano.

Allan’s sly smile brought out a sly smile of my own, but Sakharine’s made me want to square up. After, of course, I fed the toilet like a mama bird.

“I myself do. Purchased it some time ago, my dear.”

It took everything in me to not grimace at the term.

Ew. No. Nah. Don’t like that. That shit will be dealt with as soon as I get to Marlinspike. You’re lucky I need you right now.

“Well, shoot! If you’re offerin’, I’ll take it!” I gestured behind me with a thumb. “Mind if I get a sketchbook and grab a bite to eat? I can meet you back ‘ere in about thirty minutes.”

Odd I feel hungry in a dream. Eh, it should pass.

“I myself have a matter to attend to, so perhaps three pm this evening would work better? It is about an hour’s drive.”

You’re gonna go get your boys to come along and yoink me, ain’t you? Fine by me. I could do with another tussle.

“See you back in a few,” I replied with a smile. “What’s your name, by the way?”

Wait, did he ever tell Tintin his name? Or did Tintin just know it? Because if so, plot hole???

“Mister Sakharine.”

“Well, Mister Sakharine.” I gave him a mock salute. “I’ll see you in a few.” 

[quitealotofsodapop]

[Now I'm imagining a Judge Judy or Maury-esque trial over the custody/parentage of Sun Luzhen and the other SWKs vs their universes' respective Nuwa, Houtu and Fuxi.]

Goodness, that guy has to earn a LOT of overtime to deal with SWKs and the fams nonsense. Hope they invite him to family events too X)

[Reborn SWK/Smokey is the most furious since he has a whole complex over not having parents.]

I wanna write something funny, but all I can make up is the image of Reborn Nuwa shoving as much money and stuff as possible as Hush Money so that their connection stays a secret. I feel like that would make Smokey super-duper mad.

[Plum, realising that he probably shouldn't have said that: "The... the supreme goddess of the moon?" (o_o;) Other LEMs: "THE WHO?!?"]

Plum, poking head into the room with the SWKs: Sorry about that, but I think I broke your partners.

Damn, so Mac's also royalty! Although, how well known was that if he worked as PIFs attendant in the Celestial Realm?

...now I am curious how Babs and Gibs came to be...what's their lineage? And do they know of it?

[Different SWKs reactions ahoy!]

Hmm...how do the LEM's (and rest of the Pilgrims if they are around) feel about Luzhen? He has to quite literally rock their world with the revelations.

[He's used to sudden children by now.]

Peach, hearing Dasheng's footsteps in the house: Hey, bud, what's ahhh... *Sees that Dasheng has 10 kids, all hanging from his limbs...* Umm...

Dasheng: I walked by an orphanage...

Peach: Wow, your dad vibes are over 9000, huh?

Dasheng: What does that even mean?!

[heck yeah, I'm dad, not our neglectful creators.]

I am picturing Dasheng looking at either of the gods in question and going, "Oh look at that, the deadbeats are here. Have you brought the child support or do I have to boot you off my mountain again?"

[it's not his fault another him got made! And whats more he's furious at their creators for "allowing" another Stone Monkey to be born to face the same crisis/trials he did.]

You know, I once read that we grow up to be the person our younger selves would have felt the safest with. Paraphrased a bit, but the idea is there. They are two different people, but, maybe he can help heal his inner child in this way.

[His cub now, their creators can screw off!]

I have this image: One of the parents in question coming in hot to claim parental rights or something, only for Cherry, handling his Luzhen off to somebody to keep safe, to launch an attack so brutal and bloody Buddha took one look at the carnage and noped out of there, going like "Not even I am willing to fuck with that. Nope."

[They do have a little brain itch of what this could mean for them tho.]

Not the brain itch you or Shihou were having, but mine is itching with the question of...how would SWK and/or LEM handle a child with cognitive disabilities - like serious ones at that?

[Meanwhile Mac is just like; "He's a toddler. They all want to fight heaven."]

Well, he's not wrong. I am told as a small child I advocated for burning the government whenever the adults complained about something relating to politics. I was quite the anarchist.

[albeit one thats technically his uncle(?) he's not gonna worry about that part.]

I did one read a book where the middle-school-aged-MC had a two-year-old Baby Aunt. I also thought it was odd - but also one hell of a way to find out your parents/grandparents are still getting it on.

Gonna have to be my replies under Read more soon cus gotdang you really give me a lot to talk about! /positive :D

[Goodness, that guy has to earn a LOT of overtime to deal with SWKs and the fams nonsense. Hope they invite him to family events too X)]

SWK's lawyer def gets a yearly holiday card, and invites to family events. He's practically family after the first couple of scandals.

[I wanna write something funny, but all I can make up is the image of Reborn Nuwa shoving as much money and stuff as possible as Hush Money so that their connection stays a secret. I feel like that would make Smokey super-duper mad.]

F in chat to poor Smokey; who wanted a meaningful relationship/an apology from his creators and now only has worthless hush money, and a small son/brother(?) to take care of.

[Damn, so Mac's also royalty! Although, how well known was that if he worked as PIFs attendant in the Celestial Realm?]

The Celestial Realm recognised LMK!Mac as *belonging* to the supreme Mood Deity, but were unsure exactly how. He's a monkey after all, and Taiying is human (they think). Maybe he's her pet? Alchemy experiment gone wrong? Either way, he was a calming influence on the young and frustrated Princess Tieshan, so he was at least treated with the same respect as a lady-in-waiting - although not as much as humanoid celestial would be.

If the Celestial Realm knew the Six Eared Macaque was the child of the Supreme Moon Deity, then he might have had some weight to throw around the court - if Lady Taiying recognised him as such. Otherwise its another aspect they would have mocked him for - whats more to them than another illegitimate noble?

Also; Plum accidentally breaking all the other LEMs cus he didn't realise that they didn't know about their origins. XD

[…now I am curious how Babs and Gibs came to be…what's their lineage? And do they know of it?]

Odds are those two were created by separate star entities long before the modern earth even existed. Earth is were they spent their teenage/college years essentially before they retired to space. If they know of their origins, they don't care much.

Rest of replies under Read More!

[Hmm…how do the LEM's (and rest of the Pilgrims if they are around) feel about Luzhen?]

Most of the LEMs are shocked silent for the most part.

Plum/LMK!Mac: in particular a little annoyed but adoring that a tiny copy of Wukong has been dropped onto his lap. But hey, free baby is free baby. Will kill anything that dares to inflict any of SWK's trauma onto Luzhen.

Zhanshi/HiB!LEM: immediately goes full mom-mode on the infant monkey. Little guy needs a stable home after all! Hunting down his primordial in-laws for answers can wait... for now.

Liang/Reborn!LEM: is a little faster to accept Luzhen as their responsibility than Smokey, and helps to be the "softer" parent of the two. They def agree that the gods can screw off tho.

Olive/Netflix!LEM: is initially so freaked out that they don't want anything to do with Luzhen. But the moment the little guy reaches out for a hug... who is Olive to deny him? A bit colder, but is warming up fast. Is the one who holds Luzhen while Cherry fights the gods - like the infamous "Get his ass baby, I got your flower" except flower is baby.

Joker/NewGods!LEM: is already bouncing the kid on his knee. Its a shock but hey, its like how they got their MK. Little guy is stinking adorable too. Is also very mad at the gods for being so irresponsible. Probably gets really defensive when people ask if him and Ace are Luzhen's grandparents tho.

Spice/2000s!LEM: is scared. So very scared. Mostly out of worry. He's just coming to terms with his own creation/identity, and now there's a bonus Wukong?! What if the gods take Luzhen away!? He needs to sit down a bit. Takes him a while to see Luzhen as more than a extension of SWK, afterwards its more mentor and tudi vibes.

Meihouwang Mihou: is... still in shock. He reacted badly enough to Shihou's arrival, and now an entire infant version of Shihou needs food and parents to take care of him. Its overwhelming. And then Shihou approaches him for advice? On how to raise Luzhen? Oh gosh, maybe this was a sign from the gods. His ears are flooded with the sounds of wedding bells and laughing infants. This oz his and Shihou's baby now. Still asks the Elder monkeys for help tho, since he barely knows what to do more than Shihou does.

Lilac/Smash!LEM: is hesistant to get close. They feel that they can't just drop everything to raise a whole kid, not with their career quicky on the rise. Their Wukong is such a good caretaker tho, and Lilac feels a little guilty when they can't join in on family time. Def dedicates a song about "little falling stars" to Luzhen, and has frequent video calls when he's away. Vows to spoil the kid anytime they're together to make up for any time lost.

The other pilgrims are having bluescreen errors every time they try thinking about the ramifictions of multiple earth/creation gods pulling up to drop lore like that.

The Tripitakas are torn between "Oh its a blessing!" and "Oh sweet Buddha, theres two of them now." HiB!Liuer has already claimed his Luzhen as his little brother/fellow tudi.

You know the Zhu Bajie's are laughing their butts off once the shock wears off. Lots of child support jokes. Declares themselves the different Luzhens' uncles.

Sha Wujing is a little more... unsettled. Why did a bunch of gods just show up- oh sweet buddha they're Older Brother Sun's creators?! And theres' a little Sun now!? Reborn!SWJ def has a small breathing-into-a-paper-bag anixety attack. Afterwards though they feel a greater kinship, with their Luzhens and SWKs. After all, they feel "discarded" by the gods also.

[I am picturing Dasheng looking at either of the gods in question and going, "Oh look at that, the deadbeats are here. Have you brought the child support or do I have to boot you off my mountain again?"]

The idea of Dasheng looking the earth gods in the eye and calling them "deadbeats" is the most perfectly in-character thing for him ever. I love it.

[You know, I once read that we grow up to be the person our younger selves would have felt the safest with. Paraphrased a bit, but the idea is there. They are two different people, but, maybe he can help heal his inner child in this way.]

That is literally the most sweetest and heartbreaking thing. Smokey considers himself "broken", but Luzhen as "still good enough" to help. By being a good protector and influence, he secretly hopes to heal the scared child he once was. :']

Meanwhile, Netflix!SWK/Cherry is fighting any gods that dare threaten to take his mini-me away.

[how would SWK and/or LEM handle a child with cognitive disabilities - like serious ones at that?]

Honestly? Pretty ok. They know that people can be born "different" and have different hurdles to overcome. In the wild, macaques are known to pay extra attention to troop members with disabilities, and treat them kindly.

I hc MK as having adhd, which really affects his attention and short term memory, so Shadowpeach have been working with that for a long time. Wukong and Macaque themselves are very autistic-coded (which makes my autistic butt very happy), and would have a lot of insight to how the kid might be feeling.

If one of their kids has another serious cognitive impairment, like being non-verbal, they'll find a way to adapt to it. SWK 100% has learned both forms of CSL over the years, and does a refresher in prep for MK's arrival. Helps a lot when the more monkey-ish side of the kids means that they don't verbalize for a long time compared to human kids.

[one hell of a way to find out your parents/grandparents are still getting it on.]

MK had that crisis at age 19 when the Lunar Nodelets were on the way. Like when he found out it was at a high-stress moment so he barely had time ot process it; "We had just saved the world from the Lady Bone Demon and you two were...?! Ugh! I need to wash my brain out."

Nezha had a more firey reaction when he learned of the Eclipse Twins years prior. He didn't even know the monkeys did that stuff. He was uber-grossed out in an almost cooties sort of way, but also in a "please for the love of buddha, don't fill the celestial realm with your spawn"-kind of way.

Tysm for sending so many cool questions in! You really rock my create brain <3